killedwithlove | For insurgoaltus

Dorian came up to the room with a bag filled with healing supplies, noting with satisfaction they had brought the heavy tub filled with water. He turned a fire shell around it, starting to warm the water, as he tossed in elfroot and blood lotus, along with a soap made of dawnstone slipped in, making it ... well. Rather pink and frothy.

He snorted at it faintly, before he moved over to Cole him, concern flashing through his grey eyes. "You really do like testing my public emotional register, don't you? Keep this up and people will think I actually give a damn."

He eyed the clothing. "Right, well, we're going to have to get you out of these filthy things and into the bath. You can wear some things of mine while you recuperate."

"Elfroot for healing, blood lotus for recuperation, you can make a poison out of blood lotus, grind up the stalk and thicken the sap, coat the blade and it will stick to the wound and weep until they die." Tears of the Dead, one of the only useful things they found in Fallow Mire.

He reached a hand up to Dorian. "You think if you were there, I wouldn't have been hurt. I would have been. We fight. Sometimes, we get hurt. I'll heal. That's what people do, right? Not just... put themselves back together."

It's his first serious injury since that fateful trip with Solas, Varric and Cadash.

"If I'm wearing your clothes, what will you wear?"

"Good god, I hate the Fallow Mire, but yes. I am not making a poison out of the damned blood lotus." Dorian answered tartly, before he took Cole's hand, wrapping his fingers around the other man's.

"...You're right, about all of it." He looked at him, his lips twisting a little. "However this is not going to stop me from worrying about you, Cole."

He sighed softly as he looked over the outfit. "All right, how are we getting you out of this?"

Cole held onto his hand, not trying to pull himself upright yet. "Everyone hates the Fallow Mire. Because it's an awful place."

Which is surprisingly simple and clear cut from Cole. But Fallow Mire doesn't have space for anything else. Death and awful.

"Out of my clothes? The usual way? I take them off?" He started fumbling over buckles, layers of armour and clothing that needed to be peeled away.

Dorian squeezed his hand, one corner of his mouth lifting up at the corners. "It truly is. I cannot think of a single thing to recommend it. Not even the scenery."

His lips pressed together thoughtfully, as he looked at the outfit. "Right, well, I shall work on your top half, and you work on your bottom half. Seems ... appropriate enough." He rolled his eyes, "And if your arm is hurt, you should let me do that."

He worked on the buckles, easing them off carefully. He wasn't worried about seeing Cole naked, Maker knew he had the self control of a damned Brother, but he was worried about hurting him while stripping him.

Edited 2015-04-15 00:18 (UTC)

"I can't work on the bottom half while my arms are busy." Busy, in this case, was clearly referring to the fact that he was being stripped by Dorian.

He looked at his arm. "Is it hurt?" He looked to Dorian and relaxed again, letting the mage get buckles undone and ease the armour off of him. It was heavy armour, for a rogue, but Cadash had picked up Cole's tendency to take on things bigger than he was and tried to protect him suitably.

He was also wearing his undershirt backwards.

"I think it's just my leg which is hurt now. The potion made my head stop bleeding, then Solas used some magic."

"... Fair enough, you shall work on the bottom when I am finished with the top." Because all logic aside, Dorian was not stripping off Cole's pants, thank you very much. Well, not that he didn't want to ... but when you courted someone you didn't tear off their clothes.

You did, however, note that you were going to show him how to put them on. "...Well, I am glad Solas was able to do something useful if he wasn't tossing a barrier over you." He tugged the undershirt loose, gently putting his hands on Cole's shoulders. "I am ... very happy that you weren't hurt worse."

He made a face, "Although these bruises do tell a sad tale... now, off with your socks and pants and under things. You're getting a wash."

Cole was quiet, letting Dorian undress him and moving enough to help with that end.

"The barrier shattered." So yes, he had been protected, but it was no real protection against the blow that he thrown him into the wall. It probably saved him broken bones from the impact.

"I don't have socks." Just armour, shoes that probably shouldn't be called shoes for how thin they were and smallclothes. But he did start pulling off belts and shimmying out of clothing. He did at least keep the pressure off of his leg.

Dorian closed his eyes, because if Cole had hit hard enough for a magical barrier to shatter ... he should have been dead. Or at least with worse injuries. He quietly cursed under his breath, before he lifted Cole under the arms, strong enough for a mage -- or for just anyone really.

Still, swinging a staff around in the Tevinter fashion did take training. It wasn't all libraries. He made sure to hold Cole by the waist, so he could lean against him as he got out of his small clothes and the like.

"...I do not like being scared about what happens to you." He finally managed.

Cole wrapped his arms around Dorian's neck as Dorian lifted him upright. For a long moment he was decidedly unhelpful, just cuddling in and resting against Dorian, weight on his good leg.

Then he actually started stripping and got himself naked. He was a bit of a mess. They always were after time in the field, a lack of bathing facilities and fighting and tramping in dirt never doing anyone favours.

"I... no one's ever been scared for me before. I'm sorry I scared you."

Dorian wanted to let Cole nuzzle, he honestly did, but bath first and then cuddling. Get his leg taken care of, his poor spirit boy...

Who was now naked, and now Dorian will be getting him into the tub, thank you.

"Yes ... well. You know how much I care. I ... will be unbelievably cross with you if you let something happen to yourself." He muttered, as he grabbed the shampoo. "Now, duck your head under. I'll wash your hair while you soak."

Dragging his leg, it took a bit of effort to get Cole into the bath, because he was injured, yes, but he was also clinging to Dorian a little, soaking in his compassion.

Eventually, he lowered himself into the water. The injury looked better for more healing being poured into it but the heat still pierced, aching and then soothing.

He slid under and surfaced again, rubbing at his face. "I don't..." He didn't know how to cope with someone caring about him so directly and so much. "Okay."

Dorian bit his lip, because ... well. He poured shampoo on his hands, pulling himself back into his hard Tevinter shell. "Well, honestly, if you want me not to care, I can go back to that. I am excellent at being blaise."

He tipped his fingers into Cole's scalp, scrubbing his fingers through the fine blonde hair. Glad for the bubbles and that Cole could not look at him. "After all, I am no one's mother. Or father."

"You always care. You just don't let people know. I know. It's... nice. Scary, but sweet." He reached backwards, trying to touch Dorian. "You're going away. Not like Cassandra does, but you're still going away. I'm sorry. Please don't go away."

He petted the arm he found, stroking it softly. "Neither am I. I don't understand."

Dorian sighed, more exasperated than cold, because despite his best efforts, Cole reaching out to him and touching wet fingers against his arm was ... well. "... All right, I won't go away. Even if I am scary."

He shook his head, "It just means that I don't usually spend my time ...being a nursemaid. I don't usually feel urge, honestly. And if you are scared, then I must be three times as scared as you, to act like such a fool."

"You're never scary to me. Being cared about is... I don't know. Scary? But not." He pressed his head into Dorian's hands, because it felt good and he wanted Dorian to keep doing it.

"You're not acting like a nurse maid. You're acting like..." Cole hummed and closed his eyes. "He's not fragile, but he's fragile compared to them, under the muscle and armour he could break so easily, I could break him. But you won't break me. You want to make sure life doesn't break me."

He didn't know if he was saying the right things. He hoped he was.

"...Yes. Because you are afraid you are going to lose it, or not be worthy of it." One corner of his mouth twisted. "Or you are deluding yourself, which was a problem of mine." He hummed as Cole pressed his head back into Dorian's fingers, and he kept kneading the shampoo in deeper.

He nods his head slowly at that. "Yes, that is very true. I don't want life to break you ... and I know you're not a delicate flower, hardly one at all." He scritched his fingers in deep into the suds. "It falls into the whole - I care now, and I will lose him, fear."

"I don't want to hurt you, or take anything. I'm not them. I just like you."

Cole relaxed a bit more, quiet for a long moment as his head was massaged and he just enjoyed being touched. He could feel Dorian's affection and concern through his touch.

"You loving me won't break me. I don't think it will. No one's ever loved me or Cole before. But I don't think it'll break me."

"Well ... good. Because I just like you too."

He started to hum softly as he washed Cole's hair, quiet and ... well, finally at peace. Cole was here, he liked him, it was fine ...

And then, he sputtered, "I never - I - ah ..." Oh Maker. "Cole you don't just ... pull those things from someone's head!"

Cole blinked and tipped his head back to look at Dorian upside down, past the lip of the tub. "I didn't pull it from your head. I felt it in your touch."

Duh. He didn't have to pull these things. They were just there, in Dorian's touches and looks, clear to anyone who could read the language. "You can deny it if it will make you feel more comfortable."

He knew what was the truth.

Dorian let out a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a whimper, as he covered his face briefly. Then he glowered at Cole, poking him in his rather adorable round nose.

"Listen Nug, I can't very well deny something that you already know. Now I just get to feel awkward about it for heaven knows how long." He grumbled as he scooped up some water to rinse Cole's hair clear. "Of course I'm the idiot who falls in love first. Marvelous."

Cole's whole face wrinkled around the poke, then he made a grab for Dorian's finger instead. It wasn't much of a try, preferring to relax into the bath.

"Does it matter who feels what first? It's not a competition, is it? Why does the person who feels something first get called an idiot? Or is it only you who calls you an idiot for loving people?"

Cole quite possibly knew the answers, but he wanted to hear Dorian's thoughts and comments on them. His logic. And his emotions as he worked through it.

"I wish I could tell you if what I feel is love, but I just don't know. I've never known love. Me or Cole. When I know, I'll tell you."

He missed by a mile, so Dorian teased his finger down Cole's cheek in retaliation. He sighed pensively.

"No, it is not a competition. It is merely ... a vulnerability. Such feelings between two men where I come from, it's unheard of. Such alliances are for pleasure only, not for feelings. To leave myself open to feeling something like this when you don't feel the same - you have power over me."

One corner of his mouth twisted, "I just wish we were on equal footing here -- but alas. That is never the way of Dorian Pavus. Ah well, at least I am consistent in making things harder on myself."

Cole hummed and dipped his head in the water to rinse out the suds. That done, he twisted around to lie against the tub's edge, hands clutching the edge to keep himself near level with Dorian.

"No. I don't have power over you. I'd pull my knives on Rhys to protect you." And maybe that was love. Maybe it wasn't. He didn't know. But it was true.

"We are on equal footing. Please don't try to put us on different footings. One of us might fall and it would hurt. I won't make things harder on you. I promise."

Dorian looked at him for a long, hard moment, before he tilted his head so his face was on level with Cole's. He searched those ancient eyes -- and Maker help him -- knew Cole wasn't lying. Not to him, at least, and definitely not to himself.

So he nodded once, before he leaned in and stole a kiss against those warmed lips, running his fingers through damp hair. "Very well then. Equal footing. Let me get you a towel, partner."

He pushed himself up to his feet, going towards the chest to pull out a towel, and some clothes. "We'll also be showing you how to put things on the right way."

For insurgoaltus

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