Hello people, here's a pretty straightforward SebastianxCiel oneshot. The italics following the numbers are memories, and except for a few things this fic follows the anime pretty well.
Disclaimer: I do not own this series, I have merely played around with the characters.
Enjoy!
Countdown
It's cold, Ciel thinks. He can feel the biting wind blowing through his hair and the freezing metal beneath his fingertips.
He's gripping the edge of the platform and he seems indefinitely small against the backdrop of the roaring Thames below him. If his hand slipped even a little bit...well, he'd fall.
Young Master, can you hold on for ten more seconds?
A nod.
The Earl's faithful butler begins his countdown, and suddenly there is a flurry of darkness and feathers. And even though he's not quite dying yet, Ciel can see his life flashing before his eyes.
Ten.
It's summertime and Ciel can hear Finny and Bard laughing as they chase each other through the gardens. He's seated on a stone bench in the comfortable shade of the veranda, a newspaper lying forgotten in his lap. He watches as Finny trips over a stone and is sent sprawling, Bard hurrying to make sure his friend is okay.
A light breeze begins to blow just as Sebastian appears with his afternoon tea. It's iced, Ciel notices idly, and for some unknown reason that bothers him.
"Young master, forgive me for asking, but is there something on your mind? You have yet to dismiss me."
Ciel blinks and is silent for a few moments.
"There aren't many days like this," he says finally.
"No," Sebastian agrees, "There aren't."
The Earl falls into another bout of silence. He stares at the steadily melting ice in his tea (Chamomile, Sebastian tells him).
"You should enjoy it while it lasts," his butler says, as if he's talking about the tea. The warning isn't lost on the boy. Sebastian is dismissed and Ciel and shifts a little in his seat.
The ice in his tea has completely melted now.
And oddly enough, the boy isn't worried. Things may change, but eventually they return to where they began. The ice he's been watching for the past few minutes is testament to that.
Nine.
The carriage jolts and bumps along the rocky countryside roads. Its well into the night now and it's been hours, but they still have not reached their destination. Sebastian sits next to his master and they talk to pass the time.
"Lady Elizabeth was certainly excited to see you at the gala," the butler comments dryly, as if he knows that this will irritate his master.
Ciel cringes as he's forced to remember frills and ruffles and starchy pink bows.
"She's a nuisance," the boy says, "I can't stand extended hours in her presence, and I only put up with her in the first place because she's my fiancée." He knows that it's pointless to explain as the demon likely already knows, but Ciel has taken to rambling to try and keep himself awake. "And Sebastian, don't give me that look. I'm sure even you wouldn't be able to stand a millennia if she was by your side. Oh, and-"
Sebastian cuts him off with a hand to his shoulder and his mouth close to the boy's ear.
"You're tired, young master." He breathes, and the Earl can't help but to shiver a little.
"No."
Sebastian chuckles at the boy's obstinate answer.
"You can sleep," the butler says, "I don't bite, young master." He grins slightly at his little joke.
Ciel, lacking the focus to retort, simply remains quiet and focuses on keeping his heavy lids open. But suddenly he feels Sebastian's fingers running soothingly through his hair. He exhales a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, and pretty soon he's in dreamland.
He wakes up in the morning with his head in his butler's lap and the other man's arms wound around his torso. Ciel is, quite promptly, blushingly mortified.
Eight.
Ciel stares at the newly repaired and recovered sapphire ring on his finger. He looks up at his butler and isn't able to reign in his shock. And before he can stop himself from saying something stupid, he speaks.
"Why?" He whispers, thoroughly confused.
"You treasure it," the butler responds plainly, as if the answer should have been obvious.
"No," the boy shakes his head, "That's not what I meant. Why...why would you go to such great lengths for me?"
The butler takes a few moments. 'Because you ordered me to' isn't the answer his master his looking for. The silence and tension builds until its almost palpable in the air. Sebastian breaks it.
"It's not because its for you, it's because its you."
Red eyes burn into sapphire and the boy begins to understand.
Seven.
It's winter now. As Sebastian carts in his tea, he notices with a touch of irony that it is Chamomile again, but without the ice.
Sebastian stands faithfully by his master's desk, waiting to be dismissed. Ciel momentarily looks out of the window and watches the pounding snowstorm, then turns his attention back to the shining brass pocketwatch in his hands.
"The snow isn't the only thing wearing away at the mansion's stone," Ciel finally comments.
"Of course, young master," Sebastian responds, "Time eventually breaks down all things."
Ciel motions for the demon to leave, but just before he reaches the door, the Earl's quiet voice stops him.
"What happened with us, Sebastian?"
The demon chuckles as he passes through the doorway.
"You know the answer to that, young master."
Six.
He's spellbound.
A statue is crumbling to dust just above his butler's form. But for a second, just a second, it had appeared as if Sebastian had wings. Pure, innocent angel wings. How ironic. It's like a dream, almost. But then again, why would the Earl dream of his pretty demon butler?
The Earl can't bring himself to care about anything else surrounding him other than the butler and the statue. The statue is completely gone now, and the white dust slides down Sebastian's tailcoat as he lift's the boy off of the floor and closer to himself. His butler's fingers dig into his hips and the boy feels his pulse quicken.
Ciel shifts his head slightly. Their lips are really quite close and he can't help but to remember that one kiss last time and he can feel the demon's breath and he traces the contours of those lips and he feels magic a million years away and-
Fireworks explode in the background.
The spell is broken.
Five.
He barely holds back his laughter when he sees Sebastian wearing a frilly pink bonnet. He can see the silent, mutinous murder in his butler's eyes, and the boy can't take it anymore so he laughs and laughs and laughs.
For once, he's thankful for Lizzie's presence.
They seat themselves in the elegant dining room and begin their Christmas feast. Sebastian's cooking is as good as ever; various delicious scents waft into the Earl's nose. He finds himself relaxed, and is surprised that he's actually enjoying himself. As he cuts his honey-roasted ham, he feels his butler's eyes settle on him. Quickly, stealthily, Ciel locks eyes with his butler. The demon quickly lowers his gaze, but he has already been caught. The Earl notices idly that Sebastian is still wearing the bonnet.
Later, as Sebastian begins to take the dishes back into the kitchen and Lizzie wanders away to the ballroom, Ciel lingers in the dining hall. When the demon enters to remove the rumpled tablecloth, the boy speaks.
"Why are you still wearing the bonnet? You never give into Lizzie's demands."
For a second Sebastian looks surprised, and then his face melts into a deceptively kind smile.
"I would do anything to hear my master laugh and enjoy himself, even bear wearing this ridiculous bonnet."
Ciel is a little bit touched.
Four.
"I'm c-cold, Sebastian."
Ciel is wearing three coats, a jumper, a vest, a wool-lined blouse, and a scarf, but he's still shivering.
"Isn't there anything else you can do? At this rate, I'll freeze to death before you get the chance to eat my soul."
The Earl realizes his mistake seconds too late when arms wind around him from behind and press him close to the demon's warm body.
"Warmer?"
Three.
He asks Sebastian about the past. What it was like. What he had thought the future would be like. If he had been disappointed. The demon sitting beside the boy is quiet for a few moments as he formulates his response.
"Young master," the butler begins, "I have been almost everywhere. China, France, America, Brazil- you name it and I've been there. The world was a very different place. I've watched wars and murders and rebellions you have only read about in textbooks. I put no thought into what the future would be like. And oddly enough, nowadays I hardly remember any of the specific details of my past before I arrived here. Nothing is important enough for me to recall, you see."
The boy thinks.
"Do you remember that day, a few summers ago, when you served me tea on the veranda?"
"Of course I remember," the butler replies, "I served you iced Chamomile, did I not?"
Ciel's heart swells when he realizes that he's important enough to be remembered.
Two.
"Forgive me, young master, for not recalling, but that is all in the past. You must move on."
The boy sees fire and smells burning flesh and feels the summer breeze and tastes the iced tea against his tongue and hears whispered confessions.
He can never move on.
He is forever tied to his past.
One.
One slow autumn evening, the demon and his master play chess. They don't speak, but they don't need to, really.
As Ciel examines his pieces, he can't help but to imagine someone he knows in each of their places. He is the king, and Lady Elizabeth is his queen. His pawns are numerous- Lao, Madam Red, Aberline, Finny, Bard, Maylene. He refuses to place a name on the king's side knight. He knows who it is, of course, but he wishes he could forget.
The boy is so distracted that before he knows it, he's in check. The only plausible way out of the check is by using his knight to block Sebastian's bishop.
Ciel refuses to touch his knight.
"Checkmate."
The boy watches as his king falls with a thud.
He falls, memories pouring out of him like a waterfall.
His butler doesn't follow.
'To the ends of the earth, young master.'
Mocking laughs.
'You lied to me.'
'I am a demon, young master. Lying is what I do.'
How was it? ^-^ the 'lying is what I do' was borrowed from Maiden of the Moon's fic called Spider Web, I believe. It's awesome, you should all go read it! Anyways, drop me a review, and all that jazz.