It had been a few days since Hawke had visited him and Fenris had spent his days mostly indoors, walking around the manor, trying to find anything useful or sellable left by the previous owners. Mostly the rooms were filled with nothing but dust, cobwebs and old furniture, but he had found some books left in the library. And on the cover of one of them, he recognized a familiar coat of arms - Amell.
The book in hand, Fenris returned to the room where it had happened. He hadn't been there since that evening, the shards of glass still glistened faintly on the floor. He pulled his arm back, ready to hurl the book into the hearth and watch it burn like the junk it was. But something held his hand, almost like a gentle hand reaching out to him, offering a new beginning with his friends. With a sharp exhale, Fenris set the book on the mantelpiece instead, watching for a moment how the gilded relief glistened in the otherwise dark room. Despite everything, the man had helped him with the assailants and maybe this was an adequate thank you.
Fenris sighed, why did it hurt so much to think about Hawke? After all, they hadn't known each other for too long, but had learnt to respect and even care for the man, despite their differences on certain topics. Hawke had seemed like a man who actually cared about Fenris, never belittling his past and experiences.
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging coming from his front door. "Elf, open up!" "What do you want?" Fenris snarled. He didn't have a problem with the dwarf, actually he liked the guy. He just wasn't in a very social mood right now. "Will you just open the door?" Another set of loud bangs rattled the door. Fenris let out a long sigh and walked to the hall, hesitating a moment before finally opening the door.
"So, you're alive at least. That's nice." The shorter man barged in, his signature grin plastered on his face. "Hadn't seen you in a while and got worried your brooding had turned into something more serious." Fenris leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "I don't brood." "And I'm a three headed, fire spewing nug." Fenris rolled his eyes, trying his hardest to hide the smile. He really didn't want to give Varric the satisfaction. "Did you need me for something?"
"Actually I do. And it's really important and urgent!" Varric tried to appear serious, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Tonight we are going to play Diamondback at the Hanged Man and I need someone else who actually can win in it. Being a champion is a heavy burden to bear alone." Fenris rolled his eyes, again. "Playing cards is urgent?"
"Come on now! If you spend any more time alone in this house, you go beyond broody, all the way to angsty and that would make you just insufferable." Smirk had returned to Varric's face, as he stood at the doorway, showing a way to the taller man.
"I give up. Just a few rounds if we split the wins." Varric waved his hand nonchalantly. "Sure. Let's just go, the others are probably waiting already." Fenris walked out, closing the door behind his back. He was surprised by Varric's concern - an unfamiliar feeling. Fenris thought he was just agreeing to a game of cards, he should have known no dwarf alive was so willing to give up gold.
A little later, at the Hanged Man:
Varric led Fenris to his room, where a group of familiar faces were already seated around the table. It was most of his new companions, except for Aveline. Being the City Guard Captain had its perks, but too much free time wasn't one of those.
"And now we're all here!" Varric took a seat at the end of the table, leaving the only free seat right in front of Hawke. Fenris gave the group a small nod, quickly averting his eyes when they met with the man. If he just kept his focus on the cards, this might be bearable.
Ignoring the obvious tension between the two of his friends, Varric shuffled the deck quickly and dealt the first round. "So, place your bets! I just hope some of you ran out of gold real soon so we can really start playing!" Fenris had a slight idea what Varric might be implying and made a stern promise to himself to leave before the evening got out of hand.
"Is there anything you are actually good at, mage?" A wicked smile on his face, Fenris stared at Anders, whose last gold was just added to the growing pile in front of the elf. "You must have cheated, where could a slave have learnt to play like that?!" Anders stood up, staring at Fenris, whose eyes slanted at the word he hated almost as much as he hated mages. "I am NOT a slave!" As he was about to get up, ready for a fight, Hawke slammed his pint loudly on the table, breaking the tension a bit.
"Hey now, we are all free people here. No need to call anyone names, just because you are a sore loser, Anders." Fenris gave Hawke a quick glance, the man was all smiles, even though he too had mostly lost this evening. He wasn't sure if Hawke was trying to keep the peace or if he truly cared about fairness - but either way, it made something tighten in Fenris' chest. "I can give you a loan, if you want to keep on playing?" Anders sighed, shaking his head. "I think I better get back home, it's getting late and I have some patients coming in early."
"Could you walk her home, I think it's way past bedtime for Kitten". Isabela was pointing with her thumb at Merril, who clearly was fighting hard not to fall asleep, her head nodding ever so often, eyes closed. Such a clever woman, Fenris thought. Everyone in the party knew Anders' hatred towards blood magic and he had very openly discussed his dislike towards the young woman.
Anders' expression soured up even more, the distaste clear on his eyes and lips. "Sure, what a perfect ending to an evening." He grabbed the young elven mage by the shoulders, forcing her up quite roughly. "And you better not vomit on me on our way to elvenage…" Merril gave out a weak smile, bidding everyone good night before the two left the room, one swaying slightly from side to side, the other trying to lead and hold the she-elf upright with as little touching as possible.
"You are one wicked woman, you do know that?" Varric was having a hard time not to burst out laughing, everything was going exactly as he had planned. Isabella just smirked and called out for a waiter for another round of drinks.
The room was getting awkwardly empty and Fenris still wasn't entirely comfortable sitting so close to Hawke. On the other hand, it was nice to see him again, despite how badly the last meeting had gone. There were still so many unsaid words between the two of them and being so close to the man awoke some unfamiliar warmth deep inside the elf. "I think I better go too, the night is getting quite late…."
"What's the rush, got some more brooding to do back at home?" Varric grinned, while shuffling the deck with experted moves. Fenris sighed, turning his eyes towards the dwarf. "How many times have I said it, I don't…" He was stopped short by a card flinging to his face. "Give it a rest, stay for a few more rounds." Fenris shook his head as he grabbed the cards, maybe a few more rounds wouldn't hurt.
"So, let's switch it up a bit. I know we all, or should I say, most of us are good at this game." At this notion, he gave a quick glance at Hawke, who was trying his best to appear nonchalant, hiding his few remaining coins with his hands. "First one naked is the ultimate loser… and no one leaves before that!"
Fenris opened his mouth to protest, no way he was staying here; seeing Hawke in front of him fully clothed was bad enough, seeing him naked would be way worse. "Or are you too afraid to lose ?" Varric was staring straight at the elf, clearly challenging him to a game of dare. Isabella appeared to be focusing on her cards, almost hiding the wide grin plastered on her face. Fenris didn't even dare to look Hawke's way, he was already disturbed at the thought he might be seeing their leader show the well trained… Fenris shook his head slightly, trying to make the images disappear. "Sure, there's no way I'm losing tonight."
First round ended just as Fenris had expected, Hawke lost. However, Varric was the one with the winning cards. "I guess I still have to wait to see those famous, dual… blades of yours, Rivaini." The woman gave out a loud giggle, clearly enjoying herself to the fullest. "I want to see more of your chest… hairs too."
Hawke sighed, getting up as he loosened the belt and stripped off his overshirt. "I was getting quite warm already, so thanks Varric." At this Fenris felt those dark eyes brush over him. He absolutely wasn't going to look. Instead, he turned to Varric, ignoring Hawke completely. "Are we here to play or flirt, pass me the next round, dwarf."
"You can do both at the same time, you know." Varric gave a knowing glance towards Isabela. "Absolutely! It's an absolutely essential part of this game." Isabella winked at Fenris. "Maybe you'll get a win next…"
Few rounds in, Fenris was having a winning streak. He had managed to beat Isabella a few times now. "I get that the loser can choose what to strip off, but I'm not sure a headscarf really counts as clothes." Isabella stuck out her tongue. "I'm wearing a dress. You guys have a shirt AND pants. You are at least two clothes ahead of me in that department."
Isabela stared at Fenris for a moment, her lips curled in a half smile. "Besides, I thought there was someone else you wanted to see losing…." The sly woman turned her eyes slowly towards Hawke. It finally dawned on Fenris what this whole evening was about. These two thought he and Hawke were still.. something. "Just deal, dwarf."
He had to get out of here before this got any further, but a warrior is trained not to leave a battle before death or victory. Victory or death—he wasn't sure which was worse. But retreat? Unthinkable.
Third round Isabela managed to turn the table on Varric, forcing the dwarf to admit his defeat. The man jumped on the table, almost knocking down all their drinks while doing so. "Feast your eyes on this magnificence." He ripped off his coat and shirt, hurling them over his shoulder. "Now THIS is how you play strip cards, not with those pathetic gloves and overshirts!"
"And here I was, thinking you liked how I took my gloves off…" Isabela was smirking widely, waving her bared fingers at the dwarf. "They are pretty fingers, I give you that… but you know why we are here!" Isabella took a long swig from her mug, trying her hardest to appear innocent (and failing at it quite magnificently).
Few more rounds in, Fenris wouldn't even lift his gaze from the cards, knowing full well what was behind those thin pieces of paper. Hawke had lost each and every round, either to Varric or Isabela AND both of them were forcing the man to discard his clothes, piece by piece. Judging by what he had seen from the corners of his eyes, Hawke was most likely down to his pants and nothing more.
"I'm not sure this is fair, why are you all turned against me?!" Hawke was protesting loudly, clearly enjoying all the attention he was getting. "Nobody forced you to strip your shirt off before your shoes… " Isabela remarked, eyeing their leader with an approving smirk on her lips.
"I may be losing the cards, but I'm not losing when it comes to courage!" Fenris's eyes started trailing upwards. Luckily, Hawke was too busy playing along with the others to notice the elf stealing a quick glance at his bare chest.
"You didn't have the courage to come visit me in my room when I invited you…" Fenris made a small notion of what this indicated, clearly Isabela had also been interested in their mutual acquaintance.
His focus however, was mostly on the sight he was finally allowing himself to see. As he had suspected, Hawke clearly was trained in fighting, his muscles well toned, with some small scars here and there from previous fights. Fenris started wondering how it would feel to trail those lines with his fingers, how many of them came from a battle and how many from a foolish bravado? His thoughts however, were interrupted abruptly by a loud and obviously fake cough, making the elf suddenly realize where he was and who he was with. "Are you going to play cards or stare at the man like a virginal chantry sister?"
Fenris was brutally brought back to the situation, all his… companions staring at him, smiles and grins of various widths plastered on their faces. He was a fighter, how could he have let his guard down like that? He never should have agreed to this game. But just as he was about to get up and leave this battlefield, defeated and humiliated, a familiar voice spoke in front of him. "I guess we're almost even now?" Hawke's voice was soft, the words clearly meant only for him.
Fenris looked back up, Hawke wasn't grinning anymore, instead he looked apologetic. Varric and Isabella did their best to give the two of them a moment, bantering about their favourite steel for daggers, which Fenris hadn't expected from the two of them. Fenris averted his eyes, he still had trouble holding eye contact after all those years of not being able to face his tormentors.
Only then did Fenris realize what cards he was holding. He laid the hand on the table, a clear win for him and the loser was none other than the man sitting in front of him. A small smile crept on Fenris's face as he looked back up again, daring the other man to make the next move. "Almost, Hawke."