Dealing
Caelum had always been a morning person. The smell of the fresh morning air, birds chirping outside his window, the view outside. Wait, the view? The man sat up quickly. This wasn’t his apartment. The only view from there was the brick wall across the alleyway. Where was he?
Then it came to him like a crashing wave, forcing him to fall to the bed. Right. His apartment burnt down. He rubbed his temples. Headaches suck. Where did Tony say he could get some food around here? Oh, yeah, he had his own kitchen on this floor. The blonde sat up slowly. Sometime during the night he’d managed to take his shirt off. Caelum searched under the covers and sheets but couldn’t find it. It wasn’t on the side or under the bed, either. Man, he really hoped he didn’t sleep walk. Not that he had a track record of doing that, he just really hoped this wasn’t his start to it.
After searching a bit more and coming up with nothing, he sighed. The sky was still dark, so no one was bound to be awake. He could sneak around, get some coffee and a snack, and then come back to his room. Perfect. Opening the door, he began to make his way towards the elevator. The button to floor fifty six took a little bit of looking for, but he’d eventually found and pressed it. Silently, the elevator pinged and climbed up towards his destination. The ride was quiet aside from his occasional groan. Maybe there was some painkillers on that floor, too. He hadn’t found any on his own.
Elevator coming to a stop, the doors opened for him. No lights were on except one above the stove. As quiet as possible, Caelum looked for the coffee. There was some stored in a can in one of the cabinets. The lid popped open easily. A fresh aroma of crushed coffee beans filled his nose and a content whimper escaped his lips. The coffee machine was by the stove. Maybe he could make some eggs or something. Caelum shuffled over to the fridge and opened it. Eggs, bacon, and a whole lot more food lined the shelves. Honestly, it took all of his will power not to drool. How long had it been since he’d had a decent meal? Too long, he decided and grabbed a couple of things.
He added flour, baking powder, sugar, milk, a pinch of salt, eggs, and some chocolate chips into a bowl. Everything stirred together nicely to make some pancake mix. The stove came to life under the pan Cael had found hanging from the pot rack above the bar. Once he figured it was hot enough, he plopped a bit of butter on the pan and swirled it around to cover the surface. Pouring the mix into the pan had proven to be a bit difficult since the spoon jabbed into the burn on his palm. No one ever made good pancakes without getting a bit injured, right? While the last pancake was being cooked, he started to stir together some eggs and milk into a bowl. Scrambled eggs were his favourite and now that he had the chance to make some, he damn well would.
It occurred to him that he was making quite a bit of food. Caelum couldn’t eat it all himself, not a chance. A brilliant idea came to him. He’d just have to make some breakfast for everyone! Wait, he didn’t know how much to make for everyone. “Uhm, J.A.R.V.I.S.?” The man asked, feeling a bit silly.
“Yes, Mr. Reinbold?” The computer-like voice answered.
“How many people live in this tower and how much do they eat for breakfast?” Caelum asked. When the AI come up with an answer, he knew that he’d be up for longer than intended.
There were about eight people who occupied the tower consistently. The computer had been so kind as to add all of their allergies as well as what they prefered to eat in the morning. Eggs, bacon, and pancakes satisfied most of them, but a few liked things a bit differently. Pepper, yes, the Pepper Potts, liked crepes and strawberries cut in half twice from the end. Thor, who had yet to be seen by Caelum, liked to have a couple of poptarts with his breakfast. Finally, Agent Romanov, whose first name was actually Natasha, always drank some kind of healthy smoothie with her morning food. Sam didn’t live in the tower, per se, but Caelum already knew he’d be there in the morning and decided to make his best friend some french toast. This would take a lot longer than expected. But, hey, it was the least he could do for being able to stay at the tower for a little bit.
All together, the food took an hour or three to finish. By the time it was done, the sun had started to come up over the buildings on the horizon. A couple of times Caelum had gotten burnt again or accidentally cut himself while dividing the strawberries. Luckily for him, bandages were just under the sink and easy to put on with one hand. The short blonde looked at his creations. Everything had turned out alright. He wrapped them up and put them in the fridge with the names on each one. Steve, Bucky, and Thor liked to eat a lot so Caelum had made quite a bit for the three. Tony, Bruce, and Clint a.k.a. Agent Barton didn’t eat as much so their plates were less full. Sam, Natasha, and Ms. Pott’s plates were different from the rest and easy to decipher, but Caelum decided to write their names on the wrap anyways.
Realization hit him. He’d forgotten the reason he had even came up to the fifty sixth floor in the first place. To make himself some food and coffee. Damn. Well, Caelum was too tired to hate himself at the moment. He looked at the dishes in the sink and walked over to them. The water turned warm fairly quickly, allowing Caelum to wash them and set them out to dry. Sure, there was a dishwasher, but he didn’t trust those. Much more efficient doing them by hand. Granted it was also more work but it was worth it to have something clean to eat from. A yawn came from his mouth as well as a totally manly squeak. He coughed to cover it up even though no one was in the room with him. The last dish was being washed now and all he had to do was make his own food. Quite frankly, Caelum entertained the idea of not even making something for himself he was so tired.
Of course his stomach decided to make it known that he was definitely not going to avoid food at the moment. He sighed and brought out some bread. Simple peanut butter toast would have to do for now. Caelum tried rubbing away the tired from his eyes but to no avail. He’d almost made it the the cabinet for the peanut butter when his eyes began to close. Eyelids drooping, he slumped onto one of the stools. After fighting sleep for some time, his head finally laid on the counter and he fell into slumber.
Thor was a fairly easy-going man. In the tower it wasn’t unusual to find a woman Stark had brought back. If there’d been a party the night before there were always stragglers. But this morning when he went to fetch his normal breakfast, he saw something different. A shirtless man with a bandage wrapped around his torso. The blonde man had his head on the island of the large kitchen and two slices of bread on a plate near him. The norse god raised his eyebrows as he approached the stranger. Nothing was happening and J.A.R.V.I.S. didn’t seem to be too alarmed so it was obvious this man was welcomed. “Hello, stranger!” Thor’s voice boomed. The man’s head shot up too quickly and he fell off of the chair. Luckily for him, Thor was close enough to catch. “Are you a friend of Tony?”
“What the hell-.” Oh. “Yeah, well. Kind of. I’m Caelum. Shit, did I fall asleep here?” The shorter haired man rubbed his eyes.
“It would seem so, friend. It is nice to meet you, Caelum. I am Thor Odinson.” A cheeky smile was plastered on the god’s face. "Your name. It is that of a constellation, is it not?
Man, this guy was attractive. "Yeah, it is." Caelum realized he was still being held up by Thor and scrambled to his feet. “Oh, uhm, Thor.”
Smile still on his face, “Yes?”
Caelum looked away and pointed at the fridge. “I made pancakes. Oh, and poptarts.”
The smile on Thor’s face grew from ear to ear. He grabbed this new friend and hugged him. “It would seem Stark has made a good decision by inviting you here! Thank you, Caelum.” Said the god as he dropped the smaller man. It was no lie, Caelum had indeed made pancakes and poptarts. A lot. An entire stack was towering over the ones beside it. His name was writing in neat handwriting on the plastic wrap around it. Cael took it out of it’s cool surroundings and unwrapped it. He shoved it into the microwave for a few seconds. Once he saw steam coming from the stack inside, he pushed the button, popping open the door.
“Here you are!” Caelum smiled as he handed Thor his plate along with freshly toasted poptarts and syrup. Immediately, the god began digging in. His hair seemed to be getting in the way, so Caelum searched for something to hold it back. Eventually, he found a rubber band. “This’ll hold back that mane of yours.” He tossed the small rubber band to Thor, who looked at it a bit confused. Did he not know how to put up his hair? Furrowed brow and tilted head meant that no, he did not. The shorter of the two rounded the island and came up behind the god. Slowly, he brought his hands up and combed them through Thor’s hair. It was like golden silk. Cael pulled it gently into a ponytail.
A hand captured his own. Thor spoke, “What is this? My hair, what have you done with it?” He asked, curious, but not angry.
“Oh, I put it up in a ponytail so you could eat without it getting in your way. I’m sorry I didn’t really ask, I can take it out.” He tried to pull his hand free to remove the band but Thor’s grip stayed firm.
“No, no. Thank you, my friend.” A little smile played on Thor’s lips. Hand still gripping the younger male’s, he squeezed it lightly. Then, he went back to chewing happily on his breakfast.
What the hell was that about? Maybe Thor was just really friendly. Natasha said something about that. Hm. Shrugging to himself, Caelum smeared some peanut butter on his now cold toast. Feeling slightly embarrassed that he’d fallen asleep at the counter, he turned away from his new god friend. If Thor could call him a friend then Caelum could call Thor a friend, right? Yeah. Suddenly a weird feeling washed over him. He was friends with a god? Not only a god, but an avenger. Wait, he was already friends with an Avenger. Sam was Falcon. Could he consider the other’s friends too? This was all too odd. Cael shook himself from his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. On instinct, he changed his density and floated through the person’s body before turning back to normal on the other side of them.
“Alright, that’s just weird.” Oh. It was Clint.
“Well then don’t sneak up on me.” Caelum defended with a shrug. “Hey, I made breakfast. It’s in the fridge, just heat it up.”
Clint snapped his fingers with one hand and pointed at the blonde, “I knew I liked you.”
Caelum chuckled. “Thanks.” He shuffled his way to the elevator. Today was a him day. He was going to change into normal clothes, go for a run, maybe stop by the gym in the tower if no one else was there. To be frank, Cael liked to be by himself. That’s what he told himself at least. The doors to the elevator closed and he slumped against the far wall. Man, he was tired. Falling asleep in the kitchen didn’t do anything for the pain in his side, either. He was glad Sam hadn’t been the one who found him because he’d get an earful. Sam was sarcastic and witty but above all, he was a good friend. Ever since they’d met, Caelum liked that about his best friend. If he’d seen the bandage around Cael’s side he’d be pissed that he wasn’t told about it.
Sliding open, the doors of the elevator pulled him from his thoughts. Caelum walked leisurely into the main room of his floor. Wow, that was weird to think. He had his own floor. Suddenly a though came to mind. Oh shit, he forgot his toast. He whirled around to go back to get it, hoping no one else ate it. Something was thrown at him and immediately it was turned to liquid. Clapping was heard behind him. “Nice.”
“What the actual hell, Stark?” Caelum’s brow furrowed in confusion.
The billionaire simply grinned, “We talked about this, it’s Tony, not Stark. I wanted to see what else you could do. So, not only can you change the density of things, but you can change a knife into a puddle.”
The blonde’s eyes widened, “You threw a knife at me?!”
“You threw a knife at him?!” Another voice came from the elevator. Sam stepped out with his arms folded over his chest, “You’ve got five seconds to explain before I beat your ass.”
“Calm down, Bird number dos, it was plastic.” Tony held his hands up defensively, “What, you think I’d hurt Goldilocks?”
“You call me that, but I’ll never sleep in your bed, Baby Bear.” Caelum quipped.
A loud, “Oh snap.” came from Sam as he clapped his hand on his friend’s shoulder.
Tony fiend hurt, “I’d like to think I’m Papa bear. Because this bed’s too hard.” he winked.
“Alright, alright, get out!” Sam pointed to the elevator. Both Tony and Caelum were cracking up.
Once the ever flirtatious Stark left, Caelum realized what was about to happen. Sam was holding a first aid kit. He covered his ears in preparation. “Why didn’t you tell me you were stabbed? Barnes told Cap who had to tell me!” Sam yelled.
“That traitor.” The blonde snapped as if some big scheme had been ruined.
Rolling his eyes, Sam pointed to the couch, “Sit down, dammit.” Caelum obliged and his friend set to work cleaning his wound. It wasn’t too bad, but Sam kept mumbling about how stupid it was for his best friend wouldn’t tell him he was stabbed. “You got work today?” He decided to change the subject since he was about to start stitching.
“Nah, I’m off today. I called in sick.” Caelum shrugged. He held back a wince when the suture pierced his skin.
“Well that’s good. You hiding that wound wouldn’t have been smart.” Steve exited the elevator followed by Bucky.
“And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!” Caelum smirked. “Just how many people are going to just walk in. Is this a normal thing? This can’t be a normal thing.”
Steve ignored the question, “We’re at least sixty years older than you, kid.”
Bucky held back a smile as Caelum’s hands were thrown in the air exasperatedly. “I’m not a kid, dammit! I’m a grown ass man.”
“Grown ass men don’t have Captain America posters hanging in their room.” Sam chuckled.
Caelum gasped, “Excuse you, it was a limited edition poster and it was from when I was twelve.” Sarcasm is the best tool to cover embarrassment.
“We wanted to see if Sam had killed you or not.” Bucky shrugged.
“Not yet.” Sam was packing up the first aid kit. A brand new bandage was wrapped around Caelum’s midsection. It was much better than what he’d done which was pretty much nothing helpful.
The two super soldiers nodded and said their goodbyes. When they were in the elevator, Sam scurried after them and just barely made it. Caelum watched the doors close. Now he was alone. He sighed and thought about his dogs. Maybe Tony would let him bring them here? Aside from Sam, they were the closest thing he had to family. It wasn’t like they were puppies, they were fully grown and well mannered. William and Dylan were good dogs. Damn. He really missed them. It had only been about a day but he had to go see them. Changing into some shorts and a white t-shirt, Caelum searched for his tennis shoes. Sometime during the night Tony had some clothes that he’d circled in a magazine delivered to his room. It was nice since Caelum was pretty sure all of his clothes were ash by now. He only hoped no one innocent got hurt.
Finding the shoes, he grabbed a water bottle and headed to the elevator. He got a surprise when the doors opened. There, in a lovely pencil skirt and white blouse, was the Ms. Potts. Caelum forgot how to talk for a moment. Luckily, she spoke first, “Oh, hi. Are you Sam’s friend? Tony said that there was someone new that might be staying for awhile.” She smiled warmly.
“Uhm, yes, I’m Caelum. Caelum Reinbold, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Potts.” He held out his hand for her to shake.
She willingly took it, “Oh, please, call me Pepper. Reinbold, why does that sound so familiar? What does your father do?”
Caelum scoffed, “Probably drugs.” He composed himself and started again. “He left when I was a kid. Stark said he’d read my book on the dependance of those who suffered tragedy. Maybe you saw or read it?” A bit of hope found it’s way into his voice.
Pepper snapped her fingers, “Yeah, I did read that! I don’t often have time to just sit and read a good book but I really enjoyed that. Really interesting concept.”
Was this a dream? Sure, he met the Avengers and his best friend was apparently Falcon, but this? This had to be a dream. Meeting Ms. Potts is the goal and literally anyone in the business world. She was the Beyonce of business and meetings and all things thought to be incredibly boring. “Thanks, uhm, thank you. That means I a lot. I put a lot of effort into my research.” Caelum smiled charmingly. Sadly, just like that, they were at the ground floor. Pepper waved and walked off, not noticing Caelum staring after her.
“Trying to go after my CEO, I see. She’s a tough one, but if you’re up for a challenge then go for it.” The one and only Stark tried to lean his arm on the blonde’s shoulder but was too short.
Too stunned to answer right away, Caelum just nodded. “Wait, what? Oh, no. I mean she’s lovely. Absolutely gorgeous, but I wasn’t after that. She’s one of my idols.”
Tony smirked, “Got a poster of her up on your wall too?”
“How the hell-”
“It’s my tower. I know everything that goes on here.”
Caelum pursed his lips. “Good point. Well, I’m going to have to catch you later. We can’t all be flawlessly handsome by nature.” he joked, walking to the exit.
He was stopped by a hand, “I wouldn’t go out the front if I were you.” Tony shoved his hands in his pockets. “Poparazzi and all that.”
“Then how do you suggest I leave?” The taller man crossed his arms.
Stark grinned.
One thing everyone says when they give advice about flying is don’t look down. Caelum was given such advice but, being the defiant little shit that he was, ignored it. Of course, this wasn’t the first time he’d flown. It was, however, the first time he was being rocketed through the air by the Iron Man suit. “You know I could just, like, make myself light as a feather and float into the air, right?”
Even through the metal, he felt Tony shrug. “This is faster.”
“That’s true, but why did you have to carry me like a bride?”
A laugh came from inside the suit, “What, you’ve never fantasized about being my bride?”
Caelum rolled his eyes, “I’ve been told I don’t look good in a dress.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“No. Put me down, Stark. I don’t want to do anything drastic.” The blonde joked with a stern tone.
“You asked for it.” And with that, Tony released the man he was carrying. Hundreds of meters in the air and falling to the ground fast. Instead of screaming or looking shocked, Caelum changed his entire body the the density of a cloud. When the billionaire flew near him, he decided to change the state of his matter to a gas. It was difficult and dangerous, but Caelum had gotten the hang of it over the years. Particles that made up his body stretched across a wide span of air. Tony had the helmet over his face, but his body language showed shock. “What the hell?”
If Caelum had been solid, there would be a grin on his face. He moved all of himself over top of Stark. Reforming himself into a solid form, he dropped onto the other man’s shoulders. “Surprise!”
Startled, Tony reached back and grabbed at the man on his back. Pulling him to where they were facing each other, he saw Caelum had a wide smirk on his face. “You ass.”
“Thank you. Now can I go on my jog or are you going to keep lovingly holding me?”
With a sigh but a grin, Tony flew to the ground and let Caelum off. After saying a quick goodbye, he headed back towards the tower. Caelum wasn’t quite sure how far they’d flown and he was feeling a bit tired from changing his form. Changing the density of something wasn’t too hard but the form of something was extremely taxing on his body. He debated just walking back to the tower. Then he remembered why he wanted to go out today. To see Dylan and William. That thought set him in motion. He was filled with determination.
Dogs are smart creatures. They may do silly things like chase their tails, but they aren’t stupid. At least, these two dogs weren’t. The two were quiet, calm, and even helpful to the elderly woman they were staying with. It was a lovely afternoon and they waited for their owner to come get them. No idea how long they’d be apart, a sad feeling weighed on them. However, it was pushed the the back burner when they heard a loud noise. Both canines rushed towards the sound. The woman who had been taking care of them was on the ground. William ran to the door and scratched and barked, trying to get someone’s attention, while Dylan checked on the old lady. She wasn’t breathing. He began licking her face, trying to get a reaction out of her. Nothing. Dylan started to howl, joined shortly by his adoptive brother.
About a block away from the house, Caelum heard the noise. He picked up the pace and sprinted. His dogs never howled, not since they were puppies. Something was wrong. Extremely wrong. The front door was locked, so the man went around back. He could see William through the sliding glass door. William jumped up and scratched at the lock, trying to do something. Seeing this, Caelum phased through the door. The pup lead him through the house to the kitchen. Lying on the ground was Mrs. Philipson with Dylan by her side, his head drooping. The man fumbled for the cell phone in his pocket. He pressed three buttons and held it to his ear. “Nine-one-one, what is your emergency.”
“I need an ambulance!”
Despite the quick thinking of the dogs and the sudden call made, the ambulance was too late. Mrs. Philipson had passed away right in front of Caelum. He watched as they placed her on the stretcher and pulled a sheet over her body. The little, dark skinned woman was wheeled to the back of the emergency car. Caelum’s face remained stoic, emotionless. If he hadn’t wasted his time messing with Tony, would she still be alive? Could he have helped her? Thoughts such as these raced through his mind. A logical part of him knew that wasn’t the case. She was old, going on eighty six, and even though she was well for her age, life ends. The policeman had said some bullshit about it ‘being her time to go’ and another mentioned that she was ‘in a better place’. Though he appreciated the gestures, those thoughts frustrated him.
A familiar ringtone played from his phone as the police cars and ambulance rolled away. Hesitantly, he answered. It was Sam. “Hey, man, I got your text.” There was a small pause. “You need a ride back?”
It took a moment for Caelum to respond. “No, I… I’m alright. I’ll walk back. Could you do me a favour and come get William and Dylan? I don’t know how long I’ll be out.”
“Alright, if they’ll leave your side, that is. Those dogs stick to you like glue.” Sam tried to ease the mood into something more light hearted. A hint of a smile came to his friend’s lips.
“Thanks. I’ll be back… whenever.” He said and ended the call. Cael patted both of his dogs on their heads. “Hey, boys. You did good. You did a good job. Thank you for warning me.”
The two whined a little but leaned into their human’s touch. He smiled. “You’re going to love the new place. I bet I could get Tony to get a room to yourselves. Stay here, alright? Stay.” Caelum gave them both a scratch behind the ears and a kiss on the head. After a little coaxing, the dogs laid down and stayed put. “I’ll see you boys later.”
Walking was something Caelum usually enjoyed. It gave him time to just think about what was going on in his life. Today was no different, but the was less enjoyment. More thoughts about how he shouldn’t have messed around came to him. He tried to push them from his mind, but to no avail. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he spotted the small park by his old apartments. It was getting to be evening, maybe around five or six. Even though it was just barely getting dark, no one was there. The route to the park was basically engraved in his mind. Whenever something would happen or he had a rough day, he’d come here. Normally there were one or two people here and he would have his dogs with him. Caelum sighed and sat down on a bench. Leaning his head back, he looked towards the sky. The sounds of distant traffic and the occasional passerby filled his ears. He closed his eyes.
When had he lead such an eventful life? He was Caelum Reinbold, a thirty five year old professor who enjoyed coffee in the mornings, tea at night, and talking walks with his two pit mixes. Granted, he did have strange abilities, but they never really affected his daily life. Now he was wanted by an insane organization and was living with freaking superheroes. His best friend of over twenty years was a superhero and he’d just found out a day ago. True, Sam had only just found out about Caelum’s abilities, but it wasn’t like he was hiding an entire life from his friend. He rubbed his temples with his middle and index fingers.
“Sam said you might be here.” A familiar voice startled the silence of the park.
Caelum opened his eyes and turned his head to to sound. “Hey, Steve. Did he make you come get me because it was getting dark? I swear, that man is like a mother sometimes.”
Steve shook his head. “I asked him where you were once he told me what had happened.” He sat on the other side of the bench. “I’m sorry to hear about that.”
“Well, she was getting older.” Caelum shrugged, sounding indifferent.
“That doesn’t make it any easier…” The super soldier looked forward at the swings.
“Thanks?”
The older man’s eyes widened, “No, no, I didn’t mean it like that, I just.”
He was cut off by the sound of Caelum chuckling. “It’s alright, Steve, I know what you meant.” A comfortable silence settled between the two.
“Ever ride on a motorcycle?” Cap broke the noiseless air.
Caelum turned his head towards the other blonde. “Are you going to tell me that you came here on a motorcycle?” A nod. Yup. “And you’re going to let me ride it?” Another nod. “Holy shit. My twelve year old self would be so excited. To hell with that, my thirty five year old self is excited.”
Glad that he temporarily got Caelum’s mind off of the recent events, Steve stood up. “Well, what are you waiting for?” He grinned and stalked off towards his bike. Ecstatically, Caelum followed. “Here.” Cap tossed him a helmet.
“What about you?” He asked, putting it on.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine.”
Pursing his lips, Caelum retorted with, “Just because you’re really strong and heal quickly doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”
Steve laughed before shaking his head with a smile, “Believe me, I know. Now get on and hold on tight.” So Cael did as he was told.
Riding a motorcycle is nothing like riding a bike or riding in a car. It feels faster than anything and it’s a constant effort to keep stray hairs out of one’s eyes. Caelum was not prepared for such effort. At some point, he just closed his eyes and let his hair go wild. If you can’t beat it, join it. So he threw his head back to feel the wind on his face. He heard, or more so felt, Steve laugh at his antics. All too soon, the ride was over and they were coming to a stop. Shaking his head to get the hair out of his eyes, Caelum grinned. “Badass.” Was his only verbal reaction.
“Thanks, I guess.” The super soldier said, flipping down the kickstand.
Inside, they saw two dogs run towards them. Sam followed after them with a brow raised. He must have been waiting with William and Dylan. Caelum fell to his knees and held his arms out for his dogs to run into. Happily, they jumped on him and gave him sloppy puppy kisses. Steve stood next to the Falcon and watched on at the scene. Both men couldn’t help but smile at the interaction between the owner and his pets. “Thanks, Sam. Have they seen the floor yet?” The blonde on the ground asked.
“Nope. I figured you’d want to be there.” He shrugged.
The next hour or so was spent showing the canines around and telling them where they could and could not go. Caelum had J.A.R.V.I.S. allow the two dogs to enter the elevator on their own so that they could go to the ground floor. That way, whenever he was out, Dylan and William could still use the bathroom. Tony didn’t like the idea so a compromise had to be made. The dogs were not to ‘do their business’ anywhere near the tower. So, Caelum walked them to a nearby dog park. If they were shown the way, they could find the way back from the tower after using the bathroom. It wasn’t necessarily ethical, but someone would pick it up. Plus, both dogs knew how to cross streets and were extremely smart. Caelum was so glad that they were easy to train.
After all of that, he was alone again in his room. This time, however, he knew that William and Dylan were just in the other room. He could hear them playing tug-of-war with a rope toy. The near-silence invited unwelcomed thoughts again. Groaning, Caelum got up from his bed. He’d seen punching bags at the gym floor. It was time to release some anger and frustration. He told his pups to stay and headed down.
No one was in the gym, much to Caelum’s relief. Taping up his knuckles, he let all of the emotions from the past few days loose. He changed the density of his fists just a little bit to make his punches impact a bit harder. Anger course through him. He was pissed that his apartment was set on fire. He was pissed that he was targeted after doing nothing. He was pissed that Mrs. Philipson died in front of him. He was pissed at the world for making him the way he was. He was pissed off about so many things. So much had gone wrong in his life. His mother’s death. His father leaving. Having to become financially independent at fourteen. Having to work three jobs and make it through school. Sam had been one of the few things Caelum had been living for for so long. Seeing his students encouraged him to work hard. Then he adopted his dogs and they were two more reasons to keep going.
Still, after all of that. After so much pain, here he was. Caelum was living a fairly successful life. Stable job, nice place, he wasn’t homeless, he had interesting new friends in his life. He delivered one last hit to the punching bag. Falling to the ground in exhaustion, he furrowed his brow. That was right. After so much shit that he went through and so much he was still going through, he had reasons to keep going. Great people in his life. A best friend who was practically family. Students who looked up to him. Two amazing dogs. Caelum looked down at his hands. He had no idea how long he’d been punching and hitting the bag, but his knuckles were covered in blood. Wasn’t taping them supposed to help with that a little? Oh well. He laid back on the matt, staring at the ceiling. It was time for some damn tea.
Now that his hands were washed off and looking better and he was showered, Caelum went up to the fifty sixth floor. He was pleased to see that all of the food he had made was eaten. There was a tea kettle under the counter in one of the cabinets. Pouring some water in it, Cael began to hum a bit. He heard the elevator open. A voice spoke behind him. “Tea at this hour? Something stressing you out?”
It was Dr. Bruce Banner. Caelum smiled. “Yeah. How’d you know?”
“I know a thing or two about being stressed.” He laughed.
“Right, right. Want some tea?” The blonde set the kettle on the stove and opened the cupboard. Bruce nodded. Grabbing two mugs, Caelum started a conversation, “So, how was your day?”
Bruce shrugged as he sat down at the island. He placed his forearms on the top and folded his hands. “Nothing too exciting. Spent most of my time in the lab or reading.”
Caelum nodded with pursed lips, “Sounds fun.” The awkward silence that followed was interrupted by the squealing of the tea kettle. He poured some into each mug and handed one the the man opposite him.
“Tony was complaining about how you brought dogs into the tower.” Bruce took a sip of the warm beverage.
A breathe of sharp air left Caelum’s lungs in a scoff. “Yeah. They don’t chew or scratch on anything and won’t ruin the carpets. Could be worse.”
Looking over the edge of his cup, the doctor asked, “What kind of dogs are they?”
Cael leaned against the counter top. “Dylan is a pit bull rottweiler mix. William is a pit bull german shepard mix.”
“I take it you like pit bulls?”
“I love them.” Caelum laughed, “People think they’re angry and scary but that’s not the case at all. If you’re gentle with them, they’ll be gentle with you, you know?” he asked, looking into his half empty mug.
Staring for a moment, Bruce nodded. “Yeah…” He downed the last of his tea and stood up, placing it in the sink. “Well, thanks for the tea. We should do this again some time.”
“We should.”
Before walking out, the brunette turned around, “Oh, and Caelum.” Pause. “If you ever need advice on how to control your anger, I have some experience.” He gestured at said man’s knuckles.
Left on his own once again, Caelum took a deep breath. This interesting new way of living was weird. Really weird. Even so, he was glad he got to meet these people. Maybe life was too bad, after all.