Work Text:
Bull would normally advise against travelling at night if it could be helped, particularly up the side of a mountain, but the Inquisition had done a good job of improving the road, and they were hardly amateurs who wouldn’t be careful.
Also, as the light started to fully fade, they were only three or so hours from Skyhold, and no one wanted to spend another night sleeping on the hard ground. After some discussion with the Chargers, they unanimously decided to push on in the dark; even Grim had grunted in agreement.
They lit up torches and continued up the mountain.
---
It was late when they finally made it to the castle, and the whole company sighed in relief. It had been a long day at the end of a long couple of weeks. There was murmuring behind him about plans when they made it back. Some intended to collapse in their beds the moment they reached them, others were looking forward to a hot meal or some beer, and others spoke dreamily of having a warm bath.
One had a stable-hand who had promised to throw them over his shoulder and bugger them into the mattress the moment they returned. Good for Stitches.
Bull’s own plans involved going past the library to see if Dorian was still awake and then go to bed, ideally carrying Dorian with him; he was a man of simple pleasures.
Unfortunately, the library was empty, and the coolness of the candle suggested it had been empty for a while. Bull wasn’t all that surprised. While Dorian was known for staying up into the early hours of the morning working it was late enough that even he might have gone to bed. Besides, Bull had sent word ahead that they were due back the next, and it was very likely Dorian had, wisely, decided a good night’s sleep was in order to prepare for Bull’s return.
For a moment he considered going to Dorian’s room to wake him, but he dismissed it as selfish. While he was sure Dorian would be glad to see him, he would be just as glad to see him the next morning, and wouldn’t have to be woken up for the pleasure.
---
The walk to his own room was sluggish. Now that he was so close to finally getting to sleep, the hard journey was finally catching up with him, leaving him weary. It had been worth it though; the boss had sent them to kill giants after all. He was still relieved to finally push open his door.
Dorian was asleep in his bed.
This wasn’t a wholly unfamiliar sight. Dorian had stopped slipping away after sex months ago, now only leaving when he had a particular reason to spend the night in his own room, but they still very much lived in their own quarters. It had never even occurred to Bull that Dorian might seek at this space when he wasn’t there.
It was a warning that they were both getting deeper into this than either of them had intended, both that Dorian was there at all, and that Bull’s chest ached at the sight of him. He wouldn’t say it, not for a while yet, until he was surer of how Dorian felt, but he looked at Dorian and felt Kadan.
Normally when Dorian stayed the night, he slept naked, or had Bull throw him over his panties, because he certainly wasn’t going to leave the warm bed, and maybe a shirt if he wanted some clothes on. Dorian slept in more clothes when they were travelling and Bull had never really considered what Dorian wore when he slept in his own room.
He was wearing loose fitting, baggy trousers with a low crotch and gathered in tightly at the ankle, a style common in Tevinter. They were intricately patterned in surprisingly bright blues and purples. His feet were bare but he had on a long sleeved pullover with a deep V at the neck. It was hard to tell because of the way he was laying, but it was clearly too big on him, and Bull wondered if the collar was large enough it would hang off one shoulder and if the sleeves were long enough to cover Dorian’s hands completely.
Dorian naked, or even in his panties and shirt was a glorious sight, particularly when he was snuggling up again Bull, but there was something particularly beautiful at seeing Dorian like this, when there was no one around to impress, and he was dressed only for warmth and comfort.
Bull closed the door quietly behind himself. It cast the room mostly back into darkness, as the light from the torch on the battlements vanished. He undressed as quietly as he could and was grateful to find a clean bowl of water and a cloth were he normally kept one; Dorian must have intended to use it. He had been planning on sleeping still covered in the dirt from the road and clean the sheets the following day but he couldn’t imagine Dorian being pleased with that plan.
He washed himself down with the cloth and pulled on a new pair of trousers. Before climbing into the bed beside Dorian he rearranged the blankets over him, making sure Dorian was fully covered. Dorian murmured something and shifted in his sleep.
Bull walked around the bed and lay down next to Dorian, reaching over and placing a hand on Dorian’s side. He was warm, and there was a little softness there that Bull loved. He absently thought about fucking Dorian, but found that, while that was literally one of his favourite things to do, he was just as content like this. He shifted in the bed, closer to Dorian.
Dorian made another soft noise and reached out blindly, hand hitting Bull’s side. He half sat up, squinting in the darkness. Bull ran the thumb of the hand on Dorian’s hip back and forth soothingly.
“Bull?” Dorian asked groggily, fumbling with his hand to explore more of Bull’s body.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“You weren’t supposed to be back yet.”
“That why you thought you could get away with sleeping in here,” Bull askeds, tone light enough to be teasing but with a suggestion of seriousness behind it.
Dorian tried to stammer a defence before sighing. “Yes.”
“You saying you missed me?” Bull asked. He rarely wished his horns were less magnificent, but it would have been lovely to be able to spoon Dorian in that moment; he thought sitting up to arrange the pillows around to let him would ruin the mood.
Dorian hummed non-committedly.
“I like you in my bed.”
“That was obvious,” Dorian said, and Bull could picture how he would have raised his chin if he was standing.
“Not just like that, like this, just here.”
“Oh.” Bull wondered if Dorian was blushing; he hoped he was.
“Go back to sleep.”
Dorian sat up a little further and kissed Bull’s cheek before turning over, wiggling backwards until his back was against Bull’s side.
“I’m glad you’re back,” he said after a moment. Bull smiled.
“If I’d known you were waiting for me like this I’d have run all the way from the Emerald Graves.”