Ciel paced within his study. Sebastian went into London earlier to gather information on their latest case. It had been about seven hours now since his departure. They both agreed last night, when they received the letter that Sebastian would use today to gather information to be ahead of the Midford's. It was their goal to wrap the case by the end of the week. Ciel had faith that his butler would turn up information much quicker on this case than he had been on their personal one. It typically took Sebastian a few hours to a day to gather information and intel on a case from the queen. Of course, he had no idea the speed Elizabeth's help were capable of, as he had never seen them on a case before. Whatever they were, he was sure that Sebastian would be faster.


After a few hours Sebastian managed to learn the location of the main group's center of operations. Right now, he was staring though a skylight from the roof of an abandoned warehouse by the local pier. Most of the windows were boarded up, the only light inside came from the skylights and the lantern on the card table a group of six surrounded. He narrowed in his sight to see what was on the table. He saw a younger man dealing out cards to his associates the center of the table and the second square table next to them was littered with files and papers with red markings and notes. The game continued for another half hour until another lackey ran into the room and motioned for everyone to follow him.

Sebastian waited for a moment and then opened the skylight, dropping gracefully into the warehouse. He rushed over to the files and began to read them. His attention snapped up to the door as a male laughed.

"Sweetheart, you shouldn't be here at night… it's dangerous."

There was silence for a minute, and then the man began to laugh.

"Not much of a talker, ey missy?"

More silence. Sebastian rummaged through the files, before finally deciding to just take them all. No one would notice them gone if they were all dead anyway.

"What the hell?!" A man grunted.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows as he listened in, it seemed the girl was taking care of them. He chuckled to himself as he heard their bodies hit the ground. It seemed they were still breathing.

'What a shame… she must have only been knocking them out.'

"Ya bitch!" Yet another man yelled, Sebastian heard the man rush her.

The door was busted down, a blonde hooded woman ran into the room, she then proceeded to throw a chair at her pursuer. The man drew a gun and aimed, Sebastian's eyes widened as the woman looked at him. Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Sebastian?" Aeria's voice called out, extremely confused.

Sebastian was gone in the blink of an eye. Aeria flinched in fear as the man pulled the trigger. She braced herself for impact, but the bullet never hit her.

"What the hell?!" The man yelped as Sebastian stood in front of him.

"It seems that your hand slipped. Do make sure it never happens again."

Sebastian's voice grew lower and more dangerous as the sentence finished. He them jammed the bullet back into the barrel of the pistol. He couldn't kill the man in front of Aeria, no matter how much he wanted to. The man stumbled back in fear, then turned and fled the warehouse. Taking a deep breath, Sebastian turned and faced the wide-eyed girl. As Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off.

"Well… are you just going to let him escape?" She asked, rather boldly, as she crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow up at him.

Sebastian blinked in shock at her tone. "Excuse me?"

She gave a short genuine laugh at the look on his face, never had she seen him bewildered before.

"You are a Phantomhive butler, correct? Is it not safe to assume you would destroy those who wish your home and allegiance harm?"

Raising her right hand from her side she threw a folder at him, which he expertly caught. There was no surprise on her end from his quick movement.

"Phantomhive's were next on his list. I was hoping to take care of them tonight and send them into Scotland yard… but it seems Lord Ciel obviously has other plans."

Sebastian paused for a minute, before bowing.

"I will return momentarily."

He was gone in a flash. He knew he did not need to hide so much from her from now on. He knew she assumed he was not human at this point. Even with her gone during the fight much earlier in the manor, he could tell she was suspicious. He quickly approached the man who dared to fire a bullet at the strange servant girl. The man turned and looked at Sebastian, fear overwhelming his expression.

"What are you?"

"I do not believe that is any of your concern." Sebastian's eyes at him and begun to glow a slight magenta.

The sight easily caused the man to back up further, until his feet hit the front of a pole at the docks. The pole of the dock separated the man from the cold dark water he almost fell into.

"W-What do you want to know? I'll tells ya anythin'!" His accent came through as he panicked.

"You were ready to strike the Phantomhive estate tonight, is that correct?"

The man nodded eagerly.

"Who was your next target?"

"The Midford's. We were going to strike both of them tonight. The carriages should be scouting them right about now."

Sebastian held the man up by his collar. "When were you planning to strike next?"

The man sputtered his reply, trying to get air. "Two months. Lie low. Evan's Estate."

Sebastian stared into the man's eyes, his irises glowing bright. "How many of you are in this? How many total members and locations?"

"Fifty-seven. Docks every Wednesday. P-Please don't kill me."

"Just this location? You wouldn't be lying to me now, would you?"

The man's face lost even more color as a malicious smile appeared on Sebastian's face. His fangs were now exposed.

"N-No, sir."

Deep laughter echoed from his throat as the man addressed him so formally.

"Humans switch their loyalty so easily when their lives are threatened."

And with that, Sebastian ripped the man's head from his body. Blood rained onto the water and dock, no one would suspect it to be human blood among all the fish entrails and pieces littering the dock. When the body was mutilated further to resemble nothing but a pile of guts, he threw it into the bay. He breathed heavily as his blood lust was satisfied. Quickly he gave himself a once-over to make sure his suit was still intact and perfect. One more moment passed as he centered himself, once satisfied he turned on his heels and made his way back into the warehouse. He leaned against the opening of the door as he stared at the cloaked girl shuffling through the files he left on the table. Her brows scrunched with concentration, and her left hand drumming her fingers against the padded table. He continued to observe her. A black dress covered her body, with black lace sleeves and black high heeled boots over black stockings. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail now, strands falling in her vision before she huffed them away with her breath. The dress stopped at her knees, quite the statement even for a recon mission. The bodice was form-fitting, in a very pleasing way he had to add. The skirt flared out under the hips for help with movement if he had to guess. The crimson ribbon holding her hair up was slowly coming undone. He sighed as he advanced towards her quietly.


Aeria's form went rigid as she felt the ribbon pulled from her hair, and hands combing the tangled mess. She could hear a deep chuckle emanate from behind her as the hands continued to work.

"Are Midford servants not trained properly with ribbons?" She could feel the grin in his mocking voice.

She paused a moment before replying, her body still tense with slight shock. He could have been a gunman for all she knew. She relaxed soon after hearing his voice, but she did not relax entirely. She did not know a lot about this man, and he puzzled her.

"I assure you I have been capable with ribbons thus far."

Her words were carefully selected.

"Why do you treat me as you treat strangers?"

His question was quite random. Aeria raised her eyebrows in confusion as her hands rested above the documents below. He must have felt her pause.

"We are similar in status and mission, are we not?"

The ribbon was securely fastened, but she could still feel him slowly running his hands through the ends of her hair. Her pulse quickened for a moment; she felt like she should be on edge, she did not understand entirely what was happening.

"…Yes… I suppose so."

Slowly his hands fell from her hair, returning from wherever they originated. There was another pause of silence, she took the opportunity to bring up another, less confusing, subject. Quickly she scooped a file into her hands and turned to face him, but not meeting his eyes. Nervousness coursed through her, as though she were a young school girl being scorned by her teacher.

"It seems as though they were going to attack Evan's Estate in two-or-so months." She buried her eyes into the text, examining their infiltration plans. Attempting to memorize any similar plans between this document and the others.

'There has to be something similar. Are any codenames stationed at similar places? Who do they send in to scout areas? How do they conduct their scouting's, and at what time? Which weapons and styles of fighting do they prefer? I need to learn all of this if I am to successfully lead a surprise attack against them, or to possibly ambush them in one of their heists.'

Her mind worked the sheet and plans over, and over. Her mind conjured as many possibilities as it could. Weaknesses. Strengths. Best order of line and attack. Suddenly the papers were taken out of her hands, and the man in front of her began to scan them. His reading speed was impressive, he obviously had high comprehension skills. She took a minute to observe the mysterious man in front of her. His black hair fell into his sight. His wine-red eyes were breathtaking no doubt. His skin was flawless, strong jaw and cheek bones, he was most likely built with very toned muscle.

'He is handsome, I'll give him that. I bet he has women swoon all over him. I wonder how he deals with that, it would be annoying beyond belief to me at least. I wonder if any men swoon from him, seeing his reaction would be amusing.'

She continued her silent study of his features until he looked up. His gaze met hers, and a wolfish grin fashioned his face.

"Studying something as well, are you?" His voice was slightly husky as he confronted her.

Aeria's face flushed bright red as she took the papers from his hands, spun around, and slapped them onto the table once more.

"Observations do the mind well. Knowing your surroundings is important. Especially if you happen to be in a dangerous warehouse with an unfamiliar man."

She felt his presence behind her draw closer. Suddenly memories came back to her. The kitchen encounter previously. The feeling of him so close, his breathing on her neck. Their shared dance at the ball at the Midford estate. Being so near to him yet again. There were also the concerning memories. How he clutched that chair so tight in the kitchen, seeming like he simultaneously saw a ghost and was holding himself back from something. His smooth words, his prideful ego, his mystery. The feeling in her gut that she sometimes feared when he was around, the way he could easily distract her, confuse her, allure her. She shook her head, making sure she stayed focused on herself and the distance between them. Something was happening, she wasn't sure what his plans were, but they were concerning. Quickly she turned, he obviously did not expect it as they were now face-to-face. Their noses an inch apart. His wide eyes staring into hers.

Her heart began to pound erratically, he was so close. His breath collided with hers.

'Why is the room so warm?'

She slowly took a step back, her backside colliding with the card table. The rebound shoved her against his chest. He quickly reached his arms out to steady her. Shocks flew up her arms, as if she was struck by a mild lightning.

'So…close…'

Her breath hitched as he slowly trailed his hands from her shoulders to her elbows, to her wrists. He gazed down at her with a hazed expression. His hands reached to hers, fingers intertwining, sending her heartrate into a frenzy.

'W-What is happening?!'

He grinned wolfishly yet again at her.

"Sebastian?" Her voice was very timid.

His forehead was now against hers, his eyes boring into her eyes and possibly soul. She blinked and broke eye contact, averting her attention to the ground and tilting her head down. She froze as his left hand broke hold and caressed her cheek. It slowly trailed down to her chin, and pulled her face up, restoring eye contact.

"…Wh…"

She never claimed to be eloquent with words. He closed his eyes as a soft laughter erupted from him.

"You never fail to amuse me, Aeria."

Her eyes widened yet again. He raised his eyebrows in question once he opened his eyes.

"…That's the first time you've said my name…"

He clicked his tongue in thought. "I suppose so."

The momentary pause snapped her out of her fog. She quickly broke his hold of her hand and cheek, stepping to the side and then back from him, facing his side.

"You… I… What do you want from me?"

"…What do I want from you?" He repeated her question slowly as he faced her.

She nodded, clutching the hand he had been holding to her chest. Their stare was intense. His eyes never leaving hers. She glanced around the room, and turned her back to him.

"I'm just as confused as you are." He admitted after a minute.

She turned slightly to look at him over her shoulder. "What?"

He took a step closer to her.

"I'm not sure what I want from you. I want to know more about you, that much is clear to me. You intrigue me, Aeria. You did promise me once before that we would get to know each other, did you not? I believe you are as curious about me as I am about you."

She shook her head from the daze of her words and continued to the door.

"Yes. I do want to know more about you. I admire your skills as head butler of the Phantomhive's"

Her hand was resting on the door frame of the entrance.

"I wish to learn from you honestly, I wish to improve myself for the benefit of the Midford's. I owe my life to them, and they deserve the best that I could ever offer-"

He cut her off. "Then allow me to teach you."

She turned to him, surprised at his words. He closed the gap between them in a flash, and carefully placed his hand over hers.

"Allow me to teach you everything."

His eyes bore into hers with intensity she had never seen. Her face flushed from his words, he was so adamant. His speed impressed her, his speech impressed her, his perfection impressed her. One question came to mind, and it left her lips before her brain could hold it back.

"You're not human… are you." The comment was a mixture of a question and a statement.

He was taken aback. His eyes held surprise, then curiosity, and then determination.

"No, I'm not."

He leaned closer to her, towering over her. A sign of dominance she could easily recognize now that she could categorize more primal actions into his everyday mannerisms.

"And neither are you."


(A/N)

Hello everyone! I am so sorry I did not update in such a long time! I had a lot of work to do in May, finals too. There's a lot going on right now. I still want to get updates out once a week though, and I just started a new story based on a dream I had about the Labyrinth. So check that out if you're interested. I think I might be shortening each chapter in order to upload faster. I just had a summer job interview today and I will probably be starting my job next week. I'll most likely be working 30-40 hour a week (hopefully, I have an apartment to pay for at college in August) and I also have a job where I work 8:30-5pm on Tuesdays. I'll try to update as much as I can from now on, and will update the summary of my stories if I have to put it on hiatus for a month or two due to work or school work. I WILL finish all of my stories, so don't worry about coming back to it in 2019 or something and see I haven't updated it in 3 years. So find solace in knowing one day (hopefully within the year) that this story will be in the completed filter here. Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it! Fanfiction is such a good way for me to be creative and be inspired for my other fully independent stories. I'm actually working on a real novel on the side of this, hopefully that will be done within a few years or soon after I graduate college. Anyways, I'm rambling now, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! It means a lot and helps me improve my confidence in my writing! Good night!

-21:27 05/15/17-