Day 9: Lie
A/N: Caleb’s not ticklish. Probably. Definitely. For sure.
Winding Caleb up was quickly climbing to the top of the list of Mollymauk Tealeaf’s favorite pastimes.
He enjoyed every eye roll, every quiet sigh, every blush, every sharp retort, every stuttered reply, though he wasn’t a fan of the times Caleb would get so embarrassed he’d just… disappear out into the night! Luckily, Nott was never far behind to reel him back later - but there were more than a few occasions where soft, kind, genuine moments lead to Caleb spinning on his heels and stomping out the door, unsure of what to do with himself or those feelings.
Molly wondered, many of those times, what might have happened if Caleb stayed.
Later, at the inn, the Nein had just settled into their rooms when Molly found Caleb in the hall and backed him against a wall to have a talk with him more intimately than necessary. Molly charmed him with an arm stretched out over Caleb’s shoulder, boxing him in with a hand against the wall. “Look, I know you get a little embarrassed when we- like now- I just mean, don’t go running away on us tonight, I am rather fond of you sticking around this evening.” (Every evening.) His eyes flicked up and down Caleb, drinking him in. “Drinks, on me. Let's get to know each other better.”
Caleb swallowed. “Ja, okay, I- um.”
Molly’s spine tingled with excitement, tracking the bob of Caleb’s throat.
“If I need to, I’ve heard tale that I can be rather convincing.” Molly leaned in closer, enjoying the color on Caleb’s cheeks. He reached forward with his other hand, grasping the dirty wizard’s coat between his thumb and finger, and rolled the material in his fingers softly. He made to give Caleb a little push - well, a pull, rather - in grasping him around the waist to peel him from his place frozen like a hare against the wall and lead him down into the tavern.
When Molly’s hand made contact with Caleb’s side, however, the wizard flinched away violently.
