Chapter 691: Sometimes the small moments matter

Cass felt ridiculous now that his eyes were a little puffy. He felt a bit like a marshmallow as he watched the others move around the room quietly. Food had been brought to their room, and the small, imperfect table that didn’t match the planned decor Cass was going to put in the bedroom was set for them before Sage and Ember truly departed for the night.

Cass had been brought over and forced to sit down at the table, the boys fawning over him as he tried to gather his wits. He was a damn mess around these men pretty much all the time. It was annoying as much as it was comforting that each time a layer of his emotions was pulled back, they didn’t react negatively.

Sure, it had sucked at first, and that was why he was so hesitant now to offer parts of himself, but he kept being rewarded by their care...and...love?

Cass felt his heart squeeze at even the thought of the word, his eyes swimming as he even considered it. It was too much for him right now, and honestly, he felt it was too soon. His emotions were all over the place and he didn’t want to say or think something that he might regret. Not now, when it finally felt like they were connecting on a deeper level.

Gideon had claimed one of the seats next to Cass, Edgar scowling as Lucian took up the other side. He had to sit across from Cass, like that was the worst thing he could do, while Gideon and Lucian patted Cass’ shoulder and cared for him. Edgar busied himself in other ways, preparing some food on a plate for him, pouring Cass a glass of actual wine, and helping Cass regulate his breathing just by meeting his gaze.

It was all rather overwhelming, but Cass...didn’t hate it.

He was just flustered, embarrassed, and wanted to be able to give back to the men as much as they were giving him. They hadn’t even had a tour of the bathroom yet, but Lucian insisted on feeding Cass first, especially if they were going to put him in a stressful position. He probably wouldn’t have an appetite after, so it was best to feed him now.

Cass didn’t ask how he knew that, instead just accepting it as the truth while he stayed in his seat, being pampered.

He did make sure that he wasn’t the only one eating, holding out food for the others to eat and Lucian being Lucian, asked to be handfed. Cass didn’t hesitate. He fed him, Lucian’s eyes glittering excitedly. Edgar demanded that he be fed by hand as well, and Gideon?

Gideon just sat there silently. Not forcing himself or leaning in towards Cass, but he could tell that he wanted to be included too. So Cass made sure that happened, and he could practically feel how the room hummed with happiness.

Of course, there was also a hum of anticipation in the air. Everyone knew what was going to come after they ate, but no one spoke of it. They kept everything calm, sweet, and Cass did his best to keep a calm head as well.

When everyone was finished eating, or had eaten as much as they wanted, that was when things got a little more...tense.

Lucian helped Cass up, taking his hand in his and squeezing it tightly. Edgar slipped his hand into his on the other side and Gideon surprised everyone and slid his hand into Lucian’s. Lucian seemed surprised, but it was a pleasant one. He softened as they all began to move towards the bathroom.

The door looked the same, the area was cleaned of any remnants of renovations, and Cass was a bit curious as to how they expanded the space. Had they done it the same way that Cass had expanded his space by using magic? He wasn’t certain.

Lucian offered an explanation quickly as Edgar opened the door for them, Gideon slipping in first, followed by Lucian, then Cass, and then Edgar at the end.

"Unlike Cass, I was unable to use magic to expand the bathroom. The main reason being that magic and plumbing are not friends." Lucian explained. Cass appreciated it because he was sure that Edgar knew that, but maybe Gideon didn’t. Cassian did, and Cass should, but that wasn’t always the case.

"Oh, okay." Cass breathed, staring at the bright space that they had walked into.

Lucian hadn’t changed the colour scheme, thank fuck. Everything was the same with the cream tones, white accents, and marble everywhere. It was bright, it was airy, and Cass was really liking it.

"So, since we couldn’t do that, we had to knock down the wall between the room between these, which also happened to be a bathroom. We stole the space from one of the suites, but since most of them are being converted, we didn’t think it was a big deal. Plus, it gave us a lot of space to play around in. Sam and I had already plotted it all out, but we actually got more space from the other room than anticipated because a closet hadn’t been marked in the details." Lucian explained as the group looked around the room.

The tub was in the same place. It hadn’t moved, which Cass was thankful for, but the sinks and toilet had. They were pushed way back, against a wall that had windows on either side. They were covered in long, shimmery golden curtains. They were more brown than gold in the light of the evening, but Cass knew they were trimmed in gold.

A dragon was still a dragon after all.

The sink had been expanded into a double sink with ample counter space and storage for towels and toiletries. The shelves in the room were also that shimmery golden shade, probably actually gold or gold-trimmed items. The space in the center of the room was now converted into a long, soft-looking bench. It was in a cream shade, buttons marking the fabric and showing off how thick the cushion for the bench. It looked like it could be used for lounging and since it was across from the original tub, that made sense.

Cass was pretty sure Lucian had asked if he could put a chair in, and that answered the question.

Behind the tub and off to the corner was a door that Cass hadn’t seen before.

"What is that?" Cass asked, pointing with the hand that was holding Lucian’s towards the closed door.

"Oh. That’s the bathroom. I moved it and closed it off for privacy purposes. Since we might all use this space, maybe you would need some privacy if we were using the space." Lucian said. Cass thought that was very considerate of him to think about.

Cass’ eyes had been roaming the room, avoiding the obvious thing against the far wall. The reason being that he’d almost already seen this tub before.

Cass had no idea how he had managed to create the huge tub, tiled in tiny golden squares, with layered steps up to the edge of the tub. There were golden handles to turn on the water and the spout? They had talked down from a dragon head and instead had gone with something in between that.

It was a fairy.

Cass had wanted to veto it, but Sam and Lucian had been against him and Edgar had also agreed that it would be cute when they had been arguing about it forever ago. God, it really felt like ages now that Cass was seeing it in person.

There were several benches along the edge of the tub, as well as a deeper section. There was a shelf with towels within reach, along with a collection of bottles. Cass was sure they were full of soaps, shampoos, conditioners and anything else the man could think up.

He had managed to match the main tile of the floor, but had adjusted the paint on the walls to something that looked light but had a gentle shimmer to it.

All in all, Cass felt like he was inside a shimmery, roman bath. Was it roman in nature? Not at all. Not really, anyway, it just felt...different. It was a blend of roman and victorian, but tasteful? It was hard to explain, but Cass was pleased with it.

"It looks great, Lucy. Thank you." Cass said and Lucian let out a heavy, relieved sigh.

"Oh thank the gods. I was so worried you wouldn’t be pleased." Lucian admitted. He looked as if he actually meant that and Cass rolled his eyes.

"I already approved the plans, so unless you decided to do whatever you wanted, things would have been fine." Cass reminded him and Lucian shrugged. His orange eyes sparkled as he looked down at Cass.

"I can still worry, can’t I? What if you changed your mind and you hated the gold? I was worried, you know, since Sam almost exclusively gave you silver ornaments to wear. I am pleased that you like gold." Lucian said, smiling.

Yeah, Cass bet he was happy he liked gold.

Edgar let go of his hand, moving into the room proper and gently touching the bench.

"Did you make this yourself?" He asked, turning towards Lucian who puffed out his chest proudly.

"With help from Sir Forsythe, but yes. We build it together. We also broke down the wall together, measured everything. It was a very bonding experience." Lucian declared, proud. Gideon squeezed Lucian’s hand, raising Lucian’s hand to his lips and giving it a kiss. Cass froze, Edgar froze. Lucian looked shocked as Gideon treated him sweetly.

"That must have been hard. I’m proud of you, Lucian." Gideon told him. Lucian stood there, shocked, and Cass got the brilliant idea to treat him the same.

He raised Lucian’s hand, pressing his own kiss against his skin there. Lucian jerked his head towards Cass, his eyes shocked as Cass grinned up at him.

"You did a really great job remodeling the bathroom for us, Lucy. What a terrific provider you are." Lucian turned bright red. He shook both Gideon and Cass off of his hands to cover his face as the magic in the room fluctuated. He shivered, shaking, and Cass knew that they’d overwhelmed him. He actually felt pretty proud of that.

"Dear gods, save me." Lucian muttered softly and Edgar gave a laugh.

"Oh dear, but I haven’t thanked you yet." Edgar said and Lucian shook.

"Give me...Give me a moment." Lucian begged and Cass grinned. That was very cute. When Cass met Gideon’s green eyes, they were dancing. It was clear that he had meant for some kind of a reaction, but this was more than he could have asked for. He winked at Cass, the two of them pleased that Lucian had reacted the way that he had.

The man deserved to be flustered sometimes too.