Chapter Text
Her heart fluttered when she walked towards the Commander's office. The party come back from the Hinterlands two days earlier and Evelyn decided to surprise him.
She had noticed his attempts to flirt and felt like dancing with joy whenever her mind wandered off to those rare moments they manged to steal for each other. There were no declarations yet, but Evelyn could feel the Commander was going to make the next move soon. She suspected he had already tried to talk to her about what was happening between the two of them but each time there was something standing in their way.
Not this time, though. Evelyn thought with satisfaction and picked up her pace, wanting to see Cullen's face as quickly as possible.
At the beginning, she wasn't entirely sure whether it could be true. Cullen was a handsome, strong man – the type of a man who would never look at her, who would never pay attention to what she was saying. But somehow he wanted to speak with her, wanted to spend time with her, made her laugh and offered his comfort when she needed it. Somehow, she managed to notice how soft and gentle his eyes were whenever they turned to her, noticed how he always tried to pay her a compliment, how his forehead wrinkled with worry whenever she had to leave Skyhold for yet another mission.
She glanced at the mirror as she was passing by, almost running to Cullen's office, feeling her whole body tremble with excitement.
After she finally accepted the subtle signs she saw from Cullen's part, there was another doubt born in her mind. She was a mage. How could he ever fall for a mage if he was an ex-Templar?
But at the same time, he never seemed to be scared of her, never gave her any sign of hostility... perhaps he really did abandon the Order and his old prejudice? Perhaps it was possible for Cullen Rutherford to love Evelyn Trevelyan, a mage.
She stood in front of the door to his office with a wide grin on her face. She was sure today was going to be the day. Today, they would finally talk about this whole situation and maybe, just maybe, he would finally kiss her, just like he seemed to want so many times before.
Evelyn raised her hand to knock on the door but then, she heard familiar voices coming from the other side and she froze.
„This is ridiculous,” Dorian said with irritation. „You don't have to hide it from me, I'm an expert in such matters. One can smell a serious infatuation from the two of you from a mile away!”
„This isn't your...” Cullen started but Dorian didn't let him finish.
„Oh please, Commander, drop your official tone,” he said.
Evelyn shamelessly leaned against the wall, trying to hear as much as possible. She hoped no one would notice her presence even though her heart beat so loudly she was sure the Maker himself could hear it.
„I don't know what you want from me and honestly...” Cullen spoke again.
„She's not going to wait forever!” Dorian exclaimed, irritation nearly tangible in his voice. Evelyn wondered how long they had been talking before she arrived.
„There's nothing...” Cullen tried again, his voice firm and loud.
Nothing? Evelyn thought with surprise, as she knew exactly what they were talking about.
„Stop lying to yourself, Commander,” once again Dorian didn't allow Cullen to finish his sentence. „We can all see what's going on. Why don't you just go and tell our dear Inquisitor...”
„Because she's a MAGE!” he yelled.
Evelyn froze. For a moment, which seemed like a painful eternity, she couldn't move. All of her previous joy was crushed by Cullen's words, all of her excitement evaporated. She turned around, feeling hot tears falling down her cheeks, and ran away, not knowing where she wanted to go.
She couldn't believe how foolish and gullible she had been. A mage and a Templar? It could never happen.
She only wished she realized it before she fell in love with him.
---
„Honestly, I thought you were better than this,” Dorian finally spoke when he snapped out of his initial shock. „Turns out old habits die hard. She's just a normal girl who happens to have magic flowing in her veins and that's why you...”
„Maker's breath, that's...” Cullen interrupted, his hand automatically going to the back of his neck. „You don't understand. It's not about me, it's about her. How could she ever feel something more for me? An ex-Templar?”
Dorian sighed with relief. „You should speak to her,” was all he said.