"Holiday or Winter Traditions" - Asha x Krem
Though it was almost three in the morning, and Skyhold nights were always cold, the kitchen in the bottom of the Keep was almost sweltering between the candles lighting the room, the fireplace blazing, and the overheated oven. Asha lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, inadvertently leaving a streak of flour across her face. Her eyebrows were drawn tightly together in concentration as she struggled to knead what was supposed to be bread dough, but actually looked more like lumpy oatmeal. With an exasperated sound, she shoved the dough away from her, flexing her aching hands.
“Porca miseria!” She cried, slamming her hands down onto the table. As her head dropped, someone cleared their throat at the door that lead out towards the barn.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Asha whipped her head towards the sound, unused to being snuck up on. Krem was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed in front of his chest as he smiled at Asha.
“Shouldn’t you be on a mission until tomorrow?” She said after she recovered from her suspicion and subsequent surprise.
“We got back about an hour ago,” Krem replied, as Asha noticed that he had changed out of his favoured armor for just a form-fitting shirt and breeches. “I was going to make you some breakfast to surprise you, but I can’t say I’m disappointed to see you here, instead.” Asha flushed softly as he slowly strode towards her, leaning over her shoulder towards the table to see what she was working on. “What are you making, anyways?”
“Ugh,” was her only response as she buried her face in her flour-covered hands, dark hair falling around her in disarray. Krem exhaled through his nose beside her, pulling her arms away from where they hid her expression from him. She looked up to meet his ever-warm, hazel eyes. He gazed at her not with exasperation, but understanding, the sharp lines of his jaw softened by the smirk that quirked the corners of his full lips up towards his cheekbones. One hand still gently holding her wrist, he settled the other on her waist, where she could feel, through the fine linen of her tunic, the heat permeating her skin from his calloused hand. Asha sighed heavily before inhaling a cut-off breath, wrenching her forearm from Krem’s grip. His look of almost-hurt surprise vanished as she quickly brought her palms to his jaw, screwing her eyes shut and pressing the bridge of her nose against his. “I missed you,” she breathed, her words fluttering against his cheeks, and he nearly melted at the thought of it. Asha–also known as the ice princess of Skyhold–was so worried about him that she couldn’t sleep. He tightened his fingers in the fabric of her shirt as he pulled her flush against him and captured her lips in a ravenous kiss. Both of their chests were heaving with laboured breath and emotion when they finally pulled away.
“I missed you too,” Krem whispered against her dark hair as she nestled her face into the crook of his neck. They stayed in their embrace for several moments before leaning back to look at each other once more. “Alright,” Krem said, reaching to brush a thumb across Asha’s high cheekbone, “now let’s try to fix whatever it is you were trying to make.” Asha giggled self-deprecatingly at the reminder, groaning slightly as Krem took a look at the ball of taupe-coloured mush on the table.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” she said, gesturing towards her earlier handiwork. Krem prodded the mixture suspiciously.
“What…exactly…was this supposed to be?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“It was supposed to be this sweet, Antivan holiday bread that I fell in love with while I lived there. It’s a tradition that a woman makes it for the person she fancies and gives it to them for Satinalia…. I wanted to give it to you when you got back…” Asha’s voice trailed off into a mumble as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, running her hand up and into her short, black locks, before mussing them in a way that she knew would hide her red ears and nervous eyes. Krem chuckled quietly as he pushed her hair back from her face.
“I love you, you know,” he said, earnestly. Asha’s eyes snapped up from the floor, grey finding hazel, and she near-desperately searched his face for any sign of malice or regret. Finding nothing but Krem’s same endearing smile and brutal sincerity, she leapt onto him, seeing his eyes widen in surprise as she sent them both barreling to the floor. She lay a barrage of kisses upon him, starting on his cheeks, before moving to his nose, his forehead, his neck, and then finally his lips, where she lingered, swiping her tongue into his mouth as she pinned him to the floor with her bodyweight. She lifted herself off of his chest, though still straddling his hips, as he blinked up at her, slightly dazed. “I–um.” He opened and closed his mouth once more, seemingly not knowing what to say. Asha gave him a hard swat on the shoulder.
“I love you too, you insufferable idiot.” Krem relaxed noticeably at Asha’s words, lifting his hands to intertwine with hers as she pulled him back up to a seated position. He hugged her close to him with is arms around her lower back, grinning up at her.
“Okay, I know it’s an Antivan tradition for you to make the bread for me–the handsome, dashing man you love” (he received a half-hearted swipe at his side for that) “–but maybe we should make our own tradition.” Asha raised a curious eyebrow at him. “What if we make it together? You know the recipe, and we both know that I’m better at baking than you are–don’t hit me; you know it’s true. I love you, but you’re a useless chef–so maybe we make it together and share the bread before Satinalia. What do you think?”
“A tradition of our own, huh?” Asha smirked.
“And I’ll bake for you as long as you’ll have me,” Krem replied.
“Thank the Maker that my knight in shining armor arrived in time to fix my baking mistakes before the holidays,” Asha cooed wryly, wrapping herself around her lover like a snake. “I think this is a tradition that is best started tomorrow, however. I have other plans for you tonight, Lieutenant…”