"Lizzy, you have to take off those clothes first."
Her breath caught in her throat.
"What?" She clasped her hands in front of her chest and slowly shook her head. "N-no."
"Lizzy," Ciel sighed in annoyance. "Don't be stubborn! You can't wade through water like this in that kind of dress! It's —"
"NO!" she shouted forcefully, shocking Ciel into silence.
Such a strong wife…that's scary.
Lizzy clasped her hands together even more tightly.
I'm glad that you're gong to be my wife, Lizzy.
"I want you to think of me as cute until the very end!" she exclaimed. Lizzy could feel the water soaked fabric of her dress weighing her down. Deep down, she knew how ridiculous it was, how childish she sounded, but she wasn't listening to rhyme or reason, she was listening to her fear.
And her greatest fear was that Ciel would one day leave her behind. She loved him so much, she just couldn't imagine, couldn't even comprehend the thought of Ciel ever leaving her again. Permanently.
There was a pregnant pause after her outcry, a moment where it seemed as if they were both frozen.
A second later, there was movement. Ciel grabbed her arm and roughly turned her around. Shocked at the force with which Ciel had used on her, Lizzy was only able to release a high pitched squeak as the boy ripped open the back of her dress with a speed and strength that she did not know he possessed.
"Ciel!: she cried. "What are you —?"
"Don't you get it?" he seethed, turning her around so that they were face to face. His one uncovered eye was wide with panic? Fear? Anger? A mix of all three? Lizzy couldn't tell. All she knew was that Ciel was looking at her so intently and gripping her arm so tightly that it hurt. He was practically trembling as he raised his voice to yell at her.
"It's all over when you die! All of it! You can't come back from death!"
She winced at his outcry because of course she knew that. She remembered her pitch-black clothes that matched her pitch-black feelings and the month of a pitch-black winter that passed before…
"But you did," she whimpered, her large emerald eyes boring deep into his own sapphire one as they quickly became wet with unshed tears. "You did." Her voice sound so quiet and small, which was so unlike the passionate and boisterous Lizzy of his memories that Ciel was suddenly thrown aback and brought out of his panicked stupor. He haltingly realized that he was holding her in a death grip, fingers digging into the skin of her bare shoulders as he broke his usually collected demeanor and allowed a sliver of fear and hysteria to slip through. He released his hold on her and took a staggering step backwards, still shocked at his own actions and at the sight of a tearful Lizzy knelt on the ground before him, half undressed with her white camisole exposed from where he had tried to force her out of her gown.
He was also reeling from her words, because even if she didn't know the exact truth behind it all, she was right. He did come back.
"I did return," he whispered. "But many did not." He let the words and the implication of his words sink in for a moment as an image of his family came to mind followed immediately by a mental image of their tombstones. "I wouldn't want to test my luck a second time."
I wouldn't want to risk losing you, he said to mentally, leaving the thought unspoken. He didn't want to lose her or taint her with the darkness that he so willingly sold his soul for.
He remembered their reunion, the strain in her voice and the tears in her eyes as she held him tightly within her embrace.
"Ciel! I can't believe it!" she had cried. "It's really you, isn't it?"
And there had been a moment of pause before he brought his arms up to wrap around her loosely.
"I'm home, Lizzy."
He remembered her grief then. He couldn't bear to even think about her grieving a second time when he is to fulfill his part of the deal to Sebastian, if that time were to ever come. Or rather, when.
"I'm s-sorry," she sniffled quietly, bringing Ciel out of his memories. He sighed as he took off his overcoat and knelt down besides her, gathering his wits about him once again as he swallowed the sudden ball of emotion that had been caught in his throat.
"I'll ask Nina to make you a new dress much nicer than the one you're wearing today," he said in a much softer and even tone as he draped his overcoat over Elizabeth's frame. "So, please…"
His voice trailed off, but Lizzy understood his meaning. She blinked back the tears and gave him a small, apologetic smile.
"No, Ciel. I'm sorry for being so stubborn earlier," she replied sincerely as she began to tug off the rest of her dress, much to Ciel's shock. He hastily turned away to give her at least the pretense of privacy.
"I'm sorry for being rough with you too," he answered with his back towards her. When the wet rustling of clothes stopped, he turned around to find her properly wearing his black overcoat on top of her white camisole and petticoat. Her eyes were no longer glistening and a faint smile adorned her lips.
Wordlessly, they recommenced their escape together hand-in-hand, the threat of imminent danger and death looming over them.
My first Kuro drabble. Obviously inspired by the events of the Campania arc. The dialogue is mostly the same save for a little extra addition. Written because I just needed a bit more CielxLizzy in my life. I'm thinking of making this into a chaptered fic or a collection of drabbles, but as we might have to wait and see as we learn more about Real!Ciel, Our!Ciel, and Lizzy's feelings towards both at this point in the manga.