Ok everyone, I think we've probably just got one update left with this fic. Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading/subscribing/favoriting; it really makes my day. You guys should all check out my profile as I've added an adorable drawing 1879 did for me, and another commission I had done from Syberfag. I love you guys!
The remainder of the party's time in the Deep Roads was busy, stressful, and enlightening to say the least. Out of them all, Anders struggled the most with his own control, as well as with everything they discovered while on their journey. But Hawke was by his side every step of the way, and he helped him to maintain his sanity as best he could. As traumatic of an experience as it was, it was just another way that the two grew closer as they realized that they were only still alive and functioning because of the other man.
As soon as they reached the surface, Isabela rushed back to the Hanged Man, no doubt for a drink and a bath in that order, and Anders and the Hawke siblings made it back to the estate. Bethany never had a chance to see her mother's childhood home, so she was eager to get a tour. But unfortunately, the Circle had only allowed her to leave to assist her brother, and her time outside of the Gallows was limited now that they had returned. A brief, private discussion was all they had before it was time for Hawke to take his sister back. Anders asked to join them, not wanting his lover to endure the torturous silence of the walk home, but he didn't want Anders anywhere near that place.
The silence the mage wanted him to avoid was what Hawke actually needed; a moment alone after nearly two weeks below the surface. Between the fighting and trying to keep Anders calm, the brief silences were filled by Isabela's recounts of her life at sea and the occasional embarrassing story centered around Hawke shared by all three of his companions. Why anyone needed to know that I used to steal my sister's doll to sleep with at night, I'm not sure. Now I can't trust anybody. So the ability to just think, to reflect on everything truly life-changing that happened down there, was quite welcome. He wasn't sure how to process everything that had happened, but he could start to work through it all and move on.
It was midafternoon once the warrior made it back to his estate, and he couldn't recall a time that he needed a bath more. Dirt and grime had essentially become one with his skin, and he was almost too scared to stand in front of a mirror to see what his hair looked like. So when he entered his home and Bodahn had informed him that there was a hot bath waiting for him, he nearly kissed the man in all of his joy. He ran up the stairs and quickly discarded his armor and underclothes before entering the washroom.
"Fuck, you look good," he growled as he saw Anders standing in front of the mirror, hair and body damp from bathing. He wore only a pair gray trousers and a smile on his cleanly-shaven face. The warrior moved behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist, and pushed a dripping lock of golden hair back behind his ear so he could kiss along his temple and cheek.
The mage laughed and squirmed away from the slightly larger man. "Don't touch me; you're disgusting. Bodahn refilled the tub with fresh water for you. I'll heat it up if it's not warm enough for you."
Hawke just laughed and went over to the water, gently testing it with a few fingers. It was warm enough, but quickly fading. He stepped in over the ledge and sat down on a bench that had been built into the tub. With a sigh, he leaned back and closed his eyes, letting the water start to wash the dirt away.
"Is the water alright?" the mage asked.
"Wonderful."
Not exactly the answer I wanted to hear. Anders walked over to the tub and moved to the very end where his lover sat. As he kneeled down on the tile floor, he dipped a few fingertips into the water, which he determined to be just a hint too cold, and cast a warm glow of magic to heat things up a bit. Hawke quickly became aware of what he was doing and opened his eyes as he turned slightly to the right to see the other man. He smiled and took the mage's hand in his own, and then brought it to his lips to kiss.
"I love you, and I always will. No matter what."
The blonde smiled and pulled his hand away. He reached for the new bar of honey-scented soap on the edge of the tub and started to lather his hands in it. "I love you too, Archer. I don't know what would have happened had you not been down there with me."
Hawke dipped his head under the water to wet his shaggy black hair and leaned back to allow Anders to work on it. "It was my fault that you were down there in the first place. But you're right; you're hopeless without me, and that's why I think I'm just going to have to chaperone everything you do from now on." With his back to the mage, he couldn't see him roll his eyes, but he had no doubt it had happened.
And Anders did roll his eyes as he'd come to do so often in response to his sarcastic, egotistical lover. Sometimes there simply wasn't another response to be given, especially when anything he said would just be thrown right back at him. So he just continued to work his soap-slicked fingers on his lover's head and scalp, washing away weeks of filth. "You need to cut your hair and shave, Love. You hardly look like yourself."
Hawke brought his right hand up out of the water to feel along his jawline. "You don't like my beard?"
"Rinse," the mage ordered as he took his hands away. Once the warrior was finished dunking his head under the water to wash out the soap, he answered him. "I love your beard, but it doesn't exactly give you the look one would expect from the Champion. You may be the master of stubble, but only a few patches here and there continue to grow out; you look like a teenager." He took the soap and began to work it over his lover's body, lathering up each and every inch he could reach. Once his neck was clean and rinsed, he placed his lips over the moist skin and kissed and sucked until he heard the other man moan.
"You should get in here with me so you can reach everything," the warrior suggested, finding his lover's hand with the soap working over the skin above his navel. He pulled on it, beckoning it to go lower.
"I'm not getting in that disgusting water with you after I just got clean myself; it's bad enough that I've got half of my arm in there. Besides, I'm sure you're just interested in making sure that you're spotless and nothing more, and I can do that outside of the tub," Anders said with a smile. He got up off of his knees and stood so he could extend his reach a little farther. He continued down, avoiding anywhere particularly sensitive, and worked down his sides, hips, and the upper parts of his legs.
"I think you missed something."
"Really? I don't think that I did."
The smile on the mage's face was so sly, so teasing that Hawke felt he had no choice but to overpower him. He turned his upper body towards the other man, grabbed him by the sides and hauled him into the tub with him, sending water pouring out the sides. Anders gasped as he collected himself and threw the soap he was still holding at his lover's face.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked, glowering look on his face.
"Everything I do is carefully planned out and completely necessary," the warrior assured him with a smile. He pulled the other man towards him and kissed him roughly on the lips and nibbled on his bottom lip as he pulled back.
Anders did his best to suppress a moan. "Even ruining my trousers and making a mess on the floor that you're surely not going to clean up yourself."
"Absolutely. Now, speaking of those trousers…" Hawke reached for the mage's hips to find the waistband, and pulled them down and off of the soaking mage. Once he threw them outside of the tub with a splat on the floor, he pulled the other man onto his lap and licked and sucked along the front of your neck. "Let me fuck you; it's been way too long."
Anders smiled and wondered what "too long" was to the rest of the world. They hadn't had sex since the pillar, and that had only been a week ago. But, no matter how tired the mage was, he couldn't deny the other man. He just had to say the words, and he was left pliable, completely happy to please and comply. The mage reached down between them and grasped onto his lover's erection, causing a gasp to leave the warrior's lips. "Of course, Love. But I think sometime soon, if you want to, I should top for you again."