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The wizards are flirting.
It’s not the first time Caduceus has noticed the interest present in the two men. That’s been present since the first meeting, a spark in their eyes as they converse or a quick squeeze of a forearm. The two have always gravitated toward each other, their taste for the arcane and high intelligence fostering a connection that runs to their very core though both have at times tried to ignore or manipulate that bond.
But this, he muses as he watches the two men bounce ideas off of each other while standing in front of some dunamantic tubes, this is different. Their heads are coming closer without their notice and Essek holds out a purple gem to Caleb with eyes softer than Caduceus has seen in him. This is comfortable. This is intentional. This is Essek opening up and taking another step on his journey of becoming better. This is Caleb doing the same. Caduceus smiles broadly.
Oh, that’s nice. That’s really nice.
The wizards are…flirting?
Fjord glides down the central chute of the explosion site and briefly slows to spin Veth like a carnival wheel before continuing on to herd the others away from sharp rocks as they drift toward B-9. He glances up again to see Caleb swirling through the air, a challenging smirk on his lips as he flies past Essek. The drow’s eyes narrow and his hands drift from his sleeves, fingers flashing as he casts and eventually begins to fly to meet Caleb. Fjord watches as Caleb’s eyes, having been focused on Essek’s hands, dart back up to meet the man’s gaze with a new sort of heat. Fjord blinked at that. He’d thought Caleb’s familiarity with Essek up to now had been to keep Essek as a help and an ally, especially after the whole reveal in Nicodranas. But as the two wizards fly through the air, drifting apart and coming back together, he realizes he may have underestimated or misunderstood Caleb’s feelings. He thinks on it for a second, watching their dance and absentmindedly pushing everyone toward the platform with his hand clasping Jester’s. He shrugs to himself.
Well, it could be worse. At least Caleb isn’t getting involved with someone serving a malevolent demigod.
The wizards are flirting!
Jester grins to herself as she watches the wizards look at the runes and glyphs carved into the floor. She watches them drift closer together, seemingly unaware or uncaring of their proximity to each other. They’re so wrapped up in each other and their discovery of the T-Dock that they’ve forgotten the distance they usually work to maintain. Or rather, that Caleb maintains. And Jester gets it, you know? Essek made mistakes. He may not be what most consider to be “a good person” but neither is her dad! That doesn’t mean they can’t trust Essek! The man lets her hug him for crying out loud, he can’t be that bad. So she’s glad to see the way Caleb’s eyes linger on Essek as he traces the runes. She’s glad to see Essek planning on a future with them. Although, exchanging theories huh….
She grins mischievously and whips her head to Caleb, “Does that mean what I think it means? Is he coming on to you?”
Caleb blinks slowly for a second before softly in her mind, “What do you think it means?”
“I think he’s coming onto you.”
There’s a pause that drags on for what feels like forever, “It’s complicated.” She gasps in delight and looks over at Essek, who’s been entirely focused on Caleb like always, with a giggle and a wink. He shoots back a questioning glance, but before he can ask anything of her they’re interrupted by the report of an incoming monster. As they quietly creep through the halls looking for the Immensus Gate, Jester grins to see the wizards have found their way back into each other’s gravity and gently scratches Sprinkle’s head.
Oh man, Artie….if after all this they still haven’t kissed, we may have to help them out.
The wizards are flirting.
Most people probably wouldn’t be able to tell, since they aren’t familiar with the art of casting magic.
Veth is not most people.
She knows what learning and casting magic costs. She knows the way wizards spend hours upon hours transcribing spells into their books, how they can spend piles of gold on paper and ink. She knows the strength one needs in their hands to cast magic properly. And she definitely knows how wizards value their signature spells and elements.
So when Essek casts a fire bolt at the creepy flesh creature harrying her in the tree, she quickly understands the flirtation behind it. The last thing she expects though is for Caleb to reciprocate. But she watches him smirk and flick the same spell while staring straight at the drow, and she thinks back on their interactions with Essek, and she starts to see the threads, and she wonders how she could have missed it. The constantly getting in each other’s space, Caleb’s abrupt hug after they’d finally figured out how to get her body back, the hurt and shame in his eyes when they spoke of Essek deserving punishment…it all makes so much more sense. Caleb has feelings for the war criminal.
Oh Lebby…you certainly have a thing for falling headfirst into danger don’t you…
The wizards are…flirting.
They’d just left the courtyard with the creepy flesh monsters, the though of which still makes Beau shudder. Caleb had found the path that Cree had most likely gone down and they were moving quickly. For all that Beau is easily the fastest of the group when in the Prime Material Plane, Essek and Caleb both had her beat here. And judging by the challenging smile on Essek’s face, he probably had Caleb beat too. Not that Caleb seemed to mind too much if his wink is any indication. Beau felt her nose scrunch up. Caleb’s a big boy, he can be attracted to whoever he wants, even if that person has some ridiculously shady morals. Whatever.
But for fuck’s sake don’t make her watch her fellow Empire kid flirt. There’s not enough alcohol in Exandria to erase that from her brain.
The wizards had been flirting.
Yasha has never wished to be able to share her rage as hard as she does now. For all that she is practically un-killable, the same cannot be said for her family.
The same cannot be said for Caleb.
The battle had been one of the hardest they’d ever fought. Not only did they have to fight Lucien and his anti-magic field, but they’d had to fight what felt like an endless swarm of flesh abominations before they’d even reached him and then more that he kept summoning from the Somnovum. Eventually she and Fjord had had him flanked, as the two who could do the most melee damage, especially with them both being hasted by the wizards. Somehow though, Lucien had teleported away from them and directly in front of their squishy wizard, who’d just barely looked away from checking on Essek.
He hadn’t stood a chance against the two scimitars sinking into his chest.
Yasha could have sworn the entire plane went silent for a moment as they all watched Caleb fall. Then things seemed to kick into hyper speed with Jester being the first to react, rushing in to try to get Caleb away from the other tiefling. Yasha had readied her sword and a battle cry, prepared to dispatch with prejudice the man who’d stolen her best friend’s face. Before she’d been able to take more than a step, a dark purple and black sphere had erupted in the space above Lucien’s head. It appeared to crackle with energy and exuded a heavy force, suddenly drawing everything within 100 feet within its angry roiling. Lucien was not immune. Within moments, Lucien’s entire being had been annihilated, only his blades falling to the ground. The Mighty Nein, barring Jester and Caduceus who’d gathered up Caleb and were treating him, had turned to look at Essek. Yasha had never seen him in such a state of fury and anguish. He’d dropped his spell, using his intellect to soar quickly over to the clerics and fall to his knees at Caleb’s side. He’d gripped Caleb’s hand tightly, and murmured to the human, though Yasha hadn’t been able to hear what he’d said. She and the others had watched as Caleb’s eyes flickered open, a tired smile pulling at his lips as he muttered at Essek. The drow had laughed wetly before bringing Caleb’s hand, clasped tightly between his own, to his lips.
Yasha’s reminiscing is interrupted by the smell of food being placed on the table. The Mighty Nein all sat together in Caleb’s tower to recuperate, considering themselves extremely fortunate that their friend had saved just enough ability to be able to produce it. The group is quiet, exhausted by the fight and the stress of Caleb falling. The wizard in question, however, seems unfazed by his brush with death; the only hint that he’s not okay is his refusal to let go of Essek’s hand, not that the elf seems to mind. The pair’s normal gravitational pull toward each other has shifted into a need for touch that neither has demonstrated until now. She wraps her arm tighter around Beauregard, fully understanding that need and desire. Her gaze flicks from the two wizards to meet Caduceus’ own, the two of them sharing and understanding of what this means.
Seems like we officially have a new family member. Welcome to the Mighty Nein, indeed.
Caleb hums sleepily as he feels a nudge to his shoulder, turning to blink blearily at the perpetrator whispering his name, “Caleb. I think it’s time to get you to bed.” Caleb glances around, seeing that everyone has left the table. He turns back to Essek.
“How long have I been out?” He rubs his fingers against the corner of his eye and stifles a yawn.
“You fell asleep before dessert. If Jester didn’t know you’d died earlier, I feel like she’d have been mightily offended at you skipping it. As it is, she has ordered the cats to prepare a more…dessert style breakfast for you in the morning.” Essek’s fingers tuck a lock of auburn hair behind Caleb’s ear before urging him to stand, “Come. I promised them I see you safely to bed, and I have no intentions of breaking that promise.”
Caleb chuckles and nods, gripping Essek’s hand and placing a quick kiss on the knuckles, “Ja, okay. I appreciate the help.” His body aches all over, but his chest where the blades had pierced seems to burn just slightly more, making breathing difficult. He pauses for a second, feeling Essek quietly shift to provide more support as his legs tremble. “Oh, it is a good thing I did not require stairs in this tower. If I had, I would have ended up sleeping there as a result of an inability to climb them. Fortunately, I was smarter than that.”
A soft huff of laughter escapes the drow as they slowly leave the dining hall for the central column of irises, “Indeed. That certainly would have hindered your recovery. Not to mention Beauregard would never let you live that down.”
“That is a good point. Yet another mark in my favor then.” His words trail off as moving becomes more laborious, breaths coming shorter and harsher with every step. Essek maintains a firm but careful grip on him as they make their way up through the irises with a shared glance and a soft “up” murmured through softer smiles. Essek tries to continue toward the seventh floor where he knows Caleb’s room to be, but feels a soft tug on his hand; he looks to see Caleb smiling softly at him and gesturing toward the fifth floor, “There is actually something I wish to show you. It is not a hundred percent completed, as there are some modifications I wish to make, and you’ll probably have some opinions as well, but I want—” he stalls in the air, lips pursing as he thinks over his words, “I want you to know that you have a home. Here, with us, I mean. I know you have your home in Rosohna, but— you— my brain is moving too fast for my mouth to catch up. Let me just show you, ja?” He pulls him softly to land on the fifth floor, drawing him past a door marked with a scarab beetle to stand in front of a door that Essek immediately knows is made of vermaloc wood. His eyes trace the wood before alighting on a silver depiction of two unfurled scrolls. He steps closer, hand reaching up to trace the shape; he stops and feels his breath hitch and his hand tremble ever so sightly at the familiar runes and spell equations that mark the pages.
“You put my spells here.”
“Well not the entirety of them. Kept the final pieces out, to preserve your specialty and privacy. I couldn’t decide whether to put fortune’s favor here, as it was the first spell you taught me, or resonant echo, as that one is your own design. So I put both. You can tell me which you prefer, or if you have a different symbol you’d prefer on here later. For now,” he steps forward and pushes the door open, “I want you to see your rooms.”
Essek crosses the threshold shakily, gripping tighter to Caleb without notice. He means to take in the full decor of the room, but his attention is arrested by the stained glass window sitting over the fireplace mantle and he feels his eyes begin to fill with tears as he steps closer to take it in. Around the edges are scenes of his friendship and time with the Mighty Nein; the night he’d had dinner at the Xhorhaus and joined them in the hot tub; being hugged by Caleb with Veth within the laboratory of his home after completing the work on the transmogrification spell; that awful night within the Ball-Eater, Jester at his side holding his hand and Caleb pressing a kiss to his forehead; Jester’s hug upon seeing him at the outpost with the rest of the Nein laughing; and finally, Essek surrounded by the Nein during the heroes’ feast not yet a week past, food in bellies and laughter on faces. Within the center of the stained glass, Essek stands with his back to the room, mantle falling from his shoulders and hand outstretched, grasping on to the hand of a smiling Caleb with the rest of the Nein right behind him with welcoming smiles. He focuses on that for the longest time, not noticing the tears streaming down his cheeks until warm hands cup his cheeks and brush the tears away.
“Schatz? You’ve been quiet for an awfully long time. Talk to me,” bright blue eyes peer at him worriedly, causing Essek’s breath to catch in his throat as he gripsCaleb’s wrists.
He turns his head to press a kiss to each palm, blinking away tears and gathering his composure before speaking, “You have the most incredible mind Caleb Widogast. You see so much potential in everything and then shape it with these hands,” he kisses the knuckles and looks back up, “How can you see so much in me? How can you stand to put your hands in mine when they’re drenched in blood brought about by selfish desires? How can you even begin to trust me after all I’ve done?”
Caleb smiles sadly, “Because I have been where you are. I have been so deep in my own self-loathing that I could not see a way out. I have sought for ways to atone for my mistakes. I can see potential in you because I was taught to see it in myself. And you helped teach me that, Essek. You showed me, quite literally, the power to change my path. You showed me endless possibilities.” He glances down at their joined hands, “We both have blood on our hands and venom in our veins. But that is not all we are. I know your guilt feels inescapable. I know it all seems insurmountable. But schatz, these hands can manipulate gravity. These hands can bend time and reality. Why would they not be able to improve the world?”
Essek swallows and nods slowly as he tries to rebuild his composure, “You truly believe this? You truly believe we can make a difference?”
“With every ounce of my being.” Essek meets Caleb’s gaze again, unable to ignore their indescribable allure. Caleb has always been an attractive man, but there’s something about his quiet determination and his unflinching compassion that draws Essek in and keeps him there like a moon to a planet, an inescapable gravity that keeps Essek willingly at his side.
Essek steps closer to Caleb, foreheads meeting and breath dancing over the human’s lips, “Then I hope you understand the gravity of what we’re about to embark on. Nothing about it will be easy.”
A wicked mischief fills Caleb’s grin as he dips his head to nip the delicate skin over Essek’s wrist, “Then I guess we’d best develop some thicker skin. Protect the tools of our trade, ja?” Essek grins back, pushing Caleb toward the couch.
The wizards are flirting.