Chapter Text
War room meetings were decidedly one of Cullen’s least favorite parts of the day. The three other women in the room had moved on from tactical maneuvering to gossip, something he wished to stay away from. It seemed that gossip was doomed to follow him since the women refused to allow him to leave the room.
“It seems the Krem finally asked Scout Harding to a drink,” Leliana said.
“Really? Oh, but they will be adorable together! Did Bull tell you about the redhead from the bar? They are getting a bit more serious, now. I expect a number of weddings to plan in the fall.”
“Hm, if anyone gets the courage to ask,” Lavellan said, a smile gracing her face.
“Ladies, I have a chess game that I must make,” Cullen protested. The daily chess matches with Dorian were originally a forced upon obligation to get him to take breaks. Over time, Cullen grew to anticipate besting the mage in a battle of wits, not that Dorian was necessarily unarmed in that regard. He simply lacked the patience to master the game.
“He didn’t tell you?” Lavellan asked. All three of the ladies’ attention focused on him. “His parents arrived today. A contingent of Tevinter soldiers among them, actually." Lavellan seemed unaware of the alarmed looks she received from the three advisors. "I think they're trying to have him go back to his home."
"But why?" Josephine pressed. "Surely they must know that Dorian wants nothing to do with them."
"Something about a name? Oh, and a deal. Dorian didn't seem happy, but he told me not to intrude. Pretty adamant about it."
"A deal? What sort of deal?"
"He wouldn't tell me," Lavellan said and continued to speak, though Cullen didn’t hear it clearly because he was already out the door.
Dorian was not a hard man to find. All Cullen had to do was follow the shouting in Tevene to the alcove Dorian had sequestered himself to in the library.
"Is everything alright here?" Cullen asked when he stepped foot into Dorian's space. To be perfectly honest, the Commander had no idea why he was intruding, only that he wouldn't allow Dorian to leave with a family that Cullen knew he wanted less than nothing to do with.
The fact that Cullen may have harbored a slight admiration for the mage might have something to do with it as well. Cullen was an expert at quelling any feelings of admiration though. Especially after his admiration of the Hero of Ferelden.
Before Dorian stood a man and a woman, both very obviously his parents. Halward Pavus was shorter and doughier than his son, and it seemed as if the man could not decide on whether he wished to appear chastened or furious. The woman was otherworldly in her beauty, though drastically marred by the pinched look of her face and tension in her shoulders.
The three Tevinters’s attention swung over to his direction, allowing Dorian to regain some modicum of composure.
"Ah, Commander," Dorian said as he smoothed his attire. "Apologies if we disturbed you."
"Not at all." Cullen rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. The air still hung with tension, but instead of festering it was allowed to dissipate. "I was merely concerned when you didn't show for our chess match."
A risky lie, Cullen thought, if only because Dorian may have been waiting for him in the garden when his parents accosted him. But it was better than saying he worried that Dorian was going to be drugged and whisked away.
Dorian cocked his head, eyes narrowing as he apparently saw right through the lie. It could have been because Dorian had been to the chessboard, or that he knew all of Cullen's tells. Of which, he was assured, he had many.
"I had not realized so much time had passed, Commander. But where are my manners? Commander, may I introduce my parents, Magister Halward Pavus and Magister Lucretia Pavus, both of Minrathous. Father, mother, may I present Ser Cullen Stanton Rutherford, former Knight-Captain of Kirkwall and current Commander of the Inquisition's army."
Cullen shot the mage a weak glare, but bowed dutifully to the man and woman before him. "Serahs. I hope Skyhold is to your liking."
Halward opened his mouth to speak, but Dorian cut him off. "Unfortunately they are unable to stay to see Skyhold in all of its magnificence. Mores the pity, really, but Magisters. All off to ruin new lands and enslave new peoples. Very hectic scheduling. Perhaps you could help me see them to the gates, Commander?"
If it wasn't for spending a great deal of time in Dorian's company, he would wave off his rudeness towards his parents for anger. That was perhaps what the mage was going for, but Dorian spoke truer with his hands than with his lips. The ringed fingers at Dorian's sides idly traced glyphs through the air like a caged animal would bare its teeth.
"Of course," Cullen said and stepped back to allow the Tevinters passage from the alcove, while also putting him closer to Dorian. No one moved.
"My son seems to think our conversation is over when it is not. If we may speak with him in private, serah?" Halward said as he bowed to Cullen.
"Truly, the conversation is over, father. I care not for whatever deal you and I made back in Minrathous, I am not leaving the Inquisition. You and your merry band of hired hands are leaving."
"Deal?" Cullen asked. "What manner of deal? Is there anything the Inquisition can do to help?"
"I suspect not," Lucretia said, and it was clear that Dorian received most of his mannerisms from his mother. Her eyes sparkled in the low light with a barely there smirk. "If Dorian were not--how did you put it, Halward?--a "kept" man at his thirtieth nameday, then Halward was free to marry him to a woman of his choosing."
"You're thirty?"
"Yes, Cullen, thank you for picking the most inconsequential piece of that statement out and focusing upon it." Dorian rounded on his father and Cullen felt the telltale shift in the air to know Dorian wasn't reigning in his magic well. "You cannot make me go back."
"The agreement was signed, Dorian." Halward sighed, acting like Dorian was a spoiled child who refused to eat his greenery. "I have a clerk of the court if you will not come willingly."
Flames sparked at Dorian's hands as he stalked towards his father. "Fuck you and fuck your cl-."
Cullen stepped in front of Dorian and wrapped an arm around his shoulder to halt his advance. The mage stilled at his touch, the fire dying in his palms but he kept his eyes on his father. "Dorian, relax. You don't want to commit patricide."
"The thought is increasingly appealing," Dorian murmured, low enough to keep out of his father's hearing range.
A woman's laugh rang through the library, though Cullen did not turn to look at Lucretia as she spoke. "You see, Halward? We came all this way for nothing. It seems our dear Dorian has found a partner in the Commander."
Dorian's eyes widened as he turned his gaze to his mother. "P-Partner?"
"Oh yes, dear. No need to be shy about it. You must forgive him, Ser Rutherford, he always wanted to keep his lovers hidden from us."
"I-" Cullen started and stopped. Dorian's eyes locked onto Cullen's, and Cullen saw the fear in those normally glimmering eyes. But it was the blush that crept up the mage’s neck that made Cullen's resolve harden.
Which of course, Dorian noticed. "Cullen," Dorian's voice shook slightly as he whispered. "You don-."
"Yes!" Cullen said as he turned back to Dorian's parents. "Sorry. Yes. Dorian and I have kept it a secret from Skyhold, however. So we would appreciate it. . . ." Cullen allowed his voice to trail off.
"You cannot honestly expect me to believe this farce," Halward replied, eyebrows furrowed as he glared at Cullen and Dorian.
"Come now, Halward. Young love often does foolish things. Or so I'm told." Lucretia turned her smile to Cullen and Dorian, her eyes holding the same gleam Dorian's did when he made a rather clever play in chess. "If you must, simply have them complete the old Tevene courting rituals. I'm sure they would be more than happy to if it meant Dorian stayed."