Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji belongs to Toboso Yana blah blah blah... Sebastian is too awesome to own blah blah blah... (still, I wish I could have him. sigh)
London was bright and alive, shimmering with lights all around the city. The temperature was slightly cold, but passable. Ciel Phantomhive was strolling -or being dragged- around the lively streets with his fiancée, Elizabeth Midford, the butler Sebastian following close behind. It had been well around five long weeks since Grell had been assigned to reap in the Yorkshire County, and many things had happened in between.
Just the day after the reaper had parted ways with the dark-haired butler, Ciel took the information he had received from him and put it to good use...by blackmailing the demon. That morning after the reaper had taken his leave, the earl had set up a match to entertain himself; the boy brought a renowned master of Taekwondo to spar with the dark-clad butler, thinking he could at least get a laugh out of the fight. Yet the fight ended so fast and so...ungracefully to say the least (the martial artist fainted after a nosebleed being kicked to the face...and then the crotch), it wasn't even funny. But Ciel conjured up a positively malicious plan for the evening as the butler returned to his side victorious. So at dinner, the boy called his butler, asking for some more of the Oolong tea, and upon the butler's return, Ciel announced he had something seemingly important to say. The butler knelled down beside the young master, raised an eyebrow and listened. Oh, he remembered the moment like it had happened just yesterday...
"I know something about you...Romeo." Ciel spoke with a low yet suggestive voice as he turned to his demon butler, snickering.
He chuckled mentally seeing as Sebastian's expression contorted into one of a frightened deer seeing its hunter (before getting shot) and sharply back to the normal, stoic face. Yes, he would have fun for a while.
And so the butler spent the whole week doing as the master ordered, from making the earl sweets before meals, to every damned thing like a human is supposed to do (that included cleaning the rooms with a broom and duster slowly...every room with a broom and duster slowly) with the boy threatening to scream to the heavens, or preferably the Undertaker, that a demon could love and he had proof. The blackmailing really began when the young master in his study had asked the question "Would you like to explain what the rose was about?"
The butler halted, answering too loudly and quickly "It's nothing. Nothing of interest!" and excused himself to arrange the tableware for the guests arriving in two hours, irritated. The grouchy faced Sebastian and his phrase 'Nothing of interest' only made the boy want to spontaneously double over and start laughing, but that would mean he admitted this was absolutely the most hilarious moment in his young life.
Which it was.
It seems like the earl got bored after three weeks had passed of using the same method of teasing and playing with the butler. Ciel was a true child, getting tired of playing with toys and throwing them away, soon awaiting a new one to be presented later. The rose was the toy this time, and he was getting bored of using it against the demon. Besides, Sebastian was starting to get used to the –usual– maltreatment and appeared unaffected after the first week.
If only the young boy knew of the striped ribbon tied around his neck hidden...Sebastian would never hear the end of it.
Along the teasing and blackmailing, Sebastian was very careful not to show what he was hiding under his shirt's collar. Yet for some reason, he couldn't bear to part with the item. He never took it off; well, only to clean and iron it; but besides the occasional explosions that occurred due to Bardroy's cooking habits, the striped tie never left his sight, or touch. He wouldn't understand himself why he kept the ribbon neatly always around him, but knowing it was the reaper's most favored tie, maybe he felt responsible to return it exactly as it was before.
Most of the time Sebastian would stare out into the garden and hope the reaper would be there today, but alas, every day for the past five weeks, the sun set without a glimpse of red ever appearing by his eyes outside of the sky's changing colors. This oddly saddened the normally emotionless butler.
Now though, they were in the midst of the London crowd accompanying Lizzy on her shopping spree. Ciel would sometimes look back at his butler and see he was busy staring around the large crowd.
It seemed like he was looking for something. No, waiting for someone.
Elizabeth had entered a women's clothing store and told Ciel to wait outside, something about a 'surprise' for him. The young boy took the liberty of turning to his distracted butler and spoke. "Sebastian."
"Yes, my lord?" The tall man said.
"You seem distracted. What are you looking for?" Ciel raised his arms and wrapped them around his small chest, waiting an answer.
"...I'm not sure, my lord." He showed shame in preoccupying himself with his thoughts and not his master. He unconsciously rubbed the part of his collar that was shielding the ribbon from sight.
Ciel stopped to think. "...Are you expecting that red beast to jump out of nowhere?"
He stopped. "...I wouldn't call him a beast..." Sebastian looked at the street's road, as if it was more important than their chat.
The short boy put on a stupefied face. "Oh dear God in heaven, you really do like Grell? You're actually defending him—" Then Elizabeth exited the store with a beautiful orange dress hanging on her small arms.
"Look, look! Ciel! Isn't this the prettiest dress you've ever seen?" Her eyes light up as she spoke. "It's imported from Paris! Mother told me it arrived today at the store; I've been waiting two whole months for it to be available here! And I got to show it to you first!" She ended swaying the dress back and forth.
"My lady, you mustn't carry your new dress like that, it will be ruined." Sebastian grabbed the dress from the young fiancée and smirked as she jumped to Ciel with a small 'thank you' and almost pried the poor earl's arm off with joy. Then a small glimmer of red appeared at the corner of his eye.
He turned, somewhat expectantly, but found it was a blond noble lady adorned with a long, red silky dress. The butler was shocked to see that he wanted to see Grell pop out of nothingness as he usually does. Truthfully, the reaper doesn't appear as often as it is mentioned. Grell visited the mansion only three times since they've met: the first time, he was in human disguise as Madam Red's butler, as a form of training; the second, he came a few weeks after the Jack the Ripper case to announce he was back to proclaim his love and 'vow to the heavens he would always love the demon, even if he could never get his affection in return' dramatically, before being kicked out; and the third time was when he had finished reaping the young children in the nursery disheartened, followed by the next morning's visit to return the flower. They only ever encountered each other in the streets of London, or while serving his master. Just then, a strange thought was formed in his mind...
They haven't met enough times to know anything about each other. Yet the reaper openly stated that he fell head-over-heels for the demon as love at first sight.
The butler himself thought all those times the ginger was really very annoying and disturbing, only having a crush on him that would soon fade away (despite proclaiming wanting to bear his children). But after watching the redhead express more than just his usual flaunting and actually showing weakness and softness, Sebastian felt he only pulled away because the unruly behavior Grell always presented pushed him back. Truly, the demon didn't know anything about the reaper, and the reaper in return didn't know anything about the demon...but still, how would one love a stranger? How could someone fall in love 'at first sight'? Or was this romance all a farce?
Ciel noticed the butler was (believe it or not) moping about his expectation and disappointment. The earl and his fiancée entered the horse carriage and the butler led the carriage to the manor.
The young master saw his butler deep in thought the rest of the evening, up until Lizzy's ride home had arrived. What he was thinking about was anyone's guess. But Ciel could feel it had something to do with the red transvestite. Everything slowly, but steadily, changed over the past month around Sebastian. He would see unknown expressions and uncharacteristic responses from the butler when Ciel pointed out a mistake, Sebastian lightened his servants' punishment for causing mayhem about, he even showed what seemed to be a real genuine smile every now and then (directed at no one, but still a smile), and the butler dozed off in thought, staring at the sky, more often. An odd new trait in the demon was that he occasionally placed his own hand and rested it alongside his neck, unbeknownst of this himself. The only reason for his butler's sudden change in character that could be conjured in the boy's mind was that certainly Sebastian really did worry for the reaper. Or more.
As he said his good-byes to his fiancée, Ciel reflected on how he came to care for her. If the demon felt anything towards Grell as he felt for Lady Elizabeth, would anything else change?
The carriage finally departed with a promised visit when the spring would come. Both servant and master entered the manor and made their way to the earl's study. When the door was closed behind them, Ciel broke the silence.
"Sebastian, I have a question."
"What is it this time, my lord?" A hint of annoyance in his voice. This was one of the new reactions in the butler that the earl had to get used to.
"Do you really like that reaper, Grell Sutcliff? ...You know, you didn't quite answer my question before." Ciel said while taking his seat behind the desk, which had two new books placed on top.
"..." Sebastian took another moment to think. 'Can I say I do? I'm not sure myself yet...'
"Well?" The young boy was getting impatient. Sebastian came to a conclusion then.
"I cannot say I do, but I also cannot say I don't...as a demon, I've never felt such a thing, my lord, and so I cannot answer you." He simply answered.
"I see...then, as a human, could I be of some assistance? You could ask something you are doubtful about. Take this opportunity; you know I'm normally not so generous." He ended with a huff.
"Of course, my lord." The butler placed a hand to his chin, thinking. 'There are many doubts in my mind, but which would be the most important?' he pondered. "Ah," he came to a decision.
"What if I cannot stop thinking about a person; what is that considered?"
The earl sat up straight when he heard those words. 'Ca-can't stop thinking about—' The boy turned slightly red.
"W-well, in human terms, that would mean you...you care deeply for the person you're thinking about...as in...lo—" The front door's timbre was heard loud around the large manor.
"I shall get that, my lord." Sebastian stepped out of the room to answer the door, unaware of what his master was about to say. The earl was still in his own state of stupefaction. The butler didn't look like he understood completely his first words about caring...but Sebastian definitely would have if he had finished his sentence. What was more of a shock to him was that, yes, his demon butler felt love. Love for a moron, in his mind, but still, love.
'I guess Grell would really be the luckiest 'lady' in the world in 'her' terms...'
A knock was heard from the door in his study and the butler entered.
"It is a letter from the Queen sent by her messenger." Sebastian answered. But his mind was clouded with other matters. 'So I care for the reaper, the young master says...but that doesn't explain why I felt nervous that time...'
The earl reads the letter to push away the current thoughts. "Our assistance is needed by the Queen. It appears some strange murders have been occurring in the Yorkshire County for the past five weeks and it's getting out of hand. We'll leave early tomorrow to investigate the crime scenes.
Sebastian's mind stopped working momentarily.
'Yorkshire... Isn't that where Grell was sent to reap souls?'
To be continued…
I actually did a little research on this (I felt like being oddly specific this time XD)