A/N: Inspired by my first playthrough, when trying to friendshipmance Fenris I found myself screaming "WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME" at the computer screen.

Enjoy :)

A small shy smile crept onto her face. "It's never too late to learn Fenris."

The book of Shartan, about the elf who help Andraste free the slaves. It was perfect for him, and if he accepted her offer she'd get to spend more time with him, get closer to him. The smile on her face slowly disappeared when Fenris's brows furrowed and the corners of his lips fell into a frown.

"So is that what this is? Let's teach the poor slave to read?" That raspy voice Hawke loved so much was full of malice and anger.

It was going all wrong.

"No, no that wasn't…" The plan was crumbling right in front of her. There was a loud thrumming in her ears as her heart trashed against her chest, almost asking for the elf's gauntleted hand to reach in and pull it from its cage. The grave look he was giving her was an indication he defiantly would not hesitate to comply with the order. She broke the eye contact. Get out. She needed to get out and away from those malevolence green eyes.

She could feel her throat straining as she tried to force back the tears that had glazed across her eyes. "I, I'm sorry." She paused for a shaky breath and her voice slipped off into a whisper. "This was a bad idea." Before Fenris could respond, Hawke's quivering arm involuntarily shot out from beside her, tearing the book out of Fenris's hands and bringing it to her chest, and she spun on her heel as her feet took pounding steps towards the door.

Her eyes were glued to the floor, pushing the heavy door of the mansion open with one hand. The bitter cold air greeted her as she paced out of Fenris's home and travelled towards her own. The beating of her heart could still be heard in her ears.

This wasn't how it was meant to go. She thought she could finally win him over. It was a gift, a thoughtful gesture and she couldn't understand what it had done to upset him. Maybe, maybe if she didn't offer to teach him to read…. She should have known he was still touchy about his past and offering to teach him to read, even though she had good intensions, may have sounded patronising. It was her fault, she messed everything up again.

It seemed that no matter what Hawke did, Fenris would disapprove. She knew with his hatred for mages, and herself being a mage would be a major obstacle in gaining his trust and approval. But she had done nothing but show him kindness, she had not given a reason for him to dislike her . Even with his constant condemnation Hawke still found herself deeply infatuated with the man. His constant brooding only made her more curious about him and it was needless to say that he was a very handsome elf. The exposed lyrium markings that swirled up his chin, down his neck, and across his arms enticed her. On occasion she found herself wondering if the markings trailed down to…

Hawke felt her face warm at the thought, shaking her head in attempt to rid of it. The raw cold wind kissed her face and Hawke's grip on the book became tighter. Why she was still holding onto the book she didn't know. There was nothing more she wanted to do with it than throw it into a dark alley in hopes she'd never have to see it again, but as she trudged along the dark streets of Hightown she found her body failing to correspond with what she wanted to do with the damn thing. It was because she had a spark of hope, because she thought there might be a possibility that Fenris one day would accept the gift. She wouldn't let go of Fenris, just like she wouldn't with the book. And as much as she wanted to, she couldn't.