Who: Anders and Tinkerbell When: Recently Where: Their Place What: Tink tries flying for the first time since Justice joined them. Rating/Warnings: None Status: Complete
Anders felt better since he moved back in with Tink than he had in the month and a half he had been away. More at peace, a little calmer. His dreams kept coming, but since he had joined up with Hawke and the others, they weren’t nearly as awful as they had been in the interim between separating from the first band of Grey Wardens he had worked with and meeting Hawke. That didn’t mean that things in his dreams were improving, but having friends there with him certainly made it easier.
He was still working hard on his revolution - organizing meetings and doing plenty of research - but he was taking breaks now to spend with his beautiful girlfriend. He closed up his notepad and left the room he had been using as his office, and, walking behind Tink, he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Good evening, Love,” he said, placing a kiss on her ear.
Tink was standing at her desk when Anders came in to see her. She had one of those standing desks, with the comfort mat to stand on under her feet. The program she was playing with was a 3D printer program. Tink was fiddling with the settings, learning how to use it. She was thinking about asking Santa for one for Christmas.
The arms around her made her smile. She leaned back instinctively against her boyfriend, savoring the warmth of his embrace. "Howdy." Her stomach gave an audible growl and vibrated against his arm. At the sound, her cheeks went pink.
Anders looked at the computer screen very briefly before deciding that he had no idea what was going on on it. He chuckled lightly against her as her stomach growled, holding her a little bit closer, making his grip just a little bit tighter. “Hungry, are we?”
“I… lost track of the time,” Tink said, apologetically. She gave a little chuckle, too, to cover her embarrassment. “Is it lunch time already?” There were days when Tink forgot to eat all together. Days when she realized at nine pm that she hadn’t had anything since a pop tart in the morning. those days made for a very cranky Tink by bedtime.
“A little bit past that,” Anders said. It was pretty cute when she lost track of time like that. He enjoyed how driven and motivated Tink was. “Come on. I’ll go make us sandwiches and you can tell me what you’ve been working on.”
“Okay.” Tink turned a little in his arms so she could steal a kiss from his lips. Then she stepped away from her computer and slipped her hands into her pockets. It was a short walk to the kitchen. Tink was surprised at how long the shadows were now--it must be close to dinner time. Had she eaten anything today? Whoops.
“It’s 3D Printing software. I’m thinking about going the plastic route. Seems a bit counter-intuitive from my dreams, since I work with almost exclusively organics there… okay, organics and lost things like thimbles, buttons and the like. I guess some of those are plastic.” She was babbling now.
“Is grilled cheese okay? Maybe some tomato soup?” Anders had eaten that day, but that was because going hungry with a Grey Warden appetite really wasn’t something he was fond of. He’d had to do it a couple times in his dreams. He was still probably going to make himself three or four sandwiches.
“The future is here,” Anders said, grinning. It was strange to think of the fact that people could print items now, especially since technology in his dreams was something that didn’t really exist. “I imagine you could make some pretty amazing things with a 3D printer, Love.”
“That sounds great.” Her stomach growled again at the idea of grilled cheese and tomato soup. It sounded absolutely amazing. She turned to lean against the counter and watch him cook--he was, after all, the better cook in this relationship.
“I really wish I had something that could scan an item and make a replication to its exact specifications… but I’m still working on all this.” She explained. “I’m trying to learn how it works. See if I can make it work to my advantage.” She gave him a smile, then leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
Anders wasn’t a much better cook than Tink. He burned the first couple of sandwiches he made, though he’d eat those himself. Then next couple turned out less black, and at least he couldn’t burn soup.
“I know you can,” Anders said, turning his head so he could steal a peck on her lips. “There’s no one better at figuring out this sort of stuff than you.”
“Thank you.” Anders being back made Tink’s heart feel light and full. The kiss to her lips was appreciated. She smiled warmly at it, then lowered her head to rest against his shoulder for a moment. Not wanting to impede his cooking, she pulled away to pour them both tall glasses of water. (It’d been hot, so they needed to stay hydrated, right?)
“I’m really glad you’re back,” she added. “It was weird without you here. Didn’t feel like home.” Tink didn’t feel like Tink without him anymore, which was strange. They hadn’t actually been together for that long, but he’d quickly and completely weaseled his way into her heart.
“I’m glad I’m back too,” Anders said. “I laid awake thinking of you most nights while we were apart.” He went to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ears before bringing their food to their new dining table. “Have you been able to fly again?” He remembered talking to her while they were apart about how she wasn’t able to fly, but he hadn’t heard anything since he returned about her going for a flight.
“If it helps at all, I thought of you, too.” Tink leaned in a little when he tucked hair behind her ear, much like a cat would lean into a scratch. Her eyes fluttered closed, too, and it took her a moment to realize he’d moved to the table. It was a beautiful table, really. She followed after a moment, enjoying the view of Anders in her kitchen. In their kitchen. “No.” She cleared her throat. “I haven’t tried.”
Anders sat and began to tear into his sandwiches. “Well, you should,” Anders said. “Unless you’re still unhappy with me.” He gave her a playful wink to show that he was just joking. It seemed pretty obvious to him that she wasn’t upset with him. “You deserve a good flight after dealing with my dream baggage.”
Tink loved watching Anders eat. It was like he'd never seen food before. She sipped into her chair and picked up a sandwich, too, then dipped the end in her soup. "It was never you I was unhappy with, silly." She said softly. "I'm just... Now I'm afraid to. It's stupid, but... even though I'm happy again, what if I still can't fly?"
Anders gave Tink a considering look. He knew how important flying was to Tink; it had been like breathing to her when they had first met. There’d been other things contributing to her melancholy when they had first met, such as the Old Man dying, but a large part of it had been because of her inability to fly.
“You shouldn’t be afraid,” he said, smiling kindly at her. “It’s decided then. Once we’re done eating,” Anders was not about to leave his mediocre burned grilled cheese, he was starving, “we’ll go outside and get you flying.”
“Okay.” Tink said, breaking into a little smirk. In that moment she realized how much power he had over her. He could have suggested almost anything to her, and she would have agreed. Mostly because of how powerful her love was for him, but also… well, he was Anders.
“Okay, I’ll get my pixie dust.” She was a little excited about the idea, but also a little nervous. What if she still couldn’t fly?
“Good, go on then,” Anders said, waving her away as he sopped up some of his soup with his sandwich. He was pleased that she’d agreed though. Watching her fly, watching her enjoying the freedom that her wings afforded her, was one of the many things he loved about her.
Tink pranced out of the room. If she’d had her wings out, she might have fluttered. Fluttering was pretty much the best she’d been able to accomplish for the last… how long had it been? Far too long. She headed back to her room to change her clothes. She didn’t particularly want to fly wearing her jeans and hoodie. There was a more comfortable pair of shorts and a tank top she preferred for flying, so she put those on, then grabbed her bag of pixie dust from her hiding place. A couple of minutes later she was on her way out to the kitchen to meet him.
“Okay. I think I’m ready.” She said, pink-cheeked. “A little nervous.”
By the time Tink had come back, Anders had finished scarfing down his food and was rinsing the dishes in the sink. He dried off his hands and went to her, giving her a soft peck on the lips. “Don’t be nervous, Love, you’ll be up in the air in no time.” He went to take her by the hand so that he could lead her outside into the back yard.
The backyard was looking better and better the more they put work into it. Tink wasn’t a garden fairy by any stretch of the imagination, but since she owned the house outright and wasn’t paying rent anymore, she was able to hire a gardener. And they’d improved upon the landscape considerably. It was nice. There were flowers and veggies and grass… yellowing grass, because of the drought, but it was still nice. And some new patio furniture and a fountain.
Tink stepped out onto the grass, bare feet crunching on the yellow foliage, and then sprinkled a handful of dust over herself. Then she let her wings flick outward.
“...here goes.” She said, and closed her eyes. Happy thoughts. Anders. Lady Widge. Sir Pounce. The Garage. Her friends. Her family. She flapped her wings a few times, and suddenly she was up in the air.
Anders watched her. There was no doubt in his mind that she’d be able to fly once she tried to, but there was still a moment of tense anticipation. And then she was in the air. He actually let out a whoop. “That’s my girl,” he said, smiling up at her. “I told you you could do it.”
Tink finally opened her eyes and glanced around. She was a few feet up off the ground--and obviously shocked about it. Eyes wide, lips forming a bright smile, she gave a little gasp then a laugh. She fluttered, flapping those wings and then swooped down and around. It felt amazing to fly. Like all the pieces of her life were falling back into place again. She moved down and over to Anders, at eye level as she looked into his face, and leaned in to kiss him.
Anders kissed her back. It was different, as Tink was generally a good bit shorter than he was, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t nice to not have to bend over to kiss her. “You’re beautiful when you fly, you know,” he said once the kiss broke, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek.
Tink stayed in close, hands against his chest, wings fluttering and sending little, shining granules of pixie dust scattering just so on the wind. She was practically glowing with happiness and magic. “You’re legally obligated to say that, as my boyfriend,” she replied, going a little pink about her cheeks and neck.
“Is that so?” Anders asked with a jovial laugh. “Well, that’s a law that I’m more than willing to obey.” Not that Anders went around breaking laws; he was trying to do change the world as legally as he could. “You’re cute when you blush too, you know.”
The blush spread dramatically. She went bright pink. “I am, am I?” She asked, grinning like an idiot. Of course, compliments from Anders meant more to her than compliments from anyone else. Ever. It rang deep into her core. “I like it when you make me blush.”
“Then it’s good that it’s so easy to do,” Anders laughed, kissing her again. “How’s it feel to be back in the air again, Love?”
“It’s...” Tink slowly fluttered down to the ground, lifting her arms to wrap up and around him. “It’s like coming home.”