Well, this is my first story here! Writing's a lot harder than I expected, haha. I hope the grammar's not too bad. This plot bunny refused to die, so here it is for all the world to see. I hope you guys enjoy it, because I have a weird sense of fluff.
I have many more plot bunnies, so more fluff to come! :)
Of Dark Rooms and Pentacles
Night had long since fallen, and the sky was a unfathomless black with no moon in its embrace. Everything in the young lord's vision was one shade of grey that felt darker than black, but that was impossible, wasn't it? There's nothing darker than black. The room also felt unnecessarily bleak, and quiet, and for the love of all things holy-
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, the grandfather clock downstairs chimed, startling the young man out of his bleak thoughts. Realizing there was no threat, he relaxed only slightly, still unnerved.
Ciel Phantomhive could not sleep.
The Earl had retired later than usual, that night. He had found a new lead to the long string crimes that had been occurring lately after many weeks without clues, and for that reason refused to sleep at his normal time. Sebastian had to literally drag his young charge to bed, before the hour grew even more atrocious.
Ciel blinked, and yawned. Curse Sebastian for not letting him finish his work! It was his job to catch the criminals of England, and it was not his butler's place to separate him from his job. Now, all Ciel could think about was the case. The murderers had been massacring in London for nearly two months, with thirty murders under their belt. With such troubling thoughts on the mind, how could anyone sleep?
The young lord shifted under the silk sheets, finding a nicer position. He sighed, closed his eyes, and tried to let his mind wander.
The clock struck four.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Ciel's eyes flew open as he flinched, his eyes adjusting to the grey room. Damn! He had been imagining himself finally finding the killer. And then imagined being killed by the killer... Ciel growled half-heartedly. Were the visions half-hearted fantasies or half-dreamt nightmares? He couldn't even tell. He was too tired to think. Which was ridiculous. If he was too tired to think, why couldn't he sleep?
Mind an uncomfortable haze, Ciel whispered for his butler. "Sebastian."
Deed done, the teen closed his eyes and waited for his servant. After some span of time (Ciel couldn't gauge how long he waited), he heard a faint nod at the door. The door opened seconds later to reveal his servant, his expression one of slight surprise.
"Young master? Do you require any assistance?" Sebastian asked, slinking in the room silently.
"I cannot sleep, Sebastian. I blame you for this. I was so close to finishing that case, and then you had the nerve to force me to bed," the Earl drawled, mis-matched eyes glaring at his butler.
Sebastian chucked. "My lord, it was prudent for you to go to bed. Had I not stopped you, you would have worked yourself into the ground until dawn. I imagine you would be especially cranky after a night without sleep. And then you'd take your frustration on me. Or worse, the other servants."
"I'm already cranky and I still haven't gotten any sleep! If you haven't sent me to bed we would of been done by now-" Ciel growled.
Sebastian smiled serenely, his eyes glowing very subdued magenta. "My apologizes, my lord. But even had I known you would catch this bout of insomnia, I still would have advised you to retire," Sebastian shook his head. "If you would like, I could prepare a cup of warm milk with honey-"
"Get in my bed."
Sebastian blinked. "My lord, I don't think that is very appropri-"
"Don't make me make it an order."
The butler chuckled again, sliding out of his shoes and tailcoat, then walked around to the other end of the bed. With leisurely movements, he pushed the cotton back comforter and settled himself on Ciel's left. Both males were facing each other, their foreheads almost touching.
It occurred to Ciel that he had no idea what to do now, much to Sebastian's amusement. The butler watched his normally composed master fidget some more, before deciding to grant the boy some mercy. With a snicker, he wrapped his warm arms around the lithe frame, pulling him closer. Ciel started, but after a while, finally relaxing his head against his butler's chest, snuggling with the warmth.
A few more minutes of this, and Ciel found himself awkward again, his face coloring with embarrassment. With a silent sigh, he wiggled himself out of his servant's embrace. Looking for something to do, he grabbed Sebastian's left hand and pulled off the glove on it. In the dark of the night, Sebastian's proof of the contract shone a muted magenta.
He let out a breath he realized he had been holding. For some reason, seeing the proof of their contract comforted Ciel. It meant that he wasn't alone in this one-shade-of-grey room.
That Sebastian was his.
Ciel grasped the hand with the contract. He stared at the pentacle, following the purple lines that formed the star. After tracing the star in his mind, his eyes wandered the circle around the star, followed by the outer circle around the pentacle, the one imbedded with diamonds. Finally, his eyes rested on the text decorating the star, words and symbols of an unknown language. It was fascinating. Of course, Ciel had his copy of the contract on his right eye, but the details were always muted because of its small size... Sebastian's was bigger, lines crisp and plain for him to see.
"See something you like?" Sebastian teased, having watched his young charge stare at his hand in fascination for the past minutes. It was rare sight to behold, to see his child... well, acting like a child, eyes wide in innocent wonder.
Ciel decided not to grace that question with an answer. I could stare at this beautiful symbol all night... he thought.
Sebastian's hand twitched, and it took Ciel many moments before he realized he had said his last thought out loud. Too tired to care, Ciel closed his eyes, hand wrapping around Sebastian's tightly.
Well, it is, he signed, fingers dancing on Sebastian's palm. He was too tired to even speak. Don't you think so? He retorted.
It is something I have not thought about before, Sebastian signed back.
Ciel hummed once as an empty reply, before digging his face into his pillow, fingers still circling the pentacle. It was only a few minutes more before Ciel finally slipped into sleep, breaths slow and even. The circling slowly stopped.
Smiling softly, Sebastian pulled the boy closer once more, and closed his eyes as well.