Chapter 2

After that storm, the two seamlessly fell into their old routine. She'd drag him along on missions in the day and show up at night with a book under the arm. He'd gotten his friend back.

During the following year, it became clear that Hawke and the abomination had some sort of fling going, but everyone in their group knew nothing major had happened between them. There was even a betting pool going over when they'd finally jump each other.

Frankly, Fenris couldn't be more pleased that nothing had happened. Though he knew she'd probably never see him in a romantic light again, it was nice to know that she still hadn't moved on. Some part of him half believed that she never would.

That was until one day that they were helping Anders in the tunnels below the Gallows.

He couldn't understand why she'd brought him along. Maybe she still hoped that Anders and Fenris could get along. Maybe she thought that Fenris would warm to mage plight. Either way, it clearly wasn't thought through very well. Then again, most of her plans weren't

As they made their way through the dark tunnels, Fenris couldn't help but glare at the abomination. He'd been acting edgier than usual and it showed in the blue flashes that washed over his skin every few minutes.

These flashes reached their climax when they reached a group of templars surrounding a rather timid-looking girl.

Before anyone could stop him, Anders flew into a sudden rage, his entire aura surging with energy. Fenris faintly heard Hawke cry out for Anders to be careful before he rushed into the fray himself, his greatsword already drawn.

As usual, Fenris unconsciously stayed close to Hawke to keep her safe from harm. He was very careful about showing it, seeing that if she found out that he was putting himself at risk, she'd probably bite his head off again.

The cavern was filled with absolute chaos as Hawke and Anders weaved a myriad of colourful spells and Varric fired volley after volley of arrows. Fenris also added to the effect, pulsating blue every so often when he phased through their enemies.

Finally the last templar fell dead. However it was clear from the way that Anders was still enveloped by that blue aura that Justice hadn't relinquished his hold on him just yet. The abomination moved to attack the still cowering girl, but before he could reach her, Hawke jumped in front of her.

"Calm down, Justice…All of them are dead," she said in a quiet tone, her hands waving in a placating gesture. "You did your job."

"Get out of my way!" Justice roared, his aura growing darker with intensity. "She's one of them!"

Hawke took a step closer and moved to place her hand on the abomination's shoulder. Fenris watched in horror as Anders grabbed her small hand and flung her against the wall. Her blue eyes opened wide before fluttering shut and she slumped down, a thin trickle of blood running from her temple.

Before Fenris could run the mage through, the blue aura surrounding Anders disappeared and he returned to normal. A look of complete terror crossed his face as his eyes flickered to Hawke's still from and he immediately moved to rush to her side. "Oh, Maker! Hope!"

Fenris, however, was much faster and he reached Hawke before Anders could. "Don't you dare touch her, abomination!" Fenris growled, baring his teeth.

Anders looked as if he was going to argue, but instead he turned on his heel and ran out of the caverns.

"Who…who was that?" the timid voice of the young mage sounded.

"Exactly what it seems like. If you do not return to the tower, you'll meet the same fate," Fenris sneered as he searched for a pulse. He uttered a sigh of relief when he felt her strong heartbeat underneath his fingers.

The girl nodded vigorously before fleeing as well.

"Is she alright?" Varric asked, his voice filled with concern. "Shit…Blondie is going to kill her one of these days."

"This has happened before?" The elf couldn't stop the creeping anger that spread through his veins at the thought of the abomination hurting Hawke.

"This isn't the first time that Justice couldn't distinguish between friend and foe, but this is the first time that he actually laid a hand on her."

As gently as he could, Fenris picked up the still unconscious Hawke and cradled her head possessively under his chin. "I'll kill him…I swear I'll kill him for doing this," he hissed fiercely. "I always said that he'd hurt her-"

"Calm down, Broody. You're second in line," Varric said in an equally bloodthirsty tone as they made their way to the Hawke estate. "But let's just figure out what happened first before we disembowel him, alright?"

Fenris started to reply, but a flash of movement in his arms caught his eye. Slowly, but surely, Hawke's eyes started to flutter open and the unfocussed orbs met his own.

"Did I get drunk again?" she slurred as one hand moved to her head. "Because this feels like the worst damn hangover I've ever had."

"You hit your head," Fenris said gently, his gaze never leaving hers. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I need to sleep for a month." She settled back into his embrace and curled her arms around his neck. "Wake me up when we get home, m'kay?"

"Do you think she has a concussion?" Varric asked. Not bothering to wait for an answer, both of the men quickened their pace to reach the estate as quickly as they could.

Unfortunately for them, any prospect of a silent entrance was foiled when they saw Leandra milling around at the front of the house.

"Varric! I've been looking for Hope-" Her eyes flickered to the still form in Fenris's arms and her hand flew to her mouth. "What happened?"

"She's fine," Fenris insisted. "She just needs to get into her bed."

"She's clearly not fine!" Despite her outburst, Leandra opened the door and ushered them inside. "I knew she was going to get hurt doing those dangerous things! Oh, my dear girl," she lamented quietly. "What happened?"

Fenris was barely aware of Varric placating Leandra in the background as he placed Hawke gently on the bed. He gently stroked a piece of hair out of her face and was relieved to see her eyes open again.

"Fenris? Why…why are you in my…my bedroom?" she croaked out. She tried to push herself up on her elbows, but Fenris carefully, but firmly pressed her back down.

"Do you remember what happened in that passage?"

"Yes…Wait! Is Anders alright?" she asked suddenly, eagerly looking around for what he guessed was the abomination.

"How can you be worried about him? After what he's done to you?" Fenris couldn't help the angry tone that slipped into his voice. "Do you have a death wish?"

"I love him, Fenris," she said so quietly that even his elven ears needed to strain to hear her.

Her words sent a stabbing pain through his heart. "Oh…I see. I'm glad you're alright, Hawke," he said simply before turning to leave.

He could hear her calling his name after him and asking for him to stay, but this time he kept on walking.

oOoOoOo

A few night later as he sat in his mansion, Fenris still felt the hurt from her confession. He was far into his fourth glass of wine when Isabela strolled into the room.

"Hello, Fenris. How are you feeling?" she asked in a sickly-sweet tone, plopping down onto the chair in front of him. He muttered a sound of protest, but as usual, the pirate ignored him. "Did that wine help yet?"

"Help with what? Can't a man get drunk without a cross-examination?" he growled.

A smirk played at the corner of her lips. "Did it help with the fact that the Lady Hawke is probably screaming Anders's name in ecstasy right this minute?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, rumour has it that this afternoon when she went to make sure that he was alright, Anders promptly shoved his tongue down her throat. Not that she was complaining from the way she reacted, but still."

"You're making this up," he said feebly, but some part of him knew that it was true.

"Nope. And he told her to "leave her door open" if she wanted him to spend the night."

"You were spying on them, weren't you?"

The smirk grew even wider. "I'm not going to admit to anything. I'm only telling you so that you can fight for her."

Fenris stared at her in disbelief. "Since when do you care about anyone but yourself? My life has nothing to do with you and neither does Hawke's love life for that matter."

She turned uncharacteristically serious for a brief moment. "I know that he hurt her, Fenris. And he'll do much worse if they start to get serious. I met Anders before this whole Justice incident and he was a hell of a lot different. Who knows how far he's going to slip?" She took a deep breath before looking uncomfortable. "And I know how much she hurt when you left. That's the only reason why she fell for Anders. She was looking for something after you dumped her like a sack of old garbage."

"I never should have left," he admitted. "Walking away was the most idiotic thing I could have done."

"You could stop them, you know."

He leapt to his feet and headed to the door without a second thought. "Don't drink all my wine," he tossed over his shoulder before running out. I'm going to need it if I screw this up as well.

oOoOoOo

Hawke fiddled with her dress for what seemed to be the hundredth time as she waited for Anders to show up. She couldn't help but wonder if he changed his mind. He wouldn't be the first, she thought darkly, but she shoved the thought out of her mind. No, Hope. No "Fenris left me" crap tonight.

Still, she couldn't forget the sense of comfort that she felt when she woke up in his arms or the tender way he looked at her when he asked if she was alright. Stop it!

With a loud sigh, she sat down on the bed and stared absentmindedly into the fireplace. Suddenly, a sound at the window drew her attention. She silently started to unsheathe her dagger when she recognized the figure in the faint firelight.

"Fenris? What are you doing here?" she asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?

"I can't let you do this," his deep voice said quietly. "I can't let you sleep with that…with that…abomination!" She could smell alcohol on his breath, but something told her that it was not what had brought him to her in the middle of the night.

Well, it must have at least pushed him in the right direction, she mused silently.

"You had your chance, Fenris. You don't get to dictate to me what to do," she said, crossing her arms angrily. "If I want to sleep with some random man that I met on the street, that's my prerogative."

"Some random man is a better option than that mage!" He clutched her hands in his, his emerald eyes boring into hers.

Hawke stared at him in disbelief and she could hear her heart beating in her ears. Even now, after so much time has passed, she still felt a tingle running up her spine when he touched her.

"Please, Hope, don't do this," he plead quietly. "I can't bear the thought of the two of you together."

"Fenris…"

"We never spoke of what happened between us all those months ago-"

"You made your feelings very clear, Fenris," she snapped, jerking her gaze away from his. "Nothing you can say will change that."

"Let me try," he said quietly as he placed a finger under her chin and lifted it so their eyes met again. "That night…I remember your touch as if it were yesterday. You haunt my every dream and every waking thought I have is somehow filled with you. I should have asked your forgiveness long ago…I hope you can forgive me now."

Her heart beat even faster. "Then why did you leave?" she asked quietly.

His green eyes darted to the flagstone floor. "I've thought about the answer a thousand times." He returned his pained gaze to her face. "The pain…the memories it brought up…It was too much. I was a coward."

"If I could go back, I would stay," he declared finally. "Tell you how I felt."

"What would you have said?" She felt chest contract with anticipation at what he would say next.

He took a deep breath and she saw his eyes burn with fierce emotion. "Nothing could be worse than the thought of living without you," he said softly, the tiniest of smiles on his lips. He looked at her with the mot pleading of looks and all at once she realised that she'd never gotten over him. He was the reason that she waited so long to take the relationship between Anders and herself further. All along, he'd been there in her subconscious, holding her back.

"You leaving was the worst thing that could have happened to me…I loved you," she admitted. She saw a look of disbelief clouding his features at her words. What would it take for her to convince him that he not just a runaway slave, but a man who was deserving of love? "And there might be something wrong with me, because I still love you."

He leaned forward so that their foreheads were almost touching. "If there's a future to be had, I will walk into it gladly at your side, Hope," he whispered, a hopeful smile on his face.

She felt a playful smile quirk at the corner of her lips. "Are you sure? Because knowing me that will involve a lot of fire and brimstone."

Fenris dropped her hands and marched to the door, promptly kicking it shut. When he turned back to face her, there was an intense expression etched onto his face. However, his eyes twinkled with an unguarded mixture of adoration and happiness. Quicker than her eyes could follow, he closed the distance between them and swept her into his arms, capturing her lips in a firm and possessive kiss. When they finally pulled apart, she could see a strange smile on his lips.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Hope."

oOoOoOo