Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Bethany]

Why won't she- no. I have to say it first. I made her cry, I have to... I have to... "Last week, when I was playing tag with Marie, she tripped and fell on me when she was it. I..." My mouth is so dry, I can't swallow, I can't speak right, I can't- "I wanted to kiss her so badly. I wanted to know what her lips would taste like. I never look at boys. Not ever, not like that." The only one I've ever even half considered was Carver and I'm not telling her that, not even Marian.

[Marian Hawke]

"I--" she begins, swallowing. Her face crumples. "I can't, Beth. I just-- I like men. If I-- if I had any desires like that-- but, with my ears-- it'd be better to just, just forget all about them. It's not like anyone's asked me anyway. I'm just--" 

[Bethany]

Bethany swallows, throat still dry, at Marian's half-hearted, hollow refusals. This is my fault. My fault, for repeating that stupid, stupid slur that Victoria uses. Moving slowly, almost warily, Bethany tries to pull her sister in for a hug.

[Marian Hawke]

Marian embraces her sister tightly, breaking down in sobs on her shoulder. I'm sorry, Bethany. I just can't. 

[Carver Amell]

"C'mon, it'll be great. Please?" 

For some bizarre reason, it was working. Over the past month, Summer had started paying attention to Carver -- and had, more than once, snuck out with him after class, playing hookey from both their chores and homework. Now, he was asking her to spend the day with him at the festival -- which Bethany had expected to be the two of them, like every other year.

"Well, alright," began Summer. "But just us."

"Sure, of course. Bethany's got a thing anyway."

But that was just it -- she didn't have a thing. Not yet. But she might...

[Bethany]

"Summer wants to go together. So you can hang out with friends or whatever."

"Or whatever."

"Or whatever."

"Ugggggh," Bethany seethes. No. That's not enough. Forget them! "Fuck!" Bethan shouts. In the safety of Varric's house, though the dwarf is at a meeting at the mine. So not much of a rebellion, to be honest. Stewing over her idiot, stupid, inconsiderate, thoughtless, dumb, selfish, asshole of a tw- no, sibling, Bethany prowls around the house, trying to find something she can do, some way she can vent these feelings. Or distract herself. Anything but hear those casually heartbreaking words again. See him walking back to her, wrapping his arm around her and walking away. Like they should be.

Even Bethany isn't sure who she wants to take the place of there.

Ten minutes later, she finds herself staring at the small closest filled with Varric's booze stash. She's sniffed at his empty cups before while cleaning up and the whiskey and other hard stuff is entirely off-putting. But... her gaze lingers on the wine bottles. Maybe... maybe just a bottle or two. He won't miss it, he never drinks the wine anyway. Fuck it. Maybe I'm not kissing or whatever Marian does with Drake but... I can be the first of us to find out what being drink is like. So there.

An hour later finds Bethany settled into Varric's living room. He won't be home until tomorrow afternoon, so no reason not to do this properly. And so properly it is! Reaching down to nudge the plate of fried dough an inch to the side, she nods firmly. Fried dough, grilled steak, nuts and a cheese plate. I think those are all the right kinds of food for this, right? Right. Good. Now then... Pouring herself a glass of the pale, pink-hued golden wine, she takes a careful sniff. "Oh wow, that's nice. Like..." She sniffs again. "Like berries but almost sharp. Huh." Better be good, it took me almost five minutes to open the damn thing. Nodding firmly to work up her nerve, she takes a careful sip. 

"Oh wow," she breathes out, the words almost worshipful. "Why do adults ever drink anything else?" She takes another sip, then another. And then the glass is empty. "...I should eat something," she says slowly, feeling much, much better about things.

[Marian Hawke]

"Bethany?" Please be in here. I don't know why she would be, but that's the only place I haven't checked and Carver hasn't seen her all day and she can't be missing, she just can't, nobody's threatened her in years and if today is the one day she gets raped or burned or anything I'm going to kill everyone and burn down this entire town and--

"Bethany," she sighs in relief, upon seeing Bethany in the sitting room. Thank Astea. "Wait, is that Varric's Merlot?!" Because of course, if she was going to be his factor, he made sure she could tell one bottle from another in his stash, even if she wasn't quite old enough to drink any of it.

(And maybe had a sip of beer, once, because that was basically juice anyway, to Dwarves.)

 "No, that's the Premier Cru!" She's honestly not sure which is more scandalizing -- that Bethany's drinking, or that she's drinking the bottle Varric said was probably too good even for the Mayor. 

[Bethany]

Bethany beams at Marian. "Heeey! Marian!" She's not drunk, not yet, not after just a glass and a half. She'd also started eating after that first glass, the first bite of food making her recall that her stomach had been too knotted up for lunch. But she is feeling just a bit buzzed. Maybe more than a bit. "I made plenty, you should join me." She pauses, expression darkening. "Unless you're too busy with Drake, just like Ca-" Trailing off into unintelligible growls, she grabs a bit of dough and tears into it.

[Marian Hawke]

"No, I'm-- Bethany, he's going to murder you!" She sounds scandalized, though, not honestly scared. "Is it any good, at least?"

[Bethany]

"Is what good?" Bethany asks, blinking. "You've had my fried dough before, Marian," she adds patiently.

[Marian Hawke]

"The wine, Bethany! The stolen wine you're underaged drinking." She shakes her head, moving to sit across from her. No help for it; the bottle's open, already, it'll go stale now that the cork's been popped. Varric went on at length about how that makes whiskey superior.

[Bethany]

"Oh. Ooooh. The wine, it's lovely. Like drinking summer from a nymph's lips. Either set," Bethany adds with a wicked giggle, eyes dancing. "You should have a glass," she declares, shoving the one she'd been using, still half full, at her sister as she rises to get herself another.

[Marian Hawke]

Marian stares at her, astounded. "You're fourteen! Where did you even learn that?!" 

[Bethany]

Bethany tosses a smirk over her shoulder as she saunters- or tries to- over to the counter. Books. Where else? Not like I'll ever get a chance to kiss anyone mouth or otherwise. Might as well read about it. Daydream about being the hero and kissing the fair soon-to-not-be-a-maiden "Try the wine, Marian," she singsongs.

[Marian Hawke]

...Aklo are going to snatch us both right up. Marian rubs at her temples, then takes the glass. Might as well enjoy myself. She sniffs at the wine. Good bouquet -- that's what he called it, right? I assume smelling like ripe berries is good. Well I like it. She tries a sip, blinking. 

Huh. 

She tries another sip. And then another. Hey look, the glass is empty. 

"...Wine is a lot better than beer," she announces, to nobody in particular. Wait a minute. Varric keeps saying wine is all piss compared to whiskey...