Work Text:
The day wasn’t even half over and your feet were killing you. Gale wanted to visit Sorcerous Sundries and what you thought would be a quick shopping trip turned into a magical maze of frustration all for a single book. You were heading back to camp and you knew once you returned to make the rounds to see who else you had time for today. You could probably take Jaheira to see her family, or maybe take time to read the Legend of Ansur and see if Wyll wanted to progress with that mission.
Last night you were not able to get much sleep. Lae’zel had been kidnapped by Orin and then in the middle of the night, an attempted kidnapping took place. This time Astarion’s siblings tried to steal him away but you were able to fight them off. Afterwards, Astarion made it clear he did not want to talk to anyone and just wanted time alone. You tried to talk to him again and tell him that if he needed something to reach out to you. He responded by telling you to just leave him alone the rest of the day and stop bothering him. You did as he asked, even though a part of you was hurt by the fact that even though you two were…whatever you two were…that he did not feel comfortable enough to talk to you. So you pushed that away from your mind and kept yourself occupied with everyone else and their tasks at hand.
~~~~~
Later, in the Evening
You don’t know how you were able to move your feet to get back to camp, but you did it. After fighting an undead dragon (that was once a lover to a mindlfayer? You were still confused about that part) all your energy was drained and you just had to lay down for a minute. However, once you got back, Shadowheart made a beeline for you to talk about how nervous she was after confronting a Shar worshiper and wanted your opinion on the best strategy for going into the House of Grief. You wanted to lay on the floor and pass out then and there but you stayed up a little longer talking to Shadowheart. Once that was over, you finally shut your eyes for rest.
You only get about two hours before Elminster announces his intrusion into your camp. He must speak with Gale right away so you go to see what is going on. Apparently Mystra wants to talk to Gale in regards to the Crown of Karsus and his orb. Great, one more fucking thing to add to your list. You and Gale chat for a bit before you head back to your tent before you see Karlach standing there. She had a nightmare about Gortash and wants to vent. You almost feel like bursting into tears at this point, just wanting a moment of peace but instead you sit next to her and listen while trying your best not to doze off.
~~~
Morning
You wake up with a headache due to the lack of sleep. The sounds of everyone up and moving for the day is what wakes you up. That, and everyone is practically chanting for you to come outside. You emerge from your tent and sit on a log waiting for breakfast when someone sits next to you. You’re so tired you don’t even notice and can’t be bothered to look up. A cold hand sits on your shoulder, it’s pretty obvious who it is.
“Darling, are you feeling alright?” Astarion asks as he rubs your shoulder.
You are so tired you can’t be bothered to respond. He didn’t want to talk to you all day yesterday, why should you talk to him?
You immediately feel guilty for thinking that way. He is going through a lot, of course he would want time to himself to think.
“Darling, can you please answer me?” He asks as you still don’t look at him. You are enjoying the feeling of him rubbing your shoulder that it makes you more relaxed. You start to fall forward when Astarion grabs you before you can faceplant into the ground or possibly the fire.
“Sweet hells, what is wrong with you!?” He sounds angry as he grabs your face with both hands so you have to look at him. He sees that your eyes are half open and the dark circles under your eyes are more prominent than usual. You try to mutter a response in hopes he will just accept it and move on.
“Mmmmfine”
The look on his face lets you know he does not buy that for a second.
“Oh yes you are the picture of perfectly fine , dear. You look dead, and that’s coming from me. Did you get any sleep last night?”
You straighten up a bit to try to look more awake. “I got a few good hours of shuteye, I just need to eat and I will be good to go.” You look away but he grabs your chin to look back at him.
“When was the last time you got a full night's sleep?” he asks you. You remember it perfectly so you tell him. The last time you got a full rest was the night in the Shadow Cursed Lands when he told you that he wanted something real. You were so happy and at peace that night when you fell asleep in his tent with his arms around you.
As you started to think about that night, your train of thought was interrupted by Astarion.
“So, you have been just barely sleeping. You cannot be that stupid darling, you know you could get sick from that right? What if we are on an important mission and we have to stop because you collapsed because you couldn’t just take a nap, huh?!”
You realized he was right. You had to help everyone and what good would it be if you collapsed while in the middle of an important fight. But then what would everyone think of you if you were just sleeping all the time in camp instead of doing your rounds to make sure everyone was okay.
You grabbed Astarion’s wrist and pushed his hands away from you so you could walk back to your tent before any tears could fall in front of your companions. You could hear Astarion start to walk behind you so you jogged to your tent but before you could seal the tent shut he grabbed your hands and pushed his way inside your tent.
Before he could speak again, your tears you were holding back spilled freely down your face. His eyes widened into a panicked look, thinking he is the reason you are upset.
“Love, I’m sorry. Please don't cry, I didn't mean to call you stupid I just…”
Before he could continue, you started to speak through your tears.
“Just….. hic……. wanted…… hic ……to..… hic …….help…… hic …….everyone.”
You couldn’t even look at him, you were so embarrassed at how you sounded. You used to cry like this as a child, and now here you are at your grown age hiccuping with every sob. Astarion pulls you into his chest and you let him. Despite his cold skin, you feel a warmth in your chest as he holds you, stroking your hair, telling you to take deep breaths. Once you are done he pulls away, keeping his hands on your shoulders.
“My sweet love, you cannot spread yourself so thin at the cost of your health. I know you want to help everyone, but who is helping you? I am sorry about yesterday, I just needed some time to myself. I wanted to seek you out but when I peeked out my tent to look for you, Karlach seemed to be talking to you about something important. Even then I could tell something was wrong with you. I think you should get some proper rest darling.” He lets go of your shoulders and as he does you turn around to walk out of your tent. “I promise once we finish all we need to for the day I will rest.” As you go to open the flap of your tent, Astarion’s arms grip around you as tight as possible. He is determined to make sure you do not leave the tent.
“Is the lack of sleep affecting your hearing?! You are getting rest now, you cannot keep going like this!”
As you turn to face Astarion he points to your bedroll with an angry look on his face.
“You will lay down, now.” He growls the last word. You go to sit on your bedroll as Astarion goes to leave your tent. Before you can protest and ask him to stay, he puts a hand up.
“Don’t worry my sweet, I am not just going to leave you. I have to make sure you actually get some sleep. But first, I am going to get you something to eat before you rest. I will be right back.”
With that he leaves your tent and sit there waiting for him to return. You want to lay down and just pass out, but you know Astarion would wake you so you could eat. You hear the tent open to see Astarion with a plate of fruit, cheese, and bread. You almost drool at the sight of the food. Not only were you tired, you were apparently starving as well. As you practically inhaled the food, Astarion went to settle beside you with a book he brought to read while you slept.
You put the plate aside and rested on your side, facing him as your eyelids felt heavier and heavier. You murmur something akin to a thank you to him before you fall asleep. He chuckles and tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear.
“Think nothing of it, love, just rest and I will be here when you wake up.”
Just like that, you are lost to rest.
~~~~~~~~~
“Y/N are you in there!? I need to talk to you! Hello?!”
You are woken up by Gale’s voice asking for your attention. You don’t know how long you’ve been asleep but judging by the angry face Astarion is making at the entrance of your tent; you were not asleep long enough.
You groan as you start to get up to see what Gale wants, but Astarion gently pushes you back onto your bedroll. You look at him and his angry look has been traded for a loving look when he faces you again.
“Stay right where you are darling, I will take care of the wizard.”
Astarion grabs his dagger and walks to the front of the tent. You don’t turn to see what happens but you hear everything.
“Ah, Astarion, I need to talk to Y/N. They’re in there I presume?” Gale asks.
Astarion sighs before talking. “Yes, they are, but they are sleeping and you will not disturb them.”
“But….”
“But nothing! They have been helping all of you at any hour of the day you demand their attention and they help no questions asked. They are exhausted and if we all keep this up they may kill over from pure exhaustion. They will have time to help all of us, but for today let them rest.”
You then hear the sound of Gale backing away. “Ah, you may have a point. My apologies.”
“Oh and go ahead and tell everyone else not to disturb them or they may find a dagger in their leg. Are we clear? “ Astarion asks.
“Yes, uh, crystal clear.” Gale seems to walk away and you hear Astarion shut the entrance to your tent as tight as he can. He walks over to settle back where he was, stroking your hair and reading his book.
“I have a feeling you will not be disturbed the rest of the day.” He says with a smug look on his face.
You smile at him as the feeling of him petting your hair and seemingly humming to himself lulls you back to sleep. When you wake again, you will feel refreshed and ready to take on whatever comes next.