Hi everyone! This will be a short two-chapter story that I'm using to ease me into story writing. I have a bad habit of leaving things halfway done, so I thought I'd start out small and easy. I've recently gotten interested in playing pool/billiards (don't worry, I'm not in this story), and then I remembered that Ciel was an impressive pool player himself. I am basing their game on what I know, which is how to play American 8-ball. If I've made any mistakes about the rules or procedures, please feel free to let me know. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't the characters or the awesome manga! The lovely Yana Toboso has all rights to them.
Warnings: Some rough language and slightly suggestive behavior, the real warnings lie in Ch 2 )
"Eight ball, left corner pocket." Ciel didn't bother raising his voice above the loud music in the bar, but his opponent had no problem understanding him. He leaned over the table, practiced his stroke a couple of times, and struck the cue ball firmly. The eight ball fell into the left corner pocket with no problem and tumbled down the chute into the collection chamber where the rest of the solid colored balls rested. Satisfied with his performance, Ciel glanced at his watch. The entire game had lasted eight minutes, and he had only let it drag on for so long because his opponent was drunk and uncoordinated.
"You fuckin'…damn man!" The man stumbled over to Ciel. "How 'bout you give me another chance. I wasn't really payin' attention before."
Ciel leaned back slightly as the man's breath washed over him. "No thanks," he said politely but firmly. He was about to walk away when the drunk man grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
"C'mon now, don't walk away. I asked nicely, didn't I?" His eyelids drooped and a leer spread across his lips. "Don't make me bend you over that table by force, unless you like that sort of thing…"
"Get off," Ciel ground out, jaw clenched. He knew he shouldn't have gone to a bar by himself. He was too weak to fight off anyone, and too far away to reach for his cue stick and use it as a weapon. He was trying to wriggle free of the drunk man's surprisingly strong grip when a smooth voice made both men still.
"I believe this young man told you to get off him."
Ciel looked up at the newcomer, but was disappointed when he couldn't see his face. The stranger wore a black hoodie that cast shadows over his face and made him look even more intimidating than his impressive height. He reached out an arm and tugged the drunk man's shirt collar backward sharply.
"You have one minute to leave this bar or I will escort you myself, and my way involves the breaking of-"
The drunk man was already stumbling toward the door, pushing past groups of people as he fought to put as much distance between the dark stranger and himself as he could.
Ciel watched the man hesitantly before muttering a "thank you" and turning to leave again. The stranger quickly deposited some coins into the slots on the side of the pool table. Ciel watched as he placed the balls into the triangular rack, probably hoping to convince him to play another round of 8-ball.
"Do you play pool?" Ciel asked as the stranger's pale hands moved the balls into their proper positions.
"Occasionally."
"So I guess this is one of those occasions?"
The stranger let out an amused chuckle before replying. "I watched you the whole game, and I must say, I felt sorry for you, having to play with such an incompetent bastard." He lifted the rack off and stowed it underneath the table. "I was imagining how much more enjoyable it would be for you to play with someone who was much more skilled. And not quite so drunk."
"You sound quite confident about your game."
"I am. I have reason to be."
"Then I can't wait to beat you and knock you off your high horse."
The stranger said nothing, simply offered the cue ball to Ciel and stepped back. Ciel lined up the white ball and visualized the point of contact that would give him the best break. He positioned his cue stick before pausing as a thought struck him.
"What's your name?"
"You may call me Sebastian."
"Sebastian? What is that, a cat's name?"[1]
Sebastian smirked. "I wouldn't mind having a cat named after me. But you have not told me your name."
Ciel broke the rack before straightening and said, "It's Ciel. And you're solids, I'm stripes."
Sebastian inclined his head briefly to show he understood. He sat back and watched Ciel line up his next shot, twelve ball into the side pocket and fifteen into the left corner pocket. There was no doubt that the young man was talented, if a bit conceited. But Sebastian liked his arrogance. His gaze wandered to Ciel's hands as they chalked up his cue for the next shot, then down his slender body and back up to his face. His one visible eye was a deep ocean blue, piercing and strong. Sebastian could not look away, even as Ciel returned his gaze and barked at him to stop raping him with his eyes.
The younger man turned back to his shot feeling flushed. He breathed deeply for a few seconds before hitting the thirteen ball into the corner right pocket.
But…Did that ball just bounce off the corner and roll back slowly? Did Ciel just miss a shot because this Sebastian guy was staring at him so intensely? No. He's above those kinds of petty distractions. And yet when he looked up, Sebastian had taken his hood off and was openly smirking at him. Bastard.
"Looks like it's my turn."
Ciel scowled but stepped out of Sebastian's way. He tried to focus on the balls that were left and how best to hit them when his turn came again, but he could not, for the life of him, explain why his eye was more drawn to the dark stranger than to the table. Even in the dim light, Sebastian's skin looked soft and flawless. His hair fell in soft wisps around his face and his strange red eyes—Ciel didn't even know what to think of them. He'd felt hot when they were on him earlier, and he felt awed now that they were staring so intensely at the billiard balls. He tried to think rationally and not make such a big deal about Sebastian's eyes when the man slowly reached for the chalk. He held the cue stick comfortably with his ring and pinky fingers while his thumb, index, and middle fingers worked to brush chalk onto the tip. It was an ordinary act turned sensual. Ciel had never seen anyone handle a cue stick so gently yet firmly. His breath caught in his throat as Sebastian circled the stick tightly with his index finger and pulled upward in one smooth motion. Ciel immediately thought of that hand elsewhere and quickly looked away.
Sebastian must have sensed his discomfort, for he smirked and said, "I'm sure you know that's the best way to get rid of extra chalk. Blowing on the tip—"
"—Will leave moisture on it. I know." Ciel crossed his arms, pretending to look bored. "Just get on with it."
"As you wish."
Sebastian bent over the table gracefully and neatly sent the five ball into a side pocket. He did the same for the seven, one, and four balls in quick succession, leaving Ciel feeling disgruntled and in a slight panic at the possibility that he might lose. Sebastian circled the table to take a shot at the three ball, and unintentionally—or perhaps it was intentional, Ciel couldn't tell—pointed his very well-shaped bottom toward Ciel.
The younger man put on an irritated face, but he was silently admiring the ass in his face. Sebastian must have sensed him staring because he looked over his shoulder at Ciel and raised an eyebrow.
"Now I must be the one to insist that you stop raping me with your eyes." With a sharp stroke, the three ball clattered down the chute. "Or perhaps you're enjoying the view too much to look away?"
"Don't flatter yourself."
"I'm not, but your actions and that blush certainly help to stroke my ego. I'm quite enjoying your attention, Ciel."
Ciel couldn't say anything to dignify that remark. In another time and place, a man like Sebastian would certainly infuriate him with those witty comments and cocky attitude. But tonight—Ciel didn't know what had gotten into him. He actually found the arrogance sexy. Sexy! He never thought of anyone as sexy. Ciel shook his head in an attempt to regain control over himself.
Sebastian quickly got rid of the two and six balls before turning to the eight ball.
"Oh my, it looks like you haven't even gotten to play much this game! How's it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?"
"Will you kindly shut up and just finish the game? I'm about to call it a night here."
Sebastian smirked at the younger man and purposely missed his shot. "Oh dear, I can't believe my hand slipped like that. Well, perhaps you can redeem yourself." He almost burst out laughing at the annoyed look on Ciel's face.
Ciel, for his part, couldn't understand why someone would waste such an important shot. He practiced his stroke a couple of times before getting the feeling that Sebastian was staring at his butt. Ah, so the pervert wanted to stare. Ciel would give him something to stare at.
As he rounded the table to take a shot at the thirteen ball again, Ciel took his time lining up the balls. He bent over the table and arched his back, letting his bottom rise higher in the air. He even wiggled it a little for Sebastian, who was sitting with hands tightly balled into fists so he wouldn't grab the younger man and just devour him. The sly thing was having way too much fun teasing him, but he couldn't complain. He was having a blast watching Ciel step out of his comfort zone trying to get some reaction out of him.
Sebastian was so focused on the younger man that he was slightly surprised when Ciel turned to him with a triumphant smirk and said, "I win again. Though to be fair, you did put up a fight. It's just not enough." With that, he turned to leave the bar for the third time that night but was once again stopped.
"How about I buy you a drink to celebrate your victory?"
Ciel faced him and considered for a moment. Sebastian seemed like a trustworthy guy and he did save him from that drunk. One drink wouldn't hurt him, and it wasn't as though he had prior commitments any time soon.
He shrugged nonchalantly and made his way over to the bar. Sebastian ordered two beers from the tap and faced Ciel.
"So where did you learn to play pool so well?"
"I'm not sure. It was just something I was always good at, and I didn't put much thought into how I became so good…"
"Perhaps in a past life you were a great pool player and your reincarnation wasn't about to let that talent be forgotten," Sebastian joked.
"Past life? You believe in that?" The bartender handed them their beers and Ciel took a small sip of his, slightly wrinkling his nose at the bitter taste.
Sebastian leaned forward to gaze deep into Ciel's one blue eye, his expression completely serious. Ciel didn't dare breathe as the man whispered, "I do believe in it. Call me crazy, but I'm convinced that people die and come back. Sometimes they look the same and other times you wouldn't recognize them, but there's always a distinguishing feature or characteristic of theirs that lingers. Tell me, didn't I seem familiar to you when you first saw me?"
Ciel blinked and thought back. Now that he mentioned it, Ciel realized he should have felt scared when a hooded stranger wearing all dark clothes approached him, even if it was to save him from a drunk man. But he'd immediately felt that he could trust him. He'd even been—dare he say it—attracted to him.
"I wouldn't say you were familiar. I've certainly never met you before, and I didn't feel like I recognized you, but I trusted you, even when your appearance should have made me weary of you."
Sebastian leaned back and drank his beer. "That sense of trust might have been your subconscious recognizing me. Everyone I've ever met instantly put their guards up when they couldn't see my face. Everyone except you."
Ciel let himself dwell on that for a bit as he slowly finished his beer. Did that mean this meeting was destined to happen? Could they have known each other in a past life, been friends, even? His head was swarming with the short discussion he'd had with Sebastian, and with a start, realized he'd been silent for a good twenty minutes.
"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about what you said and imagining…different situations."
Sebastian chuckled. "That's fine. It's very interesting to see the different emotions play out on your face. Almost better than watching you play pool." He left a tip for the bartender and stood up. "Come, I'll walk you home. Wouldn't want another drunk guy to snatch you up."
"You don't have to. I can call a cab."
"It would make me feel better to know you got home safely." Sebastian's tone left no room for argument, so Ciel grudgingly accepted.
The ride home was uneventful, both men lost in their own thoughts about the night's events. Sebastian paid for Ciel's cab fare and walked him to the front door of his apartment complex like a proper gentleman.
"You're not getting an invitation upstairs, so you better make your way home soon, it's pretty late." Ciel felt a twinge of guilt at dismissing him in such a way, but he didn't want to lead the man on.
"I wasn't looking for one."
"Well, good night then." Ciel quickly entered his security code and slipped into the building, not waiting to hear Sebastian's quiet "good night."
He breathed a sigh of relief once he was alone in the elevator. He stuck his hands in his coat pockets and leaned against the wall, when his fingers brushed against a slip of paper. He pulled it out and couldn't help the small grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"If you ever want to play pool or talk about past lives again, I'm here." Sebastian had given his number and an address, leaving Ciel to wonder when on earth he'd managed to write all this and slip it into his pocket.
"Bastard," he mumbled as the elevator dinged and stopped for his floor.
[1] This is a quote by Chandler from the sitcom "Friends." I don't remember which episode off the top of my head, but Rachel tries to look for a date and finds Sebastian, but her friends disapprove of him because they want her to pick their guys.
Who wants Ciel to give Sebastian a call...or better yet, show up at his door? ;) Please leave a review and let me know how this is going! Thanks!