[Caleb closes the door behind himself and smiles warmly, his eyes taking in every detail of the scene. He takes a moment to shed his coat and scarf, leave his boots by the door, and then saunters over to where Molly is posed and waiting.]
You're right, it does look better in person.
[He'll settle himself into what little unoccupied space he can find on the couch, brushing up against Molly as he does.]
[ there isn't much space but, almost as if expecting it, Molly does shift to make a bit of space for his wizard to get comfortable on the couch alongside him. the brush doesn't go unnoticed, eyes widening in silent question that he doesn't dare voice.
maybe he's a little more buzzed than he first thought. ]
I always look better in person.
[ with a wink he holds out the cocktail he had been drinking for Caleb to take. ]
You know, I'm kinda glad too. It's weird, can't say I've ever looked at the whole thing fondly but here I am planting my roots in a city surrounded by people I care about and actually enjoying the cursed day I was born.
[He's relaxing into the couch almost deliberately, not like he thinks he belongs there but like he wants to. Here is where he wants to be, for once leaning into the whirlwind of sparkling chaos that is the life of Mollymauk Tealeaf.]
You do. Although you photograph quite well, too.
[Being offered the drink Molly already had in hand instead of a new one does visibly surprise him, but he takes it willingly. He watches Molly to see his expression as he takes a sip, and only realizes as the burn of the liquor is hitting his throat that holding eye contact while he drinks from the other's glass might have looked a little more provocative than anything his conscious intentions had come up with.
Well. He might be blushing a little, but he's not going to take the gesture back by visibly flustering any more than that if he can help it. Instead he frowns at Molly's phrasing.]
...I would have thought that a yearly excuse to celebrate, ah, being you...would be something to take advantage of.
Molly watches, enraptured, as Caleb takes a sip from the glass all the while holding his gaze. who would have thought the socially awkward wizard could be so charismatic, so provocative. it all but short circuits his brain, all but ejecting whatever thoughts had been bouncing around in there in favor of those brilliantly blue eyes. his lips against the glass─
a sharp breath in, a laugh, and Mollymauk subconsciously licks his lips waving a flippant hand about the air. ]
It's a long story better told another time. I'm in a incredibly good mood right now and it'd be terrible to ruin with recounting the past.
[ his gaze flicks from Caleb's eyes to his mouth then back up again. ]
What's important is that things have changed and I'm taking advantage of it now.
[Caleb, for his part, is definitely inordinately focused on the way Molly's tongue moves over his lips. 'Want' is definitely starting to push past any other thoughts that may have been trying to form in his head.]
It would truly be a shame to spoil the mood, today of all days.
[His eyes drift down to that smear of glitter on Molly's neck. It's so tempting, but he doesn't quite have the courage to brush it with his fingertips the way he wants to (3).]
A-and speaking of taking advantage...just how much of this did you have before I got here?
[ he's used to having eyes on him, wandering him, drinking him in, but something about the way Caleb's eyes move over his body is exhilarating. Molly practically preens under the attention, head tilting to the side to further expose and accentuate the glitter on his neck. not so subtly tempting. ]
Hmm? Oh, only a couple of glasses. Enough to give me a buzz. Why do you ask, Magic Man?
Maybe I just like you best with your wits about you.
[He can see the invitation in it. Careful fingertips reach out to trace through the streak of glitter, smearing it upward toward the corner of Molly's jaw. His skin is so warm. Caleb can't quite get enough air.]
Or maybe I thought it's a good time to let you know how grateful I am that you're so patient with me.
[ Caleb's fingers find his skin, find the streak of glitter he had accidentally decorated himself with. really he only wanted to tease the man a little, he's always been a good sport about it and Molly's made sure not to go too far with it. but here he sits with the tables turned and a handsome wizard smearing glitter up along his neck toward his jaw...
this isn't a dream, is it?
Molly inhales, short and sharp, licking his lips subconsciously again. Caleb is talking, saying something about liking him best when he's got his wits about him and something about patience. it pulls him back a little, helps him focus despite the pounding sound of his pulse in his head. ]
Or maybe it's both? [ he chuckles a low sort of rumble. ] I swear I've got my wits about me, it takes more than a couple of glasses to get me drunk off my face.
[ lavender fingers reach up to gently encircle the wizard's wrist, then slide up and along the hand Caleb reached out with guiding it up to his cheek. ]
I don't want to go forgetting any of the time I spend with you.
[Caleb smiles encouragingly at the guidance, cupping Molly's cheek and brushing his thumb against the skin.]
You know, I've spent a lot of time thinking about that day when I asked you to wait. I wanted to understand why it felt so important, why...even though I knew what path I wanted us to walk, why I felt so sure it wasn't the right time.
[His hand moves upward further, threading into Molly's hair, toying with soft strands. The touch is grounding, comforting.]
...What I realized is that...we are who we are, and any road with the two of us on it will have plenty of darkness to ward off, to cling to each other through. I wanted the first steps on that path to be taken in the light, not in fear but in joy. Not because we have no one else to walk with, but because we're free to choose to go together.
[As he speaks, his gaze has gone from following the path of his hand to drifting over the curves of Molly's horns, down to the tattooed cheek on the other side. Now, finally, he meets Molly's eyes directly, with a hopeful and slightly sheepish smile.]
All this is I suppose to say...Mollymauk Tealeaf, I would very much like to kiss you, if you think that would make for a good ending to a happy day.
[ there are few people in this world that can disarm him as swiftly and effectively as Caleb Widogast. the man is a prodigy at being able to take every preconceived notion, every prediction, and turn it completely and utterly on it's head with a few short words. he does it now, hand threading into the mess that is Molly's hair, talking about how he wants the beginning of their path to be illuminated by joy and free will and--
this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to him.
the laugh that leaves him is quiet, breathy, unbearably fond. edges of his expression softening as Caleb's gaze meets his and he watches the wizard smile sheepishly. who would have guessed that he was a romantic at heart, hmm? his mud covered, raggedy wizard hid a charming and unbelievably handsome man who has all but swept the tiefling off his feet. ]
Then stop talking and kiss me already. [ Molly shifts, resting a hand on the back of Caleb's neck while the other grabs hold of his shirt all but pulling the man on top of him. ] Give me the best birthday present I could ever ask for.
[It's his best-kept secret: Caleb Widogast has a heart full of romance and whimsy. It's had to be a secret, because in two lives now people keep trying to beat it out of him, trying to kill his softness and leave behind only the sharp edges of his mind.
No one's yet succeeded. Even a muddy, scruffy wizard once put his goblin partner in crime on his shoulders and did a joyful little dance in the street on acquiring a pair of books.
He follows along with the pull on his shirt easily, laughter on his lips as he presses them to Molly's, settling his body against the other's as if that's where he's always belonged.]
[ nothing could have prepared him for the way Caleb fits so perfectly against him, the way he tastes just like he did in the occasional daydream. again he wonders, distantly, if this was little more than another one of those dreams and not actually happening. but Caleb's warm against him, solid. he can thread his fingers into the man's hair, his tail can coil around the man's thigh, and he can lick Caleb's bottom lip teasingly as he kisses him.
real and solid and a thousand times better than anything Molly's lovesick mind could ever conjure up.
the hand in Caleb's shirt relaxes, sliding down his chest to rest right over the man's heart. is it trying to beat it's way out of his chest just like Molly's? he chuckles against the other man's mouth, pulling away briefly to take a gulp of breath. ]
Think I need a few more of those. [ he kisses the man again, short sweet and hungry. ] Maybe a few hundred more.
Edited (html and i noticed to typos, AAAAH) 2025-11-30 01:43 (UTC)
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no subject
You're right, it does look better in person.
[He'll settle himself into what little unoccupied space he can find on the couch, brushing up against Molly as he does.]
I'm glad you're enjoying your birthday.
no subject
maybe he's a little more buzzed than he first thought. ]
I always look better in person.
[ with a wink he holds out the cocktail he had been drinking for Caleb to take. ]
You know, I'm kinda glad too. It's weird, can't say I've ever looked at the whole thing fondly but here I am planting my roots in a city surrounded by people I care about and actually enjoying the cursed day I was born.
no subject
You do. Although you photograph quite well, too.
[Being offered the drink Molly already had in hand instead of a new one does visibly surprise him, but he takes it willingly. He watches Molly to see his expression as he takes a sip, and only realizes as the burn of the liquor is hitting his throat that holding eye contact while he drinks from the other's glass might have looked a little more provocative than anything his conscious intentions had come up with.
Well. He might be blushing a little, but he's not going to take the gesture back by visibly flustering any more than that if he can help it. Instead he frowns at Molly's phrasing.]
...I would have thought that a yearly excuse to celebrate, ah, being you...would be something to take advantage of.
no subject
Molly watches, enraptured, as Caleb takes a sip from the glass all the while holding his gaze. who would have thought the socially awkward wizard could be so charismatic, so provocative. it all but short circuits his brain, all but ejecting whatever thoughts had been bouncing around in there in favor of those brilliantly blue eyes. his lips against the glass─
a sharp breath in, a laugh, and Mollymauk subconsciously licks his lips waving a flippant hand about the air. ]
It's a long story better told another time. I'm in a incredibly good mood right now and it'd be terrible to ruin with recounting the past.
[ his gaze flicks from Caleb's eyes to his mouth then back up again. ]
What's important is that things have changed and I'm taking advantage of it now.
no subject
It would truly be a shame to spoil the mood, today of all days.
[His eyes drift down to that smear of glitter on Molly's neck. It's so tempting, but he doesn't quite have the courage to brush it with his fingertips the way he wants to (3).]
A-and speaking of taking advantage...just how much of this did you have before I got here?
no subject
[ he's used to having eyes on him, wandering him, drinking him in, but something about the way Caleb's eyes move over his body is exhilarating. Molly practically preens under the attention, head tilting to the side to further expose and accentuate the glitter on his neck. not so subtly tempting. ]
Hmm? Oh, only a couple of glasses. Enough to give me a buzz. Why do you ask, Magic Man?
no subject
[He can see the invitation in it. Careful fingertips reach out to trace through the streak of glitter, smearing it upward toward the corner of Molly's jaw. His skin is so warm. Caleb can't quite get enough air.]
Or maybe I thought it's a good time to let you know how grateful I am that you're so patient with me.
no subject
this isn't a dream, is it?
Molly inhales, short and sharp, licking his lips subconsciously again. Caleb is talking, saying something about liking him best when he's got his wits about him and something about patience. it pulls him back a little, helps him focus despite the pounding sound of his pulse in his head. ]
Or maybe it's both? [ he chuckles a low sort of rumble. ] I swear I've got my wits about me, it takes more than a couple of glasses to get me drunk off my face.
[ lavender fingers reach up to gently encircle the wizard's wrist, then slide up and along the hand Caleb reached out with guiding it up to his cheek. ]
I don't want to go forgetting any of the time I spend with you.
no subject
[Caleb smiles encouragingly at the guidance, cupping Molly's cheek and brushing his thumb against the skin.]
You know, I've spent a lot of time thinking about that day when I asked you to wait. I wanted to understand why it felt so important, why...even though I knew what path I wanted us to walk, why I felt so sure it wasn't the right time.
[His hand moves upward further, threading into Molly's hair, toying with soft strands. The touch is grounding, comforting.]
...What I realized is that...we are who we are, and any road with the two of us on it will have plenty of darkness to ward off, to cling to each other through. I wanted the first steps on that path to be taken in the light, not in fear but in joy. Not because we have no one else to walk with, but because we're free to choose to go together.
[As he speaks, his gaze has gone from following the path of his hand to drifting over the curves of Molly's horns, down to the tattooed cheek on the other side. Now, finally, he meets Molly's eyes directly, with a hopeful and slightly sheepish smile.]
All this is I suppose to say...Mollymauk Tealeaf, I would very much like to kiss you, if you think that would make for a good ending to a happy day.
no subject
this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to him.
the laugh that leaves him is quiet, breathy, unbearably fond. edges of his expression softening as Caleb's gaze meets his and he watches the wizard smile sheepishly. who would have guessed that he was a romantic at heart, hmm? his mud covered, raggedy wizard hid a charming and unbelievably handsome man who has all but swept the tiefling off his feet. ]
Then stop talking and kiss me already. [ Molly shifts, resting a hand on the back of Caleb's neck while the other grabs hold of his shirt all but pulling the man on top of him. ] Give me the best birthday present I could ever ask for.
no subject
No one's yet succeeded. Even a muddy, scruffy wizard once put his goblin partner in crime on his shoulders and did a joyful little dance in the street on acquiring a pair of books.
He follows along with the pull on his shirt easily, laughter on his lips as he presses them to Molly's, settling his body against the other's as if that's where he's always belonged.]
no subject
real and solid and a thousand times better than anything Molly's
lovesickmind could ever conjure up.the hand in Caleb's shirt relaxes, sliding down his chest to rest right over the man's heart. is it trying to beat it's way out of his chest just like Molly's? he chuckles against the other man's mouth, pulling away briefly to take a gulp of breath. ]
Think I need a few more of those. [ he kisses the man again, short sweet and hungry. ] Maybe a few hundred more.