Friend? That wasn't how it was supposed to go, was it? No. It wasn't, and Ash couldn't help but pout as he pondered the thought. No one else had ever called him a friend. He'd never had a friend before. Didn't know how they worked. Maybe Claude was just doing it to help him settle in and then later on he'd go back on his word. Yes, that was exactly what it was.
Upon seeing the room, Ash couldn't help but let his eyes go wide and jaw drop a fraction. The places he'd served in before were nice, but never this nice. Everything seemed too expensive and he didn't want to touch or sit on anything in case he broke something. He'd probably have to clean the room of course, he knew he would just have to be extra careful. He glanced to Claude when he was told to sit where ever. Why was he being so nice? It put Ash on guard more then he had thought. Sitting on such nice furniture felt wrong for someone of his status, "I-" He hesitated, not sure whether to answer or not, "Are you sure? S-" No, not sir, he was told not to call him that, "… Claude?"
Claude crossed the room and eyed the sofa. That seemed like a good place for Ash to sleep, right? Comfortable, but not enough to make anyone who knew of it suspicious that he was being too nice to the boy. A safe balance.
"Of course I'm sure." Claude glanced back at Ash, his brow furrowed slightly— until it dawned on him that there was a good chance Ash wasn't allowed to sit on furniture in the past. The poor boy had probably been treated like a dog, more or less. Claude sighed lightly and returned his attention to the sofa. "Um— This is where you can sleep later," he stated as he grabbed a pillow from a nearby chair and put it on the couch. A throw blanket or two and, viola— he'd have a decent place for Ash to spend the night. He'd come up with something better eventually, but this would do nicely for now.
The sofa looked… warm, comfortable. That was more then what he could say about all the other places he had slept. Ash was still hesitant, still very unsure about it. Why was he being so nice? Why was he being allowed to sit on his very expensive furniture and sleep on a couch, with a blanket? None of it made sense in his mind, but he couldn't say no. If that was where he was supposed to sleep then he would sleep there. Claude had told him so. That was an order. and he followed orders and did what he was told.
Ash nodded softly, bowing his head in respect as he walked over to the couch, running his fingers along the fabric of the blankets and the pillow. To him, it was like touching a cloud. It was some of the softest material he'd touched and he was allowed to touch it, sit on it, sleep with it. He tried to not let the shock cross his features. He was there for work. He was there to serve Claude. He couldn't let small things like this distract him from why he had been bought and gifted.
