Cass showed Gideon, Edgar and Lucian around his rooms. He started with the wardrobe or walk-in closet because he wanted to give the servants who were going to come in the most time to work on taking apart the current bedframe and putting together the new one under Sam’s watchful eye.
Cass was a little embarrassed by the colour scheme, and the gaudy nature of most of the things that he owned. It was silly of him now that he thought back on it that he wanted to wait until he had Fiona’s approval to change things in his own damn house, but he was going to blame the fact that Fiona looked like his sister.
He couldn’t easily go against her when that was the case, and he had been trying to obey the plot of the original story. Now that that was thrown out of the damn window, why was he so worried? He wasn’t, and now that he was back home he was going to go forward with changing everything to what he wanted.
Without making Sam cry, of course. The poor guy would sob uncontrollably if he couldn’t dress Cass up like a villain at least sometimes. Cass also had to be honest with himself and acknowledge that he liked being a little villainous sometimes too. He did look good in black, after all.
Walking through his rooms again reminded Cass of the space that he could expand into now that he had more people around him. Prior to everything starting with Lucian and the others, Cassian had made these rooms for himself. He hadn’t thought he was going to share the space with anyone, so now he needed to consider what it would be like with more people here. After all, he had used up quite a bit of the walk-in closet, but he still had space for someone else to add their clothes. There was also a smaller space that he could add onto the walk-in, or he could just get better shelving.
It was a small consideration, but something that Cass was...a bit hesitant to suggest to the others. Now that he was actually here, back home and not just living together because...well, there wasn’t really another choice, Cass didn’t want to be presumptuous.
Living together because they were in the hero party was one thing. Living together because they were in a relationship was another. Sleeping in the same bed as someone did not mean you were living together. Cass wasn’t old fashioned, he understood that one thing didn’t mean the other.
He wanted to be honest with them and explain that he was considering expanding his spaces so that they could occupy parts of them, but when he tried to open his mouth and tell them that, the words got caught in his throat.
Was it his own feelings and holdups, or Cassian’s? Cass didn’t want to look close enough to find out the answer.
When they left the closet, Cass then took them to a few of the free rooms that he had put in, just in case. They were mostly used for storage at the moment, or interrogation, but Cass didn’t really have a use for them. One didn’t have windows, so Cass did consider that it would probably be the best room for Edgar if he wanted a space here.
Cass fidgeted, watching the trio explore his space, wondering if Edgar picked up on that tidbit as well. They were too curious about what Cass had stashed in the room and marveling at the tiny details Cassian had made sure to get right about the room, even if he wasn’t using it.
They then went to his office, Cassian’s sacred space, and Cass explained each aspect of it that was important. That included the carpet, how the bookshelves were organised, who had made the desk. The reason he’d put the windows where he had, Sam’s tea tray, everything. Cass didn’t realise that he was the only one speaking until he caught the sweet look on all three of their faces as they watched him ramble.
Cass slammed his mouth shut, his hands dropping to his side as Lucian began to protest.
"No! Go on, Cass! You were so cute as you explained every detail. I want to hear it, really!" Lucian glanced over at the couches. "Tell us about who made these, hmm?" It felt like he was making fun of him, but Cass really couldn’t help himself.
Cassian had put so much effort into each and every piece throughout the house and damn it, he wanted to brag about it too! So, foolishly or otherwise, Cass continued to explain everything and even bled into some of the descriptions for rooms downstairs and who and what he’d selected.
This included artists who were still working on parts of the house to this day, and him pondering what he was going to do with the wings of the house that weren’t really going to be used anymore. He brought up that he wanted to give Byron and Sam a wing and Lucian lit up.
"I think that is a wonderful idea. Giving them a den close by will help them both. Byron will feel less anxious, and Sam will feel acknowledged." Lucian told him. Cass gave a slight smile.
"I’m not so sure. I’m worried that Sam will think I’m shoving him away, when I really just want him to feel like he belongs here, to me." Cass felt embarrassment flooding him. "Of course, that’s not really the case. He doesn’t belong to anyone, so-" Lucian’s somber look made Cass slow his words until they came to a halt. Even Gideon and Edgar looked a little uncomfortable.
"Cass, I think you should take Sam at his word when he said that he can’t survive without you. You probably do own him in some capacity. He’s an imp, and they live and die by the whims of stronger demons. What are you if not a demon who is stronger than him, arguably from the strongest demon bloodline right now, who he works for? There is a reason that Byron can’t just huff and puff like a normal dragon and steal him away. One, he values Sam too much to do that to him, and two, Sam could be owned by you in some capacity, or he relies on you for survival." Lucian said carefully, as if he could sense that these words would hurt Cass.
Which was impossible, since they didn’t have a bond like that anymore. Cass felt his lungs move, his body heaving as he tried to gather his breath. They watched him. Edgar reaching out and taking his hand in his. He gave it a squeeze, offering Cass his strength as Cass considered what that meant.
"Well, I guess it’s a good thing that I want to give him his own space then." Cass mumbled. "Married couples get their own new quarters when they marry anyways, and we are planning to host the wedding here once Byron and Sam come back from Byron’s shed. I’ll save the planning of the wing until after they leave." Cass mumbled and Edgar nodded.
"That sounds like a great plan, Bunny." He agreed and Cass exhaled. He would worry about the finer details later. He didn’t have to panic about Sam anyways. He’d already had his big loyalty crisis with him, he knew that things would be fine now.
They finally headed for the bedroom to find that they were assembling the bigger frame on one side of the bedroom while another crew worked on taking apart the original frame. Cass was always going to be amazed at Sam’s ability to get things done since the group working on it was so efficient and Cass could tell that the sheets were waiting nearby on a chair. Folded, pretty, and black. Yeah, that was Sam.
Cass, a little embarrassed at the cacophony of colour in his main bedroom, explained that the design choices were Cassian’s because it was the first time he had decided to design a home. Cassian only knew money, and he didn’t really know anything else. He had wanted the space to be made with the most expensive material, and by the gods, it was.
Edgar understood what Cass wasn’t saying. That the place was horrific to his current sensibilities and that he was trying to change it now. Gideon just nodded along with Cass’ words, not really giving his opinion at all since he’d already spoken with Cass a bit about the painting on the roof. Lucian, however, only looked puzzled when he heard Cass’ explanation. To him, it made perfect sense because why shouldn’t Cassian have the best? It was obvious that Cass deserved the best, so he should have the best materials. He didn’t seem to care that they clashed.
Cass didn’t think he was going to get through to him about it after arguing with him about it for five minutes, and when Cass finally just came out that he was going to change it so that it didn’t give him a headache to look at, Lucian agreed immediately that it was something he should do.
Cass wanted to scream at the way he was able to argue over fucking nothing, and agree with Cass like they hadn’t just been arguing about that very fact.
Fucking dragon. Why had he missed him so much?
Cass was muttering to himself, escorting them to the bathroom before he paused. He remembered, belatedly, about what had happened in his rooms at the mansion in the capital and he needed to make something very clear. These were his rooms, and while they were living with him he wanted them to be comfortable.
However, they couldn’t change things like they had done in the other house. Cass really liked this bathroom, and while it didn’t fit all of them perfectly, he was not open to getting rid of the bathtub or changing the colour scheme. The bathroom was the one place that he liked. He could, however, be negotiated into getting an add on of another tub. They could not change things as they had done in the mansion. He would lose his shit.
"I have one rule." Cass had let them step into the bathroom first so that he could close the door behind him and keep the servants out of their conversation. Gideon was used to the space, having helped Cass and Edgar bathe after his heat. Cass was pretty sure Edgar had seen the room before, but he couldn’t remember, and Lucian...
"Okay." Lucian said, his eyes focused on the pretty claw-foot tub in Cass’ bathroom. That was a bad sign if Cass ever saw one. He crossed his arms, leaning back against the countertops as he stared at Lucian and Edgar directly and intentionally.
"You are not allowed to modify anything in these rooms without both my and Sam’s consent. Of course, my consent will override Sam’s, but Sam’s will not override mine. You cannot go behind my back to change things, in particular, that clawfoot tub. I happen to have a deep fondness of it, it’s the perfect size to relax and read a book in. It is not leaving." Cass could practically see Lucian pout. "However, I can be reasoned with. We can add another tub, but I am not getting rid of that one."
Lucian was pouting, sad, while Edgar seemed mildly surprised.
"Wait, you’ll allow us to help change your rooms?" Edgar asked, and Gideon stirred. Lucian seemed to understand the true meaning behind his words and he snapped his head in Cass’ direction. Cass had intentionally put some distance between them so that he could feel like he had some control over this conversation. He could already feel that slipping.
"You’ll let us help redesign your den?" Lucian asked, shocked. "Cass, I don’t know what to say. That’s a great honour." Lucian looked like he was going to cry. "I had no idea you felt that way about me." Cass’ hope of controlling the situation was thrown out of the window as the giant man moved towards him and wrapped him in a bear hug. Or was it a dragon hug?
Cass didn’t know, all he knew was that his face was shoved into those giant pecs and it was both heaven and hell. Lucian didn’t hold him there for too long, pulling back to rest his hands against Cass’ waist.
"Why didn’t you say anything as we were touring the space? Were you embarrassed?" Lucian asked, diving directly for the core of the issue. Cass wanted to push back, push them away. No, of course not. They didn’t mean as much as he thought they did. It was all a ruse!
The words died in his throat, his hands tightening on his arms. He squeezed himself.
"...I just didn’t want to be presumptuous." Cass mumbled. God, he wasn’t confident about a damn thing right now. His stomach was in knots and fuck, how did other people manage this shit? "What even are relationships? I don’t know what the right fucking thing to say is. Or do. I don’t even know what you all mean to me, or what I mean to you. I just know that...if things continue as they are, I want you to feel like you have an opinion here, or a space." Cass explained, not meeting a single eye around him. He couldn’t. Worry clawed at his throat, silencing him. What were they going to say? To think?