By the time that Gideon and Edgar came back, Sam and Mr. Collins were back, tea and a few snacks were served, and Cass was back to working after he had spoken a little bit more with Lucian.
The dragon had soothed Cass, talking him back down from the edge to the point that Cass got bold enough and asked Lucian if he was okay with Gideon and Edgar getting close. The way that Lucian had smiled at Cass, all warm and soft had made something inside of Cass twist.
In a good way, but in a way that made Cass feel flustered and twitchy. He wasn’t used to these kinds of moments without something going wrong, but nothing did.
Lucian admitted that while he wasn’t exactly pleased that Gideon could join their fold, was likely to join their fold, he didn’t hate Gideon entirely.
Before Gideon had betrayed them, Lucian had found some common ground with him and had even liked his company before. He was just going to have to adjust to the fact that Cass forgave him, and so did Edgar, and that Edgar had fought with his feelings for the other man for Cass’ sake. That was something that Lucian had to honour, since that was rather manly of Edgar.
He had put Cass first, the safety of his friends and family over the one that he loved. That was something that Lucian found very respectable, and Gideon had even turned his back to his family when he realised what he had done was bad and was working hard to regain their trust. Had even signed a contract that could harm him forever if he fucked up.
Lucian had a good memory, he wouldn’t forget what had happened in the past, but how could he ask Cass to treat him differently after all that he had done, how he had harmed him, if he couldn’t do the same for the others?
It was a very mature take from the man that Cass thought was rather immature for his age. So, Cass almost felt like he had to reward him for his behaviour. Either that, or Cass found his lap far more comfortable than the chair he’d been sitting on for the last two days since when the two men came in, Cass was working at his desk with Lucian underneath him, his arms around his stomach loosely.
His head was resting on Cass’ shoulder, his weight heavy, but not unwelcome. Mr. Collins had gotten used to it rather quickly, while Sam gave a small frown, but said nothing.
Gideon and Edgar weren’t holding hands, much to Cass’ dismay. They didn’t even look too ruffled, which also made Cass frown as he met their gaze. Edgar looked flustered, embarrassed, but also met Cass’ gaze head on. Gideon was also a little flushed, but his gaze met with Lucian’s behind Cass’ shoulder.
Cass kind of felt like they were the parents overlooking a pair of misbehaving children. The thought left quickly, because there was no way that Cass would touch his child’s cock, even in jest. Disgusting. Not even adopted children were on the table. It was the one genre that Cass drew a damn line at, especially since he could have been adopted, but wasn’t. Nah.
"So? Did you guys...talk it out?" Cass asked and watched as Gideon looked away, his cheeks turning a rather pretty pink shade. He coughed, and Edgar gave Cass a knowing glare.
"Cass." Edgar warned and Cass shrugged.
"What? You attacked him, it’s fair for me to ask if you two got it out? Lucian didn’t say he heard you two getting up to anything crazy, so I figured it was okay?" Cass suggested mildly and Edgar’s face turned pink now.
"He wasn’t-" Edgar started, his gaze sliding to Lucian and then he shut his mouth. Cass had made an assumption, but he knew he wasn’t wrong. Lucian absolutely would have been listening in on them, especially because of the conversation that Cass and Lucian had been in the middle of having.
He was also a damn dragon, had a secret den and knew that Cass liked this place a lot. He might be rather human because Cass asked him to be, but there were some instincts that the dragon wouldn’t be able to avoid doing subconsciously.
Observation was one of them.
"We...figured it out." Edgar admitted finally, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but where he was. Cass couldn’t blame him. While he had acted impulsively due to frustration, it was not easy to air dirty laundry like this in front of others. Cass, of all people, would fucking know.
"Good. So our departure tomorrow is fine then?" Cass asked, letting them think that he had forgotten all about the moment, or at the very least he was planning to put it to the side in favour of work. Both of them looked relieved and nodded eagerly. Cass smiled, knowing that they had fallen for his trap, hook, line and sinker.
He would think that they would know him better at this point, but nope. The fools.
Or maybe they just wanted to believe it wasn’t a trap.
"Perfect. Let’s run through the final details while Mr. Collins and Sam go with Byron to check and make sure that the bags are fully packed and that everything else is in its place." Cass said, raising his gaze to Sam. Sam nodded, grabbing the two bags that Edgar and Mr. Collins had been loading with supplies. They should have been ridiculously heavy given what was inside of them, but thanks to the power of magic, they weren’t.
In fact, Cass and the boys were travelling far less extravagantly compared to how Fiona had always travelled. She had always gone with several carriages carrying a bunch of supplies and people, while Cass was travelling with one carriage, and that was it. Everyone else had been sent ahead of time, and Cass was using magic that was normally banned for humans.
If the fuckers asked, he’d just claim fairy heritage. Wasn’t like he was lying, anyways.
~
Speaking to the others, Cass ran through the plans that he had made after looking over Fiona’s charts and other information that she had assembled. One thing was for sure, Fiona was good at being a hero. She put in a lot of extra effort, and Cass appreciated it. It helped him in this moment.
Similar to the previous time, Cass had a feeling he would be at the back with Edgar because with the dungeon being underwater, Cass and Edgar were going to have to cast magic the whole time. Edgar wasn’t as great with this kind of magic, so it was going to fall on Cass to do it.
Cass wanted to test the magic out when he got there, after he had to terraform the area for safety reasons, and Edgar and Lucian thought that was a good idea. Cass also suggested that while they traveled Edgar and Gideon could get another training session in for Gideon when it came to controlling his holy powers.
The one good thing about this being a water dungeon was that they didn’t have to worry about undead as much, so they weren’t going to have to rely on Gideon for that. They were going to have to rely on him when it came to the final boss, same as they were going to have to heavily rely on Lucian for the whole dungeon.
Cass was going to do his best to make a pocket for them to rest in if they didn’t find one naturally when they were inside of the dungeon. He was hoping that there would be the odd air bubble so that they could all rest, but he wasn’t sure.
So, they were going with more of a formation that was less of a straight line, and more like the four of them covering each other’s backs. Lucian and Gideon at the front, Cass and Edgar at the back.
Then Lucian made a good point. With it being a dungeon underwater, fast-moving monsters from behind could be an issue. He suggested that either he or Gideon turn around and watch their backs, and Cass frowned at missing something so simple, and dangerous. Thankfully they weren’t at the dungeon yet, and Cass agreed easily.
So the positions changed. Gideon and Cass at the back, with Edgar and Lucian at the front. Cass said it was going to be a good way to strengthen bonds, since they needed to do that. If any of them didn’t trust each other in this kind of dungeon it could be dangerous. Well, all dungeons were dangerous, but this was truly unfamiliar territory.
Cass also brought up the idea that once they came back from this dungeon, he wanted to start the process of returning back to their home. Edgar didn’t seem surprised, but Lucian and Gideon did. Lucian voiced his opinion as to why immediately.
"You’re going to leave Ser Hune here? Alone?" He sounded shocked and Cass blinked, before he grinned.
"I’m not leaving her alone. She’s going to have a fully staffed mansion, a protective entity that even my grandfather can’t harm, and I have a sneaking suspicion, a bunch of other fairies are going to come to protect her too. She said that her family wouldn’t come, but I think they are too intrigued by the nursery tree to stay away." Cass said and Lucian’s expression softened slightly. "Plus, if I go back home, Sir Forsythe can come up here and ’check’ on her. She’ll be fine." Cass told the dragon.
"Understood." Lucian said thoughtfully, while Gideon stared at Cass.
"What...What about the temple?" He asked. "What if you need to speak to the gods again?" He asked and Cass blinked.
"Well, worst case scenario if the smaller temple back at our place doesn’t work, we can always travel back to the capital. We’ll be without Lucian, but we’ll have Sir Forsythe, the rest of my people, and Byron." Cass said. "I’m just...homesick, I think. While I’m sure the reason I’m feeling well is because of the nursery tree, I would like to be back in my gardens." Cass admitted.
Gideon and Edgar’s expressions softened, while Cass couldn’t see Lucian’s. He did feel how the other man tightened his grip on Cass though.
"I guess you would be." Edgar said sweetly and Cass felt his cheeks warm.
"So, what I’m really saying is wrap up any loose ends you have in the city before we head back. Thankfully, we won’t have to see much of anyone annoying when we go back, and I am definitely including the King in that." Cass said with meaning. Lucian’s soft snort behind him had Cass shifting slightly in his grip.
"Understood Lord Blackburn, sir." Lucian’s voice was serious and Cass felt his spine stiffen. Edgar’s eyes sparkled as he laughed and even Gideon couldn’t fully contain his amusement. Cass flung his arm back, smacking Lucian in the side.
"Don’t fucking sass me. You’re going to leave before we even get back to the manor, so don’t start with me." Cass warned and Lucian chuckled. He pressed a soft kiss to the back of Cass’ neck, nuzzling the spot after.
"Apologies. It just felt like that was the right response. Is there anything else we need to discuss before we go to bed early?" Lucian asked and Cass sighed.
"No, not really." Cass muttered. "The rest is going to have to wait for when we arrive at the dungeon location." Cass muttered.
"Good. Let’s get you all fed for the night and then tucked into bed." Lucian said, and Cass realised he was talking about everyone, not just him. Gideon had been truly welcomed into the fold. Now Cass was wondering what Lucian overheard. He’d had to grill Edgar later.