#maybe I'll have gale do that bit?

[astarionsbeloved]

house of hope vexed-facial-expression Astarion lockscreen wallpaper

[circusofthelastdays]

mage hand & graded papers

warnings: MDNI, NSFW, post epilogue, afab fem reader, inappropriate use of mage hand, gale uses mage hand to get you off while grading papers.

You traipse into Gale's study, a thin robe adorning your body, loosely tied. Hair falls over your shoulders, the strong scent of your lavender soap wafting through the house. A bath would help, was the assumption in your mind. Maybe some relaxation would quell the ravenous need for your husbands touch, you thought.

Yet here you stand, the aching feeling of arousal pulsing in your core as you lean against the doorway to his study. You eye him from behind, debating on whether or not you would bother him. It's clear that he's busy- he's been working for hours. You stand there watching him, hunched over his desk, reading glasses on and quill in hand. Papers are scattered across his desk, ones you can only assume are his students.

Even the sight of him like this has your current arousal ever growing, and your face heating up. "Gale, are you almost done?" you ask him, knowing that if he turns around to face you it'll be clear why you want to know.

"No where near, I still have about twenty papers to grade." He answers you, not even bothering to look away from the paper he is marking up with red ink.

Your lips curl into a frown, "oh, that's fine- I'll just uhm... I'll go cook dinner or something I suppose."

You step back from the doorway, not wanting to disturb his work any further. Still, you can't help but stand there and observe him a bit longer with a yearning look.

Gale turns from his desk when he hears the defeat in your voice, pulling his reading glasses down the bridge of his nose to get a good look at you. He sees the flush on your face, your half tied robe, and the way you try to subtly squeeze your thighs together while standing there.

"Come here, my love." He says, directing you with a pointed finger to come to his side.

Without hesitation, you go to his side, expecting that you'll be getting what you so desperately crave. Gale, however, has other ideas. He gently grasps your arm, and pulls you down onto his lap.

"Sit here with me, for just a bit?" he says, placing a chaste kiss on the back of your neck after. He picks up his quill again, dipping it in red ink, and looks back down at the papers he is grading, paying no mind to you fidgeting on his lap.

So you do as he asks, despite how much you desire to do more, to have him touch you in anyway. And oh, what you would give to have him take you against his desk... you can't help but squirm in his lap at the thought of it. You sit there silently for awhile, watching him grade papers and listening to nothing but his breathing and the scratching of his quill against paper. He places more chaste kisses on your neck and shoulder every so often, effectively worsening your arousal, and you know damn well he's doing this on purpose.

At least twenty minutes have passed before you hear him utter anything, but you can't quite catch what is was. "Hmm? What was that?" you ask, trying to get Gale to repeat what he said.

"Oh nothing, dear," he says, with a cheeky smirk on his face that you cannot see. "just mumbling about these papers."

A moment passes, and then you feel a light brush against your leg. However, you think you must be imagining things. Both of Gale's hands are hard at work above the desk. You feel it again, more apparent this time as it trails up your thigh, and pulls at your robe.

You quickly look down, and realize what's happening. A shimmering, blue, and sheer hand is the culprit. The incantation for mage hand, that must've been what Gale uttered.

"Gale?" you speak his name in a questioning tone, facing heating up at the implications of this situation, "what are you doing?"

"Isn't this what you wanted, my love?" He says, controlling the hand to pull open your robe so your body is on display for him, proceeding to trail the sheer hand over your breasts, and down to your hips.

The hand ghosts over your wet cunt, collecting some slick- a shiver runs down your spine, and your head falls back onto Gale's shoulder. "You're a fucking tease."

"Am I?" he replies, this time making the hand touch you with more purpose. It glides over your folds, before hooking two fingers inside whilst simultaneously circling your clit with its translucent thumb. "I'm just giving you what you crave."

"You know damn well this isn't what I had in mind..." you start to complain, but the hand speeds up, expertly touching you exactly how you like it. Your lips part, a slew of needy whimpers and whining spilling out of you, as your poised nature comes crumbling down.

"Hush, now. I'm still working." Gale chides, in a tone that is clearly meant to taunt you further. However, he himself makes no move to touch you, he only adjusts the reading glasses on his face and goes back to grading the papers on his desk. Yet, the translucent hand continues its ministrations, so his concentration is not entirely on his work, no matter how much he pretends it is.

You try to be quiet, really, you do. Though the situation at hand makes it incapable to do so, especially since the mage hand seems to double down on it's efforts the more you squirm and choke down moans in attempt to be quiet. He's messing with you, threatening your resolve and challenging your ability to follow instructions.

Gale's left hand strays away from his work, and wraps around your waist to keep you from moving around, "Stop squirming, dear. You're distracting me."

It cannot be helped though, you're too far gone. Pleasure is building in your core as the mage hand doesn't seem to let up, merely moments away from tumbling over the edge. You're practically panting with need, the occasional moan of your lover's name included in the lewd sounds that fill the room. You can't tell what's more sinful, the sound of your wetness or the muffled sounds of ecstasy that slip off your tongue.

Gale chuckles quietly at your muted whimpers and feeble attempts to stay quiet for him- he dares to hush you for a second time. "Shh, you're okay..." He says, but there's something about the way he says it, his tone sensual, and with a sloppy kiss placed against your neck. It has you positively reeling.

The cord tightening within your stomach finally snaps, and the pleasure becomes overwhelming. Gale's name falls off your lips like a chant, like it's the only word you can remember. The translucent hand continues its onslaught, working you through the waves of your orgasm, Gale holding you still on his lap until your body is spent. He groans at the sight of you, unable to ignore his own arousal now.

The mage hand finally dissipates out of existence, and you think you're done, as you lean back onto your husband's chest.

"ah, ah-" he chastises you, before hastily pushing the papers to the side of his desk, as well as the ink that spills across them. The spilled ink is a problem for later, he could not care less. "I'm not done with you just yet..."

He hoists you onto his desk, and spreads your legs, trailing gentle kisses up your thighs. A needy growl escapes him as he licks a stripe across your soaked cunt, before his lips continue the path up your body to their rightful destination.

"Work can wait," Gale's lips connect with yours, with desperation and heat, passion coursing through him. As he pulls away, he grabs hold of your chin, and gently coaxes you to make eye contact, "I need you more."

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[thatfreshi]

Hi! Can I request a story about Tav having trouble fighting cause Astarion just fed on her and so he gets worried and protective ofc. Maybe they were ambushed at camp or something? Thank you so much for your work! I really like how you write Astarion

Tw - animal attack, lots of gore, themes of death

Recommended Song: Seek and Destroy - SZA

Against better judgment, you let Astarion feed on you almost every night. It's just one of those things, a sacrifice you make, an act of love. After decades of disrespect, scavenging for next to nothing, you thought it'd be nice for him to have something better than animals. While he always insists it isn't necessary, he never passes you up on the offer. A ritual before bed every night, like a lover's embrace, you've come to adore the feeling of his teeth.

This evening in particular, he took quite a bit. You don't mind, considering you go to bed almost right after. Light-headed, woozy, you're wrapped up in his arms.

"Thank you darling."

His embrace almost feels warm when you're this drained. You almost drift off, but he keeps you awake.

"Tav, you need to eat something first."

You groan, absolutely exhausted, trying to keep him in the bedroll.

"Nooo, I'll just do it tomorrow."

He smiles, moving your hair out of your eyes.

"That's not how it works my sweet. Now, let me get up so I can-"

Goblin war drums. The sound of the percussive rhythms bouncing off all the trees, they're not far off, and Astarion knows they're on the way. Karlach starts making her way to every tent, telling your companions to get their asses in gear.

"Tav, Astarion, let's go!"

"Shit."

Astarion whispers to himself. You're still not fully there, in and out of sleep.

"What's going on?"

Double vision, you see two of your vampire lover get up and start rummaging around for his daggers.

"Just- just stay here Tav. It's alright."

You try to rub at your eyes, desperately wanting to figure out what's going on. Before you can ask again, he's gone, and you hear more war drums outside. You quickly realize it's goblins. They must've found where you've been hiding, but your head is still spinning. Trying to get up and grab your blade, you almost fall back to the ground. Steadying yourself for a moment, you try your best to listen to what's going on outside. It sounds deadly, metal, screams. You hear Shadowheart casting left and right.

When you manage to stumble out of the tent, you're tackled by one of their dogs, or whatever wretched things they are. A scream rips out of your throat, trying to hold the thing off. It bites rabidly at your arm, leaving numerous gashes, until it's thrown off of you and stabbed to death, relentlessly.

"Gods damnit, I told you to stay in the tent Tav!"

You're too worried about your arm throbbing in pain to care about the validity of his argument. He's angry, and perhaps both of you aren't entirely certain why. It's your dominant arm, you can barely move it. Astarion goes to wrap your arm, but is quickly overpowered by the numbers again. They must've sent a large party after the lot of you. Halsin and Shadowheart are running out of magic, already drained. It's bad, but it'll end soon. With a couple more fights and a thunderwave from Gale, the rest of the goblins scurry off, knowing they're fighting a losing battle. Astarion doesn't even stop to loot their corpses, running to your side.

"You're a fucking idiot Tav, you know that?"

Gods, he could sound so mean when he wanted to. You know he says those things out of fear, but they still hurt. Despite how angry he is, he starts ripping pieces of cloth from his shirt, wrapping your arm, which is bleeding far too fast. Shadowheart and Halsin come over to supervise, both out of arcana until they get some rest.

"Yes, the two of you standing over my shoulder is quite helpful. Might as well cheer me on while you're at it!"

His movements are ragged, furious, only making your arm hurt more than it does. He's lost though, somewhere in his head, unable to hear the cries of pain as he's wrapping your arm. You're even more lost than before, your blood leaving rapidly.

"Aster, I-"

"Hush."

He then realizes you were going to tell him you were about to pass out, because you almost immediately fall over.

"Damnit!"

He holds you in his arms, your limb still not fully wrapped.

"If the two of you want to be helpful, get me some actual bandages instead of gawking at me!"

Sure, Astarion hates doing things that require hard work, but he knows how. How many times did he have to do something like this to himself, when no one was there to help wrap his wounds? Shadowheart quickly returns with all of the bandage wraps she has.

"We have to clean it or it'll get infected."

"Well, Shadowheart, I don't know how you think you're going to clean it if Tav bleeds to death."

The two healers decide it's best if he handles this himself. While he obsessively wraps your arm, the rest of the camp watches on, knowing he's too possessive to let them help. He doesn't trust them like he trusts you.

And I trusted you to stay put.

There's no way to give you more blood, not in a way that would work for you. For a moment, he simply thinks that he'll feed you some of his blood, and then he remembers. All he can do is hope you retained enough, that he didn't preemptively kill you by feeding on you tonight. Your pulse is still going, but it's slow, and you're paler than usual.

Astarion begins to think to himself, asking why he ever fell in love, why he ever let himself think twice about you. It's easy to play the game when you have nothing to lose. Second thoughts, always, he's always thinking for two people now. It's been his survival, for as long as he can remember, and now you're lodged in his brain.

"Damn you Tav, I can't do this. I can't lose you like this."

He begins to sob as he holds you, still unconscious. This beckons Gale to come over, often a voice of reason for the vampire.

"You've done all you can. Perhaps we should get Tav back inside? Away from the elements?"

Astarion is too distraught to argue, helping Gale carry you back into the tent.

"The second Shadowheart is awake, she'll be back to check on Tav."

"Yeah, if they don't die from blood loss in the middle of the night."

Gale simply sighs, knowing there's no point in fighting with him. He leaves your pale lover to wallow in his misery. Hours pass, you're still clinging on, and Astarion watches over you, panicking every time he can't see your chest rise and fall, constantly checking your pulse. You're cold, your heartbeat dangerously slow, and he keeps wracking his brain about what else he could possibly do. But there's nothing, only fate, only the gods. He sadly chuckles to himself at the thought of even trying to pray, knowing there's no higher power out there, at least one that cares about him.

"W... what are you... laughing at?"

You ask weakly, oblivious to the horrific stress he's been through. Astarion whips around quickly, wondering if perhaps he's imagining your voice. When he sees your eyes fluttering, lost somewhere between dreams and reality, he rushes to your side.

"Oh gods Tav... you- you really scared me there."

He tries to hold back tears, failing miserably. You try to speak again, but groan in pain as the feeling in your arm starts to come back.

"I know, I know it hurts. It's okay my darling, you'll be alright."

He begins fully sobbing, and you have no idea why, without being awake enough to comprehend the situation. Astarion always tries to be strong when you're weak, but watching you teeter on the line between life and death, it was simply too much to bear.

"You can't pull that shit, ever again my love, I'm so serious. I know I'm normally quite serious, but ever more so right now."

Then, a joyful, tiny laugh. Happiness. Happy that you're alive. The memories of the fight slowly start coming back, the beast that ripped up your arm, Astarion yelling.

"Aster...?"

"Yes my dear?"

You start to tear up a little, still a tad delirious.

"I'm sorry."

And then remembers as well, the things he said, the tone he spoke to you in.

"No, no my love I'm sorry. You weren't yourself, I was being entirely unreasonable. I just..."

He almost can't finish his sentence.

"I'm just happy you're okay. That's enough for me."

Your lover slowly and carefully lays down beside you, pulling you into him, being sure not to let your wounded arm drag on the ground. He holds you for a long time, until Shadowheart wakes at dawn, fully rested and ready to fix your wounds. Astarion vows silently that he'll never let it come that close, ever again.

[reallyhatethiswebsite]

dark/cunty raphael, devils being devils (this has been done to death but i just wanted to write him being awful) once again thank you @pouralaura for your advice and encouragement you are the best

Read on AO3

-

He wasn't supposed to be back yet.

He wasn't supposed to be back yet.

Tav panicked. Wide eyed, she pleaded with Hope's flickering apparition. “Are you sure?” She hissed. “Are you sure he's back?”

“YesyesYES can't you feel it?! He's home, the master is home and he brings blood and pain and death!” Hope shrieked. “I have to go, you have to go, we all have to go!”

“No, Hope, wait! I need your help!”

“I can't help you anymore,” the poor crazed thing said, coherent for this moment just to fix Tav with a sad, pitying look. “Just like you can't help me anymore. But thanks for trying. I'll remember it forever. He's going to hurt you and he's going to kill you and I'm sorry.”

Her phantom faded into nothing and Tav was left alone in the claustrophobic halls. Maybe she tripped a hidden alarm or ward. Maybe she simply took too long. All she knew was that, if Hope was right, she'd squandered likely the only chance she had of sneaking into Raphael's home and taking the hammer. And Hope was definitely right. Tav felt it. A change to the air. The wailing of souls muted, exhalated. 

He was here.

The plan had been very simple: her friends distract Raphael by pretending to consider and discuss his contract “behind her back”, and she heads to the diabolist to get a portal open, go in, steal the hammer, and leave. It was much easier to sneak a single person through, and Raphael would've been none the wiser. Only, she wasn't prepared enough for the House of Hope. She wasn't prepared for its namesake. She wasn't prepared for Raphael's dark, dirty secrets parading in her face. 

Gale called her ludicrous. Mad. Idiotic. And yet when she pressed him for a better option, for a way to keep the crown and save Orpheus from the Emperor's vile clutches, he came up empty. They were stretched thin, resources and resilience at their breaking points.

“Let it be me, then,” he'd said. “Let it be me who gets the hammer.”

“I'm a better sneak than you,” Tav had argued. She was willing to take the risk for him. So he could be free of Mystra, free of the orb. Free. He knew. He'd pressed their foreheads together, holding her close.

“Come back to me,” he'd whispered. “Promise you'll come back.”

Tav might not be able to deliver the hammer, but she could still escape. All she had to do was hide, and sneak back to her portal before Raphael found her. The house was so big, like a damn maze. Tav tried to remember where she'd come from, where she'd left her portal, but the gaudy halls and creepy gilded statues all looked the same. She thought she recognised the dining room from when he'd first brought her here so long ago, taunting her with the offer of aid. The table was covered in rotten food. Mutilated skeletons filled the seats. Shaken, Tav moved on.

Shit.

She caught sight of Raphael prowling the corridors outside, his expression stormy. He was still in his human guise, but his hellish fury bubbled just barely beneath the surface. Swallowing a sharp inhale before it gave her away, Tav tucked herself behind a pillar and prayed he hadn’t seen her.

“I know you're here, little mouse,” he rumbled, burning brown eyes scanning every nook and cranny. Tav bit her lip. Her stomach dropped. He exuded overwhelming diabolical power. Tav knew she stood no chance against him alone. “You must think me a dullard. Your friends show up at the Devil's Den without you, interested in a contract of all things when they were so staunchly against me before, and then I feel my wards breached telling me there is an intruder scurrying about my home…why, such coincidental timing. I wonder, who could be creeping around? What could they be looking for?”

In hindsight, the plan was never going to work. Of course he had wards everywhere. Of course he was too clever for their ruse. But they were desperate. Just as the devil promised they would be, by the end. Just the way he wanted them. All hope wasn't yet lost. If she could only escape…

“Did you think you could fool me? That any hair-brained schemes concocted in your simple, tadpole-addled minds would succeed? It's almost amusing, were it not so outrageous.” Raphael ranted. So verbose even in his anger. And yet, Tav could hear his liquid smile in the words he purred next. “How about this? For old times’ sake, for my most cherished client who never was… If you show yourself now and beg me well enough, I might make your death quick. But the longer you hide, the longer it takes for me to find you - and I will find you - the longer I'll spend peeling your pretty skin from your flesh.”

The devil was striding away, deeper into his house. Tav snatched the opportunity to dart out into the foyer. She remembered now, those big metal doors. Where Hope had first been waiting. Tav’s portal was behind them. Poor Hope. Rejuvenated by relief, Tav vowed to find a way to save her. Even if she had to storm the house again, with her team this time, and swing the cudgel of justice down on Raphael’s head. Smash his dirty devil brains out. She’d relish doing so. The doors were ajar. Tav slipped through. She could practically taste her safety. The grungy corrupted streets of Baldur’s Gate had never been so welcoming…

Except there was no portal.

For a moment she simply stood there in disbelief. Denial. A scorched circle on the marble floor was the lone indicator that a portal had ever existed in the first place. A taunting shadow. As she stared at nothing, the damned souls forever trapped - just like her - seemed to laugh. 

Despair. The likes of which Tav hadn’t felt since she awoke on the beach and realised everything that happened on the nautiloid wasn’t a bad dream. It crawled up her throat and threatened to make her scream. She stuffed the meat of her hand in her mouth and bit down. The pain grounded her. Panic wouldn’t help. There had to be other portals. Ones Raphael or his cronies used to get about in the material plane. She’d jump through one of them. It didn’t matter where she ended up; it would be easy enough to get back to Baldur’s Gate. She crept out into the halls again. A flash of red in the corner of her eye catapulted her into motion. She’d never been more aware of the noise her boots made, how heavy her footsteps were, how loud each panting breath was. She ran, crawled behind a big statue, and made herself as small as possible. 

“Come out, little mouse,” the devil crooned sweet poison from somewhere, his voice drifting through the empty spaces of his home, echoing off the walls and floors, impossible to ignore. “Come out come out, wherever you are…”

Fear bubbled in Tav’s churning  gut. Her heart pounded against her ribs in protest. In her ever-shrinking world of mind flayers, crazed cultists, monsters and apostles and madness, Raphael had been but a blip on her threat radar. She hadn’t given him much concern, or consideration. A mistake. One she might not live to rectify.

I’m sorry, Gale…

“It was bold of you to come here alone, you know. Bold, but so very foolish. I suppose you got the idea in your worm-eaten skull that you were faster than your companions. Stealthier. Or was it they who convinced you?” Raphael’s tone twisted, honed into a dagger aiming at a specific target. A soft target. “I wonder, did they do it because they really thought you might succeed? Or because they knew you wouldn’t? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, after all…”

Tav chewed the inside of her cheek. Raphael, she’d learned, was very good at hurting people without even raising a finger. Words were weapons for him as much as his claws or infernal magics. She wouldn’t let him bait her.

Peering out of her spot, the coast was clear enough for Tav to risk moving. She thought about it. The devil was quiet, had been for a little while, either out of things to say - unlikely - or finally far away enough that she could no longer hear him. After another few moments of hesitation, Tav took the chance, flitting down an empty corridor. Prayed the next room she entered would hold something useful. 

She never made it.

As she rounded a corner, a hand shot out and snatched her by the hair. Thick fingers dug into her scalp, yanked her so harshly a joint in her neck popped. 

“Got you,” the devil snarled, right into her ear. Tav shrieked, instinctively scratching at Raphael’s hand. All it seemed to do was incense him further. 

“Let go of me!” She yelled.

“Oh, how the mouse squirms when it’s been caught,” Raphael intoned, low, almost sensual were it not for the bite of murder lingering in the depths. He manipulated her to look at him, so she could see the contempt and loathing on his handsome face. “But you aren’t a mouse, are you? No. You’re a rat. Just like your little friends.”

“Did you hurt them?!” The pain of her hair being pulled at the roots made tears bead at the corners of Tav’s eyes. She fought to regain her footing. Glared at Raphael anyway.

“And what would you do if I had?” The devil jeered. He released her hair, only to close his fist around her throat instead. “No, no. Despite your collective stupidity, someone still needs to clean up the mess that is the netherbrain. Although I don’t imagine they have much chance of success after this…” Raphael squeezed her throat harder. Claws dug pinpricks into her skin as he let his rage change him, shed his human disguise. He shook her, easily lifting her from the ground so her legs dangled, black and orange eyes ferocious. “You had every opportunity to accept my deal. It was fair. The hammer for the crown. An artefact you cannot even hope to use or understand, for the only chance you had to free yourself from the Emperor. To free Orpheus. And yet you’ve chosen to spit in my face despite my patience, my clemency. Why?” 

Tav gagged, struggled to speak around her crushing windpipe. Black spots began to dance at the edges of her vision. The devil loosened his grip enough so she could answer. His pride demanded it. “You…the crown should…go to Mystra. For Gale. He spoke to her. She said…said she could fix him, get rid of the orb if…if he…the crown…” Tav broke off, coughing, choking, gasping for air. Her tears finally spilled over, dripping down her cheeks.

“You’ve done this for Gale?” Raphael seethed with peculiar jealousy. He dropped her, watched her stumble. Then he laughed; a cruel, sharp sound that went on for too long. “If you truly believe your precious wizard intends to return the crown to his cantankerous trollop ex-lover instead of using it for himself, then you are more naive and gullible than I ever imagined.”

Tav scowled, rubbing her neck. “He promised,” she rasped. “He…”

“He promised,” the devil mocked. “Oh yes, I’m sure he did. I’m sure he meant it.”

“He wouldn’t lie! He’s never lied to me!”

Raphael tilted his horn-crowned head. Stared at her like she was an idiot. “Hasn’t he?” 

Just like before, Raphael was aiming for her soft spots - but this time, this one, was already bruised. He was right. Gale had lied. About the orb, about his feelings for Mystra, even about abandoning his desire to ascend. The first thing he’d done when he learned the true nature of the crown was consider how he could take advantage of it. Not the behaviour of a man changed. But Tav had faith in him. Believed in him. Her niggling doubts meant nothing. 

“No.” She said in defiance. Ignored the way her weak voice wobbled. “You’re just trying to poison me against him. You don’t understand anything.”

“Don’t I?” Raphael crooned, viciously amused. “I think it’s you who doesn't understand. Let me put it this way, so that even you can comprehend: why would a power-hungry magelet with a chip on his shoulder abandon decades of ambition for some little bint he found on the roadside, when he could have hundreds – thousands of warm and willing holes to wet his cock with if he becomes a so-called god? Do you think you’re worth that sacrifice? Does Gale think you are? I’m sure he says lots of sweet things when he’s inside you, just as I’m sure he said the same things to Mystra, and we all know how that worked out…”

“Stop,” Tav begged. Sobbed. 

“No,” the devil sneered. Utterly merciless. “It’s high time you faced the reality of your actions. You have doomed a future for the githyanki free from tyranny, you have doomed your friends’ chance to escape the emperor’s machinations, and you have doomed yourself, sweet pet, to reap what you sow – all for the sake of a man who rolled over you because you were the first woman in years to say yes. You wanted to enter my house without permission? Fine. Then you’ll stay for eternity.”

She recoiled in horror, the implication making her blood run cold. She’d rather he killed her and he knew it. “You can’t keep me here!”

“I think you’ll find I can, girl,” Raphael said, malicious, quiet. His gaze flayed her alive, peeled away layers of skin and muscle to stare at her very soul. “For in this house, in this pocket of Hell, I am the master, and that means I can do whatever I want.”

A sick, bitter pill to swallow: he was right.

“Fine!” Tav laughed maniacally, the futility of the situation driving her to reckless anger. “Fine, you evil bastard! I suppose you’ll have a pet squid soon, then. Have you always wanted one of those? Was it a boyhood dream, if you were a boy once? I hear ink stains are a bitch to get out of silk rugs.” As soon as she said it, Tav wished she had kept her mouth shut. She’d done everything wrong since entering that portal. Everything. Raphael’s shrewd hellish eyes narrowed as he considered something. Tav watched him raise his fingers, ready to snap, with dawning horror; if he did this, she wouldn’t just be stuck with him forever. She would owe him forever. A fate so much worse. “No! Wait! You don’t – I’m sure I won’t transform! It’s different in Hell, right?!” 

“I’d rather not take the chance,” Raphael murmured, enjoying this moment of despair. “I’m not too fond of tentacles, you see. And besides…I promised I could be your saviour, didn’t I? Even though you hardly deserve it, I'm nothing if not magnanimous, after all.”

CLICK. 

Such a small sound heralding a monumental, irreversible change.

Agony. The likes of which Tav couldn’t comprehend. Her skull splitting apart, bursting from the inside, her brains chewed up and spat out, eyes and teeth and tongue destroyed, sinuses burning…it only lasted for a few brief seconds, maybe, but the next thing she knew she was on her hands and knees. Frothy blood and bile oozed from her nose and mouth. Her body shook violently. Her head felt like it was full of water. She wasn’t sure, but she might have pissed herself a little bit. She stared up at the devil through bleary wet eyes and saw him watching her. Savouring her suffering. Floating in his palm was her tadpole, sluggish and covered in gore. Covered in her brains. 

“Hmmm…I suppose I could have used less force for the extraction,” Raphael mused, unapologetic. He squinted at the ugly cosmic horror larva with disdain. “I was led to believe these things were near-impossible to remove. Clearly not. Such weak magic. That worthless boy still has a lot to learn.” He curled his fingers inward and the tadpole caught fire, writhing and screaming as it died. Rendered to ash. Then he smiled at Tav, placid, almost business-like, as if he hadn’t just up-ended her entire existence. Her suffering had greatly improved his mood. “There we are. Now you won’t have to worry about those lovely guts of yours dissolving any time soon. Not before I get to sample them, at least.”

“I’d rather be a mind flayer,” Tav slurred quietly. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt hollow. Without that tadpole – as awful as it had been – she couldn’t reach her friends or even the emperor to beg for help. She knew they were pragmatic. They would stick to the plan, even Gale. They’d realise something went wrong and cut their losses. Poor Orpheus. She’d known the risk, being the one breaking in. Made certain they wouldn’t risk storming this infernal psycho’s little castle to rescue her, not when the elder brain was so unstable and they were so close to vanquishing the Absolute cult, but at least pretending it was an option would’ve given her something to hold onto. 

“And ruin that delightful complexion of yours? Perish the thought.” The devil reached to wrap one big paw around her forearm and tugged her upright. Tav was too weak to pull away. She barely stayed on her feet. The room and everything in it swayed. Until it was forced to stop by his hot clawed hand holding her jaw firm. Raphael’s image swam into focus. He gently turned her head this way and that. He was examining her; examining his new property. His new trophy. “Can’t fault the magelet’s taste. You are a pretty little thing. And now you’re my pretty little thing.”

He pushed his thumb into her mouth. She could taste the sulphur and hellish magic even over the copper sticking to her gums and teeth. She bit him, tried to, but Raphael wasn’t phased. He dug his thumb claw into her tongue instead, pressing until he pierced the muscle, until Tav cried out. Fresh blood welled from the small puncture wound.

“Behave,” the devil simply said, like he was talking to a naughty puppy. 

“Never,” Tav spat. Raphael seemed to like that answer, if the sparkle in his eyes and his rich chuckle were any indication. 

“Oh, you’ll learn, my little pet. One way or the other.” He dragged his thumb out of her mouth, smearing blood and spit across her lips. His pupils expanded as he looked upon her. He found this arousing, Tav realised, more repulsed than she’d ever been in her life. 

“You make me sick,” she hissed. 

“You have no idea just how sick I could truly make you,” he purred around a sinister smile, “but we have all the time in the world for that, don’t we? Thanks to you, I’ve got a lot more work to do now. Plans to tweak, contingencies to set up, that sort of thing. I don’t expect you to understand, but unfortunately it means I won’t be able to break you in quite yet. But fret not, you shan’t be alone. Haarlep can keep an eye on you until I return.”

Tav didn’t get the chance to ask what a Haarlep was. Raphael displaced them both into the boudoir. So sudden, and she was still so unsteady. She’d have fallen on her face if Raphael wasn’t holding her. Instead she leaned on him until her vision stopped spinning. He chuckled cruelly. 

“Not to worry, love. I’ve got you.”

Tav yanked herself free – he let her go this time – and staggered away from him, collapsing onto the big bed nearby. She wasn’t the only one sprawled on those red silk sheets; a creature that looked like Raphael but softer, younger, and dressed much skimpier, lounged. He perked up with interest, peering at her. Two of them…Tav truly was in Hell.

“What’s this?” The lookalike asked in a perfect, if airy, imitation of Raphael’s voice. 

“A new pet. Clean her up. And don’t do anything else or you’ll be skinned and hung out to dry like Nubaldin. I mean it, Haarlep.” 

Another click of those devilish fingers and Raphael was gone. Haarlep crawled across the bed like a huge, nasty cat, eyeing Tav up and down.

“Hmm…not quite breeding stock, but I suppose you’ll do.” He pawed at her. “Come on, then. Get up.”

“Take your hands off me!” Tav cringed away, drooling pinkish red froth. “I’ll kill you, I swear it.”

Haarlep tutted, amused. “You couldn’t kill a mouse right now, little pet. And I don’t need your compliance to get you off this bed. There are many ways, and I can’t promise you’ll enjoy all of them…”

The suggestion in his voice made Tav grit her bloodied teeth. Her skin crawled. “You’re just as twisted as Raphael, aren’t you?”

Haarlep cackled. “Oh no, sweet thing. I’m much worse.”

Tav ended up in the luxurious bathing pool, only after Haarlep callously pulled her clothes and armour off, telling her she should get used to it because the concept of her privacy no longer existed. The steaming water seemed to heal her physical injuries, easing the savage pain in her skull, but that simply meant she had more cognizance to think about how awful her situation really was. Her attempt at drowning herself was thwarted by a heavy clawed hand pulling her head out of the water by her hair. They seemed to like doing that, these fiends.

“Now, now. Don’t make me charm you,” Haarlep chided as Tav coughed and sputtered. “As funny as it would be for my brat to come back to a floating corpse, he obviously doesn’t want you dead yet, and I’d rather not be flayed. It’s not as erotic as those priests of pain make it out to be, trust me.”

“Fuck you,” Tav spat, digging her nails into Haarlep’s hand. He didn’t seem to feel it. Just like his master. A fly biting a dragon.

“In due time, lovely. In due time. Now…do you prefer red or gold?”

Like an overzealous child with a new doll, Haarlep stuffed Tav into a gold silken house robe – sheer, reaching just above her knees, thin enough that her nipples were easy to see. By this point she was despondent, allowing him to pull her this way and that. When he deemed her “good enough” he grew bored of her and went back to lounging on the bed. Tav wandered the boudoir aimlessly, not really seeing anything, until she found herself on a balcony overlooking the destitute landscape of Avernus from a great height. The House of Hope must be floating somewhere, she thought absently. Isolated even in Hell. If she jumped, Tav wondered how long she’d be falling before she hit the ground and what kind of mess she’d leave behind.

“Don’t even think about it,” Haarlep cheerfully called to her. 

Tav slid to the ground, buried her face in her knees, and wept. 

-

Time passed differently, strangely, in Hell. Tav existed in a fugue state of misery, unable to be sure. Days, weeks, months could have passed since she failed to steal from Raphael; since Raphael stole her. Almost all of it had been spent in the boudoir, an incubus and cambion her keepers both. 

She sat on the balcony when Raphael came to her, as she often did. Passing the minutes, hours, staring out at Avernus. The devil had been away for a while. He smelled of fresh air, of the material plane, taunting her with what she’d never experience again. He seemed strangely pleased despite all his plans going awry. “I thought you might like to know that your friends destroyed the brain,” he told her as he poured himself some wine. “Baldur’s Gate – and Faerun as a whole, is saved.”

At least that was a relief. 

“And you should also know that Gale decided to use the crown of Karsus to ascend. I believe he is now calling himself the god of ambition…how very droll.” Although Tav had come to accept this was a likely outcome, the information still sank like a rock in her stomach; of course, the devil wasn’t done. “I had thought he might come knocking at my door, threatening to smite me should I not release your soul, but…it seems your darling has forgotten about you, pet. Much more interesting things to do now that he’s reached the Heavens, I would imagine.”

Tav bit her tongue. Hope truly came to these cursed halls to die. Snuffed out before it had a chance to unfurl, but she wouldn’t give this wretch the satisfaction of knowing she was upset. 

“So…what are you going to do, then? The crown is completely out of your reach.” She thought that would sting him. An acknowledgement of his own failure. Of a dream ruined. If he lashed out, all the better, because she’d know she’d got under his skin. Small (miniscule) victories. 

“Hmm…for now,” he hummed. He swirled the wine in his goblet as he spoke. “You see, I came to quite an interesting realisation. Had you honoured the deal, I could have taken the crown and ascended to Archdevil Supreme. Yes, I could have conquered the Hells and perhaps moved on to other realms to unite under my power, but there would have always been a place I simply couldn’t reach.”

“The heavens…” Tav breathed in slow, horrifying realisation. Raphael smiled widely, dark eyes glittering. 

“Yes, very good. Right where your little godlet is now. The very place he will eventually destroy. Just like Karsus, Gale Dekarios’ hubris will ruin him. Unlike Karsus, Gale will bring the heavens down with him, and when he does, who shall be there to gleefully sift through the ashes but I? You see, I will get the crown, my dear, sweet pet. All I have to do is wait.” He reached forward, tucking a lock of Tav’s hair behind her ear. His touch deceptively tender. Like a lover. “I should thank you, in fact. If you hadn’t broken into my home, it’s likely you would have convinced Gale to give the crown to Mystra, and then it truly would have been beyond my grasp. But without your voice of reason and support, well…old habits die hard, don’t they? I must say, I’m looking forward to the day the heavens crumble. The collapse of Karsus’ empire was breathtaking, but this…oh, this will be something else entirely. And don’t worry, pet. Whether it happens in one hundred years or one thousand, I’ll make sure you’re there to see it, too.”

[mashiraostail]

pls pls can i request a jealous halsin x reader/tav scenario … he’s been pining over you, you’re oblivious, and then when he sees some innocent platonic affection between you and another companion, all that pining boils to the surface. mayhaps some nsfw too if you’ll indulge me. pls the way you write him is simply… *chef’s kiss*…. magnifique ✨

hoooraayyy Halsin HOORAY!! I heart making men talk like flowery little victorian women writing letters to their husband say some fruity shit big man! Idk what compels me to make these so long that's why they take forever.

I have another ask like this and maybe I'll write him doing sum primal fuck shit but this was an itch i just had to scratch

It wasn't Gale's fault, it wasn't your fault either, it was his fault. Halsin knows this, he's honestly ashamed, he shouldn't be so easy to sway...he never has been before.

He notices everything, he notices the flirtation, the questions about the life he left behind, the fleeting touches, the way you always go to him when they day is out, you propositioned him, he declined. That was his fault. It wasn't the time, he had business he had to sort before he could indulge himself, and you couldn't hold that against him. He made it clear when he turned you down, it wasn't you, and maybe one day soon things would be different.

Even so, you were always chatting with him, smiling at him, touching him, gods you always touched him. It drove him mad actually, your hand on his bicep, on his chest, on his stomach when he said something particularly funny, you sat so close to him your thighs pressed together, your shoulders and arms, all of it pushed him to the edge. And the way you said his name after you laughed at his joke, "Oh Halsin.." When you see him again after a long day, "Halsin! How'd it go?!" You'd even hugged him, thrown your arms around his neck and shoulders. He'd held the small of your back and laughed heartily with you, maybe a few ales too deep. He swore one day soon things would turn a corner for the two of you.

You doted on everyone though, and you enjoyed closeness with all your companions. Normally he'd be happy to see you sharing your joy with everyone but lately it frustrated him. He wondered what was different, even though deep down he knew. It was you, he didn't want you to himself necessarily, he wanted you to understand how he felt. The more he waited to explain himself the more upset he became, and the harder he found focusing around you to be. He felt like he was always brooding, always lingering behind the group, because the sight of you slinging your arm around Karlach or playfully mussing Astarion's hair made his stomach lurch with uncertainty. He wrote it off as a disdain for societal labels and relationships but he felt unfair even doing that, lying to himself.

He and Jaheria were the last ones to return to camp that day. He was grateful to travel with her alone, though he lamented not seeing you he did not lament the emotions seeing you caused to crop up. When he returned you were sitting on a log by the fire with Gale, chuckling and waving your hands. He'd already begun to feel wary.

Halsin inches closer, he snoops a bit sure, he's not proud of it but he's been alive long enough to accept he won’t always be proud of his actions.

"No!" You sound surprised through your laughter.

"Yes!" Gale's tone was argumentative but warm as you held onto his arms. Halsin bubbled a bit, out of everyone Gale was the most likely to get the wrong idea...or maybe the right one if the way you were squeezing him was any indiction of things.

"Did you really misbehave so terribly when you were younger?? I'll have to ask Tara next time we see her, I don't believe you!"

"Am I so untrustworthy?!" Gale sounds affronted.

"Based on your stories?? Yes! Gale! You are!" You're squeezing him and shaking him so much the pair of you topple over the back of the log you're perched on, Halsin watches Gale kick his legs for a while as you laugh.

"You'll kill me," Gale stands up and dusts himself off, "and the rest of them too!" He gestures to his orb, "I don't know how sensitive this thing is!" He hoists you up by your arm.

"I'm sorry Gale, that was just so funny, I can't picture you a young mischievous wizard at all..."

"Well it's a good thing I grew out of it." He's smirking at you though, impishly. It makes you laugh.

"Did you?" You cover your mouth as you chuckle before reaching out and dusting his hair off, tucking the rouge strands back into place. "I don't know if I believe that either. You've certainly kept your impish charm."

Halsin feels his face warm, he watched the two of you bat at each other like school children. He kissed his teeth, rubbed his calloused thumb over the smooth back of his hand, anything to distract himself from the annoyance rolling over in his stomach.

"Who's to say?" Gale holds his hands up, a faux surrender, shrugging just a bit.

"Go to sleep Gale." You shove him, snickering, "you're delirious."

"Perhaps I am." Gale smiles at you, "goodnight my friend." The words hardly do anything to put Halsin at ease he can practically feel his eye twitching. Whoever said patience was a druidic virtue?

"Sleep tight Gale." When you turn away from him you see Halsin, who to his credit had no real reason to be standing there.

"Halsin!" You chirp happily at him and he feels his chest bloom at it.

"Hello my dear, we're back late today, I apologize. Did you need us?" He tries to squash the growing disdain in his stomach in favor of appreciating you as you appear before him.

"Oh no! Nothing Shadowheart couldn't handle." You wave back at her tent, "How were your travels?"

"They were fine. Unfortunately the Harpers really can't be trusted.." He peers over your shoulder, notices your tent moved to be beside Gales, which had never been the case before.

"I figured as much." You sigh, he watches your eyebrows turn upwards. "That's upsetting. Are you going to clean up for the night?"

"Yes I think I will." He glances to the stream behind camp, no one else was there.

"Can I come? I hate to bother you but I can't sleep, and I think I kept Gale up so long he was hallucinating." Your fingertips brush his arm as you chuckle, he glances down at the point of contact. He feels the skin there heat up as you pull away.

"You're no bother, my dear." He shakes his head, "come with me."

You trot happily behind him, unaware of his stewing just in front of you.

"So, what went wrong with the Harpers?"

"You and Gale are close." Halsin elects to ignore your questions.

"Oh?" You perch on a nearby rock as Halsin crouches by the stream, "Gale? I suppose we are friendly. He's very funny."

"Is he?" Halsin fights to keep his tone even, though you seem oblivious to it.

"Did you hear us talking earlier? I swear the more sleepy he gets the funnier he is." You're giggling, like a school child. Halsin feels his eye twitch.

"I did not hear you, I only saw you fall."

"My fault completely, I was going mad with it, it was so funny, Gale told me that when he was a younger student, at that fancy magic school he snuck into the-"

"Do you..care for him?" Halsin turns to you, still crouched by the running water below him.

"I suppose I do...like him yes." You sound confused, lost, which Halsin supposes is a good sign as you'll only tell the truth.

"You like him?" Halsin is looking intently at you.

"I do, he's..nice.." You look like you're entirely unsure about what's going on.

"You like him so much because he's..nice, then?" Halsin doesn't sound like he's convinced.

"Yes I think so-"

"Do you share a bed with him?" Halsin stands, he walks towards you perched on your rock.

"I-" He almost feels bad for the way a warm flush rises to your face as you look up at him.

"N-no we don't, we haven't. We're only friendly-"

"Do you wish to? Would you wish to?"

"N-no I don't, I wouldn't he...I-" You flounder a bit, "why do you ask?"

"It seemed a certain way." Halsin kneels, face to face with you on your perch, "I worried."

"Why did you worry?"Your holding your hands by your chest, leaning away from him, shocked but not leering, nervous..you were nervous. "Why would it worry you to know I shared a bed with Gale, that I cared for him in that way?"

At the realization of your nervousness he feels guilty, he puts his hands on your thighs, "I should apologize."

"Why?" Your face was flushed, your eyes were wide as you watched him, tried to predict his next move with no avail.

"I was selfish with you. With your time, with your care." He shakes his head, "I beg you to forgive me. To not let this ruin your opinion of me..I acted so poorly...and it..it’s embarrassing and dreadful and I beg for your forgiveness...You gave me a chance to have a piece of you, I turned you away. I know you don't hold that against me. You stepped aside and I am grateful that you did. The curse was my burden to bear, and I couldn't be distracted from it, not by you, or by anybody. You understood that, and I am grateful. Had you pushed me I would have..become distracted with you, I would have followed you wherever you went, and forgotten my duty."

"I understand Halsin. I'm not offended-"

"I know you aren't, and that's why I'm so grateful for you." He looks earnest, "but I selfishly believed that you would hold onto your want for me. That you would wait indefinitely for me to come to you. I held you to an unfair expectation, to the hope that you would not share your heart, or your body, with another. When I saw you today with Gale, I worried that I had given you up, that I had made a terrible blunder and I had lost my chance to have you. Gale does not seem the kind of man to be willing to share you, and I cannot blame him, nor could I blame any other for keeping you to themselves once they've had you."

"Why does that worry you? You did not want me then-"

"I did want you." Halsin insists, "and I do want you now, I've wanted you since the beginning but I knew you would consume me, that I would lose sight of what I was meant to do..but I've burned with it, you have enamored me completely and... brought out the worst in me, I'm useless with it."

"I'm sorry Halsin.." You hold his gaze, and cover his hands with yours.

"And you still apologize as if you have done wrong." He squeezes your thighs where his hands cover, "you have not, I am the one who lost sight of things, lost sight of what I wanted, who I wanted. I was so enamored by the idea of having you I cursed any obstacle in my way, rather than telling you the truth. That was my error. It was my error to believe you would hold onto your desire even after I turned you away, to believe that you would still consider me after I put something else above you."

"I don't understand Halsin.." You blink at him as he lifts your hands, "do you want to go our separate ways? Is this too much- I apologize if I was too forward back then, but we need you-"

"No," His forehead falls onto your knees, "perhaps I am not speaking clearly." He squeezes you again, "I don't want to be parted from you, not now, not ever... I want the opposite," he sighs, "I want you now, if you'll have me, if you can put my behavior..my feelings behind us.I know it was so childish of me. I’m so sorry my songbird..please find it in yourself to forgive me.” He looks up at you, he kisses the back of your hand, “you’ll break my heart if you don’t.”

"You haven't done anything wrong....Halsin.." You shake your head, "if you need to be forgiven then I forgive you, I'll always forgive you, but...I do not think you've done anything that deserves asking for it. We misunderstood each other..."

"You are brighter, and kinder than most, perhaps you're naive... or perhaps you understand things better than any of us." He kisses up your inner arm to the crook of your elbow, "I laid some sort of...childish claim to you, I believed I deserved you, your time, your body, your heart, more than the others, that you would come to me because...I don't know..I'm sorry, forgive me for treating you like a prize to be won, a piece of land to fight over you are...your heart is so much more than that, to me and to everyone that you meet." He barely takes his lips off your skin when he looks up at you and you feel your lungs empty of air.

"Halsin..of course I forgive you..” You barely get it out, you feel so breathless.

His lips pass the bend of your elbow and make their way to your shoulder, your neck, your jaw, his other hand engulfs your waist as he moves you from your perch and pulls you to his chest,

“do you? Really?” He’s at your jaw, "I was too much of an oafish brute to put words to it, to tell you, even when I should have, I adore you, I think so highly of you. I'm so taken by you.."

"I feel the same way Halsin.." You're breathless when you're face to face, your hand holds the nape of his neck, "I thought you wanted to...focus on the more dire things at hand so I left you to them, and when things ended and you didn't come to me I thought perhaps the fascination had passed and I did not want to trouble you again-"

"You did not trouble me then, you do not trouble me now,"  He sighs gratefully as he kisses you, it’s warm, his other hand leaves your jaw to press the small of your back, arching you closer to him.

“I have to have you..I’m worried I’ll die if I don’t.” He’s breathing quickly into your mouth with anticipation, “I need to see you.. All of you and..and feel you I-”

“Oh.” You felt gooey at that, of all the things you expected to happen today this was not one of them.

“And It has to be now you see I- I can hardly put my head on right when I start to think about you like that and it’s all I've been thinking of lately... I doubt I’ll even be able to get anything done properly tomorrow if you don’t set me straight.”

You laugh at that, “okay..” You nod, leaning down to him again, just slightly taller than him perched on his lap.

“Yes?” He sounds so perfectly hopeful.

"Tell me you want me, tell me this is what you want..to be with me..and for me to have you..even after all the things we misunderstood..that you’ll let me bed you, that you want me to..” He looks up at you earnestly, his eyes flickering between yours and you nod.

"I want you, I want this, Halsin, I always have."

He let's out a warbled sigh into your lips at that, already lowering your bodies to the ground, kissing you, sliding his hands into your clothes.

He was quick to uncover you, to toss your clothes off somewhere, to sigh gratefully as you did the same to his, you wondered what had gotten into him, but had no complaints either way.

He was lowering himself between your legs easily, kissing down your chest, lavishing your stomach with attention, unperturbed by the flush creeping down your neck.

"Halsin you don't have to-"

"Please, don't deny me now.." You aren't sure why you thought he would consider this a chore.

He deluged you with loving attention, his hands slid from the sides of your thighs up to the small of you back, pulling you closer and closer to him with each stroke. He groaned when you called his name, when you carded hair through your hands or held his face. Languid stokes of his tongue, paired with the slow curling of his fingers inside you. It felt like he was indulging himself with you, occasionally he pulls away, pressing the tall bridge of his nose to your tender skin, nipping at it, taking in deep breaths of you.

He retraces his path to your lips, long kisses and wide strokes of his tongue over your stomach, open mouthed kisses to your chest and collar, then he's taking your face in his hands, "Please-"

"You don't have to beg-" Your eyebrows draw together, "Halsin, I'm in no mood to deny you."

He guides your legs around his waist and slowly guides the head of his cock into you, a hand caging you in on either side of your head. You hold the nape of his neck, and his chest, begging him closer.

"Is it too much?" He sounds almost nervous, "are you alright?" He watches your chest and stomach prattle with deep, shaky breaths.

"I'm alright," You can barely get it out, "Halsin-" You're keening as he bottoms out. He ducks into your neck smattering loose kisses and bites along your skin.

"You're singing for me again," He's sighing into your skin, pulling you closer to him, "you sound so beautiful like this..." He rests one of his hands on your chest, pressing his thumb gently to the divot between of your collar bones, feeling you suck in deep, needy breaths in time with the rolls of his hips into you. Your skin is red under his thumb, flushed with arousal, nervousness, every time he moans, or pulls you into him he feels his hand rise as you take in a deep breath.

He pulls one of your legs over his shoulder and noses at the soft skin of your inner knee, he can feel your heart beating under his hands, he can feel your eyes on him, sliding down his chest and abdomen, back to his neck and jaw then to his eyes again. His hand rises and falls rapidly with your chest as you chant his name, he free hand guides the small of your back upwards as you arch into him. Your hand holds his on your chest, wrapped loosely around his wrist, your other flutters between his arm and chest.

"I'm here," Halsin breathes it out as your leg coils tighter around him, "I hear you, singing for me." And you were, hopelessly chanting his name between long rolls of his hips and every time you felt his index finger slide down the divot of your spine, "you're doing so well my songbird.." He sighs dreamily at you, as if you weren't coming undone below him.

You wrap both of your legs around him as he guides you up into his lap with the hand on your back, your arms lock around his shoulders easily and he groans into the crook of your neck, "hold onto me, I need you close." You can feel his breath down your chest, warm thankful sighs sliding down the sliver of space between your bodies.

His hand feels worlds larger on your back than you had fantasized, he uses it to guide the roll of your hips into his, his other hand holds the back of your neck, pulling you desperately closer. He sang you praises, pulled you greedily into his chest and kissed you when you cried out particularly loud until you felt yourself tightening around him, coiling in your stomach. You felt your nails dig into the back of his shoulder, he didn't seem to mind.

When it becomes too much, when that feeling in your stomach snaps and breaks you crumple into him, you tuck your head beneath his chin, you practically cry for him. When he finishes, which is hardly a few seconds after you, he drags his hand up you back, over your waist, then presses between your shoulder blades, you hear the hoked off groan that he lets into your hair.

You kiss him again, holding his jaw in two careful hands.

"I'm sorry i've kept you up dreadfully late." Halsin's hands still slide needy over your back and waist, pulling you ever closer to him.

"It's okay it..was worth it I'd say." You laugh, "what's brought all that on? Now, after everything?"

"You didn't notice how I'd been brooding? I'd hardly been myself."

"I thought you disliked the city, I was worried you were going to ask to part from us. Astarion disagreed though he wouldn't tell me his theory."

Halsin laughs a bit at that, and after all the desperation and apologizing, it was a welcome sound, "That was for the best I think."

"Perhaps. Were you really jealous of Gale?" You leer back at the idea, "he's nice and all but he really doesn't hold anything over you."

"I was not jealous of Gale just because you found him to be..nice and funny...there are plenty of nice and funny people here." He lies and looks away from you, which is how you can tell he's lying.

"Ah. I see." Your hands rest on his chest, "sorry I misunderstood then." You're grinning anyway. You swipe his hair off his forehead, and in that moment he decides he was fair to be jealous of Gale, even fleeting touches left him feeling lavished with attention.

"Let's clean off." He turns into your palm.

"Can I spend the night with you, in your tent?" You look up at him as you stand.

"Of course." He's smiling at you, another welcome change, "you don't need to ask. I'm here whenever you need me, call for me and I'll come." He leans down to you, "I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner." His thumb traces the shell of your ear as you kiss.

"Don't worry now, you're dramatic." You chuckle into him, "would you really have died?"

"There was no sense in risking it." He lifts you by the back of your thighs and makes his way to the water with you, "better to be safe.”

[m00nlight-ramblings]

In A Natural Way

As a former artist, you can't help but create when you see beauty. When Halsin finds you sketching by the lake, he is in wholehearted agreement on the beauty.

Pairings: Halsin x GN Tav

Warnings: fluff. 18+ MINORS DNI

Word Count: 1.89k

Requested: yes

A/N: I love Halsin, I was so happy to write this! Also I haven't gotten to Elfsong Tavern yet so if something is innacurate...in this story it isn't!!! (teehee) I do not give permission for my work to be copied or shared on other sites without my consent.

Karlach was already pulling Wyll along towards the bar of the Elfsong, making good on his promised to share a stout once they arrived. She was chattering his ear off as he happily sat next to her, Gale joining by his other side. Shadowheart and Lae'zel were nowhere to be found (probably arguing - or secretly making out - outside), Astarion was already in his room upstairs, and Halsin was taking his time walking around the tavern, admiring the wall art.

"I am going to stroll around the city," You announced, shouldering your bag and waving to the group, "I'll be back before suppertime."

"Don't go out too far," Halsin said, smiling, "We wouldn't want to start without." He winked, and held the door open for you. You blushed as you stepped outside, the little somersaults in your stomach fluttering due to Halsin.

So you had a small crush on Halsin.

Okay...maybe it was more than a "small crush".

You cheekily smiled at him and kept on ahead, trying to push your thoughts of Halsin (and his incredible pecs) out of your mind. You had one goal - to find the small pond the party passed to get to the Elfsong Tavern. As soon as you had seen it, you were immediately inspired, and wanted to grab for your sketchbook immediately.

As we had headed for the Elfsong Tavern earlier in the day, you had all decided to take a reprieve for an evening and not only rest there, but also drink and dine and relax. Like children on a trip, you were given the rest of the day to do what you saw fit - drinking, shopping in town, napping...the world was your oyster.

You would partake in the debauchery later in the evening, but for now, you wanted to take a rest in nature...something you weren't necessarily able to do while going along this little adventure you had found yourselves in.

After a bit of time walking, you finally walked upon the pound - surrounding by trees, water glistening, and birds chirping above head. Just a tiny bit on the outskirts of town, a tiny oasis in this urban setting. You smiled at the mere sight of it and quickly made your way to the largest tree set a little off from the water. Making yourself comfortable, you slid your sketchbook and pencils out of your bag. You sighed.

Contently. Happily.

Before you were captured and a tadpole was shoved into your eye, you were an artist in your hometown, over the moon that you were able to create a life based upon your passion for art. You were able to sketch every now and then since the Nautiloid, but never really able to sit down and focus on it.

Now you had your chance, and you were reveling in it.

Once the pencil hit the paper, you couldn't stop, only pausing to look at your study; the pond itself. The way the sun reflected off the serene waters gave you goosebumps...the fact that you were able to capture it gave you even more.

Soon, you were able to lose yourself in the action of sketching, your mind drifting to other things.

Other things always equated to Halsin, no matter how hard you tried to think of anything else. Ever since he had joined your party, the gentle giant had stolen your heart through not only his romantic words, but also his kindness towards others (and especially nature). Every so often you had the feeling that he reciprocated your feelings, but you didn't dare test the waters - not only did you not have time (thanks, looming transformation into an Ilitihid), but the potential embarrassment from rejection was terrifying on it's own.

After about an hour or so of sketching and absolutely thinking of Halsin naked over and over again, you yawned and looked up - the sun was setting, casting golden rays across the pond. Your sketch was getting more detailed by the minute, but you felt elated to stretch your artistic muscles that had been forgotten in the previous weeks. Resting your head against the tree behind you, you folded your hands in your lap and sighed happily. You closed your eyes and decided to take a break.

Besides, you were sure you had plenty of time before dinner back at Elfsong.

You felt a gentle finger run along the back of your hand. A smooth voice lightly murmured in your ear and you felt your head eyelids slowly open.

"We were worried about you...you said you would be back in time for dinner." Halsin gently said, taking your hand in his, "I'm glad I found you."

Eventually, you came to, realizing that Halsin was gently cradling you awake. You jumped, the fact that it was Halsin of all people waking you quicker than any gentle murmurings could.

"Gods! Halsin - hi!" You said, blinking rapidly. You noticed the sky around you was pitch black - hells, how long were you sleeping for?

"Yes, it is me," He chuckled, letting go of your hand, "I'm glad you were just asleep, and not worse...lost or..." He shook his head slightly, "Well, I won't even think of it."

Suddenly, you remembered the sketch book on your lap. At the same time, Halsin took notice of it, looking down inquisitively. A small smile appeared on his face and he cocked his head to the side in order to investigate your sketch further.

"This is beautiful," He spoke, his voice soft. Taking the leatherbound book from your lap gently, he held it in his hands, lightly fingering the pages. "I can see why you wanted to come back here on your own...you surely have a talent. I'm glad you were able to exercise it."

"Oh..." You blushed deeply, your heart beating rapidly. Quickly - but politely - you took the book back from him, closing it immediately and trying to put in your bag, "Thank you. That's very kind. I used to be an artists before...well, all of this..." You gestured out in front of you.

Halsin, noticing your embarrassment started to shake his head, "Do not be embarrassed by your gift. Being able to capture nature so beautifully...this is the closest I've seen to the real thing," He stared into your eyes, taking the book back and opening to the page you were just working on, "It's absolutely breathtaking."

"Halsin, your flattery..." You had to look away, the intensity in his eyes was almost too much. You could tell your blushing was still strong, and you painfully willed for your brain to shut off the heat on your cheeks, "It's too much! You're too kind...thank you."

Halsin continued to marvel at your work, bringing the book close up to his eyes so he could see better. As you let him look for a bit, you started to gather courage.

"I was...actually, um," You cleared your throat nervously, "I actually was thinking of you while I sketched it."

Halsin stopped looking at the sketch immediately, dropping the book gently in his lap and looking to you. "Me?" He repeated, a look of surprise on his face.

You nodded cautiously - gods, why did you tell him? - and realized you couldn't really back out of it.

Here it goes, I guess, You thought, quite glumly to yourself. You already started to prep yourself for the rejection.

"Yes, you. I thought this pond just looked so beautiful, and I obviously know how important nature is to you, so, I guess...I was thinking of you a lot...while I was sketching it, of course..."

Halsin nodded slowly and smirked, "Of course."

"Um..." You started to nervously play your hands, looking into your lap, "Actually, I wanted to create something for you, to help you feel...back at one with nature, when maybe...we are somewhere you aren't able to connect. And you miss it...or something. On the road, I mean."

"Well," He sighed, smiling fully now, "That means a lot, that you would do something like that, for me. I am grateful for your kindness...thank you."

You nodded, matching his smile, "Of course. Once it's fully complete I'll give it to you...I wanted to finish the shading on some parts..." You trailed off, taking a deep breath. When you looked back into his eyes, you saw kindness, and a gentle glow. You sighed, biting your lip.

Oh, fuck it.

"Halsin, I have to say...I've come to care for you deeply," You finally admit, "I don't know how much time we have left with everything, so I wanted to tell you that my feelings for you grown exponentially since we first met."

"And these feelings...have turned you into a poet, with your newly eloquent speech?" Halsin asked, a playful gleam in his eyes. A moment passed before you giggled, and it felt like the steam was releasing in your heart.

"You make me nervous!" You defended.

Halsin chuckled and gently, tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, "Why would I make you nervous?" He asked, leaning closer to you. His breath tickled your cheek, and you felt his warmth on your lips.

"Not you...necessarily," You spoke, your voice barely a whisper, "But the idea of...your rejection. Rejection from you. After I've...told you my feelings."

His eyes searched yours, and he nodded solemnly. "Yes. That would be quite nerve-wracking indeed...if you were to tell me your secret feelings towards me, and I rejected you..." He took the back of his knuckles and gracefully skimmed your cheek with them, "But it's a good thing, then, that a rejection was not in the plan."

You heart lurched as you smiled, feeling brave and taking the hand that had just cupped your cheek, "Oh, it's not in the plan? Well...good thing, then. I guess I have nothing to worry about, then."

Slowly, he leaned in even closer, your lips touching gently now. He teased you, getting so close, but not finishing the action to completion. "Good thing, then." He said finally.

Gently, he pressed his lips against yours, his arms instinctively finding your shoulders and pulling you close. Your heart beat rapidly in your chest as you pressed your hands against his chest, asking permission for his mouth to open with your tongue. He obliged and willingly deepened the kiss, sending fireworks off in your brain.

As you continued your kiss, you felt Halsin becoming more frantic, a moan escaping his mouth. You pulled away, looking at him.

"I...want to continue this. We should probably get back to the Elfsong, yes? To be somewhere more...comfortable? With a bed?" You suggested, your voice husky. You couldn't try to cover your lust for him even if you tried.

Halsin smiled and took hold of your hand, his eyes dark. "Who says we need a bed to be more comfortable?"

You chuckled, and should have known - a Druid would never choose a bed over nature. Leaning back into him, you ran your fingers through his hair, adjusting yourself so you were sitting on his lap.

"Well then...why don't you show me how comfortable nature can really be?"

Halsin smiled and gently moved the book to the side, as if it was the most precious thing. Then, he playfully pounced on you, causing you to emit a laugh so loud, it echoed throughout the pond.

------

What did y'all think? My first Halsin fic...I love this huge druid giant. Reminder that my inbox is open for requests!

[a-jynx]

buried promise (Astarion x reader)

bg3 has had me in a chokehold, specifically a certain vampiric rogue.. and i felt angsty, so i hope you enjoy !

maybe this will get me into writing after years lmao - this may be out of character, but i just needed this for my lil heart okay ;-;

angst warning tbh <3

You swore you'd find a cure. You swore to fight for him.

Yet, you forced him to promise to live if you died- he laughed when you said it, not truly believing such words from you... Why would he? You were cursed. Easily fixable... Right?

He sent for anyone - everyone - that could and would help you, but no luck came your way. The curse was progressing faster by day, he could see it. Draining the color from your skin, sucking up your warmth like a fire being snuffed out. Even, your eyes changed colors. Becoming something dull. Lifeless.

You saved the city. You helped even the most miserable low lives when you wouldn't benefit from it. And you... You helped him. Saved him. He swore to save you just like you did for him. Nights became longer as he sat rereading the books Gale had scavenged up for you. Rubbing sleep from his eyes while glancing at your sleeping figure curled up in one of your armchairs; snuggled into a cocoon of blankets to help you keep warm. You looked peaceful. No pain, just peace. Rolling his shoulders, he grabbed another book before practically stabbing his nose into the musky pages. He was going to save you.

"You promised to try, my love," he murmured into your hair, brushing it from your eyes as you curled further into your shared sheets. Cold nipped at your fingertips, biting at your blood supply as if it were your lover. "I tried, my star, but I just want to rest-"

"You've rested enough," he bit, crawling into bed behind you, wrapping his arms tightly around you. His grip shaking. "It's time for you try and get up. Move. You're letting this curse take hold and.." His voice trailed, feeling his chest ache. A tight bubble strangled his voice, quieting it. "Please." His voice was barely a whisper. "Please, try." You glanced over your shoulder to see him. His ruby eyes brimmed with tears. Turning in his hold, you pressed yourself into his chest, gripping his shirt tightly. Your shared ring catching on the fabric as you felt your own tears well up. "Aeterna Amantes," your lips pressed a careful kiss to his exposed skin. Dotting your way up his throat as you felt tears drip past your lips. "Lovers Forever."

He remembered teaching you that. That was his promise to you the day you slipped a ring on each other's finger. Now it's become your promise to. Even if you lay on Death's doorstep, your last breath would be a promise of love to him. A promise for his peace.

"Aeterna Amantes," his voice shook before he buried his head into your hair, lips fangs catching his already chewed lip. Pressing quick kisses against your crown as you allowed your own tears to caress your cheek, he bit back a bitter laugh. "I'll find something." He whispered, hiccupping back a sob. "I'll save you." Wrapped in your sheets and each other, somehow you felt more... Alive than you have in these last days. "I know you will."

Time had not been kind.

He failed. And he kept failing, and failing, and failing - everything seemed to work against him in this rush against time. This curse had sucked your very life from your bones and left you bedridden, hells, you couldn't even make it to the other side of your bed.

"There's not more we could do?" He could beg..

"I'm sorry, my friend, but we've exhausted all of our options." He could slaughter. He could give away the ring that keeps him from bursting into ashes at dawn. He should've protected them. He could've- "The best you could do now is, just be with them. Fill these last moments with peace." He was tired of peace. He wanted life.

"Right. Well, I trust you can find the door," he turned away from his friend, the one person he thought could save his lover - his darling - Had failed him. "I need to keep searching."

"Astarion, these might be their final moments and they're withering away-"

"Do you believe I haven't realized that, Gale?! I'm watching them become a husk of their former self!" He couldn't fight back the laugh, yet tears dripped down his cheeks. "I am the one who watches as they wither away in our very bed. The bed that should've been warmed by them for years to come have it not been for the wench we met! I busy myself with every book and scroll that the lands and seas could offer me! I sit beside them waiting," his lips trembled. "I sit beside my lover waiting for their breathing to stop. For their heart to quit. To take them away from me,"

"I meant no harm,"

"And yet, you suggest I sit idly by and allow my love to perish." Astarion moved upstairs, listening to the front door slam shut behind his friend. He felt his legs give from beneath him, his knees slamming into the stairs. Kneeling there, he pressed himself against the wall, gripping his white curls with shaking fingers. Tugging at the ends, he jumped at the loud thump that came from the top of the stairs. Moving quickly, he nearly fell at the sight.

You sat up from your kneeling, holding your knee as he rushed over, grabbing the blanket that rested around your shoulders as you leaned into his chest. Sweat dripped down your brow while you wheezed, trying to catch your breath. "What happened," he searched over your body for any marks. His fingertips grazed over your old battle scars and even his old love bites, the ridges seemed to chase his touch. "Why're you out of bed, my love? You should've called for me-"

"I heard you and Gale," you murmured into his shirt. His grip seemed to tighten around your waist as you curled further into him. "I know our time is coming to an end." Your breath seemed to be so hushed that even his ears could pick it up. Or, more so he didn't want to hear it.

"Godsdamnit.. Gale is a fool." He snipped, carefully maneuvering your body to fit against his own as he lifted you. You shivered against him, wincing at the movement and bitterness in his voice. "We'll find you something," he paused, pushing open your bedroom door and quickly setting you back into your silk sheet prison. You felt your heart shatter at his state. His skin seemed more transparent, his eyes a duller yet still brilliant red, and dark circles curled around his eyes as they seemed to be sunken in.

"What if there is nothing for me, my love," you sighed, caressing his cheek as he tsked, grabbing your hand and pressing gentle kisses to your tattered knuckles. "What if you're... Wasting our time?"

"Any time I have that is searching for something to help you," he paused, pressing a kiss to your wrist. "Is." Anther kiss to your shoulder. "Never." Another pressed to your neck, you shivered. "Wasted." He pressed his lips firmly against your own. Both of your lips chapped and scratchy, but he moved further into your bubble, pressing his body against your own. His hands slithered up your body, tugging you into his lap while his lips ventured down your throat. His fangs ghosted your flesh, barely leaving a mark in their wake.

You lurched away, your chest squeezed, and your lungs felt as if they were burning from the inside out. You turned away, attempting to cover your cough as Astarion laid you back against your pillow. Blood trickled past your cracked lips as he stared at you with wide eyes, reddened lips agape. "I'm, I'm sorry," you quivered over each shake, covering your mouth as more blood smeared across your chin and palm. He moved closer, ripping a piece of his shirt and pressed it against your lips, wiping away whatever blood spilled.

"Hush, just let it out, darling," His voice trailed as your coughing fit continued. More blood came and more clothes were ripped from his very back. Time had run out..

He left you to sleep, wandering outside into the crisp night air, feeling his lungs burn as he inhaled as deeply as he could. His chest tightened as his mind flickered back to your blood smeared across your lips. The gags and cries as you tried to stop, tried to swallow water to make the copper taste leave, but you said it reminded you of him. The smell and taste. Balling his fists, he moved through the forest behind your home. No clear direction in mind, just movement. Clear air. Dampened colors of the world. He stumbled as he came to a cliff. With a hiss, he stood at the edge, feeling the heightened breeze push past him as if trying to make him stumble and fall.

Fall.

Oh, he fell. He fell for you.

You were a rare gem in his eyes. Someone who could roll with the punches of life and still come out with a smile. Perhaps someone's blood smeared across your cheek, but he would happily wipe it away before pressing his lips to yours. You were his reason for freedom. Hells, you found him something to help keep his freedom amongst the world after 200 centuries of torture and forgetting who he was. But you gave him someone new. You showed him there was a way to a good life... A precious life. But now his reason is being ripped away from him. And he can't fight or kill this beast.

Astarion watched the horizon, his gaze twitching down to the two rings that cladded his fingers. His other hand moved towards it, trembling as he traced the golden bands. One glittered with rubies, a slight glow to the band itself. The other could be seen as just an ordinary ring, yet it held the most value to him. It was his promise to you. The shared rings between you. His gaze settled on the trees to his left. Moving towards it, he smiled softly as his fingers grazed the bark. Your initials carved jaggedly into it with his last name attached. Memories flooded his mind as tears washed over him once more, yet he couldn't fight back the smile gracing him. Turning around he noticed a rather large pair of rocks near the cliff, swallowing thickly he moved closer and grabbing them, plucking his dagger from its sleeve and began to carve.

Hours had passed. He found himself back in front of his - your - home. More memories danced around his mind as he walked inside, his hand grazed every surface it could reach as he moved up the stairs. His chest felt tight, yet he pressed on.

Opening the bedroom door, his gaze softened as it fell to you. Your chest barely pushed up the blankets as sweat matted your hair to your forehead. Your lips were a chapped pink, torn from your nervous chewing - possibly his fangs work as well. Your eyes fluttered as he settled onto the bed next to you, caressing your cheek as you blinked awake. "Finally coming to bed?" You tried to smile as he mirrored it, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to your temple.

"I thought we could go somewhere first.. Remember our cliff?" His voice hushed as you sighed, gently nodding. "How could I forget the most magical place of my life?" He smiled again, brushing hair from your eyes. "I would say this was the most magical," he grinned as you scoffed, quickly turning away as you coughed shaking gently.

"I'll help you, my love," he rose from your shared bed. Carefully moving his arm underneath your knees and caressing your back, your body cradled against him. The movements felt like that of a mother rocking her newborn child as he descended down your stairs, still holding you close as you sighed into his ripped and stained shirt. "You... You should wash this, my star," you murmured, feeling the scratch of your old blood stain as he tsked.

"I'll be alright, darling, you just rest..." His voice seemed softer than usual. Lucid even. You heard a door open and shut as the world around you chirped and sang with birds and insects songs. The breeze chilled your skin as you gently shook against Astarion's chest, goosebumps lining your flesh. "We're almost there, my sweet, just a bit longer, please." You nodded against his chest, sighing softly.

All movement stopped as your body met the dirt and grass, Astarion following as you leaned into the curve of his body. You smiled, moving your head to where you could see your vampiric lover. He seemed... At peace. Whole. You caressed his cheek with your trembling hand, your thumb dragging across his skin. His lips caught your thumb, pressing a soft kiss to it.

"Thank you for bringing me here." You whispered, afraid to disturb the gentleness surrounding you.

"Thank you for being with me." He whispered back, catching your lips in an almost blistering kiss. You inhaled, feeling your chest tighten and your eyes began to flutter, yet your lips still danced along with his own. Seemingly chasing his, begging for more time..

He felt his lips quiver as you slumped into his arms. Your mouth falling away from his own while your head rolled into the juncture of his shoulder and neck. Tears stained his cheeks as he held you close, shaking with gasping sobs.

You were gone. Just... Gone.

Licking his lips, he gently stood, taking your limp figure with him before moving towards the hole he had made before.. He knew your time was over when he saw the blood. The thing he once thrived to take from you, now all he could wish for was for it to return to you. Carefully placing your body into the earth, sinking to his knees as he pushed and shoved dirt over your body; more tears blurred his vision as he pushed forward, wanting to dive in after you. Once his hands were dusted in the dirt that now held your body, he glanced to the stone he had carved earlier, Y/N Ancunín. Reaching over, he plucked one of the few wildflowers and laid it on top, releasing a shaking breath.

Astarion blinked once, twice before swallowing thickly. Early sunlight peaked over the horizon now, awakening the world around him and yet... All he wanted was to rest. To sleep. Carefully standing, he moved around your grave, and pressed a kiss to your gravestone. Standing to his full height, he turned towards the cliff and watched as the sun rose over head. Feeling the warmth that caressed his cold skin, he huffed out a sigh as he walked backwards, settling into the spot next to your grave. Licking his lips, he glanced towards your sight once again as he smiled softly, closing his eyes and seeing your smiling face greeting him.

"Aeterna Amantes, my darling.. Lovers Forever. I will find you again," he paused, swallowing around his tongue as he reached towards his left hand, gently tugging off your wedding band and pushing it into the earth underneath him.

"After this life, and the next... I love you, my sweet love."

His voice fell into a sigh as he tugged off the last ring. The sunlight bit and bullied through his flesh, burning and peeling at it as he began to sparkle and crumble. His final thought of hugging you tight while pressing a firm yet loving kiss to your lips. Tugging you into his chest, while you laugh and smile into the kiss.

The sunlight ring glittering in front of your shared burial site. Your headstones he carved with a gentle caress, love, and kindness. You were lovers. Soulmates even. Beings that were crafted to fit one another and Astarion knew that... If he lost you, he would lose himself all over again. Besides... He promised you.

[blkgirl-writing]

So. Technically... the Revivify spell only works for one minute after death.

Begging for a piece where Gale sees Tav go down in combat, everyone is fighting for their lives, meanwhile he's across the battlefield, fighting his hardest to get closer and feeling the minute they have to revive Tav slipping away...

Gale x Fem!reader

"Cold to the touch"

I have never finished a request so fast I'll be honest. This is so heartbreaking but absolutely amazing.

Tags and TWs: angst, a bit funny, some detailed graphic violence and blood, Gale in denial lowkey.

-

Sometimes the fights you picked should have been fights evaded

"Gale, go!" you screeched, seconds before the killing blow you your chest, blood rapidly pooling around your feet, too much blood, you whispered as you looked down with blurring vision, clutching at your skin, trying to stop the bleeding, even for a second. The last bit of your strength used to look back up at gale, and smile. your body thudded to the ground, completely and utterly lifeless.

Gale blinked. The wind knocked out of him like he was hit with a battering ram. He fractically looked around, who was close? no one. Astarion was high on the rooftop, Wyll and Karlach surrounded with no way out, everyone on the brink of death themselves. Lae'zel the furthest and least likely to help. That just left-

"Shadowheart? Shadowheart, HEAL HER!"

"I'm fresh out of spells-" Shadowheart yelled, looking back at your limp body. "I think...She's past anything I can do right now, anyway."

Gale's gaze went down to his own hands, the revive in his pocket, how many things were around him, and how much strength he really did have. Your body was getting cold, soul leaving body, time was of the essence.

"damn it" he whispered, squeezing his eyes tightly closed, concentrating on making sure he wouldn't lose you. He couldn't lose you. If the thoughts of your beautiful life absent from the rest of his miserable one crept up, he'd be paralyzed, he simply could not dwell on the bleak future. "ok"

Gale forced himself forward, nearly slipping immediately and cursing himself. Running. if he wasn't out of all the magic he could muster he could simply misty step. Instead he was forced to make his way little by little while watching the last of life slip from you as the reality set in. He couldn't get to you in time. He needed to save himself and the others if there was any hope of even bringing your corpse to have a proper burial. He had to topple goblins and just stare feet away from you as your magic slipped permanently away from this world. Helpless, and tearful.

-

He wanted to cover you up. Clothes ripped open from your wounds, he didn't want you to feel exposed. Though, he knew you weren't feeling anything at all. But he had nothing. Once again failing himself and you when he felt you most needed it.

"There....there has to be something we can do" he held your freezing and damp hand in his own warm ones. Enemies blood pooled with your own,. the fight was won, but it truly felt wrong to say those words. He had been brushing your hair out of your eyes while the others gathered around. They'd been the furthest, so Gale had gotten precious moments alone. Muttering sentances he didn't finish. About how he had failed you. About what could have been. Maybe an I love you had fallen from his lips, but it didn't matter anymore, not if he could never hear the words he so wanted to hear back from you, from your own sweet voice.

"I don't know, I....I'm so sorry, Gale." Shadowheart softly touched gales back for a moment of comfort and caring that was so rare for her. that's how he knew it was real. "I know you cared."

I know you cared. He didn't know why those words were his breaking point, but he suddenly felt water dripping down his face. Silent tears rushing down his race. "I truly did."

"We will find a way, Gale. Have hope." Wyll crouched beside Gale on the ground. "I don't think we can do this without her."

"I'll bring her back. Somehow." Gale nodded, finally tearing his gaze away from you. Everyone stood around your corpse. Everyone with the same, grim look. Though, Wyll just looked...sad, sadness for Gales pain, and for the senseless loss of another.

Gale had to get you back to get you comfortable in camp. You couldn't stay here. Not for animals to ravage.

"I'll get her to camp for you, Gale. Don't ware yourself out" Karlach effortlessly hoisted your body over her shoulder. Gale gathered the items that dropped from your pockets on the ground, covered in grime and blood. But he simply wiped it away. He didn't want you to have to clean it off later. He'd worry about the red stains on his fingers and blotches on his clothes later. He just had to worry about getting you back, and never losing you again.

-

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@shyminnie07 @makers-breath @claryvoyantfray

[theemmtropy]

Gale X Tav: Hand massage short fic

Second person POV, fluff, headcanon that this man talks like he's read the Player's Handbook

Gale's hands get so cramped and sore from all the casting he does, especially now that he's away from his tower and all the amenities there. Ordinarily, he uses lotions to keep his hands loose, but on the road, ingredients are limited.

That's why you make a special effort to collect recipes for potions and salves from anywhere you travel; eventually, you find one that uses ingredients you have. The scent of this salve is pleasant, floral, invigorating, and after testing it on your own skin to make sure it's safe, you approach Gale with it.

"I do enjoy our conversations," he greets you, warmly. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I'm here for what I can do for you," you say, holding up the salve that you've put into a small jar. "This should help ease the muscles in your hands."

A smile breaks across his face. "Why that is incredibly thoughtful, and pragmatic! But tell me, how is it that you've gleaned my particular issues with regards to somatic components?"

You try to keep a straight face as you say, "Well you're not exactly... subtle... when it comes to pain."

He grimaces, likely remembering all the times his knees have cracked loud enough for the adventuring party to hear. "Well, I sincerely thank you for this, it truly means a lot."

"Of course," you say, then hesitate, before adding, "did- do you want me to- um, apply it for you?"

His eyebrows raise in surprise, but then he quickly says, "If you'd like to. I mean, I'd like you to. That is, you don't have to, but if you have the time-"

"I do," you confirm, cutting him off to save you both some embarrassment. "Have a seat."

He sits, and you sit facing him. He holds out one of his hands, and you take a good amount of the salve and begin to work it into his skin.

As you apply pressure onto the muscles, you hear his breath catch, then release. You hope that the rhythmic pressure, the relaxing pull on his fingers, is working.

"Other hand," you instruct, once you feel that you've spent enough time on the first one. He shifts closer, enough so that your knees touch, and holds out his other hand.

You keep your eyes focused on massaging, but once you've finished, you look up with a "there we go", only to see Gale gazing at your face, cheeks flushed.

"Thank you. Thank you very much," he says softly, causing your own face to heat up.

"Of course," you murmur back. Then, after clearing your throat, you say a bit louder, "you're very welcome, of course."

At that moment, Astarion wanders by the tent. Catching sight of you two, he drawls, "Oh good, you've finally progressed to hand holding. I'll need to let Lae'zel know she owes me my ten gold."

With embarrassment, you realize that you've still got Gale's hand clasped in both of yours. You release him quickly, and catch a flash of disappointment in the wizard's face. "Sorry," you say quickly, scrambling to your feet. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

"Oh don't let me stop you," Astarion says, flashing his teeth in a charming smile. "I have another bet going with Shadowheart regarding you two doing... something else."

You blurt out, "Maybe mind your own business?" at the same time as Gale says, "What we do does not concern you."

You stare at him, and he gets to his feet as well, stammering, "Or what we don't do, of course."

Astarion sighs loudly, wandering off as you take a deep breath and say, "Well I hope the salve works. You want to keep the jar with you?"

Gale hesitates, then says, "Actually, would you hold onto it? You... applied it so expertly, I'm afraid I would never be able to do it as well as you. I'd like to ask your help with it in the future."

You smile, nodding. "Of course! I'm glad to help whenever I can."

[thechaoticdruid]

[The Spawn Vs The Ascendant]

Astarion(s) x Tav

Plot: I made a post a while back about Ascended Astarion meeting Spawn Astarion via multiversal timeline shenanigans and legit maybe one person shared a fic with a similar premise.

So basically I was like *puts on infinity gauntlet* “Fine, I'll do it myself.”

Content Warning// 18+ for Sexual humor and suggestive themes. I legit have not been in the fanfiction business in years so go easy on me. 

Characters might be ooc. Spelling/Grammar mistakes may be present. A wee bit of blood and violence. Gale is made fun of. Tav is based heavily off my human druid Tav, Winnie and uses She/Her pronouns.//

Possible Triggers: Ascended Astarion, kidnapping, mentioned character death, possessiveness, obsession, AA touches Tav without her consent (not sexually tho), Galeshaming. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Ah, the Elfsong. There was really no better place to unwind after a long day of adventuring. And there was really nothing better to help one unwind than a favorite snack, a cold drink and lovely company. Unfortunately for Tav she'd have to wait up on the company as her beloved was currently preoccupied with his nightly grooming. Gods only know how long that man will take doing his hair. The human female rolled her eyes and brought her wine bottle to her lips taking a few swigs before biting into some cheese she'd been nibbling on prior.  Tav lounged about on their shared bed wearing nothing but a black tank and red boxers. Despite the peace and relaxation she was getting pretty bored without her love to snuggle and gossip with. Tav finished off the last few bites of cheese before she pulled out the private journal she'd been keeping since this whole adventure began. Little doodles of her partner decorated the pages along with her chicken scratch handwriting. 

She had documented details of their adventure whenever she had the chance and also took the time to add various doodles of her companions and any monsters they encountered. (Some of her favorite drawings included herself opening a bottle and releasing a spectator. And of course a lovely little drawing of her and Astarion kicking the shit out of Cazador.)

As she waited Tav began to entertain herself by writing down a to-do list.  

“Ah lets see…Yep definitely gonna have to have a chat with that pompous prick who was threatening a kid the other day. Maybe I can invite him back to the tavern later? I'm sure Star wouldn't mind having a snack.” Tav hummed, scribbling down everything she had planned out as of late.

Shit I need to do:

‘Feed rich tit to boyfriend.’ 

‘Teach Shadowheart to swim.’

‘Buy Clive a best friend.’ 

‘Murder baddies.’

‘Wildshape into a pigeon and shit on Gortash's head.’

‘Buy boyfriend cute clothes.’

‘Take Gale shopping for wizardy stuff.’

‘Look into real estate in the Underdark.’

‘Take Scratch for a walk.’

‘Kill more bad people.’

‘Contemplate licking dead spider.’

‘Be screamed at by Gale for licking dead spider.’

‘Buy flowers for Karlach and Shadowheart.’

‘Buy boyfriend more cute clothes.’

‘Study wizard stuff.’

‘Help Moon Lesbians plan wedding.’

‘Research ring of the sunwalker.’

‘Piss off the Gods……Again…’

‘Remember to take Astarion on romantic beach date before fighting the Elder Brain.’

‘Unalive people of not goodness.’

‘Shave Gale’s beard while he sleeps.’

‘Continue writing smutty novel series so I can keep buying boyfriend cute clothes.’

“Tav, a word please.” Gale appeared from around the corner. Tav groaned, annoyed by the prospect of having to get up. Especially since Gale looked like he was going to scold her for something. Begrudgingly she hopped off the bed, leaving the comfort of her room to see what in the hells that damn wizard wanted. 

“What do you need, Gale? I'm kinda in the middle of writing down my to-do list.”

“Am I inclined to believe that you've been writing erotic novels that feature Astarion and I?” The wizard inquired.

“Pfft! What in the hells gave you that idea!” Tav laughed, her eyes staring off to the side nervously as she twiddled her thumbs. Gale pulled out a red leather bound book titled ‘Blood-Mage’. It was a ridiculously smutty novel about a young handsome sorcerer named Garrett Delarous who is reluctantly forced to team up with a dastardly, but world endingly beautiful Vampire Lord in order to save the world or some shit. (The book mostly focused more on smut than plot.) Amazingly the novel had made a killing after Tav had peddled it at Sharess's Caress. It seemed nearly everyone wanted a copy.  (Tav was also pretty sure she noticed Halsin was reading the book as well.)

“My series is about a renowned sorcerer and a Vampire Lord. There's a difference, Gale.” Tav crossed her arms with a huff. 

“You can't just profit off of other people's likenesses Tav! You at least need to pay them royalties!” 

“I always give half the money I earn to Astarion.” 

“I’m talking about me!”

“I think my beloved ‘gloves of power’ were more than enough payment for you.” Tav huffed before looking off to the side with a sad look.

I miss those gloves so much.

Gale sighed in annoyance, pinching the bride of his nose. He was used to Tav’s shenanigans at this point but this was just ridiculous. Not to mention while skimming through Tav's scandalous work he noticed the sorcerer was always on the bottom during intimate scenes. The audacity!

“Besides I use the money I make from this for not only myself and Astarion, but the rest of the camp as well. Adventuring ain't cheap ya know?” 

“You can at least give me a small percentage of the profits. Say thirty percent?” 

“Ten percent.” Tav said flatly.

“Twenty percent?”

“Ten percent.” Tav repeated.

“Fine.” Gale gives in, causing the shorter of the two to smirk triumphantly. Tav watched smugly as the wizard slumped off in defeat before quickly adding another note to her to-do list.

‘Give 10% of book money to the stinky wizard.’

Tav finished off her list as she felt a pair of cool arms wrap around her form from behind, her cheeks tinting light pink. “Do you really need to take five hours in the bath?”  She hummed, turning her head to meet her partner’s crimson gaze. His hair was dry and looked rather soft and silky and he was dressed in this eccentric red silk robe with fluffy black trim.

“You can't rush art, darling.” Astarion purred before nuzzling his cheek against hers. “You know if you were getting impatient you could have joined me in the tub. I would have loved the company.” He murmured huskily.

“In these tiny ass bathtubs? I'd have to sit on your lap and even then I doubt we'd have enough room to really do anything.” Tav replied, nuzzling back against him. 

“We could still try.~” The vampire cooed.

“Tempting, but the others have whined enough about our night time activities. Apparently we're noisy.” 

“Then perhaps next time I shall have to gag you won't I?” 

“Alright! I'm ending this conversation here!” Tav said quickly, face burning up at his teasing. 

“Besides, I’ll need some sleep for tomorrow. Gortash won't kill himself, unfortunately.” Tav said with a yawn.

“Really? Now? I was hoping you'd at least cuddle with me before bed.” Astarion pouted.

“Oh you poor thing. Fine, we can cuddle till I fall asleep. Cutie.” The human female smiled sweetly before planting a kiss on her lover's cheek, receiving a content hum in response. Tav turned to pull away from the elf's embrace before suddenly feeling herself be scooped up and tossed over his shoulder.

“Hey! What did I say about picking me up!?” She whined, squirming a bit as she hung over his shoulder. “I don't like being manhandled!”

“But you're so adorable like this.~” Astarion teased, his hand gripping her ass as he carried over to the bed. Despite Tav’s complaints she did little else in protest besides pout and blush as she was whisked away. The two of them soon settled on the bed, Tav immediately nuzzling into Astarion's chest and relaxing. Astarion’s clawed fingernails found their way into her messy locks, caressing and running through them as the two snuggled together. His skin was cold to the touch, but honestly Tav actually liked it. It kinda reminded her of the cool side of her pillow. Even though there was the constant threat of death around every corner the two of them were still able to cherish their time together, and hopefully now that Astarion had been freed of his master they would continue to do so.

 There was still the tiny issue of an evil alien brain thing that could turn them into soulless squid monsters, but they'd be able to take care of that sooner or later. A part of Tav wanted to put it off as selfish and dangerous as it could be. Because as soon as they destroyed the brain, they'd destroy the only protection Astarion had against the sun. Tav wasn't about to give up on finding a way for her love to enjoy the sun, but for now she'd at least make the time he has left in it special. 

“Star….” Tav murmured aloud, her head tilting upwards to meet her partner's eyes.

“Yes dear?” He hummed.

“You know there's actually something I've been meaning to talk to you about. We've been together for a while now and well…we haven't actually had a real date….I mean I guess it's understandable considering we have to save the world and shit, but I was thinking maybe if there's time we could do something together....”  Tav bit down on her lip as she sat up on the bed. She felt nervous all of a sudden, not used to asking for stuff like this. Astarion had always been the one to initiate most of their romantic activities. The best Tav could do was a kiss on the cheek or a hug and even that had taken a while for her to get comfortable with. 

“What about all our little late night trysts? Do those not count as dates?” Astarion raised an eyebrow though his tone was playful.

“Ehh…well…rolling around in the dirt in the middle of nowhere isn't exactly what I'd call a date.” Tav said awkwardly, earning a chuckle from her vampire. 

“I suppose you're right. We've never really had any bonding time without you being pinned underneath me.” He joked before quickly clearing his throat and finally trying to be serious. “What do you have in mind, darling?”

“I just want to take you out somewhere…We could go out to eat or just walk in the park….” The human female twiddled her thumbs as she trailed off, feeling butterflies in her stomach. “I'd be up for anything really as long as I'm with you.” 

“I…would like that very much, my love.” Astarion cupped her cheek, his eyes soft and full of affection.  He pulled her into a sweet chaste kiss, allowing her to return it before she pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

Thudd!

Tav quickly pulled back from Astarion's embrace as she heard a noise. She looked around frantically for the sound.

“Tav? Is something wrong?” Astarion asked.

“I just heard something…” She said before suddenly her eyes landed at the window near their bed.  On the opposite side of the window seat a small white bat could be seen looking through the glass. Its little red eyes stared at the human with an intense gaze. “It's a bat.” Tav pointed towards the window. Astarion looked over at the little creature before internally groaning.

 No. She better not even think about it!  

The bat blinked, looking at Tav a few times before curling its left wing against its body. 

“I think its wing is injured!” Tav exclaimed with concern.

“Ugh leave it! We've taken in enough stray beasts!” Astarion scoffed, but Tav immediately ignored him, rushing over to the window. 

“Tav! Don't! It probably has some horrible disease or something!”

Tav quickly opened the window, her eyes going soft as she looked down at the small animal. She moved to scoop it up into her arms but before she could the bat simply fell back. 

“Shit!” She shouted. 

“Thank the gods, it's dead. Now come back to bed, darling.” Astarion said, patting the spot besides him. Tav just glared at him silently before suddenly she wildshaped into a raven and flew out the window.

~•~•~•~•~

While Tav didn't preach about nature 24/7 like Halsin did she was still just as much of a druid as he was and couldn't bear to stay by while an injured animal was in need. (Much to her lover's dismay.)  She'd flown out the window of their room and circled around looking for the little bat. 

There was no sign of the winged beast anywhere near the elfsong, but at least that was a sign it likely hadn't fallen to its death. Tav kept searching, eventually straying further from the tavern until she was forced to land and give her wings a breather, returning back to her human form.  

“Dammit it's so dark I can't tell where I am. Everything looks different at night.” Her eyes strained as she struggled to make out any familiarity. Despite having lived in Baldur's Gate for about ten years Tav had always made it a point not to roam about at night. Her lack of dark vision made night time prowling even more dangerous, especially in this city.

She decided to reserve her strength instead of wild-shaping again. From what she could make out in the dark she'd found herself in one of the back alleys. Tav kept stumbling around in the dark for a while until at last she began to consider heading back. The bat likely wasn't dead since she had seen no hair or hide of it and she really wasn't in the mood to find herself in trouble. It constantly seemed to follow Tav these days it seemed. Last time she wandered around the city by herself she got into a fist fight with some stuck up noble lady who had referred to her as ‘a fat ugly little boy’. (The others were not happy about sneaking her out of prison that day.)

Just as Tav was about to assume the form of a beast fit for the night she noticed some light up ahead. The graveyard had been illuminated by a couple of lanterns. Tav approached hoping it would help her map out her way back if she just remembered how to get to the Elfsong from there. However as soon as she got close to the light someone was waiting for her. 

“Astarion?” Tav called out as her silver haired lover stepped out of the darkness. She expected nagging, and complaining about having to come out here looking for her, but instead Astarion just stared at her intensely as if studying every detail of her face. “Are you okay?” She asked with concern. Something was very strange about this. Astarion being quiet for long was never a good sign. Tav scanned him over, almost immediately noting his elegant attire. A black and red suit with silver bats embroidered on it. Odd. Tav had never seen him wear this outfit before. And he was always quick to show off any new clothes to her, seeking her praise. Astarion moved towards her quickly and out of nowhere pulled her into a crushing hug. 

“Yes of course. I was just worried about you, my sweet.” His grip on her was almost uncomfortably tight, as if he was holding onto her for dear life. 

“I haven't been gone that long….” Tav stiffened. There was an abnormal warmth to his body. Sure he was able to raise his temperature after feeding, but there was hardly a decent supply of beasties for him to nibble on in this city, not to mention he would have had to have found one pretty damn fast before seeking her out.  

“You’ve always been such a brave little thing, haven't you?” He let out a chuckle, his grip on her didn’t falter. His tone didn't seem threatening, but one thing for sure set off an alarm in her.

Thump-thump. 

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Tav immediately ripped herself away from him and took a few steps back, her eyes glaring daggers.  “Who the hells are you?” She snapped. 

“Whatever, ever do you mean, pet?” His voice was full of false innocence, it reminded her a lot of how Astarion would often speak whenever accusations were hurled at him, but this person was definitely not her lover. 

Tav’s first instinct was to assume he'd probably been one of the shape-changers they'd been attacked by in the past, but there was this gnawing gut feeling that this time was different. 

“Drop the act. I've already met enough shit heads running around wearing someone else's face. Who are you really?”

“I’m Astarion. Really dear, I'm disappointed you have so little faith in me that you'd think I'd allow some lowly shape-changers near you.” He took a few steps forward. 

“Stay away from me…” Tav growled out through gritted teeth. Damnit. She didn't have any weapons and was literally in her sleepwear. 

“You seem tired, love. Perhaps we should head back so you can get some rest?” He extended his hand towards her.  Tav was about to say something else before suddenly an arrow came out of nowhere, nearly hitting the Astarion look alike in the shoulder. He was able to dodge just in the nick of time.  Tav gasped in surprise before quickly turning back to see another…. Astarion?

The two looked identical aside from their clothing. The imposter was wearing his elegant suit and the other one (whom Tav hoped to the gods was actually him) was wearing a familiar red and black doublet. 

“Hells teeth.” Astarion spoke up as he looked over at the two.  Tav immediately sniffed air around the second Astarion. The tiniest whiff of death hit her senses and immediately she ran over to him. 

“Star!” Tav was by his side in an instant. His arm quickly looped around her hip protectively before he scanned over her face. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, receiving a nod in response.  Astarion then looked over towards his look alike. “My, aren't you just beautiful? I must admit I'm quite flattered you chose to imitate me.” 

“Is that what you think of me? I'm hurt.” The other vampire laughed. “I am no mere imitation. I am you…..well a better you.” 

“You're not making any sense!” Tav hissed, her jaw clenching as she suppressed the urge to let out an animal-like growl.  

“Allow me to shed some light on it then. I come from a reality where instead of choosing to remain weak and pathetic we became who we always wanted to be.”  Tav's eyes widened at the revelation, though she was still debating whether or not to believe all this madness. Of course she'd been to hells, the shadowfell and even fought a god so maybe this wasn't too far fetched.

“The Vampire Ascendant.”

“If you're telling the truth then why are you here? You have everything you want don't you?” The vampire spawn quirked an eyebrow. Meanwhile the Ascendant’s face suddenly turned cold. He almost looked sad. 

“I did. Wealth, power, pleasure, everything I could ever dream of. I was on the cusp of dominating the entirety of the sword coast. Everything was mine. But none of it mattered without the one thing I cherished most. My beloved consort. My Tav.” His eyes suddenly locked into the human female. She felt small, cornered, like a rat caught between a cat’s paws. “He was taken from me…” 

Tav stiffened, taking a step back. She really did not like where this was going. Her lover kept a gentle hold on her, staying between her and the other vampire.

“And now you're here to take my Tav I presume?” Astarion scoffed, “you obviously didn't care very much about yours then if you're already looking for a replacement.” 

“HE WAS EVERYTHING TO ME!” Before Tav could think her lover was knocked off his feet. A punch had come at him faster than he could react. The Ascendant stood over him, shaking with anger. Tav moved over towards the vampire spawn as quickly as she could, checking him out. He seemed alright, albeit a little winded, possibly bruised. Astarion huffed, getting back to his feet. Tav was quick to cast cure wounds on him to help perk him back up.  

The Ascendant took in a breath, regaining his composure. While the spawn swiftly tossed Tav a spare dagger from his pack. A fight was likely inevitable now. 

“I’ve searched across thousands of timelines. None of these pathetic excuses for adventurers came even close to my beloved. That is…until I found you of course…” The vampire lord pointed a clawed finger at the druid.  “You're the only one who resembles him in the slightest, albeit you are a bit more…voluptuous than he was.” He chuckled a bit. 

“Okay hold on a minute! You can't just come here and take someone else’s Tav because you lost yours!” Tav pointed her dagger shakily towards him.

“My dear, I don't think you understand. I am the Vampire Ascendant. I can take whatever I want!”

“I don't care if you're the fucking god of gnomes I'm not going anywhere with you. I have my own Astarion.” Tav gripped the blade tightly while her free hand prepared to cast a spell.

“I had hoped you'd come quietly, but it seems we'll have to do this the hard way.” With a flash of pink light Tav was hit with a sleeping spell and fell to the ground unconscious. Her dagger dropped to the ground with a clatter. The spawn was quick to move in front of Tav taking out his rapier and aiming a swipe at the other vampire. 

The Ascendant stepped back just as the thin slender blade nicked a cut across his attire, just barely missing his flesh. The spawn took another swing at him, nicking his side and gaining a kick to the ribs in return. The spawn huffed, quickly recovering before moving in for another attack.

However the Ascendant’s clawed hand struck first, slashing through the armor surrounding the Astarion's shoulder and slicing his flesh. The spawn cried out and gripped his arm as his counterpart smirked smugly, bringing his finger up to his lips and basically tasting his own blood. 

“Mmm…Delicious.~” He purred. The Ascendant’s crimson eyes trailed over towards Tav before beginning to glow red. “To me, now.” He said as if issuing a command to unseen soldiers.

Within seconds two oddly familiar figures appeared out of mist. A sickly pale looking Halsin and Shadowheart, both with glowing red orbs for eyes.  

“Gods below. You've turned your own friends into spawn!?” Astarion gasped, his face full of disgust. 

“Eh…I wouldn't exactly call them friends…. Though they are much more compliant this way.” The vampire lord replied with a toothy grin. The spawn felt sick to his stomach. To think he could have ended up this way.  

“Take care of my inferior self, would you darlings? I have places to be…” The Ascendant gave a small wave before quickly scooping the unconscious Tav up in his arms. 

“Yes master.” The undead Shadowheart and Halsin replied, a bright red light shone around their bodies as they were compelled to attack. 

“Farewell beautiful.” The vampire lord gave his spawn self a wink before quickly vanishing into mist, taking Tav along with him.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Astarion….” Tav muttered tossing and turning in her sleep as she slowly began to come to. She shot up in a cold sweat, her heart pounding.

“Ugh…That was a terrible dream. Star you wouldn't believe…” Tav went silent as her eyes scanned her surroundings. It in fact was not a dream. 

“Oh gods damnit.” She huffed.

 Tav was in a large elegant looking bedroom, lying upon a purple queen size bed adorned with fine silk sheets. Maroon red walls surrounded her and were decorated nicely by paintings and other fine wall decor.  The first thing the druid noticed after taking in her surroundings was the pressure around her neck. Her hands quickly reached for her throat feeling what seemed like a tight choker of some kind. She quickly hopped off the bed and looked into the mirror of a nearby vanity that sat west of the bed. “Fucking hells.” She breathed out as her eyes laid upon a black and red collar adorning her neck. There was this unnerving glow surrounding the collar. Most likely some kind of magic was placed on it. Quickly she curled her fingers preparing to use a spell in order to tear this damn thing off of her, but nothing happened. 

This thing must be silencing my casting somehow.

Tav for a moment before forming an idea. She could probably wildshape into something small and squeeze out. Maybe. The druid sighed before getting on all fours preparing to transform into a rat. She let out a grunt, but nothing happened. 

“Oh fuck you!” She shouted before rolling and desperately trying to yank the collar off.

 Tav growled and pulled on the neck piece, yanking as hard as she could, resorting to gnawing on it. 

Knock knock.

The druid immediately ceased her actions at the sound of the door. A shiver went down her spine at the thought of it being that so-called ‘Vampire Ascendant’ again.  Her eyes flickered around the room before she took hold of a candle stick and stood next to the door, back pressed against the wall. 

The door creaked open and a small figure walked inside. Tav prepared herself to strike down whoever had entered, but froze upon seeing the person. It was a small blonde haired half-elf woman, dressed in a house keeper's attire. 

Tav quickly looked into her eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as she noticed they were blue. She set the candlestick down on the vanity and looked at the half-elf curiously. “Who are you?” She asked.

“My name is Abigail, milady. The master sent me to help you get dressed and make sure you come see him.” The small woman piped up in a small soft voice.  Abigail was petite and quite short, probably about an inch or two shorter than Tav was, though the druid estimated the half elf was probably around the same age as she was…well physically anyway. With elves you could really never tell. 

“And exactly where am I?” Tav crossed her arms. 

“The Crimson palace milady. My lord has taken up residence here while he stays in your realm.” Abigail replied before scurrying across the room, towards a closet. “It'd be best not to keep him waiting, my lady.” The half-elf rummaged around through the closet before taking a couple of different outfits to choose from and spreading them out over the bed. “My apologies if you'd prefer a dress, but this is all we could bring with us from our world.” 

Tav blushed a bit in embarrassment as she realized she was still only wearing a tank and boxers. She looked over at the bed and took note of the three suits that laid out in front of her. 

“These belonged to Master Tav. Master Astarion said they'd likely fit you, my lady.” 

“Now hold on, I have questions! How did you all get here, and what is this thing!?” Tav demanded as she tugged on her collar once again.

“I'm sorry I can say no more. Please miss, just get dressed.” Abigail pleaded,a hint of fear was in her tone. Tav was hesitant, but begrudgingly she slipped off her tank before sliding into one of the suits, a red one that felt a little snug on her, but actually not by much. The only issue being that she couldn't get the top three buttons of the white undershirt that went with it to button.  It left her cleavage slightly exposed. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

“Okay, I'm ready.” She said, Abigail nodded and began to lead the druid out of the room. 

Perhaps this was her chance? She could make a break for it on their way out! Tav braced herself to bolt only to be met with a shockingly familiar face as she exited the room. Lae'zel.  Or well a vampire spawn that looked completely identical to her githyanki companion aside from a pair of glowing red. 

“Dear gods, Lae'zel, what happened to you? Did Astarion do this?” Tav gasped in shock. 

 “She's not your Lae'zel, milady.” Abigail spoke up.

“I was told to make sure the master’s new pet came quietly, not to answer questions.” Lae’zel simply replied.

“Come on, let's go.” Abigail took hold of Tav’s arm, giving her a gentle smile before tugging her along. Lae'zel quietly followed, a seemingly permanent scowl on her face as she watched Tav's every move, almost daring her to run for it.

The three walked down a long corridor for what seemed like hours. The sound of footsteps along with her own heartbeat seemed to be the only thing Tav could process as a gnawing anxiety set in. Her chest tightened, her throat felt dry and she could feel this nervous pain dancing across her spine. She wasn't sure why but something about this other Astarion scared her. This Vampire Ascendant.  She had never been afraid of her beloved spawn, hells she wasn't even afraid of Cazador or any other vampire she had come across on their journey, but something about her lover's counterpart made her skin crawl. 

“Well aren't you just precious?” A seductive pur tore Tav from her thoughts, forcing her to look up and realize she'd been dragged out into the ballroom. It definitely was a lot cleaner than the past time she'd been here. All the blood and wolf corpses had been dealt with.  Just how long has this other Astarion been here?  He couldn't have just started squatting here, found and kidnapped Tav, and had time to clean everything up on the same day!  The Vampire Ascendant sat upon Cazador’s old throne, looking down at Tav. His eyes trailing over her.

Tav took a deep breath before clearing her throat and trying to appear confident.

“Where is Astarion? And I mean my Astarion.” 

“You needn’t concern yourself with him any longer. You're mine now and I will give you so much more than he ever could.~” The Vampire Lord stood up and stepped towards Tav slowly. 

“I’m not your Tav. I can never be him.” The druid backed up a little, however with Lae’zel’s presence behind her she didn't have much room to retreat. She wasn't sure if reasoning with this alternate version of her lover was possible, but it was worth a shot if nothing else. However instead of listening he swiftly took her hands in his. 

“No need to be modest, my pet, you're practically like him in every way. You have his eyes, his face, the same little quirks and ticks. Granted, you're built a little different anatomically, but that's not something that ever deterred me.” Astarion moved in closer, briefly pressing his lips against her knuckles. “And now that I've found you, nothing will ever part us. Not again.” Before Tav could speak she was pulled in for another tight hug. She squirmed a bit, conflicted feelings of pity and fear were arguing back and forth in her mind as she felt him nuzzling his face into her neck. He was clearly dangerous, but he also seemed heartbroken.  He wanted anyway to have his lover back so badly he crossed time itself to see them again. Or at least someone who resembled them. 

But Tav knew deep down she wouldn't be enough to fill the void left by her counterpart. Gods, she hoped there would be a happy ending to all of this.

~•~•~•~•~•~

A little note from ChaoticDruid: I really hope it didn't suck! I haven't published a fanfic in so long >~<  This idea had just been swimming around in my brain forever I just had to get it out!  I got the idea from the PS5 launch party animation and seeing Launch Astarion and EA Astarion flirting just made me go okay but what if it was Ascended Astarion and Spawn Astarion?

I don't know if I will continue it. I have other things I wanna write and my ADD makes this stuff so freaking hard. But maybe maybe not 🤞🤞 

Part 2: LETS GOOOOOOO

[lendeah]

Grooming Dilemma

Pairing: Gale x Fem!Reader/Tav Summary: Gale wants to shave his beard, and Tav decides to help him with the task. or Horny shaving with your favorite wizard. Tags: Fluff and smut. They are so cute. Word count: 4.2k Warnings: Facial Shaving, Horny shaving, Porn With Plot, but just a bit, Vaginal Fingering, Finger Sucking, Frottage, PInV Sex, Vaginal Sex, Unprotected sex, fluff and smut. AO3 link

a/n: Just pure filth. I have no excuse. Not proofread, so may contain mistakes (sorry)

After your arduous journey to Baldur's Gate, you and Gale finally find a moment of respite in the Elfsong Tavern bathroom. Weary from weeks of travel, you are perched on the edge of the bathtub, with your legs inside, as Gale relaxes in the warm water. You take a moment to appreciate his appearance: his hair is damp and unkempt, falling in dark waves around his face, and the exhaustion from weeks of travel has softened his strong features, making him look more vulnerable than usual. Without thinking, you reach out and gently thread your fingers through his wet locks, placing them behind his ear. Gale's eyes flutter closed at the touch, a small contented sigh escaping his lips.

The two of you sit in comfortable silence as you continue to play with his hair, occasionally twirling strands around your finger.

"I want to shave" he suddenly says, breaking the peace.

Your face falls at his words, and you can't help but feel a pang of disappointment. "You can't be serious," you protest. "Your beard is your best attribute!"

Gale chuckles softly, clearly amused by your reaction. "But how could you possibly know what I look like without it? " he teases.

You pout and cross your arms over your chest. "I just know it!" you insist. "It's so soft and nice. And it makes you look more manly."

You take the chance to lower your hand to his cheek, feeling the soft hair there. Gale's beard has indeed grown significantly since your time at the Last Light Inn. You suppose he hasn't had much time for grooming during your journey to Baldur's Gate.

"Well I was under the impression that I already was manly, with or without the beard," Gale says. "You would prefer a rugged, manly husband, yes? A strong, burly protector, who would not hesitate for a moment to defend his bride from any peril that came her way."

You roll your eyes "Yes, my love, because you are so burly and very rugged indeed."

Gale laughs, shaking his head at your sarcasm.

"Well, I'll have you know that I am quite proficient in combat," he retorts. "I may not be the tallest or bulkiest, but I can certainly hold my own."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that. I fight alongside you every other day. But what does that have to do with shaving?"

Gale looks at you lovingly. "A new look couldn't hurt, right? It's important to switch things up now and then, keep people on their toes. In addition, what if I end up looking like Elminster?"

You laugh at the thought of Gale sporting a long, white beard like his mentor.

"I don't think you have to worry about that just yet," you say with a grin. "Maybe in a few years..."

He mock-pouts and runs a hand through his hair, causing droplets of water to fall onto his chest. You watch as the droplets trail down his toned chest, feeling a familiar warmth in your stomach at the sight.

"I'll keep some stubble," he concedes, running his hand along his jawline.

You smile, relieved that he won't be completely clean shaven. You've grown accustomed to his signature scruff and it would feel strange to see him without it.

"Fine, but you have to promise me one thing."

As you continue to play with his hair, Gale leans in and presses a kiss to your knee. "Anything to make you happy," he whispers.

"Promise you will let me be the one to shave you," You whisper, leaning closer.

Gale's eyes widen slightly, surprise flickering across his features.

“I strictly forbid anyone from touching my razor, especially you,” he says, his face still relaxed from his recent bath. Yet, his eyes narrow in a suspicious manner as he looks up at you. “I cannot take the chance that you might accidentally cut my delicate neck and leave an unsightly scar.”

You pout "But I am good with blades, I'm sure it can't be that different!"

Gale's expression softens and he gives you a small smile."Oh, yes, it’s that different. It transcends mere physical actions of grasping a blade and pointing towards the hair. It’s—" He pauses, trying to think of a metaphor that you would understand. "It is akin to the intricate task of chiseling a fragile masterpiece. One would not bestow such a delicate endeavor upon an amateur, would they?"

You sulk and try to think of a counter-argument. Suddenly, an idea sparks in your mind and you can't help but smirk mischievously. Without hesitation, you climb into the bathtub, fully clothed, and wrap your arms around his neck. The warm water splashes against your skin and clothes, creating a pleasant sensation. "Please, my love," you plead with a playful glint in your eye. "You can teach me, I promise I will be the best razor-shaving student."

Gale raises an eyebrow at your persistence. "Why would you want to bother with something as tedious as—" A pause. "Ugh, Fine."

A victorious grin stretches across your face as you plant a swift kiss on his lips before stepping out of the tub, leaving puddles of water in your wake. He follows suit, grabbing a towel to dry off while you eagerly gather everything you need. He takes a seat on a sturdy wooden chair and pats his lap, inviting you to join him. With a rosy blush on your cheeks and a wide smile, you perch yourself on Gale's legs, which are covered only by the towel.

The position makes you warm up, even more so with the wet clothes still clinging to your body. But as your eyes meet his, you can't hold back a burst of laughter at the sight of the fluffy shaving foam covering his face, transforming him into a comical cloud.

"It's not that funny," he grumbles, wiping some foam off his face with a towel.

You shake your head, unable to contain your laughter. "I'm sorry, love." You attempt to stifle your giggles before asking, "So, Mr. Dekarios, where do we begin?"

Gale's eyes meet yours, shining with mischief as he struggles to conceal his amusement. "Step one, naturally...you grasp the razor..."

You smirk, "I was hoping to use my longsword instead."

"Mocking your shaving instructor already? Not a good start for you." Gale maintains a stern expression, but the corners of his mouth betray a small smile.

"Alright, fine." You say prying the razor and gently grabbing his jaw. "Okay, instructor, what next?"

"Well, you hold the razor this way..." Slowly, he wraps his fingers around yours and places your thumb in the thumb hole so your grip is firm.

Your heart flutters as his fingers brush against yours, and you try to focus on the task at hand. "And now what?" you ask eagerly.

"Now, you want to make sure you’re holding it at a slight angle against the skin," Gale instructs. "Not too steep or else you’ll cut yourself or me. And then it’s just a matter of gentle strokes." He takes your hand and demonstrates on his cheek, showing you how to move the blade in small, precise movements. Slowly, he releases your hand and places both of his over your hips, steadying you as you practice the delicate motions with the blade. The warmth from his palms seeps into your body, sending shivers down your spine.

You try to mimic his actions on your own, but your hand feels a bit shaky and uncertain without his. "Am I doing it right?" you ask nervously.

"Not bad for a first-timer," he comments with an approving smile.

Soon enough, you start getting comfortable with the movements. You even start humming a tune under your breath as you shave away. The razor glides smoothly over his skin, leaving behind a trail of freshly groomed skin. It’s surprisingly satisfying to watch the transformation taking place before your eyes.

As you reach his jawline, your free hand starts to wander, moving from his shoulder and threading through his hair with the excuse of holding his head still. Gale's eyes flutter closed and he releases a deep, satisfied sigh. The tension in his muscles dissipates with each gentle touch, and you can't help but smile as he melts into your hand like a lovestruck puppy.

"Enjoying yourself?" you tease playfully, while carefully shaving his jaw, making sure to leave a bit of stubble.

Gale looks up at you, a soft smile spreading across his face. "I must admit, I am quite enjoying myself," he says, his voice laced with amusement. "But I'm more curious as to what you're doing with your free hand."

You chuckle, "I am taking my liberties as your best student, of course."

Gale raises an eyebrow, "Is that so? And what liberties would those be?"

You look at him, and even with the foam covering his face, he is the most handsome man you have ever seen. You lean in closer, your lips brushing against his ear as you whisper, "The liberty to touch you wherever I please."

Gale's breath hitches in his throat, his eyes locking with yours as your words sink in. Desire flickers in his gaze and he rasps out, "I don't think that's part of our lesson plan."

You smirk, "Well, maybe you should change the curriculum, Professor," you suggest playfully.

Gale turns his head towards you and captures your lips in a searing kiss, his calloused hands gently cupping your ass through the wet clothes. Your own hands roam freely over his half-shaved face, tracing every rugged edge and soft curve, committing them to memory. The rough texture of his newly shaved stubble prickles against your fingertips, adding an extra layer of sensation. As the razor slips from your hand and clatters to the ground, the sound startles you both, bringing you back to reality.

You pull away from Gale, both of you breathing heavily and trying to regain some semblance of composure. "I should finish my job before I get more distracted," you say with a shaky laugh, picking up the fallen instrument.

Gale beams at you with a mischievous grin.

"It appears it is your turn for a shave, my dear." You glance at his face, covered in a mess of shaving cream, and realize yours is probably just as chaotic. You blush as he playfully grabs your cheeks and cleans off the foam with a damp cloth. "There, all better," he says with a final caress to your cheek. You meet his gaze, feeling a flutter in your stomach at the tenderness in his eyes.

Trying not to break the moment, you begin to carefully shave his cheeks again.

"I have to confess, I've found shaving to be surprisingly enjoyable," Gale says with a chuckle.

You smile at him and run your fingers over his clean-shaven cheek. "Well, you do make it quite pleasurable."

You finish up carefully shaving the few remaining patches of hair on his face before leaning back to admire your work. He looks so... different. His sharp features seem more defined without the shadow of a beard, giving him a sharper look, but he still has the lingering stubble giving him that rugged charm you've grown so fond of. As you rake your fingers over his smooth jawline, Gale captures your gaze with darkened eyes full of admiration and desire.

“You don’t think I look silly without my beard, do you?” he asks, self-consciously running his hand along his stubble once again.

A small, loving smile graces your lips as your thumb lightly glides over the newfound ridges and dips on his face. He has a new youthful freshness and a clean, radiant glow about him. But still, he is just as handsome as ever, if not more so. Your heart swells with love for this man. Leaning in, you press a gentle kiss against his cheek, savoring the moment and letting out a contented sigh.

"Not at all," you assure him, your voice barely above a whisper. "I must say, you look rather... enticing." Gale's eyes widen in surprise. Before he can say anything else, you add. "Should we shave the rest?"

Your gaze travels down the expanse of his chest, the dark hair that travels down his stomach and lower...

Gale blushes fiercely, his cheeks turning a deep red as he stares at you. But he doesn’t move away, and he doesn’t protest. "Y-yes," he whispers. "You can...uh...I will...yes," he splutters, struggling to think of what else to say. He looks more nervous than you’ve seen him in a long time.

You chuckle at Gale's flustered state and lean in closer, feeling a surge of confidence. "Don't worry," you whisper, gently tracing your fingers along his jawline. "I'll be gentle."

Gale's gaze follows your every move as you pick up the razor, anticipation and excitement brewing in his dark eyes. As the sharp blade glides across his chest, his muscles tense under your delicate touch. The smooth skin revealed by each stroke of the razor is glowing, almost golden, and you can't resist tracing your fingers along it.

You feel him shaking, his breath quivering, and he groans slightly. His hands grip your thighs tightly, and you can feel his arousal growing beneath the towel that you are sitting over.

"A-apologies, I can't remain still," he apologizes, squirming slightly under your touch.

You smile softly at Gale's nervousness. "It's okay," you reassure him, continuing to carefully shave off the remaining hair. His skin is hot, but you can feel the goosebumps rising under your touch.

Gale lets out a shaky breath, his hands gripping your hips tightly. "I-I just...it feels peculiar," he mumbles, trying to keep still. You lower the razor from his chest to his stomach, your own breath a little shaky. You trace your fingers there, following the trail of the razor as you admire the smooth skin. Gale's muscles tense under your touch. You can feel your own arousal at the feeling of his hardness against you, and can't help moving your hips slightly over him. A low groan escapes Gale's lips as he responds eagerly to your movements.

"Everything alright, professor?" you ask breathlessly, your fingers still tracing patterns on his skin.

Gale's eyes fly open at your question, a look of confusion and desire in them. "I-It's...it's fine," he stammers, trying to compose himself. But his body betrays him, his hips moving against yours as he moans lowly.

Your own breathing quickens as you feel the heat between you intensify. Without hesitation, you lean in and claim Gale's lips as your own, savoring the hint of shaving cream and the feeling of the soft skin of his face, so different from the tickling you are used to. The kiss is intense and passionate, your tongues dancing together in a heated rhythm. You can just let out a soft moan into his mouth as his fingers trace up and down your spine, sending shivers down your body.

This time, you have half the mind to put the blade aside before turning back to him. Your hands start roaming over his smooth chest and stomach before trailing lower toward the towel that covers his arousal.

Gale's breath hitches as your fingers brush against him, and he breaks the kiss to look up at you with his eyes almost black with desire.

"I need you," he whispers huskily.

"So eager, Mr. Dekarios. You have to learn about patience," you tease, starting to unbuckle your trousers.

"I apologize, Miss, I must admit, patience has never been one of my strong suits." he replies, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

You let out a soft laugh as you finish undoing your trousers and get up from his lap to let them fall to the ground. The rest of your still damp clothes follow, leaving you bare in front of him. Gale's eyes roam over your naked body, taking in every curve and detail.

"You're magnificent," he says, his voice low and husky.

"I could say the same about you, Mr. Dekarios," The words leave your lips with a teasing smirk, trying to mask the nervousness you feel under Gale's intense scrutiny.

You move to straddle Gale's hips once again, grinding against his now rock-hard cock, the contact making you both moan. His hand trails down your chest, until his fingers rest over one of your nipples. The electric sensation makes your body tremble and you can't help but whimper as he teases and toys with your sensitive flesh.

"I want to make you feel good," Gale whispers, his breath hot against your skin.

"And I want to make you feel good too," you reply, leaning down to capture his lips in another passionate kiss.

Gale's lips move from yours to trail down your neck, leaving a trail of hot kisses and love bites in their wake. Your head falls back in pleasure as his mouth moves to one of your nipples, sucking and nipping at it while his hand continues to fondle the other. The sensations are almost too much for you to handle and you can feel yourself getting wetter with each passing second. Gale is thick and throbbing against your core, and you grind yourself against him, both of you letting out low moans of pleasure. His fingers trace down your stomach until they reach your cunt, "You are dripping," he murmurs against your chest, his breath hot against your skin.

You can't help but let out a soft moan as his fingers begin to tease your folds, spreading your wetness and circling around your sensitive clit. You move against him, desperate for more contact, but he keeps teasing you with slow and deliberate movements. When his first finger finally enters you, you are so wet it almost gets sucked in. You cry out in relief, clenching around the digit as Gale's finger moves in and out of you, the slow and steady pace driving you mad with desire.

"I need more," you pant, unable to form any other words.

You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he adds a second finger, stretching you in the most delicious way. Your walls clench around him eagerly as he sets a faster pace, his fingers moving expertly inside of you. With each thrust of his fingers, your moans grow louder and more desperate.

Cursing the gods, he mutters to himself, "I can't believe my fortune. Here you are, a perfect mess, so desperate and eager. I am so overwhelmed by the depth of my love for you." Gale whispers against your ear as he adds a third finger, making you gasp at the slight stretch but also reveling in the fullness it brings. His thumb joins in on the action, rubbing circles over your clit and sending jolts of pleasure through your body.

"Please, my love," you whisper, looking into his intense brown eyes, which now look almost black with desire.

You can feel the coil in your stomach tightening, aching for release. Your hands grip onto his shoulders as you ride his fingers with with abandon, your body trembling with each thrust. Gale's lips find yours once again and he kisses you deeply, swallowing your moans as your body tenses and convulses. You come hard against his hand, your whole body trembling and shaking as waves of pleasure wash over you.

Gale doesn't stop though, his fingers continue to move inside of you, prolonging your orgasm until it becomes almost unbearable.

"I love you," Gale whispers between kisses.

"I love you too," you reply breathlessly, lost in the sensations coursing through your body.

He finally withdraws his hand and brings it up to his mouth, sucking on his fingers while staring into your eyes with a hunger that sends shivers down your spine.

"Allow me to make love to you," he pleads huskily.

With the last of your energy, you eagerly nod and open the towel beneath you, revealing his cock as it springs out. Gale's eyes rake over you hungrily before he positions himself between your legs, his erection rubbing against your wet folds.

Without breaking eye contact, you slowly lower yourself onto Gale, feeling him stretch and fill you in the most delicious way. A moan escapes your lips as he fills you completely, a perfect fit that always leaves you breathless. Gale's eyes never leave yours as he enters you, inch by inch. You still feel sensitive and spent at the recent orgasm, so you lean in and wrap your arms around his neck.

You whimper, "God, you're so big...filling me up so perfectly..."

He moans in response, spurred on by your filthy words as he always is.

"Only for you," Gale responds, his voice no more than a hoarse whisper. "Always for you."

His fingers dig into your waist as he holds himself steady, allowing you time to adjust to his size. You can feel the throbbing heat of him within you and it sends shivers of desire spiraling down your spine. After a few moments, you begin to move, rocking your hips in slow circles that have both of you gasping. Gale's gaze is on your face, drinking in every flicker of pleasure that crosses it. A loud moan leaves your lips as he hits a particularly sensitive spot inside of you. Your nails dig into his skin as you ride him, meeting his every thrust with your own movements. The sounds of your bodies slapping against each other mix with your moans and gasps, filling the room.

Gale's lips find yours once again, kissing you deeply as he continues to pleasure you. His tongue expertly explores your mouth, before he leans back and looks into your eyes with his big brown orbs you have always loved so much.

"You're so pretty," you whisper, "even without the beard."

Gale's lips quirk up into a smile at your words.

"And you're my everything," Gale whispers against your lips, making your heart swell with love for this man.

At this point you have stilled again, just grinding against each other and whispering sweet nothing. You just can't seem to get enough, your forehead against his, lost in the sensations of his touch and warmth.

"Mhmm," you hum, your body clenching down on him again "I could do this all night."

He chuckles softly, "And I would let you, but there's one thing I want even more than this..."

"Oh?" you tease, arching an eyebrow.

"I need to feel you unravel yourself around me," his words send shivers down your spine.

"You'll have to work for that," you say with a grin, and start moving up and down his cock in slow strokes. The feeling of him sliding out of your tightness is followed by a squelching, and you are sure at this point you must be dripping all over him. The thought makes you clench again. Your breath hitches as the tip of his cock brushes against your most sensitive spot.

"Shit" Gale groans, closing his eyes in pleasure. His hands grip your hips hard enough to leave marks, but you don't care as he matches you stroke for stroke. He starts whining lowly, and it turns you on so much when he becomes whiny and desperate for you. "Please," he begs, "I need--"

You interrupt his plea with a hungry kiss, swallowing his desperate noises as you ride him harder, faster. Gale's hands wander over your body, caressing every inch of skin he can reach. His lips trail down from your jaw to your neck, nipping and sucking on the sensitive skin. You let out a moan as his tongue flicks over your pulse point, sending sparks of pleasure throughout your body.

Gale's hands then travel lower, cupping your breasts and massaging them gently. His thumbs graze over your hardened nipples, making you arch into his touch. You bring your hands to his hair, pulling at the base and eliciting a low growl from him.

You look into his eyes as you feel him getting closer to release, moaning against his lips. His hand finds your clit again and rubs it in a circular motion, adding to the pleasure coursing through your body. You meet his gaze and let out a long, drawn-out moan as you feel your walls gripping onto him.

"I love you," you moan against his lips, your voice filled with adoration and need.

Gale's movements become erratic at your words, his hand working faster on your clit. You both let out a symphony of moans and gasps as you reach your climax together.

You collapse onto Gale's chest, both of you trying to catch your breath. His arms wrap tightly around you, pulling you impossibly closer, still buried deeply inside of you.

"I love you so much," Gale says between breaths, kissing your shoulder.

You lean down and kiss him softly on the lips, your hands running soothingly over his chest. As you lay there in each other's arms, the world seems to fade away. All that matters is the feeling of being connected to Gale.

"You know, I think could get used to this," you whisper against his lips "Your skin is so soft now." Gale chuckles, "I hope you do, because you are performing my shaving duties from now on."

[sharkboywrites]

Baldur’s Gate Astarion x FTM Reader who has poor vision?

Maybe a bit of hurt/comfort???

Astarion With a FTM S/O With Poor Vision

A/N: Okay so I don't really have bad vision so I'm just going off of what I know from other people. This also wasn't very specific so i wasn't sure how serious to make the lack of vision so I tried to go for some type of mid ground.

Being in this situation wasn't easy for the average person, but with your vision issues, things suddenly became a lot harder

All of a sudden you were out of your element and didn't have the accommodations you used to

You tried to hide it, did your best to appear as if your vision was completely normal, although it was clear to anyone who paid attention that you were struggling

You always left the reading to everyone else, always giving it to someone you think would do better with the subject matter like Gale, covering up for the fact you couldn't see well enough to read it

When travelling you always kept your eyes to the ground, making sure you wouldn't trip over anything

but it slowly became more obvious as you always made sure you were at the back of the group and tripping over clear obstacles despite always looking straight at the ground

Nobody said anything though, deciding it either was a touchy subject or that it wasn't worth their time

But as time started to go on, you started to struggle more, needing to be helped even if you didn't want it

It all came crashing down on you one night as you struggled to take your bindings off

You couldn't see clear enough to take it off, find the right places to undo it

But you couldn't just leave it on

You could feel the hours of having it on while travelling and battling starting to take it's toll on you, and that, combined with the stress and panic, started to make the tears fall

You sat there for a while, struggling to take it off, the tears blurring your vision even more, and hiccupping, trying to stay quiet

You couldn't stay quiet enough, and of course Astarion had found you

With his usual demeanor, you expected him to laugh, make a snide comment about your state

But to your surprise, that's not what he did

Instead he slowly kneeled in front of you, his hands held out in a question, asking if it was alright to touch you

At your teary nod, he slowly and gently undid your binding, it was the gentlest touch you think you'd ever felt

After making sure it was all off and you were well, with an off handed comment about needing to be more safe with your methods of binding, he gently slide your shirt back over you, not something he needed to do, but something he did anyways, an action that spoke more than words

He let you lean up against him, your tears and sniffling slowing to a stop

He wasn't very warm, being a vampire and all, but it was all the comfort you could ask for

His arm rested on your shoulder, the weight also helping you calm down

No words were spoken as you calmed down, but once you did, you explained your situation to him, and he was perfectly understanding

From then on, he's subtly offers to help you, but not in a way that would make you feel weak

He would let you try your hardest, encouraging you the whole way, and if you couldn't, he wouldn't make you feel bad for it

He also helps with your binding, making sure you're doing it safely along with making sure you know you have his support

While you weren't expecting Astarion's empathy and caring nature, you weren't complaining, he really was helpful

I'm surprisingly proud of this one for some reason. I wanted to get more writings done over my break, but I've been feeling very overworked still. I'll try to get more done, sorry if you've sent in a request and been waiting a while. ty for reading and have a nice day

[reriart]

maybe it’s the tav I’m currently playing but I am so fixated on a tav absolutely convinced Astarion does not find her attractive despite the obvious, him sleeping with her x2, openly complimenting her etc etc and that leading too sloppy, emotional sex between the two, what do you think?

Dear anon,

thank you so much for asking me, I hope you'll like it! Since I suffer from body dysmorphia, I thought I'd put this topic inside the fic, I hope it's ok for you!

Let me worship you

Tags/CW: +18 MDNI, afab Tav, very smut, body dysmorphia, plus size tav, depression and panic attacks, Tav is a bit insecure and jealous, oral and piv sex, body worshipping, Astarion is a lil angry, tadpole connection, the infamous knee, Astarion is both dom and sub here.

English is not my native language. Link to AO3.

Divider by @cafekitsune

‘What's wrong with me?’

That question keeps buzzing in your head, loud as if you had a wasp nest right in your skull instead of a tadpole.

‘Why can't I be as beautiful like them?’

The knot in your stomach makes the bowl of fruit porridge Gale prepared, now in your hands, appear heavy and uninviting. The scent of apples, enticing until moments before, makes you nauseous.

Your gaze rests first on Lae'zel, then on Shadowheart and finally on Karlach. The toned body of the githyanki, the refined beauty of the half-elf, the marble muscles of the tiefling.

Then you observe yourself: your soft belly, your scarred skin, your ruined nails. Your right hand touches your round cheek, your hair loosely tied back. You try to push back the tears and you are out of breath, heart beating faster. You look up and notice Astarion's ruby-red ones staring back at you, one eyebrow raised and jaw clenched.

‘Apologies,’ you say, standing up sharply, your voice louder than expected. ‘I think I'll go for a swim. Sorry Gale, I don't have much of an appetite.’

‘Don't worry, if you get hungry again I'll cook you something later,’ he replies, his round, soft eyes barely concealing concern. This is the third time this week you've skipped meals because of your anxiety attacks.

The others continue chatting, but as you leave the camp, you feel eyes hovering over your back.

With almost painful slowness, you reach the small beach behind the rocks. Wyll and Karlach are laughing as Gale rambles on about something as usual - you don't catch the words as you undress, but you can sense the lightness of their conversation, a conversation you would like to witness and laugh about, too.

But the voice in your head - and not your prismatic friend's one - but your own, the darker side of you, only complains. ‘You've gained weight’, “you're horrible”, “Astarion will leave you”.

You don't really know how to define the relationship between you and him. You haven't declared eternal love for each other or who knows what, and you're pretty sure he's simply using you as a walking blood bag and easy sex.

Probably, after every night spent together, he has done nothing but whine about you.

The thought of the vampire mocking your feelings is the catalyst that finally triggers your tears. You feel them, warm against your skin, silently sliding down to your lips.

You lick one away, and wipe the rest with the back of your hand.

Your foot treads the water, trying to sense whether the temperature is acceptable or not. It is a little cold, actually, but perhaps that is just what you need right now. You glide silently through the small, dark waves, which wrap around you like a blanket. You put your head under the water, inhibiting all external noises.

You have always loved water. There, you do not feel the weight of your body, you do not see it for what it is, and when you sink, then all contact with the outside world disappears. You let gravity bring your body to the surface, and you spread your arms wide. You gaze at the moon, full and pale, wishing to be just a tiny dot in the sky.

Your vision blurs with tears and you close your eyes, letting the gentle rhythm of the water lull you.

Just as you are about to open your eyes again, you feel claws grab your shoulder and you're about to scream, but a hand blocks any sound you try to make. You notice two red irises staring at you and pointed ears peeping out from a cloud of silver hair.

‘Astarion, what the heck, you scared the hell out of me!’ you mutter as soon as you free your lips. ‘I didn't hear you coming.’

‘That was the point,’ he replies, oddly serious, his flirty, sassy façade strangely lacking. ‘We need to talk.’

Your heart jumps back to your throat once more as anxiety assails you. You spin around so that you are back on your feet and turn to face him.‘Is something wrong?

Do you need blood? I haven't eaten and I don't have much strength, but if you…’

‘That's the point,’ he snips sharply, his gaze as piercing as one of his daggers. ‘And I'm not talking about the blood. Why aren't you eating?’

It is not the first time Astarion has asked this: it had already happened in the past few days, yet he seemed more concerned. Now… he looks almost furious.

‘I'm not hungry, okay?"

‘No, it's not okay,’ he replies dryly, his thick white eyebrows wrinkling his forehead.

‘What, are you afraid your roaming snack has no more blood for you?’ The answer escapes your lips in a tone between ironic and hysterical and you roll your eyes. ‘Don't worry, as you can clearly see I'm not starving, and I'm sure you won't have any of these problems either while I'm around.’

Astarion's eyes grow big with astonishment and you see him step back, as far as he can, into the water.

‘Is… is that what you think you are to me? A snack?’ His voice is broken, bitter. ‘Do you value what's between us so poorly?’

The feelings of guilt and anger grow in tandem. ‘Tell me, Astarion, is it not the truth? Perhaps I am the only thing vaguely fuckable and edible h-’

His lips crash against yours as he grasps both your cheeks with his hands and brings them to himself. You hear a low, violent growl resonate in his ribcage as his tongue creeps out to seek yours. His fingers then sink into your hair, leaving you breathless.

Holding you close, he pulls his mouth away just far enough to whisper Inveniam viam. In the blink of wings, you find yourself on the beach.

‘I didn't know Misty Steps also worked on…’

‘Don't change the topic,’ he growls against your ear. Suddenly, you realise the dangerous proximity. The magic of the water has vanished, your body - what you hate most in the world - once again exposed to the moon's glow. You look around, searching hopelessly for your clothes.

'Eyes. On. Me.’ he orders, and for a second you feel yourself shiver as his icy hand grabs your chin and forces you to look at him.

‘Now listen carefully.’

You swallow and nod a shy yes with your head after he let you go.

‘You're seeing yourself as a monster again, is that true?’ he asks, stroking one cheek with the back of his hand. ‘Because of the way you look.’

‘Don't you? Look at me, Astarion. You could have anyone. You have a lot of opportunities.’

He pinches the back of his nose with his fingers and inhales. ‘… And to think it must be a monster to make you see the reality of things! But I suppose there's no other way.’

His lips are on you again, but this time it's different. You see yourself from Astarion's point of view and you feel everything he feels: your soft lips, your skin hot to the touch, your sighs, the accelerated beating of your heart, the intense smell of your blood that, despite being well protected by your veins, only urges him back…

‘Let me show you how it is for me,’ he whispers, as your foreheads touch. ‘Because, darling, I assure you, you are far from reality.’

You feel like you're in a dream, made up of fragments. The moonlight is much brighter to his sight, and the sounds of nature amplified. He pulls you onto the beach, kissing you. You feel his tongue exploring you, the warmth pleasantly welcoming his body.

He inhales your scent and you feel like it smells like flowers, even though you have never sensed anything like it. ‘A rich bouquet, which I never tire of.’

He runs down your neck, kissing it languidly and licking it. ‘I can't get enough of you, and I'm not just talking about your blood.’

His teeth find your nipples; your brain is split between the pleasure you feel yourself, and his one when he sucks and nibbles on the turgid tips. He sinks his face between your soft, generous, warm breasts, and inevitably can't help himself, bringing a hand to his erection. You feel the exquisite liquid warmth work its way into both of your bellies, his breathing shuddering as he squeezes his cock and thrusts his pelvis into his fist. You feel how excited he is to see you at his mercy, lying on the sand, eyes glazed over and heart on the verge of bursting.

The thought makes you suddenly tighten your legs, partly out of shyness, partly to fill the void, seeking a gentle friction. ‘A-astarion, I will hurt you…’

The elf laughs, and pulls you to him with supernatural strength. ‘My dear, I am a vampire. It takes more than that to hurt me,’ he replies with a grin on his face, taking you by the hips until he finds his nose peeping against your clit. He wastes no more time, pushing you down, impaling you with his tongue unceremoniously.

You pant and tremble, feeling your taste on his tongue through the connection, his fervid excitement growing and growing.

He really can't get enough of you, if he could he would become one with you from how insane his desire is. He licks you, tongue-fucking you, until you begin to unleash yourself. You grab his hair and push your pussy against his mouth, riding him.

‘That's it, my dear. Take control, fuck yourself with my tongue,’ you hear in your mind. ‘Be glorious while you do it, give me all of yourself.’

And so you do. You let yourself go, drunk with your own and Astarion's excitement. You see the scene from his eyes: the moist glistening of your clit, swollen and ready to climax, breasts dancing with every movement.

‘Fuck Astarion, I want you,’ you gasp. Reluctantly, you pull away from him for a moment, but only to turn around. You take his long, pale cock in your mouth and he returns to licking you greedily. You take him all the way down your throat, moaning, feeling the salty taste on your tongue and at the same time the sweet taste on you. Only wet sounds and moans can be heard, as you fuck each other. Your heart has never raced so fast, full of a new pride.

Astarion truly sees you as a divinity, the emblem of the very life he so dearly misses.

You are so wet that you feel Astarion swallowing several times, drinking your pleasure like wine, until he gives an arrow-accurate lapping on your pearl, making you see stars. Your mouth is still full of his cock so you can't scream as he continues to tongue fuck you as you come again, again and again.

Then, he grabs you by the hips and slams you down, entering you with disarming ease. You feel your mind fall apart but at the same time you see you beneath him, his hands encircling your red cheeks. ‘You are… so beautiful that you make me feel alive.’

His strokes become more and more imprecise, so wet you can feel that liquid pleasure inside you. ‘Gods, fuck, I'm going to cum. I want to come inside you,' he begs. ‘Pretty please.’

You whisper a ‘yes’, holding him to you as he moans your name. You feel his seed fill you and at the same time you feel his orgasm as if it were your own. You kiss him again, again and again, until your pleasure swarms.

‘Please look at yourself every day in the mirror as if you were doing it with my eyes. And if you can't, I will help you, day after day.’

You smile, as you believe in yourself a little more.

[taylormarieee]

Lover Boy Peeta Mellark

Summary: Peeta loves to show you how much he loves you.

Pairing: Peeta Mellark x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 964

Warnings: None, just pure fluff and rainbows!

After everything with the 74th anniversary for the hunger games, when you and Peeta survived.

He has been all over you for the past few weeks. Constantly checking up on you, bringing you bread, giving you kisses everywhere on your body.

It was cute honestly. Some people may think it's annoying but you think it's incredibly adorable.

Behind that brave facade, is a sweet lover boy who loves his girlfriend and always wants to remind her of that. To show her his love for her.

"I know, Gale, are you sure your ok?" You ask. He slowly nods before drifting off to sleep.

You gave him some tea because he wasn't feeling very well. You go to clean up when you hear a knock on the door.

You walk towards the door and open it only to be surprised with a happy smile and a loaf of bread.

A bright smile slowly appears on your face as you hug you boyfriend Peeta Mellark.

"Hi. I thought I would bring some bread!" He says with a smile on his face.

"Good! Just in time too! Gale's caught a fever. He isn't feeling well so maybe bread and tea will fix him up!" You say grabbing the loaf of bread before kissing Peeta on the cheek and walking towards the kitchen.

He walks in and gently shuts the door. Your swaying and humming to yourself as you cut the bread to leave next to Gale on the couch.

You grab a napkin and place it on the coffee table in your lovely, quiet home

"So... How are you? Have you been busy my love?" He asks in a sweet, gentle tone.

"I have been good Peeta! Not as many nightmares anymore but you know, same old same old." You say frowning a bit.

"Do you want some tea?" You ask. You await his answer as you slowly walk over to the counter where the tea kettle is.

"Uhm, no thank you, I'm ok." Peeta replies. You hear shuffling on the couch and look over to see Gale waking back up at the smell of bread.

"Is that bread and tea?" He asks a little drowsy from his quick little nap.

"Yea it is. Peeta's here and he brought some bread so eat up." You respond.

You walk over to Gale and put your hand on his head to check on him and how he is feeling and he is burning up.

"Oh my god Gale, your burning up! I'm going to run a cold bath for you. Up, come on." You say concerned.

"Sure thing mom!" He responds chuckling as he gets up and walks to the bathroom.

"I'll be right back Peeta!" You respond. He stands there patiently waiting for your return.

Once you walk back in the room you met with someone's chest and a whiff of alcohol.

"HAYMITCH!" You yell. You give him a hug and he chuckles a bit.

"Hey there firecracker." You smile at the nickname he gave you . You got this nickname form making fire bombs during the games.

"W-what are you doing here? Is everything ok?" You ask looking behind him to see Katniss and Peeta.

"Yea, I tagged along with Katniss on the way over here. She came to male sure that Gale was ok." He responds rubbing your arms assuringly.

"Oh ok, yea Katniss he's fine he's in the shower right now because he was burning up." You tell her.

She nods and mutters a thank you before heading up the stairs towards the bathroom.

"Uh babe? Can we talk for a sec? Alone." Peeta asks. You nod and walk towards your room together.

"What? What's going on baby?" You ask wondering if he's ok. He gives you a hug and then grabs your face and kisses you sweetly.

"Hm, what was that for?"

"To show how much I love you. Plus, i've been wanting to do that the moment I walked in here." He says laughing.

You laugh and he smiles at you with nothing but love.

"I love your laugh. Your so gorgeous." he says staring at you with love in his eyes.

"Aw, thank you peeta. I love your big brown eyes. Your my little golden retriever." You say smiling before giving him a sweet peck on his lips.

He smothers your face with kisses and you laugh again. "You wanna go for a walk?" He asks.

"W-What about Gale?" You ask concerned. He rolls his eyes playfully.

"Babe I think Katniss can take care of him for 10 minutes." He responds smiling.

"Ok. Lemme go get my coat and I'll meet you outside hun!" You say running to your room to grab your coat.

Peeta smiles to himself as he waits for you by the door like a personal Chaperone.

He wonders how he's so lucky to have you. How could he have scored such a prize like you. You weren't an obstacle to win but a star to praise.

You shined on your own time and he adored you for it. He loved everything about you and he couldn't have had anyone more special than you.

Lost in his train of thoughts about you he didn't even notice your sweet voice trying to lure him back to reality.

"Babe? Are you ok? Earth to Peeta!?" You say cutely waving your hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh yea baby I'm ok." He responds smiling, "Ready to go My lovely princess?" he continues holding out his arm.

"I am." You respond, you both walking out of the door. "By the way, what were you thinkin' about?" You ask sweetly.

Peeta smiles to himself before looking at you with a big smile on his face saying, "You my love. Always thinking about you."

@murdrdocs @versatilehater @number1gal @luvrxbunny @clovestreet @peetaslefttoe @flowershines @aweina @fayesia

[mashiraostail]

omg please please imagine of gale reading to tav please!!

gallleeeeee supremacy

It hadn't been a particularly difficult day, mostly traveling, seeking out merchants, supplies, and information. That being said, when it was time to wind down for the day, you were glad for it. You spent hours sitting around the fire with everyone, exchanging stories and plans for what is to come. You sat next to Gale, you found yourself usually sitting next to Gale, even before the nights you began to share, you were always drawn to him.

He seemed to have an unending wealth of knowledge to share with you, you were happy to hear it all. Glad to hear about the heavy tomes he kept with him, to pour over complicated scrolls with him, to listen to his voice, to watch his mouth when he spoke.

You leaned into his shoulder, you saw a smile tug at his profile. Halsin always had the most bizarre stories, you could listen to him talk for hours about the trouble he seemed to find so easily especially in his youth. You feel Gale's nose brush against your hairline, then he stands as Halsin's story ends.

"Before I get wrapped up in another tale of yours, I'm going to rest a bit." Gale always seemed so grateful to share in things with the lot of you, despite the death sentence in his chest. "Perhaps I'll see you all again before the night is out."

There's a chorus of send offs, and thank yous for dinner and then Gale is gone. Karlach begins to talk about her own youth and the mischief she caused. You see a bit of light flickering from inside Gale's tent, you figure he must be reading. You'd never been a strong reader, you were always so focused on fighting, it was the skill you had chosen to master, just as Gale had chosen the Weave. You wondered how he got to reading, did he imagine the stories in his head like a movie, did he just take in the words and their meanings? What sorts of books did he like to read? Romance maybe? You were sure he did. You excuse yourself to go to him. No one seemed upset by this, though Wyll prods at you a bit as you go pinching your arm and making a teasing sort of noise. Karlach laughs too but gives him a shove.

"They're in love, come off it." She snorts when she says it, just as teasing as he had been. He looks at her and you feel a knowing sort thing tug at your stomach. You save him the embarrassment though and trot off with a pointed 'hmpf' at them.

You poke your way into Gales tent, when he looks up he seems delighted to see you.

"Hello, I didn't think you would follow me." He closes the book he was reading and sits up a bit more, "I'm glad you did." He gestures for you come closer, to sit.

"I was curious." You sit with him and look at the book he had discarded.

"Curious, for what?" He always looks so intently at you when you speak, it makes you flutter.

"What you were...reading." You push the hardcover with your fingertip and he perks up at your interest.

"This is a history book, I was interested in learning more about this land. I tend to not travel this way. Honestly I don't much leave Waterdeep at all, I have plenty to learn."

"I see." The candle beside him flickered and lit his face up, his hair casting long shadows across the bridge of his nose and over his cheeks. "Do you like to read history books the most?"

"Hm.." He ponders that, "no I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"I'm only curious." You continue to muddle around with the book, it looked heavy.

"Only curious? Would you like to read some? You probably know more about this area than I do though." He nudges the book towards you and you shake your head, suddenly a bit embarrassed.

"No....thank you." You shake your head and pull away from the book as if it had burned you. "What sorts of books are your favorite to read?"

"My favorite?" He wonders, "I like to read...poetry collections."

You recall him saying he does enjoy to write, "I suppose that makes sense."

"Though I won't turn my nose up at a good mystery, or even a love story."

"Really?"

Gale smiles at you his earring catches the light when he tilts his head with it, "of course. I'll enjoy any book if it's written well enough. Are you very picky then?"

"Me?" You flush, "no..no I.." You look away, "no I don't really..read much."

"I have noticed you don't bring a book, yes. Though I figured given the perils of our situation it wouldn't be abnormal to cast aside your typical hobbies." Gale is sitting across from you, your knees are touching. You know deep down he wouldn't truly care. He was a limp noodle on the battle field and he was never embarrassed to show you that. "You could have one of mine." Gale offers, "whatever you like, or we can find something more to your tastes on the road." Despite this knowing you still feel humiliated.

"No I couldn't.." You shake your head, 'these are yours, you must care deeply for them to take them along with you."

"Oh no," Gale takes your hands as they had been waving him away, "a good book is meant to be shared by all, the best service I could do a book I care for is to share it. Books are meant to be read. Whatever you like, consider it yours."

"I..." You feel his palms against your finger tips, "that's very kind of you Gale." You glance at the pile of books he kept with him, they looked equally large and intimidating.

"It's nothing, I'm glad to have somebody to share them with. Especially when that somebody is you. You don't even need to ask, take and enjoy whatever you like."

"Well.." You look away from his easy gaze and to the corner of his tent. "The thing is...I...can't....well not to say I can't I just-"

"Can't? What?" Gale sounds confused, "read?" His eyebrows shoot up, "surely you can read."

"I can read!' You shove him a bit, "just...not very well." You feel your face burning with embarrassment.

"What does it mean to read well? To read at all is good." Gale laughs a bit, perhaps at your fluster, "really, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. You've spent your whole life fighting, probably dealing with threats just as large as this one, who has time to read?" He turns to sit beside you, he leans against the back of his tent where it's propped against a rock.

"It would take me months to read one of these big books. I haven't got a brain like you Gale." You shake your head and lay back beside him. He seems to preen at the praise. You look up at him and he looks to you stammers for a moment, then laughs. You feel his eyes scan your face, and the heat radiating off his body. There's a silent command in the air between your that draws you closer to each other.

"Lately, it feels like I haven't got much knocking around up here at all." He taps his temple, "what have you done to me?" You smile, and give a small huff of a laugh as his hands cover your cheeks, holding your face gently and drawing you nearer. You share a kiss that's warming and kind, your hands hold onto Gale's wrists.

"I wouldn't mind, if you kept the book and took your time with it." He offers as he noses against your cheek, "they would be months well spent."

"I'm worried it would overwhelm me." You flatten the wrinkles in his shirt over his chest, "so many pages. I'd feel like I have no choice but to rush."

"You've no need to rush." He kisses you again then trails his lips to your cheek, then your temple. You rest your hand on the side of his neck, thumbing occasionally at the ends of his hair.

"Why don't you...read to me?" You pull away to look up at him, "I would love to hear what you think as we go anyway, you're much better for these sorts of things."

"Really?" He perks up again, "I fear you'll tire of my voice."

"No," you laugh a bit, "no Gale, never. Pick one, something interesting."

He goes for a moment, rummaging around his things before producing a hardcover book, he sets it on your lap.

"This one I like, it's a mystery, but there's a love story in there as well, and plenty of wonderful twists from beginning to end." He taps the cover as he settles next to you again.

"I think that will do well then." You look up at him, "you know I could not imagine doing this with anyone else. Telling you a thing like that was actually...difficult for me. I could not imagine opening up to anyone else like this."

"I should hope so." Gale replied easily, flipping open the book, "have you had other wizard callers?" He raises an eyebrow at you, "because if you have might I strongly recommend you throw them all to fire. Wizards make terrible lovers and are hardly commendable companions."

"Really?" You laugh, looking up at him. He just nods.

"They'll almost certainly take advantage of you. Truly conniving they are. Their noses are always stuck in a book, they'll jump at any attention at all. Give them an inch, they take a mile."

"Mhm...that does sound right." You agree, thumbing at the corner of the hard cover.

"Yes, truly a wretched kind that lot, certainly never to be trusted even at the worst of times."

"And what about you?" You lean against him, resting your head against him and pulling your legs up to your chest. "Would you take advantage of me? Are you to be trusted?"

"Oh," He sputters, "who, me?" He puts a hand on his chest, looking almost offended but his grin gave him away, "no not me, me so deeply devoted to you? Do you truly think so little of me?"

You snort and turn into his arm, "you're right. Are you going to read or just flirt with me all night?"

He laughs back at you, "come on then." His arm comes around your back and you peel open the book. He starts reading, his voice is quiet, as if you weren't the only two people in the room and he was trying to keep this story a secret.

It's a good story, or what you hear of it is, Gale interjects with a few anecdotes here and there but they only help the story along for you. You even interject with a few questions or shocked remarks here and there.

"No! How could he do that to her?" You cut Gale off with an offended gasp, "she loved him!"

"Wretched lot, Wizards." He taps the book laughing, "see I told you."

"You did..." You settle back into place against him. He makes it through a good deal of the first few chapters before you start to doze off.

"Your eyelids are looking particularly heavy." You feel his lips against your hairline when he says it, "are you falling asleep? Have I bored you so much?"

"No!" You try to muster the energy to sound offended, "it's good, I like it so far. Its just laying like this makes me doze off." You turn into his side, "keep going."

He hums, maybe he's considering a teasing remark about reading you to sleep, he must elect against it because he rests his chin against the crown of your head and then continues to read to you. He reads until you've fallen completely asleep, by then he's feeling heavy himself.

You vaguely sense him shifting you around to lay down, but you don't stir much, just settle into him once again.

[forgeofthenine]

Not a request this time, just a little fic based off the song 'Mrs Hollywood' by Go-Jo. Reader is Tav and they/them pronouns are used throughout.

Hopefully you guys enjoy, next one up will be a set of headcanons :)

The three times you leave Dammon, and the one time you stay

the first time

The excitement reaches its peak around the forge, tieflings bustling to and fro as they prepare. Dammon pauses at his forge, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand before turning towards the familiar crunch of gravel.

"Hey stranger." He jokes, turning towards you. "Or maybe I should call you 'our hero' now." The correction comes as he turns fully, eyes taking in the figure before him.

God he wishes they could stay, that he and his forge could be enough. But they have their destiny ahead of them. Dammon is already sure he'll be but a small part.

"I heard you weren't coming to the party, I wanted to say goodbye to my favourite blacksmith." His chest tightens as you say the words, not wanting to let you leave, but Dammons knows this is how things need to be.

"It's hardly goodbye, you'll see us again soon, won't you?" The question is one neither can really know the answer to, but they smile and nod anyway and that's enough for Dammon.

The second time

They'd been lounging on the hay in his forge, two days of idle chatting as he worked and asking that ox with much to human eyes random questions.

The assault on Ketheric Thorm has kept them all busy, Dammon at his forge, them trying to form a plan. "What if I just have Gale disintegrate him, Dammon?" The question comes from the corner of the room, where they sit by the open arches.

"Can Gale disintegrate him?" Dammon asks, pulling back from his whetstone. "Maybe you should just use this." He gives the sword a little flourish, holding it out to them. Jumping from the mess of a hay bale, they reach for the sword.

"Oh, this is beautiful..." hands delicately take it, admiring it before stowing it away safe in it's sheath. Just as Dammon thinks nothing they do could surprise him, they're already pulling him into a hug.

Arms wrap tight around his chest as they press in close to him. "Thank you Dammon, I feel like my words just aren't enough." They murmur, Dammons own arms looping close around their waist.

"Just come back alive, that's enough, don't keep me here waiting."

The third time

Rolans words pause as the footfalls of boots echo up the stairs to Dammons new forge, and the blacksmiths attention turns towards the potential customer.

Excitement courses through Dammon as he sees them crest the top of the stairs, a bright smile adorning their face as they wave. "Hi Dammon! Oh, is Rolan here too?" They ask, looking between the two tieflings.

"A few things broke at his new tower during your fight, I'm just giving a quote at how much it'll be to fix." Dammon explains, seeing the way Rolan eyes how his tail sways as he focuses attention on them. It's hard to contain himself, but they'll never know or realise, the way his body reacts only obvious to other Tieflings.

"Well, I know you're busy, but I needed someone to look at my sword. It took a bit of a beating while we were, uh, doing an errand for Astarion." The end sounds more like question than fact, but Dammon hardly minds as he carefully takes the sword from their hands.

"No problem, I'll have it done by tomorrow. So long as the absolute don't invade the city by then." He winks at them, smiling as they laugh and turn away.

"I'll be back, then!" They throw up a hand as they start to walk away. "See you later Dammon, bye Rolan. As they leave a steady silence falls over the two men, Rolans eyebrow raising slightly.

"Still waiting in line for them, then, prince charming?"

Dammons only reply is to hang his head in his hands.

The time you stay

Parties rage through the streets, the celebration of the absolutes control finally being destroyed. Fireworks fizz and pop outside, children shout and squeal, men sing merry drinking songs.

It's no surprise Dammon stays inside. He's never been one for parties, that much is obvious. What is less obvious is why someone is knocking on his door so late.

Opening it with a stifled yawn, he soon sees the very object of his affections. Standing up straighter, opening the door wider to let them in, one question runs through his mind. "What could bring you here on a night like this?" He's in near disbelief, almost wondering if he nodded off as is dreaming.

"The parties are great and all but..." they trail off, looking down to their feel as they toe the wooden floor. Glancing up again, they finish their thought. "But they don't include you, Dammon."

He can't help the way he pulls them in by the arm, this time being the one to start the impromptu hug. Tail wrapping loosely around their leg as they sigh against his chest, Dammon feels the way their body sags against him.

"Stay." He tells them, face pressing into their hair, bodies curling around each other. "Stay with me this time, I've been waiting so long." The hands gripping his clothing hold him tighter, their face pulling from his chest to look him in the eye.

"Kiss me Dammon. I won't be leaving again." They barely get to finish their sentence, a hand finding the side of their face as Dammon does the very thing he's dreamt about for so long.

Even the fireworks outside can't compare to the ones when they finally kiss.