Dragon Age Fic: Corrections – Josephine/M!Inquisitor (NC-17) 7/?

[anxiousgeek.livejournal.com]

Title: Corrections
Fandom: Dragon Age Inquisition
Rating: Adult
Character/Pairing: Josephine/M!Inquisitor
Spoilers: None
Warnings: Smut, romance, angst, fluff.
Summary: Josephine and Maxwell Travelyan met for the first time at Lady Trevelyan’s summer ball when they were young adults. Now, a decade later and Max is the Herald and Josephine his Ambassador.
Notes: Another Dragon Age Kink Meme prompt with a life of it’s own.  A WIP. Damn.

Match Point

Her father had found a match for her.

Josephine knew it was coming of course, in fact, she was surprised he had taken so long given that he had been looking for a suitable match for the most of the year now. She had helped vet a couple of the better matches and had expected her father to choose from one of those some time ago but the letter never came.

Now, however, it seemed he had chosen someone completely different but he didn’t mention the man’s name in the letter. Just that he had made a decision.

She supposed it was better to have a decision made than to continue waiting and she didn’t mind so much, so she tried to tell herself. Her parents marriage had been arranged the same way and they were very happy. She had been expecting this for a long time.

She hadn’t been expecting Maxwell.

That was the problem with all this.

She should’ve told him sooner. About the possible engagement or about how she felt.

Too late now.

She’d broken his heart, ruined their friendship, was hurting herself. She had enough to deal with sorting out her family’s affairs and helping save the world as the Ambassador of the Inquisition. She was without his support too. She still had Leliana and Cassandra as her friends but she really missed him. It seemed they couldn’t be friends any more and that’s what upset her the most she thought.

Maybe.

She also spent a lot of time thinking about kissing him. It had been a lot different to kissing the young man at the Summer Ball over a decade again. This older Maxwell had been gentler, more confident, and Maker his lips. The memory shook through her as she sat at her desk and she tried to ignore the pleasant buzz as she read over her father’s letter once again.

“Oh Josie, whatever is wrong?” Leliana said, coming to sit on her sofa, patting the space beside her. She stood up, bringing the letter and her tea, walking over to her. She dropped down next to her friend and let the woman pull her in for a hug. “Have you spoken to the Inquisitor yet?”

“No, it’s, it won’t help.”

She sighed sitting back against the sofa, one of Leliana’s arm still around her and she rested her head against her shoulder.

“He is miserable,” Leliana said.

“I know.”

“So are you.”

“I know.”

She handed Leliana the letter from her father and waited as the Spymaster read it over. They were silent as she did so, and Josephine took a breath. She had read it over and over, knew every word.

“Lord Montilyet does not mention the suitor’s name.”

“No,” she said. “He probably forgot he hadn’t told me before, or not noticed he’d omitted it from the letter. You know how he is.”

“I do,” Leliana said with a chuckle. “Has he mentioned him before? This minor noble?”

“No, he’s never been a candidate before.” She sighed. “I suppose I will find out soon. He will bring him here for us to meet soon.”

“He does say he’ll be here soon.”

“With my mother no less.”

“I look forward to seeing your mother. I do miss her so,” Leliana said with a smile. “As do you no doubt.”

“I do terribly,” she said with a smile of her. “And I know my mother would never let my father choose badly for me.”

“I will try and find out more about him for you.”

“A name would be a find start Leli.”

“I’ll do what I can Josephine,” she said. “Will you consider talking to the Inquisitor? You really should tell him about this before your parents arrive with your fiancé.”

“You are probably right.”

“I am right.” She kissed her on the cheek and stood. “If I discover anything I will let you know.”

“Thank you.”

Leliana slipped away as quietly as she had approached and Josephine remained on the sofa a little longer, thinking about what she would say to Maxwell before going back to work.

x

Josephine found the Inquisitor in her office when she arrived to start her morning duties the very next day. He was leaning against her desk as if nothing had changed between them a few weeks ago, spinning his great-sword around, digging into the stone with the tip. When she came in he looked up at her but he didn’t smile. He nodded and stood, as if standing to attention and she wanted to cry.

“Inquisitor,” she said. “Good morning.”

“Leliana mentioned you had something to tell me.”

Clever, Josephine thought, just like her to force her into telling Maxwell. She could lie of course, give him some insignificant Inquisition information but she couldn’t avoid this forever. Couldn’t avoid him forever.

“We – I – thought you should know that, ah, my -” she hesitated, struggling with the words for the first time in her life. It was the way he looked at her, so cold and distant now, like a rainstorm rolling in.

“Just spit it out Ambassador.”

She was tempted to correct him, to try and regain some of their former friendship but he didn’t look like he was in the mood for anything other than business this morning.

“My father has found me a suitor. A nobleman he has been communicating with.”

Maxwell didn’t speak at first, his eyes dropping from her face to the floor for a moment and she carried on talking.

“I don’t know much about him, father isn’t known for his letter writing after all.”

“When? Ah, when did you find out?” he asked, looking back at her. There was a flicker of something on his face and she frowned, unsure of what it was. She had expected him to be sad, or perhaps angry, but so far he hadn’t reacted.

That was worse. Was he over her already?

“Yesterday,” she said,

He nodded, mulling it over and she wondered if she should let him read the letter, wondered if it would help.

“Thank you for telling me,” he said, sheathing his sword on his back.

“For what it’s worth I’m very sorry Maxwell.”

She never meant for it to get this far. Never meant for them to fall in love.

He shook his head, smiling slightly.

“I’ll always love you Josie,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it lightly.

She gasped, on the edge of tears so quickly it shocked her. He let go and took a few steps away, looking back at the small groove his sword had made in her stone floor.

“I’m heading out to Sahrnia for a few days, perhaps a week, with Bull and Dorian, might take Varric with me too,” he said, “make sure the boats these Orlesians lent us actually arrive so we can get the goods up the river.”

“Good, I do not doubt they will come through on their promise, but it is always good for the guilds to have a little reminder of their obligations,” she managed to get out.

“Exactly,” he said, and she thought he might smile again but when he looked up at her his face was neutral once more. “I will see you in a week.”

“Very well,” she said, “be careful.”

He nodded, that flicker on his face again before he left her office and she sank back into her desk chair and allowed herself a few tears.

x

Her father arrived much sooner than she expected, only a few days after she had received the letter and strangely without her new fiancé or her mother. She greeted him at the gate of the keep, hugging him tightly.

“Father,” she cried, and the small Antivan man hugged her back, kissing her on both cheeks before he let her go.

“Josephine,” he said, “it is so good to see you daughter.”

“I did not think you would arrive so soon,” she said. “I had only just received your letter last week.”

“I sent it after I left, I had completely forgotten and found it one night in my pocket. Curious obviously travel quicker than one old man and his entourage.”

She smiled and started to lead him through keep.

“Where is mother?” she said, sadly. “I was hoping to see you both.”

“Your mother came down with the Orlisian flu a couple of days before I was due to leave. I didn’t think she should travel all the way here through these cold mountains.”

“Yes, it’s for the best,” she said, “I will send her my regards. Perhaps some flowers.”

“She would like that very much my dear.”

As they ascended the stairs to the main hall, she linked arms with him.

“I had assumed you would be bringing the man you had chosen as my husband also,” she said with a small smile.

“He will be here soon, I promise,” he said with his own smile, his glasses falling down his nose a little. He was no taller than herself, with glasses and wavy dark hair she had inherited. His skin was a little lighter though, from his Orlisian heritage, and he was small and spindly – her mother’s description – a woman with dark skin and a fuller figure similar to her own.

“Are you going to tell me more about him?” she asked, as they headed into the main hall.

“Soon, I promise,” he said, “first, let me rest, then I want to meet all of your friends. I hear Sister Leliana is one of the Inquisition’s advisers,” he said, looking around the large room. “It will be nice to see her again. It’s been many years.”

“We will have dinner together. Do you think mother will be well enough to join you at any point?” she asked, urging him through a door.

“I know you miss her my dear,” he said, linking their arms once more. “And your mother misses you terribly but I doubt it very much my dear.”

Josephine sighed. She had hoped her mother would come and console her. She loved her father but it was mother’s advice and care that set her straight time and time again. Sofia Montilyet had a sensible pragmatic approach to life that Josephine shared and she would love some of that guidance right now.

She would have to write to her and explain.

“This is your room father,” she said, opening a door, “I hope is it acceptable.”

She had managed to put together a nice room for him in the time it had taken his entourage to make it from the base camp to the Keep, running around in a rush the moment one of Leliana’s scouts had given her the news of his arrival. She worried it wasn’t good enough though.

“It is perfect my dear,” he said. “Please, don’t worry so much.”

She smiled and hugged him once more.

“I’ll let you rest a little, then come and fetch you for dinner.”

“Very good.”

He kissed her on the cheek.

“You will be happy with my choice Josephine,” he said, “I promise.”

She smiled, hoping it looked convincing enough and she left her father to rest after his long journey.