First off I will apologize for the lack of historical accuracy. I think bicycles didn't exist in the late 1800s, but if they did, ignore this, I'm too lazy to look up when exactly they can into being.
Secondly, this is the first writing I've done in a while so forgive me if I'm a little rusty. I've never written for SebaCiel before and I'm really excited to write this. I thought of this while watching my sister learning to ride her bike. Also, I'm planning out a longer, multi-chapter story for them as well, so if you like my writing stick around *wink wink*
A letter, white, crisp, and smooth. The maroon seal of wax stood out against the paper, looking more like a blood stain then a mark of a noble man. This certain letter was delivered to the Earl on a shining silver platter carried by a gorgeous raven-haired man.
Ciel Phantomhive had been enjoying a cup of his favorite tea, Earl Gray, when his black-clad butler delivered the innocent document to him with his usual smile gracing his face. But, as the young Earl's glase switched between Sebastian and the letter, it seemed the man knew something he didn't, the quirk in the demon's smile gave it away.
"What is this?" Ciel questioned setting down his half-finished tea with a graceless click. Sebastian visibly flinched at the offending noise, straightening out when he felt the heated glare of the boy resting on him.
"An invitation."
"To what?" the letter what torn from its envelope until the only thing left was the invite and a small pile of shredded paper. Ciel's single eye flew over the words until they found the bit of information that made his blood run cold and his face to pale.
Charity Bicycle Race
A whole event dedicated to riding a blasted metal death trap? thought the boy. The Earl and bicycles, well they didn't mix. He never took a liking to the crudely shaped mess of metal bars and tires.
"Is something the matter young master?" Oh Sebastian, always the inquisitive one.
"Nothing, just write up an apology saying I will not be able to attend," Ciel found his voice. This whole thing was souring his mood, he wasn't one to miss such an important event. As the head of the Phantomhive family, it was his duty to be active in the social scene, no matter how much he would rather hole up in his study. But, as stated before, bicycle and him don't mix.
"If I may ask, why do you not wish to attend? This seems to be quite the social gathering, and for charity no less. It must be important, so why miss it?" Sebastian asked gathering the bits of envelope from the polished mahogany desk. Damn him.
"I do not feel like attending such a lame activity. Do I need a reason?" The Earl said, rather harshly noted the demon. What was his alternative motive for skipping the race, it was just too out of character for Ciel. If the boy was good at one thing, it would be his ability to perform as head of the house. Something was up, and what kind of butler would he be if he couldn't get to the bottom of this little incident?
"Is it something to do with riding a bike?" he question farther risking a punishment from his ill-tempered master. As Sebastian examined Ciel's reaction to his simple statement, the reddening of his petite cheeks, his eye flashing with brief rage before calming, and the way his childish hand clenched into a fist atop the grand desk, Sebastian could deduce that he had hit the nail on the head.
"Can you ride a bike?" the butler spoke more gently. He watched quietly as the Earl shook his head in defeat, loose strands of his blue-gray hair framing his face perfectly. He watched delightfully as his young master's cheeks were instantly a rosey red.
"So what if I can't, I will not be attending the event so would you just write the letter?" Ciel said more forcefully seconds away from ordering the demon to complete the simple task.
"Young Master, this event is too important to skip, so I shall teach you how to ride a bicycle." Sebastian finished, a small smirk gracing his lips.
"Do you even know how to ride a bicycle Sebastian?" he said truly curious. Sebastian seemed to have a never ending list of abilities, all of which he was extraordinary at. It made Ciel quite angry the demon was so skilled at anything while he had to spend extensive hours working on his abilities.
"Well, I did win the Tour de France a while back," the butler said bringing a thoughtful hand to his chin, the smirk still present on his perfect face.
"Really? I'm impressed," the Earl claimed, actually quite surprised at the answer given.
"Only joking my lord," Sebastian chuckled turning his back on the boy and pushing the cart out of the study, Ciel scowling after him.
Only an hour later, Ciel stood in front of the metal beast, his stomach doing flips. He was dressed in a simple, pressed white shirt and tan shorts. How Sebastian had managed to produce a bicycle in only an hour baffled the earl, but he decided not to question it, because how did Sebastian do half the impossible things he did on a regular basis?
Ciel sighed, looking over at Sebastian, who seemed to be enjoying watching Ciel glare at the bike immensely. They were set in front of the manor on the gravel path ment for the horses.
"Giving the bicycle that look will not make it go away young master," he chuckled, bringing a hand to his lips trying to hide his amused smirk, but Ciel saw it anyway. Clenching his fists, Ciel walked stiffly over to where the innocent bike stood, his butler right behind him.
"First, I will hold onto the bicycle while you pedal to keep you balanced." More smirking.
"O-Okay," Ciel stuttered climbing onto the 'metal death-trap' as he called it. Oh, Ciel so innocent, he doesn't know the classic way to teach a child to ride a bicycle, thought Sebastian.
He made his way over to the boy who stood with both feet firmly placed on either side of the bike, and his petite hands clutching the handles so tightly his knuckles were a sickly white color, looking like he was on death row. Sebastian sighed, clearly Ciel was terrified.
"My lord, you will not be able to drive if you keep your hands like that," he gestured toward the boy's hands. Slowly, he placed his own hands over the earls, practically prying them off the metal. Then, he placed them loosely on the handles and curled his fingers to get Ciel to wrap his fingers around the handles. Sebastian pretended not to notice the light pink that dusted the earl's cheeks.
Moving around the bike, keeping one hand on Ciel's at the right handle, he grabbed the back of the tiny seat in which he gained an uncharacteristic squeak from the boy.
"Why do you have your hand there?" he demanded.
"If I don't hold the bike here, you will tip over, and we don't want that, do we?" the demon explained. "Are you ready?" Ciel nodded, "Please, put your feet on the pedals," Ciel hesitated not wanting to remove his planted feet.
"My lord,"
"What?"
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do!"
"I will not let you fall, I promise," Sebastian whispered, closer to Ciel's ear than was necessary, getting a shiver to run down Ciel's spine involuntarily. He just nodded, blue-grey hair bouncing slightly.
Ciel carefully place his right foot on the pedal, followed a moment later with his left foot of the other. True to his word, Sebastian held the bicycle up keeping it balanced.
"Good, now just push your right foot forward, then your left, my lord," Sebastian instructed, still keeping a firm hold on the seat. Ciel nodded again, doing as instructed, the bike inching forward slowly but steadily.
"A little faster!" the demon encouraged walking along with him, waiting for the point when he would be able to let the earl go. Ciel complied instantly to the orders and was soon riding along at the appropriate pace.
Suddenly, Ciel felt the loss of hands on the backside of his seat and the handles. That bloody demon had let him go!
"SEBASTIAN! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T LET ME GO!" Ciel yelled, not noticing he was riding the bicycle on his own, he was apparently too focused on scolding his butler.
"I said I would not let you fall, I did not say anything about not letting you go," Sebastian called back standing a ways back, hands placed behind him, and a smirk taking up his whole face.
Ciel scowled, but focused on riding. It wasn't as hard as he expected it to be, quite the opposite. In fact, he was getting a little too comfortable and a bit cocky, so he decided to try and speed up. Now, he was going twice as fast as he was before. So, it should be a surprise to no one that the little earl was not expecting to ride straight over a rather deep pothole on the gravel path.
He was so unprepared in fact that when his front wheel hit said pothole, Ciel went flying out of his seat and over the handles. A loud scream tore from his throat, his arms flying to his face, awaiting contact with the ground.
Instead of hitting the sharp gravel as he had expected, Ciel felt long arms encircled his waist and himself being pulled into a suited chest. He kept his arms over his face until he felt them hit the ground, him landing on said chest instead of the rocks.
When he glanced up, the first thing he saw the still smirking face of Sebastian staring back at him. His eyes widened in realization. While he had been in the air, Sebastian had grabbed him and put his own body between Ciel and the ground causing the boy to land on him instead of the ground.
"Are you alright young master?" Sebastian asked, arms still wrapped tightly around the boy's waist. Ciel slowly sat up, unaware he was straddling Sebastian's chest, before speaking.
"I'm fine,"
"I told you I would not let you fall,"
"I know, thank you," the last part came so quietly from the boy, even Sebastian had to strain to hear it. Ciel looked down, face burning, then realizing the position he had put himself, stumbled off the demon, his blush only deepening, if possible at this point.
"I'm done with this, Sebastian, bring tea to my study," Ciel ordered, walking quickly away, trying to get away from the scene as quickly as possible.
Sebastian picked himself off the ground, brushing off gravel and dirt, staring after the earl's retreating back. He couldn't help bring a hand to his lips to keep from laughing at how adorable Ciel looked when he blushed. He composed himself before answering.
"Yes, my lord,"
Yes, Ciel and bicycles don't mix.
That took forever to write, but I'm proud of it! I hope to be writing more so expect more one-shots and a longer story I'm working on. Bye for now!