"I am definitely going to kill your brother." Hawke said for the umpteenth time as his stomach growled.
They had reached the Primeval Thaig and stumbled upon an idol made out of red lyrium, something none of them had heard of before. When Varric had showed it to his brother Bartrand had taken the opportunity to lock them in the Thaig and cut them off from their only known exit. So now they were making their way through the deep roads, fighting profane, darkspawn, demons and a rock wraith along the way.
"Don't be so hasty just yet Hawke," Varric said, motioning for the group to stop, "It would appear that we have stumbled upon quite a bit of a fortune." He smiled.
"Ooh, pretty shiny things." Hawke said as he and Varric went into the stash of gold and chests and began to throw things into the sacks that they had picked up along the way after Bartrand betrayed them.
Nero, Bethany, Anders and Fenris took the opportunity to rest. All were thankful that they had made it through their fight with the rock wraith just moments before, and wanted to relax and lick their wounds for a moment.
Nero rubbed his knees where he had fallen on the remains of a profane and jarred his kneecaps. He sighed loudly, "I really need a bath, and a massage, and a bed, and a-"
Bethany groaned, "stop it, you're reminding me of things that I would rather forget. Like pumpkin pie, I would kill for a slice of mother's pumpkin pie."
Anders searched his pack for a lyrium potion that he knew wasn't there, "I'd like a big slab of ham, fresh from the kitchen, with honeyed mustard please."
"I'd be happy with an apple, at least." Fenris muttered from where he was sprawled on the ground, his chipped sword laying beside him.
"You people have no imagination," Nero laughed, "I would like a large plate of fries sprinkled with lots of mozzarella curds and bacon and topped with gravy. Mmmm"
"that does sound good," Bethany agreed, "I'll have a portion of that with a side of pumpkin pie."
Nero's stomach groaned loudly and painfully, he winced "okay, enough of that, my stomach feels like it wants to rip is way out of my body and eat everything in site that isn't a rock."
Bethany giggled and the group fell silent as they each thought about what they would like to eat when they got back to the surface anyway. Anders found himself drifting off, incredibly tired from the magic he had used during their latest battle. He barely registered that others were speaking
"Why didn't you just use your powers to kill the rock wraith with bigger rocks." Fenris demanded of Nero.
"I didn't think anybody would be very happy if I collapsed the entire Thaig on us because I wanted to throw a big rock. Rock is difficult to control anyway, its terribly stubborn." Nero chuckled.
"Get up you lazy asses, we're going to go look for water and make a camp." Hawke said cheerfully, tossing a sack to each of the men.
Anders grunted with the impact, "can't one of you just drag me with you?" he grumbled as he stood.
Fenris shot him an icy glare, "we could kill and leave you. One less person to waste our provisions on."
Anders scowled at the elf but continued past him without replying.
...
They had conveniently found a small alcove with a stream running through it and set up camp just outside of it. They were all in a good mood upon finding it, excited to be able to bathe for the first time in weeks. Anders, Varric, Bethany and Nero already had their rolls set up, Nero's still next to Anders' despite his altercation with Justice. He figured if the spirit wanted to kill him then his roll being a few feet away wouldn't stop him,
Fenris was just wrestling his tunic from where it was tangled up in his armor when Hawke joined him in the alcove. He eyed the man, thankful that he already had his leggings on. Hawke swept his wet hair out of his eyes as he smiled at the elf.
"Difficulties?" He asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Fenris raised an eyebrow, "yes. Was there something you needed, Hawke?"
Hawke chuckled and leaned against the wall near where the elf was losing the battle with his armor for his tunic. The man grinned down at the wet elf, and wiped a drop of water off of his own naked chest.
"You're adorable when your wet and frustrated." he observed.
Fenris sighed and stood strait, turning towards the man. "Thank you, I think." he frowned.
Hawke took a step towards the elf, so close that he could feel Fenris' breath on his skin.
"You're welcome," he said quietly.
Fenris took a step away from the man, far to aware of how he lacked clothing. He swallowed hard and looked at the rock behind Hawke.
Hawke frowned slightly and slowly raised a hand to the elf's cheek, he rubbed the elf's cheekbone and took a step forward, replacing the one that Fenris had just taken. Fenris sighed quietly and gently leaned into the touch, his eyelids fluttering closed. He heard a laugh from outside of the alcove and was reminded of just how close everyone else was. He tensed and took another step backwards but his back hit cold stone and this time when Hawke took a step forward he had no where to back up to.
"We haven't been alone for weeks Fenris, this is the closest we're going to get." Hawke whispered, dropping his hand to the elf's shoulder.
"We aren't really alone right now either." Fenris muttered, refusing to meet the other man's intense gaze.
"alone enough," Hawke sighed, he gently grasped the elf's chin in his hand and raised his head, so that Fenris had no where to look other than his face.
Fenris felt a cold shiver shoot down his spine at the lust he found in the other man's gaze. He was so surprised by it that he didn't react when Hawke slowly lowered his head and pressed their lips together. When their skin met he gasped, Hawke jumped on the opportunity and pushed his tongue forward to explore the elf's mouth.
Fenris instinctively froze and lifted his hand to push the other man away but didn't touch him, instead telling himself to relax and let it happen. If Hawke noticed Fenris' hesitation he did not show it, instead he placed one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his hip and pulled the elf closer to him. Fenris found himself groaning when his semi-hard erection was pressed against Hawke's thigh and Hawke grinned into the kiss at the sound. Fenris' fingers wrapped around Hawke's forearms, as though he needed to hold on to them to remain standing.
Hawke released Fenris' mouth and chuckled at the small whimper that escaped the elf. He Kissed along his jaw to the soft spot under his ear and pressed his tongue there before he nibbled along Fenris' ear. Fenris sucked in air sharply and tried to ignore the hand that was on his neck trailing itself down his abdomen.
"Soups on, come get your dinner brother!" they heard Bethany say from outside.
With a frustrated sigh Hawke straightened and found himself looking at a very stunned elf. He grinned, "I'll see you out there." he said before turning and joining the others.
Fenris didn't move for several minutes, his brain fumbling to understand what just happened. He stared blankly at where his shirt was stuck in his armor and caught his breath. Hawke had been flirting with him for months now, sure, but Fenris had never taken it as much more than just that, flirting. But now...well now he wasn't sure what he should do. He pushed himself off of the wall and bent down, he unhooked his tunic from where it had gotten caught on one of his spiky pauldrons and untangled it from the straps. He stood to pull it over his head and before he bent over to put on his armor he caught a whiff of the watery soup Bethany was serving and his stomach growled.
He decided to rid himself of his hunger so that he could think about this with a clear head. He fumbled with his armor but once it was on he strode to the campfire, focusing on keeping his shakiness from being apparent as he walked.
...
They had found their way back to where they had started when Anders realized that the taint he was sensing wasn't coming from Darkspawn like he had thought.
Bethany hadn't been looking very good since a couple of days before when they had encountered a small group of darkspawn. She hadn't complained and they had assumed the blood on her face had been her own from where she had gotten nicked by an arrow on her cheek. He had healed it despite the almost overwhelming buzzing in his head from the dieing darkspawn around them, but now...
Now he knew that she had ingested some of the Darkspawn's blood, and he could tear his hair out that he had not noticed it sooner.
She was being held up by an angry Hawke as they turned around and Anders lead them to where he knew the other Grey Wardens would be.
He still wasn't sure this was the right decision, he didn't know if he could really push this fate onto her. She was so young and innocent, she didn't deserve to have the taint and the nightmares and the death sentence. He felt sick with mourning even as he walked beside her and her brother.
He couldn't stop himself from looking away from her foggy eyes, nor the bruised looking skin surrounding them. Her pale skin and the constant sheen of sweat was a constant reminder of how he failed. He should have protected her better from the darkspawn, he should have always kept himself between her and them but he didn't and now...now she was cursed.
"I think their nearby." He said, then he heard growls and hisses from the darkness "or it could be darkspawn."
It was the latter, luckily it was a small group and they were dispatched quickly. When he turned around he came face to face with the Templar Stroud. He forced himself not to show his hatred, instead he decided to pretend that he was talking to a floating mustache. Well hello there Mr Mustache, good to see you again.
"Anders." The mustache stated.
"Fancy meeting you here Mu-Stroud." He smiled.
"I could say the same," Stroud folded his arms across his chest, "I thought you were through fighting darkspawn."
Anders frowned sadly, "I'm not here for darkspawn. I came looking for you."
The both looked to where Hawke was helping Bethany approach them, "You...mean the girl as a recruit? Of course you do." Stroud shook his head. He looked to the Hawke siblings "I'm sorry. I know this comes as no comfort to you, but we do not recruit Grey Wardens out of pity. It is no kindness."
"You think its kinder to let Bethany die from the blight?" Hawke growled.
"Sometimes it is, yes." Stroud said sadly.
"Stroud, trust me when I say this one is worth your time." Anders explained, "with the Blight over, you Wardens don't have recruits lining up."
"This is no simple thing, Anders. This may be as much a death sentence as the sickness, and you know it."
"She'll die anyway," Anders persisted, "Take her and try...I'm asking you."
Stroud shook his head in frustration, "Very well. I will try, but if I do this, then we are even." He turned back to the siblings "if the girl comes, she comes now, and you may not see her again. Being a Grey Warden is not a cure. It is a calling."
"Are you sure about this?" Hawke asked Bethany.
"It sounds better than a sure death, the circle, or continuing to put you and mother at risk for harboring an apostate. I'm sure." Bethany said tiredly.
"We must move quickly if we are to make the surface in time." Stroud said to the Wardens behind him.
"Then I guess this is it," Bethany said sadly to her brother, "Take care of mother."
Hawke nodded and let Stroud take Bethany from him. He watched them leave sadly, telling himself over and over that it wouldn't be the last time he saw her. When he turned to head back the way they had come he couldn't stop the look of hatred he shot at Anders.
Anders felt his eyes burning, a large part of him wanting to go with the Grey Wardens to be there for Bethany. But a particularly Justicey part of him demanded he go with the others back to Kirkwall where he could make a difference. So he trailed behind Hawke and the others as they made their way back to the surface, leaving Bethany to face her fate alone.