A/N: There will be quite a few male/male couples in future chapters. Tags will be added as it all comes along. I only ask that you keep any negative comments to yourself and simply not read this fic if you don't like it.
It took a month for Elisa to get past the most painful part of her heartbreak. Leaving Dorian behind was the hardest thing she had ever done, and if it weren't for her actual family, she probably would have still been spiraling down in depression. Cid was the one that found her when she crossed through the eluvian, and when he saw her tears, he held her tightly until she only let out the occasional sniffle. She was then dragged inside and reacquainted with her family (in reality she was nearly knocked over by the twins in their haste to give her a suffocating hug), and she told them everything. Where she ended up, what it was like, the Inquisition, the Inquisitor, Cullen (and she added he would likely be showing up at some point; Cid loudly declared he would be giving the Commander the 'Dad' talk), and…Dorian. Elisa struggled telling them all about him, the pain was still too much, but they understood and told her that she could finish when she was ready. She instead told them bits and pieces as time went on.
They all kept her occupied and as happy as possible in their own way. Cid dragged her into helping with building whatever project he was currently working on and it was the most effective distraction. It was presently, six months after she got back, where she was spending her day. The pilot hunched over his workbench spewing profanities at part of an engine, and Elisa climbing into small areas the man couldn't fit in to repair and clean out the smaller parts.
"Swearing at it won't make it fix itself." She calls from the airship she was bodily halfway into.
"Makes me feel better." He answers gruffly as he turns to look at the tail end of her sticking out. "What the hell are you doing sweetheart?"
"Cleaning some build-up."
Cid eyes her apparel. "I thought I told you to wear a shirt. You're gonna burn yourself on something."
"You sound like Mom. Hand me that wrench."
Elisa finishes her climb into the narrow space of the panel and Cid walks over to hand her the desired wrench. She started referring to her father as mom since it was less confusing for the rest of the people in the house, and because apparently it was a running joke that had stuck. Vincent was the twins' actual mother, and when Reno heard them referring to the gunslinger as such, he started calling him that too. Of course, Vincent tried to stop it, but it stuck fast. Reno's excuse was that he was the oldest surviving Turk so they adopted him.
He stopped caring after that.
"Chief."
Cid turns from his observation of Elisa's task and finds Vincent at the door with a blonde stranger and a very large dog.
"What's up beautiful?"
"Where is our daughter?"
The pilot thumbs over his shoulder. "Squished behind the panels cleaning up. Who's the guy?"
"Cullen."
Clattering from within the opened panel distracts Cid and Elisa tumbles out from the narrow space covered in grease. The next moment she was rushing over to the Commander and as she was about to jump into his arms, she stopped dead and looked down at herself sheepishly. Cullen merely chuckled and closed the gap between them to embrace her tightly. After a passionate kiss was shared, the younger pulls away to look at the man's attire and she grins.
"No armor Commander?"
"I was told to change. Apparently I stuck out like a sore thumb."
Vincent clears his throat. "Genesis threw clothes at him and pushed him into the bathroom."
"So you're the one I gotta give the dad talk to." Cid wipes his hands on a nearby rag.
"No, Dad."
"I already said I would. Go clean up and we'll be in for lunch."
Elisa eyes the pilot warily before sighing. "Be nice."
She gives the Commander a gentle peck on his cheek as she leaves the hangar with Vincent, and Cullen shifts uncomfortably under Cid's discerning gaze. The stare down lasted another minute until the pilot got bored and shifted his attention back to the engine part on his workbench. Cid wasn't sure what he was expecting. Well he did to an extent. Elisa told them everything about the man, and while Cid had said he was going to give the dreaded dad talk, it was all a ruse. Just by watching his exchange with his daughter told the pilot that there was no need for the talk. Cullen very obviously cared for and respected Elisa.
"You look like you're ready to hide in a corner."
Cullen sighs heavily. "She warned me that it might overwhelm me. Your world really is much more advanced."
Cid grins. "How was the shower?"
"Something I could definitely get used to once I was shown how to work it. Elisa was right. Dorian would never leave if he came and discovered the bathroom."
"Dorian, huh? Ellie doesn't talk about him much."
Cullen gapes at him. "That's a surprise. Those two were nearly inseparable."
"I think it still hurts her. I can't decide whether to punch him for making my little girl cry or kneel at his feet for protecting her."
The Commander grimaces. "Please don't kneel. His ego is big enough." He then crouches next to the mabari beside him and scratches the beast's head affectionately. "Punching him isn't necessary either. He's hurting just as much if not more."
Cid absent-mindedly scribbles on the blueprint next to the engine part as Cullen turns more of his attention to the dog rolling onto his back. Elisa had not said much about Dorian. She was only able to get out the fact that he saved her life (on more than one occasion) and he was the reason she was able to return home in the first place. Vincent had tried to gently pry more information from her, but it only caused the girl to have a faraway look in her eyes. They decided that they would have to wait for her to tell them anything, but her tears when she returned home was enough indication that Dorian meant a lot to her.
The pilot clears his throat and Cullen looks back up at him. "What is he to her?"
"A best friend…then a brother." Was the Commander's quiet response. "He was…is everything to her. He may be spoiled and cheeky, but Elisa meant everything to him too."
Those words alone told him that Dorian was able to do what he and Vincent could not. When Elisa came to them over four years ago, she had walls that they couldn't even put a chip in. Although Vincent was her father, she was still distrustful even when she accepted their offer to live with them. Elisa was obviously tired of being alone but she was still basing her choices on surviving. She at least told them how she came to be, and Vincent wanted to kill Hojo ten times over.
They tried to include her, to coax any more info from her, but that had been their mistake.
Her walls were similar but also very different than Vincent's were.
Cullen groans quietly and rubs his temples. "You don't happen to have something for pain do you?"
Cid smiles. "I'll do you one better." He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket (something Cullen looks at strangely) and dials before holding it up to his ear. "Come to the hangar real quick. Your sister's boyfriend is hurting."
The pilot then hangs up and returns the phone to his pocket. Before Cullen could even ask about it though, a young man—maybe nineteen if Cullen had to guess—skids into the large building and right over to the aching blonde. He holds out his hands, silently asking the man permission as golden sparks dance at his fingertips, and the Commander nods with wide eyes. He recognized that magic. It was the same magic that had brought Dorian back from death.
The younger gently touches his temples and Cullen sighs when his headache is immediately vanquished. In fact, he felt as he did before his first dose of lyrium. The itch that he had finally been able to ignore in recent months was gone. It was as if the lyrium had been a bad dream.
"There. No more withdrawals." He smiles at Cullen's incredulous stare. "Ellie told us. If it makes you feel any better, you did what you set out to do. I only stopped any more unnecessary suffering. You've been through enough."
Cid smirks from behind the boy. "Meet my youngest, Lance."
Cullen raises an eyebrow and looks over Lance's shoulders. "I thought you would have wings. Elisa said you were a phoenix. The feather came from you."
Lance looks over his shoulder at his father and Cid nods, and then the boy looks at Cullen briefly before taking on the form of a phoenix. Cullen's mouth drops open as he holds back his mabari from the very interesting new creature, and releases the beast again when Lance turns back to his human form and the dog immediately loses interest. Elisa definitely wasn't over-exaggerating.
"I'm curious as to what else you're capable of."
Cid rolls his eyes. "You should be asking what he can't do."
The Commander looks at the youngest twin. "Your feather brought a friend back to life and returned another's lost limb. The friend it revived actually took on some of your power."
Lance smiles softly. "It's only a very small boost."
A random thought suddenly comes to Cullen and he eyes the boy carefully.
"Are you the brother that pulls pranks?"
Blue eyes smiles at him. "No. That would be my twin. Hunter is the one you should look out for. He might tease you for a while because you're Ellie's boyfriend."
"Does he have powers too?"
Cid laughs. "Yeah. Just keep clear of water and you should be fine. He's a naiad."
Cullen pales. "What about the third brother?"
"Sephiroth is a fighter like Elisa but he's harmless as long as you don't hurt the twins or his sister."
"Maker…what have I walked into?"
Cid chuckles and pulls the ex-templar to his feet before throwing an arm around his shoulders and leading him back to the house with Lance and the mabari following close behind. The family would take some time to get used to. They were the definition of chaos, but it was organized chaos. Actually, everything would take some getting used to. Like Elisa, Cullen had been thrown into a very unfamiliar world, but instead of the step down Elisa had to take, the Commander had to take a very big step up. He was already eyeing Cid's flying machines and the cars with suspicion. It would probably be best to get him acclimated to the house and its occupants first.
"The wife should be done making lunch. You can meet everyone."
Cullen glances at him quizzically as they walk into the house. "Wife? I thought—"
"Yes, I'm still talking about Vince. It's a running joke. Don't be surprised when the kids and the Turks call him Mom."
"I'm getting a headache for a completely different reason."
A/N: Here's the crossover. Again it will be short, maybe 2 or 3 chapters, but I figured it needed its own story instead of a oneshot.
**For those that are curious**
Elisa has a different outfit back home (this story). Similar to Cindy Aurum's from FF15. Once I have her Dragon Age outfit drawn, which the link will likely be posted in the first chapter of Finding Home, I will eventually get the link of her new outfit posted here.