Luastra had fallen asleep nearly immediately when her head hit the pillow. With the urge resisted and being up all night, it was a miracle she had made it to the bed by herself. She grumbled as she woke up, blinking awake. She felt groggy and hot, realizing that she had fallen asleep in her leather armor. With a disgruntled moan, she started to shuck off the leather before she padded to the window in her undergarments. It was midday, and the streets were bustling.

She blinked in the bright sunlight before she retreated back into her room. She usually didn't sleep this far into the day. Luastra reached into her closet and pulled out a simple cotton dress. She slipped it on and went downstairs as she tried to recall what had happened the day before. Then Gortash and the urge came back to her mind as well as Astarion's secret.

It was pure luck that she had found the one aristocrat that would understand her condition and help her. Luastra was glad her mother had forced her to go to that stuffy ball after all. Astarion could be her ticket out.

Luastra walked into the kitchen and found something to eat. Grabbing the bread and honey, she sat down at the dining table and ate her simple meal. She wondered if she should take up Astarion's offer of getting a cook, but she also wasn't sure she wanted others in the house. She didn't want their secrets getting out, and she had grown more comfortable around Astarion.

She did have more questions, though, about his vampirism. He had mentioned his father and his interest in being wed. Was his father a vampire? Did his father expect her to be or become a vampire? Was Astarion going to get in trouble for revealing himself as a vampire? Were there others in Astarion's family, and were they vampires as well?

Astarion never really talked about himself or his family. Of course, Luastra didn't really either. He knew about her parents, but that was about it. He didn't know that she had a half-sister, Orin, and Luastra found that maybe she didn't need to talk about her. Somehow, talking about her made it feel like she was going to summon Orin to show up. Although, seeing a vampire fight with a shapeshifter could be interesting. Not something she would want to see with Astarion, but possibly with a different vampire.

In a different life, Luastra probably would have asked Orin to be involved in the wedding, had they been brought up normally. Luastra mourned that life, wishing that they could have had some normalcy in their lives. Orin could have had a personality outside of Bhaal if she had been raised outside the cult. Maybe that was why Nosilna had been so adamant that she raised Luastra for as long as she did.

As she cleaned up her meal, she heard the door open. With a smile, she walked into the front room to see Astarion come home from work. He was putting his coat up when he saw her enter the hall.

"Good afternoon, I hope you slept well," he greeted kindly.

"I did, thank you. I feel a lot better now," Luastra answered, following him into his study. He dropped off his briefcase and books on his desk before leaning against it.

"That's good," he replied before leading them into the living room. It wasn't a room that they utilized very often, but it had the comfiest seating for long conversations.

Astarion guided Luastra to sit in an arm chair as he sat in a similar one across from her, settling in. She held her hands in her lap, watching him before he met her gaze.

"So, I believe you wanted to tell me what happened last night?" he reminded, propping his head up lazily on his hand. Luastra nodded once, trying to remember all the key details.

"Yes, well, I met up with Gortash as I mentioned, I had almost forgotten because of the urge. It was the job that Bhaal insisted that I collaborate with him on."

"I remember you mentioning that, but you didn't mention what the job was," Astarion informed as he crossed his legs. He remembered that she had offered him the tome in exchange for a place to stay instead of elaborating on the situation, which he had denied. He needed more time for his plans to come into fruition. Luastra exhaled and nodded.

"We're taking something from a devil, and we did a test run last night."

"From a devil?"

"Yes."

"And you did a test run last night?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean? Where did you go?" Astarion asked, trying to keep the surprise and anger out of his voice. Luastra had gone to the hells, and he was trancing during it? And then she had come home delirious afterwards? No, that wouldn't do at all.

"A place called the House of Hope. It was a devil known as Raphael's home, I think. We were there for maybe twenty minutes. I insisted that we leave almost as soon as we got there," Luastra explained. Astarion nodded, starting to rub his temple. He knew that Luastra was more than capable, she was a formidable person after all, but she had come back in such a vulnerable state. Either this Gortash didn't know about the urge, or he didn't care.

"When is the main job, then? What are you taking?" Astarion asked, his voice strained. Luastra caught his emotion there, and she was surprised about his concern.

"Not quite sure, I had to leave pretty quickly. He said that he would be in touch, but he said that we would be taking a powerful crown. Something that Bhaal would have interest in. My urge was getting intense, I can't remember all the details," she admitted, shaking her head. "I remember that the crown is at the Mephistar."

"So, you're breaking into Mephistopheles' house?" Astarion sighed and she nodded. "And there's not really any room for argument, is there?"

"No, my Father has demanded that I do this and work with Gortash. If there was room for argument, I would have gutted Gortash for appearing in my room when I arrived at the temple," Luastra explained as she grimaced. Astarion's eyes narrowed slightly, irritated that this lord would have the audacity to enter her quarters so brazenly.

"Does Gortash know that you're living with me now?"

"I doubt it."

"I think we should make an announcement about our courtship," Astarion suggested with an impish grin. Luastra tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh? Why now?"

"I like to stir the pot, as it were, and Bhaal has already given his blessings. You and your urge have told me so, so I'm sure that we can move forward with that," he replied as Luastra shrugged.

"I'm just curious why the conversation with Gortash wanted to push this forward."

"It seems that Gortash thinks that you are available, my dear, which you are not. At least, not for him, if you were considering gutting him. Men like him always act like they can take what they want, and I want to show that he can't always get what he wants," he answered plainly. Truthfully, Astarion wanted to flaunt Luastra in front of Gortash, showing the lord that he could have what Gortash couldn't. Especially if he was going to just appear in Luastra's room whenever he wanted. It didn't sit right with Astarion.

"It would be nice to have an excuse for things, but you don't think he would show up to the house, would he?" she wondered. Astarion sighed, realizing that it might be a possibility.

"He might, but I doubt that he would come by often. He still has a reputation to uphold, and we aren't wed yet. We won't have to worry about that until after the wedding, I would think," Astarion thought as he smiled. After the wedding, he would be free of Cazador, so he would be free to take care of this little issue for Luastra. She couldn't dispose of Gortash, but there was nothing holding him back from sucking the lord dry.

"That's good, at least," she exhaled, relieved to hear that.

"I wouldn't worry about him, darling. He's a rising lord, sure, but he's still got a way to go influence wise. He isn't a threat," Astarion reassured. Luastra smirked at that, shaking her head.

"I'm sure he's doing his best. Watch out for his metal golems, though. They seem intense and deadly," she remarked as he nodded.

"I remember you mentioning those. I heard that he had been putting in research for those a few years back. I wasn't on the committee he had bribed, but you know how the gossip train goes," he remarked with a smile, reminding Luastra of his promise. She lit up as she turned more toward him.

"Did you come back with four pieces of gossip for your lady of the house?"

"Lady? I thought you were the scandalous mistress. My dear, you must keep your story straight."

"Oh, come off it, tell me," she pleaded as he laughed.

The first piece he told was of an old office romance between a judge and a council aide, which hadn't sparked Luastra's interest until Astarion revealed that the judge's husband found out. Now the whole court knows, and it might even reach the newspapers. The second was that one of the council members was skimming off the top of one of his campaign funds for hush money. Some say it's to keep a mistress quiet, others say it's to keep a witness quiet. The council member seemed to be quite interested in a certain illegal drug.

The third gossip piece was about a council member finding something incriminating on another council member, but they're locked in a stalemate. She's blackmailing him into voting in her favor to get what she wants passed until his term is up or she reveals the evidence to a judge. No one knows what it is, but it sounds just terrible. The fourth bit was about a love triangle between a few interns in Astarion's office, to which he has taken particular interest in. It seems that each party is interested in the other two, but none are making a move. He says it's the most interesting game of chicken he has ever seen.

"Have none of them talked to each other about it?" Luastra wondered, sitting on the edge of her seat. Astarion grinned as he shook his head.

"They confided in others, including me, for advice. Honestly, they should consider forming a threesome and see how it goes, but the three are just too shy to do anything about it," Astarion chuckled as Luastra groaned.

"Oh, that must be frustrating to watch."

"Oh, no, it's the best thing in the world. My whole day could be boring, and then one of them will walk into my office with another question. It just lights up my whole day."

"Well, I hope they figure it out soon, otherwise one of them might explode," Luastra laughed before leaning back again. "I take it back. Your job does sound interesting at times."

"It can be. Not sure it was worth all the schooling, but I'm here now," he sighed with a shrug. She hummed before she gestured towards the house.

"Seems like you did alright," she remarked. Astarion grimaced, trying to smile for her. He didn't want to break the illusion that he was still doing this all by himself. All his money went to Cazador still while his master sent him what he needed to keep Luastra happy. Although soon, Astarion would be able to keep his earnings, and his life would be his again.

"Indeed," he replied with a chuckle.

"You sell yourself short, Star. You've created something great here, I think. Your little piece of Baldur's Gate," Luastra smiled as she looked at the room. Astarion stared at her, surprised by her comment.

It was true that they were living in the Upper City, but they lived in one of the smaller houses. He was used to Cazador's Mansion as well, so this place seemed so small and dismal when he had first arrived. But she was right, in a way. Even though this place was owned by his master, it was where he lived with Luastra. His little piece of Baldur's Gate, even if it was small.

"Would you ever want to get a bigger house?" he wondered, catching her attention. Luastra thought for a moment before bringing her gaze back to him.

"I don't know, I never really thought about it. This place seems so big already. I mean, two bedrooms, a study, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen. Not to mention a bathroom upstairs," Luastra mentioned, glancing around the house. Astarion half grinned, remembering that she had lived in the dark for so long. "What else would you put in a house?"

"Well, we could put in guest rooms. A library in addition to the study. A larger kitchen, if you'd like. Anything we want, really," Astarion remarked.

"Guest rooms? I suppose we could put up my mother when she came to visit," Luastra commented. "Who else would we entertain?"

"Sometimes my coworkers throw parties, and some get too drunk or tired to return home. If we were to throw parties, then they could retire to the guest rooms."

"You would want people to come over to our house?"

"I wouldn't see why not, if we had the entertainment space. Right now, we probably could only have a small gathering, but in a larger house, we could host larger parties," Astarion replied with a shrug. Luastra's smile widened with a nod of her head. Never in her life had she ever expected to be planning potential parties. She always assumed her urge would be too much and she would be stuck in the shadows. Now, Astarion was talking about inviting people to their home.

"With me there?"

"If you'd like to be there, of course. I'm not going to force you to join, but I would love for you to be there," Astarion answered genuinely. He had no idea the level of trust she saw him place in her.

"Then, if you would like a larger house, then we should make it happen. I'm not sure how those things work, but I will gladly help in any way I can," Luastra replied.

"That's probably a few years down the line, but we have time," he smiled before she nodded. He really did have nothing but time, being a vampire and all. "But for now, let's just focus on the announcement of our courtship and then our wedding announcement. We can work on getting a bigger house once the wedding is finalized."

"How do we announce a courtship? I've heard of wedding announcements in the paper, is it similar to that?"

"It's not so formal. It's more word of mouth, kinda like the gossip I told you about. Your mother already knows, so we should be fine there. I'll tell people at work tomorrow, and you can tell whoever you'd like."

"I'll admit, I don't really have very many people to tell," Luastra mentioned as she shrugged. "I suppose I could tell the baker. I've gotten close to her recently. I swear, her bread is the best in Baldur's Gate."

"That is high praise, indeed. I'm sure you alone could keep her in business," Astarion chuckled, seeing how much bread she had started to purchase and eat. Once she had learned how much effort cooking was, the less she did. Now, she ate mostly sandwiches and honey on toast.

"I wish you could taste it, it's so delicious when it comes fresh out of the oven," Luastra sighed with a frown.

"It's alright, food is something I've written off a long time ago. Your descriptions are enough for me to taste it," he reassured her. She sat up a little straighter before leaning forward.

"How long have you been a vampire, if you don't mind me asking?" she wondered. Astarion stared at her for a moment, thinking about how to go about his answer. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, I just thought I'd ask."

"It's alright, it's a fair question. Not quite two hundred years ago, I've lost track of the exact amount though. It's been a long time," he replied with a small smile. "My transformation is not something I really can remember though, nor can I remember a time before I was a vampire."

"I see," Luastra answered quietly.

"But it's not something to dwell on. It was such a long time ago now," he reassured. Luastra gave a strained grin back. She could tell he was lying because elves didn't forget things like that so easily. She was in her mid-second century, so nearly a hundred and fifty years old, and she still remembered her childhood. Of course, she didn't know everything about Astarion, and he didn't seem interested in telling her right now.

"Of course," she said, relenting to his relief. "Do you expect me to become a vampire?"

"I'll be honest, the thought hadn't crossed my mind," Astarion fibbed with a shrug. He had thought about her becoming a vampire, but that would place her under Cazador's thumb, which was not an option. Besides, he expected to kill Cazador, which meant that Luastra wouldn't have a chance to become a vampire. "Would you want to be one?"

"I would need to think about it," she answered. Astarion nearly laughed at her pragmatic answer. He wished that he had that option when he was asked that question. There hadn't been time when the offer was extended.

"I wouldn't worry about it, dear. I don't expect anything from you other than to be happy in our home. And if you are ever unhappy, I would hope that you would come talk to me so we can try to change that," he informed, reaching for her hand. He gave it a comforting squeeze as he looked her in the eyes. "You don't have to prove anything to be here."

"I'm still not used to that idea."

"I can tell. You still expect me to kick you out at every mishap, even after you protected me from yourself."

"I put you in danger."

"No, you asked for help, and I provided it. You wanted to protect me and our livelihood, so you came home and asked for help," Astarion recounted, remembering her shattered voice waking him up that morning. He had dashed out of his room, thinking that she had been fatally wounded during the night or something. When he had found her writhing on the floor, it nearly broke him.

"I suppose I didn't see it from that perspective," Luastra admitted.

"And that's alright, I'll keep reminding you until you start to see it for yourself," he informed before he stood, pulling her up with him by her hand. "Now, I believe we are overdue for a hunt, darling. What do you say?"