Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

Free as a Bird	By : Letticiae Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 9737 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age, nor do I own the characters. I do not make money/profit from writing this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog

It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log

(Lennon/McCartney)

Chapter 13 – A Hard Day's Night

Hawke was startled into awakening when Isabela pulled off her covers.

"Awww! They have their clothes on!" the pirate complained.

Looking around, Hawke tried to figure out where she was and what was going on. A dry mouth and a major headache indicated she had had too much to drink last night. She was in a bed more comfortable than her own, the dwarf was lying beside her and all her companions, except Fenris, were in the room staring at them. Was she in Varric's bed?

He sat on the edge of the bed and cleared his throat. "Don't read too much into this, people. Hawke got drunk and passed out here yesterday. I couldn't carry her home and I wasn't going to sleep on the floor. That's all. Let's go get breakfast."

"Can you do something about my hangover?" she asked Anders.

"I can. What about your wrist?

"What about my wrist?"

"It's bruised. Here, let me take care of it."

Anders healed her and she asked him, Varric and Isabela to accompany her for the day. They stopped by Gamlen's for her to change into her armor and get Garrus, and they went to meet Ser Thrask – a mage-friendly templar whom they had helped before by returning a letter from his apostate daughter to him.

Thrask was outside the Runaway's Cavern, trying to find a peaceful way to deal with the apostates hiding in there. Hawke's efforts to get them out safely without having to send them to the Gallows almost went down the drain when a group of templars led by Ser Karras arrived. She was grateful Varric was there, for he was able to convince Karras that the apostates were dead. The templars left and the mages could escape. No one had to die.

Hawke and her companions were back in Kirkwall by lunchtime. She asked them to meet her in the Bone Pit in two hours and went with Garrus to Hightown. Though she didn't remember exactly all that had happened the night before, she knew she had treated Fenris badly and wanted to make it up to him.

"Would you like to join me for lunch? I'm paying," she said with a faint smile, when he opened the door.

He agreed and they headed to the market. He didn't like going there because it was always crowded and he drew too much attention. This time, he tried to ignore the passers-by staring at him, for he enjoyed being around Hawke and didn't want to push her away, especially after how he had treated her the past night. He too wanted to make it up to her.

From his impassive face Hawke couldn't figure out how he was feeling about her. She ordered a bowl of gruel for her, one for Garrus and two for him from a food stand and they sat on a bench to eat, while the dog feasted noisily at their feet.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," he uttered, his gaze on the bowl of gruel.

"You didn't."

"Let me see it."

She pulled up her sleeve. "Here, I'm fine," she said lifting her arm and rotating her wrist in front of him.

"The abomination healed you, didn't he?" Fenris felt angry at himself for making her go after the mage.

"Fenris, listen, I'm the one who has to apologize. I forced myself upon you yesterday. I was selfish and didn't respect your pain or your wishes. Please, forgive me. It won't happen again."

It won't happen again. These words made him uneasy. That was not what he wanted. She was helping him in more ways than she realized. For the first time since he escaped Danarius he had something to do that was not running and hiding and he had someone he could count on, a beautiful woman with a challenging personality, who treated him like a man and never looked down on him. Yet, he was pushing her away.

"Fenris, you didn't say anything. Can't you forgive me?" she insisted.

"There's nothing to forgive, Hawke," he replied.

While wolfing down his second bowl of gruel, Fenris wondered what it would be like kissing her, feeling her skin bare against his… But no matter how much he wanted it, he was not ready. He had never been with someone by choice. All his experiences in this area had been either with Danarius or Hadriana and always full of pain and shame. Could he ever overcome the memories of the things they forced him to do and have a normal life with a woman?

Trying to shake off the horrible images of his years in slavery from his mind, Fenris piled up his and Garrus' empty bowls and reached to get Hawke's. To avoid an accidental brush of her fingers on his, she pulled her hand off it so quickly, it fell on the ground before he could even touch it. He cursed himself for causing this change in her behavior. She had treated him like a man from the start, but he had acted like a beast every time she had come closer to him, making her think that was how he wanted to be treated, like a wild animal that might attack anyone that comes near it. It was all his fault and he had to do something about it.

He returned the bowls to the vendor, wiped his hands nervously on his breeches and offered Hawke a hand to help her stand. She looked at it and raised her eyebrows. Haha, nice trick! I'll take his hand and he'll call me a liar and rip my heart out. No, thank you. Dodging his hand, she got up by herself. He would have to do better than that.

"I have to go. Thank you for your company. If you ever need me, I'm always at Hanged Man in the morning. Probably in the evening too. And during lunch. I guess it won't be hard to find me," she shrugged, smiled and turned on her heels.

"I'm coming with you," he said.

"You don't even know where I'm going," she turned her head to look at him.

Hawke was always honest with him and everybody else, always saying what was on her mind. Maybe he could start making it up to her by being honest too. She certainly valued that.

"You are going to recklessly endanger your life, either hunting down mercenaries while outnumbered or helping some dangerous apostate run free. I may not approve of your methods and I certainly don't agree with your decisions, but I… I enjoy following you."

His deep, husky voice saying those last words made her shiver and she even forgot he had started the sentence insulting her. What was the deal with this elf? Did he despise her or not? She couldn't quite figure him out.

"All right. Let's go, then," she said.

On their way to the Bone Pit, Fenris kept thinking about what he should do. He didn't want to take any steps back. He wanted to touch her again, to get used to it. After acting so poorly and scaring her off every time she tried to get closer, the next move had to be his. From the next day on, he would start going to her morning meetings at the Hanged Man and perhaps he would even invite her over to his mansion, to drink a bottle of wine and talk. He had told her a lot about himself, but he knew next to nothing about her.

Once inside the mine, Hawke and her companions found out that dragons had attacked and killed many of Hubert's workers. One of the survivors pointed them in the direction of a dragon's nest on a ledge just outside the far end of the mine. Isabela poked some eggs with her dagger until she broke one and in a matter of seconds a mature dragon was upon them.

"Varric, aim for the eyes. Garrus, this time I want you to keep your distance, boy. Fenris, the scales are softer underneath it. Isabela, let's rip its wings. Anders, keep us alive," Hawke shouted the orders at them.

As the mage moved his hands protective telekinetic barriers enveloped them and a glyph of paralysis held the dragon in place. It wouldn't last long, but at least would buy them a few seconds to try and take the upper hand in the battle. With the creature still, Varric easily hit its eyes, blinding it. Fenris had his sword half-buried to the dragon's chest when it regained movement and knocked him out with its claw. Anders didn't hesitate to cast a healing spell over the elf. They could take no chances against such a foe. The beast tried to flee, but Hawke and Isabela were pinned to a wing each, tearing the soft skin next to the bone with their daggers and keeping it from flying out of reach.

Shaking violently, the dragon threw the women away. They both fell on their feet and ran back towards it. They stabbed it repeatedly, but their daggers didn't reach deep enough to kill it. Varric's arrows also couldn't do more than scratches. It had to be Fenris' blade to finish it. The elf was back on his feet, though unarmed. His sword was still half-buried in the creature. Anders froze the dragon, giving the elf a chance to approach it. When he grabbed the hilt, he had to pull the blade off and evade because the monster was moving again, spitting fire in all directions.

Isabela was hit by a powerful swing of its tail and almost rolled off the ledge. At the last second she managed to grab on the edge. Varric ran to pull her up, but the dragon hit him with its claw, sending him flying in the opposite direction. He landed on the ground, knocked out. Anders casted a healing spell and the dwarf began to slowly come to.

Fenris was running around the dragon, trying to find an opening to connect a killing blow, but the beast wasn't giving any chance for him to get closer. The mage drank a lyrium potion, hit the dragon with lightning and froze it again. During the couple of seconds the creature stayed still, Hawke helped Isabela get back on the ledge while Fenris darted towards their foe. The instant it retrieved its movements, the warrior's sword ran across its neck, separating it from the body, which spasmed a few times, spraying blood everywhere.

Varric was already on his feet. As they all curiously approached the two pieces of the corpse of their toughest opponent to date, Hawke started laughing and the pirate and the dwarf immediately joined her. Anders tried to hold back, but their chuckles were infectious and he burst into laughter too.

"What's so funny?" Fenris asked, scowling.

Hawke wondered how he could not be excited about slaying a big fucking dragon and coming out of it in one piece.

"Come on, look at the size of this thing," Varric said, taking a breath.

"Dibs on the fangs!" Isabela called, cheerfully. "I want to make a necklace."

"I'm going to need one for Solivitus. You can have the other," Hawke negotiated.

She noticed Fenris' scowl wasn't getting any better and she had a guess on what his problem might be. "Listen, I know you didn't want any spells being cast upon you, but you might have died if it weren't for Anders. I drag us to many life-threatening situations and I don't want anyone dying on me, understand? While in my team, you'll have to accept magic. Can you do that or are we done?"

His face was back to its usual impassiveness and Hawke didn't know what he would do. If she could bet on it, her money would be in him leaving, since he seemed to love a dramatic exit. Storming out of places was definitely his signature move. What a frustrating man!

Fenris didn't have to think about it to make this decision, though. He wanted to be part of her team, to follow her around, to keep her safe, to drink with her, to touch her… The only thing keeping him from saying he accepted her terms was the abomination's presence. He didn't want to give the apostate the satisfaction of seeing him cave to magic.

"Can you come to my mansion tonight so we can talk about this in private?" he asked with an indecipherable expression on his face.

"Sure, Fenris. Whatever," she sighed wearily.

"Nice move, Broody! Very smooth!" Varric joked.

While Anders finished healing Isabela and Varric's cuts and burns and Hawke looted the dragon, Fenris went back to Kirkwall alone, rehearsing in his head the things he planned on telling her in the evening.

"Hawke, you're bleeding. Come here," the mage said, worried.

The dragon had connected a claw to her arm during the fight, ruining the left sleeve of her armor and tearing the skin underneath it. The damage had not been too bad, though, thanks to the defensive barrier Anders had kept around her.

"You know, I wouldn't mind having a scar from the day we slayed a fully-grown dragon. Just stop the bleeding and make sure it won't get infected," Hawke said.

Varric gave her an amused look.

"Are you insane? I'm healing it," Anders stated.

"Come on, Blondie. Let the girl have her souvenir," the dwarf chimed in.

"You're just saying that because it'll be another crazy element to add in your tale," Anders retorted.

"A tale? About me? What does it say?" Hawke arched an eyebrow.

Varric cleared his throat. "It's the story of a beautiful and deadly woman who is a fierce leader, a sharp battle strategist and guts ogres as a hobby."

"Hmm, let me know when you get to the steamy bits," Isabela uttered.

"So, Anders, what's going to be?" Hawke turned impatiently to the mage.

"Fine! I'll heal it halfway and bandage it," Anders conceded. There was no point in trying to reason with this mad, willful woman.

Back in Kirkwall, Anders set off to his clinic and the rogues went to collect from Solivitus and Hubert. They ran into Merrill, who was lost near the Viscount's gardens in Hightown and she returned with them to Lowtown.

Hawke wanted to stop by Gamlen's to wash before going to see Fenris. When she was about to part ways with her companions, they heard a woman in trouble nearby. There was always coin in saving fools, so they decided to check it out.

The woman was a Chantry sister and ended up hiring them to escort a Saarebas out of town. There was something suspicious about the job, but Hawke and her friends carried it on anyway. It turned out to be a trap and a large, strong group of Qunari engaged them in a gruesome battle.

Merrill was great at offensive spells, but she didn't know the first thing about healing. When the fight was over, though victorious, they all had broken bones and deep, bleeding wounds. They patched up the best they could with injury kits and health potions and limped their way back to Kirkwall.

That damned job had taken the whole night. When they arrived at Petrice's safehouse, Hawke took the coin from her and left the place fuming. The sun was already rising. She had missed her date with Fenris, she was dirty, exhausted, in pain and her armor had been completely ruined.

Varric reminded the others that Anders would soon be at Hanged Man for breaksfast and they could get some healing without having to walk all the way to Darktown in that poor state they were. It was a good idea and they all went up to the dwarf's bedroom where they instantly crashed, Isabela and Merrill on Varric's bed, Hawke and Garrus on the rug and the dwarf on an armchair.

"Hawke? Hawke? Are you all right?" Fenris was shaking her awake, hands carefully placed where her armor was still intact.

She blinked a few times, acknowledging her surroundings. "What time is it?"

He took his hands off her and sat on the floor. "About eight in the morning. Are you all right? All this blood…"

"Relax. It's not all mine," she explained.

"What happened? I waited for you last night," he said, his face and voice showing no emotion whatsoever. Inwardly, he was cursing himself for leaving her at the Bone Pit, for not staying at her side until the day was over. Obviously, she had gone on another job that hadn't turned out so well.

She started stretching. "We got crossed – owww!" she screamed in pain, awakening the others, as a couple of broken ribs protested against her body moving.

Fenris scanned the room, looking for the abomination. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. What was he doing? That woman would be the death of him! He hated so much seeing her hurt and in pain and not being able to do anything about it, he even wanted that blasted mage to be there to heal her.

"I heard someone screaming," Anders stalked into the room, staff in hand. "Maker's breath, what happened here?" he said running his eyes over those four ragged, bloodied people and one dog, all slumped across the room. "Did you do this?" he asked Fenris angrily, closing the door behind him as cracks of blue light crept on his face and body.

The elf jumped on his feet, getting ready to attack.

"How about some healing first? You can kill each other later, Glow Boys," Varric intervened.

"I did not do this, mage. Heal her," Fenris growled, his markings flaring.

Anders looked at Hawke's painful expression and shredded armor and his eyes softened as he rushed to kneel beside her. He had been thinking about her a lot these days. How she was always helping apostates run free, the way she stood up for him every time the elf had turned against him, how she had risked her life to protect him that day at the Wounded coast… Maybe Justice wouldn't object to her. With an apostate father and sister, she understood the mage's plight. And, Maker's breath, she was beautiful. He found himself regretting that night he pushed her way. It was his fault that she had slept with a whore. How could he have done that to her? She deserved better.

The elf turned away when the healer started delicately removing the pieces of her armor and slowly sliding his hands all over body.

"Do you really have to grope her like that?" the elf snarled, taking a peek at what the mage was doing.

"I'm checking for broken bones," Anders answered without taking his eyes from Hawke

"I'm next!" Isabela called. "I want you to feel me up for some broken bones too," she purred.

Hawke was purposely ignoring her party's banter. Yes, Anders was groping her a little… but his warm, caring hands felt so good. After he had inspected her from head to toe, he concluded she had no other serious injuries, apart from her broken ribs. He lifted her tunic and folded it over her breasts, baring her stomach and abdomen. His hands rested over her ribcage and the magic began to flow. The bruises on her skin vanished and she felt a warm and tingling sensation inside her as the pain faded. His fingers lingered there a little, caressing her where the wound had been.

She bit her lower lip, holding back a moan. Damn, she was enjoying this way too much. She looked at him and he gave her that sweet smile of his with a hint of mischief in his eyes. Of course he had noticed the effect he was having on her.

"Do you really have to do this, mage? Can't you just throw a spell that covers all her body and avoid this fondling? I know you are taking advantage of her," Fenris snapped.

"Healing spells work much better when applied directly over the wounds," the apostate replied.

"Hey, I could use some fondling, I mean, healing over here too, Anders," Isabela said.

There were too many people there and it was getting awkward, so Hawke grabbed Anders' hands and moved them away from her as she got up. "Thank you so much. I need to wash and rest, so I'll leave. Please, take care of the others and send Garrus to my uncle's after you heal him too."

The mage stood up and gave her a slightly disappointed nod.

I don't understand. A few days ago he threw me out of his bed. Now he's all hands. Maybe I grew on him. Or he's just toying with me. He and the elf would be perfect for each other. Couple of frustrating men!

"Let's take the day off. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast," she spoke, gathering the scraps of her armor and leaving the room.

Fenris followed her. "Hawke," he called, when she was about to enter Gamlen's house.

She looked at him over her shoulder and sighed tiredly.

"I can do it," he stated.

"Do what?" She just wanted to get in and sleep. These men were driving her crazy.

"Accept… magic. I want to be part of your team."

"See you tomorrow," she smiled at him and got inside the house.
- 12
- 13
- 14
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Free as a Bird