Archive of Our Own

“Pips?”

“Hey, hey. I just wanted to call you before I headed out of town.”

“Out of town?”

“Yeah, Captain gave me a priority mission, I’ll be gone for about two weeks. Can you keep an eye on the garden please?”

“Of course, is Xavier going with you?” Caleb tried to hide the jealousy in his voice, he always worried when his Pipsqueak went off on missions, he worried less when Xavier was with her because he knew that she would always come home safe. But that also meant he was with her far more than Caleb could be, and in situations that were bound to bring them closer together.

“No, he’s on leave for the next month or so, Captains orders.” Her voice is pensive. She had noticed him taking on more missions lately, barely sleeping or eating, which was unusual for him.

“That’s good.”

“Caleb!”

“Not him being forced off work, but its good he’s resting. If he is anything like you, he’s burning the candle at both ends and in the middle. I’ll stop in and check on him; his place is on the way to your house anyway.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.” There was a moment of silence where all he could hear was her shoving things in a bag and muttering to herself about everything that she needed to bring with her.

“Can I swing by before you go?”

“I wish, but I literally have to bail in like five, the Captain gave us an hour to be ready and back at headquarters.”

“Damn. Well, I wish you luck then Pips, come home safe okay.”

“I will, take care of yourself. And you’re welcome to crash here while I am gone, that way you don’t have to keep making the trip back to Skyhaven if you don’t need to.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that. Make sure no pesky bunnies take over the place.”

“You are a menace!” She said with a laugh.

Your menace. He thought to himself.

“Yeah well, gotta keep you on your toes Pipsqueak.”

“Take care of yourself while I am gone okay.”

“Always do, see you when you get home Pips.”

“See you when I get home.” The phone finally clicked off, and it took him a second longer than he would admit to for him to put the device away. He turned to his computer and filed for leave for two weeks. It was more of a formality, a way for the fleet to know where their colonel was when he wasn’t in Skyhaven. He didn’t include the address, just that he would be staying for an extended period in Linkon. Once the paperwork was sent off, he left for his apartment so he could pack what he needed for two weeks.

#

Valko was happily buried in his nest of blankets on her bed. He had gone around and collected every blanket and pillow that had her scent on it and made a nest for them both to cuddle in the night before. Her phone call with Caleb had woken him slightly, but he was too comfortable to rouse completely. Even when she leaned down to kiss the top of his head and tell him good-bye all he could manage was a sleepy ‘luv-oo’ before nestling down deeper as she chuckled.

Of course, no sooner had she left her house did his phone ring and he was forced out from the blankets to find and answer the blasted device.

“Go ahead.” He said to the person on the other end of the line.

“Apologies Sir, there was an issue.”

“With?”

“Creatio Protocol three.”

“I am on my way in.” He hung up, rolled the blankets up and buried his face in them, taking in her scent one last time before he got up, grabbed his jacket and shoes and headed downtown.

#

Caleb set his bag down by the front door, carrying the groceries through to the kitchen. Pips had never been big on cooking for herself, so he figured her fridge would be mostly empty, but when he looked inside it was well stocked.

Huh, she is getting better. There was a twist in his chest, and the strong urge to throw all of the groceries in her fridge in the trash. It was his job to take care of her. He took a breath, put what he had brought in the fridge and went for his bag. She was grown up now; she had to take care of herself sometimes. This was fine.

He put his stuff in her massive closet, he always laughed at how big it was until he realized she kept treasures in there too, things she wanted to keep just for herself. On one shelf were a series of preserved flowers in terrariums. His was dead center. Where he had put it. Or it was until she added a new one to the shelf. He used his evol to bring it down and look it over. It was a preserved Lily of the Valley. Beautiful and delicate. He smiled and put it back. He never asked her where she got the flowers. He knew she had admirers, and that was fine, so long as he was first in her heart.

Once his things were put away, he went searching for a blanket so he could curl up on the couch. All of them were in a giant mass on her bed and it made him smile. She was still messy, still a little chaotic. He grabbed the top one and went to bury his face in it and stopped cold. He could smell her detergent, mixed with her body wash, but over it was the scent of pine and musk. Men’s cologne. He wrinkled his nose and threw the blanket into the hall. He would need to wash that. He reached for another one only for the same thing to happen. As he looked at the pile, he realized every single blanket in the house was piled on the bed.

She’s grown Caleb, you can’t expect her to only be yours. You know this. The rational voice in his head was pleading with him, getting very steadily drowned out by that part of himself that wanted to lock his Pipsqueak up and never let her out again. He knew he couldn’t do that. He shouldn’t do that. Zayne would worry, Xavier would head straight for him if she missed work. But the thought of her having someone in her bed that he didn’t know. Whose scent was polluting everything.

He grabbed the bottom sheet and yanked the entire bed clear, throwing all the blankets into the hallway with his evol. He would wash everything. Make it smell like her again. He went into the bathroom, planning to throw some of her body wash in the washer with them. The shower was empty. He turned to the shelf she normally kept stocked with extras but that was empty too. A little sticky note on the mirror said: Buy more shower stuff.

The tenuous tether he held on his impulses snapped. He went for the blankets, pulling them apart with his evol and his hands until they were nothing but chunks and fragments all over her living room and his chest was heaving. It was only after he was done that he noticed someone else in the house with him.

“Who the fuck are you?” The voice was a low growl and when he turned to face him Caleb noticed the ears and tail first. Then the smell, Pine and Musk.

“You!” and just like that the rage that had been ebbing raced back to the forefront. The Tor chip should have shut it down. Reset him, but he had been messing with everything for a while, so now it was just a useless lump of circuitry in his system.

The man caught him easily enough. Grappling with him but never letting Caleb get the opportunity to break free or take him to the ground.
“What were you doing in Pipsqueaks bed?” Caleb ground out, trying to use his evol to lift the other man. Valko, just held on tighter to Caleb, using his strength rather than his evol to keep hold of his mechanical arm.

“Shit, you’re Caleb.” All of the fight went out of Valko, his ears laying flat in what, Caleb thought, looked very much like a dog who had been scolded.
“Yeah, I am, who are you.”

“Valko, MC didn’t mention me?” She had, but she had been planning to introduce him to everyone at a dinner the following weekend. Caleb just dropped him onto the ground and set about cleaning up the mess he had made of all of her blankets. Not wanting to look at the man.

“I was just dropping some stuff off that she said she needed to replace. I figured I would handle it for her so when she got back, she could just chill.” Caleb ignored him. He felt like an idiot, his jealousy had gotten the better of him, again. And this time he had destroyed her property and attacked someone she cared about. One she would scold him about, the other; he didn’t want to think about what she might do about that.

“Okay, um, I’ll just put this in her bathroom and go then.” Valko edged around Caleb, set everything on the shelf where it went and headed out. Leaving a very chagrined colonel to his thoughts.