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Your day was awful and kept piling on since this morning, but at least you were on the way home to Caleb—that was until it started pouring rain on your way home and you had not prepared an umbrella accordingly, so now you were drenched from head-to-toe.
Making your way up to the apartment while shivering with tears in your eyes, You quickly get inside, slam the door shut and start kicking your shoes off. Caleb immediately comes out to greet you but notices how upset you are.
“Hey Pipsqueak, what’s wrong?” He says, immediately rushing over to you.
More tears start streaming down your face and you move your hands to wipe them away. You don’t respond and only continue crying, the inconveniences of the day weighing down on you. Without saying another word, Caleb lifts you up into his arms and makes his way to the bathroom.
He starts up a bath and makes sure the water is warm enough for you, dipping his hand in to check. He began stripping you off your wet clothes and tosses them into a pile in the laundry hamper, as he guides you in the tub and sits behind you.
Your tears have dried but you’re still not in the mood to speak so he instinctively takes over and takes care of you. Never once has he viewed taking care of you as a bother. To him, it is second nature and he never wants that to change.
He gently washes your hair making sure to put some massaging techniques he learned for you alone. A sigh escapes your lips which doesn’t go unheard by him. Reaching around, he gives you a gentle kiss on the forehead and then returns to washing your hair.
It's the little moments like these that make you love Caleb even more. He’s attuned to your needs without you having to ask for anything. Your sighing is not of stress but of content—happy to have him by your side and knowing this will never change, not before and not now.
You’re now in your shared bedroom and he’s drying your hair, looking over to you to make sure you’re still doing okay. When he’s done he uses his evol to lift you up and plop you onto his lap.
“Caleb!” You exclaim in shock of being picked up.
He just shows you a smile and holds you close, happy to hear you finally say his name.
“I know t’day wasn’t so great for ya but I want you to know I am here for you always, ‘kay?” You give him a nod and he’s content with that.
He pulls the both of you back onto the bed and under the sheets. Placing you right on top of him and circling his arms around you, secure in his hold and there is nowhere else that you feel safer than in his arms. He is your warm refuge from all the troubles and harms of the world.
You move slightly to look up at him and realize he’s looking back down at you.
“I love you Caleb, and thank you.” You put your arms around him and snuggle your face into his chest.
He kisses the top of your head and tightens his hold on you as if a sign to let you know he’s always there. “I love you too.”