Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful day.

Sebastian was off, gliding down numerous dark alleys before making an escape through a lot, filled with abandoned and run down houses. He ran through the piled up dirt mounds and hopped over numerous slabs of piled up wood, the only remains of the living quarters that had been demolished and burnt to a crisp. He finally found himself off of the lot and heading towards a darkened, lush forest. His feet brushed over numerous bushes and shrubs, snapping twigs and hearing the crackling of small pebbles scraping against one another beneath his agile running shoes.

The air was cooler and more clean out in the woods and there was a thick layer of fog spread out between the tall pine, cedar and spruce trees. His face was pale underneath the bright moonlight shining through the spread out branches towering over him. Sebastian's breathing remained calm and his lungs weren't strained a bit. He approached a small stream that cut through the woods and pounced over it with ease.

After a few minutes of running through the progressively thickening woods he eventually approached a clearing. He stopped and remained hidden behind the ancient trees, blending in with the darkness. In the cleared out area deep within the woods was a spacious and well built cabin. The lights inside were lit and there was a small trail of smoke swirling around into the air from out of the chimney.

Sebastian watched for any kind of movement from inside of the house from his position behind the tree and waited patiently for a figure to move past one of the windows. Eventually he saw a figure stumble past the open window, along with an extra body tumbling behind it.

"Fuck." Sebastian's eyes narrowed as he watched the male wobble around after the woman leading him into what he assumed was the bedroom of the cabin. He contemplated for a moment and crouched down to the ground and pressed back against the tree. He pulled out a throw-away phone and quickly dialed a number he had memorized earlier that day. The ringing only lasted a few seconds and a coarse voice answered.

"Hello?"

"It's me. We have a little problem."

"You called me this late to tell me you have a goddam problem? I'm paying you to do your fucking job now get it done." Sebastian heard the call end and gritted his teeth. He redialed the number and listened as it took the man longer to pick up this time.

"What?"

"Don't ever hang up on me again, it irritates me. You didn't tell me your wife would be entertaining someone tonight." The man scoffed on the other side of the phone.

"You think I give a shit? Do whatever needs to be done about it. I don't care. Now stop calling me." Sebastian growled and snapped back at the man.

"I'm not going to kill innocent people who just walk into you and your wives fucked up relationship. You want something done about this, find someone else." Sebastian was about to hang up when he heard the man start to laugh.

"What's so funny?" His weight shifted onto his left foot as he peeked around the side of the tree to make sure he was still hidden well and undetected.

"Go ahead and quit. Less I have to pay for someone to get the job done. I would be a little bit worried about that little beauty you keep around though if you didn't go through with this for me. I have men less than ten minutes away from that little apartment he's shacked up in. It'd be a shame to see something happen to such a lovely boy." Sebastian's heart began to race and his eyes narrowed in anger.

His grip on the tiny, cheap phone was growing stronger as he became more furious. He threw the phone against a nearby tree and watched it shatter into numerous pieces. He stood up quickly and trudged towards the cabin with hate fueling him. The thought of anyone hurting Ciel caused his emotions to spin out of control, driving him insane. His blood was boiling and he kicked open the front door to the cabin. His cover was no doubt blown but he didn't care. There was no one around for miles to come to the rescue.

He strode through the house and straight for the back of the wooden cabin. He heard someone approaching the door and pressed himself up against the wall beside the door frame. As the man's body emerged he waited until he was a few feet in front of him. With one swift, fluid motion he pulled out a knife and struck the man in the back of the head knocking him out and sending him falling face first onto the floor. He stepped into the room and watched as the woman rummaged nervously through a bedside drawer and pulled out a gun. Her flimsy silk lingerie was hanging loosely away from her body and the whole room reeked of alcohol. She turned around and held it out in front of her with shaky hands.

"What are you going to do with that?" Sebastian's eyes narrowed and he stepped closer towards the woman. She looked scared beyond belief and shook her head when Sebastian leapt forward and knocked the gun out of her hand.

"Please don't hurt me. I'll do anything you want!" She sounded frantic and her voice was as shaky as the rest of her body. She fell to her knees and sobbed like a child. Sebastian sighed and looked around the room. He noticed a small golden cross dangling from her bare neck and pulled out his own gun. He reached down and yanked the flimsy gold chain off from around her neck and stood back.

"I'm begging you, please. I have a family. My husband needs me!" Sebastian shook his head and sighed quietly.

"Your husband is the reason I'm here right now." The woman's eyes widened and she shook her head violently, trying to make sense of what Sebastian had just told her.

With one more loud plea from the woman kneeling in front of him, Sebastian's gun went off and the woman slouched to the side. He watched as her blood began to pool beneath her sandy blonde hair. He sighed walked out of the room, momentarily stopping to watch the man lying face down in the carpet's upper torso rise and fall slowly, ensuring he was well alive and safe. He walked out of the wooden cottage like house and approached the rim of the numerous trees secluding the wooden building from the rest of civilization. Stuffing the chain into his pocket he ran back into the woods without looking back at the cabin with the two bodies lying inside.

It wasn't long before Sebastian was deep within the woods once more. He was running much faster now than he had been on his way into the forest. He wanted to get back to the city to make sure that Ciel was unharmed. He stopped momentarily as he approached the small stream once again and knelt down in front of it. He stared at his pale reflection in the darkness of the woods and saw a small scrape on his cheek with a tiny trail of blood running down the side of his face. He dipped his hands into the cold water and washed away the drying blood and ran a wet hand through his hair.

"I wonder what it is he sees in me." Sebastian's body slouched forward a bit and he held himself up with his hands. He stared at his reflection again and couldn't help but hate what he saw. He saw a monster in the body of a man. Someone who took the lives of people who were for the most part, innocent. Just victims, caught up with the wrong people and caught doing the wrong things.

Most people would divorce their wife for cheating and stealing from them, not hire a hitman to blow them off the face of the Earth. He shook his head and heard a crackling coming from his right side and he hopped up onto his feet, drawing his knife out and holding it at his side by the blade. His eyes scanned the thick layer of darkness surrounding him and he waited for anything to catch his attention. The crackling got louder and Sebastian prepared himself for whatever it was that was approaching him.

Two deer ran past him and jumped over the stream of water, not paying any attention to Sebastian. He sighed in relief and slid his knife back into its hilt. He glanced up at the moon through the small opening in the tree tops and took in the beauty of his surroundings. His hands made their way into his pockets and he felt the small gold metal cross against his fingertips. His eyes widened as he was brought back to reality quickly.

He took off running, jumping over the water and pouncing through the trees until he was back at the clearing of demolished houses. The only thing he could think about was getting back to Ciel who should still be curled up in his bed sleeping soundly. He thought about what the man had said on the phone earlier and his heart began to beat franticly. He had never been so angry before in his life. There would be consequences for anyone who ever threatened him or Ciel again.

It wasn't long before Sebastian returned to the right part of the city and was climbing the staircase at an intense but quiet pace. He slid into the house quickly and silently made his way across the room and up to Ciel's bedroom door. He peeked inside and slipped into the small opening and wasted no time closing it back up. His shirt was stripped off before even entering the bathroom and his shoes as well. He unzipped his bag as quietly as he possibly could and tossed all of his potentially dirtied garments into it before zipping it back up.

Sebastian stood in front of the mirror clad only in his boxers and decided to stay fairly exposed. He washed his hands under the cold water from the sink and ran his wet fingers through his hair once again. After drying his hands he sprayed a light fragrance onto his bare chest and neck to override any scent that might have clung to him while he was out that night.

He slid over to the empty side of the bed and quietly lowered himself down onto the mattress, causing the cushioning to dip low on his side. Ciel's body fell towards Sebastian and he heard the boy stir in his sleep. He held still and waited for the younger man to settle back into a comfortable place. Once he stopped moving around and had adjusted the blanket, Sebastian lifted his feet up and balanced himself out on the bed, sliding up closer to Ciel's backside.

He stared at the back of the boy's head for a moment before the tiny body rolled over and nuzzled right up to his naked chest. With his dark lashed eyes still closed Ciel let out a quiet groan and curled up like a cat against Sebastian.

"Where'd you go?" Ciel's voice was raspy and laced with exhaustion. Sebastian could tell he had just woken up. He smiled and draped an arm over the boy's frail waist, pulling him closer. It was reassuring to be in bed with him again, knowing he was unharmed and hardly suspicious.

"I just needed some air, go back to sleep." Ciel groaned in agreement and soon his light breathing was audible and Sebastian could feel his chest rising and falling against his own. He kissed the pale forehead mere inches away from him and rubbed Ciel's small back soothingly.

Ciel had no idea what had happened that night and he wasn't going to find out, Sebastian would make sure of it. He would lie before he ever admitted to Ciel what his job was. Not for the sake of staying with the boy or maintaining his trust, but so that he would keep Ciel and Alois safe. The less they knew what went on in his life the better. It pained Sebastian to think that he would have to lie to Ciel and keep such a secret from him but he knew that it was what he had to do to keep the one being on the planet he cared most about safe.

With a final glance at the body lying curled up in front of him, drenched in a shadowy, pale moon light, Sebastian found himself drifting off to a relieved, deep and comfortable sleep.