running by your side

[hallarider]

[for pavus_redemit]



It was never difficult to find Dorian. Sometimes, it felt as though the Tevinter mage made a point of making himself as accessible as possible, being out in the open for everyone to see. It was a good idea when Bramen truly thought about it, something to dispel the idea of a cloaked magister working away in secret, researching blood magic and crafting secret potions to control minds - all rumours the Inquisitor had heard in passing about his lover. Thoughts that made Dorian chuckle and roll his eyes, easily dismissing their jeers and accusations. That was one of the things Bramen loved most about him.

Not a day passed that Bramen didn't feel as though there was something new he'd come to appreciate and adore something about Dorian. Perhaps it was foolish, maybe it was a bit silly but he was a foolish and silly elf at times. Dorian often made him feel as such, in the best way possible. That was why Bramen wanted to show appreciation for the man, something to show he cared. He cared, that he listened. Oh, how he listened to the tales the mage had, captivated by the history of Tevinter. There was so much in Dorian's own culture that had parallels within Bramen's own, it was fascinating to uncover. Every time they spoke, he learned a little more.

But one story had stuck with the elf for a long time now. One story he recalled so vividly as he now ascended the stairs towards the library, holding something wrapped in cloth in his hands. He remembered stargazing with the mage, curled up together in his room as they watched stars falling from the sky. He recalled Dorian's words, the feeling of his warm body in the cool night air - and that's why he had this now. He clutched that cloth tightly, reaching the top of the stairs as he made his way over to Dorian's little nook, smiling warmly and fondly as he looked over to the chair his lover so often made himself at home in. He wasn't in that chair now but he was close by, pulling a few books off the shelf - a little evening reading no doubt.

Bramen kept that cloth clutched close, a tender look in his eyes as he watched Dorian for a moment more.

"A bit of light reading?" he asked, letting his mouth crack into a smile. No doubt some of those books were for the morning - or merely to reference a page or two. Though Dorian often got sucked in to more than a few pages. He was always thirsty for knowledge.

Hopefully what was wrapped up in this cloth would fascinate him all the same.

Comments

[hallarider]

Maybe Dorian didn't need to be tended to like a delicate flower but that didn't mean the man would reject the attention. Bramen leaned into his lower's touch and exhaled a bit, moving to rest his head against Dorian's chest. He kept his eyes off the letter though, closing them instead as his lover read, idly stroking along the man's side.

"It's good they're talking about you," he smiled, turning his head a bit to nuzzle into Dorian's side, "Showing the world what a Tevinter mage can do, what a man from Tevinter should do." Dorian defied convention, he was far and away from the vision many had of the magisters in the Imperium. Rejecting blood magic, standing for what was just, doing the right thing. More men needed to be like Dorian.

"I'm guessing many slaves and lower class so happen to be elves..." he murmured that a little softer, face still pressed against his partner. "That part's something even the humans seem to chatter about. I suppose long ears and Vallaslin are things that draw attention though."

[pavus_redemit]

"Most are elves. The vast majority." Dorian used to find slavery acceptable, beneficial in some cases. Now, it always brought up a slick sense of dread in his stomach. It was one more thing he had to fix in his homeland. "I'm not surprised they're inspired by you but me? That's... well, flattering but not what I was expecting."

He imagined he'd end up like his ancestor, the traitor who was executed. The reason his father was so obsessed with Pavus being a proper Tevinter house again. If the lower classes were supporting him, venerating him, it would cause quite a stir among the Altus and Magisters.

"You draw attention because you're handsome, darling." He patted Bramen's shoulder, hoping to placate what sounded like a wounded ego to Dorian. "I understand exactly how the masses feel as they gaze adoringly at you."

[hallarider]

He drew attention because he was an elf. There wasn't any two ways about it. It wasn't worth dwelling over though, just another thing to push into the back of his mind. Some things couldn't easily be changed and that as all right. He was happy for Dorian at the very least, the man bringing attention in his homeland, drawing the eyes of so many. He opened his eyes, smiling a bit as he looked up at Dorian.

"If anyone is being stared at for being handsome, it's you," he said with a short laugh, hand trailing over and across Dorian's stomach. "I'm glad you're causing a stir back in your homeland - you aren't afraid to do the right thing." He traced small, idle patterns along Dorian's stomach, breathing out as he shifted a little, turning his head to kiss at the mage's jaw.

"You're the one who stood up when nobody else would."

[pavus_redemit]

"I ran quite far," he muttered as he set aside the letter. He could read it again later and focus on the details then. Right now, he had his lover lavishing attention on him and he needed a minute to think. "I could have stayed and fought from Tevinter. My father was quite a large threat, yes, but perhaps I could've done more."

Of course, if he had stayed he wouldn't have met Bramen. He wouldn't have joined the Inquisition. He wouldn't have fallen in love with the handsome elf lying beside him now.

"But I don't regret leaving as I did. The south is generally horrible and backwards but there is one bright spot." He leaned down and kissed his love gently.

[hallarider]

Craning his neck up, Bramen returned Dorian's kiss, breaking away in order to nestle his head against the mage's shoulder, nuzzling against his throat. "You could have stayed in Tevinter... But the Venatori would've tried to find a way to silence you," despite knowing so little about his lover's homeland, it didn't take much to determine what the Venatori would've done to him. It wasn't as though Dorian Pavus was an unknown mage, his family had rank and power. "Even with your father's support..." he murmured that a bit quieter, exhaling.

"You came here for a reason. You stayed for a reason," Bramen clutched his hand a bit tighter against the leather of Dorian's top, closing his eyes again. "What does Maevaris think of it?" The woman cared enough to write, evidently.

[pavus_redemit]

His father would have found a way to silence him once his first attempt failed and he found a better way to get what he wanted. Dorian didn't bring that up. It wasn't pleasant to talk about and he wanted to keep things pleasant.

"Mae finds it delightful but dangerous. Some who support you and support me have been threatened. The lower classes are outright killed, not that the Magisterium is concerned with such things." There was a bit of anger in his voice at that and guilt as well. He doesn't want to be the reason anyone gets killed. It's a horrible feeling.

He wrapped an arm around Bramen's shoulders and held him closer to him. His lover comforted him simply with his presence at his side. "I might have to find a way to help."

[hallarider]

He knew there were places his supporters would be killed It was a terrible feeling, one that was often difficult to stomach - but they were fighting a war. That was the nature of war, people died. He'd killed enough by his own hand, even before he became the herald. Long before the conclave, he knew the consequences of it all.

"Is there any way to get word out? Tell the lower class in Tevinter that they can seek refuge here in Skyhold? That they can support the Inquisition?" he asked, though a part of him doubted it would be fruitful. If word got out that people from the Imperium were fleeing to aid the Inquisition, action would be taken. Strong as the Inquisition's forces were, there wasn't enough to take on the entire Imperium and Corypheus' forces at once.

[pavus_redemit]

"You'll have slave hunters attacking every elf they see in Inquisition uniforms to see if they're an escaped slave," he warned. "It's legal for slave owners to send hunters after any slave and recapture them in any land even the free ones."

It was another policy that Dorian didn't like. It wasn't something that could easily be changed either. He brushed his fingers up and down the side of Bramen's arm as he thought about it.

"You could attempt to contact the Liberators. They're a group, very secretive, within Tevinter society that smuggles slaves to free countries. They're quite hated by much of the Magisters."

[hallarider]

Bramen nodded, understanding as best he could. It seemed so wrong to him but Dorian knew what he was talking about. He's trust the man on this without a second thought. "I'll bring it up with my advisers," he said, hand resting on Dorian's chest. "Leliana might be able to get some more information... I'll run it by her," he said, though his spymaster no doubt already knew. Even though that letter was sealed, he had a feeling Leliana already knew of its contents. She had her ways like that.

"Have things always been that way? In Tevinter, I mean..." he asked, shifting to sit up a little more. The conversation for the evening had taken a bit of an unexpected turn, making Bramen wet his lips a little as he looked to Dorian. "Everything seems so corrupt... But when I met Felix, he seemed decent. Even Alexius, there was a piece of him that still seemed reasonable," Which was why bramen had decided to employ him, to have the magister serve by researching magic and artefacts for the Inquisition.

Even Dorian's father seemed like a man who could be reasoned with. He still didn't know what Dorian and Halward had spoken of when he'd left the two of them alone in that Redcliffe tavern - but he knew that burned bridges took a great deal of time to rebuild.

"Every Altus in the Imperium can't possibly be so... Blind and cruel, can they?"

[pavus_redemit]

He sighed heavily. How could he explain the complex mess around slavery and power in Tevinter?

"It's... it's more than that, Bramen. So many of us don't think slavery is wrong. It's how things are," he explained, struggling over his words. "There are a few like me who saw their slaves as people and treated them well but I still owned them. They're property and so many feel as if they can treat them however they wish. And not to mention most abuses aren't reported or prosecuted."

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, trying to think of how to word this all. "It's not corruption, it's... acceptance and comfort. It is how things have always been so why change them? The system has worked for eons and no one wants to change it because change will definitely bring about the fall of the Empire. Even though things are falling apart anyway. Some are deliberately cruel but most are just... settled in their ways."

[hallarider]

It was a difficult matter to speak on - but Bramen understood that. He sat up a little more, reaching out to touch his lover's face, stroking Dorian's jaw as he listened. Not everyone in the Imperium was bad, there was just a certain way to things. A certain way so few wanted to change. He could understand that.

"We feel the same way about elves who live in cities," he began, letting his fingers rest against the man's chin. "Their lives aren't easy but the city life is much easier than a nomadic one. They are set in their ways, they feel they've found their lot in life - to sacrifice what little they have, most can't do it. I imagine it's similar for your people, they cling to the old way of life because it's easier. There's less risk," he frowned a little, breathing out his nose.

In a sense, that was why his people roamed. It was easier to pack up and move than it was to settle, to try and gain the trust of people. They would cling to their old ways and damn anyone who thought otherwise. It wasn't quite the same - but there were similarities to be drawn.

He managed a thin smile though, brow creasing as he pat his lover's cheek. "But... You're speaking now with someone who considers the life of a deer on par with that of his own family. I realise that old ways can appear a bit... Senseless at times."

[pavus_redemit]

"I know there are evil Magisters," he said softly. "I know there are some that take advantage of the system. Most of them are probably Venatori now and we'll defeat them but the others just don't care which can be worse I suppose."

Dorian didn't know much about any lower class lives, city elves or nomads like Bramen. That life was a mystery to him. He was pampered, completely comfortable his whole life until he left Tevinter.

"Tevinter is very senseless. They're so blinded by the past glory that they'll let everything fall apart around them without care. I just... I want to save my people and their culture. Mages can be good, strong without the damn Maker saying we're mistakes and shunned from birth." There was so much passion in his voice and an old hurt, the one he held deep. He was so tired of being told he was a mistake, flawed and broken.

[hallarider]

Bramen shifted again, moving in between Dorian's legs and kneeling there. His hands came out to rest on the man's shoulders, rubbing them lightly before he leaned forward, kissing the mage softly, hushing him. Those hands of his moved from Dorian's shoulders and to his face, resting their foreheads together. He heard the passion in Dorian's voice, he felt it keenly. He himself wasn't a mage - but that didn't matter, did it? He could still understand his lover's plight. He still recognised Dorian's desire for change.

"The people I have loved the most have all been mages," he explained, voice soft, "You don't need to convince me of anything, Dorian." He stroked along the man's cheeks, fingers moving back into his hair. He looked his lover in the eye, keeping their faces close together as his fingers stroked the hair on the back of the man's head, breathing out slowly through his nose.

"No mage should be cast aside," The tips of their noses touched, Bramen turning his head to kiss Dorian softly once more, eyes closing now, "Especially not someone like you."

[pavus_redemit]

"Just when I think I can't possibly love you more," he said softly. "You say wonderful things like that."

Dorian didn't know how he managed to love this strongly. Surely one person couldn't feel all this and stay whole. Some part of them would break trying to hold it all in.

"I'm going to change it. All of it. It may take me years and I may only start the change but it will." He would see his homeland made better and be respected again. He would make sure, most of all, that others like him could love like this and not be ashamed. "With you at my side I can do anything."

[hallarider]

The elf offered up another soft kiss to his partner, letting his hands slip down to the mage's cheeks and then down his neck. Hearing things like that made his heart stir, his chest feeling warm. It sent an indescribable feeling through him to hear those tender words murmured so quietly. Dorian was often tender, he was often intimate - but all of that was done through actions. He very rarely spoke such sweet things, so rarely did he get the opportunity to see Dorian with his walls down. He'd usually hide his feelings behind humour and wit, puff his chest out like a bird strutting about. A single sweet word and usually the man would withdraw, laughing it off and saying he was getting too sentimental.

He didn't laugh this time. Maybe that's what made it mean all the more. "I'll stay by your side as long as you'll have me," the Dalish rogue whispered, one hand stroking along the side of Dorian's neck. He stayed close, keeping their foreheads together. Eyes still closed, mouths close enough to feel each other's breath. He swallowed, feeling his heart pounding a bit faster, his pulse in his ears.

"I love you too, Dorian."

[pavus_redemit]

The best response to that was to kiss Bramen until neither of them could breathe. It was the only response to that sort of confession since Dorian couldn't form words. He was loved by this amazing man who understood him and loved him anyway.

"We are done talking," he said, his voice rough with passion. "The only things I want to hear from you for the rest of the night are your moans and my name."

He grabbed the open front of Bramen's shirt and tugged, too impatient to deal with buttons. He wanted skin, his lover wrapped around him and in him.

[hallarider]

The sudden kiss was a surprise, enough to make Bramen's eyes widen but he quickly found himself able to relax, drinking it in as he returned it. Dorian's fervent passion wasn't going unnoticed and the elf welcomed every bit of it. The words had struck a chord in the man, just as they'd done to him - and this was most certainly a welcome way of showing it. His hands moved down Dorian's shoulders as their lips parted, panting lightly. Before he could speak, Dorian had cut him off with those words, that demand of his the Bramen could only nod at.

Still left breathless, he let Dorian tug at his shirt, two of the buttons coming undone in the process. More of his chest was exposed, laying back as letting his lover climb over him. Bramen blinked a few times, his head still swimming from that kiss, letting his hands come down to fumble with the rest of those buttons. Dorian's buckles would be far more difficult. A light moan passed Bramen's lips, uncertain of what else to do, not wishing to disappoint him. With those buttons undone, his hands slid up Dorian's forearms, the elf arching his back to lean up, catching his lover's mouth in another firm kiss.

[pavus_redemit]

Bramen looks so wonderful when he's dazed, drunk on how they made each other feel. He tugged the shirt off once the last button popped free and threw it towards a corner. With all that skin bared to him Dorian only had one course of action.

He began to kiss down Bramen's neck, to his chest, trailing kisses everywhere. This was his, all his, and loved just as strongly as he loved. He bit down on Bramen's collar bone, hard, intent on leaving a mark behind.

This was his lover, his love. Everyone could see, would see that Bramen was his and loved him.

[hallarider]

The elf swallowed hard before his mouth hung open again, letting out a breathless gasp at the feeling of those lips trailing across him. He sucked in a breath through his nose, his hands coming up to grasp either side of the man's head as he kissed down his throat and towards his chest, biting his collar bone. Fingers threaded through Dorian's hair, stroking it back and clutching at the man's head. Another sound came from the back of his throat, something half a moan and half a sigh, all but imploring his partner to continue.

"Dorian..." he murmured the man's name, opening his eyes and blinking a few times, trying to gain his bearings in all of this. He smoothed through that hair, one hand slipping down towards the man's back, braced against the leather of his top. Dorian had asked to hear only moans and his name falling from Bramen's lips - but that wasn't a promise the herald could entirely keep. He did his best to glance down towards his lover, hoping to catch a glimpse of where else those lips wanted to kiss.

"I can't let you have all the fun."

[pavus_redemit]

That got his attention enough for Dorian to draw back and look at his lover. "You had better not just lie there. Come join the party, darling."

All the passion was because of happiness. Dorian felt so much joy he couldn't contain it all. They should be celebrating, reveling in their love for each other. He wants Bramen to participate and get involved.

"Put those clever fingers of yours to use," he whispered along his ear, ending with a little bit to the lobe.

[hallarider]

"I don't plan on it," Bramen grinned, both hands wrapping around his lover's shoulders as he pulled himself up a bit more, meeting Dorian's mouth. He kissed the man firmly, taking that attention away from one of his long ears for the moment. His hands clutched at Dorian's back, an eager sound coming from the back of his throat as he traced down Dorian's back.

"All these buckles," he murmured against Dorian's mouth before kissing him again, briefly this time before nuzzling the tip of his nose against Dorian's own. "You do love making it difficult, don't you?" he teased, drawing his hands down to Dorian's sides. Buckles were hardly a challenge for the deft hands of a rogue, those fingers of his starting to loosen the straps and work at the metal clasps.

"Next time I ask you to wait for me up here, I should be more specific..." he turned his head, kissing along Dorian's jaw, speaking between each kiss he placed, "Namely, that I'd rather have you undressed and draped in furs."

[pavus_redemit]

"Fashion as a price," he said with a laugh. It took a bit of twisting to shrug out of his leather top but he was good at it from practice. "That would have been great instruction. I would have followed it precisely."

Next time he'll strip bare and wrap himself in the furs that decorate Bramen's bed. It would be a very pleasant surprise for his lover and get them right here much faster.

He twisted his fingers in Bramen's hair and dragged him into a kiss. It had been too long since the last one. How could he go so long without kissing his wonderful man?

[hallarider]

Of course, all in the name of fashion. In any other circumstance, Bramen might have shaken his head, rolled his eyes a little - but right now, there was no time for that. With Dorian's top removed, Bramen had access to all that exposed skin. He lay back down against the bed, pulling his lover with him before running his hands all over that back. He gasped a little against Dorian's mouth before their lips met again, not wanting to break the kiss longer than necessary. Both men were hungry and they were needy, wanting this contact more than anything now.

Who knew a few words could stir this kind of reaction?

Bramen's hands moved down along Dorian's back and along the man's sides, feeling every available inch of flesh. Dorian's broader form over him, he panted lightly against the man's face as their lips parted again, eyes closed as his lips found Dorian's chin. "I'll bear it in mind," the elf murmured, fingers splaying across the small of Dorian's back, "For next time... And the time after that."

[pavus_redemit]

"Should I just be nude every time I come here?" he teased, nibbling along Bramen's jaw. "Walk in and strip for you? I will be right there for you, whenever you tire of your work you could slide into bed with me without any trouble."

It's a lovely little fantasy but too many people come to Bramen's quarters to talk and drop off reports for that to be possible. Dorian likes his privacy and doesn't want others seeing him naked.

However, he wants Bramen naked. He sits back on his heels and goes after the ties of his lover's pants.

[hallarider]

As Dorian eased back, Bramen's hands moved along with him, slipping along warm skin and towards Dorian's arms. He stroked up and down the man's forearms, watching as he worked the ties on his trousers. A smile crossed his face, running his hands up and down Dorian's arms as he worked. "Maybe not every time," he said with a short laugh, shaking his head. Every time might be a little much. He enjoyed doing this with the man, he adored his company - but there was so much more to them than simply the physical.

Though slipping into bed and laying with his lover any time he wanted was appealing. Sexual or not, he loved to simply be near the man.

"We'd hate to surprise Josephine or Cullen."