don't want to be a footnote in someone else's happiness (dark horse modern AU)
It was, Fenris decided, progressively getting to smell worse in here. Specifically, vaguely of cigarette smoke, booze, and the scent of too many bodies packed into a small bar on a chilly fall afternoon.
Nonetheless, as he dealt the next round of cards (Hawke had made the executive decision to make Fenris deal after Isabela had been caught tucking cards into her pockets), he couldn't help but feel oddly contented, watching his friends (strange, he'd never had any like this) 'round the table, chatting, drinking...enjoying themselves. Even those of them he didn't too much like were a fixture in his life, a constant though he seemed to only ghost through their lives. Still...nights like these reminded him of why he stayed with the lot of them.
"C'mon, Blondie, I'm telling you," Varric was saying, "You really oughtta open up your practice again. You could be making bank, I'm telling you--"
"Varric, for the last time, that's not what I'm practicing medicine for." Anders replied, blond brows furrowing, though he didn't look unhappy. He shuffled his cards into a neat stack. "I'm fine working for free. Even if it's not technically...legal."
"Blondie...you are a saint. I worry for you."
Off to the side, Isabela let out a titter of laughter, at something funny someone said, an arm wrapped around Merrill, who was trying to crochet. Beside them, Bethany was arguing with her brother, and Garrett was trying not to snort out his beer.
Garrett Hawke. The reason they'd all come together in the first place. The man was a complete fool, but at the very least, a loveable one. There had been a few times when Fenris had thought there'd been a spark, but it had never amounted to much other than some sort of friends with benefits situation. Fenris didn't mind terribly. It worked...and he wasn't sure, even after all these years, if he could deal with any sort of serious relationship. Not after what he'd been through.
By now, of course, the first round of the game was beginning. It was just getting to Merrill's turn, when several people, most dressed in black, filed by their table. He wasn't the only one amongst the group who took notice-- there was a certain aura about them that drew attention. Instinctively, Fenris postured himself in a defensive position, listening carefully.