Tav briefly woke, room dark and the world quiet. She snuggled into Astarion, her arms wrapped around him. He pressed himself back into her, his skin hot.
Hot? Why was he hot?
Tav sat up and tried to look at Astarion but it was too dark. She lit a candle and leaned over him, trying to see his face. Was he playing a trick? His brows were knotted together and his lips trembled. He shivered, trying to press himself closer to her.
"Astarion," she whispered, tapping his cheek softly. "Wake up, love. Look at me."
He opened his eyes. They were bleary and shut quickly. A cough racked his chest.
"Stay put," Tav said, dressing. She hurried out of the room, realizing she had no idea what she was planning to do. She didn't know what time it was. She couldn't bring a doctor to him. He was a vampire.
Karlach? No, Karlach burned hotter than Astarion was. Karlach could make a delicious meal and knew more about killing game than anyone had a right to, but medicine was not in her repertoire.
Gale?
Tav whined and stomped her feet. She didn't want to ask him for help. He was annoying and she wanted to punch him, but what choice did she have? He was the biggest dork she had ever met and if anyone would know about medicine it would be him. If Gale hadn't already figured out Astarion was a vampire, the worst thing he would do was ask a torrid of annoying questions. Tav could answer them. She hurried to his door and knocked.
"Gale!" she spoke into the door. "Are you awake?"
Tav heard snoring. She pounded on the door with her fist. The snore turned into a snort and she heard the bed creak. Drowsy steps trudged to the door and opened it.
"Tav? Never thought I'd see-"
"Gale, Astarion is sick and I don't know what to do," Tav cut him off. "Can you help him? Please?"
Gale rubbed his face with his hands before speaking.
"Alright, lead the way."
He followed her back to their room, almost recoiling at the smell of sex as he stepped through the threshold. Tav shoved him towards Astarion's side of the bed and watched nervously.
"You two aren't going to…do something to me, are you?" Gale asked, turning his head to Tav.
"No! Just make him better!"
Tav was nearly frantic. Gale leaned over the bed and looked Astarion over. He gently rubbed his shoulder.
"Astarion, wake up, friend. I need you to talk to me."
Astarion opened his eyes and hated what he saw. Gale was leaning over him. He tried to push himself away but his arms were useless. His head and his throat ached. He couldn't smell anything.
"Get away from me," he croaked.
"It's alright, I brought him here," Tav said softly. She had sat herself beside him and rubbed his arm softly. "I know, be mad at me later. Just let him do what he needs to."
Tav was there. He heard her. Why did she bring him in here? He wanted to go back to bed. He was cold.
Gale placed gentle fingers under Astarion's jaw and pinched softly, feeling for swelling.
"Slight swelling. Can you open your mouth for me?"
Astarion did not want to hear Gale say that to him, but opened his mouth. Gale peered inside, eyes stopping on the sharp fangs before looking at the back of his throat.
"Was no one going to tell me we had a vampire in our midst?" Gale muttered.
Astarion's mouth hurt. Holding it open was painful.
"He's not a threat," Tav answered. "Please don't hurt him."
"I won't. You can close your mouth," Gale said, rising. "He's got a nasty cold. He'll be fine, but you need to keep him… er… well hydrated."
Tav clenched her jaw. She didn't have enough blood in her to feed him without dying.
"Gale, can you stay here? Just for a few minutes?" Tav asked, putting her boots back on. "I'll be back. Just sit with him."
"No," Astarion rasped. "Don't leave me with him."
"It's just a cold, he'll-"
Tav started into Gale's eyes, scowling.
"Alright, alright," Gale ceded. He sat beside Astarion and looked around the room. "Guess we'll have some quality time then."
Tav placed a kiss on Astarion's burning forehead before hurrying out of the room.
Tav hurried down the deserted streets, searching for sounds of activity. The open door of a tavern drew her in. She assessed the clients. Too skinny. Too drunk. She needed someone healthy.
A human male leaned casually against the bar, bringing a mug to his lips and drinking. His hair hung over his broad shoulders, wavy. His arms were muscular.
Perfect.
Tav darted through the crowd and slid up in front of him, lifting her lashes slowly and gazing into his eyes.
"I've been trying to get the courage to come talk to you all night…" she said, conjuring a demure tone that felt like acid in her mouth.
"Oh? Have you now?" the man said smugly, eyeing her.
She wanted to punch him in the balls. She forced her ire down.
"Would you like to… join me in my room? It's my last night here…" she said, pouting her lips.
"Lead the way," he grinned.
Tav led them down the bar and into the empty street. He wrapped his arm around her waist then slid his hand down her backside, squeezing roughly. Tav was ready to flay him, but he would be no good to her then. She giggled in a high pitched voice and leaned against the man.
"We're going to have fun tonight," she sang to him as they entered the inn.
She opened the door to the room she shared with Astarion and pressed her fingers against the man's back, casting a spell to render him immobile and shoving him forward onto the bed before the effects set in. She had planned on simply putting him to sleep, changing her mind when he tried to slide his hand between her legs in the lobby. He was going to be aware of this.
"Tav, who is this?" Gale asked.
"Doesn't matter. Help me pull him up next to Astarion," Tav groaned as she tried dragging the stranger up the bed.
Gale grabbed the man's shoulder and yanked, bringing him beside Astarion. Tav turned the man's head and exposed his neck.
"Come on, love," Tav whispered, guiding Astarion's lips to the neck.
"I didn't mean now!" Gale cried, turning his head away. "Can I go?"
"Yes. Thank you. I appreciate this," Tav said, nodding her head to him.
Gale hurried out, shutting the door behind him and shuddering.
"Is he gone?" Astarion groaned. "He stinks."
"All gone. Just me now," Tav said softly. "I got you something to eat."
"Not hungry," Astarion mumbled. "I don't feel good. I'm tired."
"I know, sweetheart," Tav answered, turning Astarion's head to face the neck, hoping instinct would kick in. "Please? Just try?"
Tav was frantic. What was a cold to a vampire? Gale didn't seem worried, but Gale didn't care about Astarion the way she did. She didn't want Astarion to be unwell. She didn't want him to feel anything but healthy and strong. What if Gale didn't know what he was talking about? Should she have tried to find another doctor? What if it wasn't just a cold? What if this was something that only happened to vampires and he died?
Astarion finally sank his teeth into the neck of the man and began drinking. He kept his eyes closed as he sucked, the hot blood wonderful in his sore throat. He shivered and Tav pressed herself close to him, pulling the blankets up to cover him.
Tav watched him drink, her fingers running through his hair. He drank slowly, the life of the man under his lips circling the drain as his blood left him. Astarion finally pulled away.
"So tired," he said, unable to keep his eyes open.
"Sleep. Go to sleep."
He slept.
Tav's voice.
He woke at some point later, another motionless, warm body being pulled beside him. He felt Tav lay behind him again and guide his lips to another neck. He drank without opening his eyes, stopping only to cough a bloody spray onto the body.
Again, he came to. Another neck. Was it? He wasn't sure how much time had passed. The pounding feeling behind his eyes had begun to subside and he was able to open his eyes. The light hurt. He shut them again and coughed. His chest burned.
A deeper voice. The bed shifted a little then settled.
His eyes opened. A dark neck. A drow? He could feel Tav behind him. Where were they?
Tav's voice.
He felt Tav changing him into clean clothes. They were cold against his skin but dry. Had he been sweating? She wiped his face with a damp cloth, her words unintelligible as she spoke. Was she talking to him? Was someone else there? He felt unfamiliar fingers on his face. More garbled speech. He heard Tav say thank you.
"You're welcome," he slurred."
She patted his shoulder. He slept.
He felt himself coughing. Hard. His throat felt wrong. Something jerked him upright and smacked him in the back. Again. Again. His throat cleared.
He was able to open his eyes and keep them open when the next neck was brought to his mouth. He looked around the room. They were still in Baldur's gate. The curtains were drawn and a candle burned dimly on the bedside table. He drank, finally feeling like he was getting something from the blood. His head hurt, his chest hurt, but his mind was beginning to clear. Tav was laying beside him, running her fingers through his hair as he ate. He heard a page turn. She was reading something. He could smell coffee. Was she drinking coffee?
The body beneath him drained, Astarion slowly pushed himself up to sitting. Tav jerked her head and watched him, her eyes wide.
"Are you alright? Are you done? Did you get enough?" she asked, her eyes racing over him.
Astarion nodded.
"Let me get rid of that."
Tav parted the curtains, moonlight lighting her as she pulled the window open and looked out. She turned, lugged the body off the bed, awkwardly forced it up the wall and out the window. It fell the short distance and landed with a thud. Tav made a strange whistling noise. Her ghouls scampered out of the darkness and retrieved the corpse. She shut the window and drew the curtains again, returning to her place beside him.
"Who was that?" Astarion whispered.
"Dunno. Dead now," Tav replied.
"How long…" Astarion tried to swallow and winced. "How long have I been… sleeping?"
"Four days," Tav answered.
He nodded. It felt much longer and only like a moment at the same time.
"Were you talking to someone?" Astarion rasped.
"Just now? No, that was the ghouls."
"Maybe it was… yesterday?" he asked. Time was a blur.
"Gale's been in and out a few times. He's been helping me."
"Gale?"
"Mhm. He came and looked you over that first night. You had a fever. He sat with you while I was out. Almost feel bad for fucking with him, now."
Astarion blinked. Gale had been helping him?
"He did some extra research. Apparently what you have is some sort of vampire affliction, akin to a cold," Tav explained.
Astarion remembered he had been sick like this before. In Cazador's manor, the spawn constantly passed ailments back and forth with each other. They left him on the floor to cough his pain out and sweat out his fever. The other spawn had thrown things at him and mocked him.
"That was…nice of him," Astarion said. "But… he knows?"
"That you're a vampire? Yeah, he knows. He's going to talk your ear off when you're feeling better."
"I think I'd rather stay sick," Astarion laughed, triggering a cough. He pounded on his chest with a weak fist.
"I know, I didn't want to go to him either. I didn't know what was wrong with you, though. He gave good advice, though."
"What was that?"
"Told me to keep you well fed, keep the lights dim, and not let you choke in your sleep. He gave me some weird balm to rub on you that helped you breathe better. Showed me how to massage your arms and legs to keep you from getting sore," Tav explained. "Seems to have worked well."
Astarion nodded.
"Tav…"
"Hm?"
"Where did… how did you keep me fed? Where did that man come from?"
Blurry, fevered memories slid around his mind. A drow neck? Blonde hair? A tattoo?
"He came from a tavern on the east side of town. The other ones… I don't remember. Just kind of grabbed them from wherever."
"How many people did you bring here?" Astarion asked. It had been four days. He could feed once every three days and be alright. On edge, but fine.
"Uhhh…" Tav looked at the ceiling and tried to remember. "Eight? Nine? Nine. Definitely nine."
"You brought nine people in here for me? I drank from nine people?"
"You drank nine people dry," Tav corrected. "Gale said to bring you as much as you would drink, so I did."
"You brought… nine people to me…"
Astarion's chin began to quiver. His lower lip trembled as he tried to compose himself, and failed. He sobbed into his hands, tears flowing.
"Hey, don't cry, what's wrong? Does something hurt? Is it your chest?" Tav asked, rubbing his back.
"No, I-"
Astarion could remember the dirt floor of the basement against his burning skin. It was sticky and dust got into his eyes as people walked by him, pretending he wasn't there. The spawn didn't see him as worth taking care of, and Cazador wasn't willing to invest anything in him that he wouldn't get back two fold. Astarion wasn't worth it to him.
He had cried into the dirt then, so miserable and scared. He didn't know if he was going to die, or if he even could. He coughed blood into the dirt. The other spawn heard him and splashed buckets of water on him.
The parasites in their minds twinged. Tav could see the feet of the other vampire spawn swinging towards her. A rat, mangy and diseased, was flung at her from across the room. It scratched as she tried to sink her teeth into it. She felt ice cold water hit her skin. Laughter.
The visions cleared. Astarion cried harder, coughing and shaking. Every cough felt like knives in his skull, but he couldn't stop.
Tav smacked her palm on his back, trying to loosen the fluids in his chest. She spoke softly to Astarion, inches from his ear.
"I am going to skin him alive. He will be awake for every moment as I peel his flesh and leave him to the open air. I will make you a cloak out of him."
Astarion tried to catch his breath.
"I will make him feel that fear you felt," Tav continued. "He will die terrified."
Tav rubbed his back and pulled his face to her chest.
"Never again for you. That is over."
Astarion began sobbing again, burying his face in her shirt and soaking it with his tears.
For three more days, Tav delivered Astarion's meals to him. He was able to sit up and drink. He listened while she talked to him. His cough was still present, but improving. She took him for short walks down the street and back to get his muscles moving. She lifted him in and out of bed when his legs were too tired. She kissed his cheeks and forehead.
Finished with his meal, Astarion let the body of the elf in his arms drop to the bed. Tav swiftly lugged it to the window, pushed it out, and whistled. The ghouls came running again, excited in the moonlight. She shut the window and returned to the bed.
"Good?" she asked.
Astarion nodded, then spoke.
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to explain how much this means to me."
"I'm just glad you're up and talking. Talking sense, anyway," Tav laughed. "You were talking in your sleep a lot. You don't normally do that."
"Did I say anything interesting? Confess my undying love to you?"
"You did say you loved me," Tav recalled. "You asked me to never leave you. You said there were ducks on the bed and asked me to get rid of them. I told you they were gone and you told me they were too loud. You tried to put your hand in my pants a few times."
"What?" Astarion asked, shocked. He didn't remember the ducks, but he remembered the last part. He thought it had been a dream.
"Yeah, I didn't let you do anything, obviously. Just took it out and told you to go back to sleep."
Astarion covered his face with his hands, embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it," Tav assured him. "You were running a fever."
Astarion worried he had made her uncomfortable, but she seemed entirely unbothered.
"Stop beating yourself up, it doesn't matter," Tav said, pulling his hands off his face. "You were even kind of cute about it. You were so sleepy."
"Only you would think a sick man trying to grope you is cute," Astarion said, rolling his eyes and laughing.
"Only you would play with your cock in the midst of a fever," Tav teased him.
Astarion stared in front of him, expressionless. He didn't remember it at all.
"I would have enjoyed it if you weren't coughing and sick," she laughed. "Getting your hands off you seemed very antithetical to what I'm normally after."
"You had to pull me off myself?"
"Oh yeah. I fell asleep a few times and woke up and you were going to TOWN on yourself. You wouldn't listen to me so…" Tav shrugged.
Astarion groaned and put his hands in his face again. He groaned because he was embarrassed, and he groaned because he felt himself getting hard. He thought about himself totally vulnerable, in a stupor and still wanted to jerk himself off. Was he an animal? Even animals know when to give it a rest.
He quickly turned and laid on his side, trying to hide himself and wait for his shame induced erection to dissipate.
"Are you alright? Are you having a hard time breathing?" Tav asked, placing her hand on his shoulder and leaning over him. "I can go see if Gale-"
"NO! No, just give me a moment," he said, pulling his knees to his chest.
"A minute? To what, what are you…" Tav had switched entirely into care mode for him. She had shut down the part of her mind that allowed her to perceive him sexually and had entirely dedicated herself to keeping him well. She realized she had been embarrassing him over the past few minutes, and remembered that Astarion enjoyed feeling shame.
Tav pressed her hand to Astarion's forehead. He felt cool again. His nose was still a little stuffy, but he had stopped coughing that horrible, body shaking cough. His eyes were clear of the fever. A little bit of fun wouldn't hurt him.
Tav moved away from him and lay on her back, her arms behind her head.
"I guess I'll tell you more about it. You should know, since it is you," she began, preparing to stretch the truth a little to rile him up. "The first time you did it, it was just outside your pants. It was pretty easy to move your hand and you gave up quick."
"The second time," Tav said, sounding exasperated. "I woke up and you had gotten your cock out of your pants that time. You had both of your hands around it and you were squeezing yourself, and making that noise…"
"Stop," Astarion whined.
He didn't want her to stop.
"Like that but more… I don't know how to explain it. Anyway, I got you to let go and you were whining and put your fingers in your mouth."
"The third time you woke me up because you were moaning. You had your fingers in your mouth again and you looked so pretty, just using your tongue to play with them."
Tav rolled over and pressed her body against Astarion's, pulling his legs away from his chest and holding them against her.
"I'm having a hard time remembering, what does it look like when your fingers are in your mouth?"
Astarion slipped two fingers in his mouth and sucked.
"That's right, thank you. You had your other hand on your cock, but I noticed something. You had already cum. It was smeared all over your stomach and it looked like it was between your fingers too. You were moving your hands like…" Tav paused, pretending to think. "I don't remember. You know, can you show me how you touch yourself?"
Astarion pulled his cock over the top of his pants and began stroking himself. Tav rested her hand on his hip.
"Just like that. That's how it was. You started slow like that, then you put your fingers deeper into your mouth, like this."
Tav pushed his fingers deeper into his mouth.
"A little deeper."
She pushed further and he gagged.
"That's what you did. Then you started stroking yourself faster…"
Astarion stroked faster.
"And you moaned onto your fingers. It sounded like…"
Astarion moaned, choked. He heard himself and shivered.
"Right. You weren't even all there and your hand was just stroking your cock, already covered in your own cum. Moaning and whining as you fucked your mouth with your fingers, so eager to cum again…"
"Then, I tried to move your hand," Tav said, wrapping her hand around Astarion's as he pumped. She gripped him and pumped him harder. "You were so slippery I couldn't get a grip on you…"
"You didn't want to let go of yourself. You gripped yourself hard…"
Astarion squeezed himself and Tav squeezed over him.
"And I tried so hard to get your hand off your pretty, sticky cock, but I just couldn't. You kept pulling on yourself and squeezing harder. Before I could stop it, you shoved your fingers deeper into your throat…"
Astarion gagged.
"And you came all over my hand, like a silly little man who can't control himself. A man who can't help but grab his cock any time he can and touch himself. You can't control yourself, can you? You're just so eager to-"
Astarion gagged again as his fingers hit the back of his throat and he shot milky strands onto the bed. He felt so stupid. He felt so good.
