Climax and then schmoopy epilogue stuff! If you like metal, I was listening to Unstoppable by Ad Infinitum when I wrote the final fight with Meredith. It doesn’t perfectly fit either Reid’s character or the situation, but it’s a badass, inspiring song, and I love it. : )

I actually at first did not kill Anders… and then halfway through Lowtown decided that was OoC for Reid. He is descended from my Sith Inquisitor character Murlesson, he does have a ruthless streak, even if virtually everything about his character has been softened and warmed by being in completely different circumstances. So I reloaded.

I actually still like Isabela, and next time I’ll get her approval up higher (with the console if I have to) so she’ll stick around for the ending. : ) Just giving Reid a little wish-fulfillment here.

 

Part 5

 

Kidnapped

“I suppose it was too much to hope that you wouldn’t have come here,” said a voice, and Reid looked around from Carver’s still body to see the friendly-ish Templar Thrask approaching him. “Though I can’t understand why you side with Meredith now. You showed me we can stand up to her. When I realized you had risked your life lying to protect these mages…” He gestured towards some vaguely familiar figures Reid dimly recalled from years ago. “Please, Champion. I have nothing but respect for you. It’s Meredith we must see gone.”

“Who the hell said I side with Meredith?” Reid demanded. “Isn’t it fairly common knowledge I’m an apostate? The only reason I’m here in any sort of hostile capacity is that you kidnapped my brother. Let him go, and we’ll talk.”

“I am sorry for any distress we caused you or your friends,” Thrask said. “Or family. I should have known you were on our side. Let the hostage go.”

“No!” snapped the woman mage next to Thrask; Reid vaguely recalled she was the leader of the mages escaped from Starkhaven years ago. “The boy dies. Then the Champion.”

“Stand down, Grace!” Thrask said.

“Grace, that was your name,” Reid said. “After all I did for you, you’d thank me by killing my brother. Really.” He let his gaze harden to stone. He wouldn’t lose his last immediate family. “You hurt him, you die.”

“We will not kill an innocent to achieve our ends,” Thrask said. “It gains us nothing to become Meredith.”

“I don’t care about Meredith!” Grace shouted. “I’m here for the Champion. Decimus was right. There is no way for a mage to live by the Chantry’s laws.”

“What the fuck did I ever do to you!?” Reid demanded.

“You killed the best man I ever met. But I learned all he had to teach.” She turned to one of the others. “Alain, kill the hostage.”

The other mage hesitated. “I-I don’t know… This isn’t right, Grace. The Champion tried to help us. It’s not his fault we were caught anyway.”

Grace unloaded a massive slap on the young man. “Don’t defy me, boy! Without me, you’d be nothing! If you’re too squeamish, I’ll do it myself!”

Reid began heading forward, closing the distance, his friends behind him. If he could make it to Carver’s side… “No! No one has to die here!” Thrask cried.

Grace laughed and raised her hand. “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong.”

And Thrask’s body jerked, rose into the air, and partially exploded in a cloud of blood. Grace absorbed it into herself, a manic grin on her face. “Forget the hostage. Kill the Champion!”

And a disproportionate number of both the mages and Templars present drew their weapons. At least they weren’t going for Carver, unconscious, bound and helpless. Still, Reid was fighting for him, let that fear and rage drive him, unleashing a lightning storm that took even the Templars by surprise.

“Oh-ho, you’re in for it now,” Varric said. “You don’t threaten the Champion like that.”

“Stay calm,” Aveline advised, but he was beyond that.

“You bitch,” Reid hissed to Grace. “Remember when I wiped the floor with Decimus? Remember when I struck him down? You crossed me, now reap the consequences.”

“Come get it, ‘Champion’,” she taunted him, casting her own spells at him; fire spells, spirit spells, blood spells that he recognized despite having not touched blood magic since his mother died. And looking at these odds… Yes, he was pissed off beyond belief, but he could defeat this without resorting to blood now. Not like her. Even in his rage and fear for Carver, he was not desperate.

“Ask, and you shall receive,” he quipped, and pummelled her with hex after hex, lightning strike after lightning strike. Fenris was on his right, Aveline on his left, each battling Templars, keeping them from reaching him and dampening his spells.

Grace crumpled before him, fear in her eyes as she died… and her body rose again, possessed by an abomination. “For fuck’s sake,” Reid muttered, and continued his offensive.

When every hostile mage and Templar was either dead, dying, or surrendered, the boy Alain came forward, shaking, and woke Carver with his blood, apologizing profusely.

Carver sat up, shaking his head in disorientation. “Wha- Get out of my- What? Where am I?”

“Wounded Coast,” Reid said, kneeling down beside him. “Are you all right? I didn’t think they’d take you to get at me.”

Carver took it all in, then pushed himself to his feet. Reid followed. “Thank you, Brother. It seems I am again in your debt… and shadow.” More even-toned than their last meeting, but there was still that resentment there.

Reid kept his temper. “Your life was in danger, Carver. If I have to play big brother one more time to keep you alive, so be it. I never wanted you involved in this.”

Carver sighed. “I guess.” He looked up. “Thank you. I’ll be careful. …You be careful too.”

“I will.”

 

The Last Straw

“The Grand Cleric cannot help you!” Anders cried, running towards them.

“Explain yourself, mage,” Meredith demanded, whirling on him.

“I will not stand by and watch you treat all mages like criminals… while those who would lead us bow to their Templar jailers,” Anders said, looking from Meredith to Orsino.

“How dare you speak to-“ Orsino began.

“The Circle has failed us, Orsino!” Anders shouted… flaring blue and otherworldly gravel coming into his voice. “Even you should be able to see that!” He pulled himself back under control. “The time has come to act. There can be no half-measures.”

Reid found himself stepping forward involuntarily, his stomach twisting. “Anders… what have you done?”

“There can be no turning back,” Anders said, and the world exploded.

That was an exaggeration. But a bright pillar of red light appeared in the night-dark north-eastern sky, rising from the top of the Chantry visible even from Lowtown, and then the top of the building burst open with a flash of light brighter than the sun. Reid flinched and turned his face away but his vision was still spotty with afterimages. A few moments later, debris began to land around them – debris and fire.

“Maker have mercy!” Meredith breathed, seeing the destruction. Sebastian cried out in horror and began to pray for Elthina.

“There can be no peace,” Anders said.

Reid blinked the last spots from his eyes with gritted teeth, and reached out and grabbed Anders by his stupid furry half-cape. “Why.”

Anders weathered his near-speechless rage. “I removed the chance of compromise, because there is no compromise.”

“The Grand Cleric has been slain by magic, the Chantry destroyed,” Meredith said. “As Knight-Commander of Kirkwall, I hereby invoke the Right of Annulment. Every mage in the Circle is to be executed – immediately.”

“The Circle didn’t even do this!” Orsino cried, turning to Reid. “Champion, you can’t let her! Help us stop this madness!”

“And I demand you stand with us!” Meredith cried, crowding the other side of his attention. “Even you must see that this outrage cannot be tolerated.”

“What the hell-“ Reid began, taking a step back from them. Why were they both begging him to be on their side, like this was a game of kickball? Fucking hell! And Anders-

Sebastian got up from his knees and shouldered his way into the argument. “Why are we debating the Right of Annulment when the monster who did this is right here? I will kill him!”

“It can’t be stopped now,” Anders said, standing alone, still speaking to Reid. “You have to choose.”

“How dare you,” Reid growled at him.

“This had to happen,” Anders said. “The Circle is an injustice, in many places beyond Kirkwall. The world needs to see.”

“Elthina is not the Circle!” Sebastian cried. “She was a good woman, and you murdered her! Elthina, the mages – their blood is on your hands!”

“You fool!” Orsino chimed in. “You’ve doomed us all!”

“We were already doomed,” Anders said. “A quick death now or a slow one later… I’d rather die fighting.”

Reid could scarcely see for anger. “And those who don’t want to fight? Who cannot fight? They don’t get to choose? You don’t get to speak for everyone, not like this!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Meredith said. “Even if I wished to, I could not stay my hand. The people will demand blood.”

“Choose, Champion,” Orsino said.

Reid dragged himself back together and turned to Meredith. He’d a mind to flip them both off and leave the city that moment, but… “You know what my answer is. I won’t let you commit genocide. I defy your Right of Annulment.”

“Think carefully, Champion,” Meredith said, low and deadly. “Stand with them and you share their fate.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Reid said.

“You are a fool, Champion,” Meredith said, and turned to her Templars. “Kill them all! I will rouse the rest of the Order!”

“Go!” Orsino cried to his mages. “Get to the Gallows before it’s too late!”

The Templars left behind to fight them were really only a delaying action; they fell quickly, especially with Fenris and Aveline to get in their faces. Anders had retreated to his own little corner, perhaps sensing that his help was not welcome. That Reid would gladly feed him to the Templars himself. He’d been in love with Reid, as strange as that was to think – had he fallen to this from jealous despair, or was that flattering himself? No, he’d been crafting this destruction since before he confessed. What had he hoped to accomplish?

When the Templars had fallen, and Orsino left to follow his mages, Reid turned to Anders. Anders sat quietly on a crate, facing away from him. “There’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already said to myself. I took a spirit into my soul and changed myself forever to achieve this. This is the justice all mages have awaited.”

“You say that like it will earn you anyone’s forgiveness,” Reid said coldly. “I would have stopped you myself if I knew you’d stoop to being a fucking terrorist.”

“Anything less would not bring change!” Anders said. “You’ve never been part of the Circle. I have! The people fear what we can do, but to use that fear to bludgeon us into submission is wrong! And they do it with our blessing! And if I pay for that with my life… then I pay. Perhaps then Justice would at least be free.”

“I ought to kill you,” Reid growled.

“I know,” Anders said. He didn’t move from his spot. “The sooner I die, the sooner my name lives on to inspire generations!”

“You’re so fucking deluded.” Reid fell silent. Paced a little.

“What are you waiting for!?” Sebastian demanded. “You cannot let this abomination walk free. He dies, or I am returning to Starkhaven.”

“Fucking go, then,” Reid said. “At least you’d make up your mind about something for once.”

“If I go, I will bring back such an army with me on my return that there’ll be nothing left of Kirkwall for these maleficarum to rule!”

“Oh?” Reid rounded on him, a deadly smile glimmering on his face. “You’d destroy the city? You’d slay every last man, woman, and child, regardless of their involvement, just to get back at Anders? Or me? You don’t have it in you, Sebastian. Even if it didn’t make you worse than him.”

Sebastian reeled back. “I… I will not fight you now, Hawke. My death would serve nothing. But I will find your precious Anders. I will teach him what true justice is!”

“Shut your damn trap,” Reid snapped. “You think maybe I might be a bit conflicted over killing someone I’ve known six years, even if he’s a fucking terrorist? Sit your bloody ass down and leave me alone!”

Sebastian finally shut up and pulled back, leaving Reid alone with his thoughts. Maybe Fenris stepping forward with a warning glare had motivated him, maybe not. It didn’t matter.

He knew how to stab a man. He could use magic, but that felt wrong in this situation. He had the knife Nathaniel gave him. His father had made sure he had basic bladed weapon training, because a mage would be a fool to only ever rely on magic. He’d occasionally had cause and need to stab a man, beginning with Wesley. But imagining it from those experiences… Once he got through cloth and skin… if he didn’t hit bone, there would be no resistance whatsoever. And there would be blood, and sound, and Anders would fall, and breathe out a last breath, and never move again.

And it was permanent. Anders would never come back. Never smile or make jokes or feed the cats again. Never be able to change and repent and heal.

Good. He would only do worse next time. He would never repent, only continue hurting people. Reid drew his knife.

 

He walked past his friends without a glance, especially not at Sebastian. “Let’s go. We’ve got a city to fucking save.” He was a hair’s breadth from not caring anymore. But the chips were down, and he wasn’t going to allow genocide to happen. Even if that meant killing an army himself.

 

An abomination rose before them, Reid readied a spell – and there was a slash, and the abomination fell in two at his feet. “Carver?”

Carver’s blue eyes were wide. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I thought you were dead.”

“I don’t die that easy,” Reid assured him with a little smile. “Glad to see you’re all right too.”

“Look, I know we’ve… still been having problems,” Carver said. “But you’re the only family I have left. I have to stand by you. Just say the word and I’m with you in this to the end.”

“Are you allowed?” Reid said. “Not that I care about the Wardens’ rules myself, but I know you do.”

“I’m a Warden because of you,” Carver said. “I blamed you for a long time, but… you saved more than my life. I am so much more than I was. This is what I was meant to be, and I won’t thank you by doing nothing while you start a fucking war.”

Reid took a step forward and hugged his brother. “You damned…”

Carver took the hug, then when Reid stepped back, gave him a grin. “The Hawke brothers together again, huh? Just like old times. Where are we going?”

“It’s good to have you back, Carver,” Aveline said. “Welcome.”

 

Inside the Gallows, Meredith had sportingly allowed the mages a few minutes to prepare – probably because not all her Templars were in order and she wanted to use overwhelming force. Orsino told Reid he could have a minute with his friends, so he took it. They didn’t have to follow him in here, but they had. Even Sebastian, though Reid wasn’t talking to him – he could tell that even though the prince had calmed down some, he was still going to spout Andrastian platitudes, and Reid was in no mood for that now.

So he went to make jokes to calm Merrill down; shook hands with Aveline; pulled Varric’s leg.

Carver took one flat look at him and sighed. “You always seem to find a way to make my life difficult. I should be hunting Archdemons, but… it feels right to be at your side again.”

“Feels right to have you there,” Reid said. “The brothers Hawke.”

“I’ve seen a lot of things,” Carver said. Looking at him, Reid could tell. Carver had grown since the Blight. His face was leaner, sterner, more calm and intelligent, a man and no longer a boy. “The world out there, it needs help. But I can start here.”

“Who’d have thought, huh?” Reid said. “Two nobodies from Lothering.”

“I wish…” Carver began. “I wish mother could have seen us like this. I don’t know what she would think about the rest, but… I’m proud to call you brother, Reid. That’s gone unsaid too long.”

“Don’t make me tear up in front of the others, you jackass,” Reid said gruffly.

Carver grinned. The corners of his eyes crinkled up, and it reminded Reid of… “Rubbed your collar with onions. Aveline’s idea.”

Reid laughed through an unmanly sniffle and clasped his hand. “I’m proud of you too, Carver. We’ll face this down together.”

“’In war, victory’, Champion. And whatever else may come.”

Fenris had withdrawn from the others into his own little corner, not exactly ignoring Merrill’s attempts to talk to him, but waiting for Reid and Reid alone. “Here I am, about to defend these mages in hopeless battle. You lead me to strange places, Reid.”

Reid grinned and winked. “I’ll take you to stranger places than this, just watch.”

“A tempting offer,” Fenris said, like they both didn’t know they were completely inseparable now. He stepped forward so there were only inches between their faces. “I… may not get the chance to say this again. Meeting you was the most important thing that ever happened to me, Reid.” He reached out and touched Reid’s cheek, caressed the side of his face. The red headband was bright on his wrist. “I won’t leave your side. If you don’t come back, I’m not coming back either.”

“That seems like a waste of a perfectly handsome elf,” Reid said, and was rewarded by the broadest smile Fenris had ever given him.

“Promise me you won’t die, then, you fucking fragile mage. I can’t bear the thought of living without you.”

“I don’t plan on dying,” Reid said fiercely.

“You’d better not,” Fenris said just as fiercely, and practically flung himself at Reid, arms around his neck, and kissing him soundly… one more time. One more time before the battle, because no one he cared about was going to die here. Reid wrapped his arms around Fenris, clinging to him passionately.

A full kiss, though, lips and tongue and teeth, shamelessly making out in front of everyone like there was no tomorrow. Fenris’s chestplate was hard and uncomfortable between them, and he could hear Varric’s pen scratching in the background, and Merrill cooing, and Reid didn’t care. All that mattered was making sure the beautiful man in his arms knew how much he was loved.

“I love you,” Reid said softly when they parted, breathing a little harder.

“I love you too,” Fenris said, still intense. “Now let’s go kick ass together.”

Reid let him go and turned to everyone. “Well, gang, this is it. Some of you are worried. Maybe I am too, but I’m not staying long enough to find out. What I know is that I don’t like being cornered, and I can fight harder scared than they can angry.” He gave them a cocky grin. “We’re getting out, and I’m buying when we do.”

“Hear!” cried Varric.

Orsino had been talking to his mages as well, but he finished at about the same time that Reid did. Reid approached him. “All right! I’m ready. What’s the plan?”

“Hide, escape, survive,” Orsino said. “The other Circles must be warned.”

Reid frowned. “That’s an objective. What’s the strategic plan?”

“What?”

Reid frowned harder and spoke slower. “What is the strategy for when the Templars start breaking down those doors?”

“I… I don’t know. That’s not something I’m good at.”

Reid stared at him in disbelief for a minute. “Can I take over? I can’t do worse than that.”

If Orsino was offended, he didn’t say anything. “Go ahead, Champion.”

Reid stepped forward and raised a hand for attention. “Hey! Hey, everyone! Who here is good at barriers and petrifaction and shit like that?” A few mages raised their hands. “Congratulations! You’re in the front line with my friends Aveline and Fenris and my brother Carver. All you have to do is concentrate on keeping the Templars as far back as possible. Who here is good at area-of-effect attacks, like fire and ice blasts? You’re right behind them, make the Templars think twice about closing with us, and Merrill and I will be with you. Anyone with healing, your sole job is to heal people getting hurt. Everyone else, you’re in the back – pick off anyone who looks extra threatening. Varric, Sebas, you’re with them.” He paused for a minute, looking at all the scared faces in front of him. “Like Orsino said, this is about survival. Watch out for the people around you, stick together, and we’ll get through this, most of us. No abominations, no need for blood magic, definitely no blood magic abominations. We’re not who they think we are. We work together and not even Templars can stand against us.”

They looked more hopeful than before, and Alain even let out a little cheer. Reid felt his own mood brightening. Now that the tension was bursting, and there was no more worry over what might be done to stop bloodshed – now that bloodshed was the only option – there was only one thing to do, and that made it all very easy. He hated what Anders had done, but he was right about it bringing change. Mages would be free, and as long as things didn’t end up like in Tevinter, maybe the world could come to a new balance.

He set up his little army, sadly depleted by earlier conflict, and they settled in to wait. Fenris crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching them all coolly. He wondered what he was thinking. Well, if any of the mages touched him even by accident, Reid would be upset.

The Templars came and found them not completely unprepared, though the mages were generally woefully inexperienced in practical combat. Even with Fenris, Carver, and Aveline holding the choke point, there was still space to get around them, and several of the mages fell, partly thanks to the Templars dispelling their magic, before they managed to beat back the assault.

“Look at it all,” Orsino said, tragically, gazing at his dead students in the lull. “Why don’t they just drown us as infants? Why wait? Why give us the illusion of hope?”

“It’s fine,” Reid told him. “We’re doing fine, most of us are still alive. We’ve repelled one wave. They tested our defences and didn’t find us lacking.”

With every word, Orsino seemed to get more depressed… and then the anger that he’d never completely suppressed came bubbling up. “They will only press harder. They know how we fight now. I refuse to keep running! I won’t wait for her to kill me.”

Reid rapped his staff on the ground and glared at him. “This is not helping, First Enchanter.”

Orsino glared back. “I am tired of helping, as well. Quentin’s research was too evil, too dangerous, so I put it aside. But I see now there is no other way. Meredith expects blood magic? Then I will give it to her. Maker help us all.”

“Don’t you fucking do it-!” Reid shouted, but Orsino had already slit his wrist open and begun to cast, summoning several fallen bodies both mage and Templar to him. They swirled around him, wrapped around him, fused with him. “Orsino, you spotty horse’s ass! There’s no point to this!”

“It’s too late,” Fenris said. “We have to kill it now. That is no longer a person.”

Reid growled. “Aveline, Carver, keep holding against the Templars with Varric and the mages! Fenris, Merrill, Sebas, we have to hold the monster here! We can’t let it get out!” It could be a powerful weapon against the Templars… and would proclaim to every corner of Thedas that Kirkwall’s Circle was right to be exterminated.

The monster was canny, and surprisingly nimble for its bulk. It took Fenris yanking its head off and Sebastian stomping on it with his heavy boots for it to stop moving.

“What the hell,” Reid was still muttering to himself.

“All right, Champion,” Fenris said sardonically. “What’s our next move, now that our strongest ally suicided on us?” Again was left unsaid.

“People need to stop doing that,” Reid said, and looked around at the remaining terrified mages. “We’re getting the hell out of here!” Sure, they could wait for more Templars to come, and more, but he was flooded with adrenaline, and he wanted to move. “Everyone, follow me, stick together! Mages, hang back, let us clear a path!”

Fenris caught his eye. “No dying.”

“No dying,” he agreed, and twirled his staff with a sassy head-flick. Fenris smiled.

Meredith and her main force of Templars were waiting for them in the main courtyard, Cullen at her shoulder. They made no move to attack as Reid led his people at a casual pace down the stairs towards them. He kept his eyes on her, glaring, but it seemed she wanted to talk, and he held up a hand to keep the mages back as he went to oblige her.

“And here we are, Champion, at long last,” she said, as he descended the last of the stairs, Fenris close by his side, into speaking distance. Varric and Carver followed.

Reid gave her a cocky tilt to his head, but did not smile. “I imagine you’ve wanted to be rid of me for some time.”

“I bear you no ill will,” she said, and he didn’t believe her one bit. “You’ve done this to yourself. You were never part of this Circle, and I tolerated that, but in defending them you’ve chosen to share their fate.”

“Knight-Commander, I thought we intended to arrest the Champion,” Cullen said, and Reid looked at him, because Cullen had neither been for nor against him before. Stoically just and proper, which usually meant playing a safe middle-ground and not committing to any strong opinions. Reid had thought little of him and his ineffectual wallowing, especially when he erred on the side of lawful caution. Was he about to grow an actual spine? Would Reid be indebted to this confused wuss in this eleventh hour?

“You will do as I command, Cullen,” Meredith growled, turning on him.

Cullen shook his head, his hand on his sword. “No. I defended you when Thrask started whispering you were mad. But this is too far.”

“I will not allow insubordination! We must stay true to our path!” She reached back and whipped out the sword at her back – not the one Reid had seen her use in the Qunari assault on Kirkwall three years ago, but a needle-sharp greatsword-sized spike of scarlet lyrium, crackling at her touch.

“Andraste’s dimpled buttcheeks!” Varric whispered.

He hadn’t gotten a good look at it before, and was not thrilled at getting a great look at it now, in his face. “You recognize it, do you not?” she purred. “Pure lyrium, taken from the Deep Roads. The dwarf charged a great deal for his prize.”

“That idol poisoned Bartrand’s mind until he died raving and drooling,” Reid said. Not that warning her would help at this point. How long had she had it?

Her eyes were definitely insane, fixed on him with an obsessive intensity. “He was weak, whereas I am not! All of you, I want him dead!” She waved at her Templars to move forward.

Cullen was the only one who moved, gesturing the rest to stand back. “Enough!” he snapped. “This is not what the Order stands for. Knight-Commander, step down. I relieve you of your command!”

Her eyes blazed with misplaced fury, and the lyrium sword shot out erratically. “My own knight-captain falls prey to the influence of blood magic. You all have!” She spun, that sword targeting first one random Templar, then another. They flinched back from her uncertainly. “You’re all weak, allowing the mages to control your minds, to turn you against me! But I don’t need any of you! I will protect this city myself!” She whirled once more to focus her hatred on Reid. She’d deteriorated quickly now that she’d officially let her insanity claim her.

Reid stared her down over the lyrium blade pointed at his heart – and then Cullen stepped before him with a drawn sword. “You’ll have to go through me.”

She screamed at him. “Idiot boy! Just like all the others!”

“She’s lost it,” Varric said. “Just like Bartrand.”

“You’re telling me,” Reid said. “We’ll deal with her. Everyone else, get clear!” And that was all the time he had before Meredith lunged for his chest, knocking Cullen aside – and Fenris was there, deflecting the blow with a powerful upward swing. The elf was blazing blue with lyrium, and the red sword against the blue sword scraped sparks from each other in both colours.

“I’m fighting with you,” Cullen said, recovering himself. “Templars, get to safety! Survival is your priority! Let the mages go if you must!”

“Blessed are those who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter!” Meredith proclaimed, her gaze still fixed on Reid though she was fighting Fenris.

Reid had put distance between Meredith and his body, and looking around… it seemed that both Templars and mages were pulling back. Maybe the mages would be able to run while the Templars were distracted-

And then he was distracted by the fucking guardian statue coming to life, its huge bronze spear swinging at him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to stare at it in fascination or run screaming for his life. Holy shit, this was a whole other level of deadly bullshit.

Time to shape up, one more time. He straightened, feeling his magic, his power course through his body. He was the most powerful non-blood-magic mage he knew, and he was going to bring everyone on his side through this night of horrors. Thunder growled and lightning cracked as he let loose.

 

Meredith was no walk in the park, even when she wasn’t bringing every single statue in the courtyard to life. They clumsily rolled and staggered towards him, swinging their heavy arms. It seemed every other moment Reid was dodging away from gleaming bronze, and Aveline and Carver had come to help hack them to pieces, dropping them in contorted piles randomly throughout the yard. Reid wondered with some part of his mind whether they would forever remain that way – without magic to animate them, surely they would be as heavy and solid as they had been before.

What was next, would she bring the Gallows itself to life?

Her eyes were scarlet, burning bright with lyrium-fire, and as she fought them with blistering speed, taking on all eight of them with seeming ease, she ranted at him. “It’s not enough that they make innocents suffer, no! We must also have insult added to injury!” Reid saved his breath. “Spare the mages? Give them freedom? And they would use it to tear down everything we hold dear! No! No, it cannot be allowed! I will stop it!”

She gave a great scream and everyone was knocked back twenty feet onto their asses. Reid rolled to his feet to find she was charging him; he swung his staff towards her with a slowing hex and she barely seemed to notice it, blasting through and bringing her sword down on him. It met his staff with a clang, and another, and another, as he met her blow for blow, as she screamed in his face. “Do you hear me, Champion? I will defeat you!”

A flick of his fingers and a twist of his fist, and he threw her back, wreathed in lightning; he was holding nothing back, hiding nothing, giving everything that he was for this moment. Perhaps he did look evil to her – black robes, implacable expression, golden eyes snapping with violet electrical sparks. “You know,” he said, “I never wanted any of this. But you’re right about one thing.”

“And what is that?” she snapped, readying herself to charge again.

He spun his staff smoothly into a ready position of his own. “I am the fucking Champion of Kirkwall, and I’ll protect what’s mine.”

There was Fenris again, bared teeth and flashing eyes, come to protect him with love and loyalty, setting himself as an immovable barrier between them. Reid slammed his staff to the ground with a shout, lightning rippling out in a wave from him – and the ground cracking in concentric rings beneath his feet, stones heaving upwards from the force of his magic. Fenris rode the wave. Meredith did not.

She was flung back, slamming into the podium in the middle of the grand stairs, and falling to her knees, twitching with residual lightning. Her hood was fallen back, her hair was dishevelled and full of static. She dragged herself to her feet with her sword, her eyes glowing with that horrible lyrium light, her teeth bared in a hate-filled snarl. “Maker! Aid your humble servant!”

As she called upon her sword for extra strength for the dozenth time, it cracked – and broke. Reid flinched as he felt the magical power burst out wildly, and Meredith shrieked, falling to her knees again. She screamed and screamed as the magic surged into her, turning her body into a petrified husk of stone and lyrium…

Reid stared, gasping for air after all that fighting, adrenaline still surging high in his veins. She didn’t seem like she was going to keep moving, which was great – if that thing, leaking lyrium vapour through its glowing gaping eyes and mouth, starting scuttling towards him, he’d probably never sleep again.

There was a clatter, and he turned to see all the Templars rushing out from wherever they’d been hiding, coming to join Cullen. They surrounded Reid’s group with drawn swords. He almost snorted. Brave fools, to think of arresting them after they’d just proven themselves unafraid of insane demonic Meredith. He hoped the mages had been able to get away in the confusion; he didn’t see any left in the courtyard.

Cullen stared at him; Reid glowered back. If the Templars did want to arrest them, he was going to carve his way out and take no prisoners. He was fucking done.

But Cullen took a step back, fear and respect on his face, and the Templars parted in the direction of the docks. Reid glared one last time at him and turned to go find a boat to the city.

He kept his posture upright until they were on the boat – with Alain and a couple other mages, who had waited for them, holding the boat bravely. Then all his weariness struck him at once like a lead weight and he sank half-involuntarily to a seat.

Fenris was beside him, had been beside him all along. “Help,” Reid said to him quietly, reaching out a shaking hand, and Fenris took it and squeezed, his hand warm inside his gauntlet.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“No,” Reid said, trying not to be overcome by everything. “But I can’t break until we’re out of sight of the Gallows.” Just in case anyone happened to be watching. He was shaking all over, not just his hands, and he wanted to laugh and cry hysterically. What a night! It had begun by murdering Anders, and ended by murdering half the residents of the Gallows. He needed a long, long break without any more killing. “What was the point? What’s the point of choosing a side if we just have to kill everyone anyway?” His magic was exhausted and that was the only reason he didn’t lose control and accidentally sink the boat. He’d been at his peak in that final battle, and now he was done.

At least he’d kept safe as many people as he could… including those he cared about most.

“We’ll drag you back home,” Carver said. He seemed to be very relaxed now that they’d gotten away. Reid envied him. “Then you can rest.”

“Sort of,” Reid said. “We need a plan. I can’t stay in Kirkwall. And maybe none of you can, either.” He looked at Aveline. “Sorry again.” She had the most to lose.

“I’ll need to talk to Donnic,” she said. “But yes, we will probably join you.”

“The Templars probably won’t be around to arrest us for at least a day, even if Knight-Captain Cullen cannot restrain them,” Sebastian said. “You have time to rest and plan.”

“Not really,” Reid said. “You think everyone else in the city won’t mob us for praise or censure? We have to be out of here before the sun comes up. Just… vanish.”

“That’s going to be very difficult,” Merrill said, looking over at where the horizon was already lightening. Well… maybe they wouldn’t be able to leave literally before the sun came up.

“And you’re going to pass out first,” Carver said.

“I’ll figure something out,” Reid said with an exhausted sigh. “Gamlen gets the house. Bodahn and Orana get to do what they want. What do you all want to do?” He looked at Carver.

“I’m heading back to the Grey Wardens, of course,” Carver said.

“Of course,” Reid said. “I’d expect nothing else.”

“Keep in touch if you can,” Carver said. “If you’re going on the run, I don’t suppose I’ll be able to write back.”

“I’ll figure something out,” Reid said.

One by one, the others spoke. They were coming with him, at least for the time being. That was nice. He wouldn’t be alone as he gave up everything he’d worked so hard to build and set out wandering aimlessly through Thedas.

“Do you have to ask?” Fenris said when it came his turn. “I’m not leaving you. Ever. You’d die without me, for one thing.”

“You’re not wrong,” Reid said dryly.

It would be nice to see more of the world. Maybe he’d go back to Ferelden someday. Maybe Fenris would show him lands that he’d visited. There was nothing wrong with wandering for a few years. And he could take some money with him, he wouldn’t be starting from scratch.

The other side of the harbour came quickly. Alain and the other mages thanked them again, and hurried into the city. Carver put an arm under Reid’s shoulders and hauled him up like a sack of turnips, and Reid leaned on him gratefully. Aveline said she would send Gamlen, and come to Reid’s house with Donnic as soon as she had explained it to him, and left her own way. The others scattered to their own homes to grab what belongings they were bringing. The streets were still full of anxious activity; people were still putting out fires, and everyone was out to gossip about the Chantry explosion. It was a good environment for escaping mages to blend in. Not so good for them, being as well known as they were, and Fenris led them by back alleys up to Hightown.

They reached the house, and Bodahn came anxiously to meet them. “What’s happened, messere? Everything’s been in an uproar all night! The Chantry exploded, and Sandal ran off and only just returned!” Bo frisked around them, barking in welcome at Carver, who reached down to scratch his head.

Reid looked at Carver and Fenris, then pulled himself upright. “The gist of it is: Meredith is dead. Orsino is dead. Anders is dead. The mages here have escaped. And I’m following them with all haste, because if I’m not wanted for mass murder by this time tomorrow, the Templars aren’t doing their job.”

“Oh, dear,” Bodahn had said after each item on his list. “Oh dear! I will do my utmost to aid you…”

“I’m releasing you from my service,” Reid said. “You can stay with the house, which I’m giving to my uncle, or you can go your own way. But I don’t think you’ll want to come with me.”

“We did travel with the Hero of Ferelden for a lot of her journey! We could come if you wanted us!”

“It’s up to you,” Reid said tiredly. “Orana, same goes for you – you can stay with the house… go to the alienage, go work for another noble family, come on the run with us… You’re your own person, you can make your own decisions.”

She stared at him, wall-eyed. “But… Master…”

“You don’t have to decide this second,” Reid said. “I’m going to pack the sentimental shit.”

“No, you’re not,” Fenris said. “You’re going to lie down for two seconds. I’ll pack your crap.”

“Where’s your coinpurse?” Carver asked. “I’m going to go buy a cart so we can toss him in when we leave.”

“Good idea,” Fenris said, dragging a mildly-protesting Reid upstairs. “Check the desk by the living room fireplace.”

 

Reid was out like a candle. Fenris was getting close to tired – he’d done his share of fighting too, being one of the team powerhouses as he was – but he could contemplate his boyfriend a moment longer before he turned to packing. He’d been so fucking sexy in that battle, whenever Fenris could spare a glance to make sure he was in one piece, all power and control and determination, and now, passed out like a log, he looked so vulnerable and worn. Fenris could see past the gorgeous freckles to the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, seeing the grey creeping into his red hair. He’d given all of himself this city could possibly ask one person for, willingly, gladly, because he wanted to make sure as many people as possible were alive and able to decide their own destinies.

Even mages. Well, those cats were out of the bag, and there was no putting them back in. Fenris feared to see how the world would change in the coming years, what conflicts would erupt now – but none of it was Reid’s fault, not really. Sure, Reid deep down wanted the same as Anders – for mages to run amok, like to himself, regardless of their capabilities or training – but Reid had wanted that change to come peacefully, and when denied peace, had only targeted those who would hurt him. It was strange and awkward, to think so leniently about magic, but… Reid.

Maybe a peaceful transition would never have come. Maybe Anders’ way was the only way to make that happen. Fenris still wished him to burn in the fires of hell. At least Reid was safe from his influence now.

Whatever happened, Fenris knew he himself would be happy at Reid’s side.

The thought startled him. He… had not really thought about happiness in that way before. When he first went to bed with Reid, he had thought such a feeling to be temporary, only caught and held when basking in Reid’s affection. But now he knew that as long as Reid were alive and well, he would be happy deep down, because he loved him. He loved this clever foolish sarcastic kind-hearted mage, and as long as he loved him, he would be happy. And a little bit worried.

He turned away and looked in Reid’s box of things from Lothering. There was still space in the top, and Fenris turned to the drawer where Reid put gifts from people he appreciated but which he didn’t use – rings and other trinkets, mostly – wrapped them in a scarf, and stuffed it into the top of the box. Then he turned to the wardrobe. Reid didn’t actually have much in the way of clothes, and what he had were mostly practical save for a few fancy-function outfits, so that was easy to take care of.

Just in case, he went through every drawer and cupboard to make he hadn’t missed anything Reid would desperately miss. Comb – razor – nail knife… All the extra hidden lyrium stashes, that was not anything Gamlen needed. Books… He knew Reid’s favourite book, packed that one and his father’s old journal, and figured he could do without the hundreds of others in his library.

He went out as the others were coming in one by one. “How is he?” was the universal question, seeing Fenris coming down alone.

“Sleeping,” he said. “Carver’s gone to get a cart. We’ll be off when he returns.”

Orana came out of the kitchen. “You should eat before you go, I’m just cooking some eggs and ham for everyone.”

“That’s a marvellous idea,” Varric said to her. “Oh blessed queen of the kitchen! I’m starving.”

“I think I have made enough to satisfy even you and the master’s brother,” she said, smiling; Reid had had his friends over often enough – and described Carver’s appetite enough – that Orana knew what she was doing.

“Have you decided where to go?” Merrill asked her.

“I will stay with the house,” Orana said. “I know this house well, and I like it. And the master’s uncle is… well, he’s not the master, but he’s not a bad man either.”

“True enough,” Sebastian said. “He should be here soon.”

“Have you been to get your stuff?” Varric asked Fenris.

“Everything important to me is with me,” Fenris said. There were absolutely no material possessions of sentimental value back at his mansion. He knew better than that. “He should eat.”

Reid might have been exhausted, and only gotten twenty minutes of sleep, but he roused immediately at Fenris’s touch. “A-are we ready already?”

“No, Orana made food. You need to eat. And then double check what I’ve done. And then we go.”

Reid didn’t seem to know up from down, so Fenris half-carried him back downstairs. “You can sleep in the cart. Bloody hell, why didn’t you conserve better?”

“You try conserving against that bitch, and I didn’t expect to fight fucking Orsino on top of it…”

They bickered, the others laughed, Carver and Gamlen returned. They all ate, and Gamlen asked bewildered, anxious questions until he understood what was going on. Reid told him to treat Orana well. “She has a name and you’d better use it. Oh! And I’m sending a note to your daughter. She should know what’s up. Maybe come keep an eye on you until things settle down.”

The uncle still seemed dazed by it all, but Reid was sort of waking up with food in him, and went to get his things and his robe from upstairs.

A few minutes later and their cart was on its way out of the city, and Carver didn’t stop for anything or anyone.

 

“Wedding”

“You should get married,” Sebastian said to them at dinner. They had stopped for the evening at a tavern in a village west of Kirkwall; Carver was going west to rejoin the Grey Wardens, and Reid hadn’t decided a better direction yet. Maybe they shouldn’t have been in a tavern, but no one had recognized them yet, and there would be time for roughing it in the wild soon enough.

Reid cast a lazy glance at Fenris. “Should we get married? Do you want to get married?”

“I don’t particularly care,” Fenris said. “I will be with you regardless, and I know you well enough to assume you will be with me.”

“Exactly,” Reid said, taking another pull at his wine. “Considering neither of us are strongly religious, and also we’re both male so family lines aren’t a big thing, I don’t think we have to.”

“Sebastian, you’re such a romantic,” Varric said.

“No, he isn’t,” Reid said. “He’s sick of us living in sin, and now we’re going to be living in sin in his close proximity unless he does something about it.”

“That is uncharitable,” Sebastian said. “You are happy together, and you can be yet happier.” Reid rolled his eyes.

“It would be really cute, though,” Merrill said. “Can’t we at least have a celebration of some sort for it?”

“That sounds like too much trouble,” Reid said.

“You were at my wedding, did that seem like ‘too much trouble’?” Aveline asked. “We kept it small and short. Which I recall you appreciated then, as well.”

“I think it sounds nice,” Donnic said. “We’d all help.”

“You are perfectly welcome to organize a celebration more formal than tavern stew,” Reid said. “Just not about us.”

“Or we can have more tavern stew, I’m not picky,” Carver said.

“Vows would bring you closer together,” Sebastian said.

“And not ‘I swear I’ll fuck you in the ass if you don’t stop getting hurt, you idiot mage’,” Varric said, and Reid snickered as Fenris flushed.

“That’s an oath, not a vow, Varric,” Sebastian said. “And not a very serious one, either.”

“You want vows, Sebas? That aren’t to do with how insatiably thirsty we are for each other?” Reid turned and grabbed Fenris’s hands despite his attempts to pull away, he didn’t need this attention, he didn’t need any attention.

“Fuck off,” he tried to say, but Reid was already starting his nonsense.

“Fenris, I swear by the moon and stars that I will love you to the end of the world and beyond, because your smile is everything I live for. Your courage and inner strength inspire me every day, and I will never let anyone treat you as less than you are again.”

“Fucking hell,” Fenris muttered, but Reid’s golden-brown eyes were hypnotic in the warm torchlight, gazing at him with such a glad and loving look. “I… swear to… to love you back. I will always come for you, no matter what hare-brained cause you get yourself tangled up in, because you gave me freedom and acceptance in a world that seemed to hate my very existence.”

“Andraste bless this union, amen,” Sebastian said loudly and hastily, raising his hands like a priestess, and the others cheered, and Fenris flushed again. “It’s not as proper as if a Sister were to say it, but it should work. You may now kiss… uh… each other.”

“Like that’s anything new,” Aveline said.

Reid gave Fenris a peck on the lips and turned to smirk at Sebastian. “So now we’re not lying in sin every time we share a bed?”

“Reid, shut up,” Fenris said.

“Because I can think of a few things we’ve done that I’m pretty sure the Chantry wouldn’t approve of, married or not…”

“Reid Hawke, shut your fucking mouth,” Fenris said.

“Make me,” Reid said, with that challenging look in his eye. “Fenris Hawke.”

“Not here, fellows,” Aveline said, at the same time Carver said “You’re disgusting, Reid, stop.”

“I thought you were exaggerating,” Donnic said to Aveline.

“It’s difficult to exaggerate with Reid,” Aveline said. “You get used to it.”

“Anyway, it’s time for more alcohol,” Carver said. “You can drink to celebrate, if you like. I’m going to drink to forget.” But he smirked at Reid.

“Can I say, your vows were very sweet,” Merrill said to them.

Reid finally settled down, squeezing Fenris’s hand. “Thanks. I was going to just say something stupid to piss off Sebas, but then I started and I couldn’t. Not to Fen.” He smiled at him. “And you can always count on Fen to say exactly what’s on his mind.”

“That’s so lovely,” Merrill said, and sighed happily. “I hope that I get to do something like that someday. Probably more Dalish, though. Can you just imagine…”

“Most of us can’t, Daisy,” Varric said. “What’s an elf wedding like?”

Merrill told them, but Fenris wasn’t really listening anymore. Reid’s hand was still in his, and he was concentrating on that. Fenris Hawke. It was… appealing. It had a ring to it. So now he was a wolf and a hawk, hmm?

After everything, they were still alive, and together, and that wasn’t going to change in the near future.

He stood, keeping hold of Reid’s hand. “Excuse us.”

“Oh ho,” Varric said, and Fenris flipped him off.

“Have fun,” Donnic said.

“Good night!” said Merrill.

Fenris led Reid outside, and towards the edge of the village. “Where are we going?” Reid asked.

“Not far,” Fenris said. “I mostly just want time away from the others.” There was a nice green space they had passed on the way in, and he aimed for that now. “So you don’t embarrass me further, you fucking ass.”

“Love you,” Reid said unrepentantly.

“I know,” Fenris said, and turned to him, taking his other hand. “And I know you meant what you said in there. Thank you.”

“I didn’t say even half of what I meant,” Reid said softly. “I can’t just sum up everything in a few sentences. I tried, though. And you said some beautiful things, too. You’re very poetic, you know.”

“You have said so before.” Fenris reached up to touch Reid’s face, felt Reid lean into his hand with a lazy, fond smile, and smiled back to see it. “A finer mage I have never met.”

Reid reached out to touch his face in return. “Lowest bar in existence, coming from you.”

Fenris smiled more and nuzzled Reid’s hand. He didn’t need words anymore. Just to be here with this infuriating, wonderful man was enough.

“Fenris Hawke,” Reid murmured, and leaned in to kiss him, softly, tenderly. His breath was warm on Fenris’s face. “You really are stuck with me now.”

“I am yours, as always,” Fenris replied in a whisper, and pulled him back for more. The stars shone down around them from the glittering sky, and he wondered if this was the beginning of a fairy tale.

 

Closure

The city of Antiva was far too hot for Reid’s taste, especially with the black robe with the hood up and all, and he was sweating like a pig. Poor Bo was panting constantly, and whatever else they encountered, Reid made sure his dog was well-watered. Fenris seemed much more comfortable, even with his bare feet on the hot cobbles. When Reid asked, he shrugged and said Tevinter and Par Vollen were also hot. Which didn’t help Reid.

Fenris kept his guard up at all times, glancing every way – to catch wind of muggers, slavers, con artists, wandering Templars, anyone who might cause them harm. Reid tried to watch as well, but even after seven years in Kirkwall, he was too easily distracted by interesting things like ‘architecture’ and ‘historic monuments’ and ‘possible book acquisition opportunities’.

He was flipping through a romance on Antivan politics when Fenris went very still at his side. “Don’t look now, but Isabela is here.”

“What could she possibly be doing here?” Reid murmured.

“Living her life without thought of us, I’m sure,” Fenris said. “Do you want to speak with her?”

“Speak is a weak word,” Reid said. “It might be better for us all to let her go. There’s no point in seeking revenge now.”

“So you’re going to do it anyway,” Fenris said, resigned.

“No one ever said I wasn’t ambitious,” Reid said. “How do we corner her? Has she seen us?”

“I don’t believe she has. I wonder if she knows how close we became – if she sees me alone, will she know you are nearby?”

“Better you than me,” Reid said. “You have no reason to kill her. I’m the ‘heroic’ one who wanted her to think about someone other than herself for two damn seconds.”

“Fair enough,” Fenris said. “I’ll meet you in that tavern we passed two streets back. See if there’s a back room?”

“See you soon,” Reid said, and ducked into the crowd, wondering at how his heart beat.

He didn’t want to kill her. He’d killed enough people in his life, let alone people he’d known well. But he did need to yell at her. And he was still angry. Had he been taken in? No, she’d made no pretense at being anything but an entirely self-centred person, but he still felt betrayed.

A word and a coin to the barkeep and he had a room in the back; it had a table and a couple chairs, in addition to the standard shoddy bed-cot. He dragged one chair out and sat, tilting it back, putting his boots on the table and his hands behind his head. Bo lay down beside him, happy to be out of the sun.

The door opened, and Isabela entered, Fenris behind her. She froze on seeing him, and he gave her a sassy head tilt and the most sarcastic smirk he could muster. “Isabela. So good to see you again.”

“I’d hoped not to,” she said, matching his tone, deciding that fleeing was not an option with Fenris so close behind her. “I suppose I should have expected Fenris not to be alone, the way you two were dancing around each other when I left. The odds were better than even.”

“’When you left’ is such an understatement,” Reid said, bringing his feet down and his chair back to square with a thump. He gestured to the other chair. “Sit.”

“Why?” Isabela said, not moving.

“Because I need to yell at you. Sit before I hit you with a Pull spell.”

“But that sounds like fun,” she said, pouting with all her sexuality on display. Reid’s eyes held no amusement, and she sighed before sauntering to the chair with just a bit of trepidation. “All right. So I didn’t give the book back. I’m also alive and free. Seems like a fair trade to me. What’s your problem?”

“There’s only one thing that prevents me from blaming you for every death in Kirkwall that night,” Reid told her in a low growl. “And that’s that the Arishok apparently shared your forthcoming, open ways and could have told Dumar about the book years previously, and didn’t do jack shit. And you know why I’m pissed at both of you? Since I apparently have a knack for problem-solving maybe I could have found it and let them go without burning the fucking city down.” He stood and slammed both hands onto the table, eyes snapping with pent-up rage. “And before you whine about the man who was supposedly going to kill you, what in the bloody fuck makes you think I wouldn’t have helped you kill him first? After everything I did for everyone else, you think I was going to leave you in the cold?”

“You’re too nice, Hawke,” Isabela said, looking up at him sidelong. “You never did a bloody thing for yourself. Even your fucking mansion you bought for your mother. No, I wasn’t worried that you wouldn’t help me kill him. I was worried that you would faff about and interfere with things I could handle.”

Reid stared at her. He didn’t have a counter to that; the only reason she thought she could handle it was because her own convenience was the only thing that mattered to her. “People died, Isabela. People didn’t have to die.”

“That’s not my problem,” Isabela said. Reid’s eyes darkened with fury, and she had trouble meeting his gaze. “It’s not! The Qunari are assholes! Anyway, you ended up being Champion, so it worked out for you, what are you complaining about?”

“You think I wanted to be the fucking Champion?” Reid hissed. “You think I wanted to be stuck between the mages and the Templars, an apostate that Meredith couldn’t touch and Orsino couldn’t control? You think I liked it when Queen Anora formally asked me to keep the city from imploding single-handed, even though I wasn’t exactly Viscount? You think I liked Carver being kidnapped to get at me? You think I like being on the run so the Templars don’t hang, draw, and quarter me for turning every Circle in Thedas upside down? You think I liked going to those fucking imbecilic parties?” He banged the table again, and she jumped. “People died who had no business dying, and it’s your fault, and you left me to pick up your fucking shit, and excuse me for being mad.”

She was eyeing him warily, and he had the idea she was wondering if she could knife him in the throat before Fenris got her – if she could fight both of them at once and get away. “My fault nothing. Be mad at the Arishok for not telling you, then.”

“I am. I killed him.”

“And are you going to try and kill me?” She was smirking. She knew he wouldn’t.

“Should I?”

“Of course not.” She tugged at the upper lacing of her corset, pulling her cleavage even further into view. “I can think of much more fun ways to make you less mad at me.”

He kept his gaze locked on her eyes. “Not going to work.”

“Oh, but you need to work out all that frustration on me,” she told him, running her hands along her sides. “I know you liked my body. I don’t mind Fenris joining in. In fact, that would be even better. I know he liked my body too.” If they had still been friends, he might have seen her eyes start to glaze over at about this point. But they were not, so her eyes were locked on his too.

“No,” he said. “I told you at the beginning that wasn’t my thing.” It was actually honestly tempting, though. The two of them on her, trapping her between them… or maybe him in the middle with Fenris behind him and Isabela beneath him… It was the emotional aftermath he didn’t want to deal with. And even if Isabela didn’t think anything of emotional aftermath, he did.

Fenris, guarding the door, shifted. “Nor mine. I read your fanfic, though. It wasn’t very good.”

“Everyone’s a critic,” she sighed. “So, what, then? You’re not the sort to be interested in gold, even if I had enough to make it worth your while. I don’t think you would kill me. And apparently I’m not allowed into the best sandwich ever. So what do you want?”

He pulled back and breathed out his anger, leaving only his tiredness. “I just wanted to yell at you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course.” She got up and headed for the door; Fenris didn’t stop her. “You really think this changes anything?”

“No,” Reid said. “It won’t change the past. It won’t change you, you bitch. But it makes me feel better because I didn’t get to do it at the time.”

“Closure, hm?” She gave him a sardonic look. “Let me know how that works out for you, hero-boy.”

“See you never,” he said. She opened the door and strolled out with a saucy wave.

Fenris looked at him when she was long gone. “Do you actually feel better?”

“Surprisingly, yes,” Reid said. “I need a drink, though. C’mon.”

 

Part 7

There will be a Part 7 to add an Inquisitiony coda, but… first I have to play Inquisition. Stay tuned I guess.