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Krem sat up and stretched. The fight from sleep was easy, but his head was heavy, and he didn't notice at first that he was not in his usual bed. This one was much too large and soft to even begin to resemble his own. It wasn't until his eyes passed over the Inquisitor sleeping peacefully beside him that the memories of last night came rushing back. He reached impulsively to run his fingers through her long, red hair, but the thought that he might disturb her slumber stopped him. Instead he just smiled and remembered how his breath had caught the first time he spoke to her, and his first memories of the beautiful elven woman played dreamily through his mind.
He'd been standing outside of the sprawling Chantry building in Haven, trying to get someone to give him the time of day long enough to offer his aid. The Chief had sent him to talk to the newly-returned Inquisition, to get them to see what The Iron Bull and his Chargers had to offer and hopefully score a contract, but so far nobody had given a single nug about the message he had to deliver. It was his insistence that they attempt to persuade the Inquisition to take them on, and since there was nothing more than his pride at stake, he was about to give up and return to the Storm Coast when she walked through the heavy double-doors, eyes set Maker-knows-where, hair pulled back into a loose bun, and an exhausted look creasing her brow.
Krem knew right then that he had to at least attempt to speak to her, even if she was just one of the various elven runners and handmaidens that were scurrying about the camp. If he didn't, that would be two injuries to his pride in one day, and there wasn't enough ale in Ferelden to drown those sorrows.
"Excuse me! Can you assist me? I've been trying to deliver a message to the Inquisition all day, but no one seems to pay me any mind."
The elven woman stopped and smiled at him. "Of course. I apologize for the lack of courtesy; it's been… trying around here. Give me your message and I'll see it delivered to the proper ears."
Krem smiled a little too wide, and he was sure a bit too dopey, but gave all the information the Chief told him to pass along. The elf listened intently, and responded with the sort of questions a person of authority would ordinarily ask. Rare for an elf, to be certain. She had a playful nature, and her smile came as easily as Krem's. There were even times during their discussion that he almost felt like she was flirting with him. Between that and the warm knot in his stomach, Krem was sure he'd made a good decision in speaking to her, even if his request never touched the ears of the higher-ups in the Inquisition. Finally, she nodded.
"I look forward to seeing how this Iron Bull can benefit the Inquisition."
"We look forward to showing you," Krem replied with no small amount of swagger. Perhaps it was a little… much, but he wanted nothing more than to show off for this beautiful woman at the moment.
"Oh?" she smirked, "Will you be there as well?"
"Well, I am one of the Chargers. It would hardly do for me to miss it." The wink he added afterward was definitely too much.
"Then I wouldn't dare miss it myself-- … um… I don't believe I caught your name?"
"You can call me Krem, my lady."
"I am no lady, and you may call me Rayna."
The two shared a smile and parted ways, Krem watching her closely over his shoulder as she returned inside the Chantry, no doubt to inform the Inquisition leaders of his offer.
There was a small movement next to him now, as Rayna was reaching her arm to embrace him in her sleep. She made a small noise of contentment, and Krem shook his head. He had been speaking with the Herald of Andraste that day, and he hadn't the first clue. Perhaps he should've asked someone, but with her beautiful voice echoing in his ears and her smile lingering in his thoughts he walked back to the Storm Coast with his head in the clouds. What was done was done, and in the end it worked out extremely well for both himself and the Chargers.
Krem's heart felt suspended in his breath for a moment; here was a woman that knew damn near everything worth knowing about him, and despite it all she was so content to be sleeping beside him. The best part was, it wasn't just a fun romp between the sheets. Krem had never experienced problems "getting his cork popped", as the Chief would say; it was getting them to stick around afterward that was his struggle. It made a sad sort of sense; he was a complicated guy. A mercenary who spent most of his downtime in pubs, drinking, hollering, and telling battle stories. He'd lived a life that wasn't conducive to settling down and building a home with someone, or a family, and yet her confessions the night before had hopes for that exact future bubbling to the surface.
Their friendship had started normally enough; after Haven went down, she'd started unwinding with the Chargers after long missions. Despite her insistence to the contrary, Krem had found himself having a hard time seeing her as anything but. She was too poised, too beautiful… but when she outdrank him, and Grim, and Skinner, and Rocky… and sometimes even the Chief, he had no choice but to respect her as "one of the guys". Well, and to wonder where in the Fade she stored all that alcohol in that spindly frame of hers. Still, when her playful attitude turned more flirtatious with an off-color comment or a light touch, Krem couldn't see her as anything but a true lady, and it forced him to worry even more about how she would see him when she finally found out about his past.
But, the more time they spent together, the harder he fell. He would wind up spending the time she was gone in a grumpy haze. It was worse when the Chief went with her; there was nothing to keep him busy, and he'd spend day after day thinking about her smile, or her laugh, or the way she grimaced when someone tried to treat her like anything other than one of "the boys". Even Krem eventually fell in line, shoulder-checking her over a good joke and making the odd off-color comment, himself. If nothing else, perhaps it would distance his heart from being broken when her thoughts about him changed for the worse.
Those thoughts seemed foolish now, of course, but he still took the opportunity to slide back into the comfort of the blankets and wrap his arms around her. Rayna felt so small, pressed against him. He wasn't especially large by any means, but the muscle and sturdy build afforded to him by years of fighting with the Chargers still dwarfed her spindly frame.
There was a point when he began to notice that his usual chair in the bar was the first place she'd go when returning from her adventures. His eyes were the first she looked for when she made a joke she was unsure of, and he was the only person who could cause her to playfully hit back after a questionable joke of his own. When the truth about him finally came out, they were all well into their cups. He'd made an off-the-cuff comment about the Chief's bosoms and how he could show him a few tricks to bind them down, and his heart took up residence in his throat when that comment turned the focus of the conversation from taking the piss out of Bull to explaining what 'Aqun-Athlok' meant, and how Krem fit the philosophy so well. It was only last night, but somehow it seemed months ago.
Rayna's eyes met his, and he knew she could sense his unease and changed the conversation by asking Dalish about her "bow". It was nice of her to try to avoid the topic, but the hours that followed still felt tainted and awkward from the revelation. Eventually, the tension pushed everyone from their seats, and the Chargers ended up calling it an uncharacteristically early night.
"I know it's starting to get late," she'd asked him, "but I'm not at all tired. Would you mind going for a walk with me around Skyhold?"
"Ah, I'm sure you have better things to be doing," he'd replied, rubbing the back of his head and avoiding her gaze, "judgements to hand out in the morning or… resting up for your next mission."
Rayna shook her head. "We're back two days earlier than Josephine had anticipated. I have no meetings tomorrow, and I would very much like to take a walk with you.
Something about the way she formed her words was insistent, and Krem found her impossible to refuse. They departed the Herald's Rest and she led the way, regaling him with tales of her last mission; how excited The Iron Bull had been about killing a dragon, how strange and distant Solas had been acting, and about a ribald joke Sera had told that had caused liquid to come out of Cassandra's nose. She eventually led them to the garden, and a lonely stone bench hidden behind a flowering bush. They sat down and she pointed to the stars, telling him the tales her clan had told her about the various constellations and their meanings.
Finally, Rayna took his hands in hers.
"I don't care what you used to be. You know that, right?"
"Well, I'll always be Tevinter. It's in my blood." He tried to play it off with a small chuckle, but grimaced at how bad the attempt was.
"You know what I mean."
"I-I'm sure I don't." Stubbornly, Krem continued to act like she wasn't saying what she was clearly saying. It was too good to be true, and things like that usually weren't true. "You don't care about what?"
"Exactly."
Rayna raised one of her hands and touched the side of his face, gently turning him to meet her gaze, and before he could think her lips were on his. It started tender, and slow. She was cautious, making sure her advances were welcome. He put his arms around her and pulled her as close as they could get, and the kiss grew into something more. It was desperate; passionate. As if they were both trying to prove something to each other, to the world. It was Rayna who broke away first, bosom rising and falling heavily with shortened breath. She caught his eyes with hers once more, like emeralds lit by blazing fire. He placed his hand on her face now, and brought his forehead to rest against hers.
"The first time I spoke to you, I had no clue who you were. I just knew… if I didn't at least try to speak to you, I would regret it for the rest of my days." They both giggled, not out of any humor but just… joyful. "These last few months have been like pages out of someone else's life story. I'd hoped you felt the same as I did about you, but…"
"I love you, Cremisius Aclassi." Rayna closed her eyes and smiled, leaning into his hand at her cheek. "I've loved you since I saw you showing off for me on the Storm Coast."
Krem laughed again; a real laugh. He had been purposefully showing off for her the second he saw her coming down the hill at the Coast. Part of it had been to make the Chargers look good, sure. But most of it was because he'd spotted her red hair and just couldn't help himself anymore. He'd even had the boys open the casks with axes to show off how manly he was, and though that part had backfired a bit he still appreciated the sparkle in her eyes as she laughed at the events.
"I love you too, Rayna Lavellan."
Krem closed his eyes and squeezed the Inquisitor within the comforts of their cozy nest of blankets and sheets. It must've been a bit too tightly, as when he opened his eyes she was staring up at him with a huge grin on her sleepy face.
"I'm glad you're still here," she yawned.
"Of course! There's nowhere else I'd rather be."