I am in Dragon Age hell because of my older sister. I am now replaying Origins again and it is all your fault, big sister. I hope you're happy. This isn't an Origins story, but I had this idea and wanted to write it out anyways.
Dawn Trevelyan shivered slightly as she stepped out into the main hall of Skyhold, the air still being slowly warmed by the morning sun. She hadn't a clue how many of her companions were up yet, judging by the quiet, low murmuring of just-awoken visiting dignitaries. She closed her door behind her slowly, gently, a quiet thud resulting. She yawned again and walked past several doors, mind on a cup of hot coffee in the tavern- recently they had started serving it, and she developed a taste for it.
Again she glanced about the vast hall, blinking a bit before stopping, raising an eyebrow. Varric was already up, though his hair was still a mess as he sat down in one of the chairs by the fire place. He occasionally lifted a mug next to him and drank as he silently read what appeared to be a manuscript, with a disturbingly wide grin, eyes trailing along the paper.
She past him to the door. "Morning, Varric." she said groggily as she passed.
"Morning, Inquisitor." Varric replied. She paused momentarily, squinting at the manuscript.
"Whatcha reading? One of your manuscripts?" she inquired. Varric stifled a laugh.
"Actually, it's one of yours." he stated, with the biggest shit-eating grin Dawn had ever seen. She blinked again in confusion, and Varric flipped back to the front- and Dawn felt her blood go cold, her heart freeze. It was titled Donnen and The Circle of Magi. She made a disturbing squeal as she bit her lip, holding in a scream.
The Inquisitor reached to snatch it out of his hands, but the dwarf lifted it away and held his other hand up. "Ah, excuse me, Inquisitor," Varric said cheerfully, "I believe this is mine. Your templar friend, Anna, in Ostwick sent this to me this morning as a gift."
"Son of a-" She moaned. "I thought she forgot about that bet! I forgot about that bet!"
"Oh, please clarify, I need to hear the story behind this bet." Varric said, beaming. "I mean, she sent me your fanfiction. Fanfiction. Of my story, that you wrote."
Dawn turned a bright red. "Okay, so when I was nineteen and Anna was twenty, we were sharing...that piece of literature that should be burned." She made another high-pitched squeal of humiliation. "We made a bet that I would be First-Enchanter in seven years, and she would Knight-Captain in six years. We each bet we would be wrong, and the loser would have to send Varric Tethras their...work. We both shared our work." Varric's shit-eating grin only got larger, and the Herald glared at him. "Hey, life in the Circle can be boring, we had to take our entertainment where we could get it, alright? So we..wrote and shared our literature."
Varric laughed. "Well, you lost, and she sent me the fanfiction. I've got to say, Inquisitor, it's good. You could use a little work on grammar, but I am completely flattered."
She scowled. "Ha ha. Please, give it to me so I can dispose of it."
"Not a chance!" Varric exclaimed, feigning shock. "Remove this literary masterpiece from the world? I think not. Also, I need it to stroke my ego when I write. If I'm ever feeling bad about my story, I can just look at this and remember that I'm a good enough writer to get fanfiction. This is the greatest day of my life." He bit back a snicker. "Not just that, but it's fanfiction...from the Inquisitor. The Herald of Andraste herself. I couldn't ask for a greater gift."
"You're hilarious." Dawn grumbled, glaring at him. Varric chuckled and smiled at her.
"Why didn't you tell me you were such a big fan of Hard in Hightown? I could have let you peek at some of the drafts I have for the next book before I sent it to my editor." he asked. Dawn shook her head, scowling.
"You're joking, right? When I met you, I had to use all my willpower not to act like a giant nerd! I mean, there was a hole in the sky, a mark on my hand, demons everywhere, and then suddenly my favorite author." She grimaced. "I had to play it cool, Varric! And then after that I was too embarrassed to mention I was a fan..."
Varric shrugged. "So...that must have been an even weirder day for you than I thought. In any case, you were afraid of looking like a nerd...in front of me?" He gasped. "Be still, my heart. I'm honored, Inquisitor," he said, "I mean it. And please, let me keep this fanfiction. Do you have any other pieces? I need them."
"Oh, no," Dawn scowled, "I am not going to be sharing any more of my...work with you."
"Come on! Please?" Varric pleaded, pouting. "I'm writing another Hard in Hightown and I promise to share the manuscript with you if you give me a copy of your other fanfiction!"
The Inquisitor bit her lip. The struggle was real, and so was the red covered her face. Finally, she let out a groan. "Fine. You've got a deal, but if you share it or talk about it with anyone-"
"Hey, my lips are sealed, Inquisitor." The grin returned to Varric. "But are you sure I can't share it with Hawke? I swear, it would only be her, too!"
"No! I can't look like a nerd in front of Hawke, too!"
"It would brighten her day in Weisshaupt! Please?" Varric made the most pathetic puppy-eyes at Dawn, and soon she caved, groaning loudly.
"You're lucky I like you, Varric. But no one else, I swear. I'll...do something to you!"
"Oh, no! Not something!" He shook the Inquisitor's hand. "You're good, Inquisitor. Also, might I remind you, if you're still mad, that your friend lost the bet, too? She's not the Knight-Captain. That means she owes me fanfiction. I intend to send her a letter demanding it."
"Since when do you care so much about this bet?"
"Since both of you lost and I get all of this fanfiction! This works out excellently for me!" Varric opened up the fanfiction again. "I need to finish reading this first, though. I'm hooked."
Dawn sighed loudly, which Varric did not heed or acknowledge. She turned the door next to the fireplace, deciding to take the long way around to the tavern. The mage didn't even have a chance to put her hand on the doorknob before it opened for her, and Dorian was waiting on the other side, arms crossed as the door swung open, beaming at her.
"I want a copy." he stated firmly. She glared at him.
"No! Were you listening in?"
"Of course! Now, come along, Inquisitor," Dorian said, throwing an arm over her shoulder, "I'm your best friend. You can make an exception for your best friend. Let's discuss this over the piss-poor tavern coffee. I'm buying."
"Dorian-"
"Let's go! We need to discuss your fanfiction!" Dorian exclaimed, walking off with her.
"You don't even care about Hard in Hightown!" she protested.
"You wrote fanfiction! I have to read it." Dorian replied.
She grumbled and muttered in response as Dorian happily walked with her. Varric continued to read. He wryly smiled at the work, forever happy with the knowledge that his books were good enough to elicit fanfiction.