So... this is my first fic, I should be updating weekly but updates could be quicker/slower b'cuz I'm a student. I should probably mention that I'm dyslexic, I've tried to minimise spelling mistakes and I've used spell-check AND have proof read this chapter (and will do with all chapters) but there's probably some mistakes I have missed... so please don't hate me :'( The site said something about double spacing, so I spent like half an hour trying to sort that out, if the format looks messed up I'll amend it though :') The ship, as hopefully obvious, is eventual Hawke x Fenris... This chapter probably seems slow, heavy with descriptions, but I wanted to get all the descriptions out of the way in the introduction, so I won't need to keep repeating myself or referring to old info. I don't know what else to put here apart from disclaimers? All characters etc. belong to Bioware, any brands, software, bands songs or lyrics etc. I've mentioned don't belong to me, and I've put them in italics.

Thanks for reading :'3

Chapter One

Hazel 'Kimi' Hawke was 18 years old, she had just begun her gap year when she brought a new MMORPG that was a somewhat medieval action-adventure, she thought. Her mother, Leandra, had told her to stop wasting her time away by watching "those Japanese cartoons" … anime - so she decided to get more into gaming. She had enjoyed playing Skyrim and The Witcher on her PC, but when anime took over her life she couldn't help but favour one over the other.

It wasn't too long ago that she had come home from the local game store, and began installing Dragon Age Online on her computer. She had noticed that her sister hadn't come back from school yet, and her mother wasn't home either - leaving her alone with a drunken Gamlen who was face down on the counter top in the kitchen.

'At least he's asleep … unlike all the other times.' She shuddered at the thought of his hands ghosting over her breasts. Kimi couldn't bring herself to tell her mother what Gamlen would do to her when no one was there. They had made a deal when Kimi had first found out about Gamlen's drinking habits, when they first came to Kirkwall from Ferelden; that in exchange for free accommodation, she was to … service his intoxicated desires. And she couldn't say no to him, they had nowhere else to stay after Kirkwall's refugee situation got out of hand - due the pandemic that had swept across her rural homeland. Gamlen was careful about the deal too, he hadn't taken her virginity, or else Leandra or any future partner Kimi may have could find out. It was strictly oral, and she always wondered how he kept the whole virginity part of the agreement when he was utterly inebriated - not that she wanted to know, anyway.

She crept down the stairs and into the pigsty of a kitchen to get a smoothie from the fridge, keeping a close eye on Gamlen the whole time and eyeing the two bottles of rum that were next to him. 'Maker he needs to quit, or die from alcohol poisoning soon', she thought as a smirk spread across her face at the thought of the latter idea. Kimi closed the fridge door quietly, and crept past Gamlen, through the hallway and up the old wooden staircase into her and Bethany's room.

Not that there was anything special about the stairs, the flooring of the house was made up of aged wooden planks, the walls were made of worn brick and plaster that was once white she assumed, but now a more grey colour from the years of dirt and smoke in the air from Gamlen's fags. There wasn't much in the way of furniture either, just the essentials both downstairs and upstairs - apart from in Kimi and Beth's room. When fleeing Lothering Kimi carried both of the sisters clothes in two suitcases, and Bethany hauled the gaming PC, monitor and accessories in a suitcase. Their room had all the basics much like downstairs, apart from the desk which had the PC tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse on top - the most expensive things in Gamlen's poor excuse of a home.

Kimi was laying on her bed playing on her phone when a notification sound came from her computer. She lept up excitedly and read the pop-up that was displayed on the screen of her monitor:

Dragon Age Online is now installed!

Play Now Read User Manual

Kimi hurriedly clicked on the 'Play Now' option, and settled in the desk chair, wrapping herself up in the thin plaid patterned blanket that draped on the back of it.

'I can't wait to see what this is like! The reviews said it was alright ... I wonder if i join any cool guilds … what if I meet a super hot guy who romantically revives me in a battle and we become a THING! … I hope there's good character customisation or else I'm getting a refund …'

Thoughts and feelings were buzzing around in her mind, ignorant to what was soon to come.

Six months later ...

'I… need… caffeine..' Kimi thought to herself, fighting urge to fall asleep at her keyboard after trying to reach level 50 in the Deep Roads for at least seven hours.

"Don't you dare fall asleep on me Hawke!", she heard Varric scream through her headset.

"Another *yawn* ten minutes Varric *yawn* or I won't get through work tomorrow" she managed to say, albeit semi-consciously.

"Hawke, just hold on until you reach level 50, then we will allow you to rest..." she heard her companion Aveline say sternly, yet in a caring manner. "...It shouldn't be long judging from your XP bar."

"Okay guys, I *yawn* know you're all doing this for me, *yawn* afterall". This was true. Herself, Aveline, and Varric were the only ones in the guild awake, so Aveline had suggested that she and Varric they farmed for miscellaneous objects and trinkets, whilst Kimi 'trained'.

Dragon Age Online was her favourite MMORPG at the moment, upgrading her PC just to play it with as little lag as her wallet would allow. Yet, despite the hundred or so hours playing… she was utterly shit. She was a running joke in her guild Hard in Hightown, Varric only keeping her in because of her extensive lore knowledge, Kimi thought - so she dedicated herself to reading upon the lore, in order to make up for her lack of skill in combat. She had insisted to herself she wanted to follow the archery class, having a passion for stealth in other games, but the more she tried the worse it seemed she got despite levelling up - having to constantly rely on the healer in the guild, Anders, to revive her.

'You can do this! You're a Hawke afterall. Just one more Hurlock-"

Her trail of thought was interrupted by the in-game music. The music that meant a character had levelled up. The sweet sound that she had been battling Hurlock after Hurlock for just over seven hours for.

"YATTAAAAA!" she bellowed down the mic piece and fist pumping the air, resulting in several words of disapproval from both the warrior and rogue.

"Y'really ought to lay off that anime, Hawke, we wouldn't want you to sprout eyes half the size of your pretty face now would we?" Varric jested.

"Of course not my dear dwarven companion," she smirked at her web camera "but lemme just celebrate this fine achievement".

"Congrats Hawke, now choose a specialisation perk and go to bed", said Aveline, emphasizing the 'bed' part. Despite always being so harsh with her, Kimi knew that Aveline only did so for her benefit. Aveline was the mother figure of the guild, but if anyone told her so she would give them hell - Kimi chuckled at the thought. She also felt empathy towards her, after hearing her husband died from the same disease that nearly wiped out the population of Ferelden - including Kimi's brother.

"Okay okay! Goodnight guys, and thank you so much for staying up till…" she glanced at her clock, then at her phone, then back to the clock "5AM?!" 'Oh shit, oh balls! I'll only get two hours sleep!' She screamed at herself, hoping the time on both her clock and phone were wrong.

"You're welcome, Kimi, I already finished my writing quota for today so it was no biggie, now get what little beauty sleep you can". Varric always spoke so kindly towards her, well, unless he was fighting in-game - then he couldn't give a nug's arse. For an author he spent a lot of time playing the game, being the second most online player.

"And I already said I have the day off tomorrow… or today, anyway, we did this for your benefit. Goodnight." said Aveline.

"G'night! I wuv you guys!" And with that she watched her monitor turn black as she switched off the plug to the extension lead that powered her beast of a computer. She rose from her seat,nearly falling over due to cramp, and tip-toed out her shared room and down the hall to the bathroom, attempting to make as little noise as possible - despite the shouting and screaming she already did, to avoid waking up her sister and mother, and her uncle Gamlen - but failing when the floorboards creaked under her weight.

'How hasn't this house killed someone… the floor has holes in for Maker's sake. As soon as I get enough money I'll happily remove myself and my family out of this poor excuse for a house that must be older than Gamlen and Mother put together.' she muttered inwardly to herself.

Upon entering the her bathroom she shivered at the coldness of the broken tiled floor. Kimi walked over to the sink, brushed her teeth, removed her makeup and moisturized her face. Kimi stared at herself long and hard in the small mirror that sat on the basin propped up against the wall, as she did almost every night. A gaming marathon wasn't the best way to maintain a pretty appearance. Her long pastel purple hair was thick with grease, and full fringe plastered to her forehead, despite cleaning it. Her pale blue eyes were bloodshot due to being glued to a computer screen for too long, and to make everything worse she was beginning to have dark patches under her eyes from lack of sleep.

Her eyes stared into her reflection's until her view became hazy. 'Who even is Hazel Kimi Hawke…' she thought, but quickly put her inhibition away before more negative thoughts came to mind, and tied up her hair with the wine coloured scrunchie that she always wore on her wrist.

Kimi hurriedly stripped down to her underwear and bra, and examined herself in the large free standing mirror in the corner of the bathroom. To anyone else it would be too small, but she was just over 5ft, so she managed to fit into the frame without standing far away.

"At least going to gym and gaming at night works out well … I don't have to worry about my weight like Varric does!" she laughed at the memory of the dwarf finally admitting he was much too heavy for his height, "Though, I am gaining a slight muffin top." She said disappointedly albeit quietly, prodding the layer of fat that threatened to dominate her lower abdomen.

Kimi had a slim but slightly muscular figure, her bust was a 34D, and her waist was narrow, but her hips were wider - which together gave her an hourglass figure. Her arse muscles were toned and yet a decent size, as well as her thighs, granting her a small thigh gap, her calves were slim. As much as she tended to her figure - working out at the local gym regularly, she felt as if something was missing; she couldn't figure out what it was.

Kimi ended the bad thoughts again, and put on an overly large plain grey t-shirt that she swiped from her bedroom earlier, which came down to mid-thigh level, and walked briskly yet quietly to her bedroom, hoping to avoid a drunken Gamlen yet again. She removed her black push up balcony bra and flung it into her wash basket with her pants, leapt into her bed and let her tiredness almost claim her.

At night she would imagine being at least a semi-good player, knowing she could never be as good at combat as the Guard-Captain Aveline - earning the title after completing so many NCP side quests, the archer Varric, who recruited her into the guild in the first place, and the rest of the guild who had gone to bed long before she had.

She thought about the relatively new friends she had made, only having the game for just over six months. She still didn't know if she could trust the blood mage Merril not to kill everyone, or Daisy as Varric would call her, making her slightly jealous. Anders seemed like a nice guy, though he was invested in immersing himself with the game lore about mages. The more flirtatious member of the guild, Isabella, was her friend in primary school, before Kimi's family was forced to move from Ferelden to Kirkwall due to the outbreak of a pandemic - which scientists later found out was a more intense strain of the plague, turning people into a zombie-like state. She had no idea Isabella played the game, much less survived the disease that swept through her homeland. Kimi only discovered after she was added to the mobile group chat, and recognised Izzy's face from her profile picture. It was quite the reunion, never mind it being held over an incredibly awkward Skype call.

It was only over video chatting that she realised all the guild member's characters had a shocking resemblance to their actual appearance...

… apart from Fenris.

Kimi didn't know how he looked. He had joined not too long after herself, but she could already see that he had been playing for much much longer. He had said previously in the guild chat in-game that he couldn't Skype call or use the audio chat feature in-game, as he could only play when he visited his local library due to not owning a computer of his own. Thus, out of courtesy they would avoid doing so when he was online. Despite lacking his own PC, he would come online almost every evening to play, almost all day in the weekends. His level of commitment to the game astonished her, either that or he simply have no life.

Kimi wanted to see and hear him so badly, his character was easily identifiable as the most attractive out of the whole guild, the fact he chose the elf race was already a headstart in her eyes, but with his dove white hair and tanned skin - and those strange markings that granted him legendary ranked powers, Fenris won her heart by a mile. Unlike Isabella and the other members, the elf had no profile picture on the group chat (out-of-game), the thought had obviously crossed her mind that he could be in fact a middle-aged obese male, living with his parents and suffering from extreme shyness - but she was holding onto a small thread of hope that he looked somewhat like his character - she always had a thing for elven avatars.

She smiled at the thought of eventually meeting up with the guild, seeing all her friends in person and actually being able to say to her mother she had friends. Snuggling into her blanket, she fell into a deep sleep.

Kimi awoke the next day to her alarm, which was blasting the beginning of Pacify Her. She hummed the tune as she tried to rid the tiredness from herself at 7am, still immensely fatigued from gaming not even two hours prior.

Kimi worked at a café not too far from Gamlen's house. Her manager didn't care much for uniform, as long as her workers wore decent smart-casual clothing. Kimi opened her wardrobe, when one of the doors came off it's hinges.

"Balls..." she whispered in a frustrated tone, making sure to not wake up Bethany. She sighed and put the door on the floor.

"Why does everything in this house fall apart…" she said in a depressed tone. She dug out a plain black t-shirt and a tartan pleated skirt from the now broken wardrobe, and went into the drawers below to get a pair of black tights and knickers. Kimi then picked up the bra that she had flung carelessly the night before and proceed to the bathroom.

She had a quick shower ridding the grease from her hair and face, using bubblegum scented shampoo and shower gel. She then towel dried her body and hair and got dressed quickly in case Gamlen was awake. Her t-shirt was tucked into the skirt which slightly emphasised her bust, the skirt sat between the bottom of her bra and belly button, and rested at mid thigh level. The tights she chose were about 50 denier, and she was pretty sure they were in fact Bethany's.

Kimi then went back to her bedroom and too the corner where a tall mirror stood, and applied her concealer, foundation and powder to her face and neck, adding 3 shades of plum eyeshadow and black mascara to her eyes afterwards - then applied a generous amount of Lynx Attract which she fetched from her rucksack on the floor.

She checked herself over and picked up the locket that hung from a nail hammered in the frame - the locket that her deceased father gave to her before he died.

Malcolm Hawke was killed in a hit and run by a suspected drunk driver, after taking Bethany to her friend's party. The rest of the Hawke family just made it to the Hospital before the surgeons took him away for surgery, when Malcolm decided in his semi-conscious state, due to blood loss, to give Kimi the locket that was given to him by his father, 'just in case' he said.

He died on the operating table, and his family never truly recovered.

Kimi grabbed her small tan leather rucksack, put her phone in there and ran downstairs to the shoe rack underneath the staircase. She put on her black monochrome sneakers - before glancing at the clock that hung slanted on the wall, which read 7:20AM. 'I won't have time to eat breakfast after all', she thought disappointedly. The café opened at 9AM, but her work started an hour earlier, preparing the tables and cutlery, and cooking the pastries and cakes that the café served.

Kimi grabbed her keys from a pot that sat on the end table next to the front door and went out the house, locking the door behind her. In Gamlen's neighbourhood it was better to keep doors and windows locked even if people are still inside.

She began the five minute walk to the train station, hopped on the train to Hightown and began the forty minute train ride to her workplace, listening to her music playlist that consisted of multiple genres of music - some rock, pop, J-rock and K-pop both from anime openings and genuine interest in the genres, and some alternative bands and groups. She was disturbed from her disguised headbanging when she heard her phone ping - a message from the Hard in Hightown group chat.

Anders [sir_pounce_alot], 7:25AM

- anyone else is awake at this fine hour?

She couldn't get over the fact his username was named after his rescue cat, even after 6 months of knowing the guy. She replied awkwardly whilst trying not to fall over; the train was crammed full at this hour, busy with all kinds of people getting to work - however this was the 7:24 train from Lowtown to Hightown, so there were a lot of funny characters riding with her.

Kimi [kimi_chan], 7:26AM

- me me me :'3

- otw to work as usual at this *CORRECTION* unruly hour :')

Anders [sir_pounce_alot], 7:30AM

- hahaha Hawke

- appreciate the morning sun before you develop blindness 10 years from now from playing too much DA Online…

- trust me im a doctor ;-)

Anders was fun to talk to, when he wasn't preaching about mage rights in the game. He spoke in a calming way much like Varric, but the dwarf with more charisma. She had thought the reason Anders worked as a doctor was partly due to his kind and understanding personality.

Kimi [kimi_chan], 7:31AM

- I assure you I don't play THAT much :)

- and that's the job of my optician, not you :P

Anders [ser_pounce_alot], 7:31AM

- oh rly? so how long did you, Varric, and Aveline farm/train for?

- im sorry for tapping out so early on, I needed an early night

Kimi [kimi_chan], 7:33AM

- errm…

- dont scream at me pweese

- ...

- 5AM BUT I SWEAR I DIDN'T KNOW I SWEAR!

Kimi held her phone in her hand by her side, she was genuinely scared that Anders would shout at her, when he was angry he was like an infuriated parent or teacher - which was why she tried not to annoy him as much as possible. All of a sudden her phone began to vibrate, playing the start of Unravel. She glanced at her phone to see that Anders was calling her, she mentally prepared herself for the screaming that was about to come from the speaker and-

"HAZEL HAWKE YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE IF YOU WERE MY CHILD YOU WOULD BE ASLEEP BY 9PM I SWEAR ON MY LIFE VARRIC AND THE GUARD CAPTAIN HAVE NO COMMON SENSE KEEPING YOU UP SO LATE ON A WORK NIGHT AAGGHHH-", Anders ranted a bit more until Kimi interrupted him.

"Anders you know I prefer being called Hawke or Kimi, it's soooooo much cuter than Hazel, I mean my eyes aren't even the slightest bit hazel they're blue - a dazzling pale blue at that!" she grinned at herself before talking again and hearing Anders chuckle lightly from the other end of the call.

"And secondly you aren't my mother" she pouted. "I mean, there's been an opening as the role of a father for a while now but I don't thi-"

"No! No! That's horrible Hawke don't even suggest that! Honestly you have no filter!" he exclaimed down the phone.

Her mobile pinged again but she ignored it, continuing her humourous conversation with Anders.

"Perish the thought, I think you're a bit too young for my mother's taste. She prefers… you know… a man with a backbone…" Her phone pinged again and this time she minimised the call and opened the group chat.

Fenris [broody_elf], 7:37AM

- I agree. It is not beneficial to your health, Hawke.

Anders [sir_pounce_alot], 7:37AM

- At last we agree on something… broody elf xD

Fenris [broody_elf], 7:38AM

- Yes, it appears so.

- You are aware of Varric hacking my account, yet you persist on teasing me?

Anders [sir_pounce_alot], 7:38AM

- Ur using your cell aren't you? Let's take this to group call ..insert angry emoji..

'Group call? Oh no Fenris is gonna join the call and I'm gonna hear his voice for the first time!' Kimi thought panicking at the realisation.

Fenris [broody_elf], 7:39AM

- I cannot at the moment.

- Do not assume that this is me backing out at the chance of putting you in your place, mage.

- I believe it is illegal to phone call and drive, am I right?

- Wait. Who are you in a call to?

Kimi didn't know if she was sad or relieved that he couldn't call. She wanted to hear his voice so much that if she knew his address she would mail him a headset.

Anders [sir_pounce_alot] 7:40AM

- I use a bluetooth earpiece when I drive, I'm stuck in traffic anyway so technically I'm not driving :I

- And I'm not telling

- You'll have to join the call to find out :)

'No Anders I'm not mentally prepared you can't do this to me what if I have a coughing fit and -' her thought path was interrupted by a deep, husky voice coming through her cell phone.

"There, mage, are you satisfied now? This is Fenris speaking, who else is present?" Fenris spoke to the conference call.

"Oh fuck", Kimi thought weakly, then realised she had in fact spoke the said thought out loud.

"Oh! Hi Fenris... umm this is... Hawke… hello" she managed to say, she heard a strange sound come from her phone, then it registered that the sound was a chuckle, Fenris's chuckle.

"You greeted me twice, Hawke" he said in a lighter tone than before, but the huskiness remained.

'He must have just woken up', she thought.

Kimi laughed nervously. "So I did… I'm sorry I just… I haven't heard you speak before… it surprised me", she stammered, her voice still quivering. 'Why am I so nervous?!'

"I see", Fenris replied, sounding if he was contemplating something, "Was it a good surprise?"

Kimi gasped, nearly twisting her ankle as she stepped off the train.'Is he flirting with me? What am I supposed to say to that?!'

"I… erm… yes? I mean… I haven't heard it before so I didn't know what you sounded like… but now I do so… yes"

"Hmm…"

"Erm hello… you aren't the only ones in the conference call… I mean if you guys want some alone ti-" Anders butted into their conversation, and Kimi mentally thanked him for doing so, until she registered what he had said.

"NO!" Fenris and Kimi said simultaneously.

"I… uhh I'm at work now so I've gotta go… bye!", she said nervously as she hung up. She wasn't really close to the shop, she was about three blocks away.

She couldn't believe it, she smiled to herself reminiscing on the prior conversation. Her wish had finally come true - Fenris's voice was so dark and mysterious that she wondered what he looked like; in all the anime she had watched, the characters with deeper voices were usually the attractive ones. She tried to picture his face, but no image suited the voice, he sounded well educated - which was reflected in the way he would type messages, using excellent grammar. Kimi tried to calm herself, but her heart refused to. A ping came from her phone - another message from the group chat, one that didn't help her situation at all. Another followed.

Fenris [broody_elf], 7:53AM

- Have a good day at work, Hawke.

'Oh Maker', her heart started racing again, she could now read his messages in his voice.

Anders [sir_pounce_alot], 7:54AM

- I'm pretty sure she heard you before she hung up

Fenris [broody_elf], 7:54AM

- I merely wanted to make sure she did hear me.

- If she didn't then it would be rude if I said nothing.

Kimi [kimi_chan], 7:55AM

- Guuyyys!

- I thought you two stopped this whole angst business :'(

Anders [sir_pounce_alot], 7:55AM

- He insists 'mage' is 'simply a nickname'

- So I insist that 'broody' is mine :)

Kimi [kimi_chan], 7:56AM

- Ah I see your friendship is blooming nicely :'3

- It brings tears to my eyes I'm so proud

Fenris [broody_elf], 7:56AM

- I assure you, Hawke, that our relations with each other are far from friendship.

- However, the mage's presence is becoming more tolerable, I will admit that much.

Anders [sir_pounce_alot], 7:57AM

- I

- Erm

- Thank you Fenris… I guess I could eventually regard you as a friend… I suppose

'Oh my gosh Anders stop being so stubborn' she grimaced.

Fenris [broody_elf], 7:57AM

- If we are talking in terms of future, I would like to become friends with everyone in the guild.

She smiled at her phone screen, Fenris had said previously that all the clans he had been with before were either half dead or so absorbed in lore it was cringeworthy. This was the first guild where he could have friends, Kimi had thought at the time - and now he was beginning to make them. She wondered how Fenris viewed the relationship between her and himself.

With her face flushed red at the thought she opened the doors to the café - the mixed smells of coffee and cake hit her instantly. It was a modern café despite being situated on the border of Darktown and Hightown, so they got a mixture of customers coming through every day. It had a contemporary theme with dark floors and white walls, yet somehow still felt cosy. She walked towards the staff room, before a dark haired woman approached her with her arms crossed.

"What a pleasant surprise, the girl who always lectures others for being late to work is… let me see… one minute and thirty four seconds late" Morrigan sneered at her. "And what's this? You're flustered! Don't tell me you had a quick scuffle before you arriv-"

"I DID NOT!" Kimi shouted "You know I don't have anyone!" she pouted. She went into the staff room, got the key to her locker out her bag and opened it. She looked at her phone and typed a reply before putting both her phone and bag in her locker.

Kimi [kimi_chan], 8:02AM

- I'd like that, Fenris :')

She put on her white apron that hung from her peg and left the staff room. A loud growl came from her stomach which even Morrigan heard, and she was at the other end of the counter by the coffee machines several feet away.

"Hungry are we Hazel?" Morrigan mocked, whilst setting up the machines.

"Yes, I am, I didn't know you were so concerned in my health." Kimi replied. "Do you think Meredith will allow me to have breakfast for free?"

"Did you actually ask that?" Morrigan scoffed. "She would much sooner make a deal with demons to replace us workers". Kimi laughed wholeheartedly, their manager was an old crone like that.

"True, ah I'll just buy a panini before nine, at least then she can't complain about losing money or something like that." She sighed before making two large round sponge cakes and putting them in in the oven behind the counter. It was Kimi's suggestion that the ovens and counters where they made and decorated the cakes and pastries should be visible to customers, as it would give them a reason to come into the shop and stay longer. Some customers even filmed them decorating the deserts, which she thought was strange; their café was famous in Kirkwall, but she didn't think decorating was that interesting to watch.

It was soon 9AM, and the morning rush of people came flooding in.

"Where is Zevran? He was supposed to be in an hour ago!" she shouted over to Morrigan and Feynriel - he was an apprentice but a skilled one.

"I don't know where that blighted man is! Text him!"

Morrigan said above the hubbub of angry customers late for work no doubt.

The doors to the café swung open, and a windswept Zevran entered and disappeared into the staff room without saying a word.

"I wonder what's wrong with him…" she mumbled to herself.

"Don't think too hard Kimi, you're in charge of food and a LOT of people are ordering", said Feynriel. He was one of the little people who actually called her by her nickname.

"Don't fret, I am here! Morrigan give me the orders, I shall have them done." said a thick Antivan accent.

"Zevran! You made me jump! Thank the Maker you're here", she hugged Zevran quickly and worked through the growing amount of orders.

It was nearing lunch time when Zevran asked her what got her so flustered.

"How did you know? Did Morrigan tell you?" she asked.

"Yes, you are usually so bubbly and… how do you weebs say it? Kawaii." Zevran mocked. Customers came in much more slowly before lunch, then got busy again around 12PM.

"Ahh, well there's this guy… you know my guild?" she started.

"Ah, yes, Hard in Hightown, am I correct?", Zevran used to play DA Online, but his social life soon took priority over playing.

"Yeah, this guy joined a little after I did and he's got that dark and mysterious personality and he doesn't have a headset or camera so no one knows what he looks like or sounds like and me and Anders were talking in a group chat call and he just joined AND I HEARD HIS VOICE AND IT'S SO SEXY UGHH", she blurted, repeatedly hitting her head off the counter to hide her flushed face, whilst Zevran was laughing hysterically - a couple customers turned to look at him giving disgusted looks. He finally calmed down and put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her seriously.

"So, you lust after this man, yes?", he dead-panned. Kimi choked on air and grabbed a handful of flour that she was using to make more muffins, and threw it in his face - forgetting that a CCTV camera was stationed directly above the counters were.

"HAZEL HAWKE COME TO THE OFFICE THIS INSTANT!", exclaimed her manager, Meredith.

"Oh shit…" she whispered and slapped her hands to her face, realising half her face was now white with flour.

"Have fun, my Hawke" Zevran jested, wiping off the flour with several tea towels.

She made her way to her boss's office and closed the door behind her. Nothing could prepare her for when her manager lectured, it was much worse than Anders.

"Care to explain why I just witnessed one of MY employees throwing condiments into another employee's FACE?", Meredith said sternly.

"I… umm… no.", she couldn't exactly tell her she was 'lusting after a man'.

"Good, because I don't care. See to it that you control your anger in the future, we have a reputation, Hawke. Now, leave."

Kimi fled out of Meredith's office and closed the door behind her, exhaling the breath she was subconsciously holding, quickly wiping the exceas flour from her face.

"Hazel, you have a customer, Feynriel went on his lunch break so it's just you doing the food for now", said Morrigan, with a lack of sympathy.

"Ah, okay." she replied and walked over to the counter, willing the tears that were forming in her eyes away, not taking notice of the appearance of the man stood at the front of the cue.

"Hi! What can I get you?", she gave him one of her signature grins, which fell from her face when she actually looked at the man standing in front of her.

He had bleach white ruffled hair, tanned skin and large moss green eyes. His face was perfectly chiseled, yet soft at the same time, his ears slightly pointed. He wore a black crew neck t-shirt, grey hoodie and faded black slim fit jeans, with white monochrome Vans - as she saw from slyly peeking over the edge of the counter.

Kimi's eyes widened at the resemblance to a certain person's avatar. 'It can't be…' she thought, she was snapped out of her hazed state when the man spoke.

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