Ciel had to admit he was a bit despondent that Sebastian had washed away all the traces of their escapade. He knew of course that it had to be done, but he'd wanted to hold onto the feeling and scent for just a bit longer. Still, he guessed it was for the best.
He was sitting on the edge of the tub, watching Sebastian dressing his arm. The other was taking his time to clean the wound. Ciel focused on the marks caused by Sebastian's fangs. Never had he willingly thought he would ask the demon to drink his blood, but he'd never thought he'd have a reason to. It had worked though, brought Sebastian out of his stupor, and it appeared that he was cured of his vampirism.
Ciel shifted his eyes toward Sebastian's face. The other's eyes flicked up at him, and the butler smiled slightly. Ciel was overcome with the urge to kiss him, but he resisted. There would be plenty of time for that later, now that they'd broken down that barrier.
He shifted slightly on the edge of the tub. His ass felt a bit tender, but it wasn't painful. Feeling Sebastian within him hadn't been too incredibly uncomfortable, but it had been very filling in a way that he'd never experienced anything like before. He found it was a bit sensitive to be pressed against the porcelain lip of the tub however.
"There," Sebastian finished wrapping the bandage. "That should hold nicely."
"Thank you," Ciel replied. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck.
The other surprised him by drawing back quickly, his hands falling around the Ciel's hips, pulling him up to hold him against this body. Ciel twined his legs around Sebastian's waist, pressing himself against the demon as the other strode from the bathroom back toward his bedroom.
Sebastian had changed the sheets with rapid speed before they'd ventured to bathe. Now he laid Ciel upon them and the younger sighed as he breathed in the scent of fresh soap. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but he wasn't quite ready to go to sleep just yet.
The demon was on him in an instant, kissing him rather roughly, one hand making it's way through the neck of his nightshirt to stroke at a nipple. Ciel responded in kind, wondering if they were going to go for another round, and if so, what the point of the last twenty minutes had been. However, the butler pulled back, breaking the kiss. He stared down at the other and Ciel wondered what was wrong.
"What is it?" He asked. "What are you staring at?"
"You," Sebastian answered simply.
"Yes, but why?"
"I am still a bit confused as to what happened down in the cellar," Sebastian said. "How did you come to the conclusion you did?"
"I'm not sure," Ciel replied. "Truthfully, I wasn't sure how to help you. I didn't think I could."
"I didn't think you could either," Sebastian said. "It appeared my condition was beyond help, and I was prepared to accept that. In all honesty, I presumed that you were coming to kill me tonight."
Ciel felt his stomach coil a bit at that. "I was."
"I know," Sebastian said. "I saw that blade when you tossed it away and recognized it immediately."
"What is it?" Ciel asked. "I'd never seen anything like it before."
"Something that can be used to effectively, permanently, kill demons," Sebastian replied. "There's only a few of them in existence, and I am curious to know how Undertaker got hold of one. I assume that is where you got it?"
"Adeline brought it over," Ciel nodded. "Along with this weird bit of scripture."
"Oh?" Sebastian said. "What did it say?"
Ciel rose and slid off the bed. His clothing was still in an untidy pile on the floor. He found his pants and pulled the folded bit of paper from his pocket. Bringing it back over, he settled back against the pillows while Sebastian read the words.
The demon smirked. "Well, this is quite interesting."
"What is?" Ciel didn't know what Sebastian could be talking about. He hadn't been able to decipher anything in the words himself.
"I have to wonder who wrote these words," Sebastian replied. "I'd be most curious to see the book they came from. Seems you came to the conclusion without knowing you had."
Ciel was confused. "I've absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
"Look at it," Sebastian passed the paper to him. "The victim "must not drink except from the cup of bitter red", I assume that means blood. The next part is a bit more confusing because I don't know how one interprets it, but it would appear to have to be someone you shared a particular bond with."
"Or a contract," Ciel said, catching on. "The last part was easy to figure out, and the only one I understood. That if it was done, the victim would be cured or if not, they'd succumb to the effects of the change for good and die."
"That would have been quite tragic," Sebastian said. Now that he was clearly no longer in danger of dying, or in pain from the change, he was more like his old self. Ciel was glad. He had missed the demon's sassiness.
He placed the paper on the nightstand and fixed Ciel with a stare. "But you said you didn't figure out the instructions, so how did you know what to do?"
"I didn't," Ciel confessed. He bit his lip and considered stretching the truth, but decided against it. He didn't want to lie to Sebastian. Not now that they'd broken down every barrier between them. "I just thought about what you required."
"Which was?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
"Blood."
It was a simple answer, but it did carry a lot of weight. The demon was silent for a few moments. Ciel watched him carefully; unsure of what he would say when he next spoke.
"I didn't want to see you like that anymore," Ciel said. "I'd lost my best servant—it was unpleasant."
"I will admit, I was surprised to see you order me to drink from you," Sebastian said. "I knew I should feed, perhaps I wouldn't have reached such a state as I did if I had, but I refused to do so. A demon's pride can be a damning thing."
Ciel smirked. "Though according to that information if you had taken blood from anyone except me, you'd be doomed."
"I'm already doomed," Sebastian said. "It's a casualty of being a demon."
Ciel did know this and that had been exactly the point. He'd been prepared to do whatever necessary to help Sebastian live, even if it meant he had to die. Even if consuming his blood did nothing but satisfy Sebastian's thirst, Ciel had wanted to do it.
"I like you as you are," Ciel said quietly. Then he cursed himself for being so open. He still felt the need to guard his emotions, even though the space between them had gotten smaller and smaller.
Sebastian was silent for a moment. "Do you really mean that?"
Ciel knew he couldn't take it back. He was quite sure his feelings were written all over his face, and even if he denied everything Sebastian wouldn't believe him. He swallowed hard and gave the briefest of nods. The demon reached out a hand and tentatively caressed the side of his face. Ciel leaned into the touch. He loved having Sebastian's hands on him.
"I'm not good for you," Sebastian said. "You alone know the extent of my true nature. You've seen me kill with abandon, destroy things, and one day I will tear your soul from your body. You still wish to say you feel that way towards me?"
Ciel knew that if anyone else heard this, they would think he was insane. They would think he was insane anyway from having entered into the contract with Sebastian in the first place. But Ciel guessed this really wasn't so different than some human relationships. Humans were actually much the same way; they killed and destroyed with little regard for the consequences. They fought over the most trivial matters. Every scrap of worth was up for grabs and only the strongest survived.
The Earl pushed Sebastian back on the bed, pressing his lips roughly against the other's. He pulled back slightly, staring at the bite mark on the side of Sebastian's neck. The demon was his; his to do whatever he liked with, and he supposed in a way he also belonged to the demon. His eyes rested on the bandage on his arm, bearing a matching mark from Sebastian's fangs. Two halves of one of the darkest of bonds.
"Eternally," Ciel whispered, settling himself on top of the demon's body. "Until I breathe my last."
Sebastian didn't know what to say. The Earl's words had truthfully surprised the demon. No one had ever said something like that to him, at least not outside of his kind, because they were the only ones who would like those things about him. Humans were not usually quite so wicked and those that were, weren't prone to sharing such feelings. Yes, the young master was as puzzling as ever.
He sighed softly, turning the situation over in his mind. Perhaps the other was simply tired and therefore what he mistook for affection was really just the mumblings of a sleepy mind. He was sure that the Earl could not actually mean what he'd declared. He was probably just hoping Sebastian bedded him again.
Still, this wasn't the first time that his young master had done something that confused Sebastian. The night after the play he'd told him he didn't have to wear his gloves anymore, except in public. That had been an interesting turn of events. Especially after he said he felt differently about having to look at the demon's nails.
And then there had been the whole business with his infection of vampirism. He'd been sure as soon as the other found out about his condition he'd banish him away or try to find a way to get rid of him. Only that wasn't what had happened. The Earl was cautious of course, but from the beginning he'd done what he could to try and help Sebastian. It was only until things got impossibly bad that he entertained the idea of putting him out of his misery. And even then he'd changed his mind at the last minute.
His eyes rested on the bandage circling the Earl's forearm, which was resting underneath the boy's head as he slept, perched on top of Sebastian. He still couldn't believe that he'd drunk the other's blood, or rather that the other had let him. He wasn't quite sure about what had happened there, or why. Ciel had danced around the matter when he'd said something.
The only conclusion he could come to was that the Earl had decided that he didn't want to lose his servant and therefore his only clear shot at revenge. There was no other scenario that made sense. Because if Sebastian allowed himself to really dwell on the matter, another option appeared: one in which Ciel had given his blood because he believed it would save Sebastian and he hadn't cared about the consequences, even if it meant he'd die instead.
If he thought about the situation from that angle it confused him more. He was the one who eventually was going to take the young master's soul. Perhaps if Ciel had left well enough alone, or he'd gone through with his initial decision to slay Sebastian with that blade, then he'd have been free. The contract would have dissolved and he could have gone about his life without the constant threat of death looming over him. Obviously his time would eventually come, but the reapers would be the ones to collect his soul, and file away his cinematic record with all the others.
Sebastian wished he could sleep, as he had been in the same position for several hours. But now that he was cured from his ailment, he didn't feel lethargic and his body once again wanted to keep moving. He was dreadfully behind on the housework, and he was sure that the other servants had been substandard during his time away. Ciel had told him that they believed he was on business. He wondered what the young master would have told them if he'd ended up killing him.
Ciel shifted on top of Sebastian. The demon kept still so as not to wake the other, but the urge to touch Ciel was too strong. He drew his arms up around the small body, pulling it to him. Ciel's eyes slid open. He nuzzled his face into the demon's neck, his breath warming Sebastian's skin.
"What is it, Sebastian?"
"Nothing, my lord," Sebastian replied. "Go back to sleep."
A/N: Next Thursday this story is gonna end. Makes me sad, but I am hard at work on the sequel and some other fun stuff.
Minight51: Thanks so much! I know, I have an incredible soft spot for Sebastian. We all really shouldn't like him cuz he's horrible, but he's just so adorable (and handsome)
Madison Angel Kaiba: I am glad you liked it. I always get a bit worried posting that stuff on here since *technically* its not allowed, but if it/my account ever deleted, it's in is full awesome glory on AO3. I have two weeks worth of updates on the other story written out, but hope to get more done soon. :)
Promocat: thank you. It was fun to write.
Dardar1: that's okay! Glad you enjoyed it.