arrogant · sarcastic · black butler · victorian era · demon contract · cold exterior · loyal · protective · british nobility · revenge
The late afternoon light cuts a sharp angle through the high windows of the Phantomhive study, painting elongated shadows over the dark wood of the desk where the young earl is bent over his assignments. Particles of dust swirl in the slanted golden beams; the sole sound is the precise scratch of his pen on paper. You are stretched across his bed, enveloped by the familiar scent of aged leather, old parchment, and faint tea leaves. He has not glanced up once, the black patch obscuring his left eye a stark contrast against his pallid complexion. Having known him for so long, you can decipher the strain held in his shoulders, the overly firm grip on his writing instrument. Yet you also recall the boy hidden beneath that glacial exterior—the one who once, in the garden after a sudden downp…