#my brain got a little swiss cheesy near the end

[haldenlith]

Tannivh and Astarion

28, 29, and 50.

28. Are they affectionate in public? Is it too much?

Tannivh: Not at all. Well, not beyond general "friendly". He sees no need for PDA if they aren't about to get down and dirty, and he tends to prefer to show romantic interest in different ways. This guy's love language is definitely gift giving or just trying to be extra considerate of the person he's interested in. Luckily, that person is Astarion, which means he's got an easy time of that.

So, yeah, he's kinda Mr. Stoic on the PDA front. I can imagine this would be vexing to Astarion if he weren't busy being affectionate himself, but, I could also see Tannivh's stoicism as one thing for Astarion: "Break that stoic exterior? Challenge Accepted."

Now Astarion, on the other hand: In the beginning, Tannivh would be unsure how to deal with Astarion and any form of PDA. As I've said before, while he's the sort of guy that has certainly gotten around and such, anything alluding to sexy stuff or even slightly (and I mean barely slightly) "steamier" affectionate displays tends to make him a little flustered.

Of course, this means Astarion made full use of that discovery and frequently would be on Tannivh in some manner. An arm around him, nuzzling his neck and whispering such naughty little things to make him squirm. Maybe just up and sitting in his lap at camp, or, worse, pulling Tannivh into his. The boldest display I think would be the classic "sweep, grab, and deep kiss" maneuver. It'd all be far too much for Tannivh in the beginning. After a while, though, once they're both settled in their feelings with each other, Nivh would be unbothered and pleasantly stoic once more, wearing that gentle little smile while Astarion drapes himself on him. He'd be used to his favorite overly-chatty vampire spawn at that point, and happy with the affection.

29. How are they affectionate in private?

Tannivh: Private is a different matter entirely. Like night and day different. Tannivh is incredibly affectionate in private. He loves to touch and be touched, as that is his other "love language", so he'd often wish to be close to Astarion, with at least his arm around him, or vice versa. He's also a serial kisser -- it would seem like he's trying to kiss every part of Astarion possible (in both sexy and not-sexy ways).

As things progress later on in their relationship, and they settle into a bit of a Master-Pet dynamic-undertone to it, Tannivh would become prone to wanting to be in Astarion's lap. That would be his favorite spot, curled up with his lover/Master, maybe nuzzling him, enjoying his presence. I wouldn't say cuddling, quite, but close.

Astarion: Honestly? I don't think there'd be too huge of a change. Initially, the motivations I think would be the same, as he'd enjoy getting a rise out of Tannivh (and sometimes getting a rise out of Tannivh, if you follow what I mean, since they're in private -- the wood elf is easy to get going).

I do think later in the relationship, Astarion would be more... hmm... "gently" affectionate. Petting Nivh's head, little kisses here and there on shoulders and neck, small things. He doesn't need to be so showy in private, and he knows Tannivh relishes touch-based displays, so he'd focus on that for his beloved.

50. Is there anything that scares them about their friendship/relationship?

Tannivh: Lots of things.

Initially, when he realizes he actually has feelings for Astarion, he worries that he's falling into a trap, that Astarion is just leading him on, because it was clear as day that's what Astarion was initially doing with all of them. Using them. Nivh fears that the relationship isn't real, and that Astarion will betray them.

Then there's what Astarion is. Nivh has pretty liberal views for a ranger with druidic roots that worships Silvanus, Solonor Thelandira, and Rillifane Rallathil (though, fun fact: Tannivh considers Silvanus and Rillifane to be one and the same). Undead don't bother him, and he sees them as having a right to exist. That said, he's not naive. He knows more often than not vampires and vampire-adjacent tend to have... less than savory motives, and are often driven by their hunger. So, he fears that he'll have to put Astarion down should he become a real and actual danger. (Yes, this is a different fear to betrayal.)

On the other hand, thanks to Tannivh's roots, he also knows that Astarion's being is at odds with his faith and his upbringing, making him acutely aware that if they were/are to be a thing, that it's something he will have to manage every time they come into contact with other druids and elves of similar faith to him. He fears that will have severe backlash in some way, be it he'll have to defend both himself and Astarion from righteous smiting harm, or some other permutation of that. It's a scenario he doesn't want to ever be in, because there are no winners in that scenario.

In that same vein, as an off-shoot, he is deathly afraid of ever coming across his elder brother with Astarion in his company. His older brother, Sythaeryn, is a Twilight Circle druid. Their ENTIRE gig is basically being druids that hunt undead, because undead break the natural order. Tannivh knows if they crossed paths, he'd have to try to find some way to just grab Astarion and run, and hope that his brother wouldn't give chase, because he wouldn't be able to chose between family and lover, and Syth, well, Syth is the kind of guy who wouldn't be able to be easily persuaded out of killing Astarion.

Lastly, a fear that would be more cemented in his mind as the relationship deepened, would be the classic fear of losing Astarion. I feel like, by the time all the events of BG3 are over, Nivh would probably have, in the back of his mind, that feeling of being Astarion's protector, even if the vampire spawn doesn't need him to be. So losing Astarion, be it to death or something else, would be a double whammy. It'd both be a sorrowful loss because he cherishes him, but also a loss because it'd mean he failed him.

Astarion: It's funny because I think Astarion's fears would be more cut and dry.

In the beginning, it's pretty simple: it'd become clear fairly quickly that while Tannivh isn't a monster hunter, he has the exact same skillset, at the end of the day. As they fell bigger and bigger threats, it'd become even clearer that Nivh not only has that skill set, but that he's just dangerous in general. He could competently hunt and kill Astarion, easily, and that wouldn't sit well with the spawn, at least in the beginning. It'd fuel him harder to make sure Tannivh was on his side, was his weapon. That fear would melt away and become a boon once he realizes that there's feels there between them.

After that, I think it'd be similar to Tannivh's own worry of losing Astarion, Astarion would fear losing him. To death, certainly, but more, to Cazador. Such a life would be the opposite of everything Tannivh is -- wild (well, as wild as a fairly quiet guy like him can be) and free, living his life in the sun. Not just that, but everything he feared about Nivh being dangerous would now apply once more, but now as a tool Cazador could use.

Then, aside from those two, one last fear would be the fear of hurting Tannivh. Not so much physically, as Nivh's a big boy and can bounce back from harm fairly easily. Rather, more the emotional or fatal hurt variety. Of course, being what he is, there is always the risk that he might lose control and kill Tannivh. He doubts it could happen, but still. It's a fear.

And them's The Boys.