Caspian sat on the sofa with his legs tucked close, the panties he wore making things uncomfortably cramped, the garters digging deeper now that he was seated.
"I know what I signed up for," He said calmly.
He was well aware that each of Asher episodes was a wager with his life on the line, and he hadn’t once thought about leaving.
"I would just like if you could find a door that can actually keep him in," Caspian said, the accusation in his voice loud.
Jael scratched his head again, "The next option is a fortified iron door, and I would rather he didn’t break through the walls instead."
Caspian rolled his eyes in frustration at that, why did the Mafia King have to be so monstrously strong?
He was just making this harder on them than it needed to be.
"I don’t like those options."
"You could leave," Jael tossed in the mix, knowing well that Caspian wouldn’t.
"How about something helpful? Like when I can change into comfortable clothes."
Jael gave him a once over and shot to him feet. "Give me a second."
As he started for the stairs, he realized that he hadn’t confirmed if Caspian was hurt.
He looked more inconvenienced than hurt but it was difficult to forget how things had gone the last two times.
And one of those, Asher had just been in a mini rut. But Caspian would never be quick to admit that Asher hurt him.
It was admirable and stressful.
Before going to check the state of the bedroom - which couldn’t be great - he stopped by the room he had outfitted for moments like these.
There was a duo of guards in front, they nodded respectfully at him as he approached the door.
Jael pushed open the door and closed it behind him, a little surprised to find Asher docile on the bed.
Well, the Alpha was completely strapped down, but he wasn’t making any efforts to break free.
"Where’s Caspian?" He rasped, his body slack against the sheets.
Jael perched on the side of the bed, because Asher was fairly harmless in this state as long as Caspian wasn’t involved.
"Downstairs," He easily gave an answer.
Asher seemed to sink deeper into the sheets at that response, his eyes slipping close.
That had to be the right answer, keeping Caspian from Asher the last time hadn’t gone over so well.
With his work there done, he got to his feet and continued to the bedroom.
The sight of the bedroom door hanging off its hinges was as startling at the first time he heard Caspian say he broke through the reinforced door.
It was awe-inspiring how he managed to underestimate the Mafia King each time.
But his strength was almost otherworldly, it made him wonder if it had something to do with these episodes he had.
Because he seemed to get stronger with each one.
The closet doors were even worse off but Caspian would be able to change regardless.
The Omega would just have to stay out of the bedroom for a couple of hours while he got the doors fixed.
He would also need to stay out of Asher’s direct line of sight, he didn’t trust the Alpha’s self-control that much.
They could watch movies to pass the time if Caspian was down to do that.
He was a little curious though, the first time Asher had flipped out, the Alpha had been acting up for days.
Abstaining from taking Caspian for some ridiculous reason, the buildup might have made him lose his shit.
But this seemingly had no prelude, Asher hadn’t even lasted three days away from Caspian before returning.
Was his fuse getting shorter or had there been a different trigger to this particular episode?
Jael was trying to draw patterns to make it easier to predict and handle Asher’s episodes.
Specialists couldn’t figure it out, so they had to use some other method.
He poked his head in the living room to find Caspian still curled up on the sofa where he left him.
"Still interested in getting changed?" He asked a very obvious question.
Caspian was already on his feet at his words, not even bothering to give a response and he walked over to Jael.
"Do you want to watch a movie afterwards?" Jael asked as they went up to the second floor, making sure to avoid the room Asher was in.
"Don’t you have to return to work?" Caspian asked in turn, wrapping his arms tightly around himself.
"They’ll live without me," He dismissed, studying the Omega intently. "Are you hurt?"
"Just my pride," Caspian grumbled.
He still hadn’t recovered from the fact that he had been running around with lipstick smeared on his face, while wearing a bathrobe.
Jael smiled a bit at that, Caspian was so casual about it that it was difficult to not believe him.
"By the way," He started carefully when they got to the ruined bedroom door.
Caspian paused at his odd tone, a little worried. "Is Asher okay?"
"He perfectly fine, this is more about you."
"More about me?" The Omega frowned.
"Do you think anything could have triggered Asher’s episode?"
Caspian eyes widened; the lingerie he wore felt like it was blaring neon red underneath his bathrobe.
But it could not be that, there was no way...
"They have triggers?" He asked, genuinely curious.
It would be nicer if they could be predictable so that there wouldn’t be a repeat of today.
"That’s what I’m trying to figure out," Jael said, his expression thoughtful. "You’re clearly the main reason they do happen but if there’s something out of character you did..."
Jael cut himself off at the alarmed look in Caspian’s face, "Don’t worry about it, I’m probably just reaching."
And he was, Asher’s episodes were most likely random. Keeping his distance from Caspian might also have something to do with it but even that wasn’t clear cut.
"Go get changed, I’ll wait for you out here." Jael added when Caspian was about to say something more.
"I won’t take long," Caspian reassured him and dashed into the bedroom.
He was relieved that Jael had cut him off when he did because he had been about to say something that he would definitely regret.
It was very ego-stroking to think that Asher had an episode because he put on a set of flimsy lacy underwear.
He would not be wearing it anymore however, hopefully Asher would develop short term memory loss and not bring it up.
Caspian took off the lingerie so fast, making mental plans to get rid of the entire dresser, anything to spare himself the mortifying memory.
In a way, Asher’s episode had come at an opportune time because he would have been hard pressed to explain what he had been up to otherwise.
He stepped out to meet Jael in record time, the Beta had just gotten off the phone.
"I’ll have people over to fix the doors," He explained as he led the way downstairs.
Caspian shrugged, "There’s no rush, I can just stay with Asher tonight."
Jael nearly tripped at that, attracting the Omega’s attention.
Jael looked away from his imploring eyes, his expression tense. "That depends on Asher."
Caspian didn’t push, knowing well that Asher being tied up wasn’t enough to keep the Alpha away.
An evil thought crossed his mind then, that what better way to confirm that wearing lingerie was a trigger than trying it one more time.
The threat of Asher flipping out again wasn’t what dissuaded him, rather it was the mortification of looking ridiculous in an outfit not designed for him that did.
"Interested in popcorn?" Jael asked when they were settled in the movie room.
With the lights dimmed down and the characters on screen the only focus, it was the perfect place to pass the time.
That question reminded Caspian that he hasn’t eaten lunch yet, but he could just have a large dinner to make up for it. Hopefully one that Asher could also attend.
"Always," He sighed, getting comfortable in the padded seats.
Jael made a quick call to the kitchens and before long Katya herself came down with a tray in hand.
Caspian had been worried when he first saw her that she had gone right ahead to bring lunch.
But she had just wanted to check up on him in person, she had brought the popcorn and drinks just like Jael requested.
She offered to bring lunch right after dropping their snacks off, but Caspian turned her down.
He could live without lunch, and he had snacks, so he was fine.
It was just the second or so time Asher had had an episode, but Caspian could tell he was already getting used to it because he was more worried about being caught in lingerie than Asher chasing him down and breaking down doors.
He tried to push those pesky thoughts out of his mind until he could talk to Asher.
But he had learned the hard way the past couple of days that not thinking about Asher was something he couldn’t do.