In daylight, the mortician's was possibly less intimidating, but it still seemed like a very bad place to bring the body of a loved one. The thought of having to bring Ciel to a place like this if he didn't find him fast gave him the strength to go inside.
A bell didn't signal when the door was opened; instead, a bone clacked against the frame. There was a loud, constant sort of thumping in the ceiling, and Sebastian was not convinced that he didn't see mold growing in the corners of it. Sebastian caught a glimpse of long, blood-red hair and almost walked right back out. Too late, unfortunately, and the other man was already cooing.
Professor Grell Sutcliffe, perhaps the university's most dramatic professor, had been lounging on the counter, jumping down when he saw Sebastian, his far more professional coworker.
"Sebastiaaan, imagine seeing you here!..Erh, what on earth are you doing here?"
Professor Michaelis deftly sidestepped his coworker's attempt to hug him.
"I could ask you the same thing, but for the sake of time, I won't. I'm looking for a boy with gray hair and an eyepatch. I mean, not just any gray-haired boy with an eyepatch, a specific one."
"Oooh, Sebastian! I had no idea you were so...naughty..." Grell lowered his eyes and purred, trying to stand on tiptoe and lean his chest against Sebastian's. He nearly fell over when Sebastian stepped back, and a third man Sebastian hadn't seen at first began to laugh, giggling childishly into his hand. It was very difficult to see him in the dim light, but it looked like he at least had hair as long as Grell's, though this man's was white, and scars were etched deep into his face. But, for as much as Sebastian could make out, it could've been paint.
"No, I'm not looking for him for that...you know who I'm talking about?"
"Of course, Bassy, he's my student too! And coworker, too, actually, how funny is that? Though he's with an appointment right now, so you'll have to wait, but-"
"-Grell, what are you saying? That you're a-a?"
"Of course, Sebastian, did you really not know? Goodness, and I didn't even try to hide that much!" Grell jumped back up onto the counter, deliberately allowing the shoulder of his jacket to fall.
How this man ever became a teacher, Sebastian couldn't fathom.
Upset, he was about to walk out when there was a loud scream from above them. Everyone froze, staring up at the part of the ceiling the sound had come from.
"Was that-"
"Yes."
"Is he-"
"Not sure." There was a loud thumping sort of sound, and Ciel cried out again. Sebastian twitched towards the door, but the third man threw his hand out to stop him.
"He's got something he's supposed to do if he's actually in trouble."
"Sounds like his appointment's just trying to get done before the hour." Grell speculated, glancing at the clock in the lightest corner of the store. There was a string of odd sounds, and then a sound very much like someone being hit with a book. Sebastian twitched towards the door again.
"I think you're correct. This one's pretty rough on him, isn't he?" The third man began to carelessly rearrange jars under the counter.
"He can take it." Grell responded confidently.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sebastian interjected, hushed by both of them. Ciel was crying out, but if he was trying to say something, it was hard to tell, and the thumping was louder and faster than ever, and a metallic grinding sound was growing just as quickly. Abruptly, it all stopped, and footsteps could be heard moving from where the crying had come from to where Sebastian remembered the bathroom being, and then down the stairs outside. A man in a very professional business suit, hardly wrinkled, came out and walked away as if he had only had coffee with a friend. Grell turned back to Sebastian, but he was already out of the shop and rushing up the stairs.
In retrospect, he maybe should've waited before throwing the door in with a cry. But he was worried, and he didn't tend to make the best decisions when he was concerned. Ciel was laying amidst the fluffy blankets of the still-shaking bed, staring up at the ceiling and struggling for breath. Even from where Sebastian was, he could see Ciel's child-sized chest heaving. He was staring up with a dazed sort of expression, his fists balled up in the comforter, and quietly asked,
"What did you forget?"
"To lock you into your room." Sebastian responded, crossing his arms. Ciel let out a surprised sound and cocooned himself within the blankets, trying to hide the painfully obvious facts that he was wearing the remains of his 'private school uniform'.
"What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?!" Sebastian cried out, stepping into the apartment.
"I had an appointment, clearly!"
"How did you even get here?! You're way too sick to be doing this!"
"I...I walked..."
"Jesus Christ, Ciel!" Sebastian went limp against the frame of the bedroom doorway. "How were you planning on getting back?!"
With a scowl, Ciel sat up and began to try fixing his clothes. He tried to smooth his hair down with a hand.
"I wasn't. Your house isn't my house, I have no right to be there."
"Yes, you do!" Sebastian cried, stepping into the room. Ciel kept his head down.
"Professor, really, I-"
"-oh, God, please don't call me professor ever again. It's really fine to call me Sebastian."
"Well, Sebastian, you shouldn't care about me, shouldn't worry. You don't need to get into this mess." He paused with a gasp, finding an especially painful bruise on his side as he tried to button his jacket. Sebastian knelt and grabbed Ciel's knees, pulling him to the edge of the bed with the intention to help him. Ciel grabbed Sebastian's shoulders and pushed away warily. His hand closed around something in his pocket.
"Oh come on now, I'm only trying to help you." They stared one another down, until Ciel submitted, lowering his eyes and resigning himself to doing what Sebastian said. Mouth a thin line, Sebastian was being very rough, pulling the sides of Ciel's jacket together with enough force to rip the buttons right off. Ciel recoiled, and Sebastian sighed out his anger, straightening Ciel's collar.
"What's the matter?"
"You...you're mad at me..."
"Of course I am, I'm worried about you! I care for you, I don't want you to have to do this sort of thing."
"I wish you wouldn't care about me...I'm not worth it, really. You'll only make things worse...for everyone...for your own good, too, I wish you would just stay out of it all..."
The entire time Ciel was talking, his voice got weaker and weaker, and he slumped forward against Sebastian, unconscious. Unfortunately, Sebastian would not follow Ciel's wish. He couldn't help that he cared about his student, and he couldn't help that he wanted Ciel to be much closer to him than just a student. He buckled Ciel's belt, not bothering to try tucking his shirt back in, and re-tied one of his shoes, fighting the urge to vomit at the sight of what looked like a bite on his ankle. He laid Ciel back down on the mattress, and just spent a moment enjoying how sweet he looked, eyebrow softer in his rest. Sebastian brushed a lock of hair away from his face, and had pulled a blanket over his small body when Grell came into the apartment.
"Wow, I'm impressed with you, Bassy. Just about anyone else would've ripped into him by now...or maybe you're more of the 'sleeping beauty' type?"
"For the love of God, Grell, I'm not here to hire a prostitute, I'm here because I want my student to stop being a prostitute!" He stood, unaware that Ciel had woken again. The student watched in silence as his two professors began to turn hostile. Grell's flirting eyes closed to something more threatening.
"Sebastian, I don't think you quite understand the-"
"-You had better damn well believe I understand the situation, Grell. His situation, at least."
"Ah, then you've seen the video?"
"I...no, I haven't seen any video, what are you talking about?"
Grell stiffened with a small "ghgk!".
"If you haven't seen that, how can you possibly understand what's going on?"
"Are you telling me you've seen the video he's being blackmailed with? Are you telling me you know which fraternity did this to him?!" In an instant, Sebastian's fists were full of Grell's coat, and Grell's shoulders were kissing the wall, rotted enough that they would leave marks.
"I swear to god, Grell, if you know who did this to him and haven't done anything about it, I'll-"
"-You'll do what? Huh? Do honestly think I'll tell you anything if I owe them too? Huh?" Grell's hand itched for his pocket; Sebastian stopped him before he could grab the knife that lived there. "Believe you me, I tried to do something about it. I was there when it happened, after all! I've been stuck seducing people they don't like for years, how else do you think I've kept this job?" Grell sneered.
Ciel murmured something that sounded like 'stop it' as he tried to stand and fainted again, collapsing onto the floor.
"What are you talking about?!"
"Those boys, if they've got someone they don't like, they send them to me. I get them dirty, I get pictures and evidence of them cheating with whoever they're with...with Ciel's help, I've managed to make them look like pedophiles, all so they have more blackmail material. In return, they give me material. Information. They help me keep both my jobs. We've gone through four headmasters in seven years, why do you think that is?" Slowly, Sebastian had let go of Grell, and his feet returned to the ground with a groan. The shorter man nursed his shoulder, glaring up at Sebastian through thick lenses. "They caught me in a spider's web with one of them a few years ago, playing my game back when it was just for fun, and threatened to have me fired. Who would care that the kid had hired a prostitute? All anyone would care about is the teacher who was the prostitute. Sebastian, this group has more power over the university than you understand, and I'm warning you now, for both your sake and little Ciel's. Stay out of it."
Grell glared at Sebastian, but he wasn't sure he believed his story. He was thoroughly convinced Grell would say whatever he wanted in order to keep Ciel to himself.
"I'm not going to stay out of it."
Grell sighed, looking past him and at Ciel, unconscious on the floor, the beginning of a bloody lip forming. "Look, Professor Sutcliffe, if I can get them for what they've done to Ciel, they'll leave you alone, too. There has to be some way you can help me."
He was considering, staring at the bed so much abuse had transpired on top of.
"Okay,"
He finally said.
"I can get you the video, but that's it. Leave your rear passenger car door unlocked on Monday when you go to class, park it outside the Psychology building. I can leave a flash drive in the rear cup holder. Don't you dare let me down. If you do, both Ciel and I could end up dead."
He said.
Sebastian nodded, backing into the bedroom. He untangled Ciel from the blankets and pulled him into his arms. Grell watched the ordeal with sorrow. "He's lucky he has someone who cares so much about him." Sebastian didn't answer, walking past his coworker. "Are you certain you'll actually be able to control yourself, watching that video? I must admit, I myself wanted to just take Ciel and do just about everything to him, no matter how awful they were."
"I'm not like you, Grell." Sebastian stepped through the door and began to descend the steps.
"I've wanted to take Ciel and do just about anything for him."
