Nails dug into flesh. The skin of an arm, the top of the back, across the pale, trembling chest. Thighs were pink speckled with long red lines. These were not signs of pleasure.
This was pain. Unending agony. But all the tears on the surface were nothing compared to the rips in his soul. Not his real soul. No...
There might have been some relief from that.
Sebastian sat anxiously on the bed. There was nothing he could do. He'd been ordered not to so much as reach toward the boy. He stared as his precious lord tried to destroy his body. One spot in particular a focus of the boy's attacks.
"If I... if I can scratch hard enough it will come off! I can... huff... get it OFF!"
"M-my lord, no amount o-"
"SHUT UP!" The earl roared. The demon was unsure how to respond. Even at his worst times, the earl had never acted like this before.
"Young master, this behaviour is u-"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"M-"
Ciel's blue eyes, wide and deranged, turned their furious gaze on Sebastian, "I don't want to hear a word. I'm not destroying your meal! So don't pretend to CARE! This adds flavor right?! SO LEAVE ME ALONE!"
The demon instantly regretted telling his master about that. The boy had been curious a few days prior as to why his soul was so desirable. Sebastian had explained that it was due to the events of his life. The core of his soul had remained pure despite the horrors he had faced, and every little action he made had altered the flavor ever so slightly, culminating into a masterpiece. It seemed the boy had taken more from that than he should have.
"My dear young master-"
"Don't try to pacify me, demon!" The child moved to scramble away from the bed, his raw skin making every movement even more torturous.
Sebastian sighed. He hated disobeying direct orders.
"RELEASE ME, DEMON!" The dark creature had lifted the boy into his arms. At least now the young earl turned his attacks to the demon's flesh, "LET ME GO! I DON'T NEED YOU! GET OFF! LET GO! THIS IS AN ORDER; RELEASE ME!"
"Ciel."
The child froze. The insolent... how dare he?
"My sweet, precious Ciel. My darling young master. Be still."
Realizing he'd stopped moving, the earl attempted to return to attacking himself. But his butler held his arms tightly to his side and pressed the boy to his chest. They fell together to lie on the bed.
"Do I give the impression that I do not care for you? Is that why you have been so angry. Are you ashamed of your feelings? Of your body?"
The boy was silent, having succumbed to his emotional exhaustion. He pressed his face into his servant's chest as silent tears streamed down his face.
"Well, my lord, let me erase those feelings. I care for you. Yes, you are a meal to me. But you are not only a meal to me. That is not all you are, my dear, sweet boy. You are my master. Your words bind me, confine, rule me. You are a beautiful creature. Not only in form, but in mind. And this," the demon's hand rested on the brand mark the boy had so vehemently attacked, "This is proof of your beauty. You are beautiful because you are strong. The same events that made your soul desirable made you desirable. You became strong. You did not allow them to define you, to break your mind, to tear you apart. Do not destroy that beauty."
Ciel's sobs finally rang out. He hiccuped, coughed, wailed. But all the while he clung to Sebastian, keeping his face buried in the butler's clothes. He could not will himself to look up and face the words the demon had just spoken.
"Prove it..."
The demon looked thoughtfully down at his master. Prove that he was beautiful? No. The demon could feel exactly what his master desired. Prove that he was beautiful to him.
"Tomorrow, my lord."
Ciel lifted his head at last, to glare at his servant, "Prove it now."
The demon smirk and gently kissed the scratches on the boy's face, "Tomorrow, my love. You need rest."
The young earl blushed. Tomorrow...
Even in the darkest night, there is the promise of sun.