#hinty

(a spur-of-the-moment DA:I flashfic, ft. @another-hinterlands-bear‘s Mara, my Val, and other sundry friends)

The turnout is far better than they’d expected, and Vivienne has to run out within the first hour to get more wine and champagne because they’re almost out. The studio is considerably more packed than any given class day, and the oscillating murmur of mingling voices rolls through the room like the gentle flow of water. The mood lighting--namely, several strings of semi-bright color-changing lights that Val and Bull had found at a party store--casts a warm glow over everything as Mara and Sera make the rounds. Sera is surprisingly tame, even if her outfit isn’t (strappy cutoff top, complete with boob window, and skintight pleather skirt aren’t necessarily what Val would call appropriate gallery showing attire, but he guesses she has an image to uphold). She shakes hands with everyone Mara introduces her to, and she actually seems quite charming for once. Mara, of course, is resplendent, and Val can’t help but admire her from where he stands over by the cheese table. 

“You know, kadan, if you keep staring, your eyes will dry out and fall right out of your head,” Bull chuckles, sidling up to his fiance. 

Val blinks and takes another swallow of his cider (he’d set aside a cooler in the back just for craft cider. Only he, Mara, and Bull are privy to this information). “I’m just really proud of her, you know? She’s come so far. She deserves this.”

Bull puts an arm around his waist and leans in to kiss his temple. “Yeah, I know. That dress though, huh? Kinda hard not to imagine what’s underneath it...”

Val’s cheeks heat and he swats at Bull’s hand, which is currently teasing at the line of his hipbone. “Behave,” he hisses. Even so, he feels his neck get hot, his stomach quivering with curiosity. Across the room, he can see the way Mara’s hair is pulled up in a lazy twist, a few stray locks framing her face. Her eyes sparkle in the light, and the way she smiles and laughs at whatever Dorian has just said makes Val’s chest tighten. Plus, her skirt hugs her waistline and the sweater she’s wearing accentuates the curve of her breasts and her legs just go on for miles and wow suddenly he feels very drunk. Bull’s lips are at his jaw now, and he’s breathless and--

“Bull!” he grunts in warning. 

Bull’s chuckle tickles Val’s neck before he straightens up. “Alright, kadan, I’ll save it for later if you insist.”

And just in time, too--Mara comes bounding over, Sera and Dorian in tow. She throws her arms around Val and pulls him into a tight hug. “Thank you,” she says. “I mean I knew you were coming, but still, thank you. What a turnout, huh? This is incredible!”

Val nods, smiling. “Yeah, really. Congratulations, Sera. If nobody else makes any offers, I may put one in for that thirteen-by-thirty, the one of the messed-up skyline? Let me know.”

Sera’s laugh bubbles out of her chest, and she nearly crushes his spine with her hug. “Thank you, bumblebee! I will keep you updated! So far, that sexy lady over there with the black hair in that sinful red dress has been eyeing the hot air balloon one, but she hasn’t said anything to me yet apart from greeting me when she got here.”

“Oh no,” Bull grunts. “Speaking of getting here--”

They all look over at the door, and Val’s breath seizes up in his chest. A familiar bald head towers above the crowd, sharp eyes looking around. A soft little squeak escapes Mara’s lips. 

“Who the fuck invited him?” Val growls, seeing red. He hands his cup to Bull and unbuttons his cuffs, not taking his eyes off the tall elf. 

“Not me,” Mara says, her voice small. 

“Val, leave it,” Bull warns, pressing the cup back into Val’s hand. 

Val sets his jaw and finishes the last of his drink, tossing the cup into the bin beside the table. He sets off at a firm march towards the door. “No, fuck that. He fucking knew if he showed his face again--”

“Val!” Bull nearly shouts, catching his shoulders in a firm grip. He lifts Val off the floor--Val can actually feel his toes dangling over the hardwood for a brief moment--and sets him back down, but by then, Solas has seen them and is pressing through the crowd. Bull fixes Val with a stern eye. “Val Trevelyan, do not hit him, I swear--”

“Pleasure seeing you here,” Solas says, and Val isn’t sure if he’s imagining how disgustingly smug that sounds. “Mara, it’s good to see you again.”

Mara flushes and offers her hand for a shake. When Solas turns his wrist, lifting her hand as if to kiss it, Val steps between them, breaking the contact. “What do you want, fuckface?” he grunts to Solas. “You made it clear you didn’t give a shit about Mara when you walked out. So what do you need, what’s the pressing issue now, that you can’t possibly fucking solve on your own?”

Solas presses his lips into a firm line. “I merely wanted to stop by and congratulate both Mara and Sera on a job well done. Am I not allowed to want to visit old friends?” 

“No, you’re not. Not when this is the first time we’ve fucking heard from you in months,” Val counters. “She’s moved on from you, pal. Get out of here.”

Solas looks past him to Mara. “Mara, could you please call off your dog and tell him that I just wanted to say hello?”

Mara shifts uncomfortably, and Val feels the overwhelming urge to just deck Solas right here and now, fuck what Bull says. Instead, he tempers his rage and purses his lips. “You know what, Solas? I’m really fucking sorry for you. I’m sorry that you’re too stupid to see the beautiful woman you had. I’m sorry that you’re too self-absorbed to realize that your life was really fucking good for having Mara in it.”

Solas looks a little dumbfounded and a lot angry, and his brow creases. “Look, Trevelyan, I didn’t come here for your verbal abuse--”

“You broke my best friend’s heart,” Val half-bellows, and he doesn’t give a shit if people are starting to stare, “and I’m definitely not doing this to make a point, but I want you to know that I love her as much as I love my fucking fiance, and fuck you for not seeing her for the incredible, beautiful, talented person she is!”

He turns to Mara, who is wide-eyed, a little bit awestruck, her lips parted just slightly, and in a moment, he puts his arm around her waist and leans in to kiss her. He half expects her to pull away, to push him off and yell at him.