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The familiar sound of the buzzer interrupted Astarion’s cooking trance and he put down his knife, wiping his hands on his dark jeans and crossing to buzz Gale in. Astarion couldn’t help the little surge of warmth that passed through him at the sight of his boyfriend on the door cam, already imagining the feel of Gale’s lips on his as he kissed him in welcome.
“Hey, baby.”
Astarion’s dreams came true a minute later, as Gale stepped through the door of his flat and immediately pulled him in. Gale’s hands went to his waist, Astarion’s chest pressed flush against Gale’s as he gripped his forearms. Gale fit perfectly against him, everything about him making Astarion want to crawl into his arms and never leave.
“Hello, my sweet.” They pulled apart and Gale dumped his bag on the sofa as Astarion returned to his cooking prep. “Drink?”
“Diet coke?”
Astarion was already pulling the chilled can from the fridge as Gale dropped into the chair at the counter.
“There you go, darling.” His brow furrowed as he took in the sight of his lover slumping in his seat, damp hair indicating he was fresh from a trip to the gym and dark circles under his eyes. “Are you alright?”
Gale chuckled as he cracked the can. “You’re too damn perceptive for your own good.” He downed half the drink in one go, then replaced it on the surface as he smiled weakly at Astarion. “I’m just knackered. I’ve not been sleeping great, and what with school, my studies and the gym I’m not getting much downtime.”
“Hmm.” Astarion stopped his chopping to give Gale his full attention. “Which bits do you enjoy the most?”
“Well, spending time with you, obviously.”
Astarion laughed softly, coming round the counter to sit on the stool by Gale. “It wasn’t a trick question, love. What I’m getting at is, where is there room to cut back on something to give you more time to yourself? For example, what if you cut your gym trips down from four a week to two?”
Gale shook his head. “I can’t do that, if I go to the gym less I lose muscle definition.”
Something about the way Gale responded, eyes lowered and pulling away from him, niggled at Astarion. “Do you actually enjoy going to the gym?”
Gale shrugged, still looking anywhere but at Astarion. “I don’t exactly enjoy it, but it’s a means to an end, isn’t it?”
“The end being…?”
“Keeping in shape.” Gale finally looked at Astarion, blinking at him as if he was missing something very obvious.
Astarion cocked his head. “And that’s important to you?”
Gale shrugged again, averting his eyes. “Not to me, exactly, but I’ve been told that I…”
And there it was. Astarion knew it. Fucking Mystra again. A surge of now familiar fury rose up inside him and Astarion schooled his expression carefully – he didn’t want Gale to clock the anger and think it was directed at him. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then gently lifted Gale’s chin with his fingers to force him to look him in the eyes.
“Gale, my love. Your body is your own, and what you choose to do with it is entirely up to you. Nobody – not me, not your friends, not your mother and definitely not anyone else – gets to tell you how you should treat it.”
Gale was quiet for a moment and Astarion hoped that meant he was taking Astarion’s words seriously.
“But what if I put on weight?” He pushed back his hair, where the loose salt and pepper strands escaped from his half bun. “I’m already going grey, if I get fat as well then…”
“Then you’ll still be the man I love,” Astarion interrupted firmly. He slid off his chair to stand between Gale’s legs, arms sliding around his boyfriend’s waist. “I’m hoping to grow old with you. That means we’re both going to change, but it doesn’t mean I’ll love you any less.”
Gale lifted a hand to trace Astarion’s cheek. “You’ll always be beautiful.”
“As will you.” He leaned in to kiss Gale, the softness of his lips and the stubble on his chin creating that delicious contrast that Astarion craved. The kiss ended and Astarion allowed his lover to pull him in, bodies resting against each other in silence.
“Astarion?”
“Hmm?”
“The potatoes are burning.”