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"Cullen?"
"Hm?"
"Why do you love me?"
The man chuckled briefly as he rolled over in the bed to face Arian, his irises warm under the unkempt strands of his curly hair.
"The answer is not that simple, dearest," he said, his calloused fingers reaching out to her freckled cheek to stroke the flushed skin there. She hummed a laugh as she scooted closer to him on her stomach, the sheets covering her shifting down her bare frame in the process. She then pillowed her head on her arms, raising a blonde brow in his direction.
"Try me," she challenged, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Cullen, willing to accept such an endeavor, quickly gathered the woman up in his arms in a single movement, eliciting a squeal from her as he began pressing soft kisses to her collarbone and breasts.
"Where do I begin?" he rumbled in her ear, kissing the delicate pointed shell and causing her to shiver. "Ah, yes," he smirked against her skin, "You are the most endearing, humble, and fearless person I have ever met."
"Fearless?" Arian snorted, "Surely you jest, are you forgetting the state I was in when we managed to take down that dragon in the Emerald Graves? My legs didn't stop shaking for a week!"
Cullen ignored her, instead pressing a kiss to her jaw. "I rest my case," he murmured to himself, then said, "You are a strong leader, a talented marksman...er, woman. And you know how to keep everyone in order."
"Because Sera sneaking into the larder a week ago to steal cheese clearly proves that," Arian drawled, rolling her eyes. Again, Cullen didn't answer, instead continuing his determined trail of kisses along the bottom of her face.
The elf grabbed at his chin as he lowered his head to press a kiss to throat, pulling his face up to hers and giving him a questioning look.
"Everybody says those things about me, Cullen," she told him, her tone mildly offended. "Josephine just told me today that half the Orlesian Court wants my hand in matrimony on the sole basis that I'm 'charming, unearthly, and innocent'. But, I want to know why you love me," she stressed, brow knitted. For a period of time the couple just searched one another's eyes, blue and brown both seeking answers and sifting through unspoken words.
And finally, Cullen smiled - in a way that no one had ever seen aside from her. Arian looked confused for a moment, as he hadn't responded to her inquiry, but instead of replying with words he embraced her, pulling her flush to his chest and digging his fingers into her bare backside. He buried his head into the hair pooling around her shoulders, breathing her in completely, and separating any possible physical distance between them.
"I love you," he said softly, his nose nuzzling her shoulder, "because when an enormous green hole suddenly opened in the sky, you didn't cower and run when you could've very well left me and the rest of the Inquisition to our fate." He pulled back, kissing her chin as he then muttered, "I love you, because when Corypheus decided to attack Haven, you stayed behind instead of letting us die, risking your very life in the process."
A kiss to her cheek, warm and rosy. "I love that you put your dearest friends before the Inquisition or nobility." A kiss to her forehead, right in the middle of her vallaslin. "I love that you always look for the bright side of any situation we face." A kiss to her nose, followed by a giggle from her. "I love your humor, and I love your kindness. I love your smile, your eyes, your freckles, your hair..."
Finally, his lips met hers in a moment of pure bliss, the heat of his kiss nearly stealing her breath away. His lips lingered on hers when they parted as he whispered, "I love you, because when lyrium withdrawal was rendering me but a helpless and tormented man you didn't let me fall. You believed in me, you supported me, you wouldn't allow me to succumb to the temptation." Another kiss that silenced her when she was about to speak. "And for that, I will never love another. Before, or after any of this."
His eyes bored into hers with everything in him, and she beamed at him in return, her smile like a sudden ray of sunshine in the darkest of forests.
"You truly do love me," she breathed, wonder in her gaze. Cullen grinned, humored at the irony that she would be the one in disbelief.
"I truly do," he responded, pressing one last kiss to her brow and then nuzzling his forehead against hers. "I don't know if the Maker, or fate, or even Corypheus brought us together; but what I do know is this: you are nothing but a blessing to me, Arian. And I love you. But I think you already know that."
Another bubble of laughter escaped her lips, and she wrapped her arms around him, repeatedly kissing the hollow of his throat. "I do. Buuuut I wouldn't mind hearing it again," she smiled into his skin.
Cullen, chuckling, considered the notion for a second or two. "Hm... I could do that," he offered, but then scooped her up effortlessly and planted her on her back, pinning her wrists over her head with a devilish smirk. "Or perhaps, I could show you, instead."
And, with her own deviant smile, she complied.