A/N: It's short, think of it like an interlude. There isn't a whole lot going on here.
Even though the night had ended well, Fenris was still surprised to find Nero still sleeping soundly next to him when he awoke. He assumed it was paranoia that made it so difficult to believe the man when he said he was going to stay.
He wasn't awake for more than twenty seconds before there was a knock on his door, loud enough that it made Nero groan and shove his face further into the pillow. Fenris smirked and got out of bed, which made Nero whine. He snorted and grabbed his pants off the floor at the same time that there was another knock on his door.
"Just a second." He said gruffly.
"Is Nero in there?" Anders asked, his voice muffled slightly by the door.
"No." Nero said from the bed, before rolling onto his back with an angry sigh.
"What?" Anders asked, irritation clear in his voice. Fenris could picture him in the hallway with his hands on his hips.
Fenris, having gotten his pants on, dismissed his shirt on the floor in favor of opening the door, he raised an eyebrow at the mage, slightly annoyed that he was bothering him so early.
"He's here, but he's mostly asleep." he told Anders.
"It's past noon, why is he still sleeping?" Anders asked, exasperated at having to deal with the mage-hating elf.
Fenris gave him a sly grin and shrugged his shoulders.
Anders pinched the bridge of his nose, "oh, maker. I was going to check his ribs, but just tell him to find me if he ever feels like getting up."
"Mmmkay." Nero said from the bed.
Anders sighed and walked away. Fenris chuckled and closed the door, re-locking it before getting back in the bed and under the blankets. Nero squinted at him from under a pillow before pushing it off of him and reaching an arm out to pull Fenris closer, Nero kissed him deeply and trailed his hand down the elf's back to rest on his clothed hips. He pulled away with a frown.
"You are wearing pants." he stated.
"I am." Fenris said, a hint of amusement evident in his tone.
Nero narrowed his eyes "why?"
"I didn't feel like answering the door naked." He explained.
Nero gave him such a pathetic pout that Fenris laughed and rolled onto his back to take his pants off.
As Anders approached the table where Isabela and Hawke were eating lunch silently, Isabela raised an eyebrow at the mage and smirked, "did I just see a topless Fenris?"
Anders shuddered, "yes."
"I take it you found Nero then." She said with a chuckle.
"Ugh." was all he said before he walked out the door.
"So how long have they not been together?" She asked Hawke, trying to get rid of the awkward silence between them.
They still hadn't talked about what he meant when he more or less said he would sleep with her, and it had her all different sorts of confused. She had always felt an inclination towards him (why else would she come back with the relic?), he was very attractive and they had the same sense of humor. But he wasn't into women, was that not what he told her? Did he tell me that? Or did I just assume it? Oh bugger, I can't remember. She had ignored anything sexual she felt towards him because he wasn't interested in her that way...right?
Now she was unsure what he meant, and unsure how she felt. But mostly she was unsure if she really wanted to know.
"Since the Corypheus thing, technically. Nero lived with Anders for a year after the Qunari thing but then he moved back into the mansion." He paused and furrowed his brow.
"What?" She asked.
"I've never been able to figure out if they were sleeping together or if they just had arguments. Every couple of months they would go weeks avoiding each other, and if I asked them to work together one would usually back out."
"Interesting." She said.
"Varric tried multiple times to get one of them to spill the beans on where they stood with each other, but he failed miserably. I think he might have actually given up on it this past year." Hawke chuckled.
"Varric unable to get information? What a travesty." She smirked.
"They definitely had sex last night though." Hawke told her with a tired sigh, "I think they were trying to be quiet but my room is right beside Fenris' and lets just say it was a long night."
"You poor thing, you should have come to my room, I would have let you stay the night." She said with a wink.
If he caught the meaning behind her comment, he ignored it, "were you even here? I didn't see you come back last night and I didn't see you leave this morning." Suddenly he narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion, "what are you plotting?"
She chuckled but refused to let her disappointment show, "sinister things, Hawke. Sinister things."
They stayed in Ostwick for a couple more days before heading back to Kirkwall. None of them wanted to walk the distance so they ended up getting a troupe of caravans that was conveniently passing through Ostwick to take them there. That also gave them plenty of time to ascertain that Denarius did, in fact, flee. Isabela also tried during that time to convince the port authorities that the Tevinter ship was actually hers, but had been stolen from her. But they refused to believe her and explained that the ship was now property of the city.
They weren't long in the city before Sebastian found them.
"Where have all of you been? Corff definitely knew something but he wouldn't tell me and everyone at the barracks said Aveline was away on business. What is going on?"
Varric coughed, "that would probably be my fault. I told everyone that knew where we were going that they should keep it quiet, I didn't want anybody suspicious coming after us." He finished with a half-hearted laugh.
Sebastian frowned, "I don't understand, why?"
"Oh, Sebastian." Hawke said with a smirk, slinging his arm around the chantry-brother's shoulders, "It's a little complicated."
As he explained why they were gone Anders and Varric left them. Anders to get back to his clinic and Varric to get back to work, and make sure things weren't all ruined. This left Isabela, Aveline, Nero and Fenris standing around awkwardly.
Fenris, to the surprise of everyone, broke the silence, "I was speaking with Donnic the other day..."
Aveline frowned "since when do you talk with my husband?"
Fenris raised an eyebrow, "he... comes to the mansion once a week? We play diamondback."
"What? Why am I not invited to these games? Did you know about this Nero?" She demanded to know.
Nero was just as baffled as Fenris, "yes, I thought you knew."
"If he didn't mention it, it might be because he says you get angry when you lose." Fenris told her.
"I do not! All right, perhaps I do. Still, that's no reason not to tell me."
"Perhaps he longed for less masculine companionship?" Isabela smirked.
Aveline narrowed her eyes at the pirate, "shut up, whore."
Isabela was about to respond but Nero quickly cut her off "I'm a little surprised he hasn't shown up while you were over gardening."
"I tend to tell him where I'm going, habit, I think." She frowned.
"He's a good man, Aveline. I enjoy his visits." Fenris assured her.
Aveline threw her hands up in frustration, "fine, fine. Have your "man time," then."
"As I was saying...Donnic tells me you have spoken of children." Fenris said.
Aveline sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "clearly, you two talk too much."
Fenris chuckled, "I picture a red headed brood, each able to lift a cow."
Aveline laughed, "if you also picture Donnic carrying them to term and pushing them out of his ass, then I'm all for it."
"Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure last time I was here I saw Donnic in the Rose." Isabela said.
"He was not!" Aveline exclaimed
Isabela smirked, "easy, big girl. He wasn't shopping for himself. You're lucky to have a man who wants to please you. But, maybe you could indulge him more. Are there areas of intimacy you haven't explored?"
Aveline covered her face and spoke to the sky, "why? Why do you give me these doubts!"
Isabela laughed, "Because, Aveline. If you shove your thumb up his ass, I win."
Fenris and Nero burst out laughing.