If there's a better, faster way to Rosita's heart than that, she doesn't know it. She smiles at both the words and watching the way he trusts her, turns her head to kiss his collarbone.
"I'll take that," she murmurs. "I knew that word. Damia. I could hear it in your voice. It helped when stores were low or the snow was high or I just didn't know what to do to keep going."
"I'm not sure how, or - even if I could have managed to do everything I
did after Cazador was gone," Astarion says quietly. "The city was under
attack by things far worse than him and I - I could have seen myself giving
up. I didn't understand the voice in my head that was telling me I had more
to fight for than a world which had as good as forgotten me, but...I'm glad
I trusted it."
"You, for one," he points out. "But at home I was surrounded by people who
were - of a different class. Literal folk heroes. God-touched warriors on
holy quests. People who'd been fighting since the day they could form a
fist. To say I felt surplus to requirements among such company..."
"I did. Though it wasn't entirely selfless," he points out. "I wanted the
parasite out of my brain just as much as the others did, despite the -
fringe benefits."
"Perhaps. Though it seems likewise rather difficult when you are expected
to do it." He thinks of Wyll, Lae'zel, Shadowheart. "Dragging about the
weight of your deeds and others' expectations looks quite exhausting."
She knows he does. She's seen it. Even if it's not shaped the same as traditional affection, there's the fact that he has never avoided the others from Faerun, that he defended Karlach even from herself, that he included Gale in their camp on that other Barge when they were trapped there.
So she just smiles at him, and when he does too, she leans up a bit to kiss him.
Astarion puts an arm around her and draws her closer, even when it means
pretty much pulling her into his lap. It's a good place for her; means he
can keep kissing her and kissing her, hands running over her back and
through her hair.
She makes absolutely no attempt to stop him, given that this is exactly where she wants to be. No, eventually the only adjustment she's likely to make is turning more so she can face him but this is nice for now, leaning against him, taking her time with the kiss, humming her approval.
"You're not tired of being close yet?" she teases, but fondly, when she finally needs to breathe.
In the nightstand, a couple of wide shallow jars with three wicks each. He
sets them down on the top and conjures a flame to light them, bringing in
the scent of citrus and cardamom. He dismisses the flame and steps back to
take off his shirt.
She smiles, and peels off to look for something she can use for lotion instead, dropping her outer layers off to one side and kicking off her boots, shedding her knife and gun.
"Alright, cariño - get comfortable," she bids him.
"She knows a hot mess when she sees one," Rosita teases, affectionate, as she eases onto the bed too, rubbing her hands together to warm them before reaching to pick up where she left off, even though he won't care as much as someone with their own body heat would.
More seriously: "Maybe she sensed the worm thing."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-04 02:51 pm (UTC)"I'll take that," she murmurs. "I knew that word. Damia. I could hear it in your voice. It helped when stores were low or the snow was high or I just didn't know what to do to keep going."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-04 02:57 pm (UTC)"I'm not sure how, or - even if I could have managed to do everything I did after Cazador was gone," Astarion says quietly. "The city was under attack by things far worse than him and I - I could have seen myself giving up. I didn't understand the voice in my head that was telling me I had more to fight for than a world which had as good as forgotten me, but...I'm glad I trusted it."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-04 03:01 pm (UTC)The smile is still there, still audible.
"You're not as good at giving up as you seem to think you are. You keep managing to do amazing things."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-04 04:12 pm (UTC)Astarion looks like he'd like to argue this but isn't sure of what grounds to argue it on.
"I'm not...necessarily saying I don't believe you," he says, eventually. "Maybe I've just been surrounded by doers of yet more amazing deeds, lately."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-04 11:42 pm (UTC)"Like who?" she asks, easy, still trying with the ends of his hair.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-05 09:49 am (UTC)"You, for one," he points out. "But at home I was surrounded by people who were - of a different class. Literal folk heroes. God-touched warriors on holy quests. People who'd been fighting since the day they could form a fist. To say I felt surplus to requirements among such company..."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-05 11:14 am (UTC)"But you stayed with them even after you didn't have to, right? You stayed in the fight?"
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-05 11:19 am (UTC)"I did. Though it wasn't entirely selfless," he points out. "I wanted the parasite out of my brain just as much as the others did, despite the - fringe benefits."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-05 11:29 am (UTC)She rubs her thumb along his knuckles.
"I think it's harder when you don't think you're suited to it. When you aren't expected to do it."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-05 12:00 pm (UTC)"Perhaps. Though it seems likewise rather difficult when you are expected to do it." He thinks of Wyll, Lae'zel, Shadowheart. "Dragging about the weight of your deeds and others' expectations looks quite exhausting."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-05 03:05 pm (UTC)"Is that empathy I hear?"
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-05 03:50 pm (UTC)Astarion scoffs.
"Merely an observation, damia."
But he's smiling faintly even as he says it. Despite his many and varied reservations, he does have a degree of affection for his fellow survivors.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 01:04 am (UTC)So she just smiles at him, and when he does too, she leans up a bit to kiss him.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 10:12 am (UTC)Astarion puts an arm around her and draws her closer, even when it means pretty much pulling her into his lap. It's a good place for her; means he can keep kissing her and kissing her, hands running over her back and through her hair.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 11:31 am (UTC)"You're not tired of being close yet?" she teases, but fondly, when she finally needs to breathe.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 11:56 am (UTC)"To you? Never," Astarion chuckles. "I actually quite specifically missed being close to you."
This is hardly the kind of close he was enjoying with Gale.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 12:08 pm (UTC)"I did, too. Erskine is a poor substitute."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 12:11 pm (UTC)"I can't imagine. You must be stressed."
He closes his eyes, sighing in pleasure.
"...Mmm. That's good."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 12:19 pm (UTC)"Seems I'm not the only one there, either. Want me to make a real go of it?"
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 12:44 pm (UTC)"I'd like that very much," he murmurs. "Would the bed be easier?"
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 01:37 pm (UTC)She digs in one, two, three more times with her thumb, then kisses him again before she has to get up so he can do the same.
"I didn't bring any candles this time."
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 01:59 pm (UTC)"Mm - I have some."
In the nightstand, a couple of wide shallow jars with three wicks each. He sets them down on the top and conjures a flame to light them, bringing in the scent of citrus and cardamom. He dismisses the flame and steps back to take off his shirt.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 02:41 pm (UTC)"Alright, cariño - get comfortable," she bids him.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-06 05:22 pm (UTC)"Certainly."
He stretches out onto his front, arms folded under his head. Aylin meows at him and comes to curl up on the pillow next to his head.
"She's started grooming me since I've been gone," he reports, trying to sound aggrieved but missing the mark by an embarrassing distance.
Re: Spam
Date: 2025-07-07 01:10 am (UTC)More seriously: "Maybe she sensed the worm thing."
Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From:Re: Spam
From: