Dorian, The Iron Bull, Varric, Krem, Vax, and Cole sit around a table in the Herald's Rest, drunk and feisty. Vax'ildan and his team had returned to Skyhold a few hours before, and he jumped at the opportunity to join the card game almost as soon as his rain soaked boots hit the Courtyard. He throws a couple royals over to Bull with an over exaggerated sigh.
"Mythal'enaste! You are totally cleaning me out!"
"Thanks again, Boss!" Bull scoops the coin off the table with a laugh.
"Perhaps you should stop falling for his extremely obvious bluffs." Varric laughs across the table.
"Nonsense!" Vax calls out, slamming his empty tankard on the table. "This is all part of my elaborate plan!" He slings an arm around Dorian, who is downing the last of his drink. Dorian tries not to spill on himself before letting out a laugh.
"Yes, dear Inquisitor. Clearly, you have played us all for fools!"
Vax tightens his grip around Dorian's shoulder and points a finger at his face.
"Vax." He says stubbornly.
"Vax'ildan." Dorian rolls his eyes as Vax gives him an approving nod.
"Who's ready for another round?" Varric asks, shuffling the cards once more.
"I'm out. I can't keep up with you lot!" Krem stands from the table and goes to join the rest of the Chargers a few tables away.
"I am not sure I understand this game." Cole says quietly.
"And yet you've still managed to take quite a bit of Dorian's money!" Bull claps a hand on Cole's back like a proud parent. "Not too bad for a newbie."
Dorian raises his empty tankard to the pair and gives an obscene gesture with his free hand. Vax reappears next to Dorian, who didn't even realize he had snuck off, with a fresh round of drinks for the table. Varric and The Iron Bull quickly grab their tankards, each taking larges swigs. Dorian places a hand on Vax'ildan's shoulder.
"How are your injuries? You're not overdoing it, right?" He asks in a whisper. Vax snakes his arm around Dorian's shoulders again, and this time he catches the slight wince.
"I'm fine, Dorian." He says dismissively.
"He wants to be strong. To put on a brave face so no one can see his hurt." Cole says quietly, looking at Dorian. "He pushes because he has to. The weight of the world sits on his shoulders; he cannot fail."
Dorian puts a hand on Cole's arm and gives him a warm smile.
"Thank you, Cole."
"He wants to be more than this. He is more. We just need to see."
Dorian recalls the familiar words Cole spoke to him a week before. You are more than just this thing, Dorian.
"Alright, dear Inqui- Vax. I think it's time we get you to bed before you gamble away all of the Inquisition's sizable fortune." Dorian stands and gently pulls Vax'ildan's arm. The elf follows, his limbs lithe and limp. Kaffas, he's such a lightweight. Vax stumbles after Dorian, grinning like a puppy following its mother.
"Yes sir!" Vax offers a sloppy salute. He turns and waves to Varric and Bull, who are trying unsuccessfully to stifle their laughter. He turns back toward Dorian and bows. "Let's go!" He steps out the front door and confidently walks toward the stables.
"Vax'ildan!" Dorian laughs, calling after him. He grabs hold of his wrist and begins dragging him back toward the steps leading to the main hall.
"Right!" Vax throws his head back with a laugh. Dorian can't recall a time he has seen the Inquisitor this carefree. Vax leans his head against Dorian's shoulder and slips his hand down, intertwining their fingers. "So. Tired." He manages to say between yawns.
Dorian is stone still, frozen as Vax rests on him. His eyes immediately begin to dart around, looking for any prying eyes that may catch a glimpse of the pair. There are eyes everywhere, Dorian, and words travel fast, twisted and perverted on the wind. His father's words echo through his mind. He unlaces his hand from Vax'ildans and starts up the steps to the castle.
"Come now, let's get you inside, Inquisitor."
Vax seems to sober up slightly, his trademark smirk falling from his lips. He lowers his head and begins up the steps behind Dorian.
"Ir abelas, lethallin." Vax says quietly.
Dorian's eyes close and he takes a deep breath. Guilt sits in his stomach like lead. He turns back to Vax apologetically.
"Apology not necessary, Vax."
Vax's golden eyes spark and his eyebrows raise in surprise. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. He scampers up the steps to Dorian, quickly closing the gap between them.
"You speak Dalish!" He says excitedly.
"Not exactly." Dorian says, feeling the heat burning his neck and cheeks. "But I did find a couple books in the library while you were on the Storm Coast." He runs a hand through his hair. "I've read just about every other bloody book by now, so I figured why not." Dorian says casually, trying to downplay the effort.
"Whatever you say, Dorian." Vax says with a wink. Dorian rolls his eyes. The pair crosses the main hall of Skyhold, passing the impressive stone throne at the end of the hall where Vax sits occasionally to dole out judgement on behalf of the Inquisition. Vax opens a wooden door to the left of the throne and Dorian follows.
They follow the hall until they reach another wooden door. Vax stops, turning toward Dorian.
"Would you like to come in?" He asks hesitantly.
Dorian finally realizes what he should have realized before, but had been too lost in thought - they were at Vax'ildan's chamber door.
"Oh, erm…" Dorian hesitates, but Vax makes the decision for him. He kicks his door open, grabbing Dorian's collar and pulling him forward through the threshold.
"Vishante kaffas! You're going to wrinkle the silk!" Dorian scoffs. He straightens himself as the door closes behind him and carefully smoothes out the fabric. Vax makes his way up the stone steps of his room, legs wobbling slightly.
Dorian reaches the top of the stairs and looks around, taking in the room for the first time. It's a large space, but that is to be expected for the bedchamber of the Inquisitor, and is surprisingly modest for such a space. There are two large balconies connected to the room through stunning stainless steel windows, the view of the mountains even more stunning from this altitude. There is a desk in the corner and a couple of bookshelves, which Dorian notes are depressingly empty. To his left is a plush looking sofa.
Vax is crossing the room toward a wooden dresser next to his bed. His bed is grand, but simple - the understated bedding screams Fereldan. His boots have been kicked off and sit near his desk. Dorian looks over in time to see Vax locked in a struggle with the sleeve of his shirt. He has managed to get seventy-five percent of the fabric over his head, but has somehow managed to get the fabric tangled over his left arm. Dorian laughs as Vax struggles, his arm stuck in the air, flailing helplessly.
From the moonlight streaming in from the windows, Dorian can see fresh bruises and cuts covering Vax'ildan's exposed torso. His lips pull into a frown as he spots a dark red spot on the edge of the bandage covering the lower half of his abdomen. He crosses the room and helps the elf remove himself from the shirt, his lips pursed. Vax smiles and offers a thank you to Dorian, but Dorian is too preoccupied to hear him.
Under any other circumstance, Dorian would have been distracted for a completely different reason. Here he stands in the Inquisitor's bedchamber, the man himself shirtless and practically sparkling in the moonlight, and yet he notices none of it.
Vax follows Dorian's frown down, and lets out a sigh. Dorian looks up at Vax arms crossed like a parent scolding a child. Vax rolls his eyes.
"I'm fine." He says stubbornly. "Hazards of the job." He throws his balled up shirt over to the sofa across the room. Surprisingly, given his current level of inebriation, it lands perfect on the arm of the couch.
"And this?!" Dorian says sharply, poking the red stain on the bandage. Vax hisses as a hand reaches up to sooth the wound.
"It's healed…mostly!" Vax argues. "Besides, Vivienne was with me on the Storm Coast. She made sure everything was fine."
Dorian felt a heat pulse through him, piercing through the numb void in his chest.
"Well, thank the Maker Madame de Fer was there to glide in and save the day. What ever would we do without her superior talent bathing us all in Andraste's light?!" Dorian spat, frustration growing. Jealousy swells within him. Vivienne was able to help Vax'ildan while he sits here in the castle, impotent. It wasn't fair. Of course, that wasn't Vax'ildan's fault, but he was the unfortunate victim of Dorian's ire as he was the one standing in front of him at the moment.
"Dorian…" Vax reaches out and places a hand tentatively on his arm. Dorian pulls away, taking a step back.
"Inquisitor…Vax'ildan…Just, don't." He runs a hand through his hair with a huff, his other hand resting on his hip. Vax eyes him sympathetically, trying to break through Dorian's carefully constructed walls.
I don't…I can't…" Dorian huffs, unsure of what to say. "Just drink a bloody healing potion." He says finally, turning on his heel and storming out, leaving Vax staring after him.
Dorian stomps through the main hall, glaring at anyone who looks his way. He climbs the stairs and makes his way towards his room, passing by Vivienne on the balcony of the main hall.
"Hello, dear." She calls as he passes. "You're looking particularly melancholy this evening."
Dorian doesn't even look at her as he strides through the door. He finally gets to his room, throwing the door open with a huff. Cole is perched at the edge of his bed, his piercing eyes shining in the moonlight.
"Not now, Cole." Dorian snaps. "I am not in the mood." He blinks, and he is alone once more.
He undresses and climbs into bed with a huff. Almost immediately guilt starts to nip at him. He rubs his hands over his face. He shouldn't have yelled at Vax, that had been unfair. The hurt look on the elf's face plays on a loop in his mind. Why must he always break such delicate things?
He lets out a long sigh. There was nothing to do about it at the moment. He would figure out a way to make it right in the morning. He rolls over and shuts his eyes and eventually falls into a fitful sleep, nightmares haunting him and a slight buzzing in his fingertips.