Chapter Text
Fjord woke up with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. He groaned and shoved his face further into the pillow. Why had he agreed to a drinking contest with Yasha? He knew she could hold her liquor, and yet for some reason it still seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, didn’t it always?
He rolled onto his back and thanked whatever gods were out there that the window was shuttered.
“Are you finally awake?”
Fjord nearly fell off the bed. He scrambled upright and came face to face with Nott, who was sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed.
“What in -” Fjord exclaimed, looking around him with squinting eyes. Last night was coming to him slowly. He had been locked out of his own room, and informed by a suggestively grinning Jester that Mollymauk was giving Caleb a private tarot reading, “ If you know what I mean,” while she nudged him with her elbow. So Nott had been taken to sleep in the girls’ room and Fjord, too drunk and tired to wait for what he was sure was just a tarot reading (no matter how many times Jester winked at him), passed out in Nott and Caleb’s room instead.
Fjord rubbed his eyes and then focused on Nott. “What time is it?”
She shrugged. “Past sunrise. I was looking for Caleb, but you were here instead.” She squinted at him, looking suspicious. “Is he still in your room with Mollymauk?”
Fjord had absolutely no idea, but would guess yes, considering Caleb had apparently never come back to this room. Which… he kind of understood, given that he had sprawled across the bed in his drunken stupor. He wouldn’t want to share a room with a trashed half-orc either.
He informed Nott of his thoughts while he climbed out of the bed and attempted to straighten his clothes into something relatively presentable. If Caleb wasn’t around, that meant that he should probably stay out his own room for a while longer; he could get breakfast while he waited.
Nott was frowning thoughtfully, but followed Fjord out of her room all the same, casting a concerned look down the hall at the still-closed door to Fjord and Mollymauk’s room.
“Come on,” said Fjord amiably. “Let’s get some breakfast. Are the other ladies downstairs?”
“Oh, yeah,” said Nott, trailing behind him. “We woke up a while ago.”
Jester, Beauregard, and Yasha were indeed downstairs, talking idly while finishing up breakfast. Nott hopped up onto the seat next to Jester and snagged a piece of bacon while Fjord sat down next to Yasha.
“So, ” said Jester, drawing out the word dramatically. “Did Caleb ever go back to his room?”
Fjord rolled his eyes and waved the barkeep over to order his breakfast. “No, Jester. He did not.”
She giggled triumphantly. “I knew it! He spent the night with Molly .”
“But Fjord was taking up the entire bed anyway,” piped up Nott. “Maybe Caleb just didn’t want to disturb him.” She glanced between Fjord and Yasha. “You were very drunk.”
“Don’t remind me,” groaned Fjord. He got a cup of water and an order for eggs and bacon in before turning back to Jester, rubbing his temples. “Stop getting ahead of yourself, Jester. Molly and I have shared a room since we started traveling together and that never meant anything. Nott is right; Caleb probably just wanted to leave me be, and I honestly appreciate that.”
Jester snorted in disbelief. “Oh, sure, Fjord. But you never watched Molly like you were just waiting for an opportune to moment to pounce and get your mouth-”
“Okay, okay, ” Fjord interrupted, putting a hand up. “You don’t have to go into detail.” He sighed, taking a deep drink from his cup. “Just. Don’t get your hopes up. It just doesn’t seem like Caleb, that’s all.”
Jester shrugged in that way that completely dismissed Fjord’s argument, but also indicated she wasn’t going to push it anymore, and went back to finishing her breakfast. Fjord sighed and took another drink of water, thinking that his breakfast couldn’t come soon enough. His head was pounding and he felt mildly nauseous, but he knew a good meal would still fix things up quickly enough.
- -
Caleb woke up slowly, feeling relaxed, warm, and sore. He rolled onto his back, just breathing softly and basking in the warmth and comfort of the bed.
Mollymauk was still very much asleep beside him, sprawling slightly on his back, some hair tangled up into his horns. A small smile crept across Caleb’s lips, and he reached out to carefully brush the tangled hair from his horns. Mollymauk stirred at this and stretched languidly, a comfortable hum escaping him.
Caleb retracted his hand and twisted so he was on his side, one head resting on his arm. “Good morning, Mollymauk,” he said softly.
Mollymauk lifted his head to turn and look at him, a satisfied smile growing on his handsome features. “Good morning,” he replied, before yawning. “What time is it?”
“Just over three hours past sunrise,” said Caleb immediately. “The others are probably awake already.”
His comfortable and relaxed mood faded a little bit as he considered what to tell the rest of their companions. No one had disturbed them all night, indicating that Fjord must have found somewhere else to sleep, and so there would be no hiding that Caleb had spent the night with Mollymauk.
“What do you want to tell the others?” he asked quietly, rolling to stare up at the ceiling.
He felt Mollymauk shrug next to him. “Nothing. They can draw their own conclusions, and it doesn’t matter either way.” He nudged Caleb gently. “The only concern this would raise is if it would interfere with our ‘work dynamic.’”
Caleb could almost hear the sarcasm in the last two words and snorted quietly. He sat up and winced at the soreness spreading across his body, but pushed through it to throw his legs over the side of the bed. He felt Mollymauk curl around him from behind and relaxed into the touch without thinking about it.
“Seriously, don’t worry about it,” he murmured against Caleb’s shoulder. “Just act like it’s another morning, and don’t let any comments get to you, alright?” He pressed a kiss into the nape of Caleb’s neck, then paused. “Are you okay?”
Caleb was silent for a couple of seconds. Then he nodded slowly. “Yes. I am alright.” He turned his head to catch Mollymauk out of the corner of his eye. “I had a good night, and I have no regrets, if that is what you are asking.”
Mollymauk grinned and pressed a quick kiss to Caleb’s cheek. “Good. That’s very good to know.”
- -
Jester was glancing hopefully at the stairs every five minutes or so, and Fjord wasn’t sure if it was making his headache even worse or not. He tried to ignore her in favor of his breakfast, a delicious mound of bacon piled on eggs with some bread on the side.
When Caleb and Molly did finally come down, Fjord (and the others) couldn’t help looking up and eyeing them carefully. Jester looked like she was about to burst. Beau was casually trying not to look like Jester had convinced her of what had transpired last night, while Yasha sighed next to her and looked unimpressed but curious all the same. Nott was squinting at Molly suspiciously.
Caleb paused when he caught sight of everybody watching them and Fjord watched a blush spread across his cheeks and down his neck. Molly pushed in front of him to collapse into the chair next to Fjord.
“Good morning,” he said jovially. “Has anyone ordered me some breakfast? Gods, but I’m starving.” He waved the barkeep over when no one appeared to summon food directly in front of him.
Caleb was much slower to sit, but did so in the remaining chair between Molly and Nott. He patted Nott on the head before adding a breakfast request to the tail end of Molly’s order. Fjord shrugged to himself and went back to eating his bacon. Things seemed fine with them to him.
Jester, on the other hand, had her chin cradled in both hands and was flicking her gaze back and forth between Molly and Caleb, her smile growing wider and wider.
Finally, as if she couldn’t hold it any longer, she burst out with, “ So, did you have a good reading last night?” The innuendo was ladled on so heavily to “reading” that she might as well have said what she’d been thinking anyway.
Caleb choked on a cup of water, his blush returning and deepening to a darker red. Fjord cocked an eyebrow. Maybe there was more here than he had thought. He frowned over at Jester, who was grinning triumphantly.
Fjord caught Molly reaching out to touch Caleb’s knee and give it a reassuring squeeze, and began wondering if, by some stroke of luck and perceptiveness, Jester had been right all along.
“Oh, it was a wonderful reading,” said Molly to Jester, laying on just as much emphasis as she had. “I think Caleb learned a lot about himself, and I certainly learned a bit about him too.” He winked, and Jester had to cover her mouth as she giggled.
Caleb had all but disappeared into his coat, and refused to look anyone in the eye, but he stayed put, and after a few visible deep breaths, straightened up in his chair. “Mollymauk’s readings are actually very informative,” he said casually. “And he takes them very seriously.”
Beauregard snorted and mumbled around her cup of water, “I’m sure it was some riveting edubation.”
Jester jerked face down on the table, shoulders shaking. As Caleb’s blush deepened, Fjord threw his hand out at Beau in a what-the-fuck manner. “Y’all, give it a rest. Leave the poor man alone, will you?”
Beau shrugged with a roll of her eyes and sat back in her chair. Jester peeked up from the table to grin through her giggles at Caleb. He sighed heavily and started rubbing his temples. “I assure you, there was an actual, thorough reading.”
“Oh, sure,” said Jester. “Very informative, right? And did the reading leave a hickey under your ear?”
Fjord was about to haul Jester out of her chair and take her to the side to have a talk about boundaries, but stopped in mild disbelief when Caleb slapped a hand to his neck, expression morphing from mildly annoyed to mortified, at the same time that Molly stiffened and whipped his head around to look at Caleb.
And, well… that kind of a reaction was really all he needed to know that Jester had apparently been right.
The table dissolved in raucous shouting from Jester and Beau, countered by Molly’s accusatory “there isn’t even a hickey! ” while Yasha and Fjord exchanged a tired look. Nott was patting Caleb desperately, who had once again sunk into his coat and looked like he wanted the ground to rise up and swallow him.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” Fjord let his deep voice rumble over the table, instantly shutting the others up, and everyone looked at him questioningly. He sighed and closed his eyes for a second. It was still too early and he was too hungover for this. “Listen,” he started, finally looking up between Jester and Molly and Caleb. “It’s none of our business what they do behind closed doors, Jester. ” She pouted at this, but it was hard to take seriously with her lips still twitching up in a satisfied smile. “But what happens behind closed doors has to stay there, any drama involved and all.” At this he looked at Molly and Caleb, raising and eyebrow. “We don’t need any of this kind of thing interfering with party dynamic. We have a good thing going on, and I’d like it to stay that way.”
It was Caleb who spoke up, to Fjord’s surprise, in response to his small speech. He was looking in Fjord’s direction, but still avoiding eye contact.
“Nothing we did or will do will make a difference when we’re working,” he said shortly. “I would hope that we all know how to act like adults, ja ?” A glance flickered over to Jester.
Fjord nodded. “That’s all I needed to hear. Whether you two keep this up or not isn’t our business .”
Caleb shot him a thankful look, and relaxed a little bit in his chair. Molly was at his side looking relatively impressed and pleased that Caleb had spoken up for them, and he gave him a pat on the back in thanks. The table fell back into an easy silence as the latecomers finished their breakfast.
Fjord finished his breakfast and stood, ready to change out of last night’s clothes and retrieve his armor from his room. He paused on his way up to his room, and clapped Molly on the shoulder, leaning down next to him. “There had better be new sheets before this evening.” And then he left, praying that the room at the very least didn’t smell weird.
- -
Molly was preparing to leave the tavern with the others, finishing up by slinging his sword belt on, when he heard a knock at the door. He figured Fjord wouldn’t have knocked if he’d forgotten something, so he called, “Come in,” over his shoulder as he fastened the belt.
The door creaked open and he turned around to see Nott padding into the room. Molly cocked an eyebrow. He wasn’t surprised, per say, but hadn’t expected her to jump at the soonest chance to get him alone. He shrugged inwardly and cast a smile at the goblin.
“Hello, Nott. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
She regarded him for a solid ten seconds, head tilted back and gaze appraisive. Molly shifted on his feet and looked evenly down at her.
When she finally spoke, it was quiet and serious. “I don’t want him to get hurt.”
Molly sighed, expecting this, and raised his hands in a placating gesture. Nott stopped him before he could talk as she began to pace around the room, for once keeping her hands to herself, her gaze not wandering.
“I’m not- I’m not bothered by what happened. I’m just worried that he’ll get hurt.” She looked back to Molly, and frowned. “But today, when we were getting ready, he looked the most relaxed and content than I have ever seen him.”
Molly blinked, honestly a little surprised. He walked over to Nott to knelt before her. “The last thing I want to do is hurt him, Nott,” he said, holding her eyes and attempting to push as much sincerity into his voice as he could. He smiled a little. “I would never want to see him hurting, and I would rather not like to see what you would do to me if I ever did.”
Nott sniffed and eyed him warily. “Are you patronizing me?”
He shook his head. “Honest-to-the-Gods, no. I am not. I know how you feel about him, and I know how good you are with your crossbow. Now you know how I feel. I care deeply for Caleb, and I will do everything in my power not to hurt him.”
Nott was silent for a moment before nodding curtly. “Okay. I believe you. But the moment I see any funny business…” She bared her teeth at him and a dagger was quite suddenly in her hand where it hadn’t been a second before.
Molly stood up, hands out before him. “Entirely understood. You don’t have to worry about that.”
She eyed him carefully as she backed out of the room, sheathing the knife right before she left and parting ways with a quick, “Good!” And then she was gone.
Molly carded a hand through his hair between his horns and sighed heavily. That had actually gone a lot better than he had imagined it might. Much better than his initial fantasy of Nott cornering him in the hall with her crossbow aimed up at his neck.
Her concerns were valid. But he hadn’t told her a single lie. He hoped to the Moonweaver that wherever this went with Caleb, it wouldn’t hurt the man. It was about time he found some good in his life beyond his books.
With a satisfied, if slightly shaky sigh, Molly checked himself over for all of his gear before sheathing his swords and stepping out into the hallway to join his companions downstairs.
All things considered, this morning had gone as well as he could have expected. And, if he was already thinking about what he could do tonight, that would be between him and Caleb.