to see where it is that you’re taking my heart; vulgaris

[vulgaris]

VulgariS

take me, take me back to your bed. i love you so much that it hurts my head.
say, i don't mind you under my skin. oh, let the bad parts in, the bad parts in.

He watches the way Leliana cradles their youngest child and it makes a smile creep across his face without even realizing it. They’ve come so far from the day Sabbath was born, shivering and crying in the snow while he worried over them both. But then he follows her gaze to Adna, eyeing her curiously when her mother suggests she also share the truth. It never occurred to Vulgaris that either of his daughters would keep secrets from him and so he’s a bit surprised at the idea that their elder child may not reveal some things to him. He frowns briefly, now worried that they might not be as close as he had believed.

But Sabbath is giggling from the kiss placed so delicately on her nose and Leliana doesn’t seem concerned, so perhaps he shouldn’t be either. Instead he focuses on her reaction at the butchery of Dovev’s name and tilts his head curiously as her reaction. Somewhere, in the dark recesses of his mind, Shiya’s words still echo and decry that someone so beautiful could ever be faithful in her love for him. The smile on his face becomes forced as his happiness wanes. Maybe him being here would reignite something. Maybe no one could ever truly love a monster.

But Sabbath and Adna are always watching, always taking cues from him. The smaller child observes how her mother presses into his neck and he inhales slowly, pushes all the dark and bitter down until he can deal with it later.

“I want Adna and Sabbath to know that no one has the right to dismiss them. We have to demand the things we want,” he explains as he leans down to kiss each of his daughter’s foreheads. “You have to be strong and say what you feel.”

Sabbath stares up at them, memorizing his words with awe in her eyes as she listens. She doesn’t understand why her mother seems upset but she doesn’t say anything. Maybe it wasn’t meant for her to comprehend, she supposes. She searches Adna’s expression for some clue as to how she should feel, as she often tries to take a cue from her sister.

“He can go home once he faces you and apologizes. I gave him options,” he explains with a shrug before carefully pressing his lips to the crest of her neck.

@[leliana]