#d-10

It has been two months already since he has last been home; work has been taking up way too much of his time, especially when more dangerous missions are involved that make him unavailable to you for a while. But it was finally time for the holidays and thus, a couple of days off that he gets to dedicate entirely to you.

At first, he wanted to make it a surprise. Fly over as soon as he has the chance to and arrive at your doorstep by the morning - maybe even with a full breakfast table ready to feast on.

But the weather conditions have been horrible lately, making it almost impossible to fly, so he had to take the long route, which involved a shorter flight and a lot more driving. 

And even though he tried so hard to keep it a secret from you, somehow you managed to catch wind of it: asking him the night before when he would be over next. As if you are able to read his mind. He can’t lie to you - not, when you have been texting him non-stop hoping he could visit soon and that you missed him. And so, he told you about it and you have been giddy the whole night that he had to insist you go to sleep because it would take him a while until he would get back to Linkon.

There are still about three hours left until he would feel close enough, yet he feels weirdly excited already, imagining the look on your face the moment his car would turn into your driveaway and how you would welcome him back. 

He wonders what the first words would be that would leave your lips: if it’s a happy ‘welcome home’, a pouty ‘what took you so long!’ or a meek ‘I’ve missed you, Caleb’.

And he thinks about what he would respond; if he is going to let you take the first initiative or if he should immediately follow his instincts and go in for a big, hearty hug. The ones you always crave the most when he is away; when he cradles your head carefully and you feel like your hearts are beating in sync.

Caleb finds himself smiling to himself, unable to pull the corners of his lips down when you are all his mind is filled with. 

He thinks about the past, when he came home to visit during his off-days from the academy; how you rushed out to greet him every single time, sometimes not even caring that you were still wearing your indoor slippers. Even during the times you had been fighting, you always made sure to welcome him with a smile, grateful he was over to visit when he must still be busy. 

The worst part about coming home was leaving said place to go back to what he should technically call his ‘now home’. It just never sat right with him and he’s sure that even now when he has been living in Skyhaven for such a long time already, he cannot really call that place home, no matter how much time he spends there. Probably because it’s because you aren’t there, which makes a home worth ‘living in’.

With a sigh, he looks at the time: it has only been ten minutes since he last checked and as if his luck couldn’t get any worse, they just announced a traffic jam up ahead which would extend his trip by god knows how long.

Hopefully, this trip is going to be over soon.

-

The door behind him shuts quietly, as his careful steps walk into the room and take in the familiar corridor. Caleb spots your usual line-up of coats and jackets neatly hung up to one side, the little entryway table which holds onto essentials you may need before leaving your apartment: some gum, hair ties, tissues and the like. And the calendar pinned up with all your appointments marked on it. 

He spots today’s date circled quite messily and ‘CALEB!’ written on the little space which makes him chuckle.

Unfortunately, the once anticipated three hours somehow turned into five hours because of a car accident up ahead the road which resulted from the dangerous weather conditions. It has been snowing quite heavily, and by the time his car made his way into your drive way, the sun was already settling even though it was still only four in the afternoon.

You hadn’t responded to his messages when he last checked in with you to tell you how much longer he would still be needing and when he peeked his head into your living room, he found the answer as to why:

Deep asleep on the couch, holding onto that big apple plush as you are snoring away, there you were. He doesn’t know for how long you have been sleeping, but given by the half drunken coffee in the mug on the table and the empty bowl with what he assumes to be a quick lunch, it doesn’t seem that you have been gone for that long yet.

He chuckles when he thinks about how he has been looking forward to what your first words to him would be, only for you to be asleep at the end. Maybe you too have been waiting for a reply from him, wondering what is taking him so long when you fell asleep on that comfy couch, wrapped into a soft blanket,  wearing his sweater.

Caleb takes his time before he goes to wake you up; he looks around the room first and stares at the little christmas tree you have put together and the little decorations you had already put up. Most of them he has seen already during a video call, but it’s definitely a lot prettier in person. He also notices the pile of presents under the tree, wrapped neatly just the way he once taught you in the past. 

He puts away his luggage first, makes sure to quietly clean up your bowl and mug before taking a quick shower. And by the time he is done, you still somehow haven’t woken up yet. Not even when he placed the blanket up higher because he felt like he saw you shivering a bit.

For a moment, he thinks about making something for dinner as well, just to make this surprise perfect, but he knows you don’t want him to make you wait that long anymore. And some takeout sounds just about great as well.

“Hey, Pips, wake up”, he softly coos, ruffling your hair a little bit, watching as you groan and try to turn away before the realization finally hits “I’m home, do you really still want to sleep right now?”

Your eyes open wide and you sit up straight in a flash, staring at him in awe for a second, before attacking him with the fastest and tightest hug you could find your sleepy self doing right now. Caleb stumbles back a bit, taken aback by your warm arms that wrap around him and your face that nuzzles into his chest and then he cannot help himself but let out a big laugh. 

“I’m home.”, he mumbles, stroking your hair and placing a kiss on top of your head.