Summary: idk i cant think of a summary its another kate x aestri fic
Fandom: Dead by Daylight
Warnings: none
also on ao3!
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Aestri lightly strummed her lute. Her mind was somewhere else.
Her eyes were transfixed across the campfire, on the face of the lovely Kate. She stood talking with a fellow survivor, with an easy smile that outshined the flames between them.
"I see a new muse has caught your eye." Baermar sat beside her, laying back against a log with his hands folded behind his head.
Aestri chuckled. Baermar could always see right through her, even in those early days when she first took him in. He knew her better than anyone. He was her protégé, her closest confidant and dearest companion.
"How could one not be drawn to a light in the darkness?" she replied quietly. Her fingers danced across the strings of her lute, improvising a romantic melody.
"True. But I have traveled with you long enough to know that you are drawn to lovely, blonde lasses even in the bright of day," Baermar said with a smirk.
She snorted, her idle strumming ending with a discordant twang. She lightly smacked the back of his head. "Hold your tongue, boy."
He grabbed the back of his head, and let out a hearty laugh. Aestri joined him, she couldn't stay mad at a joke at her expense, especially one that rang true.
"What are you two laughing about over here?" Kate asked. She and her fellow survivor Steve had walked over, settling down around the campfire. Kate sat next to Aestri, a small gesture that made the bard's heart flutter.
"Oh,'" Aestri sighed. "We were simply reminiscing about our travels before this dark realm."
"The thrills, the adventures," Baermar continued. He shot Aestri a cheeky grin. "The conquests."
She grinned back, and gave him a sharp jab in the side with her elbow.
"Wait, those aren't just costumes?" Steve pointed between them, sitting up on his log. "You guys are like, really adventurers?"
"Why, of course, my lad!" Baermar was on his feet in an instant, striking a heroic pose; one hand on his hip, the other raised in the air. He pounded his chest. "The bravest troupe of bards in all of Greyhawk!"
Aestri and Kate laughed at him. Aestri couldn't help but play off him, an act they'd performed countless times. "Taking to the open road with nothing but our instruments and our wits," she bragged. "Facing danger at every turn."
Baermar raised his hands dramatically, leaning over the campfire so it cast stark shadows across his face. "Bandits, monsters, fiends from the deepest pits of the Nine Hells!"
Aestri pumped a triumphant fist in the air. "But none were a match for us! Why, if I still had my steel, I could easily lay low the vile creatures that stalk this realm."
Kate giggled, but Steve simply rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he said, unamused. "Sure."
"You don't believe me, lad?" Aestri raised an eyebrow.
"Not really. Sounds like something Henderson would make up," Steve sighed.
Aestri opened her mouth to refute him. She'd been called a lot of things in her time, but she wouldn't abide being called a liar. But Kate placed a hand on her arm, giving her a gentle smile that begged patience. Aestri relaxed.
Steve stood up, subconsciously rubbing his shoulder. "Whatever. I can't just sit around playing make believe. I'm going to go, I don't know, look for supplies or something."
He walked off, to the edges of the clearing.
Baermar slowly slumped his shoulders, falling out of his dramatic performance. He looked between the two women at the campfire. "I'll go with him, see that he's safe." He placed a hand in Aestri's shoulder, and whispered to her. "Enjoy your solitude."
Aestri gave him a nudge, and bade him farewell. She turned back to watch Steve as Baermar caught up with him. The two disappeared beyond the treeline, and into the fog. She sighed, shaking her head. "Such a stubborn lad."
"Oh, don't be too hard on him." Kate curled her arms around her legs.
"I couldn't bring myself to that." She smiled. "He reminds me of Baermar, when he was that age."
"So you've been traveling together for a while, then?"
"Many years now. He was all alone in the world, when we met. I suppose I was too," Aestri reminisced. The campfire crackled. She pushed away memories of her village in flames, instead drawing on those happy days with Baermar. "So, I took him in, taught him everything he knows. How to use his voice to enrapture an audience, and how to use his fists, should words fail."
"Sounds like you two got into plenty of trouble!"
"A hazard of the trade." She paused. A sly smile crept across her face. "I could teach you, if you'd like."
Kate stared at her, a confused smile on her face. She chuckled. "What?"
"How to fight," she said, punching her own palm. "I'm a very good tutor."
This was a routine she'd tried before, an excuse to get close to a particularly handsome barmaid. She'd been rejected back then, with a tankard of ale to the face.
She hoped Kate wasn't turned away by such shameless flirting, too. Aestri was a performer by trade, relying on routines and dramatic gestures to get her through life. It was hard for her to do anything subtley. But she was also a romantic at heart. She really did hope they could become something more.
"Oh, alright." Kate obliged.
Aestri grinned, beaming inside. She stood, leading Kate toward the clearing beside the fire. Kate folded her arms behind her back, wearing a content smile that hinted at mischief.
She paced behind Kate, ghosting her hands over her bare shoulders. Then moved closer, pressing herself against her back. She heard the smallest giggle under her breath.
Aestri wrapped her arms around Kate, locking them across her midriff. "Now, my dear, if some manner of monster grabs you like this, what you'll do -"
From her position, she didn't see what was about to happen. Kate moved quickly, driving the pointed heel of her cowboy boot into Aestri's foot.
Aestri yelped, losing her grip. Kate took her opening, planting her feet in a stance that reminded Aestri of monks she'd met in her travels. In one swift movement, Kate drove her elbow into Aestri's stomach.
The blow knocked the wind out of her. Aestri doubled over, grabbing her stomach.
Kate trotted ahead a few steps, turning to Aestri with a satisfied smile. "Just because I;ve never fought monsters, doesn't mean I can't handle myself."
"I see that," Aestri wheezed.
She was glad Baermar wasn't here to see her get humbled by her failed attempt at flirting. She'd never hear the end of it. He still brought up the thing with the barmaid after all these years.
Even with both her ego and her ribs bruised, she couldn't resist putting on a show. Still hugging her stomach, she sunk to her knees and bowed her head. "I was fool to think otherwise."
Kate softened. She kneeled in front of Aestri, offering a hand to help her up. "You okay, hon?"
"I've suffered worse blows. I need but a moment." She waved off her helping hand, choosing instead to fall over to the side and rolled onto her back.
Her eyes met a dark, starless sky. Whispy clouds and crows glided past a new moon. And in front of that dark backdrop, bright as ever, was Kate. She looked down at Aestri with a soft smile, the firelight behind her illuminating her blonde hair like a halo.
Aestri felt her heart flutter. "Where did you learn to do that?" she said after a time.
Kate settled down in the grass beside her. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Well, I told you how I used to tour, right?"
Aestri nodded.
"When I first started out, it was just myself, my guitar, and my truck. I didn't have a manager or some fancy record deal to help me out," she continued. "I took whatever gig I could get. They weren't always the... nicest venues, so I learned some basic self defense. Even started keepin' a Louisville slugger in the backseat." She chuckled at that.
Aestri joined in half-heartedly, though she didn't quite get what she meant. She made a mental note to ask Kate what a slugger was some other time.
"Oh, I do miss it though." Kate sighed, reminiscing. "There's nothing quite like it. Being out on the open road, performing in a new city every night."
"Meeting new friends along the way," Aestri added, smiling as she recalled her own adventures with Baermar. "Learning their stories."
Kate laid down beside her, resting her head in her hand. She leaned in with a grin. "And making a few stories of your own."
"Of course, that's the best part." Aestri leaned in as well, closing the gap between their faces until they were practically nose to nose. She could feel the warmth radiating off her body, her breathe against her cheeks.
Aestri looked into Kate's eyes, blue-grey and glistening from the campfire smoke. Her mind raced with poetry, of all the ways describe such beauty in song. Bright as the sky, deep as the sea, brilliant as sapphires.
She would've stayed lost in those eyes, composing an epic in their honor, if Kate hadn't pulled away. Her gaze became distant, looking up and staring out beyond the campfire. At crooked trees and gathering fog. "This isn't where I thought my story would go."
Aestri hummed low in her throat. "Neither did I, but," Aestri said slowly. "I'm glad this twist in the tale led me to you."
She propped herself up on her elbow and looked up at Kate. How radiant she looked in the firelight. She reached a hand towards her, but hesitated.
Kate smiled. "It's alright," she said. She took Aestri's hand in her own. "I promise I won't hit you again."
Aestri chuckled. The two laughed together, melting into content smiles. Kate guided Aestri's hand to her cheek, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles.
"May I?" Aestri breathed out.
Kate hummed in response, giving a gentle nod.
Aestri had no theatrics, no routines or dramatic gestures. She could compose poetry another time. She wanted to live in this moment, savor this kiss.
She simply cupped Kate's cheek, and gently pressed her lips against hers.
