Chapter Text
“Fancy a drink, Krem de la Crème?”
“Why does Iron Bull’s nicknames always have to catch?” the lieutenant replied, upon seeing the Inquisitor herself join him at the table with a single tankard of beer. “And why would you offer me a drink and only bring one for yourself?”
“That’s for you, actually. I don’t drink.”
Krem cleared his throat and brought the tankard close to him.
“Thanks.”
He’d be lying if he said his heart had not skipped a single beat after laying his eyes upon the Inquisitor, a pretty little thing in her leathers, all doe-eyed and soft spoken. Back then, she was “just” the Herald of Andraste, a Dalish mage, of all things.
Krem could appreciate the beauty in Dalish ladies. Her vallaslin suited her face and emphasized her amber eyes rather well.
“I’ve done a little bit of reading about Tevinter after you’ve told me where you came from. Life as a non-mage over there is pretty tough, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t nearly as fun as being a Charger.”
The Inquisitor smiled, rather sadly.
“You’ve found your home.”
“And you are away from yours. Chief told me you came a long way. Northern Free Marches.” Krem commented. “Do you miss your clan?”
“I do. This is the first time going anywhere alone, by the way, and now I might never come back. I try to make myself at home wherever and with whoever I can.”
“I wouldn’t say no to a gorgeous lady like you making herself at home with me, your Worship.”
Krem swallowed hard when the Inquisitor hesitated for a moment. Being with the Chargers and Iron Bull all the time, he could almost forget he lacked the parts he'd like to have. Plenty of women rejected him before, because of it.
With his clothes on, a rolled sock inside his breeches was enough, but without them… He knew how to give women a good time, though not all of them would let him try.
“I’m glad you said it before I had to ask.” the Inquisitor replied at last, a smirk playfully showing up on her lips.
“Oh?”
She looked away, with a full grin gracing her beautiful face.
“I’m not… Any good at this. I am – was – the First of my clan. I’ve spent all of my time holed up inside a tent, reading books in ancient Elven. I didn’t get much time to be around men, and I want… To experiment. This mark might still kill me at any moment. I don’t want to die with any regrets.” The Inquisitor returned her gaze. “One of them would be not letting you know how handsome I think you are.”
Krem smiled to himself like a fool, and leaned back on the chair.
“Y’know, I might be feeling a little flattered right now.”
“You’re welcome.” The Inquisitor replied, her voice a small mutter.
She definitely did not know where to go from that point. Krem stood up and said: “Let’s take a walk, your Worship.”
He took her hand as they left, and led her to a section of the upper battlements where he knew they’d have some privacy, always holding her hand a little tighter, looking back to see if she was still with him, willingly.
They made it there, and Krem easily lifted the Inquisitor so she could sit on the battlements, and settled between her knees, his fingers brushing her hips. Standing, she was a good head shorter, but sat on the battlements, they were about the same height. Kissing would be more comfortable for both involved that way.
She had her arms around his neck, but licked her lips in a scared fashion, and swallowed dry.
“I think this is a good time to tell you I never kissed anyone before.”
“You never…?“
“Like I said, the books were my only company. And kissing them was not an appealing idea.”
“Are you nervous?” Krem whispered softly, and caressed her cheek with his thumb.
“A bit, yes. I don’t think my skills will be all that great.”
“I know how to keep secrets.”
The Inquisitor nodded, and Krem took it as an invitation to kiss her. Feeling her reluctance, he gave her just a soft peck on the lips, and retreated a little, waiting for her reaction. A split of a second passed before she pulled him in for another, stronger kiss.
On reflex, she opened her mouth and let Krem’s tongue in, a dance that was at first awkward and a bit too wet for his taste, but came down to a nice rhythm after the first couple of minutes. His hands were all over her, and she was all over him.
Krem would have taken her to his bed by then, though it was her first time kissing. She wasn’t ready for a first anything else at the moment, and Krem let go of her lips and studied her face, looking for any sign of discomfort.
The Inquisitor seemed fine. Flushed – perhaps not from the cold – and short of breath, but mostly alright.
“Do you want to go back?”
“I actually have some duties to attend to.” she replied, and climbed down the battlements. “I’d like to get a little more of practice, sometime. If you wouldn’t mind.”
“You know where to find me.”
Krem said goodbye with a tight hug and a kiss to her forehead.
Joining the Inquisition was paying itself off with more than just coin.