## Preface

Intoxicating
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/20694671.

Rating:
  Mature
Archive Warning:
  No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
  M/M
Fandom:
  Critical Role (Web Series)
Relationship:
  Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Characters:
  Mollymauk Tealeaf, Caleb Widogast
Additional Tags:
  Drunken Kissing, Divergent Timelines, Illustrated
Language:
  English
Series:
  Part 4 of Dreams
Stats:
  Published: 2019-09-19 Words: 1,736 Chapters: 1/1

# Intoxicating

by Neesi

Summary

> The Mighty Nein take a much-needed break after a very difficult mission.

Notes

> I actually wrote this little mini fic around the same time as the first three Dreams stories, but it remained unfinished as of August 10th, 2018, when I purged what fics were left and fell apart, ultimately seeking help for PTSD (don't ship too hard, kids...). Once I started feeling better some six months later, I finished it and edited it up, and finally got up the nerve to post it today. Enjoy!

> (There might be another full fic in the works, but I sort of got swallowed alive by the Good Omens fandom so it's on the back burner. ^^; )

## Intoxicating

Mollymauk leaned on the railing of the tavern’s front porch, tail drifting in a lazy arc behind him, and watched the rain fall in a perpetual drizzle as it turned the roads out front into muddy, unusable trenches. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, staring out into the dim light of the late evening.

He hadn't thought it was possible, but he was pretty sure he'd had too much to drink.

Truth be told, they all had, but they needed to celebrate, damn it. They were lucky to be alive after all that--he was lucky to be alive after that--so who cared if they overindulged a little? Molly certainly didn't mind forgetting what they'd been through for a night. An unconscious hand rested on his abdomen under his shirt and he winced, pulling it away.

The rain-damp air was doing wonders to cool his skin and settle his stomach, which was a bonus, because he didn't particularly feel like throwing up tonight. He extended a hand into the rain for a few seconds before withdrawing and rubbing the cool water over the scarred back of his neck. Sighing in relief, he closed his eyes, listening to the patter of raindrops on the wood and grass while the smell of damp earth filled his nostrils.

He eventually noticed that much of the noise of the tavern behind him had died down to nothing and he wondered if everyone else had already finished their revelry for the night. His stomach had settled enough that he felt he could head back in without emptying it, so Molly pushed off the railing with a grunt and turned to head back inside.

When he stepped through the doorway into the low candlelight, he found that the tavern had indeed calmed down--the place was empty but for the bartender, who sat behind the bar gathering up an armload of mugs from the busy night, a couple lingering members of the traveling troupe of bards who had provided musical backdrop to the celebration, and a red-haired figure slumped unmoving over a table in the corner, arms splayed out in fr0nt of him.

Molly gave the tavern one final scan, but everyone else in their party had already left for the night, gone upstairs to their rooms, no doubt. Which was why it was that much more peculiar that no one had grabbed Caleb to bring him up with them. Hadn’t that been Beau’s job before? In fact, if Molly didn't know for a fact that Beau was eye-banging Yasha every single time she looked at her then he might have been a little worried about how close she and Caleb had become.

Even Nott was missing, and she watched Caleb like an overprotective mother.

Molly’s tiefling ears picked up a low tone that sounded like humming, and he staggered toward the corner of the tavern where Caleb lay face-first on the rough wooden table. The humming grew louder as he came closer.

“Morgen früh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt,” Caleb sang softly, his words slurring and stumbling over each other, humming intermittently where he could not remember the lyrics. Something Zemnian, Molly assumed? He didn’t understand the words, but it sounded like the kind of melody one would use for a children’s song.

The bench shifted under Molly’s weight as he sat down. Caleb did not seem to notice him, so he gave him a few gentle taps on the shoulder.

“Left’cha all alone down here, did they?” he asked. Caleb paused in his singing, turning so his face peeked out over his arm in Molly’s direction, but otherwise he didn’t lift his head.

“Was ist…?” Caleb mumbled, but it didn’t hold his attention for long and he slumped back down onto the table.

Molly shook his head. “Well, come on, then. Looks like Beau abandoned her post, s’let’s get you upstairs to your room.”

Caleb shrugged and went back to humming the song to himself as Molly levered a shoulder under his arms and dragged him to his feet. He reeked of alcohol, though probably no more than Molly did, and despite Caleb’s thin frame, the extra weight made him wobble on his feet and for a moment he wasn’t sure he could make the trip upstairs.

They managed with plenty of balancing effort from his tail, and together the two of them shuffled up the stairs and down the hallway toward Caleb’s room. Caleb’s body pressed against his, warm and comforting, and Molly felt his heart rate uptick a little as they made their way toward the door.

“Schlaf nun selig und süß…” Caleb slurred, the song dying in his throat as Molly shrugged him a little more heavily onto his shoulder and pushed open the door to his room.

A still-lit lamp sat on a table on the far end of the room, dimly illuminating the simple furnishings. There was one empty bed against the left-hand wall. Where was Nott? Molly carefully lowered Caleb onto one of the beds and Caleb flopped down onto the covers with virtually no motor control.

“I am having a really wonderful time,” he murmured, heavy accent morphing the words into something Molly could barely make out, even in Common. This was inexplicably funny to him and he burst into giggles even while he helped maneuver Caleb onto the bed so that his head lay on the pillow in proper bed-using fashion.

Then, in what would have been a rare move for Sober Caleb, Drunk Caleb tugged on the collar of Molly’s coat and pulled him in close to give him a peck on the cheek. Even Sober Molly knew better than to pass up an invitation like that and he crawled onto the bed on top of Caleb, knees straddling either side of his hips while he chuckled.

Molly’s infernal red eyes were exceptional at seeing in the dark, but even if they hadn’t been there was just enough light from the lantern to illuminate Caleb as he lay sprawled beneath him on the bed. His scarf and coat spread haphazardly over the covers, red-brown curls scattered across the pillow. Part of his collar had fallen loose, revealing a slim neck that connected to a pronounced, freckled collarbone at the nape. Molly felt an overwhelming urge to kiss it, and so he did.

Caleb tilted his head out of the way and made a little noise of pleasure at the touch of Molly’s lips on his overheated skin. The smell of earth and sweat and singed wood filled Molly’s nose and he breathed deep as he made his way up and along Caleb’s jaw, rough stubble scratching his lips and chin. His tail curled up resting against Caleb's leg, and Caleb nudged his knee against it, affectionate.

Molly's mouth made its way to his lips and Caleb met him eagerly--his tongue tasted like some kind of whisky Molly vaguely remembered trying earlier on in the evening, smooth and a little spicy.

With more boldness than usual, Caleb trailed a hand up Molly's neck and cheek, then on up to his hairline where soft skin transitioned into the tough, curved horn characteristic of his demonic bloodline. His fingers smoothed over the entire length of the horn, playing over its textured ridges as well as the various gems, bands, and other decorations littered across it, and came to rest wrapped around the final curve. He gave it a gentle tug and Molly groaned into the kiss.

But before Molly had even had a chance to recover from that, Caleb dragged his teeth along Molly's lower lip, then bit it, and Molly gasped as the world tilted sideways beneath him.

Fuck. A Caleb with lowered inhibitions was dangerous .

The fine chain that hung from Molly's horn brushed against the back of Caleb's hand and Caleb pulled away, momentarily distracted. He slowly withdrew his hand, letting the chain and crescent moon charm that dangled from it drag across his fingers. Molly watched, curious and a little out of breath, as Caleb let it fall to hang toward his face, then batted at it a couple times with his fingers.

The gesture was completely out of character and reminded Molly so much of a cat that he snorted before bursting into laughter. His head fell forward and he smacked his forehead against Caleb's, who responded with a weak, belated “ Autsch… ” but was giggling as well within moments.

Molly sat back on his heels with a shake of his head. The mood had been completely ruined and he'd almost died and they'd had so much to drink and all of it just made him laugh harder.

He was still too intoxicated to know how long they laid there laughing, but it eventually died down to nothing more than the occasional giggle. Caleb was still in a heap underneath him, disheveled, eyes closed, and he was so beautiful that it made Molly's breath catch in his throat.

" Ich liebe dich , Mollymauk," Caleb murmured, barely above a whisper.

"Hm?" Molly asked, not comprehending, but Caleb was already passed out cold.

Molly frowned. He couldn't shake the sinking feeling that he'd just missed something really important: hadn't he heard one of those words somewhere before? He tried to concentrate, but his head was still too fuzzy from the alcohol and he grasped at nothing. Dejected, he let out a little sigh and climbed off the bed.

Caleb's chest rose and fell with slow, even breaths. A lock of hair had fallen in his eyes and Molly brushed it aside with one hand. He grabbed a blanket from the foot of the bed and draped it over him; Caleb made a sleepy little sound and snuggled under it.

With one last lingering look, Molly turned to leave the room, then suddenly wished he hadn't turned so quickly as a wave of nausea hit him. Maybe he needed to puke after all. He giggled again--thank goodness he hadn't thrown up on Caleb.

Shit, he was tired.

He made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him as carefully and quietly as he could manage in his state, and made his way down the dark hallway.

Maybe in the morning I'll ask Caleb what he said, he thought to himself as he staggered to the door of the washroom.

-----

Later that night:

## Afterword

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