The days passed easily since that night in the sewers. Luastra spent her days mostly reading and learning in the library and cooking simple meals for herself when she needed to. Astarion continued his work as magistrate, boasting about his new love to whoever would listen. They would be seen out in public sometimes, yet still hiding the fact that they were living together. While Luastra didn't mind sneaking in through the windows, she longed for the days she could walk proudly into her house with Astarion by her side.

During the nights, they would spend time with each other, mostly chatting and gossiping. Once or twice a tenday, they would take a stroll down to the Lower City for their hunts to sate themselves before returning to their regular schedules. Luastra felt contented and relaxed again, falling into a pattern with Astarion that she knew her Father would also approve of. At least, for now. While she longed to be free from him, she would appease him to keep him at arm's length.

On this afternoon, Luastra was in his study, reading a strange book on the concept of medical uses of surgery with her legs up over the back of the chair and her head hanging down near the floor. She didn't always like sitting normally like a lady would, and when Astarion wasn't home, she could act however she wished.

"Darling?" Astarion called out. Luastra nearly dropped the large tome as she glanced at the clock on the wall. He was home nearly four hours early. She tried to scramble to a more appropriate sitting position, but he was already in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"Reading," Luastra answered, throwing her legs to the side of the armchair. She lifted her head so she could see him properly, leaving the book on the floor. "What are you doing home so early? I thought you would still be at work."

"Someone set a fire in a councilmember's office, so the building had to be evacuated. I doubt that we'll be able to return to work today," he replied as she raised an eyebrow. Luastra had a feeling that he was the cause of the fire, even if he didn't personally start it. "But that's not important right now, we can talk about that later."

"Okay, well what was so important that you rushed home for?" she wondered, her feet finally finding the floor.

"I thought you might be interested to know that they're opening an art museum a few blocks from here," Astarion answered as he walked into the room. He placed his case on his desk before walking over to her.

"Oh, that is very interesting," she replied, a little confused. He frowned slightly, taking her hand.

"You always created such unique sculptures in our escapades, I thought you had an interest in art, darling," he remarked. Luastra gave him a warm smile.

"It's so sweet that you thought of me," she cooed, holding his hand closer to her chest. "But I'm not sure what an art museum is, or how that relates to our little night adventures. I thought what I did was a little taboo."

"Oh, it is. Your medium is definitely against the law, darling, but most artists use canvas or clay to create their artwork. I thought you might enjoy seeing a different side of what you already do," Astarion explained further. "The museum is just a place where it's all housed. People can place their artwork there, and others can go and see it."

"That's fascinating. When does it open?"

"In two days' time, they're still gathering art."

"Are we going when they open?" Luastra wondered, moving to the edge of her seat. Astarion smiled, raising her hand to his lips.

"Do you want to?"

"You were so excited to tell me about it, so yes, I want to. It sounds like fun. I've never really seen what people consider art. Well, outside of our home."

Astarion smiled down at her at the mention of their home. Not his home. It wasn't the first time she had called it that, but he never grew tired of hearing that from her. He was even amused when he had caught her lounging unusually on the chair when he had first entered. He generally heard shuffling right as he got home, and now he wondered if that was her natural state before he arrived.

"Then we'll go as soon as it opens. Maybe it'll even inspire your works," Astarion offered. Luastra smiled as she hummed.

"I've never really thought about it," she said thoughtfully. "Do you think I would be good at other forms of art?"

"Undoubtedly. If you take the same time and care, I'm sure that you'd do wonderfully," he answered, making her grin again. "So, what did you have planned for the day?"

"I generally read what's in your study. I was reading an interesting book on surgery before you barged in," Luastra mentioned, grabbing the book off the ground. Astarion took it from her hands as he looked the book over.

"That would interest you, my dear," he chuckled before he placed it on the shelf. "Why don't we go out?"

"Out? Out where?" Luastra laughed as Astarion helped her to her feet.

"We could go to that bakery you love, or maybe to the markets. It's around lunchtime, isn't it? Have you eaten? We could try a new bistro. Or maybe just a stroll around a park," Astarion suggested as he started to lead her out of the room.

"Astarion, what has gotten into you?" she smiled.

"I might be feeling a little energetic. My aides were feeling a little mischievous, and I might have been the cause of the fire. We had to get out rather quick, and now I feel like we should be doing something," he explained with a grin. Luastra rolled her eyes as she toed on her shoes.

"As long as you didn't bring down the Fist on us," she reminded with a laugh.

"Oh, darling, have you no faith in me? I doubt they even know the cause of the fire, let alone who was responsible," Astarion reassured before he opened the door.

It was a bright sunny day, perfect for a stroll down the road. Astarion kept her arm in his as he talked about his work and the latest gossip of that day. He would ask her opinion on certain things that she might take an interest in, keeping her engaged and entertained. He took her to her favorite bakery, where she chatted with the baker, whom she had grown close with. It surprised Astarion that he was glad that she was making friends in the area.

He also took her to the market, where they got food for the week so Luastra could relax at home. Astarion carried all the goodies she asked for, purchasing anything she wanted, which wasn't much. He had to start pushing for her to admit that she wanted more than just the essentials. It was important to him that she sustain herself on more than just bread, honey, and butter. There was even a jeweler from which he bought a necklace from for her. She was surprised that he had bought something so nice for her, and she wore it proudly for the rest of the day.

To round out the afternoon, Astarion insisted they walk through one of the parks just to have a nice moment after pushing through the crowded markets. Luastra agreed, still surprised that Astarion wanted to stay out so long. He often went out with her, but it usually was to one place, and they never walked. It was usually in a carriage to the place and back. Maybe he was too energized from the incident at work and needed an outlet.

With a basket of food and goods in one hand, Astarion held Luastra's in his other, holding her close as they walked through the flora. He generally didn't enjoy the outdoors, but he had to admit that the flowers looked particularly lovely this time of year. Especially when she seemed to enjoy them so much. He reached out and plucked a large pale pink one from a tree and placed it behind her ear, catching in her hair. Luastra looked up at him.

"Beautiful," Astarion smiled. Luastra blushed and averted her gaze. She wasn't sure if anyone had ever called her that before. "You should wear flowers in your hair more often, darling."

"I should?" she whispered, her voice softer than she would have liked.

"I think so, at least. I'm sure we can find some of those silk flowers that will never wilt or fade," he continued, touching the flower gently before running his fingers down her jawline. She swallowed, staring at him. "I'll keep my eye out for them next time we're at the market."

"Okay," she murmured. He ran a thumb over her lips before leaning in for a chaste kiss. She froze for a moment before reciprocating, reaching for his face as well. Too soon for her liking, he pulled away with a soft smile.

"Should we head home?" he asked as she cleared her throat.

"I think that we should, yes. It's just about dinner time," she remarked, finding her voice again as her blush flooded her face. Astarion smiled as her cheeks turned a darker blue before she continued on the path.

Astarion followed close behind her, wondering if he should reach for her hand. He had lied a bit when he had come home early. While there was a fire at his office, and he was the cause of it, he hadn't told the whole truth.

Lord Gortash had found his way to Astarion's office while he was working on a particular case, and Astarion had tried to ignore him, thinking that the lord had lost his way. However, it had become increasingly apparent that he had come to see Astarion specifically.

It had started out friendly enough as Astarion greeted him, asking him if he needed something. He was generally the one the shady lords and politicians went to for bribes, even if he only worked with a handful of them. He had to keep his job, after all. Gortash had only made one deal with him in the past, and it had been a long time ago.

Of course, Gortash had merely shrugged his shoulders before closing the door to Astarion's office, leaving the two men alone. Astarion wished that one of his aides would return quickly from wherever they had gone off to, but his luck wasn't on his side. Gortash had explained in detail that he had a plan that he was concocting, and he was hoping that Astarion wouldn't get in his way. At first, Astarion informed that he had no idea what Gortash was talking about and continued to work, showing he had no interest in what the man was planning.

Then Gortash mentioned Luastra by name. Astarion froze and put down his quill, staring up at the lord. He couldn't pretend not to know who that was. He had been telling everyone that he had been courting Nosilna's daughter as any excited new beaux would. He folded his hands together and stared at the lord as Gortash smiled.

Gortash didn't threaten Luastra, which was the only reason why the lord wasn't drained of blood. Astarion would gladly give up his job and face Cazador's wrath if it meant Luastra's safety in this matter. Luastra was formidable enough to get him out of that predicament if it came to that, he was sure. He had her wrapped around his finger.

However, Gortash did say that he had made big plans that included Luastra, and Astarion needed to stay out of the way. Astarion told him that he still had no idea what he was talking about, and as long as it didn't interfere with their loving relationship, Astarion didn't give a fuck about what Gortash had planned. The lord smiled at that, leaning against the wall. Then Gortash made a sly comment about how easy Luastra must have been if Astarion was able to claim her so quickly.

Astarion hadn't even registered that he had thrown the Firebolt until it had left his fingers. Gortash laughed as he cast Shield on himself. The blaze spread around him, catching the office around him on fire. Astarion cursed under his breath as Gortash smiled, revealing several explosives under his robes. It seemed that he was hoping that Astarion would try something, and Gortash would see to finish it. Astarion watched as Gortash dropped the explosives, causing the fire to spread outside of the office. He was barely able to make it out of his office window when the explosions broke the glass.

Another moment in the room, and he would have surely burned to death.

With as much haste as he could muster, Astarion quickly walked back to his home where Luastra was. He wasn't sure if Gortash knew that was where she was staying or not, but Astarion was definitely not going to chance it. He was just glad he learned of the art museum before Gortash made his surprise appearance.

Astarion often wondered throughout the day if he should tell Luastra about the real reason for their little outing, but he decided that he would tell her when they got back home. There was no reason for him to ruin their impromptu date, especially when she was having such a good time. Besides, there was a good chance that Gortash's spies were watching, and Astarion wanted to give them a good show.

Let them see that he was alive, and not only that, but he was also showing Luastra a good time. He was the doting lover, giving his woman whatever she needed and wanted. Astarion beamed to himself at the notion of Luastra being his. They essentially had an open marriage, as was the terms of their deal, but from what he had seen, she hardly seemed interested in that. Maybe he would broach that topic again as their wedding got closer.

Astarion wasn't so sure he would want her entertaining other people, which filled him with a certain confusion. He had been fine with it before. He was the one to even encourage it to entice her to agree to marry him.

Luastra wanted to look behind her to make sure that Astarion was still following her, but she kept walking. Something in her gut wanted to turn around to push him into the bushes to finish what he had started while the other part wanted to run all the way home to scream into her pillow. She felt giddy and terrified at the same time.

Then she felt his hand in hers, and she turned to see him. He smiled at her, the same smile as before. It was kind and loving, something she never thought she would see herself receive. He gave it to her so freely and readily, and parts of her felt that she didn't deserve it. Other parts felt greedy and wanted him to always look at her with that amount of care and tenderness. So, she grinned back up at him before nearly dragging him back home.

Astarion chuckled at her eagerness as they found their way back to the road. Luckily, he had chosen a park that wasn't too far away from where they lived, so getting home would be a quick affair. It was still midafternoon, so Luastra would still need to sneak in, but she usually preferred that entry anyway.

As they approached their home again, Luastra went to bid him a fake goodbye when she saw something on their door. She stared at the parchment as Astarion followed her gaze. There was a dagger as well, sticking it to the door. Luastra started to glance around, taking in her surroundings for intruders and enemies. When she found none, she frowned. Astarion carefully looked around the door for traps before taking the parchment down and removing the dagger.

Unfortunately, the dagger was average, something you could get from any common peddler. Luastra came up behind him as he read over the letter, and she snarled, wanting to rip the paper out of Astarion's hands.

The letter was from one Lord Gortash, inviting them to his home in the Upper City for a formal ball. He was going to unveil his newest invention to be used by the Flaming Fist, and Astarion and Luastra were personally invited, according to the parchment. The ball was set to take place in three days' time during Astarion's next day off. Luastra wanted to crumple the paper and throw it away, not wanting to go to anything near his house.

However, she knew that she was hardly in a position to refuse such a request, especially when Astarion was personally invited. She was sure that she was invited as a formality and as a slight due to her relation to Astarion and to Gortash. It had been a few months since she had been to a ball, and she wasn't excited to be at another.

Astarion opened the door and ushered her in, uncaring who saw that he had an unmarried woman in his home. It was common knowledge that they were together, so he could deal with a few gossipy rumors over this. Luastra nearly protested before he locked the door. He pressed his forehead against the closed door for a moment before turning back to her.

"I suppose it would be pointless to tell you I don't want to go," she offered, holding her hands together. Astarion laughed under his breath before he walked forward to hold her head in his hands.

"Neither of us want to go, darling, but I don't think Gortash will take kindly to us not making an appearance. Especially if you're supposed to do this heist with him," Astarion reminded as Luastra frowned. "But I promise to stay with you the entire night. You don't have to dance with anyone you don't want to, and we only have to stay an hour."

"An hour?"

"We have to at least look like we want to be there. Then once everyone starts to drink, then we can quietly slip out," Astarion reassured before bringing her into an embrace. "I know this isn't your favorite activity, but we won't be there for long."

"We'll have to make sure the urge is sated early, then. I don't want to be acting all crazy in front of all your coworkers," Luastra mentioned, wrapping her arms around his torso. He smiled against her shoulder.

"Of course, dear. We'll make sure both our appetites are satisfied before the ball. Then we'll make everyone jealous there and disappear into the night."

"What do you mean?"

"We're easily the two most beautiful people in all of Baldur's Gate. We'll dress up to our best, flaunt our beauty, and then come home to enjoy the rest of our night," he replied, leaning back to look at her, tapping her nose. She rolled her eyes but grinned up at him.

"I suppose I can get behind that."

"That's the spirit," he cheered before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Now, I'm going to get changed and grab a glass of wine. I'll be in the study."

"Alright, I'm going to grab something to eat," Luastra answered, squeezing his hand before disappearing into the kitchen.