A/N: I have received several requests that I stop editing out the smut, so this chapter contains explicit descriptions of sex between two male characters. You have been warned!

Fenris was not in the habit of taking advice from his friends. In fact, he was not in the habit of having friends.

As he stood under the weak spring sun in the Gallows, his gaze passed over Varric, Isabela and Sebastian as they stood with Hawke, who was speaking to Emeric. It occurred to him that these were, in fact, his friends. Well…Hawke was a complicated pain in the ass, but the rest were his friends.

For an ex-slave who had been living as a fugitive for years, it was a remarkable thought.

Over the past couple of weeks he felt as if he were starting to see things with new eyes, as if there were something new to be learned from even the most commonplace things. It was a little bit frightening, because for each new thing learned the world got a little bigger. For slaves and fugitives alike smaller worlds were safer, the known was easier to plan for and react to. But he was starting to think he wanted to live in an infinitely expanding world.

Not every day was like that. There were still times when he wanted things to be black and white, when having to peel back layers of meaning to get to the truth of something seemed like too much trouble compared to just judging it by the simple label on its surface.

But on a day like today…standing against the stones and feeling the sun gaining in strength, realizing that he, Fenris, was in possession of something as exotic and valuable as friendships, he was…perfectly content.

A quick flash of blue eyes pulled him from his musings when he noticed Sebastian looking at him. He smiled a little to himself as he thought that it was the priests' fault he was in such a contemplative mood this morning.

On the boat ride over the priest had mentioned again that he was available if Fenris ever wanted to confess anything. Fenris knew that it was his relationship with Anders that had prompted the offer this time. The healer had stayed home rather than come to the Gallows, and Sebastian had approached him to talk for the first time since he and Anders had started sleeping together.

If it weren't for the fondness he already had for the priest and his gentle, respectful ways, he would have been irritated. He knew Sebastian was thinking of sin, but what he felt when the blonde man lay tangled against him at night was more like…solace. After having borne witness to so many horrors, both in Tevinter and here, that the idea of a Chantry that would do nothing to act against those things, but would forbid what occurred between himself and the healer, made absolutely no sense to him.

But he did respect Sebastian so he just calmly refused the offer. The most interesting thing the Starkhaven prince had mentioned was that he struggled with his own sexual impulses and had to resort to prayer to control them and that he'd heard the confessions of many, many people who felt the same. He had offered this information as a way to inspire Fenris to seek the means to control his urges, having no idea that it had the opposite affect on the Tevinter.

Ever since the first night that he had bedded the healer he had been thinking of sex…it seemed almost constantly. Thinking of Anders; that spark in those honey eyes, his hair down around his shoulders, and his mouth…that mouth. His inability to control these thoughts had been a concern to him, wondering if something in his conditioning as a slave, combined with his newfound enjoyment of touch, had made him into some depraved creature.

Instead, it sounded as if normal people had those thoughts often, which made him feel relieved. Rather than struggle to control it as Sebastian thought he should, he felt gratified that he was starting to experience life the way people did who had never been slaves.

So Fenris was in a good mood when Hawke decided that carrying on Emeric's investigation could wait, and instead they were going to go with Sebastian to the Harriman estate.

While it was obvious that there were strange things going on at the mansion that was hardly different from most of their adventures so his mood was still light as they made their way up to the third floor.

When they walked in on the man in a very compromising position, begging for the elf girl to use a feather, Fenris couldn't help but think of Anders and he felt himself blushing a little. Then when Isabela spoke up and said she wanted "Felicitate me" embroidered on her blouse he actually chuckled, more from the novelty of feeling like he was in on the joke than because it was truly amusing.

Whatever the reason, his companions all looked at him with varying degrees of surprise. Since the man did not seem able to hear them they decided the next place they needed to check was the basement. Hawke, Sebastian and Varric left the room first but when Isabela got to the doorway she turned and blocked his exit with a big grin on her face.

"Look at you, getting giggly. Were you imagining yourself on your knees in front of a certain feathered apostate?"

His amusement abruptly fled and he scowled down at her,

"Why, because I am the elf? You imagine I'd be the one on my knees, servicing the mage?"

"As a matter of fact I do imagine that…sometimes."

Her dusky face looked up at him as a small frown pulled her brows together,

"Oh, please don't tell me you're just a taker and not a giver? I'd hate to be picturing you and Anders in bed together and have to feel sorry for him. That just doesn't seem right."

Why was he even continuing this discussion? He took a menacing step forward but she refused to move out of the doorway so he growled,

"There's no need for you to picture us!"

She smirked up at him, not cowed by his manner at all,

"Oh, like I'm going to stop now. Look, I just don't understand what your problem is with this. Hasn't he…felicitated you? Why wouldn't you return the favor?"

She was blocking his way out, he didn't want to hurt her, the noises from the room behind them were increasingly graphic, and somehow he had lost his ability to end the conversation. So with increasing frustration he just snapped.

"It seems…degrading."

"Oh, but it is ok for him to be degraded? Is that really what you think?"

He felt an uncomfortable feeling of shame wash over him. The degradation of it was something he had thought of when Anders had…done that, but the healer seemed to like it. Although he didn't understand he hadn't the will to protest at the time. Fenris wasn't going to explain any of that to the pirate so he just flushed and looked down at his feet.

She raised a brow knowingly and then heaved a sigh,

"Look, Ser My-issues-have-issues, I get it, and I don't want to argue. Think of it this way, I bet in Tevinter the slaves do all the cooking for their masters, right?"

A little puzzled by the change of subject he didn't even think before replying,

"Yes."

Hearing Varric calling for them to catch up she finally moved out of the doorway, walking beside him as she continued,

"Right. And where there aren't any slaves people have to cook for themselves or pay someone to do it."

How did the others get so far ahead already? He went down the steps two at a time and turned down the first hallway, but Isabela remained at his side, still talking,

"Just because they have to do the cooking, that doesn't make them slaves, right?"

He knew escape was hopeless so he gritted out,

"No, it does not."

"And sometimes people like to cook for each other. Sometimes they take turns cooking for each other, because they like it. And that still doesn't make them slaves."

"Is this going somewhere?"

"It will if you let me finish. So…if you cook a meal for someone that's so good it leaves them a quivering, panting, hopeless wreck…then you may have done all the work but you've still got the upper hand. And that metaphor got a little bit away from me…but you still see what I mean."

Amazingly enough he did see, and as uncomfortable as the discussion had made him, he knew she was trying to be helpful. So he replied grudgingly,

"I will think on what you have said."

Helpful she might be, he was still finished letting her poke into his personal life, so it was with some relief that he made it to the stairs leading into the basement and saw the dwarf waiting for them halfway down. When Varric saw them he chuckled and called up,

"What happened? Did Broody have to drag you away from the show upstairs?"

Isabela laughed, and gave Fenris a little wink.

"No, I was just giving our lanky friend some food for thought."

Varric looked puzzled but Fenris just groaned under his breath and kept walking. Hopefully there was something in this basement that needed killing, he'd just had all the talking he could take.

When Fenris arrived back at the clinic that evening he was scratched and battered from the battle with Allure, but he was still so caught up in thoughts of what Isabela had said that having Anders fussing over him on the exam table was much more distracting than it usually was.

Anders' hands were soft, but surprisingly strong as he sought out and assessed each wound. The worst damage was a large burn on his back from one of the Rage demons, and Anders held his hands up and looked questioningly at the elf, asking permission.

He tensed for a moment, but then nodded acceptance. Although he had become accustomed to letting Anders heal him, he was never able to entirely relax when he did it. This time however, there was a thread of anticipation running through his normal tension. As the cool wash of healing magic radiated through his body and faded the scorch mark to nothing, he found himself closing his eyes, leaning into those hands while a little hmm noise rumbled quietly in his throat.

When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was the absolutely delighted smile on the healer's face. He felt the tips of his ears grow hot and he gave the blonde a little frown. Anders managed to put a more sober expression on, but his soft brown eyes were still shining and his voice was teasing as he leaned close to the elf,

"The last of my patients left just before you came in. If you want I could put the lantern out and shut the door."

Before the blonde was finished speaking Fenris had risen to his feet, pulling Anders into his arms and reaching up to taste the mouth that he had been thinking of all day. He brushed their lips together lightly, lingering at the edge of barely touching and teasing himself as much as the healer. Finally he parted those lips with his own and simply ravished that mouth with his tongue, until he felt Anders begin to sag against him. At that, pulled his head back and looked up into dazed honey eyes that blinked owlishly at him before the blonde said breathlessly,

"That's a yes then?"

He held the healer's gaze as he nodded, and then he let him go as he turned to go into Anders room. Barely bigger than the one in the old clinic, it still consisted of nothing but the little table and chair and the cot. He had already taken his breastplate and gauntlets off to be examined, so he stood and waited in just his leggings until Anders hurried back into the room.

The healer smiled at him and removed his coat, tossing it onto the chair, and then began to work on his robes. Fenris hadn't made up his mind yet how to proceed, so he just cleared his throat and spoke before he could lose his nerve.

"I have been thinking, and tonight I wish to take you in my mouth as you have done for me."

Since he was watching Anders undress he clearly saw his fingers shake on the fastenings of his robe, although he tried not to appear too eager.

"I…yes, that sounds like a splendid plan."

Ever since his conversation with Isabela he had been thinking about how he would do this if he did it. Kneeling on the floor in front of the healer was out of the question. He didn't want to assume any subservient position, but it was hard to think of a position that wasn't subservient, which was why it was hard to imagine doing this in the first place.

He had imagined propping up pillows under Anders' hips so that he could kneel beside him facing his feet, but now in this room, looking at the cot, he realized it was lacking both the room and pillows for such a maneuver. He scrunched up the pillow that was there, but it was far too flat to be of any use. As he pondered he realized that the tiny room had grown very still, and he glanced back over his shoulder to see Anders, now down to just his smalls, gazing at him with an understanding look on his face. The blonde reached out and caressed the back of the elf's neck as he said quietly,

"Fenris, I appreciate the offer but we don't have to do this if you aren't comfortable."

The gentle touch and the sincerity in that voice caused a tightness that he wasn't even aware of to unclench in Fenris' chest. When he spoke again his deep voice was even huskier with certainty,

"No, I am being ridiculous. I want to do this."

Pulling the healer in for another embrace, he kissed him and then tweaked at the waistband of his smalls,

"Remove these and lie on your back. Cross your arms behind your head and do not grab me."

Anders grinned at him and nodded, the eagerness coming back into his face. He slipped off his small clothes and lay back on the bed, resting the back of his head on his hands as requested.

Fenris stripped off his leggings while admiring the trim form of his lover. Anders was lean, but not scrawny, his body the result of long hours either trekking after Hawke or working in the clinic. As he lay there he looked perfectly relaxed, except for the erection that was standing at perfect attention amidst a nest of blondish hair.

Looking at the long, ever-so-slightly curved cock made all of Fenris' hesitation vanish. He wanted that in his mouth. He was going to make the healer writhe and scream his name. A predatory smile crossed his face as he squeezed onto the cot between Anders' legs, running his hands up the inside of his thighs.

Anders was using his crossed hands to hold his head up and watch, and Fenris' kept his gaze locked on the blonde's as he bent and ghosted a breath over the tip of his cock. Teasingly he nuzzled his way up the shaft with the tip of his nose, keeping his lips from barely touching. The healer's hips twitched beneath him and he held them still in a firm grip.

He flicked his tongue out and ran it from the base of the shaft upwards, stopping to lick at the pre-cum that was gathering there. Any reservations he had about this were long gone, as he felt himself growing hard in anticipation.

He ran his tongue back down to the base, licking and sucking at the healer's balls and making him groan and twitch his hips again. Finally he worked his way back up and took the head of that cock in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the top. He sealed his lips around the shaft and began bobbing his head, working his tongue along the underside and sucking as he moved his head back up.

For a short while he kept to a rhythm while Anders moan grew increasingly louder, then he moved his mouth back up to the tip while he grabbed the base of the shaft firmly with one hand. Relaxing his throat, he lowered his head again, swallowing more of the healer and then pulling up again. Twice more and he had the entire cock in his mouth, with his nose buried in that thatch of hair.

Anders gave a full body shudder and a stream of nonsense began pouring from his mouth. Fenris breathed slowly through his nose and then swallowed around him, humming deep in his throat as he did. At that Anders forgot the rules and reached down to grasp Fenris hair, crying out for the Maker's mercy as he did.

Fenris no longer cared. He was relishing the state of abandon he had brought the other man to, and every cry and frantic motion only increased his own excitement. He cupped the healer's balls in his free hand and hummed and swallowed again, and when Anders arched his back and came screaming his name he greedily caught every drop.

He raised his head to look down at Anders, taking in the sweat-soaked hair clinging to his brow, the chest pumping like a bellows, and most importantly, the look of blissed-out adoration that was in his eyes as he gazed back.

Fenris reached out to stroke that hair back and smiled, feeling triumphant.