Work Text:
“I know exactly what I want to do with you today!” Your fiery Tiefling girlfriend shouts as you clean up the rest of the breakfast Will had made for everyone.
Your eyes meet hers as a gentle smile graces your features as you take her plate from her. “Oh yeah and what’s that?” Karlach quickly catching onto to the playful tilt of her partner’s voice.
“I want to take you on a date! A first date. No monsters. No strange voices in our heads. No impending doom. A real date. Just you and me and dinner.” She was so passionate, so excited at the idea of being able to go on a first date with you. She’s so expressive on every punctuation that you can feel her excitement, but then you see her wavier. The same self-doubt that slipped through her cracks the night her engine was repaired. When she questioned you about how you felt about her after spending the night loving her entire body. The very same slips through, “Please say yes.” Her voice cracks even just the slightest, but of course you notice.
You immediately want to quell any self-doubt that might bubble to her surface, “Yes!” Maybe it slips out too quickly, but it’s hard to care when you watch all the self-doubt vanish from her eyes. Then you feel your nerves rise, why are you so nervous? This is your girlfriend! You’ve defeated gods alongside her, but going on a date? Oh no. The heat starts to rise in your face or maybe it’s just that Karlach is running a little hotter than normal? The sudden urge to want to doll up and look your absolute best rises to the top of your brain. “Do you mind?” You let out a shaky breath, “Do you mind if we plan for later? There is just a few things I have to get done.”
She’s too excited that you said you would go on a date with her, you could have demanded her to do anything in that moment and she would get it done. “Of course! Go put on your least bloody tunic and meet me at the restaurant by Damon’s place! You know the one you pointed out yesterday! At dusk!” She all but takes off as soon as she lays out the plan. No doubt wanting to prepare as well.
As soon as she is out of sight, you’re marching straight for Astarion. If anyone could help you with preening and pruning it would be your favorite vampire.
He can sense your distress before he even begins to turn to look at you. When he sees you he can barely get out a, “Hello, darling.” Before you’re grabbing his hand and looking up at him like a drowned kitten. He has to stifle a giggle. “What’s got your tail in a twist, pussycat.”
“Karlach asked me out on a date, and I need your help getting ready. Pretty, pretty please.” You use your free hand to poke at his chest. Bashful at the idea of asking for help readying yourself for a night with your girlfriend. That you absolutely wanted to do everything you could to make sure tonight was perfect.
He looked at you with that pompous mischievousness, a look that you knew before he said anything that he would help you. You and Astarion had formed a close bond in a short period of time. Ever since you stood up to the creepy Drow at Moonrise towers, your friendship flourished, and he let you in more. Soon you would find yourself constantly turning to him to fuss over your relationship with Karlach. He was always the biggest supporter of your relationship. “Well of course, darling! What did you have in mind?”
“That’s the thing, I don’t.” The look on your face told him everything he needed to know. You had truly never done anything like this before. “I just want to look my best and have tonight be perfect.”
“Well that’s easy, we passed by the Facemaker Boutique and I saw a salon not far from there. We can start there!” He claps his hands together and laughs, “This will be fun!”
With that the two are of you are off from camp. The two of you were set out on one of the most important quests you had set out, elder brain be damned. Your first stop was the salon, baths were hard to come by when adventuring so you wanted to make sure you were extra pampered. A fresh trim wouldn’t hurt either, well at least that is what Astarion talked you into. You and Astarion checked in with the halfing up front and enjoyed a lovely spa afternoon. You had been saving your coins for something special and today seemed like a good day to splurge. The two of you were able to bath in the finest salts and oils. Afterwards you indulged in face masks and moisturizers. Then finishing it up with a trim and slight style, nothing too drastic but something to show a little extra care.
After feeling completely renewed from the spa, you and Astarion make your way to the boutique. Astarion and you spend way too much trying to find the perfect outfit. After several tries you finally find something that you feel comfortable in.
You were checking yourself out in the mirror when Astarion came up behind you to admire his handy work. “You look magnificent, my darling! Karlach won’t be able to keep her hands off you tonight. We might have to stop by the market and see if they have a surplus of aloe.”
He rendered you speechless, and he couldn’t help but let out a genuine laugh at your face flushed. You couldn’t be mad at him though, since Karlach got her ability to touch again the two of you had been anything short of handsy. You were excited for anything that she could have in store for the two of you tonight, just as the thought hit your head, I saw the glint in the mirror of the sun beginning to set. “I’m gonna be late!” You grabbed him by his arm while he was busy whipping the tears welled in his eyes. You paid for my outfit and split ways after leaving the boutique, but not before he could yell out with a wave “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Which isn’t a lot really!”
You turned away from him with a fit of laughter but immediately broke out in a strut. Who was stop YOU? You hair and nails were done, cleaned and cut to perfection. You felt unstoppable in your attire, and you were getting ready to go on a date with the love of your life? You were on cloud nine and nothing could touch you. Once again you are filled with that defensiveness that nothing could get in the way of tonight, tonight was yours and Karlach’s. No evil plots to foil, well at least in the immediate future I guess, devils, or monsters to fight. It would just be the two of you on a date.
Just before you know it the restaurant comes into view, and you can see Karlach seated outside under some fairy lights at the back of the restaurant. It looked so dreamy you couldn’t help but to stop and take in the view. From behind you could see the bounce of her leg and the fidget of the muscles in her arm, she must be rubbing her hands together like she always does when she doesn’t have a weapon to grab onto. Then you started thinking about her hands gripping weapons and you had to snap yourself out of it. You had a date to go on and you couldn’t keep your lady waiting any longer. You enter the restaurant and make way to the back to where Karlach waits.
As soon as she sees you she’s stumbling to great you, her height defeating her in that moment. Her height and largeness was just a few of your favorite physical feature about her as her chair goes flying from her getting up so fast. She of course was incredibly beautiful. Especially now when she is looking at you with such a gleam in her eye, you instantly feel at home. Like this is all real, its just the two of you living a normal life. No brains, no heart instead of an engine. Breathe taking, she was just breathe taking.
“You’re here! Not that I thought you weren’t coming I just..” She scratches the back of her head and then I can see mind light up. She goes behind the chair and pulls it out for you. “You’re here with me, and I’m so excited for out date.” You can feel the heat begin to rise into my ears and you are yet again speechless tonight. You take your seat, and she pushes you in before going to sit in her chair. When she gets adjusted the wait comes to ask for the drink order.
Karlach speaks up after looking at you with a wink, “I’ll have ale for tonight and for my lady she will have wine.” You blush, she knows you so well.
As the waiter walks away you finally speak up, “This is lovely, Karlach.”
She bends her head down like she’s trying to be sneaky to whisper, “Lets pretend.” You giggle but nod your head and she straightens up. “Thank you for agreeing to go out with me tonight. You said you were an adventurer, right? What’s that been like?” She asks and looks at you seriously.
You let out another fit of laugh but went along with her. “Oh, you know the same old defeating baddies, traveling all around, and saving damsels in distress. Ya, know?” You lean in and fold your hands under your chin, leaning into her with a dreamy glaze in your eyes.
“Any damsels worth mentioning?” She looks at you with a playful quirk in her eye.
“Just one, but I wouldn’t really call her a damsel in distress, unless of course she needs saving from a giant axe flying straight her way.” You say leaning into the delusion of pretending you were strangers with this wonderful woman, while touching on the reality of your worlds.
However, she seems to be jarred back to reality with plenty of sass in her tone in reply to your jest. “It happened one time!” But before she could really get into the waiter is bring our drinks and taking out orders. There seems to have a been a misunderstanding between Karlach and the waiter about what food we might be getting, but you don’t still blissfully swept away in being here in the moment with her. They could serve you burnt cabbage, and you wouldn’t care.
“That guy.” Karlach lets out a huff and you are instantly reaching for her hand, connecting her back into your moment. “Anyways, where were we?”
“Karlach, in truth, I don’t know if I can sit here and pretend as if I’m already not so in love with you.” You admit with a gentle smile while catching her eyes in yours.
She lets out a sigh of relief, “You’re right, it was silly. I just wanted to make tonight normal and perfect.” She admits bashfully.
You gently rub your thumb across the back of her hand comfortingly, “You know we are far from normal people, but tonight is perfect enough just being here with you, that’s all I need. You are all I need.”
She looks at you admiringly, “Lets toast, to us.” As you both reach for your glass you see her nerves overtake her and she is spilling her drink on herself. She starts to grumble and get in her head when you bring her back down.
“Don’t worry about it, my love, we can use mine.” You raise your glass to her. She smiles gratefully at you.
“May we live every day like its out last.” She speaks out kindly, and you take a sip from your wine. Before you can barely finish swallowing it and passing your cup to her you feel her lips on yours. You can but smile into the sweet kiss. Even if you didn’t find the cure you were happy just to have met her along the way. She sits back down to finish her speech, “Because you never know when your last will come.”
You smile at her sweetly and just as you pass your drink off to her your food is at your table, someone it all turned out fine, the food and company were just perfect. You both enjoyed your meals and shared the more mundane versions of your lives. At the end of your meal, she perks up, “I got a surprise upstairs waiting for us.”
“Oh and what is this surprise?” I ask coyly and look at her suspiciously.
“You’ll just have to trust me and find out.” She leans in over the table and you are suddenly even more aware of her large stature. And of course, you trust her.