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Is the rat lore making it to tumblr now or am I seeing things

he has everything he needs 🐭❤🧀🐟

without the coat and hair

aaaand the reference! I couldn't find the artist, I found this on pinterest tho(pls tell me if you know)

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Tomato color study 🍅

speedpaint on my IG @maysartjourney

Took about 2 hours

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I tried my best to convey the emotion of the scenes in the dialogues and actions 😞

"I will love you at your weakest if you let me."

.. In which you let Caleb pick up after you in a moment of vulnerability when life overwhelms you, your mind threatening to revert back to it's depressive ways.

Caleb x GN Reader comfort oneshot 💗

word count: 1.3k

Ao3 Link

“Caleb, can you sit with me while I study?” 

Your upside down face came into his view as you stood behind where he was sitting on the couch. 

You couldn't help but bring your hands up to caress his cheeks as he looked up at you, head resting on the couch back and work documents sitting on his lap. 

He looked at you like he was studying a model of the universe. You willed yourself to not get sucked into his beautiful eyes. 

“You want me to keep you company, hm?” His eyes twinkled a bit as he smiled. 

You pulled lightly at his cheeks with your hands, technically messaging his face. He put down the document in his hands as he struggled to keep his face in place with all your pulling and pushing. 

“Hey now, that's enuff! Youf treafing me like a stresf toy–” He laughed as his hands came up to catch yours. 

“Well, I hate to admit it, but I am stressed. And bored. And I miss you.” You toppled your head onto the couch back alongside his, looking away from him.

“You look like a dead fish right now, Pipsqueak.” He chuckled. 

“I feel like one.”

“.. Are you sulking right now, honey?” You could hear the smile in his voice. 

“No.”

You felt his hand pat your head. 

“You're definitely sulking. Sulky baby.” He couldn't help but laugh this time, finding your behavior endearing. 

You didn't answer. Just kept on slouching on the couch. You didn't even swat his hand away. 

“Let's get studying, Pipsqueak.�� His hand moved down to your shoulder, patting it twice as if to say “let's get going.”

“Come on, now.”

You sighed. 

… 

Caleb was now sitting next to you on the dining table with his laptop and documents in front of him. 

“If there's anything you need help with, just let me know, alright?” He opened his laptop. 

You rest your arm on the table, and your head on top of it, looking at him. 

“It's not a subject you've studied before, Caleb.” 

He looked back at you with a raised brow, smiling. 

“Then why do you want me here?” He questioned, resting his head on his wrist. 

He was teasing you. You knew it. He had been suspiciously bright since you voiced your request. And you suspect you already knew why. 

He was happy that you needed him to be there with you. You always wanted to do everything yourself, or by yourself, and your sweet and lovely boyfriend always wanted you to let him do things for you. And with you. And wanted you to rely on him for the smallest of things. 

But of course, you never did. It wasn't that you disliked it, or that Caleb wasn't reliable. Hell, he was one of the most reliable people in your life if you had to say it. 

You just weren't used to it. Asking for help, relying on others, making unnecessary demands that would bother them.

But sometimes, it got too much. 

And sometimes, he was the only one you could think of being vulnerable enough to, to make unnecessary demands that most people would otherwise reject. 

Not Caleb, though. Never him. He would always give you what you wanted, regardless of whether both of you knew it was unreasonable or not. 

Like now, when you both knew you'd focus better on your work if you were alone, without any annoyingly handsome and loving distractions around. 

But he knew you needed him to stay with you for this moment, as much as it made you less productive. Not like you were getting any work done before anyway. 

Breaking out of your thoughts at the sound of a chair creaking, you watched as Caleb leaned back on it. 

He grabbed your free hand, intertwining your fingers together and bringing it to his lap. 

He stayed silent for a moment, expression shifting to something more serious. 

“Do you need my help, honey?” He asked in a gentle voice. “To stay focused.”

He looked at you, waiting for any kind of change in your emotions. You stayed silent and squeezed his hand, and he took it as a signal to continue. 

“I can see you strugglin’, you know. It's not been the best week for you.” He looked into your eyes, the gentlest of concern showing on his face. 

You stared back and nodded. He waited for you to say something. 

“.. I don't feel like doing anything.” You admitted quietly. It was one of those days, and he could tell.

Even the people closest to you could've missed it, but Caleb always knew. The way he took in everything about you, he learned how to tell when things were amiss. 

And things were not working out right now. You felt too depressed to do anything, but there were important things you had to finish, because the world didn't stop running when you weren't functioning well. 

You continued. “But, I need to get some work done. I don't want to let it pile up and ruin my day later even more.”

His other hand came up to play with your intertwined ones. 

“I'll feel even worse if I can't bring myself to finish a single thing right now.” Your voice wavered a little bit. “And I don't want that, Caleb.”

“You don't have to force yourself if you're not able to focus right now, Pipsqueak. You know that, right?” 

“I know. I just..” You rest your forehead on the table, looking down at the ground. 

“.. I don't want to fall into a slump again.” 

Caleb watched as you loosened your grip on his hand, letting it go slack. 

You looked so defeated. 

He hated to see it. 

But he knew you needed to borrow his strength right now, instead of someone breaking down on you by borrowing your stress instead. 

He had seen what that did to you when the people closest to you weren't strong enough to support you at your lowest. You never talked about it, but he figured it out eventually. 

The fact that you were being so vulnerable with him readily was something he had to work on for ages to be able to get through to you. 

And clearly, he'd done something right with how you were voicing your thoughts right now. 

“Whatever you need, Pipsqueak.” He poked your cheek. 

“I'll help you focus.”

… 

You felt like crying. 

Not from sadness, no. You were relieved. Ecstatic, even. 

It had been a few days since your conversation with him. You knew Caleb would never let you down, but this was beyond what you could've hoped for. 

Caleb had pulled through on his promise. 

Every single day, until you achieved your goals for the day, and reached your deadlines on time, never resulting in you stressing out at the last minute because of his support. 

When you asked him to wake you up from naps at all costs whenever you asked him to, he woke you up. 

When you asked him to help you focus, he set a timer and blocked out all distractions for you, forcing you to focus. Gently. No matter how much you whined. 

When he saw you needed a break, he prepared your favorite meals for you. Served hot right at your side. Hand fed at times, but you banished him from speaking a word about that. 

When he saw you spiraling in your mind, overthinking, he talked your head off. Anything from his work in the fleet, to the airplane models that he always went off about, to clothes he wanted your opinion on before buying. 

He never left you alone. 

Not until you cracked a smile and told him you were feeling better. 

Not until he made you laugh from his over the top pampering and horrible jokes, always teasing you out of your tired mind. 

Caleb never let you down. 

And Caleb, never, ever let you down especially when you readily let yourself go and relied on him. 

Caleb turned your vulnerabilities into your strengths by simply being by your side, no matter how weak you felt.

---

A/N: can u guys tell that he's my emotional support pixel boy.. (；′⌒`) I love him

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"I will love you at your weakest if you let me."

.. In which you let Caleb pick up after you in a moment of vulnerability when life overwhelms you, your mind threatening to revert back to it's depressive ways.

Caleb x GN Reader comfort oneshot 💗

word count: 1.3k

Ao3 Link

“Caleb, can you sit with me while I study?” 

Your upside down face came into his view as you stood behind where he was sitting on the couch. 

You couldn't help but bring your hands up to caress his cheeks as he looked up at you, head resting on the couch back and work documents sitting on his lap. 

He looked at you like he was studying a model of the universe. You willed yourself to not get sucked into his beautiful eyes. 

“You want me to keep you company, hm?” His eyes twinkled a bit as he smiled. 

You pulled lightly at his cheeks with your hands, technically messaging his face. He put down the document in his hands as he struggled to keep his face in place with all your pulling and pushing. 

“Hey now, that's enuff! Youf treafing me like a stresf toy–” He laughed as his hands came up to catch yours. 

“Well, I hate to admit it, but I am stressed. And bored. And I miss you.” You toppled your head onto the couch back alongside his, looking away from him.

“You look like a dead fish right now, Pipsqueak.” He chuckled. 

“I feel like one.”

“.. Are you sulking right now, honey?” You could hear the smile in his voice. 

“No.”

You felt his hand pat your head. 

“You're definitely sulking. Sulky baby.” He couldn't help but laugh this time, finding your behavior endearing. 

You didn't answer. Just kept on slouching on the couch. You didn't even swat his hand away. 

“Let's get studying, Pipsqueak.” His hand moved down to your shoulder, patting it twice as if to say “let's get going.”

“Come on, now.”

You sighed. 

… 

Caleb was now sitting next to you on the dining table with his laptop and documents in front of him. 

“If there's anything you need help with, just let me know, alright?” He opened his laptop. 

You rest your arm on the table, and your head on top of it, looking at him. 

“It's not a subject you've studied before, Caleb.” 

He looked back at you with a raised brow, smiling. 

“Then why do you want me here?” He questioned, resting his head on his wrist. 

He was teasing you. You knew it. He had been suspiciously bright since you voiced your request. And you suspect you already knew why. 

He was happy that you needed him to be there with you. You always wanted to do everything yourself, or by yourself, and your sweet and lovely boyfriend always wanted you to let him do things for you. And with you. And wanted you to rely on him for the smallest of things. 

But of course, you never did. It wasn't that you disliked it, or that Caleb wasn't reliable. Hell, he was one of the most reliable people in your life if you had to say it. 

You just weren't used to it. Asking for help, relying on others, making unnecessary demands that would bother them.

But sometimes, it got too much. 

And sometimes, he was the only one you could think of being vulnerable enough to, to make unnecessary demands that most people would otherwise reject. 

Not Caleb, though. Never him. He would always give you what you wanted, regardless of whether both of you knew it was unreasonable or not. 

Like now, when you both knew you'd focus better on your work if you were alone, without any annoyingly handsome and loving distractions around. 

But he knew you needed him to stay with you for this moment, as much as it made you less productive. Not like you were getting any work done before anyway. 

Breaking out of your thoughts at the sound of a chair creaking, you watched as Caleb leaned back on it. 

He grabbed your free hand, intertwining your fingers together and bringing it to his lap. 

He stayed silent for a moment, expression shifting to something more serious. 

“Do you need my help, honey?” He asked in a gentle voice. “To stay focused.”

He looked at you, waiting for any kind of change in your emotions. You stayed silent and squeezed his hand, and he took it as a signal to continue. 

“I can see you strugglin’, you know. It's not been the best week for you.” He looked into your eyes, the gentlest of concern showing on his face. 

You stared back and nodded. He waited for you to say something. 

“.. I don't feel like doing anything.” You admitted quietly. It was one of those days, and he could tell.

Even the people closest to you could've missed it, but Caleb always knew. The way he took in everything about you, he learned how to tell when things were amiss. 

And things were not working out right now. You felt too depressed to do anything, but there were important things you had to finish, because the world didn't stop running when you weren't functioning well. 

You continued. “But, I need to get some work done. I don't want to let it pile up and ruin my day later even more.”

His other hand came up to play with your intertwined ones. 

“I'll feel even worse if I can't bring myself to finish a single thing right now.” Your voice wavered a little bit. “And I don't want that, Caleb.”

“You don't have to force yourself if you're not able to focus right now, Pipsqueak. You know that, right?” 

“I know. I just..” You rest your forehead on the table, looking down at the ground. 

“.. I don't want to fall into a slump again.” 

Caleb watched as you loosened your grip on his hand, letting it go slack. 

You looked so defeated. 

He hated to see it. 

But he knew you needed to borrow his strength right now, instead of someone breaking down on you by borrowing your stress instead. 

He had seen what that did to you when the people closest to you weren't strong enough to support you at your lowest. You never talked about it, but he figured it out eventually. 

The fact that you were being so vulnerable with him readily was something he had to work on for ages to be able to get through to you. 

And clearly, he'd done something right with how you were voicing your thoughts right now. 

“Whatever you need, Pipsqueak.” He poked your cheek. 

“I'll help you focus.”

… 

You felt like crying. 

Not from sadness, no. You were relieved. Ecstatic, even. 

It had been a few days since your conversation with him. You knew Caleb would never let you down, but this was beyond what you could've hoped for. 

Caleb had pulled through on his promise. 

Every single day, until you achieved your goals for the day, and reached your deadlines on time, never resulting in you stressing out at the last minute because of his support. 

When you asked him to wake you up from naps at all costs whenever you asked him to, he woke you up. 

When you asked him to help you focus, he set a timer and blocked out all distractions for you, forcing you to focus. Gently. No matter how much you whined. 

When he saw you needed a break, he prepared your favorite meals for you. Served hot right at your side. Hand fed at times, but you banished him from speaking a word about that. 

When he saw you spiraling in your mind, overthinking, he talked your head off. Anything from his work in the fleet, to the airplane models that he always went off about, to clothes he wanted your opinion on before buying. 

He never left you alone. 

Not until you cracked a smile and told him you were feeling better. 

Not until he made you laugh from his over the top pampering and horrible jokes, always teasing you out of your tired mind. 

Caleb never let you down. 

And Caleb, never, ever let you down especially when you readily let yourself go and relied on him. 

Caleb turned your vulnerabilities into your strengths by simply being by your side, no matter how weak you felt.

---

A/N: can u guys tell that he's my emotional support pixel boy.. (；′⌒`) I love him

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Cutie lil raf

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Someone gifted me this retractable erasure and it reminds me of Xavier

sapce travel! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

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Commissioned from VGEN!

(my commissions are currently open!) ^.^

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uhh i dont feel good

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✦ The Dodoco doesn't fall far from the tree

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Obsession

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wHAT IF I EXPLODED

HELLO VARKA UR OFFICIALLY REAL IVE WAITED SO LONG AND IM SO LOWVEBFN

ALSO ALICE AND FLINS ??????

gobbles them up.

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The editing choice for the flower field where Xavier and MC kiss turning into a dead warzone was genuinely diabolical and infold will need to pay for my therapy..

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u could say caleb and that dog have a lot in common... For example. Being a master manipu- (gets sent into outerspace by an unknown force)

Cat and Dog! (.. vs. dog?!)

.. in which Caleb fights for his dignity to stay intact when you give all your attention to a stray puppy instead of him.

Caleb x GN Reader fluffy oneshot ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

word count: 1.5k

Ao3 Link

“Caleb, let's go out today. I’m booored.” You threw your phone across the couch and looked at Caleb who was lounging on the hardwood floor of your living room.

Caleb chuckled and looked up from the airplane model he had been studying for the past 50 minutes. Exactly. You knew because you’d timed it.

“What, pipsqueak, bored already? It’s only been a little bit since we had lunch. I thought you’d be sleepy by now.” 

You looked at him unamused, and crossed your arms. “Really, Caleb? You make it sound like I’m a cat.” 

And Caleb, in all his muscled up nerd glory, had the audacity to just look at you and smirk.

You snatched a pillow from the couch and threw it at him. He caught it easily and laughed.

“Okay, okay!..” He sighed and shook his head. You couldn’t help but admire the way his hair ruffled just slightly and framed his face perfectly. “You’re not a cat. Sooo.. What do ya wanna do, Pipsqueak?”

You leaned back on the couch and thought for a moment. 

“How about we go on a walk? It’s been a while since we went to any parks in the area.”

He put his model aside and got up, turning to you while stretching. His necklace dangled from the movement.

It was a rare sighting to see him so relaxed. 

“It’s decided, then. Put on your walking shoes, pipsqueak.” He smiled.

…

You walked along a path covered in greenery. The concrete pathway was beautifully lined up with lush green trees on both sides, their leaves providing shade with specks of sunlight shimmering through and dancing on the concrete.

You walked hand in hand with Caleb, swinging your joined arms freely.

“What’s got you so worked up today?” He asked with his smooth voice, curiosity evident.

You squeezed his hand. “Nothing. It’s just such a perfect day, y’know?”

“It really is.”

Unbeknownst to you, he didn’t take his eyes off of you as he said this.

You kept on walking your way towards the biggest park in your residential area.

…

Caleb soaked in the slight breeze and chirping of the birds. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind. Focusing on the sound of nature while walking hand in hand with his pipsqueak was doing wonders to his mind, taking off a weight he didn’t realise he’d been carrying since the start of the weekend.

Out of nowhere, he heard a high pitched “awoo!”. 

And then another. And another. And the sound kept on getting closer and closer and closer until a tiny brown puppy made its way towards you, tail wagging in excitement, and eyes full of light.

“Oh my god, Caleb! Look!!” You squealed. “It’s a puppy!!!” 

The puppy jumped around you, goading you to play with him. 

He watched as you let go of his hand to coo at the puppy in pure excitement. 

If you had taken a glance at him, you would’ve seen him standing there with his mouth hanging open and eyes full of dismay and betrayal fixed on your figure crouching down to pet the dog.

His day of relaxation and having you all to himself was over sooner than necessary.

…

Oh how the tables had tabled. Caleb was now the one standing next to you with an unamused look on his face and arms crossed. He was pouting. The Colonel Caleb, your lovely, genius, reliable, nerdy, strong, boyfriend Caleb was pouting and you weren’t even sparing him a glance, too busy smothering a dog in pets and kisses. The dog wasn’t even a full grown man worthy of your love. It was a puppy, for god’s sake! And you were giving all your attention to a weak little puppy when your amazing boyfriend was right next to you.

But, of course, Caleb wasn’t the one thinking of any of that. Totally. It was just a paragraph written to make the narration more interesting and definitely not his inner monologue.

“Hey, pipsqueak, I thought you wanted to go to the park.”

“Caleb, there’s no way I’m going anywhere away from this cute little thing! Just look at him, he’s so friendly!” You got up and shoved the puppy in Caleb’s face, still grinning at how his tail kept on wagging like a motor powered fan.

“He’s sooo cute! How can we just leave him here like this?”

Uh-oh. Caleb knew that look.

Growing up, you always had a habit of getting attached to cute strays and bringing them back home. 

This was definitely becoming one of those days.

And Caleb didn’t know how to say no to you.

…

“So, Caleb.. What do we name him?” 

There was a dog in the middle of your living room. And Caleb was having a one-sided staring contest with him, which, of course, went unnoticed by you, because you were too busy getting manipulated by that little sh–.. Little manipulative mastermind into continuously petting him.

“We shouldn’t. We’re not keeping him.” He deadpanned. “As a matter of fact, I’ll go call the nearest shelter right now–”

You looked up at him, pouting. And as if he could understand everything Caleb just said, the dog followed. 

He knew it. That dog’s a master manipulator.

But, looking at your pleading face, he kept his mouth shut this time. 

“.. We can play with him for a bit before sending him off, of course.”

Caleb really didn’t know how to say no to you.

And he was going to regret it for the rest of the day.

…

So far, you had played fetch with the dog, given him a big piece of Caleb’s broken models to chew on, and fed him the tastiest dog food you could get delivered within the hour.

You watched as the puppy licked the food away at lightning speed.

“Poor thing. It must’ve been hungry for a while.”

Caleb watched you watch the dog. Not really. All animals act like that in front of food.

Now that the dog was busy eating, you finally, finally, looked at him, leaning back on the dining chair you were sitting on.

“You’ve been real quiet today, big boy. What’s on your mind?” If Caleb wasn’t so busy sulking away, he would’ve noticed the slight teasing tone you took on.

“Oh, I’m absolutely having a blast today. Don’t worry.” Caleb said in a voice all too enthusiastic and chippery for an expression of a dead man.

You stared at him, trying to push down the grin about to break through on your face. You put your elbow on the table and rest your head on your wrist, hand covering the corner of your mouth threatening to curve up.

He avoided looking at you, staring somewhere far off instead.

“How about we name him “Cutie”?”

“No.”

“Thennn.. What about “Baby”? He’s my cute little baby.” You then reach down and pet the dog licking his dish clean on the floor between the two of you. “You’re my baby, aren’t you? Oh, you cute little whittle–”

The dog barked and wagged his tail, spinning in circles.

Okay, that’s enough– 

Caleb grabbed your hand and entwined your fingers together, effectively stopping you from petting the puppy any further.

You chose to file this moment away in the back of your mind to tease him later. But, for now..

“Not “Baby” either? Why not?”

He looked at you. Huge mistake.

His eyes literally screamed “because I’M your baby, obviously.” His ears turned red but he didn’t look away. Instead, he spoke in that smooth voice of his, smiling while a nerve bulged on his forehead.

“It just doesn’t suit him.” The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

You were too close to bursting out laughing. But, you needed to pull through for the next attack you were prepared to use.

“He’s Caleb Junior, then. Since you don’t like any of the other names I picked for him.” 

His eyes slightly widened and the grip on your hand tightened. 

The dog barked, as if he liked being called Caleb Jr.

At this moment, Caleb knew the dog won this one.

“Pipsqueak, what did you just say?” He looked like he was a robot that was going through the worst malfunction in history.

“Caleb Junior, y’know! He’s cute and energetic, and has allll my attention on him–”

Caleb.exe had stopped working.

BONUS:

…

You made your way back inside after watching the animal shelter car drive off in the distance with Caleb Junior. The sun had gone down and a chill in the air was starting to set outside.

You crashed onto the couch, pulling Caleb down with you. 

He sighed (as if relieving himself of the horrible day he’d had) and nuzzled into your neck. A silence set in place. 

It didn’t last as long as Caleb hoped.

You looked at him, grinning. Caleb’s eyes stayed closed as if pretending he didn’t realise what you were doing.

“You were jealous, weren’t you?” You poked his head resting on your shoulder. “It’s a dog, Caleb.” 

“I’m your dog.” He whispered.

A fit of giggles erupted next to him. He felt his ears start to flush again.

He gently bit you.

You yelped. And erupted right back into laughter, falling on your side onto the couch.

The tiniest of smiles breaking on his face.

Caleb toppled right onto you, burying his face into your stomach.

A/N: i love him. (❁´◡`❁) this was also a sort of warm up for writing for Caleb as a human in the reverse isekai series + a character study. but mostly because i love him 🙂‍↕️

LADS fic taglist: @roseapov

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Missed my skrunklies 🥹 beach times!

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Cat and Dog! (.. vs. dog?!)

.. in which Caleb fights for his dignity to stay intact when you give all your attention to a stray puppy instead of him.

Caleb x GN Reader fluffy oneshot ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

word count: 1.5k

Ao3 Link

“Caleb, let's go out today. I’m booored.” You threw your phone across the couch and looked at Caleb who was lounging on the hardwood floor of your living room.

Caleb chuckled and looked up from the airplane model he had been studying for the past 50 minutes. Exactly. You knew because you’d timed it.

“What, pipsqueak, bored already? It’s only been a little bit since we had lunch. I thought you’d be sleepy by now.” 

You looked at him unamused, and crossed your arms. “Really, Caleb? You make it sound like I’m a cat.” 

And Caleb, in all his muscled up nerd glory, had the audacity to just look at you and smirk.

You snatched a pillow from the couch and threw it at him. He caught it easily and laughed.

“Okay, okay!..” He sighed and shook his head. You couldn’t help but admire the way his hair ruffled just slightly and framed his face perfectly. “You’re not a cat. Sooo.. What do ya wanna do, Pipsqueak?”

You leaned back on the couch and thought for a moment. 

“How about we go on a walk? It’s been a while since we went to any parks in the area.”

He put his model aside and got up, turning to you while stretching. His necklace dangled from the movement.

It was a rare sighting to see him so relaxed. 

“It’s decided, then. Put on your walking shoes, pipsqueak.” He smiled.

…

You walked along a path covered in greenery. The concrete pathway was beautifully lined up with lush green trees on both sides, their leaves providing shade with specks of sunlight shimmering through and dancing on the concrete.

You walked hand in hand with Caleb, swinging your joined arms freely.

“What’s got you so worked up today?” He asked with his smooth voice, curiosity evident.

You squeezed his hand. “Nothing. It’s just such a perfect day, y’know?”

“It really is.”

Unbeknownst to you, he didn’t take his eyes off of you as he said this.

You kept on walking your way towards the biggest park in your residential area.

…

Caleb soaked in the slight breeze and chirping of the birds. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind. Focusing on the sound of nature while walking hand in hand with his pipsqueak was doing wonders to his mind, taking off a weight he didn’t realise he’d been carrying since the start of the weekend.

Out of nowhere, he heard a high pitched “awoo!”. 

And then another. And another. And the sound kept on getting closer and closer and closer until a tiny brown puppy made its way towards you, tail wagging in excitement, and eyes full of light.

“Oh my god, Caleb! Look!!” You squealed. “It’s a puppy!!!” 

The puppy jumped around you, goading you to play with him. 

He watched as you let go of his hand to coo at the puppy in pure excitement. 

If you had taken a glance at him, you would’ve seen him standing there with his mouth hanging open and eyes full of dismay and betrayal fixed on your figure crouching down to pet the dog.

His day of relaxation and having you all to himself was over sooner than necessary.

…

Oh how the tables had tabled. Caleb was now the one standing next to you with an unamused look on his face and arms crossed. He was pouting. The Colonel Caleb, your lovely, genius, reliable, nerdy, strong, boyfriend Caleb was pouting and you weren’t even sparing him a glance, too busy smothering a dog in pets and kisses. The dog wasn’t even a full grown man worthy of your love. It was a puppy, for god’s sake! And you were giving all your attention to a weak little puppy when your amazing boyfriend was right next to you.

But, of course, Caleb wasn’t the one thinking of any of that. Totally. It was just a paragraph written to make the narration more interesting and definitely not his inner monologue.

“Hey, pipsqueak, I thought you wanted to go to the park.”

“Caleb, there’s no way I’m going anywhere away from this cute little thing! Just look at him, he’s so friendly!” You got up and shoved the puppy in Caleb’s face, still grinning at how his tail kept on wagging like a motor powered fan.

“He’s sooo cute! How can we just leave him here like this?”

Uh-oh. Caleb knew that look.

Growing up, you always had a habit of getting attached to cute strays and bringing them back home. 

This was definitely becoming one of those days.

And Caleb didn’t know how to say no to you.

…

“So, Caleb.. What do we name him?” 

There was a dog in the middle of your living room. And Caleb was having a one-sided staring contest with him, which, of course, went unnoticed by you, because you were too busy getting manipulated by that little sh–.. Little manipulative mastermind into continuously petting him.

“We shouldn’t. We’re not keeping him.” He deadpanned. “As a matter of fact, I’ll go call the nearest shelter right now–”

You looked up at him, pouting. And as if he could understand everything Caleb just said, the dog followed. 

He knew it. That dog’s a master manipulator.

But, looking at your pleading face, he kept his mouth shut this time. 

“.. We can play with him for a bit before sending him off, of course.”

Caleb really didn’t know how to say no to you.

And he was going to regret it for the rest of the day.

…

So far, you had played fetch with the dog, given him a big piece of Caleb’s broken models to chew on, and fed him the tastiest dog food you could get delivered within the hour.

You watched as the puppy licked the food away at lightning speed.

“Poor thing. It must’ve been hungry for a while.”

Caleb watched you watch the dog. Not really. All animals act like that in front of food.

Now that the dog was busy eating, you finally, finally, looked at him, leaning back on the dining chair you were sitting on.

“You’ve been real quiet today, big boy. What’s on your mind?” If Caleb wasn’t so busy sulking away, he would’ve noticed the slight teasing tone you took on.

“Oh, I’m absolutely having a blast today. Don’t worry.” Caleb said in a voice all too enthusiastic and chippery for an expression of a dead man.

You stared at him, trying to push down the grin about to break through on your face. You put your elbow on the table and rest your head on your wrist, hand covering the corner of your mouth threatening to curve up.

He avoided looking at you, staring somewhere far off instead.

“How about we name him “Cutie”?”

“No.”

“Thennn.. What about “Baby”? He’s my cute little baby.” You then reach down and pet the dog licking his dish clean on the floor between the two of you. “You’re my baby, aren’t you? Oh, you cute little whittle–”

The dog barked and wagged his tail, spinning in circles.

Okay, that’s enough– 

Caleb grabbed your hand and entwined your fingers together, effectively stopping you from petting the puppy any further.

You chose to file this moment away in the back of your mind to tease him later. But, for now..

“Not “Baby” either? Why not?”

He looked at you. Huge mistake.

His eyes literally screamed “because I’M your baby, obviously.” His ears turned red but he didn’t look away. Instead, he spoke in that smooth voice of his, smiling while a nerve bulged on his forehead.

“It just doesn’t suit him.” The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

You were too close to bursting out laughing. But, you needed to pull through for the next attack you were prepared to use.

“He’s Caleb Junior, then. Since you don’t like any of the other names I picked for him.” 

His eyes slightly widened and the grip on your hand tightened. 

The dog barked, as if he liked being called Caleb Jr.

At this moment, Caleb knew the dog won this one.

“Pipsqueak, what did you just say?” He looked like he was a robot that was going through the worst malfunction in history.

“Caleb Junior, y’know! He’s cute and energetic, and has allll my attention on him–”

Caleb.exe had stopped working.

BONUS:

…

You made your way back inside after watching the animal shelter car drive off in the distance with Caleb Junior. The sun had gone down and a chill in the air was starting to set outside.

You crashed onto the couch, pulling Caleb down with you. 

He sighed (as if relieving himself of the horrible day he’d had) and nuzzled into your neck. A silence set in place. 

It didn’t last as long as Caleb hoped.

You looked at him, grinning. Caleb’s eyes stayed closed as if pretending he didn’t realise what you were doing.

“You were jealous, weren’t you?” You poked his head resting on your shoulder. “It’s a dog, Caleb.” 

“I’m your dog.” He whispered.

A fit of giggles erupted next to him. He felt his ears start to flush again.

He gently bit you.

You yelped. And erupted right back into laughter, falling on your side onto the couch.

The tiniest of smiles breaking on his face.

Caleb toppled right onto you, burying his face into your stomach.

A/N: i love him. (❁´◡`❁) this was also a sort of warm up for writing for Caleb as a human in the reverse isekai series + a character study. but mostly because i love him 🙂‍↕️

LADS fic taglist: @roseapov

[4-the-l0ve-0f-art]

can you do some red rose and apple dividers :3?

This is such a cute combo I never would’ve thought to put together 🩵🌸

Apples and Roses