Work Text:
That’s why I love fall
Looking at the stars
Admiring from afar
***
The air was brisk with an autumn wind and the moon hung bright in the sky. Astarion let out a heavy sigh as he got out of the car that had just pulled up in front of his apartment building. Muttering a quick goodbye to the coworker he had recently started carpooling with, he slammed the door shut before rushing into the building to escape the cold.
He was feeling tired and irritable as he pushed the button for the elevator. Just as he was contemplating taking the stairs instead, the doors opened and he slipped inside. Exhaustion was overtaking his body on the ride up to his floor. He had been having late nights at the office all week and he was grateful it was finally the weekend. All he wanted was to change into his comfiest clothes, have a large glass of wine, and curl up on the couch with Andromeda.
Stopping in front of his apartment door, he turned the key and went inside. “Darling?” he said loudly as he kicked off his shoes and hung up his coat.
“In the kitchen.”
He sighed again, but this time one of relief. Her voice always made him feel more relaxed. “You won’t believe the day I’ve had,” he whined, already putting on his best pout so she would dote on him the moment she saw him. However, the second he walked into the kitchen, the pout immediately transformed into a scowl. “What the hell are you doing?”
Andromeda was standing by their very small dinner table, spreading newspaper across it. “I thought it would be fun to carve pumpkins!”
Astarion really wanted to be annoyed, and he still sort of was, but he couldn’t stop himself from noticing just how adorable she was. Her hair was styled in her usual little space buns with the rest trailing down her back, she didn’t have a speck of makeup on, and she was wearing her favorite pair of forest green sweatpants with one of his old t-shirts from his law school days. She truly was perfection.
“Why would you ever think that I would want to carve a pumpkin?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
She chuckled. “Because it’s fun!”
His scowl grew. “What’s fun about a pumpkin’s slimy innards getting all over your hands and under your fingernails?”
Smirking, she looked up and shrugged. “I suspected you might react this way.”
Astarion rolled his eyes dramatically, lifting his hands to rub his temples. “I’ve had a really hard week at work. So, you intentionally set up something you thought I would dislike?” He groaned. “That’s incredibly annoying. I just wanted to rot on the couch with a glass of wine and maybe end the night with your legs wrapped around me before I pass out.”
She licked her lips, causing his breathing to hitch. “That’s still a possibility, you know.” She chuckled. “But if you look on the counter, I already have your favorite wine with a glass right next to it, and I did the laundry this morning so your favorite comfies are laid out on the bed for you. And if you really don’t want to carve a pumpkin, I won’t make you. But I want to so will you at least sit with me while I do it?”
He was going to protest, but she pulled out the big guns and gave him her best puppy eyes. “Goddammit. You know I hate when you look at me like that.” He lifted his chin.
“Please?”
He heard the soft padding of her steps as she walked the small distance between them. “Please?” she said again, locking her arms around his neck. He felt her shift as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Please?”
He groaned, his arms instinctively hugging around her. Looking down, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling when his eyes fell upon her beautiful face. “Fine, fine,” he said before leaning in to press his lips to hers. “But I want it to be known that I am highly against carving pumpkins.”
She chuckled, kissing him again. “Noted.”
Her fingers trailed up the nape of his neck and began playing with his curls. Resting his forehead against hers, Astarion gently rocked his beloved back and forth in a gentle sway. “I’m sorry you had another rough day.” Her voice was soft like the coo of a dove.
“We’ll be done with the case soon, but I can’t wait for it to be over. I’m so tired.”
Her lips grazed across his. “I know. We can save the pumpkins for another night.”
Astarion felt his heart flutter with adoration for the woman in his arms. “No, no. Let’s carve the damn things. Maybe it will be fun.” He paused. “But I’m not putting my hand in any of them. You’re in charge of scooping all that gunk out.”
Her musical, little laugh rung out across the kitchen, causing his arms to tighten around her torso. “Deal.” She started giggling harder when he leaned in and began peppering dozens of kisses all over her face. “Do you want to go take a shower while I get the pumpkins ready to carve?”
“Yes, I think I will.”
After a dozen more kisses, Astarion tore himself away from his darling and sauntered off to the bedroom. When he flicked on the light, he noticed right away that his favorite comfy clothes were, in fact, folded neatly on the bed. As he walked the few steps it took for him to cross the room, he couldn’t help but chuckle just a little. Sitting on top of his folded clothes was a little green Post-it. It had an “I love you” on it written in her elegant handwriting, surrounded by little hearts.
At one point in his life, he would have rolled his eyes at such a thing and tossed the note in the trash. In the present, he still rolled his eyes with a smile on his face, setting the note carefully in his nightstand drawer with several other similar notes that she had left him around the apartment after they moved in together.
Gathering the clothes she had set out for him, he padded down the little hall to their bathroom. As he was standing under the hot water, a small part of him was tempted to loudly whine until Andromeda came and joined him, but he also knew if he did that then he would have to help her scoop out the pumpkins. He would rather die than get that slime stuck under his finger nails, so he refrained, but thoughts of her clouded his mind for his entire shower.
Turning the water off, his body felt a little less tense, but he still couldn’t wait to melt into the couch for the evening. Stepping out of the tub, he smirked immediately. He wasn’t sure how she had been so stealthy, but in the steam on the mirror, there was a heart drawn with an “A+A” in the middle. He would have found it absolutely ridiculous if anyone but her had done it.
Sauntering back out to the kitchen, he was extremely pleased to see that Andromeda had already poured him a glass of wine, set some of his favorite snacks out on the table among the carving tools, and had put on some music. She was already sitting at the table, concentrating as she drew on the pumpkin in front of her. A second pumpkin was next to her, clearly already hollowed out and waiting for him.
Letting out a dramatic sigh, Astarion stalked over to the table and plopped himself down in the chair next to her. A smirk pulled at the corners of Andromeda’s lips, but she didn’t look up at him. “I was hoping the shower would make you less grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy.” His voice raised an octave as his nose wrinkled.
She chuckled, her eyes flickering over to his face for just a second before returning to her pumpkin. “Of course not. You’ve never been grumpy in your entire life.”
He huffed, taking a hearty sip from his wine glass. “What are you carving?”
“Just a cute, little vampire face.”
He rolled his eyes. “You and your obsession with vampires.”
“I’m not obsessed.” She looked over at him with a shit-eating grin already spreading across her face. “Besides, are you forgetting which one of us was graced with the nickname ‘fangs’ by Karlach?”
He felt the tips of his ears turning pink, thinking about how Karlach had been calling him that ever since he had covered Andromeda’s neck in hickeys early on in their relationship. “Alright, you’ve made your point.” He paused. “But maybe you only like me so much because I like to bite you.”
“Obviously,” she replied without hesitation.
Astarion chuckled, taking another sip from his wine glass before letting out a sigh. She didn’t speak, but Andromeda set down the tools she had just picked up and leaned over to hug her arms around his shoulders. Nuzzling her face into the side of his cheek, she held him for only a few moments before pulling away.
Even though they had been together for almost a year, Astarion couldn’t help but still feel overwhelmed at times by how loving Andromeda always was to him. He frequently thought it was impossible for him to love her more than he already did, but every day she proved him wrong.
Her soft hums filled the air, keeping time perfectly with the song playing over the speaker. Her beautiful blue-green eyes focused intently as she resumed her handywork and began carefully carving the design she had drawn on the gourd in front of her. Astarion felt as though he could simply sit and watch her for hours.
After a few minutes, however, she chuckled. “Are you going to carve yours or are you just going to stare?”
The tips of his pointed ears warmed again as he cleared his throat. “I’m not staring. Maybe I’m just waiting for inspiration to strike.”
“I don’t think you’ll find it gawking at me.”
He smirked. “Gawking is a strong word. Admiring is more fitting. Besides, maybe I’m planning to carve your face into the pumpkin.”
“I suppose it’s scary enough to fit the Halloween theme…” Her voice trailed off as sadness overtook her face.
Astarion immediately frowned. “Don’t say that.”
She looked down at her lap. “I’m sorry.”
Scooting his chair closer to hers, he rested his chin on her shoulder as he hugged his arms around her torso. “You’re beautiful, Andromeda.”
She gave him a weak smile in response before sighing. “I don’t mean to be down,” she said. “I am sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry, love. But I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”
Pulling back just enough so he could cup her face in his hands, he pressed kisses all over the scar on her face. He kept up his affections until there was a genuine smile on her face. “I love you,” she said as he pulled away.
“I know.”
She chuckled at his response and glanced over at him with a twinkle in her eye before returning her gaze to the project in front of her. Astarion looked down at the pumpkin on the table before him. He had no idea what to carve into the gourd. He didn’t care about doing it, but he knew it would make Andromeda happy, and that was reason enough for him.
Picking up the marker she had left out for him, he began drawing the first thing that came to mind. The second he noticed Andromeda trying to peek at his design, he glared and turned his pumpkin away from her wandering eyes. It earned a musical, little laugh from her but she held up her hands in defeat before returning to her own carving.
“Do you want to snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie after this?” she asked, taking a sip from her wine glass.
“I suppose. A horror movie?” Astarion’s tongue poked out of his mouth just a little as he focused intently on beginning to carve out his design.
“Sure, if you don’t mind me snuggling you like I’m trying to live inside you because I’ll be scared.”
Astarion chuckled. “That’s why I asked, darling.”
The couple chatted quietly and laughed as they carved their pumpkins. Astarion hated to admit it, but he found himself enjoying the activity, mostly because he was with Andromeda, but somewhat because it was kind of fun.
“Alright, I think mine is finished,” Andromeda said, an adorably satisfied smile plastered on her lips. Turning the gourd around, she looked filled with pride as she shared the little vampire face she had carved.
Astarion rolled his eyes playfully. “Cute.”
She smirked. “Well, what are you carving? Can I see yet?”
He frowned and shrugged. “I suppose so.”
Setting down his carving tools, he turned the pumpkin to face her. “Astarion, that looks wonderful!” she exclaimed. His carving was a little jagged and not nearly as smooth as hers, but he had managed to make his pumpkin look decent.
“I thought you might like it,” he said, feeling his ego inflate over how excited she was over the vampire fangs he had depicted.
“I love it!”
She leaned over and pressed her lips to his in a kiss. Just as she was about to pull back, he hooked his arm around her to hug her closer. Her breathing was just a tad heavy when she pulled away and she licked her lips. “Thank you for indulging me this evening,” she said softly.
“Maybe I had a little fun.”
She smiled, nuzzling her nose against his. “I’m glad.” She kissed him again. “I was thinking we could put them in the window over there.”
“Wherever you want, my love.”
Astarion could have helped, but he sat back and leisurely drank his wine while Andromeda set up the pumpkins in the window behind their couch. She didn’t seem to mind, still chatting with him, that same adorable smile covering her face. Once she was satisfied with their placement, she carefully put little candles in them to illuminate their designs. “They look perfect,” she said happily.
“Yes, you do.” Astarion had moved to the couch, wine still in hand. His eyes lingered on her body as he took another sip from his cup. Even in the dimly lit room, he could see the way her ears and cheeks flushed a rosy hue and it made him want to kiss her.
“Do you know what movie you’d like to watch?” she asked as she walked to the kitchen to grab the snack bowls from the table.
“I was thinking Hereditary.”
Andromeda grimaced. “I can’t entice you with something a little less traumatic like Over the Garden Wall?”
Astarion chuckled and shook his head. “Not this evening. I already carved a pumpkin for you, my dear.”
“Alright, fair enough, but you’d better keep your promise.”
He chuckled and motioned across his chest. “Cross my heart.”
Setting down the snacks, Andromeda got on the couch and snuggled herself right up into the crook of Astarion’s arm. The movie hadn’t even started, but she was as close as she could get, the hand she had laid on his chest clutching quite tightly at his shirt. “Darling, how are you frightened already?” he asked as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
“I’m not. Just preparing for what’s to come.” She pouted. “Am I too close?”
He kissed her forehead again. “No, not too close at all.”
A sweet smile played at the corners of her lips as she somehow snuggled herself in just a tad closer. Resting her head against his chest, she gave him a gentle squeeze. “Thanks for carving pumpkins with me tonight,” she said.
“The things I do for you,” he teased.
She let out her musical little laugh before lifting her head so she could press a soft kiss to his lips. The scent of her skin and hair filled his nostrils, making his head swim just as she started to pull away. “I love you,” she said.
He smiled. “I love you too, my darling.” As the candlelight from the pumpkins flickered on the window behind them, Astarion couldn’t help but smile. It hadn’t been how he had originally hoped his evening would go after such a long, hard week. Yet, as Andromeda snuggled closer to his chest, hiding her face just a little from the movie they were watching, he felt like there was no other way he would have wanted to spend a chilly, autumn night.
***
