A/N: Before you begin this story, please note that I haven't included a lot of canon in this. The contract is still in place, and the events from the end of season one onwards haven't happened. I also haven't written fanfiction for this fandom before, and it has been years since I've actually written a oneshot rather than a multi-chaptered story, so I apologise if this isn't up to a very good standard.

But anyway, I hope that you enjoy it nonetheless!

Until the Very End

The sound of the two swords clashing against each other echoed against the walls of the large room. Ciel fell back when Sebastian pulled away, though the boy quickly regained his composure. The fight continued for minutes. While Ciel was putting his utmost effort into the swings of his sword, Sebastian was calm, barely faltering each time Ciel launched an attack. He raised a hand after another couple of minutes, his posture completely straight. Ciel, on the other hand, was slightly bent over with his shoulders hunched, his breathing heavy.

"Please remind me as to why this is needed," he said after a moment, in between his rapid breaths. "I have you to protect me. Why must I learn to defend myself this way?"

"Because, my lord, I would much rather not have you harmed," Sebastian replied.

"I won't ever be harmed. Not when I have you."

"It is true that I will always be there to protect you at all costs, master," Sebastian said. "But I believe that it is always a good idea to never be too careful. Not to mention that it is expected of you to learn these skills. Others will question why such a wealthy lord hasn't the ability to protect himself."

"I suppose that makes sense," Ciel sighed. "It is just so awfully tiring."

"Quite right too, with how small you are, my lord," Sebastian smirked.

"Shut up," Ciel snapped, his cheeks turning pink. Sebastian had to hold in a laugh- even though it had now been several years since the beginning of their contract, Ciel had barely grown at all. Sebastian was constantly teasing him about it.

"I apologise, master. Your skills are improving, however, so do not be disheartened."

"That is only because I have a good tutor."

This was one development over the last couple of years. Though the words 'thank you' were rarely spoken, except from the odd occasion, Ciel had started to show further gratitude for Sebastian's assistance. It seemed as though it was both shyness and Ciel's pride which stopped him from showing this properly.

"Thank you, my lord. Now, we can move onto our next lesson."

"Next lesson?" Ciel frowned. "We did not have any other lessons planned."

"I am aware of that. But I do believe that this is rather important."

Without warning, Sebastian took hold of Ciel's hand and placed his other hand on the boy's waist.

"Se-Sebastian! What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, his cheeks flushing once more.

"You cannot abandon the art of dance for months and expect the ability to come back to you," Sebastian chuckled as he began to lead Ciel around the room. "Dancing is something which needs to always be refined, my lord."

Ciel cursed as he stumbled and stood on Sebastian's foot, who didn't even flinch.

"That is exactly what I mean, my lord. You will not improve unless you practise with more regularity."

"It's not like I have to dance with anyone," Ciel muttered, avoiding Sebastian's eyes.

"Perhaps not now you have cancelled the wedding, my lord," Sebastian said. "But there will still be other women you will have to dance with."

"Hopefully they will not be taller than me, like you are."

Sebastian couldn't hold in a laugh, and his amusement only grew when Ciel glared at him. His expression grew serious, however, when a question crossed his mind.

"You haven't yet informed me as to why you ended your engagement with Lady Elizabeth, my lord," he said.

"I realise that."

"Would you care to explain why, my lord?"

"There are multiple reasons," Ciel said, still avoiding Sebastian's eyes. The colour in his face deepened, which only increased Sebastian's curiosity.

"Multiple, my lord?"

"Yes, but it isn't any of your concern as to what they are."

Ciel cursed under his breath once more when he yet again stumbled. Sebastian realised it wasn't purely due to his lack of dancing over the last few months – he was also, simply, very distracted.

"Bloody hell. I can't ever get this right."

"Are you alright, my lord?" Sebastian questioned.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you seem awfully distracted. Is anything the matter?"

"There is nothing wrong. I'm fine."

"Master-"

"I said I'm fine!"

There was a silence for a few moments after Ciel's shout. The young boy pulled out of Sebastian's grasp, only glancing at the demon's eyes for a moment.

"I am tired. Perhaps that's why I am so distracted. I'm going to my room to rest."

Without another word, Ciel turned around and walked out of the room, closing the doors behind him. Sebastian stood still for a moment before he left the room himself, though he didn't follow Ciel to his room. He made his way, instead, to the kitchen, deciding on making Ciel a cup of tea to help calm him down. Something was clearly on the lord's mind; anyone could see that. He had seemed somewhat different for months, but now, it was obvious that something was wrong.

Several minutes later, Sebastian was stood outside of Ciel's room. He raised a glove hand to knock on the door, but he didn't receive a reply. All he heard was Ciel sniff from inside, his breathing somewhat heavy.

"My lord, I do hope that you haven't come down with a cold," Sebastian said as he entered, turning to close the door after him. "Perhaps a cup of tea will..."

His words trailed off when his eyes landed on Ciel properly. The boy was sitting on his bed, slouched over – that alone was a surprise, being as Ciel usually sat with a good posture. But what was even more shocking was the tears which stained his face. Though Sebastian had seen him upset before, as well as see tears in his eyes, he rarely saw him cry. If Ciel did so while alone, he didn't know. But seeing Ciel like this made him believe that perhaps he did.

"Master, have you been crying?"

"No," Ciel said, quickly wiping his face with his sleeve. Even with his face dry, however, it was still clear that he had been crying by how wet his long eyelashes were.

Sebastian sighed, and placed Ciel's teacup down on his bedside table before he crouched down in front of Ciel and took both of his hands into his own.

"Please, tell me what's wrong," he said, his voice soft.

"Nothing is wrong," Ciel said through gritted teeth, his eyes looking down at their joined hands. He quickly looked away from them a moment later, his face heating up.

"My lord, if there is one thing that you're not very good at, it's lying to me," Sebastian chuckled. "I'm sure you will feel better if you told me what was on your mind."

"I don't want to talk about anything. It makes me feel vulnerable."

"There is no need to feel vulnerable. If anything, it takes more courage to speak about this. You can talk to me, my lord."

When Ciel did not answer, but seemed to relax a little, Sebastian decided that perhaps questions would be the best approach.

"Is your sadness linked to the reasons why you called off your engagement with Miss Elizabeth?"

Ciel hesitated, before he nodded his head slowly.

"Would you be able to tell me why these reasons are making you feel this way?"

This time, he shook his head.

"Can you at least tell me why you aren't meeting my eyes?"

"Because I'm scared of what will happen if I do," Ciel said quietly. "If I look at you, I'll lose all of my control. I don't think I will be able to resist speaking my thoughts if I see your eyes."

"And why, my lord, is that a bad thing?"

"Because… Because I can't talk about this!"

"Can you at least tell me how Miss Elizabeth felt herself about this?"

"Her feelings are one of the reasons why I have ended our engagement," Ciel said. "I have seen the boy that she has feelings for, and that boy isn't me. His name is Edward Clarence. Seventeen-years-old, tall, dark brown hair, handsome. It is clear that she has fallen for him. I can see that just from the way she looks at him."

"Is this the reason why you are upset?"

"Of course not. I am glad that she has the chance to marry a boy who she actually loves. I wouldn't want her to have to spend the rest of her life with me when I know for certain she doesn't love me, at least not romantically."

"This alone seems to be a fair enough reason to end the engagement. But I do recall, my lord, that you said there were 'multiple' reasons."

"I hate how observant you are sometimes."

"I am not being observant; I am simply remembering the exact words you said."

"It's just..."

"Yes, master?"

"It's not right for me to feel this way!" Ciel suddenly shouted. He finally pulled his hands away from Sebastian's and pushed himself off the bed at the side of Sebastian, before he walked over to the window, his arms folded. "I am the heir of Vincent Phantomhive. I have had to fulfil all of the duties as lord of this household since he and my mother's deaths. I cannot feel this way. I won't."

"May I ask, exactly what way can't you feel?"

"I never want to marry a girl. I would not be comfortable doing so."

"Master, you are still only sixteen-years-old. It is understandable that your heart may not be ready for marriage yet, especially with a girl you've been friends with for so long. Sixteen is still a fairly young age for a life-long commitment."

"It's not that I am not ready. That isn't my issue."

"Then what is your issue?"

"I… I don't feel attraction towards girls. And yet, with males, I do. The problem I have with marriage is that it must be with the gender I do not feel attraction for."

There was a stunned silence on the room for a couple of minutes. Though there had been moments where Sebastian had questioned Ciel's sexuality, and had also questioned whether it was in fact arousal he had been sensing on numerous occasions, it was strange to hear the words being spoken aloud by Ciel himself. It was no wonder that he had gotten so uncomfortable about the engagement with Elizabeth.

"It scares me, Sebastian," Ciel said a few moments later, breaking the silence. "For six years, I have been in control of everything. The fire, their deaths, the torture… It haunts me. But I have never allowed myself to be overcome by my feelings. At least, I have done all I can to prevent that. These… These feelings I've had recently are something I can't just push aside. I just… I don't know what to do, Sebastian."

Ciel's voice cracked as he finished his sentence. He lowered his head into his hands, and Sebastian heard a muffled sob. He walked over to Ciel, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to turn him round gently. He removed Ciel's eyepatch with one hand so he could wipe his tears with another.

"D-Don't..." Ciel whispered, closing his eyes.

"I do not like seeing you cry, my lord. I only want to help."

"But crying is showing weakness. I can't… I can't show weakness. I can't be vulnerable. Besides… You can't help me."

Ciel finally looked up at Sebastian with his mismatched eyes. It was only for a moment, however, before he looked back down at the floor.

"How can the very person I've mainly felt attraction for possibly help me? You've helped me for all of these years. But you can't with this."

"You-"

"Yes. Yes, I'm attracted to you, Sebastian. In fact, I feel more than mere attraction for you. But I can't. Not just because you are my butler, but also because it would never work. You only protect me because you will have my soul someday. I've grown to accept that."

The room fell silent, neither knowing how to break it. A couple of minutes ticked by, Ciel's gaze directed at the floor the entire time. Ciel's gasp broke the silence, however, when he was pulled into a hug by arms much stronger than his own.

"Se-Sebastian… What are you…?"

"Perhaps it could just be the amount of times I have rescued you, or merely just how I own your soul, which has made me feel as protective as I do," Sebastian murmured into Ciel's ear. "Though I believe it is more than that. It isn't merely the contract which makes me protect you now. I've grown to fear for you, to keep you safe at all costs because I have grown to see much more of you. I don't see only your soul anymore; I also see everything there is about you. Your strengths, your weaknesses, your fears; what brings you happiness, what makes you upset. I've been around longer than you could imagine, and yet, I have never felt this attached to a human I have a contract with before. You truly are extraordinary, Ciel. So what makes you believe that you have to accept that nothing could ever work between us?"

"I..." Ciel started as Sebastian pulled away softly, hesitating as he was in shock over Sebastian's words. "I never knew that I was more than just the soul you own. I've always believed that it was always just that which was important to you."

"It was at first, I must admit. I believe that is quite understandable, being as I am not human. But my feelings for you have changed."

"I'm… I'm very relieved to hear that," Ciel said slowly. He was feeling incredibly joyful, but was trying to not let it show through too much. "This still couldn't work though, Sebastian. Not with how my future is determined."

Sebastian didn't reply at first. He instead removed the glove covering the symbol on his hand, and raised Ciel's hand so their palms were touching. They stood like this for a few moments before Sebastian spoke.

"Until that day, we can try. I'm never going to leave you. I wouldn't even if we didn't have this contract binding us."

"Is that true? Do you mean that?"

"I do. I will stay with you, Ciel, until the very end."

Sebastian removed his hand from Ciel's so he was able to cup the boy's cheeks in his hands. Slowly, he moved closer until their lips met, both pairs of eyes fluttering closed as he did so. Neither knew how they would cope when the time came for their contract to finish, but the only thing which seemed to matter is the present. Until the moment where Ciel's life was over, they would stay together, not just as an earl and his demon butler, but much more.

Side by side, until the very end.

A/N: It was so nice for me to write both a oneshot and for a fandom I've never written a fanfiction for. It was refreshing, if that makes sense. I guess I just liked the change.

I hope that you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave your thoughts in a review.