Summary:

Alistair is putting his daughter, Mia, to bed.
Hijinks and teeth rotting fluff ensue.

Written for Dragon Age Halloween Week - Day 5
Beware of Dog (and nugs, dragons, werewolves, etc.)

Notes:

This chapter is safe for work, there is minimal swordplay but mass amounts of tooth rotting fluff, so make sure you brush your teeth after and schedule that annual checkup!

All recognizable content belongs to Bioware/EA Games
All twisted perversions therein, are all on me ~ You're welcome!

Dragon Age Halloween Week

Day Five - October 28, 2017

Beware of Dog

And of Nugs, of dragons, werewolves and bears, legends of ominous creatures haunting your sleep. Will you tell their chilling stories around a campfire? Or will you face them in the darkest hour, perhaps becoming one of them?

The Warden and the Werewolf

"What story would you like to hear tonight, my little cheese puff?" Alistair asked his daughter as he finished brushing out her blonde ringlets before bedtime. Just like her Pappa, Mia's curls were legendary. With the longer length, they needed frequent care or they'd become a tangled mess that even he couldn't wrangle.

"I want a story with swords, Daddy. And… fighting… and Big Scary Monsters!" She got more excited with each suggestion, eventually jumping up and down on her bed.

Laughing, Alistair caught the squirming four-year-old, pulling her down into his lap, "Down girl! If Pappa caught you jumping around like that, we'd both get it!" Tickling his daughter till she was a mess of giggles, he kissed the top of her head and held her to his chest as they caught their breath.

"Monsters, Daddy; I want Monster stories!"

"Monsters, huh? What kinds of monsters would you like to hear about? The fierce Mabari, Brie, who vanquished all the pastries in all of Halamshiral?" At the sound of her name, Brie pricked up her ears and wagged her nub of a tail, then lay back down at the foot of Mia's bed.

"No, Daddy. Brie's not scary. I want real monsters!"

"What about a dragon story? You know I fought one once with Auntie Lana."

"You did?"

"I did, back when I was a Grey Warden."

"Auntie Lana was a Grey Warden too!" She bounced again, excited. "What other monsters did you fight?"

This was a game they played regularly. Taking a large breath, Alistair launched into it. "We fought... darkspawn, abominations, demons, wraiths, brontos, bears, broodmothers, corpses, deepstalkers…" He took another deep breath and continued, hoping his daughter would pick one soon, "ghouls, drakes, golems, nugs, ogres, revenants, shades, shrieks, skeletons, spiders, sylvans, wisps, werewolves-"

"WEREWOLVES!" Mia sprung from his lap to the little stand in the corner where she kept her wooden-sword. Brandishing it wildly, she exclaimed, "I want to hear about the Werewolves, Daddy! Were they scary?"

"Terribly scary, Mia. I don't recommend hunting them." He exaggerated a shudder from head to foot. "They were over ten feet tall!" Alistair jumped up on top of his chair, raising his hand above his head to show just how tall. "And they had claws as long as your arms. And fangs, Mia. Their fangs were as long as my hand!" Alistair struck a snarling, clawing pose from his perch on the chair.

Mia jumped back onto her bed, swinging her sword in Alistair's direction. "I bet you killed all the bad werewolves, Daddy! Just like this and this!" She struck a couple of authentic-looking poses, trying to mimic some of the sparing she watched her fathers do every morning. "Did you save all the people, Daddy?"

"We saved most of them. There was this one group of Dalish elves in the Brecilian For-"

Just then the bedroom door swung open, Cullen entered carrying their newest little Rutherford, barely two months old and already sporting Alistair's crazy shock of red hair. Stopping at the sight of his husband standing on a chair and his daughter swinging her sword while jumping on the bed, he looked down at the bundle in his arms, "Maker, little bean. You see what we have to contend with?"

The tiny bundle was too busy suckling on his bottle to respond.

Climbing down from his chair, Alistair sheepishly shrugged before coming over to wrap his arms around Cullen and their baby, kissing them both tenderly. Taking Duncan from Cullen's arms, they transferred the bottle without disturbing their son who was sleepily finishing his evening meal.

Cullen smiled fondly at his little family as he disarmed his daughter and tucked her into bed, setting the sword back into its stand.

"Daddy was telling me all about all the monsters he fought, Pappa! Did you fight monsters too?"

"I did, pumpkin. But your Daddy and I weren't together back when he was fighting the werewolves. We only reconnected when he came to help your Pappa fight with the Inquisition against Corypheus."

"I remember that story! Daddy almost got lost in the fade."

"He-did." Cullen looked over at Alistair in sadness, remembering the day he nearly lost the love of his life.

Unaware of her Pappa's reminiscence, Mia wiggled down into her bed, "Will you tell me about the monsters you were fighting while Daddy was fighting the werewolves, Pappa?"

Cullen barely held back a shudder as he turned three shades paler. He felt a comforting hand on the small of his back before he responded with a weak smile, "I… uh. No, pumpkin. Not tonight. Pappa was facing his own demons at that time, but that's a story for when you're older. Now, you need to get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Ok, Pappa. Is tomorrow finally All Souls Day? I can't wait to finish my costume so I can scare Aunties Lana and Leliana."

"We'll finish it in the morning, my love. Sweet dreams. Daddy and I love you with all our hearts; you know that, right?" Cullen bent over and kissed her forehead once more before standing next to Alistair.

"I do! And you love baby Duncan, Aunties, and each other too."

Alistair leaned over and kissed Mia on the cheek, "Yes we do, my little cheese puff. The Maker has blessed us with an amazing family."

"The best..." Mia barely whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

Cullen and Alistair locked eyes over their son, kissed sweetly, then repeated Mia's sentiment to each other, "The best."

A/N: How did two dads get children that combined their genetics? (I know you're asking, so I'm going to answer). My quick response is: Magical-Science has come a long way in Thedas! ;)

But to elaborate, Alistair and Lana (Solana Amell) formed a strong bond during their time together fighting the blight. Besties for life, she came to Alistair on the day of his wedding and offered up the possibility of a future family for them.

Lana magically combined both Alistair and Cullen's DNA and carried the babies for them in her womb. Proverbial turkey baster with a tiny bit of magical manipulation.

VIOLA! Cullistair babies.

Mia (aka pumpkin & little cheese puff) was born with Cullen's hair and Alistair's eyes.

Duncan (aka little bean) has Alistair's hair and Lana's eyes (hazel) and will have Cullen's stoic demeanor.

In other words: I have the magical ability to justify damn near anything! ;) Thanks for reading!

A/N Part 2 - Five days down - Only two more delicious Dragon Age Halloween days to go!

You can follow along on tumblr: DAHalloween

I will be posting every day for this event! You can find me on Tumblr as Aurlyn!

End Notes:

Thank you to the ever amazing Ponticle for being my guide and task master. ;)