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[hawkethat]

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[onetrackminds]

[just remind him to shave later.]

Alright. I won't take too long.

[he kisses back, then turns to swim off again.]

[hawkethat]

[Don't worry, he will.]


[And while Anders swims, Hawke will go back to playing with Pearl, encouraging her to swim around in the shallows and giving her lots of love and praise as she does so. By the time Anders rejoins them, she'll have quite warmed up to this whole "swimming" thing, but she's also pretty tuckered out, so Anders' babysitting job will mainly consist of petting her and probably telling her to stop getting sand all over his and Hawke's clothes.]

[onetrackminds]

[And all this after just a few laps.

Anders is fairly exhausted as well, due only part to his lack of sleep. Normally he might have wanted to swim more, but he can feel his body objecting. And he also doesn't want to keep Hawke waiting too long.

He swims over, sitting down in the shallow water and looking over at them.]

Was it too much for her little legs to handle?

[hawkethat]

No, I think it was just the right amount for her little legs. Swimming's hard work when you're weighed down by so much hair. Isn't it, Pearl?

[Pearl is sitting up in the sand, panting and looking tired but pleased.]

[When Hawke turns back toward Anders, he gives him a considering look. Don't think he can't see how exhausted you look, Anders.]

Feel better?

[onetrackminds]

Why don't you shave her, then? [because Anders so wouldn't laugh at her if he did.

But he promised to babysit now, so he holds out a hand. And no matter how tired she is, Pearl can never resist Anders when he willingly offers attention!]

It feels good to actually move.

[not much of that happened in his cell, after all.]

[hawkethat]

If she decides she likes swimming enough to want to do it often, then I might.

[She would look super-cute shaved, Anders, don't even try to pretend she wouldn't! And she hurries over to his offered hand, more than pleased for the attention.]

You, on the other hand, I'd like to shave sometime today, if we have the time.

[Hawke doesn't mind a bit of scruff, but two weeks' worth of beard on Anders is a little much, especially since he's used to Anders clean- or mostly clean-shaven.]

[onetrackminds]

[As soon as she is over, he starts to pet her, which results in her simply flopping onto her side to enjoy it. Tired puppy is tired.]

I thought I was looking handsome. Or was that only while I was further away, where you couldn't quite see?

[he's teasing, he knows he needs to shave.]

[hawkethat]

You are looking handsome. But you're also looking like an unloved, homeless vagabond. And as that's not the case, I'd like to correct that before people start to get the wrong idea.

[onetrackminds]

[he laughs.]

I'll shave when we return.

[hawkethat]

Excellent.

I probably won't be long.

[Hawke's going to have his swim now, and leave his tired puppy and his tired lover to keep each other company on the beach.]

[He's not as fast a swimmer as Anders, but he's a strong swimmer for someone who hadn't really learned until after arriving in Kirkwall (working with the smugglers was often sink or swim, sometimes literally).]

[onetrackminds]

[This time it's Anders' turn to admire Hawke, and he does get a nice view of his arse as he swims away. His entire backside in general is really very nice.

He is only absently petting Pearl now, but she doesn't seem to mind, as long as he's paying attention to her. It wouldn't be too surprising if Hawke returned to a drowsing puppy, it seems.]

[hawkethat]

[Hawke spends a good fifteen or twenty minutes swimming unhurried laps. The activity feels good, and he can keep half an eye on Anders and Pearl while he does so. The pool is quite pretty, for it being indoors...on a spaceship...It's almost easy to pretend he's actually outside, maybe even back in Kirkwall...except the water is far too warm for that. But still.]

[When he finally makes his way back over to Anders and Pearl, he's a little out of breath.]

Did you want to swim some more?

[onetrackminds]

[Anders shakes his head.]

I might be a little too tired for that. I'd like to return here soon, though.

[And he doesn't want to leave just yet, either. It's warm enough that just sitting like this, even while wet, isn't a problem, and more importantly, the room is huge. And it does feel a bit more like outside than anywhere else.

He can actually relax a little, here, despite the lack of people.]

[hawkethat]

So would I.

[He'll plop his butt down next to Anders, then, and get comfortable.]

You'd think a place like this would get more visitors.

[onetrackminds]

Maybe they're not fond of the sand. They do like to keep things clean here.

[it's almost disturbing how white everything is.]

Although I'm not sure why it's even here.

[hawkethat]

If they're not fond of sand, why even keep it here at all?

[Hawke shakes his head a little and sighs, leaning back on his hands.]

Just one more thing that doesn't make sense in a vessel built up out of nonsense.

[onetrackminds]

At least this one I don't mind.

[in fact, he's going to shift a little closer, leaning on Hawke now.]

[hawkethat]

Agreed.

[Oh! Well, Hawke is more than okay with that. He'll shift about a little too, so he can lean back a bit and wrap an arm around Anders' shoulders.]

Next time we come here, we'll have to bring something to eat.

[So they can stay longer.]

[onetrackminds]

That sounds like a good idea.

[he wouldn't mind spending an entire afternoon here with Hawke, not at all. And maybe the he'd be up for swimming a bit more, too.]

Hairball fell asleep, by the way.

[hawkethat]

[Hawke glances over at the little dog...oh, wow, she's probably got at least a pound of sand sticking to her wet hair. That's going to be fun to clean up. But she sure does look cute, asleep with her head on her little paws...!]

She sure did.

[If Anders was expecting him to protest the nickname, he'll be disappointed. Hawke had long ago learned there was little point, as Anders had demonstrated so thoroughly with Champion.]

I guess that means we can't leave yet.

[What a flimsy excuse...]

[onetrackminds]

Your life revolves around her needs.

[teasing, because he does want to stay.]

Did you swim often before? Ferelden was too cold most of the year.

[hawkethat]

If you can't stop and take a little time to let the puppy sleep, what can you stop to make time for?

[That's a rhetorical question, btw; he doesn't expect an answer.]

There was a river just outside of Lothering where Father taught us to swim. Carver and I would swim there a lot in the summer when we were younger.

[onetrackminds]

What was Lothering like?

[he doesn't remember asking these questions before okay.]

[hawkethat]

Muddy.

[He says this with a smile. And it's okay, Hawke doesn't mind answering Anders' question. <3]

Quiet. Peaceful. Town was full of farmers and travelers and dogs, and the farms were full of crops, wheat and barley and vegetables and fruit...

[Give him a second here, wallowing in nostalgia...]

...Well, until the Blight came, at any rate.

[Okay, done with nostalgia.]

[onetrackminds]

So the same as most of Ferelden, then?

[he's not a native Fereldan, after all, though he's been through his share of villages on the run.]

...I hear it was one of the first places to get overrun.