Ciel was sleeping. He did that a lot, Sebastian had decided. The boy could easily spend the entirety of a day dozing, simply drifting in and out of consciousness, and if it wasn't for his Butler Sebastian was sure he would do just that.
He rolled over on the bed, the springs creaking beneath his weight. Ciel might sleep, but demons didn't. It would take him a while to get used to this. The nights were far too long, often stretching out before him seemingly endless. Butler. The idea amused him, that a human could keep someone such as him reigned in.
Obviously he was bound by the contract to do as his master ordered- but that could never prevent the purple from flaring up behind him eyes every now and again. Sebastian had never had a master like this one. He had never even come close to a soul as twisted and ripe as this one, and Ciel was only a boy of ten. His lips parted slightly, longing for the taste of his master on his tongue. This would be worth it.
He sat up, as there was a pattering along the hallway outside his door, shallow steps echoing off the stone walls of the servant's quarters. Flames swelled on the candelabra, Sebastian flicking the fire into life with ease, swiftly wrapping a gloved hand around it's middle and moving towards the door.
But before he could open it a small hand appeared around the corner of the door-frame.
"Young Master?" He could make out the disgruntled face by the timid candlelight, shadows licking the walls. Ciel walked forward with laboured breaths and Sebastian noticed the dried tear-tracks on his cheeks. The boy said nothing, only moved towards the demon even further.
"Sebastian, d-don't light the candles."
"Why ever not, Young Master? Besides, shouldn't you be in bed?" Sebastian frowned, the flames vanishing with nothing more than a small hiss. Ciel snivelled. It was easy to forget he was so young, Sebastian taking time to adjust to serving something so... small. So pathetic. Something that had cried at the death of his parents only a few days before.
"I can't see you." Ciel said, swaying in his nightgown. Sebastian blinked.
"You requested I don't light the candles, Young Master." He cocked his head to one side, waiting a response.
"You're a rubbish Butler." The boy said matter of factly, wandering over to the bed. His eyes were brimming with water.
"How so?" Sebastian turned around, able to see him clearly despite the pitch black of the room. Ciel sat down. The bed didn't creak. Not one bit.
"Y-You can't cook, your tea tastes like shit, and when I call and call you don't come." He pulled his knees up to his chest. "Well, aren't you going to ask whether I'm alright?"
"Would it be correct to do so?" Sebastian walked over to the bed, leaning over the frail Earl.
"It would be proper, yes. You aren't very clever, are you?" At this Sebastian raised a brow. He tilted Ciel's head up towards him with slender fingers. Ciel met his steady gaze, flinching not once when fuchsia glowed behind Sebastian's irises. As it was they were the only source of light in the chamber.
"Does it not scare you, Young Master, to be alone in a room with a demon? Does it not frighten you that the one you place your trust in could slaughter you with one thrust of a finger?"
Ciel looked up at the Butler, eyes flashing anger behind the sheen of tears.
"No. As it is you are in debt to me. For behaviour such as this, I will punish you, Sebastian. "
"And how would you go about doing that?" He released his chin, returning to his composed self.
"By putting myself in danger."
"I would not allow that."
"If you continue to ignore my calls then you won't be able to stop me." Ciel shivered. Demons don't feel the cold.
"I did not ignore any calls, Young Master."
"You bloody w-well did." Ciel hugged himself. Sebastian set himself beside the shaking frame, easing his own frame down onto the bed. In contrast to the quaking, sniffing and very much alive boy his stoic face and straight stature made him feel uncharacteristically small. Oh, to be alive.
"Very well. I shall act proper. Young Master, what ails you so? It is not suitable for someone of your status to be awake at such an hour." He stood up, bowing somewhat mockingly in the darkness, eyes widening when Ciel crawled beneath the sheets of his bed. From where he was standing he could only just make out the smirk on Ciel's tear-stained face.
"Sebastian, I order you to get in bed."
"May I inquire as to why?" The demon said. The smile disappeared from Ciel's face.
"I can see their graves." He inhaled sharply as the bed creaked, Sebastian pulling the covers up to their shoulders.
"From your window?"
"From my window." Ciel stared into the room. "It's dark."
"Would you like me to light a candle?"
"No. You're better without a face." Silence ensued.
"You have nerve, seeking comfort from a demon."
"You have nerve questioning your Master. Tell me, do demons have nightmares?" Ciel turned in the bed, eyes level with the butler's chest.
"I believe not, since demons do not sleep."
"Then you cannot understand why I seek comfort."
"For someone as young as yourself you really are a troubled child."
"Sebastian, at least pretend to be human. That's an order. My parents did not sleep like a plank of wood. Their chests heaved, their arms curled around each other, their hearts were warm. If you can not do something so simple, then what kind of Butler are you?"
"My apologies. I am still a rookie, please bear in mind, Young Master I cannot replace your parents."
"Sebastian..."
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Shut up." Ciel cried silently, furling against Sebastian's chest. "That's an order."
Sebastian sighed. Never before had a Master successfully prevented him from speaking, and anyone in service would know well enough that once in service words are the only way to rebel at all.
By the time the sun had seeped between the curtains Ciel had rolled around, turning over and over causing the bed to sink sporadically with every movement and Sebastian to frown further with every toss. He wasn't accustomed to sharing a bed. Unable to wake his master or complain he rose from the sweaty sheets, dusting himself off.
"Sebastian?" The voice was sleep laden. He turned to face his master, reaching for his tailcoat. "Sebastian, why did you leave? Sebastian? Speak, demon."
"Young Master, it is inappropriate for an Earl to watch his Butler change."
"But you slept in your clothes."
"The etiquette for a servants morning routine does not depend on whether I slept in my clothes or not. It is still unsuitable." Sebastian shot a glance over his shoulder at Ciel, shrugging his coat onto his shoulders.
"You're disgusting. In the future, change before you sleep."
"Young Master, demons do not sweat. Therefore our clothes remain in an impeccable state." He looked Ciel over, from the large eyes and pentagram to the ruffled hair and loose nightgown. "Unlike humans."
Ciel swung his legs over the side of the bed, feet slapping the cold tiles. He swung on his feet, head throbbing from the weeping he had done alone, in his bedroom, before making his way through the shadowy mansion towards his Butler. He swallowed in an attempt to tame the cough rising in his throat.
"Young Master, you'll catch a cold like that." Sebastian, now fully dressed, swept Ciel into his arms and began trudging up the stairs. Neither brought up Ciel's odd appearance only a night before.
"Don't feign affection."
"Why, what makes you think this is an act?"
"I ordered you to act like a Butler, didn't I?"
"Yes. You did."
"Do you not recall informing me that you are not capable of emotion?" Ciel said with pride in his voice, but the fists clinging to Sebastian's shirt said otherwise.
"I believe I said something of the sort, though you should know we are capable of concern when it comes to our masters." He looked down at Ciel, eyes wavering over his lips hungrily. "When you made the contract you not only bought my trust, but my emotions too."
"All for a soul."
"Quite right, Young Master." He set Ciel down on his own downy bed. The dawn outside had hardly broken. "It is far too early for a child to be up."
"I am Earl Phantomhive. I am not a child."
"My, that would explain the tear-tracks, now, wouldn't it?" Sebastian quipped.
"Don't push it. Remember what you're named after." But Ciel still crawled beneath the heavy covers, pulling them tight around himself.
"Would a dog reconstruct a manor as efficiently as I?" He said, not a note of frustration in his voice, only amusement.
"Make me some tea. If it's as bad as it usually is, I swear I'll order you to try and reconstruct your pride once I'm done with you."
Sebastian stood by the door, ready to leave, questioning his choice of master. But only briefly.
"That is no way to address your Butler. From today you must learn to become someone worthy of the title 'Earl'. Something as trivial as nightmares mustn't hinder your facade, Young Master." And with that he left the room, the door clicking shut softly behind him.
Tracing the brand burnt into his tender skin, Ciel smiled.
And so it began.
A/N- Hi. I wrote this after wondering exactly what might have happened during the first few weeks that Ciel reappeared with a Butler at his side, and what Sebastian may have been like whilst only starting out. If you hadn't guessed, this is set shortly after they become acquainted with one another.