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Wounded	By : ArcadiaJones Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 1749 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Dragon Age, including its ideas and characters. I am not receiving any money for writing this, it's all just for fun!

Chapter List
- 1-First Meetings
- 2-Stories to Be Told
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- 2
Author’s Note: It seemed to me as if there weren’t enough Hawke/Varric stories out there. So I decided to write a retrospective view of the relationship that could have been. This will mostly be a collection of chapters detailing certain meetings between the two, rather than a fully fleshed-out story. And I apologize to BioWare and any of the more devoted fans out there, but I’m going to use my own dialogue (partly because I don’t want to go through the game and write down every little word that passes between the two). I’m sure that I’ll end up using some dialogue from the game (depending on what I can recall) but overall I’m swinging things more in the direction of a romance.

There’ll still be plenty of blood and angst, of course. Can’t have a good story without a few heads rolling.

First Meetings

Varric Tethras was a dwarf who knew what he wanted and, better yet, knew how to get it. He didn’t let the fact that he was the “younger son” bother him as it did most dwarves, seeing it instead as an opportunity. Bartrand stood out, made a lot of noise, and drew in the interest; Varric stood in the shadows to make sure that everything went smoothly. On more than one occasion, it had been Varric’s silver tongue that had gotten them out of trouble. But no matter what the younger son said or did, the spotlight always fell on Bartrand, leaving Varric comfortable in the shadows.

Watching as his brother argued with the Hawke siblings, Varric knew that this would be yet another time he would have to fix Bartrand’s errors.

Leaning against one of the giant paragon-relief statues in the dwarven merchant’s area of Hightown, Varric studied the face of the woman whose name was quickly sticking to many tongues all across the city. She was a sturdy woman, a bit on the short side for a human; her glossy black hair was long and currently pulled up into a loose ponytail. The few other times he had seen the woman walking the streets of Lowtown, Varric had been struck by how expressive her face was. When the woman laughed or smiled, it was impossible not to join in. Right now, anger marred her beautiful features, and Varric found it kind of charming the way her cheeks glowed a light pink—gold eyes molten as she argued with Bartrand.

“I said no once, and I’m tired of repeating myself!” Bartrand snapped. “Shove off, human!”

With an exasperated sigh, Rhiannon Hawke turned on her heel and stormed off, her sister Bethany just a couple of steps behind her. Rhia was trying very hard to resist the all-consuming urge she had to turn around and stab the infuriating dwarf. Working with mercenaries the past year had made her temper shorter, her thoughts more menacing than she’d like. Rhia hated this side of herself, and she knew that Bethany felt the same, even if her sister was too compassionate to say anything. Taking a deep breath, Hawke reined her anger in and came to a stop.

“I’m sorry,” she said to her sister. “That expedition was our best chance at getting some money, and, well…”

“I know,” Bethany gently interjected, laying a calming hand on her sister’s shoulder. Bethany was a solid couple of inches taller than Rhia, but she never forgot that she was the little sister. Rhia was always the one shouldering the burdens of their family, doing everything she could to make sure that they could live a more comfortable life—far away from Gamlen’s hovel.

“We’ll just have to find another way to make some money,” Bethany continued, smiling slightly. “Preferably far away from stingy dwarves.”

Rhia couldn’t help but laugh, the lines of tension that had been lining her brow easing as her anger faded. Bethany had always been the mediator in the family, knowing the best way to make everyone smile and laugh when things were getting a little too heated. She was the only one able to control Carver—

Rhia’s heart clutched in pain. No, it was too soon to be thinking of that.

As the sisters started off towards Lowtown, a young man suddenly bumped into her roughly. She felt his hands at her waist, and an instant later he was taking off down the street. Rhia realized that her purse was gone, and her anger returned tenfold.

“Hey!” she shouted after him, legs tensing to give chase. “Stop right there, you little bastard!”

As if on cue, the boy was thrown against the nearest wall in mid-step. Rhia stared dumbly at the crossbow quarrel that now protruded from the thief’s shoulder, effectively keeping him still. From the shadows of a nearby statue, she watched as a cocky-looking dwarf collapsed his crossbow and returned it to the holster strapped across his back. He walked with a swagger, oozing self-confidence. Approaching the pinned thief, the dwarf held out a hand for the pilfered purse. Rhia watched his lips move, realizing that this was the first dwarf she had ever seen without a long, plaited beard. It was handsome on him, giving her a clear view of a mouth that was both full and firm, turned up at the edges in a charming little smirk. She watched as he ripped the bolt from the boy’s shoulder a moment before turning away and walking straight towards her.

“You’d best be careful where you keep your money, doll.” The dwarf’s amused amber eyes unabashedly stroked her body up and down. “Lots of questionable folk roaming these parts.”

Rhia crossed her arms over her chest, leaning her weight to one side as she returned his appraising look with an upraised brow. “And you would be one of the trustworthy ones, I’m sure?”

He chuckled before sweeping into a slight bow. “Varric Tethras, at your service.”

“Tethras?” she echoed. “As in relation to Bartrand Tethras?”

“As much as it pains me to admit, yes. He is my brother.”

Rhia rolled her eyes with a groan. “Great. Just what I needed. Let me guess, I owe some kind of fine or something for wasting your brother’s time? Or is this the part where we take a walk and I disappear in some dark alley?”

Varric had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. From what he had picked up about the woman over the past year, he knew that she was combat capable and discreet—two very good attributes for the expedition his brother was set on undertaking. But what he hadn’t been told was how sharp her wit was—rivaling his own. Now that…that was a noteworthy feat, indeed.

“Nothing so dramatic, I assure you. You see, what my brother doesn’t understand is that we need someone like you on this expedition with us. Someone who isn’t some green cutthroat off the streets who barely knows which side of the knife he’s supposed to hold.”

“Oh? And how do you know I’m any different?”

“The name ‘Hawke’ is on many lips nowadays, my friend. I’ve heard what you are capable of, and if you’re willing, I’d like to offer you an idea to consider. Call it a…business venture.”

“I’m listening.”

“Become a partner with Bartrand. If you can bring in enough money, he won’t be able to say no. This works in our favor—since this expedition is far from cheap—and in yours, since you’ll be getting a lot more profit than a mere hireling.”

Rhia studied the dwarf’s face, trying to gauge whether or not he was lying to her. She had guessed from the instant he had confronted her thief that the man was a habitual silver-tongue, and listening to the way he talked—so suave, so confident—further solidified that aspect of his personality. But he seemed genuine enough, and truly there was no reason for him to deceive her. Well, unless he wanted her to raise a bunch of money just to steal it. But that was too obvious.

“How much money are we talking here?” she asked at last.

“If you can bring in fifty sovereigns, Bartrand will shit a chicken.”

Rhia could help but splutter a laugh at that absurd mental image. “Seriously?”

Varric’s answering smile was a mix between charming and a boyish kind of humor; Rhia felt a slight heat rising into her cheeks at the way he looked at her.

“Seriously. I’ve seen him do it before. It’s an amusing thing to watch and I would wholly suggest taking my offer for that reason alone.”

“I see your point. But where am I supposed to get that kind of money? Bethany and I barely have a sovereign to our name right now, let alone fifty.”

“Don’t you worry about that, doll. There are plenty of job opportunities around here. And with your new trusty dwarf sidekick, we’ll have that money in no time.”

“My trusty dwarf sidekick?” Rhia echoed, laughter laced through the words.

“But of course!” Looking around, he motioned for her to lower her head so that he could whisper in her ear. “Just don’t tell Bianca. She might get a little jealous.”

Rhia felt her heart fall at the thought of him with another woman, but quickly shook the feeling off as absurd. She was not attracted to dwarves. Really.

“Bianca?”

Varric pointed over his shoulder to the crossbow strapped across his back, winking at her conspiratorially. “She’s a feisty one, but I handle her well most days.”

“You named your crossbow,” Rhia stated, completely baffled.

“Ah, but one must always defer to the name of a beautiful lady.” The dwarf stroked the handle of his weapon most lovingly before turning his attention back to Hawke. “Speaking of which, I never got your name. Unless you’d rather I just call you ‘Hawke.’”

“Rhiannon,” she replied, holding out a hand. “But just call me Rhia. My father always liked long-winded names…” Rhia looked over at her sister, smiling crookedly. Varric noted that there was a hint of sadness in the gesture. “At least mother got him to back off when they got to you, huh?”

Bethany smiled back, the same sadness tingeing her amber eyes. “Indeed.”

Before Varric could think any further about the pass between the two, Rhia was facing him again, hands planted imperiously on her slender hips.

“So!” she said, grinning widely. “Where to first?”

Oh yes, this was the start of a beautiful friendship…
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Wounded