Sunny woke first, she felt warm pressed up against Cullen's back. Her cheek pressed against his shoulder blade, her arm under his and their legs entwined. Her hand was against his chest nestled in the hair that peaked out the opening of his shirt there, she let her fingers take in the softness of it, of him, his chest was rising and falling slow and steady, still asleep.
His hand grasped hers, giving it a soft squeeze, she lifted her head slightly blinking away the sleep. She must have fallen into a very deep sleep, her magic still thick in the air. Cullen rolled over facing her and She held her breath as she looked at his still sleeping face. He looked so young, so unworried and peaceful. A faint dusting of freckles on his cheeks. She placed her hand on his chest, just to push herself back slightly, feeling her close proximity facing him too much, too close, too familiar and too easy to want to close the gap. His hand moved to grasp hers on his chest threading his fingers between hers. She was looking down at his hands how big they were, how small hers were in comparison, they had the same calloused patches from holding a sword. He had a scar that ran down the back of it, a thin pale line.
Then his hand grasped hers a bit too tightly and she looked up to his face, he was awake. They both looked at each other, their eyes flickering between the others. Sunny looked at his lips. And she licked her own with the tip of her tongue, pulling it back in to bite her lip. She had drunk too much wine last night, her mouth was dry and she had a faint buzz in her head.
"Did you sleep well?" Cullen's voice was raspy, it appeared he was as thirsty as she was. She looked back up to his eyes, which were wide, like a rabbit caught in a snake's glare. As if he were waiting for her to do something.
"One of the best nights I have had for a while. And you?" her voice rasped back, she was definitely thirsty. He moved closer, they only had one pillow between them and he was nearly off it, but it brought his nose within a hair's breadth of hers.
"Yes." he whispered back.
"Yes?" Sunny laughed. Rolling over onto her back to break the tension, she wasn't sure whether he was feeling the same tension or not and she didn't want to frighten him, he had obviously been through something traumatic involving Mages and she didn't want to add to his burden but her hand was still in his grasp.
"Yes. I slept… I feel like that was the best night's sleep I have had for a while." he spoke, his voice losing the raspiness of his sleep, she chanced looking at him through the corner of her eye. His cheeks were red and he was still watching her closely, though they ventured down her neck and toward her chest as the heavy shirt outlined them perfectly, the cold of the room making itself known through her nipples hardening under the cotton now she wasn't pressed against the man.
"I need water, you?" she asked and he nodded. She pulled the thin blanket off, and put her leg over Cullens hips. His hands gripped her hips stopping her for a couple of heartbeats with her legs either side of his hips his hands moved down slowly off of the shirt and on to her skin to grip her thighs, his fingers digging into her. He looked at her from her head to his hands on her thighs, slack jawed and eyes wide, "Anything else I can get you, Cullen?" she let his name roll off her tongue, with a hint of a whisper and she leaned forward, his hands squeezed her thighs.
"You-" his voice was clipped, his face bright red as he choked on what he was going to say, just as she rolled herself against him, half hard against the inside of her thigh.
"Me?!" she feigned surprise with her hand on her chest, which seemed to make Cullens' blush deepen further. She leaned forward her hands either side of his face, her hair falling over her shoulders and framing his face. He had nowhere to look except upon her, she watched his expression carefully, the shock settling into fear? Or just discomfort? Maybe she had read him wrong and he didn't desire her at all "Why, you only have to ask" she winked as she got up pushing off the bed with her other knee, his hands blazed a trail down her legs, but she felt as though she had pushed it far enough. He was definitely a man, but he just felt so young compared to her centuries, so innocent. That and she needed to make her way back to Alistair after getting some more of her gear from the castle. Helping Alistair obtain the throne and securing Fereldens future was much more important than the blonde blushing Templar with that Ferelden accent she had come to love in her nearly 500 years of serving the Ferelden Kings.
She tiptoed across the cold wooden floor to the table filling two cups with water from the jug. She tiptoed back to Cullen, handing him a cup before putting her pack on the floor and bending to dig through it, Cullens eyes following the hem of his shirt ride up her legs. She riffled through until she found what she was looking for. She plucked two leaves of elfroot from her pack. She turned to him to give him her cup as well, and his eyes darted from looking at her legs to looking at the outstretched hand with her cup.
"I've got a headache, hold this please" she smiled, he wouldn't look at her face, he knew he had been caught looking, her legs went on for days. He took her cup.
"A headache? Are you alright?" he murmured.
"Yes, I'm not really a wine drinker. Blasted stuff gives me a headache whilst I'm drinking it." She held one leaf between her lips, whilst she rolled the other between her palms, before dropping it in the water. "Would you like one too?"
"Then why would you drink it?" he chuckled. "Please." She took the other leaf from her lips, rolling it again in her palms before dropping it in his cup. She took back her own and drank deeply from the cup, the tingle of elfroot against her lips.
"I don't know, you seem like a wine drinker to me. sophisticated, isn't it? Thought you might need the courage. I don't really drink, I don't like the fuzzy head feeling and I can lose the grasp on my magic if I'm not careful" Sunny shrugged as she made her way over to the bowl again pulling out a shard of ice, and rolling it in a cloth. And lifting the shirt in such a way that it still covered her but she could get the ice on her skin. Cullen averted his gaze as he sipped from his cup. He turned his legs out of the bed.
"Courage? Sophisticated? I'm almost afraid to ask you what you think of me." His brow furrowed as he looked into his cup, watching the little leaf unfurl.
"I don't mean anything untoward. You seem… nice." She didn't think he would push her for an answer, she thought he would need the courage to stay in the same room as her. He hadn't exactly made his dislike of mages a secret, but she wouldn't blame him either after what he had been through.
"Nice?" he laughed a humourless laugh as he drank from his cup.
"Would you rather I say that I think you are very handsome with an accent and voice that I could listen to you read alchemy ingredients and their uses to me all day." She said in her sultriest voice, he choked on the water he was drinking, coughing it onto the floor. And she knew when he looked up at her he could see the mischief in her eyes. Not only had his cheeks gone red, but his whole face. "Time to get up and get dressed, wouldn't you say, ser Cullen?" she grinned at him.
It didn't take long for them to get ready for the road, he had gotten dressed after checking the bruise on Sunny's ribs, it was starting to show albeit slowly, it would be coming through for a week or so and may be gone in another. Whilst he was picking up some fruit for their breakfast, he heard the young girl that kept the inn last night and her husband talk about how they had the best night's sleep they had had in ages. Sunny furrowed her brow at this, she didn't mean to pulse out so much. But then she had drunk a lot of wine, she knew better than to drink that much, but she felt the most rested she had for weeks, maybe even months.
He passed Sunny an apple and some bread, she smiled at him with thanks.
They were quickly on the road for Denerim, and Cullen had barely spoken a word since they left the inn, maybe she pushed him too far, she hadn't really been able to interact with many people in her time in the king's Service, as she had to keep her existence a secret for the most part. Maric was the first king for many years that treated her like she was worth more than a weapon and it took her a while to get used to addressing people properly then. Cailan rarely acknowledged her, adamant he would have as much glory as his father if not more, without her help. But it seemed Alistair was very much like his father, regardless of whether he had anything to do with his upbringing.
"I apologise if I was too forward or brash earlier." Sunny spoke as she rubbed her ribs, they had started to throb.
"No, there is no need to apologise, I walked into that myself." he noted she rubbed her ribs. "Rubbing them won't help, did you want to stop for a bit? Maybe drink some more elfroot water, that might take the edge off."
"Ah, but if we stop we won't be able to make it to Denerim until the night has truly set in." she stopped walking, her head turned up to face the sky, as she continued to rub her ribs, she knew they could make it if she just swallowed her pride and got on the damn horse with him.
"We could if we rode?" Cullen said without looking at her, he looked around determined not to meet her squinting gaze. She huffed at him.
"Are you going to make me sit in front of you or behind you?" she crossed her arms. Cullens head whipped around to look at her. She went into her pack and got her waterskin and some elfroot, crushing it to go in her water. "Do you want some?"
"Wherever you are most comfortable, it makes no odds to me. No , I'm alright now." As Cullen spoke, he found himself annoyed, if it had been as easy as asking her again when she was in a better mood then he would have, this journey wouldn't have been as half as long. But then if this journey was shorter, would he have gotten to speak to her as much as he had. Would he have liked her less, he had no trust for mages, and he went from distrusting her one moment, to forgetting she was even a mage the next.
Sunny sat down on a tree stump, holding her ribs and groaning as she bent to lower herself. Sipping at her water, she lost herself in thought as she waited for the elfroot to kick in. She found herself wondering why she was showing this much of herself, usually she wouldn't let her pain show, she would act tough and generally unlikable, it was easier that way. To keep everyone at arm's length. She watched as Cullen came to stand beside her. She moved across her stump patting it and he sat beside her, his knee knocking against hers as he leant forward, his elbows on his knees as he rubbed the back of his neck. They sat like this for a while, just watching the world go by and listening to the sounds of the forest. She felt the throb of her ribs dull and stood again, Cullen following her movement.
"I'll sit behind you then, just in case your arms rub against my ribs." Sunny said as she packed her things back in the saddlebag.
"This would have been a much shorter journey if you did this at the start." Cullen stated as he climbed into the saddle. She couldn't tell if it was a dig at her and her pride or just him thinking out loud.
"We could still walk if that's a problem" she bit at him as she grasped his outstretched hand. His eyes widened as he looked down at her, he was just thinking out loud then. He took his foot out of the stirrup for her to place her foot in and gripped her forearm, pulling her up behind him with ease. She jostled behind him, getting comfortable. Her legs tucked in close to his, as he moved the horse on she could feel his legs working. The muscles worked as he rode the horse, she was unsure where to put her arms. Moving them from resting behind her leaning back on them to at her side, to crossing them.
"You're awfully quiet and moving about a lot back there, do you need to stop?" Cullen said after a few hours' ride.
"What? No. I'm just… I'm just trying to get comfortable."
"Did you…" Cullen paused for a second. "Did you want to try sitting in front of me?" He seemed wary as he spoke.
"I… Yes. That may be more comfortable." She hopped off the horse before Cullen gently slid back in the saddle. He held out his hand for her to take and she gripped him. When he looked down at her she seemed unsure. He gave her a gentle squeeze of reassurance before helping her up. She moved to sit comfortably between his legs. He waited for her to stop moving before slowly bringing his arms around her for the reins. She turned her head to look at him. "Much better." But her face was too close to his, his eyes looked down at her too softly. His mouth too close to hers, she could feel his warm breath wash over her lips. The horse stamped its feet in impatience, startling both of them. Sunny shifted to face forward.
"Let's continue then." Cullen's voice was gruff as he gently nudged the horse on.
Sunny had tried to start up a conversation a couple of times, but shut her mouth every time. Cullen seemed comfortable enough in the silence. As she rocked slowly in time with the horses steps. The clip clopping of the hooves was a welcome and familiar sound. She felt herself grow heavier as she leant back into the warmth behind her. She could have sworn she heard a whisper of her name but she couldn't open her eyes. Her head lolled forward, and a gentle hand cupped her chin. Turning her face slightly, a chuckle left his lips. He leant back a bit more and positioned her head against the crook of his neck, to make her more comfortable. She mumbled his name. But he didn't answer. Just hushed her.
She woke up with a start gripping Cullens knee too tightly. Looking around wildly trying to discern where she was.
"Makers breath!" Cullen's hand let go of the reins to grab the hand on his knee and release her grip. She turned again to look at Cullen and then relaxed.
"Ah sorry!" She let go of his knee. "I'm sorry I fell asleep." She shook her head to get rid of the sleepiness.
"It's quite alright." He rubbed at his knee a scowl on his face. "You must have needed it. That's quite the grip." He tried to laugh. "We have maybe three or so hours before we reach Denerim. Did you want to stop?"
"No, I, uh, I have rested enough. I'm sorry, it's not like me to fall asleep like that. Unless you needed to stop?"
"To stretch my legs for a bit would be great, maybe something to eat?" Cullen directed the horse to the side of the road. Holding Sunny's hand as she slid off the saddle and got down himself. She watched him as he stretched. She never normally would sleep like that. Not unless she felt safe enough to do so. She didn't realise she was staring so hard until Cullen speaking snapped her out of her reverie, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes!" She said all too quickly, turning away to dig through the pack for some food. Handing him some bread without looking at him and getting an apple and pear for herself. "Do… Do you know Denerim well?" She wanted to talk about anything else other than the question which appeared to be on Cullens lips. She could feel the heat on her cheeks, mentally chiding herself for acting like some love sick teenager. Like Alistair and Elissa! Why was she feeling like this? She never had a problem before.
"I've been here a few times but not too well, I may find somewhere to stay before I leave for kinloch so if you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it." Cullen smiled but looked away as he asked.
"Yes I know a few." Sunny said as she handed him some salted meat. "I can show you to a good inn with a bath if you like. And I just need to pick up some things from the castle before I leave."
"Are you planning to leave right away? Or are you spending the night at your home, the castle, I mean?" Cullen still didn't look at her, awfully interested in his lump of bread and she found herself wondering if he was asking her if she would spend the night with him.
"I was planning on getting my things together, then sleeping for a couple of hours before leaving at dawn, maybe earlier." As she spoke she noticed Cullens frown becoming more prominent. "Why?"
"No reason." he picked at his bread.
"Would you like one more dreamless night?" Sunny asked. Cullen turned his face away, shaking his head. "I don't mind if that's what you need. I can drop you off at the inn then go and get my things from the castle and come back to you."
"That's not what I wan-" he seemed to stop himself mid sentence, a small shake of his head and that smile that wasn't a smile, more annoyance? She couldn't gauge his reaction. What did he want? "I… I would appreciate it."