103. âIâm so proud of youâ kiss for Varric/Marigold.
<3 Thank you for the prompt! This takes place about a year into their relationship, Iâd say. It involves the fact that Marigold is good with numbers, which may come into play during a sequel some day.Â
âWhere are you taking me?â Marigold asked of Varric again,still blindfolded. The first time sheâd asked, after Varric said he had asurprise and insisted she cover her eyes, she had giggled. But itâs been awhile, now, walking without talking and feeling like she was going to walk intoa wall any second, despite Varricâs careful guiding hands in hers. It wasgrowing bothersome.
âAlmost there, Sweetheartâ he said, voice apologetic. âIshould have waited untilâthereâre some steps here, careful nowâŚâ
She felt the distinct feeling of passing from outdoors intoa building, and the light piercing the fabric over her eyes was not as bright.For a brief moment she wondered if Varric had dragged her to the chapel, nolonger willing to wait to be married⌠But no, she would have heard chanting onthe way in, and she couldnât smell any incense. Instead she smelled wax, freshcut wood, new parchment and ink.
He whisked off her blindfold. She blinked, completelydisoriented. They were still in Kirkwall, of course, the walk hadnât truly beenthat long⌠But she couldnât think of a place that looked like this. There werenâtmany windows, and the carpets were plain, and the furniture was all of simply,sturdy make. Heavy, tooâprimarily tables, chairs, and shelves, so many shelvesâŚAnd then were covered in books!
She spun around, taking them all in, still trying to piecetogether where she was. A library, obviously, but the dozen or so nobles whosenames flashed through her mind were all quickly ruled out; she already knewwhat their home looked like, or that they did not have the funds, or detestedliterature, or a dozen other reasons.
She turned to Varric. âSo⌠What do you think?â he asked. Hewas smiling hopefully, waiting for her to figure it out on her own.
A slow smile overtook her at his playfulness, but she shookher head, still not sure what he wanted her to find here. But he was waitingexpectantly for her to ask, now, and she was feeling a bit stubborn today. Headtwisting as she went, looking for some hint she wasnât understanding, she madeher way right out the door she thought theyâd entered from. Varric called andchased after her.
She felt another wave of disorientation when she saw theother building on this streetâshe knew this street, right between Hightown andLowtown; there was no estate here! She spun, as read the sign above the door towhat should have been a warehouse.
Her jaw was still dropped when Varric caught up to her. Â âItâs a library. A public library,â she told him dumbly.
âWhatâhow? Thereâs no way the council would agree to this!â
âIt took some doing, I admit.â
She tried at him, but couldnât tear her eyes away. âHow?âshe asked again.
âWell, you helped a great deal, with the location and thefunding.â
âThis is the location I picked for the Inquiâfor Keriaâs âmeetingsâ.â
âA large place with lots of traffic, away from Carta and Guildand Chantry territory, easily accessible by rich and poor alike,â he said witha nod.
âRemember months ago, when I asked for your help fundingKeriaâs âspecial projectââ
âAw! I thought I was helping!â
âYou were helping,Sweetheart. Your town, not KeriaâTrouble steals enough of your time from me.âVarric put his arm around Marigolds shoulders. âYouâre right, it was nearlyimpossible to get the Council to agree. Until you magiced the funds out of thinair.â
She finally looked at him. âItâs not magic, Iâve shown youhow the interest ratesââ
He chuckled. âI know, I know. And yet, it still looks likemagic to me. That money helped build thisâthat, and lots of book donations.â
âBut you said it could never work, with the thieves, and lowliteracyâŚâ
He nodded. âWhat little funding the Council would spare forthis is going towards staff-slash-security. Also, for the time being, the booksare not allowed to leave the premises. But weâve got some volunteers to try andorganize some reading and writing classes, so that more of the population canactually use them. To be honest, weâre relying pretty heavily on you beingright that after it becomes a steady fixture and books arenât so rare, theinterest in robbing the place blind with diminish somewhat.â
She shook her head, partially at the pressure that put onher, and partially because it still seemed unreal. âA library, right here inKirkwall⌠I canât believe you managed to hide this from me for so long! Why didyou hide it from me? I would have loved to help! Help more, I mean.â
âI know, and I wanted to talk to you about it, it waskilling me⌠But itâs not done yet, thereâs still time for your to make itbetter. Itâs scheduled to open in about a monthâs timeâŚâ
âVarricâŚâ Marigoldlet just a hint of her âyou better tell me the truth right nowâ voice sheâddeveloped during this relationship to edge into her tone.
He sighed, and looked far shyer than sheâd seen him in along timeâwas that a blush? âI just wanted to surprise youâdo you like it?â
âOh, Varric, I love it!â she assured him, wrapping her armsaround his thick torso. âYou know I do⌠Iâm just so surprised! This is amazing!â
âWell now, of course not!â She cupped his face and pressed abig, slow kiss into his cheek. âIâm so proud of you, Varric. Iâm losing countof all the times youâve done something impossible.â
He turned to kiss her properly. She knew it was because hewas uncomfortable with her praise, but she didnât press; sheâd spend the restof her life trying to get him to see himself how she did.
âYou helped,â he reminded her, and she ignored thedeflection, turning back to the sign atop the building.
ââMarian Hawke Memorial Public Libraryâ,â she read. Then,after a moment, added with dismay, âOh, she would hate that.â
Varric laughed. âYeah, she would. Itâs perfect.â