[Gale sighs quietly; there's a short-lived moment of relief that washes over him as he sees the Astarion he loves return, only to be replaced with sober remorse.]

I know.

[He keeps his hand on Astarion's knee, wanting that contact between them, no matter how minimal. His volume matches Astarion's, as though the whole camp would hear them.]

But do you think I would want that? To take when you have had so much taken from you already without a single thought given to how you felt? To what you wanted?