A/N - Bioware owns all, I'm just happy to play in the sandbox – Dedicated to Emily as always.
Do You Love Her?
The door to his office was thrown open with a loud bang. Reflexively, Cullen clamped his hand on the desk to hold the papers in place.
"Maker's breath..." he began, looking up to identify the intruder, promptly breaking off when he saw who it actually was.
Cassandra stood in the doorway, swaying slightly, her arms braced on either side of the doorframe. From the look of her, she needed the support. She swayed there for a moment, visibly gathering herself enough to step into the room proper, then flung one arm out to throw the door haphazardly closed behind her.
She stepped forward in what would have been a menacing way, were it not for the fact that she stumbled and listed slightly to either side as she moved.
The gentleman in him almost made a move to aid her, but the rest thought better of it. There was a certain look in her eye that rather terrified him. With very good reason; he'd seen her work on the field of battle and witnessed her temper more than once. It was probably best to avoid provoking it if he could.
She reached his desk and slammed one hand down on it, meeting his eyes and glaring at him for an almost uncomfortably long time.
Eventually, he couldn't take the silence any longer.
"Can I...?"
"Do you love her?" she interrupted, the thick, slurred Nevarran accent making it hard to distinguish the words.
"I... what?" he said, perplexed and cautious. Months of working with Evelyn, Leliana, Josephine, Vivienne, and, indeed, Cassandra, had taught him to be extremely wary when dealing with strong, confident, opinionated women.
"Do. You. Love. Her?" Cassandra repeated slowly, though whether the slowness was for her benefit or his he couldn't say.
"I. Do," he replied, equally as slowly, opting for the truth but concerned as to its result.
She appeared satisfied.
"Good." She straightened up, removing her hand from the desk, and then immediately slammed it back down, realising she needed the support. "If you break her heart, I break you, Commander." She leant across his desk, close enough that he could smell the alcohol on her breath. "Remember that." Her tone would have been terrifying, if not for her obvious inebriation.
"Lady Cassandra. Are you drunk?" He barely managed to contain the amused smile that twitched at his lips. She just glowered at him.
"I may have had a few." She blinked her eyes slowly, as if she was having trouble seeing. "But that is not. The. Point," she continued, mustering all the dignity she could. "She's m'best friend and...she... she. Ah. Yes. So. There."
He gave up trying to hide the smile and allowed it to spread across his face in full.
"Come on, Cass." He stood and moved around his desk to support her. "Let's get you back to the keep, ok?"
She begrudgingly accepted his aid, throwing her arm around his shoulder, and obediently shuffled off as he led her from the room.
"This doesn't change anything," she muttered into his pauldrons. "I'll still kill you if you hurt her, you know."
"I know," he replied, ever grateful that she'd all but passed out on his shoulder, and therefore couldn't see the broad grin on his face.
"Good."
Eventually, they reached her room in the keep. He tossed her onto her bunk and covered her with the blanket.
"Night, Cass." He turned to leave, but she reached out, gripping his arm with surprising strength.
"You do love her don't you?" she asked once more.
He sighed. "Yes, Cass. I do."
She nodded and mumbled something he didn't catch, probably another death threat, before promptly passing out.
He breathed a sigh of relief and privately congratulated himself for surviving the encounter intact.
Now then, where was Evelyn? That woman had some explaining to do.