Rylen never thought Farrada would agree to a threesome, much less one where he means to sit back and watch her with another man. But thanks to his patience and reassurance, he gets to fulfill a fantasy he never thought he would see.
------
"I want to watch you," the words left his mouth before Rylen realized it.
Farrada turned from where they had been getting redressed with a slight smirk on their face. "I'm right here, love. Are you trying to tell me to go slower?" They asked with a wink.
"No, I mean," Rylen blushed but he sat up and reached for Farra's hand to pull them close. He had already started - might as well put everything out into the open now.
"Mutual masturbation?" They offered, smirk even wider now.
Rylen took a steadying breath as he brought one of their hands to his lips and kissed the inside of Farra's wrist.
"You know all the lovely noises you make as you fall apart for me? The way you come completely undone as you stop caring about everything else?"
It was Farra's turn to blush. For as crass as they could be mid-fuck, they always seemed so shy about it outside of the moment. Their gaze dropped to where Rylen's hand held theirs, and Rylen gave a reassuring squeeze.
"I want to watch every detail of your ecstacy… with someone else."
The smirk was gone as their breath left them all at once.
Yes, yes she can. Also, Mahanon is showing off, I apologize in advance.
Mahanon smiles widely at the shy redhead and bows a little.
“I shall oblige your request, my lady.”
Farrada is a little taller than him, but that is not aproblem; he’s an experienced man and knows how to approach a woman. He gently clasps her hands, pulls her intohis arms, and twirls her a little in a graceful dance without music. She giggles a bit, stumbles against him, and before anything serious can happen, Mahanon catchesher against his shoulder into an elegant dip.
“You should smile more,” he murmurs. “Your eyes sparkle likethe stars when you’re happy.”
And with that, he places a long, tender kiss against herlips, letting Farrada feel the weight of his mouth against hers. Still, beforethings can progress any further, he leans back again, pulling her with himinto an upright position. She looks a little dazed, her eyes unfocused andwide, so he holds her hand until he’s certain she is steady.
He bows. “Thank you, my lady,” he declares. “You were adelight to dance with.”
Man it's been so long I forgot about these! I have been working on typing up what I have written for Chapter 5 for far so here's a sneak peak at the next installment of my MGIT. Thanks @laraslandlockedblues for the tag, it really means a lot ❤️❤️❤️
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“Ah, Farrada, thank you for waiting for us. And Captain Rylen, what a pleasant surprise to see you here as well,” she shot a look towards Farrada who coughed and turned away. Was that a blush or were her cheeks just rosy from the cold?
“Yes, well, I heard a rumor that our enigmatic savior had awoken and though I would take a moment to see for myself.” he said with a bow towards the brunette human he recognized from the fight at the Breach. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Serrah…?”
“Um. Selina,” the woman responded, glancing between him and Liliana in confusion. “I’m really not some saviour, please. You don’t need to bow.”
“Farra! You didnae tell me the Herald was a fellow Starkhavener!” he beamed between the two women and stepped forward to shake Selina’s hand. “It is truly a pleasure to meet someone from the old homestead.”
"Wriday" omg, I love you. No clouds unfortunately but I did find a walk for you. Unfortunately Google docs doesn't want to let me copy text from my phone so here's a screenshot of a couple paragraphs instead!
It’s been literally months. I’m too ashamed to go look up when my last update was. I am so sorry. Thank you for sticking around!
Start from Ch 1 here
Read on AO3 here
The screeching of my car-alarm ringtone only served to make me squeeze my eyes shut tighter and shove my head under my pillow. I immediately regretted touching my house warming whisky the previous night. My mouth was full of cotton and my head positively pulsed at the temples. But I couldn't call out of work - not so soon after starting a new job. A job I needed to keep if I wanted to continue living here.
“Fucking fuck,” I grumbled as I reached out of bed to hit snooze. I was never a morning person, but occasionally cursing at the general concept of waking made me feel better.
For once though, I decided not to push the limits of how long I could stay in bed. A hangover could only be cured by greasy breakfast food and some form of potatoes and I knew I'd have to leave my place at least 15 minutes earlier than usual to swing by the McDonald's on my drive to work.
I picked my phone up off the floor, sat up straight, and turned off both my main and backup alarms. Having those continue to go off would only make me more grumpy than I already was in the mornings. My shoulders and neck were already stiff - evidently I had slept in a weird position last night, so I did my best to stretch them out as I got out of bed and made my way across the hall to my bathroom.
I froze as soon as I flipped the light on. My shower curtain was pulled to the side, revealing the wall of tile surrounding my shower. I always pulled the curtain closed when I was done. Why was it not…
“Jesus fucking Christ, Cullen!”
The door to my guest room was suddenly yanked open and seconds later Cullen appeared in the doorway to my bathroom, eyes wide and hair a mess of curls.
“What happened? Is everything alright?”
I must have resembled a fish the way my mouth hung open as I stared.
“Farrada?”
“You're real.”
“Yes?”
“I didn't dream you.”
Cullen relaxed visibly and chuckled at that. It was a rich, deep sound that positively made me shudder. “Does that happen often?”
“I - wait, no, but…” I suddenly became hyper aware that I wasn't wearing a bra and crossed my arms over my chest. But then I took another look at the man standing in front of me and noticed something that had at first escaped my sleep-addled mind.
“Cullen? You, ah… you're not wearing any pants.”
Cullen's expression turned again to one of shock as he looked down and realized I was right. He was clad only in a pair of black boxer briefs, and as hesitant as I was about the stranger in my home I suddenly wanted to run my hands over every inch of him. I settled for biting my lip, and a sudden pounding in my head reminded me of my hangover.
Cullen blushed and his hand flew to the back of his neck as mine flew to cover my face, blocking out the light along with the tempting figure in front of me.
“Maker's Breath, I didn't realize, I just heard you shout and… Farrada?” I felt a pang in my chest at the concern in his voice.
“Just a hangover, I'll be fine,” I tried my best to sound convincing as I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. “I need to get ready for work, and you should probably put on some clothes.”
“Right… I'll get right to that,” he replied.
As soon as I heard the door shut behind him I stepped back into the bathroom, turned on the cold water in my sink, and splashed it on my face. I always hated the sensation of water on my face but after seeing Cullen like… that, I could practically feel my cheeks burning. Cullen being here only complicated my morning. I had to get myself ready for work and make sure he had something to eat - that he would be ok alone in a completely alien world until I could get back. I glanced at my reflection, grimacing at the dark circles around my eyes. I shouldn’t have stayed up so late. But then I look further down and notice the light bruising on my neck from Cullen’s fingerprints.
“Fuck…” I brushed my fingertips along the marks, glad for the lack of pain at the touch. The bruises were light, but against my pale skin they were still noticeable.
I rushed through my morning routine, brushing my teeth and throwing my hair into a loose bun at the base of my neck just to get it out of the way. I took the simplest course of action to make sure Cullen would be fed: I threw some bread into my toaster and let that go while I changed. I hadn’t been at my new office for a full week yet, so I was trying to keep my tattoos hidden while my coworkers warmed up to me. Some opaque tights concealed the marks on my legs that would have otherwise been visible from beneath my black pencil skirt and my favorite, red sweater covered my video game sleeve. I used my white scarf decorated in foxes to hide the bruises on my neck and decided to call it good enough.
Cullen was silent through all of this. I barely heard a scuffle from the guest room as I slipped on my rings and my opal necklace. As if he had been waiting on me, the door to his room opened soon after mine. He kept his eyes down, a blush still on his face that I would have enjoyed had I more time. Instead I rushed back into my kitchen and grabbed my peanut butter and honey mix to make him a sandwich.
“I know you’re confused - I know this world is completely alien to you,” I called out to him as I spread the peanut butter over the freshly toasted bread, trying not to drool at the smell as it melted against the hot surface. “But I absolutely have to go to work, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll try to explain things tonight, and I’ll try to come back here on my lunch break to make sure you get food.”
“I am not a child,” Cullen responded, only slightly indignant. I hadn’t heard him approach the kitchen and nearly jumped when his voice sounded closer to me than I expected. “I am, in fact, capable of looking after myself.”
I sighed heavily. I knew this was nowhere near easy for him, but why the fuck did this have to happen on a work day? “In Thedas. You could look after yourself in Thedas,” I handed him the plate with his breakfast, and the hunger in his eyes betrayed him.
“Modern day earth is quite a bit different. Just… Let me get you caught up and you’ll be good to go. For now, I’m gonna worry. It’s what I do.” I pulled out my cell phone and checked the time - 7 minutes until I needed to be out the door.
“I’m sorry about the breakfast, I could do better if I had more time but I really need to go. Will you be ok?”
Cullen’s expression softened at my concern and he nodded. His brows furrowed as he noticed the scarf covering my neck. “I didn’t mean… are you alright?”
I moved the fabric enough that he could see the marks and flashed a smile. “This? This is nothing. I have worse than this from moving boxes.”
The crease in his brow remained. “When will you be back?”
I pointed to the display on my microwave, thankful I had already set up the clock. “I take lunch at 12 o’clock. I’ll be here a little after that and I’ll be done with work at 5. I normally get home by 5:20, ok?” God, I hope he gets this whole ‘time’ concept. Thedas doesn’t have clocks, does it?
Cullen simply nodded silently and bit into his peanut butter and honey sandwich. I felt a twist in my gut as I slipped on my flats and grabbed my purse. What if he’s not here when I get back? I tried to ignore the thought and instead pointed out my bookshelf for him.
“Feel free to browse through those or something while I’m gone. The top three shelves are all completely fictional but the second shelf from the bottom is my collection of history books, if you can call it that. I’ll be back.”
Cullen smiled at me, his scar jerking up with his lips. “I’ll be here.”
And with my heart in my throat, I left.
25 minutes later I walked into my building with my purse slung over one shoulder, McDonald’s bag and coke in one hand with my badge in the other. I had already finished my hash brown and between the crispy potatoes and sips of coke I had consumed on the drive, I was feeling better. Not perfect, but better. Between my terrible habit of speeding and a stroke of luck on the morning traffic, I had ten minutes to enjoy the rest of my breakfast before I had to log onto the phones.
Ten minutes alone with my thoughts.
Last night was a haze to me. I remembered unpacking after work but my shoulders gave out on me from the effort I had exerted throughout the week and so I had decided to take a break and drink instead. After all, one of my best friends from back home had sent me off with a bottle of her favorite whiskey. I remembered calling her once I got tipsy, laughing at nothing and catching her up on everything until she told me I needed to sober up. I made a cup of tea and then…
Cullen. I rested my forehead in one hand as I continued eating my breakfast.
Jesus Christ, Cullen is in my flat. What the actual fuck.
I tried to concentrate, but between the whiskey I had drunk before he arrived and the faint fuzz still clouding my head as the caffeine kicked in, nothing was definite. Nothing but the ache around my throat and a memory…
Cullen, hair dripping wet, covered in nothing but a towel and in my living room. My face felt hot as the memory suddenly hit me. That and the sight of him in nothing but those boxers this morning, even if I had hidden my face from him, there was still that bulge, no doubt a result of the early morning. Even though I had only had a glance before covering my eyes, the image of Cullen clad in nothing but black boxer shorts seemed seared into my mind. God, and what a sight it was...
“Morning! You’re here early!” a voice in the breakroom broke me out of my thoughts and I felt my cheeks grow even warmer. I tried to force a smile on my face.
“Decided to get breakfast on the way over,” I replied. “I’m sorry, I’m bad with names. What was yours again?”
“Chrysanthemum, but everyone just calls me Chrys,” she poured herself a cup of coffee as she spoke. I repeated the name in my head as I stared at the back of her head. She was the only person in the office with hair that was such a pale blond. It fell just past her shoulder in half curl, half waves. It had been the first thing I noticed about her. The second had been her smile - friendly and warm.
“Don’t feel bad, I only have one name to learn. You’ve got about 60.” She grabbed a cup of yogurt from the fridge and turned to me, breakfast in one hand and that reassuring smile shining bright. “You’ll get there. Happy Friday!”
I nodded and mumbled the sentiment in return before gathering my trash to deposit and finding my way to my cubicle. The first half of my work day went by blessedly fast. I had less than a handful of phone calls and after the last few days, I was familiar enough with our database that I didn’t have to keep customers waiting while I found their records and their invoices. There was still a large stack of payments to process leftover from the sudden departure of whoever had held the job before me, but payments were my favorite part of the job.
Twelve o’clock snuck up on me and I barely had time to grab my purse and call out “going off site for lunch” to my boss before running down the stairs. He grunted an acknowledgement and that was good enough for me. I had a blonde (former) Templar to check up on.
I could feel my hands shaking as I approached my flat. I knew I should stop and take a moment to collect myself but I was on a time crunch and part of me frantically wondered if he was even still there. The building was still standing, so at least he hadn’t accidentally burned my new place down. Jesus, I really should have tried to explain more of this shit to him before just leaving him alone.
I tried to take a steadying breath as I slid my key into the lock and opened the door to my place, but I knew that with my heart racing and a million “what if’s” racing through my head, focusing on my damn breathing wouldn’t do a thing. In fact, in the past it had made my panic attacks worse. But as I opened the door to my flat I glanced across my living room to the open patio door and for a brief moment, I forgot how to breathe entirely.
Cullen stood on my balcony with his back to me, overlooking the tree-spotted city before him. Bellingham wasn’t a huge city by any means, but between the size and the technology that allowed us to move so much faster and reach so much higher, I could only imagine how Cullen felt staring at what must be an alien world to him.
Even with his back to me, he was beautiful. Part of me wanted to roll my eyes as the thought crossed my mind - how cliche - but it was true. The pale green sweater he wore stretched wonderfully across his well muscled back. His hair - so strictly maintained throughout his scenes in Dragon Age: Inquisition - was an unruly mess of curls that still just begged me to run my fingers through it, even as I felt the need to maintain my space. Physical attraction aside, the man was still a stranger. I couldn’t even be sure exactly which version of Thedas he had come from.
Cullen turned as he heard the door shut behind me. His hand flew to his neck and he started to move back inside. “I was starting to think it would never stop raining. I wanted to enjoy the sunshine.”
“No need to explain. What else are balconies for?” I set my bag and keys down in their usual spot and headed towards my kitchen as he came inside and closed the doors behind him. “Hungry? I’ve got leftovers I was planning on re-heating.”
Cullen nodded and I removed my leftover parmesan chicken from the fridge. I grabbed two plates as the food warmed up in my microwave and turned back to face him. He was standing in my living room, still looking uncomfortable. I couldn’t really blame him.
“How have you managed so far this morning? I know technology-wise we only really got to talk about the fire place and light switches last night.” Cullen watched with fascination as I pulled the now hot chicken from the microwave and plated each piece.
“Truth be told, without any soldiers to drill or recovering templars to look after, I went back to sleep,” Cullen admitted somewhat sheepishly. “I thought it might be best I touch as little as possible for fear of setting the apartment on fire.”
“Hey, there’s only one magic fire button in here,” I shot back with a smirk as I set his food on my coffee table, one of the few empty, solid surfaces in my apartment. Cullen settled onto my couch with his food and after a moment of hesitation, I chose to sit in my computer chair facing him with my plate on my lap. Maybe not a wonderful idea with a hot plate, but I didn’t want to sit on the couch next to him. I just hoped he didn't think I was being rude.
“So. You mentioned caring for recovering Templars, which answers part of the question I needed to ask you.”
Cullen quickly swallowed his mouthful before answering, “Which is?”
I hesitated, popping a bite of the re-heated chicken in my mouth as I stalled to collect my thoughts. “The game that I know you from… There are different outcomes depending on the choices the player makes and I need to know… What happened to you between Kinloch hold and Kirkwall?”
Cullen paused with his food halfway to his mouth, one brow raised in curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry, I know it’s personal and that’s not a time in your life you enjoy thinking about but,” I bit my cheek hard. Just ask the question. You need to know. “It never happened in any of my games, but there’s a possible outcome where you sort of go crazy and kill some innocent mages.”
Cullen’s eyes grew wide in what I assumed was genuine shock. I was never able to tell when someone was lying, but then Cullen never seemed like a talented liar in the games. “Never! Those blood mages may have tortured and imprisoned me and yes, I regret some of my actions in the years after, but I never took the life of an innocent mage!”
Maybe it was just the situation and the emotionally weighted question, but his response did unfortunately nothing to untie the knot weighing heavily in the pit of my stomach. Before I could respond my phone began to ring, and my boss’s name showed on the screen. Cullen gave a quizzical look at the device in my hands. “Shit, just a second,” I muttered towards him before answering the call.
“Hey, boss.”
“You didn’t leave anything at the office did you?”
“I don’t think so?” Anxiety fluttered in my chest for a moment. Surely I hadn’t done something to deserve being fired already?
“Good. Most of the staff took today off for the holiday weekend so we’re closing the office early today. Don’t come back in. See you Tuesday!”
The line went dead before I could respond. I let out a shaky breath as I placed my phone down on my kitchen counter and turned towards Cullen, who was staring at device in fascination. “Dorian once gave the inquisitor something like that… it let them communicate after the mage went home to Tevinter.”
I nodded absently, glad that the writers of Dragon Age had put something similar to phones in the game. That would make at least one thing a little easier to explain.
“That was my boss. They don’t need me back for the rest of the day so, I guess I’m yours.” I tried not to wince at the unintentional suggestion and prepared myself for a very long afternoon trying to explain the 21st century to a fantasy video game character.
Cullen turned towards the cascading and contained water, curious as to why Farrada had seemed to eager to show him what a “shower” was. A frown tugged at his lips as he began to remove the unfamiliar clothes he had woken up in so many hours ago. How in Andraste’s name is this any better than the rain?
His doubts vanished the moment he became familiar with the concept of water pressure. He barely contained a groan of relief at the almost-too-hot water pounded the back of his neck and shoulders - a spot he found to be frequently knotted in tension. It wasn’t quite enough to melt away the stress of finding himself in an unfamiliar land - he wasn’t sure if anything would be - but it was a start.
As Cullen reached for a bottle labeled “body wash” (Maker, she wasn’t kidding about smelling like vanilla), he replayed the short interaction he had had with Farrada in the bathroom. Why had she suddenly tensed at his touch? He chastised himself - he should have noticed she was uncomfortable before he had touched her in the first place. It was written clearly in her body language the moment he had entered the room after her. Her back had stiffened and she never quite met his eyes - not until he had seized her arm, trying to thank her.
Stupid, Cullen reprimanded even as he scrubbed away the sweat from the day’s trek. A woman kind enough to take a stranger into her home and you’ve gone and got her terrorized. Just shower, take your things and leave.
Unless… it wasn’t fear she felt, a small voice whispered inside his head. Perhaps it was disgust. You disgust her.
He shook his head against the intrusive thought. Surely it couldn’t be true? She had let him into her home. She had invited him to use her shower to clean himself, and in a method that he had to admit was far more enjoyable than bathing. But was fear really the better option?
Cullen began to rinse away the suds, eyeing the two additional bottles labeled “shampoo” and “conditioner” before deciding not to waste any more of Farrada’s belongings. Tilting his head back into the stream of the water, he ran his fingers through thick curls and shut his eyes tight, enjoying one last moment in the steady stream of heat before turning the handle Farrada had used earlier and stopping the stream of water.
As he pulled the curtain back and grabbed the pale green towel Farrada had pointed out, he froze in realization. The only clothes in the room were his dirty ones, folded neatly on the bathroom counter but dirty nonetheless. How could he have forgotten the rest of his clothes in that damned pack?
Nothing for it now, he thought as he quickly toweled himself off. Just have to hope that she truly is across the hall and I can make it past her to my clothes. After a moment of consideration, Cullen decided to play it safe and pulled on the black smalls he had been wearing before wrapping the towel firmly around his hips. He took a steadying breath as he wrapped his fingers around the door handle, willing the blush that was creeping across his chest to subside.
Cullen peeked into the room across the hall where Farrada had said she would be but she wasn’t there. There was an open door at the end of the hall, but when Cullen glanced inside the room he saw only a second bed covered in blue sheets. No red headed stranger. He tried to fight the anxious knot in his stomach as he padded down the hall towards the living room where he knew he had left the pack with the rest of his clothes.
The knot got tighter as he noticed Farrada on the couch between him and his clothes. At first she didn’t notice him but then she looked up and practically jumped out of her skin. Cullen frowned and braced himself for the worst. The ladies at the Orlesian court had been terribly brazen and forward with him when he was fully clothed - what kind of attention would he get from the woman whose home he stood in when he was practically naked?
For a brief moment their eyes locked and for a moment Cullen was relieved at the complete lack of lust from Farrada’s face. But then she looked away, cheeks pink, eyes looking anywhere but at him, hands clutching each other tightly. She began to worry at her lower lip and with guilty pang Cullen realized she was nervous - possibly even frightened. He was making even more of a mess of things.
Just get your things and get out.
“I forgot my pack,” Cullen blurted out, unable to stand the silence suffocating the room. Farrada still wouldn’t look at him. “All my clothes are in there.”
“Ah,” Farrada’s voice was quiet and choked. “I left it by the door. I figured it was better to let it dry on the tile instead of my carpets.”
Is her face getting darker? Cullen shook his head and quickly moved past her, opening his pack and snatching a clean set of clothes from it. He stood and turned to go back to the bathroom to change but Farrada interrupted him.
“I have a guest room at the end of the hall. I made up the bed for you. You can stay the night if you like…”
Cullen stared in shock. In the space of an hour he had interrupted her night, been invited into her home, invaded her personal space, used her shower, her body wash, her damned towel, and clearly made her uncomfortable with his near-nudity. And she was offering for him to stay?
Either she is a saint or she’s going to murder me. Cullen contemplated the chances of the two options for a moment. The shower had done wonders for the mess of sore muscles throughout his body but he was still in a foreign world and exhausted. Who was he to reject a stranger’s kindness?
“If you’re sure?”
“Do you have any other option?” Farrada finally looked at him as she made her sarcastic reply. The corner of her mouth curved up in a half smile and Cullen noticed that she was very pointedly looking at his face and not the rest of him. He wasn’t sure if he should feel grateful or slighted.
“I…. thank you, Farrada.” He nodded her way and began to head towards the guest bedroom she had mentioned to change.
“Don’t mention it,” she said as she stood from the couch. She began to move towards curtained door as he approached the hall. “I’ll be out on the patio for a moment. I think I could use some air.”
“But the rain!” Cullen protested as she opened the door and a burst of cold air filled the room.
“I know,” Farrada grinned back at him. “It’s why I moved here.” And she stepped outside, leaving the door ajar behind her.
