Light fell upon the young pale face, awaking the youth from a blissfully empty sleep. He defiantly kept his eyes closed, a slight frown pulling at his lips. He shifted his weight, turning over and letting his dark hair tumble down over his face. He settled again down into the soft fluffy pillow, pressing his face against the cloudlike softness and willing his brain to calm, his heart to slow and render him unconscious again so he could continue his rest.
A sudden movement, and the silk sheets were swept off the boy, leaving him to curl his knees to his chest, shivering in the chill air outside of the warm safety of the covers. His long white nightshirt offered little warmth, and with an annoyed sound he opened his eyes.
"Wake up Bocchan. It is time to rise." A deep silky voice said, agitation fraying the corners of the easy purr.
The boy inhaled deeply. A slight look of puzzlement crossed his features, he looked around as he sat up, scanning the room. A frown bent the corners of his mouth, and he tilted his chin up, turning his gaze to his butler. His mismatched eyes narrowed slightly, the liquid blue eye and the other one. The one with the pentagonal mark, the binding mark, the contract mark.
"Where is breakfast?" The boy asked, crossing pale arms over his chest, his thin frame settled into the downy, plump pillows, sinking down until he was surrounded by the vast downy softness. He did not acknowledge it however, or appreciate the luxury. His eyes were fixed on his butler's face.
"There is not time to eat. Come, get up Bocchan, now. You need a bath before we depart." The soft silky voice was impatient now, the velvet words sharper, but still refined. Under control.
"Fine." The boy lifted a hand, holding it out imperiously. His fingernails were meticulously groomed, and his small child-like hands uncharacteristically elegant. The ring encircling his thumb, the one the youth wore at all times, was twisted so the large deep blue jewel faced inward, towards his palm.
The butler let out an almost imperceptible sound of impatience and took his master's hand, helping him from the mattress. The bed shifted as the child slipped off. He released the white gloved hand of his butler the instant his bare feet touched the cold floor.
"Tch." The boy said softly, a small smirk growing on his face. "Sebastian, it seems you've lost your touch. Allowing my bare feet to touch such a chilly floor?" The Earl Phantomhive's eyes flicked up at his butler through his lashes, the smirk growing pronounced on his face.
"My apologies Bocchan." Sebastian said inclining his head slightly. He shifted his weight, and suddenly Ciel was up in the air.
The boy's eyes flickered with a momentary terror, but regained composure quickly. He kept his body limp as his nose nearly brushed the ceiling, then closed his eyes as he fell back down. His heart raced as he fell for what seemed to be the longest time, his long shirt ballooning outward and upward as he fell. His slim pale legs were bent slightly, as if he was expecting to be caught.
It felt as if his internal organs were continuing their downward motion as Ciel stopped, his fall ended by two strong arms snatching him from the air. He was set down gently onto the end of the bed, a pair of silken house shoes sitting at his feet. Sebastian gently slipped them onto his master's feet, keeping his dark amber eyes fixed on Ciel's face. A smirk graced his face, his eyelids lowered for a look that on anyone else could only be called demure. On Sebastian, however, it would be called goading.
"Always for a flair for the dramatic Sebastian. Now, was that truly necessary?" Ciel said, looking down at his butler with disdain written across his face in bold disapproving letters, but at a closer look one could just see the amusement the boy was hiding.
"If touching the floor with his bare feet horrified Bocchan so, of course I would have to take immediate drastic measures to ensure his comfort, yes? You could catch a cold from such a chilly floor. We couldn't have Bocchan ill now, could we?" Sebastian asked, sarcasm thinly veiled in his sickeningly polite voice.
Ciel sighed, standing and smoothing his nightshirt impatiently with a hand. His silver blue hair was ruffled, and his face was slightly creased with annoyance. He flicked one slight hand impatiently striding with the imperious air of a king, and Sebastian followed behind him, a caged lion pacing back and forth, tail flicking slightly with annoyance. But at the edges of the sour expression on the tall, dark butler's face were the softening feelings of what, affection? Or was it darker, a hungry satisfaction?
The young Phantomhive, his dark dutiful butler following behind him, strode through the corridors, unsure to exactly where he was going, but doing so regally, every stride confident. The silk shirt he was wearing fluttered around his knees, his slender pale legs visible below them. A scowl was set on his face, his mismatched eyes narrowed and a harsh frown twisting his boyish features.
"Bocchan?" Sebastian asked after a few moments of walking down the well decorated halls of the castle.
"What?" Ciel spat, venom dripping in sticky gobs from his voice.
"I don't mean to interrupt your stroll through the castle, but we are in a bit of a hurry. You are going the wrong way."
A sharp, annoyed breath escaped from the pale young lord's lips, and he turned on heel and started walking. He would have ran into the much taller butler if the elegant man hadn't sidestepped neatly, allowing his angry young master passage before falling into step with him. He bent his head slightly to look at the short child, a pleasant smile lightening his features. It was great fun to annoy Bocchan, especially by being utterly polite.
Ciel walked on in a simmering silence for what seemed to be ages, his fuming footsteps muffled by his silken slippers. His pale delicate hands were clenched into bony fists, and a muscle in his forearm was jumping occasionally under the pressure of his anger.
"If you know so much about this manor, Sebastian, then why don't you just pick me up and carry me to the bath?" The boy asked sharply after a few moments of tolerating his butler's smug silence.
Sebastian's reaction was swift and deliberate. He leaned forward and in one fluid motion lifted Ciel up into his arms. Ciel's young face opened in surprise, eyes going wide and butterfly lips parting in a gasp. After the fleet bout of surprise, anger flooded in manifesting itself in the stead of the shock. Fragile slender fists pummeled the tall butler's shoulder, barely even wrinkling the fine cloth of the demon's suit.
"Put me down this instant!"
"If you insist, Bocchan. I was merely following orders."
Ceil's silk-clad feel once more stomped down the hall, a dagger filled glower occasionally shot back at the tall handsome butler. The thin faced servant's lips curved in an amused smirk as he regarded his child master. This time the pair made it to the glimmering white tile bathroom, Ciel was on his last nerve and Sebastian was amused to no extent.
The young man made no protest when Sebastian aided him in removing his night clothes, but a fiery glare was shot from the mismatched eyes. The mysterious butler busied himself with opening the tap and allowing water to gush into the tub.
"What are today's activities?" Ciel asked after a long silence in which only the sounds of cascading water could be heard.
"We are to visit the queen. Her Majesty has called for you again. The letter spoke of getting rid of a spider." Sebastian's voice was heavy with withheld information, but Ciel did not pursue the left out bits of knowledge.
"Spiders? Am I really to be dropped to such a level as to exterminate arachnids? Or is there another meaning, Sebastian, do not lie to me." Ciel said sharply when the bath was filled.
Sebastian did not answer for a moment, gently holding one meager pale arm of his master's to assist the boy into the water. Steam frothed in tendrils that clung to the small form. As the youth sank into the water the steam danced higher, rendering the two mere figures with barely a definable feature between them.
"I shall not lie to you, Bocchan, I never lie to you. Never a falsehood shall pass these lips. Her Majesty was vague about what exactly you would be exterminating, but she did make it clear that the circumstances would be unusual." A soft ambiguous purr, soothing but frustratingly lacking in information.
The smaller figure sighed lightly, sinking into the water and angling his head up to look at his butler, whose face was only just visible in the steam. The taller shape busied itself with dutifully cleaning the lesser, the refined arc of his body showcasing graceful poise and elegance even as he did such a menial job as cleaning his master's small pale form.
The young man resisted enough to be bothersome, but obeyed enough not to make Sebastian angry. He was, after all, the boss, head of the Phantomhive estates. He was the master. He clung to those thoughts like a drowning man as his body slowly turned pink and flushed from the heat of the bath. Water swirled around his body, little icebergs of bubbles beginning to grow as his dark-haired butler smoothly scrubbed at his skin.
"Ready?" Came the voice like velvet through the butter steam as thin pale fingers grasped the top of the boy's head.
Ciel held his breath, shutting his eyes, steeling himself for what would come next. His thin frame resisted the urge to fold in on itself or flinch away from the strong hand in his hair. The hand steered his head downwards, submerging Ciel's head in the warm soapy water. Maybe for a bit longer than was necessary. Two large bubbles escaped from the boy's mouth as he flailed, struggling to push back up against Sebastian's strong grip.
"Sebastian!" he howled as soon as his head broke the surface, his hands curled into tiny fists and his eyes glimmering with fury.
Sebastian smirked, looking at his sopping wet charge with a slight look of amusement. His eyes were goading as he got to his feet, offering his young master a wet, glove clad hand. The boy refused it, deigning instead to stand in the water, dripping wet and shaking slightly, an angry scowl on his face.
"What do you think you are doing?" Ciel spluttered, his voice cracking with the force of his rage.
"I am sorry, Bocchan. I forgot that humans don't have the lung capacity to stay under the water for so long. Won't you ever forgive me?" The butler said sardonically, bowing his head in what one could describe as humility.
Ciel regarded his butler coldly. Then, on a whim, he shook himself as a dog would, sending water droplets fleeing. They spun and dazzled momentarily in the light before splattering across everything in the bathroom. Including Sebastian. Some of the droplets were sucked up by his greedy jacket, and others beaded on his face, clinging to the pale skin of his cheeks and neck. The luckiest ones sought refuge in the butler's sleek dark locks, finding safety in the mock night they provided.
Wordlessly the butler offered his master a rich towel, the cream color looking like suspended water in the butler's white-gloved hands. The slender boy, after another fiery glare at his butler and a second shake of his wet locks, allowed the tall demon to drape the towel about his shoulders. It was warm and gently against the youth's chill frame, caressing him with a gentle dry embrace.
Sebastian helped the young lord from the tub, but Ciel refused the tall pale butler's assistance when it came to drying himself. The sulky youth did that himself, glowering at his butler as he used the starved towel to eat up the shivery droplets of water that were devouring his internal warmth. Each movement was slow and deliberate. A taunting warning. Defiance.
"Come now, Bocchan, don't be mad, please be quick. We have arachnids to eradicate."