Author's notes: I think this is the longest chapter so far, and I blame Isabel's rambling! (Not my rambling, Isabel's... Yep, I'm blaming the fictional character.) As always, thank you all very much for reading and leaving reviews!

Cullen stood at the back of the tavern with his ale in hand, watching as his Inquisition companions played Wicked Grace with Isabel. They'd all accepted her as his sister Mia without hesitation, and she'd quickly won them over with her natural charm. No one questioned her identity, and even Cole had stayed strangely silent about it.

Taking a sip of his beer, Cullen felt content to watch the game rather than join, enjoying seeing Isabel having a good time. She was laughing and joking with the others as if they were all old friends. He glanced to his side as Iron Bull came to stand next to him.

"Commander," the Qunari greeted him.

"Bull," Cullen answered with a curt nod.

They stood in companionable silence for a while, both watching their friends play. Cullen smiled a little as Isabel let out a gleeful laugh as she won a hand of the card game. It would seem that she really enjoyed winning, since she'd had a similar reaction when she'd won their chess game. Before she realized he'd let her win, that was. Before he'd ruined it all by kissing her. Cullen suppressed a groan at the memory, and the knowledge that he'd done much worse since. Something about the Warden-Commander just seemed to make him lose all sense, and he did things he really ought not to. But wanted to. Very, very much.

"So, Cullen," Bull interrupted his wayward thoughts. "Your sister, she's quite something."

"She is," Cullen agreed, watching as Isabel playfully swatted at Varric after the dwarf most likely said something funny.

Bull drank deeply from his tankard, before glancing at Cullen. "I'd normally never ask permission, but since she's your sister and you're a friend… Would it be okay if I…?"

"No," Cullen bit out.

Bull chuckled and raised his hands in defense. "Overprotective brother? I get it. Pretend I never asked."

Cullen sighed. "No, it's…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "She's a grown woman, and she can make her own choices. Do as you will."

"Appreciate it, Commander." Bull was grinning widely now.

Watching as Bull strolled over to the table and sat down to chat with Isabel, Cullen hated the stab of jealousy in his gut, but the truth was he had no right to her. She was a free woman, and she really could do whatever she wanted. Or whoever she wanted. Whether she was his pretend-sister or not, he couldn't dictate her love life for her. He watched silently as Isabel and Bull stood up and left the tavern together. She's not mine, he reminded himself as he fought the urge to go after them. Maybe she could be. No, those were dangerous thoughts.

"Cullen!" Varric called from the table. "Come over here and play with us, we're a player short."

"I have a million things to do," Cullen said. "I really ought to get back to them."

"You need to relax," Varric argued. "Everyone needs an evening off now and then. Now get over here."

Figuring that he might just as well play, to keep his mind off Isabel, Cullen went to sit down at the table with his companions.

It was a couple of hours later that he returned to his office in the tower, wearing no clothes, since he'd made the mistake of betting against Josephine. He'd been certain that he'd figured out her tactic, but she kept winning, hand after hand. And now he had just run all the way from the tavern without a stitch on his body. He was lucky that it was nighttime and no one had seen him in the darkness.

Closing the door behind him he took a few steps in, going through in his head where he'd gone wrong, so that he might beat Josephine the next time they played. Then he suddenly noticed that he wasn't alone, as his office chair swung around and he found himself facing Isabel.

"Cullen, I… oh," she trailed off on a light gasp as she caught sight of his naked form.

Covering his groin with his hands, Cullen stood rooted in place, not quite sure what to do. Isabel looked a little shocked, but her eyes were roaming over his body. Her perusal was oddly exciting, and he felt himself harden under her gaze. This really wasn't a tenable situation, he wasn't going to be able to hide his budding erection much longer. Finally Isabel's eyes came back up to meet his own, and he noticed that she blushed slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I wanted to talk to you, but I seem to have picked a bad time."

"Just give me a few moments to get dressed."

Isabel nodded and stood up from his chair. "I will wait out on the ramparts. Just join me when you're ready."

She made to leave, but stopped and turned around by the door, a quizzical look on her face. "How…? Why…?"

"I lost at Wicked Grace," Cullen admitted grimly.

The admission made her giggle, and the soft sound followed her as she exited the tower.

Isabel leaned against the stone wall of the rampart and looked out over the mountains surrounding Skyhold while trying to tamp down her nervousness. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to say to Cullen, but she was running out of time, and she was refusing to leave things as they were.

Hearing the sound of the tower door closing, she turned to see him walking towards her. Being late at night he'd not bothered to don his armor, but was just wearing boots, breeches and a loose, white shirt. It somehow only made him more handsome. Though she quite possibly preferred him without any clothes. As surprised as she'd been when he'd entered his office naked, she had to admit that she was perversely happy that she'd been there to see it.

Cullen finally reached her and stopped a few steps away, as if making sure he stayed out of arm's reach. Was he worried that she might pounce on him? To be fair, she would have been quite happy to do so, so she supposed she couldn't blame him.

"Next time you play Wicked Grace," she said teasingly. "Please let me join. I'd love to make you lose your breeches."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cullen said, shifting uncomfortably.

Isabel sighed. "Cullen, I'm not going to jump you. I promise."

"What? Why do you think…?" he trailed off, probably realizing how he'd been acting. "It's not that. I just…" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, then met her eyes. "What did you wish to speak to me about?"

Suddenly feeling very nervous, Isabel turned back to look out over the mountains for a moment. When she had finally calmed herself enough she turned back to Cullen who was still waiting patiently.

"Look, Cullen… I'm not good at this. I like you. I think that you like me too, at least to some extent. I mean, you sort of said so," she was rambling, and she knew it, but if she slowed down, she may not say anything at all. "But you're giving me very mixed signals. Which could all just stem from me being very bad at this, and not seeing the right signals. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I like you and short of throwing myself at you I don't know what to do."

She took a deep breath as she finished, then added dryly. "Actually, I guess I did sort of throw myself at you in the hot springs."

Cullen was silent, just looking at her. Maybe he was shocked. His quiet made her continue to ramble though, just to fill the silence.

"And well, that didn't work out too well. I mean, it did… Sort of. Only you abruptly left me, so I don't know if I just sort of made you do it and then you realised you didn't want to. But then you did say you want me, and…"

The sound of Cullen's soft laughter cut her off mid-sentence and she lifted her head to stare at him. He was looking at her, shaking his head slightly.

"Please," he said, still laughing a little. "Stop talking."

Isabel took a step backwards, feeling rather hurt by the fact that he was laughing at her. "I'm sorry," she said stiffly. "This was obviously a mistake."

Turning around to leave, she only took one step before Cullen caught up with her and put an arm on her shoulder. "Wait," he said. "Don't go."

"I don't appreciate being laughed at," Isabel muttered.

Cullen moved her around so that she could see him, his face was soft as he looked at her. "Isabel, I do want you," he said. "And I do like you. It's just…" He sighed. "I'm the Commander of the Inquisition's forces. You're the Hero of Ferelden. We're both very busy people, and the truth is, you deserve a lot more than I could ever give you."

"Don't you think I should be the judge of that?" Isabel asked. "And I agree that we're both busy. I have my mission and you're saving the world. But Cullen, I've not asked you to marry me. I just want some time together with you before I have to leave again."

"I… I don't know if I could do that with you," Cullen admitted. "I'm afraid that I would want it all."

Isabel reached up to touch his cheek and he leaned into the touch, closing his eyes for a moment. "Then why don't we try?" she asked quietly. "We could start simple, and see where it leads. Maybe with a kiss?"

Cullen opened his eyes again. She did love the amber colour of them.

"I mean… You're not with someone, are you?" Isabel asked, only just realising that she'd never thought to find out. That would have explained a lot. She really hoped that wasn't the case though.

Cullen shook his head. "No, never been." When she must have looked surprised he blushed. "Not like that," he muttered. "I've done that, just… I've never had a relationship."

"I haven't for a very long time," Isabel admitted. "Unsurprisingly being the Hero of Ferelden and Warden-Commander has kept me fairly busy."

"I can imagine," Cullen smiled.

He was standing so close now that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She wanted to touch him, but didn't quite dare to, because she wasn't entirely sure what they'd agreed on so far, if anything. Cullen reached out and took her hand, then lifted it to his lips and placed a soft kiss above her knuckles.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted this," he said quietly, his words making her stomach flutter. "Too much. But I'm terrified," he confessed. "The visions I had… They were not pleasant ones, Isabel. Some of them probably were… At first. But most of them were just horrible. And I'm terrified. Of hurting you. Of myself. I'm a broken man, suffering from lyrium withdrawals. It's not safe for you to be around me."

"Are you forgetting that I'm the Hero of Ferelden?" Isabel teased him, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm pretty sure that I can keep myself safe."

"I know you're a very powerful mage," Cullen agreed. "But I beat you in brute strength, and even without lyrium I retain my Templar abilities. I could silence your spells."

"If you're prepared," Isabel nodded. "But you can't silence them all. And trust me, I'm very capable."

"You were recently injured," Cullen reminded her. "Even you're not infallible."

"Yes, but there were a dozen of them, and as much faith as I have in your fighting prowess," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him, unable to stay completely serious. "You're still only one man."

When Cullen still looked uncertain she sighed, leaning back against the stone wall of the rampart. "I want you, Cullen. But if you don't want to…"

She was abruptly silenced as Cullen took the final step separating them and pulled her close, pressing his lips against hers. It took her a moment to realize what was happening, but then she answered his kiss with fervor. Her hands moved up and slid through the hair at the back of his neck as he deepened the kiss, pressing his body against hers so that she was trapped between him and the stone wall.

They both stiffened as they heard the sound of the tower door opening and closing.

"Commander!"

Cullen quickly took a couple of steps back from Isabel, and she was happy that it was dark out, because she was certain that her face was flushed and her lips swollen from the kiss. A soldier walked up to them, a paper in his hand.

"Commander! I have the report that you requested. You asked to have it the moment it… arrived." The soldier stopped a few paces away, looking rather uncertain as Cullen was glaring at him.

Isabel very much hoped that the darkness had hidden them from view. She was supposed to be Cullen's sister after all. The soldier glanced away from Cullen's furious countenance to look at her, and she waved a little, pretending that she'd not just been kissing his Commander. Looking back at Cullen he took a couple of steps backwards.

"I'll… Just leave it on your desk," he mumbled before turning around and fleeing back into the tower.

"Oh, I really hope he didn't see us kissing," Isabel said as the door closed behind the soldier. "That would be very awkward. We probably shouldn't be doing that outside where people could potentially see us."

"Probably not," Cullen agreed, but before she could say anything else, his lips were on hers again and his hands were cupping the back of her head, holding her in place.

As he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue in to taste her, Isabel took advantage of his loose shirt and slid her hands in under the hem to slide across his back. He was so strong and solid, while his skin was soft to her touch. Cullen continued to kiss her for some time, before he finally lifted his head to look at her.

"As much as I want to keep kissing you for hours, I think you're right that this is a bad location," he smiled slightly when she giggled, before continuing. "I am leaving for Halamshiral on the morrow, but when I return… Let's continue our discussion then?"

Isabel reached up to touch his lips with her thumb. "If by discussion you mean kissing, yes – definitely."

He chuckled and pressed another quick kiss on her mouth before letting her go. "I will be back in a few days," he promised.