The capital was busy at this time of the day. Cass was a little surprised, but also, he tended to live away from the rest of society and had others who would do things for him if he asked. He had forgotten how loud people could be after spending time away from others.
That was a surprising detail, another thing he noticed that was different even from last week.
When the carriage pulled over outside of the tavern, Byron was the one who stepped out first. He even held a hand out to Gideon, to Gideon’s surprise. He was acting not even like Lucian, but as something even more other. He was acting as a dragon who was a servant to another.
Cass was sure that if any other dragon saw him they would be horrified, not knowing Cass’ connection with Byron and how seriously Byron took it. Cass almost smirked to himself before he considered that he might have to soothe Gideon. He turned to offer some comfort, but Edgar was already doing it.
His gloved hand was on Gideon’s bicep, clenching it comfortingly, his hat tilted back so that he could meet Gideon’s gaze as they sat down.
"Giddy, Byron is just treating you with the respect you’ve earned. It’s okay." Edgar told him but Gideon, Cass swore, was pouting slightly. It was such a strange thing to witness that Cass wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was real. Sam, for his part, had already gotten out of the carriage. He was waiting outside with Byron already in their own matching outfits. Far less royal and grand compared to the three men who were still inside, but they were still foreign to the fashion sensibilities of the capital.
Cass was sure that would change shortly. Cass had a secret moment of pleasure knowing that he was deeply connected to the merchants that had good connections with the fairies. Cassian had worked for those connections, had made several deals that had cost him money before it made him any, but it was going to pay out for him hand over fist in the coming weeks. The fairies would also make a killing, and Cass was happy for them.
"Edgar’s right, Giddy." Cass said, making both men look towards him. Gideon seemed to flush at the nickname, while Edgar smiled warmly.
"Right? I thought so. Come on, Giddy. They’re waiting for us." Edgar said, nudging the knight. He’d even brought his sword. The sword that Cass had paid a pretty penny for to buy out from under another Ducal family. The same Ducal family that Gideon had beaten the head of.
There were very few things that could make Cass’ day turn out poorly at this point.
Gideon didn’t go first, and instead insisted that Cass or Edgar went first. Cass didn’t want to argue with them so he went first, Edgar muttering about Cass ruining his fun as he followed him out.
Byron and Sam were all smiles as they emerged, but Cass could feel how the air cooled as soon as everyone realised who was getting out of the unmarked but very expensive carriage. That was one thing that no one could say about Cassian. He always traveled in style and luxury.
Cass was adjusting his collar and jacket as Edgar stepped out, followed by Gideon. When Gideon closed the carriage door behind him Cass could feel the confusion of the audience that they had. It rippled through the crowd and Cass realised with a start that Lucian was so recognisable that they knew he was missing.
That didn’t sit well with him, but he didn’t have time to focus on it. A set of footsteps raced towards him and two arms wrapped around him. Cass stumbled under the weight of the body clinging to him and the warm cheek that pressed against his own.
"Cass!" Aunt Alysora cried as she clung to Cass. Cass turned and noticed that she wasn’t alone. Byron’s mom was calmly greeting her son and his bond partner, while her partner and Aunt Alysora’s husband came up and stopped near Cass, Edgar and Gideon. He was all smiles, soft and warm to Aunt Alysora’s more abrasive, but loving, embrace.
One more important detail about him was the fact that he was wearing the same kind of outfit as Cass and the others. A matching set. For the whole family.
If anyone had any doubt about who they were aligned with, they didn’t anymore.
"Hello, Aunt Alysora." Cass greeted, hugging her back tightly. "How has your stay at the palace been so far?" Cass asked, loud enough that he knew other nobles nearby were listening in. Cass had already seen several of them go wave for their servants to come over so that they could tell more nobles what they were witnessing. It was a rather cute thing for them to do since Cass knew they wouldn’t be here long enough for it to matter.
"Well," she began conspiratorially, "it’s been...alright. Severely lacking in my nephew’s presence, but I guess I can make do since you were busy. The trees are pretty sad. I had the ones who can speak with them freely go and sing them a few tunes. The humans didn’t really like that." Cass let his Aunt go off, rambling on about things that he was pretty sure didn’t mean anything.
He was fairly certain that all of it was nonsense, but the only people who would know were fairies, and people who knew fairies.
Those people did not exist in the capital it seemed.
She kept going, proving Cass wrong that it might have been senseless for the nobles to call for their friends. Byron and his mom, along with a rather awkward and blushing Sam were still talking, while Gideon and Edgar started a conversation with Cass’ uncle.
Cass felt that his conversation with his Aunt was complete nonsense, built only on the ideas that people had about fairies. Cass knew that they were going to do something like this, but it felt a little strange to him to lie. He didn’t have to worry for long, as his Aunt decided to take this show on the road.
"Well, never mind me, how are you doing? Are you feeling better? I would suppose you are since you’ve accepted my invitation. It’s an exciting time, isn’t it? A shame I wasn’t there for your wedding, but I know I can be there for your second." The gasp that could be heard from the other nobles had Edgar looking over at them, scowling.
It was harsh enough to have them shut their mouths, but Cass could tell that everyone was shocked. The hero party, the group that had married each other out of love, considering breaking up? That was an insane conversation to be had, and one that would give the Dukes a lot to talk about.
Maybe even a little hope, until they heard who the potential next marriage was to.
"Aunt Alysora, are you trying to start rumours? Is this because we didn’t have a fairy joining?" Cass asked, smirking as she threw her head back and laughed, holding onto Cass as she did so.
"Well, you know how I view human marriages, Cass. They are barely real in our opinion. Our elders didn’t get to greet your wife and her other husbands. As far as we’re concerned, since we haven’t seen hide nor hair of her, these lot are your husbands, not your wife’s." Another gasp, but more quiet. That was an even more scandalous statement given the rules and the harsh regulations against same sex marriage. Especially given the fact that Cass’ own grandfather was the pioneer behind that terrible legislation.
"She’s been going through a great loss, Aunt." Cass told her gently, and that was true. She had lost her home, her title, and her identity. She said she wouldn’t come back until things were changed, safer for her, and thus, she was going through a great loss.
If people listening in on them misunderstood what they were talking about, that wasn’t Cass’ problem.
Aunt Alysora gave Cass a warm, kind smile, one full of understanding in a way that Cass wasn’t sure he fully understood. It left a strange feeling in his gut, an uncomfortable churning in his gut that made Cass pause for a moment.
"I know, Cass. I know. My deepest sympathies for her during this time. I understand why she’s taken some time to herself. Now, enough of the dark things, we are planning a wedding! A true, proper, fairy wedding!" She grinned, turning her attention towards Sam and Byron.
Byron grinned, puffing out his chest, while Sam turned the colour of a tomato and ducked his head. He was clearly embarrassed to have this kind of attention on him and he was also embarrassed about the pure glee and happiness on everyone else’s faces around him.
Aunt Alysora laughed at his behaviour, finding humour in it instead of thinking Sam was reacting negatively to her attention. She let got of Cass, making a direct path towards Sam to wrap her arm around his shoulder and pulled him against her side. Byron didn’t react, knowing that she was his elder and she didn’t have a malicious bone in her body when it came to Sam.
The nursery tree said that he could visit. Sam was accepted by everyone and everything that mattered to fairies.
"Look at our blushing new member! So sweet! We’ll have to make sure that we find something that suits him, Cass. You know our Sam best outside of Byron, so you’ll have to step in as his family." Sam glanced at Cass shyly, the first time he’d heard of it but there was so much hope in his gaze that Cass felt his chest warm.
There was no way he was going to turn down that honour.
"Of course." Cass said, very seriously. He did take it seriously. He had been a part of his sister’s wedding as well, and while he wouldn’t be able to see her the way that he wanted to ever again, that didn’t mean he couldn’t adopt others as his family and siblings going forward. Sam was a strong contender, but it would depend on how Lucian viewed Byron and his opinions on this. He didn’t want Sam to be his brother and Byron to be his nephew.
That would be too confusing of a relationship.
Cass watched Sam’s eyes water and he ducked his head. His Aunt pulled him closer, pressing her forehead against the side of his face, pure joy vibrating in the air. Cass had never really be apart of something so joyous and lovely before.
It was amazing that something this sweet and wonderful was going to ruin so many people’s days and cause the gossip train to explode. Mostly negatively, if Cass was honest with himself. He drove it home by shuffling closer to Edgar and resting his head on his shoulder while they watched Sam and Byron be fussed over.
Edgar froze, Gideon sucked in sharply, but never one to miss out, he stepped forward and carefully took Cass’ hand in his own. A pin could have dropped in the silence that took over the tavern. Cass didn’t care.
He even turned his head and pressed a kiss against Edgar’s shoulder. Edgar was the same shade as Sam under his protective hat.