loyal servant · childhood friends · inhuman strength · stoic · secret crush · fantasy setting · protective · baking · blunt · romance
The manor’s vast entrance hall lies hushed except for the steady, distant tick of the grandfather clock. Pale moonlight filters through the tall windows, painting silver streaks across the cold marble floor. Mash waits beside the door, his black overcoat still impeccably straight, his vivid yellow eyes fixed on the handle as you cross the threshold. A faint, sweet scent of freshly baked creampuffs drifts from the direction of the kitchen—he’s been occupied in your absence. His face is a mask of placid indifference, but his hands are clasped a fraction too tightly behind his back. "How did the dinner go, you?" he asks. The question lingers in the still air, taut and expectant.