A/N: First, this takes place at a very specific point in Act 2, after All That Remains, but before the events of A Bitter Pill. (And yes, that is possible, just don't take Fenris out of Kirkwall when you're doing the other main plot quests.) Second, there's a perfectly good reason that I avoid a specific description of Hawke, or a first name, because it makes it far easier to imagine her as your Hawke, and don't tell me you don't want to. The only specific is warrior, but you can ignore that. ^_^ Third, I'm fully aware that Fenris's personality is a little bit off (or at least it seems like it to me, he's by far my favorite but the hardest for me to write), but you can't say that there's never been a time when you wanted him to be just a little more romantic. Yes, I love his brooding and his angst, but come on, you can let this one slide. Fourth, a mandatory thumbs up to BioWare, they created the whole Dragon Age world and I own none of it. (It does seem like a good company to invest in though.) Finally, and by far the most important note, a mention to the inspiration behind this. I was reading a story called "Little Pieces" by Aeryn Phoenix, which I highly recommend if you haven't already read it, and the idea of Isabela stealing a certain something from a certain someone (don't worry, you'll get it soon enough) caught my eye, and after asking to borrow said idea, this was born. Enjoy! (Or not, depending.)

They had never seen anything like it before. It was preposterous, unheard of, and utterly unexpected. But there she was, a paragon of self-contradiction. Although if she were to be depicted as the other paragons were there would be some serious proportional issues. I'm not sure what it was that struck her fancy to put on such a display, but the reaction of her companions as she walked into the Hanged Man were just what she had expected. Oh nugs, I can't lie to you, I know exactly why she did it. But she certainly did not expect the end result.

As usual Varric was the first to notice the lady Hawke's entrance, and, as one would rightly assume in this case, the first jaw to drop. He had been playing cards with Isabela, and, as usual, both of them were cheating, it was simply a matter of who would be better at it tonight, or which of them had had more alcohol. So naturally her gaze was the first to follow his. Her jaw, however, did not drop, but rather an incredulous look immediately stained her face. It was one of the few moments that she didn't have her mouth wide open.

At the time there were only two other members of their unlikely team present, Aveline and Fenris. It was one of those rare nights when Aveline had enough time to join them, between Donnic and patrols and trying to keep track of where all her men were at any given time she was quite busy. Fenris however was sort of a staple at the Hanged Man, it was one of the few places in Kirkwall he actually enjoyed, though that had not always been the case. The two of them populated the same table as the more outspoken pair, but they were paying so much attention to the game (both trying to figure out how the two cheated so effectively, but the warrior in them was no where near as quick-handed as the rogue in their opponents) that it wasn't until Isabela stood up that they even took notice.

"Hawke!" It was such a rare occasion that the normally endless well of witty repartee that Isabela had so carefully assembled over the years dried up in an instant. She was lowered to names of all things. Aveline and Fenris both jerked their heads in the direction of the door. The elf's eyebrows bunched together and his mouth opened in question, but he was abruptly stopped from voicing his query.

"Ah Hawke! I never thought I'd see the day you actually took my advice!" The robust Aveline proclaimed, the sheer amount of pride that shone on her face would have been enough to fuel a demon and a half. Aveline's role in Hawke's life had changed drastically over the past few years, after Carver's death she became the older sibling Hawke never had, despite the brief time they had known each other. That role took even greater meaning after Bethany's tragic fall in the Deep Roads. And finally, after the death of Hawke's last remaining tie to her old life, her mother, was killed by a loss-driven blood mage, Aveline gave up her role as sibling and took on being a surrogate mother. Hawke would never call her such, but the dynamic of the relationship was the same. Aveline had been with her far longer than her other companions, they had seen each other through a lot, and the respect Hawke showed her proved it.

Hawke thought that taking her advice was only natural, besides, 'Let up a little, you need to relax from time to time. It doesn't have to be battle and death every minute you aren't sleeping or eating." wasn't exactly hard advice to take.

"No, armor?" Varric stammered, his cards drooping in his hand momentarily, leaving them thoroughly exposed to the ever vigilant Isabela. This might be a monumental event, but nothing kept her from taking any advantage she could get against Varric.

"Is that surprising?" Hawke's reply answered all of her companions simultaneously. Aveline nodded and Isabela finally took her seat at hearing actual words come out of Hawke's mouth, she was half convinced it wasn't real. Varric however...

"Yes! Yes that is surprising! You don't even leave your bedroom without a full set of chain-mail!" Varric spewed, the unmistakable scent of his favorite low-class liquor wafting up to Hawke's nose, which crinkled in response.

Isabela instantly regained her timely wit and took to the comment on everyone's mind like Templars to an apostate. "You've spent a lot of time at the Estate spying on her then? It must have taken some serious time there to have such a solid knowledge of her attire. Not that I blame you, I've spent quite a few hours looking through those windows myself." A wistful and not at all hidden look marked her eyes, and Hawke suddenly took on the same incredulous look Isabela had only moments earlier.

Hawke wasn't wearing anything scandalous, it was simply the fact that she wasn't in her normal suit of armor that had struck everyone so profoundly. Hawke never went anywhere without it, not even to these gatherings at the Hanged Man. Furthermore, she didn't even have her sword! The only time the giant of a blade ever left its place on her back was to slice something to pieces, usually several somethings. It was as unheard of as Sebastian cursing the Maker, Isabela taking a vow of chastity, Varric abandoning Bianca!

Skillfully ignoring Isabela's comment Varric continued "What's gotten into you, Hawke? Did Anders wrap your bandages a little too tight this time?"

"I'm simply... Relaxing." Hawke mused, stepping closer to their table, "I was informed," she nodded towards Aveline, "that it would do me some good to do something other than eat, sleep, and kill."

"Does this mean you'll drink with us tonight too!" Isabela practically cheered. Hawke rarely drank, and when she did it was very little.

"Only if you promise not to take advantage of my inebriation!" Hawke spoke with mock worry.

"Not even a little bit!" An exasperated Isabela squeaked, obviously a little inebriated herself. Or maybe not, it was hard to tell, it wasn't exactly far from the things she said when she was sober. Hawke only grinned in return.

Despite the apparent severity of the situation everyone seemed to settle into it quite nicely, there was no change in the way she acted, no less wit, no less charm, and she was no less threatening than when fully armored. That might be hard to believe, but the way she carried herself spoke volumes about her strength, well, more like shouted volumes. The group continued to play cards and drink their fair share of ale.

Yes, everyone was perfectly content with this version of Hawke, everyone except for Fenris. He spent the first part of the evening quiet, hardly speaking a word, simply because he was afraid his tongue would betray him. Like the rest of them, he had never seen her this way, but, the way he thought of her was far from the way they did, well, maybe not Isabela. His lip twitched at that thought, he did not like comparing himself to her.

But how could he not? Seeing her in these clothes made all the images in his mind that much more real. Her form was never truly clear to him under the thick layers of leather and metal, but now it was quite visible. There was not much skin, Hawke was far from immodest, but the clothes seemed a size too small for her, they clung at her sides and the fabric of her tunic strained across her breasts, as if it were stretched too far. The pants she wore were just a tad too short and hugged her legs far tighter than they should have, but oddly, they didn't look like they were uncomfortable. Could they have been Bethany's? Fenris had not seen much of the recently deceased Hawke, but from what he remembered it was not hard to see her in the garments the elder sibling now wore. It was near impossible for him to keep his eyes off of her, though he tried his hardest. He couldn't help but feel like she knew, like she could see the way his gaze lingered at her collarbone, like she was fully aware of the way he stared after her when she sauntered up to the bar for a refill. The way her hips swayed with each step she took was in itself sinful, but the longer he watched the curve of her legs, and her backside, the more sure he was that she did it all the time. He simply had not noticed because of the unreasonable amount of layers she wore. He was becoming more and more grateful that Anders had not been able to make it tonight. He wondered if she ever thought the same kind of thoughts about him, if he ever had the courage to confront her about his own feelings if she would respond in kind. But Fenris could not, she was their leader and he had no business being with her in that way in any place but his own mind.

Not an hour later Aveline was finished, she had stayed longer that she had intended already, what with her duties as Guard-Captain in the morning. "No, I really do have to go, besides, I'm far past frustrated with trying to figure out how you two always manage to have the perfect hand!"

"Isabela swaps her cards out with spares she keeps stuck under the table every time Varric takes a less than wholesome look at the barmaid, and Varric has a man that keeps signaling him from behind Isabela to tell him what cards she has, not to mention the kid that keeps slipping him a change of cards with his drinks. Why do you think he uses such small glasses?" Hawke's blunt insight made both of the rogues' eyes widen, then they pulled their respective bets from the table.

"Well, that solves that then. I have sleep to get to." And Aveline promptly left. Hawke was half expecting to be berated by the pair of them for outing their secrets, but instead they started conferring with each other on their methods for robbing people blind. And Fenris, poor, poor Fenris, was now certain that there was no way she had not noticed his wandering eyes. But as any warrior would he kept his head held high, if not just to see more of her.

Another hour passed without incident, the group had devolved into chatter about their exploits, at the moment Varric was regaling them with a tale about how he rescued and befriended a rabbit near the coast only to have him chew off the majority of his chest hair while he slept. It seemed as though none of them had really drank all that much, Varric had earlier admitted that his numerous drinks had been watered down to decrease the risk of a muddled mind while playing.

"We need a drinking game! None of us should be sober, and that needs fixed, now." Isabela promptly addressed the situation.

"I'm perfectly content to watch all of you drown yourselves in ale." Fenris spoke with distant tone.

"But you always drink with us! What's wrong, Broody?" Varric piped in, seemingly unaware that Isabela was simultaneously stealing silvers from the pouch he left just a little too close to her chair.

Fenris just shrugged, perfectly masking the reason he did not wish to drink, because when drunk, people say things that they should not. He wasn't sure that he could help himself in this case.

"I have an idea." Hawke said with a breathy undertone. Isabela purred in question. "But Varric doesn't get to play."

Varric started to voice his objection before Isabela cut him off, "Just the two of us then, love? My, my, this should be good." Varric seemed to think on this, Hawke and Isabela drinking themselves into a stupor, perhaps it would be best if he stayed sober, there were all sorts of tales he could spin out of this.

"I'm feeling rather, adventurous tonight." Fenris's ears perked up at the word 'adventurous'. By now he figured that if Hawke had not said anything of his unusual behavior then she had not noticed, which she hadn't. Hawke had the keenest instincts, reflexes, and all around awareness in the Free Marches, or at least it seemed like it, but in matters like love, more like lust in this case, she was utterly oblivious. His original worry had subsided, and in all the time she had been there he had gotten his impending arousal under control. He was not completely unable of taming himself. His newest worry however, was Isabela. She was not so inexperienced and he had caught her giving him the oddest smirk, a smirk that meant scheming. His worry would have to wait however.

"Oh, is that so?" Isabela crooned, obviously eager to hear what Hawke would propose.

"Yes, it is so, Isabela, and I want to see if I can out-drink you." The corners of her mouth twisted up in a confident smile.

The Rivaini let out a short, shrill laugh, thoroughly certain that such a feat was impossible. Even Varric was skeptical. "The stakes better be good, love!"

"Oh they are indeed. If I win, I get everything in your pockets." Hawke seemed quite sure of her statement, probably assuming that she was holding valuables.

"And if I win?"

"Yes, if you win, well, you still wanted to sleep with me, right?" The words Hawke spoke made Varric choke on his drink, and Fenris discreetly gripped the leg of the table, grinding his teeth. Isabela was seemingly unsurprised by her words.

"And how in the world would that work? If you're passed out it won't be any fun..." Isabela trailed off seductively.

"Ah, I've thought of that already!" Hawke said with enthusiasm that was quite unlike her for a situation like this, perhaps she had taken Aveline's suggestion a little farther than it was intended. "Prizes will be given tomorrow night, but, since I know how impatient you are I'll sweeten the deal, if you last twenty minutes I'll kiss you, for at least thirty seconds." And now Isabela was even more so intrigued, as was Fenris.

"Only twenty? It's almost like you want that kiss." Isabela leaned in close to her.

"Oh, I do, but... That's all I want." Hawke's flippant words made Isabela frown.

"I see, waiting for someone else to perform that special task, are we?" Fenris could have sworn he saw Isabela wink at him as she spoke, "Well, what about your prize, how do you know I won't simply empty my pockets before tomorrow night?"

"Oh, I'm sure if you do, something will find its way into them eventually." Hawke smirked, and Isabela saw exactly what she was getting at. Isabela knew that she and Hawke did not have a physical relationship, the impending kiss was as far as she would go, (if she won anyway, Hawke held to her debts) but this was basically a free pass for Isabela. It was Hawke's way of saying 'Just get me something good.'

"Deal. This should be a remarkably fun game!" With that Varric hopped up to get the first round, incredibly pleased that he actually wouldn't have to embellish anything about this particular story.

The first ten minutes passed with ease, Isabela far more than able to hold her liquor and Hawke's expression hardly changing at all. Not either of them so much as swayed, they just stared intensely at the other as they drank. Then fifteen minutes came around and still, they showed almost no signs to allude to intoxication. "How in the sodding Stone are you not falling out of your chair, Hawke!" Varric was not the only one surprised, Isabela was a pirate, her tolerance for alcohol was expected, but Hawke?

"Whatever do you mean, Varric?" Hawke sweetly spoke, unaware of why he would ask such a thing.

"You never drink! How are you so, so, immune!" He spat out, flabbergasted by the Ferelden woman once again.

"Oh, my hairy little dwarf man," Hawke reached out to tussle his hair as though he were a child, maybe the booze was getting to her a little bit... "I drink plenty! I just don't get drunk." Hawke's proud smile practically lit up the room.

There really wasn't much Varric could do but pour the next round while Isabela thought that perhaps she'd gotten in a little over her head. With the sheer amount of alcohol they had practically mainlined already she was just about at her limit, and of course Hawke had demanded the highest proof the place had. As they downed their next glass and slammed it to the table Fenris wrenched around uneasy in his seat, that twenty minute mark was coming up fast.

They got one more glass down before Isabela held up her hand and said "Oh dear Hawke, I'm still awake! I believe that means you owe me something..." She tipped her head forward with a domineering squint to her eyes.

Hawke wasted no time, she stood with unwavering certainty, commanding the attention of everyone in the bar. She placed one foot on her chair to push off of as she moved to cross the table on her knees, adding an unnecessary movement to her shoulders and hips, as though she were prowling. "Ooooh, maybe Merril isn't the one I should be calling Kitten..." Isabela said as Hawke closed the distance.

"Stop talking." She ordered, much to Isabela's approval as Hawke reached out to grab her, clinging to the hair at the base of her skull. She pulled her forward and locked their mouths together, sucking heavily at each lip in turn before using her free hand to steady herself on Isabela's shoulder as she moved from the table to a new position straddling the pirate queen in her seat. They continued like this, all gasping and panting and fingers entwined in locks of hair as the crowd looked on in rapt silence, until Isabela reached for Hawke's breast, only holding it for a finite moment before Hawke gracefully twisted away (an impressive feat considering how much she had drank) and returned to her seat. Then the crowd erupted, jeers and catcalls and shouts for more all floated around the room, dying down only when they realized the girls were too out of it to even care.

Varric was stunned, more so than he had been at anything that had occurred that night, he was sure that the very fabric of the world must be coming undone, because this was not normal, not at all. I mean, he had certainly made up stories like this about Hawke, but for it to actually happen! Was this really the woman that had cut down countless abominations, fought tooth and nail through the Deep Roads, destroyed hordes of Tal-Vashoth? Oh, he was definitely taking a trip to the Rose tonight.

Undoubtedly though, the most profound reaction came from Fenris, despite how silent he remained. He had perchance the greatest view of the whole event, stationed right next to Isabela. He saw the whole thing almost exactly as she did, Hawke's hands-and-knees crawl across the table, the way her shirt dipped down exposing the deep valley between her breasts, that insatiable look in her eye, and he was so close, so very, very close. He could smell her, even past the alcohol and Isabela's own perfume, a scent heavy with the spice of cinnamon and laced with vanilla, and oh, how he wished he could take the pirate's place. Even if the rest of the room had not been staring at the two as intently as they were, Fenris still would have been unable to take his eyes away, he couldn't touch, but by the Maker no one would stop him from looking. And when her legs left the table the toe of her boot had dragged along the outside of his thigh on its path to the floor, causing an unstoppable rush of heat coursing through him, not that there wasn't enough heat already. Then it was over, Hawke escaped Isabela's grasp and walked carefully back to her place, and Fenris hadn't even noticed Isabela's groping, if he had, well, I think he might have immediately needed to, get some air, so to speak. He was wearing thin as it was. It was then, as Hawke got farther away from him, that he looked back to Isabela, who was boring a hole through his skull. When she was finished staring at him she, not so secretly, cast her gaze down to the rather embarrassing bulge in his pants. Shit, she knew, he was sure of it now, and when Isabela had information like that she did not let it go unused. He pulled his chair in closer to the table and scowled at her. He might have been found out, but he wasn't about to let her get into his head.

Varric was the first to break the silence, starting with a deep laugh, "Well, we have a game to get back to!"

"We do!" Hawke cheered, unphased by what had just happened. So they continued on, until the victor was decided with a loud thump of a body hitting the floor. Poor Isabela, it was as if the chair had been pulled right out from under her. Hawke sat up, perfectly straight, eyes closed, totally unaware that she had just won her little wager.

"We should probably get her to her room." Fenris finally said. Varric nodded in agreement as the two men proceeded to haul Isabela away. When they returned, however, Hawke was gone.

"Huh, guess she went home." Varric assumed, but Fenris was not so sure and he briskly went to confirm such with the bartender.

"Yeah, as soon as you two turned the corner she just stood up and walked out the door, it's hard to believe she drank as much as she did."

The elf was sure he could catch up with her, if only just to make sure that she really was headed home and not to her previous one in Lowtown. He had no need to worry though, he caught sight of her ascending the stairs almost immediately. Instead of running to her side however, he just followed, only slightly upset that the darkness obscured his vision of her. She didn't walk like she was drunk, which was unsettling, was she really that unaffected? Something was off, but he just continued to watch her from a distance, at least until she was almost home.

"Hawke, wait!" He called as she opened the door to her estate. Her head flicked back towards him without hesitation.

"Ah, I was wondering how long you were going to follow me before you said something. You know, the glow of those markings does not do well for stealth." She stated with a uncharacteristic wink.

Fenris was rather struck by this, how could she possibly have know he was following her? He didn't hardly make any noise and she never looked back. "I- I was just making sure that you made it home all right, with all that alcohol I'm surprised you're still standing."

"Do you want to know a little secret?" Hawke's smile did not fade as she spoke. Fenris slowly nodded, unsure of what else to do. "Then come inside for a moment." She motioned for him with her finger, which he thought of far more sensually than he probably should have.

He closed the door behind him and she sat on one of the benches in the entryway, unlacing her boots. It was surprisingly quiet, then again, he had never been there when Bodahn wasn't around to emphatically greet him at the door. She didn't look up from her task as she spoke, "I beat Isabela at her own game, I cheated." He could practically hear the smile in her voice, and when she finally did look up it was quite blatant.

"And..." He hesitated for a moment, "How did you do that? You definitely drank everything, and Varric was pouring the drinks... " He mulled over it for a second before continuing, "Was he in on it?"

"Oh heavens, no. Varric has a harder time keeping his mouth shut than Isabela does! I found a special tonic at the Black Emporium the other day, it tasted like nug shit, or at least what I assume that would taste like, but it absorbs any toxin, such as alcohol, for a full day." She was quite smug with herself.

"So you've been totally sober the whole night?" He inquired with a raised brow.

It was obvious what he was getting at, even to Hawke, so, instead of addressing it she took an alternate route. "Goodnight, Fenris." And so she walked away, leaving him to see himself out.

"So that's the plan, with any luck we should be able to take care of everything before nightfall." Hawke, now in her full armor again, was going over the battle strategy for dealing with a small camp of bandits camped outside the city.

"I really appreciate this, Hawke, things are hectic enough around here with the Qunari; I can't spare any more men." Aveline said with a nod in Hawke's direction.

"Oh, of course. Now, are you two ready to head out?" She spoke to the pair at the bar, who were paying minimal attention.

"Three, thank you very much, Bianca will not be left out." Varric retorted as he hopped off his stool.

"No, Varric, she was meant two, I'm staying behind today, little bit of a hangover you know? How she's going anywhere astounds me." Isabela quickly assuaged Varric's fear.

"Yes Varric, we've been over your oddly idyllic obsession with your crossbow, I would never forget her."

"Good thing, Hawke. That's why I write stories about you, well, that and the astounding number of things you kill." Varric added.

"I'm glad I have your support, now would you hurry up!" Hawke was referring to the fact that she and Aveline were halfway out the door and Varric was still draining the last of what he called his good morning ale.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming! Who else is going with us today? We always go in a group of 4, you know how this works!"

"Fenris is meeting us at the gates." Hawke stated in a rather matter-of-fact tone.

The day went by without a hitch, it wasn't a large group they were taking out, but the travel time added a substantial amount to their journey, leaving room for conversation. They talked about the steadily boiling situation with the Qunari, the state of the Docks, how the reading and writing was going for Fenris, and various other Kirkwall-related topics. Until Varric, as was to be expected, made a not-so-subtle comment about the previous nights activities, undoubtedly trying to see if Hawke remembered it, and looking for any excuse to clue Aveline into what exactly happened after she left. "Yes, Varric, I know all about it." Hawke stated dismissively, trying to avoid a possible disaster.

"You certainly did seem to, enjoy yourself..." He added, lifting a suggestive eyebrow.

"I don't want to know, Varric." Aveline's tone was incredibly similar to the many times she had called Isabela a whore.

"Eh, suit yourself, I'll just be back here regaling Fenris with all the little details, try not to listen too hard." Varric took a secondary course of action, which was derailed just as quickly.

"No, dwarf, if you want to tell someone so badly go tell all the fleas that must live in your chest hair." Fenris said, trying to avoid thinking about the heat rising to his face.

"I'm offended, Broody! They have names you know!"

"I really hope you're joking." Aveline scoffed.

At the end of day when they returned to Kirkwall Aveline retired to the barracks and the others took to the Hanged Man. Fenris was almost hesitant to join them, but he found that he was actually looking forward to seeing what preposterous thing Isabela had 'in her pockets' tonight. They had expected to see Isabela at her usual spot, hovering over a drink and ignoring some buffoon shamelessly trying to seduce her, but they were mistaken.

She was sitting at the head of a rather large table, with exactly four empty seats. The other seats were filled by none other than Anders, Merril, and Sebastian. Upon seeing them Isabela stood up, "There they are! Come, come, sit! I have a prize to give!"

"Oh, this should be good." Hawke muttered under her breath as she sat down with Fenris and Varric.

"Aw, where is my favorite lady-shaped Ogre!" Isabela spouted upon noticing the lack of Aveline.

"The barracks, I'd assume." Merril said, Varric confirming with a firm nod.

"That's just too bad... Oh well, moving on!" Isabela squealed, obviously excited. Hawke assumed that she had already informed their other companions of their wager, because they all seemed to know what was going on when Isabela flipped one of her pockets out, revealing nothing. She raised her hands in mock surprise before moving to the other one, from which she pulled a well folded note.

Hawke reached out her hand for it. "No, no, no! That's not how this works! I have to read it to you!" Oh, of course she did, Hawke should have expected that.

She carefully pried the note open, cleared her throat and started to read in the loud, slow, and overly theatrical voice she thought most appropriate for this particular piece.

"I've never known a woman with such a combination of strength and beauty.

No one has ever pulled such thoughts from me as she does, I thought it would be the end of me when she took to that table."

Fenris was dumbstruck, in such a state of shock that he could not bring himself to stop Isabela's tirade. This was personal, he had wrote it the night before to vent his frustrations, this was not something that was supposed to be shared. Was this why she had stayed behind? Did Hawke ask him to go simply because she would not? Or did Isabela convince her to, so she could raid his mansion? Whatever the case, he wanted to knock her head right off her shoulders. Yet he couldn't, he knew that it was already too late to change anything, and there was a part of him that truly wanted Hawke to know, though he certainly wouldn't admit it. And Isabela didn't even look at him as she read, but he could feel her sense of smug satisfaction as she continued, even going so far as make bold movements to emphasize her words, his words.

"Oh, the things I would do to her if only she'd let me, if only I could tell her. I've imagined how it would happen many times, played through it countless nights.

And she probably thinks that when I watch her I am doing so out of concern, but my intentions are not always so noble.

I do not wish to be perceived as a hound though, I truly care about her, and it pains me to be away from her. I find myself often making unneeded visits to her home, just to see her face.

It is a foolish want though, she is our leader, and she would never desire me as I do her, I am only to spend my days dreaming."

Then Isabela folded it up, sat down, and waited. Anders and Varric shared the same curious, and lewd look, Sebastian seemed almost ashamed, but it was Merril that first broke the silence. "Oh," her voice full of adoration, "That was so pretty! And here Varric was telling me that you only write crude things!" Which of course caused the dwarf to laugh aloud.

Then it was silent again, Isabela and Hawke sharing an intense stare, and then Hawke threw her head back laughing. It was a loud, full laugh, one of genuine amusement. Fenris could not help but feel slightly emasculated.

"Oh, you're in love with me now, Isabela! Aw, that's sweet, and I would be blushing a furious shade of red had it come from anyone but you!" At her words Fenris felt hope rise through his chest, and sink just as fast when he realized that she still had yet to find out it was him.

"Were those words, alluring to you then, if they would not have been mine?" Isabela asked.

"I don't know any woman who would say otherwise."

"Then I suppose it is a good thing they are not!" She proclaimed, setting the refolded note in front of Hawke, who went to open it again, but stopped midway. "What's the matter, love?"

"If you're giving this to me it must mean that upon opening it I will know who truly wrote it, correct?" Hawke saw through her facade, and proceeded to dismantle it.

Isabela nodded sheepishly.

"And it is undoubtedly someone at this table, seeing as you felt it necessary to read it to all of them?" Hawke's voice had a harsh edge to it.

Another nod, accompanied this time with her trademark smirk.

"So I am to open this, figure out this little mystery you've spun, gasp and stare at the culprit, and cause them to become completely and utterly embarrassed in front of the rest of our companions?"

"Yes, aside from Aveline." Isabela said, totally sure of her plan.

"Well, as ingenious as you are, and as much effort as you have put into this, I'm afraid I have to decline." Hawke foiled the pirate's plot. Fenris wasn't sure that he was actually hearing this, that he could possibly be this lucky.

"Why?" Isabela practically shouted.

"Because, my dear friend, as happy as I am that you've brought this to my attention, and as much as I know how you love public humiliations, my conscience will not allow me to do this. What may seem fair game to you, I'm sure is quite personal to whomever this belongs to." Isabela simply made an exaggerated frown. Hawke continued, "Now, unless we have something else to attend to I think it's time to call it a night."

And once again silence fell upon them, but it was far more brief this time as Sebastian stood, "I, for one, commend you on your choice, Hawke." And he left, followed in line by the rest of them, aside from Varric and Isabela, of course. Anders wanted to speak before he went, but the look on Hawke's face was sternly telling him to leave, a look she had picked up from her time spent with Aveline no doubt.

Although her stride would not have shown it, Hawke was quite eager to get home, Isabela's mystery note in hand. She was nearly irritated by Bodahn's frenzied greeting. "Ah, messere! You've finally arrived! I hope all is well! We've been well here! Is there anything I can get you?"

"Not tonight Bodahn, give Sandal my best next time you see him, I might be leaving again later tonight." Hawke said as she flitted up the stairs to her bedchamber, and 'flitting' was not something she did often, mind you.

Hawke was a warrior, she felt as though she should not be quite so giddy at this notion of possible love, there were more important things that needed her concentration. But from the back of her mind, Aveline's words echoed forth, 'you need to relax'. She was right, presented the opportunity Hawke had quite liked relaxing, and the idea of someone really feeling this way about her sparked some wonderfully naughty thoughts, she just had to put a face to them.

The writing was blockish, with nothing to distiguish between capital and lowercase letters, all of which were badly formed, and the spelling of almost every word was terribly mangled. It was nearly illegible, but she knew in an instant who had written it, she had been the one to teach him how to. She mouthed his name as she reread the words, 'Fenris...'

She must have gone over the page ten times before she had made up her mind, she would go to him, she had to, but first she needed a bath.

As Hawke walked through the cold she became less and less sure how she was going to approach him. What would she say? What would she do? What did she really want from this? Why had she taken the time to put her armor back on? Why was she taking her sword with her? She didn't know. She had absolutely no clue what the answer to any of it was. She stopped, she had never been this unsure about anything, yes, there were things she had doubts about, but she always knew what she was going to do. Thinking about it for a moment she realized that she knew exactly what she was going to do, she had already decided, go to him. She didn't need to know what she would do after that, and so she pressed on, determined. Besides, Hawke thrived under pressure.

There were three loud, hard knocks at his door, just as he was about to grab the handle himself. A rather tense conversation with Isabela had led to this. She was absolutely adamant that he go to see Hawke, and totally ignorant to his fuming anger with her. He assumed the knocking was her, irritated that he had not left yet. He should have known she would stay and wait for him to leave. Fenris wasn't about to go anywhere without his armor and weapon though.

"For the last time Isabela, I said I'm going!" Fenris snarled as he opened the door, his hand held to his face in frustration.

"Going where?" Hawke questioned, her voice far more confident than she felt.

Fenris looked at her, confused, did Isabela go to see her too? "Uh, Hawke, I..." He trailed off.

"Out with it then. Or did you suddenly forget where you were going this late at night?" Her previous insecurity was gone, at the moment she had the upper hand.

"I, was going to see you." Fenris decided that at this pointing lying was futile, and even if he had tried, no one ever got away with lying to Hawke.

And all that insecurity came flooding back. The tense silence between the two made them seem more like combatants, they looked it too. Both of them armored, itching for some way to occupy themselves, the metal that adorned them shining in the light of the dull moon, and they both looked angry. It wasn't anger though, it was something they shared, a latent disposition of hostility. Instinct told them both that 'confronting a problem' meant beating it over the head and chopping all of its limbs off. But neither of them looked the other in the eye, they both looked awkwardly at the ground, if only they knew how similar their thoughts really were.

"Well, I'm here. Do you want to go inside, or talk out here in the cold?" Hawke spoke softly with a faint smile. It was a tone he had never heard from her before.

Fenris cleared his throat, "Yes, we should go inside."

They walked to the same room where one of Fenris's most vivid memories of Hawke lived. It had once been filled with her raucous laughter as she watched wine drip down the wall. Fenris had been offended, she was laughing at him! When he got angry with her about it she simply became more amused, eventually explaining that her laughter was not directed at him, but at the fact that the stain the wine left on the wall was identical to the blood stain in the main hallway. Upon examining it he found that she was absolutely correct, and wound up letting loose one of the first small chuckles that he would come to know as a customary response to Hawke's rather dark sense of humor.

So they sat there, facing the fire, quiet. It was once again Hawke that shattered the silence between them. "I am not certain what to say, but I know that there is something to be said, I simply cannot find the words for it." She spoke slowly, eloquent as she always was, but in the same soft tone she had used at the door.

"Then we are in the same predicament." Then it settled over them once again, a silence that seemed forced. It was then that Fenris realized it, he had heard that voice before, but only once. When it came to dealing with serious situations, or at least ones that did not involve her companions, Hawke was a woman with a mean wit. When she wasn't being sadistically amusing she was direct and aggressive. There was a single time though that she spoke with the same kind of softness her voice carried now. It was when she spoke her last words to her mother.

He was unsure quite what that meant, were these to be her last words to him? Did he offend her that badly? Or was it that she held him with the same reverence as she did her family? Did she see the situation to be just as serious? His questions were answered, however, by her sudden reply.

"You could have just asked me." He took his eyes off the fire to look at her, and she stared right back. She was even more beautiful in the wavering light, her eyes shining expectantly. He needed no more words.

He lunged at her, almost knocking her off the short stool she sat on. His hand tugged sharply at her hair, forcing her head to tilt back as his mouth crashed into hers. She pushed back, maneuvering the two of them upright, their armor letting out a loud cry as it slammed together. It was a heavy, hard, angry kiss, and it was just what they both needed, furious with themselves for waiting this long. They were starved for each other, and their blades hit the ground almost simultaneously.

A/N (again): And there you have it! Disappointed that I didn't write all the really steamy stuff? Tell me about it! R&R is how this works! Tell me what I did wrong, tell me what I did right! I'm not sure whether or not I should continue this, it would more than likely be a series of short stories pertaining to this particular Hawke (not always smutty, mind you) throughout the course of the game, without a linear plot-line. (One-shots I think you'd call them? Wink-wink.) But if there isn't interest I might not. And yes, I do have a soft spot for Aveline, and I don't think enough people give her the credit she deserves.