Wash Day
Pairing: Polyam!Camp (is there a proper name for this?). Tadpolycule. Everyone's dating everybody else. Because I said so.
Summary: A bunch of headcanons/thoughts on bathing at camp, because I care about the mundane stuff going on when these guys aren't fighting all day long.
A/N: Tav/Reader is gender neutral and is left racially ambiguous, but has curly hair, because as a curly girlTM I am biased and thought this would be really cute.
-Bathing is usually a solitary affair, that is until you get more comfortable with the others. Wyll and you are the ones that - completely innocently, by the way - start bathing together. Wyll can obviously take care of himself, but it's just nice to know he has someone at camp who understands how much work and care curly hair needs
-You two end up bonding over hair care. Whenever you meet a merchant, you two keep an eye out for oils and soaps that the other could need
-Wash day becomes a fun activity more than a chore - you and Wyll help each other detangle your hair, and in Wyll's case, after a bit of practice, you help him braid his hair. He can do it by himself, but especially now that he has these horns, it just goes by much faster when he has you to help
-Astarion initially teases you about sneaking off to 'bathe' with Wyll. It's not until he realizes that you two are essentially having a spa day in the wild that he goes all "oh thank heavens finally someone who understands" and practically demands to join you
-Astarion's a curly girl too, and one with fancy tastes to boot. He loves exchanging hair care tips with you and wash day becomes a way for him to understand that nudity and physical closeness does not immediately mean sex
-Shadowheart eventually joins you because, Lady of Sorrows, long hair like hers is a hassle. Having people who will happily help rinse out her hair and scratch her scalp while they're at it is a blessing
-Astarion will sometimes braid Shadowheart's hair for her. He likes coming up with elaborate updos, and she ends up looking like an elven princess every single time
-Shadowheart also brings wine to wash day. It becomes a wonderful bonding-bitching session every time wash day rolls around
-Karlach joins because you one day realized that when she's submerged in cool waters and separated from your skin through a cloth or sponge, you can actually (somewhat) touch her. It's her chance to get some form of physical touch in, so she's taking whatever she can get
-She also has a lot of fun splashing Astarion when he gets too mouthy with all of you
-Lae'zel is the opposite of Karlach. Why would she waste her time splashing about like children when she could simply rinse herself off quickly and be done with it?
-But getting crusted blood and guts out of her hair sucks, and she usually rips through it with a comb. You and Wyll at least have the patience to be gentle
-She pretends to hate every second of it, but secretly loves it. Please, someone get Lae'zel a proper spa day, she deserves to relax!
-Gale strikes me as the type of man (that I unfortunately see far too often) that actually has proper wavy hair or even curls, but just has no idea what to do with them and as such simply brushes them out
-Astarion and you sit Gale down one wash day and do a proper curl routine on him. It's glorious, his hair has never looked healthier and some waves and a few stray curls do end up coming in
-The two of you make him swear to never brush his hair out like that again. He's far too handsome to ever go back to brushing out his waves every day
-Gale does know his way around beard care! And with beard care comes some knowledge of skin care
-(I'm totally not using the VA's DnD one shot to make Gale out to be a skincare person)
-On the rare occasion the group has time to relax, Gale and Astarion are in charge of the skin care. Facemasks for all, and yes, even you Lae'zel, stop scowling
-Wyll usually doesn't grow his beard out too long, but with a bit of Gale's coaxing (and super-soft hands when massaging his face), he can be convinced to wear a beard. Sometimes. He's not quite sure if he likes that look on himself, but Gale, as well as Lae'zel, are very big fans
-Once Halsin comes joins camp, he doesn't need a lot of convincing to join them. After all, this is the best way to bond, bare, amongst nature
-Shadowheart, Astarion and you always end up playfighting on who gets to help Halsin with his lovely hair, who gets to help him scrub...
-Wash day is overall a fun occasion, sometimes horny, sometimes not, but regardless, you all enjoy it enough to have it be a routine, one that will be sorely missed once this adventure is over
Bonus thoughts:
-Jaheira reluctantly (but eventually quite happily) joining in on wash day. Her hairstyle looks so tedious, give her a helping hand!
-Bath days for Scratch and the Owlbear Cub. Chaos ensues.