The small form of the young demon Ciel Phantomhive glanced up at the moon, turned full seemingly for the special night it was. Halloween. All Hallow's Eve. Hallowmas. Samhain. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Or in this case, another Halloween spent alone would seem as empty. No child should be forced to spend their life alone.

And no demon should be forced to spend Halloween on their own.

Yet here Ciel was, a child, a demon, and on his own.

He turned away from the window and curled up further into his blanket he had draped around his small shoulders. He used to have everything. Everything he ever could have imagined. But it was stolen, the moment he hesitated. He had two options before him, but he hesitated, as that was when his life, his love, was taken from him.

He had been been turned into a demon, a being of darkness. But right before he had, he was given a choice. A choice not many are given. He could live his life in darkness, or in light. Had he chosen the light, he could have seen his parents again. Thinking about it wrenched at his heart. He had chosen the first choice, the one most would avoid, given the chance he had received. There was one, only one person, that he cared about in the world, and that person was a creature of darkness. As Ciel saw it, it wasn't worth debating.

But he hesitated.

As a result, he became a monster, an outcast. Not one of light, an angel, not one of darkness, a demon, but one somewhat in between, too dark to go up, too light to go down. If only he had made his decision faster. None would accept him now that he wasn't 'whole'. None... except one.

His love would forever be by his side. Even if only in his thoughts.

But not only was he once a human, but now that he wasn't a full demon, the 'fully-fledged' demons wouldn't allow him to be together with his love.

Every day, it crushed his heart.

Still, the pair remained together, but in secret. The other was under constant surveillance, save for one day out of the year.

There was always one day, that, for a few hours, from around 11 o'clock to 2, Ciel enjoyed his life. Halloween. Always Halloween. The day when demons and every other kind of dark supernatural being ran rampant, creating chaos and leaving a path of havoc in their wake. Ciel should be beyond excited for that. He should be outside, with the other dark denizens currently residing on Earth, or those who came from Hell to terrorize some poor human, running, playing with them, like the child he is. Instead, every Halloween, he remained indoors, waiting. He was always waiting. Waiting for his counterpart.

Ciel glanced at the clock. It was already 11:30. Where was he?

A knock was heard at the front door. Immediately, Ciel threw the blanket off of his shoulder and leapt up, yanking the door open quickly. When he saw who it was, he fell into the two arms waiting for him, holding the other tightly. "You're late," he muttered, trying to seem angry.

"My apologies. It took longer than usual to lose my friends. But I'm here now."

"You are." Ciel felt himself being lifted up and carried back to the couch. The two sat down together and the younger demon curled up next to his former butler, cuddling his arm, "I missed you, Sebastian."

"And I you, my love," was his reply, along with a kiss planted gently on his head, "More than ever."

"I don't like when you leave," Ciel confided after a moment, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

"You know I don't either, Love," Sebastian admitted, "I'm trying to find other times to get out and see you, but I'm pushing it as is. If my father found out I was still seeing you, he'd be sure to kill you." He chuckled, and tried to make a joke out of the situation, "It sounds like one of those dramas they have on television nowadays." When he received no response, he sighed and wrapped his arm around the small figure sitting next to him and pulled him closer, "You're strong, as I've taught you to be, but the King of Hell would be stronger."

Ciel shifted his legs onto the elder demon's lap, opening his eyes carefully, "I almost don't care anymore."

"But I do," the other responded, stroking Ciel's legs softly, "I won't let anything to happen to you, especially because of me. I'm not worth your life, Ciel."

The younger replied without hesitance, "You're not worth my life because you /are/ my life! Sebastian, I hate only being able to see you one day out of every year, I'd rather die! I hate it!"

"I know, I know, shh, I hate it as well. But there's nothing we can do right now. And in the meantime, why don't we enjoy the rest of our time instead of griping about our situation?"

Xoxo

"So... I guess this is it."

"I guess so."

"Same time, next year, Sebastian?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Ciel forced himself to look up at his 'perfect other half' so to speak. He hated this part of the night. The very end. He looked back down towards his feet. He promised himself he wouldn't cry this year, "I'll miss you." He already felt himself being torn apart from the inside, already, the house seemed emptier. A couple hours once a year couldn't satisfy either of them.

"I left my jacket in your room on accident."

And there came the usual tears. Sebastian never did things by mistake.

Sebastian knelt down in front of his master, "No tears, okay? I'm not worth it."

The younger demon threw his arms around the other, "I don't want you to go."

"I know, Love, I don't want to go either. But it's how it has to be." Tears leaked onto the elder's shirt, but he ignored them as he blinked his own back, "Don't cry. It'll be okay. Next Halloween will be here before you know it."

Ciel clung to Sebastian tighter, sobbing by this time, "I d- don't w- want you t- to go."

"You've said that already."

It was as if Ciel's heart was genuinely shattering, it hurt so much, "But i- it's t- true. I- I don't want y-you to g-go. P- Please don't l- leave me."

Sebastian hugged his little master tightly, before being forced to pry him off. The younger thought about kicking up a fit, sobbing and crying out for Sebastian not to leave, but had to push that increasingly tempting idea out of his mind. Instead, he stepped back, returning his gaze to his feet, "I'm sorry. I'll make you late. You had better get going."

The elder sighed and stood, "Don't apologize. It's more than alright. I'll see you soon, okay?"

Ciel shrugged in response.

"I love you, Ciel."

He stayed silent. Silent until Sebastian turned to leave, when he leapt forward and hugged him from behind, "I love you too, Sebastian, more than anything. Please come back for me soon. I can hardly bear it. Please don't forget me."

Though his face wasn't visible, Ciel could tell that Sebastian was near tears himself, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Immediately, the younger jumped back, and turned away, so he only heard Sebastian open the door and leave, with no intentions to return for another year.

Xoxo

Once more, Ciel felt like his heart had been ripped out and stomped on. He sobbed harder than he ever had before in his life. He cried out the name of his lover, the only one he cared about, as if he expected him to come back. His tears stained, they stained his cheeks, they stained his heart. They tore at his soul, or whatever was left of it.

He sprinted to the kitchen, knowing that Sebastian would be there, like he always is, creating some culinary masterpiece. When all he saw was a multitude of cakes his demon has brought, he cried harder, burying his face in his arms and resting them on the counter.

He noticed a knife, clean and sharp, lying by his head when he looked up, vision hazy with tears. He picked it up with the intention of cutting a slice of cake, hoping it would cheer him up, but soon found a chocolate covered blade touching the skin on the side of his neck. It wouldn't be hard. He wouldn't have to cry anymore. It would be done.

He soon came to his senses, but it still took him a moment to put the knife down. He was ashamed that his mind and thought of going to such lengths, but they happened a lot over the past hundred years or so. But he tried to imagine what it would be like if he one day saw the only one he still loved, lying on the ground, no longer living. He knew that he had to be in one piece when Sebastian came for him next year.

He eventually started on his cake, but it was dry, tasteless, not even worth eating. It wasn't that Sebastian's baking hasn't lost its fantastic quality, if anything, it had gotten better. A small piece of chocolate icing landed near his bottom lip. Had Sebastian been here, it would have been licked off by now.

Ciel left his cake on the counter and dragged himself to his room. The wind seemed to blow through the house, making it so much colder than it used to be and freezing his tears to his cheeks.

He found Sebastian's jacket lying on a pillow, folded neatly and cleanly. Ciel took it, fingers shaking slightly, and put it on, wrapping it around himself, though it was at least four sizes too big. His tears cascaded down his cheeks faster when he held it up to his nose and noticed it's scent.

It was so very clear that it was Sebastian's.

He missed his demon so much already, how was he to last another year? He answered his own question quickly. By never looking back, by always staying on the move, and by forging his own path.

Until next Halloween, when he started all over again.

He became tired just thinking about it.

Ciel cried himself to sleep that night, hiding himself, not under the covers, but under Sebastian's jacket, burying his face in it for most of the night.

"I love you, Sebastian. I'm waiting for you. Please come home soon."

Hi, everyone! I've missed uploading stories on here so much, you wouldn't believe. But teachers have been giving so many projects and I'm having trouble keeping up and finding time to write. And a lot of chapters have been deleted when my laptop updated. Chapters to Ciel Phantomhive's Manly Diary, The Perfect Marriage Proposal, as well as a special, special story for a special, special person. This story has taken me I don't know how long, a couple weeks at least, and I tried really hard on it. I will continue it, if people want me to. Next chapter would show the most of Ciel's Halloween before Sebastian comes for him, and their time together, which I simply skipped over, mainly for effect. Please tell me what you think, I've been feeling so useless lately! Thanks for reading, guys, and I love you, just like I always have!