"Well, last night we're going to spend here, Fenris. Care to make it special? I brought wine." Hawke beamed as she entered the room.
They were running now. They had taken only a few precious days of leniency from the Templars, but they were going to be running tomorrow. They had to.
Fenris smiled at her enthusiasm. After everything that happened she was determined to enjoy herself. He didn't blame her. It was, after all, his last night in this dilapidated mansion.
"I thought I had run out of the Aggregio Pavali." He watched as she gracefully moved across the room. She was agile, quick, he loved watching her move. The curves of her body.
"Well, I happen to have found this when I was cleaning out my wine cellar. Still, if you're not interested.." Her lavender hued eyes glittered at him. Sparkling with mischief.
"I didn't say that." He folded his arms in mock annoyance.
"Oh, that's a yes then! Then allow me to commemorate this special occasion!" She made a grandiose gesture of placing the wine on the small table near the fireplace. "Uh, Fenris?" She peered around the room.
"Is something wrong?" He studied the dusty corners trying to glean what she was after.
"Glasses? I didn't bring any, and I don't think your corpse friends are hiding any. Maker, why you kept this mansion like this all these years I'll never know." She brushed a silky strand of hair from her eyes as she laughed.
The sound of her laugh was intoxicating. He marveled how she could laugh even now, after everything.
"I have grown accustomed to them over the years. Though no, I'm afraid I don't have any glasses. We will have to make due." He smiled at her. It still puzzled him sometimes how much he enjoyed her company.
"Well, I suppose we will have to. So, you won't miss this place when we leave tomorrow?" She took a seat, opening the bottle with quick, deft hands.
"It is just a place, Hawke." He moved and sat across from her.
"Bullshit, you've been living here for years. That skylight above your bed? The cobweb corners? The skeletons? The view? You're going to miss it a little!" She smiled and took a gulp of wine.
"Well, there have been some memorable times here, of course..."He focused his gaze on the fireplace and cleared his throat uncomfortably. His mind wandered to the night he had told her how he felt. How they had rekindled their relationship in front of the fireplace. Three years without telling her, Three years of regretting that night. Three years thinking of some way to make it right. There was a part of him that still couldn't believe she had taken him back. She had forgiven him, and he wasn't going to leave her ever again.
"I know what you mean," she said softly after a long pause. He focused his attention back to her.
She beamed at him. "Still, I wouldn't mind hearing it again." Her smile turned into a smirk. Lustful and irresistible on her lips. A predatory look growing in her eyes.
"I don't follow. Hear what again, Hawke?" he was puzzled, and suddenly felt like there was something she knew that he didn't. Like he had felt when they first met. She had said something about him being handsome, and he chuckled awkwardly despite himself. He raised a dark eyebrow at her.
Smile firmly in place, she cleared her throat and lowered her voice in what he assumed could only be a feeble attempt to imitate his own. Her voice came out deep and husky, "Promise me you won't die. I can't bear the thought of living without you..."
He could feel his whole face grow warm, and attempted to recover his stoic expression, which he was sure had completely become undone, judging by her reaction. Once again Hawke had taken him completely off guard. The woman was nothing if not unexpected. The heat in his cheeks rose to boiling as she echoed his words back to him. He took another gulp of wine in an attempt to compose himself.
She was laughing uncontrollably. Leaning back in her chair and nearly doubling over. "I couldn't help it," she giggled when she had regained some composure. "I just, Maker... I couldn't believe it." She sighed.
"What about your 'I don't make that promise unless you do.' comment?" He said it bluntly, smirking at her. Quid pro quo.
Now it was her turn to go crimson. He set the bottle down on the table. The flush of her cheeks and the way her eyes darted uncomfortably around the room as she grabbed for the bottle made him smile. So graceful and powerful, and yet sometimes she still baffled him.
"Oh, stop... I meant every word! After all, we were in hopeless battle defending mages, remember? In all honesty... we could have died, and I .. I had to say something." She looked away from him, tucking a piece of raven black hair behind her ear. He watched her intently. The way her hair fell around her shoulders. Sleek and dark with that unnatural violet sheen when the light caught it just right. An exotic creature, nothing at all like a hawk, he marveled.
"Lucky for us we live on..." She turned her piercing gaze back toward him, smiling again. She took the bottle and raised it up. "To the future, then. Whatever that may be."
"Na via lerno victoria." He echoed her toast.
"What does that mean?" She wrinkled her nose at him as she took a drink and passed the bottle.
"It means, "only the living know victory." It is an old saying in Tevinter." He accepted the bottle from her outstretched hand, and took another drink.
"Did you mean it... What you said?" She asked after a long pause.
He didn't have to ask what she meant. He had cast aside all his inhibitions at that moment in the Gallows. If it was going to be their last conversation he wasn't going to leave it unfinished.
He narrowed his green eyes on her, hoping she knew how sincere he was. "Nothing is going to keep me from you. Hawke... Gwenya, I meant every word." He could feel the wine warming through his body.
She stood up, and moved closer to him. Her eyes gleamed with desire. He felt himself being drawn in, lust and need burning within. The firelight danced on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from the wine. His eyes wandered over her, taking in every detail. She took the bottle he still kept absently in his hand, swirling her tongue on the rim as she took another drink. His breath quickened. A predatory instinct suddenly rising inside him. His Hawke.
"So, where do we go from here, then?" she whispered as she leaned in. He could feel her breath on his skin. Her intoxicating smell mixed with the sweet scent of wine. He couldn't hold himself back anymore.
He grabbed her, pulling her down to him, kissing her greedily. She accepted eagerly, their tongues caressing. White hot need rising between them.
"These have to go," she mused. Then taking his hands from around her waist, she slowly withdrew his gauntlets and tossed them aside.
He gently cupped her face in his now bare hands and pulled her in for another kiss. "Better?" He breathed as they came up for air after being lost in each other.
"Oh, I think we can do better yet" she smirked, her breathing quickened. Her deft hands moved to loosen the buckles on his armor. His chest plate soon joined his gauntlets on the floor. Her nimble fingers were quick to undo the ties on his shirt, and soon she was moving her hands over his exposed chest, accentuating each caress with soft lips. The markings hummed to life, responding to each kiss, each touch. Not painful, but it was something like electricity sending mild shocks through his body. A low growl escaped from deep within him, unbidden.
"I seem to be at a disadvantage here, Hawke. You are still fully clothed." He made his face into a mock scowl, a shock of white hair falling into his eye line. She brushed it away tenderly, letting her fingers linger for a moment. Her eyes looked not at him, but intohim. Yet, he could see her expression change. Suddenly a sadness appeared where before was only fire.
"I have an idea..." She stood up. The loss of her straddling him where he sat made his need grow even more. The predator in him revolted, and took over. He rose and grabbed her greedily, catching her by the waist and pulling her to him again. She laughed. "You haven't even heard my idea yet!"
A puzzled look grew on his face. "Am I going to like this idea of yours?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Maybe..." That mischievous smile again, but it faded quickly. She wrapped her hands around his waist and drew herself close to him. Her eyes level with his own. "Tonight I want it to be just you and me. Fenris and Hawke. No baggage, no problems, no world outside... deal? I think it's about time we had a night off from it." A sad smile formed on her lips.
"We do seem to have a lot of issues, don't we?" he sighed. An honest answer.
"That's the understatement of the Dragon Age!" she giggled, and pressed herself closer to him.
He placed his hand on her cheek, and she tilted her head. Their faces were so close they were almost touching. "Fine. Agreed." He said softly, and she pressed her lips to his. She nibbled teasingly at his lower lip and he teased back, letting her mouth cover his. He began to undo her armor pieces. She was a mage, but for some unholy reason she wore the armor of the Champion. A need to tear at the buckles and latches that didn't yield quickly enough flooded him. Yet soon they fell away, joining the other forgotten pieces by the fireplace. Her naked flesh, smooth and soft before him; he could think of nothing more perfect, and she was his.
"Now who is the one at a disadvantage?" she teased as she began to remove his leggings, lowering herself slightly to accomplish the task. She let her tongue flick across his chest, drawing a line, as she came back up.
They stood in their smallclothes. He reached behind her back and in one quick motion pulled off the cloth holding her breasts. Her mouth met his again. Her body was so hot, as if she burned with an inner fire, and she was breathless and her kiss was deep. Her eyes, a predator's eyes, like his. An exotic creature, this mage. His Hawke.
Her torso was naked. Her pink breasts heaved with her quickened breathing. He made a low growl in his throat as he moved his hand over her. She whimpered as he gently caressed her torso slowly then moved down between her legs. He undid the last of her undergarment and it fell away. She reached down and undid his.
She let her fingers wander to his hair, gently kissing his neck, her tongue lightly brushed his ear. The sensation was paralyzing. His ears were sensitive, and when she did that it was like shockwaves going through his entire being.
"I want you, Fenris..." she whispered, her breathing quick and soft and full of need.
He stared into her eyes. Those lavender eyes, as rare as she was. In one quick motion he wrapped his hands around her waist and picked her up. She made a surprised yelp, and wrapped her legs around his waist trying to keep balance.
He carried her to his bed in the corner and laid her down.
"I am yours..." he whispered, and lowered himself on top of her. She threw her arms around him and kissed his neck, frantically, greedily. He placed his mouth on her shoulder, near her neck, and bit down just as greedily. She moaned at that, and smiled up at him. The sounds she made and the feel of her body underneath him, eyes dark and full of need.
He thrust into her, and she moaned.
Everything else was lost, the layers faded away as they moved together. She was kissing him, moving her hands on his chest, brushing her tongue on his ear. Whispering his name as she moaned and shivered beneath him. Placing her mouth on his shoulder and biting down, as he had done to her. She let her tongue flick gently on the outside of his ear, and he quickened his pace, causing her to bite her lip.
Suddenly she wrapped a leg around his waist, and grabbed his arm with her hand, she threw her weight into him, and she rolled on top of him. He only had moments to marvel at the skill of the move before he was lost again.
The moonlight showed in from the broken ceiling, bathing her in light as she moved her hips, rocking back and forth, up and down. He placed his hands on her hips, it was all he could do to hold on as she moved with him inside her. She was radiant underneath the moonlight. He couldn't remember feeling so fulfilled and whole as he did when he was with her.
He was whispering in his native tongue. Barely aware of what he was saying as the pleasure overwhelmed him. He wanted it to last forever, but he couldn't hold on much longer. She bit her lip even harder, but a moan still escaped. He reached up and placed his hand behind her head, grabbing a fist of her sleek raven hair and drawing her to him. She lowered herself down, but didn't stop her movements.
He whispered in her ear... "bese formosa ma forta domna, valum, ma anima."
"Fenris..." she sung his name, and he climaxed with her, his mind going blank as the pleasure took over his entire being.
After a few moments she withdrew and lay beside him. Both still shaking in the aftermath of their passion.
She snuggled herself close to him, wrapping her arms on his bare chest. They were both still breathless, but the fire that had seemed to ignite her flesh earlier seemed to have been quenched.
"Even if you will not... I think I'll miss this place." She finally broke the silence with a sigh.
"It's just a place, Hawke..." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
"I suppose you're right. I got what I wanted from it anyways. The place doesn't matter." Those eyes glittered up at him.
"Oh, really? And what was it that you wanted?" He couldn't help but smile as she blushed.
"Don't make fun, Fenris. I've wanted you since the day you first moved in here. I just.. didn't know it. Now I can't believe we're finally here. I didn't think it would happen... I didn't think it would ever happen." She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, brushing away a feather of raven hair that had fallen over her eyes.
"What happened to your idea? No baggage?" He mused.
"That's right... tonight I am Gwenya and you are Fenris, and nothing else matters." She chuckled. "Maker, if I tell myself enough maybe I'll believe it."
"Apparently there is a future to be had, Hawke, and I stand by my promise to gladly walk into it at your side." He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes.
"I believe you." She beamed. "Besides, I would clearly be dog meat without you there watching my back." She shivered a little, and he pulled the blanket up around her.
"I do enjoy following you, Hawke." He had said it often, but for some reason tonight it felt different. He felt different. He knew he would follow her into the void itself... his Hawke. "Even if trouble does always seem to find you." He smiled at her, "You clearly underestimate your skill, though. I think we are even there."
"Alright, clearly I haven't had enough wine for this kind of talk... " She began searching the room. "Damn, I think we drank it all. Well, it was a good bottle at least."
"Indeed. I don't think I shall forget Aggregio Pavali anytime soon. It seems to lead to interesting places." He couldn't believe himself. He was taking her advice to heart and tonight he was just Fenris, with none of the trappings that usually entailed. For once nothing mattered but being with her.
"I think we'll be going to stranger places, yet..." she laughed. "Tonight, though I will enjoy the view of the stars through your ceiling, and your company."
"I always did like the view here..." He sighed, and stared up at the night sky.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be telling me to stay out of trouble, and that I shouldn't involve myself in the affairs of others and all that usual mess? What is with this sudden lack of brooding?" She teased, again taking him off guard.
"Contrary to popular belief, Hawke, I do not brood. Besides, it is impossible. You don't listen." He chuckled.
"That's not fair, I do listen. I listen to everything. I don't know what I would have done without your advice... I... I rely on you more than you know, Fenris." She faltered, "You've made me realize so much.. about myself, about... everything." She turned away from him slightly, and he pulled her back toward him.
"Truly, Hawke... I didn't mean it as an insult. You speak your mind, and you do what you think is best. I know. I never expected...this, either." He finished flatly, unable to find the words he meant to say. They seemed to get stuck just under the surface, but he hoped she understood.
Her knowing smile told him she did, and she kissed him softly once and lay her head back down on his chest.
They lay together, just Fenris and just Gwenya, side by side in each other's arms watching the stars until her breathing became slow and even and sleep took her.
He marveled at her as she slept. The moon glinting off her hair, that violet sheen, her long black lashes and light, soft skin. He couldn't remember seeing her face so peaceful, so beautiful. He made a secret plea to the Maker, or the gods, or whoever was out there that they could be like this again. That tomorrow it wouldn't all come crashing down as he feared. That somehow her idea to will the world away would actually work. He lay there, not daring to fall asleep. All he wanted to do was be with her. Hold on to her.
"Fenris..." she whispered in her sleep. He quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Hawke... Gwenya?" he said softly, but she didn't wake. Only silence, and the sound of her breathing.
Then, after a few moments, "I love you, Fenris..." it was barely audible.
His heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He kissed her softly on the mouth, and she stirred a little, but was clearly dreaming. He shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't make himself say it, not yet, but suddenly he knew he loved her too. His Hawke, adora.