Parasols
Sebastian had been brewing tea and thinking about the inventions that are used throughout London... Those that had made almost unnoticeable, yet noteworthy impacts on society. Those that even his lord Phantomhive used. The parasol, for example.
The parasol had always been a lucky thing for his master, not to mention himself. He had once used a parasol to defend himself against a certain out-of-control red shinigami... Another time to shield all five of the servants from the ashes that Pluto had made from the garden.
He stopped thinking, as he had arrived with the tea.
"Young Master?" Sebastian called, knocking on the thick oak door of Ciel Phantomhive's study.
"I have brought your tea." he continued.
"Enter." the demanding voice answered from inside the room.
Sebastian opened the door and rolled a small cart into the room, slowing to a halt by the Earl's large desk.
"Darjeeling?" Ciel guessed aloud.
"Correct. You, as always, have an immense knowledge of tea. I shall be back soon with your sweets." Sebastian replied, turning towards the door and taking his leave.
Ciel took a sip of his tea, picking up his pen and placing the next sheet of paperwork on the top of the steadily growing stack.
'Yes, yes... New factory... Yes... Focus in sweets department... Ok, whatever. Signed. Next.'
Each page of paperwork was the same... Blah blah blah, sign here. Soon enough, Ciel had finished his tea, and Sebastian was at the door once again with his sweet snack.
"This is a chocolate and raspberry tart, garnished with vanilla. I trust it will be to your liking, sir." Sebastian introduced the dish, placing it in the neat open space in the middle of his master's desk.
"Good." was Ciel's simple reply.
Sebastian reached to pick up the now-empty teacup, but the Earl's delicate hand stopped him.
"My Lord?" the butler prompted questioningly.
"Look. These tealeaves in the bottom of my teacup. I've heard that one can 'read' them, and predict future outcomes based on such. Tell me, are you knowledgeable on the topic?" the boy began to smirk.
He knew his butler would know nothing of the sort. What a fool he would make his butler into. He chuckled quietly, just enough for Sebastian to pick up with his sensitive ears.
He smirked as well, "No, I am not. But if memory serves, we have a book on that very subject somewhere in this very study." The taller man said, placing the tray on the entrance table.
Sebastian walked around the study, scanning the bookshelf walls' book spines. After a good minute or so, Sebastian made a small "Ah-hah" noise, prying an old book from the top shelf.
"Tea Leaf Reading..." Ciel sighed. His butler had managed to outsmart him. When would he ever get a chance to outwit his butler?
"Indeed. Here we are... Leaf readings; page 174." Sebastian spoke absentmindedly, flipping through the pages gracefully with his long, slender fingers.
"Get on with it!" The boy snapped, passing Sebastian his cup gently, as to not alter the layout of the remaining tea leaves.
"Of course." the butler reached out and grasped the cup, continuing to flip through pages with his other hand.
Sebastian walked around the Earl's desk, placing himself behind Ciel. He lay the book down, placing the cup beside it, so that Ciel could see, and Sebastian read over his shoulder.
Each page had a different picture, a different leaf pattern. Attempting to match each page with the cup from one angle or another, they weren't getting anywhere.
Ciel sighed. This was becoming slightly tedious.
"Sebastian, just put that damned book away. I have work to attend to." he said wearily.
"Ah, not quite yet. I do believe I have found a match, Young Master." the butler smirked and pointed to the current page.
Ciel glanced between the book... And the teacup. The teacup... And the book. They matched indeed.
Sebastian picked up the book so he could read it, standing erect once again.
"It says here, 'Parasol-shaped tea leaves indicate new, valuable and everlasting love in someone close to you'... Interesting..." Sebastian mused, smirking.
Ciel blushed. "When would I ever find such love? And in whom? I've lost... Almost... All of my loved ones..." the boy trailed off.
The butler shrugged, closing the book shut with a 'snap' before reaching up to replace the book in its slot on the shelf. He turned around again to see a blushing master. He raised an eyebrow at Ciel, who was avoiding eye contact. Sebastian bent over and picked up the cup that had just recently been read, and placed it on the tray. The demon returned to his master's side, earning a questioning glance from said child.
Sebastian kneeled down to his knees and took Ciel's face lightly in his hands. He felt the boy's cheeks begin to flush and burn with nervousness and embarrassment. Ciel's gaze drifted for a moment, before eventually returning to his butler's deep eyes. When Ciel's eyes finally returned to the kneeling man's, Sebastian's stare eased, and he moved in slowly towards his young lord. Ciel's eyes floated shut, and his butler's soft, firm lips met his in a single, sweet, slow moment of unexpected emotion, love and passion.
Both had their eyes shut, and their small kiss continued sweetly. Too soon for the Earl, though, Sebastian pulled away to look his master straight in the eye.
"It would appear that you have already found such love in me, my Lord." Sebastian said, smiling.
Slightly breathless, Ciel responded, "How... Would you know...?"
"Because I love you, Ciel." was the simple reply from the black-clad demon.
The boy was tentative in his reply, yet with his usual undertone of arrogance. "And I, too, know. Because I love you too, Sebastian."
The butler chuckled. "I'm glad." Sebastian stood and smiled at his master, bidding him well and picking up the tray, walking back to the kitchen.
'Parasols are quite lucky indeed... I love you, Lord Phantomhive.'
_
a/n: So... I was at home... And I decided I wanted tea. So I rummaged through my cupboards and found 'cold-brew tea'... So I found an old mug... Filled it with water, put it in the microwave and then put in the cold brew bag... Yea... Doesn't work. You end up with a bunch of random tealeaves in your cup and disgusting 'tea'. So... From my white-trash-tea adventure, came a fluffy idea for an uber fluffy SebxCiel... Hopefully it's not too much of a failure... It's only my second SebxCiel fic, so please don't kill me. Thank you very kindly. ^^'
Bai~Bai~!