Finley frowned as she looked at the spell theory she'd been working on. It wasn't right, but there were parts that she could use if she decided she wanted to…

Best to keep track of it.

Looking around her, her frown deepened. She sat in the middle of the room they'd given her in Skyhold, with what might look to the casual observer as dozens upon dozens of pieces of paper littering the floor around her in utter chaos.

Truth be told, she had a system. Things she needed to remember not to do went to the left, clauses that might clash with others went toward the center, spells that almost worked in theory but might have unforeseen side effects went to the right and the ones she wanted to keep track of little snippets like this went…

Damn, where was she putting these? Probably somewhere near the clauses, even if the construction wasn't quite the same.

Even as she looked around for a nice space to set the paper down so that she could still see the important parts at a glance. She'd barely set it in place when a knock came at her door.

Instinctively, her hands reached out to gather the nearest papers and bolt, though Cullen's voice called through the door. "Finley? May I come in?"

She hesitated, glancing around the room at her papers.

While she knew he wouldn't understand any of it, he would probably recognize it for the spellcraft that it was. He had been a templar after all. Though…the more she had to deal with templars, the more she saw that their training regarding how magic worked and the like was extremely wanting. If she'd been a templar, she would have been embarrassed by it.

Good thing she'd disbanded the Order. Maybe they could implement something in its place where the templars were actually trained decently. There could be lessons on how to identify harmful spells versus the run of the mill kind that didn't require people jumping up in arms and…

She realized that Cullen was likely still waiting on the other side of the door.

"Come in."

She tried to act casual—it would be good to see how he react to this sort of thing, really, as whenever she was working on spells on her own, this tended to happen—to see how he would respond to her…habit.

"Busy day?" The joke came off as a little awkward and she looked up at him to see he'd stopped just shy of stepping on one of the furthest papers, his gaze slowly sweeping over what would be meaningless gibberish to him.

"I'm just working on a project," Finley murmured. She rested her hands on her knees as she looked up at him. He hadn't screamed witch, so that was good. Granted, she hadn't thought he would, but still. It was always pleasant when people didn't disappoint. "Did you need something?"

"You know, it might be easier to keep track of and see if you used a wall," Cullen pointed. "You could get something to tack the pages up on and…" He trailed off, suddenly seeming a bit flushed. "Not that…you need to do…this any specific way. I just…"

He was so cute when he floundered.

Finley wasn't quite sure why he'd be so worried about such a suggestion—it's not like he was saying she should be doing it with supervision after all. With a lithe hop and a few quickly, carefully placed steps, she was out of her paper circle and standing beside him.

"Was there something I need to see?"

Cullen's gaze had never left her papers, and the way he startled at her question gave her pause. It wasn't like she'd snuck up on him, but he still seemed…

Her heart sunk a little.

Nervous.

Nervous because of the magic that wasn't even being cast. But then…if she told him what the project was, he might be more concerned, so it wasn't like she could sooth his nerves with an explanation.

"I, uh, right." Cullen's hands were empty, and he was suddenly looking at himself like he needed something desperately. With an awkward laugh, he motioned over his shoulder. "I must have, ah, left the report in my office."

"Oh," Finley murmured, trying not to feel like he was trying to find a reason to bolt. After all, he hadn't come in with any papers, so if he'd wanted to show her one, he had to have left it behind.

"I just thought it would be important to discuss," Cullen continued, gaze wandering all through the room, inspecting everything but her. "And it's not like we've really had a chance to talk since you got back and…"

At that, Finley tilted her head a little. His ears were red. "Did you come up here just to talk to me?"

"I, what? No, that would be…" Cullen looked so panicked, hands reaching for his pommel, gripping it as though it were his tether to reality. "I just forgot the report."

She couldn't tell if he was lying or not. "Well," she trotted over to that…what was it even? A fainting couch? A…she didn't know furniture well enough to name it, but she sat down and patted the space beside her. She could use a break from wracking her brain over how to fix this catastrophe, anyway. "Do you remember the important parts?"

"Do I…?" Cullen looked a little lost before realizing what she was asking. His ears were redder. Cheeks, too.

For a grown man in charge of an army, he was surprisingly cute.

As soon as she thought it, she felt herself blushing as well. Suddenly her papers were immensely interesting. Perhaps if she studied them upside down, she might have an 'aha' moment.

"It's…I should go." Cullen started back toward the door.

"I'd like it if you stayed." The words were out before Finley could stop herself, and she felt like she might be turning as red as he was when she looked up at him to see he was at the door, looking like he very much didn't know what to do. "If you…can't remember the report, we could go over it in the morning. How have things been at Skyhold while I was gone?"

For the first time, he relaxed a little, turning and walking over to the couch, though he hesitated before sitting down. "Well, Inquisitor, it's been…"