Chapter 715: Reminiscing on the past

Stepping out into the garden, officially, was almost magical to Cass. As his body continued to change the windows that he was able to view the garden with decreased. He’d also been so focused on making sure things got done before his heat that he hadn’t been able to stop and appreciate the outside as much.

It was one of the reasons he had wanted to come back to his home, and yet he hadn’t had the chance to appreciate it. Now though, he stared at the space around him, the cool air filling his lungs, the sweet sound of birdsong and the plants, slowing down but still alive.

Cass let out a relieved breath, his eyes sparkling with life as he looked around like a kid in a candy store.

Giddy didn’t let go of his hand, being tugged around by the other man, while Lucy did, taking a step back to admire the two walking through the gardens. Cass, his head on a damn swivel, and Giddy, who was watching him with an adoring look that Cass didn’t seem to catch every time.

~

Lucy glanced up towards the windows, locating who he was looking for, and giving him a wide wave, a cheeky smile, and blew him a kiss with a wink. He could feel the crude gesture even if the protection spell cast on that particular room didn’t let him view the interior. He blew another kiss, smiling, before turning back to Cass who was like a puppy in a playground. Sniffing and moving from each side of the pathway, his eyes so bright they were pink, not red.

Shimmery and shiny like the precious gems Lucy kept in his true den. Beautiful.

Lucy let out a content rumble, finding that he was showing off more of his dragon self in the last few months then he’d ever done before. Sure, he’d shift and show off his full body, but he’d always wore the veneer of being human like a skin that didn’t quite fit.

It was strange that when Cass had demanded that he be more human, Lucy thought that he truly was being that. Human. It was only months later that he realised what Cass had actually been asking for. Respect. It had nothing to do with being human and everything with understanding that Cass and the others were being worthy of respect and understanding.

Lucy had been the one who had been trying to hint at what he was while it was clear they all knew he wasn’t human. He’d just been blustering, huffing, being an overall pest and unhelpful, but since Cass had gotten mad at him and then slowly opened up to him, things had changed.

Lucy felt more relaxed, settling into his human skin in a way that he’d never had before. He could growl and grumble, purr and hiss, pour smoke from his nostrils and while that might surprise the others, they never recoiled in disgust. They never actually treated him like a monster, and that was because of Cass’ advice.

He just needed to actually be honest about what was going on, who he was, and what he was feeling instead of being apathetic to everything going on. That was thanks to Cass, and seeing the man prance and drag Giddy around the gardens now...it filled Lucy’s two hearts. One of them fully beat for the other man now, filled with love that Lucy had thought he would never be capable of.

He would have to let Taniora know the good news, something she had teased him about when they had spoken after his own shed and subsequent heat.

Giddy was also focused on the excited man. His grip on Giddy’s hand was tight, as if he didn’t want to let go, and Giddy felt that grip as if it was around his own heart. He stole a few glances at Lucy behind them, the dragon watching them with a pleased, narrow grin that felt as possessive as it looked. Giddy was a little flustered that he was included in the look and that it wasn’t just directed at Cass. He did wonder when that changed, given that Lucy had been growling, angry and possessive of this version of Cass since he’d arrived in their world.

Giddy hadn’t known it at the time, but it was obvious now that he had some distance. Still, he was grateful that Lucy was looking at both of them like that, and Giddy could feel the gaze of another onlooker on them as well.

He glanced in the direction subtly, smiling as he felt the gaze on him, but he couldn’t find the eyes. He scanned the windows, wishing that he could tell where he was, until a shimmery, blue outline filled his eyes.

He’d been able to see it before, it was something that he’d been training with the help of Eddie in his private saint lessons, but he’d never been able to see it from so far of a distance before. His eyes widened slightly as he not only picked up Eddie’s form, but the moving blue form of another non-human moving in the room behind him. It had to be one of the girls, probably Sage, since he’d spoken to another maid to get Ember to gather lunch for them.

Giddy smiled at the window that he could sense Eddie from and raised his hand subtly, giving a small wave. He watched the blue outline raise his hand in response, and Giddy’s face broke out into a wider smile. He had no idea he could use his holy powers like this, and it was a true blessing.

He glanced towards Cass and noticed a similar blue outline as he looked at him. Knowing that, and knowing that Ava had the same training was a rather strange feeling. She had known that something wasn’t quite right with Cass but she hadn’t known how. Remembering how she had interacted with him up until the truth came out about him, and then after...

Regret filled Giddy as he squeezed Cass’ hand a little tighter, watching the pure joy on the other man’s face. Giddy had a lot that he needed to do to make up for his own bias he’d had towards Cass, even if Cass didn’t think the same.

Eddie watched over the trio moving about in the gardens. He’d said that he would get some work done, but instead he was watching over them, his heart full as he watched Cass go from plant to plant, flower bed to flower bed, so excited and full of joy that Eddie couldn’t stop grinning. He’d done the middle finger thing that Cass did sometimes when Lucy pushed his buttons too much, to Lucy.

Lucy had grinned up at him, blowing another kiss that had Eddie’s cheeks warming. Even Giddy seemed to know where he was, when Eddie knew that Cass had enchanted the windows for his safety, and for the safety of the others since they had so many people who wanted to harm them.

He wondered how they both were able to sense him, but that didn’t matter much. What mattered was seeing how excited Cass was as he moved about the garden. It was a true delight to witness. He’d wilted a bit in the time that he had been confined. It was something that the others probably hadn’t noticed because they were busy moving about the mansion, but Eddie had seen it.

Cass, with each day that he had been confined to his rooms, had slowly shriveled, like a plant. Eddie had felt terrible for the man, but there was nothing else that he could do. He would have to recommend to Cass that maybe in the future they modify his rooms, their rooms, to add a balcony. Either off of the room that they hadn’t decided anything with or the office since it overlooked the gardens.

That way Cass could have a small garden space that overlooked the gardens and trees that were a part of Cass’ health and fed the part of him he didn’t know needed to be fed. That way Eddie could also join him during the night without worries, and if something like this happened again where Cass’ body acted against his best wishes he could still enjoy his life while confined.

Of course, Eddie didn’t want that for Cass, but it was better to plan for it then to not. As it stood, Eddie was happier to see Cass moving like this then the stillness that always overcame him the days after his heat.

Seeing Cass lying on his back, his face flat and watching his chest rise and fall while the others moved around the mansion doing the jobs that needed to be done always affected Eddie. Maybe it wasn’t normal, but Eddie always worried that Cass would breathe his last breath suddenly.

He’d already died once, twice if they considered how Cassian had gone up to speak to the gods once and then Cass had come back, it would tragically not be unexpected that he could die suddenly as well.

There was also every time that Cass went to speak to the gods and his body stopped behaving normally as well. It sometimes stopped breathing, and Eddie had to just sit there, his mind screaming, his hands and body sweating, and just praying to the gods that they would give Cass back when they were done with him.

They always did, and Eddie always wondered if that was because they owed him from the promise that was forced onto him by his family and their own promise to the gods, or because they genuinely cared for Cass. He would never know, since part of the rules for his condition was that he would never ever be able to speak to the gods directly.

Eddie chuckled, staring down at the man who had changed his perception on everything, and how he was so easily making space and giving affection to those who didn’t think they were deserving. Giddy, Eddie, and even if Lucy didn’t think it, he was included too.

Ever since the cleansing the energy in the mansion had shifted, even if Cass wasn’t able to see it in person. The air was brighter, easier to breathe. That was because of Cass and how he had the ability to purify those around him, better than any priest Eddie had ever been around. And Saints, too. Ava had been good at it, and Giddy was good the longer he trained, but Cass?

He was like a walking beacon of cleansing energy. All of the bad acts someone had committed were revealed around him, as were their good acts. He brought everything to the surface, changed you at your core, and made you into a better person the longer you spent around him.

He was the hero that the world needed, whether he was aware of it or not. Fiona was the hero, but to Eddie? Cass was always going to be his hero. He’d been foolish before, but watching the man enjoy the simple sun on his skin, his pale skin glowing and his eyes lit up from within? Eddie turned away from the window, waving a hand at his face to calm down.

He needed to get some more work done before Ember gathered him for lunch. He needed to get more letters done, put more work into it because the sooner they were able to divorce Fiona and homosexual marriage was allowed, the sooner he could slip his ring on Cass’ finger and be bound to him until their death.

He’d have to visit a jeweler when they went back to the capital. Or have one come to the house. Cass wouldn’t even consider anything wrong with that as long as he was casual about it. Maybe he’d lie and say he needed a few new pieces to intimidate the other nobles. Cass would accept that easily. He’d rope Giddy and Lucy into it. Lucy was a dragon, he’d be great at finding the proper gems worth their price.

~

Cass, the man, was completely unaware of any of the actions the others were taking. Completely absorbed in the gardens themselves. He didn’t even care that his cheeks were turning pink from the cold, and not because he was embarrassed or flustered for once. His hands were warm, as Giddy would rotate which one he was holding so that Cass didn’t even notice.

He even stopped at the fountain, reminiscing on how Lucy and Cass had treated each other only months before, and Lucy came over to tease him as well. Cass, grinning, his blood pumping with joy, even gave both of them a kiss at the fountain, thinking of how different things were now.

He even fought against his desire to check and see if someone was watching them, because at this point, let them watch. What did he have to be embarrassed about? They were the handsome men who found him attractive, and whether Cass agreed with them or not, that was fine. All he had to do was accept it, and brag. That was important.