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It’s been a rough day of fighting and nearly dying for everyone. The sun began to set and freshly caught fish was cooking over the fire, creating a cozy atmosphere despite being in the middle of the woods. Astarion was sitting near the river that ran along the camp, resting back against a boulder. Dried mud and blood was stuck to his face, hands, and his clothing. The stitching in the gold thread had become loose again too, much to his displeasure.
While he threaded his shirt, letting the remaining sun hit his pale skin, he could see
Gale just out of the corner of his eye. The wizard was crouched next to the water with his robes draped around his waist. The blue and purple fabric looked like waves running around his hips, only held up by a wide leather belt. Gale dipped the rag he held back into the cold water and ran it over his face, cleaning the grime from his skin. Astarion could even see the tiniest of flinches from Gale when the rag moved over the small cuts on his face, hidden under the muck.
His hand stopped threading as his attention shifted wholly to the wizard. He had never really looked at him, despite his attempts to create something friendlier between them. Gale never seemed interested, or perhaps he just didn’t like Astarion. His ego still hurt recalling their incredibly brief chats.
“I enjoy our walks together, Gale, don’t you?”
“Uh… Sure. In silence.”
Astarion almost scoffed at the memory. He tried to turn back to his threading, but his eyes were fixed on Gale, enthralled by the body he so rarely got to see. There was hair dusting over nearly every part of him. His chest, his arms, and did he spy a treasure trail? He was a bit jealous, as white hair didn’t show up against his pale skin so easily.
Gale’s waist must have looked smaller due to the belt wrapped around it, acting somewhat like a corset. With his torso exposed, Astarion could see how soft he was underneath the fabric of his robes. Gale’s arms were strong, but he had soft rolls and no abs to speak of. Of course, he was a wizard, so Astarion didn’t expect him to have the body of someone like Lae’zel or Wyll.
The rag that washed his face ran over his jaw and below, cleaning off his neck and freeing hair stuck to it. His lips parted with a soft sigh, but he might as well have been sitting next to Astarion with how loud it was to his ears. Crimson eyes followed Gale’s hand while it dragged the rag over the skin of his next. Suddenly, he looked like a delicious meal just waiting for Astarion to sink his teeth into, quite literally. The tilted head exposed more of the skin to his very own peeping tom, and his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed just made it that much harder for Astarion to sit still.
Astarion quickly found himself lost in the images that flashed through his mind. His fingers twitched at the phantom feeling of his teeth sinking into skin, tasting how delicious Gale likely was. He probably tasted exactly how he looked; rich and a little thick, a flavor like well-aged brandy. A refined taste, he was sure. He must smell like pine too, or maybe even like a fresh stream cutting through a valley. The lovely, refreshing smell of spring after a long winter… He was sure that clung to Gale.
The visions swam around in his head, shifting from just simply drinking from Gale to more. His charming smile passed behind Astarion’s eyes, his brown locks tangled in pale fingers, and his playful teasing rang in his ears. Good gods, he nearly forgot how to breathe!
Astarion pulled in a sharp breath and coughed, fumbling with the needle he held in his hand still. The pressure he was pinching it with left the eye indented into his fingers.
“Are you alright over there, Astarion? It sounds like you caught a few flies.” Gale squeezed out the water he had scooped into his hair. The vampire’s eyes grew wide. Had he really been staring that long? How embarrassing…
“I just… I swallowed wrong. Would you hurry? I want to clean up too.”
“You sure you don’t want to join me?” Gale rested his elbows atop his knees, smiling over at Astarion. It always seemed to fall into something resembling a smirk.
“Join you? I think your ego is finally growing too big for that head of yours. I do hope you have a spell to take care of that.”
“Suit yourself.” He shook out his hair and pulled his sleeves over his arms again, covering up the soft skin. He slipped his staff onto his back again and stood, swatting the dirt from the rest of his robes and returning to the warm fire. Astarion tried to keep his eyes from following, to no avail.
He shook his head and returned to stitching the golden thread of his clothing, stuffing his thoughts from just moments ago deep into the back of his mind. Perhaps they’ll just stay there and he won’t need to think about that insufferable wizard any longer tonight.
Or, hiding those thoughts away would just grow them.
——
The moon was high in the sky and everyone had eaten, except for Astarion who still waited for a good opportunity to hunt. Everyone knew what he was, but he didn’t particularly like having eyes on him while he snuck off to drain the blood from a boar or bear. To bide the time, he flipped through a book.
He didn’t remember what it was about. In fact, he had been staring at the same page and the same exact paragraph for about ten minutes now, eyes running over the words without taking anything in. Those cursed images had wormed their way back to the front of his mind again and taken over his vision. His hunger only amplified them, made them more vivid. His eyes unconsciously flicked to Gale’s form in the firelight, laying across his bedroll with a book in hand. He had his head propped up on his arm, which most often became a pillow when he fell asleep with a book in hand.
If he were a different man, he may even call it cute. He could, but gods know it wouldn’t be genuine. Still, that wasn’t what he was focused on. He was staring at the skin of his neck, fantasizing about the flavor of what lay beneath. Gale turned a page in his book and shifted, tilting his head to look back at Astarion.
“You’ve been staring at me all night. A coin for your thoughts?” He closed his book as if he already knew the answer.
“What? No, I haven’t. You’re making things up. I believe the fish was bad and it is affecting you.”
“You have drool on your chin. Are wild animals not good enough for your refined appetite?” He rolled over, keeping his voice low so as to not wake the others. Lae’zel would cut their heads off if they woke her up, and he didn’t want to risk that.
“Ah?” He touched the corner of his mouth. Gale was right. He had been drooling!
Astarion wiped off his face and glared down at the pages of his book like they offended him. He couldn’t believe himself! Had he so little self-control as to drool over mere fantasies?
“You should learn to mind your business. It’s none of your concern.”
“And you should learn to just ask.” Gale had propped his chin up on his hand, eyeing Astarion. Fire danced across his face, shifting the deep shadows and highlighting his cheekbones. It also highlighted his soft eyes. Astarion hated them. He hated how they looked at him!
He was undeserving of that softness.
“I know how to do that. I’m not a child, Gale.”
“Go on, then. Ask.”
“I have nothing on my mind. Why don’t you piss off?” He hissed, snapping his book shut.
“I see, then you’re just admiring my good looks, hm?” Gale raised a brow and Astarion bristled. His nose scrunched at the accusation. He saw the game he was playing!
“Fine. You want the truth so badly? I was wondering what your body would look like after I had drained all the blood from it.”
“ That’s why you were drooling? Should I take that as a compliment?”
“You…” Astarion turned up his nose and took a deep breath, shaking his hands out as he exhaled. He couldn’t believe this man! The size of his ego was unbearable. How has this man ever had partners in his past?
“I’ll let you try, you know. Just promise not to kill me.”
“You are insufferable! You- what?” He blinked at Gale, looking like a fool, “what did you just say?”
“It could be an interesting experience. As long as you don’t kill me, I’ll let you try.” Gale tapped his neck, inviting Astarion to taste.
“You’re… You’re serious? Truly? You would really risk such a thing for fun ?”
“Why not? I think you’ve misjudged my character, Astarion.”
“No… No, I didn’t, but this is quite the surprise. Why… Why don’t you get comfortable, then?” He set his book aside and crawled closer.
“That sounds like a proposition for more than blood-sucking.”
“Don’t make this weird . This is about hunger… In the literal, empty stomach, sense, not lust.” Still, he had his hands planted on either side of Gale’s head. His whole view was taken up by those soft, brown eyes and playful smile. He froze, again, breathlessly taking in the view of Gale underneath him. The long hair that splayed out under Gale made him strangely… Beautiful.
“You’re staring again.” He whispered. Astarion felt like he was put under a spell. He would usually accuse him of doing exactly that, but he couldn’t get his mouth to form words. He slipped his hand behind Gale’s head, into his soft hair, to cradle it in preparation. His other hand braced Gale’s shoulder. People tended to flinch or tense pretty hard when Astarion’s teeth sank in.
“Now… You’re positive about this?”
“Yes. I’m putting my trust in you, Astarion.”
“I can get carried away, just so you know…”
“I know. We fight side-by-side, don’t we? I don’t really approve of it, but you look happy taking the lives of our enemies.”
“Mm, what can I say? It is a little fun…”
“You’re still staring at me like a starved animal. Why don’t you hurry up before I’m the impatient one.” Gale turned his head in his hand, exposing more of his neck to Astarion. His mouth watered once again and he plunged his teeth into Gale.
The wizard twitched and hissed, grasping Astarion’s waist tightly. The leather of his clothing squeaked under Gale’s grip and his teeth, now bared, shined in the fire light. A deep satisfaction flooded Astarion’s system. It was just as he had imagined. A rich flavor, something he could easily get drunk on. Perhaps it was even slightly addicting.
Gale shut his eyes, trying to calm his body. Every alarm bell had gone off and his fight or flight was activated. He willed himself to stay still, swallowing hard as a continuous rush of blood moved through him. It was certainly an experience… He felt numb, sleepy, and even a little relaxed despite his body’s fear. Before he could lose himself, Gale patted the vampire’s side as a silent plea to stop.
The teeth pulled from his neck, but not without a tongue running over the puncture wound to catch any more blood that tried to leave. Astarion’s body heaved at the deep breaths he took in and his pupils were small, creating quite the unsettling expression. Gale groaned and rubbed his hand over the wound left on him.
“Yeah… Definitely an experience…” His bottom lip jutted out slightly. Gale opened his eyes to still be faced with an uncharacteristically quiet Astarion. Usually, he had much more to say. The look he was getting was also unnerving.
“Gale?” Astarion’s soft voice could almost be mistaken for just a puff of air.
“Hm?”
“Would you allow me to kiss you?” Astarion’s eyelashes fluttered like he was shocked at hearing his own request.
“Hm… I kind of like the Astarion I’m seeing tonight. He’s shy and very sweet.” Gale tapped the vampire’s nose.
“Oh, please , just answer the damn question.”
“Yes, I will allow you to kiss me.” His smug, slightly teasing tone almost had Astarion changing his mind. He had much greater urges than being petty for tonight. His lips, still tasting of blood, crushed against Gale’s desperately. He was unsure of where this feeling came from, but it was overwhelming. He needed to taste more than just this man’s blood.
It was soft and warm against his own skin and much more gentle than he would usually like. Gale’s beard scratched pale skin, making it tint red from irritation. Gale’s soft hand, though a little shaky from blood loss, caressed Astarion’s cheek with a gentleness he could never get used to. These feelings of want that exploded from deep inside and shoved to the front of his chest was a desire for this… This comfort, gentleness, and genuine care for him.
He could step away and know Gale would still tease him and bruise his pride with words or laugh when he refused to cross a stream. It was always followed with a gentle look, a smile, or even a hand extended out to help him across the driest stones in the river. Astarion’s bitterness toward Gale wasn’t hatred. That was a silly assumption. It never had been.
It was fear.
He feared Gale’s kind words and the honesty that poured from him. He feared how genuine the wizard could be, wearing his heart on his sleeve despite the pain it could bring him. But hell, here he was, kissing the very man himself like he might die if he stopped. It was more refreshing than the blood he drank from him.
“You charmed me, damn you. You put a spell on me.” Astarion’s words were broken up between the sloppy press of lips to various parts of Gale’s face. They found the wrinkles under his eyes, the corner of his mouth, the gentle bump of his nose, and the laugh lines on his face.
“I didn’t do a thing.” Gale chuckled, running his thumb over Astarion’s cheek.
“Then how do you explain all this, hm? I don’t like you. Not in the slightest! Do you understand me?”
“Hmm… Well, I think you’re a valuable member of the team.” He raised his brows. A snort left Astarion and he covered his mouth to hide his laughter. He even turned his head to avoid Gale’s curious eyes.
“Well, I think we’re a bunch of fools… I also think it’s time to get some rest.”
“You sure you don’t want to move your bedroll over here? It’ll be nice and warm. Oh, but only if I’m the big spoon.”
“ Sweet dreams , Gale.” He tore himself away from the wizard.
“Fine, I hear you… But, one more thing! Before we sleep.” He waved his finger at Astarion, “we’re not all that different, you and I… And! I like you too.”
“I said I didn’t like you.”
“Isn’t that just what I said? No need to repeat me. Good night, Astarion.” Gale rolled over in his bedroll again, closing his eyes. Astarion gazed at him while he had his back turned for a moment longer, then crawled back onto his own bedroll. He laid flat against the ground to gaze up at the deep night sky. The stars danced while Astarion became lost in thought again.
The rich blood, a refined taste, left the same burn in the back of his throat like any good alcohol should. Yes… That’s what he would blame it on.