#snowfolly

She huffed, a frown creasing her features as the rain pattered against the windowpane. "I was going to test our new find today. But no birds are going to be out in this weather." 

"And what exactly is that little trinket supposed to do again, Tali darling?" Astarion asked, deep in concentration as he stitched a design into one of her hats. 

"This little trinket," she produced a whistle the size of a pen from her pocket and slipped it through several of her fingers, admiring it. "Is supposed to make birds fly backwards for as long as they hear the song." 

"And when the little feathered twits end up crashing against a tree-?"

"They don't! That's the beauty of it. It's as though they don't even know they're flying backwards. They can see just as well as if they're flying forwards. The birds will never know the difference. But we will. We get a free show." She chuckled, tooting a note from the flute with a wiggle of her head before letting her hand fall back to her side as she sent a sidelong glance at the rain outside; staring deprecatingly at it as though it would cease just to lift her mood. 

"Well, my love, I am afraid the birds must wait." Astarion replied absent-mindedly, his brow creasing as he doubled back on a stitch that was not cooperating. 

"Well, what in the hells am I supposed to do now? And before you suggest it, I am not reading another one of the books Gale sent over right now. I'm not sure I can stomach more jargon on dissecting the magical properties of the Orevine plant." You rolled your eyes and your lover chuckled from where he sat. She leaned against the windowsill and stared at him, softening as she observed the wrinkles on his forehead and the laugh lines on the outsides of his eyes - things he would perpetually deny having as an eternally young creature of the night, but things she loved nonetheless. His eyes scanned his work tirelessly, obsessed with getting everything just right. He was a perfectionist through and through with his creations, which was surprising, considering the amount of chaos he wrought in most other areas of his undead life. But he plopped his work down suddenly and met her fuschia gaze with his discerning crimson one. 

"Well, darling, if all you plan to do for the rest of the afternoon is stare at me, then I suppose I must find something for us to do, hm? However much I enjoy seeing you observe my beauty." She scoffed and rolled her eyes at the tease, but a smile threatened to cross her lips nonetheless. She quirked a brow at him, curious to see what he had in mind. In the perfect image of beauty and grace, he rose from the chair he was perched in and swept through the small kitchen of the cabin the two of them had been staying in for around a week now and down the stairs of the adjacent door. The owners were… probably, on vacation somewhere, and had left a stocked-enough cellar for Tali to live on until she and Astarion decided to move on, or the owners decided to return. She padded down the steps after him and found him rummaging around a worn iron storage container before pulling out a bottle of mead, a block of cheese, and a small box of strawberries. “It isn’t a strawberry tart, darling, but it’ll have to do.” he mused, turning the box this way and that to see how the fruit was faring. 

He seemed to decide it was worthy of his lover after several seconds of looking it over and nodded curtly to himself, turning around and traipsing back up the steps with Tali on his heels. “Take these out in the rain and wash them off, won’t you, love?” Astarion smiled sweetly, a hint of flattery glimmering in his red-wine eyes. 

Tali merely laughed, taking the box of strawberries from him and stepping out onto the porch. There was a generous overhang, so she remained mostly dry as she held each strawberry out into the pouring rain and brushed off any possible dust or other unseen remnants with the pads of her fingers before gathering them back into the box and bringing it back in to where her lover was waiting, an apron acquired from gods know where, fastened around his slim waist and a knife in hand. “Oh, is my darling lover going to bake something for me?” Tali nudged playfully and Astarion scoffed. 

“Don’t get carried away, love.” he prodded her with his elbow as she came up beside him. “You know my specialty is to cut up, not put together.” he grinned over his shoulder at her, showing his fangs, before beginning the process of slicing their snacks. Tali chuckled and sidled up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his back, humming as his laughter rumbled through her. She melted into him, allowing her eyes to fall closed as she recognized yet again how lucky they were to have found each other, especially after all they had suffered. Love was never supposed to be in the cards for her again, not after Margot. A small pang clenched her chest at the memory of her first love, but it was different now than it had been in the past. While she still held regrets, and knew she always would, there was a new sense of peace that had found her, and she knew her vampire was to thank for it. 

“If I am to make a new life after all of the pain I caused,” he would often say to her, “then you can as well.” He loved to use her words against her, but to bring her peace instead of suffering, and while it was all the more irritating that the advice was her own, she was thankful for the reminders. She smiled and nuzzled her nose in between his shoulder blades, taking in a slow breath of his bergamot, rosemary and brandy scent. There was an edge to the scent, one she knew to be his natural decayed skin, and she smiled. One of the first comments she had made once they made their relationship official was how much she liked that extra tang of his natural scent mixed with his cologne. She had nearly laughed her head off when he had looked at her with so much shock and affront that he resembled a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “You’re mad.” he had settled on as a response, grinning and shaking his head in disbelief. 

Tali giggled softly against Astarion’s back at the memory and he offered her a glance over his shoulder. “What are you giggling about like a madwoman back there, my darling? It is quite distracting.” His tone was chiding, but she knew there was a smile on his face and wriggled against him. 

“Just remembering when I told you I liked your natural scent.” 

“Oh gods, yes. I knew you were just mad enough for me when you proudly proclaimed being aroused by the scent of rot. It was all over for me at that very moment, pup.”

A cackle burst forth from her lips then and she let go of her lover to clutch her stomach. “I- hahaha! I think the f-fact that… ahahahah! That I liked you covered in gore hahaha! Would have been a sign! Ah hahaha!”

Astarion smiled down at the strawberries he resumed cutting in triumph, pleased with himself for lightening his dear Tali’s previously soured mood. He would never say the words out loud, but he couldn’t bear it when she was upset. She was his light, his sunbeam in his world otherwise plunged in darkness, and when she was down, a painfully tight coil squeezed around his undead heart. 

They chatted for awhile longer while Astarion finished with the snacks and uncorked the mead. "Well, my love, it seems as though they don't have very fine glasses for their liquor, which is a true shame, but I've found something that will do for now." He tutted as he pulled several well-worn glasses from the cupboard and wiped them out with a cloth. He had placed the cubes of cheese and slices of strawberry onto a plate and gestured for Tali to grab it and the glasses. Once her hands were full, he took the bottle of mead in hand and made for the front door. Dusk was fast approaching, but where a sunny day would have made it impossible for the vampire to be out at this hour, the rain had provided enough cloud cover that he was able to step out with ease. 

"Alright, those go here." He pointed to the short table that sat a few feet from the door and Tali relieved her hands of her haul. Astarion set the mead down between the two glasses, then turned to look at her expectantly. 

"Okay… what now?" Tali crossed her arms and chuckled at her lover's antics. 

"What do you mean, "what now?" Come now, love, you do remember how camping works, don't you? Pillows, blankets, anything to keep the ground from feeling like what it is. Off with you!" He shooed her towards the door with wild gesticulations and a laugh burst from her mouth. 

"Well why can't you get them, my big strong vampire?" She teased, referring to his boost in strength post-tadpole. 

"I had the idea, and I handled the food, darling, now it's your turn. You knew you were the manual labor in this relationship the moment you agreed to it, don't deny it." He tsked, folding his arms across his chest. 

"Alright, alright." Tali chuckled, getting to work. 

Soon, all the pillows and blankets in the house had been pooled onto the front porch where Tali and Astarion were now curled up. "The candles were a nice touch, my love." Tali murmured, glancing over to the single candelabras that held the family's bedside table candles, each one lit and waving gently in the cool night breeze. 

"Mmm I am known to be quite the connoisseur of romance, you know." He crooned from where his head lay in her lap. 

"Oh yeah?" Tali giggled, her fingers continuing a tender path through his soft curls. 

"Mhmm" Astarion hummed, his eyes closing as he pressed into his lover's gentle touch. 

"Well, I must say I agree, Mr. Ancunin. You have won me over, although at times quite begrudgingly." A smile quirked his lips, his only response to her ribbing. It wasn’t satisfactory enough for Tali though, who leaned down to press a long, amorous kiss to his beautiful plump lips; one he responded to immediately, threading his long fingers through her hair to cup the back of her head and neck. 

"I love you, Astarion." She muttered against his mouth and he chuckled softly, his breath hitting her lips. 

"I know, my darling… and you've won me over as well." He replied, pulling her lips to his once more.