Work Text:
This was not the first time that Sebastian had been subjected to Randal's 'playtime'. Often, Sebastian finds himself being tormented by Randal's nature and threats of harm, today was no different. Despite the reoccurrence of Randal's threats many times before, Sebastian still finds himself in the same position; weakly shaking in front of his knife-wielding master. Forks, knives, spoons, it didn't matter what instrument Randal had planned to use on his body, it was all the same to him.
Currently, a boxcutter seemed to be sufficient enough for Randal's desire.
"Sebastian..."
He didn't respond to his master's playful taunt, instead, he stood with his arms locked against his chest in defense.
"I could carve your face, wouldn't that be fun?"
Sweat beaded across his shoulders and arms, pooling beneath the ruffled collar of his atrocious costume. He suspected that his outfit would get cleaned every so often when left in the closet (which has happened on occasion). He assumed it was the fault of Randal's brother, as Randal's care for his pet's hygiene was lackluster at best, and abusive at worst...
Sebastian didn't respond, as he knew giving his master any sort of fearful expression would result in his further excitement. The last thing he wanted was for Randal to start running, and hopefully not on all fours.
Sebastian curled his fingers into a fist, almost digging his nails into his palms. He took a step backward, gauging Randal's step toward him before he felt Randal's gloved fingers dig into his cheeks. His vision became blurred with a dirt-covered white, barely seeing the reflection of himself in Randal's glasses once moving toward him.
Nose length apart, Randal grinned. "Am I scaring you, Sebby?"
Sebastian gripped Randal's wrists and flung himself backward, hitting the wall behind him in the process before falling onto the firm carpet. He didn't waste any time while springing upward and fumbling his way toward the door. His knees buckled with each turn of the doorknob. It took him at least five tries before he could swing the door open and sprint out of the room.
The doors in the Ivory household had mimicked the visuals of mouths, and while some were normal birch wood, the rest had been made from teeth and tongues. The wallpaper was dreadful, something that he assumed had to do with Luther, and while the carpet was neat, it would occasionally switch into hard-tiled floors that ached his ankles once he ran across it.
Sebastian yelped while slamming through several doors and finding a particularly small hallway with no exit. Beside him were more doors, all of which he would much rather face Randal than enter due to Nyen and Nana.
He could feel sweat fall beneath his curled hair and dip beneath his flared nose. His eyes, darting from each corner of the wall, had landed upon the small outline of a square above him. He reached beside the roof light and had to jump on the ends of his socks to even touch the square. He carefully poked the square with the ends of two fingers and felt the outline lift above his touch.
Suddenly, a small ladder fell out in front of him, harshly pushing him back and landing with a thud on the long rug beneath him.
Without thought, he crammed himself up the ladder, crawling with slippery gloves and gripping onto each step. Once lifting his body into the room, he succumbed to darkness beside for the small, circular windows that sat at the end of each wall. Dim yellow light bloomed from undusted lamps throughout the room, cardboard and metal boxes lay untouched and stacked in various positions. The most notable (and unsurprising) was the amount of unused items that were spread throughout the attic. Large dolls and bears sat in corners, collecting up dust bunnies. He could even see various bugs and ants mold into the fur of the stuffed animals. Rocking chairs swung atop boxes and rocked with the wind the open windows had beckoned in. Piles of old Atari games and cartridges reeked of battery acid and burnt cables.
Sebastian scurried behind several items, closing his eyes occasionally when coming across some of, what could be assumed, Randal's drawings. He shuddered at the feeling of dust beginning to fall with every push against a box to make his way through the attic. He could feel each string of a spider's web begin to build in his red hair. The smell and fuzz of dust begin to swell into his nose and eyes that tears began to leak from his sockets.
The sound of footsteps beneath him triggered his heartbeat that sunk at the noise. He leaped across various items, twisting and convulsing his hips and arms to dodge the hoarded toys.
A sharp stab sliced through his thigh that made Sebastian shriek. Tears pooled in his throat as he fell and tripped into the corner of the room, he braced his arms forward onto his elbows and hauled his body toward the most clean corner he could find. When flipping himself over, he could see a pool of red gush out beneath ruffles and white fabric. Blood began to spread beneath his sock and drizzle onto the wooden floor.
He slapped his hand over his mouth, trying not to inhale the toxic air along with the noises of pain he was emitting. He could hear Randal enter the attic, pushing through several things and giggling to himself like a madman. Each footstep he heard made him dig his fingers into his cheek, shutting his eyes so tight he thought he might go blind. Once opening them, he saw the boy standing in front of him, holding the boxcutter to his side while dipping his head to his shoulder. He watched as Randal's smile disappeared briefly.
"Why did you have to come up here, Sebby? It's a big mess." Randal kneeled down to Sebastian who flinched backward against the wall, hitting his numbing face against the side of it as if he could feel Randal's breath on him.
Randal frowned.
"Augh, you're all dirty now. Look at you!"
His face was puffy with tears and sweat, red and inflamed along with snot dripping from his nose. His hair was now a nest for spiders and dust to live in, covered in grey specks.
Randal's eyes dropped down to his thigh. Sebastian hated the way he saw his mouth curve back into a small smile.
"Wow, you did that to yourself?" Randal reached to spread his fingers against the scar, pressing on it and allowing for more blood to spurt and ooze down Sebastian's leg. Sebastian whimpered and groaned.
"Well," Randal murmured to himself. "Luther is gonna get mad at me for leaving you like this..."
God, he hoped Luther would find him than leave him with this maniac.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you, Sebby."
Sebastian sat firmly in the tub with his knees stuck to his chest. He watched as Randal reached for the blue knob before hesitating, then reached for the red one. Randal twisted the knob as a spurt of murky liquid began to spill from the faucet, to which Sebastian squeaked and scurred at the end of the tub away from the water. Randal found it incredibly amusing.
"Silly, Seb. It will be clear, just wait."
To Sebastian's surprise, the liquid began to fade into clear water that fell down into the tub. The bathroom had to be one of the most normal rooms of the house, as nothing stood out incredibly besides a few pieces of wall and decor designs. While there were a few cracks on the tiled walls, the rest of the mirrors and curtains seemed to be as human as the Ivory house could get.
Water began to pool up to Sebastian's toes, the warmth concealing his feet and soon stomach. It was pleasant, and as much as Sebastian wanted to stay awake, he couldn't help but loosen his grip against his knees at the feeling.
Randal reached into the water (with his gloves) before retreating his hand back to his side of the tub.
"Nice and warm, isn't it? I love baths. It's as comfy as a coffin."
While Sebastian wouldn't describe the bath as a coffin, he would probably describe it as the most calm he had felt in very long. The water began to rise to the tops of his knees, leaving his freckled skin pink. Steam rolled past the edges of the tub and engulfed Randal who sat clothed outside of the bath.
A soft red pooled into the water from Sebastian's thigh. He ignored as best as he could, although Randal had to comment.
"What a pretty color!"
"It hurts..."
"It won't for long!"
Sebastian found it odd at how chirpy Randal had become at Sebastian's comfort. Although, he could only assume he was this way due to this being the first time Sebastian had gotten a bath, even if Randal had to watch him. He shut his eyes.
His dignity had been gone since many days prior.
"Your blood is so tasty, too."
Sebastian's eyes shot open to see Randal beginning to lap up the bathwater like a cat drinking milk from a bowl. Red began to pool down Randal's chin as he grinned wildly.
"Wh- That's disgusting!" Sebastian yelped, kicking his feet and splashing Randal with a face full of his blood-infused water.
Randal fell back onto the floor, giggling and snorting to himself. Even in peaceful moments, he's reminded with who he lives with. Sebastian scrunched his nose into his face, retreating back into his fetal position and softly moving his hand beneath the water.
"You... really like blood, don't you."
"Of course, it's healthy! Luther doesn't like it because it gets on everything."
Sebastian watches Randal reach for a small pink container, and, without warning, dunking it atop Sebastian's head. His naturally red hair began to drip with pink shampoo. Randal shook the bottle back and forth, consequently spilling more shampoo onto Sebastian.
"What are you- AH-"
Randal's gloved hands began running roughly through Sebastian's curls, sweeping back and forth and digging his fingers into the dusty knots that sprang out. Sebastian could only sit there and feel as his master's fingers would begin their assault on his scalp. Randal had dumped so much soap in his hair, it was practically no longer red.
After a minute of being tugged around by his head, he sunk back into the water. Randal seemed to calm down, in fact, he was now gently caressing the soap through his pet's hair. He began to cup some water in his hand and dump it on his head, Sebastian felt the water fall between his shoulders and cascade down his back.
He sighed. He couldn't believe he let Randal bathe him, as if being a human pet wasn't enough, he was now sitting naked in a bathtub, acting as if he was a helpless puppy. As much as he was frustrated for letting Randal do this, he couldn't believe that he was okay with it.
"How does your cut feel?"
"It's... okay."
There was still a quiver in Sebastian voice, an obvious lie. Randal always seemed to be the one who inflicted the most horrific things onto him, the one who tormented him, day and night. Randal would cut, stab, and roughhouse with Sebastian as much as he liked until he had gotten bored. Sometimes, Randal wouldn't even let out food for him, or at least, not consumable food. Sebastian had gotten used to the wet, meat slop that Randal would bring him, he assumed it was not for human consumption, but it didn't matter at this point. Hell, Sebastian would often get chased out of bed by Randal in the early hours of the morning, the bed of which was simply a pillow on the floor, surrounded by 'human' toys.
And yet, he found himself leaning toward the touch of his master. Randal's gloved fingers grazed his forehead. It was... pleasant.
It was... normal.
"Want me to kiss it? That's what Luther always does for me!"
"N-No!"
No, it would never be normal.