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A Moment In Your Lips (Chapter 22 - Baldur's Gate 3 fanfiction)

Here's the second part of today's update! Now let's see Shadowheart's POV.

Ship: Shadowzel

WC: 2,417

No warnings. But get ready for a lot of softness/cheesiness.

You can also read on AO3.

In the meantime, a group of adventurers have made it to Wyrm's Rock. Still covered in blood and sweat, they search the corpses of the Flaming Fists they have just downed before heading downstairs to the prison.

“Just as empty as it was when we freed Counselor Florrick,” Gale comments, looking around, the sound of his boots against the floor echoing in the stoney corridor. “Wyll, do you have an idea what it is we're looking for?”

“It's been a while since I've roamed these halls, but yeah. I do recall some torches in the shape of dragon heads, and there's a high chance that they mark the entrance to the dragon's lair” Wyll lets out a chuckle. “When I was a child, I used to pretend they were real dragons I had to slay.”

Shadowheart arches her eyebrows.

“You used to play pretend here? In a prison?”

“Father used to spend a lot of time in this fortress and sometimes had to bring me with him.”

“I understand, but – a prison?”

“As he used to say, prisoners are people like you and me who have simply made mistakes in their lives, so there is no reason to fear them.”

He pauses for a moment and checks his surroundings. After giving it some thought, he points to the left-hand side. The others follow. Barrels and crates rest against the walls, dimly lit by torches. Indeed, at the end of the corridor, two dragon heads stick out, adorning both sides of an arch on the left-hand side wall.

“There we are!” he says triumphantly. “The legend said something about sparks or flares, so I understand we need to light them up to find the secret door.”

Tav tilts their head, scratching their chin. Then they snap their fingers in realization.

“Allow me,” they say as they proceed to blow the torches out.

They shoot two lightning arows at the dragon heads. At first, nothing seems to happen, but when they use a nearby torch to light them, the flames burn in a mystical shade of blue. The whole group gasps in surprise when they notice the stone wall becoming translucid, as though it were an illusion.

“Good one, Tav!” Wyll compliments. “Let's go!”

As they head into the tunnel and walk the path of dirt ahead of them, Shadowheart represses a sigh. If Lae'zel were there, she'd probably be asking questions about the kind of dragon they are about to encounter and telling them everything she knows about the different species. She'd offer to lead the way since, as a githyanki, she's more experienced with beasts and knows how to make them obey. Deep down, she'd also be fantasizing with flying on top of that Ansur creature and beg Wyll to let her ride him into battle. Shadowheart can perfectly picture the sparkle of excitement in her eyes, the same one she had when they first ran into her kin near the Mountain Pass.

Well, it won't be too long until she's riding her own dragon into battle anyway, Shadowheart thinks bitterly. She'll have all eternity to do so.

“Hey, are you feeling alright?”

She notices Tav slowing down to join her at the back of the group, while Wyll and Gale comment on how surprising it is that such grandeur has been hiding under the city for so long. The wizard rushes ahead to the sturdy door at the end of the path, ready to use his lockpicking spell. Shadowheart forces a smile and nods.

“Yeah,” she replies. “I was just thinking-”

“Of her?”

She mentally curses Tav for seeing through her like that. There's no use in trying to lie to them, so she nods again. Tav barely contains a chuckle.

“You know? I asked you to join us today,” they begin, “because I thought getting away for a while would do you good and help you take your mind off whatever happened yesterday. But, anyway, if you need to talk...”

“I don't think there's much to talk about,” Shadowheart shrugs. “I simply need to accept that this relationship won't get anywhere and will only last until we fight the elder brain, whether we survive or not.”

“Is that what Lae'zel told you?”

“She didn't have to. Freeing her people is her priority. She'll fly off to the Astral as soon as the Absolute is gone.”

“She didn't say that, though, did she?” Tav insists.

“Not saying something doesn't make it any less true.”

“Truth and assumption are not the same. I think you're getting ahead of yourself.”

“Expect the worst and you won't be disappointed, right?” Shadowheart retorts.

“If I may,” Gale chimes in, pushing the door open and motioning for the rest to cross, “as someone whose lifespan has been dramatically shortened due to circumstances, I can tell you that outlook has never helped anyone. Having the worst-case scenario constantly in mind does not prepare you for what may come – it only makes you miserable and incapable of enjoying however long you have left.”

Oh, great. Now the conversation is not only between her and Tav anymore. All three are looking at her. Shadowheart rolls her eyes. And, to top it all off, the gesture makes her automatically think of a certain someone who rolls her eyes a lot and looks infuriatingly cute when doing that.

“Yes, I know, live every moment like it's your last and all that nonsense,” she says. “Now can we leave my pathetic love life alone and focus on our quest?”

They all agree and continue walking along the moss-covered corridor and reach what looks like an art museum. Paintings hang from the walls and tell a story. They show a man stealing an apple from a market stall and feeding it to some street urchins, then taking some kind of artifact and running away. In the middle of the room, a statue of Balduran stands before a cloud of complete darkness and gives them instructions. Apparently, they must find the correct ending to the story, which is hidden under the dark veil. Upon closer inspection, Shadowheart comes to the conclusion that it must be some kind of curse. She kneels and whispers a few magic words before touching the obscured floor, ripples of light coming from her palm.

The blackness evaporates, revealing a stone platform with a rectangular space and three more pictures resting on lecterns.

“I knew bringing you here was a good idea,” Tav pats her shoulder in a friendly way.

“I suppose now we have to give the thief's story an ending?” Wyll hesitates, looking between the three works of art.

“That's what I understood from the friendly statue's instructions,” Gale replies.

“But is this about something that happened in the past? Something I should know about?”

“Hmm, I reckon the purpose of these trials is to demonstrate your competence as an authority figure and your knowledge of the laws.”

They both begin analyzing the visual details, the titles and discussing what the thief's destiny should be. As their debate on ethics and politics becomes more heated, Tav turns to Shadowheart once again, lowering their voice.

“Hey, I'm sorry, I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but Gale does have a point. You do seem happier since you and Lae'zel started getting closer. And so does she. For all we know, we could all be dead in a few days, so why deny yourselves the good times?”

“It's not just about that,” Shadowheart retorts. “She hid things from me. Didn't tell me about the sword and Voss because she didn't want to upset me.”

“Well, she certainly seems to know you too well,” Tav can't help but smirk.

“The point is I would have found out sooner or later and been upset, and knowing that she'd been keeping it from me makes me feel even worse.”

“Hm. You feel like you can't trust her?”

“No. I feel like she doesn't trust me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Looks like the possibility of taking me with her to K'liir didn't even cross her mind.”

“And would you want to go to K'liir with her?”

“No. Maybe. I don't know!” she waves her arms in frustration. “I guess not even being given the chance to make that decision rubbed me the wrong way.”

“What is it you truly want, Shadowheart?” Tav stares straight into her eyes with a serious expression.

Good question. If only she could give an answer.

“I want to be with her.”

The words come pouring out of her mouth, her voice breaking, her eyes becoming glassy. Something has just broken within her.

“I'm not fond of the idea of going to the Astral Plane,” she admits, “but I don't want her to give up on her dreams just for me. And I hate to think that these are the only two options. And I feel so ridiculous for being upset about this now, when we have so many other important things to worry about.”

“Hey!” Tav puts their arms on her shoulders in a reassuring way. “Don't say that. Life doesn't stop because there's an apocalypse coming on, feelings don't get turned off because we are caught in the middle of a war. And we've all been through so much in the past months!”

The dam is blown. Someone hands her a piece of cloth to dry her tears and, before she knows, her two other companions are there, rubbing her back and whispering words of encouragement in her ears. How embarrassing! And to make matters worse, the Sharran wound stings, as though making fun of her and rejoicing in her misery.

“I'm sure you'll feel better when you talk to her,” Wyll advises. “By the Triad, if someone felt this way about me and showed such intense emotions, I would... melt.”

Wiping her cheek, Shadowheart allows herself a subtle smile.

“Well, I know for a fact someone does have quite an interest in you,” she tells him. “You just need to keep your eyes – your eye - open.”

“Really? Who?”

The rest of the group exchange knowing smiles and chuckles, finding his cluelessness endearing. Shadowheart breathes in deeply and fixes her braid.

“I think I've had enough talk therapy for today. We have a dragon to find, don't we?”

And find the wyrm they do, but only after facing a few more trials. She can't help but think of the ones she went through in the Gauntlet of Shar, and the memory makes her shudder. They all thank Selûne for Gale's knowledge of lanceboard, which allows them to defeat one of them. The other two consist of fighting a few elementals to prevent them from stealing a magic torch and chasing around a bunch of flying books.

Sadly, Ansur died a long time ago and his resurrected version isn't exactly eager to help them. They make it out alive thanks to a few miracles, including Gale's timely globe of invulnerability and one of Tav's arrows hitting the right spot at the very last second. A few quick healing spells later they are all heading back home, ready to face a different kind of dragon. Tav gives her a meaningful nod once they enter the room. Returning the gesture, Shadowheart heads to Lae'zel's bed. The gith appears lost in thought, her presence catching her by surprise.

“Come on, time for some healing,” Shadowheart announces.

“I did not expect you to return.”

“And let you stay crippled for life knowing how insufferable you'd be? You know I take my job as a healer very seriously.”

Hearing Lae'zel groan in response makes her regret the snarky comment. At least a little. The gith's body feels heavy in her arms as she holds her and turns her around until she's lying on her back. As she stretches her palms and lets some healing energy radiate from them into her lower back, she clears her throat.

“We need to talk,” she murmurs, glad that they're not facing each other.

“I am listening.”

“I'm sorry about last night. I panicked and took it out on you. I – gods, I don't even know where to begin.”

“I should have told you about Voss's offer,” Lae'zel says. “And for that I apologize.”

“No, I understand why you did it. Pretty much proved you right with my reaction.”

“Yet you were right – we would have had to discuss it sooner or later and avoiding the issue only hurt us both. I should not have been so dishonest.”

“You're anything but dishonest, love,” Shadowheart can't repress the term of endearment or the little giggle that escapes her. “I guess I just didn't want to be reminded that we'll probably have to say goodbye soon.”

“Do we have to?” Lae'zel looks at her out of the corner of her eye, unable to turn around completely. “As I tried to tell you, I have not yet made any choices.”

“Well, there's not much of a choice, is there? Helping your people see the truth about Vlaakith is your destiny.”

“My destiny is whatever I decide it to be.”

Her determination is beautiful. Although she would have never admitted it back then, it's one of the traits she admires most in her since they first met. A spark of hope is born in the cleric's heart.

“I do not know what will happen to us, Shadowheart,” Lae'zel goes on. “Whether we will survive the battle against the Absolute, whether we will manage to stop the ghaik. But I know I want you with me.”

And the spark becomes an explosion. Holding back her excitement to finish healing, Shadowheart leans in and kisses the back of Lae'zel's neck.

“I want you with me too. I know this will sound extremely soft and pathetic to you, but I've only just got my family back and had to let go of them. I'm not ready to let go of you too. You are-”

“Family, too? Chk. If that is soft and pathetic, then so am I. That is how I feel about you too. We will find a way.”

#ahem #i adore this fic #shadowheart #lae'zel #shadowzel #bg3 #fics

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