"SEBASTIAN."
The black-haired demon winced slightly at the sound of his name, the only indicator he gave toward the stress buried under his stoic exterior. Sebastian Michaelis was the ideal model of Victorian etiquette, an expert at smoothing over awkward situations and hiding his own emotions. There was only one thing in his life he couldn't smooth over: the rough patches of his relationship with Maria Lavette.
Nonetheless, Sebastian fixed his hair and his suit as he made his way through the house toward the source of the voice, arranging his face into a serene mask. "Yes, my dear?" he called, clear and well-spoken as always.
Sebastian entered the study and found Maria there. Files and papers had been torn from drawers and shelves and strewn across the room. Maria stood beside the great oak desk under the window, glaring at him with her hands on her hips in a way that struck fear into the heart of even a soulless demon. Her long blonde hair had been mussed and disheveled out of its bun. "What happened to my letter, Sebastian?" she asked, her voice dangerously quiet.
Sebastian suppressed a shudder as he realized what she must be angry about. He had gone on a cleaning spree the previous day. It was possible he had been a bit too thorough with Maria's belongings in his enthusiasm. "Did you check your letter drawer?" he asked, referring to the place where she usually stowed her mail.
"Yes, I did. But I distinctly remember NOT putting it in my letter drawer, because it was a very important letter that was quite different from the rest." She took a step towards Sebastian, her face darkening with rage. "Would you care to hear just how important and different it was? It was a LETTER from the QUEEN. Inviting ME to a DINNER PARTY THIS MONTH." Maria had closed in on Sebastian, her beautiful, murderous face now inches from his.
Sebastian gulped. "How lovely," he managed to say. "What is the dinner party for?"
"IT DOESN'T MATTER NOW!" Maria finally yelled, balling her hands into fists at her sides. "I highly doubt I'll be able to get in without that invitation! Hell, I don't even remember the date!"
Sebastian felt sweat beading on his forehead. He wanted to tuck tail and run for the hills, but he stood his ground. "Certainly you will still be admitted," he tried, barely maintaining the calm in his voice. "The Queen knows you, and you have connections that would make a society lady green with envy."
"NONE OF THAT MATTERS! It is HIGHLY informal and unprofessional to show up without an invitation. YOU of all people should know that." Maria stalked away from him, kicking the drifts of paper as she went. Sebastian cringed at the disarray.
Maria suddenly whirled around again before she reached the back wall. "You still haven't answered my question. Where is it? You're doing that thing where you avoid answering questions. You know how much that pisses me off."
"Maria." Sebastian took a deep breath to steady himself. "I was only trying to-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU WERE TRYING!" Maria screamed, throwing her hands in the air. "You're STILL not answering the question! God. You always have to be so in control, so smooth and calm, so proper and gentlemanly. I'm sick and tired of it, Sebastian! Show some real EMOTION for once!" With one great sweep of her arm, she threw all the papers laying on the desk into the air so they fluttered around the room in a loud, flapping snowstorm. "I know you were in here organizing yesterday. Which REALLY means you were throwing out my things and disrespecting my property. Well, I hope you like the way I'm RE-organizing. I like it better this way!" She skipped across the room and kicked a mountain of papers toward Sebastian, sending them into a hurricane. "It has CHARACTER."
Maria's tirade hadn't angered or scared Sebastian. He stood impassive as a statue in the blizzard of loose papers. He was silent for a few moments, the sound of fluttering paper filling the room. Maria stood glowering at him. As the sheets of paper settled, Sebastian spoke. "I must have accidentally discarded the letter while cleaning yesterday," he said, his voice low and emotionless. "My sincerest apologies, Maria." He lowered his head in a small bow, butler that he was, before turning and leaving the room.
Maria did not speak or stop him. He didn't look back as he made his way to the back door and exited the house.
Sebastian and Maria shared a small home in the countryside on the outskirts of London. They had bought the house a few years earlier after completing their contracts with their previous master and mistress, Ciel Phantomhive and Alice Blackmoor. Instead of immediately returning to the demon realm, they had decided to remain near London in their human forms. Both demons had grown fond of the city, and weren't ready to leave it just yet. They planned to also travel the world together for many years before even considering going back to their own realm.
The house they owned was a small but fine country home with about an acre of land. Sebastian walked into the wooded area that occupied most of their backyard. A little path meandered through the trees and led to a small pond. Sebastian seated himself on a bench they had placed there facing the water. He gazed into the murky greenish pond, watching fish and tadpoles swim beneath the surface. He and Maria had spent many afternoons here doing nothing but talking and laughing and enjoying the private scenary. Sebastian sighed. He and Maria argued often, but it rarely escalated into such a big fight. He could still hear her words ringing in his head. I'm sick and tired of it, Sebastian! Show some real EMOTION for once! His stomach tightened, tying itself into a knot. If only Maria knew the magnitude of the emotion he was currently feeling. He wasn't a dramatically emotional person; even before entering the world of Victorian manners, he had never been one to put his feelings on display for all to see. But that didn't mean he wasn't emotional. He had been through much pain and sorrow in his early years. He had learned to cloak it all in an unreadable exterior, becoming a dangerous demon who delighted in the art of choosing souls fit for his consumption.
But then he met Maria. They had found each other unexpectedly, their young master and mistress running into each other on a shared mission for the queen. As Ciel and Alice became close friends, their demon servants grew closer too, eventually forming a relationship. Sebastian knew Maria was the one for him. She would be his soul mate, if only demons had souls. But they hadn't yet tied the knot, deciding to see how living together for a few years went.
Sebastian feared that living together was proving to have more negatives than positives. After this fight, he didn't know what their relationship would be like. But he knew he wanted to marry Maria. He loved her with all his heart and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of eternity with her. She was moody, easily irritated, difficult to please, sarcastic, headstrong, and often came off as cold. But she was also brave, strong, outspoken, sensitive, intelligent, and insightful. She could be a sweetheart, when she wanted to. Sebastian smiled to himself as he gazed into the water. Maria was a beautiful woman, and a beautiful demon too. And what a great lover she was. Sebastian had never had such amazing-
"Sebastian?" The demon was roused from his reverie by the sound of Maria's voice. Her tone was much different from the last time he heard it. It was hesitant, tentative, and almost fearful. Sebastian looked up to see Maria making her way around the pond towards him.
She paused a few feet away from the bench. Her expression had greatly changed, too: she now looked tired and a bit sad. "It's quite a nice day," she remarked, the corner of her mouth pulling up into a smile.
Sebastian smiled back, relieved and happy to see she was no longer angry. "It is a very nice day," he agreed, sliding over and patting the space beside him on the bench.
Maria joined him, taking a seat and gazing at the water like he was. After a few minutes she took a deep breath and turned to face him. "Sebastian, I want to apologize for my comments. You're not emotionless; you're a sensitive and loving man, and I'm sorry. I'm also sorry for making a mess of the study. I know how you hate messes."
"Oh, Maria," Sebastian said. "There is no need to apologize. I know you didn't mean it. I don't blame you for being angry with me. I'll never forgive myself for losing your invitation! It was my fault."
"Sebastian, don't say that." Maria slid closer to him and reached out, laying a hand on his arm. "I'm sure we can find it. Hell, we could make a fake! We're demons. We can do anything."
"But I lost it..."
"It's okay." Maria wrapped both her arms around him. "I forgive you."
Sebastian slowly returned the embrace and held her there, remaining silent for a few moments. But then, in a strange tone of voice, he said, "I think I found your invitation."
Maria pulled back, confused. Sebastian pointed to something behind her and over her head. She looked in the direction he indicated and saw a crumpled wad of paper nestled in the crook of a tree branch. She looked back to Sebastian, confusion and annoyance clouding her expression, before rising and walking over to retrieve the paper. She uncrumpled it from the ball it had been crushed into. Sure enough, it was the Queen's invitation to dinner.
She glanced up at Sebastian again, her face growing steadily more angry. "Sebastian...how did it get out here? This is so weird! What are you playing at?"
He didn't answer. He remained still on the bench, a faint smile fixed on his face.
Maria looked down to the invitation again...and suddenly it wasn't an invitation anymore. It was a piece of paper with a single sentence written in the exact center in Sebastian's neat hand.
Maria, will you marry me?
Maria stared at the words, blinking. She looked at Sebastian, and then at the paper. She looked at Sebastian again. He hadn't moved a muscle, that mischievous half-grin still in place.
Maria made her way back to him, letting the paper drift to the ground. Her expression was impassive, impossible to read. Sebastian stood and opened his arms, ready for the embrace she would surely give him. But when Maria reached him, she reached out to push him right into the pond.
Sebastian fell into the water, flailing and splashing and spluttering loudly. He had been completely unprepared for Maria's reaction. He ended up on his bottom in the shallow water, black hair plastered over his eyes. Panic gripped him as the water settled and he pushed the hair back from his face. Maria was angry with him, and she would reject his proposal. Maybe she would leave him.
But his lover surprised him yet again. She was doubled over with laughter at the edge of the pond. Wiping a tear of mirth from her eye, she looked at Sebastian sitting soaked in the middle of the pond with an expression of shock on his face. "Sebastian, you idiot!" she cried. She erupted into laughter again, and suddenly jumped into the pond with him.
She wrapped her arms around him, both soaked to the bone in the midst of the sloshing water. "Yes!" she declared. "Of course I'll marry you!"
Sebastian laughed with relief, all the tension and panic melting away. He held Maria close to him and kissed her.
"That was a dirty trick, though," she said when they broke the kiss. "Making me think I was invited to a royal dinner party! There is no dinner party, is there?"
Sebastian grinned. "Actually, there is." He pointed over her shoulder again. There, laying safe and dry on the bench, was another document. "I had been planning to propose to you for a while, but I couldn't think of a way to do it. When I saw this in the mail, it gave me the idea. That's the real invitation. The one you had was a fake."
Maria shoved Sebastian, but it was half-hearted, and she was laughing again. "Oh my god! You ass."
Sebastian smiled sheepishly. "I suppose I should have thought of a better way to propose?"
"No." Maria looked at him, a true smile lighting her face. "It was perfect." She wrapped her arms around him again, kissing him long and passionately.