Getting out of the carriage eventually meant that Cass and Edgar had to be cleaned up. Thankfully, Cass had his handy dandy magic that he had used in the dungeons so they didn’t look worse for wear when they arrived back at the mansion.
A rather grumpy, upset Lucian was waiting outside for them. He wasn’t alone, though. An upset Sam was also waiting outside, while Cass could see a rather curious-looking Gideon remained inside, but in line of sight.
"What have you been up to?" Sam asked before Lucian could. He had his arms crossed, his jaw tight, and he looked furious. It was adorable, but clear that he was not pleased.
He wasn’t even looking at Byron, but Cass knew it was for the two of them, maybe even the three of them.
"What Sam said." Lucian said, frowning intentionally. He should have looked terrifying compared to Sam, but Cass just found his huffing and puffing amusing. He was sure that was a bad sign. A dragon being pissed at him shouldn’t be such a casual event.
"We were out shopping." Cass said and Lucian growled, stomping his foot and pushing his chest out.
"Out. Shopping? Yeah, like I’ll believe that. You were out cheating on me!" Lucian roared and Cass blinked. Edgar also seemed surprised by the outburst, and he gave a soft snort.
"We weren’t cheating. I just got hungry and Cass offered to help." It was a rather easy solution, but Lucian, who was connected to Cass, snarled.
"Twice? Twice?! That’s a little much for one feeding, isn’t it?" Lucian growled. Cass felt his face warm. Fuck. Not in public again.
"Lucy, you know how Cass can get, don’t you? I was fine with once, but he wasn’t. I was being a caring partner. You’d do the same. Plus, the whole time we were shopping we were picking out outfits for you too. There was not a moment he wasn’t being considerate, we weren’t being considerate of you." Edgar had his best soothing tone on, and he wasn’t even touching Cass.
Outside of helping him out of the carriage, Edgar wasn’t touching him. He didn’t have his hand on Cass’ waist, hip, lower back, upper back, nothing. He was close to him, but he wasn’t touching him. It was like he had anticipated that Lucian was going to react this way.
Lucian huffed, still pissed, but it was clear that he could be in a worse mood. He was mulling over the words that Edgar had said, same with Sam.
Sam actually turned his gaze towards Byron, his expression tight as the man who was normally able to blend into the background was unable to do so.
"What about you?" Sam asked, his voice quiet but dangerous. Byron met his gaze, unblinking.
"I was with the lord the whole time. I even used my powers to remain by his side in the temple." Byron told him and Sam twitched.
"You went to the temple?" He asked, glancing towards Cass. Byron continued to answer.
"Yes. We went so that the lord could confront the gods about what they had done, and apparently turn Lord Ridgewood into a Saint." Sam gasped.
"Another one?!" He sounded genuinely upset. It took Cass a moment to understand why. Lady Ava had been a pain in Cass’ side because she kept blessing food and making Cass’ life a living hell. She was trained though. Gideon wasn’t.
Cass slid his gaze to Edgar, curious.
"Can you train Gideon so that he has control over his power? Did you train Ava at all?" He asked. Edgar made a soft, thoughtful noise.
"I did some of her teaching. Since Gideon is older and more disciplined then Ava ever was, I think he might have a better time managing it. We’ll make sure that Gideon isn’t a danger to you or Cass, Sam." Edgar promised. Cass nearly laughed at the way that Sam looked at him.
It wasn’t quite disgust, but it was displeasure. Like he had already measured how much Edgar was worth, and found him lacking.
"We’ll see, Lord Vespertine." Sam’s voice was pointed, unforgiving. Cass had to turn his head and cough to hide his laughter.
"Where are they?" Lucian’s voice boomed, and both Cass and Edgar turned towards him.
"Where are what?" Cass asked, confused, and Lucian huffed.
"My outfits. The ones you apparently bought for me." He demanded and Cass blinked.
"They...have to make them, Lucian. You’re a big guy. There wasn’t anything just ready made for you. Even Edgar had to order his outfits and get them tailored." Cass said carefully and Lucian huffed, uncrossing his arms and throwing them up in the air.
"I hate it here!" He declared, turning and storming into the mansion. "If you skip dinner I’ll never forgive you." He warned, giving both men a sharp, orange-eyed look over his shoulder as he huffed and threw a tantrum.
Gideon let the man pass, a heavy cloud over the other man while Cass, Edgar and Byron stood there, unsure what they had done to incur this kind of wrath.
Edgar and Cass shared a look, then looked towards Sam. He was still rather upset, but Cass could tell he was more hurt than anything. Maybe...they hadn’t liked being excluded? It wasn’t a first for Lucian, but for Sam? The man had been by his side for a while, and to hear that so much had happened while he wasn’t by Cass’ side? That probably hurt quite a bit, and had led to his acting out.
Lucian...well, he was probably worried for Cass and Edgar, and feeling Cass getting off probably hadn’t made him feel any better about letting them go alone together. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but...yeah, Cass had an ego he had to stroke. That was on him.
"Sam, are you going to join us for dinner? That offer is extended to you as well, Byron." Cass offered. Both men looked a little shocked that Cass offered, but Edgar chuckled.
"I’m sure that Lucy will be even more upset if you two don’t show up." Edgar said. "Have some pity on us. You don’t want Cass to suffer, do you?" It was a low blow, but it worked. Sam glared at Edgar, but sighed. His shoulders fell and the anger and pain left his expression.
"Understood, my lord." Sam muttered and Cass sighed himself. He moved towards Sam, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
"I’m sorry you felt left out. This was supposed to be a relaxing day for you, Sam." Cass told him. Sam looked up at Cass, his expression turning to one of sadness.
"I-I-I’m sorry for showing you such a disgraceful side of me." Sam said and Cass gave his shoulder another squeeze.
"It’s not disgraceful. Being worried about us is completely fine. You can see that Lucian is also concerned about us, just in a bigger way." Cass said with a smirk. Sam nodded, his shoulders relaxing further.
"May I take a moment of Byron’s time before we join you?" Sam asked carefully, as if he was worried Cass was going to say no to him. Cass snorted.
"Just don’t wait too long. I don’t want Lucian to come looking for you if you don’t show up in about 10 minutes." Cass warned and Sam nodded. Edgar and Cass then left the two alone, heading towards Gideon who looked rather concerned from the foyer.
He was like a dog, waiting for his owners to come home. He had even given Lucian a wide berth when the man had come stomping into the house, huffing and puffing. Gideon’s eyes scanned both Cass and Edgar, worried as they approached.
"Did you two have a good outing?" He asked stiffly and Edgar chuckled.
"You sound like a butler, Gideon." Edgar teased. Cass watched as the other man turned pink.
"Uh, well, I-I guess I can be one?" He suggested and Edgar laughed, Cass was a little surprised by the attitude Edgar was showing, but it didn’t feel like Edgar was playing with the man. It felt more like...Edgar was allowing himself to be more relaxed around Gideon.
Gideon was cautious, but he also looked...relieved. Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"We can’t have a new saint as a butler, Gideon. I would be hanged for that kind of treatment." Cass told him, chuckling. Gideon looked even more flustered that the two men were teasing him.
"Uh, well-" Cass cut him off.
"Come on. Let’s go get dinner. I’m sure Lucian prepared it, and I would rather appease him then make him more mad." Cass said, reaching out and grabbing onto Gideon’s sleeve. He had a feeling that Gideon would try to run away otherwise. Gideon looked even more flustered as Edgar, in a great mood, reached out and grabbed his other sleeve.
They both tugged on him gently, a flustered Gideon looking like he was going to explode. Edgar laughed.
"Oh, how are you even going to manage being alone with me if this is how you are going to react, Gideon? I’m a strict teacher. Are you going to be able to handle it?" Edgar teased, his voice heavy with innuendo.
Cass even felt a little flushed listening to Edgar tease him. Gideon looked ready to faint.
"H-H-Handle what?" Gideon asked, breathless. Cass took a bit of pity on him, answering for Edgar instead.
"Saint training, Gideon. What were you thinking of?" Cass asked, his eyes narrowing as a wicked smile touched his lips. Gideon made a noise in his throat, clearly embarrassed before he dropped his gaze and let out a shaky breath. Edgar turned to Cass at that moment, giving him a wink before he turned his gaze back to Gideon.
Edgar had every intention to wear the man down until he was putty in his hands. Cass didn’t think that it was going to take that long given how he was reacting to this simple teasing. They hadn’t even touched him yet. Cass could remember how Edgar had touched him before they had gotten to the point that he had been invited into his bed, and Gideon couldn’t even handle that touch right now.
The man had a long road ahead of him, and Cass wished him luck.
Cass wondered, briefly, if it would hurt Edgar to drink blood from a Saint? Cass glanced at Edgar and had a feeling the man was thinking about the same thing.
Good luck Gideon.