The Way to a Man's Heart, Elsa/Sebastian
Title: The Way to a Man’s Heart
Rating: G
Pairing: Hawke/Sebastian
Summary: Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than baking a cake for someone.
He found her in the kitchen, her hair pinned up in a messy bun and her arms dusted white with flour all the way to her elbows. “Something smells incredible,” he said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “As does whatever you’re cooking.”
She turned to give him a quick peck on the lips as a greeting. “You’re just in time,” she said, breaking out of his embrace to gather two plates and a large knife. “I’ve been playing with a recipe and I think I finally got it right this go-around.”
Sebastian took the plates and utensils from her hands and sat down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen to watch Elsa bustle about, seemingly one with her environment. He loved watching her cook, her hands mixing or chopping while she hummed under her breath, her entire body at ease. She rarely used a written recipe, or if she did, she would tweak it and experiment until it became her own. He caught sight of a small recipe card on the table. Picking it up, he noticed that she had crossed out certain ingredients and written in her own substitutions several times with notations of too sweet or needs more flour - batter too loose in the margins. “What concoction am I to taste test today?” he wondered. Recently, he could normally find her in her kitchen, coincidentally around the same time he always came to her house to visit. As a result, he’d stayed for many a well-cooked meal.
“A fruit and honey cake,” she replied, setting down a dense looking cake in front of him. She took the knife and cut out two wedges, serving them on the plates he had set out for them. “I’ve been making small batches just to get the flavor right. They all tasted fine, but something just didn’t quite click. The orphanage has gotten my previous experiments.”
He smiled. “I’m certain the children were pleased with the unexpected treats.” Elsa spent a lot of her time in the orphanage located on the Chantry grounds and many of the children there had taken a shine to her. She took great pains to make sure that they saw her as Miss Elsa instead of the Champion of Kirkwall and she was either roughhousing with the older children or sitting under the shade of a tree and reading to a group of younger ones. Sebastian often watched her, thinking about how she might treat her own children. In his mind’s eye, he pictured her with at least two: a boy with dark auburn hair and Elsa’s smile and a girl with long black curls and the Vael eyes.
“Probably not the first batch,” Elsa laughed, drizzling a bit of honey on the top of Sebastian’s slice. “Something didn’t turn out right and there wound up being more fruit than cake.”
He cut through the cake with the side of his fork. “I’m going to run to fat if you keep on making dishes like this,” he teased.
She grinned. “Then we’ll just have to find a way to work off the excess pounds. Well?” Elsa asked, leaning towards him with her elbows on the table. “What do you think?”
He swallowed and closed his eyes. “It’s good.” He took another bite. “It’s very good.” He wanted to tell her that she had somehow managed to capture the tastes from his childhood perfectly, but he didn’t know how to properly word it. “Where did you find the recipe?”
“Her Grace gave it to me the other day.” She tilted her head. “We were talking about you and she told me what a sweet tooth you had. This is supposed to be a traditional dessert from Starkhaven; I thought you might appreciate it.”
“I think that you could give some of the bakeries in Starkhaven a run for their money.” Sebastian gave her a wry smirk. “Should I be concerned that you and the Grand Cleric have been gossiping about me?”
She bit her lip and shrugged. “Probably, but I just wanted to find something that I could surprise you with.”
“And that’s only one of the many reasons why I love you,” he said fondly, reaching out to cup the back of her neck in his hand and draw her towards him for a kiss.
She froze halfway. “What did you just say?” she whispered, looking at him with wide eyes.
“I said that I love you.” He grunted when she flung herself into his arms, her knees hitting his thigh.
“You’ve never said that to me before,” she told him, draping her arms around his shoulders.
He frowned. “I haven’t?” Thinking for a while, he realized that she was right. He might have called her my heart or love as terms of endearments, but he couldn’t recall a single time that he had actually told her point blank how he felt. He moved back so he could look at her. “Then that’s a mistake I’ll be sure to set right. Elsa Hawke, I love you. I’ve loved you for years.”
Elsa closed the distance between them. “I love you too,” she murmured, smiling against his mouth. He tasted of honey and spices from the cake and she let out a little surprised squeak when he tugged her onto his lap.
“You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he said, nudging her nose with his.
She threaded her fingers through his hair. “Probably as happy as it makes me to have you say the same.”
He framed her face with his hands and placed little kisses at the corners of her mouth. “Then I’ll be certain to tell you as often as I possibly can from now on.”
Rating: G
Pairing: Hawke/Sebastian
Summary: Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than baking a cake for someone.
He found her in the kitchen, her hair pinned up in a messy bun and her arms dusted white with flour all the way to her elbows. “Something smells incredible,” he said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “As does whatever you’re cooking.”
She turned to give him a quick peck on the lips as a greeting. “You’re just in time,” she said, breaking out of his embrace to gather two plates and a large knife. “I’ve been playing with a recipe and I think I finally got it right this go-around.”
Sebastian took the plates and utensils from her hands and sat down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen to watch Elsa bustle about, seemingly one with her environment. He loved watching her cook, her hands mixing or chopping while she hummed under her breath, her entire body at ease. She rarely used a written recipe, or if she did, she would tweak it and experiment until it became her own. He caught sight of a small recipe card on the table. Picking it up, he noticed that she had crossed out certain ingredients and written in her own substitutions several times with notations of too sweet or needs more flour - batter too loose in the margins. “What concoction am I to taste test today?” he wondered. Recently, he could normally find her in her kitchen, coincidentally around the same time he always came to her house to visit. As a result, he’d stayed for many a well-cooked meal.
“A fruit and honey cake,” she replied, setting down a dense looking cake in front of him. She took the knife and cut out two wedges, serving them on the plates he had set out for them. “I’ve been making small batches just to get the flavor right. They all tasted fine, but something just didn’t quite click. The orphanage has gotten my previous experiments.”
He smiled. “I’m certain the children were pleased with the unexpected treats.” Elsa spent a lot of her time in the orphanage located on the Chantry grounds and many of the children there had taken a shine to her. She took great pains to make sure that they saw her as Miss Elsa instead of the Champion of Kirkwall and she was either roughhousing with the older children or sitting under the shade of a tree and reading to a group of younger ones. Sebastian often watched her, thinking about how she might treat her own children. In his mind’s eye, he pictured her with at least two: a boy with dark auburn hair and Elsa’s smile and a girl with long black curls and the Vael eyes.
“Probably not the first batch,” Elsa laughed, drizzling a bit of honey on the top of Sebastian’s slice. “Something didn’t turn out right and there wound up being more fruit than cake.”
He cut through the cake with the side of his fork. “I’m going to run to fat if you keep on making dishes like this,” he teased.
She grinned. “Then we’ll just have to find a way to work off the excess pounds. Well?” Elsa asked, leaning towards him with her elbows on the table. “What do you think?”
He swallowed and closed his eyes. “It’s good.” He took another bite. “It’s very good.” He wanted to tell her that she had somehow managed to capture the tastes from his childhood perfectly, but he didn’t know how to properly word it. “Where did you find the recipe?”
“Her Grace gave it to me the other day.” She tilted her head. “We were talking about you and she told me what a sweet tooth you had. This is supposed to be a traditional dessert from Starkhaven; I thought you might appreciate it.”
“I think that you could give some of the bakeries in Starkhaven a run for their money.” Sebastian gave her a wry smirk. “Should I be concerned that you and the Grand Cleric have been gossiping about me?”
She bit her lip and shrugged. “Probably, but I just wanted to find something that I could surprise you with.”
“And that’s only one of the many reasons why I love you,” he said fondly, reaching out to cup the back of her neck in his hand and draw her towards him for a kiss.
She froze halfway. “What did you just say?” she whispered, looking at him with wide eyes.
“I said that I love you.” He grunted when she flung herself into his arms, her knees hitting his thigh.
“You’ve never said that to me before,” she told him, draping her arms around his shoulders.
He frowned. “I haven’t?” Thinking for a while, he realized that she was right. He might have called her my heart or love as terms of endearments, but he couldn’t recall a single time that he had actually told her point blank how he felt. He moved back so he could look at her. “Then that’s a mistake I’ll be sure to set right. Elsa Hawke, I love you. I’ve loved you for years.”
Elsa closed the distance between them. “I love you too,” she murmured, smiling against his mouth. He tasted of honey and spices from the cake and she let out a little surprised squeak when he tugged her onto his lap.
“You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he said, nudging her nose with his.
She threaded her fingers through his hair. “Probably as happy as it makes me to have you say the same.”
He framed her face with his hands and placed little kisses at the corners of her mouth. “Then I’ll be certain to tell you as often as I possibly can from now on.”