Strawberries
Chapter 6
A/N: Been awhile, Been awhile. It's super longish. :) love you guys. Please review!
Sebastian flicked a finger towards the backyard, glaring imperiously down his nose at the demon hound. Pluto cowered beneath his gaze but didn't move. Sebastian softened his gaze and reached down to pet the hound. Pluto reacted instantly, whining happily and tail beginning to wag. Then he batting him in the nose and pointed outside again. The huge mutt ran in the direction the butler was pointing, tail between his legs. Huffing slightly, Sebastian began to set the hallway to rights again. He would have to admonish the gardener thoroughly. Frowning slightly, He swept the running rug back into the direct center of the hall and straightened up, admiring his handiwork. Clapping his hands together to eliminate the non-existent dust on his gloves, he began making his way towards the garden out front. Sebastian felt slightly tumultuous inside. His demonic nature was relentlessly obsessive when it came to the things he desired. However, this warm and fuzzy feeling he was experiencing towards the cook was unnatural and more than slightly unnerving. Unable to truly understand how the two different emotions fit together, the butler had decided to take a step back. To say that the butler was surprised when Bard turned the tables on him in bed, would be a mild understatement. Sebastian was impressed by the man's aptitude in that area, and though their time together had not gone as planned, he wouldn't have it any other way. He would like more than one chance to prove his own prowess, though. Bard was indeed a special case. That kind of rough activity was put on hold by the maid's actions. Sebastian's mouth turned down from its previous smirk and his mood soured. What was he to do with her? Upon reaching the garden's he found Finny a top a tall ladder trimming the central hedge with large shears. Sebastian cleared his throat and though the still morning was quiet enough, the young man failed to hear. Sebastian lost his patience quickly and shook the ladder ever so slightly. To his amusement, Finny fell from the ladder and landed in a pile of arms and legs on the ground. He walked over to him and murmured, "You should be more careful," then proceeded with, "I expect you to keep a closer eye on that mutt you insist on toting around." Finny was still trying to push himself off of the ground as the Butler walked crisply away. Sebastian passed the old butler, Tanaka on his way into the kitchens; the man was huddled in a corner, a creepy blasé smile on his face. Sebastian swirled through the kitchens without another thought and made his way down to the one of the mansion's wine cellars. Sebastian stood listening at the door that held the deranged would-be killer. Hearing nothing, he swiftly unlocked the door. A shot rang out as soon as he opened the door but the demon pulled it wide and looked at the woman crouched on the floor. Her eyes were feral and her hands were a mess, dried blood caked them. As soon as she saw it was him, she dropped the gun and crooned, "I knew you would come for me! I knew you wouldn't pretend that what I did was wrong!" Sebastian just cocked his head and stared at the red haired woman. He felt a little pang of pity before growing angry. He took a step forward and snatched the gun from the floor, twisting the metal barrel in his grip and throwing it back on the ground; useless. Mey-Rin looked up at him hopefully, her large eyes glistening in the glow of light from the hall. Sebastian stood for a moment, deliberating her fate. Would it be better to just kill her? Maybe he could have left the pistol in here until she shot herself. Though he wanted to simply snap her neck, he thought of Bard.
"You have betrayed one of your only friends, Mey-Rin. You have nothing left in this world."
Her face crumpled then lifted but he said, "I do not care the least for you," and her face twisted in both despair and fear.
"What will you do to me?" She spit out through clenched teeth. Sebastian watched in disgust as saliva slid down her chin and her hands, caked with dried blood opened and clenched in a sporadic manner. He hadn't decided. He hadn't even told the Master yet that a… disturbance had occurred amongst the servants. He again thought about Bard's reaction, slightly peeved that the man's feelings drifted across his consciousness. The best way to handle this was to have the Master do it. Then Bard would hold neither animosity nor good grace towards him. Without addressing Mey-Rin, Sebastian stepped out quickly and snapped the door shut, ignoring the wail that came through the thick wood.
On the main floor, Sebastian stopped by his chambers to check on the man inside. Bard was awake when he entered so he leaned against the bathroom door frame and watched him as he peered around. Wondering what he was thinking, but deciding not to inquire, the butler watched with some amusement as Bard finally noticed he was there. He jolted upright but then fell back with a short whimper of pain. Though Sebastian felt an odd urge to go sit on the bed next to the man he didn't, remembering his earlier decision to back off until his emotions cleared. He eventually moved over to check on the wound though. Peeling the bandages off, he took a look at the welted punctured skin there and gave a little sigh of annoyance. He hadn't thought to stitch it. This was true and he said as much. He had been too wrapped up in the situation that he hadn't properly attended to the stitching of the hole.
Suddenly, a devious idea swam through his brain. He took his leave into the bath, grabbing the small emergency medical kit from its shelf and returned to see Bard in the beginning stages of protesting. Bard got so far as to heave himself off of the bed and fall to the ground. Sebastian winced and took a step forward before stopping himself and when the blonde came up again, flushed and limping, Sebastian was in control of his features again. Bard was still trying to back away and at this point Sebastian starting giving him a reproachful and incredulous look. It certainly must be better to have the wound closed, yes? The butler stopped advancing and asked with a cocked head if he had been shot before.
The answer was eight.
They had to stitch those?
Yes, but unconsciousness was necessary. Preposterous.
Shaking his head, he pulled himself forward with his plan.
He took a step towards Bard and pushed himself into his personal space. Bard immediately went from a rosy flush to a crimson red, his light dusting of freckles across his nose standing out. He brought his hands up and caressed the man. His chest was bare and the feeling of his gloves dancing along the other man's smooth contours was immensely gratifying. Sebastian had to try hard not to get distracted from his purpose and he deliberately pushed Bard harder against the wall, occupying his lips and watching his eyes flutter shut. He could barely tear his eyes away to start gently easing the pre-threaded needle through the soft skin there. Just as he fully pierced the skin, he gently reached into the man's pants and gripped his achingly hard member and simultaneously turned them and pushed Bard onto the bed.. Bard threw his head back, hitting the wall behind him. Sebastian continued his work quickly, kissing the blonde nearly senseless and rhythmically pumping his hand. He was almost done, he just needed to tie a not and then tug the excess off. He removed his hand and replaced it by pushing his own cock roughly against Bard's.
He expertly knotted the thread and tugged it to tear off the rest, leaving a neat stitching job worthy of the queen's personal surgeon. He leaned back, effectively creating space between their lips and their lower regions.
"All finished," he announced, trying to hide the how breathless he was.
Bard opened his eyes, his pupils dilated and his lips swollen. He tried to thrust up into Sebastian and even though the butler's member twitched in response, he held the man's hips tightly to the mattress with his knees. Bard slowly lost the dazed look on his face and he flexed his arms causing the muscles to tighten around the stitching. He winced and looked towards the wound.
Sebastian watched as he comically gaped at his arm and then up into his eyes.
"S-sir, you didn't!"
In response, Sebastian snorted and gave one more roll of his hips. Bard shut his eyes tightly and looked a little nauseous.
Sebastian watched closely as Bard's face went from sick to puzzled to a slight smile. Sebastian felt his emotions swell a little. He shuttered his gaze just in time as Bard's eyes opened and he asked, "What are you thinking?"
Sebastian was surprised and confused by the tenderness that was apparent in the cook's tone, but showed no change in expression. He slowly got off of the man, careful to keep all contact off of his pants.
Bard looked down and then very painfully made his way up the bed so that his back was resting against the pillows. He tried in vain to hide his arousal.
Sebastian was about to make his way out into the corridor to continue his duties when he remembered the question. He had been thinking that he would very much like to see Bard smile for real. Not a small smile, or a sad one, but a real smile.
"I was thinking that I had better get back to work, that young master will not like thr- two servants lollygagging about." He barely caught himself from saying three. It might be best if he didn't give reminders of Mey-Rin. His face stilled and his eyes hardened thinking of her. Bard kept his eyes down, but asked, "Would you please tell the Master that I will be back to work tomorrow, Sir?"
Sebastian just stared for a moment, before moving forward to tie black cloths to act as bandages. He tied them as gently as he could, thinking it was interesting that Bard wanted to get back to work so quickly. He got back up when he was finished and told the cook that he had already informed the master of the cook's condition and he would go back to work when the butler said it was alright. He had not, in fact, informed the master of anything. He should be off to do that now actually. He turned to leave but then turned back thinking of what he said earlier about the man calling him 'sir'.
"That's three times."
Bard quickly caught on and cocked his head to look at Sebastian. The butler thought he looked rather appealing that way, with his neck exposed and his hair ruffled. He copied him. He watched with mild delight as Bard smiled a slow but genuine smile. Sebastian copied him again and came to sit on the bed again. He was about to say something about rest and relaxation but he heard the master call. His acute hearing picked up the high pitched and angered tone of the boy having a squall. He gave Bard a frustrated look and left the room a bit huffily.
He was outside his master's study in a mere minute. He straightened his impeccable suit needlessly and pushed his way into the room to immediately do battle with a book. He caught it and pushed it back into its spot on the shelf as he made his way to stand in front of the boy who now sat fuming behind his desk. One hand covered the eye-patch and rubbed at a small temple in a gesture that was far beyond his age.
"Master?" Sebastian asked succinctly as soon as he came precisely one foot from the desk.
"Go to Mr. Faust's estate and get the plans for the new factory."
Sebastian bowed and then paused about to mention the issue with the earl's servants.
"I don't care if you have to hang him from his own pompous coat tails! I need those plans to progress and he has simply blown off my missives and made a joke of Bard when I sent him last week! I want you to teach that horrid excuse for a man a lesson. Teach him what happens when he crosses the Earl Ciel Phantomhive!"
The boy was getting increasingly agitated and at the utterance of his title and surnames he jumped up on his chair. It took every bone in the butler's body not to laugh in absolute derision at the boy's antics. While the earl Phantomhive was aged beyond his years in intellect, he was still the diminutive size of a little child.
"As you say, Master."
He turned to leave, but stopped at the door, "It seems that a slight incident has emerged amongst your servanst, Master."
Ciel sat down with a thump and inquired sullenly, "Oh?"
"Mey-Rin the maid has shot your cook, Bardroy."
Ciel began to laugh.
"Did that idiot American deserve it? He never could make a roast."
Sebastian thought back to those blue eyes, tears leaking from them almost unconsciously. They were so sad and so betrayed.
He stared at the earl with a hint of displeasure, "No, he did not."
Ciel must have noticed a change in the butler's demeanor because he cleared his throat and waved a hand, "Let the local constables handle it. I have no time for such things."
Sebastian bowed low and exited. He was satisfied with that sentence because the constabulary would be far more lenient than the earl and immensely more lenient than he. He would rather just have wrenched her head from her neck, but he had a feeling that Bard would be none too pleased.
He carefully sneaked into his own chambers, a bit nonplussed with himself for doing so, to check on the cook.
Bard was laying on his stomach with his wounded shoulder and arm comfortably tucked next to his body and the other resting in a crook above his head on the sheets. Those sheets pooling by his waist, draping his arse nicely. Sebastian's gaze flicked around in appreciation for a moment before he brought a gloved hand down to touch the skin of his lower back. Oh how he would like a reenactment of their coupling.
He sniffed then, smelling a new but still familiar scent. He shifted the sheets around a little until he came upon a sticky part in the sheets. He lifted his fingers to his nose and smelled Bard's semen on his sheets.
He felt desire build up inside him and he had to quickly step from the room to avoid acting upon it.
As much as he would like to 'jump his bones' as some modern people would say, Bard needed to rest. He satisfied himself with thinking of the man masturbating in his bed. He smirked and continued on with his more gruesome tasks. He had Finny bring the carriage around and then go gather Tanaka from wherever he was lurking. While he waited, he stalked around the cabin and locked the second door with a little key from his pocket, then tore off the handle. He would make finny replace it later.
"Mey-Rin has lost her position at this household. I am taking her to the constabulary for her formal sentence. I wish for you not to see her as she is, so please go in to dining hall until I have left."
Finny gasped and held a hand to his mouth while Tanaka laughed sadly.
"What has happened? Where had Bard been?" Finny asked, his eyes already brimming.
"There will be a formal debriefing later on. Bard has been laid up and will not return to work until I deem him fit for service," Sebastian said coldly, then gestured towards the house. He followed them inside then continued down to the temporary cell he had made and quickly tore the door open. Without any preamble, he grabbed the woman on the ground and hauled her out and started up the stairs. It was a few moments before she began to react. Before she could make any unnecessary sounds, he clamped a gloved hand over her nose and mouth tightly. He hoped the bitch suffocated.
She struggled and kicked and cried but he held onto her when he got out to the carriage he threw her unceremoniously threw her into the carriage. He shoved the door closed, and locked it. He crushed the handle in one fist so it couldn't be picked. He stood there for a moment, his anger making him a bit flushed. He straightened his already straight tie and leapt into the driver's seat, sending the bay mare into a frenzied trot down the drive.
The business was over quite quickly, as soon as they arrived at the station. Sebastian explained the situation with a calm finesse while the carriage shook with the movement of the deranged woman inside. It took six men to wrench the door free, and then another four to drag Mey-Rin into the jailing cell. As soon as she got in there, she stopped all movement.
Sebastian watched curiously as her eyes went from a sobbing mess to a weird clarity. He would feel unnerved if he weren't sure he could kill her with a single blow. She grasped the bars and watched him as he left with a stack of coins to on the desk for the men. They would need compensation after dealing with her. He took off from there, feeling better now that that filth wasn't stinking up his wine cellars. He would need to give them a good scrubbing.
He performed his errands for the Master, only needing to tickle the man's drooping nose with a sharp butter knife before he handed over some gold and the entire conceived plans. With a promise to be in touch, Sebastian made his way back to the Phantomhive Manor, feeling much better than he had been going out.
Delivering the plans to the study, he was then given the rest of the day to clean and prepare for the next day, which happened to be Elizabeth's birthday. The master was throwing a ball in her honor, quite against his wishes. The dining room needed to be mopped and the dishes needed to be set and there was a full course meal to prepare. Sebastian sighed as he stood with his hands on his hips surveying the room. He set about with a mop and bucket and had the room cleaned in under a half hour. He left the lacquered wood floor drying and went to check on Bard. When he entered his rooms again he immediately realized that he wasn't in it. He didn't even bother to check the bathrooms, but looked for his aura. He found the faint blush of pink in the kitchens. He should have known. He watched the pulse of the man's aura as he made his way towards him. The bright pink suggested a happy mood. When he came upon the man, he was slowly washing a pot with one arm. He was concentrating so hard on keeping his wounded arm still that he didn't notice when Sebastian came up behind him and slowly slid his hands along his waist. The man started a little bit and cringed as his shoulder seized up. Sebastian just kissed the back of his neck in a tender move and whispered, "What in the world are you doing?"
He was surprising himself, but he just went with it and kissed behind Bard's ear.
"I'm uh, starting to… huh… making the things that can be made… ahem. B-before tomorrow."
"And why is that?" Sebastian rumbled from behind him, licking his ear. He was enjoying the blonde's distraction. He slid a hand slowly up the rough shirt that Bard had managed to tug on. The butler was doing his best to make Bard moan.
"I-I… it's the young missus' b-birthd- Ohhh!"
Sebastian bit his neck lightly and rolled a nipple between two fingers.
Bard's head fell back onto Sebastian's shoulder and he gasped into his ear.
Sebastian let go of the man, leaving him grasping the sink with one hand and breathing heavily.
"That's very eager of you."
Bard blushed and turned his head to the side to look at the tall butler who still stood directly behind him.
Sebastian was surprised again by the cook as he turned swiftly and brought their lips together. Sebastian let out a moan on accident by their rough meeting. He liked the feeling of the cook's lips, and he liked the man's initiative just as much. Bard kissed him eagerly, but Sebastian held some, if little, concern for his health so he put a slow stop to the kiss, pulling away to look at him.
"You could not do it all by yourself," Bard blurted out, then tried to scratch the back of his neck but cried out at the pain of the movement.
Sebastian held onto him as his face screwed up, then as his features relaxed.
"No, mayhaps I could not," Sebastian smiled. He could indeed, but for some reason he felt the need to affirm the other man.
Bard smiled a little and turned back to the sink.
"W-what happened to uh, M-m-mey-Rin?" He asked after some time of silence.
Sebastian heaved a sigh under his breath before leaning against the sink by the man's hip. It took a moment, but Bard looked up to see his eyes. Bard look sad and a mite scared. Sebastian decided to be gentle about the matter.
"The master has decided that the constabulary shall determine her sentence, and I have left coin for her to be taken care of." That was not why he had left it, but Bard seemed to need assurance.
Surely enough, Bard slumped in apparent relief and a single tear tracked its way down from his eye. Sebastian didn't exactly know what to do, as he felt his anger towards the woman well up again.
"Thank you," Bard was looking at him, with a genuine smile on his face. His teeth were straight and white and a little dimple appeared in one cheek.
Sebastian smiled back and turned towards Bard's closet. He found an old shirt and tore it into strips. He tied them together and brought the linen out to the blonde. Bard watching him with an eyebrow quirked before he muttered an 'ah' of understanding. Sebastian finished tying the sling around the neck he had just been kissing and then he arranged the American's arm into the loose folds.
Bard smiled again, then turned to his work, his arm resting comfortably now.
The two continued that way for the entirety of the afternoon and most of the evening, with Bard working slowly and Sebastian close by, in case he needed anything.
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