Chapter 8

Gilbert felt something cool and soft pressing gingerly across his forehead. His body was shaking violently with a chill that had not reached his brain, which seemed to be melting in the form of sweat that was pouring down his face. He did not open his eyes. He did not want to be awake. He tried to concentrate on the pleasant feeling that was gently, rhythmically wiping across his forehead, but it simply made his headache worsen. He let out a groan as his stomach turned for the worse. Gilbert rolled over on his side and the feeling on his forehead stopped. He curled his kneels to his chest and retched, but there was nothing in his stomach.

Someone from above chuckled softly and Gilbert cracked open his eyes and looked up. A pale face swam into view. A pale face, with eyes like dried blood.

"Seba…"

"Shh…" Sebastian's words were… gentle. He reached out a put his hand against Gilbert's burning forehead and frowned. "The drugs given to you have made you severely ill. You're in no state to be talking."

Gilbert wanted to protest. He wanted to swat Sebastian's hand away and tell him to fuck off. But he felt too shitty for even that. He closed his eyes and mentally gave way to Sebastian's taking care of him. He did not even open his eyes as something cold and metal was pressed against his lips. He opened his mouth and a hot liquid poured down his throat. He welcomed the burning down his throat and the black, numbness that followed.

For days Gilbert was like that. He neither knew nor cared how many. Each time he opened his eyes, Sebastian was always there, giving his different medicals or simply sitting next to him, wiping his forehead with a cool cloth. He was never awake for long, but when he was, it was… soothing to see the butler there, taking care of him.

He never thought he would say that.

His dreams weren't bad either. They were of the Besalius manor, with Oz and Ada. He was younger in them, reliving days full of happiness with his master. "O-oz…"
Gilbert would mutter sometimes in his sleep as he smiled through the fever.

"Young master! Where are we going?!" Gilbert squeaked as he trailed behind Oz. Oz stopped and looked over his shoulder at him, a devilish grin on his face. "You'll see."

Gilbert had been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night by his friend and rushed to dress and meet Oz outside. Ever since they had heard a story from a traveler that the woods surrounding the house were haunted, and at night you could see the ghosts of the wandering soldiers that had died there in some long ago battle, Oz had been talking about experiencing this first hand. "Just like in the books!" He would say excitedly.

As far as he went, the whole story had giving Gilbert nightmare for weeks and made him want nothing more than to forget about it. But, he should have known that this was coming.

Gilbert felt the ground fly out beneath his feet as he tripped over a rock and sprawled flat on his face in the wet levees.

"Young master!" Gilbert yelled, looking up to see the night from the candle that Oz had with him bobbed out of sight in the distance. Oz must not have noticed that he fell. "Young master!" But it was no use. The light and Oz with it were swallowed by the darkness.

Gilbert got to his knees, fear making his heart pound and his throat close. Every sound was magnified. He jumped out of his skin as a twig snapped nearby, disturbing the silence. He crawled on hands and knees to the base of a nearby tree and sat there, huddled up in a ball with his forehead on his knees. He was shaking uncontroably. Wind whistled eerily through the tree tops above, making him shivered again, this time from the cold. Darkness surrounded him, pressing down on him. Gilbert's head shot up when he heard another twig snap, this time form close by. Then, as if carried by the wind, he heard a harsh, cruel, cold laugh. He screamed and wrapped his arms around his head, squeezing his elbows to his ears as he screamed again. "Young masterrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

Then, Gilbert heard the sound of footsteps racing towards him, getting faster and closer all the time. Gilbert closed his eyes tightly and waited for the ghost to come and do away with him. Oz would come to this spot in the morning to find it bloody, and all that would remain of him would be a pile of torn cloths. Something, a dark shape, leaped out of the darkness and again Gilbert screamed as that something came crashing down on him. He fell over to one side, limbs bent awkwardly beneath the weight of the thing that was crushing him.

"Got you~" Said someone in a familiar, sing song voice.

Gilbert looked up and squinted. In the darkness he could see the face and glinting eyes of… Oz?

"Y-Young master?" Gilbert asked, heart still pounding in his chest. Oz laughed wrapped his arms around him tightly. "Scared ya, didn't I?" He asked. Gilbert saw a flash of white that was his smile.

It took a moment to get over his shock. "W-why did you do that?!"

Oz laughed again. "It was fun, and Gil is so cute when he's scared."

Gilbert felt his face heat up. "S-shut up!" He said, weakly. Oz's weight on his frail body was making it harder for him to breath. "You're crushing me!"

"Opps." Oz said, snickering as he wrapped his arms around Gilbert tighter and rolled them over so that Gilbert was now on top of him. "That better?"

"Young master!" Gilbert squeaked again, looking down at Oz as his face grew hotter. The moon had come out from behind the clouds and now illuminated them from above. Oz's face seemed to glow in the silvery light and Gilbert's blush (if possible) got worse. Oz was so beautiful.

Said master made a questioning noise that snapped Gilbert out of his trance, who squeaked in surprise at his own mistake and tried to crawl out of Oz's grip. But the blond grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the ground.

"Young master, stop!" Gilbert heard himself whine. "This isn't appropriate for a servant!"

Oz grinned, mischief flickering behind his emerald eyes. "But you're not just a servant, Gil." He said gently as Gilbert was pulled back into his arms to be held against his slightly larger form. "You're my best friend."

Gilbert froze. Oz had said this before, but that didn't mean that it did not still make the others heart stop and his mind freeze for a moment. What happened next nearly made Gilbert's heart explode. Oz leaned in a pressed his lips gently against his. Gilbert's eyes widened, his body went ridged. His first kiss… Oz… Oz was kissing him. He could not believe it. He had thought about this before but… This was the real thing…

"S-stop!" Gilbert broke away from the kiss and Oz's grasp. He knelt on the damp forest floor, his face buried in his hands. That was not right. Oz was his master, higher up and worth more than he could ever be. Why…?

"Gil?" Gilbert heard movement from Oz's direction, felt gentle fingers wrap around his wrists and pull his hands away from his red, tear-streaked face. His breath hitched as those beautiful green eyes that he loved so much sparkled in the moonlight.

Gilbert shook his head and looked down, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to block out the sight of his young master.

"Gil, look at me."

Gilbert did not want to, but he obeyed, looking up into Oz's face. Suddenly, Gilbert was looking over Oz's shoulder into the dark woods beyond. They looked threatening full of horrid secrets that would kill whoever found them. This only made Gilbert enjoy Oz's embrace all the more. He buried his face into the other's neck, but did not wrap his arms around Oz.

"No one has to know…" Oz said, and Gilbert could hear the smile in his voice. His words were so kind, something that was so unusual for his twisted, playful self. Gilbert did not respond only whimpered slightly. He heard Oz chuckle softly, and then he was pushed back down on the ground so that he was flat on his back. Oz fell forward, pinning him there with his own body as his smile widened. Gilbert tentatively reached up to brush blonde bangs out of his masters shinning green eyes.

The blond bent down and kissed Gilbert again, who did not protest.

Gilbert had to wonder how the blond was so good at this, but then again, this was Oz he was talking about. After a moment he felt Oz's tongue sliding along his bottom lip and a squeaked in surprise, not really knowing what to do. He did not take the hint of what Oz wanted him to do, but he found out soon enough as the tongue that had been teasing his lower lip pushed its way into his mouth. He would have pulled back in surprise, but his head had no where to go and it all felt… Too good to be true. He had to be dreaming…

Gilbert sloppily kissed Oz back as his brain turned to goo and his emotions ran wild. He felt a slight vibration as Oz chuckled and deepened the kiss, massaging Gilbert's lips with his own as his tongue explored the inside of his mouth.

It seemed to go on forever, but then it ended in a minute as Oz pulled his head back, breathing hard. Gilbert had been so swept up in the heated kiss that he had forgotten the need to breath. But that did not stop Oz, for he took Gilbert's breath away again as their lips met, more forceful this time. The younger boy moaned softly and Oz laughed again, pulling away to knock foreheads with Gilbert, who whined at the loss of the other's mouth on his. Oz smiled, and Gilbert felt his heart expand with over whelming love for the boy above him.

The last thing he heard was Oz's laugh before his image seemed to crack, then shatter into a million pieces and slip through Gilbert's finger tips-

Gilbert woke up with a start. He felt a little better than he had a few hours ago, but he was not thinking about himself.

He remembered that day all too well. The kissing part had been his imagination, but he remembered how long it had been just he and Oz, alone in the woods. They had not spoken, nor toughed, but he had not cared. He was with Oz… A moment in time that he might not ever have again.

It took Gilbert a moment to realize that the water on his face was from his own tears. No matter how hard he tried he could not make them stop.

"Young master?" Sebastian's face, lit by the flickering light of a candle, loomed into view. Gilbert started, and pulled the covers up over his head. "It's nothing" He said. Funny. His voice didn't crack or anything, but the tears continued to stream down his face. He could not remember the last time he had cried.

The covers were pushed aside and Sebastian came into view again. He had a soft cloth in his hand, and as he wiped Gilbert's face with it, he realized it was warm. "Sleep, Young master." Sebastian said, quietly. Again Gilbert could not read his expression, and again he closed his eyes and dreamless darkness took him into its gentle embrace.

Just like Oz's had been.