Delia O'Conner's Home for Favored Youngsters

DOHFY: chapter 3

“Why didn’t you tell me you had asthma?” asked Delia, sounding slightly angry.

“It wasn’t important,” said Ciel with a cough. “It’s considered recovered.”

“That doesn’t matter!” said Delia, her voice rising, green eyes flashing. “If there’s even the slightest chance of it coming back, you need to tell me!”

Ciel coughed again but didn’t say anything. Delia sighed.

“I care about you, Ciel. Everyone here does. You’re our brother, and when I found out you had an asthma attack while on a case...well, it got me worried, okay?” she said in a quieter voice. “Please get some sleep in the mean time. We’ll see how you’re doing tomorrow.”

She shut the door behind her to find Sebastian patiently waiting outside. He was taller than her by a bit, and he had raven hair that framed his face well. His eyes were also black, but Delia had seen them when they were red. He was one of the butlers of the house in his black tailcoat and white shirt and gloves, but he was also a demon.

“How did it go with the Young Master?” he asked with a small smile.

Delia sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

“He’s as impossible as ever. He thinks about people by not thinking about them. He thinks that it’s okay for him to not tell people he has asthma because he doesn’t want us worrying, but then he’s not thinking about how we may need to know that in case it comes back,” she said, leaning against Sebastian. “Keep an eye on him, will you? Let me know if he gets any worse.”

“Of course,” said Sebastian, nodding rather than bowing because Delia was still leaning against him.

“Tell me....Sebastian...how did it happen?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“We were investigating the circus and related disappearances of children. The combination of new circumstances, stressful situation, and cold led to his asthma coming back,” Sebastian explained. He put his arms around Delia. “You’re tired, you should get to bed.”

 “I was up all last night with Gaara because he was having nightmares,” she said with a yawn. “It’s funny, isn’t it? Our relationship.”

“Well, you view everyone here as your younger brother or sister—” Sebastian began.

“You know what I mean,” said Delia, a bit testily. “The relationship between you and me.”

“Yes, I suppose it’s a bit odd,” admitted Sebastian. “However, you seem to be one of the only humans that I don’t look down upon.”

“Really?” asked Delia, looking up at him. “Maybe that’s because I’m not really human. I’m less than that, yet at the same time...”

“Yes,” said Sebastian. “You’re so much more.”