killedwithlove | For insurgoaltus

For insurgoaltus

The next day, Cole had woken Dorian up to let him know he was heading out with the Inquisitor. She wanted to go to Emprise du Lion for a few days, which meant being kind to Dorian and leaving him behind and taking Cole instead, since he never minded the cold.

Cole, Solas and Blackwall set out into Emprise du Lion with Cadash.

They were gone for eight days. Not unusual with travel times, but they came back in poor shape. Blackwall's shield was near split in half, Solas was using his staff to aid his walking and Cole was being carried in the cart rather than walking alongside the pony and talking to her.

Cadash was bloodied and bruised and looking the best of then. Which wasn't saying much, but they'd done their jobs and kept her safe. At some cost apparently.

The scouts were saying words like 'ambush' and 'slave caravans, growing the lyrium in them even before the cart drew in through the gates and people started to clamber off.

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Cole quickly realised what was about to happen. The only real interest he had in the towel was stopping the water getting all over Dorian.

But if Dorian got wet, he'd have to take off his clothes.

He'd think about it.

He wrapped his arms around Dorian's neck, holding tight as he was lifted. It jostled his leg, but he stayed silent and just held on until he was on the chair.

"Thank you."

Dorian got a little ... well damp, but nothing that wouldn't dry off in a few minutes, so he didn't worry about it. He went to grab another towel, for Cole's hair and shoulders, his lips curving up.

"For a view like that? I am fairly certain I should be thanking you." He came back around, kneeling down a little, his smile warm. "Either way - let's get you dried off, and bandage up that leg, all right?"

Cole watched Dorian moving around, following him the entire time he wasn't actually with Cole. When he came back, he reached out for him again, smiling when he saw Dorian's smile.

"I told you I'm happy to be naked. I wear clothes because that's what people do. I wear armour to stop injuries, though. Armour's different. I don't need armour in here, with you."

He stretched his leg out carefully. "Don't get into bed wet either, right?"

As if Dorian could resist that smile, and he came closer, like a moth to the flame.

"Well usually if two people are going to be naked together, other things are going to happen." Dorian stated wryly, although he was still smiling. "And I am happy, that you trust me enough to be naked here - sans clothing and armor."

"Absolutely right." He lifted the other towel, draping it over Cole's head. "Go ahead and dry yourself off."

"You don't have to be naked. Clothing masked and masqueraded, hiding, hidden, holding yourself inside of them." Clothing was important to Dorian, it made statements about who he wanted to show himself to be, kept his real self safely hidden under layers.

He reached up and started to dry off his hair, then down his neck, shoulders and arms before moving to his chest.

"Dorian. Do you... not like caring so deeply that you feel like you need to look after me?"

Dorian pulled out his healing kit - a small thing compared to Solas's - glancing up at Cole. "Yes, I suppose I do. Vivienne is not wrong about clothes making the mage. I dress as I do to intimidate, and ... in some cases attract."

He shook his head a little, "Quite the opposite, actually. The more I care about you, the more I want to protect you. To make sure that you come home safe, to me. Selfish, that, but the truth. If I fuss, it means that little extra bit of precaution will keep you from getting killed." He looks sober, "If I do not seem like I take it seriously -- it's because it means that much more to me. If I pretend it doesn't matter in some ways, while fussing in others, then it evens out. I show you I love you, even when I can't say it."

Cole carefully dried around the injury purely because he'd been told to be careful with it and leaned back into the chair to watch Dorian again.

"I know you want to look after me and care about me. But... sometimes people care and they don't want to care." And he couldn't pick that out, didn't know what it would be like if it didn't hurt.

"I know how deeply your feel it, how serious it is to you," he murmured. "It might stop the ache if you pretend it doesn't matter so much."

Dorian started to mix the poultice - elfrootm naturally, with some spindleweed and crystal grace mixed in. Ground it in his bowl, and then used his fingertips to spread it along the mostly healed slice on Cole's leg.

"Ah, but then I would have to be obvious about how absolutely mad I am over you." He murmured, lifting the clean bandage to wrap around Cole's bare thigh. "For all the world to see, Dorian Pavus in love with Cole, the spirit man."

Cole started to lift his leg for the bandage, realised that he had to use his sliced thigh muscles to do that and instead slid himself forward in the chair to give Dorian space to get under his thigh.

"Most people don't call me 'man'. They call me boy, child, kid." He reached out slowly and pushed his fingers through Dorian's hair, feeling the warmth of his head.

Dorian hummed his thanks, as he made sure to get Cole's leg throughly wrapped, and then tied off with a neat, tight knot. Just enough to keep the bandage firmly in place.

"Tch, my hair." He answered softly, although he didn't stop Cole, as he leaned a little on Cole's good leg. "Most people haven't kissed you."

"Yes, your hair. It's soft and smells nice." He dropped his hand down to rub the back of Dorian's neck and

He drew Dorian up towards him so he could kiss him softly on the mouth.

"Yes, and it's usually perfectly groomed, thank you - " But whatever Dorian was going to add to that was cut off by Cole drawing him up, and to his mouth, and he had to brace his hands on Cole's hips so he could kneel between the man's legs and - well - kiss him in turn.

It wasn't really using his leg if he was wrapping them around Dorian and pulling Dorian in closer and holding him, so he can kiss him deeper.

He cupped Dorian's face with his hands, cradling it gently as he shifted to deepen the kiss.

Dorian would argue that logic, if it did not press him further into Cole, who was warm and still mostly naked not to mention tilting his head just so that his too full lips could taste Dorian's, pull a soft noise from Dorian's throat. Make Dorian's fingers dig into Cole's hips slightly, part his mouth for Cole's tongue, breath in that scent of soap and faintly of blood and mostly clean, good things and just ... Cole.

Cole broke the kiss slowly, lingering over Dorian's lip and bringing his hand to stroke Dorian's throat softly. "You're very beautiful," Cole murmured softly. "I can see you shining."

"Mmmmmmyes..." Dorian sighed out throatily, trying not to purr at the way Cole teased his lip, how he was stroking Dorian's throat, "Here is where I hope you are rather like a magpie and like all things shiny, then."

Cole kept up the soft stroking over Dorian's throat. Dorian liked it and Cole liked how Dorian's skin felt. "I like you. Shiny or not."

He took another soft, chaste kiss.

Dorian did like it, in fact he tilted his chin up so he could enjoy more of those soft, calloused fingers sliding along his bared throat. "I am glad to be liked. Especially by you."

He leaned into that kiss, lingering on just gently sucking on Cole's bottom lip, sighing softly.

He heard himself make a soft noise as Dorian teased his lower lip.

Cole wanted to climb into Dorian's lap, but when he moved, it made his leg twinge and he stopped again. "How can I sit in your lap when my leg isn't working right?"

Now that was a pleasant noise he wanted to hear again -- not to mention Cole in his lap -- ah, wait. "... well it will be more easily done in bed than anywhere else, and you shall need less towels and more small clothes, me thinks."

"Am I dry enough to be in bed?" He didn't want to make the bed soggy. Or make Dorian wet.

Not at the moment, anyway.

"I can stay naked?"

"Well, your hair is a little damp but otherwise you feel dry enough for bed..."

Now let us allow our brains to stop working for a moment -- and back on.

"You can ... but I do caution you that will work on me like kindling on a flame. You may find yourself with a rather amorous Tevinter."

"Would that be bad?" He didn't know. He wasn't threatened by Dorian's arousal or lust, but Dorian was, a little.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Well, no ... I am rather good at being amorous." Yet he still hesitated, because he did not want to take advantage. He sighed, sliding his hand through Cole's hair.

"It is a good kind of uncomfortable, being attracted ... and I know you will say no if I do anything you are not ready for. I am just not sure ... what you are ready for. So what do you want, Cole?"

Cole smiled slightly, brushing his thumb over Dorian's high cheekbone. "You're not going to do anything wrong. But I can't tell you what I'm ready for. Because I don't know what there is, what it will be like. You're going to be how I learn. With you. I trust you."

For insurgoaltus

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