Caleb Widogast (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ax_spellbinder) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ax_main2018-08-29 09:39 pm
ax_spellbinder) wrote in ax_main2018-08-29 09:39 pm
Entry tags:
Caleb and Molly, backdated to 8/29/18
After the events of Takedown, Molly checks up on Caleb.
As much as Molly had enjoyed the break, there were downsides to being essentially out of touch for large portions of each day. Like the torrent of texts that came flooding in from Shaun the moment his phone turned back on. Molly eyed them, tempted to ignore for the moment since he was going to be heading back to the school anyway, until one caught his eye.
A second later, he'd read all of them, and had thrown caution to the wind in favor of getting a cab all the way back to the school. The train would just be too slow.
He was still twitchy by the time they arrived, and he all but threw the money at the driver as he slipped into the school. And paused just long enough to drop his things inside his own doorway before making his way over to Caleb's. If he wasn't here, he'd doubtless be in the library. Hopefully.
"Caleb?" He called, knocking firmly.
Caleb looked up from his book at the familiar voice with a smile. This was a nice surprise. He’d known Mollymauk was due back, but he hadn’t expected it to be so soon, never mind at his door. He wondered why—Ah. Of course. Someone must have told him what had happened.
With a sigh, Caleb closed his book. He went to the door, giving Frumpkin a pat as he passed by him, and opened it with a greeting of, “You are back.”
"I am back," Molly agreed, giving him a critical once-over. Caleb looked in one piece, at least, which was good. "I came to see how you were doing, dear, Shaun told me what happened.”
Caleb made space so Molly could come into the room. “Ah. Yes. I am alright.” Just hiding in his room and working very hard at not thinking about what happened.
Molly paused just long enough to give him a deeply skeptical look, but continued on in without saying anything. Caleb would say something about it or he wouldn't. It wasn't as if Molly didn't understand the situation.
"Shaun said they're gone now.”
Caleb knew what that look was for. Cal and Clint kept giving him a similar one—Doubting and worried. But it was easier just to pretend it wasn’t there. He didn’t know what to do with concern. Sitting back down on his bed, he said, “They tell me the same thing.” He didn’t believe it yet. After all, Professor Xavier had told him he would be safe at the school, and the Right had still found him.
With a vague hum of agreement, Molly unceremoniously dropped onto the edge of Caleb's bed as well. Not quite close enough to be touching, but enough that either of them could reach out if they wanted. Caleb probably wouldn't. But the offer was there.
"Alright then. So what now?"
With a sleepy ‘prrp’, Frumpkin stretched out and put his paws, toes spread wide and claws unsheathed, on Molly’s knee. He gazed up with him with lazy, half-lidded eyes, his tail flicking with the same slow, laziness.
“What now what?” Caleb asked, not sure where Molly was going with this.
And Molly just reached down to scratch Frumpkin behind the ears, either oblivious to or uncaring of the unspoken warning. "What do you want to do now," he elaborated. "Are we talking about it, are we not talking about it, are we manfully repressing everything, what?”
Frumpkin leaned his head into the pets, purring happily.
“What is there to tell? They found us at the book store, I killed my old handler, and they kidnapped me,” Caleb said, gesturing with his hands as he listed off each thing that had happened.
It wasn't quite what Molly had been getting at, but he just sighed and let it go. Caleb was starting to sound a bit like Molly himself, which probably wasn't the best sign. But he just focused on petting Frumpkin, letting Caleb have his moment.
"Well, they're gone now, and good riddance to them.”
Caleb frowned. “Are they? They told us we were safe here, and the Right found us, so what is to say they aren’t wrong about this too?”
Molly just arched an eyebrow back at him. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life worrying about it?”
“The moment I stopped worrying about it I got taken,” Caleb replied, distress slipping into his voice.
"And now you're back safe!" Molly huffed out something that wasn't quite a laugh. It wasn't that he didn't understand the worry, but letting Caleb obsess over it seemed like a bad plan. "You have all sorts of people who will track you down wherever and come get you.”
“Yes.” Cal had come for Caleb, and he’d said he’d do it again, and something in the way Molly said ‘people’ suggested he was counting himself amongst them. “But, ah, I would rather avoid that if possible.”
"Well, naturally. My point is that I don't want you to just sit here worrying about it," Molly said, watching him out of the corners of his eyes.
“I don’t just sit. Sometimes I stand,” Caleb joked, his delivery so flat one could almost think he was serious.
Molly just snorted and flopped backwards onto Caleb's bed. He knew the other boy too well to take the deadpan at face value, but for once he was the one attempting to be serious. "And I'm sure you look lovely in every position, but you know what I mean.”
Molly, with his lavender skin and hair and bright clothes, look even more like a riot of color against the dull brown of Caleb’s comforter. How could one person be so bright?
“Was that a sex joke?” Caleb asked as a purring Frumpkin moved to lie down against Molly’s side.
He paused in the middle of reaching for the cat to turn his best attempted at an innocent look on Caleb. It wasn't very successful, but it was a good try.
"Would I do that?”
“Yes,” Caleb answered like it was obvious. “You would.”
"So suspicious." But Molly had lost the battle with his grin, and he absently reached over to pat Caleb's leg before going back to petting Frumpkin. "The next one I'll be sure to make very clear for you.”
Caleb leaned forward to give Frumpkin a good scratch. “You will have to think long and hard before you make another sex joke,” he said solemnly. See? He could do innuendo too.
"I always do," Molly agreed brightly, clearly terribly pleased that Caleb was playing along. And since things were already going so well, might as well push for just a bit more. That was how Molly worked.
So he shifted again, opening his arms as he gave Caleb a ridiculous pout. "Can I have a hug?”
Caleb stared at Molly as if he’d asked a complicated math problem, and not a simple question and his brain was struggling to understand it. “Ah, okay,” he finally stammered.
And Molly just stayed where he was, arms open, waiting with an expectant look on his face. "I promise I won't bite.”
Caleb, who had expected Molly to sit up for the hug, blinked. It was an awkward position, but he leaned in all the same and hugged Molly. He’d never been this close to Molly before, and was surprised to find he smelled good, kind of like lavender.
Molly gave a pleased sort of hum and just. Didn't let go. Kept holding Caleb against him in a vague hope that the other boy might relax a little. It was worth a shot.
When it became clear Molly didn’t intend to let go, Caleb gave up and flopped down on the bed beside him, still trapped in his embrace. “You tricked me,” he said, the words muffled against Molly’s shoulder.
"Just a bit," Molly agreed, completely unrepentant. Caleb clearly needed it, and if he had to be tricked into it then Molly was happy to oblige. If he'd tried to pull away at all Molly probably would have let him, but now? He just relaxed into the hold himself.
Frumpkin, apparently in on the scam, climbed onto Caleb’s side and lay down on it. “Traitor,” Caleb muttered to his cat who only purred in reply.
Outnumbered, Caleb had no choice but to just lay there. Slowly, minute by minute, inch by inch, he relaxed. The incessant buzz of his thoughts quieted to a hum, and the tension slipped from his muscles, his body going looser as it sank deeper into the mattress and leaned just a little bit more into Molly.
“Do not go away for so long again,” Caleb said after some time had passed.
"I'll try," Molly promised, smiling a little bit to himself. "Or maybe I'll just bring you with me next time, hm? We could go on a lovely adventure.”
“What kind of adventure? I am not much of an adventurer.” Caleb was more like Bilbo Baggins before he’d joined thirteen dwarves and a deranged wizard on a quest to slay a dragon.
"You underestimate yourself, dear. But I'm sure I could come up with something." Even if it was just dragging Caleb into the city with him for his next tattoo. There were a plethora of bookstores there, something had to be enticing enough.
Caleb made a grumbling sound. “Books can take you on adventures.”
"I'm sure they can." It was a good thing Caleb wasn't looking, because Molly was doing an impressively terrible job of hiding his grin. He shifted a little to press a kiss against the top of his friend's head instead, just because he could. "But wouldn't you want to experience it yourself, rather than vicariously?”
Snorting, Caleb tilted his head to give Molly a look though his hair that clearly said: Have you met me? “I am very boring.”
"Now that is a filthy lie." He gave Caleb his best attempt at a severe look. "Who's been telling you such falsehoods?”
Caleb poked Molly’s nose because it was there and he was feeling silly. “No one. It’s a fact. The Earth is round, what is up must come down, and I am boring. I am okay with it. Boring is comfortable.”
Molly laughed at that, shifting to rest his chin on the top of Caleb's head. "You're a wizard, dear. What's boring about that?"
All Caleb could see now was a purple throat. “I am not going to win this argument, am I?”
"I'm afraid not." Not that Molly sounded particularly regretful. More comfortably pleased with himself as he settled them both together. "Just relax for a little while, dear. Frumkpin and I will keep an eye on things.”
This was another argument Caleb knew he wasn’t going to win. “Okay.” He closed his eyes and he was not quiet for long before he said, “I am okay, you know?”
"I'm sure," Molly said easily. And he was, mostly. He'd seen Caleb at his worst, and this most definitely was not it. Didn't mean Molly still wasn't going to fuss over him a bit. "I just wanted a hug.”
“Mm.” Caleb lapsed into silence after that, and it was not long before he slipped off into sleep. His breathing slowed, evening out, and, with a quiet sigh, his body went loose and unconsciously tucked in against Molly.
As much as Molly had enjoyed the break, there were downsides to being essentially out of touch for large portions of each day. Like the torrent of texts that came flooding in from Shaun the moment his phone turned back on. Molly eyed them, tempted to ignore for the moment since he was going to be heading back to the school anyway, until one caught his eye.
A second later, he'd read all of them, and had thrown caution to the wind in favor of getting a cab all the way back to the school. The train would just be too slow.
He was still twitchy by the time they arrived, and he all but threw the money at the driver as he slipped into the school. And paused just long enough to drop his things inside his own doorway before making his way over to Caleb's. If he wasn't here, he'd doubtless be in the library. Hopefully.
"Caleb?" He called, knocking firmly.
Caleb looked up from his book at the familiar voice with a smile. This was a nice surprise. He’d known Mollymauk was due back, but he hadn’t expected it to be so soon, never mind at his door. He wondered why—Ah. Of course. Someone must have told him what had happened.
With a sigh, Caleb closed his book. He went to the door, giving Frumpkin a pat as he passed by him, and opened it with a greeting of, “You are back.”
"I am back," Molly agreed, giving him a critical once-over. Caleb looked in one piece, at least, which was good. "I came to see how you were doing, dear, Shaun told me what happened.”
Caleb made space so Molly could come into the room. “Ah. Yes. I am alright.” Just hiding in his room and working very hard at not thinking about what happened.
Molly paused just long enough to give him a deeply skeptical look, but continued on in without saying anything. Caleb would say something about it or he wouldn't. It wasn't as if Molly didn't understand the situation.
"Shaun said they're gone now.”
Caleb knew what that look was for. Cal and Clint kept giving him a similar one—Doubting and worried. But it was easier just to pretend it wasn’t there. He didn’t know what to do with concern. Sitting back down on his bed, he said, “They tell me the same thing.” He didn’t believe it yet. After all, Professor Xavier had told him he would be safe at the school, and the Right had still found him.
With a vague hum of agreement, Molly unceremoniously dropped onto the edge of Caleb's bed as well. Not quite close enough to be touching, but enough that either of them could reach out if they wanted. Caleb probably wouldn't. But the offer was there.
"Alright then. So what now?"
With a sleepy ‘prrp’, Frumpkin stretched out and put his paws, toes spread wide and claws unsheathed, on Molly’s knee. He gazed up with him with lazy, half-lidded eyes, his tail flicking with the same slow, laziness.
“What now what?” Caleb asked, not sure where Molly was going with this.
And Molly just reached down to scratch Frumpkin behind the ears, either oblivious to or uncaring of the unspoken warning. "What do you want to do now," he elaborated. "Are we talking about it, are we not talking about it, are we manfully repressing everything, what?”
Frumpkin leaned his head into the pets, purring happily.
“What is there to tell? They found us at the book store, I killed my old handler, and they kidnapped me,” Caleb said, gesturing with his hands as he listed off each thing that had happened.
It wasn't quite what Molly had been getting at, but he just sighed and let it go. Caleb was starting to sound a bit like Molly himself, which probably wasn't the best sign. But he just focused on petting Frumpkin, letting Caleb have his moment.
"Well, they're gone now, and good riddance to them.”
Caleb frowned. “Are they? They told us we were safe here, and the Right found us, so what is to say they aren’t wrong about this too?”
Molly just arched an eyebrow back at him. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life worrying about it?”
“The moment I stopped worrying about it I got taken,” Caleb replied, distress slipping into his voice.
"And now you're back safe!" Molly huffed out something that wasn't quite a laugh. It wasn't that he didn't understand the worry, but letting Caleb obsess over it seemed like a bad plan. "You have all sorts of people who will track you down wherever and come get you.”
“Yes.” Cal had come for Caleb, and he’d said he’d do it again, and something in the way Molly said ‘people’ suggested he was counting himself amongst them. “But, ah, I would rather avoid that if possible.”
"Well, naturally. My point is that I don't want you to just sit here worrying about it," Molly said, watching him out of the corners of his eyes.
“I don’t just sit. Sometimes I stand,” Caleb joked, his delivery so flat one could almost think he was serious.
Molly just snorted and flopped backwards onto Caleb's bed. He knew the other boy too well to take the deadpan at face value, but for once he was the one attempting to be serious. "And I'm sure you look lovely in every position, but you know what I mean.”
Molly, with his lavender skin and hair and bright clothes, look even more like a riot of color against the dull brown of Caleb’s comforter. How could one person be so bright?
“Was that a sex joke?” Caleb asked as a purring Frumpkin moved to lie down against Molly’s side.
He paused in the middle of reaching for the cat to turn his best attempted at an innocent look on Caleb. It wasn't very successful, but it was a good try.
"Would I do that?”
“Yes,” Caleb answered like it was obvious. “You would.”
"So suspicious." But Molly had lost the battle with his grin, and he absently reached over to pat Caleb's leg before going back to petting Frumpkin. "The next one I'll be sure to make very clear for you.”
Caleb leaned forward to give Frumpkin a good scratch. “You will have to think long and hard before you make another sex joke,” he said solemnly. See? He could do innuendo too.
"I always do," Molly agreed brightly, clearly terribly pleased that Caleb was playing along. And since things were already going so well, might as well push for just a bit more. That was how Molly worked.
So he shifted again, opening his arms as he gave Caleb a ridiculous pout. "Can I have a hug?”
Caleb stared at Molly as if he’d asked a complicated math problem, and not a simple question and his brain was struggling to understand it. “Ah, okay,” he finally stammered.
And Molly just stayed where he was, arms open, waiting with an expectant look on his face. "I promise I won't bite.”
Caleb, who had expected Molly to sit up for the hug, blinked. It was an awkward position, but he leaned in all the same and hugged Molly. He’d never been this close to Molly before, and was surprised to find he smelled good, kind of like lavender.
Molly gave a pleased sort of hum and just. Didn't let go. Kept holding Caleb against him in a vague hope that the other boy might relax a little. It was worth a shot.
When it became clear Molly didn’t intend to let go, Caleb gave up and flopped down on the bed beside him, still trapped in his embrace. “You tricked me,” he said, the words muffled against Molly’s shoulder.
"Just a bit," Molly agreed, completely unrepentant. Caleb clearly needed it, and if he had to be tricked into it then Molly was happy to oblige. If he'd tried to pull away at all Molly probably would have let him, but now? He just relaxed into the hold himself.
Frumpkin, apparently in on the scam, climbed onto Caleb’s side and lay down on it. “Traitor,” Caleb muttered to his cat who only purred in reply.
Outnumbered, Caleb had no choice but to just lay there. Slowly, minute by minute, inch by inch, he relaxed. The incessant buzz of his thoughts quieted to a hum, and the tension slipped from his muscles, his body going looser as it sank deeper into the mattress and leaned just a little bit more into Molly.
“Do not go away for so long again,” Caleb said after some time had passed.
"I'll try," Molly promised, smiling a little bit to himself. "Or maybe I'll just bring you with me next time, hm? We could go on a lovely adventure.”
“What kind of adventure? I am not much of an adventurer.” Caleb was more like Bilbo Baggins before he’d joined thirteen dwarves and a deranged wizard on a quest to slay a dragon.
"You underestimate yourself, dear. But I'm sure I could come up with something." Even if it was just dragging Caleb into the city with him for his next tattoo. There were a plethora of bookstores there, something had to be enticing enough.
Caleb made a grumbling sound. “Books can take you on adventures.”
"I'm sure they can." It was a good thing Caleb wasn't looking, because Molly was doing an impressively terrible job of hiding his grin. He shifted a little to press a kiss against the top of his friend's head instead, just because he could. "But wouldn't you want to experience it yourself, rather than vicariously?”
Snorting, Caleb tilted his head to give Molly a look though his hair that clearly said: Have you met me? “I am very boring.”
"Now that is a filthy lie." He gave Caleb his best attempt at a severe look. "Who's been telling you such falsehoods?”
Caleb poked Molly’s nose because it was there and he was feeling silly. “No one. It’s a fact. The Earth is round, what is up must come down, and I am boring. I am okay with it. Boring is comfortable.”
Molly laughed at that, shifting to rest his chin on the top of Caleb's head. "You're a wizard, dear. What's boring about that?"
All Caleb could see now was a purple throat. “I am not going to win this argument, am I?”
"I'm afraid not." Not that Molly sounded particularly regretful. More comfortably pleased with himself as he settled them both together. "Just relax for a little while, dear. Frumkpin and I will keep an eye on things.”
This was another argument Caleb knew he wasn’t going to win. “Okay.” He closed his eyes and he was not quiet for long before he said, “I am okay, you know?”
"I'm sure," Molly said easily. And he was, mostly. He'd seen Caleb at his worst, and this most definitely was not it. Didn't mean Molly still wasn't going to fuss over him a bit. "I just wanted a hug.”
“Mm.” Caleb lapsed into silence after that, and it was not long before he slipped off into sleep. His breathing slowed, evening out, and, with a quiet sigh, his body went loose and unconsciously tucked in against Molly.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject