#this is also why I couldn't use this route for that cullrian version of the same prompt

[ramonadecember]

One more from me: 40. "I want a baby" from soft list, cullistair, please~ XD

Angst Prompts or OTP Prompts

alright, we had to know this was the direction this would go. xD alistair at the winter palace for trespasser stuff, because why not.

40. “I want a baby.”

--

There was an ongoing list of things that, due to his time as a Warden, Alistair never wanted to hear. This included items like ‘Darkspawn ahead!,’ mentions of any blight, and—

“I want a baby.”

They had agreed discretion was best until the fate of the Inquisition was decided, not wanting to stir up more drama with claims of collusion or conspiracy if their organization was seen to have certain... strong ties to Ferelden, yet there Cullen was, not-so-subtly pressed against Alistair’s side as they stood in the gardens at the Winter Palace, enjoying each other’s company while they could. He snagged his fingers on Alistair’s, giving a quick squeeze as he leaned in to murmur in Alistair’s ear the words that made the king choke on air.

A baby.

Alistair’s stomach dropped and he swallowed hard around the tightness in his throat as his eye was drawn back to the scene Cullen must have been witnessing, even as Alistair had tried to avoid looking himself. A small huddle of women crowded around one who sat on a bench, a child no older than a year or so perched on her knees, outfitted in the same level of frippery as the mother. It was... sweet, even if, by the way the other women cooed and gushed over the poor thing, they seemed to think the mother was in possession of the best and latest accessory, and not a human life.

“We’ve... talked about this before, love.” Siring a child with a swamp witch in the name of helping save the world had really put him off creating or raising another. Alistair tried to be gentle with his words, not wishing to see a look of disappointment on Cullen’s face even if he did think they’d settled the topic and put it behind them long ago.

“Perhaps we could at least say hello?”

Alistair made the mistake of glancing over at Cullen, who’s golden eyes were big and round and fixed on him in a way that always did Alistair in, in the end, and if the smile tugging at the scarred corner of Cullen’s mouth was any indicator, he knew it as well. Curse that man. Alistair sighed, thinking ‘saying hello’ was more trouble than it was worth, but unable to deny Cullen what he wanted. He couldn’t wait til they had a moment alone and he could kiss that smug look off of Cullen’s face.

However, as he took a step toward the gaggle of ladies, Cullen started to pace off in the opposite direction, a spring in his step. They both paused, mirrored looks of confusion on their faces, and Cullen thought that maybe he’d misinterpreted, that Alistair’s sigh hadn’t been the rest of his resolve crumbling.

“Just a quick hello, really,” Cullen assured with a nod of his head back over his shoulder.

It dawned on Alistair then what mother Cullen was actually interested in entertaining, and that was the mabari lying in the grass with her pups around her, chasing each other and stumbling over one another in their play. Alistair’s heart melted as fast as Cullen’s must have, and with all thoughts of human children put from his mind, he was on Cullen’s heels in an instant.

True to his word, Cullen kept the visit short, and Alistair was sure they could have stayed there all day if it wasn’t for Cullen’s notorious level of self-control. The moony look stayed plastered on Cullen’s face even as they walked away, though, and it had Alistair knocking their shoulders together and asking, “So you want a baby, eh?”

Cullen shrugged like it was no big thing, but his cheeks turned crimson and he mumbled something about being forgiven for his outburst.

“What about two?” The pups’ big sad mabari eyes has worked on Alistair just as well as Cullen’s had.

There was nothing discreet about the way Cullen drew Alistair to a stop with an arm around his waist or the kiss that was pressed to his cheek, and while now Cullen was flushed to the tips of his ears over another ‘outburst,’ it didn’t keep the grin from his face. “I already have thoughts on names.”