#Talk about rabid fans sheesh

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🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 026 [Robo-Inferno!]

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Word Count: 2,771

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〈“We are young, not for long. Life is fun! It only goes downhill. We gotta make the most of it, or you’ll regret it.” TheOdd1sOut & Boyinaband, “Life is Fun”〉

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“Hey! Make some noise, you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes! This year, we’re bringing you some of the hottest performances in the sports festival history guaranteed! I’ve only got one question before we start this show – are you ready?! Let me hear you scream as our students make their way to the main stage!” Present Mic’s voice boomed over the cheering crowd.

I readjusted the band across my forehead as class 1-A walked down the darkened hallway toward the center of the stadium. “Oi, Bakuhoe. The logo is visible, right?”

He glanced at me. “I can’t believe you’re wearing that stupid ass thing.”

I scowled. “Tacos are the food of the gods. Don’t hate, appreciate.”

His eyes narrowed at me, lips pulling back into a scowl. “You better fucking take this shit seriously, Winchester!”

“Oh yee of little faith,” I wagged my finger. “I’m comin’ for yo ass, Bakuhoe. Hope you’re ready.”

“Keep dreamin’, bitch.” He was silent for a moment. “Yes, the logo is visible.”

I grinned, throwing my arm on his shoulder.

We reached the end of the hall, stepping out in the bright sun that shined over the open stadium. Goddamn, that’s a lot of fucking people.

“This first group are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a villain attack – the dazzling students light up your TVs with solid gold skills! The hero course students of class 1-A!”

“Uhh… I-I didn’t know there’d be so many people…”

I patted Izuku’s shoulder. “Same, bro.” To be honest, I can’t stand it when people stare at me. Even when Aizawa’s cat stares at me while I’m playing games or trying to eat, that shit pisses me off. Now there’s a fuck ton of people staring at me. Well, at least I’m not alone. Just gotta let them shine brighter.

“I hope we’re still able to give our best performances even though all these eyes are watching us,” Iida commented. “I suppose it’s just another aspect of being a hero we all have to learn to get used to.”

“Present Mic sure did talk us up a lot… Kinda makes me nervous.” Kirishima kept looking around at all the people before turning to me and Bakugo as we walked in front of him. “How you feeling, man? You nervous, too, Winchester?”

“I’m not worried. It makes me want to win this thing even more!” Bakugo grinned.

“It makes me want to die.”

Izuku sweatdropped as he looked over his shoulder. “Please don’t die, Jen-san…”

“No promises.”

“If she dies it’ll be because I killed her! Face forward, Deku!”

“They haven’t been getting nearly as much screen time, but this next group is still chock full of talent! Welcome hero course class 1-B! Next up, general studies C, D, and E! Support classes F, G, and H! And finally, business classes I, J, and K! Give it up for all of U.A.’s first-year contestants!!”

All of the students gathered in front of the platform Midnight stood on top of. “Now, the introductory speech!”

The men in the crowd started to go wild at the sight of her and I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, who thought letting this bitch teach hormonal teenagers was a good idea?” I felt Bakugo shrug his shoulder under my arm.

“Someone should talk to Midnight-sensei about what she’s wearing…” Kirishima commented softly, his cheeks pink.

“Yeah, that costume should come with a warning.” Sparky agreed, his cheeks just as pink.

“Is it really appropriate apparel for a high school game?” Fumi questioned with a hint of disgust in his voice.

“Fumi, my beautiful bird child!” I held my fist out to him and he blinked in surprise, tilting his head and looking at my hand for a solid five seconds before lightly tapping his fist against mine.

“Silence, everyone!” Midnight cracked her short whip. “For the student pledge, we have… Katsuki Bakugo!”

I snickered. “This should be fucking brilliant.”

“H-He’s the first year rep?” Izuku panicked.

“I guess that hot-head did finish first in the entrance test.” Kirishima mused.

I raised a brow at him. “Did you just say entrance test? That sounds so wrong, Kiri.”

“Don’t tease me, Winchester!” He pouted, poking my arm.

“He only got first for the hero course exams,” Some girl on her right said, sending us an annoyed look.

“Oh… right…”

“That girl obviously hates us,”

“Yeah and we’ve got Bakugo to thank for them not liking our class.”

I scoffed, glancing back at the yellow-haired dope. “If you really think that, you’re dumber than you look, Sparky.”

His face flushed.

“What do you mean?” Kiri tilted his head.

“Ever since the USJ incident, class 1-A has been all over the media. By now, most people know who we are, even if it’s just ‘the first years that took on real villains and survived’. While it may be true that the idiot fueled the fire, he didn’t start it. They already disliked our class because of the praise and attention we’ve been getting. Blaming Bakugo is just a cop-out, an easy solution. Besides,” I narrowed my eyes at the girl, who shifted at the attention. “If someone is childish enough to judge the majority for the actions of one person, that’s on them.”

“I just wanna say,” Bakugo’s monotone voice was amplified by the microphone he stood in front of. “I’m gonna win.”

“Boo!”

“What did he say?!”

“So full of himself!”

“Get off the stage!”

I laughed loudly, resting my arm on Fumi’s shoulder. “I totally fucking called it. I shoulda placed a bet!”

Fumi simply sighed, shaking his head.

“Why would you be so disrespectful?!” Iida cried. “You’re representing us all!”

“Not my fault the rest of you are just stepping stones for my victory.” He pointed his thumb down.

“I’m gonna crush this overconfident jerk!! I can’t wait to knock him down a size!!”

I chuckled as Bakugo approached, holding my hand up. “You sure ruffled some jimmies there, Bakuhoe.”

He humphed, slapping his palm against mine.

“Without further ado, it’s time for us to get started!” Midnight spoke up. “This is where you begin to feel the pain. The first fateful game of the festival is…” A screen appeared behind her, the words spinning like a slot machine. “What could it be~?” It stopped on Obstacle Race. “Ta-da~ All eleven classes will participate in this treacherous contest! The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium! I don’t wanna restrain anyone – at least not in this game,” She licked her lips and smirked. God, she’s creepy as fuck. “As long as you don’t leave the course, you’re free to do whatever your heart desires! Now then, take your places, contestants!”

The crowd cheered as the gate to out left buzzed, three green lights lighting up above it. The students gathered around the gate and a drop of sweat rolled down my cheek as I scanned the large crowd. Oi oi, there’s no way in the nine hells that all of these students are gonna fit through that narrow ass hallway and I know damn well everyone is gonna rush forward as soon as it begins. That means I either need to get ahead before the jam or fall back and wait for an opening. Sheesh.

The first green light faded.

I glanced up at the stands where the U.A. faculty members were sitting. Toshi looks nervous as hell, his icy blue eyes darting around as he tried to find me and Izuku. God, he can be such a dad sometimes.

The second light faded.

I let out a breath. I’m gonna try hard. After all, if I don’t place well, then old man Shimatsu won’t get much business for his taco stand during lunch. Can’t let that happen!

The third light faded.

It was like that fucking scene from Jumanji, everyone rushing toward the hall at the same time and getting stuck from the sheer amount of students. I winced at the poor kids being smooshed against the wall.

“And~ we’re off to a racing start! How about some color commentary, mummy man?!”

“How did you talk me into this?” Poor Aizawa sounds exasperated, poor guy.

“What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?!”

“The doorway,” he responded blandly.

I hummed, eyes scanning the backline of students as I kneeled down. Alright, let’s get it! I took off toward the hallway, jumping off the ground and landing on the back of a rather large student. Yells of protest reached me as I hopped from student to student, using them as stepping stones. I should thank Bakugo for the idea later.

The temperature suddenly divebombed and I suppressed a shiver as Todoroki activated his ice quirk, covering the end of the hallway and the students with ice. Cocky sumbitch. I hopped from a frozen student’s shoulder, increasing the temperature in my boots before landing on the ice. It sizzled as it melted. Good thing I put in a request to wear these fireproof boots!

“Nice trick, Todoroki!”

“I won’t let you get away so easily you icy hot bastard!!”

I snickered at the students slowly making their way across the frozen ground. One of them slipped and fell onto his ass, letting out a groan of frustration. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.

Mineta jumped into the air. “You think you’re so cool, but I’ve outsmarted you! Ha! How pathetic, Todoroki! Eat this, my special attack -!”

Wham!

One of the robots from the entrance exam came out of nowhere, slamming its arm against his face and yeeting him across the field. That’s karma, you disgusting ass grape.

“Ooh~ Enemies have shown up out of nowhere! I bet we’re in for a treat here! A test of strength and cunning, it’s a robo-inferno!!”

“Are those the zero-point villains from the practical test?!” Sparky cried, nearly running into my back.

“So this is what the other students faced in their entrance exams,” Todoroki commented.

“Where does the school even get the funding for these things?”

I glanced at Momo. “Girl, that’s what I’m sayin’. I’m gonna go out of a limb and say they’re using gorgeous students to form musical groups that tour across the world and get these extremely crazy fanbases that will do anything for their idols even if it means murdering people or invading their personal space thus making millions of dollars off of their rabid love because they throw their hard-earned money at a shit ton of merchandise that has their favorite idol’s face on it.”

Momo sweatdropped. “That’s… oddly specific, Winchester…”

“Yes.”

Todoroki covered the ground and his right arm with ice. “They obviously went through a lot of trouble, but I wish they’d prepared something a little more difficult.” He placed his palm on the ground. Ice shot up, swirling around him. “Especially since my dear old dad is watching,” He flung his hand forward, sending a massive wave of ice toward the zero-pointer.

“Pfft, cool it edgelord, now ain’t the time for your daddy issues.”

He glared back at me before taking off between the robot’s frozen legs. Other students tried to follow. “Careful, now. I froze them while they were off their balance. On purpose.”

“That’s Todoroki from class 1-A pulling ahead to an early lead with a devastating display! Amazing! He’s one we should watch! It almost seems unfair! Thoughts?!”

“His attack was both offensive and defensive.”

“No wonder he was let in on recommendations! He’d never even fought those robo-infernals before, but they didn’t stand a chance against his chart-topping moves! The stakes are high! We’ve got a whole school of top-notch students trying to be heroes, but do they really stand a chance against our heavy metal swarm of robo-infernals?!”

Che, guess I should get a bit serious. That move of his seriously pissed me off, and it’s fucking cold!

Limit release!

My shirt shattered as power flowed more freely throughout my body. I rushed forward, fire engulfing my hands as I kicked off the ground, jumping toward one of the robots and cocking my arm back. “Go to hell!” I grinned, slamming my fist against his face. The metal dented inward, head sparking before exploding. It set off a chain reaction of explosions, the metal creaking as it swayed backward. Fuck yeah, I’ve definitely gotten much stronger than I was!

“Class 1-A’s Winchester smashes through the robot with a single firey punch! The first-year students are already off to one rockin’ start and it’s only the first round! Talk about a cruel obstacle course~ Our players are racing against each other in a vicious battle where anything goes as long as they stay on the track! We’ll continue to bring you live updates and pulse-pounding action thanks to the camera robots placed around the course! Kirishima from class 1-A! What a hardcore debut for this rookie! Woo~ Tetsutetsu from class 1-B was also stuck underneath! What are the odds, folks?!”

I flew through the opening the giant robot had created, clearing the robo-inferno zone. What the fuck is happening back there? And who the fuck names their kid Tetsutetsu?! I glanced over my shoulder to see an angry chihuahua charging through the air. Oh boy…

“Don’t you dare think you’re gonna leave me behind, bitch!”

“Class 1-A’s Bakugo is rocketing over the obstacles! Clever!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Bakuhoe~” I grinned as he flew over me.

“Class 1-A’s learned not to hesitate.” Aizawa stated calmly. “They’ve seen what the real world is like. They’ve felt the fear of facing villains, yet they fight on, trying to overcome that fear. They’ve grown, all of them, and they know that they have to act quickly if they want to stay alive.”

I smirked. Aizawa, soft dad hours are playing~

“For those of you that thought the first obstacle was easy~ Let’s see how you feel about the second one! If they take a spill, they’re out! If they wanna pass this test, they’ll have to get creative – it’s the fall!!”

I slid to a stop at the edge of the canyon, eye twitching. Oh come on, the fuck kind of obstacle course has a fucking canyon with a fifty-foot drop?! How is this allowed? Come on, J, stay focused, idiot. How can my fire help in this situation? It fucking can’t! Uh, can I jump from one pillar to the next? No way, the distance is too far. I can jump far, but I ain’t a fucking titan, man.

Wait a second… no, no, there’s no way in hell I could do that, but… Zawa made it look so easy when he did it. He did it a bunch of times when we were training together. My hands clenched at my sides. I spent ten fucking months, day in and day out, watching that man, training with that man. I’ve seen him do it dozens of times. Come on, let’s go!

I stepped back, taking a deep breath before I took off running, lowering my lower body. I went straight toward the thin roping connecting the pillars and started running across it like I had seen Aizawa do on powerlines. This rope is really fucking slack, but as long as I keep my speed up and don’t hesitate, I’ll be fine! Extend my arms out behind me for balance… oh no…

“Look at Winchester from class 1-A! Looks like she’s been studying your moves, Eraserhead! Wait, where are their crocodile tears streaming down her face?!”

“Are you okay, Jen?” Tsu questioned as she climbed across the rope beside me with her hands and feet.

“I can’t believe I’m Naruto-running! I’m a disgrace to my generation! Zawa, this is all your fault!” I cried, pushing myself to run faster.

“What did I do?”

“I have no idea!”

“What is ‘Naruto’?” Tsu asked, tilting her head.

Sweet, innocent Tsu. May you never experience the meme that is Naruto.

“In the world of heroes, it can be hard to get popular without a flashy quirk, right Eraserhead?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, idiot.”

“Ooh~ Looks like Todoroki is still skating by easily! The leader is putting distance between him and the students stuck at the fall. It hasn’t been announced how many competitors will make it through to the next round so there’s no time to relax!”

I groaned as I finally passed the fall, breathing heavily. Man, this sucks so much ass. How is Todoroki so damn fast? Like boi, do you even breathe? I just wanna go home and sleep. Dadzawa, save me~!

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[tearsofwinter]

Behind Closed Doors

Rating: G Summary: Varric is a storyteller, and sometimes that mean making up lies to protect the ones you care about. So what did really happen between Fenris and Anders during their time in Kirkwall? A Fenders story told from Varric’s POV

Varric looked up when he heard a hard knock on his door. "Your Inquisitoralness! What a surprise. Did you need something, or are you here to admire the dwarf?" Smiling, he pulled up a chair for the Inquisitor to sit. "I'll say it now, if you're here for Cassandra, tell her the newest 'Swords and Shields' will be done when it's done. You can't rush masterpiece."

"If your revenge on Cassandra is making her wait for the next installment... it's working. Promise not to make her wait too long. The last I saw her, it looked like her head was about to explode." Trevelyan sat where Varric pointed. He placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, closer to the dwarf. There was a gleam in his eyes, one that Varric recognized from rabid fans. "About 'The Tale of the Champion', I've got a few questions."

"Oh boy, here we go." Varric folded his arms and sighed. "Look, kid, the thing about Orsino, it was added for extra excitement. In hindsight, I would edit that part out. Now, if it's about Hawke, I hear she's out by the ramparts. You can ask any questions you have about the Champions yourself."

Trevelyan scoffed. He scooted his chair closer until their knees bumped. Varric leaned away- only a tad- for breathing room, but Trevelyan took it as a sign to invade the other's space even more.  "I just came back from talking to Hawke...and I can't believe you lied! You kept it a secret from me! How could you?” 

"Of course I lied. It's a occupational hazard." Varric placed a hand on the young man's chest, and gently pushed him back into his seat. In the middle of his spiel, Trevelyan stood up and inched closer and closer until their nose touched. "What I'd lie about this time?"

"ANDERS IS ALIVE!"

Varric slapped a hand over the boy's mouth. "Shhhhh!!! You want the entire Inquisition to know?!" Nervously, he glanced around to check if anyone heard, but the door was closed and the room was empty. Still, it paid to be careful. Varric removed his hand. "Where'd you hear that from?"

"Hawke! We were talking, and I asked about Anders, how could she do that to him when they've been friends for over a decade. He protested peacefully for years, but no one listened. He was pushed to a corner, and did what he had to do!" Cheeks red from a lack of air, words spilled out of Trevelyan's mouth as fast as his mind spun. Varric felt the lack of oxygen himself as he watched the Inquisitor try not to trip over his own tongue. Trevelyan sucked in a much needed breath, and continued. "And so Hawke asked me what was my opinion on the Chantry explosion, and I said, good riddance!"

Realizing his own outburst, Trevelyan clapped a hand over his own mouth. Sheepishly, he looked at Varric, ready to be ridiculed or scolded, but he saw no judgment in the dwarf's eyes. Instead, there was understanding. His shoulders slumped in relief, and he sighed.

"So Hawke told you the truth then?" Varric guessed. "She told you she didn't kill Anders?"

"Yes! So what's the truth? What really happened?" Trevelyan was trembling with excitement. "Please tell me!" 

"Alright, alright." Varric held his hands up in surrender. "But first, I need to know something. What's your opinion on Anders? Why the..." He gestured at the young man's jittery state, "interest?"

"He's an idol," Trevelyan said without hesitation. "At least he's my idol. I've heard stories about him, about how he escaped Kinloch hold seven times, how he joined the Grey Wardens and fought darkspawns. I know what they say about him, that he's a terrorist, a murderer, but I don't think so. He did what needed to be done, even if it branded him a villain. So I have a question for you, two questions actually, regarding Anders."

"You can ask, but I can't promise I'll answer," Varric said, crossing his arms. "Give me your best shot."

Finally, the chance to get the answers to his burning questions was here. Trevelyan's bluster attitude vanished in a snap, and what was left behind was a bundle of nerves. A blush formed on his cheeks as he fidgeted in his seat. "Well...my first question is where is Anders? And my second one is..." He looked away, unable to meet Varric's gaze. "...is he single? He's not seeing anyone is he?"

Varric burst out laughing, stunned by the unexpected question.   

"This...this isn't funny!" Trevelyan shouted, indignant and hurt by his friend's reaction. "I'm being serious!

Varric wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes. "Sorry," he said, a few chuckles still escaping, "You caught me by surprise. I'm not laughing at you. But I have some bad news for you." He laid a consoling hand on Trevelyan's shoulder, and shook his head. "Anders is seeing someone, and the two of them are such lovebirds, it makes you want to puke."

"But...but it's only been a year since Kirkwall! He found someone in that short amount of time?"

"I might've omitted some things, fudged up some details in my book. Hazard of the trade and all that, you know how it is."

"You're saying Anders had a lover while he was in Kirkwall? Since before the explosion? Impossible." Trevelyan couldn't wrap his head around it. Ignoring Varric's novel, none of the reports or heresy about Anders mentioned a lover. If he had one, someone should've noticed. Everything he knew about Anders said he acted alone; his sole companion was the spirit in inside him. It wasn't any Trevelyan's business, but he was curious. "Who is it? Is it someone I know?"

Varric scratched his chin, contemplating how much he should tell the Inquisitor. "You...could say you know him."

"So it's a man!" Trevelyan paused, then took in a scandalized breath. "Maker, Varric is it you?"

"No! No, no, no. Shit, I like Blondie, but not like that."

"Aw, you called him Blondie. After I heard you talking with Vivienne about Kirkwall, I thought you hated him."

Varric sighed. "I did for a while. It took some thinking, but I realized I was more disappointed in myself. I failed him like I failed Batrand...But enough about me." Varric waved it aside. He was never good at dealing with feelings, and he wasn't going to start now. "You wanted to know who Anders' mysterious lover is? I can tell you, but you have to keep it a secret. It's a matter of life or death here."

"Cross my heart and hope to die. You know you can trust me, Varric. I'm the most trustworthy guy there is. I even pardoned Anders, except Josie said that could be bad publicity. Said we should wait until Celene's ball to make the announcement. I don't see what's all the fuss is about. I'm a mage. It's not like they're going to li-"

Varric slapped another hand on Trevelyan's mouth. He forgot that once Trevelyan got going about something he felt passionate about, he couldn't shut up. Just like another mage Varric knew. "Alright, alright. I got it, sheesh."

Removing his hand, Varric stepped away from the Inquisitor and began pacing. Where to begin, he wondered. The subject was harder for him to talk about than he thought. Sure, he wrote a novel about Hawke's life that included some of her sexual and romantic exploits, but Anders' relationship was different. It was much harder to grasp and put into words.

"Fenris," Varric blurted it out. Best to just get it out there. Grab the bull by its' horn and all that crap.

Trevelyan blinked, sure that he'd heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

"I said, Anders' lover is Fenris. They have been together for years now. Closing in on a decade now if I recall."

"..."

"..."

"...You're shitting me," Trevelyan finally whispered, then a little louder. "You have got to be shitting me. No. You're telling me Anders and Fenris are together? They're lovers? But in your 'Tale of the Champion', they hate each other! They could barely be in the same room!"

"That was done deliberately. It's easy for Anders to blend into a crowd. Grow a beard, dye his hair- anything. It's harder for Fenris to blend in. His marking makes him stand out. Since everyone assumes Fenris hates Anders, he's the last person they suspect. No one is going to think the tall blond next to Fenris is Anders."

In absolute awe, Trevelyan’s jaw dropped. “Maker, Varric, you’re a genius.” 

“I try my best.” Varric took the compliment and bowed.

"How'd they end up together? I thought Fenris hated mages? Did you lie about that too?"

"No, that part is true. I definitely didn't lie about that"

"So what happened? Out of everyone, why did Anders end up with Fenris, the mage hating elf?" 

Varric shrugged helplessly at the question

Compared to Hawke and Isabela, heck, even compared to Aveline with Donnic, Fenris and Anders were less outwardly affectionate. What they had was...quiet. Subtle. They didn't hold hands or kiss in public; at gatherings, it was rare for them to be seen sitting next to each other. For a long time, Varric doubted the validity of their relationship.

"To tell the truth, I don't know when they started. How they met, and how much they hated each others' guts, that part in the book was true. Day in and day out, they fought all the damn time. But then one day, it all stopped. Poof, no more fighting. When we noticed and asked what happened, why were they suddenly civil to each other, they told us they were in love. Ha, in love, can you believe it? Because we certainly didn't. We thought it was a joke they were trying to pull on us."

"Anders and Fenris didn't say anything. They didn't try to correct us or prove a point." Varric walked off and poured himself a drink. He realized he couldn't do this sober. Not that their story was difficult to tell, but if you ever read "Swords and Shield", you'd know love stories weren't his strong suit. He knocked back a shot of whiskey, shuddering as the alcohol burned a trail down his throat.

"I consider myself an observant man- have to be in my line of work- but when it came to Anders and Fenris, I was blind. I doubted them for a while. I made bets with Hawke and the others about if they were real or fake; how long they'll keep up the act. You know, those sort of asshole shit. It went on for months."

"But then one day, Hawke asked a few of us to go with her to Sundermount for some 'bandit looting' as she calls it. The group included Rivani, me... and the two angry glow sticks." Varric poured himself another glass of whisky. He thought about drinking it, but then decided against it. He pushed the glass aside, and turned back to face the Inquisitor. "See, the thing was, after seeing how much Fenris and Anders fought whenever they were together, Hawke made it a rule to separate the two. If Fenris was there, Anders wasn't, and vice versa. That worked out for the most part. Kept the peace in the group. So when Hawke changed it up, Isabela and I raised our eyebrows at the combination, but we guessed she had her reasons. Maybe it was a test, or maybe she forgot, but Fenris and Anders were brought along together this time."

"I thought they'd begin fighting as soon as we left Kirkwall. The jig was up. But to our surprise, Anders didn't bring up mage rights, and Fenris didn't say a word about blood magic. He could've too. We fought some maleficars at the bandit camp. It would've been easy for him to score some points against Anders, and if this was the old Fenris, he would've rub it in Anders' face, telling him this was the reason mages deserved to be imprisoned in Circles. None of that happened though. After the fight, and as Hawke was looting the bodies, I saw Fenris walk up to Anders. They didn't say a word. Instead, Fenris brushed the back of his hand against Anders', and in return Anders offered him back a reassuring smile."

"And that was when you knew they were serious about each other?" Trevelyan asked.

Varric sat back down next to the Inquisitor. He groaned as his knees creaked from old age. "I wish I could say that, kid. I only realized the importance of what they did in hindsight," he said, "It was on our way back to Kirkwall when it dawned on me, on all of us, that they were serious and wasn't faking their relationship at all."

"It was getting dark in Sundermount. No way we could get back to Kirkwall in time, so we decided to set up camp. The tents were up, the bed rolls were out, and Anders was knocked out like a bronto. He was drained of mana and needed to recuperate. The rest of us- Hawke, Isabela, Fenris, and I- sat by the fire, enjoying our meager meals and exchanging juicy gossip. Isabela was in the middle of telling us how she swindled a man out of his trousers when we heard a loud thundering noise. For a heartbeat, we thought it might've been a wyvern, or even a dragon. But no, it turned out to be just Anders. He snored while he slept. And boy was it loud. It's not an exaggeration to say the trees shook and the ground rumbled when he snored. Okay, okay, I might be exaggerating. I'm a storyteller, it's my job to exaggerate. " Varric lifted his hands up in surrender when Trevelyan gave him a skeptical look.

"My point is, Anders made a ruckus. Isabela suggested we stuff a cloth inside Anders' mouth, but Hawke decided to go with a more diplomatic route. She wanted to wake Anders. When she got up to shake Anders' awake, Fenris grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her. 'Don't wake him. He rarely falls into deep sleep because the nightmares. He needs the rest,' he said. Hawke asked what were they going to do then? The noise was bound to attract something nasty."

"To our surprise, Fenris tiptoed to where Anders slept, and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. Slowly, he turned Anders' head until his airway aligned, and immediately, the snoring stopped. We were stunned. The one act alone, showed us how close they were to one another." Remembering the way Fenris tenderly stared at Anders' sleeping face, Varric scratched his cheek out of awkwardness. "I was struck by the difference I saw in Fenris. He looked younger and happier than I'd ever seen him. Carefree, in fact, with a relaxed smile on his lips. When Anders stirred, disturbed by the sound of our voices, Fenris bent his head to soothe him with a soft murmur of his voice."

"I've seen some shit. Bartrand wasn't a saint, and I've walked in on Hawke and Isabela plenty of times. But for some reason seeing Fenris unguarded, his expression tender and vulnerable...it was unspeakably intimate. Hawke, Isabela, and I- we all blushed. We turned our gaze and gave them their privacy. I realized something that day..."

"What?" Trevelyan asked when Varric didn't continue. "What did you realize?"

"I realized, even though Anders' and Fenris' love was less demonstrative than those of Hawke's and Isabela's, a mysterious and passionate intensity existed between them. Once I knew where to look, it was obvious. So when I decided to write the 'The Tale of the Champion', I wanted to respect their privacy. It was the least I could do."

"Where are they now?" Trevelyan asked. "Are they still together? Are they happy?"

Varric shrugged. "The last I heard, they were together near the Tevinter border, hunting and killing slavers. The letter I last received was from Fenris by the way. His letter was short and succinct, but yes, they sounded happy."

Trevelyan smiled. He threw his arms around Varric and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you for telling me, Varric. I feel like I got a whole new perspective of my hero. Yeah, I'm sad he's taken, but at least it sounds like he's with a great guy that loves him."

Varric laughed, tapping at the Inquisitor's arms to let go. "Anytime kid. You want to hear more about Anders, I've got you covered."

"Actually...I do have another question."

"What is it?"

"So about Orsino, did he really turn into a 5 armed blob monster?" 

"Alright, that's it." Varric stood from his chair and shoved the laughing Trevelyan towards the door. "Enough questions for the day. Goodnight, Your Inquisitoralness."

A/n: This is based off a prompt I wrote back in Feb 2017. Finally got a chance to write it out. Like I said.......it takes me a long time to get to prompts/requests....