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iatethepomegranate · 4 months

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We are not alone in the dark with our demons, Chapter 36

After Aeor, Caleb buys a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha, becomes a professor, learns to be a person separate from the trauma that shaped his life for so long, and begins the arduous process of preventing what happened to him from happening to anyone else. It gets far more personal than even he could have anticipated.

Chapter content warnings: References to deceased parents, grief, references to child abuse (Volstrucker program)

Chapter summary: Essek prepares to flee Rexxentrum while Caleb brings Nico back to the Academy for the first time.

Chapter notes: Chapter title from North by Sleeping At Last. I come back literally just before the new year arrives in my time zone. Hello!

***

Chapter 36: Though the storms will push and pull, we will call this place our home

“That’s some serious afterglow you’ve got going on, man,” Beauregard said, mouth full of bacon, in lieu of a greeting as soon as he found her in the kitchen back home.

“Yes, you seem very relaxed,” Yasha agreed, coming in from the garden with a basket full of root vegetables; Caleb suspected Caduceus had been working a bit of his magic on them to grow a little faster than usual.

“Where’s your boy?”

“Quick stop in Uthodurn,” said Caleb, swiping a rasher from Beauregard’s plate; she swatted his hand but made no real effort to stop him. “Apparently Reani has been wanting a specific kind of leather traded on the coast. He should be here in a few hours.” Caleb had almost gone with him, but felt a pressing need to take today slow. As good as he felt right now, tomorrow had the potential to be intense. He felt a little proud of making the choice to take care of himself; if that pride felt a lot like his friends’ voices, that was his business.

Yasha added a few more rashers to Beauregard’s plate. “Would you like eggs, Caleb?”

Veth had, of course, fed him before he left, but Yasha liked to practise her cooking. “Ja, bitte. Dealer’s choice.”

Eggs over easy today. The first one came out a little more solid than it should have been, but the second had a perfect, runny yolk inside. Caduceus had ultimately won her over to adding some wilted greens on the side and, of course, two slices of yesterday’s bread, gently toasted.

Caleb was full to bursting by the end of it. And to think, it was not much longer than a year ago when having a single breakfast was not guaranteed… let alone two.

He brought a plate to Nico’s room when Yasha had finished stuffing him. Nico was up and dressed, curled over his spellbook at the little desk in the corner. He was distracted easily enough by the smell of bacon.

While Nico ate, Caleb traced over the teleportation circle in his study. They’d had a few setbacks with it, so it would likely take longer than originally planned. One day, though. It wouldn’t stop him worrying about Essek, but at least reliable teleportation would take one worry off his plate.

Caleb moved to the lesbians’ living room to tidy up the runes of a few more recent spells in his spellbook; without the daily excitement of adventuring, his power grew slower, even as he had more time in the day to study. But… he was getting close to a breakthrough. It would take a little while longer, but one day… he would very much like to turn into a dragon. Nico sat with him, practising the spells Caleb had taught him.

Beauregard left for work, just as a disguised Essek stepped inside, carrying a little wooden box. He set it on the couch and began to unload… balls of wool? Knitting needles? The beginning of what looked like a scarf?

“Ooh, what do you have there?” Yasha asked, looking up from the pair of socks she was mending for Beauregard. Caleb expected they would announce their engagement any day now.

“You know, you are supposed to finish knitting before you go somewhere cold,” said Nico.

Essek dropped his disguise, just in time to gaze down his nose at Nico in a loose facsimile of the way he had always looked while floating, once upon a time. “I have been… given a project.”

“Reani, I assume?” said Caleb.

“Mm-hm.” Essek, endearingly, gazed at the collection with utmost confusion. “She suggested weaving, first, but… that is not so portable.”

Caleb could see where she had gotten that idea. Essek’s casting was elegant, elaborate, artful. Manipulating the weave with his fingertips, as they both did… but with Essek, his somatics were on another level entirely. A skill developed in an ivory tower, whereas Caleb’s somatics were much more efficient, pared down to their base elements.

“Everyone needs a hobby,” Nico murmured, already back to his studies. “Supposedly.”

Essek settled onto the couch and picked up the proto-scarf. “Yes. Well. We will find out if I am any good at it.”

He probably would be, given the level of focus he dedicated to spellwork. But, knowing Essek, he would become frustrated if he was not immediately perfect. The memory of Essek’s little frown whenever something did not quite go his way made Caleb duck his head back over his spellbook, lest Essek see his little smile and know exactly where his mind had gone.

The shock of Essek attempting to develop a normal hobby soon dissipated and everyone went back to their tasks, but Caleb watched Essek out of the corner of his eye. The knitting needles softly clicked as Essek picked up where he had left off, tongue held between his teeth. Caleb had to fight the urge to kiss him senseless.

He behaved himself until it was late enough to justify going to bed that evening. Then, he convinced Essek to put down the knitting. Just for a bit.

***

The week began anew. Caleb woke, slowly at first, his head in Essek’s lap. Then, with a jolt, he remembered what lay in store for him today.

“Scheisse,” he hissed, but Essek put a hand on his chest before he could sit up. The hand slid upwards to Caleb’s collarbones, right at the base of his throat, thumbnail gently grazing the hollow there. Caleb closed his eyes and breathed. There was no rush. He wasn’t late. But it was hard not to be in constant motion at times like this.

Essek scooped him up, making a valiant effort to nuzzle the top of Caleb’s head despite Caleb being quite a bit taller than him. “You will give me the highlights, yes?”

“Natürlich.” He felt lighter… and not as a metaphor for his internal turmoil. Essek had reduced his density so they wouldn’t topple over backwards. Caleb curled up like a cat for a bit, until his body’s need to piss spurred him back into motion.

In the process, it occurred to him that Essek would have to leave very soon. Lingering as long as he had was ill-advised. Caleb was stabilising a bit; he would be okay without near-constant supervision from Essek and the Nein. It would not be fair to keep Essek in Rexxentrum for much longer, given the proximity to the Assembly and the scrutiny that entailed.

Essek was dressed when Caleb returned, kneeling on the floor to sort through the contents of his own vault of amber. It had been one of the first spells he had learned from Caleb during their time in Aeor, as it was more reliable than his previously-used Leomund’s Secret Chest, which tended to become increasingly unstable after 60 days.

Frowning a little, Essek plucked a pair of silvery earring studs from a small box and affixed them to his lobe piercings. Caleb leaned against the doorframe and watched him. He went simple today, just adding a pair of filigree ear cuffs to the tips of his ears. Essek tapped a nail against his tin of pomade for a moment before seemingly deciding against styling his hair with it today. Instead, he rearranged his collection of clothing, jewellery and other comforts within the set of amber chunks and began to ritually seal them back away. The pile looked a little bigger than it had last time Caleb had seen it; Essek was typically ready to run at a moment’s notice, but that signalled a greater disquiet than usual.

If Caleb hadn’t needed him, Essek probably would have departed the continent weeks ago, at least for a bit.

“The Nein Heroez would be happy to have you,” Caleb reminded him, digging through his drawers for clean clothes. He had his own go bag stashed there, but he hadn’t felt a strong urge to grab it and run since Trent was finally put away. He still had moments where old instincts threatened to take over, just a little bit, but he had been able to logic his way out of it most of the time. When that failed, Beauregard knew how to talk sense into him.

Essek hummed in acknowledgement, too focused on the spell for a substantive response. Caleb washed his face and trimmed his beard while he awaited the inevitable conversation. Maybe now wasn’t the best time, given what lay in store today, but he would feel better with certainty on this, at least. By the time Essek finished, Caleb was halfway dressed. Essek came up behind him, brushed Caleb’s loose hair aside, and pressed his cheek against his bare back, squeezing his middle. Caleb crossed his arms over Essek’s, squeezing back.

“I admit…” Essek sighed, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. “I am getting nervous.”

“I know,” Caleb said softly.

Essek kissed his spine between the shoulder blades. “I don’t want to leave you, but if I ever want to return…”

“I know.” Caleb turned, taking Essek’s face in his hands. “I’m all right, Essek.” He understood, with painful clarity, what being on the run meant. It had been his life for years. So, he kissed Essek, and told him, “This is not our first rodeo, ja? We will talk as we always do, and you will bring back something interesting for us to argue about, okay?”

Essek’s cheeks darkened, and his frown lost purchase in favour of a sheepish little smile. “I’ll do my best, Caleb Widogast.”

Caleb never tired of the way his chosen name flowed across Essek’s tongue. He kissed him again. “When are you leaving?”

The clouds returned to Essek’s expression. “Tomorrow, if that is all right. If you would like to meet after the support group, we can make that happen away from the Empire, but I think too many eyes will be upon you in Rexxentrum.” Essek turned his head to kiss Caleb’s palm. “I will go to the Nein Heroez for a bit. Jester has threatened to paint my nails again.”

“Frightening.” Caleb felt a little better for having that settled.

Essek pressed against Caleb’s front, nuzzling his chest hair. An endless point of fascination, given drow grew very little body hair at all. “When do you need to leave today?”

Caleb’s rude awakening had given him a little extra time. “We can spare a few minutes.”

***

Nico joined Caleb for the trip to the academy, citing the need to reacquaint himself with it before going back to class. They passed through the market on the way, where Lisbeth gave both of them hard candies and ruffled Nico’s hair.

“I will return home at the end of the week,” she told them in Zemnian. “You both better visit!”

Nico had laughed sheepishly at the time, rubbing the back of his neck. When they left the market, he veered into a back alley and doubled over, hands on knees, to hyperventilate for a few seconds. Caleb put a grounding hand on his back.

“Scheisse,” Nico muttered, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “I used to babysit her grandkids. She used to babysit me when Mother and Father were…” Nico went very still for three seconds. “That was a lot.”

Caleb made a mental note to check back with Lisbeth later, to see if she had anything left to make Nico’s dormitory more comfortable. He remembered, vividly as always, how hard he had cried when the Nein had bought him a quilt from her.

For now, “Drink some water, Nico.”

Nico grabbed the waterskin tied to his belt and took a hearty swig, roughly wiping his mouth. “Fuck. How do you deal with that?”

Caleb couldn’t help but chuckle ruefully. “I cried like a baby after I met her the first time, and I don’t remember her from my childhood. You are dealing with it very well.”

“I will take your word for it,” Nico muttered. He took a few deep breaths. “Okay. Let’s go.”

They continued towards the Shimmer Ward. Nico watched their surroundings closely. Like Caleb, the wonder had long left his gaze, to be replaced by nostalgia. It was an odd look on someone so young, but Caleb supposed every Volstrucker was aged by their experiences. Nico was the last one to complete the training. The last one, Caleb hoped, who would have to carry the consequences of the end result.

Sadness was Caleb’s oldest companion by this point. He had learned long ago banishing it wouldn’t work. It was here. This was very much a sad moment, watching Nico go through those same feelings Caleb had… and still did. He breathed with it and let it be there.

“I used to love it here,” Nico said softly.

“Ja,” Caleb agreed. They passed by Camarouth Cottage and its beautiful yellow stone exterior. The memory of how fucking frightened Caleb had been when the Nein stayed there was hard to shake, but he could objectively appreciate the architecture and the gardens… and remember how good the food had been.

They didn’t talk much after that, each lost in their own memories, until they reached the academy grounds. There, Nico faltered, taking in the manicured lawns and the towers and bridges and the students milling about before the morning’s classes. Not too many at this time of day, but Caleb recognised a handful of the beginners.

Micha clocked Nico from the shaded alcove where they had been chatting with Margie (human, she/her, Karmordah) and Ella (gnome, she/her, Hupperdook). They streaked across the perfect grass and flung themself into Nico’s waiting arms, babbling in rapid-fire Zemnian. From what Caleb could pick up, given their face was squished into Nico’s jacket, Micha was chewing him out for going missing, and for stressing Felix out, and for not talking to Micha when they were in Blumenthal, and for a whole host of things for which Caleb had no context.

Nico sighed and patted their head. “Yes, I missed you, too.”

And then Micha started sobbing into Nico’s jacket, which Caleb took as his cue to leave. Nico mouthed fuck you, but Caleb shrugged and kept walking. As he approached the front doors, he sent Nico a message:

“Kaspar’s parents will be here shortly, but I’m sure Professors Weber or Winterheart will offer up their offices if you need to get Micha somewhere indoors.”

Nico replied, “Not helpful, Caleb. Fuck you.” There was no hostility in his tone, however. “Call me if Kaspar or Annike give you any trouble.”

Caleb had tried not to express his nerves too much around Nico regarding this meeting, but he should have known he would have picked up on it. The offer was appreciated, even if Caleb had no intention of dragging Nico into this unless absolutely necessary. The young man had quite enough on his plate today.

Not that Caleb felt any better-equipped, but that feeling had not stopped him in a long time. Sometimes, things simply needed to be done, no matter how you felt about being the person to do them.

***

He encountered Astrid lounging in his desk chair. He sighed at her.

“Guten Morgen, Astrid.”

She smirked up at him. “Now that your man has fucked the anxiety out of you, I have some final pieces of advice for your meetings today.”

Caleb, resigning himself to being a visitor in his own office for the moment, flopped into one of the guest seats on the wrong side of the desk. “I appreciate your help.”

Astrid handed him a sheet of paper. “Memorise this information about Bysaes Tyl and Kaspar’s mother. The Assembly does not think much of her, or anyone from the city, but she is a diplomat for her people and deals with Rexxentrum regularly. Not the ambassador, technically, but she is quite young for an elf. She has time to work her way up, if marrying a human from Rexxentrum hasn’t killed her career prospects. Which it might, at least until he dies.”

Caleb scanned the page. Valhana Ta’nes was a cultural attaché, some kind of diplomat who was on paper tasked with managing cultural exchange between Bysaes Tyl and the rest of the Empire.

“We have long suspected their cultural attachés are also spies,” said Astrid. “The elves of Bysaes Tyl are protective of their culture, but are smart enough to exchange just enough to stay in the Empire’s good graces.”

“Nico did mention it was strange Trent would go for someone as well-connected as Kaspar,” Caleb murmured, reading over the rest of the notes. Valhana had shown some magical aptitude herself, but tended to favour weaving it through music or speech. A bard, then.

Astrid hummed, twiddling with one of Caleb’s quills. “Ja, Trent was quite convinced she’s a sleeper agent. Marrying a human and having a half-elf child are not well-regarded in Bysaes Tyl, so it is likely she has been promised political protection or career progression if she does her time in the muck with the rest of us.”

“And if you convince her own son he owes loyalty to the Empire…”

“Trent worked very hard on that boy.” Astrid laid the quill aside and lifted herself from Caleb’s chair. “Kaspar was born in Bysaes Tyl but has spent a lot of time in Rexxentrum. His loyalties were muddled, as one might expect.” She squeezed Caleb’s shoulder as she passed on her way to the door. “Do try not to turn him entirely against us, Bren.”

“No promises,” Caleb muttered.

And then she was gone.

#shadowgast #critical role #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #cr2 #professor widogast #my fics #ao3 #the pomegranate's professor widogast fic

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iatethepomegranate · 6 months

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We are not alone in the dark with our demons, Chapter 35

Chapter content warnings: general references to grief, loss of parents, Trent's child abuse, related trauma

Chapter summary: The dust settles and life continues.

Chapter notes: Chapter title from Atom 2 by Sleeping at Last. Happy Mighty Nein oneshot, everybody. No oneshot spoilers here.

***

Chapter 35: And make infinite room for hope and oxygen

Things were better in the morning. Caleb busied himself with calculations for the language enchantment alongside Essek. He did, however, take a break in the afternoon to find Yasha and Caduceus working alongside Nico in the garden. The anxious animal inside Caleb quieted at the sight. He was not an optimist by any means, but he let himself hope both he and Nico would be okay in time.

Caduceus handed him a trowel. The calculations would keep.

He re-cast the Tower when it faded, quietly factoring in the new enchantment. He sat with Nico in the garden, drinking tea, and tried not to fret over it. Nico wasn’t talking much. That was okay. Caleb didn’t feel like talking, either.

Caleb used the quiet to get his thoughts in order. The biggest immediate hurdle had passed. Next up would be the intermediate students at Soltryce; Astrid had yet to fully confirm, but it was possible there would be Volstrucker students in the class… if their parents were convinced not to pull them out. It had been some time since Caleb had dealt with students at that stage of the process, not since his own time as a student. They would have been with Trent for a few months at most, but that was more than enough to cause problems. Trent had this down to a fine art. Those children probably still thought they were going to live glorious lives serving the empire. He wondered if they would resent him for taking away that imagined future.

Then, the support group. Besides Wulf and Astrid, Caleb hadn’t spent a lot of time around the Volstrucker who had completed the program. He was not convinced they would take him seriously, or if many would even show up. Maybe this had been a bad idea. The more stubborn part of him, however, did not want to give up without evidence to support a hypothesis in either direction. If it didn’t work, he would have a bit of egg in his face… but what would he really lose? If no one showed, all he had lost was some time, and perhaps a little dignity. He didn’t have much of the latter anyway. If people showed up and it was a disaster, well, at least they would know what not to do, and whether or not it was worth trying again. But if it went well…

Caleb was under no illusion that the fully-initiated Volstrucker would think much of him. He was, after all, a failure. That said, he knew so little about what his old friends and their colleagues had experienced; Beauregard had tried to shield him from that aspect of Astrid and Wulf’s testimonies, though he’d put some pieces together over time. There had to be other points where Volstrucker failed, fatally or non-fatally. The young woman in the Dungeon of Penance had been so ready to die. Eager, even.

And, maybe, there was a part of Caleb who hoped someone would… get it. Astrid and Wulf had eleven years of experience on him, plus the five-or-so additional years before breaking free of the man who turned them into monsters. They worked for Trent that whole time, while Caleb was insensate for over a decade, and then on the run. Maybe it was overly optimistic to hope he would find someone with an even remotely similar experience. He was not sure he’d know what to do even if he did.

The closest he knew, frankly, was Nico. But Caleb was the adult. The one with experience. The living proof that life went on. But, gods, if he didn’t feel lonely sometimes, even among people who loved him. Except Yasha, but even then…

He was definitely still a little fucked up from yesterday, thinking like this.

A light pressure on his shoulder pulled Caleb from his thoughts; Nico had dropped his head onto Caleb’s shoulder. They sipped their tea and watched a handful of honey bees hover around the cornflowers Yasha had planted. Caleb used to collect them in the fields as a boy; Una used to weave them into his hair, and Leofric into hers.

Over time, the weight on his shoulder grew heavier, until Nico was softly snoring. Understandable. Caleb was tempted to do the same, if not for the risk of disturbing him.

A quiet sort of day.

***

With the week wrapping up, Caleb was well into preparations for the intermediate students’ return to Soltryce. As planned, he would assist with the intermediate Transmutation class. As things currently stood, Alphira mostly taught the beginners in Evocation and occasionally assisted in teaching the upper levels as needed, but, honestly, many of the senior professors were close to retirement, so it was likely she would start taking on additional responsibilities soon enough. Caleb was fine not teaching higher level Evocation at this point; he probably needed more time before he could handle that.

Caleb met with Astrid, Bettina and Alphira at the end of the week. Hopped up on excessive amounts of coffee, the four of them were sifting through last year’s report cards and other assorted notes related to the intermediate students, who were to arrive over the next couple of days.

Astrid had separated the files related to the students who had been plucked out for the Volstrucker program and pushed them to Caleb. “These three spent a few months with Trent, before you distracted him.”

Caleb speed-read the files. Two boys and a girl. “What have your dealings been with them?”

“Lately? Speaking to their parents.”

“And?”

“This one.” Astrid pulled the girl’s file. “Annike. Her parents have been convinced to allow her back to class. She is a quiet one. She will need time to warm up to you.”

“We can give her that. What do any of you know of her interests?”

“She has shown some aptitude for Divination and dabbles in tarot card readings… sometimes during class time,” said Bettina. “I believe she grew up in a circus before her parents settled in Yrrosa.”

“Probably not by choice,” added Astrid. “Intel from the area suggests the circus fell into debt with the Myriad. Annike is not close to her parents, so she won’t relate to any family talk.”

“Circuses seem to find trouble in the Empire,” Caleb remarked, thinking back to Trostenwald.

“You want to have fun? Go to the Menagerie Coast. Speaking of…” Astrid pulled another file. “Eric’s family has moved to Port Damali and have refused all attempts to contact them. It is unlikely he will return to class. The Cobalt Soul have been notified and will keep an eye on him. There is not much we can do at the moment.”

Caleb couldn’t fault the boy’s parents for their decision. Hopefully the Cobalt Soul could prevent any magical incidents, maybe take him under their wing eventually. Or at the very least, they had books. Eric was still a wizard, after all.

“A shame,” said Bettina. “He was showing interest in Transmutation.”

Astrid pulled the third file. “This is Kaspar, a young half-elf from Bysaes Tyl. He is likely to return to class, but his parents are coming with him at the beginning of next week and wish to speak to you, Bren.”

Caleb knew enough about Bysaes Tyl–elven-ruled, reluctantly agreed to join the Empire in exchange for limited cultural autonomy, ruled by three elven elders alongside a Crown-appointed starosta–to suspect they were likely less than pleased to learn the intended future for one of their people.

“Anything I should know?”

“He has shown some interest in Evocation,” said Alphira. “He used to hang out in my office before Trent got a hold of him.”

“And the three of them as a group?”

“They were close, of course,” said Astrid. “They usually are.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I am not sure how they will fare without Eric. Report back to me what they are like in class.”

“Ja, of course.”

***

Nico had a bit of insight about the youngest crop. He seemed unsurprised that Eric’s parents had taken him away from everything.

“Eric is very close to his family,” Nico said that evening over snickerdoodles and some kind of spiced tea from Marquet that Jester had brought from the Nicodranas markets. “He wrote to them constantly. They’ll take good care of him; he’ll be all right. He will probably find his way to the Cobalt Soul on his own.”

That was comforting. “Did you spend much time with them?”

“Not much, but enough.” Nico broke off a soft piece of cookie and dunked it. “Trent was relying on us a lot in those last few months to teach the young ones the basics. It was babysitting, really. Many of his most trusted Volstrucker died in the war, and he was distracted. By you, I assume.”

“I did annoy him quite a bit eventually, ja.” The invasive Sendings had nearly sent him back to the madhouse, it felt at the time. But, in hindsight, it was a little gratifying that he had finally managed to get under Trent’s skin. “What else did you pick up about these three?”

“I assume Professors Weber and Winterheart already told you about Annike’s tarot cards,” said Nico. “She sometimes prefers to communicate with them instead of speaking plainly. Her parents seem like a pain in the ass. She is difficult to rattle, except when she is, if that makes sense. Eric was the only person who could talk sense into her on the rare occasion something got to her, so… good luck.”

Jester popped in, ostensibly to check on the batch of cookies in the oven. “Did somebody say tarot cards?”

“One of Trent's younger students grew up in a circus,” Caleb told her.

“Ooh, you should show her Molly’s cards.”

“We’ll see,” Caleb replied. Getting a look at Annike’s deck seemed like a good place to start, before introducing any other variables. “Do you have any insights about Kaspar?”

Jester checked the cookies and bounced out of the kitchen, flapping her hands in farewell. They both returned the gesture and then continued conversing as if nothing had happened.

“I’m pretty sure his mother is someone important back home,” said Nico. “He’s a weird choice for the program, unless Trent assumed the Empire wouldn’t care about pissing off Bysaes Tyl that much.”

“Or perhaps he had a reason to want her off the chessboard in a few years,” added Caleb.

“Ja, maybe. Kaspar gets anxious about his father’s health sometimes; I’m not sure if it’s just because he’s human, or if he’s ill. So, it might not have been a difficult prospect to take him out, and make losing both of them less suspicious.” Nico paused, and then pushed his empty plate away. “I need to stop making myself nauseous.”

“Ja, I think that’s more than enough. Thank you.” Caleb drained the last of his tea. “Yasha told me the market is strung up with new lights. Shall we take a walk?”

“Ja, bitte.”

***

Caleb spent the next couple of days ferrying the Nein back to their respective homes. Veth, of course, insisted Caleb and Essek stay at her place overnight. Luc spent the day running around and shooting things with his mother, so he was well and truly tuckered out by bedtime.

Caleb, as usual, allowed Essek to braid his hair before bed. He let one light globule bob lazily throughout the space, as Essek needed very little light to see. However, he did like seeing Caleb’s colours, which was not possible in the dark.

Essek kissed Caleb’s shoulder where his shirt had slipped; it had once belonged to Fjord before the Wildmother gave him muscles. So, a little large on Caleb, but not ridiculously so. A few more kisses followed the first, never quite in the same place. Caleb turned his head to kiss Essek’s temple.

“Freckles,” Essek murmured, his cheeks darkening. He straightened, cleared his throat, and finished off the braid. Caleb captured his fingers before they could retreat, and pressed a kiss on each knuckle… all fourteen of them on the one hand, counted, of course.

Essek chuckled. “Ridiculous man.”

“Were you not just counting my freckles?”

“...quietly.”

“So?”

Essek grabbed his face and kissed him. Caleb strongly considered casting the Tower to remove any possibility of someone walking in on them; he and Essek had split the teleportation spells between them today, and thus still had access to most of their more powerful spells. Wound as tightly as he had been of late, it felt like forever since they had last been physically intimate.

Essek was now in his lap, and Caleb made up his mind before all the blood in his body could travel south… as soon as he had a chance to move. Right now, though, Essek had drastically increased his density and there was no way Caleb was getting anywhere short of telekinetically moving the man bite-sucking a hickey on his neck, just low enough that his scarf would cover it.

Coming up for air, Essek said, “You are doing much better.”

“I will be, if you let me cast the Tower.”

Essek hummed thoughtfully. “In a moment, dear.”

#shadowgast #caleb widogast #critical role #cr2 #the pomegranate's professor widogast fic #professor widogast #fanfiction #ao3 #my fics

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