so long, my luckless romance; any

[leliana]

even though we may be hopeless hearts just passing through
every bone screaming I don't know what we should do

She softened, melted, beneath his touch, forgetting for a moment everything broken between them, everything shattered and piercing and anguished. She let go of her hold on everything that was so terribly wrong—everything that would eventually kill her, a silent toxin in her bloodstream. Because this is what he was. This is what he did. He consumed and left nothing but ash in his wake. He took and he devoured. She knew that, in some distant part of her mind. She knew that. She knew that while this was so precious to her—so fragile and pure—it was not the same for him. His was the only mouth she had felt, and she was but one of many. It was the hard truth of the matter, but here now, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

For once—oh, for once—she was going to be selfish.

Thick amber lashes fluttered down over her eyes and she sighed into him as her mouth caught his and she offered no resistance. She stepped back at his prompting, her mahogany body coming to rest against the bark of the tree. Her eyes opened and they were hazy, blurry with all the emotion swelling within her. “It doesn’t matter,” she shook her head, because she didn’t care. She didn’t care that this love would kill her. She didn’t care that she would drown in it, that this same touch that set her on fire would undo her.

“I’m not running,” her voice throaty, looking up at him with the crimson of her hair falling back to leave her face open and clear. She had run before. She had left him even when all she had wanted was to stay, when all she had wanted was to let the river of this run over her and pull her under. She had done what was right, turned her cheek to her own desires, but not tonight—not after everything. She deserved this. She deserved just a brief respite, a chance to know what this meant, a memory to lock away and savor.

At his prompting she stepped and reached out for him, tentative and gentle, exploring his forehead, his temple, his cheek. Her mouth swept under his jaw and found the corner of his mouth. She breathed out, teeth finding the velvet of the skin there and biting softly, pulling and tasting the salt of him. Her exhalation was shaky, a tremor running up her spine as she found his gaze again, holding it silently for a second before whispering. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight, Dovev.” Just one night, she lied.

All she needed was just a few more hours with him.

lelianatwo

all I know is, darling, I was made for loving you