A pang of guilt hit Vince as Cass turned his face into his drawn up knees. Alright, he might have taken this one too far… Perhaps it was too early yet to tease, even if to Vince it hinted at a semblance of normalcy. This whole thing really wasn’t amusing at all if he cared to look at it from Cass’ perspective. He could only imagine how difficult it must seem to process all of these new emotions, actions and liabilities. Cass hadn’t been prepared for the onslaught that these past twenty-four hours had exposed him to. Vince, for his part, at least had a sense of what he’d wanted, what he’d been feeling. Cass… was just coping as best he could. In that light Vince felt an even heavier pang wash over him for being so… defensive. The other didn’t know how to manage change very well, and that had always been true. Perhaps Vince should have been more forgiving throughout the turmoil.

As the genuine little query to eat something slipped his lips, Vince didn’t react to Cass’ biting remark. He understood that this was still a touchy subject and he’d been wrong to treat it so lightly. Still, the other indulged him by taking a spoon of something chocolate and Vince relaxed a little, hoping they were past this little blip.

Chewing in silence, the Slytherin contemplated the look on his friend’s face just earlier. It had been a searching, pleading expression that even in his teasing Vincent had not been blind to. He knew he had to handle Cass, and this new situation, more delicately else he risked not quite breaking the other, but igniting something neither of them was prepared for. The undercurrent of Cass’ temper was always a threat. It had never been something that worried Vincent before, and he really wasn’t sure it was something to be weary of now, but it was certainly a presence he could not neglect.

The conversation turned then more casually towards things like the train, classes, and hoping that the rain would hold out long enough for them to get into the Great Hall. It was with this thought process that Vince found himself thinking perhaps everything would become all that more manageable when they had the distraction of this newness upon them. Surely he could keep himself distracted from Cass enough with all the hustle and bustle of a new school year? They only needed to maintain the charade long enough to find their new normal, right? Finishing the last bite of his scone, and feeling much better than he had before, Vince made motion to sit up at the same instant Cass dropped his spoon. Eying the blonde, green eyes searched blue as Vince tried to gauge what was happening.

Cass moved the tray of goodies to the side. Cass moved back towards the bed. Cass reached for him and, in a fluid movement, held Vince down against the bed in a terrible turn of events the Slytherin had not foreseen. Flinching at the action, he looked up at Cass as that familiar visage pressed close to him, closer than Vince had ever thought possible again. His breath caught in his throat.

Cassian’s voice was hard when he spoke, sending Vince reeling. For a moment he wondered what could possibly have happened? They were doing so well there! What had he done, or not done, to set fire to Cass’ temper? Cold fingers came to wrap around the hand pinning him in place, but Vince didn’t move to shove Cass off. Instead he listened and frowned as Cass listed out more ‘rules of engagement’ - this time rather offensive ones if Vince was honest. What kind of imbecile did he think he was talking to? Certainly Vince had no intention of up and snogging him whenever he felt like it. If nothing else, that had been made very clearly off limits today. And he was going to try, evidently, to keep from manipulating flirting with the blonde to get what he wanted. There wasn’t much good it would do him anyway since it only seemed to bring about this Cass that Vince wasn’t sure he was keen on. (Well, that was certainly a lie; this Cass touched a part of Vince that the Slytherin didn’t want to indulge at the moment.)

Irritation rising, Vince opened his mouth to respond but snapped it shut as Cass continued. The Gryffindor’s hand brushed ever so softly against his cheek and Vince felt a little trail of fire in its wake, fizzing out his annoyance as it went. Green eyes appraised blue, entirely unconvinced this wasn’t a test he was about to fail. Had he done this? Had he accidentally encouraged Cass to need to be so explicit in his demands? Vince hadn’t meant to, if he had. Perhaps this was all going to be more complicated than he’d thought.

Licking his lips and trying to keep his focus, Vince looked at Cass’ mouth with no semblance of trying to hide his desire. He knew he should push back and say something along the lines of: Cass, think about the line you’re crossing right now. We agreed the last was the last; what message is this really sending? Or some such rot. But there was nothing inside of Vincent that wanted to push Cassian away even the slightest bit. So instead of turning over the other’s demand that he just ask for what he wanted, and think through the endless implications of such a thing, Vince let out a breathy little laugh. “Always,” he replied.

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