Chapter Text
Part Two - Feel Me
Anticipation like no other had fused with your fraying nerves, forbidding you from sleeping. And after hinting at your feelings and almost kissing Caleb last night, you had forced yourself to remain in your own room rather than pad next door to Caleb’s and slip under the covers beside him. Instead, you’d finished cooking and eating together like normal, both of you experts at ignoring the tension while you’d promised this was the last time you’d fall into this fantasy.
You wanted something real with him.
Something you could feel outside of your imagination.
You’d even briefly dozed against his shoulder as his favorite series about rare model airplanes played on the television in the background. That was until you’d felt his lips touch the crown of your head and his arm around your shoulder tighten. Until you’d acted like you were fast asleep as he expertly hoisted your body into his arms so he could carry you to bed.
Perhaps you were still a bit of a coward.
The sun barely peeked over the horizon when you forced yourself to slink out of bed. Sleep was hopeless, so the least you could do was prepare for today. It was Caleb’s birthday after all, and the first one you would get to celebrate with him since reuniting. You double-checked all the presents you’d stowed away in a separate luggage piece were still there before hiding them away in the closet and slipping into your personal bathroom.
By the time you finished, a familiar smell wafted through the air as you opened your bedroom door, clad in your bathing suit and cover-up. Caleb hadn’t seemed like he’d truly remembered Genesis Point, and it was your mission to redo what you both had done as teenagers. You padded into the kitchen, trying not to ruminate about last night, and found him plating your favorite breakfast.
“Honey,” he called out with a crooked grin and lifted the plate in the air. His Evol deposited it into your waiting hands after you found yourself floating a few inches in the air and straight into a barstool. “Breakfast is served.”
Rolling your eyes, you attempted to force away your slight blush to no avail. He’d only called you that endearing nickname whenever you two had played girlfriend and boyfriend so he could avoid all the attention at school. It’d continued even when he’d left for training to join the Deepspace Aviation Administration. You could still remember the stark jealousy that had snagged its claws into your heart at all the girls that’d vied for his attention when you’d arrived at the Aerospace Academy.
But you also remembered the pure elation that’d filled you when you’d slipped between them all, tugging at his wrist and kissing his cheek before he’d realized it was you. The image of his eyes widening, a rare flush running over his face and ears, materialized in your mind. A satisfied expression flitted over you then and now.
You grinned back at him but not for the reason he probably thought.
Shuffling off the barstool, you abandoned your plate and rounded the long, marble slab of the kitchen island. Caleb had never liked grand surprises or letting the world know it was his birthday, and you’d always respected that. This year was no different. Favoring a quiet tenderness, you sidled up to him and slipped your arms around his waist, hugging him tight.
“Happy Birthday, Caleb,” you mumbled into his chest, savoring the heat bleeding past his soft shirt. That familiar citrus scent he wore wafted around you, burrowed into you as if it belonged there. “Let’s always celebrate them together—just the two of us, okay?”
His arms enveloped you as he rocked you both back and forth, his face nuzzling the top of your head. You wished you could never let go. To lock him up so no one else could even get a glance of him. Sometimes, you really were so similar to Caleb, it was hard not to believe the two of you had shared a soul in a past life. One that’d been cleaved in two.
And here in this time line and world, you’d both discovered your way back to each other.
“Took the words right outta my mouth,” he replied, every word ingrained with endless affection.
So effortlessly Caleb.
The swell of emotions gathering like a knot in your chest forced you to pull back. He let you go but followed with his own plate. The two of you ate the tomato and egg stir-fry while Caleb tried to interrogate today’s plans out of you with silly promises and occasional, ticklish pokes when you weren’t chewing.涌起的情绪就像胸口的一个结，迫使你后退。他让你走了，但接着又拿了自己的盘子。你们俩吃着番茄炒蛋，而凯莱布试图用愚蠢的承诺和偶尔在你不嚼东西的时候挠你痒痒来盘问你今天的计划。
You stole his plate from him when finished, not allowing him to clean on a day like today. Quick and easy before ordering him into his swim shorts. You’d gotten a small cooler delivered to the beach house and busied yourself with filling it so neither of you would have to trek back inside for anything despite the private beach being all yours for the weekend.你抢了他的盘子，不让他在今天这样的日子洗碗。在命令他穿上游泳短裤之前，又快又简单。你把一个小冷藏箱送到了海滨别墅，然后忙着把它装满，这样你们就不用再长途跋涉回去拿东西了，尽管周末的私人海滩是你们的。
Waters, fruit, dessert in snack size you both had picked out last night, and a new variation of your special Caleb-approved apple drink—now in lemonade form rather than soda. As you packed the last item, Caleb strolled out from the hallway.水、水果、你们昨晚选的零食大小的甜点，还有加莱布批准的苹果饮料的新变种——现在是柠檬水而不是苏打水。当你收拾好最后一件东西时，凯勒从走廊里走了出来。
You glanced up before doing a double-take, mouth drying up as the packaged sweet in your hand fell into the cooler accidentally. He hadn’t bothered covering up like you had. No, he ambled toward you in a pair of orange swim shorts that complimented his skin-tone, purple eyes interested in the cooler. Your own tracked over his chest, noting how he still hadn’t taken off your necklace, and down the swells of pure muscle of his stomach.你抬头看了一眼，然后又看了一眼，你的嘴都干了，因为你手里包装好的糖果不小心掉进了冰箱里。他没有像你那样费心去掩饰。不，他慢悠悠地向你走来，穿着一条橙色的游泳短裤，与他的肤色相衬，紫色的眼睛对凉爽感兴趣。你自己在他的胸口上留下了痕迹，注意到他还没有摘下你的项链，顺着他腹部隆起的纯肌肉向下。
Him existing in this way was the ultimate form of psychological torture. Especially as you ripped your gaze away from the prominent cut of his v-line when he lifted the cooler up and away from you. You spun around, pointing and shooing him towards the glass door across the living room while you made an excuse that you’d forgotten something in the fridge.他以这种方式存在是心理折磨的终极形式。尤其是当他把冷藏箱抬起来离开你的时候你把目光从他突出的v字上移开了。你转过身，指着他，把他朝客厅对面的玻璃门赶去，同时找了个借口，说你把什么东西忘在冰箱里了。
You took an extra minute to gather yourself, heart racing and heat pooling dangerously low, before racing after him. The sun stood high in the sky, brandishing a certain intensity of heat already. Caleb flicked his fingers, his Evol making quick work of setting up the umbrella and towels as he set down the cooler and turned back to observe your arrival.在追赶他之前，你花了额外的一分钟来调整自己，心跳加速，体温下降到危险的水平。太阳高高地挂在天上，已经散发出一定的热度。凯莱布弹了弹手指，他的“进化”迅速摆好雨伞和毛巾，放下冷却器，转身看着你的到来。
The sand warmed your feet, not quite to the point of scorching yet. A salty breeze sought to cool you off, but the stifling heat only wrapped the heavy air around you as you ran. Still, your eyes caught the way the water rippled not far off, sparkling in its invitation.沙子使你的脚暖和起来，但还没有到灼热的地步。咸咸的微风想让你凉快下来，但令人窒息的高温只会在你奔跑的时候把沉重的空气包裹起来。不过，你的眼睛还是看到了不远处的水波，在它的邀请下闪闪发光。
Heavier and more noticeable than it all was the way Caleb watched you.比这更沉重，更引人注目的是凯勒看你的眼神。
Waving the sunscreen in your hand, an idea popped into your head. Would he remember how you two had nearly wrestled over the sunscreen? How he’d squirted it all over you, doubling over with laughter at your dumbfounded expression? He definitely had to remember how you tackled him after, coating you both.挥舞着手中的防晒霜，一个想法突然出现在你的脑海里。他会记得你们俩为了防晒霜差点扭打在一起吗？他是怎么把它喷到你身上，看着你目瞪口呆的表情笑得弯下腰来的？他肯定记得你是怎么抓住他的，把你们俩都涂上了。
“Hey, Pip—” Caleb started to say as you skidded to a halt in front of him with sandy feet and hands itching for trouble.“嘿，匹普——”凯莱布正要说，这时你在他面前滑了下来，脚上沾满沙子，手痒痒地想找麻烦。
You didn’t pause to let him finish, waving your arm over him in order to paint him in a ridiculous amount of sunscreen. You threw him a cheeky smile at his sharp inhale and wide eyes, a bout of laughter bursting from you. It didn’t matter that warning bells rang in your head or that you knew to escape before they’d even sounded. You’d already started to whip around in order to do just that.你没有停下来让他说完，而是在他身上挥舞着你的手臂，给他涂上了大量的防晒霜。你对着他尖锐的吸气和大大的眼睛，给了他一个厚脸皮的微笑，一阵笑声从你身上爆发出来。警报声在你脑海中响起，或者在警报声响起之前你就知道该逃跑，这些都不重要。为了做到这一点，你已经开始四处奔波了。
You barely got a handful of steps away.你离我只有几步之遥。
If it wasn’t his arms, it was his damn Evol.如果不是他的胳膊，那就是他那该死的进化。
You half-gasped, choking on your laughter, feet hovering over the sand and kicking mindlessly in the air as if that’d ever worked with getting out of his gravity manipulation. Caleb hummed that way he did when you both knew you were in trouble.你半喘着气，笑得喘不过气来，双脚悬在沙滩上，漫不经心地在空中踢来踢去，仿佛这样就能摆脱他的重力控制似的。当你们俩都知道自己有麻烦时凯勒就那样哼唱。
“Pipsqueak,” he warned, voice closer as he took a step in your direction. You felt his presence coming up behind you. He leaned around your right side to pluck the criminalizing bottle right out of your hands, hair tickling the side of your face with his closeness. “Now is that the right way to treat the birthday boy, hm?”“皮普吱吱，”他朝你的方向迈了一步，声音更近了。你感觉到他在你身后出现。他靠在你的右边，从你手中拿走了那瓶犯罪的瓶子，他的靠近使你的脸发痒。“这样对待寿星对吗，嗯？”
“I think the birthday boy is lucky that’s all he got,” you replied, the teasing tinge of laughter still present in your voice.“我觉得过生日的小男孩很幸运，他得到的只有这些。”你回答，声音里仍然带着揶揄的笑声。
You never did know when to quit while you were ahead.当你处于领先地位时，你永远不知道什么时候该放弃。
He tsked at you, his quiet chuckle almost carried away by the sudden breeze. You didn’t fully realize that he’d started using his Evol to tug at your cover-up. The sheer, teal slip barely covered up your bathing suit, tied at your neck without care. It was supposed to come off anyway, right?他朝你眨眨眼，他那平静的笑声几乎被突如其来的微风吹散了。你没有完全意识到他已经开始用他的进化来拆穿你的伪装。那件透明的、蓝绿色的衬裙勉强盖住了你的泳衣，毫无顾忌地系在脖子上。它本来就该脱落的，对吧？
You shivered, aware of every minute touch of his Evol against your body now.你颤抖着，意识到他的进化与你身体的每一分钟的接触。
Had you just imagined the slight press like a caress down the side of your neck?你刚才有没有想象过轻微的按压，就像在爱抚你的脖子？
The cute, little bow you’d tied at the back of your neck unraveled a little too easily, and the entire slip crumpled onto the sand. Your chest heaved as you attempted to steady your breathing, biting your lip hard. You couldn’t see where his eyes traveled or if they remained at the back of your head.你在脖子后面系的那个可爱的小蝴蝶结太容易解开了，整条领带都掉在沙滩上了。当你试图稳定呼吸时，你的胸部起伏，用力咬着嘴唇。你看不清他的目光在哪里移动，或者是否停留在你的后脑勺上。
Somehow you doubted it. 不知为什么你怀疑它。
Another slight press, this time under the arch of your foot.再轻轻地按一下，这次在你的足弓下。
“C-Caleb! Stop teasing me,” you grumbled with a voice more breathless than bossy.“C-Caleb !别再取笑我了，”你嘟囔着，声音与其说是在发号施令，不如说是喘不过气来。
“The birthday boy caught a certain troublemaker, so it’s only right he gets to enact a little revenge, riiight?” His words stroked your ear, deep and full of mischief. Lightning ran through you as he blew a breath at your ear and laughed.“那个寿星抓住了一个捣蛋鬼，所以他应该复仇，对吧？”他的话语抚摸着你的耳朵，深沉而充满了恶作剧。他对着你的耳朵吹了一口气，笑了起来，闪电穿过你的身体。
Did he notice the slight tremble of your shoulders? The way your toes curled as you dangled in the air in front of him, feeling exposed? God, he’d always been in tune to your feelings. You’d tried not to show your emotions on your sleeve, but now it seemed impossible.他注意到你肩膀的轻微颤抖了吗？当你在他面前晃来晃去，感觉自己暴露在外的时候，你的脚趾是怎么弯曲的？天啊，他总是能理解你的感受。你曾试图不把自己的情绪表露出来，但现在似乎不可能了。
And he hadn’t even touched you.他甚至都没碰过你。
Would he? 他会吗?
You wanted him to, but you doubted he’d—你希望他这么做，但你怀疑他会
Caleb released his Evol, and you dropped into a pair of waiting arms from behind. A gasp tore from you at the chilly sunscreen now sliding between his front and your back. Goosebumps erupted over your arms as you couldn’t help but pinpoint everywhere his body touched yours.凯莱布释放了他的进化者，你从后面落入了他的怀抱。看到冰冷的防晒霜在他的前胸和你的后背之间滑动，你不禁倒吸了一口气。你的手臂上起了鸡皮疙瘩，因为你忍不住要精确地找出他的身体接触到你的地方。
His arms had notched around your bare stomach and waist, absentmindedly brushing the underside of your chest as he turned you both around and began the shortest walk back towards the umbrella and towels. You really hadn’t gotten far before he caught you—your usual cat and mouse game ending.他的双臂环绕着你裸露的腹部和腰部，心不在焉地抚摸着你的胸部下方，他把你俩都转过来，开始走一条最短的路，走向雨伞和毛巾。你真的没走多远，他就抓住了你——你一贯的猫捉老鼠游戏的结局。
The results? 结果呢?
You’d argue you’d won, by your conniving standards.你会争辩说，按照你那狡猾的标准，你赢了。
You huffed before starting to squirm. “You don’t think I’ll retaliate?” you challenged, hand reaching back to blindly grab at his face. Again, his Evol stopped you. Forced your hand back to the top of his arms holding you. You dug your nails into his skin like a silent bite. “Caleb! You’re such a cheater now!”你喘了口气，然后开始蠕动。“你不认为我会报复吗？”你质问道，手向后伸，盲目地抓着他的脸。又一次，他的进化阻止了你。强迫你的手回到他抱着你的手臂上。你把指甲扎进了他的皮肤，就像无声的咬了一口。“迦勒!你现在真是个骗子！”
“I thought we both agreed years ago that using our Evols wasn’t cheating. We were born with them, right? Consider this part of me au naturale.”“我以为我们多年前就同意使用Evols不是作弊。我们生来就有，对吧？我的这一部分是天生的。”
You swore the man was born full of quips.你发誓说他天生就有妙语。
“Once! And we only agreed to that once during a group game against the other neighborhood kids.”“一旦!我们只在一次和其他邻居孩子的集体游戏中同意过一次。”
All for a couple of chocolate bars that’d ended up a melted mess in your pocket. Caleb had used the rest of his allowance to cheer you up with a new one.这一切都是为了几块巧克力棒，最后变成了你口袋里融化的一堆东西。凯莱布用剩下的零用钱给你买了一个新的，让你高兴起来。
“Oh? I seemed to have forgotten that part.”“哦?我好像忘了这一点。”
You caught the way his words had reached a certain octave. You squinted your eyes, pursing your lips, and snarked back, “Scared of a world-class Hunter?”你听出他的话达到了一定的八度。你眯起眼睛，撅起嘴唇，反唇相讥，“害怕一个世界级的猎人？”
Caleb made a long sound of thought, clearly mocking you as you two lobbed comebacks back and forth. He’d never been one to back down, especially not when it came to you. Even when he conceded, he only did to bide his time for the next round.凯莱布沉思了很长一段时间，显然是在嘲笑你，因为你们两个来回地回击。他从来都不是退缩的人，尤其是在你身上。即使他认输了，他也只是在等待下一轮的时机。
“This world-class Hunter is stuck in a certain Colonel’s arms sooo who do you think is truly at the disadvantage here, again?”“这个世界级的猎人被某个上校困住了，所以你认为谁在这里真正处于劣势，再说一遍？”
His hand partly splayed over the side of your waist, thumb resting against part of your stomach, squeezed you closer in an effort to get you to stop fidgeting. Your body slipped downward a few inches, and the groan erupting from behind you sounded purely carnal, making you pause.他的手部分叉开在你的腰侧，拇指靠在你的肚子上，把你挤得更紧，试图让你停止坐立不安。你的身体向下滑了几英寸，从你身后爆发出来的呻吟听起来纯粹是肉体的呻吟，让你停下来。
That gray line between you had surpassed toeing the edge. It’d once been commonplace with you both growing up, but Caleb pushing the limit came less often when you both became adults. Like last night. But now? Your ass firmly aligned with his front, the growing hardness adding to the heat around you.你们之间的那条灰线已经超出了极限。在你们俩的成长过程中，这曾经是司空见惯的事，但当你们都长大成人后，凯勒挑战极限的情况就不那么常见了。就像昨晚一样。但是现在呢?你的屁股紧紧地对准他的前面，不断增长的硬度增加了你周围的热量。
Was he testing you further because of last night? Or getting back at you?因为昨晚的事，他进一步考验你了吗？还是报复你？
Rolling your lip between your teeth, your nails bit a little more into his arm as you subconsciously arched your back. A short curse sounded under his breath and in the blink of an eye, your body lowered. Away from him and toward disappointing safety.你的嘴唇在牙齿之间滚动，你的指甲在他的手臂上咬得更紧一些，同时你下意识地拱起你的背。一声简短的诅咒在他的呼吸中响起，眨眼之间，你的身体下降了。远离他，走向令人失望的安全。
“Don’t think you’re off the hook, little bully,” Caleb muttered, voice like gravel, and allowed your toes to just barely brush the edge of the towel. His voice sounded strained, yet he opted for some sort of ignorance. As if he wanted to hold onto this moment a little longer without recognizing the intimacy there.“别以为你就没事了，小恶霸。”凯莱布嘟囔着，声音像砾石一样，让你的脚趾头勉强擦过毛巾的边缘。他的声音听起来很紧张，但他选择了某种无知。好像他想把这一刻再坚持一会儿，而不去意识到这一刻的亲密。
When he released you, his hands forced you to remain still. You obeyed, words caught in your throat. If you turned to look at him, you weren’t sure what expression would meet you. Calloused hands ran over the mess of sunscreen across your back and shoulders.当他放开你的时候，他的手强迫你一动不动。你顺从了，话哽在喉咙里。如果你转过身去看他，你不确定会遇到什么表情。长满老茧的手在你的背上和肩膀上擦着乱七八糟的防晒霜。
You tried to remain aloof. Ignore the way his fingers roamed with deliberate slowness across your skin, pressing into muscles and sweeping over your lower back. Long enough that your breath shuttered in your chest. When you couldn’t take it any longer, you twirled around to face him.你试图保持冷漠。忽略他的手指故意缓慢地在你的皮肤上漫步，按压肌肉，扫过你的下背部。长到你屏住呼吸。当你再也无法忍受的时候，你转过身来面对他。
Not courageous enough to look up at him, you reached out to repay him, murmuring, “Seems like you don’t remember…”你没有勇气抬头看他，伸出手来报答他，低声说：“你好像不记得了……”
Your gaze traced the white tint of sunscreen chaotically smudged over his chest, stomach, and parts of his arms. Starting safe, you tentatively touched the jeweled apple of the necklace you’d gifted him so long ago before ghosting over his chest.你的目光追踪着他的胸部、腹部和部分手臂上混乱地涂抹着的白色防晒霜。从安全开始，你试探性地摸了摸很久以前你送给他的项链上的珠宝苹果，然后在他的胸前消失了。
“Oh, I don’t think I’ll forget your little stunt today or since we’ve reunited,” Caleb said, a certain timber in his voice that held a myriad of meanings.“哦，我想我不会忘记你今天或我们团聚后的小伎俩。”凯莱布说，他的声音里有一种沉着，蕴含着无数的含义。
He cleared his throat as your palms pressed against his skin, taking their time to rub in the sunscreen. His chest was equal parts soft and hard, skin as hot as the glare of the sun. You remembered all the nights you’d slept in his bed during the winter when your room had been too frigid even with the pile of blankets you’d stolen from the closet.他清了清嗓子，你的手掌压在他的皮肤上，慢慢地揉搓着防晒霜。他的胸膛软硬各占一半，皮肤热得像耀眼的太阳。你想起了冬天里你睡在他床上的所有夜晚，即使你从壁橱里偷了一堆毯子，你的房间也太冷了。
“Got your own notebook of grievances now too?” you half-teased, mind obsessing over how hard he’d felt behind you earlier. How if you glanced down, you’d probably see the remnants of what you’d done to him…“现在你也有自己的冤屈笔记本了吗？”你半开玩笑地说，脑子里一直想着他刚才在你身后是多么难受。如果你往下看，你可能会看到你对他做过的事情的残余……
“If I said yes, would you go through to settle the score with me one grievance at a time?” he asked daringly. You could envision that crooked grin pulling at his lip right now, its shine coating his words. “Make it up to me like a good girl?”
You couldn’t help it. Your eyes darted up to his already peering down at you. You weren’t sure if it was the charged energy trapped in those purple eyes, the pink there similar to the color dancing over his face, or if the haziness from the heat was contributing to the look he sent you.
Your stare dragged down to his lips briefly, hands swiping over his biceps now. How would kissing him feel? Did he prefer soft or rough, biting kisses? You shook your head, trying to dispel these thoughts. “Maybe…if I’m paid for it.”
Caleb laughed, unsurprised at your antics. “I don’t think that’s how it works, Pipsqueak.”
All that was left was the sunscreen that had ran trails down his stomach. Over mounds of carefully crafted muscle that shifted and glistened even under the shadow casted by the umbrella. You swallowed hard, the tips of your fingers hardly getting a chance to ghost over the first line of white before his hand shot out to grip yours.
You forced your attention back up to his face.
It was just a few moments—a handful of seconds.
His eyes searched your face. Thumb ran circles on the top of your hand. He commanded all your attention. You noticed a slight weight at your shoulder—Caleb’s Evol—and you wondered about all the times you might have missed him touching you this way. The idea only upset you in the way that you’d missed out on receiving more of his attention.
“You want a direct answer,” he murmured.
He certainly wasn’t talking about the same topic. His free hand reached up toward your face, knuckles dragging along your jaw. All you could do was nod, unable to escape the gravity of his eyes.
“Tonight,” he promised. Something in him shifted, forcing the charged energy away. A small smile formed on his lips, eyes darting away and blinking rapidly before settling back on you. A certain bottle of sunscreen floated between you two. “First, let’s get our Pipsqueak fully protected against the sun. Then you’re getting thrown straight into the water.”
You stared at him, words dancing on the tip of your tongue. Forcing them down, allowing him to set the pace for today, you nodded and mirrored his smile. You trusted him. You’d enjoy this moment. And you couldn’t wait use your own Evol against him later in the water.
“Tonight,” you repeated.
☀︎⋆°·☁︎
The water had been a brief respite against the summer sun. Coupled with lazily snacking on all the fruits and treats from the cooler and randomly napping under the umbrella, the world truly felt like a place made only for the two of you. You never wanted to leave this moment. The two of you took turns helping each other with reapplying sunscreen, each time bringing back memories of earlier with starkness.
When the sun became unbearable, the two of you packed up, dropped off your supplies, and ambled down the main street of Genesis Point in search of ice cream. You’d realized he hadn’t fully answered you earlier about if he’d remembered your one and only trip here all those years ago.
The possibility of him saying no kept you from bringing it up again.
Still, you sought out to do everything you both had done last time. What better day than today for ice cream? The one you’d both slipped into back then was still open, and your hand circled around his wrist, tugging as you led the way excitedly.
The two of you picked two flavors each, choosing each other’s favorites as an excuse to share. For him, you picked a blueberry lemon scoop along with the limited apple pie flavor you decided had been made exclusively for him. Caleb grinned, a boasting demeanor encompassing him, at his own picks—one matcha scoop and one banana. Like usual, you two held onto them, forcing the other to move close to get another bite.
You both chatted over future plans, already scheduling both of your coinciding free time to be together. Half of it would be in Linkon and the other in Skyhaven. When it neared dinner time, the two of you gave up the coolness inside the ice cream shop to trek back to the beach house in the heat. Caleb carried you on his back, citing how you were moving too slow but you accepted the excuse with ease and a certain satisfaction.
It allowed you to lean against his back, press your chest against him, and wrap your arms around him. It also meant he’d have to drop you if he didn’t want you to pester him by whispering teases in his ear. You loved hearing his laughter in response. How free he seemed here with you.
He was the same Caleb but different…
And you loved him.
So much, it felt like a physical weight against your heart. One that sometimes made it difficult to breath. Like the years growing up together had been carefully placed bars in disguise until you realized you were trapped like a bird in a cage. And like one, you never wanted to escape, couldn’t even fathom the idea. Even if he opened the door and your wings promised you safe haven.
No, Caleb was your salvation.
God, it was increasingly difficult keeping it together. To not let every word spill from your mouth like they were meant to. You reveled in every smile. The cute way he scrunched his nose at times when he disagreed with you and prepared for a heated debate. In every way his freckles moved when he talked. When the sun arced over his features.
You couldn’t look away even if you wanted.
Your hands toyed with his necklace as he carried you, playing into your antics like usual. Disappointment mounted when you arrived back in record time despite Caleb clearly having slowed his steps. You slid down his body, feet touching the floor.
“You wash up first,” he said as he moved around you to push gently between your shoulder blades in the direction of your room. “I’ll set up dinner preparations.”
You nodded, head looking up and back at him hovering over you. “Like last night.”
If it were possible, Caleb’s eyes twinkled, reading between the lines. You both were surely thinking about last night’s dinner preparations being thrown off the rails by the almost kiss. He said nothing but squinted his eyes at you, lips twitching, as he nudged you to move.
By the time you retreated to your bathroom and washed away the day, you’d solidified how you wanted to approach him with your feelings. All those growing nerves over planning his birthday and figuring out if you’d wanted to say anything at all had grown quiet now. You felt at peace—sure in your feelings and partly in his.
You’d know soon.
You pulled on a lavender dress, purposely picked to resemble those eyes you loved. A light swipe of makeup and some complimenting jewelery completed your look. You remembered your last addition, grabbing the thick, silk ribbon you’d bought for your finishing touch. You tied it around your throat like a makeshift choker in the form of a bow and then returned to the kitchen.
He had his back to you, still donning only his swim shorts when he should have washed up too. A slightly red line marked the back of one of his biceps where he must have missed with the sunscreen. Your eyes danced over the shifting muscles along his back. You hadn’t thought it possible back when he’d been in the DAA that he could grow even more.
Being forced into the Farspace Fleet and becoming the Colonel, he’d only inhanced his muscular physique. Gravity Evol or not, Caleb was not a man to be messed with. But no matter his size or the way he appeared to others, you wanted to keep him safe.
Protect him.
Make him yours only.
Your name died in his throat as he faced you. You watched as he didn’t even try to mask the way he checked you out. No, his eyes inched down, paused at your thighs, and back up. Then, like he’d come back to himself, he sighed and walked up to you.
“Pipsqueak, you know the deal,” he grumbled, raising his brows at you. His fingers twirled around the ends of your hair, momentarily tugging. The sting shot straight down you. “Looking cute and dressing up for me won’t distract me from this wet hair.”
Your eyes rolled as a pout appeared. “Caleb, it’s beyond hot out. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Not inside it isn’t,” he argued, already moving around you and disappearing. He returned with a blow dryer and an Evol ready to make you sit on the couch if he needed; you knew him too well. Little did he know, you’d done this on purpose for attention.
You settled between his legs after he plugged in the dryer and motioned for you to sit. His thighs pressed against yours, imprisoning you. Not that you wanted to be anywhere else. Long fingers combed softly through your hair, massaging your scalp before starting the dryer.
You both forgot about dinner for the time. Especially when he flipped the switch off, acting like his fingers brushing against your neck repeatedly was all innocent. A shiver ran over you the next time he did it as he inspected your hair.
“Caleb,” you said his name in warning.
“Hm? Something wrong?”
You scoffed at him trying to act like he had no idea what you were inferring. While you loved dancing around each other with flirting teases and longing glances, your resoluteness over the past two days had steeled your courage. Instead of pulling at his fingers or turning to poke at his cheek, you opted for what you really wanted to do.
You leaned back fully, the angle against him allowing your head to fall back on his shoulder and offering the opportunity to grab his fingers. Before he could stop you, if he even would’ve, you pulled his hand to your mouth and grazed your teeth over his finger in a light bite.
“Pipsqueak.”
You looked up at him, fingers still hovering close enough to your mouth that they bumped against your lips as you said, “Caleb.”
His adam’s apple bobbed before he muttered, “You’re so unfair sometimes.”
Well, you hadn’t expected that.
But you understood.
You pressed a deliberate kiss to his fingers before letting him go. His hand slowly dropped back to his side, and you sat up before looking over your shoulder at him with a small, knowing jab of a smile. “I guess we share that trait, huh?”
You both dropped it, you standing first and freeing him. By the time you put the hair dryer back in its spot and found yourself in the kitchen, you ordered him to shower. He listened with a salute, shortly coming out wearing pressed pants and a light blue shirt he’d halfway buttoned up. The expanse of skin showing would make it hard not to stare…
The two of you swung straight into dinner preparations. Talked like normal. Brushed arms when passing each other as if the kitchen in this beach house wasn’t massive—arguably bigger than your entire apartment. You’d tied the apron over him again like last night, and he’d done the same for you.
Domestic.
Natural.
Right.
After eating and cleaning up, you bounced on your feet before pulling him over to the couch. To the right, the sun slowly sank beyond the floor to ceiling windows, painting the room in a beautiful hue similar to Caleb’s eyes. He allowed you to dramatically shove him onto the couch.
His lip twitched, the raise in his brow a challenge. Rather than start another round with him, you ran to your room, gathered all his presents, and deposited them on both of your laps when you fell onto the couch beside him. Your legs were thrown over one of his thighs while he sat with them wide open.
“Happy Birthday, Caleb,” you said with a cheer, offering up the presents. “I hope you like them.”
Caleb had frozen, eyes darting over the numerous wrapped gifts and decorated bags waiting for him. Awe flitted over his face, mouth parting despite no words coming out. You smiled, grabbing one to help him out of his state of shock. It rocked off balance as it sat on his other thigh and part of your leg.
“Here, you’ll love this one,” you murmured.
He reached forward, grazing your knee and down your leg as if it were in the way of the present. You said nothing, though, and acted like he hadn’t just touched you like that because he merely wanted to. When he tore through the wrapping paper and opened the velvet box, the jewelry you’d special ordered him sparkled in the dying glows of the sun piercing through.
Caleb lifted it, its platinum structure woven like a leather bracelet. Simple yet sleek and dangerous yet subtle. It suited him. You took it from him to clasp it around his wrist, and preened when he rewarded you with an unusually quiet thanks and a pat to your head.
His affections grew each time he opened another gift: new sunglasses, a hat he’d refrained from buying weeks ago but had wanted badly, a photo album of all the pictures you’d salvaged from the explosion of you two. That last one had him leaning over to fully plant you in his lap, hugging you tightly enough to squeeze the air from your lungs.
As night arrived and the moon glittered through the room, you forced him to pause, ordering him to wait where he still sat as you stood. Before anything else, you skirted around the room and lighted all the candles you’d placed prior. Then you grabbed the cake in the back of the fridge that you’d created and delivered to the beach house the other day. All swaths of warm, summery colors that Caleb preferred. You’d gone the extra mile to create edible flowers to decorate it, topping it with a mechanical airplane you had a feeling would be added to his collection back in Skyhaven.
You lighted the candle.
Caleb looked speechless again as you started to sing happy birthday. Your voice was the only sound in this bubble you’d created for the two of you, and his gaze on you the only anchor you needed in this lifetime. His eyes glistened by the time you finished, but he kept the candle alight for now.
“I’ll blow it out when we’re done. Now come back here…please,” he said hoarsely, reaching for you already. You slipped into his arms, enveloped in his heat and scent that felt like a hug on its own.
You pointed to his other side when you got comfortable again where his biggest present sat. Rather than drag it over your legs like the others, Caleb kept one arm around your waist and used his Evol to unwrap it. You tried not to vibrate with the eagerness bubbling up inside you.
This present was the most special. After the wreckage of the house, you hadn’t been able to salvage much. Most of Caleb’s most prized model airplanes and creatures he’d taken an interest in had been melted away in pools of forgotten silver, mixing with the scorched dirt. Whenever you’d visited him in Skyhaven, you’d secretly gone over each model, noting them down in your phone. There was one you remembered seeing a lot, at the entryway to the old home, that hadn’t popped up at his place in Skyhaven.
You’d spent months searching for the model creature. You’d quickly realized that it’d been discontinued years ago, but that hadn’t deterred you. Despite a lot of the older models appearing identical to each other, you hunted down the precise one he’d had. The cost hadn’t mattered to you.
It was as precious to you as it was to Caleb.
Like Caleb.
Your eyes widened as the unwrapped gift wobbled in the air like Caleb was struggling to keep a hold on his Evol. As if to help, your hands dove out to cup the bottom of the box and Caleb had clearly had the same idea but was a second too late. You laughed in response as his hands covered yours.
“Well?” you said with obvious arrogance. Like you’d won a battle against him he hadn’t even been aware of. The victory still tasted sweet. Your cheeky smile grew at his lack of response. “I outdid myself this year.”
Caleb shook his head, hair falling into his eyes, as he roved over the box and breathed out in disbelief. “How did you end up finding this before me, Pipsqueak? I’ve been searching for this model for the past year. It’s the—“
“First model you ever assembled,” you finished for him, winking at him.
You remembered nearly everything about him. Especially the face of triumph he’d made showing it off to you as kids. How exuberant he’d looked when you’d exclaimed you wanted to help him with the next one. He’d begged Gran for a new one the very next day.
A scoff, incredulity lined with fondness, fell from him. He maneuvered his hands around the box, pulling it from your grasp so he could set it to the side. Purple eyes turned back, rooting you to the spot. The air shifted between you, flourished with a depth you’d been waiting to fall into.
Your skin prickled with awareness, heart skipping before working overtime. The room closed in on you as his mouth started to open. You hurriedly covered it with your palm. Caleb blinked once, twice, and watched you with a slight tilt of his head.
“There’s one more,” you whispered, “but you have to close your eyes for this one, okay?”
You waited painstakingly long for him to nod and tried not to squirm under that look of his. When he relented, eyes only leaving yours to fulfill your every request, you pulled your hand away from his mouth and reached towards the last present. It was a tiny bag—the smallest one off to your side instead of his. His arm had brushed it earlier, but he hadn’t noticed, too busy keeping you upright in his lap as you sat sideways on his thighs.
The paper crinkled under your pursuing hand. It’d initially been a gag-gift—one you thought would make him laugh and bring a smile to his face. The sleek, inconspicuous tube of lip balm shined back at you.
Apple-flavored in hopes that he’d finally take care of those usually chapped lips.
You pulled off the silver top before running it over your mouth. By now, your heart drummed hard enough you could hear it in your ears. Could feel it in your constricting throat. Caleb kept his eyes closed, lashes twitching against the tops of his cheeks. You took a moment to admire him under the waving candle lights dancing shapes over his face.
“Ready?” you asked him, leaning closer, as your fingers ghosted over his jaw that clenched. Softened and then clenched again. Still, he said nothing but nodded. The hand still splayed over the side of your waist, keeping you balanced on his lap, gripped you tighter.
Your hand rested on his chest as you closed the distance, brushing your lips against his for a second before throwing caution to the wind and kissing him fully. You felt him breath in sharply, body shuddering against you, before he groaned almost inaudibly. His lips pressed forward as his free hand cupped your face.
But in the next second, he gripped your chin and forced you back. Your lips separated with a slight pop. Your eyes fluttered open, locking onto his dazed ones. Ones that sharpened with each second as he licked his lips. They said everything he didn’t; if given the chance, Caleb would eat you up.
The tease fell from you without hesitation, infused with unrestrained want. “Did you like the apple-flavor?”
Your dress ruffled with the way his hand around your waist coiled even tighter.
“I don’t think it’s nice to play around with the birthday boy, Pipsqueak,” he admonished with clear difficulty, brows furrowing as he struggled to keep a lid on his emotions.
You wanted to keep messing him up.
Wreck that facade of his.
But more than that, you wanted to be honest with him.
It was sort of ironic in a miserable way that you’d both always promised to be honest with one another while keeping such detrimental secrets. Ones that’d eaten away at you.
“You mentioned earlier about a direct answer,” you hinted, hidden feelings surging forward with every word,” but I want to give you mine first…”
Now that you started, you couldn’t stop.
A million words fought for their chance to slip past your lips. One of devotion and loyalty. Of how you’d loved him for so long. How stupid you felt to have waited—to allow fear to control you. How you wanted to make up all the lost time together—never be separated ever again.
Even if that meant locking him away.
Even if that meant parading around in a fantasy among the clouds.
Caleb released your chin to cradle your face, smiling at you in a disarming way. Ready to give you an out. “Take your time to come up with a reasonable excuse. Anything you say won’t ever make me leave your side.”
You hadn’t noticed your nerves had returned, tightening your body, until his sweet words caused your shoulders to loosen. Sure, your vision vibrated and your ears held a small ring to them as your heart thumped along. But that only cemented your feelings.
A soft smile graced your face.
“I love you, Caleb.”
It was truly that simple.
You loved him. Ingrained every detail about him into your memories—all his quirks and different tones he used to tease you. What excited him and caused him to grin. What made him uncomfortable or caused that rare glare to cross his face. You cherished all sides of Caleb. Good and bad, you’d take it all if it he were willing to give it to you. And even if he forgot memories with you or how to take care of you, you’d be there to remind him.
To teach him again.
You uttered those words to him, witnessing tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. You leaned forward, swiping them away when they escaped to roll across those freckles you held so dearly. Your soft laugh rang sweet in the quiet air you’d filled with words you’d been dying to say for years.
When you said all you could, silence settled between you two except for the occasional sniffle from him. A sound of amusement came from you as your heart threatened to burst with your affections. You shifted on his lap, crawling closer and throwing your leg over his in order to sit properly on him.
“Caleb…” you said quietly, melting as he nuzzled his face into your palms holding his face. His tears had slowed, the flickers of candlelight making their drying trails sparkle. Your thumb moved upward to brush against his eyelashes, prodding him into revealing those eyes again. “Say something…”
The smile on your face grew as Caleb peeked at you and surged forward to press a simple yet slow kiss to your lips. It took your breath away, and when he started to pull away, you chased after him.
He was no match for you.
A quiet curse bubbled past his lips that moved against yours as your chest pressed into his. Arms slid around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer.
Caleb tried to break the kiss, stumbling out a breathy, “D-Don’t…you think this is…too fast?”
“Too fast?” you huffed as you pulled back enough to speak. You were done waiting years, but you also wanted him to be comfortable. “Is this…too much for you?”
Caleb leaned back against the couch, taking you with him. Hands tracked over the side of your waist before toying with the fabric of your dress there. “I don’t think you understand how long I’ve loved you…a little more than you realized.”
You both watched each other, confessions laid out. A dream. That’s what this was. One you never wanted to wake up from. The love and pure devotion shining on his face rendered you speechless. Each hesitant touch from him felt so familiar yet new.
Your hands smoothed up his chest as you shifted your weight on his lap, slipping your arms around his neck. Fingers toyed with the edges of his hair there and the chain of his necklace, nails scratching down his neck. Noses touching, you whispered, “Would you show me if I asked you to?”
Without thinking, you slightly rocked forward, seeking that growing hardness under you. With the position of your legs and wearing a dress, the only thing separating you from him was your underwear and his pants.
Your name fell between his lips shakily like he didn’t know what to do with you. Taking it slow, you angled your face to kiss his cheek first. Brushed against his nose and then to his other cheek. The trembling of his breath hit your lips as yours hovered.
“Please,” you breathed, “Ca—”
With a low curse, Caleb cupped the back of your head and molded his mouth to yours. Your breath hiccuped at his sudden impatience, heart skipping. His hands touched you gently while his mouth grew hungrier with each passing second. When his tongue brushed the seam of your lips, you opened to him, swallowing his groan with a content sigh.
He sat up more as if you two could get any closer, hands holding you at your waist and head. You felt that same restlessness as your fingers dove into his soft hair. His tongue mapped your mouth, and you couldn’t help but tease him, sucking it.
“W-Where did you learn to do that?” he muttered roughly, panting when you finally let his tongue go. His lips glistening along with his mused hair captured all your attention.
His question reminded you of the time Caleb had offered to be your boyfriend if you wanted practice for the future, and how your mind had immediately focused on the idea of kissing him. You hadn’t followed through, and he’d never brought it up again. Would it be cruel of you to tease him right now? You couldn’t refrain from being a brat with him sometimes; it seemed the only way to rile him up.
“Is that really what you want to do? Talk about who’s kissed me?” you asked him in a clear challenge, running a hand down his throat and watching it bob. Your thumb slid over his collarbone where he’d forgone covering it with the buttons of his shirt. Your gaze flickered up to him. “Well, back in high school—”
It happened within a few seconds.
You’d sat pretty on his lap, failing to ignore the his dick under you and ready to mess with him even more, while you’d started fiddling with his necklace. Caleb shifted in a blink, throwing you onto the couch so you were splayed out under him. Your back hit the cushion as a breathy laugh shot from you. The silver dog-tag and jeweled apple found its place on the hollow of your throat as he came back into view and hovered over you.
You weren’t expecting him to reply with, “High school? Who?”
A mixture of frustration and barely concealed want coated his words. Biting your lip, you suppressed your smile and looked to the left in mock-thought. So nonchalant. “Oh, I don’t think you’d know him.”
Caleb scoffed before humming, dragging your eyes back to him with his fingers flicking the ribbon bow around your neck. “I see…” The tip of his finger traced downward to the edge of your dress at your chest, barely touching your cleavage. That crooked, all knowing smile appeared, more mischievous under the dim candlelight. “My Pipsqueak sure is being mean today. I’m starting to think you believe you won’t get in trouble one day from all your teasing.”
“Yeah?” You twirled his necklace around your fingers and yanked. Caleb braced both hands on the sides of your head so he wouldn’t fall on top of you, his knee pushing between your legs. You reveled in how his eyes briefly widened before lowering, heavy lidded. Even from this distance, you could barely see the colors of his eyes, his pupils blown too wide. “What if that’s what I’m hoping for?”
Caleb inched closer, muttering at your ear, “Greedy…” His teeth grazed your earlobe before he placed an open-mouth kiss right below. “But you can be greedy with me all you want.”
He inhaled deep, mouth trailing down your neck with aching slowness. Like he wanted to savor the taste of you and pay you back for your defiance. A shiver wracked through you at the new sensation, and you exposed your neck more to him as your back arched. His necklace slipped from you, pooling between your breasts as you clutched at his shirt like a lifeline. His hair tickled your skin as he moved, suffusing with the want overriding you.
You wanted to touch him everywhere, anywhere. Rational thinking flew out the window. His skin felt hot against your palms as they dipped into the opening of his shirt again. Earlier, you’d layered sunscreen, touching him innocently. Now, you wanted to dirty him up.
Drive him wild.
Fire licked through you as he licked at the base of your throat. Your low moan filled the quiet air, becoming the catalyst that broke through part of his restraint. With a harsh curse, Caleb lifted up to kiss you again. His knee pushed higher, and your hips jerked at the sudden sparks the brush sent through you.
You two mirrored each other, fingers fumbling and kisses resembling more of a battle. You bit his lip, and he returned the favor with a bit more gentleness. He wanted to consume you, and you wanted to imprint yourself in him so wholly, he’d never be able to forget you. After struggling to unbutton his shirt, you huffed into his mouth and ripped it open.
Buttons flew, pinging against the wooden floor and rolling into the darkness.
“Impatient much?” he laughed against your mouth and threw you a short smirk.
“Shut up, and touch me,” you tried to demand but he kept cutting you off, unable to retreat from your lips. You turned your head to the side, overwhelmed, and bit down at the junction where his neck met his shoulder. “Caleb…”
His breath shuttered, your name falling from him like the most desperate plea. You weren’t thinking by rolling yourself on top of him. You both tumbled straight off the couch. Caleb landed first, cradling your head despite you landing on top of him. When he chuckled, your worries dissipated.
Straddling him, you rocked your hips once against him. Again when his mouth fell open, eyes closing and neck straining, exposed. You liked seeing him so undone under you. Your eyes watched his abs clench before he rolled against you in tandem, hands gripping tightly at your hips.
“Y-You—” his strangled words cut off as you widened your legs, placed one palm on his chest, and lightly ran your nails down his stomach as you moved again. Caleb said your name like a curse, a delightful bloom of red sprinting across his cheeks.
You could tell he was still holding back. He’d barely touched you. So you took matters into your own hands. Straightening up, you untied the satin knots over your shoulders that held up your dress. The top of the dress slid away, pooling at your waist. Caleb watch, mesmerized, hands starting to shake as they moved upward and outlined your body.
“Fuck.” His voice cracked as he sat up to touch you better and said, “You have no clue…”
A few seconds passed, but he didn’t elaborate.
“What?” you wondered as goosebumps erupted under his traveling palms.
Rather than answering right away, his fingers ghosted under your breasts before palming them with a gentle squeeze. Your body shuddered, a heady sigh pushing past your lips. His low moan followed suit, gaze stuck to you and your reactions.
“That,” he muttered vehemently and maneuvered you both. With you on your back again, his rough chuckle sounded broken as he added, “You don’t know how long—how many times—I’ve imagined you under me like this. Enough to drive me crazy.”
His mouth replaced his hand, tongue flicking against your nipple. You gasped, hands shooting out to grip the bare skin of his shoulders. Breath stuttering against you, he sucked at the peaked bud until it reddened and ached. The bottom of your skirt that’d pushed up and exposed your panties due to Caleb’s knee between your legs again swished as he teased the edge of your panties.
“P-Please,” you begged.
He instantly rewarded you, always giving you what you wanted. You felt the weight of his eyes on you as long fingers pushed them to the side to touch you directly. His jaw nearly went slack as you cried out his name and clawed your nails into him when his fingers ran up your slit before circling around your clit.
“Y-You’re so…wet,” he said in disbelief.
One finger paused at your entrance before pushing in at your insistence. You bit your lip at the intrusion, but it didn’t hurt. Your hips bucked, asking for more. His long finger drove into you with care, exploring you as he panted over you.
“Tell me,” he demanded hoarsely even after turning you into a writhing mess. Yet even as he tried to make it sound like a command, it came out desperate. “Tell me what you like.”
Rather than wait for your response, you felt the familiar energy of Caleb’s Evol take hold of you. It tugged you up, his nose trailing from your knee to your inner thigh as your legs were slowly hooked over his shoulders. All while you floated in front of him. You resembled how he’d opened his last present…
“C-Caleb!”
“Tell me to stop,” Caleb said on a sharp exhale after he kissed your thigh. Purple eyes peeked up at you, almost lost under the ripples of your bunched dress, while his mouth drew nearer to your panties.
You watched him, breathless. “Why?”
He glimpsed down at the lace covering you before revealing, “Before I lose my mind completely…Because one taste of you won’t be enough.”
God, you needed him to wreck you.
“I…” You licked your lips. “I want you to lose your mind over me.”
Your mouth popped open as his nose pressed against your damp panties, rubbing at your clit. You had no time to feel embarrassed as Caleb practically whimpered into you and licked you over them. Pleasure sparked over you and built as he knelt on the floor, with you still hovering in front of him, and ran his tongue over you. They quickly became a drenched mess from you both, but Caleb wouldn’t stop even when you begged him to do it properly.
Even with him ignoring your pleas, pleasure built dizzily fast. The friction of his tongue rubbing the lace against your pussy was overwhelming, especially when the wet heat of his tongue peeked through it. Your hips jerked up each time, chasing the edge.
When you were close, Caleb pulled back, forcing a whine from you. He used his Evol to move you off him and into his arms as he stumbled into standing. Gaining his footing, he promptly carried you towards his room, swatting his free hand in the air. The strength of his gravity crushed the air out the flames, blowing them out.
“You deserve better than a hard floor,” he explained, turning to kiss you sweetly, as he lowered you onto the bed.
You tasted yourself on him, and you threw your arms around his neck to keep him from retreating. His tongue tangled with yours, hands making quick work at shucking your dress of you. It wasn’t until you fisted his hair and pulled him away was he forced to stop kissing you. The moonlight streamed in through the window right beside the bed, lighting up the way his tongue ran over his swollen lip.
“It’s unfair.” You tried to pout, eyes falling to the way the silver light highlighted the curves and lines of his stomach. How strained his tented pants were, and the way multiple veins all over his body—arms, hands, stomach—stole your attention.
You felt vulnerable now, laying under him in only a scrap of lace. To think someone you’d once considered family, your brother, peered down at you like he wanted to devour you…Something dark, twisted, and satisfied filled you at the same time. But he hadn’t been family in months; he’d made it clear to you at every chance when you’d reunited with him.
Now, he was just Caleb.
Your Caleb.
Labels didn’t matter as long as he was yours.
Hands smoothed back your hair, and a kiss lingered at your forehead.
“What do you need?” he whispered.
“This—” The shirt you’d ripped open earlier fell to the crooks of his arms as you pushed it off his shoulders. Caleb huffed with amusement, kneeling in front of you in order to fully remove it. Your nails teased the edge of his pants and along his v-line as you added, “Off.”
When had he ever disobeyed an order from you?
“Beautiful,” the word escaped you because it was the truth.
Caleb was all planes of muscle and random scars. Some you knew of, tended to, and it was easy to surmise that from DAA training to becoming the Colonel of the Farspace Fleet he’d gotten injured more often than not. You’d seen them earlier, questioned the larger one high up on his side but felt too scared. There were more littered on his legs but less so.
An increasingly familiar rosiness settled over his face at your compliment. You sat up, face full of questioning, as your hooked your fingers over the band of his briefs that did nothing to conceal how hard he was and paused.
“Y-Yes,” he stuttered out.
You weren’t sure exactly what you’d expected, and you wouldn’t admit that you’d fantasize over a moment like this. His dick sprang free as you dragged his briefs down. Moisture had beaded at his flushed tip, ever so slowly trailing down the length of him. Your hand wrapped around him, skin prickling with delight at his pleasured hiss. Mouth watered as you pumped him and imagined what it would feel like having him fuck into your mouth.
His hand halted yours, eyes attempting to remain open and not flutter closed, as he gritted out, “If I come in your hand now, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Caleb pried your legs open further as he leaned down to slot his lips over yours, swiftly removing your soaked panties and skating his hands from your ankles to the apex of your thighs. He slid one finger into you before adding another, working you up. He murmured against your mouth, praising you and murmuring how gorgeous you were under him.
How pretty the sounds your body made when he scissored his fingers in you, marveling over how you dripped over his hand.
Your body shivered at those words morphing into something infinitely dirtier as fingers retreated and he settled between your legs, positioning his dick against you. Your eyes nearly rolled back as he tortured you by sliding against your wetness ever so slowly. He even tsked when you wrapped your legs around his waist to nudge him closer.
It felt right to surrender to him this way. It’d been all you ever wanted for so long. Your body softened yet trembled under his touch. But your nerves slunk back when Caleb ripped open the wrapper of a condom and rolled it on. All his attention fell on you as he cupped your face like you were delicate and breakable in his hold.
“You’re safe with me,” he reminded you, folding over you to ghost his lips against your jaw. “If you tell me to stop, I stop. You know I listen to your every word. You know I’m yours to do with as you please.”
With your nod and wanton sigh of his name, Caleb straightened and gently pulled your legs away from his waist, holding your thighs to give him a better position. You bit your lip as he notched his tip at your entrance and pushed in slightly. You could tell how much he cared about you and your comfortability as he worked inch after inch into you, making sure to repeat his love for you by kissing you senseless in the process.
You felt full when he bottomed out in you, stretched wide.
Now it was your turn to witness Caleb trembling above you, veins bulging in his neck. Brows furrowed as his eyes snapped shut. A strangled sound fell from the back of his throat. His body had gone almost eerily still. You wiggled your hips, getting used to the feeling of him, and he dropped his forehead to yours with a drawn out curse.
“Y-You’re…”
You knew what he wanted to say.
“My first,” you finished for him.
His eyes opened, settled on you, and glittered with utter devotion. A sigh pushed through his lips, a warm smile forming, before he revealed, “Me too...Does it hurt?”
Delight swarmed you at his words.
No one else would have him but you.
You shook your head. “Just…full.”
At that, you squirmed again, though you weren’t sure if it was to get used to him inside you or urge him to move. You could feel how much he filled you—no match for his fingers. A quiet moan came from him, hips jerking. Your eyes fluttered half-closed at the sudden pleasure of it.
Caleb watched you as he pulled back to thrust into you. A few more times before you told him to go faster, and he fell into your mercy with a choked gasp. Large hands gripped your thighs firmly before one moved to cup your breast. Rolled your nipple between his finger and thumb as your back arched for more.
His Evol took over where his hold had been at your thighs, keeping you pried open, as his hand on the side of you allowed him to lean closer and kiss you. The other abandoned your chest to run along the hollow of your throat and over the ribbon bow still around your neck.
“You take me so well,” Caleb muttered, fucking into you with growing abandon despite the sweetness instilled in every word.
Purple eyes sought to capture every expression on your face. His thumb rubbed over your lip, and you opened your mouth to lick at the pad of it. You shivered at the expression of pure pleasure falling over his face. He offered the crook of his hand between his thumb and pointer finger where a familiar scar was. “Bit down if you need to.”
You listened, your teeth clamping down on his hand as if to rewrite sour memories with this one. The result ended with Caleb visibly shaking, eyes rolling back. Your tongue stroked his skin. His words heated you as he sighed out, “You’re such a good girl. You’re a good girl only for me, right?”
When he pulled his hand out of your mouth to hear your answer, you murmured, “Yes, please,” on repeat. You couldn’t think straight, arms around his neck, as he kept praising you even when his mouth fused to yours. Especially with the sound of his hip slapping against yours. When his Evol slithered down your thigh and rubbed your clit, your entire body convulsed as you came without warning, clenching around him.
Over the rush in your ears and the way you babbled his name could you hear Caleb’s whimper. His dick pulsed in you, prolonging your orgasm, as you watched him fall apart through the haze of your vision. How he bit his lip, gasping your name. His hips stuttered before pushing as deep as he could into you. Your breaths mingled as desperate lips sought yours.
Hands cupped your face, holding you so impossibly softly, before caressing the top of your head. Your breath left you, chest brushing against his as you tried to escape his drowning kisses. He finally listened when you bit down on his lip hard.
Caleb’s smile was a gift all in itself, and you couldn’t help but send him one back. Your hands folded over his, bringing them to the tied ribbon on your neck. You guided him to pulling one end, the bow unraveling and falling away from your neck.
“Happy Birthday, Caleb,” you murmured.
