Chapter Text
"fuuuuuuuuuck"
"You know, I should really write this down and send it to Vicky, she would love the drama." Varric said, holding his side after the pain of his wound abruptly stopped his laughing fit.
"Fantastico that you find this situation so utterly hilarious, but I'd really appreciate you don't tell the Divine about my non-existent, messy love life!" Rook groaned into the pillow he pressed to his face, in an effort to hide his absolutely crimson blush that spread over his whole visage, up to the tips of his ears.
Maybe it was a bad idea to vent to the dwarf, but after weeks of having to suffer in silence, he couldn't keep it in. Not after he noticed how hard he fell for Bell, while he listened to her rant about the intricacies and unbelievably frustrating bugs of the Nadas Dirthalen. Not after he started feeling like he and Taash understood eachother like nobody else could. Not after he caught himself thinking about how amazing of a father Davrin would be (and the implications of that train of thought). Not after he finally accepted that this crush on Lace he developed way back, when he joined the team, isn't going to go anywhere. Not after he caught himself staring at Emmrich when he thought the professor wasn't looking, thinking about what those beautiful, delicate hands might be capable of. Not after he still cries himslef to sleep, wishing he could have saved Minrathous too, not only for the sake of its populus, but also to maybe see a hint of the detective's smirk he missed so much. Not after there almost was a kiss with Lucanis. Almost. This sucked. A lot.
And Varric wasn't exactly helpful. Maybe he shouldn't have hoped for helpful advice when it comes to those matters. Varric was, after all, one the most well known smut authors of Thedas and a little bit of an ass, when there wasn't life-or-death on the line. Rook groaned again, letting the pillow slip into his lap, while pressing his fists to his eye sockets. This was so embarassing!
"If you're done laughing at me, I'd really like some advice." He said, glaring at his mentor, who was currently wiping a tear away.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, kid", Varric readjusted himself on his cot, "I'm just messing with you. If it were me, I'd just be open about it and talk to them. Get your ass up and get on with it, I need a minute, this took out a lot out of me. See ya later."
With that, he turned around, dismissing Rook without another word.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
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When he stormed out of the infirmary, Val was fuming, embarassed, more messed up than before. What the hell was Varric thinking???
"Just talk to them"
As if he didn't think of that beforehand?
Even while getting rid of that squad of Venatori on the roofs didn't calm down his rage. He was a tornado of blades and lightning.
Shocking, slashing, stabbing, ducking, shocking.
Of course talking is technically the best solution, but how the fuck was he supposed to do that??? Going face to face with everybody individually? And risking getting cut down one after another?
No way.
What about a meeting with everyone? Pulling out the tooth at once, without prolonging it by chipping away at it. But what if they ALL cut him down anyways and he couldn't look them in the eyes again? Stupid, stupid stupid.
"ROOK. BEHIND." Spite growled.
Val fade-stepped two feet behind his former location, grabbed the scythe wielding Venatori's jaw from behind, thrust his mageknife through the visor right into the attackers eye and twisted it.
"Thanks, bud" he yelled, while pulling the knife back out.
Fuck, Val, Focus. It's not going to help anybody, if you get taken down, because you worry about who's gonna take your pants down or not.
Shaking his head slightly, he looked around, taking in the situation. Lucanis and Spite were just finishing up the Mage, while Neve approached them, waiting until she could start looking for orders.
Rook could see that she was having a pain episode and tried not to let anybody know. He knew that he is no better, but still, she didn't need to go that far over her limits than necessary. With a sigh he wiped off his blade before sheathing it and approached her.
"I don't know about you," he offered his arm, "but I really think we earned a warm, comfortable bath today, don't you think?"
You could have told me that today wasn't a good day. He hoped his body language carried his thoughts.
With an exhausted smirk, she took his elbow and adjusted her weight off of her prostethic leg. Through the thick metallic odor of coagulating blood he could smell the earthy, pungent aroma of tobacco, mixed with a slight hint of peppermint. The mixture released butterflies in his stomach and made the tips of his ears blush. There it was, a glimpse of her smile...
Neve sighed. "I guess, I was hoping to keep it off until tomorrow, when we don't have a wagon-load of things to do." She looked at Val, with a combination of thankfulness, pain and.. shame?
Rook put his other hand reassuringly over Neve's arm hooked in his own. They both looked towards Lucanis browsing the dead mage's personal belongings, without any luck.
The Crow frowned, face cold and sharp, his coffee-brown eyes black as ink, as he ruffled through the robes of his latest kill. That sharpness, the cold rage and frustration hiding behind those furrowed brows. A deep breath, a clap on his thighs and Lucanis was up again.
"Nothing we haven't already found before." not hiding his dismay anymore, the left corner of his mouth slid down. Suddenly Lucanis' head snapped to the side. Spite.
Neve and Valentino waited a moment to let the demon say his piece.
"Don't you dare.."
Okay sounded like Spite was thinking about doing some mischief. The amused humming the demon generated through the weave of magical energy, put a smile on Rook's Face.
Was Lucanis blushing? It was probably just the light.
"Let's update Teia and get back to the Lighthouse."
Maybe he could talk to HER later. She'd probably not tell Viago, right?