Ewwos! Cyn here with a new genre and story! A little two-shot yaoi-implied fic I wrote while cleaning over the last week. Lol. Remember, guys! REVIEWS=LOVE!

The Loopholes of a Contract

Part One – The Countdown

The wish was granted. Which meant that the end was fast approaching the youth. A countdown to his demise seemed appropriate. After all, what was a mere subtraction of numbers while he waited to be destroyed? It was certainly nothing to be afraid of. And Ciel Phantomhive was hardly scared of the end he had chosen. His only concern now was that his soul be as marred as possible; a sign that he had lived, at least. "A deal is a deal, Sebastian," he said, his uncovered eye staring straight ahead of them. "Just give me that final request," he explained as he watched the fog around them go by.

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian said, still wounded from his battle with the angel.

Ciel didn't look back at the man as he nodded and began counting in his head.

**TEN**

Elizabeth came to mind. Despite Ciel lack of smiling, or severe distaste of it, a slight quirk tilted his lips. The young, blonde noble had been Ciel's betrothed. Yes, she had been annoying, perhaps even tiresome; what with her seemingly never-ending supply of laughter and energy, but Ciel had still cared about her. She was one of the only people he had left from before the fire. She had always been there, even afterwards, when he had pushed her away to save her the grief of losing him. He tilted his head, navy hair falling in his face a bit as he wondered to himself. What would happen to Lizzy now? She would mourn him, no doubt. Knowing her, she would more than likely cry for herself and cry the tears the Ciel himself had never bothered to cry. Much like when his dear aunt, Madame Red, was killed. Closing his blue eye, he sighed softly. As time passed, surely the little blonde would move on. Ciel hoped she would. He sincerely hoped that she would live on and merely leave him in her memories. There was no need for her to dwell on the past. Ciel had done that enough for many people in his life. "Perhaps she will name her son after me," he mused quietly.

"Are you talking about Lady Elizabeth, master?" Sebastian inquired from his spot behind the Earl as he rowed.

Ciel chuckled. "Yes, Sebastian. I was talking about Elizabeth." He would miss that when everything was over. How the crimson eyed demon knew his every train of thought, no matter what it may be. Oh, how he would miss it. When the young boy thought about it, perhaps he had denied himself acceptance of his love for the demon in order to keep his focus on his duty as an English Nobleman. His duty, whether he had enjoyed it or not, was to keep a smile on Elizabeth's face, no matter the cost. It had never once been about making himself happy; but making her happy. And in the end, doing his duty had cost him, he supposed. With another sigh, he reopened his eyes and watched the fog once more.

**NINE**

Madame Red came next to Ciel's mind as he continued his inner countdown. His dear aunt… She had warned him, without saying, that she was involved with the Jack the Ripper case, had asked him to stop being loyal. But the youth was stubborn, as only Ciel could be, in doing his duty as he was told. He had gone out to seek the horrific serial killer that plagued the streets. That night, he had seen a face he had pity for. Madame Red, along with her reaper-in-disguise butler, Grell, had been killing prostitutes in the area. Upon his confronting her, the woman had tried to kill Ciel, but ultimately could not bring herself to do the deed. In response, Grell murdered the red haired noble himself. The ensuing fight between Sebastian and Grell had led to the reaper being taken by his own for punishment. At the funeral, Ciel had brought her her favorite scarlet dress. Plain white dresses had not been her style in his life of knowing her, why should it be so in her death? As damned as Ciel already was, he would have been more so if he had let the woman be buried in such a frivolous color as white.

He had done her justice after betraying her, in his opinion. It made up for some of his cursed existence. That, at least, was a blessing.

**EIGHT**

Prince Soma from India and his butler Agni were the next to capture the youth's thoughts. Ciel had not known them for very long, but they were there. Perhaps it was because Ciel had thought the violet-haired prince so selfish and pathetic. Well, at first. Soma was a few years Ciel's senior, and yet Ciel had taught the other boy something valuable. How to live, and make your own choices; to stand on your feet and do what you must. At least, that's what Ciel hoped he had achieved with the prince. Perhaps Soma would remember Ciel as an old soul, wise for such a young age. But Ciel had had a far different upbringing from Soma, so the wisdom was only because of the hand the young teen had been dealt.

**SEVEN**

The next place for the Earl Phantomhive's mind to wander was the reapers; William, Grell, and Undertaker. Ciel had only recently come to know the existence of the reapers since his aunt's death, and yet he had known two for most of his life. Undertaker was the one he had discovered as a reaper most recent. However, where Grell and Undertaker seemed to enjoy Ciel's company, William did not prefer it. Ciel knew it was due to Sebastian. Reapers looked down on demons, no matter what. But, when there was a common enemy between them, like the Angel of Massacre Sebastian had lost an arm to earlier, the reapers were not choosy in the least. The lightest twitch of a laugh escaped Ciel as he thought that he would remember them as just an entertaining part of his short-lived life.

**SIX**

Aberline was the next in line. The foolish Scotland Yard inspector who had decided to be on Ciel's side, even after being warned that it was too dangerous. The man had followed Ciel and Sebastian to a ship after the boy had been framed for being a part of an opium trade. The thought of Aberline made a scoff pass Ciel's slightly chilled lips, blue eye closing as it did so.

"Is something wrong, master?" Sebastian asked as he rowed on down the river.

"No, nothing is wrong, Sebastian." Ciel assured as he opened his eye again. The fool of an inspector had jumped in during a fight with Lao to take Sebastian's place in saving Ciel's life. Doing so had caused the sword to pass through Aberline completely, and it had not taken long for the man to bleed out. For a while, Ciel had been quite upset with Sebastian that he had not done his job, even after the demon had explained Ciel had not been in danger because of the deceased detective. Aberline had left behind a fiancé and unborn child. That was the main reason behind telling him to stay away to save his life. In an attempt to atone for letting Aberline die, Ciel had arranged for numerous baby gifts to be sent to the house where Aberline's fiancé was. A letter had been tied atop the packages. The closing words he had sealed in the envelope still rang in Ciel's mind as he thought about the woman.

'I know I cannot bring your beloved back, Madame.' He had written solemnly. 'I can only offer you these gifts for the child, and pray that you let his memory live on. I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I hope that you can one day forgive me for not making sure he lived.'

Yes, Ciel had blamed himself; still did at times. He hoped the woman would know the money sent to her doorstep every year by Tanaka was from the Phantomhive family. But above all else, he hoped she would accept it. Perhaps his death would help her grieve. It was his fault Aberline was dead, after all. Why would it not help her move on?

**FIVE**

The old man Tanaka was the person who took control of Ciel's thoughts. He was a quiet figure; and he was the only person Ciel had left from before the fire that had destroyed the Manor the first time. Tanaka had been a servant to the Phantomhive family since before Ciel had been thought of. More than thirteen years the man had been with the Manor, and Ciel could hardly think of the vast estate without Tanaka coming to mind. The closest thing to a smile graced his lips. He hoped that Tanaka would find a good family to help take care of.

**FOUR**

Now it was the other servants who came to mind. Along with their faces was the face of the demon hound, Pluto, who was the most recent addition to the little band that lived on the Phantomhive Estate. He barely looked over his left shoulder as he spoke to the demon. "Sebastian, do you know what happened to the others? And Pluto?" he asked.

"The others were breathing fine on their own the last I checked on them. And as for Pluto…well, I shall collect his bones later." he said, implying that the demon hound had indeed been killed.

Ciel scoffed. "That won't be necessary. What are bones, really? Compared to the real thing?" he asked. "Pluto deserves his rest, he had been stripped of his pride by that damn angel when I ordered them to put him down."

"They put him out of his misery, even though they created some for themselves." Sebastian agreed. He continued to move his one arm, the boat moving as if he had both. But that was the stamina of any demon. "We are getting close, my lord." He added.

"Good," Ciel replied. He wasn't scared. His death was his own choice; he would relish in the pain of it.

**THREE**

The Queen was who claimed Ciel's thoughts next, although he detested the very thought of her. He had feigned his loyalty in order to keep his power as he searched for his parents' killer, and in the end, it had been the very person who had given him the title of Earl. Even though neither himself or Sebastian had taken the old woman down, Ciel was sad. Sad because he had not been the one to see her end. But a part of him was sad because she had become pathetic in her age and allowed herself to be controlled and influenced by a Massacre Angel to burn London to the ground. Shaking his head, he reminded himself about who she had killed, how she was the very reason he had been led to the path he was on. She was the cause that made his effect become a path straight into the mouth of Hell. Once he reminded himself of this; his sadness vanished and his hate for her returned in full and in perfect condition. He glared at the fog. 'I hope that while I'm there, I can hear her screams.' He thought coldly.

**TWO**

His parents. His dear parents; who had lost their lives serving the woman who had ordered their death. A tight knot formed in his chest. He had loved them so much, and had lost hem so young, and yet he was dying young as well and it was as if they had been dead for centuries. How could that even make sense? He wondered, his hands clenching as he thought about the true sorrow at the death of his mother and father. He brought from his musings as the boat made land with a small jolt of movement. Looking up, a moment of pure panic broke through his heart. No. No, not yet. There was still one more…

"Have we arrived?" he asked, barely managing to keep his voice calm. He looked up at Sebastian and tilted his head, a breeze catching his hair and lowing it about his face in a haphazard dance of sorts.

"Not too far from here, my lord." The red eyed demon said. He moved to pick Ciel up, and the navy haired teen wrapped his arms at the demon's neck while Sebastian's arms curled beneath Ciel's knees. Ciel didn't complain; Sebastian was the only one he let hold him. Content he still had some time left, he rested his head on Sebastian's shoulder and closed his eye, preoccupying himself with the thought of his final farewell.

**ONE**

Sebastian. The crimson eyed, black haired demon who had stepped into the role as Ciel's butler just three years ago. The one person who had managed to break through Ciel' emotional walls and snake into his heart. The irony was that the one Ciel loved was about to kill him. Deep down, Ciel knew that once Sebastian ate his soul, that in a sense, he would be one with the demon. That made his death so much easier to bear. However, a small part of him wanted to confess, to steal just one kiss from the male he had grown to love so much over the last three years. His body was growing quite a bit weaker as they moved. It appeared that the gunshot wound from the palace was beginning to take hold of Ciel's body and causing it to shut down entirely and for good. Oh, how badly he wanted say the words he had denied saying to anyone in his life for the deep fear of being used. But he knew it was too late for anything like that.

"Too late…" Ciel whispered, although he didn't realize it at first. He barely noticed that Sebastian was setting him down on a bench.

"Too late for what, my lord?" Sebastian asked. He moved to take the eye patch from Ciel's covered eye and tilted his head to look at the youth. Even though the boy was weak, the ebony haired man still hesitated briefly. "What is it, master?" he asked again. His crimson eyes widened a fraction as Ciel managed to raise a hand and lay it against his cheek.

"Too late…to say how…how much…I love you…" the teen whispered, his voice weaker than ever as he fought to stay conscious. The sharp intake of breath from Sebastian made a small smile curve Ciel's lips. "Get this over with. That's an order." He demanded softly, and he could hear the smile in Sebastian's voice as the demon answered him.

"Yes, my lord."

Ciel closed his eyes and relaxed slowly. 'At least you can be happy, Sebastian.' He thought as the world began to darken.