Anders entered the Hawke Estate cellar in Darktown, exasperated. He had been at the clinic since dawn, working until the sun had begun to set. He felt drained of all his energy as he trudged up the steps from the cellar into the Estate, the only thing keeping him moving was the thought of seeing his love after such a long day.
The mage entered into the kitchen and made his way up into the bedroom he shared with Marian. He placed his staff in it's usual spot on the desk where he wrote his manifestos, which were sprawled across the area.
He took liberty in cleaning up and arranging them properly onto the desk so Marian wouldn't huff at him for not cleaning it up already – though she had most likely already noticed the mess.
Ander's frowned. Usually he didn't need to clean up his desk, Marian would have cleaned it already by the time he would get back from the clinic, except on the days they were all out on some sort of crazy mission.
Not that he meant for her to clean up after him, he was just usually in a hurry to get to the clinic.
Maybe she had been out all day, probably with the others. Though she usually would have stopped by the clinic and invited him along too.
Anders sighed to himself until he heard soft footsteps coming from downstairs. Those sounds definitely weren't from Bodahn's or Sandal's feet, and the soft clink of silverware resonated in the quiet estate. He left the bedroom and headed into the library, a small bounce in his step.
When he entered, he noticed one of the chairs had been moved so it was close to the crackling fire, and a bundle of blankets resembling a person was curled up in it.
The mage began to approach the chair, "Marian, love -"
"Oh." The low husky voice that came from the blankets stopped him in his tracks. "You're here early."
Fenris only bothered looking up from the book in his hands so he could see Anders' expression, which he couldn't help but smirk at.
The mage's mouth had fallen agape, as he looked over Fenris, neatly tucked into Marian's blankets, in Marian's chair, next to Marian's fireplace, in Marian's estate. He had lost the ability to form words, or to even move, though he desperately wanted to launch himself and slice off the elf's head.
"Be careful, mage." Fenris looked back down at his book. "You might just swallow another demon if you keep your mouth open like that."
"I-I, W-What -" Anders was shaking, clenching his fists so hard his knuckles turned as white as the elf's hair. He took a deep breath and grit his teeth. "What are you doing here?"
"What does it look like?" the elf didn't look up this time. "I'm reading. And having a nice cup of tea."
He lifted the cup from the floor and gently took a sip from it. "Hawke gets better every time. She likes to make her own, you know."
No, Anders didn't know. He had no idea they even owned a tea set. He felt himself burning up, and it took all of his remaining energy to keep himself intact. Why was the elf even here, and where was Marian? How long had he even been there?
Anders wanted him out. And he wanted to set the elf's hair on fire. The orders were at the back of his throat when he choked them back down as he heard Marian's voice behind him.
"That was really difficult to wash out of my finery, but I think it'll dry before Anders -"
Marian hadn't been paying attention until the figure in front of her turned around, causing her to cut off her sentence. Anders noticed she was wearing her spare set of robes and watched as her eyes flickered worriedly to the elf in the armchair then back to him, as she plastered a smile on her face.
"You're... early." Her voice was quiet.
Anders felt his lips begin to tremble as he stared at Marian in disbelief. His brows furrowed together as he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that this was all a dream. But it wasn't, and he knew it.
"Anders, I know – It's not what it sounds – or looks like – I -"
He pushed passed her as she tried to touch his shoulder pleadingly. He stormed up the stairs and into the bedroom, snatching up his staff and swiping his hand across the desk, sending his papers flying everywhere. He slammed a flaming fist into the desk, charring it and causing it to break in two.
Marian looked helplessly at Fenris, who shrugged at her, as if it wasn't his problem. "Oh, you're no help." She flung her hands up and rolled her eyes. She ran out of the library and up the stairs, stopping Anders at the top.
"Please," She begged him, "Just let me explain."
"Explain what?" He couldn't look her in the eyes. "I know I've told you many times anyone else but me would be better for you, but him? And behind my back? Not even bothering to tell me to leave, to let me believe you actually love me?"
Anders was shaking again, but this time he held onto the wall for balance as his eyes began to well up. He refused to look at her, in fear that he would start hurting even more than he possibly could. "I love you. You could have at least told me you didn't."
Marian grabbed the mage's face and made him face her. " Anders. I will love you until the end of time, and you know that. You can't believe I would do something as horrible as cheat on you."
Anders looked into her eyes, wanting so badly to believe her. His throat was beginning to dry up, and his heart felt like it was getting stabbed every time it thumped. He just wanted to leave, to go somewhere deserted and just scream his lungs out.
Marian let go of his face, shutting her eyes and closing her fists, resting them on Anders chest. "Fenris..." She didn't want to betray her friend, but she didn't want to lose Anders either. "Fenris... can't read."
She opened one of her eyes to observe the mage's reaction. Anders' eyes were squinted, his brows furrowed, and he had stopped shaking. "He - What?"
Marian huffed, rolling her eyes and slapping a hand on her forehead. "I've been teaching Fenris how to read. That's why he's here. And I promised I wouldn't tell anyone either."
Anders blinked, staring blankly at her. "You're... teaching him how to... read?"
"Yes," She nodded, her lips pulling up slightly. "And I had to wash my finery because I spilled ink all over it when I was going over the alphabet with him."
Anders lowered his head and leaned on the wall for support. "You're teaching him how to read!" He placed his hand on his forehead and dragged it roughly down his face, looking at her. "Ink is a bitch to get out isn't it?"
Marian let out an exasperated breath and nodded. "Yes, it is." She threw her arms around Anders' neck and the two lovers hugged each other tightly.
"I'm sorry for keeping this from you." Marian pressed her nose against his.
"No, I'm sorry for not having enough faith in you. Please forgive me." Anders closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. He didn't know he could feel anymore tired than he already had been.
Marian pressed her lips to his with a small smile. "Forgiven." She ran a hand through his blonde hair and then gently traced the bags under her lover's eyes. "Now go get some rest, you look exhausted."
Anders nodded and loosened his grip on her, until his hands rested at her hips. "He seriously can't read?"
"Well he's a good student, so he's getting there." She smiled, taking his hands off her hips and pushing him towards the bedroom. "Who knows, maybe he'll start reading all your manifestos."
"Andraste's ass I will!" Fenris' shout made the two chuckle as Marian guided Anders into their bedroom, promising she'd be back later. She made her way back into the library and gave the elf a hard look. "Some help you were."
"You handled it quite well really, you didn't need help – Hey!" Fenris dropped his book onto the floor as Marian kicked the armchair. "I lost my page!"
"Oh boo-hoo, now you have to read it again." Marian smirked as she kicked the chair again, making the elf almost fall off it.
"Fine, I'll leave." Fenris got up and brushed himself off. The elf picked the book up off the floor and tucked it under his arm, giving his teacher his small one sided smile and a short nod before he headed out.
Marian shook her head and smiled as she watched him leave. She went upstairs into the bedroom to find Anders sprawled out across the bed, asleep. She smiled and rolled her eyes, crawling in and tucking herself beside him.
Anders smiled as he immediately pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight." He whispered into her hair. He could almost hear her roll her eyes at the fact that he waited until she was with him.
"Will you make me tea in the morning?" he mumbled, feeling himself quickly falling in to his exhaustion.
"How did you -?" Marian turned her head to him, a quizzical expression on her face. But Anders had already fallen asleep, so she smiled and softly stroked his cheek.
"I promise."