[Gale searches Astarion's eyes, fighting with his own morals. What's more important: safety, or the lives of innocents?

Not innocents, Gale justifies in his mind. Just Cazador and his ilk. Surely Astarion can be talked away from being unreasonably vicious as a vampire lord, despite what his centuries of torment have shaped him into. And it's not just his own safety and survival at stake, but that of the city - and most importantly, that of Astarion. To ensure that, what would Gale give? Where would he be willing to compromise?

He leans into Astarion's hand, knowing how desperate he must seem. Now that he's had another taste of affection, he wants it, craves it. It's a sign of his existence, of his value - it means he's worth something to at least one person.

He swallows the knot in his throat.]

I am fully confident in my capacity to reforge the crown for myself, when we manage to get a hold of it, but if I didn't - if for any reason I were unable to attain that godhood, and simply had to remain Gale while you rose to power as a being unlike any we've seen...

[He trails off, the bridge of his nose wrinkling as he struggles to choose his words for fear of what the answer might be.]