Dragon Age One Shots

Sunset Reminisce (Cullen)

Sorry for the lack of activity! I'm mostly posting on tumblr currently and I'm participating in a fan creation event as of currently. Some of the work is fanart, which I will be putting into one shots and posting. This is Prompt 1: "You have something in your hair. Can I get it out?"

Enjoy!

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Elswyth was watching the water in silence when Cullen arrived, sat at the lake's edge with crossed legs. It was strange to see her out of her armour away from Skyhold, where bandits and wild animals could attack at any moment. But there she was, her back against a willow tree. What was stranger than her not being in armour was her wearing a dress. Not that she hated them or disliked them, she did, in fact, have a few. But she was picky about them and Orlesian dress were definitely out of the picture. Apparently, she found the fabric too tight, too irritating to her skin (which would ultimately flare up acne she didn't want after having it reasonably under control on her back for years), and too ghastly.

It was simply rare to see her wearing one. She kept them for special occasions - parties she couldn't get out of (but if she didn't have to wear one, she truly wouldn't) and hot days in summer. If she couldn't handle another day of clothes sticking to her every skin cell, and only as a last resort.

To see her in one when the sun is warm but the air cold, when the leaves are starting to unfurl and early blooms gracing the land with delicate colours, was most peculiar. The off-white shawl around her shoulders hid the majority of her dress, but the lilac fabric pocked out from the bottom of the shawl.

It was a reminder to anyone that she was of noble birth and anyone would find it difficult to believe she was a warrior - an aegis to the helpless.

As Cullen got closer to her, he noted she was squinting, the sun beaming into her eyes through the branches. She tilted her head down for a moment and seemingly backed into the tree when a mallard hopped onto the bank. She sprinkled uncooked oats around her and the duck quacked and snacked on the food for a moment before jumping back into the water.

Elswyth wore a smile - gentle and amused - and turned to look in his direction. Her form jumped in surprise, startled. She hadn't heard him - an oddity more mysterious than her desire to wear a dress.

"Maker's breath, Rutherford." The aftermath of his apparent stealth (which was new to him) was clear in her eyes for a brief moment before they filled with amusement once more. "I didn't hear you." She shifted to her left and patted the space she had just been sat.

Without hesitation, he sat and gazed at the woman beside him. The dark circles that lingered beneath her eyes had bean to recede with Corypheus defeated and her eyes gleamed with delight.

"I went here once on a camping trip with my father many years ago - we canoed down the lake in the summer, getting eaten alive by bugs for the first hour of the day before the rain came in. By evening, we were looking for a place to camp in the middle of a thunderstorm, our pet dog was in my dad's canoe and not caring too much about it. My dad was drenched, his coat over the dog, and there I was terrified of ever roll of thunder, every flash of lightning." Humour was clear in her tone. "Three months later? There I was in a circle, beginning my templar training." A gentle sigh. "I missed this place greatly. I'm... grateful that the second time I experienced this place is with you."

As if it was second nature, Elswyth leaned into him gently, clinging to her shawl as the wind came and went again. Cullen draped his arm around her waist, holding her tenderly. He didn't quite know how to respond to her statement. Although she was rarely completely honest about her feelings overall, she was reasonably honest about them when it came to these situations. It wasn't her sincerity that had him at a loss for words - not truly. In part, of course - they caught him off guard - but not fully.

He had wondered on multiple occasions if there was ever a place she had close to her heart. She spoke relatively rarely about her childhood, although she spoke quite fondly of it when she was asked for stories. She seemed to remembered sensations like she had felt them a day before. He wondered if she had any she would want him to see rather than hear her talk about them. His unasked question had been answered.

Cullen sat in relative silence, happily listening to her tales, conversing when he deemed it appropriate. A few of Elswyth's stories involving her siblings reminded him of his own - which led to both of them assuming it must be a 'large family' trait. Or hell, depending on the day. There were moments she only touched upon, ones she had great fun telling when they first met had turned sore. Untalkable. Painful to remember. On those moments, she tensed and asked him if he had a story he wanted to share.

On one such occasion, a particularly painful memory involving her sister-in-law, who had passed away three years previously, had silenced her for a moment. Only a moment. She moved away from him, stared at him, and then smiled somewhat awkwardly. She looked as if to apologise, which he silenced with a hand to her cheek.

Elswyth laughed at that, an action more soon than heard. And then she sniggered, much to his confusion. "You have something in your hair, Commander." He went to find the object but she grasped his hand gently, much closer to him than before. "Mind if I get it out for you?" Once he lowered his hand, Cullen waited patiently. Her fingers were gentle in his hair and he closed his eyes at the sensation. She stopped and he was about to question what it was when he was quietened with a kiss - long and sweet, hands tender upon his cheeks. He held her close, hands on her hips.

When they pulled away, their foreheads touched and he chuckled lightly. "Was there anything in my hair at all?"

"There was." She lifted her head for a moment to flick a pine needle to the side. "Was I too rough or...?" She trailed off. Cullen pulled her closer.

"Not at all." And they shared another kiss beneath the sunset.