Sam made sure that Cass wasn’t plain by any means. Cass had forgotten, since he’d been dressing himself for a while, that Sam was the one who had fed into the villain stereotype when it came to Cassian’s outfits.
So Cass should have expected the ruffles, but he was distracted. How could he not be? He was going on a date with Lucian today. It wasn’t like going on a date with Edgar. Edgar had...normal human standards down. He’d uh, ’attacked’ him, but he’d done it with no one else around and after Cass had been pestering him while they had been shopping.
Lucian didn’t have the same kind of discretion. Cass didn’t even think the dragon was capable.
Cass was getting worried about how the day was going to go before it even started, and that meant that Sam got to dress him up to the nines as a villain without Cass noticing enough to stop him.
When Cass stepped out of the bathroom, he realised his mistake. If Lucian was dressed handsomely, Cass felt like a damn peacock.
He was in a frilly white undershirt that overflowed overtop the vest and jacket he was also wearing. The shirt was at least a nice texture against his skin, and more bone white than cream. If it was too cream it would have clashed with Cass’ hair and skin.
The vest he wore was black, but not full black. It was probably a dark dark grey with black accents. The shapes on the fabric were intricate, unique, and might have looked like runes in Cass’ world. Here? They looked like nothing since no language, at least that Cassian spoke, was written with similar symbols.
The back of the vest was blood red with the same symbols drawn on the back of the vest but with a darker, crimson red versus the dark grey and black combo at the front of the vest. Silver buttons ran the length of the vest, with silver buttons carved with the Blackburn crest at Cass’ collar.
The jacket looked far thicker than it actually was. Elaborate in its design, but lightweight since Cass had low muscle mass. It had two tails at the back of the jacket, covering Cass’ ass. One small detail was that there were two silver buttons at the tips of each tail with the Blackburn crest on each button. Ruffles poured out of the sleeves of the jacket from Cass’ undershirt, and the jacket itself was also rimmed with bloodred trim, a surprising contrast that worked with the sleeves Sam had given him.
The jacket had lots of tiny details, trims in silver, the Blackburn crest tucked here and there, and the main buttons of the jacket weren’t the crest exactly, but three buttons with a crow’s face, each crow having two red rubies placed where their eyes would be.
It was unnerving, but exactly how a villain would dress. Cass’ pants were simple, his shoes shiny, and all in all, it felt ridiculous going downstairs to eat breakfast in an outfit this elaborate after he’d been dressing simply for the last few weeks.
Lucian beamed when he saw Cass, getting to his feet and rushed towards him. He hesitated before him for a second before reaching for his hands, taking them into his own with a slow breath.
"You look stunning." He praised and Cass felt Sam straighten beside him.
"I look like a villain. Like I’m going to rob a bank." Cass joked and Lucian snorted.
"What bank? You are the bank of this country. Are we going to go rob your grandfather? I feel that would be the only appropriate place to go outside of your own home." Lucian told him, squeezing his hands. "Now, let’s go show off. I’m sure Edgar and Gideon are already downstairs. I want to flaunt how pretty you are and that you are mine today." Lucian said with a cheeky grin.
Cass couldn’t even be mad at him when he was being this obvious. Sam’s soft sigh behind Cass had him glancing over at him as Lucian tugged him towards the door.
"I’ll make sure the carriage is ready, my lord. Have a good meal." Sam told them and Lucian snapped his head back, pausing. He gave Sam a confused look.
"You’re coming with us. Byron would have my head if I didn’t take care of you as well, Sam. Come on, there is enough meat to share." Sam’s face turned pink while Cass glanced at Lucian.
"Are you sure? Don’t you have to go hunting again soon?" Cass asked and Lucian grinned.
"The fairies that work here are great at preserving the meat perfectly. Comes with their brand of magic. Most fairies are carnivores, after all." Lucian said with a chuckle. "Dragons ought to learn from them, but then again, we don’t get stomach aches if the meat is bad, only if it’s a demon." Lucian said with a wink and Cass blinked.
Huh.
"Come on, Sam. I wouldn’t feel good if you weren’t fed either." Cass said and Sam hesitated.
"Um, I, please don’t tell Byron this, but I don’t need to eat at the same rate as humans." Sam admitted. "One meal a day is perfect for me. Truly. I’ve also...overeaten the last few days so..." Sam trailed off and it took Cass a second before things began to click into place.
Who had created Sam? An incubus. What had Sam and Byron been up to? Nothing good. Sam had overeaten. What had he eaten too much of?
Cass’ face turned red and Sam ducked his head, hands clenched in front of him as both Cass and Sam turned the shade of a tomato. Lucian glanced between them, his brows drawn together.
"What am I missing?" He asked, leaning in to whisper to Cass. Cass had a feeling that Sam heard him, but Lucian was being polite, trying to give the other man some privacy. It was kind of him. Cass exhaled slowly.
"Sam was created by an incubus, and apparently, even if he is an imp, he can be fed without food. Like I can." Cass implied softly. It took Lucian all of two seconds to understand, and when he did, a big smile crossed his lips.
"Oh. So Byron fed him well? Good. I’ll have to praise him when he gets back then. Alright, if you don’t want to gorge on food, I won’t force you. We’ll see you after I’ve made sure Cass had his fill, Sam." Lucian didn’t make a big deal of it, though he did get a few embarrassing jabs in. Sam flushed but remained semi-professional while Cass felt his mind slip into the gutter.
Had his fill? What the fuck was he expecting to give Cass for breakfast?
He didn’t have to worry for long as Lucian tugged him out of his room and out into the hall, down the stairs and to the dining room. The whole time the man was chattering, smiling, so pleased that Cass couldn’t even get mad at him for his behaviour. Instead, Cass’ chest felt tight as he watched the other man, handsome in his new outfit, his braids and gems sparkling when they caught in the light.
Cass wondered what the man had planned for the day?
Edgar and Gideon were at breakfast, like Lucian anticipated, and both men seemed to freeze when they caught sight of the two men. Edgar was slack-jawed, scanning both men before his blue eyes curled up at the corners and he smiled.
"Wow. You two look so good! You decided to dress up for Cass, Lucy?" Edgar sounded excited and Lucian huffed. He puffed out his chest, his nostrils flaring as he spoke.
"Of course I would dress up for Cass. I have to look pretty for my partner." Lucian paraded around like a peacock before he disappeared into the back for a few moments. Cass sat down across from Edgar and Gideon, his eyes scanning the room. Gideon was staring at Cass, his eyes wide and Edgar reached for his goblet, smirking.
"I can tell that Sam is back." Edgar said and Cass swallowed. He felt his face warm as he sighed.
"He likes to dress me up like a doll." Cass muttered. Edgar’s smirk deepened.
"Well, you are kind of a doll for him. You don’t really protest what he puts you in. I can tell that Lucian is happy about it too." Edgar scanned Cass for a moment, taking a sip of his drink. "Despite what you think, it suits you. The frills and contrasting colours. I particularly like the rubies for the crows." Edgar said, gesturing to the buttons running down Cass’ chest. Cass cleared his throat.
"Thank you, I guess? I’d rather not suit this kind of look, but then again, it’s not really my choice. I’d look extra washed out in brown or anything similar." Cass muttered and Edgar’s expression grew thoughtful.
"Brown wouldn’t suit you, no, but light greys, pastels and white would suit you." Edgar said. Cass nearly choked.
"I am not wearing pastels." Cass interjected as Lucian came back into the room with only three plates. Cass was a bit surprised but didn’t say anything when he put plates down in front of Cass and Gideon, and then sat down himself.
"Why not?" Edgar asked. "I think you would look lovely in a lavender shade, or even a pink." Edgar’s eyes had a sparkle to them, and Cass knew he was teasing him.
"Purple, even a light shade, is the colour of royalty." Cass reminded him tartly. Lucian sat down heavily next to Cass, sighing as he did so. Cass was worried for a second that he was sighing over their conversation but that didn’t seem to be the case. He reached over, squeezing Cass’ thigh for a moment before he began to dig into his food.
"And aren’t you royalty in some regard? What is the demon king, if not a king?" Edgar asked. Cass was glad he wasn’t eating and instead cutting into the food before him. He turned a glare towards Edgar but Lucian spoke up beside him.
"I decided who was the king of this nation. If you want to be king, just tell me. I’ll make it happen." Lucian told him earnestly. Cass groaned, closing his eyes.
"I don’t want to wear pastels, and I don’t want to wear purple. I’ll stick to my damn monochromes, thanks." Cass muttered, frustrated and Edgar chuckled.
"You’re loss. I would be more than happy to help you pick out a new wardrobe. I’m sure others would be happy as well." Edgar’s voice was laced with humour and Cass ignored him, frowning down at his food when he opened his eyes once more. "What do you have planned for the day, Lucy?" Edgar asked, turning his attention to the dragon. Lucian stiffened, before he beamed at Edgar and Gideon, much to their surprise.
"It’s a surprise!" A small seed of worry bloomed in Cass’ gut. A surprise? He’d planned stuff? "It’s nothing dangerous. I have no plans to put him in dangerous situations." Lucian assured them and Edgar gave a soft laugh.
"Are you talking dangerous for you, or dangerous for Cass?" It was a valid question. Lucian froze.
"Oh. Well, I don’t think any of it will harm Cass, and I’ll be there. No one could harm him anyways." Lucian said with a grin. Cass wasn’t sure how to take that. However, he didn’t really have time to process it. Lucian was taking the plate out of his hands and cutting up his meat for him to make it easier to eat. The beaming grin that he gave him made Cass drop his guard.
It was going to be okay. Lucian didn’t want to hurt him. This was going to be...fun.