~*Love*~

The next day, Hawke found herself in a particularly…grumpy mood. Despite the fact that she was, for the first time in months, fairly well rested, her eyes felt sore and she could barely drag herself out of bed.

When she had ventured out to meet the group at the tavern, somehow they could tell something was off with their friend. Face contorted to a deep scowl, Hawke had quickly ordered a drink, and sat down without another word. Isabela watched the exchange, and shot a questioning look over to Merrill. She shrugged. Scoffing, Isabela joined the grouchy Hawke at the table.

"So, what's got your panties in a knot?" she asked, folding her arms on the table. Hawke took that opportunity to chug down her drink. "Let me guess…you found a frog in your underwear drawer, perhaps?" That earned her an odd look. Isabela shrugged. "Got to start somewhere." Wiping her mouth, Hawke set the drink down.

"Just had some rotten dreams last night," she mumbled. Her eyes remained on the tabletop, her expression turning blank.

"Did you dream finding a frog in your underwear?"

"It might have helped if I did."

"Ah."

Both lapsed into silence. A few seconds later, Varric emerged from the stairwell, with a bad-tempered looking Fenris in his wake. They both were murmuring to each other, things she couldn't catch. Hawke gritted her teeth. The dwarf walked over to join the ladies. "So Hawke, what brings you here today?" he asked.

"Hawke had a dream about panties and frogs," Isabela volunteered, winking slyly.

"Stop putting words in my mouth," Hawke sighed. Eyes clouded and dazed, she took another long drink. "I'm just a bit unhinged, is all." She watched as Fenris crossed his arms and had his eyes averted in every direction except her own. Wonder what pissed him off today, Hawke thought bitterly.

"Was it those nightmares?" Merrill asked timidly. Her eyes were tinted with worry. "Haven't you been having those for a while? What changed?"

"Nothing, okay?" she snapped. The poor elf's face grew a deep shade of red, and she looked fretfully down at her hands.

"Hey, don't get cross with her," Isabela protested, pointing at her. "Whatever's got you in a bad mood isn't her fault." At this, Merrill let out an audible squeak, and covered her face.

"Honestly Hawke, what's got you so down?" Varric imputed. She didn't answer.

"Obviously," Fenris muttered, his lip curling. "Her latest plaything wasn't happy with last night's results."

The party fell silent, casting each other odd glances. Hawke and Fenris were legendary for their bantering and occasional crossfire, but with the absolute poison in his voice and her eyes, it was clear that something went wrong.

"What did you say?" she scathed. Fenris remained silent, eyes down casted. Face flushed with uncalled anger, Hawke slapped the mug onto the table. "Fenris?"

"It's not as if though you've kept your new love life a secret, now have you?" he bit out, glaring daggers at her. "I only made an observation." Both were tense and looked about ready to spring atop each other like wild alpha lions in the savannah.

"I think I'm having Déjà Vu," Isabela murmured, rubbing her temple. "Hmm, yes, yes…about three years, me thinks. Did you two happen to…?"

She tried to cool the rising tide, but the two seemed even angrier at her comment. Hawke stood.

"All I know is that he just called me a whore," she snapped.

"Hey, being a whore isn't so bad," the pirate tried again, scowling. Fenris stood as well, hands clenched into fists on the table top.

"Well, all I can see is a self absorbed slut going around night after night with company she's just met," he hissed. "Pardon me for not thinking you're an angel."

"Oh, sure, I'm a tramp for it, yet you are just the perfect little martyr."

"It's not like you stopped me."

"It's not like you didn't come begging at my front door!"

The two were so close that their foreheads were clicking together. Both of them barely seemed to be able to control their fist, Hawke's hands springing to life with flames, and Fenris' brand marks glowing with power. The party sat by, at a complete loss of what to do as the once-lovers shot poisonous glares at each other. Finally, Varric stood up, and clasped his hand on Hawke's shoulder.

"That's enough of you two!" he chastised, gesturing at Isabela. She took the hint, and placed her hand on Fenris' arm. "Calm down before the whole pub explodes. You're acting ridiculous."

The anger was slow to drain from the two entities, and even then a good portion of it remained. Hawke spat furiously, and turned to leave. "I don't take kindly to lies," she murmured heatedly. Then she walked out the door, almost ripping it off, and was gone. Fenris, too, walked away from the scene, eyes averted as he left through the back door.

Moments passed by.

"What was that?" Isabela cried out, her hands raking through her greasy hair. "I knew that they hated each other, but that was just weird." In the midst of her confusion, the pirate suddenly noticed Merrill. The elf was trembling.

"Well, whatever it was, it's no good for us," Varric said, sitting back down. "We can't complete today's missions with those two at each other's throats." Isabela blankly nodded before placing a comforting arm on the mage's shoulder.

"Hey, don't pay them any mind," she consoled. She tried a smile. "Those two obviously have some issues to work out. It's not your fault though, you know." Burying her face in her hands, Merrill began shaking her head wildly.

"No…it is all my fault," she murmured weakly, looking pale and sick. Isabela blinked.

"What, did you add an extra dose of grumpiness in their coffee this morning?"

"It…it was…I…" Merrill was obviously having a difficult time trying to explain her thoughts, which caused the other two parties members to become more intrigued. Finally, after taking a deep breath, Merrill said, "It all happened last night… I was in the Fade trying to do an experiment, when I noticed Hawke's dream Island. It was so dark and scary… I could see Fenris' Island nearby too…and…I tried to help…to make a long story short I sort of…linked their subconscious's together…"

"Linked them? What does that mean?"

"It means I created a link between them…that they share their dreams…and I…I…"

She fell silent. The whole ordeal had upset her so greatly, sleep had been hard to come by that night, and her eyes were bleary. Varric and Isabela looked at one another, trying to grasp the consequences of such an act.

"Can you fix it?" Varric asked simply. Merrill hid her face again and shook her head.

"I don't know…I tried last night…but I couldn't reenter…" She breathed. "This is all my fault…"

"Hey, don't get too down," Isabela said. Unlike the other two, her eyes were glinting mischievously. "Look, those two have been at it for years. Whatever their dreams selves did was nothing more then what they wanted to do in real life. Namely each other. No…I see this as…an opening, shall we say? A means to an end."

"What do you have in mind, pirate?" Varric leaned in, eye glittering. Isabela smirked.

"A way to get quality entertainment for the next month."

~*O*~

Yup, true love at its finest.

What might this be? A plot within a plot? Plotception? How shall our sidekicks proceed with their evil plans against our dear protagonists? Will Fenris' and Hawke's dreams continue? Or will they be be driven mad with desire? Only one way to find out…

Props to the tenth chapter of the story! You guys are already one-third of a way done with my silly little prompts. ^^

To Be Continued~

~DM-sama