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Cullen was a very, very patient man. He knew of the tension between Templars and mages, knew how hostile the mages could be, and how untrustworthy they saw the Templars as being. Years in the Circle had taught him to be cool, calm and collected, especially when dealing with the most rowdy and volatile of the mages under his care. He was always prepared for the worst, knew how to deal with the best, and, under all circumstances, knew the most about how to sort out the mages in the circle without starting some sort of confrontation.
Nothing, however, could have prepared him for Anders.
"Mage, if you do not behave yourself I will make you hold my hand the entire way to your lesson with Enchanter Thelka!” Cullen shouted, his eyes narrowing at the mage skipping happily beside him. The damned bastard had been tripping up every single Templar they’d come across, as well as electrocuting Cullen every now and again whenever his guard was down - not enough to harm, but enough to make him squeal and jump a foot in the air each time it happened.
Cullen very rarely lost him temper. He’d made sure that his voice was always soft, calm and soothing to the frayed nerves of any mage he spoke to, but dear Maker, did Anders manage to get under his skin.
The mage grinned playfully, laughing as he danced around the Templar once more - ignoring how Cullen’s eye twitched at the movement. “You want to hold my hand? Why Cullen, you only have to ask!”
A mischievous gleam appeared in Anders’ eyes, one that Cullen treated warily as he stepped back from the infuriating man. If anything, that made the gleam shine brighter.
"Mage, I warn you not to-" Cullen’s reprimand cut off abruptly as Anders reached out with the speed of a charging Mabari, grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together before he could form any sort of protest. His cheeks flushed red, and a high whine bubbled up in the back of his throat that made Anders burst into laughter.
Anders fell blessedly silent after that, but held tightly onto Cullen’s hand as they walked through the near empty halls of the Circle tower. Cullen himself couldn’t find the strength to pull away, and smiled softly as he tugged Anders along, hiding their joined hands behind his back whenever another Templar passed them by and flushing red when a mage looked at them both knowingly.
They spoke quietly to eachother as they walked, Anders stepping closer to press up against his side and trapping their hands between them. For a ,moment, Cullen was envious of the mage robes Anders wore; the material was thin to keep the mages cool in the summer heat, revealing slightly more of the mage’s skin than was normally shown. He could barely feel the heat Anders was exuding through his heavy metal armour, his gauntlets stopping him from feeling the calloused skin of Anders’ fingers despite how tightly their hands were clasped together.
A fleeting thought entered his mind before he could stop it; he’d love to be able to strip down to the threadbare shirt he wore under his armour, just so he could feel the warmth of Anders’ body next to his own instead of the cool touch of the metal barrier between them.
Cullen paused as they reached Enchanter Thekla’s lesson room, stopping just to the side of the open door. He squeezed Ander’s hand lightly„his smile widening at the tight squeeze he got in return, and let the mage skip off into his lesson room, rolling his eyes at the cheeky wink he sent his way before the door shut with a soft click.
Nothing could have prepared him for Anders, but Cullen could hardly find reason to complain.