#cullaara

[elfroot-and-laurels-moved]

Veilguard please don't make Cullen a single father.

[elfroot-and-laurels-moved]

for the kiss promps: finally kissing the person you’ve been pining for . - for cullen and la''ara?? (also good luck with your grant applications!!)

Thank you Rhia! Nothing more humbling than having to write why you believe you should get funding so you can finish your degree 🥲 And I already have their first kiss written out for their canon but...technically this still counts since Cullen is the one who instigates that kiss.

                La’ara’s heart thrums in their chest, like the beating of a bird’s wings. The sudden space between her mouth and Cullen’s is strange and unwelcome—a sudden shift of reality after so long spent wanting to kiss him. When they focus their eyes once more, are really able to see Cullen in front of them, they understand why. Cullen looks down at her with eyes half drunk and half terrified, searching her face for any telltale sign of regret. A strange thing to do when their fingers are still twined with the ends of his curls at the nape of his neck.                 “I—I’m—” he begins, and already La’ara can feel him pulling away, back into himself, rationalizing his self-denial.                 “No,” she says, cutting off his apology before it can begin, pressing her lips to his once more, the first time she’s ever done so. This kiss is even more hungry than the first, more conscious and aware, more purposeful and seeking. This kiss is everything that has been building in La’ara’s chest since they first met Cullen back in Haven. This kiss is the end and the beginning and it is not enough, she isn’t close enough. They stand on the tips of their toes, palms flush against Cullen’s cheeks now, and despite themself, they can feel tears welling in the corners of their eyes.                 When the two of them break apart this time, Cullen is smiling.

[elfroot-and-laurels-moved]

The icon, the moment, the Inquisitor, the Herald

[elfroot-and-laurels-moved]

the very lovely @pinayelf asked for "an emotional kiss bringing one party to tears" and how could I not oblige everyone's favorite Ellie her every desire?

                “So then.” Before, La’ara had thought often about how they might feel when this moment came to pass. She had never been sure, and even now, she cannot put a name to the emotion in their chest. As the sun begins to rise, far off beyond the Frostbacks, the only thing La’ara knows is that they cannot shake the feeling of emptiness.                 “So then,” Cullen echoes, crossing the space between the two of them.                 “It is finished.”                 “It is,” he agrees, coming up behind her on the balcony. Beneath, Skyhold still buzzes with the last few whispers of partiers, most of them too drunk to tell the time or too excited to care. And why should they not enjoy themselves? Corypheus is gone. The Breach is closed. The Orb is destroyed.                 The Orb is destroyed. Solas is gone. And it makes the sharpest kind of dread twist in La’ara’s stomach. No, it is not emptiness that they cannot shake. It is fear. Behind her, Cullen reaches out, enfolding her in a hug, resting his chin on her shoulder. They should feel safe, here. Protected, at least. But La’ara watches the sunrise, and she stands in Cullen’s arms, and she looks down over Skyhold, and she thinks this is only the beginning.                 “You should get some sleep,” Cullen offers, his voice barely more than a whisper tangled in the hair tucked behind La’ara’s ear. They should sleep, it’s true, but they find themself wondering: will the world still be here when they wake? Still, La’ara does nothing to resist as Cullen shepherds her into her room, toward her wardrobe and the bed. He knows the space as though it is his own, and in all ways that matter, it is, to be truthful. La’ara watches him as he pulls a simple linen nightshirt from their drawers, one that has been softened by age and use, and they wonder if this beginning will also mean an end, an end far worse.                 When Cullen comes back to La’ara’s side to hand her the nightshirt, she kisses him, hard and abrupt. He is unsure, surprised, and they cannot blame him. But when the two of them break apart and he sees the tears tracking down her face, he says nothing. Instead, he simply helps La’ara undress and climb into bed, and then he joins them, holding them atop his chest until the sunlight warms them enough to chase the chill from their bones and they can, at last, sleep.