AN: Just a little thing for New Year's Eve/ New Years. Started to write at almost 11PM on the 31st, so this isn't very developed, lol. Set sometime early-ish in the manga, I suppose, since it's at the end Jack the Ripper year.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, do not own, not making any money, etc.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
Dec. 31, 1888
Rust eyes met a single blue one across the crowded ballroom, and after Ciel disengaged himself from a throng of nobles and his clinging fiancé, Sebastian bowed politely to the lady who'd been rather tipsily flirting with him, and excused himself. He made his way through several hallways and up a flight of stairs, until he found his master, on an upper balcony away from all the party-goers. The Phantomhive New Year's Ball was a tradition which Ciel was more or less obligated to continue, no matter how much he disliked such events. The balcony he'd taken refuge of was a floor above the three similar terraces which came off the ballroom, and from their place it was easy for both master and butler to hear the giggles of slightly drunken lovers floating up. Ciel was lightly flushed, perhaps a tad less than sober himself, and though his face was as stern as ever, the way he clambered up onto the balcony railing was uncharacteristically childish. And dangerous, considering that between his limited vision and whatever alcohol the boy had consumed, he was hardly a paragon of balance.
Sebastian sighed, stepping to the railing and settling gloved hands at the boy's hips.
"Do come down, young master. If you should fall, I would be forced to rescue you using talents which even your more drunken guests may recognize as inhuman."
"Shut up, Sebastian."
Ciel crossed his arms and glared, and Sebastian, amused by the strange lightness in his master's demeanour despite the frown, ruffled the young lord's hair as he would the fur of an angry kitten. The boy blinked slowly at him, then a look of utter indignation came across his stubborn little face, and he struck the butler hard on the shoulder, earning nothing but an infuriating smirk in return.
"Now now, milord. I was merely straightening your hair."
Ciel plopped down on the railing, still glaring.
"Do I look like a moron? You were ruffling. I can read your stupid mind. I am not a damn cat!"
Sebastian chuckled, stepping forward to stand next to the boy, hands on the railing, looking out over the grounds, lit by the moon and the lights of the manor.
"Certainly not, my lord. You are merely very much like one."
"Shut up, Sebastian."
There was silence between them for several moments, laughter and the clinking of glass and the nickering of carriage horses drifting up to their ears. A pensiveness settled rather suddenly around the young earl, and Sebastian glanced his way, sensing the shift in his mood.
"Is something troubling you, my lord?"
Ciel's fingers danced over his eye-patch, and he shook his head lightly.
"No. I was just thinking...I've survived another year." As if to mark his words, the grandfather clock in the ballroom rang twelve, a cheer going up from the guests as the new year began. "Will this year be the last?"
A white-gloved hand was offered, and Ciel took it, sliding off the rail. Sebastian knelt before him with a grace any queen's knight would envy, kissing the boy's ring before smiling up at him.
"Even I cannot know that, my lord. Nevertheless," and he broke a rule as he stood, pulling two glasses of wine from the cool air, handing one to the annoyed looking earl with a flourish, "to the New Year, my lord."
The boy shrugged, apparently forgiving the minor disobedience, clinking his glance against his demon's.
"Whatever."