Chapter Text
“Any fun plans for the holiday weekend?”
Asha looks up when she hears Bull’s voice booming in from the hallway, but she can just see his dress shirt straining across his broad back. He’s talking to Cullen, then, and she turns her attention back to her computer screen. The cursor blinks in the blank word document, a silent judgment on the amount of work she’s done so far this morning.
Cullen’s reply is too quiet for her to hear, and she reaches for her coffee cup without looking at it before raising it to her lips.
It’s empty.
“Not looking forward to it, then?” Bull’s voice is too loud, distracting. Or perhaps that’s just her little headache begging for more coffee before she can write any more letters.
She stands and stretches out her shoulders before moving to push past Bull to go to the little break room down the hall. He moves just enough to more fully block her path, glancing over his shoulder to send her a little smirk.
“I bet the boss here would be able to help you with that,” he says, moving again so that Asha can see directly into Cullen’s office. He’s sitting at his desk, glasses perched on his nose and sleeves pushed up toward his elbows, a scowl and blush warring on his face.
Asha leans against her doorframe, holding her empty mug in both hands. “Are you having trouble with one of the kids, Cullen?” she asks, tilting her head to the side to study his expression.
He shakes his head at her, but it’s Bull who answers. “Cullen here has a perfectly good invitation for a weekend at his folks’, but he doesn’t want to go home alone .”
Cullen pulls his glasses off and rubs at his forehead, a heavy sigh making his shoulders sag.
“Wait--” Asha resists the impulse to rub her forehead in a sympathetic echo. “What’s wrong with going home alone?”
Cullen’s face is steadily reddening, and he glances from Asha to Bull and back before answering. “Last year, Rosalie invited one of her friends to be my date and didn’t tell me until she was there, and then she followed me around all day. She kept pinching my--pinching me .” Cullen corrects whatever it was he was starting to say with a little cough, and Asha shifts so she can hide her grin behind her hand.
And then Bull’s words come back to her. The boss here would be able to help you out with that. Her cheeks start to heat too, and she sees the moment that Bull realizes his plan is starting to work. She hates him for it, but only for a moment before her traitorous body is taking over for her brain.
“I could go with you,” she offers, making an effort to sound casual even as Cullen’s gaze snaps back to hers in surprise. “I’ll fight off any of your sister’s friends who try to make a move on you.” She grins and holds her breath.
She’s been wanting to spend more time with Cullen for months. And on a vacation--even one to hang out with his family--would be a good opportunity to see past Work Cullen and get to know the Real Cullen.
And it isn’t like she has plans otherwise. She was going to spend the three-day weekend getting rid of the last of the moving boxes still in her apartment, maybe paint her bedroom or have a movie marathon. Spending a few days with Cullen has the potential to be much more exciting.
Bull’s grin is starting to look smug. “See? It’s perfect. You go with Cullen, see how true Fereldans celebrate their Independence Day, and his sister leaves him alone. It’s a win-win.”
Asha turns her attention back to Cullen, who is now looking at Bull with a pleading expression. “How do you people celebrate it, anyway?”
Cullen heaves another sigh. “Eating. A lot. Fireworks. Swimming. Games.” He starts to shuffle papers around on his desk, indicating he’s done with the conversation.
Asha tries to picture Cullen hanging out with an annoying sister and a bunch of kids, eating pie and playing games, wearing swim trunks and splashing around in the water…
“That… doesn’t sound so bad,” she says, voice a little too dreamy. She’s definitely blushing now.
Cullen looks up at her, eyes still wide, and she shrugs. She’s committed to this now.
“Free food and fireworks? I think I could deal with that for a weekend.” Cullen is still staring at her, forehead furrowed, so she looks up at Bull’s shit-eating grin. She frowns and holds up her empty cup. “I just came out for coffee, not to make weekend plans.”
Finally, Bull steps out of her way, and she scurries down the hallway to the break room, Bull’s laughter following behind her.
She takes her time refilling her cup, doctoring her coffee with a little more care than strictly required, trying to give Bull time to go back to his desk to leave her and Cullen alone. Not only do they have work to get done--a little more than usual, given their vacations coming up--but she doesn’t want to have to look either of them in the face and pretend like she doesn’t think the idea of spending a three day weekend with Cullen is more appealing than it should be.
Bull is gone when she returns, and when she glances in Cullen’s office, he has his headphones in. He needs privacy, then, so she shuts her door behind her and settles back into her chair.
There’s an instant message waiting for her when she banishes the computer’s screensaver.
[Cullen R:] So about that.
That’s it. No indication of what he might be thinking.
Asha slips her shoes off under her desk and cracks her knuckles.
[Asha T:] yeah?
[Cullen R:] I’m sorry Bull ambushed you.
[Asha T:] lol he’s done worse
[Asha T:] I’m not upset
[Asha T:] don’t worry about it
[Cullen R:] Good.
A few seconds pass where Asha stares at the little window, waiting to see if he has more to say. The icon that indicates he’s typing appears and disappears for a few times before the next message comes through.
[Cullen R:] I don’t suppose you would actually be interested in coming with me? They live in South Reach so it’s a few hours away, but nothing we can’t easily drive.
[Cullen R:] Mia would be thrilled if I actually brought someone with me.
[Asha T:] Rosalie’s friend will be disappointed!
[Cullen R:] She’ll be okay. Trust me.
Asha stifles her laugh behind her hand as though he would be able to hear across the hall and through her closed door.
[Asha T:] how could I abandon you to such a fate? when are you leaving and coming back?
[Cullen R:] I’m driving down Friday afternoon after work. I’ll probably leave here about four. And then I’m driving back Monday after breakfast so I can have time to relax before coming back to work Tuesday.
[Cullen R:] I would pay for everything. You wouldn’t have to worry about it. We'll just stay at Mia’s house.
[Asha T:] and I just… pretend to be your girlfriend for a couple of days?
[Asha T:] seems like a fair trade
[Cullen R:] Is that a yes?
[Asha T:] Yes, Cullen, I will be your girlfriend for three and a half days this weekend, provided you keep me well-fed.
[Asha T:] we should come up with our cover story before we go. like how long we’ve been together and stuff.
[Asha T:] just in case
[Asha T:] Mia seems the nosy type
[Cullen R:] She is.
[Cullen R:] I have an appointment that I need to prepare for. Can we meet to talk everything over later? Maybe over dinner?
Asha’s chest tightens, and she takes a deep, calming breath before mentally berating herself for her reaction. This was her suggestion.
[Asha T:] that’s fine
[Asha T:] just let me know when works for you
[Cullen R:] Will do.
[Cullen R is unavailable]
Asha pulls her emails up and stares at the ones sitting unread in her inbox, then at her coffee cup, then at her watch.
It’s only 9:15.
This is going to be a long day.
---
Cullen knocks on her open door just after 5 that evening, leaning on the frame with a casual smile. Asha blinks up at him, rubbing her eyes, dry after a long day at her computer. His hair is starting to fall out of its style, curling more from his fingers running through it during the day, and it makes her smile like it always does.
“Still have time for dinner?” he asks, then pauses to glance over his shoulder as though checking to be sure they’re alone. He probably is; Bull would never let them forget it if he thought they were actually acting on his suggestion.
“Of course!” Asha smiles a little brighter, locking her computer for the night before slipping her shoes back on under the desk. Cullen’s eyes drop down to her bare toes for a moment before he looks back up, meeting her gaze again. “I’m starving. What do you feel like?”
Cullen shrugs a little, taking a step back into the hallway as Asha picks up her purse and slips it over her shoulder. Asha is only a few inches shorter than him in her heels, and the realization makes him arch his brows in surprise as she brushes past.
“Do you like Antivan food?” she asks, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he’s following. “There’s a place a couple of blocks over that Josephine and I go to sometimes? It’s delicious.” They pass Josephine’s office as she’s explaining, and she waves at the other Antivan. Josephine’s full lips part slightly in surprise at seeing Cullen and Asha walking out together, but she waves back without saying anything else.
“I… am not sure,” Cullen finally says, holding the front door open for her while shading his eyes from the sun. She murmurs a thank you and waits for him on the sidewalk, head tilted to the side to indicate that he should continue speaking.
He stops a few paces away, an awkward distance, and clears his throat. He adjusts the strap of his computer bag over his shoulder, then runs his fingers through his hair, half taming the curls and half pushing them out into a more wild mess.
She smiles and barely keeps herself from licking her lips.
“That sounds fine. Did you drive, or--” He looks out at the parking lot, over the few gathered cars, and she shakes her head.
“I usually just take the bus.” She hasn’t needed a car so far, thankfully, Denerim’s public transit working in her favor.
Cullen doesn’t seem phased, fishing through his pants pocket until he finds his keys. Asha eyes the little mabari keychain--the one she got him for secret Satinalia--and grins, though he misses the expression looking over her shoulder at his car. “I can drive us, if that--”
“That’s fine,” she interrupts, gently, not wanting to waste more time in awkward back-and-forth. They’ll need to get this out of their systems before the weekend. They may not be the best of friends, but they’ve never been quite this… stilted before.
The ride to the restaurant is silent save for Asha’s quiet directions. Cullen guides his little car through the city with the same care and attention he gives everything he does, following the traffic laws to a T as far as she can tell.
They beat the dinner rush by just a few minutes, and are already sitting at a table when the front of the restaurant begins to crowd. Asha looks back at Cullen with a tiny smirk, settling as comfortably as she can in the narrow booth.
“So tell me about your family, Cullen.” Asha sips at her water as Cullen considers before fishing his phone from his pocket.
A few taps at the screen and he’s showing her a picture of all of them together, probably from the year before. He’s standing at the back, his arm pointedly not around the blonde standing next to him--probably the date he’d been avoiding--a shirt with Ferelden’s crest on it stretching nicely across his chest.
She rips her eyes away from that to take in the rest of the scene. “Mia’s the oldest,” he explains, pointing at a woman with hair the same honey color of his. “That’s her husband, Thomas, and their three kids: Lori, Ellie, and Thom.”
Thomas has very red hair, almost orange, and the three kids all have hair with varying degrees of red as well. Lori’s is curly like Cullen’s, and she stands sullenly at the edge of the picture with her arms crossed.
“This is Bran and his… ex.” Cullen points at the third man in the photograph, a little shorter and stockier than himself, but otherwise nearly identical, and stammers over what to call the slim elven woman by his side. Asha squints a little, fingers itching to take his phone from him so she can zoom in on the woman, but she can still see the slight bump under her sundress. “They had a son a few months ago, and she just… left. Mia said he’s still really broken up over it.”
Mia said. Cullen didn’t know first hand, so he hasn’t been talking to Branson at all. Asha glances up, hoping to read his expression, but he doesn’t look back at her.
“And then there’s Rosalie?” Asha asks, pushing past the question. Rosalie is standing next to Mia, holding Thom. She looks less like Cullen than the others, though her hair is the same color. It’s long and straight, only curling at the ends, and her smile is contagious. Asha finds herself smiling back before Cullen pulls the phone away from her face to speak with the waitress.
“When was the last time you visited them?” Asha’s gentle question breaks the silence as the waitress disappears with their order, and he hesitates before answering.
“I was home for two days at Satinalia. Before that… it was last Independence Day.”
Asha raises her eyebrows at the admission, but Cullen just studies the table between them, a light blush on his cheeks. He barely goes home even though it’s an easy car ride. If Asha had family and they lived that close, she would visit them all the time. There’s a story here, and she’s curious but afraid to ask.
She just nods instead, fingers playing with the condensation on the sides of her glass. “So we’ll have to say we started dating since Satinalia. Over the last couple of months.”
Cullen nods and finally looks up to meet her gaze. His eyes are tight, the little wrinkles at the corners deepening as his lips start to twist into a frown. “Is this a good idea?”
Asha opens her mouth to respond, then closes it again to consider. It probably isn’t a good idea, not if she’s being honest with herself. Not just because of how Cullen’s family would react if they found out they’re just pretending, but because being around him for three whole days and pretending to date might literally kill her.
There’s temptation there, though. And Asha’s never been good at resisting temptation.
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea.” She bites the inside of her lip to wait for his reaction, but he just chuckles.
“That’s a ringing endorsement if I’ve ever heard one.”
It’s Asha’s turn to laugh, and she does so loudly before abruptly covering her mouth with her hand. Cullen grins back at her.
“I think the closer we can stick to the truth, the easier it will be. You asked me out to dinner, we get along, things are serious enough that I’m okay meeting your family.” Asha shrugs and turns one hand palm-up. That’s all she knows how to say.
“I haven’t met your family yet,” he comments. “Are they in Antiva?”
Asha hesitates before answering. “I don’t really have any family.” Cullen blinks at that, eyebrows drawing together, but he waits for her to explain. After a moment, she does: “I have a brother but I haven’t seen him in a long time. My parents are gone.”
Cullen’s face falls. “Oh… I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” His fingers twitch like he might reach out to her, but he folds them in his lap instead. “I lost my parents ten years ago.”
Asha’s smile is sad. “I’m sorry too. It’s good you still have your siblings, then.”
“I… yes.” Another hesitation, the same hurt he isn’t sharing.
She still doesn’t push. “Have you told Mia yet?” Cullen’s eyes widen even as the rest of his body freezes, and Asha covers a laugh with her hand. “You should… do that.”
Cullen doesn’t move until Asha raises her eyebrows at him, then he’s all fumbling fingers and reddening ears as he digs his phone out of his front pocket. He taps at the screen for a few moments, composing a simple text to Mia: Is it ok if I bring my girlfriend this weekend? She wants to meet everyone.
It’s barely sent before a reply comes back. He hasn’t even had time to put his phone down on the table to wait.
He sighs and then turns the phone around to Asha. Texts are still coming in, one question at a time.
[Mia Gregory:] Your who?
[Mia Gregory:] When did you get a girlfriend?
[Mia Gregory:] OF COURSE YOU CAN BRING HER
[Mia Gregory:] Who is she? What’s her name? Where did you even meet a girl?
[Mia Gregory:] Send me a picture.
Asha is laughing by the time the demand for a picture comes in, but Cullen is still pink. “She wants a picture of me.”
“Maker,” Cullen sighs, rubbing his face with his hand. “You don’t have to do that.”
Her eyes are dancing. “Oh, let’s take one. It’ll be fun.” She scoots out of her side of their booth and moves to sit beside him, pressing close enough that he has to put his arm around her shoulders. She opens up the camera app on his phone and holds it up so she can fit both of their faces in the frame and gives a brilliant smile as she snaps the picture.
She hands him the phone before returning to her seat, ignoring the little grin she gets from a woman at the next booth over. “Send it to me too?”
He blinks again. “Alright…”
He sends the picture, then goes back to answer Mia’s other questions as Asha waits patiently, playing with her straw.
[Cullen Rutherford:] (picture is attached)
[Cullen Rutherford:] Her name is Asha. She works with me at Haven.
[Mia Gregory:] Oh she’s beautiful!
[Mia Gregory:] Are you at dinner right now? Stop texting me while you’re on a date!
[Mia Gregory:] Rude.
[Mia Gregory:] See you Friday :)
Cullen sighs softly and puts his phone face down on the table and finally looks up to meet Asha’s eyes. She’s still smiling at him, her chin resting on her knuckles, her face soft and open. Her cheeks turn red when their eyes meet and she glances over at the waitress finally bringing their food.
They both thank her and she winks before going to check on her other tables. The conversation quiets down as they begin to eat, Asha tucking in with excitement and little contented sighs, Cullen with more hesitation as he tries the new food.
When Asha looks back up at Cullen, he’s still staring at his food, though he’s smiling at it now instead of his initial focused scowl. “So,” she says. “Tell me about yourself.”
He looks up at her and grins a little, and she watches the way his scar pulls the right side up higher. “What do you want to know?”
She forces herself to look away from his lips and shrugs. “Everything.”
---
Cullen waits until Asha disappears into her apartment building before driving away, back to his side of Denerim. He leaves the radio off, letting the silence ground his thoughts as he waits for a red light to turn green.
Mia texts him again, and instead of replying to her next question, he scrolls up to the picture he sent her. He stares into Asha’s green eyes that seem to glow in the restaurant lights. Then his gaze drops to her lips, full and red, smiling back at him.
A horn blares behind him, and he jumps. The light ahead of him switched to green while he was staring down at that picture, and he swears quietly as he drops his phone into the passenger seat so he can drive without its distraction.
This… may be a mistake.