Elysse flipped to a new page in her book as she sat nestled in a quiet corner of the garden. The spring breeze tugged strands of her hair across her face.
"Inquisitor?" Cullen approached her at a rapid march, his chest heaving.
"What's wrong?"
"You need to leave Skyhold immediately."
"I—what?"
He leaned until the edges of his coat brushed her knees. His eyes swept through the corners of the garden. "You need to leave. Right now. Before—"
"Stanton?"
Cullen's eyes closed with a heavy sigh of, "Maker's breath."
"Stanton, did you really think you could hide from me so easily?" A tall woman laughed as she strolled towards them, a mabari close on her heels. She had long blonde hair that curled down past her shoulders and her congenial face wrinkled when she smiled. "I'm hurt, Stanny, I really am. I came all this way just to see you and..." Brown eyes fell on Elysse. "Is this her?"
Cullen pinched the bridge of his nose and the woman nudged him in the arm.
"Well?" she asked.
His pained expression reminded Elysse of Bull's face when they'd landed in the Fade.
"Mia Rutherford, this is Elysse Trevelyan. Elysse, this is... my sister."
Mia nudged him again, hard enough to shake his body. "You call her Elysse, do you? Not even 'Her Ladyship' or 'Inquisitor?'"
"I—" Cullen flushed and a hand came up to rub the back of his neck.
Elysse set her book down and smiled. Stanny. That was adorable.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mia. Cullen's told me so much about you."
"Oh?" She cast a doubtful glance at her flustered brother.
"Yes. I hear you're practically unbeatable when it comes to chess."
Cullen shot Elysse a small smile of gratitude and she winked when Mia became distracted by a passing bee.
"If it's not too much to ask," Mia said once the eminent danger had passed, "I'd love to play a match against you, Inquisitor."
"It would be a pleasure, Mia. Though I doubt I'll prove much of a challenge against your kind of skill."
"You didn't say she was so charming." Mia laughed and took one of Cullen's arms, squeezing it tight. "Lady Trevelyan, I do hope that you'll make an honest man out of him. He's a bit rough around the edges and I'm almost certain that he's had something lodged up his backside since birth—"
"Mia!"
The woman pressed on, "But Stanton's a good man. Honest and loyal. I know he'd treat you well every day of his life."
"I, um..." Elysse's face warmed even as Cullen tried to bury his in his hands. "Y–yes, I'm sure he would."
"Maker's breath, Mia, I'm no longer a child. And you can't just say something like that to Elysse. I–I mean the Inquisitor."
Mia glanced between the pair. "Are you two not... together?"
"I..." Elysse stared at Cullen, unsure of how to answer.
"Either way," Cullen grumbled, "this is none of your affair." Clamping down on his sister's arm, he started dragging her towards the door to the main hall of Skyhold.
"But I wasn't done," Mia whined.
"You can talk to her later!"
Elysse watched the pair of them leave, her heart pounding. Their discussions of the future had always been hesitant, limited—with war looming over every corner, there wasn't much space for more than their heated exchanges of I love you during stolen moments and intimate embraces. Picking up her book, she used it as a fan. Together with Cullen. Waking up to him every morning, sleeping in his arms—fighting him for the right to half of the blankets. She laughed, remembering the way he'd glared at her when she'd stolen the coverings and went running across the battlements in the dead of night. The way he held her close when he finally caught her, covering her in passionate kisses through his laughter.
She wanted more. She wanted everything.
Hurrying after the Rutherford pair, she'd barely stepped inside when Cullen stepped into view.
"E–Elysse!" The pink in his face hardened to a rich red. "About what Mia said. You don't have to—I mean we don't need to—that is..." He grumbled as he closed his eyes. "What I mean to say is that we don't have to decide anything like that. Certainly not now."
"Oh." Her shoulder fell.
"Unless," he added slowly, drawing the word out. "I suppose that if you wanted to talk about it, I–I wouldn't mind. But only if you wanted to."
"I do." She stepped closer. He'd supported her at her worst, loved her at her best: touched her in ways she'd never allowed another to. So why did she still get so flustered around him? "I mean, only if you want to."
"I would. Want to, that is."
"Right."
"Yes."
"Me too."
His smile was tentative before it broke with his laugh. "We're not very good at this, are we?"
"We're getting there." Her own tensions eased when he grinned at her. Cullen's knuckles ran along her cheek before he cupped her face. She moved onto her tiptoes when he kissed her, her hands resting on his chest.
"And if I asked you," he murmured against her lips, "would you marry me?"
Even in the throws of a lyrium withdrawal, she'd never seen his expression so vulnerable. He looked almost like a child, a mixture of fear and hope simmering in his eyes. Her knees weakened and she was grateful his other arm was now wrapped around her waist.
"Are you asking?"
"... yes." He pulled her closer and she watched his pulse hammering along the side of his neck. "Will you marry me, Elysse?"
"I..."
"It's all right if you say no," he hastened to add. "Or if you need more time. Or if this isn't what you want. Or—"
Elysse stopped his list with a kiss. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him as tight as his armor allowed. She parted feeling breathless. "Of course I will, Cullen." His broadening smile warming her heart. She'd never seen his eyes light up like that before. She kissed him again, laughing when he pulled her off her feet to spin her around.
Of course I'll marry you.
