Burn Your Incense (Dorian/Male Lavellan)

Burn Your Incense

!!Cover is Dorian's Romance tarot card from the game!!

His quarters were always insufferably cold. Lavellan normally wasn't one for getting cold, but with the high altitude, thin windows, and the giant hole in the wall in the room below, the temperature was ghastly. How smug must everyone feel, in their warm little rooms surrounded by rooms and walls deep into the castle interior. "Oh let's give the great Inquisitor the giant tower! No matter if the elements decide to inquisit his disposition towards dying, at least his prism of death will look ominous and powerful and while we're wrapped up warm and safe."

Lavellan rolled over and bunched up his sparse blankets as best he could to wrap around him. Even with his entire life living in woods in the north, it somehow paled in comparison. Though, that may also be due to the fact that there were other people existing within 100 feet of him added with the comforting warmth of larvae writhing in his stomach.

He sighed and considered just going down to the kitchens and camping out there. At least he'd have food to comfort him. Though, he was rather concerned on whether or not his frozen fingers had enough in them to wrap around the rungs of the ladder out of his quarters.

Eventually, when he was close to drifting off, a rather aggressive gust of wind came from downstairs and ignored all layers he had on, Lavellan surrendered himself to wandering the castle until morning came so that he could stretch himself out across the tavern roof and take a nap in the sun.

Grumbling to himself, Lavellan threw the blankets off of himself and swung his feet around onto the floor. Luckily, they were numb, and he couldn't feel the biting cold of the floor. His bare feet fell onto the floor as he walked until he reached the ladder and attempted to maneuver himself down and onto it. Unfortunately, due to his inability to sense when he was touching something, his foot slipped and he slid rather ungracefully to the floor, smacking his face off a couple rungs as he went.

The elf groaned and laid back for a moment, squinting at the ceiling indignance, as though it could do something about his plight. With several painful winces, he stood up and cradled his face, taking a moment to glare at the damn hole in the wall that caused him so much grief before making his way down the stairs and out into the main hallway.

Once his nerves started to come alive again, Lavellan relished in the feeling of warmth that sept into him. The hall was empty, but the torches were still lit, as they always were, and Lavellan took the moment to enjoy how quiet and calm it was at night. No Orlesian nobles doddling around with their ridiculous accents insisting on how important they are and demanding tours. No incessant scouts pelting him with information from every side on information he didn't need to know. He knew they were just doing their job, but he was one man. One Dalish elf the world decided to keep just because they thought he was chosen by their Maker.

Lavellan was hit by a sudden urge that caused him to go padding through the castle with the sole intent to go to and glare at the doors of his companion's quarters until it eventually made him feel better. He sat down at the entrance to the hallway and glared at each individual door he could see. It was at this point he started to wonder if he remembered which one Dorian was in.

The spite in his eyes died down as he eyed the wooden doors. Surely there would be some sign to where the Tevinter man was. Perhaps gold trimming around the doorframe?

Gingerly, Lavellan stood up and walked down the hall. He knew Bull and Cassandra were in this hall, too, but not besides that.

He quickly ruled out one of the doors, one with a missing hinge and scuff marks on the doorframe where the large Qunari brute forgot to duck and smacked his horns off the wall.

The others didn't have any telltale signs, so he went up to one and pressed his ear against it, wondering if that would help anything.

"What in Thedas are you doing?" Lavellan jumped and narrowly missed scraping his ear as he whipped around.

Dorian was leaning in the doorframe behind him, holding a small palm full of fire and looking tired. Aha.

"My question is how did you hear me?" Lavellan retorted. "I'm not exactly heavy on my feet."

"My love, I could not have survived in Tevinter if I couldn't hear a well-timed assassin coming down the hall." The fire in his palm died down and he placed in on his hip. "Now, why is the Inquisitor of all people sneaking around our rooms in your nightclothes like a treacherous old woman in the middle of the night?"

"I have my reasons." Lavellan said, unwilling to admit that he was, in fact, snooping around looking for Dorian.

Dorian's eyes ran up and down Lavellan's frame, no doubt landing on his flushed face and ears. "It couldn't be that you wanted to have a fine wine dinner at ass'o'clock in the morning with the Inquisition's one and only evil magister, could it?"

Lavellan squinted and his ears flicked a little.

"Ah! I was right! You were looking for me. Isn't that just adorable?" Dorian smirked and pushed off the door with his shoulder, crossing his arms with an insufferably smug look on his face. "Although I can't blame you, I'd seek me out too, I'm rather exquisite company."

Lavellan straightened his back and walked across the hallway to shove a palm in Dorian's chest, causing the man to all but fall back into his quarters, making room for Lavellan to slip in and close the door behind him.

Dorian's room was decked out in red, with a bit of silk in the mix. Overall, it looked very much like what Lavellan assumed Tevinter looks like, with warm, dim lights and decorations. But the biggest thing he noticed was that it smelled of spices and incense, the same subtle smell Lavellan always got when his arms were wrapped around and his body flush with the other man. It made his ears hot and he could feel the small smile on his face.

Dorian's voice distracted him. "Ugh, elves. Always such barbarians. Can never communicate with their words, and if they do, it's too cryptic." The mage was rubbing his chest, and standing close to Lavellan.

"Maybe you could do with holding your tongue a bit more often." Lavellan leaned back against the door and met Dorian's eyes.

"Oh come now Amatus, you know you'd be begging for it later."

Lavellan balked at the implications and opted instead for delivering a hand across the man's face.

Dorian immediately drew back and coddled his cheek with a mock hurt expression on his face. Lavellan saw him part his lips to say something, but he stepped forward and stopped Dorian's mouth with his own.

Dorian tensed for a moment before chuckling into Lavellan's mouth and returning the kiss. Lavellan's hands found Dorian's hips and he leaned back for a moment. "You know you deserved it."

"You hurt my face!" the mage suddenly cried. "My beautiful face!"

"Aaand, you're still beautiful, but if you're so insistent, let me make it up to you."

Lavellan could hear the grin in Dorian's words when he leaned in to whisper in Lavellan's sensitive ear. "And how are you going to do that?"

Lavellan resisted the urge to slap him again. "By gracing you with my presence, you dick-for-brains lout!"

Dorian drew back and laughed. "Is that all?" He said, turning his eyes back down to meet Lavellan's, and the elf felt warmth rise to his face when he saw the endearment in his gaze.

"Well, maybe I'd like to kiss you a little more~"

"Wish granted~"

Dorian's hands started to slide gently down Lavellan's arms while he leaned back in. Eventually, they found their way down, to where Lavellan's hands still rested on his waist, and he gathered them up in his own, lacing their fingers together.

Lavellan felt Dorian pull away, and opened his eyes to see that Dorian had a slight expression of concern on his face and was looking down at one of their held hands.

"Is there something wrong?" he inquired.

"They're cold."

"What?"

"Your hands, they're cold."

Lavellan quirked an eyebrow. "Really? I've been down her for a while, they should have-"

Dorian closed his eyes and brought both of their interlocked hands together and brought them up to his lips. Lavellan felt a wave of heat go through them and he couldn't help but gasp a little.

The other man opened his eyes and looked up at him. "Better?" he asked, softly.

"Ah-" Lavellan paused. "Yeah~ Thank you."

Dorian dropped his arms a little, letting their hands rest between their chests.

Lavellan cocked his head and giggled a little. "If the rest knew that that 'mage from Tevinter' could be so soft and endearing, do you think they'd start to realize you're human?"

He sighed. "I sincerely doubt it. If that happened, who would they blame everything evil in the world on?"

"Well, there's thousands of lives whose only hope for survival is a Dalish elf, so the world doesn't exactly have its head on straight right now."

"Aye, and we're going to fix that. On the off chance we're alive when Corypheus is killed and the world makes sense again, I'll go and beat some sense into my homeland."

Lavellan slid one hand out from between the both of them and brought it up to rest on Dorian's face. "Well, Corypheus is pretty damn hard to kill, so maybe he'll be nice and let me have you a little longer."

"You can have all you like, Amatus~ For now, I'm here and I'm yours." Dorian leaned into Lavellan's palm and relished the feeling of the man's slender thumb brushing over his cheek.

Lavellan shifted and rested his arms around Dorian's neck, pulling him closer. He rested his head against Dorian's.

"I don't want you to go back to Tevinter."

Dorian rested a palm on the back of Lavellan's head. "Hush, let's go to bed. Don't get caught up in the future."

Dorian untangled himself from Lavellan and walked over to his bed and threw back the covers. Lavellan was reminded of why he was down here in the first place and got reasonably annoyed at how fluffy and inviting they looked.

"Did you know you looked like a pissed off cat when you're angry?" Lavellan looked away from the bed to Dorian, who was wearing an amused expression.

"Well that's rude."

"Actually, I think it's quite adorable. Though I must admit my curiosity as to why you're glaring at my bed as though it defiled your mother-"


NOTE; I am mostly on archive of our own!! My tag there is TheFlamingFalcon. I love these two dolts, but I'd appreciate supporting me more on there!

Also! Any feedback, of any kind, is very welcome!