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“Could you tell me again why we are in the kitschiest junk shop of all of Thedas and what exactly you are hoping to find here?”
Varric turns around toward Quinn (Quinn “Ever call me by my full name, writer boy, and you won’t live to tell the tale”) after a cursory glance across the offered goods.
Quinn just looks at him, arms crossed and a single eyebrow raised, the answer apparently clear as day.
“Because you fucked up and didn’t tell Cass that her ex-boyfriend was in town and she had to find out on her own. And because you are finally going to tell her just how come you didn’t tell her you knew he was in town.” The last line is delivered with a pointed stare and Varric actually evades his friend’s gaze.
“And what exactly in this store do you think will allow me to win back her approval?” It’s sarcastic, not believing that they’ll find anything of value (in a way) here, but Quinn is already browsing the shelves for the perfect gift.
Ten minutes later Varric is holding a mug reading “Pwease forgive me” featuring a fluffy white bunny holding a pink heart in its paws, a second mug with a sunrise painted on it saying, in handwriting, “The sun rises again every morning – please give me another chance?” and a third one, the only one picked by himself and not Quinn. It reads “Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I’m sixty-four?”. The cheap price and plain white text on a red mug has Quinn guess that it is neither an official nor a licensed product of any kind.
For a moment, Quinn also wonders if Varric or Cassandra even know what the printed text originated from. But then Varric is humming the song on their way to checkout and Quinn only hopes that Cassandra wouldn’t actually kill Varric should he go with this mug.
Of course Varric goes with the mug in question instead of Quinn’s more apologetic-sounding suggestions. Quinn can’t say that it was all that surprising. But the sound of something shattering and loud yelling is not what either of them had expected Cassandra’s reaction to said mug to be.
Neither is – after Quinn had ran back toward the apartment door Varric had disappeared behind only moments before – finding Cassandra with an armful of Varric, kissing the writer full on the mouth. Quinn quietly closes the door and hopes they didn’t notice their friend’s presence.
A smile tugs on Quinn’s lips upon walking out of the apartment complex.
It’s almost a year later and the reception of Varric’s and Cassandra’s summer wedding. Upon Varric’s confession that he had never told the full story of how Cassandra came to forgive him and realize that he had feelings for her, Quinn can’t help it and asks for the full story – which Varric is all too happy to recount, full with details Quinn is sure didn’t happen.
“And then I told her: ‘Can you accept this apology right here as a sort of fix-it chapter, you know, for me messing up?’ And she just, sort of, planted one right on me.”
And there is Cassandra, stunning in her wedding outfit and beaming, wrapping her arm around Varric as she pulls him close.
“He also told me he was jealous of Tris, and I realized just how stupid I was. I could have been dating my favorite writer for months already!”
She is smiling, an expression mirrored on Varric’s face.
And to think they got here solely – okay, partially – because of a silly mug. Quinn smiled, as well.