Chapter Text
Tav was snooping around the old castle they had just looted, double checking that the party hadn’t missed anything before they left, and tried to stop Karlach from burning the place to the ground to ‘check it off the list’. The human pressed on every surface they found, pulling out every book that seemed to jut out a little too much, testing every door handle to make sure nothing was locked, and every room was checked. They came out the other end empty handed, and began to move through the castle halls once again, retracing their steps to find the way out of the labyrinth that the previous owner called home once.
On their way out, their ears pricked up at the sound of an object clattering against the floor. Tav stopped where they were and turned around slowly, hand going to the hilt of their dagger in preparation. Their footsteps were slow and careful on the stone floor before their hand splayed on the door and pushed it open, eyes darting around the dark inside of the room.
The human unsheathed the sword and stepped in further, catching a glimpse of familiar scarlet eyes catching a ray of sun before they flitted away.
“I thought you were waiting outside,” Tav breathed a sigh of relief, stepping over to the vampire and running a hand through his hair gently, “what’re you looking for?”
The vampire looked up and stood tall, taking a hold of Tav’s wrist and pulling them closer to his cold body.
“I just missed you so much, my dear,” he drawled, tilting forward slightly, his feet moving in practiced steps to turn them around as if the two were dancing, one hand on the small of Tav’s back, the other holding onto their wrist, “I couldn’t bear being away from you for that long.”
He swiftly moved around, kicking back some potions that had fallen onto the ground in his haste. Tav leant back, eyes wide and looking up to meet Astarion’s boring into their own, he held their waist tightly while keeping them in this dipped position.
“Uh, yeah, I missed you too,” Tav breathed out, standing up straight and prying their hands out of Astarion’s tight grasp to instead adjust his collar.
Astarion stared at them incredulously, yet still tilted his head in such a way so Tav had to meet his ruby eyes.
“Find anything of value in here?” Tav asked, picking up the torch that had been knocked off of its holster on the wall, about to relight it with a small fireball they could cast, but Astarion’s hands covered theirs and took the metal torch from them, placing it on the desk in the room casually.
“Only your beauty, my darling,” he whispered, leaning in closer to Tav, parting his lips just enough that the human could feel his breath on their skin.
Tav turned their head away from him and pressed their lips into a thin line, hands sliding off of his tunic to head towards the door, dragging him along with a gentle tug on his cuffs.
“That’s nice,” they muttered.
Astarion smirked and followed close behind them, holding the door open for Tav, letting the human go out first before he poked his head back into the dark room.
“Make one noise and you’re dead,” he spat, causing Astarion to flinch and curl up further, the rope at his wrists burning against his skin every time he moved or attempted to wriggle out of the restraints.
The vampire whimpered before he felt a sharp sting against his cheek, the faux-Astarion shooting out a warning shot of lightning at him before shutting the door. He could be heard down the hall calling out to Tav.
“Wait for me, dear,” he smiled, wrapping an arm around their waist possessively, pulling the human close to them, his grip on their waist deadly, enough to bruise their skin if he pressed his nails in.
Tav raised an eyebrow at him, turning to look up at their vampire lover, a smile gracing their features.
They exited the house and met up with the rest of the party, with Karlach already steaming at the thought of setting the place on fire.
“Yes, go ahead, set it on fire!” Astarion egged her on, which was all the tiefling needed to shoot out firebolts at the wooden roof of the building, along with the front doors.
Tav let out a breath, grabbing Karlach’s shoulder and pulling her arms back to stop her from causing any more destruction. The party made their way around the town, finding one more house to pillage, finding useful potions, food supplies, and the odd piece of armour.
Astarion had been hanging around Tav the whole time, keeping an arm or a hand on them the entire time, choosing to split up with them, keeping his scarlet eyes on them at all times.
While Tav was searching through the drawers Astarion was standing near the bed, keeping his eyes on Tav’s form when they suddenly spoke up.
“Are you feeling alright?” their voice cut through the silence with ease, “did something happen while we were at that castle, Astarion?”
The vampire moved closer, taking the jewel from their hand, resting it on the top of the cabinet before he took their hand, turning them around to face him.
“My darling, I just missed you,” he murmured, his other pale hand sliding up into their hair, keeping their faces close while he stepped back towards the bed, “that’s all.”
“Astarion–”
“Shh…”
He pushed them back onto the bed gently, before sliding over them, burying his face away in their neck.
“What’re you doing?”
“Just let me…” The vampire hummed, his lips pressing against the skin there once, twice, before he nipped against their throat.
Tav turned their head, catching sight of their reflection, Astarion on top of them nipping and biting at their neck, his pale hand sliding underneath their tunic, fingers flicking between layers to find the skin of their waist. Their eyes focused on the vampire’s movements, watching how his head bobbed at their neck, how his knees shifted up to rest on the bed.
How they could see him in the reflection of the mirror.
Tav’s hands pushed on his shoulders, forcing him away from them, the vampire looking down at them with those red eyes they held so close to their heart, being used for malice.
“Where is he?!” They raised their voice, grabbing a dagger from Astarion’s belt, holding the blade up to the throat of their vampire lover.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Is he alive? What did you do to him?!”
“He’s just warming up…”
Then, the creature changed, Astarion’s pale skin was ripped away by the creature’s original grey colour, causing the vampiric form to dissolve. The creature gained a few feet in height, its muscles visible through its thin layer of skin, veins pulsing across its arms before its eyes shifted from red to a pure white. Astarion’s white hair fell away and his mouth sealed itself shut, showing only the outline of the teeth underneath its skin.
The shapechanger tilted its head, moving off of Tav and jumping out through the window, breaking the glass before it fell a few feet, beginning to run away from the house, and ultimately the village.
Tav didn’t hesitate to rush out of the master bedroom, not bothering to stop to tell Karlach, Wyll or Shadowheart where they were going. Their boots skidded across the pebbled path once they reached outside, starting a sprint to rush over to the castle lighting up in flames. The human barged through the charred doors, rushing down the hall and opening every door they saw, calling out his name in a panic.
“Astarion!” The human’s throat itched at the feeling of smoke getting into their lungs.
“Gods’ sake,” Tav panted, barging down a door locked by the inside items having fallen over due to the fire. They managed to open it, shuffling back to get away from the barrels falling over into the hallway, fire eating up the wood to spill out its contents, “where are you!”
Tav’s eyes watered, be it from the smoke or the loss of Astarion, they couldn’t tell.
“Astarion…” they stopped at the end of the hallway, turning around to see the fire closing in on them.
Tav let out a sob, rummaging through their pockets to see if they had anything to put a stop to this raging fire. All they could pull out were more grease bottles, a few loose jewels, until they grabbed a potion of greater healing. Fire resistance, they remembered, was present in this elixir. Tav popped the lid off and tilted their head back, swallowing the liquid before hanging onto half of it, keeping it close as they made their way through the fire, the feeling of skin burning of present, yet didn’t physically harm them.
“Astarion!” Tav yelled out, making their way back through the castle, heading west this time, barging through fire and breaking down doors.
They opened a door, the door handle burning their palm before they kicked it down, poking their head in and seeing the whole area lit up by flames, crates and shelves collapsing in on themselves, causing their contents to spill over the floor. And in the middle of it all, Astarion was tied up in the corner, fire biting at his boots while his head hung low, having breathed in too much smoke since the room had filled with flames.
“Oh no,” Tav knelt down on the flames and grabbed Astarion’s shoulders, attempting to wake him up, “no, no, no, no, please…”
He wasn’t waking up.
“Astarion, you can’t…” Tav choked out, one hand holding his cheek, while the other moved around his waist, keeping him close, “please wake up, you have to– wake up, I’m begging you.”
The human managed to find the potion of greater healing from their belt and uncapped it, pouring the liquid down his throat as best they could before discarding the bottle on the floor. Tav stood up, taking him with them, making sure the vampire was over their shoulder before they began to run.
They made it outside the house, dropping him on the ground and kneeling down over him, ear pressed against his heart in an attempt to find a pulse.
…Nothing.
“No,” Tav started at the ropes restraining him, cutting them off before laying him flat on his back in the open street, the sun setting over the hills cast gentle shadows over his face, “come on, you have to wake up…”
Tav began at his tunic, undoing the buttons before they pressed down on his chest, hard, rhythmically, tears streaming down their face.
“Please,” they sobbed, “please, please stay with me,”
They moved their face down, nose nudging his cheek before they connected their lips with his, breathing out twice into his mouth before pressing down on his chest again, and again, and again.
“Come back to me.”
…
Press, press, press.
…
Breathe.
…
Breathe.
…
“Please…”
…
Press, press, press.
…
Breathe.
…
Breathe.
…
“Wake up…”
…
Press, press, press.
…
Breathe.
…
Breathe.
…
“Wake up!” Tav collapsed against him, head buried in the crook of his neck while they panted, their head spinning, hands trembling. Their salty tears fell onto his neck, rolling off his pale skin as soon as they made contact.
They laid on top of him, listening to their heart beating in their ears, feeling his still body underneath theirs.
…
Karlach, Wyll and Shadowheart made their way out of their own house, with Karlach immediately turning to set the doors on fire, watching as the wood crumbled to ash.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner, I should’ve known immediately, I should’ve–”
Wyll made his way over to Tav, placing a hand on their shoulder tentatively. Shadowheart didn’t move, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.
The human moved their head away from his neck, sobs escaping their lips uncontrollably. Wyll knelt down next to them and wrapped his arms around their torso, feeling Tav lean against him, shoulder shaking each time they hicced and sobbed.
“No…” the devil breathed out, seeing the vampire lying on the ground, his eyes shut gently, face covered in ash, and the burns on his skin.