Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Essek sighed, staring down at his phone while the movie ran in class. He had already watched the film earlier in the semester and was bored by it, seeing as he already watched it for a different class the year before as well. It didn’t help that the student in front of him was extremely tall and blocked his view. It also didn’t help that there was a student in class snoring; not loudly, but just audibly enough to be distracting from the movie. So he had stealthily retrieved his phone from his bag and started browsing through his tutoring schedule.

Most of the students he was tutoring had given up on the tutoring service, resigned to fail their courses. For some, the course finally clicked and they didn’t need the tutoring to pass the class. Many were dorm students, too, who were busy between schoolwork and packing their rooms up for the upcoming holiday. A couple weren’t, living off-campus and having the option to stay in town. One of the students was also active online, from what he could tell, even though Essek knew for a fact that he had a test early in the morning. It was almost eleven at night, so he sent off a message wishing him good luck on his upcoming test.

Calton: Ah, shit, I forgot about that! Thanks, Thelyss!

Essek shook his head and sighed to himself, scrolling through messages he hadn’t checked all day. He generally left his phone on silent during the day and rarely checked it, most especially not in class. So he felt a quiet thrill of excitement up his spine as he slacked off for once. As he read and responded to the messages he needed to, he noticed one of the other students he tutored was online as well.

This student, a human on a scholarship, was intriguing. Essek recalled the day the dunamancy professor had called him aside as class let out and handed him a sheet of paper, detailed with this student’s name, year of school, address, phone number, and other information for tutoring, but all hand-written as opposed to done online. It was the first day of classes, which tutoring requests were almost unheard of for the first week, with a handful trickling in as the first month progressed and into midterms, when most students seeking tutoring made their requests. So a request on the first day of classes was strange.

"Essek, you’re one of my top students,” she said, handing him the paper, “and you’re listed as a tutor for my classes. I got an email from this student regarding my entry class, and he wasn’t able to get into any of them due to conflicting coursework.”

"So he’s not one of your students? How does he need tutoring then?” Essek asked, looking over the information.

"He’s a scholarship recipient,” the professor explained, patting a stack of books next to her. “His coursework is much more limited than the typical student based on their four-year plan, but he managed to load up his schedule to a point where I’m honestly a bit worried about how he will manage it all.” She passed another sheet to Essek, whose eyes went wide as he looked it over. “He’s basically in class from seven in the morning until six at night, barely twenty minutes for lunch, and he’s having to cross campus within a few minutes to get to class on time, multiple times a week. Even with a haste spell, that’s cutting it awfully close.” The professor shook her head. “He maxed out how many credits you can take in a single semester.”

"I’m sorry if I’m misunderstanding you, professor, but what does that have to do with my tutoring?” Essek asked again, trying to hand the paper back. She shook her head once more and tapped the books.

"I’d like to ask you to teach him.”

He found himself hitting the send button by the time he removed himself from his memories, and inwardly groaned. He tried not to message students for social calls, but he was curious what he was up to so late at night.

Essek: Yo Widogast

He waited a moment or so before sending a second message, then a beat before he sent two more.

Essek: u up?

got 1h more till the end of history classes…

and im so bored already

The response wasn’t very quick, but the rapid fire of the three messages surprised him. Most of Widogast’s messages were well thought out paragraphs, but usually also dealt with the tutoring schedule, questions about the subject material, and more educational reasons, so perhaps this was his way of texting normally.

Caleb Widogast: hello there;)

why dont you come to my place after?;)

maybe I can find a solution for this boredom of yours;)

Essek sent back an affirmative reply, and watched the clock on his phone tick away the time until class was over. It was past midnight now, and the last bus of the night class schedule was loading up. Essek normally took that trip, but since he made plans to visit Caleb, he didn’t worry about catching the bus. He knew there was a taxi that ran overnight for bar patrons, and he could easily catch a ride home.

It wasn’t his first time going over. He had called Caleb the evening he received the request and asked when would be a good time to meet up and get introduced, and figure out a tutoring schedule.

The bakery and cafe that Caleb suggested them to meet at was just off campus, and Essek in true form showed up about fifteen minutes early. It wasn’t terribly busy, only a handful of people sitting around with books and notebooks open, so Essek ordered some food and a coffee, then while his food was made, found a seat that gave him a view of the door so he could see the student when he arrived. His name was called just after six o’clock, the appointed meeting time, so he sent a message to Caleb asking if he was running late as he went to retrieve his food. But one of the other customers had taken up a seat at Essek’s table when he returned and was looking at his phone, messy ginger-brown hair curtaining his face.

"No, I am here,” the man said as Essek began to voice a protest; the human looked up and smiled at him warmly. “My class was just going over the syllabus, so we got out early. I have been here since about four thirty. My name is Caleb Widogast, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Essek Thelyss.” He stuck out his hand as Essek sat down with his food.

"Indeed, a pleasure,” Essek chuckled, shaking the human’s hand. “I had told you I wouldn’t have anything today before eight, so you could have let me know you were here early.”

"I wanted to get some work done before we met, so I would stay on schedule.”

Essek had learned that day that Caleb was not only incredibly intelligent, but he also had a photographic memory and could recall information he has read with unbelievable accuracy. To keep up on his schoolwork, he had worked out a very strict schedule for classes, social time, homework, eating… Everything down to a three minute window. He even had his showering scheduled in; in Essek’s opinion, it certainly wasn’t long enough nor enough times in a week, but as the semester went on, he never would have known Caleb only showered twice a week for six minutes each had he not seen the intricate time management Caleb had showed him.

With weekends almost entirely dedicated between homework and his job at the library, Caleb had maybe six hours for sleep a night and five hours weekly in case something came up and he had to adjust his schedule a bit. Those five hours were cut to two total, as Essek’s schedule only gave him a three-hour window during the week that matched with Caleb’s schedule; and those three hours were argued down by Essek from Caleb’s desired five. Even with Caleb’s suggestion of splitting it up into a couple different days, Essek still felt that it was too much on Caleb’s plate, but the human assured him he was used to it and didn’t need any of that time for anything else. They settled on the three-hour overlap of their free time.

To Essek’s surprise, however, Caleb was meeting and exceeding every goal for his classes, including their more involved tutoring sessions every Sunday. Caleb even brought up that he wasn’t feeling challenged by the classwork he was being given in his normal classes, finishing his homework with time to spare in his schedule, which he would use the spare time to read ahead, complete homework, and by the time midterms came around, he was almost ready to begin the final projects for half of his classes and was requesting the information from his professors so he could take care of them. It was incredible to Essek just how much work Caleb was able to do in such a short amount of time, and it made him push harder, give more challenging work and assignments, and even ridiculous things he didn’t think Caleb would be able to accomplish just to give him a challenge; Caleb met each and every one with a certainty that belied his constant self-doubt.

Essek knocked on the door to Caleb’s apartment and waited, knowing that as late as it was, Caleb’s roommate would probably be home. The door swung open and the roommate, a purple tiefling named Mollymauk, with countless tattoos and a wildly varied fashion sense that was carefully colorful, designed, and fitted, and would have been appalling if not for the personality that wore it, opened the door. Tonight the tiefling was in a fitted and risque getup, and it did tickle Essek’s interest a bit; but the tiefling didn’t take much interest in him, so he didn’t even bring up the subject at all.

“Good evening, Mollymauk,” Essek greeted him with a nod of the head. “Is your roommate still home?”

“Of course he is, Essek, come on in!” he waved him through the door and chuckled. “And you know you can just call me Molly, we know each other now, it’s not like it’s weird.” Essek didn’t reply, taking his shoes and coat off in the entryway. “He’s in the living room. I have a date tonight, so I’ll be out. Probably until Sunday, even,” Molly said, mirroring Essek’s movements in reverse. “Just make sure he eats before he goes to work if you end up staying the night, he never eats before work.” And he was gone, closing the door behind himself.

“Make sure he eats?” Essek repeated to himself, incredulous. He shook his head and continued into the house, trying to push the idea of staying the night out of his mind. The television was on in the living room, the same nature channel from online playing to entertain the brown and orange cat that Caleb kept. It was his usual routine for studying, occupying his cat with entertainment while he immersed himself in his books. But the cat wasn’t sitting, playing with the birds on the screen; it was curled up on Caleb, who was splayed across the couch, both fast asleep.

Friday was understandably one of Caleb’s busiest days, and staying up until one in the morning wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for any college student, but Caleb’s strict scheduling noted he would stay up until three in the morning, sleep for about six hours, and work at the library from ten until six at night, and study again until three. Essek knew this from scheduling the tutoring sessions, but seeing the schedule in action was absurd. Seeing Caleb breaking his schedule was even more absurd.

“Hey, Caleb?” Essek carefully shook Caleb’s shoulder, trying not to dislodge the cat from his perch on Caleb’s chest. That mission failed almost as soon as he got close to Caleb, the cat yawning, stretching, then leaping from Caleb’s lap and beginning to cry loudly. “Frumpkin, can you wake your human up?” he asked, looking at the cat.

The first few times he had witnessed Caleb talking to the cat, he thought it was laughable that Caleb thought his cat could understand common; but the cat obeyed many commands, from simple to complex, and Essek even began to speak to the cat and ask for simple favors. This time, however, Frumpkin just continued to cry. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do, as he hadn’t cared for a cat before and didn’t know how to discern the cries of a cat. But he knew Caleb had a feeding schedule for his companion and checked in just in case. Frumpkin followed him into the kitchen and continued to cry; Frumpkin had not been fed according to the feeding schedule, still unmarked for the evening. Essek had seen Caleb feed Frumpkin before, so he grabbed the bowl and some of the cat food, Frumpkin weaving between his feet and meowing at him.

That task done, he marked off the evening meal and returned to the living room, once again trying to rouse Caleb from his slumber. The human slept deeply and was not at all jarred from his dreams for the fifteen minutes Essek tried. He realized he might just end up staying the night as Mollymauk had assumed, and set to finding himself a comfortable position for his nightly trance. He knew he was better suited to an overfilled schedule because he required half the sleep of most other people, but he tried to keep the extra hours as relaxation time. It was about two in the morning when he had set up enough pillows and blankets in the chair by the couch when he went into his trance, and Frumpkin, gleefully purring and kneading his lap, was his companion as he dozed off.

Chapter Text

The last thing Caleb remembered from the night before was Molly complaining about his phone.

“Hey, book boy, your phone keeps buzzing,” Molly said, jostling him on the couch. “It annoys me.”

“Ja, ja, turn it down,” Caleb muttered in reply, waving his hand at Molly. He sat up a bit as Molly picked up his phone and started clicking through it. “What are you doing?”

“I’m finding your volume settings. I’m going to set it up for you so it’s not being ridiculous all the time.” Molly smiled at the phone and set it back down. “Where’s your charger? You’re probably about to pass out here, so may as well get your phone charging.”

“No, I’m studying, I’m not falling asleep,” he mumbled, sliding back down into the couch. “I’m just… resting my eyes.”

“Sure, sure… I’m going to be heading out tonight, probably won’t be home until Sunday after your tutoring session. I’ll catch you later.”

The first thing he remembered upon waking up to his phone alarm, eight thirty in the morning, was the sound of someone shuffling around in the kitchen. Normally, he would hit snooze and doze off again until nine, but the unfamiliar footfalls he was hearing startled him into alertness. He could hear Frumpkin mewling in the kitchen, not distressed or in pain, but the murmuring he heard back to the cat was indistinct. He carefully sat up on the couch and looked over it into the kitchen, seeing the light on and movement. Caleb slowly rolled off the couch and crept around it to look into the kitchen, only to find Essek busying himself near the sink. He turned around to pet Frumpkin, and caught Caleb’s eyes.

“Oh, good morning. Mollymauk let me in last night,” he said, straightening up. “I don’t know what you usually eat for breakfast, so I just went and got some buns from the store down the road. Coffee?”

“Wh… Molly let you in?” Caleb asked, taking the cup Essek offered him, the drow returning to pulling out buns for them to eat. “I… I don’t understand why you came over?”

“You said I could find a cure for my boredom if I dropped by after my class was done last night,” Essek said, looking over his shoulder. “You don’t remember? Maybe you were half asleep already...” Caleb groaned and pulled his phone out of his pocket to check his messages, and saw the text thread from last night.

“I think I was… I didn’t mean to have disrupted your schedule,” Caleb apologized, sitting down as Essek set the buns on the table. “I had… difficulties sleeping the past week and it must have caught up to me.”

“If it’s any consolation,” Essek replied, taking a seat on the other side of the table, “there was really not much of a schedule to disrupt. There’s only a week of classes left and then finals, and most students have given up on their tutoring if they’re not doing that well, or have picked up on the material and aren’t in need of a tutor for their class anymore.” He gave a warm smile before starting in on his breakfast, and Caleb did the same, though much slower than Essek.

“Thank you for the meal, and sorry I didn’t have any accommodations for you since you obviously ended up staying the night,” Caleb offered after the buns were destroyed, hand out for Essek’s empty plate and cup.

“I was able to make do, don’t worry about it.” He gestured towards the chair where Caleb noticed the extra pillows, mostly Molly’s decorative ones for the living room, were piled into what he could only describe as a nest in the chair. “Your roommate seems to care a lot about your well-being, he asked me to make sure you ate before you left for work.”

“He did what now? Wait...” Caleb blinked a few times, then looked at the clock. “Crap, I’m gonna be late to work!” He dashed to his bedroom, changed into fresh clothes, threw on a hat and scarf to hide the mess of hair, and started towards the front door. Essek was already at the door and had his coat and shoes on, and as soon as Caleb was outside locking the door, Essek cleared his throat.

“Normally I wouldn’t do this, but seeing as it was partly my fault for surprising you...” he said softly, holding out his hand. Caleb looked at him quizzically.

“I don’t have time to… to hold your hand,” Caleb stammered; was he still asleep and dreaming? He had thoughts about holding Essek’s hand, sure, indulged in some daydreaming… but when Essek insisted with another push of his hand towards Caleb’s, he took it. Essek started muttering an incantation, familiar to Caleb as conjuration magic, but something far more complex than Caleb had learned so far even with Essek’s tutelage. There was a rush of air and a weightlessness that lasted for a second, and then he felt the floor under his feet again. “What was that?”

“Teleportation spell,” Essek explained, pointing to the library. Caleb looked between Essek and the library for a bit, dumbfounded, until Essek gave him a little shove. “I saved you ten minutes, don’t let my help go to waste, now. I’ll see you tomorrow for your next lesson.” With that, Essek gave him a wave and walked off, leaving Caleb standing in the middle of the quad, absorbed in his thoughts. He couldn’t be dreaming. Certainly not. But Essek had held his hand. Sure, for a spell, but Essek held his hand. Caleb couldn’t help the little smile that crept onto his face.

He was very excited when he had gotten the approval to get tutored for dunamancy, and was eager to hear back from the student who was to tutor him. But when he met Essek at the cafe that evening, he had been more than a little shocked at how young he looked. But that was drow, and elves in general. But the continued close quarters with Essek had Caleb reeling in thoughts when he wasn’t immediately immersed in his studies, and it wasn’t until midterms that he realized what exactly his feelings were; he had a crush on his tutor. And it was almost more than he could handle.

Caleb raced inside the library and checked his phone for the time, and indeed, he had a few minutes to spare before his shift started, so he got a coffee from the library cafe and went to the front desk to get settled for his day. It went by about as slowly as usual, checking out books to students and professors as they came by, handing out day passes for computer use, and checking over returned books for damages. When he was caught up, he did some of his own homework.

Easily enough, he caught up on what he neglected the night before, and not being prepared for the lull in things to do, he looked up spells to copy into his spell book. Mostly the inane, easy spells that could be useful in day to day life, like dancing lights, or for fun, like thaumaturgy, or other utilitarian spells. While he looked at the list of arcane spells, he saw “Teleport” and clicked on the webpage. It was more complex than he could complete, but he saved the webpage for future transcribing anyways.

Caleb’s phone buzzed in his pocket, a text from Essek.

Essek: Sorry again for startling you this morning.

Caleb: That’s ok. I must have texted you while asleep. did you get home ok? I know it’s a ways for you.

Essek: I’m actually still on campus. I had a few students with lessons today anyways. are you on your lunch break soon? I’ll be leaving campus in the next hour or so but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask if you’d like to get lunch?

Caleb looked at the clock; it was almost three, which was when he typically took his lunch for his shift. Holding his hand that morning, and eating lunch with him? He pinched himself before responding.

Caleb: Sure. 3?

Essek: Excellent, we can meet at the cafe in the library then so you aren’t too far from work.

He put his phone away as someone came up to check out books, his customer service smile masking his delight.

Right at three, Essek was near the desk waiting; Caleb had already sussed out that Essek was rarely late to anything. If he was, it tended to be a matter of importance or out of his control, and even then, it was only by a moment or so, and he never seemed hurried even when arriving right on time. He guessed part of it was due to dunamancy, as the nature of it was time manipulation, but he seemed to be so naturally attuned to that kind of magic that it flowed through him with ease.

“Be right there,” Caleb called over, opening his timesheet and punching out. “Beau, I’ll be back in thirty, lunch.” His coworker nodded, waving him off. Caleb fell into step with Essek as they headed towards the cafe, and the cashier began waving enthusiastically at them as they entered.

“Cay-leb,” she called to him, and he gave a meek wave. “Is this that tutor you talk about?” The blue tiefling gave him a wide grin and leaned onto the counter.

“Ah, ja , Jester, this is Essek Thelyss,” he gestured to Essek, then to the tielfing girl, “Essek, this is my friend Jester. Beau back at the main desk is also one of my friends.” He took a bottled water from the cooler and a lunch snack pack, and Jester rang him out for his lunch as he made introductions.

“It is very nice to meet you, Jester,” Essek said, returning her smile. “I am indeed a tutor with the school, and Caleb is one of the students I help tutor; though, it’s more like actual teaching, since he isn’t in the class I am helping him study for.” Jester nodded along.

“Study date on Cay-leb’s lunch break, then?” Caleb spat out his water mid-drink, caught off guard by Jester’s comment. “It’s not like it’s a date date, Cay-leb,” she giggled. Essek interrupted with his lunch order while Caleb cleared his throat, finding a table to sit down as far away from Jester as he could find; he didn’t need her making more comments about dates or any such thing. His day was feeling more and more like a dream. After a moment, Essek sat down as well, reaffirming the dreamlike feel of his day.

“I apologize about Jester,” Caleb started, rubbing his temples. “She likes to meddle in relationships. Her mother works as… well...”

“Ruby of the Sea, sex counselor. I’ve heard of her,” Essek stated, starting on his food. Caleb nodded. “She’s very well known, and she has been featured in many articles, news segments, and talk shows. Besides which, we do have study dates in a sense. When I come over to tutor.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Caleb shrugged, “but it’s weird to call it a ‘date’ I guess?”

“Whatever it may be called, it’s the same concept.”

“Anyways, you wanted to have lunch, so here we are,” he gestured to the table. “Did you need something from me?” He felt his heart hammering more than usual when they were studying, and he had to consciously control his breathing.

“Not particularly, I figured it’d be nice to get together that wasn’t always such heavy studying.” Essek took a turn to shrug. “I’ve noticed we have similar interests, and would like to meet with you during the upcoming break sometime, perhaps a few times, to discuss these topics.”

“Over the break? I mean, since there’s no classes I wouldn’t mind doing extra tutoring sessions,” Caleb mused, picking at his snack tray. 

“No tutoring, I mean.”

Caleb raised a brow and looked at him for a moment. “What do you mean by that? Do you mean you want to hang out and be friends?”

“I think that’s it… I haven’t actually had friends before?” Essek shrugged again. “Maybe not quite the way most people do. I had people I would hang out with from high school, but since coming to college, I haven’t been able to keep in touch. Most people I’ve dealt with in college just wanted me around for clout and popularity. I’ve always been extremely busy with other things since starting college, too, so I never got to hang out with anyone outside of an educational situation like tutoring or study sessions.”

“That would explain a few things,” Caleb chuckled. “If you wanted to hang out a bit after tutoring tomorrow, we can talk more.” He grinned. “We could have an actual night of hanging out rather than me passed out on my couch when you arrive.”

“That sounds like a plan. My class Monday morning is a makeup meeting for students who missed any tests the last half of the semester, and I don’t need to be there,” Essek replied. “I will come to your apartment in time for our session tomorrow, and we can...hang out.”

“Sounds like a plan, Essek.” Caleb looked at his phone and stood up. “Lunch break is done, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“It’s a date.”

Caleb stopped for a moment, staring at Essek. Did he really just say that?

“You’re making a joke now, aren’t you?” he asked, and Essek nodded, smirking. “You are going to confuse someone with that one of these days, just so you are aware.”

“Perhaps.”

Caleb punched back in at the main desk and waved to Essek when he finally left the cafe. Beau cast him a look, then looked at Caleb.

“Tutor?”

“Ja , that was Essek,” he said, opening his spellbook up again and pulling up the same webpage.

“Jester text me saying he’s never had proper friends here in college,” Beau stated, crossing her arms. “And that he’s hanging out with you tomorrow?” Caleb rolled his eyes; Jester had a habit of eavesdropping.

“After our tutoring session, ja , why are you so interested?” Caleb looked up at her from his seat. “What are you getting at, Beauregard?”

“Where’s Molly? Won’t he feel put out?”

“He’s out and about, said he wouldn’t be home until long after the tutoring session is done,” Caleb explained, vaguely recalling the conversation he had with his roommate the night before. “He’ll probably be home after we’re getting ready for bed, since neither Essek or I have morning classes Monday.”

“Oh, so it’s that kind of hanging out, is it?” Beau quirked up a brow, smirking at Caleb. He stared back at her confused, then in embarrassed horror, mouth agape and face flushed.

“Beauregard, you know that is not what I meant,” Caleb glowered, watching as Beau snorted in amusement. “You’re immature.” 

“You can’t take a joke,” Beau retorted, gently punching his shoulder. “Anyway, I think it’s good you’re getting him to hang out, he’s a stick in the mud.”

“Essek is not, he’s just very interested in his studies.” Caleb gave Beau an appraising look. “Unlike some people I know.” He went back to his spellbook.

“Hey now, just because my dad is paying for me to go to school doesn’t mean I gotta like it,” she shot back. “Either way, I don’t have classes Monday at all, myself. Can I come over, too?”

“Ah, sure, I guess? Molly won’t mind, and it might be fun to have more people over, if people are free.” Caleb finished writing down one of his spells before his phone buzzed with a text message, which turned into two, four, ten new messages by the time he opened his phone to look.

“Alright, it’s a party,” Beau said with a chuckle, giving Caleb’s shoulder a rough pat.

“You invited everyone? I don’t have room in my house,” Caleb protested, but Beau laughed it off.

“You have plenty of room, man, it’s fine. We’ve had parties there before.”

“I don’t know if Essek will want to have such a busy night,” Caleb muttered, silencing the multitude of messages from the group chat before opening his messages to Essek and warning him of the change in plans. “I don’t know if that’s going to be his cup of tea.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Beau gasped, putting a hand up to silence Caleb as she typed into her phone. After a moment, his phone buzzed.

Caduceus: hi caleb :) beau says youre having a party? or is she pulling my leg again? :)

Caleb: i’m having people over but i’m not wanting it to be raucous. my tutor is going to be staying after our session tomorrow.

Caduceus: ah, ok :) thats good to know :) I know molly has done that before and you were not happy about that since you had that exam :)

Caleb: ty for checking, see you later then

Before Caleb could put his phone away, Essek messaged him back, and he sighed.

Essek: that is interesting. We will see how that goes, then. I haven’t been to a party in a long time. This should be fun :)

Chapter Text

Essek readied himself for the party, more than for the tutoring session, when he was preparing to leave for Caleb’s. As much as he was prepared for doing some tutoring, he couldn’t help but dress a little more for the image he wanted to project during the party. And a bit to flatter his own ego; he hadn’t partied in two years or more, and he missed the little bit of vanity he allowed himself during those times. And besides… He was enjoying Caleb’s reactions to some of his innocent flirting, and it was stroking his ego very nicely. Particularly his comment about the hanging out being a “date”. It didn’t hit the mark how he thought it would, but it was close enough to remind him he still had his charming wit about him.

He had been careful since first meeting Caleb. There had been something about him after a few tutoring sessions that intrigued Essek. That was when he began the gentle flirtations with Caleb, almost without realizing it. It was the first time Caleb blushed when Essek made a slight flirty joke that he realized he had been flirting; and he liked the feeling of it, of crushing on Caleb. Innocently enough, at least. Maybe he could try to push that envelope a bit more tonight?

*****

“That’s going to do it for this lesson then, Caleb,” Essek said, closing the book. Caleb groaned, following suit slowly and laying his head on the desk. Essek watched him for a moment, “You know you can cancel the party if you don’t want to have people over. We can hang out another night.”

“ It’s not that I don’t want people over,” Caleb sighed, letting his head fall to the side to look at Essek, “but I didn’t want to have a party. I was thinking board games, or a movie, something more relaxed. Beau made it into a party.”

“ If you’re worried about my comfort levels, I’ll be fine,” Essek reassured him, setting the book on the desk again. “I may not have partied often, but I’m not totally socially inept.”

“ Well, prove that to Beauregard, she thinks you’re a stick in the mud,” Caleb chuckled, sitting up again to put his books and notebooks away. “She can drink pretty heavily, her dad owns a winery. So you might get on her good side if you can handle your alcohol.”

“ I think I can handle my own,” Essek grinned, zipping his backpack up and setting it to the side of Caleb’s desk. “Shall we?” he gestured to the door. Caleb nodded, and Essek snapped his fingers; an arcane wave washed over them and the sounds from the rest of the apartment flooded into their ears. Caleb opened the door and the noise was louder yet, just enough to be annoying for neighbors… if Caleb hadn’t taken precautions and set up more Silence spells around the apartment to keep the noise confined.

Beau had invited their whole friend group over, and Caleb noticed that Molly had even come home, flanked by Yasha. Jester had made sure Fjord showed up, and Nott was not far behind playfully teasing him and making him perform feats of strength. Caduceus was in the kitchen pouring drinks out and waved at Caleb as he appeared with Essek from the hallway. There were also a few other people Caleb vaguely recognized, but Molly seemed comfortable enough going up to and talking with them, so he assumed they were not a threat.

“ There they are! You bookworms,” Beau shouted, turning the music down enough to make the announcement, “you took forever studying we went ahead and started without you!”

“ I noticed, Beauregard!” Caleb shouted back, receiving a quick hug from Jester; a drink was pushed into his hand and he took a cursory sip, then threw it back. “Caduceus special?”

“ Yeah, it’s a ginseng this time,” Caduceus shouted over the din and raised his teapot. “Nott bought the vodka. How’s it taste?” Caleb raised the glass up above his head. “That’s great. I think drinks are ready then! Come get it, everyone!”

“ I’m sorry, they did what with ginseng and vodka?” Essek asked after Beau turned the music back up and went to carouse.

“ Caduceus is a botanist, he’s got a huge hydroponic garden in his basement,” Caleb explained, setting the cup on the kitchen counter for Caduceus to refill. “Ginseng is supposed to help with concentration, so he suggested it for tonight’s cocktail since it’s close to finals. Nott works at a liquor store and gets the best alcohol for cheap when the labels fall off.” Caleb picked up his refilled drink and passed it to Essek. “Give it a try, if you don’t like it I know we have some other stuff in the house. He just likes to make a menu sometimes.”

Essek took the cup and swirled it, the loose pulp from the ginseng floating in the glass. He looked up at Caleb, back to the glass… and slammed it, much to Caleb’s surprise.

“ Like I said, I haven’t partied often, but I’m not socially inept,” Essek laughed, giving Caleb a wink and his cup back before letting himself be pulled away by Jester to mingle with Fjord and Nott. Caleb stared after him for a moment, fidgeting with the cup in his hand. A wink? Essek gave him a wink ? He turned back to Caduceus, who was already waiting with the teapot in hand to refill the cup.

“ He’s going to fit right in, Caleb,” Caduceus assured him, patting him on the shoulder before returning to his task. Caleb sipped at the drink, feeling the alcohol hit his system and force him to relax his shoulders. He already knew Frumpkin was hiding in his bedroom, he had moved the food and water dishes in there before the tutoring session, and made sure to close the door so he wouldn’t escape to be trampled by anyone. He also knew nearly everyone in the room was a friend, or friend of a friend. He could relax. He could have a good time, and not worry about anyone doing anything nefarious.

As he looked around at his friends, Caleb felt himself smile, and found his way to the couch where Beau had taken up her post to DJ. She stole his drink from him and downed about half of it, laughing when he swiped it back and stuck out his tongue.

“ You’re worried,” she stated, poking him in the face between his eyebrows. “You’ve been scowling since Essek walked off with Jester. What gives?”

“ I’m working on relaxing, is all,” he replied, but felt his forehead; he could trace the worry and stress lines marked into his skin even while he forced his face to relax. “You know how I am with parties as a whole. And to ask Essek to come party with us? I’m worried he’s not going to enjoy himself.”

“ I wouldn’t worry too much, man,” Beau sighed, slinging an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into a side hug. “Essek seems to be getting along with Jester just fine, see?”

Caleb caught a glimpse of the tiefling passing off a bag of cupcakes to Essek, who tried to turn them down, but Jester’s insistence and natural charm made him acquiesce and take the bag. He traced a sigil in the air and placed it into his pocket dimension, to which Jester and Nott both began applauding. Fjord, on the other hand, began to speak to Essek very enthusiastically and rapidly.

“ Ah, magic stuff. Fjord’s not going to stray too far from that kid,” Beau laughed again, giving Caleb a shake. “Take like ten minutes, talk to Reani, or to Cali, and then check in on your dude. And for fuck’s sake, make sure that man has a glass or bottle in his hand!”

She picked up her beer and clinked it against Caleb’s glass, taking a swig. Caleb took a sip as well and leaned back against the couch.

“ It’s a pre-finals party! We’ll have another one after exams and get him absolutely plastered!” She paused. “Well, if he’s down for it. I don’t wanna force him to drink if he doesn’t want to.” Beau took a thoughtful sip of her beer and cursed. “Damn, empty. Can you be a host and get me another? Thanks, Cay.”

Caleb rolled his eyes, but shot her a smile as he took the empty bottle from her to replace it. He went to chat with Calianna about her own studies for a bit, then when Jester had excused herself from Essek to acquire a new drink, she linked arms with the dragon-blooded girl and whisked her away. Caleb gave her a wave and looked for Reani, who was talking with Caduceus about different botanical remedies and how he was incorporating his plants with the drinks.

“ Caleb, please, you have to help me!” Caleb was spun around to find Fjord with a solemn expression, staring at him with pleading eyes. “I don’t know how to ask Essek to tutor me. Can you talk to him? Put in a good word for me?” He took Caleb’s shoulders and shook him, sloshing Caleb’s new drink about.

“ I can try, Fjord, but his tutoring schedule is up to him, not me,” Caleb promised, extracting himself from Fjord’s grip. “After the party, perhaps, so he doesn’t have to think about schoolwork for a bit.” Fjord nodded, clapping him on the shoulder before turning his attention to Caduceus. Caleb sighed, topping off his glass and picking up a fresh one for Essek.

Essek had apparently excused himself from socialization for a moment and was by the window, alternating between typing on his phone and staring out the curtains. Caleb watched him for a few moments, unsure if the drow was regretting the party, was regretting being at Caleb’s… It felt like a few moments before Essek turned and caught his eye, a quick smile flashing across his face as he waved him over, sending Caleb’s negative thoughts scattering. Caleb obliged, passing Essek one of the cups.

“ You are a very good host, Caleb,” Essek said, taking a sip of the ginseng cocktail. “Your friends are very… charming might be one word to use, but I think entertaining is more apt.” He tapped out a bit more on his phone before putting it away.

“ Are you enjoying this break from school stuff?” Caleb inquired, watching Essek’s posture carefully.

“ Absolutely! This is actually quite enjoyable,” he replied, holding his cup out. Caleb clinked it and they both drank. “Your half-orc friend, Fjord, was it? He was impressed with my pocket dimension and started asking me all sorts of questions about magic.”

“ He does that.” Caleb looked over at Fjord, who was not-so-subtly staring at them and giving him a thumbs-up. “He learned he has an aptitude for the arcane, but he hasn’t quite figured out how. But he’s just learning how to use it. He could use a good teacher.”

“ I’ve already scheduled him into my planner for lessons,” Essek butt in, smirking behind his cup. “He was completely conspicuous about his desire to learn from me. I don’t think it’s a bad idea.” Essek gave Fjord a direct look and returned the thumbs-up, which made Fjord start and sheepishly wave back. “He was so one-track minded he never gave me his phone number to get in touch.” He set his drink on the windowsill and held a hand out to Caleb. “May I?”

Caleb produced his phone and brought up Fjord’s contact information, and Essek copied the information into his own phone. He tapped away on Caleb’s phone for a moment before passing it back, putting his own away after a few more taps.

“ I added myself to your friends lists on social media, I hope that’s alright,” Essek said as Caleb looked over his phone. “I figure if we’re going to be hanging out more, especially over the break, we should be able to get in touch more easily.”

“ Oh, uh… Yeah, that’s fine,” he said slowly, opening up his phone apps to look at the new alerts. After he verified and cleared the notifications, flushing from either the alcohol or the fact his crush had added himself to his friends list online, Essek tapped his shoulder and he looked up; just in time for Essek’s phone to flash and snap a picture.

“ Here, good to share?” Essek asked, showing Caleb the picture. Essek was grinning broadly in it while Caleb looked like a deer in headlights; one of Essek’s arms was draped across his shoulders, showcasing his drink, and Caleb’s phone was visible at the very bottom of the image. “Hmm, no… Once more.” Prepared this time, Caleb gave a smile and a peace sign, seeing Essek’s grin again with his drink in hand, also flashing the peace sign sideways. Behind them, however, was one purple tiefling with bright makeup, winking with his tongue poking out to one side of his smirk.

“ Mollymauk!” Caleb spun around and gave his roommate a glare, receiving a tap on the nose in response.

“ Haha! Photobombed! Post it, it’s perfect,” Molly instructed Essek, who was already tapping away on his phone again. It slid into his pocket and Caleb felt his own phone alert with the new notification. “Essek, it’s nice to see you again! Sorry about this one,” he said, leaning against Caleb. “He bored himself to sleep with his homework, but I had plans and had to leave.”

“ That’s fine, I was surprised Caleb had invited me over, to be honest,” Essek laughed. “I thought he was extremely business oriented, not looking to make friends but just get his work done. Sort of like myself, in fact. So it was quite a shock he responded to my message that way.”

“ That’s our wizard boy,” Molly smirked, pulling Caleb into a hug; Caleb shrugged Molly’s arm off with an eye roll, “always a surprise. He’s made his own spells, you know. Well, re-skinned some common ones. Caleb! You should show him!”

“ There’s too many people in here, Molly,” Caleb protested, but Molly turned around and began to wave his hands wildly. Beau turned down the music and threw him a microphone. “Molly, please, this isn’t the-”

“ Hee-ey!! How are you assholes doing tonight?” Molly said into the mic, and the room applauded and shouted back. “No, I’m serious, how are you doing tonight?? ” Everyone screamed louder back at him. For an apartment of under twenty people, it was a loud response that Caleb hadn’t anticipated. “So! You know why this party is happening tonight, right?” Beau and Jester screamed back at him. “Oh come on, Beau, you didn’t tell anyone else? Damnit, advertise!”

“ Fuck you, asshole!” Beau shouted back, flipping him the double bird while laughing wildly.

“ Anyways! We’re all here because Caleb’s tutor needs better friends!” It was Essek’s turn to be surprised, and Caleb buried his face in his hands. “Essek Thelyss, everyone, dunamancy prodigy and tutor! He’s been teaching Caleb all semester! I, of course, know how many hours these two have spent together and it’s about damn time they put the books down and have some fun!” Jester’s shrieking cheer was heard above the rest of the party din.

“ This is unexpected,” Essek chuckled, patting Caleb on the back. “I amend my earlier statement. Your friends are far more than just entertaining. They are the right kind of absurd.”

“ I swear they never do this normally,” Caleb whined, looking up at Molly who had turned back around. “Why?”

“ Caleb here has something to show off, which is why I’ve gathered your attention for the moment,” Molly continued, winking at Caleb and handing him a small bag; Caleb recognized it as his components pouch and rolled his eyes. “Show us some of the amazing things you’ve learned, and some of your own talents!” He threw the mic back to Beau and began to chant Caleb’s name, which the room picked up on in moments. Essek grabbed Caleb’s cup.

Caleb stepped forward a bit and glanced over his shoulder at Essek, who just gave a nod to him, quiet confirmation he could show off the dunamantic magic he had been learning. Looking back to everyone he’d grown to view as friends, he took a breath and dipped his hand into his component pouch and began the impromptu magic performance.

A spectral image of his cat appeared up at the ceiling, bursting into flames as it grew into an enormous cat’s paw. Everyone cheered and clapped, and Caleb brought the paw over everyone and set it in front of himself, waving to everyone with his hand and the paw. He dismissed it and pulled out a piece of obsidian, concentrating for a moment. A shadowed version of himself stepped away from him and began to cast another spell while Caleb looked around for something to use with it. He picked up his umbrella and waved for Fjord to come over, handing the implement to his shadow double. When Fjord arrived to the improvised stage, the shadowed clone finished the spell and held the umbrella aloft, drawing its hand away as the umbrella stayed in place.

Caleb mimed a pull-up and gestured for Fjord to go for it. He jumped up and hung from the suspended umbrella as everyone clapped again. He began to do pull-ups as Caleb pulled out his second spellbook; a small pocket-sized notebook he kept his most useful spells in, just in case of emergency. After a few moments of searching, he pulled out a small leather loop and looked at Fjord again, casting a spell at him. Fjord looked back at Caleb quizzically, as Caleb looked to his double and ended the spell. The umbrella, which he had been able to suspend six feet up, clattered to the ground; Fjord shouted as it dropped, but he stayed aloft.

“ Caleb what the hell did you do?” he cried out, flapping his arms around.

“ Just making you levitate, that’s all,” Caleb called back, grinning as he moved Fjord closer to the ceiling. He started trying to swim midair while everyone cheered, and Caleb set him back down. “Thanks, Fjord,” he said, placing a hand on the half-orc’s shoulder.

“ Next time you owe me,” Fjord replied as he and Caleb bowed, Essek off to the side beaming at him in what Caleb thought was pride and accomplishment.

Chapter Text

Essek sat in the cafeteria later that week between classes, eating and doing some light studying. He knew the material already, but the professor was one of the toughest in the school. It didn’t help that he only had a Pass/Fail course, instead of graded, which made the difficult workload even tougher, almost impossible for those who didn’t dedicate enough time to studying. But Essek knew he was going to pass the class easily; it was just nice to review the material while he had a bit of downtime. He felt a warm gust of air, but brushed it off as he continued to study.

“Hey, Essek!” The blue tiefling he had talked to over the weekend sat down at his table and dropped her lunch tray down. “Hi, do you remember me? It’s Jester! From the library cafe and Caleb’s party!” She beamed, waving over his head at someone else.

“Yes, hello Jester. It’s nice to see you again,” Essek responded, smiling. “Are you ready for your finals?”

“Not at all, but I’ll do just fine,” she replied, pushing the seat next to her out from the table as Fjord came up as well.

“Ah, I see you got my message then?” Essek asked, looking to Fjord then.

“Yeah, I did,” he replied with a shy smile. “Thanks for offering to tutor me. I can’t tell you how much help I need with it.”

“It’s no problem, especially since it’s not tied into any coursework directly.”

“Before we get into the boring stuff, though,” Jester interrupted, brandishing a fork full of noodles at Essek’s face, “we need to talk about something else!” Essek quirked a brow, noticing Fjord sharing in his confusion. “It’s about Caleb, and I need to know the truth!”

“Oh?”

“Yes! What are your intentions with him?” She ate the noodles off her fork as she stared Essek down.

“Jessie, that’s not what we’re here to talk to him about,” Fjord muttered. Jester shushed him and stared at Essek intently.

“He’s a student I was asked to tutor by the dunamancy professor since he hadn’t made it into the first year class,” Essek stated, his elbows on the table as he leaned forward. “If you’re asking why I was at the party this weekend, it’s because I was bored and the first person to come to mind was Caleb, as he was my next tutoring appointment, so I messaged him I was bored in class.” Jester perked up as she listened, leaning in as well. Fjord buried his face in his hands.

“What did he say??”

“He invited me over after my class was done, but when I got there he was passed out on his couch.” Essek leaned back in his chair again. “Mollymauk had said he would be out for the weekend, mostly, and asked that I make sure Caleb eats breakfast before work, since apparently he neglects to do so. He woke late, and I helped ensure he got to work on time.” Essek thought for a moment saying he was just being nice, but something in the back of his mind told him that it was a lie and the realization clicked into place; so he snapped his fingers, a rush of cool air passing over them. Jester frowned at that point and pouted, leaning back in her own chair. “You cast a spell before you sat down, didn’t you?”

“I wanted to be sure you weren’t going to lie to me,” she mumbled.

“Jessie, you don’t cast that truth spell on people out of the blue, you can always just ask them like a normal person,” Fjord scolded her, but she didn’t pay him attention.

“Well, I wouldn’t lie to you in the first place,” Essek said plainly. “I don’t find lying to be productive, unless it’s to protect someone or something. And I can tell you’re asking me about my intentions with Caleb because you want to protect him, so why would I lie about that?”

“You’re pretty chill for a guy who just was forced to tell the truth,” Fjord pointed out, similarly brandishing his spoon as Jester had done.

“I didn’t feel forced since I had no intention to lie.” Essek took a few moments to eat the remainder of his lunch, and the other two did the same. “In any case, I will keep in mind that you have that ability, and make a note that lying to you, if I ever feel it is necessary, will be foolhardy.” He collected his books and his plate and stood, giving her a quick glance over. “I must say, that trick is good for counseling work, but they will know you’re forcing them to tell the truth when you’re actually working.”

“Oh! I only do it to learn the tells of when people are lying or trying to lie,” Jester explained, grinning ear to ear. “But it definitely helps me make sure no one is going to hurt our favorite wizard!”

“Duly noted. Good bye.”

That evening when Essek had returned home from a different tutoring session, he pulled out his phone and checked his messages online. Not only had Beau and Jester requested to add him as a friend, but Caduceus, Nott, and Fjord had all sent him requests; Molly was already a friend due to their prior interactions. There was another person who had tried to add him, but he barely remembered seeing her at the party, let alone talk to the aasimar woman who seemed to silently follow Molly around. But he gave her the benefit of the doubt and added her back, along with the rest of the group.

The picture he had posted of himself and Caleb, with Mollymauk photo-bombing in the background, had certainly been how the group found him online. After a few quiet moments, the messenger app dinged, and he opened to find all of Caleb’s friends chatting away quickly in a group message.

Jester: essek!! thanks for adding us all!!!! :) :) :)

Molly: now we can all talk to you, good. Bring some booze on sunday for tutoring!

Caduceus : are you having another party, @Caleb?

Nott: i’m pretty sure he’s got an exam monday morning, sunday partying doesn’t sound like a good idea, everyone will have a hangover

Molly: not if I can help it! ;)

Jester: i’d love to party again! Should we invite reani and keg and cali again? What about shakaste and nila?

Caleb: no, we are not having another party!! nott is correct, I have an exam at 8am. I cannot be drinking sunday night.

Molly: oh cmon, live a little!

Fjord: don’t force the man if he don’t want to drink

Caleb : actually, @Essek, this does remind me. Since I have this exam I need to cancel this last tutoring session. I neglected a chapter of the book for my arcane history class and need to use that time to study. I apologize.

Molly: party pooper

Jester: awwww :’(

Caduceus: so no party? Got it

Nott: no, his studies are important.

Yasha: what just happened?

Molly: Caleb’s a party pooper

Essek : Thank you for the welcome, Jester. As for Sunday night @Caleb, I completely understand and wish you the best on your arcane history exam. Please let me know if you’d like to continue these tutoring sessions next semester as well.

Molly: oh no, caleb just cut off his tutor. D=

Jester: i’m soooooo sorry about earlier, essek!!! D= D= I didn’t mean to make you upset!

Beau: jessie what did you DO??

Fjord: jester, you said we wouldn’t tell anyone about that

Molly: now I HAVE to know!!

Nott: spill it, what happened??

Caleb: um... hold on.

Essek’s phone began to ring as he tried to type his response, Caleb calling him for a video chat. It was not Essek’s preferred way to talk to someone, but it was an interesting turn of events, so he answered.

“Hello, Caleb,” Essek greeted him, casting the spell he had taught Caleb, the one used for the umbrella trick at the party. His phone stayed in place while he settled back onto his couch to talk. “I understand about Sunday, don’t worry.”

“Hallo , Essek. Um...” Caleb faltered for his words for a moment. “What happened today that Jester is apologizing for?”

“It’s nothing, really, she asked me a question that was perhaps a bit… personal,” Essek started, picking his own words carefully, “and I answered her to the best of my ability.” There was no need for anyone to get upset with her over something that barely phased him.

“She tried to read your tells, didn’t she?” Caleb groaned, shaking his head. There was a thump and a mewl, and Frumpkin appeared in the camera.

“It’s not like I was going to lie to her anyways,” he said, then made a kissy noise at Frumpkin. “Hello, Frumpkin, it’s nice to see you!” Caleb stared at him from the phone. “Yes?”

“You’ve… that’s the first time you’ve done that, to my memory.” Caleb scritched under Frumpkin’s chin, a loud purr audible through the phone.

“It’s the first I’ve seen him since the last tutoring session,” Essek replied, miming giving scritches. Frumpkin cried at the phone and pawed at it, crying once more before settling in above Caleb’s head; apparently he was laying on his bed. “I said I would like to hang out with you as a friend after that session, and so we did. So it’s the first time I haven’t just been your tutor.” It had taken him by surprise as well, babying the cat. Normally he avoided becoming friendly with student's pets because he would more than likely not see the animal again the next semester, sometimes month. But Caleb, and Frumpkin by extension, were definitely different.

“That makes sense, but you don’t have to segment it like that,” Caleb pointed out. “I… Speaking of tutoring, it’s just this next session I have to cancel. I’d still like to learn more dunamancy. We can still be friends even if you tutor me, right?” A look of worry crossed Caleb’s face, but Essek couldn’t place it before the image shifted around for a moment, and when it stopped moving Caleb was still on his bed, but with Frumpkin between his face and the camera of the phone. It was… cute, in a way that caught him off-guard.

“I don’t see why not, why would I stop tutoring you because we are friends now?” Essek asked, raising a brow. “I could almost say it’s a better situation. If you have a question while we are hanging out, you can feel free to ask. Just like in that group chat.”

“Oh… You sounded like you were not tutoring me anymore because I have to cancel,” Caleb muttered, muffled by the spotted fur of his cat. “I wasn’t able to get the second semester dunamancy class either, so I kind of assumed you would still help me...” He buried his face in the cat’s belly and said something Essek couldn’t decipher.

“You do realize that you’re far more advanced than the second half of the first year course now, right?” Essek laughed, Caleb’s eyes popping back into view over the fur. “I’ve had to pull out my books from the third semester courses to keep you occupied during these sessions. At this rate you’ll be learning along with me in the fourth semester course after spring midterms.”

“You have to be joking,” Caleb whispered in shock. Essek shook his head, and Caleb chuckled into Frumpkin’s fur.

“Come on, now, stop hiding behind Frumpkin,” Essek requested, still laughing softly. “You have no reason to be embarrassed about having a desire to learn.” Caleb shrugged from behind his cat, making no move to become more visible. “Either way, you should have plenty of time to study for your exam now, and I do wish you the best on it. One last question, though, before I let you go.” Caleb tilted his head, almost like a cat himself, and Essek held back a chuckle at the similarity. “Is the group chat always that busy?”

“No, most of the time it’s just memes and pictures of cats,” Caleb said, shrugging again. “It only picks up when we’re about to have a party, a bit after the party, and when we start planning for something like a trip.”

“That makes sense. Well, I’ll try to keep an eye on it as I can.” Caleb nodded. “Have a good night, Caleb. I will see you over the break.”

“Um… you can still come over if you’d like to,” Caleb said quietly. “I might have questions on that chapter since I haven’t looked at it before, and if I ask the professor he might get upset with me. I just need to focus on that chapter.” Caleb didn’t look at the phone as he spoke. “I wasn’t sure how to phrase it in the chat that wouldn’t prompt someone to make a bad joke.”

“You mean a sex joke,” Essek clarified, a little fondness in his voice at the thoughtfulness, and Caleb nodded. “Fair enough. It probably doesn’t help that you reacted to Jester saying ‘study date’ in an entertaining way.”

“Probably not, no. Anyways, you were trying to hang up and I had a question still. Gute nacht , Essek,” Caleb said, reaching forward to his phone. “Let me know if you want to stop by on Sunday still. I will see you during the break otherwise.”

“Good night, Caleb, I will,” Essek replied, and the other side of the video call went dark. He took his phone out of the air and dismissed the spell, going back to the group chat. The conversation had died down a bit, but the majority of the conversation had been Jester and Fjord trying to skirt around the incident, Mollymauk between begging and threatening in order to find out, and Beau and Nott discussing alcohol. At some point Jester began making dick jokes as a diversion, and Beau sent eggplant emojis for a solid minute in response, with Mollymauk making appropriately dirty comments to egg them on. After catching up on the discussion, he saw that Caleb was typing into it and waited for a moment to see what he said.

Caleb: you are all ridiculous. Gute Nacht.

Essek put his phone away and sighed, heading to his bedroom. He knew it was a bad idea, an awful, terrible, horrible idea. He realized after seeing Caleb hiding behind Frumpkin just what his innocent flirtations had lead to, but he had already gotten this deep into it. He had a little crush on the human, and he wanted to see where it would go.

Chapter Text

Exams ended for Caleb late the next Thursday morning following his transmutation final. It was the last class he had to worry about, and he was finally free for the winter break. He sighed happily, stepping out of the warm class building and into the chilly midwinter air, taking the sidewalk to head home. Grades would be a week or so to come in, and for once, he wasn’t stressing out about the outcomes. Besides not having to deal with professors who overworked students to the point of exhaustion, it didn’t hurt that Caleb had still been able to hang out with Essek; just being around the drow gave him a positive mood boost even though he had to study for arcane history.

"Archmages were not necessarily good or bad, but most governed their actions based on loosely held moral beliefs,” Essek said, leaning over the kitchen table with Caleb as he studied. “The Age of Arcanum was tumultuous at best, disastrous at worst, and archmages didn’t really care about the way the gods wanted to control the use of magic.”

“I get that part, but I don’t know what makes arcane and divine magics so different,” Caleb whined, laying out across the table. “I just know that will be on the test, and I haven’t been able to find it in the books we’ve read all semester. It wasn’t even part of the midterms.”

“I’m not going to give you the answers, Caleb,” Essek chided, smirking a bit. “Bribe me all you want with buns and cupcakes, I won’t budge.” Caleb rolled his eyes and made a hand gesture, and moments later a cupcake floated in front of Essek.

“You sure you can’t tell me?” Caleb grinned with the thinly veiled request for another pastry, watching Essek pluck the cupcake from the air with an exaggerated sigh.

“Okay, okay, you win. It’s not written in the book, but it’s something that they expected everyone to know when they got into the school. It wasn’t on any entrance exams or anything, they thought it was basic knowledge even though no one has been taught that difference in over fifty years.” Essek took a bite of the cupcake and flipped through a few pages of Caleb’s book, then pointed at one of the picture spreads. “Because of this picture, they feel they can still ask that question in the arcane classes. What’s the difference between the spellcasting images, besides the obvious fact that one is divine and one is arcane?”

Caleb studied the image for a few minutes, quietly mumbling to himself the visual differences he could note, between armors, weapons, colors, heights… He mentally documented them and huffed in frustration.

“There’s a lot of things.”

“Look at how they’re casting.”

Caleb looked at their hands. The divine caster had a small trinket in hand, and in the five panels of the image, depicting examples of the spells they could use, the divine caster had the same focus in hand, and a light from above illuminating them. He looked closer at the images of the arcane casters; one was a wizard with a different held, glowing item in each panel, one was a sorcerer with a wand in hand and a light on their chest, and the third was a warlock with a wand or different items, with a light filling the side of the panel.

“Oh!! I get it! It makes sense now,” Caleb scribbled into his notebook, grinning ear to ear. “Wizards use components primarily, because they don’t have a natural well of arcane energy. Sorcerers have their magic from within and generally channel it through a focus, and warlock magic comes from a third party source that is not divine in nature. And divine magic comes from the gods themselves, focused with the holy symbol!”

“There you go, and I still didn’t just give you the answer,” he smirked, taking another bite of cupcake.

Essek had been extremely kind to help him out as much as he had, and to bring along snacks for study motivation… which were devoured before they even began to study, leaving them to make a quick trip to the store for motivational study snacks. But now that exams were done, he could finally relax until Saturday night, when Essek had invited everyone to his place for the after-exams party that Beau suggested. Essek said it wasn’t much, but that he had a surprise in store so that everyone could enjoy themselves to the fullest. Essek had even requested that Caleb bring his spell components and spellbook, as he wanted to do another magic demonstration for everyone.

Caleb smiled to himself, a warm, almost glowing kind of feeling in his chest. He had rarely been proud of his accomplishments since moving and attending this new university, but he was already feeling much more welcome by his peers here than back at his old college. It was pride, he thought, that feeling he had when he was learning and doing well with the dunamantic spells Essek taught him. This request made him feel even more like he was doing well with his studies, and for once, he could be proud of his hard work, just for himself. It only made sense.

Arriving home, he kicked off his shoes, ditched his coat, and danced his way into the kitchen, light on his feet and feeling as free as a bird. He knew Molly was in an exam, having passed him in the hallway as he was leaving, so he was free to mess around to his heart’s content. Even though it was morning, he had no more plans for the day and the library was fully staffed by other students who still had exams on Friday, so he wasn’t needed anywhere; he grabbed a beer, popped it open, and took a swig.

“Celebrating early?” Caleb spat out the drink and turned on his heel to face the unexpected visitor; Essek stood in the kitchen behind him. “I didn’t mean to startle you! I did it again, I apologize,” the drow sighed, producing a towel in hand and wiping up the wasted drink. “Did Mollymauk not tell you I was going to be here when you got out of your exam?”

“Uhh….” Caleb just stared at Essek, feeling embarrassment rush into his face. “N-no, he didn’t… Um…”

“You’re going to be busy, that’s fine,” Essek laughed quietly, standing up and casting a quick spell on the towel to remove the beer. “I should have just messaged you myself, I’m sorry. I’ll just get going.” Essek started towards the door.

“Essek, wait,” Caleb yelped, grabbing Essek’s arm and pulling it a bit. “Um… Sorry.” Essek had looked down at the hand on his forearm and seemed to be confused by the gesture. “I wasn’t expecting company or any errands, so I was just going to have a beer and unwind today. What did you need, though?” Caleb let go of Essek’s arm guiltily.

“Well, I have only partied with your friends once,” Essek started, steepling his fingers and almost bouncing them, “so I don’t know what all they drink. And it has been a very long time since I’ve partied properly, so I was wondering if you might accompany me to a cocktail tasting event today for ideas for Saturday. My treat.”

“That, uh… That actually sounds fun,” Caleb admitted, smirking. “Sure. What time is it at?”

“It’s still a couple hours out, but I figured stopping by early on isn’t the worst idea. If nothing else, it gives you time to get ready,” Essek returned Caleb’s grin. “Unless you still think two friends hanging out together is too much like a ‘date’ as Jester had said.”

“You’re the one treating, so I might be tempted to say it is,” Caleb replied with a laugh. It was a risky attempt to flirt, but the chuckle it got out of Essek was a welcome response. “I’m going to shave and shower, there’s not really much to do here, but feel free to watch some TV or something.” Essek nodded and put on a documentary while Caleb gathered a change of clothes to get ready.

Essek drove them to the other side of town. Caleb hadn’t had a chance to really explore the town because of his packed schedule, only taking trips directly to and from the grocery and department stores as needed for necessities with rideshares, and not having grown up in town, he had no idea what else was around. He was quiet for most of the ride over, suddenly self-conscious of his lack of knowledge about town, but he wasn’t sure how to make the silence less awkward. Essek didn’t seem to mind the silence, though, so when they arrived at the distillery Essek had mentioned, Caleb got out of the car quickly and stretched.

“So, we’re here a little early which means they won’t be serving anything yet,” Essek explained, locking up the car and moving up towards Caleb. “We could go next door to get something to eat first, I haven’t eaten yet today.” Caleb nodded. “I didn’t want to say anything in the car, but… you’re unusually quiet. Is everything alright?”

“Ah, yeah, I’m good.” Caleb knew his smile was weak when he looked at Essek again, but thankfully he didn’t comment on it. “Let’s get some food. I haven’t eaten yet, either. Maybe I’m just hangry.”

“’Hangry’? Is that a portmanteau of ‘hungry’ and ‘angry’? I’ve heard that once before,” Essek said, leading the way in. Caleb sighed, grateful for the change of topic. They ate quickly, returning to the distillery soon after. It wasn’t busy, but Caleb realized he was far under-dressed for the occasion.

It felt like a business social gathering, marketing and connection making between different high-brow businesses like banks, lawyers, and so on. Mostly men in suits and ties, women in dresses and business skirts, and a handful of younger startup companies with polo shirts or simple blouses and nice jeans. Caleb had never seen Essek wearing casual clothing, so he thought nothing of the button-up shirt and slacks the drow wore. Caleb had just thrown on something easy and comfortable, some worn jeans and a simple graphic tee-shirt.

“Essek… you never mentioned a dress code,” Caleb whispered when they were shown to a standing table.

“I wasn’t aware of one,” Essek admitted, worry on his face. “I wish I had known, I’d have actually tried to look presentable.” Caleb stared at him blankly. “What?”

“You always look good,” he said sternly, raising a brow. “If anyone needs to be worried about sticking out like a sore thumb, it’s me. I look like I dragged myself out of the thrift store trash pile.” Essek smirked a bit at him for a second before seeming to compose himself.

“Caleb, you look just fine,” Essek assured him, picking up the tasting menu. Caleb watched him for a moment more, confused but flattered, then looked at his own menu.

The distillery had printed a special menu for the afternoon, with about twenty different cocktails available featuring their newest alcohol. Some were whiskey, some rum, as well as vodka and tequila. Essek seemed at home when the server came through to take their order, and when he looked at Caleb waiting for his drink order, he couldn’t think of what to get.

“Make it two,” he said in a rush, trying to calm himself down. The server nodded and walked off. Caleb looked at Essek, who was giving him a bemused look. “I have no idea what I’m doing, I’m out of my depth, help me.”

“I’ll just order two of each drink I want to try, don’t worry,” Essek chuckled. He flipped the menu over and pointed out the event description. “’A tasting event for businesses and entrepreneurs to sample our newest line of premium alcohols ideal for the office after-hours and celebratory cabinet. Try our new alcohols with cocktail recipes catered specifically to tantalize the taste buds, in a classic cocktail, or on the rocks for an honest flavor experience.’” Essek looked back up to Caleb with a wide, ridiculous grin. “This is basically an event for business people to get drunk at so they’ll buy a buttload of booze.” Caleb nodded along quietly, still looking at the menu. Some of the drinks were outlandishly mixed, with too many ingredients that would certainly overpower the natural flavor of the alcohol.

“It looks like they’re trying to mask the alcohol flavor rather than highlight it,” Caleb pointed out, reading one of the cocktails aloud to Essek. “One ounce Elysium Distillery vodka, one ounce lime juice, one ounce simple syrup, one ounce citrus liquor, top with lemon-lime soda.” Caleb shook his head, setting the menu down. “Why are we here?”

The server returned with a tray with two glasses, a single ice cube that took up the center of the cups, and a clear honeyed brown liquid filled halfway up the glass. Essek handed the server his card and waited for him to leave before turning back to Caleb.

“Because we are having shots on the rocks. Consider these drinks to be research. It’s a double,” Essek chuckled, picking up his glass and holding it out to wait for Caleb to follow suit. “Try to keep up.”

Caleb watched Essek down the double shot of what certainly was spiced rum, if he could go off the strong and warm scent, and set his cup down gracefully. Caleb copied the movement and slammed it back, not as careful setting his cup down but not disruptful to the atmosphere of the distillery. He suppressed a shudder, not having anything to follow up the shot with. The server returned and gave them both a glass of water, which Caleb nearly snatched from his hand. Essek gave their next order as Caleb tried to rid himself of the taste of the rum.

“Not a fan of spiced rum, I take it?” Essek asked, marking something on his menu. “That’s fair, it’s not for everyone. I figured I’d get the worst ones out of the way first. Next is the tequila, single shot, with a little lime juice on the side. I can’t stand straight tequila.”

“You can take spiced rum no problem, but tequila is what makes you back off,” Caleb teased, watching as the server returned with the chilled glasses and lime wedges. He gave the two a glance, rolled his eyes with a huff, and walked off with the empty rum glasses.

“That was rude of him,” Essek muttered, marking another note on his menu. “Bottoms up, Caleb,” he said, grimacing at the glass in hand. Caleb picked his own up and shot it back without picking up the lime. When he set the glass back down, Essek was staring wide-eyed at him; Caleb grinned back in a challenge for Essek to finish his own. “Impressive.” Essek did, wincing as he reached for the lime wedge. Caleb couldn’t help but chuckle as Essek took a few moments to compose himself after the shot, dropping the lime into his water and taking a sip.

“You’re sorely mistaken if you think you can drink a Zemnian under the table, Herr Thelyss ,” Caleb teased, looking at the menu again. The alcohol was already warming him, going to his head.

"I would never, Mister Widogast," Essek feigned offense, complete with the hand to his chest. "You wound me!"

"Don't even!"

"Pardon the interruption, Mister Thelyss," the server had returned and set his card down. "This event is for business professionals, not for an excuse to day drink with your...friend." The server gave Caleb a look again and returned to address Essek. "I have taken the liberty of closing out your tab and adding a gratuity for inconveniencing actual business partners."

Essek looked at the server, then stood up straight and turned to face him fully.

"Oh, have you? May I speak to the gentleman who runs this distillery?" Essek crossed his arms. When the server didn't move, he gave a dismissive wave of his hand like shooing a bug. "Go on, the gentleman."

Caleb watched the server as he went from one service person to the next, finally arriving at a blue skinned man who looked up and smiled, coming back over with the server. The server had a smug grin on his face as they approached; that is, until the gentleman spread his arms wide and enveloped Essek in a hug.

"Mister Thelyss! I am absolutely pleased as punch that you accepted my invitation!" the man said, smiling broadly as he pulled out of the hug, clapping the drow on the shoulder. Caleb caught the server’s expression; his jaw had dropped and he was staring openly at the exchange.

"Hello, Gentleman," Essek replied, "it is very nice to see you again. I wish you had told me that this was a business event, I would have made myself more presentable."

"Nonsense, you look just as proper as any of these two-bit salesmen!" The Gentleman laughed, turning his attention to Caleb. "Is this your friend? It is nice to meet you, I am Babenon, though I prefer to go by the Gentleman, and I run the Elysium Distillery. I hope you are finding the drinks to your liking, Mister…?"

"Ah, Caleb. Caleb Widogast," Caleb shook the man's hand. "A pleasure."

"Actually. Gentleman, this server of yours was being quite rude," Essek said, and the gentleman turned to look at him. "He was giving us quite the stink eye earlier, and now he's trying to kick us out."

"Gentleman, sir, I didn't know this man was your invited guest," the server said, looking frazzled and torn between fighting and running. "Had I been made aware…"

"You are going to make sure they have an enjoyable afternoon, is what's going to happen," the Gentleman snapped. "Scrub those charges, refund it back to the card, or what have you, and give them each another three drinks, whatever they wish. Then you will be on dishes when the night is over."

"Yessir," the server said, waiting for the next drink from Essek before running back to the bar.

"Good help, you know?" The Gentleman shook his head and sighed. "Well, Essek, if you have any further troubles, just let me know. Of course, I am unable to just provide free drinks for you all night, I do have a business to run."

Essek nodded, and they exchanged pleasantries until the server returned with the clean bill and the drinks, and the Gentleman saw himself out. Essek insisted on staying a while longer at the venue, buying some cocktails later into the evening as the event dragged on. At some point there was a snack bar that opened, and Caleb brought back plates for the both of them with mini sandwiches and pretzels to nibble on while they discussed possible drinks Essek could make with the liquors they had tried. When they had finished the last of their snacks, Essek left some money on the table and they left.

"So, what was that all about?" Caleb finally asked, carefully settling into the car. "And uh… how are you not drunk? I'm not under the table, but… I'm certainly not fit to drive." He sighed as he relaxed in the seat.

"Just a trick somebody taught me back in my early days of partying, before I got the scholarship and was accepted to the den," he said, beginning the drive back. "It's a bit odd and the scrolls for it are expensive as hell, but it’s just a little restoration spell. It can’t make you completely sober unless you’re only a couple drinks in, but it certainly helps.”

"Ooh, okay…"

"Second, I got an invite from him after a small gathering at the university for the tutors," he continued. "Tutoring is in a sense entrepreneurship, since it requires the tutor to create their own schedule and in some cases set their prices. So he was invited to give a short presentation about how to run a business a few weeks ago, and gave an open-ended invitation to all of the tutors. It was an interesting thing, but it worked for what I needed. I have ideas for the party now."

Chapter Text

Caleb was wary arriving at Essek's dormitory. It was grandiose and pompous and entirely fitting for the Essek he met at the start of the semester. But it was nearly the exact opposite of the Essek he knew now.

The front lobby was decked in plush velvets and satins as he and Molly made their way through the space, arriving just a bit late to the party. Mollymauk had insisted he get completely dolled up for the occasion, and was nearly vibrating with excitement by the time they arrived. Caleb wore a more casual outfit, as Essek hadn't given a dress code of any type. The dormitory for the den was absurdly high class, and Caleb made note of it to ask Essek at a later date.

When they arrived at the dorm room, Essek waved them in when they knocked. Caleb was surprised to find it was actually like an apartment itself, with a kitchenette and private bath and shower, and the couch he recalled from the video chat. Essek lead them to one of the bedrooms and let Molly go through a strange glowing doorway, but held Caleb back; the human was suddenly nervous at being alone in what had to be Essek's bedroom, but for the life of him he couldn't explain why.

"Remember how I said I haven't partied in a long time?" he asked, drawing Caleb out of his thoughts to in response. "What you're about to experience is just a taste of the partying I used to do. Welcome to my magnificent mansion." He ushered Caleb through the strange, arcane door, and Caleb blinked. He had indeed heard stories of the spell that conjured a full mansion, but he had never seen it in action. But Essek had done it.

Caleb met with a grand entryway bedecked in similar velvets and satins as his dorm, but less ostentatious and jarring. There were a couple dozen people milling about in the entryway, each one with a drink in hand. He had already lost Mollymauk among the throng of people. There was a grand staircase leading up to a second floor, which had a lineup of spectral servants blocking the pathway. A handful of people were up past the space, which gave Caleb the impression that the space was like a VIP lounge. A few doorways were scattered along the landing at the top, and archways into other areas on the ground floor. After the semester of classes, Caleb realized Essek had a muted color palette he preferred, and the warm deep grays, bright cool lavenders, and soft whites of the mansion he had conjured definitely showcased that style. The boldest colors were the handful of black embellishments that adorned the tops of doors, the curtain ties, and the bases of the furniture.

The lights scattered along the ceiling were dazzling whites and purples, bleeding into the connected rooms. A deep bass was heard and felt in the floor, and Caleb realized that there was a basement, where the majority of the dancing and partying was likely happening. The ground floor seemed to be more for socializing with drink; and food, Caleb added to his mental notes as someone walked past with a plate of snacks.

“Would you like a quick tour?” Essek asked, drawing Caleb out of his thoughts again. “It’s meant to be easy to navigate, but sometimes people get a bit overwhelmed.” Caleb nodded mutely, letting Essek catch his elbow and lead him around the ground floor. The spectral servants as they passed gave quick nods of acknowledgement or deeper bows, depending on what task they were already set to. Caleb caught himself nodding back, but Essek chuckled. “They’re part of the spell, not actually people. But they can’t be hurt, or hurt living creatures. However, I did tweak the spell a bit for use during these parties so that they can heave out anyone I deem to be causing a disruption, and prevent passage to people who don’t have access to certain areas of the mansion, like that lineup on the stairs.”

“Good to know,” Caleb said softly, still staring wide-eyed at everything. Essek showed off one of the packed eating rooms connected to the kitchen, which was set up like a bar at a restaurant for the party and had a plethora of snacking foods from sliders to chips to wings, and other drunken munchies that Caleb hadn’t considered. From there, the ground floor bathroom setup, much like a public restroom, but Essek pointed out that each stall was basically a stocked bathroom, and that there were identical ones upstairs and in the basement.

Then was a slightly quieter room, where people were easily chatting with one another and looking at books that line the shelves. Yasha was sitting among a few students, her keepsake book open in her lap as the druids were helping her classify her pressed flowers. She gave Caleb a soft wave and smile before returning to her task. The next room held a hookah.

“You smoke?” Caleb asked, and Essek shook his head. “So why…?”

“I don’t, but some of my upperclassmen did when I first was asked to host a party,” Essek explained, waving to some drow and elves who Caleb had seen on the flyer for the university as graduates. “They were quite excited that I was hosting a party even though they didn’t have to suffer through finals with the rest of us, so I invited them. There’s a bit more down here, then we’ll check out the upstairs and the basement after.”

The ground floor also had a video game room and a small home theater, both of which were filled with people enjoying the amenities each had available. People were seated in a plush couch, leaning against each other with similarly competitive expressions as they duked it out in the digital landscape on the television, while the theater had a film playing that Caleb didn't recognize, but the people sitting in the room were paying thorough attention.

Rounding back to the entryway, Essek started up the stairs with Caleb in tow. They managed to get to the landing before he flinched and grimaced, turning his attention towards the door.

“Ah, just a moment… the dorm mother is at the front door to my dorm. Hang out up here for a bit,” Essek said, patting Caleb’s shoulder before rushing down the stairs and out the glowing doorway. Caleb immediately tensed up, looking around at the handful of eyes on him. Were they all assuming things about him? What was the purpose of these rooms? Anxiety settled in when he realized he had no idea what was in these rooms, what kind of partying Essek used to do, what secrets were behind those doors…

As casually as he could, Caleb wandered to one of the open archways and passed into the dimly lit space, a doorway on the opposing wall. Still feeling the needles in his back and scratches on his arms as he looked for a spot to sit in the room, he opened the door and passed into the space, finding a handful of chaise lounges... and Mollymauk sitting on a bed with a bottle of beer in hand.

“Oh, Caleb!” Molly shrilled, jumping up and throwing his hands around Caleb’s neck. “You drunk already? I figured Essek would have given you a tour before getting you plastered, come come, sit,” he chided, tugging on Caleb’s arm.

“ Nein , I haven’t had a drink yet, Mollymauk,” Caleb explained, rubbing at his arms and finding himself sat in Molly’s lap anyways, a taloned hand carding through his hair. “Essek was called away by the dorm mother, it seems."

“Ah, that ratty old bitch,” Molly said, his voice oddly lighthearted for the insult he hurled. “She doesn’t approve of this kind of thing. He managed to get into the fanciest dorm with the strictest dorm mother. She has apparently kicked out students from this dorm for having more than four people in the dorm room at one time,” he continued, hands going from Caleb's hair to his neck and shoulders, gently massaging. Caleb dropped his hands from his arms.

“Oh, so that’s why Essek said to come in groups of three or less,” Caleb mused, relaxing slightly to the petting from Molly. “He will be coming back shortly, though, right?” he asked, and Molly just shrugged, snapping his fingers. A spectral servant appeared and bowed. “How did you-”

“Get my friend here a drink, he’s Zemnian, so he should be okay drinking just about anything, but don’t make it too sweet,” Molly ordered, and the servant bowed again before a cup appeared in hand, filled with a drink. The servant held it out to Caleb, who took it with awe. “Thank you, that’s all,” Molly said again, and the servant bowed once more, vanishing in a puff of gray-purple smoke.

“How did you do that?” Caleb asked, sipping at the drink. It had a familiar scent, and he realized it was made with the Elysium alcohol he and Essek had tasted earlier in the week. A tart, but delectable margarita with frozen raspberries floating among the ice cubes. “You’re the one trying to get me drunk, Molly,” Caleb laughed, but drank anyways.

“Well, Caleb, I’ve been around campus long enough to have gotten in with some of the biggest partiers around,” Molly explained, his beer bottle set down--disappearing before Caleb’s own eyes--and both hands now carding in the wizard’s hair again, making braids. “I happened to be invited to one of Essek’s parties, and someone was having a tough time holding their booze. I offered to help out.” He waved his hand over Caleb’s arm and a chill ran down his arm and back before a small globule of liquid seemed to appear from his skin. “That’s the alcohol you just drank. Not a lot, so it’s not very interesting to look at, but it’s a trick I know. If you had been drinking for awhile, you’d have a bit larger of a sphere, and you wouldn’t feel quite so drunk afterwards.”

“So that’s why you’re gone most weekends,” Caleb mused then, leaning back to look at Molly. “You’re bleeding…” Caleb wiped his thumb next to Molly’s mouth, where a small bead of crimson had formed, almost blending in with the lipstick he had worn to the party.

“Side effect, usually people are too drunk to notice,” Molly shrugged, wrapping his arms around Caleb’s shoulders then. “You’re just kind enough to notice something as small as that. I can only do so many people, and if they’re actually drunk, only once a night. If you get drunk, you should be able to have a treatment done easily enough again, but you’ll probably have a bruise on your arm for a bit.”

“You must be drunk yourself,” Caleb noted, smelling the wheaty scent of beer on his breath as Molly seemed to nuzzle into Caleb’s neck. “You broke up with me, remember?”

“Ah, roommate privileges,” Molly chuckled, giving Caleb a nip on his ear and letting him go; Caleb jumped up with a yelp and spun around, feeling the embarrassed heat in his face. “You’re still cute, Cay, I just realized I wasn’t your type and wasn’t going to keep trying to delude myself into thinking it would work out.” He shrugged. “I’m just glad we were able to talk it out and stay friends, which is always a nice surprise during breakups. I don’t think I’ve stayed friends with more than like, two other exes?”

“You are going to kill me one of these days,” Caleb murmured, a knock on the door jarring him from his thoughts.

“Caleb, are you in here? Oh,” Essek opened the door and paused, a slight smirk twitching on his face. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything, you two,” he replied, easing the door closed again. Caleb felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Essek, you left something in here,” Molly called out, his own grin plastered across his face as he shoved Caleb with a foot. “Don’t forget your wizard! Have fun, you two!” Caleb caught Molly’s wink before Essek, having turned to address Molly, looped arms with Caleb again and lead him out. He stumbled a bit, but kept his balance. Linked arms was more than just hand holding… or was it less?

“Is that how Mollymauk makes his part of rent, then? You hire him to make people less drunk?” Caleb asked as Essek lead him downstairs again and towards the basement staircase, trying to distract his own thoughts.

“Ah, no. I invite him, and he normally has a sign up for that service, after… Well,” Essek paused in his step for a moment. “You… were you two involved previously?”

“If by involved you mean dating in high school, sure, but we found out he’s not exactly my type,” Caleb answered with a shrug. “We ended on good terms, which is why we can live under the same roof.”

“Ah hah,” Essek sighed, giving Caleb a once-over. “You realize he uses that room to do camming work, among other things when I have a party, right?”

“...Oh. Uh…” Caleb felt like his brain had stopped processing new information, staring calmly at the floor. They were silent for a few moments, the quiet din of the party going on around them the only noise. “As long as I wasn’t on camera and he can make his part of rent each month,” Caleb finally said. Essek gave him another look. “What?”

“I think he gave you a hickey,” Essek noted, a small mirror suddenly in his hand. He angled it for Caleb to see the suspiciously mouth-shaped red spot formed just under his ear, where he recalled Molly was nestling his face into.

“ Schei ße , Mollymauk,” Caleb muttered, touching the spot gingerly. “I’m going to let Frumpkin sleep on his bed.” Essek failed to cover up a laugh, which drew Caleb’s attention again. “ Was ?”

“Your idea of payback for a hickey is to let your cat sleep on your roommate’s bed?” Essek laughed, drawing more attention to them. “Ah, another time, another time. These rooms up here are for people to enjoy… well, carnal delights, I would say. That’s why there’s the servants on the stairs. Another tweak I made to the spell, they work mostly to prevent people from using this area if they’re inebriated.” Caleb gave him a curious glance. “To be honest, I wouldn’t invite people who would abuse this space, but there’s nothing against having extra precautions.”

“That’s very considerate, actually,” Caleb replied, smiling. “I think that’s admirable.”

“The upstairs is basically all just rooms like that, and the bathrooms,” Essek continued, heading down into the basement with Caleb. “Most people don’t use the upstairs floor, though some will just stay on the landing to keep an eye out for people as they arrive.”

“Oh, what did your dorm mother have to say?” Caleb asked, and Essek paused in step again, almost making Caleb trip. “Essek?”

“Ah, she was checking in on how I felt my exams went,” Essek said quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What she was actually doing was checking that I wasn’t having a party like I’m having here. I specifically designated her as someone not able to see the doorway into the mansion, so she should be unaware.”

He sighed, dropping his hand from his face. “She almost caught on once when a whole host of people got belligerent and the servants kicked them all out. There’s an enchantment to remove them from my dorm room quietly and quickly, now.”

“So you’re worried she’s going to catch you this time?”

“A little bit,” Essek admitted, starting down the stairs again. “I’d rather not worry about that right now, and instead enjoy having fun with my friends.”

Chapter Text

Essek couldn’t keep his worried thoughts at bay.

They had just finished the tour of the basement, which was fairly quick and simple to do with the expanse being totally open and filled wall to wall with moving, jumping, dancing, gyrating bodies and the hot scent of booze and sweat mingling in the hallway with the herbal scents Essek liked to infuse the magical mansion with. It took no more than five minutes for Caleb to opt out of the basement in favor of one of the sitting rooms on the ground floor. Beanbags, chaise lounges, large pillow poufs… All manner of comfortable seating for his party guests, but when they had sat down, Caleb opted for a regular chair, and Essek sprawled himself on a pile of beanbags and pillows.

He hadn’t quite gotten over his initial shock of Caleb being in Mollymauk’s ‘business’ room when he came back from dealing with Leylas. More concerned that Mollymauk would have left Caleb with a hickey when they weren’t an item. It made an ugly feeling boil up in his gut, and he quietly cursed out the tiefling. Maybe it was time he made a move, admitted his feelings and get rejected bluntly rather than harboring them silently.

“Essek, you said you wanted me to bring my components, ja ?” Caleb interrupted his thoughts, and Essek nodded. “I have them, but I wasn’t sure what you wanted me to bring entirely, so I brought all of it.” He held three component pouches he pulled from his pockets. “What are you thinking of doing, so I can get the right pieces?”

“I was thinking just a fun show for everyone,” Essek replied, hand on his chin. “So maybe some fireworks, flashy stuff. But nothing dangerous.”

“Gotcha, I can do that.”

“Hey… I wanted to ask something,” Essek started, shifting in his plush throne to sit up. “I--”

There was a sudden commotion out in the entryway, magic by the sound of it, and Essek shot up to his feet.

“What was that?” Caleb also stood up, looking ready to fight.

“Stay here, don’t move,” Essek commanded, giving Caleb a stern look before rushing out of the room and around to the front hall; while all his guests in the mansion were there under the premise that it was a safe place to relax and party, he especially didn't want Caleb being caught up in whatever trouble was occurring. A few guests were still milling about, apparently oblivious to the light swirl of reddish brown smoke around the doorway. It was easy enough to understand what had happened for a learned mage like Essek; someone of a similar or higher level had found the entrance to his mansion and through force of will and magic, gained entry without destroying it. But the question lingered on his mind of who .

“Sorry to barge in like this,” a voice, tired in age, called out from the door, and Essek gave the speaker a glare. “Ah, you must be the host. Apologies for the intrusion, but we think you have something that belongs to us? Or rather, some one .” Essek raised a brow but didn’t respond.

Four figures had entered through the doorway. One was tall and muscular, very much like an athlete, but there was an undeniable crackle of energy radiating from him that Essek recognized as a spellcaster. All three of the forward figures had the same kind of magic coursing in their bodies, he realized, with the speaker, notably hanging in the back, holding a slightly different, albeit more powerful aura. The smaller of the bunch, definitely a halfling, had her arms bared to showcase tattoos and scars. The woman on the other side, hair cropped on one side and hung over her face on the other, seemed least aggressive of the bunch, but still had an air of danger around her. The man had both his arms covered with skin-tight sleeves, while the taller woman had only one arm covered, the exposed one almost identical to the markings on the halfling’s arms. The speaker stood behind the trio, because what else would they be doing with someone who would barge into another’s magical dimension but as guards?

“Pardon my manners,” he continued, wafting his hand through the trails of smoke and clearing it. He was old. Much older than anyone that powerful had a right to be. The elderly man’s hair was long and stick straight, white and silver in the glow of the arcane lights. Wrinkles, liver spots, and other visual markers of old age were scattered across his sharp and downright malevolent features, and Essek vaguely recalled seeing him somewhere, but couldn’t place it. “My name is Trent Ikithon, and these are my students. We heard of a party happening here and we came all the way from the Soltryce Academy to watch the little magic show that was rumored to be happening here.”

Oh.

“This party is invitation only, Mister Ikithon,” Essek said quietly, attempting to keep the utter venom out of his voice; and probably failing.

“That’s Professor Ikithon, to you,” the brawny one snarled, starting to step forward. Ikithon put a hand on his shoulder, though, and he stopped.

“That’s only for my pupils to call me, Eodwulf, he has no reason to.” It was almost disgusting how sweetly he spoke to his students. “I apologize, this is most unbecoming behavior from us. But when we heard that one of the stars of this demonstration was a young red-headed man with a Zemnian accent, well…” Ikithon gave a little shrug and tapped the halfling to step aside so he could stride forward. “I had to come and see if it was our missing student, of course.”

So that’s his story?

“You used to attend Soltryce?” Essek had asked when they had their first tutoring session at Caleb’s apartment. Essek had given a greeting to Mollymauk and the tiefling had developed a wicked smile on his face, like he was plotting something. Caleb just shouldered past his roommate with a friendly annoyance and invited Essek into the room they would call their study. He recognized the school sign in a photo that sat atop the desk, then the obvious similarities of the young ginger in the front, flanked by two apparent classmates, and shadowed by a very old professor.

“ Ja , it was on scholarship with full room and board covered as well,” Caleb replied, pulling out a fresh notebook and an assortment of spell components. “The first semester was incredible, I learned so much. But the second semester I was invited to be personally taught by one of the professors there for the rest of my schooling along with a handful of other students.” He looked at the photo and smiled, like a sad memory was brought to the forefront. “I enjoyed it for the first few months, but…” There was a sudden hitch in his voice, and Essek knelt next to him, watching his face contort with remembered pain.

“Caleb? You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to,” Essek said calmly, unsure of whether to try and comfort his tutoring student or to just leave for the moment, but his hesitation seemed to prompt a reaction from Caleb as he grabbed onto Essek’s wrist.

“I have to, because I don’t want him to find me,” Caleb whispered. “He… He has very unorthodox teaching methods… including borderline if not actual human experimentation.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know what you’re talking about,” Essek stated, crossing his arms. “As I have just said, however, this party is invitation only, and I don’t think I’ve ever met any of you, so I know you did not receive an invitation. Please leave.” The spectral servants certainly couldn’t do anything to these people if they could get into the mansion without being expressly invited, and he definitely couldn’t just dismiss the mansion with dozens of people inside.

There was a sudden silent murmur going around the mansion and even the heavy bass beat from the basement had subsided. Every eye was now staring at the confrontation in the entryway. Not that he cared much for the reputation he had gotten, Essek knew that it was on the line if strangers were able to crash his party and could probably do so again.

“All we’re asking, young man, is if you could have this student you’ve been tutoring come forward,” Ikithon continued, smirking in the face of all the attention, “and let us just see if he is our missing pupil.” Glass shattered somewhere behind Essek, and he turned to look just as Ikithon laughed. “Ah! Bren, you are indeed here!”

Caleb, ghost-faced and eyes wide in terror, stared out from behind the corner, knuckles white from where he had clenched his fist around a cup. Spectral as it was, there was no blood, but Essek could read in Caleb’s expression every thought he was likely having. Run, flee, get away, hide, disappear.

“Come now, young Bren, why are you hiding over there, come!” Ikithon chuckled, beckoning Caleb forward with a hand. Essek saw him, almost like a robot, comply with the order and step forward. When he was standing next to Essek, however, he stopped and glared. “Bren, now… Is that any face to give your dear old teacher?”

“Eodwulf, Astrid,” Caleb said curtly to the two taller students. They gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement.

“You can go up by Molly if you’d prefer,” Essek offered quietly to him, taking a half step forward and putting himself as a barrier between Caleb and the Soltryce group. Then, louder: “They were just about to leave, if they didn’t want any trouble.”

“Oh, on the contrary,” Ikithon had not dropped his grin since entering the mansion, “we were hoping to stick around and watch the demonstration. See just how much Bren has learned since coming here.”

“The entertainment of my parties is only for invited guests,” Essek snarled. “You were not, therefore you are not entitled to anything within these walls. Leave now, or I will be forced to make you leave.”

“Oh, really?” Ikithon challenged, taking another step forward. He didn’t get the chance to move further as Essek shot out a warning blast of magic to the tile directly in front of Ikithon’s foot. “My, testy, testy, aren’t you? How about this…” he motioned for Eodwulf to step forward. “How about instead of a demonstration, then, Bren and Eodwulf here duel? That would be an interesting spot of fun for your guests, would it not?”

“No, I would rather not have a magic battle in my party space,” Essek spat, raising his pointed finger from the floor to Ikithon’s chest. “Leave now.”

“Ah, and what would the dorm mother Leylas think if all the sudden four strangers from the rival school were to be found wandering about the dormitory?” Ikithon sneered, leaving the threat to linger.

Again, another strike against his reputation for partying, but that threat could put a strike on his academic record, which meant he would be kicked out of the dorms and his professors would see him as a problem student from that point on, as opposed to the studious one he has always been. Essek bit back a scathing retort, trying to consider the consequences to his career path, but also how Caleb felt about the situation, even though he couldn’t see the human’s face. Ikithon seemed to notice his hesitancy and chuckled, bringing Essek back from his thoughts.

“We let them duel. I figure you have a safe area for them to do that in or can make one, yes? They duel, and if Bren wins, we leave quietly and calmly and don’t inform your dorm mother of the raucous partying you’re hosting. If Eodwulf wins, we still leave quietly and calmly with no notification to the dorm mother, but Bren comes back to Soltryce with us.” Ikithon smirked and turned around. “Otherwise, we’ll just leave now, talking to anyone we pass about how there’s a drow boy hosting a… what do the kids call it, a ‘lit’ party in the dorms?”

“Fine." Essek turned over his shoulder at Caleb, who was glaring forward at the professor. "I'll duel with Eodwulf."

“You don’t have to, it’s not a big deal, Caleb,” he started, but Caleb held up a hand. Essek shut his mouth, thinking. “If you’re sure.” Caleb nodded, and Essek sighed, focusing on the magic interwoven in the space. After a moment, “Alright. There’s a new room off the basement set up for safe dueling with arcane crafts, with spaces for spectators to sit out of harm’s way. Since you seem to think it’s appropriate entertainment, I hope you don’t mind if everyone watches.” He looks at Ikithon again, who was giving Caleb an approving look.

“Of course, that’s what we were looking forward to was a great display of magical ability,” he said cheerfully. “Come, now, let’s take a seat. Basement, you said? We’ll see you in about, oh, fifteen minutes?” Ikithon waved for his students to follow, Eodwulf staying behind and approaching Essek and Caleb.

“Bren, I hope you know that I didn’t intend to duel you when we came here,” he said after a pause, Essek glaring at him fiercely. “Professor Ikithon just wants you to come back to your studies.”

“And as I told you when you contacted me,” Caleb muttered, a cool tone that Essek had never quite heard from the wizard before, “there was absolutely no way in hell I would be returning to his tutelage after what he’d done to us. I’m surprised you and Astrid can still stand the sight of him.”

“It’s… complicated.”

“ Ja , well, it doesn’t change a thing. Also,” Caleb put his hand on Essek’s shoulder, as if to ground himself, and Essek felt his heart skip a beat at the touch, “just so you know, it’s Caleb. Not Bren. Trent killed Bren.”

“...understood.” Eodwulf went to catch up with his classmates. Caleb’s hand clenched on Essek’s shoulder until Eodwulf had vanished around the corner, and then he dropped almost limp to his knees.

“ Fuck what do I do, I can’t stay here, I have to go, I have to run,” Caleb began muttering, and Essek recognized the look on his face from that first tutoring session.

“Caleb, listen to me,” Essek said calmly, sending out a command silently to the servants in the mansion so start filtering people out, “you can absolutely go home if you want to. I can send you there right now. But unfortunately, he knows where you are now. I don’t think running will fix this anymore. I’m sorry,” he sighed, pulling him into a gentle hug. “I’m so sorry. I don’t give out details, but someone else must have found out what tonight’s party was, and started telling everyone. I’m so sorry. If I had even thought they were going to show up, I would have warded against them specifically.”

“Caleb, Essek,” Molly called out, making Essek look up to the balcony where Molly was leaning over. “Hey, come up here for a bit, okay? He said fifteen minutes, so…”

“Come on, Caleb, let’s go see Molly for a bit, hm?” Essek whispered, lifting Caleb up. Caleb was sluggish to respond, but did, and the spectral servants began lifting him as well to usher him up the stairs. “I promise no matter what happens, you’re not going back with them.”

Chapter Text

Caleb sighed, looking back at his friend group from behind the large glass windows of the makeshift duel arena Essek had constructed in his mansion. Beauregard and Jester both looked ready to murder, glaring across the battlefield at the Soltryce group. Molly and Yasha were holding Nott at bay while she attempted to try and actually go over to murder them. Caduceus and Fjord were talking with Essek, and Caleb could feel the worry from Essek permeate the glass. They hadn’t made it to the party until just after Caleb’s former classmates had left the room, and had ushered out as many of the party-goers as possible. Only those who were dead set on watching the duel were also in the seats, maybe a dozen people. As soon as Beau and Yasha had returned to report that no one else was in the mansion, Essek let the magic go and remove the extra parts he couldn’t deign to focus on, and he had assured Caleb he was channeling everything into preventing any problems in the arena.

“I promise no matter what happens, you’re not going back with them.”

Caleb let Essek’s promise fill him with hope as Eodwulf stepped forward to shake his hand, a show of good faith in a magic duel. He retreated back to behind a line marked in the packed dirt floor, then, and picked up a supplied potion bottle.

“Okay, so this is an impromptu duel, so bear with me while I explain the rules,” Essek started, pointing to his own throat and speaking, his voice echoing in the arena space. “Any harm done directly to your opponent is strictly forbidden and will mean you lose automatically. The fight will cease at such a time. To protect the duelists, you have each been given a specialty potion used in magic arenas across the country. It will create a shield around you that your opponent’s attacks will hit, and it should not damage you at all.” Caleb looked up at his former instructor, seeing him talking to Astrid. She was staring intently down at him, and Caleb looked away.

“You can use a spell and bolster your shield at any time, but that will effectively reduce your ability to attack. This potion also gives you a temporary boost to your spellcasting, allowing for an extra one or two spells, but you will be exhausted after the potion’s effects wear off, or you leave the mansion, whichever is first.” Essek cleared his throat. “Obviously no throwing punches or kicking will be allowed, as the shield will not protect against a physical attack like that. Once your shield breaks, you lose.”

“Can we get on with this, please?” Trent had lifted his own hand to his throat, projecting his voice. “We know this fight will only take a few minutes at most, we don’t need a laundry list of what they can and cannot do. We’ve all seen magic arena battles.”

“I would implore you to keep your commentary to yourself, Mister Ikithon,” Essek retorted, “if you wish to keep this battle you so desire going. Any further unnecessary words from you will be withdrawing Eodwulf from the duel and forfeiting.” The professor just shrugged and sat back in his seat, whispering to Astrid again. “Very well. Duelists, please drink your potions and prepare yourselves to fight. The signal will sound when both shields are active.”

Caleb popped the cork out of the bottle and drank down the potion, tasting almost of mulled cider. It warmed him from the inside, and he felt the extra energy in his fingers as he set the bottle down; it disappeared, much like Molly’s beer bottle had earlier in the night. He looked up then at Eodwulf, who threw the bottle away, watching it shatter on the ground before the pieces vanished. A faint orange light surrounded them, then, and Caleb tensed for the signal to start.

There was a short horn, and Caleb immediately ducked to the side as Eodwulf surged forward with almost unnatural speed; Caleb dispelled it as Eodwulf came to a stop with intent to turn. With that moment of pause, Caleb dug out some of his molasses and smeared it in Eodwulf’s direction, but his own momentum to duck out of the way sent him sprawling, losing the spell in the process. Eodwulf shook his head and growled low in his throat, beginning a few hand movements before thrusting a hand at Caleb.

A crack of thunder erupted inside the arena and Caleb reflexively went to cover his ears; but the lightning never hit his shield, and he scrambled up on his feet again, quickly gesturing and pointing at Eodwulf. A spark of icy blue-white charge shot out from his hand and hit Eodwulf, crackling ice across his shield and anchoring the front of it into the dirt. Caleb barely had time to duck out of the way of another strike of lightning from Eodwulf’s hand before the ice on the shield shattered, allowing him to move forward again.

Caleb barely made the hand signal for a firebolt before it shot out of his hand, smacking Eodwulf’s shield and scattering flames across it and the ground. Eodwulf responded to the attack with six small meteors the began to orbit around him, hurling three of them at Caleb right away. He didn’t take any meteors to the shield, but the blast still caught the edge, sending flames dancing up the side and burning for a moment. Caleb was panting from dodging, but managed to pull out a small diamond and raise a hand to shoot out an orb of reddish orange energy; it didn’t hit Eodwulf’s shield and dissipated against one of the remaining three meteors, removing it.

Caleb barely chanced a look up at his friends before seeing a great emerald sphere shoot out from Eodwulf’s direction. He dodged out of the way, the sphere splashing against the ground and streaking parts of his shield with acid. The shield started dissolving away, and Caleb gave up his attack to replenish his shield as Eodwulf laughed, throwing out his hands with an almost too-grand gesture. Small missiles streaked forth and battered against Caleb’s shield, making him step back to put some distance between them, even though they hadn’t come closer than thirty feet.

Caleb pulled a thread out of his pouch and quickly wove it in his hands, then slammed his hands onto the ground. All five bursts of flame that were produced from the move drove straight towards Eodwulf’s shield, climbing over top of it and bursting above him, showering Eodwulf’s area in flame and light. He gave a surprised yelp as his shield began to come apart, but he thrust his hand into it, adding more durability to it while eyeing Caleb with what he could only guess was shocked pride. Caleb took the moment to brush his hand across his other palm and light up a wall of flames, encircling Eodwulf and giving him a moment’s respite.

“That was a good trick,” Eodwulf shouted from behind the flames, and Caleb flinched, seeing the fire he just brought forth die in an instant, Eodwulf flicking his wrist as he became visible. “You come up with that one yourself? Impressive. Professor Ikithon would be pretty proud, don’t you think?” He tilted his head towards the side of the stands that the Soltryce group sat, but Caleb didn’t take his eyes off his opponent. “Smart move. Don’t get distracted, right. It was worth a shot.”

Caleb dug into his pouch again, retrieving a piece of a snake and red powder, pulling it like a bow and letting it spring forth, the powder morphing into almost an arrow as it splashed to Eodwulf’s side, barely denting the shield. He just laughed and pointed straight at Caleb, releasing a very familiar streak of red-orange light. Caleb barely had time to duck out of the way to avoid the majority of the damage of the fireball, but he could see that one more hit to his shield would probably lose him the fight. He scrambled to his feet again and started firing off firebolts in his fear, backing up as Eodwulf stalked forward. Eodwulf just pushed small amounts of energy into his shield instead of attacking Caleb, until a particularly violent firebolt caught him off guard and sent him back a few feet. Caleb used the pause to replenish his own shield again, but heard Eodwulf speak quietly, and a whistling noise signalling the same missiles as earlier.

Caleb’s attempts didn’t keep the shield up long at the barrage of magical missiles, shattering it and pelting him with the last two, tearing apart his shirt and knocking him flat on his ass. 

“The match is over, Eodwulf forfeits for injuring his opponent,” Essek shouted suddenly, one hand at his throat and the other waving down the glass windows; immediately, Jester and Caduceus were scrambling into the arena, already muttering healing prayers as they approached. The rest of his friends made their way down a bit more carefully, as they didn’t have much to offer in the way of healing. Eodwulf stood up from his fighting position and shrugged, popping his neck and arms as he shook out the tension. The people in the stands who were not his friends all filtered out, fear staining their gasps and murmurs.

“Well, besides that one move, that went about how I expected.” Trent was down on the arena floor suddenly, Astrid and the halfling flanking him as he approached Caleb and his friends. Caleb was sat up with Fjord’s help and Nott stood in front of him protectively, Beau cracking her knuckles. “Well, seeing as you lost, you should be coming back with us to Soltryce but ,” he snapped to look up at Essek, “your rules made it clear that my pupil Eodwulf lost on a technicality, so I suppose that’s fair.”

“Those are the official rules of magic duels, Mister Ikithon,” Essek stated plainly, taking up a position in front of Caleb and blocking Trent from his view entirely. He relaxed fractionally back into Fjord’s arms, letting his friends dote on him a bit; he could see Yasha glaring forward above him, over his other friend’s heads at the teacher, and Molly stealthily retrieving a stiletto knife from his boot. “If you don’t like how this turned out, then perhaps you need to train your students to be more mindful of the rules.”

“I thought he had a little more juice left,” Eodwulf laughed, Caleb watching his feet step into position beside his teacher. “I didn’t think he was using such weak spells to bolster his shield, or I’d have gone a little easier on the last attack.”

“I don’t care what you thought, you’ve lost and now I’m going to ask you to leave my mansion and my school campus immediately,” Essek barked. Fjord jumped in surprise behind Caleb. Beau took a step forward, and Yasha came around from behind. “I think my friends here are more than willing to help escort you to the exit doors.”

“Of course, of course, a deal is a deal. Farewell, Bren--”

“It’s Caleb,” Caleb spat out, motioning for Fjord to help him stand. “My name is Caleb Widogast.” He stared down Trent, a direct challenge. Caleb almost hoped he’d give him a reason to set his pompous robes aflame.

“...Caleb, then. Just know you are always welcome to return to the academy when you find your educational environment is…” Trent looked between all of Caleb’s friends as he paused. “Too varied in subject matter.” He turned and started out of the arena, his students following close behind with Yasha and Beau on their tails to ensure their expedient removal from the mansion.

“I don’t trust that creep as far as I can throw him,” Nott said simply, crossing her arms. “And I’m pretty sure we all know I couldn’t throw him an inch.”

“Ja , Nott, you would be good to not trust him,” Caleb sighed, leaning back; Fjord, Jester, and Molly all caught him as his legs gave out from the stress and shock. “I can’t believe I just stood up to him about my name… Of all things.”

“Okay, who is up for a smaller party back home?” Molly asked, then. “I think after that display, we really need to know what just happened and how we can prevent it in the future, yeah?”

“That’s not a bad idea to get out of the dormitories,” Essek pointed out. “He seems to be the type who would still tell Leylas about my party, regardless of his student losing the duel. We should get out of here as quickly as possible. I’ll have to stay behind for a bit, but the rest of you get out of here. Caleb…” Essek turned around and flashed him a small smile, “you did an excellent job and I’m quite proud of you, if it makes any difference.”

“ Ja , maybe a bit,” Caleb huffed out a weak laugh, feeling his body going numb from the fading adrenaline. “Right now, I just want to sit down.”

“Go on, you all,” Essek said, ushering the group forward. “I’ll join you in about an hour or two, you get home and rest, Caleb.” Everyone but Caleb began to leave, meeting up with Beau and Yasha at the door.

“I don’t think I want to go home right now,” Caleb muttered, getting his footing back. “Essek, can we just stay for a little bit while I… collect myself?” He winced at the phrasing but he couldn’t figure out the best way to explain how he just wanted some down time.

“Of course, that makes sense actually,” Essek agreed easily, almost shockingly quick. “Especially if Leylas does show up, she has been highly skeptical of my tutoring you, so seeing that you’re actually a real student might get her off my back…” It was a logical agreement, then, and Caleb nodded along.

“Right, then we’ll take off and… Beau?” Jester asked, turning to her and smiling. “What about your place? Can we all come over to your place and party?”

“Sure, I mean… I don’t see why not,” Beau shrugged, grinning. “Yeah, Caleb, when you and Essek are done getting the dorm mom off his back, my place is gonna be pumpin’.”

“Sounds good, Beauregard,” Caleb sighed. Everyone filed out of the doorway and into Essek’s now-cramped dorm room. Essek cast a spell that encased the room, then. “Tiny hut?” Caleb asked, recognizing the spell.

“Yes. If everyone will please file out of the window in an orderly fashion, then,” Essek said, directing them outside. Luckily he had a ground-floor room, which made the window a perfect escape route for the end of a party. “Mollymauk, you as well, if you don’t mind.”

“Essek, do you know what to do after Caleb has an episode?” Molly asked pointedly, already settling in on Essek’s bed. “If you’ll allow me, I’ll explain it. Caleb can’t articulate what he needs after a panic attack, at least not well, and I’ve been there for many of them since we’ve been friends.”

"Maybe the living room?" Essek offered, and Molly stood again, taking Caleb by the elbow and moving him.

“Molly, I’m actually… I’m actually fine,” Caleb insisted, but the tiefling still pulled him to the couch and sat him down.

“Then you can correct anything I’m mistaken on, Caleb, but you probably aren’t,” Molly retorted. Essek followed, the hut dissipating as he left the radius of it. Caleb watched him from the corner of his eye as Molly sat against the armrest and had Caleb lay down with his head in the tiefling’s lap. “Now, Caleb’s a stubborn asshole--”

“Hey!”

“--and he will usually argue he’s okay. You have to learn the difference between him being stubborn and actually being fine. I’m pretty sure he’s actually fine this time, judging by how he just reacted, so we’ll just touch on what he needs.” Molly began to card his fingers through Caleb’s hair again, much like he had earlier that night in the mansion. “He doesn’t generally like being touched, but if you can get him to calm down enough to lay in your lap like this, just brushing through his hair is a way to bring him down from his panic or anxiety. It doesn’t help all the way, but it gets him out of the bad headspace. Here, do this on this side of his head,”

Caleb couldn’t see what Molly was describing, but felt as a tentative hand began coasting through his hair, gently untangling the strands from the duel. He rolled his eyes behind closed lids, earning him a quick tug from one side of his head and a click of Molly’s tongue in chastisement.

“Before he falls asleep on us, now,” Molly continued, running his overly warm hand down the side of Caleb’s face and onto his neck and shoulders, beginning to gently knead the muscle, “if he’s had a panic attack, he’ll have extremely tense shoulders and upper back. A quick back rub or back scratch has helped him before. If he’s not scratching at his arms, a back scratch is best. If he is, do the back rub.” Caleb nodded vaguely.

“ Ja , the arms… it’s that man’s fault,” Caleb murmured, forcing himself to stay awake. “I’ll explain more when we meet with everyone else, but he was a very bad man.”

“Did it have something to do with the halfling’s arms?” Essek asked, his cooler hand mirroring Molly’s on Caleb’s other shoulder but almost as lightly as possible; Caleb resisted the urge to ask Essek to be more… he couldn't form the words, more confident?

“I would assume so, she isn’t familiar to me. Also, Essek,” Caleb said, looking up at the drow, “if you’re uncomfortable with this, you can tell Molly to fuck off.” That earned him a pinch on his shoulder, which he slammed a hand towards Molly’s chest in retaliation. “Dick.”

“Asshole.”

“Stop fighting, or you’ll get Leylas’s attention,” Essek hissed. They quieted down, and heard some rushing footsteps approach. “Caleb, book, now. Molly, notebook and pencil,” Essek whispered the order, and all three scrambled to grab the appropriate items and separate seating just as a knock rapped on the door.

“Thelyss? Who do you have in there?” a matronly voice demanded, and Essek flicked the door open with a mage hand, revealing a drow woman at the doorway in a nightgown and her hair up in a braided bun. She scanned over the room and Caleb saw her pause on Molly for a split second before turning her attention to him. “I recognize that one, but who is this human?”

“Leylas, this is Caleb Widogast, my student. Caleb, my dorm mother, Leylas,” Essek said with a soft smile. “I’ve been tutoring him all semester. We’re having another study session. Molly is just here as Caleb’s ride home, we’re just about done.” She eyed them all up before shrugging, walking off without another word. Essek shut the door behind her with a soft click with the mage hand again. “Oh my god, that was close,” he breathed out, laughing. “Let’s go, before she comes back to interrogate you.”

Chapter Text

(This chapter has been posted separately due to the content and rating. The next chapter will have a very basic overview at the start to catch up anyone who does not wish to delve deep into Caleb's modernized trauma.

If you do wish to read it, you can find it here

Please be cautious of the warnings. Regular chapter posts will continue as normal next week.

Don't forget to love each other. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜🖤)

Chapter Text

After leaving Essek’s dorm, they all went to Beau’s house and Caleb explained the entirety of his education under Trent Ikithon. There was abuse, both physical and mental/emotional, as well as humiliation and coercion into horrible acts. Caleb had fallen in love with his classmate Astrid, and was dumped during their tutelage under Ikithon. Eventually, after experimentation with crystals in his arms, he was tasked with framing his parents for his own murder through a powerful spell, tasks that all the upperclassmen as well as Eodwulf and Astrid had been tasked with. As it happened, however, Caleb resisted the spell until the final few days, setting up the fake scene. But his parents ended up dying in a car crash on their way to buy Caleb new supplies, and he burnt the house down to hide his fabricated murder scene. He was freed from the spell a few days after the death of his parents, and he never returned to the academy, fleeing with disguises and fake identities until he tried to end his own suffering. He recovered for months, physically and mentally, before getting in contact with Mollymauk after years of radio silence, and moved in with him to the apartment they now shared. When he was done with his story, nearly everyone in the room had a death wish upon Ikithon. But there was no physical evidence to prove the man guilty of any crimes that they could provide.

Beau offered to let everyone sleep in her house as a giant slumber party. Yasha offered to stay up and keep an eye out in case of intruders, and Jester requested to curl up with Caleb, which he accepted, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Caduceus and Yasha made breakfast the next morning when everyone awoke. It was pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and cereal, with milk, orange juice, tea, and coffee to drink; a veritable breakfast feast spread out on the large counter separating the kitchen from the dining room. While they all knew Beau’s parents were loaded with money from their business, they hadn’t quite equated her to that amount of wealth. At some point Jester ventured out and retrieved pastries, muffins, and other baked goodies to share with everyone. Essek ate a small portion before excusing himself to leave.

“Essek, hold on,” Caleb called after him, having just shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth and swallowing harshly. “Ow, shit… Essek, wait!” He caught up to the drow just as he was heading out the door, and Caleb tugged on his coat before he walked out.

“I’m so sorry about yesterday,” Essek sighed quietly, not meeting Caleb’s face. “I probably won’t ask you to do a demonstration at any more parties in case…well, that happens again.”

“That’s not your fault,” Caleb replied, trying to put on a smile for Essek but knowing he probably only looked constipated. “While I was in the hospital, they showed me and helped me see that I wasn’t at fault for what happened to me, even if they thought I was delusional in what had happened and my recovery was technically a farse. I didn’t cause the crash, I didn’t even follow through on the task set to me, and…” He paused, thinking for a moment about everything he had learned since leaving the hospital. “Well, Molly has a philosophy that I ended up adapting after moving in with him following everything, and it has honestly helped me look forward to a brighter future. Leave the past in the past. Sometimes I wish I didn’t remember that time, but the doctors all said it shaped me to not be a bad person. Even if it still hurts.”

“The ball in the box method of coping?” Essek asked, raising a brow.

“I think that’s what they called it, yeah. Button inside a box, ball rattles around and sometimes hits it?” Caleb nodded. “Sometimes I ignore it, push on with my day. Sometimes it overwhelms me to think about, like last night.” Essek nodded back, like he was in thought; Caleb felt the uneasy silence stretch between them.

“I have to get going, I’m sorry,” Essek muttered, turning back to the door.

“Thank you,” Caleb blurted out. Essek paused. “For last night. For helping me stay calm… basically for being there for me. I really appreciate it. Thank you.”

“It’s just what any friend would do,” Essek sighed. “I…” He furrowed his brows, and Caleb wished he could read minds with the quick flashes of emotion he saw on Essek’s expression. “I’ll see you for tutoring, then,” he mumbled, then left out the door. Caleb watched him through the windows of the door before he disappeared around a corner, and Caleb returned to the table to finish eating.

“Did Essek really leave?” Jester asked, holding out a pastry as a pointer. “Aww, man, I thought he really liked all of us.”

“Ja , but I guess he’s got things to do today.” Caleb ate slower, chest still hurting slightly from his rush in eating to catch up with the drow, and perhaps a more emotional pain as well. “I’m sure he still likes us plenty. I hope at least…”

“I wouldn’t worry unless he stops tutoring you,” Fjord pointed out then, pointing with his fork to the door. “He still hasn’t set up a schedule with me for lessons even for the break,” he continued, stabbing a slab of ham on his plate. “Any chance you could ask him? I feel like if I were to ask it’d be seen as pushy, especially if he doesn’t like the lot of us.”

“Fjord, you should take that initiative yourself,” Caduceus spoke up, his easy smile breaking through the slight anxious energy of having so quickly gained and lost a new friend. “I’m sure it would be appreciated.”

“Sure, fine.”

“Don’t sound so upset by having to do something yourself,” Nott laughed, smacking his shoulder. “Anyways, I have to go to work soon, so I’ll be heading out here in a bit myself,” she said before scarfing down the last of her plate. “Caleb, message me when you get home so I know you got there safe, okay?” She turned to look at Molly, “And you message me as well just in case.”

“Yes, Mom ,” Molly groaned exaggeratedly, grinning while Nott smacked him in the arm as well. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he gets home safe. I have plans for today as well, though, so I won’t be home for long,” he turned his attention to Caleb, who nodded in acknowledgement. “Did you need someone with you today, just in case?”

“I don’t have work, Caleb,” Jester offered, but he shook his head.

“Nein , I’ll be just fine,” Caleb smiled back. “I do appreciate your offer last night as well, thank you. I didn’t have as bad of nightmares thanks to you, so I should be alright today.”

“Nothing a little sleeping hug can’t help with,” Jester grinned wide, then took a large bite out of her third muffin of the morning. “Even though he didn’t say anything about it,” she muttered through the pastry, swallowing before she continued, “I could have sworn Essek would have stepped in to offer in my place, I thought he had a crush on you Caleb.” The wizard had been mid-drink of his milk and inhaled sharply, choking and sputtering. Beau began gently smacking his back to help, but he waved her off. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious that you’re into him, Cay-leb.”

“Jester, bitte , don’t joke like that,” Caleb wheezed between coughs. He could see her share a look with Caduceus, and Nott shook her head as well. Molly even was withholding a laugh. “Was ?”

“Caleb,” Molly chuckled, leaning back in his chair, “I’ve spent months listening to you go on about him and how cool he is at home, and how you’re always talking about him, making sure the house looks nice before tutoring sessions…”

“Mollymauk !” Caleb stood, feeling his face flush slightly. “Ja , okay, I do, but don’t joke that he’s got feelings for me as well.” The room went silent. “Okay, now what’s the secret?”

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Beau asked, a sly grin on her face as she looked at Molly. Caleb turned his gaze to his roommate again.

“I was waiting for the right time, Beauregard ,” Molly sneered, this time with venom in his tone. He cleared his throat and looked Caleb in the eyes. “You know how he showed up that one morning and you didn’t remember texting him?” Caleb nodded, recalling that morning vividly; waking up to noises in the kitchen, the shock of his tutor, the guy he had been crushing on for the past four months, being there with food and coffee… It was almost a domestic dream. “You were half asleep, he had messaged you. I responded and invited him over, because I saw how he started showing up a few minutes earlier than usual and loitered outside. I honestly thought he would refuse but he said he’d be over after classes. I figured it was going to be a booty call, so I made up going out on a date and went to hang out with Yasha.” Molly shrugged then, and Caleb sank back into his seat.

“Jester and I also kind of verified it,” Fjord admitted, looking over at her. She gave a shrug like Molly had, devouring the muffin. “See, that same day after she made her joke about you and Essek on a date at lunchtime, she asked me to help her find out what Essek’s intentions were. Especially after the looks he was giving you when you were showing off your magic at the party. She said he looked hungry…”

“Like a wolf wanting to devour his prey!” she growled out, hands up like claws.

“Anyways.” Fjord crossed his arms. "She made me come with so she could cast her truth spell on him. That's what she didn't want to tell everyone over the group chat." Molly perked up and chuckled, quietly rescinding all his threats to her from that conversation.

“I wasn’t worried,” Caduceus said gently, putting a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, “he seems like a nice guy and I’m happy for you.”

“When did you figure it out?” Caleb asked quietly, feeling very much like a poached egg as his face heated up even more.

“Hmm… I knew you liked him about a month into the semester?” Cad replied, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. “But I knew he liked you since the party at your place the day after Molly’s plan went through. Specifically when he shot back the ginseng drink and winked at you, that was a pretty clear indication for me.”

“Of course it was…” Caleb muttered, burying his face in his hands. “Oh shit… and yesterday all happened and he feels responsible… now he knows what my baggage is.”

“Emotional baggage isn’t something to be shouldered on your own, but rather shared mutually between partners so that they can help each other work through it,” Jester spoke up again, her tone shifted to almost mimic her mother’s counselling talk. “It’s important for a healthy relationship that both partners are aware of what is bothering the other. If it’s something that they can help with, and are willing to, it provides the burdened partner with a support system to lean on while they try to sort it out.” Jester bit into a donut as everyone was quiet.

“That was unexpected,” Beau stated after a moment. “But, yeah… I mean, we know Jester’s dad left her-”

“He owns that distillery, Beau, I’m sure of it!” Jester barked out.

“-and possibly owns the distillery,” Beau acquiesced, sighing. “But I don’t think that’s going to affect her and Fjord’s thing, whatever that is they’ve got going on.”

“Friendship?” Fjord asked, giving Jester a pointed stare as she nodded, a mischievous flush painted on her cheeks. “Jester…”

“Ja okay,” Jester said, imitating Caleb’s accent. He chuckled at that, and Jester stuck her tongue out at Fjord.

“Anyways… Yasha seems to have vanished again,” Molly said then, standing from his seat and stretching. “Must have disappeared after making food. It was delicious as always, Caddy,” Molly shot the firbolg a smile and received one in return. “Caleb, we should get going before Beauregard implodes from withheld secrets.”

“Secrets??” Jester turned to face Beau, who had crossed her arms over her chest and was pointedly glaring at Mollymauk. “What secrets, c’mon Beau, tell me!”

“I don’t have any secrets, Molly,” Beau groaned, but Jester took her arm anyways and pulled her away, talking quiet and quick at her.

“Thank you for the food and for the safe space to stay the night,” Caleb muttered, also standing and receiving his hugs from everyone. Jester gave him a squeeze before letting him go, then turned back to Beau to continue trying to wring the secrets from her. Nott left with Caleb and Molly, splitting off a few blocks up the road as they continued on their own route.

“I’m sorry for lying to you and all that night entailed,” Molly said quietly, kicking a chunk of ice into a snowpile on the ground. “And for leaving you with that lipstick on your neck,” he said after a beat, pushing Caleb’s head to the side and wiping a spit-wet thumb across the mark.

“That wasn’t a hickey?” Caleb asked, rubbing at his neck and seeing the dried flakes of lipstick on his fingers. “Essek thought it was, he acted very weird… Oh jees, Molly…”

“I figured it would make him a little jealous and either make the first move or punch me, honestly,” he shrugged again. “You know I’m not one to beat around the bush about these things, and he’s been months from bedding you.”

“Mollymauk Tealeaf ,” Caleb threatened, but he could feel his embarrassment more than his anger at the comment.

“Hey, I could have been more crass, but I’m being considerate,” he teased, shrugging. “I’m pretty sure he would have said something last night without that damn interruption.”

“Oh… He did have something he wanted to say last night,” Caleb noted thoughtfully. “I wonder if that’s what it was?”

“Call him, now,” Molly ordered, stepping in front of and stopping Caleb. “Right now. Do it, ask him. Trust me. He’s either going to say he wants to meet up to tell you, or he’ll brush it off. I’m telling you right now, he’s going to spill it if you meet up.”

Chapter Text

Essek took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then released it. He repeated the breathing exercise twice more, lifting his hands up as he breathed in, and pushing them down again as he exhaled. His nerves were still sparking as he made the walk to Caleb’s apartment, even though he could teleport and be there in an instant, or even drive and cut his travel to a third of the time; but he chose to walk. He needed the time to go over in his head what he was going to say when he arrived for Caleb’s tutoring session. He left his backpack slung over his shoulder instead of putting things away in his pocket dimension, if only to conserve his magic energy for the lesson.

Right, for the lesson that’s probably going to be your last, he thought to himself, or you risk just getting more hurt in the end. Of course he wasn’t interested in you, you just got your hopes up. He likes women. You've seen it firsthand now.

He groaned, stopping in the middle of the crosswalk and raising his voice to almost a growled shout. It was late enough in the day that no one else was really walking around, and the sullen weather helped with that, but a vehicle driving up to the intersection hit the horn while Essek came back to his surroundings and scurried to the sidewalk, a hand up in apology.

When he got to the block that housed Caleb’s apartment, he felt his phone buzz.

“Hello, this is Essek,” he had answered, not looking at the caller ID.

“Ah, it’s…”

“Caleb, hello, did I leave something at Beau’s?” he asked, pausing in his steps. “I don’t think I really took anything…”

“No, just…” There was a voice on the other end of the call, and Essek assumed that the sudden muffled noise was Caleb’s attempt at keeping whoever it was quiet. “Sorry. Molly’s being an ass. Before… well, before yesterday’s incident, you said you had something to ask me?”

“Oh… Yeah, sorry. It’s…” Essek started, then sighed, resuming his route. “It’s nothing important right now.”

“Nothing important?” Caleb mimicked, and there was an audible noise on the other end that Caleb shushed. “We’re heading home ourselves, now, but Molly’s got plans. I don’t have work so I’m just going to be at home with Frumpkin.”

“Ah, after yesterday it might be good to have some quiet time, if that’s what helps you,” Essek said, ignoring his gut instinct that the phrasing was an invitation to come over; if it was, Caleb would be more upfront about it, right? “I’m sure you need some time to decompress. Sorry again about the unexpected end of the party…”

“It wasn’t your fault, Essek,” Caleb argued. “And ja , maybe some time alone might be good. If I get intrusive thoughts, I always have my books to read to distract me. Maybe I’ll just study up for our next tutoring lesson?” There was definitely a hopeful note to the end of the sentence, and Essek couldn’t help but smile a little bit into his phone.

“Does reading usually help?” he asked.

“Ah… Sometimes. Depends on what it is,” was the admission, and a snickering laugh burst through in the background. “Mollymauk I swear to the gods if you don’t shut up… I’m sorry. Molly’s still…”

“Being an ass, I get it. I’ll let you go, he’s like a cat wanting attention,” Essek found himself saying; he didn’t want to hang up, not just yet. He really wanted the attention, if he was being honest with himself.

“Ah, sorry,” Caleb muttered. “You left in a hurry, you must be very busy with damage control or something after the party. Sorry, I just was curious about that question.”

He wasn’t busy. Not at all.

“Yeah, just a bit of cleanup to do, you know,” he lied. “Then some errands to run.” He was just going to sit at home and wallow in self pity. “Having the party was maybe a bad idea from that standpoint alone.” He had no plans for the rest of the weekend at all. “Too much going on.” Nothing happening at all.

“Yeah… Well, I’ll see you next Sunday then for tutoring, ja ?” Caleb asked, the hopeful note back in his voice and Essek grimaced, staring at the ground as he picked up his pace. “My place, still?”

“Yeah, sounds good, Caleb. I’ll see you then,” he replied, feeling his throat clenching around the words. He hung up his phone and booked it home, hot stinging tears prickling at the edges of his eyes. Caleb just wanted to learn magic. That’s all, there was no other intent behind their communication and friendship, of course. He was delusional. He had to be.

There was a message from Caleb, simply a picture of his desk with Frumpkin sprawled across his notes and textbook, clearly fast asleep. Essek took another deep breath and sent a laughing emote as a reply, then a photo as he approached the apartment complex.

The door opened as he rounded onto the sidewalk leading to the door, and Caleb stood in the doorframe, smiling brightly. Essek gave him a quick wave and entered behind him, shucking off his shoes and coat.

“ Ja , Frumpkin jumped up and got himself comfortable on my desk,” Caleb laughed, leading the way to the study room, where Frumpkin was still lying across everything. “He hasn’t been feeling very good this week, and this is the first time he’s actually slept that I’m aware of, so I don’t have the heart to move him just now.”

“Ah, I understand,” Essek smiled a bit, setting his own backpack down and opening it. “Well, we can go through some somatics until he wakes up, then.” He pulled out his textbooks and notes and set them on the table that normally housed their material components during lessons, and all of Caleb’s other schoolbooks. Essek tried to calm himself down as he organized his things on the table, until a noise startled him to look up.

“Ah, sorry… I didn’t silence my phone,” Caleb chuckled softly, pulling out the phone. He made a face, tapped on it for a moment, then put it away again. “Sorry. Normally I’m a bit better about…” The buzzing of the vibration was loud enough to be an alert of its own, and Caleb rolled his eyes. “Sorry.”

“Popular today?”

“No, it’s… Jester is asking silly questions,” Caleb muttered, tapping on his phone again. Apparently the response was immediate, or she was already typing back, because Caleb kept tapping away on his phone for a full minute.

“Oh, that’s alright,” Essek chuckled; his chest felt tight as he picked up his books again. “Today doesn’t seem to be a good day for this, I guess,” he sighed, setting the books away into his bag once again.

“No, Essek, it’s fine, she’s just being-”

“I get it, it’s fine, Caleb,” Essek waved a hand at him dismissively. “With Frumpkin being sick and Jester needing your attention, it’s probably best I just head back home. They’re both important to you, and I wouldn’t want to be in the way.”

“What were you trying to ask last weekend?” Caleb said quickly, almost shouting it. Essek stalled a bit in his packing up. Caleb cleared his throat to break the silence, “Before… before everything happened. You had a question for me.” Essek looked up from his back to see Caleb staring at him intently. “What was it?”

“...it’s truly nothing, Caleb,” Essek lied, feeling his chest tighten again. “Are you still wanting to study today or no?” There was another buzz on Caleb’s phone, and he unlocked it, pressed a button or two, then left the room for a moment. He returned without his phone in hand or pocket.

“Did Fjord ever get in touch with you?” Caleb asked then, catching Essek off guard.

“Oh, yes… He was wondering when I could fit him into my tutoring schedule,” he said quickly. “Of course, I won’t know until the semester starts and I know how many students I’ll be tutoring overall. I’ll have to sort out everyone’s schedules like I did with yours and find what works best for everyone’s time.”

“Will we still have this time on Sundays?” Caleb asked next.

“I suppose so, unless there’s a change in your schedule to disclude this timeframe.”

“...Okay. I was just curious,” Caleb replied quietly, pulling out his desk chair and sitting on it, leaning against the back support. Frumpkin yawned behind him, flipping over and falling back asleep. “Fjord had asked me to ask about his schedule. He’s told me he’s not very freed up this semester.”

“I got so much information from him myself,” Essek nodded. “The only thing I can really think is to have him studying at the same time as you are.” Caleb looked up quizzically at Essek. “Would you mind terribly for a joint study session with Fjord?”

“No, not really…”

“That may be the only way to work with both of you,” Essek explained, pulling out his planner and writing some information down. “Unless you don’t need or want my tutoring-”

“Sure, yeah, it’s fine,” Caleb blurted out then. “I… I still want to learn more dunamancy. If you’re okay with still tutoring me, that is.” Essek noticed the tint of sadness to Caleb’s expression as he spoke, and the tightness in his chest lessened just a bit.

“Of course, that’s no problem,” Essek replied, penciling in his planner the additional study guest. “Will we have enough room here, or would we want to change locations?”

“I think we should have sessions on campus. If Fjord isn’t able to make it, we can always plan to meet here again, like usual,” Caleb smiled up at him. “That makes the most sense to me.”

“Then we’ll be starting on campus next Sunday,” Essek nodded, writing the changes into the planner. “Alright. Well… Did you still want to study today?” Caeb was quiet for a bit. “If you still need time after last weekend, I understand.”

“Would you stick around at least?” Caleb asked, leaning forward more on the chair. “Mollymauk left for the weekend to Yasha’s, so it’s just been me and with Frumpkin being sick, all I’ve been able to do is worry about… well, things, I guess.”

“I… don’t think I’d be very good company today outside of studying, I’m afraid.” Caleb looked up at him at that.

“Is everything okay, Essek?” he asked, and Essek felt his emotions, like a hand, squeeze around his throat.

“Yeah, just not in a sociable mood today,” he lied, shrugging. “I’d absorb myself in my phone or a book. Tutoring you today was the only time I was planning to spend around other people. That being the case, I'd just head home."

“Then we can study,” Caleb offered after a long pause and gently roused Frumpkin.

“You don’t have to,” Essek started, but the cat sprang off the paperwork and bolted out of the room. “Well…"

“Yeah, I’d rather study with you than be alone right now,” Caleb admitted. “You’re sure that your question wasn’t important?”

It’s very important. I want to ask you now. I’ve wanted to ask for the past week. But after everything with Jester, and hearing what you went through and that you had once loved that Soltryce girl… Molly not your type… Obviously I’m not your type either but I still can’t help but wonder and want to ask…

“No, it’s fine. I don’t really remember it, anyways,” Essek lied, pulling his own books out of his bag again. “We’ll start on chapter seven then.”

Three hours later, Essek packed away his books and Caleb was just setting down his pen from his notebook, stretching out his arms and back. Essek watched him, seeing the barest lift of his shirt as his arms reached overhead to expose his stomach, a little higher with his other arm had his belly button visible. Essek turned his gaze away before he could let his thoughts run away on him and saw Frumpkin sitting in the doorway, staring at him with an uncanny expression.

“Hello, Frumpkin,” he said gently, and the cat stood to walk forward, rubbing against Essek’s legs. He reached down to pet and give scritches, but Frumpkin pawed up his leg, crying loudly to be held. Essek just shrugged and pet Frumpkin’s forehead, pushing him back down to the floor gently. “Not today, you’re sick, so I hear.” Frumpkin gave him a look, then stalked out of the room with a flick of his tail before disappearing.

"He gets testy," Caleb muttered, standing up from his desk. "Are you hungry? I've got some pizzas I could throw in the oven, probably some soda-"

"No thank you, I need to get going," Essek said sternly, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I have to write up Fjord's lesson plan before next weekend, and get permission to use a study room on campus regularly."

"Oh… alright, well…" Caleb followed Essek to the door. "Did you want to hang out during the week? The library is closed until midweek so I have nothing going on until my shift on Wednesday afternoon."

"I am going to be busy, sorry," Essek replied coolly. He already wanted to kick himself for agreeing to do the joint tutoring sessions, even as much as it would remind him that their relationship was really only professional. He couldn't be social with him anymore if he was going to keep things professional, if he was going to give up on his feelings.

“I… Okay. Fine, sure,” Caleb mumbled, leaning against the wall. “Are you mad at me for ruining your party?” That made Essek snap up, staring at him blankly. How could he think that he was mad about that? “Or was my breakdown just that uncomfortable for you? To be fair, I understand,” he continued, shrugging with his arms crossed, “the few people who knew before last weekend, well, they refuse to talk to me after they found out even the surface of the issue. It’s not really something you expect from a bookworm like me but, well…”

“I’m not mad, least of all about that,” Essek started, but Caleb just shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. Then it’s the party, and I guess that’s better for my conscience than my trauma,” Caleb shrugged. “I still want to know what you were going to ask me that night.”

“It’s… nothing important for you,” Essek sighed. “It’s really not. I kind of figured it out on my own, I guess? So, there’s no reason to ask you anymore. Alright?”

“How are you so sure?” Caleb quirked a brow, a challenge to prove Essek wrong. If he wasn’t so sure of the answer, he might have taken the bite.

“Because… Well, I’m just sure of the answer.”

“What was the question?”

“I’m leaving now, Caleb,” Essek said with finality as he opened the door. “I will see you at the next tutoring session, I will message you when I know of the location. Good evening.” He pulled the door shut behind himself and traced a sigil in the air, teleporting back home before he could change his mind to stay.

Chapter Text

Caleb went to find his phone again, cursing quietly to himself. Was he too anxious and forward to ask? Did his friends all misunderstand the upperclassman’s intentions? Was he reading too much into it? He turned his phone back on, setting it aside as he made himself a cup of tea; the number of notifications that assaulted his phone after having turned it off for over three hours made it nearly vibrate off the table, but it stopped just a few shakes shy of dropping. Most of them were from Jester and Mollymauk, with a handful in the group chat. Jester’s messages mostly consisted of her writing his name out with an obscene number of syllables, and asking if he had gotten Essek to open up. There was a fifteen minute break in messages according to the timestamps, and then every ten minutes were suggestive strings of emotes, including eggplants and winking faces. After the two and a half hour mark, the messages stopped with only a GIF of an audience giving a standing ovation.

Jester : does dunamancy help with your orgasms???

or gives you multiple??? think of the applications, cay-leb!!!

is that why you wanted essek to tutor you?

Hot boy!!

HOT BOY ESSEK THELYSS

Caleb : no, jester, nothing like any of that happened. we studied. i may have been a bit pressing.

Jester : oh no... i’m sorry, cay-leb. do you want me to talk to him?

Caleb : absolutely not, jester. i need to figure out why he’s mad at me. partially i think because you kept texting me when we were supposed to be studying. this is why i don’t want everyone messaging me when i have tutoring, it’s annoying.

Mollymauk’s messages were obviously his reactions to whatever Jester had told him, because they mostly consisted of the tiefling asking if it was safe to return home yet, or if they were still having a “banging good time”, as he put it. Caleb groaned and shook his head, tapping on the screen to start a phone call.

“Ah, so how bad does your ass hurt? It can be pretty awful, I recommen--”

“He hates me, Mollymauk,” Caleb blurted out, dropping himself onto the couch. Frumpkin ran up to lay across his lap. “He doesn’t think his question was important. And if it’s what you think he was going to ask, he says he’s pretty sure of the answer, which would mean that we could have been doing that stuff if he was up for it but we didn’t so I’m pretty sure he’s not into me like that.” He hiccuped. “Shit… What do I do? I can’t just tell him myself now, can I?”

“Caleb, Caleb, hold on, I’ll be home in like, five minutes,” Molly said back through the phone. “Where’s the hairball?”

“Frumpkin’s already on my lap,” Caleb sighed, “and I’m fine. I’m just tired. He was very business-like, like at the start of the semester.” Molly sighed on the other end of the phone. “Now I’m curious what his question actually was, if it wasn’t to ask me out or anything…”

“Trust me, it was definitely to ask if you were dee tee eff,” Molly assured him, and Caleb snorted a laugh that sent Frumpkin skittering off. “A laugh, good! Want me to invite anyone over?”

“Can you get Essek to come back?” Caleb joked, standing to find Frumpkin and sooth him from the unintentional scare. Molly hummed, as if considering it. “It’s a joke, Molly, don’t you dare. He’s already pissed off at me, I don’t want him thinking I’ve sent everyone else after him and get even more pissed.”

“I won’t, I won’t, I swear!” Molly chuckled. “Anyways, I’m almost home.” The line went dead, and a noise at the door was the only warning that Molly had gotten back. “Okay. So, what exactly happened?”

Caleb replayed the evening to Molly; how he had let Frumpkin crawl over the desk and take a nap on his textbooks, using the cat’s particularly finicky behavior that week to excuse not wanting to disturb him; sending the picture to Essek almost as a warning that studying wouldn’t be happening. He also mentioned how he had opened the door before Essek knocked if only to catch him by surprise, the way Essek was very adamant about either studying or going home, how Jester had begun to pester him right as he was about to ask Essek about the question, asking him if he had asked yet and bombarding his phone with messages, all of which seemed to make Essek upset, so he shut the phone off and threw it in his room to focus, then bringing up Fjord’s request to tutor.

“He even asked me if I didn’t want him to tutor me anymore when he suggested having Fjord’s lessons at the same time as mine,” he sighed, sprawled on the couch by then, a beer in hand. Mollymauk sat on the chair and listened intently, also with a beer. “It sounded like he was trying to give me an out like I wanted to stop lessons. Then he said he’d leave if I wasn’t feeling good after last weekend. It was like he’s finding excuses to not hang out now… I even said I wouldn’t mind if he stuck around and just played on his phone or read a book or whatever if he wasn’t feeling up for dealing with people, but he didn’t answer, so we studied. And he said he couldn’t remember the question anyways.”

“Maybe he’s in denial?” Molly offered. “Maybe he doesn’t think he could be so lucky to get a cute wizard boyfriend.”

“Molly, you’re hopeless,” Caleb groaned, slamming the last drinks of his beer. “He even turned down hanging out during the week. I asked, and basically said I was free all week, and he said he was busy. I hadn’t even tried to make a concrete plan! So he’s definitely gotta be pissed off at me about something, right?”

“Perhaps? I don’t know, honestly.” Molly leaned forward on his knees. “Did you ask if he was mad?”

“Yeah, I asked if it was about me dumping everything on him, on everyone really, last time and he said it wasn’t that, so it has to be the party, right?”

“But that wasn’t your fault, you know,” Molly reminded him.

“He said the question wasn’t important. I don’t get it. Obviously it’s important, right? If he won’t ask?” Caleb continued. “I’m out of beer…”

“I got you,” Molly said, plucking the empty bottle from Caleb’s hand as he made his way to the kitchen, returning with a fresh bottle for each of them. “At least he’s going to tutor you still, right?”

“Yeah, but with Fjord tagging along as well. We’re moving on campus for lessons,” Caleb muttered into the mouth of the bottle. “There’s no way we have enough room, and I’m not asking him to waste a twenty-four hour spell on a three hour tutoring lesson for that mansion.” He downed a portion of the beer and set the bottle on the table.

“Fair, fair,” Molly shrugged. “But you know you’re going to be seeing him again in a week at the very least, so maybe ease up on the interrogations-”

“You’re the one who said to ask him today.”

“-and just let things go for a bit. He’s got some kind of bug up his ass. Let him settle down and sort it out, and maybe after a few weeks of classes, ask Fjord to be ‘busy’ on a tutoring night so it’s just you and Essek again.”

“I was considering that, actually,” Caleb nodded, scratching his chin. “I mean, it’s not like it’ll be the first time he’s meddled in my and Essek’s friendship.” Tenuous as it is , he didn’t add on. They drank in silence, watching Frumpkin chase around one of his toys in the living room that jingled and jangled as it bounced around the floor.

“I’m sorry for pressuring you into getting him to spill his emotions,” Molly said softly. “I figured it wouldn’t have been so… difficult?”

“Molly, you realize that a proper relationship is always going to be difficult, right?” Caleb asked, rolling over on the couch to lie on his stomach and look at his roommate directly. “It’s not like your one night stands.”

“You don’t know my one night stands, Caleb,” Molly shot back, but with a light chuckle. “No, you’re right. That’s just hormones and sweat. But like… how hard would it be for him to say ‘Caleb, I have had a crush on you since the second I started tutoring you early this semester and I’d really like to fuck your brains out if I may’?” Caleb burst out laughing at the failed attempt to mimic Essek’s vocal candor. “Okay, what about… ‘I’ve been interested in a relationship with you of the romantic and sexual variety and I would very much appreciate coitus with you if you are so inclined.’”

“Mollymauk, knock it off,” Caleb snorted, rolling off the couch with tears hot pricking his eyes. “That’s too much, I swear to the gods…”

“Oh, oh, what if he drops all formality? Huh? Like… super obscene and dirty,” Molly chortled, setting his beer bottle down. “‘You’re the sexiest fucking nerd and I’d love to shove my cock down your throat’ or ‘I want your dick rammed into my ass so hard I see stars’ or--” Caleb made a hand movement and the sound cut off entirely, the full powered silence spell giving Caleb a moment to think while he calmed down his racing heart and sharp breathing. Molly tapped him on the shoulder after a few moments and he dispelled the magic.

“I said that was too much,” Caleb chuckled. “We’re both getting a little too drunk to continue this conversation and it be anything more than you spewing filthy drivel.” He gave Molly a weak punch to the shoulder, which Molly grabbed only to pull Caleb up off the floor and help brush tufts of cat fur from his clothes.

“You can’t tell me you wouldn’t swoon at some kind of confession like that, though,” Molly winked then, patting Caleb on the head like he was a cat. “In any case, you’re right, we’re getting drunk. We’ll table this convo for now,” he continued, picking up both their beers and passing it to Caleb again, clinking the bottles together, “and we’re going to continue getting drunk and just enjoy an evening of chaste debauchery!”

“That’s an oxymoron,” Caleb pointed out, laughing again. “I think you mean revelry.”

“Whatever, I’m not a nerd like you.” Molly only grinned, reminding Caleb acutely of a literary cat. “We should have other people over for this, though,” he sighed, pulling out his phone. “Not a party, of course, you’re not in any shape to have a proper party, but we could have Beau and Yasha over, maybe Fjord. Jester and Nott both work, and I doubt Caduceus wants to deal with a bunch of random drunks outside of a party, but I can invite him all the same.”

“Go for it, just no loud music,” Caleb nodded. “A bit more relaxed of a night might be good. And nothing strong to drink, tell Beau. I don’t want to get shitfaced.”

“Fine, fine, lightweight,” Molly teased, tapping away on his phone and sipping at his beer. He draped himself over the arms of the chair. Caleb felt his phone buzz, Caduceus checking about the invitation in the way only he would, and Caleb sent off the request that he bring some snacks since Jester couldn’t join the group that evening.

“Drinking certainly isn’t the healthy way to cope with this shit,” Caleb mused quietly while they waited for their friends to arrive. “But… I just want to hug him right now, you know? Wrap my arms around his shoulders and tug him close to me, like… I’m sappy right now, never mind.”

“No, no, go on. It’s cathartic to express your feelings, and then you won’t feel like saying it in front of our friends,” Molly pointed out.

“I just want to be stupid in love?” Caleb offered, shrugging. “I mean… holding hands, kissing, curling up on a couch to watch a TV show, I don’t know.” He grumbled nonsense into his drink before taking another swig. “And I swear if you breathe a word of this to anybody I’ll polymorph you into something ridiculous for Frumpkin to chase.”

“Oh no, how horrifying,” Molly laughed.

“Like a bird, or a mouse.”

“You wouldn’t, and you know it.” Molly stuck his tongue out. “You were saying, though?”

“...no, I know what you’re doing,” Caleb pointed his almost-empty beer bottle at him. “You’re getting me drunk so I call him and confess. Not happening,” he said, fumbling out his phone. “It’s going in my room under lock and key and I’m not drunk dialing Essek.” Molly threw himself back over the arms of the chair, exasperated.

“Damnit, there goes that masterful plan.”

“That was a bad plan and you know it,” Caleb muttered, kicking him in the shin gently as he passed by to his bedroom. While he did intend to shut it off, he found himself checking his social media messages and feed for a few minutes when Molly started greeting their friends as they arrived. After a few minutes, he navigated to Essek’s profile to find the picture of them from his party before end of term, with Mollymauk photobombing in the background.

Was the flush on Essek’s cheeks from the alcohol that night? Or because he was able to be so close to Caleb? Was his own flush from being close to Essek or the drinks? Did Essek hang out with him just to be friendly after almost a semester of getting to know one another, or was it because he was interested in a relationship? Did Essek look at the photo and wonder the same questions?

Caleb sighed, putting his phone away in a pocket dimension, one of the spells Essek had taught him, and returned to the living room to hang out with his friends and Mollymauk again, trying to push the uncomfortable feeling out of his mind.

Chapter Text

The spring semester started without much fanfare, and Essek was thrown into his studies as usual. There weren’t as many requests for him to tutor people as he had originally thought he’d have, and after the first month had passed, he found himself wondering if he could convince Caleb to take up extra lessons; then immediately pushed the thought from his mind. He couldn’t keep pining after someone who obviously didn’t have an interest in him, it did him no good. He already faced Caleb enough in a week.

New tutoring rules had been implemented when Essek had brought up the need for a designated study room for Caleb and Fjord’s coinciding lessons. There had been a few groups of tutoring that went to a bar and drank rather than studied, and the tutor in charge of that group was kicked out of the program and almost expelled from the university. Essek didn’t mind too much the change in policies. But all of his tutoring sessions were now held in the library, and besides the Sunday session with the pair, during Caleb’s shifts.

“Good evening, Essek,” Caleb would greet him, already with the study room key in hand and tutoring sign-out sheet on the counter when he walked in with any other student. He’d greet the students as well, quickly catching onto their names and while Essek filled out the paperwork for the study room, Caleb would make small talk, sometimes asking about the coursework, sometimes about extracurriculars or books. Essek would finish the papers, pass them to Caleb, and Caleb in turn would verify the information and hand over the room key. “Study hard!” he would say every time, and the students would say how nice he was.

One of the girls he tutored would flirt with Caleb, openly as the first month went on. She ended up requesting extra tutoring sessions during Caleb’s work shifts, just so she had an excuse to go to the library and talk with him.

“Come on, Lora, we have studying to do,” Essek said, waving her to follow.

“Just a second!” she called back, then turned to Caleb again. “Well hey, listen, I really like talking with you. Would you want to get a bite to eat sometime? I’ll be free after my study session tonight, when are you off?”

“Ah, about seven,” Caleb replied, thinking a bit. “I have some homework to do tonight, I want to have it done before the weekend. I have some things this weekend, but I’ll be free before my tutoring session on Sunday, that’s at five, would that be alright?”

“You go to tutoring, too?” Lora asked, leaning on the counter. “What subject could you need help in? You’re super smart.”

“Ah, well, Essek is tutoring me a special course because I wasn’t able to get into a class here,” Caleb laughed, smiling at Essek; Essek nodded, looking off to the side and trying to ignore the ugly feeling festering in his chest. “He’s been tutoring me since the start of last semester, I’m very thankful that he’s put up with me for so long!” Lora laughed at that.

“I don’t think it’s difficult to ‘put up’ with you, as you put it,” she leaned in closer. “Can I get your number, then? I’ll call you when I get freed up Sunday afternoon and we can go get lunch earlier on, maybe if there’s time, a movie?” Essek looked over at them with that offer, and saw Caleb punching his number into Lora’s phone; not that it mattered. Not that he necessarily cared what Caleb got up to, but how had Caleb missed the obvious invitation for a date?

“I don’t know what movies are playing right now, but that sounds fine to me,” Caleb replied, handing back her phone. She passed his back, having typed her number in presumably, and she waved at him before trotting up to Essek. “Study hard! Have a good evening.”

“Thanks, Caleb! See you Sunday!” she shouted back, earning a glare from one of the librarians. Essek led the way to the study room and started setting up his materials. “So, Essek, it sounds like you know Caleb pretty well? What’s he like outside of the library?”

“What makes you think I know him so well?” Essek asked, not looking up from the textbooks and his tutoring plan.

“Well, he kind of lights up when we come in for study sessions, he did that before I knew his name, so it definitely has to do with you,” Lora pointed out, slowly getting her own things out of her backpack. “Are you just that great of a tutor or what?”

“I would say I’m a fairly good tutor.” He flipped a book open to a marked page. “Are you ready to get to work, then?”

“Have you ever hung out with him outside of tutoring?”

“Loradiane, we only have until six-thirty to use this room,” he said sternly, and she opened her notebook. “Thank you. I’d like to keep you on track for your class, and you already said you are struggling enough to need more lessons, so we’re going to stay busy here. Now, arcane history. The school assumes most students know this, but do you know the difference between divine and arcane casting?”

“No? Why’s that important?” she asked, thumbing through the textbook. “I know there’s a picture… Oh, here it is.”

“It’s possible it’ll be on the finals,” Essek explained, pointing at the images. “There’s sometimes confusion among other students I tutor, so this is something to point out early on. I’m not going to give you the answer, but it’s detailed in the imagery.” She nodded, looking at the image quietly. Essek sat back in his chair and thumbed through the textbook to the actual lesson.

“So like, did you tutor at his house last semester?” Lora asked after a few seconds, leaning over the book. “What’s his place like?”

“Lora, is this going to be impeding the study session tonight?”

“Yes. I’m dying to know more about him for Sunday!”

“Yes, I’ve hung out with him outside of tutoring, yes, I tutored him at his apartment before this semester.” Essek sighed, crossing his arms. “I tutored all my students at their dorms or apartments, only some of them on campus when their own residence was too far away.”

“What’s he like? He seems so bookish,” Lora mused, chewing on the end of her pen. “But I bet he’s sweet and kind and caring. Probably likes dogs, right?”

“He… He is nice.” Essek leaned back in the chair. “And I don’t know if he likes dogs, but I know for a fact he has a cat.”

“Oh… He’s a cat guy?” Lora grumbled. “Hmm… dudes with cats are way more aloof.”

“Caleb isn’t aloof.”

“Hm. So like… what do you tutor him in, then?”

“Dunamancy. He’s a magic user, like me,” Essek said, trailing his hand in the air and producing a little globe of light. “He had a full schedule last semester, but wanted to learn dunamancy, so I was asked to tutor him by the professor. Caleb’s a quick study and he’s on the path to take the third year coursework next semester, he’ll be able to test into the class.”

“That’s pretty cool… So he’s a huge magical bookworm with a cat? Huh…” Lora tapped her pen on the book. “What does he do for fun?”

“You’re not going to be studying tonight, are you?” Essek sighed. “I’ll answer two more questions. Please consider them thoughtfully, then we’re going to get back to work.”

“Okay, so, what does he do for fun?

“I’m not really sure outside of studying. Second question,” Essek smirked. He would reel in the study session somehow, and vague answers would have to suffice. Lora scowled at him for that, and looked at the table.

“That’s not much of an answer. Alright… What do his friends do?”

“They party.” Essek pointed at the book and tapped the picture. “Back to work.”

Lora continued asking questions about Caleb, but Essek refused to answer, even as a part of him wanted to gush about what he found so interesting about the man. Even as parts of him warred between telling her to shove off, and telling her to be more direct with him because he doesn't catch subtlety easily.

He wasn't sure if the solution to his pining would be to see Caleb happy with someone else, or if it would make his situation worse, but that kind of prediction wasn't his forte.

Loradiane never figured out the image. Essek prompted her occasionally through the study session, but she couldn't figure out what the differences were. Essek assigned it for the next study session on Monday and sent her off. Friday nights he normally had another study session right away, but the student in question had cancelled due to work, so Essek packed away his books and went into the library proper. Loradiane was hanging around the desk chatting with Caleb, neither seeing him, so he left quietly out the doors.

He didn't need to go talk to Caleb. He didn't need to tell him the obvious reason Lora was chatting him up or wanting to have dinner with him. No, he just needed to mind his own business, and go about his own life. He didn't realize he had stopped walking until he heard a voice call out.

"Oh, Essek, I didn't expect to see you out here!" Essek jumped a little, and turned to look at the goblin approaching him. Nott came up to him with a smile, pastry in hand. "Aren't you supposed to be tutoring right now?"

"Session was cancelled, the student got called into work," Essek said simply, shifting his gaze away from her and back towards the library. "I didn't expect you here, either. You're not a student, what's your reason for coming to the library?"

"Oh, I walk Caleb home if I don't work," she replied, a sort of sad smile on her face. "It's safer, you know." Of course he did. It had been almost two months since the Soltryce invasion of his party, and he continued to tweak the spell just to ensure that didn't happen again; even if he didn't plan to host more parties ever. "Lebby says it's not necessary, but I want to make sure he's safe."

"That's a terrible nickname."

"It'll stick one of these days, I'm sure." Nott looked towards the doors and grinned. "You want to walk with us?"

The doors began to open behind them, and Essek jogged off, Nott barely registering to bid him farewell as she moved forward. He figured the only person coming out would be Caleb, and hadn't intended to stay quite so late.

"Who were you talking to, liebling ?"

"Essek, he was just… Essek, hey!" He didn't turn around.

"Gotta go, made plans," he said instead, turning the corner. He quickly gestured for the teleportation spell and stepped through it and into his dorm. His roommate looked up, then waved gently.

"You're home early."

"My last session got cancelled. I'm turning in for the night," he sighed. His roommate closed his book and stood up.

"It's barely seven. Why not go to the gym instead? You don't do any gym classes, may as well get some exercise," he pointed out, gesturing with the book itself. "And not to be mean, but you're kind of a bummer this semester. Exercise is proven to help with seasonal depression and the like, man."

"Thank you for your input, Wursh, but I think I've got it handled," Essek rolled his eyes, passing through the kitchen to his room. He set his bag down and laid out on his bed with a groan, pressing his hands to his eyes until he saw colors bloom beneath his eyelids.

"Gonna wreck your eyesight," Wursh called out.

"Stop your psychoanalytic bull, Wursh, not in the mood."

"You're predictable. Not my fault."

Essek sighed, flicking his hand to close the door with a spell. "Predictable, huh?" After a stretch of time, he opened the door again. "Can anyone go to the one on campus?"

"Show your student ID."

Essek found himself staring down a large weight machine with far too many cords, wires, levers, bars, and other things he barely understood about an hour later in sweats and a tank top. There were a lot of other people in the gym, but most were on the limited number of treadmills and stationary equipment, so Essek had wandered to the weight machines.

He took a moment to size up the machine, looking over the weight mechanisms. Wursh gave him a few video links to look at for guidance, but the machines looked so different, he wasn’t sure how the ones in the videos worked, let alone the ones at the school gym. A goliath at a nearby seated machine got up, wiped the seat off with some type of spray, then wandered away, so Essek slid into the vicinity and sat down before it was taken up. Thankfully it had fewer bars and straps, so he took the pin out of the weights and gave it a test pull. There was no resistance, so the machine clanged loudly with the movement.

“Gotta have some weight on there, man,” the goliath turned around to chuckle, then continued to his next machine.

“Yeah, just, uh… Making sure it was working,” Essek muttered, flushing in embarrassment. He looked over the weights, settling on the weight that said 50lb/23kg, and giving it another pull. It was heavy, but felt about the same as his book bag when he had the majority of his books in it, so he settled his feet against the pegs near the weights and began pulling the bar roughly. He remembered Wursh saying something about reps and sets as he left the dorm, and counted out to ten, rested, and counted ten again. His shoulders absolutely hurt, but working out was supposed to hurt a bit, right? Otherwise, what was the point?

Essek wiped down the machine and continued on, deciding that anything with so many moving parts was probably not his best bet for working out while he was newer to the process, and sat on a bench with a bar across it, and individual weights stacked on either side at the floor. A halfling further down the row of benches had just finished placing the round weights on the bar, sliding something into place at the end of the bar, and then laid across the bench. To Essek, it looked like she was trying to do push-ups upside-down, with the bar of weights being the resistance. Easy enough, so he put weights onto the bars, trying to balance out the weight with the small rounds. He saw nothing that clipped onto the ends of it, and assumed it was perhaps a different kind of bar, as there didn’t seem to be a spot to clip anything on the ends, so he laid down and pushed the bar up and over the holding arms, and his left arm buckled.

“Yo, watch it!”

The bar above him tilted to the left, dropping the rounds of weights off; then, with the imbalance, the bar shifted to the right, swinging up and jerking Essek’s left side up from the bench as the weights slammed onto the right side; a blur of blue caught the bar before it could crack into the skull of another gym goer. Essek sat down, hands clenched around the cold steel in shock, as the people nearby talked, and the bystander walked away.

“I’m so sorry,” he blurted out as soon as he was relieved of the metal bar.

“Have you ever used the bench press before? What kind of… Essek?” He looked up at his name and Beauregard, with her buzz cut ponytail pulled into a high bun, was grinning down at him with amusement. “Well shit, man, if I’d have known you were coming in to workout, I’d have offered to teach you!”

“Oh, um…” Essek blinked, staring up at her. “It was… spur of the moment.”

“I just finished a class, I teach martial arts every other Friday night,” she explained, picking up the bar and weights and replacing them where they belonged, “but I’m also doing some personal trainer classes. Next to all my history courses, of course. How about I train you for part of my class?”

“Sure… Um, will you…” he stammered, hands still shaking, “maybe not tell anyone about this?”

“Don’t worry, Essek,” Beau laughed, clapping him on the back, “I won’t tell our group. Come on, let me show you the ropes quick.”

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since Loradiane had asked him to lunch and a movie, and Caleb had backed out several times. The first Sunday attempt, it was because he had actually been sick. He woke on Sunday morning with nausea, having eaten some kind of concoction that Mollymauk made the night prior for dinner. Something with chicken, which was revealed to have gone just the wrong side of bad the day Molly had cooked it. The scent of the spices dumped into the dish had covered how sour the chicken had gone. Caleb, having a human’s stomach, got the worst of the food poisoning; Mollymauk, being a tiefling whose body temperature was quite a bit higher, didn’t suffer as many ill effects as Caleb.

He even messaged Essek to cancel the study session because of being sick. Unfortunately he had passed out in the bathroom from exhaustion and didn’t have a chance to message Essek until he was already late for the tutoring, and had to answer Fjord’s multitude of messages first. When Essek finally messaged him back, it was short, almost angry sounding to Caleb, and he sent another apology that went on ‘Read’.

The second and third attempts he pushed off, citing homework and housework. The fourth attempt had overscheduled his plans to hang out with Fjord and Caduceus for a guy’s night later that same month. Fjord said he had invited Essek to it, but his tutoring schedule was filling up with midterms now on everyone’s mind. When Caleb arrived at the sports pub Fjord had suggested, he was finishing a call with Lora to try and schedule for another time, apologizing profusely as he waved down his friends and took a seat.

“Wow, who was that?” Fjord asked, already digging into onion petals as his appetizer. Caduceus had breaded mushrooms and deep fried pickles, and they had ordered cheese curds for Caleb that the server brought out just as he was settling into his spot. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you on the phone before except with Molly or professors.”

“And work, actually,” Caleb pointed out. “No, that was Loradiane.” Fjord and Caduceus shared a quick glance. “ Was ?”

“Who is Loradiane?” Caduceus asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Ah, she’s one of Essek’s other tutoring students. She asked me to go to lunch and a movie a couple weeks ago, but being sick and all, you remember, I couldn’t make it,” Caleb explained, dunking a cheese curd into the ranch dressing side and popping it in his mouth. “She’s been needing more help with her coursework, she studies three times a week with Essek, up from only once a week. I guess she’s really struggling.”

“Are you sure that’s what’s going on?” Caduceus asked, slowly eating his own appetizers. The server returned for the meal orders, and for Caleb’s drink order, before disappearing again. “Why would she want to go get food with you if she’s struggling so much with her studies?”

“You’d think she’d be trying to study more to get caught up,” Fjord pointed out. Caleb shrugged. “Seriously, Caleb.”

“I don’t know what you think is the issue, I scaled back my courses so I could relax a bit more this semester, myself,” Caleb said, accepting his soda from the server as she passed by. “I doubt I’m the only one who wants to have something opposite their studies to enjoy.”

“Something, or some one ,” Fjord smirked. “It sounds like she wants to go on a date.”

“I mean, that’s fine,” Caleb rolled his eyes. “This is a date, is it not? This is the literal definition as per Jester and Essek both.”

“Sure, yeah,” Fjord drawled, his smirk turning almost devilish. “Maybe it’s more… she wants to date you. Like… Candy and hearts and flowers and shit. Romantic stuff. Maybe sex.”

Caleb inhaled and choked on his soda, Caduceus clapping against his back to help dislodge the carbonated bubbles. After a string of belches and coughs, he straightened up again and glared at Fjord.

“ Sex ? Dating? You were all saying the same thing about Essek a few weeks ago, and nothing has come of that,” he huffed, leaning against the table. “I… I think I’m over the idea of dating,” he lied, dropping his gaze to his cup and taking a drink.

“Oh, well… Sorry, then,” Fjord muttered, sitting back in his chair. “She just seems very adamant about getting food with you.”

“ Ja , well, I said I would go get food with her, and maybe a movie. I made sure I had no plans on Saturday because it’s apparently the last weekend for a movie she’s wanted to go see for awhile and she thinks I’d really like it.”

“What’s the movie?” Caduceus asked, head tilting to the side again.

“If you keep doing that, Caduceus, you’re going to have kinks in your neck,” Caleb pointed out. “Ah… What’s the movie called… Zemnian Nights , I think?” Fjord and Caduceus shared another look, both beginning to crack up. “She said it was a historical fiction about my homeland.”

“Caleb, buddy…” Fjord snorted through his hand. “That’s a fucking romance film! Possibly even porn!” Caleb felt the flush rise up through even his ears, burning up under his hair.

“Jester has been talking non-stop about it, because her mother reviewed it,” Caduceus pointed out then, a smirk pulling on his face as he calmed his own laughter. “She hasn’t had a chance to see it, but based off what she says her mother told her, it’s ‘steamy and romantic’ and that sounds a lot like what Mollymauk has said porn is like.”

“There’s no way Loradiane is trying to take me to a…” Caleb lowered his voice into a harsh whisper, “to a fucking porn movie you guys.” He cleared his throat. “There’s absolutely no way.”

“Dude, you’re probably the most oblivious person I’ve ever seen when it comes to people flirting with you,” Fjord laughed loudly. “Essek still flirts with you during tutoring!”

“No he doesn’t! ...does he?” Caleb asked, flustered and flushed; he was feeling awfully hot and their food hadn’t even arrived yet. “ Verdammt , I don’t know anymore…”

“If he asked you out, straight up and forward, would you go out with him?” Fjord asked.

“ Ja, without hesitation,” Caleb muttered, burying his face in his arms on the table. The server appeared again with their food, and he couldn’t hide his embarrassed flush anymore. “I just… I really don’t think he’s into me like that. Especially after that Sunday, he hasn’t messaged me back. I’m sure if he was into me, he would have said something, even after studying.”

“Well, he did have his nose in his phone after your second message to him,” Fjord recalled, digging into his meal then. They were all quiet as they ate for a bit. “He was distracted the whole night.”

“I never got another message from him since, look,” Caleb muttered, opening his texts with the tutor. It still sat on his apology left on ‘Read’. The other two made considering noises, and Caleb put his phone on the table.

“That’s strange. Well, maybe ask him this weekend?” Fjord offered, shrugging. “If you’d like, I can skip so you two have the time to yourselves.”

“Oh gods, that’d make him suspicious of me being sick, wouldn’t it?” Caleb groaned, leaning his face into one hand while he picked at his food. “I’m not that hungry anymore… I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Maybe you should double check what movie Lora wants to go see,” Caduceus suggested, “and check the movies playing and try to convince her of a different movie, or say you’re not interested in a relationship with her.”

“And if she doesn’t think it’s a date, if she’s just as confused about the movie being a porn,” Caleb argued, but Fjord was nodding along with Caduceus’s words. “I’m screwed whatever I do.” With a sigh, he sat up again. “I’m not hungry. I want to go home…”

“You got a ride?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to call a taxi,” Caleb muttered, tapping into the carpool app on his phone. He selected his ride and was notified it would be fifteen minutes until the driver appeared. “My driver’s name is E. T. Like the alien in that movie,” he chuckled, showing the other two. They laughed, and Caleb flagged down their server for his box and check. The group went outside, Caleb waving as Fjord and Caduceus got on the back of Fjord’s motorcycle and drove off. Caleb sat outside in the end-of-winter weather, just on the cusp of too cold and barely chilly, when his phone alerted.

“They cancelled?” he muttered, tapping on the “reschedule ride” button and watching as a different vehicle was assigned, with the same initials. It was a few more minutes, but the vehicle pulled up, alerting Caleb to the make, model, and license plate, and Caleb immediately felt a heavy weight in his stomach. “Oh fuck…”

“Caleb?” The window of the car rolled down as it came to a stop in front of him and Essek was staring at him from the driver’s seat of the rideshare car. “You went to dinner by rideshare?”

“I mean, yeah, I don’t have a car and Fjord only has his bike,” Caleb muttered, putting his phone away. “What else was I supposed to do?”

“...you weren’t out with Loradiane?”

“Can I get in your car or what?” Caleb asked, trying to keep the sudden, growing annoyance out of his voice, and by the twinge of emotion on Essek’s face, failing miserably. The door unlocked and Caleb climbed in, buckling up. “Well, I don’t have to explain how to get to my place, at least,” he tried to joke, but Essek didn’t seem to respond. “It was guy’s night, remember? Fjord invited you. I forgot about it, so I told Loradiane we would do something another time.”

“So you cancelled your date with her again?” Essek asked, and Caleb could only wince at the word ‘date’ when it came out. “She keeps bringing you up during tutoring. It’s actually starting to affect her progress, not that she actually needs the tutoring.”

“Oh, really? Why does she have tutoring with you, then?” Caleb asked, giving him a considering look. Essek shrugged a bit, pulling out of the restaurant parking lot and to the street.

“To check you out when she checks in for tutoring,” Essek said calmly. There was a pause before he muttered, “I know we haven’t really talked about Sunday…” Caleb put up a hand.

“No, I get it. I missed the study session. I’m behind now,” Caleb sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and staring out the window to the side of the road. “Fjord told me you were kind of upset, burying yourself in your phone during the study session. I’m sorry. I went through a lot of hoops to get the opportunity to study dunamancy, and you’ve given up a lot of time to teach me.”

He took a breath, waiting for Essek to respond for a moment before continuing. “I passed out in the bathroom after being sick, and I didn’t get up again until just after five. I felt better, but I would have had to shower and change and find something to eat before I came out to the library to study, and it honestly just would have been a bigger waste of time for me to show up halfway through the session and interrupt Fjord’s studying to try and catch up on my own. I'm sorry."

They rode in silence for a few more minutes, Caleb nervously thumbing the take-away box in his lap. He tried to pay attention to the music playing on the radio, dance songs and popular hits. It was awkward silence, since he was expecting Essek to say something in response, but nothing was said until they pulled off the main road and began weaving through the side roads to campus and Caleb's apartment, slowing to a stop.

"I guess I'll see you on Sunday, then," Caleb muttered, unbuckling the seatbelt. "I don't get why you're upset with me but I guess--"

"I'm not upset with you," Essek spoke then, sighing. "I just realized I never actually sent the message I intended to on Sunday which explains why you think I'm mad." He fished out his phone and showed it to Caleb, a well-wishing message to feel better. "Sorry… I was working with Fjord that night and I've been… really tired lately. That explains why you didn't mention it this past session, you thought I was mad. I should be the one apologizing." Essek returned his phone to his pocket; Caleb tensed then as he felt Essek’s hand lay cautiously just above his knee.

"O-Oh, I guess we…” Caleb stammered out, feeling his heart in his throat. What is happening?? That’s… He’s… hand… knee?? There was a flash of warmth on his leg and Essek pulled his hand away as little sparkles trailed behind his fingertips.

“I think you broke your take-away box, you had grease on your pants,” Essek said, rolling down his window and flicking the offending stain out the window. Caleb opened the door and scrambled out of the car, closing it a bit too forcefully. “See you Sunday, then?” Essek called to him from the window as Caleb crossed the street, and Caleb gave a quick wave of his hand in response. The idling of the car revved into gear as he reached his door and drove off, Caleb slipping into the apartment quietly.

Caleb knew Molly was out, the guy’s night not an activity he enjoyed partaking in generally, so Caleb had the house to himself. He looked over his take-out box and noted that he had worn a hole in the bottom with his nervous picking, and sighed. Essek was just a friend helping him out with a little cleanup of his clothes, even though he was just getting home. Grease could stain, so it made sense to remove it as quickly as possible.

“You really must be desperate,” Caleb muttered to himself, transferring the leftovers to a new container and throwing it into the fridge with a scowl. “Of course he’s not interested in you. Maybe give her a chance…?”

But he continued to push off the date.

Chapter Text

“Essek, good job today,” Beau laughed, holding her hand out for the drow to take, helping him to his feet. “You’re doing a lot better than I expected, to be honest, but you’re a golden boy who can seemingly do no wrong, right?” She clapped him on the back. It was their Wednesday workout as part of the plan Beau had put together for him.

“Thank you? I think,” Essek chuckled, rolling his shoulders and feeling one of his joints pop pleasantly.

“Hey, go get changed and meet me in the lobby outside in thirty, we can catch an after-workout meal together,” she said, giving him a gentle shove towards the locker rooms. “I have to write down what we did today for my class anyways, so we can see what your progress has been like.” Essek nodded, jogging off to the lockers and showering. He flexed for a moment in one of the mirrors and poked at his bicep. He had never really been muscular, but the lean muscle he was developing was an excellent ego boost to his slowly fraying confidence. He smiled, then finished drying off and getting dressed to go back out in public.

Beau was already at the lobby desk, chatting with someone working behind the counter and swiping her trainer’s badge to clock out. He approached as she looked up, grinned, gave a wave to her friend, and slung her arm around his shoulders to lead him out of the gym.

“So, we did mostly cardio today, so we should get some lighter proteins. I’m thinking sandwich wraps,” she chattered, explaining the need for carbohydrates after the workout and what kinds of proteins they should stick to for optimal recovery.

The walk to the campus cafeteria wasn’t far, but Essek felt the burn in his legs as they sat down, trays piled with fruits, vegetables, salad, and a wrap that Beau had carefully instructed the student worker to craft for them. She dropped her tray, then ran off to one of the other areas to grab them each a yogurt and deposit it on his tray.

“Eat up, intense workouts require more fuel to recharge your system,” she explained, digging into her meal. Essek nodded, following suit but at a more relaxed pace. Beau was careful to detail the workout and food in her personal trainer notes for her class, and between bites, she pointed out some of the things she had taken measures of from the first day they had worked out to the present; for a six-week check-in, he had been making progress. His weight had gone up thanks to the lean muscle he was developing, and he could run for twice as long before getting winded. And he figured out how to use the bench press, which was his own personal achievement for having failed so spectacularly his first time at the gym.

“So, everyone’s been thinking,” Beau started, chasing the last grape tomato on her plate with her fork, “after midterms are done and everyone’s on spring break, there’s a cool campground a couple hours out. There’s a theme park a few miles up the road from it as well.”

“That sounds like a very fun place to go,” Essek nodded, finishing his meal and putting the tray to the side. “What’s that to do with me?”

“We wanted to invite you to come with us!” Beau grinned. “Yasha isn’t going, she’s busy already, and there’s a discount for a group of eight or more to both places, besides which we’re all going to split the cost which makes it cheaper for everyone. We already figured out that it’s only about twenty bucks a person between the campground and park. And by camping you get one free parking space at the campground, and there’s a bus to and from the theme park!”

“You just want me to drive everyone there, don’t you?” Essek laughed, Beauregard giving him a cheesy apologetic smirk.

“Would you? Could you? This plan kind of hinges on using your car.” She stabbed the tomato and ate it. “The whole thing was Jester’s idea initially. She’s been dying to go for years, it sounds like, but her mom has never been into camping, and going for a single day to the theme park seemed a waste.”

“That makes sense. I don’t tutor over spring break,” he nodded along, pulling out his planner, “so I think I could go with. It’s just your group, correct?” Beau made some kind of displeased snorting sound, drawing Essek’s attention up again.

“ Our group, you included,” she corrected him. “You’re in the group chat, which I see you mostly use to remind Fjord and Caleb about tutoring sessions. Do you not use social media that much?”

“No, not usually, not as of late.” He looked at his planner, recalling the selfie he had taken with Caleb, Mollymauk in the background photobombing. Had someone recognized Caleb from that picture, and spread around the rumor when Essek announced to his partying friends that he was opening his mansion for another round? “It just brings trouble.”

“Is that why you’ve been so distant?” Beau asked, her tone dropping from chastisement to concern. “You’ve been mopey, and it’s really bothering a lot of us.” She groaned, scratching her head. “No, not ‘bothering’, but… concerning. You’ve got us concerned. What’s up?”

“I still feel guilty about the party,” Essek sighed, shifting in the cafeteria chair and relaxing back a bit. He had not slated Beauregard as someone he would get along with, even after her fierce cursing out of the Soltryce group when everyone had reconvened after the event. But she was a dedicated student, he found out, balancing her studies, hobbies, and work all so seamlessly that he wasn’t sure which was which. As much as Essek would deny it if asked by anyone outside their group, he had grown fond of the woman across the table from him, and trusted her with certain secrets, including his being gay, which was only revealed after she had said she was a lesbian. “I’m still trying to weed out who might’ve given them my dorm address, and who started the rumor about Caleb being there, true as it was, but nothing has come up.”

“Still? I’m willing to put my nose to the grindstone on that one, you know,” she pointed out, packing away her notes. “Since I don’t do that magic stuff, I’m less conspicuous when it comes to asking people about it. You know I could find out if I put my mind to it.”

“I know, Beau, but I’m not sure how dangerous this information could be if the man is willing to use such terrible spells on his students.” Essek didn’t say that he was worried the search attempt could get back to Trent Ikithon as he got closer to the answer, but he could tell Beau already knew it was of major concern. “I’ll focus on finding out who set up that invasion, and you focus on getting things sorted out for spring break, deal?”

“Deal,” Beau grinned. “By the way, everyone’s bunking two to a tent, and pairs have been made already. Originally we were going to deal with a couple larger tents to fit everyone, but Yasha said she was going to take off with the big one, so we’re left with two tents between the rest of us, and Fjord said he would borrow a couple from a friend of his for four total.”

“That sounds fine.”

“Originally I was going to share a tent with Yasha, Jester, and Nott, and you boys would fight over the other two, but that plan is bust,” she continued, pulling out her phone and scrolling. “Lemme see… So, Jester asked to bunk with Caleb, but he’s not comfortable with sharing a tent with any of the girls.” Essek felt a small spark of hope flare up in his chest at that news. “Fjord said something about some girl he’s been talking with lately. Maybe it’s to do with that, I ‘unno.”

Immediately Essek’s heart sank back into his stomach. Had Caleb actually realized feelings for Loradiane? She told him at the last tutoring session that Caleb had finally settled on a day to get dinner together. Loradiane had even picked out the restaurant and Caleb made the reservation. She had noted that he sounded very shy about making the reservation for dinner, and to her it was an adorable quirk that he was so shy. He found it endearing as well, but he certainly couldn’t tell her that.

“But Nott was insistent that she be the one to share his tent,” Beau continued to Essek’s relief, apparently unaware of his rollercoaster of emotions, “so it’s still a bit up in the air if she’ll be in his tent or if Molly will be. Unless you’re wanting to throw your hat into that particular ring.” She looked up at him then, her placid expression breaking into a grin.

“What’s with that smirk?” Essek challenged, narrowing his eyes at her as she gave an innocent shrug.

“I’ll put it like this. Fjord and Caddy have been talking about some kind of botany project so they’re sharing a tent to make plans for that.” She held up one finger as if to count them off. “Jester asked to share a tent with me since Caleb’s refusing, so there’s me. That leaves you, Caleb, Molly, and Nott. Now, I’m sure Nott, Jester, and I could share a tent.” She held up three fingers. “We’ll have to take the second largest tent to fit us all, and that would leave Caddy and Fjord with the largest, because Caddy’s kinda tall. We know we have those tents. The ones that Fjord can get from his buddy could be of any size.”

“I could always just make my mansion if room is an issue,” Essek offered, but Beau put her hand up.

“Why spend money to go on a camping trip if we’re just going to sleep in the mansion where food is plentiful and have mattresses?” Beau retorted. “It’s an experience, you’re missing out if you make your mansion. It’s the principle of the thing.” Essek rolled his eyes. “So, if us girls are in one tent, that leaves you, Caleb, and Molly to figure out the last two. Otherwise, with Nott’s insistence, you’re bunking with Mollymauk. Nott refuses to sleep in the same tent as him because of some spat they had last year, and we’re assuming you and her probably won’t want to bunk since you’re not as familiar with each other.”

“That’s fair. I would feel a bit awkward with that scenario,” Essek nodded. “If that’s the case, I feel Mollymauk might benefit the most from having a tent to himself, if Nott is agreeable to staying with you and Jester.”

“I figured you’d suggest that,” Beau chuckled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Essek raised a brow, feeling the prickle of a blush threatening his cheeks.

“Oh? Nothing. It’s logical,” she hummed, tapping into her phone and putting it away. “Anyways, so if Nott doesn’t want to stay in our tent, then you’re going to be bunking with Mollymauk for the week while we’re out there. Sound good?”

“That’s fine,” he lied. “I’ll just have to avoid the tent if he does any work while we’re out camping.” He gave Beau a pointed look as he spoke, and she nodded with a smirk.

“Right, right, that’s still a thing,” she mused. “Anyways, it’s getting late, we should head out. I’ve still got an early class tomorrow, and I don’t know what you usually do on Thursday mornings.”

“Also class, but I don’t need as much sleep, as I am an elf,” he reminded her, and she shrugged. “Thank you for the meal and the training. Hopefully my participation isn’t going to negatively affect your grades.”

“Nah, man, you’re probably going to give me a great bell curve boost,” Beau laughed, clapping him on the back. “Either way, plans are mostly made for the trip, we basically just needed to get your agreement before we could reserve a campsite. I’ll see you on Friday morning for your next workout, yeah?” She gave him a wave and wandered off through one set of doors, Essek heading towards another set.

Friday evening came and Essek greeted Caleb as usual; Beauregard had switched that semester from working at the library to working at the gym, so his new coworker was taking care of the returns while Caleb fished out the tutoring paperwork.

“So, I just found out today that a professor has requested the study room you normally use,” Caleb explained, highlighting some spaces on the form. “Since it was a professor, they get priority over tutors, and tutors over independent study groups or students. Unfortunately, all the other rooms have been filled as well, so you and Loradiane will have to take one of the study tables.”

He pointed to a table that had an acrylic “Reserved” sign set on top, with the timeframe of Essek’s schedule for tutoring. It was the closest table to the checkout desk where Caleb sat and worked, but also situated where the least air drafts would disturb paperwork.

“The professor will be using it up until midterms, and then for three weeks after. If a room opens up during your time, I’ll reserve it for you right away.” Essek nodded, signing off on the appropriate lines.

“Thank you, Caleb,” Essek said, heart pounding in his chest; Loradiane had been grilling Essek more than usual since she had pinned down the dinner with Caleb. It had been just the night before, and Essek wasn’t sure how to bring it up with Caleb, how to ask if the dinner went well or not. "Loradiane told me she will be late so I'm just going to go get set up over there."

Caleb smiled and nodded, and Essek took his things to the table. It was about fifteen minutes before Loradiane appeared, setting her own books down with a sigh and a frown.

"You seem in a poor mood," Essek pointed out, watching her open the pages with an annoyed energy he knew well from working with Beauregard as of late.

"He's being cryptic!" she hissed under her breath, eyeing up behind Essek towards the circulation desk. "Last night on our date he said he liked talking to me. But then when I asked him to go out again, he said no? Like… What does that mean? ‘I like talking to you but I don’t want to do it again’ kinda bullshit.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like going out to fancy restaurants,” Essek offered, ignoring the pang of heartbreak in his chest as he recalled the handful of times he had had lunch or drinks with Caleb, and the shared laughs and smiles.

“You’re like, best friends with him, right?” Lora asked, leaning over the table. “Where does he like to go? What does he like to eat??”

“We should focus on studying, midterms are around the corner.” Essek redirected her attention to the books in front of them instead of the personal questions. It was manageable for about thirty minutes before he caught her staring off behind him again, chewing on her lips and brow furrowed. “Loradiane, are you going to be distracted again?”

“Why did we get moved here?” she asked. “Did he do it just to irk me?”

“There’s a professor using the study room we usually do, doing last minute reviews.” Essek tapped the books again.

“But why not use a different room? This is frustrating. Can we switch seats?” she asked, already moving her books around.

“Loradiane, just pay attention to your books and not Caleb’s backside,” Essek rolled his eyes. There was a pause, and Lora started giggling. Essek shot her a glare as he felt his skin grow hot; Why did I phrase it like that?

“You must be pretty close friends to talk about his ass like that, Essek,” she chuckled, barely withholding her amusement. Essek shook his head, his frustration mounting but trying to keep his voice low for the library.

“No, that’s… We’re not close friends, I was meaning--”

There was a loud metallic slam behind him and a rumble, making Essek turn around to look; the book return cart had fallen over, the books themselves scattered across the floor in the spill. And picking them up with trembling hands was Caleb. Essek was next to him almost immediately, helping scoop up the books and right the cart. Caleb seemed to freeze in place, fumbling with more books as he tried to pile them onto the cart.

“Caleb, are you alright? You look pale, are you sick?” Essek asked, setting his hand on the human’s shoulder; Caleb jerked away, as if shocked by the gentle touch.

“I’m fine, thank you for your concern,” Caleb muttered. “Thanks for the help. I gotta put these books away.” He sped off with the books, the unorganized mess threatening to tip over again.

“You know, he talked about you like you were really good friends,” Lora said as Essek sat down again. “Like, close friends. Who knew each other’s deep dark secrets.”

“Ah… Well, perhaps that…” Essek trailed off, staring off behind her with the realization as she vocalized it.

“I think he heard you.”

Chapter Text

Caleb kept quiet during the joint study session in the middle of the library the Sunday before midterms, transcribing spells into his spellbook while Essek mostly taught Fjord more spells. The human had to force himself to keep his gaze away from the two of them, mostly Essek, and kept repeating Friday’s work shift in his head. As much of a perfect memory he had, it was still colored by emotions.

“We’re not close friends. We’re not close friends. We’re not close friends.”

He sighed into his hands, hiding his frustration and tears prickling in his eyes.

“You good, Caleb?” Fjord asked, drawing Caleb’s attention up. Essek had apparently stepped away, not for the first time that evening of studying, and was nowhere to be seen.

“No. No I’m not, apparently he doesn’t think we’re friends?” Caleb felt his throat closing around the words. Fjord immediately dropped his books and stepped over, wrapping Caleb in a hug. “Really? You’re going to make the tears come now.”

“Calm down, Cay, do you want to go home? I’ll message Nott for you,” Fjord said, releasing the hug and holding Caleb’s shoulders instead. “I can let Essek know you weren’t feeling well, if you want. Do you want to talk about it while he’s in the bathroom?”

“He told Lora that he and I aren’t close friends,” he muttered into his hands, cradling his face. “She was saying something to him and laughing, and he said we weren’t friends.”

“I’m sure that’s not what he actually said, right?” Fjord offered, but Caleb shook his head.

“Verbatim, ‘we’re not close friends’ is what he told her.” Fjord made a frustrated noise above him, but he didn’t say anything to that. “If you would tell him, I would be grateful. And Nott. Please. I’ll just wait outside for her.”

“Alright, Caleb, we’ll still see you for the camping trip though, right?”

“...I mean, without me, everyone has to pay even more, right?” he sighed, packing his books up. “I’ll go only because I know that Nott doesn’t have enough to go otherwise. Thank you. I will see you on Friday.”

Nott showed up within a few minutes of him walking outside, keeping him company and protection on the way home. Fjord messaged him on the walk back, and Essek as well with well wishes to get better. Caleb just put his phone away and continued with Nott, who kept chatting about the regular customers at the liquor store complaining about the new smoking laws, even though they were all old enough anyways.

“Well, Molly looks like he’s home, so I’ll leave you be now, Lebby,” Nott said, patting him on his arm and drawing him from his thoughts. “Should we find another ride out?”

“You won’t be able to go if we don’t have the group rate,” Caleb argued, and she shrunk back.

“Yeah, well… I don’t have to go, if having him around will make you uncomfortable,” she replied, and he shook his head. “Well, just let me know if you need me to keep him away from you during the trip.”

“If he doesn’t see us as friends, I doubt he’ll try to be near me anyways, so don’t worry about it.” Caleb gave her as much of a smile as he could muster and went inside, ignoring Mollymauk’s concern at his early arrival home and going straight to bed.

Midterms flew by, and as much as Caleb’s thoughts were straying from his tests, he knew he would get top marks. Friday when Beau’s last test was done, everyone gathered at her house, minus Fjord and Jester, who were taking his motorcycle to the campsite. The tents he had been able to get from his friend were loaded on top of Essek’s vehicle and everyone’s backpacks were stored into the trunk or on laps. There was some deliberation about seating for the five of them, but it was decided that Caleb would sit up front with Essek and Nott would sit on someone’s lap in the backseat; not the safest of options, but it was better than Mollymauk’s offer to ride on top of the car with the tents.

Caleb found himself unable to hold conversation with everybody, or even turning around to look at them, because Essek was always in his periphery when he did, and he was having a hard time ignoring the twisting and turning guilt in his gut at having Essek drive all of them out there and camp with them if he didn’t see the group as his friends. Was he upset at being used by them? Why would he agree to still go on the trip?

“Are you alright, Caleb?” Essek asked him at the rest stop on the drive. Everyone else had run off to stretch their legs and buy snacks and drinks for the remaining stretch of the ride, leaving Caleb and Essek standing outside of the car to stretch a bit. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“ Ja , just fine. Just tired,” he lied, leaning on the car door and staring out at the highway.

“Did you struggle with your midterms that much?”

“No, but… Just tired.” He didn’t want to say that he had lost sleep all week. Caleb didn’t want to say he was nervous for this trip, didn’t want to ask if Essek had actually meant what he said a week prior. But he also couldn’t say nothing, so… “Just very tired. I’m hoping this trip helps.”

“I do as well,” Essek replied, his voice a bit closer; Caleb chanced to look over his shoulder, and Essek was walking around the front of the car towards him, stalling when Caleb noticed him. “Ah…”

“I’ll be right back,” Caleb said quickly, rushing into the rest stop bathrooms. He just had to survive a week of close proximity to him, and then he could cancel their tutoring arrangement. Essek was beginning to run out of things to teach him, anyways, coming up on Essek’s own newly learned dunamancy information that semester. He couldn’t survive it if Essek straight up admitted to him that they weren’t friends anymore. Caleb’s emotions had gone through a rollercoaster, a blender, all sorts of cliches that he usually hated using, but he had no other words for how shredded apart his heart felt.

He collected himself, washed his hands, and returned to the car, where everyone was waiting for him. Caleb climbed into the front passenger seat again and buckled up, the car going back into motion down the highway soon after. He sent Fjord a message as the drive continued, letting him know when they would be arriving, and what additional supplies they had picked up on their way.

The backseat of the car talked louder as they approached the camping grounds, trying to include Caleb and Essek both into the discussions, but Caleb ignored most of it. He was the first to spot it, and despite his dour mood, lit up and turned to Essek and the group, grinning wide with excitement.

Fjord and Jester had collected everyone’s portion of the payment before they left ahead of the group, and the camping spot they had picked out offered the most shelter from other campsite patrons while also giving them a great view of the lake the site was placed next to. In the summers, Caleb assumed the site was great for swimming and camping, but winter was still clinging in the shaded areas, and their own site had a small snowpile still off to one side.

“Let’s get the tents set up, then,” Caduceus suggested, pulling the tents from the top of the car. “Fjord, you wanted a spot with some sunlight, right?” The largest tent bundle was carried between them as they hauled it away. Jester and Beau picked up the next largest bundle and carried it away, Nott trailing behind them with the bag of tent stakes. Molly, Essek, and Caleb were the remaining ones at the car, and Molly took the smallest tent.

“So, you two are good, then?” Molly asked, looking at Caleb for a moment.

“Ah… What do you mean?”

“With the sleeping arrangements. You’re sharing a tent together,” he pointed to Essek, who was closing the trunk of the car. “Are you two all cleared up?”

“ Scheiẞe , I did not realize that was the plan,” he muttered. “No? Maybe?”

“Well, I brought my recording stuff because that’s what was decided,” he said with a shrug. “Otherwise I’d say you’re good to share my tent. Sorry, Caleb. And… Sorry for assuming everything else, too.” Molly leaned in and gave Caleb a side hug. “But at least you have a decent sized tent, you can keep to one side that way.”

“ Ja , that will help so much , Mollymauk,” Caleb sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Caleb, will you help with the tent?” Essek called over, and Caleb gave Molly a squeeze back before heading back to the car. Essek hauled the tent off the top of the car with surprising ease, Caleb noted, picking up the other end of the bag. He struggled a bit with it, but managed to lift it enough to carry it to the assigned campsite. When they filled into the final spot, Caleb dropped the heavy bundle with a wheeze. “Oh, sorry… I guess maybe I could have carried it,” Essek chuckled. “I didn’t think it would be too heavy if we carried it together.”

“What, have you been going to the gym?” Jester asked, peeking over the top of her tent. Beau popped up as well with a grin.

“Yeah, he’s one of my projects for personal training,” she announced. “By the way, Essek, we’re still working out this week! Don’t slack off!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he shouted back over, Caleb staring between the two with confusion. Beau grumbled some scathing retort, but only Jester could hear it apparently as she shrieked with laughter. Essek chuckled, catching Caleb’s attention once more. “She hates when I call her ‘ma’am’ because that’s what people call her mother,” he explained. Caleb nodded, trying to keep his expression neutral. “Come on, let’s set up while there’s still light.”

That first night, everyone explored the campgrounds and trails weaving in and around it, with one that connected to the theme park up the road. It was a shorter trek than taking the road, timewise, so they agreed that they would walk to the park on Saturday and Sunday when everyone was ready to go. The exhaustion from running around and setting up had the group pass out as soon as they all crawled into their respective tents, waking only to the sunlight filtering through the trees and birds chirping the next day.

Caleb, however, laid awake early that morning in the tent, ruminating on how Essek interacted with everyone else. He had seemed to blend in effortlessly in the group suddenly, friends with everyone. So why had he said that he and Caleb weren’t friends? Caleb groaned, rolling over in his sleeping bag to face the side of the tent.

“Caleb?” Essek whispered. Caleb pulled the top of the sleeping bag over his head and ignored him. “Oh… still asleep.”

There was a gentle rustling and the zip of the tent flap, and when Caleb rolled back over, Essek was gone. He waited a full half hour before getting out of his sleeping bag and dressing, finally emerging from the tent himself to most of the group gathered around the firepit, breakfast cooking on the cast iron cookware Caduceus had brought.

“Finally! Caleb, we could have used your help,” Jester mock-scolded him, shaking a finger. “We forgot to bring matches and stuff because you’re here, but Essek said you weren’t awake yet so he got the fire going.”

“Oh, sorry,” Caleb muttered, sitting down on one of the stones surrounding the fire.

“You snore, by the by,” Essek pointed out, and Caleb only shrugged in reply. “Anyways. The theme park opens in about two hours, so we should get some workout done before we eat, right, Beau?” She nodded, and they went off on one of the trails. Fjord followed after them a moment later, leaving Caleb with Jester, Nott, Molly, and Caduceus.

“You really do snore loudly, Caleb,” Molly chuckled. “That’s why when you stopped snoring, we sent Essek to get you.”

“Anyways, we’re going to eat first, then head to the park,” Nott explained. “We were talking while Caduceus got set up to cook. We think we can do lunch there, but Fjord wants to be back here before dinner so he can check on his and Cad’s project. Unless we’re bored by the park, that’s also the plan for tomorrow.”

“That sounds fine.”

Fjord, Essek, and Beau all returned just as Caduceus was finished cooking a large batch of eggs and bacon, and everyone ate heartily. Beau pocketed some of the bacon in a handful of napkins before the group set off on the trail to the park. It wasn’t busy, being only springtime, but there were enough other people in the park that after a while, Caleb found that it was just himself and Essek wandering about, having lost the rest of their group. Before he could ask about their missing friends, Essek pointed out installments for them to look at or rides to enjoy, and Caleb found himself momentarily forgetting about the incident in the library.

But when everyone reconvened at the campsite, Caleb found himself wondering once again about why Essek had insisted they weren’t friends to Loradiane. He went to bed with that thought, and to the park the next day as well, keeping close to Mollymauk and Jester to not lose them again. Essek went with Fjord and Beau to try out strength games, and while he thought it might be for the better, his heart told him he would rather be wandering with Essek again at the park.

“Caleb, you’re off in la-la land again,” Molly poked him in the face. Caleb blinked, returning his attention to the tieflings. “Jester was just saying that tomorrow is supposed to rain, so we might be stuck at the campground.”

“That’s no good. What can we do there in the rain?”

“Stay in our tents! Unless you or Essek have a spell to keep the rain off our campsite?” Jester exclaimed, digging into her funnel cake. “Besides that hut. That’s tiny.”

“That’s about all I have, unless someone asks Essek to conjure his mansion. But then why are we camping in the first place?” Caleb mutters, shrugging as he picks at his fries. “I can talk to the camping office and see if they have an event tent?”

“There’s a structure a few sites up from ours, actually,” Caduceus interrupted, appearing with Nott from seemingly nowhere. “It’s covered, so we could hang out there. We’ll have to put up the rain tarps on all our tents today before we go to bed, so maybe retiring early is best?”

“That sounds like a good plan!” Jester beamed up at the firbolg, then focused in front of herself. “Hi~ Essek! It’s Jester! It’s going to rain tomorrow, so we need to put up rain tarps! Meet at the exit at three? Okay bye!” She hummed to herself for a moment, perking up at something no one else saw or heard, then nodded. “Alright, they’re going to meet us at three at the exit back to the campground!”

The air was chilly when they met up again, continuing to chill as they made their way back to the campsite and stoked the fire more with Caleb’s help. Rain tarps were hooked up over the tents, with additional tarps extending high over their fire to keep it dry overnight and shelter their rock circle. With those chores done and one final workout for Fjord, Essek, and Beau, the group all retired to bed again, Caleb feeling uncomfortably chilled in the tent as he fell into sleep.

Chapter Text

Essek awoke to something shifting beside him on Monday morning, and as it had been the past two days, it took him a moment to register the polycanvas surrounding him, bending and waving in the breeze from outside, the pattering of rain on the tarp stretched over the top of the tent. He sighed, attempting to roll over but the shifting beside him halted that movement.

“Caleb?” he whispered, seeing the mop of auburn hair in a spray on the tent floor beside him. The sleeping bag shifted again, and the groggy face of the human looked up at him, blinking blearily. “Go back to sleep, I didn’t mean to wake you.” There was quiet grumbling and Caleb let his head onto his pillow again. There was a short pause before he shot back up in his sleeping bag, eyes wide.

“ Das tut mir so leid, Essek,” Caleb all but shouted, scooting himself a foot or so over. “Sorry, sorry. It was… It was cold last night, wasn’t it? This rain is no good. We shouldn’t have gone camping…”

“Indeed. This might have been a poor decision, But the park was fun, at least,” Essek agreed, trying to calm his thundering heart. He hadn’t had a chance to apologize to Caleb for the incident at the library. He had talked with Fjord after tutoring, and found out that Caleb was upset about the comment. He hadn’t realized that his own understanding of a close friend being a partner (what he wished he could be with Caleb, despite all his attempts to distance himself) was different from most other people’s interpretation of the phrase. It also didn’t help that Loradiane had made it sound like she meant partners, either. He intended to apologize at the rest stop, but Caleb had run away before he had the chance.

“ Ja … Well, we should join the others?” Caleb suggested, but stayed curled up in his sleeping bag.

Essek removed himself from his sleeping bag and dressed, casting a quick spell to repel the water from himself as he stepped out of the tent and closed it. He could hear Caleb begin stirring as well, and others in their tents. The fire was reduced to embers, so Essek added a few more logs of wood that Fjord had found the night before and gave it more encouragement to grow. By the time the fire was warm enough to sit comfortably by it, the rest of the group emerged from their tents.

“Good morning, everyone,” he said, smiling. “Are we going to try to rough it over here or go to that shelter Caduceus was talking about last night?”

“Well, the rain should let up around noon,” Caduceus explained, taking up a spot by the fire to begin cooking. “I think we can rough it.”

“Essek, Fjord, let’s go on a run again,” Beau announced, stretching her legs under the tarped off space. “Cooler weather gets your blood pumping faster.” Essek followed after her, Fjord waving off the offer to exercise, and the two went for fifteen minutes before finding one of the bathroom overhangs to rest out of the rain. “So, Essek, why the face today?”

“Ah… What face?” he replied, holding a hand to his cheek. He thought he had managed to hide his shock at Caleb’s closeness that morning.

“You’re looking like some combination of extremely happy and utterly devastated at the same time, and it’s honestly kind of creepy.” She pulled her own face into an expression, and Essek held back a laugh. “Yeah, like that. What happened?”

Essek stared at her, weighing the options in his head. On the one hand, he could say nothing happened and she would find the pressure point that she’d shown him to force people to tell the truth, an extremely frightening prospect. On the other, he could actually confess and have someone to talk to about it, vent his frustrations and perhaps keep some semblance of sanity while he navigated the balance of tutoring Caleb and falling in love with him. She watched him expectantly, and finally, he sighed.

“Please don’t tell anyone else, you have to promise me,” he said, and she grinned, nodding and making an X shape over her chest. “So… I’ve… well. This is hard to confess. It’s… It’s about Caleb.” Beau nodded, but didn’t speak. “...It’s just… I like him.” Beau didn’t move. “Like… like him, like him…”

“...and?”

“‘And’ what? I woke up and he was backed up against me seeking warmth and I don’t know what to do about that, okay?” Essek snapped, throwing himself to the wall and sliding down to sit. “I’m about to go mad trying to act like I’m not starstruck by him every time I see him.”

“Then don’t act? I don’t know, man,” Beau crossed her arms and crouched in front of him, “it sounds like you should just tell him and not me . I won’t speak a word.”

“Right. Sure, it’s totally that easy,” Essek sighed. “Nevermind, this isn’t the place nor time to bring it up. Can we just… finish our run?” Beau nodded and held out an arm to help him stand, and they ran back to the campsite.

The rain kept the group from anything substantial until noon, and they went on a self-guided hike around the campgrounds, Caduceus pointing out all the flora he found interesting or useful in teas or tinctures. Fjord took notes as they walked, some spring break assignment from a professor, and they got back to their tents at dusk. Essek avoided Caleb most of the walk, Beau’s suggestion ringing in his mind and threatening to be taken. But his avoidance was clearly noted by the wizard, who pulled him aside as Caduceus and Jester started dinner.

“Have I done something to upset you?” Caleb asked. “This morning?”

“No, I was a bit… surprised, but I’m not upset,” Essek assured him. “Don’t worry about it, alright? I’m a bit under the weather, as it were.” He chuckled, and the joke seemed to lift the mood a bit. “That run in the rain has me feeling not so great, so I’ll probably turn in for the evening a bit early.”

“Won’t you be up extremely early, then?”

“I can sleep, doesn’t mean I necessarily need to.” With that, Essek ushered Caleb back to the group to eat, and then crawled into his sleeping bag to rest. It was a fine brand of torture, suddenly, realizing he had confessed to someone in the group his feelings towards Caleb, and now it was only a matter of time before everyone knew. That was just how things worked when it came to personal information he gave away to people.

Tuesday came with a bright morning, and Essek feeling the same shifting behind him. He rolled over carefully and indulged in the closeness for a few minutes until others were outside, and quietly roused Caleb. Beau, Essek, and Fjord took another morning run, personal secrets hidden away, and returned to the fresh breakfast Caduceus had cooked again. Another trip to the theme park as a group to take turns in the photo booth, and the return to the campsite that evening was more energetic than previous. Beau produced a case of beer from somewhere in her backpack, and the night was full of simple, easy conversation.

Wednesday too was a simple day, and Thursday was a walk around the lake as a group, with Jester pulling Caleb to and fro to look at the few blossoming flowers to take back to Yasha, and Mollymauk creating small flower crowns out of the smallest of the blooms. The campfire was stoked again so that the group could comfortably sit near it, and both Fjord and Nott produced the night’s rounds of beer and liquor.

“Hey! I have an idea… What if we played Spin the Bottle?” Jester suggested, picking up one of the empty liquor bottles a couple hours into the night. “We could do it with Truth or Dare, Seven Minutes in Heaven, the simple kissing one…”

“Jester, that’s not necessary,” Fjord argued, but she shook her head.

“We don’t have music so we should entertain ourselves, no?” she cheerily shot back. “Essek, can you put a plate in the middle and hold it there with your cool magic?” Essek chuckled, abiding the request and sitting back.

“I’ve never played these games,” he mused, watching Jester test the balance of the plate with the bottle. “I’ll sit out for a few rounds to see how it works, if that’s alright by you.”

“Sure! But if it lands on you, you’re in,” she laughed, giving the bottle a good spin. “So, how do we want to play? I vote Truth or Dare, but you have to let me use my spell in that case!” There was a murmured agreement around the circle, and then a warm burst of air. “Hey!! No one resisted! Cool! Okay, the bottle… Oh! Essek, you’re first!” She beamed at him, and Essek stared at the bottle with concern. “So, the rules are generally, someone will ask you Truth or Dare, and you pick. If you say truth, they’ll ask a question and you answer honestly. If you say dare, they’ll tell you to do something and you do it! If you pick truth but back out, the dare will be twice as bad! That’s how we play, at least.”

“Alright. Well, how about I take the dare first, then?” Essek watched as the rest of the group stared at him, mouths agape. “What?”

“Oh! Oh! I dare you to cast Caleb’s fire web spell!”

“Hold on just a second, Jester,” Beau laughed, tossing over a small rectangular package. “That’s dangerous. We don’t want to set the forest on fire.”

“I also don’t know it nor have the components,” Essek added.

“No, I figured you’d ask to play some games like that, so I went ahead and got a couple in card form,” Beau said. Jester opened the package and pulled out cards, nodding as she read them. Beau held up a second package. “This one, though, is for when you back out of a truth. They’re much more fun than the deck Jester has right now.” Jester started shuffling the deck and drew one of the cards. “I also have one for adults if we get tired of the kid’s version.”

“Okay, so you want to stay with dare?” she asked, and Essek nodded. “Okay… Headstand! Do a headstand!” Essek chuckled, standing up and moving to a slightly more open space.

“Beau, spot me?” he asked, crouching down as Beau stepped behind him. He was thankful that he had started working out when he lifted his legs overhead, carefully balancing his body. The group all gasped and applauded, and Essek dropped his feet back down after a moment. “Thank you, thank you,” he laughed, bowing. “My turn to spin the bottle, then?” he asked, moving to the plate. Jester nodded, and he spun it. “Nott!”

“Truth!” the goblin cried out, grinning as Essek picked a card from the deck.

“What college do you plan to attend?” he asked, then looked up at her. “Is that really able to be answered?”

“I don’t plan to go to college, so maybe pick another one?” Nott said, shrugging.

“Okay… Guilty pleasure, then?” Essek looked up and everyone was staring at Nott, who was struggling to speak, growing more flustered with each attempt.

“Nott, don’t lie!” Jester shouted, and Nott threw her arms in the air.

“Fine, I wanted to say alcohol, but… it’s… smutty romance comics, are you happy now ?” Nott hid her face behind her hands, and Caleb went to her side, patting her shoulders. “I didn’t want to tell anyone because they’re pretty bad.”

“ Leibling , don’t worry about it, I also have some comics with sexual content,” Caleb assured her, just loud enough that Essek could catch it. Fjord flushed, the seat between Essek and Nott, also catching the comment and looking away. “We’re all adults here, there’s no need to be embarrassed.” Essek felt the need to ask, but Jester managed to sneak in the question herself.

“What kind, Caleb??”

“They’re mostly about a human man and a d--” He flushed, glaring over at Jester on Nott’s other side. “Really? You can ask that as my truth next time, if you’re really that curious.” Essek filed it away as his own question if the opportunity arose. Nott jumped up and spun the bottle, picking her card.

The questions and dares were more than tame, so they switched out to the adult version of the game, which began a new set of rules regarding consent to touch one another, even as tame as a hug or as drastic as making out when Beau got the dare to french kiss Fjord, and neither were happy about it. They agreed the truth would be asked instead, or the bypass dare pile would be drawn from, and play continued. Essek had almost forgotten about Caleb’s comics until Jester did indeed land on Caleb a few rounds and some beers later.

“ Nein , I’m not answering that, Jester,” Caleb flushed again, hands covering his face. “You caught me off guard last time, I’m not answering. Beau, give me that dare.”

“This one is easy. Spin the bottle, Caleb, and you have to sit on the lap of the person it points to for the next thirty minutes!” Beau laughed, showing off the card. The wizard did so, stepping back from the plate and watching it anxiously. “This is so lame, unless you get Nott. She’s so small, maybe she should sit in your lap instead? Safety sake?”

“ Ja , sure, Nott?”

“I’d be okay with that.”

The bottle pointed towards Essek, though, and the gentle conversation stuttered to silence. Caleb began muttering something under his breath in Zemnian that Essek couldn’t pick out. It felt like minutes ticked by to Essek, watching flashes of emotion, brought to the surface by the alcohol, dance across Caleb’s face before he sighed out and approached him.

“Are… are you okay with this, Essek?” Caleb asked, not meeting Essek’s gaze.

“It’s fine, it’s just a dare,” Essek chuckled, tugging on Caleb’s hand and pulling him closer, letting him take his time to sit. “Though I want to ask, are you okay with this?”

“I would have refused it if I wasn’t,” Caleb muttered, mostly to himself it seemed but Essek hummed regardless. He cleared his throat and looked up. “Ah, my turn to spin though…” he said louder, casting his mage hand and using it to spin the bottle around again. It landed on Fjord, and Jester popped over to him with the card, taking over Caleb’s turn for the moment.

Essek didn’t know what to do with his hands. If he hadn’t been sitting on a rock, he’d just hook his elbows over whatever arm rests were available or the back of the chair, but it was more like a stool. Caleb was sitting just far enough back on his lap that Essek couldn’t keep his hands in his lap, but he also didn’t know how Caleb would react to him putting his arms around the human’s waist. But he found his arms there anyhow, Caleb pressed a bit further back into him, as the rounds progressed, drinks being handed out and Nott's flask more than once being held by Caleb a bit longer than strictly necessary.

Essek had lost his first layer of inhibitions thanks to the alcohol, getting Caleb to settle more comfortably in front of him and resting his chin on the human's shoulder to view their group again once he realized thirty minutes was done ten minutes ago. But it was a passing thought in his buzzed mind that perhaps Caleb didn't want to leave his lap? The game continued with truths coming out as much as dares were made, Caleb and Essek both trying to keep seated as much as possible. At one point, it was Essek's turn again and he immediately picked dare, emboldened by his seventh can of beer.

"Ohmigosh you have to kiss the nearest person!!" Jester squealed, flailing the card about. He gently nudged his face into Caleb's and, perhaps the dare stripped away the second layer, captured his lips in a quick, hot kiss. Caleb returned it for a moment, then stalled out and pulled away. Essek just smiled to himself, humming happily when Beau let out a howl of laughter.

"Jester just saw the word 'kiss' and missed the part about it being on the cheek!" She held the questionable card in hand, pointing to the illustration. "But uh, I guess go for it, right?" Essek used his mage hand to spin the bottle again and continued the game along. It was a few minutes and another drained beer from Caleb before it landed on them once more.

“Oh! Wait, would it be Essek or Caleb this turn?” Mollymauk asked, staring at them after a moment’s thought. He had just attempted to pole dance using a tree, and it had failed a bit spectacularly when the branch he was hanging from snapped suddenly, and he drunkenly finished his dance with the branch instead. Caleb shifted in Essek’s lap and stood up; immediately stumbling to one side. Essek was up and supporting one side of the human. “Someone’s had a bit much, I think.”

“Yeah, Caleb, you look kind of sick,” Jester piped in, coming around the fire to look at him. Essek took a look up quickly at Caleb’s face; it was extremely red and felt much warmer to the touch than was normal. Jester whispered under her breath, a shimmer of verdant green energy coalescing in her hand, and she pushed it gently into Caleb’s face as she cradled his cheeks in her hands to continue checking him over. “Yeah, you had too much drink and not enough food. Essek, can you get him to your guys’ tent? He should sleep now, I think…”

“I can do that. Come on, Caleb,’ Essek grunted, shifting more of Caleb’s weight onto himself and half carrying him to the tents.

“I’m sorry, I was thirsty,” Caleb slurred a bit. “I didn’t realize Nott’s flask was that strong.”

“It’s alright, Caleb, we’re just going to get you into the tent and go to sleep now, alright?” Essek was quiet as he spoke, trying to keep his own heart from hammering out of his chest; Caleb's hands were holding onto Essek's shirt, ghosting across his chest as they moved, and each touch was sending a chill up his spine of possible reciprocated interest, of maybe , of repeating that kiss.

"Mm… okay," Caleb murmured, already seeming half asleep as Essek got the tent to open and carefully maneuvered Caleb inside so he wouldn't just drop.

"I'm going to unzip your sleeping bag so it's a blanket, okay?" Essek said, already trying to wrestle with the material, and Caleb settled on top of Essek's bag with a happy sigh. "Right, soft for sleeping. Ah…"

"Nng… gotta confess…"

Essek froze, his hopes cresting high. They were certainly outside of Jester's truth spell, but the mumbled words still caught Essek off guard as Caleb said them, rolling around until he was on his back. He blinked a few times, staring up at Essek through sleepy and drunk eyes.

"Wh...where's Molly? I need Mollymauk…"

Just as his hope had crested, it crashed right back down and plummeted, taking his whole heart with and shattering it.

"He… Molly's still by the fire," Essek replied, stony faced as he covered Caleb with the blanket. "I'm going to go back out there and let him know you need him." He backed out of the tent and started to zip it shut.

" Dankeschön …" Essek heard Caleb mumble, happily sighing into the mess of blankets.

Essek strode back to the group and pointed Molly in the direction of the tent. Then said he needed to run to the bathroom, and walked off, disappearing with a flick of his wrist behind the outhouses and back to his dormitory, back to the campus… back to loneliness.

Chapter Text

“It’s no use, Caleb, he’s asleep,” Jester sighed, dropping onto the stone seat. “I used all my Sending spells, and until we sleep I can’t send more, so we’ll have to just wait, okay? I’m sure he’s fine.”

Molly had checked in on Caleb, and barely got him back to his senses with what little ability he could manage, being drunk himself. It certainly wasn’t a lot, and later the group would relay the evening’s events to Caleb, as he had blacked out sometime after completing the dare to sit in Essek’s lap.

“Jester, bitte , do you have any way to know for certain ?” Caleb pleaded, vision still swimming from alcohol. “Can you scry?”

“Caleb, I’m pooped,” she whined. “If you hadn’t had me do that last message I could have scryed. But I also don’t have my materials for that right now anyways.” Caduceus nodded with her, not having prepared for that necessity either. “I’d need a lot of incense.” Caleb began to speak up, but she put her hand up to interrupt him, “Like, a lot a lot. Tons. And I can’t do it now anyways, I’m poo-ooped !”

Molly and Fjord both returned from the woods, Beau from another direction with Nott. Both groups shook their heads.

“Did I fuck it all up?” Caleb moaned, sitting next to the fire. “I fucked it all up, I know I did. I had to’ve, or he’d not have disappeared.”

“Well, we know he will have to come back for his car at some point,” Beau pointed out, “so we can’t say he’s gone for good.”

“Unless he got hurt!” Nott piped in, but squeaked when the group all turned on her and glared. Caleb slumped more, his face buried in his hands.

“ Fuck .”

************

Essek groaned, his hangover kicking in hard. Even at his own parties he avoided mixing alcohols, but Nott’s flask was some unholy concoction of everything she had brought with her, plus beer to boot, and even the faintest of sips had knocked him another level into drunken territory. At least he was smart and didn’t drive home.

“Shit, my car…” he muttered, patting at his pants pockets from when he arrived home. “ Shit , my keys!”

“Essek?” There was a knock on his bedroom door. “It’s Ristel. Can I open the door?”

“Yeah, sure.”

The drow peering at him from the doorway was shocked, one white eyebrow raised in confusion. “Weren’t you out camping with those new friends of yours? The Mighty…”

“Mighty Nein,” Essek finished, thinking of the group chat name once he had joined their discussions, clocking their total number to nine and paying silly homage to Caleb’s native tongue. Caleb’s tongue… “Ugh, I think I fucked up last night.”

“More like you got fucked up, how’d you get back here?” Ristel asked, leaning on the doorframe and sipping at some coffee. Essek eyed the cup and Ristel rolled his eyes. “Just a second. Get dressed, sit at the table. I’ll get a hangover cure. You never get hungover, you’ve had that tiefling take care of that shit.”

“Yeah, well, I think I fucked everything up, so I’m home. Yay…” the lackluster cheer was met with a short laugh, which Essek grumbled at as he slipped on a robe, just for the extra layer and warmth. He expected a long day of lounging in the dorm, and had no intent on leaving his new sanctuary.

“What’d you do, teleport home? What about your car?” Ristel poured Essek a cup of coffee and handed it over, starting in on something over the stove that wasn’t the worst thing Essek had ever smelled.

“Yeah, and I guess I’ll be grabbing it at a later date,” he mumbled, drinking it straight black; not his usual, but he couldn’t care an iota less about how it tasted as long as it got his head back into working order post haste. “Like maybe after I’ve died and come back.”

“Man, I don’t like to pry, but you really need to stop acting like such a drama queen,” Ristel chided, dropping a plate of eggs, taco meat, and hot sauce in front of Essek. “Eat that. You’ll feel better and yes it’s going to burn like a motherfucker going down but trust me.” Essek nodded and started on the food, cringing and gasping as the hot sauce tore down his throat. “Yeah, the hot sauce wasn’t wholly necessary, but you looked like you needed some physical pain to distract from whatever emotional turmoil you’re going through.”

“You’re a bastard and I’m going to absolutely get you back,” Essek grumbled, draining his coffee and thrusting it towards his asshole of a roommate for a refill. “But yeah, thanks I guess. Enough of a distraction to remind me again that I fucked up royally. And--”

“Esse~k, please respond to this messa~ge! Where did you go~? We tried to get in touch last night but I think you were sleeping?”

Essek held up a hand to Ristel and counted down on it until he knew the timeframe to reply was over.

“Sorry. One of them can--”

“Essek, please respond! Your car is still out here at the campground and we can’t all fit on Fjord’s bike! Or the tents! Essek! Essek?”

He pulled on his face, nodding to mark the seconds down. Ristel sipped his coffee quietly.

“--use sending spells.” Essek took a long drink from the coffee as a third message broadcast into his head.

“From Caleb: I fear I have done something wrong. There’s no cell service. Please respond. Jester will relay. Essek, Caleb’s worried about you! Come back!”

Essek just continued eating the overly spicy eggs, quietly counting down again and predicting the next message arrival.

“Essek, Caleb just ran off. This is my last Sending. I don’t know where he’s going but he’s really really worried about you and stuff.”

He waited for five minutes, slowly finishing the eggs, before rinsing off the plate and draining his coffee. “I’m going back to my room,” he said quietly, looking at Ristel. “I’ll be fine, but I’m tired. I just want to sleep for now.”

Essek slept fitfully, far too awake to fall asleep, but too tired to get up and do anything of value or productivity. If it hadn’t meant returning to the campground, he would have just teleported back to get his car and quietly leave, but a part of him knew he would just go back to the rest of the group and apologize for leaving so suddenly and try to make up some sort of lie. But another part of him was desperate to find out where Caleb could have run off to. The theme park and campground only had emergency phones, as the entire area was situated so cellphones had absolutely no signal.

At some point he realized he had dozed off, as his phone ringing woke him from whatever groggy dream he was having. He picked it up and checked the caller ID; Caleb Widogast’s face stared back at him. He almost hit the button to accept the call, but set the phone back down to let it ring out to voicemail. It went off again, as if Caleb knew that Essek was awake, and he just left it be. After a third call attempt, the phone stayed quiet, and Essek turned the volume off, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

It was late in the afternoon when Essek finally dragged himself out of bed and dressed, setting up a food order. When it was ready, he teleported over, picked up the food, and teleported back to his dorm to eat. He knew it was a waste of the spell components, but he couldn’t bring himself to care quite so much as he would normally. When he went back into his room, there was a fourth missed call on his phone and a voice mail, one that he missed by a couple minutes.

“Essek, it’s Caleb. I’m so sorry. I ran up the road until I could get a signal, I don’t know if the calls actually went through earlier. I waited in case you called back. But I’m going back to the campground now. Jester said you weren’t responding to her Sendings? I’m so sorry if any of us have offended you. If I’ve offended you in some way. Did I say or do something while I was drunk? I don’t remember anything after the… Well. Maybe that’s what it was, the dare to sit in your lap. You said you weren’t opposed but I’m not sure anymore. But that’s all I really remember up until. I’m… We’re all very worried about you. Even if you are mad, your car is still here and we don’t want you to get a ticket or get towed. And we’re all stranded here unless Fjord drives us each back one at a time. So… even if it’s just to get the rest of us back to campus can you please come back? I’m so sorry.”

Essek sighed, frustration settling into his mood. Caleb apologized. A lot. And a lot of the time it seemed to be for things that he didn’t need to. But thinking back on his trauma, the years he spent under… He wasn’t going to even think of the name that made bile rise in his throat at the general thought of the atrocities… But for all that time, apologizing was probably just how he dealt with confrontations. And Essek’s frustration melted into guilt. How many times since he met the other wizard had he apologized for simple mistakes, or for being late in the snow, or for stumbling, or the intrusion in his mansion…

Essek: I will drive everyone back tomorrow. I do not have any more teleportation today.
Caleb Widogast: thank you. sorry.
thank you.

Essek set his phone down with another sigh, rubbing at his eyes. He would sleep and arrive at the camp early to help take down the tents, at the very least, and then drive the group back. It was the least he could do for making them worry. Then was the hard part, ending his friendship with each and every one of them. Beau, he would have to deal with the rest of the semester or risk damaging her grade, but certainly Caleb could take over Fjord’s tutelage. He would end his routine of picking up a bagel from Jester at the cafe before he tutored. He’d no longer visit the liquor store Nott worked at to replenish his alcohol as his roommates not-so-sneakily drank it. Essek would even take a different route to and from classes to avoid the campus flower garden that he knew Caduceus would tend with Yasha’s help, and he would stop partying and no longer invite Mollymauk to his mansion for his services there.

But worst of all, the toughest task would be telling Caleb he was no longer going to tutor him after a semester and a half. And that decision tore what little was left of his heart from his chest. Knowing that Caleb still harbored feelings for his roommate had broken parts of his spirit he didn’t know existed. Especially after having said he no longer felt them, that they had only remained friends. Had Caleb not realized he still had feelings for Mollymauk? Or had he lied?

The next morning, Essek left for the campground in the clothes he had teleported home in, drawing his hand over his face when he was faced with the group quietly discussing around the last logs of the campfire. Caleb was the first to react, turning around to face him and standing quickly. But he stayed put, the rest of the group surging forward. The tents were already dismantled, packed, and their belongings were all packed carefully in the trunk and the tents on top. Caduceus handed him the car keys that had been left in the tent while Fjord and Jester gave Caleb some kind of talk, before they hopped on the motorcycle and drove off; except for Molly and Caleb, most of the group was on the same side of campus as Beau, so it was easier to drop them all off that way and take the other two across campus, which he said after everyone had packed into the car quietly and they were on their way back.

The ride was nearly silent, and the lack of noise grated more on Essek’s nerves than if they were boisterous as usual. His short inclusion in their group had changed him, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it now that he was removing himself from their circle. He hadn’t realized how much their influence had changed his outlook on school, on friends, on life in general.

The ride home felt far longer than the ride out to the campground, and they took a second pit stop an hour out from town. Beau hung out at the car, but Essek made it a point to avoid being alone with her, knowing she would confront him about, well… He didn’t know how to tell her what Caleb had said, despite everything they shared in common, and retreated to the car only after two more people had returned to it as well.

"Come on, Molly, out." Essek had pulled up in front of Beau's house, and she was dragging him from the car by the collar of his shirt after the rest of the group had exited sans Caleb and Essek. She slapped the top of the car. "Good to go, catch ya later, nerds." Nott was whispering to Mollymauk a few paces from the car, and he nodded, giving the car a wave. Beau turned, and Molly followed her inside.

"Ah… I guess I will be going home on my own," Caleb muttered, and Essek watched him sink into the seat, arms crossed over his chest. Essek just shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb.

The drive across campus was quiet. At one point Essek tried to break the silence with a comment, but Caleb apparently also chose that moment to speak up. They both fell silent again, Essek trying to give Caleb the chance to speak, but he didn't make a move to repeat himself. Essek sighed, keeping his eyes on the road then. He stopped the car in front of Caleb's apartment still in silence.

"Here you are, then," he said quietly, seeing Caleb nod in his periphery but not move to leave the car. "You sounded like you wanted to say something a bit ago."

" Ja , I did, but so did you," he replied, looking out the car window still. "You first, I guess?"

"I want to apologize. I should not have acted as I did the other night," Essek sighed, turning off the car; he knew it would be a bit of a discussion before he would leave. Caleb shifted a bit in the seat. "I was… I was immature and could have handled the situation better. You all went through at least a full day of stress because of me and I ruined what was supposed to be a relaxing trip."

" Ja , I was going to apologize too," Caleb said, which took Essek by surprise; and then, it didn't shock him at all. "You are obviously not comfortable around me after what happened that night. The fact that I did something so bad to make you so uncomfortable to go back to your dorm… I want you to know I am very sorry. Obviously I can't expect forgiveness because of the severity, but I would not begrudge you if you want to stop tutoring me."

Essek was quiet, running through the apology in his mind. He couldn’t begrudge Caleb either for having feelings for Mollymauk. While the tiefling was far too ostentatious for his liking as a romantic partner, it wasn’t necessarily true for everyone. And maybe Caleb liked the chaotic nature of the tiefling in his life, the uncertainty of what each day would bring.

“I can’t begrudge you either for how you feel,” Essek said finally. Caleb seemed to sigh in relief, but Essek shook his head. “But I also can’t keep tutoring you. I’m sorry. It’s… maybe too painful.”

“I understand,” Caleb whispered. “Pop the trunk. I’ll get my stuff out.” Essek hit the button on the dashboard as Caleb left the vehicle. He pulled out the three bags and carried them to the curb, returning only to close the trunk and give one final wave goodbye, before shouldering one of them and struggling to bring the bags into his apartment. Essek hesitated to start the car, the urge to go assist him with the bags almost too much to ignore, but he turned the key and drove home. He shouldered his way through the lobby of other returning students to the hall and into his dorm, collapsing on the couch.

Essek would never admit to his roommates why the decorative pillows were stained with tears.

Chapter Text

Caleb worried. It had been nearly two weeks since he last saw Essek, and as much as it pained him, he still found himself expectantly waiting for Essek to walk through the library doors during his shift and sign in for tutoring sessions. But those sessions never occurred. Loradiane still came around to greet him when she was supposed to be in lessons with Essek.

“How is Essek? Aren’t you like, best friends with him?” she repeated Caleb’s question back to him the second Wednesday in a row that the tutoring schedule was amiss. “And don’t you have lessons with him, too?” Loradiane was leaning against the circulation desk, thumbing through one of her textbooks while Caleb was inputting data sheets.

“We… haven’t been in touch since spring break,” Caleb admitted, pausing in his work. “I don’t know if he would want to hear from me so I haven’t called or texted him. He’s had the group chat on silent since he joined it so I doubt he will respond on that, either.”

“Well, last week he said he was feeling sick so he was cancelling lessons so he could recover,” Lora said, tapping her cheek with the book. “This week he just said he was cancelling lessons and had no reason for us. I wonder if he fell behind in his own studies?”

“No, he’s very on top of things. Or, he was,” Caleb muttered. “Can you ask him? He doesn’t tutor me anymore, I’ve basically caught up to his classes in my tutoring lessons anyways so it makes sense. Beauregard just says he’s doing fine but won’t say anything else.” He looked up at her; he had told her very bluntly the first day after spring break that he wasn’t interested in dating her by any means, but was more than happy to remain friends, and she took it in stride, still coming in to chat and with much less inclination to ask him out.

“Caleb, are you okay?” Lora asked instead, turning around and facing him over the desk. “You’ve been in a seriously sour mood since spring break was over. I thought you were just annoyed with me with all those texts I sent you over the week, but now that we’re all cleared up, you’ve still been acting like there’s a bee up your ass.”

“Shh, we’re in a library,” Caleb hushed her. “Maybe? No. I… it’s Essek, if I must be honest. I don’t remember what I did to make him so uncomfortable over the break but he decided he couldn’t tutor me or Fjord anymore because of it.” Lora reached over the desk to squeeze his shoulder. “He said he doesn’t begrudge me but he’s not willing to see me right now. I’m guessing that’s why he has cancelled tutoring lessons.”

“I mean, what could you have done?” Lora asked, smiling fondly. “I’m not coming onto you with this, but you’re a sweet guy. You wouldn’t have done anything terrible, I can tell. The worst maybe could have been confessing you liked him and he didn’t return the feelings?” Caleb flushed dark, eyes shot open wide as he stared up at her. “Oh… Oh , that makes sense. ... Oh fuck. ”

“Library, shh!” the other desk attendant hushed them, and Caleb apologized with a sheepish nod.

“ Ja , I might have confessed, that’s very possible,” Caleb whispered to Lora. “I’ve… been harboring a crush since maybe the third week of fall semester? But I figured it would go away, and then he asked to hang out after tutoring, Beau made it into a party, it was a whole thing and then we were friends??” He hung his head in his hands, shaking it back and forth slowly, trying to dislodge the emotions attached to those days. “He was our ride to our camping trip during break and we had a good enough time at the theme park, but… I messed it up by confessing, I’m sure of it. He only saw me as a friend, maybe just an acquaintance who happened to suggest an amenable spring break get-away and then he probably got a dose of my feelings for him when I was drunk and sat on his lap and… ooh, did we kiss during that dare game, too? I think everyone said we did...”

“Caleb, you’re living a life of scandal,” Lora huffed in mock offense, earning Caleb’s scorned look. “Okay, okay… Maybe not the right words. I hoped you’d laugh a bit at least…”

“No, thank you for trying to lighten the mood though. It’s appreciated,” he sighed. “I have to get back to work.”

“Well, you might want to get out that tutoring sign up instead,” Lora whispered, taking a couple steps away from the desk to gather her bag and books before rushing out to the cafe. Caleb watched after her, then turned to the main doors where he saw Essek slowly walking up.

“Ess… Um… Herr Thelyss, h-how can I help you today?” Caleb cursed himself internally for trying to reclaim that familiarity with the drow after two weeks of silence. Essek just looked at him wide-eyed for the slight, and Caleb cursed himself again.

“...good evening, Mister Widogast,” he replied quietly, shuffling up to the desk. “I need a few forms for tutoring schedule changes.” Essek wouldn’t even look at his face, and Caleb couldn’t blame him. So he dug into the tutoring files and pulled out the pages, feeling the drow’s gaze on his turned back. It lifted just before he turned to face him again and couldn’t help the disappointed sigh as he set the paper on the tall section of the desk.

“Here you go. Cutting back on tutoring hours?” he asked, trying to make small talk while Essek started filling out the forms. “I can update the hours right away while those go through processing.”

“I’m not tutoring the remainder of the semester at all,” Essek said with a tone of finality, and Caleb blinked up at him in shock.

“Oh.”

“I will inform my students of the changes, though I will need a list of alternate tutors for their classes if such a list exists,” Essek continued. Caleb watched him for a moment before bringing up the tutoring schedule and looking it over. “To lessen the impact I’d prefer any tutors available during these hours.”

“Ah… There’s only two other tutors during your schedule, and they already have full schedules,” Caleb said, trying to keep a professional face and tone. “I can give you a full list of tutors and their offered lessons, but your students will have to check individually to see if they can fit into the existing schedule.”

“Sure, that should be fine.” Caleb printed off the list with enough copies for Essek’s students and passed them over, taking the completed form from Essek. They both silently checked over the papers in hand, Caleb trying to peer up at Essek to gauge his expression for a moment. “That should be all, then. Thank you, Mister Widogast,” the drow said plainly, rolling up the lists and pocketing them; Caleb noted the new behavior but quickly discarded the thought of offering a folder.

“You are welcome, Herr Thelyss,” Caleb replied. “I… I hope you have a good rest of your semester.”

“...you as well.” And Essek turned to leave the library, Caleb sitting behind the circulation desk to stare after the what ifs and if onlys .

********

Essek woke for class late on Friday, and after dressing and collecting his things, teleported to the classroom to avoid being late. Then, he dozed off at lunch and was almost late to another class, using his teleportation to maintain his perfect attendance. Making the decision to cancel all his tutoring sessions was difficult, but necessary to keep himself from continued pain seeing Caleb every day and wishing he could be with him. That stress had caused him to sleep poorly and not even his usual meditative trances were helpful in that regard, which was why he settled for full night’s rest.

Meeting Caleb at the desk wasn’t any kind of surprise, but the very formal address when he walked up was a shock, and Essek felt his heart drop. The professionalism was astounding, but heartbreaking at the same time; Essek had a small fragment of hope that Caleb would be, well, Caleb, and apologize-either needlessly or for the radio silence, which Essek was also guilty of-and want to keep learning. Nearly two weeks without seeing or hearing from him was a fresh torture on Essek’s heart, but he had resolved that he could stand to see Caleb on a weekly basis at least to tutor him off the books, so long as Caleb wished to keep with their lessons as well. Since that topic hadn’t come up, Essek knew it was not going to happen.

When he got to the gym later that evening and was midway changed to his workout gear, Essek realized he was out of the energy to teleport home because of his tardiness and poor time management. It was too late to back out and say he couldn’t make it, Beau had seen him sign in for the agreed time slot and was already setting up the machines when he passed by her to the locker rooms. Even if he did back out, his workout was the only reason she was there that evening.

Essek had skipped the first workout following spring break, and Wursh had brought it up to him that “that one lesbian in class, the one with the undercut” was fuming about Essek not showing up, and made not-so-veiled threats after class let out. Of all the members of the Mighty Nein, Beauregard was the one he feared the most, at least as far as bodily harm went. She was certainly more than capable of laying him out flat with a single left hook, and she oft followed up with her dominant right hand in an uppercut. He avoided her after workouts by teleporting home, and that option was no longer available for him.

“Essek.” Beau’s tone was cool when he finally went out onto the gym floor. “Let’s get to work. Your numbers from Tuesday were not great, so we need to up the difficulty from here out.” It meant heavier weights, more reps and sets, and shorter breaks between. Essek swore that it was more of a punishment than just upping the difficulty.

By the end of the hour, Essek was panting heavily and dragged himself to the locker rooms to shower. He stood under the hot water for longer than necessary, staying until he couldn’t stand the sound of his own racing thoughts running through his head, all about Caleb and tutoring and hoping . He was so wrapped up in his own head that he was dressed and beginning his walk home before he knew it, and as soon as he realized just where he was at…

Pop pop

“You absolute fucking asshole, mother fucker !”

Essek sprawled on the ground, his shoulder smarting where Beauregard had pummelled him, but not as painful as he had thought a direct hit from her would be. He scrambled to his feet, the barely-honed instincts of Beau’s own teachings kicking in as he took up a defensive stance. Beau, however, had dropped her offense and was glaring at him through… tears?

“Fucking shit, Beauregard, that hurt like hell,” Essek spat. He knew better than to call her out for her emotions, it was the easiest way to get punched in the face, as he had noticed from one poor choice of words on some gym rat’s part.

“No fucking shit, sherlock,” she spat back, furiously scrubbing at her face. “What the fuck did you think a punch would be? Like roses? Fucking dick…” Her shoulders shuddered.

“Is that supposed to be a jab at me for being gay?” he asked, glaring.

“Fucking hells…” She huffed out a laugh, and Essek realized then that she pulled her punch. “You’re worse than Caleb sometimes, you know? Dense mother fuckers. What good are men, they can’t fucking figure their shit out.” Beau dropped onto a bench and groaned, Essek following suit after a beat.

“And women lay their emotions out in a fighting ring, what’s your point?” Essek sneered back with a gentle shove. “That did hurt, but I think you’ve gone soft.”

“Eh, fuck you,” she replied, poking his shoulder; it stung, Essek already preparing how to explain the surfacing bruise to his roommates when he got home later.

“Not in my life,” was his retort, and she retrieved a small plastic pack from a satchel on her hip. Beau cracked the capsule within and shook it, the icy cold spreading into the entire square before handing it to Essek to hold it to his shoulder. “Alright, so what was that for?”

“As I said, dense mother fuckers, the lot of you,” Beau sighed, Essek swearing he could hear her roll her eyes. “I wouldn’t have punched you if I didn’t think you couldn’t handle it, you know.” He hummed in reply. “You fucking ditched us, man. That shit hurt. What happened?”

“You all had me put Caleb to bed,” Essek muttered. “Turns out, he wanted to confess. And asked me to get Mollymauk. Beauregard…” He leaned back on the bench, staring into the sky. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I told you I have feelings for him. On that camping trip. And…” He could feel the hot sting of tears in his eyes, and he wasn’t sure in that moment if it was his own emotions bubbling over or a delayed reaction to the pain in his shoulder, but it didn’t really matter, did it? “My gay fucking heart couldn’t handle it. I thought I’d be able to just push the feelings aside.” The first tear rolled down his cheek, and he sobbed openly. “I didn’t ask for this shit. I barely even knew until my last year of high school when I jokingly told my best friend to strut around shirtless at the last party before graduation for the girls in our class, and I realized I had the biggest crush on him. But he was definitely straight, you know?”

He felt Beau’s hand on his good shoulder, pulling him into a side hug.

“I didn’t ask to fall head over heels in love with Caleb, I didn’t even realize it was happening until it was too late to deny it. He’s brilliant, and he’s kind, and he’s got such a… a… he loves learning and it’s honestly fucking adorable how he looks when he’s figuring out a difficult sigil or hand gesture, and…” He sobbed again, leaning his head on Beau’s offered shoulder. “It was the fucking worst to hear him ask for Mollymauk in that moment. We kissed for fuck’s sake, Beau, and I don’t think I was quite so happy as I was in those few seconds, and then he just… he…” Essek wept then. His shoulders wracked with the outpouring of emotions as Beau held onto his shoulder, letting him use her shoulder. When his blubbering finally subsided, Beau brought her hand up to pat his head.

“You remember what fun party tricks Mollymauk knows, right?” she hummed, and Essek nodded into her shoulder. “Yeah. He was a bit drunk, too, so it didn’t quite work as well as usual, but he pulled some alcohol from Caleb so he was coherent again. We all forgot he had that ability.”

“So he made Caleb less drunk, whoo hoo,” Essek groaned in pain, raising his injured arm slightly to twirl a finger.

“Yeah. He wanted to be less drunk so he could confess he was in love with you.”

Essek blinked.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Caleb had a fucking one track mind after you put him to bed in the tent, Essek,” Beau chuckled, jostling Essek enough to make him sit up and stare at her. “When Mollymauk went to the tent, he announced to the rest of us that our resident wizard had something to say to the ‘other magical fuck’ in our group, meaning you of course, and drew out a nice big sphere of booze from Caleb’s blood. He came stumbling out of the tent himself, probably still pretty drunk but at least he could remember shit again, and asked where you had gone. When you didn’t come back after ten minutes, we started to worry. After an hour he was almost hysterical.”

“He… What?”

“He started worrying that he had confessed while blackout drunk and that you had rejected him,” she continued, pulling out her phone from the satchel and tapping into it as she spoke. “But he couldn’t remember what happened after he sat in your lap, so he didn’t even recall that you two shared that lovely kiss.” She chuckled for a moment. “He asked me last night what exactly happened, and he was upset he couldn’t remember the kiss. But he’s been wanting to tell you for… I ‘unno, since the party in your mansion, maybe?”

“But he… when we were at your house and went to bed, Jester…”

“She has a weirdly comforting hug when you go to sleep and it helps keep away nightmares, don’t ask me how or how I know,” Beau shrugged. “She’s just got that effect. After you left the next morning, Jester was the first to admit she was surprised you didn’t try to step in and curl up with Caleb, especially since you both were a bit obvious in your crushes for each other.”

“ We were obvious? ” Essek wheezed, a wash of cold dread and warm hope clashing in his chest.

“Yeah. Apparently,” Beau looked him in the eye then, “he called you later that day to ask what you were trying to ask him before shit hit the fan, and Molly was certain you were going to ask him out.”

“I… I was… I should have just told him. Fuck… Fuck I could have just…” He groaned, muffling himself as it turned into a shouting cry of frustration.

“Yeah. For a dude who’s so fucking smart, you sure do act like a complete fucking moron,” she laughed. “He’s been crushing hard on you for months , like, well before you asked him to hang out. Molly attests to that much. Here you fucking are, having an angsty fucking shitfit like a goddamn teenager, when you could be going and finding him to confess to your shared stupidity.”

“Sure, yeah… that’s…” Essek muttered, fumbling in his pocket for his phone. “Ah… How do you know about Jester’s nightmare-proof hugs, anyways? That seems like oddly specific knowledge to have.” Beau flushed, averting her gaze. “...Beauregard Lionett.”

“Yeah, alright, I got a crush on her, fine,” she sighed, playfully punching Essek in the cheek. “Fine. Well, I think I’m going to go take a walk somewhere towards the chateau.” Beau stood up, offering her hand to help Essek up as well. Essek recalled Jester once saying she lived near the chateau area, and gave Beau a knowing smirk. “If I see one blue tiefling, well, maybe she gets to know my feelings for her.”

“So you’re really going to punch the shit out of me, hold me through an emotional fucking roller coaster, tell me Caleb just wanted to be clear-headed to confess to me, and then tell me you’re about to go confess to Jester?”

“Seems that fucking way, nerd.”

“Thanks… jock.” Their phones both rang at the same time, and Jester’s blue face peered at them from their caller IDs with smaller images of everyone else but Caleb on the line. Essek answered the phone. “I’m with Beauregard, wha--”

“ This is really really really really bad you guys, someone just saw Caleb at a diner with Astrid and Eodwulf !”

Chapter Text

“ Guten abend, Astrid, Eodwulf.” Caleb was sitting in a diner on Friday evening as his former schoolmates approached, thinking of how he got into this scenario.

Caleb had taken a walk Wednesday evening to shake himself of the strange feeling that had washed over him when he turned in Essek’s tutoring schedule, at the end of his shift rather than earlier, if only to delay the inevitable. On that walk he had wound his way off campus and out into the city. It wasn’t like he would forget how to get home, but he was certainly far from campus in general. On the main road, however, a car had driven past and pulled off into a parking lot ahead of him, and two familiar figures got out and approached him.

“ Danke , B… Caleb, for meeting with us,” Astrid said quietly, sliding into the booth of the little diner. “It must have been a shock to see us on Wednesday, I know.”

“ Ja , and that you didn’t have a certain professor lording over you,” Caleb huffed over the top of his menu. “What did you want to talk about?”

“It’s actually about him,” Eodwulf replied. “We… We turned him in.”

Caleb set the menu down and stared at them. “You turned him in?”

“Yes. We saw how your friends defended you,” Astrid smiled softly. “They care about you deeply. And Eodwulf and I realized… We wanted a life like that. Not the one we’ve been living. And…” She looked at Eodwulf, who nodded gently and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “And we didn’t want that kind of life for our future.”

“Your own… Ah! Du wirst heiraten ?” Caleb grinned softly as they nodded. “Congratulations, when are you having the ceremony?”

“Ah… August?” Eodwulf said carefully, and Astrid nodded. “We had some time to think after we returned to the academy grounds. We were already questioning what we wanted to do for our lives together, and this was the final push. We got the others who were still around to agree to testify.”

“You want me to come testify, then?” Caleb asked, his elation dropping to dread. “I do not think I could do that.”

“No, not at all. You… You dropped off the grid completely,” Astrid explained, holding a hand out to cradle Caleb’s still holding the menu. “Trent… He sought out the notices of trial and judgement, and found that yours had not gone to his plans, and he honestly thought you were actually dead until that party.”

“How did he find out?”

“The girl who came with us, she was out here scouting for new students for him to manipulate and overheard some students talking about it. She didn’t know of you, so she just brought back the information.” The server came and took their orders, walking off again before Astrid continued. “When she told him that the student who was to perform the demonstration was some Zemnian ginger boy in the company of this drow prodigy, he looked into Essek and scryed on him and saw the two of you studying together.”

“ Scheiẞe , that must have been the day Frumpkin broke my necklace,” Caleb sighed. “Essek is… was, my tutor for the Rosohna magic arts they only teach here.”

“He was incensed when he saw you were studying with that boy,” Eodwulf said quietly. “He didn’t know what you had told him about Soltryce, and wanted to prevent anything from getting out about his methods.”

“If he had never shown his face,” Caleb said coolly, “those secrets would have died with me whenever my time came. But because he showed up, my friends deserved answers.”

Their food arrived shortly after, and they ate together, Caleb enjoying the company of his old classmates and friends and sharing new stories with them. He glossed over the events immediately following his time at the academy, but he went into great detail about his favorite parts of the Rosohna campus, and how much he enjoyed learning dunamancy from Essek. Astrid and Eodwulf similarly shared stories back, what parts they could. After the third or fourth time Astrid had to stop Eodwulf from mentioning something about Trent, he had to find out.

“Well, with the investigation, they’re trying to find as many people as possible who were subject to his methods,” Eodwulf explained quietly. “They also don’t want this information going too public until they have all the victims in some kind of safety. The halfling woman with us… She was not onboard with turning him in and almost killed many of us. She and five others are still on the run who are loyal to Trent yet. They were the newest ones to be indoctrinated after you were able to escape. Apparently he was able to improve the spell to make them subservient to him forever.”

“There was a seventh person under that level of spell, and with our explanation of what we went through, they found it in an ancient tome of spells that almost no one had ever heard of and removed the curse.” Astrid pulled out her phone and showed him a photo of the book. “We found it back in Blumenthal, which was incredible in and of itself, but we also saw you had checked it out during the time you were… well.”

“ Ja , I found out about the spell while I was home,” he said with a sad smile. “I was absolutely against following through with his ideas. I couldn’t. I wanted to break it and tell the police what was going on. But I couldn’t get anyone to use those solutions on me in time.”

They all fell silent for a moment. The server returned to ask about dessert, and they ordered pie. When the desserts came out, Astrid was the first to pose a new question.

“Caleb, why is Essek no longer tutoring you?”

“Ah… That… That is a story, Astrid,” he chuckled lightly. “Hmm. Well, I told you I fancied him, and it seems he does not return those feelings.”

“Really? How he spoke the one time we have seen him made me think otherwise,” Eodwulf mused, his fork in his mouth as he looked thoughtful. “I heard him tell you that… what was it… that he would never let you go back to Soltryce? He seemed very adamant.”

“I had told him a very basic explanation when he started tutoring me, he saw our photo on my desk,” Caleb shrugged. “He did not press for more information at the time. He just knew I was not keen on going back to the academy.”

“So how did you tell him you liked him?” Astrid asked. “I’m sure you were very charming as you are, Caleb, that was one of the things I did like about you, if I can be honest.” She looked up to Eodwulf, who gave her a kiss on the temple. “Even as we were naive, it was still something I admired about you.”

“Thank you, Astrid, though I was certainly not charming,” Caleb sighed, poking at the crust of his pie. “No… I messed it up. We went camping during spring break, and he went with us. I got very drunk because Nott, the goblin girl, mixed too many alcohols in her flask and it was very strong. My friends say I was dared to sit on his lap for some time, and I never left it, and even… we kissed, apparently.” He flushed a bit, feeling the warmth rise up to his ears. “He got the dare and kissed me, and I don’t remember it, but I might have been too enthusiastic to kiss him back. Maybe I confessed when he helped me get to the tent and put me to bed, but no one knows what was said between us from him putting me in the tent to him calling Mollymauk to the tent at my apparent request. And… he disappeared from the campsite. He went home.”

“I am so sorry, Caleb,” Eodwulf said sadly, cupping the back of Caleb’s hand with his own. Astrid mirrored it on his other hand. “From how you talk about him, he means a lot to you. I hope you can remain friends with him at least.”

“ Nein , he won’t see any of us anymore,” Caleb sighed again. “Can… Can we talk about something else? It is very hard for me to talk about still, I think.”

“ Ja , of course, Caleb,” Astrid assured him, patting his hand and squeezing it. “Actually, we were looking for you to ask you a very important question, in addition to letting you know about that news. We wanted to know if you would be at the wedding in the bridal party? As my Man of Honor, instead of a maid?”

“Man of Honor?” He perked up, blushing more. “Ah, I have done nothing to deserve such an honor.”

“You were able to get free, Caleb,” Eodwulf laughed. “That is plenty to be deserving. And you helped us with the decision to end the cycle. You more than deserve the honor.”

Astrid beamed, “It would mean a lot to us as well if you could be the godfather of any children we may have in the future.”

“I… I would not know what to do, I am too young,” Caleb argued, but the happy couple laughed. “I would be most honored. Danke , Astrid, Eodwulf… I will try to visit more often now that Trent is being served justice.” He smiled up at them, squeezing their hands in his own. He felt tears prickling in his eyes, and turned away to grab a napkin to wipe them and caught a glimpse of the night outside, and a group of figures rushing into the door of the diner. “Ah… Oh no.”

“Caleb!” Essek headed the charge, Beau and Jester close behind him and the rest of the motley crew behind them as they came up to the table. Essek was panting, flushed and holding one arm gingerly as he looked between him and his former classmates. “What… what did they do?”

“Essek… everyone… This is unexpected,” Caleb chuckled, trying to avoid Essek’s gaze. “Well… um. You all remember my old classmates, Astrid and Eodwulf?”

“ Yes , we remember them,” Beau spat, her arms shaking; he knew then that they were not there for any happy news. “We remember what he did to you, and what their professor was trying to do and what you told us about them!”

“We… We should go,” Eodwulf whispered, and Astrid nodded quickly.

“ Nein, bitte , can I tell them?” Caleb asked, looking at the pair, who nodded. “Everyone, please, let’s go outside. Not in here, not with this many people.” He ushered everyone back out the door, with Mollymauk, Yasha, and Nott lagging in the back to glare at the other two Zemnians before following.

“Caleb just let me, quick,” Jester rushed out, holding her hands to his face and casting a few spells in succession. “There! Whatever they did is done now, okay?”

“That was unnecessary, but the concern is appreciated,” Caleb laughed, patting her head. He took a moment to cast the tiny hut, and everyone crowded closer. “ Ja , actually… I have some good news. I have some better news. And I have some wonderful news. The good news, I am going to be a man of honor. Astrid and Eodwulf are getting married.” There was no response. “Um… They also asked me to be godfather to any children they have.” Still no response. “...Maybe I should have started with this one, um… They turned Trent in.”

The silence was still there, but it shifted. The mood in the tiny hut changed dramatically from concern and fear to relief. Jester dropped to the ground with a wail, and Beau stooped to hug her. Caduceus and Fjord leaned into each other with relief, while Molly, Nott, and Yasha all crowded around Caleb and squeezed him in a massive hug. Caleb noted with a bit of sadness that Essek refrained from any kind of celebratory gesture, but noticed he was smiling at least, which was a good sign.

“ Ja , bitte , before the server thinks I dined and dashed, let me go pay my bill,” he laughed. “But… The Trent thing needs to stay quiet. Investigations and stuff. I’m not needed, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Of course, Caleb, we will be super secret about it!” Jester assured him, one of Beau’s arms still wrapped around her shoulders. He dropped the hut and everyone gave him room to return into the diner. The trio came back outside and while everyone made nice with one another, Caleb stepped off to the side to breathe.

There were so many emotions within him he couldn’t begin to categorize, but he knew relief comprised the majority of them, and he let himself lean on the building with a sigh, looking up into the night with a soft smile. Maybe things would be alright.

“Caleb, we are going to take our leave now,” Eodwulf called to him, and he nodded back. “Thank you again, and be well. Hopefully…” he looked at Essek, who Caleb noted was now just watching him , before clearing his throat. “Well, I think things will be fine. Guten abend , everybody.”

“What about gluten almonds?” Molly asked, and Astrid began laughing, Jester joining in after a moment’s consideration. “You assholes, that was funny.” He directed his criticism to the rest of their group, which finally earned their laughter. The couple left, giving a final wave to Caleb and company before driving off. Molly began to herd everyone together and began the walk back to campus, Caleb following suit before his hand was caught.

“Caleb…” Essek said quietly. “Um… might I have a word with you?”

“You… Sure. Yes, what is it?” he took a deep breath and released it, feeling the hand on his squeeze slightly. Essek motioned for Caleb to follow, and they ducked into the side street next to the restaurant again, just barely off the sidewalk.

“I have… had some time to think,” Essek started slowly, looking at the ground. “And I maybe had a little guidance from Beauregard on the subject.” Caleb watched him shrug his shoulders and wince.

“Did… Did Beauregard punch you?” Caleb asked, and there was a pause before Essek nodded, sheepishly turned away. “What the fuck, Beau?”

“That’s what I said, actually,” Essek chuckled, wincing again. “As I was saying, though. I… I may have misunderstood some things about where we stood with one another.”

“If this is about the camping trip, please,” Caleb said, raising a hand to stop him. “I said I do not begrudge you.”

“No, it’s not about that. I just…” Essek had not let go of his hand yet and gave it another squeeze. “I’m just relieved that we all were wrong about what was happening here tonight.”

“I’m a bit uncertain as to why you cared?” Caleb pointed out then, trying to keep his tone gentle. “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me after the camping trip?” Essek seemed to flinch.

“As I said in the car, I was being immature about things, though apparently I was mistaken on a few very key factors,” he replied with a shrug. “I found out today after spilling my proverbial guts to Beauregard that I was very much misunderstanding things. Now I think I understand a bit better.” He gave Caleb’s hand another squeeze.

“Well, that’s good, I think?” Caleb thought aloud, returning the hand squeeze. “As much as it was unnecessary, I am glad you were worried about me.”

“Of course, I will probably always worry about you, Caleb,” Essek whispered, and Caleb felt his heart skip a beat, the fondness in his tone so soft and gentle. “I really enjoy our time together, and it was painful to not be able to be near you. I truly cannot imagine a life without you in it somehow or someway.” Essek looked up at Caleb, meeting his gaze again. “May I hug you?”

Caleb pulled him in, careful of his injured arm, and wrapped Essek into his chest. It took Essek a moment to bring his hands to Caleb’s back and pull him just that little bit closer. As much as Caleb wished to not be able to tell how long they held one another, he knew it was about three and a half minutes, which felt very long for a single hug to him, but he wanted it to go on longer.

Essek finally pulled away and chuckled a bit, letting go of Caleb’s back. “We should get back to everyone else, they must be wondering what has happened to us.” He held his hand out for Caleb to take it, a very soft smile on his face. Caleb took the offered hand and squeezed it, interlacing their fingers as they caught up to the group; no one seemed to notice that their hands were locked together, or if they did, they made no comment about it.

Chapter Text

The trial went public near the end of the semester. Trent Ikithon was accused of a multitude of crimes and was set for sentencing in Penance Prison should he be found guilty. The families were released from prison and exonerated of the falsified crimes and memories restored, and the students who were victimized by his experimentation were given settlements for their trauma by the academy along with their families. Some parents were overjoyed that their child was still alive, and that they were safe and free from such terror. Others were furious and split the settlements, then disowned the students. There was no hate from the students in those cases, as it was understandably a difficult thing to forgive. The ones who had been under the influence of the higher powered variation were sought out and the majority of them were detained just prior to the trial, and were relieved of the curse. Their future was up in the air, as the realization of what they had gone through settled in and shook many of them to their cores. Two of those students were still at large, but all leads pointed to them having fled the country.

Essek waited through the late night broadcasts of the trial for two months with the entire group, sitting up until the early hours of the morning at Beauregard’s house, everyone quietly watching as student after student testified against Trent, and by proxy one another, for the events that unfolded under his supervision. Many of them broke down on the stand and had to be escorted out to collect themselves. Others managed to press through and give their full accounts.

At one point, one of the prosecutors brought up Bren Aldric Ermandrud, and Caleb tensed up. Essek cautiously settled in behind him and put a hand on his shoulder; it was immediately snatched up in Caleb’s own vice grip and held for the thirty minutes that he was the subject of the trial. One thing was made perfectly clear by Astrid and Eodwulf when they were asked about their former classmate: Bren Ermandrud was dead, and Trent Ikithon killed him. Caleb finally breathed normally, hearing his friends free him from Trent’s hold like that, and he kept hold of Essek’s hand that evening until they all had to leave. Caleb, for his part, remained at Beau’s most of the time, refusing to step outside after the news of the two students still at large, and with Essek’s help, sorted out leaves of absence for work and classes for the semester.

When Trent took the stand, he was met with a chorus of anger from the people watching in the courtroom. The judge had to threaten them with contempt of court to silence them all. Under pressure from a truth spell, he explained that he was trying to create a better class of soldiers for the country; Soltryce being first and foremost a military style school with the intent to put graduates in key positions within the military forces, he felt it was necessary to have a small group of highly skilled and trained spies to use. Everyone looked at Caleb in that moment and he was at a loss for words; he would say later that he never knew the purpose of Trent’s courses. When Fjord asked about the military school part, Caleb nodded. He was a recruit to the school, which was dedicated to the country’s defense. His father had gone there, and he wished to follow in his footsteps. But he took an interest in magic studies, which put him on the path to be intercepted by Trent.

Trent went on to explain that he was molding the perfect assassins, untraceable by their nature and skill, and able to withstand interrogations by enemy forces should they be captured. They learned how to blend into social situations with ease, how to escape cuffs, both magical and mundane, as well as how to stage crime scenes. That was their test to see if they were prepared to undergo the next step in his plans. He smiled the entire time he revealed his secrets. That fact was written about for weeks following the conclusion of the trial, and what it could have meant.

Essek continued his classes like normal, and visited Beau’s house every night as the trial wore on and as often as it was broadcast. If it wasn’t broadcast that evening, Essek stayed away; he did not want to crowd Caleb during this time, and he tried his best to not encroach on his space when he was over. But he noticed, as the trial began to move to the final portions, that Caleb migrated throughout the evenings closer to him, and he took it as a good sign about where they stood now. Whether it was accidental or by design, Caleb was soon curled up on the couch next to Essek by the end of most nights, and especially during what they all knew would be the last stretch of the trial; final statements were being given.

“You know you don’t have to watch, right?” Essek whispered, his hand clenched tight in Caleb’s grip as the jury filed out to begin deliberations. The broadcast was over for the evening, and everyone else had begun to stretch and move.

“I want to.” Caleb was curled up next to him again, nearly in Essek’s lap, eyes trained on the television as the courtroom emptied out. The broadcast ended, the screen going to static, before Caleb released Essek’s hand and began the process of standing up himself. Everyone else except for Beauregard and Jester had left; Jester had flounced down one of the hallways, presumably to Beau’s room, and was sleeping over.

“Just don’t force yourself to if you’re not up for it,” Essek reminded him, standing and waiting to help him if necessary; the human was usually very tense when the broadcast ended and Essek knew sometimes his legs fell asleep sitting in odd positions, and would tend to stumble a bit.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Caleb mumbled as he stretched out his limbs; joints popped and he made pained groans, but he otherwise seemed fine on the outside. “He’s on the other side of the continent. I’m not worried about him. I just want to see justice served.”

“I have no doubts it will happen,” Essek assured him. “Let any of us know if you need anything, alright?” Caleb nodded, and Essek turned to Beau. “Thank you for letting us come over, Beauregard. I’ll be back tomorrow as well.”

“Yep, just let yourselves in,” Beau waved him off, heading down the hallway to her bedroom as well. “I need sleep, g’night.”

“Good night, Caleb, please get some rest,” Essek said quietly, giving Caleb a nod before turning towards the door. “We will all see you tomorrow.” Caleb’s hand caught his wrist and Essek turned around immediately; it had become yet another routine after Caleb had begun to lean on him during the broadcasts to have him reach out, but he never did until Essek was leaving. “Yes, Caleb?” he asked, even though he knew what Caleb was going to say.

“Thank you for staying through all this,” came the inevitable statement, and then, “Sorry to drag you into this mess of mine.”

“No need to apologize. That’s what we’re all here for, correct?” he replied, giving Caleb’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Rest, now. You need to sleep.”

“Goodnight, Essek.”

“Goodnight, Caleb.”

Their hands parted and Essek took his leave. The routine was welcome, if mildy concerning for the endless need to apologize. But it was coping. And it was what made Caleb feel better.

The next evening, after classes and after work shifts, Essek found his place on the couch and Caleb slotted in next to him again. It was comfortable to exist next to him again; it had been comfortable since the night the entire Mighty Nein feared that Caleb’s dinner with Astrid and Eodwulf was the precursor to his return to the academy. But after he was able to clear the air, it was just easy enough to be for the moments he could share with Caleb on the couch at Beauregard’s, and Essek cherished it.

The broadcast began, the room empty but for a handful of reporters and journalists taking notes on the proceedings. The doors opened and Trent was walked in; after three months of jail and holding for the trials, his bond being denied due to a high flight risk, he looked scruffy. Essek wouldn’t have recognized him had he not watched the trial taking place. Every day he was worse for wear. In private, out of earshot of Caleb, the Mighty Nein believed he wouldn’t make it five years in prison. Either he’d be shanked or he would die of old age. It was generally heated discussion until Caleb got close enough to hear, and it trailed off.

The jury came in just before the judge took to her seat, and the typical actions and discussions prior to the main part of the proceedings went on. All Rise, you may be seated, and the judge looked over her notes.

“Has the jury reached a decision?”
“Yes, your honor.”

Caleb tensed against Essek’s side, his hand finding Essek’s knee and squeezing. Essek slid his hand into place and squeezed back, and the house went silent. The juror representing the people of the court stood; a dwarven woman, who looked at Trent Ikithon for a full ten seconds before the judge cleared her throat. Trent rose, hands cuffed in front of him. His defense attorneys shared worried glances with one another; the prosecutors were collected and calm, but fidgeted as they stood. The dwarven woman stepped forward and onto a pedestal reserved for the jury’s verdict to be given.

“On the first count, we the jury find the defendant… Guilty.”

Caleb hiccuped.

“On the second count, we the jury find the defendant… Guilty!”

Jester and Beau clasped their hands to his shoulders.

“Your honor, may I simplify the jury’s findings?”
“Yes, you may. There are many counts to go over.”

Fjord and Caduceus had piled onto the couch, surrounding Essek and Caleb, with Nott, Molly, and Yasha crouched on the floor in front of them, clinging in some form to their legs.

“Your honor, we the jury find the defendant on all counts guilty as charged.”

The next few minutes were a blur to Essek as bodies became waves of warmth, cold, and pressure; the entire group fell onto the couch as one mass and held onto Caleb as he sobbed in relief. The broadcast was drowned out by the cries and shouts of the Mighty Nein, the sobs, the nervous laughter, and the general noises as everyone voiced just what they thought of Trent Ikithon. At many times, Essek found himself with Caleb in his lap as everyone seemed to push and shove to give Caleb a reassuring pat on the shoulder or back, with the Zemnian muttering apologies for crying on or squishing him.

Their own raucous sounding died down, hearing the gavel slam on the judge’s desk as she stood up to glare at the courtroom.

“Yes, I get it. It’s a high publicity case but I have work to be done yet!” she shouted, sitting back down as the courtroom settled once more. “Now then. Based on the severity of your crimes, Mister Ikithon, and the sheer number of lives you have affected with your actions, I feel it is only appropriate to give sentencing immediately. This has been weighing on my mind for the past two months and certainly on those you have wronged… I hereby sentence you to seven life sentences in prison, no chance of parole, revocation of your spellcasting… And I will recommend to Penance Prison that you be denied access to the libraries as well. Court adjourned.”

*****

Caleb returned to work and classes the week following the end of the trial, and Essek tutored him when they had time so he would catch up on his studies. Beau fabricated a few workouts for Essek on her assignment, if only so they didn’t have to explain why they stopped their schedule so abruptly. Mollymauk made up the difference for his and Caleb’s rent easily, though Astrid and Eodwulf had insisted, once they heard he had taken a leave of absence, that they give him some of their settlement money so they wouldn’t fall behind on their bills.

When finals ended, Beauregard invited everyone over for an evening of quiet fun in the form of board games, card games, and video games when Mollymauk said he had never played some classic adventure game that Fjord was obsessed with as a kid. Beau brought out her game system, and everyone began arguing over who would play the game and who would sit and watch, playing rotation, and the like. Essek was comfortable on the couch with Caleb curled up at his side, watching Beauregard get frustrated with the game mechanics. When they switched to a battle royale game and began shouting, Caleb caught Essek’s attention with a tug on his sleeve.

“Hey… want to get out of here?” Caleb asked, looking far more tired than finals could have taken out of him. “It’s getting too noisy now.”

“Of course, where to?” Essek chuckled softly, wrapping an arm around Caleb and pulling him in closer.

“...your dorm?” Caleb replied, his tone entirely done for the evening. “Just somewhere not here for a bit. They’re awfully loud and I’m tired.”

“I can do that,” he hummed, writing out the incantation in the air and vanishing with Caleb, appearing on his own couch a second later. He knew his roommates were out of town for the weekend, so it was easy to not worry about interruptions.

“Where did you and Caleb go?? You were just here a second ago!! You’re not about to be naughty are you?”

“Jester,” Essek said aloud in response, giving Caleb a look, “we are fine. Caleb was overwhelmed. Don’t worry, like your romance novels I have roses at my dorm..” With no immediate response, Essek nodded to himself and sighed. “She is delightful but she really needs to give people a little alone time,” he chuckled, watching Caleb connect the dots and flush; or Jester asked him as well, Essek couldn’t be sure.

“I… But we…” Caleb stammered, Essek laughing at his bewilderment. “Essek, we’re not… even dating…” That cut Essek’s laughter short.

“...aren’t we?” he asked, raising a brow. Caleb flushed. “Did I misunderstand you outside the restaurant?”

“Maybe? I mean,” Caleb groaned, sitting up properly on Essek’s couch, “I want to date you but we haven’t said anything to it yet which was why I was so hesitant to be close to you during everything the past month or so?”

“Ooh… I thought that was how new relationships began,” Essek shrugged. “I’m sorry, I jumped to conclusions. I enjoy your company, as I said that night, and I would like to continue being in your company.” Caleb’s flush deepened.

“That was you confessing, oh man…” Caleb muttered, burying his face in his hands. “I thought you were just saying that as a friend, oh my gods…”

“Caleb,” he asked, putting a hand on Caleb’s shoulder gently, “look at me please. Are we on the same page? That we both have an attraction to one another?” Caleb nodded, keeping his face hidden. “Can I hear you say it? Please?” Caleb took a breath and looked up at Essek, his blush covering his entire face and even the tips of his ears and deepening somehow even further as Essek brushed a lock of Caleb’s hair behind his ear. Essek wondered just how red Caleb’s face could get as he blushed.

“Y-Yes, Essek, I… I like you too. And…” Another deep breath, a shy smile creeping across his face. “I would be… ah… would you…” Caleb giggled-he actually giggled -nervously and curled up into Essek’s side. “I can’t even say it, meine Götter … I’ve been so silly blind and now I can’t even… ask for a… scheiße …”

“Caleb, are you wanting me to kiss you?” Essek said gently, stroking a hand through Caleb’s hair again. Caleb nodded into his shoulder and whispering his consent, wrapping an arm around Essek’s waist. Essek leaned over and kissed Caleb’s forehead, letting him shift and bring his face up until Essek could trail kisses down the side of his face, across his cheek, and finally meet his lips for a slow, languid kiss.

Chapter Text

Summer break was a much needed reprieve after the hectic first year Caleb had at Rosohna University. He worked extra hours at the library since he didn’t have classes to schedule around, and took up a secondary job with Jester at the cafe when he wasn’t needed at the circulation desk. It made his days go by quickly, especially when Essek would stop by and chat with them both, and getting home so much sweeter. And sometimes it wasn’t going home that excited him, it was going to Essek’s.

Caleb was still struggling to wrap his head around calling Essek his boyfriend , even after two months together, but after knowing him for almost a year as his tutor and friend, referring to him in a romantic capacity had a tendency to make him flustered, blushing strongly and stumbling a bit over his words. Even when Essek easily spoke of their relationship, he would get overwhelmed with the reality of it and flush, prompting their friends to tease him occasionally.

Part of his excitement was that Essek was tutoring him as well over the summer break so he could test into the upcoming coursework and have dunamancy classes alongside Essek. It was thrilling to think he could be in a third year course starting his second year of classes, but Essek had assured him that it would be simple enough. When the testing day came, Essek had accompanied Caleb to the magic workroom to show his abilities. The professor pulled Essek aside at one point during his test and spoke quietly with him, then came back to Caleb and interrupted the next spell he was beginning to cast and dismissed them both.

“You did very well, I’m impressed,” Essek said as they left the class building, walking together back to Essek’s dorm. “The professor really liked your cat’s paw. I knew that was a good one to show off. And your web, I’m glad you went with it even with your reservations about it.”

“I’m still very nervous, I was almost thinking she would tell me today if I made it into the class,” Caleb laughed, summoning Frumpkin to his shoulders. A moment later, he received a text from Molly about the cat; apparently Frumpkin had made Molly’s lap into his new sleeping spot for the past hour or so, and it was a thankful message for removing the cat so he could go to the bathroom.

“I have no doubt she will pass you into taking the course this semester,” Essek assured him, hooking their arms together jovially. “We’ll be able to learn the new material side by side and work together to understand it. We won’t get priority on study rooms anymore, but I’m certain we can look at other areas to practice.”

“ Ja , I’m excited to meet all the other students as well,” Caleb grinned back at Essek, gently nudging him with an arm. “I hope you will introduce me. I haven’t had many friends in the magical community and my own classmates have been less than interested in the finer workings of magic like we are.”

“Yeah, sure, that sounds good…”

“Essek?” Caleb pulled them to a stop and stared at his boyfriend , he had to remind himself he was dating this wonderful person time and again. “Are your classmates mean people?”

“No, it’s… not quite,” Essek muttered, running a hand through his hair. “They’re… distant? Aloof? They have never struck me as being social. I invited a handful of them to the party I hosted, but they all declined.”

“Ah, well… I guess most mages do their best work in solitude,” Caleb shrugged, tugging Essek’s arm to continue forward. “I’m glad we work well together, both socially and with our magic. I don’t think I can thank you enough for taking the time to tutor me.”

“Honestly, I thought you would burn out early on,” Essek chuckled, falling into step again beside him. “You had such a full plate. I’m thankful you took last semester a bit easier.”

“Unfortunately that was a thing from Icky,” Caleb sighed; a couple weeks following the incarceration of Trent Ikithon, Jester had made the decision that he no longer got his whole name used in conversation, and was hence dubbed “Icky” from then on. “We were so busy with coursework that we didn’t have time to socialize, so we learned to absorb information quickly and accurately, and then socialized in the time we saved by doing so.” He had taken the first semester so filled with studying and work in order to try and grab that same feeling of learning, but it was a shock when he was originally told he had a limit on coursework he could take at once. The first semester of doing it and still having free time was a wake-up call for the second semester, and being able to take time on his homework was refreshing.

“I see… While it comes from a bad experience, it’s a useful skill,” Essek hummed. “I’m just glad you’ve agreed to spend the weekend with me while my roommates are out again. It gets awfully lonely sometimes and Leylas seems to have taken a liking to you as well.” Caleb nodded, topics shifting away from studies and onto their plans for the weekend, which mostly consisted of movies and popcorn, a continued break from school related activities and a chance to relax together.

They started watching the first movie when Essek’s phone went off, and he excused himself to take it. Caleb paused the film and waited on the couch while Essek walked off to his bedroom as he started talking. He gave a look over the pile of movies that they had picked out separately, and smiled at the somewhat similar topics they had picked. He also noted that the movie he had almost been made to go see with Loradiane months ago was in the pile as well, and he gave an amused chuckle as he put it back in the pile. Essek was still away in his room, conversing with whoever had interrupted their evening, so Caleb pulled out his phone and saw a handful of missed messages.

One was from Mollymauk asking how the evening was going; which he answered quickly to say it was fine. There were three messages from Fjord asking if Essek had given up completely on tutoring or if he would be willing to help him anyways; that one he responded to saying Fjord needs to ask Essek himself, and stop using Caleb as a middleman. Finally was a string of messages from Jester that got progressively more suggestive, and he responded with a photo of the movie they had paused, saying it was a very chaste and non-sexual evening and it would likely remain that way, thank you very much, have a good evening.

Essek was still in his bedroom, almost five full minutes to Caleb’s count, so he got up and went to the kitchen to get more water. When he passed by again, Essek was returning from his bedroom and shaking his head. When he looked up, he gave Caleb a wry smile, shoulders sagging.

“Sorry, Caleb…” he sighed, following Caleb to the couch and laying across Caleb’s lap. “It was work. They just told me that I have until seven to update a document I submitted earlier today with some additional information they sent me this evening.” Caleb nodded, then looked up at the clock; it was just after five o’clock.

“You should get to it, then, and be done earlier so we can go back to our movies?” he offered, and Essek nodded, but didn’t move. Caleb looked at Essek’s face, equating his behavior as very cat-like, then gave him a gentle push. “Essek, come on… The quicker you get done the faster we go back to our weekend, ja ?”

“Yes, yes…” Essek groaned, getting up from Caleb’s lap with a sigh. “I just know that they’ll have another updated data sheet for me to enter if I finish this one.” He shrugged as he stood and started to his bedroom again. “I’ll bring my laptop out to the desk so at least I’m not cooped up in my room, is that alright?”

“ Ja , it’s your dorm,” Caleb called to him, setting back into the couch. Essek returned with his laptop and set up at the desk next to the couch, giving Caleb a peck on the cheek as an apology. “Resume padding with a summer job is certainly important,” Caleb murmured, sprawling on the couch and flipping through his phone.

“Sorry…” Essek sighed, running a hand through Caleb’s hair. “It shouldn’t take me too long, promise.”

Caleb hummed in response and Essek went to tapping on his keyboard. Caleb tried to lose track of time, but he constantly looked at the clock on his phone as Essek worked away, quietly muttering equations under his breath. So he put his phone away in favor of a book he had brought with him for this exact purpose; the last few times Caleb had tried to spend time with Essek, he had been pulled away by a phone call, and once with a coworker bringing a stack of paperwork to his dorm room. Essek had reluctantly accepted the extra workload and set to inputting the information through a remote desktop, and Caleb was left to fend for himself. The first time, at least, Essek’s roommates had been around, so they watched television while Essek worked. But since then, his roommates were sometimes busy or not around, so Caleb had started bringing books to occupy himself.

The incessant clicking of Essek’s keyboard, however, was beginning to annoy Caleb as he tried to read. It was barely five-thirty when Caleb rose to hide away in the bathroom for an appropriate amount of time, just to remove himself from the sound of the laptop. He sat on the edge of the tub and read a page or two, then flushed the toilet to keep the ruse and washed his hands, returning to the living room and believing the reprieve would keep him from venting his frustration at the sound.

It didn’t.

“Essek…” Caleb sighed as the clock hit six.

“Hmm?” Essek didn’t turn from his computer to respond.

“How much longer?”

“Sorry, I knew they would send me another document to input,” Essek sighed now, leaning back from his computer. “It all has to be put in before seven or some people will lose their scholarships. I’m sorry, Caleb.”

“ Nein , it’s fine, schatz ,” Caleb grunted, standing up from the couch. “I will just… I’ll head home, I think.”

“Home?” Essek almost yelped out, shoving back in the desk chair. “But what about our plans for the weekend?”

“Well, obviously they’re already a bit ruined, ja ?” Caleb huffed, his annoyance coming through in his tone. Essek scrunched up his face. “I mean… it’s not the first time you’ve had to work through the weekend, and it sounds like they’re going to make you do it again this weekend.”

“I… When I finish this sheet of updates I can tell them I’ll be unavailable the rest of the weekend,” Essek offered, but Caleb just shook his head. “Caleb, I want to spend time with you, you know I do.”

“ Ja , well, it doesn’t really seem like it was meant to be this weekend.” Caleb put his book away and shouldered his overnight bag. “I’ll see you later, Essek.” Caleb stepped up to him and dropped a kiss to his head, then left out the door. He knew Essek wouldn’t follow after him, getting his work done was a priority but as much as Caleb admired his dedication to his work, he wished Essek would give him a little more of his time when he was over.

It was a relatively short walk home, but when Caleb arrived, Mollymauk all but squawked when he entered the apartment; along with his two partners, with all three in various states of undress but still barely decent.

“Caleb!” Molly laughed nervously, throwing a blanket to the young half-elven woman. “Didn’t expect you home till Sunday!” The half-elven man helped her drape it over her shoulders, giving Caleb a look; whether it was anger or consideration, he wasn’t sure, but he sure didn’t care. “What’s up?”

“Essek’s busy.” Caleb stormed past into his room and went to close the door, but shouted out first, “Feel free to continue, I’m gonna be in here for the rest of the night anyways,” and slammed the door. He fished his phone out of his pocket and turned on some music, put his headphones on, summoned Frumpkin to lay on his lap, and brought out his book to continue reading. When his phone rang moments later, interrupting the song, he didn’t bother looking at the caller ID and let it ring through, then turned his phone’s ringer off for the night.

It wasn’t the first time Essek had to work through the weekend. But it was the first time Caleb had walked out on a weekend together with Essek since they had started dating. The fact that it took Essek so long to call him made him more disappointed than angry, even if rationally he could assume Essek calling his bosses could have taken the amount of time between his leaving and the new voicemail that flashed on his phone screen.

But Caleb ignored it. He also ignored the three text messages he got as he read his book, the sound dulling the music slightly but not completely stopping it. As the night wore on, Caleb finished the book and set it aside, checking the time to be almost eleven. With a sigh, he checked the voicemail; it was Essek, but it was just a pause, a quiet curse, and then it hung up. The texts were all from Essek as well.

Essek: I called work. Told them I was busy this weekend and that this page would be the last I can do. They didn’t respond.
Essek: They called me back and said they wouldn’t have anything else for me, so I’m clear for the weekend. Please come back?
Essek: Apparently they lied, I just got another email. I am so sorry. Will you please call me or message me back when you’re freed up? Please? 🖤

Caleb sighed, looking at the timestamps. The final message had come in only an hour ago, which was extremely late for Essek’s work to be sending out updates. But he knew that there had been a lot of problems during the spring semester that caused some major issues, and a lot of the summer work was mostly playing catchup as they corrected things for students. It was still annoying that they constantly relied on Essek to input all the information himself, and not the other two students they knew worked the same department.

Caleb: ja, what is it?
Essek: Are you going to come back to finish the movie with me?
Caleb: nein, it is very late. I don’t want to walk across campus at this hour, and no I don’t need you teleporting here and out. Molly has friends over. I don’t want to disturb them.
Essek: Alright. Tomorrow?
Caleb: I will think about it. I am tired and going to bed now.
Essek: Goodnight, Caleb. 🖤 I hope to see you tomorrow.
Caleb: Goodnight, Essek.

Caleb put his phone to the side and turned off the light in his room, cracking the door open for Frumpkin to pass back and forth as he wished before stripping down to crawl under the covers. It was much colder than he expected it to be when he settled in. He could already tell it would be a long weekend.