Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I think that’s everything for the moment.” Halsin huffed, nudging Astarion’s limp form with his foot.

“Good.” Astarion whined from the floor. He’d brought a minimal amount of furniture from his old house, with only him and Halsin moving everything that was enough. Not to mention all the boxes.

Halsin was still holding on to his old cabin, it made him feel secure so he didn’t bring much from there besides what he’d taken with him to the city when he moved originally. Just some clothes and knick knacks, books and things. 

At least they’d gotten an early start so it was only six PM once they’d gotten everything in. The bed frame wasn’t put back together yet and there were boxes everywhere, but all that could wait until later. 

Halsin joined Astarion on the wooden floor of what would become their living room, the wood was old and needed to be patched int some places, but luckily wasn’t rotted anywhere. They’d have to fix some parts of the walls too, definitely would need to repaint things.. so much to do.

  Halsin jolted as he woke up, there was a blanket over him now as well as his jacket in a roll under his head, Astarion wasn’t beside him. The stone fireplace in the room was lit. Halsin rubbed his eyes and sat up “Astarion?”

“Yes, dear?” The elf’s voice came from the kitchen before he appeared in the doorway.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Just an hour or so. I went into town to get some things for dinner I was about to start on it.” Astarion came over to sit by Halsin “But since you woke up earlier than I expected you to, I was thinking maybe we could.. break this place in, so to speak.” He said, his voice dipping into a flirtatious lilt as he put his hand on Halsin’s thigh.

“Ah.. well, if you can locate which box the lube is in before my stomach starts growling, I think we can make that happen.” He said. Thankfully his appetite had come back fast, he hadn’t realized just how much it’d left him until he weighed himself and found out he’d lost almost twenty pounds. At least he’d already managed to gain a few back. 

Astarion scrambled upstairs where the boxes of stuff they’d keep in the bedroom and bathroom were located. 

Halsin tried to keep his laughter to himself as he heard Astarion’s quick footsteps and cursing as he tripped coming back down, catching himself on the wall. 

“I found it.” Astarion said, panting slightly, holding the bottle proudly.

“I can see that.” Halsin smiled “What exactly did you have in mind?”

“Just sex I supose, no preferences right now, did you want something specific?” 

“I want you on top and..” Halsin bit his lip “I want you to sort of scold me for losing weight.”

“Halsin, I don’t know.”

“If it would make you uncomfortable, I understand.”

“No, it’s only.. I feel odd being rude to you like that after being so rude to you for real.”

Halsin gently reached for one of Astarion’s hands and gripped it “My heart, I’ve forgiven you. You know that how you expressed your upset was hurtful and I trust you to not do it again. We’ve fixed things, it’s in the past. I’m not mad at you, you know that if I was I would talk to you about it. I’m asking you for this because I want it.”

Astarion’s shoulders relaxed “Alright. Get on your knees then.” He teased. 

Halsin spread the blanket out on the floor before taking off the jeans and t-shirt he’d been in, being tortuously slow about it. 

“Oh, someone’s trying to earn my ire.” Astarion said, he’d already undressed down to his briefs which he was now taking off.

Halsin just smiled mischievously as he took his boxers off and got onto his knees. 

It didn’t take long for Astarion to get fully erect as he lubed up his cock. He then moved to gently prime Halsin’s hole with his fingers, producing a soft gasp from the larger elf. Neither of them had been with anyone else during their time apart, and judging by Halsin’s reaction to Astarion stretching him, he hadn’t been stimulating himself like this.

Astarion was apparently being too gentle in preparing Halsin’s entrance as he heard an impatient groan.

“I’m ready, my heart, I need you inside me.” Halsin begged. He whimpered softly as Astarion eased his way in and began fucking him slowly.

Astarion moved his hands down to Halsin’s belly “Tsk, I can’t believe how much you let yourself go.” He quickened his pace and squeezed Halsin’s gut, making him let out a breathy moan “Now after such an exhausting day I’ll have to slave away making a big dinner to get you back in shape.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Halsin whimpered, he lowered his upper body to the floor, getting into a more submissive position. 

“You can make it up to me by eating all you’re given tonight,” Astarion growled as he pounded into Halsin “Until I say you’re finished.”

“Yes!” Halsin yelped “I n-need you.. ah! In control- Y-you know what’s best for me..” He mewled, pressing himself into Astarion as he gripped the blanket.

Astarion moved his hand down Halsin’s gut to find his leaking cock, stroking it, making Halsin’s already quaking thighs almost give out “Our time apart proved that you obviously need me managing your diet.” Astarion said through gritted teeth, quickening his pace further “You were a- unngh! A big bear when we met, but now you’re my dependent little cub, aren’t you?”

“Yes!!” Halsin barely got the word out inbetween all the gasps and moans escaping him. He came with a few more strokes, his whole body trembling. It was hard for him not to collapse for the few more thrusts it took for Astarion to cum inside him. 

They stayed there panting for a moment, sweaty forms glistening in the firelight, before Astarion pulled out. Halsin was glad to finally rest, though threw the blanket aside to be washed since he didn’t fancy catching his breath laying in the pool of cum he’d left on it. 

Astarion knelt beside him “Once you can walk again, let’s get cleaned up so I can get started on dinner. Gale sent me a recipe for dumplings which I think you’ll love.”

Halsin gave him a tired smile “Thank you, in advance for the dumplings and for fulfilling my request beautifully.”

“Anything for you.” Astarion said, leaning down to kiss the other elf. 

Chapter Text

It was odd how quickly Astarion found himself adjusting to being in a place so small compared to the city he’d spent his whole life in. It’d been almost a month, he already felt sort of at home. He expected to be bored in a town with a population of only about five thousand, but there was a movie theatre, a few nice restaurants, a bowling alley which Astarion and Halsin had already visited for quite the raucous date. There was more importantly a vet clinic with a job opening which Halsin of course filled easily, just as he was more easily filling out his pants these days. It the weekend so he was sleeping in while Astarion was doing the grocery run.

As Astarion was loading groceries into his car his eyes drifted over to the diner. One thing he did miss about the city was anonymity. There it wasn’t likely a fast food employee would recognize either him or Halsin no matter how many times they came in, so many odd faces passing through everyday, if they did recognize the elves they wouldn’t care to say anything about it. That wasn’t the case here. The halfling who usually worked the counter, Anabelle, luckily didn’t seem to care about the absurd amount of food he ordered. Even when word had gotten around quickly it was only two elves living in that cottage. 

Astarion had been planning on surprising Halsin with a nice breakfast, but this would technically still be within his plan.

Once he finished getting the groceries into his car he jogged over to the diner, it was still weird not having to worry about heavy traffic and seas of people in a rush. At first he considered it a sacrifice in the name of love coming out here, but after almost a month he could say it’d done him some good. He was just dreading having to figure out his schedule when he’d have to work again. 

   He was a little sheepish as he entered the diner and approached the counter. His self consciousness was eased a bit as Anabelle looked happy to see him.

“You’re here early.” She said, parts of her messy brown ponytail hanging about her face “The usual or..”

“Yeah, just the usual thing..” he said, keeping his gaze to the vintage register for something to focus on.

   Astarion paused as he set the four burgers and three milkshakes on the counter, his gaze lingering on the light green wooden cabinets. The intricate flowers and vines painted there by Halsin, he’d done that to most of the doors in the house, some petals and other details added by Astarion. Everytime he looked at this cabinet in particular the memory of Halsin purposefully smearing paint on one of his curls flashed in his mind, he could vividly hear Halsin’s laughter. And the feeling that putting so much work into this place together was a sort of commitment, a promise they’d be here for a long time, the security that rushed through him was a bit overwhelming. He’d acted prissy and run off to the bathroom as if to get himself presentable again, as presentable as one can be covered in paint in most places besides his hair before Halsin fixed that, but really he’d held himself in the corner of the bathroom and cried for a minute or two. He never thought about it enough to discern exactly why.

Astarion blinked and tore his gaze away from the wood, wiping one of his cheeks as he went to go upstairs. 

   Before Astarion got to the bedroom he could already hear the sound of Halsin moaning desperately. Standing in the doorway he could see the druid was on his knees in their bed, his phone on his pillow playing something. He was hunched over, one arm propping himself up as the other worked to stroke his cock. 

“Your breakfast is here, darling.” Astarion said with amusement. 

“I-I’ll be done in a minute.” Halsin panted, the sentence followed by a groan as he bucked into his hand.

“Oh, you can last longer than that.”

“I have been.” Halsin growled. 

Astarion came over to look at the phone Halsin was currently hunched over. His own cock twitching at the lewd display on the screen. He recognized Gortash’s body immediately, he looked massive. He was naked. As per usual for his content he was only shown from the neck down. A lot of it was gone by this point in the video, but it looked like he was eating cake off of his belly with his hands. Said plump hands were smeared with crumbs and frosting, so were his belly and chest. Astarion shivered as the desire to lick the man clean shot through his mind. 

“You should’ve waited for me, naughty.” Astarion teased, his breath a little shaky.

After a few more strokes Halsin came with a deep groan, continuing to grind against his hand for a moment. 

“I hoped you worked up an appetite doing all that.” Astarion said, tucking a strand of Halsin’s hair behind his ear.

“Uh-huh..” Halsin pressed his head against Astarion’s hand.

   Astarion should’ve been putting groceries away, instead he was watching Halsin eagerly inhale one of the large burgers from the diner. He was only in sweatpants so his belly was on full display. 

It was interesting to watch the effect on Halsin’s body due to him being closer to nature as winter neared. Not much had changed last winter besides his hunger increasing and frequent naps, but now his nails and teeth were slightly sharper, there was a constant hint of gold in his eyes, his hair was coming in thicker. He hadn’t shaved his depression beard, but he was keeping it short. Currently he was getting crumbs and ketchup in it. 

A sudden cold- very cold front had come in and according to Halsin that caused his hormones and instincts to be out of whack, considering it was only mid fall. Yet his body was telling him it was time to hibernate. He’d had to take time off work before the weekend started as he simply couldn’t wake himself up properly for more than a few hours.  

Halsin moaned as he stuffed his face. Astarion could see he was hard.

“Do you need some help with that?” Astarion asked, gesturing to the bulge in Halsin’s pants.

“Umm.. I don’t think I can handle you touching me like that right now without losing control.” Halsin said carefully.

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s alright, you’ve never seen me like this.. “  Halsin looked a little embarrassed as he sucked at the straw on the milkshake. 

Astarion leaned on the counter, looking out the window above the sink, into what would be there garden once spring arrived “So it’ll be like this all winter?”

“No, no. I’m off kilter due to this.. funny decision nature has made.” He laughed bitterly “It’ll be the same as last year, though a little more intense since I’m not being suffocated by that damned city.. I’ll be manageably sleepier and hungrier than I am the rest of the year when winter actually comes. Though the physical changes will still be present.” He was now switching between taking bites of the next burger he picked up and inhaling the milkshake. 

   Over the next few hours  Halsin went through six sandwiches, draining their fridge of ham, cheese, and lettuce. And going through all their bread. He’d followed it with a pot of spaghetti. Then he topped it off with a tub of cookie dough. He was now a squirming, hiccuping mess on the couch with Astarion massaging his taut belly. 

Halsin whined “I’m still so hungry..”

“I don’t think you have any more room in there.” Astarion pressed on Halsin’s belly a bit, forcing a few burps out of the large elf. 

“I know.” Halsin groaned softly “But I need more.. this cold is making it hard to think about anything besides eating as much as possible and getting huge. And not in a fun way, in a sort of miserable way.” He huffed “I’m going to go try to sleep some of this off..” he grunted as he got up, holding his belly as he went upstairs towards their bedroom. 

Astarion thought about joining him, but there were chores that needed doing. Halsin usually did the bulk of them, even though Astarion offered to balance things out, Halsin insisted. 

Astarion sighed and went to rake some of the leaves in the yard. 

   He’d made a decent amount of progress when the chill started getting to him. He stretched, hearing his back pop, before he went inside. 

As he was taking his coat and boots off he heard a sort of snapping noise from the kitchen. He quickly moved to the room, pausing in the doorway as he saw a bear trying to get into a plastic gallon tub of chocolate ice cream, he’d broken the handle off. 

Halsin obviously hadn’t succeeded in resisting the call to eat more, needing a bigger stomach for the moment to accomplish his urge. Astarion shook his head and went to take the lid off the tub since the large paws were struggling. He backed away when he was met with a growl “I’m trying to help so you don’t break it and get it all over the floor.” 

Halsin looked at Astarion blankly for a moment before letting him take the lid. Astarion sensed that Halsin wasn’t totally present right now.

He left the bear to his business which was currently shoving his snout into the ice cream. 

   Astarion was dozing on the couch in front of the TV when the sounds of Halsin tearing through most of the things in their fridge and freezer stopped. He watched the bear lumber into the living room and plop on the floor in from of him. Halsin rolled onto his back, and presented his round belly, giving a demanding snort through his ice cream covered nose. 

Astarion laughed a little before moving to rub circles on the groaning furry belly, making Halsin groan softly. The little grunts and growls soon turned into deep snoring, big legs and paws twitching in his sleep. Astarion continued scratching and petting Halsin’s belly, getting on the floor by him so it was easier. He ended up with his head resting on Halsin, drifting off to sleep against his bear. 

  The next morning Halsin winced as he tried to get into a more comfortable position on the bed. His belly was gurgling as he massaged it, a constant ache pulsing through it. He was grateful when Astarion came into the room with some ginger tea, handing the frog shaped mug it was in to Halsin as he sat next to the larger elf.

“Why did you let me eat that much?” Halsin groaned, taking a small sip of the tea. 

“Let you??” Astarion laughed “I was supposed to stop a huge bear from getting what he wanted?”

“I don’t even remember most of that..” Halsin said, looking down at the cup “I’m sorry that I lost control of myself.”

“It’s alright.” Astarion patted Halsin’s tight belly “Gods, it looks like you have a few cubs in here.” He teased, not expecting the soft moan it elicited from Halsin “Oh do you like that?”

Halsin blushed slightly.

Astarion chuckled “When you’re feeling better perhaps we’ll explore that.” He gently caressed Halsin’s belly “So drink your tea and rest up.” 

“Yes, sir.” Halsin said, in a slight sultry tone. Leaning back into the pillows he was propped up on, he was glad Astarion was there to take care of him. 

Chapter Text

Halsin exhaled as he finished getting groceries into the house. He’d made the mistake of going to the store hungry and gotten more than he felt in the mood to carry. It was only when he finished putting things in the fridge that he noticed Astarion hadn’t come to greet him.

“Astarion?” he called.

He abandoned the groceries that didn’t need to be refrigerated and went up to the bedroom “Astarion?” He was about to look outside when he heard what sounded like panting coming from the closet. He was greeted by a gasp when he opened the door. 

Astarion was cowering on the floor, shaking and hyperventilating. 

Halsin dropped to his knees “What is it? What happened?”

Astarion pushed his phone over to the other elf, a news article was on the screen. It was explaining that adangerous vampire named Cazador Szarr had escaped from prison and was still being searched for.

Halsin’s brow furrowed “I think I saw something about the things he did, it’s a scary thing to read but-“

“H-He’s my ex, I’m the reason he got put in prison.” Astarion could barely get the words out “He’s coming for me.”

“You’ve moved out here. He wouldn’t even know where you live anymore.”

“You don’t know him!!” Astarion snapped “He could’ve had me followed!”

“Do you want to come out of there?” Halsin asked, gently reaching for him.

“NO!” Astarion screamed, swatting at Halsin, almost scratching his cheek before retreating further into the closet and curling up into a tight ball. 

Halsin sighed “Alright, I’ll go lock everything up, then I’ll come back and sit with you until they apprehend him again.”

“If they can find him..” Astarion was still breathing worryingly fast.

“Could I cast something on you?” Halsin asked tentatively “It’ll calm you down a little, just so you can actually get a breath in.” 

Astarion nodded after a moment. 

Halsin gingerly put one of his hands on Astarion’s shoulder, his hand glowing with golden light as he spoke words Astarion didn’t recognize.

The smaller elf felt a wave of forced calm wash over him, enough that he could catch his breath and shake less intensely. 

   They sat there for eight hours. Halsin on the floor in front of the closet, he’d taken on his bear form to make Astarion feel extra protected. Though he felt guilty for falling asleep a few times as Astarion couldn’t relax at all. 

Astarion set his phone to send notifications about the situation, including key words that’d be in news stories if Cazador was captured. Finally one came, he opened it hesitantly. It was a video instead of an article this time.

Halsin changed back into his elfish form when he heard the noise “Do you want me to watch it and then tell you-“

“I can do it.” Astarion pressed play and the pretty dwarf behind the desk on the screen began speaking.

“The prolific vampire Cazador Szarr was recaptured just an hour ago and is being moved to a facility with higher security as it was discovered multiple prison staff members assisted him in his escape, those parties are currently in custody, though it isn’t known at this time just how many were involved. Szarr was found hiding in this residence-“ an image of Astarion’s old home came onto the screen, crime scene tape and Flaming Fists all around it. 

Halsin watched as the other elf’s hand flew to cover his mouth before he sprinted to the bathroom, the sound of retching soon followed. The news anchor continued “The house was recently purchased by a young family who were found-“ Halsin turned the video off and went to the bathroom. 

Astarion was breathing rapidly again, leaned over the toilet. He dry heaved, if there’d been enough in his stomach he’d have thrown up again, but the day’s interruption had kept him from eating anything besides a small breakfast. “The people that moved there, I killed them.” 

“Astarion.” Halsin got on the floor beside him.

“It’s my fault, I should’ve been there.” Astarion looked like he was a million miles away. 

Halsin reached for the other elf’s hand and Astarion snapped back into the moment. He crashed into Halsin, breaking down into wailing sobs, clinging to Halsin’s shirt and burying his face in the druid’s chest.

Halsin just held him and rocked him gently. 

   After a warm bath together, and getting some food and fluids in, Astarion was feeling as better as he could. He was snuggled against Halsin in bed. They were both just in underwear, enjoying the skin to skin contact.

Astarion traced Halsin’s chest hair “I want to.. talk about what happened to me.”

“You were scared, you don’t need to explain.”

“I mean why I was scared.”

“Alright. As long as you want to share.”

Astarion bit his lip “When I was beaten nearly to death, Cazador was the one that found me and brought me to the hospital. He stayed the whole night until I woke up. I mean we were strangers and he sat up all night with me.” Astarion paused “He was nice. He was charming. Mature older elf come to save me..” he averted his gaze from Halsin awkwardly “We started dating I guess. I was a put off when he told me he was a vampire, but he said he only drank from animals or willing donors. And that whole time…” Astarion shuddered “Things were great until he asked to turn me. He got so angry when I said no. I’d never seen him like that before.. I didn’t like it, I-I broke up with him.” He was shaking a little again “I thought I’d be spending that night crying a bit, maybe finding a rebound hook-up. Then he showed up and he wasn’t even that- I don’t know, angry sounding, on the other side of the door. B-But something about the way he talked, I knew he was going to kill me.” Astarion squeezed his eyes shut.

Halsin stroked his arm “It’s alright, my heart, you’re safe now.”

Astarion exhaled shakily “I ran upstairs and hid in one of the closets. I remember the whole time I was on the phone with the emergency number, waiting for the Fists to show up, hearing him search the rooms, yelling threats the whole time. I just saw him finding me and ripping my throat out so clearly. So much I couldn’t tell if it’d actually happened or not. Until he was being dragged away.” He held himself “For a few days I thought I might be dead and didn’t realize it yet, a ghost. I couldn’t believe it was actually over. Then after they searched his house.. Gods..” 

The investigation of Cazador’s palace uncovered thousands of vampire spawn in dungeons underneath the premises, turned over hundreds of years.

Astarion shook his head “And I-I noticed when I watched testimonies from the victims that were rescued, they were mostly humans.. races with shorter life spans, no other elves. They all said he told them he needed to turn them because he couldn’t bear watching their mortal life end while his continued. And there were interviews with people who turned him down too, he never bothered them again.” Astarion said bitterly “I was so.. I don’t fit with his pattern for whatever he was doing. H-He’d gotten away with this for centuries, a man like that doesn’t take unnecessary risks. He pursued me even though he couldn’t use the mortality sob story and he risked everything, lost everything for me.” His voice shook “I just find myself wondering what’s so terribly wrong with me to attract someone like that.” He burst into sobs again, retreating to Halsin’s chest once more.

Halsin embraced him “None of this is your fault. He was an evil monster, his actions and motivations were his own. You did nothing wrong.”

“And all the time I think, how long would I have been in one of those cages if I didn’t say no?? I almost said yes!” 

“You didn’t. You’re here now. That will never ever happen.” Halsin stroked his hair “And those thousands of poor souls ended up free because of you.” 

“I never thought of it that way before..” Astarion didn’t realize it, but his hand had moved to gently squeeze the soft fat on the underside of Halsin’s belly, trying to regulate and comfort himself.

Internally Halsin chuckled, whatever would give his boyfriend’s mind some reprieve was welcome. Though outwardly his face turned serious “Cazador also killed people at times if I recall correctly, didn’t just turn them.”

“He did.”

Halsin took a deep breath “I feel I must confess, though it wasn’t at all the same circumstance, I have also taken lives..” he looked at Astarion, searching his face for shock or horror, he didn’t find any but continued his explanation anyways “It was a long time ago, in those days there weren’t widespread laws and communication as there is now. If you lived in a little grove in the wilderness and bugbears, goblins, whatever.. decided they were going to take what you had. You had to.. had to stop them. There wasn’t anyone to call for help. You either stopped them or they killed you, hopefully before they made you watch whatever they did to the vulnerable in your community.”

“I understand.” Astarion said.

“Not a lot of people who’ve only experienced this convenient age do. I didn’t want it to be a secret.” 

“I trust you.” Astarion cupped his soft cheek “Now you won’t even kill the rats living in our wall.”

“I still think I can reason with them.” Halsin said defensively.

Astarion rubbed Halsin’s belly more purposefully now “You’re a good stress toy.” He said “Cazador was very boney, cold. Terrible to even attempt cuddling with.”

Halsin smiled, thinking it a good sign that Astarion was already joking about it “Perhaps we should work harder to make me bigger then. So you’ll be as relaxed as possible.”

Astarion’s brow furrowed “Speaking of things not being secret. You never told me what you moved out into the middle of the woods for, when you were a biologist?”

Halsin grimaced “Since you must know, though it is highly classified, we were dissecting mindflayers.”

Astarion laughed “If you’re not going to tell me don’t bother with making up a ridiculous story.”

“I’m not.”

Astarion faltered “But mindflayers aren’t real.” He paled “They are??” 

“Very.”

“No! Don’t tell me that! I thought they were made up for shitty horror movies.”

“I’ve seen them up close and personal, I can confirm they’re not just silly prosthetic masks.” Halsin chuckled wryly.

“You’ve just ruined my life with that information, thank you. One of said horror movies scared me so badly as a kid that I couldn’t fall asleep without my nanny in the room for almost a month.” Astarion rubbed his arm anxiously “Why were you researching them..?”

“Best not to dwell on all of that, they’re long dissected now.” Halsin said with some bite in his voice “But being the head of a team working on somewhat dire matters was a bit too much stress for me by the time it was over. That’s why I switched to being a vet.”

“Still taking care of others though, I don’t think you can shake that habit.” Astarion smiled.

“I was first druid in my grove, hated that too. I have wonderful leadership skills, I just hate having to use them.” 

Astarion cuddled close to Halsin “At least now I’ll have nightmares about my brain being eaten rather than Cazador.” He then frowned “Oh, um- speaking of jobs. I don’t think I ever intended to go back to mine. I didn’t know for sure until now.”

“I suspected your already fragile tolerance of being a magistrate would be tested by almost two months of blissful countryside sabbatical with me.”

“So it’s alright?”

“You don’t need my permission to quit a job that makes you miserable. You wouldn’t need it for quitting any job, but especially not that one.” 

Astarion sighed with relief and melted into the larger elf, despite the events of the day, sleep came easily in Halsin’s arms.