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Karlach stepped through the portal into the old camp where everything had begun, nostalgia filling her heart immediately after she stepped through. The last six months had been hectic as fuck, but ultimately, better than she had thought they would have been.
The party had managed to defeat the Elder Brain once and for all, but the victory had been tainted both by the fact that her mechanical heart had started overheating and that Astarion could no longer stand in the sun. To save both, Wyll convinced Astarion and Karlach to go to Avernus together. That way, they could survive until the rest of them worked on finding a way to save either one or both of them. Having Fangs with her made her stay in Avernus much more pleasant than the last time and easier. Astarion was an incredibly skilled warrior and the two of them were a force to be reckoned with.
Karlach had missed many things while in Avernus. She had missed the sun and how warm it felt on her skin. She had missed the fresh air of the Material Plane. She had missed the colours that weren’t shades of red, orange and brown. But, most of all, she missed Halsin.
Her relationship with Halsin had been very easy right from the start. Where others tiptoed around her (consciously or not, she wasn’t sure), Halsin was the one person who didn’t treat her like the ticking time bomb she was. Halsin was kind and patient and understanding. He didn’t see an ounce of pity in the way he looked at her, she didn’t hear it in his voice. It was so easy to fall for Halsin.
The memory of their first kiss was vivid in her mind. Dammon had just fixed her infernal engine and she could touch people again. While everyone else cowered away, not brave enough to be the ones to test whether Dammon was successful or not, Halsin stepped up. At first, Karlach thought he was going in for a hug, but she was pleasantly surprised when she received a kiss instead. It wasn’t anything much, barely something more than a peck, but it made her blood sing with joy.
After their first kiss, their relationship was slow. Despite always complaining about being pent up, now that she could touch people, she was suddenly very nervous about the prospect of touching Halsin like that and she knew that while the curse remained unbroken, Halsin was not in the right headspace for something like that either. Their first time happened in the woods outside the Gate and it was better than the tiefling could have ever imagined. She had expected the wood elf to be a rough lover (which she would have been perfectly fine with), but Halsin was gentle and loving. Karlach never wanted to be a goddess, but if that was what it felt to be worshipped, she could get behind the idea.
The sound of barking snapped her out of her reminiscing and she took a moment to observe her surroundings while petting Scratch. Withers was nowhere to be seen and there was a beautiful man she’d never seen before playing music. Shadowheart was petting the cub (it didn’t matter that he was all grown up now, he would always be the cub to her) and looked to be having a meaningful conversation with him. Jaheira was drinking wine by the fire with Wyll – being the Grand Duke suited him, Karlach had to admit. Minsc was by the food and he had a Halfling with him? She had a feeling she didn’t need to know. Astarion and Minthara, similarly to Jaheira and Wyll, were nursing wine glasses and, judging by the way they both looked around and their facial expressions, were gossiping about everyone present. Good for them. They had a lot of catching up to do after all since Astarion went with her to Avernus, though looking at them, she had a feeling he wouldn’t be following her back. Gale was petting Tara and looking absolutely smitten while speaking to a purple shimmering Lae’zel – honestly, not the weirdest thing she’d seen all day.
Finally, her eyes fell on Halsin and she felt her heart stop. Her legs were moving before her mind could fully catch up and she tackled the large elf in a bear hug (a/n: pun fully intended). Halsin chuckled, barely managing to keep his balance, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.
“I missed you more than I could put into words, my heart” he whispered. Karlach looked up from where she had buried her face in the crook of his neck and grinned.
“I bet I missed you more, soldier,” she told him with a chuckle before leaning in for a kiss.
Karlach had imagined many ways her first kiss with Halsin after so long could go, it had been one of the few thoughts that kept her going on days where everything felt too much (don’t tell Astarion that his presence alone wasn’t enough, she didn’t want to hurt his feelings) but the real thing was so, so much better than what all the scenarios she had conjured up in her mind combined.
It wasn’t frenzied and lustful like she had expected it to be, no. Instead, it was slow and filled with love. Halsin kissed her like time had stopped, like the world around them had frozen and it was just the two of them left. His hands rested on her hips and didn’t roam, just held her close to him.
Eventually, unfortunately, they had to break the kiss to breathe. Halsin rested his forehead against hers, mindful of her horn. His breath was coming out in very soft pants and she wouldn’t have it any other way. After a couple of seconds, he pulled away and suddenly looked almost sheepish.
“Is everything alright, soldier?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Despite his expression, his overall demeanour was still relaxed, so she wasn’t worried about anything yet.
“Yes, my heart” he said and pulled a wooden duck out of a pouch “I just realised I hadn’t given you this and I didn’t want to forget. It’s not much, but I made it for you. Partially because I like ducks. But also because ducks are symbols of family and strength and both are words I’ve come to associate with you”
Karlach carefully took the duck from Halsin’s hands and held it against her chest. In a few hours, she would have to go back to Avernus. She was very close to discovering a way to permanently fix her engine. But for now, she could pretend that everything would be okay, and it would be, with Halsin by her side.