(Originally written for the @folktalesofexandria zine! It’s been long enough that the authors are publishing their fics for that project, so here’s mine - some unapologetically fluffy comfort between Vax and Gilmore, who are very much boyfriends and very much in love as far as this bard is concerned...)

“You don’t look well, Shaun.”

Gilmore, to his credit, didn’t jump. He did, however, spin around with surprising grace and speed for a man of his size who’d recently been mauled by a dragon, and send a reflex bolt of arcane energy directly into his boyfriend’s face.

“Shit!” Vax ducked, just in time. He still felt the bolt sizzle over his head, though, raising the hairs on the back of his neck – when he straightened up and looked over his shoulder, there was a scorch mark on the wall behind him. “What kind of a welcome is that for your poor boyfriend? I come to cheer you up–” He shrugged the bag he’d been carrying off his shoulder, holding it up as a peace offering. “–and you try to take my head off!”

“Sorry, dear boy.” Gilmore winced, apologetic, as he lowered his hands and opened his arms for Vax to fall into. “It’s just been a long, long day. I’m a little on edge.” And more than a little paranoid after the incident with the Rakshasa, though he didn’t feel like having that particular argument again. “Though, perhaps if you didn’t insist on crawling through the window every time you wanted to visit, and instead knocked on the door…”