#please astarion

[drifting-cirro-cloud]

Me when Astarion hit Tav with the "And to be clear, I do mean sex." comment in Act One before they hook up: Haha yeah sweetheart I got that

Me finding out I just completely missed him coming onto Tav at the graveyard in Act Three: ...OH NO. SWEETHEART. WAIT. I'M SORRY. GO BACK TO HAND FEEDING ME SOCIAL CUES PLEASE. I'LL APPRECIATE THEM FROM NOW ON I PROMISE.

[justporo]

A Night of Song and Laughter (Part 10)

I decided to get this story up to speed on here, so I won't have to worry about posting and updating on AO3 on a different schedule. So you'll probably get anothter part later as well! This is another big one, so get your reading monocles out!

In this one Astarion makes jokes about marriage - and maybe, just a little bit, Tav would love if it wasn't a joke some time... Also Tav thinks she's made a big mistake - so get ready for some angst.

Song for this one: Dancing with our hands tied - Taylor Swift

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Astarion/Fem!Tav (You)

(Gif from here!)

After the kiss Astarion smiled at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes and before you could protest, he grabbed you by your thighs and lifted you up and spun you around. The crowd happily cheered him on. You were only surprised for a second, grabbing for his shoulders because of the sudden loss of balance. But he held you firmly, spun and spun you, then softly set you on the ground again. You giggled almost senselessly and grabbed his face with both hands, he mirrored your emotions with a soft chuckle. Your audience stomped and clapped and demanded yet another kiss. “Should we?” Astarion asked. “You need to ask?”, you quickly replied and leaned in to give the people what they wanted.

When he broke the kiss this time, he grabbed your hands from his face and quickly moved them, so you’d spin through under his arm. With a wink and a soft motion of his head he signified you to bow. You happily obliged, earning loud whoops from everyone around. When you rose up again, you tugged on Astarion’s hand you had been holding the whole time to make him bow as well. You didn’t have to tell him twice. Ever so elegantly he bowed deeply, back straight, one foot delicately behind the other – looking like a dancer or someone ready to start a fencing match. Also – you had an excellent view of his delectable butt. The crowd clapped and cheered, someone whistled even.

Rising up he dragged your arm so you’d move up close to the vampire and held both your hands lovingly close to his chest. “What in the nine hells did just happen?”, the elf asked silently and looked at you softly.

Now that the tension from the fierce song and dance had been resolved the people slowly dispersed and went back to their drinks, companions or game of dice. The mood was different from before though – some looked positively flushed, if not to say aroused, others looked like they could really use a quick nap. Whatever had happened, it sure had been more than a simple musical act.

“I don’t know. And I don’t know what it means? Are we basically married by the Gods now or something?”, you replied and playfully pursed your lips at Astarion. The vampire laughed and moved a strand of hair out of your face, something twinkled in his ruby-red eyes: “Oh darling, if you really wanted me to put a ring on you…”, he chuckled but the look on his face was not as joking as you thought it would be. But before you could question him about his reaction, you were interrupted. “Well, not exactly married by the Gods since I am sure Gods don’t really care about such puny earthly deeds, they usually only pretend they do”, a deep velvety voice behind you said. You turned while keeping your hands on Astarion’s chest. It was of course the bard drow that had climbed down from the stage and had sauntered over while the usual tavern business had started to swell up again. Directly behind him was his partner, the female bard. She smiled sweetly and openly at you, and you couldn’t help yourself to feel inclined to her. You felt Astarion tense under your hands though. But he stayed silent, seemingly wanting the drow to just explain himself.

The drow stepped closer until he was almost as close to you as you were to Astarion. He angled his head to one side and smiled – not really in an unpleasant way but you still felt on edge. “May I?”, the drow asked, raising an eyebrow and looked at you in a way you would have taken as a serious kind of offer on any other occasion. He was pointing at your right arm.

Astarion tensed even more. When you threw him a quick glance you saw how his eyes had narrowed at the drow. You could almost feel the growl getting ready in his chest to get out. The bard lifted his hands defensively: “I mean you no harm nor any other malicious thing. I’d be a fool to lay a hand on your companion, high elf, not after you successfully completed the ritual. I merely intended to show you something.” The vampire’s tension eased slightly but he was still standing stock-still.

You cleared your throat and slightly turned to the drow, offering him your arm. He took it and rolled up your sleeve to your elbow – was there something shining on it? Then the drow turned to Astarion, who’s shirt had already been rolled up to his elbow so you had no trouble seeing that there was also something shining on his forearm. Your brows furrowed trying to get a closer look, but the drow made you put your arm to Astarion’s so you were both holding onto each other’s wrists. And when you touched you could suddenly see it a lot more clearly all of a sudden: on your arm seemed to have appeared a kind of tattoo, slightly and iridescently shimmering in a mix of mother-of-pearl and silver. It had taken the form of a delicate vine decorated with beautiful blossoms, twisting and turning up to your wrist. You gasped loudly, your eyes widening, and looked up at Astarion in shock. The vampire’s eyes had widened as well and you could see his gulp as he slowly, as if too scared to look, twisted your wrist to show what had appeared on his forearm. And there, in the same colour like on your skin was another pattern moving from his elbow up to his wrist to where your bodies connected: his markings looked like the embroidery you might find on a fine doublet, all curves and swirls and undulations. It was incredibly beautiful just as yours were, but you couldn’t help the incredible panic and guilt that started raising in your stomach.

You were now the reason another sort of claim had been placed on Astarion’s body without his consent. You drew your hand back in a rush and grabbed your arm with the markings and cradled it to your chest as if it had been hurt. Your eyes shot to Astarion’s which had been staring at his forearm but now were filled with sudden hurt. Realizing you’d sent the entirely wrong message you immediately wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly while burying your face in his shirt. You could feel tears well up in your eyes again. At that moment you couldn’t form words – the whole night had been a rush of happenings, lots of alcohol, you felt so exhausted. Astarion softly held you, but you could feel the hesitation in his posture.

Before you could completely spiral a soft touch on your shoulder made you lift your face from Astarion’s chest and turn your head. The wood elf had stepped close and offered you an understanding and warm glance. “It can be a lot to take in. Trust us, we know”, she spoke softly and looked up to her partner next to her. She grabbed the drow’s arm in the same manner you and Astarion had held each other’s wrist a moment ago. Once they touched you could see a similar set of marking albeit of very different styles. His were shadowy tendrils, hers branches of a tree and feathers. They also glimmered in the same way, silvery-white like moonlight.

Then the wood elf stepped to you again and touched your cheek softly in a way you would’ve found way too intimate for someone you didn’t know. But it comforted you. “This is a blessing by the Gods. The markings showing how your souls belong to each other but also who you each are at your core.” She looked deeply into your eyes, then moved to cradle Astarion’s face the same way she had done with you.

“And you must remember that this is an incredible gift, freely given with no strings attached. Not binding, not hurting, merely an offer and an opportunity very few will ever experience”, she continued, her thumb moving over Astarion’s cheekbone. Surprisingly you could actually feel him lose some of his tension under her caress.

With another smile the female bard stepped back and smoothly threw a long strand of her powder-pink hair over her shoulder before grabbing the hand of her soulmate again, looking up at him adoringly. “We will leave you now – enjoy the rest of the night”, the drow finally said and offered a nod. You returned his gesture and quickly smiled at the female elf before turning back to your soulmate. “Thank you”, Astarion solemnly offered and bowed his head slightly. Then the two bards left you.

There was still some space people left around you, so you used the moment of small-ish privacy to grab Astarion’s hands again – which immediately made both your markings flare up a little. They were still pretty subtle and could easily be hidden by a shirt sleeve but it made you wince nonetheless. “I… I don’t know what to say, Astarion, I…”, you started but where again interrupted when you saw Daegin and Lira approaching from the corner of your eye.

“Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into something, huh, Astarion”, Daegin said teasingly grinning. But his smile immediately dropped when he felt the mood wasn’t exactly thrilled – or maybe it was because Lira whacked him on the back of his head. “I think, it’s best for me to drag this damn dwarf home and then hit the hay as well”, the half-elf spoke to you with some concern in her eyes. “You mean the other way round, I’m not letting a lady walk home alone on her own”, the damned dwarf immediately protested to which Lira shushed him.

“Anyways, you two look like you might just want some privacy now, so we’ll leave and just meet again soon here. Maybe around the same time next week?”, she offered. You and Astarion nodded wordlessly in agreement. So your two friends made to leave – not without Daegin giving Astarion a kind of awkward pat on the back. When they had left it was only the two of you still standing in the open space in front of the now empty stage.

You looked up into Astarion’s eyes and he looked back into yours. The hurt you had seen there had subsided but still he looked… afraid.

You opened your mouth but, like a fish, no sound came out. But you though of something. “Will you come with me? I know there’s a balcony here. Maybe we can get some air there and talk”, you whispered silently since you didn’t feel able to speak any louder at the moment. Your eyes were pleading and Astarion simply nodded and motioned you to lead the way. So, you did. Back up the stairs to the gallery past a bickering Kirin which you both simply ignored. You walked over to the bar which was mostly empty at this time.

The bar maid came over: “Oh hey, it’s you again. I wasn’t sure the first time but I think I know you – Tav, right? You come here often with your friends don’t you?” She beamed at you – she was a beautiful blonde woman with rosy cheeks and round loveable face. “And oh, so you must be the lucky lady this one was talking to the half-elf about right. Hey, you were also here together once tonight, but you were fighting like two street cats, so I thought you must be friends or mortal enemies or something.” She happily blabbered on while connecting all the dots of all the conversation she obviously picked up on. You carefully threw Astarion a side glance and caught him doing the same which made both of you immediately smile. Happy that at least some of the tension already seemed to falter between the two of you, you turned back to the woman’s rambling: “And weren’t you two also the ones the crowd went crazy over? Are you famous or something? Oh, and how was the bottle of Maeve’s specialty – good, right? Want another one? You only need to ask nicely.” At that part she leaned over the bar a bit and winked knowingly at Astarion.

You turned to your partner, now already starting to feel the slightest bit pissed off. But Astarion cleared his throat with a cough and graciously ignored the wink and its intention: “We are not looking for a drink, we were simply wondering if there was a space where we could have some privacy to talk, say a balcony or something?” The blonde looked from him to you and back to the pale elf. “To talk, hm? Alright, because it’s you, I’ll allow it. To the right next to the counter is a door and after that a small corridor, the door at the end let’s you out on a balcony. But keep the talking decent – we have enough complaints from neighbours as is.” Opting just to ignore the commentary, Astarion simply nodded in thanks to her, then grabbed your hand and softly dragged you along. He opened the first door for you and elegantly stretched out his arm to let you go in first, all while in silence. You felt uneasiness creep up your spine again at his behaviour – silence really didn’t become him and was completely untypical for him.

As you walked down the corridor in silence you wondered in a passing thought how much just one door already helped to keep out the busy noises from the tavern.

“So”, Astarion finally said, relieving you from suffering in silence “was that the famous Maeve, by the way?” You looked to him over your shoulder: “I don’t think so. And I guess no one really knows – for all I know it could be secretly a dog running this place.” That thought made the vampire chuckle.

Then you reached the door, opened it and found yourself on a small stone balcony; railing overgrown with ivy, looking out on a small back courtyard. You dimly remembered trying to climb off the balcony trying to flee a brawl and almost breaking your neck.

The moon was almost full in the dark night sky, crisp night air filled your lungs, and it was primarily one thing – almost perfectly silent. Which was surprising for you coming out of a tavern and a huge city surrounding you. You closed your eyes for one short moment when you stepped out on the balcony. Astarion was standing next to you. Seemingly also sighing in relief at the sudden freshness and silence.

You plucked up your courage and turned to Astarion, he mimicked you. Openly, you looked into his eyes hoping to already convey with your eyes what you’re about to say. But as you saw into his ruby eyes that are so open and vulnerable and full of love at the same time, you decided to stand on your tiptoes, close your eyes and kiss him first. It is a sweet kiss, almost chaste. Your lips’ touches featherlight. The vampire lifted a hand to your face, softly cradling your cheek in his cool palm. You stretched out your arms to wrap them around his neck, so he bowed down a little.

It also almost felt like a do-over for the first kiss you ever shared: which had been incredible and unforgettable but laden with too many other intentions.

When you opened your eyes again and softly broke the kiss, you breathed in to speak. So did Astarion. And then you both stood there, mouths open to say something. “You first, love”, he whispered softly and gave you a peck on the tip of your nose, the faintest hint of worry in his tone and eyes.

You cleared your throat and spoke: “Astarion, I’m… I’m sorry, first of all. When I withdrew my hand back there when the bard was explaining what all this stuff had meant, it might’ve come across as me recoiling from the thought of being bound to you for all eternity, when in fact, that’s not it at all. Because I would love that! Selfish as I am, I want you to be mine forever. But I would never, never force you to. And so, I feel like I forced you to do something that you did not consent to and also… now you have new markings on your body without you getting a say in it and I feel awful about putting you through this and…” You started sobbing, breathing in raggedly like having little hiccups. Astarion grabbed your face and made you look at him: “Hush, darling, shhh! You are spiraling! Shh, it’s alright!” His thumbs moved calmingly over your face: over your brows, beneath your yes, rubbing circles on your temples. When you had calmed down a bit, he finally spoke: “Listen, my heart, I was taken aback when you whipped your hand from mine, because I thought the moment I fear the most had come when you realized that it was actually a terrible idea to be with me, let alone for eternity.” Your brows immediately furrowed and you wanted to protest, but Astarion put a finger to your lips with an “uh, uh, uh”. “But I realize I was wrong – a rare occasion but it does happen maybe once ore twice in a century. And before you say, yes, I really do believe you want me by your side – at least for now.” That put a stop to you wanting to protest for the moment although it still broke your heart to hear that he still thought you would change your mind sometime in the future.

“And as for this”, the vampire continued and lifted up his marked arm. The swirls and curves were now barely visible as if the light had burned out for the night. “I understand what you are trying to say and also yes, it is a bit off-putting and I will have to get used to it but it is still an entirely different thing from what Cazador put me through.” He twisted his forearm back and forth to look at the pattern: “In fact it is quite beautiful, don’t you think? Yours too. But to be honest I am almost more inclined to find out about what other things this blessing might have in store for us.” His eyes went back to yours. “You think there is more about it?” “Oh, I am sure there is more, but that’s not for tonight, my love. I think we already had  a night, didn’t we?” You hummed in agreement and put your arms around his neck again and tip-toeing. He took the hint to kiss you.

This time the kiss was much deeper than the one before. Lust and need tangled with it. Astarion softly moaned into your mouth, then lifted you up and softly set you on the railing where you could easily also wrap your legs around his waist. He went to deepen the kiss even more when another thought crossed your mind. You broke the kiss, earning a displeased grunt from the elf. “When you said… you’d put a ring me. Did you mean that?”, you asked him breathlessly. Astarion blinked, obviously surprised by the sudden change in topic. “Hmm, of course I would if that is what you wanted. Maybe not right now or rather not yet, although” – he lifted his marked arm again – “as the drow said, what more could it possibly mean after this?” You pout at him. “Well, I don’t know, could be nice, you know, when the time is right”, you mumbled. Astarion threw his head back to laugh: “Alright, noted. Tav wants a real wedding when the time ss right, with a real ring. I’ll happily buy you the biggest one I can find in Baldur’s Gate, no, Faerun!” “I don’t care about all that shit with diamonds and pearls, you could put a paper ring on my finger for all I care. Also – you are full of shit.” The vampire chuckled: “Don’t discredit my love for you that way, darling.” Your eyes widened and you swung to box his shoulder – which almost send you sailing backwords off the railing.

But thankfully the elf caught you from breaking your delectable little neck with a shocked facial expression and immediately put you on steady ground. “Leave me a piece if you actually want to get married one day. And now let’s please stop talking about this, all this sweet-talk will make me throw up.” You moved to box him again but he easily dodged and grabbed your hand. Keeping hold of it, he leaned down to kiss you again.

You were still standing there, all tangled up in each other and halfway to letting it become not decent, when the door to the balcony slammed open and Kirin stepped out. He was completely out of breath, leaning on his knees. When he had regained some he said: “By the Gods, ye damned elves, keep it in ye pants! Lass, pretty face, ye need to leave, right ‘bout now!”