Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gale was sitting at his desk in his study. The door to his balcony was open across the room, letting the morning breeze off Deepwater Harbor clear out the musty smell of old books. Gale rarely used this study anymore, he did most of his work in his office at Blackstaff Tower. He couldn’t really focus on grading papers or research notes at home, not when he had so many distractions living on the floor below him. 

Today though he had time to himself. Everyone else was out and about in the city, except for Astarion of course, but the vampire didn’t like to disturbed while he slept through the daytime. 

The study had been cleared out significantly since Gale’s return from the Absolute Crisis. In the months that had followed his homecoming Gale re-organized his entire home to accommodate the idea of new roommates. 

At the time, he had worried his efforts were nothing but delusional optimism. Once he and his companions were separated from each other as they dealt with the personal consequences of what had happened, the bonds they had formed felt like a dream he wouldn’t be able to return too. But Gale had busied himself with trying to make his home somewhere they could all be together anyway, despite his fear he might never see any of them again. 

Astarion had been the first to move in. Six months after the defeat of the Elder Brain, just after Withers had pulled the group back together for their strange little reunion. Astarion had been helping Cazador’s surviving spawn spread out through the Underdark. Gale had been most confident about Astarion moving in. Gale and Astarion had talked about the vampire moving to Waterdeep even when they were still traveling on the road to Baldur’s Gate. Gale plying Astarion with the rumor that one of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep was a vampire, so surely Waterdeep would be a fine place to live. And of course the allure of the academy helped the wizard’s cause, since Astarion had wanted to start learning magic again, after two hundred years of being a spawn. Astarion had been a fairly competent wizard in his life before Cazador. He even came from a long line of elven wizards. Gale had been stunned when Astarion had first showed him his old spellbook, one night when the group was camped in the shadow-cursed lands. Astarion had asked Gale to help him cast something and that had been the first night the two had sat down together and talked like friends. 

Varan had been the next to move in. Gale had been terrified he never would. Gale had been so desperately in love with Varan when they were traveling together, when Varan turned the wizard away from Mystra’s edicts, when Varan had shown Gale he could live instead. But then so much had happened when the group reached Baldur’s Gate. Gale had struggled to process everything that had come out about Varan’s history in the city and about about his heritage. About Bhaal and about the Crassus family who had kept Varan like a loyal hound to hunt their enemies. About his role in the rise of the Absolute and everything else so tragic from his history. Gale had wanted to bring him to Waterdeep on the first night after the Elder Brain was defeated, but Varan didn’t give him the chance, telling him right away that he was staying in Baldur’s Gate, that he was helping with the rebuilding. Of course he would. That was his city, his home and with the rest of the Crassus family dead, Varan was the Lord then. Duke now. Varan had stayed in Baldur’s Gate for almost a whole year, helping Wyll to try and fix the corruption, to remake the Council of Four. Gale had been in denial for a long time, but when Astarion came to stay with the wizard, Gale decided he had to accept that whatever Varan and him had before was gone. But then there was a society event in Waterdeep, something political, with delegates from many of the Sword Coasts cities. Gale had gone with his mother, who worked for a guild in Waterdeep, and Varan had been there too. And Varan, it turned out, had been just as afraid Gale had moved on as Gale was that Varan had forgotten him. Varan still went back to Baldur’s Gate every few weeks to stay for a few days, but that was no real struggle for Gale to teleport him back and forth. Or for Rolan to come and get him from Ramazith. 

That had been the end of Gale’s expectations. He had known that Varan would want to visit Halsin sometimes, so had Astarion. He had known Varan and Kalius would want to see each other, frequently. After the Absolute Crisis when he was rescued from the Crassus family, Kalius had left Baldur’s Gate with Halsin. The two had gone back to the Grove for a while, then Kalius had moved to Shadowheart’s — Jenevelle’s farm. Kalius had needed time to reconnect with Selune after being kept in a soul cage for eight years. Time to make sure his curse was settled again. But Kalius had been born and raised in Waterdeep and he wanted to move back anyway to be close to the House of the Moon, so when the opportunity for Halsin to create an orphanage in Waterdeep came about after his success with one outside of Baldur’s Gate, Kalius had convinced the Druid to move too. Gale had agreed to let them move in, though he had assumed they would only stay for a little while. Then Gale and Kalius started developing feelings for each other, and now here they were. All together, in varying degrees of togetherness. Halsin and Gale were the edges of their little web, the only two that hadn’t, and probably wouldn’t, move past platonic friendship. Though they still ended up in bed together — albeit with someone between them — a few nights a month. 

It had been about eight months since Kalius and Halsin had moved in now, almost two years since the end of the Absolute Crisis. And Gale had still not technically told his mother, or any of his family, that his roommates were more than roommates. Morena knew about Varan, since the tiefling had proposed to Gale soon after moving in. But Morena assumed everyone else were just friends avoiding rent by living under Gale’s roof and Gale hadn’t corrected her. Gale was sure she’d be fine learning the reality, but didn’t enjoy the idea of the rest of his family learning about it. They tended to have opinions about such things better left unsaid, though often spoken loudly about. He was going to have to mention Kalius at some point, since technically when Gale and Varan were married, Gale would be married to Kalius too. Varan had thought Kalius dead for eight years, and so never bothered to dissolve their previous marriage. Now that he was rescued of course they wouldn’t want to anyway. 

Gale heard the chime of someone starting up the third floor stairs. He frowned, wondering who it was with everyone else preoccupied. His study, and the adjoining bedroom, were on the fourth floor, in fact they were the entire fourth floor. No other reason to come up here except to see him. Or steal from him, he supposed, but the outside alarm hadn’t triggered so the visitor must be someone with a key. 

The door opened by a mage hand. Gale had to lean around the edge of a bookcase to see who it was. He frowned when he saw it was his mother, and Tara. He glanced back to the balcony door to check the position of the sun. 

“It’s not even nine, mum, I thought we were meeting for lunch?” he chided, slouching back in his chair. 

“Sit up straight, Mr. Dekarios, you’re going to hurt your back.” Tara said as she drifted from Morena’s shoulder to Gale’s bureau. 

Gale obediently shifted in his seat, but his attention was on his mother more so than the tressym who was pawing at the papers on his desk. Morena was wearing her usual finery, a purple and blue gown with silver threads, her dark hair streaked with gray was up around a silver pin the shape of a peacock. She looked put together, as she always did, but there was something about her expression that was disheveled. 

“Is everything alright?” Gale asked, he reached out and scritched under Tara’s chin. The tressym purred contently. 

Morena was biting the inside of her cheek as she studied Gale, it wasn’t concern, but it was a calculating expression that Gale didn’t really enjoy.

“Am I in trouble?” Gale turned instead to Tara, who was looking over the student’s papers, using mage hand to hold them up so she could read them. 

“You might be.” Tara said, she plucked Gale’s quill out of the pot with the mage hand to correct something on a quiz and Gale had to grab it out of the air to stop her. “That’s my job, thank you Tara.” 

“Something happened to Amelia.” Morena said. Gale laid the quill down, Tara bundled herself into a loaf to listen.

Amelia was Gale’s cousin, on his mother’s side, the daughter of Morena’s older sister Concetta. Amelia and Gale were about the same age and had been close growing up. One of the few members of the Dekarios clan that Gale didn’t wish misfortune on. 

“What happened?” Gale asked, annoyed at his mother’s underspecification.

“That’s part of the trouble, little love. We aren’t sure.” Tara said, soothingly. Gale frowned at her.

“She sent a letter, to me and one to Concetta.” Morena explained, Gale waved his hand and a chair was dragged across the room so Morena could sit next to him, “Concetta also got a missive from Melled Amcathra.”

“Amelia’s father-in-law?” Gale clarified. Morena nodded. “Apparently there was some kind of attack on their house in Amphail.”

“Attack?” Gale repeated, “Was Amelia hurt?”

Morena shook her head, “No, she wasn’t, I don’t know if anyone was, but the family is coming back to Waterdeep for the time being.”

“Of course, that makes sense.” Gale agreed. 

“Amelia asked to move in with you.” Morena continued.

Gale was baffled, “I would have thought the Amcathra would have more than enough room to house the wife of their patriarchs only son?” 

“They do. They want her to move into their villa in the city. Amelia is the one refusing too.” Morena explained. 

Gale thought about that, “I thought she was happy with Lennem.”

“As far as we know, she is.” Morena agreed.

Gale stared at her, considerately, for a moment before he asked, “So we don’t know why she asked to move in here?”

“She said in her letter to me that she wouldn’t feel safe anywhere else.” Morena said, tone softer. 

Gale thought about that, “Well, I suppose I can’t blame her. My tower is certainly one of the more secure places in Waterdeep.” He ran a hand down his chin, “And we have no idea what happened at Amphail?” 

Morena shook her head. “Maybe when they arrive, they can give us more detail. Their caravan should be here tomorrow night or the morning after.” 

Gale took a moment to consider it, consider everything. He grimaced as he realized he was going to have to move someone out of a room. He was sure they would understand, but he also knew Amelia being here was going to immediately draw attention to the reality of his living situation. He also knew that Varan was going to be furious if he agreed to this. Not because Varan wouldn’t want to help Amelia, or didn’t want Gale to be close to his family. Varan wouldn’t like the idea of not knowing what had happened in Amphail. He would worry that whatever had attacked the Amcathra house could be something that would attack again. Gale worried about that too, especially since none of the details had been shared. But it could just be a simple fire, or bandits, or gnolls, there were plenty of dangers out in the world that didn’t lead to apocalypse events. This could be something simple, something that mundane peoples were scared of but Gale and his friends couldn’t be, not with everything they were capable of. 

“I’ll talk with everyone tonight, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. I certainly don’t want to force her to go live at the villa if she and Lennem are having trouble we don’t know about.” Gale agreed. Morena smiled and nodded. “She can stay with me too, if you can’t make it work.” Morena suggested lightly.

Gale didn’t like that. If there was some kind of dangerous plot, he’d rather be the one to deal with it, instead of having his mother in danger too. 

“I think Concetta is planning on throwing a party at my house next week anyway.”

Gale had been lost in thought, he took a moment to realize what his mother had said and frowned, confused, “Why?”

“Claudio is coming back into the city for a visit.” Morena explained. 

Gale rolled his eyes, “Wonderful.” 

“I was going to invite you to it at lunch.” Morena added.

Gale sighed. 

“You can invite all your friends to come too, I know Concetta is planning on inviting all sorts of socialites. I’m sure they’d love to get their claws into a Duke from Baldur’s Gate.” 

Gale had to balance the desire to show Varan off in front of his family, and the concern about Varan being exposed to his family.  

“I’ll offer.” Gale decided. Morena nodded, a sly look on her features Gale didn’t like. 

“Something wrong with offering?”

“Nothing dear, but news that you are engaged has gotten around. Everyone wants to meet him.” Morena said carefully.

Gale didn’t doubt that. But he also knew that his family wanted to meet his intended so they could gossip about it, not because they wanted to support it. 

—  

Morena didn’t stay long after delivering her news. She was always bustling around for work at the Watchful Order. Gale finished all his paperwork from the academy, giving in and allowing Tara to assist him in grading some of the student’s work. 

Gale and his mother met again for lunch, as planned, at a tavern called Selune’s Smile. It had swiftly become one of Morena’s favorites in Dock Ward. Kalius had been the one to introduce it to Gale. Despite spending most of his childhood in Dock Ward, Gale hadn’t been to this tavern before that. Selune’s Smile, as named, had a long history of importance to Selunites, and Kalius was a rather high-ranking initiate of Selune. Gale had heard rumors about previous owners being related to the goddess herself, but not anything about the current proprietress. They served good food though.  

Gale returned home around two in the afternoon. As he walked up to the second floor, he could hear dishes clattering through the wall that separated the stair landing from the kitchen and the dining area. The entire second floor was dedicated to entertaining. 

Gale assumed it was either Astarion having gotten bored with his daytime torpor or Varan come home while Kalius was busy at the Temple. Either one would be nice to talk things over with before explaining the situation to everyone. 

It was Varan in the kitchen. He was pulling dishes out from the cabinets and setting up the counter to prepare something, though the fire in the cooking alcove wasn’t lit. 

Varan smiled brightly as he saw Gale enter the room. Varan was a purple skinned tiefling with long splayed horns dipped in ashy gray. He was quite tall. Technically even taller than Halsin, though only if he counted those horns, Halsin had an inch or two on him otherwise, both in height and width. Varan was a paladin, or had been. His strength was apparent in his build. He was broad, but still lean, though he had put on a little more weight since moving here. When Gale had first met him, he had the kind of physique a person only achieved though constant training and a diet that bordered on malnutrition. He still looked defined, but not sunken anymore and his cheeks were fuller. Maybe that was just because he smiled more now. He had tattoos on his neck and up his chin, thick lines only a shade or two darker than his regular skin color. They were there to cover some of his scars on his throat, but he had many more scars uncovered, including the one across his face in a diagonal. It had faded quite a bit now from what it had been when they had first met. Halsin had been helping him try and mute some of his worst marks with herbs and salves. He had bright green eyes on black sclera. One of them didn’t move as well as the other, it was an enchanted glass eye that he had gotten to replace the hag’s eye. The enchantment on it allowed him to see, though dimly, not a full replacement for his vision but enough that he couldn’t be snuck up on. At least that’s what he had said when he bought it. 

Gale came up to the counter to look at what Varan was doing. “What are you up to?”

“Kal wanted me to get things ready for him to cook dinner. He had a few other things to do before the House would let him leave for the day.” Varan explained, “Where did you get too?”

“I had lunch with mom.” Gale replied, pulling a stool over to sit and watch Varan chop things. 

“Ah. Did she invite you to the party?” Varan asked, innocently.

Gale reeled, “Yes, and she didn’t mention that you already knew about it.”

Varan shrugged. 

Gale rolled his eyes, “Conspiring I see.” 

“She asked if it was alright she told people we’re engaged.” Varan explained. 

“When was this?”

“Last night, she stopped by while you were preoccupied.” Varan told him.

“Preoccupied with wha—” Gale realized he had spent a rather large chunk of the evening with Astarion, “—hm yes, well, I’m glad you two are getting along.”

Varan was smirking. 

Gale just watched him for a moment. He didn’t really want to think about the party right now. 

“There was something else we talked about.” Gale said carefully. Varan’s brow furrowed, the tiefling could always tell when something was worth worrying over. 

“Don’t be upset.” Gale forewarned. 

“Do I have such a temper?” Varan retorted, chiding. Gale decided not to recount the numerous examples of Varan’s temper leading to many an enemies violent ends. 

“I just know you aren’t going to be pleased.” Gale rephrased. Varan stilled his work and leaned on the counter to listen to Gale. 

“My cousin, Amelia, is coming back to the city. She had married into the Amcathra family, they have a villa in the city but also keep an estate in Amphail to the north. She moved with her husband to Amphail. Apparently, something — happened to the house in Amphail and everyone from that estate is moving back to the city for a while.”

“What happened?” Varan asked, he looked concerned, but disconnected. 

“We don’t know, exactly, the word attack was used in the letter my mother received, but no details.”

“Attack.” Varan repeated and Gale saw his eyes darken in that frightening way, like he was already trying to deter the threat from existing just with his gaze. 

Gale couldn’t do anything to soothe the vengeful warrior except to shrug, “We don’t have any details. It could have been anything. The Amcathra’s are a rich family, plenty of motive to strike at them.”

Varan, as Gale had predicted, didn’t look pleased.

“She wants to move in with me when she gets here.” Gale continued.

“Why?” Varan leaned his weight more on the counter, furious already. 

“She said she would feel safest with me.” Gale explained. 

“Safe from what?” Varan prompted. 

“Perhaps she just would feel better staying in a magic tower.” Gale retorted. 

Varan didn't look amused. 

“I don't know any details.” Gale repeated himself, “But I know Amelia wouldn't ask for something like that for no reason.” Gale said. 

“That’s the trouble, isn’t it?” Varan snapped. 

“I know.” Gale agreed, “But I don't have the answers right now. I'm sure she'll explain more when she gets here.” 

“Then she can stay somewhere else until she does.” 

Gale sighed, watching the ferocity in Varan’s expression, “My mother offered to let her stay with her.” 

“Great.” Varan looked down to the counter like the conversation was over. 

“But for the same reason you don't want her here, I don't want her there. We're more than capable of handling whatever the threat is.” 

Varan didn't reply, his jaw tensed.

Gale reached over and grabbed his hand, “I know you worry, but it's probably nothing more than a monster or bandits, or another family that has some political ambition. Amelia isn't going to be a target of another attack for any of those reasons.” 

Varan held Gale’s hand but didn’t look up at him, or react. 

“Amelia is family.” Gale continued, “She's always been there for me, when I let her. I'm not turning her away.” 

Varan pulled his hand away from Gale and went back to preparing ingredients. Gale just watched him a moment. Letting him consider it. Eventually Gale carefully prompted, “Varan, my love—”

“I want details as soon as she gets here.” Varan interrupted. His voice was cool. Gale knew he still wasn’t happy about it. 

“Of course.” Gale agreed. 

They were quiet for a while. 

“When is she arriving?” Varan broke the silence. 

“Tomorrow night or the next morning.” Gale replied. “I still need to figure out where she’ll sleep.”

“You can give her Kal’s room.” Varan said simply. 

Gale frowned at the statement, he had thought there might have been more discussion. “Why?”

“He never uses it. All his stuff is in my room anyway and he’s always with one of us otherwise.” Varan said. “When you bring it up to everyone else, I’m sure he’ll offer it up.” 

Gale smiled at the thought.

“What are you going to tell her about … Kal?” Varan asked. 

“I hadn't thought that far into it.” Gale replied honestly. 

“And Astarion?” Varan added. His voice had an edge to it Gale didn’t like. It was accusatory. 

Gale decided to divert, slightly, “Amelia is my favorite cousin. I’d like to think I’m hers too. We are very close in age and we spent a lot of time growing up together. She was always supportive of me, even when the rest of my family wasn’t. That being said, her mother has most of the crueler opinions I had to listen to in my youth. I don’t really want my current relationships to be subjected to her venom.” 

Varan had finished what he was doing and leaned down on the counter more just to listen. He had an insightful look in his eyes as he watched Gale. Like a dog watching a lure. 

“You haven’t told Morena yet either.” Varan pointed out. Gale was surprised at the callous quality of his voice. “I’ve told her about you.” Gale corrected, looking at Varan assuredly. Varan didn’t look assured and Gale shrank a little at the expression. “I know I should.”

“Astarion thinks you’re embarrassed of him.” Varan said, flatly. Gale winced at the confession. “I’m not. Not in the slightest.” 

“If she’s living here, I’m sure she’ll realize anyway, unless you plan to enact a curfew and a code of conduct on us.” Varan continued.

“I’m — ” Gale sighed, “I know.” 

Varan was still studying his expression and Gale felt very exposed under his gaze. 

“If you don’t want to tell your family about our arrangements, no one is going to force you to. But you can’t just ignore it and pretend it’s fine. That’s all. It’s not fair if you don’t at least explain why you aren’t saying anything.” 

Gale ran a hand down his face. He couldn’t argue that. And he hadn’t intended for his lack of communication to become a long term facade. When Astarion had first moved in Gale hadn’t been sure if Astarion even wanted to be romantically involved. Introducing him as a friend seemed most appropriate. And Gale hadn’t anticipated Kal being anything other than a roommate when he first moved in either. 

“You’re right.” Gale agreed, “I’ll figure it out.” 

Varan smiled at him, the dispassion cleared from this eyes. Varan leaned over the counter and kissed Gale’s forehead gently. 

—

Morena stopped in again with a list for Gale to get ready for Amelia’s arrival now that he had agreed to host her. They had talked a little over lunch, but Morena had checked in with the Amcathra villa in the city for clarification. Apparently the family hadn’t brought much, if anything, from their home in Amphail. That worried Gale too, it sounded more and more like the family had fled Amcathra in a hurry. Gale couldn’t find answers until Amelia arrived, so he worked for a little while, planning with Tara and pulling items he already had out of storage to move into a bedroom later, then went to have dinner with everyone as they always did. Gale and Kalius usually alternated dinners to cook, it had worked out that today was Kal’s day. 

Kal and Halsin were arguing about something when Gale came into the kitchen/dining room. That was normal, especially during the waxing moon. Gale suddenly realized that was going to be another complication and shuddered. 

He came up behind Astarion, who was sitting at the counter Gale had been seated at earlier. Astarion was smiling as the two werefolk snapped at each other with an expression that made Gale sure the vampire had provoked the argument. Varan wasn’t there, Gale realized. He frowned at the air as he laid a hand on Astarion’s arm and slid into the stool beside the vampire. Astarion laid a hand on his thigh. 

“Why are they fighting?” Gale leaned over to ask.

Astarion shrugged. “It’s been about ten things now.” Astarion told him. Gale chuckled, running his hand across Astarion’s shoulder to hold him. He remembered what Varan had said, about Astarion thinking Gale was embarrassed by him and gave the vampire a little squeeze. 

“Where’s Varan?” Astarion asked, turning to Gale. Gale shrugged, “Not sure.”

“He went out to get a couple things.” Kal answered, his voice still stained with the frustration of the fight he and Halsin were having. The knife on the cutting board was unnecessarily forceful. 

Kalius was a tiefling, with red skin and black hair. His horns were straight and curled. He wasn’t as tall or as broad as Varan, but he was still quite strong. He had been in the same order of paladins as Varan for a while, however he served Selune more as a cleric. His eyes were black sclera with bright golden yellow irises. Gale often wondered if his eyes had always been that color, or if they had changed when he had been bitten. He was a werewolf, but blessed by Selune he had unique control over his shifting. Gale had been rather afraid of him when they had first met, when they had first found him during the Absolute Crisis. He had been locked in a soul cage, similar to how they had found Dame Aylin, for eight years. He had been quite wild then. He had tempered himself now, at least for Gale and Astarion’s sake. Varan and Halsin liked to provoke him. Varan had been with him for five years before Kalius was imprisoned, so they were comfortable with each other. Halsin and Kal, well Gale wasn’t sure how much they really cared about each other, but they both loved Varan and they had found some kind of unique kinship both being werefolk blessed by their deities. They were almost always together, and Gale was sure it was nice to not have to hide the bestial parts of themselves to each other. 

Halsin stopped provoking Kalius now that Gale was in the room, letting the tiefling cook without interruption. Gale and Kal both liked to cook, and were both pretty good at it. They both liked to say that was just how it was to be raised in Waterdeep. Waterdhavians certainly prided themselves on their cuisine. 

Gale thought about mentioning Amelia, but he decided to wait for Varan to get back. He didn’t need to, having already shared the news with the tiefling, but Gale never felt half as confident as he did when Varan was in the room with him. 

It wasn’t very long before Varan returned from the market. Fresh fish seemed to have been his main objective. He had also bought a bouquet of flowers, several different varieties were bundled in his selection, but lilac hyacinths were the majority. Gale’s favorite. Astarion clocked the flowers right away as Varan put them into a vase. 

“Oh, did you two have a fight?” the vampire teased as Varan put the flowers on the dining table. 

“Undecided.” Varan answered. Gale decided not to retort, but that had stung a little. He thought the flowers were obviously a kind gesture, so he assumed Varan wasn’t that upset. But it was clear the tiefling was still on edge after the earlier conversation. Gale realized with a slight chill that Varan had a sword on his waist. It was one of his nicer, more decorative blades, nothing like the beast of a greatsword he preferred to wield in real combat. But it was still a weapon. 

Varan was, for lack of a nicer word, paranoid. Gale couldn’t blame him. His upbringing, his entire life had been nothing but a fight. From the moment his father was lost at sea to the moment the Elder Brain crashed into the sea, he hadn’t had a moment to breathe. Bhaal had no doubt orchestrated it to be so. Gale felt guilty now, that he had given him something else to worry about. But Gale also didn’t doubt his ability, or his companions abilities, to handle whatever this was. 

Astarion had turned in his seat to look at Gale, waiting for a response no doubt. The vampire had a casual smile, but Gale wasn’t fooled. Astarion was worried. He hated when any of the group argued — actually argued, whatever Kal and Halsin did didn’t count — he didn’t like anything coming between them. Astarion had grown a lot in the past two years, but he still had a tendency to get defensive if conflict came up. He fell back into sarcasm, into divisiveness and walls sprang up in moments when he felt something threatened the stability he had fallen into. 

“There is something, I need to tell all of you.” Gale admitted. 

Kalius finished putting a pan on the bricks by the cooking fire, testing the heat with his bare hand in the way only a tiefling could, and came back towards the counter to lean next to Halsin and listen. 

“My cousin, Amelia, had moved to Amphail with her husband, some years ago now. Something happened to their family home and everyone who lived there is coming back to the city, for a while at least.” 

“What happened to the home?” Kal asked, concerned. 

“I don’t know. There weren’t any particulars in the letters we received, but the word attack was used.”

“An attack?” Kal repeated, his gaze immediately jumped to Varan, then back to Gale, like he expected the other tiefling to react. Varan was just standing with his arms crossed listening to the news he already knew. 

“I really don’t have any specifics. But Amelia asked to move in with me when she gets here.”

“Not with her husband?” Astarion pointed out.

“I don’t know what’s going on there.” Gale told him earnestly, “As far as I know she and Lennem were happy together, but she told my mother she’d feel safest with me.”

“Hm. Well your tower is quite impressive.” Astarion agreed. “I’d want to stay here too.” The vampire’s voice sounded lightly, but Gale knew he was bothered by something. Astarion wasn’t looking at Gale, he was looking out at Varan. 

“Hold on, did you say her husband’s name is Lennem?” Kalius asked, sounding confused. Gale nodded.

“As in Lennem Amcathra?” Kalius prompted. 

Gale nodded.

“Oh, her husband is famous is he?” Astarion teased. 

“The entire Amcathra family is well-known in Waterdeep.” Kalius said slowly, as he considered it, “So the Amcathra estate in Amphail was attacked?” 

Gale nodded a third time. 

“Brazen, whoever it was.” Kalius commented, quietly. 

“Why? What are they known for?” Halsin asked, looking down at the werewolf. 

“Horses, mostly.” Kalius replied, “But that’s all the families with business in Amphail. Amphail ponies are infamous up and down the Sword Coast. But the Amcathra’s also make weapons. Amcathran blades, are their specialty, some of the finest swords in the city. They stopped forging for a while in the last century, but started up again a couple decades ago now.” Kalius sighed a little, standing up and crossing his arms.

“Also Mourngrym Amcathra was the Lords of Shadowdale sometime ago, he rather famously defended the dale from Bane’s army during the Time of Troubles.” Gale added. 

“Well, sounds like your cousin did alright for herself, with a husband like that.” Astarion commented, sounding amused. He was still looking at Varan though.

“So why wouldn’t she want to stay with her husband’s family? They sound well and wholly capable of defending her.” Halsin mused.

“Wonderful point.” Varan agreed, quietly. 

Gale ignored that, “I don’t have any details.” He was tired of saying that, “We’ll just have to ask her when she gets here.” 

“She can have my room.” Kal said, going back to cooking like the conversation needed nothing further. “I never use it. All my shit is in Varan’s room anyway.” 

Gale smiled at the statement, remembering Varan’s words. “Thank you. I think that would be perfect.” 

Kal looked like he had accepted whatever the situation was, but Gale noticed that Astarion was still looking at Varan. Varan and Astarion were holding each other’s gazes, clearly communicating in silent words. Almost like they had the tadpole again. 

Gale knew he had to say something. He knew what it was Astarion was saying to Varan, what Varan was saying to the vampire. Astarion asking if he would have to be hidden away like a broken thing when guests came over. Varan assuring him that wasn’t the case. But that assurance wasn’t enough, Gale was the one threatening to stash him away, not Varan. 

“Amelia has always been very supportive of me. And my mother. Even when the rest of my family wasn’t, for all the different reasons they weren’t. I don’t know exactly when, obviously her situation is a bit complicated at the moment, but I want to introduce you all to her, the way I should have already introduced you to my mother.” 

Astarion was looking at him now and Gale didn’t want to catch his eye. 

The rest of the room was quiet. Gale was focused on the counter by his hand so he didn’t have to read anyone’s expression. 

“I know my mother will be happy if not slightly bemused to know all of you better.” Gale said then, something he hadn’t expected to say, but he remembered Varan’s colder voice and thought maybe he had to. “I haven’t said anything to her because I know that she will want to share all the news with the rest of the family. She has never balked at them, at any of the ways they might try to tear others down. She always preferred to force them to look at the things they might criticize. And I have always appreciated her courage, but often times that courage meant she was putting me on the pedestal in front of them to scrutinize. While she could ignore their criticism I never could. I didn’t want to tell my family about all of you not because I’m embarrassed or unsure, not in the slightest. I’ve had to listen to their hateful opinions my whole life and unfortunately I’m very used to it. But I didn’t want those words to be directed towards any of you. I thought if I just said you were friends, or colleagues then my family wouldn’t feel entitled to share their judgments, if they had any. I know the moment I would position myself in an equation with you, I know that they are going to have — shitty things to say, because they always do when it comes to things I care about. I thought I could spare you, all of you, that.” He was still looking at the counter. He didn’t think anyone else had even moved. “And maybe I thought if — if you had to hear some of the things they will say about me, maybe being with me wouldn’t be worth it.” 

There was silence that went on a little too long for Gale’s liking, he still didn’t want to look up.

“You’re an idiot.” Astarion snapped. 

Gale had to laugh a little at that. He heard some shuffling around him and felt strong arms he knew to be Varan’s wrap around his waist. He leaned his back into the tiefling’s chest. 

“All of us come from shitty situations, especially shitty families. If anything, I hear one of your family members saying shitty things, it’ll be more worth it to love you.” Kal said. He sounded bored with the conversation and Gale smiled at the way he never seemed to balk at drama when it sprang up. 

Gale glanced up finally and was caught by Astarion’s gaze. The vampire was looking at him with a very sad look, but it was also very loving and Gale smiled at him. “You really are stupid sometimes.” Astarion said, softer this time. “I know.” Gale agreed.

Chapter Text

After dinner Kalius made sure everything was out of his room. He had been honest when he said he kept very little there, a couple pieces of clothing and some of his altar supplies. And a pile of silver chains that fortunately they hadn’t ever needed to use, but Kalius kept just in case. 

Gale and Varan spent the night with Astarion. Kal and Halsin were in the stretch leading up to the full moon where they rarely engaged with anyone other than each other. Halsin never seemed to worry very much about that, but Kalius seemed more vigilant to avoid risky encounters. Gale had read quite a bit about werefolk curses after he started having feelings for Kal. He had learned that werewolves, when left to their natural alignment, could be violent and cruel. Unlike werebears who, even when wild and untempered by druidism or the blessing of Silvanus, were naturally rather docile unless angered. Gale knew that Selune’s blessing changed the rules for Kalius, he had been bitten as a rite of prestige to serve Selune not by a wild beast, but the tiefling was still cautious. Gale suspected he had experienced moments outside of his or Selune’s control. Varan had many scars Gale never asked about, but one especially Gale hesitated to question, a ring of marks, fangs not teeth, on his shoulder that had been there since long before the nautiloid crash. 

Varan didn’t say anything else about Amelia during the night. Gale was glad Astarion had stayed with them. The vampire was a wonderful buffer. Varan rarely wanted to argue anything when Astarion was around, he didn’t like making the vampire worry. 

—

Gale woke early the next morning. He wasn’t sure when Amelia would arrive but he thought it better to have a full day in case the Amcathra got to the city earlier than planned, since Morena hadn’t received any update on their timing.  

Astarion joined Gale and Varan in heading to the dining room for breakfast before he retired for daytime rest. “Feel free to come get me when she arrives, even if it’s before sunset. I don’t want to miss any of the drama.” Astarion was saying as they walked into the kitchen. 

Halsin and Kal were already there. Kal pinned on the floor under Halsin’s weight, both had been growling at each other, though they froze as the door opened. A fresh bruise on Halsin’s face was mirrored by one on Kal. 

Gale didn’t think he’d ever be used to this kind of thing, but Astarion and Varan looked over the scene with a practically bored expression. 

“You know, this will have to stay in closed quarters when Amelia gets here.” Astarion pointed out as he watched Halsin get off of Kal and haul the tiefling to his feet. Halsin’s eyes glinted orange and he was licking at the bruise on the werewolves face apologetically.

“That’s what we were fighting about.” Kal sighed, letting Halsin groom him. Gale realized Halsin’s face wasn’t entirely human anymore and quickly looked to the counter, then heard what Kal had said and back at him worried. 

“Nothing so serious,” Halsin said as he reached out to heal the mark with proper magic, his eyes were still orange, but the rest of him was back to usual, “However, with the full moon approaching, we were discussing the possibility of leaving for a few nights. To avoid arousing any suspicions.” 

“The usual chains not secure enough for you?” Astarion asked.

“Nothing like that.” Halsin assured, “Perhaps you hadn’t deigned to notice, but we do tend to behave a little rowdier around this time.” 

Kal reached up and healed the bruise over Halsin’s eye. Halsin grabbed his hand after the bruise disappeared and kissed his knuckles gently. 

“Of course.” Gale agreed. He thought about the unfortunate timing, but at least the full moon was still a few days out. 

“We’ll leave the day before the full moon, in a week, stay out the night of, then come back.” Kal said, looking up at Halsin, who nodded his agreement. Kal was almost a full foot shorter than the elf. His horns barely crested over Halsin’s height despite standing almost straight off the top of his head. 

“Do you have a place in mind, or just “the woods”?” Astarion asked. 

“That was the other part of the fight.” Kal told him, “But probably just the woods. I don’t like it, but it’s easier.” 

“We can have a bath ready for you when you get home, princess.” Varan said, snidely, from the kitchen where he was making breakfast and all but ignoring the conversation.

Halsin chuckled. Kalius glared at him, “It’s winter. My fur is thinner than yours.” Kal whined at the bear. 

—

Tara informed Gale that the Amcathra were arriving early in the afternoon and that Amelia would be at his tower by three. 

Kal was cooking dinner for everyone again, on his insistence, but that wouldn’t happen until around six, so Gale thought it best for everyone to meet Amelia as she arrived at the tower, then they could let her settle in. Maybe Gale could get her to talk some more about what had happened and everyone could discuss everything over dinner. That seemed to appease Varan’s curiosity. 

Gale also wasn’t sure what her arrival would entail. He assumed his mother and her mother would be there to escort her. Concetta, Amelia’s mother, was a terrible woman. Amelia knew it as well as Gale did, but of course Amelia couldn’t avoid the woman as much as Gale tried to. So, it was a delight when the doorbell rang and Gale found Amelia and Morena alone. 

Amelia pulled Gale into a hug before he could even say anything.

 “It’s good to see you, Amelia.” Gale said as she pulled back. 

“I’m really glad you agreed to let me stay.” Amelia said. “I didn’t want to be anywhere else.” 

“Of course.” Gale assured her. 

Amelia was about Gale’s age, she was petite and plump with dark brown hair, like most of the Dekarios family, and brown eyes, though hers were a little more hazel. She was wearing a fine dress of silver and red, Amcathra’s colors, but Gale noticed it was dusty from the road and quite…smoky.

Morena deposited a small bag in the entry. Gale recognized that the bag was Morena’s, so that meant Amelia had no luggage of her own. 

Gale wanted to ask a thousand things, about the attack, about the town, about the family, about Lennem, but Amelia looked quite tired as she turned back to Morena and grabbed for her hands, “Thank you so much for everything, Morena.” 

“I’ll check in tomorrow morning. Then I do expect to see both of you at the party in the evening.” Morena gave Gale a kiss on the cheek and then left. 

Gale had already forgotten that the party was so quickly approaching. He hadn’t even mentioned it to anyone, other than Varan. Gale picked up the bag Morena had left. “We tried to furnish a room for you, but let me know if you want anything else.” He said as he escorted her through the next flight of stairs. 

“We?” Amelia repeated, then gave a quick nod, “I did hear you have someone living with you?” Amelia prompted as they ascended. 

“Yes. A few actually.” Gale said. 

“Oh. Well, one in particular, Morena mentioned.” Amelia added slyly. . 

Gale smiled, managing not to wince too obviously. He didn’t reply, he didn’t need to, as they came out into the second floor landing, all four of his roommates were waiting. Even Astarion, though he looked quite wearied being awake at such an hour. 

Amelia was taken aback by the number of people waiting in the landing, she hesitated on the stairs just behind Gale. 

“Amelia,” he offered a look back to her “This is Varan, Astarion, Kalius, and Halsin.” He gestured to each as she timidly came up next to him, “We all met during my –  adventure near Baldur’s Gate.” 

Amelia gave a little curtsy. Gale noticed a flash across Varan’s face, an expression devoid of emotion. A soldier ready to act without feeling. It was only a second, but that was still enough that Gale felt fear stir in his chest. He thought about stepping in front of Amelia, but Kalius too seemed to sense Varan’s reaction, the werewolf reached out and squeezed Varan’s arm. The touch jolted Varan out of the expression. 

It all happened in a moment and Gale didn’t think Amelia saw it, and of course didn’t know everyone well enough to understand it. 

“I hope you like tahllap. I was planning on making some for dinner.” Kalius said, smoothly using his grasp of Varan’s arm to move himself to the front of the group. 

Amelia’s eyes brightened, “Oh! I haven’t had tahllap in years, not since I moved out of the city. I wouldn’t have thought a Baldurian would know the recipe.”

“Ah, well we may have met in Baldur’s Gate, but Kalius is Waterdhavian.” Gale corrected. 

“I assure you my recipe is very traditional.” Kalius added with a smile. 

“I’m looking forward to it.” Amelia agreed. 

“And I thought maybe some icewine, I’m sure the road was long and tiring.” Kalius prompted. Amelia nodded but it lacked enthusiasm and Kalius smiled, “I also have a bottle of wyvern whiskey.” He assured her. 

“That sounds wonderful.” Amelia smiled back, very brightly this time. 

“Why don’t I show you to your room?” Gale suggested and Amelia nodded, “It was nice to meet you all.” She said to the others as Gale led her to the next flight of stairs. Gale looked back as he reached the steps, Varan had turned his gaze following Amelia like a predator, he didn’t blink. He made a move, like he was going to follow her. But Kalius’s hand caught him in the chest. Varan looked down at Kalius, furious and as Gale quickly followed Amelia upstairs, he was sure the two tieflings were starting to argue in infernal. 

Gale wasn’t sure what had happened. That wasn’t like Varan, they had talked about it, they had agreed to let her settle in then question her. Varan had promised to hear her out, and he never went back on his words, not to Gale at least. 

Gale had to put it to the back of his mind as he opened the bedroom door for Amelia. 

Amelia let out a long relieved breath as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Gale laid the bag down by the vanity.

“I’ll let you get settled in before dinner.” Gale said. He had planned to stay and talk with her, but right now he thought he needed to get back downstairs as quickly as possible. Varan taking that quick step after them was haunting his vision. If Kalius hadn’t interceded, what was Varan planning on doing?

“Thank you for letting me stay here. And thank you for not asking about Lennem. At least not right away.” Amelia said. 

Gale forced a smile, but it quickly faded, “Is everything alright between you two?” Gale asked, “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No nothing like that.” Amelia assured him, “I just wasn’t sure what to do and you’ve always been a lot smarter than me.”

Gale frowned a little, he had a thousand questions to ask now, on top of the thousand he already had.

“Can we talk after dinner?” Amelia asked, “I want to freshen up.” 

“Of course.” Gale agreed, grateful she had set that boundary for herself.  

— 

Gale went back downstairs, but the landing was empty. He went into the dining room and found that everyone had all gathered in the little sitting area opposite the kitchen, by the smaller fireplace. Varan and Kalius were sitting next to each other on the couch, staring into the fire. Astarion was sitting in the armchair next to them, Halsin stood leaning against the chair, looking uneasy. 

Varan and Kal looked at each other as Gale came into the room and over by the couch, they were weighing something in their gaze that was intense, and heavy. Gale knew something was very wrong. 

“Amelia said we could talk after dinner.” Gale told them. 

Varan started laughing, hollowly. He stood up and started around the couch, away from Gale. Kalius stood up too, “Varan, stop.”

Gale couldn’t help but be nervous at the way Varan glared back to Kalius.

“Just take a breath.” Kalius snapped, “Follow the plan.” 

“What’s going on?” Gale asked, looking at Varan specifically.

“I’d love to know what’s going on.” Varan retorted, looming at him in a way that Gale knew should have intimidated him. But Varan had never scared him and Gale just glared back at him. 

“Varan, relax, babe.” Kalius sighed, “We can give it an hour.”

“I understand you’re suspicious of the circumstances,” Gale said, stepping up in front of Varan, ignoring Kalius, “But why are you acting suspicious of Amelia? She’s my cousin, I’ll remind you, she’s my family.” 

“She had the scent of a fiend on her.” Kalius said, sharply, before Varan could reply. 

Gale looked at him, surprised, not fully understanding for a moment. He thought it through. 

Varan had crossed his arms, watching Gale’s reaction, his expression tempered. He went back to the couch to sit next to Kalius, who immediately put a hand on his shoulder.

Gale knew that paladins were trained to sense things, a divine sense that told them when extraplanar forces mingled in the material. He looked over at Halsin, at Astarion. Both looked surprised too, confirming it must have been that sense that had warned Varan and Kalius. 

“What does that mean, exactly? What could it mean?” Gale asked, already wheeling through the options in his mind.

Varan’s lip curled into a snarl, for a moment Gale forgot it was Kalius who was a werewolf. He covered his grimace with a hand and turned his gaze to the fire. 

“It could mean any number of things.” Varan said carefully. “The sense we get isn’t clear. We can’t know why a thing is the way it is. Just that it is.” Varan looked up at Gale. 

“It might not have been her doing.” Kalius added, “It could have been the family she was with.” 

“You think there was a deal involved?” Gale inferred.

Kalius nodded, “Often when a mortal has a scent like that, that’s what it is.” 

“So you don’t know that it’s her. It could be something she was near, another person she was with.” Gale pointed out. 

“Could be.” Varan agreed, “Could be dangerous no matter the source.”

“She wouldn’t have made a deal herself.” Gale said, “But I don’t know her husband’s family well.” 

“She did seem nice though.” Astarion said fairly, like he was trying to steer the conversation away from the danger.

“If the fiend didn’t get what it wanted, then having her here is dangerous.” Varan said flatly, ignoring Astarion’s attempt at meditation.

Of course he would want her out. Gale looked to the floor. If she was involved with a deal, then that might  mean fiends would be hunting her. Varan would never stop protecting the people he cared about. Gale couldn’t exactly blame him, but he didn’t want to turn Amelia out.

“I’m not going to send her away now. If anything, this is more reason to keep her here.” Gale said.

Varan looked furious. Kal put a hand on his thigh.

“Let’s just ask her about it. We can try and figure out what happened. Then we can make decisions.” Gale said fairly.

“Fine. But the questions won’t be pleasant for her.” Varan said. He turned and looked at Gale and Gale recognized the look in his eyes. It was the look from Baldur’s Gate, when Varan had nothing left to lose. 

“I don’t want you to protect me at the cost of her life.” Gale told him.

Varan’s expression fell quickly, into sadness then into shame. Even his ears drooped a little. Kal, Halsin and Astarion all looked up at Gale rather stunned. 

Gale was initially surprised at the reactions. He had intended his words to mean that he wouldn’t want to put her out on the street and have whatever this deal was bring her harm when they could have kept her safe. But Gale realized that wasn’t exactly what he said. What he said could have meant something else. That Gale expected Varan to kill her. For a second, maybe Gale had. 

“I didn’t mean that. I meant, I don’t want to turn her away and have something happen to her.” he tried to clarify. 

Varan still looked haunted, but he looked down to the fire again. 

“You said, it could be something that happened around her. Maybe she didn’t have anything to do with it. Just the stench of it lingered on her.” Astarion said, his voice a little louder as he tried meditation again. Gale rather wished Halsin would speak up. Halsin was usually the best at diffusing conflict, but the druid seemed to be caught in quiet contemplation.

“Maybe.” Kalius agreed. “Let’s just ask questions first.” He said, a hand on Varan’s back. Varan didn’t react. “Gale’s right, we can talk it over again after we find out more about what happened.” Kalius continued. Varan glanced at him and stood up to leave the room. Kalius threw his head back and sighed then quickly followed after Varan. 

Astarion and Halsin both turned to look at Gale after the two tieflings had disappeared. 

“I really didn’t mean it that way.” Gale said to the air. 

“Then learn to be more careful with your words.” Halsin retorted. 

Astarion looked at Gale apologetically and left Halsin by the armchair, the vampire came over and took Gale by the arm, “Come on, let’s go upstairs for a while. Halsin can make sure the tieflings are alright.” 

Halsin gave a nod and they all left the room. Halsin must have been following Varan or Kal’s scent, he immediately went towards the stairs to the first floor. That worried Gale, had Varan entirely left their house? Astarion didn’t let him linger on the thought, pulling him upstairs. 

Gale almost thought to stop at Amelia’s room, to get these answers out of the way. But Astarion pulled him along, down the hallway on the guest room floor to the vampire’s bedroom. Astarion had claimed the largest of the guest rooms. There were three small rooms, like the one Amelia was now in, with just  enough space for a bed and maybe a desk. Halsin, Kal and Varan were so rarely in their own rooms that they hadn’t needed much more. But Astarion had to spend at least a few hours a day in his, so it seemed only fair. Though it was now more frequent that Astarion spent his daytime in Gale’s actual tower, where Gale had put arcane timers to keep the windows closed when there was sunlight. There was a bedroom up there too. The tower portion of the house was hidden, and only accessible from Gale’s study on the fourth floor of the home. It required a little bit of arcane magic to unlock, so really only Gale or Astarion could get into it. 

This room had turned more into a library, bookshelves lined the walls. There was also an adjoining bath, separate from the one accessible in the hallway. 

Astarion pushed Gale onto the bed. Gale sat down obediently, assuming the vampire was joining him, but Astarion left him there to go over towards  his desk. 

“What are you doing?” Gale asked. 

Astarion ignored him a moment, then pulled out a scroll from one of the drawers, he tossed it over to the bed turning to lean against his desk and watch Gale.

Gale unfolded it, it was a spell scroll, a divination spell to sense extraplanar creatures. Gale wasn’t entirely sure of the limits of the paladin’s senses, but he assumed this would certainly be a more expansive list. 

“So you agree with Varan and Kal.” Gale inferred, rolling the scroll back up.

“I mean, I don’t doubt they sensed something. You don’t either. You know how accurate their senses are.” Astarion chided. Gale couldn’t argue that.

“I don’t think whatever they sensed meant she’s dangerous. You know, they detect me too, and I’m not dangerous — well—”

“I understand what you mean.” Gale assured him. “Would this help though?”

“Maybe it would give Varan more clarity, I don’t know. They just said fiend, but that’s hardly specific. Demon, devil, warlock – like Wyll was. Any number of things could be fiendish.” 

Gale nodded. 

“I still have a scroll of detect thoughts too, but I thought you might argue against that.” Astarion added. 

“Amelia isn’t going to lie when she’s questioned.” Gale didn’t like the way that sounded, like he was going to interrogate her, “When we talk, I’m sure she’ll explain everything she knows.”

Astarion shrugged a little, “Maybe she won’t know anything. You realize that’ll be worse.” 

Gale was quiet, considering that. Astarion was right, not knowing was worse, for everyone. Gale wanted explanations too.

Astarion was just studying Gale, waiting for a reply. But Gale didn’t have anything to say. This situation was certainly more complicated then he had originally assumed, but he didn’t see any reason to think this was out of their control. Whatever this fiendish trace was, surely it wasn’t going to be anything they couldn’t handle. They had handled Mizora, Raphael too. The orthoon had killed himself on a word from Varan’s lips. It wasn’t like they had any reason to fear devils. 

But Gale also understood why Varan was worried. Varan had never had stability in his life for very long, of course Varan would fear that the moment he had started to feel a sense of calm something would come along and take it away. Gale was more than sure that the tiefling’s animosity to Amelia had more to do with that than anything else. 

“I do have — a theory. If you want to hear it. Well, the start of a theory.” Astarion said, adjusting papers on his desk casually.

Gale frowned at him, “A theory about what?”

“Well —” Astarion picked up one of the books from his desk. Gale studied the cover, a Waterdeep annal from — 

“1372?” Gale read from the title, “The year of wild magic?”

“After Kalius lectured us all on the Amcathra family last night, I decided to do some reading.” Astarion told him, flipping through the book.

“When did you manage that?”

“I came down here after you and Varan were asleep last night.” Astarion said. “Kalius mentioned that the Amcathra were famous for forging blades, but that they had stopped making weapons for a while.” Astarion explained, he found the page he was looking for and held it up to Gale, “This is why they stopped. House Gralhund undercut their blade's reputation by producing their own. Blades that were made with a special alloy laced with mithral. Amcathra’s weapon business never fully recovered, but they kept making decorative blades for the nobles of Waterdeep.”

Gale reached for the book and Astarion came over to hand it to him. Gale quickly read down the page. 

“How does this relate to current events?” Gale asked. 

“So glad you asked!” Astarion clapped his hand together enthusiastically and spun around to retrieve something else as Gale rolled his eyes. He held up a printed newsletter. 

“At around the same time we were dealing with our little — mess down in Baldur’s Gate, House Gralhund had run afoul an alliance with the Black Network.”

“The Zhentarim?” Gale clarified.

“Almost the whole house Gralhund and the Zheeks here in Waterdeep were wiped out in a massacre of a fight.”

“The Gralhund Villa Bloodbath, I remember mum telling me about that when I got back home. She also said that Yalah Gralhund had made a run to become one of the Lords’ of Waterdeep, while I was — indisposed.” He involuntarily ran a hand up his shoulder, the orb was gone, but the black veins had never faded. 

“Yalah is quite ambitious, from what I’ve read. In fact, after that massacre, with her house practically in shambles, she made a rather risky alliance.”

Gale’s brow furrowed, really there was only one thing Astarion could mean, “Gralhund and Amcathra are in an alliance?”

“A trade alliance, to be specific, and guess what it’s for?”

“Weapon-making.” Gale guessed. Astarion nodded.

“Well, this is interesting, but does it explain why our tieflings sensed something fiendish? Or why the house in Amphail was attacked?”

“Maybe to the first, no idea to the second.” Astarion told him shortly, “House Gralhund has tieflings. A lot actually.”

Gale thought about that for a moment, “But a tiefling alone wouldn’t be detected by divine senses. Certainly not strong enough to leave a scent on Amelia enough they would notice it.”

“That’s true, but well, tieflings and devil plots do tend to go hand in hand.” Astarion said carefully, “At least, at some point in the past, the family must have made a deal, right? Otherwise, there’d be no horns.” 

Gale nodded, that was true. If the family was mostly human with occasional tiefling features, it had to have been a deal in the past that crossed the lineage. He had seen Yalah Gralhund at society events, prior to his misadventures, and she had looked simply human. 

Gale flipped through the book he still held, then closed it and handed it back to Astarion. 

“Thank you.”

“It really isn’t much.” Astarion said.

“It’s something. And we can ask Amelia more specifics.” Gale said. He sighed, looking at the door, “Do you think Halsin found them?”

“I’m sure. Kalius is probably making dinner as we speak.” Astarion said, assuredly.

Gale wanted to go to the kitchen and check. Maybe apologize, if Varan was there, but knew there wasn’t a point to making up until after they figured out more about Amelia.

“Let’s sit here a minute. Then we’ll go.” Astarion said, like he was reading Gale’s thoughts. Gale couldn't help but smile at him. 

—

Chapter Text

“Varan stop — where are you even going to go, just planning on walking into the sea?”

Kalius grabbed his husband by the arm and tried to spin him around before he reached the front door. He — didn’t really have any impact on the wall of a tiefling in front of him, but Varan did stop moving regardless. 

Kalius dropped his hand away. He tried to step around Varan enough to see his expression, but Varan angled his face away.

Kalius sighed, at least he had stopped fleeing the house. Kalius looked back into the first floor hoping someone else, other than Gale, might be following him out here. Kalius wasn’t sure what he could really say to Varan to calm the paladin down. Because Kalius was worried too. He had sensed the same thing Varan had on the girl from Amphail, the smell of brimstone and blood, hells and devils. It wasn’t strong enough that he thought she was a devil or a warlock herself, but it wasn’t faint enough for it to be an accident either. Kalius had also smelled fire on her, smoke and burning lacquer, along with the smell of the days of travel. He knew no one else had, it was the wolf's senses that told him of her flight from Amphail. She had been pulled out of a burning building, he was sure. He had even smelled the bruise on her back, from where debris had struck her. 

Kalius had also smelled fear on her, and faintly a sweet scent like fresh dead.

“I do want to kill her, you know that.” 

Kalius had been processing all the smells he had taken in and had to focus on Varan’s voice when it hit him. Varan had turned to look at him. He looked afraid, he smelled it too. 

Kalius knew that wasn’t a confession Varan would have said to anyone else. Kalius also knew it wasn’t true. 

“No you don’t. And you’re not going to.” Kalius assured him. Varan shrugged. 

“She’s a herald of worse, and I’d rather not meet her successor.” Varan said. 

“We don’t know that. It could be something inconsequential.” Kalius said firmly, as confidently as he could. 

Varan just stared at him in disbelief, then the tiefling’s gaze flickered over Kalius’s shoulder, further into the house. 

“Your wizard insists he didn’t mean to imply you’d kill her.” Halsin scent alerted Kal to his approach first, cedar and berries. 

“And I do believe him. He may have the lexis of the entire Sword Coast academicians, but he has always had very little tact.” Halsin continued, coming up next to Kal. 

That got a chuckle out of Varan. Varan always seemed more enlivened when Halsin was nearby. Kalius had been jealous of the impact the druid had on his mood when they had first met. Now he was just glad for it. 

“But, regardless of murderous intent, you do need to calm down.” Halsin continued, “I understand you are worried that this could lead to something dangerous, but Gale is right to not want to turn away his family. Even if Amelia doesn’t deserve your help, perhaps you can convince yourself Gale does.” 

Varan rolled his neck, uncomfortable at the statement, he looked resigned now, but quietly said, “It was pure luck that all of us made it out of the Absolute Crisis. If something like that happens again —”

“We’re better prepared, and Waterdeep has more than its fair share of heroes, so it boosts. It wouldn’t be like it was, we were alone at the start, we’re not now. We have resources we didn’t have before. I know you feel like anything going wrong could endanger the things you have, but there will always be threats out there that endanger the world and you can’t murder your way out of that. I would have thought you’d figured that out by now.”

Kalius reached out and grabbed Varan’s arm, gently, trying to pull him closer.

Varan resisted the pull, but then relented and turned around.

“We don’t know anything else, yet. Let’s just go have dinner.” Kalius said, gently, “Maybe get you some tea.” He glanced back at Halsin, “Or a sedative.” 

Varan nodded shallowly and followed Kalius’s direction back towards the kitchen. 

—

When Astarion finally let them head back downstairs, Kal was cooking dinner as planned, with Varan and Halsin sitting at the counter. 

Gale was glad Amelia hadn’t wandered into the kitchen out of turn. Gale didn’t really look at anyone else, he went up to Varan and wrapped his arms around the paladin’s chest very tightly, without a word. Varan immediately held him back. For once Gale was about as tall as the tiefling, since Varan was sitting on a stool. Varan nestled in the crook of Gale’s neck and Gale felt the tiefling give a very relieved sigh. Gale squeezed him tighter. Varan’s arm dipped down and he hoisted Gale off the ground. Gale had to scramble to wrap his hands around the tiefling’s neck to balance himself. Varan pulled Gale into his lap, then one hand tipped Gale’s chin to his so they could kiss. When Gale paid attention to the rest of the kitchen again, he saw Kalius smiling down at the dough he was kneading and hoped that things were smoothed over. Halsin was muttering at Astarion, who was smiling too, standing between Varan and the druid at the counter. 

Gale decided to sit on his perch on Varan’s lap as long as the paladin let him. 

“So, do you want to tell her why you’re asking her all the questions, or are you going to try and be subtle about it?” Astarion asked, leaning on the counter to look at Kal. Kal glanced up at Varan. 

“That’s a great question.” Kal agreed. 

“Does Amelia have any education on outer planes that you know of?” Halsin asked, looking over at Gale. Gale shook his head, “I don’t believe so. My mother and I were the family pariahs studying the arcane. The rest of the family is rather business-minded. Amelia had general education in Waterdeep, which includes some examination of extraplanar forces, but not much more than a paltry overview.”

“Then it might be best not to mention things infernal until she divulges more of what happened. We can’t afford to have her frightened or confused enough that she refuses to share.” Halsin suggested.

“Astarion did have this, which we thought maybe would help you figure out more specifics.” Gale handed over the scroll from his jacket to Varan, who looked it over quickly. 

Varan shook his head a little, but showed it to Kalius anyway, who shrugged, “I’m not sure it’ll give us much more information, but we can try.” Varan laid it on the counter. 

“Do you have any way to identify what’s affecting her?” Astarion asked, nudging Halsin’s shoulder gently. Halsin sighed, considering it, “I could always ask Sylvanus for guidance, but my abilities are more suited to things of a natural order. If we thought she was poisoned or diseased I could certainly sense that. Nothing much else, I’m afraid.”

Gale had been so focused on Varan in the previous conversation, he hadn’t paid much attention to Kalius. But, sitting on Varan’s lap at the moment was giving him a clear view of the tiefling, and he noticed Kalius looked tense. More than Gale would have expected. Kalius was usually quite calm. He had a soothing way around him, maybe that was just something that came from his faith in Selune. 

Kalius caught Gale looking at him and grimaced like he was caught in a lie. Kalius cast Halsin a look, like he was annoyed at the druid. 

“What did you smell on her, Halsin?” Kalius asked then.

Halsin didn’t reply. 

“I fucking knew you caught something.” Kalius snapped.

“I would rather hear her speak about her experience before I say anything.” Halsin retorted. 

Gale was staring at Halsin now. He hadn’t even considered, with it being so close to the full moon, both the werefolk had to have heightened senses even in their human forms. Kalius had obviously picked something up and Gale knew bears had an even keener sense of smell than wolves.

“There was blood on her, even I caught that.” Astarion said, also looking at Halsin, who crossed his arms.

“She was in a collapsed building, in a fire, at least that’s what I got.” Kalius said, “There must have been a body with her. Death on her clothes.” 

Gale frowned, thinking about that. Morena had let him read the letters she had received, the one from Melled Amcathra, and from Amelia herself. Both said the house had been attacked, just that. 

“The body wasn’t from the building she was trapped in.” Halsin said quietly, “The body was in the cart with her, on the ride here to Waterdeep.”

“You can tell that?” Varan asked. Halsin shrugged at him. 

“They didn’t mention any casualties in the letter.” Gale said slowly. 

“Seems like they didn’t mention a lot in the letter.” Varan replied. It was a little scolding, but Gale ignored the tone. 

The conversation tapered off as everyone considered the situation and watched Kalius took the dinner. Tahllap was a pasta dish, and he was making the noodles fresh. Tahllap sauce had a base of olive oil, raw garlic and goat’s cheese. A sour and sharp flavor best served with a mix of hardy vegetables like roasted squash and radish. Kalius had also made fresh sourdough bread, and a tomato and basil galette. 

Kalius had just finished tossing the pasta in the sauce when Amelia timidly appeared in the doorway. She had changed into a new dress and redone her hair into braids. Varan had been recruited by Kalius to help him finish up the dishes, Gale and Astarion were setting the table, which they really never did, but thought this was a good opportunity. Halsin was making cocktails with the whiskey Kalius had bought.

“Good timing.” Gale said, as she came over to the dining table to stand next to him. Her gaze was caught towards the cooking area, “It smells wonderful in here.” 

She gave Gale a teasing look, “I’m surprised you let anyone else use your kitchen.” 

Gale rolled his eyes, “Alright.”

“Would you like a drink?” Halsin asked, over his shoulder. He flicked the bottle of whiskey on the table next to him so the wyvern scale inside the bottle flashed with the movement. 

Amelia gave an enthusiastic nod, “I would love one, thank you.”

Drinks were served, the food was laid on the table. Astarion made himself a plate to avoid suspicion and had collected a bottle of wine for himself. Halsin had made Varan a drink too, though Gale knew it had to be non-alcoholic, since Varan didn’t drink. It looked similar to the ones the druid handed to him, Amelia and Kal, but was a lighter amber color that didn’t match the whiskey.

Everyone started eating. Gale was watching for a sign from Varan that the questioning was about to start, but it was Kalius who spoke up first.

“So, how long have you been living up in Amphail?” Kalius asked, casually, twirling pasta on his fork. 

“Oh, five— six years now.” Amelia replied. She had to pause to chew before she answered, she was obviously quite hungry. And the food was delicious as usual, though Gale was still trying to come up with criticism to give to Kalius later. He didn’t want the tiefling to get too confident in his cooking. 

“Have you been there?” Amelia asked Kalius. 

“I used to work along the Long Road. From Waterdeep up to Longsaddle.” Kalius replied, sipping his drink, “I’m a cleric, I serve out of the House of the Moon.”

Amelia smiled in familiarity and nodded. Selune was a common goddess to worship even for those without much faith. The Dekarios family was no exception, Gale thought he remembered that Amelia’s mother had been a patron of the House of the Moon when they were growing up. 

“So, you are from Waterdeep of course,” Amelia gestured to Kalius, “but are the rest of you from Baldur’s Gate where you met?”

“Well, to be clear,” Astarion started, “we didn’t meet in Baldur’s Gate, we met in wilds unknown along the Chionthar. But Varan and I are from Baldur’s Gate. Halsin is from the middle of nowhere.”

“Originally from High Forest.” Halsin clarified. 

Amelia stared at him a little too long. Gale knew the question before it left her lips, “Are you an elf?”

Halsin chuckled “Yes. I am.”

Amelia flushed a little, “Sorry —”

Halsin waved his hand before she could finish her apology, “Not to worry. I am used to the question.”

“How long do you think it’ll be before you can return to Amphail?” Varan asked. He had barely touched his plate.  

Amelia’s face paled a little. She took a sip of her drink. “I’m not sure. The house was — badly damaged.”

Tense silence fell over the table. 

Gale was watching Amelia’s reaction close. Her expression had faltered, she looked haunted. She turned to Gale, afraid and confused. 

He thought about what she had said when he first took her to the room, he realized now that they didn’t need to pry answers out of her. He was certain now that she had come here for his help, she just wasn’t sure what to ask for.  

“Amelia. You can tell us what happened. Between all of us, we can help you, I promise. Whatever it was that went wrong. Whatever happened that made you feel unsafe enough that you wanted to come here, instead of staying with the Amcathra. We can figure it out.”  

 Amelia looked from Gale to  everyone else around the table and folded her napkin in her lap, looking hesitant, timid and scared, but also resigned. 

“I don’t really know what happened.” Amelia said quietly. “I was in the house, in the kitchen when something — there was fire and the entire house came down around me. I don’t know how long I was unconscious, but I woke up as Lennem was dragging me out from the rubble.” She took another drink, “Everything was — chaotic. The house had completely collapsed, I couldn’t get a good look at it, Lennem was pulling me away to the road, but it looked like something had struck through it, something heavy. There was fire everywhere. Melled had managed to get horses together and a cart to carry everyone who was hurt. Nina was the worst. I couldn’t tell what had happened to her, but she…she didn’t even make it to Rassalantar. One of the servants, he took a horse and carried those letters ahead. But Melled said I couldn’t say anything about what happened. That it was dangerous to let anyone know. I asked, over and over, if they knew what it was but Melled just said he’d explain when it was safe too. Lennem didn’t talk to me, at all on the ride to the city. I don’t know what he knows, maybe he doesn’t know anything. I just felt like they were hiding something from me.”

Gale had reached out and grabbed Amelia’s hand on the table between them. As she took a breath, he looked at everyone else. He was surprised most by the look in Halsin’s eye. He had suspected that Varan and Kalius would be the ones least willing to let her words rest, but they were looking at each other rather resigned to the statement Amelia had given. Halsin’s expression was acquisitive and unsatisfied. 

“The women who died. Nina.” Halsin started, “What were her injuries?” 

Amelia’s lip quivered and her eyes closed as she thought about it, “I don’t know what it was.”

“Describe it.” Halsin didn’t relent.

“Halsin is a healer, Amelia, he knows more than anyone I’ve ever met about medicine.” Gale assured her. 

Amelia nodded a little, “She was burned, but it didn’t look like fire. It wasn’t blisters it was…like it was shredded, but it was yellow and white.”

Halsin nodded, his gaze softened as she answered his inquiry. 

“It got worse as we rode, and worse when we tried to rinse her off with water. We had one or two bottles of it that someone had grabbed, when we poured it on her, the wounds got deeper.”

“You couldn’t have done anything to stop that. It was acid that burned her.” Halsin said, his voice gentler now. 

“Acid?” Amelia nodded a little.

“Do you know how she might have been exposed to something like that?” Halsin asked. 

Amelia shook her head, but thought about it, “I think they use some kind of acid in the smithery.”

“Ferric acid. For etching blades.” Astarion mused. He caught Gale’s gaze over the table, a reminder of their earlier discussion about weapons-trading. 

Gale leaned back in his chair, considering  what Amelia had said so far. Nothing accounted for the fiendish influence, unless whatever had started the fire had been infernal in origin. 

“Ferric acid can be dangerous, but it would take a lot to cause fatal wounds.” Halsin said. “And I —” he cut himself off. Then smiled politely, “It doesn’t fit the description.” 

“Who was at the house when this happened?” Gale asked. 

Amelia considered that, “Well, Lennem and I live there full time, we had our servants and the stable and smith workers. Lennem’s aunt, that’s Nina and her husband also lived there most of the time, along with their two children. Melled had come for a visit. He had been there a week. And there was someone visiting him. He had been having meetings the whole week. I think it was someone from House Gralhund, we have a trade agreement with them.”

“You don’t say.” Astarion sighed. 

“Did the person from House Gralhund flee with you?” Gale asked, ignoring the vampire.

Amelia was looking curiously at Astarion, but turned back to Gale and thought about his question, “I think so, he was on a horse, I think, he didn’t stay with the cart, he went ahead.” 

Gale nodded, chewing on the inside of his lip as he thought over everything. 

“Was he a tiefling by chance?” Astarion asked. Kalius and Varan both gave him slightly offended frowns. 

Amelia shook her head. 

“Worth a shot.” Astarion shrugged. 

Amelia was surveying the entire table with a careful gaze, “I did see something else as we fled the house. But I’m not even sure it was — real. But I’ve been having dreams about it ever since. I mean, I didn’t sleep much on the road, but when I did, I always — saw it again.” She took a breath and took a long drink, “I told Lennem about it, but he said he didn’t see it and didn’t know what it was. I don’t think he was lying about that. I saw it when Lennem was pulling me to the cart. Just a glimpse of it, it was walking around to the back of the house, I barely caught sight of it. It looked like a — really big dog. Yellow fur. Bigger than a horse, I think. I only really saw its hind legs and its tail, like a rat tail. I thought I hallucinated it, but I’ve been seeing it so clearly in my head.”

Gale gave the table a look, everyone gave him a shrug or a shake of their head. 

“Well, that’s something. Big dog with a rat tail. Can’t be many of those around.” Astarion said, assuredly. 

“Ever hunted something like that?” Kalius asked Varan. 

Varan shook his head, “Big dogs, sure. Nothing quite like that.” He leaned back, “I’ll ask Wyll about it. Maybe he knows.” 

“Halsin, you’ve been around forever, anything that sounds familiar to you?” Astarion asked. Halsin glanced up at the vampire, surprised, he had looked lost in thought. He shook his head, but was obviously caught up thinking about something else. 

“What made you decide to stay with Gale?” Varan asked. He seemed less accusatory now, which Gale appreciated. 

Amelia shrugged a little, glancing over to Gale with a smile, “I thought maybe, with all the magic, you could figure out what had happened. Melled, all the family, the way they didn’t tell me anything, the way they acted, I think they’re scared too. We didn’t stop on the road, not even for a minute. They wouldn’t rest until they were in the city walls. Maybe they’re all telling the truth and they don’t know what happened either, but —” she shook her head a little, “I tried to get Lennem to come with me, to stay here, but he refused to leave his father’s side. But he told me I should come here. Melled didn’t want me too, but Lennem agreed with me.” Amelia sighed, “I just wanted us both to be safe.”

“Well, Waterdeep is the safest city on the Sword Coast. I’m sure things will be alright.” Kalius said, with a smile. 

Amelia smiled back and nodded, looking hopeful at the idea. 

Gale hoped that was enough for everyone, but Varan and Kalius exchanged a glance that still looked concerned and Gale knew it must be because the sense of the fiendish influence hadn’t been explained. Though perhaps whatever this creature was had been fiendish in nature. It certainly seemed like it must have been powerful enough to leave a residue. 

Conversation turned to more mundane things, Gale was surprised as Varan was the one who started changing the topic. It seemed that despite lingering questions, the tiefling had decided it wasn’t worth further interrogation. 

Varan kept Amelia quite engaged for the rest of the night, he was talking about Wyll, since he had mentioned him before. Amelia had heard of Wyll’s father of course, so Varan was sharing about their work in Baldur’s Gate. 

Amelia seemed happier, despite the heaviness of the earlier conversation, like a weight had been lifted off her now that she had co-conspirators in solving her mystery, in keeping her safe. It wasn’t very late when she decided to go to sleep, finally get some real rest after all the days on the road. 

Gale only waited until he was sure Amelia was in her room before he grabbed Varan by the hand and pulled him out of the room and up the stairs before anyone else could comment. Varan obeyed without a word and they went alone to Gale’s room. 

Varan sat down on the edge of the bed and Gale climbed into his lap, arms wrapped around the tiefling’s neck to pull him tight into a hug.

“I am sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean it.” Gale said into his chest. 

Varan squeezed him tight, then leaned back, and tipped Gale’s chin to look at him with one hand, Varan’s eyes were sharp as he looked into Gale’s, “I’ll never stop worrying about you. I’ll not back down from threats to you. I am sorry that this time, the threat involves someone you care about. But I will never not protect you.”

Gale sighed. “I know. But Varan,” he hesitated, “you don’t have to worry about everything on your own. Firstly, this is Waterdeep, the city of splendors, and those splendors include plenty of heroes capable of handling the same threats you can, if not a few greater.”

Varan looked offended and Gale had to chuckled, he quickly added, “I don’t want you getting hurt either. Especially not because you’re trying to keep the rest of us safe when you didn’t have to.” 

Varan’s gaze softened and he nodded. He kissed Gale’s brow, “Alright.” He agreed and fell backward onto the bed, bundling Gale into his arms so they fell together. They just lay there together for a while, talking about Amelia. Not in the same suspicious way now, Varan just asked about her, about their growing up together. 

They had started to doze when a knock came at the door. It was everyone else, led by Astarion of course, the only one who could have gotten into this section of the tower without Gale. No one said anything, they just all maneuvered themselves into the bed in and around Gale and Varan. Astarion laid down on Varan’s left, while Gale stayed on his right. Halsin against Astarion. Kalius came over onto Gale’s right and Gale found himself sandwiched tightly between his two tieflings. Gale could never imagine a safer place he could be, held against both of them. 

—

When Gale woke up the next morning, he was tightly clutched to Kalius’s chest. He wasn’t sure what had woken him up at first, until he heard a quiet shushing from Varan, his voice heady and amused. Gale opened one eye and saw Varan on top of Astarion. Varan had his hand over the vampire’s mouth, gently, to quiet him. Astarion was flushed brilliant red across his cheeks and his ears, obviously Varan had let him have a drink before this escalated. Varan had the sheet over them both, but it was clear from the way they were angled that Varan was seated deeply inside the vampire. When Varan moved, it was slow and steady and Astarion’s eyes rolled back in his head. Varan dropped his hand from the vampire’s mouth to run his fingers through white hair. Just Astarion’s expression made Gale feel innocent jealousy that the vampire was the one getting this treatment. Varan had his forehead against Astarion’s shoulder, bracing himself as he kept his movements tight and controlled. To try and keep the bed from moving, Gale realized. He saw Halsin was still laying on the couples other side, turned away from the intimacy. 

Astarion twisted a little in Varan’s grasp and Varan leaned closer so they could kiss. Astarion managed to muffle a groan into Varan’s lips and Varan grumbled back at him, moving to bite at the vampire’s neck. Astarion had to bit his lip to stop from moaning then. 

Gale felt a heavy breath on his neck and then felt Kalius’ arm around his chest subtly shift. Gale was pulled a little closer Kalius’s other hand trailed down his stomach. Gale was immediately hard. He felt Kalius aroused against his back too. 

Varan and Astarion hadn’t noticed that the other two were awake. Varan was still trying to be as quiet as he could. 

Gale very carefully shifted his legs against Kalius, to give the tiefling something to rub against and to let Kal have access to Gale’s groin. He hoped it was enough the tiefling knew he was awake. Kalius’s hand was immediately in Gale’s pants and the tiefling grasped him firmly, running a thumb gently around his head. Gale felt a very soft kiss on his neck, and a deep inhale. Gale knew dogs could smell if humans were awake or asleep, he wondered if that meant wolves could too. Kalius’s hand tightened on him and he started slowly stroking him. Apparently wolves could. 

Varan was burgandy the way he was flushed. Astarion looked frustrated at the pace Varan had set, the vampire buried his head in the pillow to muffle his panting as Varan finally pressed him down flatter into the bed. Varan had to stop for a moment then, getting control of himself. Gale hoped they wouldn’t notice he and Kalius were awake yet, something about watching the way Varan was being so careful and restrained was making Gale incredibly horny. 

Varan ran his arm underneath Astarion’s chest to hold him tight and to tip his hips up more. Gale couldn’t see exactly what Varan’s hand was doing but based on the way Astarion’s eyes lit up, he must have been toying with Astarion’s arousal too. Varan muttered something very quietly in Astarion’s ear and the vampire nodded enthusiastically. Varan sat up more, letting the sheet fell off of them. Varan was still moving steady and slow enough they wouldn’t rock. Varan was pulling in and out of the vampire’s entrance careful and deliberate with every inch. Kal was rutting gently against Gale’s leg as the tiefling stroked him. Kal was moving his hand in time with Varan’s thrusts into Astarion and the moment Gale realized that he almost gave away their game with a moan. He was already close. Kalius had an incredible way with his hands anyway, even without the added provocative allure of the situation they were in. 

Varan had collapsed further onto Astarion, pressing the vampire into the mattress again. He was muttering against Astarion’s cheek. Astarion had a bright smile at the words whispered to him. Gale could imagine what they were. Varan always had sweet assurances to share. Varan kissed into Astarion’s neck, the vampire looked wracked with pleasure as Varan started thrusting again. This time Varan couldn’t keep himself as restrained, it was obvious he and Astarion were both close. Gale knew the tiefling was still being relatively controlled, Varan could make the bed bounce if he wanted to, and had before many times. Varan grabbed Astarion’s hand and held it down to the bed as he quickened his pace, Varan’s other hand was still wrapped around the vampire’s hip and teasing his erection. Astarion muffled his moan into the pillow as he came.  Varan pressed the vampire's hips flat to the bed and buried his face against Astarion’s shoulder as he stopped moving. 

Gale had spilled himself into Kal’s hand when Astarion had finished. Kal was breathing heavy in Gale’s ear and the other two were so distracted Gale didn’t think they’d notice when he tilted his head so he and Kal could kiss briefly. Kal was grinning happily as Gale turned back to the other two. It seemed they had gone unnoticed. Varan pulled out of Astarion and bundled the vampire in his arms to cuddle him close. Gale felt the cool reach of the weave as Astarion used a minor spell to clean them both up as he let Varan hold him tight. 

“Did you enjoy the show?” Astarion asked innocently. 

Gale flushed brilliant red and Kal laughed. 

“When did you know we were awake?” Gale asked, offended.

“You weren’t subtle.” Varan chuckled. 

Gale remembered the enthusiastic nod Astarion had given when Varan whispered in his ear the first time. A nod of approval to continue after Varan had no doubt told him the others were awake. 

“Neither of you were.” Halsin said from the other side of the bed. His voice amused, if not sleepy. He still wasn’t facing the scene. Astarion and Varan were laughing into each other, slightly sheepish flushes on both their faces. 

Gale was glad that the tension from the past day hadn’t lasted, was glad for the smile on Varan’s face that showed no remorse, for the way Astarion looked so comfortable lounging there in their tieflings arms, for the way Kal was holding him. He hated when anything came between them. This was the way he wanted to wake up every morning. 

—