<span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><span style="font-size: 15px">Sebastian carefully did not bring attention to Ayaan moving the blanket over his lap, though Sebastian wasn't a stupid or naive man. He could guess what Ayaan's sudden blush and need to hide himself meant. But he didn't want to send the boy running from his forwardness like he had the night before. He did keep his hand covering Ayaan's own; he couldn't bring himself to pull away, especially when Ayaan seemed to like it, even if it was in spite of his better judgement. <br/>
<br/>
Sebastian exhaled slowly at Ayaan's efforts to explain away his own exhaustion. And while he had to no doubt that Ayaan's late night and early morning had contributed to his passing out, it wasn't the sole cause of it, and Sebastian struggled with how to respond. A large part of him wanted to tell Ayaan everything and urge him to runaway with him right away. But he knew Ayaan wasn't ready for that, and having him tattle to Lydia was sure to ruin all of Sebastian's plans. So, he held his tongue and casted around in his mind to find someway to respond that didn't feel like a terrible lie. <br/>
<br/>
Luckily, he was saved from having to say anything by Ayaan's simple question. <br/>
<br/>
"Why are you so kind to me?" His expression was so open and confused, so achingly sweet, it made Sebastian's chest hurt. He would almost rather try to respond to Ayaan's futile attempts to explain away his incident; Sebastian was almost less sure of how to answer this question than he had been before. <br/>
<br/>
He sighed and glanced down, using the hand that wasn't covering Ayaan's own to pick at the blanket thoughtfully. Sebastian shrugged a little, glancing back up at Ayaan with his signature tiny smile. "I have not met someone like you in all my years, Ayaan. Anyone can see in your eyes and in your demeanor that you have a pure heart. It would take someone particularly cruel to treat you like anything less than a prince."<br/>
<br/>
To Sebastian, honesty was almost always the best policy. </span></span>