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The party was beyond his expectations. The splendor of his renovated halls clad in shimmering gold and crimson reds and a hint of black was breathtakingly beautiful and Astarion drank in the gasps and praises his guests offered as compliments. All who were something of the Sword Coast were here, looking extraordinarily fancy in their expensive dress up, the decorated masks and pompeus headwear. All of them drinking his wine, eating his food and paying full attention to his every word... and yet it meant nothing.... They meant less than nothing to him at this very moment for some reason.
All of this was hollow, dull... boring and oddly meaningless if not shared with her.
They were all so greedy for his attention and the free nourishment and entertainment he offered, and as always they desired him more than he wanted or needed them. Lord Astarion Ancunín, oh he loved how they finally addressed him with the respect and acknowledgement that had been denied him for centuries. They bowed their heads and sucked up to him, and yet he still felt empty, like all of this hard work was for naught.
Something... No, someone important was missing from the festivities tonight... She was missing... Well not missing, but straying a bit... yet again... To help those in need... Just out of his reach... What about his needs... His desire and longing for her?
Astarion hated to admit it, and he would never say it out loud, never would his pride let him... but she had been right. Taking Cazador´s life, his estate, his wealth and titles, even taking his role as patriarch could never fill the void within his heart or correct all the horror that his former master had bestowed upon him. It never would... and yet he kept striving for the acceptance of the upper class- he hungered for their praise and having them kissing his ass for once... he couldn't help it, and she knew it and let him, because part of him needed this, needed this lesson, and needed the attention of those who had once wronged him and left him to rot in the freezing cold kennels and that fucked up horror of a life for two centuries.
Still... It would never fill the void in his soul... Not like she could.
The party was splendid though. The bards; the best he could find. Every edible thing on that over the top buffet was an exquisite delicacy. The wine the best gold could buy. All that was missing was her by his side for it to be perfect... For him to finally feel whole.
Why did she have to be so damned stubborn... So righteous, so brave and helpful?
They had fought; bickering over the extravagancy he wanted to use to show off now that they had settled into the former estate of his dead master, which was now their home; the Ancunín estate after having spent over a year on renovations and getting used to their new titles and tasks. She felt it was wasted on the rich who would love nothing more than to doublecross Astarion the second the chance bid itself. She had wanted to use the money spent on this night for better housing, to feed and protect those in need... and he wanted to show off.
They had agreed to disagree on the matter... and Astarion had ended up getting his party. The smugness of his win hadn´t lasted... Especially not after she left soon after to help their mutual friend... and had yet to return.
He, who was the vampire ascandant, a powerful lord and a member of the people's council... A member of the high society of Baldur´s Gate. He wanted to brag and show off... Be a peacock, her words, not his, and flaunt his shiny feathers after centuries of being a tormented slave till his path had crossed hers after being kidnapped by the ilithid and she had somehow changed everything.
Tav was now a Duke after the Grand Duke and his son; their “dear” old friend, had kept pestering her to join the Council of Four for many moons. They had recruited her to become their knight in shining armor, their beacon of light and hope for the city to bask in. Gods, he hated that they used her like that... as if she was so perfect when she was just as flawed and wicked as the rest of them.
Astarion still didn't understand the logic behind them wanting a former chosen of Bhaal, reborn or not, as a Duke in their beloved city. Tav had changed from what she used to be of course. She had become a hero with a heart of gold. She was friendly and welcoming to all who deserved it, even after growing up in a world filled with death, blood and rot. She had seemingly done the impossible and had turned her life around, his too, mostly... and yet he knew who she really was deep down... and he loved her endlessly no matter what she was or wasn´t. The light and the darkness within her, all of her he treasured and adored... even if she drove him to the edge of madness on a regular basis.
Her generosity and empathy was nearly endless at times and yet her darkness ran as deep as his own. Tav had done so much good after she got infected by that worm, and would continue to do much good in Baldur´s Gate too... but she was still a daughter of Bhaal deep down, living under the roof of the one and only ascendent vampire god... Yet they had wanted her to join the council, only her, and eventually she had accepted their offer.
Her influence was a great benefit to his plans for the city of course, and even if she wasn't the blood thirsty killer she used to be she still accepted what he was and never even as much as wrinckled her pretty nose when he fed on thinking creatures... She still loved a little violence and bloodshed from time to time for old times sake. The urge had never fully left her. The people of this city didn't seem to care what she used to be, and Astarion had to admit that she was something different from everyone else.
One of a kind.
She was the love of his life...but also a huge pain in his backside sometimes.
A frown washed over his elegant features. Yes, he felt so much love for that stubborn creature that lived under his roof. She shared his bed and his side when she felt like it, which was thankfully most of the time. She was so passionate, so alive... and yet so darn fragile.
She, who knew all of his past, all of his secrets and plans for the city they had saved together with the other weirdos. She accepted him, didn´t try to change him or pretend he didn´t have a dark side... They didn´t always agree, far from it... but they still stuck together, bickered, made up and remained side by side... and yet he wanted more of her, always more, as if his hunger and need for her would never run out.
She, who was currently not here because she had stomped out of the front door three days ago in a fit of anger because he had foolishly insisted that this stupid, shitty party that he had spent months planning was more important than helping a friend in sudden need.
She, who was still mortal despite him wanting nothing more than to keep her by his side for the rest of eternity as his dark consort. His fragile, mortal darling.
Gods, he regretted saying all those nasty things to her. Regretted making her choose between him and this dumb party, and their former companion because no matter how much she adored him... and loved him... Those in dire need would always be a priority to her, especially since he would still be here, safe and sound and perhaps a little bit tipsy and feeling strangely emotional, whereas their friend could end up dead without their help.
He was the vampire ascendant. He was the strongest vampire around. He was a god amongst his kind... and yet Astarion had let her go out there on her own without back-up because he was too damned pigheaded to cancel this damned event to save their friend... for her.
What if she got hurt while he sat on his ass, drinking fancy champagne and overpriced wine, and ate silly looking fingerfood? What if she got hurt so badly that she would die because he wasn't there to protect her? His heart ached painfully at the mere thought of never getting to see her again. It would kill his spirit for sure.
Groaning, he accepted the glass that one of his servants offered him and drowned it in one go before reaching for another. What was he even doing here? Playing the role of the king peacock, as she so playfully called him to tease him whenever he dressed up for these events.
Why hadn´t he just postponed the damned party.
Why hadn´t he gone with her so that he could protect her from the dangers of the monsters that lurked within the darkness?
She wasn't a vampire yet. He had wanted to offer her the dark kiss of eternity for so long. To make her his beloved consort and have her by his side till the sun would eventually burn out... but he had feared her answer. The idea of having her as his spouse for ever more till the sun would burn out made his chest swell with such magnificent amounts of joy. It was his greatest wish. An eternity by her side... and that was probably still not going to be enough to sate his hunger and love for her... And yet he feared that she would say no. Feared that she preferred mortality over forever by his side. He feared what he would say or do if she turned him down... and so he hadn´t asked her yet. Maybe that meant he was a coward... but the fear of losing her was just too great to risk it... till now.
He had so much power, so much wealth and influence... and yet the insecurity within him was still his greatest flaw, especially when it came to matters that involved her. The fear gnawed at his insides, making him doubt their love, the devotion they felt towards each other.
Her place was by his side... and yet when he looked to the throne next to him now she wasn't there. He had called her so many ugly things, things he didn't mean but had poured out his mouth in a fit of rage during their spat, and she had rolled her eyes at him and then she walked out the door, telling him to breathe and cool down before slamming the door behind her. Three long days had passed since then.
She had his heart, she was his most adored and treasured friend... his beloved, and his missing half... The only one he wanted to call his... and he wanted to be hers in return. Tav was his soulmate, he suddenly realized... and he had made her choose.
Depression darkened his mind and ruined what little fun he had felt regarding the pompous party he was hosting. He shouldn't have let her go on her own. What if she got taken from him... What if she got herself killed for being reckless again... What if she didn´t come home this time?
Pale hands gripped the armrest harshly, vampiric claws chipping the carefully carvings that ecorated the wood... Desperately holding on to the here and now. He needed her, had to make sure she was safe. Pushing himself up from his lavish throne-like seat he readied himself to announce that the party was over.
His reputation amongst these rich assholes be damned.
He needed to find her.
Needed to make sure that she was alright and then he would bring her home and keep her in his, no, their bed for days; naked, cradled in his bare arms where he would kiss her and worship every inch of her body till she forgave him for being a fool.
Astarion stepped over to the edge of the raised platform beyond the dancefloor and was about to announce his intentions when a familiar scent hit his senses. Blood, some of it from an unknown source... Then a hint of that of their mutual friend....Then hers. All of it faint, hers from a non critical wound; smeared, diluted as if tried removed by water and soap after the wound having been healed.
Ruby red eyed scouted the ballroom, desperately searching for her. Masks and silly hats filled his vision, obscuring her from his gaze. Where was she? His restored heart pounded too quickly inside his chest; every fiber of him aching for her. He needed her, needed to make sure she was really back, that she was safe.
“Breathe, my lord,” a playful, yet charming voice purred behind him before he felt a warm hand slide along his broad shoulders. “We can´t have our handsome host pass out from lack of air, now can we? Imagine the headlines in tomorrow's paper.” Her tone was playful, amused... teasing even. There was no anger left, she had long ago forgiven his outburst, as always. He truly didn´t deserve her.
“Tav.” The vampire lord didn't move, he took a deep breath though, remembering how, now that he could feel her presence so close to him. The warmth of her body mingling with his own. Gods, she smelled like everything he hungered for. He longed to see her, to hold her, to strip her bare and caress her all over and make sure she wasn't hurt.
“Yes, my love?” The skilled woman whom he had taught all he knew about stealth and moving silently was showing off, staying just out of his sight to tease him. A smirk pulled at his lips when she moved around him, her hand never leaving his torso, and stepped into his view, melting into his waiting embrace.
Her beautiful face was hidden behind the simple black mask she had picked out weeks ago, but he spotted the bruising anyway. Someone had hurt his treasure, had left marks on her pretty face. They would pay, unless she had already killed them of course, hopefully slow and very painful. “Tav...” He wanted to steal her away, to have her all to himself, but it seemed that she had other plans... at least for now.
“Shhh not here, not now. I'm fine, our friend is fine. The situation has been solved. We survived, they didn´t. Let´s enjoy this marvelous party of yours, my love.” She rose to her toes, leaning closer, silently asking for a kiss.
“Skrew the party,” the ascendant whispered with growing hunger, his arms were around her, pulling her closer against his body and didn't miss how she winched slightly in pain. So she had been hurt worse than she let on after all. Dexterous fingers searched her body in secret as they joined the guests on the dance floor.
“It´s nothing, just a scratch,” she spoke gently, trying to reassure him of her claim while reading him like an open book.
“I know your definition of a scratch, my dear,” the vampiric lord retorted wryly while he kept tracing her ribs, searching for any wounds she might be trying to hide from him.
Expressive eyes rolled in amusement. “I drank a health potion before I snuck past the spawn to get ready for the party,” she deadpanned, once more knowing right away what he was up to. “Our friend insisted upon it before we parted. It was no big deal, nothing too severe.”
How did she always manage to sneak right past his guards and the spawn? None had noticed her return or they would have told him. She hadn´t been fighting in this tight black dress and the mask had been left for her on her nightstand. He had seen it there when he had gotten himself ready for the ball... She had slipped past them all and had bathed and changed before finding him here, and no one had noticed till now. Sneaky, irresistible, infuriating woman.
“Stop, that tickles,” she giggled and squirmed against him when he reached for her neck, removing a speckle of blood from her delicate throat that she had missed while cleaning herself up. Her hands caressing the contours of his sculpted chest while he continued to make sure that she was not in any danger of bleeding out. Their bodies swayed slowly to the music that filled the ballroom and mixed with the idle chatter of the patriarchs that surrounded them and seemed oblivious to their little conversation, despite glancing at the pair with poorly disguised envy at their closeness. To the public they were just close friends, fellow adventurers and heroes... Both of them sought after bachelors to the public eye... But maybe it was time they figured out what they really were to each other.
Astarion wouldn´t put it past her to ignore her own needs in favor of playing her little games with him. Ruby eyes gazed at her in light scolding. This wasn't funny. She had been reckless again, as always, and he was the one left to worry because of it. Leaning closer she distracted him by brushing her soft lips against the shell of his ear, purring like a sexy kitten. “I'm fine, I promise... just a little sore, maybe you want to kiss it all better later?” Her teeth captured his sensitive elfin earlobe, coaxing a shudder from the man she loved higher than life itself.
“Tav.” His voice hissed in warning, but the quiver that her playfulness had brought forth made his tone lose its bite. Gods, he was torn between wanting to spank her delicious ass for making him fear for her safety, and tear her dress off with his fangs and fuck her hard and deep right here on his throne in the middle of all of these people who didn´t really matter to them.
“Yes, my lord?” Her breath was warm against his skin, soft lips trailing along his pale neck, teasing him, luring him deeper into the depths of her heart. Astarion swallowed hard, imagining how it would feel to have her fangs sink into his flesh if she became like him, to have his blood smeared all over her lovely lips while he would claim her as his again and again. Tav smirked against his cheek, her hand sliding between their swaying bodies. Sun kissed fingertips traced the outline of the growing swell in the front of his expensive tailored bracers, forcing a needy sound from his throat that he tried to muffle against the exposed part of her shoulder.
That seductive wretch, he thought without any malice or annoyance, but rather amusement, adoration and desire while he pulled her closer. He hungered for her with every fiber of his being and he didn't really care who saw what he wanted from Tav. “Darling, you are torturing me.”
“I know,” she chuckled and flattened her palm against the throbbing shaft that twitched and grew against her touch through the layers of fabric that kept him decent. “You know I´ll make it up to you, my love.”
“Gods Tav, I want you to be mine.” Hips rolled into her touch and he almost let out a whimper when her fingers added more pressure to his swollen need. He wanted to drag her to the floor right here and now and fuck her till she cried his name to the heavens. Hells, he´d even do it right in front of everyone if he had to. “I... worried about you,” he finally admitted, though reluctantly while trying to direct her attention before he lost all control or ripped their clothes off. “I miss the connection we used to share through the worm,” he breathed needily against her exposed skin, pouring all of his hunger and desperation into his words while tasting the salt and soap on her skin against his tongue and lips as he kissed her shoulder. “It would destroy my newly beating heart if I lost you.”
“Me too,” Tav admitted softly and ran her fingers through his curly locks. “It´s the only thing about those worms that I miss.” Her tone was softer, full of understanding and realisation. He had never told her this before, never been this open and honest about this... his feelings were so raw and true tonight.
“I worry when you aren´t by my side, darling. I couldn´t bear to lose you.” Astarion didn´t want to dance anymore, didn't feel like partying or being around anyone but her. His eyes were full of deep emotions, as deep and vulnerable as the day that he had confessed his simple little plan and his growing feelings for her during their travels.
“... I'm sorry Star, I didn't mean to hurt you, never would. I had to help, you know I can't say no to our friends.” Their eyes met, this moment was something special, they both knew it... and yet she felt bad for making him worry. He was the mighty ascendant, a god amongst vampires... and yet to her he was just the man she loved... He was everything she had ever wanted.
For over a year he had dealt with her moods, with her sharp tongue and stubborn mind.. and still he worried about her, cared about her, accepted her and wanted her.... Loved her like none had before. She loved him to the moon and back and it was time to become what she was meant to be... His forever. She was finally ready.
Gods, she wanted to be by his side so badly, even if she was so very scared of what she would become, of the power he might end up holding over her... but if it meant staying with him then she would find a way to overcome her fears. “Come, let's find us a little piece of nowhere, Star.” With eyes sparkling with mischief and love she coyly bit her lower lip, igniting the fire within him even further.
Barely had she said that before he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along through the crowd of tipsy and sweating guests, heading for the first room with a door that could be locked behind them. The office didn´t have a bed, but it would have to do it for now. He needed to feel her warm, naked skin against his. He needed to touch her, kiss and taste her... become one with her, now!
His mouth was on hers even before her back connected with the door that he pushed her up against. He fumbled briefly with the the lock before his hands were back on her body, eager to get her out of that damned dress that was too tight a fit to fuck her in, but left too little to have to work too hard to imagine what lovely curves he knew she hid underneath. “Naked, now!” he growled against her mouth.
“Always so bossy,” she moaned between the sensual, yet demanding dance of their tongues. “I´ve missed you too.” Tav unlaced the dress and wiggled out of the silk and satin, revealing her being naked underneath with the exception from the black high heels covering her feet and the quickly added jewels adoring her skin after the quick dip in the tub before she had slipped into the first black dress she found after returning from the bloodied battle only a little while ago.
“Gods, Tav...” the vampire lord groaned as he took a second to look at her. He could spot bruising, a few new scars on her honeyed skin, but otherwise she seemed fine, as she had claimed. She wasn't perfect, but he thought that she was the most beautiful being in all the realms.
His elegant, hand stitched doublet ended up on the floor next to her dress rather quickly, so did his black dress shirt, which left him naked from the hip and up.
“Mmm don't you look tasty, my lord.” Tav licked her lips and dropped to her knees, her hands running up and down his strong thighs in a firm caress. “I did promise you I'd make it up to you, didn´t I?”
“You sure did.” Astarion swallowed hard while watching her skillful fingers undo the many golden buttons of his dress pants before tracing the outline of his erection with her lips through the restraining fabric. “No teasing, not now, darling.”
“As you wish, my dear.” Her grin was pure seduction, pure charm too and it made his heart beat faster and his mouth go dry in anticipation.
Astarion barely got to blink before he was the one with the back up against the door. His pants and his small clothes pooled around his ankles and that heavenly warm, wet mouth made him forget that he was the host of the biggest party of the season... She made him forget their fight, and that he had been worried sick about her just minutes ago.
Tav had many skills, Astarion knew that, but this one... the way she took all of him into that wonderful mouth and down her throat while her tongue added pressure to his hard cock was... simply amazing and a favorite of his. His head rolled backwards, his skull connecting with the hard wood door with a thud that nearly deafened his moan when she swallowed and hummed in delight at the taste of him, and because of his pleased reaction. Then she started to bop her head. Gods, she felt so amazing around his cock.
The sound he made was a mix between a needy moan and a pleased gasp. Hells, she was so good at this. His hands were in her hair, guiding her to worship him at a slow and steady pace. Her pretty eyes looked up at him with so much love and devotion that it made his head spin. “I love you,” the vampire lord panted. “Tav, stay... Forever... Be mine.” He was begging, he knew he was. He was the vampire ascendant, he begged for no man... but she... She was special.
With one last caress of her flexible tongue she released his cock from her talented mouth. Licking her lips she nodded in agreement. It was time to give him what they both wanted. “Alright,” she said and smiled slyly at the groan she received as reward before rising to her high heels in one graceful fluid movement. With hips swaying seductively Tav walked over to his desk and bent over it, wiggling her ass, tapping it playfully. She blew him a kiss with tasty lips, offering herself up to the vampire as an easy feast. “But only if you make me scream your name loud enough for all of the rich fuckers in the next room to hear who my heart belongs to.”
He was on her faster than she had expected for a man who had his pants stuck around his ankles, but he had somehow managed to kick them, including his shoes, off in his hurry to get to her. His mouth was on hers in a deep, needy kiss as his front molded himself against her naked back. “Deal darling.” He used his feet to spread hers further apart before pressing himself flushed against her stunning body. “I´ll make you scream my name till your throat goes raw.” Astarion promised and wasted no time in positioning himself and pushed into her wet, warm cunt.
He normally would have taken his time with making sure that she was ready for him, but she was so cheeky and naughty, and he could smell how ready she was for him, that he went straight for the big price for once and pushed into her welcoming body without further delay.
“Fuck yes!” Tav's back arched her body up against his at the amazing feeling of him filling her up in a way that made her wonder if they had been made solely for each other. “Nngh you fit in me so perfectly, Star.” Her emotional praise stirred something warm and fuzzy inside of him, something that made him feel like a whole person. She completed him, he realized.
She always made him feel like he was something worthwhile, like someone who was cared for and loved... treasured and valuable... something more than the powerful vampire or lord that most people feared. She had never feared him... She respected him, saw him, accepted him as the spawn he used to be and the mighty ascendant he had become.
He just hoped that he made her feel like that too. “That´s lovely and very true, darling,” he grunted while pulling nearly all the way out of her tightness, making her whimper and mourn the loss of his cock inside of her. “But that's not my name.” Placing a kiss between her shoulderblades he smirked teasingly, hips snapping and rock hard cock slamming right back into her before she got the chance to complain due to the lack of fullness.
“Gods!” Tav cried out, not caring who heard her, and heard her they did. Those closest to the door blushed at the sounds that drifted towards them from under the locked door.
“Still not my name,” Astarion teased playfully, yet lovingly and repeated the prior move. He unravelled her, fucking her like this. He was making her feel like this, none other than him. It filled him with a strange feeling of power and pride to make her lose control and to reduce her to this sexy mess of moans, groans and mewls... fully at his mercy.
“Astarion!” She gripped the edge of his desk so hard that her knuckles were white when the tip of his cock hit that special spot within her.
“That´s it, love, let them hear us worship each other.” His hips rolled against her well shaped rear, pounding into her dripping sex with enough force that would make most lovers reconsider dating a vampire.
Not her though. His Bhaalbabe was tough, she liked a little bit of pain, demanded it even, which fit him incredibly well. She would become his perfect dark consort... and an amazing vampire. With her by his side he could do anything, be anyone.
Her cries of pleasure filled the room, mingling with his heavy breathing and masculine groans of passion and hungry desire. The powerful vampire lord didn´t doubt that they were more than loud enough so that everyone on this floor knew what was going on and who was the cause of her ecstasy.
Hells, she made him feel like the god of desire and lust... Like he was worthy of her love.
His fingertips dug into the supple flesh of her ass, steadying himself as the muscles of his strong thighs quivered and his thrusts became rugged and shallow when the building feeling of bliss continued to grow inside his belly. “Love, touch yourself, cum for me.”
“Mmmm Astarion.” He watched her hands leave the desk, forcing her cheek and her upper body to rest heavily, and rub rhythmically in sync with his thrusts against the polished surface that was covered in little pools of her sweat and drool that had slid along her tasty skin before dripping down. It was a mesmerizing display of their shared passion.
Her breasts were pressed firmly against the wood, and he secretly hoped they would leave an imprint for him to admire later. One of her hands moved to one of his that groped her ass, grabbing his wrist as he grabbed onto hers, linking them, binding them together even further than they already were.
Her other hand trailed down her slick body, her middle and ringfingers slipped between her slick folds to rub circles against the swollen nub hidden within, bringing herself closer to that delicious blisful state of oblivion.
Leaning closer to her, Astarion spoke against her spine. “You are my sun and my moon. My Elysium and my Underdark, my everything.” She shuddered beneath him, moaning his name as if he was the only person in the realms that mattered, and to her he was. “Forever would be wasted on me if you wouldn´t want to share it with me, darling.”
“Gods, Astarion, you sound like a poet.” She twisted her body to be able to look at him before pushing off the desk with his help, her back arching as she offered him her neck so that he could taste more of her. Tav realised that she had been his ever since that first bite. She loved him, all of him, like he loved the sun, and soon she would love him eternally and she couldn't wait to face forever with him as hers. “Bite me, mark me as yours. Before morning dawns I want to be yours forever.”
Sharp fangs glinted in the pale moonlight that shone upon their glistering bodies. Those razor sharp teeth punctured her neck and the blood flooded his mouth soon after. The taste of her, unique and rare as the finest delicacy, caused his pupils to dilate and all of his senses overloaded when that fleeting moment of perfect bliss nearly knocked him off his feet. His seeds flooded her tight cavity. It was yet another way of marking her as his... and part of him wanted it to take root, to knock her up and create life that would be a mix of the essence of both of them. That, though, was for the future... Here and now it was just the two of them, nothing else mattered... and by the gods... she wanted to become his... forever. His world was suddenly spinning.
Only her grasp on his wrist and his fingers dug into her buttocks kept him standing after the orgasm trembled through him before he more or less collapsed as a panting, sweating mess on top of her.
The prestidigitation cantrip was immensely useful after a bit of fun like they had just indulged in. They helped each other redress between exchanged near endless kisses and caresses, which would have ended up with them engaging in a second round of naughtiness, if the toastmaster hadn´t persistently knocked on the door, asking if his lordship needed assistance.
Tav giggled at the expression that had formed on her most important person´s face at the suggestion that Astarion needed any assistance to handle her. He could handle her just fine, and sharing was out of the question. She would finally become his consort, tonight was indeed a special one.
They rejoined the party a few minutes later after more last kisses and gropes for now, and instantly noticed blushing faces and hungry looks being directed at the two of them from literally anyone still present at the party.
“What?” Lord Ancunín asked when a group of matrons and their unwed offspring stared at him and Tav as if they were ruining their night. “She just agreed to become my consort. We celebrated.” He proudly announced while smiling so widely that his cheeks hurt.
The room went silent as the grave, even the music stopped.
“Oh I think you did it now,” Tav cooed next to him, grinning widely while wrapping her arms around him before reaching up to his handsome face, guiding his mouth towards hers. “Might as well give them something to gossip about hmm?” She kissed him then, her tongue teasing his lips before he allowed her entrance and deepened it and pulled her closer, showing everyone that he was now officially claimed as hers... and she as his.
Gasps and groans spread like a wildfire before words of congratulation reached the kissing couple. Most had already suspected it or known of course. Tav had lived at the Ancunín palace ever since they had won against the Absolute after all, and they weren´t exactly subtle about their bond either in the past, but they had never dared to give it a name till now. “There goes the most sought after bachelors,” someone from the crowd sighed with regret. “All the good ones are always taken too quickly.”
“Mmm I think we waited long enough," Tav whispered against Astarion´s tasty lips. “I want you to make me yours tonight. I don't care if that makes me lose my title as a duke. I want you more than all the titles of the realms, only you, Astarion, forever.”
“My darling, there is nothing I'd like more.” Gods, she made him so happy, and she always seemed to know just what to say. “Shall we do one last dance before you join me by my side as my queen of the night?”
"Yesss!" Her answer made him want to take her in his arms and turn her right away. The dance couldn't be over soon enough. Their future looked bright, and would be eternally theirs... He couldn´t wait for it to begin and neither could she.
The end/ Happy Valentine´s day 2026 🥰