Ciel spent his fourteenth birthday on the run.

The latest safe house (safe manor, really) was in Paris, France. At one time he would have been excited about his first time traveling. Now, he spent his time fearing for his parents, wondering the fate of his fellow orphans. They had fled London the night of the assault and gave him little explanation for why he was being targeted. He didn't need his father to tell him it was by his previous captors, that was a simple deduction, but why now? He thought he deserved answers now more than ever but as usual he was left in the dark.

He pushed away his untouched dinner. Sebastian gave him a concerned look that he ignored. Sure, the food was delicious and the manor they stayed at was lavish, but a beautiful prison is still a prison. The size of the lodgings just reminded him how empty they felt. After entrusting him to Sebastian's care, his parents had returned to London to pursue the people who were after him. It was that night he began to put the pieces together. The secretive meetings, the late outings...a butler who seemed better trained in the skills of an assassin than folding towels.

He'd heard rumors of the Queen's guard dog at the orphanage. Or, as he had now learned, guard dogs. They fit the bill so perfectly he was angry at himself for not realizing it sooner. The Aristocrats of Evil.

"You should be protecting them instead of me," Ciel said, not for the first time.

"My orders are to remain by your side. I prefer those orders, if I am to be honest."

Sebastian smiled as he knelt by the breakfast table and cupped the side of Ciel's face in his hand. He ran his thumb along the bottom of Ciel's eye patch. Ciel closed his eye as he could not bear the affection in Sebastian's scarlet gaze. He wanted his life back, if not the one where he had his parents, then to be back at the orphanage where he didn't have to be troubled to care for anyone but himself. Life had been easier, then.

He knocked Sebastian's hand away and stood up. "Don't touch me, devil."

It had been a week since they left London and they hadn't spoken of what he had seen. At the mention of it, Sebastian stood up with a hard look. "You had your suspicious long before you saw my true nature, and they were of no bother to you until you needed somewhere to put your anger."

"Oh listen to you sounding hurt, as if you can feel such a thing. You're just disappointed because I'm not under your spell anymore and you can't, I don't know, eat me or whatever your intentions were."

When Sebastian responded his elongated fangs flashed and the depth of his anger began to show. "I don't have the power of mind control. Your thoughts and desires were purely your own when you accepted me. Furthermore, you are not my next meal, of that I can assure you."

They stared at each other until Ciel turned on his heel and left the room. The short heels on his shoes clicked against the white marble floor, echoing throughout the desolate house. There was very little furnishings and even fewer guests. It was only Ciel and Sebastian but even that number dwindled to one as Ciel strode out the front door. He was pleasantly surprised that he wasn't followed. He walked the cold streets at a fast, infuriated pace but no sense of direction.

Sebastian had spent the morning trying to pretend like everything was fine, pampering Ciel for his birthday like some sort of royalty. He saw right through the butler's efforts to ensnare him once more. Once he was reunited with his family he could see to having him removed from the household, perhaps the old man with the tea could be his butler. Making these plans gave him both satisfaction and an odd hollow feeling.

He leaned back against a dingy stone wall and let his blank stare fall on the bistro across the street from him. No one gave him a second look. No one cared that he was the hunted, elusive Ciel Phantomhive, child to the Queen's right and left hands. He was just a shivering boy in an eyepatch. He watched a couple walk by and snorted. City of Love, eh? What a fickle thing love could be. He couldn't deny, not even to himself, that he had feelings for Sebastian. No, the idea of Sebastian. The vampire or demon or whatever the Hell he was had made Ciel feel safe and wanted, two things that he had never had or wanted until that devil came into his life. Then Sebastian gave them to him and it was wonderful while the illusion lasted.

It was true that he hadn't been bothered when he saw Sebastian in his bedroom that night. Somehow he had let himself think nothing had changed except he knew Sebastian was not of this world, but when his mind cleared after the attack on the manor, he accepted whatever Sebastian was couldn't possibly be capable of caring for him.

The smell of the bistro was calling to him. It looked bright and warm in there. He started toward it, but his foot wavered on the edge of the sidewalk. He cursed and turned away once more. It wouldn't do for his parents to return to a kidnapped or dead son. There was no telling whose eyes were on him, or where they might be lurking. He resolved to go back to the safe house. The sight of the place silhouetted against the twilit sky lowered his spirits even further.

Sebastian opened the door before he reached it. "My lord."

Ciel walked past him and up the stairs in silence. He found a roaring fire in his room along with a plate of freshly baked cookies and a glass of milk. Naturally, Sebastian had known when he would arrive. The inhuman butler had probably been following him. He sunk into the chair in front of the fire and stared at the cookies. He wanted nothing prepared for him by that man, if such a word could be used on Sebastian, but his stomach rumbled in protest. He had almost made it through the plate of them when he heard the music.

It was coming from downstairs. He put his half eaten cookie down to listen. The distinct sound of the violin filled the manor with a mournful, lonely song. He felt like his breastbone had collapsed and crushed his heart. The strings seemed to be crying out every bit of the grief he had felt and even that which he had caused others. A powerful thing, music was. He finished his plate and took it downstairs.

The music had not stopped when he emerged from the kitchen. He lingered in the doorway, torn between a scathing remark and silence. For the time being he chose the latter. Sebastian stood in front of the window, drawing the bow so smoothly across the strings that he and the instrument appeared to be one entity. Ciel went a bit closer. In the low candlelight, he could believe Sebastian's expression was one of true sadness.

"You play as though you feel something."

Sebastian stilled. His face hardened into an emotionless mask. He tucked his violin against his side and bowed. "Forgive me for disturbing you, young master."

Ciel shuffled his feet a bit as he looked at the butler. It was as though someone had doused his anger with cold water. He took another step closer, avoiding Sebastian's eyes. He didn't want to go back upstairs but he wouldn't appear weak in front of Sebastian, either. He wasn't ready to admit that he had, as Sebastian said, just needed someone to take his frustrations out on.

"You imitate human sadness well." It was both an insult and a compliment, he supposed.

"I was human once, you know."

"Really?" Ciel blurted out before he could stop himself.

"It has been many centuries, now, but all of my kind were human before they were demons."

Demons. He was an honest-to-the-devil demon. Also, he was a few hundred years old...awkward. "So you remember how it felt?"

"Not until recently."

Ciel was going to inquire further when he caught Sebastian's meaning. He stared at the butler, throat suddenly tight. He looked out the window at the twinkling lights of the city. He wished he could see all the way to London. He didn't know the fate of the children, he didn't know if his parents were alright. He didn't know what to make of Sebastian Michaelis. The endless uncertainty was enough to drive a person mad.

"I want to believe I'm not just something to amuse you, I'm sure I wouldn't be the first in your long life," he admitted.

Sebastian laughed but it lacked any real happiness. "But the first, you are, my lord."

"How?"

"You think I would make a habit of taking a liking to your lot as something more than my dinner? I would endure limitless ridicule by my kind if they knew I had fallen for a human."

"I wouldn't think a demon could just fall for someone."

"I wouldn't think you would be into older men."

Ciel laughed. "Touche."

The tension between them seemed to dissolve. He still didn't know what to think of Sebastian but he was good enough at reading people to tell he wasn't being lied to. Besides, if he was going to be Ciel's only company until his parents let him return to London, he may as well make the best of it. He let himself walk within arm's reach of Sebastian. For a blissful moment he forgot his fears and his doubts, and forgot that there were other people in the world besides the two of them.

Sebastian placed his violin on the window ledge. He dropped to one knee, and Ciel went into his arms. He kissed Sebastian until he felt an energy vibrating around him and only then did he pull away. Sebastian blinked his hellish eyes, fangs visible over his lip. Ciel put his finger to one of those sharp teeth and hissed when a drop of blood welled up. Damn, they were like razors.

Sebastian licked the blood away, moaning softly. It was erotic and horrifying. Ciel let him do it, and surprised himself even more when he didn't stop what Sebastian did next. The butler reached behind him and loosened the knot at the back of his head. After a questioning look from Sebastian and his nod of assent he felt his eye patch slip off. He gasped when a gloved finger touched his face, tracing the lines of scar tissue.

"No more hiding," Sebastian said, lowering himself onto both knees.

Ciel leaned closer. "No more secrets."

Sebastian picked him up and carried him upstairs. He could have carried him to the moon and Ciel wouldn't have noticed since they were locked into a kiss on the way up. He left Ciel on the bed while he prepared a hot bath, then began to undress him. Ciel tensed but allowed himself to be stripped. Sebastian caressed him with each article of clothing he removed, pausing after each one to give Ciel time to stop him. When he finished he lifted Ciel and eased him into the hot water. Ciel watched him light candles around the large porcelain tub, seeming to do so with a mere touch of his fingers.

"Do you not intend to join me?"

"You want me to?"

They had agreed no more secrets, best to go ahead and speak the truth. "I'd be more comfortable if I wasn't the only one undressed."

"Very well."

He couldn't take his eyes off Sebastian as more and more of his flawless skin was revealed. His body seemed to be made of marble, crafted by the hand of God rather than the devil. Ciel wondered if he had been this perfect when he was a human. He slid forward, felt Sebastian settle in behind him, and sat back against the demon's chest. Sebastian's long legs stretched out on either side of his and his hands came up to massage Ciel's shoulders. Ciel exhaled deeply. Between the hot water easing his muscles and Sebastian's talented hands he feared he may melt as fast as the candle wax.

Sebastian pulled his hair behind his ear and kissed his temple. "Happy Birthday, young master."

Ciel turned his head to rest his cheek on Sebastian's chest. He couldn't be truly happy again until he was reunited with his parents but right now he had this, and it was enough.