Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Black Butler! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates weekly!
—
Through the years they had already spent together, Sebastian and Ciel shared a bond prior to their marriage.
After Sebastian and Ciel exchanged vows though, their bond with each other grew even deeper through early morning cuddles, late night confessions, and long hours of love making.
Ciel found a new comfort in knowing that she was still Earl Phantomhive…... and Sebastian was by her side…... and there was no longer an imposed time limit on when that would end.
Sebastian was living out his idea of bliss, holding Ciel's heart and not just her hand.
But being in love didn't mean that Sebastian's and Ciel's newly found happiness couldn't be challenged.
Sebastian dropped his guard for a moment.
Only a moment.
But a moment was all that it took…...
On a cold winter day, Ciel secretly stepped out to retrieve the mail while Sebastian prepared lunch.
Ciel was impatiently waiting on a letter and instead of allowing Sebastian to bring the day's delivery to her after lunch, since the other servants were not around, the bluenette chose to go outside and collect the mail herself.
Ciel wore her coat, but even still, she was exposed to the frigid air long enough to aggravate her delicate lungs.
By the next day, Ciel fell ill with a fever.
The day after that, the bluenette was sweating, shivering, and too weak to get out of bed.
Sebastian did not leave Ciel's side.
Sebastian sat on the edge of Ciel's bed and did everything that he could to ease his wife's suffering.
Despite Sebastian's best efforts, Ciel continued to deteriorate before his very eyes.
Wheezing and struggling to breathe by the seventh day of her illness, Ciel blinked at Sebastian blearily while he gently mopped her feverish cheeks with a cool rag.
"Sebastian…." Ciel whispered.
"I'm right here, bocchan~. As I promised, I'll be at your side until the very end." Sebastian cooed.
Sebastian's voice was calm and steady but his eyes were full of worry.
Ciel looked awful.
Ciel's pale skin had turned grey and her sapphire eyes were bloodshot…
"No." Ciel wheezed.
"No?" Sebastian blinked.
"The…..letter on my desk…it's a mission…a traveling mission…...the mission must be completed, Sebastian…!" Ciel managed to croak out before she turned away from Sebastian and broke into a violent coughing fit.
Sebastian frowned and rubbed Ciel's back soothingly while he listened to the phlegm crackle deep in her lungs.
Sebastian waited until Ciel quieted to speak again, "Well, then master, as soon as you've recovered, we'll be on our way."
"You have to go." Ciel's voice was feeble but she spoke the words with firm resignation.
Sebastian's frown deepened.
No…..
Oh no….
"I can't leave you…...and I won't, kitten." Sebastian quietly refused, looking at Ciel with dread in his eyes.
"Soon I'll be leaving you." Ciel said with a defeated sigh.
Sebastian's heart broke at the words and he reached out, taking one of Ciel's clammy hands into his gloved palm.
"Don't say such things, master." Sebastian gently chided before he went on, "The doctor will be here soon."
"Take the mission, Sebastian." Ciel whispered before she closed her eyes. "Do it, in honor of my memory."
"...Bocchan?" Sebastian asked quietly.
Tears, actual tears, shimmered in Sebastian's eyes when Ciel failed to respond.
Sebastian watched Ciel's breathing grow shallow and he clutched onto her hand tightly, as if he was hoping to keep her alive by physically holding onto her.
But the bluenette seemed to be slipping away….
When the doctor arrived, he examined Ciel and hooked up an intravenous feeding system, which was state of the art for the era.
However, when the physician went to leave, he shook his head remorsefully at Sebastian.
"Well…..?" Sebastian asked the doctor, his usually calm voice tense. "How is my master?"
"Not well at all, sir. I've done everything I can, but I'm afraid she's fallen comatose." The doctor said sadly, hanging his head in defeat.
"Comatose?" Sebastian repeated.
"Yes, sir." The doctor nodded. "It means she's in a deep sleep. She's very close to death and her body is trying to conserve energy."
Sebastian, who was worldly, charming, and captivated everyone that he met with his wit, elegance, and skill barely managed to choke out the words, "...I see."
"If I were you, I'd call the mortician. Have measurements taken, see to her last wishes, you know, get everything in order." The doctor continued.
"Of course….." Sebastian replied with a nod.
"I'm afraid it won't be long." The doctor said grimly.
The doctor left Phantomhive manor and Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment when he heard the front door shut.
Without wasting a second, Sebastian quickly rushed into Ciel's room and sat down at her bedside once more, forlornly nuzzling her since they were all alone.
Sebastian looked up when he heard footsteps approaching.
A moment later, Mey-Rin, Baldroy, Finny, and Tanaka appeared at the doorway with deeply saddened expressions on their faces.
Tanaka remained silent but Baldroy spoke, "We heard everything, Sebastian."
"Poor Master Ciel!" Finny lamented.
Mey-Rin dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.
Sebastian didn't look away from Ciel as he spoke. "Finny, Tanaka, see to the chores this evening. Baldroy, go call the Undertaker in London, the one that Master Ciel and I have visited before, his number is on my desk. Mey-Rin, I want you to care for our master."
Tanaka, Finny, and Baldroy nodded and went to complete their duties but Mey-Rin stayed behind, frowning and watching as Sebastian stood up and left the room, walking past her.
"Me. Sebastian," Mey-Rin asked quietly, "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to keep my word to our master." Sebastian replied, very seriously. "I will serve her to the very end."
Sebastian and Ciel had still kept their new relationship a secret from the other Phantomhive servants.
Mey-Rin frowned sympathetically at Sebastian as he walked out of Ciel's room, but she still didn't realize the true extent of how painful Ciel's passing would be for him.
—
As Ciel's butler and as her husband, Sebastian did keep his word.
Sebastian sought to serve Ciel until the very end.
To fulfill Ciel's last wish, Sebastian took the mission.
The following morning, Sebastian departed on a ship bound for India, accompanied by Prince Soma and Agni, who both spent hours weeping over Ciel, mourning a loss that was nearly certain but hadn't occurred yet.
Prince Soma's and Agni's woeful cries eroded Sebastian's patience and he spent most of the voyage gazing over the bow of the ship at the vast ocean, wondering and worrying about Ciel.
How was she?
Had it….had it happened?
Was his beloved bluenette still earthside or…
…...Not?
Every day, Sebastian sent a telegram from the ship to Phantomhive manor and then he waited anxiously until an answer was sent in reply.
January Fifteen
This is Sebastian. How is our master? Stop.
This is Baldroy. She's still asleep but she's holding on. Stop.
January Sixteenth
This is Sebastian. How is our master today? Stop.
This is Mey-Rin. She's still asleep but she's still alive and that's good, yes? Stop.
Once the long voyage was over and Sebastian's ship reached India, instead of a telegram, Sebastian sent a letter to check on Ciel.
To the Servants of Phantomhive Manor,
I have arrived safely in India but I am once again writing to check on our dear master's condition. Please send word as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Michaelis, Phantomhive House Butler, Head of Staff
Sebastian eagerly and anxiously read the letter that arrived from Phantomhive manor in response to his inquiry.
Hello, Mr. Sebastian!
Master Ciel is still sleeping but breathing also! Undertaker comes by occasionally to check on her condition, but no changes yet. Please be safe, hope to see you again soon!
Regards,
Finny, Baldroy, Mr. Tanaka, and Mey-Rin
The exchange of letters began a cycle.
Day after day, Sebastian mailed one letter and received another.
In every letter, Sebastian asked how Ciel was doing and the servants still at the manor answered.
For the first several months of Sebastian's stay, the letters were largely the same.
How is she?
Holding on, no change.
Sebastian poured himself into the mission, taking out his fear, his frustration, and his rage.
Four months into Sebastian's excursion, something wonderful happened.
Sebastian's daily letter arrived not from the servants, but from Ciel herself.
Dear Sebastian,
I hope this letter finds you safe and well. I'm able to write from bed today. Do a good job, I know that you will.
Sincerely,
Ciel Phantomhive
Sebastian let out a warm purr as he reread Ciel's letter for the hundredth time that night.
Ciel had regained enough of her strength to write back herself!
How wonderful!
The next morning, Sebastian rose earlier than usual, determined to finish the mission and return home.
Unfortunately, Sebastian encountered an unforeseen delay.
Sebastian tried to dwell on the hope that Ciel that would most likely be home waiting for him when he returned…..
Temporarily trapped in India, Sebastian continued to write to Ciel daily.
Ciel always replied, although her letters were brief.
Sebastian missed his bluenette so deeply that sometimes at night, he laid in bed and hugged one of his pillows close, squeezing his eyes shut imagining that he was clutching Ciel instead of a bag of feathers.
Back at Phantomhive manor, Ciel missed Sebastian in ways that he couldn't possibly understand….
—-
Two months later, Sevastian's mission was finally and without a doubt, complete.
Sebastian eagerly began the long trip home to Ciel.
Sebastian was the first passenger to board the ship to London and the first one to disembark after the vessel docked.
Baldroy was at the docks, waiting to pick Sebastian up and take him back to Phantomhive manor.
Sebastian was so eager to be reunited with Ciel that he practically knocked Baldroy over trying to climb inside the carriage.
A short while later, Sebastian's carriage ride came to an end.
It seemed like an eternity since Sebastian had left, but finally, after many painful, torturous months, Sebastian smiled in relief as the carriage pulled down Phantomhive manor's driveway, hearing the horses neighing while they skidded to a stop.
Sebastian threw the carriage door open and quickly stepped down, raced towards the door, and entered the house.
It was mid afternoon and given that time of day, Sebastian knew just where to find Ciel.
Sebastian grinned as he made it to Ciel's study and politely knocked on the door.
There was a heavy silence before Ciel called out in her icy, formal tone, "Come in."
Sebastian chuckled, delighted to hear Ciel's voice again.
Sebastian opened the door and stepped inside.
Sebastian's tapered eyes lit up when he saw Ciel sitting at her desk.
"Hello, bocchan~." Sebastian purred.
"Sebastian….!" Ciel gasped as she looked up from her desk.
Sebastian beamed at the pout that formed on Ciel's pink lips.
Heh…
After so long, Ciel still clung so tightly to her pride
that she refused to smile at Sebastian's return, even while her sapphire eyes threatened to flood with happy tears.
"I'm glad to see you again, my sweet kitten~." Sebastian replied, walking towards Ciel's desk.
Sebastian stopped when he was a few feet away from Ciel.
"We've missed you very much, Sebastian." Ciel replied, sitting her pen down on the document she had been signing.
"We?" Sebastian grinned.
The other servants were happy that he was home too?
How touching.
But as Ciel slowly rose from her desk with a soft groan, Sebastian's tapered eyes widened as he realized that Ciel hadn't been referring to the other servants at all….
Ciel kept one hand on her back as she walked over to stand directly in front of Sebastian.
Sebastian blinked, staring at Ciel in shock as she repeated, laying a hand on her rounded belly, "Yes, Sebastian, we've missed you quite a bit."
