“Oooh. Did Josephine get another batch of those little Orlesian doohickeys again?”
“Vol au vents,” laughed Vyera as she uncovered the plate. It was early in the morning, the Keep was still comparatively silent, and the Inquisitor and her horned paramour had sneaked into the kitchen for an early pre-breakfast. Her hair was out of its trademark braids, swooped back in a thick and unruly twist. “You might as well know what to call those things you’re putting in your mouth!”
“That’s what she said,” Bull quipped. She responded by bouncing one off his forehead.
“Oh, you can laugh all you like,” she shot back, “but I know you can’t resist the little things. And I’m going to eat every last one before you can, salroka!”
“Salroka?” The Inquisitor froze, a flush practically flying up her throat and across her cheeks. “That’s Dwarven, isn’t it? What’s that mean?”
“I didn’t--I mean--I’ll tell you later,” she said, cramming a thick slice of bread purposefully into her mouth before haring it out of the room.
Bull bit into the abandoned pastries, chewing in thoughtful silence. He had no idea the word wouldn’t cross the Inquisitor’s lips again for weeks.
The matter wasn’t mentioned over the next dozen fights, a dragon hunt, and five exhausting sessions in the bedroom. Certainly not right away that night, when Vyera sat thoughtfully drinking and beckoned Iron Bull to bed.
“You have been,” she said in her drink-soused, smooth drawl, and behind closed doors, “exceptionally restrained.”
“Hah. Then I’m not really doing my job, am I, Red?”
“I like it when you call me that.” She hummed in pleasure as Bull did something delightful to her bottom. “But really, all that tumbling and you never asked me what salroka meant again.”
“Should I have?” He stopped, letting her lean bonelessly (and irritatedly) against his shoulder. “The way you reacted, I figured that when you wanted to let me know, you’ll let me know.”
He felt her short, hot puff of breath on his skin, her eyelashes brushing against his collarbone. “It means,” she said, enunciating with over-careful clarity, “one by my side.”
“That’s it?” Bull said before he could catch himself. At which she bit him, albeit not very hard.
“It’s not--well, okay, that’s it. People come and go, you know? Nobody’s ever stuck around. But maybe you will, hey?” She pulled back to look him in the eye, wistful and tender and very tipsy. “Maybe I want you to stay. Maybe I want you to be the one at my side. Oh, Stone, this is hard.”
It was the opening for the perfect joke, but Bull let it pass. “I’m here, kadan,” he said, lifting her off her feet and into bed. And he made sure that when she opened her eyes again, The Iron Bull was the very first thing she saw.
And then Bull cracked his joke, and got a pillow to the middle for his troubles.
For the askbox thing: "You can tell a lot about a person by how much they smile while boning." Pairing of your choice.
Oh me oh myyyy
NSFW cut.
Vyera looked down from her perch at Bull’s face, squinting suspiciously at him. “Are you, by any chance, stalling for time?”
“I might be.” He shifted to press closer into her, which sent a great shudder up her spine as her nails skated hard against his skin. “But you’ve been grinning like a rotten cockle all the way through--and I’m just enjoying the show.”
Was briefly talking with commandercousland last night about Bullmance cutscenes and I must have really, REALLY wanted something to happen post-penultimate quest and pre-ultimate story quest, because I had a dream about playing DAI and a snuggly aftercare scene played where Bull tucked Vy into bed and held her until she went to sleep.
(After which of course I shot a fanmail back screeching OMG THIS IS THE SCENE? SO SWEET)
Because if I can't get a super sweet dance scene with Vy and Bull I can definitely get a drink-and-carouse...and hear FPJ say kadan in my playthrough...
