#vivelyf

Rules: List the top 5-10 songs you’re listening to nowadays and tag people

Francesco Gabbani - Pachidermi e pappagalli

Imagine Dragons - Whatever It Takes

Oh Wonder - High On Humans

Jax Jones - Instruction ft. Demi Lovato, Stefflon Don

Fallout New Vegas Soundtrack - Heartaches By The Number - Guy Mitchell

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 OST)

Nek feat J-Ax - Freud

Jennifer Lopez - Ni Tú Ni Yo  ft. Gente de Zona

Fabri Fibra - Pamplona ft. Thegiornalisti

Martin Solveig - All Stars ft. ALMA

HOLY HELL so, I love this prompt TO DEATH so here, have the first 4 1/2 pages while I clean up the rest. This is mostly setup but I hope it’s alright!

Private Eye - Pt 1

The Bull and his Chargers were easy to work with. There were only two rules.

1- No doubling up on jobs. If the Iron Bull and his Chargers were on your case, no one else was. Local smokies didn't count. (He had ways of working with law enforcement that helped everyone out, usually.)

2- Be clear about what you want. No client was ever completely transparent but Bull could usually get the pressing details one way or another, even if meant reading between the lines of their facial expressions and mannerisms. He was, and always had been, a people person.

There was a third, but no one knew it except the Bull. He meant to keep it that way.

“Anything good in the mail, Kremepuff?”

“Just the Sundays, a bill or three, and an envelope that says it'll burst into flames if anyone who isn't you tries to open it.” His second called back from across the room. The usual, Bull thought as he took a long pull of his coffee. In his defense it was damn early and he was on his first cup. It took a good five seconds to click.

“Wait...what?”

“Written in Tevene, too. Think you better open it.”

Halward Pavus’s office was worth more than his life, the Bull figured.  Mahogany desk, cut marble floor, art from some doubtlessly-well-regarded 'Vint artist hung like trophies at strategic intervals around the room.  The bookshelves were the only things that looked remotely used, several thick tomes on the one closest to Halward sporting spines cracked from age and use.

"Your references are quite good, Mr. Bull, though I feel the need to reiterate that your discretion is this matter is of utmost importance."

It always is. The Bull grinned to himself but kept it off his face, nodding solemnly to his would-be employer.  Couldn't show off the personality with these high-class 'vints; they never took it well. Halward Pavus looked be the type with four types of stick up his ass, too, judging by the ramrod posture and immaculate suit.  No Magister robes for this one: unsurprising, given that Bull was his audience.  

Pavus motioned for him to sit; the Bull ignored him, instead folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the wall by the door.  He'd already put on his own suit for this guy; his quota for marching to the magister's tune was met for the day. Better he use the little things to miff the man, see if he could shake the cultured veneer.

Halward did not take the bait. He didn't even acknowledge the Bull had contradicted him.  "As you have doubtlessly heard, I am leading the efforts around an extremely important bill in the Magisterium." The Bull shrugged. He knew, alright, but Halward's ego didn't need further inflation.  "I do not believe the timing of Dorian's disappearance to be mere coincidence."

"No such thing," the Bull offered. Halward nodded, a calculated single bob of the head.  

“Bet you coffee after the meeting the nextperson through the door is a dwarf.”

Dorian looked up from his phone at the hugeQunari who was sitting next to him making the desk he was sitting at look likeit was for a five year old.  “Excuse me?”

The Qunari’s smile made him look lessfrightening than he had when Dorian had first walked into the room. Perhaps it was the way it made the man’s one eye twinkle and thedawnstone eyepatch covering his other eye glitter in the light coming inthrough the windows.  “I’m just sayin’ Josie managed to get a ‘Vint and aQunari into the same room as one another…I’m thinking she could convince adwarf to join too.”

Dorian arched one sculpted brow at theQunari.  “Lovely, so she’s collecting one of each of us like some madscience experiment?”

The Qunari threw his head back and laughedfar harder than the comment deserved, but Dorian was hardly going to complainconsidering how pleasant the sound actually was.  Actually wiping his eyeas his laughter faded the Qunari stuck one huge silver hand Dorian’s way. “I’m The Iron Bull by the way, resident Qunari specimen.”

Dorian didn’t bother to suppress the smallgrin that wanted to play at his lips as he allowed The Iron Bull to take hishand.  Or should he say engulf his hand because Maker, looking at it inThe Bull’s huge paw, he looked like a child.  “Dorian of House Pavus.”

“Good to meet you Dorian,” Bull boomed out,shaking Dorian’s hand firmly before finally releasing it rather slowly. “So, do we have a bet?”

“I suppose in the name of diplomacy I shallhave to accept,” Dorian muttered, absolutely not feeling the loss ofBull’s hand in the least.  “Though the odds say it will be an elf.”

“Ooooh, hadn’t thought about that,” Bullchuckled.  “Say, that could be the start of a really bad joke…a Qunari,and elf and a ‘Vint all walk into a…”

“If you finish that I’ll make sure yourcoffee is decaf,” Dorian drawled, fighting the urge to grin.  It was alittle startling to realize that he hadn’t actually felt like laughing likethis often in months.  “So, Iron Bull, how did Josephine convince you tojoin this little committee?”

“It’s The Iron Bull actually, I ratherlike the article at the front…”

“Of course you do…”

“Hey, you want to hear this story or not?”Bull grumbled, waiting for Dorian to wave his hand in a ‘please continue’ sortof way before grinning and shrugging.  “It’s a short story anyway…shepromised me those tiny cakes.”

Dorian snorted, his hand flying to his faceas if he could hide the fact that the sound had come from him, which only causedThe Iron Bull to let loose that laugh again, the one that seemed to roll overDorian like a warm breeze.  “You mean petit fours?”

“Sure, if you want to get all fancy. They’re cakes and they’re good and…”

Bull broke off as the woman in questionstepped through the door holding a pink bakery box, the smile on her facewilting a little when she realized there were only two people besides her inthe room.  “Oh, I rather thought…well, it’s good to see the two of you. I trust you’ve been getting acquainted.”

It was on the tip of Dorian’s tongue to saythat they hadn’t yet but realized that would be a lie.  After all, he hadalready learned The Iron Bull’s name, that he liked coffee and sugar and had alaugh that could light up a room…kaffas, maybe there was more to this‘Cultural Diversity Committee’ than he’d originally thought.

Looking over he found Bull stuffing onechocolate coated cake into his mouth as he nodded at something Josephine wassaying and Dorian found himself faintly disappointed that neither of them hadwon the bet.

Dorian’s mustache twitched.

Bull sighed.

It wasn’t a tell. Tells were subtle and unconscious. Tells could be schooled away, leaving a secondary sort of blankness that was its own tell.

This was Dorian’s way of screaming.

Bull tipped his head back against the headrest and closed his eye.

He knew Dorian would keep smiling, wouldn’t even notice the faint tick of the tip of his mustache brushing against his cheek. Might prop his elbow on his other hand to tap his chin as he listened to Krem and the Chargers. Sweat at his temples and sticky bangs at his brow, but he wouldn’t brush them away. Nothing but a faint smile born of the sort of amused desperation you had to chase to keep up with.

Some honeymoon.

Bull grumbled and flung open the car door and the GTO groaned in relief as he pulled his bulk out. He leaned across the cherry red hood. The engine still ticked in the desert heat and Bull knew it would be a long time before it stopped. No buildings for miles and nothing that could be called a town without some degree of charity for days. Nothing but him and Dorian and the open road and a muscle car with a busted carburetor.

And now the Chargers.

They swarmed around the GTO like a good natured circus, Krem with the tow truck, Grim with his motorcycle, and the rest pouring out of a battered RV that had seen better days. Someone had propped up the tattered shade on the RV and a small table underneath it. A sweaty cooler held melting ice and a few beers. No grill yet to Bull’s surprise.

“What do you mean it won’t move?” Dorian said through his teeth.

Krem shrugged. “I mean it’s not moving unless we put it on the truck.”

“That is unacceptable.”

Something clanked and clattered and banged. Rocky waved and grinned at the lot of them and dragged the grill from the back of the RV.

“Put that back!” Dorian barked. “This is not-- We are not--!”

Bull hung his head to hide his grin. The tips of his horns scraped the GTO’s hood as he hunched his shoulders to keep from laughing. He stepped away from the dying car and walked up to Dorian before he could storm over to the RV. It took a thick arm and quick flex to keep the slighter man from moving.

“Let it go, Kadan.”

Dorian kept his back tight and straight against Bull’s chest. “Not what we had planned.”

“No.” Bull lifted Dorian’s hand to his lips, smiled at the glint of light from the new wedding band. “But we’ll get there. Together.”

“You intolerable sap.” But Dorian leaned into Bull, twined his fingers with Bull’s. Then he sighed and pulled away and started walking towards the RV and the Chargers. “Come along, then, before they start drinking that dreadful Fereldan piss they try to pass off as beer.”

yes for solasmance! I’m super curious to see how that turns out but since i’m still on PS3 I won’t get to see for myself…

It’s definitely an interesting scenario with Aquinea! Because the only thing we really know about her is that she may have been a distant, hands-off parent (Dorian talks about her having servants taking him boating instead of taking him herself).

She could have been distant and cold and just as shrewd a political mind as Halward. She could have been distant because she’s stuck in a marriage that was arranged and she never wanted children. Halward could have taken more interest in Dorian overall. She could have known about the blood magic and agreed. It could have been her idea. She could have disagreed but not said anything. She could have fought Halward with everything she was able. She could miss Dorian terribly. She could be glad to see their shame of a son gone.