She was asleep, and he didn't move. Her breath moved in tiny huffs against his chest, just below his collarbone, warm and steady and almost musical. Her hair was a spill of dark silk over his skin. He could feel her weight, gentle and grounding, one leg tucked over his, one hand curled near her face. She was dreaming of something safe, something nice. He could feel it.
Cole didn't sleep; he didn't need to. But he didn't want to move either. His fingers slipped slowly through the strands of her hair, separating and smoothing, catching slightly on a tangle before letting it go. It was like feeling thought without speaking, like touching something delicate that also tethered him here.
She sighed in her sleep and shifted closer. He stilled and let her settle.
The way she trusted him... that was the part that caught in his chest. She slept on him, like his body was a place she knew she could rest, and he knew what that meant even if no one had ever explained it. There had been a time when he couldn't touch people, only ease their pain from the edges of memory. Now her skin was against his, and it was more than warmth. It was real and soft.
He watched the way the morning light softened the edge of her face, the faint crease in her brow that hadn't eased even in sleep. The burdens she carried stayed with her even here, even now. But not as heavy, not while he was holding her.
If he could sleep, this is what he'd want it to feel like. Stillness, and weight, and peace braided into the hush between heartbeats.
He pressed a quiet kiss to her temple, barely there, careful not to wake her.
--
Holli didn't open her eyes right away. She didn't want to. Her cheek was pressed to the warm curve of Cole's shoulder, her nose tucked close to the place where his neck met his collarbone, and she was surrounded by him. His warmth, his scent, and the steady rhythm of his breathing beneath her.
Her lips curved into a smile before she was even fully conscious of it. Without lifting her head, she tilted forward just enough to press a slow, soft kiss to his collarbone.
She could stay like this all day. And really...why not?
No one was coming for her. Cullen and the rest of the army wouldn't be back for at least a few more days. There were no immediate emergencies that she was aware of. No rifts nearby gaping open, no mortal wounds for her to heal.
Even Corypheus - Christ, she didn't want to be thinking about him first thing in the morning - hadn't made a move yet. Some people were expecting him to strike at any moment, but she wasn't sure if that was strategy or just anxious energy that buzzed through places like this.
Would she even be part of the battle when it came? She was better now. More practised. Cassandra had even said so. Gruffly, but she had so Holli still counted it. But still, when she thought of real battle, of the way people screamed when they were dying… her stomach twisted. It never really stopped twisting. She could fight a little, but she didn't like it. She didn't want to kill if she could avoid it.
Maybe that made her soft or naive. Or not good enough to stand beside the others. But the truth was, if the world gave her the choice, she'd pick this. This moment, this warmth. This boy who wasn't really a boy, who held her like he was afraid she'd drift off if he didn't. Yeah, this was pretty neat-o.
She reached for one of his hands beneath the blankets and found it already there waiting. Like it had already been reaching for hers.
Holli sighed, sinking in a little deeper. She didn't want to think about battles. Or anchors. Or gods, or monsters, or what might be expected of her. Not while she was still here, wrapped in all this softness and Cole.
Her fingers curled around his, thumb brushing slowly over the back of his hand. She shifted just a little, enough to tilt her head and murmur into his skin, voice low and half-caught between sleep and waking thought.
"…What happens once Corypheus is gone, do you think?"
The question hung in the air. She felt the way Cole stilled beneath her, not tense or startled, just… listening. Thinking it over maybe. She knew he wasn't psychic, she was just curious as to his opinion on it. His voice came a moment later, soft and warm like the blanket they were tangled beneath.
"The world will stop holding its breath."
He continued, his thumb now tracing the slope of her shoulder beneath the edge of her tank top, gentle and grounding.
"People will still be scared. There will still be hurting. But it won't feel like everything is about to break. They'll start trying to live again. Grow things. Laugh easier. Breathe deeper."
There was a pause, and she could feel him looking at her even though her eyes were still closed. Maybe he was psychic... Was that kind of prophetic? She'd never heard a prophecy beffore, she wouldn't know.
"You'll be part of that, if you want to be."
Holli's throat tightened a little. That was the thing, wasn't it? If she wanted to be. She didn't know. Some days it felt like she'd crash-landed into someone else's story and just kept running, ducking fire and demon claws.
She swallowed. "And if I don't?" She asked softly.
Cole's hand came up, gentle against her back. "Then we find another way. Another life. Together."
There was no judgement in it. No pressure to it either. Just a very nice truth. Holli smiled, eyes still shut, and tilted her face a little higher so her nose brushed his jaw. She let out a slow breath.
"I like how you make it sound simple."
"It is simple," he told her.
Holli hadn't really thought about the after. She had always wanted to be a doctor, and when Solas had brought her out of the Fade, he'd reminded her of that, of the difference she could make knowing what she knew and being as smart as she was. Maybe she'd set up a clinic somewhere. But how would that work with templars and her being a mage?
Could she get some kind of special dispensation from whoever ended up the Divine? As a special favour, considering she will most likely sort of know the Divine. And Holli wasn't above trying to pull favours like that. Maybe even a special 'I helped save the world' card, 'I can do what I want.'
There was a pounding knock on the door, and it swung open before she could even say anything. Hawke appeared, taking in the sight of them. A mock scandalised expression crossed his face.
"Holli, for shame," he gasped.
"Aw, fuck off," she muttered.
Hawke chuckled. "Get up. Get dressed. We have somewhere to be."
"No we don't."
"Yes we do, chop chop. It's a bit of an emergency. Morrigan's run off into the mirror chasing her boy, and I'm not going in there without someone who can open us a way out if we get stuck."
Holli sat up. "Awesome," she said flatly.
"I'll come," Cole said, sitting up as well.
"Sure, why not?" Hawke said, heading for the door.
They got dressed, Cole pulling on his tunic and heading out to get his weapons just in case they needed them. Hawke already had his. Holli switched out her leggings for jeans and pulled on her shoes, meeting Hawke in the hall.
Once they got to the eluvian, Cole was already there waiting. They stepped through its glowing surface, and it was not what Holli had expected. She and Hawke looked around. Where was the fog? The weird tree statues?
"This is the Fade Fade," Holli muttered.
"I thought Morrigan said it only connected to a Crossroads."
"Maybe we should stop taking everything she says as gospel," Holli said, shooting him a look.
They followed the only path there was, keeping both an ear and an eye out. They heard the sound of Morrigan's voice calling out for Kieran, and they picked up their pace, finding her looking around almost desperately. The woman actually looked stricken. Not something Holli would have ever expected to see on her.
"Why would Kieran do this?" Her voice almost broke on the question.
Because Kieran is a ten-year-old boy, and ten-year-old boys do stupid things? Though Holli doubted any mother would want to hear that right now, so she wisely kept her mouth shut.
"How could he do this? We stand in the Fade. To direct the eluvian here would require immense power."
"Is Kieran a mage?" Holli asked.
"No," Morrigan replied. And she actually looked quietly devastated. Holli felt for her in that moment.
Morrigan was Morrigan, but Kieran was lucky to have a mum who would notice he was missing.
"If he is lost to me now, after all I have sacrificed..."
"We'll find him, Morrigan," Hawke assured her. "He can't have gone far."
"The Fade is infinite. He could literally be anywhere. Whatever happens to him now 'tis my doing. I set him on this path."
Holli wanted to ask what path, but now probably wasn't the time. They started walking, searching for Kieran and calling his name. Hopefully he would actually answer. That boy was a strange one.