Disclaimer: Meh, everyone knows this by now. BioWare is brilliant, blah, blah, blah. *shameless brown-nosing ensues*
Varric paused outside the canvas flap and took a deep breath. He stepped inside to see Hawke scratching furiously on a roll of vellum with his quill and ink. At least, she wasn't sobbing or breaking things, so he took this a good sign. Her blue eyes flicked up to meet his worried face before she resumed her writing.
Recognizing that she needed some time to think he began to shuck his clothing and prepare to get some rest before his turn to watch rolled around. Only when he was clad in his leather pants and naught else did Hawke stop writing. "Stop." He jerked his head up in surprise and froze as he was in the process of unlacing his trousers.
Securing the lid on the ink and putting her vellum to the side, she crawled to him on her hands and knees and with trembling fingers picked up where Varric had left off. He swallowed thickly. He wasn't sure if he should tell her to stop what she was doing or urge her to go faster. They hadn't made love since that first night. Their nights had been spent cuddling and sometimes caressing, but usually they were too exhausted, satisfied to take comfort in the arms of the other.
"Katya?" She looked at him with haunted eyes and his heart broke. "Oh, Beautiful." His voice quavered as he ran his hands through her long hair. "You don't have to do this-"
Hawke laid a slender finger against his lips. "Varric, I need you to love me. I need to feel you inside me. I'm going numb underground and I need you to remind me to feel again. Please."
He smiled gently at her as he teased, "You are entirely too overdressed for this occasion, my dear." She gave a weak smile as she began the process of removing her armor. Her nimble fingers flew over the buckles and clasps until she was only wearing her under tunic and smalls. Varric sat down on the bedroll and motioned her over.
Hawke snuggled against him reveling in his warmth and the heat he created in the pit of her stomach. No one had ever made her feel this way. She'd had a few lovers, not many and never for long, but this was different. The desire to be around Varric wasn't purely physical; it was almost an emotional requirement. In times of stress and fear he was the one she looked to for comfort and he had always been there.
His strong fingers worked against the knots in her neck and she gave a small moan of pleasure. "Roll over on your stomach." She sat up and removed her tunic before she laid on the bedroll. Varric's heart stuttered to see so much creamy skin revealed to his eyes. He doubted he would ever get used to the sight of such perfection that she so easily shared with him. She truly had no idea how stunning she was and it amazed him. Steadying himself his fingers caressed and soothed every knot and sore muscle in her back and shoulders. Her small moans of pleasurable pain added to his excitement, but he was determined to ease her body of the stress it had endured.
As his hands skirted past her smalls and began to work on the bunched muscles in her legs she lost her patience. "Damn it Varric, I know you have amazing hands, but I need more than that right now." He laughed at her pout when she rolled over to face him, but then lost concentration when his eyes landed on her heaving breasts.
"Maker, woman…" She grinned impishly as she cupped her sizeable mounds in her palms.
"What, these things? Psh, Bethany's are fuller." She howled with laughter as the talkative dwarf nearly swallowed his tongue and turned a deep crimson. He was sputtering and floundering for a response, but what in the Maker's-name does a man say to that? "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist and your reaction was amazing."
He dropped his head in his hand and mumbled, "I'll never be able to make eye contact with Sunshine ever again." Hawke giggled at his discomfort. He looked at his lover and smiled warmly at the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Come here you. I only want to think about you and me right now."
Hawke melted into his arms as his lips descended on her mouth hungrily. He groaned when she rubbed her core against the straining bulge in his leather pants. Laying her gently down he moved his mouth to her wonderful breasts, licking and sucking on one and then the other, while his hand was languidly circling her heat through her smalls. Hawke's mind shut down and she allowed herself to feel instead of think. She focused on the teasing pressure on her pearl combined with the flick of his tongue against her nipples.
Roughly yanking on his leathers she panted, "Off. Now." He smirked as he stood up and eased out of his trousers. Hawke was sure she was drooling at the sight of such overwhelming manliness and her brain nearly imploded at the realization that it was all hers. Grinning fiendishly she commented, "Oh, Isabella is going to be so jealous!"
Varric's laugh dropped an octave as he responded to the dark desire in her eyes while she ogled him. "Stop talking about other women, Katya," he teased.
"Mmm-hmmm. No more talking." Varric took a couple moments to stare at the woman who was waiting for him to fill her body with his own. He was a lucky bastard. Guess his ancestors loved him after all.
He kneeled beside her once more and helped her peel her smalls off her impossibly long legs. Leaning over her to kiss her lips again he began to situate himself when she pulled away. "I want to try something."
"Okay," he smiled, "what did you have in mind?"
"Let me be on top." He tried to keep his nod from being too enthusiastic, but she wasn't fooled. "Mmmm, someone likes it when the lady takes control. Noted." They chuckled softly as they rearranged themselves so Varric was lying on his back and Hawke straddling his hips. She gave him a breathtaking smile before she slowly lowered herself onto his thick shaft. He watched as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and then he had to close his own when she completely enveloped him.
"Ungh," was the only response he could give her. His hands moved to her hips as she began to move. Soon, they had worked out a rhythm and Varric could only stare at the red-haired goddess above him. Every now and then she would open her eyes to watch him and the intense blue orbs full of love and desire were seared into his memory like a brand.
Hawke had never felt so full. His girth truly was impressive and yet it was still a perfect fit. She loved watching him bite his lips to keep from groaning too loudly and enjoyed the pressure of his fingers digging into her flesh. Those were bruises she would cherish.
"Varric, I'm – "
"Me, too, babe." He pressed her down a little more which changed the angle enough to rub her bud and sent her soaring over the edge. He followed behind with a roar filling her with his seed. She collapsed on top of his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. They stayed that way for a couple of minutes as they caught their breath.
"I love you," he whispered through her mass of hair. She turned to face him and smiled – not a trace of sadness to be found in her eyes.
"I love you, too." Hawke rolled to the side and snuggled against his chest as they fell asleep.
Fenris' whispering woke him up. "Varric, it's your watch."
He sat up groggily and hissed, "I'm coming. Hang on." After he located his clothing and dressed he stepped out with Bianca. He noticed with some amusement that the elf wouldn't meet his eyes. "Haven't seen anything?" Fenris shook his head and then headed for his bedroll.
It was a slow, but thankfully uneventful shift and when the three hours were up he roused everyone. Munching on cold leftovers to fill their bellies the team broke camp and began a quick march on the path that led to a way out. They repeated this process of shortened camp stays and marching purposefully for four days. On the fifth day, when they'd only been on the move for a couple of hours there was a sudden change in air pressure.
With excited glances the companions picked up their pace and as they rounded a corner they could see light in the distance. They had finally reached one of the openings in the Free Marches. It was still a good two hours from where they were standing, but now they could see their goal. Hawke stifled the hysterical laughter in her throat, but didn't stop the tears of joy. Varric took her hand with a smile. "Let's get the hell out of here, Beautiful."
It was a good thing that they didn't just barrel out of the entrance into the light. After months of being underground their eyes were more adjusted to darkness and as they slowly closed the distance to their escape it eased the sting of sunlight. It was decided that they would wait for the sun to begin its descent on the horizon before exiting the caverns so there was less chance of them going blind. The companions dumped their packs for a rest at the mouth of the entrance, breathing in the fresh air with relish as they anxiously waited for the shadows to lengthen.
A squeal passed unbidden from their leader as she grabbed her pack and rushed out of the cavern when the sun was low enough. She ran down the curve of the path laughing and screaming, "Thank the Maker!" The men she left in her wake smiled warmly to see the young woman so carefree, so Hawke. The tiny woman finally turned three-quarters of the way down and shading her eyes with her hand yelled back at them, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" None of them had ever been able to refuse her, so they readjusted their bags and jogged to catch up.
They made it to the bottom of the path as a group and waited for Anders to check his map. "Ah, there's a village not far from here. If we hurry we might make it before the sun sets and see if they have an inn."
"No deepstalker tonight, boys! Oh, and a real bed and a bath!" She was off again, her rich laugh washing over them all and lifting their weary bones. With Hawke in the lead the group reached the village just as the light was disappearing and they asked a startled villager for the inn. The man took in their bedraggled appearance and decided he wasn't going to ask questions, just pointed them in the right direction and hurried home.
Normally travelers would have been welcome in a tiny inn that didn't see many people or much money come through town, but the sight and smell of the four visitors gave the proprietor pause. The rough looking blonde with angry eyes scowled at the regulars as a slip of a girl – or woman, hard to tell under all that grime – made her way to the bar to ask about rooms. He was surprised to see that the man with the large sword and unusual tattoos was actually an elf and he might have missed the dwarf if he hadn't followed the girl.
He was about to tell them all to shove off, that he didn't want whatever trouble was sure to follow this bunch, but the dwarf silenced him with a large coin purse he tossed his way. Taking a peek inside the pouch he started and told his barmaid to prepare four rooms complete with baths and meals. The man was so surprised to see all the gold shining up at him that he nearly missed what the girl – nope, definitely a woman, now that she was up close – said to the maid. "Only three rooms, please." His girl nodded to the adventurer and led the group upstairs, leaving the proprietor to wonder which of the others in the group would be sharing their room tonight.
After the maid showed them their rooms and promised them all to have baths prepared as quickly as she could, Varric turned to Hawke in the hallway, "Did you see the look the owner gave you when you said three rooms?" She snorted and walked into the room the girl had shown her which meant it was also his.
"Yeah, and once she draws a bath for us, his curiosity will be satisfied and everyone will give us strange looks when we leave tomorrow." He laughed heartily at the idea. Soon, there was a knock on their door and Hawke whispered, "Here we go." Ancestors, he loved this woman.
She opened the door just a crack and he heard her say, "Oh, yes, of course. The center of the room should do just fine." The owner and the maid entered her room carrying a large wooden tub and Varric could see the man glancing around to see who she was sharing her room with. He walked around the other side of the bed where he'd been hiding behind the velvet curtains.
"Here you go, love. I found your dagger. You kicked it under the bed." The maid couldn't hide her gasp of surprise when he passed his dagger to her and the man nearly dropped his end of the burden.
Hawke's eyes glinted with mirth as she smiled. "Thank you, dear." She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. Standing up she saw that the others in their room had frozen in shock. "Yes, right there is perfect." She gave them her most radiant smile as they quickly placed the tub on the floor before making a hasty exit. The girl promised to return with hot water as soon as it was ready on her way out. When they were sure they were gone, Varric and Hawke collapsed in a fit of laughter on the floor.
"I haven't had that much fun in a while, Hawke." He gasped for air. "We need to get out of town more often so we can scandalize the country folk."
"That's a great idea…ow! Pulled something…laughing too hard." With great difficulty they calmed themselves and stood back up. Hawke passed Varric his dagger that he kept hidden in his boot and they began to unstrap their weapons. Varric looked at Bianca and knew she would need some serious cleaning; it might even be time to have it done by a weaponsmith, as much as it pained him to admit. Hawke had reached a similar conclusion about her daggers – these were shot after beating up golems and rock wraiths. At least she had the coin to go shopping for new ones in Kirkwall.
A furtive knock sounded on the door and this time Varric answered. The flustered barmaid entered carrying two buckets of steaming water that she promptly poured in the tub before leaving. With as small as the tub was they had to bathe separately and poor Varric was stuck using the water Hawke left behind, but he'd insisted. "I can take a nice hot bath in my own tub when I get back to The Hanged Man. I just want to wash off as much of the Deep Roads as I can and call that good enough."
They gave their smalls a cursory wash with what soap they had left and hung them to dry. The rest of their clothing and armor was just going to remain dirty until they reached the city and had an entire week to catch up on laundry. With a sigh, Varric clambered onto the human sized bed enjoying the feel of a soft tick mattress instead of hard stone that seeped its coldness into your bones at night. Hawke fell down beside him with a smile and cuddled against his broad chest. The lovers were asleep within minutes.
A/N: Yay! Made it out of the Deep Roads...for now...Mwuahahahaha!