Greetings!
Thanks for the support my yummy degenerate morsels! This is really different from my previous Fic "Simply Meant to Be" (BTW, be a peach and please check it out!) but I'm having loads of fun writing this story !
Anywhore...
Shout out to AnimeCujo and her kickass Fic "Revelations", if you haven't read it yet well get on that beast and ride it HARD.
YOU WON'T REGRET IT.
Read, Enjoy, Review, Follow, Favorite.
Thanks!
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-Robert Frost
"Let's go over this one more time, because I'm having a real hard time believing everything coming out of your mouth." The steely voice was a razor slicing through every nerve in Sebastian's body.
Standing outside of his car on the deserted highway in the middle of rural upstate New York at 6 am, the tall man fidgeted nervously before the equally as tall County Officer. With their black hair, pale skin and striking good looks, from a short distance the two men could have passed for siblings. Unfortunately for the travelers, bearing a close resemblance did not subdue the predicament they were suddenly in and after being caught with Ciel's face perched comfortably over his exposed crotch, Sebastian had made a fumbling attempt at covering up their lustful activities with a blatant lie.
"You're telling me that you had a bug bite . . . down there?" The cop flitted his gaze downwards and smirked, "And your 'friend'," holding up air quotes, "was checking to make sure it wasn't infected."
Sebastian shifted his weight from one foot to the other; crossing his arms in a defiant pose. "Yes, that's correct."
"Bullshit." The officer snorted, glancing at the small figure in the car. "How old is he anyways? 15?"
"He's 20!" Sebastian exclaimed, the situation becoming much more serious than he had previously thought. From the moment he locked eyes with the cop he knew there was going to be trouble. "Look, I fucked up, ok? He's of legal age and I'm sorry, I should have used better judgment." He looked at the name badge in the officer's dark navy uniform, "Officer Faustus, please can't you just give us a break?"
"You're claiming he's legal?" Faustus cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.
Sebastian nodded his head. "Yes, yes he is!" He insisted. The officer reached around and sharply rapped his knuckles against the car window. Ciel jumped in his seat and looked up at the looming figure.
"Step out of the car." He ordered firmly. Ciel's hands trembled as he gripped the handle of the car door casting a frightened glance at his worried partner. He stepped out of the car and with bowed head, moved slowly towards the lawman. "If you're not a child then stop acting like a fucking child and look me in the eyes!" Faustus barked, clearly irritated. "Now present me with your ID!"
"Y-yes sir!" Ciel stammered, taking out his wallet and showing his driver's license to the seething man. "I have a passport as well-"
"Do I look like the jackass at customs?" He snarled, causing Ciel to flinch. "We're in the middle of bumfuck valley; not an airport!"
"S-sorry!" Ciel squeaked.
"He was just being cooperative." Sebastian growled, his anger replacing the anxiety he had been feeling before. "That's no reason to get nasty with him."
"I just caught your lame ass getting a blow job from an underage looking kid in your car on the side of a public highway!" Faustus snapped. "I suggest you shut your fucking mouth!" He turned his attention back to the ID in his hand and began to study it. Sebastian felt an unease slowly infiltrate his body when the glowering man's tense face began to relax. Ciel shuffled closer to the cop, nibbling on his lower lip as he sidled up.
"Officer, I'm sorry!" Ciel spoke in a small breathy voice, his large blue eyes rolling up to meet with the officers golden orbs. "We're new here; just moving in from the city and we just didn't think, that's all."
"Clearly." Faustus chuckled, tapping Ciel's nose lightly with his license. "And what exactly were you thinking?"
Ciel blushed. "I just couldn't help myself." He admitted coyly, his hand reaching up to take back the ID; fingertips brushing lightly over the long elegant fingers of the officer's hand.
"You really don't look your age." Faustus almost purred, stepping closer to the young man.
The sudden change in tone alarmed Sebastian, it was a tone he had heard countless times whenever he took Ciel out on dates or events and they would encounter other men. It was the unmistakable and melodic voice of lust. It was no surprise that the achingly beautiful young man could stir up anyone's carnal desires, but what bothered Sebastian was how Ciel never rebuffed their advances. In fact, he seemed to feed off it, like wood to a flame.
"Oh? And how old do I look?" Ciel said, a smile twitching dangerously at the corners of his mouth.
"Hm, I would say at least, but no more, than 16." Amusement flashed in the officer's eyes as his fingers found purchase under Ciel's chin, tilting the face upwards.
"That would explain you wanting to protect me." He breathed, offering a glimpse of a row of perfect white teeth. "How chivalrous."
"Just doing my job, pretty." His fingers trailed down the milky scape of Ciel's neck, stopping at his collarbone. "If you were seeing someone, say, like me, I'd make sure nothing ever happened to you."
"I'm making sure of that just fine." Sebastian's curt voice broke the dazed moment between the officer and Ciel. "Can we leave already?"
Clenching his jaw, he gave Ciel a hard look. "We have to get to our home and unpack."
Faustus cleared his throat. "Where are you moving to?" He asked, the lustful tone suddenly absent.
"We've rented The Butler House, on Switzer Hill." Sebastian informed, his eyes never leaving Ciel who had ceased looking at the cop and now was instead staring at his shoes.
"That big house on the hill? That creepy one overlooking the river?" Faustus whistled lowly. "What are you guys, ghost hunters? That place looks like something out of a damn horror movie!"
"Funny you should say that!" Ciel chirped, he glanced at Sebastian. "My boyfriend is a professor of the paranormal and supernatural."
"Well la-dee-fucking-dah, your boyfriend's a professor!" He mocked, whipping out a business card from his pocket. He offered it to Ciel who promptly took it. "You're moving into my territory, stay out of trouble. If you need anything and professor over there can't provide it . . .," he paused to look at a bristling Sebastian with eyes that promised nothing benevolent towards him. "Give me a call, k?"
"Thank you, Officer Faustus." Ciel rested the card to his lips and winked. "Or may I call you, Claude?"
"Call me anything." Claude murmured, scanning the young man's body. "Or anytime."
"Ciel! Get in the car!" Sebastian ordered, his face red with fury. Grabbing a hold of the car door handle, he wrenched it open and hurriedly sat down, buckling his seatbelt and slamming it shut. Every move he made was laced in pure anger and humiliation, watching the cop saunter towards his car, Sebastian had the sudden malicious urge to gun the engine and repeatedly run him over.
Ciel sat quietly, folding his hands on his lap as they drove on in silence for ten minutes, neither daring to break the awkward tension looming over them. Finally Sebastian had had enough.
"What the fuck was that about?" He spoke calmly, but it only made his tone sound eerie. Ciel did not reply. "I know you heard me so answer my question. What the fuck was that about?"
"Please don't curse at me." Ciel turned to him, his voice meek. "You know I don't like that."
"And you know I don't like it when you act like a fucking whore with other men!" Sebastian bellowed, gripping the steering wheel tightly as the flesh over his knuckles turned white. "Why, Ciel? Why? Why do you keep doing this to me?!" He slammed on the brakes, coming to a screeching stop at an intersection about a mile from the town.
He lowered his head, pressing his forehead against the wheel. Ciel's eyes widened at the sight of his boyfriend's shoulders heaving from rage. It had been several months since the last time he had pushed the older male to such levels of anger and he had almost forgotten how frightening it could be.
"But I got us out of a ticket!" He defended weakly.
"You think I give a rat's ass about some fucking ticket?" He snapped his head up and glared at the now cowering student. "How far would you have gone? What's next, Ciel? You run a red light so you're going to suck his cock?!"
A dull ache formed in Ciel's chest, this wasn't what he wanted. Hurting Sebastian was never anything he did purposely. There was never malice involved, in fact, the professor stood highest in Ciel's heart among every person in his entire life, yet he continued to break the man's heart over and over again.
"You should just leave me." Ciel mumbled. "I wish you would just leave me."
"I-I can't." Sebastian pressed his hands against his face and exhaled. "You know I can't, Goddammit."
The sun had risen in full sunflower yellow casting warm rays against the chilled landscape. Everything seemed alive and dead at the same time, the black skeleton trees framed in white powder bathed in life giving sunshine. The wintertime used to make Ciel feel lonely, until he met Sebastian. Since then, he was never alone, the man who promised to never abandon him was always true to his word.
"Me too." A petite hand slowly slid up Sebastian's arm and rested on his shoulder. "I don't want to let you go either." Ciel admitted.
"You promised it would be different up here." He shook the hand off and sat up in his seat, staring ahead. "If you're not even going to try then why the fuck should we even bother?"
Ciel closed his eyes, resting his head back against the head reg. He loved this man, it was a truth he would never deny. "We have promises to keep." He said softly and Sebastian sighed; he knew this conversation too well. The eventual giving in to Ciel was imminent and the sooner he let this go, the sooner they could get to their new home.
"Right, Right, promises to keep." He threw the car into gear and checked the GPS. "We've wasted enough time, let's just get going."
They drove for another ten minutes before entering into the sleepy town of Fultonville, NY. Their rented home was only a mile from town and Sebastian figured that it was too early for any stores to be open they should stop by the house first before taking a walk into the town marketplace. The weather channel had predicted a mild day, bright with sunshine and clear blue skies, and it offered the couple an opportunity to take in the local surroundings of their new home without being uncomfortably cold. Snow piles were melting along the sides of the gravel road leading up to Switzer Hill giving Sebastian a morbid feeling deep inside his gut.
Like the land is bleeding, he thought, glancing sideways at Ciel who had remained silent for the duration of their trip. He was anxious to get into the house, hopefully their new abode would reignite the young man's earlier enthusiasm.
The crunching sound of freshly packed snow and gravel followed them as they turned onto the long trail up the hill. A red brick colonial styled home with black roof and dark shutters stood like a crimson sentinel overlooking the rows of trees aligning a frozen river. In the summer the house had been surrounded by lush foliage, wild blazing orange tiger lilies and evergreen trees; now it seemed lonely and desolate amongst a winter's grave.
Sebastian had first viewed the property last June, admiring the 17th century styled home with its intricate woodwork and old world charm. Ciel had found the listing online and had contacted a real estate agent immediately upon discovering the affordable rent and close proximity to an upper middle class town.
They were leaving behind the hectic and manic world of city life, the heartache of Ciel's affairs, and the stress of making ends meet on a restricted budget. The student only had one more year to go before graduating and Sebastian insisted on taking care of expenses during that time. This move was a crucial turning point for them as a couple as it would either make them or break them.
"Home sweet home." Sebastian muttered, turning the wheel to maneuver the car in front of the cobblestone walkway.
"For some reason it looks much bigger." Ciel mused, stepping out of the car and breathing in the crisp air. "Pop the trunk open. I want to get our bags in so we can go into town and eat."
"Yeah, I'm starving too." Sebastian agreed, raising the rear lift gate and hoisting two large duffle bags onto his arms. "I'll take these and you grab the rolling suitcase."
"K." Ciel lifted the bag and set it down on its wheels, rolling the bag behind him as he made his way up to the front door. Sebastian watched the thin form gracefully amble towards the house and the shock of blue gray hair against the snowy landscape felt oddly nostalgic, as if he had seen that and felt this before.
Taking a deep breath, the older male fished the keys from his pocket and strode past Ciel. "Shall I carry you across the threshold?" He teased, planting a heavy kiss against his lover's smooth cheek.
Ciel blushed. "If we were married I guess you'd have to, right?" He smiled shyly, rubbing his fingertips against his face and enjoying the tingling heat left by Sebastian's lips.
"Let's see how this year goes." Sebastian turned the key and pushed open the door. "Perhaps you'll be Mr. Michaelis before summer's end."
Ciel felt his heart filled with an overflow of hope and love; to be forever attached to Sebastian was his greatest wish regardless of the countless arms he had tumbled into in the past two years. The fervent want to be bonded with his former professor was strong and unwavering.
"A whole year?" He cocked an eyebrow as Sebastian strolled into the house. "Do I get credit for good behavior?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." He chuckled, shrugging off the bags onto the floor of the large foyer. "Come in, Little Lord, your manor awaits you." Extending his hand out to the young man, beckoning him with a warm grin to enter the house that would be their new start for a year; to become the catalyst of a fresh beginning.
For a split second the world seemed to shift under his feet as if the rotation of the earth had stopped and decided to reverse itself. The strange movement caused Ciel to stagger and he dropped the handle of the suitcase with a loud clatter as he tried to steady himself against the entryway wall.
His nose twitched as there was a slip of a scent, bitter and acidic, wafting through the air. Ciel looked at Sebastian and knitted his brows, why didn't he seem affected? He thought as he pushed himself off the wall in order to stand upright.
"You ok?" Sebastian cocked his head, his hand still extended. "Stop being a drama queen and get over here." He chuckled.
A roaring rush of wind, thick and pungent viciously slammed against the student's face nearly knocking him down with the smell of sickly rotted garbage. It was so strong that it almost forced him back outside. His eyes began to sting and burn as a wave of nausea rolled over his shaken body; the bitter taste of bile gurgled in the back of his throat. Caught completely by surprise, Ciel tripped over the suitcase on the floor and crashed against a wooden side table. He held onto it desperately trying to keep from collapsing onto the floor.
"Ciel!" Sebastian shouted when the young man suddenly doubled over and began heaving globs of thick drool with traces of reddish pink streaks trailing from his gaping mouth.
"Seb-!" He coughed before retching a yellow gelatinous liquid. Sebastian watched in horror, his eyes wide with fear and disbelief.
"Corpses!" Ciel gasped, clutching his stomach as a searing pain tore through his midsection like bolts of hot electricity. "I-It smells like c-corpses!" He screamed, spraying bile through gritted teeth.
Sebastian told himself to move forward and grab Ciel who was beginning to convulse, yet as much as he willed himself to move his legs, stretch his arms out, physically get to his suffering lover, he found himself incapacitated. Not one inch of his body could move. He was completely frozen in place.
"Ciel! I-I can't move!" He cried out in frustration.
"S-Sebastian!" Ciel gagged, his vision blurring to the point where darkness and light were intermingled in a watercolor landscape. The smell had grown steadily, a wretched musky fleshy stench that was almost unworldly. Fear gripped his heart as he struggled to breathe through his mouth, tasting more sour death on his tongue, threatening more retching and pain to follow. "The smell! It smells l-like d-dead fucking bodies!"
Sebastian drew in a deep breath through his nose, but there was no detectable stench of rot and decay. He again attempted to move his body, desperate to get to Ciel and help him, but he was rooted helplessly to the floor, standing like stone with only his face capable of changing expressions.
Is this a nightmare? He thought, this can't be real, it just can't!
"Why aren't you helping me?!" Ciel wailed, his voice raw and pleading, terror clearly evident in his glassy eyes and contorted face as he squeezed his stomach while another rippling spasm of pain rumbled deep. "I-I'm dying!" He screeched.
"I can't fucking move!" Sebastian roared, and as much as he tried, he was numbed to all outside forces, his legs seemed weighed down by concrete slabs, his arms limp and useless. Frustration and anger mixed with utter terror tore through the dark haired man's system; what if Ciel died?
He could pinpoint no smell at all, no hint of the "corpses" Ciel had frantically pointed out nor could he see anything in the foyer that could produce such a monstrous effect on any human being. But the fact that he could not move, that frightened him the most. Was this a stroke? An aneurysm? His mind raced through countless plausible possibilities, anything to reasonably explain why Hell had descended upon them the minute Ciel crossed over the threshold. Was there a gas leak in the house? Chemical poisoning?
Before Sebastian could sum up anymore explanations, he felt the invisible constriction miraculously lift from his body and he fell forward heavily onto the floor. Realizing that he had been finally released, Sebastian scrambled to his feet and launched himself at the trembling form. He cursed loudly, slipping on the puddles of putrid liquid, but he managed to wrap his arms around Ciel's waist and lift him up into his arms.
"Ciel, baby, come on! Stay awake!" Dark red eyes worriedly took in the gray pallor of the almost unconscious man. "I'm taking you to the hospital!"
Blue orbs shot open, but they were dull and unseeing. "It's gone!" He whispered, his voice weak and small. A sheen of sweat covered his face and neck as he trembled. "The smell . . . i-it's gone."
Ciel clutched his lover's arms and held on tightly, his gaze tired and eerily serene. "I'm home" He rasped before passing out in Sebastian's embrace.
The rhythmic beep of a heart monitor echoed in the cool air as Sebastian watched Ciel sleep soundly on the white sheeted hospital bed. After the young man passed out, he had scooped the listless body up and rushed him to the local hospital. Sebastian was thankful he had purchased a new GPS, the town and its surrounding vicinity were still largely alien to him. Saint Mary's hospital was a half hour away and had a 24 hour emergency room, it was their best bet and the closest in proximity.
The ER staff immediately jumped into action and a nurse calmly spoke with Sebastian about medical histories and insurance information while a Dr. Ash Landers ran basic tests on the still unconscious Ciel. Two hours later, Sebastian still had no solid answers as to what had occurred to them. Why did Ciel react so violently to a nonexistent smell? Why couldn't he himself move to help his ailing lover?
"Mr. Michaelis?" Sebastian looked up and stood from the chair he had been occupying next to Ciel's gurney. Dr. Landers was standing at the doorway of the small room with a clipboard in his hands.
"Yes!" He replied hurriedly, extending his hand to shake the other's. "Thank you for taking care of Ciel!"
"Please, do not thank me, it's all part of the job!" The doctor smiled kindly, casting a quick glance at Ciel. "He wasn't in bad shape when you brought him in, but the fact that he's been out cold throughout this entire time tells me that he must have really exerted himself to the point of exhaustion."
"I've never seen anything like it." Sebastian shook his head, shuddering at the memory. "He almost seemed . . . possessed." Red eyes brimmed with tears as he sat back down with a heavy thud, covering his face with his hand.
"Hey, hey, easy there, no need to get that way!" Landers reached out and patted his shoulder. "You'd be surprised how many cases I see like this every single day. In fact, what happened to you both is quite normal!"
Sebastian looked up. "Normal?" He retorted. "What's so normal about what we went through?"
The doctor grabbed a rolling stool and sat down facing Sebastian. He opened his medical chart and began thumbing through various pages. "I ran an MRI, CT scan and an echocardiogram on your boyfriend; these test measure brain wave patterns, take photos of the cerebral graph and search for deviations in heart rhythms." Tapping the chart he gestured towards the slumbering student. "All normal." He stated simply. "No tumors, no erratic heartbeats, no neurological malformations, zip, zero, nada."
Sebastian shook his head. "Then what the fuck happened?" He growled, growing steadily irritated with the whole situation. "I know I didn't imagine Ciel screaming about smelling fucking rotting bodies and throwing up some yellow shit all over the floor!"
"He experienced a Grand Mal." Sebastian drew in a sharp breath at the smooth calmness of the doctor's words.
"A what?" He stammered, his skin suddenly felt ice cold. "A grand mall?!"
Violet eyes widened for a second before the doctor smiled. "No, no, it's a Grand Mal, not mall." He corrected. "It's also known as a Tonic-Clonic Seizure."
Sebastian blinked, he was beyond confused. "Ciel had a seizure? He's never had one for as long as I've known him!"
Landers shrugged his shoulders. "These are general types of seizures which may occur during any point of a person's life. They often happen without any warning. These seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity throughout the brain causing violent convulsions and leading to a loss of consciousness."
"But why did Ciel get one out of the clear blue?" Sebastian probed, not satisfied with the answer.
The silver haired doctor sighed. "You see, there are several triggers." He began counting them off on his fingers, "sudden drop in blood sugar, a stroke, debilitating diseases, extreme stress-"
"Stress?" Sebastian echoed, eyeing the peaceful man snoring lightly. "Uh, well, the move to come up here was a bit stressful." He admitted sadly, "and about a half hour before we arrived at the new house we had just had a fight."
"Well, there you go!" Exclaimed the doctor, throwing his hands up. "Although that may well be the cause, I suggest Ciel come back in the next few days for tests in order to determine whether or not he suffers from epilepsy."
"Jesus Christ!" Sebastian groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "Epilepsy?"
"It's all precautionary of course." Landers assured. "If he happens to suffer from it there are plenty of suitable and appropriate medical options to choose from. People live everyday normal and highly functioning lives even with episodic seizures, try not to get too worried about this."
"Ok, I'll take your words into consideration, but," Sebastian folded his hands under his chin, resting his elbows on his lap, "explain to me why I couldn't move to help him."
"Shock." Dr. Landers quickly answered, he tilted his head and smiled at the frown on Sebastian's face. "You're not superman, Mr. Michaelis. Seeing your lover in such a frightening state would send anyone into shock, but what matters most is that you both have a clean bill of health and no one was hurt."
Yes, we're ok. Sebastian assured himself, no one was hurt.
"I promised him a long time ago that I would stay by his side and protect him." He stood from his seat and turned towards the hospital bed brushing his hand gently against Ciel's cheek. He had begun to mumble and stir, sure signs that he was awakening, "And I intend to keep my word, no matter what."