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thepetulantpen · 5 years

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Flowers/Sun&Moon

(I said I’d get these done and I did...a few days late. Here’s day 8 of @widomauk-week , it was so fun to participate!)

Under the sun, Molly and Caleb lay on their backs in the grass, soaking in the sunshine.

Molly has taken off his coat and his boots, letting the blades of grass tickle in between his toes. Caleb has taken off his coat and bandages, even carefully setting aside his book holsters in an effort to keep himself from overheating.

They lay there for a while, hands intertwined, talking about nothing and laughing about everything.

Molly’s eyes blaze with warmth, radiating happiness just as the sun exudes heat. Caleb’s hair fans out around his head on the grass, fire running through the color like rays off of the sun.

Caleb brings a hand up to shade his eyes, trying not to show how much the glaring sunlight is bothering him, not wanting to ruin this afternoon with Molly.

“Are Zemnians allergic to sunlight?” Molly giggles and sits up, leaning over Caleb to block out the sun with his head, “Is that why you’re so pale?”

Caleb smiles like the sun peeking out from the clouds, a bright patch that seems inordinately small compared to Molly’s full strength smile, sunny in a way that’s just shy of too much.

“Mm, yes. It’s why we rely on... other sources for vitamin D.”

Molly freezes above him and for a silent moment Caleb wonders if he somehow didn’t get the joke.

“...did you just make a dick joke? Are you possessed?” Molly puts his hand against Caleb’s forehead, “Are you sick?”

“A little lovesick, perhaps.”

Then Molly laughs and doesn’t stop laughing, falling backwards and cackling as if Caleb had done something much funnier than make a mediocre pun. He laughs and he looks at Caleb like he’s made of gold, like every joke he makes could change the world and every smile could save lives.

It’s flattering, it’s ill-advised, it’s Molly.

Caleb can’t say he feels the same about himself, can’t even say he’s completely comfortable with how highly Molly thinks of him, but right now they’re sitting in the sun and laughing and it all just feels too good to question.

Still, there are darker, colder thoughts lurking at the edges of his mind and interrupting logistics at the forefront.

“The others are probably wondering where we are,” Caleb props himself up on his elbows, “We should probably head back.”

“They can wait a little longer,” Molly grins mischievously and, before Caleb can protest further, stands up, “Stay here for a second.”

He’s tempted to look behind him and spy on what Molly’s doing but the sun is making him warm and lazy, he realizes he doesn’t want to leave or follow his own suggestion at all. He’d rather just sit here and wait for Molly to get back with whatever shenanigans he’s come up with this time.

Caleb doesn’t hear or see Molly sit back down behind him, but he does feel Molly’s fingers combing through his hair without warning or explanation.

“Molly, what-“

“Shh, it’s a surprise.”

It can’t be much of a surprise since he can feel the tugging on his hair that tells him Molly is braiding it, but Caleb appreciates the sentiment anyway. He closes his eyes and just feels for a while, the repetitive motion of Molly’s fingers against his scalp soothing him and erasing any more thoughts of leaving or being responsible. It takes longer than he would’ve thought, Molly must do something especially complicated to make the most of Caleb’s fairly short hair.

It’s nearly nightfall when Molly leads Caleb back to the inn, turning him around in front of a mirror to show off his handiwork: a complicated web of braids interspersed with tiny wildflowers. The sight of it takes Caleb’s breath away- he has no idea how Molly managed to weave such little, fragile things into his hair and make them stay there.

“Where did you learn how to do this?”

Molly sits cross legged on the bed behind him, tail waving excitedly as he grins at Caleb.

“I used to braid Yasha’s hair, when we were in the circus together. It’s pretty good, right?”

Caleb smiles at himself in the mirror for the first time in years, letting himself see what Molly sees for a moment: a man with a brilliant, soft smile and little flowers in his hair.

“It’s beautiful.”

...

Under the moon, Molly and Caleb sit on a rock ledge a little apart from the party, shivering in the cool night air.

Molly has draped his tapestry over his coat, though the thin material and sequins do little to warm him. Caleb is bundled up in his coat and a few layers beneath it, appropriately dressed for the cold now that he can afford it.

“Are you sure you don’t want my coat?”

Molly smiles and shakes his head, trying for nonchalance even when Caleb can see his teeth chattering. “I suffer for my art, darling. No offense, but I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something so dull and brown.”

“I’ll have you know this is high Zemnian fashion.”

“Mm, I’m sure Dirty-Chic is all the rage there.”

Caleb huffs and pulls on a mock offended scowl but moves closer to Molly, sharing his body heat in a cuddle. Usually, Molly is the warm one but this weather has taken a toll on him and Caleb can feel him shaking against him, shivers and laughter moving through his chest.

They sit like that for a while until Molly stops shaking so much and regains some of that hot-blooded warmth Caleb is used to.

In the meantime, they’re on lookout, or supposed to be on lookout. Caleb would be watching carefully, making sure there aren’t any threats on the horizon, but this road leads to the middle of nowhere and has had no monsters of any sort for days so he feels comfortable becoming entirely transfixed by the flowers growing all around them.

They’re glowing, casting dim light over the road and meadow in an array of fluorescent greens and blues. In the daytime, they were just patches of wildflowers, basically weeds, but at night they’ve come to life, dotting the landscape with brilliant light shows,

It’s breathtaking and it gives Caleb an idea.

“Here, hold this,” Caleb pulls off his coat and drapes it over Molly’s shoulders, ignoring the noise of protest, “I’ll be right back.”

Molly is tempted to bring the coat back, or at least yell after Caleb, but he stays put instead, curious to see what Caleb’s planning. He pulls on the coat because it’s freezing tonight and looks firmly at the ground, determined not to peek and spoil the surprise.

Caleb returns a minute later, settling on the grass behind Molly. There’s more rustling noises and a few huffs of frustration as Caleb struggles to work with whatever he’s collected. At the noise, and because the suspense is killing him, Molly turns his head a little and Caleb immediately stiffens, curling around whatever he’s working on.

“Turn around! It’s a surprise.”

Molly complies, only barely reigning in his energy for the next few minutes before Caleb speaks again.

“Ok, now close your eyes.”

Caleb’s fingers ruffle Molly’s hair, moving it as he puts something in it. He’s pretty sure he can guess what it is, based on the combination of sharp points and soft spots, but he keeps his eyes closed, preserving this idea of surprise that Caleb seems intent on.

“Scheisse.”

Caleb’s fingers fumble around his horns and Molly finally opens his eyes, looking up at Caleb’s face. He’s concentrating on adjusting his gift around the obstacle of Molly’s horns, face screwed up and tongue poking out one side of his mouth in a determined pout.

He notices Molly looking and fidgets with more fervor. “I can fix it, just wait.”

He ends up having to disconnect and retie the flower crown at multiple points, shuffling around Molly to perfect parts all around his head so it fits perfectly at the base of his horns.

Caleb sits back and smiles at Molly, looking more proud of himself than Molly has ever seen him. The smile is a gift in itself, Molly would give anything to see Caleb that happy with himself every day.

“Can I look now?”

“Of course.”

Caleb fumbles with his bag, presumably trying to find something reflective, but Molly unsheathes Summer’s Dance, adjusting it to get the best of his narrow reflection on the gold surface.

The flowers, with their wonderful glow, are truly stunning, lighting his face with an ethereal shine. The crown itself is meticulously crafted, the twisted bonds of twigs between the flowers seem sturdy, like Molly could dance or fight with them in his hair and not lose a single flower.

Caleb stifles a yawn next to him. The moon seems to sag in the sky, as tired as they are. Molly will have to test his theories later, when he’s not dead on his feet.

“Do you like it?”

It’s hard to read Caleb’s face in these moments, where darkness and perpetual uncertainty obscure most of his real intentions, but Molly doesn’t think it particularly matters, he knows his answer.

“I love it, Caleb. I’m never taking it off.”

Molly’s smile shines like a crescent moon breaking out of a twilight sky and Caleb’s eyes twinkle like bright stars in an endless void.

They spend the rest of their watch curled in each other’s arms, bathed in the light of flowers and their own glowing, powerful love.

#widomaukweek2019 #widomauk #caleb widogast #mollymauk tealeaf #critical role #soft bois for the last day #caleb just invented vitamin d because i wanted a cheap dick joke

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