Astarion never fully understood of the purpose of a safeword. You, yourself never used it once it was established. But today, he used it. It was a foreign feeling as the words rolled off his tongue. He fully expected you to ignore him, to continued as you please.

He never expected you to listen. To be worried. To care for him. He was a man who was forced to use his body to accomplish his missions. And now, he felt his body was finally his own. That he had control.