Details: 600 words. Feel good food. Fluff. Tender, wonderful, caring, loving Caleb during that time of month. It actually fits if you just want a lil pampering from our boy too. Get you a man who can do both *cries* this is for you @gavin3469
You barely make it through the door before exhaustion weighs you down. The day had been long, and your body felt like it was fighting against you, every step home a battle you barely won. You had considered stopping by the store, picking up something to comfort yourself, but the thought of carrying even the lightest of bags felt impossible. You just wanted to collapse, to sink into something warm and safe and let the world fade away for a while.
You sigh as you unlock it, expecting nothing more than the quiet stillness of your apartment. But the moment you step inside, warmth greets you like an embrace. The air smells of apples and vanilla, and the soft flicker of candlelight casts golden glows against the walls. There’s something else too—something that smells like summer, fresh and inviting.
“Hello?” you call out weakly, toeing off your shoes.
No answer.
Your brows knit together as you shrug off your coat, your tired brain sluggishly trying to recall whether you had left any candles burning this morning. But then you see him.
Caleb stands in the kitchen, completely oblivious to your arrival, airpods in as he chops vegetables with effortless precision. His movements are fluid, a rhythm all his own, the steady thunk of the knife against the cutting board matching the beat of whatever music he’s lost in. He sways as he works, shifting his weight, rolling his shoulders in time with the sound only he can hear. It’s not forced, not even intentional—just an unconscious, easy sort of grace.
But that isn’t what takes your breath away.
Across the living room, near the couch, sits an enormous cube of heaven—a down duvet, the kind that screams luxury, thick and impossibly soft. A massive ribbon is tied around it, wrapped so perfectly it looks like a gift for a special occasion—something you’d dreamed of unwrapping on your birthday, carefully chosen just for you—rather than just Caleb being Caleb. The sight of it—of the effort, the quiet, knowing care behind it—makes something ache deep in your chest.
Caleb’s head lifts, eyes widening briefly in surprise, and then, in an instant, he sets the knife aside and crosses the room with the kind of intent that makes your heart stutter. He doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t ask—just gathers you into his arms, pulling you close, holding you like he’s been waiting for this moment all day. His warmth envelops you, deep and unwavering, the kind that seeps into your bones, making the exhaustion, the ache, the weight of the entire day fade into nothing.
The whole world disappears—there is only this, only him. His chest rises and falls beneath your cheek as he exhales, his lips pressing softly to your hair, lingering there as if he’s just as relieved to have you home as you are to be here. His hand slides down your shoulder, fingers squeezing lightly, grounding you in a way that feels like safety, like home.
“How has your day been, dear?” he murmurs, voice low and filled with quiet affection. “I’m so happy to see you.”
The words break something loose in you, and before you can stop yourself, your eyes well up. Maybe it’s the exhaustion, the pain that’s been gnawing at you all day, or maybe it’s just him—the thoughtfulness, the way he always seems to know exactly what you need before you do. His hands find your cheeks, thumbs brushing away tears before they can fall, and he presses the softest kiss to your forehead.
“Hey, hey,” he soothes, voice barely above a whisper. “I got you. You don’t have to do anything tonight. Just let me take care of you.”
You exhale shakily, leaning into his touch, grounding yourself in the quiet strength of him.
Then, as if reading your mind, he grins and tilts his head toward the couch. “Wanna try out your new duvet? Bet you won’t wanna leave it once you do.”
A laugh bubbles up despite yourself, and for the first time all day, the heaviness in your chest lifts just a little.
You nod, unable to find words, and Caleb grins before pressing a soft kiss to your temple. He takes your hand and leads you toward the couch—toward warmth, comfort, and the unwavering truth that, in this moment, you are the only thing in the world that matters.
synopsis. caleb graduates from the academy, but when you unexpectedly tap him out, a tradition where loved ones step forward to formally release a pilot from their duty, he realizes no achievement compares to having you by his side. (based on this.)
word count. 1.1k
an. loved doing this for codghost so i might as well do it for this man. lets pretend they have the tradition in their universe. okay? okay.
caleb stood in the crowd, his posture rigid and form still with precision despite the celebration around him. cheers echoed through the room, but they sounded distant, muffled. he watched as pilots, one by one, were tapped out by their loved ones. parents embracing their children, lovers reuniting in tearful hugs.
his chest tightened as his eyes scanned the room. he was waiting for gran, the one person he knew would come. gran had always shown up, had always been his anchor. he learnt not to expect anything more, not to hope for anyone else.
but then, like a shift in the universe, caleb felt you before he saw you.
when you stepped into the room, it was as if the entire world faded away. time slowed, the noise dimmed, and the lights seemed to soften, catching on the edges of your features. you looked beautiful, achingly so. heartbreakingly out of reach. you weren’t supposed to be here, not after the fight, not after the cruel words you’d both thrown at each other before he left.
you moved toward him with purpose, cutting through the room like you were meant to be there all along.
caleb couldn’t breathe. he couldn’t think.
his hands trembled at his sides as he watched you close the distance between you. he could act all stoic, but his heart didn’t feel stoic enough to make him calm.
when you stopped in front of him, there were tears already brimming in your eyes. his carefully constructed control, unshakable during training, steadfast through every grueling challenge, began to crumble.
caleb had faced impossible physical challenges, the grueling expectations of training, and the endless psychological evaluations that pushed him to the edge. but none of those had broken him nearly like you did. you, standing here, looking at him like that.
you were his undoing.
you should be his first sign. the first sign that there was something wrong with him. because you were his obsession. the one he was slowly losing control over.
caleb was not allowed to fall in love with you.
he trembled as your fingers brushed against his, tapping him out of his frozen misery. the soft touch was meant to symbolize recognition, acknowledgment. but to caleb, it was so much more.
you were here. you were real.
there was no second-guessing, no hesitation. before he could stop himself, his arms were around you, pulling you into him with a force that left him breathless. a strangled sigh escaped his lips and found its home in the crook of your neck, right where your heart beats: friends, friends, friends.
he held you like a man drowning, and you were the only thing keeping him afloat. he felt the soft shake of your shoulders, the warmth of your tears against his neck, and he couldn’t hold back any longer.
‘i didn’t think you’d come,’ he whispered, his voice low and raw, breaking under the weight of his emotions. you pulled back slightly, just enough to meet his eyes. there was something in his gaze, but before you could respond, he spoke again, quieter this time, like a vow. ‘i’ll never let you go.’
the words made you shiver. they were so soft you almost didn’t catch them.
‘you can try,’ you joked, your voice trembling slightly as you tried to lighten the mood. a nervous laugh escaped as you gently pushed against his chest, pretending to escape his embrace. ‘you love me, i get it.’
but caleb didn’t loosen his hold. instead, he pulled you closer, his lips brushing against your temple. there was a quiet laugh, quiet and unsteady, before he murmured, ‘you have no idea, pipsqueak.’
his voice was filled with something raw, something deeper than you could fully understand. it wasn’t just love. it was obsession, devotion, a yearning that had no end.
you smelled like honey. like the same thing you’d been smelling your entire life that made you feel like home in a way that hotels and dorm beds could never manage.
he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small, shining pin they’d given him for finishing aerospace academy. it gleamed in the light, a symbol of everything he’d fought to achieve. without a word, he placed it carefully in your palm.
your fingers brushed his as you took it, and the touch sent sparks up his arm. with careful, deliberate precision, you pinned it to his chest. caleb didn’t move, his gaze fixed on you, watching every motion, every soft touch of your fingers against his uniform.
‘they should give you a medal instead for doing so well,’ you teased softly, smiling up at him.
once the pin was secure, you smoothed down his uniform, your fingers lingering against the fabric. it was such a small gesture, but it felt so intimate that caleb’s breath hitched.
he tried his best not to be frantic, but it was almost impossible when he was overloaded with want, want, want, and with the feeling that this might not happen again, with the fear that if caleb thought about it too hard, he’d stop himself before he did too much.
he couldn’t stop himself any longer. leaning down, he kissed your cheek, his lips lingering on your skin. he didn’t move away immediately, letting the moment stretch as he closed his eyes, savoring the warmth of you.
he felt like a criminal on the run, but it was too good to withdraw from. so, he overdosed on unrequited love.
when he finally pulled back, there was a soft, almost shy smile on his lips. his voice was low, but full of meaning. ‘i already have my reward.’
you looked up at him, your cheeks warm, his cap still sitting crooked on your head. for a moment, neither of you spoke, and the weight of everything unsaid lingered between you.
and caleb, looking at you, standing there with your fingers still on his uniform, knew it was the absolute truth. you didn’t realize it, but you were the center of his universe. his greatest test, his deepest weakness, and the one thing he could never, ever let go of.
i’m a fool, he decided. damned in the bits of exhaustion at pulling and pushing at whatever’s left of trying.
the noise of the crowd finally broke through the haze, the sound of laughter and celebration pulling you both back to the present. caleb stepped back slightly, watching as you adjusted his cap, your smile soft but hesitant.
you didn’t have to know the struggle he’d endured to get here, the battles he’d fought within himself.
you were his obsession. his reason for everything. and he was losing control, but he didn’t care. because having you here, now, was all that mattered.
can't help but ask bc you're being a hypocrite about it. do you support/like the pseudo incest trope? bc ur fics of caleb as tagged as that but on Twitter you said you don't like it, but at the same time you keep interacting with ppl who like the trope (even the more disgusting ppl who write ped* fics about caleb) so are you acting both ways to not get jumped on? either be brave or stop acting like your page is a safe place for normal fans
CONTENT WARNINGS: incest, pedophilia
okay let’s make this clear.
pseudo-orthopedics (伪骨科) is when two non blood related people, who are legally tied, share romantic relations. the legally tied part is important.
also i say pseudo-orthopedics because i feel like people see the word incest and have pre-conceived sentiments about it. understandably so.
i incorrectly tagged my first caleb fics that way (namely captive bird, which is the one i went back and edited to remove the tag a few weeks ago). but that was not pseudo (伪骨科), as caleb and mc are NOT ADOPTED in it. at the time, i thought pseudo was when you shared some sort of familial tie (found family OR legal) and that develops into something more. so i tagged the fic as such.
that’s why i removed the tag. because it was incorrectly tagged.
in my twitter bio, i put “all locs are welcome.” this means i welcome people who like the CN (or JP or KR) or EN localization. CN localization/trope is NOT synonymous for p*dophilic or incestuous tropes.
i also follow the chinese localization more. i’ve never hidden that. i’m american-chinese, i can understand a good amount of it, but not all. so when i play, i play with the chinese dub and english subs.
i have no problem with the pseudo-orthopedics (伪骨科) trope, now that i understand it better, if you use it correctly (canonically and tastefully). i do not support overtly sexualizing their previously-adoptive nature, both when they were kids (which is where the p*do part comes in) and when they’re adults. I AM NOT OKAY with the sexual exploration/writing of calebmc when they were teenagers/kids. i personally am not okay with adults writing sexual content about minors.
my take on calebmc is that they have FOUND FAMILY feelings towards each other, in addition to their romantic feelings. i believe they’ve always had a level of romantic feelings for each other, from before the adoption was dissolved.
the cornerstone of calebmc relationship, to me, is that they are everything to each other because they are all each other had in a very dark time. they did view each other as family, in the way you’d view a spouse or a very close friend as family. the forbidden aspect of their relationship, to me, comes from the societal expectations that were placed on them DUE to the fact that josephine adopted them. NOT because they actually felt like “you are my sibling” (which they don’t).
caleb and mc have had feelings for each other since they were young (as seen in the tender moments) that would mean they were still adopted and make it pseudo by definition. however i dont care for people specifically fetishizing this aspect of their relationship to push incestuous or p*do fantasies.
they have loved each other since they were kids. kids don’t have a concept of romantic love. so, to me, the did love each other more in a (found) familial way when they were too young to know more. as they grew, they could better recognize what their feelings actually were. but of course, josephine adopted them, which made it pseudo & forbidden.
i hate when people reduce calebmc to their time in a familial dynamic, ESPECIALLY in a sexual way. it oversimplifies and reduces their relationship which is so complicated and layered.
my tumblr and twitter is a safe space for people who enjoy the childhood friend trope, or the 伪骨科/pseudo-orthopedics trope. it’s NOT a safe space for people who push an incestuous or p*dophilic agenda onto calebmc.
if you find 伪骨科/pseudo-orthopedics to be synonymous with incest + p*dophilia then i don’t know what to say beyond what ive said already.
gege, oppa, nii-san/chan means much more than brother than in asian languages. it implies respect, safety, homely comfort—all aspects used culturally in china outside of actual brother-sibling dynamics. as well as in western/english speaking areas. we just don’t seem to have a fitting word for it.
it is fair to have a hard time mentally understanding a different culture, but not everything is as simple as black and white and that’s where calebmc sit.
what if katara starts helping the people in ba sing se (maybe uses her scarf to cover up her mouth or hair at first) and zuko as the blue spirit sees, and then he quietly gives her the painted lady moniker (since the painted lady is implied to be a river spirit specific to jang hui)
Okay, but imagine after he paints her stripes, he feels the need to reveal his identity. Once he does, he shows her she can trust him by placing her hand on his scar.
Zuko is scared of her response at first. She looks like she’s in shock, but once it wears off, she gently cradles his cheek and says, “Looks like I’m not the only one with warrior marks etched on my skin.”
“Ember Island Players”, but the version where the show decided it was actually important to address that kissing people without consent is not okay, even if you think that person is your “forever girl”. Especially if you think that person is your “forever girl” but she kind of just rejected you. Remember kids, unless you get an enthusiastic yes in consent, then the answer is no.
Aka in this house we stan Katara, and are still upset 12 years later about how the forced kiss was never mentioned again when homegirl is a major character and was clearly very upset by it.
Also, if you think it would be fun to learn how to create gif manipulations and decide to teach yourself…. choose a less ambitious first project than creating an entire “missing” scene from a cartoon. I am very tired.
♥ Please do not repost. If you like it and want to show people, share a link to this page instead. Thank you!
EDIT: I had someone ask why Aang kissing Katara in this scene was a bad thing if they end up together, you can read my explanation here.
Is Katara "out of character" in The Southern Raiders or do you just put her on the same pedestal of gentle motherly feminine perfection that every character except Zuko puts her on and don't like when she has inner complexity, messiness, moral greyness, and motivations and desires that are unrelated to A.ang?
I think the funniest thing that's been said to me by an angry Kata.ang fan who was mad I said it was giving off insecurity that they're constantly blowing up our comment sections and fighting with us on our own posts when their ship is canon is that "Zutara fans are a tiny irrelevant minority that is dying and contributes nothing to the fandom."
Like girl the literal voice actors for both characters were Zutara shippers. The best writers on the show were pushing for Zutara endgame. Even some of the animators were in on the conspiracy to romantically code them in the subtleties of their body language and facial expressions.
They invented ship week. They inspired multiple book series. They are the most popular pairing on the world's largest fanfiction website by a wide margin. Like 80% of the female fans prefer it over the canon pairing.
The creators are so insecure about it that they felt the need to nuke and retcon the canon of Katara and Zuko being best friends because their canon pairing is so weak that it would be blown out of the water by just platonic Zutara because of how much interpersonal chemistry they had in the show compared to their canon pairings. They have to be kept 5 feet apart at all times so that no one gets any ideas because they are THAT insecure over the continued popularity of Zutara.
Totally irrelevant and contributes nothing. Okay. Can only assume they're new here.
the first time you have a mental breakdown, rafayel panics.
it's that helpless feeling, he thinks, that makes him react like that. even after all this time, he still remembers it all too well; how you cried, sobbing about how much it hurts.. and he couldn't do anything about it.
now the echoes of your demons haunt him, too.
'it hurts so much, raf... i don't– i can't do it anymore. i can't... please...'
even a mere thought about it makes something inside rafayel's stomach to drop, an uncomfortable sensation wrapping around his throat until breathing hurts.
he swallows the, but it does nothing to make the lump in his throat to go away.
rafayel knows that maybe, just maybe, he's thinking too much about it. after all, emotions are like an ocean - deep and dangerous, and it's so easy for a precious little fishie like you to drown in them. even the sea god himself has gone through so many emotional ups and downs (mostly downs. yeah. definitively mostly downs.) and has many moments when he thought the colors his life used to have once upon a time would never come back.
now, too, it hurts. the bond makes him feel everything you experience– and rafayel doesn't blame you for feeling bad, he would never do that. it's just... he wishes - hopelessly, foolishly - he could ease your pain, somehow. just so your heart can be at ease.
back when going outside and trying to live like everyone else do felt almost impossible for him... what was the thing that kept him going?
his lashes flutter shut as he takes a slow, deep breath. seconds melt together into a moment in time.
and yet, the only thing that comes to his mind is you.
the way your eyes gleam in the faint moonlight when you smile and the shy flush on your cheeks that makes his heart flutter. your hand fitting right into his, just like your body does when he pulls you into one of those seemingly-never-ending hugs that always make you laugh and whine his name like an oath.
...can he be the one you think of when you're feeling down? will holding onto you and making sure you know how much he loves you be enough to mend the broken pieces of your heart together? if he kisses your forehead and repeats the endless love stories that mirror your own, will that cheer you up somehow? should he win 100 different plushies for you to have more cuddle-buddies?
one thing's for sure - even if it takes 800 years for you to feel better, rafayel will always love you, no matter what new version of yourself you might become.
broken or strong, soft or fierce, lazy or full of energy... you're always gonna be the one he wants.
and one last thing about zutara! i’ve recently made a post where i jokingly commend zuko for supporting katara’s murderous intentions in the southern raiders. but i want to push back on something many antis say, which is that zutara functions as some kind of “dark romance” ship where the two “make each other worse” and the usual spiel. the claim that zuko is a traditional “bad boy” in opposition to “good girl” katara has already been disproven a million times, but to dig deeper:
the charm of most straight dark romances is the lack of morality displayed by the male half of the couple. this appeals to people because a protagonist with no moral limit is willing to commit any type of crimes to protect or avenge his love interest. “i’ll burn the world down for you” is the most common dark romance trope. in that type of stories, the woman often functions as a moral compass and she ends up either fixing the man or being corrupted herself. while she’s inherently good, she does not have strong convictions. when the man changes, it is because he loves her, not because she’s successfully redeemed him and changed his views.
zuko and katara can never fit that archetype because zuko and katara have strong, unmovable, righteous morals. even as a villain, there are lines zuko refuses to cross. times and times again, he’s moved to act out of compassion and empathy. not for a woman, not for the Uncle he’s devoted to, but for people and creatures he barely knows. kindness is inherent to him. he’s more than willing to leave mai, the girl he canonically loves, to become a part of the anti-imperialist resistance because his conscience allows him no other path. even in a world where zutara happens, zuko’s redemption would not be kickstarted by his romantic love for katara.
zuko would not “burn the world down” for katara because zuko would not love a woman that asks that of him, and katara would not love a man that would. their sense of justice, their kindness and their willingness to do what is right even when it’s impossibly hard is what would ultimately draw them together.
I've seen people scoff at the idea that Zuko became the most mature member of the gaang when he joined and I gotta wonder if they haven't watched the show for a while or just aren't using their analytical skills, because he absolutely was, and its not just his age because Katara was second most mature compared to him and she's younger than Sokka.
No, it's cause he's a prince who has led people before, who has been shown even in the first season as a villain to have boundaries he will not cross and to put the lives and safety of those under his command before anything else.
He's also the only one of them to have had an actual adult imposing wisdom and guidance on him that he is basing his behavior on, the rest of them are pretty much self-taught. Toph was coddled and suffocated by her parents, Katara and Sokka had an absent father and were raised by their grandmother who did her best but they also raised themselves and each other, Aang had Gyatso and the other monks but he was also only 12 and was very immature (non-derogatory). By the time Zuko joins the gaang he has fully embraced Iroh's lessons, he's abandoned any attempt at being the son his father wanted and is choosing to live by the lessons Iroh taught him. He's emulating a strong adult role model that the rest of them didn't have the same access to.
Immediately upon joining them he's taking initiative and taking care of the other kids, we see him being the one trying to keep everyone on track, the one putting his body on the line to protect everyone else, he's being very observant of the other kids' thoughts and feelings and anticipating their next moves or their needs. He's staying awake to catch Sokka before he can do something stupid like flying Appa to Fire Nation Alcatraz alone. He's staying up all night outside Katara's tent just cause he wants to help her get closure for her grief.
He's babysitting them like Katara would except he's got official leadership skills and has commanded actual soldiers whereas Katara, bless her, was parentified and self-taught in her leadership skills, which is also one of the reasons that Zuko joining gave Katara a reprieve from being the one holding everyone together, and brought out her angst and unaddressed grief, not just because she was holding onto her anger at Zuko's betrayal but also because him becoming the responsible one took a burden off her shoulders. Even though she was still mad at him, having him there and taking charge meant that she had more time to look inward and stew in her darker emotions, because she no longer needed to put everyone else first for the sake of the group.
He's the one they all turn to when they're not sure how to proceed. He asks "Why are you all looking at me?" after Aang disappears and they say something about how he's basically the expert on tracking down Aang (lol) but it's more than that. Since joining he's become the guy who comes up with all the major schemes. He helped them accomplish things they wouldn't have been able to do without his help, he is a good planner and a good leader because unlike the rest of them he has actual official leadership skills, he knows how to be authoritative and boss them around, in a good way. They trust him to lead them.
He's acting like Aang's drill sergeant, picking him up by the scruff of his tunic like an unruly kitten and dragging him back to training.
He's crashing out big time over the fact he's sending an underprepared pacifistic child to face his (Zuko's) abuser, the guy who melted half of his own son's face off. Even when on his way to face Azula, it's not himself he's worried about, it's Aang. When he sees the chance to face Azula alone without having to endanger Katara, he takes it.
The moment Zuko joins them, he puts the others first, prioritizes their needs over his own, goes out of his way to help and protect them at the cost of his own safety and wellbeing. He literally almost dies for Katara and is still only concerned with protecting her while he's on the ground convulsing and clinging to life after being electrocuted.
Zuko is without question the most mature member of the gaang when he joins them. He is the older brother. When he joined them he became a teen dad to three adopted kids, got divorced to Katara and started co-parenting them all with her until they made up and became friends again, which again was a conflict that he took the initiative to solve without expecting anything from her.
