"Ich liebe dich, Ciel."

…

Here we are in what could be called the epitome of fucking awkward and not how I wanted this night to go.

"What?" Ciel mouths whilst I continue to prop up his ex, keeping my hand firm pressed against his shoulder.

Narrowing my eyes, they lower to his crotch and then back up to his face. Ciel shakes his head with a frown, blinking back at me curiously. Furrowing my brow, I jerk my head downwards to direct his attention to his undone zipper. Come on Ciel, take the hint already.

Finny preoccupies himself by continuing to count the amount of drinks he's had on his fingers. Ciel finally follows my gaze down only to see his open zip with a bit of fabric from his navy blue boxers sticking out. He sucks in a sharp breath after registering what he's looking at and in one fluid swift motion, Ciel pulls the zipper up and adjusts his shirt over it. He checks Finny again to see if he noticed anything but he didn't. Although, even if he did, the kid is blitzed, there's not a snowball's chance in hell he'd remember anyway.

Leaning Finny alongside the bookcase, he braces against the wood panel. Feeling satisfied he'll hold, at least for now, I leave him and head towards the couch, massaging my temples with each step. I'm tired, this kid and the night have started to exhaust me. I need to sit down and drown this night in whisky, although from what I've gathered earlier, there probably isn't a drop to drink here.

"Why were you drinking?" Ciel asks, looking over his shoulder at me flopping down behind him.

"I went out with some co-workers," Finny sighs his reply and rubs his face with the back of his hand.

"How much have you had?"

Finny stares at his hands again. "F-four or five, I think, I'm not sure."

"Finnian," he shakes his head in disappointment.

"That doesn't seem like too much," I say aloud, more to myself than the room.

"It is if you don't drink," Ciel responds under his breath. "Why'd you drink so much?"

Finny shrugs. "They kept buying me drinks," he pauses for a moment letting his face fall. "They wanted to cheer me up because I was sad."

"I guess that's my fault," Ciel admits on a soft exhale.

"It's no one's fault, Ciel. It's just how it is." Finny looks down at his feet and then back up to us with a broad grin. "Anyway, am I interrupting something? Are you having a party?" He giggles. No seriously, is this kid for real?

"No, there's no party," Ciel answers.

"I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?"

"Well-" I begin, crossing my arms and pressing my shoulders against the backrest.

"No, of course not," Ciel interjects, cutting me off and shooting me a filthy look. I don't know what he's mad about, I wasn't going to say anything untoward. Well, I wasn't planning to anyway.

"That's good," Finnian nods, feebly pushing himself away from the bookcase.

"What are you doing here?" Ciel asks, trailing behind him.

"I came to see you," he responds.

"You said but why?"

"I missed you," he hiccups. Ciel's eye shoots back over to me and he instantly frowns upon seeing my amused grin.

This is awkward but it's not without hilarity and charm. Your drunken ex pays you a visit as you're in the middle of being blown by some bloke you just met earlier this week. I don't know much about Ciel, but I know this is not how he normally behaves. I suppose this explains the overall innocence of Finnian's questions, he would never expect such behaviour from Ciel.

"You, uh, you missed me?" Ciel repeats with slight surprise.

"I missed you," Finnian reiterates with a nod. He rests himself against the bookshelf again, probably finding the small bit of exertion much.

"He missed you, isn't that sweet?" I muse with a sarcastic smile. Yes, I'm well aware I'm being a dick but my ability to maintain good gentlemanly behaviour is starting to wear thin.

"You had to be drunk to see me?" Ciel ignores my snide comment.

Finny's head turns to Ciel as his lips curl into a small smile. Hands grip the edge on the side of the bookcase allowing him to try once more to find his footing and make his way over to us. This kid does not look good. His face is pale and he's holding the air in his lungs as he staggers and sways his way from the bookcase. My money is on him losing the contents of his stomach all over the posh Persian area rug, probably procured from a Sotheby's auction to add insult to injury.

Taking a few hesitant steps towards Ciel, who hasn't moved from the middle of the room, Finny makes it over to him. A big smile streaks across his face, completely pleased by the fact he's made it that far.

"Ciel," he begins just before his knees buckle, sending him crashing down to the floor.

"Finny, are you okay?" Ciel rushes over to him and I join him, bending over and slipping my hands under Finny's arms to lift him back up to his feet.

"Mate, are you all right?" I check, keeping him upright and steady.

"I am tickity boo," he snickers in amusement, tittering on until he turns to face me. After studying my face for a moment, his brow scrunches into a stern scowl. "Who are you?"

"Sebastian, Ciel's friend." I reiterate.

"Sebastian, Ciel's friend," he repeats to himself and then snorts. "But Ciel doesn't have any friends."

"Ta very much," I catch Ciel grumble under his breath.

"Come on; let's get you to the couch," I propose, putting his arm over my shoulder to drag him towards the couch. "He needs to sober up," I surmise, dropping him. Finny falls over face down and then erupts into a fit of muffled laughter.

"How do we do that?" Ciel wonders.

"Do you have any coffee?"

"Ciel doesn't drink coffee, only tea." Finny mumbles into the seat cushion.

"I'm learning so much about you tonight," I chuckle.

"Aside from coffee what else can we do?" Ciel offers, rolling his eye and my remark.

"Let's get him some water," I suggest, it's the best thing for him anyway.

"I'll get a glass; can you watch him?"

"Worry not, he'll be fine," I nod. Ciel hesitates for a moment; his eye darts to Finny still lying flat on the cushion and then back to me. "What? You don't trust me?"

"No, it's not that," he attempts to justify his reluctance. Taking a seat on the armrest and folding my arms across my chest with an arch in my brow, I observe Ciel fidget his way out of this. "Fine," he begrudgingly agrees.

After a heavy sigh and muttering something I couldn't catch under his breath, Ciel strops off into the kitchen leaving Finny and I uncomfortably alone. Glancing over, I see him staring at me with a broad grin plastered on his face. Why is this kid so damn smiley? I've been three sheets to the wind before but I don't remember being cheerful about it, in fact quite the opposite.

"So," I begin, not knowing what I'm about to say but hoping my mouth will lead me in a direction my mind can follow.

"Who are you again?" He interrupts me with a hiccup.

"Sebastian," I reply.

"I remember now," he nods, trying to recall out initial introduction and each subsequent one. Deciding to give up remembering me in any detail, Finny shakes his head and holds out his arms only to start flailing them around. "Bollocks," he grunts, trying to levitate upright.

Making another attempt to sit up, he kicks his legs out for leverage, hitting me square in the chest. For a scrap of a lad, he's got a powerful kick.

"Do you need some help?" I gasp, completely winded and pounding my fist against my chest.

"Please," he flaps his hands out for me to take. Clearing my throat to stable my breathing, I reach over and pull him up. Finny positions himself on the couch, placing his feet on the floor and scooting closer to me. He stays like this for a second just before toppling over. I grab his arm to pull him back to me. "How do you know Ciel?" He questions me with a hazy-eyed grin.

"I don't really. He came to my show this evening with his mate, Alois." I answer truthfully. Well I've never been one to lie and it is what happened.

"Alois! I miss him," he enthuses, slapping me on the back. The blow is so hard it nearly launches me off the armrest. I guess Ciel got the friends in the break up. "What sort of show?" Finny interrupts my thoughts.

"I'm in a band."

"Oh, well that sounds like fun," he grins.

"It can be," I shrug.

Going quiet, Finny closes his eyes and sways from side to side before humming a familiar Top 40s track from a boy band, something you'd hear oozing out of the speakers at some shit club in Soho.

"Can you sing?" he asks, turning to me.

"I can," I nod.

"Ciel can't sing, he's pretty tone deaf," Finny giggles. "He doesn't like a lot of music either, just classical."

"I heard he plays the violin?"

He hums. "He's so good at it. He used to play for me sometimes."

"Did he play professionally?"

"Nah, Ciel hates being on stage. You should have seen him when he tried to act, hi-larious!" He laughs. "We did Hamlet in school once and they gave the lead to Ciel who slaughtered it."

"Oh dear," I chuckle, my mind races trying to envision my miserablist on stage.

I suppose at the end of the day, as pissed conversations go, this isn't so bad. The kid seems pleasant enough. I can see why Ciel would go for someone like him; it's like a counter balance yin and yang thing. A chirpy bright and shiny ray of sun verses, well, a miserablist.

This intrigues me.

I know opposites attract but they seem like such polar opposites I can't imagine what they would ever have in common. I'm not sure Ciel has anything in common with me either but I was hoping to find out. In fact, I want to know more about him. Finny seems like a free spirit, Ciel seems to enjoy order and for everything to be clean. Clean lines, organised shelves with hardly anything on them, hell, even the books were alphabetized by titles.

What does he like? What puts a smile on that poker face of his? It's been a long while since someone has interested me so much. It isn't just the curiosity of what he'd be like in bed, although, I admit it's how I got here. Since meeting Ciel earlier this week, I couldn't wait to get my hands on him. Now I want to finish what we've started, especially since we were so close.

Settle down Michaelis, how about we get the mind out of the gutter when sitting next to the ex. Not to mention, Ciel seems like trouble. Not just any type of trouble, he's the trouble akin to the high proof Moonshine Bard brought back from his last visit to Tennessee. Sure, it's smooth going down but it burns like fuck coming back up.

"Hey, can I tell you something?" Finny asks, breaking the silence.

"Sure."

"I came here to get Ciel back," Finny admits with a twinge of sadness in his voice.

"Okay," is all I could utter. For the first time in a very long while, I'm speechless.

"That's so clichéd it's painful," he groans, taking no notice of my sudden silence. "I had to get squiffy to come here and tell him that, I don't know what I'm doing." He pauses to look at me. "Do you think… you think he'll take me back?"

Aw shit kid, I was just starting to like you. Finny stares at me with bright wide eyes waiting for a response but I don't know what to say. I'm pretty sure Ciel would take him back in a heartbeat but that's not conducive to my end goal. I'm in a dilemma here, as much as I wouldn't want to stand in the way of these two being happy together, I also am a selfish bastard. Sorry kid, cut your losses and go home. Then again, there's nothing worse than thinking you're someone's second choice, which I probably would be at this moment in time.

"I'm sure you left him for a good reason," yes, that seems like an appropriate response, in a hedging my bets kind of way.

"I did but I can't stay away from him."

"Why?"

"Because I love him. You know what that's like?"

Actually, I don't. I've never been one to love anything other than music, it just doesn't appeal to me. People get together; they part and in this case get blattered and fail to make good decisions, like come over to the exes flat in the middle of the night in a state.

Finny stares at me hard, narrowing his eyes in order to give him a better read of my quiet.

"Is he okay?" Ciel asks from behind, handing the glass to me.

"He's fine," I say, taking the glass. Ciel's eye stays on Finny who's currently trying to burp either God Save the Queen or the alphabet, maybe both. "He did share some things about you," I grin and his jaw drops. "Is it true you played Hamlet in a school play?"

"Oh God," he cringes. "It wasn't my choice, I assure you."

"He was pretty bad," Finny adds. Letting out an amused chuckle at Finny's remark, I turn to him and press the glass into both of his hands.

"Here mate, drink this," I nudge the glass to his lips.

"I wasn't that bad," Ciel defends but it only makes us both smile.

"No, he really wasn't all that bad," Finny agrees into the glass before taking a sip of water.

"Oh?" I smile.

Gulping down another mouthful of water, he shakes his head.

"No, there were moments where," he stops, thinking for a moment. Rolling his eyes to Ciel with a faint smile creeping onto his lips, he regards him. "There were moments where you couldn't take your eyes from him."

I can't help but follow his gaze and nod. There is something about Ciel, which is quite captivating. It's in the way he stands, resting his weight on his hip. The ever present dissatisfied pout on his lips and his overall haughty demeanour. I've just met him but I know when he smiles, it's rare and when he does, it's special.

"I think I understand what you mean," I agree as I continue to study him. Damn it, why am I always drawn to trouble? I need to learn from my mistakes.

Looking back at me, Ciel snorts with a frown to dismiss my comment but then he looks away. I definitely need to learn, however, as I catch the slightest of rouge on his cheeks, I realise he's a mistake I'm ready make and I mentally plan on picking up some antacid from the shop on the way home.

With a weary nod, Finny finishes the water and hands the empty glass back to me. We remain quiet for a moment, there is nothing further to add to the conversation and strangely, the silence isn't uncomfortable. However, the peace didn't last long, Finny jolts to his feet whilst covering his mouth.

"I'm going to be sick!" He declares before darting down the hall to the bathroom. Ciel looks at me imploringly and I shrug.

"Look, I'll help sober him up but I draw the line at holding your ex's hair back," I quip with a grin. Ciel's mouth drops open to reply with what I can only imagine to be an equally snarky retort but he's quickly hushed by the slam of a door.

"He's in the bathroom," he comments, coming over to me.

Ciel sits down at the other end of the couch, resting his side against the armrest. Rubbing his forehead with his fingers, he doesn't look at me, choosing to keep his gaze on the floor.

"Does he normally get like this?" I wonder, rolling the empty glass between the palms of my hands. Staying mute, Ciel responds with a little shake of his head. "I wonder what's made him do it tonight."

"I'm wondering the same thing," he sighs, still not bothering to throw a glance in my direction. "This isn't like him, Finny never drinks."

"At all?"

"No."

"Now I really want to know."

"This isn't funny Sebastian," he huffs.

"I didn't say it was," I reply flatly.

"You know you can go now; I can handle things from here." He says, flopping back on the couch. Grabbing a throw pillow, he holds it against his chest burying his face into it.

"Actually, I'm staying."

Ciel's head snaps up and to me. "Pardon?"

"You're probably going to need help with him, he seems like a handful." I try to reason.

Ciel's face softens and his shoulders slump, letting the tension ease.

"No, that's all right, I'm just going to get him into bed and let him sleep it off."

"And then?"

"What do you mean?"

"After you get him into bed, what will you do?" I clarify.

"I'll probably go to sleep too."

"With him?"

"What are you insinuating?" He snaps, dropping the pillow to the side.

I smirk. "I suppose it's my turn to be jealous."

"Do you think I'm going to take advantage of him in this state?"

"Or he'll take advantage of you."

"Finny isn't like that, besides, what business is it of yours what we do?"

"In my experience, when alcohol is involved, it's easier to fall back into familiar habits."

"I don't like where this conversation is going."

"I just want to remind you that he left you, not the other way around."

"Are you trying to annoy me?" he spits.

"Not at all but let me ask, if he told you he wanted to get back together, would you?"

"I don't know," he answers honestly and I feel like it actually is the truth. "I don't think he'll want me back."

"Why not?"

"He left me for a reason and those reasons are still reasons, I haven't changed."

Humming with a nod, I cross my arms and lean back against the edge of the couch. A calm quiet falls over the room and we strangely relax into it. I know the truth but it's not my place to say it, besides, if we can get Finny to bed then maybe he'll think differently in the sober hours of the morning.

"Ciel?" A weak Finny calls out from the hall. Neither of us heard the bathroom door open again but we wait for Finny to make an appearance. The kid must be struggling; he emits a dull whimper followed by a thud against the wall.

"I'd better help him," Ciel sighs, tossing the pillow aside and standing to his feet. He quickly scurries towards the hallway with me in tow. Seeing how skilfully Ciel scaled a gate earlier this evening, there is no way he'll be able to carry Finny. Once we get there, we see him bracing himself against the wall, holding on for dear life.

"Do you feel better?" I chuckle.

"I feel empty," Finny responds with a little nod.

"Yeah, that happens," I smile. Standing next to him with a slight bend at my knee, I grab his arm and sling it over my shoulder to hold him up. This is becoming a habit and not one I wish to continue. Letting out a soft moan, Finny squeezes his arm around my neck, taking with it all the blood supply I had going to my head. How's this kid so damn strong? "Which way is the bedroom?" I manage to choke out.

"A little further down the hall and to the right," Ciel instructs with a sharp motion of his head.

I'm pretty sure this isn't the rock star lifestyle Bard bangs on about. Dragging a half-cocked kid down the hall towards what I'm now realising is Ciel's bedroom. Passing the threshold, I don't even bother to take in my surroundings, I just slug along to the bed. Slipping Finny from my shoulders, he inelegantly falls back onto the mattress like a lifeless doll.

"I guess that's good enough," Ciel shrugs, staring at the motionless body sprawled out. "He doesn't look like he's breathing," he whispers, leaning in for a better look.

"I'm sure he's just asleep," I dismiss. My job here is done and I think it's time to call it a night. My shoulders ache, I'm tired and ready to leave.

"How do you know?" Ciel stops me.

"Do you seriously think he's dead?"

"It happens; can't you get alcohol poisoning?"

"I don't think that's the case here," I reason with as much calm as I can muster.

"Are you a doctor now?" Ciel snorts with a scowl.

"You don't know what your friend does?" Finny mutters into the blanket as he starts to stir. "He's in a band," he adds just before rolling over onto his back and covering his face with his forearm.

"Are you all right?" I ask and see his head shift as he nods under his arm.

"It's bright in here," he groans.

Going to the bedside table, Ciel turns on the lamp and I switch off the main lights.

"Better?" I ask.

"Yes, thank you," he replies. Dropping his arm to his side, he manages to open his eyes a little. They flutter with heavy lids until finally settling to close again. We both watch his chest rises and falls with each weighty breath he takes. Perhaps he's finally starting to fall asleep?

"Ciel," he mumbles. "Ich bin für mein Verhalten leid. Bitte sei nicht böse."

"Finny, you know I don't speak German, what did-"

"Don't worry about it, Ciel isn't mad at all so just get some rest," I interject in my most polite German. So, Finny speaks German when he's drunk, well this kid is certainly interesting. Ciel looks at me with a creased brow in bewilderment.

"Ich liebe dich, Ciel," Finny finishes on a yawn before finally succumbing to sleep. Ciel blinks slowly, staying mute. Even if he didn't speak German, it's hard not to know what that meant. His eye travels over to me but I head off anything he could say.

"Come on, let's get his shoes off and get him into bed," I suggest and Ciel agrees with a simple nod.

We both make quick work of taking off his shoes and draping the duvet over him. Standing upright, I arch my back out to stretch, feeling my spine pop back into place. Running his hands through his hair, Ciel glances over at me.

"Thank you for your help, Sebastian," he grumbles more to the floor than to me.

"Not a problem," I smile. I suppose I should go and make my way back to the club. In my haste to follow Ciel, I left everything there and I'm sure William is lurking around waiting for my return.

"It's getting late."

"Yeah," I agree, heading towards the door and into the hall.

"You, um, you can stay here if you'd like?" He offers. Well that was unexpected.

"I can if that's what you'd like?" I grin. His cheeks burn a bright red and he covers it up with a sharp trot past me and into another room. I trail behind him, standing behind as he stops in the middle of the room. My hands ghost down the sides of his arms but he side steps my advances.

"You can sleep here, there's an en suite just there with towels and everything if you need to freshen up or whatever."

"All right but won't you join me? A shower is much better when there's someone else to apply the soap." Well you can't blame a guy for trying.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he dismisses with a near bolt for the door. "Have a good night, Sebastian," he wishes before closing the door behind him, leaving me completely alone in the dark.

"Good night," I reply.

I'm not sure what I'm still doing here, he could have let me go and it would have been the end of this sorry night but instead, he's let me stay. I guess I could always go, there's nothing actually keeping me here. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my mobile, squinting to look at the bright screen. It's three thirty-seven in the morning and an unsurprisingly large amount of texts. One from Bard letting me know he's packed up my stuff, I can get it from him later, and the other forty-nine messages are from William. I guess I'll stay here after all, he'll only come looking for me at my flat and if I'm not there, he can't find. At least he stopped before reaching fifty, I guess that would be too many.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I amble over to the bed, unbuttoning my shirt as I go along. Ciel must be conflicted or maybe it's just guilt. His ex is in the next room and he interrupted me having my wicked way with Ciel. Ah, my familiar friend, trouble. I must have subscribed for it because it's always here.

"Sebastian?" A whisper comes from the other side of the door. Before I could answer, the knob turns and the light floods in, blinding my eyes before the door shuts, covering the room in darkness once more. "Um, I meant to say there's shampoo in the shower," Ciel informs me. He doesn't come over to me; he just stands by the door. With each soft, measured step, I move closer to him, hearing his breath stutter the nearer I get.

"Is that all?" I inquire, feeling my chest rumble with a growl.

"No, well yes, I just thought you should know."

I'm in front of him now, the heat of his body radiates onto my bare skin.

"That's a pretty flimsy excuse," I chuckle.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need a reason to be in here, just admit you want me and we'll go from there."

"It wasn't an excuse," he huffs attempting to convince me but of course, I don't believe him. I'm close to him now, the fabric of his shirt brushes against my chest. Reaching out, I feel his arms in the dark, grabbing his wrists and pulling his whole body on mine. He takes over, slipping his hands under my unbuttoned shirt and spreading his fingers across my bare back.

Using my weight, I push into him, slamming him against the door, and pinning him. I breathe out into his ear, giving his hips a firm squeeze, making him whine softly.

"You want me?" I ask, keeping my voice firm.

"Yes," he answers me in a hoarse breath.

"Good."

My lips trail down from his ear to his neck, licking his salty skin along the way.

It's not the kiss itself, the mere act of lips touching another pair of lips, that's far too simple. It's the feeling that washes over me, the nervous anticipation which turns into assured greed. The need to taste, to suck, and then devour him. I can feel his pulse quicken and how it beats a rhythm into my chest. The pop of our lips as they separate only to join again. His skin is flushed and fiery under my fingers but I can burn back. Plump soft lips swell as I playfully nibble at them whenever he parts them to whimper into my mouth.

Everything about him is demanding, from how he eagerly consumes each kiss to his nails digging into my back, pulling me onto to him. It's as if we both would parish if the slightest gap were to be found between us. I lean into him, taking all he has to offer. My hand moves from the curve of his hip to the top of his thigh and then further still. He's so hard against me I start to salivate, desperate to taste him again, to finish what we started earlier but before I can drag him down to the floor, Ciel stops me, turning his head to the side.

"Sebastian, I can't," he says suddenly, his voice is panting and low but he's resolute. "Finnian's in - I can't."

"I understand."

He rests his head on my chest, shaking to catch his breath. Nails release my skin as fingers trail down my spine only to leave me completely.

"This was a mistake," he adds on a heavy sigh. I want to say something, do something but before I could think of what, Ciel pushes me away. With a quick turn of the knob, the door cracks open flooding the room with light once more. I don't see him leave but I know he's gone with the click of the door shutting.

And with that, he leaves me, standing alone and in the dark.