1 - 20 of 26 Works by arcanefoxx
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He'd made his way through the entirety of the shop’s front, he noted after a bit, glancing to the door Arabella had taken off through as he made his way to scan the back room—when he felt an arm encircle him across his chest, and a knife pressed against the soft underside of his throat.
“Bit slow there, dear brother; haven't you gotten lazy?"
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in which Astarion is faced with his siblings after nearly two years
Series
- Part 9 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
She waits for him to laugh.
To say he’s joking, and bark out one of his laughs Gale does when he thinks he’s said something exceptionally funny. To wave a hand at her good-naturedly, and then say what he actually wanted to talk to her about.
But he doesn’t—doesn’t do any of that. Doesn’t even throw her a wink to show he’s kidding; and what he’d said begins to settle more into her... But surely he didn’t mean it.
…Did he?
“You want me to… go to Blackstaff..?”
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a continuation of Arabella joining our favorite boys in their tower in Waterdeep---with a change of pace
Series
- Part 8 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
He'd done it.
Actually done it.
Taken off after the Crown, and then had the gall to come back afterwards: adorned in divinity, apathy, and silver, with a heavy hand of self-importance.
Silver.
Second place. Second best.
Like he'd made Astarion, after the Crown.
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I was haunted by the idea of only one of them ascending.
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Summary
The first thing he notices is that they’ve switched during the night. Gale is pressed against his back, shirtless and heavy with sleep, with an arm slung over Astarion’s side. He always slept so hot—like a human furnace.
The second thing he notices is the pressure—it's grounding. Comforting, as it’s grown to always be, every time. The temptation to slip his eyes shut and stay under the weighted warmth that is Gale is strong, and he debates moving at all, lest he wake the other.
The third thing he notices is that Gale is hard against him, pressed against the swell of where his thigh meets his ass.
He’s not uncomfortable; it's Gale. And where he’d told himself that over and over again at the start, it actually does bring him nothing but peace now. Maybe because it isn’t so forced anymore, and is now the actual passing thought he’d wanted it to be then.
Astarion closes his eyes, and thinks.
It’s not the first time he’s woken to this scenario—far from it, at this point. Having Gale wrapped around him half-naked just makes it so tempting.
To try.
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a continuation of our boys in their tower in Waterdeep ♡
Series
- Part 10 of two slow dancers
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Summary
He'd never—ever—allowed himself to even daydream of something like this.
Dancing?
In the middle of Waterdeep? While he melted in his love's arms? Being crooned to?
It's almost too domestic—too sweet. A setting that would have made him uncomfortable even just a year ago, when he'd first woken up on that beach and felt the sun on his face.
It felt like a lifetime ago. Maybe a different one entirely, he thinks, as Gale sweeps his hand slow and heavy down over his spine, hums pleasantly in his ear.
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another continuation of our boys in their tower in Waterdeep. a cozy balm for the wintery weather (◡‿◡✿)
Series
- Part 9 of two slow dancers
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Summary
It’s then that there’s a soft knock at the door.
She stiffens, hands freezing over her eyes before pulling away, and glances to the door when a voice murmurs her name.
When she’d heard the knock, she’d immediately expected Gale. He usually had this strange, sixth sense about her, where he could just feel something was off. It was coming up on a month that she’d been here, and it seemed like every time she felt any kind of big feeling coming on, Gale was there with a kind touch and something for her sweet tooth.
But this time, it’s Astarion.
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a continuation of Arabella joining our favorite boys in their tower in Waterdeep---with the long process that is grief
Series
- Part 7 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
He’d once scoffed and rolled his eyes at Sorcerers. For not valuing magic as highly as they should. For not caring to learn about the Weave, and simply firing off spells without a drop of knowledge. For having an ego, that they drew from themselves instead of relying on books and the Weave.
But Arabella is different—and her displays are changing that about him. She craves magic in a way he’s felt within himself. Stars spring to her eyes every time she creates. He can’t find it in himself to see her magic and feel anything less than admiration, joy for her excitement, and a strange sense of pride. For every time he sees her thrill at creation, he feels something like recognition, from when he’d been young and magic had leaked out of him, too.
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a continuation of Arabella joining our favorite boys in their tower in Waterdeep. tbh this one's just nothing but fluff (◡‿◡✿)
Series
- Part 6 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
It isn’t until the familiar lull of Waterdeep is gone that Gale finally stops. She waits for some in-depth explanation, as Gale usually so loves to give, but he instead gestures towards the running river in front of them.
She stares.
“Me?”
He nods.
“In the river?”
“Spot on,” he says, with that warm smile of his, and she tries to control her expression but she’s always been poor at that. The laugh that tumbles out of him tells her nothing’s changed.
“Just—humor me, please. I promise we’ll get something nice and toasty after,” he adds, and if for no other reason than the promise of something hot and delicious from Waterdeep, Arabella acquiesces, and toes off her boots to wade into the water.
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a continuation of Arabella joining our favorite boys in their tower in Waterdeep, with her learning how to become more in-tune with herself and that power of hers.
Series
- Part 5 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
He continues to read, until Astarion clears his throat.
And offers a performative half-bow when Gale looks to him.
“Good evening, my dear. Enjoying the festivities, are we?”
Gale gives him a tilt of his head, and lifts his glass.
“Oh yes, if such festivities can be celebrated in the comfort of one’s own tent, with a book and fine wine.”
Astarion tuts, and dons a look of being put-upon.
“They gave you good wine? Ugh—they gave me vinegar.”
Gale’s lips quirk at that, and Astarion covers his surprise when Gale sets his glass down to sit up, reaching for Astarion’s bottle. Astarion hands it to him, eyes widening when Gale takes a hearty tasting—and laughing when Gale’s features pinch.
“Gods… I’ll stick to mine, thank you,” he says with a heavy frown, and Astarion takes it back, only to set it down and settle himself across from Gale.
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the boys' first connection, long before their time in Waterdeep
Series
- Part 8 of two slow dancers
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Summary
She’s comfortable. Really.
But it's been almost a week, and she still can't sleep through the night.
She's tried everything—counting sheep, pacing to try and make herself tired, reading a book she’d snagged from Gale’s library... She’d thrown the window open, thinking maybe some cool night air and the sound of crickets would be familiar enough to lull her to sleep. She’d kept her eyes shut for a whole hour, she thinks, one time, and nothing. She figured that eventually, if nothing else would work, her exhaustion would do the trick. Which... it kind of does. She sleeps an hour or so, wakes, and the cycle continues. She can't rest like she wants.
But she doesn't know why. She’s comfortable. She likes it here. She likes Gale and Astarion, the latter having been considerably warmer to her lately.
By no means bubbly. But she imagines it’s warm for him.
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a continuation of Arabella joining our favorite boys in their tower in Waterdeep, with them all beginning to learn a little... more about each other
Series
- Part 4 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
He hears the wizard mutter something, before yet another is slid back into place, this time with a bit of annoyance.
Astarion lowers his eyes back to the book in his lap, tries to reread the same paragraph about The Divine Crown, and ignores his own sliver of annoyance that tries to rise.
It isn’t at Gale.
…But it’s at Gale.
Astarion feels childish for the ire in himself. It’s for no reason at all, except for Gale loving him.
He feels he’s made a lot of progress. He’s guided Gale, a number of times now, through the hurdle that was reaching for him, and every time, he sees all the tension in Gale’s body evaporate at feeling him under his fingers.
And Astarion’s preened at it, even. Gotten to the point where he looks forward to it, to Gale feeling comfortable enough to touch him without feeling like he’s violating him. It gives him a rush of pleasure, seeing Gale so openly desire him where he usually tries to conceal it.
The wizard treads so carefully around him the rest of the time, though.
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another continuation of the discord prompt of touch-starved gale and touch-averse astarion---but a good leap of progress is made.
Series
- Part 7 of two slow dancers
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Summary
“Follow my lead?”
Gale nods, though he's unsure what he's agreeing to.
Astarion shifts closer to him, until they're hardly a breath apart, and Gale feels a hand plant itself against his chest, fingers fanning across the plane of him to then slide up to his shoulder. Astarion’s attention is there, while Gale’s is fixed on Astarion’s eyes, which flit to him after a moment, and it's then Gale realizes what Astarion is wanting.
He lifts a hand, placing it against the other and mimicking where Astarion’s had been, to follow the same path Astarion had drawn on him, and then curves his own hand over the elf’s shoulder. He sees a pleased quirk of Astarion’s lips, and the other drops his attention back to Gale’s body.
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***(rewrite)***
another continuation of the discord prompt of touch-starved gale and touch-averse astarion---but a good leap of progress is made.
Series
- Part 6 of two slow dancers
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Summary
Astarion is sitting in the library, legs stretched in front of him and crossed at the ankle with Tara purring in his lap. He idly strokes her head, one thumb gliding slowly between her ears, over and over as he watches the flames lick the sides of the chimney.
He knows what Gale’s going to want to talk about tonight. The man’s never been able to hide anything in his life, Astarion would wager.
He’d seen the look on Gale’s face. Hard not to, when there wasn’t even an attempt to rein it in. Gale was charmed by the girl; is charmed by her.
But she's charming. It's bound to happen.
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a continuation of Arabella joining our favorite boys in their tower in Waterdeep
Series
- Part 3 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
The fireflies are out.
They blink in the sleepy, lavender-turning-violet air, and Arabella closes her eyes to deeply breathe in the thin, brisk breeze of the night.
Gale and Astarion had brought her here yesterday—or maybe this morning? …Late last night, nearing midnight, and it’d been heaven since.
She was scared to say it aloud, lest she wake up—they were so nice.
Well. Gale was, anyway.
Not that Astarion isn’t, but—the wizard’s much friendlier, to say the least.
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a continuation of Arabella joining our favorite boys in their tower in Waterdeep
Series
- Part 2 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
She’s small.
…Too small.
Astarion squints at her, drumming a finger against his hip while Gale tuts next to him.
“But what’s she doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see her, of course, but of all places—”
“Shh.”
“Don’t shush me, what’s—”
“Look.”
Astarion half-lifts a hand, pointing to the tiefling pushing herself off the granite bench and into the bustling nightlife of Waterdeep. She glides, like water, between the passerbys to weave her way through the crowd to the other side of the street before ducking into an alley.
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what can I say, but I'm a simp for found family
Series
- Part 1 of change, choice, and principles
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Summary
Gale had been Off all day.
He was usually one to start his morning with a hearty, satisfying meal. Over-easy eggs with feta, maple sausage links, toast with jam and butter. A sliced orange and a handful of grapes. Caramel coffee, with cream and no sugar.
Astarion had felt a worm of worry at the sight of half a slice of dry toast left on the table, and a half-empty cup of black coffee.
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another continuation of the discord prompt of touch-starved gale and touch-averse astarion---but some progress is made.
Series
- Part 5 of two slow dancers
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Summary
Tara’s soft thud to the floor and trot to the door is Astarion’s first hint that she’s arrived.
Gale’s quick bounce of his eyebrows to him as he follows the tressym is his next.
And the almost-musical voice he hears from the doorway is the solid proof.
He rises from his seat in the kitchen, leaving his book closed on the windowseat as he winds through the room and hallway to meet her at the door, and join Gale and Tara.
“Astarion! There you are, my boy!”
Series
- Part 4 of two slow dancers
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when he walks in, I am loved, I am loved by arcanefoxx
Fandoms: Baldur's Gate (Video Games)
15 Oct 2023
Tags
Summary
Astarion is laid across the window seat in the kitchen, legs loosely crossed in front of him at the ankle. A well-loved book lays open in his lap, about a quarter of the way through, with Tara purring next to him. He’d noticed months ago how the upper floor’s study held the perfect sunbeam at this hour—yet Tara curled next to him here every time. At this angle of the tower, under it’s canopy, Astarion could sit and read with a view during the day, without direct sunlight.
Tara purrs under his hand, where he curls a finger to rub her cheek with his knuckle. She does so love a good scritch, she’s said.
His lips tug into a smile at her sleepy, lazy stretch into his hand.
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another continuation of the discord prompt of touch-starved gale and touch-averse astarion---but some progress is made. and yes, it's still in my head
Series
- Part 3 of two slow dancers
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Summary
It was honestly fine.
Completely, and totally, fine.
Gale knew what he’d signed up for, when he’d asked Astarion to come with him to Waterdeep. Knew what all living together would entail. He knew Astarion’s hiccups. They’d talked about them. Astarion knew his—they’d also talked about them. All things considered, given their respective histories, Gale was pretty impressed with the two of them, and their ability so far to communicate and connect.
But this, he could not speak with his love about.
This, he kept all to himself, in a selfish, shallow bubble of shame.
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a continuation of the discord prompt of touch-starved gale and touch-averse astarion. it simply will not leave my head
Series
- Part 2 of two slow dancers
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Summary
Gale knows, of course. Everything. Which makes deflecting so much harder than usual—annoyingly so at times. It’s all still quite new, but not so much that they have any real secrets between them anymore.
Except this. That Astarion’s still struggling with being touched by someone he loves, who loves him back. Because it feels fucking silly. He loves Gale. He trusts him. He wants this.
…Or he at least wants to want it.
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the bloodweave discord came through with a prompt I couldn't refuse: touch-starved gale and touch-averse astarion <3
Series
- Part 1 of two slow dancers