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Fenris wiped his hands on his shirts as he padded towards the bedroom. He’d spent most of the day baking, in fact, he’d just finished an apple pie which had been left to cool overnight. It would make for an interesting breakfast. He hummed to himself as he walked, opening the door and striding inside. Hawke was sat on the bed, already ready for the night, but instead of being curled up in the sheets like Fenris had been expecting, he was sat on the edge looking pensive. Fenris frowned and pulled the ribbon from his hair, letting it cascade in shimmering white locks over his shoulders.
“Something wrong, Hawke?” he asked. He paid no mind to him for the moment, focusing on undressing and putting on a pair of leggings and one of Hawke’s oversized shirts so that he was ready to sleep for the night.
“Are you happy?”
The words were so abrupt. Fenris faltered in his movement. After a moment’s hesitation, he quickly hurried to put on the rest of his clothes and took a seat next to Hawke on the bed. Something was definitely bothering him if he was asking him questions like that.
“What sort of question is that?” Fenris asked. He reached out and took Hawke’s hand. “Of course, I am happy.”
Hawke’s eyebrows furrowed, looking unconvinced. He refused to meet Fenris’s gaze, still looking fixated on the floor. However, he did squeeze Fenris’s hand. “Sometimes I worry.”
“That makes two of us. But what about? You worry that I am not happy?” Fenris said.
“Some of the things you must have been through in your life Fenris, I couldn’t even imagine. I’m glad to have been there when you killed that… that bastard who did all that to you. You asked me, afterwards, what you should do now you were truly free. It baffles me that with all of this newfound freedom, you chose to… live out here in a little village with me,” Hawke replied, shaking his head. He took a deep breath. “You don’t want to explore the world some more or… do anything extravagant. I just worry sometimes that this life bores you. That I bore you.”
Fenris reached his other hand to take Hawke by the chin. He tilted his head towards him, hoping that he would finally look at him. His fingers ran through the bristles of his greying beard and his gaze softened.
“You do not bore me. It’s true that I have perhaps sacrificed a life of hedonism for you but believe me when I say that I want this. I am tired of fighting, tired of running for my life, it’s incredibly satisfying to settle somewhere not have to fret so much. Today I worry about whether my plants will survive the winter rather than whether I will live to see another day as a free man,” he said. He squeezed Hawke’s hand back. “And what better a way to spend the rest of my life than with the man I love? I told you once that if there is a future to be had, I would walk into it gladly at your side.”
Hawke swallowed roughly as he met Fenris’s eyes finally. Sincerity glistened within them. It was hard to stay negative when he had the most beautiful man in all of Thedas looking at him like he put the stars in the sky at night.
“That’s surprisingly comforting to hear,” Hawke said. He pressed his forehead against Fenris’s. “Let there be no more sacrifices in our lives.”
Fenris smiled and kissed him gently. The two of them fell into the sheets together, tangled in limbs and kisses. They would sleep peacefully tonight.
Neither knew what awaited them when a letter would arrive on their doorstep addressed to Hawke with the Inquisition’s seal planted firmly on the envelope.