After his deportation from Modesh, Bruce very quickly lost interest in Caffray. There were rumors that his interest had only ever been in Caleb Black, and with an ocean now between them, he made the decision to leave. Fraser had put his foot down, and refused to go sort the mess in Cabi on his brother's behalf, at least not until Mrs Warik recovered from her hip surgery.

Without Tristan's persuasion that he should go and deal with things himself, Caleb might very well have let the entire company fall apart. Having refused to accompany him and face the terrible memories that he'd made there, his husband did everything in his power to reassure him that it wouldn't be the case.

"Baby, it's different now. Nothing there can hurt you. Don't you want to go and see them suffer..?"

Since his arrest and subsequent extradition from Modesh, Jed had been forced to try and sell every designer item he owned just to pay for the fine. The issue was that half of it was fake, and the disgruntled customers reported him to Cabi's trading standards. As he saw the inside of another country's prison cell, no one came to bail him out.

When Carl and Sarah returned to Cabi after the party, Carl had decided he'd had enough.

Jed was ungrateful, and Sarah had gone too far. There was only one option; he started sleeping with one of the interns. 

Somehow the CCTV footage from the office got leaked. When his wife found out, she started causing regular disturbances at the company. Caffray just couldn't keep him on after the fight that broke out. It was decided they should be kept apart for their community service given how bitter their divorce had become. It seemed neither of them wanted custody of Jed though.

Tristan still refused the trip, deciding instead to stay with the babies and continue on with his own work. Caleb reluctantly packed his cases, and was so wrapped up in saying goodbye that he missed his flight. Only after he was reminded that the sooner he sorted things in Cabi, the sooner he could come home, did he finally end up boarding.

It didn't take long for Tristan to discover the cameras.

He made no mention of them, going about his daily activities as normal, but entirely aware that his husband was watching.

On the second night, they were talking on the phone when Tristan started to remove his clothes in the bedroom.

"What are you doing now, Baby?" asked Caleb.

"Just checking on the cats" lied Tristan, "You must be missing them."

"I miss you most" he told him, "I can't stop thinking about you."

"Oh?" said Tristan, running his hand across his tongue and touching his body with wet and sticky fingers, "How's work been going?"

"Baby... why would you want to talk about work right now?"

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Tristan, biting his lip as his fingertips lingered on his hardening nipple.

The breathing on the other end of the line was getting heavier. "Fuck work" said Caleb, "Baby, what are you doing..?"

"Huh? Oh I'm just looking to see what movie I'm going to watch tonight" said Tristan, a hand creeping inside his underwear, "How have the interviews been going for the new CFO?"

Caleb checked the camera was still live, that there wasn't some kind of delay that was causing the gulf between what he could see and what Tristan was saying.

"Baby, are you thinking about me?" he asked.

"No, I'm thinking if I'm going to order sushi or cold noodles" said Tristan as he pulled down his underwear and seductively stroked himself, "It's been kind of hot today."

"You feel hot..?" asked Caleb, fixated on the image that filled his screen.

"Not particularly" Tristan replied, lying on the bed as he spread open his legs, "But I've had the air con on... I guess outside the temperature's been on the higher side."

"Baby... oh fuck, I want to be inside you."

"Husband! Where did that come from?" asked Tristan, his innocent voice betrayed by the writhing of his naked body through the lens of the camera. "I'm not in the mood for that kind of phone call. I thought you wanted to talk..."

"Tristan."

"Let's talk tomorrow then instead. Tonight I have plans."

Tristan hung up the call and dialed up the intensity of his touch; his husband sitting alone in his Cabi apartment, a raging erection pushing at the fabric of his pants as his brow furrowed in confusion. Before his Baby reached his climax, he smiled and turned out the bedroom lights.

Fuck, thought Caleb, he knows about the cameras.

The next day, all feeds from the penthouse were down.

"Baby, turn on your camera, I want to see you..." begged Caleb at the other end of the phone.

"I don't look my best right now" said Tristan, "I think I have a cold. Maybe tomorrow. In the meantime I'm taking some days off from the supermarket."

Even those cameras became useless.

It was the longest Caleb had gone without seeing him since those dark days when he arrived in Modesh. He'd listen to his voice and picture him, desperate to come home and see him. Every time he tried to book a flight, Tristan would check with Fraser if the work was truly done.

"We found a suitable candiate but they can't start for another couple of days; we need Caleb to manage the handover... though he's threatened to close the branch down entirely if they don't arrive early."

"I see" said Tristan, "I'll talk with him again."

Without the perseverance of Tristan Scott, every soul in the Cabi branch of Caffray would have lost their job to satisfy his husband's impatience.

"Husband, you're so close" said Tristan, "Finish your work and I'll reward you."

"Can't you reward me now? I miss you! I want to see your face, please Baby..."

Tristan didn't give an inch. As much as he wanted his husband, he knew he was the only thing standing in the way of a company-wide disaster. He happened to like the many benefits that came with Caleb's success, and even though he had his own work to take care of, he hadn't forgotten it was Caffray's profts that funded their lavish lifestyle.

When at last the work was done, and the new CFO in place, Caleb chartered a private jet to bring him home to his husband as quickly as the laws of physics would allow. He was very disappointed to learn that in doing so, they couldn't land any closer to the Phoenicia. The car raced from the airport, through the bustling streets and passing by the colorful facades of the lively homes and storefronts.

The marina, the supermarket, and then the Phoenicia; coming into view like a shimmering oasis in a vast and arid desert. Caleb abandoned his cases in the car and rushed to the elevator, only to discover that the code didn't work. Fear and panic seeped into his bones.

0429. 0429. It wasn't working.

His phone rang and he answered it on the verge of tears.

"Baby, what's going on? I'm here! I'm here but the code isn't working..!"

"Try today's date" said Tristan, "I'm waiting for you, Husband."

Caleb punched in the digits and could finally breathe, as the doors to the elevator opened into the penthouse. White rose petals were strewn across the floor, and amongst them, Tristan stood dressed in a sage-green silk robe. It had been a year since the night of the proposal; and he'd felt it only right to celebrate an anniversary that meant something to them both.

"Baby..."

His husband's arms were wrapped tightly around his body, hoisting him onto his waist and pressing him to down to meet his lips. He'd been starving without his means of survival and planned to take his fill.

His mouth satisfied with the taste, he craned his head to stare up at Tristan and drink in the glorious sight of him. The robe had fallen away, and beneath it, his husband didn't wear a stitch.

"Did you miss me?" asked Tristan.

Caleb watched the light dance in his eyes as he spoke. The rise and fall of his chest, the pulsing of his veins, the movements of his mouth... Tristan was alight with life, and every detail mesmerized him. In his left ear he wore a diamond stud, glinting in the suns rays as they streamed through the window.

"I pierced my ear!" Tristan announced, "Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful, Baby."

"And I changed the couch, did you notice?"

Caleb had noticed nothing but his dazzling husband. What else in the world was worth his attention?

"...Is this why you turned off the cameras..?"

"It was the only way I could surprise you" said Tristan, "You'll be by my side every day for the rest of our lives. I had to take the only chance I had."

"Do what you want, change what you want, but please Baby, never hide yourself away again. I nearly went crazy when I couldn't see you. Didn't you miss me at all?"

Tristan had been too busy thinking about Caleb's surprises to miss him all that much. Besides, Fraser had already given him remote access to the surveillance cameras at the Cabi office. Whenever he wanted to see his husband, he had every opportunity.

For Caleb, an earring and a couch didn't seem like a fair price for all those hours he'd missed. Tristan could sense it too.

"Don't be mad, Husband" he said, "You haven't seen the final surprise."

Besides his husband, there was nothing more in the world that Caleb could have hoped for. And yet, the mirror installed on their bedroom ceiling surpassed every expectation; he'd never even realized how much he'd needed it before.

"Baby..."

"Do you like it?" asked Tristan, "I know how much you love to watch."

Caleb carried his husband to the bed. Pulling the robe free from Tristan's body, he marveled at the infinite beauty of his naked skin; admiring his favorite view from every new angle available. He kicked himself for never having thought of it before... almost forgetting the time when Tristan would have hated to find himself so utterly exposed.

"Are you sure you don't mind it?" asked Caleb, seating Tristan on his body and running his hands across his chest.

Tristan looked up at his reflection and locked eyes with the man beneath him.

"To see myself loved like this? No" he said with a smile, "I don't mind it at all."

-THE END-

[Author's note: Special thanks to Zozo, Zaol, sparkling water, Willow_tr33, Eboney, XIK-999, ace, Kris Starlight, peaches44, sarahmarkworth07, cakelady, dreaming, Eli B. Wilde, Leila, buchnerart, Lmnop, SonderandWhimsy (and to all the wonderful readers I've missed), for your continued support throughout the release of Modesh - it's meant so much to me, and I hope you'll join me on the next adventure! ✨]