Ezra Adaar

It wasn’t too forward at all! In fact…

“Not at all. I would love for this to become a regular thing between us. IT would allow us both to relax a bit after a hard day’s work. To wind down before retiring for the night.” And it would give them a chance to get to know each other more. He’s not sure how entirely to describe it, but he felt so at ease around Ezra.

Certainly, they had more of a professional relationship during the day, but without the Inquisitor mask on, Yue was seeing that the qunari was…much warmer and more inviting when he wasn’t leading troops to war. Among other things.

There was a lot more to him that he’d originally thought. He wanted to learn more about the In–About Ezra.

A lot more.

His smile broadens into something much more warm.

“I would treasure the opportunity to make this a regular thing with you, my friend.”

While he’d had a feeling Yue would say yes, it certainly didn’t hurt to ask. They were busy people after all, and taking time for something as frivolous as tea and companionship... even if it was a necessary distraction from all the doom around them, somehow felt taboo to ask about.

"Good, good...” Ezra said after a moment and shifted in his seat. With the tea and cakes finished and conversation lulling, he found himself floundering a little bit.

Abzi went with the other man, but unlike Ezra, he did not nod in greeting to everyone else. Why should he when he was just another elf. Most still looked down upon him because he was Dalish, let alone a mage. Creators knew what they would think of him if they knew he was a necromancer… Perhaps something he was not so willing to share with most of the Inquisitions people. 

He casually moved past the others to keep in toe with the Inquisitor, although the man was rather tall… his legs were long, so strides were made deftly. 

As Ezra spoke, Abzi raised his eyes to look back up, surprised by the sudden offer. Oh, he would have loved that opportunity! There were so many interesting plants that he didn’t know around these locations, or he’d only heard of in passing. 

“You would be so generous as to give me such knowledge?” he asked, curiosity in his voice as he unpacked the load of roots he’d taken and joined them at the table. 

“In turn, I suppose I could teach you of the plants back home, or through my travels. You may even be able to purchase such rarities in markets here… I had not thought of that. Inquisitor has its perks, I dare say,” he grinned as he nodded.

“Hmmm, I will take your offer. I may as well do something while I am here.” He pulled at some of the leaves. “These will do good dry.” 

Ezra made a small noise of agreement and continued his work separating roots and leaves, though he focused on the leaves for now, cutting them into smaller pieces so they could fit into his mortar and pestle more easily to be crushed. 

“Of course, doubly so if we’re getting some in return, but that kind of specialized skill is worth a lot in times like this,” he replied and met Abzi’s glance with a little smile. “I wish we had time to dry these out here, but we’ll probably be on the other side of the Hinterlands or back to Haven by the time they’re finished. That’s alright, though. A poultice of raw spindleweed leaves is pretty good for easing aches and pains.”

His movements were easy and practiced, obviously familiar with the sort of work he’d started.

All night sounded perfect. Just the two of them. Well… the two of them and Ginger, but the cat had grown up between the two of them, they were practically dads to the big ball of fur. They may never be able to have children of their own, but they had Ginger, and… perhaps adoption was an option if Ezra was comfortable with that. It was something they’d need to talk about, after all of this Inquisition business was over, or at least the threat of Corypheus. 

As their lips pressed together, Kaaras’ eyes closed, and welcomed that second one, although he didn’t allow Ezra to escape just yet. He moved his hand and let Ginger jump down to the floor between their feet as he took Ezra’s cheek into his own and kissed him again, this one deeper and longer until his lungs screamed for air. 

“Mmm…” he hummed, licking off the taste of Ezra’s kiss, and the cream filled pastries they’d both eaten, dusted with cinnamon sugar. His hands moved to Ezra’s chest before they ran down his arms, collecting his hands into his own and lifting a knuckle to his lips. 

“Honestly, every time I’m with you, I just want to feel your body against mine, warm and… nude.” He felt his cheeks warm, even after all this time. Maker, they’d done far worse that just snuggle naked together, and yet he still blushed like an idiot. 

“There’s nothing more intimate than getting to just spend time with you, away from everything and everyone.” 

As the kiss parted, slow and breathless when they finally needed to come out for air, Ezra simply took in the sight of his lover in front of him, watching as he kissed the backs of Ezra’s knuckles. It was a tenderness he’d always craved, but even to that day still felt some wonder that it was directed at him, that he deserved that sort of softness.

“That’s what these evenings are for,” he said gently and bent down to carefully bump their foreheads together, horn base against horn base, as he simply relished in being close to his lover in a way he often didn’t get the chance to be during the day. “The tea should be just about ready, you go get comfy and I’ll be right over... and you can tell me more about how you’d like to spend the evening.”

He’s not sure why he’s thinking about them at a time like this. Certainly, they’d been speaking about family and siblings not five minutes ago, but he’d hardly ever thought about his siblings since they’d left the clan so long ago. And it wasn’t as if he’d been particularly close to them, either. He hadn’t really considered them siblings so much as they were just clanmates. Hatchlings from the same brood, really.

He’s startled by the looming shadow, having not expected Ezra to get closer to him. For a moment, drawing into those violet eyes, he believed him. Believed that he would see at least some of his siblings again. See some family again. But not all of course.

He hesitates a moment before he smiles again, nodding.

“Yes, I’m sure I’ll run across them at some point once this is all over.”

“I certainly hope so,” Ezra said quietly as he sat back into his chair once again, seemingly satisfied with that answer. He wanted to press further, curious about Yue’s family, about anything about his advisor really--the more they spoke, the more Ezra realized he really didn’t know much about the elf beside him--but something about the other man’s tone gave him pause. 

Instead, he just smiled and folded his hands in front of him as he rested, content and relaxed and so far from the stern presence of the Lord Inquisitor he often had to project. Maker, he hadn’t truly gotten to relax with someone else like this in what felt like ages.