Disclaimer: I don't own Kuro Shitsuji or any of its characters.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
If there was one thing that always got on Ciel's nerves, it was how no matter where he went, there would be someone already there, and that someone would always be making some kind of mess. He quickly walked the corridors to one of the all too many spare rooms in the mansion hoping to find some peace for himself. He opened the door slowly only to find inside the insidious Grell running amok about the room after Sebastian who was skillfully cleaning the mess as they went whilst avoiding all of Grell's advances to kill him or kiss him. Ciel felt a vein in his temple pop as he felt the last of his patience become extinct. He'd been through the house to find Finny breaking another valuable heirloom, Bard setting something else on fire, and Meirin falling down another flight of secret stairs only to discover a chamber Ciel had coveted as a secret place to go for solitude. The boy stepped out into the room and crossed it paying no mind to the two bodies flying around him until he reached an old weapon display cabinet. He opened the glass doors coolly, took a short pistol in his hand, turned on his heel, aimed and fired. The bullet hit home as Grell paused briefly in surprise at the loud bang and the quick pressure at his forehead forcing him back only for a second. In that small time frame Sebastian seized the opportunity to knock the shinigami in the side of the head with a round house kick sending him flying through the glass windows and far into the distance. Ciel blew the smoke from the barrel of the gun and replaced it on its stand in the display before turning to leave once more.
"Young mater is a skilled shot," Sebastian noted with a smirk. Ciel said nothing as he continued to make his way out of the room. Sebastian quickly tidied up the last of the mess and followed his master into the corridors.
"Today's lunch-
Ciel cut him off as he turned on his heel to fix the butler with a fierce stare.
"I want to be alone this afternoon. I will call you when I'm hungry," Ciel again turned and walked away leaving Sebastian standing in the corridor feeling a mixture of confusion, indignity, amusement, curiosity and just a little bit ticked. All the same…
"Yes my Lord."
Ciel, now age sixteen, soon approaching his seventeenth birthday, was still in search of all who had to do with the humiliation and fall of the Phantomhive family before him. He felt the ring on his right thumb, still too wide to wear on any of his other fingers, for the umpteenth time. How had the last three years gone by so quickly? Ah, yes, he knew the answer to the question- Undertaking the queen's missions one by one and coming ever closer to his goal, and soon after what he knew would be his end. The only regret he would have would be leaving Elizabeth on her own; over the years he had grown to truly care for her and wished nothing more than to secure a good life for her. But still, his deepest feelings of gratitude, camaraderie and maybe even… Something deeper, all belonged to Sebastian. Over time they had been through Hell and high water always coming out on top like a Phantomhive should. Though Alois Trancy's appearance didn't last long, his will absorbed by his maid servant, and the thirst Claud had to devour Ciel's soul kept them on the run. Ciel regretted not having been the one to put an end to Alois, but alas, he wasn't the only one to blame for his misfortune. Alois had exercised his influence over other higher powers who gladly became involved in demolishing everything the Phantomhives had ever worked to achieve to make room for themselves. Ciel wanted to see each and every one of them fall at his own hand, repent and beg for their lives. Whether he would spare them or not would depend completely on their competence as people and how deeply involved they were with his parents' demise.
Ciel finally retired to his usual office, resigned to the fact that no where else would he find solitude now. He walked over to his desk chair ready to fling himself into it until he realized it was already occupied by a furry black body that slowly lifted its head opening its wide golden eyes and meowing. Ciel was torn between annoyance and amusement, but he didn't mind the cat. He knelt before his chair and gently brushed a careful hand over the soft fur. The cat was older now and likely on its last legs. The young man had to roll his eyes just thinking what state of utmost devastation his butler would be in the day the creature's life came to an end. Demon or not, Sebastian had a ridiculously special place in his… heart? For felines.
Once the Earl had enough of his less important thoughts he gently lifted the cat off his chair so he could sit down and set it back down in his lap where it contented itself by going right back to sleep. Ciel went over what he knew in his mind: He and Sebastian had tracked down the vast majority of the involved parties responsible for all his misfortune, but there still remained Claud and a few crafty others who were extremely good at keeping themselves hidden and well out of harm's way. Regardless, with Sebastian and Lau to aid him, Ciel felt confident that he would soon exact his revenge and be done with it all. The moment was so close that it sent shivers up his spine. He took out some anonymous letters received over the last month from Lau's men who were undercover finding leads on the last few heads that needed to be destroyed to ultimately face Claud and put a definite end to the Trancy tirade. Through careful examination of the letters and references to knowledge he'd acquired previously, Ciel was soon able to pinpoint the locations of the last heads, who they were, and a vague idea of how they had been involved. He mulled over his theories taking notes on his thoughts, making cross references, reopening old letters and scanning news paper clippings. Eventually his desk looked like a tornado had come through the window and scattered all the pages about. It wasn't until the mound of papers in his lap meowed that Ciel looked up to realize that he had indeed built a wall of papers, folders and books around his desk that would take hours to reorganize and put away. First he freed the poor cat of its paper prison, organized the documents and letters and stacked them neatly in piles in a very small clearing on his desk. He then massaged his temples realizing how tired he was, not to mention hungry. He groaned. Ciel admitted to himself that he felt guilty for being overly rude to Sebastian earlier. He wasn't a child anymore, and he now recognized that common courtesy applied to everyone no matter their standing in rank. Plus, Sebastian, despite being his butler, was a demon, which practically made him a sort of god. More importantly, Sebastian was the most important thing in Ciel's life, so a little courtesy wouldn't have hurt.
The Earl cradled the feline in his arms and stepped over the mess heading for the door. No sooner had he taken a few steps did his stomach growl and a knock came at the door.
"Young Master, I've come to bring you your dinner," Came Sebastian's voice through the door.
Ciel stopped as the door opened slowly revealing Sebastian with the dumb waiter and silver platters steaming with freshly prepared food that smelled, as always, terrifically appetizing.
"Sebastian, if you don't mind, I'll take dinner downstairs at the table…" He trailed off as he noticed his butler's eyes immediately take in the paper fortress around his desk.
"Young master has been busy I see. Very well then, I shall take this down to the dining hall," Sebastian didn't hesitate before disappearing through the door. Unsurprisingly, once Ciel stepped out to look over the balcony Sebastian was already at the table setting a place for his master to eat. Ciel allowed himself a very small smile. He was proud to call Sebastian his butler.
Once Ciel was seated and eating Sebastian broke the silence standing next to his master as custom dictated, to be there in case he wished for anything more.
"Did you enjoy your afternoon young master?"
Ciel took his time to swallow before answering. "Yes, I now know where we will be going next. Sebastian, soon I will triumph, and at last we shall both be satisfied."
Sebastian's expression was very pleased.
"You're forbidden to fail me Sebastian. That is an order," Ciel added solemnly.
"Yes my lord."
Ciel finished every bite on his plate as a silent thanks to his butler who knew his silent language movement for motion. Sebastian quickly cleared the plates away and accompanied Ciel to his room.
Ciel stood still as Sebastian commenced the routine undressing of his young master.
"You know, had you taken only another year and a half to avenge your name, this ritual would have ended," Sebastian noted uncharacteristically absent minded.
Ciel thought about it for a moment and had to smile. "I guess so."
After all, Ciel would be officially an adult by the age of eighteen, and would have to dress himself for the most part.
"Sebastian," Ciel paused as his butler continued his work in silence waiting to hear the rest of his master's sentence, "Sorry about this afternoon."
Sebastian suddenly stopped dead. Shocked to hear Ciel sound so sincere, he had to take a moment to regain his composure and proceed with his task at hand. "Young master, it is my job to do everything you ask of me and no where in our contract is there a mention of how you might do so."
"I know that… I just felt like apologizing," Ciel said looking anywhere but at his servant.
Sebastian's expression faltered a moment, but soon was replaced by his serene mask of calm. He finally had his master out of his day clothes and into his night gown buttoning up the single button in the back at the base of the neck.
Sebastian knew for a fact that he'd become soft over the last four years and a half. Claud had said it too. Ciel had become the center of his world, although the boy's soul was just as enticing as ever, it was now far beyond what he would have once called food. Ciel's soul had become precious to him, not only his soul, but Ciel himself.
Ciel sat on the edge of his bed while Sebastian untied his shoe laces in the dim candle light glowing over his butler's skin. His ruby eyes glimmered in the light and on impulse Ciel found his hand had reached down to cup Sebastian's face slowly pulling his butler's gaze to meet his own. For an eternity and a half neither body moved.
Slowly Ciel leaned in and touched his lips to Sebastian's in a chaste kiss. He welcomed the warmth of the lips not noticing the absolute shock on his butler's face. Before Sebastian could react, Ciel pulled away with his eyes closed. He gingerly kicked his now untied shoes off, ran his hands through his hair and let himself fall back into the covers without so much as cracking one eye open. The only tell tale remain of the incident was the all too bright blush that had taken over the boy's face. Sebastian finally remembered what he was supposed to be doing and stood up moving the covers over Ciel's body.
"I'm surprised you didn't kill me Sebastian," Ciel said now fixing the demon with his azure eyes.
The butler's lips curled into a smirk as his eyes shimmered in the candle light, "I hate it when you show me your weakness, but if that weakness is me, then I'm not perturbed. After all, I am the one who will always be by your side until the end."
Sebastian was about to reach for the candelabra before Ciel's hand came out and gingerly wrapped around his wrist. The boy gave a gentle tug towards himself that had Sebastian teetering sideways until he was sitting on the side of the bed. Before he could say anything more, Ciel had his lips once more. Sebastian felt the soft lips moving ever slightly over his own and watched his master's expression. It was tender but full of pain. Everything inside Ciel was coming to the surface, but Sebastian knew that his master would show him no more than that. The boy was strong, and that was what had always pleased the demon butler so much. The strength of Ciel's character and resolve never failed to make Sebastian proud to call his master's soul his.
Finally the butler closed his own eyes and responded to the contact on his lips, but being a demon he was in no mood for the slow ballad and immediately knocked it up to a passionate tango. Ciel didn't protest as the kiss deepened quickly. He brought his arms around his servant's neck and held fast as the butler's hands wrapped around to his back and lowered him into the bed. Ciel felt his breath come in sighs as Sebastian let his lips fall on the boy's neck biting gently. The young Earl resigned himself to his servant's will welcoming every part of his passion. At once point Sebastian bit down hard enough to make it painful and Ciel gently squeezed the butler's shoulders pushing back only enough to look him in the eyes. "Ouch." Was all he said, but Sebastian understood. He stopped to let Ciel take over once more as the boy again pressed his lips to Sebastian's gently. The kiss was long and slow, but Sebastian let his master lead. Eventually they broke apart and Ciel lay back on his feather down pillows with glazed eyes.
"Sebastian, you can choose to sleep with me if you wish. This will be the only free range I will ever give you. At your own conviction you may sleep with or apart from me when ever you please," the boy had one hand cupping his servant's cheek and let it fall to his side as he turned over to fall asleep. He heard Sebastian blow the candles out and heard the steps over the floor and the door close. Just as he thought he knew the answer for the evening, he heard the steps head back his way and felt Sebastian's weight on the bed as he removed his coat, his vest and his shoes. Then he lay down next to his master unmoving. Ciel turned over to face his butler with a quizzical look.
Sebastian met his master's eyes with his trademark smile that spelled out e-v-i-l no matter how you looked at it, but charming nonetheless. "I'll always be by your side," he said again.
Ciel smirked and rested his head between the base of Sebastian's neck and his shoulder draping an arm over his chest. "Don't you dare kill me in my sleep," the boy muttered, "that's an order."
"Yes my lord."