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The first thing he does when they walk through to the fade, is drop to his knees. Vela follows him, taking his face in her hands. Wiping away tears she’s not sure he even knows are rolling down his face.
“Ir abelas, vhenan. I never wanted you to see this.”
“But it is all I ever wanted to see. I love all parts of you, even this, even here. We are together, always, like I had told you before. Show me all of you and I will love all of you back.”
“I don’t know what I have done to deserve you.”
“You loved all of me back first. Every depressive episode, every night I couldn’t even be bothered to brush my hair, every time I silently went to the woods, and you followed me just to be near and make sure I was safe. How could I not love you in the same way?”
“That is much less of an extreme my heart. We will never leave here.”
“We will never leave the fade, nothing says we have to stay here for the rest of time. But if we do.. we will create a home. Just the two of us. Vela and Solas, as you had wanted. As I have wanted too.”
He leans forward then, clutching onto her like his life depends on it, putting his face in the crook of her neck, and he wept.
All she could do in that moment was hold him, let him cry into her. She could feel his fists balling into the tunic on her back and that just made her hold him tighter.
After some time, once the sobs stopped shaking his form and he could breathe deeply once more, he conjured up a bed for them.
She moved to sit him down on the edge of it and got to work taking off his armor. This was the first time he had been without it on for months and it felt like a weight being lifted.
“We need to clean you up vhenan, then you can sleep,” she said quietly, looking him in the eyes.
He nodded shallowly and a bucket filled with water and a rag appeared. She got to work cleaning him up, taking particular care around the wound near his eye.
It reminded her of the nights in Skyhold, she would sometimes cry herself to sleep under the pressure of being the inquisitor. He would hum ancient songs for her as he would get her changed, brush her hair, and tuck her into bed.
She now would do the same for him.
///
He woke up the next morning slowly, languidly. His body ached from the battle he raged yesterday, but his mind felt a sort of peace he had not known for thousands of years. Shifting slightly, he felt a weight against him. He took a deep breath and immediately recognized the familiar scent of lilacs and elfroot, of Vela.
He opened his eyes to see her sleeping form tucked up under his arm. It wasn’t a dream, this is how every day for the rest of his life would begin. With a soft smile on his face, he happily let himself drift back to sleep.
///
It must’ve been mid afternoon by the time Vela woke, and she could already feel his eyes on her. His eyes are still red and puffy from the day before, and a few tears drip down his face silently. She just stares into his eyes, and he smiles. It’s a tender smile, full of so much love.
He pulls her closer, and says so quietly and with so much reverence -
“Bellanaris.”