Chapter Two; Unhealthy
That day was not the only day Ciel's butler had acted so barbaric. Lately, the demon had been portraying the strangest of habits. For instance, Ciel would ask for tea but it wouldn't arrive until a whole half hour later, leaving the beverage cold or oddly half empty. Even the pastries had been getting sloppy. How disgusting... Then there was this new horrible attitude. During their lessons, Sebastian would become terribly furious with Ciel if he made a mistake. And now that butler rants on and on and just... leaves for no apparent reason. How absurd! Ciel often thought. How do I expect to get anything accomplished like this?
He tried discussing the numerous amount of issues with Sebastian, but that beast told the noble it was none of his concern. Ciel ordered him to tell. "It's personal, is all I can truly tell you," Sebastian says. Before the earl could ask anything else, the butler would flee his presence. Ciel never bothered to call him back; he probably wouldn't confess anything, anyway.
Ciel hadn't been sleeping very well since the incident. He had been having nightmares of that demon forcing himself onto him. Not like a manner of lust, but of torture. Normally when Ciel would have a nightmare, he'd wake up gasping or calling for Sebastian's name, but lately Tanaka's title had been falling from his lips. The old man knew something was up between the two. Like Sebastian, Ciel told Tanaka it was personal. He didn't want the poor servant getting involved, just in case that demon tore his claws through the mansion's main servant. Ciel honestly needed that old man, though he was only human. Tanaka was more than useful just like the rest of the servants and Sebastian. The noble's mind would slip away sometimes, wondering if Tanaka asked Sebastian about their conflicts.
There was a sudden knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts. "Come in," the young master commanded, immediately throwing his hands onto his paperwork to portray as if he had actually been doing something other than engaging in his thoughts. Tanaka slid the door open and approached the desk. "... Yes?" Ciel asked as he bowed his head, resting his chin on his hand. Ciel was slightly confused as to why Tanaka was in his presence and not Sebastian. He couldn't imagine what that demon could have been doing as of the moment. Ciel had called Sebastian's name throughout the day, but he never came to his aid. It wasn't like the butler was busy. Damned butler. It was obvious he was purposefully avoiding Ciel, like he had been attempting for a while.
Ciel's frustration must have shown along with his body language. Tanaka placed his hand on the child's, which had moments ago been squeezing the pen he just dropped. Tanaka offered his warm, friendly smile, which Ciel subconsciously returned out of courtesy. There, the old man barely cracked his eyes open. How grey they were... "It's bothering you, isn't it?" He asked, lightly squeezing Ciel's hand.
"What do you know?" That is what Ciel would have asked had Tanaka probably known anything. However, he could not be truly sure that the old man was actually aware of their current situation. Then again, Ciel was not even sure of the problem that the servant was speaking of. It could have been anything. The young master only nodded as if Tanaka had known the entire time about Ciel's situation. With a pause, Ciel finally slipped his hand out of his servant's, beginning on his paperwork again. "What's your reason for intruding my office? Where's Sebastian?" It was hard to avoid eye contact, even though Ciel had been looking down. He desperately wanted to know the whereabouts of his butler, even though things had become awkward between them.
Tanaka propped his eyebrows upwards in a manner of worry, yet he looked sympathetic. "Sebastian is still in his room. I'm sure he doesn't want to get you as ill as he is. He plans to come around again when he's feeling better." With that said, he bowed and left, silently shutting the door behind himself. That was all.
Ill. Ciel leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, letting out a deep sigh. That demon was more trouble than he should have ever been. The earl began questioning himself on whether to believe this tale or not. Lately, Sebastian hadn't been doing exactly as told. He'd been curving his way around all orders. Ciel shouldn't have been surprised as of now if the demon had been using this as an excuse to get out of his tasks. But what else was there to do? Maybe Sebastian was tired of being a butler, or simply just tired. If he wanted a break then he could have asked. Ciel would have granted him one.
Ciel actually found himself dwelling on this subject for about an hour. Tanaka had apparently come in several times, placing tea on the desk that Ciel subconsciously refused to drink. Every cup had been taken out, for after a period of time it had gotten cold. Tanaka every now and then placed his hand on Ciel's shoulder and shook him. The noble would momentarily snap out of his day dream, waking up only to say thank you, and then fall back into his thoughts after the servant left. The paperwork which he had falsely started on earlier hadn't been written on since. Tanaka wrote something down on the sheets every time he walked in, as if trying to encourage the troubled child. "I wouldn't have said anything had I known it would've put you into a state of shock," the old man said once to his master. Ciel wasn't worried about Sebastian at all, though. He was simply irritated. Tanaka asked several times if Ciel would like to lie down. He would only shake his head. The butler asked if Ciel would like the window open for some fresh air; only a blink.
After the hour had passed, Ciel finally woke, silently gasping. The room was dark, but it was still fairly early outside; possibly noon. It had apparently begun to rain, tiny bullets hitting the window to the wind's aid. Hopefully, Finnian wasn't still fooling around in the garden. Ciel stood from his desk and brushed his bangs back. His mind was completely out of it to begin on his paperwork. Instead, he ventured out of the office and into the hallway, seeking his butler's room. The boy wanted to see if Sebastian was in fact of ill health. Ciel was fearful, however, that Sebastian would want to subdue him again. Although… Meirin often ventured throughout those hallways, so maybe it would be safe. Maybe.
There Ciel stood at the door, lifting his hand to knock, but he hesitated. His hand had slowly moved forward, beating on the door just once. There was only silence. He knocked again, only louder. What if Sebastian wasn't there? Like Ciel thought, he could have been using illness as an excuse; but then he heard a cough from inside the room. Ciel knocked twice. Three times. Five. "Sebastian?" More coughing. The noble narrowed his eyes and placed his wriggling hand on the knob only to find it locked after turning it. "Sebastian. Open up," Ciel's voice demanded. He felt himself scowling as he stared at the door, impatiently waiting for it to open. He jiggled the knob with his left hand and knocked again with his right. Ciel wondered if Sebastian found it humorous, him punching and kicking the door so immaturely. His anger and curiosity were both getting the best of him. Ciel calmed down, refusing to touch the door again.
A sudden loud thump was heard from behind the door, causing Ciel to hold his breath. He wondered if that was his butler. Moments later, although it felt longer than only moments, the door opened. Ciel's heart sank as he stared into the drowsy eyes of his butler. Sebastian was in his pajamas, leaning against the door frame for support. Honestly... he looked very weak. His skin, normally pale, actually had color to it. His cheeks were tinted with pink below the purple-greyish bags under his eyes. His nose was red, probably from rubbing it so much with tissues, although a sneeze was never heard. His hair was a terrible mess, too. His gaze was questioning the young master's. Why was Ciel there, Sebastian was asking. Now that Ciel found what a horrible condition his servant was in, what could he say? The child was actually almost pleased that he was so ill. It was only what he deserved after acting up so much. "Karma at its best, I see," the earl chuckled with a smirk.
"Do you need something?" Sebastian's tone was so low that Ciel had barely heard it. Whiteness on his knuckles became visible as his hand gripped onto the door frame, using his other to cover a cough that slipped his lips. He was actually struggling. Ciel didn't understand. He thought a demon couldn't obtain human attributes, such as sickness. The boy wondered if it was a punishment given to Sebastian by the contract for disobeying the noble. "Young master, wh..." Sebastian's sentence trailed off, and he momentarily shut his eyes and leaned forward. That fool had nearly passed out! He caught himself before Ciel could reach his hands out to stop him from falling, leaning his head against the frame again, opening his eyes to look straight forward.
Ciel blinked, staring up at him and no longer smiling. It seemed so wrong to mock him. "I only came to see if you were serious, and I suppose you were." Although the noble should have left right there, he didn't. He was curious as to what would happen next. His butler looked as if he had the flu or something of the sort. It was amazing that he had such willpower to stand up just to open a door to find that his master didn't need anything. The demon's free hand had been trembling tremendously. His legs were shaking as well. Ciel felt horrible having assumed that his butler was fooling around when in reality he was practically dying of an illness. Maybe Sebastian wasn't lying after all. With the way he had been coughing, there was bound to be puke somewhere, especially with that utter stench flowing from the room. What could a demon have been consuming that allowed him to do that? Ciel would have to ask that unfortunate Meirin to clean the waste basket for him later, considering Sebastian was too weak to do it on his own.
"Do you... need help getting back to your bed?" Ciel asked as he placed his hand on his butler's, the one clutching the door frame. Ciel's gasp was silent. Sebastian was warm, for once. The child's question must have offended him, because Sebastian's hand immediately slipped from the child's and he shut the door, only to have Ciel's foot placed between the crack so it wouldn't close. The young master pushed the door open with surprising ease against that normally mighty demon. As the entrance unfolded, the once strong demon fell heavily on the floor. "Sebastian!" Ciel gasped, watching him sit up, trying his hardest to stand again. The child had never seen him like that, so vulnerable to any attack. Ciel could have probably knocked him unconscious if he wasn't too careful.
The boy slipped to his side, taking his butler's arm around his shoulders and helping him to his feet. Sebastian leaned all his body weight on the earl to stand, his chest now on the back of Ciel's head. Sebastian coughed and uttered something, but the earl was too concentrated on making his way to the bed to pay attention. He let him fall back on his sheets. Sebastian must have been too tired to change his uncomfortable position; his legs were dangling off of the bed. The curious noble looked at him, although it was difficult to see because it was so dark. Ciel could make out the demon's eyes being shut. Had they been open, the glow of his crimson eyes would have been visible. The ill creature's breathing was silent compared to his young master's, which was heavy after lifting him.
Ciel pressed his hand against the ill demon's forehead. He was hot, although it was freezing in his room because of the weather outside. The earl's hand slid and brushed Sebastian's knotted bangs from his eyes. Ciel suddenly felt himself flush from embarrassment. It would be unheard of for a noble to show a servant such affection. He stood up, leaving the servant in his room and shutting the door. There the earl leaned against the maple wood, letting out a deep sigh. Hopefully, he wouldn't be feeling as ill as his butler, later. He made a risk walking in there.
Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps coming from down the hallway. Ciel turned his head to see the maid approaching, almost as if on cue. "Meirin, dispose of Sebastian's waste basket," he commanded, watching her curtsy and walk into the room.
That was it. Ciel's servant was severely sick. It seemed that Tanaka would be assisting the young master for a while.
Ohhh Ciel you curious thing, you. Not liking what you see? Hopefully Sebastian will heal up quickly. Sad face.
