Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji, Sebastian, Ciel, Lizzy, or any other characters
Over Worked, Over Played
''Ciel, how did you get so good at chess?'' Elizabeth asked, giggling as he took her bishop with his knight. Ciel shook his head at her behavior and gestured for her to make her move.
''I am naturally gifted I suppose,'' he answered, rolling his eyes when she moved one of the few pawns she had left in the direct line of vision of his rook. Why she insisted on playing chess with him when she was so terrible at it he would never know.
Three quick knocks came from the door, interrupting whatever Elizabeth had planned to say in response.
''Come in, Sebastian,'' Ciel said absently whilst knocking away his opponent's pawn.
Sebastian entered swiftly, pushing a cart with the items for Ciel's afternoon tea.
''Hello, Sebastian!'' Elizabeth greeted after the butler had announced the tea and type of cake he planned to serve them.
Sebastian smiled politely and replied, ''Afternoon, Lady Elizabeth. I trust you are enjoying your game with the Young Master?''
Ciel snorted silently when Elizabeth nodded her head happily. After serving both of them their tea and desert Sebastian left them to finish their game. Elizabeth watched him go, a slightly melancholy look adorning her face before turning back to face Ciel.
''Ciel...'' Elizabeth started absently, moving her remaining bishop towards the pieces on the opposite end of the board, ''...when was the last time Sebastian-san had a day off?''
Ciel seemed to stiffen slightly before continuing to move his knight in the direction of her queen, ''He hasn't,'' he said simply as he sat back to await her next move. But Elizabeth had other plans.
''He hasn't? Why not?''
Sighing, Ciel replied, ''I've yet to see a reason to give him one.'' He's a demon. It's not like he's going to get sick.
But Elizabeth wouldn't have it. Pouting, she said, ''But Ciel~! All good butlers need a day off! And with all the hard work Sebastian does around here he definitely deserves one!''
''Make your move, Lizzy...'' He said, taking a bite of his cake. I don't think I would last a day without these deserts...
Elizabeth huffed and followed his example, taking a bite as well. ''Ah!'' She said with a bright smile as she finished chewing. ''Sebastian-san has definitely outdone himself this time! This is the best cake I've ever tasted! You see, he definitely deserves a day off for this!''
Ciel grunted, though he agreed that the cake was very delicious. Again, Elizabeth huffed angrily at his lack of response.
''Ciel~! If you don't give Sebastian a day off he might overwork himself and get an injury!''
Deciding that she was not going to continue their game until this conflict was resolved, Ciel raised his cup to his lips and muttered, ''I seriously doubt that,'' before taking a sip.
On the other side of the door, Sebastian chuckled as he listened to their little argument, having paused when he heard Lady Elizabeth mention his name. A day off would be nice, but Sebastian knew Ciel would never agree so he just never bothered to waste his breath asking.
He continued on his way to drop the cart off in the kitchen, absently catching Meylene and the towels she carried when she tripped on the carpet walking past him.
Ciel shut his eyes tightly as the bright light invaded his senses.
''It is time to wake up, Boc-chan,'' Sebastian muttered as he poured this mornings tea, announcing its name out of habit. Ciel sat up and rubbed his eyes, accepting the warm drink offered to him.
''What is my schedule for today, Sebastian?'' Ciel asked, savoring the tea's soothing scent before allowing it to slide down his dry throat.
Sebastian raised a hand to his mouth and yawned before turning to retrieve something on the cart. Ciel, startled, nearly dropped his cup. He'd never heard Sebastian yawn before.
Before he could question the demon, a metal tray with a lone envelope was pushed into his vision.
''A letter from the Queen,'' Sebastian stated with half lidded eyes. Taking the letter from the tray Ciel began to read it aloud, glancing suspiciously at his demon butler.
''Hello, Ciel-kun!
I've got a new mission for you!
Unfortunately, there has been a series of murders involving young women. All the victims were known to be very beautiful but were found with their faces basically melted off. I fear this is getting out of hand and I worry about the people's safety.
I hope that you can handle this mission, Ciel-kun. The authorities are calling this man 'Acid.' Very unoriginal if you ask me...
Take care, Ciel-kun!
Her Highness''
Putting the letter down, Ciel sighed before running a hand through his hair in annoyance. Turning back to his butler, he found Sebastian gripping the side of the cart, as if to steady himself.
"Sebastian?'' Ciel asked, frowning.
As if shocked out of a stupor, Sebastian suddenly stood erect, an overly cheerful smile adorning his face, ''Yes, Boc-chan?'' Ciel shook his head, deciding that Sebastian was just being his usual weird self. Though he frowned again, when he noticed the dark circles beneath his butler's eyes.
After having received little information from the authorities, Ciel had gone back to his mansion before ordering Sebastian to dig up some information on his own.
The only problem was, that was two hours ago; and Ciel had given Sebastian thirty minutes to complete this.
Sebastian never missed his deadline.
Ciel paced back and forth in front of his desk, irritation clear on his face. Where on earth was that butler of his?
He thought about using their contract to call Sebastian back to him, but that was for emergencies. Impatience wasn't an emergency. However, when the clock struck two, indicating his butler had officially been gone for a full three hours, Ciel began to feel his patience run out.
Of course, there was also a small knot of increasing worry growing in his stomach. Ciel felt unnerved by this. He knew, from the many injures Sebastian had received in the past, that his butler wasn't indestructible. But he was damn near close to it; so he'd never really had to worry for the demon's safety before.
Then again, maybe Sebastian had simply found a very good lead that he couldn't get away from until he figured it out. This seemed unlikely though, since Sebastian never did anything with the information he gathered without consulting Ciel first.
When the fourth hour came Ciel became increasingly irritated and increasingly worried. Fed up with this, he decided he would simply go out and look for the demon on his own.
Unfortunately, Ciel's search was very limited. He couldn't check alot of the places Sebastian would go to to get information because most were bars and he was underage. He also had to stick to the main streets since he was on his own. There were still a number of people who wanted him dead after all. Not to mention, Ciel couldn't get very far since he really didn't have alot of stamina. He would have taken his carriage, but having to explain why he needed it would've been a hassle.
Cursing under his breath at his pitiful luck at finding his butler, Ciel continued on, trying to ignore the fact that his feet were hurting from walking for so long.
After a while though, the pain in his feet were pushed to the back of his mind, ever mounting worry replacing it. It was now five-thirty in the evening. Sebastian would have definitely have been back by now.
Ciel briefly entertained the thought that maybe the demon was back at home, but immediately squashed it. If Sebastian had gone home he would have seen that Ciel wasn't there and immediately have left to fetch him.
But...where was he?
Ciel sighed irritably. He was cold, tired, and hungry.
Biting his lip in debate, he decided he would head back. If Sebastian wasn't back by seven he would use their link to call him back to him.
Making up his mind, Ciel turned to go back the way he'd come but suddenly froze near the entrance of an alleyway.
Ciel stood still as fear gripped his fast beating heart and his brain went dead.
Was that who he thought it was?
He continued to stare and the body huddled on the ground. He should do something. Call out his name and see if it responded?
''S-Se...'' His voice was shaky as he tried to speak.
Communications is down! I repeat, Communications is down!
He should move. Just go see for himself.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Physical Movement just went into coma!
He-He should...
Where the hell is Rational Thought?
Should...
Emotions is bouncing off the walls like some kind of loony! Sanity shook his head wearily.
Reboot! Reboot! For the love of god, REBOOT!
He sprung into action before he even fully processed what he was doing, running toward the still figure on the ground. He dropped to his knees and gulped as he recognized the dark coat and white gloves.
''Sebas...tian?'' A small lump formed in his throat as he reached out to turn the figure toward him. A surprised/relieved huff of air left him as the demon groaned and slowly opened glassy red eyes.
''...Boc-chan?'' Sebastian said hoarsely, squinting up at the young boy.
Despite the overwhelming fear he'd felt for his butler only seconds ago, Ciel felt worry induced anger well up in him as he ignored the annoying stinging in his eyes.
''Where the hell have you been? What happened to you?''
Sebastian shut his eyes for a few seconds, seeming to try and remember how he'd gotten in this alley.
''I'm not really sure,'' he finally replied after several seconds, then he smiled in his weird way, ''Were you worried, Boc-chan?''
Ciel bit his lip angrily and turned away from him, making Sebastian frown and sit up slowly.
''Are you crying, Boc-chan?''
Ciel made an a gruff gurgling sound and shook his head. Struggling, Sebastian managed to reach Ciel's side. The boy jumped when he felt his butlers thumb run across his cheek and wipe some of his tears away. He made to pull away, embarrassed at having been caught crying, but Sebastian took his face in both hands and proceeded to wipe away the rest of his tears.
Ciel sighed but ceased trying to escape, instead closing his eyes in consent as Sebastian brushed his thumbs over his damp cheeks. The demon completely ruined his brief moment of content by saying, ''So you were worried; I'm flattered.''
Ciel glared. He couldn't tell from his tone whether the demon was making fun of him or not.
''However, I am fine. I heal fairly quickly. I would not be a very good butler if I was so dispensable, Boc-chan.'' Ciel looked him over and found that, indeed, Sebastian was healed. All that was left blood stains. He didn't know whether roll his eyes or sigh with relief. He chose a mixture of both.
It was late evening when Sebastian arrived back at the Phantomhive mansion with a sleepy Ciel in his arms. He ignored the servants questioning glances at his blood ridden uniform and carried his young master up to his room.
When he tried to place Ciel on the bed the boy clutched onto the front of his jacket and refused to be put down. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him.
Ciel reddened slightly, ''Stay with me,'' he then added quietly, ''Please...''
Sebastian nodded and put Ciel down on the bed now that the boy was sure his butler wasn't leaving. He took off his bloody coat and climbed on top of the bed.
He was surprised when he felt Ciel lay his head on his stomach. Even more surprised when he heard the boy mutter something about a 'vacation.'
Sebastian stared down at the boy who was cuddled up to his side and put an arm around him. His Young Master could be so odd at times. He almost felt guilty about pretending to be tired and bribing that idiotic shinigami to cut him up just to make his Boc-chan feel guilty about sending him out on so many jobs.
On the bright side, now he got a vacation, and Ciel was being cute. That was a win, if you asked him.
A/N: This was meant to be an attempt at parental, but I suppose you could see it as friendship or even yaoi if you really want to. I hope you enjoyed it. Who knows, maybe I'll make a sequel someday.