Cass moved into the room swiftly, not wanting to be found lingering in the hall with the world’s most ostentatious show of sweets. It took him a second to clock where Vince stood along the bed, shirtless. The curve of his spine, and the blush that twinged his neck, made his mouth run dry. Fortunately Vince didn’t catch his expression, twinged with embarrassment over what it made him think. The Gryffindor took a profound interest in the opposite wall’s wallpaper, ignoring his own baffling impulse to stop Vince from covering himself. They were through with that now.

“Ah–uhm,” he bumbled, appreciating that Vince had the foresight to ask the question. It troubled him slightly, the idea of sitting so close together on a bed in this dim room. If given a choice he’d much prefer sitting on this armchair, awkwardly set some distance away from the bed and too burdensome to move closer. So in the end, he didn’t have a choice at all. There was no way he could sit off to the side without making Vince feel discarded in some way. The goal was to act… natural.

“Sure,” he finally volunteered, haltingly slipping off his shoes as he brought the plate to the bed. The little elf even gave him cloth napkins and golden cutlery for the treats, albeit just one set. Climbing onto the bed, Cass arranged himself directly opposite Vince, sitting cross legged on the end of the bed. He set the plate and utensils carefully between them. “This plate is… a lot. Deely is insane. I wasn’t listening when she said what she’d get.” He volunteered this all in a rush with a soft smile, with it all his hope to diffuse some of the tension he felt between them.

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