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You felt bad for her, you really did. The poor girl was trying so hard to get Sebastian’s attention, but you don’t think he’d even looked at her once. She was standing as close as she could without actually touching him, batting her eyelashes as she talked his ear off.
They’d been partnered up for doubles dueling in Defense Against the Dark Arts, much to Sebastian’s annoyance. Usually the two of you would be partners for these exercises, but Professor Hekate asked you to separate to ‘give the other students a chance to actually learn something’, instead of being knocked out in the first two minutes of class.
You were fine with it, enjoying the view as Sebastian demolished his opponents entirely on his own, his partner too busy ogling him to pay much attention. Sebastian however, was much less enthused, standing with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, upset that he had to remain on the opposing side of the room.
Now, he stood studiously ignoring the advances of his partner, who twirled her hair in one hand and, oh Merlin, made the mistake of putting the other on his chest. His head whipped towards her, finally noticing her existence, and bared his teeth, no doubt ready to bite that hand off.
Ok Thankfully, it was the end of class, and you shot across the room towards them. This girl stood with stars in her eyes, completely unaware of the danger she was in, ecstatic that Sebastian finally looked at her. You watched as his hand yanked her wrist off of him, holding it as he asked her what the hell she was doing. Pushing through the other students leaving class, you finally make it over to them, luckily before it could get any worse.
“Hi, my love.”
Sebastian immediately turned towards you, completely forgetting about the girl in his grasp as he dropped her wrist to head towards you. She scowled at you from behind him, still clueless about how poor her decision to touch him was. Since his return, he’d opened up quite a bit compared to those first couple months, but was still pretty adverse to other people. There were a handful of individuals he spoke to regularly, but other than that, he wasn’t particularly keen on interacting with the rest of the student body.
However, the rest of the student body was keen to interact with him. You’d lost count of the times he’d bitten someone’s head off for laying a careless hand on his shoulder, or stroke his arm while they spoke. A few of the bolder suitors had wormed their way between the two of you, vying for his attention. In those cases, Sebastian had used an arm to unceremoniously shove them to the side, never breaking eye contact or halting his conversation with you. No matter how many times it happened, it only seemed to make his popularity grow, everyone wanting a piece of the prickly seventh year.
It also led to the people who fancied him turning their ire on you, angry that you’d interrupted their chance to talk to him. Most of the time you’d simply roll your eyes, turning your attention to Sebastian’s adoring gaze, the same one he gave you now.
“Hi, I missed you.”
He pressed himself against your side, hand finding yours as he interlaced your fingers together. Smiling slightly, his lips find your forehead, and you hear the irate girl behind you stomp her foot, exclaiming to her friend that she almost had him. You had to stifle a laugh, wondering how the murderous expression he’d directed at her translated to ‘almost having him’. The two of you began walking toward the Charms classroom, keeping an eye out for Ominis on the way.
“Missed me? We’ve been in the same room for the last hour. You could quite literally see me the entire time.” You squeezed his fingers as you teased him, amused at the indignant huff that escaped him.
“You were too far away.”
Laughing, you squeeze his hand again. “Well you’re partner probably would have preferred me to be farther. She wasn’t too happy I’d interrupted your conversation.”
He quirked an eyebrow and looked down at you as you walked. “What conversation? I don’t remember talking to her.”
Giggling, you smiled at him, placing a chaste kiss on his upper arm in amusement. “Well, it was more like she was having a conversation at you. You were too busy pouting that I was on the opposite side of the room.”
“I was not pouting.” He made the same grumpy face he had in class, proving your point. You shake your head, rolling your eyes in exasperation, voice coming out flat.
“Of course not, darling. My mistake. You just always look like a troll who’s had his club stolen.”
He glares down at you, offended. He opens his mouth to protest. “I do not-”
“Oh, Ominis! How was Divination?” Ominis approaches you, and you release your hold on Sebastian to skip over to him, shooting the brunette a teasing look over your shoulder. He huffs in annoyance and crosses his arms, grumbling to himself as he follows behind you.
The three of you walk into the Charms classroom, chatting pleasantly with Ominis before taking your respective seats. The boys sat at the table in front of you as you took your place next to Natty. Sebastian had tried to convince you to switch seats with Ominis, but you’d argued that Ominis needed to sit in the front to hear better. He then demanded to switch seats with Natty, but you told him that you’d like to spend at least a little time with your other friends, Sebastian taking up as much of your free time as you’d let him. He’d been annoyed, but relented easily, the word ‘no’ not really existing in his vocabulary when it came to you. It was cute, his clingy tendencies, especially knowing that he wasn’t like this with anyone else. You also knew that he’d back off if you really needed space, but you did have to prepare to be smothered with his pent up affection afterward.
Class started, Professor Ronen drawing some diagram on the chalkboard, which you diligently copied onto your parchment. You startled slightly as you felt something warm reach down and brush your ankle. Instinctively, you jerk your foot away, unsure of what just touched you. Peering under the desk, you see Sebastian blindly groping around, searching for your ankle again. You roll your eyes fondly, making brief eye contact with Natty, who has a hand over her mouth to silence her amused laughter. Shaking your head, you move your foot back over, placing the appendage right into his hand. His fingers move up almost to your calf and shove your sock down, thumb stroking the skin as he holds on gently. You sit like that all class, Sebastian’s thumb never ceasing its idle movements, other than to squeeze your ankle periodically.
Professor Ronen turns his back to the class, and Natty takes the opportunity to lean over to whisper to you conspiratorially. “What did you do to this poor boy? He is obsessed. One would think you slipped some Amortentia into his pumpkin juice.”
Laughing quietly, you get closer to her. “I think he’d be a lot more tame if I had. This is all him.”
She shakes her head in amusement. Shifting away quickly when Professor Ronen faces your direction again, giving the closing remarks to his lecture. You feel a double squeeze on your ankle, Sebastian signaling the end of class, and all you can do is place a hand over your mouth, doing your best to hide the giddy grin forming there.
—-------
Later on, you were chatting with Garreth and a group of your other friends, talking about the poor Hufflepuff first year who’d gotten their first Puffskein tongue up the nose. Poppy stood on the other side of Garreth, giggling behind her hand, the other holding Garreth’s tenderly. You’d said something particularly funny, and Garreth placed a friendly hand on your shoulder blade to steady himself as he laughed. Wiping the amused tears from your eyes, you glance up to see Sebastian glaring at you with a dark look from the other end of the hall. You give him a confused smile, tilting your head, mouthing ‘What’s wrong?’ at him. He glares for a second longer, eyes darting to Garreth’s hand on your shoulder, before turning away and storming off. You’re taken aback, and quickly say your goodbyes to the group, Garreth’s hand patting your shoulder once in farewell.
Following after Sebastian, you struggle to keep up with his wide gait, dodging around groups of students on their way to class. Eventually, the crowd thins out and you’re able to catch up to him in the Bell Tower Courtyard, grabbing his wrist gently to get him to stop. “Hey, hey, hey. My love, what’s wrong? Where are you going so quickly?”
He doesn’t face you, but also doesn’t try to move away, simply just letting you hold his limp wrist. “It’s nothing. Go back to Weasley.”
His tone is cold and bitter, practically spitting Garreth’s name in loathing. You furrow your brows more, taking a step to get closer, but stop when you see Sebastian flinch away slightly. He hadn’t done that since the Quidditch game all those months ago, and your heart pinched in your chest, feeling a bit like you’d been stabbed. Letting his hand drop, it falls to his side, but even freed he doesn’t make a move to leave.
“Sebastian wha- what does Garreth have to do with anything? Why are you upset with him?”
Suddenly, Sebastian whirls on you, chest heaving and teeth bared. His hands are balled into fists at his side, but a pained look rests in his eyes. “I’m upset with you.”
You look at him shocked, hand flying up to your chest at his aggressive display. Running through all of your recent interactions with the redhead, you can’t think of anything that would cause Sebastian to react this way. “I’m sorry, my love, I don’t- I don’t understand what-”
“You keep flirting with him! Every time you’re together all you do is smile, and laugh, and let him put his hands on you. And I’m forced to sit there and watch, pretending like it doesn’t bother me, like I don’t want to tear his head off every time he even glances at you.” His hand clutches the fabric over his heart, as if to calm the painful ache in his chest. His eyes search your bewildered face as you try to formulate a response, your mind struggling to process all the emotion he just threw at you.
“Sebastian, he’s courting Poppy. You know that. Why-”
“You think that matters?!” His voice is loud in the empty courtyard, loud enough that it definitely would have drawn attention had anyone else been around. Sebastian doesn’t let you get a word in edgewise, barreling forward in his tirade. “You always look so happy when you’re with him. What if- What if you fall in love with him? Or the next Garreth? You don’t think he’d jump on the chance to be with you? You could show anyone a modicum of interest, and they’d fall at your feet. Look at Leander! You gave him an offhanded compliment two years ago and he still tries to send you flowers.” Sebastian’s chest heaves painfully, the courtyard ringing as his words echo around you.
Your heart hurts, realizing that he doesn’t trust you, doesn’t trust that you’re absolutely head over heels for him. Tears start to gather in your eyes, words becoming more watery the longer he yells at you.
“Sebastian, we’re friends. I- Those are normal things for friends to-”
“Bullshit!”
Flinching at his loud exclamation, you start to get angry as he cuts you off again, his mind already made up as he tries to push you into confirming his fears. Your breathing becomes heavy as the rage bubbles hot in your chest, you don’t appreciate being spoken to like this, and your mouth starts to speak before your mind can catch up.
“What about you, huh? You think I enjoy watching everyone constantly throw themselves all over you? You think I like knowing you’re the whole school’s wet dream? Because you are! All anyone ever talks about is how badly they want to fuck you.”
He reels back at your sudden outburst, but it only serves to spur him on. “I don’t care if I’m their wet dream! I only care that I’m your wet dream!”
“Don’t even try to be cute right now!”
“I’m not trying to be cute. I’m telling you how I fucking feel!”
You huff in frustration, the conversation just going in circles. “Here’s the difference Sebastian, I trust you. I trust that you’re not going to fuck around with anyone else. You apparently don't share the same sentiment. Garreth is my friend, and I will not throw him away just because you don’t trust me. He’s a good person, and he was there for me when-”
You abruptly cut yourself off, kicking yourself for letting your mouth get away from you. Making eye contact, you hope Sebastian hadn’t figured out where that sentence was going. However, looking at his face, you knew he had, and you could see the hurt in his eyes.
“When what? Go on. Say it.” His voice was much quieter now, jaw set and eyes hard.
You shook your head, staring at him, the tears returning to your eyes as you spoke. “Stop it.”
“When I wasn’t. That’s what you were going to say, right? That he was there when I wasn’t? Well, I apologize. Please, finish what the two of you started.” Your breath caught in your throat, eyes wide with shock. The tears finally spilled over your lashes as you let out a pained sob. Sebastian’s face changed immediately, registering his words and the look on your face. Regret shone on his features as he took a step towards you, an apology on his lips as he reached for you, but you couldn’t do it.
“I can’t- I can’t be here right now.” Swiftly turning, you strode away quickly, not quite running but fast enough that you were already through the door and disappearing into the nearest floo flame by the time he called your name.
—-------
You hadn’t set a firm destination when you’d used the floo flame, but it ended up dumping you by the Beasts classroom. Now, you were inside one of the pens, surrounded by kneazles as you hid your face, crying into their fur. The sun was setting, and the sky grew darker the longer you sat. The beasts purred at you comfortingly, rubbing their faces on you and grooming your hair, turning to growl at the gate when they heard footsteps approaching.
“Go away, Sebastian.” The footsteps stop, the figure standing outside the gate.
“What if I’m Poppy? Do I still have to go away?” Raising your head, you sniffle as you look at your friend. Poppy looks at you with concern, mouth turned down in a worried frown. “Can I come in?”
Your lip wobbles as fresh tears stream down your face, nodding as another choked cry pushes its way out of your throat. Poppy quickly makes her way in, the kneazles making room for her to sit next to you before surrounding you both once more.
Poppy puts her arms around you, letting you cry into her shoulder, waiting patiently for you to calm down. It was fully night by the time you stopped, moving back from Poppy with an embarrassed sniffle. “Sorry.”
Poppy shakes her head. “No need to apologize. What- What happened?”
Heaving a big sigh, you put your hand on one of the kneazles, watching as you absentmindedly pet the soft fur. “Sebastian and I got in a fight.”
A surprised noise escapes Poppy’s mouth, head tilting to the side. “You did? But you guys never fight, not seriously anyway. The most I’ve ever seen was a heated argument over who was the better duelist, which is you, by the way.”
You laugh slightly at her attempt at humor, wiping your nose with your sleeve. “He doesn’t trust me.”
Now Poppy looked really confused, her hand also petting a kneazle as she processed your words. “Doesn’t trust you? Why not?”
You only hesitate a moment, worried that Poppy might be upset with the reason, but ultimately decide that she’d understand. “He thinks…he thinks I’ll leave him and run away with Garreth.”
Poppy let out an indignant scoff, looking at you in shock, bewildered by the notion. “Is he mad? Does he not see the way you look at him? It’s like he hung the damn moon in the sky. What did he even say?”
You fill Poppy in on the events of this afternoon, her face growing more and more enraged the longer you spoke. Her hands were balled into angry fists in her lap, and her lips were set into a hard line when you finally finished. “That is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. He needs to get his fucking act together. Fast. I can’t believe the audacity of some-“
Stopping herself, she takes a few deep breaths, trying to lower her heart rate. “Sorry, sorry, not helpful. Well, um, if you’d like, I know of another illegal fighting ring out in the Forbidden Forest we could go destroy. If you wanted to let off some steam? It’s actually why I came looking for you in the first place.”
Taking a moment, you slowly nod your head. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Smiling, Poppy puts a comforting hand on your shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. “Let’s go kick the shit out of some poachers.”
—————
And you did, in fact, kick the shit out of some poachers. You’d freed several magical beasts, including two juvenile dragons, and were doing one more sweep before retiring to the castle. Poppy had wandered into one of the side rooms as you took one more look around the arena, just as you turned to call for her to head back, you were abruptly surrounded on all sides.
Readying your wand, it’s suddenly ripped from your hand and your legs are kicked out from under you, your knees hitting the dirt hard. Someone fists your hair, yanking your head back to look at who you assume is the ring leader. “Well, well, well. What’s a pretty little thing like you doing, snooping around here?”
You see a shimmer out of the corner of your eye, coming from the storage room. Glancing over, you realize Poppy had cast disillusionment on herself, probably planning to fight her way through the poachers solo. While you were confident in her abilities, without your wand, you wouldn’t be able to back her up if something went awry. Making eye contact, you shake your head slightly, warning her to stay away.
The ring leader notices your gaze, turning to follow it. Your stomach drops and before you can think, you spit directly in his face, bearing your teeth aggressively. “Go to hell.”
He pauses his movement, wiping the saliva off his cheek, he turns back to you with a wicked grin. “Oh, I like you.”
His fingers reach to brush your cheek, grabbing your jaw roughly when you jerk away from him. “We’re gonna have so much fun together.”
You didn’t dare look to see if Poppy escaped, but you prayed she had, based on the chorus of evil laughter surrounding you. Bracing yourself, you hoped you’d make it out alive, that hope dwindling quickly as they closed in on you.
—————
Time was moving so slowly, or quickly, you truly couldn’t tell. You were kneeling on the ground, wrists bound and arms suspended above you, body screaming but too exhausted to do anything other than hang limply. You’d been badly beaten, lip split and bruises forming on your jaw. It felt like you had a few broken ribs and one of your wrists was swelling badly.
The poachers had left you alone for a moment, arguing about what to do with you as they headed out of the arena. You tried lifting your head to get your bearings, panting as you squinted around the room, everything looking hazy. Eventually your neck gave out, dropping to your chest, hanging loosely.
Just then, slight tremors began shaking the arena around you, starting off as small vibrations and then building to large explosions sounding somewhere else in the tent. You could hear the poachers screaming, and prayed Poppy had come back to get you, preferably with your poacher hunting boyfriend.
A large explosion rocked the arena entrance, and as you lifted your head, you saw a tall figure stalking forward, dragging something behind them on the ground. As the smoke cleared, you see Sebastian, smoke practically billowing out of his mouth, eyes glowing with righteous fury as they swept over the arena. He looked demonic, especially as he dragged the limp body of a half dead poacher in one hand.
The poacher pointed weakly at you, arm shaking with the effort to lift it. “T-They’re right ov-ver, over th-there. S-So, so let me g-“
Sebastian’s focus narrowed to you, instantly clocking your injuries, his body vibrating with murderous intent. Sebastian yanked the poacher up by the back of his collar, where he was being held, and grabbed his jaw roughly with the other hand. Before the poacher could even finish his sentence, Sebastian snapped his neck mercilessly, never taking his eyes off you.
He let the body fall, thudding against the floor, and started walking quickly towards you. You could hear his footsteps turn into a dead sprint as he watched your head fall again, neck giving out on you. In a heartbeat, he was on his knees in front of you, gentle hands grabbing your face tentatively. Blinking deliriously, you try your hardest to focus on his words, but your consciousness was fading fast.
“No, no, no. Come on, baby. Don’t do this to me. Stay awake. Open those pretty eyes for me.” You tried to follow his instructions, black dots dancing across your vision, but it was getting more difficult to keep your eyes open. You hear Sebastian swear desperately, quickly freeing your hands, cradling you to him before you fall to the ground. He hisses as he holds your body, feeling your broken ribs through your clothing, pleading with you to stay awake.
“Not like this. Don’t you dare leave me like this! Please, sweetheart.” Drops fell on your face as his thumb caressed your cheek gingerly. His voice was shaky, slowly losing his mind the longer you didn’t respond to him. Your breathing became shallow, and Sebastian’s panic shot through the roof.
“Fuck! I’m sorry, baby. I can’t wait anymore. We have to apparate back to the castle. It’s-It’s gonna hurt. I’m so sorry, my love. Please forgive me.” Holding you as tightly as he dared, he shoved his face into your temple, whispering frantic apologies into your skin. He apparated you back to the castle as quickly as possible, straight into the Hospital Wing, startling the nurses tending to the other students. It took no more than a second for them to spring into action, physically prying a reluctant Sebastian away from you and out the door. He tried to fight them, hysterical tears streaming down his cheeks as he begged to stay with you. The last thing you hear is Sebastian sobbing your name before you sink into unconsciousness, the darkness swallowing you.
—-------
You awoke some time later, unsure if it had been a few hours, or a few days. Squinting from the bright morning sun, you took a moment to take in your surroundings, noting the absence of anyone else. Your body was sore, but your broken bones and bruising had been completely healed. You tried to lift a hand to rub the drowsiness from your eyes, but found it impossible as something heavy rested in your palm. Looking over, you notice one other person in the room with you. They had pushed one of the other beds right up against yours, and were sound asleep next to you, their hand gripping yours like a lifeline.
Sebastian laid on his side facing you, and judging from the bags under his eyes, had probably just fallen asleep only moments before. You could see the tear tracks streaking down his cheeks, the pillow still a bit damp, a mournful expression painted on his face even while he slept. You hear light footsteps coming towards you, looking over to see Nurse Blainey walking your way, a small relieved smile on her usually stern face. “Glad to see you’re finally awake.”
Smiling tiredly, you greet her, thanking her for her help. She scoffs at you, waving your thanks away with her hand. “No need for that. You should really be thanking the young man beside you for getting you here so quickly. It’s rare for someone your age to know how to apparate, but it's a very good thing he did, things could have gone much worse if you’d been left for much longer.”
She looked at him fondly, shaking her head knowingly. “You know, it was almost impossible to get him out of here when you’d first arrived. He fought tooth and nail to stay beside you, even when we told him he’d just be in the way. We tried to keep him out after you’d stabilized, to give your body time to heal, but he’d find a way back in every time, so we just gave up.”
Chuckling again, she turned her gaze to you, a kind smile on her mouth. “He’s a good one. Make sure you hang onto him.”
Thanking her again, she turns and walks away, telling you to holler if you need anything. You watch her disappear, rolling onto your side to face Sebastian after she’d gone. He’d laid himself as close to you as he could while still mostly remaining on the other bed, which made it easy for you to brush the fingers of your unoccupied hand through his hair gently. He stirred as you pet him, blinking his eyes open, taking a moment to wake up and register that someone was touching him.
He closed his eyes again, relaxing into the pillow at your touch, before they flew open and his head snapped up to look at you. You gave him a tired smile, fingers now petting his cheek as he stared at you with wide eyes. His body remained completely still, but his breathing became uneven, hand trembling in yours. Lifting your hand from his face, you held it up, beckoning him forward into your arms.
“Come on, my love.”
Sebastian’s face crumpled, a heart wrenching sob escaping his lips as he dragged himself to you, crushing you as closely as he could. You winced a bit, body still sore, but didn’t dare say anything as he wept into your shoulder. Resting your chin on his head, you held him just as tightly, one hand stroking his back soothingly. You repeatedly promised that you were alright, shushing his cries gently, pressing your lips to his hair as you coaxed him out of hysteria.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself enough to speak. “I’m so s-sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn’t- It’s my fault they h-hurt you. I shouldn’t have y-yelled at you like th-that. If I wasn’t so, so selfish then-”
“Shhh, my love. This wasn’t your fault. I messed up. I let my guard down and paid for it.”
Sebastian trembled in your arms, head shaking insistently against your collar bone. “But I was s-so cruel to you. If I had just sucked it up, this wouldn’t have-”
“Sebastian, don’t ever hide how you’re feeling from me. I’m sorry I didn’t try to see your side of-”
Sebastian tightened his arms around you, tears finally slowing. “No! Don’t give me a pass. I don’t deserve it. I fucked up. You should be furious with me.”
Sighing, you hold him quietly for a moment, hand coming up to card through his hair again. “You came to get me didn’t you?”
He lay there silently, only nodding his head after you squeezed him for an answer. “I made sure Poppy escaped so she could tell you where I was. I knew, no matter how cross you were, there’d be nothing on this earth that could stop you from getting to me. Not a single doubt in my mind.”
Sniffling, he pulled back to look at you, eyes red and voice hoarse. His fingers moved to caress your cheek, confirming that you were actually there with him. “I was so scared when she told me. She tried to get me to wait, saying it was too risky to go on my own, but I-I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I flew as fast as I could, terrified the whole time that I’d be too late. I tore that whole camp apart looking for you, going absolutely out of my mind the longer it took. I don’t-I don’t know what I would’ve done if I found you d-”
You give him a lingering kiss, not wanting to hear the next words out of his mouth. Sebastian kisses you back, the fact that you were safe finally sinking in. Pulling away slightly, he looks back at you with hooded eyes, gaze unfocused as it darts from your eyes to your lips.
“I’m alright, my love. I’m sorry for scaring you.”
He didn’t give you the chance to say more, repeatedly pressing longing kisses to your lips. You take each one readily, letting him give you as many as he desired until he was satisfied. Which he never was, if you were being honest, he was never satisfied when it came to you. Always craving more, always hungry. Just like now, his kisses turned more aggressive, and he began leaning over you, pressing you into the pillows. Chuckling, you try to speak as he kisses you.
“Darling, we’re still in the Hospital Wing.”
His lips continue to move against yours, uncaring, and a hand moves up to fist itself in your hair. “So?”
Huffing in amusement, you pull away as much as you can. “Nurse Blainey is right around the corner. She’ll most definitely come out here if she hears something.”
Sebastian’s mouth chases you, still not even close to having had his fill. “Then be quiet.”
Rolling your eyes, you allow him to kiss you a few more times before ripping yourself away again. “Aaaaand, even though I’m feeling much better, my body is still pretty sore and it wouldn’t be a good idea to exert too much energy at the moment.”
A grumpy look settles on his face as he looks at you, sighing in defeat before flopping down on top of you. “Fine, but you better prepare yourself. You’re gonna be sore for a whole new reason once you’re feeling better.”
Laughing, you wrap your arms around him, enjoying his warmth and weight on top of you.
—-------
True to his word, a few days later, you really were sore for a totally different reason. As soon as you’d gotten the ok to leave from Nurse Blainey, and repeatedly confirmed your full recovery with Sebastian, he’d pounce. He didn’t let you leave the Room of Requirement for an entire day, pouring his affection into you until you barely remembered your own name, his the only one you’d said for hours.
Walking the halls again, it was your first day attending classes after being released. Ominis had kindly taken notes for you and Sebastian in your absence, secretly delighted that you’d both been banned from leaving school grounds by Professor Weasley.
Accompanied by the two boys, Sebastian’s arm wrapped around your waist possessively, you three made your way to the library to copy Ominis’s notes. You heard someone calling your name enthusiastically, and turned to see Garreth hurrying over to you with a big smile.
“Hey! I’m so glad you’re feeling better! I heard my aunt banned you from leaving the castle. Good thing. I don’t usually agree with her, but you gave us quite the fright when you disappeared.”
Nodding bashfully, you look down at the floor. “I’m sorry for worrying you like that. Certainly wasn’t the intent.”
His eyes soften, and his tone quiets to something more private. “I also…really appreciate you getting Poppy out of there. I know it cost a lot.”
Looking up, you shake your head at him, a small smile sitting on your face. “No need, Garreth. She’s important to me. I wasn’t about to let her stay. I knew someone would come get me.”
Bringing an arm up behind his back, you wrap it around Sebastian’s waist, squeezing him against you. He returned the gesture, hand stroking up and down your spine afterward. Garreth finally acknowledged Sebastian and Ominis, greeting the latter warmly, before his smile faded as he regarded the former. You’d guessed that Poppy would tell Garreth about your fight with Sebastian, and from the unhappy tilt to the redhead’s mouth, your suspicions were confirmed. “Sallow.”
Sebastian got a pinched look on his face, but surprisingly didn’t glare at Garreth like usual. Instead he kept a cool, even tone as he addressed him. “Garreth.”
Your eyebrows shot to your hairline, briefly making surprised eye contact with Garreth as he mirrored your expression. Some of the ire left him in his shock, simply nodding in response before turning back to you. “So, graduation is fast approaching. Any idea what you’ll do afterwards?”
“Actually, I’d like to take Hekate’s place as-”
“Get married.”
You whip your head to look up at Sebastian, who stands there calmly, a slightly bored look on his face. He turns to you as you gape up at him, cocking an eyebrow. “What?”
Furrowing your brow, your eyes close as you pinch the bridge of your nose. “Why do you always do this? You’re so bad at asking for things.”
He got a skeptical look on his face. “Is that a ‘no’?”
“Well…no.”
A satisfied smile painted his lips, a smug aura rolling off him in waves. “Then I don’t see the problem.”
“You-…You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
“Yeah, whatever. Don’t act like you don’t love it.”