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[sweeter-innocence-fics]

♡ First Kiss ♡ Don't get too used to these cuddles because Astarion will be back next week

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

You Brought Your Worst and I’m Right Here - Chapter Nine: I've lost all my ambitions

Pairing: Gale of Waterdeep x female Tav

Work Summary:

After an explosive falling out between Gale and his academic adviser, Mystra, Tav is left to pick up the pieces.

Modern/College AU.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9…

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 2348

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Previous Chapter

Notes:

Penultimate chapter, baby!

on top of the standard warnings, there's also physical violence, choking, emotional abuse, alcohol, harassment/stalking, probably ooc mystra

tune in next week for the finale!

---

Gale’s mind was racing. He stared at his phone until it stopped ringing. It started up again immediately, and again, he watched it ring out. When it began to ring for a third time, he realised that he was hyperventilating.

He stumbled out of bed and into the hallway. It wasn’t late, so most of his flatmates were still up, but he could see that Tav’s bedroom door was closed.

He stood outside it and hesitated. Part of him was worried about bothering her, but he tried to shake it off. After all, she’d told him that he wanted him to talk to her if something was wrong. Before he could talk himself out of it, he knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Tav’s voice was bright, and as steady as an anchor. He opened the door.

Tav was sitting on her bed with her laptop in her lap. She smiled at him, but when she saw his expression, her face fell. She shut the laptop and stood up, setting it down on her desk.

“Gale? What’s wrong?”

“Mystra keeps calling me,” he said, holding up his phone.

Tav furrowed her brow, reaching for his phone. He let her take it. There were now four missed calls, as well as two texts that were showing up on his lockscreen.

We need to talk, Gale.

Now.

With a jolt, he realised that she’d left a voicemail too.

“Can I turn your phone off?” Tav asked.

“What?”

“You heard what Jaheira said. Mystra is manipulative. She’s gonna say whatever she can to try and make you retract your statement. You shouldn’t listen to her.”

Gale swallowed and nodded. “You’re probably right.”

“In the meantime, she’s just gonna keep trying to contact you. So let her. It’s more evidence against her. But turn off your phone so you don’t have to see it.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Tav switched the phone off and put it on her bedside table. “Do you want to stay here? I don’t think you should be alone tonight.”

Her expression was worried but Gale felt his stomach do a flip. “You’re right, of course. Left unsupervised I’m not sure I would make it through the night without calling Mystra back.”

He was thankful to see that there was no judgement in Tav’s expression, only concern. She opened her laptop again.

“Here, why don’t you find us something to watch? I need to go and brush my teeth and get changed.”

“Of course.”

Gale sat gingerly on the bed as he scrolled through Netflix. It was strange being in Tav’s room while she wasn’t here. It felt like he was intruding, although she had invited him.

Once he’d selected a film – it was an animated children’s film that he hadn’t seen in years, but felt like the right emotional level for him this evening – he set her laptop down again.

Tav had a corkboard above her bed that was mostly decorated with photos of her friends and family. Although there were lots of pictures of Wyll, Shadowheart and Astarion, Gale thought he himself was perhaps overrepresented. There was even a picture of him with his cat Tara sprawled across his shoulders like a living scarf.

He missed Tara dearly. Their landlord didn’t allow pets, so she was still at home with his mother. He’d decided that as soon as he graduated, he was going to move somewhere that would allow Tara to live with him. Somewhere with big windows and nice wooden floors and a patio where he and Tav could drink tea in the mornings.

He swallowed. It was hard to escape the fact that, in this ideal future, Tav was by his side. His heart was thudding hard against his ribs when she returned from the bathroom.

Her hair was pushed back with a headband and her skin was shiny, like she’d just moisturised it. She was wearing a baggy t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms as pyjamas. She looked beautiful, but then, she always did.

“You picked something for us to watch?” she asked. When he nodded, she said, “Great.”

She started rearranging the pillows so that they could lean comfortably against the wall. When she was done, they sat hip to hip, laptop half across both of their laps.

It was a valiant attempt to distract him, but his eyes kept straying to his phone, which still lay on her bedside table.

What had Mystra wanted to say to him? What had that voicemail said? Even thinking about it made his stomach churn.

Beside him, Tav rested her head on his shoulder. He took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts of Mystra out of his mind.

*

Tav was jolted awake by the sound of someone banging on the front door. She blinked, fumbling for her phone. She felt two phones on her bedside table, and for a moment was confused, until she heard Gale let out a groan from the other side of the bed.

“What’s going on?” he mumbled, sitting up. With him right behind her, his warmth sent a prickle down the back of her neck.

“I don’t know,” she said, checking the time on her own phone. It was past 3am. Another loud knock made her stomach sink.

She got out of bed and crossed the room in two strides.

“Tav, wait-” Gale called out behind her, but she ignored him. She passed a bleary-eyed looking Wyll who was standing in his bedroom doorway, looking confused.

“Who is that?” Wyll asked, and then his eyes widened and Gale stepped out of Tav’s room behind her.

Tav ignored him. She was already halfway down the stairs. Through the window in the front door, she could see the vague silhouette of a woman. She had a very bad feeling about this.

Lamenting the fact that their landlord had refused to provide a chain for their front door, Tav opened the door a few inches and stared out at the figure on the doorstep.

Professor Mystryl was a tall, striking woman, with pale skin, long dark hair and piercing eyes. She was very beautiful. It was hard not to notice her around campus.

She couldn’t blame Gale for being enraptured by this woman, nor could she blame any of the other young men who had been caught in her net.

When their eyes met, Mystra’s expression turned sour. “You.”

“Me?” Tav blinked at her. Mystra had a lot of nerve to come here to her house and get in her face after what she’d done to her best friend. And then to act like Tav was the problem?

Tav straightened her spine as much as she could, glaring up at the professor. She was barefoot while Mystra was wearing heels, but even without that, Mystra would’ve been several inches taller than her. Even so, she refused to be intimidated.

“What are you doing here?”

“I need to speak with Gale.” Mystra stumbled slightly over her words, and Tav realised that she must’ve been drinking.

“Well, he doesn’t need to speak with you. You should leave, before-”

“Mystra?” Gale’s voice rang out from behind her, and Tav felt her heart sink. This was exactly what she’d been trying to avoid.

“Gale?” Mystra pushed the door open. Tav, taken by surprise, almost overbalanced, falling back against the wall. Mystra marched straight past her to where Gale was standing at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide.

Tav closed her eyes. She didn’t need to see the way Gale looked at Mystra. Her heart was already burning in her chest.

“Tav is right. You need to leave,” said Gale. Tav’s eyes snapped open.

Gale was standing very stiffly, his hands clenched into fists by his sides. Mystra was staring back at him.

“It’s disappointing that it came to this, Gale. At the very least, I thought we could be civil with one another. Even after everything that happened between us, I still care about you.”

Tav’s eyes were fixed on Gale’s face. She saw him frown, fists unclenching at his sides. There was no way she was letting her get in his head. She scooted past Mystra and planted herself firmly in between them, staring the taller woman down.

“I already asked you to leave,” she said.

Mystra looked down at her with disdain. “And I already told you that I need to speak with Gale. In private. Or do you make his decisions for him now?”

Tav swallowed. “You’re in my house.”

“I’d be happy to have this conversation elsewhere if Gale will come with me.” Mystra wasn’t looking at Tav anymore. Her eyes were firmly fixed on Gale.

“Not on your life,” said Tav. She was trembling, ice water in her veins.

“I think Gale can speak for himself. Gale?”

She felt Gale moving behind her. After a moment, he stepped up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. She couldn’t tell if he was also trembling, or if she was just shaking enough for both of them.

“Tav is right,” Gale repeated. “She already asked you to leave. And now I’m asking you to leave too.”

Mystra’s eyes flickered over to Tav, sizing her up. “I see. I was very much hoping we could talk this out, for the sake of the care we once had for each other, but I suppose I was wrong. I was really trying to give you an opportunity here, Gale. This little scheme of yours will ruin you. They’ll never give you that PhD place now. You’re a liability.”

Beside her, Tav felt Gale’s shoulders sag. “Don’t listen to her,” she said, “The only person this is ruining is her.”

“And that was your plan all along, wasn’t it, sweetheart?” Mystra had turned her attention to Tav now, taking full advantage of their height difference to spit venom at her. “You wanted Gale all to yourself so you poisoned him against me. You couldn’t handle that he cared more for me than he did for you.”

“Mystra, that’s enough.” The firmness in Gale’s voice took both women by surprise. Mystra took a step back.

Regaining her composure, she said, “You moved on awfully quickly, didn’t you Gale? I have to say I’m surprised.”

“So did you!” Gale snapped. “I saw that boy leaving your office the other day!”

He hadn’t denied that he and Tav were an item. Tav wondered if that was because he wanted Mystra to believe they were, or because he didn’t think the correction was worth the effort.

Mystra looked at Tav. Tav could feel herself being scrutinised, and squared her shoulders.

“Good luck with him,” said Mystra after a pause. “I’m sure he’s told you many things about me, but you surely must realise that that’s not the full story? I never gave Gale anything he didn’t ask for. And in return, what did I get?” She barked out a laugh. “Oh yes, I received devotion. Adoration. And constant clinging and begging and needling. And he truly believed that he, as a master’s student, had the right to attempt to challenge my life’s work?” She turned back to Gale, who was staring at her with his mouth agape. “You always were a weak, arrogant little-”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence as Tav’s fist connected with her jaw. Mystra stumbled back, clutching her face.

“Tav!” Gale cried out in shock. Mystra massaged her own jaw. The room fell silent.

For a moment, Tav thought she was about to leave, but then she grabbed Tav by the hair and slammed her into the wall.

Maybe it was a mistake to pick a fight with a woman who was considerably taller than her. Tav hadn’t expected her strength either, considering how slender she was, but as she slammed her into the wall for as second and third time, Tav found she couldn’t break her grip. Mystra’s hand were around her neck now, long fingernails digging into delicate, vulnerable skin.

“Mystra, let her go!” Gale was trying to force his way between them. Tav managed to give her a well-aimed kick to the gut, forcing her to drop her.

Wyll, who Tav hadn’t heard come downstairs, grabbed Mystra from behind, restraining her arms. Gale positioned himself between Tav and Mystra, blocking her view of her entirely.

Distantly, she could hear Astarion’s voice. It sounded as though he was on the phone to the emergency services. She closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, the world had shrunk down to the size of her and Gale.

He had his arms around her, holding her against his chest. Whether he was restraining her or embracing her wasn’t entirely clear. It didn’t matter. She rested her cheek against his chest and breathed him in. His hand rubbed up and down the length of her spine soothingly.

She was only vaguely aware of the police arriving. Even as they handcuffed Mystra and took her away, Tav couldn’t make sense of what was going on. The police took photos of the scratches and bruises on her neck, so Gale reluctantly had to relinquish his hold on her for a few minutes.

They had taken pictures of the bruise that Tav’s fist had made on Mystra’s chin as well. Tav’s heart jolted in a moment of clarity. Were they going to arrest her too? She’d thrown the first punch, after all.

But no one seemed to say anything about it. The police left, taking Mystra with them, leaving the slightly shellshocked housemates all alone.

Wyll made tea for the five of them. Shadowheart, who had been awoken by the scuffle, examined Tav’s injuries, and deemed them not serious. Gale put his chair right next to Tav’s, so that their thighs were pressed together. She wanted to sleep, but she was far too wired.

“I have to say, that was very well done, Tav,” said Astarion admiringly.

Tav’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“Well, whether it was your intention or not, there’s no way Mystra remains employed after what happened tonight. A police report? Assaulting a student? And turning up here at 3am after Gale ignored her calls certainly qualifies as harassment.” He turned to Gale. “You’ve won, Gale.”

“Huh,” said Gale. His gaze drifted over to Tav. “I guess I have.” Astarion and Wyll exchanged a look.

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

Gale: Gods above, I think I’m in love with them.

Wild magic Tav: *sneezes and polymorphs themselves into a cat* *sneezes again and turns back*

Gale: Never mind, I’m definitely in love with them.

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

You Brought Your Worst and I’m Right Here - Chapter Eight: I can't even blink

Pairing: Gale of Waterdeep x female Tav

Work Summary:

After an explosive falling out between Gale and his academic adviser, Mystra, Tav is left to pick up the pieces.

Modern/College AU.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9…

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1453

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Previous Chapter

The motivational kitten poster had once been held up by staples, but one of the top corners had long since torn, drooping like the dying houseplant on Tav’s windowsill. Even so, the kitten stared back at her with dead eyes. She found it hard to look away.

When the door to the dean’s office finally re-opened, Tav stood up too fast. Her chair hit the wall with a thunk.

Gale’s expression was drawn as he stepped out into the hallway, but when their eyes met, he smiled at her. He shut the door behind himself. The click was far too loud in the quiet of the hallway.

“How did it go?” she asked.

His hands fluttered nervously at his sides. He hesitated for a moment, and then said, “It’s done.”

“Do you want to go get a drink?”

“Please.”

Against their better judgment, they found themselves at the on-campus bar. Of course, there was no chance Professor Mystryl would be caught dead here, so they were safe from running into her, but all of campus still felt like a potential minefield.

But Gale had been tired and wanted to decompress and drinks were cheap here. They got themselves a booth far from the window, just to be certain.

“How are you feeling?” asked Tav as Gale nursed a glass of red wine.

“I feel…” He sighed, putting his elbow on the table and leaning his face on his palm. “I feel like my body won’t relax. Like I’m having heart palpitations. I guess I’m nervous? I’m afraid of what happens next.”

Tav took a deep breath and stretched across the gap between them, laying her hands palm up, inviting him in. He stared at her hands for a moment, and then took them in his own.

“It’s going to be okay,” said Tav, feeling the heat spreading from the base of her neck and up to her cheeks. “Whatever happens, I’m here. And you have friends all around you. We won’t let her hurt you anymore.”

Gale looked up from the table, his eyes finding hers. His gaze was searching, but Tav had no idea what he was looking for. It made her feel naked.

“What?” she asked, self-consciously.

“Nothing, I’m just… re-evaluating some things,” he said, slowly. “Tav, I’ve been a fool. I don’t know-”

“I am sorry to interrupt,” came a voice from beside their table. Neither of them had heard the person approach. Tav pulled her hands out of Gale’s instinctively, leaning back like she’d been burnt.

Standing over them was Jaheira, a biology professor whom they were both peripherally aware of.

“I just wanted to say to you, Gale, that what you’re doing is very courageous,” she said. Gale looked up at her, stunned. “I am ashamed to say that you are not the first student to have been put in this position by that woman, but by doing this, you can ensure that you are the last. I have been trying to get the dean to fire her for misconduct for years, but since I have been unable to provide evidence of wrongdoing, there was nothing to be done. None of her victims have ever been willing to come forward before. She is manipulative. She has this hold over people. So if she or the university make any trouble for you, come find me, alright? I will be happy to provide my testimony.”

“Thank you, professor,” Gale stuttered.

“I will leave you and your…” She regarded Tav for a moment. “…friend to it. Good evening.”

Gale looked back at Tav, eyes wide, as Jaheira walked away. “That was unexpected.”

“It’s good to know you’ve got faculty members in your corner. If Jaheira knew what Mystra was up to, then surely a lot of people must’ve known. That can only help your case.”

Gale frowned. “How did she know I was coming forward about this, though?”

“Maybe the dean told her? She’s been trying to bring this to his attention for years, from the sound of it.”

“I’m just concerned. I didn’t expect it to escape containment so fast. If Jaheira knows, who else does?”

His breathing was speeding up. Tav reached across the table again and grabbed his hands.

“It’s okay,” she murmured soothingly. “Don’t panic. We prepared for this, remember? It’s all going to be okay.”

Gale swallowed and squeezed her hands. “Thank you for being here with me. I don’t think I could do this without you.”

“You’re my best friend. I would never make you go through this alone.”

*

Their hands kept seeming to find each other after every separation. The two of them were walking home now, enjoined hands lightly swinging between them. It was dark and cold, but thankfully not wet.

“I told Wyll I was going to cook tomorrow night,” said Gale conversationally.

“Oh really?” Before all of this, Gale had cooked most nights, although the others pitched in where they could. He hadn’t cooked since his hospital stay. “What are you going to make?”

“I was going to start simple with a vegetable lasagne.”

“Sounds divine. I’ve missed your cooking.” Tav moved closer to him, leaning into his side for warmth.

“Cold?”

“A little.”

He let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Better?”

She put her arm around his waist. This close, he could smell her deodorant and the fabric softener she used. “Much, thank you.”

They stayed that way until they reached the end of their street. They stopped on the corner, reluctantly pulling apart from their embrace. It was unspoken, but since the movie night, they had been a little more careful about showing physical affection to each other in front of their friends.

Gale wouldn’t have minded, but Astarion’s words to him kept swimming around in his head, never too far from the surface.

Don’t break her heart.

“Before we get back,” he said, stopping her, “I just wanted to say thank you again, Tav. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you.” He smiled at her, but her face fell.

“Don’t say that,” she said, her voice breaking. His smile faded immediately. “Don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry, I- Oof.” He was cut off by her burrowing her way into his arms, pressing her face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her again and, after a moment’s hesitation, dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “I know it’s not a pleasant thought, but it’s true. I was a wreck and you put me back together.”

Tav was crying now. He could feel the way her shoulders were shaking. She rubbed her face into his shirt, dampening the fabric.

“Please don’t cry, Tav. I hate that I’m hurting you like this.”

She shook her head, pulling away so that she could look him in the eyes. She grasped his biceps, locking her elbows.

“Promise me something, Gale?”

“Anything.” It was probably an unwise thing to say, but it was hard to be wise when she was looking up at him with doe eyes and a tearstained face.

“If it ever gets that bad again… If you ever want to end your life, you call me. No matter where you are or where I am. Even if we haven’t spoken to each other in twenty years. You call me. And I’ll come to you. And we can get through it together.” There was a fierceness in her expression that made his heart jump.

The idea of going for twenty years without seeing her sounded preposterous, but he knew that people grew apart. The thought of growing apart from Tav made him impossibly sad.

“Promise me?” she repeated.

“I promise.”

“Good.”

She was still looking up at him. For a brief moment of insanity, he thought about kissing her, just to see what it would feel like. His feelings were muddled and maybe kissing her would clarify things. Or maybe it would make this whole situation ten times messier.

The moment passed. She leant in and squeezed him one more time before pulling away completely.

“Come on,” she said. “I’m cold. Let’s get inside.”

*

After dinner, Gale decided it would be best to get an early night. It had been a very fraught and emotionally exhausting day.

Tav had hugged him goodnight even though they weren’t alone, which was enough to put a smile on his face. Astarion met his eye over Tav’s shoulder and gave him a warning look.

As Gale settled into bed, freshly showered and bone-tired, his phone starting buzzing. Someone was calling him. He turned it over to see the screen lit up with the last name he wanted to see right now.

Mystra.

Next Chapter

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

Dogmeat (Butch Deloria First Kiss Drabble)

Word Count: 888

The Lone Wanderer was lying on her side on a dirty old mattress in the back room of an old gas station, dreading the feeling of the heat of the day beginning to creep in. She wanted a few more hours sleep, but that grew harder and harder with every degree the temperature increased.

Butch was awake. She could tell by the sounds of him shuffling around, not trying nearly hard enough to be quiet for her liking. There was a familiar clinking of tin cans.

Dogmeat made a curious noise, and there was a quiet crash that she assumed was Butch dropping something. As big and bad and tough as he tried to make himself out to be, he was pretty obviously terrified of Dogmeat.

She could hardly blame him. She loved Dogmeat dearly, but he was a big, mangy mutt who charged supermutants with no hesitation. There were no dogs in the vault, so Butch didn’t know what to make of him. Of course, when she left the vault, she’d never seen a dog either, but she had the benefits of several weeks of bonding with him before Butch came along.

Butch always tried to put as much space as possible between himself and the dog, and Dogmeat seemed content to let him. That was just fine by her. Being slightly on edge made Butch just a little bit less unbearable.

She couldn’t help but stifle a snicker every time he jumped or started when Dogmeat made too sudden a move. It was, admittedly, pretty cute.

“What do you want, man?” Butch muttered.

She cracked an eye open to see Butch standing over the dog, holding a tin of pork n’ beans. Dogmeat was sitting down, staring up at Butch with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Butch hesitated.

“You hungry, boy?” he asked after a moment. Dogmeat barked, standing up. Butch flinched back. “Woah, shh, shh, don’t wanna wake sleeping beauty over there, okay, boy? Here, just let me…” He set the tin down and began rifling through his pack, and then pulled out some strips of mole rat meat. “Here you go.” He tossed one at Dogmeat, who caught it in his mouth and chowed down happily.

Butch watched him, and the no-longer-lone wanderer watched Butch, her lips curling into a soft smile. Dogmeat finished the strip quickly, and then turned back to Butch, tail wagging, mouth open.

“Still hungry? Okay, fine.” Butch tossed him another strip. They repeated this process a few more times, and she watched as the tension in Butch’s shoulders started to fade. For the last strip of meat, he no longer tossed it, but fed the dog directly from his hand. As Dogmeat licked his fingers, Butch pulled his hand back with a laugh. “Gross.” He wiped his hand on his vault suit.

When Dogmeat was finished, he sat back on his haunches again, looking at Butch expectantly.

“That was the last one, sorry boy.”

The dog made another inquisitive noise, and then stood up and trotted over to Butch again. Butch tensed, but Dogmeat just lightly headbutted him in the leg. He stayed stiff for a moment, and then put his hand on the dog’s head, petting him cautiously.

Dogmeat’s tail was wagging as he leant into Butch’s touch. Butch relaxed a little, petting him more enthusiastically.

“Good boy,” he murmured. “Who’s a good boy?”

Lone couldn’t help but grin now. She sat up, leaning up on her elbow. Butch straightened up immediately.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked, suspiciously.

“Long enough that I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna be able to fall back to sleep.” She pushed herself up and got to her feet.

As she walked towards Butch, for a moment he looked just as nervous as he had when Dogmeat first approached him.

“You’re adorable,” she said, touching the lapels of his jacket. His eyes widened as she closed the gap between them. On tiptoes, she drew him towards her, and he came willingly, his hands falling to her hips as she pressed her lips to his.

Even though she had telegraphed this, he still let out a little gasp at the sudden contact. She smoothed her hands up his chest and shoulders, until her arms were wrapped around his neck.

Seeming to snap out of the daze he was in, he tightened his grip on her hips, pulling her against him. He was a little rough in a way that she found herself enjoying more than she should as he laced his fingers into her hair and gave a little tug.

A gasp escaped her lips and he took advantage, sliding his tongue into her mouth. When they pulled apart, they were both breathing hard.

“What was that for?” Butch asked, trying to get his breath back.

“Like I said, you’re adorable.” A soft weight pressed against her thigh, and she looked down to see Dogmeat nudging her. She giggled, squatting down to pet him.

“Wow, maybe if I get lucky, you’ll like me almost as much as you like that damn dog,” said Butch sarcastically, but there was no heat in his voice. From his position standing over her, he gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, leaving a trail of heat in the wake of his finger.

Masterlists.

Taglist info.

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

You Brought Your Worst and I’m Right Here - Chapter Seven: You will make decisions

Pairing: Gale of Waterdeep x female Tav

Work Summary:

After an explosive falling out between Gale and his academic adviser, Mystra, Tav is left to pick up the pieces.

Modern/College AU.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9…

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1747

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Previous Chapter

The atmosphere in the living room was tense, a palpable anxiety in the air. Their friends were all gathered around – Jen, Wyll, Astarion, as well as Karlach and Lae’zel – listening as Gale told his story. Karlach had muttered a few expletives under her breath, but other than that, Gale’s audience was silent.

Tav was perching on the arm of the armchair he was sitting in. When he struggled to get the words out, she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, which seemed to give him the push he needed to keep going.

When he’d finished speaking, the room was silent. For Tav, it was like there was no air to breathe, so she couldn’t imagine how Gale felt. She was just about to say something to try to break the tension, but then Wyll spoke.

“Gale,” he said, his voice sounding pained. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you.”

Gale looked down, suddenly uncharacteristically shy. “Thank you all for hearing me out. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to live with.”

Protests broke out from all their friends, and Tav felt the tightness easing in her chest. It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one who cared enough about Gale to want to protect him.

“If the university give you any trouble, let me know,” said Astarion. “We can bring legal consequences down on their heads.”

“Thank you, Astarion.” Gale didn’t say what Tav was sure that he was thinking, which was that Astarion was still only a law student, so his ability to ‘bring legal consequences’ was questionable.

“I’m not above decking Mystryl,” Karlach interjected, which brought a smile to Tav’s face.

“I doubt that would help my case, but thank you,” said Gale.

“I can speak to my friends who study physics, see if they have any details about other students that may have been targeted by her,” said Jen. “Discretely, of course.”

“I appreciate it, but I think this is probably something I have to do by myself. If other students come forward after I have… well, that’s their choice. Now that this is all out in the open, I was rather hoping we could talk about something else for a while. It’s… painful… to think about, and talk about, but I’m glad you all now know. I’m sure this goes without saying but please don’t tell anyone about this for the time being. I don’t want anything getting back to Mystra until I’m ready.” There was a murmur of assent. “Thank you. Now, I was thinking we could turn this into a little movie night? Frankly I’d quite like to turn my brain off for a little while.”

“That sounds like a plan,” said Wyll. “I have some leftover microwave popcorn from the last movie night.”

As Wyll went to go and make the popcorn, and the others argued over what to watch, Gale shuffled to the side and patted the space beside him.

“I’m not sure I’ll fit,” said Tav.

“Nonsense. You’re not planning on sitting on the arm for the entire film, are you?”

Tav had actually been planning on sitting on the floor, but the idea of sitting so close to Gale was tempting, as impractical it may be. The chair he was sitting in was large for an armchair, but still not designed to seat two people.

She shifted herself into the too-small gap, ending up half in his lap. She chuckled nervously, but he just hooked his arm under her knees wordlessly and turned her so that her legs were lying across his lap instead. The casual way he was touching her was new.

Before all of this, they had hardly had a touchy-feely relationship. Sure, they had hugged plenty, and they were both somewhat handsy drunks. But this was different.

Perhaps him telling her about Mystra was a crossing of a Rubicon of sorts. Either way, their friendship felt different now. His hand came to rest on her knee – relaxed, friendly, but also exciting – and she decided to lean into it, ducking under his arm so that he was wholly wrapped around her.

The movie discussion seemed to have come to an end. Tav hadn’t been paying attention. She caught Astarion’s eye, who took in the intimacy of her and Gale’s position and raised an eyebrow at her. She tried not to blush, flipping him off as subtly as she could.

Wyll returned to the room carrying two large bowls of popcorn. He passed one to Karlach and then turned to where Gale and Tav were sitting.

He almost did a double take, taking in the way they were tangled up in each other. The surprise was evident on his face, but he smiled, and then placed the second bowl in Tav’s lap.

Again, Tav was fighting a blush. Did Wyll think that there was something going on with her and Gale? It wasn’t hard to see how he’d come to that conclusion. She was, after all, almost sitting in his lap. She just really hoped that no one would draw attention to it.

She made eye contact with Karlach, whose eyes darted over the two of them, and opened her mouth. Before she could speak, Astarion elbowed her in the ribs.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Are we going to start the film or what?” asked Astarion.

Wyll hit the lights, and the group of them settled in for the evening. The movie that they’d chosen on was some action flick that Tav hadn’t seen before. It had well-choreographed fight scenes and explosions, which Tav could only imagine were good for turning off the brain, as Gale had requested.

When it was over, they ordered pizza and Lae’zel and Astarion began arguing about what to watch next. Tav went to the bathroom in the break, and returned to find Gale standing up and stretching.

When he returned to his seat, she paused, unsure what to do next. At her hesitance, he patted the spot beside him again.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I’ve probably made your legs go to sleep.”

“You’re surprisingly comfy, actually.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

They settled in again. The rest of the group all returned to their positions too. The second movie was interrupted about twenty minutes in by the pizza arriving. In the hubbub around the food, the movie itself sat forgotten, a freeze-frame on the TV, as they ate and chatted.

Gale might’ve said he was comfortable, but Tav didn’t one hundred percent believe him, and it wasn’t a good position to eat in anyway, so she ended up kneeling on the floor by the coffee table.

After half an hour or so, someone remembered that they were supposed to be watching a film. Gale coaxed Tav back onto the chair, everyone else made themselves comfortable, and Wyll hit the play button again.

This film was a lot slower paced than the previous one. With her belly full of food and the warmth of Gale’s body all around her, it was hard to keep her eyes open. More than once, she caught her head lolling forward, only catching it just in time.

Gale had evidently noticed. He tugged her a little closer to him, and she realised what he was offering. Giving up on the idea of staying awake, she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew, the lights were back on and Gale was gently shaking her.

“What? What happened?” She sat up so fast that she almost headbutted him, but he ducked out of the way just in time.

“Films over. Karlach and Lae’zel have gone home. Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

“Okay,” she said, sleepily, getting to her feet.

*

Tav fell back asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Gale tucked her in and turned off the light. He was pretty sure she was still wearing a bra. He hoped she wouldn’t be uncomfortable, but he wasn’t about to remove it for her. He didn’t want her thinking he was a perv.

When he returned downstairs, Wyll and Shadowheart had already gone to bed. That left Astarion, who was washing up the popcorn bowls. He turned off the tap when Gale walked in.

“Gale,” he said.

“Astarion.”

Astarion regarded him for a moment, frowning.

“What is it?” asked Gale.

“Be careful, alright?”

It was Gale’s turn to frown. “I appreciate your concern, Astarion. This is a delicate situation, obviously, so I will be handling it with care.”

Astarion shook his head. “I’m not talking about Mystra, Gale. I’m talking about Tav.”

That brought Gale up short. “What about Tav?”

Astarion sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just… don’t break her heart, alright?”

“I- What?”

“Goodnight, Gale.”

Gale stood, dumbstruck as Astarion walked past him.

Don’t break her heart.

What exactly had Astarion been trying to say? That Tav had feelings for him? Gale tried to ignore the tightness in his chest, and the uncomfortable swoop that his stomach gave at the thought.

Tav was his best friend. She didn’t see him that way. She couldn’t see him that way. She’d never said that she saw him that way.

He pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down. Did Tav like him? Astarion certainly seemed to think so, and he was often uncannily perceptive about this kind of thing.

Gale thought back to earlier, when Tav was half in his lap, curled up against him. She was warm and comfortable and smelled good. She made him feel safe in ways Mystra never had. She’d never hurt him. Hell, she’d clearly been torn up about yelling at him after he’d got out of hospital, even though her yelling had actually made him feel better.

And God, she’d been so worried about him. She’d found him and she’d saved him and she’d agonised and lost sleep over it. She cared about him so much, but did she like him? Did she love him?

Did he like her? She was gorgeous and brilliant and always knew how to make him laugh and helped him pick himself back up after he’d felt like his life had fallen apart. He loved her. Of course he did. It was so easy to love her. But did he like her?

Gale headed back upstairs to his room with a squirming in his stomach that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Next Chapter

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

Sparring (Pietro Maximoff First Kiss Drabble)

Word Count: 1076

Although all of the windows were open, it was swelteringly hot in the training room. Your grey t-shirt was stuck to you with sweat; a fact you were trying not to think about, because your sparring partner somehow managed to look effortlessly gorgeous even as his chest heaved and sweat rolled down his skin.

It was unfair, really. Pietro had taken his shirt off a little while ago, and you had been staunchly keeping your chin tipped upwards to avoid looking at his abs.

You were sure he’d noticed. For a little while, he’d had an insufferable smirk, but to your great satisfaction, you’d taken him to the mat enough times now to wipe it off his face. Now, his face was focused and composed. He was competitive, and he hated losing, even if it was to someone with far more experience than him.

Of course, if he’d been allowed to use his powers, it would all be over in a second. No amount of martial arts training or combat experience could stand up to a man who could outrun bullets. But that wasn’t the point. You were training together because he, while skilled, was sloppy in a fight, and the only way for him to get better was to slow down.

“How about we make this a little interesting?” he said, his soft, Sokovian accent making your skin heat up. You arched an eyebrow at him. “A little wager?”

“Alright, what are you proposing?”

He took a step towards you, his eyes glinting with mischief. “If I manage to pin you, then we finish early.”

You snorted. In truth, it was hardly a sacrifice on your part. You were sweaty and tired. But Pietro was liable to skive off and avoid training if he was given the opportunity, and you were supposed to be the responsible one.

“And if I win?”

“Anything you want.”

It was your turn to smirk at him. “Anything?”

“Name your price.”

“You have to do one hundred burpees.”

Pietro made a face. “You’re evil.”

“You don’t have to agree to the wager, but those are my terms,” you said with an exaggerated shrug.

“You drive a hard bargain. Very well.”

He held out a hand, and you shook it. His grip was firm but gentle. Again, you found yourself trying to suppress the distinctly less-than-appropriate thoughts filling your mind.

The two of you separated and turned to face each other. You bent your knees, ready to grapple. Pietro met you in the middle and you began to spar.

He was relentless, as he always was when things got competitive. It was all you could do to deflect his blows, twisting and spinning out of reach. Your one hope was to tire him out. Pietro always went too hard at the beginning of a fight and regretted it later. If you could weather the storm, you could win this.

You were steadfast, as always. He closed the distance between you suddenly, trying to pick you up and throw you, but you were ready for him, countering the move easily. You hooked one leg behind his, trying to make him lose his balance. You almost managed it, but he recovered himself.

You were grappling close now, holding onto each other as you each tried to knock the other off balance. If you hadn’t been so focused on getting Pietro off his feet, you might’ve seen it coming.

Too fast for you to realise what was happening, Pietro leant into you, kissing your lips. It only lasted a moment, but that was all he needed.

As your mouth fell open in shock, he knocked you off balance and pushed you down, landing half on top of you. He scrambled over you, his knee on your chest, holding your wrists down on either side of your head. You stared up at him, trying to catch your breath.

“I win,” he said cockily. “So we can finish now.”

“You fight dirty, Maximoff,” you panted.

“Well, I have to use all the tools in my arsenal.” He released your wrists, but made no move to get off of you.

“Is that what you’re going to do in the field if you’re losing a fight, then? Give a supervillain a little kiss?”

“Maybe,” he said. “If they’re as pretty as you.”

You wrapped one hand around the back of his neck and pulled him back down to you. Your lips met again, and his body relaxed against yours. He was hovering over you, one hand planted firmly beside your head, the other came up to the touch your face. His thumb traced the line of your jaw. You felt like you were on fire and Pietro was stoking the flames.

Somehow, your legs had fallen open and he had ended up lying between them. The hand he’d been using to hold himself up was now hitching your leg over his hip.

His lips had moved from yours down to your neck, and the sharp scratch of his stubble against the sensitive skin there drew a soft little moan from your lips.

Pietro took that as permission to bite down lightly on your neck, and then soothe over the sore skin with kisses. He was going to give you a hickey, you were sure of it, and you were too horny to care.

“Ahem.”

A voice from over by the door had the two of you springing apart. To your horror, Tony Stark was standing there, eyebrows raised.

“Oh good, I was worried I was going to have to pry you off each other with a crowbar.”

Pietro’s face was reddening. He got to his feet quickly and then helped you up. He took a step towards Tony, positioning himself between the two of you. “What do you want, Stark?”

“If you’re going to act like horny teenagers, could you at least do me the courtesy of doing it in one of the bedrooms I’ve generously provided to you, rather than in the communal area? Other people have to train here, you know?” His tone was teasing, but you were mortified. You were never going to hear the end of this.

“Fine,” you said. “Come on, Pietro, let’s go.” You took his hand and marched him past Tony, who was still watching on in amusement.

“Where are we going?” asked Pietro, confused.

“My room.”

“Oh. Oh. Okay.” The smirk was back on his face. “I can do that.”

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye @mcximffs @noz4a2 @rottenstyx @starmansirius @xlucyintheskywithdiamondsx @lanemarvels @marrigold-2002 @kathrinchek @alternativeprincess @annocaprosmaloka @thrutheburnout @idkman5335

Taglist info.

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

gale is the freakiest person in camp and nothing will convince me otherwise.

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

POV your disgraced former chosen/lover and one of your most devout clerics fall in love

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

You Brought Your Worst and I’m Right Here - Chapter Six: No matter what I think

Pairing: Gale of Waterdeep x female Tav

Work Summary:

After an explosive falling out between Gale and his academic adviser, Mystra, Tav is left to pick up the pieces.

Modern/College AU.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9…

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1904

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Previous Chapter

Notes:

all of the regular warnings for grooming, abuse, suicide, as well as alcohol I guess

---

Tav was sitting at a tucked away table in the corner of the student lounge with two glasses of wine in front of her. Shadowheart said she’d be here any minute, but the minutes kept ticking on by. Her glass was almost empty when her friend showed up, looking rather harried.

“Sorry,” said Jen, dropping her over-full bag onto the bench. “The professor wanted to give me some feedback on my last essay after the lecture and I couldn’t say no. Is this for me?” She indicated the full glass.

“Sure is.”

“Thanks.” Shadowheart tipped her head back and downed the wine in one long gulp. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and picked up Tav’s now empty glass. “I’ll get another round,” she said, and then headed off towards the bar.  

Tav’s lips curled up into a smile. It was a Friday night, and both of them clearly needed this. Shadowheart returned a moment later with a full bottle of wine and two fresh glasses.

“Long week?” asked Tav as Shadowheart poured the drinks.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” said Jen. “I have some horror stories but I don’t wanna make you puke.”

“Try me.”

So she did. As Shadowheart regaled her with stories about the cadavers she had dissected, and the bodily fluids she had ended up covered in while pulling shifts at the hospital, Tav fought the urge to gag.

Shadowheart was in the process of describing the contents of a bedpan that she’d been cleaning when Tav finally held up a hand.

“Okay, you got me, I’m done. Please, no more.”

Jen began to laugh. “You lasted longer than I expected.���

“I don’t know how you do it.”

“You get used to it, I promise. So what about you? How is everything going? I’m glad to see that you and Gale are friends again.”

Tav frowned, staring down at her drink. She was on her third glass now and she was starting to feel a little buzzed. It was just enough to make her bold enough to say what she was going to say next.

“Jen, I have to tell you something, but you’ve got to promise you won’t tell Gale. Or anyone else.”

Shadowheart’s expression grew serious. “Of course,” she said. “What is it?”

Tav knew that she could trust her. She was good at keeping secrets. So she told her everything that Gale had told her, watching as her friend’s face grew paler and paler.

When Tav was finished, Shadowheart was drumming her fingertips on the table, visibly agitated.

“God, poor Gale,” she said. “He’s so sweet. He doesn’t deserve any of this.”

“I don’t know what to do,” said Tav, and then she burst into tears.

“Oh Tav…” She felt Jen’s hand resting between her shoulderblades, gently stroking up and down.

“I tried-” Her breath hitched painfully. “I tried to tell him to report her but he won’t. And I understand why he’s scared to but…” She scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve. “She can’t get away with this. She can’t.”

“Tav…” Jen shifted uncomfortably. “This isn’t… This isn’t the first time I’ve heard something like this about Professor Mystryl.”

Tav looked up at her in confusion. “What?”

“I have some other friends who study physics and… well, apparently there are rumours about her tendency to favour young male students. She likes to mentor them personally. It’s sort of a running joke in the department, apparently.”

Tav felt like she might throw up. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought it was just a rumour! You know the kinds of things that people say whenever there’s a woman in a position of authority! I figured someone was just trying to discredit her, or making an off-colour joke, but… hearing this…”

“Gale might not be the first.”

The conversation was interrupted by Tav’s phone buzzing in her pocket. She pulled it out to see that Wyll was calling. Frowning, she answered it.

“Hello?”

“Tav, hey, is Gale with you?” Wyll’s voice came through tinny on the speaker, but his words still hit hard enough to make her stomach drop.

“No? Why?”

“He was supposed to be home an hour ago. I tried calling him but he didn’t answer.”

Tav felt the colour draining from her face. Between her and her flatmates, they’d worked out a system to ensure that Gale was never home alone, just in case. Nowadays, he mostly adhered to his schedule, pretty much only going out to go to classes. Where was he?

“Tav?” said Shadowheart nervously. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Gale isn’t home yet,” she answered. “I’m with Jen,” she added as an aside to Wyll. “And we’re coming home now. Let me know if he turns up.”

“I will. See you soon.”

She said goodbye to Wyll and then tried to hang up the phone, only then noticing how much her hands were shaking. She swore quietly, so Jen took the phone from her hand and hit the red button.

“I’m gonna call an uber, okay?” said Jen, squeezing Tav’s shoulder. “I’m sure he’s okay. He probably just got caught up studying and lost track of time.”

“Okay. I’m gonna try to call him.”

“Good idea.”

Her call when straight to voicemail. She tried to swallow her panic as she heard his voice telling her to leave a message, but she could taste bile in her mouth. She tried for a second and third time, with the same result.

She let Shadowheart guide her outside just as the uber was pulling up. Shadowheart did the talking, while Tav sat with her head back against the headrest, wondering if she might throw up.

“Is it alright if I open the window?” she asked the driver weakly.

“Go ahead,” he said, so she did so. The cool air was very welcome.

They were five minutes from home when her phone began to buzz again. Her heart leapt, but the caller ID read ‘Wyll’.

She answered it. “Hey Wyll.”

“Tav. Guess who just showed up.” Wyll sounded unamused. Although he was trying to temper his voice, she could tell he was angry.

“Gale? Is he home?”

“He is. He decided to walk home from campus, apparently. And his phone ran out of battery.”

Tav exhaled hard. “Seriously?”

“He’s very sorry for worrying everyone. I’m sorry I called you. I should’ve just waited.”

“No, you did the right thing. Thanks Wyll. We’ll back soon. And don’t worry, I’ll yell at Gale for you. I’m allowed to yell at him.”

Wyll chuckled awkwardly. “Not on my behalf, please. I’ll see you soon.”

Shadowheart was staring at her when she put the phone down. “Well?”

“He’s fine.” Tav relayed Wyll’s message, watching as Shadowheart frowned back at her.

“Well, that’s good,” she said. “He’s always been pretty absent-minded. It’s not surprising that he forgot to charge his phone.”

“Yeah.”

Shadowheart turned her attention back to the driver. “It’s just up here on the left, mate.”

The car had barely pulled in when Tav opened the door and jumped out. She hurried into the house to find Wyll in the hallway, waiting for her.

“Hey,” he said, frowning. “I’m sorry for calling. I shouldn’t have-”

“Yes, you should have,” she said, and then pulled him into a hug. “Is he okay?”

“He seems upset.” He kept his voice low. “He did apologise for worrying me, though. He went upstairs but he’s keeping his bedroom door open.”

“Thanks.” Behind her, she heard Shadowheart shutting the front door. “I’m gonna go check on him.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

As promised, she found Gale in his bedroom, the door propped open. He was lying on top of the covers of his bed, scrolling on his phone. There was a puffiness to his eyes that made Tav frown.

She knocked lightly on the open door. “Gale?”

He turned to face her. “Hey Tav.” His voice was hoarse and throaty. “Wyll said he called you. I’m sorry.” He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I didn’t mean to worry everyone. I just… needed some air. I should’ve made sure my phone was charged before walking back.”

“It’s okay.” She could feel some of the anxiety leeching out of her now that she could see that Gale was safe, albeit clearly upset. “What happened?”

“Could you close the door please? I don’t want anyone else hearing.”

She shut the door and came to sit beside him on the bed. “What is it, Gale?”

“I had to turn in some paperwork to the physics department today, to change my academic adviser. I was just going to put it in Mystra’s pigeonhole but…” He shuffled awkwardly, not meeting her eye. “I decided to go and see her.” Tav opened her mouth, but he held up his hands. “I know, I know. I’m the king of making bad decisions. But I was sort of hoping that she might reconsider keeping me on as a student. Not as a lover. Just as a student. Separation of church and state. She really is a brilliant scientist and I learnt a lot under her.” He winced at his own wording. “You know what I mean.”

“Gale…”

“It doesn’t matter. Because as I was approaching her office, a young man walked out. I think he’s a second year. I’ve seen him at physics socials. He looked… dishevelled. And when he saw me standing there he had this look on his face like he’d been caught. And it was very clear what he and Mystra had been doing in her office.”

“Oh Gale.” Tav wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He didn’t hug her back, but he leant into her embrace. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s stupid.” Gale’s voice was thick with tears. “That this, after everything, feels like a betrayal. Perhaps I am a complete idiot, but part of me thought that she loved me. That what we had was real. At the very least, that she’d be as torn up about our separation as I am. But this… it’s clear that I was just some plaything to her, to be discarded when I’m more trouble than I’m worth.”

“You’re not an idiot,” Tav soothed, rubbing his back the way that Shadowheart had rubbed hers while she’d cried over Gale. “You believed what she wanted you to believe. She led you on and used you.”

Gale tilted his head towards her. Their faces were closer than she had realised. She could almost taste his breath. He could probably smell the wine on hers.

“Tav, I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m sorry for pushing you away.”

She squeezed him. “We’re past that. No more apologies, remember?”

“Right.”

Their closeness had her pulse racing. She pulled back, disentangling herself from him.

“Gale, there’s something I should probably tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I was talking to Shadowheart earlier, and she… well, she mentioned that there were… rumours about Professor Mystryl.” Gale didn’t respond. He just stared back at her, so she took a deep breath. “Apparently, Professor Mystryl is known to… mentor young male students. It seems to be a pattern for her.”

Gale said nothing. He swallowed, looking away from her, and then nodded. “That… tracks, honestly.”

“I’m sorry, Gale.”

“I’m not.” His voice was steely, his expression hardened. “Not anymore. I’m going to take her down.”

Next Chapter

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

Poor Nathume is having a really tough time adapting to chaotic party life

Here’s some detail closeups too

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

me in the pussy if im being fully honest

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

But my vampire boyfriend says the alcohol wipe makes my neck taste bad 😔

disturbed by how little ppl acknowledge the secondary health risks of vampire bites. if your vampire lover is drinking your blood you MUST be up to date on your tetanus shot. puncture wounds are at especially high risk for tetanus infections. just because your partner was born in 1312 doesn’t mean you have to die like it.

moreover they should be prepping the bite point with an alcohol wipe.

and while I’m at it, I’ve noticed a blithe disregard for health & safety when it comes to blood pacts. can’t believe I have to say this but you should absolutely NOT be cutting your palm open with the pocket knife from your belt holster (??????)

if you’re expecting to be in a blood pact/oath situation please just pick up some sterile finger lancets from the pharmacy. cannot stress this all enough.

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

You Brought Your Worst and I’m Right Here - Chapter Five: As these flowers start to wither

Pairing: Gale of Waterdeep x female Tav

Work Summary:

After an explosive falling out between Gale and his academic adviser, Mystra, Tav is left to pick up the pieces.

Modern/College AU.

Chapter Summary: 

Gale finally confides in Tav.

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9…

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1976

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye

Taglist info

Previous Chapter

Notes:

warnings for professor/student relationship, grooming, Mystra generally, suicide mentions

sorry I didn't update last week, it was my birthday on the Saturday before so I didn't have time

---

Tav awoke, disoriented, later in the evening. Her eyes stung with the memories of tears, but she didn’t have enough moisture left to cry.

It was dark outside. She could tell because her curtains were still open. A light knocking on the door startled her. That must’ve been what had awoken her.

“Tav?” Gale’s muffled voice through the door made her stomach sink. She stumbled out of bed, grabbing a pair of tracksuit bottoms from the floor and tugging them on.

She opened the door a crack, very aware of how much of a mess she must’ve looked. Gale was standing outside her door, holding a plastic bag in one hand and two bowls in the other. From the bag emanated the smell of something delicious and fried that made her mouth water.

“Hey…” he said, shuffling awkwardly.

“Hey…”

“I was hoping we could talk. There’s some stuff I want to… explain.”

She regarded him for a moment. He was frowning, his eyebrows drawn together. His eyes looked a little red too.

“Of course,” she said, opening her door.

“I brought food,” he said, lifting up the plastic bag. “From the Chinese place on the corner. I got that rice you like.”

“Thanks Gale.”

She turned on her bedroom light and went to draw the curtains.

The two of them settled themselves into a position that was familiar from years of study sessions. Tav’s back was against the headboard, bowl of rice in her lap and a glass of coke on her bedside table. Gale sat at a right angle to her, leaning against the wall.

Back when they would spend more time together, they found themselves in Tav’s bedroom more often than Gale’s, because hers had better natural lighting, and his was awfully cluttered. It had been far too long since the last time they’d done this.

For a while, neither of them spoke. Tav must’ve been pretty dehydrated, because she found herself gulping down her drink almost immediately.

“I am sorry,” she said, without looking at him. “About earlier. For yelling. It wasn’t fair.”

Gale seemed to be wrestling with something. She didn’t want to push, so she just ate her food and tried not to watch him too carefully.

Eventually, he said, “please don’t apologise. I don’t want you to feel guilty for expressing your feelings. I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s not about me,” said Tav.

“Tav…” Gale’s expression looked a little desperate. “I think it’s important that you know I’m not planning on doing anything so… drastic again. I was in pain. Frankly, I was heartbroken, and I think I needed to be reminded that I do have people who care about me. Wyll and Shadowheart and Astarion… they’ve all been so kind, but I think a part of me thought that they were doing all of this out of a sense of obligation or guilt, rather than genuine care. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but it’s how I felt. So thank you for reminding me that I matter. I’m sorry I had to cause you pain in order for me to understand that.”

“Gale…” she breathed. One word was bouncing around inside her skull. Heartbroken.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that I… I’ve been… off, lately.” Gale set his bowl aside and scratched the back of his head. Tav had to bite back a sarcastic response, because ‘off’ was the understatement of the century. “It’s… well… You deserve an explanation.”

Tav set her half-finished bowl of food down on her bedside table and turned her full attention to him.

He chuckled nervously. “It’s strange, I’ve thought through this conversation so many times but I still don’t know where to begin. I suppose I should start with last summer, when Mystra – that is, Professor Mystryl – agreed to be my academic supervisor for my final year project. It was a dream come true. Mystra is a brilliant scientist and the fact that I’d impressed her enough for her to take me on as a student was… well, it was everything to me.”

Tav remembered when he’d got the news. He had been positively glowing with excitement. They’d gone out that night with all their friends, drank and danced and partied, and for some reason, had all thought it would be a tremendous idea to all try to sleep in Gale’s bed. Tav had awoken the next morning squished between Gale and Shadowheart, her cheek smushed against Gale’s chest. It was one of the best nights of her life.

“Things were going well,” Gale continued. “Mystra is an excellent teacher. She opened my mind to so many possibilities. And all I wanted to do was impress her. Sometimes, when I’d say something, she’d give me a little smile and I could tell she thought I was clever, and there wasn’t a feeling in the world that was better than that.”

Tav tried not to let her feelings show on her face, but her stomach was twisting uncomfortably. Gale was talking about Mystra with an adoration that wasn’t typical for a student to have for their professor. It made her nervous.

“We had a meeting one evening. It was later than usual, because she’d just got back from a conference, and I couldn’t wait to discuss the latest developments in my project. She seemed… different that day. More… human? I don’t know if that makes sense. It’s hard to explain it to someone who doesn’t know her. She just always seemed so… above everything. But not that day. That day she looked a little tired from the travel, and she didn’t sit up quite so straight, and, well…”

Tav’s lips were pressed into a hard line. She could almost feel her heartbeat in her ears. She really, really didn’t like where this story was going.

“She was sitting across from me on the other side of her desk, and at some point during the conversation, she moved around to my side to look over the work I was explaining to her. I was just showing her some calculations I’d been doing and she… she kissed me.”

“Gale.” His name was an exclamation of utter shock that had escaped her. She hadn’t meant to interrupt but suddenly she really, really didn’t want to hear this story. It made her sick to her stomach. But she couldn’t stop him now. She needed to hear this, and he needed to tell her.

He couldn’t seem to meet her eyes anymore. “And I kissed her back, of course. How could I not? She was the woman of my dreams. She’s extremely intelligent and ethereally beautiful and no one has ever made me feel the way she did. I felt like I could do anything if she was on my side. And we… spent the night together. That night, and many nights since. We started a relationship of sorts, if you can really call sneaking around and having sex in her office a relationship.”

“Gale,” Tav breathed. Her stomach roiled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

His eyes flickered up to meet hers, and he gave her a pained smile. “Because I knew you’d tell me to break it off with her. Because I knew you’d have my best interests at heart, even if I didn’t. And I was embarrassed, I suppose. When I was with her, I felt like a God, but when I was away from her, I felt like some stupid schoolboy being tricked into doing something naughty. I was worried you would think that I was stupid for letting myself get swept up in her.”

“I would never think that. Gale, she abused her position of authority over you. In no world is that your fault.” This was what Tav had to focus on. That Gale was a victim. He wasn’t just the boy she loved sleeping with somebody who wasn’t her. He was a young man who had been taken advantage of by someone he was supposed to be able to trust. Because otherwise, she would be angry with him, and she knew that that wasn’t fair.

“I knew you’d say that, too. And sometimes I would strengthen my resolve. I would go to her office with the intention of breaking it off with her. This entire situation could jeopardise my academic career, after all, not to mention what it could do to her career. I knew that I was taking a ridiculous risk for the sake of my own juvenile feelings. But whenever I tried, she would… well, she has such a way with words. I felt like I was drawn to her. It was… magnetic. I couldn’t let her go.”

Gale’s hands were resting in his lap. Tav shifted towards him and took one of them between her own. He startled, but after a moment, he relaxed into it, squeezing her hand.

“She was very jealous,” he said. “That was part of the reason I wanted to break it off multiple times. She didn’t like me spending time with other women. Not alone. She didn’t like how close I was with you.”

“Me?” Tav stared at him.

“I suppose I talked about you too much for her liking. You’re my best friend. But she would become sullen and sour whenever I mentioned your name. So I stopped. And I drew away from you because I wanted to make her happy. I’m sorry.”

Tav squeezed his hand. Her heart was thrumming in her chest. “I forgive you.”

“Things started to… unravel, so to speak, between Mystra and I… As part of my research, I was building on some theorems developed by Mystra herself. But the experimental data didn’t always seem to line up. I started to make my own modifications to the theorems to see if I could make sense of them. Mystra didn’t like that. She felt like I was undermining her. So she dumped me. As a lover and as a student. We had a huge fight about it. I felt so desperate and lost, like I’d ruined everything. So I took a bunch of pills.”

Tav murmured his name, her heart twisting. At some point during the conversation, they had started shifting towards each other, and by now, the gap between them was almost non-existent. She put her arms around his neck. He slipped his arms around her waist and squeezed. She pretended she couldn’t feel the tears running down his cheek where it was pressed against hers.

They sat like that for a while, holding each other. When that became uncomfortable, they shifted their positions again, so that they were lying side by side, Gale’s head resting on her shoulder.

“You know what I’m going to say, right?” she said softly after a long silence. He groaned softly, but gave no other answer. “You need to report her. She abused her position.”

“I can’t.” He let out a deep sigh. “Even if I didn’t care about her anymore, think of the damage it would do to my academic reputation. It would throw all of my work into question. Not to mention how it might affect my chances of getting onto a PhD programme. It’s better… safer… if I just keep my distance. Chalk it up to youthful mistakes and move on, focus on what’s important.”

Tav wanted to argue, but couldn’t find the words. In truth, she had no idea what would happen if Gale reported Mystra. She wanted to believe that there would be protections in place for a student reporting an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, to ensure he didn’t face retaliation from the university, but in practice, how could she trust them to do right by him?

She still had a painful, sinking feeling in her gut and her chest. She squeezed him a little tighter, dropping a kiss on the top of his head.

“Thank you for confiding in me, Gale. And I’m so, so sorry that you’re going through this.”

Next Chapter

[sweeter-innocence-fics]

I can't figure out how to finish the rhyme

But yeah, Tara gun