Isabela had, predictably, packed what seemed like her entire wardrobe into a duffel bag. Maker's breath, Hawke thought, how many crop tops can one person possibly wear? Isabela was also currently rifling through their pantry while Fenris carried their bags upstairs from her car, the Siren's Call. So named because of the noises it made when you got it past 60 miles per hour- which Isabela did frequently, and with much glee.
Merrill came in the door behind Fenris, protesting that she could help with the bags while coughing. Fenris just glowered, but Hawke could tell it was softer than his usual glower. He wasn't a fan of the blood mage, it was true, but Merrill was nothing if not polite even while she was sick. Hawke, of course, lounged on the couch and watched him drop the bags onto their living room floor with a loud thump. Their mabari, Barkspawn, looked up at Merrill and Isabela curiously before returning to his nap.
"Don't bother to get up and help," Fenris said.
"Sarcasm, Fenris? I really am rubbing off on you," Hawke said, flicking through Netflix shows. "Besides, I'm an invalid."
"Hawke, how are you feeling?" Merrill asked with concern in her voice as she sat next to her on the couch.
"Never better, thanks for asking," Hawke said. "How about you, are you doing okay? I heard your fever was getting better-"
Isabela barged in, holding a can from their pantry. "Creamed corn, Hawke? Really? You know this went bad about a year ago." Hawke shrugged.
"I have all the cooking skills of my mother and none of her charm," Hawke said. "We're a takeout household, Isabela, you know that."
Isabela disappeared back into the kitchen. Hawke, Fenris, and Merrill all sat in an uncomfortable silence.
"Merrill, would you, ah, like a beverage?" Hawke asked. "I've never really hosted before, I'm not sure what the proper protocol is."
"I'd love some water if it's not too much trouble," Merrill said. "You should probably drink some too, Hawke, it helps with fevers."
"You sound like Fenris," Hawke said. "Fenris, would you be a dear and get us some water?"
He shot her a glare but got up and walked into the kitchen anyway. Hawke continued flicking through the options on Netflix, settling on a random sitcom, when Isabela breezed in and sat down next to Merrill, flinging an arm over the elf's shoulders.
"Why were you looking through our kitchen anyway?" Hawke asked.
"Just curious," Isabela said. "You can tell a lot about a person from their pantry, you know."
"Really?" Merrill asked curiously. "Like what?"
"Like that Hawke spends more money on food for her mabari than herself."
At hearing himself mentioned, the mabari perked his ears up before settling back down again.
"Only the best for the best," Hawke said. Fenris walked back into the living room, carrying two glasses of water. "Isn't that right, darling?"
"You two are just so adorable," Isabela said. "I can see why Varric is writing about you two in his next story."
Fenris gave Isabela a piercing glare- one of his finest, really. "The dwarf is doing what, exactly?"
"He let you read it?" protested Hawke. "He hasn't let me touch it, yet."
"Oh no," Isabela said with a wicked smile, "I got ahold of his computer and emailed myself a copy. It's quite… salacious, if you catch my meaning. I was hoping to get a live viewing while we're here." At this, she waggled her eyebrows in Fenris' direction.
"Maker, I'm going to kill that dwarf," Hawke said with a sigh. Before she could continue, she was cut off by a fit of hacking coughs. Fenris frowned.
"That's it, you're going back to bed," he said. "Drink some water, too."
As if on cue, Merrill started coughing too. Hawke groaned. "It's like a hospital in here," she said. "Fine, fine. You guys can watch whatever you want, just no porn. I'm gonna take a nap. Remind me to kill Varric when I wake up." With that, she walked into the bedroom, followed by the mabari who seemed eager to jump in the bed with her.
As she drifted off, she could hear Merrill in the living room valiantly trying to make conversation with Fenris, who was less than interested.
Then all of a sudden she woke with a jolt. A hand was on her forehead. She opened her eyes and saw Anders standing over her wearing a mask, checking her temperature with the back of his hand. Anders and Merrill? Maker, I bet Fenris is having a great time right now, she thought.
Before she could say something, Anders cut her off. "Save the witty remark, Hawke. I'm only here on my break, so I have to be quick. How are you feeling?"
"Fantastic," she said. "Best shape of my life." Followed by another coughing fit. Anders removed his hand and looked at her intently.
"You need rest and lots of water," he said. "Same goes for the two in your living room. I told Fenris already, but you three need to watch your temperatures. If it gets too high, or if you feel short of breath, come down to my clinic." He went into their bathroom and washed his hands thoroughly. Hawke could see the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than usual. He must be pulling all-nighters, she thought, feeling slightly guilty for making so many jokes about the virus.
"Anders, do you need some food? You said you were on break, right?"
"Some food would be great," he admitted, drying his hands. "I haven't had time to eat anything all day."
"Varric dropped off a container of chicken noodle soup earlier, you can have it if you want," Hawke said. Fenris walked into the bedroom and nodded at Anders. Quite the gesture of civility, Hawke thought.
"Hawke, how are you feeling?" Fenris asked as Anders left to presumably finish off her chicken noodle soup. Ah, well.
"Not great," Hawke admitted, coughing again. This was answered with a matching cough coming from the living room. So either Merrill or Isabela was awake, too. Fenris frowned and grabbed her hand.
"I'm surprised you haven't gotten sick yet," she said.
"I have rarely ever been sick," he said. "Besides, someone needs to take care of you three."
"Thank you for helping," Hawke said in a low voice. "I know taking care of Isabela and Merrill can't be your favorite thing."
Fenris smiled. "No, but I would do it again for you, Hawke." He lightly kissed her on the forehead and went back into the living room. Hawke smiled and burrowed in under the covers even more, leaning up against Barkspawn, who didn't seem to mind. She drifted off again to the sound of coughing coming from the next room.