"That is why you have your guard dog," he explained, gently brushing his fingers against her arm. "He lets you be Emma. It's certainly why I have Killian so someone kicks my ass when I'm an idiot or allows me to be Garrett instead of the Champion. That is our escape."
Otherwise, people like her and him would actually end up as babbling messes of insanity. Hawke certainly wouldn't be a sane human being without the escape he had back in Kirkwall and now Killian here.