He wasn't surprised to find that the inside of the manor had not changed in the slightest, almost like it had not been touched by time. He knew quite well that he had only been absent for a year's time, but it felt like so much longer. He spotted the house maid Mei-Rin busying herself with cleaning the hardwood floors, she looked so frantic and out of sorts just like she always had; normally the sight of the maid annoyed him, but after so long it was a welcomed sight to see something so normal, familiar. At the sound of footsteps the red haired woman stopped her cleaning to see who had entered the mansion, when she spotted Sebastian she dropped the mop to the floor and scurried over to the demon. She tripped and nearly fell twice on her way over to the black haired man, he grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her from falling on her face; the mild blush on her cheeks didn't go unnoticed by the demon.
"Mr. Sebastian w-what are you doing here?" She asked as she pulled away from the demon's grip.
"I still work here, do I not?" He asked doing his best to sound casual, like he hadn't been absent for a year.
He glanced around the spacious room as if he were bored, but if anything he was far from that; his mind was on his master and his condition.
"Y-yes, bu-but you disappeared and we thoug-thought you had quit. The young master was really conc-concerned."
He raised an eyebrow at that, he had felt the young man's calls, but on some level it was hard to imagine the man truly had missed him.
"You and the other servants did look after him though, did you not?" He asked curiously.
She looked nervous, she began nodding her head.
"Y-yes of course sir, we did our best to watch after the young master, bu-but he always asked for you. He-he'd tell us to leave him be and he'd have awful nigh-nightmares and then..." She trailed off and looked back over her shoulder as if checking to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation.
"Then what?" He asked prompting her to continue on, his patience was short but he wouldn't snap at the young woman.
She turned her attention back to him, when she spoke her voice was nearing a whisper.
"There t-here was an incident not too long ago."
Sebastian remembered the searing pain in his hand, the intensity of Ciel calling for him; calling for the demon to rush to his aid. He'd been correct, something had happened and he desperately wanted the maid to just tell him instead of stalling in this fashion.
"What happened?" He asked trying to sound as calm as he possibly could.
"He went into town by himself, he sai-said he needed to be alone to think."
He felt irritated that they had actually allowed Ciel to go out alone; even if he was now near being a grown man he was still physically weak and quite stubborn. If he had been here he never would have let the younger man go out alone, but he hadn't been here and if he had been then Ciel wouldn't have had a reason to go out.
"Tell me what happened, is he alright?"
Again the young woman looked behind her as if expecting somebody to enter the room.
"He was con-confronted by a man from another company, a failed one apparently. I gu-guess he blames the master for losing his business, th-the man cornered the young master an-and well he stabbed him and left him there. Wh-when somebody found him and re-realized who he was they said he just kept muttering your na-name."
He felt a pain in his chest; apparently the distance hadn't numbed his heart, it had only caused feeling to become more painful. He was angry Ciel had gone out on his own, angry the servants had let him do such a stupid thing, angry at the man for attacking the young master, and most angry with himself for leaving. If only he had rushed to Ciel's side when the incident had taken place instead of allowing the younger man to lie there on the streets left to bleed to death. The image caused the pain to increase, the image of the man he loved lying there on the streets bleeding while whispering his name begging for him to come and relieve the pain.
"Is he here?"
"He's up in his study, he-he's better now, bu-"
A door slammed open catching the attention of both demon and maid, they looked in the direction of the noise to see Bard come into the room his eyes full of rage, body tensed, and his eyes set on Sebastian. The demon had never had a great relationship with the cook; a thick headed American who knew nothing of calm or patience, but he was loyal and that was why he had never had much trust in Sebastian's loyalty.
"You, how dare you of all people come back here. You damned bastard, what do ya think you're doing here huh?"
He was standing right in front of the black haired man, he expected and almost wanted Bard to punch him.
"I live here, do I not?"
"Smart ass, do you know what hell you put that guy through?"
Sebastian didn't respond, he merely allowed the mortal man to continue his yelling.
"Hes been miserable ever since you ran off, you shouldn't even be showing your face right now. He never really said nothing or showed it, but I could tell he missed you and then he nearly got killed and the first thing he ask for when he wakes up is you. Do you even care, do you?"
"He is my master, of course I am concerned."
The blonde haired man hauled his fist back preparing to hit Sebastian, Mei-Rin grabbed hold of his arm gently urging him to calm down.
"Pl-please calm down, I know you're upset." She whispered trying to calm the man.
He visibly relaxed, but his eyes were still fixed upon Sebastian.
"Hopefully he fires you."
With that Bard and Mei-Rin turned and left the room leaving Sebastian alone.
They didn't need to know how miserable he had been away from this place, away from the human who made him feel love. He didn't mind having Bard yell at him and threaten him, but he knew having the young master treat him cruelly would be something near impossible to stand. He took his time going up to the study; he wondered just how much the younger man had changed, how much more beautiful he had become, and just how badly he was injured from his scrap with the failed businessman. There was an urge to rush to the room, to be by his master's side once again, but he felt uneasy about the pain and anger that awaited him behind the door. It would be a very long time until things could return to normal if they even could and he knew that, just like he knew that some day the contract would come to a close like it should have many years ago. Greedy men like Ciel Phantomhive never ran short of enemies though, so maybe his revenge would never be settled; his rage would never ease into a state of peace.
Sebastian stood outside of the study, he stared at the door that in this moment seemed intimidating; he wondered if this was something like the feeling of fear humans damned to Hell felt.
He slowly opened the door and stepped inside of the room; at the desk sat his young master. His head was slightly bowed as he focused on the stacks of papers scattered across the surface of the desk. His hand ran back through his slightly long deep blue colored hair that appeared to need trimmed, his clothing was a bit messed as if he'd dressed himself. Upon hearing the door open he glanced up to see who came to disturb him when he had ordered everyone to give him his space. His eye widened when he saw Sebastian standing at the entrance of the room.
"Se-Sebastian?" His voice was weak, just barely a whisper.
The demon gave a bow, his hand placed upon his chest.
"Yes my Lord"
He stood up straight again, the blue eyed man stood to his feet; he slammed his hands down on the top of the desk.
"Where in Hell have you been?"
The shock was gone now replaced by a more than evident anger.
"Away my Lord." He answered simply.
Ciel hit his fist against the desk.
"Don't play sly with me Sebastian, you disappeared for an entire year. Answer me!"
"I just needed some time away, but I've returned unless of course you don't wish for me to be here any longer."
Past the anger he could see the fear, he wondered if some part of the mortal man wanted to embrace him just as badly as he wanted to embrace the mortal.
"I called for you, why didn't you come?" He asked stepping from behind the desk.
It wasn't until he was standing before the butler that Sebastian realized that Ciel was nearly as tall as he.
"I most apologize young master."
"I nearly died because of you, you're supposed to be loyal to me; you're my butler, aren't you?"
"Yes my Lord"
"Tell me why you left."
"Do you really wish to know?" He asked giving a small smile.
Ciel smacked him across the face, the hit took him by surprise.
"I order you to answer me."
"I was simply bored"
Another hit, he wasn't surprised by the second one. He knew he deserved to be beaten senseless, but he also knew that was something the younger man would never do.
"Bored, are you still bored or does my agony amuse you?"
"I'm no longer bored my Lord."
"Filthy beast, why did I ever believe such a lowly creature could be loyal."
Ciel winced in pain and grabbed at his left side, Sebastian reached out for him; the blue haired man smacked his hands away and stepped back out of the raven's reach.
"Don't you dare touch me you filthy beast; get out of my sight."
"Where do you wish for me to go master?"
"Do chores, annoy the other servants, or rot in Hell for all that I care. Just leave my sight you filthy animal."
His hateful words stung, the pain etched into his face was nearing unbearable yet he gave another slight bow before exiting the room. It had been what he had expected; he had expected no kindness or forgiveness from his master, that was one of the things that caused him to love the human so dearly; his stubbornness, the way he could cling onto his anger and pain for so long. Sebastian wasn't thrilled at having it aimed in his direction, having the young man hate him so deeply. As he walked the halls of the manor he wondered how long it would be until the young man would begin to forgive him in even the slightest.