Author's Note: Don't worry, the action will pick up soon. I wanted to resolve a few things that had not yet been resolved in the original work before moving on to the real action. Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Updated 3/20/15: Added a/n and fixed a few formatting and grammatical errors. Nothing of substance has changed.

The heat of the tent woke Fenris earlier than he would have liked. I really hope Bartrand is right and that this is a sign that we've nearly reached the thaig. He pressed on his eyelids, his vision still blurry in the dark of the tent. The familiar orange glow slowly filled his eyes and he glanced up at Hawke, her back facing him. He immediately froze. She's wearing my shirt. His heartbeat picked up and his mind reeled. He lay there on his side staring, watching the rise and fall of her side as she slept. He ran his eyes from her exposed, slender neck, along her side, seeing the familiar dip of her waist followed by the rise of her hip. The fabric clung to her body, which was damp with sweat from the almost unbearable heat now filling the tent. She rubbed her bare legs together slightly as her breath grew slower and deeper.

He forced his gaze away, turning to look up at the ceiling and fighting off thoughts of his more recent dreams of her. This. Is. Not. Helping. He clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth. Suddenly his feelings of desire turned to anger. She is doing this on purpose. Dangling herself in front of me, knowing that I can't—no. He stopped himself. Despite everything that has happened, I know she is not that kind of person. She is too considerate. Too selfless. He turned his head back over to gaze at her, noticing the pile of her clothing in the corner. Of course. He chided himself, glancing down at his own bare chest. She's hot. Wearing my shirt was an act of mercy if nothing else… his thoughts began to wander again to what choice she would have made under different circumstances.

He had to concentrate again to fight the heat building up in his body. That combined with the actual temperature in his tent made him feel smothered. He fumbled as he reached for the waterskin. The water was lukewarm but still helped take some of the edge off the heat. He let himself fall back onto the bedroll in an attempt to calm himself. Regaining control, he turned onto his side to face Hawke, unable to fight the urge to watch her as she slept. If I can't manage the comfort of her company during the day, this is the next best thing, I suppose. He sighed, a bit louder than he had intended.

A similar sound escaped Hawke's lips at that moment as she began stretching and turning onto her back. The motion caused the bottom of the shirt to draw up even higher on her thighs. He immediately averted his gaze, returning to the profile of her face instead. She continued to shift until she was on her other side, now facing Fenris. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and a smile crept onto her face, "Maker, I haven't slept that well since—" her eyes suddenly snapped open the rest of the way as she remembered her surroundings, seeing Fenris' face not far from hers, "Fenris…" she gasped, her tone one of apology as she glanced down at her – his- shirt. She sat up quickly to reach for her cloak, which only resulted in the shirt sliding further up her lap until it was barely covering her, "I – I'm sorry, I was just – it was hot and I didn't know—" He immediately silenced her by pressing his thumb to her lips as he had done so often in recent days. Her eyes grew wider as she pulled the cloak up to her chest. I do not understand this man. One moment he wants me out of his sight, the next…this.

"I think you should keep that shirt," he gave her a sly smile, "You look far better in it than I do." Her heart skipped a beat as he pulled his thumb away from her mouth.

She closed her eyes, a sudden new resolve washing over her. "Fenris," her tone was stern causing his smile to slip away slightly, "I don't understand you." Her eyes shot back open, her gaze far more piercing than he'd ever seen.

The expression on her face and the confidence in her voice shook him to the core. I know. He didn't understand himself either. His need to hide from her and conceal his past. Darnasius…Hadriana…the Fog Warriors… His thoughts drifted. He sat up fully as well, hanging his head slightly and avoiding her eyes, which now held a determined look he only saw in her during battle.

"I know." He repeated his thought out loud. She waited for him to continue; the silence was deafening.

What felt like hours later he slowly opened his mouth to speak again, "Marian…I...I am afraid of hurting you…"

"A little late for that," she muttered. Her words stung, but he saw the truth of them.

"I'm sorry," he offered weakly, "But I meant…really hurting you. Physically." He held out his arms, palms upward. Her eyes followed his gaze to his lyrium markings when the realization struck her.

"I don't understand – why? What makes you think you would hurt me?" her face softened. She began to reach out for his hand but stopped herself.

"It's not something I'm fully ready to talk about," he looked her directly in the eyes. "It's something in my past. Something I've been battling with for a long time now…" his voice drifted.

"I want to help you. I've told you that. Please let me help." There was no mistaking the pleading tone in her voice and the expression on her face.

He sighed, pressing his face into his palms as hard as he could, as if he were trying to wake himself up from a bad dream. He felt her fingers rest on his shoulder. He fought off his instinct to draw away from her touch and instead remained still.

She continued, "I was never lying to you when I said that whatever you needed…all the time you need...I don't care. I just, I don't want to be pushed out of your life. I want to be a part of it. I want you to be part of mine." He heard the quiver in her voice on the last sentence. He pulled his hands away from his face and looked over at her. Her head was down, her gaze falling on her other hand which was now resting loosely in her lap, no longer clutching her cloak. He felt a weight hit his chest as he saw a tear roll down her cheek.

Without hesitating, without stopping to think, he grabbed her hand off his shoulder and the other hand from her lap and pulled her swiftly and confidently against him. It was a very different embrace from their first. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her face into his shoulder, sobbing. Tears were now rolling down his own face. He reached around her waist, clutching her thigh, and pulled her sideways onto his lap, trying to draw her as near to him as he could. This time his feelings did not overpower him; there was nothing carnal in this moment. This was – different. And he now knew why.

"Marian…" he whispered gruffly through his tears. Her breaths began to slow a little as she shifted her head to rest sideways on his shoulder. She paused, waiting for him to finish his thought. "I love you."

His declaration came even as a surprise to himself. Her breath caught in her throat as her whole body froze. He grimaced, I've confused her even more. I've said too much, too soon, I—his thoughts were interrupted as she pulled herself away from his shoulder and moved to hold his face in her hands. She pulled his head down and tilted her own to rest her forehead against his, taking a deep breath.

"You don't know how long I've been wanting to hear that," she whispered, his doubts immediately washing away as he moved his hands to cover hers. "I love you, too. I've known that since we were up in that tree together. I probably knew even before then." She let out a small laugh. He drew her in again, squeezing her as if letting go would mean she would suddenly disappear into the blackness of the Deep Roads.

"Fenris…" he heard her muffled voice after a few minutes passed.

"Mm?"

"I…can't…breathe…"

He chuckled heartily, releasing her drawing her back so he could study her face. "Sorry about that." Holding her face he used his thumbs to wipe away the remaining tears that dampened her cheeks.

She looked back into his eyes, smiling.

He grew more serious again, "I know that this doesn't…fix things," he paused as she nodded her agreement, "but I'm working on it. Please trust me that I want to share everything with you. I just. I need time."

"You can take all the time you need," she laughed, which made him cock his head at her unexpected reaction. "If I need to tell you that one more time…" she suddenly moved her hands down to his sides and dug her fingers in, causing him to squirm uncontrollably, and causing her to slide off his lap. He caught her by the wrists and drew her hands up to lips, kissing her fingers gently.

His sly grin from earlier returned to his face, "I can think of better things you can do wi—"

"VARRIC! GIRLY! Where in Andraste's wet knickers are you?!" The moment was ruined, yet again, by the wonderful Bartrand.

This time, however, it wasn't enough to drive either Fenris or Hawke to the point of annoyance that it usually would. Nothing could ruin their morning. As curious as she was to hear the rest of Fenris' idea, Hawke knew that they had a reached a good place and she didn't want to push things too far. Bartrand's interruption was a blessing in disguise.

"Come on," Fenris stood, offering his hand. Hawke reached up and he pulled her up for one last, quick hug. "The Beast summons you." She rolled her eyes. Fenris released her and headed out of the tent to get their water - back to their regular morning routine.