Chapter Text
The first time Caleb noticed it was two months ago.
Jester wanted to throw a party because she and Fjord finally got their new apartment. There were a few things to settle, so the group split in two: Jester, Beau, Yasha and Nott stayed at home to decorate and prepare it for the night, while Fjord, Caleb and Molly went to the supermarket to buy some food and drinks.
That's why Caleb was now looking at a bag of chips held in his right hand, trying to understand if they contained something Nott was allergic to.
The fact that the description of the ingredients was written in a small font wasn't helping at all.
Caleb squinted his eyes more, trying to read it, but it was impossible for him without his glasses.
He sighed, his shoulders slumped a bit, but in that exact moment a familiar voice caught his attention and he looked up.
Molly was passing by, pushing the cart and humming along to a song the radio was playing, the long, green skirt he was wearing waving along with his sinuous movements. When he saw Caleb, he sprinted towards him as he said “Hey Caleb! I thought I'd lost you in the magazines aisle, but apparently I was wrong”.
He chuckled and came to a stop next to the wizard, eyeing the bag of chips curiously, his tail swaying lazily behind him.
Caleb’s mouth was pressed into a thin line and his brows were furrowed. “I don't like that kind of reading. You should know that.” he said in a flat tone, shooting Molly an annoyed glance.
“Yeah, yeah, as you say.” Molly smiled widely, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the ginger’s grumpiness. “You taking it?” he asked then as he nodded at the bag Caleb was still holding.
Caleb blinked like he suddenly remembered what he had been doing before the lavender tiefling appeared, and looked at it again inquisitively. “Actually, I was trying to see if they contain something Nott can't eat.” he explained as he shook the bag.
Nott had a quite particular stomach for being a goblin, and Caleb wanted to avoid her being sick again, like last time she ate a pineapple cake that Jester had baked for her and Caleb.
“Oh, okay.” Molly shrugged and leaned against the cart, arms crossed on the handle as he kept staring at Caleb with his red, void hues.
“The thing is, I don't have my glasses with me so I can't read properly.” Caleb said in a sigh, before handing it to Molly. “Could you?”
The lavender tiefling just stared at him, a little confused, yet Caleb could swear he saw a glimpse of something else flashing in his eyes, but then Molly laughed and took the bag from the ginger.
“Sure.” he mumbled before lowering his gaze to the bag and worrying his bottom lip between his sharp teeth.
A long silence lingered between them.
Caleb was still looking at him, a strange feeling started creeping up inside him as the minutes passed.
What the fuck was Molly doing?
“It- it has nothing strange, so I think- I think it's okay.” said Molly after a long time, his voice a bit tense and his face twisted in a grimace, while he put it in the cart among beers and bread for sandwiches. Then he shot Caleb a smile, bright as ever, like nothing happened.
“Huh.” was the only response from Caleb, who was studying the other very carefully, a brow arched and arms now crossed over his chest, like he was trying to understand if he was bullshitting him or not.
“C’mon, c’mon. Let's not make Fjord wait.” the lavender tiefling said hurrying him up with an energetic pat on the arm, before turning the cart around and starting to walk away, the jewelry on his horns jingling as he slowly shook his head to the rhythm of the music.
The frown on Caleb's forehead only deepened and he stayed there a bit longer, wondering what was going on.
Caleb had known Molly for a while now, half a year more or less. He met him through Beau since he was Yasha’s best friend, and Beau and Yasha were together. They didn't hang out a lot, though, because Molly was usually with Yasha or Fjord.
Molly always made him curious somehow, piqued his interest, but Caleb never started any conversations with him if not necessary, he didn’t know how to handle him because the tiefling was a bit of a character, with all his colorful clothes, his flourish, his ostentatious tattoos, his outgoing behavior, all things Caleb wasn't, to be fair. Sometimes he was too loud for the wizard's likings, yet he was kind, especially towards Nott and that was a point in his favor.
Still, Caleb couldn't understand why he was so obsessed with him, now. He wanted to know what he was hiding, because Caleb was sure Molly was hiding something from him and the others.
From that episode of the supermarket, in fact, Caleb had kept an eye on the lavender tiefling, paying attention to every little detail, ready to expose him at any moment.
One time Caleb and Nott went to Beau’s and Yasha and Molly were there, too. While they were chatting amiably on the couch sipping some tea, Yasha’s phone started to ring, vibrating on the small table next to where Molly was sitting. As soon as he heard it, he picked it and stared at the screen.
“It's- it's-” he tried to say before Yasha barely shook her head and gave him an easy smile as she took the phone from his hands.
She answered the call, placing a hand on the tiefling’s thigh as a thank you before getting up and going to her bedroom to talk with the person on the other side of the line.
Caleb watched that brief scene with narrowed eyes, sipping slowly from his cup as Nott was talking to him about what she had discovered on internet that day, something like the properties of lemons.
Some time later, Yasha and Jester were cooking for the group in Jester and Fjord’s kitchen, and Caleb was helping them by peeling potatoes in a corner of the table.
Suddenly, a jingling sound caught the wizard’s attention, then a scent of incense and spring flooded the room. Caleb lifted his head to see a swirling of sky-blue fabric approaching Jester.
“Hey darling, how is going on here?” Molly asked in his cheerful tone, eyes wandering up and down the counter where Jester was cutting some vegetables.
“We are making pasta, Molly. Yasha told me she knew a good, healthy recipe and I want to try it.” she explained, each word accentuated by a sharp noise of carrots, broccoli and zucchini being sliced up.
“Oh, I see.” Molly nodded, tilting his head to the side while following her friend’s movements with his gaze. “I trust Yasha, so I'm not worried.” he spoke further as he shrugged a shoulder, making the strap of his dress fall, thing that Caleb silently noted, still looking at him behind the ginger curtain of his hair, head down on the potatoes before him. “But if the suggestion had come from you-” he left the allusive sentence hanging, biting back a smirk.
Jester nudged him with her hip shooting him a murderous look, but the lavender tiefling just sniggered amusedly at her reaction, gripping at the counter for balance.
“Make yourself useful and choose a type of pasta that cooks quickly, Tealeaf.” Jester ordered, making a face when she said his surname, and that got another high-pitched snigger from him.
“Yes, my dear.” he made an half bow smiling widely, before scooting away from her and opening a shutter of the further cabinet on the right.
Gold painted claws clattering on wood, he started looking through the boxes. But, as seconds passed, the clattering slowed more and more before coming to a stop and his joyous behaviour vanished.
Caleb could see doubt washing over Molly's face, and that strange, unsettling feeling clenched his guts again.
There was definitely something going on with that lavender tiefling.
As if Yasha took pity on his friend, she reached him and picked a box from the cabinet in his place. She then returned to her position, but only after having gently squeezed Molly's naked shoulder, in an attempt to… comfort him?
A fond smile blossomed on Molly's face, then he shook his head. And his usual sparkle was back.
The wizard witnessed that scene in utter confusion. His mind was starting to hurt from how hard he was thinking about what just happened, he couldn't shake the episode at the supermarket off his memory, and now this.
He didn't even notice that his hands had stopped from peeling, and he almost dropped the knife on the table.
Suddenly, the tiefling turned and their eyes met for a moment, Molly's went wide and his cheeks looked darker under the yellow light of the kitchen.
“I’ve heard Fjord calling me, I should see what he wants.” he said in a rush, before leaving a light peck on one of Jester's horns, cutting off any possible question. “Later!” he then yelled swaying away, his tail whipping the air.
Caleb released the breath he didn't know he had been holding.
Nothing was making sense for him anymore.