Kiss Me
"Sebastian!" shouted the young Earl, Ciel Phantomhive. "I order you to kill them!"
The tall, pale figure next to the twelve year old noble smirked, his dark crimson eyes flashed with excitement.
"Yes, my Lord." Crystal white gloves were tugged off of Sebastian's long, slender fingers by a set of sharp teeth. "Leave this to me." Ciel watched with boredom as his loyal butler eradicated the scum of London once more but nonetheless, there was always a hidden uncertainty in the back of Ciel's complex mind. What if the plan fell apart? What if he failed? What if Sebastian did not get up again after he was shot down?...
Shaking his head, clearing his troubled mind of such thoughts, Ciel concentrated on Sebastian's attack. The way he crushed sculls with his bare hands, the way his aim never failed as he flung pieces of cutlery at his opponent; it was quite admirable. Ciel never failed to feel completely and wholly safe, even when facing the filthiest of scum, when he knew that Sebastian was by his side. Even those worrisome questions that demanded his attention were soon silenced when Ciel could see with his own eye that his loyal dog had- as usual- the upper hand in any fight.
It was not a long, drawn out brawl and it was not long before Sebastian had his gloves concealing his hands once more and was adjusting the lopsided bow around his master's thin neck. Ciel huffed, Sebastian was a perfectionist. It irritated him, the way Sebastian gazed long and hard at him in the mornings, deciding whether the blue suit complimented his master's complexion that day or whether he should wash his silky hair just to make it go the way Sebastian wanted it to.
But what irritated Ciel to the extreme, was the way his stomach produced a thousand butterflies every time Sebastian was contented with the way his Young Master looked. The way his crimson eyes lit up, proud of his creation, the image he gave his Young Master, the way a fond smile was painted upon those flawless lips of his when his ungloved hand stroked Ciel's hair- only when a hair was out of place, of course. Sebastian was not capable of an emotion such as fondness: he was a demon.
"Oh, Sebastian!" whined the boy, slapping his butler's hands away. "Leave me be! Let us just go home; I'm tired." Sebastian narrowed his eyes as he removed his hands away from the creased bow, curling them into neat fists at his side, to restrain himself from the temptation.
"Of course, Young Master, please forgive me. I shall prepare some warm milk for you whe-"
"SEBASTIAN!" It happened all too fast. Sebastian heard the frightened, no, terrified scream of his Young Master and felt him push him to the side as he darted in front of him. Simultaneously, Sebastian heard the gun shot. His eyes took in the woman, her ecstatic expression, her hand pointing the gun and his Young Master, his knees shaking and his hands clutching his abdomen.
Ciel's knees gave way and he fell to the stone floor, quivering and whimpering. The woman laughed, disgustingly, and as Ciel looked up at her, she kicked his face with the toe of her filth covered boot. That snapped the switch in Sebastian's mind. Leaping at the woman, he tackled her to the ground and, once pinned her there, excruciatingly slowly started to twist her head. The hag screamed in pain, her legs kicking out but her arms pinned by Sebastian's legs. Eventually, there came a snap as the brittle bones in her neck gave way and snapped, leaving a lifeless corpse for the police to discover sooner or later.
Sebastian felt unsatisfied. That was a quick death in his mind. He wanted to dish out even more pain to that...that...a groan brought Sebastian out of his fantasy.
"Young Master!" he cried, scooping up the small boy in his arms.
"S-Sebastian..." Ciel panted, his lungs beginning to starve of oxygen. Sebastian stripped Ciel of his jacket and lifted his shirt to reveal the wound that was rapidly staining his skin and clothes.
"Oh, Young Master," scolded the butler, his mind panicking. "what were you thinking?"
After rolling up his sleeves and once again discarding his gloves, Sebastian slowly but precisely entered two fingers into the open wound; to search for the bullet. Trying in vain to block out the sounds of his Young Master's groans of pain, Sebastian moved his fingers around the innards that were loosing blood too quickly until he found what he was searching for. Knowing fully that the conditions of the alley that they were currently in was no such place to carry out an operation, Sebastian prepared the needle and thread that he kept in his coat pocket, in case his clothes should suffer under the bullet radar.
"I am so sorry, Young Master," Sebastian whispered into his ear, his fingertips caressing the skin of his neck lightly. "but this is going to hurt. Yet you always loved facing pain, didn't you? You are a brave Young Master, aren't you? Or is it foolish? Hold on." And with that, Sebastian plunged the needle deep into the flesh of the wound and began to expertly stitch up his Young Master, as if he were a toy that was loosing its stuffing.
Ciel groaned and cried out in pain, calling Sebastian's name, his hands groping the floor to try to find his beloved butler. When Ciel's hand came into contact with the fabric of Sebastian's leg, his tiny hand clamped down as hard as his withering strength could muster. Sebastian cut the thread with his teeth, his hand running over the stitching, his eyes scrutinised for any flaws in his needlework. His eyes then fell to the tiny hand on his leg. He smirked. His Young Master was so brave...but underneath he still needed some-one. Some-one to share his pain, his suffering, to comfort him and to take care of him. Some-one to keep the monsters away at night and to humour him when he wanted his own way. Sebastian was more than happy to fill that role.
"Young Master," called Sebastian, softly. As if coaxing a kitten out from a corner. "Young Master can you hear me?" There came no reply. Come to think of it, his Young Master was not moving. "Young Master?" worry crept into Sebastian's voice as he gently shook Ciel. "Young Master!" Sebastian pressed his ear to Ciel's chest, searching for a heartbeat. He grabbed Ciel's wrist and felt for a pulse. There was no way his Young Master could die from a simple gun shot. His Young Master was stronger than that...but he was still just a child...
"Young Master!" snapped Sebastian. He may have sounded harsh but his hands were caressing Ciel's face. Now that they were back at the manor house, Sebastian was more confident that no infection could steal his Young Master from him. No Death God had appeared, trying to rob Ciel's soul from him and no damnable angel had either, offering his soul a chance to be purified so that he could enter the golden gates of Heaven. God help any angel who tried that. Well, thought Sebastian, the light up there would be too bright for my dark little Young Master to like. They did not play chess up there anyway.
A smile creeped over Sebastian's' face at the thought of his Young Master among the fields of gold with the other children in Heaven, everyone clad in white lace while the Young Master was adorned in his velvet black jacket and shorts, attire of a more Gothic nature than that that would be accepted in Heaven. Sebastian let out a chuckle at the vision of his Young Master ordering the other souls around, as he sat on his throne in the middle of a gold field with a Rosenthal porcelain tea cup poised on his hands. A king even in death.
The sound of his name revived him from his fantasy and he looked down to see two odd eyes gazing at him through long eye lashes.
"Young Master," sighed Sebastian, relieved, his hand running through his patient's hair. "how do you feel?"
"Awful!" came the gruff reply. "I hurt all over."
"Well, Young Master, you were shot in the stomach. Though what possessed you to take the bullet for me so irrationally- when you know that no mortal weapon can harm me- is quite beyond my comprehension. I would so like an explanation, sir." Ciel closed his eyes, groaning as he tried to sit up. His butler, now his doctor, merely pushed him back down again, with the request that he rest.
"I believe I promised you a glass of warm milk, Young Master." Sebastian, deciding not to press his Young Master for an answer, touched the top of Ciel's head lightly, so lightly that Ciel himself did not know it had actually happened. Even though he had been deeply stabbed, Ciel had not been purged of the butterflies, as he saw Sebastian's faint smile from the corner of his cobalt eye as he was leaving the room.
"Stupid demon." cursed the Young Master half heartedly under his breath. He closed his eyes, contemplating the thoughts that had been running through his mind as he lay there, bleeding on the concrete street.
Sebastian had worked as fast as possible, one minute away from his precious Young Master, when he was in this state, caused the demon to feel no end of anxiety. Not bothering to knock, he swiftly flew to his ward's side, only to shake his head in amusement.
"Oh, Young Master! What am I supposed to do with you?" Sebastian placed the milk on the cabinet next to the bed and knelt down by Ciel's head, his hand hovering above his cheek. "You order me to fight for you, but you end up taking the bullet," Sebastian closed the space between his hand Ciel's cheek and he began to stroke it tenderly. "you allow me to make you some warm milk, but you decide the next minute to fall asleep," the intruding hand caressed down and then cupped the nape of Ciel's neck, gently making the boy's head tilt up slightly. "and you have to resemble a kitten when you're weak but refuse to let me feel even one tenth for you the way I feel for them."
Sebastian then realised how close he had leaned to his Young Master, their noses were barely apart. The temptation was too great... Sebastian shook his head slightly in exasperation, the tempter being tempted, it was shameful for a demon. Nevertheless, he could not dwell on it too much, as Sebastian's cherished Young Master sighed in his deep sleep and parted his lips, breathing his scent all over the demon above, holding his face so carefully as if it were made of glass.
The demon involuntarily closed his eyes, swimming in that smell, licking his lips. The temptation...maybe...maybe one taste was not too sinful; though Sebastian was not thinking about his Young Master's soul. Sliding his hand from the base of Ciel's neck, he brought it under his chin, lifting his peaceful face a little higher, holding it there with his index finger. His left hand then swept back strands of hair that had fallen over the boy's face, caressing skin underneath.
"Young Master..." Sebastian breathed leaning forward, his nose skimming Ciel's as he went for the boy's parted lips. His eyes closed, savouring the strange sensation that pulsed through his veins before the actual kiss.
There was only a millimetre distance between the two mouths before Ciel stirred in his sleep, a whimper escaping his quivering lips. For a split second, Sebastian thought that he had awoken his Young Master and instantly dropped Ciel's head and backed himself up against the far wall. But, much to Sebastian's relief, the boy only tossed his head and kicked out his legs, another pathetic whimper coming from his mouth. Maybe he sensed the danger, pondered Sebastian wryly, if that is the case, then, he saved us both. Sebastian was in far more danger of letting his guard down than ever before. He was the perfect servant- his whole existence revolved around his Young Master and nothing should ever discontinue that. Not even his own desires and wishes.
Poor, innocent child, to have ones butler fall far them, but not only a butler but a demon at that! The contract obstructs the path that Sebastian desired but it did not change a molecule of his feelings no matter how useless they were in the end. His Young Master only lived for the contract, nothing more and nothing less, he could -or would- never accept to live for love. It just was not in him any-more. All the love that Ciel had known had been driven out by the ones who had made him decide to summon Sebastian. How ironic it was, now, that after forming a contract that was only for death, the contractor now found love within that destructive soul.
"Good night, Young Master," whispered the demon, not daring to re-approach the bed. He merely sank into the shadows of the hallway as he made his own way around the desolate house, preparing for the morn.
"Young Master, I must warn you-"
"CIEL!" came the cooing voice of a young girl, running into Ciel Phantomhive's bedroom and leaping upon the bed. A groan from beneath the covers was the only response. "I heard that you were ill, so I thought I'd come and cheer you up!" A single cobalt eye peered sleepily from the covers.
"Elizabeth! What are you talking about?" Suddenly, a gloved hand holding the eye patch appeared in front of the noble. Ciel looked up into the face of Sebastian, his face stern and irritated.
"Miss Elizabeth wished to see you today but I informed her that you could not see her today because of your stomach ache, sir." Those crimson eyes gave Ciel a long look.
"So I thought I'd come anyway and cheer you up!" laughed Elizabeth, clapping her hands together. "I can be your nurse for today! How cute!" After placing on the eye patch, Ciel sat up, slowly and painfully but his face gave none of it away.
"Elizabeth-"
"Lizzie! How many times-"
"Why did you still come if you knew I was ill? You could catch it yourself! Honestly, Lizzie-" Ciel stopped abruptly, seeing his young fiancé's eyes tear up. "Lizzie..." the boy sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"CIEL!" cried the girl, clutching the covers and shaking them in frustration. "I want to be your nurse! PLEASE?" Ciel looked over, pleadingly, at his amused butler and upon seeing no help was to arrive, he sighed in defeat.
"Alright!" he snapped. "But only for a little while; I'm tired. Now stop crying!"
Elizabeth laughed in delight and leapt off the bed while Ciel, the victim of many role-play games with the girl, cowered into his covers. Sebastian swiftly left them to it, amused how his Young Master gave in so easily to the girl. Personally, Sebastian wanted to wring the brat's neck. Her constant intrusion, her whiny voice, her over indulged behaviour left much to be desired but she was the Young Master's cousin and betrothed. One had to suffer for family members.
Eventually, when Sebastian could not stand her earsplitting voice any longer, he persuaded her that Ciel needed his rest and that she should go back to her own home for the rest of the day. As soon as the girl had left, Sebastian went to congratulate his Young Master for dealing so long with the brat.
"I wish she'd just leave me alone," complained Ciel, lying back down. "I know she's family but there is a limit, surely, to how much you see of your relatives?" Sebastian merely chuckled as he checked the wound from the previous night.
After a while of silence, Ciel spoke, hesitantly.
"S-Sebastian?" The butler looked up from the wound and smiled politely and enquiringly. "I've been thinking... since last night."
"What about, Young Master."
"Well, while I was on the floor in the alley last night, I thought I was dying." Ciel dropped his eyes as Sebastian's eyes softened. "I thought about all the things that I had done...all the things I had not done, the important things to me that I want to do but would not be able to ever complete...or try."
The boy swallowed hard.
"So...I want to do something that I thought I'd never be able to try."
"And what is that, Young Master?"
"I want you to kiss me."