Bull was rubbing ineffectually at a spatter of blood on the leather straps of his armour. They had finally managed to take down one of the giants haunting the upper reaches of the Emerald Graves, and the creature had spilled most of his innards over Bull and Cassandra.
"Look at you, boss. Not a single drop of blood on either you or the mage." Bull shook his massive horned head. "Guess it has its advantages, fighting at a distance. Nice and safe, too. We risk our necks at the front line, while all you do is stand around with a piece of polished wood in your hands." The way he wiggled his eyebrows made it clear that the innuendo had been fully intentional.
Alec grinned. He knew Bull was just trying to get a rise out of him. "Ah, Bull, you know I'm far too pretty too die. And mages need looking after. They are delicate creatures." That last remark earned him a scowl from Dorian, who was lying stretched out close to the fire. "But you're right. We're lucky to have you and Cassandra to protect us."
Cassandra snorted, but didn't quite manage to hide her smile.
Alec lay back, stretching slowly, winking at Bull. "Besides, if I stay at the back with Dorian, I can watch him in action, and I wouldn't miss that for the world. So much power unleashed, all those swishy moves with his staff… it gives me indecent ideas, to be honest."
Dorian cleared his throat. "I can assure you the feeling is quite mutual." His voice was low, but there was so much hidden fire in his eyes that Alec's throat went dry. The air between them was practically crackling with tension. Dorian was usually so reserved, so careful not to show his feelings outside their room. For him to admit in public-
"Ugh." Cassandra made a face. "I really didn't need to hear that."
"I'm just stating the obvious," Alec protested. "Have you seen him fight? Even Blackwall noticed how beautiful it is to see the joy he takes in his magic." He smiled affectionately at Dorian. "Of course it doesn't hurt that we got you proper robes."
"Peacocks, both of you," Bull grunted good-naturedly. "With your pretty armour and your shiny hair. You're aptly named, Pavus."
Dorian raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you spoke our language so well. For a brutish beast from Par Vollen, you're astonishingly civilized sometimes."
"Ha!" Bull bellowed out a brief laugh. "The only thing here that's astonishing is that a soft, decadent mageling from Minrathous has the balls to talk to me like that."
"Enough!" Alec got up, brushing a few twigs off his green leather pants, doing his best to look stern. "I'm tired. I think I'll have an early night."
Without a word, Dorian got to his feet to follow him. As they made their way over to their tent, set up at a little distance from the other two, Alec heard Bull mutter something about "tired, my foot", but he just smiled to himself. He's not wrong, after all. He rather hoped Dorian hadn't heard, though.
This mission was the first time they were openly sharing a tent. Alec had requested a bigger one, much to Scout Harding's gleeful delight. It hadn't been easy to convince Dorian that it made no sense to squeeze themselves into Alec's small personal space when the mood struck them. Not that that happened all that often – they both preferred the big bed at Skyhold, given the chance. But tonight…
As soon as the tent flap was secured, Alec was on Dorian, pulling him into a tight embrace, claiming his lips in a deep, hard kiss that took them both by surprise by its passionate intensity. Dorian moaned against his lips, trying to stifle the sound, his fist clenching hard in Alec's tunic.
"So you enjoy watching me with my bow?" Alec was struggling with the fastenings of Dorian's robes, sorely tempted to just push them up and out of the way so that he could get his hands on the soft, warm skin he was craving.
"Of course I do." Dorian did his best to help, but he, too, was trembling. "Your stance, the way the muscles bunch up in your back when you pull back the string? It's all I can think of some nights." He leaned back into Alec's arms, whimpering softly when Alec ran his tongue up his bare throat. "Sweet Andraste, what are you doing to me? I-" For a split second, he swayed on his feet.
"Shhh. I've got you." Alec pulled him even closer, and finally the robes came off, and Dorian was… incredible, so much soft skin, so hot, and he was so hard, his cock twitching almost desperately when Alec took hold of him. "Shhh," he repeated. "Maker, Dorian, I want you so badly."
Once again, their lips met, and once again, Alec lost the ability to think as soon as he felt the mage's mouth on his. Dorian clung to him as if he wanted to devour him, to steal the breath from his lungs, to drink the very essence of him from his lips. It was intense and wonderful and when they finally pulled apart, Alec was panting so hard he could barely speak.
"You… You feel so good." With an inarticulate groan, he sank to his knees to wrap his lips around Dorian.
He wanted this so much, wanted to taste the salty skin, to feel Dorian pulse against his tongue, to make him come undone. Dorian's hand clenched tight in his hair as Alec's lips locked around him, and he made a strangled noise.
"No." It was obvious how much effort it cost him, but he pulled Alec's head back. "No. Too fast."
Alec moaned impatiently, but just then, Dorian slid down to join him on the floor and cupped him through his pants and his whole world turned upside down with a violent jolt.
"Dorian! Yes, please." He pushed himself shamelessly into the other man's grip. "Please."
Dorian made a small, reassuring noise, and then the pants were gone, shoved roughly aside, and a warm, gentle hand wrapped itself around his straining cock, stroking him with just the right amount of pressure. Anything more and he'd have lost it then and there, anything less and he would have died from impatience. Or at least that was what it felt like.
Dorian lay back and pulled Alec on top of him, their cocks aligned, held tightly together by his shaking hand, and once again, it felt so good. "Look."
There was no need to tell Alec. He couldn't have torn his gaze away for all the riches in Thedas. Dorian's long, sleek fingers, wrapped around both of them, the smooth roll of his hips as he began to thrust, the way his foreskin slid back on each upstroke, revealing the tip of his cock, red and flushed and weeping. Alec whined, unable to keep quiet any longer, utterly unable to stop his hips from moving, even though his quick jerking motion disrupted the perfect rhythm Dorian had set.
They were both moaning now, both trembling all over, both close, so close that all refinement was lost and nothing remained but breathless, urgent need, for more heat, more friction, more skin. In some dim corner of his mind, Alec knew the others would hear them, knew Dorian would likely be embarrassed in the morning, but right now, he didn't have it in him to care, not when his whole body was crying out for release. And when it came, it was glorious, messy and sticky and such a blessed relief, with Dorian almost sobbing as he joined him, their lips crushed together in a searing kiss.
"Solid work today, Seeker. Without you, we'd have been done for. That big brute would have smashed us all to pieces." The Iron Bull grinned at her across the campfire. "Always a pleasure watching you in battle."
"Thank you." Cassandra smiled back. "You did quite well yourself. I enjoy fighting at your side."
"Mmmhmm." Bull gave her one of his unexpectedly perspicacious looks, dropping the jovial mask for a heartbeat. "You seem… angry, though, lately. Angry and frustrated. Must be all that pent-up passion. It's not good for you. Makes you tense."
"What?" For a moment, she was lost for words, but then she found her voice again. "I really have no idea what you mean. And I'm not sure I want to know." She sounded stiff and ill-humoured, but really, what-
"Aw, come on, don't be mad at me." His grin was back, decidedly more suggestive now. "Look, I guess, all I'm saying is… If you need any help with that frustration, just let me know, okay? I'd gladly help you out."
Cassandra opened her mouth to reply, but at the same time a flash of memory rose in her mind. A while ago she had overheard one of the maids at Skyhold bragging to her friend about a night spent with Bull. The big horned guy? Your loss if you don't have a go, hon. Really good with his tongue, and his horns aren't the only thing that… The girl had dissolved into giggles at this point, but her gestures had made her meaning clear enough.
For a split second, Cassandra was almost tempted to say yes, to find out for herself if… Maker, what was she even thinking!
Her lips set in a tight line, she shook her head firmly and decisively. "That is never going to happen. Never, ever."
To her relief, Bull didn't get mad, just guffawed once and got to his feet in a movement that was surprisingly graceful for someone his size. "No offense intended, Seeker. I'll leave you alone." He stretched and winked at her. "Anyway, I'm not what you crave, right? Too much horn and not enough fur."
"That's-" Before she could think of something to say, he'd already turned and left, with another infuriatingly smug chuckle.
The nerve! Staring into the flames, Cassandra felt her cheeks heat up. The mere suggestion that she needed a man, needed Cullen to take care of her frustrations was enough to raise her hackles. And yet… Knowing Bull, he probably meant well. The Qun didn't believe in romance, after all, and in his world view, it made perfect sense to offer that kind of stress relief to a companion. Besides, he was observant, she had to grant him that. After all, if there was anyone she wanted, anyone she'd even consider- But no. If nothing else, Cullen didn't deserve to be reduced to a mere outlet for her baser urges.
Gah! This is going nowhere. Cassandra was beginning to get disgusted with herself. She was spending far too much time like this lately, wrapped up in her own thoughts, wallowing in her misery. Far better to keep herself busy. Shaking off her dark mood, she got to her feet and made for the outskirts of the camp to check on the guards.
Dorian had dreaded the next morning, but when they emerged from their tent, neither Bull nor Cassandra seemed particularly interested in their nightly activities. Surely they all had to know, considering the racket he and Alec had made. But if they did, they were either too polite to mention it or they really, truly didn't care. It was quite amazing.
Still, he spent all morning nervously watching everyone around him, trying to overhear their conversations to find out if they were talking about him and Alec. But there was nothing. Not a single disapproving frown or suggestive remark. It was the same when they returned to their camp at night, battered and weary after clearing out yet another rift. Literally no one was batting an eyelash. Clearly, the Inquisitor's love life was old news by now. Dorian couldn't believe it. Did they really not mind?
It was almost a relief when Scout Harding approached him at the campfire and asked him for a word in private. Now, finally, she was going to tell him what everyone had been gossiping about all day. Maybe she would even advise him to end their romance, to save Alec's reputation.
He grew even more apprehensive when Harding hemmed and hawed, clearly uncertain of how to begin. "Ser Pavus… I, that is we, the scouts I mean, but also me personally, we'd like to-" She broke off, blushing so hard that her freckles almost disappeared.
"Go on. Say it." He mentally braced himself for the worst.
"We are so glad he has you. Alec, I mean." Harding wasn't looking at him, so she couldn't see his stunned expression, and she kept talking, very fast, as if afraid he'd interrupt her. "See, we all care for the Inquisitor, and he's been so much happier and more relaxed since-" Again, she blushed fiercely. "Anyway, I just wanted to say…" Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him and her eyes narrowed. For a moment, she looked really fierce. "Make sure you treat him right. We'll be keeping an eye on you, and if you hurt him-"
"Harding!" Dorian was so dizzy with relief he almost laughed out loud. "I assure you, I have no intention of hurting Alec. Ever." He shook his head. "He means far too much to me."
Harding made a small, sceptical noise and looked him straight in the eyes, as if trying to ascertain the truth of his statement. Luckily, whatever she saw there, seemed to satisfy her. "Well. Good. You better be serious about him."
"I am. I really am." Some part of him still wanted to laugh, but at the same time Dorian was sincerely touched by her attitude. "I swear it."
Another brief nod, and she was gone, leaving him alone in the darkness.
Many, many thanks to my wonderful beta suilven.