Chapter Text
When Fenris arrived at Weisshaupt, he knew something was different with Hawke. She constantly found reason to avoid him, leaving to Maker knows where at strange hours of the night. She was nervous; worried.
“Hawke.”
She stopped in the dark corridor. Hawke turned to him, actual shock in her eyes.
“Fenris…”
He stepped towards her. “Why do you keep running off?”
Hawke bit her lip and looked down. Fenris moved close enough to put a hand on her shoulder.
“Varric told me about the fade,” he said softly. “If you need to talk…”
“Have you ever wanted children, Fenris?”
He could only blink in confusion, taken aback by the sudden question. Then it hit him; they fought a fear demon, and Hawke had always avoided talk of children.
“To be honest, I never thought about it much.” He wasn’t sure what to say. What did she want?
“Being in the fade,” her voice was low, quiet. “Fighting against my darkest fears… it suddenly hit me: if I had died there, the Amell line would too.”
“What about Bethany?”
Hawke shook her head. “At the time, it didn’t matter. The Nightmare… All I could think of was that I was letting my mother down again.”
Tears ran down her cheeks. Fenris gently wiped them away, moving her head to look at him.
“You have never let your mother down. Not once.” He smiled gently at her and kissed her forehead. “Your legacy will be the innumerable children you save all the time.”
She let out a sad chuckle. “‘Innumerable?’ I see you’ve been doing your reading.”
He pulled her close and smiled. “I have missed you dearly.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Hawke looked up at him, a much happier look in her eyes. Her usual mischievous grin grew on her face. She took his hand and started pulling him down the corridor. “Come; I want to show you where I’ve been running off to.”
They practically ran through the fortress until they came to a section Fenris hadn’t seen before, though there was much of it he hadn’t seen. They slipped by some wardens having a late night chat, until they came to a large hall that seemed like it had once been where they held Chantry services. As they entered, the heads of children turned their way. In the hall, there were at least a dozen and a half children, of various ages and races. Most of them slept, but those awake ran eagerly towards them.
“Mama Hawke!” A small elven boy with only one arm ran the fastest. Fenris felt his heart stop. The boy looked like a miniature version of Hawke, had she been a small elven boy.
Hawke scooped him up in her arms, then opened them up again as more children came to her. There was an older dwarven girl with bright blonde hair and an eye patch, a little girl who was the spitting image of Aveline who was missing several teeth, a young boy with a limp, two identical elven girls, and even a qunari girl with one of her horns half broken off.
They all giggled in the group hug, including Hawke. Fenris had never seen her like this. She was always being sarcastic and witty, or calm and strong. Seeing her with all the children made her seem like a child herself, despite the bags under her eyes and scars over her tattooed face.
“Hawke,” the older dwarven girl said, standing off to the side of the group hug, eyeing Fenris warily. “Who is he?”
“Yeah!” The twin girls piped up, excitedly. “What’s his name?”
“His hair is white.” The little redheaded girl stared at him in awe. “Is he old?”
Fenris couldn’t help but chuckle. The children quickly surrounded him, asking questions on top of each other. The dwarf girl and the qunari girl stayed off to the side, however.
“Alright, alright,” Hawke laughed. “Keep your voices down. You wouldn’t want to wake the others.”
The young ones fell into a hush and turned to Hawke, mumbling apologies.
“Everyone, this is Fenris.” Hawke looked at him, overwhelming love in her eyes.
They all turned to him in awe. The first elven boy smiled wide at him. “Papa Fenris!”
He smiled down at the boy, the breath suddenly taken from his lungs. “Yes,” he said softly. “Papa Fenris.”
Hawke picked up one of the elven girls and held her against her hip. “How about we go around and say our names and introduce ourselves to Papa Fenris?”
“Oh, I wanna start!” The girl who looked like Aveline shot her hand in the air. “I’m Nancy and I’m seven and a half!”
The boy with the limp spoke up next. “I’m Terrance, and I’m eight!”
“Lara and I are six!” The girl in Hawke’s arms grinned. Hawke chuckled.
“You realize you didn’t say your own name.”
The girl giggled, leaning into Hawke, a small blush appearing on her face. “I’m Nora.” Her sister, Lara, giggled as well and held onto Hawke’s leg.
The qunari girl cleared her throat, nervously waving to Fenris. “I’m Karaan. I turned thirteen a week ago.” Karaan turned to the dwarf girl next to her expectantly. When she didn’t say anything, Karaan elbowed her.
The girl rolled her eyes, a scowl on her face. “Karynn. I’m fourteen.”
“Karaan and Karynn are the two oldest girls,” Hawke piped up. “The oldest of the group is Geran.” She nodded towards an elven boy sleeping on the floor, several younger children snuggled up with him.
“Geran and I are gonna get married,” Nancy said dreamily.
Terrance put his hand on his hips and turned to her. “You said you were gonna marry Risa yesterday!”
“I changed my mind.”
Fenris chuckled as the two children began to bicker. Hawke gave a small laugh as well and tried to quiet them down. A small tug at his arm made him look down.
“Papa Fenris?” The elven boy looked up at him with sad eyes. “Don’t you wanna know my name?”
Carefully, Fenris knelt down to be eye level with the little boy. Freckles dotted his dark skin, his shaggy dark hair nearly covering his face. Fenris gently moved the hair away from his eyes and behind a pointed ear.
He smiled softly at the young boy. “Of course. Tell me your name.”
The boy grinned. “Luka.”
“And how old are you, Luka?”
“I’m six, like Lara and Nora are. But I’m older.” He added the last part in a hurry.
“Good to know,” Fenris chuckled.
“Alright, you lot,” Hawke called out to the group. “It’s time you all went to bed.”
“Tell us a story!” Terrance bounced up and down as he spoke.
“I want Papa Fenris to tell a story,” Lara mumbled nervously. Hawke turned to Fenris as the others excitedly agree. Fenris looked from Hawke to Luka, who was looking at him expectantly.
“Well, Papa Fenris,” Hawke said with a loving smile. “Do you think you’re up for it?”
He gave a mischievous half smile to her. “Depends on how long of a story you will allow me to tell.”
“Long story!” Nancy shouted. Hawke laughed as she shushed the girl.
“Well, Mama Hawke?” Fenris looked up at Hawke. “May I tell a long story?”
“Alright,” Hawke chuckled. “But not too long; they need their sleep.”