[sandbox]

[bringspeopletogether]

Back to Skyhold. Back to work.

Alistair resumes training with the Chargers a few days after his and Cullen's return; the company got back from Halamshiral just before the Basin group showed up, Bull explains, so he was giving them a rest before picking up exercises again. Krem fills Alistair in on all the details as they're exchanging blows. Some of it is just Orlesian Worst Game Ever nonsense, but since it ends with a whole lot of shamefaced nobles with no mercenaries to their names, Alistair's pretty damn pleased.

(Maybe he can get the new mercenaries in on his plan to dress up the training dummies in Orlesian garb. Hmmmmmm.)

Cullen's in a war room meeting by the time Alistair's done. He throws some water on his face and heads for the kitchens -- maybe he can split a small meal with Kieran before Morrigan's return.

Comments

[howtoactfereldan]

It's somewhere around the middle of the afternoon when Cullen half-wakes. The noise down in the courtyard registers, and so does the presence of something (someone?) beside him.

Alistair? Alistair.

The noise in the courtyard is happy noise, not frightened noise.

Nobody's knocking on the tower door, or yelling up the ladder.






Criteria satisfied, Cullen turns over and limpets himself on Alistair again, and goes back to sleep.

[bringspeopletogether]

Wait what did someone just --

Oh. It's a good someone. The best someone. All right, then.

Drowsily, Alistair slings an arm around Cullen in kind. Roused just enough that he can't fall back asleep right away, he watches the tree branches stir, listens to the crowd still cheering in the distance. (There's singing now, too. He can't quite pick out the tune.)

One hand finds its way to Cullen's hair; his fingers track through it, idle and slow, in a steady rhythm.

[howtoactfereldan]

A few minutes later, Cullen wakes, still convinced that somewhere he's very small, walking through fields of ripened wheat under a cloudless sky, with the soft hissing of the plants in the wind making a friendly beat with every step he takes.

He exhales, heavy, slow.







"Alistair?" Smaller than he intends.

[bringspeopletogether]

"Mm?"

His hand keeps moving through Cullen's hair.

[howtoactfereldan]

"It's happening? Outside?"

Still small. "It wasn't -- I didn't dream it?"

[bringspeopletogether]

He cracks a tiny smile. "You didn't dream it."

Alistair presses a kiss to Cullen's temple.

"Corypheus is gone. We won."

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen shuts his eyes tight. His fingers fist in Alistair's shirt.

He nods. There's a lump in his throat.

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair's arm tightens around Cullen, just a little. He returns to running his fingers through his hair.

"And Inquisitor Lavellan will be home safe in a few days' time, with all her companions in tow."

[howtoactfereldan]

And I didn't fail anyone this time.

"We can start sending people home to their families."

[bringspeopletogether]

"Yes."

His smile grows.

"We can. People can rest again."

[howtoactfereldan]

"The amount of mess to clean up is... staggering." Bewildered, finally.

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair huffs out a laugh.

"Not quite as pressing as stopping the sky from collapsing, though. Fortunate for all of us."

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen rubs at his forehead for a moment.







Plaintive: "Surely it can wait until Lavellan comes back?"

[bringspeopletogether]

"Of course it can." Gently surprised, as his hand stills atop Cullen's head. "At the very least. Personally I'd suggest it happen after a nice long vacation as well."

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen buries his face in Alistair's shoulder, and says, muffled, "Who needs a vacation. This time the cleanup's not happening after an apostate blew up the Chantry and set everything on fire."










"Son of a whore."

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair's...not quite sure what to make of that.

He looks down at Cullen, brow furrowing; his embrace tightens again.

[howtoactfereldan]

Alistair is going to laugh, and while Cullen sees the humor, he's not quite there yet.

So he says, extra grumpy:

"Corypheus blew up the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Lots of things caught on fire."

[bringspeopletogether]

Just as expected, Alistair slowly dissolves into laughter.

(It's more like helpless giggling, actually, though he'll deny any giggling is taking place.)

He buries his face in Cullen's hair.

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen pokes his chest.

"Have a heart," he complains. "I've already done this once before."

[bringspeopletogether]

"Sorry -- " He works to bring the giggling under control. "Sorry."

Cullen gets a firm kiss on the forehead.

"Least you've got me to help this time?"

[howtoactfereldan]

"Not to mention Leliana and Josephine. But it's true -- you're a qualified adjutant."

Bask in the compliment, Alistair. Bask.

[bringspeopletogether]

Oh, he's basking all right.

"I'm so honored," he says, and only descends back into a little bit of laughter as he says it.

[howtoactfereldan]

"You've got a writing board over there in your things, don't you?"

[bringspeopletogether]

"I can whip one up, I'm sure." He grins. "Scribble on the back of my shield if necessary."

[howtoactfereldan]

"Very unprofessional, Theirin." He resettles his head on Alistair's shoulder. "We have standards, you know."