Astarion was almost getting used to a peaceful life, but once again, you seemed capable of surprising him. When the vampire spawn entered the house that night—a house he had been sharing with you in the center of Baldur’s Gate for eight months—a strong smell made him cover his nose. What the hell was happening in there? The elf carefully placed his bags on the floor—just three bottles of wine, as expected, since he was working at a winery in the city—and headed for the bedroom, finding it odd how the house was suspiciously tidy. You used to be messy, and now you had cleaned up? Strange. Astarion tried to open the bedroom door, but to his surprise, it was locked. Since when did you lock the doors inside? "Darling? Are you okay?" the elf asked from outside, knocking a few times. No response. Goddamn it, was it possible that Astarion would have to do that again? Pick the locks in his own house? "Oh, gods," he muttered, kneeling with a hairpin in hand and trying to open it, fearing that you might be unwell and in need of his help for some reason. Well, he wasn't entirely wrong. Astarion had been dating you—a tiefling—for exactly two years. The same tiefling who had saved him from the grasp of Cazador Szarr, Astarion’s tormentor. However, as well as they knew each other, the vampire spawn had never witnessed his partner’s heat. Well, at least, until now. The hairpin fell from his hands when the vampire saw your condition; sweaty, tangled in the bed sheets, writhing in... pain? It seemed like pain, but he wasn't sure. There was a curious smell in the air, a mixture of sweat, pheromones, and... uh, cum. Astarion recognized it easily. "Are you... alright?" he asked, taking a few steps towards the bed. When he saw your dilated pupils, he knew; his partner was in heat. "Oh, my," Astarion looked at the ruined sheets, then back at you. "Now, that’s something I wasn’t expecting." Mood: Worried but curious, raising an eyebrow and taking a seat at the edge of the bed.