"Oh, you must be that precious Finny that Bard was telling me about," you said with a smile as you stared at the blond youth. He was so cute and innocent; just to your liking.

"Uh-Uhm, miss..." Finny said, clearly staring at your scandalously low shirt.

"Yes?" you drawled, smiling sweetly at the young man, who immediately realized where he was staring and quickly directed his bright turquoise eyes back to your face, a bright blush gathering on his cheeks.

"It's nothing! Oh, I'm so stupid! You must want to come inside and meet the young master!" You giggled softly.

"No," you said, walking closer to Finny. "I just wanted to see my future husband~"

"Future husband? Who's that?" he asked with shining eyes, and you walked even closer, drawing your mouth by his ear.

"You, silly."

"E-Eh?" Finny asked, his face flushing a new shade of red. "W-We just met, miss!"

"I know~" you replied, kissing his cheek. "But you're such a sight for sore eyes, and I have to say I really like you, Finny..."

"Finny! We ain't got all day!" Bard shouted, bursting out the side door. "Sebastian'll yell at us again if we don't pick up the pace!"

"Right!" Finny exclaimed, and you had already turned your back to walk away to leave Finny to his work. You had only come to introduce yourself to the gardener; you didn't want to get him in trouble. Well, not that kind of trouble. "Wait!"

You turned back to look at him.

"What's your name?" You grinned.

"F/N L/N. Call me whatever you like, my darling~"

<><><>

"Hmm~ This is a surprise," you hummed as you opened your door to find Finny on the other side. He was blushing quite profusely. "And how did you wind up here, lost little lamb~?"

"This," Finny said, bowing and holding, in the center of his palms, a button from your shirt. "You left this at the manor." You chuckled as you plucked the button from his palms.

"You really are too precious, darling," you said, placing a quick kiss on his forehead. "Come in; I'll make you some tea; it's cold out."

"I really think I should go back, Miss F/N," Finny said nervously.

"Really? How long did your superior give you?" you asked with a tilt of your head.

"That's..." You smirked, knowing you'd caught him.

"Come in," you repeated, softly chuckling to yourself again as you put the kettle on, and the youth nervously walked in the house. Truth be told, this situation was ideal for you; no one else was home except you, and now Finny had walked straight to you, but you weren't that forward. Or were you~?

"Miss F/N, you're Bard's friend, right?" Finny asked, and I nodded. "What'd he tell you about me?" You smiled at the teen.

"Oh, little things..." you replied, setting a cup in front of him and taking the seat closest to him, your mouth curled into an idle smirk. He really was such a cute guy, with his expressive eyes and boyish face. Really, Bard hadn't talked much about Finny; he'd talked a lot more about what a slavedriver his boss was. But a few things he'd said caught your attention.

"I-I'm not really looking for a wife! I'm just helping look after the young master!"

"You wound me, Finny," you said with a pout. "I went out of my way to come see you, and I made such a scene; aren't I attractive?"

"No, no, no, it's not that!" Finny protested with such honest fervor that you found yourself touched once again by his earnest behavior. "You're really pretty, Miss F/N, and I mean it." You chuckled.

"Thank you, Finny," you replied.

"But... I'm really dumb and I'm always getting yelled at because I mess up so much; you don't want me, Miss F/N."

"I beg to differ," you replied, lacing your fingers carefully through his, and a blush formed on his cheeks yet again. He opened his mouth for a response when the door opened to reveal your older brother, who glared at Finny.

"F/N, you remember what Father said," your brother growled, taking your arm and yanking you up out of your seat, making you wince, and you pulled your arm forcibly out of his grip, glaring at him.

"I remember just fine," you spat coldly, and Finny stared between you, his eyes worried.

"Get out," your brother told Finny, pushing him, and you slapped his arm.

"Don't bring him into this," you snarled, making him grab your collar. His breath reeked of tobacco and alcohol—like father, like son.

"I am warning you for the last time," he growled. "Use your good-for-nothing self for something useful. Either get one of the Queen's sons, or don't bother coming home." He shoved you, and your back slammed against the wall, but apparently he wasn't done yet, not this time. Your brother took his arm and held it against your neck, very nearly cutting off your air. "Got it? I can get rid of the family burden any time. Father might be a little angry at first, but I'm sure he won't miss you."

"Hey, that's enough!" Finny shouted.

"Piss off, boy; this is a family matter," your brother barked, and you glanced over at Finny, silently telling him you were fine and that he could leave. It was okay; this was normal.

Except it wasn't okay.

You could barely move, and your breath was growing shallow. You were beginning to suspect your brother was just going to kill you.

That was, until Finny grabbed the arm choking you, and your brother howled.

"What the hell is with your hands?!" he yelled, and air returned to your lungs as Finny forced the arm away from your throat.

"I don't know what's going on with your family, but I said to stop," Finny said his voice noticeably lower, although his eyes were the most frightening. He'd killed before.

"Let go; you're crushing my arm!"

"You could have killed her." You heard something snap, and your brother screamed. How strong was he? But... you felt no inclination to stop Finny. Even if you would get your own bones broken later for it, it was worth it.

"Why do you care?" your brother asked, nursing his likely broken arm as Finny finally let go.

"I don't like seeing what I don't like seeing," Finny answered.

"You'll regret this," your brother said with a snarl before storming out, and after that, you could only look at Finny, whose demeanor almost immediately changed, and he moved his hand behind his head, nervously scratching.

"Sorry, Miss F/N. I just kind-of snapped a bit there... I didn't really mean to hurt him, I jus—" You interrupted the youth with a quick kiss on the lips before leaning your forehead against his.

"Thank you, Finny; you are really too kind," you murmured before you kissed his cheek.

"I uhhh, I'd better go," Finny said, his face red again.

"Of course; I'm sure you have work to do," you replied with a smile, sending him off with a wave.

<><><>

"Finny?" you asked, surprised to find the youth on the other side of your door yet again. He was panting slightly, and he took a slight glance behind you.

"Sorry, just wanted to make sure..."

"I was alone?" you asked suggestively, although it seemed as if your tone hadn't gotten to him, unfortunately. He nodded.

"Do you mind... telling me what that was about yesterday?" You paused for a moment and then invited him in again.

"Well, simplest explanation, I'm the daughter that isn't of any use in the family, and they want me to marry into the royal household for money. They tell me to do anything necessary, and for a while, I was going to sell my soul to the devil..." You smiled. "But I met you and Bard, and I decided I didn't want to get married for my family."

"That guy almost killed you for money?" Finny asked quietly, and you saw his fingernails dig into the table. "I hate people like that. What's so special about money?"

"Well, it can buy you a lot of nice things," you said with a tired sigh, absently stirring your tea. "Although it's not like those nice things can ever make up for the things you sacrificed to make it." You paused, realizing your mind had wandered to a much darker place. "But what brings you here? Did you want a bit more of a reward for saving me? Because I'm willing to oblige~"

Again, Finny didn't seem to get what you were hinting at. God, how innocent was he?!

"Actually...I was wondering if you'd...like a job," Finny ended on a quiet note, and you looked at him strangely.

"A job?" you asked, confused.

"I-I asked the master if we could bring in another maid at the manor, and he said yes!" Finny replied. "Will you come work with us? Please?"

You didn't know what to say—a serving job under a house as famous as the Phantomhives was promising. It was certainly better than marrying someone you didn't care about whatsoever, and Finny was strong, so he would protect you—

No, you're taking advantage of him again. What are you thinking, F/N? Dragging him into this?

"It's...incredibly kind of you, Finny, but I can't accept," you replied, and Finny's expression turned crestfallen. God, that face killed you!

"Why not? I don't think anyone would mind, and Mr. Sebastian's really not that mean unless you mess up... And Bard's there, and you'd have Mey-rin too!"

Stop looking at me like that! you thought as you stared at Finny's pleading expression.

"I...just can't, and that's all there is," you replied, looking away.

"I'm sorry!" Finny apologized, and you looked up, startled as his eyes shone with tears. "It's because I scared you yesterday, isn't it? You must think I'm a monster!"

"No, no," you refuted, trying to console him, but he was already crying. "Okay, okay, I'll be a maid, okay? No more crying. Okay, stop cry—oof," you wheezed as Finny crushed you in a hug, almost hurting but not quite.

"Yay!"

"Ow, ow, ow, Finny, could you loosen that hug up please, thank you." Finny then apologized repeatedly for nearly crushing your ribs.

"But I'm so happy!"

"That you'll be my husband?" you teased, and you got his face to turn red again.

"U-Uh, let's get to know each other better first before that..."

"Of course~"