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.
Jayvik but at the University where Jayce is a jock and Viktor is the science geek. Jayce bullies Viktor because he can’t come to terms with how obsessed with him he actually is until they finally smooch and some other things
König who early in his career on a mission finds a cargo container full of Russian girls in a human trafficking ring. You were the only one who spoke German so you had to translate and keep the girls calm since they had to keep you all in the container until it was clear.
König who you wrote to months later to thank him and sent him a red wooden bead bracelet. He wears it everywhere and it reminds him of the good he does even if he couldn’t be a sniper like he dreamed of.
König who showed up to your boot camp graduation and while excited you were inspired to join, he’s terrified of something happening to you and just wants to keep you safe.
König who eventually gets you on his team and while maintaining professionalism, you two become best friends and are inseparable making it impossible for either of you to keep a relationship with anyone.
König who when a body was brought in with a crushed in face was in denial that it could be you since he had memorized every freckle and scar on your body even though you two weren’t together or intimate (…yet)
König who found out it was a setup and pulled a force together to get you back and find the traitor and when he found you in a room with two dead guards at your feet, dropped to his knees and waited for you to approach. And when you did he held you with his head against your heart and kept you upright vowing to never let anyone take you ever again
So Mourn Watch Rook, a student at the university and is known for turning down everyone who asks them out and has never shown an ounce of interest in anybody. Even their friends just assume they aro ace until that ONE class, or more specifically that one Professor.
Imagine their eyes light up and the smile and blush on their face as if they just saw the most delicious meal in all of Thedas. And then later when Emmrich is mentioned to recruit, their face turns into that of a naughty plotter and everyone’s concerned about what just happened
Here's a small appetizer of what I'm working on in response to my headcanon, this is my first time posting a fic ever so any feedback is appreciated!
(my she/her elf Crow Rook that I have not named yet)
“Bitter and sweet, right? Like a kiss goodbye?” Rook couldn’t help but tease him, “So. What would a first kiss be?”
Lucanis was used to light teasing and flirting from clients, it helped with business. But this felt different. It wasn’t familiar; it was new and before he knew what he was saying, it was already too late.
“Honey and lavender cream. Sweet, intriguing…” Mierda. That was too obvious. He heard Spite’s low laugh in the back of his mind. It was his fault after all. Lucanis thought back to the first time he met Rook back in the Ossuary, the first sweet and intriguing voice he had heard since being imprisoned, and the scent to match according to Spite.
Flashback:
Nothing. What else was there? He had thought it all - revenge, tactics, recipes. And now? Nothing. Lucanis sat patiently in his crystal prison, eyes closed, waiting for something. Or nothing he wasn’t sure. Even Spite was quiet for once, that damn demon.
“Smells like…”
Well, that didn’t last long.
“Poison. And Lavender”
Poison? The lavender didn’t confuse him much - maybe one of the Venatori guards was trying a new perfume, but why poison? Then he felt it, the magic stopped. He heard voices, and for once him and Spite agreed on something: it was an opening, and it was time.
“I’m guessing you’re the reason we’re here.”
That voice. Mierda, that damn voice. It wasn’t harsh or filled with malice of any kind. It was… sweet? There was no poison in her voice.
“Who are you? Who sent you?”
He searched the elf up and down, noticing the leather and knives similar to his own. Was she a Crow?
It was when she moved closer that he realized what Spite had meant. He could smell the Lavender of course, it was such a strong and heavenly scent. But there was something else, something hidden, that he picked up thanks to his possession. Honey. Oh this one was smart, she was using poisonous honey and covering the scent with Lavender.
“My name’s Rook. House de Riva. I’m here to bring you home.”
Lucanis never would have guessed that he was already there the moment she spoke. Her voice had become his home.
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