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Lethal Woman (Astarion x GN! Daywalking Vampire)

Chapter 11

Synopsis: You find yourself in a cave with creatures you've never seen before. Astarion becomes compromised and you fall apart.

CW: Smut

This is still more of a filler chapter- I wanted to do a couple small chapters as I relearn their respective personalities for this story again lol

AO3

Your head is throbbing when you finally wake up and the air smells like the docks in Westgate- fishy and nauseating.

There is loud chanting ringing through the air and your fingertips scratch against a cold, marble stone. You feel incredibly dizzy and the chanting isn’t helping either.

“BOOOAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!”

You blink the blurriness away and you are met with bulging, fish eyes staring at you as they chant to-

“BOOOAAALLLLL!”

Don’t they mean… Bhaal?

A scream of rage and ‘power’ comes from another stone slab and you groan in irritation.

Fucking Red caps- why does it always have to be a Redcap?

“I DEMAND A BLOOD SACRIFICE!”

Oh good- you’re sure that’s your cue.

The weird fish descend upon you and you use Misty Step to get back onto your feet- stumbling ungracefully upon the ground as you try to get your barrings again. You really really feel like you might throw up.

The fish creatures are looking at you- their Priest with large, unblinking eyes approaches you with an awestruck expression.

“Are you… a goddess?”

Your morals say tell them no and free them from this idiot. Your lack of morals says this is going to be very fun and you should still save them from this moron.

“Sure am!” you say with far too much enthusiasm, thankfully these creatures do not seem very bright.

“Who are you, Lady in White?”

Lady in- wait is he referring to your scales? Huh, you really may be able to pull this off. Scales on a half-drow are rather rare.

“She lies!” the red cap shrieks, it’s blood stained appearance dissipating as the creatures stop chanting,” that- that is my Chosen! Who has come to usurp me!

“I will give you one last chance to be in my good graces, my Chosen- otherwise, you shall feel the wrath of BOAL!”

You tilt your head at the tiny, pathetic little man and you use your vampiric stare. The creature immediately recoils and bows down to you. You walk over and behead the creature- turning dramatically towards the fish.

You hold your fist in the air with one of your hidden daggers held high.

“My name is Rowan the Great! Goddess of Happy Accidents!”

“ROWAAANNNNNN! THE GREATTTT!”

“Okay, that’s too long. Just Rowan is fine.”

The fish begin to cheer in worship of you and you can’t help the cackling that escapes your lips. This might be the best accident to ever happen to you- a whole group of fish people? Cheering your name because you basically told them too? You really shouldn’t be getting so high on your own fumes. Karlach is going to get a kick out of this.

Clanging from behind you alerts you and the fish people to someone’s presence.

“Soldier!?”

“I’m in here!” you shout before looking at the fish people, “I present to you- my Chosen!”

“What in the nine hells?”

Karlach and Shadowheart are wide eyed and horrifically confused. They begin to cheer your name again and you flash a cheeky grin at the two women.

“I’m officially a Goddess.”

“Ooooo,” Karlach says while trying to contain her laughter, “of what?”

“Happy accidents.”

“That works maybe too well.”

Shadowheart looks like she’s swallowed an entire bowl of lemons by the time you resurface from the odd Cavern you ended up in- she isn’t thrilled that you impersonated and announced yourself as a Goddess. You simply say you don’t give a hoot.

You tell them of what transpired under the water and they tell you the horrifying news that they made Astarion and Gale team up. When Karlach tells you she offered to pay Astarion for this favor, you almost lost your mind. Why didn’t you all just remain together!? Cazador is hunting Astarion!

You immediately begin to look for the two men- your heart is thrumming with worry and there is a sick knot in your stomach. Something is wrong- you just know it and you hate that something is wrong because that means you are going to have to fight.

A crash above your heads and Gale yelling Astarion’s name in fear is more than enough for you to launch yourself up the rocks. You slide a few times, but are able to rebound it by jumping and using Spider Crawl.

A massive beholder beast has it’s eye on Gale and you notice a statue that looks very familiar standing not that far away from you. Casting shroud- you walk over and you bite your knuckle to keep from sobbing.

It’s Astarion, frozen in fear and solid stone. You know Halsin has something back at camp to reverse the condition, but you are completely frozen. Instead of fighting or fleeing, you fall to your knees and are stuck staring at his petrified face.

You feel like you are going through everything with Tessa all over again- everything sounds like it’s underneath the ocean.

“Soldier,” Karlach says panicked, “you have to get up, we have to stop this thing then we can get Halsin.”

You just shake your head and continue to refuse to get up. You feel like a lead weight.

He has to be so scared right now and you can’t leave him alone- not like this. Karlach and Shadowheart leave you there and go to assist Gale.

You don’t notice the battle ending or your companions racing back to camp. All you could do was sit there miserably, waiting for him to become unpetrified.

There has to be something you can use to unpetrify him.

You consider blood magic, but you don’t know of any spells that help with petrification. You haven’t felt this helpless in a very very long time.

You used to know Greater Restoration- Tessa had taught you it before, but you fear you might butcher it.

But camp is also a day and a half away- you had led a scouting mission and the rest of the group stayed behind to help the creatures and individuals in the grove. It allowed more people to be helped and more money made.

You have to try- if only this once and if it doesn’t work- it doesn’t work.

You have to focus extremely hard on the magic that flows through your body and focus on channeling it towards solving the current issue.

No change. Absolutely none.

You sit up against a rock and just put your face in your hands.

“I am utterly worthless,” you whisper in disappointment.

“Stop saying things like that to my partner,” a familiar voice says hoarsely, “you are entirely worth it.”

You leap up and throw yourself at Astarion- his own arms holding you equally as tight. You don’t want him to see your tears or know how devastated you are.

Or how happy it makes you to hear him call you his partner.

Astarion pulls away from you and you are disappointed, but only for a nano second.

Astarion kisses you with need, want, desire, sadness- a fear that he will never be able to kiss you again. You return it with equal amounts of vigor.

Both of your armor and clothing is off within seconds- Astarion thrusting up inside of you with your back against a large rock and your legs wrapped tightly around his hips.

This was an occasional occurrence after one of you had a particularly close call- there is this feral need to reconnect and feel that the other is still there. As if sight would never be enough.

He nips at your neck, you give him permission to drink from you and his hips stutter before he is pounding into you with as much power as he can. You love it- every second of it. You could not be more sure he is okay even if you tried.

You are full of him and your hands are needily in his hair- it’s sloppy and disastrous, Astarion even less composed than you are, but you’re both cumming already through the needy display from both of your bodies.

You continue to cling to each other- your nectar and his juices coating your thighs and his stomach. You feel lost in him- the way he smells, the way he tastes. His cool skin underneath your fingertips feels like heaven and his lips against yours makes the world feel right side up again.

Your lips are swollen and your mound throbbing with pleasure. You stare into his eyes and his stare hopelessly back into yours.

“I am so grateful you’re okay,” Astarion whispers, leaving a soft, long kiss against your lips, “I- I was so worried I lo-”

Astarion’s voice cuts off with a choked voice. You cup his face with your hands.

“It’s going to take a lot more than that to kill, my Star,” you say while wiping his tears, “I’m so grateful that you’re okay and I don’t have to wait two days to be with you again.”

“Oh? You don’t want to spend extra time with Gale,” Astarion teases, “I am sure he has lots of Kraken facts to share with you.”

You groan, “the less I hear about Krakens over the next century- the better.”

You both get dressed again and begin to walk- hand in hand. You are grateful when you find an old abandoned arcane tower- the two of you using Dimension Door to get to the third floor where an old, old bed is.

Astarion looks at the bed wearily and you notice how he becomes entirely rigid.

“I have had to get on my back and take it for two centuries,” he said one night while you were curled around him, “I never want to go back to doing that ever again.”

You could see how a bed might be triggering- considering this is the first bed you have encountered in your journey.

“Gods!” You exclaim, “this bed is positively filthy! I would rather eat dung than sleep in it!”

Whether Astarion believes you or not, doesn’t matter. He looks relieved when you decline the bed.

Both of you lay out on the ground- staring up into the dark, night sky. You feel excruciatingly tired. Your body and psyche has been through far too much lately. Astarion is curled up around you this time- his head on your chest and listening to your barely discernible heartbeat.

“Oh- I’m a Goddess now.”

“I already knew that, Darling,” Astarion peers up at you with a flirty smile, “but do tell me how you came to this realization.”

“Oh no- not a realization! I am actually worshipped now!”

You tell Astarion your misadventure from earlier today and he laughs, giggles, and snorts the entire time. He especially loves Shadowheart’s reaction. A comfortable silence falls over both of you afterwards, Astarion is tracing circles along your hip.

“Rowan?”

You hum in response.

“I don’t think I could ever live without you again.”

“I share the same sentiment.”

“Is that healthy?”

You think about that for a moment.

“I think that depends on the nature of the relationship- we can be apart, but one of us being temporarily dead to the world feels like suffering,” You say thoughtfully, “I think as long as we respect each other and let each other create our own friendships, not control one another-

“I think it’s okay then.”

Astarion nods his head and you look at him- trying to hide your worry that he has changed his mind about you entirely. He seems to notice your train of thought without you saying anything. He hovers above you and puts one hand on your cheek- placing a soft, long kiss on your lips.

“I adore you,” Astarion says earnestly, “I just want to make sure I’m not smothering you. I don’t want you to feel like you are under Dahlia’s thumb again.”

You smile brightly at him and shake your head.

“Silly man,” you press your lips to his, “I may be under your thumb, wrapped around your pinkie- whatever analogy you want to use, but I know that I can ask you to unravel me, release me, whatever it is.

“I’m not afraid of you- I’m only afraid of living without you.”

#baldurs gate 3 #astarion #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #baldurs gate astarion #bg3 spoilers #astarion romance #astarion x you #bg3 #karlach #astarion x gn!tav #astarion x gn! reader

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chaoticbardlady99 · 1 day

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This is so cute 😭

Nocturnal eyes

Pairing: Astarion/ g/n Tav

Tags: vulnerable Astarion, angst, friendship, a bit of fluff

Length: 2.4k words

Summary: Astarion notices something is off with his eyes …

A/N: @nyx-knox out here once again, being the ✨best✨ beta-reader I could hope for!

Also: ARE Y'ALL FOR REAL?! Over 750 reactions on my Bedhead fic?? Thank you so much 🥹!!!

Taglist: @wilteddreamsofbaldursgate , @littlelovelore, @onlyancunin @chaoticbardlady99

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Astarion sits in the soft green grass, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun.

Today had been exhausting. The party had finally left the wilderness behind and set up camp on the Mountain Pass. Tomorrow they will head to the Githyanki Crèche, but for now … he’s just relaxing, listening to the soft rustle of the trees above him with his eyes closed.

Because they are hurting again - his damned eyes - causing his head to ache in that awful stinging way. This has been happening semi-regularly since they crashed on that beach. By the end of every day, his eyes feel exhausted. Sometimes he even welcomed the night, the dark bringing relief to his vision, much as he hated to admit that he found any solace in the darkness after having been trapped in it for so long.

It’s not that he wants to be in the dark again - on the contrary! Oh, words could never express how much he enjoys the feeling of the warmth on his skin, the smell of sun-baked earth beneath him, filling him with life, making his undead heart swell with secret joy. It’s just …

“Truly, a sight to behold,” Gale had said, when they first stepped through the gate onto the Pass and were greeted by a magnificent view of the surrounding valley … Or at least Astarion assumed that’s what it was.

Because he can’t tell. Not really. In fact, all he sees are blurry, rugged shapes and a haze of earthy colors far off in the distance.

When Astarion had first opened his eyes after the crash, all he could do was gasp audibly. The sun seared his eyes, the light brighter than anything he had seen in centuries. Immediately, he had shielded his face from the merciless rays, curled into a ball, panic taking over. “No!” he yelped. It’s daytime! I can’t be out! Oh Gods, do I smell smoke? Am I burning up?? Am I disintegrating???

But a few heartbeats passed and to his surprise - and great relief - it was not a burning pain he started to feel. Rather, it was a sensation he thought he had forgotten but that he immediately recalled, having felt it lifetimes ago: The warmth of the midday sun.

Cautiously, he had uncoiled himself and tried opening his eyes again. Gods! It hurts. Of course, Vampire eyes are sensitive to the light, in order to see better at night. An essential trait for nocturnal creatures, predators, such as himself. His eyes hadn’t had to process so much brightness in … forever. So, being blasted with daylight for the first time in roughly 200 years - it hurt like all Hells!

It took a few moments, but eventually Astarion managed to pry open his crimson eyes. And he began to see. To look. And he saw colors he hadn’t seen in too long. He saw the bright blue sky, the deep purples of the Nautiloid shipwreck, the turquoise water covered with the most beautiful shimmering reflections. Everything was bright. Everything was so vibrant! Everything was so … full of life. He looked up, squinting at the trees and their slightly blurred leaves. Those luscious, green leaves. Gods … I had forgotten how beautiful that particular color is …

But there had been no time for him to enjoy all those new sights for long. He heard them before he saw them. The others. Friends? Enemies? He couldn’t tell. They were just indiscernible shapes in the distance - but as soon as he had lured one of them close enough to put a knife to their throat, he was back in survival mode, forgetting about the colors he had just reveled in.

That’s what he knew how to do, after all. Hitting his close target. And really, that’s all he should care about, that’s really all he actually needs to see. He’s a master at close-up melee combat, a rogue who sneaks up to his victims, dangerous with his blade. He’s skilled at picking locks and picking pockets. And he’s an amazing lover, always able to read every detail of his victims' expressions to make sure he hits that target just as well. All he needs to see clearly is what’s right in front of him, isn’t it?

But if he was being really honest … it’s not like his usual tricks have actually worked out for him so far, now have they? His first melee attack had earned him a headbutt to the face. He had woken his first victim while sneaking up on them. And he felt his nice little seduction plan for Tav slowly and steadily backfiring on him - but that was a problem for another time. So why not top it all off with embarrassingly inadequate vampiric eyesight to really emphasize it all, he figured?

Astarion opens his eyes again and looks at the hazy, blurred valley below, the wind tousling his white locks, and he scoffs. Ironic, isn’t it? Here he is, finally free from his captor. But of course, even out in the open, he’s not able to look beyond the confines of his own metaphorical cell. As if his eyes are still keeping him prisoner.

A sound behind him snaps him out of his thoughts. Again, he hears them before he sees them coming. Only this time he knows it is a friend. “Astarion?” Tav, he thinks with a knowing smile. He knows their voice anywhere.

“Yes, Darling?” he asks as their leader emerges from the shade of the trees.

Astarion grew to enjoy Tav‘s company quite a bit, if he was being honest. Not only during their passionate encounters, but also just sitting with them, talking about their journey, about the others in their party, sometimes even about his past, which he never thought possible when he had been pressing his knife to their throat just a short time ago.

“Enjoying the view?” they ask as they sit down next to him in the soft grass.

“Oh of course,” Astarion answers as he leans back onto his elbows.

“Especially the Crèche,” Tav continues, pointing into the valley, making casual conversation.

“Why, I agree. Who would have thought the Gith were such marvelous architects,” the pale Elf replies without missing a beat.

It’s now that Tav turns to look at him. “... Except the Crèche is in the opposite direction?” they say cautiously.

Shit. Astarion tenses.

He hates this. They know. Immediately he is prepared to snap, to throw a sarcastic comment back at them, telling them to mind their own damn business. Feeling exposed, he keeps his gaze fixed forward, part of him expecting to see mockery, or malice even, should he meet Tav’s eyes. But when he eventually looks up … all he sees is a knowing smile. Their face is so very clear next to him, and so is the genuine fondness that greets him in their expression. The same fondness he is secretly happy to see on Tav’s face every time they look at him.

Astarion takes a deep breath. He doesn’t want this, he doesn’t want his walls to go up. Not for Tav. He resists it, that stupid defensive mechanism and to his surprise, he actually relaxes a bit. “You noticed,” he says quietly.

Tav nods. “On our first day, actually.” His eyebrows go up in surprise.

“Did you now?” the vampire asks.

“We climbed that platform next to the crash site, remember? You were first up. And you said there’s nothing to see.” Their tone is neither condescending nor reproachful. “But there was... A lot, actually. You know, like, the village? Or the goblin camp. Or, well, this mountain pass. So yeah, I noticed.”

Astarion scoffs. They were right, of course. And back then, he didn’t even realize there was something wrong with his vision. He had still been so overwhelmed with all the light and color, all this blue and green…

For a moment, both sit in silence before Astarion speaks up. “It’s all rather blurry, you know?” he finally admits aloud. “I never noticed it back in Baldur’s Gate.”

Tav listens and nods. “I thought vampirism cures all mortal ailments, even eye problems.”

“Well, maybe there are exceptions? Or maybe I’m just a sorry excuse for a vampire spawn. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s not like any vampire is able to look at vast illuminated landscapes during the day to notice if something is off.” he says in a slightly frustrated, even embarrassed tone, gesturing towards the sunset.

“Your eyes have been adjusted to the night for 200 years. So … maybe they just need a bit to adjust to the daylight now? Give it some time.” The optimism and sweetness in Tav’s voice makes the corner of Astarion’s mouth twitch up into a half-smile.

“Wouldn’t that be something,” he says. Maybe they are right. Maybe.

This is when Tav clears their throat. “But uhm, until then …” Astarion’s pointy ears twitch slightly as he hears Tav rummaging in their pocket. When they procure something wrapped in a folded leather cloth, he sits up.

“What’s this?” he asked, and they hand him the flat parcel. Curiously, Astarion opens the wrapping.

In his hand lies the most hideous pair of mismatched spectacles he has ever seen.

Before he can say anything, Tav begins to talk. “I came across this half broken pair of looking glasses while looting some time ago, and I thought, well, while there is no way we would ever find the perfect pair, we might just try making a custom one, right? I mean, it’s obvious you’re straining your eyes. You might not say anything to us about it, and you don’t have to, but I can tell that you often have a headache by the end of the day, and I, well, wanted to help.” Astarion still says nothing, inspecting the wonky looking thing in his hands.

Quickly, Tav continues, compelled to explain. “But you have no idea how hard it is to find undamaged spectacles! I mean, it makes sense, right? Who would leave their eyes behind? So anyway, I started collecting all the glasses I could find, hoping for an intact pair, but well … eventually I ended up with … this.”

The pair of spectacles in Astarion’s hand was clearly made of two halves from different glasses, held together in the middle by a thin leather cord, wrapped around it several times and in several other places. “Both glasses seemed to be made for looking at things further away. Of course, I can’t say for certain. They are not for me, I mean, if anything, I should be looking into finding a pair for me, so I can finally read that book Gale won’t shut up about. But … anyway, I thought maybe they might be of use to you.”

It’s not often that Astarion is stunned into silence. Tav did this? For him? It takes him a moment to process this … act of kindness. But when he does, he leans over to Tav, turning their face to him with a finger beneath their chin, and softly kisses them. “They … are hideous, my dear,” he says against their lips, with a chuckle and a genuine, soft smile on his face.

“Yeah, I know,” Tav agrees, kissing him back, mirroring his smile, before pulling away. “Well go on then, put them on.”

And he does. Astarion puts on the mismatched, wonky pair of improvised spectacles, the right temple barely fitting over his ear.

“Well?”, Tav asks hopefully.

With the awkward thing perched in his elegant face, the vampire looks down into the valley and takes in an almost inaudible breath. It’s … much better than he could have hoped for. Yes, it’s far from perfect. The glasses are sitting on his aquiline nose lopsided and the left glass is not even close to what he probably needs, yet he feels that nagging strain on his eyes eases immediately.

But that’s not what stuns the pale Elf.

Just as the sun begins to disappear behind the mountains, casting long shadows and a warm orange glow on everything around them, Astarion sees. And all of it this time! For the first time in 200 years, he sees the crisp outline of the setting sun. He sees the mountain tops and ridges. He sees the glowing clouds. By the Gods…

“Astarion?” Tav asks timidly, but he does not react. They sit with him in silence then, watching him watch the sunset in wonder, those red ruby eyes they love so much squinting intently, unmoving, until the glowing disk disappears behind the horizon and the sky slowly begins to turn a lovely shade of purple.

It takes a moment for Astarion to stir again. Carefully, he takes the spectacles off his face as if it’s the most precious thing he has ever owned, before looking at Tav. A lot of things are going through his head at that moment, and - much to his ever-growing confusion - through his undead heart as well. This is not a thing you just do for a travel-companion. Why are you so nice to me? I do not deserve your kindness. “Thank you.”, he eventually settles on, and he knows to Tav those simple words convey everything.

Tav smiles. “Don’t mention it,” obviously delighted their little gift has been accepted. Why in the hells his favorite travel companion, no, his lover, went out of their way to help him like this, he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Sure, they agreed to help him kill Cazador, but this is not the same! This is special. This is … caring. It is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for him. And he is truly, deeply grateful.

This gift would do wonders for his vision, at least until his nocturnal eyes fully embrace looking into the far distance during the day. He knows he will look so foolish with this contraption on his nose and he would probably have to kill Gale should the wizard ever see him with them on, but somehow he didn’t mind wearing these, looking silly, unsightly even, in front of Tav. They wouldn’t judge him, they wouldn’t laugh at him. Because he feels that they care.

After a moment, Astarion puts the spectacles back on, turning his head up to the tree branches above them, that stunning green of the individual, defined leaves still visible in the dim dusk light.

“You know, Darling …”, he says, “I really do love that color.”

#astarion ancunin #astarion x gn!tav

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