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Title: hear me out
Fandom: Dragon Age
Pairing: Cullen/Iron Bull
Prompt: 037. Half
Words: 476 words
hear me out
It’s a bit like a dance.
At least, that’s what it feels like to Cullen. Bull’s careful with his steps and Cullen’s just… blundering around, a bit like an idiot, and absolutely terrified that he’s going to trod all over Bull’s feet. He’s been honest; he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
He wants this to work because he’s been waiting his entire life for it. Or, at least, it feels like it.
For Bull, it’s entirely different matter.
“The Qun doesn’t hold to the whole soulmark business,” Bull says, over a pint.
It’s just the two of them, sharing a small table near the back. It’s so late that the tavern is mostly empty, people having long since retired to the warmth of their beds for the night.
Cullen couldn’t sleep; Bull keeps him company.
“So, you grew up not knowing?”
“Nah, I found out in Seheron. Couple people there filled it in for me; learned more when I came south. Found out why it was such a big deal.”
Cullen nods, stares into his ale, “My mother explained it to me when I was old enough. Too late to stop me from hitting my brother when he touched it, though.”
“Yeah, Krem said something about that when we first met. He didn’t think we got them, either.” Bull shrugs, leaning back in his seat. He lounges, looking completely at ease. “Gonna be honest, I didn’t put much stock in the entire thing – even though I kept getting twinges. Chocked them up to old wounds.”
“I’m sorry,” Cullen murmurs. “That was–”
“Look, Cullen, it’s not your fault.” Bull puts his hand over Cullen’s drink, leans forward, “You can stop blaming yourself.”
Cullen sighs, “I… alright. You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be? Way I figure, you did your best and that’s all that matters. Never thought I’d get to this point either.”
“I’d given up hope,” Cullen says. “It had been so long and, well, after everything, I’d convinced myself that it was for the best.”
“Know that feeling well.”
The thing about soulmarks is that they complicate things.
Bull keeps that out of his reports. He says nothing of the things that Cullen tells him confidence, that he figures out on his own. There’s other spies in the Inquisition, Bull knows, that will send the information, but it won’t come from him and it’s the principle that matters.
Things are complicated and knotted up and things are even messier than before.
Because, at the heart, he’s drawn to Cullen in ways that he didn’t think he ever would be. He’s finding that he wants whatever this is, whatever it will be, because he does. It’s that simple. He has never wanted anything the way that he wants Cullen; the way he wants… whatever this is.
He knows what it means and it scares him.
Fandom: Dragon Age
Pairing: Cullen/Iron Bull
Prompt: 037. Half
Words: 476 words
It’s a bit like a dance.
At least, that’s what it feels like to Cullen. Bull’s careful with his steps and Cullen’s just… blundering around, a bit like an idiot, and absolutely terrified that he’s going to trod all over Bull’s feet. He’s been honest; he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
He wants this to work because he’s been waiting his entire life for it. Or, at least, it feels like it.
For Bull, it’s entirely different matter.
“The Qun doesn’t hold to the whole soulmark business,” Bull says, over a pint.
It’s just the two of them, sharing a small table near the back. It’s so late that the tavern is mostly empty, people having long since retired to the warmth of their beds for the night.
Cullen couldn’t sleep; Bull keeps him company.
“So, you grew up not knowing?”
“Nah, I found out in Seheron. Couple people there filled it in for me; learned more when I came south. Found out why it was such a big deal.”
Cullen nods, stares into his ale, “My mother explained it to me when I was old enough. Too late to stop me from hitting my brother when he touched it, though.”
“Yeah, Krem said something about that when we first met. He didn’t think we got them, either.” Bull shrugs, leaning back in his seat. He lounges, looking completely at ease. “Gonna be honest, I didn’t put much stock in the entire thing – even though I kept getting twinges. Chocked them up to old wounds.”
“I’m sorry,” Cullen murmurs. “That was–”
“Look, Cullen, it’s not your fault.” Bull puts his hand over Cullen’s drink, leans forward, “You can stop blaming yourself.”
Cullen sighs, “I… alright. You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be? Way I figure, you did your best and that’s all that matters. Never thought I’d get to this point either.”
“I’d given up hope,” Cullen says. “It had been so long and, well, after everything, I’d convinced myself that it was for the best.”
“Know that feeling well.”
The thing about soulmarks is that they complicate things.
Bull keeps that out of his reports. He says nothing of the things that Cullen tells him confidence, that he figures out on his own. There’s other spies in the Inquisition, Bull knows, that will send the information, but it won’t come from him and it’s the principle that matters.
Things are complicated and knotted up and things are even messier than before.
Because, at the heart, he’s drawn to Cullen in ways that he didn’t think he ever would be. He’s finding that he wants whatever this is, whatever it will be, because he does. It’s that simple. He has never wanted anything the way that he wants Cullen; the way he wants… whatever this is.
He knows what it means and it scares him.