A short Alois/Ciel drabble I wrote based on this picture.

I hope you enjoy it.

"Idiot."

The word cut through his muffled sobs like a sword, eager to pierce whatever composure was left inside him. At this, he only gave a smile, one that seemed almost manic, what with his lips covered with the salt of his tears, glistening in the light of the room. The blonde's thin hands found their way up to the other boy's chest, grasping the soft fabric that covered it and causing him to scowl.

"You bloody idiot, of what good is it to stand there and sob like a –"

Sharp, those words. Sharp like everything that slid past the earl's lips. Pointy accusations, bitter remarks. But the blond cut him off, not needing to hear the rest of them to understand where he was going with his speech.

These words, he knew by heart.

"A coward. You're right", the older boy mused without a trace of quivering in his breath, with all the tranquil steadiness of someone who was far too used to crying. "I'm nothing like you, Ciel."

The scowl vanished from the young earl's features, replaced by an immensely familiar expression of neutrality. Alois didn't even have to look up to see the other boy had shifted his gaze to the side, his head tilted just a fraction in an absentminded gesture of avoidance.

Alois knew that look of indifference far too well.

It angered him, made his blood race ferociously in his veins. Disdain was preferable when compared to indifference. He couldn't stand being ignored.

"We've both lost everything, but I never got up like you did. I'm still crawling, tangled in despair and darkness, while you left it so long ago."

Yet his tone was filled with a calm exhaustion, a hint of acceptance that was just as depressing as his own words. His legs had given up at some point, collapsing underneath him as he knelt before his rival, utterly defeated.

There was a vast moment of silence as the blond closed his eyes, his tears leaving a trail of dampness in his features, his fingers clenched over his knees with so much force that his knuckles turned a perfect white.

This seemed to leave Ciel at a loss for words – the sight of the older earl kneeling before him like a broken piece, pleading for compassion. This was his rightful place, Ciel reminded himself. A pawn that was so tattered he'd simply forgotten how to keep his usually wicked demeanor and instead crumbled to his knees in despair.

Pathetic.

Unquestionably pathetic.

Yet, as vile and inferior as he was, this miserably wretched being was the only one who could truly understand the earl's troubled past, the only one he could share the anguish within his soul with, in a cold silence of mute understanding.

Ciel loathed him for it. Cursed the pitiful imbecile for every disgusting word he spoke, every foul trace of similarity between the two, every inch of sympathy he felt for that loathsome boy. And yet, lying in a stale crevice of his soul, lay a sickening feeling of compassion.

And Ciel wanted to make sure he got up as well.

"…Hey."

Cursing himself every step of the way, Ciel lowered himself to the blond's level, possessed by a feverishly intricate sentiment of mercy. He hesitated before bringing a hand around the older boy, his gaze fixated elsewhere in order to avoid taking in the awkwardness of this whole situation.

He could feel the boy's shoulders trembling, the frenetic palpitations of his heart, his whole body so frail against his own that they almost seemed to fit together like this, in a morbidly perfect way.

Seconds stretched into minutes of an absolute, comfortable silence, even as Ciel placed his other hand over the other's blond strands and flexed his fingers in a comforting gesture, deeply lost in his own thoughts. It was a long while before either of them spoke again.

"I'm not strong like you."

Strong. The word hit him like a shockwave, causing him to halt his movements completely.

Was he strong? By facing the eminent fact of his soul being robbed by a demon without a single trace of fear, he would assume so. By honoring family's name with dignity through his actions, even if they resulted in the death of the people who were dear to him, he would have to say yes. For having witnessed countless hardships and being able to stand on his own, he would be forced to agree. And yet...

Was he strong?

"…Get up up, Trancy."

The small fingers that had been previously caressing the crown of his head seemed to freeze altogether, and Alois pressed his forehead against the younger boy's chest, his words strained.

"I'm not as good as you are."

Ciel regained some distance between them, managing to push the blond away so he could face him properly, look into those broken eyes of his.

"Trancy."

But something had changed in the blond's eyes.

One sudden shift of Alois' chest and Ciel was losing his balance, his slender back hitting the cold floor beneath them with a strangled gasp of surprise. Ever so quick was the spider, crawling its way all over the poor helpless earl, spindly legs enveloping his hips with as much strength as they could spare. His hands collapsed over Ciel's chest, causing his breath to hitch in that delightfully slender throat of his.

With a smile that was every bit twisted, Alois wrapped a hand around that neck, feeling the harsh and determined beating of a young heart beneath soft skin. A heart he abhorred. A heart he desired.

A heart he envied.

Ciel gasped as he felt the other's hips on his own, using every bit of force he possessed to try and shove him away. Desperation kicked in as he fully acknowledged their compromising position, humiliation materializing into a warm glow on his cheeks as the older boy all but straddled him. His hands thrashed against the blond's chest, but it took him no more than a second to realize his efforts were utterly useless.

"No,"

That voice was a mere scratchy whisper, collapsing against Ciel's ear as he let his breath dissolve against its lobe. Alois almost wanted to let his tongue trail a perfect little circle along that delectable skin, to bite it hard enough to draw a single line of cascading red against the blue of his coat.

Instead, he inched his face closer to the blunette's, a low chuckle leaving his lips as he trained his gaze on the squirming boy beneath him.

Ciel watched as a tear slid down the older earl's chin, only to land on his own neck, warm and damp. He noted the ridiculous contrast between Alois' wicked smile and the pale lines of his face, drenched in tears. He looked up to find vivid blue eyes shimmering down at him with absolute power that penetrated his very being.

"I'm nothing like you."

That's when he knew it was far too late to get up.