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Months had passed since the final fight with the Netherbrain, and things had started to return to a state of normalcy in Gale’s life. Well… normalcy with an addition. He’d extended an invite to Astarion once the dust had settled to return to Waterdeep with him, and he’d been pleasantly surprised that Astarion had accepted .
At first, it was quite the adjustment. Gale had cleared out and furnished an otherwise unused room for Astarion in case he wanted a space of his own. A space that had been appreciated, but abandoned after a few weeks. Tara had been difficult, of course, as she was loath to share Gale with anyone .
A routine of sorts had established itself after a while. Gale would work on various projects in the library for most of the afternoon and evening, Astarion would go out with Tara early in the night to hunt, and the three of them would retire to Gale’s bed until late the next morning.
Before either of them knew it, winter had arrived. They had been so focused on learning to live together without constant threats and dealing with the trauma of their adventure, time had flown without either of them so much as thinking of going out on a date.
The realization hit Gale suddenly while he was going over his notes on daywalkers for what had to be the 100th time. “My gods, I’ve been a terrible partner!”
“What are you talking about, Mr. Dekarios?” Tara yawned and stretched lazily. “Why, I think you’ve been all but completely devoted to Mr. Ancunin since he’s arrived here! Have you gotten inside your own head again?”
Gale startled and turned to look at the tressym. “I’m not talking about how I’ve treated Astarion, Tara!”
“So what has you all ruffled up like this?”
“I haven’t taken him out on a date yet!” Gale threw his hands up and leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been so focused on figuring out how to help Karlach with her engine, I-”
Tara sighed heavily and put a paw on Gale’s lips. “You’re working yourself up again, Mr. Dekarios. If you’re that worried about it, why don’t you take him on a date tonight?”
Gale blinked at her a few times, then nodded slowly at her.
“There,” Tara sat back proudly, “now, before you get back in your head, might I suggest taking him out to the frozen lake just outside of town tonight?”
“That… sounds like a wonderful idea.” Gale nodded slowly. “I haven’t been skating in a few years, anyway. It will be nice to see if I’m still good at it, or if I fall over myself like I do with everything else.”
Pointedly ignoring the sound his knees and back made, he stood up and stretched. “We will have to wait until the sun goes down to go, but it might be better then anyway. Less of a chance for either of us to run into a child.”
Tara resisted rolling her eyes, opting instead to nod and curl up again. “Your skates are in the guest room downstairs, in case you’ve forgotten, Mr. Dekarios. And do be careful; Mr. Ancunin is resting. It would be uncouth of you to wake him.”
“Thank you, Tara.” Gale chuckled quietly and flicked his wrist to dim the lights in the library as he left.
As Tara had said, his ice skates were still in the guest bedroom in a box. He pulled them out and set them on the bed as he searched for their travel bag. “I’ll have to get a pair for Astarion… I should do that while he’s asleep.”
Once he found the bag for his skates and put them inside by the front door, he returned to the library. “Tara, I’m going out to get Astarion a pair of ice skates. If he wakes up and I’m not home, please let him know. I don’t want him thinking something happened to me.”
“Of course, Mr. Dekarios.” Tara purred, “Oh, but do put on a coat before you go out so you don’t freeze to death.”
Gale rolled his eyes and smiled good-naturedly. “Right, thank you, I would have forgotten otherwise.” He ignored Tara’s shouts of “being impossible” as he turned to grab his winter cloak to head out.
The trip took a bit longer than he had expected – as by the time he left the shop it was already early evening – but he had managed to find a pair of ice skates he thought Astarion would like. The leather had been dyed a muted crimson with black accents on the tongue; not too dissimilar from the way his own were dyed an earthy purple with accents of grey.
“Perhaps it’s a bit on the nose…” He muttered as he unlocked the door to the tower and cast a quick Prestidigitation to clean the snow off himself. He set the bag down beside his own and removed his cloak.
“ There you are, Gale.” Astarion’s voice called out to him from the parlor. “I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten lost in the snow.”
Gale snorted and rolled his eyes as he walked into the room and leaned down to kiss Astarion on the temple. “Well I didn’t get lost. My errand just took a bit longer than expected. You would think it never snows here with the way people act in it.”
Astarion let out a short breath of amusement and closed the book he had been reading. “What were you doing out there, anyway? Tara refused to tell me when I asked.”
“I had something I needed to get.” Gale shrugged as he sat in a chair near the fireplace. He pointedly ignored the look Astarion was giving him at his noncommittal answer, instead opting to warm his hands.
“Say,” he said after a few more seconds, “would you like to go out for a date tonight? We’ve been here for a while now, and I realized I have yet to take you anywhere.”
Astarion looked surprised for a moment. “What, you don’t think the extravagant dinner you made when you introduced me to your mother and Tara counts?” He paused, then laughed as Gale looked at him in exasperation. “Okay, okay. Yes, I would love to go on a date tonight. I assume you have something planned already?”
“I do, actually.” Gale beamed, “Though, I hope you don’t mind if I keep it a secret until we get there?”
“Oh, a surprise ?” The vampire leaned forward, a small smirk on his face. “I’m intrigued, darling. Do I need to wear anything special?”
“Something warm, preferably. We are going to be outside in the dark, and as easy as it would be to warm you with magic, I think it would take away from what I have planned for after we’re finished.” Gale’s eyes shone with excitement as he spoke. “Oh! But make sure you can move freely in it. That is an important detail.”
Astarion quirked an eyebrow as he stood and stretched. “Far be it from me to question your brilliant plans, my dear. I’ll go get ready – and you are going to eat something before we leave. I’m not hearing any arguments from you, either. Get to it.” With that, he smiled and left to get dressed.
“Yes dear,” Gale groaned quietly and hoisted himself up off the armchair. Eating was quite possibly the furthest thing from being a priority at the moment, but he didn’t want to be lectured about it later, so he made his way to the kitchen and made himself a simple soup.
Once Astarion had donned warmer clothing and Gale had finished his dinner – as well as setting aside some things for when they got back from their date – they set out into the frigid Waterdhavian evening.
“So, where are we going, exactly? And what are those for?”
Gale smiled gently and looked down at the bags in his hands. “We’re going to the lake, and these are for when we get there.”
Astarion raised an eyebrow, though he said nothing more on the topic and simply pulled his cloak tighter around himself.
It was late and the lake was quiet when they got there. It seemed as though everyone else decided it was far too cold to continue to be out, and while Gale would normally agree, it was the only time he could safely bring Astarion with him.
“Oh,” Astarion chuckled once he saw the frozen lake before him, “I understand now. You know, you could’ve just told me you wanted to take me ice skating instead of playing coy.”
Gale smiled and sat down on one of the few snow-free benches to unlace his boots and put the skates on. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Especially considering I haven’t taken you out on a date since we got here.”
“Ugh, you’re such a sap.” Astarion rolled his eyes playfully and fell down onto the bench beside his love. “Don’t tell me you’re going to want to hold hands while we skate, too.”
“It was part of the plan, yes.” Gale snorted and gently elbowed Astarion in the side. “Do you need help getting your skates on, or shall I let you do it yourself?”
Astarion leaned back and pursed his lips in thought for a moment before reaching over and grabbing the other bag of skates. “I’ll get it this time, but I fully expect you to help me take them off when we’re finished.”
“Of course.” Gale smiled softly and stood from the bench. He was unsteady for a moment, but quickly regained his balance. Once Astarion finished lacing the skates, he held his hand out. “Shall we?”
It was a short walk to the edge of the lake, and Astarion noted Gale’s confidence on the ice the moment he stepped onto it. Despite never going ice skating before – at least, not that he could remember – he tried his best to mimic that easy confidence. Still, the slickness of the frozen surface was a bit of a surprise.
“Careful, dearest.” Gale reached out for Astarion’s other hand to steady him. “We’ll start slowly so you can get used to the feeling of the ice underneath your feet.”
Astarion huffed quietly, though he was grateful for Gale’s steadiness. “I’m surprised you’re not the one stumbling like a newborn fawn, darling. You’re normally so clumsy; I fully expected you to be flat on your ass.”
Gale guffawed at the remark and shrugged. “If we had met years ago, you certainly would have seen me flat on my ass; but I found I enjoyed the smooth movements of skating after a while of stumbling around. I used to come out here late at night during the winter to think.”
Before Astarion could respond, Gale began skating backwards slowly. “Hey!”
“We can’t just stand on the ice all night, Astarion.” Gale chuckled. “You’ll never get better at it if you just stand in one place.”
“At least let me know when you’re going to start pulling me along!”
Gale laughed again with a mischievous glint in his eye. If Astarion’s heart still beat, he was sure it would be racing.
He didn’t have much time to get lost in his revelry, as Gale began to speed up. He had been right about Astarion taking to skating easily, though he still stumbled slightly.
“I want to keep you on your toes, love.”
Gale let go of one of Astarion’s hands and pivoted so they were both facing forwards. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Astarion rolled his eyes and smiled over to him. “Gale, my sweet, I love it when you surprise me. Every time I think I have you figured out, you come out with something like this , and I find another thing to be impressed by.”
If Gale’s cheeks hadn’t already been flushed from the cold, they probably would have flushed then as he smiled almost bashfully. For having such a huge ego sometimes, being complimented sure got him flustered. Astarion enjoyed that about his wizard.
“I hope you don’t mind that I picked something quiet and a bit unconventional for our first real date… and that it took so long for me to get around to taking you out.”
Astarion sighed. Of course Gale was worried about that…
“No wonder Tara complains about you getting inside your own head all the time,” he groaned, “If I had been upset about not going out on a date all this time, I would have made it quite obvious. It was… nice, I think, to have had those months to slow down after everything.”
Gale’s shoulders relaxed with a relieved sigh. “I’m glad. I must admit, I find myself worrying that I’m boring you.”
“Gale, did you even listen to me when I said it was nice to slow down for once?”
At that, Astarion did see Gale’s flush intensify. “...Right! Of course! You did say that.”
“So stop worrying , Gale. You aren’t boring.” He paused and listened to the sound of their skates passing over the ice for a moment. “And, for the record, this is nice. Not what I expected , but nice.”
Gale was quiet for a moment as they skated. Astarion had learned, during their time together, that Gale was unfairly mean to himself. He learned later that it was better to wait to say anything until after Gale had spoken.
“I’m glad you like it,” he squeezed Astarion’s hand gently, “that you like me . I know I’ve said this before, but I’m so incredibly happy that you chose to come to Waterdeep with me. Your being here has made my life that much brighter.”
Astarion allowed an amiable silence to fall between them as he considered his reply. The fact that Gale thought of him as a good thing was still new territory… the words still made something flutter in his chest.
“You’re such a hopeless romantic,” he stated finally, which earned him a surprised bout of laughter, “but… I’m glad I decided to come with you as well.”
Gale’s entire face seemed to light up, and Astarion wondered for what had to be the millionth time how Mystra could’ve thrown such a sweet and loving man to the side as she did. Despite his hatred of her, he had to thank her for doing so; as her discarding him had allowed for them to meet.
They skated around for a little while longer simply enjoying each other’s company before the cold got to be too much and Gale began to shiver.
“Let’s go home, my sweet.” Astarion pulled his wizard closer as they approached the bench with their discarded boots and perhaps less than gracefully got off the ice. “You’re shivering.”
Gale nodded and cupped his hands over his mouth in an attempt to warm them up. It struck Astarion as odd that he chose not to use any magic, when usually he wouldn’t waste a moment in casting a spell for something such as this.
He sat down and began to reach for his laces, only to have his hand swatted away. “What was that for?”
“I promised to remove your skates for you.” Gale replied easily and began unlacing both of the ice skates. His fingers were less dextrous with the cold, though that didn’t lessen the sweetness of it. He didn’t even allow Astarion to attempt to pull his boots on himself and insisted on lacing them up before seating himself and setting about taking off his own skates.
Before Astarion could gather his thoughts enough to offer to return the gesture, Gale was already standing in front of him again. “Let’s get going before I freeze to death, hm?”
Astarion nodded, and together they made their way back to the tower. By the time they got through the threshold and closed the door, the snow had begun to pick up and flurry.
“Welcome back, you two,” Tara greeted them from the top of the stairs, “Once you doff those heavy cloaks, there is a warm fire and hot cocoa in your bedroom.”
“Lovely, Tara, thank you!” Gale smiled at her as he set their skates down. “Leave it to you to get everything sorted out right on time.”
Her tail swishing in delight, Tara preened visibly. “I will be awaiting you on the bed; I fully expect both of you to join me post haste.”
Gale chuckled and helped Astarion remove his cloak before removing his own. Astarion took that as an opportunity to gently push him down into the chair so he could remove his boots. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you tied these while blindfolded.”
“My fingers were cold!” Gale protested weakly.
Astarion snickered and set the footwear off to the side before slipping his own boots off. “Well, let’s go join Miss Tara in the bedroom so you can warm them up.” He walked up a few stairs, then paused. “Quickly now, before you fall asleep in your chair, darling.”
“Okay, okay,” Gale groaned and pushed himself up out of the chair to follow Astarion towards their shared bedroom.
The bedroom was delightfully warm; Tara had started a fire in the hearth that illuminated the area in a soft orange glow. There were a few extra blankets and pillows on the bed, and the bedside table sat with two mugs of magically warmed hot cocoa.
They made quick work of changing into bed clothes and climbing into the bed on either side. Gale grabbed both cups and handed one over to Astarion before wrapping both hands around his own and enjoying its warmth.
“Before you mention the cocoa, Mr. Ancunin,” Tara piped up from her position on the foot of the bed, “Mr. Dekarios made a recipe that takes your dietary needs into account. You should have no problems with the taste.”
Astarion’s eyes widened momentarily in surprise. “Gale, darling, you didn’t ha-”
“I know.” Gale smiled lovingly and pulled the vampire closer to him with a kiss to his cheek. “I wanted to. I don’t mind the bit of extra work, if it means I get to share these things with you.”
A smile worked its way onto Astarion’s features, and he took a tentative sip of the warm drink. Even though he’d been told, the fact the cocoa didn’t taste like swill was still a surprise. The warmth blossomed in his chest, and he sighed contentedly.
Gale settled down a bit further next to him with a happy sigh of his own and Tara lay herself across both of them. It was strange, having something so soft and warm in his life, but he figured he could get used to it.