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[corporeity]

[ Oh, there’s the laugh. Like bells, like soaring music. Beautiful and happy and his, when he had hardly heard it before, in their first walks together, those early days in the manor, with Gale trailing after him like a stray dog, fed once by the hand that accepted his favour and unable to forget it. ]

Better. [ breathed more than said, as he steps closer, unable to hold himself apart, even in service of appreciating the sight of Astarion, all wrapped up in him. His, not to keep but to guard. They haven’t plainly discussed his desires, partly because Gale thinks it so obvious. I want you and only you forever written in shaky hands and unwavering looks. He can hardly decide where to fix his attention, with the looser neckline revealing Astarion’s lovely collarbone, the cuffed trousers indicative of that slight difference in their builds, the blue that somehow makes him look lighter, younger, freer, or maybe that’s the flush of excitement. The slouchier fit only looks refined on him, an intentional elegance that Gale could never pull off. ]

[ mouth twitching, smile all crooked — ] Far better than anything I could imagine.

[ And he imagined so much, in the intervening hours. It takes an herculean effort not to kiss him, as soon as he re-enters his orbit, drawn close enough to slide his knuckles under Astarion’s jaw, eyes still flickering between his and the rest of his person, bright hazel made dark by intent. ]

—And if I want to see the model on the bed?

[ In his clothes, in their room, ]

[thirsted]

[ He decides, in that moment, that this is better than any mirror. His countenance reflected not by glass but by the shine of Gale's reaction. Who else is he preening or performing for, after all, than for the person he's deemed singular in his life, in his world? He can see himself, more beautiful than he'd ever boast even in his most facile moments, in the warm color of Gale's eyes, imperfections smudged away under a kind of adoration that accepts them as written.

There's no resistance as Gale reaches for him again, chin tipping up at the encouragement of Gale's hand, lips parted as though around a thought. (He likes to be looked at, by him. Could stand to be looked at by him forever.) ]

Well.

[ He doesn't attempt to hide the fact that he's thinking, his tongue peeking out onto his lips as the cogs turn. There are a multitude of answers — then ask nicely, or I can make that happen — and he takes his time in sifting through them all in search for the right one. When he finds it, a lightbulb seems to go off in his head, brightening his features and straightening the set of his posture. He glances behind him, once, and turns back, swaying as he settles his arms around Gale's neck, his smile turning a little teasing. ]

You'll have to place him, then.

[corporeity]

[ It isn’t that Gale no longer worries about overstepping — ever mindful, always watchful of Astarion’s reactions — but that he has a clearer understanding of where the dotted lines still lay and how one might safely cross them. He knows now, for instance, that even his longest looks are welcome and returned. Observing a stutter of those thick lashes, just for him, ink-dark against Astarion’s pale cheek. Tracking the sweep of his tongue over his lower lip. It’s charming, how seriously he’s taken this entire affair.

In turn, Gale settles his hands on Astarion’s waist. Feigns consideration, when Astarion could have asked him to do anything, and he would surely find a way to comply. ]

A worthy task from on high. [ A divine mandate. A generous trade. Rather than hitch his thighs up, as he did last time, he bends his knees and sweeps an arm under Astarion’s legs to bridal carry him. ] I accept.

[ And it’s worth the undignified creak to win whatever laugh or flush Astarion deems fit to give him. A reward in and of itself, before they ever make it to the bed. ]

—Though you mustn’t ask me to do this for any great distance, for your own sake.

[ Such showmanship is tenable only for a brief moment, which is all Gale requires to settle him on the duvet, atop their decadent throne of pillows (a collection doubled when Gale vacated his former lodgings). Easier this way to resist the urge to give chase, instead covering his eyes with a splayed hand to reset the scene. He waits a beat to peak between his fingers. No need to exaggerate his grin, crinkling the corners of his eyes. ]

Wha-ow.

[ The flop of his snowy curls back, the line of his bared throat, the waistband of his trousers that catches below his hipbone, too loose. ]