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A morning breath, while awake, always paints a picture of where you are. For The Iron Bull, it also brought back memories of how he'd gotten there the night before.
Crisp, cold. Parchment, an inkwell left open due to distraction. Warmth, spread through sheets and pillows. A barely there smell, stale. Sex.
Pine, Mint. Jasmine from daily cups of tea.
Lavan.
Next came touch, every brush of fabric against bare skin. A small body tucked against his, almost delicate exhales tickling his skin, warm and slightly damp. Her head rested ever-so-gently against his shoulder, mussed black hair swaying slightly here and there from the breeze through the open window. One of his own large hands was pressed against the small of her back, keeping her close.
Her eyes were still closed, body still relaxed. Asleep.
She looked far more at peace here in bed than she ever did when awake. It seemed only natural, when the weight of the world could be lifted for a few stolen hours of rest.
When he finally opened his eyes -well, eye- he was unsurprised at the confirmation that he was, in fact, in Inquisitor Lavellan's assigned bedroom. Only the place he had spent multiple nights in the past week. Don't mind him.
The Iron Bull finally looked down at his little Kadan, Still bare, still asleep, and still tucked under the blanket with him. A now familiar warmth bloomed in his chest, eye softening as a fond sigh escaped through his nose.
The fiesty Dalish Elf was tucked against him, elbows folded inward at the ribcage, forearms pressed against her chest. The Qunari adjusted their positions with a gentle touch, so that his other hand could reach the side of her face. He brushed deep black locks from over one of her eyes, lashes of the same color draped over cheekbones, over freckles and lines of her vallaslin. Sylaise, she had once explained to him.
The markings were stark against pale skin, a full body affair instead of the usual facial. One of her pointed ears flicked and her brows furrowed for just a moment before she relaxed again. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss over her eye.
…the fact that she had shown her naked body to him in the first place was a massive show of trust. And the dragon's tooth, split in two and resting warmly against their chests, were even moreso.
It took a couple more minutes of gentle touches and near-delicate placements of kisses for those bright yellow eyes to snap open and look up at him, pupils stark and dilating sharply. After some registering and remembering, a soft, small, thin-fingered hand cupped his cheek, followed by a very sleepy string of Elvish. He caught 'Vhenan', and smiled at her.
"Mornin' Kadan," Bull finally rumbled, and the way her nose wrinkled before she hid it against him reminded him of how little love she had for mornings. Her eyes fluttered shut again and she grunted, a huff through her nose. Refusal.
"You know if Cassandra gets impatient, she'll come up here and find you herself."
A mumble in elvish, muffled against his shoulder. Defiant.
Iron Bull sighed, but decided not to do anything about it. One thing about Inquisitor Lavellan, you could never force her into anything. If she did something, whether it be a mission or simply speaking with someone else, she did it because she wanted to. Not because she had to. Some people seemed to get the two confused.
…and if that meant she wanted to lay naked in her bed, tucked against a man nearly a full twice her size, well. Who was he to argue? He ran a broad hand over her side, brushing thick fingers over gentle curves. It was almost like petting a cat with the way she stretched out as he did so, a contented noise leaving her throat.
Eventually Lavan propped herself up on her elbows, a yawn flashing fierce fangs and a pink tongue before it ended. She smacked her lips a bit, looking up at him. From the way she focused on him, it was an invitation for a kiss, and he could see it on her face.
Who was he to deny her? He leaned down with a chuckle, pressing soft and sweet kisses to her lips despite his size and strength. He reveled in the fact that her lips weren't painted black for the time being, and brushed his hand back up to touch the freckles on her face. She leaned into his hand, animalistic yellow eyes fluttering closed for a mere second before they flickered open again.
The Iron Bull remembered a time, not too long ago, where she wouldn't even allow him to get close to her, wouldn't allow anyone within three feet of her. She'd snap and spit in Elvish at anyone who crossed the line, which initially caused some to stray farther from her. However, once she started to trust them… well. Things began to change.
Cole was the first person she allowed to touch her, and she'd barely known the kid a day. But that was a story for another time.
Bull's hand brushed thick black locks back to the correct side of her head, which caused the Dalish elf to hum.
She trusted him. And to this day, his heart skipped a beat at the very thought. The wild thing she was, never having laid with a man before him, never allowing anyone too close, chose him. Trusted him. Loved him. Before he could get too lost in that thought, she interrupted him.
"Vhenan."
It was a chirp. Simple and sweet, it immediately got his attention. When the Qunari raised a brow at her, she huffed through her nose. "…let's take a bath. I don't want to walk into the war room reeking of sex."
He laughed, a deep rumbling affair, and kissed the top of her head.
"…whatever you say, Kadan."
And -as he did every single time before- he'd swear never to tell how rosy her skin got when he called her that.