Stuck on the Puzzle - Dragon Age Inquisition - Bull/Cullen

Kadan 1

Cullen didn't expect to be untied, and as he quietly reeled over what he'd just admitted – even if Bull only ever took the words at their surface meaning – he found it odd to have the rope removed. Bull stayed close, offering a constant, warm presence. Cullen closed his eyes and didn't protest, because even though he already missed the rope, a part of this process was surely trusting that Bull would return him back to himself at the end of it. He'd done it every other time, after all.

He'd liked being able to struggle against something. The ropes made him uneasy, but they gave him something to fight against – something that wasn't another person, that wasn't scraping his fingers raw against the wall, that wasn't lashing at someone with words.

'Your shoulders are gonna ache a bit,' Bull said. 'You're not used to this, and I dunno, I don't think the arthritis is in your shoulders yet, but better to be safe than sorry. Don't worry, we're not done with the ropes.'

'I don't have arthritis,' Cullen said quietly, the fire in his voice gone. The soreness in his fingers mocked him.

'Don't you?' Bull said, sounding surprised. 'Could've fooled me.'

'Myself, actually,' Cullen said.

Cullen was surprised to feel fingers gently touching the back of his head, trailing through his hair, an acknowledgement of something that Cullen would rather not think about. Some lies he didn't tell Bull, he needed them for himself.

Bull was right, his shoulders did ache. Even as he gingerly shifted his arms, the pain was scratchy and grating. He made a huffing laugh, a single, despairing breath, and Bull's fingers were there pressing carefully into the joints. But the pain receded all too quickly, and Cullen missed that too as the ache started to fade into something that tuned into the background.

'I like it,' Cullen said, swallowing, thinking that his mouth was going to be dry all night at this rate.

'What's that?' Bull said, as he smoothed his hand down Cullen's back and ended with his broad hand cupping Cullen's ass.

'When it hurts.'

'No,' Bull said, sounding scandalised. 'You?' And then, before Cullen could react to that, Bull added: 'I like it too. Well, not the hurting part. I can only handle that in small doses. The hurting you part though? I'm here for that. You don't think we're done, do you? You have no idea what I've got planned for you, little lion.'

'You know what they say about theatre shows and plays that are talked up, don't you? Always fail to impress.'

A light slap on his ass then, and Cullen startled, but it didn't really hurt. Just the accent of a sting, and he was smiling into the blankets, feeling giddy and strange, because he was still as mouthy as ever, and yet he could tell the difference between this and the quality of surrender he'd offered in the past.

'I'm gonna turn you over onto your back,' Bull said. 'And we should probably get you facing the headboard and on some pillows. Might as well make you comfortable before making you uncomfortable.'

Cullen made a faint sound that substituted for having to say anything. He could still feel the echo of Bull's tongue moving over his ass, still feel the places where the ropes had bound him. When Bull bodily shifted him, Cullen only moved enough to help, to make sure he wasn't a dead weight. Then a thumb smoothed over his forehead, then underneath the curve of the shaped blindfold.

Then it smoothed over his lips, and Cullen opened his mouth automatically, not to kiss or lick, but to bite. Bull, surprisingly, let him. So Cullen's teeth closed carefully – almost protectively – over Bull's thumb. His tongue slid over what he'd captured, and then, because his arms were free, he raised his hand and captured Bull's wrist, holding him in place. Lines of fire dug into his chest, and Cullen's mouth opened on a silent cry. He'd not been expecting it, and Bull's blunt fingers scraped over his skin, returning to start all over again.