AN: Hey you guys! Ty for all of the sweet reviews last chapter! ^_^ I really appreciate them! :D
As always, enjoy
Sebastian hadn't even known he would be getting a partner, until 3 days after the "midnight picnic" did a man clad in back appear at his office door.
"Hello?" Sebastian asked, addressing the man standing before him.
The man adjusted the glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. "I am Claude Faustus. The new psychiatrist."
Sebastian examined the man, now Claude as he mentioned. He was tall like himself, had nearly the same hair, and golden eyes rimmed with black. His face was devoid of any emotion, and yet he could detect the slight hint of impatience in his voice.
"I already have that position filled." came Sebastian's curt reply.
"The Hospital Board of Medicine suggested me as your partner. Though no matter how much I don't want to be here either, I have to be." snapped Claude.
Sebastian narrowed his eyes, eye brows pinched in displeasure. "I don't have time to babysit"
"Dr. Michaelis." Claude scoffed "Will you go against the board for your own selfish reasons?" he teased.
Sebastian simply sneered in reply. "Don't be foolish. I just don't see why I have any need for a partner, I am managing perfectly fine on my own."
"Regardless. You have no choice, . Otherwise… I may have to report you to the higher ups…"
Sebastian scowled. Though how much he hated having a new coworker, he hated the idea of getting reported even more. So with a sigh, Sebastian waved Claude into his office.
"Come in, come in." he huffed.
Claude stepped in with a satisfied grin. "I'm glad you are agreeing, ."
"Yes..." Sebastian grumbled. Sebastian then shuffled off to the far side of the room. He dug into his filing cabinet and pulled out the necessary papers for Claude's new position.
"These are for you." Sebastian stated, handing Claude the papers.
Claude accepted them with a polite "Thank you." He paused then finished "Will you show me around? And then to the patients I am assuming. I am planned to start tomorrow."
Sebastian gave a quick nod of his head and replied "Yes, we should leave now then. I still have a lot of paperwork to finish."
Claude followed Sebastian out the door, merely two steps behind him as he showed around the asylum.
Once Sebastian finished showing Claude the asylum's interior and exterior included, he introduced him to the patients.
It was the usual pleasantries; Sebastian would introduce Claude, Claude would reply with a sugary sweet smile. Yet the patients didn't seem to care too much. They would wave, or give a nod of their head, or even some, not say anything at all. That is, until they arrived at the Phantomhive's door.
Sebastian stepped up to the door he dreaded most: Ciel's. For some reason, he felt as if though he claimed Ciel. He didn't want anyone else to even so much as look at the "Phantomhive boy." A silly notion, yes. But Sebastian couldn't control it.
Sebastian cautiously opened Ciel's door. He stepped inside only to be greeted by a "Sebastian."
Ciel was lying on his still made bed, listening to one of his audio books. When Sebastian heard his name, he flinched.
Claude raised his eyebrows "You are on a first name basis with a patient?"
When Ciel heard the foreign, yet somehow familiar voice, he shuddered. He positioned himself in the far corner of his bed, bringing his knees to his chest. "W-Who's there?"
Sebastian immediately went around Ciel's bed. He gently placed his hand in Ciel's, giving a tender squeeze to calm the boy. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce you to him earlier Ciel. That is Dr. Faustus. He is a psychiatrist that will be also working with you when I can't."
Sebastian then waved Claude over. Claude walked around to the side of Ciel's bed, and then halted. He looked down at the blind boy below him, shivering lightly in his nightgown. He looked over the boy's features, and then will a sly smile, purred "Yes, Ciel… I am Dr. Faustus. A pleasure to meet you…"
Ciel detected nothing in the man's voice, but Sebastian did. He immediately glanced over to Claude, giving him a warning glare as if to say: "He's mine. Back off."
Claude simply sneered. He turned his attention back to Ciel and cooed. "You don't have to fear me Ciel." Claude then stroked the hair framing Ciel's face. A tender gesture, but an unnecessary one.
"I know Dr. Faustus." Ciel replied smoothly, reaching up to swat Claude's hand from his face. "I need no sympathy or reassurance. So please, don't feel as if you can touch me so freely." He spat.
Claude slowly retracted his hand in defeat. Yet Sebastian was simply glowing, a sly grin playing on his lips.
Feeling as if though the issue was resolved, Sebastian left Ciel's room with a simple "Goodbye Ciel."
Ciel replied with a quiet "Mhm"
And as the two men left the room, Claude couldn't help but glance back.
So we meet again Ciel… he thought.
The next morning, Ciel found something underneath his pillow. It was an audio tape, and he was almost positive who it was from. He slipped in his ear buds and pressed play.
"Ciel." The smooth voice purred.
Ciel smiled sweetly in response to the voice, eagerly listening to what was going to come next.
"I'm sorry I won't be able to see you for a few days. I'm quite busy, you see. But rest assured, you will be taken care of by Dr. Faustus."
Ciel scowled.
"But I have included something in this tape. It will immediately play once this message is over. I'll see you soon Ciel… and remember, over the hills and far away right?" Sebastian's voice then stopped, followed by 3 beeps. Then afterwards, it picked right up again.
"I will pick up right where we left off in our last book." Sebastian's voice began. It paused then continued.
Ciel listened to Sebastian's voice as he read. He was comforted by the familiarity, and couldn't help but smile the whole time as he listened to the story. Sebastian's voice was rich and velvety, sly and seductive. Yet at the same time… tender and comforting.
Only when Claude stepped in to the room, did Ciel stop the recording with a tired frown.
"Ciel." Claude began, pulling up a chair next to Ciel's bed. "It is time for our therapy session."
Ciel scoffed. "Of course, I almost forgot."
Claude ignored the remark, and instead pulled out his notebook.
"So Ciel. Let's start off with how you damaged your eye."
Ciel flinched.
Why is he jumping in to this so quickly? Ciel thought No introductions?
"I can't remember." Ciel lied.
Claude scribbled Ciel's response on the paper. "How did your family die?"
"I don't know."
"How did you come here?"
"I don't know." Ciel repeated.
Claude sneered. "Have you had any recent feelings of depression?" Claude flipped through the papers. "You are on antidepressants yes?"
Ciel nodded his head. "Yes, and no, I've been feeling fine."
Claude wrote down Ciel's answer then paused. He drummed his fingers on the clipboard then with a sly grin replied. "I'm going to take you off your medication."
Ciel leaned forward. "What?"
"I will test to see how you do without the medication for now."
Ciel stiffened. His mind went back to the days before the medication. Everything was chaos. On the medication, the urges and panic attacks at least drown out. Ciel didn't want to go back to how things were before. Back then… even his thoughts were tainted in darkness.
'I-I need those." Ciel urged.
Claude grinned. "I'm sorry Ciel. I've already decided."
With that, Claude stood up, and left the room with a sly "Until next time… Ciel."
The day for Ciel went on as normal. The effects from the medication he was given earlier that morning lasted the whole day. Yet Ciel knew that when night falls, his past will inevitably come back.
Ciel shuddered at the thought, and then decided to continue listening to Sebastian's audio tape. The older man's voice soothed Ciel in more ways than one, and distracted him for the time being. Yet as the day wasted, he could feel the urges rise like bile. Ciel knew that he wouldn't last long...
When the story was over, Ciel laid the audiotape back on his nightstand. He laid his head down on his pillow and forced his eyes shut. Yet in the silence, he couldn't hide from his thoughts. His mind was plagued of horrible notions and thoughts that he long since locked away.
"Stop Ciel" he repeated aloud.
"Stop!" he hissed.
Instead, he tried to think about what Doctor Lee had told him in the past.
"Happy place, Ciel." his doctor had said.
"Happy place... happy place." Ciel repeated. His mind went back to his days as a little kid, picking dandelions to show to his mother and father. He remembered their sweet and tender caresses and the wet kisses to his cheek. Yet those thoughts only brought back worse ones.
"Happy place... Happy place..." Ciel repeated again, frantically searching for a time when he had been happy. The screams of his past racked his skull, and he clamped his hands over his ears to drown out the noise. It was becoming harder to think properly, and Ciel could feel himself slipping.
"Happy place!" he shrieked through gritted teeth.
Sebastian's voice rippled in his mind. The time at the garden, the kiss, the promise… Though Ciel couldn't say that he had been completely happy, it was a start at least. So he settled for the older man's voice, touch, kiss... Eventually, Ciel could feel his heartbeat slow, and his breathing return to normal. Though he could feel the urges linger, he could say that he felt a little bit better.
And secretly in the quiet darkness of his bedroom, Ciel couldn't help but plead.
"Please come back soon Sebastian..."
AN: Ooo we have Claude now hmmm? c;
Also, if I don't update in time on some days, I apologize. I've been a bit depressed as of late, so finding the willpower to write is becoming difficult. TnT But I plan on finishing this story at least, so let's hope this passes!
Ty for reading! Until next chapter!~