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See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

for @bluesoulspirit and the prompts filled were “May I…hold your hand?” and ‘A loving gaze into their eyes’ (but mostly the first one). from @themusicmaker69

“May I…hold your hand?”

Dorian stared in shock at the Bull. Was this happening? This was like a dream come true, but it was so unexpected, Dorian was wary to trust it. Was this an attempt to appease him or mock him? Had he fallen asleep and was speaking with a demon? Before he could stop himself, he blurted out the simplest thing that came to mind.

“Why on earth would you want to do that?”

He hadn’t meant it to sound scolding, but as he saw the Iron Bull’s face drop, he knew he had failed. As silly as he knew it was, Dorian did want to hold the Bull’s hand. He wanted to stay the night and wake up snuggled up to him the next morning. But he knew better. He knew better.

The Iron Bull muttered a quick apology before turning around to catch up with the rest of the party, leaving Dorian to his thoughts for the remainder of the trip back to Skyhold.

——————————————————————————————————————————–

Dorian scowled as the memory surfaced again. He hadn’t been able to feel completely calm around the Iron Bull since the incident and in the last couple of weeks, he’d even taken to avoiding him altogether. It was all temporary, of course, until Dorian could relax enough to rationalize what was happening between them. Realizing that the sun was almost setting behind the battlements and the library was nearly empty, Dorian lethargically began packing up his research for the evening.

He should be happy. The Inquisition had more support than ever, they had Corypheus and his forces on the run, and he was on the verge of a major breakthrough in his research. Things couldn’t be going much better.

‘But maybe they could,’ he thought. ‘Maybe the Iron Bull also…”

Dorian mentally kicked himself for even bringing this up again. This…whatever was going on between him and the Bull was going well and had been for months now, at least up until recently. The Bull had been acting very strange indeed since the incident and eventually, Dorian couldn’t help but start avoiding him. Now, he was almost scared to see the Bull again. Not scared of the Bull, but scared of what this could mean. Had the Bull grown tired of him? Had his charm finally worn off? The questions swirled around Dorian’s head like the bees Sera kept. He hoped they were alright. He needed them to be alright. There was no reason to go ruining a good thing with his feelings. But, deep down, Dorian knew better than to hope for more, especially with a qunari mercenary. There is no love under the Qun. The Iron Bull couldn’t love him.

But the Iron Bull had left the Qun. The Iron Bull had invited Dorian to his bed. The Iron Bull had asked to hold Dorian’s hand. Dorian wasn’t sure what this could mean other than he was sure to get a headache if he thought about it too much.

As he was reshelving a few volumes of a dreadful collection on early Imperial architecture, he glanced up just in time to see the Iron Bull himself passing through the library with Vivienne, clearly headed for dinner. Dorian tensed. Before he could avert his gaze, however, the Bull acknowledged him with a smile, bid Vivienne farewell, and began making his way over to Dorian’s alcove. Dorian could swear the temperature in the room began rising for every inch the Bull closed between them. When the Bull was right in front of him, Dorian could hardly breathe it was so warm.

“Hey, hot shot. Long time, no see. You comin’ down for drinks later? The Chargers want a chance to beat the evil magister in a game of cards.”

The Iron Bull flashed him a grin that almost had Dorian swooning. Dorian vowed to figure out a way to punish himself for that moment of weakness later. He refocused on the moment at hand.

“If your men want to lose the last of their coin, I’m happy to oblige,” he replied with no malice.

The Chargers had finally warmed up to Dorian enough that they were willing to invite him to their games. They didn’t necessarily like him (especially with the way Dorian utterly destroyed them in cards), but they tolerated him well enough. It was nice, not drinking alone. The Iron Bull chuckled before replying.

“You know, they don’t actually think you’re an evil magister anymore. Though, maybe they will once they realize you cheat.”

Dorian scoffed. “I do no such thing. I can’t believe that you would even suggest such nonsense. I don’t need to cheat, I was born to win.”

The Iron Bull laughed again. “Whatever you say, big guy.” He paused and started looking around. He seemed…nervous, Dorian decided. After a few seconds, the Bull continued. “So, will I see you later?”

Growing up in the upper echelons of the Imperium taught Dorian a few things like how to read between the lines; the Iron Bull was hinting at more than cards and drinks and Dorian knew it. Dorian had been avoiding the Iron Bull as much as possible. After their last encounter, Dorian wasn’t sure what he might say or do if given the space. He didn’t want to ruin this. However, he also didn’t want the Iron Bull to think he wasn’t interested anymore. Dorian decided on what he hoped was an alluring answer.

“If you play your cards right, you may see more of me than you anticipated”.

The Iron Bull simply grinned again before leaving Dorian’s alcove. Finally, Dorian felt like he could finally breathe again. As he watched the Bull retreat, he knew that he was in deep. He wanted more. He needed more.

He couldn’t believe this was happening. Again. Why him? Why now? Dorian had a way of ruining every good thing that ever came his way and now, here he was about to ruin this, too. Dorian finished packing up his research and began making his way back to his quarters to freshen up before dinner. As he walked, his thoughts drifted back to the last time they were together.

——————————————————————————————————————————–

“You’ve got a real talent there, big guy,” the Bull panted, wrapping his arm around Dorian who had tucked himself into the Bull’s side against the cool night air. The hole in the Bull’s ceiling was finally good for something.

“Of course I have. I am me, after all.”

The Iron Bull just chuckled as he began stroking Dorian’s hair lovingly with his spare hand. A few minutes of silence passed as the two men tried to catch their breath. Dorian almost allowed himself to fall asleep in the Bull’s embrace, but he knew better. With a small huff, Dorian pried himself away from the warmth of the Bull’s bed and began gathering his belongings. The Bull followed him with his eye.

“Off so soon?”

Dorian sighed, slipping on his trousers. He braced himself before turning around to face the Bull. Just for a second, he could have sworn that he saw a trace of…something on the qunari’s face. Before he had too much time to analyze it, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Unless you were looking for a second round, there’s no real reason for me to still be here, no?”

Again, Dorian could have sworn that the Bull’s face betrayed something, but as quickly as it came, it was gone again. Dorian felt increasingly uncomfortable under the Bull’s gaze and returned to dressing. Once he was finished, he made for the door. Just as he reached out for the handle, the Bull called his name. Dorian turned around once again to face him.

“Dorian, I-” the Bull paused and rubbed a hand over his face, sighing. When he looked up, Dorian was beyond surprised to see sadness in his eyes. “Sleep well, Dorian.”

——————————————————————————————————————————–

Dorian had reached his quarters. He let out a long sigh as he opened the door and stepped in.

“You’re over analyzing this,” Dorian muttered to himself. “He doesn’t care about you. Not like that.”

Dorian couldn’t help but think about that look the Bull had given him and the question he’d asked him. It was unnerving to see the Bull so open with him. Dorian was sure the Bull wasn’t open with anyone like that. So why him?

——————————————————————————————————————————–
Despite being nervous about what the evening might hold, Dorian found himself feeling more at ease than he had in a long while. He had made quite a profit off of the Chargers before they became too intoxicated to continue and went about their own business (primarily finding a partner for the night). All around, the evening was going quite well, except that the Iron Bull had been strangely quiet all night.

As the Chargers’ numbers dwindled, Dorian became more and more aware of the Iron Bull’s presence. The Iron Bull now simply sat next to Dorian nursing a half-empty ale. He’d elected to watch rather than participate in any of the night’s activities and finally, Dorian couldn’t take it anymore.

“Bull, are you alright? You’re acting rather…odd.”

The Bull simply nodded and gave Dorian a gentle smile. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes. When he did, Dorian almost wished he hadn’t.

“I’ve been thinking about…us. If being with me is as troublesome as it seems, maybe it’s better for both of us if we call it off.”

The Bull finished his drink, closed his tab, and retreated to his room.

Dorian was stunned. How much had he had to drink? Surely, the Iron Bull hadn’t just broken up with him (not that they were in a relationship in the first place). This was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Being with the Bull was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he didn’t understand how Bull couldn’t see that-

Oh.

Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place. The sad looks, the desire for hand holding. He’d learned not to hope for more and in doing so failed to see that that’s exactly what the Bull wanted: more. He thought he was doing the right thing. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Dorian downed the rest of his drink and raced up the stairs after the Bull.

——————————————————————————————————————————–

The sun was just peaking over the mountains and would soon warm the ground inside of Skyhold. The morning birds began their song just as the serving folk started preparing to feed the hungry masses of Skyhold.

Dorian snuggled closer into the Iron Bull’s chest trying to fall back asleep. They’d had an eventful night and he decided they deserved to sleep in. There had been tears, shouting, consoling, and love-making. Just as dramatic as one of Varric’s tales. It had worked out in the end.

The Iron Bull began fidgeting beneath Dorian, forcing him to roll off of the qunari’s chest. The Bull rolled onto his side to face Dorian. The Bull took Dorian’s face in his hand and lightly stroked his cheek with his thumb. Dorian met the Bull’s gaze and smiled before leaning in to place a gentle kiss on the Bull’s lips. Whatever the future held for them, he hoped there was more of this.

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