The Wolf Mates for Life - Part II
[Now you get Solas/Asena. I am shocked I didn't have this in GIF already. Where ARE my priorities? Also, I MAY have gone off the deep end here. I haven't stepped into Solas's headspace in a while, and it's a really interesting place for me to be.]
Honestly, I will never be over the way Solas looks at Lavellan.
He makes sure they are the last thing he sees before leaving to atone.
Briefly closing his eyes as he turns... as if he wishes to sear Lavellan's face in his mind, who they are now, after a decade apart. He has longed for them in a way only Solas is capable. And in that moment, their expression has softened, their gazes meeting as he finally accepts culpability.
Now, in this moment, if this is all he is allowed to have, he devours every detail: every subtle shift in their expression, the way the ethereal light of the Fade reflects in their eyes. There is intent in it. He will recreate their memory, recalling every line of their face as he sculpts their image into the Fade by his own hand.
He turns, the tear in the Veil waiting for him, his atonement imminent, yet each step forward feels heavier than the last. Guilt is heavy, but yearning... hope, love... heavier still.
He wants them with a depth that never shallowed, only deepened with time. It feels less like desire and more like need. He aches for them, and the words linger on the tip of his tongue... but no.
He deserves nothing.
And yet, selfishly, he takes this moment. Draws out the simple act of being in their presence. Revels in the weight of their eyes on his back as he walks away, screaming hope into the silence while silently crying out their name.
Then they speak.
And having that hope gifted to him in THEIR voice? Then they reach out and HE grabs their hands. Holds them in his.
That is his undoing.
They offer him what they always have, and what he has only ever wanted from them: acceptance. Love. Understanding. Empathy.
And yet...
He will not voice his wants. Not beneath the crushing weight of his guilt. This is not something he believes he deserves.
To be loved by them is salvation, and Solas has long since convinced himself he is beyond "saving".
But he reads it in their eyes. In the slight shake of their head.
They accept his grim, fatalistic words with the same clarity they always have, seeing through him as effortlessly as breathing. Not yielding to his guilt, nor recoiling from it, but understanding it fully and remaining nonetheless.
His heart is overcome.
Then they are singing back to him in a language long lost, beautiful words falling from kind lips. A promise passed between them, quiet and unwavering.
Their fates have long since become entwined. Inexorable, impossible to unravel, no matter the years, the distance, or the ruin between them.
Then they step closer, leaning up toward him, yet stopping just short, allowing him the choice.
He does not hesitate. There is no doubt within him. Not about this. Not now.
The love has always been. It will always be.
Bellanaris.
Levity break! Enter Rook.
Damn, Senka. He could barely be bothered to throw you so much as a glance to say “good game.” /grins. The man only tears his gaze away from Lavellan after the word “thank” leaves his lips.
Otherwise? Entirely occupied. Understandably so.
Still, manners must be adhered to.
The “k” in Rook had barely left his lips before his attention had already drifted back to Lavellan.
You da third wheel, woman.
Sen doesn't care, she's saving up shit to tease him about... and maybe, for a very brief moment, resting on her laurels. "I'm damned good," while fighting an internal panic as her deeply held, cynical beliefs on love waver.
Okay, okay.. I'm done. Head for the Fade, you two.
And Senka? Go find Arojan and court the man. Because maybe, just maybe, Solas and Asena have made you question your stance on love.
