Hey there! It's been a while since I updated but like I said before, I'm working right now plus school just started so I don't have a lot of time. I also don't want to force out a story when I don't have any creative juices flowing out my head so my apologies for not posting in the last few weeks...maybe months...but trust me when I say that I would never leave you all hanging. It may take a while but I WILL finish the story :)
ALSO, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Disclaimer: Sorry if I make any mistakes about these historical events. I do my best to not make any mistakes but, after all, I am human. I don't own Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters but I do own characters, events, and other stuff that did not happen in the anime/manga. Enjoy!
I wrinkled my nose as I walked down the street, hearing the snow crunch under my boots.
"Why did we come here?"
Although the snow blanketed the crowded city and the coldness masked some of the stench, I could still smell all the crap around the streets and in the air. I was wearing my usual outfit—a large hat and long sleeved dress—to cover up my silver skin and hair and I had dropped off mail at the postal office. I went by myself and Sebastian was waiting back in our home as there was no need for him to protect me. Normal humans, male or female, cannot fight me or cause me any harm. Besides, if there were any trouble, I could always just turn into a cat and run away.
I decided to go alone because as much as I enjoyed Sebastian's company, I still wanted some alone time here and there. While the people here posed no threat to me, I was already tired of this new place. We had just arrived here and I already regret it.
I continued walking and as I passed by a radio store, I heard the radio through the door.
"Tired of measuring out tea leaves every time you want just a single cup of tea? Well, worry no more! With the newly patented technology, you can now brew the perfect cup of tea whenever you want!"
Hmm...that sounds interesting. That's weird though…I thought Americans don't really drink tea.
I continued walking down the streets and eventually came back to my apartment building. I walked up the stairs leisurely and when I opened my front door, Sebastian stood there with an easy smile on his face.
"How was your trip?"
I squinted my eyes at the demon and turned my head slightly my left and snorted.
"Disgusting."
He let out a slight chuckle while I took off my hat and handed it to his ready hand. I shook out my long silver hair as I continue to complain.
"I don't understand the appeal of this place. Europeans keep saying that America is full of hope and jobs yet they don't even know that these Americans live in sludge. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side."
I shifted my silver locks to one side of neck and realized Sebastian was staring intently at me. I felt my temperature rise slightly and I pressed my lips together.
"What?"
He remained silent for a brief second before speaking.
"I was just admiring your beautiful silver locks, Sterling."
I smirked at his remark and pressed myself into his broad chest.
"Wooooow. Look at you! I never thought I'd see you like this, so...so sweet."
As I purred the last words of that sentence, I saw a dangerous glint in Sebastian's blood red eyes before his eyes narrowed into his million dollar smile.
"I was merely stating the truth, my lady.. Of course, if I should be anything, I would most definitely be more…spicy than sweet."
His bare hand tangled itself in my hair and he combed through my locks. He lifted my hair to his face and pressed his lips against my hair.
I stood there in silence, looking up into Sebastian's red eyes before I felt his hand travel down to the small of my back and I let out a giggle.
"Where do you think you're touching? If I remember correctly, I am your master, aren't I?"
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed myself closer to him. I stayed like that, hoping he'd take the bait.
"Are you?"
Sebastian asked, before sliding his luscious lips down to my neck. I felt a pleasant shiver and pulled myself away momentarily when I remembered something.
"Are you doing anything today?"
"Well, I am responsible for keeping every inch of this apartment clean. I also have to arrange for materials to make your meals and snacks an-"
I felt my eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Before Sebastian could finish his sentence, I placed my index finger on his lips to silence him.
"You know what I meant."
Sebastian stared down at me silently.
"Are you going to be good?"
His eyes glowed a fuchsia colored for a brief second before returning normal. I rolled my eyes at his reaction and kept looking intently at him. He continued back looking at me and I smiled in satisfaction before removing my finger from his mouth.
"I wanted to go Christmas shopping today, if you don't mind coming with me."
Sebastian pressed his hand to his heart and bowed.
"Your wish is my command."
I pouted and lightly slapped his shoulder.
"Oh, come onnnnnnnnn. When you say that, you feel so far away."
"My apologies...why do you want to go Christmas shopping? You and I both know this is just useless festivities used to generate revenue."
"Still, I think the whole idea of buying presents and exchanging them with people you love is fun! It brings people together and creates such a great atmosphere."
"People you love?"
I had been so honest in trying to tell Sebastian why I enjoy the holiday season I had been completely vulnerable. His question caught me by surprise and I blushed.
"A-anyway, do you want to go now? There are some things I wanted to take a look at."
"Of course."
Sebastian pulled on some warm looking gloves and threw on a coat. Of course, he no longer wears the tuxedo or butler...gloves? Our outfits have changed along with time and location. I still couldn't help but take in a longer look. Even after decades of living with him, I still found Sebastian to be extremely attractive.
"You're going to drool on your dress if you keep staring, Sterling."
I realized I had been staring with my mouth opened and I let out a sheepish laugh before shrugging. Sebastian locked up our apartment and we walked outside together
"Can't blame me...speaking of which, you can alter your appearance right? How come you picked your current look?"
"I had to look the part of a perfect butler, besides," he gave me a smirk," I can get more done if I'm attractive."
"Geez, just how conceited can you be?"
"It worked on you, didn't it?"
"Uh...okay...I see your point..."
As we walked along the shops, I saw a shop far off in the distance with a sign that said:
NOW SELLING TEA BAGS
YOU'LL NEVER HAVE TO MEASURE TEA LEAVES OUT AGAIN!
I turned to Sebastian.
"I'm going to go pick something up really quick. Wait here, okay?"
"As you wish."
I rushed to the store and looked among the choice of tea it had.
Chamomile, black tea, earl grey, blends...hmm there are a lot of types. I think I'll just go with the basic tea that he makes the most.
I picked up a box of the earl grey tea bags and headed to the cash register. After paying for the tea, I returned to where Sebastian was with the tea in the paper bag. I grinned at him.
"I hope you'll like this."
So far, we've spent about a decade in each of the places that we've stayed, moving to different places on whims and with no particular locations in mind. Christmas was celebrated in all of the places we've stayed at to this point so we developed a tradition: every Christmas Eve, Sebastian would cook me a spectacular meal and I would give him a present. Now that I think about it, he rarely gave me presents on Christmas. But it didn't matter much since he always had some ways of surprising me with our yearly dinner.
Christmas isn't until a few more days but ever since I heard that ad when I went to the post office, I knew I had to find it. I can't wait to see how he'll react to this.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just walking around, window shopping. Sebastian walked next to me, silent, as he has been for the last few decades. Thinking back on it, I could tell our relationship had improved and we got closer. In the beginning of our time together, he would walk in front of me or behind me but never right next to me. As the time went on, the distance between us slowly decreased until now, we walk along side each other.
Let's see how he responds to this present. Hehe.
In a blink of an eye, Christmas Day arrived. I woke up right around the time the sun peeked over the horizon and I got out of bed to go look outside the window. However, because we lived in the city, I couldn't see anything. All I saw when I looked out was endless, grey, and dreadful building lined up, one after the other. Just as I sighed, I heard a knock on my door and straighten myself up.
It's Christmas. I should try to see the good in this place.
"Come in."
Sebastian opened the door and flashed me an easy smile.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
We fell into silence and he walked over to me.
"Would you care for some breakfast?"
"Sure."
I watched Sebastian's back as I followed him out to the dining room.
I can't wait for tonight!
Before long, the night fell and I put my silver locks up in a messy bun. I stared at myself in the mirror and decided to just stick with my normal frayed dress. I took a deep breath and walked out with the wrapped present in my hands. The moment I walked out, something popped in my face and I blinked in surprise.
White rose petals floated in the air and when I came to, I realized Sebastian was standing in front of me donning the nostalgic black tuxedo with a single white rose in his hand.
"Merry Christmas, Sterling."
I stood in awe at beautiful scenery in front of me and Sebastian smirked.
"If you want a hot meal, you might want to stop staring at me."
I snapped back to reality.
"Sorry...it's just...this is beautiful."
"I'm just one hell of a butler," he said with a smile threatening the corner of his lip and I grinned.
"It's been a while since I heard that...so nostalgic."
I looked around to take in my transformed apartment. Small white candles were lit everywhere and a beautiful bouquet with white roses, small white flowers, and silver branches. A pure white table cloth was draped over our dining room table and the table was placed with plain white china and shiny silverware. White rose petals covered the marble floor and tiny silver lights sprinkled our walls.
Sebastian pulled out the chair for me and proceeded to bring out a five course meal, which was, of course delicious. For dessert, he brought out a slice of plain cheesecake with a cup of latte. As I used my fork to cut the cheesecake, I heard a faint clink.
"Hmm?"
I looked down to see gold peeking out from the dessert. I dug the object out to see a thin gold band decorated with various sized circles that concentrated on a specific point of the ring. A few small diamonds were embedded in the larger circles. The ring was covered with the cheesecake and before I could say anything, Sebastian grabbed my wrist and licked the ring—along with my fingers—clean. I blushed a deep red and waited for him to finish.
"Are you finally finished?"
Sebastian looked up with my fingers still in his mouth and I felt a shock go through my body.
Damn...he looks so sexy.
He slowly pulled my now clean fingers out and continued looking into my eyes.
"Yes."
I pulled my hand back, still not able to get over how embarrassing that was. The faint candle light reflected off the band and my gaze was immediately drawn to the beautiful band.
"I like it...Wait! This is the first time you've ever given me a present!"
"Is it? I can't recall."
"You can't do that! I won't forget this. Thank you, Sebastian."
"You are very welcome."
"Speaking of which, here! I have something for you too."
I handed the gift to Sebastian. He thanked me and proceeded to open the wrapping paper. A while ago, he would always ask whether he should open the present but by now, he knew better than to ask.
"Let's see what trinket you got me this year."
He unwrapped the present in a flash.
"Oh?"
He looked at the metal tea bag container and looked over at me with an arched brow.
"I thought this was interesting since you always measure out actual tea leaves."
"I see...let's test this out, shall we?"
He brought out his normal tea set and set up the hot water.
"Let's see...use one tea bag for each person that is going to drink..."
He placed two tea bags in the tea pot and waited the allotted time before pouring the tea into the cups. He handed me a cup.
"Give it a try."
I sniffed the tea and tasted it.
"Bleh..."
I choked down the tea and immediately regretted giving this to him. I knew he was going to give me a hard time and meekly looked up at him.
"This is pretty gross. I know what you're gonna say...just give give it back."
I reached out to grab the tea bag tin but it disappeared from my sight.
Sebastian smirked at me and stood up straight.
"You can't take back a gift. It's rude."
"Bu-"
"You're the one who's going to be drinking the tea anyway."
I sighed and hung my head in defeat.
"Whatever...I can't win with you."
I saw my hair fall around my field of vision and felt something on my head. Sebastian had placed a hand on my head and was looking at me with kind eyes. His hand slid down a few centimeters and he pulled my head close to his chest.
"Thank you."
I felt as meek as a lamb at his sudden change in attitude and responded, my voice muffled by my hair and his tuxedo.
"You're welcome..."
"For now, just let me continue making tea the way I know, okay?"
I nodded, relishing this rare moment where Sebastian showed physical affection.
"Okay..."
Needles to say, Sebastian never used a tea bag again.
OMGGGG It's been so long since I've written a chapter...this feels really weird. I am on winter vacation right now but I've been spending time with family out of the country I haven't really been able to write that much. I really wanted to write at least one chapter before the new year so here ya go! Thank you so much for letting have the chance to focus on school and my personal life...Honestly though, I'm thinking about writing more frequently to force myself to manage my time better but no promises yet..anyway, I hope y'all have a great new years and stay safe!
