"Maybe. Interested in going shopping with me tomorrow?" Lake bluntly changed the topic just as he bluntly brought up the topic of Caspian wanting a baby.
"For the festival?" Caspian took the lifeline, relief written clearly on his face.
"What’s the dress code?" Caspian asked, getting invested.
"No clue, what do you even wear to a festival?" Lake chimed in.
Caspian shrugged. "I’ve never been to one."
"One moment," Lake muttered, getting off the bed. "I’ll go ask Davian."
Caspian rolled over to watch Lake leave, sharp little teeth biting on his bottom lip.
Lake’s question had caught him off guard, it was a miracle he hadn’t stuttered.
He had been unable to give a yes or no answer, because he didn’t know.
His own wants aside, Asher didn’t even want a baby because he didn’t want to pass down his genes, and Caspian could understand that... for now.
He didn’t want to think about it yet, Asher could change his mind down the line, after all. For now, it was just the wedding, and then Lake’s baby.
Lake made a face right before he poked his head into Davian’s study without knocking, an apology in his soft brown eyes.
"I’m really sorry-" He apologized as soon as Davian registered his presence.
Davian’s face lit up at his presence, "I’m really not that busy," He downplayed, giving Lake his undivided attention.
"You’re not?" Lake straightened up and walked in, his eyes hopeful.
"Not too busy for you. Did you need something? You can call me, you don’t need to come all the way here."
"It’s nothing that urgent, I just wanted to ask what the dress code for the festival was."
Davian thought about it, "The festival lasts a full day and there’s a variety of events for the executives which ends with a party that goes well into the night."
The Alpha’s gray eyes strayed to his laptop screen and back to him. "I only go to the festival party and leave as soon as I arrive. There’s no dress code." He concluded. "The festival is to give the executives a break so they pretty much wear whatever they want."
Lake really appreciated how Davian explained things in detail whenever he asked a question and without a single iota of judgment.
"Thank you," He said instead of all the things he really wanted to say.
Lake ducked out of the study room, and returned to his room with good news to find Caspian knocked out.
The Omega was sprawled on the soft carpet, somehow managing to take almost all the pillows down with him. So he was essentially sleeping on a pile of pillows.
Lake watched him with a fond smile, he had never thought about having siblings before, because simply existing by himself had been too much of a burden.
But it was healing in the way he was slowly finding a place where he fit in, with people who were considerate of him.
Lake perched on the edge of his bed, not about to wake Caspian up. Poor thing must be completely wrung out after the night he had...
He flinched when a phone rang, glancing at one of the side tables to see Caspian’s phone.
He immediately thought about ignoring it but the chance that it could be Mafia King Asher made him change his mind.
He doubted that Caspian still had enough space on his skin left for bite marks.
So he reached out to grab Caspian’s phone, picking his friend’s call.
"He’s fine," He said before Asher could say a word.
"Then why isn’t he the one talking to me," Asher’s voice dropped, all of the sweetness leaving his voice.
"Because he’s fast asleep. I’m sure you know why," Lake tacked on, his tone dry.
"Let me see him," The Alpha was quick to demand.
Lake was very tempted to just hang up on his, and he knew it was the desensitization to the Mafia King that gave him such outrageous thoughts.
"Give me a moment," He said instead, using his own phone to take the pictures that were asked for.
The call ended there, Lake sending Asher the picture with his own phone because he couldn’t exactly access Caspian’s.
He sent the Alpha a single picture because that was all he asked for, not wanting to interrupt Caspian’s sleep by taking too many pictures.
Lake glanced down at the text he had just gotten, What?
Lake: You’ve seen him, he’s fine. He’ll call when he’s up.
There, that should end the sketchy conversation and whatever rabbit hole Asher was trying to pull him into.
Asher: I want more pictures of him sleeping.
Lake took a deep breath before replying, now that it had come to this, he couldn’t say if this was a better alternative to not picking up Asher’s call.
There was really nothing morally wrong with sending Asher more pictures, and Caspian was adorable sleep, so he could understand the Alpha.
But he wasn’t about to happily do free labor...
Lake: I’ll send you more if you agree to us going shopping tomorrow. He bargained.
Asher: Do I have a choice?
Lake: Try not to chew on him so he doesn’t have to cover up like it’s winter.
He had no idea where he was getting all this confidence from, but getting to see a dangerous Mafia King’s soft side for his mate was a treat.
For the first time, he didn’t get a text almost instantly, and it had him worrying that he had crossed a line that he shouldn’t have.
The reluctance through the text was so tangible that it made Lake laugh, the sound muffled.
A little over an hour later, Caspian was awake, mild horror on his face at the realization that he had slept off.
Lake didn’t even pay attention to his friend’s worries, more interested and giving him a full rundown of what happened while he was asleep.
"Asher asked for my pictures?" Caspian reiterated, halfway through getting all of the pillows back on the bed.