Work Text:
It’s a rather frigid day outside, snow had begun to fall once again just as Essek had stepped inside Xhorhaus apartments. He takes a moment in the bottom landing of the building to remove his most external layers, he loosens the scarf around his neck and unties his new ear covering. The accessory clashes with the rest of his outfit, all dark colors, but this is a light purple with pink accents and it’s covered in spattering of white fluff.
Of course the item was a gift from Jester, a handmade one at that, the woman had ones that were similar and she swore by them, even though she herself didn’t get cold often, for her they were typically more for aesthetics. It was almost a cross between a hood, ear muffs, and a beanie. The ear portion of it was actually fitted to cover his pointed ears entirely, an aspect that had quite the appeal given how warm it did keep his ears. It tied at the bottom and covered the top of his head.
It had quickly become a common accessory for him to wear this winter season.
For now though, he tucked it away into his coat. He ran a hand over his hair to fix where the item had mussed it up and to remove any snow that had begun to stick to it before his retreat inside.
Essek entered the elevator and hit the button for the seventh floor, as was his typical routine now. He had a key to go straight to the Mighty Nein’s floor but he was always wary that that would appear rather intrusive for an impromptu visit. So, he went to the floor just below them and walked up the last flight of stairs.
He approached their rather intricately painted door, glancing with a fond scoff at where Jester has insisted he sign his name along with everyone else’s upon their moving into this apartment, and gave two short knocks to it.
A moment passed, then another, and Essek almost thought they hadn’t heard it, it wouldn’t be unlikely given how the typical state of their apartment was noisy chaos. He was about to knock once again when the door opened suddenly, revealing Caduceus.
“Ah it is you, come in. Sorry for the delay, we’ve been rather occupied.” He stepped back from the door to allow Essek’s entry.
“It’s quite alright, if this is a bad time then I can come back?” Essek steps through the door and shuts it softly behind him, he hesitates before stepping out of his shoes.
“No, you’re always welcome. Perhaps you can help with this problem, we’ve been trying to get Caleb to leave his room but he’s adamant about not doing so.” Caduceus pauses for a moment, seeming to think further, “Here, let me give you some food to bring him, I bet he’ll listen to you.” Is all he adds before walking off towards the kitchen.
Essek stands shocked for a moment, it’s always jarring how easily and accurately Caduceus reads people. He finishes stepping out of his boots, pulls his coat and scarf off and sets them on an empty coat hook near the door, he decidedly doesn’t think about how there’s always a hook empty for him.
He turns to the rest of the room and it’s then he notices that he’s been watched, Yasha sits in a large armchair, peering at him from above a book. He gives her a polite nod and a wave of the hand and then briskly heads on to follow Caduceus. He enters the side of the apartment which houses Caleb’s room and is immediately met with Veth and Jester on the couch, enraptured in animated conversation of some kind.
But of course his presence does not go unnoticed.
Veth spots him first over Jester’s shoulder, she gives him a curious glance and a small squint of the eyes before apparently deeming his presence allowed. Jester notices this and quickly turns to see what caused Veth’s reaction and she absolutely beams when she spots Essek.
“Perfect! Essek, would you please go convince Caleb to come out and spend time with us?” She draws out the ‘please’ and pouts at him, lifting herself off the couch so she’s better in his view.
“This is the second that I’ve heard he won’t leave, is there a reason for this?” He had been curious at the first mention of it from Caduceus but now he surmises that the two’s animated conversation had been about this and his curiosity is only furthered.
Sure, Caleb had a tendency to hole up inside his room to finish his assignments or to do research but typically the Nein were rather patient and just waited for him to emerge. There had to be something unique about it this time for them to pull him in for assistance.
“He’s been working on the same report for three days! Something about how awful the data is but he’s barely come out to eat and hasn’t said a word to us!” Veth chimes in now as Caduceus returns to the main room.
“We’re all a little concerned, he told us that he’s fine but…” They’re worried regardless, it’s endearing how much they all care for each other and Essek finds himself immediately willing to join in on this mission to make sure Caleb is caring for himself.
It’s not just that their care is infectious, it’s the feelings that have been slowly simmering within him for the last two months, it’s all the times he’s looked at Caleb while they’ve studied together and wanted to reach out and stop him from scratching from the stress.
It’s the fact that he came here because of Caleb anyway. It’s how Caleb ‘forgot’ his scarf at their last session despite never forgetting a thing before. How when Essek texted him to ask if Caleb wanted it back sooner rather than later, Caleb had said for Essek to bring it by as soon as it was convenient for him.
It’s how four members of the Nein seem to think Essek will have a better chance at getting through his stubborn, work obsessed, beautiful head.
Caduceus is stood there, arm outstretched towards Essek and holding out a plate of cheese, crackers, and fruits. “I will do my best.” He says to them before taking the plate, and he means it.
He walks off towards Caleb’s room, a familiar path now, and stops just outside the door. He does the same knock he did at the front door and waits again, except this time there is no eventual reply.
Essek knocks again.
No reply.
“You should just open it!” He hears Jester shout from the living room.
And while he isn’t particularly fond of the idea, he knows it’s the best option. Plus, Caleb had told him before that he didn’t have to knock before coming in, at least not most times.
Essek tries the knob and gives a sigh of relief when it opens instantly, it’s less likely he’s interrupting anything if the door isn’t locked. He nudges it open slowly, not immediately seeing Caleb in the room as most of the view is of a bookshelf and the man’s bed. Opening the door the rest of the way, he does see him.
Caleb is there, arms and head atop his desk, a laptop open below them, with papers scattered all across the desk surface and some across the floor. The sight tugs at Essek’s heart, he sees the slow rise and fall of Caleb’s breathing and that confirms it, he had fallen asleep at his desk.
He laughs softly, almost fondly, at the sight and then steps into the room completely, he closes the door even more quietly than he closed their front door and walks further in the room. He sets down the plate of food on a small table nearby the door and then approaches the sleeping man.
He notes that the laptop screen has gone dark, he touches the trackpad and finds that numerous documents are currently open on it, Caleb hasn’t been asleep long enough for the device to log him out. He gently pulls the laptop out from under Caleb’s arms, a brief scare where Caleb seems to react to the movement, muttering something in his sleep, but it passes and then Essek has the laptop in his hands. He makes sure the documents have saved and sets the laptop on the bed, closing the lid just a smidge so that no light is seen.
The room is dark he realizes now, curtains are drawn over the windows of the room and Caleb himself doesn’t have a desk lamp, Essek knows that the man opts for using his dancing lights whenever he is working.
He glances over the rest of the desk, there’s nothing else at risk of loss of progress so he turns to Caleb now.
Essek crouches down slightly, elbows resting just on the desk as he brushes some of Caleb’s hair aside so he can see his eyes. He doesn’t see those beautiful, intense blue eyes, instead he sees the dark circles under them and the slight tense of a brow above them. Essek moves his hand to Caleb’s shoulder and lightly shakes at it, “Caleb? It’s Essek.” He finds his voice comes out quieter even than he meant it to be, he shakes his shoulder again.
He watches the furrow of the brow and waits, moving his hand back to Caleb’s hair to push more hair out the way of his face and to scratch lightly at his scalp. His efforts are rewarded as Caleb slowly blinks awake, he blinks a few times, eyes focused down towards the desk below him. Then his eyes find Essek and oh they aren’t intense right now, Caleb looks soft with sleep and those lovely smart eyes are no different right now.
Caleb picks his head up a little at the realization that Essek is there in front of him, the movement causes Essek to let his hand hang in the air for an awkward moment before settling on the edge of the desk. “When’d you get here?” The words slide together and Caleb’s voice is slightly rough as he asks the question.
“Just now, I came to return your scarf and then they tasked me with ensuring you’re alright.” He explains quickly, resisting the urge to reach out and touch again, it’d be so easy for his hand to return to Caleb’s hair but Essek stops himself.
“I’m fine,” The way that Caleb’s eyes fall closed again and he lets his head rest against his arms once more betrays the words he said, “I finished the assignment, must’ve fallen asleep right after.”
Essek pointedly ignores how it’s the middle of the day and how the man likely did not sleep the night prior.
“Well, could you eat something and then sleep in your bed? I’m not sure the desk is comfortable.” The urge overtakes him, with Caleb’s eyes still closed Essek lets his hand return to Caleb’s hair.
There’s a quiet sigh of content from Caleb as he lets it happen.
“Keep doing that and I’ll fall asleep here anyway.” The comforting, repetitive motion seems to make Caleb melt further into his arms and Essek believes the man that he would fall asleep if he were to continue.
He withdraws his hand, and the quiet whine, the way that Caleb almost follows after the retreating hand makes him believe that he isn’t the only one mourning the momentary loss of touch. Essek doesn’t think about that too hard.
“Come on, Caduceus made you a lovely snack plate, eat that then sleep.” Essek tries to be firm as he speaks. But Caleb chooses then to open his eyes again, and the way he moved his head before means now he looks up at Essek through his lashes, that look takes all the resolve he had been carefully holding.
He leans forward, they’re so close to one another that he can hear the way Caleb’s breath hitches at the movement, Essek knows he is no better. He doesn’t do what he really wants to do, he’s not that emboldened by the moment. But he does place a soft kiss to Caleb's temple, hears the shaky sigh from the other man at the contact.
“Come on.” Essek stands then, slight creak to his knees as he does from the crouch he had been holding.
The plate he had brought in remains exactly where he left it, he takes a step towards it, just one, before he’s stopped by a hold on his wrist.
“Will you stay?”
Caleb sits up now, hair mussed from where he laid against his arms and where Essek had run his hands through it, his shirt pulled awkwardly at the collar, Essek’s gaze lingers on the temple he had just kissed. He resists the urge to reach out and fix all of it, it’s not hard to resist that urge he finds, it’s rather endearing to see the man like this.
And Essek is a weak man for Caleb.
There’s few things that Caleb could ask of him which would actually make Essek say no to him.
“Of course.”
So he stays, they settle on the bed, careful to avoid getting crumbs on Caleb’s blankets as he insists that Essek help him eat the snack plate. They lean back against the headboard with blankets drawn up and Caleb settles his head on Essek’s shoulder, slowly and carefully Essek winds an arm around Caleb’s shoulder and ever so slightly pulls the man even closer to him. And they talk, quiet conversation about what Caleb had been working on, a particularly troublesome lab report for one of his courses, the data had given him trouble the whole way but he expressed his relief with being done with it. Essek spoke equally quiet praise to him at a job well done, another soft kiss to the temple, Caleb’s head is right there and how could he resist another display of affection that Caleb seemed to enjoy so.
Caleb asks him again about what brought him around.
“You forgot your scarf, and I wanted to return it.” I wanted to see you, he wants to add, but he doesn’t, just hopes that the fact that he’s stayed says it for him.
“Ja but you didn’t have to bring it so soon, I have other scarves.” Caleb slides down the headboard slightly, leans a little towards Essek, his hand finds Essek’s which isn’t currently around his shoulder and intertwines their fingers loosely.
The words stick to the tip of his tongue again. He takes a breath, closes his eyes, “I wanted to see you,” they finally reach the air around them, so quiet that he doesn’t think Caleb hears them for a moment. Then he opens his eyes again, glances down towards where Caleb’s face had been pressed into his shoulder moments ago, and he finds Caleb looking up at him again.
Essek doesn’t know how to describe the look in his eyes.
He isn’t familiar with such affection, not used to such fondness being directed towards him. He doubts himself that that is even what it is, because surely not, there’s no way that Caleb would look at him like that. He doesn’t deserve that.
But here he is being given it anyway.
He finds he can’t look at it long, breaking eye contact to look ahead at the rest of the room, he feels Caleb lay his head back down against him as the man speaks.
“I thought so. I am happy you stayed, seeing you has made this awful day better.” And if the look Caleb gave him hadn’t pulled at his heart already then those words certainly do now.
“I am glad to hear that, it was an easy choice to make to stay.” He is not used to being so honest with his feelings but he finds it easier when Caleb had just done the same.
They both go quiet after that.
The silence stretches and as it begins to reach an awkward length it is then that Essek notices how much Caleb’s breathing has slowed against him. He looks down again and confirms it, Caleb has fallen asleep lying against him, using his shoulder as a pillow. Essek fails to suppress a smile at the thought.
Letting Caleb sleep is an easy choice, he goes to pull up his previously free hand to get to his sleeve and finds Caleb still holds it in his own. He had been hoping to send a short message to one of the Nein and let them know Caleb was alright and sleeping now, but between one arm being stuck behind Caleb and the other being held by him, he cannot do so.
Well, the Nein will inquire themselves if they so choose to, and the fact that they haven’t already means they must figure Essek has taken care of Caleb. Essek ignores what that means for the amount of trust they’ve put in him.
Essek settles against the headboard, Caleb moves a little more in his slumber and eventually ends up laying half on top of Essek. He doesn’t mind it in the slightest. He finds comfort in the fact that Caleb finds comfort with him.
He tucks those feelings away for later, puts the memory of soft temple kisses away in a box for safekeeping. For now, he has a rather adorable, sleeping wizard against his chest, and he has no urge to go anywhere or do anything other than enjoy the company.