Chapter 1

You have to keep this job… you have to keep this job. If we don't keep this job then we will be letting Percy down. He is relying on us. There is no way we can show him we can't keep a simple job like this.

Tav forced the thought to the side and made herself smile and nod along at what her new employer was saying. She cocked her hips to the side and leaned in as if she was rapt with attention. An actress -she was not- but when push came to shove, she could slap on a pretty nice customer service mask.

The move to Baldur's Gate from Waterdeep seemed intimidating but once she arrived in the city, Tav was glad to see that living in the bustling area felt like home still. Even felt like she had walked these streets before. Percy was kind enough to hook her up with a job at a local wine seller but they unfortunately could only get her work a few days a week. In came the Siren's Song. The Siren was a typical pub type bar, something Tav had been quiet familiar working in. Back in Waterdeep, she had worked in pubs, bars, taverns- any place with drunken debauchery and a stage to preform on since she was old enough to reach the top of the high bar tables.

Tiny- the decidedly not so tiny half-orc- slammed the till shut and pinned her with a hard look. "Got it?"

Short and to the point. Alright, she could get along with that.

Tav tucked a stray piece of her mixed pale rose and red coloured hair back behind her long ear and nodded. "Absolutely. Seems straight forward enough."
He grunted in agreement. "Don't fuck up. Pretty much my only rule." Tiny turned his back and strode off to his office. He stopped before he opened the door and looked back at her. "Check in with Jennette, she will get you set up. But don't listen to a damn word she says." The door slammed behind him before she could respond.

Tav stuck her tongue out and faux saluted the door. Clear as mud. Okay, maybe she didn't have a good read on her new boss.

"Oh... oh I think I like you," a feminine chuckle came from behind her. Tav turned around and spotted a human woman who seemed to be in her mid thirties. She came up to Tav's shoulders, with beautiful tanned skin under her basic white tee and black shorts. Her short black hair was spiked and grey-green eyes looked Tav up and down. Eyes like that seemed like they saw everything.

"Jennette, I assume? I'm Tav." She held her hand out and wasn't shocked by the grip of the short barmaid.

"Bah, my mum is the only one who gets away with that. And my cousin there," she tipped her head to the office door. "Call me Nettie. Sounds like Timothy gave you the 'don't fuck up speech' he loves to give."

She nodded. "Yep. Pretty clear on it, really."

"Well, if that's all he gave you for instructions he must have through you knew what you were doing for the most part. How about you run down what you know and we can go from there."

Tav nodded and quickly gave her the run down. It didn't take long and Nettie only had a few follow up questions before she put Tav to work. It was fairly easy work, even when it did pick up. The other coworkers seemed fairly kind and the people in the city seemed the same as they did in Waterdeep. Working people who wanted a drink to end the night, catch up with friends, meet up with a lover or forget the world.

Her night ended without much incident. Tiny gave her a nod of approval as she closed up at 3am with a good till and clean bar. She was tired, sticky and smelled like the one beer a patron had spilled on her but it wasn't anything Tav couldn't wash off in the apartment.

Luck seemed to have followed her during the move. Not only did she end up with two fairly decent jobs, the apartment she was able to find was squarely in the middle of the two, about a ten-minute walk to either and lined with the most beautiful of shops to gawk at on her travels.

Tav's life soon fell into a routine. Three shifts at the wine seller's – Cork's Cloak- and three nights at the Siren, leaving one day to herself. It seemed easy, really. Enjoyable to say the least. It had been a while since she only had to worry about herself. Nettie had proven to be a fast friend, as did Victor, Nettie's on and off again thing. The pair usually made her nights pass quickly and with a few laughs.

Although tonight…

"Let it go, Nettie," Tav warned. Tonight, the two of them decided to antagonize the absolute crap out of her. It was a slow night, which then meant the pair needed to debate about something. Tonight, it was Tav's love life.

"No. Seriously. You've been here for how long now? Nearly three months and we have yet to see the guy. Hell, even hear a phone call from the guy."

"So, he is busy. He's got school and work. Just like I do."

"But like. We work," Victor pointed to himself and Nettie from his permanent seat at the bar. "And we talk, like daily."

Tav rolled her eyes and tucked back her usual rogue piece of hair. "You are a writer. You work here while Nettie works. That doesn't count. You two are almost unhealthily attached and in each other's lives." To prove her point, Tav pointed at the writer's notebook and mass of torn out pages that surrounded the gangly brown-haired human.

"Bullshit. We love each other. That's what you do," Victor insisted.

"You two can't decided what you are to each other night to night," Tav fought back. "Percy and I are engaged. We are locked in. We don't need to communicate like that everyday. It's just not how we are," Tav snapped. Like really, the two were unable to stop making out at work one night and then Tav would have to stop Nettie from pinning his balls to the wall the next.

"Nah, you have it wrong, Tav. What we have is passion. It ebbs and flows and comes and goes…oh shit…that's good." Victory stopped and scribbled down a note on his paper.

"It is not good," Nettie bluntly told him. She turned to Tav and leaned against the bar top. "But he isn't wrong. Passion is beautiful. It's not always pretty, or easy, sure. But it's needed for love."

"True love." Victor gave her a goofy smile and reached for Nettie's hand over the bar. She giggled and let him kiss her hand. Tav faked gaged.

"True love and that stuff," Tav waved her hand in the air, "it's overrated. It's not stable." She pushed off from the back counter and grabbed a quick beer for a customer. "I'm just looking for someone who is dependable. Someone who is there for you no matter what."

She didn't have to turn around to know that Nettie was scowling. "Like Percy, you mean?"

"Exactly like Percy," she agreed. "He's been the most reliable and trustworthy thing in my life. It's why I'm marrying him."

Victor snorted loudly to make his point. Nettie shook her head. They both have had this near exact conversation with her several times since they had noticed the engagement ring on her finger and each time it went almost the same way. As much as Tav provided proof her relationship was working, she was pretty sure these two would not let it go. "You know, Tav," Nettie started casually," you buy a car because it's reliable. It's maybe not a good idea to marry someone who's main feature is that they are 'reliable'" she air quoted the word and nearly spat it out.

"It's not only that," Tav waved away the thought dismissively. "He's got a lot of other great things. He's kind. He has a great personality; we work well together. I do love him, just not in the romance novel way that you two seem to. I love him and his reliability. I…" she trailed off for a moment. "I need it in my life. I haven't always had it."

Nettie threw up her hands in frustration. "Fine, you're right. Percy is absolutely reliable. Super duper reliable. You can depend on the fact that he will push off your wedding again, for what? The fifth time as you have already said. You can depend on him to not actually come visit on the weekends he swears he will. You can depend on him to avoid the phone calls I see you make on your breaks and when ever he does eventually make it down you can bet your sweet ass he will continue to be self-centered in bed again. I mean come on," Nettie threw up her hands in frustration. "If you are going to marry the half-elf equivalent of hotdog water you might as well make sure he is a good fuck in bed to make up for the rest of it."

"That," Victor pointed a finger and nodded in agreement. "No sense is getting married if he can't even get you off with consistency."

"Nettie!" Tav pinned the woman with her fiercest glare. The shorter woman at least had the decency to flinch. "How the hell does he know that! I told you that in private!"

"Oh that, that is what you get angry with?" she bit back. "You are an idiot if you didn't think I'd tell him. Because, you know…that's what partners do with each other. Share the dirty details about their friends!"

"I just can't with you two tonight." Tav stomped off and stormed around the pub gathering empties and cleaning off already clean tabletops. Anything to avoid walking back to the pair. Heat rose up through her chest and to her face. How could they even make a comment on her relationship. They haven't lasted together for more than two weeks since she had met them. Her relationship had been solid for nearly three years now. No bumps, no lumps, clear and consistent. Just like she liked it. Tav bit at the inside of her cheek to contain her frustration.

They had simply met when she was working at another pub back in Waterdeep. He had come in with some of his buddies on a stag do as DD and helped her manage his group for the night. Percy was sweet that night, and was forward enough to leave her his number. She had taken him up on it and the rest was history. Simple and straight forward.

In the back of her mind, Tav knew she was being a bit pushy in her movements but hell, it felt good to slam down the plates and glasses in front of the pair of old patrons. They jumped a bit at the sound but seemed to know better then to say anything.

"Have a good night," she said through clenched teeth.

She spun around on her heels quickly and crashed smack dab into a solid body close behind her. The body did not yield so hers went flying back, knocking into a nearby table. Tav landed on her ass, in a very ungraceful way. Beer and broken glass all around her.

"Watch where you are going, you oaf!" Tav sputtered out. She rose quickly but not carefully, her hand catching on some of the broken glass that surrounded her. Biting her cheeks from the mild pain, Tav wiped off her clothes as best she could and started picking up the pieces as no one around her seemed to be in a rush to help.

The idiot who knocked into her just stood there in a stupor.

"Are you going to help at least?" she bit out and continued to clean up. "Apologize, even?" More cleaning.

A pale man's hand came into her vision and stilled her hand. She wanted to jerk her hand back but he was surprisingly strong. He turned her hand over to inspect her palm. Several cuts were open and bleeding, pieces of glass still sticking out. It hurt but it wasn't the first time this happened.

"You're bleeding, darling."

"Perceptive one, aren't you?" she snapped. Tonight was not her night.

Tav firmly pulled her hand back, picked up her tray and stood. Before her was a lithe man who stood stock still. Deer in the headlight's kind of look. He was pale skinned and stood a head taller than her, she guessed. White hair was seemingly perfectly coiffed and as carefully crafted as the rest of him. Most of the patrons here were working men and their appearance mirrored that. This man was overly clean and tailored. He didn't belong.

His eyes finally met hers. Red, deep, deep red eyes were wide and startled. Tav's breathe caught and her heart stopped for a moment.

I did miss that face, you know whispered in her mind and stilled her movements.

"I've got it!" Nettie came rushing in, broom in hand, breaking the still moment.

Nettie pushed her way past the man, nearly knocking him over. "You, get out of here," she spat at him then rounded on Tav. "You get to the back and get cleaned up. I still need you here for the rest of the night so get going."

It broke her out of her stupor, Tav quickly booked it to the back, leaving behind the stranger. What in the hell was that?

That was not how that was supposed to go.

In all of the centuries he had waited, he never dreamt of this.

Shit.

Astarion looked down at the tiny woman standing before him now. Her arms were crossed and steel green eyes shot through him. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Do I need to get someone to walk you out?" she questioned.

"Absolutely not. But you can do me a big favour and give me that beautiful woman's name." Astarion flashed his practiced smile at the woman.

A mocking smile crawled onto her face and shook her head. "You need to get the hell out of here. Now, before I call the big guys over to haul your scrawny ass out of here." One of the big guys in question had already started to saunter over to them.

"No need for violence, darling. But let me make it up to the poor girl," he paused and looked at her nametag -Nettie. "Please, Nettie."

She signed and dropped her arms, looking at the doors where Tav had fled. "No name, sweet cheeks, but I will let you walk out of here tonight and," she paused and a slightly devious grin crept in. She looked him up and down, contemplating something behind those sharp eyes. "Then you are welcome to walk your fine ass back in here tomorrow night. After 9, should be good. Then you can ask her yourself along with a massive apology."

Astarion grinned and took the win for what it was. "Of course. Tomorrow." He quickly turned on his heels and headed out the front doors. Out on the street, the night life was starting to pick up.

They would meet again. No sense in scaring her off tonight after that introduction. It wouldn't help his cause at all and the last thing he wanted to do was dig his own grave.

In just a few short minutes his world had turned upside down. Coming back from his nightly coffee run and jaunt around several blocks, it was absolute dumb luck that he looked through the window of the tacky tavern he often gave wide berth.

She was standing there. Like nothing ever happened.

The same long soft rose and red hair was pulled back in her usual chignon in a failed attempt to hide her long delicate ears as she always had. A few stray tendrils had fallen out and softened her sharp features. The same light skinned lithe body moved around the floor in that almost dancing way she had always managed.

She was back.

His feet had guided him to her side, just as they always had. Home position from their travelling days. On her right side, dagger in hand and ready to strike. It was as natural as breathing to be standing at her side.

And what had he done tonight? Swoop in with some bold declarations and suave words? Stun her with his charm and wit like he had dreamed he would in those first few decades of his penance time?

She had fallen for him again alright. Straight on her ass.

Great first impression.

It might even rank worse than their first meeting. He shoved his hands deep in his pocket and scowled at the thought.

When she had looked up at him…he felt as though his heart stilled again. It had been forever since she had looked at him with so much contempt with those deep violet eyes. Not since he had hidden and subsequently -thankfully temporarily- lost her favorite violin. He winced at the memory. Tav had him begging for days afterwards.

But they were the same eyes he knew better than the back of his hand.

Climbing the outer set of stairs to his home, Astarion thoughtlessly unlocked and opened the door. Striding across the floor, he made his way into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of scotch. He poured one shot and quickly tossed it back. Then another.

Get yourself together, already.

Easier said than done.

One more day. Then soon she would be at his side once again.