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[ It's not something he wants to hear and Hermione recognises that - perhaps he came to her because she thought he'd give him an out or allow him to get away with not expressing it, but at the same time she wonders if he came because he wanted to hear the truth one last time. If everyone around him was saying the same thing then, surely, he knows the path he ought to take? She can already imagine the things that Wolfe might have said in response to the same question.

Breathing out, Hermione squeezes, wrapping her fingers around his and leaving it there. It's an anchor between them for now, giving him as much as she can without pushing too hard. This is what it means to be with family, after all. ]

It's the best thing to have, too, and I think it will mean more to him coming from you. [ She doesn't know everything, but she recognises Justice's fondness. ] Speak to him, you're right. Give him the option of knowing what could happen, what you wish to say, and let him decide. It's the kindest thing for the both of you and it will help you make the situation easier for both your hearts.

[ Then softer, quieter - ]

I don't want to see you hurting, Anders.

[He nods to her words, holding them close in his mind like a lifeline. The conversation wouldn't be easy no matter what, the best he could do was hope for the best of a horrible situation.

But what she says last...it has his eyes darting away and pain in his expression even as a smile still twists the corners of his lips.]

Thank you for saying that. You're a wonderful woman, Hermione. I did not expect to find someone who felt like home among far-flung strangers, but you are too me.

I hope I might come to deserve your kindness, in time. [But right now, he didn't. More than likely, he never would. Life after life saved or bettered, and it would never come close to the penance Hawke had hoped Anders would find for himself on that day Kirkwall burned. No number was high enough to clear the blood from his hands and every wonderful person who foolishly saw something worth coming close for was doomed to get that blood smeared on them as well. He would never deserve any of them so long as he would live...but he would keep trying.]

[ Hermione doesn't really know if she's said the right thing, but... She thinks about being in that position herself, not knowing things and learning them later, and she thinks... She'd want to know, as soon as she could.

She doesn't want to hurt Anders, of course, but sometimes it's like ripping off a bandage. It needs to be done, as quickly and painlessly as possible, and sometimes she has to give the advice she knows is going to sting. She learned that the hard way too. ]

Anders, you - [ She shakes her head, shifting a little before she wraps her arms around him, letting herself hold him close. Hermione knows what it's like to adopt family - she had formally adopted Nico and John, and she misses them with a deep, desperate ache in her chest - and she knows that Anders is filling a part of her heart that she had thought had been abandoned in the Drabwurld.

They share the same sentiment, she thinks, and she can't help the way she grips at his clothes, gently, just holding on. ]

It doesn't matter how far away you go. You're always going to be family to me.

[Her arms wrap around him and he can't bare to hesitate in returning her hug. She clings to him and he clings to her, starved for the affection she offers. He shouldn't be asking it of her...but then, she is offering.

How long had it been since he'd had anyone close to family? Amell, Jowan, Karl. All of them gone and then replaced by the Wardens. The Wardens were taken from him and he found Hawke. Varric. Isabella, even Merrill. Now there were new people filling those holes. Hermione being the most dear among them.]

Thank you.

[ It's been harder, moving forward and watching people move away from her, and letting go of Anders when he and Wolfe had left the fleet had been incredibly difficult. Hermione recognises what it means to have a family, how it feels - she'd had John and Nico for long enough - but it doesn't make the hurt easier to survive, in the end.

Moments like this, though? Her arms slipping around him and holding on, the touch of his hand against her back, the squeeze of their hug as they cling to each other... These memories help, and Hermione makes a soft, happy little hum against his chest as she tilts her head to speak. ]

Any time, Anders. I'll always be here.

[She shouldn't be making that promise in this place, not with how easily someone could be taken away; and she likely knew it better than any. But he knew she meant 'as much as she could,' and that was more than enough.]

Your kindness and support are more than I have any right to ask for. Thank you, love.

[He pulled away and briefly smoothed her hair.]

I should let you go back to your own plans now that I've taken enough of your time.

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