Work Text:
You nearly choke on the first bite of your rice as you process the image on your screen. Your boyfriend, dressed in his crisply ironed colonel uniform, stands in front of an elaborate tapestry and beside him, a woman?
This picture must have been from tonight. Caleb was attending a charity banquet at Skyhaven Hospital, one that you vehemently denied attending. You couldn’t endorse whatever shady business the Farspace Fleet had with it, especially considering what happened to Kevi and Mia just a year ago. The thought of the Fleet exploiting more children for their own selfish gain made your skin crawl. And Caleb knew that. So you sat in his apartment by yourself, waiting for him to return, only to be met with this.
She wears an easy smile, hand lightly placed on Caleb’s chest. Caleb’s own was wrapped around her back, emerging from the lower side and pressed into her waist. His gloved fingers nearly disappear into the billowy fabric of her dress.
The spoon you were holding clattered to the table. With both hands, you gingerly zoom into the picture, trying to ascertain any more information you could. Light brown hair, loosely curled, framed an unfamiliar face. She was likely in her early thirties. Exactly your height, considering the top of her head rested against the familiar angle of his shoulder. Your blood boiled with a fire that turned your stomach and rose bile to your throat. Without a second thought, you closed Moments and dialed his number.
Not even a ring goes through before you’re met with a cheerful greeting. “What’s up, pips? Missed me so much that-”
“When are you coming home?” You cut him off shortly.
Silence meets your question before he replies carefully. “Benefit wraps up at 10. I’ll be home by 10:30, latest. What’s wrong?”
At this, you hang up. Just the sound of his voice was enough to irritate you to the point of throwing your phone across the living room, cracking upon impact with the floor. Upon glancing at the wall clock, you understand that within two hours, he would be dead meat by your hands.
You hastily clear away your half-eaten dinner and sit on the couch. Your phone lays forgotten somewhere behind you as you lean forward on your knees. You can’t even bring yourself to cry or scream. A numbness quells your rage as you sit there, staring at the clock, festering in nothingness as you wait for the door to click open.
When 11:02PM hits the clock, the front door jingles open and Caleb steps through, pulling off his hat and shaking his hair free. With a glance, he spots you sitting on the couch when your head turns sharply to meet his gaze. In his hands, he holds a bouquet of white hydrangeas wrapped in a sheer satin cloth.
“You’re late.”
Caleb walks towards you and ruffles your hair before placing the bouquet on your lap.
“Only by a few minutes, pips. Did you eat?”
You glare at him before shoving the bouquet back into his chest. He calmly places the bouquet on the coffee table adjacent to you, straightening out a few stray petals, before facing you once more.
“Didn’t have much of an appetite. Considering the shit I saw on Moments.”
Caleb tilts his head questioningly before chuckling. “I posted quite a few pictures. Which one made you so upset?”
“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly which one. Who is she?” You retort. Your fingers did into the soft plush of the couch as you held yourself back from screaming. You take a deep breath, once, twice, before Caleb breaks your concentration with a tut.
“How can I answer your question if you’re not going to be specific?” He chides, slowly pulling off his gloves with his teeth. He guides them to the back pocket of his dress pants before kneeling down to match your altitude. His hands nudge underneath your clenched fingers and pry them from the upholstery. Despite your best efforts to hold on, he easily breaches your hold and instead entwines his fingers with yours.
“Well?” He asks, rubbing your thumb with his. You feel warmth welling up in the corners of your eyes at his blase attitude and steady yourself before ripping your hands from his grip. Your sudden movement makes his balance unsteady and you take the opportunity to push past him. You just about reach for your handbag on the coat rack adjacent to the front door when you feel a grounding force wash over your legs.
“You shouldn’t do that.” He sighs, and footsteps resound behind you before they come to a stop. “Talk to me, pips.”
The hold on your legs releases and you turn to face him, unable to stop hot tears from streaming down your cheeks. They collect in the corners of your mouth, the salt in your mouth fueling your anger. “Why are you doing this-acting like this? You know damn well that if you were in my position, you’d be going insane!”
His eyes narrow as he grabs the strap of your purse before you can. “So your solution is to run away? Instead of having a conversation? We’ve talked about this, Y/N.”
The sound of your name, not a nickname, dries out your mouth. “Fine! Fine. The picture of you and that brunette. Standing in a garden or something.”
Caleb nods and begins shrugging off his coat, replacing your purse on the coat rack. “And why did that upset you? As far as I remember, nothing was happening there.”
“Who is she?” You retort, shaking with rage. “And no, there wasn’t nothing happening. You were holding her like... she was me.”
“Nothing so serious.” He responds calmly, taking your arm in his hands and coaxing you back to the couch. “Sit, and we’ll talk more comfortably.”
At this point, you know better than to resist. He guides you to the couch and you sit facing him, knees brushing against each other despite your best efforts to scoot away. One of his hands now firmly rests on your bare knee and the other wipes the stray tears from your cheeks. You flinch at the contact.
“I can’t take a picture with anyone anymore?” Caleb hums, lashes fluttering slowly. “And it was for work.”
You shake your head frustratedly. “Your hands were all over her waist. And she was leaning into you... Please don’t try to be funny.” You feel your eyes well up again as the words tumble out. “I ask you who she is and you don’t give me a straight answer. Are you trying to annoy me? Did I do something to piss you off?”
He sighs with resignation. “You’re the only woman for me. You know that better than anyone, Y/N.”
Before you can let out a protest, he seals his lips to yours with a force that leans you against the back of the couch. The hand on your knee slowly trails up the outside of your thigh while the other threads itself in the hair on the nape of your neck. A small moan escapes your parted lips before you can hold it back. Caleb drowns it out by capturing your bottom lip in his and guiding his tongue over the flesh. The taste of your tears mixes with the kiss and rolls around in your mouth, causing another--louder--moan to escape into the room.
The noise sobers you up, and you fight against your body’s reaction to lean into his ministrations, to give into the budding pleasure that has kindled a flame in your belly. You raise your hands up from where they rest on the couch and give his shoulders a firm push, just enough to unseal his lips from yours. His sunset irises lock onto yours and you fight the urge to lean back in yourself. The hold on your thigh tightens.
“What are you doing?” You manage to breathe out, wiping your lips with the back of your hand and breaking eye contact. “I thought you wanted to have a conversation.”
The flush spreading across his cheeks and the heaving of his chest do nothing to quell the temptation telling you, screaming at you, to let him have his way. His eyes fall to your parted lips before resuming his punishing gaze. “You’re right, we shouldn’t talk.”
“What-” You start before he leans in again, this time nudging his knee between your legs as he palms your thigh in small circles, just barely grazing the edge of your pajama shorts. This time, you can’t help but lean into his touch, inadvertently spreading your legs apart as he recaptures your lips in his. His other hand resumes its place on your nape and pulls the back of your head into the couch cushions.
Your thumb hooks the back of his ear and you feel the flush of his cheek permeating your palm. His lips press into yours relentlessly, dancing around yours with a force that melts the anger in your chest and replaces it with hunger. Your thoughts--the rage, the frustration, the betrayal--are cleared from your head and you fully relax into the kiss.
Sensing this, Caleb lets out a low hum and breaks contact with your lips, only to replace it with a firm kiss to the border between your jaw and neck. You crane your neck and whine as he sucks into the spot, replacing a fading bruise--evidence of a previous night--with a new one.
“No more words now, hm? Where did they go?” He murmurs, trailing his lips down your neck until he stops at the base. His nose traces the outline of your collarbone as he coaxes the wide neckline of your t-shirt off your shoulder. His other hand--the one indulgently caressing the outer flesh on your thigh--moves towards the back of your leg and up.
You try to conjure up a response, but are silenced by the feeling of his broad hand gratuitously palming your ass. His strength causes your back to curl into the cushions as he breaches past the seam of your panties with the tip of his fingers.
“Caleb... please...” You sputter out, losing all sense of coherence as he presses an open mouth kiss to the swell of your breast, just above the edge of your shirt.
He bites at the soft skin before he huffs, “Signal’s fuzzy. Can’t seem to understand you.”
You all but groan at his response, threading your hands through his hair and pulling him off of your chest. “If you want to talk instead of getting me off, there are more productive ways that can be done.”
He chuckles breathily at this, the sound going straight to your stomach. “Alright, Y/N. Just be a good girl and maybe then I’ll give you what you want.”
Caleb pushes off of you gently and settles on his knees before grazing his palms down your torso. Once they land on your hips, he pulls you firmly to the edge of the couch cushions and you’re forced to brace your weight with your elbows behind you. Your breath hitches as his thumbs hook at the waistband of your shorts and begin coaxing them down and off your body.
His eyes appear unfocused as he stares at wetness gathered at the gusset of your underwear. You writhe, embarrassment washing over you as you attempt to interrupt his unyielding gaze with a palm to his cheek.
“Stop looking at it like that...” you whine with a strained voice.
He glances up at you through his thick, dark lashes before an uneven smile spreads across his lips. “Shh. She’s always so pretty. I can’t help but stare.”
“You’re such an asshol-” you start, but are cut off by your own thoughts. “Wait, what do you mean she?”
He ignores your question and instead presses searing kisses down your inner thighs while his hands spread your knees apart. With a frustrated grunt, you thread your fingers through his hair and pull, forcing him to stop and look at you once more. “Answer me.”
He exhales through his nose and shakes his head. “Be nice, Y/N. I thought we weren’t going to talk.”
You relax your hold in his hair unconsciously. At this, he takes the opportunity to lean forward, pressing his nose into the base of your panties and inhaling. The tip of his nose brushing against your clothed clit barely produces any friction, and yet, draws a gasp from your lips so sharp that it tightens your chest.
He groans lowly at this, nudging the tip of his nose against you once more before licking a hot stripe against the fabric, causing your back to arch and a loud moan to fill the room. The barrier between you and his tongue feels criminal.
“Ngh... Caleb... stop teasing me!” You all but scream, your hips lifting up to chase any additional friction.
You immediately feel a familiar weight envelop your hips and push them back down, locking you in place while Caleb glances up at you with a cocked brow. You huff and throw your head back in frustration. At this point, your mind and your body were powerless against him. And he knew it.
“Atta girl. Just relax for me.” He hums, kneading the skin of your thighs before resuming his actions. He pressures your clit once, twice more with his nose. The wetness of his tongue and your slickness cause the fabric of your panties to cling uncomfortably to your cunt, causing every push and press to send your brain into overdrive.
You open your mouth to protest again when he suddenly hooks a finger to the side of the gusset and pulls, revealing your glistening core. He groans at the sight, pressing his lips gently to the swell of your labia before running his tongue up your entrance, narrowly missing your clit. The force of his evol prevents you from lifting up your hips and taking what you want from him, the lack of attention to your clit spinning your head with frustration.
Just before you can utter a protest, he sucks firmly onto your clit and chuckles as your indignation melts into a moan that reverberates through the room. He continues mouthing your clit with vigor, eyes fluttering shut, losing himself in your heady taste and drinking in your heavy moans.
“Fuck...” you exhale breathlessly, head tipping back, lost in the heat of the growing fire in your belly. “I hate you... shit...”
Caleb quickly moves a hand off your thigh and replaces it between his own, desperately palming his strained cock through his dress pants. At the loss of contact, you look down at him with a tilt of your head. Although you can’t see his movements, the furrow in his brow and the undulation of his arm indicate exactly what he is doing.
“Oh my god... you like it--no, you love-- it, huh? That I hate you?”
He groans into your cunt, nudging your clit with his nose as he dips his tongue to breach between your folds. You echo his groan, head swimming in thought. “You’re disgusting, gege. How could you get off to that?”
His eyes open in shock, meeting yours with his tongue buried in your pussy. The eye contact alone makes you shudder, but his next words cause you to clench around his tongue inadvertently.
“Show me just how much you hate me, baby.”
With the harsh moan that leaves your lips, Caleb knows you’re close. He moves his other hand under his chin and swiftly replaces his tongue with two fingers into your entrance. The delicious, unexpected stretch and voracious sucking at your clit send your orgasm washing through your body.
At the sight of your waist shaking against his evol, he loosens its hold on you. You cry out, eyes unfocused, hips undulating through your climax without restraint. In a trance, he matches the movement of your hips with the stroking of his hand on his cock.
He continues shallowly thrusting his fingers into you and maintains the pressure on your clit while you lose yourself in your pleasure. When the relief of release bleeds into sensitivity and your hips stutter against his lips, he pulls back and curses under his breath.
He had been so consumed in your release that he hadn’t even noticed his own; only now realizing from the uncomfortable stickiness pooling against the stiffness of his slacks.
When your eyes refocus, you match his gaze and look down at the grey spot permeating through his pants.
“Did you... oh my god, Caleb.” You start, slowly closing your legs and carding your hands through your disheveled hair.
He places a kiss on your knee before hoisting himself up to lean beside you on the couch, melting into the plush fabric. His strong arms pull you into the broad expanse of his chest.
“Shh, pips. Don’t worry about it.” He grumbles resoundly into your hair.
“You’re so... Sometimes I don't understand you at all.” You respond, wriggling away from his embrace. He lets you with a sigh, turning to face you and--for the first time that night-- allowing you to speak freely.
Now that the pleasure has evaporated from your body, it replaces itself with a dull ache of frustration. “You can’t just seduce your way into avoiding all of my questions.”
“It worked though, didn’t it-” He starts, before stopping himself with a chuckle. “Alright alright, fine. I owe you an explanation, don’t I? Show me the picture.”
“You’d better have a great explanation for this.” You mutter, brow furrowing as you scan the floor, attempting to locate your previously discarded phone. You find it tucked under the couch and groan when you realize the screen has cracked in two places.
Shaking your head, you quickly unlock your phone and open the Moments app. Your hands shake in anticipation as you finally pull up the post. You immediately turn the screen towards your traitorous boyfriend. “This one. Look! You can’t run away now.”
He frowns at the sight of the cracks before he pushes the screen back into your field of view with a poorly masked snicker. “Did you even look at the picture, pips? Doesn’t it look familiar?”
With a scowl, you peer into the screen before your eyes widen. You do recognize the picture, actually. The pose, scenery, and lighting looked eerily similar to a picture you had taken with Caleb at the Fleet’s recruiting ceremony last summer. The same one that was currently the lockscreen of his phone. How could you not have noticed? The background did look completely different than the other pictures in the post...
But the woman’s face in the picture was clearly not you.
“What the fuck?” You exclaim, zooming into the picture and whipping the screen around once more. “What the fuck is this, Caleb?”
At your recognition, Caleb looks away and rubs a hand on the back of his neck awkwardly. “Ah... don’t hate me too much, baby.”
You gasp, standing up with a jolt. “What did you do? Oh my god. Did you edit someone else on here to make me jealous?”
He sighs, unable to meet your gaze. “I... shouldn’t have done it, I recognize that...”
You launch your phone again, this time square into his chest, before stepping back.
“You’re fucking insane.” You scream, your timbre thick with anger. “Why? Why would you make me believe you were cheating on me?”
He opens his mouth to answer, but pauses to rethink his phrasing. “Like I said, I just wanted to see how you would react. How mad you’d get.”
Your head spins at the admission. Caleb was possessive of you; he made that very clear to you. You had never given him a reason to question if you felt the same. But your cheeks burn at the realization that if you had taken a few extra seconds to process the photo, you would have pieced together the scheme instead of giving him the satisfaction he desired.
“Well?? Did you get what you wanted?” You yell, shaking your head in disbelief. “Oh god, you’re such a sadist-” you start, but correct yourself. “No, no. You’re a masochistic freak!”
Realizing he wasn’t fighting back or denying it, you can’t help but let out an exasperated huff. Caleb stands up slowly, adjusting the dampness in his crotch, before stepping towards you.
“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have done it. How can I make it up to you?”
“Just... ugh! Leave me alone!” You storm off to the bathroom, needing to shower off the stickiness and embarrassment of the situation.
He pads after you wordlessly, and when he steps into the shower behind you, you can’t bring yourself to push him away.
You two were hopeless.