Chapter Text
She laughed.
He would never forget their first encounter in the mountains outside of Haven, when he watched in awe as she systemically and masterfully struck down every enemy that came her way with the magic that so easily sprung from her fingertips. Still panting and catching her breath, Cassandra said something to her and she burst into laughter.
Her voice was melodic and joyful. The moment had struck her so much that she was bent over, trying to prevent tears from coming to her eyes.
Still giggling slightly, she looked over at him, a bright smile on her face.
He took this moment to quickly look her over. She had smooth, pale skin with a slight pink flush on her cheeks. She was thin and very short for a human, standing only about two inches taller than him. Her eyes were a pastel cool toned purple and her hair was an icy silver color and up in a loose bun on the top of her head. Her hair and eye colors were very unusual for humans, he thought, and he found them mesmerizing. He couldn’t wait to introduce himself.
"Varric Tethras. Rogue, storyteller, and occasionally, unwelcome tagalong." Varric said, winking at the Seeker, knowing it'd annoy her. That never got old for him.
"Lovely to meet you, Varric. Evangelea Trevelyan. Prisoner, unplanned apostate, and owner of a recently glowing left hand." She said back to him with a wink and in the exact same tone he had just used when he spoke.
She laughed again and his heart raced. He had almost never found himself attracted to humans, but he was immediately blown away by her beauty. As beautiful as she was however, her laughter was what shook him to his core. The choice to join the Inquisition was not a difficult one.
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As the weeks went by, Varric found himself trying to be near Evangelea as often as he could, even though she seemed to always find him first.
After a long day at the Storm Coast, night fell and Sera and The Iron Bull were already asleep in their tents. Varric found Evangelea sitting by herself, the waves crashing against the shore.
The scenery was breathtaking, the skies were full of stars and the waves reflected the moonlight. Despite the beauty of his surroundings, he found himself unable to look at anything but her. As he approached her, he saw flames flicker from her fingertips and she set the pile of wood in front of her ablaze. The way that she so easily manipulated the elements of nature without giving it a second thought never failed to amaze him. The warm glow of the fire danced across her face.
He sat down beside her.
"Evening."
She perked up slightly at the sound of his voice.
"Varric, hi. I'm sorry if I woke you." She said, a soft smile on her face. He found that he was losing himself watching the reflection of the flickering campfire in her eyes.
"Nah, you didn't wake me. I was up. What’s keeping you up so late tonight?"
Evangelea shrugged.
"I've never really slept well, never in my life. I always fall asleep late, wake up early, and I toss and turn a lot in my sleep. So much on my mind these days." She paused. "Plus, I'm really cold and I can't exactly set my tent on fire to stay warm, unfortunately." She chuckled.
Varric laughed and he saw the smile on her face grow.
"That would probably not be best, you're right." He said, still laughing.
He looked at her tenderly. She was truly magic in human form, he thought. He learned quickly after their meeting that she was an incredibly gifted fire mage and made short work of any enemies that came their way. But outside of combat, she was sweet, bubbly, and infinitely joyful. She was beautiful, complex, and deadly. His thoughts raced. How did he go through so many years of his life without knowing her? What was life like before she was near him? How could he make sure he spent the rest of his life by her side? These thoughts terrified him as much as they excited him. He had never felt this way before.
Evangelea shivered, putting her hands out to the fire. On each hand one of her fingers had a thin silver band on it. He wanted desperately to reach out and intertwine his fingers with hers.
Varric began to remove his heavy coat. I'm burning up in front of this damn fire right now anyway, he thought.
"Here." He said, motioning the coat to her.
"Oh no, you don't have to do that. But thank you." She responded.
"Please, take it for now. I'm not going to sit here and watch you shiver when I can do something about it."
She smiled at him, touched by the sweet gesture.
She took his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. A relieved sigh escaped her, and she tucked the coat around her tighter.
"Ahh, much better. Thank you."
Seeing Evangelea in his coat made Varric's heart pound in his chest. Seeing her small self in his large wide jacket was both amusing and endlessly endearing, and seeing her comfortable and warm pleased him. He thought she was the most perfect thing he had ever laid eyes on.
They sat in silence for a while, staring at the waves as they crashed and feeling the soft mist on their faces. They chatted idly on and off, enjoying each other’s company.
After some time, although the last thing he wanted to do was leave her side, he knew they had an early morning ahead and exhaustion ached through this body. He stood up and stretched his arms behind his back.
"Well, I'm going to head in for the night. Is there anything you need?"
She looked up at him. She had a smile on her face, but her bright eyes were now tinged with sadness.
"No, thank you. I'm fine." She began to take off his coat.
"No no, keep it," he said suddenly. "I won't need it tonight anyway."
She nodded at him and smiled, putting the coat back on and wrapping it around herself tightly once again.
"Goodnight Varric." She said softly. "Sweet dreams."
He smiled at her. No one had ever told him to have sweet dreams before.
In a life filled with every sort of trouble and malady imaginable, every day she found a new way to bring a sweetness to the world he never thought possible.
"Sweet dreams." He said.
Varric had fallen asleep, but nature's call had woken him up not long after. He stepped out of his tent and saw Evangelea asleep on the ground next to the campfire, his coat still wrapped around her.
He was happy to see her resting, but concern fell over him as well. He didn't like her sleeping on the cold, wet ground when her tent and a soft place to sleep were just steps away. She was in a deep sleep, twitching slightly every once in a while. He wondered what she was dreaming about. He didn't want to wake her, as she had make it clear that sleep did not come easy to her. Despite his nerves, he decided to reach down and scoop her up. When he picked her up, she unconsciously curled up in his arms and rested her head on his chest. He marveled in his sudden closeness to her. He carefully entered her tent and laid her down gently on her cot, covering her with a blanket and then his coat. He saw a book on the small table inside.
The Tale of the Champion by Varric Tethras.
His heart swelled.
The next morning, Varric was the last to wake up. It was still very early and the rest of the crew was eating breakfast near the campfire. Sera and Iron Bull were having a loud conversation about which one of Josephine's assistants was the best looking while they chomped away at their meals.
Evangelea saw Varric emerging from his tent and immediately started walking towards him. She approached him, a big, playful grin on her face.
"Good morning, Mr. Tethras."
"Morning. Did you sleep well?"
"I had the best night of sleep I've had in, well, I can't even remember how long. I seem to recall falling asleep near the fire but I somehow woke up in my tent this morning. I wonder how that happened?”
Varric was a bundle of nerves, electricity firing through him as he watched her speak.
"Ha, well..." He chuckled.
She handed him back his coat, he took it quickly in an attempt to cover that his hands were slightly shaking. He'd never felt nerves overtake him like this before, and all she'd done was smile at him.
"Thank you for this, and for moving me inside last night. You're so sweet."
She reached over and quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek, then she immediately turned away from him and walked away faster than he had time to react, a big smile on her face.
He stood dumbfounded, unable to move from where he stood. All the blood had moved into his face and it was now bright red. He slowly reached up and touched his cheek where she had just kissed it. The coat he now held in his hand smelled like her and that only added to the sensory overload he was experiencing.
From across the camp he saw the Iron Bull and Sera staring at him.
Sera was laughing and making kissing faces, and The Iron Bull winked at him, giving him a thumbs up.
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A few days later, the scouting party had returned to Haven and Varric stood near a campfire, his mind buzzing.
"Freezing out here, huh?"
Varric turned around and there she was, smiling away. She was covered in several layers of fur coats, which looked adorably silly on her small frame. The sight brought a smile to his face.
She held up her hand and rubbed her fingers together, a small but beautifully detailed snowflake appearing in her palm.
"It's so amazing to me when I look at the piles of snow everywhere just how many individual snowflakes there are that make all those piles up. Each one is unique. It's really beautiful." She looked lovingly out at the distance, wonder in her eyes.
There was a spirit in her that he found so magnetic and refreshing. So many of his thoughts were consumed by darkness and uncertainty and any time she was near it was like a breath of fresh air.
Varric had been so caught up in staring at her that he had forgotten to say anything. She nudged his arm with her elbow.
"Cat got your tongue, Varric?" She teased.
"Oh, I-," Varric cleared his throat loudly. "I guess I'd never thought about it that way. I like hearing your take on the world. It's definitely not like anything I've ever heard before, and I’ve heard a lot."
"Is that a good thing?" She said, a slight pout on her lips.
"It's a very good thing." He said with a soft smile.
She laughed. His heart sang.