Chapter 712: Almost like I’ve never been outside before

Finally bathed, and his body listening to him, Cass almost cried when he pulled on the villainous black and silver clothing that Sam had arranged for him. He’d been wearing Fiona’s clothes for what felt like forever, so to finally be able to wear something that was his?

Cass was very emotional.

He kept it together, barely, and waved Lucy and Eddie off so that he could dress himself. It was a big moment for him, and when he came out of the dressing room and needed some help with minor details, the men almost fought each other to help.

Cass, for his part, was staring at his fingers. His normal nails. His lack of a tail, no horns, he didn’t have to worry about seducing someone with his eyes.

God, he wanted to go for a walk.

"Should we go for a walk?" Cass asked, as Eddie finished up the ties on the back of his shirt. Lucy tilted his head to the side, curious, as Cass grinned.

"You want to go for a walk? It’s getting cold out now, and the garden isn’t as pretty as it normally is." Lucy pointed out. Cass didn’t care. He’d been confined to his rooms for so long he needed to get out now that he could.

"I’ll just put on a thicker jacket." Cass told him. "Are you coming or not?" Cass asked. Eddie stepped back from Cass, admiring his work, before he sighed.

"I won’t. I’ll stay behind and get some of the work done that’s piled up. You should, however, rope Giddy into going on a walk with you. He’s not in the basement, for once, but out speaking to Sir Forsythe and working with the other guards. It’ll be good for you to show your face, and tug him along with you. I’m also sure he’ll be delighted to see you out and about, and maybe you can see how bad the damage he’s done is." Eddie said with a wink.

Cass, who had briefly forgotten about the fact that it was Giddy who had come up with the fairy of love nonsense, felt his face warm as he frowned. Eddie chuckled.

"Hey, no frowning. You make me want to tease you more." Eddie warned and that only made Cass scowl. Eddie, as if to prove his point, leaned forward, grabbing Cass behind the neck and kissing his lips. Nothing deep, just a brush of lips against lips, and that only made Cass scowl more as he pulled away.

"Look at that cutie." Lucy growled affectionately, coming close to steal a kiss from the frowning, pouting Cass. Cass was not enjoying this moment, despite how red his cheeks were. "But you should eat before you go outside." Lucy said.

Cass huffed.

"Haven’t I eaten enough?" Cass asked. Lucy and Eddie were surprised by the force with which Cass spoke. "Missing one meal isn’t going to kill me. Can’t I just go on a damn walk?" Cass flinched as he realised he was raising his voice. Neither of them deserved that. Frustrated, Cass let out a low breath, raising a hand to rub it against his face. "Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell." Cass muttered.

Eddie and Lucy stood there, surprised, before the two shared a look and then approached Cass. Eddie’s arm came first, then Lucy’s as both men hugged Cass comfortingly.

"Hey, it’s okay. I wasn’t aware you were so anxious and stifled. You held up so well that it didn’t even cross my mind that you were feeling confined. It’s okay, Cass. You can go for a walk. You do that, and I’ll make sure you have a meal ready for when you come back." Eddie told him sweetly.

"I’ll even let you collect pretty flowers and shit." Lucy said. "Without complaint. I’ll even hold them for you." Lucy sounded like that was a big deal, and Cass furrowed his brow in confusion. He’d never plucked flowers from their plants before. He’d also never collected rocks before so Lucy’s offer held no weight to him.

"I shouldn’t yell at you. I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you two. I’m sorry." Cass said. Eddie and Lucy squeezed him tighter.

"Awe. It’s okay, baby. I secluded myself to be with you, where you had no choice. Go enjoy your freedom. I’ll be here when you get back." Eddie told him. Cass felt his heart swell hearing that. Eddie was so sweet to him, he didn’t deserve it.

~

Somehow Cass was able to get himself out of their arms, put on a thicker jacket and he felt a bit like a small child going out into his first snowstorm. Eddie had wanted to dress him warmer, as had Lucy, but Cass was already sweltering in the jacket that they selected for him. He tried his best not to grin widely as he stepped out of his rooms for the first time in a while. Even his guards looked surprised to see him, but Cass couldn’t stop his wide smile on his lips.

Eddie waved goodbye to him, leaning against the door with a huge smile of his own, Lucy at Cass’ side like a giant guard dog. Cass tried not to be too excited to be out of his rooms. He’d seen this place before, but just being out of the three, four rooms he’d been allowed to explore for everyone else’s safety was incredibly freeing.

He wanted to go everywhere, see everything, but he had a mission. He knew where the guards and knights worked out, and as he descended the stairs and saw the giant chandelier, Cass couldn’t stop grinning.

Not even the stairs could take down his mood.

"Quick, confess something." Cass joked, turning to Lucy. Lucy had been watching Cass with a soft, glowing orange gaze. His eyes widened at Cass’ words.

"Confess something?" He asked, before he gave a thoughtful grunt. "Mm, I still think about how deeply you took my cock when you swallowed it. I could feel every inch of your throat. I close my eyes and that tightness and warmth is there, lingering." Not the kind of confession that Cass was expecting, but the stairs had to be fed.

Especially as Cass heard something shatter below them and muffled whispers that followed. Someone had overheard them. The stairs had been fed. Cass chuckled.

"Oops." Cass said with a grin. Lucy gave him a confused look, but placed his hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Did that meet your strict criteria?" He asked, teasing and Cass nodded.

"Your confession has been accepted." Cass agreed, then blushed, recalling what Lucy had said. He didn’t think it had been that good. Well, it was Cass and he was a bit of a perfectionist, but.... "Still?" Cass asked and Lucy tossed his head back and laughed.

"My Cassy Baby, it hasn’t been that long and," his gaze dropped to Cass’ throat, "you have no idea how good it felt. You never will because sadly, none of us can do what you do." Lucy sounded very upset about that. "I would love to, but your cock is just long enough that it touches my firestarter. I don’t want to harm you." Cass blushed.

"I appreciate that you don’t want to do that." Cass agreed as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Cass turned towards the training area and Lucy kept step with him. He kept his hand on Cass’ shoulder and Cass didn’t shrug it off.

"Can we...hold hands?" Lucy asked softly and Cass shook his head. He could feel the cloud of sadness that was about to consume Lucy and fought against an amused smile.

"When we get outside. I need my hands in case I run into something." Cass told him. Lucy squeezed his shoulder in response. They walked in silence, Cass practically floating through the hallways.

Cass could hear the training grounds before he saw them. The men were in pairs, sword training. Cass gave a small gasp as the shirtless men, sweaty with effort, pushed and shoved and fought against other shirtless and sweaty men. If Cass hadn’t known his own sexuality the first few times he’d slowed down as he passed such a scene, it would have slapped him upside the head then.

"Cass." Lucy gave a warning growl and Cass raised his hand to pat his hand on his shoulder.

"Looking doesn’t hurt. You’re mine." Cass muttered, distracted. He didn’t notice how Lucy blinked, stunned, before the dragon’s chest puffed up with pride. He didn’t comment on Cass’ wandering gaze again, especially as Cass was scanning the area for Giddy.

He found him near the center of the group. He was shirtless like the others, and so was Sir Forsythe. A rare sight in Cass’ books but Cass didn’t stare at Sir Forsythe for a long time. He believed, in his core, that was wrong. A line that Cass could not cross, no matter Cassian’s feelings on the matter.

It was like staring at his sister’s husband. Gross.

Giddy was sweaty, rubbing his face clear with a towel as Sir Forsythe was doing the same. Practise swords hung at their hips as they spoke. The one embarrassing thing that Cass hadn’t considered was how marked up Giddy was. The scratches, teeth marks, nails, hickeys, everything.

The man looked like he’d had a rather fun night, and Cass knew that the knights wouldn’t have kept their tongues still when it came to the calm, rational Giddy. However, the man didn’t seem fazed. In fact, he almost seemed proud of his marks.

Giddy caught sight of Cass around that point, his green eyes widening ans Sir Forsythe turned. He also seemed surprised as Cass beamed, waving his hand with too much enthusiasm as he caught their eyes.

"Hi boys!" Cass called too loudly, catching everyone else’s attention. Lucy turned his head away to muffle his laughter as Cass’ face burned. Giddy didn’t grow embarrassed, instead beaming as brightly as Cass was at his enthusiasm.

"My love, you’re awake?" Cass stuttered in his steps as every knight in the area paused, turned, and stared at Giddy. He didn’t even seem to realise he’d slipped up, his green eyes warm as he stared at Cass. And Cass?

Fuck, Cass felt smitten by the fool. The damn knight, so smart and intelligent in other aspects of his life, didn’t seem to care that everyone else knew who he was romantically involved with. It was one thing to gossip about it, it was another thing to have to confirmed. Cass, for his part, knew he’d have to speak on it at some point, he just didn’t think it’d be so soon.

It was part of his plans. He had to. Fuck, well, Giddy started it. He hoped that he was ready for what that meant.