Characters: Aro Volturi, Marcus Volturi, Caius Volturi, Carlisle Cullen
Minors do not interact!
Aro Volturi
- After a dinner date, he takes you to the bedroom and then lets you get ready for sleep. While cuddling you, he kissed you gently, but he couldn't help himself but get rougher with your lips.
- His hands would be firmly exploring your body, squeezing at your warm skin, then letting his kisses travel down to your neck along with some light bites.
- Taking off anything you had on, he would read your mind through his touch and do anything you wanted as long as it wasn't drawing blood; he knew that he wouldn't be able to control himself.
- He isn't afraid to make noise in the bed, which was known to whoever came close to your door. Whether it was the bed sounding like it was going to break or his moans echoing in the room, he made it known he was enjoying himself.
- Keeping his hands on you, he would know where you wanted him to cum, but he would still want to hear your choked words that mixed with moans.
His hands gripped your hips, thrusting into you, and he watched as your head pushed back into the pillow. Your breath hitches as he thrusts deeper as he moans sweet nothing's to you. Leaning down, he kisses your neck, leaving little bites behind. Edging himself on his instincts to rip you apart, he makes his thrusts almost animalistic before becoming sloppy and coming to his senses. He leans into your ear, whispering with silk in his voice "Tell me where Amore".
-
Marcus
- Talking about books, he would invite you to his library. You both have already gone over all the castle's library. He would watch as you explored the shelves.
- Finally, after you had picked one you wanted him to read to you or even just tell you what it was about, sitting next to him, a soft touch landed on your thigh with his soothing voice telling you about the book.
- Slowly, his hand moves up your thigh, making you less focused on his words. As you focus on his hand, he kisses your cheek, getting your attention and letting his sweet words finally get to you.
- You watched as he put the book down on the table beside him. Kissing his soft, cold lips, he moved to lay you on the reading couch, letting him in between your legs with his hands moving under your clothes to then take them off.
- He wasn't loud, but his moans could only be heard by your close ear. His lips worshiped every inch of your body, leaving short-lasting, cold trails of kisses. He let your gasps and moans guide him even through his thrusts before kissing you as you met your highs.
Trails kissing down your neck with nothing but coldness accompanying them, his cold hands making you gasp and shake just by their soft touch. Stopping, he removed his clothes, keeping his eyes on you after he threw them to the floor. His hands met your thigh, pulling them apart as gently as he could, feeling years-old emotions coming back.
As the second came and went, his grasp on you became rougher; his hands left prints before quickly going away. Finally finding himself entering you, his moans grew louder even after feeling you match his thrusts. Pulling himself back together, he kisses your hot skin, making you shake slightly with each one. His words and moan made you cry out, telling him all he needed to know.
-
Caius
- After dating for long months, he insisted a month ago that you get a couple of paintings done, though he posed to look at you as you looked forward. Your bush captured in the painting forever, letting you remember his eyes that carefully scanned you.
- Finally, it was done, and he shooed the painter away, leaving you alone with him and his exploitative eyes. Staring at the painting, you smiled, seeing how his face looked in love. His arms warped around you, accompanied by kisses on your neck, with his teeth lightly meeting your neck, teasing you.
- Pulling to the couch you sat on, he lays you on it, quickly pulling his clothes off and even helping you with yours. His words filled your head, talking about how he couldn't wait any longer to have you.
- Both on your knees, your back against his chest, his kisses keeping your neck company, leaving your moans to surface out into the room as his cold hands mix with your warm skin, wanting for his next move. The chills from his cold skin made him moan, knowing he had a lasting effect on you.
- At first, his gentle guidance would wear off when your moans from his thrust filled the room, taking over his thinking and control, making his moves sharper and rougher, burying himself inside you.
Your head rested on his shoulder, giving him a front-row seat to your moans and making him pull you both into euphoric bliss, blurred by his thrusts and his words, the only thing keeping you in reality. His hand moves down to touch you, pushing you closer to your climax. Curses leave your mouth before pulling your head up and then back down as you came into his hand, your body shaking. His moans join yours as he buries himself into you.
-
Carlisle
- Having a day off with the kids out living their lives, he waits with a warm bath ready for the both of you. Coming home, he lets you put your stuff down but quickly takes you to the bathroom with slow music softly playing in the background.
- Not letting you lift a finger, he takes off your clothes, letting his cold hands graze your skin, making you hold your breath. A small smirk shows on his lips that makes you smile.
- Having you sit in the bath, he sits behind you, watching his hand go behind a towel that is covering what now you see as sparkling water. After pouring you your glass, he kisses your cheek before pulling you closer. His hands start to travel across your chest, then move down, making you laugh through closed lips that curve into a smile.
- Touching you with his cold hands makes you shake and moan; in turn, he hums lowly in satisfaction, and his lips start sparking in the nook of your neck. He asks you to tell him to make love to you, and with a shaky "yes," he takes you to the bedroom.
- Laying you on the bed, he kisses your thighs, tickling you before traveling back up to your lips. His gentle hands push your thighs apart and slowly enter you as a sweet nothing is whispered into your ear.
His grip grows tighter as his thrust becomes rougher from his gentle touch. Your moans mix loudly in the once-quiet house. Sloppy kisses on your lips as he looks into your eyes and then closes his, his moaning rubble in his chest echoing into your ear. Your hands hung on to him, nails running down his back, leaving nothing behind. His thrust became softer with a kiss near your ear.
Please," you beg through his kisses, and he rushes one of his hands down to touch you to let you finally meet your high. Your head back, you couldn't see his face as he moaned with you as you both came.
-
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Another new part of the slowburn Cullen x Lavellan series!
“Ellana,” he sighed against her lips, still with his eyes closed. “You are one of a kind.”
She leaned back enough to look at his face, and cradled his chiselled jaw in her hands. “Ella,” she said softly. “My family calls me Ella. You can call me Ella, too.”
Cullen’s heart filled with warmth as he looked at her beautiful blue eyes. She made him feel included, like he suddenly belonged to something. Something else than work and duty. Now he was part of a small club, mostly consisting of her family, with the exclusive privilege of her nickname.
Cullen pulled her back closer to him and pressed his stubbled face against her cheek.
“Ella,” he repeated, trying out the shorter name. It felt good.
In this chapter of the series:
Ellana doesn't get Cullen's feeble attempts at getting private time with her, and her friends are there to make fun of her.
Cullen tries again, and manages to whisk her away for a day to a lakeside in Ferelden.
Includes the lakeside scene with Cullen's lucky coin. Canon-compliant but extended.
Lots of sexual tension, fluff, making out, also sex talk, and non-sexual intimacy.
Read here in AO3 (only for registered users)
or you know, enjoy the sexual tension under the cut.
The Lakeside
Words: 7 986. Rating: Teen
Cullen Rutherford leaned forward, grabbed a black pawn piece with his gloved fingers, and moved it three squares forward on the chess board.
“Hmmh,” Ellana Lavellan reacted on the other side of the table. “You’re going to win this one, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Cullen said, looking insufferably smug.
“If I didn’t like your confident smile so much I would find a way to wipe it off your face.”
“I’m glad my win works for both of us.”
Ellana sighed and moved a white tower piece in a feeble attempt to protect the King.
“Go on then,” she leaned back in her chair, and watched Cullen move a piece.
“Checkmate,” he said, and leaned back with a self-satisfied smile.
“Remind me again, why do I keep playing with you?”
“You just said you like me,” Cullen pointed out, the scar on his lip moving with his lopsided smirk.
“I said I like your smile,” Ellana pointed out, matching his smirk.
“Oh, you keep me around only for my looks then?”
“Like we haven’t been spending hours and hours just talking within the last couple of weeks? Are you going to get cocky because of the attention you got in Empress Celene’s ball?”
“You were the shining star of the evening, my dear, not I,” Cullen retorted, his amber eyes betraying his affection.
Ellana felt her insides melt into a warm goo when he called her my dear . It wasn’t long since he had insisted on only calling her Inquisitor , after all.
“But you have still received more letters from Orlesian admirers!” she couldn’t help but giggle.
“They would make excellent kindling if it wasn’t for the scented paper. The smell makes my headaches worse. Nothing good comes from that country,” Cullen mumbled, making Ellana laugh harder.
Cullen’s grumbling was playful, however, and Ellana saw the smile around his eyes. They sat in their chairs facing each other, looking at each other for a while in silence.
Finally Cullen cleared his throat. “Thank you for the game, Ellana. Now I wonder how you are with the second book in the Empire series?”
“I’m almost done! I’ll need the final book of the trilogy very soon,” Ellana replied excitedly.
Cullen swallowed and leaned forward again, placing his elbows on his knees. He seemed to place his words very carefully, speaking in a lower voice. “Do you have some time tonight? I could come and visit you and bring the book to you.”
Ellana waved her hand dismissively. “Oh there’s no hurry, it will take me a couple of days to finish the second part. Besides, I promised to join Bull and some of the others at the Herald’s Rest tonight for a few drinks. Apparently they need an honest tavern night after Halamshiral.”
Cullen’s face fell almost unperceivably. “Ah, I see.”
“But you can bring the book tomorrow to the War Room meeting.”
“Certainly,” Cullen said and they both stood. “Have fun tonight, Inquisitor.”
*
Later in the evening the tavern door opened, and Cremisius Aclassi walked in. It was easy to spot the group he was looking for - his employer Iron Bull kind of stood out from the crowd. The Inquisitor and Dorian Pavus sat at the table too - the two of them had goblets of wine, Iron Bull a big tankard of ale.
“There you are, Krem! What took you so long?” Iron Bull said loudly as Krem joined them.
“Somebody needed to face Ser Morris and explain our requisitions to him so he won’t think we’re joking next time,” Krem said gruffly. He got the attention of the maid and ordered a tankard of ale.
“Ser Morris is a stuck up, but requisition officers need to be stiff as flag poles,” Iron Bull said. “Otherwise the Inquisition would be bankrupt already.”
“Speaking of stuck ups, the Commander sure seems like a driven guy,” Krem changed the subject.
The Inquisitor cocked her eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”
“I saw him at the training grounds alone when I was coming this way. Giving a good beat down to a training dummy,” he explained, and took a good gulp of his ale.
Iron Bull nodded appreciatively. “Sounds like a good way to let off some steam. Maybe he has a night off, for once.”
Ellana suddenly froze and blood escaped from her face. “Oh.”
“Lavellan?” Dorian asked, noticing something was wrong.
“Nothing. I just realised something,” she said, staring at her wine goblet.
“Something to do with your dear Commander?” Dorian asked, and all three men around her leaned in with curiosity.
“Well, uh. Maybe.”
“Weeeell?” Dorian prodded her with his elbow.
Lavellan looked up at the three of them with desperation on her face. “I just realised he maybe offered to spend some time with me today, but I blew him off.”
Iron Bull, Krem and Dorian looked at each other, and then back at the woman.
“How did you only realise this now? What kind of circles do you talk around each other?” Iron Bull wondered.
“You haven’t heard those two? It would be painful if it wasn’t so endearing,” Dorian quipped.
“What did the Commander say?” Krem asked.
“We were playing chess after lunch and he offered to come to my room tonight to bring me a book we had been talking about,” Ellana explained.
“And what did you say?” Iron Bull asked next.
“What does it look like I said? I told him I was going drinking with you guys and he could bring me the book tomorrow to the War room meeting,” Ellana said, exasperated with herself.
The three men sat in tense silence around her, until they all suddenly exploded into laughter.
“Oh come on!” she groaned, holding her face in her hands in the middle of her laughing friends.
“Oh sweet Maker,” Dorian wiped the corners of his eyes, still laughing. “You… did you really think he actually wanted to come to your private room because of a book ?”
“Well not anymore I don’t,” they heard her mumbled reply through her hands.
Dorian almost fell from his chair from another fit of laughter.
Iron Bull tried to steady his breathing and gestured at the door. “He’s right there in the training grounds. You could go and ask him about the book!”
The Inquisitor lifted her wine goblet “No I can’t! I’ve had way too many drinks for that!”
“My dear, just think about it,” Dorian painted a picture, “you could have the Commander reading a book out loud to you right about now.”
“In your bed,” Iron Bull snickered like a teenager, “naked.”
“I’m so stupid,” Ellana wailed, burying her face in her hands again. “Believe me, I would have skipped this so easily if I had known what he really meant.”
“What I don’t understand is why you have to make it so difficult? You want him, he clearly wants you. Why couldn’t he just ask if you’re free tonight because he’d like to come to your room and make sweet love to you?” Iron Bull wondered out loud.
“I think it’s so precious that you were playing chess and he used lending you a book as an excuse to see you,” Dorian sighed.
“If you don’t mind me saying, Inquisitor,” Krem said, “but you two are made for each other.”
The Inquisitor blinked at Krem. “Why, uh, thank you Krem, I guess.”
Krem huffed into his ale. “You’re both complete nerds .”
**
In the morning the Inquisitor felt surprisingly good. She hadn’t stayed for long after her embarrassing realisation, and went to her room nursing a feeble hope of still receiving a handsome visitor. The Commander had not appeared, but at least Ellana had a decent night’s sleep and avoided a hangover.
After breakfast Ellana topped up her tea and carried the mug with her to the War Room. She was a bit early, but she spent the time alone going through her notes for the meeting.
Soon enough the door opened again, and in came Commander Cullen with his long strides and a straight back.
“Good morning,” he said and placed the papers from his hands on the War Table. “Did you have a nice evening?”
“Hmmh. I don’t think it was worth it,” Ellana mumbled.
Cullen smirked at her. “A headache?”
“Thankfully no,” Ellana shook her head and then lowered the teacup from her hands to the table. “About the book…”
“What book?” He seemed oblivious.
“The book you wanted to lend me last night? That I asked you to bring today instead?”
“Oh that book,” Cullen said nonchalantly. “I’m afraid I don’t have it with me now, my apologies.”
“Mmh,” Ellana squinted her eyes at him. “You didn’t actually want to come to see me over a book, did you?”
Cullen paused and looked at her. His amber eyes practically sparkled, and his lips stretched to a lopsided smirk. The look he gave her both infuriated her and made her stomach flutter.
“No,” he admitted.
Ellana groaned and covered her face with her hand.
His mellow laughter only made her regret spending the evening at the tavern rather than with him even more. “When did you figure it out?”
“After a few too many drinks,” she said and let both of her arms hang by her sides, looking at him with a pout. “You could have been a little more clear, you know. I would have happily told the guys to enjoy the evening without me.”
“That is encouraging to hear, but you know very well I’m out of my depth,” Cullen said defensively, but still smiling gently. “I need my excuses.”
“I don’t know about that,” Ellana mumbled just as the door opened again, and Leliana and Josephine came in to start the morning’s meeting.
*
Later in the afternoon, Ellana did her usual rounds around Skyhold, and winded up at the door of Cullen’s office, as she did every day. The doors were open, and the man was sitting at his desk, writing something.
“Ma vhenan,” Ellana said in a low, soft tone from the door, and stepped in.
“There you are!” Cullen looked up at her and stood up immediately.
Ellana stopped in the middle of his office, horrified that she had forgotten something. “Were you waiting for me?”
“Yes - I mean no,” Cullen stammered.
Ellana took the few steps remaining to the side of his desk, and looked at him in confusion. “Which is it?”
“There’s something I wanted to ask you,” he finally said, and looked around to see if someone else was entering the revolving door that was his office.
Ellana also looked around, and seeing as no one else was around, she sat on the corner of his desk.
“We have some dealings in Ferelden. I was hoping you might accompany me,” Cullen explained.
“Is something wrong? You didn’t mention this in the meeting today,” Ellana said worriedly, thinking that it must be something big if both the Commander and the Inquisitor were needed.
“What? No! It’s nothing to concern Leliana or Josephine with. I would rather explain there, if you wish to go,” Cullen said. He seemed a bit antsy, and Ellana wondered if it was his endearing bumbling around her and their relationship, or if she should be worried.
“When should we go?”
“Is tomorrow alright? I can arrange it on any day that suits you. We would need to leave in the morning, but we’d be back in Skyhold in the evening,” Cullen said.
Ellana squinted at him with suspicion. “Tomorrow is fine, but what is this about? Come on, tell me.” She reached for his cloak and tugged on the fabric needily.
Cullen took her wrist and shook his head, chucking at her. “No. You’ll have to wait. I’ll make the necessary arrangements so we can leave tomorrow morning.” He placed a kiss on her knuckles, looking at her from under his brow before letting her hand go. It made Ellana melt and give up. He was learning to handle her too well, she thought.
“Fine. Tomorrow morning then. What about tonight?”
“What about tonight?” Cullen asked as he returned to his seat at the desk.
“What are you doing tonight?” Ellana spelled it out for him.
“Ah, I’m afraid I have to work late tonight so we can ride out for the entire day tomorrow,” he said apologetically.
“Oh alright then. Be like that,” Ellana said, stood up and stepped to his side to lean over and press a kiss on his temple. “Remember to eat.”
“I will,” Cullen said obediently.
Ellana’s fingers ran through his hair at his neck as she walked past him to leave, and she looked over her shoulder at him with a cheeky smile as she walked out of the door. Cullen picked up the pen to resume work, but a warm smile played on his lips for a long time after she was gone. Nothing felt quite as good as receiving Ellana’s small shows of affection.
*
“Where are you going and why am I not coming with you?” Dorian asked sharply as he approached Inquisitor Lavellan who was pulling on her coat outside the Stables of Skyhold.
“Well good morning to you too, grumpy face,” Ellana told him in an amused voice.
A young stable hand brought out her horse and made sure the saddle and the bags were fastened properly.
“I am grumpy because you’re leaving me behind,” Dorian said and pouted. “Where are you going?”
“I have no idea, to be honest,” Ellana said, pulling on her gloves. “Apparently a day trip to somewhere in Ferelden. We’ll be back in the evening.”
“We? Who’s we?” Dorian asked.
Right on cue, Commander Cullen appeared from the stairs from the battlements while discussing with Captain Clark, a young but very promising officer the Inquisitor recognised.
“I’ll take point, Commander, and Lieutenant Kern will secure the rear. You and the Inquisitor will ride in the middle until our destination, where we’ll scout and secure the area before splitting up,” the young Captain was saying.
“Very good, Captain. Let’s get going so as not to waste daylight,” Cullen said.
“Inquisitor, Master Pavus,” the Captain greeted stiffly before walking off to get his men in order.
“Good morning,” Cullen greeted Dorian and Ellana, and asked the latter, “Are you ready to go?”
Ellana felt like giving him a kiss as a greeting, but stopped herself just in time. She had come to feel quite at home with him, but realised they weren’t yet at that kind of public relationship status. “Ready for anything, Commander.”
Dorian, however, looked from one to the other. “What’s going on?”
“I’m riding out with the Inquisitor for a change,” Cullen said, sounding rather pleased with himself. A stable hand brought out his horse as well. He took the reins and patted the horse on its neck.
“I see. Are you going to take her to meet your mother?” Dorian asked, his irritable voice turning a bit amused now as he crossed his arms on his chest.
“Not quite,” Cullen said, and added to Ellana, “don’t worry.”
“Fine. Go then, you crazy kids. But treat her well! And bring her back home before dark,” Dorian adopted a fatherly voice.
Laughing, Ellana kissed Dorian on the cheek as a goodbye.
Cullen and Ellana both got up in their saddles, and the Inquisition soldiers who were accompanying them also mounted their rides and they all rode out.
*
They spent the entire morning on horseback making good pace riding east. Ellana still had no idea where they were going and for what, but she had noticed a couple of things on the way.
First of all Cullen seemed to be in a good mood and quite talkative. While riding side by side, they talked about the obvious: Halamshiral, since they had returned from there only a couple of days ago. But their comfortable discussions ranged all kinds of subjects, and made Ellana feel warm and happy in Cullen’s company.
Secondly Cullen did not seem to be in charge, despite outranking all the other Inquisition soldiers quite obviously. It looked like Captain Clark was in charge. For something as standard as riding somewhere for an apparently routine operation the Commander of the Inquisition was not needed at all, so it certainly made Ellana wonder, but it was nice to see him relax and enjoy the outdoors.
Eventually Captain Clark motioned for them to halt, and for his team to ride forward. Cullen and Ellana halted and dismounted their horses.
“Let’s wait for a moment. This is good training for the new recruits that we have with us today,” Cullen said, standing by his horse and holding its reins in his gloved hand.
“Where are we?” Ellana asked, looking around for clues.
“We’ve arrived, but the men will make sure there are no nasty surprises. Our scout reports from the area have stated that there should be no rifts here.”
Ellana’s keen eyes followed the Inquisition soldiers closely. Everyone else seemed to know exactly what was going on and what to do, but she had no clue.
“Clear!” came the shout from somewhere they did not see. It was followed by a few others of the same kind, and soon Captain Clark rode back to meet them.
“Commander, the area is secure as expected. With your permission, ser, we’ll ride on and rendezvous later in this same spot.”
“Very good, Captain. Good luck. The Mayor of the village will be pleased to see you. Rendezvous in four hours,” Cullen told the Captain.
“Yes ser. Enjoy your afternoon, ser,” the Captain said with the first smile Ellana had seen from the young man all day, and he rode off.
The Inquisition soldiers mounted their horses and left, continuing along the same road they had arrived. Ellana turned to look at Cullen with raised eyebrows, and the man gestured to her to follow.
They walked their horses along a path under the hanging branches of old willow trees. The trees soon gave way to a clearing that opened to a lake. There was a small shack and in front of it a fire pit. There was a shelter that held a few logs that could be made into firewood, and the lake had an old pier but no boat.
“It’s beautiful here,” Ellana said out loud after she had taken it in.
“I’m glad you like it,” Cullen said as he led his horse to drink from the lake. Ellana followed his example.
They left the horses and Cullen took Ellana to the pier on the lake.
“Where are we?” she asked again hoping to actually get an answer this time.
Cullen walked a few steps in front of her and finally stopped at the end of the pier. The lake was calm save for a few birds flying off. Water lilies floated on the surface of the lake that reflected the cumulus clouds in the sky. It was overcast, but it didn’t look like it would rain.
“I saw how heavily the Winter Palace weighed on you, and how exhausted you were when we could finally leave,” Cullen said. “You walk into danger every day. I wanted to take you away from that, if only for an afternoon.”
“Oh Cullen,” Ellana said softly, touched by his sentiment. “Up until a moment ago I thought there was some work for us to do. But you really arranged some actual time off for us.”
“I did. I hope it’s alright,” Cullen said quietly.
“More than alright. Thank you. It really does feel good to be out in nature.”
Cullen looked pleased and his shoulders visibly relaxed. He leaned against the tall post at the end of the pier and crossed his ankles. When he spoke, he too sounded like he truly enjoyed the peaceful lake.
“I grew up not far from here. This place was always quiet.”
“Did you come here often?”
“I loved my siblings but they were very loud,” he said, his eyes glazing over for a moment as he was taken by childhood memories. “I would come here to clear my head. Of course they always found me eventually.”
Ellana watched Cullen’s face. He looked peaceful, with a smile not on his lips but around his eyes. “You were happy here.”
“I was,” he admitted and turned to look at her. “I still am.”
Encouraged by his affectionate look, Ellana took a step closer, close enough to brush her arm against his. “While we’re here, you have me all to yourself.”
This time the smile reached his lips, too, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. “The thought may have crossed my mind.”
He pushed himself off the post enough to wrap one arm around her lower back and give her a gentle kiss. She melted into his touch and into the kiss. When it broke they pulled away slowly, looking into each other's eyes with soft smiles.
After a moment of enjoying the peace and quiet, and each other’s company, Cullen continued reminiscing.
“The last time I was here was the day I left for Templar training. My brother gave me this,” he said and took out a small silver coin with Andraste’s symbol minted on it. “It just happened to be in his pocket but he said it was for luck. Templars are not supposed to carry such things, our faith should see us through.”
Ellana looked at the coin on his palm, and imagined Cullen treasuring it as his only secret possession, all through his teenage years to a young man to the seasoned veteran and General of an army standing next to her now. She knew that despite leaving the Templar Order, Cullen still owned very little of his own.
“A little luck can’t hurt every now and then,” she said.
“I suppose not. I should have died during the Blight, or at Kirkwall, or Haven, take your pick. And yet I made it back here.” Cullen picked up the coin between his index finger and thumb.
“Humor me,” he said, took her hand and placed the coin into her palm. “We don’t know what you’ll face before the end. This can’t hurt.”
Ellana looked down at the coin. She felt her heart palpitate. He was giving his most treasured keepsake to her? This means a lot to him , she realised, and closed her hand around the coin. I mean a lot to him.
“I’ll keep it safe,” she said and looked up into his eyes.
“Good,” he said in a low voice and moved to embrace her. He pulled her close to him and placed a kiss on her hairline. “I know it’s foolish but I’m glad,” he mumbled into her hair.
Ellana made sure to carefully put the coin into a pocket and then reached her hands up over the fur mantle up to his neck. She nuzzled her nose against his hard jawline, then his stubbled cheek. Their lips met for a slow kiss before they continued nuzzling their noses together, and finally Ellana buried her face against the side of his neck in a close embrace.
They had gotten to know each other slowly, and they had been through a lot already, but they had not been more intimate together than this. But she knew that this was her man. Her partner. Her loved one. For the rest of her days - be it ten days or a hundred years. With unspoken love aching her heart, she inhaled his scent and enjoyed his proximity.
Once Cullen and Ellana returned to shore from the pier, Cullen proceeded to remove his fur mantle and the coat that covered his steel cuirass.
“Now? Are we going to go for it now?” Ellana said with a grin and mimed urgently opening the clasps of her coat.
“No, Andraste’s mercy, no,” Cullen said with a reddening face, throwing his hands up. “I mean, not that I wouldn’t want to, it’s just that I was only going to…”
“It’s fine, I’m just teasing you! You’re an easy target, sometimes, I’m sorry,” Ellana said laughing, leaving her coat on.
“I’m sorry, I really… I would, but… not what I had in mind right now,” he said and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
Ellana came to him and touched his arms gently. “What did you have in mind?”
“I was going to take my armour off, yes, because I’d like to chop some firewood,” he explained. “I happen to enjoy chopping firewood, but it’s not very comfortable with full armour on.”
“I understand. Can I help you?” Ellana offered, and turned his hand around in hers, searching for the clasps for his gauntlets and pauldrons.
Cullen smiled at her softly with relief washing over him as she was once again so patient with him. “You can, if you like. You don’t wear heavy armour yourself and I suppose your people don't use anything as clunky as this?”
“No. It’s noisy and it slows us down. I can’t understand how you can move so naturally wearing this, it must weigh dozens of pounds,” she said and managed to get both of his gauntlets off.
“I’ve been wearing heavier armour than this for almost fifteen years. The pauldrons are attached here,” Cullen pointed to the correct place, and let the curious woman find out for herself. He enjoyed having her so close, watching her beautiful features bunch up in concentration.
Cullen felt a sting of conscience. They had been in a relationship for a long time now, but they still hadn’t slept together, despite the obvious attraction. Ellana hadn’t shown signs of being frustrated, but that’s the way she was. Understanding, patient, kind. And now she had been joking about it… This would be an opportune time for them to enjoy each other. They had the afternoon to themselves and it was very unlikely they would be interrupted.
He wanted her. He yearned for her. He had for weeks - for months, if he was honest. But somehow he couldn’t make himself go to her room in the evenings in Skyhold. Somehow he couldn’t ask her to come to his. He was afraid. He had never been in a relationship before, and now that he finally could have one, he was too afraid to make it happen. He came to realise, with Ellana only inches away from him, her fingers working on his body taking off the pauldrons one at a time, that he was afraid to love her because he was afraid to lose her. He had been hurting for so long. Now he had something beautiful in his life - something that eased the pain, and made him look forward to the future. The pain he would feel if he lost her would finally kill him, one way or another. He was certain.
“Joking aside,” Ellana said as she placed the pauldrons down to the ground and straightened up to continue with his cuirass. “If you don’t mind me asking… Let me, shoo,” she swatted Cullen’s hands away and found the next buckles by his sides and underneath his armpits.
“About why I am so slow with you?” Cullen voiced the thoughts in both of their minds with a weary sigh, and spread his arms to his sides to give her room to work. Better to face the question together, he decided.
“Well, um, yes. I don’t mind, but I thought if there was something I should know…” Ellana looked up at him after she had undone his left side.
“No, not really. Nothing to worry about,” Cullen soothed her fears away, and gently stroked the tops of her arms with his hands. “I’m just a slow, broken man. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise, Cullen,” she said and moved to work on the right side of the cuirass. “It just occurred to me that there might be a religious reason, but you did say you haven’t taken any vows like that. Or if you haven’t, you know… before…”
“Maker’s breath, I’m not inexperienced,” Cullen said quickly, desperate not to have her think him a virgin of all things. “But I can see why you would think that. I am inexperienced in relationships, I’ll admit that much. I’ve never been in a relationship with anyone.”
“Not until now,” Ellana grinned up at him, and Cullen felt a wave of warmth wash over him. It left him smiling at her, and was happy to receive a quick kiss on the lips when she got the buckles of his cuirass open. “Is that it? Does this go over your head?”
“Yes, watch out,” Cullen said, grabbed the front of the cuirass, and lifted it over his head. Underneath he wore a black jerkin, which he also took off, leaving him wearing his boots, black trousers and a white loose undershirt. He set everything aside in a neat pile.
“So how does that work? Being a Templar you can’t really have a relationship but sharing bunks still happens?” Ellana asked with honest curiosity.
She looked him over - she still hadn’t seen him without his uniform and armour very often. He was a handsome sight - broad shouldered, trim waisted, his arms thick with muscle. His shirt was tucked into his trousers, so it gave her a great view of his powerful legs, his delightful behind and also his… front. Which was also a delightful thought to Ellana, especially given the subject they were discussing.
“Something like that,” Cullen said. “Relations between mages and Templars are prohibited. A Templar's actions can’t be clouded by personal feelings if the worst happens. Fraternising within the Order is frowned upon, so whatever happens, happens in secret. In, um, training camps in the woods. Or relieving watch duties in more ways than one,” he listed, and Ellana saw his neck turn a dark shade of pink. “Or there might be, um, opportunities with outsiders. Brothels or simply personal encounters. Some people seem to really like a uniform,” he added. By the way he was flustering and avoiding her eyes, Ellana realised he was likely listing his own experiences.
“It didn’t happen a lot, but it did happen,” Cullen shrugged.
“I think I understand,” Ellana said softly, and thought it might be fair to hint at her own experience. “It all sounds a lot more complicated than frolicking out in the woods. I never, um, sampled among my own clan, so to speak. The boys in my clan felt like brothers to me. But I’ve had my opportunities outside my clan.”
Cullen nodded slowly, but did not dare to ask for more details. It was enough for him to know that she, too, had experience but he couldn’t bring himself to think of her with anyone else.
Ellana thought Cullen had been uncomfortable long enough. “I’m sorry. Perhaps not the best subject of discussion for today.”
“No, I’m glad you brought this up,” Cullen said quickly. “I can’t imagine what strange signals I’ve been giving you.”
“At least the signals have all been confirming that this is a thing. Us. We’re a thing,” Ellana said, pointing at the two of them.
“Very much a thing,” he agreed, but then he took a breath and changed the subject. “It’s time for me to confess something.”
Ellana froze in place - what had she missed? “Oh? Is something wrong?”
“No, not exactly. I thought I’d chop firewood and build a fire so we can have lunch together. But I have to confess - I can’t cook to save my life.”
Ellana stared at the man for a heart beat before she suddenly burst into laughter. She placed a hand on Cullen’s chest as she leaned forward laughing. “Cullen! I thought you were continuing with the same subject!”
Cullen chuckled, took her hand and placed his other hand on her hip, almost like a dancing position. “What did you think I was going to confess? That I’m a eunuch now?”
“No! I don’t know!” Ellana laughed, feeling comfortable and happy being held by him. The discussion had cleared the air and eased her mind.
“I assure you, my lady, I’m very much not a eunuch,” he said in a low, rumbling voice and kissed the ear of the giggling woman in her arms.
Ellana, trying to squirm away from the tickling kisses, suddenly realised this was the first time she felt him without his armour on - and the man was pressing against her purposefully to make his point. Creators , his body felt incredible - warm like a steel cuirass could never be, hard with muscle, his shape unfamiliar to her after all those times spent sharing kisses with him always wearing the blasted armour. Ellana’s giggles quickly turned into a muffled low moan against the side of his neck as she ran her hands up his sides and then down his back, feeling his broad shape that narrowed from his shoulders to his waist. He pressed against her, his arms surrounding her like they never had before. Now only warm flesh and muscle and cloth, no steel or leather or fur between them. She felt his body flush against hers, and she felt his groin against her hip. No eunuch indeed. If Ellana had wanted him before, now her insides burned with desire for him.
Cullen breathed in her scent, feeling her silky hair against his cheek as he held her as close as he could. Closer than he ever had. He had been dreaming of feeling the feminine shape of her body against his for a long time now. He knew the curve of her waist from earlier embraces, but the sudden intimacy of only being separated by a couple of layers of cloth was overwhelming. His breath hitched in his throat and his heart pounded in his chest desperately, and he wrapped his arms around her tighter, like he never wanted to let her go. She was so warm, and so soft. Her hands exploring his body felt incredible.
Cullen couldn’t help but search for her lips and cover her mouth in a ravenous kiss that had her let out yet another muffled moan. He felt her melt in his arms, he felt her push herself against himself. She wanted him. And Maker, he wanted her. It would be so easy to just take his shirt off, lay her on the grass beyond the firepit, kiss every inch of her skin as he stripped her one piece of clothing at a time, and make love to her right here.
He certainly made the point of his joke of not being a eunuch. When he finally caught himself, he was already fully erect in his trousers, and she had certainly felt it against her hip.
“What I was going to say was…” Cullen broke the kiss and panted against her lips.
“Are you going to talk about cooking now?” Ellana groaned. Quickly she lifted her arms to wrap around his neck and made him duck down for more heated kissing. Her tongue swiped at his lips and slid against his tongue as she kept her body pressed against his.
Cullen was inches from losing control. His hands came down to grab her ass, and Maker, what a fine ass it was, he thought. He lifted her up in the air to carry her without breaking the kiss. He immediately regretted the move, because Ellana promptly, and very naturally, wrapped her legs around his thighs. He almost growled into the kiss, trying to resist her temptation. Blindly he walked forward slowly carrying her, their bodies wrapped around each other, until he reached the side of the firepit. Cullen carefully leaned forward and set the woman sitting on the fallen log next to the firepit.
“There,” Cullen said as the hungry kiss finally broke. Both of them were breathing hard and their lips were pink and swollen from the suckling kisses. He took a step back before he could change his mind, leaving Ellana sitting there with a stupefied look on her face.
“I’m going to make firewood,” he said, catching his breath. “And you, beautiful, are going to find out what the Skyhold kitchens have packed us for lunch. Because as I said, I can’t cook to save my life.”
“Creators, you have the discipline of an entire army of Templars,” Ellana sighed as he turned to walk away to pick up an axe. She saw - and had felt - the bulge in his trousers as he turned away.
Ellana sat where Cullen had left her, following the man with her eyes. He was so handsome. No, Ellana thought, not only handsome. He was hot as embers. The black leather boots and the black trousers were a snug fit, and watching him go did nothing ease the desire in Ellana’s stomach.
“So, food,” Ellana’s brain fogged with lust finally caught up.
With the axe Cullen walked back across the lakeside, smiling and shaking his head at Ellana.
“I believe the saddlebags on your horse should be packed with our lunch,” Cullen said helpfully. He struck the axe into a piece of wood and began carrying sawed off pieces of tree trunks to be chopped into kindling and firewood.
Ellana watched him work for a short while. Cullen was impressive and very strong, and his thick biceps hard at work showed through the loose sleeves of the shirt. Finally Ellana felt like her legs could carry her, and she stood to search the saddlebags.
*
Cullen judged the time and decided to add one more log to the fire. They still had some time left before they needed to head back. Ellana sat next to him near the fire on the picnic rug she had found in one of the saddlebags. She was packing away the leftovers from their lunch - and it was no wonder. The Skyhold kitchens had packed enough food for at least four people, and the two of them were stuffed.
Cullen watched her work, much the same way he had watched her take off his armour. With loving eyes, drinking in the sight of her when she was concentrating on something else. Ellana was humming some tune he was unfamiliar with. The Inquisitor had developed a crease between her eyebrows, but now it was gone. The woman next to him looked relaxed and content, humming away as she wrapped the rest of the cheese and the Orlesian levain bread into brown paper. The domestic normality of what they were doing warmed Cullen’s heart, and made him very happy that he had managed to pull this off.
“You’re staring at me,” Ellana said, and only then lifted her eyes to look at him.
“I can’t help it,” Cullen said unapologetically, and leaned back against the tree trunk that served as seating around the firepit. “You look lovely.”
“I thought I had cheese on my face. The Orlesian one was runny, and too strong,” Ellana said, scrunching her nose. Cullen thought it made her look even cuter.
“I agree. The Fereldan smoked ham, however,” he said and closed his eyes, touching his thumb and fingers together in a gesture of appreciation.
“I knew this wasn’t just for me,” Ellana laughed, “this was also about my grumpy Fereldan Commander escaping the Orlesian court.”
“I’m not grumpy,” Cullen complained, grumpily.
“Uhhuh. Not grumpy at all, vhenan,” Ellana smirked at him. “Now excuse me a moment.”
Cullen watched her get up, then swatted her hand away as she ruffled his hair - but his hair had come undone anyway when he had been chopping firewood - and watched her walk away to the woods.
While she was relieving herself, Cullen lounged by the fire with his fingers crossed on his stomach, his back against the log and his legs long towards the fire. He was warm, and content, and happy. His thoughts were racing forward, thinking of how they would arrive back to Skyhold late in the evening. Perhaps he would help Ellana dismount from her horse. Perhaps he would keep holding her hand and walk her to his office, lock the doors and embrace her like he had embraced her earlier today. Only this time he wouldn’t break it off. This time he would ask her to stay the night.
He was startled from his thoughts by shapely thighs suddenly surrounding his head as Ellana sat on the log behind him.
“Where did you come from?!” he demanded, leaning forward and looking at her over his shoulder.
“I’m… sorry? Did I scare you?” Ellana asked, stifling a laughter.
“You did. I shouldn’t be surprised that you don’t make a sound moving in nature,” Cullen breathed with his hand on his chest.
“It’s second nature. I don’t want to startle the wildlife or attract the attention of shemlen. Except you,” Ellana said, and touched his shoulders with her hands. “You I do want to attract.”
Ellana pulled him back to lean against the log, to sit between her legs.
“Like a moth to a fire,” Cullen sighed and settled back to a comfortable seat.
“Or a bee to a flower. A much less sinister metaphor,” Ellana suggested, and began to knead his shoulders with her palms.
“No, you don’t need to, hmmmm,” Cullen tried to tell her she didn’t need to feel like she needed to do him a favour, but his words melted away.
“How come I’m not surprised your shoulders are tight as bow strings,” Ellana said in a low voice.
Cullen couldn’t reply, his eyes had already drooped shut as Ellana used her palms to warm the tense muscles of his shoulders and neck. She pulled a little on the neckline of his shirt to reveal more skin. She noticed that there was a nasty looking but healed slash scar on his right collarbone and magical burn scarring on his left shoulder. She had a feeling he had many other scars hidden underneath his clothes. Someday soon she would kiss his scars, she decided. Every one of them.
Cullen didn’t remember that anyone would have ever rubbed his shoulders before, at least not like this. Ellana first warmed his muscles and skin enough to loosen his tendons a little, and now seemed to change tactics. She began using a bit more force. He squeezed his eyes shut and hissed between his teeth.
“Tell me if I hurt you,” he heard Ellana’s voice, but he shook his head wordlessly and let her continue.
Cullen felt like he melted under her hands, and his head lolled forward, drooping down. Her hands were surprisingly powerful and firm and warm, and she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. Cullen realised he must have lost sense of time, and he caught himself groaning as her hands felt particularly good on the sides of his neck.
“Maker,” he breathed. “Where have you learned this?”
He felt Ellana lean closer to him, and press a kiss into his hair. “My mother. She’s been helping the clan’s midwife and healer, and is pretty good with things like this. Does it feel good?”
“It feels incredible,” Cullen mumbled, quite unable to open his eyes yet.
But he didn’t need to. Ellana’s fingers moved from his shoulders to his neck and then to his scalp. She ran her fingers through his hair, stroking the unruly waves gently. She then placed her fingertips more firmly against his scalp and began to massage his head, slowly and deliberately.
Cullen’s body had relaxed with the neck rub, and his heart had melted with her stroking his hair. How stupidly good something as simple as that felt. He had been alone for a long, long time.
But this, her rubbing his scalp? This was almost orgasmic. He let himself lean against her, his head against her chest, his arm slung around her leg. He had never experienced intimacy like this. It was an overwhelming feeling to be able to let his guard down and relax. He felt safe, and he felt cared for. He felt… loved? He wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but his own heart certainly was full of affection and, Maker help him, love for the woman taking such good care of him. This kind of closeness and intimacy was better than sex. Then again, he had never made love to her. Not yet. Perhaps that would be better than this. It remained to be seen.
After a while, Ellana’s fingers slowed and eased to stroking his hair again. Cullen kept his eyes closed and head leaned back against her chest. He felt her soft kisses all over his face, and he murmured something unintelligible.
“Hmm?” Ellana’s question was a soft sound he felt against his brow from her lips.
“Come here,” he mumbled, and reached back to pull her down.
Laughing a little, Ellana let him pull her off the log she was sitting on, and into his lap so that she sat sideways between his thighs, her legs to one side. Cullen didn’t wait at all, but covered her mouth with a languid kiss as soft as his whole body felt like.
“Ellana,” he sighed against her lips, still with his eyes closed. “You are one of a kind.”
She leaned back enough to look at his face, and cradled his chiselled jaw in her hands. “Ella,” she said softly. “My family calls me Ella. You can call me Ella, too.”
Cullen’s heart filled with warmth as he looked at her beautiful blue eyes. She made him feel included, like he suddenly belonged to something. Something else than work and duty. Now he was part of a small club, mostly consisting of her family, with the exclusive privilege of her nickname. Cullen pulled her back closer to him and pressed his stubbled face against her cheek.
“Ella,” he repeated, trying out the shorter name. It felt good.
*
All too soon the lovers had to untangle from each other, put out the fire, put on Cullen’s heavy armour again and pack away their things to the saddlebags. They met with the Inquisition soldiers and Captain Clark, who told them that their routine mission had gone well and the Inquisition had another foothold in Ferelden.
They arrived back to Skyhold at dusk, and Cullen, with his heart full, did exactly as he had planned. He dismounted from his horse first, strode to the Inquisitor’s horse and helped her down.
As the stablehands took their horses and the Inquisition soldiers went through their routines around them, Cullen held Ellana’s gaze and her hand. “Walk with me?”
Ellana, who was molten wax in his hands, smiled and nodded.
Cullen tucked her hand around his arm and walked with her towards the stairs that lead up to the battlements. They talked together in low voices about sweet nothings as they strolled towards his office, just as he had planned.
As they neared his tower, a messenger and an Inquisition Lieutenant ran up to him from his office - and Cullen knew immediately his chance was gone. He let go of Ellana’s hand as they halted to a stand in the battlements.
“Commander! You’re back!” the Lieutenant blurted.
“There has been an incident in the Western Approach!” the messenger said urgently and handed him a missive.
“And there has been a confrontation between some mages and a Templar in the barracks,” the Lieutenant added.
Cullen turned to Ellana. “I’m so sorry, I-”
“I know. Go,” Ellana said softly, and touched his arm affectionately. “Thank you for the day, Cullen.”
The man stood there looking at her for a few heartbeats, until he clenched his jaw and bowed his head to her. “Inquisitor.”
Then he walked away to his duty, opening the missive in his hands as he did, with the soldier and messenger at his heel.
Ellana remained standing at the battlements for a while, until she turned and walked back to her own tower alone.
I wanna write a Carlisle fic where he's all mopy because he hasn't seen you all day and like he decides to call you and you guys start talking for hours and then he starts whining because you drop the news that you won't be back for a few more days and he already knew that but he's acting like he didn't so now he calls like every other hour because "I miss you"
I finally published my fic that I wrote for Cullen Week 2021! Better late than never. I used the prompt thirst, here’s an excerpt:
...
“What are you thinking about?”
Cullen turned his gaze toward her. “Kirkwall. Kinloch Hold.” His eyes fell to the ground. “Mages. Demons. Templars. Corypheus. The Inquisition. The rifts in the bloody veil.” He scratched at his furrowed brow.
“Sounds like you need a drink,” Dorian grinned wryly. “Luckily, you’re in the right place,” he added, gesturing to the shelves above them.
Cullen let out a soft chuckle. “Unlike you lot, I don't wish to suffer our ambassador’s wrath when she reviews the inventory reports from the quartermaster. Haven’t you been banned from the wine cellar already?” he raised a brow at Dorian, who made a dismissive gesture.
“Bans only work if you’ve the men to enforce them,” he replied, taking another swig of his drink.
“You’re starting to sound like Cullen,” Elinora smiled. “He’s all, ‘Skyhold is only as strong as the army that defends it,’ and ‘our fortress in Crestwood is useless without the numbers to make holding it worthwhile.’”
“I’m your military advisor. At times, I give military advice.”
“That explains a lot,” Elinora murmured through a coy smile, leaving him a lingering glance over the edge of her cup. “And here I was thinking you swing that sword around because you like how shiny it is.”
Cullen’s lips curved into a gentle smirk.
“Ah, I know these looks. It seems that the time has come,” Dorian paused to drain the last drops of liquor from his cup, “for me to make myself scarce. Considering your history with desks, Maker knows what you have planned for the furniture down here,” he murmured as he cast a cursory glance around the room.
Elinora sputtered, drops of Aqua Magus flying from her lips. “Does everyone know about that?!” she stammered indignantly.
“To be honest, it was only a rumor, but I’m glad to have it confirmed,” Dorian cast a glistening smile at his friends before turning to head up the stairs. “Don’t have too much fun without me,” he called behind him as he ascended to Skyhold’s main hall.
“You’ll be wise to keep that particular bit of gossip to yourself, Dorian!” the Inquisitor yelled as he disappeared behind the corner, but she laughed as she set her cup down, leaning back against the wall of the cellar and turning her focus to Cullen.
Warnings/Tags: Fluff. Pure, unadulterated fluff. With a fade to black.
Read on Ao3
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“No, come back!” Cullen called, exasperated. But Elsie snaked out of his arms, ran to the doorway of the stable, winked at him and darted off in a swish of her skirts.
He sighed but smiled as he ran his fingers through his hair, longing for her to mess it up again, to feel her hot breath on his. And he'd had her pinned against the wall of the stable block, determined to claim her then and there (it had been a long journey). But Elsie had other ideas. With a heated kiss that sent his blood pumping, she had grinned wickedly at him and now he found himself alone in these stables, save for their horses, and without his wife in his arms. And he needed her, in more ways than one.
He heard his mabari Dusty bark excitedly in the courtyard, and with a wry grin Cullen adjusted his breeches before following the sound of laughter and barks. In the crumbling courtyard of their new home Winterwatch Tower, Cullen watched Elsie - his wife - tickle the mabari’s belly and laugh when Dusty jumped up and licked her face. She saw him watching her and got to her feet, not breaking eye contact. The breath caught in Cullen’s throat as he fell into her misty grey eyes which twinkled mischievously. He took a step towards her and then another, but she spun on her heel and whistled for the mabari to follow, much to Cullen’s agitation.
“Elsie, please…” he all but whined, as she darted through the courtyard into one of the buildings, the mabari hot on her heels.
He broke into a run, dodging some rubble from the crumbling ruin that was now their home. He tried not to think about how much work it was going to take to get this place habitable, but as he saw a glimpse of her red skirts flurry down a corridor followed by an excited bark, he didn't care. His main goal in this moment was simple - catch his wife and claim her just as she would claim him.
Cullen darted down the corridor and heard a bark from above him. He huffed, running up the wooden staircase, taking two steps at a time. Blood pumped in his ears as he saw Elsie pause at the bottom of a ladder, Dusty jumping around her legs.
“Wait…” he panted, catching up with her, but she just smirked that irresistible smirk of hers and climbed up the ladder with ease, despite only recently missing a limb. He went to the foot of the ladder and watched her climb into the tallest tower, taking a cheeky look under her skirt. Dusty whined next to him, cocking his head.
“What?” he said to the mabari. “I think I’ve earnt the right to admire my wife,” he said, the word still feeling new and exciting to say. Dusty barked in reply and Cullen scratched the dog’s ears before ascending the ladder to catch Elsie.
He climbed eagerly, knowing that within moments he would finally taste her lips, savour her touch and feel whole again. He pulled himself up the hatch and took a moment to catch his breath, looking around the vast room. A few possessions had been added, including a large bed, which sent a jolt of excitement through him. But all breath was taken out of him again when he finally saw Elsie, standing on the balcony.
As eager as he was to take her in his arms and make her forget her own name, he paused. Never before had they had the luxury of taking their time. Everything had been rushed; everything had held an unseeing pressure. But now? They were in a new home together - their home - as husband and wife.
The former Inquisitor stood leaning against the balcony, overlooking the sprawling hills and mountains of the hinterlands. The sunlight warmed her dark chocolate hair that fell down her back, and her hand rested gracefully on the balcony railing, a minor indicator of her nobility. Even when relaxing, she always knew how to hold herself and it was something Cullen had come to greatly admire. He stepped slowly through the room, her figure appearing to glow in the afternoon sun. Her head was tilted up and as he drew closer he saw her eyes close in a small state of tranquillity. Her hair flickered in the warm summer breeze and ticked his nose as he gently slid his arms around her. Instinctively, she leant against him and their bodies melded. This truly was what home felt like. She smelt of lavender and roses and her skin was softer than he remembered, particularly her neck, where he gently swept her hair aside and placed a chaste kiss to her neck, a thrill passing through him as Elsie let out a quiet sigh in response.
“You smell of horse,” she mumbled, turning in his arms.
“You smell delightful,” he replied, cupping her cheek and kissing her softly. “I thought we were past these cat and mouse games.”
Elsie kissed him and he could feel her smile as she did so. “Now where would be the fun in that?”
Remember that time we shared a kiss in the snow? - Luthien
I remember every kiss we share - Cullen
The static sound of the wind howling past her pointed ears seemed both loud and far away. Sometimes a whistle prepared Luthien for the breeze that would hit her, coming around the corner of the large boulder they were sheltering behind. She would curl up a little extra then, pulling her furs further around her.
She was not used to this sort of cold. No one was. Yet, the Fereldans seemed to have it easy when trudging through the snow. Perhaps they were just pigheaded and too proud to admit that the land they had fought so hard for sometimes won over them rather than the other way around. Or perhaps they truly were strong, Luthien could never tell.
“Your lips are purple.” Everyone quietened when the Commander’s voice piped up. Everyone’s gazes turned to him, sitting on the opposite side of the fire. She immediately saw his eyes widen and his cheeks grow red not from the frostbite.
He had not meant to say that out loud.
The worry that she had heard in his voice made her smile, yet she remained quiet, the awkwardness of the situation silencing her into a simple blush that warmed her up a bit extra. Bull made a whispered comment, which made some of the men chuckle. A glare from the Commander silenced them down immediately.
With a sigh that was visible in this cold weather, Cullen stood from his spot and moved over to Luthien. Eyes, amused or interested, followed him intently, and it was only once he had sat down next to her, facing the spectators, that they looked away and pretended nothing was happening. “They are.”
“It’s a bit chilly,” she responded.
“Chilly enough that I can see this through your lipstick.”
“It’s…” She let her defensive response die out. He was not from her culture. He would not know what was on her lips. “It is alright. The boat should be here soon.”
“And take you away again.” Avoiding to look at him, her blush instead spoke enough words. Nevertheless, she felt the sadness too. “I wish I could come with.”
“We are fighting a dragon. Do you really?”
His response came so quickly it surprised her. “Yes,” he had said, as earnest and passionate as ever. Yes, he truly didn’t want to see her go.
No other words were spoken. Instead, he opened up his cloak. She scooted against him, letting him wrap her up, his body heat warming her. Even when the boat arrived, neither moved away from the warm embrace, instead letting the others start preparing. With them distracted, they had a short moment to themselves, with no one glancing their way from time to time to check whether or not there was something worth gossiping about.
There was, but their embrace could also be explained as two people keeping each other warm. Nevertheless, people weren’t daft, as Dorian liked to tell Luthien over and over again.
With people looking away, Luthien sighed and made to move. However, Cullen’s arm grasped her waist tightly, keeping her from moving. His fingers gently touched her chin, turning her to face him. Leaning in ever so slowly, their visible breaths mingled with each other, warming her lips and tingling her nose. There was nothing cold about the kiss they shared, even if the air around them was icy.
A fic request from Aimee for “Cullen/Inquisitor fluff or smut. Whatever you want to write, I absolutely adore Cullen.”
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What was he doing there? Some Orlesian Count or the like stood before the darkened room blathering on about the state of his frills, or whatever passed for travesty in Val Royeaux. This was a matter for Josephine and the other diplomats at their employ. Certainly not something worth the attention of the Commander who was forced to sit in an uncomfortable chair in the dark.
Cullen shifted, prepared to stand up and face the wrath of the others left in the dark room, when pressure brushed against his shoulder. Glancing over, he spotted a solemn face nesting in the fur of his coat. It was the Inquisitor, her eyes closed as she leaned far out of her chair and against…him.
He froze. The grumble he’d had in his throat dropped to the bottom of his lungs as he stared at the woman fast asleep in his fur. Her striking eyes were shut tight as she did her best to flee this meeting the only way possible. Cullen couldn’t blame her, wishing he could fall asleep so easily and serenely.
Rather than focus on the diplomatic puppet show occurring before him, Cullen watched her slumber against him. That face, always stern and certain, that stood up against a dragon to save them all, softened in her dreams. Were they pleasant ones? He prayed so, she deserved that escape at least.
Sliding his foot out for balance, Cullen locked in his shoulder to cushion the Inquisitor’s lolling head. He tried to be careful, but she stirred from the gentle movements, her nose twitching. Fear clouded his mind of her waking, her eyes narrowing as she realized what happened, and the most important woman in thedas whipping away from him in embarrassment…or disgust.
But it was all for naught. She slipped deeper into the lure of the warm fur around his shoulders.
Her lips parted with a breath, a shine of the mage’s light striking her bottom one. What would it be like to touch them? To feel her press them to his as they softened from a wide smile to a tender kiss?
“As you can see from…”
The interruption from Josephine whipped Cullen’s sight away from the woman sleeping on him. His fingers dug tighter into his knees, the nails scratching against the grain of his trousers as he ignored the cries of his muscles lock in an awkward stance. The heat from her body was a little harder to avoid.
She was often running around in the frozen mountains in little more than her under armor. A surprise even for the man of Ferelden blood. Not that he didn’t appreciate the view of how tight all that leather cut to her. It would be an impossible attempt. She could make a Brother blush.
With her head resting nearly to his collar bone, and her own shoulder nestled against his arm, he could understand why she wore little. The woman was a fire. The heat curled around him, pulling him deeper into his chair, swaddling him in the cozy serenity of her slumbering on his body. Even by the dead of winter, even while curled naked together on a bedspread she had to be like holding the sun itself.
Another shift pushed her even closer to him, the crown of her hair brushing against Cullen’s chin. He raised it higher to give her room, putting his line of sight directly into Josephine speaking about trading routes. But from the edge of his eyes, he watched the Inquisitor snuggling against him.
Was this how it would be to share a morning with her? To wake and find her head pillowed by his chest, her parted lips warming him with her breath? To watch the sun’s early haze highlight her perfect cheeks and kissable forehead? To drape an arm around the small of her back and hold her as safe as he could, to protect her from the harm thedas couldn’t cease throwing at her?
He nearly failed her at Haven. He should have… Even knowing that Leliana couldn’t predict Corypheus, Cullen felt the Herald’s, the Inquisitor’s near-sacrifice in his soul. If she hadn’t returned, if he’d been the one to send her to her death, how could he live with himself?
Ha. As if he was capable of such a feat now.
His head turned to her, the flyaway hairs tickling his cheek. A smile formed in his heart as he watched her deep into sleep. What would it be like to live for someone?
“Inquisitor? Inquisitor!” Josephine stamped a foot, every head in the small room swiveling back to them.
With a start, she yanked her head off of Cullen’s shoulder. “Yes?” Her bleary eyes blinked slowly, the woman trying to untack her tongue from the roof of her mouth. In doing so, she glanced over at the man she’d accidentally slept upon. He watched her jaw drop at the realization, but before she could comment, she whipped to Josephine.
“You know best, Josie,” was her response to let the diplomat do whatever she wanted. That seemed to be enough as Josie returned to her diagrams. Maker. Where did those come from?
Folding her arms tight into a cross as if to keep her body small, the Inquisitor slunk back into her chair. Cullen tried to follow suit, turning his body away from hers as the demonstration continued until the void consumed them all.
It was another minute before the Inquisitor, her voice low, asked, “Did I, uh, fall asleep on…?”
“It’s no worry,” Cullen raced to assure her. “I’ve…I didn’t mind.”
“Oh,” she nodded slowly, her movements methodical. He could feel her eyes scraping along the side of his face, but Cullen’s innards churned. He didn’t know what he’d done to be embarrassed over, but the feeling wouldn’t cease. So he kept his gaze locked forward, pretending he cared what was going on.
She had to be feeling the same. Embarrassment. Awkwardness. Regret? He couldn’t find the courage to glance over to check for himself, preferring to sulk in the assurance that no one like her would be interested.
Fingers curled to his knee, shaking Cullen from his forced exile. He stared at her warm hand cupping first to his leg, then up the back of his hand. Turning, he spotted a soft tinge of pink on her cheeks. She twisted a fallen loop of hair with her other hand while watching him.
“When…” her mouth opened, but the sound died as she blushed harder. “When this is over, do you want to get something to eat?”
Food would be good. No doubt the dining hall was—
The Inquisitor scooted closer, her knee brushing his as she whispered, “…in private?”
“That would,” Cullen’s voice nearly boomed over the demonstration, chairs creaking as people turned to glare at their Commander interrupting. Shrinking into his cowl, as if the fur could save him, he waited until the audience resumed their doldrums before finishing. “I would love to.”
She nodded at his acceptance while raising her hands high in a stretch. It was obvious that she was yet exhausted, a familiar pain Cullen knew too well. If he didn’t fear screaming in the middle of a nightmare during this, he’d attempt a quick nap as well.
Cullen leaned closer to her, his voice dropping. “If you’d like, Inquisitor,” his eyes darted from her eyes down to her lips, “you could rest upon me.”
A smile from his dreams caught her lips. “I, I should…” she was clearly looking around the audience to see if anyone was watching. But they were all pretending to care about the presentation. Perhaps most of them were sleeping too.
“I will take you up on that,” she breathed, pushing her chair closer. When her head rested upon his shoulder this time, she hooked a hand around his stomach to keep her safe. Cullen watched her settle into the pillow he became. A stray hair slipped across her face, and without a thought, he pushed it away.
“You are…” she mumbled, a yawn breaking up her words, “so comfortable, Commander.” Eyes closed, her breath deepening, she slipped to sleep upon him.
He would watch her no matter what. Protect her. Help her. Keep this rare light in thedas from going out with his final heartbeat.
Josephine finished her question and answer session with a little clap. The servants launched to their feet to yank open the closed shutters. As light off the snowy mountains pierced all their eyes, the audience rose to their feet.
“Mmm,” the woman wrapped halfway around Cullen muttered to the ears of everyone in the room, “I should sleep with you more often.”
Post trespasser when the Inquisitor and Cullen have settled down he is still having nightmares every so often and his wife wakes him gently and holds him.
Once their baby comes he never even stirs in his sleep when he dozes off with the baby on his chest. The comforting presence of his child, the warmth from their tiny body and smell of their soft hair somehow subconsciously eases his mind. He doesn’t remember the last time he slept so peacefully.
