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slothquisitor · 1 year ago

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Enough for Now

Before setting off on their next adventure, Liv has a surprise for Astarion. They also have a very long overdue discussion. OR why aren't more of us using Magnificient Mansion in these post-campaign fics? Also featuring the dumbest joke I've ever written. I'm not sorry. Liv x Astarion, 4.5k, fluffy for once.

Also on AO3.

As Astarion retreats into his room at the Elfsong, he finds himself less frustrated by the impending day and the rising sun. There is an anticipatory air to this morning, though it is the end of his day. In some ways, time feels as if it is moving both too slowly and too fast. He has spent the last few days poring over tomes and city descriptions to pick where he and Liv will go from Baldur’s Gate. He settles on Neverwinter because it sounds big and beautiful and cosmopolitan. There are so many places he wants to see and explore and know…and now he can. The abundance of choice is still overwhelming sometimes, but he feels good about this one.

It’s not a short journey from here to Neverwinter, but there are some perks to traveling with a wizard. Liv has been preparing, scrying on locations, and learning as much as she can about the city, and she seems fairly confident she can get them there without a mishap. The risk doesn’t bother him at all. He’s just excited to finally go .

Once he settled on Neverwinter, the more impulsive part of him wanted to take off immediately, but Liv is a planner, an organizer. Especially since she’s getting them there with potentially risky magic, she wants everything to be just so. It’s not something that he will readily admit, but he’s grateful for her meticulousness, even if it means waiting just a little longer. They plan to leave tonight, and that means only one more day in this godsawful room while the sun shines.

Liv hasn’t returned yet, so he busies himself reading a travel guide he’s sure isn’t even half accurate about the different areas within Neverwinter. Beyond exploring the city, he doesn’t have a plan for Neverwinter. Yet. But he’s sure that once they get there opportunities will materialize. Showing up and causing chaos has worked pretty well for him so far, and he plans to do just that.

When Liv returns, her arms are filled with spell components and books and her eyes are bright even though she’s stayed awake longer than usual to run their morning errands. He greets her at the door, taking some of the books from her arms. She shoots him a grateful look as he steps over to the small, ever-crowding desk. The desk looks less like a desk and more as though someone ransacked a wizard’s library and component stash.

“I really should’ve taken the bag of holding with me,” Liv replies. “Rolan made sure I have anything I could need, and he sent me with a few tomes of interest that he found.”

“Nice of him,” Astarion replies sidestepping Liv so that she can take off her cloak. No part of him is going to miss this cramped room.

She shoots him a sheepish look as if she knows exactly where his thoughts have gone. “I have a surprise for you,” she says hopefully.

“Oh?” A surprise? Something she picked up while out shopping this morning?

She quickly picks up a few items from the desk and nods. “I just need a moment.” And then she sits tailor fashion, facing the empty wall. He watches as she sets out a carved ivory door, a silver spoon, and a bit of marble in an exacting line before she begins casting. Liv is at her best when she is drawing and directing her magic. She is precise and confident. There is much she is not sure of in life, but her magic has never been a question. She calls, and it answers. He loves watching her like this, the way her fingers form the somatic gestures and she whispers the words to speak her will into existence. He has watched her conjure fireballs, call down lightning, and even disguise their entire party, but he’s never seen her do magic like this.

As the spell finishes, he can feel the world tilt just a little, her magic reshaping reality. In a blink, a door appears on the empty wall. It is utterly out of place in this room of theirs. The door is painted a pretty light blue, trimmed in dark metal that swirls and filigrees. Even the brass doorknob is ornate, with vines and flowers, and other minute details he can’t quite make out.

“What is this?” he asks. Where does this door go?

Liv is triumphant when she turns to face him. “Well, I thought perhaps we needed a place to stay in our travels. There’s little difference between a tiny inn room here or in Neverwinter when the windows are drawn, after all.”

He doesn’t understand. What is this? “What…did you conjure a house or something?” He’s heard of such magic, of course, but it has always sounded more like folktale than reality.

Liv nods. “I’ve been working on it for a while, but it’s not a small bit of magic. But I thought maybe…it might be home.” She shifts a bit from foot to foot, and he realizes as she speaks that she’s nervous.

“Home?” The word still feels like a complicated one, still sharper than it should be on his tongue. Neither of them has a home, not really. Not beyond the abstract idea of this city. There’s a reason they’ve been stuck in this tavern since the brain was defeated. But as ever, Liv fearlessly leads them onward, banishing old, tainted memories while they forge new ones together.

She steps forward, extending her hand. “Come on.”

He slips his fingers into hers, a comfortable tangle that still feels like a novelty despite how second nature reaching for her is these days. She pulls him over to the door and looks up at him expectantly. With his free hand, he reaches out and opens it. He’s not prepared for what he finds on the other side.

It’s as if he’s opened the front door to an entire cottage that he’s never seen before, but it feels familiar all the same. He notices the books first, so many books. Every wall in this space is covered in bookshelves that are laden with tomes, the colorful spines shining in the warm firelight. A large fireplace crackles lazily to the side, and the whole space is littered with comfortable, mismated furniture that looks perfect for cuddling up with a book. There’s a long, wooden table that looks like it could fit at least twelve people tucked into a nook off the side of a small kitchen area. The kitchen contains no cupboards, just open shelves with bowls and cups and plates. It’s simple but beautiful, and he steps forward without even thinking, without even considering whether he must be invited in.

But nothing stops him, and together, he and Liv step inside this…place. He’s aware of the door quietly snicking shut behind him, but he’s still taking in the space. There are stairs to his right that disappear up around a corner, and there’s a door off the kitchen that sits open and inviting, and he catches the barest glimpse of a desk inside. The windows are bordered by soft, gauzy curtains, but there is nothing outside but a soft blue glow of night-time. A small door in the same style as the one they entered sits along each wall, but these doors are no bigger than a picture frame. They remind him of the dumbwaiter in the Elfsong, but they make little sense here.

He turns to look at Liv, who seems to be watching and reading his every reaction with rapt attention. “You…you created this?”

There’s a soft sort of wonder in her own expression as if she can’t quite believe it either. “I had some help, conjuration isn’t exactly my specialty, but yes, do you like it?”

Like it? Is she serious? “It’s incredible.” He releases her hand so he can wander. He touches the bookshelves, runs a finger along the spines of the books, and touches a soft, tufted chair by the fire. He can feel the heat of the fire warming the place. It all feels so solid, so real. “Where are we exactly?”

Liv considers his question for a moment. “Do you want the long answer or the short one?”

He laughs. “Spare me the lecture, please.” He often loves seeing her get lost in explaining a tangent of spell theory, but right now he’s more interested in understanding the simple answer.

“Think of it like a pocket dimension.”

Well, that certainly explains the lack of landscaping out of the windows. He steps into the kitchen, pointing to the open door. “What’s this room?”

She has followed in his wake, quietly watching him. Her cheeks redden a bit. “Our room if you’d like it to be. But there are more rooms upstairs if you’d prefer.”

He wanders inside the large and artfully appointed room. A comfortable-looking bed takes up most of the space, but there is a desk and component table in the corner. There’s even a bathing chamber connected to the room. Compared to the cozy chaos of the first room, this room feels softer, and less demanding somehow. As ever, she has offered him choices, options. The prospect of shared ownership of any part of this place is an intoxicating idea.

“Our room,” he confirms, and Liv’s answering smile is everything. Ours. How nice that sounds. He’s sure he’s grinning like a fool. His attention snags on another of those small doors he noticed earlier. He wanders over to it. “What are these?”

She walks over and opens the door. Inside, a small shelf slides out. There is a small stack of parchment and quills on the shelf. A notecard sits beside the parchment, and in the elegant script reads, Hello, Astarion. What do you require?

He looks at Liv questioningly. “What’s this?”

“The house would like to take care of you. Ask it for something you want.”

“Like what?”

She shrugs. “Anything.”

“ Anything ?”

“Anything.”

There are many things he could ask for, but he’s most curious about whether it could provide him blood if he asks. So, he writes down ‘human blood’ feeling the need to keep specific and yet simple. Then, she slides the shelf back in and closes the door. A moment later, the door dings softly, and she opens it back up. Sitting inside is a golden goblet filled to the brim with bright red blood. Tucked beneath the stem is a little note of parchment, it reads Enjoy in the same elegant writing. He picks up the goblet and gives it a sniff. “Where does the blood come from? Whose is it?”

Liv’s brow furrows. “I’ve asked the same question. I changed the spell and well, it’s worked in ways I didn’t quite anticipate. You see, the original spell provided servants to attend within the space and provide whatever we might ask for, but I didn’t want that. So I changed it, but now have the doors and well, we can put in any request and the house will do its best to fulfill it. But nothing here can leave; take it past the threshold and it will turn to smoke.”

He tentatively sips the blood. It’s…definitely human, but it’s odd. There’s almost nothing unique about it. Like drinking water. It quenches his thirst, but it’s not very fun. He sets the goblet down, considering the implications. With access to this, he’ll never have to worry about starving again. It’s both a relief and another sort of complicated feeling he’s not quite sure he wants to examine right now. “Well, that…that is very convenient.”

“It is. Especially since I don’t have much desire to learn to cook. But it’s more than food. The house can mend things, clean things, and provide almost anything you could ask for.”

“But it just can’t leave.”

“That’s the catch in a place that isn’t really real. And I’m sure there are limits I haven’t discovered yet. Come on, there’s one more room I want to show you.”

“Another room?” he asks incredulously. He’s not sure what else she could have in store after…well all of this. He follows her eagerly.

In the corner of the main room, tucked beside the fireplace there is another door, but this one is closed. She waits in front of it, looking more nervous than before, hands twisting together as if she’s not sure what to do with them.

“This whole place is ours…obviously…but I thought you might like a room that was just yours.”

He can’t remember when he last had a space that was his, just his. Even his bunk in the dormitory at Szarr palace wasn’t his…not really. Cazador often reminded him and all the other spawns that nothing in that house belonged to any of them. Besides, he spent almost as much time being tortured in the kennels as he ever did in that bed. After their abduction, his tent was the first place he’d had that was his. He had gathered odds and ends, pillows and mirrors, anything he could take and make his own; he was desperate to create something that was his . There was something about carving out a place of his own that helped him feel like a real person again during those first terrifying and exhilarating weeks of freedom. A whole room to himself sounds like an impossible luxury.

“Really?” But he doesn’t wait for an answer before reaching for the doorknob and opening the door. He desperately wants to see whatever she has built for him. When the door opens, he is met with bright sunlight. He draws back instinctively, lest it burn him, but Liv catches his elbow gently.

“It’s alright…it’s not real. It’s just an illusion. It won’t hurt you.”

He extends his hand out cautiously and feels nothing but the soft, unexpected warmth of sunshine against his skin. He twists his hand around as if he might be able to capture the rays of sun within. When it still causes him no pain, he steps fully into the room, eyes falling shut as he stands in the sunlight. “It feels real,” he whispers, marveling at the way it feels just like a gentle, golden morning.

Finally, he opens his eyes and drinks in the room. It is a glass-walled solarium. He cranes to see what might lay beyond the windows, but it is just bright light and nothingness. Plants hang from the ceiling and vine along shelves. There is a small sitting area with chairs and an elegant bright green chaise. A rug covers the wooden floor, but otherwise, it is open and waiting. Waiting for him to fill it…to make it his own.

“Gale helped me with the illusion. I left it rather empty in here so that you could tell me what you’d like it to look like, and the next time I cast the spell, it’ll be just how you want it,” Liv explains, her words are rambling, full of explanation he doesn’t need.

He realizes that he hasn’t said a word.

Her voice is quiet. “I know that it’s not the same as being able to go out during the day, but I hope that it will be enough…enough for now.”

Enough for now? This…this is everything. “You did all this for me?”

She smiles. “Well, most of the books are for me, but -”

He closes the distance, pulling her into a hug and effectively cutting her off. Her arms wrap around him, holding him as tightly as he’s grasping onto her. “Thank you,” he whispers against her hair. “This is much more than enough.”

He feels more than hears the sigh of relief, the way she curls into him. “You really like it?”

He pulls back just far enough to meet her eyes, cradling her head in his hand. “Like it? This…you are incredible. I love it. I love you .”

Her smile is a lovely thing.

“I do have some decor suggestions,” he adds.

She laughs. “I assumed you would. It’s our place, after all.”

Our place. It doesn’t quite feel real. He almost asks then if she was actually nervous he wouldn’t like it, but then he knows her well enough to know that answer. She spent the whole of her life being told she wasn’t enough, and despite that, she offers so much of herself willingly. Her heart is better than he deserves.

“I wish it hadn’t taken quite so long. I’ve been working on it since we defeated the Netherbrain, and I wanted it to be a surprise.”

He leans his forehead against hers. Of course, she has. “You know that some people celebrate their victories before immediately finding new causes.”

“Is that so?” she presses closer, her nose skimming his. Tone, light, teasing.

“Yes.” He tilts her head back and hovers a breath away from her lips. “Promise me that when we get to Neverwinter you’ll do some things for yourself.”

“I promise.” And she seals it with a kiss. Liv always keeps her promises, and that’s good enough for him. Good enough for now.

***

Watching Astarion wander with wonder around the home she had only ever dreamed in her mind makes Liv’s heart feel like it’s going to burst. She knows how much he’s hated being trapped in the Elfsong, and she wishes she’d had the magic and the components ready to give them both this place sooner, but the wait was worth it for the way he embraces her, calls her incredible. The world is big and their adventures will be too, but having a place they can always return, a home, makes it all feel just a little less scary.

When she kisses him, she doesn’t expect to be met with passion and urgency. It feels as though Astarion cannot get close enough to her for the way he holds her. He kisses her deeply, his clever tongue darting between her teeth, his fangs gently nipping her lips. His hands are insistent. He is a swiftly moving current, and she desperately wants to lose herself in him, let his lips and fingers pull her far from shore. He guides them to the chaise and they tumble down into the softness. There is no question of where this is going as he rolls his hips into hers and begins undoing the buttons of her shirt while her fingers tangle in his hair. She is already breathless, already pulling him closer.

They have only had sex a handful of times since the night in the cemetery when Astarion told her he wanted to try again. And they haven’t talked about it, not really. At first, it was because there was a big world-ending problem to solve and every moment felt like it could be their last. And then they were just thrilled to be alive and to have moments together. But now, there isn’t an excuse not to pause, to ensure they are on the same page.

As he parts her shirt and presses his cool lips against her collarbone, she whispers his name and gently cups his cheek.

“Hmm?” As he looks up at her, his red eyes are blown wide with genuine desire. It’s validating to see, and all the more reason to talk.

“I think we need to pause and talk for a moment.”

“You want to talk right now ?” His voice has dipped suggestively, but his hands have paused their exploration.

She sighs. “Not my best timing…but yes. If we’re going to be having sex more…regularly. We need to talk about it.”

He stiffens a bit. “I’m not exactly sure what there is to talk about, darling. I did need some time for our relationship to grow and for me to feel safe to re-engage in sex, but everything’s fine now.”

She runs her thumb against his cheek in what she hopes is a comforting gesture. “I’m glad that you feel safe, and like everything is fine. But I think we need to talk about what we’re both comfortable with, what we both want. Boundaries and all that.”

His brow furrows. “Oh…I…alright.” There’s a reluctance there that she wasn’t expecting, but she forges on anyway.

“For example, I don’t know how you feel about me initiating sex with you. I’d like to know your boundaries…the things you might not be comfortable with or things you want to try. Sex is complicated for you…and we haven’t always gotten it right. I just want to do better moving forward.”

“I appreciate that. I…I admit that’s not something I’ve ever done with a partner before.” He’s not quite meeting her eyes, and his fingers seem to be tracing patterns in the cushion beneath her.

If she’s being honest, she hasn’t quite had these conversations so explicitly with a partner before either, but things with Astarion are different, and she wants this to be something that lasts. “Let’s just keep it simple today…Let’s just talk about things we like and initiating sex. I’ve felt like you needed to be the one in control of when sex happens…so I haven’t felt like I could initiate. I don’t know if I’ve misread that.”

He lets out a heavy sigh, his weight settling down into her as he shifts them both to the side, so they can face each other on the chaise, but he’s not holding himself upright. “That’s…that’s not an incorrect assumption, and perhaps something I needed…before. But now, I think I’d rather like to be propositioned by you. I don’t think you’ve ever propositioned me.”

He’s not wrong. At first, it was because he had pursued her and then it had been simply out of respect for what he had asked for: time and space. “Good to know. And…what do you like when it comes to sex?”

She knows she was right about them needing to talk by the way Astarion’s face tightens at the question. His words are careful, less sure than he usually is. “I don’t know what I like. I like…everything I do with you. Even when it isn’t about me…I like watching you and knowing you’re enjoying my attentions. I do enjoy sex with you, to be clear, but I think I enjoy the bit after, better. When we’re just naked together.”

She smiles and turns more fully into him. “I like that too. I like the way I feel connected to you when we’re together like that. I wouldn’t mind cuddling naked any time really, no precursor sex required.”

“Any time?” he asks with a mischievous glint in his eye.

She laughs. “I draw a line at having an audience, but yes.”

“Our cemetery exploits haven’t broken you of that?”

“Not at all. What else do you like?”

He considers for a moment, “I like drinking your blood when I’m inside you.”

“I think I have picked up on that one.”

“Am I that obvious?” he cocks an eyebrow.

She shrugs her free shoulder. “It’s still good to hear you say it.”

“And you? Are you going to tell me what you like?”

“Yes…” As much as she’s the one who initiated this conversation, she can’t help the blush that warms her face. For his part, Astarion looks utterly delighted; she shoves his shoulder. “I like your mouth on me.”

“Oh, but there’s so many places for my mouth to be…do be more specific, darling.”

She glares at him. “Cunnilingus.”

“Ah yes. I’ve been told I’m quite the cunning linguist,” he says with such an air of pride, and the joke is so bad that she can’t contain the laugh that escapes her.

“Really? Cunning linguist?”

“You’re so adorable when you’re embarrassed. I had to do something,” he pulls her close and kisses her nose.

“You always make the worst jokes when I’m embarrassed,” she says. He has a rare gift for telling the worst jokes in moments like these. It makes her love him even more.

His smile tells her that he knows it. “Tell me something else you like.”

“I like it when you’re not entirely gentle with me. Not all the time, mind you, but I like feeling a little danger every now and again.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised considering you’re bedding a vampire.”

“Am I detecting the slightest hint of judgment?” she asks, feigning offense.

“Considering that I’m very much on the benefiting end of it, absolutely not,” he replies with a slight laugh. “Though that does sort of lead into something I’m less comfortable with…”

She waits while he searches for the words.

“You’ve never shied away from my true nature…but beyond drinking from you…I don’t know that I want to be reminded of what I am. That might change, but when I’m with you intimately I need to be reminded that I’m a whole person…”

“That makes sense.”

“With that said, I’m also not very comfortable playing with power dynamics. At least for now, I need to feel that we’re…equals.”

She tries not to think about why that is, why certain dynamics might be triggering for him. “That sounds very reasonable.”

“Is there anything you’d like to avoid?”

She considers for a moment. “I had a partner once who was sort of into degrading talk…I didn’t like that at all. Otherwise, I like the things we’ve done together too, and I’m open to trying new things as well as you’re comfortable. We’ll just keep talking through it.”

“I do like the prospect of more opportunities to see you embarrassed.” His eyes are bright and his arms tighten around her.

“Someday, I’m going to find whatever it is that makes you all flustered, and then you’ll never know peace.”

“Mmmm. Is that a promise?” He asks, burying his head into the crook of her neck and kissing along her jawline.

“Is this your way of saying you’d like us to not talk for a bit?” she asks, arching into him to grant him better access.

“Well, that’s entirely up to you. I always know I’m doing a very good job when you’re muttering unintelligibly.”

She swats at his shoulder as she feels his laughter shake them both. His lips find hers once more, and she melts into him. There’s still plenty more to discuss, but this is a start. And it’s good enough for now.

#astarion #astarion x tav #astarion bg3 #astarion x liv #bright lost things #healthy communication abounds here!#proud of these two #slothquisitorwrites

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suncoved · 3 months ago

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BIG MAN ON CAMPUS! — RAFE CAMERON

pairing; fratboy!rafe cameron x fem!reader

summary; you come to your first college party and have the worst panic attack of your life. who knew your knight in shining armour would be the captain of the biggest fraternity and the biggest fuck boy on campus

warnings ; panic attacks, anxiety, drugging, angst but like fluff!!

"Liv, i'm really not sure about this"

You're best friend and roommate looked at you with a blank stare, watching as you pulled the tight white dress down that had ridden up your thighs. She had dragged you out of your dorm only 20 minutes ago, telling you that if you didn't come she was going to wake you up with a bucket of ice water.

"Cmon babe, you made me promise i would drag you to at least one party this year. and i don't break a promise. Which also means that i promise if you don't like the first 30 minutes, then we can go home and eat 30 pounds of ice cream and pass out in our makeup"

You smiled at her, trying to push yourself through whatever anxiety was coursing through you. Liv was really a good friend, even if she was harsh about it at times, you know that she wanted the best for you.

The smell of booze and sweat hit your nose immediately as you walked into the frat house, the music blasting and the rainbow lights blinding against the otherwise dark space.

Liv pulled you to the corner of the living room, smiling brightly at you and giving you an extra tight hug. "Ok! I'm gonna go get us some drinks, stay right there and don't move!"

She had to yell because of how loud the music was, wasting no time before disappearing into the kitchen.

You stood in the party like a fish out of water, biting your lip as you looked down at your feet.

You'd like to say that you weren't that much of an introvert. I mean sure you liked to be curled up with a good book from time to time, and you were studying a bit more than healthy. But you like to go out and shop with friends, talk to new people in your classes and slumber parties on the weekends.

But parties were something you did not do. It had a combination of all the things you disliked most in life. loud music, people yelling, drinking, flashing bright lights and... frat boys.

You'd already been brought out of your shell at college, you were confident enough now to present in classes and partner up with new people on assignments, but this was pushing it.

You were a sweet girl, but naive. You didn't have enough experience with greedy men and even you would admit that you resembled a lost deer more often than you would like.

You lifted your head as you heard someone approach you, looking up quickly as you assumed it was Liv coming back from the kitchen.

But it wasn't Liv.

A brunette looked straight at you as you made eye contact with him, a red solo cup resting in his hand.

"What's a pretty girl like you standing here all alone in the corner" he stated, inching closer to you as you subconsciously stepped back a bit. "I'm Jeremey"

He reached out his hand to you to shake, only to receive a dumbfounded look on your face.

"Normally people reply back with their name, Babe"

"Oh! Sorry!" you replied flustered, repeating back your name as he grinned wide, showing his bright smile.

You didn't want to admit that when Jeremy was talking to you, you continually kept glancing over at the entrance to the kitchen, hoping that the next person to walk out was Liv, who was going to hopefully come to save you from this conversation.

"Hey, I was experimenting in the kitchen, wanna try my new concoction." Jeremy dangled the red solo cup in your face, the liquid pink and smelling of strawberries.

"No thank you. I don't drink" you replied sweetly, hoping to be polite and not upset him. "There's barely any in it, promise. Pleaseee, don't wanna hurt my feelings, do you?" He replied in annoyance.

A pang of hurt shot through you as you panicked, how could you have been so rude! Jeremy was taking time out of his day to talk to you and you rejected a drink he made you?

"Oh! no, I'm sorry. Thank you so much" you replied, taking the cup out of his hands and looking down at the liquid. He watched closely as you took a sip, your face twisting at the strong flavour of vodka.

"What do you think?" he smirked as he asked, bringing his hand up to your lips and wiping the extra liquid off with his thumb.

"Its- its great, thank you" you replied, your heart beating faster as you started to feel increasingly more uncomfortable. He watched you closely as he hinted to you to drink more, looking down at you like he was a wolf, and you were his prey.

You held back tears as you felt the room start to spin under your feet, your cheeks feeling hot and your hands shaking involuntarily. It hit you quickly that this wasn't alcohol that was making you feel like this, no, it was something else. Something much, much worse.

And you didn't want to stick around to figure out what it was.

"Um, sorry Jeremy, I need to go to the bathroom" you spoke up, using all your courage to push through the crowd quickly as he followed.

Your breath was now speeding up as you fought your way through the waves of people, your steps becoming faster as you felt the room spinning more and more, tears streaming down your face.

You didn't know where the bathrooms in this place were, but you didn't have time to think about that now.

You just needed to find Liv, or someone, anyone.

Your eyes fell on a room at the end of the hall, light spilling out of the crack where the door failed to meet the floor.

You didn't have time to think, just to act. Your balled fist made it up to the door, knocking over and over again as you looked behind you, Jeremy in the crowd but looking all over for what you assumed to be you.

You didn't even want to begin to imagine how stupid you looked, or how impolite you were being as your knocks became harsher and frantic as Jeremy came closer.

"Jesus, learn how to wait your fucking turn" a voice sounded as the door opened. you didn't even look away from Jeremy as you tumbled into the bathroom, accidentally bringing the person in the door with you.

"Yo, what the fuc-" the aggressive voice came to a halt quickly, but you all you could focus on was your breathing, which was out of control.

Your cheeks were wet with tears as you closed your eyes, bringing your hands up to your face and letting yourself sob. "I- I can't breathe" You let out, unknowing if you were talking to yourself or the person in the space with you.

You couldn't even handle your anxiety and emotions when you were in control of your body, let alone now.

That's the main reason you don't drink, because you tend to freak out to the point of no return, and this, this was much worse.

Your face was buried in your hands as the person softly closed the door to the bathroom. You didn't even register him softly moving you to sit on the toilet seat in the bathroom, kneeling down and removing your hands from your face.

You opened your eyes to see a man's face looking back at you, his features painted with worry and his body distanced enough away from you as to not upset you even more.

"Hey- hey. Its ok, what's wrong?" the boy asked, trying not to show how confused he was on how to deal with this situation. "Are you hurt?"

You shook your head quickly at his statement, your tears slowly coming to a halt as your vision became less blurry. You could now see his face more clearly. Fluffy dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, soft pink lips.

"Uh, um. Wait" He spoke, breaking eye contact with you for the first time since you entered the bathroom. He started frantically opening draws and cabinets, stopping when he found a box of tissues under the sink.

"Here" you looked between him and the box he was handing you before taking it in your hands, your fingers brushing past each other momentarily.

"Thank you, i-i promise I'm not this much of a mess all the time." You replied, earning a soft smile from the man. "It's ok, it happens to the best of us. Have you taken anything, or just drunk?" He asked delicately.

Rafe didn't understand what he was feeling at this moment. Because he'd never felt it before.

Sure he could be an asshole sometimes, He was rude and got into fights on occasion, and he had been known to make girls complete the walk of shame out of his room involuntarily after a big night out, but that didn't mean he would ever leave a clearly intoxicated girl alone at a frat party.

But this, this was different. He had to know what was wrong with you, and he had to fix it. Sure you were a mystery to him and only met you seconds ago, but he wasn't leaving until he knew you were safe and sound... and had given him your name.

"I don't drink- or, at least I didn't. This boy gave me something, it tasted weird. Then I got all dizzy and now- now I can't stop crying" You rambled, sighing softly and looking into his eyes.

He gazed back at you, running his tongue around his teeth before seemingly snapping out of the trance he was in. "Did you know the guy?" He huffed, obviously agitated with your reply as he ran his fingers through his hair.

You shook your head softly, a wave of sadness running through you because you couldn't give him the answer he wanted. Tears started running down your face again suddenly as you kept repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

He lifted his thumb up to your cheek, softly brushing the tears away. "Hey it's okay, Don't worry. I'll keep you safe"

He didn't understand the feelings he was feeling, He had never craved to protect someone so much, He had never been this gentle in his whole life.

"What's your name?" he asked, distracting you to hopefully stop the flow of tears streaming down your face. He felt like if you didn't stop crying in the next minute, he was going to lose it.

You answered your name to him, earning a soft smile. "I'm Rafe, it's nice to meet you." He finished the sentence with your name, sending shivers down your spine.

"Liv" You gasped, making his head tilt in confusion before you shot up from your seat. "Wow, ma. Slow down, what do you mean?" Rafe replied, holding your hips to stop you from completely falling over. You sat back down quickly in defeat, your eyes wide with panic.

"Liv, I-I came here with my friend Liv. I'm gonna scare her. I need to find her." You gasped, your voice trembling as you spoke. "It's ok, We'll find her. Don't worry, it's ok." He repeated, desperate for your face to get back to your normal expression, aka, not struck with terror.

It was obvious to Rafe through the glaze cast over your eyes, the shaking from your hands and the drooping of your eyelids that someone had slipped something into your drink.

He had hosted enough parties at his fraternity to know what insecure, probably small dicked boys, not men, can do to women. And it revolted him.

"R-rafe. I'm gonna go to sleep now" You whispered, your body finally giving out before you could stop it, his arms quickly coming up to stabilize you before you toppled over.

He bit his lip as he tried to figure out what to do, pulling your body into his arms as you didn't even stir. He was scared. So scared.

He didn't know what you were given, how much you were given, what would happen after you woke up, if you even woke up at all.

He carried you up the stairs and into his bedroom, unlocking the door and locking it behind him again. His room was the only one with a lock in the whole house, because he was damned if he was going to walk in on random strangers having drunk sex on his bed.

He rested you softly on his bed, making sure your head was comfortably on his pillow and resting a blanket over your body after taking your heels off.

He looked at your sleeping form, your long eyelashes resting on your cheeks, your hair falling softly over your shoulders and your chest rising and falling with your breaths.

He looked at you one last time before leaving his room, ignoring every person greeting him as he made a beeline straight for the living room.

He scanned over the large crowd in the house, numerous people dancing, some making out, his frat brothers doing keg stands, and one very panicked girl going up to every stranger she sees.

Rafe took no time before walking straight to the girl in the middle of the dance floor, tapping her on the shoulder. She turns immediately to face Rafe, her face struck with confusion.

"Are you Liv?" Rafe asks, earning a confused nod from the girl in front of him” I am! Have you seen my best friend anywhere? She's about yay height, really pretty, heart of gold, she kinda looks like that baby deer from that Disney movie, she's wearing this white dress and-"

Rafe stops her ramble with a quick nod causing her eyes to widen. "What? Where is she?"

"In my bed" Rafe replied, remembering he wasn't all that good with small talk. "What? What the fuck do you mean, in your bed? What did you do? I swear to god-"

"Ok, calm down. Someone gave her something. I found her in the bathroom sobbing before she passed out. I put her in my bed then came down here, end of story" He replied, starting to get slightly agitated.

The girl he now knows to be Liv quickly walks off, heading straight for upstairs where the bedrooms are. Rafe rolls his eyes before following swiftly behind her, though he's glad that there's someone out there other than him trying to protect his newfound soft spot.

Liv halts at all the bedrooms, looking expectantly at Rafe before he walks in front of her and opens his door. Liv immediately rushes to you, still passed out on Rafe's bed.

She sits next to you, tucking your hair behind your ear before placing a kiss on your forehead. "Of course, on the first party she goes to, some sick fuck roofies her and she ends up in Rafe Cameron's bed" Liv speaks, not taking her eyes off you.

"How do you know my name?" Rafe asks, not even bothering to look at the person he's talking to as he focuses on your chest rising and falling. "Ha, everyone knows who you are Rafe. And if I find out you had anything to do with her getting hurt, I'm gonna chop your dick off and feed it to you and make sure everyone on campus knows it"

It would be a lie to say Rafe wasn't slightly amused by your best friend's words, holding back his smile and keeping his face stern. "I would never do that shit. Especially not to her" Liv's eyebrow quirked in confusion at the last bit of his sentence.

She knows for a fact that you did not know Rafe Cameron before this night, let alone any frat boys. Liv could cry at the sight of your passed-out form, taking full blame and responsibility for the fact that you got hurt when she was meant to protect you.

She pulled her phone out from her purse, about to call an Uber back to the dorms for both of you. "No, I'll drive you" He stated, not leaving room for an argument

Liv nodded slowly before pulling the blanket off you, your body involuntarily starting to shiver from the cold air.

Rafe walked over to his closet, grabbing his warmest hoodie. Liv looked up at him as he raised your body softly, placing the hoodie over your head and softly lifting you up into his arms.

Rafe walked with Liv down to the road outside the fraternity house, receiving hundreds of stares from people in the crowd. But he didn't care, all he cared about was you.

He let Liv open the door to the backseat of his truck, allowing him to place you softly inside before Liv climbed in next to you, placing your head on her lap.

The ride was completely silent, barring Liv's directions to the dormitories, but she didn't miss the way he was constantly looking in the rearview mirror at you.

It didn't take long before Liv was leading the way to your dorm, Rafe trailing slowly behind with you in his arms.

She flicked the light on in your dorm, Rafe quickly knowing which bed was yours from the multiple stuffies and pink blankets. He lifted the covers before placing your head on the pillow once more, knowing Liv was going to get you changed before she slept.

"Thank you, Rafe, for looking out for her when I didn't" Liv said as Rafe walked to your door, nodding curtly in repose to her statement.

He gave you one last look before he walked out of your door, watching as Liv was about to shut the door on him after saying goodbye. Panicked he placed his foot in front of the door before it shut, forcing it open.

"C-can I get her number, please?"

#i feel like this has potential to be a series so lmk....#rafe cameron drabble #rafe cameron #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x reader #outer banks #rafe outer banks #rafe cameron fluff #rafe x reader #frat!rafe #frat!au

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