Daylily

Something glinted in the dark of the forest. Demetrius felt a wave of dread wash over him. He knew he was being hunted. But it was different this time, he wasn't being hunted by a beast, or even hunters. This was something different, a solitary creature more intelligent than most that had hunted him before. He steeled himself for the incoming attack, knowing he couldn't evade this creature any longer. 

Suddenly, he was slammed into, barely managing to stay upright against the force. His brain kicked into fight or flight, shoving the creature off of him as best as he could, successfully knocking it over. On the ground he saw him, pale as a ghost, shock white hair, blood staining his clothes. A vampire by any other name, but he knew him as Astarion.

 "Gods, Astarion, what in the hells are you doing?" Demetrius asked, extending a hand to the other man. 

Astarion grabbed it and pulled himself up "I was only playing" he pouted, kicking the dirt with the toe of his boot. 

Demetrius frowned "And playing to you means chasing me a mile and a half away from camp?" Astarion smiled, his fangs catching the moonlight just right. "Well, perhaps I needed you this far from camp." His voice dripped with innuendo. Demetrius rolled his eyes "And if that's not something I want to do after all this running for my life?" 

He knew Astarion meant no harm, so he kept himself under wraps. He hadn't shared nearly as much of his past with Astarion as he had learned of the vampire's. Demetrius preferred to keep it to himself, mostly. He supposed he had dropped hints, although few and far between. He simply preferred not to dwell on it.

 Astarion nodded "Then I'd simply whisk you away into the night, and back to our bedrolls." He extended his hand with a bow "would you like to join me on the trek back?" Demetrius gave a half-hearted smile and took his hand.

 They walked in silence for a few minutes, and in that silence Demetrius' mind began to drift. He hadn't thought about his past in so long, despite the decades of removal, the wounds were still raw. He used his free hand to trace the scar across his face. He had gotten it almost a century ago. A group of bandits discovered him soon after his escape from the Underdark. Their reaction was typical of the inhabitants of the world above, immediate disgust that turned to violence in moments. They had nearly killed him; Demetrius still dreamt of the blade of the human's axe as it swung into his face. He shuddered at the flicker of the memory. Astarion's eyes glanced toward Demetrius', a flash of recognition. He squeezed the drow's hand. 

"Quite the lovely night, is it not?" Astarion spoke. He recognized the hurt on the drow's face, even if he'd never seen it before. His chest ached for just a moment. 

Demetrius jolted just barely, returning to the moment "Ah-um, yes. It's quite nice out tonight, a bit cold though." His face twisted for a moment, do vampires even get cold? Astarion nodded "A bit, yes" 

A twig snapped in the trees a few yards behind them. Demetrius glanced back quicker than he intended, Astarion was catching on to how on edge he was, he could tell. He grinned sheepishly at the vampire, and picked up the pace. Astarion said nothing, the cogs in his mind turning visibly. As they approached camp, Astarion tightened his grip on Demetrius' hand, and led them to his tent. When they arrived he commanded Demetrius to sit.

 Demetrius, well aware of when to pick his battles, sat. He watched as Astarion changed into his bedclothes.

 "I've no intention to pry, and you've no obligation to answer, but I've realized I know so little about you. Were you born in the Underdark?" Astarion asked as he put on clean linen pants. 

Demetrius nodded "Yes, I left ages ago. I hadn't been back until we traveled to Moonrise. It felt.... Odd" he could tell, despite his attempts to hide it, Astarion felt responsible for putting him on edge earlier in the evening.

 Astarion nodded, turning to Demetrius "did you... What was it like?" Demetrius could tell he'd stopped himself from asking if he'd enjoyed his time growing up in the Underdark. 

It's rare a boy in drow society enjoys their life. Demetrius chuckled, "It wasn't great, if that's what you're asking. Quite unpleasant even." He kept his answers short, hoping perhaps the conversation would end soon. 

Astarion opened his mouth, and Demetrius knew what he would ask before he even began speaking "Why did you leave?" Demetrius winced, Astarion frowned. 

"I was... No longer welcome, to put it kindly." He made eye contact with the vampire for just a moment, something he did infrequently "You're not the first man I've loved, I'm sure you know. I was young once, young and stupid. But a poor boy should never love a boy from a noble family. Not in the Underdark. It is different here, in the world above." Astarion looked at him, a mix of pity and genuine sadness in his eyes, but also curiosity. Astarion would always be himself, above anything else. Demetrius loved him for that, and decided to indulge him just a bit more.

"His father ordered me killed, he told me hours before the order was finalized. I barely escaped. Even then, I was too distinct to stay in one place for too long." He said, drumming his fingers on his horns, a gift from his mother, he supposed. "Even if they weren't after the reward money, I stood out too much." 

Demetrius chewed on his lip for a moment, remembering a particularly scary evening in Ammarindar where a few thugs decided they didn't like how he walked and talked, and took it upon themselves to try to correct it, forcefully. He inhaled slowly and exhaled even slower, in an attempt to soothe himself. It wasn't working. He tried to blink away tears but that failed as well. Astarion watched, feeling out of place. He'd never been in a position where he'd had to soothe someone. He hesitantly patted Demetrius on the shoulder. 

"There, there. You're fine now aren't you?" Demetrius let out a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob. "You've no idea how to be comforting, do you." He flashed a pained smile at the vampire as tears began to well up into his eyes. "I'm fine, I just get like this when I think about it for too long." 

Astarion nodded, he'd been there a few times in the past few months. He stood awkwardly for a few moments, unsure what to do, and then sat next to the drow. He fiddled with the drawstring of his pants, looking down at the ground while Demetrius cried silently next to him. He put his arm around him, and Demetrius leaned into the embrace. 

Demetrius sniffled, wiping the tears from his dark eyes. “Sorry. I’ve never really spoken with anyone about it. I haven’t kept many friends since leaving the Underdark. Definitely not anyone I could tell that to." He sighed, resting his head on Astarion’s shoulder, the jewelry dangling from his horns jingling lightly. He thought of his mother, her face a blur, but the jewelry on her horns almost fresh in his mind. He loved hearing the jewelry on his mothers horns jingle as she danced in the kitchen. She wasn’t a drow, but a tiefling, which altered his family’s place in society drastically. Instead of his father being killed outright after she was done with him, like many of his friends' fathers, he got to live with both of his parents for the first decade of his life. He treasured the few memories he had of her. He sighed. 

Astarion looked up at the sky outside the tent, the stars twinkling above. He wondered how long it had taken for Demetrius to adjust to the daylight; he remembered struggling with it after being “gifted” his parasite. He hadn’t seen the sun in 200 years, when did Demetrius first see it? He stared at the night sky for a few minutes, silently ruminating. He had so many questions he wanted to ask but knew he shouldn’t. 

Demetrius began to stand, looking somber “Thanks for listening, but it’s time I turn in”

. Astarion grabbed his hand “Stay?” he watched as Demetrius weighed the decision in his mind. The request had immediately made Demetrius anxious. The last time he slept in the bed of another man it had nearly cost him his life. He knew he was among friends at camp, but the thought of it left a pit in his stomach. The corner of his mouth twitched for a moment, almost a frown. He sat again, looking at the floor. "

You know, I think I could." He said, his face softening. Astarion smiled.