[sandbox]

[bringspeopletogether]

Skyhold gets quieter and quieter as the days move on. It's not a complete stand-down; there's cleanup to do, stragglers to round up, the same sort of business Alistair remembers from the months after the Blight. The Thaw, as Wardens call it. Thedas is thawing again, but the fortress only grows colder for it.

He won't lie: he'd feel warmer if Kieran and Morrigan were still there.

When Cullen suggests a vacation, Alistair lights up, only to deflate slightly when he realizes they'll be "vacationing" in Orlais. There's business to attend in Val Royeaux -- not the sort of business that'll keep Cullen occupied from sunup to sundown, but enough to require an in-person visit for a week or so. On the one hand: Orlais. On the other: he can't argue that time away from Skyhold, especially in Cullen's company, will help.

...So will the cheese, probably.

(Look, as Alistair has said many a time, he is a very predictable man.)

They room at a small place in the university quarter that's downright plain for Val Royeaux. Libraries for Cullen, a cafe around the corner for both of them, limited contact with people trilling about whatever stupid, petty scandal's hit the court this week -- it could be far worse. Alistair takes to writing his letters at the cafe, usually accompanied by some flaky pastry or another.

Today, they're cheese-filled. It's hard to descend too far into a personal funk when you've got a cheese-filled pastry.

Comments

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair groans, loudly, and pokes Cullen in the ribs before dissolving all the way into laughter.

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen yelps, and then rolls over on his back. He's laughing, too -- unselfconscious, free.

"I'm concerned, is all."

[bringspeopletogether]

And Maker, is it good to hear Cullen laugh like that.

"Don't be." Grinning. "It's my last wheel of Orlesian cheese for a while. I've every intention of savoring it, not wolfing it down in one go and causing a...situation."

[howtoactfereldan]

"So we shouldn't send out for some, is what I'm hearing."

[bringspeopletogether]

A doleful sigh.

"Much as it pains me," he says, laying his head on Cullen's chest, "I have to agree that we're all right for cheese, as far as provisions go."

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen promptly returns a hand to Alistair's hair, gently massaging his scalp with his fingertips.

"Thank the Maker."

[bringspeopletogether]

"It really does taste good with jam though."

:D?

[howtoactfereldan]

Alistair gets a quick, firm tug on his hair for his efforts.

[bringspeopletogether]

"Ow."

(But he's laughing again.)

[howtoactfereldan]

"Baby," Cullen returns cheerfully.

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair lifts his head enough to stick his tongue out at Cullen, then thumps back onto his chest and closes his eyes.

[howtoactfereldan]

"Very mature, Theirin," Cullen murmurs into his hair. "Why, I've half a mind to go draw your bath. To deprive you of my presence."

[bringspeopletogether]

"I'd follow after you." Content. "No getting rid of me that easily."

[howtoactfereldan]

"Another plan foiled." Cullen sighs. "Oh well. Nothing for it. Let's go."

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair beams. Cullen gets one more kiss before he rolls away from him, reluctantly.

(He might already be plotting ways to get Cullen into that bath with him. Maybe. Just a little.)

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen reaches for his shirt on the floor, then tugs it over his head. He's a very delicate flower.

In his bag, besides loose linen trousers, lives another, smaller drawstring bag. Cullen retrieves that as well, and saunters off to the washroom. It's a modern house, with actual pipes -- no hauling in water. That works to Cullen's benefit. All he's got to do is fill the tub, activate the two heating runes, and drop them in.

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair ambles after him without bothering to fetch his own clothes. He'd have to take them off again in a few minutes anyway.

As Cullen busies himself with the tub, he leans against the wall, admiring the view with no subtlety whatsoever.

[howtoactfereldan]

All Alistair's ogling earns him is a good-natured eyeroll.

With a quiet grunt, Cullen stands. "Get in. I'll fetch you the linens."

[bringspeopletogether]

"Thank you," he murmurs. As Cullen passes, Alistair snags him gently by the wrist, pulling him closer to kiss him on the cheek.

To the tub, then: as he eases himself into the water, he lets out a long sigh of pleasure. Not the springs, perhaps, but it's certainly the next best thing. Maker bless those runes.

[howtoactfereldan]

He'd much rather do this himself than entrust it to anyone else -- privacy over convenience, every time -- but it would be nice if he didn't have to open every cupboard in the place to find fresh sheets and towels.

To make matters worse, the person in charge of such things apparently favors lavender in large quantities to scent the linens. Cullen scowls, shoves the three (three!) sachets in the back, of the cupboard, and wanders back to the tub.

And sneezes, sudden and sharp. "Less is more," he mutters, irate. "Have I mentioned how awful Orlais is?"

[bringspeopletogether]

Water sloshes against the sides of the tub as Alistair jerks in surprise. (He wasn't expecting that sneeze any more than Cullen.)

"We won't have to put up with the awfulness much longer," he reassures Cullen, then wrinkles his nose as the smell hits him. Even from this far away, it's...very flower-y. "What did they do to those poor defenseless linens?"

[howtoactfereldan]

"Shoved two too many bags of the stuff in the cupboard," Cullen grouses. "One's all you need, and even then it's a little much."

He separates out the towels from the sheets, and glances at Alistair, only a little pink. "My mother favored sweetgrass. I picked up the habit. Much milder."

[bringspeopletogether]

"I'd wondered." His smile softens; he stretches out his legs to the other end of the tub, lets himself sink lower into the water. "And it's a much better choice, I agree."

(Like so much else about Cullen, Alistair's grown rather fond of the scent of sweetgrass over the past half a year.)

[howtoactfereldan]

"I suppose we can put up with it for now." Cullen brushes his hand over Alistair's hair. "And I'll go handle the sheets. They'll be done by the time you get out."

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair leans into Cullen's touch, smiling. "If you finish early, you're welcome to come back and join me," he says.