BG3 // Gale x Tav // Vignette (~800 words)
In the quiet of a combat-weary camp, Tav gives Gale something rarer than magic or power: the space to simply rest, safe and loved.
Tags: fluff, touch starvation, non-sexual intimacy, quiet caretaking, Gale getting some much needed rest
It had been a particularly trying day.
Too many villagers to help, goblins to obliterate, and an unlucky run in with a group of cultists had left the entire party drained. Most of the camp was empty, companions slipping away for the respite of their own tents. Even Astarion had slunk away into the darkness to do who knows what.
Only Gale remained at the fire, posture exhausted as he read from a worn tome. His shoulders were stiff with the weight of the day, a sort of bone deep ache of someone carrying burdens far beyond his years. His brows furrowed in gentle focus as his finger traced gently over the words, mouth moving soundlessly.
Tav padded over, careful to not startle him as she settled down against the log next to him. His eyes flicked up with an affectionate, tired smile.
“My love. You should be asleep.”
Gale didn’t respond, eyes back on the text as Tav studied his profile, the lines under his eyes stark in the firelight.
She hesitated for a moment.
Then, without speaking, she reached up and slowly threaded a hand through the curls at the back of his head. His hair was softer than she expected, thick and smooth between her digits as she carded through it aimlessly with her fingers.
Gale froze for a moment, body stiffening as his hands stopped on the book. His frame went tense under her fingers. Tav pulled her hand back, suddenly awkward.
“I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”
“No,” he said, a touch too quickly, “No, it’s okay.”
Tav paused for a moment before cautiously returning her hand to its position, nails scratching at his scalp. He startled again minutely, but his finger resumed its slow path across the book as his posture softened.
She continued, hand working gently through brown strands. Her fingers traced leisurely patterns across the side of Gale’s head as his shoulders relaxed slowly, tension draining out of him.
By the time Tav’s fingers reached his temples, he was leaning into her touch - just barely. Lightly enough to give himself plausible deniability. His eyes were open, fixed still on the book. He hadn’t turned a page in over five minutes.
How long had it been since someone had last touched him with such kindness, not expecting anything in return?
How long since someone had reached to comfort simply because he was there and tired?
Tav smiled fondly, hand deft as she massaged his scalp. His strength bled out of him, drowsiness washing over his features like the tide.
Without a word, Gale set the book aside and shifted in place, turning away from her and lowering himself gingerly until his head came to rest gently on her thighs. He didn’t look up at her, eyes closed as he settled into a comfortable position.
Tav’s hands hovered uncertainly in the air before settling back on his head and resuming her petting. A deep sound left his body, half exhale, half sigh. His muscles went lax, pliant under her handling as his breaths evened out.
He was…falling asleep, Tav realized. In her lap. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Gale looked somehow younger like this. The confident poise he usually held himself with was gone, melted away. The lines of tension on his face were reduced in sleep, leaving his face soft and at-ease in a way never present in wakefulness. His body rested without strain on the ground next to her, comfortable despite the lack of bedding.
He was utterly vulnerable like this, she thought with awe, completely defenseless without even the meager protection of his tent.
In a world full of threats, he had chosen to sleep in her lap. Breath ghosting warmly across her knee. Confident that he was safe there, confident that she would not let harm come to him.
Tav felt a lump rise in her throat at the awareness. She shifted slightly in adjustment, trying not to disturb him.
Gale stirred but didn’t wake, curling unconsciously closer to her. One hand found its way to the extra fabric of her tunic and twisted itself into it loosely, childlike, as if reassuring himself she was still there.
Tav’s heart ached with affection. She watched him with abject tenderness, still stroking her hand through his hair. She loved him desperately, so much she thought she might choke on it.
Instead, she bent and lightly pressed a kiss to his forehead. Gods, she didn’t know what she had done to earn this much trust but she would do anything to protect it. Anything to let him rest.
Tomorrow, they would get up to face another day full of cosmic terrors. Tomorrow, Gale would wake, awkwardly embarrassed at having imposed on her space all night.
But in this moment, the world was narrowed to the two of them. His head in her lap. Her hand in his hair. And for now, that was enough.
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