romdeau | a fishing date;

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a fishing date;

There were no impromptu trips to Sundermount, in fact. Merrill had holed herself up with the Eluvian, avoiding Hawke whenever possible. The Arulin'Holm stayed at the estate, locked away somewhere, and the Dalish woman didn't want to see or hear from Hawke without good cause. Which was understandable (upsetting, but understandable), and she let Varric and Isabela take over Merrill's undertaking. They'd update her whenever possible and she was infinitely grateful, though she knew things couldn't stay that way forever. Eventually, they'd need to talk, and that would happen when Marian was good and ready. For now, she wasn't.

First on her mind was Anders and his mage underground. He would disappear for days on end, surfacing only to work in his clinic where he would refuse to go on any errands. Too busy, he'd say, occupied with his patients and his manifesto. It didn't stop him from pressing worn papers into her hands at every opportunity, the bastard. Her desk was full of Anders' scrawl, damning evidence if anyone should walk in and ask about it. She'd been certain to lock them in the bottom drawer, out of sight and out of mind, but she couldn't put him off any more than she could push aside the trouble she had with Merrill.

With her hands full of Kirkwall's smaller troubles - bandits, a few raiders on the outskirts, and a blood mage or two - she had nearly forgotten her plans with Cullen until she returned one night to a note on her desk at the end of the week. Even such a simple thing was enough to brighten her mood considerably and she packed that evening, though she wasn't to meet him for two more days.

She used the time to tell only a few that she'd be gone from the city, that no one was kidnapping her, and that she'd be very cross if she came back to find Kirkwall burning in her absence. Only Isabela and Varric gave her a hard time for her attempts at discretion, asking for details and gaining nothing.

By sunset on the second day, she was down by the docks to meet him, a pack slung over one arm and her blades across her shoulders, her eyes on the ships and the few workers lingering around. She couldn't be too careful, even now.

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"It's true," he said, waving a crab leg at her. "Of all of the negative things I've thought about Kirkwall through the years, I never thought I'd add to that list that it puts a crimp in my dating. I find that offensive. I'd lodge a complaint if I knew who to take it to." He cracked the shell and dug out the meat, popping it into his mouth. After swallowing he said, "I somehow don't think our Guard-Captain would be impressed."

He watched her curiously when she stood, her purpose soon enough becoming clear. "You did a good job of hiding your uncertainty. I would never have guessed you expected them to be anything less than wonderful." He cracked another, wasting no time in eating. He hadn't been exaggerating when he said he had worked up an appetite.

"There are a few decent inns between Hightown and Lowtown, not fancy or showy but also not rat infested and that are clean. We could reserve at one of those."

She was grateful not to be eating when he said that or she may have choked. She laughed softly, stifling most of it with the back of her hand. "Unimpressed is an understatement. She'd probably cuff you up the side of the head and tell you to walk it off. After all, she found her love in a dark Lowtown alley, bruised and beaten." The thought of the complaint sitting on Aveline's desk kept the smile on her face.

"If I had been concerned, you would have worried, and that would have put a damper on things." Hawke operated in much the same way: putting on a brave face often kept spirits up in her ragged group. If she allowed herself to show the concern or the worry she had on a daily basis to the world at large, she wouldn't last. Kirkwall had a way of picking off the people who openly showed their weaknesses.

Humming softly, both in agreement and in appreciation at the food, she nodded. "My thoughts exactly. I can take a look around in the next week and get things settled for us, since you so graciously arranged our outing tonight."

"Oh, that is...sweet." There was a lot of tooth in that smile. Hopefully, he wasn't suicidal enough to go teasing Aveline about her romance any time this decade.

"Be still my heart. Date two and she's already protecting my feelings." He was still clearly teasing, the almost glee of it shining in his eyes. "That was actually kind of you and probably smart of you. It kept me from getting nervous and doing something stupid like dumping all of the seasoning in one go."

He nodded, chewing and swallowing before answering. "I would appreciate it. I can be surprised about where we wind up. I'll even hold off asking about it." That would be a difficult one to keep. It was his nature to question everything, part of what kept him alive in this city and before.

"You hush," she chided, though her grin matched his. "If she hears one word of it, you're going to be hanging outside of the Gallows by your toes with the biggest bruise you've ever had on your face. And whatever happens to me will make your fate seem like child's play." At least many in the guard knew how Aveline and Donnic had run into one another. It wouldn't be too difficult to say it had been one of them.

Her smile grew slightly, hidden around her fork until she finished chewing. "It would have been strong but it probably would have come out just fine. But now you know how to cook and shell crabs properly."

It took every ounce of her willpower to keep from smiling too much, even as her eyes gave away her intent well enough. "Excellent. I'll find us the most debauched inn for us to stay in - barring the Rose, of course, as that's clearly out of the question - and then I'll tell you I'm too tired to stay up. Or that I have a headache."

"She has no call to be so cranky. It ended well for her, didn't it?" He held up a hand innocently. "It's...an inspiring story to us all." His voice shook a little with his effort not to laugh.

"I do! And won't ever go crabbing at night again unless I plan to make a weekend of it. In a flat bottomed boat." There was the slightest touch of a wicked light in his eyes before he dropped his focus back down to his food.

"You're a cruel woman, Hawke. You may have discovered a way to make a grown Templar cry." He lifted his gaze again. "Or issued a challenge. I'll let you know when the occasion arises."

"An inspiring story, yes. That even when you're covered in blood, you can catch someone's eye." She rolled her eyes. "Maker, she is going to kill me if she hears half of what I've said tonight about her."

She broke off a piece of the bread she'd brought over to offer it to the dog. "A whole weekend? You'd be absolutely sick to death of me by that point if we did that." She felt heat on the back of her neck when she turned back to crack another crab leg for herself.

"Oh, please do. In the meantime, I'll make absolutely certain that wherever we stay has some level of discretion and won't ask too many questions when I reserve a room there." She hadn't been Champion long enough to dissuade everyone to leave off with the kind words and praises. She wouldn't want a quiet evening to turn into something bigger than it needed to be. But having the time alone with him, intimate or friendly, was enough to draw another faint smile at her, quickly hidden when she had a drink from her glass.

"Not just someone's eye. The right someone." He chuckled. "Don't worry. She's not going to hear it from me."

He reached for a piece of bread, too. He had been so focused on the crab he had almost forgotten it. "There's only one way to know for sure. Don't worry. I'm not proposing it right now. We're both too busy to go carving out that much time in our schedules." That didn't mean he didn't consider it a future possibility, his open expression saying as much. He washed the bread down with some water.

"That sounds ideal. The fewer questions the better. If it will help, I can wear a hood. I've found most people recognize me the easiest by the hair. If I show up out of uniform in a cowl, I hardly get a second glance." Of course, that also had the potential to look like he was up to something. He'd need to choose the hood carefully.

"It's funny. I have days when I don't think that's very possible, for someone to find that right person. And then I look at Aveline and my mother." First with a Templar, then a guard. And her mother with an apostate. Maybe Aveline would understand more than she gave her credit. She didn't want to speak to her about it yet, though.

She shook her head with a grin. "Sad to think we can't even garner a weekend with each other or otherwise without worrying about something happening." But it was no less true. She broke off a piece of bread and popped it into her mouh. "Maybe we'll have a better opportunity another time for something similar."

Hawke cast him a curious gaze from across the table. "You with a cowl. That would be something to see." She smiled. "I'm no help, of course. I'll either be easily recognized or people won't believe I'm who I say I am."

"I admit I often wonder how many people settle. Of course, people marry for all sorts of reasons, few of them having much to do with love. If that comes, it's almost incidental." He was very much a realist when it came to such matters, one reason he had never given it much consideration for himself. Templars in general made piss poor spouses. They were too married to their calling.

"It speaks to the times, I'm afraid. If Kirkwall has been less tense in the past, those days are long gone." He had some ideas as to why. He knew the influx of Fereldans hadn't helped matters, but too many Marchers were willing to point to them as a cause rather than a symptom of a deeper malaise. "I have a feeling if we develop the will for it, we'll find the way." He smiled over the rim of his water glass, gaze a little speculative.

"It's every bit as ridiculous as it sounds," he snorted. "You'll see. I might take a perverse sort of pleasure in watching you handle your fans, however."

"It's difficult to say. I'm certain many people come together for wealth or because it seemed advantageous at the time and end up comfortable together. But for love... I don't think that happens often, despite what stories may say." Perhaps she'd been naive in Lothering but it seemed as if people were more comfortable in Ferelden with one another than in Kirkwall.

She shook her head. "Throw out one problem and unearth ten more. That's the story of Kirkwall." The city had to be cursed. She'd bank money on it. "I'm sure we'll find more than enough to occupy us until we're tearing at the bit to get the Void out of here for a weekend." And knowing their luck, it would happen sooner than they both expected. Accomplishing it, however, would be another thing enirely.

"You won't like it when you can't get a moment with me for the rest of the night." She pulled off some more of the meat from her crab leg. "Maybe I should just sneak up into the room while you distract them with your cowl and handsome face."

"It makes sense. Life in Thedas is too hard for most people to invest in something like a marriage for less than practical reasons. As nice as the thought of getting swept away is, it's also a frightening thought. The consequences can be staggering." He felt she likely understood that better than most. Her parents did exceedingly well given what they had stacked against them. It could have gone a different way with just one misstep.

"You have it in a nutshell." He silently toasted her with his water and took a longer swallow. "Maybe when it's really cold. It seems everything quiets down then for a while. Of course, then I won't be proposing going out in a boat."

He tipped his head as though considering that and reached for a crab half. "Don't forget I'm used to sitting back and watching. I can garner a lot of entertainment from that. You do realize if I'm flashing my face, it defeats the purpose of the cowl? We'll figure out something. Maybe I'll toss you unceremoniously over my shoulder and just carry you up the stairs. They can speculate all they like about the so-called mystery man, and we can start some sordid rumor about a Navarran dragon hunter passing through."

"It's...a fantasy," she admitted, taking a small drink from her glass. Her parents had been more than lucky. It didn't stop her from hoping that, perhaps, one day... But she was too practical to linger on such thoughts. How could she ever dream that someone would do that with the life she had, with the dangers she faced, with the magic in her blood? It wouldn't do. "It's not something many can or will aspire to. It's just not worth the heartache when it doesn't happen." It just didn't happen often enough outside of stories.

"What would you be proposing, then?" she asked, interest piqued. "Finding a comfortable hole somewhere to wait until winter's passed?" And this was from the woman who'd had her share of Ferelden winters, where it was much colder.

Had she been eating at that moment, she probably would have choked. As it was, she laughed, shoulders shaking with the effort. "Throw me over your shoulder? I can't tell if I'd be utterly mortified or spectacularly pleased if you did." Damn, she could feel some heat in her ears. Her smile curved wickedly at the edges. "Navarran dragon hunter. Look at you, already spinning wild ideas."

He looked thoughtful as he chewed, not just mulling the topic at hand but what he wanted to say about it. "If heartache was the worst risk, I'd probably try." He broke off another piece of bread, turning it in his hands and shrugging lightly.

"A whole winter? You say I'd be sick of you after two days? You'd want to kill me by then." He grinned. "Yes, we'd find this cozy little shack, only to discover it's haunted and get sucked into the Fade. That's the way these things work in the Marches." He popped the bread into his mouth.

"Maybe you'll find out." He raised his brows once, the expression a satisfied one. It probably had something to do with the red he could see at the outer curve of her ears. "When it comes to gossip, the wilder the better. Then you throw in there somewhere 'the Knight-Captain' and everyone scoffs, because it's just as crazy as the rest of it."

"But that's just it. You'll never know if it's worth it until you take the risk." A whine caught her attention and she sighed, pulling off some more of a crab for the dog. "Or maybe it's all about not having as many expectations." She doubted Aveline wanted Donnic to sweep her off her feet. She just wanted the companionship of someone she was fond of.

She snorted. "The truly terrible thing is how true that is. That's exactly what would happen. And then we'd have no good way of talking ourselves out of the situation." With a rueful shake of her head, she chuckled. "I wish I could say Ferelden was any more normal but I know it isn't."

Hawke tapped her finger idly against the table. "That's clever, actually. Make up some wild story and then throw the truth in. No one would believe it." One thin eyebrow lifted in curiosity. "Say what you will about not having a silver tongue, but you have more cunning than many would expect." She was growing to like it. She was more than tempted to find out how far they'd go with the charade.

"I have a feeling I'm about to talk myself into trouble. Let's hope not." He downed the rest of his water and set it aside. "My position would be very hazardous to a lover's health. It sounds callous when I say one reason I agreed to a date with you is that I don't have to worry about that so much. You can handle yourself. I don't mean it that way. It's a compliment. Most who would show an interest I can't say that about. And I refuse to date within the order. The conflict of interest would be too great with a subordinate."

He snorted and shook his head. "No, Ferelden is no different." It was all well and good to talk about nice little houses out in the middle of nowhere. There was a reason so few of them existed as anything other than spider infested ruins.

"I prefer that they don't expect. It makes my job much easier." He would much rather be underestimated than overestimated. He thought he might stay alive a little longer that way.

She shook her head. "Maker, you're not going to get in trouble with something like that. I wouldn't be seeing someone that I knew wouldn't be able to hold their own if my back was turned. My life isn't safe enough for me to be complacent and I can't - won't - take that risk. Not with someone I want to pursue beyond a single night." His reasoning was perfectly understandable. She wasn't going to take offense to it. "We can agree on that much."

It was easier to hide her smile in her glass as she drank from it. "No one will be suspecting a thing if I have anything to say about it." She was silent for a moment before she continued that thought. "I don't want us to get into a position where we're left trying to cover our tracks and pick up the pieces of whatever we were holding together. When people find out, I want it to be because we're ready for that to happen, not because we've been found out or because something's happened." She valued her privacy too much for something like that to occur but she also didn't want to compromise his position by sneaking around. If she had to come clean about who she was seeing, she wanted it on her terms, not because someone was forcing her to speak up about it.

"So it's official, then? I'm not a one night stand?" he asked, his smile playfully coy. "Good to know."

He grew more serious at the following topic and found himself nodding before she had fully finished voicing it. "I agree. As I said before, I prefer discretion, but that's not the same thing as sneaking around. What we did tonight was an exception. We'd be idiots to let the Coterie in on our personal lives before we've done much to give a reason for gossip."

He turned his empty water glass between his hands, less a nervous gesture than just something to do with them. "No, if things keep going well, and we decide it's serious enough to warrant others knowing about it, then that's the day we stop being so careful about who sees us where." He cleared his throat. "If someone discovers before that, I'm not going to scramble around for excuses or act like this is something shameful. It isn't, and I refuse to give anyone that sort of leverage."

"The crabs sold me, I'll have you know. If these can come out so well with only a little direction, then you have more of a knack for it than you let on," she teased. "It might have also been the blush."

She nodded emphatically, popping another small piece of crab into her mouth and chewing while he spoke. "The Coterie is an entirely different story. No one is going to willingly throw information into the hands of potential enemies. Not you, not me, no one in their right mind. If we sneak around, it's for our own protection, not to hide this." That was only partially true; she would still sneak around for the sake of keeping her friends out of her business, if only because she wasn't yet ready for the consequences of what might just be a deeper friendship than anything else.

"It's not shameful. Not in the least." He wasn't her dirty secret on the side, Templar or no. She wasn't interested in seeing him for his occupation any more than he was interested in her status. "So long as the people who find us aren't Madame Lusine or the numerous people who want me dead, I'll agree to that."

He almost said something dreadfully off color, deciding against it at the last minute with a visible effort to hold it back. He opted instead for the safer option. "It will be the first time I can say I'm glad I blush easily."

He cracked another crab leg. "If people who want you dead find us, well...they may find they've bitten off more than they can chew." Unless they were people of status whose deaths could be very inconvenient, he wasn't opposed to cutting down that particular population.

"It sounds to me as though we're in agreement about how to handle this." He pulled out a plump piece of meat from the upper segment, humming under his breath at how tender it was.

"I'll take that as an accomplishment." She lifted an eyebrow when she realized there might have been something else. "...What?"

She snorted softly as she followed suit, another piece cracked open so she could pry out the meat from inside. "That's typically what happens. I imagine the look of surprise on their faces at seeing you beside me will make it almost worth it." Killing was a necessary chore some days but she didn't revel in it, nor in that fact that she was good at what she did.

With a nod, she handed another piece of bread down to the dog. "It would do us a disservice otherwise," she said first, choosing her words carefully. She was less concerned about the populace discovering them as she was about her friends or Meredith and what would come of that. "At least we'll have our privacy for the time being, provided we don't start hearing rumors in the next week or so. If we do, maybe I can convince Varric to start an even more ridiculous rumor to push out."

"Not a thing." He looked far too innocent.

"I imagine so, or perhaps if one of my enemies comes upon us unaware. It will make for some interesting times." He didn't enjoy killing. If he was being completely honest with himself, however, he had found a certain appeal in having the chance to fight with her again. They had managed well together. It would have been much better had he been in armor.

"I still nominate the brash and handsome Nevarran dragon hunter." His lips twitched in amusement. He was beginning to slow in his eating. At first he had been concerned they may not have caught enough. With the bread, he found the meal quite filling.

"Ohhh no. You're not getting away so easily, Sera. I know that look."

She couldn't decide which of their enemies would be more surprised. It was a nice thought, dangerous in its undercurrents, and she stashed it away. It wasn't just the prospect of fighting beside him that had her occupied but the implications of it. It would look like she'd cast her lot in fully with the Templars, even if she was his ally over theirs.

Her laugh was quiet. "Oh, yes. Marian Hawke was absconding with a Nevarran dragon hunter one night. But then I'd have to explain why you were there instead of him once talk starts flying. Perhaps you chased him off when you suspected he was a lowly thief and that's why I was so cross with you in the Rose." She took another bite of bread and waited until she had swallowed before chuckling again. "It's just ridiculous enough to be distracting."

He eyed her for several long moments as he weighed the pros and cons of simply spitting it out. At last he relented with a muttered, "Just remember you pressed me to this. I was going to say it was the first time I had ever heard it said that crabs were an asset when it came to courting." He didn't get it out without red rising from the neck of his shirt to his hairline.

"Simple. It was a case of mistaken identity. I was chasing a blood mage of a similar description. I went after him before either of you had a chance to explain. By the time it was over, my quarry was gone also, so I was cross, as well. It wasn't a good night for us." He pried open the smaller segment, smiling a closed lipped smile after popping it into his mouth.

There was, perhaps, a moment of silence that hung between them as she blinked at the joke. And then she snorted, the sound very unladylike, and dissolved into laughter. She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth to quiet herself with little success. His blushing made it all the better. "Maker, that was terrible. I deserved that," she managed after several moments.

"Blood magic. Perfect solution." She grinned at the leg she finally succeeding in cracking open. "I had to offer you some compensation for all of your trouble. Thankfully, a meal sufficed." A pleased hum escaped her. "A very good meal, actually."

"Now you see why I thought better of saying it," he said. Her laughter freed his. He rolled his eyes at himself. "Maker's breath."

However, soon enough he was laughing harder. "Right, a meal you made me cook, you wretch. No wonder I was scowling so hard when I left the estate. I didn't realize it came with such strings attached." He dug out the smallest section of the leg. "All of that is outrageous enough that no one will ever believe it. Just enough embellishment to sound completely baked."

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