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Curse your curiosity. When you had agreed to help Grey with avenging her fallen sister you never thought that it would lead to an underground hidden submersible. You certainly never thought that it would lead to one of Gortash’s underwater prisons. But really you should’ve known better by now. You also should’ve known that jackass Gortash wouldn't believe you when you said you had just been curious. Now you’re here, docked at a prison waiting to explode and your damn saviour complex can’t leave without rescuing everyone. The only problem is you don’t know how long you have till the place goes sky high. You’re stuck in your head, you want to save them, you need to. But this is probably one of the most nerve wracking adventures yet. You don’t know what awaits you beyond the hatch or how long the ticking clock has. You have a feeling it’s not long though. You also don’t want to force your friends and lover into yet another dangerous situation because of your damn curiosity. Your rag-tag group has always managed to get out with just a few scrapes and bruises, but this time you’ve got a bad feeling about it. There’s too many uncalculated variables.
Through the time you’ve been together Astarion has gotten good at being able to tell when you’re stuck in your head. When you’re stuck between two different moral paths. Usually he’s one to take the path of least resistance, usually the one involving retreating. He knows you too well now, he knows you won’t listen, he knows that above all else you feel it’s your duty to save the people within these watery prison walls. Something to do with a way to atone for all that you’ve wronged in your dark past. Knowing this he approached you, a gentle hand finding its place on the small of your back, “we’re not leaving without the prisoners, are we, darling?”
It was less a question and more a statement. He was giving you the push to make the decision you knew you couldn’t walk away from. “I can’t leave them Star. I can’t leave knowing I’ve just doomed them to a fiery watery death. Yet I can’t guarantee your safety this time. There’s so many things I can’t control. So many unknowns-”
“When have we ever walked away from a challenge, away from you?”
You looked back towards him and then at the rest of the group, they all had small reassuring smiles on their faces. Karlach stood in the back, holding up two thumbs ups, her smile the biggest of all. You smiled back at the group and looked up once more to Astarion. After a beat you gave a nod and turned back to the hatch.
“Okay. We got this”
You don’t got this. As soon as you all descended into the prison the place gave a not so reassuring shake. There were lights flashing everywhere, alarms blaring, water leaking already and the place had a nauseating fishy smell that you feared would be glued to your nostrils for weeks following this. If you made it out of this, that is. Not only all that but you could see guards down almost every hallway.
“Sahuagins, ‘sea devils’, vicious and merciless. Watch yourselves around them” Gale warned from the back of the group. You gave a huff and nod as you ran over plans through your head.
“Okay. We don’t know how long we have in here. We need to be in and out as fast as possible. Get as many people out before the place blows. Preferably everyone. We won’t have the time to kill the sea devils so just try to hold them off as much as possible. Keep them away from the prisoners as I doubt they have the ability to defend themselves. Since we don’t know how long we have I’d suggest we split up. Shadowheart, Karlach, you go left, east. Gale, Lae’zel you go south, straight. That seems to be where a big portion of the fishy guards are, from what I can see. I need you both to find a way to keep them at bay while we get everyone out. Got it?”
Those I named gave curt nods before splitting off.
“You and I to the right then?” Astarion smiled, reaching a hand towards you.
“Forever and always, remember?” You took his hand as he gave you a grin. His devilish teeth shining beautifully in the dim damp light. With your hands intertwined tightly you both ran off down the right corridor.
Since the moment Astarion first held a knife to your throat you both have worked so well together. You worked like a well oiled machine, being able to immediately tell what the other was planning and work with and off of their actions. It’s what made it so easy for the both of you to connect. Through battle, through messing around, or trauma bonding. The only parts you’ve ever had difficulties is where your stubbornness lies. You always wanted to help people, despite all the complaints Astarion would throw your way. You always ignored him on that front, sticking to your morals. You’d appease him later by the two of you messing with Gale anyways. Knowing this and having him willingly running down the hall with you, opening prison doors as you go, with not a groan or whine in complaint to be heard. It was greatly appreciated. It was just another reason why you knew you’d never be able to leave him after this whole tadpole situation was over. Once the netherbrain was destroyed, Baulder’s Gate restored and Astarion free from any past torturer. It’s one complaint that you knew you’d never back down from if presented with. He was stuck with you now. And you stuck with him.
Finding a lover through all this crazed nonsense was not something he had ever planned. If you had told him before that he’d have a tadpole put in his brain, be free of Cazador, and fall in love with the women he’d threaten in first meeting. He’d tell you you’d gone absolutely mad. Yet here he was, following you down corridors, your lives dangling on a thin wire ready to snap at any moment, as you opted to care for others instead of yourself. As annoying as your stubbornness can be, he wouldn’t say it’s something he hates about you. In fact it was one of the many reasons that made him love you. Your innate ability to stare down the barrel of danger and smile while saying no to backing down. It was probably the hottest and sexiest thing he’s seen someone do. No, he didn’t hate it. What he did hate was the blatant disregard for your own safety that followed that stubbornness. He’s not one to miss how every adventure the group has gone on you’ve always come out with the brunt of the injuries. Always the one to jump in front of your friends, keep them from getting hurt.
He’s tried to bring it up in the past but you’ve always brushed it off. A coincidence, you’d say. Yet it’d happen every time. It worried him. You were as much a ticking time bomb in his eyes as much as this prison was. Just one wrong move, one move too late and he'll never get to see that smile again, never hear that laugh. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t. This adventure he was determined to get you out of here with the least amount of injuries as possible.
Usually between the two of you it would be you that would hold off any enemies while Astarion was the one to sneak around completing tasks. This time however Astarion had managed to convince you to allow him to hold off the Sahuagins while you went around and unlocked the cells. Let me tell you, these things were ruthless. You felt bad for the amount of groans you could hear coming from Astarion, despite how hard he’d try to keep them as quiet as possible. Thankfully there weren’t too many cells needing to be opened. Once you’d gathered everyone you rejoined with Astarion and helped him knock the last Sahuagin out for now.
“Go, get them to the submersible. I’ll follow behind and make sure they stay down and that we don’t lose anyone.”
He paused and looked between you and the knocked creatures, he went to protest but you stopped him with a look. He knew the look. It was the look you gave him when you were being stubborn and would refuse to have your mind changed.
“Fine…. But don’t stray too far behind you hear me?” He gave you his own stern look that you could never say no to. You gave a curt nod then motioned for him to go. He gave you one last glance before turning and motioning for the prisoners to follow him. You stayed back and ushered the group ahead, keeping an eye on the Sahuagins on the ground. Once the last prisoner passed you followed.
Up ahead you could see Astarion helping the prisoners to get up the ladder. Karlach and Shadowheart having joined them as well. Amongst the prisoners you could even see Wyll’s dad. Good. You owed it to him to get his dad back. You felt bad about Wyll. You had been so focused on some of the other group members and their troubles that you hadn’t even noticed Wyll not acting the same. And now he’s been taken, all because of you. Well at least that’s what you believe. Anyone else, even Wyll, would say that it’s not your fault. You would insist otherwise. You could just start to hear the other’s conversation as you grew near, Gale and Lae’zel joining the centre as well.
“We got everyone from the east. A few entanglements with nets but otherwise everyone is fine and out,” Karlach reported.
“We managed to hold back the large group of Sahuagins for the most part. There were quite a few of them. The hallways have heat sensors we discovered. So the south airlock doors have been sealed. It doesn’t seem like they actually know too much about the mechanisms so the doors should hold them back for now.” Gale huffed out, panting from exhaustion. Lae’zel looked hardly affected by the matter.
“We managed to get everyone from our end!” You informed, as you joined the group.
“Another mission successful it would seem!” Shadowheart smiled.
“Yes, now all that’s left is us. If you would be so kind, I wouldn't mind leaving now. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think water and fire would go too well in our situation right now.” Sarcastic as ever Astarion was.
Everyone gave a small chuckle and nod in agreement and started heading up the ladder. Maybe you do got this. It was just the two of you left to climb the ladder when Astarion reached over and pulled you to him into a crushing kiss, overcome by a great sense of need. His kisses always took your breath away. He always threw everything into his kisses. All his passion, his love, his adoration. He never left anything to the imagination. You could read every thought, every intention, all his love for you in every single one of his kisses. It was intoxicating and addicting and you could never get enough of it. Through this kiss you could tell every worry he’s had during this whole debacle, every stress, every panic. You could sense his need for this, for the accomplishment, for the kiss itself, and for what would be sure to come later tonight when it’s just the two of you laid in his tent. Not only all that but your lips always just fit so right against his. Your lips, your body, your everything. It was like you were made for him and he was made for you. It felt like an eternity and yet like it wasn’t long enough before the both of you pulled away, breaths heavy with desire and passion.
“I love you,” he affirmed against your lips.
“And I you,” you pecked his lips once more before motioning to the ladder with your head.
“Now we must leave, Star. Who knows how much time we have left.”
He gave his one last peck to your lips before pulling away to start his ascension to the submersible. It felt almost too good to be true to Astarion. We were leaving here and he had actually managed to keep you out of trouble. He was quite proud of himself really. He thought it would be almost an impossible task. Yet here it seems to have been done. Now all that's left was to close the hatch and pull away from this gods awful place.
You grinned up at Astarion’s retreating behind as you began to follow him up. Lost in the thrill of possibly getting away from this one unscathed you didn’t hear the gurgling near. Not until you felt yourself get enveloped in a hefty net, trapping you against the ladder.
“Shit,” you grunted, the weight of the blow winding you slightly. Glancing over you noticed one of the Sahuagins the two of you had knocked out was slowly crawling their way out of the corridor you’d come from.
“Shit, shit-” you should’ve known things had been going too well. You struggled as you attempted to untangle yourself from the net, feeling like every movement only made the situation worse. You glanced back over to the corridor noticing them getting closer. You couldn’t allow them to get past that door. After a decent amount of struggling you had managed to get one hand free enough to throw a fire bolt down the corridor. The fish watched it fly past before looking back at you. A gurgling sound emanating from its gills, as if it was laughing at you before the corridor erupted in flames and the door sealed shut in its fishy face. You grinned at your accomplishments and proceeded to burn the rest of the net away in annoyance with it. As you began to make your ascent once more you glanced down the east corridor at the worst possible moment. What you saw made you freeze. The bolts holding this place together were beginning to pop from their homes. The constant tremors having caused them to start to come loose. In the seconds it took to realize what was happening you watched as the first explosion began down the far corridor, the place immediately beginning to flood with water.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Panicked, you started to try to climb faster only to discover a part of your foot still entangled in net that hadn’t burnt away. You looked back towards the explosions and rushing water and you knew. It was all too good to be true. Seconds felt like minutes and those minutes felt like hours as you took one last glance up at Astarion. He had made it up into the submersible and was just turning around to greet you, help you up, when he made eye contact with you and he knew. He knew things were wrong immediately by the look in your eyes. His stomach dropped, his breath and heart stopped. He felt a cold chill run through him as he watched in slow motion as you shot a crossbow arrow at the hinge in the hatch, forcing it to close with you behind. With the hatch closed the submersible went into auto-pilot, pulling itself away from the docking station and starting to make its way home.
“No…” it felt like the world was caught in his throat as he rushed from the hatch to the giant window only in time to see the prison explode, the shockwaves pushing them farther away. Away from you, away from his life, his heart, his everything.
“NO!” He’d barely spoken, barley cried, yet his voice already felt like sandpaper when he screamed for you, screamed your name. It felt like he’d already spent an eternity crying for you, crying your name into the loneliness of the dark night. Yet he still had an eternity to live. An eternity to miss your kiss, your breath, your warmth your touch your heart your loveyourkindenessyourbodyyour…everything.
He could’ve done better, should’ve done better. He should have known something would happen. It never goes this smoothly, this well. He should’ve made you climb up the ladder first. Gods, why didn’t he do that??! Everything felt numb, empty. It was all passing in a blur. It was quiet and cold and then it was loud and musty. He could barely register the arguments around him. Something about betraying a sister? Who’s sister? He doesn't remember anyone having a sister. It was cold, damp, musty,and then it was bright, breezy and still smelt like gods awful fish. He could feel himself being led, by who or what, he’s not sure. He wished they were your hands. He loved your hands. They were so small and soft and yet harsh and strong. They were dainty yet they also showed the years of experience you’ve had, the troubles you’ve been through in life with the many scars that adorned them. They were beautiful. He loved the feel of your touch, whether innocent or sinful, he could never get enough. Were…. were. Here he was already thinking in past tense. You’d barely been gone an hour, has it been an hour? Less? More? Yet, he was already changing the way he thought of you. It wasn’t right. None of this was right. Where were you? You should be here. Something’s wrong. Why weren’t you here? Why’s everything so cold? So numb? There was a constant buzzing that he just couldn’t seem to get to go away. What was wrong with him? Where was he? He doesn’t remember how he got here. One moment he was underground the next he was walking the streets of Baulder’s Gate alone searching for you. Where were you? It’s not like you to disappear like this. Surely you’d have told him if you were going any-
He froze. His whole brain and world collapsed when he saw you. You, lying on the beach face down. Where one would be after being washed up on shore. He made a mad scramble down. He could vaguely feel his hands and legs being scraped and and scratch during his descent to the sands but he could hardly care. Not when he could see you, or what was left of you really. He skidded to a kneel beside you, hands immediately going to touch you, turn you over. You were so cold. You’ve never been this cold before, you hated being cold. You were always warm, you were his favourite heater to snuggle. You shouldn’t be this cold, especially to him. He could hardly recognize you. Not an inch of your precious skin could he see that wasn't marred in deep wounds, gashes and blood. Your bones shattered to pieces, broken like fragile porcelain. This wasn’t his love, not as you should be. Yet this is what you were now. This was what was made of you. What your last adventure had done. He hadn’t even realized he was crying until he saw the tears falling from his face onto your’s. It was upon the realization that he was crying that turned it from silent sniffles to violent sobs. Sobs that racked his body. Sobs that echoed for miles on end. Sobs that would haunt anyone who heard, who listened for days to come. They were the cries of a broken man. A shattered man. He’d lost his love, his heart. It was something he’d never be able to get back. Something that would take years, if not an eternity, to overcome. He was to face the hardest challenge of them all. Because you were gone. This was real, this was true. He’d never get to see you again. Never get to experience your touch, your kiss, your laugh, your love, your heart.
You got to share one last adventure, one last kiss, one last laugh, one last ‘i love yous’, one last glance before this was your end.