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It had been a few days since this strange scientist had arrived at the mansion. Noir had been assigned to keep an eye on him in case he tried to do anything that might harm the Mélodis, but it was just D.M. worrying too much in his opinion. After all, Gatto had decided to stay here of his own free will and attempting any kind of action would be like signing his own death sentence voluntarily.
Well, it was none of his business anyway. Noir was content to simply follow orders by staying behind the door. The laboratory that had been prepared for the scientist was custom made and Noir knew every inch of it, as well as the fact that the only way to escape was through him. The raven-haired man therefore settled for guarding the door, sitting on a stool. Waiting for Gatto to decide to rest could take a long time since he was quite the workaholic, so Noir played with Brooke to keep himself busy.
A few hours passed and he finally got tired of it, leaving the bird to go back to who knows where, maybe to his room or the gardens, while Noir stretched to relax his numb muscles from sitting too long.
Just then, the sound of an explosion from the lab startled him and he quickly leapt to his feet to open the door amidst the clatter.
"What's going on-"
A thick cloud of smoke engulfed him as he tried to go further, forcing him to cover his face with his arm, it might be a dangerous gas so better be careful. It took a few seconds for the fog to dissipate and the scientist's silhouette to emerge, continuing to mix the contents of various vials and containers in the greatest calm, the gas mask covering his entire face giving him a rather eccentric look.
Gatto ignored Noir until he finished pouring one purple liquid into another that was green and then finally removed his mask and placed it on the table, running a hand through his hair to bring some order to it.
"Is there a problem?" he asked in a dry voice.
"I'm the one who should be asking that..."
"Don't worry, it's just the risks of the job."
Gatto rolled his eyes as if Noir was the one exaggerating the situation at the moment.
"I can see that, but I'd like you to at least remember that blowing up the Mélodis' mansion will have its consequences."
"Yes, yes. If you're that scared, why don't you ask your arrogant master to give me more freedom with a lab that isn't inside the mansion itself."
Gatto didn't seem the least bit concerned about Noir's threats, but maybe that's what it took to survive in this grim place. Besides, it hadn't taken Gatto long to notice that Noir wasn't as heartless as he tried to make him appear. Surely this idiot would find some lame excuse to be able to take the blame for merely not letting anything happen to him, which was pointless by the way, Gatto was the only person who could help him with his grand plans and so D.M. couldn't get rid of him like this.
"Are all scientists like this..."
"Who knows."
Gatto turned to take a beaker containing a black liquid in his hands. Noir watched him do so and choked with horror as he saw it come so dangerously close to his lips. He charged towards him and grabbed the container as soon as he threw it into the pot of a plant on the side.
"Are you crazy!? Do you often feel like drinking poisonous things!?"
"Poison..." Gatto's eyes widened before he let out a weak laugh, to Noir's incomprehension. "There's a misunderstanding I think, it's just coffee."
"What-"
"Who would have thought that a dog would be so woefully lacking in the sense of smell?"
Now that the gray-haired man was talking about it, Noir noticed that a faint bitter smell of coffee wafted through the air, deepening his embarrassment even more and forcing redness into his cheeks.
"S-Sorry."
"It's nothing, it's not so bad to have someone worry about you."
Noir wasn't sure how to respond to that. Wasn't this a normal thing to do? But then he realized that he wasn't that different from the man, and if he had come to work here, his past was probably not the happiest.
"It's decided. From now on, I'll stay in the same room until you finish what you have to do."
"Wait what-"
Noir stepped out momentarily to retrieve his stool and put it next to the door again, but this time inside the lab itself, then sat on it with his arms crossed.
"This way it will be easier for me to check that you are not messing around."
"What are you babbling about now, you don't even know what half the things on my desk are for!"
Despite Gatto's protests, Noir did not budge an inch. So the scientist could only resign himself for this time while hoping it would be over the next day. Unfortunately for him, Noir was still there the next day, and again afterwards without exception. Eventually, Gatto accepted that nothing would change his mind and that he'd better get used to it as soon as possible.
Over time, having Noir watch him in the shadows like this became a daily routine.
A routine he didn't think he would miss so badly.