Deal

Notes: Request for Cullen, Alistair and the first line.

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"Hey! I was going to eat that!"

Cullen blinks and looks askance at the pouting boy across from him. After a moment he realizes he is in fact talking to Cullen. "But it was on my plate," Cullen points out with a frown.

The week has been going well so far. Cullen and the other two new recruits had been fitting in well with the others who have been training for longer. No one has yet bully them like he'd first feared, and Cullen wonders if that's about to change now.

"I know," the boy states solemnly. He taps the table in front of his plate as he explains. "I've been watching that piece of cheese the whole meal. I was waiting for you to look away so I could steal it."

It's a frank and startlingly honest statement that stuns Cullen for a bit before the confusion sets in. Was he actually telling Cullen he was going to take food from his plate?

"You never look away from your food though," the boy says with a disappointed sigh. He shakes his head sadly. "Has anyone said you are paranoid?"

"No," Cullen's still puzzled but bemusement is settling in as well now. He's not being bullied. Teased perhaps, but there's nothing at all malicious about it. "But now I know I should be. I'm Cullen."

"Alistair," the boy answers with a pleased looking grin. "And you don't have to, really. No one's going to steal all your food. You just might lose some cheese every once in a while."

"Right," Cullen snorts and turns back to his plate. He hesitates, debating a plan. Alistair looks across the room and and Cullen acts without further thought. Snatching up a large piece of bread from the boy's plate. Using it to sop up some gravy he stuffs it into his mou8th just as realization crosses the other's boy's face.

"I'll make you a deal," Cullen grins at Alistair. "I won't mind the odd bit of cheese going missing if you don't mind some bread running off on you.

Outrage and delight war across Alistair's face for a moment before he slowly grins. "Cullen, I think you and I are going to get along very, very well."

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