- The Layer of Ice -

7. Emotions, marks and life-time bonds

(Sebastian's POV)

Either I was dreaming, or the best thing in my life has just happened. It did happened, right?

Is it even possible that something such as great has happened? It must have been a miracle indeed.

Do I really deserve someone so beautiful? Isn't this emotion just the best thing one can experience?

-/-/-

(Third Person's POV)

Ciel was feeling happy for the first time since... long ago.

It felt somehow liberating to put the feelings he had for the demon into words. Finally acknowledging their existence to himself. And he was happy that they were returned also.

Love.

Such an estranged emotion for Ciel. It was an emotion he has refused to let himself feel the day his parents died. He felt somehow unworthy of love, thinking that he should have been in the house also when it burned down to ashes. He refused to let himself try to fall for somebody as a punishment of sorts.

However love is an unpredictable emotion... And it just happens sometimes, right? And when looking at Sebastian... When hearing about the lengths he went to just ro win his affection Ciel knew that saying the words out loud has been the right thing to do.

It was endearing how positively... glowing Sebastian seemed the whole time since the simple exchange of words of love happened.

They were both really enjoying the time together they spent after the disasterous-turn-fantastic Christmas morning and the whole month after Sebastian came over almost every day... one of the only exceptions being the reluctantly promised visit of Ciel's to the annoying being called Elizabeth and his visit to his auntie Red as he called her the day after.

'To get a better opinion of humankind.' he explained to Sebastian when asked about that.

The glow of the emotions stayed all that time, never leaving even as the snow on the landscape soon started to melt and it was nearing spring.

Until it one day turned into Sebastian really glowing.

-/-/-

"Ahem, Sebastian?" Ciel started hesitantly, looking at the demon who was engrossed in decorating the latest baked speciality of his with cream... while every square inch of his exposed skin glowed with a subtle, gentle light which was giving him an ethereal look.

At the sound of his name being called Sebastian turned around, revealing his perfectly white teeth as he smiled widely.

"Yes, my sweet?" he asked, his hands continuing his decorating work without an inch of hesitation even as he was not concentrating on the activity. How he did that Ciel could only winder. He however chose to not think of that for the time being as he asked the question which was on the forefront his mind.

"What's with all the... light?"

"Ah, that... I forgot about that..." Sebastian said simply as he looked at his glowing hand.

"That is possible?" Ciel asked as he placed his head on his arms which he crossed on the table, still looking at Sebastian with slight amusement. "How in the name of whoever demons look up to can you forget you're glowing?"

"Quite easy, believe me." Sebastian smiled, placing a marzipan rose in the center of his white cake, making it finished thus as he placed it in front of Ciel. "I have much more appealing being to look at." he winked, causing Ciel's cheeks to get a hue of pink which seemed to please him greatly. And as he reveled in the younger boy's blush he took Ciel's hand and placed a kiss on the ring on it which has been placed on the middle finger by then.

"We can talk about it later if you want..." he offered, sitting in front of Ciel once he handed him a knife and placed two cups of tea, two little plates and two spoons on the table. "Now it's time you enjoy your cake."

-/-/-

(Sebastian's POV)

Whilst I watched Ciel dig into yet another piece of cake I could not help but smile fondly.

"You're like a creepy old man now, you know?" Ciel pointed at me with his spoon. "Watching me eat and all that while grinning to himself..."

"It's not like I really care, you know?" waving my hand in "whatever" manner. That however brought Ciel back to the glow that was still present around my whole body.

"Really, just what is the purpose of it?" he asked, before stuffing the whole marzipan rose he had on plate into his mouth.

"Purpose? I don't really know if there is some..." I said truthfully. "The significance though..." I trailed off.

It took me one look at the mouth-still-occupied-with-marzipan Ciel who was narrowing his eyes at me and it was clear that he wanted me to continue.

"Well... It is a sign of another stage of bonding complete... Earning of an unwavering trust..." Sebastian smiled, pointing at the ring which was bound to move every time a stage was completed... except for the last one.

"It however also means that the next stage is to take place and for that the time is quite short... I actually expected it to happen later, one of the reasons I did not tell you yet... Not to mention that it should have appeared a bit later after the stage completed. It probably has something to do with the fact that you accepted the bond during the Aftermath, something which pretty-much never happens."

"Continue." Ciel ordered, as he started sipping on his tea.

"It means that we should finish the last two stages including the consummation of the bond soon."

At the shower I got from Ciel's sputtered tea I could only think that I should have predicted to not tell him that in a moment his mouth is full of the brown liquid.

"C-consummation?" he stuttered adorably, his cheeks reddening.

"Umm, yes, said simply."

"What would be saying it in a difficult and - or - longer way?"

I grinned at the question. "The longer explanation would be that after the next stage of a bond which is saying the bonding vows and the ring resonance tied to it we should indulge ourselves in consuming our bond in a sexual manner and it has to be done in quite a short amount of time."

"You're impossible." Ciel groaned, burying his still-red face in his hands, looking at me through spaces between his fingers.

'Adorable. No other word for that.'

I soon found out that I did not really need to search as Ciel continued asking.

"How long?"

"A month." I answered, knowing full-well what he was asking about. Given the shyness oozing from the whispered question it would not be that hard to guess anyway.

"And you'll be glowing all that time?"

"Well... yes, until the bond is complete I'll be glowing as you say." I admitted. "It might get stronger in time, or after the bonding vows... depends on how strong the bond is going to get."

"There are differences?" Ciel asked, curiosity clear in his voice whilst none showed on his face. I still had to work on him showing his emotions a bit.

"There are. For example there are "Loose bonds"... It pretty much means that the demon and the mate are tied by the ceremony - the demon maturing and coming to full power and the mate's life lengthened as a result - however that's about it. These only happens when the mate is human as for two demons there is no need for that. It's a sort of contract for the involved pair only. It pretty-much means that while bonded neither of the two really care for fidelity..."

"I DON'T WANT ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Ciel shot up from his seat. It was almost astonishing how determined to get that message across he seemed. How much emotion was there in those words.

I however had no time to admire that as as soon as my mind formed the answer to that - my own affirmation to that very same point - I felt a burning pain on my right hand... and Ciel crumpled to the floor, screaming in pain, his hands on his face.

I ignored my pain for a moment and was down on the floor, next to my mate immediately. Prying his hands from his face I nearly fell over from shock when he opened his eyes, looking at me.

"Impossible..." I whispered as I reached out and placed hand over his right eye from which blood poured in a scary speed. Invoking my healing powers it stopped soon after. The source of it however, the change which has happened has stayed the same.

Looking first at the eye than at my source of pain I was not surprised by what I saw there.

"Sebastian?" a voice brought me out of my reverie however and I turned to look into Ciel's face, seeing the confusion over what has just happened. "What has just happened?" he asked, taking my bleeding hand into both of his.

"That, my sweet, was you invoking a Life-time bond."

-/-/-

(Ciel's POV)

"That, my sweet, was you invoking a Life-time bond."

"What?" I could not help but gasp as the words left Sebastian's mouth. "What did I do to you?" I could not help but despair as I looked at the bleeding mark on his hand.

"It's not exactly a one-way agreement, my sweet, believe me." Sebastian smiled sadly as he pointed to my eye which has been in great pain until Sebastian took it away.

'It felt almost if someone carved...' at my own thoughts I stopped myself, looking from Sebastian to his hand as one of my hands shot up to my eye. "I need a mirror!"

Sooner than would be humanly possible Sebastian was already holding one before my face. Who knew where he got it. As soon as it got to my hands however I almost dropped it as a mark identical to the one that now marred Sebastian's perfect pale skin literally stared at me from the mirror, from my eye which had taken a purplish sheen to it.

"Wha-what does it mean?" I could only get out of myself, looking at Sebastian in search of an answer. Surprisingly enough I still saw everything as I did... ever with a pentagram in place of my pupil and iris.

"As I said, you invoked a Life-time bond... the thing is I've never even heard about it happening so... spontaneously... not to mention triggered by words of a human."

"But what exactly is a Life-time bond?"

"Just what it indicates." Sebastian said as if it was the most common thing under the sun. Then his mouth curled into a grin. "That means that you're stuck with me for forever." he smiled wickedly.

"Details?" I could not help but ask. I was shocked when I heard Sebastian speak about the Loose bond as if it was nothing. I could not imagine tying myself to someone like that. I loved Sebastian. With all I had. I wanted him to belong to me only and for me to belong to him only. That wasn't that much to ask, wasn't it?

"Life-time bond as you may have caught on is exactly that, a for-life and unbreakable bond. Once the bonding is complete I will reach my maturity and you will get a life equally long as mine for once one of us dies in this bond, so does the other. It is one of reasons not many demons form that bond with humans, they think that it would hinder them, bring them down. Also unlike the Loose bond there is a complete fidelity required. Once one of the mates betrays the other in such way they both die... you follow me so far?" Sebastian asked. He must have noticed me paling.

I only nodded dumbly as I continued listening.

"The Life-time bond also may cause you to take on some of the demon characteristics once completed... meaning you might get a power of your own. It would be just one though..." Sebastian stopped for a while, studying the mark on his hand, then continued.

"With the bond also comes the "Marking". The place it appears on has its significance also... For demon the closer to right hand - which is where most of their power is gathered - the stronger the bond." Sebastian explained as he waved his right glowing hand, getting across that it was indeed going to be a close bond on his part.

"And for humans?" I wanted to know. It would be devastating somehow if my subconsciousness was showing Sebastian that he was worth less in my eyes... literally.

"Given that for humans sight is their main sense it's said the closer to the eye the stronger. Never seen it appear in the eye though." Sebastian smiled as he cupped my cheek. "I should know better than to expect any less from you, shouldn't I?"

I did not really know how to respond to that and so we stayed silent for a while. Until yet another question appeared on my mind.

"But if it is all supposed to happen after bonding... How is it possible that the.. marks appeared now?"

"That, my sweet I don't know." Sebastian sighed, reaching for a piece of cake on the table, handing me one also.

"But who can tell us that?" I wondered before I bit into the cake.

"Someone who I believe is on their wa-..."

The words he was about to say however were cut off by a sound of doorbell.

As the sound resounded through the huge house Sebastian grinned only.

"Here she comes."

Done for now~

You curious about who is behind the door? xD

Just thought that you'd want to know that the POLL ended with a HP fic as a winner. (TOP 3 is posted on my profile) Sorry guys, maybe next poll. (^^)

Also, before I forget, as you may have noticed I created a main picture for the story, I hope you like it~

Review, please? o(O.O)o

See ya~ ( "-.-)/