#gage's adventures

[oldtvlover]

Hi gang,

me again as promised with a new update.

I apologize ahead for the mix up between the Gifs 9-11. Didn't realize it until now. Oops.

Never mind, and I hope you can accept this 'minor' mishap of mine.

Enjoy!

P.S.: As always, the pics come up later - with some future plans, I guess. Hopefully.

[labrat-wasteland-wonders]

[Looks like someone found my old JoJo's holotapes...]

[vashti-lives]

Current contenders for my next sweater, from least to most ambitious:

{insert completely basic raglan pattern here, i kinda want to use the cozy classic raglan pattern by JessieMaeDesigns but I just do not think I can justify buying it when I have raglan sweater patterns in my library already.}

Raglan but there's a very dramatic and pretty v-neck:

Raglan but there's a hood:

Raglan, but there's texture:

(texture is more ambitious exclusively because I won't be able to do miles of completely brainless stockinette)

Yolk sweater with a cable design, otherwise it's miles of stockinette:

(should be noted, I love doing miles of stockinette in the round, especially if the yarn is pretty. And I've done a number of smaller cable projects)

Yolk sweater with lace:

(I have never successfully finished a project involving lace, but it's pretty!)

This yolk pattern (which might also be using lace techniques? or cable? it's unclear) and also has several other techniques I've never heard of like no purl reverse stockinette:

I'm kind of obsessed with this but I'm not sure if it'll look good with the yarn?

[willinglyghoulified]

Gage: The parks are crawling with all kinds of hostiles, but we need 'em cleared out so the gangs aren't stepping all over each other.

Sole: The Safari Adventure sounds like the worst...

Gage: I'd say they're all equal in terms of hellish locations. The Safari ride is full of gator monsters and a wild man in a loincloth swinging an ax around, the crazy bastard.

Hancock: A... loincloth? *grinning*

Gage: A far cry from your style, Boss. But not too far...

Hancock: Just how, um, long is this loincloth? Am I gonna have to keep my totally-loyal-definitely-not-swayed-by-wild-naked-muscular-men wife out of the jungle?

Sole: Oh my god -

Gage: I don't know how long his loincloth is, Boss. I didn't fucking ask.

Hancock: Safer if I just go alone.

Sole: Safer for who?

Hancock: You won't be goin', so we'll never find out.

[myriadxofxmuses]

@crowns-and-claws from X

"Actually my job choice drops enough of those on its own," he joked back with a smirk.

Although he was t exactly lying. Women swooned over him and the effort needed to drop their panties was non existent. All he had to do was bring them backstage and it was on like donkey Kong. Most of his exploits happened on their tour bus or in some random, makeshift dressing room. There was need to schmooze them with dinners and limo rides to fancy parties.

"I only save my speeches for the important ones," he flirtatiously told her.

He drank and listened a she ticked off the yays and nays to his offer, humming momentarily against his glass in agreeance. food they would enjoy. That was easy. The caterers at these things were more on edge than the guests. Her lack of dancing could be worked around, though he was definitely going to try and bust her out of that shell. He could only hope once she saw how badly they boogeyed she would loosen up her avoidance of it. And while he gave in easily to his vices, he was one hundred percent okay with her declining hers. Hopefully some of her will power would rub off on him because God knew he had none.

"Trust me. You'll be let in wherever you want. Especially with me giving the orders," he told her playfully.

Her immediate rejection of an overrnight did irk him a little however. Gage wasn't used to being told no. Quite frankly he had grown accustomed to people bending over backward to satisfy his every wish. Although Charlie never had been that way with him and he should have expected it. It was this seemingly minor differencre between her and the rest of the world that attracted him in the first place.

"No sleepover?" he asked with half feigned disappointment. "What if I'm scared and can't sleep?" he joked further.

He finished off his drink and grabbed the bottle for a refill, noticing it was almost empty and opting to finish it off straight from the source instead.

"As long as fun is still on the table I may be able to overlook my lonliness laterr," he added with a smirk.

He couldn't help but stare at her a moment longer than necessarry. She may not realize it, but he just can't fight the mystery surrounding her and his nearly insatiable need to find out more. They were still in the early stages of their...dating?...but he'd never stopped wanting more since meeting her.

The now empty bottle of champagne rolld gently against his knee as he wondered how to finally make her his fully.

"Can I ask you something? While we still have some privacy," he started, replacing the bottle back to its holder and making sure to give her his full attention. "What made you decide to take a chance with me?" he asked, genuinely currious.

[myriadxofxmuses]

The fact that she came from his tongue alone turned him on even more and he grew harder with her orgasm. He gave her one last lick as he sat up to finish undressing. "Mmm. I can't wait to make you cum again," he said as he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. He pulled her closer by her hips and guided himself inside her. "Fuck," he moaned when he felt how wet she was. He buried his face into her neck as he began to thrust in and out, his moans muffled by her skin.

The sound of his name falling from her lips sent a chill through his spine. He could feel himself stiffen the closer he got to her nether regions. His usual roughness was softened for Miley as he pushed a leg up, opening the space as he finished kissing along the space between her hips and the top of her thigh. A low growl emanated from him with the feeling of her wetness against his tongue, his hand tightening on her leg.

He slowly teased at entering her. His growing desire clenched at his chest. Gage slid his grip up her leg and grabbed hold of her hip, gently pushing her into him deeper as his tongue breached her lips. He made sure to swirl his touch around her clit as he pulled his tongue back out, repeating the process and going slightly deeper each time.

[lifewithaview]

Gage Munroe in Falling Skies (2011-2015) Sanctuary: Part 1

S1E6

Anne is treating a boy when his father points a weapon to her and robs the medical supplies. He flees with his wife and son and Tom, Weaver and Mike chase them. Out of the blue, they are surprised by Terry Clayton from the 7th Mass that retrieves the stolen supplies and let them go. Clayton discloses that the enemy is coming to the 2nd Mass and his men have been annihilated, but he has a sanctuary for the children. The reluctant parents let them go with Clayton and Mike to the camp. But secrets are disclosed in the end of the episode...

[g4zdtechtv]

FULL EPISODE: The Screen Savers - 5.21.04

The pace where Windows, Mac and Linux lovers call home. Until a game comes out on Windows only, and then they FIGHT!

[ladyeroway]

The Unhallowed Finale also known as the dice hate Ezra! Under a cut because as usual this goes long.

In our last session we found out the ritual to break the veil was taking place in Hyde Park. The circle had tightened once again taking out Lambda. We found him and he was the one that told us where to find the remaining members (Lord Walshingham, Peter Fairfellow and Phoebe the Medium and of course Mandolin) After being minorly threatened by Ezra to give a statement.

We made our way to Hyde Park noting most of the animates had disappeared out of the area. Until we got to the gates to find approximately 400 animates creating a perimeter around the main park and a blue glowing light coming from within. We consumed a drug called Corpse Flower that makes you look like an animate and thankfully managed to make our way through without causing a fight.

At the gates we found a partially burned body that was literally starting to disintegrate. It was Mandolin his soul tied to a human body and this was it. Phoebe had betrayed him, used him for all his knowledge broke their binding and forced him into this body with very little energy left. She had used all his energy and he would never be able to manifest again. He whined about all he had wanted to do was find God. Phoebe had used his knowledge and was trying to summon some other being that would be a living death.

Ezra didn't react the best. Though Mandolin was prone he held him down forcibly by the neck as the Dhampir used an ability to take a bit of Mandolins essence to gain knowledge. She found out we would have to kill Phoebe before she completed the ritual but there would be some kind of blow back.

Mandolin crumbled to dust in Ezra's hands. This gained Ezra a new corruption, overriding his previous one (because I failed his will roll) Mainly due to the fact that Mandolin was going to perish but he still showed disdain and hurt him whilst he was already dying. We moved on through the gate to find the dessicated corpses of Walshingham and Fairfellow. Phoebe had turned into a screaming ball of spirits, telling us that the tear was open and tried to stop us. This is where my dice that already hated Ezra really decided they hated him.

The fight ensued, Walshingham and Fairfellow were brought up as ghosts. Our undertaker and parapsych got the most amount of damage in. Including with a shiny new flamethrower. Ezra failed his shots and couldnt get close to Phoebe due to the aforementioned fire - so started taking on the ghosts to keep them busy with the Dhampir.

Phoebe used a power called Rack of Agony which I botched the will save on so Ezra took a serious wound. Luckily passed a vitality roll to keep going the next round though. Eventually enough damage was done that Phoebe started to break a part but unfortunately so did the sky. It began a spider web of cracks, reality fracturing. Whatever she was summoning was coming through.

A split moment allowed the First Lord of Death, Abel to stop time and explain what was happening. Phoebe's death was not enough to stop the ritual, the veil was weakened enough that all the outer beings would push through sundering this world. There was a choice in how to deal with it. Someone would have to take Phoebe to the Land of The Dead but it would be a one way trip but Phoebe's energy would stop any further breaks. It would be death for one of us. Or we could fight off the other beings whilst Abel did it but he would not be able to repair the veil completely with his ritual where he would cease to be.

We started arguing the best way and Ezra asked if his ability to destroy a soul would be enough since Phoebe's energy would cease. Again Abel outlined that there may be a cost. Ezra argued he would take the chance because he needed London to survive for Olivers kids and he couldn't bear anyone else dying.

We agreed that this was the best course so Ezra thrust his hand into the soul orb that was Phoebe until he found something like a heart and crushed it, feeling something painfully creep up his arm.

Gm asked for a will save which rolled an 11. The gm rolled a contested will save and rolled an 11. We rolled against each other again. This time Ezra came up top. Meaning he succeeded and didn't get possessed by Phoebe and didn’t suffer any side effects of destroying Phoebe’s spirit..

The backlash happened, sending the other three flying back, only one taking a serious wound. Ezra however was still attached to Phoebe and I failed Ezra's vitality roll. The GM had to roll for damage and rolled a 20. Which is an incapacitating wound as Ezra was thrown into the air his ribs crushed by the explosion and was unconscious. If he had rolled a 21 Ezra would have died.

Abel finished his ritual, the cracks disappearing as the others saw to Ezra and the Dhampir who had also taken a serious wound. We eventually left the park to see all the animates had died once again. We were picked up up by a secret service of the government and cleared of the murder charge. Though the cleanup would be long and arduous, their were no long standing affects for London or the world. Then we moved into our epilogue.

For Ezra, once he was he was released from hospital, he went to the Sinclairs house and was welcomed by Clara and Olivers daughters, hugging in reunion. Once he went back to work he was greeted warmly by the other constabulary and detectives. Which is light and day from how it had been since Oliver’s passing. They patted him on the back and congratulated him, asking how he was recovering. 

When he reached his desk, he found it already cleared, his cases all packed away and a singular note telling him to report to Scotland Yard. That the events of the past month had shown how ill prepared London was to a spiritual incursion. He would report to an MP as a part of a special task force with 5 others who had been spirit touched like himself. As their Captain he would be expected to train them and lead them well. 

It was quite a shock as Ezra moves into the next part of his life. Feeling more accepting of what has happened, irreparably changed still but he knows what he is. Now he can use the gifts he have gained to make London just a little bit safer. He feels confident that this is the right path and he will never forget his promise to Oliver to make his life worth living. 

And so ends my campaign of Unhallowed Metropolis! 

[myriadxofxmuses]

Gage had been signing a few autographs and taking pictures for a few fans who caught the band waiting when his text tone rang out that new ones were coming through. He hastily finished and pulled out his phone, hopeful and happy to see they were from Sarah. A smile spread across his face and he gave a half hearted goodbye to his fans, his attention now focused solely on the screen.

[txt Sweet Cheeks] The funeral is already being planned.

[txt Sweet Cheeks] Yea. Still homebound. We're just boarding now, but joining the mile high club with you definitely would have been more fun. ✈️😉

He handed over his boarding pass, shifting his bag higher up on his shoulders as he waited for the attendant to clear him. Gage started down the boarding bridge, followed by Adam, Liam, and lastly Silas. Once the guys were all seated and ready to head home he shot out a few last texts before takeoff.

[txt Sweet Cheeks] We're about to take off. After a quick layover in Chi-town I'll be home. But I won't be able to talk for about 6 hours.

[txt Sweet Cheeks] I already miss you.

"Counting the days," he told, smiling through their quick kiss.

And he was. Gage couldn't wait until they were reunited. She had slowly begun invading his thoughts, his mind consistently wandering back to her whenever they were apart. That was how he knew he wanted this. Wanted her. And the longer they stayed together the more he wanted to let the world know she was his. It also meant he was distracted when apart and he had to work twice as hard to keep control over his impatience.

He pulled her in for one more kiss, this time letting it linger just enough for him to imprint the moment to memory. "I'm gonna hold you to that," he told her with a softened smirk once they parted, momentarily leaning his forehead against hers. He inhaled her scent deeply before finally pulling himself from her fully. "Okay. Text when you land," he repeated, giving his final goodbye and heading off to start his own travels.

Gage was all packed and waiting at his gate less than two hours later, the rest of the guys scrolling through their phones the same as him as they waited.

[txt Sweet Cheeks] You won't get this until you land

[txt Sweet Cheeks] but our flight is delayed.

[txt Sweet Cheeks] And I'm bored.

[txt Sweet Cheeks] Help!

[oldtvlover]

Good evening, fellas,

and now the pics to the movie with our favorite paramedics.

As said earlier, Rocky and Suede are like a mirror of Johnny and Roy. One single, one married. Blond and dark hair. Always opposites. Who knows. Never mind.

Enjoy!

P.S.: Next update should happen this weekend. You'll see. *grins*

[vashti-lives]

Behold. A hat.

[myriadxofxmuses]

[text] hey you better be alive in there (from jiwon to gage :D)

@interxstitial from X

[txt] Yea. I'm alive.

[txt] This disguise shit takes some time.

[txt] Especially when I don't usually do it myself.

[txt] What do you think?

[txt] image sent

[myriadxofxmuses]

"I feel the same way about touring. I love to fly," Gage only half joked.

While it was his preferred method of travel, being on tour made him feel free. Even on their strict schedule. It was the one time Gage didn't have to worry about being followed by cameramen. Or that his newest relationship was going up in flames because he couldn't commit - ironic considering the amount of commitment it took to be a musician. He didn't have to think about much while he was on the road, everything except his down time taken care of and when he wasn't working he was allowed to do anything he wanted. What could be better than that?

Liam couldn't help but notice the way he spoke of dancing was like he'd lost a loved one and the tinge of sadness to his smile all but confirmed the suspicion that his career was somehow tainted. He didn't pry however, the setting far too impersonal to dig. The quietest member of the group continued to observe as he started eating his dish.

"I'm a bottomless pit man," Silas proudly admitted as he ate, tapping his stomach in added confirmation. "Been that way since I was a kid. It doesn't matter what I eat, I rarely gain weight. Trust me. I've tried," he continued through another bite.

When he was a young child, it hadn't really mattered, but once his family broke away from the commune and filtered back into society, Silas had was in his teens, jumping straight in to public school after being homeschooled his entire life. Not an easy leap. Especially being a new kid with lots of rumors about your family and their previous lifestyle. Add in scrawniness and a propensity for less conventional interests - namely rock music and the color black - and you can understand why his Midwesterner counterparts were exactly accepting. He'd tried his damnedest to beef up so he stood a chance when they fought him, but he burned off whatever he ate almost as he swallowed it. He was just thankful there was at least one other soul there like him and they could both spit in the face of their bullies where they both sat now. Metaphorically of course - although Silas wouldn't hesitate to make it a reality if they ran into each other now.

"S'there food at every bar in Korea?" Gage asked with genuine wonder as he took a bite.

"I never would have pegged you as a dance teacher," Liam said as he took one of the anchovies and ate it without issue - he in fact didn't mind the saltiness of the fish. "Especially after hearing your demo," he added in compliment.

Silas' eyes widened with the arrival of the rest of their food. "This is more like it," he said softly as he began to dig in. "What made you decide to get into that?" he asked Jiwon through his first bite. "Ballet stuff," he added for clarity with a small flourish of his hand.

Gage and Adam started in on their own dishes, the lead singer pleasantly surprised with his meal. Adam was just happy to have food other than fish. And it was all delicious. "You really know how to pick," Adam said with a raise of his fork - never able to quite get chopsticks down. "This shit is good as fuck," he added complimentary as he took another bite.

[princessbrunette]

deer!reader gets the zoomies and pope's trying to calm her down? ♡

˙✧˖° 🐬🛼🎀 ⋆｡♡

“oh my god, please get into bed.” pope chuckles, watching you from where he lays, a hand resting behind his head. you were wired up, pacing the room at the foot of his bed in your pyjamas. he’d taken you on one of the infamous pogue missions today, getting into all kinds of drama. pope had been stressed, hating that you could get into any kind of trouble. he did the best he could to keep you safe, as did the other pogues — in mutual understanding that you were a sweetheart who was not to be corrupted.

you’d been quiet throughout everything, all wide eyed and curious even through the dangerous parts. pope couldn’t gage you, half expecting you to burst into tears from all the commotion of the day as soon as he got you back through the door — but to his total surprise you were off like a rocket, rambling excitedly and grinning ear to ear.

“it was like— it was like this one scene from my book! i’ve never felt adrenaline like that before pope it was just— wow! and — and the way jj punched that guy in the face! he’s insane! and the way kie told that guy to shutup, like woah!” you squeal, twirling about excitedly as your boyfriend shakes his head calmly, used to the pogues shenanigans.

“yep, they’re all crazy. what’s gonna get you over here, huh?” he smiles lazily and you pause breathlessly in your tracks.

“not sure. i just feel so excited right now, popey.” you smile honestly and he sits up at the edge of the bed, patting the space next to him. reluctantly, you skip over— sitting right up by his side, looking at him expectedly with those wide curious eyes.

“look, i’m gonna be honest— i was stressed today. the most important thing to me, is keeping you safe, aaaand — that? that was far from safe. i’m glad you had fun, but i can’t in good conscience let you tag along to anymore pogue missions. okay?” his forehead crinkles as he knits his brows, watching your face fall a little, pensive.

unsurprisingly, you do as your told with little resistance. “mm, okay. but can you tell me more about your adventures? i wanna know.”

“mhm.” he loops a strong arm round the back of your neck to draw you in for quick kiss, a silent testament to how adorable he thought you were in the moment. “but tomorrow. not while i’m trying to get you to calm down.” he smiles, to let you know he’s not scolding you.

“fair.” you smile and he tilts his head, staring at you whilst he thinks.

“at the risk of sounding gross and vulgar, i do know one thing that usually gets you to calm down pretty quickly.”

your back straightens a little, perking up the same way a deer would after hearing a leaf crunch in the distance. “what’s that?” you question energetically, and instead of answering you — pope brings you in for another slow kiss, gently laying you back on the bed.

“well, it involves me being knuckles deep inside you. can’t give you any more clues though, i’m afraid.”

just like that, your brains mush. if pope had his methods to calm you down, who were you to intervene with such brilliance?

˙✧˖° 🐬🛼🎀 ⋆｡♡

[redlittlefoxari]

Astrion Epilogue: An Adventure in Making a Life

Chapter Six: On the road with secrets

Summary: The Party gets suspicious when Tav suddenly starts having morning sickness. Tav and Astsrion try to explain the sickness without giving away that Tav is Seven Weeks pregnant.

Warnings: NSFW+18, smut, pregnancy, blood, violence, fluff, angst.

Relationship: Astarion X Tav

Characters: Astarion (Baldur's Gate) Karlach (Baldur's Gate)Gale (Baldur's Gate) Wyll (Baldur's Gate) Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate)Lae'zel (Baldur's Gate) Tav (Baldur's Gate) Jaheira (Baldur's Gate) Halsin(Baldur's Gate)

Master List

Seven weeks pregnant 

It had been a week since you started the journey to water deep, and today was the worst day. You awoke to your stomach reeling and barely made out your tent flaps before last night's dinner made its way up your throat and lips. You spent several moments heaving up the dinner Astarion made for you. The red contents thankfully looked like wine and not the blood mixed with cherry juice you had last night. You prayed that your friends would think you had too much wine last night and not question you much about your morning sickness. 

Astarion emerged from the tent in the middle of your heaving and rubbed small circles around your back in soothing comfort. There wasn't much he could do for you now but give you some form of comfort until this passed. 

At the commotion, the others started to stir from their tents and eyed the two of you with worry. Shadowhearts eyebrow was raised in suspicion a question forming in her mind. You weren't seen with any alcohol last night and had refused when she offered you a drink of her stash last night, claiming you brought your own. By the look on her face, you gaged that she was playing back the night's events in her mind. 

"You know how it is, Shadowheart?" Astarion was quick: "One too many glasses of wine and a night of passion upsets the stomach after." 

You let out a huff of air and whipped your lips. Your mouth tasted like cherries and blood. Cherry juice had the same metallic taste of blood but cut with an edge of sweetness that you have been craving this pregnancy. You still ate other foods because Astarion wouldn't let you eat cake and other sweet confections, but they were still what you craved the most. 

"Yup��� Just too much good wine and… passion." You gave Astarion a sideways glare. Did he have to add the passion part? You just got back a sly smile as a response. 

"What vintage was it?" 

"What?" You weren't expecting to get interrogated. 

"I want to get a bottle when we return to the city. If it did that to you, I'm sure it's robust." She started to close the distance, avoiding the puddle you made. 

"I don't remember… I was really drunk by the time…"

"Where is the bottle that will tell us." She looked over your shoulder. 

"Do you think this is the time to question her about wine?" Karlach stepped in to save you. "She just got sick all over herself, and you're more worried about the vintage so you can get drunk better? You need to check yourself into a program, I swear."

Gods, you loved this big beautiful teifling. Shadowheart was right to be suspicious, but Astarion and you agreed that you wouldn't tell you about the pregnancy until you hit the second trimester at fourteen weeks. The perfect timing for the party. You would party to celebrate Gale, and then after the celebration, when everything would die down, and the rest of the guests would leave. It was just you, Karlach, Wyll, Gale, Shadowheart, and Astarion; you would tell them the good news. But for now, too many things could go wrong. There were too many unknowns; it was better to keep it under wraps for now, lying when you needed to. 

"I don't have a problem. I didn't see her drinking last night." Shadowhert turned to face Karlach, who had a good two feet on her. 

"Their tent has flaps, so unless you can peer through solid objects, my guess is that she drank the wine behind it. Now, can we get a move on? We'er burring daylight." Karlach turned to hers and Wyll's tent to start packing it away. 

"If we find the bottle or remember the vintage, we will be sure to let you know, Shadowheart," Astarion said with a cool bit of ice in his words. 

"I'm sure you will… feel better. We have a long journey today." With that, shadowheart walked away to her own tent. 

"She was always suspicious." Astarion's eyes bore into the back of her head.

"She was trained too; let's just pack up and get ready to leave; hopefully, when we get onto the road, they will forget about this, and next time I have morning sickness, I'll try to throw up more quietly and in the bushes." You turned and walked into your tent with Astarion at your heels. 

"She's like a dog with a bone. She won't let this go, but when we stop in the next town, we can slip away and buy some bottles of wine. That may sway her. She can't see us buy them." You nodded at his words. It might work. 

"Okay, we'll do that in the next town, but that's still fifteen days away. What do we do if I get sick before then?" Your question hung in the air for a few seconds. 

"Food poisoning?" He shrugged. "We are cooking everything over a fire on sticks found in the woods. Who knows what things are on them."

"Okay, we'll go with that for now, but we need to think of something else." You gave him a light kiss on his lips, not wanting him to taste too much of what you regurgitated. 

Before you could pull away, Astarion grabbed your wrist and pulled you into him, causing you to gasp, allowing him to pull you into a complex, demanding kiss that searched your mouth with his tongue. You moaned into the kiss as the feel of him inside your mouth awoke something in you that you didn't know you could feel after throwing up everything in your stomach. 

Astarion ended the kiss and placed the hand that wasn't around your wrist so that it cupped your face on one side. "I would kiss you even if you tasted like garlic, and it would burn me from the inside out. Never think I wouldn't want to kiss you like that for a moment."

Your cheeks felt hot at his decoration of love and devotion. You knew he felt that way, but this baby made your emotions go haywire. Mood swings were becoming more familiar to you, and it didn't help that something was getting bigger every time you looked in the mirror. Your hips were fuller, your breasts bigger, and it was getting more and more challenging to get into your armor by the day. You were feeling insecure about everything that made you who you are. 

"I know it's just… This baby is changing me, and whenever I look in the mirror, I see a different person." You looked away from his pricing stare, his red eyes seeming like they were looking into your soul. 

"You know what I see when I look at you?" He pulled your gaze back towards his eyes. "I see the beautiful woman who is carrying my child inside her, and whenever I look at you, I have to fight every fiber of my being not to rip your clothes off and have you in front of the gods and everyone." You placed a gentle kiss on your lips. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen besides myself." 

You snorted a laugh and were fighting back tears. 

"But you are even before me." His hand moved from your wrist to your belly. "This is a gift, making you more beautiful by the day, my love." 

"Thank you, Astarion." You rubbed tears out of your eyes. 

"Don't thank me for telling you the truth. Now, let's get you something to eat before we start packing up and leaving. We can't have you starving." Astarion gave you one more kiss, choosing to place it on your forehead before he turned to his pack and pulled out a jar of chilled blood mixed with some cherry juice. The jars were wrapped in cloths woven in frost giant hair that radiated cold energy, keeping whatever was wrapped in them cold and thus significantly increasing the time things could be kept. 

"This was such a clever idea. We should paton this and sell it around Baldur's Gate. We could be rich." Astarion handed you your jar.

"It just came to me one day. If we did sell this, we would probably never have to go on another adventure again. We could buy a big house in the upper city and raise our child." You slowly sipped your breakfast, fearing that it would come up to greet you again if you didn't pace yourself. 

"Now that does sound nice." Astarion grabbed a jar of blood for himself and began doing the same. The both of you are thinking of the future that you would share with your selves and your unborn child. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the end of the day, your feet felt beyond swollen. Twenty-four miles later, you finally reached the ruins that would be your campsite for the night. They were of an old temple to a god long past dead and gone, but the centuries still held many secrets. The stones were crumbling, but they would make do for just one night as the likelihood of the whole thing collapsing was a slim possibility. 

"Are you doing alright?" You heard Wyll's voice as you stopped just before the entrance of the ruins to take off your boots and rub your tired feet. 

"Oh yeah, I'm doing fine; it's been a while since I walked this much. My feet seemed to have lost their natural calluses." You plastered a smile on your face, hoping it would convince him of your authenticity.

"I know what you mean; Karlach and I have slowed down during the years. We still go out on adventures, but for the most part, we try to stay home and relax." Wyll returned your smile with one of his own. 

The two of you chatted while the others made their way farther along the trail leading to the ruins. Karlach and Astarion were deep in conversation about the many things they had been up to and the beasts they had slain over the last fifty years. Time moved differently in the hells than it did on this plain, so there was a lot to talk about and catch up with. 

Shadowheart just listened and made comments every once in a great while. You knew that what happened this morning was still bawling at her. She knew something was up, and it wasn't that you got so drunk that you made yourself sick. You just hoped that she would respect your privacy and not investigate the subject any further. You were leaning towards her doing as when she had her secrets about Shar and the prism when you first met; you didn't pepper her with questions. You let her open up to you in her own time, and she respected you for it. She would give you the same courtesy you had hoped for. 

"We should probably catch back up to the others." You slipped your boots back on and got up from the log, shouldering your pack once again as you started to make your way to where the others were.

"Right, I'm ready to make camp for the night and sleep! I'm getting too old for this." Wyll did the same and joined you. 

"Nonsense, I think you have another forty years of adventuring left!" The two of you laughed. 

"Gods, I hope not. I want to buy some land outside the city and just live." 

The way Wyll spoke made you think of your plans. You resisted the urge to place your hand on your stomach. They would be a dead giveaway, and as far as your friends knew, you didn't want to have children and couldn't as long as Astarion was your partner. So, no one talked of children; none of you currently have children. At least none that you knew of. 

You didn't hear the arrows as they came towards you. Still, you felt the impact as they embedded themselves in your shoulder and stomach. They sent you careening toward the ground. Your back hit the ground, and you heard Astarion scream your name, terror in his voice. 

Bandits surrounded you and Wyll. Five of them total were probably there to see if they could find the secrets of the ruins and thought your little group was too. So they were going to take care of you. That way, they didn't need to share. 

Wyll produced his rapier and put it through the heart of one of the bandits. At the same time, Karlach, Shadowheart, and Astarion raced to where the two of you were located. You slowly made your way up from prone, your shoulder throbbing in pain from the arrow protruding out from it. You looked for an opening to run; you were skilled with a bow, and close combat was not your strongest skill. You saw an opening between Wyll and the bandit he downed and dashed beyond them. 

Astarion made quick work of one bandit ripping the throat and sucking him dry of blood. Crimson dripped from his chin, and he was a sight to behold. Red eyes seemed to glow as he locked eyes with you and motioned for you to run.

 You gave him a nod; as you turned your back, holding your shoulder, you heard a familiar spell being cast. Hail of thorns. This time, you listened to the hundreds of thorns coming towards you. It seemed that your running away made you the prime target since you were not paying attention to anyone and would be the most distracted. You braced yourself for the impact of the thorns, but they never came when you turned to see why Astarion was shielding you with his body. 

You heard a wet crunch as Karlach Sliced the last bandit with her great axe, and the others came towards you and Astarion. He looked like a porcupine. Long thorns were jutting out from his back, but he didn't seem to notice as he touched you all over. 

"Are you alright?" He touched the arrow that was embedded in your stomach, a look of terror etched on his face. 

"I don't know…" You knew what you looked like. Scared, the two of you had no way of knowing what was going on inside you or if your child was okay. Fear gripped your heart, and you tried not to cry. 

"The two of you look alright to me." Shadowheart looked confused at your words. "Let's get these arrows and thorns out of the two of you, and I'll heal you. It will be like that never happened."

The two of you ignored her and just stared into each other's eyes. You were frozen with fear. Astarion placed his hand on your stomach, making it look like he would pull the arrow free, but he was looking for any sign. Anything that would let him know that the baby was okay that they were alive and well, and the arrow missed him. 

There was nothing, and you saw a look pass across his face. He schooled his features, and you could tell that he was trying to concentrate on something. "I hear it…. I hear their heartbeat." He spoke at a volume that was barely a whisper. "I hear the heartbeat." 

The tears that you were holding back free from your eyes, and you couldn't make them stop. Astarion pressed a kiss to your lips and then one on your forehead. The fear that gripped your heart released, and you grabbed the arrow, pulling it from your body but to have an excuse to hold your stomach. 

The other three exchanged a look of confusion. "The two of you have gotten into worse scraps than that…. I do not see how this is getting such a reaction." Karlach spoke, her voice edged with worry. 

"Yes, well, we always do this when the other gets hurt. Plus, I needed to find out what those arrows were tipped with. I had to give her a full examination." 

Astarion's statement didn't do much to quell their confusion, but they couldn't argue with it very much either. He allowed Shadowheart to pull the needles out only after she healed you first. She did so, and then you and she pulled the hundreds of pins out individually. 

By the time the five of you made camp, the night was falling, and you forgot the tents and instead decided to sleep on the ground since the ruins provided enough cover. The rest of the night was quiet as the others gave you and Astarion a wide berth, not sure what to say after yours and Astarion's weird reaction to you getting shot earlier. 

"That was too close." Astarion came and sat beside you. 

"I know, but we couldn't have known they would attack." 

"We should have assumed someone was here. This place…. It attracts people like that." You took Astarion's hand.

"We'll just have to assume that from now on. We got too comfortable around friends." You looked at the others in the camp, and they all looked away from you, trying to look casual, like they weren't just watching the two of you. 

"I swear these people are so nosy."

"They are concerned that our reactions today were a bit weird for someone who doesn't know what's happening." You looked back to Astarion. "They just care about us."

*tisk* Astarion clicked his tongue. "All this love is making me queasy." He stood up. "Let's go to bed before I get sick." 

You rolled your eyes and took his hand. The two of you made your way back to camp. You pulled a jar of your "wine" from your bag and took a long drag off it so Shadowheart would see. Earlier that day, you snuck over to her tent and found an empty bottle of wine. You quickly snatched it and poured your "wine" into the bottle. She gave you a nod. 

"Glad you're feeling better." She closed the distance. "If you need to talk to someone about anything, don't hesitate." She gave your hand a quick squeeze. "You helped me get free of Shar and helped me find out who I really was. I will help you through anything. You are my friend." 

"I know, and when I'm ready to talk, I will, but now is not the right time." You said as you returned her smile. 

She nodded at your words and looked towards Astarion. "Until you are ready as well."

"I'll be sure to let you know when I'm ready to braid each other's hair and trade this tale, but my lips are sealed for now." 

Shadowheart gave your hand one last squeeze and walked to her bed roll. You and Astarion did the same, lying beside each other with your hands on your stomachs under the covers where the others couldn't see.