This ended up shorter than I wanted it to be. I'm not talking about length, but there was so much I wanted to type, but my brain refused to let me write everything I wanted properly. Every time I typed something, I got annoyed with it because it wasn't flowing right and dammit brain why are you doing this to me?!

Personally, I think I'm just too excited about the following arc to focus right. I don't own Kuroshitsuji!

Playing Dress Up

The day after the dinner party, I had noticed that I was running low on knives. Because my knives were small and light, I mostly used them as throwing knives. This had the unfortunate price of making them very easy to lose once used. At the moment, I was down to my last ten.

I broached the topic with Ciel over breakfast, and he agreed to let me buy new knives, only with the condition that Sebastian accompanied me. I had complained, but then he'd pointed out that it wasn't right for a lady to wander around without an escort. I'd then snorted, and muttered something about not being a lady, but he'd been adamant, and I really did need those knives.

All in all, it had been an awful 2 hours, especially when I needed to be fitted for a holster to keep my new blades in. He did his best to get in as much touching as he possibly could.

After that, Ciel called over a tailor to work on my dresses so that it would be easy for me to grab my weapons when needed. The tailor however, turned out to be an extremely touchy-feely woman named Ms. Nina with a creepy and fixed interest in women and boys under the age of 15.

Still, all random groping and fondling aside, she did do a wonderful job. I'm not exactly sure how or where she put all the slits and tucks and whatnot, but they were there and arranged perfectly so that I could access my knives easily, and yet the dress still disguised their presence.

As for my knives, I got quite an assortment: I got several small ones that were specifically for throwing, a few slightly longer ones that I kept in my boots, and finally, two twin long ones with blades that were about thirteen inches long. I figured I could use them like swords, but not quite. Ciel even allowed me to get them monogrammed with the image of the Phantomhive crest.

The day had dawned gloomy and foggy, which was doing wonders for my spirits. Pluto had taken to whining outside in the garden until I gone out and scratched him behind one of his ears and given him a kiss on the nose. He had promptly turned back into a human in a blazing whirlwind of fire (chasing away some of the fog) and nuzzled me until Sebastian came to drag me away.

Speaking of Sebastian, he had become far more possessive of me ever since I ran away. I don't think he thought I would try it again, but it seemed like he had upped his supposed stake on me now that I knew what he was to me, and what I was to him.

A Mate. I didn't want to ask him what that was exactly, since I was pretty sure he'd explain it to me in the more...physical way, which was why I was sitting on the roof of the mansion with a few books that I had borrowed from Ciel's library. Why the roof, you ask? Well, I have always held a strong belief in things being so much better from higher up. From a high vantage point you are well above everyone else, you can see further than those below.

Also, it was fun. It was brighter, since the fog was heavier below, and I could feel a few warm rays of sunlight breaking through the grey-blue London skies. It was likely that the weather would clear up later in the afternoon.

The young master was the sort of person who liked to know exactly what he was dealing with, so he could always be sure of his next course of action. Therefore, as expected, he had quite a few books on demons littering the shelves of his library. I had been flipping through them quietly, occasionally reaching up to brush my hair back from my face.

Most of the books told me a lot of what I already knew, and some were clearly false and made up. Still, I couldn't find anything on Mates until I reached the last book. It was a thick volume, and looked a bit older than the other books, with an odd pattern on the hardcover front. The chapter I was looking for came a little way before the halfway point in the book, and I flipped to the beginning to read.

Demons are creatures of sin and fear. No matter what human form they take, they tend to be more animalistic than human. While having an intellect beyond any normal human's, they tend to run more with instinct when threatened or aroused. Therefore, each demon has a Mate.

A Mate is a person that is bound to the demon. They are the only one capable of controlling and calming the emotions of the demon, and effectively preventing it from doing something that could be detrimental to itself or those around it. All Mates bear the mark of their demon on a part of their body, and it is usually the weaker or less dominant Mate that bears the insignia.

I stopped reading for a moment. Sebastian had told me all of that, so none of it was new whatsoever. However, I'd had no idea that I could do anything of the sort regarding Sebastian's emotions. I went back to the manuscript.

Mates are often incapable of hurting one another physically, as the pain caused by inflicting pain on the other has been known to drive the demon insane from guilt. If a Mate dies, the other will also most likely go insane from grief and rage. Some have even killed themselves in their grief.

Interestingly, Mates do not have to claim each other. Since both have free will, they may both simply opt to ignore the bond. However this is rare, as demons are highly possessive creatures, and the males are incredibly virile. Even if they do not care for the Mate entirely, they will be able to give he, or she, unbelievable pleasure.

My face flamed and I slammed the book shut, screaming internally. Who wrote this book?! Why would you write that? Never mind that it was probably true, but I really didn't want to read that. I didn't need to know any of that! Sebastian had made all of it pretty clear anyway.

I got to my feet and tucked the books into my apron pocket, and then I made my way back into the house by scaling a few feet down the wall of the mansion, and then swinging myself inside through an open window, where I found myself in Sebastian's arms.

"My, and to think was just about to come after you," he pulled me closer.

I squeaked and shoved him away, only he didn't move so I ended up shoving myself away, but semantics. "Sebastian!" He smiled down at me, probably enjoying the flustered expression on my face. I promptly scowled and folded my arms across my chest. "What do you want? Were you looking for me?"

My eyes fell on the brightly coloured parcel in his arms. "This came for you," he replied, handing it to me. "I believe it is from Ms. Nina." I arched an eyebrow and accepted it, and then blinked when Sebastian turned and left to do whatever it was he was going to do.

"Huh," I frowned wonderingly and cradled the package in the crook of my arm. With my other hand, I flicked out the paper tacked to the wrapping paper. From the shape and feel, I could tell that it was an outfit. That's odd, I frowned. I thought I'd gotten everything she made for me. My eyes scanned over the penned words with curiosity.

Dear Thalia, you were an excellent customer. Since you are new, you can consider this to be a little gift (and if you could model it for me, then that would be fantastic). – Ms. Nina

Since I obviously couldn't open it up in the middle of the hallway, I made my way to my room for some privacy. While walking, I picked at the knot tying the whole thing together, before getting annoyed and opting to cut it open. "Oh wow..." I gaped in stunned surprise. The fabric of the dress was a velvety, deep, dark red. I ran my fingers over the material, feeling it slip against my fingers.

It was clearly a party dress, and while I was unsure as to where I would wear something so pretty, especially since I was still a servant, it was still nice to have it. I'd keep it for the same reason I kept Lau's dress and present, only I was actually happy to have this one.

"It's so pretty and...what the heck?" I lifted the dress to reveal the slit at the side. Ah well, that's the fashion isn't it? I fingered the dress, eying the neckline curiously. There were no sleeves that I could see, and it looked like it would be pretty revealing. "I might as well try it on," I thought aloud. "It's not like I'll ever wear it again, and it's always good to break in new clothes."

Speaking of which, had I even tried on Lau's Chinese dress? I didn't think so, I'd been so embarrassed about it that I'd shoved it to the back of my wardrobe and forgotten about it. Same went for the negligee, only I'd treated it a bit more courteously, given the delicateness of the fabric. I'll try this one on first...

It was...unbelievably tight. Not tight in that I felt like I couldn't move and that if I took a single step the entire dress would rip, but tight in that it lay almost flat against my torso and waist. If not for the slit, I'm sure the dress would have moulded against my hips as well.

As for the slit, it was much higher than I'd expected. I'd thought it only came up to my knees, maybe an inch above. Instead, it stopped about six inches above my knees. I feel so uncomfortable, I stared at myself in the mirror. Yet, I had to admit, I looked great. I'm never wearing this in front of Sebastian.

Next, I tried on the Chinese dress. I'm still not sure how Lau had my size, but I wasn't about to go find him and ask. The dress was unbelievably short, stopping just below my butt, and the presence of the black thigh-high stockings didn't do much to make me feel any more covered. Nevertheless, the dress had the advantage of being easy to move in. The long skirt of my maid uniform sometimes made things difficult, but the light fabrics and short length of the Chinese dress made it easy for me to manoeuvre around easily.

There were shoes with the dress, wooden-soled slippers with a slight heel and black ribbon ties that were supposed to be wrapped around my legs and tied a few inches below my knees. In the mirror, my reflection preened and fluffed at its hair. I wish I hadn't cut it, I pouted, feeling the locks. It was only the sheer weight of my hair that had kept it looking straight, and now it fell about my face and down my shoulders in large curls.

I jerked when I heard the sound of someone knocking at my door, and then heard the voice of the worst possible person it could have been. "Thalia?" Sebastian called from the other side of the door. "You've been in there for quite a while. You have chores, do you not?"

Ah frick, what do I do?! "Yes, I'm coming!" I quickly began unlacing and pulling off the slippers, hopping around the room clumsily. Unfortunately, wood on wood makes quite a lot of noise, and I had to stop hopping and just balance in one spot. "Just give me a minute!" I got one leg off, and sat on my bed to pull off the other.

"You're making quite a bit of noise, my dear," he asked through the door. "Is something wrong?" The door-handle moved, and I panicked. Shit, I didn't even lock the door! "Should I come in?"

"No, no, don't do that!" I yelled, wrestling with my left stocking. Dammit, why were these things suddenly so difficult to remove? They hadn't been so awkward when I was putting them on! Perhaps it was because I was in a rush. "I'll be out soon!" I got to my feet and grabbed the uniform I'd been wearing earlier.

Maybe I should just wear it over the dress. I got to my feet, one hand clutching the newly removed stocking, only to yelp in pain when I felt my foot land on the heel of the slipper. Ow! I sat back down and crossed a leg over the other, bringing it up so I could study any forming bruises. I probably wouldn't have voiced my pain so loudly if I'd realised what happened next.

"Thalia!" The door of my room flew open and I froze.

There are moments in life where suddenly, everything slows down, and a single second seems much longer, and you see things you might have missed. For example, I saw the way Sebastian's eyes widened, the emotion in them going from worry, to surprise, and then...something else. Something I was very familiar with.

He chuckled, shutting the door without taking his eyes off me. "My, my, is this what you've been doing?" His eyes lingered on chest, and then made their way to my thighs, especially the bare one. "Unfinished? Well now, that won't do..." I tried to back away when he came closer, but I didn't get far before a hand latched around my ankle and dragged me back to the edge of the bed. "What lovely skin," he knelt down, forcing me back to my original sitting position.

I frowned, trying to hold on to some semblance of dignity even in this incredibly mortifying scene. "Sebastian, I told you to wait! You didn't have to–" I choked when he suddenly forced my thighs apart and leaned closer. "What are you doing?"

Fingers trailed up from my bare ankle, over my shin. He massaged the skin of my thigh, before gripping tightly, so tightly that was sure I would have bruises of some sort. Oddly, I didn't mind that. I wanted them, wanted his hands to touch me. The thought made me shiver and bite back some pleasured noise. For crying out loud he had barely done anything and I was already putty! I blame the dress. "You aren't done, are you, my lady?" His tone was soft, sultry, and breathy. "Let me assist you then..."

I opened my mouth to yell and tell him to back away and leave me alone, but all of that was replaced by a whimper I couldn't bite back in time. I felt his lips curve against my neck and repeat the action, a soft nick at the junction of my neck, slightly higher this time. His hand occupied itself with my stocking-clad foot. He seemed to enjoy the act of peeling it away, sliding his fingers beneath the sheer black fabric and tugging down gently, inch by torturous inch.

"Beautiful," Sebastian hummed sensually against my skin. "I must admit, this is a lovely dress, darling. It certainly gives one...ideas..." I swallowed, and tried to find my voice when his fingers made it to my knees. He gripped the back of my thigh and pulled me flush against his body. "You are far too tempting, my darling," he told me, moving his head to lick at my bottom lip and mutter huskily against my ear. "I want to tie you up with the ribbons and take you as hard as I can in only those stockings."

Holy shit. I had to do something before things escalated further and he went ahead with his perverted fantasy. "H-Hey, Sebastian?" I forced my voice to be a bit louder, steadier. "Um...c-could you explain the whole Mate thing to me?"

He paused in his ministrations, and then he chuckled and licked at one of the marks he'd made earlier. "Why? I'm sure your book explained it to you, did it not?"

I flushed and squirmed timidly in my spot. "Uh...you...knew about that?" I asked meekly, and the redness spread when he only laughed more, effectively confirming my fears. "Well, I wanted to hear it from you," I mumbled.

A white-gloved thumb traced my bottom lip, pressing slightly against the centre. "Sweet," he murmured, and then he suddenly rose to his feet, settling down beside me on the bed. Just as I thought it was over, he yanked me onto his lap. "That book was right, for the most part," he spoke as though he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. Sebastian reached for my cheek with his other hand, caressing my face gently. "You are my Mate," his thumb brushed repeatedly over my cheekbone. "You are the only one I want."

"But," I forced my voice to be stronger, no matter how much I wanted to fall against him and let him do what he pleased with me. "You...you can ignore it, can't you?" At that, he frowned. The stroking motions stopped, and I hastened to clarify. "The book said that the bond could be ignored."

The demon stared down at me silently, and then he sighed. "Like I said," he pulled me closer and gathered me into his arms. "For the most part. The bond is not so easily ignored. It is extremely rare for a demon to ignore their Mate. Besides, as I'm sure you're aware, we are extremely possessive creatures."

My breath hitched when he ran a hand up my back and gripped a handful of my hair, yanking it back sharply so he could look into my eyes. The move was rough, but not painful, it was to let me know who was in control.

His fingers cupped the back of my head, threading through the curls and tugging lightly whenever I tried to drop my gaze. "And I can give you pleasure," his voice lowered and became like the smoothest velvet. Dark, caressing, orgasmic. "I can take you apart, have you writhing in pleasure without even touching you. Your body is mine to pleasure," his eyes never left mine. His expression was dark, liquid fire. "Do you understand?"

I nodded. What else could I do? Sebastian smiled and pressed a kiss to my forehead, murmuring a good girl into my hair. I probably love this man, and it terrifies me.

After a few seconds of silence, Sebastian ran a hand over my legs. "I cannot wait to taste you, my dear," he murmured into my hair, and then pulled back regretfully. "But you should probably change back now. I don't want anyone else seeing you like this."

...so this filler ended up as a lime *facepalms and crawls away in shame*. I just had the idea of Thalia getting new clothes and knives, and then this happened. Please forgive me!

Still, considering the following arc and then next couple of chapters, they both really need to get in all the cuddles and shit they need. Please read and review!