The Iron Bull sat slumped in the corner. He had been like that for days.
"What is wrong with him?" Cassandra asked, the disgust clear upon her face.
Eleanor Trevelyan just shrugged. "He is Tal-Vashoth now," the girl said, blue eyes looking up at Cassandra. She was almost as short and slight as Sera, with white-blonde hair and skin so fair they had a difficult time keeping her from burning when out on the road. Keeping her slight frame warm in the cold had also been a nightmare. She was probably exactly half as big as Cassandra. "Apparently he is not taking it well."
"Why don't you do something about it?" Cassandra demanded.
The Inquisitor frowned. "And what am I supposed to do to make him do anything? He's at least three times my size, and could throw me clear across the room with one hand. You want me to cast some spell upon him? I won't do it. Let him drink. We have nowhere to be just yet, anyway. Everything he's ever known has abandoned him – let him wallow a little."
Eleanor, the little mage with the big attitude from Ostwick's Circle, had a point, loathe as Cassandra was to admit it. "What… exactly happened?" she finally asked.
The mage, her attention clearly upon Sera's room at the back of the tavern, finally moved her gaze to Cassandra's. "You know that the deal with the qunari fell through? It was because he chose to call a retreat for the Chargers. It sacrificed a qunari ship. If he had saved the ship instead, Krem and the rest would likely be dead." Her eyes turned down. "I keep trying to apologize – he was asking me what to do so I told him to pick his men – but he won't hear it. Says it's his burden, his responsibility, to bear. But he's not bearing it well."
Cassandra's eyes drifted back up to Bull, seeing his drunken stupor in a different light from before. "Clearly not," she murmured. His gaze would not meet anyone else's. His attention was not riveted like it usually was if a pretty man or woman came near. He was completely dejected.
It did not suit him.
Making a decision, Cassandra found her feet, leaving the Inquisitor free to scamper off to Sera's rooms for the rest of the night. Their relationship was odd, given Sera's fear of magic and its users, but they seemed to make each other happy, and Maker knew Eleanor Trevelyan could use the diversion. Those slight shoulders carried a mighty burden for all of them. Having someone's shoulder to lie on in the dark could do wonders.
And if the two of them had found a lasting love in the other? All the better.
Cassandra's concern at the moment, however, was the hulking slab of immovable muscle in the corner.
"Get up," Cassandra demanded. Bull merely looked up at her, his one eye bleary. Cassandra sighed. "Bull, get to your feet."
"Shove off, Seeker," he mumbled, looking away.
Making a disgusted noise, Cassandra reached out and took Bull by his horns, yanking his head around so he was looking at her. "Get up and hit me, Bull."
The look in his eyes could easily be described both as anger and as excitement. Releasing him, Cassandra backed away, letting the very drunk qunari get to his feet. Turning, she headed outside, not needing to see him follow to know that he did. Honestly, he rammed into so many people and tables on his way out that her ears informed her of his departure from the inn behind her.
The night sky was crystal-clear, the stars twinkling above them. The moon shone brightly, its brilliant light spilling over the grounds of Skyhold, giving everything it touched an ethereal glow.
Going to her corner of the practice yard, Cassandra took up two heavy wooden practice swords, tossing one of them immediately to Bull. She was surprised to see him catch it, given how drunk he was.
"Now," she said, spreading her feet upon the ground and holding her sword in front of her. "Hit me."
His attack was immediate. And sloppy. Cassandra easily danced out of the way, and his sword met the ground. Bringing her own weapon around, she spared none of her strength in the blow she delivered to his hamstring. He would have a bruise in the morning, but the pain seemed only to clear the fog from Bull's eye. Biting off his cry of pain, he lunged again, and again Cassandra was no longer there to meet his sword.
Within minutes all appearance of drunkenness had left Bull, and Cassandra actually had to try. But the fact remained that this was her preferred method of fighting, and that this sword was small enough to be merely a long knife for Bull. Against his own preferred weaponry, and against a perfectly clear-headed Iron Bull, she would be dead very quickly were he not careful. Cassandra was not afraid, however. She had fought alongside Bull enough to know that his kills were never accidental.
Cassandra rolled, getting in close to Bull's feet. Hooking her blade behind him, she pulled with all her might. Down Bull went, landing on his broad back. Scrambling atop him, Cassandra had her practice sword's blade at his throat before he was able to gather himself to get up.
"Stay here and listen to me, Bull," she said. His one grey eye fixed upon her. His body heaved beneath her as he caught his breath, and his arms – each half as thick as Cassandra's whole body – trembled upon the ground, clearly itching to shove her off and take up his weapon once more. Her whole body moved as he breathed, and the combination of his gaze, his power, and his movement started to do rather peculiar things to her insides.
Her breath hitched as she tried to speak, but she recovered quickly, meeting his gaze with her own stern expression. "Leaving all you know behind is difficult," she began, hoping the fight and her words would be enough. He was older, battle-worn and world-wise. Hopefully he had learned how to listen. "The Order of Seekers are the ones who turned this conflict into an all-out war. The mages in Kirkwall rebelled, then the Circle in Orlais voted for independence, and the Seekers declared holy war upon them and led the templars into battle.
"But I did not follow. It was wrong. It was the wrong course of action. The Chantry did not allow the rebellion, but for too long did the templars see the Divine's gradual loosening of restrictions on mages in Orlais as action against them. And the Seekers… lost their way, and took the templars with them. I left the Order and stayed with the Divine."
Bull's breathing was calming now, and his expression no longer held anger. He was completely relaxed, with Cassandra sitting astride his chest as if she were no more cumbersome than some slight tavern wench. Again, the thought made her insides squirm in a delightful – and distracting – way.
"Sometimes, doing what is right is difficult. But I made the right decision. The Qun… did not value your men. They saw them as no better than animals, to be disposed of at your whim, at their order. You see their value. You put value in their faith in your leadership. They are, each of them, dear friends to you. Unlike you and your qunari soldiers, they did not sign on for duty, to die for the Qun if need-be. They participated in that operation solely because you asked them to. You weren't even being paid for it."
Pausing, holding his gaze, Cassandra hoped she communicated her sincerity. "You did the right thing, Bull. It is difficult, but it is right. Sometimes doing the right thing requires us to leave or turn our backs on all we have ever known. But that does not make it any less right."
Relinquishing her hold on him, Cassandra quickly found her feet. Bull took a little longer – moving all that bulk quickly was hard to do, and he likely was still fuzzy from his drink. But his expression was… calm. Serene.
"Thanks, Cassandra. I… needed to hear that, from someone who knew what the fuck they were talking about. The Inquisitor kept trying, but…"
"But she does not know what we know," Cassandra said with a nod. "This is the first time she has ever been devoted to anything by choice. And it is our job to guide her through it, not the other way around. But sometimes we require guidance of our own. I am glad I could provide it for you tonight, Bull."
The big horned head nodded once. "Me, too." Grinning and winking – or perhaps with his one eye just blinking – he said, "I'll keep an eye out for when you might be even a tiny bit vulnerable and return the favor."
Cassandra shook her head, smirking slightly. "It shall be a strange day indeed should that come to pass."
A/N: So I was talking with Raven Sinead (you know you're not surprised, because all my ideas come when we talk with each other) and I was telling her she should ship Cassandra and Iron Bull. Naturally, she decided she'd ship Cass with someone else, but it stuck in my brain and I came up with this idea. So, here you have a short fic in which Cassandra and Bull help each other in the ways each of them needs most at the time.
This fic will be mature. And it has Raven Sinead's stamp of approval (she beta-ed it for me) so I know the smut I wrote is good and sexy and not completely out of line. I'm still nervous when I write hetero smut, as I have no experience with it outside of reading other people's erotica (and porn, but anyone who thinks real life is like porn is dumb).
In other news, I really like this Inquisitor even though this is the only time we're going to see her. She might be the next one I play through with, and she might star in some one-shot in the future, though. Because dammit, I like her.
Also. This whole thing is written, so each chapter will go up as I am able to edit it.