[sandbox]

[bringspeopletogether]

No Orlesian nobles pounded down their door to demand their hound back, so when Alistair and Cullen left Halamshiral, the newly-dubbed Gruyere happily trotted alongside their horses.

A few weeks after -- which included some quiet conversation, a few orders placed with a few merchants, and almost an entire extra pack of gifts slung over one of their mounts -- Gru just as happily trotted along as they turned for South Reach.

Years of correspondence led Alistair to build an elaborate image of Cullen's family in his mind; Mia, perhaps, more fully realized than the others, but everyone with a name and a voice to match their letters. They're...not wholly inaccurate? But Mia's definitely shorter than he expected, and one or two of the children a little louder.

(Mia's voice, however, adopts exactly the pitch he imagined it would when Alistair brings up the whole I'm-your-brother-in-law-now thing.)

It's a nice place. Just the right kind of rambunctious, with all the kids running around; just the right kind of homey.

If only Cullen weren't -- well, reacting more or less precisely how Alistair worried he'd react to the reunion.

Comments

[bringspeopletogether]

And there goes all of Gru's entertainment in one fell swoop. Life is SO DIFFICULT. Even worse, the children are too distracted by their breakfasts to spare any for the dog oh-so-patiently sitting at one end of the table.

With an enormous sigh, Gru pads back to Alistair's side and headbutts him in the hip, eliciting a tiny yelp as Alistair almost loses his balance. Alistair sets his tea aside to give him a rub behind the ears. "Yes, hello. Did you have fun?"

Boof, grumbles Gru.

To Mia: "I'm going to see if I can lure Cullen out with a bit of that bread. Yell for me if you need any more help?"

Otherwise, Alistair has no idea what he's going to do with the rest of his day.

[howtoactfereldan]

"Yes," Mia says -- distracted, a little. "All right. Callum, you can't have all the jam, you know better than that."

[bringspeopletogether]

"Spare some of it for your uncle at least," adds Alistair, leaning over the table to grab some bread and bacon. Once the jam is free of Callum's clutches, he adds a healthy dollop to his plate as well.

Then, mug of tea in one hand, plate in the other, he heads back to their room.

Opening the door as quietly as he can takes some effort, what with all the breakfast juggling, but he manages it.

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen is fast asleep.

Face slack, he faces the center of the bed, one hand outstretched with fingers curled.

(It's the best cure he knows for a headache: sleep it off.)

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair can't say he's surprised.

(He's a little relieved, too -- guiltily so. Can't upset Cullen if he's asleep, after all.)

Silently, he sets the plate and mug on the desk, shuttling aside a few papers to make more room. It doesn't actually do anything to hide the papers -- Alistair's not trying to hide them, after all -- nor the salutation on top of one letter in particular: Fiona.

Alistair rips off a sliver of paper from one of the discarded drafts and scribbles a note: For you. ♥, A

Before his stomach can grumble too loudly, he slips back out to find his own breakfast.

[howtoactfereldan]

It's embarrassingly late when Cullen finally wakes. He stumbles toward the desk -- it's like he has echolocation, but for jam -- and squints at the note.

And smiles, just for a moment, and folds the note, and slips it in the pages of his current volume of Kordillus Drakon's autobiography.





It's then he looks down and sees the letter.

Cullen lets out a breath, picks up the mug of cold tea, and downs the whole thing. Head's better. Good enough. Time to get dressed and see where everyone's got to.

[bringspeopletogether]

Gru, having gotten impatient and started galumphing around the house at top speed -- to the delight of the children and far less delight of the adults -- was turned out of doors. After a few laps around the stables, he flopped into what Alistair dearly hoped was just a mud puddle for some quality rolling-around.

It was not a mud puddle.

Which accounts for the half-empty rain barrel, the soaking-wet (but still cheerful) dog, and the half-soaked Alistair trying to steer him clear of another "mud puddle" as they walk to greet the horses.

[howtoactfereldan]

Having evaded prying eyes, Cullen watches the procession with some amusement.

It's another moment or two before he saunters within visual range, and makes a point of looking Alistair up and down.

[bringspeopletogether]

Alistair brightens visibly when Cullen comes into view. He lifts his hand to wave hello --

-- and immediately has to bring it down onto Gru's collar to keep the mabari from sprinting over to his other human friend. "Gru, stay. Not when you're all wet still." Beaming at Cullen, "Hello, love."

[howtoactfereldan]

"Do you also intend to stay at a distance?" Cullen inquires sweetly. "On similar grounds?"

[bringspeopletogether]

"I suppose that depends on how much of this -- "

He drags his other hand through his hair and shakes off the ensuing water drops in demonstration.

" -- you want on your clothes as well." Beat. "At least we're both clean?"

[howtoactfereldan]

"For the time being." Cullen loosely folds his arms. "Give it another hour. Then I'll be impressed."

[bringspeopletogether]

A crooked grin. "Honestly, I'd be impressed with five minutes. He must be making up for lost time after all those years in Orlais."

After another quiet command for Gru to heel, Alistair lets go of his collar and ambles to Cullen's side.

[howtoactfereldan]

"So now the two of you are bathing together," Cullen says very, very mildly. And seriously. "You've bonded."

[bringspeopletogether]

"We bathed together," says Alistair just as solemnly, stopping a yard away from Cullen, "because someone rolled in something that definitely wasn't just a mud puddle, and then that same someone tried to jump on me while I was washing it off."

[howtoactfereldan]

Cullen shakes his head sadly.

"Well. I was going to thank you for breakfast, but I think I'll wait until you dry."

[bringspeopletogether]

A doleful sigh. "It's for the best, I suppose."

Gru heaves a very similar sigh before giving himself a vigorous shake.

A little softer, Alistair asks, "How's your head?"

[howtoactfereldan]

"I haven't had any complaints," says Cullen.

[bringspeopletogether]

It takes Alistair a second -- and then he groans, loudly, and swats Cullen on the arm.

"Terrible." He's grinning. " -- The joke, not the other thing."

Zero complaints on the other thing. (The tips of Alistair's ears might be going a bit red.)

[howtoactfereldan]

"I was about to say," mildly, "you could have mentioned something well before this -- "

[bringspeopletogether]

"No, no." Laughing. "I, ah."

(Definitely red now.)

"I'm more than satisfied."

[howtoactfereldan]

"Because if you do have comments, or complaints, or suggestions..."

Smirking.

"You could tell me all about them. In detail."

[bringspeopletogether]

"You must be feeling better if you're so intent on making me blush."

He steps closer, lowering his voice to whisper in Cullen's ear.

"I'll offer suggestions tonight, if you wish. So long as you promise to follow through on them immediately."

[howtoactfereldan]

"If you like," Cullen says, airy. "But note I didn't make you do anything. You asked a question. I answered it."

[bringspeopletogether]

"Mm-hm." Amused.

He catches one of Cullen's hands. "Well. If you're not otherwise occupied, I was going to check on the horses. Would you like to come?"

A pause.

" -- Along. Come along. Damn it."