Author Notes: Thanks to all of you that have reviewed, followed, and added my story to their favorites.

It warms me greatly to read them and look forward to more in the future.

Chapter Six: The Deep Roads Aftermath

Since the disaster of the Wounded Coast, Hawke had the implausible idea that Fenris and Anders would quickly become the greatest of buddies and insisted that the two accompany him on many of his excursions across Kirkwall and the Free Marches. This however had not been the case at all. The Elf, as Anders couldn't find the respect to properly speak his name, had been incredibly cold since then. Suspicious to no end with whatever he would say or actions he would take. Constant questioning that would eventually lead to heated arguments between the two. Usually over the stupidest of things; such what supplies should be bought or even over the third companion to join them. How Hawke was able to deal with the two of them, it wasn't clear. Varric suspected very large quantities of watered-down whiskey at the Hanged Man afterward.

When Hawke had comes to Anders' clinic about the Deep Roads expedition, the healer had been less than thrilled with the prospect. He hadn't wanted to go back to that blighted underground, not even when his time of the Calling came. Anders had eventually agreed to going, but made Hawke promise that the Elf could not come along. It was a rather petty request, but staying for weeks on end with the Elf would be a true hell. There would be a constant scowl on his broody face, which would always be directed towards him. And he would have to feel the man's glare burning into his back the entire time they were down there together.

Deep underground, enclosed space, with a savage anti-mage beast. No thank you.

Thankfully Hawke had already thought of bringing Bethany along instead. It had comforted Anders to know that Bethany would be replacing Fenris for this trip, but a part of him worried. The girl was younger than Hawke and much more innocent. The Deep Roads were not for the faint of heart. He had attempted to persuade Hawke to take someone else along, such as Aveline or Isabella—but he and Bethany were hell-bent on going together. Even the elf showed a little concern for the younger Hawke. Why the Elf could never show him a little of that concern was beyond Anders, until he remembered that he was an abomination in the elf's mind. To which he would just scoff and offer a small curse as to why he even wanted that bit of concern.

When the Hawkes were going through their goodbyes in the merchant's district of Hightown, Anders was sure to keep his clinic open with the aid of some of the mages from the underground. They were a duo of apostates who were knowledgeable in the healing arts and it would have to be enough for the few weeks he would be gone from Darktown.

The expedition itself had started off well-enough. For being in the Deep Roads at any rate. But things went straight to hell when Varric's wonderful brother Bartrand had betrayed them by cutting their group off from the rest of the expedition. It took them going through hordes of Darkspawn, thankfully none of them were of the sentient variety, and a few rock wraiths that were thought to be of dwarven legend. Learn something new every day.

By the time the group had gotten through the final treasury room, which was filled with plenty of loot that Hawke and Varric were after, it had been nearly a week. Anders thankfully memorized most of the maps and layouts of the known Deep Roads and knew where they were and was able to take the lead for yet another week. Low on supplies and exhausted from constant ambushes set by Hurlocks, Genlocks, and other creepy-crawlies of the Deep Roads, they were nearing the surface.

That was when Bethany had fallen. She had been oddly quiet for the last week, but Anders had just assumed it was due to the exhaustion and the entire dreariness of being stuck in the Deep Roads. It was when he finally was able to examine her closely that the former-warden noticed she had been tainted by the Darkspawn. He cursed himself for not being more vigilant! Justice made murmurs in the back of his mind about ending the girl's life, but he rejected it immediately. He would not have another innocent's blood on his hands.

It was a long shot, but Anders suggested seeking out some of the Grey Wardens that often patrolled the Deep Roads. It gave Hawke a little bit of hope. Some more Darkspawn death later and Anders stumbled upon a familiar group of wardens. It had been awkward to say in the least and they were more than reluctant to accept Bethany among their ranks. It took a little extra convincing, but they took her all the same. Hawke had been so relieved than it pained Anders.

'She is still sentenced to death.' The voice whispered in the back of his mind. But Anders just could not tell Hawke that. Not now. It would have to wait until after they reached out of the blighted Deep Roads.

Once they had all finally surfaced and reached Kirkwall—Anders still could not tell Hawke. It was just too harsh to tell the warrior that his sister may not survive the joining. Anders had to banish such thought and reassured himself that she surely would. She was a strong and capable mage. All Anders could say was that they'll know her condition in a few months and left Hawke alone to break the news to his mother. Oh Maker, he hadn't even thought about Leandra. She had already lost one child.

Shortly after parting ways with Hawke he was left with Varric, who was in an uncharacteristically foul mood. Though, being betrayed by family tended to have that kind of effect on people. "Sorry Blondie, I need to put some feelers out… you know." The dwarf spoke as he cradled his beloved crossbow and left the mage alone. Anders supposed he ought to go back to his clinic, but he just failed the strength to go there. He did not wish to see any of the sick or poor down in Darktown, not right now. Nor see any of the mages' underground. Just, not now.

Despite the rumblings of complaint from the back of Anders' mind, the healer ignored them and began to walk around Hightown. It was strange doing so without Hawke. Usually he spent most of his time in Darktown or Lowtown to gather his supplies for the clinic. It was getting late and so most of the streets were emptying out, even the Chanter's Board was desolate.

His mind was wracked with guilt about Bethany. He knew something like this was possible when Darkspawn were involved. But for it to happen to such a kind and innocent girl, it was terrible. All he had managed was to extend her suffering. She would still be tainted and plagued by terrible nightmares with whispering Darkspawn. Only to have been left to live with fight Darkspawn until her calling came in the next twenty to thirty years.

Amber eyes blinked as he found himself standing in front of the doors of a familiar mansion. The Elf. Had he really walked all around Hightown just to come to this place?

The mage's hand came up and hovered over the metal door-knocker that decorated the front door of the mansion. What was he doing? Fenris should have been his last source of comfort. The elf would merely scoff at him and may even kill him there for bothering him at night. For a moment Anders thought that wouldn't have been such a bad fate as his hand grasped the metal-knocker and struck it against the door once. His body tensed a moment as he held his breath.

After a few moments passed he let the breath escape past his lips. Anders realized how idiotic he was being and turned on the heels of his boots and prepared to make a hasty escape from Hightown.

"What are you doing here, mage?" The deep voice questioned from behind him. For a moment his entire body relaxed at the sound, but quickly he recovered and sheepishly turned back to find Fenris in full armor standing in the doorway of the mansion he so graciously squatted in.

"I don't suppose you'd believe I came by because I was merely in the neighborhood?" Anders replied with a half-hearted chuckle. His brows scrunched lightly as he fidgeted in front of the other man. He wanted to just desperately runaway and escape from the man's sight.

"Come inside."

Anders blinked in mild surprise by the offer, or was it a command? The healer hesitated a moment before he walked in after the warrior, shutting the door behind him. It had been nearly a year since knowing Fenris and he hadn't done a thing with the place. He was fairly certain the old corpses were still within somewhere.

"What happened?" He heard Fenris ask as they climbed the stairs in the direction of the master-bedroom of the mansion. It was strange to hear such things coming from the elf. Anders remained quiet for the moment and he contemplated what he should say to the man. Something like: Oh everything just went swimmingly, expect Varric's brother turned out to be a real bastard and Bethany was horribly tainted by the Darkspawn.

"Mage, did something happen to Hawke?"

Oh yes, of course he'd be worried about Hawke. It must have been why he was tolerating his presence in that moment. Anders glanced over to Fenris was a frown tugging at his own lips before moving closer to the crackling fireplace. "He's fine… It's Bethany she…." Anders found himself trailing off as he scrunched his brows together a moment and shook his head lightly. The mild look of shock passed over Fenris and alarm rose in Anders.

"She lives, I think. She had been tainted by the Darkspawn, we found some Grey Wardens to take her." The mage added quickly, but soon sighed regretfully afterward.

"You think, she lives?" Anders heard Fenris growl out towards him. He risked a glance and noted the rising anger in those emerald green eyes. He might just have ripped his heart out in that instant.

"There's no guarantee when joining." Anders spoke truthfully as he slumped into the plush-red chair near the fireplace and buried his face into his hands. "I'm sure she's fine, she's a strong girl."

"Stronger than you, for sure." Those words cut deep.

Anders gave another long sigh as he dared another glance towards Fenris and found that the elf did not look nearly as angry before. It was about the same amount of broodiness as he usually showed. He relaxed slightly at that and slumped further into the chair he occupied.

"I should have protected her better." He mumbled as he ran a hand over his face, exhaustion suddenly coming over him. It hit him that he hadn't been in such a comfortable piece of furniture in nearly three-weeks.

"Your actions probably saved her." Anders heard Fenris respond as he listened to the elf move across the stone flooring in front of him. "Why are you here?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that question as he wasn't quite sure why he was there either. Anders dared to crack a slight smile in an attempt to think of something witty or sarcastic as he removed the hand from his face and was met with Fenris' face at his level. The elf was knelt down in front the chair he occupied with some kind of foreign emotion feigning upon the elf's face.

"I…I'm not sure." Anders mumbled as he stared at Fenris a moment and wished desperately that the elf hadn't hated him so much. "It might just be because I am famous for doing incredibly stupid things." He managed to quip with a faint smirk.

He heard the other offer a small half-snort that warmed and churned his stomach. It wasn't often that he heard Fenris laugh, even in the slightest. "I will not deny that, mage." Anders watched as Fenris shook his head faintly before he stood to his full height in front of him and suddenly remembered Isabella mentioning that he was quite lanky for an elf. And he would have to agree. The elf was good at causing quite the stirring within others.

A moment of awkward silence fell between the two and Anders forced his gaze off the elf and onto the nearby fire that flickered in the hearth. He could hear Fenris fidget nearby and he knew his presence was wearing thin on the other.

"I should go. I've avoided the clinic long enough." Anders suddenly spoke and stood from chair. There was a sharp intake of breath from the other which caused him to pause a moment and glance over to Fenris, but found that the elf seemed content with his decision. His stomach churned further at that.

Anders gathered himself together as he headed down the steps into the main hall of Danarius' former home. "Mage, if you want you can stay the night. It's late—you'll just draw too much attention to yourself." Anders couldn't believe what he had just heard from the elf. He stopped in mid-stride and glanced back towards the other to verify he had heard correctly.

"Have you hit your head?" Anders asked before he could stop himself. He noted the flash of anger over Fenris' face and regretted it immediately.

"No, can I not offer you a place to rest?" Fenris spat back rather angrily and Anders visibly cringed.

"How can I be sure you won't just rip my heart out? I'm rather fond of where it is." He quipped back in light banter and found himself leaning against the aged banister of the stairway. This seemed to catch Fenris off guard though he seemed to recover quickly.

"Just don't do any magic and you'll be fine, mage." Fenris snipped back.

Anders contemplated this prospect for a moment. He had to admit walking from Hightown all the way to Darktown in the middle of the night was not a very appealing journey. He was sure he'd run across a number of thugs, drunks, and maybe the occasional guardsman.

"All right—do you have some water for me to wash up?" Anders resigned as the mage travelled back up the steps towards Fenris. The elf tilted his face slightly and gave a curt nod before walking off to show him an empty bedroom and a functioning bathroom that wasn't nearly as dilapidated as the rest of the mansion.

His amber eyes looked over the granite-styled bathroom and whistled lightly at what he saw. "Squatting in the lapse of luxury really does have its benefits." Anders teased lightly as he turned only to find that Fenris was no longer there. "…hate when he does that." He murmured lightly and started to tug off his Tevinter styled jacket.

He turned to the water-pump that was located within the house and began to fill the basin. As much as Anders desired a long hot bath, that would be impossible. Cool, but clean, water filled the heavy porcelain sink. Anders took this time to strip away the sweat-drenched tunic to reveal an assortment of scars and mars upon his flesh, particularly around his collarbone and wrists from the long bouts of isolation within the Circle. The mage folded the dirtied tunic and placed it beside the feather-clad coat before loosening his blonde locks and grabbed a washcloth went about washing the sweat, dirt, and grime from his face and chest.

After cleaning himself up, and thoroughly turning the water brown, Anders went to his pack and sought out a fairly clean tunic to wear for the night and slipped the patch-worked cloth over his head to securely cover the markings. The healer padded away from the bathroom and walked in the direction of the main foyer, but voices caused him to hesitate and stop at the corner.

A deep and disheartened voice reached his ears and he was quick to recognize it belonged to Hawke. Of course he would visit Fenris. Anders leaned against the wall and miserably eavesdropped in on the conversation that was occurring from above. It really wasn't all that hard in such an empty mansion.

"You have my condolences about your sister."

"She's not dead." Anders' cringed at the desperation in the man's voice.

"I know… she's a strong girl. But she will no longer be here." Why must Fenris be so horrible at comforting?

Anders wanted to come out from around the corner and properly console his friend and ensure that Bethany would be all right in the Grey Wardens, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He was being cowardly, again.

"Mother was heart-broken… I should have listened to Anders' warning."

Oh Maker, he just wanted to desperately runaway in that moment. Further guilt washed over him as he nearly heard Hawke cry out in his anguish for loosing yet another sibling. Anders slumped slightly against the wall as he listened to subtle movement from the nearby balcony. Curiously the mage dared to peek and witnessed that the former-slave was offering a comforting hand. It was strange seeing the usually distant elf actually offer physical contact willingly. That just proved how much he really cared for Hawke.

"What matters is that she is still alive. You should go back to your Mother, I'm sure she would want…" Fenris started to speak but suddenly Anders witnessed something far too intimate. Hawke hushed the elf with a rather passionate kiss.

Anders felt an ache in his chest that startled even him. The breath hitched in his throat and he suddenly retreated from the corner of the hallway and back into the bathroom he had previously occupied. That was something he was not supposed to see.

He stayed in the bathroom for what felt like ages, but he could not bring himself to leave. What if Hawke and Fenris were becoming a little more intimate? That would just be horrifying. Anders was no prude, he had plenty of trysts in the tower and not to mention his brief spell at the Pearl, but this was so much different. This was two of his comrades in a very tender and heated moment. As time ticked on Anders paced the bathroom and wondered if he could just slip out of the house and make it back to the clinic. It seemed the best option.

The mage moved to slip back on the Tevinter-styled coat and bundled his pack together and slung it over his shoulder with his staff. "Okay, just quietly slip out the front and Hawke will be none the wiser…" Anders mumbled as he reached the bathroom door, only to hear a sharp knock, causing him to yelp and jump nearly ten feet into the air.

"You all right, Mage?" Fenris' voice called out from the other side.

Anders' entire body tensed and mind reeled. Was Hawke still in the mansion? Or was Fenris going to throw him out so he could continue his escapades with their leader? Anything was possible with the elf. Well, he would just beat him to it then and tell him he'd changed his mind and would go home after-all.

He opened the door and was greeted with the visage of Fenris' and that broody scowl still on his face. It was hard to believe he had just shared a passionate kiss with another only a little while earlier. Anders paused and found himself staring at the other far longer than he had intended.

"Thanks for the use of your bathroom…." Anders finally managed the words as he brushed past Fenris and quickly headed into the hallway. "…I'll be headed out now. The clinic is probably in quite the state." He quipped lightly and avoided Fenris' intense gaze.

"Mage?"

"Besides, if I stay here your mage-hating reputation would be at stake." He joked once more, ignoring the sound of what appeared to be concern in the elf's voice. Anders quickly escaped down the hallway, listening to the following footsteps of Fenris, but the elf had been far too slow and Anders all too familiar with running away.