Caleb always loves you, no
matter how you are with him.
Cws: (Pseudo—up to interpretation)-Incest, Explicit Content
When you’re a complete and utter brat, you're the cutest thing on the planet. Treating him like he’s your gopher and not the guy who loved to cook breakfast every morning you woke up together. He teases you that you owe him, of course, but answers your impossible demands without question. Look at the most expensive piece of jewelry in the store and demand he get it for you? "Like I'd do that, you brat," he scoffs with an astounded laugh. Yet in the next few days, you find it neatly sorted next to your other expensive trinkets. People wonder, how is he so forgiving to such a brat? Why does he tolerate it? It never bothered him one bit. Bad? That look in your bossy eyes is perfect. Besides, you’re real cute when you're clawing at his back at night, complaining he's too big, too rough, too slow, too deep, too shallow. The sounds you make when he fucks you are so sweet, it's all he needs to wanna spoil his adorable brat rotten. He can never win with you, yet he never quite feels like he's losing.
You're adorable when you tell him he's the best brother in the world. When you absolutely love everything he does and cling to him like a koala. All he wants to hear is you tell him how much you love him, how no one can ever compare to him. He'll carry you around and treat you like royalty, if you ask with those sweet eyes and look at him like he's your whole world. He loves the sparkle of pride in your eye when you say he’s the best, the way you light up the second he walks in the room after an extended absence. It's even cuter when you call him mean and terrible while he's teasing you. "But you said I was the kindest brother yesterday. Was that a lie?" And he's three fingers deep, agonizingly slow and refusing to give you more because you're stupidly cute when you beg for him.
You're adorable when you're shy. He remembers when you used to hide behind him whenever people came up to introduce themselves. He’s grown used to being the one to introduce you both over the years. He never minds nowadays doing the calling, ordering food, being the one to speak up if someone glossed over you. He'll make sure you have a voice, or be your voice. He always loved when you relied on him. Being your anchor is everything he could ask for. It's even better when you try to hide away your face when he's on top of you, cheeks warm and cutely flustered. He coaxes you to look at him while he's buried so deep, gazing into your eyes lovingly, and kisses your shaking lips.
You're adorable when you're chatty and vibrant. He loves seeing you social and in your element. Stands proud behind you when you're even quicker to stand up for yourself or him than he is. That's his pipsqueak. Lighting up the room everywhere you go, he couldn't be prouder. People compare you both, saying how you both light up a room and are so personable. Caleb never gets sick of hearing how you two are alike, revels in knowing people associate you positively together. And at the end of the day when the energy's died down, the one you go home with is him. He loves when you jump into his arms, craving his affection after a long, social outing. And you fall under the sheets, wrapping your thighs around him while he's working off your shirt. Everyone gets your smile and attention, but he’s the only one who gets to see you melt into pleasure.
You're adorable when you're dominant too. When you climb on top of him and decide to take charge, yank his collar and look down at him. You're so sexy, how could he do anything but follow your commands this time? You're the only one who can drag this needy, greedy side out of him where he's happily begging for you. Happily works his mouth on you because you sit on the bed and tell him to get on his knees before you. He'd kiss your thighs while you decide he's only good enough for your foot, and whimper while you work it against his erection. The second you tell him to be a good boy and sit there, his brain malfunctions. The way he wants to follow your instructions feels foggy, trance-like, and he becomes total putty for vou.
No matter what you do, how you act, you'll always be the cutest damn thing on the planet to him. And he wouldn't change you for the world.
The Sun in your Hands [18+ Caleb x Female Reader/MC]
Summary
Even if his image belonged to the entire cosmos, his heart belongs only to you.
Caleb’s yours. He always has been.
Major Content Warnings: Sibling Incest
Tags High Marshal Caleb, Empress MC, POV Second Person, Incest, Underage Kissing (same as in-game), Character Study, Relationship Study, Codependency, Prequel, Snippets through the life of CalebMC, Exploring their past, Explicit Sexual Content, Oral Sex, Sexual Overstimulation
Word Count 6,303
Read on Archive of our Own
Lads Fic Masterlist
Author’s Notes So like basically, when this dropped obviously I was in a bit of shock Infold went for it… but I was actually more frustrated that them being related felt handled a bit more flippantly?? Like it meant nothing other than shock value.
So I wanted to write this to explore how they got to this point since we don’t get much of their childhood! And how they got to where they are. Messy dynamics are fun to explore :’)
Usually I write gender neutral MC/Reader fics actually but I fear “younger sibling” does not hit remotely as hard lmao. This is one of my rare exceptions.
You’re not sure when things changed. Maybe they never did. Is the Caleb between your thighs right now the same Caleb who would pet your head when you were a child? Listening to your bold proclamations on becoming empress far before he could get a hand on the throne. Did your big brother become something more… or were the lines so blurry from the start, this is what you always were?
You don’t remember much about your father. His appearance in your memory is a vague, blurry silhouette… even when you pass by portraits in the palace, he feels like a distant stranger. Despite being flesh and blood, you don’t know if you ever knew him at all.
You’re the second heir of the Cosmic Empire. Born and raised to potentially rule or secure alliances with neutral nations, a physical representation of its prosperity. Despite your very existence being an asset to the empire, the person who rules it has only looked at you with contempt.
Even at your young age, you noticed these looks weren’t limited to your father. Did people think you were too young to notice? The suffocating air of a false smile, a grin too sharp, and eyes too power hungry. That same gaze in all those your father invited to the palace for diplomatic meetings, whom he’d introduce his two children to, the jewels of the Cosmic Empire. The pretty name didn’t befit the way strangers looked upon you.
Only one person never looked at you this way. Not once. Instead they were these open, honest eyes, equivalent to a bitapup. Gorgeous. They mimic a supernova in the galaxy, and sparkle like starlight.
You once told him, “Caleb. Your eyes are like the whole galaxy!”
He just laughed and responded, “it’s because I’m looking at you.”
Your big brother wasn’t like anyone else you knew. He was an heir too. Older, first in line. But he didn’t see you as something bad. Instead, he’d sneak your favorite fruits to your room after dark, and find ways to acquire your favorite toys after negotiating with the maids. He was the kindest to you! He’d even play dolls no matter how “girly” it was, and let you put bows in his hair. Caleb treated you like you were the best thing to ever happen to him.
He’d tell you it’s what brothers are for when you asked him why he was so nice. When you asked what fathers are for, then, he’d just pat your head and remain quiet. So even Caleb didn’t have all the answers.
Days later, when you stubbornly told him you were too old for toys now (the maids had told you so…), Caleb flicked your head and laughed, like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. “You haven’t even hit the double digits yet. Let me spoil my little sister a little more, okay? If you hate my next gift, you can throw it right back in my face.”
…You didn’t.
No. You cherished Caleb’s gifts. Even when you glared at him and acted like they were no big deal, or you were far above childish toys.
You should hate Caleb. You really should. While your father looked at you with these resentful, mournful eyes… he never gave Caleb that look. Instead, Caleb really did seem like a crown jewel of the Alore Galaxy. To father, at least. You wonder what it’s like, to have father’s favor. But Caleb looked like he enjoyed being with you lots more…
Caleb was a pretty hard guy to resent when he gave you the attention, love, and care no one else dared to. Spoiled you rotten. No matter how many times you tried to push him away. Then clung to him the next day. He’d embrace you when you thought he was the best brother. And laugh, agreeing when you claimed he was the worst brother. Whether you praised him, or glared at him in suspicion, Caleb was rarely off put by your mood. He seemed happy to just be with you, no matter how you approached him or what you were feeling that day.
You think… Caleb taught you the idea of unconditional love.
—
Your father died when you were ten years old. An accident on a flight. No survivors to tell the tale.
There’s quiet whispers of it potentially being a covert assassination. Those who speak the rumors clam up when your eyes bore up into them, wide and not shy.
When people complimented your bravery for not crying at his funeral, you had to fight back a grossly inappropriate laugh. Your brother had squeezed your hand, and despite being your father’s favorite, it was impossible to miss the sharp look in your brother’s eye.
The same look others gave you two. On your father’s death bed, your brother touched his hand once, more of a courtesy, before laying him to rest next to the late empress.
Is it romantic to be buried together? Perhaps it’s more romantic to perish together.
“Now that he’s gone, will you…” you murmur after the funeral. You gently push on a swing they had installed at Caleb’s request, for you, naturally. Caleb chuckles and shakes his head, poking between your brows.
“I’m too young. There will be an interim leader for now. Until we’re old enough, at least,” he explains. You figured… but Caleb painted himself as so poised and mature, you thought maybe he really could be a leader at his age. He got a growth spurt, stood tall, and started carrying this same cold look to strangers befit of everyone in the court…
“Yeah? I think in that time I can become empress instead,” you declare, pushing yourself in a gentle swing. It’s not the first time you’ve said it. You joked it a lot, and Caleb would joke about how you have to grow a little taller to catch up to him. This time though, Caleb gives you this complicated smile and grabs the arms of the swing, leaning down so you have to crane your neck up at him.
Is the way your heart thumps normal?
“Still think you’d catch up to me?” Caleb asks. You give this fake, thoughtful look, like you’re actually considering the possibility. Can you? Well… when Caleb looks at you like you can’t, you want to out of spite.
“Maybe I’ll win the court’s favor, and they’ll support me instead,” you say. You’re still getting daily politics lessons as you learn more about The Empire. Power struggles, at long time strife with another nation. That sounded so dull… but wearing the crown. Being beloved. Even the one to bring peace and prosperity… and to see the look on Caleb’s face. You want it all.
“If you wanna be the next empress…” Caleb lets go of one arm of the swing to gently cup your cheek. His glove is cool. You wish you felt the warmth of his hand instead. “Then you really gotta quit falling asleep in your lessons.”
From then on, Caleb never again joked about you needing to catch up to him. Was that when he chose his new goal? Was his new goal of his own doing, or to compliment your own? Maybe both. He always did say he’d get you anything you wanted.
—
No one dared tease you the way Caleb did. Perhaps no one else had the right to, and that’s one of the many reasons he was so special. When you were with him you weren’t an heir to teach or appease. You were just yourself. Someone Caleb would pat on the head, hold his gifts to you over his head to make you jump for them until you glared, before he gave it to you with a stupid grin.
The older you both got, the busier you were attending meetings to show face, dinners, and proper lessons. So every stolen moment felt like a gift. A reprieve from everything official. All duties and obligations melted away when you had Caleb.
Caleb gave you what no one else could. A sense of comfort. Security. Even if the world turned on you — Caleb would always be part of your life. It felt like Caleb was always yours, the person who would be part of your life, in your orbit.
In the hidden corner of your greenhouse — the scent of flowers (these came from a duchess trying to introduce her young son to you. Caleb’s smile seemed to twitch as he accepted them in your steed) envelop you. Caleb pushes a new dessert — a trial run of a new confectionery from a popular bakery, apparently — past your lips. Caleb gets his claws into the strangest places, all you did was eye a dessert a little too hard. Now his fingers guide you to bite what he offers in secret. You would protest you don’t need to be fed like a child… but it tastes so divine you can almost forgive him. It has a sweet apple, jammy filling that graces your tastebuds, decorated quite cute too, with little hearts. Practice for a new dessert for the annual day of love, Caleb said.
“A future empress can’t make a mess when she eats her food,” Caleb murmurs affectionately, swiping away a bit of jam from your mouth. You merely glare at him, shoulders going stiff.
“I wouldn’t if you weren’t feeding me. You should treat me with more dignity,” you retort. Future empress. Caleb says it with certainty. An inevitable future you’re racing towards. What was once a childish fantasy you were born into felt like something you were now vying towards. Caleb was the crown heir, it should’ve been him, but he watches you with an air of reverence every time you speak of your grand future. And you wonder…
“If I become empress, what shall you be? The empress’s brother? His highness who deferred the crown?” You query, peering up into his eyes. A rather funny conversation for two teenagers crouching in the depths of a greenhouse, the one place you’re rarely interrupted.
That thought sits bitter. You want the crown because of your worth, not because of Caleb’s complacency.
“Our nation has been at odds for a long time…” he hums. He looks up, almost wistful as he considers this. Well. Of course. You’ve learned much about the Glory Federation at this point. A nation born of inner discontent that boiled over. Resulting in war and has been bordering the cusp of it ever since. You’ve been given every reason to see them as the enemy. History will always favor the side that writes it.
“Scared of taking over this kinda nation?” you tease. Caleb just exhales lightly through his nose with a knowing, unbothered smile.
“If I was High Marshal, imagine what we could do,” he chuckles. So casual, you almost think nothing of it. Then the words hit you and you blink. More than a few times. Was that a joke…?
…That is not the look of a teasing Caleb.
“You’re joking, aren’t you?”
Caleb just feeds another bite into your mouth. You should hit him.
“You know, there’s only so much to achieve here solo. And if I was emperor, what would you be? The emperor’s younger sister?” He queries. He catches the wrinkle in your forehead and laughs, swiping his thumb over it. “You’d never be satisfied with that.”
You grit your teeth. No. You wouldn’t. You want many things. And you’ve decided long ago no matter who the heir in front is — even your brother, you will wear the crown. Beyond the crown, you’ve been writing things down. Perhaps still naive ideas, implementations, opinions… but you think you’d be capable of leader. You’re as capable, no matter how people compare you to Caleb. The current placebo leader… he doesn’t deserve the throne. He’s rather complacent. The public looks upon him lukewarm. Nothing to praise, not enough to criticize. You wouldn’t be a useless sitting duck, you would…
Caleb catches your attention again by feeding you the last crumbs of the dessert.
“The current High Marshal…. They’re nothing to write home about. The Glory Federation has so much potential locked behind a mediocre leader. Same here. So why not leave here to whom I trust most?”
You hastily swallow your bite and your brain piles with a jumble of thoughts. Complaints. Ways to refute. Every reason he’s wrong that he’ll simply laugh off and deny.
“We’d be enemies.”
“Mmm… my baby sister, my most formidable opponent. How will I ever cope?” he teases. His light-heartedness makes you want to shake him so he can understand the frustration brewing in you. Is everything a joke to him?
“They… but you can’t just become High Marshal one day…” you murmur. It sounds weak, even to you.
“The Glory Federation has the best military academy in the cosmos. I’ve been studying hard to apply. It’s the perfect in to work up from there,” he says. All the way in the Neezier Galaxy, light years apart from the one person you never want to be apart from… how is it Caleb can both give you everything you want and everything you don’t want?
“You won’t be here,” you whisper. Dammit. You sound pitiful. You shouldn’t show your weakness so carelessly…
Caleb’s eyes soften. He scoots over, and pulls your head to rest on his shoulder. Larger arms wrap around and hold you close. His warmth is like a warm summer day. Caleb’s always reminded you of the sun. What you need to grow and thrive, who revitalizes you. Though now, he might burn you…
Caleb’s hands splay across your back. His voice is soft by your ear, that seems to burn when he speaks.
“I know. I’ll visit when I’m free. You’ll still have lots of people here, you know,” he says. So soft. You squeeze his top, unconvinced. What’s he trying to say? That you won’t be alone? Won’t be lonely? Doesn’t he understand that without him, you…
“But I’ll…” miss you sits on your tongue. Too raw. Instead you hold him tighter.
“You can’t get rid of me that easy. Whether I’m holding on to you, or I’m light-years away, I’ll always be here for you,” he soothes. Caleb has this featherlight voice that always seems to make you relax. Even as it grows deeper, the richness is only easier to melt into. No one. Nothing and no one ever compared to Caleb. His adoration. His care. Trust. Support. It’s his fault you’re so greedy for him, so he can’t blame you for not wanting him to leave.
“…Caleb,” you murmur. Just his name. You can’t see his face, but you feel a small tremble in his hands as he squeezes you harder.
“We’ll always have each other,” he says. You want to believe it so desperately. It has to be true. Your brother, your future enemy, your fellow heir. No matter what title Caleb adorns, he’s yours, isn’t he? Your Caleb.
Even if his image belonged to the entire cosmos, his heart belongs only to you.
—
Once, two maids were helping to dress you in a fancy gown for a ball you had to attend. A bit gaudy for your taste, but it called for the occasion, and you were still a bit too young to refuse. The maids lace your corset delicately, chatting gossip with you.
“Has anyone caught your eye yet, your highness? A duke’s nephew from this nation seemed to fancy you. But there was also the archduke of the Zovari Galaxy’s child…” she prattles on. You wonder why the courting status of a fresh teenager catches her interest, but you’re not much in a mood to reprimand either.
“I don’t have to think about courting for a long while,” you huff. The other maid laughs as she finishes lacing your corset, switching to adjusting your petticoat.
“It doesn’t have to be courting just yet. Even a small crush. Her highness can have feelings. We wouldn’t tell,” this maid winks. Ah, how irritating. Even hearing the names of irrelevant people sour your mood.
“They’re a bore. None compare to Caleb anyhow.”
Their fingers pause for a brief moment, then the two of them continue doting over you, a fondness in their eyes. You’re made to lift your arms, and they gently pull the dress over you.
“His highness is very kind. Surely, he’d make sure her highness was happy with whoever she favored. Ah, perhaps we’re pestering you too soon? Maybe those feelings haven’t developed yet…”
“That’s true... And here we were interrogating her poor highness. Forgive our imprudence,” the other maid finishes off. You hold your tongue from biting their heads clean off, an ire you’re not used to filling you. Kind. Happy. Feelings…
These emotions. Caleb was your brother, and yet…
He’s the only one who’s stirred these types of thoughts before. Though if you voiced it, you’re sure they’d laugh and say you were just confused and haven’t met the right boy yet.
Is that true? Could anyone ever compare to what Caleb has given you your entire life?
—
You’ve read many books and many plays. Literature was equally as big a study as politics and the general state of your nation. There were a number of historical masterpieces (those were usually yawn-inducing), to fables, to romance novels, to action, to consume. When you had nothing to do, as you grew, the second best leisure Caleb would bring you were books you hadn’t heard of, but the public approved of.
You’ve even read fictional stories of other regimes in a world’s past, without advanced technology or warp tech. Depictions of royal families. Of loving families. A mother. A father. Sometimes a brother or sister alongside the protagonist.
It was alien. Fiction truly felt like nothing more than fiction with how disconnected your experience seemed. A parent who spent plenty, willing time with their child? Siblings who didn’t get along? Who merely tolerated each other? You bickered (more one-sidedly) with Caleb quite a bit, but he was quick to concede to you in a way books typically didn’t depict. Even if the siblings were protagonists, they were never quite as close. Is this how you and Caleb should be? What people expected of you two?
The paper — old, but less strain on the eyes — makes a quiet whoosh as you turn the page. Sometimes one protagonist finds a lover. Someone who makes them enamored, an inability to stop thinking about them, their appearance, their lips. The sibling in the story would either tease akin to the way the maids stick their noses in your business, be protective, or perhaps gag and roll their eyes at the sight.
Is this right? One day you marry someone of a different empire to secure a neutral nation’s alliance, one day Caleb similarly marries an heir to some distant galaxy, and the stability of The Empire is guarantee during your livelihoods. And you’d tease each other over the other’s partner, a pair of playful siblings.
…
You place a bookmark (it contains a pressed flower from the time Caleb left one on your pillow after a nastier spat), and let out a low sigh. None of these siblings were like you and Caleb. So how could it be the same?
How could a stranger outdo the person who knows you best and you need the most? If you’re not supposed to feel these feelings, why do they claw at your chest begging for relief like they’re exactly what you should feel?
If they had a sibling like Caleb, wouldn’t their hearts be enamored too?
—
A conversation second only to your greatest memory in this greenhouse… you sit on the white bench, flowers scattered sporadically about. Caleb is typing up an essay on his holoscreen, but he made time to do it around you still. You kick your feet, bored, before deciding to bother him anyway.
“Caleb?”
“Hm?”
“There’s many things I want.”
“Mm. You gonna tell me something I don’t know?” He doesn’t even look up from his screen. The jerk.
“But sometimes I want something people tell me I shouldn’t have,” you rasp. Your voice didn’t crack. It didn’t. But Caleb looks up from his screen anyway. In a little over a year, he might be at some far off academy you can’t reach. While you stay planted here, working your way to the crown. For some reason, the idea feels emptier than it had in the past.
His gaze sticks to you. A persistent, scrutinizing thing. You should’ve shut up while you had the chance.
“And when has that ever stopped my willful little sister? You’ve asked me for quite impossible things, you know,” Caleb laughs. Like the idea is ridiculous. He dismisses the screen for a moment, just to trace your brows with his thumb. It’s only then you realized they’re raised in quiet surprise. “You’re the future empress. You’ll be able to have anything your heart desires,” he says. The thought sits disgusting in your throat — what if that thing is your future adversary, your brother, the man sitting beside you — but you say none of it.
His words paint a simple, clear picture.
When you’re the empress, who can stop you? Would anyone dare stand against an empress who loves her own brother?
You’ve been looked upon with unease or covert judgement your entire life. You wear the gaze of scorn like a second skin. Could one more sin damn you worse than the ones you already hold? The ones you were assigned from your very birth?
Your existence is labeled by death, power, and politics. If the one person to grant you peace within it is Caleb… what right do they have to tell you no? You were both born, confined to a gilded cage. Even nestmates would become attached.
“Does that mean you could have anything you wanted too?” you ask. He’ll become High Marshal, after all. Caleb has this strange look you can’t exactly place, but his hand finds your cheek, thumb on your temple.
“If I put my mind to it,” he says. It’s so casual for how grand his plans are. But you can’t recall one time Caleb didn’t make good on his word, even if it took a little longer due to some unexpected hiccups.
…Are your desires aligned? Or are they so far from each other, making them entwine in the future without chaos is impossible?
Whatever the future holds, you’ll savor your time with him a little longer.
—
When you first kiss him, his lips are slightly chapped. Just barely. Hardly noticeable compared to the warmth of his mouth, his breath, the quiet sound of surprise he lets out. You wonder if he’ll refuse, yet the greediest, grabby hands of your soul are equally as certain he won’t. Caleb said anything, didn’t he? It was bad faith to go back on his word.
You pull back, a soft exhale, and Caleb’s eyes are half-lidded, drifting from your lips back to your eyes. He’s given you these soft looks before, but this… this was new. You hope he only gives this look to you.
“Is a kiss what you need to be satisfied?” he murmurs. His fingers creep up the back of your neck and tickle. They’re large and keep you close in his orbit. You wouldn’t want to drift away anyhow.
“A few more, perhaps,” you retort. A lot more, you silently voice. His laugh dances across your skin, breath warm, and his lips find yours again. This time he’s the one kissing you, a little deeper and a little needier. Mmm. Internally you sing… perhaps your desires weren’t so far off from his after all. The warm press of his lips drowns out every thought of ‘wrong’. Of guilt. What guilt is there to feel when Caleb’s always been yours? And you, his in a way no one else could fulfill. His lips feel good… you tremble and he barely pulls back, lips ghosting yours in a quiet laugh.
“Aren’t I lucky, what you want this time is so easy for me to give you,” Caleb breathes against your lips. You laugh too, a mix of affection and bitter frustration melted into a hot, molten mix.
“Are you sure it’s not because you want it too?” you say. Maybe he senses the barest hint of insecurity in your words, because he presses another softer, more tender kiss against your lips. Then he kisses the corner of them. If he kisses you like that, you’ll just miss him more…
“Of course I do,” he whispers. A secret only for your ears. Plain and honest in his adoration. You could attach and never let go of him, hold him until the flowers wither and blossom over and over… in the sanctuary of your garden, nothing matters save for the warmth of your brother’s skin.
—
Did much change after that? Yes. No. You’re not sure some days. He’d visit home with the most dazzling gifts and fruits native to the Neezier Galaxy. He wasn’t an heir anymore, abandoned his title for his studies. But he always had clearance as her highness’s brother, whether people gazed in suspicion or not. You would talk about your days, have dinner like he never left… and at night you’d back him into your room to kiss him silly against the door until you were both noisy and breathless. And he’d gently pull away, dispelling the heat with a flurry of gentle, affectionate kisses to fan the flames, murmuring he’d make up for leaving you frustrated with another gift.
It wasn’t fair. You told him to satisfy you, yet instead he always left you craving more. Calming your rush every time. Even when you once blatantly came onto him, crawled onto his bed and pinned him, sure he wanted you just the same; he just laughed. Grabbed and kissed you until you melted into putty, then pulled you to cuddle him to sleep with nothing more.
The worst, definitely. And you have to pretend you’re not frustrated for the millionth time Caleb stopped at nothing more than his lips on yours when you attend lessons the next day.
—
Two years after your first kiss, there’s a night you’re especially impatient. The maids had introduced you to the cutest sleeping camisole with a lace trim and shorts, bottoms that cling and a top that compliments your skin perfectly. You had waited in Caleb’s room when he came to visit the Empire for a few days, draped in a way impossible to misinterpret.
When Caleb enters, his eyes go wide, breath hitching. Eyes travel from your face, downwards, before he manages to direct his gaze in the opposite direction. A wry smile spreads across his lips as he pulls off his gloves and strips himself of his outerwear.
“You get all dressed up like this for me?” he asks. Light and airy, a sharper edge hidden in those words. You huff and shoot him a little glare, even if you’re the one scarcely dressed in his space.
“No, I had hoped someone else would enter,” you grumble. Caleb’s eyes darken just barely, a challenge, and you briefly wonder if maybe this was enough to finally make him quit his little game of leaving you wanting every time he comes to visit, never giving you enough. He crawls onto his bed, arms on either side of you, and the heat of satisfaction envelops your being as you cradle his face with both hands.
“Good thing it’s my room,” he laughs. More of a guest room now, yet still reserved only for when he visits. The one he grew up in. He lets out a shaky sigh and nuzzles your neck, breath warm. His hand cradles the back of your head and he sighs, gently bringing you down to bounce against the sheets. His body covering you only makes you want him more.
“Caleb…” you murmur. You know. It’s pathetically needy. Your legs wrap around him, to hold him closer. Caleb laughs softly, lips brushing your neck.
“I know. You really can’t make this easy for me, huh?” Caleb murmurs. He nibbles on your neck and you curl up, arms clutching him. Yeah. You’re unfair and lustful and Caleb is what you want most of all right now. The crown, one day… but right now, Caleb is the one in your arms.
“If you didn’t deny me every time…” you grumble. Caleb is petting your neck soothingly. Though he has you thoroughly pinned, he lays on you more like a weighted blanket than someone who might finally satiate your need.
“Let me be a good big brother for something. At least for this,” he whispers. He pulls back to look you in the eyes. They’re dark. A blend of want, of restraint, and this complicated look that almost speaks to self-ramification. The look manages to fan your flames a little, yet make them simmer low in equal measure. Equally as complicated as the look he gives you. “I know. You’re greedy and I spoil you rotten. It’s my fault,” he accepts. He places a gentle kiss on your forehead. A fragile apology.
You blink. A feeling of uncertainty, and perhaps a tinge of guilt sits in you. You know. Of course you know. you just figured if Caleb kissed you back, he’d…
You exhale. All you can offer is a soft nod, you don’t know what you’d be able to say while keeping your dignity.
That night, you cuddle him without complaint. And decide if Caleb has the ability to wait, maybe you can too. The wait makes it all the sweeter.
—
Years. Painstaking years after you first touched lips for Caleb to finally kiss down your skin, rake up your nightgown and devour your lips until you’re whimpering so loud you think the maids outside might hear a hint of it… his moans mingle with yours and you’re sure his noises must be the sweetest of them all.
Years for Caleb to spread your thighs and hover between them. For his lips to travel up the side and pull a soft, molten laugh from him when you rasp and squeeze around his head.
You’re not sure when things changed. Maybe they never did. While some would say your brother should never be like this… Caleb between your thighs feels like all you ever wanted. And when his tongue finally touches you, you decide nothing can convince you this is wrong.
It’s slick and soft, an unfamiliar sensation that makes you grip his hair and him murmur against your slick skin. He’s warm. So warm. The sun between your thighs worshipping you with each drawn out lap of his tongue, savoring you while he moves his thumb to circle your clit, rub it real slow and make you grind up against him. You’re already so turned on, your hips twitch into any contact he gives you.
“Mmm… am I the first to taste you?” he speaks against your arousal. You yank his hair a little hard for that ridiculous question, and nearly lie just to get that smug look off his face. He grunts — a half moan, actually — and looks up at you with hungry eyes. A beast hardly satisfied. You look away, pursing your lips.
“Like any other man has the right to my bedchamber,” you grumble, and that’s all the affirmation Caleb needs to reward you by dragging your body to his lips, holding you as his tongue laps like it’s his last supper. He pauses to fuck his tongue inside and make you curl up, then focus his suction on your clit, a probing tongue and a consistent suction that gets you squirming the more he continues. He almost looks reluctant to use his fingers, like he wants to devour every inch of you simultaneously with his tongue alone, but he drags up his hand anyway to trace your entrance, wet with arousal that drips onto the bed more and more… ah… it will be a bit embarrassing having the maids clean the sheets. Maybe you should bundle them up first…. And he slips a finger in nice and smooth.
Attentive as ever, Caleb was. He moans sinfully against your folds and swirls his tongue experimentally, languid, then focused, paying attention to what draws the best gasp out of you. He decides on this persistent, gentle but building rhythm where you can’t tell where your pleasure in receiving ends and his pleasure in giving begins. He savors you like a gift, grateful for the whine pulled from you when he inserts two fingers. Pumping in and out methodically, curling appropriately to find the most sensitive spots deep inside. Spots you’d only sometimes reach thinking about his fingers inside you instead… Curled up on your side, lonely nights while he was nose deep in his studies across galaxies, and you were knuckles deep in your cunt moaning his name into your pillow.
Dammit… these high noises keep leaving your mouth even as you try to bite them back and you’re trembling, the wet sounds of his fingers and tongue filling the room and fueling your mild embarrassment. Why was he so good… the sight is enough to drag in closer and trap him with your thighs (not that he looks like he wants to escape). You’d certainly never forgive him if he’d been practicing… but you’re arching up and can’t quiet down, so whatever Caleb learned, he’s doing it right.
“Mm.. this view is only mine, right? The future empress whining on my tongue…” he murmurs, kissing the bud of your clit like an apology for pausing to speak.
You could say the opposite — the future High Marshal moaning like his enemy is the best meal he’ll ever taste, but he gets right back to putting all his focus on you before you can retort, so you only squeak out some embarrassing noise instead, fluttering around his fingers. Ah… he… if he keeps…
“Caleb…” you whimper, turning your head to the side as your body jerks into his touch, instinctively squirming a little away, but Caleb grips your hip with his free hand. You don’t know if his encouraging moans do it more, or the agonizing build up of his lips and fingers that stack and stack until it bubbles over. You go tense, fluttering and twitching as you spill onto his fingers. Hard to breathe, your heart is pounding… And Caleb lets out a groan of satisfaction. His fingers keep pumping, mouth remaining latched on to prolong the arch of your back.
When you come down, he must be in some kind of trance. He just keeps pleasuring, won’t stop even when you’re whining loud and pushing at his head, complaining how sensitive you are. This… this wasn’t… ugh, Caleb was the worst even when he does give you what you want! You whimper and struggle against his persistent fingers and tongue that he’s decided to personally torture you with. When his mouth pulls off, the rub of his fingers replace them, a different kind of torturous stimulation as his arms pin your thighs down with his weight.
“I was so patient. Let me be a little selfish too,” he laughs against your stomach like he isn’t stimulating you to the point of overwhelm! You’d kick him if you could, instead you’re jerking and oversensitive and squirming in place.
“I was more patient you useless—“ you whimper, feeling yourself curl up. What was overwhelm starts to feel a weird blend of oversensitive pleasure that feels better… but almost too much.
“Mmm. Look at you. You’re the cutest.” He thrusts his fingers harder, mean. “No matter how hardened of an empress you become…” his mouth kisses back down between your legs, letting his breath fan over you. “In these moments, you’ll always be mine. My adorable, sweet baby sister,” and his mouth latches on to you, as though to prove his point. An effective, non-stop onslaught of pleasure that ends in you crying out and squirming as you arch, making a damn mess of the bed and Caleb’s mouth. He soothingly laps you even as you twitch and look totally spent. You use the bit of your strength to glare.
“Messy girl,” he murmurs as he finally pulls away, a trail of your arousal following him. He bears this dark, satisfied look while he wears your arousal on his face and fingers like a badge of honor.
Yeah. The absolute worst brother ever.
He moves up to kiss the corner of your lips (he gets a glare for that, he’s wet with you), murmuring that you have all the time tomorrow to melt into each other. Mmm. You’ll get your equal payback tomorrow. You wonder briefly about him, but a clear wet spot settles against your bare thighs as he cuddles up next to you. Seems his moans against your skin we’re for his own pleasure too…
Cradled in his arms, finally able to have him the way you’ve wanted (he might’ve still left you wanting. But at least he’ll satisfy that want before he departs this time…) it brings a serenity you weren’t sure was even possible before achieving the crown. Maybe your wants were more embedded into Caleb than you were willing to admit.
Even if your moments are stolen and scarce with how often he’s busy with The Federation. When he visits and sneaks you kisses, gifts, and now his touch; you’re reminded that even as he chases his own goals, even if you walk separate paths destined to meet in strife…
You lean over and peck the corner of his lips. They curl into an indulgent smile.
Caleb’s yours. He always has been.
I heavily debated posting to my main but figured ah what the hell, I unabashedly love Caleb anyway. What’s one more fic. Sue me.
I in fact did have to inhale and exhale when I did the math and their first kiss was about the same time as yearly nostalgia LMAO. Infold, you test me every day.
18+ Love and Deepspace Server, chill, queer friendly, and very vibes :3
Um if you enjoyed, comments and reblogs are mega appreciated!! :D
Dark Caleb is such a fascinating concept to me as someone who tends to prefer canon personality iteration above all else.
Canon things we do know is his morals are obviously not dependent on what is socially acceptable, but rather, whatever the hell he and MC want. Case in point, he has no qualms kissing MC (15/18) in Imperial Thronesong. He and MC with an established push and pull fighting dynamic, ergo him forcefully kissing an angry MC biting his lip. Oh. And blood siblings. But we knew that.
Because sometimes dark premises feel so close yet just slightly off to me. And it’s a teeter between ‘there is a world this could happen’ and ‘Caleb simply would never because he cares about MC above all else’.
Which yes, canon wise is true. He has lines like “No one is allowed to hurt you — not even me.” And as forceful as he is in main-story, it’s always under the guise of protection. He will hold you down with gravity to clean you wounds. He will pin you down to tell you how he wants to protect you and hide you away safely forever.
Anyway for a dark Caleb as adjacent to canon as possible, you basically have to adjust one thing. Which is: He puts his desires above your own. Yet it can be hard because his entire character IS putting you first. It’s a fundamental clash of who he is, but it’s so close it can be very possible.
And you can have his exact same flavor of canon otherwise. He snaps in bed. Apologizes every second. Soothes. Murmurs how he knows but doesn’t stop. The guilt eats him alive. And after, he takes care of you as always. Warm bath. Breakfast. Apologies. Loves you fiercely. And you can extend this to anything you’d like in scenarios, locking one up, yandere, far more. Because these desires already exist in him. I personally imagine it as guilt combined with how he loves every part of you so much — even when you cry. I have this opinion anyway for canon Caleb but in a pleasure context — dark Caleb would just apply to any hurt he causes too. It’s also worth nothing some of the ‘darkest’ themes you can explore for Caleb, canon Caleb would fold for and do under one condition… MC initiates.
I struggle with dark Caleb because in theory I really do like his concept. And I understand why he’s the one utilized, he is prime material for it. Yet it requires flipping a core part of him, which can be hard to read as ‘him’. I think what it takes for me personally is I need to see his love is genuine and he cares about your needs too — not just what he decides you need. It can’t be “I know you need me to feel better” but rather “I know I’m being selfish and I’m so sorry, I just can’t stop. Just let me be selfish a little more. And I’ll take such good care of you after, you can hit and scratch me all you want. I’ll never stop taking care of you.”
This is to say of course, he can be written gratuitously and not ‘in character’ as it is the point! I just wanted to ramble my thoughts as someone who is like hella canon stickler but still likes the concept, when usually I don’t care for these concepts when it feels ooc for any character.
A chat on Caleb and MC’s gege/meimei, found family, and (not exactly) pseudo-incest.
Hi! I’m insane, a Caleb addict, and here to ramble about why I personally think “my baby sister” hits hard in a good way. This will be a dive into their gege/meimei dynamic, why Caleb differs quite a bit from traditional pseudo-cest kink or trope in otome, and why many find it appealing outside of that!
Note: This was written before his card dropped. I think this holds very true for their canon relationship still, so I want to keep it up as an explanation of if it was potentially translated to English! But this AU is blatant incest. I think this AU expands on the possibilities for CalebMC, how deep their devotion to one another run, and will descend into sin no matter their circumstances that always keep them apart.
This explanation will focus on their original relationship in Chinese, utilizing gege/meimei. I’m an English speaker who has read and compared translated Simplified Chinese Caleb cards to their English counterparts to understand their relationship as best I can via my own interpretation.
‘Gege’ and ‘meimei’ is not as simple as the direct translation to “elder brother/younger sister” when it comes to Caleb and MC. Even in direct usage, it can refer to family and social dynamics with loved ones, partners, friends, and sometimes even as a means of respect.
Caleb and MC are not merely adoptive siblings and nothing more. They were raised together, yes, and they were told to be family. But there is not a single card where Caleb exclusively sees MC as a sibling and vice versa.
Think of ‘gege’ not as brother, but as an intrinsic role. When Josephine took in Caleb and MC, they were told they would be family. Caleb, especially considering their shared past and how he’s had to reintroduce himself to an amnesiac MC, immediately takes on a protective caretaker role. If they’re to be family, he’ll deem himself MC’s gege. A role that implies he’s there to guide, to protect, to take care of her. This is a role that’s a core identity to him — it’s as natural as breathing air. (I adore the affinity quote; “I’m meant to take care of you, forever.” It explains his feelings very well.)
He clings to this. Because it gives him a purpose, a reason to always return no matter how far he flies, and it’s a role that binds MC to him forever. But familial? While he plays the role of a good gege, someone who will always be there for and protect MC, his feelings are far more complicated. It’s shown even from Yearly Nostalgia — a card 7 years in the past — that MC was enamored as well for a long time. The way they treat and view each other is far from sibling-like, so it’s incorrect to say they saw each other as regular siblings beyond childhood.
Friction arose at their reunion when MC would push Caleb away by saying she doesn’t need his protection or coddling. And yet when he asked if she doesn’t need a gege, what role does he have in her life, she’d back down. Simultaneously, MC would use their gege/meimei relationship against him to push him away or test him — such as her “you shouldn’t be like this, you’re clearly my gege, my most important family…” (as opposed to “you can’t just… you’re very important to me. And no one could ever replace you.”) in main story during his final monologue before he snaps. To which his response was MC’s biggest mistake was thinking he’d always play the role of the good gege, and he quit playing this pretend family game a long time ago.
The reason I summarize and highlight this is to explain the depth is not “I’m your brother, but I want to be more.” Rather, “this is what I am to you, it’s my role and my purpose. But I feel more. I have for a long time, you have too, and if you tell me you don’t want me to take care of you as your gege, will you let me be more? Don’t push me away with the very thing that keeps me closest to you.”
Likewise, for MC, gege is safety. Even if she gets irritated with Caleb’s overprotectiveness and wants his trust and to be relied on, she’ll immediately retreat to use ‘gege’ when he pushes too hard, because it’s safe. Comfortable. If he’s her gege, he’s always in her life. Friends can die off. Boyfriends and girlfriends can break up. But your gege — your family is for life, someone bound to her forever. And breaking this found family, taking that risk, is terrifying. No matter how much she’s clearly been enamored for years and years, crossing the line means if it all goes south… can they ever go back? Would he not be in her life anymore?
Even after revealing his feelings in main story, Caleb always pulled back. He never crossed the line MC drew between them. Every near-kiss, he never pushed when MC pulled away. Every milestone was MC making the first move, explicitly or implicitly. He’s patient, and wants to be sure it’s not just him who wants this. Their relationship is about their deeply woven dynamic growing and evolving into something new despite MC’s fear and Caleb’s patience.
Caleb at this stage in canon is very much ‘boyfriend’ and not just ‘gege’ anymore. While he’ll always take on more of a playful, caretaking role, he’s working on relying on MC more, being honest, and letting her stand beside him.
“My baby sister.”
The word choice was very deliberate, and the best they could’ve chosen. Usually, you will see meimei translated as “little sister” or “younger sister”. If Caleb called MC little sister, it would equally cause a shock for English speakers! But it’s ‘safer’.
Little sister is a role. What you are. There’s nothing more to the term than an explanation of your relationship to someone else. If Caleb calls you little sister — while that can be appealing in its own right, it says nothing other than you have a familial dynamic.
“My baby sister”, however, carries a lot more weight. When the term is used for someone who isn’t a child, it’s a term of endearment. It caries the implication that they’ll always be your baby, someone to protect, someone to take care of. They’ll always be precious and cherished. Sometimes it’s used in a purely positive or coddling context. It can also be used in a teasing, condescending way. From lighthearted, to genuinely not seeing them as an equal; as younger and lesser. I personally sense a slight air of teasing from Caleb the same way he often teases MC in canon, but laced with deep love and care (especially paired with the kiss on the head). Along with that air of possessiveness. In terms of their canon gege/meimei relationship, doesn’t this convey the same theme best? One that focuses on what MC means to him, what he is to MC by proxy? How MC is his to take care of and treasure?
Caleb and (not exactly) pseudo-cest.
Now, what you typically find in incest-adjacent tropes are appeal of the forbidden. It’s the taboo, the angst + how complicated it is, the risk of getting caught, and sometimes simply the weight of “brother” and “sister”. Think: ‘siblings aren’t supposed to do this’, ‘this is so wrong but feels so right’, ‘what if someone catches us?’ The consequences are equally external. Public backlash, being shunned, judged, even disowned!
Caleb has almost none of that with MC. No one tells MC and Caleb they can’t be together. There’s never any external consequence or judgement. They fake date openly in college. There’s no hiding or sneaking around… all of their conflict is purely internal, self-imposed roles. The fear of changing a relationship not as friends — but as found family. The person who can’t continue the role he confined himself to first, but knows he ‘selfishly’ wants too much. And the person who is so used to him being a constant in their life, the thought of anything risking that is unfathomable. What if they try and it doesn’t work out? Does their found family fall apart? That’s far worse than never trying at all.
The appeal of meimei or baby sister comes from a lot of things not strictly traditional pseudo-cest. Such as being this person for Caleb to take care of, the precious person in his life he loves unconditionally without question, always. It’s his purpose and you’re his reason. Those roles make it clear and lasting outside of a romantic context. It hits deeper than merely a caretaking boyfriend because gege or brother implies permanence no matter what. When coined with Caleb , it doesn’t inherently mean “we’re related.” It means, from Caleb, “you will always be mine in this way, and mine to care for.”
This isn’t to say there isn’t an appeal to the taboo as well. While there isn’t inherent typical taboo in their dynamic, it certainly can cause a stir of feelings being called “meimei” or “baby sister” (or any language equivalent) that feels “wrong” yet is a guilty pleasure anyway. Especially for primarily English speakers, as “brother” and “sister” inherently carry that taboo since we do not utilize it outside of familial relations.
Originally, I honestly did feel a bit of guilt around enjoying any sibling-coded terms from Caleb. While it was easy to accept gege/meimei as I read more, baby sister hit me with a metal bat. Immediate disbelief, followed by a thrill that made my brain short-circuit. But it’s not the concept of pseudo-cest as is. The thought of Zayne or Sylus, two other characters also with a more “caretaking” dynamic (especially take Sylus’ Catch-22,) as “brother”, is unappealing to me. As is Luke from Tears of Themis, who Caleb strongly resembles. Only Caleb holds this spot.
It’s not because I literally see him as a brother or like the concept of legally being related. But gege or brother is just the best term to describe the complicated relationship he holds, and the way you’re irreplaceable to him. It’s an aspect that’s just a part of Caleb’s story, that enhances the complexity in a way childhood friends just doesn’t encompass.
On a finishing note, enjoy what you like! If you like being called baby sister by Caleb because you enjoy -cest dynamics in general, go for it, I’m not here to judge! But I wanted to focus on what separates Caleb from those tropes, and not let him be reduced to exclusively “adoptive brother” and nothing more. Caleb’s relationship with MC is complex, as is the reason many love him! And to hate on the quote, and especially on anyone who enjoys the phrase, honestly, feels a little unfair when it’s an intrinsic part of his character! While it’s certainly a jump from English translating everything into “childhood friend”, I hope unsure fans will give this Caleb a chance in this new banner! :D [Edit: Now untrue. I would say this card is worth exploring if you’re open to themes of incest! But might be better avoided if blood incest is really upsetting.]
Extra edit: I would change this last part to say that I think using baby sister in a more canon-esque relationship iteration would hit the same as described. Though in this circumstance, it’s a dirtier, more possessive, blatant taboo they play on. Which is valid whether people like, wanna give it a shot, or dislike it!
Idk I have some cool but wayyy older Caleb fics here and on ao3! This AU might make me write a new one…
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Currently thinking abt how in Imperial
Thronesong, Caleb and MC are about
7 years into their (non-traditional)
relationship. Like no wonder the sexual
tension is insane, but also hell yes they’re
incredibly feral for each other a near decade in.
— Shameless self plug btw for an nsfw prequel fic
ao3 tumblr
“ Growing up, we knew each other so well.
Better than most, even.
I could see through your lies when you'd blink.
Bite your lip, and I could tell you were upset. ”
“ In that case, tell me, gege.
What am I thinking about right now?
I wonder. How did you turn into
someone I hardly recognize? ”
“ Oh I know. You're thinking some
chip got put into my brain, right?
And now, I'm no longer who I used to be.
What if I told you I was always like this?
Your life has threats around every corner.
The people who are after your power,
who wanna hurt you—they should all just...
disappear. You're only safe when you're by my side. ”
“ l'd rather face danger head-on than
"safely" live like this! I don't need you— "
“ You don't need me? Is that what you think?
All right. What do you need? You can tell me.
We can return to Linkon if that's what you want.
If you want to return to the past, we'll rebuild our old house
and move in together. And if one house isn't enough,
I'll build you a whole maze.
I'll decorate it with everything you could ever want.
It will be the most beautiful, stunning garden you've ever seen.
No one will be able to find you ever again.
I'll protect you forever. ”
“ Caleb… you shouldn’t be like this.
You’re clearly my gege.
You’re my most important family… ”
“ Gege?
Your biggest mistake… Was thinking I’d be
willing to keep playing the role of your good gege.
This pretend-family game… I quit playing a long time ago. ”
