@faereun & shadowheart asked : a platonic kiss on the forehead
kissing meme : always accepting
𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂 𝙰𝙵𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝙶𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙵 𝚆𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝙵𝚁𝙰𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃. The Mother Superior had been especially cruel, twisting the proverbial knife in her final moments, taunting the former cleric of Shar with her parents’ torment. Tav had masterfully slid a dagger through the woman’s ribs, but that had not stopped the horror that was to come. Something that had been long dead in his chest had clenched and ached as Shadowheart bid her parents farewell, fangs biting into the flesh of his cheek to distract himself from the thoughts and (lack of) memories of his own parents.
She’d tried to maintain the stoic mask on their way back to their rooms at the Tavern and it was truly an impressive effort, but Astarion had seen the tremor in her hands and the faint quiver of her lower lip. Masks always had a funny way of cracking when confronted with the specters of the past and being so close to his own personal hell practically guaranteed that his would shatter, sooner rather than later.
The rest of their companions had respected her wishes for space, but the elf knew that there were times when people just shouldn’t be alone.
It had been easy enough to wait out the rest of their companions, the vampiric nocturnal wakefulness not so easily shrugged off by the tadpole tunneling in his brain. He could feign it well enough, sometimes even steal an hour or two, but predators nor slaves were afforded the luxury of deep and meaningful sleep — the faintest of changes in air pressure or the softest of noises often jolting him back to wakefulness with a dagger in hand and fangs bared. Even with all of Shadowheart’s training and skill, even she could not stop the beat of her heart or the change in her breathing pattern from reaching his ears. He’d shadowed her through the still bustling tavern, through the winding alleys of the Gate, and to a quiet corner of the park before a neglected statue of Selune.
It was when her shoulders started to shake that he announced himself, stepping closer and doing what felt natural — something that shocked even him — and wrapped her in an embrace. Having someone this close, this platonically intimate, made him want to flinch, but he beat down the urge with a ruthless bite to his own cheek. He couldn’t recall if he had lost his own parents, couldn’t even recall their faces, but he liked to think that he too would want someone to hold him if he had to offer them mercy with his own blade. Tears dampened the soft fabric of his shirt, and he squeezed a bit tighter in response and tucked his chin to press cool lips to her forehead. It was all a small, if awkward, comfort from a man who didn't quite know what he was doing, but he tried anyway.
❝ I know, get it all out. I’ve got you. ❞