Pain

Friends or Brothers

A few weeks had passed since that horrible day, and his image of himself only worsened since then. He could only see fat pouring out of his sides and stomach... Astre hated his body, and hated himself for letting it get this far. How could he, the Earl of Phantomhive, Queens Guard Dog, allow this to happen to himself?! Well, it wouldn't go on any longer- Astre had lost a lot of weight in a few weeks. It wasn't easy by any means, and he certainly missed the taste of sweets and cake- but he just reminded himself that eating that was wrong, and disgraceful. He was already fat enough. It was his Earl duty to be seen as lean, thin, and bring honor to the Phantomhive name. Not to feast on sweet sugary substances. He barely ate anything most days, but managed to get an apple or some salad in his stomach. Even if it was due to the worry and concerned nagging of his servants.

The restriction of sweets and all foods making him skinnier than he had ever previously been, and the exercise toned his frame, making him look even better than he had ever before! And he loved it! Astre finally fit into the all smaller sizes in the stores! He thought if he kept this up just a little longer, he would finally look like the Earl the name of Phantomhive deserved.

"I've never seen you excited about buying clothing, my lord." Sebastian said as they walked back to the manor from a shopping trip. Astre was never into clothing or anything of the sort— but now he had the body to pull off nearly any outfit.

If he has the body, no matter what the means of getting it were, why not show it off? "Well, everyone changes at some point, do they not?" He said, as they all soon arrived back at the manor. "Besides, you did say I looked quite dashing in this, did you not?" He said with a small smile as he waited for his brother to open the door to the large manor.

Sebastian nodded, "Indeed I did, young master. And I am surprised by how much weight you have lost. You seem to be far thinner." Sebastian stated, opening the door for Astre to walk inside, as he held the bags of new clothes for his young master. He was supsicious, to say the least, but kept it to himself during the day. At night he would often tell the other servants to keep eyes on Astre for any suspicious behavior. They all reported the same thing. He was throwing away his food, or just refusing to eat any. Sebastian planned to talk to Astre about it that day after they got back from the shops, but...

The moment they walked inside, they spotted Alois and Claude inside already. Seems they have decided to have another of their "surprise visits" again.

*Claude's eyes were wide, and he looked at Astre in surprise- he looked different than when he last saw him... thinner. Actually not like an annoying little bitch. It was a relief as he always HATED these visits, not only would he get to see his arch enemy again, but, get TWO irritating brats nagging him for sweets and tea instead of just one.

Alois saw the way Claude looked at Astre- without hatred, annoyance, or anything of the sort. He had wished Claude would at least look at him with a fraction of what Astre got. "How does he do it? Why does MY butler always seem to like that one-eyed tart more than I?... Is there something wrong with me?..."

"Heyyyy~ not-Ciel!" Alois laughed, and ran over to Astre, and pulled him into a hug. He might be jealous of him for how much everyone preferred the blue-head in comparison to himself, but that didn't mean they couldn't still be friends. Besides, it wasn't like Alois had anybody in this world who would at least TOLERATE him for a fraction of the time the Phantomhive twins did. "How's my best friend doing?!!" He cheered happily, his bright smile lighting up his face. Alois was always the happiest, most excitable person in the room, no matter where they were.

Whilst they hugged, Alois couldn't help but notice how he could feel his collar bones- even if it was just a little- and his thighs were definitely smaller than his own... a flat stomach, skinny limbs, nearly boney body... "I guess now I know what's wrong with me..." Alois thought, and his face showed it no matter how much he tried to hide it. "... Is this why Claude was looking at him? He got skinny... I mean, he does look nice... am I just fat? Is that why- he's so used to looking at my fatass he is relieved to see someone different!?... I don't want Claude to see me as fat and ugly..."