My lovelies!
I know it's a few days early, but I figured that there was no real reason to wait and post this chapter on Tuesday. After all, it is Friday!
I just want to stop and take a moment to kinda just be amazed that we've come this far. I mean, I didn't really realize it, but this fic is over 100 thousand words. I've got 121 amazing followers, over 180 reviews, and I'm just really thankful. You guys are such a wonder and I'm incredibly grateful for all your support.
Anyway(: I hope you're all doing well, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Ta,
Majix
With the first stray rays of daylight, Sebastian slipped unseen from his Master's bedroom, eyes alert. The immortal would've been surprised had he discovered another wandering the corridors this early, but it was not unheard of.
In previous encounters Sebastian learned, with mild annoyance, that both Soma and Agni had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the right time.
However, luck remained on his side as Sebastian made his way to the kitchen undisturbed. The dark haired immortal dug in his pocket for the silver watch, clicking it open with a sigh. Normally the demon would've been waking the Earl with breakfast by now, but he hadn't been able to part from the sleeping boy.
Sunlight met his eyes long before it rose from the horizon, a clear sign of the time, and still he'd stayed.
Though he had no doubt of his Master's pleasure at the extra sleep, it still didn't sit right with the butler.
To taste the boy's body, that was one thing, something he could justify, but wanting to hold the teen close? Slipping in his duties as the Phantomhive butler to watch his ward dream? That was something else entirely.
Sebastian frowned, his mind barely paying attention to the actions of his body as the demon began the daily ritual of making breakfast. It was almost second nature to place the kettle on the stove, to lay out the silverware. It took no thought at all, but for Sebastian, it made the task of ignoring his discomfort all the more impossible.
"Mr. Sebastian!"
Agni's surprised exclamation brought the demon's attention into focus in an instant, the silver mixing bowl slipping from his fingers in an uncharacteristic show of startled surprise before the demon snapped to attention, catching it with ease before the cream hit the ground.
Dark eyes widened, "My apologies, Mr. Sebastian."
The immortal shook his head, smirking at the white haired man before returning to his previous task, whipping the whisk through the cream impossibly fast, "I bid you good morning as well, Agni."
A sincere smile crossed the dark skinned man's face as he approached the butler, picking up a knife and aiding the butler in his work, "It is good to see you, my friend."
Sebastian dipped his head in acknowledgment, "You as well."
Ancient eyes darted across his companions face, taking in the lingering look of surprise, "You appear shocked to see me. We sent word two days ago that we'd be arriving."
Agni frowned, "It hasn't arrived. Not that it matters."
For the first time since their greeting, the demon paused in his actions and turned his attention to the white haired butler, taking a moment to look at the man across from him. There was something different, something that hadn't been present during their last encounter. Dark eyes narrowed before lingering heavily on the younger man's throat. Fading splashes of color sat hidden among his skin, the briefest hint of saliva. They were new, no more than six hours old at the latest.
"You're his lover."
The steady rhythm of Agni's chopping faltered, the slightest tremble to his strokes as the white haired man continued, "Yes."
Like a breath of fresh air, information clicked into place and the demon could feel the sheer satisfaction as it settled, leaving no lose ends in its wake. There was always something missed, he wasn't omnipotent after all. From the moment he'd met the pair, there was something just the slightest bit off about them, and for the longest time, the demon hadn't been able to put his finger on it, even when the truth was staring him straight in the face.
Agni cast his a look from the corner of his eye, "I assumed you knew, all things considered."
Sebastian arched a single brow in question, "Pardon?"
The taller man turned to face him, a borderline confused frown drawing his features tight, "Yourself and Master Ciel are the same, are you not?"
For the second time that morning, Sebastian found himself momentarily startled as he took in the serious nature of his companion's voice, the confident undertone of his words.
Indifference darkened the butler's features, the defensive hackles of his inner beast raised angrily, "The young Master and I - "
A faint creak had the immortal tilting his head, listening for the young Master before quickly grabbing his pocket watch, looking to the time with a frustrated sigh. He was even more behind schedule than before, but as the demon looked back to the light haired butler, intent on finishing his statement, the words died on his lips.
The man before him stared into the demon's gaze with unflinching strength, daring him to lie, and for the first time in his immortal life, the demon found his silver tongue turned to lead, a heavy weight caught in his throat.
They looked to eachother, the tension thick and unyielding between them before Sebastian turned back to his previous task, working on the Earl's early morning breakfast with renewed vigor, "The young Master and I are running the risk of being quite late. We're here on business, and as the Phantomhive butler, I can't allow us to arrive a moment later than expected."
Sebastian turned, loading up the tray and filling the teapot with water before turning his attention to Agni, "Apologies."
The white haired man looked at him with mild disapproval but said nothing as the elder left, the swiftness of his footsteps carrying the demon faster than was probably necessary as he made his way back up to the boy's room. He was awake, tossing and turning within his bed, but he hadn't left the comforts of his blankets yet.
Typical for the blue haired teen.
Sebastian stilled outside the door, looking to the cart before pinching his nose in annoyance. He'd forgotten the scones. Irritation dug itself in deep but the immortal merely took a deep breath, closing his eyes and envisioning what he wanted, the words a bated whisper upon his lips. Magic briefly cackled in the air before disappearing without a trace, leaving only the scones that he'd originally left behind.
Such mistakes were below him, Sebastian was sure, but the weight of the other man's gaze had left the demon feeling cornered, knowing what to say but unable to make the words appear. Discomfort raged through the immortal. The idea that Agni would know about what'd occurred between himself and Ciel was unthinkable, but the conviction in his tone was unmistakable. The Prince's lover knew, and he'd all but dared the demon to lie about it, but what worse than that, was that he couldn't.
Homosexual relationships were wrong to mortals, left them as outcasts, but Sebastian wasn't ashamed in what he'd done and within face of confrontation, Sebastian couldn't bring himself to deny the fact that Ciel was his lover. If it'd been anybody else, Sebastian had no doubt that he could've slipped past the insinuation like a snake through oil, but Agni was different.
Agni knew better.
Experience found that, during the day, the wide expanse of tents surrounding the circus was an altogether difference scene than it was at night.
Performers and strange hands alike weaved alongside each other, individuals passing with softly spoken greetings and smiles filled with ease. It wasn't like the rush of the previous night. The bustle was controlled, calm where as it'd been abuzz with tense excitement the night before, but even so, Ciel stood uncomfortably next to his impossibly tall butler.
The clothes he'd been presented with were rough against his skin, and the blue haired teen constantly felt the desire to shift in place. It was heavy, constricting in all the wrong places, and yet, somehow it managed to appear loose, hanging shapelessly from the youth's body. His tall socks, along with the garters to hold them up, were nowhere to be found and the boy felt no shame in admitting his frustration over the fact that his ankles were cold and exposed. Flimsy trousers hugged his hips, covering more of his legs than the teen was used to but they were still to short, stopping in the middle of his shins, leaving his slightly to large shoes on display.
Of course, it was expected that each case required a different sort of armor to fight behind, but to the Earl, the garments felt tacky and all together wrong against his body. Especially considering the impeccably dressed demon that'd wandered off somewhere to his left.
"This is 'im, then?"
Ciel shifted his weight slightly back and forth as the inquisitive redhead looked him up and down before turning to the blonde knife thrower. A look of meaning was shared between them but the blue haired teen said nothing, waiting until the ring leader returned his attention to the youth in front of him.
"Well, ee's pretty small for a boy, ain't 'ee?"
Dagger laughed and elbowed the taller man beside him with a certain amount of familiar affection, a smile capturing the attention of his face, "If he actually is a boy! Are ya?"
The Earl clenched his jaw, the blatant jab at his height, the size of his body, and his gender making his pride itch, his fingers balling up into a fist as he sought to control the vicious remarks laying in wait just behind clenched teeth. A dark angry flush colored his cheeks, easily mistaken as embarrassment inflicted by their comments only adding to his persona of the shy and meek male before them.
Mismatched eyes sought out Sebastian, silently hoping that the man would have something to say in his defense but the butler said nothing, standing far to the side surrounded by at least six different women of varying ethnicities. They lingered at a barely respectful distance from the butler, practically wrapped around his figure and Ciel could do nothing more than grind his teeth, fighting against every instinct to lash out.
Jealousy was not an emotion that the Earl of Phantomhive was intimately acquainted with. It was not the norm for London's notorious Noble to covet the possessions of others, much less, the attention of his own servants. But as the blue haired teen stared at the scatter of harlots hanging on Sebastian's every move, he was unable to deny the scalding heat caused by the scaly green claws of the monster that'd currently found a place in his heart.
While he was pleased to note that Sebastian wasn't paying much attention to their blatant attempts at flirtation, it did little to diminish his sudden desire to send them on their way with the help of razor sharp words meant to inflict pain and nothing else.
The distinct sound of metal meeting metal drew the Earl's focus back to the two men in front of him, watching with weary eyes.
"Well? Are ye?"
Ciel nodded, "Aye. I was a paper carrier, my name is -" A moment of panic swam through the Earl's veins as he desperately sought out the name of somebody befitting his status only to come up momentarily short, "F-Finnian!"
Joker waved him off with a grin, giving a brief explanation of how he'd get his very own stage name if he passed before turning to Dagger, gesturing for the knives.
Ciel held out his hands, palms up and open, staring down at the throwing knives the blonde gracelessly dropped into his grasp, watching as the blonde pointed to a humanoid target on the other side of the field.
It was made of wood, simple enough as it wasn't a moving target, but Ciel stared at it with a certain amount of dismay. He was a decent shot when needed, but there was no possible way he'd be able to hit his mark. The knives weren't cheap by any means, but they weren't perfectly balanced either. The steel was heavy, the handle a bit on the lighter side, and with the low muscle mass of his arms, throwing them with enough strength to meet the wood surface, let alone his intended target, would be near impossible.
Frustration welled inside the teen as he cast a discrete look at the two circus performers from the corner of his eye, grinding his teeth as he took in the amusement on both their faces.
They knew he wouldn't be able to do it, and they'd still offered it to him as a challenge to prove his worth.
Ciel nervously looked to Sebastian, watching the butler eye him with detached interest. If he, as a human, knew that the knives wouldn't meet their mark, then Sebastian, as a demon, was sure to know as much without even having felt the unbalanced works of steel; the blue haired male only hoped that Sebastian had something hidden beneath his sleeves, otherwise the ruse would never work.
His uncovered eye returned its focus to the target, and the teen tried swallow the lump in his throat as he took hold of the first knife, pinching the blade's tip between his thumb and forefinger, correcting his stance as he prepared to throw it. He could feel the clammy state of his hands, a nervous tick that the Earl couldn't control even if he wanted to as he closed his eyes, breathing in deep and steadying the slight tremble of his arm.
Sebastian wouldn't allow him to fail, the butler wouldn't let the inconsiderate members of the troupe embarrass him in such a way. That much he knew to be true. All he had to do was trust that the demon knew what he was doing. Sebastian had never let him down, and as the teen straightened his spine, he knew that this time would be no different.
Ciel's eyes snapped open with a new found sense of determination and, without stopping to consider, he pulled his arm back and snapped it forward, releasing the blade at the peak of the movement, watching as it flew straight and true.
Numerous sets of eyes watched as the knife cut through the air but, with an uneasy drop of his stomach, the Earl caught sight of the blade losing altitude. Anger coiled hot and heavy in the teen's stomach, gaining weight like a lead ball as he watched the beginning failure of his endeavor before, without warning, the knife snapped to attention, burying itself in the wood center of the target.
Gasps rippled across the crowd, a sly grin capturing the teen's lips as he glanced over to Joker and his companion, the gobsmacked look of confused amazement stroking the Earl's momentarily wounded pride. Sebastian hadn't let him down, and even though the blue haired boy had no clue how the demon managed such a feat, he didn't question it.
What was there to question when magic was involved?
After the initial burst of joy as his doubts were demolished, Ciel threw the blades with ease, still maintaining his stance but throwing with much much less effort. Even when they would've been wildly off course, the demon managed to correct their path, each and every steel blade hitting home in the center of the bullseye to the surprise of the crowd.
Arrogance coated the Earl's movements as he approached the target, an amused smirk gracing his lips as he swept into a mock bow before gesturing to one of his supposed talents.
"Incredible!"
Ciel wanted to laugh in the face of their astonishment but by some miracle he managed to swallow the desire. Instead, he settled for a brief glance towards his demon, taking in the knowing smile he had perched on his lips as he clapped respectfully. It was a shared victory and both males seemed content to enjoy the silent acknowledgement of their secret before the teen was rudely ushered away towards his next task.
Terror. That was the only thing Ciel was capable of feeling as the woman in white wrapped the seemingly thin rope tighter around his waist before securing it with a complicated knot.
It engulfed his heart with merciless and unyielding familiarity as the scared teen looked across the way. They were at least fifty feet in the air, standing on one of two platforms connected by a length of faintly stretched rope that he was expected to balance on and walk across.
Desperate eyes sought out his butler, but the instant Ciel looked down, he regretted it. The height difference was like a punch to the gut, and in that moment the Earl felt more terrified than he could remember being in quite some time.
"Will you quit?"
The calm and steady voice behind him was enough to startle the teen out of his paralyzing fear, but it did little else to settle his nerves. She sounded inquisitive, genuinely curious about whether or not he'd find the courage to step foot on the tight rope. There was no sense of doubt behind her tone, no mocking, only curiosity.
"No."
He could feel her surprise without having turned to see it, but by that point, Ciel had already put her from his mind, staring intently at the rope in front of him with a newfound sense of determination.
The fall wouldn't kill him. The rope tied snug and tight around his waist made sure of that, providing the smallest flicker of comfort, but not much more than that. This entire endeavor was humiliating and Ciel knew that the ringleader was purposefully trying to goad him into giving up, but he wouldn't.
Sebastian wouldn't let him fall, wouldn't let him fail, just like he hadn't let him fail with the knives, and that alone was enough for Ciel.
With those last final steps of sure footing, the Earl of Phantomhive took a depth breath and steeled himself, pushing away the initial terror that threatened to make him out to be a coward as he held out his arms for balance and set foot on the rope, taking his first step away from the platform.
The stadium was silent, a breathless air of suspense stealing the very sound from its lungs as Ciel slowly took his second step, and his third.
The rope was uncomfortable, digging into the soft arch of his foot as the blue haired male continued on. It almost felt hot, burning with potential failure as he moved, the muscles in his thin legs threatening to cramp as the Earl was forced to pause and steady himself. He'd already taken a number of steps, but it didn't feel like he was getting any closer to the other side, only farther away from the safety of his starting place.
But it was to late to turn back, and even if he had the option, Ciel knew that he'd rather fall than turn back and admit defeat.
Well below the shaky teen, Sebastian stood tensely beside Joker, his eyes zeroed in on the blue haired youth, painfully aware of each and every step forward. He could feel the thickening waves of determination along side the seedy edges of fear that never entirely left the teen and although there was no real reason to worry, Sebastian was unable to relax.
He didn't like it, the sight of his boy on the tightrope, protected only by something as flimsy and breakable as rope.
It left an uneasy feeling in the pit of the demon's stomach, but he ignored it, directing his entire focus towards the teen as he wobbled his way across the rope one step at a time, his movements slowing as he neared the center.
Despite the fact that the tight rope was pulled taunt across the space between the platforms, the center still dipped under the boy's weight, providing an undesired curve in the rope's length.
Ciel could see it too, the slight incline directly in front of him. It was undesired and the younger man wanted to growl in frustration. His muscles burned, tense, forced to remain steady and precise as he moved, but the teen pushed on, taking the next step towards the other side.
The increased burn of the rope was unpleasant but Ciel smirked with accomplishment was he took the second step along the incline only to feel the rope give a slight roll beneath his foot. The movement was unexpected, and the teen could feel the exact moment the stance of his ankles shifted, throwing him off balance.
Fear raced through his being with unforgiving accuracy, clawing at him from the inside out as the boy flailed, his muscles jerking, desperately trying to compensate as his arms whipped from place to place as he swayed on the rope, his legs quivering, threatening to give out at any second. There was nothing to hold on to, nothing to grab, nothing to steady him as the teen swung his arms, trying to regain the balance he'd lost, but it was no use.
He was pitching from side to side, becoming more unsteadied with each movement and he knew without a doubt that he was going to fall and die, the only question was what direction would he fall, left or right. It didn't seem to register to the boy that the demon would never let such a thing happen or that he was secured with a safety line.
All Ciel could thing about was how high up he was, about the terror of his situation and in that moment of fear, he gasped out his lover's name in an undisguised whisper of desperation.
Unearthly power flowed unseen over the lengthy expanse of skin below the teen's clothes, grazing his jumpy nerves with a sense of comfort as the immortal somehow steadied the boy, returning him to a centered point of balance. Ciel could feel him, the demon, as if the elder was standing right behind him with a guiding palm against his lower back. He could feel the heat of presence, the the familiar shock of barely contained power below silky flesh, as if Sebastian were standing at his back, but a quick glance towards the ground assured the teen that Sebastian hadn't moved.
The demon was still standing beside the circus cast, watching on with feigned amazement as the boy caught his balance out of nowhere.
He supposed that it should've been expected. Sebastian wouldn't let him fall, he already knew that but for the entire rest of his preformance, the younger man could feel the demon's power coaxing him further. He could feel the weight of an arm around his waist, urging him forward with undeniable assurance that nothing would happen to him, and in that moment, Ciel trusted his demon more than he would ever admit.