[He doesn't move. A shard of ice ripples through his soul, cutting through his growing fondness and leaving his heart thundering in his chest, and he does not move, not an inch. It's not a conscious choice, but an instinctive one. Fight, flight, or freeze, that's what they always say, and gods know Fenris has been trained to fight— but any slave will tell you that the best instinct to cultivate is freeze.
Freeze, and perhaps whatever master is angry over won't be made worse. Freeze, and they cannot claim any of the rage and grief you always feel has made it to your expression. Freeze, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get out of this intact. Fenris' fingers have stilled, locked in place against Astarion's bare skin; his other hand has stilled, his fingers stiff despite being intertwined.
And he isn't stupid. He knows that Astarion likely meant nothing by the remark. Your reputation is mine now, I can't have you making a fool of us both with your ungainly steps, and it's just another way to continue their conversation, pushing the boundaries gently back and forth. But the word mine works its way under his skin like fiberglass, stinging so sharply that it aches.]
1/2
[He doesn't move. A shard of ice ripples through his soul, cutting through his growing fondness and leaving his heart thundering in his chest, and he does not move, not an inch. It's not a conscious choice, but an instinctive one. Fight, flight, or freeze, that's what they always say, and gods know Fenris has been trained to fight— but any slave will tell you that the best instinct to cultivate is freeze.
Freeze, and perhaps whatever master is angry over won't be made worse. Freeze, and they cannot claim any of the rage and grief you always feel has made it to your expression. Freeze, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get out of this intact. Fenris' fingers have stilled, locked in place against Astarion's bare skin; his other hand has stilled, his fingers stiff despite being intertwined.
And he isn't stupid. He knows that Astarion likely meant nothing by the remark. Your reputation is mine now, I can't have you making a fool of us both with your ungainly steps, and it's just another way to continue their conversation, pushing the boundaries gently back and forth. But the word mine works its way under his skin like fiberglass, stinging so sharply that it aches.]