He's changed. After disappearing for months, the pure boy you once knew is nothing but a figment of your imagination now. As he carries you to the bed, his arms feel familiar yet different, warm but cold, a pitiful contradiction.

You attempted to spy on him and his fleet, your disguise as a nurse was practical and your quick thinking got you far, but not far enough. Caleb caught you swiftly, he's had a habit of always knowing your whereabouts since childhood. You've never been able to win a game of hide and seek with him.

Some things never change.

"Sit first, we need to tend to your wound." He places you down gently, yet u remain defiant.

"Is the Colonel ordering me around? Or is Caleb worried about me?" you spat out indignantly, finding it hard to accept this new side of him.

He uses his evol, gravity manipulation, making your leg feel like a thousand bricks, forcing it to become unmoving so he can clean the cut on your knee.

"I wonder, how did you turn into someone I hardly recognise," you mumble, utterly in despair.

"What if I told you I was always like this? The people after you should disappear. You're only safe by my side." His voice is filled with a possessive need to keep you protected.

"I'd rather face danger head on than safely live like this! I don't need you-"

He cuts you off. "You don't need me? Is that what you think?" he exclaims in disbelief, his voice almost trembling.

"Alright what do you need? You can tell me. We can return to Linkon if you want. If you want the past we can rebuild our childhood home." He releases your knee to firmly grasp your wrist, pressing his free palm behind you on the wall, caging you in.

"If one isn't enough, I'll build you a whole maze. I'll decorate it with everything you ever want. It will be the most beautiful, stunning garden you've ever seen. No one will be able to find you again. I'll protect you forever."

The words may seem absurd, laughable almost, but his desperate tone? The deep look of yearning on his face. He's serious. Dead serious.