at first all the little kids in skyhold are scared of the big horned man with the eyepatch, but one day when theyāre playing, someone throws a ball and it lands squarely on the tip of one of his horns, and they all freeze and hold their breath as he pulls it off and turns around, eyebrows raised. but then he just bursts out laughing and says ānice shotā and throws it back to them
from then on the kids start slowly warming up to him, until every time he comes back from adventuring, theyāre all waiting there to run and jump on him when he comes through the gate
he starts bringing things back for them, little toys or sweets, and he looks dramatically from side to side before āsneakilyā handing it to them, putting his finger over his lips and making an exaggerated āshhā sound
the kids start going to bull whenever thereās a fight, if one of them is mean to the other, and he sits them down and has them explain exactly what happened and he explains what they did wrong and why they shouldnāt do it, and he tells them to apologize if they need to, but he always makes sure they know itās okay to mess up and that he still loves them
eventually it becomes such a chore to keep them out of the tavern that bull just yields and brings them in to sit with the chargers, and everyone ends up with a kid on their lap, telling them stories about fighting giants and dragons. (one of the boys starts hanging around krem a lot and eventually tells them he doesnāt feel like a āheā at all, and krem is so happy to be able to be there for her, and answer her questions and let her know sheās not alone)
sometimes bull will be in the yard reading, and heāll feel a tug on his pants and looks down to see one of them there with their arms raised and he grins and lifts them up to sit on his horns. it keeps happening until he canāt read anymore because heās got little children sitting on every part of his body, but he doesnāt mind at all
some of the kids are orphans, their parents dead or lost in the war. they found their way to skyhold with returning soldiers or refugees or pilgrims, and bull goes to the inquisitor on their behalf, asking that a shelter and food and clothing be provided for them. he and the chargers help build it.
one day, when heās reading them a bed time story, one of them, snuggled up against his chest, whispers āi love you papaā and heās surprised, but he smiles and kisses their forehead, because āi love you, too, imekariā
he doesnāt really get the whole āparentā thing, but heās better at it than half of thedas