Chapter Text
A curious distance apart, Sebastian thought it was. For her within her free will to step that close, the intention oozing from her skin like steam wafting up from a natural spring. From several feet away, Sebastian could detect its heat.
The knife in his hand continued to move up and down with rhythm and precision upon the chives being slid beneath the blade. For any normal human, even one well practiced in the art of knife skills, the action would have required a large fraction of the individual's attention if they cared not to lose a finger. Sebastian could do it with blatant absentmindedness, not needing to even look down at the cutting board as his hands worked. But he did take care to not make it seem so blatant and cause pestering concern from others over a perceived danger, so if he felt the eyes of the other staff upon him, he would peer down at the work table to give the illusion that he gave a fuck about whether or not he chopped one of his fingers off. As if he couldn’t simply grow it back.
There was no need for such a show at this time, though. For there were only three people in the kitchen at present, and Sebastian was the one who was looking at them.
A friend of prince Soma was how she was introduced, but a friend to the young master was not exactly an accurate statement. A young lady somewhere around the prince's age was their guest at the moment, one named Amelia Cavendish. The daughter of Sir Cavendish, a prominent figure in the East India company…fifteen years ago before it disbanded. The source of a family’s wealth is most often the source of all their conversation topics, but it was relevant in providing a connection between Soma and Amelia that explained why they had anything to bond over. Her father had spent a large portion of time in India, having lived there as part of his work. Amelia was born and had spent her very early years there, but came to England once things took a turn for the worse when it came to the company. Her home was filled with trinkets of memorabilia that may or may not be stolen artifacts brought back from Sir Cavendish’s travels, as well as her head filled with tales of the far away land. So, a prominent curiosity in regards to the country that was her family’s source of wealth–and by all means were they wealthy–is what brought her and the genial prince Soma together.
Of course, what did Some wish to do with this new friend of his? Why, introduce him to his other and only friend here in England. This decision must have come from much careful consideration, for Amelia had a personality that was exactly the kind of individual the young master liked to be around. She was just–to sum her existence up into one single word–annoying. Not heinous or rude, just acutely annoying to be around. Sebastian had heard an earful of complaints from his lord earlier that night as he was put to bed.
The only reason she was staying at the manor for a full five days was because she’d wanted out of a trip to her family's country house, and her parents were overprotective and didn’t want her to be left at home alone. Complaining of the dilemma to Soma led one thing to another and the Prince was sat down at dinner with her mother and father, proposing some excuse for why she should be allowed to stay. The trump card of royalties input is what led to their persuasion, and the Prince's enthusiasm for friendship is what led her to be made a guest of the Phantomhive estate, having shown up with their suitcases without prior notice. Already settling in before a sputtering young lord could speak a word in opposition.
With or without the knowledge that the Phantomhive manor’s population was mainly male, Amelia had brought along with her a maid named Lydia to attend to her. Par for the course, but what wasn’t par for the course was the additional work that this extra set of hands would be taking on simply out of necessity with how short staffed they were. And Sebastian would take advantage of any staff he could that was more competent then the three bumbling idiots he called his coworkers, though he preferred the term subordinates given his by default higher rank among the servants.
Speaking of competent servants, as expected of where the prince goes, Agni had come along as well. It had been a little while since he and the khansama had crossed paths, or rather, been brought back together by their masters. But even with the time in between now and when Agni had last navigated through the manor’s downstairs halls, Sebastian was pleasantly surprised by how much he remembered where things were in the drawers, which supplies went in which cabinets, and just his ability to do things…correctly.
The maid Lydia, while not nearly to the same degree as Agni, also possessed the ability to do things correctly. Proper training will do that. However, despite it being within her capabilities, Sebastian quickly noticed that she did not always take advantage of them. For her attention was not always directed solely on what she was doing. One could argue that Sebastian was no better–the things on his mind more often than not differed from what he was actually doing. However, Sebastian was allowed to do his necessary chores without paying full attention to them because they would still get done. On the other hand, Lydia’s all things considered decent work was frequently rushed or left incomplete, for she was distracted.
Upon the observation, the speed with which Sebastian chopped slowed down ever so slightly. Drawing out the action to preserve the moment, giving himself the ability to witness it in full.
Agni stood at the sink located on the opposite side of the work table, washing the plates and dishes used for that night’s dinner with delicate care. Sleeves rolled up to just below the elbow to avoid the water and suds that he doused over the dishes, having temporarily removed the bandages from his right hand, which amused Sebastian. The strength which resided within those fingers was kept caged away behind the wraps of white gauze at all times, except for when handling fragile China. The man regarded his supposed “God given strength” as if it were something that was out of his control, which was the reason for his hesitancy to use it. But the fact that each plate remained intact by the time it was placed on the drying rack suggested otherwise.
And Sebastian would’ve asked him about it, made some sort of curious or teasing remark, if it weren’t for the fact that Agni’s ear was already being filled by the conversation of another.
Lydia chatted with him, and just a little bit at him. Questions and prompts came from her, constantly inviting the other to speak about the most insignificant and random things. As if always unsatisfied with the length of Agni’s responses, and urging him to speak more. Agni was friendly in response, of course, and gave appropriate surface level input and commentary on this egregious display of small talk. But as he spoke and as he listened when she gave him a new prompt to fill, his gaze remained downward at the sink. Paying attention to what he was doing, as he correctly should have been. However, to contrast his multi-tasking, Lydia had several minutes ago all but ceased her current task of polishing the silverware, and her head was turned blatantly to the side, and she was looking at Agni.
The work table was not small in size, it was built to accommodate for many more servants then were ever on the premises nowadays. So there was plenty of room for her to have set up her little station just about anywhere else, yet she’d taken the supplies Sebastian had given her and plopped them down right next to the sink. Establishing that her station would be located right next to Agni. And she’d worked, for just the little bit of time that she’d actually done any work, standing right next to Agni.
As displeased as he was about the fact that it would take her hours to finish polishing the silver at this rate, Sebastian was equally displeased about the fact that she was eating up what could’ve been a chance for him and Agni to catch up, and because it would’ve been rude on his part to jump into a conversation that he had thus far not been included in. Not that he wanted to engage in this conversation that was so terribly bland, but he felt for Agni in that he had to be subjected to it. If they were the ones conversing, their choice of topics wouldn’t be anywhere near this dull. For example, the logic behind methods of containing one’s supernatural strength.
Was Lydia really just that dull of a person herself that this was all her tiny mind could come up with? That’s what Sebastian had thought of her at first, the same he thinks about every human until proven otherwise, that is if he was proven otherwise. But then it clicked, and Sebastian came to a realization. This conclusion is what occupied his mind at the moment, instead of his current task.
A series of small questions that all possessed the same answer. Why is she standing so close to him? Why does she keep talking to him? Why does she keep looking at him?
Maybe she wasn’t so much of an idiot, for Sebastian could now see the consideration within her small, but deliberate actions. There was effort being put towards hiding her thought process, and goal. Making everything seem like an unintentional coincidence–-yes indeed, it just so happened to be a coincidence that she set up her work station right next to Agni’s–when in reality every little thing was a conscious decision on her part.
However, despite this mostly successful effort to be subtle about everything, she had a very loud aura. An aura that one such as Sebastian could sense. Like catching the scent of flowers on the wind, and in an instant, knowing it to be the aroma of roses. For he had plucked many.
While she was simply being friendly, friendship was not her end goal. She wanted something…a little different with Agni. A separate kind of relationship, or perhaps temporary companionship would be a better way to call it. To mingle with another not in the way of words, but to establish a more physical connection. She wanted to fuck him. Plain and simple as that.
It was so obvious to Sebastian. Desire was such an easy thing to detect in a human, like how tears signify sadness, desire showed itself through hard glances looking up through long lashes and lightly flushed cheeks from an elevated heart rate. Each symptom was one she displayed. One might’ve thought it was an abhorrent jump to conclusions, but Sebastian was simply jumping to the final conclusion of all this evidence. Right now, she was simply being friendly, from her spot standing just a foot away from Agni, but this was just a stepping stone to reach a different goal. In a society such as this, just going forth and asking to sleep with someone was met with shock and offense at such lack of shame. Efforts had to be subtle, and patient. Playing the long game to win over their object of attraction’s…attraction.
Sebastian had a small hunch that this was not her first time going through such motions. This was the first of five days that she would be here, only five days to cozy up to Agni and win him over, and she had already begun the process. That took confidence, knowledge, and experience. Sebastian knew he had no room to judge her in this regard, for he exceeded her in all three of those things.
However, her choice of potential partner is what gave him pause. Preventing him from being able to ignore her efforts and respect that it was none of his business. One thing that Sebastian didn’t have a large array of experience in was friendship, but in his mind, it made since that his friend was his business.
It was concern for his friend, concern for Agni’s dignity and wishes. Sebastian knew…very well…how effective seduction techniques could be even on individuals who wouldn’t have otherwise agreed to engage with another in that way. Now, Sebastian had–with respect for his current morals–decided to interpret Agni’s confession of “engaging in sin” in the past as meaning he’d divulged in the pleasures of flesh before. But whether or not “Agni” as opposed to the deceased “Arshad” would be willing to engage in such things nowadays, with a stranger no less, was a question that Sebastian suspected the answer to was no.
However, as Lydia continued her bombardment of speech, Agni’s only reply was his normal friendly attitude. As he watched on, Sebastian felt a slight twist in his gut of…he was still going to call it concern, over the realization that Agni hadn't caught on to what she was doing. Agni was not able to detect the same things in a human that he could, therefore, he had no way of finding out what her true intentions were. No way to save himself and establish a boundary before it was too late, and her efforts paid off. Perhaps her spells of eye contact and close proximity had already begun to take effect.
Scooping the chopped pieces of chives into a bowl to be covered and refrigerated for use the next day, Sebastian decided that since he was done with his chore, as much as the purpose of having extra hands around was to take care of some of the work, the other two should be as well. He was also curious to see how Lydia would react to being interrupted.
So, once there was a millisecond of pause within their conversation, Sebastian decided to chime in. Utilizing his authority as the head of staff to interrupt them, he announced, “that is enough for now, it is getting late. You are both free to retire for the night, I will finish up the rest. Lydia, you were shown your room, correct? If you need anything throughout the night, May-Rin's quarters are next door, feel free to ask her.”
Finally, Lydia’s attention was pulled away from Agni. Meeting Sebastian’s gaze with appropriate attention and a reasonable amount of being caught off guard by him suddenly speaking up. It most likely wasn’t in her plan to have to wrap up this one-sided conversation just yet, but she would not argue with the superior of the servants in the house where she was staying.
“Oh, why thank you,” she replied with warm appreciation, a facade of innocent obedience. Stepping back from the work table, she folded her hands together gently and gave a polite bow, the way she would to the nobility she served, not just the head of staff. An extra show of compliance and respect—Sebastian resisted the urge to scoff.
Agni, having to finish rinsing off the last dish, was drying his hands by the time Lydia walked out the door. For the entire time that the maid had been in the room, the two of them had not exchanged any casual words of conversation. With her gone, and Agni still here, it would have been a prime chance to engage with his friend how Sebastian had been wanting to this entire time. But now that the opportunity presented itself, he found himself at an impasse for what all he wanted to say. Getting what he wanted, and not being sure what to do with it. Lydia’s words had taken up so much space in the room, it felt wrong to try and fit in any more. So Sebastian just stood where he was, watching Agni from across the work table, contemplating.
Should he say something to Agni of what he had observed? Try and warn him of Lydia’s intentions, which he wouldn’t be able to prove she had. Sebastian had no tangible evidence to back up his claims, nor any evidence that Agni would believe. The only argument he had available was to prompt several more questions by claiming that he could “just tell”. Sebastian wouldn’t be able to explain that he could detect such things within a human without sparking confusion and suspicion. While Agni was not the most normal human, it was doubtful that he’d simply accept such a thing as reality. So then leave him oblivious? That didn’t seem like the right thing to do. He didn’t like that thought of Agni unknowingly falling victim to her tricks.
To his mild surprise, Sebastian was not made to choose at that moment, for Agni spoke up before he could make a concise decision on what to do. Beginning a new conversation with a calm and friendly ease that only he was capable of, causing the silence that had fallen to evaporate into a warm mist of an exchange. “I appreciate your consideration for the workload of your guests, but you needn't send me off if there is still work to be done. You know I don’t mind,” Agni said from across the room with a voice that was cheerful yet smooth. The spice of cinnamon soothed and mellowed by the sweetness of sugar mixed in, that’s what it was akin to.
The butler blinked once, adjusting to now being an active participant in a conversation and not just a bystander. Setting with the shift, Sebastian let his eyes fall closed and a small smile spread across his lips, titling his head down in a soft bow of appreciation. “Ah, you are too kind. You traveled today, you must be tired. There’s no need to push yourself.”
Agni laughed a little, flashing a grin of understanding. “You underestimate my energy levels, Sebastian. Please, let me help.”
He looked over the white haired man, eyes running over his face. Observing how his eyes drooped ever so slightly, how his posture was held less upright then normal, how he stood with a hand placed atop the counter to lean on. Sebastian smirked, then said knowingly, “I don’t underestimate your energy levels, I just know they have limits. You can’t lie to me, you're tired.”
The other man paused, no doubt trying to formulate a way to disagree, then sighed in defeat. A quiet admittance to his own limitations, which made Sebastian chuckle.
“But I wouldn’t be able to rest knowing there’s still work that I could be helping with. And shouldn’t the same go for you? Not pushing yourself, you must be tired as well...”Agni trailed off at the end, his eyes flicking up and down the butler's form. No doubt taking in that there was absolutely nothing about Sebastian’s appearance, expression, or posture that indicated he was tired.
“Oh come now, by the time you’ve laid down for the night I will be finished. Will I need to get the broom to shoo you out?” Sebastian said teasingly.
Agni pouted ever so slightly, tilting his chin down in misplaced shame. Woefully responding with, “if you insist.”
With that Agni began to walk around the kitchen counter towards the door. Sebastian took notice of the pile of white bandages that had not been retired from by the sink, and smirked to himself in amusement. Allowing for Agni to get most of the way to the door before announcing, “aren’t you forgetting something?”
As ushered, Agni paused and turned back to look in Sebastian's direction with a confused look, having stopped about halfway between the kitchen doorway and where the butler stood. With his back facing Agni, Sebastian turned his head to peer over his shoulder playfully. Despite having just instructed Agni to leave, the excitement of getting to speak to him crept back up. “Do those bandages you wear truly serve a purpose?”
The comment made Agni realize his error, and his eyes widened slightly when they landed on where he’d left the white wraps by the sink. He swiftly made his way over to retrieve them, barely registering Sebastian's question. “They are…for safety,” he answered as he began to wrap around his palm with practiced speed and ease.
“And yet my lord's fine China remains unbroken. Forgive my prying, but I don’t seem to understand the thought process behind them. They are nothing more than just ordinary bandages, no?”
Agni visibly paused, looking down at his own hand, but said nothing. Either thinking to himself, or struggling to formulate a thought. Sebastian’s sly smirk dropped as he realized he was contradicting himself, having Agni admit to being tired then trying to spark a deep conversation with him. How cruel of him to torment an exhausted man with deep questions and light accusations. He saw his errors, and corrected himself by swiftly following up with, “ah, I’m sorry. That was quite rude of me, I shall keep such questions to myself from here on out.” He dipped his head slightly to show his apologies.
The other man took a moment to orient himself, thrown off by Sebastian’s sudden shift in attitude. He shook his head a little, trying to summon more awareness. “Oh, it's fine for you to ask. I’m not as sensitive about it as you seem to think. Just…” a yawn interrupted him, perfectly emphasizing his point, “…not right now.”
Sebastian lifted his head, a fond amusement bubbling in his chest at such a human display. He chuckled softly before saying, “then I shall ask some other time. Now, out with you.”
Agni compiled yet again, and began making his way over toward the exit. Meeting the butler’s eyes as he walked past him, “goodnight, Sebastian.’’
When the title came from the lips of one such as Agni, so honest and pure as he is, it felt wrong. The name he bore now encapsulated so little of who he truly was, it was almost like a lie to speak it in his regard. The demon supposed that Agni was not lying, he was simply speaking the words of a lie that was not his. Agni, who was as good as they come, could barely stand lying or even hiding the truth. Sebastian, on the other hand, lied to everyone every second of the day…well, except for the one he couldn’t lie too. It wasn’t personal, it was necessary, yet still.
How odd it was that the two of them, whose morals couldn’t be more different, called each other friends.
“…goodnight,” he said quietly. A response that came only after Agni had left the room.