#I think this is about the first remotely spicy thing I've ever posted here lol

[nostalgiachan]

Getting Comfy?

Eleventh Prompt: Arriving upstairs in the Elfsong for the first time

Act Three spoilers

C/W: Mildly NSFW, somebody has some spicy thoughts

Summary: The party takes a rest day in their new inn room, and Vier and Astarion have a moment to themselves. One of them has a better time of it than the other. (1117 words)

---

Vier knew she should have cased the place. She and her companions should have taken the rest of the day turning that entire luxurious inn room inside out, looking for any secret entryways, hidden traps, or lurking doppelgangers waiting to strike. Hells, at the very least, she should have removed her armor, heavy and dirty as it was.

Instead, she made a beeline for the first bed she could see, and with the loudest, most unholy clatter she had ever made, she flopped onto it face-first. Lathander help her, no bed had ever felt so wonderful, even through all the plate mail. How long had it been since she’d last slept in a proper room with proper linens and a proper pillow? Weeks? Months? With all of the everything constantly happening, it was hard to keep track, especially when traveling through a place like the Shadow-cursed Lands where “day” and “night” were subjective concepts.

Although her friends had been well ahead of her in spreading throughout the room and doing as they would, Vier wearily picked her head up from the pillow and directed, “We’re calling it for the day here. Gods know we could use the rest.” Immediately, she felt her head grow thrice as heavy, and it landed back down on the pillow with a heavy fluff. She absolutely would’ve slept the rest of the day, and well into the next, if it hadn’t been for a voice purring directly into her ear.

“You know, if you need help getting all that armor off, undressing is one of my specialties.”

If she hadn’t been so tired, Vier might’ve jumped out of her skin at Astarion’s sudden appearance at her bedside.  Groggily, she pushed herself up into a seated position on the bed. Apparently, he hadn’t been entirely making an innuendo, as he’d stripped out of his own leathers and changed into his casuals in record time, with nary a white hair out of place.

In that case, Vier thought, perhaps I’ll play your game, dear.

“Unless you want to sleep in full plate, of course,” he sassed. “I promise I won’t judge.”

She stood up from the bed and held her arms out at shoulder height, looking him dead in the eyes. “Alright then, expert,” she said with a sleepy smile, “Get to it. And try not to scuff anything.”

For a moment, it seemed as though Astarion hadn’t actually expected Vier to take him up on the offer, his eyes rounding and his lips quirking into that tiny surprised pout that always made her heart melt. But in a flash, he was right back in his element - perhaps even more so than Vier had expected, as he knew exactly what pieces of armor needed to come off first. His pale hands traveled first to the pauldron straps under her arms, and Vier couldn’t help but watch his delicate fingers undoing the buckles with ease.

Next, the gorget, and damn it, if Vier didn’t feel her skin light up in the brief moment Astarion’s fingers tucked beneath the collar to separate the two pieces. She was quite thoroughly awake now. Hardly a minute into the process, and she was already picturing him foregoing the rest of it and burying his teeth into her throat right there. The cuirass next, and it seemed to her that he was looking her in the eye almost as much as he was looking at the buckles. He was absolutely doing this on purpose, wanting to watch her sweat as he stood so close, carefully removing each piece. It was almost embarrassing how little he had to do to turn her into a desperate mess.

Then vambraces, and he really seemed to take his sweet time with those, working up the arm as though he was kissing his way from hand to shoulder, rather than simply removing armor. By the time the leg guards were all that remained, and Astarion took to a knee to undo the final straps, Vier was ready to mount his face right there and ride those plush lips straight to Lathander’s rosy golden shores.

But damn it all, she simply couldn’t. She’d promised him they were going to take things at his pace, promised that she would wait until he was comfortable touching her again. Perhaps she’d misread the situation - he hadn’t intended any of this to be sexual at all, outside of the innuendo, and it was just the fact they hadn’t been intimate in some time that was causing her to react so strongly. Sure, she could always take care of things herself, but it wasn’t the same. And while he had made it clear he was fine with her having a bit of fun with others, she absolutely did not want any others. Vier wanted Astarion and Astarion alone, but he was the one thing that at that moment, she absolutely could not have.

She chose to play that game, and she lost hard.

Swiftly, her raging libido grew tempered with cold, wet guilt. It was the night of the tiefling party all over again, and she was once more kicking herself for merely having desires. By the time Vier was finished stewing in her mixed feelings, Astarion had neatly tucked away the armor pieces beside the bed. “I’m sure you know how to remove the rest,” he said with a sly smile, “or do you need a refresher?”

Vier responded just a bit more brusquely than she intended, “I–No, no, I’m quite alright, thank you,” and Astarion’s eyebrows rose in response.

“Is something the matter, dear?” he asked, a look of gentle concern on his face.

“No, just…” Vier answered hesitantly. “Thoughts. Lots of thoughts.” Thoughts that she didn’t want to burden him with, for he had enough on his plate as it was.

“Well, I would tell you to have less of those, but that thought-filled brain is something I rather like about you,” Astarion replied as he wrapped his arms about Vier and planted a chaste kiss on the top of her blue-haired head. “But if the pressure gets to be too much in that sweet noggin of yours, talk to me and let them out. I’ve been told I’m an excellent listener, you know.”

Vier hugged Astarion in return, burying her face into his chest and sighing heavily. “I promise I will. But for now…I think I want to see if this place has a bath, actually. A soak in something that isn’t a muddy riverside would be nice right now.”

“Do let me know if there’s room for two, won’t you?”

Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. It never ends.

“Promise.”