Playing House

By: kat009

Author's Note: Rated M for smut. First fanfic in years so please be gentle :) These characters aren't mine, etc.

"Anders, do you hear that?"

He turned to face Hawke, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Hear what?"

Hawke held a finger to her lips, and they both slowly became aware of the sound of running water. She raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a lopsided smile. After crossing the Waking Sea following the destruction in Kirkwall, they had set off on foot to connect with fellow rebel mages in Crestwood. Rather than being a quick and easy trek (Hawke recalled trying to ease Anders's anxiety by saying "it was only this far on the map"), they had been lost in the rainy forest for days now. Although they were able to collect drinking water from the rain, and they set up a light magical barrier to protect them from getting drenched, they were still warm, dirty, and uncomfortable. Now that the rain had briefly stopped, the warm, humid air seemed to make the feeling even worse. Hawke knew that it would be a huge relief just to get out of her dirty clothes and get a chance to wash her garments and herself.

They turned towards the sound of running water, their pace unconsciously quickening as the noise grew louder. Hawke let out a sigh of relief when the brook came into view, and laughed delightedly when she saw a small cottage next to the brook. She turned back towards Anders, a grin lighting up her dirt-smeared face. "This can't be real," she laughed, taking his hand and trying to pull him forward, "Let's take a look."

Anders, a bit more skeptical, pulled back on her, "We have to be safe…someone could live here."

She shushed him, smirking, "Well then, we'll have to be quiet."

He stood back, watching her look into the windows of the quaint cabin, and then saw her try the door. After fiddling with the lock a bit, he watched as she pushed the door open and vanished from sight.

He stepped towards the structure with concern, only to see Hawke coming back towards him and gesturing for him to come inside. Of course he should have trusted that it was fine – Hawke had a sixth sense for these things after getting into trouble so many times in her life. Taking his hand, she led him over the treshold, and Hawke made an uncharacteristically girlish squeal of excitement. "Look at this place!" she mused, "I guess…the roof is a little leaky and everything here is covered in dust, so it's probably been unoccupied? No food in the cupboards…but - !" She swung open a small wardrobe door to reveal some slightly dusty blankets. "We can sleep in a bed! With blankets!"

Anders smiled at Hawke, sitting down heavily in one of the wooden chairs in the kitchen. Dust flew off around him and he coughed. Hawke laughed, seemingly giddy with exhaustion and excitement over their accommodations for the night. "Anders, don't sit down just yet! I can't wait to get out of these damn clothes and I'm not going without you." She pulled off her light traveling tunic, leaving her in just her breast wrappings. Her hair was ruffled playfully, and he slowly rose again to run his fingers through it while she pulled his shirt off as well. "We can wash everything and then rest – we have just enough daylight left."

"I can accept that," he murmured, and then let her lead them outside.

Hawke stepped out of her trousers gracelessly as they made their way out to the pond, following by her wrappings and undergarments. Although she could entice him easily, she certainly didn't wear her sensuality on her sleeve like Isabella. Rather, Hawke's beauty was in her authenticity, and how she only shared her more effeminate side with those most intimate with her. Although he was exhausted, he still felt something stir within him at the sight of her scarred yet beautiful and well-muscled body, wanting to place his hand at the curve of her waist and the swell of her hip, where it had rested so many nights before. As if on cue, Hawke turned around and gave a him a coy glance, her mouth twisting suggestively.

"Well, are you coming?" she asked as she let herself fall neck-deep into the cool water. She shivered and laughed, closing her eyes happily. Anders assumed that the water had to be cold, but it was no surprise that Hawke had jumped right in. That was something he loved about her – how she took risks and was always unapologetically herself.

For this moment in time, it was as if nothing had happened at the Chantry – as if he hadn't unleashed unspeakable horror on hundreds of innocent people – and he closed his eyes tightly to try and will away those thoughts while he had this chance to enjoy an evening with a beautiful woman.

He stripped off his own trousers as well, pulling off his smallclothes and throwing them into a heap with Hawke's. She smiled and beckoned at him, splashing at him when he hesitated to get all the way in. She reached out and grasped his hand. "Don't worry – you'll get used to it, and I'll be here the whole time," she said sarcastically. He shook his head at her poking fun at him, stepping in the rest of the way and letting himself float in the water. It wasn't deep – probably a meter or so – but it was perfect for lounging after a long day. The water cooled his aching tendons, and he let himself soak in leisure for a moment before looking again at Hawke. She was staring at him with interest, and he noticed for the first time that something had changed about the way she looked at him. There was a hint of something slightly troubled about her, and he reached out to pull her close. She didn't resist his touch at all, leaning her head towards him to rest his forehead against hers.

"I didn't want to do it, but something needed to be done," he whispered. She opened her eyes, her brow furrowed with anger and hurt, but he couldn't waver on this, not now when his head was in complete disarray. "I've seen too many terrible things happen to our people to not take action. We can't live under the yoke of the Chantry anymore, we must…"

She covered his mouth with a kiss, and every nerve seemed to spark to life, erasing any lofty thoughts from his mind. As she drew away, she looked him squarely in the eyes. "What you did wasn't right. It caused chaos and people died. But you asked me to punish you and I can't and won't do that. You're alive and you're here with me, and that's how you'll stay."

He reached out to lovingly caress her cheek. "I don't know what I did to deserve –"

She cut him off again with a kiss, this time more forceful. He pulled her close to him and rested on the rocky bed of the creek, letting his hands roam over her shoulders and then lower, to her breast. At first he tried to be slow, but desire quickly overtook him and he palmed her breast roughly, letting a jolt of magical energy reach out to touch the peak. She jolted against him, her tongue exploring his mouth intently. Hawke was often a demanding lover, and he couldn't allow this opportunity to please her to pass him by. Anders lifted her into his lap and wrapped his mouth around her nipple, circling his tongue around her peak until she was moaning with pleasure. She rubbed herself against his hardness and he was suddenly acutely aware of how much he needed her.

She let out a throaty laugh against his cheek as she ground herself against him. "I hate to rush things since I know that it's been a while and we should take our time…"

Hawke was cut off when he thrust himself into her swollen folds. She moaned loudly into his ear and he slowly began to thrust in and out of her, taking his time as he truly felt her for the first time since they had left Kirkwall. He had missed feeling her around him, the closeness that they only achieved when they were making love, and that happened all too infrequently. Feeling her rise and fall against him banished all thoughts of what he had done from his mind, and it wasn't hard at all to focus only on her.

She clenched herself around him, her eyes closed and a smile on her face while her head rolled backwards. Hawke was never shy about her own pleasure, a trait that Anders appreciated in a woman. Anders nestled his head against her breast to flick his tongue against her nipple again, while at the same time reaching his hand down to caress her pearl. "Faster," she whispered against him.

He quickened his pace, losing himself in the feeling of her. Bracing herself against his shoulder, she leaned back, showing herself fully to him in the early evening light. His whole body was on fire with want, and he wasn't surprised when he opened his eyes to see the water beginning to let off just a small amount of steam. She'd always had a tendency to let some magic slip when they were together back in Kirkwall. Suddenly a wave of pleasure hit him as Hawke groaned and her short fingernails scraped against his back. When he realized that she was riding out her orgasm, he came himself, spilling into her. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as they held each other in the now pleasantly hot water. They slowly disentangled from one another, and she grinned at him. "Sorry…but I thought this might be better for a bath."

The next waning hours of daylight were spent harvesting some wild herbs, making dinner out of rations, and then falling asleep together in a plush and well-made bed. Although he was still filled with desire for Hawke, she fell asleep so quickly that he would have felt bad waking her. His limbs seemed to weigh him down as well, and it wasn't more than a few minutes before he too was asleep.

Light drifting through the open curtains woke Anders the next morning. Birds were singing outside of the window, the perfect background music for an almost absurdly picturesque moment. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and nuzzled the back of Hawke's neck, breathing in deeply and holding her closer. After all of the heartache they had been through in Kirkwall, this felt like an all too precious moment that he did not deserve.

He couldn't resist anymore, and peppered just a few kisses on the back of her neck. He didn't know how long they would be on the run, so he had to savor every moment of peace and quiet with her. This was one of those seldom, sacred times when they were together and nothing else in the world could ever harm them. It was raining again – he could hear light taps on the roof and a few drops falling into other rooms in the house – but with her there he was perfectly warm.

She slowly stirred, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. The sun caught in her eyelashes, and it felt like something in his chest twisted at how beautiful she was in the morning light. He could wake up like this every day and die a happy man.

"I didn't mean to wake you, but I couldn't resist."

She rolled over to face him, her hair messy and her eyes still heavy with sleep. Her brow was furrowed as she sorted through the night's events, then her face eased into a smile. "I didn't know where we were…and then I remembered." She laughed and it occurred to him that they had never gotten to be together like this. In Kirkwall, there had been so many shadows on her, of her mother's horrific death, her fight to help the city's mages, or her clashes with the Qunari. Here, they were just a man and a woman in a warm bed together, listening to birdsong and a light morning rain. It was so magnicificently simple he could have wept.

Anders slid his leg in between hers, reaching his hand around to grip her backside. She wrapped herself tightly around him, her breath quickening and a lazy smile spreading across her features. "I was thinking we could perhaps get up and have a small breakfast…but then it occurred to me that I don't think we've appropriately used this bed." He moved his hand to delicately touch her breast, drawing tantalizingly slow circles around the peak. She laughed, her voice breaking a little as she spoke.

"I was thinking we could do breakfast in bed."

He suddenly pinched her nipple, and she opened her mouth slightly. He watched her, smiling, and moved his other hand to finger her bud. She was already slick with desire, and moved herself against him. He leaned into her and she opened her eyes to look at him as she slowly rode the palm of his hand, making him touch her how she wanted. "You always do this, Marian…" he murmured, "Just be patient and let me pleasure you."

She groaned her consent and he flipped her over completely onto her back, lavishing attention on her breasts. She moved her hand as if to reach down and touch herself, but he gently took her wrist, looking up at her again. "Let me do this for you."

Anders followed a trail of kisses down her belly and then flicked his tongue out to touch her sex. She trembled beneath him, her hands shooting out to tangle in his golden hair. He lightly placed kisses around her inner thighs, watching with pleasure as she struggled to maintain her composure, but she melted into moans and swaying hips when he placed an open mouthed kiss between her thighs. She held his hair and moved her hips towards him – she could never concede complete control – and he moved his hands up to touch both of her breasts, rolling the peaks between his fingers.

Suddenly she pulled him up to kiss her again, and then flipped him over with her oft-surprising strength. In one fluid motion, she kissed him passionately on the lips and then moved down his body to return the favor, taking him fully in her mouth. He felt himself lose command over their encounter and over his own body, jerking his hips up to meet her as she teased him by pulling away. He didn't last long before he found himself begging her to let him have her completely. She moved up his body and he held her close, rolling her over so that he was on top again.

For a moment it seemed like time stood still as it occurred to him that he wanted to carve this into his memories: Anders and Hawke, together in bed, the whole world waiting outside of their small sanctuary. She looked at him as if the same thought was crossing her mind. He kissed her gently, then slowly sheathed himself in her folds. She sighed into his mouth, wrapping her legs around his waist as they moved into a slow and laborious rhythm. He wanted to memorize everything about how it felt to be this close to her, moving and breathing as one and connected in every possible way. He could feel the tides of their magic falling in to sync as well and twisting around one another, a symphony of color and tactile sensation. Warm reds and golds popped in fireworks behind his eyelids, and he felt the unmistakeable warmth of her powers move around them. "Anders…" she whispered with heated breaths like a chant, reminding him that he was not only Justice but a man.

He braced himself on the headboard of the old wooden bed, rising up to thrust into her more deeply, and she held him closer with her legs, twisting her fingers into her own hair with one hand and reaching down to touch herself with the other. Giving in to their closeness and the heat of the moment, he plunged himself once more into her and came, his heart pounding in his chest when she met him at her end. He collapsed on top of her, and she wrapped her arms around him to pull him into a tight embrace. Anders kissed the top of her head lovingly, and she made a soft purr of contentment from the protection of his arms. With the noises of their lovemaking dying down, the cottage returned to the quiet of rain tapping on the roof.

Hawke looked up at him, clutching the covers around her shoulders, and smiled.

"You know…we have provisions for several extra days…"

Anders laughed. "I think we might be able to stay…just one more night."