Time is Running Out
It had been a long day with the events that happened earlier and after tea, Ciel had arranged for a new window to be fitted in Nate's room. Nate had decided to go for a lie down after the workers had packed up and left; this giving Ciel his own time to do as he pleased during the time Nate was resting. Sneaking out of Nate's room, attempting to be quiet, he tripped on the coat-stand and knocked it over.
Ciel thought he was fast enough to catch both stand and coat but on the angle he held the cloth, cutlery used from last night poured out of the pocket and made a large bang on the floor. Cringing at the noise, he quickly turned to check on Nate. Relief washed over him when he saw that he was still asleep. After quickly swiping up the cutlery, Ciel found it ridiculously odd that he'd have pocket-fulls of Sebastian's signature weapon.
Wanting to question his friend, Ciel decided on leaving him asleep for now and thinking it best he take his leave sooner rather than later, afraid he'd cause more of a raucous trying to be quiet.
He'd soon walked the short distance to where he first met Nate and took a seat on the bench, looking out at the setting sun; watching it fall and the colour of the sky explode into a mixture of oranges, pinks and purples along the horizon. It really was a beautiful scene, much like a painting come to life! The gentle evening breeze grazed over Ciel's porcelain skin, pricking at it ever so lightly.
Ciel could hardly explain how he felt at this moment, what with his memories of his old–human–life as the Earl of Phantomhive clawing through the depths of his mind, along with the stress and everything new about being a demon dawning on him. He thought he'd feel frustrated or even angry while his mind was working away, thinking about the past and present aspects of his current lifestyle, but he wasn't. The wash of colours against the sky that was slowly fading to a midnight blue seemed to calm him.
Ciel simply felt serene.
Looking up and sighing as his dainty fingers picked at a flower from a tree above, "I've no idea what I'm doing," a dark desire to crush the innocent flower in his hand, and although he didn't physically make a move to, the flower started to dry, curling up and eventually dying in his palm. Dropping it to the floor, his mind absent of any thought, and looking back out to the city that was starting to come to life in the darkening sky, "You've known that all along, haven't you, Sebastian?"
"Yes," a cutting truth to his words in the hollow silence. It was as if gravity had suddenly become apparent and pushed down on Ciel with all its might. Sebastian placed his gloved hands over his Master's shoulders, reassuring his presence was very truly there.
Relaxing after the initial shock of getting an honest response, Ciel remained facing away from his butler, but after a lengthy silence between them he had to ask the question nagging at the back of his mind.
"Why were you in Nate's room?"
"I was getting bored," Sebastian answered nonchalantly.
Cocking an eyebrow with an expression of disbelief, "So, it was you who broke the window?"
"More or less."
Ciel hummed to himself, thinking the answer over. The sun's rays were nearly completely invisible now, hidden behind the glowing city. The air had chilled some before Sebastian had opened up his hand and held it out before Ciel. The ex-Earl furrowed his brows, looking between his butlers palm and face. Sebastian looked relatively more distant than he normally did. He had something on his mind, something he was thinking about deep and hard.
"My pin," was all that he said in the quietness. Ciel opened his mouth slightly, understanding why his hand was there now. The younger demon slowly removed the pin and handed it back to Sebastian.
Ciel noticed he was back in his butler attire, the outfit he'd given him when he'd first decided he was to be his butler. Tearing his eyes away from watching Sebastian replace the pin on the breast pocket of his coat, he couldn't help but notice a flash of light stream up to the sky and then slowly dissipate. Another moment passed before it exploded silently in a burst of spectrum infested lights. It almost looked as if rainbow-inspired stars were being pierced to the sheet of the night sky, but they then fell gently down.
"Fireworks," Ciel stated without realising he was now on the edge of his seat, sitting forward eagerly to capture the show as clearly as he could.
"My Lord," Sebastian asked quietly, still looking past everything, " is there anything you wish to tell me?"
Confused, yet curious, "Excuse me?"
"You'd tell me if there was anything wrong, wouldn't you?" Sebastian was now facing his Lord completely, all attention focused on the boy. "If you needed my help, you would call out for me, would you not?"
Thinking the question over, Ciel answered accordingly, "Last time I tried, you did not answer."
"You did not need me then. Though, Biass does not treat you very kindly," Sebastian stated. "Why do you not call for me in those times?"
"Because I know he cannot harm me, and even if he could, Nate wouldn't."
"You sound so sure–"
"As do you," Ciel turned the argument back onto his butler. "Why are you so doubtful of Nate's sincerity?"
"You are not as close to him as you should be," Sebastian looked Ciel down; his stare was eerily dark, as if it could bring nightmares to reality. Slowly, Sebastian reached out and held his Master's hand, analysing the intricate design of the human-turned-demon's contract design.
"Our bond was much greater, thus it was placed upon your eye–the very window to your soul–whereas your contract was placed at one of the furthest points from your contractor's eye. You are not at all close to Nate, and it concerns me. I am still your butler and demon. Even though you are contracted to another, I am still bound to you. I am to look after you in ways which are connected to our agreement, but also do not interfere with your current contract."
Being reminded of Nate's contract, Ciel asked about it. "Nate's contract is no longer on his ankle. It is mid-way up his torso now, I believe. Do you know anything about that?"
Silence at first, then Sebastian changed his expression to something thoughtful. It surprised Ciel that he had to think about it, then again, it didn't sound as if it were a usual thing either when he put it into words and spoke it out loud.
"It is strange and unheard of, but then again, so is a human becoming a demon," Sebastian smiled at Ciel, pinching his cheek, "perhaps it's because you are still a human at heart, no matter how demonic you appear and try to act, you will always have been and lived as a human first. Nothing regarding my world will be easily perceivable in your eyes. So, I suppose the contract may correspond to your emotions–even after the contract has been formed and you may, well and truly, manage to get your mark to rest over his eye if you work at your bond some more."
Sebastian could not lie to Ciel, so he must have been speaking the truth or something which he truly believed to be the truth, himself. It did sound rather far-fetched, but then again, so did turning into a demon. What did catch Ciel's attention though; was the fact that Sebastian made it sound as if his and Nate's bond was actually strengthening when, if Ciel thought about it, seemed quite the contrary.
Neither of them spoke after that. They just sat back and watched the fireworks together for a while. It was sightly, something Ciel knew Lizzy would have adored. Lizzy. He did miss her and, even though he would never admit it openly, he did also miss his ex-servants, Meirin, Finny, Bardroy and Tanaka and his old friends Lau and his consort Ran-Mao–even that darned annoying Indian, Prince Soma and Agni, he missed.
"Have you seen any of the others since?" Ciel asked, watching the sky fill with colour once again the green brightly reflecting over both butler and Master's skin.
"Strange that you ask that. I did check on your old home just the other day, before I met you at the Eiffel Tower."
"And?"
"It was exactly as you'd left it," Sebastian assured him. "I sneaked inside and found everything you left to still be in its rightful place, it was only slightly dusty, but relatively clean all over and surprisingly, all four of your ex-servants are still there." A solemn look, "They miss you, my Lord."
Ciel took a choppy breath, letting his demon's words sink in. They, too, missed him? It was a surprise to actually hear it spoken out loud. Ciel would have thought they'd have gotten over him and sold his old home and moved on, taking whatever money and treasures they could with them to start anew.
"Come back with me," Sebastian suddenly asked. "Forget your contract, forget Nate! I will aid your pain from the hunger to the best of my knowledge and we can forget all this. I can make everything the way it used to be–"
"Are you insane? What on earth has gotten into you?" not needing or wanting Sebastian to actually answer, he continued before the demon had a chance to. "I can't leave Nate; I won't let another contract I've involved myself in go uncompleted. I'm sorry ours didn't work out the way you planned, but I can't just leave Nate halfway. I have to complete it."
"I understand," Sebastian slowly straightened up; standing and taking an awkward look out to the city lights that were brimming with colour. His sudden pained look and tense aura concerned Ciel as he watched him scratch the back of his neck awkwardly. "I apologise for my sudden outburst, it was quite disgraceful of me."
The fireworks made the city look as if it were involved in some kind of rainbow storm. The bursts of colour was like lightning, the boom from the exploding sound echoed afterwards, much like thunder, and the burning flames of fireworks that fell downwards, melting into the background was a lot like the rain.
The essence of it gave Sebastian the oddest appearance. He looked almost happy from the bright red, pink and yellow that sparkled against his face and mingled against the threads of his suit. But once the green and blue fireworks shot up against the monochromatic white light shining and the black of his suit and hair, he appeared expressionless. Uncomfortable, in a way.
"I should be getting back to Nate," Ciel mentioned. "Even though I can feel him, I can't sense when he needs me, like you are able to with me. So, I've no idea if he's awake or not and wanting me back. Better to be safe than sorry, wouldn't you agree?"
"I suppose," Sebastian chuckled and helped his Master up, brushing off his clothes, "then again, I arrive right on the dot whenever you actually needed my help."
Ciel had taken Sebastian's carefree advice and took a slight detour, walking by the hotel Sebastian had abandoned him at a few years back and then to the Eiffel Tower, gazing up at it. He once again thought about the fight he had had with the Queen and how he'd called Sebastian off from killing her. He knew it was a bad decision, but it was the right thing to do at the time, in his mind.
Sighing and finally making his way back to Nate's home, Ciel walked through the door. It was completely dark inside. Nate must still be resting. He closed and locked the front door and made his way to Nate's room, knocking lightly and then opening the door. Nate was fast asleep, twisted around his blanket and laying in a position that appeared to be most uncomfortable and unsightly. Crossing his arms, Ciel leant against the door frame and stared at the male for a while before deciding that waking up to dinner might help Nate's condition–even if it were just emotional-wise.
Dropping his arms and quietly leaving his contractors room, Ciel wandered into the lounge, sighing as he picked up the shirt Nate had left folded on the armrest. After putting it in the laundry and searching the kitchen, Ciel managed to find a cookbook, albeit very dusty and appearing untouched. He flipped through the pages carefully, not wanting to disturb the dust, until he found a simple, yet tasteful recipe that didn't look too hard to make or find ingredients for.
How wrong Ciel was.
Stirring from his relaxed position because of the scents, good and bad, drifting into his room, Nate pulled himself from the comfortable bed and trudged toward the kitchen. Whispered curses and hushed gasps of pain from the pot spitting at Ciel could be heard from the short distance. Wrapping his head around the corner to peek in, Nate witnessed Ciel frantically trying to cook what appeared to be soup of some kind...
Nate chuckled a little and decided to give him a hand.
Sitting parallel to one another at the table, Nate spoke between bites. "You know, it's not as bad as it looks–"
Ciel interrupted, looking grim, "Yes it is."
"Yeah, I know," Nate shrugged. "I was just trying to make you feel a little better."
Nate looked to the side, watching Ciel's expression turn sour, while he discreetly spat the distasteful vegetable-turned-ash into a crisp and unused napkin. He picked up a spotless glass and tilted it, gesturing for Ciel to pour him a drink. Sighing exasperatedly, though only because he was upset with himself and his inability to cook, he got up and grabbed the bottle firmly, pouring a reasonable amount and then waiting to see his reaction.
Nate smelt the liquid, swirling it in the glass before bringing it to his lips. His face was already showing signs of dissatisfaction, though he tasted it anyway in an attempt to show Ciel that he could perhaps do one thing right, even if it weren't entirely to his liking. Holding back a disgusted mien, he attempted to just smile as a response to Ciel's hopeful look. Though his smile was awkward and he knew even trying to lie to Ciel would be pointless.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Ciel slammed the bottle back down as he sat, shattering it completely though not a single shard left its original shape.
Nate placed his glass down and inspected the bottle in its current state, admiring how Ciel had just defied all human laws concerning gravity and logic. "Culinary arts are clearly not your thing," Nate chuckled. He gently pushed at the bottle, his nail tipping it just enough to allow the bottle to break into its individual pieces. The wine followed suit, spilling everywhere possible, "and you're pretty much useless as a servant, really."
Ciel grit his teeth, having to hold himself back from yelling the obvious at Nate. Instead, the young demon kept quiet, screaming all the insults and swears he could imagine or string together in his mind. Ciel thought of how Sebastian did everything so perfectly and without even breaking a sweat. No matter what task he was assigned, it was always completed to his liking.
As if Nate had read his mind, "Sebastian makes it all look so easy, I bet."
"You don't say?" Crossing his arms and focusing in on a trail where the wine was dripping off the tablecloth and onto the floorboards. "If I could be just a fraction like him, then completing your goal would be a hell of a lot sooner and done much more smoothly."
Reaching out and patting the side of Ciel's upper-thigh while Ciel stared at the glowing of his baby-blue coloured contract on the side of Nate's neck. Nate comfortingly rubbed back and forth softly. "Well, you're not 'Sebastian the butler' and no matter how much or how hard you try, you never will be."
Rolling his eyes and speaking as sarcastically as he could, "Wow, thanks for the encouragement–"
"You really don't get it, do you? Why would someone like you want to be someone like him?" Ciel thought about all the amazing things Sebastian could do and was about to answer with one of them when Nate interrupted him first. "You're perfect just the way you are and, just so you don't get confused any longer, it's okay if you're a lousy servant–" Ciel was going to object but managed to hold his tongue, "–I never asked for one of those, did I, mon ami?"
Ruffling Ciel's hair now that he wasn't as upset, Nate stood with his plate, smiling widely with closed eyes. After taking a step, he suddenly dropped his plate. Ciel jumped up to look at what had happened, only to then hear a louder crashing sound fall around him. The young demon quickly turned back to the table to see everything that was upon it, now smashed on the floor around his feet.
"What the–"
"Well, I'm pretty worn," he feigned a yawn and stretched, "you don't mind taking care of this mess while I bathe, do you?"
"What?"
"Thanks, mon ami," Nate winked as he left to retreat to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him with enough power to cause the painting hung on the same wall to fall off and smash from the impact. "Don't forget to get that too!"
Infuriated, Ciel spun back to the table; fists clenched and pounded both on the top. The release of anger was a relief, but the feeling of the drenched cloth sticking to his leg wasn't helping his mood. Growling lightly, he grabbed the cloth and was about to throw it across the room when he stopped himself and looked down, seeing that it was tucked in his pocket. His mouth parted as he tried to remember how it got there.
"I didn't here a 'Yes, my friend', Ciel!" Nate called over the running water, the amused smug tone thickly embedded in his voice.
Ciel remembered when Nate pat his leg, finding that it was an odd feeling and gathering that that was when Nate had stuffed the cloth in his pocket. No one else could have done it other than one of them and Ciel knew that he sure as hell didn't stuff it in his own pocket!
Oh, Nate, how I truly detest you! Ciel thought as he walked over towards the wall, crouching and picking up the largest shard of glass from the ruined picture frame. He had thought about all the possible ways he could harm Nate at this moment. Slitting his throat or any major artery, drowning him, he could even beat him to death and hope he dies of internal haemorrhaging!
"Yes, my friend," Ciel responded rudely. Whispering, "If Sebastian was here, I'd take him up on that offer to go back home. To move back to London with him as my demon butler and I, his Master... and for me to be human again–no matter how impossible that may be!"
Just as Ciel went to open the bathroom door, the familiar call of his butler echoed from round the front door, "Young Master?" Stepping back and dropping the bloodied glass from his hand, Ciel was about to go to his demon, when he thought for a moment.
"What is he doing yelling so loud? Did he hear me before?" Ciel questioned himself. "Why is he even here? Nate's so close, he would hear us talking if he gets any closer. Does he plan on showing himself to Nate or... No."
Looking between the front door where his butler's voice was coming and the door where Nate was behind, Ciel's face hardened as he ignored Sebastian's second call and forcefully pushed open the bathroom door.
A sudden bang and everything went black.
