A/N: this takes place in the after season 2 so spoiler alerts, everything carries out as it should, and Claude and Sebastian
Sebastian frowned. He had been feeling off today, for reasons he didnt know. He felt tired, probably from the earlier visit from Lizzy and her parents. He also had a headache, a migraine more like, and a bad one at that. He felt like his skull would burst at some points, and at others he could almost numb it out. Almost...
Suddenly mey-rin came running down the hall, carrying a letter. She plowed right into him, knocking them both down and turning his headache into something worse than it had been before.
"S-Sorry Mr. Sebastian! I have a letter for you! S-Sebastian...?"
"Yes mey-rin?" He said in an annoyed tone.
"Your really warm, are you sick?" She asked, rolling off of him.
"Of course not. The letter, if you would." He said, taking it from her. he stood and pulled her up, telling her to get back to work. He looked at the letter, it had a black wax seal and a red envelope. Definitely not for the young master. It must be for him, as it had his name on it. He smiled, it was most likely from his lover, Claude Faustus, who was currently in hell, too weak to come to earth just yet...He had killed him out of an order. But Claude had told him to, as he knew how Sebastian would be horribly punished by the contract and Ciel if he hadnt done so... Claude was the only one who really gave him any meaning anymore. Because Ciel was just a bratty demon now who hated him, just like everyone else in hell except his family... Most of his family anyway.
He heard a loud crash, which knocked him forcefully out of his thoughts with the horrible migraine... He darted to the kitchen, where everything was in ashes and even bits of the walls were blown up and in crumbles.
Bard rubbed the back of his neck in a guilty gesture. Sebastian looked at him sharply, and if looks could kill Bard would be ripped into a million pieces on the spot.
"S-Sebastian, I'm sorry... Just calm down would you?" Bard finally said. Sebastian took a deep breath and closed his eyes, wincing visibly as mey-rin ran down the hall with boxes of new tea sets, which ended up all over the floor in mere seconds, her along with them. His headache was worse, he felt horribly tired, and now a little light headed for some reason. 'I'm getting worse and worse... Maybe I'm sick? No no, I cant say that just yet...' He thought. He couldnt think like that because demonic illness was not something to be trifled with, most were incurable, and some were fatal.
He sighed as Finny came down from the garden, crying and wailing.
Ciel came down, yelling at him for not preventing this.
"ENOUGH!" He finally yelled, catching them all of guard. Not once in his time at the phantomhive manor had he raised his voice. The room started tilt and spin as the light headed feeling started to grow, along with his tiredness. "Just... Stop..." He breathed out weakly, he swayed before completely collapsing into mey-rin who had stood up during the commotion. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground -or mey-rin in this case-.
"Mr. Sebastian!" The maid gasped, catching him. Ciel had gasped his name as well. "Young Master, I think Mr. Sebastian is sick... He's very warm, I think he has a fever. Do you want me to take him to his room...?"
"No, Bard, you take him, change him into some night clothes, and settle him in bed. then you get back to work. I'll be in to check on him later." Ciel said in a no-question voice. Bard nodded, taking Sebastian from mey-rin, gentler than usual for Bard, holding him bridal style instead of throwing him over his shoulder. Bard did as told, and in no time sebastian was resting peacefully on the bed.
Later that day Ciel did keep his promise to check up on the butler, going into his room in the evening. He knocked first, just thinking it was a polite thing to do. He was surprised when he heard sebastian talking Inside the room to mey-rin. Ciel had left her to tend to him. He listened closely.
"Mey-Rin please, i need to tend to the young master! I'm fine!" Sebastian said, though his voice was quite raspy.
"No, the young master specifically said that you are to stay in bed, Mr Sebastian. Your sick!"
Ciel took that opportunity to go into the room and clear his throat. "Young master?" Sebastian asked. "What do need?" He asked.
"You're dismissed mey-rin." He said. She nodded and left.
"Sebastian, why didn't you tell me you were sick? You may be bound to me eternally, but that doesn't mean I don't care about your well-being." He said, taking the chair from the desk and pulling it over to the bed side.
"I wasn't sure I was seriously ill... or ill at all for that matter... I may just be over worked, I am much weaker since I cannot contract humans anymore, nor have I consumed a soul for a little over five years." He explained. Ciel nodded, feeling guilty now, since he might have caused his servants sudden 'illness'.
"Sebastian, being over worked wouldn't explain the raspiness in your voice or the high fever. Don't you have a doctor, someone from hell that could tell you for sure?" Ciel asked. Sebastian nodded, pushing himself into a sitting position, resting his back against the head board.
"Yes, actually i have two that would be willing to help, and would be able to figure out whether its sickness, or if i'm simply overworked. I hope to Lucifer that its not illness..." he said the last sentence quietly, looking down and playing with the edge of one of the blankets he was partially underneath.
"Are demonic illnesses really that bad?" Ciel asked, a dumbfound expression on his face.
Sebastian looked up at him with a blank, but grim expression. "Yes, actually. Demonic illness. -almost always- is either incurable or fatal." He said, sighing and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Ciel frowned. He hadnt known that. Now he as well hoped that Sebastian was indeed just over worked.
"Well, why dont you call this doctor? Actually, just give me their number. I would like for you to rest a bit, see if it helps your fever. I cant have you bed-ridden too long. We both know i have yet to learn how to take care of myself." He said, giving a small, reassuring smile. Sebastian nodded, rattling off a number and a name, and watching as Ciel left. He'd given him the name of the royal families doctor, since his family was the royal family in hell.
Ciel went straight to his study, picking up the phone and dialing the number sebastian had given him. After a few moments of the phone ringing someone picked up.
"Hello?" Came a light but strong male voice.
"Yes, hello. Xariel, is it? This is Ciel Phantomhive. I'm calling about the demon Sebastian Michaelis. I'm contracted to him. You see, recen-"
"Has his demonic asthma come back again?" Interrupted the man. Ciel went wide eyed, since when did sebastian have asthma? Ciel had asthma as well, well when he was human at least, and he was troubled by learning this information.
"I dont think so. He would have known, wouldnt he?"
"Most likely so, but you can never be sure with him. He is still fairly young, for a demon, only around two thousand years old actually. That make him about twenty in human standards. What symptoms are he presenting?" Xariel asked.
"Fever, dizziness, tiredness... i dont know much other than that." He said.
"Well its not demonic asthma then. I'll have to examine him myself. I'm guessing you are at the Phantomhive manor then?"
"Yes." Ciel said.
"Okay, tell Prince Michaelis I'll be there soon enough. I do have his partner to tend to though, i'll be there by five o'clock." he told ciel before giving a quick goodbye and hanging up. Now he had a few questions for the butler to answer.
He went down to the servants quarters and walked into sebastians room, after knocking, of course. He watched as sebastian slowly woke from whatever form of sleep he had been in, probably by sensing his presence in the room.
"What did he say?" Sebastian asked groggily, sitting up and rubbing one eye.
"Why didnt you tell me you had asthma?" He asked. Sebasian went wide eyed, then looked down, embarrassed.
"Because i didnt think it was necessary that you knew... i wanted you to think i was rather invincible. As demons are compared to humans. I didnt want you to think that there was a chance i would fail you because of a childhood illness... one which i havent had an attack from since was a teenager." Ciel sighed, he hadnt wanted his butler to think he had to hide everything to keep an image intact.
"Could that be whats wrong with you now?" He asked, sebastian chuckled.
"No, actually it would be fifty times worse than this if it had been an asthma attack..." He said, but before he could elaborate he fell into a coughing fit. It seemed that sebastian had trouble breathing as he continued to cough as well, like he wasnt getting enough air, less air than usual for a small coughing fit. Now that he was looking for them, he could see the signs tht sebastian did indeed have asthma, demonic version or not. When the coughing stopped sebastian was left gasping for breath, more so than one should have to after such a small fit. Once sebastian had control over himself, he sighed in releif. "Anymore questions about what Xariel told you, M'lord?" He asked. Ciel nodded.
"Just one more. What is your ranking in hell? He said you were a prince."
"Ah, yes now that is one i was expecting." Sebastian said. "I am one of the seven royal court members in hell. I am also the third son of satan. My brothers and sisters, in order, are Cain, and Adramelech, then comes me, after that theres malphas, Lilith, Pandora, and Ravan." He explained. Ciel nodded in understanding, and he saw sebastians pocket watch on the bedside table. He picked it up and saw that it was almost five. "I had better go so that i can greet Dr. Xariel." Ciel said, sebastian nodded, watching as he left.
Just as Ciel reached the door someone knocked on it. He opened it, seeing a blonde man with lightly tanned skin and a good facial structure at the door. His blonde hair was combed so that it tucked back behind his ears, and the rest was swept back so that none hung in his face.
"Ciel Phantomhive, I'm assuming?" He said, a small smile on his features, as he shook the boys hand. Ciel flushed at realizing he had discarded his coat and bow tie, but Xariel just chuckled. "You dress just like Michaelis had, when he was a child. Though i am fairly sure that you dont always dress like this, by the blush on your cheeks." He said. Ciel nodded slowly. "So, where is he?" Xariel asked.
"Follow me." Ciel said, leading the man to the room sebastian was currently in. They found him asleep, though this time he didnt wake.
"Ah, so he chose his true human form this time." The doctor said, smiling softly.
"How long have you known him?" Ciel asked as the doctor felt sebastians forehead and started to assess his breathing.
"Well... i've been the royal families doctor since before Michaelis was born, so i've known him all his life. I'm one of the few doctors in hell that knew about demonic asthma, most people dont study it since its so rare, but it can be deadly if not treated properly. Pray tell, How did he end up contracted to a demon?" He asked.
"Well we ran into Claude Faustus and Hannah Anafeloz. Hannah turned me into a demon while sebastian fought and killed Claude, out of my orders." He explained. Xariel nodded.
"Oh, Prince Faustus Failed to mention that, when he told me of how he was almost killed by a demons sword. You see, Faustus is Michaelis' partner. They were married a few decades ago, putting Faustus into the royal family." Xariel explained in detail. Ciel went wide eyed, his mind working to process what he had been told. Xariel chuckled again, but it quickly vanished as he let his hand hover above sebastians chest, and an orange light appeared in the space between his palm and sebastian. It fascinated Ciel, looking like a small orb, it was no bigger than a pin head, but from the look on the doctors face it meant something bad.
"You see this light, Ciel? How its orange?" He asked, Ciel nodding in confirmation to his question. "Well, its not supposed to be orange. Its supposed to be blue. Orange isnt a good color to start out with when first examined. I'll have to test his blood and see what sickness he has. Good thing you called, or else Michaelis could have gotten worse and we wouldnt have been able to do anything... I have to wake him up, but i'd rather you do it, as not to scare him, did it once when he was a child, and i didnt like the result." Xariel explained. Ciel tensed and nodded. He touched his eyepatch and called for sebastian through it mentally.
The man roused and blinked his eyes open. "Long time no see, Xariel." Sebastian said, smiling.
"Yes, it has been hasnt it? I'm going to have to draw some blood."
"What color was my vital reading...?" He asked slowly. He knew he wasnt going to like it by the look on Xariels face.
"Orange." He said grimly. Sebastian went wide eyed, a grim frown marring his beautiful features. Orange wasnt good, not at all. That means that he wasnt showing nearly as much damage as he should be. That in itself could lead into more complications, less symptoms at first could lead to more later on...
The doctor took a blood sample, smiling reasuringly as he did so. He wished Sebastian could be healthy like the rest of them. But he had been weak and ill as a child, and even though he had magnificent strength and power, and could most definitely take his fathers place soon when the coming of age ceremony took place, healthiness and illness were his weak spot, since even a common demonic cold could leave him bedridden for a few days. Whatever this was, he prayed to lucifer it wouldnt kill the young prince. He slipped the vial of fresh blood into his pocket.
"Sebastian, i'll be back in a moment, i have to check this sample and, if you wish, tell prince faustus of your current predicament. Sebastian nodded and watched as he left, before grabbing his pocket watch off of the night stand. "I apologize young master, it seems that dinner shall be delayed." Sebastian said. Ciel shook his head.
"I wouldnt be able to eat anyway, at least until we know whats wrong with you." Ciel said. Sebastian was silent from then on, snuggling back down into the covers as sleep tugged at him once more.