Honesty
"Why would he think that of my sister?" Carver asked, while putting on his shirt.
"Look, everything I told you is exactly what I told him, so I don't know why it was so easy to mess with him."
"Everything you said… You're not lying, right? Nothing happened between you and my sister." Carver's blue eyes were dead serious.
Anders shook his head. "Up until a month ago, your sister hated my guts. So no, trust me when I say that nothing happened. You can ask her yourself."
"Oh, she'll hear about this, don't you worry," Carver smirked. Anders sighed. Months of rowing upstream, gaining her trust, lost over a stupid joke. He hoped she'd just dismiss it, but he knew he could never predict how she would react.
"Well… That could have been worse," Varric said, breaking the ice. They were on their way back to the city.
"Why did you lie, Anders?" Leto asked from the back seat.
"I didn't lie, I just didn't correct you. And why would you think Lucía's a whore? Varric, would you ever think that?"
"Not in a million years, no."
"Does she look like one to you, Leto?"
"Don't change the subject. Even if you didn't lie, you still led me to believe that. What for?"
"For fuuuun," Anders moaned. "People have fun, Leto. It's a wonderful hobby."
"I see you haven't changed, in all these years," Leto grumbled.
"So?"
"So what?"
"Aren't you going to tell me what part of Lucía's appearance or behaviour made you think she was a sex worker?"
Leto went silent. He looked out of the window. Saying that he had remembered her words, that he had misinterpreted Anders's comments in that email he'd sent months before, that he'd seen her holding sex toys and dressed provocatively – how would Anders interpret that? There were two possible outcomes: either he'd make fun of him, or he'd tease him about some sort of obsession.
"The first time I saw her," Leto said slowly, "she said she would do anything to ensure that her family could enter Kirkwall. She actually implied she'd… you know. Do anything."
"Typical Luce," Varric said.
"And then you sent that picture of the amenta-"
"Her name's Bethany."
"Fine. Bethany. And she was there. She looked tired, and since the sister looked much, much better, I thought that perhaps, she had done it. Also your 'dot dot dot' confused me. Isn't that something you use when you imply you've having sex with someone?"
"Or when you just can't say anything about something at the moment." Anders said. "When I took that photo, Lucía was in full dislike mode, thanks to Varric here."
"Your cousin's not the only one who loves jokes," Varric chuckled. Leto snorted.
"And then I saw her coming out of your office, and you gave her money or something."
"For Varric's wedding gift."
"Why were you half-naked, then?"
"Because she'd spilled some soda on me. That's why I told you not to lie on the couch. I also said we got together because of work. And Carver and I were talking about work as well. If you remember, I work with their sister."
Leto opened his mouth to say something, only to shut it again.
"Fine. Explain the provocative dress and the sex toys in Bianca's apartment."
Varric halted the car with a screech. "The what?"
"She was carrying a box, I bumped into her and the box fell and out came the assortment of sex toys." Leto shuddered. "I really wanted to help her, especially since she'd obviously injured her foot, but I really didn't want to touch anything."
"Her foot?" Anders asked.
"Bianca has sex toys?" Varric said.
"She twisted her ankle or something. She had a minor limp. Must have been those high heels she was wearing. Also, the short dress was distracting."
They all fell silent.
"… I think I'm gonna drive you to your place and then visit my fiancée," Varric murmured.
"Actually, would you mind dropping us off at Lucía's place?"
"Anders…" Leto started saying.
"The hotel where you're staying is just twenty blocks away from their house. I just want to check if her foot's fine," Anders said calmly.
"They might still be at the strip club," Leto said.
Varric's car screeched again.
"Stop doing that!" Leto cried.
"You're gonna kill us, man!" Anders shouted.
"Bianca would never go to a place like that!" Varric blared.
"Well, Isabela would," Leto laughed. "And I know she'd been making arrangements."
After a while, Varric said, "Well, screw that. How about we go for pizza and beer?"
Leto watched his cousin and Varric, bantering, keeping each other on their toes to see who came up with the best punchline. He smiled. He remembered the time he'd lived with Anders, when they were teens. Leto's mother had had to take him in, after his father had beaten him up, sending him to hospital. For the first couple of days, Anders would remain in bed, looking out of the window – the saddest look in his eyes. But he'd warmed up to his newfound cousin pretty quickly. Leto had never had a lot of friends, and Anders had filled that void. Their points of view were similar; it was just in the way to do things that they differed. For a moment there, seeing his cousin and the other man joking, he felt a little envious. They got to hang out whenever they wanted, whereas he was so far away in Kirkwall. He liked them. They made him laugh. It almost felt like a real home. Maybe he'd ask to be transferred to Tantervale. He'd have to think about it.
After a couple of hours, Varric dropped Anders and Leto off at Lucía's home.
"She might still be out," Leto protested.
"With an injured foot? I don't think so. If anything, I know she'll want to go to work tomorrow, and she might end up hurting that foot even more."
"Ah, City Guard. She works with her body, I get it," Leto chuckled.
Anders rang the buzzer. Carver answered and let them in. As they climbed up the stairs, Leto said, "I can wait outside, you know?"
"Oh no, you're gonna face Carver and tell him you're sorry for what you thought of his sister. If I'm gonna handle the hell she's gonna give me, you've got to be a sport and deal with the brother."
The door had been left ajar. There was a soft light coming from the kitchen.
"Hello?" Anders said, entering the apartment followed by Leto. He heard some rustling and hushed tittering coming from the kitchen. Lucía showed up and leaned against the frame of the door suggestively. She was wearing the short dress Fenris had mentioned, leaving a good part of her thighs exposed.
"Hello, gorgeous. Fancy getting the special treatment tonight? If your friend wants to watch, it's double the money."
"And if you want me to join in," Carver said, bare-chested, circling his sister's waist with one arm, "it's gonna cost a bit more, but it's worth it." He winked at Anders and Leto, who were gaping at them. Brother and sister howled with laughter.
"Very funny," Anders smiled, shaking his head. He noticed her swollen ankle and frowned. "That's a nasty injury, Lucía." She shrugged and limped towards the couch. He sat next to her legs and pressed the ankle gently with his fingers. "Yeah, it's kinda sprained. I'll give you something to take, and in a few days it'll be better. The pills are strong, though. You'll have to take a few days off. And sorry, Carver, that means no dancing at the wedding for her." Carver sighed and nodded.
"Oh, Leto – you might wanna check on your girlfriend," Lucía told him. "She had a bad night and she's staying at Bianca's. She's nice. Though I had a hard time figuring out whether she was joking or jealous. Told me to stay away from you twice," she smiled and winked at Leto. He took a deep breath and was about to deny his relationship with Isabela when he noticed Anders grinning at him. "I will go now. Thank you," he smiled back at her. So Isabela had been talking about them to everybody. Great, just great, he thought bitterly.
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Title: A song by Billy Joel. I'm not sure why. I think I imagined Fenris singing this. The poor guy's getting a bit lost in Tantervale, and he's just realized how lonely he is. We'll see what comes out of this.
