Chapter Text
The Belladonna shoot would last for about two weeks. Everything was well prepared by the marketing team of the small perfume brand. Hundreds of headshots passed Tav's desk every week. Portraits of hundreds of gorgeous people reaching for fame.
But the headshots for this shoot stood out from the start. He was older than the teenagers brands often tried to pass off as beautiful adults. And he was more than just gorgeous. He had something different about him; his sharp smile, dark red eyes, moon-white hair.
When she met him on set, seeing that all too familiar glint in his eyes, she knew it had been inevitable.
He had this magnetic effect on everyone; he walked around like he was used to it. He was the sort of man that was used to getting what he wanted. Not the sort that enjoyed being directed.
But he'd enjoyed Tav's directions very much. Executed the brief nearly flawlessly. The glances in between takes, the unnecessary proximity during breaks and his relentless teasing made for an enticing week of shooting.
It was on a Friday night when the inevitability finally caught up with her.
She woke up with a bitter taste in her mouth, a pounding headache, her stomach still heavy from last night. It took her a moment to realise she wasn't in her own room.
She opened one eye, but blinked it shut against the light pouring in through the window. Pieces of last night flashed through her mind. It had been a while since she’d succumbed to blaring bass, sweat, alcohol and–
flashes of lips, and the searing sensation of being wanted tore through her.
Oh.
She rubbed her face and the room came clearer into view. Big and way too bright.
Her heart lurched when she noticed the shift beside her and a head of white curls peeked out from the sheets beside her.
Right.
And the sight of the man next to her unlocked the memories of last night.
She'd really tried to wait until the shoot was over before falling into bed with the model. She'd meant to be professional about that. But something inside her just didn't want to try too hard. It had been too long since she’d felt wanted like this. And she'd gladly succumb to a man who would ask for nothing more than exactly what he offered.
They danced and talked all evening. Pulling each other out of the spiral of self pity with alcohol and cheap flirtations. And then he'd started to tease again, she'd teased back. Innocently at first. Banter between two newfound friends that were surprised at how well they got along.
She remembered now how fiercely he kissed her. How he pinned her to a wall and bit her neck. How she dared him not to stop and how he didn't.
Oh gods, she even remembered now how much she'd wanted him to continue.. How she begged him for more and how he gave all of it.
“Goodmorning, darling,” he drawled, still half buried under the sheets, peeking one dark red eye up at her. Tav just grumbled in response, pulling up the sheets all the way to her neck. He quirked his eyebrow.
“Glad I'm not the only one suffering.” He managed to sit up in the bed, the sheet falling away, revealing his pale toned torso. All sharp lines and sinews.
The sight wasn't new to her, she'd seen him shirtless during the shoot. The client had wanted the model to look desirable, sexy on set. And Astarion had more than delivered. Tav was sure he could land the big brands if he wanted to.
She couldn't help the blush creeping up her cheeks remembering how that body had been on and under her in various positions last night. She remembered his self-confidence, his smug presence, but gods, he had every right to be.
“It was your idea to start with the tequila,” she managed. “You have every right to suffer as much as I am.”
He chuckled, dragged his hand through his white curls. “Well, you looked very pretty begging for me like that, no regrets here, darling.”
His lopsided grin after those words made her cheeks burn even redder. She didn't want him to notice so she pulled the covers over her head again and groaned.
“Noo,” he singsonged, pulling the covers away from her face, his face only inches from hers. “Don't you get shy on me now, pet, it doesn't suit you,” His voice dropped, smirk widening. “If my head wasn't splitting, I'm sure I'd have you begging for more in seconds.” His nose brushed hers, which left her breathless for a moment.
She wanted to bite back that she distinctly remembered the pretty little noises he made once she took control. But her ability to respond had ceased momentarily.
Then he eased back with a soft laugh. A pang of desire shot through her, she honestly wouldn't mind being unravelled by him again, wondering if it would feel just as intense without the haze of alcohol.
He stretched, unbothered in his nakedness, and slid out of the sheets. “I'd see you out, but I desperately need a shower,” he said, turning his head back to her. “Until next time, darling.” And without a second glance he disappeared through his bathroom door.
Tav heard the shower turning on, and it made her suddenly crave for the comfort of her own home, a warm bath, a painkiller and coffee.
She scrambled her scattered clothes from the floor, ignoring the nausea twisting her stomach when bending down, and dressed unhurriedly.
The house was gorgeously decorated, though Astarion's room was in a slightly different style than the hallway to the living room. It was lined with old paintings, shelves with plants, crystals, scrolls and endless rows of books everywhere.
When she rounded the corner to the living room, the delicious smell of fresh-baked bread and coffee hit her. She wondered for a moment if he lived above a coffee shop. Or maybe he didn't live alone?
When she stepped into the living room, the answer was sitting in an armchair by the window.
His glasses sat halfway down his nose, and he seemed to be completely absorbed by the book in his lap, with his legs crossed and one hand under his sharp stubbled jaw. A steaming cup of coffee sat next to him. His shoulder-length hair was tucked back behind his ears. A dusting of grey marked his temples, and a small silver earring dangled from his ear..
Tav's breath stuttered a moment. She wasn't sure why she was so taken aback by him. Maybe just because she didn't expect someone else in this house.
He hadn't noticed her yet, she thought, and before she could greet him–
“You had fun last night, I take it?” he said, slowly tilting his gaze up.
Then his eyes widened and he startled, clapping the book closed, pulling off his glasses. “Oh– apologies, I– I thought you were Astarion.”
Tav felt the color rise to her cheeks again for reasons she wasn't ready to explore yet. “I Didn't mean to startle you, I was just on my way out, actually.”
The man stood up. He was almost a foot taller than her, glancing over her shoulder into the empty hallway.
“Astarion is in the shower,” she provided.
“Right,” he mumbled, followed by something that sounded a lot like ‘quite the gentleman.’
“So you're his– roommate then?” Tav asked, putting her hands in the pockets of her sweater.
He nodded once.
“I'm Gale.”
“Tav.”
“Pleased to meet you, Tav,” he said, the corner of his mouth curving in a soft smile. His eyes stayed on her as the silence between them stretched for a few beats before he spoke again. “Can I offer you a coffee?”
While the scent of fresh-brewed coffee was almost too good to resist, Tav wasn't in the mood to make awkward small talk with a stranger. His offer sounded more like a way to fill up the silence anyway. “I have to go. Next time maybe.”
He huffed a small laugh of surprise, but covered it by clearing his throat. “Next time, then.”
She strode to the door. Nodded once at him before pulling it close behind her.
The soft spring breeze rushed through her hair, cooling her flushed face. She took a moment to breathe it in, sucking in the air deep into her lungs, hoping it might ease some of the tension under her skin. The pounding headache. Then, without looking back, she made her way back home.
Gale tried to turn his attention back to the book he was reading. But his mind kept snagging back to the micro interaction with Tav.
Normally he wouldn't think twice about Astarion's nightly endeavors, but it was the first time someone actually stayed the night. Most of the time Astarion would creep into the house in the early hours, or Gale would hear him send his lovers home.
It wasn’t the first time Gale had met one of them. But this was the first time his stomach did a ridiculous little lurch at the sight. Probably because he didn't expect a stranger in the morning.
After Tav left, it took Astarion more than half an hour before he emerged from his room. Still undressed, with a towel hanging low around his hips.
Gale had probably seen him half-naked a hundred times, and while perfection usually bored him, he could never quite get used to the form of his roommate. This was the one kind of perfection he never seemed to tire of. He rolled his eyes anyway. “Please, Star, put a damn t-shirt on, will you.”
Astarion opened the cupboard to take out a mug.
“And rob you of your favorite sight first thing in the morning? I could never.”
Gale scoffed and decided not to please him with a retort. Astarion always tried to fluster him and this time he wasn't going to bite.
“It seems you've had quite the night. Who was your visitor?”
Astarion popped a painkiller in his mouth, sipped from the coffee, then turned to lean against the countertop. A smirk danced on his lips behind the mug.
“Oh, you met Tav? Lovely creature, isn't she? She's one of the photographers for the Belladonna shoot. Quite a talent. ”
Gale turned the page from his book, barely looking up. “You know her from work? Hardly a wise decision to– entangle yourself with people you have to work with.”
“Don't start,” Astarion warned, not without humor. “Besides, the shoot is almost over. She's the assistant photographer. There’s no harm in having fun with her.” His gaze drifted off for a moment. “Anyway,”
“How was your night?" Astarion asked after a pause, ignoring the judgemental look upon his roommate's face.
”I read the most interesting thing about—“
“Oh forget I asked,” Astarion interrupted. “I forgot how much I don’t care, actually. You should come next time, Gale. It would do you good to just surrender to chaos every now and then.”
Gale scoffed and closed his book with a thud. “And you,” he said with a grumble, looking at him up and down. “It would do you good to stop losing yourself in debauchery and try to actually connect to people.”
Astarion’s smirk didn’t falter. “Because that all worked out so well for you, then?”
Gale opened his book again and sighed. “Ah. Yes. If you take my past as an example, I can understand why you see little purpose in pursuing anything beyond the physical,” He paused. “But even you must know I’m hardly an example. Now let me read in peace, and put some goddamn clothes on.”
Tav hadn’t worried about consequences when she slept with the model mid-assignment, “so long as nobody found out and it didn’t affect the shoot, it was nobody’s business but hers.
It had been a few days since that night, and she couldn’t help smiling to herself on set when she watched him modelling, thinking back on how beautiful he’d looked beneath her, on his back, biting his lip, digging his nails into her hips. She secretly craved a repeat, but the days blurred together in late nights of post-production, client debriefings, and too little sleep.
Despite Astarion being late almost every day of the shooting, the assignment continued according to schedule and before Tav realized it, the final day had arrived.
She took a sip from her coffee while she looked over the client brief again. Today was fountain-shooting-day.
It required a dripping-wet model in a white shirt.
She bit her lip as she glanced over to Astarion on set. He was stroking his hair back with both hands as the set assistant sprayed more water on him. His shirt clung to his torso, revealing the sharp lines of his muscles and the dark patches of his nipples.
Tav's mouth went a little dry, unable to tear away her gaze. An uncalled-for small rush of heat sparked through her spine at the thought of him, wet and bent over her. She cleared her throat while she pushed the fantasy down. “Okay that's quite enough.” She called to the set assistant, before turning to the photographer. “Rolan, are we ready?”
“Let's do this.”
The town's fountain square was closed off for a few hours for the shoot, so Gale had to park his car in one of the streets around it. Parking space in Baldur’s Gate was always a challenge. He would usually refrain from taking the car at all, but he'd ordered a ton of antique spell books from the bookshop, and taking them on the bus would’ve been a different kind of challenge he wasn't willing to take on.
He considered himself lucky when he found a tiny space in the first back street behind the square, and he managed to squeeze the car right into it.
“Marvelous,” he muttered when he succeeded without a bump, then checked the time on his phone.
The bookshop was still open for a few more hours, so Gale decided to go take a look at the shoot on the square. Curious why they'd need an entire square just for a few–
His breath hitched for a second when he rounded the corner and saw Astarion in the fountain, throwing his hair back, spraying droplets all around the crew around him. He had the most devious, seductive smirk on his face. And the crew seemed to be gathered around him like moths to a flame. All enthralled by his talent for looking like he's part of one of the marble siren statues of the fountain.
Gale swallowed, then scoffed.
Before he turned to leave, he lingered a little longer, his eyes searching for something, or rather someone else in the crowd.
Tav was leaning, bent over on the table where the computer stood, reviewing some of the shots, zooming in and out on a photo. He caught his gaze dropping to her behind, which was perfectly accentuated in the black jeans she was wearing. Gale tore away his gaze at once, shocked by his own behavior. He was not the sort of man to look at a woman like that. He cleared his throat and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to recollect what he was doing.
“Right. Books.”
He checked his watch again. Astarion said he'd be done around four, and Gale promised to pick him up since he would be in the neighbourhood. He still had an hour or so to lose himself in the bookshop before the shoot would be over.
He managed to buy six more books before it was time to pick up his roommate.
Astarion dropped into the passenger seat, the spiced scent of Belladonna hitting Gale at once. But it was Astarion who wrinkled his nose. “Gods, Gale, it reeks like a stuffy library in here. How many books did you bring this time?”.
Gale started the car. “You should talk. You smell like they submerged you in that perfume.” Astarion chuckled lowly. “Came close to that.”
His hair was still damp, combed back, his wet shirt traded for a thick knitted sweater. He barely glanced at Gale before pulling out his phone and scrolling through messages as Gale maneuvered the car out of the tight parking space.
“Ooh delicious,” Astarion murmured as he typed away.
Gale didn’t avert his eyes from the road ahead. “Hmm?”
“Dammon’s in town this weekend. Bringing friends.” He shot Gale a sideways glance, grin turning mischievous. “I’m inviting them over.”
Gale sighed, but Astarion continued.
“It’s been a while since I’ve hosted properly. You’ll stay this time.” He smiled faintly. “Pick the wine if that keeps you from muttering protests I’ll ignore.”
Gale squeezed the steering wheel, looking for arguments to convince Astarion to take his friends to a club or bar. Not their home, not again. Last time, the house was packed and they’d been going on till six in the morning, and Gale’s noise canceling headphones had been no salvation. Joining the ‘fun’ somehow never seemed an option.
But maybe it was time to step into chaos, just this once. And if he didn’t like it, his bedroom was just around the corner, wasn’t it?