Safe & Sound//Sebastian Sallow

five.

I stayed with Sebastian as he worked until the early hours of the morning. He'd procrastinated his lesson plans and had to get everything in order. Luckily, he'd kept his previous plans, so he really only needed to update them so they were relevant to the ever-changing curriculum.

I kept busy by tidying here and there and attempting to read a book about the uses of lacewing flies. I was getting tired, though, and kept reading the same sentence over and over. At some point, I fell asleep on the loveseat.

"Thea," I heard as I felt my shoulder being touched. "Thea, darling, wake up. I'm done." I opened my eyes and smiled as I saw Sebastian leaning over me.

"What time is it," I asked before yawning.

"Just about 3. You've been asleep for a couple of hours."

"Oh, damn. I'm sorry. I'm not very good company."

"You're okay. It was nice to look over and see you so peaceful," he said, giving me a smile. "Now let's get you to bed. I'm a bit tired myself." Sebastian offered me his hand and helped me up from the loveseat. I grabbed my tie and put my cloak back on before leaving the office.

Sebastian and I walked hand-in-hand through the castle back to the faculty tower. We passed a couple of fencing ghosts, but didn't see anyone else as we made our way, which made sense seeing how late it was.

As we reached my door, I found myself getting a little sad. It was only for a few hours, and I'd be asleep most of them, but I was going to miss Sebastian. I felt calm around him in a way that I hadn't felt with anyone else.

"Sebastian," I whispered, not wanting to talk too loudly. "Will you stay with me tonight?" I didn't know why, but I felt nervous asking him. It felt more vulnerable a question than I was used to asking anyone.

"You want me to," he asked, sounded almost surprised.

"Only if you want to. Don't feel like you have to say 'yes'." I looked down at our hands, avoiding eye-contact as I waited for a reply.

"Thea," he whispered, lifting my chin so I'd have to look at him. "Are you feeling shy?" The way he asked sounded like there was a hint of confusion.

"A bit," I confessed. He laughed quietly. "What?"

"I just didn't expect it of you. You've always been the most confident person I know."

"I just...I don't know. I've never asked anyone to stay with me before. And I'm not all that confident. I'm just good at faking it until things work out."

"I would have never known. I've always thought of you as 'the girl without fear'."

"Now you know it's all a facade."

"Not all of it, but it's nice to know you're human, too. You've rarely been this vulnerable with me." He pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "I like it. And I would love to stay with you tonight." He grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you." I opened my door and we entered my room. I'd left a lamp burning dimly, so we were able to see. I made my way to the bathroom and got two toothbrushes out of the cabinet. I'd been over-prepared and packed a few spares. I let Sebastian know I had one for him and he joined me in the bathroom. We stood side-by-side as we brushed our teeth, Sebastian lightly elbowing my head as he brushed back and forth, causing me to laugh. I loved how playful he could be.

Once finished, we re-entered the main room. I got out a silk sleep-set while Sebastian stripped down to just his boxers. With the amount of times Sebastian had seen me naked in the last week, I didn't think twice about changing in front of him.