To Chidi: Thank you for the fave and follow! I'm glad you liked the story so far.

Disclaimer: I don't own DA

Head over heels

"Morning," a quiet voice spoke up before someone joined her at the table. Hawke sat down, her eyes fixed on the steaming cup in her hands, warming her numb fingers through her knitted gloves. Her coat was dusted with bright snowflakes, large and beautiful, that hadn't had the time to melt yet. They adorned her hair too, white against black. She blew into the mug, steam recoiling from her, and then leaned in to breathe in the scent. She gave Anastasia a meaningful look, moving the mug closer in a silent offer.

"A tea?" Anastasia sniffed. "Why, I smell no rum."

Hawke gave her a blank look, then took a sip and smiled. "I guess that was deserved. I love a good drink. I cannot lie," she shrugged. "Mind if I join you?"

"You already have," Anastasia pointed out, picking at her food with a long spoon that might have been silver once before the metal had turned all but black. Anastasia didn't mind. It lent the piece of cutlery an antique touch.

"But I could just as easily butt out, if you're not in mood for a companion."

"I'm fine. Stay, if you don't mind me eating my breakfast."

Hawke made a face, eying her bowl. "I wouldn't call porridge breakfast, but I guess I'm spoiled."

Anastasia smiled to herself. "Just try to put in a little more sugar and cinnamon. That's how they did it at the Tower and it actually promoted it from hardly edible to quite tasty."

"Nah, I'll pass, thanks," Hawke shook her head, taking another sip of her tea. "Anyway…you look sad."

Anastasia conjured a smile on her face. "It's Skyhold. I'm not used to seeing it so empty. It feels…lonely."

Hawke gave a weak, lop-sided smile. It was completely mirthless however. "I know what you mean. It was strange…and somehow wrong…to come to our family mansion to find it empty. I was always used to big family and not having it around…" she broke off, bending her head to slurp some more of the hot liquid. Then she licked her lips and set the mug down, finally warm enough to strip off her heavy coat. She wore a woollen shirt underneath and a waistcoat trimmed with fur. She peeled off her gloves, too, laying them next to her mug. "But this isn't about Skyhold, is it?" she added instead of finishing her previous sentence.

"I'm not sure I follow," Anastasia mumbled, her forehead wrinkled as she regarded the elder mage next to her.

Hawke kept her eyes on her mug, her fingers encircling it tightly. "You wouldn't care less if Skyhold was completely abandoned if there was just a single person left. I've seen the way you looked at him at the stables. And I see the way you look now." She took a deep breath, a sad smile forming on her lips."It's an expression I see in a mirror every day I'm not with Isabela."

"Was it really that obvious?" Ana asked quietly, focusing on her porridge. Then she grimaced and pushed the bowl away.

"You're not very good at hiding your thoughts," Hawke replied cheerfully. "But it's a good thing. It's refreshing to deal with you. I know I can trust what I hear and see. Years in politics had me convinced people as you were extinct," she laughed gently, touching Anastasia's leg under the table briefly. "Don't you dare to change," she added quietly. "Though he isn't any better at it. The day I arrived, I wasn't half as drunk not to notice his jealousy. I'm sorry if I seemed too forward, by the way. I was teasing him, not making you uncomfortable."

Anastasia blinked. "I'm…confused?" she mumbled.

Hawke sighed and then brought the mug to her lips. She closed her eyes for a short moment while she drank. "You see, sweetie," she started saying, "knowing me and my…preferences," she smirked, "flirting with you made Cullen angry. He's head over heels, from what I can tell, and that made it all just too easy. I love teasing him."

"H-head over heels?" Anastasia stammered.

"Haven't you notice?" Kaileena chuckled. "He's like a lost puppy, watching you when you're not looking, protecting you from the vicious me like a dashing knight from children's stories."

"Truly?"

"Yes. Surprising, huh? I always thought he despised mages, distrusted them and generally had a very bad opinion about them." Then she smiled and tilted her head slightly. "I'm glad I was wrong about him."

"He…" Ana started tentatively, "was a little bit difficult at the beginning. Now he treats Vivienne like she was a queen or something and Dorian is one of his best friends." She was smiling. "And he personally took charge for Solas' training."

"Mmm…training?"

"With a sword," Ana explained. "I train with a spear, but I'm more inclined to kill myself," she laughed.

"How unusual," Hawke mumbled, sitting back. She shrugged then. "But why not?" She reached for her mug again, bringing it closer to her face to smell its scent and feel its warmth on her face.

"And…are you sure?" Anastasia asked, her eyes fixed on the elder women's relaxed face. Hawke slowly opened her blue eyes and the orbs ever so slowly swilled to her. "Hm?" she hummed, asking her to repeat her question.

"What you said," Anastasia replied slowly. "About…him and…" She chuckled then, running her fingers through her hair. "I'm being silly, aren't I?"

"Do not worry. I don't judge," Hawke said simply, watching her with her head tilted slightly to a side.

"I mean…growing up at a Tower, there were many things I always considered beyond my reach."

"Such as…?" Hawke drawled lazily.

Anastasia smiled broadly and gestured around. "I'm free." She took a deep breath. "No one breathing down my neck, no one pushing me around, no one to tell me what to do or not to do."

"Cassandra?" Hawke replied calmly.

"…is a friend," Anastasia uttered. "And she's not as tough as she likes to pretend. And others aren't what they seemed either. And that brings me back to what I ways saying – back at the Tower I never thought I'd find someone I couldn't be without. Now I can't stop thinking about him, wondering what he's doing or where he is…" she trailed off, feeling quite sheepish suddenly.

Hawke grinned, setting the mug on the table with a thud. "I wish I could be here when he returns to see the happy reunion. But then again, I can't wait to get back to Isabela either. Although…" she paused, trapping her lower lip between her teeth pensively. "Did he say a proper goodbye at least when I left the stables? If not, then he doesn't deserve a welcome."

Ana chuckled. "We…did say our goodbyes after you left," she admitted and almost blurted out that he had also asked her to visit him in the Fade. But she stopped herself just in time. As a mage Hawke wouldn't be dismayed to hear about her adventures in the land of dreams, but Anastasia cherished the idea of their secret meetings. It almost felt like something cut straight from a love story, not that she'd read many of such stories. Books like that weren't exactly common at the Tower. Rather quite frowned upon. Mages were supposed to control themselves and their emotions, not to give into them.

Hawke kept looking at the younger mage expectantly, but when she realized Anastasia wouldn't be adding anything else, she shrugged. "Well, I hope it was worth it."

"Was your parting with Isabela?"

"You bet," Hawke replied, a vicious smirk on her face. Then the smile softened, "Strange feeling, huh? So far away, and she still holds such a power over me. Scary, but exciting. Don't you think?"

"She's closer than you think," Anastasia smiled softly.

"Ooh, we're going to get all philosophical, eh?" She laughed. "But I guess I get what you mean. It's the romantic stuff, huh? Something like that she's still in my heart?" She let out another cackle. "I'm not like that, Ana. I don't get sentimental. I love her, but you won't hear me singing serenades about her. I'm just too realistic," she shrugged.

"And yet your smile was so lovely when you talked about your feelings," Anastasia countered. "And I didn't mean your heart, but your memories. They help keep close nice moments until you can create new ones."

Hawke's eyebrows rose significantly. "Is this what you do when you miss him?" she asked, sounding slightly amused. "You start reminiscing? I didn't know you had that many memories of him and you together."

Anastasia just smiled softly, giving a half-shrug.

"You're hopeless," Hawke laughed, reaching for her mug again. "But it's still nice to see this chaos hasn't managed to trample you down with its weight," she sighed and then took a deep breath. "Quite an enviable feat, to tell the truth," she added softly.

The two of them fell quiet for a moment. Ana still had a gormless smile on her lips as she stared nowhere in particular, while Hawke frowned at her tea. It wasn't steaming anymore, but still felt warm against her hands. And then the door squeaked and there was the distinct clatter of dog's claws against the marble floor. Joyet dashed to his mistress excitedly, wagging his tail as she turned to pet him. "Hey, sleepyhead! Finally up, are you?"

"I should go," Ana finally mumbled, watching Joyet's happy face, eyes half-closed with bliss, as Hawke scratched behind his ears. "Josephine wanted me to attend the judging today."

"You're going to judge your subjects?" Hawke asked, surprised.

Anastasia shook her head, grabbing her unfinished bowl of porridge, the spoon jingling merrily against its brim. "I don't even know who's to come or why," she shrugged, dropping to a crouch next to Joyet to stroke his head. "I guess she just wants someone to scare them. Usually it's Cassandra, but with the new scar I might pass for a suitable replacement," she joked, but Joyet whined nonetheless. "Come on. I'll make a nice evil sorceress in something dark and mysterious. Don't you think?"

Joyet tilted his head, panting. Then he barked once.

Ana patted his side and rose to her feet. "Good boy. See you later, Hawke."

The elder mage replied with just a smile and so Anastasia was on her way, her steps echoing through the empty great hall. She sighed, knowing of a thousand other ways she would rather spend her morning than standing in the throne room. But there wasn't much she could do about it. Whatever she was before, she was now part of the Inquisition. And as such, she had her duties.

Thank you for reading, everyone! Now I hope I won't disappoint you by saying that the next chapter is going to be the last. DAI is almost out and so my goal is accomplished. If I helped you just a little bit with the wait, that's all I wanted and I thank you for going through this little story with me.