Pairing: Astarion Ancunin x gn!Reader
Warnings/Tags: angst, hurt/comfort, fighting, adult language, stubbornness, fluff, suggestive talk, vampire things, all the feeeeeels
A/N: Sooooo, this was supposed to be a short little thing that was cute and funny, but I couldn’t stop yapping. I hope you all enjoy it, darlings. 🩶
Imagine if you will, ever getting into an argument with Astarion and because of said argument, you would merely have to keep your distance from each other so as not to anger one another any further.
But he just had to tiptoe across that invisible line of trust, pushing your buttons over and over to give into him until he got what he wanted.
Tension and anger would be boiling throughout your body, your mind hazed with irritation and guilt from the relentless onslaught of teasing and yelling as you turned away from Astarion, choosing to walk it off before more damage could be done. Your thoughts weren’t even your own at this point, they were too consumed by the aggression of what he had said to you and all you could think of was your plan to give him some sort of retaliation.
It wouldn’t be too long before Astarion would eventually get the courage to go and find you, finally realizing that you weren’t interested in coming back to him and gaining his attention.
He would find you in your shared bedroom, lounging in one of the armchairs that sat across from the bed and reading an old, tattered book. It was as if you weren’t acknowledging his presence, not even sparing him a glance as he crossed the door’s threshold.
Why did that annoy him even further than what had transpired earlier?
Astarion would continue to inch closer and closer to you until he was at your feet, hand outstretched to pull the dusty tome from your grasp. But as he was about to reach for the book, he froze with confusion and a frown began to fall over his expression once he realized what he was looking at.
Your hands were adorned with silver rings, each of them twinkling in the low light emanating from the candles placed around the room. And as he began to look up to your eyes, he came across the nauseating sight of several chains of the same precious metal wrapped around your neck, those familiar pin pricks on the side just barely visible beneath those infernal necklaces. His one favorite part of you to feed from…
“Darling…” Astarion cooed, his tone slightly edged with a wounded flash of uncertainty.
You at last look up to see your vampiric lover, humming in acknowledgment to his voice and seeing him scowling, an etching of a bewildered look taking over his facial features.
“What. Are. You. Wearing?” He raised his hand and gestured over your form, clearly displeased in your choice of accessories.
“Oh these things?” You replied nonchalantly with mocking sweetness, twirling the silver strands through your fingers. “These are here for security purposes.”
“Excuse me?! What do you mean by ‘security purposes’?” Astarion practically screeched at your statement, his fingers waving in air quotes of that preposterous phrase.
“What I meant was,” You retorted in matching arrogance, setting the book aside and turning to face him eye to eye with a teasing and malicious smirk. “Every piece of this jewelry isn’t coming off until you apologize and we resolve our anger.”
It felt like Astarion just got slapped upside the head, completely flabbergasted by your words. How was he supposed to take that seriously? He grew more annoyed by the second at your immature commitment to further upset him. Laughter suddenly overtook him at the absurdity of your actions, not believing that you would ever force him to abstain from your precious blood because of some petty quarrel.
“Oh come on!” Astarion bellowed, frantically pacing in front of you like a madman. “You seriously think this is how we should make up?! By punishing me until I give you what you want? By the gods, darling, do you see how absurd you look right now? How absolutely ridiculous this whole situation is?! You’re acting like a spoiled fucking brat who can’t take ‘no’ for an answer!”
He stood still once again, practically heaving from his outburst, waiting on the edge for your proverbial response. But nothing came, the air began to fill with dreaded silence as you just stared up at his scorned expression. No sign of anger or frustration was to be seen from you, just your vacant eyes and showing little to no emotion, just emptiness.
Did he really fuck up that terribly?
Astarion’s eyes visibly softened and a gnawing sensation of guilt and shame twisted into his stomach. He tried to think of what to say, his mouth stammering to form a sentence; anything to get you to possibly say something or at the very least wait for you to lash back at him. He just needs to hear your voice.
You were looking away from him now, instead being transfixed by a loose string that was dangling from the cuff of your sweater’s sleeve as you toyed with it. You were trying so desperately to keep yourself from crying, your eyes stinging from the tears threatening to cloud your vision and spill over your cheeks. But you could only do that for so long, too overwhelmed by the hurt of his words and his stubbornness to not be reasoned by your request no matter how much you tried to convince him.
“…I’m sorry,” You gasped out, not trusting your own voice as you were overcome by these raw emotions and tears began to shed, too embarrassed to look back at him.
Maybe he was a bit harsh…
Astarion’s heart breaks when he sees this, sighing in defeat as he crouches down beside you. He can’t help but feel awful when you’re upset, even if he is hesitant to admit that he’s the cause of it. That’s the last thing he would ever want to do and now he’s gone and broke that promise.
He grasps one of your hands gingerly, careful as to not touch your rings while he strokes your knuckles in an attempt to pull you away from your clouded thoughts; even trying as far to whisper your name to have those gorgeous eyes look upon him once more.
“My love, I-I didn’t mean that, any of it at all. Will you please—“
“But you still said those things. I was only…” You huffed out a shaky breath, still not daring to look at him. “I was only trying to help you. I know it’s dangerous, but we’ve been having so much trouble finding any other solutions.”
Astarion is struggling to maintain his composure, wanting more than anything right now to further explain why it was one of the most delusional ideas he’s ever heard of, no matter how tempting it sounded if it were to ever work out in the long run. But now wasn’t the time for his rebuttal, yearning to diffuse the matter at hand so he can hold you in his arms again. Without those silver obstacles in the way, of course.
You feel his touch leave your hand, instead choosing to cup your face in his hand, gently brushing away the stray tears that remained with the pad of his thumb.
“Darling, will you look at me? Pretty please?” Astarion coos softly, knowing that you could never resist him pleading with you.
A rattled little laugh escapes from your lips at the audacity of him saying those two little words. Eventually you relent with a sniffle to glimpse up to see him already having his eyes upon you, a small smile spreading across his face.
“There you are,” He leans forward slightly only close enough to kiss you on the tip of your nose, his cool breath fanning over your skin. “I…I am sorry, my sweet, for my yelling earlier and for not listening to you. For everything, I am so sorry. But I…I only want you to understand how I feel about this. It’s not something to be taken lightly, it’s too much of a risk. I won’t stand to watch you get hurt. Never again.”
You sob lightly at the thought of that, no longer being with Astarion if your supposed plan wouldn’t work if something went awry. All you ever want is to be with him, aside from wanting him to be able to walk in the sun once again after all his time spent in the shadows.
“I know, you’re right, Star.” You whisper tentatively, nodding in acknowledgment. “And I’m sorry too…the idea seemed so perfect at first, but I guess that nothing is ever really that easy. And I never even considered what you would think about it because I thought we finally found something real. Something to help you stand in the sunlight or maybe even a cure. I just want you to be happy.”
Astarion can’t help but melt at your revelation, watching you break eye contact and hiding your face from his view as fresh tears collected underneath his palm that cradles your cheek. To think that someone as sweet as you would actually care for him, let alone going as far as to sell away their soul to a selfish devil, just so he could feel the warmth of the sun upon his skin was almost intolerable. But that only made him fall deeper in his adoration for you, his truest saving grace ever since he rejected the profane ascension; willing enough to give him what he’s desired for centuries.
“Oh darling, there’s no need for any of that.” He shushes you quietly, taking your chin between his fingers to guide you along to look at him. “Now who says I’m not happy, hmm?”
Your breath stutters at the sight of his lingering gaze, his sharp features soft in the glowing atmosphere of the dripping candles. You don’t really know how to answer.
“You really have no idea, do you?” Astarion smiles in exasperation, almost convinced that you can’t truly see what he does. “You are what makes me happy, my love. Just you, exactly how you are. After everything that we’ve been through together, after all of the trials and battles we have endured, you’ve made me realize that there’s more to life than suffering in solitude. And no ritual or curse can ever take that away from me now, because of you. You are my sunlight and I never want that light to be snuffed out if it means I can’t have you by my side. I love you and everything that you have given me and I’ll be damned if anyone dares to take you away from me.”
His words felt like a lightning bolt striking through your soul, fully overwhelmed by the notion of what he’s truly saying. It wasn’t very often that he would spill out his heart like this, still used to the need of being guarded for his own safety and unwillingness to trust anyone. Well…mostly everyone.
You begin to raise your hands, wanting to hold onto him so desperately, only slightly pausing to remember the rings that were adorned on your fingers. Chuckling to yourself, you managed to slip them off and throw them to the floor and this earns a huff of laughter from your partner. Going back to what you set out to do, you hold his face between your hands and lean forward to leave a gentle kiss upon his lips, shuddering at the sensation of his fangs ghosting across your bottom lip as he smiles at your tender embrace.
“I love you too, Astarion.” Your warmth exhaling into his mouth, making his eyes flutter with silent elation. “I love you so, so much and I’d be willing to give you anything, as long as I get to keep you here with me. I promise you, I’m not going anywhere.”
He hums delightfully with approval, the delicate vibration tingling against your lips while he gives you another kiss; your hands instinctively moving to grasp those soft, silver curls at the nape of his neck as you melt into him.
“And I would most ardently do the same for you, my dear. “ He pulls back to see your tear streaked face, beaming at his most cherished beauty. “But this right here is more than enough, being with you in this lifetime is more than I could ever dream of. To hells with everything else.”
You let a giggle bubble from your throat, matching his smile as the two of you feel the past tension finally fade away in each other’s arms.
“Now, my dearest pet,” Astarion pulls you away from the safe haven of your warm and mutual energy. “Have I earned your forgiveness or were you planning on wearing this absurd costume jewelry for the rest of the evening?”
Knowing all too well that you couldn’t resist his charms, you mischievously smile at his silent request and begin to unclasp the remaining necklaces one by one until they lay forgotten beside the rings.
“Well I suppose that you have,” You laugh and wrap your arms around his shoulders, pulling him further into your frame. “It only seems fair since I’ve been just as stubborn as you.”
“I beg your pardon, but I believe I was the one who was being reasonable for once.” He chuckles at your admonishment, hoisting you in his arms as he stands up. “It’s no matter though, because now that I have you here, I’m taking you to our bed and I’m never letting you go.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea…”
