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Evelyn groaned as she closed the door to her room. They had returned from the Western Approach to only find a sweltering heat wave here at Skyhold. Josephine and Leliana were conveniently called away to the North, taking a good deal of the Inquisition members with them.

Evelyn really needed to talk to Josephine about getting a different outfit for here at Skyhold. The leather was just too hot. She reached up, starting the laborious task of undoing the many buttons. She placed her forehead against the stone walls, hoping for some relief. As the buttons frustrated her, Evelyn tore of her boots and then her socks. She slumped against the walls, sliding down to sit on the door. She worked a few more buttons, her sweating hands making it even harder.

A knock on the door broke her concentration. She looked over, supporting her head on the wall. She didn't have the energy to get up to answer the door. Maybe if she ignored it they'd go away. The hope was shattered by another knock.

"Go away," She called.

"Inquisitor, I just have some papers that need your signature." Cullen's voice came through the door.

"I'll do it in the morning," She called back weakly.

"I'm afraid these have to be signed to night, I have orders and birds waiting," Cullen called through the door.

Evelyn groaned, trying to pull herself up. "The door is open," She finally gave up. She watched the door open.

"Just sign-"Cullen stopped when he saw Evelyn's position on the floor. He knelt down next to her. "Are you okay?" He questioned.

"It's just too hot," Evelyn replied lightly. "You had papers?" She added weakly.

"I don't think the heat along could do this," Cullen replied.

"Your right," Evelyn groaned. "It's this leather monstrosity." She griped pulling at her leather outfit. She looked over finding Cullen's gaze sidetracked by her half unbuttoned shirt and her exposed chest.

"Why haven't you changed?" Cullen questioned.

"My armor is even hotter," Evelyn replied, finding her eyes slowly drifting shut.

"Hey," Cullen snapped. Evelyn opened her eyes.

"Mm?" Evelyn questioned.

"Come on, let's get you up stairs." Cullen commented putting an arm around Evelyn's back pulling her to her feet. When it became obvious she didn't have the energy to walk, Cullen hooked his other arm under her knees. "You're a lot lighter than you appear." He commented offhandedly.

"Flatterer," Evelyn replied with a small laugh as she settled her head on his shoulder. She sighed. "Too hot." She commented.

"Everyone's hot," Cullen replied setting her lightly on the bed. "The trick is to know how to deal with it." He added moving to her desk to grab the pitcher of water and the goblet next to it. "Drink." He commented offering a glass. She took it.

"Where do you keep your clothes?" Cullen questioned turning back to the room.

"Um," Evelyn paused. "Trunk." She stated confused, as if she was having difficulty remembering.

Cullen opened the chest. "All you have in here is armor," Cullen replied. He counted, there must have been 5 pairs laid in the trunk. "Don't you have regular clothes?"

"Not anymore," Evelyn replied.

"Listen, I'll go grab some cooler clothes from supply." Cullen sighed closing the trunk. "I want you to keep drinking that water." He added as he disappeared down the stairs.

Evelyn sighed taking a drink of water, setting it on her night stand before returning to the annoying buttons. Her head pounded, as she gave up falling back into her bed. She felt something that wasn't drifting off to sleep, but a pleasant relief from the heat.

"Evelyn, I brought a change of clothes and some more water," Cullen called as he came up the stairs. "Damn," He swore as he found her passed out on her bed. He hurried over, checking the goblet. She hadn't drank more than half a glass.

Cullen looked around, grabbing the water basin off its shelf.

"Andraste forgive me," He muttered as he started on the buttons on her top. He quickly turned to cursing whoever invented it, probably an Orlesian. For the sake of time he ripped it open. He struggled to get it off, before settling on cutting the arms open.

He tossed what remained of the top away, shocked at the amount of heat rolling off of Evelyn. He carefully eyed her leggings, before dealing with them the same way. Cullen filled the water basin, before wetting a towel. He carefully started wiping away the sweat trying not to put much thought into what he was doing. If he focused on that –he shook the thought from his head.

"You know, this is actually fairly common." He found himself saying. "Back in the order recruits always had trouble adjusting to wearing full suits of armor and they'd overheat. It happened to me once, I remember being placed in the care of a sister. I however, listened and drank my water." He chided. "I remember her humming the entire evening, it did nothing for my headache."

"Well, your sweating is down." Cullen commented. He held a hand to her forehead. "Still warm." He commented laying a damp cloth on her brow, he heard a clock chime. He had been at this for hours. He wondered if there was anything else he could do. As he turned back he caught sight of the goblet on the nightstand.

He picked it up, propping Evelyn up slightly. He raised the goblet to her mouth, trying to get her to drink. He sighed when it only spilled out. He put the goblet back onto the nightstand as he wiped the water up. He carefully laid her back onto the bed.

He debated what to do. She needed hydration. A thought came to mind but he quickly shook it away. He busied himself with wiping down her arms again, but his mind still circled back to the idea. He stood, pacing. She needed hydration, but there was no way she could drink by herself. What if she died? He couldn't live with himself if that happened.

He moved back to the nightstand picking up the goblet. He took a sip as he sat on the side of the bed. He carefully leaned over Evelyn, pressing his mouth to hers. He felt her mouth open and take the water. Cullen smiled, a bit shocked that it actually worked.

He sat back. He found an internal war waging in his brain. He wondered if this was necessary, or were his own feelings clouding the issue? He stood, pacing as he debated. He had seen this before –he had been through this. Everything was standard procedure, Cullen reassured himself as he sat back down by Evelyn's side.

He worked through the goblet. Once it was finished, he refilled it. He sighed when Evelyn showed signs of life. He smiled as her eyes slowly opened.

"Cullen?" She murmured confused.

"Evelyn," He smiled. "How are you feeling?" He questioned straightening.

"Tired, my head hurts." She replied.

"Still feeling too hot?" Cullen questioned taking the damp cloth off her forehead. He pressed his hand against it.

"No," She replied. "I'm just warm." She sat up, her hand holding her head as she pitched forward into Cullen.

"Careful," Cullen warned. "Just because you feel better doesn't mean that you are." He added refilling the goblet and handing it to her. "Drink."

Evelyn took a sip, some of the water spilling out of the glass. She stared at the water on her stomach for a moment before her face slowly turned red. She quickly grabbed the nearby sheet to cover herself.

"Cullen, where are my clothes?" She questioned as she held the sheet to herself.

"Well, you see." Cullen nervously commented as his face turned red. "You were suffering from being overheated, probably due to that leather outfit. I'd blame the Orlesians for inventing it." He started to spill. "I had to get them off you so I could cool you down, and they are really tight. Which isn't a bad thing, I mean you have a very nice figure. Oh Maker, I need to stop talking." He managed to stop.

Evelyn laughed lightly. Cullen's face turned a deeper shade of red. "If it matters, you have a very nice figure too." She smiled, as Cullen turned even redder. "Come on, sit." She added patting the bed.

"I apologize if I've done anything to offend you," Cullen stated looking down at his hands. "But I did what I felt was needed."

"Cullen," Evelyn commented her hand reaching over to lift his face to look at her. "You probably just saved my life, thank you."

"I just recognized what it was and treated it," Cullen replied.

"Well then, I'll just give your reward to someone else." Evelyn shrugged.

"Reward?" Cullen asked confused. Evelyn leaned forward, pressing her lips to Cullen's.

Unable to prepare himself, Cullen deepened the kiss. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer. They parted gasping. Evelyn giggled, pressing their foreheads together.

"We'll have to do that again," Cullen found himself saying.

"Maybe without the overheating," Evelyn agreed.

Cullen stared into her eyes for a moment, suddenly a deep worry rooted inside of him. She had called it a reward, what if she had no feelings for him. What if he had just made a complete fool out of himself? He moved away from Evelyn.

"I'll take my leave," Cullen nodded, worry gnawing at his insides. He stood, stopping when he felt Evelyn catch his wrist.

"Stay," She asked.

Cullen studied her face, noting the decrease of sweating. He stepped closer, raising a hand to her forehead.

"You've cooled down," Cullen replied. "You should be fine, just drink your water. You don't need me to stay." He added with a sigh.

"But I want you to," Evelyn replied, the red on her face no longer from the heat.

Cullen studied her face, the gnawing worry disappearing. He carefully leaned over, preparing himself. He felt a smile on her face as their lips met. This time it was Evelyn who deepened the kiss. They broke apart panting.

"Wow," Evelyn sighed. "See, that was still amazing without the overheating." She added. "Although, I'm now I'm a little warm." She added.

"Perhaps it is best I go," Cullen commented.

"Cullen," Evelyn replied almost as a warning. Cullen chuckled. "This bed is built for two," She added.

"There is a couch," Cullen commented.

"Cullen, I almost died." Evelyn replied. "And I think your enjoying this." She added.

"Fine," Cullen sighed with a smile. He crossed around to the other side of the bed. He slipped of his boots and socks before moving to lie down. He turned to find Evelyn with a raised eyebrow. "What?" He questioned.

"Are you telling me you sleep in all that?" She questioned.

Cullen looked down. Due to the heat he had removed the plate armor from his daily wear. He still wore an undershirt, over shirt, vest, and then his fur mantle. Despite the layers, he still felt exposed. He supposed it was the years spent in full armor. He shrugged off the easy layers, folding them neatly and placing them on the floor. He worked at the laces on his over shirt when he looked over to see Evelyn watching him.

"Problem?" He questioned.

"I'm just enjoying the view." She smiled.

"Well, would you mind?" Cullen questioned.

"I'm fine," Evelyn replied.

"I think the heat has gone to your head," Cullen sighed. He couldn't help but smile as a plot came to mind. He stretched, falling back into the bed.

"You can't seriously sleep in that," Evelyn laughed.

"Why not?" Cullen replied. "All I need to do is throw my armor on over this and I'm ready for battle." He commented. Evelyn sighed, flopping back into her bed.

"I won't watch," She sighed. Cullen sat up, he watched das Evelyn turned taking the time to drink some water.

He pulled his undershirt and over shirt off at the same time, folding them neatly and placing them with his other clothes. He turned, staring at Evelyn's back. His eyes followed two long predominate white scars running across her back. His eyes picking up at the number of smaller ones that accompanied them. He reached out, touching her shoulder.

She turned, studying Cullen. He felt her eyes start at his face, slowly moving down. Her eyes moved back to his face as she moved closer. She nestled in beside him.

"I don't think I've ever seen you out of armor," She commented settling her chin on his shoulder.

"It's not a habit I've picked up," Cullen replied.

"Maybe you will," Evelyn smiled.

Hope you enjoyed!