#5 or #9 for the micro story prompts, pretty please!
#5 first. Not sure if this counts as micro but here we go!
The door opened and shut so quietly that Cullen didn’t bother looking up from his reports. Any scout working this late knew to simply leave their reports on the right corner of his desk and leave. The sunlight streaming into his tower was long gone and if he went on much longer he would have to light new candles. For hours, only the sounds of paper rustling and pens scratching had broken the silence in his office. Until she spoke.
“Cullen.” Her voice broke on the word and Cullen’s head snapped up sharply. Ellana stood just inside his office, and Cullen gulped at the sight of her in only a robe that went to her knees. It was wrapped so tightly he couldn’t even tell if she wore anything beneath it at all. He remembered what they had done on the desk in front of him only two days ago and felt his arousal grow, until he saw her face.
Her hair was a mess, tears threatened to spill from bloodshot green eyes, and she clutched her own, fade-touched arm so harshly that Cullen knew there would be bruises in the morning.
He was up from the desk and across the room before he knew what to do. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close but she did not reciprocate. She remained frozen, holding herself.
“What is it, love?” She shook her head against him. He knew her tears were falling into his mantle but the fur was so thick he couldn’t feel them. Maker, why was he still in his armor at this hour? It was too much. He couldn’t comfort her with the fragments of metal separating them, keeping his warmth from her.
He pulled back and removed his mantle before wrapping it around her shoulders. She was shaking now, tears flowing in earnest and his heart raced at seeing the panic on her face. His fingers worked as quickly as they could in his fatigued state to remove the armor he should have taken care of hours ago.
“Elanna, love. I am here. What’s wrong.”
“I keep seeing Adamant,” she cried out. “All those Wardens, dead for nothing. And that Nightmare… oh, creators, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Cullen pulled her against his body once again the moment the last part of armor was removed. He could polish it in the morning - right now she needed him more. He bent down and buried his face against her neck, inhaling the smell of elfroot and vanilla that always seemed to cling to her. He brushed his lips against her pale neck and held her tight, hoping against everything that he could steady her. That if he just held her tight enough, she wouldn’t be able to shake any longer.
“Help me, please,” she asked again,
“Anything, Elanna. Anything you need.”
She finally let herself go and wrapped her arms around him. The tears still fell but her breathing slowed. “I dreamed that I was physically in the fade again. But you were there,” Cullen felt his heart clench at the worry in her voice. “You didn’t know me. You didn’t know where you were. I couldn’t get you out.”
“I’m here,” Cullen repeated.
“Can I sleep with you?” Elanna blurted out. She pulled away from his arms enough to look up at him. Cullen shouldn’t have been shocked by her request - not after the moment of intimacy they had shared following her victory at Adamant. She had stayed with him that night and he had been the one in need of comfort. But Inquisition business had kept her busy recently and she had not returned to his bed since.
“Of course, love,” he leaned down once more and brushed his lips against her forehead. “You never need to ask.”
His work could wait until the next day. He gently steered Ellana up the ladder towards his bed, blowing out the candles before following her up. It was a tight fit, but the moment his back touched the mattress she turned towards him and wrapped herself around him, arm across his chest and leg slung up over his hips. In any other situation the move would have roused a wave of desire but not tonight. Not when nightmares still clung to her mind like cobwebs. Not when the fear in her eyes had been clear from the moment he looked up from his desk.
“Shhh, love. I’m here. I’ll always be here. I’m not going anywhere.”
And with that thought and one final kiss - a quick peck on the tip of her nose that he swore earned a small smile - he watched as she slowly relaxed and slipped towards the fade once more.
