The couple walked hand in hand into the kitchen, Sebastian carrying a suitcase of clothes, sexual torture items, and Mey-Rin's wedding dress. Finnian was in the hall, turning into the kitchen when they came in and the boy looked excited to see them.

"Oh you are back! How was your vacation?"

"Very nice," Mey-Rin said, adjusting her glasses back to their normal position. "Very nice indeed."

"I hope our absence as not made more work for you," Sebastian said, giving a small look around. He did not see any unnecessary items, or dirt laying around.

"Oh no, not at all," Baldroy said, now walking in. "The young master loved having me wake him at 7:05 every morning for the past week. Right pleasant he is. And delighted when I tried to lay out clothing as well."

Oh dear, Sebastian thought. He sighed and kissed his wife's red head and headed swiftly to their now openly shared room they used when they stayed in the manor, stored the suitcase, and swiftly walked into the study.

"My lord," he said, announcing his return.

"Oh thank god," the young master said, leaping out of his chair and rounding the desk. "Bard is a fucking loon."

"Oh?"

"He comes barging in and makes a right loud wracked at 6:30 the first morning," he said, shaking his head. "And then the second morning at 7:05."

"That is our normal time to wake, my lord," Sebastian said, hiding a smirk. He knew Ciel hated that time as much as any other time.

"Yes, but you bring me tea and a snack. Something sweet or at least passable for food if you are trying to stave me and give me healthy food. Bard, ha! He may have the title 'cook' but he burned the tea even. How does one even do that?!"

Sebastian smiled at this and nodded slowly. "I do see the problem. Was there any other things?"

Ciel regarded him and the question. "Well, I think you may have successfully gotten the woman of your dreams," he said with a hint of disappointment, "but Bard is still not quite cured."

"Ah, I had hoped a week away," Sebastian said, shaking his head and looking down at the carpet. "Yes, well, I shall address his feelings once more."

Sebastian was stilled by the young master's touch on his arm. "Please let him down gently. I… I know I came off improper for expressing my own feelings toward you. You, well, you have been there through everything. Everything."

Sebastian dropped to one knee. "Till the end, young master."

Sebastian set out to find his wife or Baldroy, and found them both, in the washroom where he himself had stood, not nine months before, his conflicted emotions making him run from the alien emotions she had aroused. Mey-Rin had her maid uniform on, Baldroy his apron and cigarette, normal, except their tone. Their words were low and harsh. He stood outside and listened, not caring it was improper. His wife being cornered by the man who still loved her was even more improper than he listening to a obvious private conversation.

"There is nothing I will not do to show you how wrong you are," he was saying. "Mister Sebastian is not right for you."

"I am sick of you saying that! You are not right for me either!"

"I am more on your level then him."

"Oh, because you love guns as much as I do?"

"Well," Baldroy said, amusement in his voice. "It's a common interest. What does he do with you?"

Sebastian saw the blush and smiled through the cracked door, knowing she was replaying all the things they did - and did again that very morning, as they walked to the manor even.

"He respects me for what I can do - for who I really am."

"I respect the hell out of you."

He heard the hard slap and stilled himself to not open the door and watch Mey-Rin undoubtedly standing staring at him in a rage. "You have a funny way of showing it. I am married and you insist I should come up to your bed. Improper! If you want me so bad, you should have made a move nine months ago!"

"Nine? Why then?"

Sebastian stilled, oh dear, he silently begged her not to say any more. He pushed the door open, as if he was looking for them and smiled as Baldroy saw him in the door.

"Ah my two favorite people - I need the chicken cooked, Baldroy. And Mey-Rin, the master's bedroom fireplace needs cleaning."

She turned and gave Baldroy a sharp glare with her tinted glasses. She turned and stumbled a bit, Sebastian and Baldroy catching her on their sides of her body. She grunted and ripped herself from both their concerned grips.

She stomped down the corridor and Sebastian heard her go up the stairs, up to the young master's bedroom which indeed needed to be cleaned. Sebastian focused and looked at Baldroy. The man was practically chewing on his cigarette now.

"Baldroy, we need to stop this," Sebastian said, sighing. "I thought we had discussed this before."

"You did. I had to accept it. Like I accept the fact that if I leave, the young master would be in his right to turn me into the government and put me back as a war criminal. As I have to accept I have done some pretty awful things in the name of war. As I - apparently - have to accept the woman who seems as excited about guns and blowing things up, is married to a butler whose only desire is to bed her."

Sebastian stilled. "Oh, you think I only ignored her falling over me, her looks of desire when she thought I wasn't paying attention, the sighs of being lost in a fantasy when I walked into the room were all tolerated so I could bed her?" He gave a shallow laugh, his demonic side rising quickly. "And I went though the torture for five years so far so I could bed her now?"

Baldroy looked at him and shook his head, suddenly very calm. "You are patient, Mister Sebastian," he finally said. "I admit I haven't noticed her falling all over me."

Sebastian bit his tongue, no, she didn't even notice you - she was too busy fantasizing over me. And then being happily bedded by me. "Consider yourself lucky. She can get pretty worked up and crash into you pretty hard."

Baldroy grunted and turned. He paused and looked at Sebastian. "I still have feelings for her."

"As you should; she is a valuable member of the Phantomhive staff, as you are. I don't have hard feelings toward you - as long as you leave my wife alone."

He relished the fear that was in the man's eyes. He left the cook to sort his own feelings and swiftly ran to his master's room and to his lover, hoping she would let him delight on her body some more.

I have to admit I laughed really, really hard at the first line: "Sebastian carrying a suitcase of clothes, sexual torture items, and Mey-Rin's wedding dress." Why, yes, I did just fangirl over myself. Move on... and thanks to the kind words of comments - I hope you are checking your notices! ;) Til the next chapter...