Chapter Text
"Morning, Gran."
The sound of soft chuckle can be heard before Caleb climbs down the last step of stairs, the gentle voice soon replies to him in a warm tone, "Good morning, Caleb."
Six hot-baked muffins straight from the oven, freshly brewed coffee, four grilled sausages, two slices of toasts still sitting in the toaster ready to jump up at any second at the counter; looking at all these simple yet hearty breakfast makes him blurts out, "Where are the eggs?" It earns him a quick slap on the head which he raises his hand in an instant to rub at the spot that hurts. Okay... Shouldn't have said that.
"Patience, young man. Not every old lady like me can cook as fast as you youngsters these days," after she chides him in a stern voice, Josephine turns her face to glare at her young charge, "Make yourself useful around the kitchen will you? God knows how you'll survive without me after I'm gone." With that, she turns around to focus on the eggs as they sizzle soundly in the frying pan, waiting until the whites are completely set.
Caleb can't help but roll his eyes thankfully away from his grandmother's line of sight. He chooses not to reply, he walks up to one of the top wooden cabinets and open one of its doors instead, carefully taking out a beige ceramic plate. Next, the toasts. Speaking of, a sharp "Ding!" resounded throughout the kitchen, Caleb places the plate beside the toaster and grabs a pair of tongs from a nearby drawer. Once the toasts are place on the plate, he puts it on the table with the rest of their ready-to-eat breakfast foods.
He turns around as soon as Josephine calls out in a panic, "Oh shoot! I forgot the plate! Caleb, can you-"
"On it!"
Like a breeze, Caleb manages to hand over a plate to her not a second too soon. By using his Gravity Evol, of course.
As they eat through their breakfast halfway, Josephine suddenly asks Caleb about his partner from work.
"How is Xavier? It's been a while since he came here with you to visit me. Is everything alright?"
Caleb raises his head and gives her an immediate answer, "Everything's fine, grandma. There's nothing to worry about. Besides sleeping on the job or just daydreaming away his life, he's pretty much the same, I guess." He shrugs and gives her an easy smile, "He'll visit you again when he's ready, he says."
"When he's ready? What do you mean when he's ready? Ready for wha-" Caleb's eyes widened as soon as Josephine's eyes crinkled in glee. "Oh! Are the two of you started eloping behind my back? How promiscuous of you! First, it's Zayne, that shy young man from next door years ago now the head of cardiology of Akso Hospital."
"Grandma, please! Can we skip this conversation?"
"After that, I've never thought you would date another man who is the world's most famous artist! A Lemurian Sea God at that! And, he's your employer, for goodness sake!"
"He forced me to work for him! I'd never get a say in this!"
"Not to mention, when you were tasked to infiltrate the N109 Zone, you managed to seduced the most wanted criminal in the world! Don't think I didn't see those fancy jewellery Mephisto brought in when you weren't around! That man had really spoiled you rotten!"
"Ugh... Can you not bring that up, please?"
Right now, all Caleb wants is to dash out of the door and starts his work early than staying here listening to his grandmother rambling about his love life. Well, MULTIPLE love lives...... But, whatever!
"Now, you're dating another man who is possibly older than me! When he disguised himself as Lumiere, I was only a child at the age of five! He could very well be your great grandfather given his age now!"
He grumbles under his breath, "Don't remind me. At least he's good-looking for his age..."
"See?! You don't even deny it! How many more handsome men out there are you going to seduce, hmm? It seems you attract those who have quite the wealth in their bank accounts, are you perhaps a gold-digger?" Josephine asks in a playful tone, she relishes it as she watches her grandson buries his face in shame underneath her dining table.
"Here, take the rest of these muffins to your colleagues! Say hello to them for me, will you?"
Caleb pauses at the door, his right hand rests on top of its handle before he turns around; his left arm tucks a brown paper bag filled with soft, warm, homemade muffins, "No problem, Gran. I'm sure they'll appreciate them. I'll get going now, is there anything you want me to get for you?"
Josephine shakes her head, waving him away with her hand to hurry him on. "No need for that, Caleb. I have everything I need at the moment. You've best be on your way now!"
Flashing a cheeky grin at her, his amethyst eyes brightens up as he says, "Time to meet up with my boyfriends, Grandma! Don't miss me too much!"
Without waiting for her to respond, Caleb flings himself out the door as soon as she opens her mouth. Skipping down the steps and runs towards his motorcycle which he parked at a nearby alleyway, the young Hunter freezes during midway, his eyes wide in shock as his body stills completely, as if something is holding him against his will.
Oh no... Can it be...?
Amethyst eyes turn to the suspect warily, who was already walking towards him. A tall, lean man, dressed to the nines in expensive brands which Caleb guesses he can't afford with his full year salary.
"What do you want now, Astra? Can't you see I'm busy right now?" he hissed. Caleb grits his teeth, wishing his encounter with the God of Chaos would be over soon. If only he could take back control of his body right now, he'll happily put a bullet through his forehead without a second thought.
Astra just chuckles at the Hunter's annoyance, asking, "Why the rush, Darling? Can't I have the privilege to see my beloved off to work?"
As soon as Astra's powers loosen over his hold on him, Caleb whips around in lightning speed, only for his fist to be met with empty air. Then, he feels his body being wrapped from behind; the God's left arm around his waist, the right arm caught his wrist in a firm grip as he feels his captor's soft, warm breath tickling his left ear. Caleb shudders and quickly leans away, he frowns in annoyance as he growls at Astra, "I am NOT your lover, you f***ing pervert! Let me go!"
Finally. FINALLY. Astra lets him go. But at a price...
He forcefully grabs Caleb's chin to make him turn to face him and places his lips upon the younger male.
A portal made of cosmic gas and colorful clouds swirls in the middle of a deserted alleyway in Central Linkon.
Caleb stumbles out clumsily, wiping his mouth in disgust to get rid of his 'attacker's' saliva. In contrast, the latter walks out like he's showing off at a red carpet show. Meticulous. Poised. Prideful.
His dark wavy brown hair gel up exposing his forehead, not a hair in sight. An elegant pair of gold frame glasses perched on the top of his nose, and behind it, are a pair of golden orbs; filled with mischief and dark ambitions.
Anything that will make Caleb hate the guy even more. Damn that bastard!
Then, Astra raises his hand to conjure out a brown paper bag filled with Grandma Josephine's home-made muffins out of thin air; it hovers above his hand for a few seconds before it glides its way towards Caleb. He hesitates at first, but then decided to grab it out of forced politeness. Purple eyes glare at Astra just because he feels like it. Yeah sure, even if he acts like a kid throwing a tantrum at an adult, it's never going to erase the fact that the Primordial God in front of him was responsible for his lovers' fates. All the suffering, all the pain, all the endless chaos they had to endure just to be here. TOGETHER.
It took a while for Caleb to realized he was scrunching the poor paper bag in a tight fist. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and slowly loosens his hold.
He pulls his dark thoughts in the back of his mind and opens his eyes to glare at the God's serene expression. As for Caleb, his face is nothing but a cold, emotionless facade, his tone commanding and stern.
"Go back. Protect my Grandma. KEEP YOUR PROMISE. Keep her safe."
Astra bows before him like a butler would to his master, he pledges to him in his deep, baritone voice, "As you wish, my beautiful Darling."
With that, he disappears into the cloud of bright colorful cosmic gas.
The moment Astra was gone, Caleb lets out a long tired sigh, his whole body sags from being on alert mode for too long. It feels as if a heavy boulder was lifted off of his shoulders. He never would've thought a surprise encounter from the God could drain him out so much.
"Caleb!"
A familiar voice calls out to him. The owner rushes out from a corner of his eye in a brilliant blinding light. The sound of heavy boots becomes louder as they approach him; the owner crouches down to cradle his head gently and lifts it to make eye contact with said owner. It was then he noticed himself was kneeling on the ground trying to calm his quickened heartbeat. It felt like he was floating on air, with no gravitational pull to keep himself steady and grounded.
Those crystal blue eyes furrowed in worry, both of his glove-covered hands are still cupping his cheeks, checking to see if he has any cuts, bruises or wounds on his young lover.
"What happened?" Xavier is clearly shaken by how his tone turns deep and serious, unlike his usual soft-spoken voice, "Your heart rate was spiking when I was on my way to the Hunter's Association, did some Wanderers attacked you?"
It takes Caleb a while to gather his thoughts and answers Xavier in a quiet, "No..."
The pale blonde then shifts his weight to accommodate his young lover to lean against his chest. One arm rubbing his back in a soothing circular motion and the other arm slowly caresses Caleb's soft dark hair. Then, he feels a firm kiss planted on top of his head, and a whisper that follows after, "I'm just glad you're safe, Starlight..."