Lucian came barreling into the bathroom. The door slamming against the wall nearly made Cass jump out of his skin as the dragon huffed and puffed, his hair disheveled and his eyes glowing orange.
"Sweetness, what’s this about crying? Why were you crying? I nearly had two heart attacks when I felt that jerk inside of me this afternoon!" Lucian declared, storming into the room.
Sam and Edgar followed in behind him, both men shocked, but also trying to resist smiles. It was Cass who was almost horrified.
He knew that they had all seen him naked. Rather intimately, as well. Lucian and Edgar had helped bathe him yesterday, but that didn’t mean that Cass didn’t like his privacy. Cass felt his whole face go red as he slipped in the tub, sliding in under the water for a brief second. Then the sound of Lucian shouting filled his ears as the man hauled him up, even more panic on his face compared to before.
"Cass?! Are you alright? Do you need help?" Lucian asked and Cass sputtered. He was coughing up the water he’d just unintentionally swallowed due to Lucian startling him. Edgar and Sam were also there, just hovering behind the much larger man.
Cass kept coughing until he could finally get a breath in. Lucian’s large hands were roughly pushing back Cass’ hair, as if pushing the hair out of his face would help him breathe.
"Y-You scared me." Cass eventually was able to rasp. Lucian was scanning his face, making sure that Cass was okay.
Prior to Lucian storming into the room, Cass had been relaxing in the tub. He had been sitting on one of the sloped steps in the bath, his arms on the ledge of the giant tub, his head tilted back as he let his body soak in the warm water. He’d had to close his eyes so that he didn’t stare at the bright, vibrant dragon faced decals that Lucian had added to his private space.
Cass had wanted to be angry again at the man doing it, but he couldn’t find it in himself. Especially when he realised that the little nose parts on the hot water tap spewed steam when the water was flowing through it. That was a cute detail, and Cass found himself softening after he realised that.
Now though? After the man had scared him to the point that he’d slid into the water and now was treating him like some kind of wet animal?
He was rethinking things.
"I’m sorry Cass. I didn’t realise what he was doing." Edgar apologised to him, appearing rather apologetic. Cass knew that he also found this situation hilarious from the way that his eyes were twitching, but Cass was going to ignore that part.
"Didn’t realise what I was doing? I was saving my bond partner’s life!" Lucian protested. "None of you were going to do it! I had to!" Lucian was loud, brash, and while Cass was glad he was so full of life, Cass was not on the same level as him.
"I wouldn’t have fallen in if you hadn’t startled me. I wouldn’t have slipped if you had opened the door like a normal person instead of a villain who’d found my secret hide out." Cass told him, and Lucian froze. Edgar’s eyes widened before he found a smile, while Sam looked just apologetic.
"I’m sorry my Lord. If it helps, Byron also came up with your meal." Sam told him and Lucian grumbled.
"Am I not enough for you?" He protested and Cass felt his face warm.
"No. You are not." Cass told him sharply, not wanting to give the man an inch with how he was behaving right now. Lucian let out a horrified gasp, as did Edgar. Sam’s eyes widened to a level that Cass had never seen before.
Then Edgar started laughing.
"Oh no. What am I going to do? I’m barely anything when compared to Lucian." Edgar joked, and Cass felt his face warm. Lucian, who still had a hold on Cass, jerked him in the water until they were face to face. Lucian’s eyes were bright orange, slitted like his dragon self, and watering. His lips were trembling, not caring that the water sloshed in the tub and splattered all over him.
"Am I really not enough for you? Is that true? Is there anything I can do that will change your mind? Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry. I just wanted to get you a fresh meal." Lucian pleading with Cass now, and Cass just wanted to take back the words he’d said.
This was not the outcome that he thought would happen when he told them that. He thought Lucian was going to get cocky, and tell him that he was lying. He was not expecting this crying adult man.
"L-Lucian, you made me fall in the bath. I’m just-can you back off a bit? We just spent so much time together and I just want to take a few moments to myself. Edgar gets it, why can’t you? And also, I’m allowed to freaking cry." Cass muttered, his cheeks flaming. Lucian stared at him like he’d greatly injured him with his words.
Cass could feel that the man wasn’t quite alright as his hands shook holding Cass.
"Y-You aren’t allowed to cry." Lucian protested. "I am not able to handle it when you cry. I almost broke our contract because you were crying." Sam let out a soft gasp at that, before spinning and heading for the door.
"I-I’ll go grab your food." The man called over his shoulder, understanding that he shouldn’t hear another word of this conversation. Cass appreciated his ability to read the room, even if some of the other people in the room couldn’t in the strangest situations.
"Lucian, I just said I needed some time to think. Do you really think now is the right time to bring that up?" Cass asked, staring at the man while Edgar quietly closed the door to the bathroom to give the three of them some privacy. "You are normally much better than this. What has changed?" Cass asked and watched as Lucian’s face went through a slight shift.
It was almost as if the man himself hadn’t realised that he wasn’t normally this messy. Edgar was staring at Lucian with a bit of pity in his gaze as he leaned himself against the wall, his arms crossed as he watched the show.
Lucian, having now heard some of Cass’ innermost thoughts, shifted the man back into the water and took a few steps back. He ended up hitting the edge of the vanity and his hands gripped onto it for strength.
"I...I am behaving a bit strange, aren’t I?" Lucian muttered. "I wasn’t even this bad just a few days ago." Lucian agreed, muttering quietly. Cass was glad to have a bit of distance between them, glad that they were in a triangle formation. He could see everyone’s faces, and even if he was still naked, he felt a little bit more in control.
Trying to play it off as if he wasn’t doing anything, Cass quietly sunk a cloth into the water and draped it over his genitals, concealing them from view. Edgar saw the whole thing and gave Cass a smirking look. Cass flushed but was glad that Lucian didn’t notice.
It appeared as if the man was going through a crisis that he hadn’t realised until now.
"Why were you gone, Lucian?" Cass rasped, his voice still feeling a little beaten. He hadn’t drank anything yet to help alleviate that issue and Lucian winced at the sound of his voice. He covered his face with a hand, a long, shaky breath leaving his lips.
"I...I hate hearing you sound like that. Even if it is sexy, I hate that you’re injured. Especially by my hand." Lucian sounded heartbroken, while Cass felt his whole face go red. Cass felt like he was going insane from embarrassment. He needed time to think, time to process, and here Lucian was, not giving him time while he was trying to process his own issues.
Cass was frustrated, but at the same time, sympathetic. The guy was a talker. Cass knew that. Didn’t make it any easier for him though.
"I...I was getting you fresh meat. I told Eddie to only tell you if you asked about me. You didn’t though, did you? I knew that. You’re stubborn." Lucian’s lips curled up slightly, smiling to himself as he spoke. "Sometimes I like that I’m able to feel your feelings, but there is no...definition to them." Lucian said and Cass blinked. No definition?
"Do you mean nuance?" Cass asked and Lucian’s eyes lit up as he nodded.
"Yes! That is what I mean. There’s none of that. I can just tell basic things for the most part unless you project images. I didn’t know you could do that until recently. It just...I feel like I know you, but I also don’t. I can’t read your cues as well as I would like to, and given what happened only yesterday...I guess I’m just a bit sensitive to your more sad emotions." Lucian said, shivering. "That was horrible." Lucian muttered quietly.
"I thought it was cute." Edgar said softly and Lucian glared at him.
"You’re a little freak, so I can’t trust you." Lucian told him and Edgar’s eyes flared blue as his nostrils flared.
"I am not, and I take exception to that from a man who has lived centuries compared to Cass and I. I’m sure you’re just playing nice, but I bet you are a level of freak I can’t even comprehend." Edgar complained and Cass watched as his peaceful bath faded before his very eyes.
These two were not about to let him have a break. He could tell. They were bickering, and Cass just snapped.
"Both of you, out. Out of my room. I need a break, and while I appreciate you thinking about me and caring about me, I have Sam who can help right now. Don’t you two have things you need to do?" Cass growled and both men flinched. It was clear that they realised that they had pushed too far and Cass was past the point of no return.
Slowly, both men muttered some kind of excuse and slumped out of the bathroom, looking small and pitiful like Cass was going to change his mind.
He didn’t.
Once both men were gone, Sam knocked on the door and peeked inside.
"Would you like to take your meal in the bath or wait till you come out of the bath my Lord?" He asked and Cass closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. It was nice to be asked what he wanted to do right now.
"After." Cass muttered, waving a hand and slowly the water warmed up again. Sam nodded and closed the door behind him. Cass ignored the small part of him that felt terrible that he’d chased the two men who cared about him out of the room.
At the same time, all he needed was two fucking hours to get his head on. They had to give him that, or there was nothing for them to try and figure out. They had to.