"What do you think, kitten?"

Isabela's question jerked Hawke out of her thoughts and she blinked at the busty pirate, trying to remember how the conversation started. "What?" she asked dumbly.

Isabela had probably been rambling for the past few minutes, and Hawke had been off in her own head, thinking about a certain Starkhaven prince. Merrill sat across from her, her eyes wide with hopeful excitement.

How long had she been in the Hanged Man now, she wondered? This was probably the first time in a long time that she hadn't gotten drunk. True, Varric had stopped her, but she was still sober. Whether it was by choice or not.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about," the pirate stated, giving Merrill a wink. "You need a break, Hawke. When's the last time you went out to have fun? Not including fighting, of course."

Hawke paused, her brow furrowing. She hadn't thought about that before. Now that she thought about it, the last time she'd gone out without the intent to work/fight/run errands was...

Back in Lothering? Well, damn.

"Uh," she mumbled.

"That's what I thought." Isabela leaned forward over the table, putting her generous bosom on display. Hawke tried not to sigh with envy. "We should do something for fun. We could invite everyone, even lady man-hands!"

"But..." Hawke blurted, bewildered. "What-?"

"The Waking Sea is warm this time of year," Isabela hinted, looking at her sideways.

"Please, Hawke?" Merrill asked. "I've never been to the ocean before! It'll be fun!"

Hawke sighed, running a hand through her curls.

In the end, everyone agreed to go. Even Anders, Aveline, and Fenris, who Hawke had been almost sure would opt out.

And at Isabela's request, she did invite everyone. Even people she wasn't sure she wanted to invite.

She almost wished Sebastian had said no; but if he had, she knew she would have been crushed. His blue eyes had lit up at the suggestion, and he agreed that they could all use a bit of a break. Especially from the summer heat.

They reached the water at around noon, and Isabela wasted no time stripping stark naked and charging into the water like a madwoman. Merrill followed eagerly, throwing off her robes as she went; thankfully, she kept her underclothes on.

Anders gave a hoot of excitement as he dashed across the beach, tossing off his clothes and diving into the waves. Hawke was impressed; most mages didn't know how to swim.

Most mages... including her.

Her barking companion was right behind him, leaping right into the water with enthusiasm.

One by one, each of them entered the water, Hawke last of all.

Watching Sebastian undress... She blushed, forcing her eyes away from his bronze skin as he stripped down to his trousers and busied herself with removing her own clothing.

Not noticing the way his eyes wandered over her body as she slowly undressed. Or the way Isabela and Varric smirked over at the two of them.

Unlike Hawke, Sebastian waded into the water as soon as he was ready until it was up to his waist. When he noticed she wasn't right behind him, he turned back to her. "Are you coming in, Hawke?" He called.

She stood awkwardly on the beach, wiggling her toes in the sand nervously. A slight breeze caused her bare skin to rise to gooseflesh. "In a moment," she lied.

"You're a terrible liar," he reminded her, coming back towards her and onto the dry beach. "What's the matter?"

She frowned at him. "I just- I don't swim."

"Really?" He asked skeptically, his brow furrowing. "Why not?"

"Allow me to rephrase: I can't swim."

"Oh," he said finally, scratching the back of his neck. "It's not too late to learn, Hawke."

"I..." She hesitated, chewing her lip. "I don't know..."

"Come on, I'll show you."

And before she could refuse, he was grabbing her by the hand and practically dragging her into the water.

"No no no no no... Sebastian..."

It wasn't so bad, actually, she could admit. The cool water was soothing to her overheated body, and Sebastian's strong, calloused hand curled around hers... Well. She wasn't going to start complaining.

And then he took her further, and further until her feet didn't touch the ground. Hawke thrashed, panicking, as Sebastian tried to calm her. The bastard was taller than her, tall enough that his feet did reach the bottom; it wasn't fair.

"Hawke," he said firmly, his hands clutched under her arms to keep her head above the surface. "Look at me."

He waited, and eventually she obeyed, lifting her gaze from the water to his eyes. She stopped struggling.

She was barely listening as he instructed her how to keep afloat, occasionally demonstrating. Being held so close to his chest, it was hard to hear anything but the loud, quick beating of her heart.

Hawke took a deep breath. "Please don't drop me."

"I won't." He promised.

With his support, she tried starting to swim. He gave her pointers as she worked to stay afloat, never once releasing his hold on her. He taught her how to float on her back, using her arms and legs to propel herself through the water. He showed her how to move more quickly, ducking his head below the surface and popping up a few feet away.

Hawke was always a fast learner; she was swimming slowly by the end of the first hour.

When at last it seemed like she was getting it, she stopped, looking up at him with joy sparkling in her hazel eyes. "I did it," she cheered, beating the water with her fists in triumph. Hitting Sebastian in the face with quite a bit of water.

"Oops," she giggled, then made a show of wiping her hand down his face while he scrunched up his eyes and mouth. "There. All better!"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her. She grinned back innocently.

Then he dunked her.

She sputtered, spitting out water as she swatted his hands away. He was chuckling at her, dodging her fists as she attempted to hit him. "You jerk," she pouted, crossing her arms.

"You started it," he said cheekily, turning his face away as she splashed at him again.

He swung his arm back at her from beneath the surface of the water, sending a wave over her head. She tried to mimic him, but was it supposed to be that hard? It wasn't fair. He was cheating.

She pounced at him, going to lock her arms around his neck to try to force his head underwater. He was ready for her though, and he quickly caught her, tossing her into deeper water. He was sure that she'd come back up in a second, glaring and thrashing, but with that twinkle in her eye that told him she was enjoying herself.

He waited, but she didn't resurface.

Oh, Maker. He started to panic, trying to reach in the general direction he'd tossed her. They weren't in too deep of water... and even if they were, he'd thought she'd be a good enough swimmer at this point that she wouldn't sink... had he truly been that wrong?

He ran a hand through his auburn hair, looking in every direction. He'd never forgive himself if he'd accidentally drowned his best friend.

"Gotcha!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Hawke popped up behind him, gasping for breath. He whirled on her, catching her in his arms and dragging her back to where the water was waist-deep.

She flashed a toothy smile, still panting.

"That wasn't funny, Hawke," he scolded her. "I thought I'd drowned you."

"I thought it was pretty funny," she disagreed, poking her tongue out between her teeth.

He sighed at her. "Don't do that."

She only laughed again, putting her hands on her hips. He couldn't help but notice the curves of her breasts through her soaked clothes, the swell of her hips, the charming plumpness of her lips...

He cleared his throat, looking away. "I think you can swim on your own, now."

She tried to mask the disappointment in her eyes as he turned away.

In the distance, Isabela did, too.