WHAT. Caleb & Essek both get a memory bump and check in. WHERE. Xhorhaus Greenhouse WHEN. This morning! WARNINGS. None except Dirty Essek. STATUS. Complete! ART CREDIT.here!
When one’s husband only required four hours of trancing at night to “sleep”, waking up alone wasn’t wholly unusual. It didn’t bother Caleb, he’d never been the type to lament over a cold place on the bed next to him. Essek already stayed there far more than he was required to, which pleased Caleb in the evenings.
Waking up with new memories - again - could send someone into seeking comfort, though, and it took Caleb a moment to remember they were in the Xhorhaus and not Caleb’s small home or wizard tower in Rexxentrum.
At least either place involved Essek, that part was a constant he was pleased with. Though he was far more spoiled here, getting the bulk of his husband’s time rather than just when it was deemed safe. That thought was a sobering one, with the reminder of how lucky he was in some ways and others how much he missed his friends. Veth was back home now, doing well with Yeza and Luc and happy as she was. Beauregard and Yasha had everything they’d wanted back there. Fjord and Jester were thriving on the sea and land, even after Uk'otoa. He should have felt glad for all of that, happy for his friends.
But he still missed them.
It never took him long to ready himself in the morning. Years on the road had helped with that, plus his rather simple yet cozy wardrobe. Neither of them had work today, and then kids likely would sleep in without school, so Caleb was on the hunt for Essek only minutes after waking up.
It was not surprising to find him in the little greenhouse they had, as being elbow-deep in dirt somehow gave Essek a thrill that Caleb hadn’t understood until recently. His own little modest green bean patch was growing in the corner.
Caleb didn’t give himself away immediately, opting to take in Essek’s lean form with a fond gaze until he was noticed.
Essek lost track of how long he had been puttering about in their greenhouse, rose decorated gloves deep in soil as he allowed his mind to fixate. Like Caleb, he had greeted the morning with a flood of new memories; six months worth, to be exact. Though not bad memories, they were certainly complicated ones that left him pausing in bed, looking down at his husband for longer than was probably considered not weird, before he finally eased out of the blankets and floated to the greenhouse that had become as much of a solace to him as the library.
He had spent the remaining hours there, watering and trimming and cultivating the little garden that was a mix of plants native to Exandria and Vallo alike, thanks to an unexpected gift of seedlings a few months prior. There was a comparison to be made there, a metaphor to be drawn, but Essek was too busy thinking about how much his life had changed in the span of barely a year back home.
It wasn't all bad, he kept reminding himself. Yes, Essek had finally felt the eyes of the Dynasty and the Bright Queen too acutely to ignore any longer. He had done all he could to ensure that those he was leaving behind at the Vurmas outpost would continue to be cared for, but he had still absconded with what belongings he could feasibly fit into his arcane trunk and his life--narrowly so, if the rumors he eventually heard could be trusted. From there, he exiled himself, making use of the few identities and areas of safety he had prepared ahead of time as he planned out the start of his life essentially on the run. It was lonely. It was stressful. He was alive, though.
And he had good things, too. He still had near daily Sendings from Jester giving him updates of their life at sea, as well as what she heard from the rest of the Mighty Nein. He had his visits to Caleb, whenever it was safe enough for him to make them. Essek had to say goodbye to the life he had known for over a century, but he'd been able to retain the parts that had led him to change in the first place.
Being as wrapped up in these thoughts as he was, as well as the careful ministrations of his fingers as he pruned back the dyolet tree they were nursing to ready for planting come spring, Essek didn't realize that he wasn't alone for several moments. When he did spot Caleb, though, he did a bit of a double take before a small, but warm, smile crossed his face. He rose to his feet from where he had been kneeling, pausing to wipe down his dirty gloves on his trousers, something that didn't bother him only because he knew he would momentarily use Prestidigitation to clean them once more.
"Good morning, ta'ecelle," Essek greeted, turning fully to face Caleb. "Did you sleep well?" He raised an eyebrow, indicating that his question was more loaded than the four words sounded.
Well, at least the nickname was a good sign of things. Caleb took the loaded question as it came, and both of his eyebrows rose to match. They hadn’t been too off the marker in times past when they’d both received memories, so it stood to reason, and yet still there was always the chance that they’d remember something-- terrible. Their lives back home were certainly far more settled than they had been previously, but that constant worry of Essek’s past catching up to them was there, threatening to pull apart their life at the seams.
But then he was thoroughly and very easily distracted by the dirt Essek just rubbed on his trousers, and that had him looking down rather than answering right away. It was ridiculous how quickly his brain melted just because of a little dirt.
“Ah- sorry. Ja. It was certainly- a lot.” An understatement, given they’d successfully locked away Uk'otoa and Caleb himself had sassed a betrayer god. Just Mighty Nein things.
He was not afraid of a little dirt and moved into his husband’s space. “Did you? Is that why you are out here making yourself more appealing to your hobo Wizard husband?”
Confirmation given, Essek felt his shoulders release the tension that he hadn't even realized they'd been holding. It wouldn't have been a terrible thing, of course, and he would have just filled Caleb in on everything that had transpired, but he preferred being even here. They were the last of their specific group from home and it somehow felt important to him that they remained on the same page.
"I rested," Essek decided after a brief moment of consideration, comforted as Caleb drew in close. "But yes, my mind was more active while trancing than normal." He glanced back at the plants once, before raising his dirty hands and looking between them and the other wizard. "I did not want to wake you to discuss it before you had gotten a full night of sleep, so I thought this would do to take my mind off of things in the meantime. Making myself more appealing is just a lucky bonus."
Giving in, he let his hands come to rest on Caleb's shoulders, knowing full well they would leave a dirty shadow of Essek-shaped handprints when he removed them. "It was six months or so of new memory for me."
“I would not have minded,” Caleb chided most gently. He was never bothered by being awoken by Essek or his friends, if they had things to talk about or worries on their mind. It had been like that since his academy days, when Astrid (never Eadwulf - with one exception, which had given Caleb leave to sit up and have Wulf rest his head in his lap the rest of the night) had come to him with worries or rants.
Caleb strived and longed for being helpful. For being what his people needed. Essek was on the top of that list these days.
“It was for me too, ja.” Caleb didn’t brush off the dirty handprints, and instead leaned in for a kiss. “Uk'otoa, working at the Academy, some of our Aeor travels - what we hadn’t already remembered from the last time.” Finally, a little smirk crept up the corner of Caleb’s mouth. “Like a sequel after the cliffhanger from our uh- liason in the dome one night.”
That brought a soft chuckle out of Essek, as well as a tinge of color at the tips of his ears. It was a very silly reaction and he knew it, given their shared history, but Essek was and would always be Essek.
"A sequel, indeed," Essek agreed, pulling himself a bit closer into Caleb as his hands moved to instead let his arms loop around his husband's neck. "The last I remember was coming to visit you and find out about that Uk'otoa sea adventure from someone who was not limited to however many spell slots she had left to send to me twenty-five words at a time." Not that he was complaining, of course; Essek may have, once upon a time, flinched at the sound of Jester Lavorre's voice ringing out of nowhere in his mind, but it had become something that he anticipated and looked forward to. It also felt nice to have the added interactions to think back on, her lack of presence in Vallo still very much felt.
"Your green beans," he continued, "were coming in quite nicely." He meant, of course, the ones that had been growing in the planters at Caleb's little home in Rexxentrum, rather than those that were thriving in their shared greenhouse. "I am glad to know that I get to at least visit enough to have seen some of their growth."
Caleb trailed a hand down Essek’s arm, no objection on his lips as his husband got in even closer while dirty. Jester messaging him had been a humorous passtime, and he often wondered how much she did it - he hadn’t learned the spell, and a sending stone could too easily be tracked if Caleb were to be raided by someone. It was risky, and he didn’t want to put Essek even more at risk. They were careful.
“I half expected Yussa to tell you everything over tea and gossip. There was a moment where I thought he was going to do something stupid but I think he stopped because we were going to do something stupid. Character growth.” Though if the Mighty Nein had failed, he had no doubt the gold wizard would have made his talents known.
And if they had failed, Caleb would not have been able to say goodbye to Essek. At the time, he had wondered if that was a good thing, that final goodbyes were-- the worst. But now he had a pang of regret to that, even though they had survived and accomplished their goal. “I am sorry I did not find a way to contact you before we were reckless.”
"Perhaps we will find time during one of our visits to teach you Sending," Essek teased, because he knew just as well as Caleb did that anything more than that would be dangerous. He had wished for sending stones and considered the potential of paired rings of telepathy or some other magic item that would lend toward some sort of more reliable communication during the stretches of time between his visits, but Essek knew that there was too much risk involved. Though he cared very deeply about his own continued survival, it was the thought of what might happen were the wrong people to find out that Caleb had been in continued contact with someone wanted at as worrying a level as himself that stayed his musings. He didn't know what he would do if something were to happen to Caleb because of him. Nothing good, Essek was certain.
He tried to steer his thoughts away from that, instead focusing on what it was Caleb was actually saying in the moment. "It is all right, though," he said softly, the words paired with a gentle smile. "I would have only done something reckless in return, like try to teleport onto the deck of a moving ship to join you. Whether that is growth for me in a similar way that staying away is for Mr. Errenis, who is to say."
Essek lifted a hand, letting his fingers twirl a loose bit of Caleb's hair between them. He watched it as he added, "I am glad you were successful, though. It is all right, but I would have been rather put out if I went to your home and found you missing."
Caleb hummed quietly and thought of the potential of knowing Sending. He did not often have much luck at self-moderating his own compulsions, and the desire to stay updated with everyone would be---
A lot. He still wished that he could keep closer tabs on Essek, more than a little hope and a lot of luck, but Sending was likely not the way to do it. That was more for options of sending dirty messages in the middle of class and the flush on his face may have betrayed that thought process. “I am more likely to waste all of my energy sending you dirty messages than I am to remember and keep people up to date. I would never get anything done.” Though even as he said it, the twinkle of mischief was plainly written in his eyes. The idea had merit, even if he was turning it down.
“I am glad you did not do anything stupid. I had a difficult enough time teleporting us to Jester and Fjord when she asked.” Having only seen the island they had landed on once or twice in passing was not an easy teleport, but at least they’d all made it alive and not at the bottom of the ocean. “If the Cloven Crystals show up here, we will have to hide them better than we do the beacons.”
"I am missing out on additional dirty messages?" Essek asked, unable to help himself with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smirk. "A pity."
Of course, that wasn't the important takeaway of this conversation, no matter how much Essek couldn't help but flirt with his husband. To think that, once upon a time, he would have only tripped over his words and blushed a fine plum--perhaps that is even more evidence toward character growth than his knowledge of having to control himself from being reckless back home was. Regardless, he looked a bit thoughtful and suggested, "Perhaps we are overdue sorting out a true permanent demiplane, only it can just be a safehold for any potentially dangerous artifact that Vallo decides to saddle us with."
It was a thought with merit, Essek thought. It also meant studying demiplanes with Caleb and, well. That sounded like one hell of a date night to him, but he was also a very predictable wizard at this point.
"I will nevertheless hope that it will not be an issue, because I do not think that Vallo needs to see Fjord's friend again." A brief flash of melancholy crossed Essek's face as the words slipped out; it had been some time since their friends had been returned home, but he nevertheless missed them. "How are you with all of this, overall? It can be a lot, remembering more."
Caleb hummed conversationally, his cheeks had flushed just enough to be visible under his ginger complexion with the idea of creating a demi-plane with Essek. Oh, how predictable they were, enjoying such fruits of their labors as spell creation afforded them.
“I am--” How was he? Content was one word for it. Thankful for what he had, even if it was risky and not always ideal. “Better than I thought I would be. It is bittersweet missing them but I am glad for what we have here. And I know I will see them again.” The fact that Fjord and Beau had both been here in Vallo gave him hope on that end.
He smoothed a warm hand over Essek’s jawline. “How are you? You do not regret marrying me with your new memories, I hope? Because I would very much like that demiplane date.”
It pleased Essek beyond what he could really put into words to hear that Caleb was well in the wake of these memories. Were he anything but, Essek would have tried to do whatever he could to help him, of course, but this was hardly something that had a simple fix. To know that Caleb was in a good frame of mind was a relief, mostly because he just wanted his husband to be as happy and content as Essek knew he deserved to be.
Essek considered for a moment before responding to Caleb's question in return, though. As he thought, he leaned just enough to press his cheek and jaw into Caleb's hand, breathing out a gentle, but longer than normal, sigh. "I would never regret marrying you," Essek said, with a little glint of humor to his eye, despite the sincerity in the words and his tone. "If I ever say otherwise, please assume I have been replaced with some sort of doppelganger."
Caleb's first question warranted a bit more additional thought, though. Essek paused before he started speaking again, slow and considering. "I am all right," he started, because that was true enough. "It was still very early since I had defected from the outpost and I was still growing used to the new path my life had taken. In some ways it is hard to wrap my head around that I was living that journey, but I had known the day would eventually come that I would have to leave all I had known behind. Even at the height of my hubris, I knew it was a possibility." A tease of a smile started at the corner of his mouth, small but very much there. "Back then I had never considered having a very good friend in the Empire to visit when it was safe to do so, though."
Caleb huffed out a relieved little laugh and followed it up by stealing a kiss, gentle and sure. “This friend in the Empire is glad you are able to visit. We will come up with a solution back home that is more permanent and safe, I know it.” In the meantime, they had Vallo. Two bird children that were going to wake at any moment. Jobs. Life. Stability. It was good here, even if they missed many things about home, but there was a give and take on either side, it seemed.
“I think that I would like to get some breakfast with my husband and open the bookstore a little late today, how do you feel about playing hooky with me? I can promise you coffee, wandering hands, and conversation about demiplanes.” While he could attempt to look sly, it was not a natural look for Caleb, so it was a little laughable as his lip curled up into something promising and suggestive.
Any lingering melancholy that Essek might have felt about his fate back home faded into the background at the suggestions and look on Caleb's face. The melancholy would likely never go away fully, his penchant for overthinking when it came to arcane mysteries occasionally dipping into the personal side of things, but he hadn't been lying to Caleb when they had encountered the T-Dock for the second time. He had many regrets, he had a mountain of faults, and he had spent the vast majority of his century of life being selfish. Meeting Caleb and the rest of the Mighty Nein hadn't absolved him of any of that, but without the mistakes that he had made, they never would have stumbled into his life in the first place. He accepted his regrets and faults and mistakes, fully knowing that they would always hurt him to think back and linger on, but he wouldn't change anything, not when they led him right here, to this moment, with his husband.
Besides, it was easy to believe Caleb when he said that they would come up with a solution back home. There was nothing that they could do for it here, but Essek trusted Caleb in Exandria and Vallo. They would sort something out, with time.
Rather than voice any of that, in part because the words had already been said on more than one occasion in a variety of different ways, Essek opted to steal a kiss in return, taking his sweet time with it and erasing that silly attempt at sly off Caleb's face. "I feel most favorable, as it turns out," Essek replied, breaking the kiss and immediately using Prestidigitation to remove the wayward dirt both from his own person and that which he'd deposited onto Caleb. That done, he smiled and took Caleb's hand in his. It would be a good day.