Summary: It's Poker Night at Garrett's place! And Garrett tells Andy how he feels.


Chapter 8 - Poker Night

"So when are you going to tell him how you feel?"

Bethany has cornered Garrett in his bedroom, hands on her hips practically hissing the words at him. He's ever so grateful for the distance between his room and the dining room, as well as the general drunken rowdiness of his friends on Poker Night.

"I don't know Beth! What am I supposed to say to him? He's in love with Fenris not me!" Garrett is beyond exasperated; his sister has been after him to confess his feelings to Andy since she found out about him the night of his birthday.

She hits him, hard enough on his arm that it actually makes Garrett wince. "Geez that hurt!"

"Good! Now smarten up and deal with this already instead of moping around like a girl!" Now she's wagging a finger at him and using a tone of voice that all mothers (though not his mother) must use when conveying their deep, bone crushing disappointment in their gay sons' messed up love lives.

"Garrett you have to tell him how you feel! Otherwise you're always going to wonder! And you'll regret not saying something and it'll become this thing that will always be there between you and Fenris! Stop sticking your head in the sand and be a man!"

Why do all the women in his family have to make so much sense?

At Varric's insistence, Andy had agreed to come to the next Poker Night, the week after the birthday party. Fenris conveniently has to work and Garrett would suspect intervention by his friend the police captain if Aveline wasn't the most honest and principled person he knew, and not prone to playing games.

The same cannot be said of his other friends.

They're all still practically giddy with excitement from the revelation that Anders is Garrett's Andy – and have spent the entire evening being appallingly obvious with their jokes and innuendos, trying to break Garrett out of his self-imposed stalemate. Their methods are varied and sort of entertaining and Andy certainly seems to be amused with their antics.

Isabela spends most of the night either flirting with Andy directly (which drives Garrett a little crazy) or loudly musing on the incredible hotness of a possible threesome between her very attractive male friends. Garrett and Fenris are dating already, she says, and Andy and Fenris are close so it's not really that much of a stretch right? (Subtle is not Isabela's strong suit).

Merrill's gaze darts back and forth between Garrett and Andy all night, as if she expects them to spontaneously combust with lust and throw each other down on top of the poker chips. Her attention pays off, since she's watching them like a hawk, and she sighs audibly every time Garrett glances over at Andy as though she's seeing an epic love story unfold right before her eyes.

Varric presses Andy for stories about his life – his relationship with Fenris, his career & his studies, his extensive travel – no stone is left unturned as he devours the tidbits that Andy shares. Garrett does admit to being fascinated by the information that's revealed over the course of the evening; that Andy left to go to Harvard while Fenris stayed close to home and attended Columbia, that he's a pediatric surgeon, that Andy has taken many assignments overseas since he graduated from medical school, that his recent stint with Doctors Without Borders was not his first. It paints a pretty clear picture to Garrett of what has already been hinted - that whatever the relationship the two friends had in the past, Andy spent much of it leaving Fenris behind.

Don's contribution to egging Garrett on is a bit more subtle but probably the most effective. He asks Andy about Cullen, a fellow cop working with Don and Fenris at the precinct. Fenris introduced the two at the tail end of the birthday party, only for the handsome redhead to turn around and promptly ask Andy out on a date. Garrett resisted the urge to kick him out of the mansion and noted that Fenris hadn't looked much happier.

Aveline and Carver mostly stay out of the fray, the former mainly looking amused at the various scenes playing out before her; the latter throwing dirty looks at Garrett for turning Poker Night into some sort of dating reality show.

Bethany continued alternating between cheerleader and evil mastermind, spending most of the evening making sly observations about how well Garrett and Andy got along and how much they had in common. Then she capped off the evening by sending everyone home ahead of her and insisted that Garrett drive Andy home because she had an early shift at the hospital.

To his credit, Andy seemed mostly amused and not offended at the constant attention and the keen interest in his personal life. He smiled broadly, laughed loosely and gazed warmly at Garrett throughout the night. Enough that Garrett decided to take the opportunity given and really talk to him.

"I'm sorry about tonight. It can be a lot to take in when we're all together."

Andy chuckles, in that soft, open way that makes Garrett's stomach flutter, "I like them Garrett. They're a lot of fun and you all seem to really care about each other."

They settle onto the couch together, and Garrett pours Andy a glass of the scotch he saves for special occasions. "You remembered that I like scotch." Andy is giving him a look that Garrett would interpret as "you are so getting laid" if Andy were his boyfriend.

Garrett decides to take Beth's advice and tell Andy how he feels. He tries to think of something charming or witty, something Andy would say in this kind of situation. Instead he just blurts out, "I remember everything."

He knows he's not imagining the hungry look that Andy gives him in response and starts to lean in to kiss him, before he remembers that he has a boyfriend. Who is best friends with Andy. Who would probably not be happy if Garrett kissed another man, even one Fenris himself has kissed often and probably very thoroughly.

Andy looks away and then clears his throat. "So...your friends know about us then."

"What?" Okay it's really not that surprising because they've all been so bloody obvious.

The blond laughs, "Come on Garrett. I thought your sister and Merrill and Isabela were going to tackle us and force us to have sex right there on the dining room table." He gives Garrett an indecipherable look at his next question. "Does Fen know?"

Garrett shakes his head, "No but he will. I'm going to tell him about us. I want to tell him."

Andy looks a bit uncomfortable, "It's your choice Garrett. But I'm sure it'll be fine. You guys weren't dating at the time and it happened quite a while ago so I'm sure it won't be..."

"I looked for you."

Now it's Andy's turn to sound surprised, "What?"

He grabs Andy's hands and looks him straight in the eye, choosing to just get it all out before he loses his nerve. "I regretted letting you go the moment you walked out the door. I called all my friends and told them about you and they tried to help me find you. We tried for months, I almost called everyone on Aveline and Don's guest list." Andy's eyes are blown wide open as Garrett continues, "I never stopped hoping I would see you again."

Garrett holds his breath as he waits for Andy's response. The tension is palpable, Andy looking a bit dazed at Garrett's earnest outpouring of emotion. He lifts his hand to stroke Garrett's cheek, running his long fingers through his beard, "I almost didn't leave Garrett. I was so close to just turning around and coming back to see you." He smiles, wistful and a little sad, "I thought about you the whole time I was in Africa, wondering what might have been if I'd stayed."

"I think I love you." Okay, he hadn't really meant to say that out loud but he's also not sorry now that it's out in the open.

And then Andy leans forward and pulls Garrett towards him, pressing their foreheads together and whispers, "I think I love you too."

The words hit Garrett like a bolt of lightning and he surges forward, pressing his lips to Andy's. Their bodies fall together and fit like two puzzle pieces slotting into place and Garrett can't help but be reminded of the 48 hours they spent together in this very place, over 19 months ago.

They pull apart at the same time, mouths parted and panting slightly, and for a moment Garrett considers throwing caution to the wind and just making love to this man who he's been dreaming about for so long. There's a part of him though that just can't (won't) do it because he loves Fenris and it would be a double betrayal to have his boyfriend sleep with his best friend behind his back.

It seems Andy is thinking the same thing. "Garrett, you and Fen." And he pulls away from Garrett's embrace.

"Yes, me and Fenris."

The two men sit in silence for a while, taking up their drinks and glancing at each other occasionally. Finally Andy speaks, "I'd like us to be friends Garrett. I think for Fenris' sake we should try."

I don't want to be friends. I want you. "Okay. Friends. I'd like that."

After their mutual agreement is established they settle back with their drinks and proceed to catch up on each other's lives. They end up talking and reminiscing until the early hours, their bodies slowly shifting closer together as they share laughs and tell each other stories. By the time their conversation begins to wind down, Andy is sitting propped up against the other man with his legs stretched out on the couch and Garrett's arms are wrapped around him, face pressed into his hair.

Garrett doesn't really remember falling asleep, but he does later recall one of the last stray thoughts that float through his mind before losing consciousness.

Feels like coming home.