Trevelyan was relieved. Reasonably happy even. The day had been much less of a headache than she'd feared.
In the four months since the Inquisition had defeated Corypheus, she'd been just as busy as when the sky was still torn open, if not more so. Except saving the world seemed to have been child's play in comparison.
Instead of fighting demons, Venatori or Darkspawn, the Inquisition was now engaged in restoring peace, which meant Trevelyan had been pushed into a politician's role. Despite being of noble birth herself, this wasn't her strong suit, and she'd felt almost more overwhelmed than when she had initially been called the Herald of Andraste. Nobles and tradespeople of various ranks and races had been requesting meetings with her, whether to seek political support, mediation, or to simply bask in the Inquisition's glory. Not to mention the odd marriage proposal.
Her days- and those of her staff- appeared to consist of a never-ending sequence of meetings, negotiations, and receptions. Talk, smile, nod. Rinse and repeat. She probably would have been unable to sit through even half of the appointments to date, and would have ended up offending Maker knows what kinds of important allies, had it not been for the unfaltering support and encouragement of her advisors, who were always at her side.
Two of her advisors, anyway- unlike Leliana and Josephine, her commander appeared to hold just as little enthusiasm for diplomacy as she did. It wasn't obvious to everyone, but if she paid attention to him long enough, an irritated clench of his fist or a quick movement of his eyes towards the ceiling at some particularly annoying encounter was all it took for her to know his patience was wearing thin.
Of course, that wasn't why she would seek the commander's eyes across the war room. It was more to catch a quick glance, a half-smile or some other little gesture. Now that their relationship didn't present an immediate risk to security as it did during war times, they hadn't been as rigorous about keeping it secret (as much as anything could ever be kept secret at Skyhold, of course). Now and then, her hand would brush against his, or he would walk just a little too close to her to just be an advisor. They enjoyed these little moments of freedom, feeling that they'd earned them.
There were, of course, times, when even these minute displays of affection were inappropriate- usually when they were risking snide comments from the smug, obnoxious types that seemed to populate much of the ranks of nobles across Thedas.
Which brought her trail of thought back to how surprisingly well the day had gone. Despite Leliana's reassurance, she'd been worried about the three-day visit of this particular guest. It could have been due to his title- it was a rare thing for Skyhold to host someone of his magnitude, and the place had been bustling for days with preparations. With all this build-up, she'd expected another pompous idiot, far too confident and with a giant stick up his rear end.
She couldn't have been more surprised when King Alistair had turned out to be gentle, unpretentious and down-to-earth, with a sharp wit and a smile for even the lowest of servants. At their negotiations today, his demands had been more than reasonable, and they'd reached agreements on all points. She'd had to laugh out loud several times at his banter with Leliana and some of the references he'd made to mutual acquaintances, such as the sorceress, Morrigan. For once she was looking forward to dinner, as it was promising not to be a terribly dull affair this time.
Despite all the preparations that had been made for a lavish banquet, the king had insisted on having a low-key meal at the tavern, where she was headed now. Truly a man of the people, she'd thought. As she walked in, her advisors and most of her companions were already seated around a long table, waiting for His Majesty to arrive. Even Cullen was there, who had become quite adept at making excuses to avoid the evening entertainment. Smiling at the round of people, she gave his thigh an affectionate squeeze as she sat down beside him.
The king and his notably small entourage arrived, and it was indeed a light-hearted gathering with rustic food, local ale, plenty of stories and lots of laughter. Whether it was the king's own tale of how the dwarf Oghren had once managed to scare off an unfortunate thief using just his brewery breath, or Varric's account of how His Majesty had appeared like a stammering little boy under the frightening stare of the equally frightening Knight-Commander Meredith- Trevelyan and her companions were very much enjoying the evening. Even her military advisor couldn't stifle a couple of heartfelt laughs, the sight of which made her particularly happy.
Cullen did get up to leave eventually, citing reports he still had to review. As he got up, he half-bowed towards their guest. "I trust Your Majesty will keep the Lady Inquisitor and her party thoroughly entertained in my absence", he said with a rare mischievous glint in his eyes. As the table broke out in laughter and cheers, Trevelyan smiled up at her lover and was rewarded with one of those smirks he seemed to reserve just for her. "See you soon", she mouthed before he turned to walk out the door.
_
Later that night she was riding him, hard and fast. It helped her unwind and get the stress out of her system. He recognized this and was only too happy to oblige.
Lying on his bed, he had one arm behind his head and one hand on her hip as he watched her slide up and down with her hands behind her on his thighs, her hair tousled, eyes half-closed. His breathing was almost as ragged as hers, but he wasn't yet responding to her movements. For the moment he was happy just watching her fuck him, breasts bouncing up and down as her body swallowed up his length over and over.
Sensing she was close, Cullen unfolded his arm from behind his head, bringing it to his face. Making sure she was watching, he licked two of his fingers, one by one, slowly and deliberately, then moved them up to where they were joined.
Her head dropped back in anticipation, and it wasn't long before his deft little movements had her shuddering, falling forward onto his chest with a low, drawn-out moan.
It was then that he grabbed both of her hips and started thrusting into her in short, quick stabs as she was still lying down, holding onto his shoulders and whimpering incomprehensibly.
He came with a groan, moving his hips a few more times before he too melted into the sheets, spent.
Afterwards they were lying in each other's arms, Trevelyan drawing circles on his chest and Cullen breathing in her scent through her hair.
"You know", he said after a while, half-smile on his face, "I saw the way you were looking at him today."
"What", Trevelyan gasped in shock. Half of her felt caught while the other half was wondering exactly what her offense had been.
"King Alistair", Cullen added.
"What do you mean?" She lifted her head to look at him, almost offended now, and very confused. Was he revealing a jealous side she hadn't noticed before?
Cullen winced slightly at her reaction, wishing he'd chosen his words more carefully. He sat up so he could look at her properly. "I'm sorry, I-I really didn't mean to imply… I…", he stuttered helplessly.
"Then what were you meaning to say?" she offered, eager to get this out in the open.
Brushing his fingers along the side of her face, he tried again. "You like him, don't you?" he said, his eyes warm with affection. As she opened her mouth in protest, he quickly added, "I do too, he's a nice fellow. Far more agreeable than most of these pretentious arses", she chuckled at his choice of words, "and I admire him for what he's done for my country." His tone softened as he continued, "I mean, if it weren't for him and the Hero of Ferelden, we might never have- I might not even…" Trevelyan nestled her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his back, holding him close as his voice trailed off. She'd heard all about Cullen's suffering at Kinloch Hold, knew how it had changed him and was aware of how it still haunted him. While she couldn't have been happier (and more proud!) that his withdrawal symptoms were finally improving, she knew that his past would always be a part of him. She didn't love him any less for it and made sure he knew that.
At the same time, though…
"Why were you asking if I liked him, then?"
Cullen's gaze dropped towards the sheets, and he began rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Trevelyan sat up in front of him, the cotton blanket falling off her shoulders. Now she was intrigued.
"How do I say this?" Curious as to how indeed he would, she raised an eyebrow. "The three of us- could you… I mean, would you…"
Trevelyan's mouth fell open, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Cullen, what in the Maker's name are you suggesting?"
He began to speak but stopped before he actually did offend her with more of his gibberish. Straightening his back against the headboard, he dragged the blanket back up over her shoulders to keep her warm as the heat of their lovemaking was slowly wearing off. He then took her hands into his. Taking one more deep breath before he spoke, he looked into those endlessly deep eyes of hers. His voice was soft and sincere, almost solemn.
"I love you, with every bit of my soul. Loving you helped me gather the strength to make it through this addiction. I owe my sanity, my life, to that love", he briefly looked down at the sheets then up at her again, "… to you". Trevelyan's hands were shaking in his, and she was trying hard not to blink to keep the tears in. "When this is all over, you know I'd love for us to… settle down, right?" She was smiling now, nodding eagerly as a single tear escaped down her cheek.
"Until then, I want to use every possible opportunity to show my… appreciation, my adoration. Maker only knows how much I adore you…" Managing to steady his voice, he continued, "… and I thought this might be one such opportunity. If I'm wrong, however, if the thought of another man isn't… enticing, just forget about what I said…" he caught her slight reaction, "but in case that is indeed a-a… fantasy you might have harboured, I'd be very happy to…"
She interrupted him with a light kiss, soft and far more innocent than what he was proposing. Stroking his hair, she grinned at him. "I wouldn't say it's not enticing, exactly. But why propose this now, and why him?"
Cullen smiled back, a full smile, and one more sheepish than normal. "I guess now's as good a time as any to be a bit… daring, with the tear in the sky closed and all. As for King Alistair…"
Her eyebrow went up again. "As for King Alistair…?"
He shrugged. "As I said, he's a good man. I'd rather watch him… with you than some mask-doting Orlesian fool."
Trevelyan was grinning widely now. "So you'd like to watch, would you?"
Cullen's hand was back at his neck, rubbing fiercely as he scrambled for words. "I- that's not why I was suggesting…"
Her lips cut him off once more, this time with a muffled giggle.
They made love again before falling into a quiet sleep- not, however, without Cullen promising to speak to the king the following day.