Chapter Text
The room was dark when Caleb and Essek entered until the candles were suddenly lit. The room was similar enough to the rest of the manor, but still different in its own cozy way. The candelabras in each corner in the polygonal room were silver with accents of gold, and the floors were a shiny marble. The rest of the room, however, was more natural. Wooden dressers and chairs, an animal skin rug on the floor and a small bookshelf in front of a large window covered by dark red curtains. The most magnificent in the room was the large dark wood canopy bed sitting headboard against a wall to the right of the door. The bed in contrast to the rest of the room had ivory silk sheets to cover the king sized feather mattress. There were both functional and decorative pillows strewn about that gave the bed the feel of an organized mess, and the canopy was covered with a light, translucent cotton curtain.
“Your bedroom, ja?” Caleb didn’t know what he wanted his answer to be. If it was yes, he would be scared. If it was no, he would be disappointed. Essek chuckled at Caleb’s question.
“I hope it isn’t too forward. I just thought we could talk, have some wine.” He moved closer. “Get to know one another better.”
Caleb hadn’t even noticed that Essek’s feet were on the floor. The surprise of that was nothing compared to the concern Caleb felt for his safety.
“What do you mean by that?” Caleb said after clearing his throat. He could feel his face flushing up again. Essek was bending over to reach into a small cupboard near the far wall of the room. Retrieving a brilliant crystal bottle and two goblets, Essek set them on the table at the foot of his bed.
“I do not only wish to know you as an apprentice, Caleb. I wish to know you as a friend.” He said. As he poured the rich dark red beverage into the two platinum goblets, Caleb internally cursed himself. Only friends?
He decided to wave the thought of his attraction away for now. Instead, he followed Essek’s command when he sat on the edge of his bed and patted the sheets beside him. He was hesitant at first, but he obeyed. After raising his goblet a little bit and taking a long drink, Essik spoke and turned towards Caleb.
“Now, Caleb,” he began, “I know you may be hesitant to share with me, but I’m very curious. Why exactly are you no longer loyal to the Empire?” Caleb felt himself tense up. His past trauma came back to him in an instant. Why did Essek want to know? Was it to ensure he was loyal to Xhorhaus now? The wizard knew telling Essek about his past was dangerous.
“I’ve already told you,” He began. “My headmaster abused me. Nothing more.” Essek’s brow furrowed as he took another long drink.
“But that was just a single man. Surely that wouldn’t warrant hatred towards an entire nation, would it?”
“Can we please change the subject?” Caleb said, biting his lip in worry. Essek’s hand laid on Caleb’s wrist.
“Caleb, dear, I want you to trust me!” Essek begged. With that, Caleb stood up abruptly.
“I don’t want to talk about it!” He shouted, his voice ringing in the room. Essek was silent. He had never heard Caleb yell like that.
“I…” Essek muttered as Caleb dropped to the floor and buried his head in his hands. “Caleb, I apologize. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He set his goblet on his end table and returned to Caleb.
“Bitte…” Caleb said, barely a whisper.
“What was that?”
“Bitte hilf mir zu vergessen…” Caleb sounded like he was crying.
“Caleb, I don’t understand, I’m sorry.” Essek said, crouching down next to the human. He was just about to cast comprehend languages when Caleb threw himself into Essek’s arms. Essek hesitated before enveloping Caleb into a tight hug.
Bright Queen, help me. He thought to himself. He’s so broken.
“Caleb, look at me. Let me help.” Essek muttered. Caleb looked up at him slowly. Essek immediately saw those aquamarine eyes in a different way. They were no longer strong and determined, but rather dull and exhausted. The poor man was shattered beyond repair on the inside, and there was nothing Essek could do to help. Not unless he was correct in his calculations. Essek brought his face closer to Caleb’s until he could feel his breath on his lips. He was tempting him, begging him.
It was a moment before Caleb complied and gently pressed his lips to Essek’s. Essek had never felt a gesture so gentle. His lips were chapped and dry, but it was the softest thing he had felt in his life. Essek began to pull Caleb up and as he did, he deepened the kiss. As Caleb held his breath he let Essek’s tongue slip past his lips and press against his own. Caleb could feel his face get hot as Essek began to turn him towards the bed and push him down. Once he was on top of Caleb he broke away, catching his breath. Caleb cleared his throat when he met Essek’s soft gold eyes.
“Is uh…” He began, his voice shaky. “Is this what you wanted?” Essek hummed as he bent down once more to nip at Caleb’s neck. He brought his knee up to the bed to try to get more on top of Caleb, who didn’t bother to notice Essek pulling at his vest.
Before he knew it, Caleb was shirtless, flustered, and pressed up against the headboard with a handsome drow in his lap. Soft hands traced his chest and stomach, softly caressing him. Essek was nibbling at his collarbone, not yet bothered to remove his own dark leather vest.
“This seems inappropriate, Essek.” Caleb teased. “A student and a mentor, how much trouble we’ll be in.”
Essek laughed, bringing himself back up to Caleb’s face to kiss him again.
“I think we’ll be fine if we keep this our little secret. ” Caleb smiled against his lips when he kissed him once more.
“I’m good at keeping secrets.”
“Then I have utmost confidence in you, my dear.” Essek said, letting his head fall in the crook of Caleb’s neck. There was a beautiful moment of pure silence. Caleb was still trying to absorb the fact that Essek had loved him the entire time. Well, perhaps not love, but at least Essek wanted to be in his company. Enough to have a fling. He could still taste Essek on his lips as the drow nestled into him. Caleb couldn’t help but wrap his arms around him and savor the moment.
“I hope we can stay like this.” Essek purred. “I love your little family.” He lifted his head up to look at Caleb’s sapphire eyes. “I love you.” He finished off his thought so softly that Caleb had to kiss him again just as softly.
“Hm.” Essek hummed, breaking away from the kiss. “What time is it?” Caleb thought for a moment.
“11:41”
“Nott will be furious if I don’t have you home soon.” Essek reminded him. Caleb sighed with annoyance. He hated that Essek was completely right. He loved Nott, but he knew that if he didn’t follow her curfew he would certainly be in for an earful.
“Ja, I should probably get back.” He gently pushed Essek off his lap, who in return gave him a final quick peck on the cheek. The drow gracefully hopped off Caleb’s lap and began to pick up the wizard’s clothes from the floor.
Caleb hadn’t wanted it to end. Essek had said the l-word and the world stopped. One simple confession had changed his life in an instant. Now he didn’t have to spend his time worrying that Essek would never share his feelings. He didn’t have to worry that he was being used. He had never heard something so genuine as that “I love you.” As Caleb took his layers of clothes from Essek and slipped them on, Essek began to clothe himself as well. He wasn’t nearly as uncovered as Caleb was, however.
“You’ll want to cover those up as well.” Essek teased. Caleb was confused until he caught a view of himself in the mirror above the dresser. It was then that he was able to get a good look at his neck and collarbone, which were covered in fresh bruises and bites. He only smiled brightly when he knew he was out of Essek’s view. Once his neck was adequately covered by his collar he slipped the rest of his layers on. He couldn’t cover a bite mark that was placed on his jaw, however.
“You could have asked me permission before marking me up like that, liebling.” He giggled. He felt like a teenage schoolboy again.
“Oh, that kiss was all I needed.” Essek responded nonchalantly. “I would have suspected you wanted more, considering how often your tongue was in my mouth.” Celeb could feel his face flush up again as the two walked toward the doorway of the room.
“Look who’s talking.” Caleb defended. “You were practically down my throat.” Without warning, there was suddenly a firm grip of Caleb’s rear and a soft purr in his ear.
“Oh, trust me. I will certainly be down your throat again the next chance I get.” Essek’s smooth tone sent a shiver up the human’s spine that made the hair on his neck stand up. Just as suddenly, Caleb turned around with a fierce look in his eyes.
“Is that a promise?” He whispered. He could tell that Essek wasn’t expecting this sudden assertion. A magenta color spread across Essek’s cheeks and reached the tips of his ears. He cleared his throat and gently pushed Caleb forward. Caleb gave a teasing laugh in return and followed close behind.
***
“Thank you for walking me home.” Caleb thanked as he and Essek walked arm-in-arm back to the Xorhaus.
“Anything for you.” Essek responded sweetly. Not long after the mutual wordless confession, the two acted like they’d been together for months. They weren’t together at all, at least not yet. Instead they just happily shared what they had. The lanterns of the Xorhaus’ tree were glowing dimly, and Caleb wondered what it would be like to sit beneath that tree with Essek and slowly doze off with Frumpkin purring in his lap.
It felt so surreal. He kept his feelings for Essek under wraps for so long when in reality there was no need. He never would have expected Essek to reciprocate his feelings, but he did. He wondered why the gods would fate such a dirty lump of scraps like him to be with a beautiful esteemed drow like Essek.
When they reached the steps of the house, the two stopped. Essek smiled and pulled Caleb into a tight hug.
“We’ll do that again, ja?” Caleb asked, wrapping his arms around Essek’s back, who chuckled in response.
“As long as I never have to see you cry like that again.” He said. Caleb smiled and retreated from the hug. Before letting him go, Essek brought one hand up to Caleb’s jaw and pressed their lips together one last time. Caleb was still flustered but it was more out of joy this time. Out of love. When he opened his eyes after the kiss he could swear he saw something moving in the front window.
“I’ll see you soon, Caleb.” Essek said with a wink. He turned around and began walking back towards the center of town.
Caleb sighed, upset that it was over. He wanted to spend the rest of his life enveloped in Essek’s arms. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t have to wait long.
As he walked into the house, something felt off. The foyer was dimly lit with a few candles, and he didn’t feel alone. When he shut the door, the feeling got more intense.
“Ca-leeeb!” The cheery sing-songy voice behind him made his hair stand on end. Scheiße.
“I knew it!” Another female voice shouted. Caleb’s face turned red as he whipped his body around to find Jester dancing on her toes and Beauregard clenching her fists.
“So it was a date!” Jester exclaimed, bounding towards him.
“He kissed you! Kissed. You.” Beau growled. Caleb sighed, burying his face in his scarf.
This would not be an easy explanation.