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Chapter Text

Anders worked every night and weekend possible to save up for the trip. He never dreamed he’d have the opportunity to do so again, the life of vet wasn’t a glamourous one. The first day that his Tevene professor offered slots up for a trip to Tevinter, he’d been among the first to commit. The University organized everything and it was set up to be an exchange program, one week with a family there, then the Tevinter student would spend a week with him.

The entire train ride, he sat with Garrett Hawke, a jock that surprisingly majored in electrical engineering. One of the few who chose a challenging course load. He was loud and friendly with everyone, although sometimes he took too many liberties with his teasing. Regardless, Anders warmed up to him easily and was thankful for his company during the trip to Tevinter. It kept his mind off the fact that Anders was only a marginal student when it came to the Tevene language.

As the class milled about the train station, Anders listened to the announcements over the loudspeaker. Realizing he could hardly follow what the voice said, his nerves returned in full force. A major rule that encouraged the University to pay for half the trip was that the students signed an agreement to only speak the foreign language during the entire trip. Anders was doomed.

‘I can’t do this, what in the name of Andraste’s ass was I thinking?’

Hawke wrapped an arm around the slender man, “You look like you’re facing a firing squad. Relax, this is going to be fun.”

Anders scoffed, “Yeah, for you maybe.”

“Just be confident.” Hawke slapped him on the back, “Straighten up, smile, and just be you.”

“Garrett? Over here, you’re partnered with Dorian.” Their professor called out in perfect Tevene, perhaps with a little more flair than was necessary. Although it was indeed with far more fluency than Anders processed. “Anders? You’re with Fenris.”

While the professor continued his pairings, Anders walked over to the elf that waved when his name was called.

Okay Anders, you can do this. Be confident. Talk about things you like. Safe topics. Yeah- you can do this.

“I have heard that there are some beautiful cats here in Tevinter. I’m excited to see as many as I can. Would you happen to have a cat?”

Fenris eyes narrowed disapprovingly at Anders. “Have no pretty cat for you to pet.”

Confidence, remember confidence. Anders tried again, “Don’t worry, I like all cats, even ugly ones. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t.” Spat Fenris before he grabbed Anders’ bag roughly and stalked off to the bus.

The ride on the public bus was a quiet one. Fenris remained cold toward Anders, only offering the shortest answers possible anytime Anders attempted to start up a conversation. By the time they reached Fenris’ apartment, Anders decided to give up cracking through the hard wall the elf had built around himself. He seemed insulted at Anders very presence.

At dinner, Fenris gave Anders a plate then retreated to his own room to eat alone. Regret at the whole trip stole Anders hunger. He pulled out his phone and called Garrett.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when the sounds of club music blared through the earpiece. True to the contract, Garrett answered in Tevene. “Anders? Oh man where are you? Are you at the Viper Pit too? Holy fuck-snacks, this place is awesome.”

“Um. No, I’m not.” Anders fiddled awkwardly with the hem of his shirt. He did want to have fun too. Why was it so damn hard for him? “Are there others there too?”

“I think everyone? This place is rocking! Get your skinny ass over here!”

Giving his reassurances, Ander hung up and mustered up the courage to knock on Fenris’ door.

“What?”

Anders cracked the door open, but remained outside of the bedroom, “A few friends is at the Viper Pit. Would you liking to go? It is seeming fun.”

Fenris sat at his desk with his legs folded on the desk chair. A set of fancy noise cancelling headphone hung from his neck. “I have better things to do than take you out to meet people. Go by your fucking self.”

Replacing the headset over his ears, Fenris completely shut Anders out. Anders backed away, closing the door quietly even though it wouldn’t have bothered Fenris. He went to the couch and curled up in the blanket he’d been given.

This is the worst trip ever. I shouldn’t have come.

The next day’s schedule had all the students doing tours of the ancient plaza in the Magister District. A tour guide spent the morning walking the class around and pointing out places and buildings of historical significance.

Anders sulked, keeping to himself and ignoring most of what the guide said. He spoke too rapidly anyway. Looking over at Garrett, it pained him to see the man getting on so well with his partner. Dorian was a perfect fit for Garrett, the man was handsome, flashy and eager to be the center of attention. They provided enough entertainment for the group, no one noticed that Anders walked alone.

They broke for lunch at a small café that had outdoor seating next to a fountain. Anders sat as close to the water as possible to enjoy the small cool breeze that came from the running water.

“Hey! Why so glum? The day is beautiful, perk up!”

This was definitely one time Anders did not appreciate Hawke’s injection in his affairs. Now he had a buddy to further encourage him.

Dorian gave a winning smile, “Yes, honestly how can anyone not enjoy being in one of the finest cities in all of Thedas?”

“I’m not sad. I just have some hot, alright?” snapped Anders.

Dorian burst into a fit of giggles while, Garrett translated Anders vocabulary mix-up, “You are in heat! I will find you a woman! Hey! Are there any women here ready to do the sex with Anders?”

Mortified, Anders grabbed at Hawke, pulling at his shirt to get him to shut up. “No! No! That is not what I meant. Stop it right now!”

“Oh, I am so sorry Anders. My apologies. I need to find a man who will do the sex with Anders!”

Fear sent Anders running at a dead sprint. Maker forbid he actually find someone. Anders dodged into a quiet alley where he groaned at his troubles. “Why me?”

“Are you alright?” Anders was surprised that Fenris had taken enough note of him to follow. Then again, Garrett was a loud jackass.

“Look, I know the rules state I’m supposed to be speaking Tevene, but now I’m afraid of what I might say. I’m no good at this.”

Fenris spoke in a gentler tone than he had the night before, “So the other day, when we first met, what did you ask me?”

Anders gave a heavy sigh, “I talked about the exotic cats I’d heard lived in Tevinter. I asked if you had one as well.”

Open mouthed, Fenris stared at him. It took a moment but he re-gained some of his composure to ask, “Say that in Tevene.”

Anders repeated his initial greeting as best as he could remember. At the end, Fenris burst into laughter so hard his beautiful teeth broke through the stern line of his mouth. He slapped his head in amusement, ruffling his soft white hair. “I understand now. You mixed up the sex.”

“The sex? The sex of what?”

“When one makes the word ‘cat’ male, the word changes to mean ‘male genitalia’. I thought you came on this trip as chance to sleep with as many men as possible. I thought you wanted me to help you get laid.”

Anders recalled his words from the day before: “I have heard that there are some beautiful cats here in Tevinter. I’m excited to see as many as I can. Would you happen to have a cat?”

Replacing the word ‘cat’ drastically changed the meaning.

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Mortified by his earlier messed up Tevene, Anders spoke even less during the rest of their day trip around the sights of Minrathous. But unlike he had expected, Fenris had dropped his frown and cold demeanour and after a good laugh at Anders’ expense, proved to be quite the decent host. Or at least a great help in making out anything their tour guide said.

Garrett Hawke later threw a wide grin at Anders as he spied Fenris muttering translations towards him. Anders groaned. He was afraid of what would follow this. And indeed, it took the other man only a few moments to manoeuvre through the other exchange students and appear at Anders’ side. One muscular arm was slung around Anders’ shoulder and his mischievous smirk was directed at Fenris.

Anders wanted to say something to keep the other man from speaking up, but luck seemed to have abandoned him when he crossed the border to Tevinter.

“So, I see you got yourself a man after all, Anders?!”

“Shut.Up.Hawke!”

Anders was grateful his Tevene sufficed to say at least this small sentence without a mix up. None that he was aware of at least.

Fenris replied with a raised eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Hawke held out both his hands in a placating gesture, his teasing grin in a stark contrast to it. “I see, I see. I’m interrupting something. Just don’t tire out Blondie here! We need you both at the party tonight!”

As if on cue, Dorian looked over and winked. Either the man had superhuman hearing or it had been his plan all along to have Hawke invite them to said party.

“Have fun!”

And with that last very “subtle” comment and a wink, Hawke was back at his exchange student’s side. Anders though couldn’t help but yell after him. “I don’t want to bed him, you moron!”

Again, thanks to Anders incredible streak of luck, this was the moment the tour guide stopped talking and everyone got out their phones to take pictures of the old mansion. Anders yell was met by complete silence. At first everyone simply turned towards them and stared. Then a few started snickering, some gave Fenris and Anders THAT look and the tour guide cleared her throat. It was obvious they were quite displeased with Anders’ lack of attention on the actual tour. Or the kind of discussion that apparently happened behind their back.

In lack of anywhere else to turn to without meeting amused or annoyed expressions, Anders looked back at Fenris. Yet when he met Fenris’ eyes, Anders wished he had looked at the ground instead. The elf gave him a decidedly odd look. For a second they just faced at each other without saying anything. Fenris with slightly narrowed eyes and Anders absolutely uncomfortable. Then Fenris broke the eye contact, coughed and followed the group that had started moving on. “We should go!”

But Anders had trouble to just go on and dismiss the thought that had just now crossed his mind for the first time in such clarity.

Fenris was beautiful.

Not that Anders hadn’t realized earlier. But he hadn’t realized it in the way he did now. The way his eyes perfectly matched his skin tone, yet contrasted with his white hair. His deliberate and elegant movements. His… Damnit… I’m not really thinking about his ass now, am I?!

Heat rose to Anders’ cheeks and he followed Fenris and the group in embarrassment. This was all Hawke’s fault! Hawke and his incessant teasing. Without him, Anders would never have looked at Fenris twice. Not in that way at least. Or at least it would have taken him a bit more time and some alcohol. Because he had sworn to himself he was done with men! And women! People in general! At least until his studies were finished and he had a job as a vet. He didn’t need any distractions. Especially not delightfully handsome distractions from Tevinter that were his exchange student.

“Thinking about something pretty?”

This time it was Dorian’s soft voice that appeared out of nowhere close to Anders’ ear and Anders jerked around. One confident Tevinter was smiling from under that incredibly precise moustache while the other seemingly ran away from Anders. Just when he had thought that his stay in Tevinter was not beyond salvation, it only took Hawke and Dorian to plummet him into awkward-hell. Just great!

Dorian had probably followed Anders’ train of thought. “Don’t mind him. He sometimes just does that.” He sighed dramatically. “Who knows what’s actually going on inside Fenris’ mind.” And with these encouraging words, Dorian left Anders alone again. Alone with his struggles and the recurring thought, that Fenris looked quite spectacular from behind.

The evening at the party proved to be no less confusing. Fenris opted for an activity where talking was not required and mingled with some other students of their exchange program on the dancefloor. Unlike the party from the night before, that they had missed due to their terrible misunderstanding this time they were not at a club but at Dorian’s family home. His father was apparently gone on an important business trip, so Dorian made use of the extravagant interior and exterior and invited everyone.

The party was loud and fun and nobody seemed to pay any attention to the “only talk Tevene”-rule set by their teacher.

“What’s with the long face?” Hawke slumped down onto the luxurious leather sofa next to Anders. “You could be dancing with me. Or that hottie over there?”

“What hottie?” Anders made the mistake of following Hawke’s lead and looked into the direction he pointed. And of course, Hawke pointed at Fenris.

Anders immediately lowered his gaze again. But not fast enough to escape the slow shake of hips, perfectly in tune with the music.

“Could you stop this please…”

“Come on! So, you don’t want to have some fun?” Hawke slightly nudged him into his side. “I’m sure Dorian would be up for that as well.”

Again, Dorian seemed to know when people were talking about him and beamed at them from across the room. His bedazzling outfit that consisted mainly of glitter and silk would have looked ridiculous on anyone but him. The way Dorian wore it made you wish, you wore the same.

“I don’t”, Anders stressed the ‘don’t’ and hoped Garrett would take the hint and finally leave him be, “want to have fun with Dorian!”

“Pity! You could need some cheering up. Perhaps I could ask Fenris to help you out.”

“I don’t want Fenris to…!”

It was the worst possible timing. Fenris had left the dance floor at that part of the conversation and sat down without a comment. Anders stopped his remark mid-speech and returned his attention back on the drink in his hand.

Garrett engaged Fenris in a very one sided conversation about dancing. And “having fun”. And Anders did his best to focus on the talk, that thanks to Fenris’ remarkable composure stayed away from the lurid themes from earlier. Although it wasn’t easy to just listen without staring at the elf. Apparently Fenris’ was quite an expressive talker. His hands fidgeted slightly with the flow of his speech. Anders marvelled at the beauty of the fumbling movements. How dare something like that look so attractive?

Anders’ streak of bad luck didn’t falter. More than once that night, Hawke had to get his attention back by snapping his fingers in front of Anders’ face. “Just the alcohol!” was the excuse he always offered. It was apparent from Hawke’s ever widening grin, that he didn’t believe him.

By the end of the night, Anders had added remarkably defined thighs and lean shoulders to the list of Fenris’ attractions. And four cocktails and a loose tongue to the list of his failings. He kept on talking about cats half the night, while Fenris as good as dragged him back to his flat.

The next day was not better. If anything, it made Anders’ feel even more embarrassed. It was an off day from the university schedule and Fenris actually really took Anders to one of the bigger wild life parks to show Anders the wild cats that he wanted to see so badly. In his excitement, Anders almost forgot to be embarrassed when Fenris sat down next to him as one of the wild felines decided Anders was worth their time and let themselves be petted by both men.

After that it only got worse. Fenris kept a polite distance and helped him improve his Tevene. Hawke and Dorian continued to make suggestive comments at every possibility. And Anders caught himself staring and admiring more than just Fenris’ patience with his lacking Tevene. It was a total disaster!

How would he handle this mess, when he got home and it was the Tevinter students’ turn to visit them in the Free Marches?

Chapter Text

Anders continued to employ his old, tried and true method of ignoring the problem until it went away. However, Fenris, and thoughts of Fenris, steadfastly refused to go away, no thanks to Hawke and Dorian, who pestered him with endless inspiration for more fantasies involving Fenris. It was looking to be a miserable and awkward stay for him, with an equally awkward trip with Fenris back to the Free Marches.

Unlike Anders’ less than mediocre grasp of Tevene, Fenris was fluent in common, Anders tried to cheer himself with the thought the Fenris wouldn’t be nearly as reliant on him as he was on Fenris, but somehow, that made him feel even worse. He tried to stop himself, but he couldn’t help but be swept up in fantasies of Fenris clinging to him for guidance-the way he tried not to cling to Fenris- when they were in the more familiar Free Marches. However, that fantasy was entirely dashed by Fenris’ competence, the kind of competence that Anders completely lacked.

Anders tried even harder to ignore Fenris, when they went on trips about the city he stuck close to the front, near the guide, trying to act like he understood what they were saying better than he really could, he could make out snippets, enough to skim the surface, but if his attention wandered even a little he’d be lost. Fenris hung back, seemingly believing that Anders didn’t want to be around him.

Anders was sweating by the time they stopped around midday for a break and lunch. He felt rather like a tourist, but then, that’s what he was, with the group all with sack lunches. They had opted to stop in a park, the grass and trees were meticulously trimmed and watered. The typical climate wouldn’t have treated the foliage this well without regular artificial watering. Anders covertly eyed Fenris before scurrying off to an empty table that was far away from him.

Throughout the meal he brooded over his ham sandwich and snuck glances at Fenris more frequently than he’d care to admit. Hawke and Dorian had opted to sit with Fenris, apparently sensing Anders’ mood the same as Fenris had. Anders couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of them, they looked like they were having so much fun with the way they made Fenris laugh. He found himself wishing Fenris would laugh at his jokes like that. Anders almost wanted to join them, but he didn’t know how much more public humiliation he could take. He was already convinced that Fenris thought of him as a dunce. He was likely relieved that he didn’t have to babysit him anymore.

The meal passed with Anders not even touching his food, he had been to focused on… other things. The tour resumed, but this time Anders lingered toward the back of the group, he had thoroughly lost interest in what the guide had to say. He would never admit it, but this also gave him a better view. Although, with the knowing looks that Hawke and Dorian shot him from over their shoulders, it seemed he wouldn’t have to.

It was early in the afternoon, and Anders was really starting to feel the heat. The Free Marches had warm summers, but it was nothing compared to the northern climate of Tevinter. Anders’ mind started to wander, wishing for the trip around the city to be over already, and dreaming of his air-conditioned flat, he didn’t even notice the worried glances from Fenris, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts. He didn’t even notice when he started to fall behind, but he did notice when he started to feel faint, maybe he shouldn’t have skipped lunch.

The next thing Anders knew he was staring up into the bright Tevinter sky, he groaned and closed his eyes against the brightness. Wait. When did he end up in a horizontal position. He struggled to get up, by hand on the center of his chest held him down, and a low, soothing voice told him,

“Careful, do not get up too fast, you are not well.”

Anders slowly opened his eyes to find Fenris, inches from his face, looking at him. Intensely. He would have swooned if he weren’t already on the ground, as it was the only thing keep his head from the hard sidewalk was Fenris’ hand that was gently cradling his head.

“’M’fine, what happened?” Anders muttered, he still felt a bit out of it. The corner of Fenris’ mouth ticked up.

“It seems you passed out. From the heat, I suspect. Here, you likely need water.” He motioned to someone, and then Anders realized everyone else was standing around them, all looking concerned.

Fenris helped Anders sit up, but he still not release his hold, and he held the bottle of water to Anders’ mouth as he drank, Anders didn’t know what to think. It was all so romantic. When he was done, Anders tried to wave Fenris off so he could stand.

“Sorry for this, I think I’m fine now, I was just a little… hot.”

“Are you sure, you still look pale. I can take you back to your flat if you need me to?”

Anders hesitated. He had been avoiding Fenris this whole trip, but the way Fenris was looking at him with so much concern was tempting him… Anders apparently hesitated for too long, or Fenris saw something in his face.

“Then it is decided, I will take you back to your flat while the others continue with the tour. Can you stand?”

“I-I think so.”

Anders’ legs were still a bit wobbly, but with Fenris’ support he was able to stand. They bid goodbye to the rest of the group, Anders averting his gaze from Hawke and Dorian, who were smirking like cats who had just swallowed the canary.

The walk felt much longer than it had before, Anders was still not feeling great, and he had to rely on Fenris for support. When they finally returned to the flat, Anders expected Fenris to leave him, but he hesitated at the open door. When Anders didn’t say anything, Fenris invited himself inside, closing the door behind him.

It was much cooler temperature wise in the flat, but Anders still felt hot. Fenris was very close now, and Anders could see the way his brow crinkled from concern. Fenris lead him to a seat, bidding him to sit down, before he moved to the sink to get more water. He soon returned with a full glass of cool water, which he handed off to Anders, before sitting across from him, fidgeting.

Anders sipped slowly at the water, trying to avoid Fenris’ gaze, before the silence finally got to him.

“I- thank you. I didn’t mean to cause trouble, but appreciate this. So thanks. I know I haven’t been the best guest with everything but…” he trailed off, unsure where to go with the rest of his statement. Fenris didn’t seem to mind, he smiled back at Anders, a small smile, but it made Anders feel warmer still.

“That is good to hear, I was convinced you hated me.”

Anders started. Of course Fenris thought that, he had been so ungrateful… he tried to make himself less of a burden, but still he continued to complicate things for Fenris.

“Right. Sorry. I just… didn’t want to bother you? I just thought you wouldn’t want me pestering you so much. Since with my lack of functional Teven I can’t really talk to anyone else.”

Fenris chuckled, “Maybe I like it when you bother me. I would… not be disagreeable if you decided to ‘pester’ me more in the future.”

Anders stuttered. He didn’t think he could get any redder, he could physically feel his face flushing.

“Oh, well that’s. You can pester me too? I mean, when you come visit the Free Marches, that it. You can feel free to cling to me, swoon in my arms, that sort of thing.”

Fenris laughed, “I will look forward to it, but while we’re still in Tevinter, I will expect you to give me the same treatment. If that is alright with you, of course.”

Anders grinned, “Yes, I think that’s more than alright with me.”