"Oh! Why do all the other romances in the epilogue get kisses while Astarion gets just hugs! Where is our kiss?!?!"
I think you're missing the point...
For non-ascended Astarion, nothing is more fitting or more perfect than that hug. Why?
This is a man that had been abused for over 200 years. A man who was forced to use his body to lure people against his will. A man who tells you that he has used his body sexually and otherwise that just the act of sexual intimacy has been tainted for him.
In Act 2, as he tells you all this, allowing an extremely vulnerable side of himself to be shown to you. Asking for reassurance that he was more than a cheap tool. What does Tav/Durge do?
They hug him. Hold him tightly. And the Vampire has no clue what to do because he, in 200 years, has never been touched like that unless it had sexual implications. For the first time, he is being touched for pure, vulnerable intimacy and love. And in that moment, he accepts the safety of your arms, and holds you. Craving not a touch of lust, but love.
So yes, a hug is far better than a kiss in my regard. At the end of the day, no matter what, he wants to feel that safe feeling of your arms. No expectations, just pure love.
i once saw this video on tiktok basically saying that percy gets annoyed with monsters more than he gets scared of them because of his years of experience. and i honestly fuck with it. like, this man only feels true fear when the stakes are high as shit, like if the world or his loved ones' lives are on the line. other than that, he's just slightly spiffed that this hellhound bothered him because he and annabeth have a lunch date. or he's only mildly annoyed because he's just trying to spend time with grover on their "bestie tuesday's" but has to hit pause because an empousa decided they wanted a rematch.