His smile turns a little brighter for the assurance. Any other present and- "I know, love. Just nerves." Which was the problem. Anders wasn't a nervous gift-giver, he was fairly confident in his ability to find things people may like, so his behavior was sure to be suspect. And yet he couldn't help it as a decade of history ran over the edges of this particular gift. A decade and four proposals, the last of which had been just after the Chantry. A quiet drawing of the lines: 'I won't ask again, but I'm not going anywhere.'
"In the fleet, I made a purchase at one of the stops. A gift I'd intended to give then, but I wanted it to be right...so I waited. I wait a lot when I think the timing isn't right or I'm not right for wanting something. I'll make the decision not to wait, but then I get in my way and time slips by and then I wake and find you've vanished before I could give it to you."
He crossed to the bed and sat beside Hawke, his eyes still on the jewelry in his palm. It was ridiculous and yet he found he couldn't look up. He focused on taking off the clasp and slipping the chain out. "You see...this was a set...and when you vanished, I was left with both and I kept this one on a chain around my neck for seven months. Then I arrived here and it's partner was missing, but I still had this one. I wore it, still, until just a few weeks after signing with Alec and Alaric and then I set it aside...another regret and more lost time. Then, impossibly, you were here. Not just you, but my you. My Hawke." Now he does look up, amber eyes finding icey blue as he reaches for Hawke's hand. "You came back to me...and It's been nearly two months and still I'm a hesitant fool who's keeping you waiting and I don't know where your patience for me comes from when I keep making you wait...but I've done enough of that several times over, I think."
He coaxed open Hawke's palm and placed the ring into his palm. "I hope you like this present, Adalwolfe Hawke...and the words it most hold because my own are pale, thin, things, inadequate for what needs saying."
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"In the fleet, I made a purchase at one of the stops. A gift I'd intended to give then, but I wanted it to be right...so I waited. I wait a lot when I think the timing isn't right or I'm not right for wanting something. I'll make the decision not to wait, but then I get in my way and time slips by and then I wake and find you've vanished before I could give it to you."
He crossed to the bed and sat beside Hawke, his eyes still on the jewelry in his palm. It was ridiculous and yet he found he couldn't look up. He focused on taking off the clasp and slipping the chain out. "You see...this was a set...and when you vanished, I was left with both and I kept this one on a chain around my neck for seven months. Then I arrived here and it's partner was missing, but I still had this one. I wore it, still, until just a few weeks after signing with Alec and Alaric and then I set it aside...another regret and more lost time. Then, impossibly, you were here. Not just you, but my you. My Hawke." Now he does look up, amber eyes finding icey blue as he reaches for Hawke's hand. "You came back to me...and It's been nearly two months and still I'm a hesitant fool who's keeping you waiting and I don't know where your patience for me comes from when I keep making you wait...but I've done enough of that several times over, I think."
He coaxed open Hawke's palm and placed the ring into his palm. "I hope you like this present, Adalwolfe Hawke...and the words it most hold because my own are pale, thin, things, inadequate for what needs saying."