A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out of it." - George Bernard Shaw


Dorian crouched against a rock as he watched the giant lumber past. His limbs shook with exhaustion and fear as Lavellan was hit by a flying rock, her body moving like a child's toy. She didn't get back up, but Cole jumped from a tree onto the back of the visible giant and thrust his daggers into its neck. As it spun around trying to find the foe that had attacked it, another giant approached, a rock in its hands.

"No." he whispered, throwing a barrier up around Cole before he tumbled to the ground. Cole landed with a whimper and stopped moving, proving that Dorian had been too slow in casting his spell. He cursed.

"Dorian! Move!" yelled Bull as he finished taking down the Bronto that Lavellan had accidently provoked. Dorian scrambled out the way, throwing wildfire out at the more distant giant. Bull roared as he struck the giant, taking it down.

"Oh yeah!" crowed Bull, a grin lighting up his scarred face as he glanced back at Dorian. The mage allowed his lover a smile before creeping over to check on Cole.

The boy was still, but his heart was still beating strongly, still pumping blood through the body of the spirit. Before he could revive Cole though, Bull let out a cry and the smash of rocks caused Dorian to look up.

Dorian stopped, his blood freezing in his veins as he watched the giant turn and noticed his movements. Gasping, he scurried backwards until he hit a tree trunk. The giant lumbering towards him, one hand awkwardly reaching out.

But Dorian didn't stay still, he didn't try and play dead; with a fear he would later curse himself for, Dorian got to his feet and ran, leaving behind both his companions and his staff. He could hear the giant crashing through trees but he didn't stop.

It was only when a rock landed in the ground near him and smashed into pieces that he even considered the stitch in his side all the running had caused. He only considered his stitch because the way agony lanced through his body with every movement of his left arm was too sickened to contemplate beyond 'Oh that was probably caused by a piece of that broken rock' and even that thought was too difficult to linger on.

Tears pouring down his cheeks as he hurried through the lands of Emerald Graves, he fancied he could hear Lavellan's voice as she regained consciousness. As that thought crossed his mind, another stopped dead in the middle of it: he couldn't return to camp without the others. The soldiers hated him enough as it was; hurrying back and claiming that the others were only unconsciousness and not dead would only exasperate the situation. By the time he reached the river, he dunked down in the water and held still. He wasn't sure if giants could track smells or just motion, but he hoped the river would hide both. The choice proved to be a good one as a bear attracted the giant's attention and it headed off the other way to Dorian.

Body still shaking, Dorian pulled himself out the water and ran, full pelt, back towards his friends.

Lavellan was stirring, her body stiff as she picked herself up. Dorian stopped just a few feet from her, giving her a shaky grin. She smiled back at him, pain evident in the expression.

"Take it you distracted it?" she asked, before glancing around at the three giants around them. "How many were there?"

"Well, the second one that knocked you out took Cole out too. I saw Bull get the second and I suppose he got a lucky blow on the third, but I ran from the fourth."

"You took it away. Good idea." She nodded approvingly.

"Th-there was nothing brave about it." He gasped, body letting out a violent shiver as he cringed with shame. "I was scared and I ran."

"Good." Lavellan said, her face fierce for a moment. "I wouldn't want you out too. If you hadn't pulled it away then we may have ended up in a cooking pot!"

"I-I'm not sure giants cook their food first." Whispered Dorian, still unable to look up at her. He sat heavily down on the grass, his legs shaking.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they're too stupid." She grinned, but she quickly slipped away. Dorian felt his shoulders slump as she so clearly dismissed him, but he didn't object; he had barely even been injured. He didn't need the attention.

"Hey." A gruff voice just above his head made him jump.

"Bull!" he yelped, before taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself.

"How you doing, 'vint?" Bull moved around to sit in front of Dorian, his body dropping with none of its usual grace.

"F-Fine. A little battered but fine." He managed a smile. It was weak, but still a smile.

"Uh-huh. You looked at that arm yet." Bull glanced meaningfully down at the bleeding wound that was staining Dorian's clothing.

"It's fine." He insisted, his stomach turning as he acknowledged the pain that was still emanating from the injury.

"Sure it is." Bull replied, before his hands moved forward and competently snapped open the correct buckled to uncover his shoulder and arm.

"That stripping that better be for treating injuries!" laughed Lavellan as she sat cleaning a seeping cut on Cole's arm.

"Is for now, Boss!" Bull yelled back.

Their confidence and their care shamed Dorian. He curled his knees up and hid his face, feeling tears pour down and the pounding of his headache increased simultaneously with his heartache. He was a mess, no. He was worse than that; he was a coward who was only out for himself. The only reason he had even come back was because he had been frightened of the soldiers.

The arms Bull wrapped around him felt paradoxical, ambivalent; both suffocating and secure at once. He curled tighter into himself, aware that he didn't deserve Bull's concern.

"You're alright, Dorian." Whispered Bull; who for once failed to say the right thing.

"No, I'm not." He stood up, pulling away. "I'm a coward. Why do you want anything to do with me?"

"Dorian?" Bull frowned, confusion flitting across his face.

"I don't understand… No, you don't understand!" Dorian crossed his arms, too fired up to notice his arm. "Why do you care? I'm a selfish man, a Tevinter mage! I am not kind, or helpful or interested in anyone but me. And you? In spite of all I expected, you are a wonderful man and a far better person than I could ever hope to be!"

His voice cracked and his knees gave in. he dropped to the ground and sobbed, undeniably grateful when Bull didn't just embrace him and dismiss everything he had said. Instead, the large man crouched before him and waited for Dorian to meet his eye.

"What could possibly make you think you are selfish?" asked Bull softly, seriously.

"Everything! I-I wouldn't have stopped running from that giant if I hadn't been worried about what the soldiers would do to me!"

"What the? No, we'll come back to that. If you come across a giant by yourself I will always expect you to run! But you said everything, so what else?"

"I am selfish. It's simply a fact." Dorian curled tighter, feeling horrifically vulnerable. "I always look out for myself, I am not bothered what happens to others. I only left Tevinter because I was too selfish to accept what my father wanted me to do."

"Can I say something?" Bull asked, his voice still too soft, too serious.

"Y-Yes." And Dorian squeezed his eyes shut, oddly terrified that the Iron Bull would say something in agreement.

"I don't think you are selfish. I'm sure refusing to play along with your father factored into why you left, but if you were only looking out for yourself you would have ok with having a false relationship with a woman and sleeping with a man behind the scenes. Then you wouldn't have had to give up everything and leave the country."

"I enjoyed the idea it would cause my father shame." He whispered.

"And then you stayed in Redcliffe, where you were not welcome to try and save us from the threat of time magic and to keep Lavellan safe. I don't know what you did in between leaving Tevinter and winding up in Redcliffe, but I am undeniably thankful that you are here and in one piece."

"One piece?" scoffed Dorian, his whole body trembling even as he shifted closer to Bull.

"Yeah. You may be lacking a little polish but you aren't broken. We'll get you shining yet when we get rid of that self-doubt."

"Missing more than a little polish." He muttered, but he wriggled close when Bull finally wrapped his arms around the mage.

"No. Just a little polish. You care about what happens to people. I've seen the way you hover when I'm hurt, or Cole is, or Lavellan is. The fact that all three of us were knocked out must have sent you into a panic. More than that though, even when Blackwall, or Vivienne or one of the others you claim not to like end up in the infirmary, I've seen you 'just heading in that direction' more than once."

"If… If we lost anyone I may have to go out more often." He said softly, face pressed into Bull's shoulder with no regard for the blood there.

"Sure. I'm sure it's for entirely selfish reasons that even in Skyhold you work yourself to exhaustion in the library trying to find something to give us an advantage too, huh?"

Dorian smiled unwillingly, the confidence that Bull had in him was no longer a perplexing thing of terror, but instead it warmed him.

"Can I ask about the soldiers?" Bull said softly, but it dispelled all warm from him.

"They don't like me. Neither out here nor in Skyhold."

"You sure?"

"They leave dismembered animals in my rooms with slurs about blood magic hidden around my room so I come across them when I least expect it." He said despondently. "They are perfectly aware that I am from Tevinter and therefore a cruel blood mage with many slaves under my thumb."

"Idiots!" growled Bull, the noise causing his entire chest to rumble. "How dare they?! How dare those cowards assume they know who you are without any knowledge of who you are!?"

"Everyone does it." Replied Dorian softly.

"That doesn't make it ok. I wouldn't love a murderous blood mage. They know nothing about you."

"Love?" asked Dorian, trying to discreetly dry his eyes without Bull seeing.

"Yeah. Guess what Dorian; I love you." Bull had pulled back to stare directly into Dorian's face.

"Y-You do?" he asked, but a smile lit his face up.

"How could I not? You're perfect." Bull cupped a hand under his jaw delicately.

"I guess I'm ok." He said gently, unable to take his eyes off Bull.

"Perfect." Bull whispered, before leaning in to kiss the man.

As their lips met in a delicate caress, Lavellan piped up "You two patched up yet or did you get distracted?"