There were literally fumes coming out of my ears as I struggled to write this so quickly! Say thank you! Review! Spit on me! I don't care! This one is GOOD.

Somewhere In Time, The Hanged Man

"So, what happened? Did he sweep you off your feet or did you carry his drunken ass to the tent?" Varric asked eagerly as he caught Hawke alone for once.

"I'm not telling you anything you evil control-freak son of a bitch who planned the whole thing out," Hawke said meanly.

"Oh, grow up. I merely manipulated you two with one little sentence and threw two bottles of wine on a chilly romantic road in the dark," Varric said charmingly. "I could do much better if I really wanted to."

"Don't do anything anymore," Hawke said defensively. "I mean it Varric, you've got serious problems."

"I'll get myself checked if you do," Varric said grumpily. "Tell me already."

"No!" Hawke said childishly.

"Alright. Then I guess I'll just have to get it out of him," Varric said manipulatively.

Hawke laughed, "I'm gonna be the Queen of Ferelden before he tells you anything. And you won't be getting anything out of me either. Any other strategies?"

"I hereby punish you to tell me the truth," Varric said confidently and grinned. "Didn't see that one coming?"

Hawke raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "I'm getting dumber and dumber by the second. Must be 'cause I'm hanging out with you so much."

"Aw, I'm so wounded, boohoo on the stupid dwarf. Now tell me."

"Fine," Hawke said and sighed. "We talked about a million things, he got pretty drunk and gave me a piggy-back ride to your tent since the sun was rising quickly. The end."

Varric drew an extremely disappointed face. "That's it?!"

"I shit you not, my friend," Hawke said confidently.

"Maker's bloody testicles, you two are IDIOTS. And I worked so hard at that plan. And it was Satinalia, then the wilderness which you love so much, IN THE DARK, and I cleaned the road for you, and … YOU JUST TALKED? Varric sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Sweet Mother of Cheeses, why do I even try?"

"What did you expect, Varric?" Hawke asked angrily. "Mindblowing love-making under the stars in the cold hard dirt?"

"No, I wouldn't go that far, but REALLY? FOR BLIGHT'S SAKE… Andraste's ass you're making me cry, Hawke," Varric said in outrage.

"Why is this so important to you?" Hawke asked suspiciously then narrowed her eyes. "You placed a bet on us, didn't you?"

"Of course I did that, but that's not why I did it. That was just a bonus," Varric said angrily.

"Then what? Suddenly you're Princess Fairy Godmother The Pretty Little Matchmaker?" Hawke half-shouted and stretched out her hands in outrage.

"You are soooo… soooo stupid," Varric said desperately. "Hawke, I love you and you're breathtaking with the sword and the armour and the hair and your stratagems, but you're also a big fat flaming IDIOT."

"Varric?"

"Yes, Hawke?"

She drew an intentional fake sweet smile. "Did someone get their manperiod today?"

"YOU - … you- " Varric stuttered and squeezed the pint. "Talk is cheap, DOING things is better, even I know that," Varric almost shouted, then calmed down and shook his head. "Nevermind. You're a baby, you probably don't even know what goes on or into where. Why do I even bother," Varric said and sighed, then got up from the table and left to get he drinks.

Hawke widened her eyes and her expression disappeared.

You're such a tease

Talk is cheap

A pain came shooting straight in her brain as she remembered the last piece of that night she got incredibly drunk and Fenris insisted on staying at his house. The night when she grabbed his butt and he did the same and engaged in a ridiculous match for who let go first.

THAT BLIGHTED LYING MOTHERFUCKER FULL OF GIGANTIC PIECES OF CRAP WITH TWENTY THOUSAND CHERRIES ON TOP

Quickly Reversing Time, That Night, Courtyard of High Estate District

"Then let go," Fenris said decisively as he approached his lips to her ear.

"Nope, not convinced," Hawke said confidently, without flinching at the warm air he breathed on her neck.

Fenris smirked and looked at her while still close ,"I consider myself an enthusiastic explorer of the challenging and the unknown. What happens if I do this?" he said and squeezed her ass even harder. She thought for a second what she wanted more – her precious pants not to rip or Fenris's gauntlet continuing its game.

She narrowed her eyes and gave him a murderous look, "You know, there's another special place where I can put my gauntlet and ain't gonna be pretty, Mr. Wild Explorer of The Unknown."

He smirked and looked down, then back up at her. "I know you wouldn't do it."

"Here's a thing you might wanna learn about me, Fenris. If you tell me I can't do something, that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

Fenris gave her a sensual grin. "Then do it, let's see you try," he said in a deep voice.

Hawke hesitated and decided to just pretend to do it so he would back away defensively. She got her free hand out and reached for his pants, but he quickly caught her with his free hand.

"Cheating are we, Fenris? You're such a tease," Hawke said mockingly.

"I just had to see if you had it in you," Fenris said and grinned at her sensually. "After all, I said I wouldn't take advantage of you."

"Well, I knew all along you didn't have it in you," Hawke said mockingly and grinned.

He gave her a piercing, determined look, took a step closer, pushed her further into the wall, placed his leg between hers and approached his lips to her ear again. "I can do this all night, Hawke. Perhaps I'll tease you until you explode. Watch you struggle and see the look of frustration on your face which do not have any doubt, I will fiercely enjoy. Perhaps I could push you even further into this wall, press even harder against you, bind your hands forcefully until you're under my command and you can't escape," he said calmly, in a deep provocative voice. He looked down to her neck as he breathed onto it, "I could kiss your neck and bite your ear as gently as I would allow myself to, explore the other challenging areas of you, do it over and over again until you beg me to take you."

Hawke listened to his overly decisive and seductive speech and stopped her breathing entirely. This she did not expect from him. Nooo, no, this she did not expect from him. She prayed to the gods that he was intoxicated too. She swallowed heavily, then said in a half-determined, seemingly unaffected voice. "Talk is cheap, Fenris."

He didn't move and narrowed his eyes. "Have I ever lied to you, Hawke?" he demanded in a determined, deep voice.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," Hawke said mockingly.

"Mm," he muttered with a provocative smirk. "Then let me give you a demonstration.". He quickly placed a hand on her neck and she suddenly felt his soft hair touching her face, his eyes filled with piercing ferociousness, his lips coming closer to hers, then stopping before they ever actually met. He remained like that for a good three seconds, neither of them breathing. Hawke was almost choking from the tension, as he set up and created a fire that was almost dying to be released, but then he slowly distanced his face in silence with a brutally decisive look. "Was that enough or do you need further proof?"

She let go of his butt in silence and he did the same, eyeing her in a very piercing, bone-hard way and then backed away from her. As he turned his back, she let herself breathe again, her legs trembling horrifically and her heart throbbing in her chest as if it was aggressively trying to pierce out of her body.

"Shall we go inside now?" Fenris said and turned his head only briefly without actually looking at her. "And you can sleep it off," he finished nonchalantly in a deep voice.

That gigantic teasing manipulative lying son of a bitch…

Nothing happened he said. Nobody tried anything on anybody he said. What a load of crap. What a gargantuan piece of gigantic fucking crap.

… KING OF FUCKING SEMANTICS

Because technically, he was telling the truth. Nothing happened and he didn't actually take advantage of her. He beat her at her own game so viciously bad she might as well have crawled into the darkest pit of the earth and died.

When Varric returned, he saw Hawke with an open mouth, raised eyebrows and a terribly pale face.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Varric asked in terror.

"He teased me to the darkest bits of hell," she said in a ghostly voice, thinking out loud and not even looking at Varric.

"What?" Varric asked bewilderedly.

"He had his face just," Hawke said in a petrified state and pointed at her face, "zero inches away from mine and he," she stuttered. "He faked kissing me. He had his lips right in front of mine and-"

"What in the Void are you talking about?" Varric asked in outrage. "Hawke!" he waved at her and she didn't move her eyes at all.

Hawke pressed her eyes tight and opened her mouth again, frowning to no end and putting a hand on her forehead. "That little evil SICK SODDING MOTHERFUCKER!" she screamed and banged her fist in the table, and over The Hanged Man, you could see a flock of terrified birds springing out and away from the building as her voice echoed outside.

Fenris's Mansion

She rushed up the stairs to High Estate District ready to beat the hell out of him. Looking at the ivy stone columns where he played her so well that night, she stopped and exhaled heavily. She have to give him some credit; he used the best stratagem of them all - surprise the enemy with a form of attack he would never expect. She laughed softly at herself, for it was baffling how she let herself affected by this. She exhaled again and rolled her eyes, as she mockingly knocked on his door.

After a bit, the door opened and Fenris yawned heavily, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

To getting your ass kicked.

"To me," Hawke said sarcastically and grinned.

"I thought we were supposed to meet with Varric later," he said nonchalantly and rubbed his eyes.

"I have time to kill," she said and shrugged. "What's wrong with you?"

"Can you not tell?" he said grumpily and welcomed her in.

"Out of hangover tea?" she laughed.

"It didn't help," he said flatly.

"Aw, poor Fenris," she said sweetly. "Can I help with anything?"

He was stumbling while walking. "I do not want to trouble you."

"Cut it before I cut you," Hawke said firmly and he laughed in a hoarse voice.

"How are you not in the same state as I am?" he asked calmly as they arrived in his room.

"I've had a lot on my mind," she said subtly and narrowed her eyes. "And I can hold my liquor."

He laughed shortly and shook his head, "No you can't."

"Well you seem to be an expert in how I handle things," she said calmly and he raised an eyebrow. "How's your back?"

He frowned and straightened his back and it cracked like a statue. "Thank the gods you were in a dress."

"It was your idea, not mine," she said and grinned. "Want some help?"

"If it's not too much to ask," he said and smiled.

"By all means," she said courteously and gestured for him to go on the bed. "Let me help with that," she said and undid the straps at the back of his vest. He didn't say a word as she gently undid his vest and took it off entirely. He decided not to question her move and lied down.

"So, what did you think of Satinalia? Much more fun with me around, wasn't it?" she said nonchalantly as she got on top of him and started rubbing his back.

"It was quite entertaining, I have to admit," Fenris said flatly and rested his hands under his chin.

"You're not the least bit mad that I crushed you to bits in the duel in front of all those people?"

He grinned in silence, then said, "You were a worthy opponent and I lost fair and square. What's done is done."

"That's true. Feels good to have you at my mercy," she said calmly and squeezed his skin tighter. "Kind of like right now."

"That's fairly morbid," Fenris said as he frowned. "I am not at your mercy."

"That's true. It's more like justice," Hawke said and squeezed his back muscles harder.

Fenris groaned in pain and turned his head sideways. "What are you doing?"

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine," she said calmly and immobilized him as she pressed harder on his muscles, avoiding every marking. "Don't fret, Fenris, it's not like I'm really hurting you. It's just a thorough backrub."

"Whatever it is, it's not a good one," he said angrily. He was taken aback and tried to control his blind instinct. Whatever that blind instinct was though, it seemed it was coming late to the party, because he remained there without protest.

"No?" she asked nonchalantly. "Then maybe I should switch strategies," she said calmly and started gently moving her nails across his back, avoiding every marking.

Fenris tried with all his strength not to moan and pressed his eyes. "What are you doing, Hawke?"

"Exploring a challenge," she said nonchalantly and kept moving her nails on his back. "Perhaps I could keep teasing you like this, or even lie on you, hold down your wrists, bite your ears and kiss your back, run my tongue along your spine, do it over and over again until you beg me to stop."

She remembered. If he was in a better position now, he would have laughed, but he remained silent and they had a mutual telepathic understanding that he knew what she was taking about. She grinned and got a hold of his shoulders, thrusting her nails in them and went all the way down. Fenris couldn't help it anymore, the rush and electricity on his back being too much to bear. He squeezed the sheets and moaned in a hoarse voice, then in a fit of rush tried to escape her grip. She quickly got him by the arms and pressed him down as she leaned forward and thrust her pleasuring nails in his skin again, running them along his arms. He tried to lift himself up, but she pressed him down again with force and he moaned ferociously again. She laughed softly and bent down slowly to whisper in his ear, "Who knew you could dare to tease a girl like that."

Fenris growled and breathed heavily. He felt tension all around his body and tried to stop himself from telling her to do as she desired. The heat of her on top of him and her seductive grip, her determined and bewitching voice, the sweet scent of her hair and her warm breath, it was too much. He pressed his eyes and lifted his hips quickly, unbalancing her and with all his strength grabbed her as she let her guard down. He grabbed her arms forcefully and swung her on the side as he immobilized her under him, defenceless and taken by surprise. She gasped for air and looked straight in his eyes, his dark, homicidal, provocative eyes and his strong, bare chest and rippling muscles that were almost glowing in the dim light and held her still so effectively. Fenris bent forward with cocksure, ferocious eyes. "And what if I did?" he asked in a deep, aggressive voice.

"I don't like a tease," she said firmly while narrowing her eyes at his close face that was breathing warm air on her neck. "If you have something to say or do," she said confidently and lifted her head even closer to him, "Have at it." He frowned at her words and widened his eyes, his eyebrows lifting in hesitation as he didn't answer. She grinned, "Didn't think so." Fenris loosened his grip, so Hawke raised herself up and pushed him away forcefully on the other side of the bed. He rose from his back while breathing heavily and his pants were blowing up with the rush of pleasure and fear she practically stormed onto him. He lifted his knee, resting his elbow on it as he eyed her angrily in silence. She didn't look at him, just smiled and got up from the bed with her back turned on him and left.

Somewhere in Time, Sunset, The Hanged Man

"I wouldn't suggest going there, Daisy," Varric said to Merrill as he was leaning on the bar.

"Is this a special occasion where we have to sit at the bar?"

"No, no, they're just going at it again."

"Going at what?" Merrill asked in confusion.

"At something that rhymes with 'girder' and 'marking'," Varric said charmingly.

"Herder and sparkling?" Merrill asked bewilderedly.

"No, Daisy. Murder and barking," Varric said firmly.

"Oh. Then let's assign today as Sitting At The Bar Day, please," Merrill said awkwardly.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Varric said while frowning.

"I've been doing that for a year now and it's been working just fine. Why do I even bother?" Isabela said in amusement.

"Why are they fighting again?" Merrill asked in confusion.

My guess is because they're both idiots. Hawke is mad that he played her when she was drunk and he is mad, well, about anything, anytime, Varric thought to himself with his arms crossed.

Before and meanwhile at the Hawke - Fenris War of 9:33 Dragon Table…

"Fenris, are you folding or not?" Isabela asked impatiently. "Stop brooding so much."

"Oh, I don't mind, leave him lost in his thought. It's unfamiliar territory," Hawke said sarcastically.

Fenris frowned. "And I don't mind you talking so much, as long as you don't mind me not listening."

"You just did, smarty pants. And whatever it is that's eating you right now, it must be suffering horribly."

"Alright, maybe we should calm ourselves down and contemplate something warm and nice. Repeat after me – 'I'm in a green, peaceful, sunny field –'" Varric said, but Fenris interrupted him.

"I've seen rotten dead corpses that are less offensive and repugnant than you."

"Calm, happy thoughts, elf," Varric said angrily.

"Pardon me, Fenris, but you're obviously giving the shooting homicidal look to somebody who doesn't give a damn. And since you're at that, focus on my right shoulder – it's been itching for some time now."

"I've heard a bath helps with that," Fenris said flatly.

"Woah, woah, easy with the angry comments, there's enough tension here to set fire to a whole empire," Isabela said in amazement.

"Oh, don't worry Izzy, he knows I'm just kidding around. I like Fenris. People say I have no taste, but I like Fenris," she said sarcastically and smiled.

"Why thank you," he said sarcastically.

"No need to thank me, it was my pleasure in insulting you."

"So yeah, does anyone have any serpents?" Varric muttered in annoyance.

"So, I've never actually been to the Anderfels to be a cactus expert, but I know a prick when I see one," Hawke said confidently and grinned.

"No serpents? Just me?" Varric asked awkwardly, rolling his eyes.

"Nice tan, Hawke. To what race do I owe the pleasure? Carrot?" Fenris asked sarcastically.

"You know the last time I saw something like you, I flushed it," Hawke retorted meanly.

"Now we know why some animals eat their own children," Fenris muttered grumpily.

"Ouch," Isabela said awkwardly.

"Ah, I'm nobody's fool, everything he says is with love, even those murderous glares he's giving me right now," Hawke said confidently.

"You're nobody's fool, Hawke, but don't give up hope. Maybe someone will adopt you someday," Fenris said flatly.

"Ah, men are all the same," Isabela said and rolled her eyes.

"Who told you to try them all?" Fenris asked her firmly.

"She didn't try you, so whatever she's doing, it makes some sense," Hawke said quickly.

"Too bad stupidity isn't painful. You would be dead before sunrise," Fenris said and threw a card away.

"Guys… not that I don't mind your battle of wits here, but are you sodding folding or not?" Varric interrupted calmly.

"This is no battle of wits, Varric. I would never pick a fight with an unarmed man," Hawke said and smiled.

"Stop picking on him, Hawke," Varric said. "And you too, elf."

"Why? Suddenly he's your best pal that you need to babysit?" Hawke said angrily.

"He's a great asset to our team. So are you. And I want both of you alive. Now shut up and play," Varric said and looked at his cards.

"I think you were off by two letters there," Hawke said sarcastically.

"Just like I'm off at noticing the twinkle you have in your eyes while you two go at each other," Varric said sarcastically.

"The twinkle in her eyes is just the sunlight shining between her ears," Fenris said grumpily.

"No need to feel intimidated by my intelligence, Fenris, what you lack in it you certainly make up for in revolting stupidity," Hawke said meanly and discarded a serpent.

"Poor Hawke. Nobody's giving you attention so you just have to sting and spit your venom at anyone who feels sorry for you and listens."

"And behold the King of Idiots who decided to listen to me," Hawke said while gesturing dramatically.

"I'm done, I need a drink," Varric said and got up from the table.

"Guys, either shut up and finish this game or get a room and sort your hate for each other in a more horizontal position," Isabela said decisively.

They both ignored her and kept staring meanly at each other.

"And behold the Queen of Clowns. Ferelden has been cruelly deprived of one idiot," he said sarcastically and gestured dramatically as well.

"That was mean, even for you!" Isabela said and frowned.

"Ah, Fenris, don't worry. I still adore you. You're not as bad as people say. You are much, muuuch worse."

"And there you are right beside me competing for the 'Who has more people hating them so if one had to kill them all it would turn into an apocalypse'."

"Oh, that's adorable. We're not very different, you and I, but people don't hate me, because I can be a delight whenever I want to," she said charmingly, the narrowed her eyes firmly. "This isn't it."

Fenris smirked. "I can only suspect you behave quite the opposite of how you feel for a person."

"I know, right? I can't keep my eyes off of you," Hawke said and leaned forward onto the table. "When I look into your eyes, Fenris, I see… well, I can see straight through to the back of your head."

He shook his head. "Anyone who told you to be yourself couldn't have possibly given you any worse advice."

"I'm sorry. I'd love to understand things from your point of view, Fenris, but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass," Hawke said sarcastically as Fenris took a card from the deck.

"It certainly looks like it would have plenty of room for it," Fenris said meanly.

"Ah, you're growing on me. Kind of like a tumor," she said sarcastically.

"I can barely wait for it to destroy the last little bit of brain you still have among the gigantic cobwebs in your head." He took a card and Hawke noticed him smile shortly.

"Ah, the Knight of Roses again, if I am to guess? Or should I say Princess of Roses."

"The serpent-entwined dagger. Or better yet, the viper-entwined witch," he said nonchalantly and eyed her.

"You should change your lucky card to the Song of Sadness and Sorrow. Clearly a much better fit."

"Maybe you should just fold before I anger you too much and you set fire to the whole table."

"Right beside you as you blow up in spikes like an angry glowing porcupine."

"Seriously…," Isabela sighed. "I was winning and you…"

"Should that offend me? I'm sorry, I can't take you seriously, you wear a unicorn-looking dragon outfit voluntarily."

Hawke frowned and was probably out of witty one-liners. "You're mean and condescending."

"You talk while you eat and sprinkle food everywhere."

"You're living in a giant sodding mansion that's falling apart and has rats crawling in and out like it's an amusement park."

"At least I keep my clothes off the floor and make my bed every morning. I saw your room. Even the Bone Pit looks more welcoming."

"It's like I'm not even here," Isabela said grumpily and sighed, getting up and leaving their table without them noticing a thing.

"You complain about everything constantly – there's nothing in the world you can't find something negative about."

Fenris leaned forward on the table, his face a few inches from hers. "And you can't mutter one word out of that mouth of yours without it sounding like a joke."

Hawke frowned and narrowed her eyes, going closer. "You make strange noises in your sleep."

Fenris lifted his eyebrows but frowned again aggressively. "And how would you know that?"

"Varric blabs. What did you expect? To keep it a secret?" she said in amusement.

"You swing that gigantic knife you call a sword as if you were juggling oranges."

"Oh, like you're any better, Mister I-glow-in-the-dark-like-a-Satinalia-tree."

He frowned at her without backing down his face from hers. "Preposterous."

She narrowed her eyes and said firmly, "Spell preposterous."

He lifted his eyebrows shortly. "I –" he hesitated and looked down. What? It's not such a big deal, she didn't even think she knew exactly how to spell it. Couldn't he just start with the obvious p-r-e-p-

Oh.

Oh

He didn't know.

Shit…

Somwhere in Time, Fenris's Mansion

"I got you something," Hawke said and gave him a book and a small family crest wrapped around in a ribbon.

"It's … it's a book," Fenris said stuttering. "And I take it that's my prize?"

"I see your eyesight is still working fine, old man."

"Is this some sort of joke?" he asked angrily and frowned at her murderously.

"If I intended it as a joke I would have given you a self-help book. This is the Book of Shartan."

"And how is that not a joke? Let's remind the former slave he can't read and give him a book about slaves to make the irony all the more repugnant."

"Calm your tits, Fenris," she said angrily and sighed. "You haven't been a slave for years. What's your excuse for not learning now?"

"It seems too late for that at my age," he said bitterly.

Hawke chuckled heavily, "What are you, seventy? That's a poor excuse."

"Oh? Is it that easy? Why don't you just sit here for a decade and teach me then," he said aggressively.

Hawke laughed. "That's exactly what I intended."

He stopped and his mouth opened in surprise, his eyebrows shortly lifted.

"Lost for words, Fenris? I'll teach you plenty soon enough," she said firmly while grinning.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to seem ungrateful… it's just," he hesitated, "You must want something in return, certainly," he said knightly.

"Have you met me at all, old man? I'm a nice person. Suck it up and say thank you."

He chuckled and pronounced every syllable mockingly, "Thank you."

"And the crest you won anyway, by losing the bet. And no, it's not like I'm giving you some symbol to wear for me like I'm some sort of master, so don't freak out. I talked it out with Varric and he let all the thieves know that people who are wearing that crest are off limits."

He swallowed heavily and nodded.

"Although it would be nice if I got a massage from you instead once in a while."

"Oh? Did you finally scare the whore elf into his own death?" he asked nonchalantly as he placed the gifts on the table.

Hawke shrugged and grinned. "Why throw money away when you can make better bargains with better looking elves."

He grinned widely and crossed his arms. "Such flattery. Don't you think I know your stratagems by now? Everything you do screams manipulation."

And everything you did to me that night in the courtyard, what was that? Just a cheap on-the-spot followed impulse? You little manipulative handsome son of a bitch.

Hawke smiled and crossed her arms, too. "And yet you let me continue."

He smirked. "Eh, why not? I can take pleasure in watching the entertaining process of you trying to have your way with me before I break it gently to you and ruin you for other men."

"Such arrogance. You're full of it, old man."

"We may never know for sure."

No shit.

"So, what's it gonna be first… I teach you or I touch you? Or you touch me? Your call."

He shook his head. "I don't know which is more unsettling."

"That was mean. Even for you," she said childishly and crossed her arms again.

He smirked arrogantly. "Oh, you'll live."

They spent the whole night going through that book and even got to finish the first chapter. But with a lot of effort on both Hawke and Fenris's part, for he started to become very aggressive and rejecting and she had to stay tough and remind him if he could go through sword training, he could go through twenty-something letters of the alphabet and put them to good use in time. She knew he felt very foolish and if she made even one joke about it he would get up and kick her out, so she remained calm and supportive. At one point, she noticed he grew too tired to try and she simply took over and read to him and he listened carefully, nodding in agreement, frowning or taking sips of wine.

"But the slavery we had known, the actual chains that bound us, were but a small fragment of what we felt every day. Even as some of us became free, we knew no other way and it was terrifying, freedom. We had yet to actually understand what it meant. As I see it now, freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery," Hawke read and suddenly got interrupted by Fenris.

"That's enough," he said bitterly. "Thank you, but I'm tired."

"Alright," Hawke said and closed the book. "See you tomorrow?"

"You're already going?" he asked bewilderedly.

"I thought you said you were tired," she said and raised an eyebrow.

"I still owe you something," he said knightly and gestured dramatically. "So in the words of Hildegaard Bianca Hawke – shut up and get on the bed."

She grew pale for a second and hesitated . "No. I was just kidding about that."

"Hawke, don't play with me," he demanded grumpily.

"I'm not," she said and smiled. "It's alright. I don't need massages anymore."

"So you're not to going to go to your inappropriate elf either?"

"No," she said firmly. "I'm fine, really. I think my helping you with your back magically fixed mine too. Metaphorically speaking."

Fenris shook his head and frowned. "Get on the bed."

"No," she said firmly and frowned. "I don't want to, alright?"

He lifted his eyebrows and felt foolish. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said and laughed softly. "It's my fault. I brought it up."

He sighed, "If I haven't made you uncomfortable, then at least stay for another glass of wine. I'm not that sleepy."

"No, I really should get going. Busy, busy day tomorrow."

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, right, I haven't told you," she said and pressed her eyes as she felt foolish. "I'm planning on a trip."

Fenris frowned, "To Sundermount?"

"Noooo thank you. No," she said and waved her hands in protest. "A trip to a land far far away / Where cigarillos are made and it rains every day," she improvised awkwardly.

He widened his eyes and lifted his eyebrows. "Antiva?"

"Jackpot," Hawke said and smiled. "You're welcome to come, of course. Unless you think it's crawling with Danarius's men."

"Seeing as how I've been spotted in the south of the Imperium, it seems less likely for them go to the north-east. But there is a chance, yes."

"Well, if you really fear for your safety, I understand. Although it seems pretty dumb to remain in the city without your guardian angel," she said charmingly as she winked at him.

He smirked, "It does indeed," he said firmly and looked at the fire, then turned back to her. "When are you going?"

"I don't know yet. Until I sort it out with Varric, see if a caravan ride is better than a boat, decide who I take with me and convince my mother that I'm going to come back," Hawke enumerated awkwardly, "Could take a while."

"Let me know when you do," Fenris said knightly. "I think I'd like to see it properly this time."

"You've been there before?"

"You could hardly call it that," he said bitterly. "I ran along the border. I certainly didn't see anything but forests, mud and fish, bah."

"Then it's settled," Hawke said and nodded. "Good night, Fenris."

"Good night, Hawke," he said firmly and watcher her as she left.

Why did she suddenly refuse him? If he had allowed her to do it quite a lot of times now and hadn't attacked her, then why would she worry?

Then it dawned on him that reading about slavery had probably made it very real for her that he was once one. The reality struck her that he was but a very dangerous, unpredictable man who refused to learn to be free. Although they saw eye to eye in a lot of things, Hawke was very different in one aspect – she didn't like to strangle herself with her own chains, or in other words, she saw what was best in everything and made use of it. She was not a coward and she didn't like to limit herself. Her attitude was probably the reason he allowed himself to let loose in her presence and feel alive, be himself. But his state was undeniable and couldn't be ignored. He was just a troubled former slave living in a borrowed mansion.

He cursed himself he allowed this to become a friendship. She probably saw right through him from the beginning. Yet again, if she did, she still wasn't backing down. She took her time with him, didn't prod him about his problems, showed him she didn't give two spitting coppers about what he was. Kaffas, he thought to himself as he got up and threw the bottle into the wall.

Evening, Dwarven Merchant's Guild

"What's he doing here?" Hawke asked a bit meanly as Varric and Fenris met with her in the market.

"Just fulfilling my life's purpose of bringing you misery," Fenris said sarcastically in a grumpy voice.

"Can we be civil?" Varric asked and frowned. "We've got a job to do. If you have barking and mocking to catch up on, do it on your own time."

"Don't worry, Varric. I've made it my life's purpose to treat the invisible the way they should be," she said sarcastically and smiled.

"What did we have to do, again?" Fenris asked nonchalantly while ignoring her.

"There's this friend of mine who works under a real pain the ass merchant. If we get to talk to him, he can land us a very good deal on a cart ride. That and I've been meaning to sell him some stuff," Varric said and rolled his eyes.

"That's your incredibly hard job?" Hawke asked mockingly and crossed her arms.

"They're Carta people," Varric said and frowned. "And the merchant in charge is a cut-throat angry son of a bitch. He won't let him associate with me anymore. So, if anything happens," Varric stretched his arms dramatically at them, "I've got two angry pain in the ass friends who will take care of trouble."

"So we just barge in his shop and hope it doesn't get ugly?" Hawke asked bewilderedly and sighed. "I knew I should have worn better armour today."

"Oh, you're fine," Varric said sweetly and looked at her black cardigan closed by a red waist girdle.

They walked by the entrance and she looked at the both of them. "Wait, how are we going to do this?"

"His shop is big, if you go and bullshit him about his merchandise, maybe throw in some compliments about his gems, me and Mr. Mad-a-lot can get our way past him and find my dear old friend."

"By gems I hope you mean actual jewellery I hope," Hawke said and crossed her arms.

"Of course, what do you take me for? A pimp?" Varric said in amusement.

"You're not far from it," she said and laughed.

"Just as a heads-up though, he likes redheads with big bosoms, so," Varric said awkwardly and coughed. "Feel free to use that to your advantage."

"Is he dangerous? I mean, if he doesn't get perfectly distracted?" Fenris asked flatly as he came next to Hawke at the entrance.

"Let's put it this way – if he so much as leaves his spot, we'll wake up gagged and tied on a boat to Rivain."

Fenris nodded in understanding and looked at Hawke who frowned at him. He quickly punched out the button of her shirt and it widened to make a cleavage. She gave him a murderous look and he gave her a smug grin as he opened the door, so she couldn't say anything.

After the whole thing was done, they got out of shop and Varric pat her on the hip. "Thank you for taking one for the team, Hawke. I owe you one."

"You owe me a naked dance on the pole, is what you owe me," Hawke said angrily and Fenris couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Not if I can help it," Varric said in amusement and sighed in relief. "How about I buy you a drink? Or twenty?" Varric coughed. "Maybe that way the whole shirt will come off and we'll get to see what that merchant was missing."

Fenris laughed and Hawke became red with anger. "Not if I can help it."

They walked out of the Merchant's Guild and Hawke looked at Fenris, who quickly turned his head. She grinned at said, "You know you two are adorable, teaming up against me like that. At first I was a bit jealous that you became such good pals behind my back, but now I think I get it. You just set up a 'Worship Hawke' club."

"Oh, yeah. We meet every week and eat fine food off of a porcelain doll laid on the table that was made in your image," Varric said sarcastically. "Sometimes we throw darts at it too."

Sometime later, A year after Hawke's return

Sunset, Hawke's Estate

After another lovely and uncomfortable dinner with Mother, Hawke pretended to walk him out of the mansion. They sat on the bench and talked peacefully about her training. He listened carefully and snorted every time she told a story about how she made an ass out of herself on the field : the time she swung the sword and dropped it and flew into the river, the first time she wore heavy armour and fell right on the ground like a statue, the time she argued with her brother over who's the best and she accidently dropped her sword on his foot and cut off his toe… good times. Of course, he didn't speak of his training. She knew that it wasn't voluntary and it wasn't fun for him, so he changed the subject and asked her about the magic training.

"Again with that? Who's prodding inanely now?" Hawke asked in amusement.

"You don't have to tell me," he said flatly.

"Well, to be honest, it's getting rather boring. I snuck a book about magic from a friend in the Circle and I've been meaning to catch up on Spirit magic. It's one of the most difficult, but at least more interesting branches."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Well, apart from your own mana, you can draw out energy from the Fade. It's not an easy task to accomplish and the worst part is spirit damage is extremely lethal so if someone accidentally casts it in a cluster of enemies where an ally is, well, they're screwed. But I don't know… It makes me want to blow up and scream 'I hate this! Just strip me of my powers already!'"

He cupped his maxillary and looked at her, "What about Arcane magic? That is exactly what a warrior may profit from."

"And how would you know that?" she asked arrogantly.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled, "I come from the Imperium. My language alone is called Arcanum. They practically invented Arcane warriors, apart from blood magic. It's probably their one good achievement."

"It's not exactly the same thing, Fenris. And I don't think there's a book on Arcane warriors I can sneak from the Circle."

"You don't need to. As I understand, it's just a different form of force magic. Either you convert your magic into physical damage alone or you simply apply your magic onto physical objects and attacks."

"You do know your magic," she said grinning. "I feel horribly uneducated."

"It was not a piece of knowledge that I voluntarily asked for," he said flatly.

"So you're saying I should take advantage of my magic all the time in combat through this Arcane stuff?"

"Why not? It would certainly profit us a great deal."Hawke frowned and said nothing, looking down and he noticed. "You don't need to do if you don't want to. It was just a suggestion."

She smiled, "I know. It's just… I am barely getting used to using magic as a last resort as it is. I think I've got enough on my plate for now."

"Of course," he said firmly. "I understand."

"My father was like this," she said bitterly. "Though he didn't really show it. Mother used to say he didn't need to show me how much he hated being what he was, because I took right after him in a heartbeat."

Fenris looked at her with a wondering look. "May I ask how come then?"

She looked down and smiled bitterly, "Well you don't get to be the pretty mage excited about magic when you're an illegal fugitive. Freedom is not exactly a boon, in this little aspect. And apart from that, well… it just bothered me that whenever I made a sudden movement there was this small chance that I set the house on fire or choked somebody with my mind if they pissed me off as I merely looked at them. Some may find it fascinating, but I found it repelling."

"Your brother whined his whole life that he was the disadvantaged one in your household and yet it seems the anger was mutual. You were jealous of him, weren't you?"

"So jealous," Hawke said with a smile while shaking her head. "All he had to worry about was if he put the metal cap on his groin correctly or if he swung the sword without throwing it in the river. And once he came of age, he was free to go wherever he wanted to."

"Wouldn't that have applied to you as well?"

"Well, yes, sort of. He didn't leave for the same reason I didn't. Because we cared too much for each other to leave the househould. We had to stick together. But I kept telling him he was free to go, since he wasn't the one that had to run."

"He whined and made you feel guilty to mask the fact that it was his choice to stay and with that, remain in your shadow."

"And it's a good thing he doesn't have to do that anymore. He got his silent wish. He's his own man now," she said flatly and looked down.

Fenris frowned and realized something. "But you would have wanted to be in his place, if you could choose to."

She looked up at the sky and sighed. "Well… If I could choose, without being tied down to any responsibility, without family to worry about, just in a perfect form of complete selfishness, yes. I would have given myself to the cause in a heartbeat."

"That's why you said it didn't matter if the Wardens offered to recruit you or not that night, isn't it?"

"Figured that out yourself, I see," she said with a bitter smile and looked down again. "They did offer. I already knew too much about them when I barged into their outpost like that. But I couldn't do it. And Carver didn't either. So they just made sure I kept my mouth shut and never come back."

"I hope you'll keep to that promise," Fenris said and chuckled. "You survived a month to the darkspawn and half a year wondering aimlessly across Thedas. It would be quite the irony to end up getting killed by Grey Wardens."

"I'll try not to die if I can help it," she said in amusement. "But rest assured, I can't make that promise if my rescuing evading tank, well… evades."

Fenris laughed softly. "I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled and looked down. "I hope not."

"You know, it just occurred to me that in a way, you using your markings all the time makes you more of a mage that I am at the moment."

He frowned and she immediately regretted what she said.

"That just makes the irony all the sweeter," he said bitterly.

"Don't take it that way, ugh," Hawke said and rolled her eyes. "This basically means that we're just no better than one another."

"It does, indeed," he said flatly, cupping his maxillary.

"Well, time to go back in," Hawke said warmly and got up. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Home?" he asked bewilderedly.

"Oh, no, no, no. You're not getting out of your reading lesson just because my mother asked for a dinner last minute."

"You wish to do this here?" he asked, gesturing to her house.

Hawke shrugged and smiled. "I've got wine."

"Well with that compelling offer, how can I refuse," he said sarcastically.

Nighttime, Hawke's Estate

They were sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall in the main room, opposite to the fireplace. Hawke got a few books out of her library and they took turns in reading passages. The wine kept them going and amused, rather than frustrated and it felt quite comforting to sit like that, with glasses of wine by their feet and the fire at a distance creaking and throbbing. At one point, Fenris loosened up and removed his shoulder pads, gauntlets and chest plate and undid a few buttons of his vest. She thought about how envious of him, because she couldn't afford to do the same, even if it was so hot inside. She only removed her red waste girdle and placed it on her lap under the book.

After he took another sip of wine and placed the glass back on the floor beside his leg, Fenris played with the pages of the book and he stopped right at a page which had a separate, smaller paper stuck inside. He took it out and frowned, as he recognized the handwriting that was beautiful on the top and ended up aggressive and rushed.

"Don't read that," she said and tried to grab it out of his hand, but he quickly moved it away and farther from where she could reach.

"Why? Is it some dirty journal entry?" he asked sarcastically and gave her a smug grin.

"You wish," Hawke said mockingly and tried to reach for the paper again, unsuccessfully.

"Then what is it? A sad love story?" he asked in amusement.

"Nope," she said childishly and tried again, uuunsuccessfully. "Do you think I'm that stupid to write something that Varric would find and put in his memoirs?"

"So you do have a tragic love story," he said confidently and smiled.

"It's not really a love story, but it is tragic," she said and sighed, after she gave up trying to get the paper out of his hands.

He frowned perceptively and asked, "May I ask what happened?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said mockingly and shook her head.

"As you wish," he said knightly and nodded, but then grinned. "I will just proceed to read whatever secret entry you kept hidden in this book."

"Fine, read it already," she said and gestured to him to have at it. She took her glass and drank the wine nonchalantly, as he started reading.

"Who am I - I cannot say," Fenris started while stuttering with the words. "My seasons they change from day to day / Poet priest assassin thief / My magic dispels my disbelief."

"It's got magic in it, so you probably don't want to read further," she said defensively, but nonchalantly kept drinking her wine.

He gave a short, contained smile and looked at her, "And what if I do?"

"Suit yourself," she said nonchalantly.

Fenris turned his eyes back to the paper and kept reading, "Who am I – I'm just a pack of lies. I'm a tower of cards, I'm the yarn of a bard…. I'm the jest of a fool, I'm a glittering jewel… I'm just a candy coated castle in the sky."

"Told you," Hawke interrupted.

He ignored her and continued, "So tear down your lying idols and let your spirit free… Stop searching and find, stop listening and hear, stop looking and simply see... Do what thou wilt! And no other thing! Wander alone in the crown and sing... And fear not the taunts of the man and his masses, 'cause when disaster comes knocking it's us fools who'll be laughing!"

Hawke snorted and shook her head, but he kept reading, "Follow lord fortune wherever he leads and petition your angels to tend to your needs…Go crazy, go wild, get wasted, get wise…Wake up from your nightmares, stop believing their lies! Get active, get radical, get real and get magical... Aspire to the heights and embrace all your lows. Give in to desire…let the flood of lust flow."

"Scareeeh," she interrupted.

"Now the fruit of the knowledge of good and ill was but the necessary evil of a bitter pill. But the fruit of the tree of the eternal is the salve to alleviate all that is mortal …See the kiss of the cobra both kills and cures, and the only defence is a heart that's pure. It's a drug to unhinge the temples door, and the key to the kingdom where love is the law."

"Cheesy alert," Hawke interrupted him mockingly.

He grinned at her and continued, "Let reason and passion be your left and your right, no more divided than day is from night. Then unite by your art, your head and your heart, for emptiness ends when eternity starts…"

"That's actually not bad," Hawke said mockingly.

Fenris sighed and finished the last bit, "So let go, and let rip, take a ride, take a trip. Get to work, get to bed, get a life. Get a grip. Take leave of your senses, your cunning pretences. Pick up your beds and tear down your defences…And retrace the course of the spring to its source... In the time before mind, where Maker alone knows. In the garden of your heart, where the tree of life grows." His expression loosened and seemed deep in thought.

"I told you not to read it," Hawke said grumpily while looking up and taking a sip from the wine.

He frowned and put the paper back in the book. "That was –"

"Foolish," she finished his sentence quickly and smiled innocently.

He gave her a broad smile back, "Magical, if you don't mind the irony," he said flatly and looked at the fire. "And a great slap in the face to reality."

"Got any other rhymes, Pomponius Secundus?" she asked sarcastically.

He laughed quietly, so nobody would hear them, "How about – To let people in she will not allow, Her hair is red and she acts like a clown, Alas, to end this stupid rhyme, For I am no poet and we're losing time - To be a monk, she is too loud, To be a queen, she is too proud."

"Too proud to be a queen?" she asked bewilderedly. "Well, you have me there. I prefer to be a hero lurking in the shadows with my mindblowing stratagems and weakness for doing the right thing. Saving kittens and setting up orphanages for stray puppies and lost souls."

"I'm glad you didn't put me in that lot," Fenris said in amusement while he placed his head against the wall, remembering her angry speech to him on the roof a long time ago.

She frowned and rested her head against the wall too, "Of course I wouldn't do that. You're your own man – a strong, witty, insufferable, but nevertheless free and fairly law-abiding man," she said in amusement and turned her head that was resting on the wall to look at him. "Even with those chains you refuse to throw away."

At that last bit, he turned his head that was against the wall to look at her with a curiously warm, but carefully contained smile, "You see a great deal, don't you?"

She grinned shortly and looked him straight in his green eyes, "I see it, but I don't tell you. Why should I?"

She was right, she didn't need to spell it out for him, grapple and walk straight into his impenetrable wall of self-doubt and loathing. It was pointless and unnecessary. What she did instead was show him the world he was missing out on, give him a sense of security and kick him into starting to make his own decisions on whatever he desired. Even that day when she assaulted him through the mask of a back rub and told him she could tease him too if that's what he wanted, she didn't give in and told him firmly that if he wanted to say or do something, he would just have to grow some balls and do it. And that's exactly what he did.

What Hawke saw was a short turmoil boiling across his face, but the last thing she saw was his dark green eyes enveloped in some strange, distinct determination, as he dropped the book and took a hold of her face and in a harrowing second, slammed his lips into hers. And what a kiss that was! – his soft, maddening and feverish lips pressing onto hers like wildfire. Her lips got away from him and she looked at him in wonder, breathing in heavily and he could feel his heart beating like a huge Chantry bell ready to drop. His eyes questioned her telepathically, if it was a mistake, if he frightened her, if she was going to strike him. She inhaled deeply and took a hold of his neck, bringing him closer and he squeezed at her cardigan with a gentle force, then wrapped his arms around her and encaged her in his safe and strong grip. For shame, if it would end. But she kissed him back and entwined her fingers in his hair, and he accidentally bit her lip in a mechanical attempt to hold out the growling moan that was about to come out. She breathed heavily through his lips, as if what he just did was good, and opened her mouth wider, slipping her tongue and meeting his in a whirl of driven force. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be working, for she let out a groan of pleasure and thrust the nails of her free hand in his vest and hung onto it as if it was the only pole of balance and stability that still held her together. For shame, for shame if it would end here. The heat and the pressure in their little dance, her maddeningly playful tongue and those peach-soft enchanting lips were killing him, he wanted more and more of it, and never for it to stop. To have her so close and wrapped around him, with no teasing or playing around, but just a perfectly blunt and irresistible act of showing him she didn't give one flying copper for his demons, that ravishing and continuing taste of her lips pressing onto his and closing in a powerful peck. And then it was over.

There you have it, we're finally getting somewhere. Don't kill me if you weren't satisfied! Please review!