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First of all I want to clarify that English is not my primary language. Leaving that aside, this is my first fic in another language and a bit of dictionaries helped me, I feel like I could have better phrases or words, but I hope to be able to express what I felt while I was writing.
I want to thank @fangswbenefits @spacebarbarianweird @atsadi-shenanigans who were my greatest inspiration, and many more that I don't remember at this moment.
If you see errors, don't hesitate to say them, I feel like I jumps between many topics, but I hope you like it. I am very nervous...
“You and Astarion share a bed”
6480 words.
“Darling,” Astarion hums, “don’t tell me you’re nervous?”
He’d managed to convince you to save money by only paying for one room. Astarion had said he was sure they’d be two beds knowing there wouldn’t be. He’ll have more access to your pretty little neck this way.
“Come,” he says, patting the spot next to him. The mattress is uncomfortable, but he ignores it. At least he’s not stuck on a bedroll tonight.
"Of course not," he said, rolling his eyes but still not approaching him, he leaned at the window looking out.
He made sure the curtains were thick enough so that the sun wouldn't get through them, and then he turned his gaze to him.
Astarion smiles, the look that only a predator gives its prey as he watches you. “What are you waiting for, darling?” He purrs, extending his clawed fingers towards you.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the big, bad vampi-“
He stops mid sentence, glancing outside himself, before frowning slightly. How did he not notice until now that you’d closed the curtains?
"You are not a bad vampire, in any case, you are much more than that and I am not afraid of you" your gaze lowers to the ground for a moment to look at him again.
"I'm just wondering what happened to the other bed you promised, remember? Two beds?"
The smile returns to Astarion’s lips as he laughs, waving his hand mockingly in the direction of the single bed.
“Ah, yes. Well, my apologies, love. It seems they’ve made quite the mistake. But,” he says, his tone becoming more sly.
“It seems a waste to pay so much money for two beds when one will suffice. Wouldn’t you agree?”
"I say this more for you than for me, you meditate and my sleeping habits are really bad," you laugh as you pass your light armor over your head.
Leaving you in just a thin shirt. You folded your clothes over a nearby chair.
Astarion’s red eyes followed your movement as you took your armour off and laid it aside, taking his time admiring your figure.
He’d become much less reserved about looking at you these past few weeks. He seemed more sure of himself lately, as though he had finally accepted the tadpole in his head. His eyes flicked back up to your face as you turned back around to look back at him, only for him to quickly look away.
“Well, just do your best not to move around too much, then. I’m a light sleeper, you know.”
"Of course I do," you laughed, taking off your pants and leaving them with the rest of your clothes.
Things were a little strange since they talked about not having intimacy, you weren't sure what his limits were and you preferred him to tell you when he was ready.
You were okay with that, but you didn't know how much it was deceitful. Was a hug okay? Just kisses? Just touching each other on the waist? Tarering the song made you feel uncomfortable and you thought it would be uncomfortable for him too so you chose to wait and see what happens.
You clung to the bed that seemed smaller than ever, and then jumped up.
"Astarion... Would you brush my hair?" That should be fine, right? You came back running with a brush in your hands clutching it in your hands.
Astarion blinked in surprise as though he were startled out of a trance. He'd been admiring your legs.
His eyes flicked up to your own as he raised an eyebrow. “Darling…” he teased.
“Are you asking me to brush your…”
He hesitated for a moment, almost surprised by how eager he suddenly was to accept your request.
“Of course. Here, hand me the brush.”
He motioned to the space beside him on the bed like the proper gentleman he certainly wasn't.
You turned your back giving him the brush, then you saw two legs, one on each side and his body very close to yours, he was behind you.
Your heart beat fast and hard, I knew he could hear it clearly but you couldn't do anything to shut him up, you clenched your hands on your knees.
Silence, too much of him, you needed to talk, whatever. Say something.
"How does meditating work for elves?" You asked the first thing that came to mind.
Astarion laughed, taking the brush from your hand. He moved closer until his legs were pressed against your hips and his chest was nearly touching your back. He felt you tense up as he touched your hair with his free hand, almost petting you. You tensed up, and he could hear your heart beat faster like a mouse caught in a trap.
He smirked as you suddenly started talking, clearly trying to cover up your reaction.
“The same as it works for any other race, I imagine. We clear our minds, close our eyes, and… meditate…”
You tried to focus on what he said and not on his cold hands going over your head, brushing part of your neck in ways you knew weren't necessary, sending chills all over your body.
"Then you don't dream while you meditate?" It seemed something interesting, I knew little about elves and this was a good time to satiate your curiosity.
Astarion let out another amused chuckle as he pulled long strands of your hair between his fingers, separating them almost gently. “No, darling, we don’t dream while we meditate. It’s not the same thing at all.”
He paused for a moment, just running his fingers through your hair with no care for using the brush for it’s intended purpose at all at this point, but he didn’t care. He just enjoyed touching you while you let him.
"Doesn't it bother you if I ask you more things about elves?" You turned your face a little to see his reaction, the last thing you wanted was to bother him or make him uncomfortable with the subject.
"I want to know more about you," you said more quietly, not so sure now to ask.
Astarion raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised, but not displeased, to hear you say that.
“You can ask, darling, it doesn’t hurt to learn a thing or two about me, no?”
He pulled you slightly backwards until you were leaning completely against his chest, the brush still in his hand forgotten. “Ask away then, my dear. I’ll see how much you can guess about me simply from a good brush and chat.”
Astarion raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised, but not displeased, to hear you say that.
“You can ask, darling, it doesn’t hurt to learn a thing or two about me, no?”
He pulled you slightly backwards until you were leaning completely against his chest, the brush still in his hand forgotten. “Ask away then, my dear. I’ll see how much you can guess about me simply from a good brush and chat.”
You leaned back on his chest and took the brush from his hand to push it aside, with your hands you took his and began to draw imaginary lines in caresses by his hand and fingers.
"I heard they can live more than a thousand years" but then you shut your mouth, he's a vampire now, immortal. These questions could be in bad taste.
Reincarnation? Could he no longer, fly the eyes of certain elves? He could no longer even remember his original color. You were starting to panic so you just let out "ears?"
Astarion hummed, taking in the comforting gesture as you traced your fingers over his own while you tried to figure out what to ask. He wasn’t exactly going to help you along. He found your curiosity endearing.
When you finally asked whatever question that came to mind, Astarion snickered softly at your choice. “My... ears?”
“Darling, you couldn’t possibly think I haven’t also heard of that old rumour, no?” His red eyes sparkled with amusement.
You turned unimmediately red as an apple, almost out of bed in the process.
"Not me, I didn't mean," you tried to explain yourself hurriedly while he held you with one hand from being upside down on the ground.
Astarion laughed loudly, grabbing at your hips to keep your from falling off the bed and pulling you back against him. Holding you on his lap, he wrapped an arm around your middle and grinned at you.
“Relax, I’m just jesting. But tell me, what did you mean by that?” He inquired, clearly enjoying your embarrassed state.
"I... I meant how well you can hear." Your voice was small, full of shame.
Now you'd rather have a meteorite fall over you and end it all.
You could feel your face and ears warm and the worst of all was that you couldn't stop thinking now if the rumor about whether the elves' ears were sensitive and almost oregenic areas were real or not.
As you buried your face in your hands, still leaning back against his chest, Astarion tilted his head and gave you a sly smile. “Oh, my hearing?”
He could hear just fine, and he could hear your heart pounding frantically.
He leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I can hear everything, my dear. Every breath, every beating of your heart. Every…”
He paused, waiting just long enough for you to think you were safe before giving your ear a light bite and a gentle kiss.
You stood up in surprise with your hand over your ear and your face burning.
"Astarion!" You could already hear your heart yourself and you felt it coming out of your mouth.
He laughed again, clearly enjoying himself at your expense. “What? I couldn’t help it - you look so cute flustered like this.”
He reached one hand up to touch your cheek, pulling your face around to look at him so he could see the full extent of your blushing. “Especially since you still haven’t answered my question from before. What exactly were you asking about my ears for? Did you hear something you liked?”
"I.…" What could you say? You were curious about many other things if they were about him.
You didn't know why you were so nervous now, they had slept together before, they saw each other without clothes and touched and tasted until they were tired.
But since they confessed their feelings and had to take things slower, without sex, everything seemed different and new.
You swallowed your bravery "okay, yes, I heard some girls talking about it while you were asking for the room" you sighed running a hand through your hair.
"So.... is it true?"
Astarion raised an eyebrow at you, clearly amused by your embarrassment. He’d only started teasing you lightly, and you’d already fallen apart.
His grin widened as you confessed what you’d heard, before he nodded. “Oh, it absolutely is. Sensitive things, our ears.”
He ran a hand along the length of your ear as he spoke, watching your reactions. “And they’re not wrong, elf ears have… quite a few nerves in them. And I’d have thought you’d prefer to find out for yourself, darling?”
Your gaze did not hesitate to travel over the tip of his ears that protruded from his silver curls, when you noticed what you were doing you immediately looked away.
It was when he asked the question, you don't remember touching his ears before or at least not intentionally.
One day you would lose your hand for wanting to touch everything, but you were human and your life was a blink compared to other races, you wanted to try everything so you climbed back into bed and sat on your lap in front of Astarion.
"Can I?" You asked by slowly raising and bringing your hand closer giving it a chance to retract.
Astarion stared up at you as you positioned yourself over him, looking down at him with a small, cocky grin as he tilted his head to allow you to reach his ears more easily.
“Go ahead, love. Don’t be shy.” There was an amused teasing in his voice, but he was certainly curious as to what you were going to do. He’d never given much thought to it before, but now he rather wanted to find out.
You hesitated for a moment "can you always say no, you know" You took his face with your hands looking him in the eyes. You sought doubt in his gaze or if he did it out of habit of not knowing how to reject anything. But you found his determined and clear gaze, so you smiled and kissed his forehead.
"Are you sure? Will you tell me if you don't like it or it's uncomfortable?" You asked worriedly. For you he would always be a priority
Astarion’s smile softened then, turning less amused and more affectionate as he realized exactly just how tenderly you were handling him, how worried you were about whether he was alright with you doing this. It almost made his heart warm.
He smiled gently and took hold of your hand in one of his own, lifting it to his face and placing a light kiss on the back of your hand before looking back up at you.
“You don’t have to be this careful with me. I told you it’s fine.”
"Ok" touching yourself never provides the same feeling as someone else touching you and I wasn't sure if anyone went to the trouble with Astarion before given his life history and abuse.
So you were almost sure that this was as new to you as it was to him.
You touched the tip with a finger, it was cold and now that you looked closer, the color was a little purple clear that it no longer belonged to the world of the living.
You traced the tone with your index finger and saw it shiver.
"All good?" You asked while stopping
His ears twitched in response to your touch, his eyes drifting closed involuntarily.
Astarion let out a breathy exhale, almost sounding like a moan. “Yeah… yeah that felt… interesting. Go on, darling.”
His eyes closed and he shivered slightly again as you continued your gentle tracing of his ears. He’d never imagined his ears were so sensitive before, and while it did feel a little strange, he rather liked how it felt.
You ran your fingers in soft caresses light as feathers and you saw him shudder by closing his eyes, you couldn't even imagine how that could feel.
Then I gave it a slight squeeze with two fingers to the tip.
Astarion’s eyes opened abruptly as he let out a slight gasp before quickly biting his lip to muffle the noises that almost slipped through.
“Ah! Oh…” he panted, his hands suddenly tightening on the blankets under him as he desperately fought the urge to move from the overwhelming sensation.
He hadn’t known it was possible to feel so much just from having your ears touched. He found himself desperate for you to touch them again, but also just a little afraid of the sensations your touch would ignite.
You noticed in his eyes that he looked confused, you could tell that he liked it but it seemed that he did not expect that kind of feeling.
You ran one hand over his cheek and the other ran your fingers over his pointed ear again.
"Is that okay?" You asked as you went up from the base to the tip.
Despite trying to reign it in, Astarion couldn’t help but close his eyes again as you ran your hands over his ears, letting out another one of those breathy moans.
“Nnngh…” he gasped out. “Yes. That’s… yes. That’s… perfect.”
He was having a hard time thinking straight as you continued to touch him so gently and make him feel such overwhelming things with such an innocent touch.
You leaned to his ear a little and whispered "so the myth is true?" Your breath gently pinking his ear.
Astarion moaned again at the feeling of your breath on his ear, tilting his head slightly. “Yes, I suppose it’s… mmm…” he trailed off before he could finish his sentence, his eyes shutting again.
He didn’t know if it was an elf thing, a him thing, something about the way you touched his ears, or something else entirely, but this felt… incredible. It made his heart pound and his skin tingle. He could hardly keep still.
Then you moved your hand to his hair letting it rest from such a stumulation.
You ran your hand over his silver curls that were as soft as they looked, massaging the scalp.
"I'll keep that in mind then," you said, trying not to laugh when you saw how unconsciously he followed your hand in search of more caresses.
He hummed contently as you moved your hand to his hair, leaning into your touch. His expression had relaxed again now that you’d stopped touching his ears, allowing him to finally calm his racing heart.
He opened his eyes as he heard you speak and flashed a grin at you again. “Ah, well. You certainly do learn something new every day.” He chuckled. “Although I don’t know how much this information will help me in battle…”
"Oh, but it can help you in battles," you replied with a chuckle.
"Only they'd be a lot less bloody," you paused, "though that could be fixed."
You saw him overgo, much more relaxed, you continued to run your hands slowly over his scalp.
Astarion chuckled at your mention of ‘less bloody battles’, still leaning into your touch with his eyes closed. He just wanted to keep resting here and let you soothe him with your touch.
After a moment he spoke again, voice low and smooth as he continued to bask in the feeling of your hands against his skin. “You know, I really could get used to this… just lying here while you touch me. It’s rather relaxing…”
"It's in the top 5 things I wouldn't miss for nothing in the world," you guided his forehead to your shoulder so that he had a support.
Now making circles on the inner part of his head and nape, his hands closed at your waist holding them both, you were comfortable on his legs and although the position could suggest much more, you were both having a relaxing moment.
He let his head rest against your shoulder, burying his face in the crook of your neck so he could nuzzle against you. His fingers tightened against your sides, pulling you closer against him. He continued to hum quietly, making a soft noise of contentment.
You could feel the rhythmic thumping of his heart against your chest, a little faster than normal still, but more and more calm by the moment. As you continued to soothe him with your touch his hands relaxed around you, gently rubbing small circles into your skin.
"Wow, I think I'll leave you speechless if you didn't ask what my top 5 is" you laughed out loud now as you felt it growl a little. It seems that he didn't like that you moved from where he was so comfortable.
Astarion raised his head from your shoulder and raised an eyebrow at you.
“Well, now that you mention it, I am curious. What’s this top five, then?”
He tightened his grip on you slightly again, keeping you firmly in his lap. After having you hold him like this and soothe him so well, he rather wanted you to stay right where you were.
You combed his hair with your fingers the way he likes it.
"Well... At number 5 we have having you like this, relaxed next to me" You smiled tenderly looking into his eyes.
Astarion hummed quietly, clearly enjoying the feeling of your fingers running through his hair. When he spoke his expression was warm and fond as he said simply, “That one is a very good pick.”
He tilted his head, leaning into your touch as his own hands continued to run light circles on your sides in small, soothing motions. His eyes had darkened slightly as he gazed up at you, watching you with a reverent expression even as he hummed in contentment.
You lowered your hands towards his face, past his neck, finally resting them on his shoulders.
"In number 4 it is to see you, to see you confident and present"
You could feel the muscles in his shoulders relaxing under your hands as you touched him, a small shiver running through him as your hands skimmed over his skin.
He raised an eyebrow at your response, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he said quietly, "I wasn't aware that you liked staring at me so much. If I'd realized before I would have made sure to put on a show for you, love.”
"But you do," you replied, moving a strand of hair from his forehead.
"With the way you look at me, like I'm the most wonderful thing in the world," you kissed his nose.
"And that's number three"
Astarion felt his heart flutter a little as you called him out on his affectionate staring, his gaze shifting sheepishly to one side as he fought the urge to blush. He found himself unable to hold back a small, tender smile at your compliment, his eyes closing as he felt your soft kiss on the tip of his nose, before opening again as you leaned back.
He let out a soft huff of laughter at your last comment. He knew full well exactly how he looked at you, and the fact that you picked up on it… only made him want to stare even more.
"That brings us to number two of things I wouldn't miss for anything in the world," you crossed your hands behind his neck.
"Any idea what it could be?" You smiled watching the gears start moving.
Astarion raised an eyebrow at your question, a puzzled expression on his face. He tried thinking back through his memories for some hint at what you might be talking about, but could come up with nothing specific.
He tilted his head to one side, looking up you with a curious expression as he said, “Hmm… no idea. I have a few guesses but nothing specific. Care to give me a hint?”
His expression remained fond and amused, though there was a hint of uncertainty at not being able to figure it out already.
"Well, you could certainly have ideas, but I don't think you'd ever guess," you laughed.
"At number two of things I wouldn't miss for anything in the world is a draw," you saw him frown.
"First would be your hugs, it is one of the things that I adore and I would not get lost for anything in the world" you were watching his expression.
"Any idea of which one can be the other?"
With that last hint, Astarion quickly realized what the other part of the answer was. He already knew your response to the first, so the second had to be kisses. He hadn’t known it at first, but those little kisses you gave him were quickly becoming something very precious to him.
His eyes flickered from confusion to confusion, then understanding, then affection, before he spoke again. “Ah, I think I’ve got…” he trailed off for a brief moment before speaking softly, “I’m guessing it’s the kisses, love.”
You laugh out loud, of course he would know.
"I can't keep the mystery going, apparently," you approached and stole a quick kiss.
"You're the best kiss I've ever had"
Astarion closed his eyes as your kissed him, making a soft noise of contentment as you gave him another of those affectionate kisses he'd quickly become addicted to.
As you pulled back, he replied in a whisper, smiling up at you, "and you are the very best kisser that I've ever met."
His expression turned mischievous as he added, "and that's from someone who's met *many* people. So you should take that as quite the compliment, love."
You rolled your eyes at the last comment but laughed anyway, not that it was a lie and it didn't bother you to know that he already had centuries of practice.
"Yes, it seems that I will have to moderate my praise. They do harm to your ego"
Astarion simply chuckled again, a smug look on his face. "What can I say? You *do* have wonderful lips."
He raised an eyebrow, a teasing expression on his face. "Now, come on. I want to hear the rest of that list, darling."
"Well, well, then in the big and number one, of things that I wouldn't miss for anything in the world, if kisses and hugs are in the two... that could be on the big pedestar of number one?" You asked, looking him straight in the eye with a smile on your face.
As you laid out the hints he'd already guessed at, Astarion couldn't help but be even more intrigued. If the kiss and embrace were number two, what could possibly be number one?
"Well, based on the hints… I'd have to guess it's our intimate moments together?" He answered with an amused look. "After all, what else could be above that?"
You laughed when you heard his answer, his thought was more than obvious.
"Although I don't want to make you feel bad about it, and let me clarify, it's wonderful, I could live without those 'intimate' moments."
You took his face with both hands to stare at him, hoping that what you wanted to say could be expressed correctly.
Astarion's expression changed from teasing and amused to serious, a slight frown of confusion on his face as you said that.
He took one of your hands in one of his own, intertwining your fingers as he looked up at you, tilting his head in question. "I.… don't quite know what you mean, love. What do you mean you could live without it?" A pause, before a look of realization lit up his expression. "... Are you saying you'd be fine not having that with me? Ever again?"
"Your company is enough for me, I can wait as long as necessary, but that would never be a reason to leave you," you clarified.
You loved him and you loved everything about him, you loved more than his body and what he could give you and you wanted to make it clear.
Astarion's expression softened with each word, feeling a tender warmth rise inside him until he was simply gazing up at you with an expression of pure adoration.
He lifted your hand to his lips, gently kissing your knuckles before saying slowly in a soft whisper, "Oh, love... that's the most perfect thing you could have said. The most *beautiful* thing that anyone has ever said to me, and… coming from you, it's even more precious. I-" he faltered and gave a small laugh, before continuing, "I adore you. I adore everything about you."
You smiled at his words.
"That brings me to number one, of things I wouldn't miss for anything in the world..." you caressed his face again.
You smiled at him and he smiled back at you, not those half-smiles or the fake ones, a real one, one that seemed to light up the place.
"See you happy... It's something I wouldn't change for anything in the world"
Astarion’s heart gave a little flutter of affection at the sight of your smile, feeling his stomach churn pleasantly as he tried to put what you’d said into words.
He brought both his hands up, gently holding your face as he stared at you for a long moment, then finally spoke in a quiet whisper.
“I wouldn’t have expected that from you. To hear you say something like that… is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard. I…” he gave another soft laugh, a bewildered expression on his face. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”
"You don't have to," you whispered, bringing your forehead together with his.
Both of us there, in a narrow bed traveling together, free, there was no better place I wanted to be.
For any external eye many things could be missing, for her that time and place was everything, and it was perfect.
Astarion shut his eyes, leaning his forehead against yours with a hum of contentment as he let himself simply bask in the moment.
He felt more at peace in your arms than he could recall ever feeling before, simply enjoying your presence. He wanted to stay like this forever, just relishing the feeling of you against him as the two of you enjoyed the brief tranquility that the night afforded you.
You lay there for awhile, simply enjoying each other's presence and holding each other close, before Astarion spoke again, the warm tones of his voice gently reverberating through both of you as you lay there.
“You know…” he began, “you are so warm. It’s quite lovely, sitting here like this in your arms… I could fall asleep like this, you know.”
"I thought elves didn't sleep," you replied annoying, returning to the topic forgotten hours ago.
Astarion gave a quiet huff of laughter, opening his eyes and gazing up at you.
The soft affection in his eyes quickly turned amused, and he raised an eyebrow as he shot back, “You’re quite a cheeky one, aren’t you? I don’t technically *need* to sleep, but it doesn’t mean that I never do.”
"Mmh now I want to know about your dreams, what kind are they? Are they memories? Are they color like in real life? Or are they with more vivid colors" at the moment he started, he couldn't stop asking.
"I'm sorry, I... I get sidetracked, I'm sorry" when something interested him he tended to talk about it and Astarion always provided a lot of questions with his very existence.
Astarion gave a small chuckle, waving away your apology. You sounded so eager and curious, it was endearing. “It’s all right, love, I don’t mind.”
He hummed thoughtfully before speaking, gathering his thoughts. “For the most part, my dreams are just memories. Sometimes I see things I’ve seen before, sometimes things from my past…”
He gave a soft sigh. “The rest of them, however…”
You looked at him excitedly so that he could finish the frace, even raising your eyebrows.
He noticed the gesture, giving a short laugh as he added, “You’re going to give yourself wrinkles if you scrunch your eyebrows up like that, love.”
“Anyway…” he trailed off for another moment, thinking. “Most of the time, the rest of my dreams are… nightmares. Things that frighten me, or things…” he grimaced at the thought, “things that really *did* happen to me. Things that I would prefer to forget… but can’t.”
You immediately hated to have asked, you and your damn curiosity, now you understand why you hate sleeping and prefer short meditations.
You only witnessed one of his nightmares once and he immediately pushed you away not wanting to talk about it.
You frowned at your tactless bringing up the subject having ruined the atmosphere.
Astarion didn’t miss the look of guilt on your face. He gave a small chuckle. “Love, it’s alright. You don’t have to worry about it.”
He reached up, gently cupping your cheek as he tried to reassure you. “You can’t help being curious. That’s part of what you are, and I wouldn’t ask you to change it.”
He gave a reassuring smile as he added, “Besides, at least it means you’re taking an interest in me, right?”
Astarion, that conceited * who always knew what to say, always knew how to change the environment and make you feel better, how could you love him more at every moment?
"Do you think I have little interest in you?" You asked thankfully for leaving the topic uncomfortable.
Astarion chuckled, a smile on his face. “No, you’re right, that came out badly. How about… it’s good to know that you’re still interested in learning more about me?”
He reached up, gently tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear as he added, “After all, if you ever stopped asking me questions about myself, it would mean you ran out of things you wanted to know. And I’m pretty sure you’re too curious to run out of questions that easily.”
"It seems like you know me too well " you touched his nose with the tip of your finger.
"Will I have to start being more mysterious?"
“You, more mysterious?” Astarion said with a laugh. “That would certainly be the day. I don’t think you could ever be mysterious, love.”
“Besides,” he added with a smirk, “there’s really not much that I don’t already know about you. We’ve been together for quite a while now, after all. I think I should be pretty familiar by this point.”
You raised an eyebrow at his commentary.
"Yes? So you know me very well? What can you say about me then?" You folded your arms waiting for his answer.
Astarion chuckled. You certainly did like to test him, didn’t you? Still, he supposed he should have expected as much by now.
“Well, lets see…” he started, a smirk on his face. “Your favorite weapon is a bow, you like your meat well-done…”
He held up three fingers as he listed each item off, enjoying the way you were looking at him as he named your preferences.
“… your favorite color is gold, and…” he added a fourth finger with this, “you definitely prefer being on top.”
Your face turned totally red at his last sentence, trying to stand up as if that refuted what he was saying, but your legs were half asleep and you went forward, being immediately caught by him.
Astarion chuckled, wrapping his arms around you as you stumbled into him.
“So I was right about that one, hm?” he teased, looking up at you with an amused expression on his face. “Not going to deny it, love?”
Your hands went straight to his mouth to try to silence him while you felt his smile through your palm. The very unfortunate man loved to see you lose control with his words.
"Ok, enough, you know me too well, you win," you slowly removed your hands and saw a full smile.
Now that he lay on his back and you were on him you put your ear on his chest. You were still surprised to hear their heartbeats, slow and faint but there they were.
Astarion laughed again as you tried to put a hand over his mouth, making a soft noise of protest at the gesture. However, when you gave up the game and laid your head down on his chest, he immediately shut up, putting his arms around you again with a soft smile.
He began to gently stroke your hair, humming contentedly. He couldn’t lie, he loved to see that he could have such an effect on you with just a few teasing words.
Your eyes began to close with that distant melody of a beating heart, you relaxed totally on it, your warmth was now that of both of you.
Astarion was always room temperature, perhaps a little colder than a living person, but when they shared hugs of this type or fed well their body temperature returned, especially on spring and summer days.
"I love you...." You whispered in her chest, wanting deep down to get in there and never have to come out.
Astarion smiled, running his fingers through your hair. He always loved hearing you say that. No matter how many times you said it, it never lost its meaning to him. Every time you said it, his heart gave a little flutter of contentment and he felt a rush of warmth and affection run through him.
He moved one hand down to your back, running it gently over it as he spoke quietly in return.
“I love you too...” he said softly, “so, so much.” and then he closed his eyes.
