Death Watch

Chapter Three

Shattered

Darkness. Darkness spread, grasping him, enveloping him, suffusing into him. Icy fingers crept, caressing, embracing, numbing him. Numbing him to the world, to pain, to hope. He sank then willingly, gladly, to oblivion. His lungs tried to rebel, finally gasping at last, knowing it was futile and fatal, but unable to resist. Stinging, burning coldness filled his lungs as naught but frigid water was inexorably sucked in.

Pain. Excruciating pain stabbed at him, wrung and twisted at him. And then...

Arms. Strong arms had him, were wrapped around him. Lifting him up, soaring, surging through the watery grave that reluctantly relinquished its grip on him.

Breaking the surface, they left the water to touch down on the snowy surface of the lake next to the gaping, jagged hole in which dark waters now lapped and splashed onto the border. Ciel looked up at his butler's face, now only dimly illuminated by the deep twilight, as coruscating crimson eyes gazed back into his. A sound like a rifle blast split the night, echoing through the land, as the force of their impact unexpectedly resulted in the entire surface immediately splintering and then shattering like so much fragile glass dropped from a height, the pieces then slowly sinking into the small lake.

Ciel felt the demon leap back up, his arms tightly around him as he soared through the air, to land on the shore by the trees where he then gently lowered him to the ground. As soon as he did, Ciel fell to his knees and began coughing and sputtering up large chunks of foul tasting pond water, which then made him vomit, which then made him cough some more…

Ughh! Ciel thought. Why didn't I just die when I was down there? It would have been better than this... He felt his back being gently patted and stroked. Was... that... Sebastian? He was surprised by the gesture. He looked up at his servant, into his wide, covertly glowing eyes. He couldn't quite read the expression on his face.

"Young master... Are you... alright?" There was no mistaking it; that was concern in his voice, Ciel realized. It surprised him.

"Yes, I'm fine," he answered wearily.

His butler's eyes closed, and he stayed there, breathing deeply, his head bowed. Opening his eyes and raising his head then, he looked at Ciel with a smile of half delight, half annoyance. "I am glad to hear it, young master."

Ciel just shook his head, and went back about the business of coughing and writhing in pain as his chest felt like it was being constricted by one of Snake's larger cold blooded friends with every breath he took.

"Aah! Aah!" he wheezed. "Gah!"

"Calm your breath, master!" Sebastian commanded him tenderly but sternly. "Breathe in slowly and steadily." Ciel attempted to do as he bid, and after many minutes felt the pressure from his chest ease a little.

"Yes. Yes, that's it," he heard Sebastian say as he was finally breathing normally once more. "Let's get you home now, young master. We need to warm you up as soon as possible," he said, as two sturdy arms wound around his chest and under his knees. "We must make all due haste. I cannot allow you to get sick after this; so, if you don't mind, I will carry you once more. With your permission?"

Ciel wrapped his arms tightly around his butler's neck in wordless response, and leaned his head against his shoulder. That was all the answer the demon needed. The next thing he knew, they were flying through the air, rapidly covering ground as they headed for the mansion, great leap after great leap, bounding across the land.

The evening's shadows had deepened, the moon's full light shining bright by the time they reached the mansion. Ciel's chest still felt tight and painful and his head was swimming when they began ascending the stairs to his room. Upon entering his chambers, Sebastian set him down onto his feet, and Ciel swayed where he stood a little, but managed to keep his balance. His whole body now felt like one giant block of ice, but somehow he didn't have the energy to even shiver. Sebastian eyed him for a moment, his brows knit a little with worry. Trying to act normal, Ciel sat on the edge of the bed to allow Sebastian to obediently remove his shoes as was his customary duty still.

"I will begin drawing your bath, master, as well as briefly excuse myself to change my own clothing. It will only take a minute." He then went to Ciel's wardrobe and retrieved a long, thick robe for him, placing it on the bed before proceeding to the adjoining bathing room. Ciel heard the sound of water running and the opening of cabinets and clinking of bottles as soaps were fetched and towels were gathered, and then the sound of the door closing as Sebastian left. He supposed he should start disrobing, and began slowly trying to unbutton his coat, but the material was still wet, and the buttons stubbornly refused to budge no matter how he tried to work at them. Was he such a helpless child that he couldn't even unbutton his own coat now, he chastised himself? He had been working hard this past year at trying to act more like an adult, ordering Sebastian not only to stop carrying him whenever possible, but also to stop doing all his dressing and undressing, and to stop bathing him. Well, that last was partly due, in fact, to his having matured in certain other areas, which had led to a little embarrassment on his part whenever he bathed him. Sebastian had assured him it was only normal, and had even made an appointment for his private doctor to come and have a little talk with him about such matters (which had frankly been thoroughly mortifying, but had clarified a number of things that he had wondered about, he admitted to himself).

He shook himself from these thoughts at the realization that Sebastian was now unbuttoning his coat for him, one deft maneuvering of his fingers after another, seemingly with the ease of simply lightly running his fingers over them. When had his butler even returned, he wondered, startled? But he acquiesced to his helping him remove his coat and then jacket as the room was now swaying slightly all around him, and he was forced to put a hand on Sebastian's shoulder when he had progressed to taking off his shoes. Looking up at Ciel, his butler's eyes silently asked him if he needed help with the remainder of his clothing. Ciel gazed back at him, and tried to shake his head, but the room immediately jolted back and forth so violently he thought he was going to be tossed to the floor, and he clutched at Sebastian's neck in desperation.

"Master... What is it?" he heard his servant say. But everything had gone dark, as his eyes were closed, and he was loath to open them. "Ciel, are you feeling alright?" he asked. He was momentarily taken aback by his butler's use of his given name, but this soon faded away as everything seemed to have drifted out, too far to fathom the meaning of, and he just shook his head, disoriented.

"No; no, I am fine," he replied stubbornly. "I am just...a little weary."

"Master, pardon me, but would you give me permission to assist you in bathing just this once? I fear you are too exhausted and perhaps beginning to be too ill to do so yourself, and it is imperative that we get you warmed and cleaned up as soon as possible, or else you will most assuredly become sick."

Ciel couldn't find any reasonable objections to this request, and simply nodded his head. "Yes, that's fine, Sebastian. Just this once..."

Reaching around his head, Sebastian's hand came to the string of his eye patch, gently pulling on it to untie it and then releasing it from his head with a sweep of his other hand. He then felt his belt being unbuckled and his trousers slid down, and then his socks and garters being removed as he sat on the bench, all as if in a daze. He wondered if he was just tired or if he really was starting to come down sick. His neck tie was loosened and freed, and then lastly his shirt was swiftly unbuttoned, arms pulled out, and then that, too, was off. Now standing completely naked in front of Sebastian, Ciel felt a momentary surge of modesty, but this was quickly forgotten when he was hit by a violent bout of shivering from the cold air upon his now fully exposed body. Sebastian stood back up, and after draping the heavy robe around Ciel's shoulders, strode to the bathing room, only glancing back once at Ciel to see if he was following, which he then began to do, after pulling the robe tightly around himself. He made it to the tub, shrugging off the robe to let it fall on the floor and, with just a little difficulty, clambered up the little step stool. Lifting himself over the side of the basin, he then slowly lowered himself into the warm, sudsy water.

"Aaah," he sighed, as the luscious warmth enveloped his body and lulled his mind.

He sensed the tall form of his butler shadowing him, and looked up. Sebastian had the scrubbing cloth in his hand, hovering over his body, his face wearing a questioning look. Ciel sighed again. He needed to get clean, to scour that filthy pond scum off him. He could feel it still clinging to him, like ants running over his body... But his hand wouldn't even come up to grasp the cloth when he bid it; he was just so tired... Maybe just this once he would...

He nodded as way of command. His butler's eyes widened a little in surprise, but then his features eased into a smile as he commenced running the cloth down his neck, and along his shoulders in obedience. Ah, it felt so good to be pampered like this again, Ciel sighed to himself, as much as he hated to admit it. Just this once...

He then gave in to simply enjoying the sensation of the cloth being drawn gently down his chest, under his arms and down his back, around his waist, and then past it to his groin... When Sebastian reached that area, Ciel perked up a little in consciousness, fearing what his reaction would be, whether it would be that which it had been the last few times he had been bathed by him, over a year ago now, which had been the catalyst for his having decided to bathe himself from then on, and for Sebastian to have seen fit to provide him with that little education session... And yes, as he expected, other things did indeed start to perk up...

Damn it! He knew he shouldn't feel self-conscious about it, though; the doctor had explained to him that it was all normal, just the body's natural reaction to stimulation. It wasn't something he could control, so he shouldn't be embarrassed by it. His mind spun, and he was feeling alternately flushed then chilled, even submerged in the hot bath water as he was, as the still-gloved hand of his butler moved up and down his length, now hardened and sensitized, running the cloth up around the head of his shaft, and over and under his foreskin, thoroughly cleansing it, as conscientiously efficient as a butler only should be.

He began to breathe harder as the pleasure increased and surged through his whole body. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the tub, and unconsciously began tilting his hips forward slightly with every downward stroke of the cloth.

He wanted to tell Sebastian not to stop; to keep doing that. He wanted, needed it to keep going, to get to that point, to completion. He didn't care about the propriety of it, although he knew he should. He hadn't done such for himself in days now, and this felt even better than when he did...

The ministrations stopped. He opened his eyes. Sebastian had stayed his hand just over his still throbbing member, now slightly reddened from the stimulation. Slowly, the demon brought his head up; one brow rose as red eyes gleamed into his blue ones.

Complete and utter embarrassment set in. His face felt ablaze with flushing, and he looked down, then away towards the wall. He couldn't look the demon in the eye. Then to both his disappointment and relief, he felt the cloth immediately begin running down his thighs now, and then his calves. His feet were brought upwards one by one, and the cloth pressed over his arches and wound in and around each toe. This felt almost as good as what he had been doing before. To be catered to like this, administered to, with caring gentleness... He hadn't realized how much he had missed it, this past year. He sighed. Despite the warmth of the bath, however, he shivered once again, and his head felt heavy and light at the same time.

Hair lathered and rinsed, body toweled dry, Ciel sat on the side of his bed dressed in his night shirt as Sebastian removed his slippers. He shivered violently, despite the roaring fire in the hearth that had been going for over an hour now.

"Se… Sebastian, why is it s... s... still so cold in here?" he asked. The demon looked at him quizzically. "Master, it is quite warm, actually." His hand came up to Ciel's cheek, then forehead. Concern drew over his features. "You are fevered, my lord." Ciel shivered again. A fever? Then why was he so chilled, he wondered? He shook his head. This turned out to be a mistake, as it caused the entire room to spin and wobble, and make him lean over sideways to catch himself on the side of his bed. Crawling into it then as Sebastian pulled the coverlet down, he barely made it to his pillow before collapsing, as another bout of intense shivering gripped him.

Sebastian pulled the coverlet back up and over him, tucking him in close. "Sleep well, young master," he heard him say. "Hopefully you will be feeling better in the morning. If not, we will call for the doctor. If there is anything else you need..." Ciel's eyes fluttered opened, and he looked up at his butler. Another violent attack of shuddering racked his body. So cold... Why was it so cold? He pulled the blankets closer around him, but to no avail. He needed warmth. He thought of the night before, and how Sebastian had lent his very body as a means of heat when he needed it... The thought filled him with longing... He found his hand had come up of its own accord to grasp at the butler's arm sleeve.

"Sebastian," he muttered weakly. "Don't le... leave me," Ciel said between chattering teeth. "Stay with me, and ke…ke-keep me… warm."

"Master?" The demon's face was a mix of surprise and confusion.

"Stay here, next to me. I need you... to keep... me warm." His voice wavered and faded out with a soft breath. He couldn't think... "Ke... keep me..." Everything was so jumbled and spinning in his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, and shivered as another wave of icy coldness swept over him. "Please..."

The demon hesitated, and merely stood there, apparently at a standstill of what to do.

"Sebastian, this… this is… an order," Ciel said petulantly. The demon's brow rose, and he smirked.

"Very well, young master." He sat down on the other side of the bed and took off his shoes, and then pulled down the comforter to crawl in next to him. Ciel immediately felt the demon's warmth radiate into him. Turning to face his butler, Ciel saw that he was looking at him in the most curious way. Probably thinking he had gone off his rocker, he figured, and was no doubt trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. Well, too bad, he thought. He was just so fucking freezing, he swore to himself without caring. He needed warmth, and the demon was just a convenient way for him to have it. So let him think what he will, he concluded to himself, and turning back around, shuffled his body even closer to the demon's, who then obligingly turned on his side to Ciel's gratification. Reaching up and back with one hand, he pawed around until he felt the cloth of his butler's arm and grabbing it, tugged on it, pulling further to indicate that he wanted it to rest over him. The demon complied, and Ciel then nestled himself snugly once more into the curve of his butler's body. He then sighed with relief, as a glorious warmth finally suffused his shivering body, and he slowly relaxed into the comfort and security that enveloped him.


Sebastian gazed down at the pitiful creature nestled against his chest, still trembling in bouts here and then. He felt the boy's warmth flowing back into his equally heated body, and frowned a little when another violent quake racked the boy's small frame. He was definitely ill with something, that much was obvious, along with being feverish. He sincerely hoped whatever it was would be ameliorated come morning. His concern surprised him. But of course, it was not only his contracted duty to protect the boy, but keeping him alive was necessary if he was to ever reach his goal of revenge and thus fulfill the contract and allow him to finally have his meal. It would be a lie however to say he didn't thoroughly enjoy his time with boy while he lived.

He pulled the watch out from his jacket pocket easily and smoothly as only he could do without disturbing the boy in the smallest amount. The thin rays of moonlight that peeked from the edges of the curtains caught the gleam of the now polished pure gold, and glinted in the spidery etchings of the crest as it dangled, rotating slowly from its chain, held up before him. He gazed at the primitive but beautiful object, a work by these humans of some complexity for their time, he conceded. It touched his cold, demon heart (or at least, the analog of what passed for one in his present form), that the boy had seen fit to appoint him ownership of something which he no doubt held in high esteem.

He thought back to their conversation of rare candor during the train ride back. Yes; he would miss him. It was true. He remembered the absolute terror that had filled him when he had first come to the scene at the lake and realized Ciel had fallen in, and could possibly have already drowned. Foolish, rash, idiotic child to have wandered off like that, demanding he stay behind; and then to walk right out onto a frozen lake when it was barely winter and the ice was surely thin. Well, he gentled his fury, he had probably not known; such things as these were not as obvious to humans, with their dim senses, as they were to demons. The Meerlia naturally had greater abilities and powers of perception than humans, being hundreds of thousands of years more advanced than them after all, and possessing superior natures and intellects. Not that this in any way lessened his affection for the chosen objects of sacrifice to his appetite. He cared about his quarry, was amused and sometimes quite taken with them occasionally; but of course, that was what made them all the more enjoyable when the time came to have his feast.

Ciel stirred suddenly, and shifted around a little, his backside grinding slightly into Sebastian's pelvic region as he tucked the watch back in his pocket. Sparks of pleasure shot up the demon's body, making him gasp, silently although not without difficulty. Damn, this human body of his; well, more than human, with its hyper sensitive reactions, and damn the boy for being so incredibly desirable. His predicament grew along with other things as the boy wiggled about some more, finding the most comfortable position against hard torso and metallic buttons. Sebastian hadn't bothered to take off his vest or even his jacket before climbing into bed with him. The removal of his shoes was more than sufficient, he felt, and he was glad that he hadn't. It was hard enough as it was; he didn't wanted to be tempted any more than he had to be. Not that he would ever actually engage in such sordid and inadvisable relations with the boy, however much he would greatly enjoy doing so, as that would be going against his butler aesthetic. There wasn't much he held in reverence, as sacred to his kind; but keeping true to his principals was one of them.

It wasn't something he was used to, however, not being able to fornicate with his contractor as he had been able to do with most of his previous ones. It was one of the perks he had always enjoyed about the otherwise tedious and time consuming task of cultivating the souls he managed to procure. But the nature of this particular contract precluded the likelihood of that ever becoming a reality. It didn't help that this was one of the lengthiest contracts he'd had to endure, and that he was therefore so very, very hungry. And not only that, but this was an unusually enticing creature, with his most high quality, savory soul. It would be so tempting to assuage his hunger with just a taste of the soul's flavor which could be sensed from its physical form, if only dimly. Normally, his very proximity was delight enough to ease his longings, but it was getting harder every day.

Three more tortuous hours went by, as the boy tossed and turned, alternately kicking out and away from him, and then delving back into the comforting nook of his butler's warmth. Sebastian endured it, and continued to abide through the half the night. Until it became just too much, even for him. At least, too much not to at least try to break free from it. Gently, he prodded his master's form, softly shaking his shoulder to wake him. The boy had been sleeping much sounder actually for the past hour, and putting the back of his hand to his head, Sebastian could tell his fever had finally broken. An unexpected relief washed over him, and then the boy murmured and his eyelashes fluttered as his eyes opened. Cobalt-blue left eye and contract-laced, violet-hued right gazed up at him sleepily, and then opened wide. Sebastian spoke soothingly.

"Master, I should be getting back to my quarters. I have duties to see to; preparations to make, before the start of the day."

"Uhhgnn..." Ciel replied groggily. "Wha?" Sebastian could tell he wasn't quite fully awake, and perhaps still a little feverish. But he persisted.

"If it's alright with you, my lord?" When no answer came forthwith, he continued. "With your permission, then?" The boy just nodded his head, no doubt without any real comprehension of what was transpiring, but Sebastian allowed himself to take this as an affirmative, and slowly extricated himself from the boy leaning against him. His support removed, the small form fell softly onto his back and then proceeded to roll over and curl up into a tight little ball. Silently and gracefully dropping off the bed, the demon tucked the coverlet snugly around him the best he could, and then made his escape, crossing the room to open and shut the door without even a click. He then made his way back to his own quarters finally, with a deep sigh of relief.

Upon reaching his room, he decided to stretch out on his own bed for a bit, and enjoy the feel of being unfettered, unassaulted by the closeness of the object of his temptation. Unfortunately, this resulted in the opposite effect, as his mind instantly began recalling with precise detail every single moment of said prior situation's temptation that he had just endured for more than half the night.

He lay back, and squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance. He would eagerly engage in carnal pleasures with the boy, if he could. He imagined how tight he would be around his dick, as he thrust into that sweet little ass; imagined pumping his shaft, wet and slickened, in between those soft, plump cheeks. His cock got full and hard as he thought this, soon straining his trousers and begging for attention.

Surrendering to his body's need, he brought out his member as he continued thinking about the boy, and started stroking himself slowly, then faster as he tightened his hand around his shaft and jerked himself furiously, his eyes half lidded. His mouth opened in little pants as he huffed out his pleasure, gasping finally as he neared then achieved completion, his orgasm rocking his body and spurting his fluid out and all over his hand and thighs. Damn. Now he would need to go clean himself up once more, he thought with vexation as he rose.

Standing under the intensely hot spray of the shower, pouring cleansing rivulets down his body, he gathered up his strength to face another day with his relentless charge. It was not easy, not easy at all having to act as a human butler to this boy. It was quite the challenge; but a challenge that he enjoyed, nonetheless. He couldn't say he was markedly sad that the finding of the watch had not led to the finding of the murderers, at least as of yet, he thought to himself, a bit bemused with himself for thinking so, and then smiled. Of course, it was a simple fact that the greater the hunger, the more satisfying the meal. And this meal promised to be an exceptionally delightful one.