Your best friend has left their last message for you, lamenting that they are no longer in this world should you receive that last message. It would have been emotional and tragic, had said friend not standing next to you, alive and in good health.
Gale rubs the back of his neck awkwardly as Astarion’s narrowed eyes scan the tattered parchment.
“Please don’t- please don’t show it to the othe-” Gale is cut off by Astarion’s raised, shaking hand, as the vampire continues reading.
To the wizard’s surprise, the tips of Astarion’s ears are turning pink.
“Treasured our friendship?” the vampire finally spits, his vitriol taking Gale by surprise. “Ye- yes, of course.” “You hope we live a life full of beauty and happiness?? What is this, Gale? Were you seriously going to-”
“I thought it was the only way, but it wasn’t! We found another! So please, give me back the letter, it was never intended-” “You were going to leave m- us? After all your promises: lifelong friendship, a place for me in Waterdeep if I wanted it, to help me search for a cure — were they all lies?” “No! Of course not, but we were losing the fight, Astarion. There was so much at stake. I couldn’t put myself ahead of every other being that would fall prey to the Absolute. Surely you must understand that…” The vampire doesn’t know why he’s making such a big deal of this. They’d all known what Gale’s plan was, should the battle go awry. But, for some reason, it stings that the wizard had written a letter to all of them as a group, that he hadn’t even planned on saying a proper goodbye. “Astarion, why… why are you getting so upset? None of it happened in the end. I’m here now!” Gale spreads his arms with a goofy grin, trying to cheer the vampire up. “Alive and fully prepared to engage in my customary habit of irritating you indefinitely! It’s all fine…” “But if it hadn’t been… This-” Even Astarion is shocked by the tears pricking at his red eyes as he brandishes the letter. “You would have been happy to leave things like this?” Gale hesitates. Because the truth is, no, he wouldn’t have been happy to leave things like this. Not with Astarion. He’d wanted to say so many things to Astarion. He’d wanted to tell him that he asked him to Waterdeep, not just because the vampire needed a place to stay, but because Gale wanted so badly to show Astarion the city he loved. He wanted Astarion to see his home, his tower. He wanted Astarion to meet Tara. He wanted Astarion to sit with him on his balcony, overlooking the starlit seas and discussing their favorite books. He wanted Astarion to hold his hand, as the vampire had once done, by pure accident, when traversing a narrow ledge in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, neither of them letting go even well after they’d made it to safety. He wanted Astarion to look into his eyes and see the depth of feeling that had grown there, so much more than friendship. He wanted Astarion. Yet he’d had no inclination that Astarion wanted any of it in return. So Gale had taken the coward’s way out. The wizard has been silent too long. “Forget I said anything,” Astarion sighs, angrily dashing his arm across his eyes. “For what it’s worth, Gale, I’m glad you’re not dead.” As the vampire turns to walk away, Gale grabs his wrist. “Wait! It’s not- it’s not how I wanted to leave things. Not with you. There was…” Gods, Dekarios, please don’t be making a fool of yourself right now. Astarion is eyeing him warily as the wizard reaches into his robes and withdraws another piece of parchment. “There was another letter…” The vampire takes the note. It’s labeled in Gale’s intricate, flowing hand — For Astarion. He glances up at the wizard, who is now red-faced and staring desperately at the ground, before opening the folded paper and reading. It seems to take him an age to finish. At one point, Gale is sure that Astarion must have gone back and read the whole thing again from the start. The vampire doesn’t say anything for the longest time, until Gale is willing the ground to swallow him up, wondering if anyone would mind if he teleported himself back to his tower where he could lock himself away, alone, for good. A cold hand at his chin interrupts his spiraling thoughts. Astarion is raising Gale’s face to look into his eyes, his perfect face marred by a frown. “Is this true?” The vampire’s voice is low and cautious. “Yes, but I- there’s absolutely no need to- I’m fully aware that you most likely- that all of this is most probably not reciproca-” Astarion cuts Gale off again — this time, with a kiss.
* ( @bloodweaveyaoi this one’s for you! <3 )
