"CHARLEEEEEEEEESSSS!"

"WHAAAT?!"

Yeah, that was pretty much how you started the conversation.

Charles Grey, Earl Charles Grey, your best friend in this place. After him comes the girl in the kitchen which supplies both of you food. You (and him) consumed a great amount of food per day, and still because you two were always hungry, you needed someone to give you something to eat whenever you ask them to.

And today was no different, well actually a bit.

It was't day, it was night. And you weren't talking to her, you were talking to him.

So, your friend was on his bed, probably sleeping before you've woken him up, wearing a dark grey top with black trousers. You directly went to the topic:

"I am hungry."

"Damn it (Name)! Why are you shouting? It is 2 AM!"

"I told you: I am hungry"

"So?"

"You always have something to eat"

"No I don't"

"But you should"

"Why is that?"

"You get hungry easily too"

"Not at 2 AM!"

"Fine!.. What should I do?"

Your friend let out an audible sigh. You actually wouldn't bother him for such thing, but laying on your bed while your stomach was begging for food was… hard. After a couple of seconds, he spoke up.

"Why don't you go to the kitchen?"

"Yeah, good idea." You said and started pulling him up.

"Wha-wha-wha.. What are you doing?!" He asked while trying to get away from your hold.

"Didn't you say we were going to kitchen?" Still not letting him go.

"No! I told you to go to the kitchen, not us!" He said screaming.

"Oh come on, don't be so noisy! You are going to wake someone up!" You let him go after all, he was still lying on his bed, looking at you with confused eyes.

"As if you didn't…"

"Who have I woken up?"

"ME!"

"Oh, stop it! Anyways aren't we going?"

"Why would I come with you?"

"You should be hungry too…"

"What if I'm not?"

"Then just accompany me!"

"Oh come on (Name), just let me sleep."

"So you tell me to go by myself…" You said reluctantly, silent but clear enough for him to
hear.

"Why is that face?"

"What face?"

"You are pouting."

"No I'm no- wait it is dark here, how did you see it?"

"I didn't see, I felt…"

"Oh, really the only thing I need now is something to eat, not poetic sentences!"

"So are you going or not?" He was a bit annoyed now.

"I'll… probably last until tomorrow… I'll wait for breakfast…" You didn't confess it (you
would never confess it) but you felt uneasy about going to kitchen alone. It was… dark…

"Wow, that was a fast change…" He replied. "So you will go there if I come with you, right?" Your eyes were already used to the darkness, so you could feel the sly grin forming on his face.

"Maybeee…"
He raised an eyebrow and you accepted defeat.

"Fine, yes, I will!"

Another sigh, and he was standing up.

"What are you waiting for? Won't we eat? I already feel hungry now, some bread with jam would be nice~~~!"

You started laughing and hold his hand he offered to you. You still weren't used to his bipolar characteristics. Since both of you were "Queen's Butler"s you nearly always worked together, with Charles Phipps too, of course. You weren't so good at sword "playing" (as he would say), but you had pretty sharp eyes, as you could shoot a bird in the eye from quite a distance. You were lost in your thoughts as you heard a voice… Something, like it was getting closer but running away at the same time. You were afraid of darkness after all.

Without realizing you were still holding Charles' hand you clinged on his arm. This sudden movement surprised him so his foot steps slowed down and eventually, came to a stop.

"Did you, by any chance, hear something?" You couldn't help it but your voice trembled a bit.

"Like what?"

"Like a… sound?"

"That was pretty descriptive."

"I am not joking!"

"Neither am I."

You heard a grandfather clock's ticks and tocks from afar. No other sound other then those eerie, deep sound. You were pretty sure that was what you heard but you still weren't able to calm down.

"We wasted minutes standing there, you could be eating something to satisfy your stomach now. So~, sorry about it but…"

You were suddenly held by two strong arms, as he carried you bridal style. You were surprised, embarrassed, angry but kinda happy as deep in your heart you had a crush on him… Deep down below… Not even you, yourself realized it until now. So with crimson cheeks you started punching him on the chest.

"Hey, put me down, you pervert!"

"(Name)! Don't scream! And don't be that stubborn, please. I am doing you a favor."

Indeed he was.

"You know when I was little my grandpa always used to tease me about being a coward. And I always told him that I wasn't. But now I understand that I really was, and I really am" You said, embarrassed.

"Everybody is afraid of something. It is our feelings which makes us human. If you didn't feel anything, such as fear, shame, anxiety, pain, happiness, love… You wouldn't be a real human being, would you?"

"Again with the poetic sentences…"

"Way to ruin the mood (Name)!"

"What mood?"

"Anyway, we arrived."

As you entered the kitchen, you was surprised by the fact that the huge room was illuminated by the moonlight. You didn't need candles, it was just perfect.
Charles started walking towards the empty table, still holding you. You couldn't say you were uncomfortable (as it would be a massive lie) but you started to get free from his embrace. Like he just realized he was holding you and engulfed he literally threw you to the floor. You landed with a loud thud.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Sorry, I didn't realize…"

"What? You didn't realize you were throwing me?"

He offered you his hand. You gladly accepted it. But instead of him pulling you up, you pulled him down. Which ended up as him, on the top of you. Both of you turned crimson red, and didn't move an inch. After staring at his grey orbs for seconds, reluctantly you moved a bit under him. Like he understood what was happening just then, he jumped on his feet. He offered you his hand for the second time, which you rejected. Even though you would gladly accept such a scene for a billionth time, it would feel... awkward...

Without mentioning it he went to one of the cupboards to have some bread and told you to open the fridge for jam. As you two being the mice, you knew every inch of the kitchen.
A couple of minutes later you two were sitting on the table eating bread with strawberry, cherry, raspberry, blackberry, orange and every kind of jam you can think of.
After consuming six loaves of bread and seven jars of jam, you were finally full. So you started talking again.

"See, I told you you were hungry."

"Correction: I am ALWAYS hungry."

"Do you think they will notice?"

"We are talking about a huge kitchen with hundreds of workers and thousands of food supplies."

"And seven loaves of bre-"

"Six!"

"SIX loaves of bread and seven jars of jam."

"I don't think they will care though."

"Because you are the Earl Grey?"

"No, because we always do this. And, yeah, because I am the Earl Grey. Speaking of which,
why haven't we drunken tea?"

"Oh no!" You whined in despair. "How did I forget it?"

You stood up and started making tea for two, with the speed of light. After two minutes you were drinking Earl Grey tea as requested by the Earl Grey.

"I love the flavor of this tea. It is unique and delicious. Energetic and calm at the same time."

"Just like me don't you think so?"

"Oh, don't be flattered. You have differences as well~" You let out a quite laugh.

"Like what?"

"I love tea more than I love humans."

"Come on (Name)! Don't tell me you would prefer a drink with my name on it to me, myself!"

"Just because you have your name on a tea doesn't make you as lovable as a drink." You stayed silent for a moment to think about how to answer his statement. "I can't make a choice between you and tea because, um… Hah! I know how it tastes like, but I don't know how you taste like!"

Immediately after you said this, you felt the enormous mistake you made.

I don't know how you taste like? That was smooth my friend.

He didn't answer for a while. Thinking about what to say. Well, actually what you said was practically a confess. You were as red as the blackberry jam you have eaten a couple of minutes ago. Your brain was thinking fast, predicting what he would say. None of you predictions ended happily. You stood there as dumbfounded as him. Something tied your tongue which kept you from changing the subject.

Probably only three seconds later you said that (it was years to you), he leaned closer to you and pressed his lips against yours. Your eyes grew wider as your tried to understand what was happening. After realizing he was kissing you, (Charles Grey, your best friend, your crush, that handsome man, was kissing you) you decided to make a move too. You closed your eyes and let your hands wander through his shoulders, while pulling him closer to you. As he deepened the kiss, you tasted the Earl Grey. He either really tasted like the tea he had his name on it, or what you were tasting was what he has drunken before (which would make perfect sense but you still wanted to believe that he tasted like it)

You both pulled back at the same time, because of oxygen every living being needed.

Damn you oxygen! You cursed inside.

Then you noticed two grey orbs observing you.

"So, which one would you prefer, after tasting both?"

"Hmm~~… I don't know, I didn't get the aroma much on the second one, I suppose." You replied with a huge grin on your face.

"I will definitely get my answer in the end, and you know that…"

~~~~~~~~EXTENDED ENDING~~~~~~~~

Kitchen staff, talking about a mystery happened in the kitchen, over the night:

"Hey, we had 20 loaves of bread, didn't we?"

"Yes, they arrived yesterday. What happened?"

"There are only 14 left!"

"That's impossible. No one can that much over the night!"

"And I can't seem to find all of 30 jars of jam too!"

"How many left?"

"21, 22, 23… 23."

"Who could have eaten that much? I think you can't look properly!"

"Well, I suppose we both know the answer to 'Who?'…"

"Oh, no! Again?! That's the fifth time this month!"

"What will you do?"

"Order ten loaves of bread along with ten jars of jam."

"Won't you warn them?"

"Like they'd listen to me. Both of them are really stubborn ya' know."