"Are you going to sleep all day, Lydia?" I started awake at the firm tone. I blinked a bit and then squeezed my eyes shut with a hiss as the lights in my room were flicked on. I groaned and burried my head in the pillows.
"Fuck off," I slurred. There was a moment of sweet, sweet silence, and I started to drift off again; then, the sheets were rudely and aggressively pulled off of me. I yelped and flailed into empty, cold, crisp air. Sputtering curses, I opened my eyes and tried to blink away the fuzziness to confirm my suspicion of the suspect: indeed, it was Sebastain. Who else would it be, after all, other than my demonic sorta-but-not-really-soul-mate? I fixed a glare on him and huffed out a sigh.
"I don't know why you're looking at me like that, I'm doing you a favor," he gave a smug grin. "It's time you wake up and get ready for class." He waved his hand in a dismissive manner that made me grind my teeth.
"I have an alarm for that," I growled out. I stood and grabbed at the sheets still held in his hands. After a defiant glare and extra tug, he let me have them back. "What bloody time is it?"
"It's six in the morning," he answered smoothly. My initial fury gone, I paused to look him over. He was dressed differently today; for whatever reason, the normal plain long-sleeved shirts he always wore were abscent, and he was wearing a black t-shirt over which a fashionable jacket was perfectly set instead. His hair was perfect, like always, but seemed a little more disheveled, somehow, in a sexy kind of mess. At least his pants, a pair of what were probably designer jeans, were the same as always.
"What's with the new look?" I asked wearily.
"Do you like it?" He only smirked back. My face heated a little and I covered myself with sheets; even though I hadn't given sleeping in my underwear a second thought, I felt very vulnerable all of a sudden.
"Do you care?" I mumbled. His smirk widened.
"Of course I do, I picked it out just for you." My face heated even more.
"That's pretty fucked up of you."
"Is there a problem, Lydia?"
"You know, I'm not gonna be right for a week. This is cruel. Not fair to do to a sensitive lady like me."
"Ah, I see. Afraid you will have trouble concentrating in your classes?"
"Is that a designer jacket?"
"I'm afraid I don't think your eyes are the only ones I'll catch, sadly," he teased. All of a sudden, my blood was boiling.
"Listen up, you vindictive little shit," I seethed. He looked rather amused. "I swear, if you go off and flirt with everyone else just to make me jealous – "
"You'll what?" He leaned in, eyes shining with mirth at what must have been a very comical sight to him. "Hurt me? You haven't even managed to do that at all, yet."
"So help me, I will sleep with every pathetic human I find to get back at you!" Now, his eyes narrowed.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Would you want to bet on it?" I narrowed my eyes back.
"We haven't even completed the mateship yet and you'd dare to bring another into your bed?" Our faces were so close I could feel the heat of his breath.
"It's not like I'm a virgin as it is," I snorted.
"That was before, this is now, it's different," he frowned back.
"I don't have class until noon, why don't we settle this now, then?" My lips curled into a grin, and Sebastian's face twisted into confusion for a second before his eyes flashed with understanding and his gaze hardened.
"We couldn't if I wanted to."
"Then when? Because I'm starting to get antsy over here."
"You didn't even have to sit and feel your dreams all night, you probably don't even remember them. Don't you dare tell me about feeling antsy."
"A sex dream? You're right, I don't remember, was it a good one?"
"You've no idea."
"It's pretty hot thinking of you getting all bothered like that, you know. I wonder how bothered you really got."
"I would never -!"
"Hah! That's right! The demon who finds masturbation obscene. How quaint."
"I think before not too long you'll find out my talents require more than one person." The way he said it, the soft lilt of his voice, the way his cold gaze fixed in all seriousness on me, made me burst out in giggles before throwing my head back in laughter.
"Ah, right, Sebastian, erm, Astaroth. I'll hold you to that." My finger caught the bottom of his chin and I planted a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. "I do like the outfit. It looks good on you." With that, I slid out of bed and to my closet to rifle through the clothing until I pulled out a change of clothing. I gave one last glance at Sebastian, who was looking confused at my sudden change in mood (poor thing looked like he had a glitch and needed to reboot) before I stepped into the bathroom for a long, hot shower.
When I emerged, Sebastian seemed to have recovered and was back to work at my kitchen table. He was translating some god-awful looking language from a picture of a stone tablet that he had found somewhere online. Even looking at the seemingly random lines and curves that covered the slab of earth made my head swim, yet Sebastian seemed to be gleaning a whole lot from them as he scribbled.
"Make any progress?" I asked. I grabbed a muffin from the fridge and hovered over his shoulder.
"I'm not sure yet," he answered, not bothering to look up. "I was asked to translate this last night before I came over."
"You're not done with it yet?" I mock-scolded.
"I had to learn ancient Sumerian last night, it was not a language with which I was overly familiar."
"Ah, I see." I paused to watch him a little more before I set my muffin down and draped myself over him. He stiffened and froze underneath me. "Although, I need to borrow my laptop back for a moment," I breathed into his ear. Though I didn't see anything, I could have sworn that I sensed a sort of other-worldly shiver run through him, as if it happened beyond his body. He didn't stop me as my fingers ghosted over the keys and I quickly clicked out the command for a new tab in the browser.
"Let's see," I hummed. I settled my chin on his shoulder, and he seemed to let out some of the tension as he saw what I was doing. "A… S… T… A… " I breathed to myself as I typed.
"You won't find much about me." His voice was like woven silk so close to my ear.
"Anything at all is more than I know," I sighed back. I hit enter as I finished typing and in just a moment the search results were loaded. My cursor hovered over a link for half a moment before I clicked it. "Let's see… ah, a Duke of Hell… considered an archdemon?" I waited for naysaying, though there was none. "Hmm… great and strong… I agree with that." This time, as I whispered, I was sure there was a kind of shudder of energy. "The form of a foul angel who sits upon a dragon and bears a viper…?" This time, he did speak up.
"That's rather fanciful of them to think, such things as dragons. And I've never fancied myself much of a snake charmer, though I did have some experience in the past."
"Foul angel, though…? Do you have wings…?" I asked. I couldn't contain the excitement bubbling up.
"I do."
"I bet they're beautiful, as black as the pit of your being and strong," I whispered. "I can't wait to see them." I drummed my hands overtop his for a moment before I continued reading. "He seduces by means of laziness and vanity… ah, some of my favorite vices… and teaches mathematical sciences and handiworks. How very accurate of them." I shifted at the energy leeching off of him. Clicking back out to the search results, I found another page. "You have legions? I see. This says you are the teacher of not only mortals, but other demons, as well. I think this is surprisingly accurate." I draped over his arms with my own, and a disgrungled growl of annoyance rumbled from his chest.
"It behooves you not to tease me like this." He said it as a statement of fact.
"Probably," I snorted.
"Besides, don't forget that old saying, 'you are not your job.' I'd say you still don't know all that much about me, even if all of that is true." He shook his head and promptly stood, leaving me to slid off of him ungracefully and topple onto the chair. "I have things to do, I'm leaving to take this back to Ciel and Phenex," he announced as he gathered his papers. "Don't forget that you have your training this afternoon like always."
"Oh. Okay," I could only say. I tried to transition to sitting in the chair smoothly, as if I had totally done that on purpose, although the sassy glance Sebastian shot me told me he knew I hadn't. I coughed into my hand and ignored the heat spreading over my face. "Yeah, I'll be there. Sebastian?" He paused and turned with an face that spelled mild annoyance at having to stop. I frowned and his expression softened again.
"Yes, Lydia?"
"Be careful at practice today, I'm gonna kick your ass." His lips curled into a grin and he tilted his head forwards a little.
"I look forwards to it."
