Sebastian threaded his fingers through the bluish-gray silken hair that was so familiar to him, arms curling protectively around a small body. He tensed, preparing his body for impact, trying his best to keep his little master as safe as possible. Performing his proper duties as a butler and trying to stay conscious (given the significant blood loss he'd experienced in the last few moments) were proving exceedingly difficult and actually somewhat painful.
Upon finishing his brief arc through the air and landing quite securely on the floor of the ship, the young earl groaned in what appeared to be a combination of pain and irritation, pulling free of his butler's grasp. Sebastian opted to lay there for a moment more, catching his breath. Really, if there was any time that he wanted to sleep (he hadn't done so in so long, anyway) that time was now. He could really go for a nap that lasted a few decades. His master would be fi—
"Sebastian? Sebastian!" Ah, the panicked voice of a little boy who thought he would be left all alone. A part of him derived a very sick satisfaction, knowing that this uppity noble was relinquishing what little pride he had at the moment in the face of his fear.
"You're loud." The words were more of a hoarse moan if anything, but the relief on Ciel's face showed that he had heard. "I can hear you just fine."
Wearily, he sat up and slipped an arm around Ciel's waist, holding him just close enough to be reassured of his safeness. The gesture was so simple, so familiar that neither of the two even really registered the contact. The earl was breathing slowly, measuring himself, having caught the brief moment of weakness that he'd shown and doing his best to correct it. His hands were placed in a protective sort of manner on his butler's chest, a deep and determined wrinkle set into his brow.
As the shinigami approached, that horrible grin on his face, the concern was back on his master's face. It was only a little – only so much that a demon would notice – but it was enough for Sebastian. He tried his best to be reassuring, looking as strong as he possibly could. Really, though, how strong could a starving, anemic demon be?
oOo
"Sebastian."
"Yes, my Lord?"
"Come here."
The demon moved from his position just in front of the door back to his master's bedside. The boy was so small, and clearly had been starving for quite some time. Against the harsh colors of his bed sheets and the overwhelming largeness of the bed itself, it looked like he was nearly dying.
"What is it?"
"I want…" He trailed off, looking like he wasn't sure whether or not he should say what he was planning on saying. "I want you to stay in here tonight. Until I wake up in the morning."
Ah, so that's what it was. Sebastian almost felt bad for the earl. Surely the circumstances he endured – having witnessed his parents' murders, being kidnapped and violated in all sorts of unpleasant manners – left deeper scars than the superficial ones that the butler had seen. Well, no matter. This would at least save him the trouble of rushing up to the room the moment Ciel was forced awake by the phantoms that haunted his sleep.
"Of course, my Lord."
Nearly an hour had passed of the butler standing in the light of the moon just beyond the window and of the earl tossing and turning before the boy gave the sense that he was about to fall asleep. The demon sighed quietly, wishing that he had been summoned by someone who wasn't nearly as high maintenance, when he heard the barely-audible whispers of his master.
"Sebastian, I want you to promise me something."
Gliding imperceptibly from his position by the window to Ciel's side, Sebastian knelt beside the bed and cupped the boy's cheek in his hand. "Anything."
"Never…" He purred, opening his eyes a fraction of an inch. Just below his eyelashes that were so unnaturally long and so very feminine was the faint hint of an eye that had been distorted, the color turned pinkish-purple from the seal of a demon. "Never, ever leave my side. No matter what."
An amused smile graced perfect lips, revealing the sharp teeth of a predator. "Of course, my Lord. I will remain beside you always."
oOo
The demon was strong. And the demon was thirsty. It was obvious by the way he killed. Not that Ciel had any frame of reference for the way demons acted when they killed. He simply assumed somewhere, in his brain that was fogged by exhaustion and hunger, that demons killed like animals when they were hungry. He was not wrong.
The demon was beautiful. Far too pretty to be as evil as Ciel knew he was. Then again, demons were fallen angels, weren't they? And angels were beautiful. Angels are beautiful. Therefore demons are beautiful. And the demon was very, very beautiful.
The demon was gentle. Far too gentle to be as evil as Ciel knew he was. When he picked Ciel up, taking care to avoid the infected slice in his abdomen that had been made during the time of sacrifice, he cradled him gently in his arms. The embrace was sweet and almost maternal; comforting in a way that Ciel hadn't felt in far too long.
The demon was the only one he had left. His house was gone. His parents were dead. Estates? Companies? Relatives? None of it mattered. Nothing could fill the void that had been left when his life was taken from him. Those people could never be replaced. Trying to make the situation better would only lead to more hurt. More heartache. Revenge was the sweetest form of satisfaction that he could think of.
The demon did not have a name. He was short and overly polite and Ciel could see the irritation sitting under the surface of all of his smiles. But Ciel was not deterred as he tugged on the tailcoats of his new butler and looked up to him, right eye aching and blurry with blood.
"What's your name?" The simplest question in the world.
A smile. One that looked genuine. Ciel knew that it wasn't, but that didn't matter. He had no choice other than to trust the demon. The demon was the only one he had left. "Whatever my master wishes."
"Then…" He thought. He thought of the one creature that he had been closest to before this happened to him. The one creature that had made him feel safe and loved, no matter what was going on in his life. "Sebastian. From now on, your name will be Sebastian."
More of that beautiful, polite smile from of the demon. "Certainly. Well then, please call me Sebastian. Was that the name of your former butler?"
"No…" Ciel tried to put on the most innocent, lonely face that he could manage. Hiding his smile was proving indescribably difficult. "It was my dog's name."
And so the game began.
A/N: This was pretty short, so there isn't that much to comment about it...hopefully there will be more in the future!
~Sara
