#i think astarion deserves to be a shitty pampered house cat for a few years

[rattlingmycage]

One "good" end I had in mind for these two (more of a "mid" end, and not even an actual "end") is that Hescrates brings Astarion back to their homeland. Astarion lays low from Cazador in a well-fortified castle, protected by a navy and army supplemented with pirates and mercenaries. He's given free reign to request whatever he wants of the guards, and Hescrates gives him such preferential treatment it turns more than a few eyes; privileges no one's witnessed them granting in over a decade. Such privileges, as casual physical contact without having to pay the price in fingers. Astarion, of course, makes a point of flaunting that one every chance he gets. A cringe letter from the POV of an assassin sent for Hescrates' head below the cut.