Chaste Love
A Word: V Day request for Cullen and Dorian.
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"Oh that is just too sweet," Dorian says. His voice is amused with just the right edge of sharpness to it for Cullen to know the mage is laughing at someone even before he looks up from the chess board.
Across the garden Josephine leans against the railing of the walkway and looks down on Blackwall. The Warden stands almost at attention with one hand placed in the small of his back, the other reaching up with a single flower towards Josephine. He's speaking, but his back is to them so Cullen has no idea what is being said. He can guess though going by the pleased smile on Josephine's face.
"It is the day for it," Cullen remarks because he's stumbled across more awkward confessions and displays of affection today than he has the entire time they've occupied Skyhold.
"It is the day of cheap trinkets, and sentiments that are meaningless," Dorian says and his gaze cuts to Blackwall and Josephine pointedly. The chaste love the two share are an open secret to many, and Cullen finds the whole affair heartening. Dorian, on the other hand, doesn't seem to understand the whole concept at all and is absolutely frustrated by it. "What use is declaring your affections on a certain day if you have no intention of doing anything with it?"
"Cheap trinkets?" Cullen ignores the jab at the two and raises one eyebrow as he looks at the bottle of wine imported from Tevinter at no small cost to himself. It's nestled firmly against Dorian's side, one hand hovering over it protectively as if it is in danger of rolling away. "Should I have not bothered?"
"Absolutely not," Dorian's finger close convulsively around the neck of the bottle and he even hunches over it protectively. "I detest those cheap things the merchants are hawking out, but wine is an entirely different matter."
"So you say," Cullen remarks as he moves a pawn. Neither of them is winning at this point, but they're not giving the game the due diligence they normally give it. "I will have to sell back all the other gifts I have back to them then."
Dorian squints at him for a moment. Clearly trying to figure out how much of what Cullen's saying is a jest and how much is not. He enjoys the uncertainty on Dorian's face for the brief moment it lasts. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far my Commander. After all, I have not had the chance to shower you with any of the gifts I bought for you."
"You bought me gifts?" Cullen asks. Surprised, not because he thought Dorian wouldn't give him gifts, but because he was fairly sure this holiday doesn't exist in Tevinter.
"You wound me," Dorian drawls as he plays with two different pieces and he's not paying any attention at all to Blackwall or Josephine anymore. Or the game really going by the wicked smile on his face. "Of course I have a few trinkets for you. I simply didn't bring them with me as they're not the kind of things to be shown in polite company. In my quarters however..."
Dorian trails off suggestively and slowly stands. He gives Cullen one last smirk before strolling off. The wine bottle hooked between two fingers.
Cullen swallows and licks his dry lips. He takes his time resetting the pieces for whoever may want to play next before standing himself. He looks over at Blackwall who is still standing a respectful distance from Josephine. A distance that will never grow shorter out of necessity. He smiles a little and then forgets them entirely as he sets his mind to figuring out the quickest route to Dorian's room.
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