Oh, Caduceus had an inkling that Caleb was just doing this to humour him, to give him some kind of purpose for a short while. At the very least Caleb wasn't the kind of man who flagrantly indulged for the sake of indulging. Not that Caduceus had ever been party to. One or two small comforts, certainly, even his humble little home at the grove had things that existed just for the sake of it.
Whatever the true motivation behind the agreement it was there, and that was the important thing. If Caleb had told him it was purely selfish on his part Caduceus would have assured him the feeling was mutual. It soothed him to be something of a calming presence, it replenished any waning confidence to be able to make people he loved happy to whatever extent.
He'd make a great house husband.
Caduceus watched Caleb with the (maybe) well disguised anticipation he did whenever one of his smart friends got excited or enthusiastic about something. None of them had disappointed him in the past. A smile spread over his face and his ears perked up at the sight of the familiar doorway.
"They do say there's no place like home," Caduceus smiled, reaching for Caleb's hand again. He loved the Xhorhaus, how could he not? But the tower really was their home away from home, and the scent and the sight of the entrance hall eased some of his anxiety.
"For fear of sounding too awkward, uh, your place or mine?" he asked with an easy smile as they walked to the centre of the tower's floor. Tipping his head up, Caduceus looked all the way to the top, to the closed iris that blocked off the upper floors. And he really, really missed the others.