So, this is a semi not safe for work chapter. It's also a day late because I have a terrible memory, apparently. Sorry!

Troubled Hearts.

The Hanged Man was busier than it usually was during the middle of the day. It had just started to rain as Fenris and Theo headed to the tavern, and they had jogged the final part of it, thankfully avoiding getting too wet. Although, Theo couldn't help but wonder what Fenris would look like with soaking wet hair sticking to his face with rivulets of water pouring over his skin… He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. For someone who had just decided he needed to distance himself from Fenris, he wasn't doing a very good job of that. Corff nodded to him upon entering, pointing him in the direction of Varric's suite, and they headed up there together.

"No, no, it's like sex; roll your hips," a masculine voice was saying as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Why didn't you just say that to begin with?" a feminine voice replied.

"Maybe he was trying to protect Sunshine's innocence. I can see there's no hope of that now though."

Theo entered the room and stared at the scene before him. There was a dark skinned woman grinding her hips against a very red looking Bethany.

"That's it. Now grab her hair and-"

"There will be no grabbing of any part of my sister!" Theo interrupted just before the smirking woman lifted a gloved hand toward Bethany. That woman pouted instead, and several sets of eyes turned to face him. Bethany's were wide and quickly darted away, embarrassed. Carver's actually looked relieved, which must have been a first. There were a pair of amber eyes watching him from behind Carver – hooded and dark. And then there were Varric's, which were sparkling with mirth as always.

"Hawke! Elf!" Varric said with raised arms and a broad grin. "The woman thrusting her hips toward Sunshine is Isabela, Pirate Queen of the Eastern Seas." He glanced at her. "We still using that title for you? Seems a bit pretentious given that you don't have a ship anymore, Rivaini."

Isabela rolled her eyes, scoffing. "So it rings a bit hollow. It doesn't mean it isn't true. I just happen to be here instead of out there." The woman turned her sparkling brown eyes on Theo and Fenris. "A pleasure to meet you both," she said with a sultry smile and a small bow.

Theo had to admit, she was beautiful. Her hair fell around her shoulders in long chestnut waves, held back by a thick blue bandana. Her golden jewellery would have looked tacky on anyone else, but she somehow made it look sexy. He couldn't help but notice how little she was wearing, however, or the fact that what she did have on was barely containing all of her… assets. Carver had apparently also noticed that little detail as the pirate bowed, his eyes going wide and a blush spreading up his cheeks.

"And you, I think," Theo said with a small nod and slightly narrowed eyes. He'd never met a pirate before. Weren't they all supposed to have eye patches and peg legs?

"And this is Anders," Varric said, motioning to the tall blond now on his feet and heading toward Theo with a roguish smile. Theo's gaze wandered up the man's slim frame. He was attractive. Very attractive. His blond hair was half down, with strands falling around his face, curling slightly at the edges. His pale skin had a slight flush to it, warming his cheeks. And his amber eyes were dark as burning coals as they raked up Theo's body. It was the Warden armour that caught Theo's attention most however, despite the man's good looks.

"You're a Warden," Theo said, just as the man came to a stop in front of him.

"I am," the blond said with a smirk.

"He is," Varric confirmed, sounding rather smug.

"You found him quick, Varric," Theo said with a brief glance to the dwarf.

"Actually, I found him," Isabela said. "You can thank me later. " She winked as she sat back down in her chair and grabbed a bottle of wine in the process.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Anders said, smiling. They shook hands in greeting and Theo couldn't stop the shiver that ran down his spine as the man's warm touch flooded through him. "Neri told me quite a bit about you."

"The Slayer of the Archdemon?" Fenris asked. Theo had actually forgotten Fenris was even at his side. The elf could be so silent sometimes. That made him feel bad but Theo was rather distracted by the dark eyes boring into him and making him sweat again. Anders nodded at Fenris, his gaze quickly flicking over Fenris' form with a smirk before turning back to Theo.

"Shame your thighs are covered up today though," Anders said, his smirk widening as he glanced down at Theo's leather clad legs.

Theo was still processing everything. This man knew Neri; knew her well enough for her to mention Theo, his thighs, and his family. The fact that she had even spoken to anyone about them warmed his heart. Maker knew mother had told everyone that they escaped Lothering with the Slayer. Not that anyone ever believed them. Some days even he couldn't believe it. Everything had happened so fast during the Blight. It was such a blur. Naturally, with his brain so preoccupied with thoughts of Neri, all that came out of his mouth was a flirtatious reply.

"I thought I'd show off my ass today," he heard himself say.

Theo never had been able to stop himself from flirting. He really should have learnt to control himself by now – it was clearly more trouble than he needed if things with Fenris were anything to go by. But it was the one part of him he couldn't close off completely. He had locked away his heart, and didn't allow himself to trust easily. But he had always been a flirt. That part of him hadn't died with Tanner; if anything, it had grown. He used flirting as a mask, most of the time. It kept people at arm's length, kept things fun but never too personal. And it allowed him to feel human again, even if it was only fleeting. But that feeling was addicting, and dangerous. He felt normal around Fenris and he had come far too close to kissing him. And now he had yet another man giving him bedroom eyes and there was a little flutter in Theo's chest, welcoming it.

Anders grinned in response but it was the pirate who replied. "Good choice," she purred. Carver groaned as his face tried to burrow into his hands.

"So, you know Neri?" Theo asked as he headed into the room. He took a seat next to his brother and Fenris sat down next to the pirate, much to her apparent pleasure.

"I like your tattoos," she said as she leaned closer to Fenris.

"They are not tattoos," Fenris practically grunted in reply.

"No touching, Rivaini," Varric warned. The pirate huffed as she sat back in her seat.

"We grew up together in the Tower," Anders said in explanation, drawing Theo's attention.

"You're a mage," Fenris said, somehow making it sound like both a comment and an accusation.

Theo glanced worriedly at him. Fenris' shoulders had stiffened and his fists were clenched. The glare he levelled at Anders was so cold Theo could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He hadn't forgotten about Fenris'… distaste for mages. But since the Bone Pit, it hadn't really come up in conversation much. Fenris watched Bethany, closely, but seemed to have decided she wasn't going to start slitting her wrists at any moment. Now they would have to go through all of that again with another mage, one that happened to be part of an order than had a reputation for doing whatever was necessary to stop the darkspawn. Please don't be a blood mage, Theo thought, wincing slightly; nobody wanted to see Fenris' lyrium-fist inside of Anders. Although the images that brought to Theo's mind were not all entirely unpleasant.

"That's right," Anders replied. "You know, you're looking rather tense. Need a massage? I'm very good with my hands," the mage said with a charming smile.

Yep. Theo was going to have to explain to Neri why one of her Wardens died a death via lyrium-fisting. Fenris' clenched fists tightened further and Theo leant forward in his seat, clearing his throat.

"So, now you're a Warden with Neri?" Theo asked the mage.

Anders looked like he wanted to continue his little chat with Fenris but turned instead to look at Theo. "We work together, very closely," he replied, his amber eyes sparkling playfully.

Isabela snorted into her bottle. "They're fucking," she explained.

"You're fucking the Slayer of the Archdemon?" Theo asked, blinking rapidly.

"Jealous?" Anders asked, and that damned smirk was back at his lips. Theo swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly feeling very dry.

"I am," Isabela muttered with a pout.

"Shouldn't we be talking about the Deep Roads?" Carver asked even as he tried not to stare at Isabela too much—he wasn't fooling anyone, however.

"Yes," Bethany said. "We should."

"The Deep Roads?" Anders asked, now frowning. "What do you want with the Blighted Deep Roads?"

"We're leading an expedition down there," Varric answered. Everyone was looking at Anders rather expectantly. Having a Warden on their side could make things a whole lot safer, but Anders looked less than impressed by the idea.

"And you want me to go with you?" Anders asked, his voice pitched a little higher in incredulity.

"Well, you are a Warden…" Varric said. "But we'd settle for some maps of the depths in this area."

"The last time I went to the Deep Roads I lost my eyebrows," Anders complained. "They took weeks to grow back properly. Neri had to pencil them in for me." Varric snorted at that but when met with a very serious glare from Anders he stopped his laughter. "She drew a mono-brow one day and then put a tiny barrier over it so I couldn't wash it off. It wasn't funny."

"Whatever you say, Blondie," Varric said, wheezing as he tried to contain his laughter.

"Why would you even want to go down there?" Anders asked.

"We need the money," Bethany said. "So we can buy back our estate."

"Right," Anders said in realisation. "You were supposed to be nobles." He took a long pull of his drink and then placed it back down on the table, both his hands cupped around it. "I don't have maps. But… Neri might, or could get some."

Varric nodded, smiling. "So we just have to wait until she arrives and then-"

"Wait, what?" Theo blurted.

"Oooh right, you don't know," Varric said, chuckling.

"Theo, she's coming here!" Bethany squealed excitedly.

"What! Why? When?"

"She's coming here to collect Anders," Carver explained.

"I'm not lost property!"

Bethany giggled. "We don't know when she'll get here, but she's coming! We'll see her again."

Theo couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. Even Carver was smiling. Fenris was the only one whose expression was grim, although it was masked well as most of his expressions usually were. He was staring down at the table, his fists clenched so tight Theo was certain he would cut himself. Having three mages here was going to be trouble, he could just tell.

"Swap seats with me, pup," Isabela was suddenly saying, cutting into the excited babbling that Varric and Bethany had fallen into. "I want to be next to the men."

"Of course you – hang on, I'm a man too!" Carver protested.

"Sure, but you're not nearly as fun as those two. Now scoot."

Carver was grumbling under his breath, but he got out of his seat all the same and went to sit between his sister and Fenris while the pirate plonked herself between Anders and Theo. Isabela didn't waste a moment in getting comfy as she draped an arm over Theo's shoulder and began running her fingers listlessly through his beard. He shivered at the contact as those fingers crawled up into his hair, kneading his scalp.

"I really like this," Isabela purred against his face as she grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged his head toward her. The aroma of rum and spices assaulted his nose, making his nostrils flare. "It would be great during sex," she said with a smirk. Theo chuckled, remembering his earlier jest to Fenris as to why he kept his hair long.

"Why do you think I keep it this length?" he said with a wink. With Isabela this close to his face he could see her eyes darken, her pupils blowing wide, shrinking the brown of her irises to just a dark thin ring.

"Oh, we are going to get on very well, sweet thing."

Theo smiled even as he couldn't help but steal a glance at Fenris. The elf was watching him through that thick fringe of his. Were his eyes slightly narrowed? Theo couldn't tell because Fenris soon took a long pull of his flagon and then that impassive mask was back over his face and he was listening to something Varric was saying instead.

"Hawke?" the dwarf asked. "You in?" He waved a deck of cards at him and Theo nodded.

"Sure, why not?"

…

Fenris took another long swallow of wine, trying to drown out the sense of dread coiling around in his gut that the mage had instilled in him. He couldn't explain it. It was not the usual unease or wariness that he experienced around mages, his cautious watchfulness of someone like Bethany; it was deeper than that. The way the mage's amber gaze lingered on him appreciatively with that haughty smirk at his lips made him feel… repulsed. Not that he could explain why.

Their game of Wicked Grace had quickly turned into a game of strip poker, at the pirate's suggestion. Isabela was unable to keep her hands off of Hawke or the mage, and Hawke seemed to be enjoying her company, returning her flirtations and touches. Except for their drunken evening the night prior, Hawke had never been that friendly with Fenris and it further solidified in his mind that Hawke was not interested in him in such ways. Despite that, that odd spark of want still remained. He doubted he was capable of true friendship, let alone anything more. Still, the thought had been… pleasant; for a few short days, he had started to consider such possibilities for himself, foolishly thinking that Hawke might feel similarly. But he was an ex-slave and an elf, of course Hawke wasn't interested. He swallowed down more wine, this time trying to drown out the self-loathing that always seemed to permeate his thoughts.

The pirate sighed heavily as she finished her flagon; she tossed the empty cup down to the table and shoved back from her chair. "Varric, where's your good stuff? Don't you dare hold out on me." She headed over to one of Varric's cabinets and began rummaging through it. "Aha!"

"Damn Rivaini, you've got a nose like a mabari."

Isabela grinned at him as she clutched a bottle of rum. "Or I'm just good at guessing where someone as short as you would hide the good stuff," she teased.

Fenris turned his gaze back to Hawke and found that the mage had scooted over a seat, sitting where Isabela had been so that he was now next to Hawke. The mage's hand was resting on the back of Hawke's chair, his fingers running gentle circles over Hawke's bared shoulder. The rogue and the mage had been losing consistently all night, although the inebriated states they were currently in certainly hadn't helped with that.

Hawke had not been without a drink in his hand the entire evening and was now at the point where he was slurring his words considerably and had lost all of the clothing on his upper body, leaving his toned arms and abs and the hair on his chest visible to all. Hawke was sober enough not to part with his scarf, however, keeping it tied loosely around his neck where it always remained. His hair had been mussed by the pirate, leaving the long slightly wavy strands to fall over the left side of his face, obscuring much of the emotion on his face from the prying eyes of the pirate or the mage who were to his left. Fenris on the other hand, sitting opposite Hawke, had a clear view of every emotion that flashed across the young man's face and could quite clearly see how dark and lust blown the rogue's eyes were, just as they had been the previous night with Fenris. It repulsed him that Hawke could enjoy having the mage leer at him, touch him, and he ground his teeth at the sight.

Theo's mouth had gone dry; the feeling of Anders' soft fingers caressing his shoulder had become one of the few things he could focus on. Was he so starved of affection that a simple touch was so powerful? Anders was right next to him, staring at the side of his face and Theo could feel the sweat forming on his brow despite the fact that he should be freezing with only his leather trousers left on.

"If we lose any more we're gonna be in trouble," Anders said, his voice so soft and yet full of mirth. Theo glanced at him, watching as the mage's eyes flicked deliberately down his body just as a smirk began to tug at his lips. Theo could feel his cock twitch under such a gaze but he couldn't stop the drunken smile or the slurred words that graced his lips.

"Mmm. I'm a little distracted tonight."

Amber eyes locked with his carnelian ones, almost black with desire. "You're not the only one," the mage purred, that never ending smirk still tugging at his lips. Theo wanted to kiss that corner of his mouth, to wipe that look off of his face and replace it with one less arrogant, one more desperate. "I can't believe your thighs are still covered," Anders said playfully and Theo chuckled.

"Neither can I!" Isabela whined as she plonked herself down at Anders' other side. She took a long pull straight from the bottle. When she pulled the bottle away from her plump lips, she suddenly began to grin. "Seeing as you two have lost every single round so far, you need to be punished," she announced wickedly. "So, either strip fully-"

"There is no way I am doing that in front of my siblings!" Theo objected quickly.

"Thank the Maker for that," Carver muttered.

"Play nice Rivaini," Varric laughed. "Poor junior here couldn't survive the envy."

"I could too! There's nothing to be envious about! I'm bigger than him anyway."

"Ugh, please stop talking," Bethany groaned.

"I didn't mean like that!"

"Or," Isabela said, giving him a roguish smile, "you have to make out with one another."

"Wait, wha-"

Theo's protest was met by searing hot lips sliding forcefully over his opened mouth. A hand was thrust roughly into his hair, the strands fisted almost painfully through those long digits as Theo's head was pressed forward, effectively deepening the kiss as Theo's mouth was pushed flush against Anders'.

Theo froze.

He had been drinking but it wasn't enough for him to forget that his siblings, and Fenris, were watching, nor was it anywhere close to the levels of drunk he usually reached before allowing himself the company of another, whether it be a whore or a willing stranger. But the very fact that he wasn't that sloshed made this kiss so much better. It felt so fucking good to be kissed like this, to have another's hands lost in his long hair, to hear their panted breaths, to feel the heat and feel of those hot wet lips sliding over his and in such vivid detail. His only memories of kissing others these past four years were hazy at best and usually those were just flashes of a memory, pieces. Did it always feel this good when he was with a whore? He doubted it.

He relaxed into the touch and his hands lifted to cup the mage's jaw, his fingers scraping over stubble as he kissed him back. Anders responded with a tongue swipe across Theo's lower lip; it was such a languid lick and Theo moaned, willingly opening his mouth. Anders' tongue dipped into his mouth for a quick taste and Theo immediately met it with his own, letting their tongues tangle together. His hands slid up and over the scratchy stubble of Anders' jaw until they slipped into the softer silky strands of golden hair on Anders' head. He ran them over the man's scalp until he reached the tie which kept it all in place; he pulled at it and the silky tresses came loose, falling gently around Anders' face. He could feel the smile at the mage's lips at that even as Theo continued to slip his hands through those locks, moaning quietly into the mage's mouth.

Anders' tongue surged forward, overwhelming him as the mage suddenly shifted, moving forwards. A leg was lifted over Theo's thighs and then suddenly Anders was straddling him, sitting firmly in his lap and all without breaking their kiss. Theo would have been impressed if his brain hadn't taken that moment to break. Anders was so hot. The heat radiating off of him and down through Theo's leather trousers to his legs was almost unbearable; of course it wasn't helped by the heat already pooling at his groin from their heated kiss. Unlike Theo, Anders wasn't wearing any trousers, only his smalls, and he still had a loose shirt on, although it was unbuttoned enough to leave the smattering of golden hair on his chest visible. But given Theo's lack of shirt and his thin leather trousers, he found himself feeling everything with the mage straddling him like this, even more so when Anders decided to rock his hips forward, rubbing his hardening length against Theo's confined semi. He hissed loudly in response, a sound which was wildly inappropriate for his siblings to hear, but again, he didn't care. Anders' hands grabbed thick fistfuls of his hair again and dragged his head back so that his tongue could plunge even deeper into Theo's eager mouth, devouring the grunt he let out at having his hair pulled so roughly.

Theo's hands slipped out of Anders' hair to drag over the man's back instead, fisting his loose shirt, grabbing at it as Anders continued to rock his hips forward, rubbing his hard cock over Theo's with every slow and teasing thrust. Honestly, if Theo's cock hadn't been trapped so tightly by his leathers he probably would have cum by now. Even through his leathers, he could feel how damp Anders' smalls were and that thought alone was enough to make him want to throw the mage back against the table so he could suck sinfully on his cock and lap up the juices spilling from the head. Instead, his hands moved lower to grab almost viciously at the mage's ass, squeezing his cheeks hard enough to leave marks. The rough gasped groan that left Anders' mouth had Theo's cock twitching in delight as he shoved his tongue forward into Anders' mouth, tasting the rich wines the mage had been consuming most of the night.

Theo hadn't been kissed like this for years. He wanted nothing more than to stand up, holding onto Anders as the mage wrapped his legs around Theo's waist so that he could fuck him over the table or against a wall until neither of them could see straight. But that was too far, too much; Anders was going to be sticking around for Maker only knew how long. Not to mention the fact that he was Neri's boyfriend. And there was only one person he really wanted to do any of that with and he was sat opposite right now.

Theo pulled back, gasping and stared up into Anders' darkened eyes, feeling the man's panted breath against his lips, hot and fast.

"That was…" Anders breathed out.

"Yeah…" Theo replied just as breathlessly. He cleared his throat and removed his hands from Anders' ass with a smile. Anders smirked and hopped off of his lap and back into his own seat. And that's when Theo realised Fenris had left.

"Fuck."

"We could, Neri wouldn't mind," Anders replied. "She'd just be jealous she wasn't here to join in."

Theo glanced at the mage, frowning. "No, I meant – wait, really? She wouldn't mind at all?"

Anders shrugged a shoulder. "Doubt it. Not that I… well, as I told Bela, I'd rather wait for Neri anyway."

"Spoil sport," the pirate said with a roll of her eyes.

"Thank the Maker for that," Carver groaned out. His siblings had apparently tried to busy themselves with another card game but if their inflamed cheeks were anything to go by, it hadn't been a very effective distraction.

"Where did Fenris go?" Theo asked with a worried glance at the empty seat next to his brother.

"He went to get another drink," Carver explained.

"He didn't look very happy," Bethany said with a quick glance up at him which made her blush brightly all over again.

Theo nodded, feeling guilty as he stared at the door with a frown. He would go check the bar himself if he wasn't in tight leathers with a very visible stiffy; as it was, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand, let alone make it down the stairs to go talk to him. But as the minutes ticked on he couldn't help but wonder if Fenris had just up and left instead.

He felt like a right shithead. He'd told Fenris he was a flirt, implying once more that it was nothing more than that, and yet he had just gone and snogged the hell out of Anders, right in front of him. Bollocks. Fenris had probably been repulsed by the sight of him kissing a mage. He ran a hand through his hair, scowling at the door. He would need to apologise tomorrow, maybe with cake. A lot of cake.

"Aw… you're blushing! Why? How many lovers have you had?" he heard Isabela suddenly ask and he turned his scowl on the pirate instead who was now sitting on the corner of the table next to Bethany with a tumbler of whisky in her hand.

"I-I never-"

"You're a virgin!?" Isabela cried and Theo's eyes went wide. The pirate glared at him. "Hawke, you've been holding out on the poor girl! Get her a night at the Blooming Rose. On me!" Theo stared, stunned at the pirate, wondering how the fuck a topic like this even came up.

"That's, um, very generous," Bethany said shyly.

"I'm a giver," Isabela shrugged.

"Aren't pirates supposed to be takers?" Theo commented with narrowed eyes.

"Well, I mean, if you want me to I will," Isabela said, smirking.

"No! That's not what I meant!"

"I've never thought about being with a woman," Bethany said to the pirate, "in bed."

"Maybe you should. You see, sweetness, men are only good for one thing. Women are good for six."

"Six? Which six?"

"Isabela!" Theo and Carver hissed in unison, and the pirate laughed loudly.

"Just… think about it," the pirate said with a wink as she hopped off of the table and sat herself back down at Anders' side. Theo groaned and quickly lifted his flagon to his lips. This was going to be a long evening, he could just tell. And he was going to be stuck here until his siblings wanted to leave because there was no way he was leaving them alone with Isabela without him present. Fenris still hadn't returned and Theo swallowed a few long pulls of his drink, trying not to think about it too much. He would talk to the elf tomorrow, make sure things were okay; it would be fine.

A/N: Let it be known, Theo is a douchebasket. I hate seeing Fen hurting, but relationships aren't always a smooth A to B journey. Especially with how self-destructive Theo is. There was also some hints to Fen's past, pre-ritual in this one, that's why he's so repulsed by Anders. Anyway, thanks for reading! Thanks even more for all the comments, you guys seriously keep me motivated!

As usual, thanks to ElyssaCousland, my beta. And I shall hopefully see you all next week for a chapter with a made up quest. XD.

And hope you liked the kiss, at least ;) I uhhh, really like Handers so, yeah.