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Caleb

9.4k words ..jesus..

Tags: angst, amnesia, emotional trauma, strategic use of pipsqueak, fighting, gun, mention of death, mention of killing, manipulation bts, lore and myth spoilers, memories mentioned

A/N: Sorry for taking such a long time to post this, I've been sick for like a month. I've also been packing up my entire life to fly back home now that my visa is having issues, regretfully making me an emotional mess on top of a sick one. Regardless, I worked damn hard on this addition and kinda went a little overboard but I added everything I wanted to in this chapter. Caleb is now done and I can write for someone else fucking finally

I'm scheduling this before I fly back home, but now that I'm finishing this post. I actually finished typing it up and proofreading this fic on the plane lolol I had 17 hours to kill And I actually like this fic now that it's over. Might have gone a little overboard, but hey, it didn't feel right if I cut any of it out

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It never bothered him to dirty his hands in order to keep you safe, not anymore at least. After all of the years of keeping you safe from the scientists when the two of you were younger, he thought that he had managed to get rid of anyone curious about you. He now knew that he was going to have to do something unseemly one more time to make sure you’re safe again, and he was already planning how he was going to go about hunting down the people responsible to leave a more concrete message: they should never touch you if they value their lives. And his anger would only allow him to get rid of them permanently.

With you in his arms, the weight of you against Caleb kept him centered as rage burned inside him. He was on fire, vitriol in his veins; the very desire to scorch the floor he walked on spread to every pore of his being. If anyone was foolish enough to try to stop him as he took you out of this damned building, well.. Let’s just say that they were never able to speak a word of this from then on. His Evol never needed his hands for direction, a trick of his that he hid only until he was truly furious.

Death lay behind him as he calmly and eerily remained quiet throughout the entire time it took him to step outside. Letting a single disempassioned glance behind him pass, Caleb sent a message to his adjutant Liam to send a cleaning crew over to his current location. When asked for the reason, the Colonel simply hung up and took you to his nearby aircraft. He secured you in safely with a snug seatbelt, gently cupping your cheek as he stared at your face. You looked like you were sleeping, your chest lightly rising and falling as your heart beat - but you looked deathly pale and a knot began to twist in his abdomen.

Caleb had seen you like this before and he swore to never let you get to this state again. He failed to protect you. Again..

The man pulled away and clenched his fists tight, face hardening as the mere thought of you leaving him caused his anger to boil over. Violent thoughts filled his mind with such an intensity that Caleb reeled from the weight of it all. He stepped back and turned to enter the cockpit, settling down as he desperately tried to keep his emotions at bay. Guilt, blame, and self loathing grew the more he thought about what you had gone through; sadness quickly turned to rage since it was an easier emotion to handle right now. First thing’s first, you needed to get checked to see if there was any other unseen damage you were still affected by. Anything else would come after that.

Landing back at the Farspace headquarters, Caleb picked you up and led you out. He paused, looking down at you. You looked so peaceful in his arms, almost as if you were merely asleep, but the small peak of bandages around your chest caused his jaw to clench. It took him a moment to calm his anger down, closing his eyes and leaning in to rest his forehead against yours. All of his worries, all of his desperate love for you threatened to spill over as he hoped that you were fine; he couldn’t lose you again.

Everyone steered clear of the Colonel when they saw him, seeing your unconscious body in his arms giving them reason enough to not ask questions and just leave. He looked mad, and everyone knew that if they bothered him when he was at the point of losing himself then they would get reprimanded immediately. That is, if they didn’t lose their lives first.. Caleb took you through the halls and stayed silent, his glare threatening to kill anyone that dared stop him. Thanks to his rank, Caleb secured a private room in the medical wing and placed you on the examination table. Locking the door, it was imperative for him to keep anyone away so that he could focus on you.

He began running scans and tests as he placed sensors on you to monitor your vitals. Caleb wasn’t too knowledgeable in the medical field, but he knew enough to read the data on the screen telling him that you were ok. Your temperature was normal, your oxygen saturation was fine, your blood pressure was a little low but the blip in your heartrate was concerning. Knowing you for so long, he knew about your heart issues. His knowledge on protocore syndrome wasn’t the best but he was pretty knowledgeable compared to many others.

The one person he did know that would be considered an expert would be Zayne, and if he was in a saner mindset he would have thought of that, but he was not bringing the doctor in on an issue Caleb has had years of experience with. No, Caleb knew enough about what happens to you when you get experimented on that the man realized he quickly needed to see if the worst had happened. Having you forget about him again was something he never wanted to go through, and the mere fact that this new possibility could happen anew was horrifying.

He had just gotten you back; the you that remembered all of the inside jokes you two held, the you that lived together and was there for each other, the you that welcomed him back after his presumed death. Even the you that you no longer remembered when you and him were locked up in a lab was something he held dear. And yet, the chance that you wouldn't remember him again after finally deciding to be in a relationship deeply hurt. Caleb was losing you again and the only thing he could do was try to build everything back up once more.

Something on the monitor caught his eyes, a familiar spike in your vitals that always appeared whenever you were heavily experimented on. You had died in the couple of hours he couldn’t reach you. You were gone once again.. Despair gripped his heart and threatened to squeeze it tight, the truth in front of him confirming his worst fears. He had lost you again and he wasn't by your side, he wasn’t there to protect you when you called his name.

Disorienting darkness began to swim in his vision, his breath beginning to grow erratic. The sheer weight of knowing you had forgotten him completely again chipped at his sanity as he realized that he lost you once more. What was the point of him enduring working with Ever now? He failed to keep you safe and here he was playing soldier for an organization that he had vowed to destroy, and he still lost you.. Caleb gripped the table you were on and closed his eyes, trying to regain his sanity as panic and anger swirled inside him.

It took Caleb a long time before he was able to reign in his negative emotions, the constant beeps of the monitors slowly getting on his nerves. His mind made up, the man opened his eyes and glanced over to you - taking his time to watch you gently sleep. The entire scene felt like a lie to him, you sleeping after a simple procedure and him merely concerned for how sore you’d be when the two of you return home. But the small glance at the bandage on your chest caused his brows to furrow, his hand gingerly gripping yours as he leaned over you.

You were his everything, his entire meaning of continuance. Even if you no longer remember your past with him, he will always keep the old memories in his heart. Caleb brushed some of your hair out of your face, and leaned closer - his forehead resting on yours. He can simply make new memories with you, lighter, happier ones. He’ll first need to do a little cleaning, of course, but it wasn’t nothing he wasn’t already planning on doing - his plans were just pushed a little forward, is all.

After going through these pseudo ‘restarts’ over the years Caleb knew that you’d be passed out for a couple of days, giving him ample time to do what needed to be done. His eyes grew cold and his demeanor robotic, his mindset already prepared to do things that you’d never approve of. His mouth twitched into a crooked grin at the ironic thanks he had that you were never going to know about all of the things he was doing for you. The man would have felt more bad about it not really but they just had to kidnap you for their ridiculous experiments. They should have known this was all their fault, he wouldn’t have hunted them down as if it were a sport if they had simply behaved.

The Farspace fleet was eerily quiet about all of their missing officers, almost as if they knew who was responsible but turning a blind eye to all of the carnage. Even the scientists and engineers weren’t without casualty, their connections to Ever marking them almost immediately when found out. In simple terms, there was a complete and utter purge occurring everywhere in the restricted areas of Skyhaven. No one left their homes, everyone was scared. The civilians didn’t know what was going on, but they all instinctively felt that there was an underlying current of perverse malady that was systematically going through everyone and everything. A miracle that the deaths weren’t on the news.

During the day, Caleb was out eradicating everyone that needed to disappear from your life in order to give you one you truly deserved. When night came he’d come back and visit you to make sure that you were alright, not wanting you to wake up by yourself and wonder what was going on. After the first night of you being monitored in the Farspace base, he had managed to move you to his place so that he could keep a better eye on you. He brought everything you’d need for your recovery, even going to your apartment and bringing back your clothes and things. While he was at it, Caleb even sent notices to your work that you were taking some days off to focus on your health - your apartment got their own notification of you suddenly moving out due to health issues. Now you had no reason to leave him and he could focus on making sure your health recovered, by his side.

After a week of him coming and going, he received a notification on his watch of you finally waking up. Finishing up his ‘cleaning’ Caleb made his way over and burst through the door to see you standing in the living room, pausing immediately upon seeing you. You were looking through the ceiling-to-floor window, overlooking the city when you turned upon hearing him enter. His breath was stolen, his heart stopped. A sudden urge to run to you and wrap you in his arms, and hold you tight consumed him - but he knew that, to you, he was a stranger. Hiding the hurt, Caleb offered you a gentle smile and stepped closer.

“You’re awake,” he softly called out to you, standing in front of you and looking as soft as he could.

“Do I..know you?” you asked, peering up at his face as you stepped closer.

He stared down at you, frozen for a moment before reaching over to brush some of your hair out of your face.

Caleb had years of experience keeping his emotions in check and controlling his expression, he simply smiled at you gently, “It’s okay if you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you. I’m Caleb, I’ll always be by your side.” He had lost count how many times he’s had to introduce himself to you, but he’d do it again and again if it meant that you’d be by his side. The corner of his eyes crinkled a little at the thought that at least now you’d rely on him again, amused at himself for finding a silver lining in this mess.

Days passed by with an almost timid normalcy to your everyday life. He’d go to work, you’d read or watch whatever was on the television while you rested, and then he’d come back at night in time for dinner - it was almost domestic. Caleb had told you that you had gotten hurt while on a Hunter mission and were on medical leave, recuperating with him - your boyfriend. Your boyfriend. There was a sort of tingle to the word each time you thought about it, a small fluttering sensation in your chest that left you confused. If you were being honest, you weren’t quite sure if he was being completely candid with you. The scenario sometimes felt like a dream to you, as if something wasn’t quite right even though you felt happy. You may not remember anything before you’d woken up, but something inside you told your instincts to trust him, to believe him. Something in your heart told you that he’d never hurt you, never leave you alone. He hadn’t been mean to you at all, always all too happy to bend over backwards just to make sure you were happy and healthy in his home. And so you let your doubts go. But your mind kept wondering.. Was this even your home? Caleb said it was.. If the two of you really were in a relationship, why did you wake up in your own room? Caleb said that it was to make sure you were comfortable while you recovered.. Wouldn’t he and you be sharing the same room together when you’d sleep? Caleb said that you had recently moved in and was using the second bedroom as storage for now.. Why did the place look half lived in? Caleb said that the two of you hadn’t decorated yet.. Did the two of you barely move in together? Caleb said that he moved here first before you followed.. How long had the two of you known each other? “All of our lives,” he said.. You believed him somehow. He did have a lot of pictures of the two of you together strewn about the place, ranging from various ages. In them the two of you always looked so happy together, touching each other in some way or another so he mustn't have been lying about knowing each other. And perhaps you two really were in a relationship since it felt like the two of you were close, so at least you were on good terms with Caleb before all of this. Maybe he was telling you the truth about this and you were just overthinking because you didn’t know anything else. Whenever you’d mention your work, Caleb would simply reassure you that he’d sent them a message letting them know that you were focusing on your health. Apparently you had gotten pretty hurt on your last mission and you lost your memory from it, there were even talks of you retiring now that you have had irreparable damage done to you. There was a scar on your chest from what you could only presume to be the injury you were recovering from. Caleb never liked talking about it, you could tell that he was feeling very guilty and saddened whenever mentioned. So you didn’t bring it up much.

This went on for weeks, a sort of routine the two of you were going through. Pushing back work was easy for the colonel that he was, more focused on making the world a better place for you than Deepspace. Keeping quiet about “work”, the Colonel would leave for hours each day as he hunted. It was pretty easy keeping these things from you now, you never realized that he’d always smell like soap and disinfectant from cleansing himself of all of the blood and carnage that he’d enact. He felt a little bad about that fact, but the man was doing all of this for you - he always did everything for you. Just because you no longer remembered or understood why didn’t mean he was going to stop doing everything he could possibly do for you.

On one of those days, Caleb had just finished his usual hunting when he arrived home. He was tired, irritated, swore that the smell of blood was never leaving his skin ever again; but the simple fact of having you welcome him home washed away any negativity he had. Then he heard you laugh. And a male voice responded.

Immediately the door swung open and in he came, ready to fight whoever was invading his home before stopping dead in his tracks when he saw you. With him: Zayne. Your face lit up upon seeing Caleb and you walked over to him, all smiles. “Caleb! A friend of ours came by, he said his name is Zayne. That he’s known us since we were kids,” you chimed in, eagerly pulling him over to where the doctor remained seated. You were looking over to your doctor friend and failed to see the grimace the Colonel had as he looked over to the other, who was equally as stoic in this situation.

“Hey Zayne, I didn’t know you were visiting,” his feigned cheeriness was caught by the other immediately, who simply took a sip of his drink.

“I didn’t know that you had a new roommate," Zayne countered, his pointed stare piercing through his old friend-come-to-life.

“Yeah well, you know how things happen,” Caleb shrugged as he tried to act normal, his smile tight from the forced confrontation.

“Clearly.. It’s good to see the two of you are doing well,” Zayne interjected, looking over to you, “It’s a shame that you moved from Linkon so I can’t see you as often as I used to.”

“Oh, yeah. Caleb thought it would be better for me to stay with him so that he could look after me after I got hurt,” you explained, feeling a little bad at the thought that you had accidentally cut off more people than you could remember. “I could come visit you from time to time though.”

Caleb saw Zayne smile at your words, and butt in before they could say anything, “That sounds like fun, we could both come visit and see you~”

“Yes,” the doctor’s cold eyes looked over at Caleb for a moment before looking back to you, “You could come visit me at Linkon. I can take you to all of the cafes you used to love going to.”

Something green and beastly stirred inside Caleb as he saw just how soft Zayne’s gaze was on you. He knew that the other really wasn’t a bad guy, they used to be good friends at one point, but the mere thought that they would try to take you away from him made the man grow even more possessive. Just seeing you smile and laugh with someone other than him made Caleb grow pained, the idea of you leaving him behind something he would never be ok with. Yet here you were, doing nothing wrong, talking to someone else while his mental state took a hit as if it was already confirmed that you would leave him. Even when he only ever lived for you - always you.

“Hey Pipsqueak, why don’t you put on a coat or something? Don’t pretend like I didn’t see you rubbin’ your arm to keep yourself warm,” Caleb teased, smiling down at you with all the love in the world at his disposal.

“Fine, I’ll be right back,” you huffed, giving an apologetic smile to Zayne before slipping away.

There was a moment of silence between the two men before Zayne spoke, “Why is she living with you?”

And immediately the atmosphere soured.

“Why wouldn’t she live with me?” Caleb casually countered, glancing over to his once friend.

“The Hunter’s Association contacted me, being her primary doctor, that she was taking a break from active work to recuperate from an injury sustained on a mission. They wanted an update on her situation,” the man began, eyes narrowing before taking another sip of his drink. “Imagine my shock when I realized they thought I knew everything that went down. She never came in for a check up so I didn’t know she was even taking a break.” Zayne placed his cup down and turned fully to face Caleb, “It wasn’t until I received that message that I knew she had even gotten hurt much less recovering somewhere. So I wondered where she would be if I, her doctor, didn’t know anything.”

Zayne stood up then, fixing his cuffs as his gaze lowered to make sure he was doing a good job. “And then I remembered that you were back,” the doctor stood tall in front of Caleb, meeting his glare with his own cold frown. An intense frigidity filled the air then, both men refusing to look away. Caleb couldn’t help but let his fingers twitch over his gun, his uniform still on since he just came from work; Zayne didn’t need a gun, but even he knew his way around one when the need ever arose.

“Why did she get hurt, Caleb?” the doctor asked, his voice softly threatening.

“Don’t worry about it, I have it all handled,” the Colonel retorted, his smile sharp and starting to get a little toothy.

“I will worry about her, I’m her doctor,” the temperature lowered drastically then, Zayne tilted his head back and looked at the other through the glare on his glasses.

“She has me, she doesn’t need you,” Caleb countered, the tension in his muscles beginning to reach its limit.

It was at this time that you walked in from your room, all smiles and sunshine as you showed off the big hoodie you had on. You looked between the two of the men as they tried to look as if they just had a normal conversation, looking away from each other when you stepped in.

“Glad you’re warm and healthy,” Zayne softly commented, eyes warm as the corner of his mouth curled up. Caleb stayed silent, fighting a glare as he watched the other man look at you with as much devotion as he himself held for you. To make matters worse, you even gave Zayne a soft smile - that same smile that was supposed to be only for him.. His jaw clenched tightly before the colonel turned away and walked out. He needed to calm down before his own jealousy would make him force the doctor out and away from you. The image of thrusting Zayne out of the window with his Evol was very enticing, but he knew that you’d never like that. Especially not after you found out the three all used to be friends, even if you no longer remembered.

Dinner was a whole other debacle, you tried to keep the conversation running and both Zayne and Caleb humored you, to an extent, but even you began to realize how strained the situation was. After dinner you excused yourself to bed, both men looked at the other and stepped out. Both of them knew what was brewing underneath the smiles and polite pleasantries, but the two men cared about you more than they disliked the other. So they played nice only until after you were fast asleep, and then they went to an isolated area. To talk things out, they rationalized, but neither one was eager to swap words.

Caleb led Zayne out to an empty lot far from Skyhaven, a place used by the Fleet for weapons testing. It was perfect for two people with strong and destructive Evols to “talk things over”. The colonel looked around then down at his watch to make sure that there was no one around to witness what was about to happen, while Zayne remained quiet as he watched the other. They could see that something had changed in his old friend, Caleb was no longer the sweet boy Zayne grew up with from the past. There was something cold and calculative in him now, almost as if every word and action he did was part of an overarching plan that fit into his secret agenda. If that were true then there was no way Zayne was going to let you stay in his “care”, he could no longer trust in the man in front of him to keep you safe.

“When did you plan all of this?” Zayne’s soft voice called out to the other.

A questioning hum came out of Caleb’s curved lips, an amused smile gracing his face.

“When did you decide to push her to live with you?” the doctor clenched his fists, brows furrowing as he tried reason first.

“We’ve always lived together, I don’t know what you’re implying,” the colonel finally looked over to the other, the parameters in his readings satisfactory.

Zayne looked away from his once friend and contemplated the situation, “Did you mean for her to get hurt?”

“Never. The fact that you’d even think I’d want her to get hurt is ridiculous,” venom colored his voice, low and breathy as anger began to bloom in Caleb.

“Then why hide her from the Hunter’s Association? Why hide her from getting proper medical aid?” the doctor stepped closer, palms open facing up as he tried not to antagonize.

“She has me, I’m all she ever needs,” the pilot concluded, standing up straighter as he puffed up his chest to appear more intimidating.

“I’m her doctor,” Zayne appealed, “I’m here to help.”

“Oh, like how you helped when you hurt her with your Evol as kids? Did that really help?” Caleb hissed, finding a perverse pleasure in the other’s shocked expression.

It was incredulous that Zayne of all people would come to lecture him about you. Zayne left first, they ran away when it got painful. He, on the other hand, was the one that stayed and looked after you. He always stayed by your side, always would. To come here and question him when he was simply taking care of you like he’s always done was frankly unwanted and insulting. Sure, he may have been a little heavy handed at times, but Caleb only ever wanted to take care of you and make sure you were happy and healthy.

“That was uncalled for Caleb, she’s never blamed me for the incident,” Zayne looked colder, hiding his pain behind a glare - his gaze low as he remembered a time long past.

“Yeah, maybe she’s forgiven you, but I never will,” Caleb countered, having no pity for the other. “You could have scarred her, maimed her even, yet you ran away instead of facing her! I don’t want to hear anything from you,” the man turned to walk away from the other before he’d do anything in retaliation. Even back then, he was so full of rage at the other that he was ready to pommel them. When he found out that Zayne had moved away, he could no longer look at the boy as a friend. They’d hurt you and they didn’t even have the decency to apologize or grovel at your feet. It only solidified his belief that only he cared about you to never leave you alone. Even in death.

His attention is stolen when a hand grips Caleb’s shoulder and forces him to face the other, eyes hard.

“This still doesn’t excuse the fact that you manipulated the Association to keep her by your side Caleb. What would she say when she finds out?” Zayne pleaded with him, tensely shaking him in an attempt to shake some sense into his old friend.

“She was hurt, I took charge. I know what I’m doing,” the colonel shook out of Zayne’s grip, stepping back to glare at the doctor, “I don’t need you sticking your nose in when you’re not wanted.”

“Caleb, you have to give her the freedom to do what she wants,” he tried to reach out again, but the soldier smacked his concern away.

“I’m not like you, I’m not going to leave her - abandon her. She needs me and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her where I can be,” Caleb puffed out his chest and tilted his head down, eyes piercing.

There was a pause, tense and fragile as both men refused to back down. Caleb didn’t even understand why Zayne was even here in the first place if he wasn’t trying to take you away. He had zero patience left for the doctor and just wanted to go back to you. There was no reason to fight or continue this silly charade. He was not going to let you go, and there was nothing Zayne could say to him that would ever change his mind. “You should go home,” Caleb concluded, starting to walk back.

Yet Caleb always seemed to forget that Zayne also cared for you in his own way..

“We are not done here Caleb,” Zayne grabbed Caleb’s shoulder, stopping him.

The Colonel just stood there, refusing to look back at the other - jaw clenching.

“Let me take her to Akso for an evaluation, she needs to–,” Zayne was cut off, hand smacked away as the other turned to look at him.

“You’re not taking her anywhere. She’s my responsibility. She’s mine to look after,” Caleb hissed, his patience long gone now.

“What she needs is professional help,” Zayne’s soft voice dipped even lower, ice coloring his tone.

Caleb stepped closer and stood right in the other’s face, each word clipped, “She’s not going anywhere.”

As such, Zayne answered by allowing the air to grow cold around them.

“You don’t have the gall,” the pilot’s voice sounded soft, silky, belying the threat thinly veiled beneath.

Silence, then the air erupted in charged energy. Columns of ice ruptured the ground as it rose towards the sky, slightly off kilter as Caleb managed to change its trajectory using his Evol. Incredulous, the colonel looked between the ice and the other in front of him. Was Zayne really trying to fight him just to take you away? Was the man before him so detached that they were willing and able to hurt him? A shocked laugh escaped him as his lips curled into a sneer, taking in how cold and aloof the other seemed.

“I don’t take pleasure in having to hurt you, but I will do what I must to make sure she’s safe,” Zayne commented, looking pained as if he pitied the other.

Pitied. Him. Caleb felt insulted that the doctor even insinuated that they were going to win against him, a seasoned soldier. His brow furrowed before the Colonel looked down at his hands and adjusted his cuffs. “You’re a doctor, Zayne. You’re unarmed. Sure your Evol can be used as a weapon, but I’ve had more experience fighting than you could ever possibly have,” he explained, rolling his shoulders to loosen himself. That had to have Zayne rethinking what he was trying to do, but one look at the other and Caleb was surprised that they didn’t back down.

So the Colonel flicked his fingers down towards the other and held him in his Evol, a reverberating hum coursing through his chest. He was going to have to manhandle the other and force them to leave then, thinking of an excuse to tell you when Caleb instinctively dodged to the side and avoided an icicle from hitting him in the head. His eyes were wide as he stared at Zayne while he slowly stood up, the frigid stare he received back causing him to tense in response. “Did you just..” he began, scoffing at the ridiculous scene. He was going to have to reevaluate the doctor.

“You’re not the only one who’s had to fight, Caleb,” was all Zayne said, his eyes burning with such intensity that he didn’t even look concerned.

Caleb noticed the slow crawl of frost beginning to blossom up Zayne’s neck, eyes travelling up to their face when he noticed the corner of the doctor’s mouth curl up. His hackles rose, adrenaline already coursing through his veins as the fight began. Looking around the pilot noticed that his own breath was now coming out as mist, glaring back towards Zayne. After a beat, Caleb straightened his jacket and gave the other a playful grin. “So, you really want a fight, don’t you?” he merely asked, his violet eyes nearly glowing from the nearby streetlights.

A flurry of movement commenced, Zayne managing to direct darts of ice through the air only to have them shot down by Caleb. The floor began to grow covered in sleet, originating with the doctor in the center as fragmented crystals of ice filled the air around the doctor. All the while, Zayne was able to slowly, very very slowly, move closer to their old friend. It wasn’t until a pillar of ice tried to stab through him did the Colonel grimace, impulsively aiming his gun towards his once friend and shot. Imagine his disdain when the other was able to avoid getting hurt by blocking it with a wall of ice, annoyance overriding the quick flash of concern he felt for the doctor.

The fight was becoming clearer and clearer; it was a stalemate: Caleb would shoot and try to hold the other down with his Evol, Zayne still managing to shoot ice at him all while shielding themselves behind ice. The testing ground grew chaotic, monuments of thick ice sprouting from the ground as mist began to deteriorate visibility. Visibility was so bad that neither noticed you had found your way to the testing grounds the two of them were in and watched the scene unfold. Your concerned look switched between them before you decided to stop the two men. It wasn’t until they heard you cry out for them to stop that they decided to pause what they were doing, both tense of how you’d react.

“What are you doing here?” Caleb went to you, putting his gun away before pulling you into his arms.

“What am I doing? What are the two of you doing?!” you demanded, looking between the two of them.

Both men looked at each other before going back to you, at least having the decency of looking sheepish.

“I step out of my room and find neither of you home! So I go and look for you two,” you step away from Caleb’s embrace, incredulous about the whole situation, “And I find you two in the middle of a battlefield?!”

Zayne spoke up, “We were just–”

“Just what? Talking?! Cuz what it looked like was the two of you fighting each other,” you countered, not wanting whatever excuse they were planning on using on you.

“Things just got heated,” Caleb tried to explain, holding his hands up in front of himself to appear more docile.

“Heated, my foot!” you scoff, turning your attention to Zayne then, “And you.”

The doctor stilled when you looked at him, blinking rapidly before looking away.

“We may be friends, but that doesn’t mean that you can fight one another,” you chastise, glancing at Caleb as well while you spoke.

Leave it up to you to be able to render both professional men incapable of acting on anger and distrust after you spoke. You’re not sure what happened or how they feel about each other, but if they both were telling the truth - and the three of you used to be friends - then there is no reason for a fight. “Gods I’ve lost my memory, not my rationality. The two of you can talk this out without having to throw your Evols around,” you ran your hands through your hair and sighed in exasperation.

“Caleb, you’re supposed to be mature about this. I’m relying on you since you found me hurt, I’m trusting you with my life,” you berate, looking at your current roommate. He, on his part, had at least the sense to look down and away from you. You figured he was reflecting on what just transpired since you had caught them red handed.

“Zayne, I don’t really remember you before my accident, but I do believe you when you said we were friends. Would friends really get into fights over an argument?” you look over to him, trying to understand what was said to warrant such violence. “Even if you don’t agree with what he’s doing, you have to understand that I’m trusting him to handle everything. He’s been good to me and I feel like I can relax with him in charge,” your voice was soft, gentle as you tried to explain to the doctor your point of view.

The doctor’s brow furrowed at your words, pressing his lips together into a thin line. In the end, he relented and looked up at you with saddened eyes. “Alright, I’ll step back. For tonight, that is,” he glanced over to Caleb before looking back at you. “Just.. Come to Akso for a check up, I will always make time to see you,” Zayne gave you a soft smile, a smile so gentle that you couldn’t help but give one in return.

At those words, Caleb held a tense smile and swung an arm around his old friend’s shoulders. “Of course we’ll come see you when we need to. Don’t know when that would be, since we can also go get her checked at the Farspace base and that’s closer to us,” he sounded so cocky, so pleased with himself that he almost missed Zayne’s smile drop. And now, wasn’t that just the cherry on top?

The two of you came with when dropping Zayne off at the station, you promised to keep in touch and he promised to come see you when he was free. Both men looked at each other and remained silent, an unspoken conversation between them. Their gaze was heavy but they eventually shook hands before the doctor stepped into the train heading to Linkon. You happily waved goodbye to your friend as Caleb stood beside you, smiling warmly as you wondered when the next time he’d be able to visit would be. After the two of you watched the train disappear into the clouds, you turned back towards Caleb’s car without so much as glancing at him.

He sighed then, scratching the back of his head before following you. Caleb knew you would be mad when you found out, but what else was he supposed to do when Zayne threatened to take you away from him? “Come on Pips, I said I was sorry,” he offered again, catching up to you as he casually walked beside you. You remained silent, lips pouted a little as you tried to remain angry at him. “I already told you that we got into an argument, nothing more,” he tried again, playing the loving puppy he knew you were always weak to.

At the car, you stood in front of the passenger side door with your arms crossed. Seeing this, Caleb couldn’t help but sigh as he fished his keys out of his pocket. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset about this, no one got hurt,” he commented, keys in hand before he turned to you. Whatever else he was going to say stayed in his throat when he saw your expression, you looked incredulous. That’s when he knew he messed up big time.

“You don’t understand..?” you began, voice soft as you looked away from him, “You don’t understand?!”

“Pips, what I meant was–” he held his hands up in defeat, trying to diffuse the situation.

“No! You don’t get to act like what I walked into was a simple argument gone wrong,” you turned to face him as your voice slowly rose in volume, “Someone could have gotten hurt.”

“It was just an argument. He was trying to take you away,” Caleb’s voice sounded strained, trying to keep himself calm as he was beginning to think this was also going to be a quarrel with you.

“Take me away? Caleb, he was worried about me. He’s my friend,” you scoffed at his concern, the car between you two the only thing separating you from trying to shove him away.

“A friend?” his voice was low. Dangerous. Caleb was desperately trying to keep his brewing anger contained so as not to scare you away, but your words cut him deep. You didn’t understand that he was doing all of this for you, didn’t see that he kept his hands bloody to make sure that you were safe from any harm. It was always for you, for your future - for our future. He let out a soft laugh, unconvinced that you didn’t see why he would get upset at Zayne. “Do you really not get why I was so upset with what our friend said?”

Caleb took a step towards you, and the moment you saw that you stepped back to keep the distance. But then a force kept you in place, weighing you down as he made his way to you. He stood before you, brow furrowed as he looked as if he was struggling to contain himself. You could feel how heated his breath was as he kept staring at you, that conflicted look back in his eyes as he mulled over what he wanted to say to you. And you couldn’t move, he’d used his Evol on you to make sure that you wouldn’t leave him.

There wasn’t a reason for you to feel upset, but the mere fact that he took away your choice to move stung. It would be the first time you felt even a speck of fear from him when he’s only ever been caring and patient, and Caleb could see it on your face. His expression softened, hands hovering over your arms before his fists clenched and fell to his side. He felt helpless, conflicted, but there was no guilt on his conscience since he felt that he had nothing to be sorry for.

“Listen,” his voice grew soft, his fingers tentatively reaching for yours, “I may have gotten heated when we were talking earlier, but I was scared.”

“Scared? About what?” you asked back, cocking a brow in question.

“I thought Zayne came here to take you away from me,” Caleb reasoned, glancing down to his feet as his brows furrowed.

“Caleb,” you softly called out, remorseful as you tried to understand even when his Evol refused to let you go.

“I know Zayne is our friend, and he used to be your doctor, but that doesn’t stop me from being afraid that you’ll leave me behind,” he added, his eyes closing as he tried to will the mere idea away.

You looked at him then, really looked at him. There was so much anxious fear that you didn’t know what to do. Caleb truly believed that you would leave him when given the chance, as if you hadn’t been living with him, now and before you lost your memories, and you trusted him with every once of your being. Even his hesitant touch as he held your hands pained you, an ache began to swell in your heart at seeing the doubts and fears he was desperately trying to hide from you. So you relented, and so did his hold on you.

Caleb felt your hand cup his cheek and his eyes opened, turning back to you as you offered him a caring smile, “I’m not leaving, Caleb. I never even thought about that.” He looked upon you with the most fragile stare you’ve ever seen on him, his eyes darting between your eyes as he tried to see any fallacies. You couldn’t help but think that he looked like a boy, a boy that was trying to appear strong and dependable and determined. For a brief moment a quick image of him, appearing much younger than he is, flashed into your mind; it was of him promising to take care of you as an all too sterile environment caged the two of you away from everything else. Just as quickly the image was gone and Caleb stood before you once again as he searched your face for a lie that was never there.

Hesitantly and slowly, your thumb began to caress his cheek as he gradually began to lean in, “How could I ever leave you behind?”

“You won’t abandon me?” he softly asked, eyes briskly glancing at your lips before looking deep into your eyes.

“Would you abandon me?” you counter back, softly smiling up at him as he touched his forehead with yours.

“Never,” he promptly replied, surprising you with how much conviction he seemed to have.

“Not even when I’m annoying or irritating?” you mused, never really realizing just how ethereal his violet eyes looked from up close.

Caleb called out your name, velvety warmth coursing down your spine towards your toes at his tone, “You could stab me and I’d never let you go.”

The abrupt stop your mind took when he said that, you couldn’t help but turn away and laugh.

Here the two of you are, waxing poetry and whatever to each other, when he makes that comment. Seeing you laugh with your entire body, Caleb couldn’t help but let a goofy smile grow on his face; it was always a win whenever he was able to make you full-body laugh. The man reached up and brushed hair out of your face, lovingly looking at the joy in your eyes. “You’re only safe when you’re by my side,” he spoke quietly, “I will always take care of you for as long as I’m able.”

After Zayne left, your days went back to your new normal. You ate with Caleb, took trips with Caleb, spent almost all of your time with Caleb. It wasn’t that you didn’t like it, on the contrary you felt that the time you spent with him was the best you’ve ever had. That you could remember. But you began to inquire about Linkon, about your workplace, about other people that you must have known or been close to - and Caleb got scared you’d want to leave him behind again.

Eventually the more time the two of you spent together, the closer the two of you became once more. Sure he had told you that the two of you were in a committed relationship when you lost your memories, but you felt awkward falling back into that sort of rhythm when you didn’t remember anything. It felt unfair to him that you couldn’t remember how happy the two of you had clearly been before you had your accident, so you asked for some time to figure yourself out. And Caleb agreed, giving you that soft and sappy smile he seemed to only show with you. He was so sweet and understanding and just so so good to you that there was no way you were ever not going to fall for him.

Soon enough the two of you were holding hands, hugging, playfully bumping into each other as you teased one another - spending your time together nearly connected at the hip. You began to notice Caleb begin to look at you for extended periods of time, his touch would linger on you longer, he would always want to have you in his sight in any way he could. It was only a matter of time before you shared a kiss with him, the first remembered time feeling magical and almost as if you had missed this. Kissing led to touching, touching led to grinding, grinding inevitably led to pleasure. Now the two of you were inseparable, insatiable, and you began to think that maybe not remembering your past wasn’t going to be such a bad thing after all.

Going through everything the man had worked on, he was nearly done exterminating every and all members of Ever that he believed would be a threat to you. Now it was time to implement the second phase of his plans, unbeknownst to you. Caleb began sending messages to your workplace, friends, letting them all know that you were planning on retiring to the countryside to permanently focus on your health now. Of course, they were all sad to see you leave but they wished you nothing but the best. Slowly he began to cut you off from them all, explaining it away that maybe they were just busy with their lives or that maybe they just lost touch with you. All the while Caleb looked for a new palace to settle down with you, someplace remote, peaceful, and away from prying eyes. A place for the two of you to live the rest of your happy lives together - a place he could make sure that you only ever relied on him and only him.

After searching for a while, the man found the perfect spot. It was near a small, quaint town far away from Linkon. The view was like from a child’s storybook, and the weather seemed not too hot and not too cold - the perfect temperature to walk hand in hand together. The plot of land he was eyeing had a homey house already built, but a little elbow grease and a whole lot of determination and Caleb was sure he could expand and make it even better. So while you fell more and more in love with him again, the Colonel was buying up material and labor to make the perfect house. Just for the two of you.

Since there was ample space in front of the house, Caleb hired gardeners and told them to plant the flowers he knew you loved. His landscaping crew crafted the most immaculate backyard one could possibly ask for: water features naturally embedded between flowers and foliage, a small water fountain for the visiting birds, a rope swing snugly anchored to a robust tree for when you wanted to peacefully wind down in nature. He could easily picture the two of you spending ample time together doing various activities; always together, always just you and him.

True to his word, Caleb even added a hedge maze as he said he would. Flowers littered the bushes as he tried to keep it in line to the aesthetic he’s heard you like time and time again. In the middle of the maze stood an elegantly carved pavilion - a little hideaway the two of you could spend afternoons in. He wondered if you’d remember upon seeing what he’s built, but regardless Caleb only wanted to make things he thought you’d love; because he only ever did things to prove he loved you the most.

Inside the house, the first floor had an open floor living room that smoothly transitioned to the kitchen. The pantry and washing room sat next to the kitchen, a second door leading to the backyard. A fireplace stood to the side, built of brick and elegantly decorated hearth full of memories between you two. A set of stairs led to the second floor, your shared room and a small lounge area. Moving on up, Caleb made sure to pick only the types of furniture the two of you liked - thus the huge bed for you two. Even the loft connected to the bedroom was something planned, loving the image of the two of you drinking tea in the early morning while overlooking your home. Our home.

When he went over to check the progress and see how it looked all put together for the last time, Caleb felt pride well up inside him. He had spent a pretty penny on this, all he hoped was for you to like what he had built for you. Giving everything a once over, the man was satisfied with what he had and began to finish his preparations of bringing you over. For that, he needed to finish all of the “work” he gave himself. And what sort of man would he be if he never completed his work? Especially when it pertained to your safety.

Once his ‘work’ was finally finished, Caleb no longer had any reason to keep acting as a colonel for the Farspace Fleet. He quickly submitted his resignation, took the necessary time to make sure that there were no more enemies he needed to take care of, finalized the completion of the house he had hidden away, and then figured out a way to convince you to move away with him. Lucky for him you didn’t need much convincing, you just needed him to explain that he was tired of the military life and wanted to move to the countryside with you. Caleb even showed you that adorable puppy face he was wielding with professional effectiveness, and you were so weak to wanting to give him anything he asked for..

When asked if you would be able to still see Zayne and all of your other friends, Caleb simply smiled at you and brushed your hair from your face. “Of course you could invite others, just don’t be sad if they can’t visit often or talk to you much. They do have their own lives they need to live in,” he explained, leaning in to plant a soft kiss on the tip of your nose. He looked at you so warmly, so full of love, the gentle look on his face made your face heat up as a light blush fell onto your cheeks.

Packing up the house in Skyhaven wasn’t as sad as you thought it was gonna be, it was more refreshing and invigorating thinking about your new home and how it was going to be. Driving all of your things to the countryside was nice too, the scenery was beautiful and spending more time with Caleb as the two of you moved onto your next chapter in life was really nice. He had been nothing but loving and doting with you since he’s retired - almost as if there was nothing holding him back anymore - and it was endearing to see him enjoy his domestic life with you. You could almost say that he no longer had anything weighing him down and you couldn’t be any more happy for him, for the two of you.

The moment you got your first glance of the house the two of you were going to be living in, your breath was stolen away. It was beautiful. No, more than beautiful, it was like a dream. Never could you have possibly imagined living in such a picture perfect home with the love of your life. Looking over to Caleb, you could see how proud he was at seeing your reaction to the place. A smile broke on your face as you watched him; seeing him so happy made you happy. You liked seeing him happy. It surprised you how you haven’t really seen him this happy the whole time you lived with him, hopefully it would be more often now.

Days went by and the two of you spent the time settling in and got accustomed to your new life. It was definitely slower than in the city, but to you the new pace change was really nice. The little trips into town to buy groceries and other amenities were cute, it felt like a nice date each time. You liked spending time with him, you liked him. Caleb really showed you just how much you meant to him, and if you really thought about it he mattered to you too. A lot.

You needed nothing - you wanted nothing - Caleb was there to always take care of you, and you couldn’t help but fall for him more and more. You didn’t mind not having others over, you didn’t mind losing contact with your old friends. You didn’t notice the slow yet calculated isolation your lover was casually working behind the scenes, because why would you want anyone else in your now perfect life? You didn’t notice how he always had a plan or activity planned that always took your mind off questioning whether this was healthy or not, distracting you with his sweet embrace and loving care. You were simply happy to live life with him, something you truly believed you’ve always wanted to do even before you lost your memories.

Caleb filled your life with so much love and excitement that you really didn’t feel like you were missing out on anything else, and you were now unable - and unwilling - to do anything without him.

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