“His to break, his to save.”
synopsis: “He pushed you, Caleb made him kneel.”
Warnings: Silly little unhinged Caleb 😍
The shove is small. Almost nothing.
But to Caleb, it’s everything.
You stumble against the cold wall, your hand gripping the edge for balance as the junior officer brushes past without so much as a glance. His tone is clipped, dismissive, dripping with condescension.
“Watch it,” he snaps, like you’re the problem.
You freeze, heat rising to your cheeks, your chest tightening—not just from the lingering ache of therapy, but from sheer indignation.
Before you can recover, before you can even open your mouth, the air shifts.
You feel it before you see it—an electric weight pressing down on the room, the hum of tension thick enough to drown out every other sound.
He’s standing just behind the officer, his frame casting an impossibly large shadow across the corridor. His uniform is pristine, the insignia of his rank gleaming like a warning. But it’s his face—the eerie calm of it, the glint of something feral in his dark eyes—that makes your stomach twist.
The officer notices too late.
“You.” Caleb’s voice cuts through the air, sharp and cold, like the first strike of a blade.
The officer turns, blinking in confusion. “Colonel?”
The words are simple, quiet, but there’s a weight to them that silences everyone in the hallway. The other personnel scatter instinctively, avoiding Caleb’s gaze like it might burn them alive.
The officer frowns, his confidence faltering. “I don’t—”
“Now.” Caleb’s tone doesn’t rise, but it doesn’t need to. There’s something in it—a promise, dark and unrelenting—that makes the man stiffen.
He glances at you, then back at Caleb.
“What’s this about?” he asks, trying to sound casual but failing.
Instead, he steps closer, the air growing heavier, suffocating, as though gravity itself has turned against the room. His bionic fingers flex at his side with a faint, menacing whirr.
The officer swallows hard.
“Colonel, I don’t see why—”
The single word is a growl, low and venomous, and it’s enough to make the man flinch.
Caleb doesn’t wait for compliance. He turns sharply, striding toward a nearby storage room without sparing you a glance. The officer hesitates, glancing around for backup, but no one dares intervene.
The door hisses shut behind them.
The air inside the storage room is oppressive.
Caleb stands with his back to the door, his presence filling the space like a storm ready to break. His eyes lock onto the junior officer, sharp and unrelenting, and the silence stretches so long it feels like the walls themselves might collapse under the weight of it.
The officer shifts uncomfortably, the tension clawing at his throat. “Colonel, I really don’t—”
The command is quiet. Soft, almost conversational.
The man blinks, confused. “What?”
Caleb tilts his head, his lips curving into a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.
There’s no explanation. No preamble. Just the word, hanging in the air like an unspoken threat.
The officer’s confusion morphs into irritation. “Colonel, I don’t think—”
“Good,” Caleb interrupts, taking a single step forward. The floor seems to groan beneath him, the gravity in the room shifting ever so slightly. “I don’t need you to think. I need you to kneel.”
The officer scoffs, trying to mask his unease. “With all due respect, I don’t—”
Suddenly, the man’s knees buckle, the invisible force slamming into him like a tidal wave. He collapses to the floor with a grunt, his hands bracing against the cold metal as he struggles against the weight pressing down on him.
“What the hell is this?!” he gasps, his voice cracking.
Caleb crouches in front of him, his smile widening into something predatory.
“This,” he murmurs, his tone dripping with mockery, “is where you belong.”
The officer’s arms shake, his breath ragged as he fights to lift himself, but the weight is too much. He’s pinned, helpless, as Caleb leans in closer.
“You shoved her.” Caleb’s voice is soft now, dangerously so. “You told her to watch it. Like she doesn’t matter. Like I wouldn’t know.”
The man stammers, his voice trembling. “I—I didn’t mean—”
“You did,” Caleb snaps, his bionic hand twitching at his side. “You meant every second of it. Now you’re going to apologize.”
“I’m sorry!” the officer chokes out, his face burning with humiliation.
Caleb’s head tilts further, his smile turning cruel.
“Pathetic,” Caleb murmurs, his tone thick with mockery. “Do it again. This time, maybe pretend you have a spine.”
The man’s voice cracks as he repeats himself, louder, more desperate. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have—”
“Good boy,” Caleb purrs, standing to his full height.
The weight lifts suddenly, and the officer collapses fully, gasping for air.
Caleb doesn’t wait for him to recover. He turns toward the door, his voice cutting through the silence one last time.
“Crawl out of here,” he says flatly, not even looking back. “Before I change my mind.”
The officer doesn’t hesitate.
Caleb watches him scramble out, his grin sharp and unhinged, before stepping into the hallway where you wait, oblivious to what just happened.
He softens instantly when he sees you.
“Everything’s fine,” he murmurs, placing a gentle hand on your back as he guides you away. “No one will bother you again. I made sure of it.”
You don’t ask what he means.
