Nature Boy
Garrett tried unsuccessfully to get Bianca started, there was obviously some ridiculous trick to getting her moving that he was not privy to. He leaned back in the driver’s seat and let his head fall back, looking up at Bianca’s felt ceiling and took slow deep breaths.
He closed his eyes and he tried not to let the events of the last hour or so bother him.
“What the fuck, man?” Garrett muttered to himself. He sat up and looked around The sky was still overcast, the car was cold, and he was generally uncomfortable. Varric was much shorter than Garrett but to avoid being a huge dick, he chose not to move the seat.
After a while Varric walked up to the driver’s side door and knocked twice on the window.
Garrett slid over and leaned on the passenger’s side window.
“Couldn’t get ‘er going, huh?” Varric said with a chuckle. “It’s okay, my baby is a very particular kind of woman.” Varric laughed to himself and began to attempt to start the car. Garrett sat silently, admiring the curb with trying to side step the depression that was building up behind his eyes.
After a few minutes and several strange noises from the engine it was clear Bianca was not going to start any time soon. Varric sighed an exasperated sigh and rested his head on the steering wheel and shrugged.
He looked over at Garrett sulking in the passenger seat “I don’t know man, sometimes people are dicks.” leaning back he ran his hands across the dash on either side of the steering wheel. “Either way Bianca is gonna need a rest, she’s not starting up. I’m going to call Anders to see if he can pick us up.”
“Fucking fantastic.” Garrett thought to himself. “Yeah okay, that’s just what I need today. More human interaction.” Garrett remarked sarcastically.
Varric pulled out his phone and dialed quickly, lifting his phone to his ear. “Hey man, we’re stuck at the Docks.----- My car won’t start.--------- It’s me, Daisy and Hawke, can you swing by and pick us up? I don’t want to take the bus.------ yeah, okay----- cool see you in a few. ----- yeah okay. -----yeah.---- that sounds awesome.----- okay see you in a bit, bye.” Varric flipped his phone shut and put it in his jacket pocket. “He’s on his way he’ll be here in about 20.”
“Fantastic,” Garrett thought to himself “Now I’m going to have to be social.”
Merrill flitted up and climbed into the back seat and kissed Varric’s cheek over his shoulder.
“All signed up for Saturday’s show! It’s New Year’s Eve and I go on at 9:45!”
Varric smiled and touched her hand on his neck. “That’s fantastic Daisy. I can’t wait.”
“Will you be coming too?” She asked looking over at Garrett. He smiled and without opening his eyes nodded twice.
Anders pulled up behind them and honked. “Alright, let’s go.” Varric said quickly.
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Anders’ apartment was the basement of an abandoned industrial building, it had exposed brick walls and a polished concrete floor. His apartment was large and open though sparsely furnished. There was a futon in the living room and a small love seat both gave the distinct impression they had been dumpster furniture. The only natural light fought to shine through small flat rectangular windows that lined the walls next to the ceiling which worked surprisingly well.
Anders sat annoyed in a large brown leather lay-z-boy the corner in a tight black turtleneck with indigo skinny jeans and black leather side zip boots. He sipped from a bright red mug with the logo of a bank on the side "Kirkwall First National" . Garrett sat on the love seat while Merrill and Varric cuddled up on the futon.
It seemed like every time he saw Anders he looked different.
It really did seem like two men inhabited the one body. “Who is this guy?” Garrett thought to himself not realizing he’d been staring until Anders winked at him.
Clearing his throat Garrett leaned back in his seat. Looking at the clouds through one of the windows just below the ceiling. “Varric, now that we are warm and comfortable enough to speak,” Anders began turning in his seat to face Varric. “What exactly happened to your car that caused it trouble?”
Varric furrowed his brow his expression one of annoyance. “Her name is Bianca, and.. I have no idea... I have to make a few calls and find out.” He pulled out his phone and flipped it open. “And the service in your dungeon sucks, I’ll be right back.” He stood to leave hand in hand with Merrill. “Fucking Seriously!?” Garrett thought to himself as the pair headed out the door. Allowing his body to rest and spread over the couch and his head to hang back.
Anders walked over to the small kitchenette in the corner and made himself another cup of the hot beverage he’d been drinking. “You can help yourself to anything in my home Hawke.” Anders said stirring raw sugar into the stolen mug.
“Anything you see in my home is available to you while you are my guest.” he smiled and walked over to the bar that separated the kitchenette from the rest of the space. Leaning his elbow on the corner he looked over at Garrett with a smile. “So, do you see anything you like?”
Garrett sat wordlessly watching while Anders walked over and sat beside him on the loveseat. “It’s good to have company.” He said leaning back and making himself comfortable. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had people over.”
Anders closed his eyes and smelled his coffee before taking a drink. Garrett looked around trying not to stare at the man that was now quite close to him. His eyes drifted across the brick walls to a series of photos that hung under a wall light in neat flat black frames. They were photos of a man with salt and pepper hair and a full beard and Anders in various locations.
In the first frame there was a small picture in the center of a white mat of two men facing each other in an embrace. The second was of their hands fingers intertwined. The next two images were of the men at a park laying on a blanket with an orange tabby cat. The final image was of a headstone with a large black feather placed on top.
The headstone bore the name of Karl Thekla, The epitaph read:
“May the colors be vibrant, and the music endless my love, “
“You Will Have Justice.”
The images were beautiful Garrett had to tear his gaze from the last one. His mind was already heavy from what happened earlier at The Docks, and he didn't want to seem nosy.
“Karl....” Anders said his voice barely a whisper. He repositioned himself and too a deep breath.
“He was my life, I tried to help him, but I got there too late.” Anders looked down into his coffee, furrowed his brow, and continued.
“We were young and we wanted to change the world. It was a few years ago now, and we were at a protest over the atrocities at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Riot police showed and started grabbing people. Karl got taken to a prison for questioning and he was beaten pretty bad. I went to get him...” he paused and looked at the ceiling "He wasn’t supposed to go that way.”
Anders stood and walked over to the bar in his kitchen. “He died in that prison, and as it turns out someone had called in that there was going to be a terror attack... and you know how things were those days.”
Garrett nodded remaining silent, “So, I got angry and well... I’ll leave the rest to rumor.” He made his way back to the kitchenette and poured himself another cup of coffee adding a shot of Jameson.
Looking at his cup he smiled weakly. “Suffice it to say, I like the rumors.” he punctuated the thought with a sip from his mug and a smile.
He walked back over and sat down next to Garrett, looked him in the eye and smiled a genuine grin. “I’m not a monster, I just don’t like when the real monsters get away with things.”
Garrett leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees returning the grin.
Anders’s eyes glowed when he spoke making Garrett blush.