.iv.

Hawke will be pleased to hear the job went without any excitement. Two days of easy guarding is not what he expected, but it isn't so bad. Well, the incessant inane chatter of the other hired guards became tiring after a while, but aside from that, pleasant enough. Certainly not exciting as working with Hawke, though, who manages to stumble across dragons, Kirkwall gangs, and slaving rings all within the space of a week. And truth be told, she is far more enjoyable to guard.

He considers stopping by her estate to let her know all is well, though she's probably still asleep, curled up underneath a mountain of blankets (despite her Ferelden heritage, she cannot seem to acclimate to the Kirkwall cold), hair in enchanting disarray about her face, with Galahad at the foot of the bed taking up more room than is needed. He allows himself to dwell on this image of her sleeping. In these last few months, it seems as it's the only time she is ever truly relaxed. In her waking hours, she can always be found tending to the needs of Kirkwall, taking up every plea for help directed toward her.

He's thinking affectionately of the time when they'd been trapped in a cave on the Wounded Coast during a dangerous thunderstorm while on a routine search for potion ingredients (which resulted in the lot of them, Varric, Hawke, Anders and himself, being trapped in a cave for hours, but had actually been rather enjoyable if he ignored the presence of the abomination), when he steps off the stairs to the Hightown estates and spots Varric knocking on his door.

Pounding is more appropriate, he finds, as he crosses the square.

"I swear, elf, if you don't wake up and open this damn door, by Andraste's dimpled ass cheeks I'm gonna-"

"Threats are not necessary," he says, and Varric rounds on him, looking half ready to act on his unfinished threat.

"Broody? What are you doing out here?"

"A question we must all ponder at some point," he responds with a smirk. To his surprise, Varric doesn't even crack a smile, or at the very least an appreciative snort.

"This is serious. Hawke's missing."

Missing.

A sharp pang of fear jumps through his chest.

"What do you mean 'missing'?"

"I mean we were supposed to meet the night before last for drinks. She never showed. That's weird in itself, you know how she likes to be on time, but I figured she probably got side tracked with something more important. I went to check on her this morning. She hasn't been home in three days."

"You thought she'd be here?"

"I had hoped. If she's not with you, maybe she has a guy on the side."

Beneath the anxiety, something else jabs at him, unpleasant and dark.

"Have you checked the Chantry?"

"What, you think she's seeing Choir Boy?"

Fenris casts the dwarf a withering look. "No. But she makes a point of attending service."

"Never heard of a service that lasted that long. The regular length ones are bad enough."

"What about Merrill? Or Anders? Could she be with either of them?"

"Blondie, maybe. I saw Merrill the other day, and she hadn't seen Hawke either."

"Then we speak to him." He turns, hands curling into involuntary fists as he makes for the direction of the Undercity. If that mage has caused her harm...

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there, Tall, Dark and Angry, I know you don't trust the guy, but I really don't think she's there. I went by her estate to see if she was there, but didn't look around. Why don't we go there first to see if she's left a note or anything."

He nods affirmatively, and they set off quickly to her home as the sun rises and dissipates the fog that fills the early morning streets of Kirkwall.

"I'm sure she's fine, wherever she is. Probably got stuck trying to rescue a kitten from a tree or something."

"She has an undeniable talent for attracting trouble."

"She's fine," Varric repeats, sounding more like he's trying to convince them that he is sure of the fact.

Author's Note: I did not expect this to get as many views as it did, what with all the Inquisition fics flooding in (I haven't played it yet because my computer is a potato)! Thanks to each and every one of you! And shoutout to DarkAngelWing19, KC Pendragon, corsairr (ilu), Thedarklordnert (ilu2), and Nezumi for making me blush. There will be more Hawke/Fenris. So much more, I promise.