Cass hadn’t had such a restful sleep in a long, long time.
He wondered if it was because he’d cried several times the previous day, then had a good start to the day, an okay middle, and then a good ending to the day as well. There was that rough patch near the end, but that was where all the tears had come from.
Whatever the true answer was, Cass woke up feeling better than he had in ages.
The birds were chirping, sunlight streamed into the room through drapey, pretty curtains, and Cass was enfolded in warmth.
A man was pressed against either side of him. Edgar was curled against Cass’ chest, his expression soft in his slumber. His hands folded near his head, cradling it in a soft way that made him look like a damn painting. Cass was upset, not for the first time, that he didn’t have a camera in this world.
This would have been the perfect shot.
The warmth pressed against his chest was only countered by the warmth of the man behind him. Wrapped around him, his thicker thigh shoved in between his thighs until Cass wasn’t sure which part of him was himself and which part was Lucian.
Lucian’s nose rubbed against Cass’ neck, his breath soft, consistent.
For men who had said they didn’t need sleep, they sure were sleeping a lot around him.
Cass knew that it wasn’t early in the morning, but from the hum of the world around him, it wasn’t late in the afternoon either. He’d probably just slept past his normal wake up time, and given all of yesterday?
He was allowed.
Cass slithered his way out of bed again, making his way to the bathroom to take care of the daily necessities, washing his face and was a little surprised that the mirror wasn’t back into place yet in the bathroom. He had thought that maybe when Cass had fallen asleep that Lucian would have done that, but apparently, no.
Cass got dressed, checking in on the two men still passed out in the bed with a smile as he gathered his things, grabbed the book he wasn’t able to finish reading the night before, and headed out.
Byron was waiting outside of the door, stoic, but followed him as soon as the door closed behind him.
"The plans for today, Sire?" Byron asked quietly and Cass sighed.
"Staying in today. Catching up on any work that should have gone to Fiona, reading, and...letting the world panic as they realise that the hero isn’t here, a new saint has been given to us, and honestly? I deserve a break." Cass told him. Byron gave a quick nod.
"You do." He agreed, not commenting on anything else. Cass was a bit surprised that Byron agreed so readily.
"How is Sam feeling?" Cass asked and Byron smirked. Cass felt his steps falter. Byron didn’t smirk. Cass was asking about how the man was doing, in general, but Byron’s next words made it clear what he was thinking about.
"He’ll be better in the afternoon." Byron told him quietly. Cass wondered if he’d heard him right. He glanced at Byron, his smug expression, and then scanned Byron. That was when he noticed something...suspicious.
Byron had a few red marks on the back of his neck and was that...a fucking bite mark?
Cass’ face flushed as he turned, forcing himself to pay attention to the stairs as they descended them.
"I hope he is feeling better in the afternoon." He said, learning a bit too much about the two men who were his aides. Yup, he should be careful with his questions. It wasn’t as if he wanted to know that they had been up to something similar to what Cass, Lucian and Edgar had gotten up to.
Further, probably.
Cass’ face burned. Shit, that was...he needed to get his head out of the gutter.
Cass and Byron didn’t speak, not until Cass got to the office and asked for Byron to grab him something to eat while he worked. Byron set to work, while Cass did the same.
It was hours later, when Cass had worked through a few stacks of documents, that the knock sounded on the door.
Unlike before, they didn’t shove the door open immediately, and also unlike before, it wasn’t just Edgar and Lucian. Gideon was with them as well, and all three men looked rather worried.
"Are you alright? Are you upset with us?" Edgar asked, his voice careful. Cass, who had been in a relatively good mood, seemed a little confused at his question.
"Why would I be upset with you? I’ve just been busy working. With Fiona gone, and my own work, I have a lot of paperwork piled up. We’ve been dealing with the nobles prior to this, so now I have to deal with all of the little things that piled up. Plus, I need to check in on the estate and see how they are doing, and speak to Mr. Collins. And...well," Cass said with a shrug and small smile, "the list of things I need to do is too long to list."
Lucian scanned the room, taking in how close Byron was to Cass, and the piles of papers around them. Gideon was doing the same, while Edgar zeroed in on the barely touched food.
"You’ve barely eaten. You should take a break. Clear your mind, and maybe we can discuss what Gideon and I can help you with. You’ve taken on too much, Cass, and we’ve let you. I’m practically a freeloader here. You know I am a capable aide, but I can also help you tackle these...piles of papers." Edgar’s voice was panicked. Worried.
Cass looked at the stacks of papers around him, things that he was used to. After all, ever since he’d arrived in this world he’d been drowning in paperwork. This was his normal, honestly. Something he’d settled into.
Sure, he’d maybe be happy if someone helped him, but...
"I like working on this on my own." Cass told them. Lucian’s eyes narrowed, the dragon scanning Cass. His eyes lingered on Cass’ shoulders and hands, where Cass was holding a magical pen.
"You’re going to work yourself into an early grave." The man told him and Cass blinked. His lips curled up slightly.
"This much isn’t going to kill me. This isn’t even as bad as studying for an exam." Cass told them, humour lacing his tone. The three men stared at him, clearly trying to understand what his words meant.
"An exam?" Edgar repeated and Cass nodded.
"Yes. Before I came here I was...a student of sorts. My sister insisted. Going to a secondary school after the first mandated school usually meant better job propositions. I was fine with what I was doing, but she was not." Cass said with a shrug. "While it’s upsetting that my body can’t keep up with what I used to be able to do, this isn’t too much. I mostly just have to tell people to fuck off, politely." Cass told them, still smiling. Lucian narrowed his gaze.
"What were you a student of?" Lucian asked and Cass blinked.
"Uh, economics. Money. How things worked in the business world. It’s an easy field to get a job in, historically for my time. I didn’t want to do something that would take too much time since I needed to care for my sister in my brother-in-law’s place." Cass said. His chest tightened as he spoke of his other life. His other self.
There was some relief in it though. Being able to speak like this freely, without feeling like he was lying was...nice. His chest felt tight, but lighter. Speaking of his sister while they believed she was a figment of his imagination was...nice. Cass even smiled slightly.
"I was able to negotiate to get to see her." Cass admitted softly, speaking of what had transpired between him and the gods. "Not interact with her, or my old world, but I’ll...I’ll be able to see if they kept their promise." Cass told the men. It was a soft admission.
Cass was surprised that he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching, not until Edgar was upon him, wrapping his arms around Cass gently.
"That’s good." He told him. "However, Cass, you yourself know how delicate your body is. You’ve said it yourself." Edgar’s voice hesitated for a moment before he continued. "Do you...do you think your sister would like to see you overworking yourself like this?" Cass felt his eyes narrow.
It was a dirty tactic, which was why Edgar had hesitated to use it. Edgar was calculative though. He had weighed the odds and figured that even if Cass would be angry at him, the benefits would outweigh the anger.
Cass grumbled, putting down his pen carefully. Edgar flinched.
"Don’t use her like that." Cass warned. He heard how the other man swallowed.
"I don’t want to, but I do think I need to point out that she wouldn’t want you to work yourself to death if she wanted you to have a better future, Cass. At least, that is what I think." Edgar’s voice grew softer. Cass huffed.
"You don’t know her." Cass muttered and Edgar twitched.
"We don’t, but we know you." Lucian said from his spot near the door. He hadn’t moved closer, his arms crossed, guarding. That was what he was doing. Being their guard, and that included Byron and Gideon. "I don’t think someone who cares for his people as much as you do would be raised by a woman who didn’t want the best for her brother. All I can think of is a gender swapped Cass, pissed that you were undervaluing yourself." It was alarming how close they both were to hitting who his sister was on the head.
They would never know her, never meet her, but they were able to predict that much. Cass flinched.
"She also wouldn’t want me to bother others." Cass didn’t deny their words anymore, hadn’t really, but Lucian’s little smirk spoke volumes.
"You aren’t bothering Eddie. He’s offering. He wants to look after you, like you looked after your sister. Don’t tell me she didn’t want you to have someone else to rely on?" Lucian asked, batting his eyes. It was a strange sight, and almost looked ridiculous for the bearded man to flutter his lashes like that.
Cass’ chest ached. She had been asking if he was dating, and Cass had scoffed at her. Fuck.
"I have Sam." Cass countered and Lucian huffed.
"Sam doesn’t count. He’s your aide. You pay him." Lucian said. "You also know better than to think that the mate of a dragon is going to be able to be by your side as much as he used to." Cass frowned as his point hit home. Shit. "So rely on Eddie. He’s smart. He’s got brains, and if you get thirsty, he’s got a co-" Cass picked up his nearest paperweight and threw it at the man.
His laughter echoed around Cass as he caught it, Cass’ face flaming. He never knew when to shut. Up!