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nocte-argentea · 5 years ago

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Stargazing

This is my contribution to @tyrias-library‘s Valentine’s event! The topic was a memorable date, so Altair took Vesper on a date to cheer her up after she had a really bad day! Cross-posted on Ao3.

Altair knew from the moment she walked in that Vesper had not had a great day.

It was late afternoon when she entered the guild’s tavern. He could see the bruises and dried blood on his girlfriend the second she came in. Was she limping as well? Concern immediately welled in his heart as he almost leaped off of his chair to go to her. A tired smile made its way to her lips as she saw him approach.

“Sorry it took me so long, darlin’. The job was...a little more taxing than I thought it’d be.” She said wearily as he took her into his arms, looking over her to make sure there were no serious injuries.

“I can see that. What happened, dear heart?” The sylvari vaguely remembered her talking about the job she took; something about bandits, he thought.

“Remember how I said bandits were the suspects of the attacks on the caravans?” Altair nodded. “Well, turns out it was bandits and centaurs and unchained.”

“Oh my.” Vesper cracked another smile at his simple joke. “They didn’t hurt you too badly, did they?”

“Nah, I’m tougher than I look. But with that being said…” she turned her head towards the direction of the infirmary. “I’m going to go get patched up and then head up to our room. I’ll see you in a little bit, alright?” Altair nodded as she leaned up to kiss his cheek, and then she was on her way. He watched her go with worry in his eyes. He knew her better than that. There was something else wrong.

“...You can tell too, huh?” Altair jumped a bit at the voice beside him. He turned to see Nocte leaning against the bar. When did she get there? “Before you ask, I stealthed my way here. Didn’t want to interrupt your moment. But more importantly, something is bugging her.”

“You’ve got that right. I wonder what’s up? I wonder if I could ease her mind…” The sylvari drifted into thought. “Maybe I could take her somewhere? We could get food or something…”

“Not sure if she’d be up for that, especially since she seems so tired. She probably doesn’t want to be around people, save you of course.” Altair couldn’t help but blush a bit. Vesper had said multiple times that he didn’t count as people. “Maybe you could take her somewhere secluded and you could get some alone time. And no, I don’t mean that in a lewd way.”

“I figured, it’s highly doubtful that’d make her feel better right now. Let’s see…” He took another moment to think, then snapped his fingers. “I think I’ve got just the place! It’s a bit of a trek, but I know it’s a place she loves.”

“Sounds good. I’ll leave you to it.” Nocte turned to the bartender to order a drink before looking over her shoulder at Altair. “Just make sure you two get back before dawn.”

“No guarantees, but I’ll try.” He shot her a friendly wink before heading out of the tavern in the direction of their room. As he got closer, he hoped dearly that she’d go with him. He wanted to help her, but he wouldn’t force her if she didn’t want to leave. He finally made it into the room to find Vesper laying on their bed, dressed in clean clothes and reading a book. She turned to him as he entered, growing a smile.

“Not going to party with the others tonight?” She placed a bookmark in her book and put it to the side as Altair sat on the edge of the bed.

“It’s no fun without you there, love. And actually, I wanted to ask you if you’d join me on a little adventure. Or a date, rather.”

“A little adventure date? I don’t know, mate, I’m still tired…”

“I’m aware. You don’t have to go, but I know something is bothering you.” She broke eye contact at that. That confirms it, at least. “I want to take you somewhere where you can take a bit to relax. Just you and me.”

“Hm...I like the idea, but I am still tired. Where are we going?”

“That’s a surprise. It is a bit of a trip, but we’ll be riding a jackal for most of it. I’ll even carry you if you don’t want to walk.” He winked at her and felt a small surge of pride as she blushed.

“Well, alright.” Altair had to stop himself from making some gesture of victory. “I won’t have to grab anything other than the usual, right?”

“Right. I would like you to wear a blindfold, though.” Vesper gave him a weird look. “...To keep it a surprise, Vess. You know me better than that.” Her face instantly melted into a look of mirth.

“Aye, I do. I was messing with you. Give me a moment to get my dagger and pistol.” Once she was ready to go, Altair grabbed her scarf and tied it around her eyes. He made sure that she couldn’t see, then held her close as he brought out his portal stone.

“You know, we could’ve just used my two eyepatches instead of my scarf.”

“I am not letting you go out wearing two eyepatches. We have standards, Vess. Besides, at this time of day, it’s going to be chilly where we’re going.” He selected the proper waypoint, and in an instant, the two were in the Desert Highlands. Vesper shivered a bit at the cool air, as night had fallen at this point.

“You weren’t kidding. Where are we? Ascalon? Shiverpeaks?”

“If we were going to the Shiverpeaks, I’d’ve made you wear something warmer.”

“Fair enough.”

Altair summoned his jackal and helped Vesper onto it. Once she was settled, he climbed up and sat behind her and then the three were off to the western portion of the highlands. As the jackal ran, Altair figured now would probably be the best time to find out what was bothering her, so she wouldn’t be thinking about it while they were trying to relax.

“So, want to tell me what’s bothering you?” He heard her sigh in front of him.

“Not really, but…” Vesper went quiet for a moment before leaning back into his chest, something she did often when she was upset. “I found where the majority of the attacks were coming from, and I was able to dispatch most of the culprits, but I...I was too late to rescue another caravan. It was a gruesome scene. So many bodies...”

“By the Pale Mother. I’m sorry, Vess.” He looped an arm around her waist and drew her closer. “It wasn’t your fault. You know that.”

“You’re right, I know you are. It just...doesn’t make it easier to forget a scene like that.” She placed her hand over the one on her stomach. “I may have been through a lot, but it doesn’t really get easier.”

“I know, sweetheart. I know.” Altair pressed a gentle kiss to her neck. Thankfully, they’d reached the sand portal to get to the place they were going. “We’re almost there. It won’t be long now.”

He had to brace himself for the next part. The sand portal took the three of them upon the sand paths high in the sky, and Altair was not a fan of heights. He was determined to go through with this, however. For Vesper.

“I feel like we’re getting higher up. It’s colder, too...you promise we aren’t in the Shiverpeaks?”

“I believe part of them is nearby, but no, where we’re going isn’t connected to them.”

Finally, they’d reached the platform high above the highlands, where the night sky shone brilliantly and the ghostly structures of a civilization passed were visible. Vesper loved it up here, so Altair dearly hoped this would lift her spirits at least a little. It also seemed like the ghosts that were usually up here weren’t present tonight, so they could get some alone time. He hopped off of the jackal and helped Vesper down.

“This feels like stone masonry. I thought this was just going to be you and me? That’s kinda hard to do in a town…”

“You’ll see, love.” He guided her towards the ghostly city, keeping her far enough away from the edge for him to feel they were safe from falling. He untied her scarf from around her eyes, letting it fall back around her neck. He moved beside her as she opened her eyes and gasped.

“Altair! You brought me all the way here!? No wonder it’s chilly, we’re so high up. But, you hate heights! Why-” Her mind seemed to be running a mile a minute, so he interrupted.

“Because I know you love it here. And I figured this would be the best way to help you relax.” He slung his arm around her back and pulled her into his chest. “I can deal with heights if it makes you happy. As long as I can’t see just how high up we are…” He glanced towards the edge and shivered. He’d endure it, but there was no way he was getting close to where the platform ended.

“Altair…” Vesper snuggled into his chest, which made his heart flutter. “You didn’t have to bring us all the way here just for me. But I’m glad you did. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.” She pulled away briefly to look him in the eye. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Altair put his other hand on the back of her neck to bring her face to his, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. When they broke apart, he pulled her over to one of the pillars and sat against it. Vesper sat down and he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her once again. “We can stay as long as you like. I’m alright with taking a night off to stargaze together.”

“I’d like that.” She kissed his cheek and snuggled into him, and the two watched the stars for hours. Unfortunately, Nocte wasn’t kidding about being back before dawn and gave the two a dressing down when they returned to the guildhall. This didn’t stop them from going out to stargaze several more times, however.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #tyria's library #tyria's library event #my writing #altair stormrender #vesper aequorea

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