A.N/: Written for a prompt for the Cullen thread on the BSN. Silliness. Fluff. Basically a case of PWP. I don't know what this is. :S Delphine is my human female rogue Inquisitor.
Disclaimer: Delphine is mine, everything else belongs to Bioware...!
Word count: 1,051
Summary: Cullen assists the Inquisitor in getting dressed in the morning...
Cullen watched as Delphine hopped around the room, hurriedly pulling on clothes that had been haphazardly thrown about the night before. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from chuckling as she managed to tangle her tunic into a knot around her, shaking his head as he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her before she tripped over herself. She exclaimed something at him that he couldn't understand because she was trying to pull her head through one of her sleeves. Cullen couldn't help but laugh at that—for all she tried to affect a somber and serious attitude in front of everyone else, she had her own special brand of silliness that only came out in front of him, and it was just so damned cute.
"Pardon? I didn't catch that," he said, chuckling as he helped her put her tunic on properly. Delphine shot him a small smile, mouthing "thank you" before bending down to look underneath the bed, presumably for her pants.
"I said, how are you already dressed? You even have your armour on!" She huffed as she emerged from her search, hopping around as she pulled her socks on.
"Well, it helps when you don't throw your clothes every which way—"
"As I recall, ma cher, you had some part in that last night," Delphine said, tossing her hair back around her shoulder and arching an eyebrow at him, smirking as he flushed. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to hide his blush behind his arm. They had both been a little… eager last night, but that still didn't detract from the fact that his clothes had been more or less piled up in the same general area whereas her pants were currently hanging off of the chandelier and one of her boots was on top of the wardrobe.
"—and when you wake up early enough so that hurrying like this doesn't become an issue." Cullen finished.
"Oh, it's not really an issue. We don't leave until 8, and it's only just gone past 7 now, so that gives me 15 minutes to get dressed and then another 20 minutes to get everything else ready—aha! Can you grab those for me please?" she asked, gesturing towards her pants hanging from the ceiling. Cullen tugged them free and handed them to her, wondering how she managed to get dressed in the mornings in time on her own. Especially since she was so short: did she wake up a little earlier to account for the extra time she'd spend having to jump for pieces of clothing too high for her to reach? Or was she only ever this explosive around him?
Somehow, he doubted it.
She nodded her thanks at him as she took her pants from him, shooting him a furtive glance before reaching up and shyly planting a chaste kiss on his lips. He smiled into her kiss, pulling her in closer and deepening it. This was all so new to him, and at first he had been unsure, hesitant about entering into a relationship with her—the world was burning around them, was this really the time? With so much at stake?—but there was something… restive, something that just felt right about doing things like this with her, being with her.
The world was burning around them. If anything, there was no time like the present.
"How is it that you always know what the time is?" he asked absentmindedly, as he ran his fingers through her unruly blonde curls, holding her close and breathing in her scent—cinnamon, leather and lavender soap. She sighed against him, laying her head on his shoulder, snaking her arms around his waist.
"Knowing the exact time can mean the difference between life and death, sometimes, in my line of work," she said slowly, looking up at him. "Leliana knows this as well."
She stepped away, running her hand through her hair. Her old occupation as a Bard was a source of contention between them, and not just because he preferred what she referred to sarcastically as the "honest and direct" approach. Cullen could see and understand the need for espionage, but Delphine had a bad habit of taking on espionage jobs herself instead of letting Leliana and her people handle it—often without telling anyone she was doing it, and had landed herself in quite a few life-threatening situations as a result.
Not to mention, he really did prefer the honest and direct approach.
A loud clap brought Cullen out of his reverie as Delphine brought her hands together and smiled tightly at him. "Speaking of the time, I've only got 3 minutes left to get dressed!" She turned away from him, shoving her legs through her trousers hurriedly.
Cullen frowned. "Um. Delphine. Aren't you- ah, forgetting something?"
Delphine turned back to him, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "What do you mean?" She asked, tucking her tunic into her pants.
He felt his neck and face start to flush red again. Maker, why couldn't he stop blushing?! Especially considering everything they had done last night… "Um. Well. S-surely there's enough time for you to find your- ah. Smalls."
Delphine stared at him, flabbergasted at his sudden bashfulness, but soon a slow wicked grin slid onto her face. Somehow, she managed to raise her eyebrow even higher. "Oh, ma cher," she said, chuckling, "I thought you would have seen last night. I don't wear any."
"What?" Cullen's sputtered, utterly scandalized as his eyes widened. "But—you don't-? But when you're riding—"
"Oh, my leathers are enough padding for horse-riding—"
"B-but when you dismount surely— what about all the other people?!—"
Delphine laughed right out loud at that, bringing her hand up to cup his flushed face. "Ma cher," she said fondly, green eyes twinkling with mirth, "I'm wearing armour. No one can see anything, so you don't need to worry about my honour." She walked away, still laughing as she pulled on her boots and then strode towards the door. She stopped there, hand on the doorknob as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder and looked back at him.
"Besides, I prefer to be au naturale," she drawled, winking at him before departing from the room.