This is a (very, very, very belated) Fenhawke Secret Santa gift for @fenrisno!
First of all, LET ME TELL YOU HOW INCREDIBLY SORRY I AM THAT THIS IS SO AWFULLY LATE
MY REGRET KNOWS NO BOUNDS AND I’M GROVELLING AT YOUR FEET WITHOUT ANY HOPE FOR FORGIVENESS
But, uh. A surprise gift you probably didn’t expect? I hope that it at least would bring a smile to your lips! (Also if it’s any consolation, I don’t think I’ve ever got mine - it’s not an excuse or complaint, god forbid, I totally deserve it and just wanted to say that the justice has been served, heh)
Anywho. Here goes!
Where Hawke owns a video games store, Fenris has a crush, and Varric is being a voice of reason, as per usual.
Video games store.
Fenris stared at the door as if it had somehow personally affronted him; it wasn’t the case, of course, but…
He was in front of a video games store.
From what he could see, it was mostly empty by now – which wasn’t exactly surprising, perhaps, as it was less than half an hour before its closing time.
It was both fortunate and not so much for him; he didn’t enjoy the thought of anyone watching him fumble across the store, but at the same time, it meant there was no one distracting the staff from the only late customer.
And Fenris wasn’t ready for that, either. Besides, it was late, and they probably only wanted to go home, not deal with him; getting on the staff’s bad side was the last thing he wanted, and so he convinced himself that it was a bad idea--
“Well, are you going in or not?”
Fenris jerked in surprise, startled by the voice; the source of the sound, a short smirking man, grinned and cocked an eyebrow at him.
“I…” Fenris hesitated. He didn’t have an excuse to be standing there – it was only him, and he knew better than anyone just how pathetic he was, pining over a handsome man behind the counter of a freaking video games store that he didn’t even know, so yeah. There was no excuse at the ready to give, and he tried very hard not to panic. It didn’t matter what some stranger thought of him, after all.
So he opted for a nasty glare instead, which only seemed to amuse the stranger; just as he turned to leave, though, the door burst open in front of them, revealing—
The very reason Fenris was standing here, actually, in the form of another man he had only seen glimpses of from behind the glass door, either crouched over the counter or talking to customers animatedly.
“Varric!” The man beamed at the stranger that had been pestering Fenris moments ago, and then switched his attention to Fenris, curious, but no less friendly. “Oh, you brought a friend?”
Varric arched an eyebrow, and Fenris could feel his face heating up, but before either of them could say anything, there was a large hand in his face, and the warm smile was now directed at him.
“I’m Hawke,” the man said, and after a moment of hesitation Fenris awkwardly accepted a handshake, marveling at how warm the touch was against his chilly hand.
He felt almost dizzy with the embarrassment; sure, he meant to enter the store and speak to the man – Hawke – but not like this, not caught staring from the street like an idiot he was and mistaken for an acquaintance of some stranger that was obviously Hawke’s friend or whatever.
If the earth could swallow him whole at the very moment, Fenris would’ve been very grateful.
“I’m… Fenris,” he muttered, yanking his hand back as soon as Hawke let go. “But I’m afraid it’s…”
“Hey, let’s get inside, shall we? Let me just – I have to finish a couple of things before closing up and send Carver home, and then we’re ready to start!”
He rushed to the back of the store, but not before beaming at Fenris, the smile so genuine it made his knees weak. Varric bumped his side, chuckling, and ushered him inside, ignoring the feeble protests.
“Hawke’s got a couple of newest games today, and when that happens, we usually stay to try them – y’know, see if they’re any good to know what to tell people to make them actually buy it,” he explained, smirking at Fenris. It was becoming really unnerving, and he scowled. “Now, no need to be so grumpy, it’s fun, you’ll see – besides, you get to test the new games for free, how’s that?”
“Terrific,” Fenris commented drily. “But I really think I should--”
“Nonsense,” Varric huffed, now actively tugging him between the rows of racks filled with disk boxes. “You’re already here, and the more the merrier – besides, Hawke already invited you in; you don’t want to see the puppy eyes he’d make if you leave, trust me.”
“Do you invite unsuspecting customers to such… events often, then?” he frowned, trying to hide the fact that he was extremely uncomfortable and lost. The thing was, Fenris knew next to nothing about games – the most complex thing he ever played probably being Tetris, and while he kind of managed to gather enough courage to visit the store as a regular customer, he really doubted that staying for a game night was a good idea.
Actually, even getting the attention of the man behind the counter – Hawke – was starting to look like a bad idea now. The man had to love what he was doing if he worked here – or was he the owner of the place? – and Fenris didn’t know shit about it; it was bound to be a disappointment.
“You’re not just an unsuspecting customer – you’re my friend now, or haven’t you heard Hawke?” Varric was now laughing at him, which was just great, and Fenris groaned, turning to leave. “No, hey, wait – listen, you can leave at any moment if you don’t like it, but give it a try first, okay?”
“You don’t even know me,” Fenris grumbled, exasperated. “Why are you so determined to make me stay?”
“Because it’s far too funny to watch you squirm,” Varric smirked, but just as Fenris bristled, he patted his arm. “Also because you were clearly looking for a reason to come in; well, I’m giving you one. I just want to see what will happen next,” he added, waving to Hawke, who emerged from a room in the back of the store with another staff member in tow.
“Try not to leave too much mess behind,” the man muttered, saluting Varric and eyeing Fenris with a frown.
“You always say that,” Hawke rolled his eyes, slapping the younger man’s shoulder.
“And you always leave a mess,” the latter gave him a dirty look, adjusting the strap of his backpack, and finally left with a sigh and a small wave. Hawke trotted after him, locking the door and turning the sign to say ‘closed’ to the street, and headed back to them with a wide grin on his face.
“So! How about we grab something to drink first and make proper introductions, then start with the games?”
“On it,” Varric cheered, immediately taking route to the mini fridge Fenris hadn’t noticed before, effectively leaving him alone (well, more or less) with Hawke.
It was, Fenris supposed, now or never. Perhaps it would cheat him out of any chances with the man, because after this whole mess of a situation there was no way he’d come here again, but it was better than pretending to be someone he was not for the whole night and tolerate Varric’s teasing on top of that.
“Speaking of introductions,” he started, rubbing at his neck, “it’s, uh. A mistake. I’m really not supposed to be here.”
Hawke frowned, turning his head to shoot Varric a look over his shoulder.
“You mean, Varric roped you into coming? Shit, I told him to stop doing it – it’s alright, you don’t have to stay if you need to go--”
“No, it’s not –- that,” Fenris shifted on his feet and rushed to explain, seeing as Varric was coming back, a pack of beer in his hands. “I don’t even know him, I’m just… A customer. Who was there at a very wrong time, it would seem,” he added under his breath, glaring a little at the shorter man, if only to avoid looking at Hawke.
“Oh,” Hawke said, a hint of surprise in his voice. “Well… alright?”
“Sorry,” Fenris muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. Varric looked at them both curiously and then shrugged, bringing the beer to a soft-looking couch in a corner instead; Fenris huffed and finally chanced a glance at Hawke. “I’ll just… go, now.”
“Ah… okay,” it had to be his wishful thinking, but Hawke almost sounded disappointed as he run his fingers through his hair, managing an awkward smile. He nodded and walked to the door. “I understand, um, sorry for the inconvenience, I assure you, we didn’t mean to lock you up here,” he chuckled, and then suddenly paused, looking at Fenris with wide eyes. “Oh, shit, wait – you wanted to purchase something, didn’t you? And I just assumed you were joining us and closed up right on you--”
Fenris blinked confusedly, not sure how to react. Hawke was fidgeting and babbling, and he had no idea what to do now; honestly, the whole situation was getting ridiculous. Of all the things he could’ve expected the store owner to do, apologizing for dragging him into a seemingly very private friendly affair was… far from the top of the list.
“Stop blabbering, Hawke,” Varric called out, successfully shutting the man up. Hawke looked at him for a brief moment and then turned back to Fenris, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m pretty sure Broody here thinks he’s the one causing an inconvenience.”
Raising an eyebrow at the nickname, Fenris slowly nodded, deciding that the best course of action right now was probably just going with the flow.
“Actually,” he said drily, “it’s true. I didn’t mean to intrude, and that’s kind of exactly what I’m doing right now, it would seem.”
“What? No, absolutely not!” Hawke exclaimed, looking at them both incredously. “If that’s the only reason why you wanted to leave, you should totally stay. The more the merrier, right?” he looked at Fenris hopefully, and then lowered his eyes. “Unless, um. You had other reasons, of course.”
There was a warm feeling spreading in his chest, and Fenris couldn’t help but smile at the big man; he was still anxious, but less so, and being here no longer felt as awkward now that he was more or less invited and properly introduced, the misunderstanding cleared up, at least.
It didn’t make him less of a stranger to these people, but… they both seemed nice, despite Varric’s antics and Hawke’s eagerness; besides, he didn’t have many friends (or any, if he was honest with himself), and spending all of his evenings alone, with only his computer to keep him company, was getting old.
He could use one night with strangers, he decided. Whether or not it killed his chances with Hawke was yet to be seen, but so far it was going better than Fenris expected; and spending a whole night of playing videogames was certainly a better way to get to know each other than asking stupid questions about—
Which brought him right back to the original problem. The warm feeling gone, Fenris felt the anxiety peak again.
He had it planned before, though; perhaps he could still deal with it.
“No, I… I’d love to stay,” he admitted awkwardly, feeling his lips twitch again as Hawke beamed at him and Varric barked a short laugh at them. “But I don’t know anything about videogames,” he finished quickly, lowering his head.
If he expected an instant show of disappointment or accusation or anything of a kind, well, he was proven wrong.
“So what?” Hawke shrugged carelessly, walking back to the cozy corner, slapping Fenris on the shoulder – again, he felt warmth flush over him – and nudging him along. “Man, if you wanted to give it a try, you came to the right place – and at the right time, too,” he winked, plopping down onto the couch beside Varric and patting the remaining space to his left. “I mean, I would’ve given you the best advice there is anyway, but this way you get to try it first-hand and decide whether you like it or not.”
Yeah, totally not what Fenris expected. In retrospect, it might have been foolish to honestly think that they’d kick him out of the store for not being an experienced gamer or at the very least look down at him; on the other hand, well, he was used to always expecting the worst, and being pleasantly surprised was much better than being caught unaware.
“Okay,” he gingerly sat down and accepted a can of beer and a controller, which he turned over in his hands curiously. “I have to admit, this sounds… interesting.”
And it did; he never expected to find himself so excited at the prospect of playing a game, yet here he was. He smiled, stroking the sleek plastic. Varric chuckled and toasted him with his own beer while Hawke busied himself with putting the game on.
“Out of curiosity,” Hawke looked at him over his shoulder, “did you have anything specific in mind when you came here? Like, genres or something?”
Fenris huffed, thinking that yes, he did have something – someone – specific in mind, even if he felt slightly ridiculous for having such a stupid crush on a random person when he was in his late twenties.
He didn’t say it, although he was getting a feeling that with Hawke it just might’ve worked.
“I actually wasn’t planning on purchasing anything,” he said, staring at the controller in his hands. “I… work in a magazine. And I was thinking of writing an article on videogames or something – hoped you could… help.”
“A journalist, huh?” Varric mused, but didn’t get to add anything more as Hawke interrupted him, suddenly bursting with excitement.
“Hey, that’s awesome! How did you even consider passing such an opportunity, then? You could write about your own experience – and being a novice, too! That’s just great, you know?”
“I don’t,” he shook his head with a small smile. “I do believe that it is, in fact, better for a proper review to have some experience in the matter. I’d like to be able to compare the game I’m writing on with others.”
“No, but still,” Hawke insisted, joining them on the couch again, turning on the TV and switching to the game’s starting screen. “It must be an interesting perspective. It’s harder for someone who’s been playing games for years to imagine what would a novice feel – how difficult the controls are, how thought-out the world is…”
“Now I don’t say this often,” Varric chimed in, grinning. “But he’s actually right, you know.”
“Hey!”
“Anyway,” he chuckled, interrupting Hawke’s affronted huffing, “you could always decide later; for now the most important part is to enjoy the game. And then, who knows,” he gave Fenris a funny look, eyes briefly focusing on Hawke before returning to him with a hint of something Fenris couldn’t quite put a name on, “maybe you’ll end up with your own column on games.”
“We could totally arrange such nights more often,” Hawke eagerly picked up on the thought, oblivious to Varric’s glances. “Not only with new games, but also classics – just tell me what you think later, we might decide on which ones are the must…”
Varric grinned at him smugly, as if he was proving a point – which point, Fenris wasn’t sure yet; it was all moving too fast, he wasn’t used to getting along with anyone so soon into acquaintance, but he couldn’t find it in himself to protest.
As the game started, he allowed himself to drop all the thoughts of how weird and awkward it all was and simply enjoy, just as Varric told him to.
Cheesy as it was, he had a feeling that it wasn’t just the start of the game, but a beginning of something else – and hopefully, something good.
(He did end up getting his own column as the games slowly, but inevitably found their way into his life – along with Hawke, but that is an entirely different story.)
fenrisno said: THATS SO EXCITINGGGGG AHHH Riiiight~? I dunno if pictures of that will happen before Halloween itself though because I have the dress and stuff at my place
