#and adopt another cat. maybe grow vegetables in the garden. please. please. please

[butch--dean]

Counting down the days until I finally find my wife (gender neutral) and we can leave the god forsaken city for a small rural town

[stardusted-bookworm]

The Proposal

Here’s Part 2 to my Amber Rings fic (Or read it on AO3 if you prefer!)

This was not how he’d meant to do this!

Caleb and Essek had been resting in their shared home just outside of Rexxentrum. It was a charming little cottage, one you would see in children’s picture books. Ivy crawled up the brick walls and steam curled lazily out of the chimney. There was a beautiful, expansive vegetable garden out front that Essek tended to with his own two hands. And gods know how many cats were running around now. They'd adopted so many on a whim that Essek had lost count after ten. But he and Caleb loved them all dearly.

Actually, his current predicament was because of the cats so maybe he didn't love them all that much. Immediately, Essek regretted the thought. But this situation was not…ideal. 

Essek had been curled up in his favorite armchair near the fire, a book about a talking cat in his hands. Caleb had been across from him on the sofa with a little tuxedo kitten in his lap. She was a new addition to their ever-growing family, so Caleb was spoiling her a little. 

Essek didn't know what came over him. It must have been the combination of the firelight flickering over his love's face, Caleb's fond smile as he looked down at the kitten in his lap, or the domesticity of it all. But Essek Thelyss, renowned mage respected by arcane practitioners across Wildemount and Tal'dorei, blurted out, "Marry me?"

The smile froze on Caleb's face and he looked up, shocked. 

Essek's ears pinned back in fear. Shu, vith, n’abyl. Then, Essek did the most reasonable thing a mage of his caliber could possibly do in this situation. He teleported away. 

The buzz of magic surrounded him, but Essek wasn't really thinking about where to go. As long as it was far away enough for him to hide, it was good enough for him. 

All of a sudden the buzz faded, but Essek was still sitting in his chair by the fire. Shit. 

He looked at Caleb who had just finished his somatic component for… counterspell! How could he have forgotten about counterspell?

Caleb's mouth was set but his eyes grinned. "I don't think so, Schatz. We can discuss this like adults, no?"

Essek was panicking at this point. He'd had a plan. Okay, well not a plan. But he knew he didn't want to do it like this! He wanted it to be romantic like how it was in the books Caleb and Jester read. Caleb deserved that much after all he'd been through. 

Warm hands framed Essek's face as brilliant blue eyes filled his vision. And that face, that expression of pure love, was too much for him. Essek's vision blurred but didn't spill over. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Now, Caleb frowned. "For what, Schatz?"

"I didn't mean to spring this on you." Essek sniffed. "I had a plan. A better one than this."

Caleb smiled with what looked like…relief. That was odd. Why would Caleb need to be relieved? "Is that all, Thelyss? You more than anyone should know that plans in the Mighty Nein never work."

Essek laughed wetly and wiped his eyes. "I suppose that is true. But you cannot blame me for wanting to give you the proposal you deserve, Caleb Widogast."

Two fingers lifted Essek's chin firmly, and bright blue eyes met violet ones. "Essek, I do not need some elaborate proposal or whatever else you think it is I need." Caleb smiled softly and cupped the other's cheek. "All I need is you and the Nein and the cats. I'm a simple man with simple needs, my love."

Essek huffed a laugh at that. "Well, then I suppose I won't need to teach you the elaborate dunamantic spells I had planned for it. Thank you, Caleb. That saves me so much work."

Caleb's eyes widened comically. "No, no, you can still teach them to me. There's nothing stopping you from that."

"I don't see any reason to do so if there's no elaborate proposal, so why should I?" Essek teased. 

The human groaned and buried his head in Essek's lap. "Essek, please, I am begging you. Teach me the cool space magic."

That startled another laugh out of Essek. He ran a hand through his partner's hair and said, "I have never heard it described like that before. That is a new one. But I suppose… I can teach you one of the spells."

Caleb whipped his head up, excitement and curiosity blending on his face. Essek's heart melted. So much like a cat this one.

Essek twisted his fingers in an elegant motion and a rip in space appeared just above his open hand. Another flick and a small, black velvet box lowered onto his palm. He watched in amusement as Caleb's eyes widened once more. He couldn't tell if it was because of his use of magic or the significance of the box. 

Hesitantly, Essek held the box out to him. "Open it, darling."

Caleb took it gingerly like it was the most precious thing in the world. And in a way, it was. Because this was Essek's heart bared to the world, messy and vulnerable. He may not have crafted the gem or the actual band, but everything else was his design. He'd etched the words, had worked long nights on the charm. This was ten years of love and admiration poured into a single piece of jewelry. So Essek was more than a little nervous when Caleb gently cracked the lid open.

Caleb gasped as he beheld the creation in front of him. He lifted the ring reverently out of its carrier and watched the amber gem glow in the firelight. 

"Essek…" Caleb whispered. "This is…Schatz."

"Do you see the writing on the side?" Essek was extremely nervous now and it took the sheer power of his will to not fidget in his seat. "I know you've been practicing your Undercommon." He nodded to the ring. "Why don't you give it a shot?"

Caleb flicked his eyes to Essek before he turned the ring to see the inscription. His brows furrowed adorably in concentration. "Slyannen lueth chath ak'uech lil' ulin."

And while hesitant, the pronunciation was flawless, just like Essek knew it would be. The dunamantic mage held his breath as the ring projected and cycled through the seven images. But there was a new one Essek had added, one he hadn't wanted to show Veth just yet. The last image was of Caleb's parents holding him tightly in their arms. 

He'd asked Caleb a while ago—when both were a little tipsy—what his parents had looked like. Planning for this even then. Caleb had frowned, thinking, before he'd conjured an image of two adults, a man with graying black hair and a woman with Caleb's own fiery red locks. Caleb had inherited his father's eyes and his mother's smile. But even though the illusion had looked clear, Essek had seen where the lapses of memory affected the creation. The faces were fuzzy and the clothes were generic. 

Essek had known then how long Caleb had spent trying to remember them, trying to remember every single detail he'd forgotten. Essek's heart had broken for him and broke even further as tears of frustration had slipped out of the human's eyes. Caleb's hands had curled in anger, dissipating the illusion completely. Essek had immediately run over and pulled Caleb into a hug, whispering apologies and sweet nothings.

From that point, Essek had made it his mission to get their accurate portraits so Caleb could never forget them again. He'd visited Astrid and Eadwulf who'd had the same keen mind as Caleb but hadn't been stuck in isolation for eleven years. With that and an invasive mind probe into their collective abuser, Essek was able to complete the picture Caleb had spent so long working on.

Since Essek was watching Caleb so intently as the images in the ring scrolled through, he noticed immediately when tears dripped down the human's cheeks. Essek took the hand that wasn't holding the ring and squeezed. Caleb gripped back like he was holding on for dear life. 

When the images faded back into the gem, all Caleb said was "Essek…," his voice breaking. 

"Caleb Widogast," Essek began. "In comparison to the years I've lived, I have not known you very long, and yet…Yet the memories I've made with you are by far the most important ones I will ever have."

Essek's throat was starting to close off with emotion, but he forced himself through it. "You have made one of the most stubborn drow in the Dynasty change his ways, proving the strength of your character. Caleb, you…you…" 

He sighed. "I struggle to find the words to express how much you mean to me. Beau was right when she had said the world was much more beautiful in all the shades of colors. But Caleb—" Essek seized his partner's hands, gripping them tightly. He fixed Caleb with an intense expression. "You must know that you were the first color I saw. Orange so bright it burned, shocking me out of the daze I'd been in. How extraordinary it was—that first color in a world of gray. Maybe…" Essek ducked his head. "Maybe that is why I consider orange my favorite color…"

Anything else he would've said was cut off when rough lips pressed against his own. Essek could taste the salt as their tears mingled. He held onto Caleb for dear life, kissing almost desperately. This man meant the world to him and he would break the universe to make him smile, to hear him laugh. Anything to make sure this man would never suffer again.

Essek pulled back, resting their foreheads together. He chuckled a bit. “Ah, you have made me lose my train of thought, Caleb. I had impressive words to say, and now I can’t remember a single thing. What have you done to me?”

“Only love you as you should be.” Caleb pressed another sweet kiss to Essek’s temple. “Tell me more, Herr Thelyss. I wish to hear these impressive words.”

Essek threw his head back in laughter. “I do not believe I have any more impressive words. Only these.”

He kneeled down so that he and Caleb were on somewhat of the same level. Cupping the hand that was holding the ring, Essek spoke. “Caleb Widogast, love of my life, flame of my heart, will you do me the greatest honor and allow me to take your hand in marriage?”

Caleb tapped his chin in thought. “I don’t know. I’m not entirely sure you love me that much.”

Essek waited patiently with a fond grin. He knew by now when his partner was teasing him.

Seeing Essek unfazed made Caleb melt. He surged forward, took the drow’s face in his hands, and kissed him so thoroughly that Essek saw stars.

“Yes, Schatz,” the human whispered on his lips. “Forever and always.”

Essek swooped Caleb into his arms, and, with the help of a fancy dunamancy spell, spun him around in a hug. Joy and elation bubbled in his chest, threatening to spill over. Eventually, Essek calmed enough to set Caleb back on his feet. He held him close though, not willing to let go.

“We should probably tell Veth soon,” he mumbled into the human’s chest.

Essek felt the bassy rumble of the man’s chest as Caleb softly chuckled. “She’s waited this long. I’m sure she can wait another day.”

And so there the wizards stayed. In the sitting room of their home, slow dancing to nonexistent music as the fire crackled soothingly. What a wonderful way to start their next chapter.

Translations:

Shu: Shit

Vith: Fuck

N'abyl: Balls

Slyannen lueth chath ak'uech lil' ulin: Stars and fire forge the future

[averydecker1995]

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