I'm so so so so sorry for the long wait! My old Laptop crashed and I only recently got a new one, please don't hate me! I had to redo the whole chapter since I lost it.
Sebastian held up the nearly two year old edition of 'Time' magazine, pretending to read some silly article or other. He had spent the last hour or so looking at the first page, yet if you asked him what the first word was he'd have no clue. In reality his eyes were glued to the smaller boy's face. Young Ciel Phantomhive laid upon an infirmary bed, underweight and suffering from a severe lack of sleep, though it seemed to be a normal malady from someone who would not eat or sleep, Sebastian was not convinced it was entirely human. For Ciel to grow so depressed due to his absence that he literally stopped eating and taking care of himself did not fit with the young boy's persona at all. He was self reliant, even the death of his loved ones had not toppled him, so why had this? Sebastian had not left his side in the near two hours they'd been there, only moving to grab the magazine when it became obvious the nurse was becoming uncomfortable with Sebastian simply staring at the boy on the bed. He contemplated what might truly be wrong with the small boy, shifting his legs every so often.
He had to constantly remind himself to fidget the way a human would, though his natural inclination was sit still as stone. Normally he carried on the simple charade easily, to the point where he often got restless sitting completely and perfectly still, yet the situation at hand had left him emotionally exhausted, so much so that any semblance of human flaw left the immortal being, leaving behind the creature that can only be described as ethereal. His eyes grew a deeper red, not quite their demonic shine but deep enough to be jarringly surreal. He sensed eyes upon him once more and flipped the page arbitrarily, letting out a false yawn. He looked up at the clock, until he realized the hands were not even moving. The clock was broken and hung from the wall without reason. Sebastian waited until the Nurse turned back to her work before laying his head down on Ciel's bed. He didn't need sleep, but sleep was nice. He was terribly worried yet getting no where in his train of thought, perhaps a nap might do him good...
Sebastian awoke to the feeling off a blanket being placed on his shoulders nearly half an hour later. He pretended to remain asleep but shifted slightly the way a human might.
Nearly two hours later the dark haired man lifted his head to look at the young boy. The nurse had left an hour ago, a hastily scribbled note on the door about a family emergency and the next nurse coming in at 3 pm, it was 10:30 am right now so Sebastian figured he'd have at least four hours of time alone with Ciel even if the other nurse came in a little early. He stood up now, examining the small blue haired male closely. He was looking a bit better than when he'd come staggering out of his dorm, but the boy still looked terrible. Sebastian frowned deeply, this was far too much damage for something as human as mere depression, in such a short time frame especially. When Sebastian looked closely at Ciel's once shiny blue hair, he could see that it wasn't just ragged, it looked almost… sickly and discolored. The silky strands now felt course like thistle and dry like brush. His skin, once soft as down feathers and porcelain, was now unhealthy and felt like hardened leather. All at once he understood exactly what happened when he looked at his Little One's eyes, there the seal that bound him to Sebastian glowed faintly, even beneath the pale lavender skin of his eyelid. Sebastian fell to his knees devastated and utterly ashamed of his own actions. That kiss… that kiss had been given and received with love, regardless of what happened afterwards, that kiss had so strengthened their soul bond to the point where his Little One's soul had begun to prepare to undergo the rite of mating with Sebastian and become immortal, once his soul entered that phase, it became vulnerable and weak. Sebastian's absence made his soul sick and weary, coupled with his insomnia Ciel's condition deteriorated very rapidly. It was all his fault, he'd been too hasty in everything; too hasty in his displays of affection, too hasty in leaving his Little One, he was to blame for all this suffering his intended had gone through, and it made him sick to his stomach.
The demon rose to his feet shakily, his goal was made clear to him; he would make sure Ciel recovered and lived a long and happy life. Though now instead of three choices, he was left with two paths: mate with Ciel in this lifetime, or perform the Circee spell; both before a year was up. If he mated Ciel, his Little One's soul would strengthen and become immortal, if he did the Circee spell, his Little One's soul would heal slowly and return to normal, binding with whoever he married. However, if he did not do either before the year was up, Ciel's weakened soul would wither and die. His body would finish its lifetime on earth, but he would never be reborn.
Sebastian laid a hand on Ciel's forehead and made a solem vow to do whatever it took to make him happy, forever. He couldn't leave now, to leave even for a few minutes, would be detrimental to Ciel's health. At least until the boy was more recovered. He pulled out his cellphone and sent a quick text to Claude to bring an extra pair of his clothes and an extra pair of Ciel's. Since the seperation had been rather short, Sebastian hoped Ciel would awaken sooner rather than later.