Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hey, babe?” Caleb calls from the other room while Adam folds laundry.

“Hmm?” Adam sets down the sweatshirt he was folding (Caleb’s, stolen by Adam years ago) and walks into the kitchen. Caleb’s sitting on one of the stools, bent over his phone. 

“Do you want to go to this?” Caleb holds out the phone for Adam to look at. “It’s the 5 year reunion for the class of 2017, it’s happening next Wednesday.” 

“Jesus, that’s quick,” Adam says as he reads. “You’d think they would’ve waited until, I dunno, 10 years?” 

“Ha, yeah.” Adam’s still reading, and Caleb scrolls for him. “So...do you wanna go? We don’t have to if-”

“No, yeah. That’d be fun.” Adam’s feelings say the same thing.

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah. Just let me text Caitlin first. I’m sure she’ll want to come.” Adam pecks Caleb on the cheek and heads back into the living room. 

Caleb breathes a sigh of relief. Perfect. He sends a quick text to the group chat he has with Sadie, Frankie, and Ben.

BU Bunch: 

Caleb: Wanna see where I went to high school?

He gets three yeses almost immediately, and can’t help but laugh at that. 

~

“Damn, Michaels, you lived like this?” Sadie’s gesturing vaguely to the bare walls and creaky desks. They (Frankie, Caleb, Ben, Caitlin, Adam, and Sadie) are all walking around Mr. Collin’s classroom. It’s a lot smaller than Caleb remembers.

“I mean, yeah. It’s a public high school in suburban Massachusetts, what do you expect?” Caleb’s rubbing the back of his neck, trying not to let his nerves show.

“I mean, from what Caleb’s spent hours explaining, I was expecting some kind of perfectly cliche school. Y’know, color coordination and all that.” Frankie’s sitting in one of the desks in one of the most uncomfortable ways possible.

“Sorry to disillusion you, then.” Adam chuckles a little, and Caleb’s heart swells at the sound. They’d both been kind of nervous, Caleb could feel it. HIghschool had been such a...mixed bag for the both of them that it was weird being back. Sadie had been extremely interested in seeing every place any of them had ever spent any time in. 

“So, uh, where to next?” Ben looks particularly fascinated by everything. They’d gone to a smaller, private school when they were in highschool. 

“Oh. Well-” Caleb checks his watch, a gift from Dr. Bright after he was late to four “family” lunches with her and Mark in a row. “The actual party starts in about a half hour, so… “

‘Oh! Our bench!” Adam says excitedly, then blushes. “I mean, we don’t have to. I was just thinking-” 

“Wait.” Sadie turns. She’d been looking at one of Adam’s essays, which had been pinned to Mr. Collins’ “Essay hall of fame” Bulletin board. She points almost accusadly at Caleb. “Is this the Pizza Wednesday bench?”

“It is indeed.” Caleb says as Adam rolls his eyes like, is there anything you didn’t tell them about us? 

The answer is mostly no.

Sadie’s eyes widen. “Oh fuck. Okay then, let’s go.” She links arms with Ben, who giggles. Frankie and Caitlin follow, Caitlin whispering about the best spots in the library. 

“Where to, Michaels?” Sadie asks.

“Uh, this way,” Caleb points to a sign that says Cafeteria on it.

~

“So this is where it all began.” Sadie’s sitting on top of the table with her legs crossed. 

“You’re having way too much fun with this,” Caleb says as she pulls out her phone to take a selfie. 

“This is like a field trip for me, Caleb. Or, even better, a trip to an old, old museum, with prehistoric artifacts such as-” She leans over  and squints at something carved into the side of the table. “‘C+A forever’ written inside a big heart.” She looks over at the two of them. “Nauseating.” 

“Adorable.” Frankie corrects. “I can’t believe you two were sixteen then. Now look at you. Dinosaurs.” 

“God, this tour’s just turned into an excuse to make fun of us, hasn’t it?” Adam says smiling and shaking his head.

“It’s not our fault you two have so much to be made fun of for.” Caitlin says, blowing them a kiss. Adam sticks out his tongue at her, then sneezes. It’s a far more adorable sound than it has any right to be, but Caleb furrows his brow. 

“We should get inside. The party starts in about ten minutes, and it’s all the way in the gym.” 

“Ugh. Lame.” Sadie hops up from where she sits. “Can’t wait to meet all your fellow jocks.” They all start to walk back inside and towards the gym, Adam bickering with Caitlin about something (“you were an obnoxious teenager too!”) . Ben hangs back and grabs on to Caleb’s arm.

“Uh, hi Ben. Is everything good?” 

“What is going on ?” Ben’s eyebrows are furrowed in confusion. 

“Um, what?” Caleb rubs the back of his next instinctively.

“You’ve-” Ben stops. “When I’m paying attention, my ability is like a shitty version of yours. You’ve been all...jittery since you got here. What’s up?” 

Caleb sighs. “Ugh. I should’ve known. Fine-” He reaches into his jacket pocket (all the ex-football players were supposed to wear their old lettermans). Ben’s eyes widen as Caleb shows him a little black box. 

“Is that-”

“Yeah.” Caleb says nervously. 

“Are you going to-” 

“Yeah?” Caleb doesn’t mean to phrase it as a question, but it comes out that way. Ben looks up at him.

“What, do you not want to?” 

“No!” Caleb says, louder than he meant to. “No, of course I want to. I just-” 

“You’re nervous.” Ben says, looking at Caleb knowingly. 

“I thought I was the empath,” Caleb replies, mostly to change the subject. 

Ben rolls their eyes. “You’re just really easy to read. It’s a good thing, don’t worry. I don’t trust people who don’t wear their hearts on their sleeves.” 

Caleb doesn’t know what to say to that, but he’s saved from a response by Sadie, who’s jogging back towards where the two of them stand. 

“Are y’all coming or-” she stops, and Caleb realizes he hasn’t put the ring box back into his pocket. He does so now, though it’s far too late. 

“Oh my god, Caleb! Is that a ring ?” 

“Mhm!” Ben replies for him. 

“For Adam?” She says, barely a question. 

“Who else would it be for?” Caleb says, grinning.

“Oh my gosh, Caleb!” Sadie grins and throws her arms around him. Caleb catches them both, laughing as the full force of her happiness- no, euphoria- hits him. “I’m so-” she pulls away, and Caleb sees tears in her eyes “-happy for you!” 

“Thanks, Sades.” Caleb feels his own eyes start to water and he blinks a few times. 

Sadie steps back, punching him in the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Her tone is playful, but her feelings tell Caleb she’s just a little upset.

Caleb smiles sheepishly and shoves both his hands in his pocket. “I was kind of trying to keep it on the down low, y’know? I would’ve kept it from Ben, but…”

“I’m a little too observant.” Ben finishes for Caleb.

Sadie nods. “Right. Still, I can help! I can take a video and-” She stops. “Wait, what’s your plan? I don’t want to mess it up.”

“Oh, well…” Caleb trails off. “I don’t really have one?” 

Sadie blinks, then shakes her head. “You’re such a himbo.” 

“Sadie!” 

“Am I wrong? Listen, Caleb-” She reaches into Caleb’s pocket and pulls out the box. “I’m basically certain that Adam will say yes even if there’s a ring pop in there-” 

“-You’re not far off, actually,” Caleb could elaborate, but chooses not to. 

She narrows her eyes, then glances at Ben, who shrugs. “I’m not even going to try to figure out what that could mean. What I’m trying to say is-” Sadie looks at Caleb, serious. “This has to be good.” 

“I know. I’m...working on a plan. I just have to get through the night, okay? Then I’ll think of something” 

“You’re the most low wisdom person I know, do you know that?” Sadie’s shaking her head, but her feelings are full of love. 

“That’s what I have Adam for.” 

“And me!” Ben pipes up from where they sit on the lunch table.

“And me,” Sadie finishes. “Okay, we should probably get going. I’m sure the rest of the group is wondering where we’ve gone. Come on-” She hands back the box, and Caleb shoves it back into his pocket. -This’ll be fun!”

~

Surprisingly, this is fun. 

Caleb had been silently dreading this. Prom had been okay (well, more than okay), but so many other of these big school events had been unbearable. But this is...good. The six of them walk around in a group, a safe bubble of feelings for Caleb to float in. Caitlin veers away from the group briefly to talk to her ex, Jessica.  

Adam starts talking to a girl named Ava, someone he vaguely knew as “One of the scary popular girls” but who now has bright pink hair and a pet frog. Frankie and Ben have far too much fun going up to random people and pretending to be offended when they don't recognize the two of them. 

Caleb finds himself at the snack table, piling about a dozen brownies onto a flimsy plate when Ryan (the team’s old quarterback) comes up to him. They talk briefly, and Caleb is relieved to find out that Ryan is still not an asshole. Turns out, most of the jerks aren’t here, with the exception of Bryce and Tyler. While Ryan is talking to Caleb, Sadie walks up to the two of them. When she finds out Ryan is also a jock, she almost immediately challenges him to an arm wrestle. Ryan’s jaw drops and yup, they’re flirting now. 

Caleb continues to try and find the right time to pull Adam aside, and Sadie keeps exchanging glances with him while talking to Ryan. He’s losing his nerve. As the party winds down and most people have left, Caleb starts to consider waiting. Disappointment weighs him down, and for once, he’s angry that it’s his own. 

“Hey there,” Adam’s face appears in his field of vision. “What’s going on? You’re looking at that sign like it killed your grandma.” 

Caleb blinks, and realizes he’s been glaring at the “Go Knights!” poster that hangs above the basketball hoop. “Oh. I’m just...thinking”

“A very rare occurrence,” Adam says, his eyes sparkling playfully.

“Shut up,”  Caleb responds automatically, shoving Adam’s shoulder lightly. Adam giggles and fuck, Caleb’s in love. 

“The rest of the group’s going to head back to Frankie and Ben’s apartment for the night.” Adam says. “Do you want to hang back, though?” 

“Hmm? Oh yeah, sure.” Caleb offers Adam his arm like they’re going to a ball, and they walk. It’s quiet; the two would likely categorize it as spooky if not for the steady warmth of each other. 

“You know what’s funny?” Adam says, breaking the silence so carefully crafted by the empty halls. “When I graduated, I remember thinking, ‘Goodbye and good riddance.’ I mean, highschool was such a…” Adam searches for the right word.

“Mixed bag?” Caleb offers.

“RIght.” Somehow, they’ve ended up back in the cafeteria. “But now, I keep thinking about how simple everything seemed.”

“ I don’t think our lives have ever really been simple.” Caleb holds the door open to the outside, and they both shudder despite the warm air.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” Adam rests his head on Caleb’s shoulder, curls tickling Caleb’s nose. 

They make their way over to the table, sitting next together on one bench. Caleb pulls out his phone, scrolling aimlessly. It’s still slightly light out. Adam’s resting his head on Caleb’s shoulder, absentmindedly tracing his finger over the “C+A” marking. 

“Hey, Adam?” Caleb’s voice is louder than it should be. 

“Yeah?” Adam’s voice is soft. 

“Um...I- I mean-”

“Caleb, what’s going on?” Adam sits up straight, his smile shifts to a puzzled look. “You’ve been all weird. Is everything-” 

“Gosh, yeah. Everything’s fine,” Caleb says, still too loud. He stands, trying to move away from the sticky cloud of concern radiating off of Adam. 

“Okay…” Adam doesn’t take the hint and follows him, a few feet of distance between the two. “So what-” 

“-It’s fine, okay?” Caleb’s being harsh for no reason and he instantly feels guilty. He shoves his hand in his pocket and is greeted by that box, that stupid, stupid box he can’t stop thinking about. 

Adam narrows his eyes and grabs onto Caleb’s arm. Fuck. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing!” 

“Caleb!” Adam pulls his arm and Caleb’s hand comes out of his pocket, the box flying out of his hand and landing on the gravel. 

If Caleb were more eloquent, he would’ve explained the way time stopped in that moment. How both of their eyes glanced at the floor, then back up at each other. How Adam’s face and emotions were, for a second, unreadable, even to Caleb. As it was, when Caleb was breathlessly recounting this entire story to Mark, he sputtered out something like, “And then the fucking ring fell out and I almost died and-” 

But that’s a different story. 

RIght now, the two of them are staring at each other, dumbfounded.

“Caleb?” Adam asks, his emotions still mixed and out of reach.

“Adam?” Caleb responds, mostly for a lack of other things to say (and, well, he likes saying it). He waits for Adam to respond, maybe with a joke or something articulate, but when it’s clear Adam’s speechless, he bends down and grabs the box. He kneels down, muttering “fuck” as a sharp rock digs into his knee. Adam stifles a laugh and finally the dam breaks and they can both breathe again. 

“Adam Hayes.” Caleb’s grinning, nerves forgotten as overwhelming happiness takes over. “I love you. I can’t imagine spending any more of my life without you. Fuck, I-” He stops. While he hadn't thought everything through, he’d put time into figuring out what to say. Caleb had this speech about how much they’ve been through, and how they worked through it all together, like they always do.  But Adam’s staring down at him, eyes wide and sparkling, and Caleb can’t remember a word of it. He can barely remember his own name. “Will you marry me?” 

“Caleb,” Adam breathes. His eyes are shining. “Yes! Fuck, yes!” He grabs Caleb’s hand, pulling him back to his feet. They kiss, and Caleb feels hope blooming from both of their chests. Caleb could stand there like that, holding on tight to Adam and feeling nothing but joy forever, but he pulls away, much to Adam’s dismay.

“Don’t you want to see the ring?” Caleb laughs as Adam pouts, still breathless and giddy. He opens the box and feels the tiniest drop of disappointment from Adam as he pulls out a plain copper ring. “Put it on,” Caleb urges him (he’ll remember later that he’s supposed to offer to put it on for Adam, but neither seem to realize in the moment). As Adam slides it onto his finger, the band shifts from dull brown to the purest lavender. Adam gasps and Caleb bites his lip to keep from giggling. 

“It’s a-”

“-Working mood ring. “I’ve got one too.” Caleb was quite proud of himself for thinking this up. “Oliver helped me make it.”

Adam shakes his head. “I should’ve known.” He mutters, mostly to himself.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.” Adam looks at his hand, and Caleb can almost hear him thinking yes, this’ll do nicely. “I- Caleb, I love you so much. This is-”

“I know.” Caleb grins, and he knows he looks like an absolute idiot. But right now, that doesn’t matter. 

All that matters is that the ring is shifting from purple to the brightest, most perfect green and everything feels right. 

Chapter Text

Adam can’t believe it. 

Well, he can’t believe a lot of things. He can’t believe he met the love of his life when he was sixteen, can’t believe he’s going to be married soon, can’t believe he’s undeniably, irrefutably happy. 

Mostly, though, he can’t believe Oliver has the nerve. 

“Hey, Caleb?” They’re back at their apartment. After the initial shock (from only a small portion of the party; apparently Sadie and Ben already knew), Caleb and Adam decided to go home. We’ll celebrate tomorrow, Adam thinks, giddy at the prospect. Caleb’s standing with his back to Adam, turning on some cheesy love song.

“Yeah?” Caleb turns. Adam walks over to him and presses something into his hand. “Wh-” Caleb stops, turning the tiny ring over in his hand. “What is this?”

“Your ring.” 

“ What ?”

Adam laughs. “Oliver, apparently, thought it’d be funny to not tell me you were planning on proposing. Or he didn’t tell you. I’m not sure. Either way, you can use this if you want.” 

“I-” Caleb starts to say something, but stops. He’s still turning the ring over in his hand. “It’s beautiful.” 

“Why, thank you.” Adam had spent lots of time thinking about what he wanted, and settled on a projection of the ocean. Oliver had found a Hydrokinetic willing to help out. The way the waves crashed was pretty incredible, even if Adam was frustrated with Oliver for not fucking telling him. 

Caleb hesitates for a second, then slips it on. As they look at each other in silence, Adam hears the song Caleb picked. 

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close?

“Really? Lover? Real original.” Adam says. He’s trying to act unimpressed, but he’s not selling it. 

“Shut up.” Caleb sticks out his tongue. “It’s a good song.” 

“It’s cliche.” 

“You love cliche.” Caleb grabs Adam’s hands, pulling him close. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Adam murmurs as Caleb awkwardly leads him through something resembling a waltz.

And as they dance around their tiny kitchen, Adam realizes something; he’s finally Daydream Adam.

Or at least very, very close.