Elves don’t need sleep and he’s glad for it. Astarion spends most nights awake pretending he isn’t afraid of the nightmares that haunt him. Even when he drifted off into a state of reverie, his mind doesn’t calm. The memories.

You soothe him. Astarion doesn’t tell you, but he appreciates your warmth as you rest beside him. “I’m not tired,” he says, ignoring his exhaustion. He doesn’t want to wake you up if he has a nightmare. Having to talk about how Cazador still terrifies him won’t help.