Clear skies and nothing but sunshine overtook the Phantomhive Manor as the household prepares for another productive day.
The Manor's head butler Sebastian Michaelis, was up and about bright and early as usual. He had been made aware by the household's master Ceil Phantomhive that there would be a guest arriving in the next couple of days and had stressed on the importance on leaving a lasting impression.
Understanding the severity of the situation, Sebastian had made a mental note of all the necessary chores that would be required of himself and of the Phatonmhive servants.
Casually strolling about, he makes his way to where ever he believed each particular servant would be at that particular time of day. It wasn't long before he heard a crashing sound several rooms down.
Walking over he lets out and annoyed sigh when he sees Mey-Rin; the manor's maid sprawled out on the floor covered in broken dishes.
Noticing the Butler's presence, Mey-Rin embarrassingly gets up and tries her best to clean up the mess she had made.
"SEBASTIAN! I was trying me best to get the silverware ready for tonight's dinner, yes I was! Then there was this mouse that scared me! Yes it did! I'M SORRY!"
Taking another deep breath in, Sebastian slowly walks over and helps the young woman to clean up.
"Mey-Rin, how many times do I have to tell you that the step ladder is available and accessible especially for situations like this one?"
The maid was just about to voice her apologies until a loud cry is heard in another direction of the mansion.
Shaking his head, Sebastian gets up and leaves the young woman to clean the remainder of the mess alone.
"What is it now?"
Making his way towards the garden he finds himself surrounded by dead plants and trees.
There in the middle of the field was the youngest servant of the household, the gardener Finny.
Finny was sitting in the field wailing uncontrollably to the point of utter annoyance.
Taking a look around and unpleased by the damage down the garden, Sebastian walks over and looks to the young gardener for answers.
"Finny, would you care to explain how you managed this?"
Wiping a tear, he picks up a bottle and passes it over to the butler.
Reading the contents, Sebastian rubs the side of his temple with a gloved finger.
"Did you coat the entire lawn with industrial strength weed killer?"
Frantically grabbing the tall man's lean legs, Finny tightly hugs the man before wailing,
"I'm SO sorry Sebastian! Please don't fire me! I don't want to live on the streets! I love it here! Where will I go!?"
Ignoring the boy's pleas, Sebastian casually places the bottle on a nearby table before addressing the young man.
"Go inside and help Mey-Rin clean up the mess she's made. I'll be there in a few."
Sniffling and wiping his tears, he does as he is told.
With Finny out of the way, Sebastian glances around the garden analyzing on what should be taken cared of first.
"The tress will take the longest so I should probably-"
A very loud explosion from behind him shakes him to the core.
Turning around he is a bit surprised to see a gaping hole where there once was a wall.
He could clearly hear a man coughing and attempting to clear the smoke away with the wave of a hand.
Annoyed as he was immediately walked over and scolded the cook for his careless actions.
"BARDROY!"
Sporting a burnt afro, the chef who was now covered in soot weakly walks over to the butler.
"Oi Sebastian! Before you say another word let me tell you-"
The butler didn't have to hear another word. He knew the chef well enough to know exactly how this happened. Chiming in Sebastian sarcastically replies,
"Let me guess, a flamethrower?"
Bardroy was honestly surprised despite his repetitive nature of causing such damage in the past with a flamethrower that the stoic butler would get it right on the first try.
"Well, yeah! How'd you know!?"
At this rate Sebastian was coming to the conclusion that the servants only had themselves to blame for the harm he was about to cause them.
Looking over Sebastian noticed one particular ingredient burnt to a crisp due to Bardroy's callous cooking.
Reaching out he picks up the burnt item with his white gloves only for it to turn to ash.
Nervously rubbing the back of his head, Bardroy attempts to apologize to the Butler.
"I'm real sorry, you know me and slow cookin'. I thought me flamethrower would help. You know? Cook things faster!"
Rubbing his temples, Sebastian pulls himself together and in an exasperated tone replies back.
"That ingredient you destroyed was the wild piq flower that only grows once a year in Japan. Without it our whole menu is ruined."
Feeling quiet guilty at this point, Bard pouts while trying his best to voice his apology,
"I said I was sorry."
Brushing his gloved hands together, Sebastian calculates ways of saving the day.
"It can't be helped. I'll put together a list of ingredients and have you go to town and pick them up this afternoon."
Brushing past the slightly smaller man, Sebastian mentally changes his strategies for the day in accordance to the servants' actions.
"What else could possibly go wrong?"
Bardroy had changed over to his casual wear in preparedness to heading to town.
Sebastian had left him a list of ingredients for the night's big dinner.
It was always a joy to head into town especially since he was running low on cigarettes.
Taking the horse and carriage, the chef takes in the view as he heads into town by himself.
He enjoyed the manor's company, but from time to time he preferred some time alone.
Lost in his thoughts it was only a matter of time before he approached the familiar nearby town.
Pitching the carriage, Bard makes his rounds slowly gathering each listed ingredient.
With all ingredients in hand Bard takes a moment and heads to a nearby pub.
Sitting by the bar he orders his usual and gets himself acquainted with the scenery.
With a warm beer in hand, he slowly chugs it and relaxes. It was nice to just sit there without constantly being yelled at by Sebastian.
Not wanting to stay too long before Sebastian gets wind that he was at the bar relaxing instead of heading back and preparing dinner, Bardroy takes one last chug before setting off.
"Guess I should head back."
Just as he is about to get up a nearby drunken patron falls over and lands right on top of him.
Instincts kick in and Bardroy catches the man before he could hit the floor.
Helping the drunken man to his feet, he chuckles,
"One too many, am I right?"
The man laughs back,
"You-you think!? HAHAHA-COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"
The man blatantly coughs right on Bard's face.
Disgusted, Bardroy pushes the man away from him.
"OI! Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's rude to cough with your mouth open!?"
The man doesn't apologize and simply walks back towards the bar.
Angered by the man's form of disrespect he shouts back,
"AY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"
Seeing that his shouting was getting nowhere, Bardroy gives up and heads back to the manor.
Stepping in, Bardroy glances over to a huge clock towering by the entrance.
"Bloody hell, I'm late."
Rushing into the kitchen before anybody noticed, Bardroy is quick to change over to his chef's uniform and promptly makes his way over to the kitchen.
Running in, he gasps.
There by the tabletop in no other than Sebastian.
Immediately noticing the chef, Sebastian accusingly says,
"You're late."
Bardroy tries his best at attempting to play it cool, but his nervousness was showing.
"Sorry bout that. Got caught up on some of me personal errands."
"I believe I was very specific about strictly going into town and only picking up the ingredients. Was I not?"
The chef was in no mood to banter. There were times where he hated the feeling of being talked down to as if he weren't the sergeant of an army.
"Again I said I was sorry. Can we let it go?"
Stopping what he was doing, Sebastian casually heads towards the kitchen doors before turning and facing the troubled cook.
"Very well, but I still expect dinner to be served on time. Understood?"
Bard doesn't answer.
He reaches for a cigarette and lights it.
Taking a puff, he finally looks over to the butler and in a retort manner says,
"Yes me Lord."
Sebastian pauses there for a moment.
His eyes stare diligently into turquoise one.
Neither man makes a move.
Cracking a small smirk, Sebastian couldn't help but reach into his inner troll as he replies back,
"That's more like it."
Taken by surprised over the butler's snide remark, Bard stammers,
"THAT'S-THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
Alone and more annoyed than ever, Bard had no choice but to cook.
Looking down at the ingredients, Bard plays back the exchange he had with the butler and laughs,
"Snarky bastard."
Some days had passed and tonight was the night when the scheduled guest was set to arrive.
Upstairs Sebastian was taking care of all the necessary arrangements for the night's event.
Meanwhile downstairs, Bardroy was having bit of a hard time adding the finishing touches to the night's dinner.
He woke up that morning feeling a bit weak.
Ignoring it he went about his day as usual. Prepping the kitchen and sorting the food he had prepared earlier. Despite his best efforts, he found himself taking more breaks than usual. At one point as he was reaching up for some ingredients when suddenly he felt a bit dizzy. Shaking it off he sat to recollect himself. Wiping his brow he instantly noticed that he was sweating.
Pondering to himself he pulls his cigarette out of his mouth and contemplates over it.
"Maybe the master is right. Maybe I should cut down on me smoking."
The clock hanging above the fireplace catches his attention.
"Shit! No time to doddle! It's almost dinner time!"
Placing the finishing arrangements, Sebastian smiles as he admires all his hard work had come to fruitation.
Mey-Rin stood by smiling as Finny happily approached the group.
They were all there minus one particular chef.
Seeing as it was almost time for the guest to arrive, Sebastian looks over to Finny and smiles at the young man.
"Finny? Have you seen Bard?"
The young gardener takes a moment to ponder over the question before saying,
"Last I saw him was when he was heading into the kitchen to prepare tonight's meal."
Sebastian could only think that the chef was doing this to spite him due to their earlier spat.
"Mey-Rin if I don't return in time, please make sure that our guest is properly welcomed."
Positioning her arm in a salute manner she shouts,
"Yes Sir!"
More annoyed than anything, Sebastian makes his way towards the kitchen.
With a monologue etched in his head to properly scold the cook he rushes in and screams,
"Bardroy-"
He stops.
The chef was sitting on the edge of the table desperately holding his head up as a pile of vomit sat underneath him.
Wiping away the sweat pooling on his forehead the man weakly stares up and makes eye contact with the butler.
Sebastian can clearly see the whites of the chef's eyes where now pink.
Looking over towards the oven he sees the food was now burning and ruined.
"Bardroy?"
The chef tries his best to compose himself, but that was proving to be useless.
"I'm fine."
The answer angered the demon. Removing his glove he casually walks over and slaps the man.
Falling to the floor, the chef surprised by the butler's actions shouts,
"What the bloody hell was that for!?"
"The master had specifically ordered that you not drink and you choose tonight of all nights to break that bond?"
The accusations instantly stab the man's pride.
"I beg your pardon!?"
Taking a towel he throws it over to the man.
"Clean yourself up and head to bed. Your services will no longer be needed tonight."
Grabbing the towel, Bard hands trembled with anger.
"I'm…I'm not drunk!"
The butler doesn't say a word and simply closes the door on the man.
The cook tries one last attempt at explaining himself but his words fall into deaf ears.
"SEBASTIAN!"
With Sebastian forced to concoct some sort of dinner at the last minute he was please to find that everything had run soothingly.
Bardroy never returned to his room, instead he had made a makeshift bed in the kitchen and had been staying there for the last couple of days.
Instinct was telling him to stay away from the others and that he did.
He remembered back in the trenches anyone caught acting unusual health wise was quarantined. It was more for the sake of those going mad from war were best kept away from the others in order to prevent them from mass killing everybody out of sheer depression.
Also it was easier for him to quickly step outside and vomit than waking Finny and Tanaka with his constant vomiting.
It wouldn't be his first time he was sick. He just needed to ride it out as he usually did and he would be back to himself in no time.
His repetitive coughing was also a bit annoying and another reason why he decided to sleep it out in the kitchen instead with the others. Bard would sleep their and sneak back into bed in the morning.
He wanted to have a smoke but his throat was now killing him at this point. With all the coughing and vomiting he found smoking to be a bit too painful.
It didn't help that the coughing only worsened his developing headache.
Each passing hour his breathing was growing raspier.
All he wanted to do was sleep it off. Everything is always better in the morning.
Morning came, and as usual Sebastian came by to wake the servants.
Today would prove to be any ordinary day and with that came a hefty schedule.
Determined to get through the day without a hitch, Sebastian was determined in getting everything done in a timely matter.
Opening the door, he routinely claps his gloved hands and shouts out to the men,
"Good morning gentlemen! As you know we have a busy day ahead of us so I will need you to get dressed and ready to work as soon as possible."
Finny groggily sits up and yawns as he rubs his tired eyes.
Tanaka gracefully gets up and immediately starts to dress, tea in hand.
Seeing no movement coming from the chef's bed, Sebastian is quick to investigate.
"Bardroy it's time to wake up."
With no response the Butler is forced to pull the covers away from the sleeping chef's body.
"Bardroy?"
Lifting the sheets he is confused to find nobody lying there.
Finny notices and innocently asks,
"That's funny. Where's Bard?"
Dropping the covers, Sebastian leaves the pair to wonder.
"That's what I would like to know."
Walking over he could hear water running in the kitchen.
Stepping in, the butler is confused to find the chef topless and washing his shirt in the sink.
"Bard?"
Waking up for worst of wear the chef continues to wash his shirt under the cold running water.
"Woke up with a bloody nose is all. Don't worry yourself none."
The butler could clearly see the man was sweating and appeared fatigue.
"Are you alright?"
Dropping his shirt he screams,
"I SAID I WAS FINE!"
His attitude and demeanor screamed back to those days when Sebastian had first brought Bardroy in. Back then the man's drinking would get so bad that he would continuously hurt himself and frighten the other servants. At one point it had gotten so bad that the master had barred him from drinking in and outside the mansion all together.
As far as Sebastian knew Bardroy had controlled his drinking and took up smoking to fight the urges and respected the master's orders. He was curious to know what had caused the man to relapse.
Taking a mental note in Bardroy's tone, he thought it was best to allow him some time to cool down before addressing him again about his drinking habits.
With Sebastian gone, Bardroy sat there and allowed his hands to cradle his throbbing head.
"What the hell is wrong with me?"
Night had fallen and the manor grew quiet minus the rain pounding against the windows. A storm had made its way towards them preventing from any of the day's guests from arriving.
Taking it easy Sebastian had taken some time to relax and reorganize the study.
Dusting a book he pauses and ponders on the day's events.
There was no fooling him, whatever it was he could instantly tell that the chef was hiding something from him.
Looking out the window he asks,
"What are you hiding from me…chef?"
A scream coming from outside brings him back to reality.
"Charlie! Charlie where are you!?"
He knew that voice. Looking through the window he tries to track where the voice was coming from.
"Donnie! DONNIE I'M COMING!"
His eyes widen. There out in the middle of the cold rain was Bard in just his pajamas.
Sebastian drops the book and rushes out to where the chef was.
"Jak! I'm here! It's me Bard! I'M HERE!"
"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING!?"
Bard quickly turns around and faces the angered yet very confused butler.
"Me men! They're out here! They're getting shot at! I have to save them!"
The remark further confuses the demon.
"There's no one here."
Pulling his attention away from Sebastian, Bard brings his focus back towards the open field.
"NO! I can hear them! They're here! They're calling out to me! I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!"
Sebastian grabs the man by his wrist and pulls him towards him.
"Bard! It's just us!"
Bard begins to violently cough as the cold rain drenches his exposed body.
Looking into the man's usually bright turquoise eyes, he can see that there was a slight dullness to them.
Pulling away his wrist Bard screams,
"Let go! I have to find them!"
Sebastian had had enough.
Grabbing the man he forcefully drags him back into the mansion.
Bardroy struggles against the demon's grip and cries out.
"BASTARD! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!" NO! PLEASE!"
The commotion was enough to wake everybody in the household.
Kicking the door open, Sebastian drags a drenched Bardroy into the kitchen where a concerned Finny, Mey-Rin, and Tanaka were standing by.
They all gasp when Sebastian keeps a tight grip on the cook as he pins the unwilling man on the floor.
Bardroy was now in tears and violently trashing about against Sebastian's grip,
"STOP! LET ME GOOOO!THEY'RE DYING OUT THERE!"
Near tears Finny screams out,
"You're hurting him!"
Finny was not prepared to be held back by a normal Tanaka.
Keeping the young boy at bay, he sternly gives orders to Finny and Mey-Rin.
"You two need to return to bed. Sebastian and I will take care of this."
Hesitant Finny pleads,
"But-"
Tanaka gives him a reassuring smile,
"It will be fine. You two rest up and leave this to us."
Mey-Rin takes note and takes Finny's hand into hers as she leads them back upstairs.
Holding the man down, Sebastian glances over to the older man for an explanation.
Tanaka calmly walks over and places a hand on Bard's forehead.
"He's suffering from a bad fever. He's to the point of hallucination."
Stepping behind, Tanaka readjusts Sebastian's arms.
Tanaka understanding the butler's confusion explains,
"He suffers from PTSD. It's a trick both Finny and I use whenever he has night terrors. It helps calm him and slowly and safely brings him back to reality. Place an arm around his waist securing his arms. With your other arm, place a gently hand on his chest over his heart."
Sebastian does as he is told and waits for the next step.
"Now calmly talk to him in a soft reassuring tone. Call out to him and assure him that he is safe. There is no war. It's just a bad nightmare."
Sebastian is about to do as he is told until Tanaka adds one minor detail.
"Rocking helps."
The added note was a bit much, but what was he to do at this point.
Embracing the cold drenched man into his arms, he pushes Bard into him so that the chef's back was now pressed against his chest.
The chef was still thrashing against the butler's hold, but Sebastian still managed to place his mouth by the cook's ear.
He whispers,
"Bardroy…Bardroy."
Removing his glove he reaches underneath the shirt and places a warm hand over the chef's beating heart.
"Bard…breathe. There is no war. You're sitting in your kitchen and you're safe. You're home."
The man's screams soon turn into sobs.
Leaning his head back so that it was resting on Sebastian's shoulders, he cries.
"I…I couldn't save them."
The butler was taken aback. There were times where he noticed the chef was in near tears but never had he seen the man cry before. Even for Sebastian this was a bit out of his comfort zone. He knew that Bardroy always tried his best to remain strong for himself and especially for the servants and to see him so weak had left the butler agape.
Leaning forward Bardroy drops his head and allows it to hang as he cries over the realization that all his friends were dead.
"I'm a coward, a washup, a-"
"Chef."
Bardroy's eyes widen upon hearing Sebastian whisper those words.
Sebastian remains stoic even as he cradles the man's head. Turning the cold shivering man around he tightly embraces him.
The feel of Sebastian's warm body soothes him. Exhausted and cold, Bardroy soon falls asleep in his arms.
With the situation under control Sebastian looks over to Tanaka who watches with concern.
Putting down his tea Tanaka kneels down and brushes the wet hair away from the cook's hot head.
"He's delirious with fever. He'll need a warm bath and a new batch of clothes.
Sebastian was just about to move the sleeping Bardroy when he is stopped by the usually chibi Tanaka.
"I'll get his bath and clothes ready. If you don't mind I would prefer you keep him comfortable until all is ready."
It's been a while since Sebastian took orders from anybody but the master. Warmly smiling at the old gentle man, he stays put cradling the sleeping chef.
With the bath ready, Tanaka takes his leave leaving the Butler to handle the rest.
It was out of his nature to care for anyone other than the master.
It was unnerving to say the least when forced to disrobe the man.
Gently cradling the semi unconscious Bardroy, he slowly lowers him into the warm tub of water.
Weakly opening his eyes, Bard looks over and sees Sebastian soaking a sponge ready to dose his head with warm water.
Reaching out Sebastian pauses when his wrist is suddenly grabbed by the fevered man.
He patiently waits as Bardroy tries to speak through his labored breathing.
"I'm a grown ass man…don't…don't baby me."
Sebastian simply swats the hand away.
"Any notable man wouldn't wait till he was near death's door before addressing his poor health."
Taking the sponge away from Sebastian's hand he coolly places it on his own head.
"I'm fine."
"You cried today."
Bard's eyes shoot open.
Picking up his things Sebastian prepares to leave.
"Call me when you're done."
He closes the door leaving the man to soak in his thoughts.
Taking a deep breath in, he painfully stares up towards the ceiling.
"Damn it to hell…"
Reading a book, Sebastian looks up to see Bardroy already dressed and weakly clinging against the wall in a poor attempt to get to the bed.
Sighing, Sebastian puts down the book and walks over to the man.
"Were my orders of you calling me when you're done not clear?"
Violently coughing Bard prepares to retaliate until a sudden feeling of warmth dripped down his nose trailing down his chin and onto the floor.
Pulling a cloth from his pocket Sebastian rushes forward and covers the man's blood soaked face.
"Your nose."
Bardroy doesn't say a word. Instead he clenches his hand onto Sebastian's shoulder before his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
The man collapses into the Butler's awaiting arms.
"BARDROY!"
Cradling the man he rushes into the hallway.
"Tanaka!"
The older man was already there awaiting orders.
"Prepare my room. Sterilize the kitchen and burn Bardroy's sheets and clothes. Have Finny stay in the guestroom for now. No one is to go near Bardroy until I have the situation under control."
Tanaka gets right to work.
Rushing into his bedroom he places the unconscious man onto his bed.
Removing him of his shirt, he places and ear on his chest.
Bardroy's body was hot to the touch.
Closing his eyes he concentrates.
He could clearly hear wheezing and a faint thumping from his heart.
Sitting up he quickly pondered on what to do. He had never encountered an illness like this one. With this storm no doctor in their right mind would come at this godforsaken hour.
There was one thing that was very clear to him though…Bardroy was dying.
The man's usually lightly tannish skin was slowly becoming pale with a tint of grey.
His eyes were growing more distant.
Removing himself of his blazer, Sebastian sits on the edge of the bed.
Lifting the chef he places him in a sitting position and embraces him.
"Bard…can you hear me?"
The room remains silent.
"You are not to die…not tonight."
The butler's hand is softly taken by the dying man's.
"You…promised."
He remembered.
The man back then was covered in his comrades' blood.
Alone and scared, blood trickled down his head as he cradled his friend's body in his arms.
"Charlie! CHARLIE! Bloody hell…open your eyes!"
"That's quite enough. We both know he's dead."
Shooting his head up, his eyes widen in terror.
There standing before him is a tall statute man in what appears to be a butler uniform.
He was good as dead. He had run out of ammo shortly after killing what he thought was the last of their enemies.
"Are you friend…or foe?"
The man smiles.
"Neither, I'm simply a butler fulfilling his master's wishes."
Trembling, he desperately looks for a gun hiding in the pocket of his fallen comrade.
Pulling it out, he points it towards the butler.
"That doesn't answer my question."
Before he could make sense on what had just happened, the butler was now standing behind him while gripping his wrist that was holding the gun.
"As I said that was quite enough."
Taking the gun away from the wounded man, he crushes it.
Watching in amazement, Bardroy panics and painfully pushes himself away from the man.
"What…what the hell are you!?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Sebastian Michaelis. Head butler of the Phantomhive manor."
"Phantomhive?"
"Yes, and my master is inquiring a team of formidable people to serve under him and you happen to fit the bill."
"Wait a second. Are you hiring me?"
"Yes."
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLOODY MIND!? We're in the middle of a battlefield!"
"Look around. Does it appear to be any signs of fighting at the moment?"
Glancing around Bardroy could only see a sea of bodies. He was the lone survivor.
"Come. Let's not keep the master waiting any longer than he's already had."
"WAIT!"
"Yes?"
"I never said I was going with ya."
"I do apologize. Given the circumstances I didn't see it to be any unreasonable doubt that you would."
Seeing that the soldier was unmoved by his words he adds,
"You will be provided a paying stable job, living quarters that you would be sharing with two other servants, and any other living expenses will be taken cared of accordingly."
The soldier pondered over the arrangements only to ask,
"What the hell do you want from me?"
"All the Master asks is that you protect him and the Phantomhive manor's secrets with your life."
"Alright. You got yourself a deal I'm only asking for one thing."
"Yes?"
"If I die…I don't want to die alone."
"Very well-"
"Promise me!"
Sebastian could see that this was something that was very important to the soldier. Late as they were, the butler humbly agrees.
"I promise."
Back in the room things remained silent.
Sebastian somberly stared at the floor as he continued to hold the man.
He was a demon; his sole purpose was to abide by the master's wishes up until the day he died putting an end to their contract. When…when exactly did that change? Why did the idea of losing this bother him? Even now, the thought of Bard passing…hurt.
"I know…what you are."
The demon's eyes widen.
"You're not like them you know? You're…you're-"
Weakly reaching up, he pats the butler in the head.
"Sebastian."
The man's arm suddenly drops.
Clenching unto his body, Sebastian found himself shaking.
Somehow this manor, this household had affected him.
He was willing to risk it all to keep it that way even if it meant…
"What are you waiting for?"
Sebastian quickly looks up to see Ciel standing by his bedroom door.
"Master…"
"If he dies that will mean there will be no one to serve me breakfast tomorrow, and you know how I especially hate it when I miss breakfast."
Crossing his arms and smiling he wills the words allowing such measures to officially take place sealing the fate of the cook.
"Sebastian, I order you to save Bardroy's life."
Relieved, Sebastian returns the smile.
"As you wish…my Lord."
Ciel leaves the Butler to take care of his wishes.
Walking back to his room he passes by Tanaka who is standing by.
As Ciel passes the older butler, he hears the man calmly tell him,
"Thank you."
Ciel doesn't say a word and returns to his quarters.
Laying Bard on the bed, Sebastian is careful to situate him before proceeding with his master's bidding.
"This may hurt, but not for long. I'm asking for you to bear with it. Everything will be better in the morning."
Biting his own wrist, a stream of blood soon oozes from the freshly made wound.
"It's usually not advised, but drastic times call for drastic measures. I hope you understand."
Sucking a good amount of his own blood he holds it in his mouth.
Hovering over the unconscious man, he carefully presses his index finger and thumb into the chef's cheeks allowing access into his mouth.
He places his warm lips over cold ones and allows the blood to sip from his mouth into the cook's.
Some of the blood begins to sip from the corners of the unconscious man's mouth and is absorbed into the white silk sheets lying beneath him.
It takes only one swallow.
Pulling away Sebastian tentatively stares down at the man, waiting.
After a couple of minutes, Bardroy's eyes shoot open as he gasps for air.
A chorus of screams followed but where washed out by the sounds of thunder created by the night's storm.
The warm sunlight beamed and cascaded the land with its brightness.
Feeling the warm sun enveloping his skin, Bardroy takes a deep breath in.
Slowly opening his eyes he smiles.
Touching his head he could feel that the fever was gone.
"Good morning."
Looking over he is surprised to see Sebastian standing by the doorway.
"Ai, Good mornin'."
Holding a tray of food he sets it on the cook's lap.
"How are you feeling?"
"A little light headed but better thanks."
Removing himself of his glove, Sebastian places a hand on the cook's forehead.
The sudden contact forces a blush on the cooks face.
"What're you-"
Pulling his hand away Sebastian accesses his findings.
"No fever. That's good. You're lucky Bardroy. Word has spread that thousands have already died from the very sickness you've suffered. Once again you managed to survive."
Feeling a bit uncomfortable of the subject, the cook is quick to reach for his box of cigarettes, casually lighting one.
"Yeah well I wouldn't call it lucky."
"How so?"
"I don't know how to explain it, but I can't help but not feel myself."
Sebastian remains his composure.
"Well you rest up. I'll be back to check in on you in the next couple of hours."
Just as he was about to leave he feels a hand grasping his.
"Sebastian?"
Turning around the demon couldn't help but noticed a slight difference in the cook's appearance.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for keeping your promise."
His shocked expression easily changes to a smile.
"Of course, if I couldn't keep a simple promise then what kind of butler would I be?"
He leaves Bardroy alone to recover.
Staring out the window, the chef notices something in the reflection.
There staring back at him were not turquoise but instead blood red eyes.
Closing his eyes he gives his head a good shake before looking back to see his signature turquoise staring back at him.
"Hmm…must be seeing things. Oh well."
Taking a good pull from his cigarette he takes advantage of the day of and uses the rest of his day off to relax.