A Candle in the Darkness (A Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfiction)

Debriefing

17 Cloudreach, 9:42

For once, Antonia and her crew returned to Skyhold in the middle of the day, with time for a good long rest before dinner. They started unloading the horses in the middle of the courtyard.

"And three," Varric said.

"Two," Dorian continued, grinning.

"Bingo. There he is, right on schedule, boss." The Iron Bull winked at her as she looked over her shoulder to see Cullen hurrying down the stairs from his office.

After that it was difficult to focus on anything but the smile on his handsome face as his long strides made short work of the distance between them. Mindful of the busy courtyard, they stopped just out of touching range.

"Welcome back, Inquisitor."

"Thank you, Commander."

Most of the time when she was coming back to Skyhold from time away, all Antonia wanted was a bath, a nap, some hot food, and a few hours spent entirely by herself. Having grown up an only child in a very large house, she had developed a need for privacy that was sometimes hard to fulfill in Skyhold, and nearly impossible while camping out on an expedition. Today, however, something about the look on his face, the love and longing he tried so hard and failed utterly to hide behind a mask of professionalism, the way he dropped everything to come and meet her at the gate ... All she really wanted right now was to go away with him behind closed doors where no one could interrupt them.

"I ... ah, don't suppose you might have some time to debrief me on recent events in Skyhold, perhaps in my quarters?"

"Why, certainly," he said in surprise and evident happiness. "I have a few things to finish up, but then I could certainly be available for a, uh, debriefing."

Behind Antonia, the Iron Bull groaned loudly. "'Debriefing'? Can't you come up with a better name for it than that?"

"Oh, Commander, debrief me!" Dorian said, in a terrible parody of Antonia's accent.

Antonia glared at both of them. "If I was a mage, I'd turn you both into a pile of ashes."

"I might let you," Cullen said.

"If you'd like, I could write you both some new dialogue," Varric said. "Something witty and sparkling, but with subtlety."

"Write it for them," Antonia said, gesturing toward the other two, who were still grinning. She lifted her saddlebags off the back of her horse, letting the stableboy, who was trying unsuccessfully to hide his own smile, lead the animal away. "Commander, I shall be awaiting your report."

"Inquisitor. Shall I fetch Phoenix from the kennels and bring him up?"

"No, I'll go get him at dinner, I think." The growing mabari did tend to be a bit of a distraction on occasion, and Antonia felt the need to have Cullen all to herself.

"As you wish." He bowed his head, but she caught the half-smile on his face before he turned away.

It took him longer than she'd hoped it would. She had unpacked, undressed, had a snack from the tray Roya had brought up as soon as Antonia had ridden through the gates, and was relaxing in a hot bath filled with foamy bubbles when she heard his familiar tread on the stairs. He took them three at a time, as usual.

"Cullen? I'm back here," she called. He had had the tub installed in her room a month ago while she was away, in a back room that had previously been used for storage. Although, she realized now with a flutter of anticipation, they had never shared a bath before.