Fictober 2025: Day 17
Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 Warnings: none! Tags: two Tavs, modern AU, ties into "Between The Cracks" on AO3
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It wasn’t common for Devi to have insomnia. A rare night off from work left her tossing and turning in bed, her mind refusing to settle down, despite her best efforts.
“You got bedbugs or something?” Lessa asked from the next bed over. “You squirm like nobody’s business over there.”
“Sorry,” Devi whispered. “Just can’t get comfy, or get my brain to shut up.” She rolled onto her stomach and wrapped her arms around her pillow under her head, and wished it was Gale she was wrapping her arms around.
“You’re not alone,” Lessa admitted. There was the sound of the other woman squirming in her own bed. “Whatcha thinking about?”
“... Gale,” Devi admitted, feeling a smile on her face at the thought of her crush.
Lessa snorted. “How am I not surprised? You’ve got the world’s biggest crush on him. Just please don’t start getting yourself off while I’m awake to hear it–”
“I would never!” Devi squawked. “That’s just creepy when you’re right here!”
“Tell that to some of my old barracks mates when I was in the army,” Lessa muttered. “But watching you smile whenever you see him or think about him is cute… even if he is more than a little problematic for you.”
“It’s not my fault I’m so much younger than him,” Devi muttered. “Or that he’s charming, and handsome, and gentle…”
Lessa softly laughed from her bed. “Oh, you’ve got it so bad for him. The only difference between this and a celebrity crush is that he knows you exist, and he likes you back.”
Devi’s cheeks flushed as she looked over at Lessa. “So how’s things with our favourite vampire hooker?” she asked.
She promptly yelped as Lessa threw her pillow at her. “He’s more than a hooker and you know it,” the older woman said.
“So they’re going good then?” Devi asked as she took Lessa’s thrown pillow hostage, wrapping her arms around it.
“Yeah… I mean, I guess as good as they can be, considering his line of work.” Lessa was quiet for a second. “Hey, gimme back my pillow.”
“You sacrificed it as a weapon against my good self, you can suffer the consequences of being pillow-less.”
“I know where you’re ticklish, and I’ll tell Gale all those little spots.”
“Yeah, well… I’ll tell Astarion you’re a pillow-weaponizing jerk.”
Lessa guffawed at that. “Oh, yeah, that’s such a threat that will scare him off. Not the rehab or my veteran’s mouth, but throwing pillows at bratty dancers.”
“As it should.” Devi thought for a moment. “Do you think either of us is going to get anything long-term out of this? Like, I hope me and Gale are longer than a few weeks…”
“I dunno. Astarion…” Lessa sat up; in the darkness, Devi saw the other woman prop her chin up on her hands. “He’s fun, and I’m really starting to care for him more than I thought I would. Maybe if I can help him get away from his pimp…”
“Pimps are the worst,” Devi muttered in agreement. “If I can help you get him out of working corners, lemme know.”
“You bet,” Lessa agreed. “I like to think you and Gale might work out long term, like once you’re done school and all. He’s a bit of a sleaze for hitting on a girl as young as you, especially knowing you’re his student, but… he doesn’t seem like a bad guy? Though it’d be smarter if you liked someone your own age who isn’t your professor.”
“I know,” Devi sighed. “And I dunno if it’s a trauma response from me, to cling to Gale because he treats me well and doesn’t try to make me do anything. Gods know I don’t know how to deal with that.”
Lessa hummed in thought. “It might be that, at least a little bit. But I’ve seen the way he looks at you; I think he really does like you too. As long as he doesn’t fuck up again…”
“I think you put the fear of all the gods into him last time,” Devi snorted. “But no, he won’t hurt me again, not intentionally. Even if we don’t work out, I like to think he’ll still be kind and sweet.”
“Hopefully that sweetness goes all the way through him and he doesn’t have a rotten core, otherwise I’ll have to kill him myself,” Lessa pronounced, before she got up and marched across the room. “Gimme,” she said, poking Devi in the ribs once while she snatched back her pillow.
Devi squealed despite her best efforts to be quiet, relinquishing her hold on Lessa’s pillow.
“Shhh! Let’s not wake up the entire Grove!” Lessa returned to her own bed and flopped back down, now comfortable with her pillow returned to her. “You’ve got class in the morning – go to sleep, and dream happy sexy thoughts of your professor.”
“Doing my best here,” Devi answered as she settled back down under her blankets. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her memories of Gale. His smile, his soft brown eyes, the taste of his kisses…
She let a smile of her own curve her lips as she finally started to drift off to sleep.
