Here, have an update! This chapter's kind of a lot more angsty…but such is life when Sebastian's attached to the hip with an angel and an excessive Catholic...
Also if he seems like he keeps hopping from one extreme to the other…it's cuz he is. He'll level out…eventually...
Anywho, ENJOI
Ireland, 1888
Sebastian
He couldn't take his eyes off her.
Artemis had led Sebastian to a table where Ciel, Elizabeth, and the others waited. He took his seat and the angel promptly ran off to grab food from the buffet, returning only a moment later with a heaping plate of…well…everything.
Even more surprising was when Artemis took a second plate out from underneath her own and scooted it in front of Sebastian before she took her fork and knife and began lifting several items off of her plate and placing them on Sebastian's.
"Artemis, what exactly are you—" the demon started.
"Just put it into your mouth and try it," the angel ordered. "The pastries have a special seasoning in them, I think you'll like it."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the woman, but Artemis seemed to narrow her gaze slightly as if she were absolutely certain Sebastian would take to what was on his plate.
"Quit being such a picky eater and try it!" Artemis urged, nudging his arm gently. Noticing that the others were gradually moving away from their own conversations to observe what the two of them were up to, Sebastian grimaced as he took one of the pastries into his hand and slowly moved it up to his mouth.
Taking a nibble out of it, Sebastian tested the doughy concoction on his tongue, turning his nose up as if to expect the human dessert to be as awful as everything else he had ever sampled.
And yet, he noticed a hint of cinnamon. And it was…sweet? Since when did anything taste sweet to him? And in a good way too? Sebastian took another, much larger bite and swiveled his head towards Artemis who merely sat there smiling knowingly at him.
"Just how did you know I would…?" Sebastian trailed off, not even sure what to say. His eyes shifted down to the rest of his plate. There was pork, potatoes, and several items of food that appeared to have been carefully chosen by Artemis and chosen specifically for him. Glancing sideways, Sebastian noticed a similar selection on Artemis's plate, although hers still contained a few slightly different items.
Setting his fork down, Sebastian looked at Artemis to say more, but the angel merely leaned towards him and said softly, "Let's just say I had a hunch." With that, Artemis winked an eye, her smile warm. The demon gave a quizzical look, but something out of the corner of Artemis's eye redirected her attention and suddenly her eyes widened and her face lit up even more as she lifted herself slightly and raised her hand.
"Theresa!" she cried out and suddenly everyone's attention turned to a blonde woman with a hardened expression walking their way. Her eyes were cold as ice and her blonde hair was swept heavily to one side and tied in a messy braid.
And the air about her…Sebastian's eyes could see the soft glow coming off her shoulders that indicated the white wings in hiding, just the way Artemis's wings were.
Of course there would be another angel to turn up. Why wouldn't there be?
Artemis pardoned herself from the table and ran other to the woman, embracing her as old friends do, but Sebastian didn't particularly like the way this other angel's arms lingered on Artemis's waste. Nor could he ignore the fixation in the woman's eyes and the flush on her cheeks that Artemis seemed to be rather oblivious to.
The demon felt the fowl taste of bile rise up in the back of his mouth.
"Artemis, who's your friend?" Finny asked innocently, careening his neck to see the face of the other angel.
"Oh!" Artemis jumped, remembering her manners. She took hold of the angel's hand and led her to the table. "Everyone, this is my good friend Tr—Theresa!"
"Hi Theresa!" everyone greeted in unison. Theresa, appearing a bit awkward in the social setting, gave a stiff curtsey and a forced smile.
"Pleasure," Theresa mumbled in a thick American accent. Her eyes then scanned the group as Artemis introduced her.
"This is Earl Ciel Phantomhive, I work as his nurse now," Artemis explained. "And this is his fiancé, Elizabeth…"
Artemis continued on until she got to Sebastian. "…and finally—"
"Sebastian Michaelis," Theresa narrowed her eyes, quickly noticing Sebastian's demonic aura. What caught the demon off guard, however, was the fact that the angel knew his name. And that small fact seemed to make her all the more irritable
"Pardon me, have we met before?" Sebastian asked. Theresa grunted and slid into the seat next to Sebastian in a rather unladylike fashion.
"Nope," she said stiffly. "But trust me I know full well who the spawn of Satan himself is."
Sebastian pursed his lips at that. Oh. She must've been one of the angels assigned to the Black Death incident. In his defense, he wasn't the only demon in on that scam. He just happened to have been…the one who…spearheaded it… Nevertheless, that was five hundred years ago and Sebastian learned to be much more selective in his souls after that!
Artemis, on the other hand, grew very red in the face and held her hand to her face, groaning. "Oh, it's a boy day, isn't it."
Theresa and Sebastian both turned to Artemis quizzically, the angel in particular looked stiff as a board, her eyes widened. "What?" she asked.
Artemis jumped and shrugged, denying having said anything. Instead, she placed her hands on her hips and asked, "Do you always have to be so irritable?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Now why don't you act like a lady and have a seat?" Theresa snapped back.
Artemis pouted and scooted into the booth. "You took my seat."
"You weren't keeping your hands to yourself," Theresa retorted. Artemis suddenly got a look of regret on her face from having done anything to direct Theresa's attention towards her.
"So um…Theresa," Paula interjected, "Where did you say you met Artemis, again?"
"Oh, we're old friends!" Artemis laughed nervously while Theresa simultaneously answered, "Met her on the street running around London like a chicken with her head cut off."
The two contradictory thoughts caused a look of question to form around everyone's faces.
"I beg your pardon?" Paula asked. Theresa leaned back, placing her hands behind her head as if she were a man and continued rambling.
"Oh yeah, I bumped into her one day, running around the streets wearing trousers of all things and was looking for this guy—mmmfff!" Theresa jutted her thumb toward Sebastian just as Artemis swung into action, covering Theresa's mouth to keep her from speaking any more.
"Okay! That's enough of your storytelling, for now!" Artemis warned, laughing nervously. "We met a couple years ago on the boat to England! I moved to London from the country and was a little frantic, what being a single woman looking for work and Theresa pointed me in the direction of several noble families who were in need of a family nurse! And that's how I wound up here with all of you!"
Ciel's eyes narrowed as he glanced over to Sebastian and the demon knew that his master knew Theresa was an angel. Even though he couldn't see her hidden wings, he had caught Artemis's lie. Artemis was an angel, angels rarely lied and when they did they only did so with good reason. Artemis was hiding something, likely she was just worried Theresa, who clearly wasn't accustomed to living amongst humans, would blow their covers. But there was something else Artemis was trying to keep to herself, something she didn't want even Sebastian or Ciel to know.
Sebastian had a hunch that whatever it was Artemis was hiding also had to do with the fact that she knew she was his mate to begin with.
United States 2014
Artie
It was really difficult to focus at church this morning. I stood up, sang the hymns, recited the Lord's Prayer, sat through every other piece of music and waded my way through the Passing of Peace that led up to the sermon.
And of course, it was Communion today.
And the sermon was about loving thy neighbor. Great. I crossed my arms and slumped in the pew, feeling sick to my stomach. Maybe church wasn't the best of ideas for today. Our priest, Father Baxter, was a middle-aged man with warm eyes. He almost always made himself available for confession at any time of the day at any time of the week and he made a point to get to know everyone in his congregation, even the small band of college students that were only there for a few months out of the year. He was also a rather liberal minister, accepting Trent and Casey and welcoming them to the church with open arms even before Pope Francis came into papacy. It caused a lot of contradiction in the church, but Father Baxter did his best to keep us out of the disagreement as much as possible and in time, the rest of the congregation came to and accepted Trent and Casey unconditionally.
Casey had always been a self-confident person, even after coming out she seemed to be rather unaffected by some of the congregation's negative reactions towards her sexuality. Trent on the other hand…well, Trent had a really difficult time accepting the fact that he identified as his biological sex only about forty percent of the time, and even after he started the process of coming out, he was still so emotionally unstable, even with Father Baxter's kindness, there was a point in time that was so tense, I would lie awake at night worrying about Trent so much, I had to have her text me in the mornings to tell me she was still alive and okay.
Nevertheless, Father Baxter was a key figure in helping both of them through the process, and Trent swore to me in the car over and over again that he would help me get through my little dilemma. Somehow, Trent was convinced that if Father Baxter could accept him and all his gender fluidity, he would be more than happy to invite my boyfriend from Hell to our church.
Father Baxter made his way to the pulpit, his brown eyes scanning the congregation with a smile on his face. His gaze fell onto me and he nodded, his smile growing a little wider. We bumped into him on the way into the sanctuary this morning, and the priest caught on immediately that I wasn't in the best of moods.
"Artie's just having some boyfriend troubles is all," Ashley said, forcing a smile and hugging my shoulders.
"Ah, I see," Father Baxter had nodded. He then took my hand and smiled. "Well, if you need a one-on-one confession, we can go to my office after service. But before that, I would like to advice you to pay close attention to what I have to say this morning, I think you will find it to be quite helpful in your journey."
I groaned internally, thinking about the earlier conversation. Somehow, I doubted that any sermon would help my current circumstances, but I forced myself to listen in anyway.
Father Baxter began, as he always did, by reiterating the passage in the bible he had picked out for this morning. This particular passage came from 1 Corinthians, in which Paul wrote to the church of Corinth and spoke a great deal about loving one another as opposed to making preconceived judgments of strangers.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal," Father Baxter recited. "Paul begins this chapter by comparing zealous acts that many of the Lord's disciples recite even to this day with that of loveless habits. The end of this verse leads into one that is commonly used in wedding vows, but I think it is also important to consider acts of love in the context that Paul is speaking. He is not speaking of love towards a significant other; he is speaking of love towards those many of our disciples have deemed unworthy. So often, we are quick to make judgments, and yet all of us are creations in the Lord's image and likeness, even those who have fallen so far out of God's reach we may not even see them as more than demons lurking within the shadows."
I felt myself stiffen as my stomach dropped. My hands began to tremble and I felt Trent and Chris both place their hands on my shoulders. Father Baxter paused to look over to me.
He smiled and winked, his gaze intently on me.
"Trent," I whispered. "Did you-?"
"Nope," Trent shook his head. "Now shut up and listen, I think he's about to make a point."
I gave Trent a sideways glance and asked, "what kind of point?"
"And important one, now shoosh," Trent whispered back, placing an arm behind Casey. She gave Trent a quizzical look, but patted his knee nonetheless. Father Baxter Continued his sermon and I hung on to every word of it.
"After so many years of practice and rituals, as the world has grown more disconnected from God we have wasted time trying to define what is 'good' and what is 'holy', that we have lost sight of the fact that we are all as such, even if we are drawn to think we have fallen from the light. But they are still stuck in the shadows and judging and condemning a person, be they a child of God or a man trapped by the Devil, is not going to bring them back to the light. Rather, we must try something much more radical: we must do as Paul suggests and love the person. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way, but rather it guides us to the Lord through our love for others. We must not stray from what our hearts tell us simply because someone does not appear to be the ideal image of creation, because regardless of their image, they are still created in God's."
Father Baxter continued his sermon and his words held onto me the entire time. Something in the words that he spoke moved me to the point of tears. I didn't know how-it was impossible for Father Baxter to know exactly what was going on—but for some reason I felt as if I was being given a blessing to love Sebastian. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have to suffer the eternity of hell he had been living. At the very least, we could find happiness with each other and not be punished for it.
Could this be a sign from God?
Feeling lighter than air, I rose to my feet, trying to contain myself as we sang the Benediction Response. As if to continue the memo, the song chosen was Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone). I trembled through the first verse, and sensing my discomfort, my brothers both stepped close to me and wrapped their arms around my shoulders. Trent also pulled me close and stopped singing for a moment.
"I'd take this as that sign you were looking for, if I were you," he said. I looked up at Trent and caught sight of Casey and Ashley both smiled back at me and nodded. Glancing over to my brothers, they too nodded in agreement.
"I still haven't tried his pancakes," Tristan pouted and I broke out into a laugh at that, but the flood of emotions that poured out of me in that moment caused my laughter to quickly turn to sobs. My friends quickly gathered around me in a hug and let me cry. I struggled to regain my composure but still managed to lift my hands and join in with the singing:
"My chains are gone, I've been set free,
My God my savior has ransomed me,
And like a flood, His mercy reigns,
Unending love,
Amazing Grace…"
Ireland 1888
Sebastian
He hated angels. He hated them so much.
Theresa, as socially awkward as she was, she too had been welcomed warmly by the Phantomhive servants and trusted her almost automatically as soon as they heard she was a friend of Artemis's.
Ciel too, seemed to trust the angel to some extent, although he did seem rather curious about the sudden new addition. After the brief conversation, Theresa eventually excused herself and returned to whatever she had been doing before.
"Forgive me for inviting her over so suddenly," Artemis apologized afterwards. "She is a dear friend who has been going through a rough time and it's been a while since I've seen her."
"It's quite alright," Ciel responded, taking a bite out of his meal. "It's always interesting to meet the people who shaped the lives of my servants, particularly dear friends."
Sebastian sat stiffly in his seat, not realizing how much time had passed until Elizabeth looked up and noted, "Sebastian, you haven't touched your plate! Is everything alright?"
"I seemed to have lost my appetite," Sebastian said stiffly, not bothering to be polite. His words were so blunt it caught just about everyone off guard.
"Sebastian?" Artemis asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "Are you feeling alright? I thought you liked what was on your plate."
"It's repulsive," Sebastian said under his breath. He glared down at the angel, whose face fell at that and he stated a little louder, "If you will please excuse me."
"What? Sebastian!" Artemis called out, but the butler ignored the woman and moved swiftly to track down the other angel.
He found her easily; the stench of this so-called "purity" as other demons would refer to it as, stung his nose to the point that it burned. He just had to follow his nose; he didn't even need to make use of his other senses.
"So have we met before?" Sebastian asked, sneaking up behind Theresa, taking hold of her arm.
Theresa turned her head and swatted Sebastian's hand away.
"As I said before, we haven't," she scowled. "But I have heard a lot about you."
Sebastian grimaced. "I had thought that skirmish with the Black Death had finally blown over. At least, I don't get swarmed by armies of Reapers and other lowly angels every time I come up for air anymore."
Theresa moved quickly. Before Sebastian knew it, he had a knife to his throat and had an angel baring her teeth in his face.
"Trust me, I heard all about that from my brother when he got to deal with you," the woman growled. Sebastian vaguely recalled going toe to toe with an angel who did resemble this woman a great deal. Gabriel was his name, and he certainly made quite a name for himself in human history. Theresa noticed Sebastian's thoughts drifting and she swiped her hand across the demon's face. "Pay attention!"
"Oh, I am," Sebastian sneered.
Theresa narrowed her eyes and said, "I know what you are and I know what you've done. And I also know that somehow, some way, Artemis wound up being your mate.
"And how, dare I ask, did you find that out?" Sebastian asked.
"I think the more important question is, how did Artemis find out?" Theresa asked in a low voice. "When I was with her months ago, she was running around frantic. She was looking for you."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. Now that certainly was strange. He never recalled meeting anyone like Artemis, even amongst the angels.
"I haven't the slightest idea," he said in a low growl.
Somehow, Theresa really didn't like that answer. With an incredible amount of strength, she pushed Sebastian back against the wall and pressed the blade of her knife against his throat. As the metal touched, he felt a sharp sting, and Sebastian realized that the knife was made from an alloy to specifically kill demons.
"I can kill you right here, right now, you and I both know that," Theresa warned. After a tense pause, she released Sebastian and took a step back. "But I'm not going to, would you like to know why?"
The demon didn't dare to speak, but rather his body tensed, preparing for a fight.
Theresa sheathed her knife and spat, "You're absolutely disgusting, demon, and believe me I want nothing more than to kill you. But I won't, because for some stupid ass reason, Artemis has got it in her head that she can trust you, that she wants to give you a chance because she thinks that your more than just a soul-sucking demon looking to destroy everything The Boss has given to us! I can't understand it, but Artemis is my friend and if she trusts you, then I've got no choice."
Sebastian watched as Theresa stormed back towards him and stood on her toes to look him in the eye. "But mark my words, Michaelis, I've got my eye on you and if you so much as think of hurting her in anyway, I'm going to make you pay for it, am I clear?"
"Transparently," Sebastian grumbled. Theresa about-faced and began to walk away, but the demon wasn't going to let the woman have the last say. "It's funny, watching you act as if you are so above me."
Theresa stopped, her back tense. "Just what does that mean?" she dared to ask.
Sebastian chuckled, allowing himself to smile as he stated, "It is true that Artemis is my mate. I cannot harm her, and I am bound to her side in a contract more binding than the leash that binds me to my young master. It's a rather unhealthy attachment we demons have to our mates, quite distracting at times."
The demon watched as Theresa's jaw visibly clenched tighter as he strode forward. He lifted a hand and ran his fingers through the angel's loose braid, fiddling with the end of it. Sebastian leaned into Theresa's ear and whispered, "But I dare say that you have an attachment to her that's all the more unhealthy."
As if struck in the gut by a blunt object, the angel gasped and recoiled away from the demon. "You shut your goddamn mouth—"
"No, I think it's time that you shut your own," Sebastian warned. "I want Artemis out of my hair just as much as you want me out of your own. I cannot harm her, so don't you worry about that poor little girl you seem to love so much. But I think it's my turn to warn you: if you so much as point that little toy at me again, I will make sure all of Heaven knows your little secret. I do not know what kind of God you follow, but from what I can tell it doesn't seem that his followers take to kindly to those who lust for people they shouldn't."
Theresa's face paled and she took a step away from Sebastian, visibly in shock. "If I fall it will be my own doing, but if Artemis falls that stain will be on your hands, do you hear me? You say you can't hurt her but I don't think you understand that the path your traveling down will break her, and it will be all your fault!"
"And I don't think you understand that your feeble attempts to protect her are coming from your own selfish desire to win over her affection from me," Sebastian snapped back. "So why don't you do yourself a favor and stay out of my way."
"Selfish or not, if you even think of defiling her, I will kill you," Theresa warned. "If she chooses you, her wings will be clipped and she will die."
"Same to you," Sebastian hissed, and with that, he turned to leave the angel.
And as he returned to the table to rejoin the others, the very sight of Artemis made Sebastian's stomach turn.
United States 2014
Artie
I followed Father Baxter into his office after the service, trying to wipe my eyes while still feeling embarrassed for losing my shit in the middle of the sermon.
"Please sit down, Artie and tell me what's troubling you," Father said calmly.
I took a deep breath to regain my composure and said, "Well, Father, do you remember my boyfriend that I brought with me to service a couple months ago?"
"The tall, dark-haired one?" Father Baxter recalled, "Ah, yes, he was a fine young man. He should come around more often, I'd love the chance to know him better."
I laughed nervously and set my chin in my hands, "Well, I'm not sure he'll be by anytime soon…he's a lot older than he looks…"
Father Baxter tilted his head suspiciously, "Artie? Is there something I need to know?"
"Well…see this Thursday…Sebastian opened up to me about some stuff…well, if you can call it that…" I stammered.
Sighing heavily, Father Baxter subconsciously rose to his feet and walked to sit down in the chair in front of his desk and next to me while I spoke. I muttered out a series of confused word strings, but couldn't seem to find anyway to explain Sebastian that made sense. Finally, I sighed and breathed, "He's just so far from God, Father."
"Well, that's alright," Father Baxter smiled. "That's exactly what you told me the week after you introduced us."
"Well, I think his case is a little more extreme than I originally told you—" I began, but Father Baxter placed a hand over mine.
"Artemis," he said in a low voice, "This doesn't have anything with that pentacle on his hand, does it?"
"Pentacle?" I raised an eyebrow. "You mean that pentagram?"
Father Baxter knelt down shaking his head, "You know, the Pentacle and Pentagram are two identical symbols that have opposite connotations. The difference is just in how you glance at it."
I narrowed my eyes, a little confused, "The Pentagram has the 'spirit-point' at the bottom." I had no idea why my priest was having this discussion. It used to be that Pentacles were used to denote a way of life that put God at the top of all things, which is why stars were typically drawn with a single point facing upward, for the two points at the bottom represented lowly material items that primarily caused human suffering. The Pentagram, on the other hand, had the material points aimed at the top, with the spirit-point at the bottom, meaning that God was the farthest thing from one's mind. It often had something to do with witchcraft and other satanic things, but nowadays people couldn't tell the difference between the two and used them as cool tattoo designs. I didn't even know this information until I got curious about Sebastian's contract one day and looked it up after he told me that it had a special meaning behind it.
"Yes it does, but it's still the same symbol," Father Baxter explained. "And depending on which angle you look at it, it's quite difficult to tell which point is at the top, wouldn't you say?"
I shrugged, thinking about that.
"It all depends on one's perspective, Artie," Father Baxter assured. "Even those who are farthest from God can still find their way. Pentagrams can rotate and become Pentacles. Even the Devil was once one of God's angels. Even we fell from Eden, but roads can travel in both directions if one simply knows the way. You're full of the Holy Spirit, Artie, you brought Trent back to our Heavenly Father, do not forget that. Even if Sebastian is in the shadows, it is not wrong of you to be with him. Like what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, it is those who are in the shadows that need our love the most."
I felt my eyes welling with tears again as the man spoke. My shoulders trembled as I looked up to Father Baxter like a child as I cried, "So it's okay if I love him anyway?"
"Of course it is, dear girl," he said, brushing my hair behind my ears. "We are human, we were meant to love."
"What if he stays in the shadows?" I asked. "What if he isn't able to come into the light? I can still love him, right? I can still have feelings for him the way I do now?"
"Love is patient and kind, Artie," Father Baxter said. "And your heart is full of it. Share that patience and kindness with him, Artie. Love him as God loves all of us."
Whimpering, I threw my arms around Father Baxter and cried, "Thank you, Father!"
I felt the weight lift off my shoulders as Father Baxter embraced me, filling me with the courage I needed. I felt so stupid, worrying about all of this pointless crap. I loved Sebastian, even if we hadn't been together for that long, I could tell there was something there, and I wasn't about to let that go.
After all, I was his mate. And demons mate for life, so how could I let him go?
Ireland 1888
Artemis
He was in that mood again. Artemis couldn't quite put her finger on it, but somehow, Sebastian had once again convinced himself that he hated her! Of course! Just when they were starting to be civil with each other, just as Sebastian was starting to smile for once around Artemis, he fell back three steps.
Artemis didn't bother saying anything to Sebastian when he sat back down. She gave him a look of concern, hoping to gage how bad the damage was, but he didn't even bother to acknowledge her presence.
In the back of her mind, Artemis wondered if it was possible for the butler to hate Artemis any more than he did previously.
Resting her head in her hands, the angel prayed that this storm would pass soon.
Sebastian
Thankfully, the bloody angel knew not to say anything to him when he returned. She gave him a look of concern, but her face quickly fell and she gave up, drawing into her thoughts for the rest of the evening. Everyone else seemed to continue on in their conversation, seemingly oblivious to the tension between a demon and an angel, although Sebastian quickly realized that the others weren't so much oblivious as they were trying to avoid the subject. Occasionally, the butler would catch Mey-Rin or Finny or Elizabeth gaze over with concern at the two of them, but as soon as either Sebastian or Artemis shifted their gaze, the others would quickly look away.
Shortly after, everyone returned to the manor and Sebastian readied Ciel for bed.
"So that woman, she was another angel?" the young master asked.
"Yes," Sebastian answered curtly.
"How do you suppose she knows Artemis?"
"Well, they are both angels, it is not uncommon for angels to know everyone within their domain," Sebastian explained.
"Yes, but that woman appeared she didn't know Artemis before she came to England, it's a bit suspicious, don't you think?" Ciel asked.
Sebastian stiffened.
"Master, forgive me but if you're asking me to investigate, angels exist outside all of time and they are impossible to track unless they enter history—"
"I'm not ordering you to do anything of the sorts," Ciel groaned.
"Then what are your orders, sir?" Sebastian asked.
The young master didn't directly answer the question, but rather stated, "Artemis is hiding something, otherwise she wouldn't have lied and their stories of meeting wouldn't have differed."
"Indeed, My Lord," Sebastian agreed.
"Sebastian, I need you to find out what secrets she's hiding," Ciel ordered. "She seems rather drawn to you, so maybe she'll open up without too much force."
The demon felt a nerve tick, but he ignored the latter comment and responded, "Yes, My Lord."
The demon closed the curtains as Ciel quickly fell asleep. He left the room and found the rest of the manor to be asleep, so he retired to his own room. When he reached the servants' quarters, however, the butler found Artemis waiting for him. She appeared rather sad.
"What did Theresa say to you?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly.
"Nothing of your concern," Sebastian said stiffly, walking passed the angel.
"I lied to protect her," Artemis said suddenly.
Sebastian paused.
Artemis turned around and met his gaze.
"She has a mouth on her and doesn't know how obvious she is about certain things," Artemis explained. "I know that whole conversation at dinner came off weird and I know you and Ciel both caught onto it."
"So you allow that doomed angel to act in such a way as if you're oblivious?" Sebastian questioned. "Just how do you plan to protect her? Others are bound to find out sooner or later."
Sighing heavily, Artemis looked away and leaned against the wall. "I have a feeling that the Person who matters already knows. And yet for some reason, her wings haven't been clipped yet. So would you like to know what I think?"
Sebastian waited for a moment as Artemis looked up to meet his gaze and smiled sadly, "I don't think it actually matters who you love as long as that love is honest."
The demon's eyes widened as Artemis looked back down and continued, "But it does matter whether or not you can love yourself, and right now Theresa is miserable in her own skin. It's hard, not knowing who you are or if who you think you are is inherently wrong. But until Theresa can look in the mirror and like what she sees, it won't matter whether or not God will condemn her because she's condemning herself. And frankly, so are you."
Sebastian jumped in surprise at the angel's last statement, but rather instead of focusing on the thought, the demon pressed a more important topic in his mind: "How did you know you were my mate? You do not have the same instincts that I do."
Artemis refused to look back up at Sebastian, but her eyes grew distant and began to water, as if she were looking off into a painful memory.
The angel sighed heavily, taking a deep breath.
"Sebastian," she said, "your fighting me, aren't you? You're fighting something that I represent, and I've had my fair share of dealings with demons. I know that they can't love; I know that they have to take mates as compensation. But I also know that every now and then there comes along a demon that can feel the same pain and loss, but also the same warmth and patience that humans feel when they love. Sebastian, you have every right to hate me, but please, stop fighting whatever this is. I care about you too much to see you this miserable."
"Why don't you run away with that other angel, instead of wasting my time?" Sebastian growled, backing away from Artemis as she took a few steps towards him. "Even if Theresa doesn't fall because of what she associates with, by associating with me, you most definitely will."
"So you do care about me," Artemis laughed, noting the demon's remark. She then took another step forward and took Sebastian's hand. "Look, I know it's not easy for you to be near me, but please, if what your fighting is affection, it's okay to let yourself feel something for me—anyone, for that matter. I just want you to let yourself be happy for once."
"And just why would you want that?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow, slight curiosity overtaking his anger for a moment.
"Because I'm learning to do the same for myself," she said. She then let go of the demon's hand and said, "Love is patient and kind. It's meant for everyone, even those trapped in the shadows, regardless of what they may believe. And besides…even if you don't choose to love me I…"
Artemis paused, Sebastian was about to ask why when the angel lifted her hand to the demon's face, her palm caressing his cheek and brushing hair behind his ear. She then stood on her toes and lifted her lips gently to his. Sebastian recoiled slightly, for a moment, but as she kissed him and pulled her body close, the demon felt his body relax significantly. He couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arm gently around her waste, but as quickly as the kiss came, Artemis pulled away, lowering herself. She glanced down and subconsciously straightened the butler's tie and smoothing out his coat collar before stepping away. The angel then made to leave, but before she retired to her room, she stopped and grabbed hold of Sebastian's arm, leaning into him slightly.
"You can choose whatever will make you happy," she said, "But you have the right to know that I choose to love you, Sebastian."
United States 2014
Artie
I pulled into the driveway of the mansion, nearly having a heart attack as I tried to park. There was a thin layer of ice that covered it as if the last week of snow and freezing rain hadn't been shoveled off. I sat in the car for a moment before shutting it off and getting out. Taking a deep breath, I struggled to collect my thoughts and figure out exactly what I was going to say to him.
First things first, I needed to apologize for being an overly religious bigot to him. Didn't know how he was going to forgive me for that one, but I rested my head on the steering wheel and reminded myself that Sebastian's last girlfriend was a godforsaken angel of all things so this fight was probably something Sebastian had gotten used to. Hopefully.
I then cursed myself for my "godforsaken angel" pun, because, while I would find that thought hilarious later on (I hoped) it still made a shiver run up my spine.
Secondly, I would tell him that I loved him and hopefully I can remain his girlfriend/mate/whatever in hell's name you want to call it.
I then cursed myself for the second pun.
"Oh, fuck it," I grumbled to myself, getting out of the car, deciding I would just have to wing it and whatever came out of my mouth would be whatever came out of my mouth and hopefully it wasn't vomit. I went up to the doorstep and knocked on the door.
After a rather long moment of not hearing any noise or indication that someone was coming to the door, I peaked in through one of the windows. Was no one home? I knocked on the door again, and felt it budge slightly. Raising an eyebrow, I turned the knob and pushed the door open.
It was unlocked?
"Hello?" I called out, wandering through the entryway.
"Artie?"
I jumped in relief, but my heart fell when I saw that the voice who called out was not Sebastian.
"Ciel! Have you seen Sebastian?" I asked.
The boy shrugged. "Not for a few days, no. Not since we went to London."
"You went to London? But that's an eight hour flight!" I shrieked in disbelief. Ciel, in turn, jumped, his face flushing as if he were in a state of panic, but then my disbelief turned to realization and I smacked my hand to my face. "Wait, never mind, I don't need to know."
"Er," Ciel stuttered, hesitantly walking down the stairs, "I returned on my own, he said he had some additional business to take care of."
My heart sank, "Did he say when he would be back?"
Ciel shook his head. "No, but I suspect it has something to do with an incident that happened several years ago."
My heart sank further, "Does it have to do with Artemis?"
Ciel's face paled. "How do you know about that?"
"Sebastian told me…everything. We had a run in with a couple other demons at the train station on Thursday and well, he didn't have much of a choice but to tell me," I explained.
"He even told you about the lilies?" Ciel asked, frowning. I raised an eyebrow.
"The what?" I asked.
"Nothing," Ciel shook his head and sighed. "Artie…I don't know what to tell you."
"You don't have to say anything, Ciel," I said. "I just need to talk to him. I kind of panicked when he first explained everything to me and he walked out before I had a chance to sort things through. Do you know where I could find him?"
The boy shook his head, an expression of pure dread on his face, "Artemis…I'm sorry but it might be a while before Sebastian comes back."
"What?" I asked, feeling panic well up in me. "But why?"
"A lot happened between Sebastian and Artemis," Ciel said. "He claims that he broke her heart…and if you reacted in a panic like you say you did…"
"Oh no," I said, suddenly feeling hollow. Before I could even think I was racing back out the door and speeding back to campus. I was running around in a wild panic, trying to look for Sebastian but not knowing where to start. Eventually I bumped into Trent, practically barreling into him and knocking him over.
"Hey! Artie what the hell?" he shrieked, nearly losing his balance.
"Trent! I can't find Sebastian!" I cried out. "He wasn't at his house and Ciel said-!"
"Artie, I think you need to calm down," Trent interjected.
"He thinks he broke Artemis's heart!"
"Well, she is kind of dead so…"
"But with the way I reacted Thursday…the way I've been this whole week!"
"You're excessively Catholic so, I mean, it's understandable—"
"Oh God, why am I such an excessively Catholic asshole!" I screamed, literally dancing around Trent in a wild panic as I lost my shit completely.
"ARTEMIS!" Trent screamed back, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me violently.
"WHAT?" I screamed back.
"YOUR PARENTS ARE HERE!"
"WHAT?" I slipped on a patch of ice as I shrieked back my response before promptly falling on my ass.
"You deserved that," Trent groaned, offering a hand to help me up. "Now will you calm down already?"
"What are my parents doing here?" I asked, standing back up.
"Chris called them Friday night and said you were having a rough time so they figured they'd come to pick them up today and check in on you. They were getting coffee in the library last I saw them.
"And no one told me this because…?" I asked, feeling a nerve in my head twitch.
"Because you would have started flipping out even more than you were," Trent stated bluntly and I rolled my eyes.
"Right," I said, though I still didn't know what to do about Sebastian. And frankly, talking this problem with my mom like I usually do probably wouldn't end too well.
Sensing my distress, Trent placed a hand on my shoulder. "Go see your parents first. These types of things tend to sort themselves out."
I nodded my head and gave Trent a hug. He practically crushed my lungs in return, but it still did some to comfort me. I then walked past him and made my way to the library. As I turned the corner to the quad, however, I caught sight of my mom.
"Mom!" I cried out as I ran up to hug her.
"Artie, sweetie! Are you okay?" she asked as she embraced me.
"I will be," I sighed, relaxing in my mom's arms. There was something about her hugs that always made me feel safe. Dad quickly came up behind me, his smile warm as always and I let go of Mom to let myself get wrapped up in his big bear hug. "Hi Dad."
"What's this about some boy trouble your brothers were telling me about?" was the first thing that came out of Dad's mouth. I jumped and stared nervously at my parents.
"What exactly did they tell you?" I asked.
"They said you got caught up in some sort of fight at the train station," Mom said, "Honey is everything okay? Did you get hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," I shook my head. "Just some…thugs…that were looking to cause trouble and I accidentally got separated from the boys when it happened. They didn't get hurt though, they were away from that mess."
"I'm so glad you're safe," Mom said, pulling me into another embrace. "They also said that that boyfriend of yours came to your rescue?"
"And that you two got into some sort of argument that hurt your feelings?" Dad interjected, clearly setting his priorities in place. I couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Yes, he saved me," I said. "I didn't get back to the apartment when I said we would so he went over to check on me and that's when he came to my rescue. And yes, we got into an argument, but it was really my fault. I was just shaken up and overreacted to something stupid he said. It's just…"
"It's just what, honey?" Mom asked.
"I haven't seen him since we fought…and I never got a chance to tell him I…" I trailed off, unable to finish.
Mom and Dad glanced at each other for a moment before they each smiled knowingly to each other.
"Well, Artie," Mom said, "he seems like a fine man, and your brothers seem to have taken well to him."
"What?" my head shot up to meet my Mom's gaze, but she motioned for me to move along.
"Go see for yourself, Tristan's been all over him with questions since before we got here," she explained.
As if I was on autopilot, I pushed myself past my parents and broke out into a sprint towards the library until I caught sight of Sebastian sitting on a ledge with my brothers on either side of him and the three of them seemed to be engaged in quite the conversation. As I got closer, I heard the ridiculous spew of questions that came firing out of Tristan's mouth.
"So how fast can you go?" he asked.
"Fast," Sebastian answered.
"But like, how fast?" Chris pressed.
"Very fast," Sebastian chuckled, displaying a great deal of patience towards my brothers. I stopped in my tracks when I was about ten feet away from the trio, but even so, Sebastian seemed to have hear my panting and he turned around, his eyes widening when he saw me.
"Artie?" he asked, rising to his feet. He excused himself from my brothers and began walking towards me. Subconsciously, I felt myself back away from him at first. Sebastian then stopped and exhaled, his breath visible against the cold air.
"Y-you weren't in class on Friday," my said before my mind had time to process anything.
Sebastian smiled apologetically and said, "Forgive me, I came down with a small case of the flu and felt it best to stay home."
My heart pounding, I managed to joke, "We both know that that's a load of crap."
"I should say so," Sebastian chuckled. He then glanced back up at me with those rose colored eyes and smiled. "Are you…alright?"
He asked the question with hesitance and it was in that moment that I suddenly saw the pain in his eyes. It was as Ciel said; he felt the pain of breaking someone else's heart. I suspected he feared breaking mine and approached with extreme caution. He was terrified of hurting me, that much I could tell.
Sighing in relief, I felt my eyes water and before I could think I rushed into Sebastian's arms and hugged him tightly, whimpering, "I am now."
"Artemis—" Sebastian began but he cut himself off, wrapping his arms tightly around me as I felt him lower his head into the space between my neck and shoulder.
"Look," I said, still holding him, "Sebastian, I am so sorry, I panicked and I—"
"Stop, you don't have to apologize," the demon soothed, stroking my hair.
I pulled away from the demon slightly so I could look him in the eye. He still held me tightly and I lifted a hand to his cheek. "I just needed some time to realize that it was okay for me to love you."
"I know," the demon whispered back. "It took me quite some time to realize the same thing for myself."
"Really?" I asked, my fingers wrapping around the ends of Sebastian's hair. The demon pulled away from our embrace just enough so he could look me in the eye.
"Artemis Grace," Sebastian said, smiling, "I love you."
I felt my heart skip a beat as my hand slid from the back of his neck to his cheek. He allowed himself to rest his head to that hand for a moment before he began to draw me closer.
"I love you too," I said softly as my mate pulled me into a gentle kiss that was just long enough for my dad to sneak up on us and threaten to shoot Sebastian with a shotgun.