The morning sunlight poured in through the balcony window as the curtains were pushed open, and despite everything that had happened a couple of days before, the spring birds continued to sing their song. Hawke groaned at the unexpected intrusion of the sun, snuggling back into whatever had enveloped her with its warm embrace.

Wait…

Hawke opened one of her green eyes and stared at the tanned, lyrium-marked arm that was around her; this fully woke up the mage.

"Fenris!" Hawke beamed with relief as she threw herself onto the sleeping elf, who simply grunted in annoyance since he was not fully awake yet. A little down-trodden by his reaction, Hawke innocently began tracing the length of his ear with her index finger, knowing that usually wakes him up in many different ways.

His eyes immediately widened and he viciously grabbed her hand, his markings flared as he scowled at Hawke, who simply just smirked at him, "Its only me, you stubborn elf. Now you might want to let go of my hand before your crush it."

Realising what he had done, Fenris gently kissed her pulse before nuzzling his cheek into her palm. Hawke blushed instantly, never having seen Fenris so…Relaxed before. Sure, he had come a long way in breaking down the walls he had built around himself since they first met, but it was still quite rare for him to make the first move in being romantic.

"I thought I had lost you. When that…thing hit me, I thought it had taken you down with me. Trinity I-"

Before Fenris could finish his sentence, Hawke's lips met his in a passionate kiss. Fenris sighed in relief and deepened the kiss, one of his hands tangling among her deep red hair whilst the other pulled her roughly towards his own body. He missed the feel of her body against his, her lips on his skin and the way she moaned and gasped when he did all those little things that he knew pleasured her, and despite being injured the way he was, Fenris couldn't wait anymore.

Their kisses became more desperate, feverish even. Fenris nipped Hawke's bottom lip roughly, pulling it slightly before kissing his way down her neck, each kiss bringing a quiet moan from Hawke.

"Well, well. You two certainly don't wait, do you?" a familiar chuckle came from behind them as their pair suddenly stopped, Fenris almost on top of Hawke by now.

"Damned slattern and the blighted dwarf," Fenris grumbled before glaring at them both with his usual death-glare.

"And I see Fenris is back to his usual self," Varric laughed heartily.

"Can't you come back later?" Hawke pouted, prodding herself up on her elbows to give Isabella and Varric her puppy-eyed look.

"Aww come on sweetling, you know that look makes me melt. But I would allow you two to continue as long as I can join in," Isabella waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and slowly stopped when Fenris' markings began to flare up, "Besides; that Cullen bloke has been asking for Hawke for ages now, and this time he is waiting in the main hall and refuses to leave until he speaks to her."

"Shit! I knew he would want something from me," Hawke sighed as she leapt from the bed and sprinted for the bathroom, since she needed to have a wash. She could still smell the…blood on her.

"And what exactly would that 'something' be?" Varric smirked suggestively.

Fenris just about managed to stand up, thanking the Maker he was still wearing a linen shirt and leggings before glaring at the two rogues at the doorway. They both held up their hands defensively.

"Well I'll go tell Cullen you'll be there soon," Isabella smirked, "he is a fine example of hot templar ass…"

Both Varric and Fenris rolled their eyes and the rogues closed the door on their way out, leaving Fenris and Hawke to get bathed and ready to face whatever Cullen wants Hawke to do.

"You want me to be what?" Hawke gasped in a mixture of shock and horror, standing up from her seat as a now worried Cullen sat opposite her. Cullen had also brought along Aveline, Katherine, Alistair and Seneschal Bran (Maker knows how he survived) with him. Everyone else at in chairs or stood leaning against walls nearby, all listening in.

"We think you will make a…excellent Viscount. Plus, you are extremely popular amongst the survivors of Kirkwall and they have all been asking for their 'Champion'," Bran spat, still hating Hawke as always.

"I…No. I cannot. You need to find someone else," Hawke stated, her hands clenching into fists as they rested on the table, "I would make a terrible viscount. Plus I have never wanted to get involved in politics."

"But Hawke-"

"Not buts Cullen; if Hawke doesn't want to be viscount, then you will just need to find someone else," Aveline said, reinforcing Hawke's statement so that Cullen would know when to back down.

"I think Seneschal Bran should do it. He has, after all, been Dumar's right-hand man and knows all the ins-and-outs of Kirkwall politics," Katherine pointed out, which received nods of approval by her husband, and of course Bran himself.

"I agree completely," Hawke said, feeling a lot more relaxed as she perched herself back down in her chair, putting her booted feet on the table.

"That still leaves the matters of-" Cullen started, but Hawke immediately interrupted.

"The Circle and the templars?" Hawke inquired, getting a nod as a reply from Cullen.

"Since you saved the city, you decide what happens afterwards, and I will simply just run Kirkwall and make sure your wishes are followed," Bran rolled his eyes, speaking his usual monotonal drivel.

Hawke thought long and hard; she knew this is one chance she can fix things, to a certain extent, before she figured out what she was going to do with herself. There was nothing for her in Kirkwall anymore, not really anyway. Perhaps it was her time to return to Ferelden…

"Right now, it is important to start rebuilding Kirkwall, starting with Lowtown and Darktown. Then start working on the Gallows and leave Hightown for last. Of course, you should clear all the bodies everywhere first before you start. Both templar and mage will help put this city back together, as well as remaining survivors," Hawke started to explain, "The Circle should not be rebuilt until after all of this. This will cause just more oppression if you build a new one right away."

"But where will the mages stay? How will we contain them?" Cullen asked, but Hawke slammed her hands on the table.

"When the Circle is built, it will be automatically put in autogamy, with Bianca as First Enchanter."

"What?!" Cullen, Bianca and Varric gasped in unison.

"Varric; you plan on taking over the Hanged Man right?"

"Well that's right but-"

"Then it would suit if Bianca became First Enchanter; she has taught both Winter and Blaize the skills they need to control their magic and I believe her to be fair and firm when needed."

"Hawke…Are you sure?" Bianca stood up from leaning on the wall, making her way to her friend's side.

"Positive. You can read the minds of those mages and determine whether they are bad eggs or not," Hawke smiled reassuringly at the dwarf.

"Then I will try my best," Bianca smiled nervously.

"Cullen, your templars will simply be there to protect the mages from the public, not themselves; only attack if necessary. Furthermore, you will be the new Knight Commander, Cullen."

Cullen simply nodded, not uttering a single word.

"Right…Any more questions before my head explodes?" Hawke chuckled, resting her head in her hands.

"What will you do now all of this is over?" Katherine asked, without emotion as always.

Balls. She had to ask the big question, didn't she?

Hawke sighed and simply leant back in her chair, biting the tip of her thumb as she went deep into thought. The entire room sat in an awkward silence as they waited for Hawke's answer.

"I have no plans, as of yet," she stated simply, not wanting to give anything away.

"Right. Well Kirkwall thanks you for saving its hide once again," Bran stood up, bowing to Hawke before leaving with Cullen, who simply didn't speak a single word.

"I think you may have pissed the templar off," Varric chuckled.

"That man has had a rod up his arse since the day I met him. He shows his softer side occasionally," Hawke smirked, getting up and started walking towards the cellar, "Maker I need a drink. Anyone else want anything?"

At the mention of free booze, Isabella bounded up from her seat and joined Hawke to raid the wine cellar, leaving everyone else behind.

"Uncle Fen, we won't be moving away will we?" Winter asked innocently, looking at Fenris with those giant green eyes.

Fenris frowned; did Hawke have plans to move away from Kirkwall? Will she take him with her? What will everyone else do? Tons of questions flooded his mind and he went deep into thought for a while, only being snapped back into reality by a tug on his ear.

"Well?"

"I have no clue as to what Hawke wants to do now. There is nothing here for her anymore," Fenris simply replied, smiling reassuringly at the girl.

"Well, I'll go wherever you are, Uncle Fen!" she beamed, pouncing on Fenris and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. Knowing that everyone was watching, he gently pried her off of him, ruffling her hair before she skipped to go and talk to Blaize.

Hawke emerged from the wine cellar, already half-drunk alongside Isabella, both of them with armfuls of wine and rum. They had even begun singing old Ferelden drinking songs in slurred, off-chord tones. Soon, everyone (even Sebastian) joined in with the drinking games, all trying to get their minds off of what was happening outside.

Fenris kept a close eye on Hawke as he silently drunk from a bottle of Antivan wine, not caring to get a glass. Something seemed off; and it made him uneasy. Hawke was suppressing something and was using alcohol to distract herself, which was quite common for the mage. Behind her usual charming and witty nature, she was hiding a deep sadness that could never seem to be pried out of her. Fenris had only seen two people manage to crack her before, and that was himself and Anders.

But something else was bothering the elf; Ambre, Anders' old cat, had not been seen since her owner's death. The furball had instantly run away when it heard the deafening explosion of the Chantry. Usually, Fenris wouldn't even pay attention to the pile of ginger fluff, but what if Justice didn't die along with Anders and ended up possessing the cat? Fenris immediately shook his head, blaming the drink for making him think this way.

Fenris didn't seem to notice that Katherine was making her way over to him, but what he had his eyes on made his blood boil and markings flare; Alistair was whispering something to the drunken Hawke and her merriment suddenly stopped. She simply had nodded and the pair discreetly left the festivities and made their way upstairs towards the master bedroom.

"So Fenris, is it?" Katherine asked as she perched in the seat beside him, her very presence startled Fenris as he glared at the woman, but quickly calmed down.

"Yes, your majesty," he replied coolly, knowing that he needed to at least pretend to respect this woman who just appeared to be a snob, well to Fenris anyway.

"I will not lie to you; Alistair and I are intending on bringing the Champion with us back to Ferelden," Katherine spoke those words as if speaking casually with a friend at a local bar, as if it wouldn't have an effect on anyone.

One of Fenris' eyebrows rose in curiosity, "What for? May I ask?"

"That is up for my husband and her to discuss, I have no part in what he wants with the Champion."

The grip Fenris had around the bottle tightened as he scowled at Katherine, "The Champion has a name."

"My…Apologies. But Hawke needs to come back to Ferelden; it is her home after all."

This enraged him even more as he slammed his hands down on the table, "It is not your choice where Hawke calls home. That is for to her to decide, even if you are the blighted queen of Ferelden!"

Fenris bolted out of his seat, marching outside of the estate and slamming the door behind him. He was panting heavily with anger; who does that bitch think she is to make life decisions for Hawke? She had no right. Hawke is a free woman; not tied down by anyone. Sighing as he felt his markings dim down, Fenris decided to take in his surroundings;

Hightown was a disaster zone; scavengers were already picking through the rubble for any wealth that could be looted from the noble estates. Most of the nobles had either been killed by abominations or had already left Kirkwall, which is what the survivors who had the coin did the day after the desolation of the Chantry. But what had shocked Fenris the most was that there was this sense of a community with those who had survived; they were helping both templar and mage to clear the bodies and rubble from the streets.

Fenris' attuned elven hearing instantaneously picked up on the sound of Hawke's laughter coming from the other side of the estate, near where the balcony was. Knowing he shouldn't be intruding on a private conversation, Fenris cautiously made his way around to near where the balcony was, making sure Hawke and Alistair didn't notice him.

What in the Maker's name were the pair up to?