A/N: I'm going to go ahead and dedicate this to Maiden of the Moon, for a couple of reasons: 1) I said I'd write this a long time ago, but forgot about it, like I do with everything else. And 2) her lovely cosplay pictures reminded me how much I love Kuroshitsuji.
She's not really a fan of Grell x Sebastian – she's strictly a Sebastian x Ciel shipper, you see :D Which is perfectly fine, and I tried to cater to this whim by making Sebastian adhere to such terms only out of obligation – this isn't really his cup of tea, either. And the undertones of Sebastian x Ciel are entirely for her benefit, as well ;D
Onwards!
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you and whose army?
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"You owe me." For such a willowy creature, Grell could put an awful lot of force behind his poke. Sebastian eyed the red-lacquered fingernail prodding the lapels of his jacket with a look of superior disdain. And then, masking it with that usual tolerant—if not condescending—smile of his, he said in a voice made of rich velvet:
"Owe you what? As someone who quite graciously spared you your life, I'd imagine it was quite the opposite. I think that it is perhaps you who owes me something, Grell."
"You didn't spare me!" Grell said haughtily, tossing his hair. "Will interfered on my behalf!"
Ciel, who had already grown annoyed with the exchange, grunted. "He's right, Sebastian."
"With all due respect, Young Master, no, he isn't," Sebastian said, uncharacteristically firm in his statement. Ciel quirked one elegant eyebrow, and even Grell looked a little taken aback by the comment.
"I could have easily killed you, even then. Another shinigami is hardly a deterrent to keep me from completing my objective." He shrugged in a show of indifference. "I just didn't deem it prudent."
"Well… well…!" Grell looked quite flustered; this meant that he knew Sebastian was right. There was no doubting the demon's killing ability. "That's beside the matter. We let bygones be bygones, and there's still the fact that I saved your precious master's life." He kept snorting and pawing at the ground like an angry bull, a behavior that Sebastian found most ungraceful. He was so steamed that his anger was literally fogging up his glasses. "I want some compensation, damn it!"
"You and Young Master had an arrangement," Sebastian said airily, turning his back on the fiery haired shinigami. "One of which that doesn't concern me."
"But Ciel said--!" Grell cried, his voice shrill and grating.
The note that was the elder man was hitting had finally pushed Ciel's patience to its limit. "That's right, I did," he said, and his fury was abruptly turned on Sebastian and not Grell himself, a frankly shocking development to the onyx-haired demon. "Although it was a marriage of convenience, I did promise him payment, and I have every intention of fulfilling my end of the bargain. I have too few allies these days as it stands. Do it, Sebastian."
Sebastian blinked. Ciel was looking at him with a surly expression. The two regarded each other unyieldingly in a silent standoff, as Grell's own gaze bounced anxiously between them.
"Is this entirely necessary?" Sebastian asked wearily, at last.
"That is an order, Sebastian," Ciel demanded, his voice ringing with authority.
Sebastian looked momentarily appalled. The smile, for once, didn't immediately overtake his features as the command was given. "Yes, my Lord," he said, almost grudgingly, before pulling himself into a bow. Ciel merely waved one hand irritably as the demon straightened and turned around to face Grell waiting behind them.
He immediately advanced, and Grell involuntarily jumped before instinctively shrinking away. Sebastian's usual pleasant façade had melted away into an irritated expression, one that Grell was not accustomed to seeing – and understandably frightened of.
"Stay still," Sebastian hissed as he drew ever-nearer. Grell froze obligingly on the spot as the taller man clasped him on the shoulder. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it?" He spat, before leaning in.
The kiss lasted less than a second. There was no tongue involved, no latent passion backing it – it was bland and yeastless and very, very chaste. And even still Grell's cheeks grew rosy, his eyelashes fluttering before falling gently closed. When Sebastian released his hold on the redhead he swooned precariously on the spot, very nearly falling over.
"There," Sebastian said, wiping his gloved hands on his pants as though touching the shinigami had somehow soiled them. "Might I insist we return to the task at hand, Young Master? We haven't really the time to be so unnecessarily sidetracked."
"That depends," Ciel returned icily, hands on his hips, "on whether Grell will be quiet." He lifted one eyebrow expectantly at the other man, and Sebastian glanced over his shoulder to look as well. However it seemed they had nothing to worry about: Grell, still recovering from the shock of being kissed, was in no state of mind to be a nuisance anymore.
"Thank God," Sebastian muttered under his breath.
