Chapter Text
The sun rose as they stood there on the balcony, blissful in a soft embrace. For how long they watched, taking in the glory of the day, and one another’s presence, neither of them could say. When she had brought Josie out here for a chat, she’d timed her every word, curious of how long her friend could babble on about the antics of the nobility. But with Cullen? That would have spoiled their moment.
His arms had been wrapped around her this entire time, but she was beginning to feel the chill of his metal armor against the few bare parts her skin. Her forearms and hands were tingling of cold. He buried his face in her hair, reveling in this moment, taking in every scent, every aura she had. She pressed her head gently backwards into his shoulder, forgetting her tingly fingers for a moment, letting herself enjoy his possessiveness.
Finally she broke the embrace. She turned gently, wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a light, chaste kiss on his lips, before following up with a few kisses to his nose, and a few along his jawline. He giggled in delight. He… giggled?
“Cullen… did you just… giggle?” She began to giggle herself.
“Yes. Yes… I… uh…. yes. I did. Yes.” His smirk curved his scar into the shape of the waning moon, fading in the sky behind him, and his eyebrows did one of the cute sassy things she loved so much.
“Damnit I love you.” Her hand reached to his chin and slowly ran down the side of his face as he leaned his head into her touch. He closed his eyes, and she wondered if he had any cares in the world other than her in this moment. Which reminded her.
She broke out of his embrace, walked past him, then shifted her body to face him. “I need to go…. there’s so much to be done, and it’s already dawn-”
He cut her off. “There is nothing that needs to be done.”
“What?”
“Nothing needs doing. We won. It’s over. I gave the troops not just the day off, but the week off. I’m pretty sure no one slept last night- everyone was partying, just like we were.”
“Just like we were? Are you sure about that?”
His sigh and eye roll were unexpected. “I wasn’t going to say anything about this, but I woke up halfway through our little post-bliss doze to the sounds of other peoples orgasms. One sounded much closer to Iron Bull’s voice than I’d like to admit.” Giggles lit up his face a second time that morning, bringing a warm glow to her countenance as well.
“I swear, Commander Cullen Stanton Rutherford I have never heard you giggle before today”.
“I would certainly hope not. But now I have reason to giggle. I- well, um, I just… Evelyn.” She heard his gloves hit the ground as his hands wrapped around hers. He held them in front of himself as if he was delivering a package. “I never… do you remember that day in my office? When I was having a meeting with some of the scouts, and then you lingered in the back until you caught my attention?”
Now it was her turn to giggle. Instead of a jovial laugh though, this one was sultry. “How on earth would I ever forget that day? We nearly broke your desk. It was the first time we’d made love, Cullen. If I ever forget any single detail of that event you have every right to assume I’ve been possessed or something. Few days, few moments are as important to me as that one”.
“Well, wow,” he grinned, taking a step to close the distance and wrap his arms around her neck. A kiss of want engulfed her lips. His tongue dove into her mouth, claiming, needing. She gasped, grabbing the railing behind her for support.
Quickly he broke away and ran his hand through his golden hair. “No, wait. There’s… I have to…”
“What on earth do you have to do? You’re the one who just said that we don’t have to be anywhere today.”
“Point taken. You’re such a sultry minx… I… I can’t keep my hands off you, but I need to focus.”
“Cullen, you know that I’m not the one who does the majority of the seduction and domination in the bedroom. That would be you.”
“It’s an amazing way to channel my strength, my love, and it’s my deepest pleasure being able to pleasure you.”
Now her giggle was real. “That was a ridiculous sentence yet somehow it made me so turned on and happy.”
“I’m about to make you even… uh… happier. Well, I hope. If. I mean… you… Maker’s breath, woman, what are you doing?”
Her hands were raised to the clasps on her shirt, languidly undoing each fixture as she bit her bottom lip. Her gaze went directly into his eyes, and his jaw dropped as she took a good minute to remove the shirt, first revealing the beautiful curves of her bosom baring her breasts to his gaze. She hadn’t been wearing any bra underneath, and just….
“Stop it, woman. Stop. Andraste’s tits. I’m trying to do something.”
Her face fell. “You don’t like it?”
“What? What in the hell are you on about? Of… of course I like it. Yes. Yes...this is... amazing. You, my love. You are amazing. So goddamned amazing. I just... Maker’s balls. Let me talk for a second.”
She looked perplexed as she picked up her shirt and draped it over her shoulder.
“Evelyn…. I love you. And, that night… the one when we had sex on my desk. Well, the first time we had sex on my desk anyway. The first time we… uh… had sex at all, actually. We.... Why is this so damn hard?” He turned away from her, sighed, and shook a clawed hand in the air before facing her once again.
She looked down his body and saw what she hoped for. “I don’t know. Why are you so hard?” Nibbling on her lower lip, she demurely gazed up at him through her eyelashes.
The result was not exactly what she expected as he grabbed his own face, let go an exasperated sigh, and basically shouted, “Because of you! Everything… every single thing now is because of you. You’re the reason I wake up every morning. You’re the reason I sleep through every night, not tortured with nightmares but… happy. Calm. Peaceful. You bring me such peace, love, I don’t have the proper words to express to you how much of a difference you have made in my life.”
Evelyn’s mouth curved into the most lovely smile he had ever seen, and she started to feel a pounding within her chest. She was a sucker for romance, and loved his compliments. Not that he shared them rarely- he had a tendency to gush on about his adoration for her when they were alone… at least before things got steamy. The difference between talking and making love was substantial for them. When they were conversing, he would get awkward, stutter, work his way around sentences as if they were attacking him. When he got her in bed, or wherever else he took her, he was sure, certain. The dichotomy was the most wonderful thing in the world to her. This man was enchanting.
“Anyway, Evelyn. That night. I… uh… I asked you, well, I told you that I wanted to… uh… not move on from you, after this was all over… and then you, well, you said that you felt the same way. Not really. You didn’t say that. You seemed confused that I would even ask you but you never quite said…” He sighed the largest sigh she had seen come out of the man since meeting him in Haven, and then looked around, as if he was hoping the clouds, stones, or curtains were going to help him somehow. She stayed silent, hoping he would finish.
Finally, he continued. “Now it’s over. Corypheus is dead. We won, and I want… I want to make sure you still… feel the same way. I mean, do you? Will you stay with me?” The pleading, earnest look on his face was more than she could take. Enchanting, yes, but silly as well. The giggles, the uncertainty… they were utterly charming but she was almost offended that he felt the need to ask.
She faced outwards again, placing her hands on the railing and gazing at the sun rising over the snowy peaks in the distance. “Cullen, you know my answer”.
He came up from behind her, and wrapped her in his arms, the same way they had been standing earlier. His cold gloves and greaves were gone now, and he was all warmth and tenderness against her skin. She looked to the side to see that he had even discarded his breastplate. “You armor…”
“I don’t need it. The danger is past, at least for now. The only thing I’m in danger of is dying waiting for you to tell me you need me.”
She reached her hand behind her to play with his hair, and he nuzzled into her touch, planting kisses on her palm. “You silly Templar, of course I do.”
“Say it. Say those words exactly. Do you need me?”
“Yes, Cullen, I need you.”
“Will you...” she could feel his adams apple bounce against her hair as he gulped. “Will you stay with me?”
“Yes. I will stay with you.”
A few drops of liquid hit her on the forehead, and she realized he was sweating, as he spun her around to face him. His hands gently gripped both sides of her face, thumbs brushing stay hairs away from her eyes as he tilted her visage up towards him. Their eyes were locked, and all his awkwardness was gone. Her predatory, confident warrior had her in the palms of his hands, quite literally. It was now his turn to bite his lower lip, as his voice fell to a growl.
“Evelyn Trevelyan. Will you marry me?”