Two or three weeks after the Inquisitor headed off to the Fallow Mire - with Dorian in tow - he submits to the flirtations of a new barmaid. The rumors make her bold and Bull allows himself weakness in this. It's just sex; what he has with Dorian is something else, entirely different and far, far more intimate.
Still, when it comes down to it, Bull finds himself... uninterested. He gives her what she wants - well, almost everything she wants - and sends her on her way. He doesn't seek fulfillment from her and he's sure that if she stays, the rumor mill will circulate that the Bull didn't - or couldn't - perform one night.
He doesn't really care. He's had so few repeat lovers that he is given to ignoring what one-night-stands might say about him. Most of his reviews are good, anyway.
A week or so after that, Bull gets word that the Inquisitor's party is through the pass. He hears the guards call their arrival as they cross the stone bridge into the keep. Bull doesn't run - he allows himself a shred of dignity - but the moment he sees Dorian, he sweeps the mage right off his feet and kisses him soundly.
Dorian has spent the better part of the last month either traveling--and sleeping in a tent next to Varric, who snores awfully--or in a bog fighting demons, reanimated corpses, and hostile Avvar. By comparison, the chill and bitingly fresh air of the Frostbacks is a significant step up.
It also means that they're drawing close to Skyhold. Dorian tries to pretend that the excitement he feels is due to the anticipation of a warm bath and time spent in the library after too long away. But truly, he can't fool even himself; he misses the Bull, so much that it aches. He hasn't spent so much time apart from him since they began their...tryst? It certainly isn't that, after this long. But what else to call it? If there is anything to name still, of course. He's assuming that Bull hasn't moved on in some fashion in his absence. While he knows in his heart that likely isn't true, he's anxious all the same. He's never had anything like this for so long. He simply can't imagine everything going right.
But that anxiety is dispelled nearly as soon as he passes through the main gates. The moment he dismounts, he's lifted clear off the ground by huge, strong arms and pressed to a familiar broad chest as he's kissed with sheer joy, here in front of the entire courtyard. What can he do but return the embrace and the kiss both? Relieved beyond words, his arms wrap tight around the Bull's neck.
Even when the kiss breaks and Dorian scolds, "Not even a 'hello,' you brute? Fasta vass, put me down!" he holds on. His heart is full, touched by how much he's clearly been missed, and by Bull's complete lack of hesitation, even with the crowd around them. He isn't nearly so offended as he pretends, of course. His eyes are warm when they meet Bull's, and it's impossible not to smile.
"This is hello," he rumbles as he cradles Dorian against his chest. Bull has absolutely no interest in putting him down again and he wonders how much he'll suffer if he just carries Dorian back to his room. He has no doubt the mage will be wanting a bath, a meal, and maybe a nap. He can have all of them: Bull just wants to be nearby.
He kisses Dorian again, sweeter this time, like he's trying to charm all his cursing away. Bull can hear someone whistling and he also hears it suddenly cut off: he suspects Cullen or even the Inquisitor intervened.
"If I put you down, it'll be into bed or into a tub." His voice is low now, just for Dorian. "Take your pick."
Well, there's little arguing with that. This may be the most spectacular greeting he's ever received. Despite being so clearly disobeyed, he cradles Bull's face in his hands when he's kissed again. And even when he shrinks a little at the sound of a whistle--clearly directed at them--he determinedly does not let go. It's still difficult for him to see the difference between friendly teasing and ridicule, but he's trying to learn. He hasn't had many opportunities before.
"Well, I don't think you want to fuck me fresh from the road," he says with amusement, just low enough to keep it between them. His thumb traces the line of Bull's cheekbone. Sweet Maker, he'd missed this face. "Or perhaps I shouldn't assume, given your tastes."
Bull's utter refusal to let go of him reignites feelings that Dorian has been attempting with great effort to smother over the last month. Apparently, they weren't buried very deep.
"I had intended to bathe," he continues, "and check on the library. Food, drink, and sleep would also be welcome, though apart from the bath, I'm not particularly attached to the order in which these things happen. So if you aren't going to allow me basic the basic dignity of letting me walk on my own, the least you can do is call for a tub and water."
"I've fucked you in a tent after being on the road for the better part of a week," he murmurs, his eye bright. "You wanna call that bluff?"
Bull smiles beneath Dorian's tender touch and gives the mage one more bruising kiss before he finally lets Dorian down. He could at least give him some dignity now that he's ruined any thought that they might only be distant lovers. Bull finds that he doesn't care and also that he cares too much: why shouldn't people know what they are? Because it's dangerous, his mind whispers. Not only for the Qun, but because Dorian could become a liability. What if someone decides to try to hurt him to somehow get to Bull? He can't stand the thought. He pushes it away.
"Come on. We'll get you settled in a bath and I'll bring food."
Rather than answering directly, Dorian merely mutters, "Kaffas, you're incorrigible," swats Bull playfully on the arm, and gladly lets himself be kissed again.
It certainly doesn't escape Dorian that this is the first time the nature of their relationship has been made clear to others. While it's common knowledge already through the rumor mill that they're sleeping together, this display has made it obvious that it's more than that. Bull had expressed before that he wouldn't mind it if people thought that about them, and Dorian had, at the time, been confused and hurt. The way he'd responded had led to their most serious disagreement to date.
They still aren't together. Not like so many will probably now assume. That was what had hurt so badly the first time; that Bull would say something like that even though no true relationship was possible between them. At the time, it felt like he was being toyed with. But Dorian finds that he doesn't care now the way he did back then. Perhaps it's simply because they've grown closer, and he can see now what Bull meant. Let people who don't know them think what they like. What's between them is their own business; they don't have to hide it for that to still be true.
"You're still insisting that I come up to your room, I take it?" Dorian questions, and though his feet are on the ground again, he doesn't move any further away from Bull. His voice lowers, lips pulling into a coy smile. "Will watching me bathe make it all the more satisfying when you get me dirty again later?"
There is nothing about their relationship - whatever it is - that Bull is ashamed of. He may have no easy way to define what they are to each other, be it friends or lovers or some mix, but he's tried to stop worrying about it. Shok ebasit hissra, he tells himself. Struggle is an illusion; there is nothing to struggle against. There is no point in fighting this tide.
"Your room or mine, I'll let you choose... though, mine is closer." Just in case Dorian needs a way to make his decision easier. The coy look and the sweet tease earn Dorian another kiss. "Yes, it will."
Bull is already imagining all the ways he can help Dorian relax after his arduous journey. He resists the urge to toss Dorian over his shoulder. Instead, Bull slides an arm around him and shoots a look to the Inquisitor and Cullen.
"You can debrief him later," he says in a tone that makes Lavellen roll her eyes and makes Cullen look downright flustered.
"Fine, fine," he sighs, affecting exasperation. "Yours, then." He'd been fully intending to go to his own--resolved, even--but all of that had changed the moment Bull had come to greet him. They're attached now, and Dorian can't bring himself to deny Bull anything that makes him happy--particularly not when it's something he wants as well.
So he walks with Bull's arm around him all the way across the courtyard, past Lavellan and Cullen--who he rolls his eyes at, just to show how absolutely put-upon he is by Bull's behavior--and through the Herald's Rest, mostly empty at this hour, but with a few afternoon revelers and late lunchers whose eyes follow them curiously, and then up the stairs to the Bull's door.
Telling, probably, that this room is starting to feel more like home than his own.
"Find me a tub," he repeats again, this time with a flicker of a playful smile. "I'm going to undress."
There is already a tub in the room: maybe presumptuous, but Bull just smiles and leaves his room to the sound of Dorian's teasing. He comes back with two massive buckets of water. He knows Dorian can heat it to his liking, but there's no need to go through all the trouble of melting ice.
He empties the buckets into the tub while taking a moment to appreciate whatever state of undress Dorian has managed.
"I expect to hear everything," he says as he stands straight again and leaves the buckets aside.
It is presumptuous, which is the first thing Dorian huffs to himself when he turns to find the tub already there in the corner. How long has Bull been anticipating this? How long has been Bull waiting for him, hoping that when he arrived he'd choose to come here to wash and relax?
Unsure whether to be flattered or miffed, Dorian decides to dismiss it entirely, and merely be glad for the tub's presence. He drags it closer the center of the room before he begins to undress. By the time Bull returns, he's halfway out of his last layer, the soft leggings he wears beneath his robes and his leathers, which he's laid out over the end of the bed. He pauses for just a moment to watch Bull empty the huge buckets into the tub. Surely only Bull would be able to carry them when full.
"I suppose there are some tangible benefits to fucking a Qunari," he notes aloud, smirking Bull's way as he pulls his leggings the rest of the way off and lays them with his other things. His smalls are last, of course, and nothing special for unexciting travel, or else he might have taken a little longer in removing them, with Bull's eye on him. Bare, he draws the appropriate fire glyph on the side of the tub to heat the water inside. Within several moments, steam begins to rise from the surface. "Wash my hair," he says, "and you can hear whatever you like."
Bull finds a soap he knows Dorian likes to use in his hair. It's not exactly the first time he's bathed here, though it's rare enough. He sinks down onto a low stool behind the higher end of the tub.
"Drunk your head," he says as he stretches his left leg out and settles. Once Dorian's hair is wet, Bull gets to work. He's gentle and thorough, taking as much comfort in the act as Dorian might. He likes being of service. And maybe he likes it when Dorian gets a little imperious.
For the first time in weeks, Dorian relaxes. The hot water loosens his muscles, the steam soothes his throat, and of course, Bull's big hands in his hair, the scratch of blunted claws against his scalp, are better than anything. His eyes slide closed, and the only sounds he makes are satisfied sighs, or the occasional word of instruction to Bull about what he should do next. In the end, Bull washes his back for him as well, and Dorian has to finish the rest of his bath up quickly after that to avoid falling asleep in the water.
"And now to bed," he yawns as he steps out of the tub and into a towel. "I think I'll need that nap before anything else." He hesitates a moment before he asks, "Will you stay with me?"
Rather than press for information, Bull lets Dorian relax. He talks idly, filling the silence himself instead. Random gossip from around Skyhold, interesting or strange or just silly happenings.
When Dorian's finished in the bath, Bull helps him out of the tub. His expression softens at the hesitant request.
"Yeah, of course I will."
Bull sits on the edge of the bed so he can get his brace and boots off. He watches Dorian while he does, drinking in the sight of him. Bull doesn't like being left behind, but more than that, he doesn't like being left when Dorian goes.
Wearing something clean--his housecoat, of course, kept more often than not in Bull's room, and thoroughly washed since he'd worn it that night on the balcony in Val Royeaux--Dorian settles into bed, gladly breathing in Bull's familiar scent on the sheets and pillows. There had been no hesitation on Bull's part when he'd asked if he'd stay. As it is, he's undressing, carefully removing his boots and brace. Sneakily, a bare leg slides out from beneath the layers of his housecoat, and he brushes a foot over Bull's thigh.
"My feet are quite sore," he mentions, seemingly innocuously. "I did far too much traipsing through fetid swamp water. It ruined my boots, I think. Who calls a place the Fallow Mire, anyway? Surely that can't be what it says on the map. Who would want to live there?"
Bull chuckles when he feels Dorian's foot against his thigh. He turns slowly, tucking his right leg as he leaves the rest hanging over the edge of the bed so that Dorian's foot is properly in his lap.
"Pass me that lotion," he says with a nod toward the nightstand. Dorian's closer to it. The small bottle is another one of Dorian's things that's migrated into his room. Something he hasn't bothered to try to return to its proper place because he likes thinking that this is its proper place.
"Sure whoever named it that wasn't from there." A dry smile curves his mouth as he gets started on Dorian's foot. The pressure is gentle but firm, and he absently hits the spots he knows will be sore. He pauses, then adds, "Red said the area saw plague, though. Might've gotten that name in the aftermath."
Dorian passes the little bottle, recognizing it as his own as he does. He really does keep quite a lot of his things in Bull's room now. It makes sense. When they're together in Skyhold, he inevitably finds himself sleeping here at least half the time.
As Bull takes him up on his unsubtle hinting with apparent ease, Dorian relaxes back into the bed, making a low noise that sounds dirty even to his own ears as Bull's fingers dig into the arch of his foot.
"Well, whenever the name came about, it was apt," Dorian grumbles, and proceeds to tell Bull of their experiences there--demons, corpses, and Avvar included, but especially all of the inconveniences to him personally. By the time he circles back around to Varric's snoring, however, he's already trailing off, falling asleep gradually as the comfort of the bed and Bull's presence lull him.
Bull gets through both of Dorian's feet and his calves before the mage starts drifting off. Only when he's sure Dorian is out - or nearly there - does he let him go. He gets up carefully so that he can move to the other side of the bed, then eases onto his back next to Dorian. They have a couple hours before a tray arrives for them - he'd told Cabot just to send something up whenever dinner was being served.
He drifts in and out next to Dorian, content to hold him again, to have him close and alive and warm against his side.
When he hears a quiet knock at the door, he gets up again to retrieve their food and set it on a sideboard. He's put more furniture in here since Dorian started hanging around, though the room still looks a bit... savage. He plans to keep it that way for the foreseeable future and is grateful that most of Dorian's complaining seems perfunctory.
When Dorian wakes several hours later, he's pleased to find the indent in the bed beside him where Bull had lain still warm. He rolls over slowly, blinking away sleep, and his bleary eyes find Bull's shape immediately, setting trays down on the table. It was the smell of the food, probably, that woke him.
"I know I've been away too long when food from the Rest starts smelling edible," he sighs. It smells very good, as a matter of fact, and he'll gladly eat it. But the complaint is almost second nature. He sits up slowly, then swings his legs over the side of the bed. "Did you go downstairs to get it?" he wonders. If so, he'd missed that entirely.
"No, I told Cabot to send something up whenever they started serving dinner."
He watches Dorian get up and he can't help the small smile that crosses his face. Dorian is sleep-tousled and his robe is threatening to slide off one shoulder before it's righted again. Bull sinks down onto a stool; there's a proper chair that he's ceded to Dorian. It's not his ass that's just been horseback and on foot for hours.
"I see. Thoughtful of you." That's his way of saying thanks, anyway. "And here I thought you only lived above the tavern for its proximity to the bar. Now I understand that it's both the bar and the kitchen." He smiles slyly up at Bull, and adjusts his robe, pulling it closed and retying it around his waist.
His hair, however, remains an artful mess, as it dries into its natural waves on top of a case of bedhead. His moustache is unstyled as well, though his face has been freshly shaved. He settles into the chair, pulling a plate over for himself. "Did he send beer as well? Or will I have to venture downstairs for that?"
Bull nods to the tankards on the tray. "That's beer. If you want water, one of us will have to venture out. Are you staying tonight?"
He doesn't want to presume, though he's done plenty of it since Dorian set foot through Skyhold's main gate. But this is different. Bull wants him here and that feels dangerous, and so it's one of those things he will always leave to Dorian. Well, almost always.
"So Cabot does care about me," Dorian concludes with satisfaction, and takes a deep drink from the tankard immediately. How something so objectively terrible could taste so refreshing remains a mystery.
Another mystery: the parameters of this thing with the Bull. Dorian had assumed he'd stay, but now that Bull is asking, he feels unsure. "I'd like to," he admits, though he's looking at his food when he says it. "It seemed you had some unmentionably obscene plans for me." Of course, that doesn't mean he needs to stay the night, but the last time he'd actually left after having sex was months ago.
"I want you to," Bull assures, soft and warm. He doesn't think Dorian is here out of obligation, he's perfectly capable of standing up for himself. But it feels good to hear all the same.
And after they've established that, Bull allows himself a more wolfish smile.
"I never did get to show you what I bought in Val Royeaux."
Because Bull's smile makes heat spike along his neck much sooner than Dorian is ready for that sort of thing, he averts his gaze quickly, though it's probably too obvious. He cuts his food, pretending nonchalance.
"No, you didn't. As I recall, we had other things on our mind." He's certainly replayed that encounter in his mind more than once over the last month. "So long as you're gentle with my ass, whatever you have planned should be fine," he says archly, far too imperious for essentially admitting that he's a bit saddle sore. The ride back wasn't pleasant.
"You know I'll take care of you," he says warmly. "For as long as you can stand it."
A few ideas work through his head and Bull resists the urge to look up at the exposed beams in his room. Maybe suspending Dorian would be too much for the first time, but it's an idea to think about for later.
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the return from Fallow Mire
Two or three weeks after the Inquisitor headed off to the Fallow Mire - with Dorian in tow - he submits to the flirtations of a new barmaid. The rumors make her bold and Bull allows himself weakness in this. It's just sex; what he has with Dorian is something else, entirely different and far, far more intimate.
Still, when it comes down to it, Bull finds himself... uninterested. He gives her what she wants - well, almost everything she wants - and sends her on her way. He doesn't seek fulfillment from her and he's sure that if she stays, the rumor mill will circulate that the Bull didn't - or couldn't - perform one night.
He doesn't really care. He's had so few repeat lovers that he is given to ignoring what one-night-stands might say about him. Most of his reviews are good, anyway.
A week or so after that, Bull gets word that the Inquisitor's party is through the pass. He hears the guards call their arrival as they cross the stone bridge into the keep. Bull doesn't run - he allows himself a shred of dignity - but the moment he sees Dorian, he sweeps the mage right off his feet and kisses him soundly.
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It also means that they're drawing close to Skyhold. Dorian tries to pretend that the excitement he feels is due to the anticipation of a warm bath and time spent in the library after too long away. But truly, he can't fool even himself; he misses the Bull, so much that it aches. He hasn't spent so much time apart from him since they began their...tryst? It certainly isn't that, after this long. But what else to call it? If there is anything to name still, of course. He's assuming that Bull hasn't moved on in some fashion in his absence. While he knows in his heart that likely isn't true, he's anxious all the same. He's never had anything like this for so long. He simply can't imagine everything going right.
But that anxiety is dispelled nearly as soon as he passes through the main gates. The moment he dismounts, he's lifted clear off the ground by huge, strong arms and pressed to a familiar broad chest as he's kissed with sheer joy, here in front of the entire courtyard. What can he do but return the embrace and the kiss both? Relieved beyond words, his arms wrap tight around the Bull's neck.
Even when the kiss breaks and Dorian scolds, "Not even a 'hello,' you brute? Fasta vass, put me down!" he holds on. His heart is full, touched by how much he's clearly been missed, and by Bull's complete lack of hesitation, even with the crowd around them. He isn't nearly so offended as he pretends, of course. His eyes are warm when they meet Bull's, and it's impossible not to smile.
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He kisses Dorian again, sweeter this time, like he's trying to charm all his cursing away. Bull can hear someone whistling and he also hears it suddenly cut off: he suspects Cullen or even the Inquisitor intervened.
"If I put you down, it'll be into bed or into a tub." His voice is low now, just for Dorian. "Take your pick."
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"Well, I don't think you want to fuck me fresh from the road," he says with amusement, just low enough to keep it between them. His thumb traces the line of Bull's cheekbone. Sweet Maker, he'd missed this face. "Or perhaps I shouldn't assume, given your tastes."
Bull's utter refusal to let go of him reignites feelings that Dorian has been attempting with great effort to smother over the last month. Apparently, they weren't buried very deep.
"I had intended to bathe," he continues, "and check on the library. Food, drink, and sleep would also be welcome, though apart from the bath, I'm not particularly attached to the order in which these things happen. So if you aren't going to allow me basic the basic dignity of letting me walk on my own, the least you can do is call for a tub and water."
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Bull smiles beneath Dorian's tender touch and gives the mage one more bruising kiss before he finally lets Dorian down. He could at least give him some dignity now that he's ruined any thought that they might only be distant lovers. Bull finds that he doesn't care and also that he cares too much: why shouldn't people know what they are? Because it's dangerous, his mind whispers. Not only for the Qun, but because Dorian could become a liability. What if someone decides to try to hurt him to somehow get to Bull? He can't stand the thought. He pushes it away.
"Come on. We'll get you settled in a bath and I'll bring food."
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It certainly doesn't escape Dorian that this is the first time the nature of their relationship has been made clear to others. While it's common knowledge already through the rumor mill that they're sleeping together, this display has made it obvious that it's more than that. Bull had expressed before that he wouldn't mind it if people thought that about them, and Dorian had, at the time, been confused and hurt. The way he'd responded had led to their most serious disagreement to date.
They still aren't together. Not like so many will probably now assume. That was what had hurt so badly the first time; that Bull would say something like that even though no true relationship was possible between them. At the time, it felt like he was being toyed with. But Dorian finds that he doesn't care now the way he did back then. Perhaps it's simply because they've grown closer, and he can see now what Bull meant. Let people who don't know them think what they like. What's between them is their own business; they don't have to hide it for that to still be true.
"You're still insisting that I come up to your room, I take it?" Dorian questions, and though his feet are on the ground again, he doesn't move any further away from Bull. His voice lowers, lips pulling into a coy smile. "Will watching me bathe make it all the more satisfying when you get me dirty again later?"
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"Your room or mine, I'll let you choose... though, mine is closer." Just in case Dorian needs a way to make his decision easier. The coy look and the sweet tease earn Dorian another kiss. "Yes, it will."
Bull is already imagining all the ways he can help Dorian relax after his arduous journey. He resists the urge to toss Dorian over his shoulder. Instead, Bull slides an arm around him and shoots a look to the Inquisitor and Cullen.
"You can debrief him later," he says in a tone that makes Lavellen roll her eyes and makes Cullen look downright flustered.
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So he walks with Bull's arm around him all the way across the courtyard, past Lavellan and Cullen--who he rolls his eyes at, just to show how absolutely put-upon he is by Bull's behavior--and through the Herald's Rest, mostly empty at this hour, but with a few afternoon revelers and late lunchers whose eyes follow them curiously, and then up the stairs to the Bull's door.
Telling, probably, that this room is starting to feel more like home than his own.
"Find me a tub," he repeats again, this time with a flicker of a playful smile. "I'm going to undress."
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He empties the buckets into the tub while taking a moment to appreciate whatever state of undress Dorian has managed.
"I expect to hear everything," he says as he stands straight again and leaves the buckets aside.
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Unsure whether to be flattered or miffed, Dorian decides to dismiss it entirely, and merely be glad for the tub's presence. He drags it closer the center of the room before he begins to undress. By the time Bull returns, he's halfway out of his last layer, the soft leggings he wears beneath his robes and his leathers, which he's laid out over the end of the bed. He pauses for just a moment to watch Bull empty the huge buckets into the tub. Surely only Bull would be able to carry them when full.
"I suppose there are some tangible benefits to fucking a Qunari," he notes aloud, smirking Bull's way as he pulls his leggings the rest of the way off and lays them with his other things. His smalls are last, of course, and nothing special for unexciting travel, or else he might have taken a little longer in removing them, with Bull's eye on him. Bare, he draws the appropriate fire glyph on the side of the tub to heat the water inside. Within several moments, steam begins to rise from the surface. "Wash my hair," he says, "and you can hear whatever you like."
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"Drunk your head," he says as he stretches his left leg out and settles. Once Dorian's hair is wet, Bull gets to work. He's gentle and thorough, taking as much comfort in the act as Dorian might. He likes being of service. And maybe he likes it when Dorian gets a little imperious.
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"And now to bed," he yawns as he steps out of the tub and into a towel. "I think I'll need that nap before anything else." He hesitates a moment before he asks, "Will you stay with me?"
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When Dorian's finished in the bath, Bull helps him out of the tub. His expression softens at the hesitant request.
"Yeah, of course I will."
Bull sits on the edge of the bed so he can get his brace and boots off. He watches Dorian while he does, drinking in the sight of him. Bull doesn't like being left behind, but more than that, he doesn't like being left when Dorian goes.
"Dinner is coming up later."
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"My feet are quite sore," he mentions, seemingly innocuously. "I did far too much traipsing through fetid swamp water. It ruined my boots, I think. Who calls a place the Fallow Mire, anyway? Surely that can't be what it says on the map. Who would want to live there?"
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"Pass me that lotion," he says with a nod toward the nightstand. Dorian's closer to it. The small bottle is another one of Dorian's things that's migrated into his room. Something he hasn't bothered to try to return to its proper place because he likes thinking that this is its proper place.
"Sure whoever named it that wasn't from there." A dry smile curves his mouth as he gets started on Dorian's foot. The pressure is gentle but firm, and he absently hits the spots he knows will be sore. He pauses, then adds, "Red said the area saw plague, though. Might've gotten that name in the aftermath."
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As Bull takes him up on his unsubtle hinting with apparent ease, Dorian relaxes back into the bed, making a low noise that sounds dirty even to his own ears as Bull's fingers dig into the arch of his foot.
"Well, whenever the name came about, it was apt," Dorian grumbles, and proceeds to tell Bull of their experiences there--demons, corpses, and Avvar included, but especially all of the inconveniences to him personally. By the time he circles back around to Varric's snoring, however, he's already trailing off, falling asleep gradually as the comfort of the bed and Bull's presence lull him.
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He drifts in and out next to Dorian, content to hold him again, to have him close and alive and warm against his side.
When he hears a quiet knock at the door, he gets up again to retrieve their food and set it on a sideboard. He's put more furniture in here since Dorian started hanging around, though the room still looks a bit... savage. He plans to keep it that way for the foreseeable future and is grateful that most of Dorian's complaining seems perfunctory.
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"I know I've been away too long when food from the Rest starts smelling edible," he sighs. It smells very good, as a matter of fact, and he'll gladly eat it. But the complaint is almost second nature. He sits up slowly, then swings his legs over the side of the bed. "Did you go downstairs to get it?" he wonders. If so, he'd missed that entirely.
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He watches Dorian get up and he can't help the small smile that crosses his face. Dorian is sleep-tousled and his robe is threatening to slide off one shoulder before it's righted again. Bull sinks down onto a stool; there's a proper chair that he's ceded to Dorian. It's not his ass that's just been horseback and on foot for hours.
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His hair, however, remains an artful mess, as it dries into its natural waves on top of a case of bedhead. His moustache is unstyled as well, though his face has been freshly shaved. He settles into the chair, pulling a plate over for himself. "Did he send beer as well? Or will I have to venture downstairs for that?"
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He doesn't want to presume, though he's done plenty of it since Dorian set foot through Skyhold's main gate. But this is different. Bull wants him here and that feels dangerous, and so it's one of those things he will always leave to Dorian. Well, almost always.
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Another mystery: the parameters of this thing with the Bull. Dorian had assumed he'd stay, but now that Bull is asking, he feels unsure. "I'd like to," he admits, though he's looking at his food when he says it. "It seemed you had some unmentionably obscene plans for me." Of course, that doesn't mean he needs to stay the night, but the last time he'd actually left after having sex was months ago.
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And after they've established that, Bull allows himself a more wolfish smile.
"I never did get to show you what I bought in Val Royeaux."
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"No, you didn't. As I recall, we had other things on our mind." He's certainly replayed that encounter in his mind more than once over the last month. "So long as you're gentle with my ass, whatever you have planned should be fine," he says archly, far too imperious for essentially admitting that he's a bit saddle sore. The ride back wasn't pleasant.
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A few ideas work through his head and Bull resists the urge to look up at the exposed beams in his room. Maybe suspending Dorian would be too much for the first time, but it's an idea to think about for later.
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