"You aren’t being presumptuous. Cass," Edgar started, laughing softly. Cass for a moment thought it was at him, until Edgar continued to speak. "I don’t think any of us have any space to speak, am I right? Gideon married someone his parents told him to, I married Fiona while thinking I loved her romantically when that wasn’t the case, and Lucy...well," Edgar gestured to him wildly and Lucian scoffed.
"You can just say I’ve been around, Eddie. It’s fine. I’ve lived several lifetimes longer than any of you, Cass included." He said with a wink and Cass blinked. It was true, but...
Cass ducked his head, still embarrassed.
"Yeah, but I didn’t want to..." Cass swallowed. "I didn’t want to get excited about something only for you to say that it was too soon." Cass’ voice wasn’t above a whisper, and damn it, this was so hard to say out loud.
"Oh Cass." Lucian’s arms were around him once more on that gentle exhale, wrapping Cass up tightly. "I, for one, would never say it was too soon. I would have you mated, barefoot, without a care in the world if I could, but I know that isn’t what you want." Lucian’s grip on him was tight, and comforting. When Cass was released and he was able to see Gideon and Edgar, both men rushed him too.
Edgar got to him first, just a little bit faster than Gideon. He slammed into Cass, hugging him tightly.
"I wouldn’t do that either. I welcome it with open arms, Cass. I adore that you aren’t that confident in yourself, but to a point. If you are feeling like this now, please just talk to us. I can’t speak for them, but you know how I feel about you." Edgar gave a small, nervous laugh. "And I am not ashamed of my feelings, or wanting to move things faster, like Lucian. Were you holding back on telling us things on the tour?" Edgar asked softly and Cass hesitated before nodding.
"Yeah. I was thinking about where you could put your clothes, that the room without windows would be good for you, how we could modify parts of the rooms to make places that you guys liked." Cass mumbled. "Maybe a small armory for Gideon?" Cass suggested. Gideon reached them both and hugged Cass and Edgar tightly.
"Oh you sweet thing." Gideon breathed. "I don’t need an armory, you’ve already given me my sword, remember, but maybe a spot in the new wardrobe you’re considering would be nice." Gideon said, amused. "And, while I am also not certain about the full depth of my feelings for you, Cass, they are by no means light. I just don’t want to burden you with them before I am sure, which I feel we are in the same boat about." Gideon was similar to Cass in that sense, and Cass felt Edgar squeeze him.
Then, another set of arms wrapped around them, giving all of them a squeeze.
"Our Cass is so bold, and yet so shy about the sweetest things. Making spots for each of us in your den, adjusting your nest for us, making sure that we have safe spaces to rest. You are a good mate, Cass, even if you aren’t sure you are. You’ve taken care of us silently for years before this, and now, my love, it is time to let us know so we can take care of you in turn. Not just with our bodies. With our hearts and actions, too." Lucian said.
"Exactly." Edgar agreed quickly. "I’m so glad you considered us in how you want to change your bedroom. Thank you for thinking of us, Cass." Cass felt his eyes prickle again as the warm heat of tears threatened to spill over again.
"Stop making me cry." Cass whispered and all of them laughed.
"It’s not intentional, our sweet Bunny. You seem to be more prone to emotional outbursts lately, but that’s fine. I like being able to comfort you after." That cheeky Gideon had even Lucian giving a small, appreciative laugh.
"Well, Gideon is getting good at this." Lucian muttered out loud and Edgar groaned.
"Don’t encourage him. Cass and I already realised we’ve created a monster." Edgar muttered, having also suffered at the hands of Gideon. That only seemed to pique Lucian’s interest more.
"That wasn’t something I was told about, Gideon." Lucian accused and Gideon gave a slight nervous laugh.
"I didn’t think you were interested in those kinds of changes." Gideon admitted, a little confused. Lucian finally released everyone, allowing Gideon and Edgar to release Cass. It was about time, since Cass felt like he was going to burn up and overheat to death.
"Well, I suppose you don’t have to tell me. I have a feeling I’ll find out on my own." Lucian said, his eyes suddenly sparkling. "Oh, Cass, if you don’t want to get rid of the small tub, how about adding a chair instead?" Cass was confused at where he was going with this. This was a bathroom. Why would he need a chair?
"Like, a stool? Why would we need a chair in here? There’s already a little spot over there to put towels." Cass gestured to the right of him where a small stand stood. Lucian smiled at Cass, his eyes still glittering and it felt like he knew something that Cass didn’t. Cass swallowed nervously.
"Oh, sweet, adorable Cass. I would like a chair so that I can join you while you read in the tub." Cass blinked. What?
"You want to watch me in the bath? It’s not interesting." Cass argued and Lucian chuckled.
"Maybe to you, but I would disagree. You are very fun to watch read. I also like peeking over your shoulder while you read to see what you’re reading. Who knows? You might get more worked up having me in here with you and you might need some...assistance." His gaze dropped, and Cass gasped as he stared at his crotch.
Self-conscious, Cass dropped his hands to cover his dick, his cheeks flushing.
"Is that all you can think about?" Cass accused. A bitterness to his voice that he didn’t mean. He wasn’t opposed to what Lucian was implying, but he was nervous, confused, and embarrassed by how easily the rest of them had been able to see through Cass to his core. How Cass had thought he would have been able to twist it into something reasonable, and these men saw his intentions, right to the core.
Cass felt Lucian watch him, the dragon practically stroking him with his eyes, and Cass could practically feel the man tugging his hands away from his crotch, kissing the palm of each hand. Cass shivered.
"Need I remind you I had a lot of time alone, Cass?" Lucian purred and Cass glanced towards the door. He could still hear the others putting together the bedframe. It was not the time to be having these kinds of thoughts.
"Why don’t we, instead of going down the path that Lucian is considering, have Cass walk us through the rooms again, but properly this time." Gideon suggested, and Cass froze. He wasn’t sure which was better.
Being eyed up like a piece of meat on Lucian’s personal buffet, or having to go through the embarrassment of telling them what he’d thought would be a nice thing to do? It was a very hard choice.
Edgar’s eyes lit up.
"Oh! That sounds like a great idea! That way we’re killing two birds with one stone! We get to hear what Cass had planned for us, and then once they’re done constructing the bed, we can have a rest!" Cass knew damn well there would be no resting, and so did everyone else. Cass’ face burned.
"This just sounds like embarrass Cass time." Cass muttered, feeling self-deprecating and confused. Gideon, who was nearby on the right, reached for Cass and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.
"We’re not trying to embarrass you, we’re excited to know what plans you were thinking up when thinking of us sharing a space with you. I am very excited to see your vision. You’re very good at painting pictures, Cass, and I like hearing you talk." Gideon told him, trying to boost Cass’ ego up.
It worked, as Cass felt flustered, but warm as Gideon tightened his grip around his shoulders and kissed him on the side of his head.
"Do you mean that?" Cass asked, feeling raw and vulnerable. When he looked up, all the men were smiling at him. Cass was more flustered as Edgar reached for his hands and held them. Cass met his gaze, his blue eyes sparkling warmly.
"Of course we mean that. Now, come on. I’m excited to see what you planned! Have you discussed this with Sam already?" Edgar asked, gently pulling him towards the door. As they passed Lucian, with Gideon still around Cass’ shoulder, Lucian leaned in and kissed Cass on the cheek.
This was such a warm, happy moment that Cass wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He didn’t feel like he was allowed to feel this happy, but the three men were also just so pushy and insistent that he couldn’t help slowly perking up. He wasn’t even aware of the fact that the light was coming back to his eyes and by the time he was five minutes into explaining a couple of options for the rearrangement of the wardrobe, his shoulders were back, his wasn’t hunched over, and he was back to being the bright man who had greeted Lucian when he had arrived.
Cass wasn’t sure how long they chatted about what could be done, but it was long enough that Sam and Byron came up with dinner for everyone and they had reset the office so that they could eat. Cass was a bit surprised, but grateful that they were keeping track of everything.
The gods only knew how Lucian would react if Cass missed a meal. Cass was grateful to have people around him who cared for him and looked out for him like this. He made sure to thank Sam, and that only made the aide smile warmly before leaving Cass alone with the others again.
Soon, after their meal, Sam came knocking to let them know that the bed was complete. Sam’s expression was flat, uninterested, but he felt like he could hear Byron’s laughter behind him. Sam also let him know that he wouldn’t bother him early in the morning either, and to enjoy a day of rest.
Cass’ face was warm, while Lucian laughed loudly.
"Thank you, Sam. We’ll see you at lunch." Lucian told him, and Sam glanced at him and nodded. Then, he left, and Cass felt something warm build in his stomach. Was it his nerves? Excitement? He couldn’t tell, but Lucian just smiled at him from across the couch, and then slid his gaze to Edgar and Gideon too. Edgar had sat next to Cass this time. If they had sat down for a third time, Cass wondered if Gideon would have sat next to him then.
"Shall we?" It was Edgar who asked, a sparkle in his eyes that had Cass swallowing.
"Only if Cass is ready." Lucian rumbled, his eyes warm and watching Cass. Cass flushed. Then, Cass took Edgar’s hand in his and slowly stood, his eyes flickering to Gideon and Lucian.
The feral smile on their lips made Cass blush, but the pounding of his heart in his chest told him that this was okay. He...wanted to do this. He was just...nervous out of his damn mind too.