[sandbox]

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair surprises himself: he adapts to the Basin a lot quicker than he expected.

The camps feel -- snug, he decides. In a good way. Trees overhead, a limited number of egress points, a vantage point so high it puts every night by the ladder to shame: they're not the stone walls of Skyhold, but maybe they're the next best thing. After an initial restless night or two, he sleeps soundly.

(Knowing he's surrounded by lots of people with sharp, pointy weapons? Also helpful.)

Joining the patrol rotations seems like a decent next step. No point in being in the field, especially after all that training with Bull, if he's just going to twiddle his thumbs all day.

Comments

[howtoactfereldan]

"What's that? I should go back to my reports, you say?" He makes as though to pull away. "If you insist -- "

[bringspeopletogether]

"Don't you dare."

Laughing, as he catches Cullen by the arm and pulls him close again.

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen probably shouldn't be enjoying this half as much as he is.

(It's probably a good thing he doesn't realize that his face gives it all away.)

"Tyrant." With affection. "Fine. What will you have of me, then?"

[bringspeopletogether]

"Your company," says Alistair, warm. "As always. If you need to take that walk around camp, I think most of this -- "

He runs his hands up Cullen's back.

" -- is out of my system for now; I'll behave myself. Or if you'd rather call it an early night..."

[howtoactfereldan]

"...then it will somehow find its way back in?" Laughing, quietly. "You know, when I ask that question, I'm generally hoping for something more specific."

[bringspeopletogether]

The lopsided quirk to Alistair's smile returns. Light, "I thought we established that words aren't working particularly well for me at the moment."

[howtoactfereldan]

A good-natured wince. "And I've no idea what that's like. Obviously."

Technically he doesn't need to do rounds, or finish those reports.

"Let's rest, then. And avoid words."

[bringspeopletogether]

His smile steadies. Alistair nods; his hands slip down to take both of Cullen's, and he sneaks one more kiss before making his way to their bedrolls.

...Not that they have particularly far to go. It's a cozy tent, made cozier by the desk in the middle of it.

(Maybe Alistair will figure out what to say after some time in the quiet. Figure out what brought this on, as Cullen put it, even after a decent enough day.)

[howtoactfereldan]

Once down, Cullen stretches all the way to his toes before turning on his side to hook an arm around Alistair's middle.

It's comforting to hear the sounds of the camp outside, slightly muffled as they are. Voices, footsteps, metal on metal. Fires, crackling. And, farther away, birds.

(Like Haven, in the early days.)

He presses an idle kiss to the back of Alistair's neck and sighs, content.

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair smiles, faintly. He settles a hand over Cullen's. Soon enough, he winds their fingers together for a little extra security.

He even manages to stay quiet for a good five minutes.







"It's not as if things went badly today," he murmurs, when the thought circles around one time too many. Like if he gives voice to it, it'll run off like a dog spying an open gate.

[howtoactfereldan]

No louder:

"It sounds as though things went well, even."

[bringspeopletogether]

"They did." He closes his eyes. "As well as you could expect, I guess."

A beat.

Quieter: "I hesitated, though. I -- " He blows out a breath. "Right, I'll call it what it was -- I was scared. Of a damn spider. Not for long, but...long enough."

[howtoactfereldan]

"This is going to sound as though I'm not taking this seriously, and I want to reassure you that I am."

Thoughtful.

"It speaks well of your self-preservation to be scared of a spider. They're quite large. And more venomous than most, according to everything I've read."

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair's shoulders hitch on a wry breath of laughter. "True," he allows. "But hardly the worst thing I've faced."

[howtoactfereldan]

"But the first you've faced in quite some time," Cullen reminds him gently. "And it took your patrol by surprise. It wasn't like it was sunning itself in front of all and sundry."

[bringspeopletogether]

"Would've been more fun if it had."

He sounds like he's starting to smile.

"We could've had a contest with the new recruits. Ten sovereigns to whoever hits it with a rock from the furthest off."

[howtoactfereldan]

"Most unkind of you." He kisses the back of Alistair's neck again. "There's a spider in the middle of the river, minding its own business, not trying to kill anything for once, and here come a bunch of strangers pelting it with rocks. No wonder spiders are always in such a bad mood."

[bringspeopletogether]

"You know for a fact," says Alistair, squeezing Cullen's hand lightly for emphasis, "that were our positions reversed with the spider, it would've gathered up all its spider friends and pounced with just as little warning."

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen laughs in Alistair's ear, a low, warm rumble, and doesn't reply.

[bringspeopletogether]

There's no other word for it: Alistair melts against Cullen, leaning back as he goes nearly boneless.

(Few sounds get that reliable a reaction out of him. It's become one of Alistair's favorites over the past few months.)

[howtoactfereldan]

That just makes Cullen do it again. (He's noticed.)

He tightens his hold on Alistair, just for a moment, before settling his arm around him more snugly.

[bringspeopletogether]

You're safe, murmurs a new thought.

Maybe that's the best way he can explain I like knowing you're around. Today might not have been awful, but...being on patrol meant giving up safety, in a way he hasn't in a while.

He can return to it at the end of the day, though. To Cullen. To this.

I'm glad you're here.

Alistair raises their clasped hands so he can kiss Cullen's knuckles, and subsides into quiet.

[howtoactfereldan]

"Have you eaten?" Suspicious.

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair's eyes snap open.









"Um."

[howtoactfereldan]

"Aha!"

This is said as though Cullen just uncovered and foiled a vast conspiracy simultaneously.