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The candle has long since been blown out, casting the earl's room in darkness. The only source of light that remains is the soft moonlight seeping in from the windows. It's quiet, save for the soft breathing of the young lord nestled under the covers. The soft inhale and exhale of breath rings rather loudly in the demon's ears, focusing intently on the sound to ensure his master is still sleeping soundly. It wouldn't do for the Earl Phantomhive to suffer a restless sleep, no. Certainly not under his watch.
Sebastian stands idly nearby upon the order of his young master. He has been ordered to stay and he has no other option but to obey. But really, he would have stayed either way. Unlike when he had first arrived at the mansion with his master, orders such as these no longer pose as much of a nuisance as they initially did. Sebastian could perhaps admit quietly to himself that his master was not merely another one of those spoiled and sheltered brats that he initially thought him to be. Now, just the mere thought of lumping him in with those only do a great disservice to the master he serves.
The demon’s gaze slides over to his master, still sleeping ever so comfortably, nestled up in his covers. It makes for quite an endearing picture if he would dare say so. Ah, what has his master done to him? He silently counts each inhale and exhale of breath the young child does and in doing so, his thoughts drift away into images of his young master when they had first just entered into the contract.
He does not usually dwell on happenings of the past, but his current master makes it difficult not to. Never before has he ever had the strong desire to review bits and parts of his past. None of them are truly much worth looking back on and he isn’t particularly fond of the notion of doing so. But with his current master, it changes things. More than he imagined it would.
Their beginning was rough to say the least. Neither knew the first thing about what being a master and a butler entailed. It would take weeks for them to perfect their roles, constantly changing and evolving together. Eventually, they fall into a rhythm, following a tune that they'd so specially created for themselves. A tune only they could understand. And Sebastian finds it amusing that for as much as his master does loathe to dance, Sebastian is more than pleased to see him leading theirs, as unusual as it all is.
Even now, the thought of it still makes him smile. His master, the one holding the reins, dictating every single one of his, merely a lowly servant’s, movements. And yet, at the end of the day, he still remains a child who happened to sacrifice his twin in exchange for the power of a demon. Their difference in true power couldn't be any more obvious, but even with this, his master never ceases to amaze him in the paths he chooses to take. Not many humans have ever amused and entertained him as much as his current master ever has.
His young master has grown quite finely, guided by none other than the darkness enshrouding him closely since the contract has been made. And, of course, a darkness that stems from him as well. It should be no secret that he has been planning to turn his young lord into the single most perfect and most exquisite meal. His mouth waters at simply imagining how his master's soul will turn out to be at the culmination of their contract. If there's anything he's sure of, it's that his master's soul will be most wonderful.
Sebastian raises a hand up to cover his mouth, feeling a grin splitting across his face. Monstrous and unnatural and terrifying that if anyone were to see, it would be obvious that the Phantomhive butler isn't exactly human.
Then, his attention shifts towards the resting body under the covers once more. The center of all his thoughts and his life and his contract. He's sleeping so soundly, Sebastian's eyes following every rise and fall of his chest. It's a rare thing to see his master so serene and peaceful. He would usually have a frown decorating that face of his and Sebastian thinks it's such a shame to taint such a beautiful face with it but alas. If the young lord ever heard him speak of such nonsense, he would no doubt receive another verbal lashing that he would easily brush off with a smile.
But thinking back on being presented with such peaceful expression on his master’s face, he finds it quite curious that the child hasn’t been plagued with nightmares of his past for a while. He’s followed around and terribly haunted by his past like a ghost and he’s never truly quite escaped from it. Perhaps the biggest contributing factor to that is the fact that his master is still awfully young and has already gone through what most children his age will never get to. And as awful as it is, Sebastian would not have it any other way. Had those events not happened, he certainly would be off elsewhere trying to alleviate his dull and mundane immortal life. The life he now leads alongside his young master is one he has never come to regret since.
A choked up gasp coming from the small body on the bed catches his attention and snaps him out of his thoughts. His eyes immediately flit over to his young master and they flash with what seemed like a small twinge of concern. The young master thrashes around in his bed, gasps escaping his mouth while his eyes are still firmly shut as he gets lost in the depths of his own mind again. Another nightmare, Sebastian muses. It's nothing he can't handle. He has had to deal with this same scenario multiple times before already that his response comes so easily now.
Without so much as lifting a finger, the shadows in the room bend and flicker. Tendrils that appear like wisps of black smoke extend from Sebastian to reach out for the restless body in the bed. They twist and wrap around his little master in a sort of comfort, pulsing as if they had lives of their own, and Sebastian's lips curl into an amused grin that somewhat mellows down into a fonder one when his master does indeed start to calm down.
It would never cease to amuse Sebastian that he, the one who will eventually bring an end to him, would be what would comfort his master the most. It was almost too sweet, too intimate, for his master to harbor such a connection to the being that will ultimately end him. Still, he cannot deny that such a thought pleases him, that his master is entirely dependent on him for such simple things like these. He is more than content and willing to continue being the child's source of comfort during the night and for the rest of his life, however much longer he will live, if that would mean that his master would be able to sleep soundly.
Sebastian remains where he stands as he observes the very extensions of himself work in calming down the young master in all their monstrosity. He can feel them pulsing as they caress the young master’s soft and supple skin and Sebastian has to hold back a shiver at the mere feel of it. He can’t think of how much better it’d feel if it were skin on skin, his bare fingertips free of the gloves that he usually adorns grazing across the young master’s face for but a fleeting moment or for as much as the little lord would let him.
The demon watches with rapt attention as his tendrils stay wrapped loosely around the child in a twisted sense of comfort. He does not wish to risk gripping the child too tightly in case it would only make him grow more agitated like it did during their mere beginnings. He has learned since then. When his master’s body had stopped thrashing around in a panic and had reasonably quietened down, Sebastian starts to take hushed steps towards the bed as the shadows recede back into him.
Quietly, he kneels down beside the bed and observes the sleeping face of his master. He had certainly been able to somewhat comfort the child though it’s obvious that there still remains traces of the nightmare that had plagued him just moments ago. His young master’s eyes are screwed shut, a crease in between his eyebrows. His breathing had evened out, yes, but still rather shaky. And to Sebastian, this just won’t do. The butler reaches out a gloved hand to gently run across the crease on his sleeping master’s forehead, a pleased smile making its way to his face when it straightens out with his touch. Much better. His young lord looks his best when his past isn’t troubling him.
In the next moment, he sees the boy’s eyes sleepily open, a small and almost incoherent mumble of his name slipping past those lips of his. “Sebastian?”
The demon hums and adjusts himself to easily be seen and reached out to by his master if needed. He sits on the bed and it dips with his weight before he reaches out a hand to card through his master’s hair. “Yes, young master, it’s just me. Do go back to sleep; I am right here.”
His words seem to placate the young lord just enough and his eyes slowly close once more. Sebastian finds it terribly endearing how the child trusts him to such an extent, so much so that he’s able to fall back asleep in the presence of a demon. His demon. An almost too soft smile makes its way to his lips when he thinks of it. His young master’s trust certainly isn’t misplaced in him; he knows in himself that he would personally see to it that his master wouldn’t so much as experience any mild discomfort if he could help it.
He stays there for a while, content with being in such near proximity with his little lord. Sebastian doesn’t know when exactly he’d started doing it, but his hand had moved on its own and was gently running through the soft strands of hair of his sleeping master. He usually has better control of his own urges and so this was somewhat embarrassing but his master seemed to enjoy it if the small sleepy smile on his face was anything to go by so he doesn’t stop.
Time passes him by and when the sun slowly started to rise up in the sky, Sebastian hadn’t realized that that much time had come by. With reluctance, he slowly stands back up and adjusts his gloves and suit. He casts one last lingering glance at his master before exiting the room. A butler’s day always starts early.