List of Materials

Summary: Finny screws up another of his jobs in the garden. With Sebastian holding his tongue on reprimanding the boy, the butler finds another way to motivate him to do his work correctly and eagerly. [SebastianxFinny]

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"I'M SO SORRY MR. SEBASATIAN!!!!" Finny apologized for the third time, deeply bowing repeatedly with wet eyes. Finnian, the Phantomhive's gardener, had committed the mistake of killing not only the weeds but the growing grass Sebastian had just finished tending to a few days following Finny's previous mishap.

The Phantomhive's butler, Sebastian Michaelis, sighed while massaging his temples, muttering constant 'Why did this happen so quickly?' or 'How can he screw up with pulling out weeds?' Considering it best to let it pass – as if he already didn't, Sebastian brought a plastered smile on his face, trying very hard to prevent himself from twitching evidently. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it," he said. 'Again…' he added in afterthought.

Finny looked up apprehensively at the butler. "But, Mr. Sebastian…!" the gardener began to protest.

Sebastian, however, was surveying the garden before an idea came to him, pulling out a notepad and pen, scribbling out a short list of materials before ripping the paper from the pad and handed it to Finny. "Get these things for me. We'll work on things this afternoon while the young master is having his lessons," he instructed.

"Sebastian, where are you?" Ciel called out from the open window of his study.

Glancing to the window overhead, Sebastian chuckled. "Speaking of the young master…" the butler muttered out. Turning to Finny, Sebastian nodded. "I'm counting on you, Finny," he said before swiftly moving back into the mansion.

"Alright!!" Finny replied enthusiastically. Waiting until Sebastian was out of sight, the gardener stared down at the piece of paper he was given and was genuinely surprised to not just see a list of materials for the garden – shovels, seeds, watering cans and the usual – but a message scribbled on the bottom.

'Keep your focus while you work. Don't rush and you'll get the job done. – Sebastian'

Grinning to himself and pressed the paper to his chest, Finny jumped in place. "Mr. Sebastian does care~~" he said in excitement, neatly folding up the paper and slipped it into his pants pocket. Immediately after, he nodded to himself. "Time to get to work~" he cheered, heading off to the store.

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Later that afternoon, Sebastian stepped out into the garden and saw the pile of materials he had asked Finny to get and to his surprise, spotted the boy working diligently at one corner of the garden, seemingly muttering to himself as he planted the seeds individually with care.

'Well, isn't this a rare sight…' Sebastian thought to himself with a chuckle as he approached the gardener. "Finny."

Finny stopped in his work and turned around to the butler as he quickly got to his feet. "Sorry for starting without you, Mr. Sebastian!!" he apologized with a bow.

"No, go ahead. Keep at it," Sebastian coaxed with a smile, patting Finny on the head. "You're doing a fine job, Finny."

His cheeks blushing red the shade of a tomato, Finny beamed before saluting. "Ay ay, Mr. Sebastian!!" he cried out before returning to his job eagerly, humming a song as he did so.

'Looks like all it took was calm reassurance and encouragement… I should have done that with him months ago…' Sebastian said in realization.

Since then, Sebastian had less trouble with Finny tending to the garden, who single-handedly actually made it return to its lush green of beauty.

OWARI

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There you have it. Reviews are much appreciated!