Hi everyone! This is my first Black Butler one-shot! I really hope you enjoy it, and I really appreciate reviews! Also, for once in my writing life, this has no OC's in it; therefore nothing -I repeat: NOTHING- belongs to me. Anyways, enough of my babbling. Enjoy!
~Blue~
"I don't see what the bloody deal is." A cobalt blue eye glanced up at the butler standing in front of his desk. He narrowed his visible eye, hand automatically touching the eye patch covering his right eye. One would say the action was due to irritation, just like another may pinch the bridge of his or her nose. But, then again, one may be wrong. "It's just another year. I have much better things to do than house a blasted birthday party."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is that, my lord? The queen hasn't presented us with any cases as of late. I should think she meant to give young master a rest."
"I don't need rest."
"All humans need rest."
The butler waited a second, allowing silence to fill the room as well as an opportunity for his master to retort. But after a second of hearing muted mumbling, Sebastian continued.
"Young master, Lady Elizabeth and your servants had wanted to celebrate your birthday with you. They'll be most disappointed."
"Do I look like I care?"
The sunlight streamed in from the large windows, seeping into Ciel's study like poison, unblocked by the elegant, willowy curtains that billowed with maroon folds. The same sunlight cast shadows on Ciel's already frowning and impatient features. Sebastian heaved a sigh at his master's apparently foul mood.
Humans are such strange creatures, he thought as his garnet eyes bore into the cobalt blue of his master's left eye, which was narrowed in silent willfulness. Blue. Blue was his most favored color, Sebastian realized. He hadn't known of this preference until he met the boy. Then he began to associate the color with regal arrogance, smoldering animosity, stubborn bitterness, and an armor full of so many chinks and cracks that it threatened to fall apart at any given moment. Yes, then he began to like the color. He began to enjoy watching the haughty exterior crumble. He might even dare to confess that he loved it.
But of course, devil's can't love. Insinuating that would mean that they actually gave a damn.
"Sebastian, what the devil are you staring at me for?" the irritated voice of his master pulled him out of his thoughts with as much stealth as a freight train.
Sebastian blinked.
"I would think humans enjoyed their birthdays," the butler finally commented, holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger. He suddenly appeared behind Ciel, and gently placed his gloved hands on the boy's shoulders. Sebastian's eyes glowed with a fleeting vermillion as he looked down on the young earl, before promptly returning to normal. "Humans are so delicate; their lives can be snuffed out so easily, like the flame of a candle. Since this is the case, it stands to reason that their birthdays are a celebratory experience. My lord," he added as an afterthought.
Ciel merely looked up at him, his lips almost in a pout.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not like most humans. Most humans wouldn't summon a demon to be a personal guard dog."
Sebastian only smirked at the insult. How typical of his young master. Blue really does suit him.
The black-clad butler leaned over until his lips were next to Ciel's ear. His smirk grew wider, with a dark hint of maliciousness, as he noticed the boy suck in a breath, trying -and failing- to hold back a shudder as Sebastian's breath caressed the boy's left earlobe.
"I'm afraid you have to attend your party, master."
"You can't tell me what to do, dog."
"True, but I can persuade you."
Ciel raised an eyebrow, trying to mask the pink tinge that plagued his face with a stoic stare out of the corner of his oh-so-blue eye. "And how exactly do you suppose to do that?" A challenge.
Sebastian pulled back, mirth playfully lighting up his eyes. His smirk grew a fraction of an inch.
"You wouldn't want to make your fiancée displeased, would you master? Just think of what her reaction might be if I suggest that the reason you didn't show might be because of melancholy. Can you imagine her response? She may become a regular guest here in her attempts of cheering you up. If that happens, the whole manor will be…."
"…cute," Ciel finished, blue eye widening with a speck or two of panic as he whipped his head around to glower at the sneering demon butler behind him. The soft chuckle from Sebastian's lips forced the boy to quickly -forcefully- regain his composure. "But if she makes the manor 'cute', you would have to suffer with me as well, Sebastian."
"Ah, but that's where we differ, my lord. I don't let such trivial matters trouble me. Why else would I even suggest such a thre-promise? And you know very well that I don't lie."
Silence. A crack in the armor.
"You wouldn't dare, Sebastian."
Sebastian left the statement unanswered, but his devilish leer answered enough for the both of them. Another bout of silence, as thick as the bond between contractor and devil, sank between them for apparent weeks, months, years.
"You're such a devil." Silence broken, the boy's hesitant voice held a beautiful dash of defeat.
The demon couldn't help but enjoy watching his master's armor crumble piece by fractured piece. With a seemingly innocent smile, Sebastian bowed, bringing his gloved hand to his heart. "Thank you, my lord."
…
"…Sickening."
The word was nothing more than a mere whisper, but it escaped Ciel's mouth nonetheless as he scrutinized the "oh-so-cute!" mess that Elizabeth Midford has made to his manor, his eye twitching the whole while. Pink and yellow and sky blue confetti already on the floor as Elizabeth and the servants shouted an ear-splitting "Happy Birthday!" after he was all but dragged in the ballroom by none other than Sebastian. Pink and yellow and blue ribbons, an incredibly large buffet filled to the max with dish after dish after dish, a giant birthday cake, which could very well be compared to the Eiffel Tower, and gifts the size of mountains -as if he had any use for such childish things- were all situated on a series of large, white-clothed tables. How ludicrous it all was.
Nevertheless, for form's sake, he allowed what he hoped was a grateful smile to form on his face.
"Thank you, everyone!"
And so, with that white lie, the party commenced.
Ciel watched as Sebastian cut the cake, his long sinewy fingers moving the knife with deadly efficiency. Noise fluttered around him, as if on butterfly wings, but the boy ignored it as a lump formed in his throat. Red eyes glanced back at him, but by then Ciel averted his gaze. Before long, everyone held a plate of the white, spongy, sugary substance, chatting along merrily with each other about only God knows what. Everyone, that is, except the demon cake-cutter. Curiosity flickered in the depths of Ciel's exposed eye, and the boy found himself calling his butler's name.
"Sebastian."
Dutifully, the demon turned to face him. Garnet irises met cobalt.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Why don't you have a slice of cake?"
"How very considerate of you, young master. Unfortunately, I don't have a…taste…for sugar."
A vengeful smirk, a snickering glimmer in blue eyes. "Well, I order you to eat some."
Sebastian held back a sigh. "Master, may we continue this discussion in the kitchen?"
"There is no discussion. Just eat the damn cake."
"Language, master. Is this your revenge for me persuading you to attend your own birthday party?
Silence.
"Oh dear. I would think such things beneath you, my lord," was the almost sympathetic reply of the demon.
Ciel bristled.
"And why is that? Wouldn't 'such things' be common for those such as I?"
"But this is merely spiteful, my lord."
"Are you trying to rouse my mercy?"
"Of course not, young master," Sebastian replied, his eyes holding a mixture of indignation and humor. An odd concoction, but a concoction nonetheless.
The demon grabbed a plate of cake, loath filling his eyes as he contemplated the sugary, seemingly inedible substance. But the look was gone in a mere instant, and he began sauntering away with long, graceful strides. Ciel narrowed his eyes.
"And where do you think you're going?"
A smirk formed on Sebastian's face as he paused and turned to the boy. "Why, my lord has never said where I have to eat it."
The earl's lips tugged down, but the butler continued.
"If you wish to make sure I eat this…thing…I suggest you follow me. I refuse to eat it in public."
A blue eye narrowed, suspicious. "Very well."
Ciel strode after Sebastian, wondering what the hell his butler was up to.
…
Sebastian placed his plate of cake down on the counter of the kitchen, his smile on the verge of a grimace. To believe my young master would issue such an order…. he thought to himself as he turned to the boy as he entered behind him. Ah well, I might as well have fun. His lips twitched upward again at this thought, his grimace forgotten.
The butler watched as Ciel confidently strode to a chair and sat down, crossing his legs and raising his chin. An impatient blue eye bore into his garnet orb, as if saying, "Well? Go on. I don't have all day," and Sebastian almost wanted to wipe that intolerant look off of his masters face. Almost. But this was part of the game, after all. And his master had always loved games.
Sebastian waited, eyeing Ciel as he sliced a piece of his own cake with his fork and brought it up to his lips. The child's eyebrow rose, as if he was questioning whether Sebastian would do what was ordered or not.
"I told you to eat the cake, not dawdle here all day." Ciel uttered harshly as he popped the cake into his mouth. "You're wasting my-"
Sebastian moved across the room with the speed and grace of a predator moving in on its prey. Before Ciel could even finish his sentence, Sebastian's face was a hairbreadth's away from the boy's, garnet eyes locking onto a single cobalt blue. The butler's hand was on top of the back of the chair, leaning it so the boy's feet were clean off the floor. Cake and plate fell from the boy's hands and onto the floor with a resounding clatter, but neither moved from his position. Ciel's face flushed a hot pink, his eye unable to look away from Sebastian's, as if he was a bird locked in the eyes of a snake.
How fitting.
Without another hesitation, Sebastian closed the gap, brushing his lips against the boy's. Ciel gasped, and Sebastian took the opportunity to sneak his tongue into his master's mouth, tasting the sugary substance that was still inside. Sweetness bombarded the demon's taste buds, mixed into the naturally salty -naturally human- flavor of flesh, until even the saccharinity of the cake was not so unbearable.
He could almost taste his master's soul. It was so rich with sorrow and pain, so light with the innocence of a child, so filled with the blue-hot contempt and anger that was characteristic of his young lord, with just a dab of pleasure. But the demon knew that this wasn't his master's soul. No. It was just his own imaginings.
Small fists punched at him in a futile attempt to get him off, but Sebastian simply grabbed Ciel's wrists and pinned them to the back of the chair. A small smirk formed as Ciel's struggles slowly decreased with each tick tock of the clock, until his eyelids fluttered and a small moan escaped into the demon's mouth. The boy's body trembled slightly, almost leaning into the kiss. The flush on the boy's face, the blood that gave this creature life, complimented his blue-black hair and helpless expression. Sebastian's heart squeezed slightly at the image, but the demon ignored it. It was only a mild case of heartburn, after all.
The demon's smirk grew as his tongue swiped the piece of cake from the boy's mouth. Even with the glob of sweetness, Sebastian could still savor the taste of his master, which was seeping with each sugary crumb, as he swallowed the morsel. A blue eye popped open, distant, dazed, and Sebastian enjoyed watching as understanding crept back into the boy's mind as slowly as sand in an hourglass. He could practically see Ciel try to piece back his blue armor -and failing- as he pushed Sebastian away. The butler obediently gave the boy room, letting the chair legs meet the floor and enjoying the futility of his master's struggles to calm down his rapidly beating heart, to cool down his countenance, to forget the kiss the demon and child had shared.
Sebastian's smirk nearly reached his ears as Ciel brought his exposed eye on him, so full of anger but something else as well. What was it?
"W-what the hell, Sebastian?" Ciel yelled. "What was that?"
"My lord has never told me exactly how I should eat the cake," Sebastian answered smugly, backing towards the kitchen door. "I must say, I've rather enjoyed it. And it seems Young Master has, as well. But I assume this is not the right time to wish Young Master a happy birthday?"
Ciel growled as he bent over and grabbed the fork from his plate. With a steady, experienced hand, the boy threw the sharp object at the butler's head as Sebastian turned to exit the room. Sebastian smirked as he caught the fork between his index and middle finger, and he turned towards his master. For an instant, their eyes met. Blue-hot fire blazed in his master's eye, an oceanic inferno, as the remnants of his blue armor crumbled to the floor piece by precious piece, and Sebastian couldn't help but confess that he truly loved the color blue.