~O~

Two days later, Hawke and Anders finally decided to put in an appearance at the regular card game with all their friends, at Varric's suite at the Hanged Man. Hawke came breezing in first, with Anders right behind her.

"Hello, all," Hawke said with a smile. "Who's winning?"

Everyone turned to look at her and the healer and a long moment of silence passed while they all stared. Isabela laughed and held her hand out in front of Varric. "Me! I win! I told you those two idiots would end up fucking like rabbits before the end of the month, and I was obviously right. Varric predicted it would take another six months before you figured it out, Hawke, but I knew you wouldn't last that long. Pay up, Varric, two gold."

Sighing, Varric dropped the coins into the smirking pirate's hand, while Hawke crossed her arms and frowned, sharing a confused look with Anders.

"Do you mean to say you all knew how we felt about each other, even though we didn't?"

Chuckling, Varric shook his head and Fenris smirked, draining his glass. "You've been giving him doe-eyed or horny looks when his back is turned for a really long time, Hawke, and Blondie has been doing the same to you. I think everyone in Kirkwall knew you had feelings for each other, except the two of you, obviously."

Hawke's eyes narrowed, magic sparking threateningly from her fingertips while her voice came out in a silky purr. "Are you saying you left me to wallow in horny angst and misery instead of helping me out by telling Anders how I felt, or telling me how he felt? I should fry you all where you sit."

Varric smiled appealingly and held up a hand. "Now, Hawke, some things just aren't supposed to be meddled with by people on the outside. It was up to you and Blondie to figure it out, or not. But for the sake of your memoirs I'm going to write for you one day, how about telling us what happened to finally tip the scale?"

At her quick look at Anders, he chuckled. "My lips are sealed, sweetheart. They'll never get anything out of me." He went and sat down in a chair near Varric's end of the table.

Deciding Varric wouldn't stop digging until he had at least a little something, she bit her lip. "Anders happened to….read something I wrote that gave him insight, when I wasn't home."

Fenris leaned forward in his seat with an intent expression. "Was it your book you carry everywhere?"

Hawke's mouth fell open in surprise, drawing howling laughter from all her friends. Merrill giggled and stuck her hand out, Varric, Isabela and Fenris dropping coins into her palm.

Huffing, Hawke ran a hand through her dark hair, fighting a blush. "Is there anything about this that all of you didn't bet over?" She asked in exasperation.

Isabela stood and sidled up next to Hawke, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "There's just one final thing we need to know, sweet. Did you come first or did he?"

Flabbergasted, Hawke looked at Anders, who had his chin cupped in the palm of his hand, clearly fighting not to laugh. "I will take your secrets to my grave, love, I swear."

Shaking her head, she sighed, then spat the words out like knives. "Oh, why the fuck not? I came first, loudly and often, Anders completely wore me out, blew my mind and my magic, which I didn't even know was possible, as well as many other, incredible things which I will never tell any of you evil people about. Oh, and he now lives with me in Hightown, because not a fucking chance I'm letting him get away." Shrugging off Isabela, Hawke went and sat on Anders' lap, draping herself across him and smiling wickedly at her still laughing friends. "If you don't want to get on my bad side, one of you needs to go buy me a bottle of whiskey with all the coin you lot acquired from betting on me."

"Oh, I will," Isabela offered, moving to the door. "I know what whiskey does to you, Hawke, and I want to watch."

Putting her mouth to Anders ear, she smiled. "Promise to get me out of here before I get drunk enough to try to blow you in front of everyone, won't you? I don't really think that's something I want in my memoirs."

He smirked. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll make sure we get safely back to our special green chair before you blow me."

Grinning, she pressed a kiss to his stubbled cheek. "Thanks, love."

"Always my pleasure, Elayna," he murmured, "and I mean that quite literally."

Seized with sudden curiosity, she dropped her voice even quieter. "Which do you have a preference for, getting head or giving it, or is it a tie?"

The look in his eyes had her instantly flooding her smalls, before he even spoke. His smile was full of the knowledge of all the things they had done together and to each other, positively naughty.

"I love your mouth on me, Elayna, how could I not? But with you I much prefer to give, not only because I love everything about it, your smell, taste, the sounds you make, how helpless you are under my tongue. But also because it makes me genuinely happy to give you pleasure, and see that particular sparkle in your eyes and the satisfied smile on your face, after."

Drawing a deep breath to combat her arousal from his words, she squirmed on his lap, trying to ease the ache. He laid an arm across her legs and squeezed her thigh, stilling her. "Careful, love, you'll turn me feral with need if you keep that up for long. We can go home now if you prefer."

She met his gaze, thinking he did look a bit like a predator ready to spring, wondering if a feral Anders might not be fun to encounter, when Isabela walked up and handed her a bottle and a glass, interrupting her thoughts.

"There you go, Hawke. Maybe you should get Anders to drink a little too, he's fun drunk, as I recall."

Anders gave Isabela a cool, unimpressed look and she rolled her eyes. "Sod off, Justice, you suck the fun out of everything." The pirate went back to her place at the card table while Hawke poured her glass full of whiskey and set the bottle on the floor.

Hawke took a big swallow and smirked, raising an eyebrow at Isabela. "Justice doesn't suck the fun out of anything, in my experience, quite the contrary. He must just like me better."

"He does," Anders stated, rubbing his hand back and forth across her thigh.

Isabela made a face like she tasted something foul. "Are you saying you fucked a spirit and liked it?"

Licking the whiskey off her top lip, Hawke nodded. "Well, not only a spirit, Anders too, but yes, I did like it. Quite a lot, actually."

Isabela threw back a shot, shuddered and shook her head. "Never thought I'd say this, Hawke, but you're much kinkier than I gave you credit for."

Swallowing another sip, Elayna turned more toward Anders and lowered her voice. "Am I kinky?"

Anders smiled and shook his head. "No, I don't think of you as particularly kinky, anymore than I am. I would say you're more open-minded and adventurous, like any good scholar should be."

Draining the last of what was in her glass, she laid her head against his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his neck. "I like your definition much better, and thank you, Justice, since you're inextricably linked with Anders, I suppose I must love you too." After watching a change of expressions flitter across Anders' face, she raised her brows curiously.

He smirked and shook his head, meeting Elayna's eyes. "The feelings I get are confusion, curiosity and contentment. For a spirit, I think that's the closest equivalent to declaring his love, you should be flattered."

She grinned, reaching for the bottle. "Oh, I am, prodigiously so." Holding up the bottle, she gave Anders a questioning look. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

Pulling her mouth to his, he kissed her, his tongue sweeping over hers and leaving her breathless when he pulled away. Giving her his teasing look she loved, he licked his lips. "I prefer my whiskey secondhand, your tongue greatly improves the flavor." Catching her earlobe in his teeth, his warm breath fanned over her neck and face. "But now I'm wondering where else a little whiskey on you would taste nice. Your breasts, maybe just your nipples? The divot of your belly would make the perfect cup, and if by some chance I make a bit of a mess drinking and some should run down into your smalls, between your thighs… Well, I would definitely want to lick that up."

He tilted his head back enough to meet her eyes. What she saw there made her clutch the bottle tighter, a shuddering breath and a nod the answer to the question in his eyes. With a satisfied look, he stood, taking her free hand in his before he spoke to the room.

"Elayna and I have pressing business elsewhere, enjoy your game." They were out the door and gone before anyone had time to comment.

Varric had his eyes on the doorway and his lips pursed in thought a moment longer before he met the pirate's amused gaze.

"Well, Varric, what do you make of that?"

The dwarf completed dealing before he answered. "I've never seen Hawke let anyone speak for her previously, that's definitely new. With all the time they spent working up to it… This just might be the start of something explosive. Can't really predict how it's gonna go."

"It will definitely be explosive, did you see the look on her face when they walked out?" Isabela shrugged, spinning a coin on the table. "But I think it will be good for her. After all the shit she's dealt with, she deserves a little fun in her life, even if Anders isn't who I would have picked for her."

Fenris grunted, throwing down his losing cards. "Just who would you have picked?"

Isabela smirked. "Maybe you. At least you would have had her against a wall long ago, instead of leaving her hanging for years."

Fenris frowned. "I don't know that my presence in her life in that way would have done her any favors."

Isabela shrugged and then grinned. "I bet fifty silver they won't show their faces again for another three days. Any takers?"

"I think it will be two days," Merrill chirped.

"You're both wrong," Fenris declared with a slight smile. "We will see them tomorrow, as usual. The newness of it all is likely starting to fade, and they will resume some of their former habits as a result."

Varric rubbed his chin. If Hawke knew just how much money he made from betting on parts of her life, he would be in deep shit. He smirked. Good thing she would never find out.

~O~

Two months later, Hawke strode into Varric's suite and pulled a chair out, sitting beside him, bringing the air of business and expectation in with her. Setting aside the quill he had been writing with, he gave her a long look. She had on her poker face, the one that always allowed her to kick his ass at cards, so he was forced to ask.

"Something you need to discuss, Hawke?"

With the dangerous smile she was known for, she tilted her head and finally nodded. "I need your help with a couple of things, Varric, but I need your vow that you will keep this just between the two of us, no one else can know."

His brows rose in surprise. "Not even Blondie? I thought you two didn't keep secrets from each other."

Her eyes grew troubled but she held his gaze. "We don't keep secrets, not usually, but what I'm attempting may not work. It's better he never knows of it if things don't happen as I hope."

"That's plenty vague," Varric replied with a smirk. "Alright, and the other thing?"

She smiled and reached into her pack, withdrew a small book and laid it on the table, resting her hands atop it. "This is a business venture that I had an idea about. Something I have been working on secretly, with Anders help, but as far as he knows, it is just a pleasant hobby, something fun between the two of us. I happen to think there may be a market for this. What do you think?"

She slid the small volume to him and he opened it, starting at the beginning. He quickly became absorbed in the words of the poems, skillfully written, and was just as taken by the images that paired with each one, improving and adding deeper meaning to the words by the visual offering. After ten minutes he finally looked up, stroking a hand across his chin while his respect for Hawke grew even more. He tapped a finger against the open book.

"You and Blondie wrote this, together? It's incredible, Hawke."

Relaxing back in her chair and smiling at Varric's approval, she shrugged. "The poems are all written by Anders, he is very gifted with words. The images are mine. After reading each poem, I drew what I felt was an appropriate visual accompaniment to what he was expressing."

"Shit. Yeah, if you're willing for me to show this to some of my friends in publishing, I think you have a gold mine here. There's a huge market in Antiva and Orlais, alone, for romantic poetry, and something like this that tastefully straddles between romantic and erotic will likely be an even bigger success."

Pulling papers from her pack, she handed a folded sheet to Varric first. "These are the pen names I want used, should this be considered suitable for publishing."

After opening the paper and reading what Hawke had written, he gave her a look of reluctance. "You don't even want to use part of your real names? No one would know who Anders and Elayna are, outside of Kirkwall, and even here, not many know your first name."

She shook her head. "No, Anders would not want it, and I had rather keep this part of my life little known as well. My drawing has always been something personal, that I do just for myself, and now for Anders as well, something we share. If this turns out to be a success, I intend to establish a home for orphaned children, first in Ferelden, then later the Free Marches. To help the ones left bereft due to how magic is used to tear families asunder." Her jaw clenched angrily before she continued. "There needs to be help available that isn't part of the Chantry, since they are the ones creating the difficulties and causing the trauma in the first place. It's the only reason I want to sell our work, to help those children. Anders told me that our love could change the world, and I believe him. This is my effort toward that goal."

"That's definitely a good cause, if that's what you want to do with the coin." He started making a list of people to contact and things to do in order to get the ball rolling for Hawke's new venture. When she sighed, he looked up, taking another paper she held out to him.

"For this, Varric, I need you to engage all your information resources, even your spy network you won't fully admit to." They shared a smile before she continued. "I want you to find this person for me, if it's possible and you can. I've written down all the relevant information, including names, dates and locations. I need your vow to be as silent as the grave until we are able to discover more, and any information is to come only to me. Do you swear?"

Looking up from the paper she had filled with details that were all news to him, he nodded with a sober look, understanding the gravity of her request. "I give you my word, Hawke, this is only between me and you." When she smiled and made to rise, he reached out and grasped her hand, squeezing gently and drawing her eyes back to his. "You're a good person, Elayna, a rare woman. Blondie's lucky to have you, and so am I. I'm proud to call you my friend. As soon as I have any news, you'll be the first to know."

With misty eyes, she stood and leaned over, pressing a rare kiss to Varric's cheek before she stood and regained her composure, turned and left. After a silent moment of thought, Varric took up his quill again and got to work.

~O~

Anders turned over in bed, reaching for Elayna and groaning in protest to discover her side empty. Sitting up, he saw due to the bright light shining around the bedroom curtains, that morning was well underway and he had clearly slept in. Leaning back and losing himself in memories of the previous night, which had been the one year anniversary of the beginning of his and Elayna's relationship, he was sure he was going to have a silly smile plastered to his face for the entire day.

After sharing a romantic dinner, including wine he actually drank, they had spent the rest of the evening reenacting their first night together, and he had thoroughly enjoyed returning the focus to the two of them and their pleasure together. Something everyday busyness and their separate responsibilities didn't always permit. Flipping back the covers, he strode naked into their shared bath and dressing room, pausing at the little table where they always left messages for each other. His were usually in written form, while hers were either written or drawn, and sometimes both. His brows climbed in surprise at the sight of a small book and a letter sitting on top of that. She had spoiled him today, it seemed. Opening the letter first, he began to read.

Dearest Anders,

I have been working on this surprise for you for quite a long time, and I must credit Varric for much of the success of the venture, as he went to great effort on my behalf. As my inspiration, I refer to the words you wrote me a year ago:

'It's what I feel true love is, refusing to accept harm and wrong towards others, refusing to turn a blind eye to cruelty and hate. Being willing to do the hard things and become the hero that others need to inspire them to greatness. Our love, together, has the power to change the world.'

I believed your words then and I believe them now. You inspired me to want to help children who have been left bereft or orphaned due to magic and the unjust treatment of those whose lives are defined by it. Until now, there have been no charitable organizations or help for such children, apart from the people who caused the problems in the first place, the Chantry. As of now, that is no longer the case.

The poems you wrote for me from your heart, and as an expression of your love, and the images I drew to go along with your words has made wonderful things possible. At the end of Justinian, just two months from now, a home for orphans of magic will open in a village in South Reach called Hafter, we have procured a large home there on a farm, and a second location, just outside Lothering, on the land I and my family previously occupied before we fled the Blight. In time, I would like to expand these refuges to other locations in Ferelden, as needed, and do the same in the Free Marches. But this is a start, at least, to those who need it most, a helping hand and the possibility of a new hope.

I have named our organization World Changers, and the book of your poems, I titled 'In Love, Hope'. I trust you will approve of these names, as I could not consult you as is my normal preference, due to spoiling the surprise. Varric assured me you would approve, I hope he was correct.

It's amazing how many copies of our little book have sold, far more than even I imagined. My original hope was to fund one orphanage fully, but we are starting with two, which seems truly amazing. Perhaps what so many people are hungry for is more love in their lives? Consider how many you have now touched through your words and our love, together, just as you said we should. Thank you for your love for me, its transformative powers are far greater than most people realize.

I do have another surprise for you, later today, so please try to leave the clinic by mid-afternoon, if possible, and come straight home.

All my love,

Elayna

Anders lifted the little volume with a glowing smile, blinking back his affected tears from Elayna's words and astonishing news. He read the title and smiled when he opened the cover. Written by Solar, illustrations by Raven. Keeping to the theme she always noted of their coloring, his light and hers dark, though he always felt she got it backwards. Despite their coloring, she was the illumination to his darkness, and she always would be. Tilting his head as he wondered what else she might have up her sleeve for later, he left the book and letter and went to bathe and get ready for the day.

~O~

Carver Hawke stood with his arms crossed over his chest plate, greatsword on his back, looking out across the water of Kirkwall's dock, lost in thought while he waited for the ship he could now see approaching. The ship his sister had reached out to him to come and meet. She had hired him in a professional capacity, offered him a sizable bonus even, for him to take the job himself, something he didn't expect.

After their mother's death, he had done a lot of soul searching, faced a lot of hard truths about who he was, and more importantly, who he wanted to become. It was then he left the Templar order, left Kirkwall for a time. He made a trip back to Lothering, buried some old ghosts from his childhood and his past. It was while he was there that he realized how important family really was, and that Elayna was all that was left to him, all that remained of the Hawkes. So he came back to Kirkwall to be near her on his own terms. But when he returned, he came as a man who knew who he was, not someone who felt threatened or was in the shadow of anyone else.

He was a swordsman, a damn good one, and he liked helping people. From that grew an idea, and after securing a loan from Varric, of all people, he started his company of swordsman for hire. Not mercenaries, he hated that term, he wanted to protect those in need. He named his business Ferelden Guardian, though Varric advised him to use the Hawke name to his advantage. He didn't want any favors, and he wouldn't trade on the name his sister had made, he did it the slow way, the difficult way. He earned a reputation of his own, for being hard, but fair, and he took jobs others wouldn't consider.

It didn't matter to him if someone paid him in chickens or with a basket of vegetables, if they really needed help, he would work something out. Following his sister around had taught him some valuable skills he hadn't realized at the time, how to help someone while preserving their dignity and pride, and how to be kind without appearing weak. Those were skills he used on a daily basis. Maybe one day, he would thank his sister for helping him find his path. He did it by watching how she forged hers.

Ferelden Guardian started out with six swordsman, and now, less than a year later, he employed thirty, and they had more jobs on offer than they could possibly accept. They also had fancy armor with the stylistic letters of FG blazoned on every chest plate, easily recognized. Varric's idea and design, but Carver could admit it was a good one and he liked it. Today's job was a personal favor to Elayna, and he had to cancel two others to accommodate her.

He was curious about the woman he was supposed to meet and safely escort to Elayna's Hightown estate, but beyond her name and the fact that she was Ferelden, like them, he knew nothing. Only that she was important to his sister in some way, which made her important to him. When the ship docked and the gangplank was lowered, he stepped forward, immediately spotting the one he was sure was her. Elayna had described her as pale and fair-haired and she was definitely that. When she walked off the ship and stopped in front of him and smiled, he felt like someone had punched him in the gut. The white-gold of her hair hung straight down her back and shone bright in the sunlight, and her eyes were the color of summer toffee, more gold than brown. This woman was beautiful. Why hadn't Elayna mentioned that, he wondered. Somehow, he managed to find his voice.

"Are you Johanna of Ferelden?" She laughed, the sound bright and joyful, making Carver shift his weight from one foot to the other. He wanted to hear it again.

"You make me sound like some grand lady, but yes, I am Johanna, and I am Ferelden. You are as well, aren't you, from your accent?"

He smiled and took her bag out of her hand, sliding it over his shoulder. "Yes, I'm Carver Hawke, your escort and guardian. Welcome to Kirkwall, I will see you safely to my sister's home, in Hightown. Do you have any other baggage, or is this everything?"

She shook her head and gave him another bright smile that made his own smile widen. "That bag is all I have in the world, Carver, but it doesn't take much to be happy, does it? Family is important, the most important thing in the world, I have discovered." She gave him an eager look as they began walking in the direction he indicated. "Elayna is your sister? Can you tell me a bit about her?"

"Alright," he shrugged. "What would you like to know about her?" She pressed closer to him as they entered a crowded area of the docks and he held out his arm to her, nodding when she wrapped her arm around his, smiling when she grinned up at him.

"Oh, everything! Is she kind? No, I already know the answer to that one," she interrupted herself. "She invited me to come and live here. What about, um...her lover?" She blushed and looked up at him. "I'm sorry, should I call him that, or is that rude?"

Carver chuckled. "Anders? Yes, he's definitely her lover, although as Ellie's brother I don't like to think about any of that. You want to know if he's kind?"

Johanna gave him an uncertain look. "I'm more curious as to what you think about him?"

He considered the question honestly while he maneuvered her through the crowds and started for the stairs to Lowtown. "I've known Anders for years, since we came to Kirkwall during the Blight, and while I never much liked him in the beginning, I do have to admit he's been good for Ellie. He makes her happy, and she's had too little of that in her life. She's been good for him too, I think." He chuckled. "He's more relaxed. He hasn't threatened to kill me since I left the Templars, at least."

"You were a Templar?" Johanna gasped, with wide eyes. "But isn't your sister…"

"A mage?" he finished, with a rueful look. "Both my sisters were, and my father too. I was an angry person when I joined the Order, looking for purpose, but it wasn't for me. I don't like the way those bastards treat mages, and I couldn't stay a part of something like that. It felt too much like a betrayal of all the people I care about." His jaw tightened. "There isn't a Templar I wouldn't gut to protect my sister. You're right when you said family is important, there's nothing more important."

Carver stopped suddenly, staring down the men blocking their path. He pushed Johanna's bag into her hands and stepped in front of her. "Are you boys sure you want to do this? If I don't kill you, you will at least end the day bloodied and broken."

The tallest one looked beyond Carver and smirked, elbowing his friend beside him. "For a right pretty piece of ass like that, I think we can chance it. Besides, there's four of us and only one of you."

"Maker, what a bunch of idiots. Alright, let's get this over with." He shot a reassuring smile over his shoulder at Johanna. "I'll just be a minute."

Two of them rushed him at once and he sprang into motion, punching the talker in the face first, dropping him like a ton of bricks and grabbed the other in a choke-hold, turning him so he absorbed the punch from the third man. He punched him next, knocking him unconscious too, elbowed number four in the face, breaking his nose, then dropped the one he had choked when he finally fell unconscious. Surveying the mess and satisfied there was no more threat, he held his hand out to Johanna.

"Shall we carry on?"

"That was amazing," she said in an awed voice, stepping around the bleeding and unconscious men and slipping her hand into his.

"Not particularly," he said. "There were only four, and they weren't skilled. Double or triple that, and I might have had some trouble." He grinned. "Or maybe not. I'm pretty hard to injure and very hard to kill. All in a day's work."

After they were well away from the men, she tugged on his arm, pulling him to a stop near an alleyway, lifting his hand she held and frowning down at it. "But you are injured," she said quietly, stroking her fingers across his bloodied knuckles, looking up and capturing his eyes with hers.

"Am I?" He whispered, feeling like he was drowning in golden toffee. "It doesn't hurt."

"Doesn't it?" Looking down, she blew gently, back and forth across his knuckles, then looked at him through her lashes, giving him a secret smile. "How about now?"

He chuckled and shook his head, grinning. "Not one bit. Imagine that."

~O~