“Now isn’t the time, Zo.”
You sidestep him in the cramped galley, ignoring how the bare skin of his arm burns you as it brushes against your shoulder. You tune out the noisy chatter and the clinking dishes, biting down on your lip as hard as you can, and dart to the exit.
When the cool, salty air hits your face, you gulp down a lungful, exhaling raggedly as the tears finally flow. The stars—twinkling, incandescent—offer you no comfort in their silence. And it feels like the moon mocks you from her lofty seat in the sable sky. The waves lazily slosh against the hull, and for a moment, it’s peaceful. But the air is disturbed as soon as Zoro bursts outside.
“The hell’s this all about?” he demands with a sweep of his arms, half-shouting.
Tactless as ever, you think to yourself.
For a split second, you consider jumping overboard; seeking silence and solace in the bottomless sea can’t be that bad, right? But you know the swordsman would jump in and save you without hesitation—then proceed to give you even more grief than he already has.
So instead, you snap.
“Can you not be dense for—fuck, I don’t know!—five fucking seconds?” You don’t bother turning around, eyes fixed on the boundless horizon.
Your words themselves are harsh, but they don’t bother Zoro. What concerns him is the syrupy thickness of your voice, the way your throat hitches and sticks when you speak. He’s beside you in three strides, coaxing you to face him with a balmy, scarred touch. His palms span your shoulders and warm your spirit, but you don’t—you can’t—meet his silvery stare.
“Hey, look at me,” he murmurs, voice gravel. A dry, calloused thumb nudges your chin upward, your watery gaze meeting your lover’s concerned face. “What’s goin’ on? Whatever it is, ’s gonna be all right.”
Shaking your head before he finishes speaking, a fresh sob bubbles past your lips, wet and desperate. You collapse into his chest the moment his tawny arms wind around your waist, anchoring you together. You weep to the tune of his steady heartbeat and the slow lap of the sea.
The heaviness in your heart feels insurmountable—a tidal wave so strong it will drown you. Zoro rests his chin atop your head and rubs soothing patterns on your back. “I’m always here,” he whispers into your hair. “As long as you want me to be.”
I do, you want to say. I want you to be. But you don’t have to. Because the way your nails dig deeper into his flesh, the way your sorrow falls harder and dampens the fabric of his shirt—he knows.
So he holds you now and will continue to do so forever—or, at the very least, for as long as you’ll have him.
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The Last Vampire Spawn
inspired by this post by @fangsandfeels as well as this gorgeous art by @ria-neearts above that may or may not have made me sob at work when I saw it :)
also inspired by my dire need to hug this poor baby in this scene in particular and give him literally any sort of comfort because god knows he needs it 😭
Astarion x gn!tav / Astarion x gn!reader
SPOILER WARNING! act 3 and the climax of Astarion’s quest line!
CW: violence, death, anguish, angst, blood, gore
rating: sfw (still mature for the listed content above)
in summary: Astarion finally kills cazador and bro needs a hug and a therapist fr
this one is very short I don’t even know the word count lol
Astarion’s guttural and enraged wails echo against the stone walls of the crypt, nearly drowning the sounds of Cazador’s failed attempts at gurgled shrieks as the dagger pierced his body over, and over, and over.
You stand at the bottom of the stairs and watch, gripping onto Halsin as he wraps a comforting arm around your shoulders as the three of you watch in horror while Astarion lets out two hundred years worth of pain, and agony, and hatred into every single thrust of the blade through his old master’s body. Hot tears sting your face as you watch on, tension filling the gaps of silence between your companions.
The vampire lord’s body falls limp before Astarion, bloodied and covered in viscera, lifeless. He takes a deep breath, falling back on his feet as his knees dig into the bloody marble floor. Sobs wrack through his body as he looks down with disdain at the corpse before him.
You exchange a glance with Halsin, a deeply unsettled and concerned face set into his features that wasn’t typical for his usually calm and collected persona. He looks between you and Astarion, and with just a glance, you realize what he’s thinking.
Before you can stop yourself, you run to Astarion, kneeling beside him. He’s too distraught to notice your presence beside him, so you place a gentle hand on his shoulder. He jolts slightly at your touch, then turns his face - his bloody, tear stained, and ever beautiful face to you, crimson eyes filled with a million emotions you couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
“I’m here, my love. It’s over. You did it,” you whisper, voice trembling and breaking.
His eyes scan your face frantically, chest rising and falling rapidly and anxiously, his breathing ragged and uneven - he looks at you, and you look back at him, as you try to force a reassuring smile through your own tears.
His face twists into an even deeper scowl as his eyes dart between you and the ruined corpse crumpled on the floor next to you.
“His death isn’t enough. It’ll never be enough.” He growls, his fists clenching onto the fabric of his breeches.
You stare at him, speechless. You know that no words could suffice or possibly begin to dull the pain that was evident in his face.
“I suffered through two hundred years of pain and starvation and torture… and all I’ve gotten from it all was being the one to see the light leave that monster’s eyes,” he whispers angrily, tears still rapidly streaming down his blood covered cheeks. “It isn’t fair.”
You tentatively move your face so that your eyes meet his once again, nearly afraid of what you’ll see when you do.
His eyes scan your face for a moment, and he presses his lips into a thin line.
“And where were you twenty years ago? A hundred? Where were you when I was new? When I was one of those innocent young men you’d come to the rescue for?” He barks, his voice booming and bouncing off of the stone walls and into your ears making your head pound.
“Astarion—“
“How dare you! How dare you come to me now… when I’m this!” He wails, his voice cracking on the last word, his shoulders slumping.
Hot tears return to your waterline and pour over your lashes as you wrap your arms around him, pulling him into your chest and cradling his head.
He presses his face into your chest, eventually wrapping his arms around your waist and melting into you, causing you to fall backwards slightly as he practically lays on your body, sobbing into your gear. He grips the back of your shirt as if his life depended on it, even though for the first time in what felt like a while, perhaps it didn’t.
Because despite the roiling dread in his gut - he was free. At long last.
You tangle your fingers into his hair, gently rubbing circles into his bare back as you let him cry. Sob. Scream. For as long as he needs.
The others slowly migrate closer, but not too close, not wanting to interrupt or intrude, just silently exchanging sympathetic glances, and a flash of pride across Karlach’s face as she looks on.
After what felt like hours, Astarion goes quiet, his breath slowly evening out. He sniffles, then slowly lifts his head so his eyes meet yours.
You place a hand on his cheek, wiping a tear away with your thumb. He closes his eyes, savoring your touch, and sighs.
“He’s gone,” he whispers, almost too quietly for you to hear. As if he were mostly whispering it to himself. “He’s really gone…”
You nod, rubbing small circles on his cheek with your thumb. “I am so, so proud of you.”
He offers you a small, weak smile, that you return in kind. You place a kiss to the spot between his furrowed brows, his tense body relaxing only slightly into your touch. He still feels coiled up like a serpent ready to strike, still heavily on guard despite Cazador and his minions being long gone. You presume it will be a long while before he truly relaxes, but you feel more than willing and ready to be there every step of the way.
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