A/N: Okay, I need everyone to show SebasuchansKitten a massive amount of love. I kept them up all night, reading and editing these chapters. I feel quite bad about it, but it just goes to show what an amazing person they are. I could not ask for a better beta, or a better friend. If you have to show any thanks or gratitude to someone for these chapters, let it be that sweet kitten. Now, onto this chapter. It is mainly focused on Sebastian and Ciel. There is angst (of course), but there is also some fluff, and yes, there is delicious smut. I hope you all love this chapter, as I worked hard on it, and SebasuchansKitten went above and beyond with editing and fixing my errors. I'm done holding you up, please enjoy~

Warnings: Angst, alcoholic consumption, tobacco use, depression, wreckless driving, and depraved smut.

Act XVII

The bedroom was clouded with smoke of constantly burning cigarettes; an ashtray sat upon the night stand, filled to overflowing with discarded butts and surrounded by flecks of ash that had just missed it. The smell of mentholated cigarettes was so pungent that it was a wonder the sole occupant could even breathe. Clothes were strewn about, the bed was in disarray, and bundled within the nest of blankets, sheets, and pillows, lay Ciel. Dried tears coated his cheeks and made his skin twitch with persistent itching, though he had no energy to drag himself from the room to wash his face. Why bother when a fresh set of tears would soon slip down his pale cheeks, and dry there when he had no more left? 5 days had passed since Sebastian had walked out of his front door, leaving him with an apology stuck in his throat. The guilt that consumed him once his senses came back to him was nauseating; depression weighed on his chest, heavy as an elephant. His royal blue eyes gazed blankly at the stars on his ceiling, seeing but not seeing, as his mind once again circled back to that night.

Seeing the look of hurt wavering over Sebastian's face absolutely ate at him. Such all consuming pain... was it a mixture of the deep wound so freshly inflicted upon his shoulder that caused his face to wrench up, or had it been all that Ciel had screamed at him? Hell, Ciel couldn't even remember all that he said; he knew it must have been terrible to hear. Just thinking of the wound that seeped crimson, the blood trailing down Sebastian's arm, induced a throbbing pain in Ciel's wounded hand, which radiated up his arm. He had half-assedly bandaged it after cleansing it, but hadn't bothered to change the gauze. If he were to get an infection and die, it would be a blessing on this world.

The flick and fluttering glow of a lighter springing to life danced over Ciel's pallid skin as he lit yet another cigarette. He took a deep drag, wincing as the smoke burned his dry throat. The boy was, simply put, looking worse and worse each day. He wouldn't eat, barely slept; he barely dragged himself out of his bed to piss or get more water. The only reason he drank anything was because smoking made him intensely thirsty. At least it suppressed his appetite. He felt positively disgusting, and his stomach cramped with the pain of having no sustenance in it. It was a self-inflicted punishment, for harming Sebastian, physically and verbally. Ciel doubted that he would ever forgive himself.

He had lost track of time, not caring enough to actually check, though his bladder screamed at him to be emptied. With a sigh, he put out his cigarette haphazardly before kicking out of his cocoon and rolling out of his warm bed. Dragging his feet into the kitchen, he poured himself another glass of water, taking a massive drink, his bladder protesting. Another heavy sigh pulled from his lips, and his dainty feet padded slowly, softly, to his bathroom. Feeling like he had pissed for years, he flushed the toilet after relieving himself, and washed his hands. It was times like these when he wished it was possible for him to get completely trashed, not that he hadn't tried. Booze would have taken the edge off, made his thoughts murky... but then again, maybe it would make him feel worse.

It must have been dusk; the apartment was darker than it was when the sun shined, though he kept all the blinds and curtains shut, allowing for little light to begin with. Ciel leaned against the bathroom counter, staring down at his sweat-caked, filthy body. He decided to finally draw the line. It was time to take a fucking shower.

The hot water felt good on his fragile body, washing away all the filth accumulated on his skin from the past few days. Though it could not wash away his thoughts or feelings, it did lift the heavy weight from his shoulders... fractionally. After his shower, he slowly climbed out, drying himself off as fast as a snail crawled. Once back in his den of depression, he dressed in boxers, leggings, and a baggy shirt. It was one of Sebastian's shirts, one he kept here for the nights that he stayed over, and it made Ciel's heart hurt. The soft fabric still smelled of him, and even though it hung like a dress on his skinny frame, he refused to take it off.

This apartment reminded him so much of Sebastian, he began to feel trapped. The anxiety gripped his heart with iron fingers, and the need to escape overwhelmed him. Before he knew what he was doing, he was outside and halfway down the rickety staircase. He had no shoes on his feet, but he didn't care. It wasn't like Ciel would go far, he would just walk around his apartment complex enough times for him to become exhausted. Hopefully then, a dreamless sleep would overtake him. Hopefully then, he wouldn't be haunted by Sebastian.

Soot's persistent meowing as she rubbed against Sebastian's legs drew him out of his drunken stupor. The kitten-or rather, cat-had been a lovely distraction, though she couldn't take his mind fully off of Ciel. Sebastian could still smell him, taste him, see the feral rage in his eyes as his body shook. He had been frighteningly beautiful, had raised the need in him to comfort and calm the storm of feelings felt inside such a tiny body. With a weary sigh, Sebastian set down his glass of tequila and picked up his preening cat. Soot immediately kick-started her purr machine, nuzzling his face and licking his fingers. He murmured sweet nothings at her as he ruminated on the fact that he had been drinking tequila. It was the same thing he had brought to Ciel's place, the same thing that broke and cut into Ciel's dainty hand, as well as his shoulder. With a frown, Sebastian looked over at his shoulder. It had been healing nicely; he was half-tempted, in his drunken haze, to remove the stitches himself. He hated hospitals, absolutely loathed doctors, yet he had had no choice but to seek professional medical care, the wound was so deep.

His thoughts traveled back to the blae-haired youth. Was his hand okay? Was the cut deep or shallow? Did he take care of it properly? The thoughts of Ciel were overwhelming him, eating at him, and for the umpteenth time, he thought about going to visit his little spitfire. How he desperately wanted to, but he feared that, that was the last thing that Ciel wanted. The other male hadn't called or texted him in 5 days: it was possibly driving Sebastian to the brink of madness.

Making up his mind, Sebastian exited his kitchen and practically ran for the door. Slipping his feet into a random pair of shoes, not caring if they matched, he fled his house, barely taking the time to snag his keys and lock the door. He was in his car at lightning speed, firing it to life and peeling out of his driveway. Sebastian drove like a madman, Soot still clutched to him. The kitten meowed, the sound a mix between frightened and excited at the prospect of an adventure. Sebastian flew through traffic lights, not stopping at any of the commanding stop signs. All he knew was that he had to get to Ciel, and he had to get there now.

Ciel was clutching his phone; the cold was biting into him, piercing all the way through his skin, and settling in his bones. He hadn't thought to put on a jacket, yet he didn't want to head back inside just yet. So the cold continued to prickle at his skin, shivers wracking his body. How he wanted to see Sebastian, to apologize to him. It was agonizing torture not to call or text him, yet he refused to apologize over any medium rather than in person. He wished, for the billionth time, that he knew where his tall counterpart lived. But he didn't, and so he had to wait until Sebastian came to him. If he ever would again. The thought that he would never see Sebastian again outside of work ripped his chest wide open once more. It felt like a physical wound-it ached, throbbed, even hurt to breathe. Ciel had no idea how he could continue to live like this, feeling so intensely that it drove him to the brink of insanity and back. Tears once again welled in his eyes, and as they fell, the cold stung at the saline trails, making the youth worry his bottom lip between his teeth to stifle any sobs that dared try to slip through.

Just as the short, shivering youth was circling back to the front of his apartment, the sound of car tires squealing into the parking lot made him freeze. His wide blue eyes followed the bright headlights, landing upon a sleek black Mercedes, one he would recognize anywhere. The bewildered blae-haired man knew it was Sebastian's car, but what in heaven's name was it doing driving like a bat out of hell into his apartment complex?

The purr of the engine died down as the driver's side door flew open. Sebastian was a sight to behold, like an avenging demon, he jumped out of his car and barrelled towards Ciel, a black kitten clutched in one of his arms. She squirmed, meowing and wriggling free, landing on the asphalt with a huff. She sat down, staring with her eyes reflecting in the dim light of a street lamp as Sebastian stopped in front of Ciel, breathing heavily.

Ciel stared up at Sebastian, confusion warring with joy at seeing his taller counterpart in the flesh."Is this a dream?" he whispered breathily, still trembling, yet the cause was now the object of his obsession's presence rather than the cold.

Before he could react, Sebastian closed the distance between them, his arms encircling the youth and pulling him into an embrace. His hot lips seared Ciel's frozen ones, igniting a response in the youth, his heart thumping out of control. The kiss was short, yet full of emotion. Once broken, the vermillion-eyed male clutched tighter to the daintier one, breathing in the scent of his hair, his skin. It felt like coming home after enduring hell. Ciel was also sucking in air through his nose, inhaling the intoxicating scent that screamed Sebastian. He could hardly believe this wasn't a dream.

Sebastian pulled back slightly to gaze down upon the tear-streaked face of his counterpart, his hands sliding up so that his thumbs could wipe away the sadness before once again wrapping around him.

"God, Ciel," he murmured, his voice full of torturous anguish. "You have no idea..." He brought his lips down once again on the younger male's, tasting him and relishing in it, like an addict getting his first fix after going through withdrawal. His tongue worked it's way inside, tangling with the other's and exploring the familiar moist cavern like it had been just yesterday that they shared a kiss. When they broke it off to breathe, Sebastian pressed his forehead against Ciel's, his voice soft as a gentle breath. "I missed you..."

A hiccuping half-laugh, half-sob wrenched from Ciel's throat as he pushed himself closer to Sebastian, his body fitting perfectly against his. "Understatement of the fucking century," he whispered. A soft meow and the feeling of a small creature startled the royal blue-eyed male. He pulled back slightly and look down at the furry black creature. "Is that a cat?" he asked stupidly.

Chuckling, Sebastian smirked and released Ciel to pick up the shivering ball of fur. "It is. Her name is Soot." Blinking twice, Ciel shook his head with a sigh, turning and heading for his apartment without a glance back. He said nothing, nor did he look over his shoulder; he knew Sebastian was trailing after him.

Soot turned out to be a welcome addition; she curled up at the foot of the bed, her constant purring a comforting sound. Ciel and Sebastian lay, tangled together and sprawled across the bed, staring up at the glowing plastic stars stuck to the ceiling. A large hand gently stroked the blae locks, and dainty fingers traced meaningless patterns over the firm skin of a large chest. Ciel broke the silence, breathing the words into Sebastian's skin. "I'm so sorry."

The older male shook his head, his arm tightening around the youth's waist as if to pull him closer, his other hand still petting the kitten-soft locks. "You've no need to be sorry. I wasn't mad, I just... I didn't know how to help you, I felt so powerless." The rumbling of his voice in his chest soothed Ciel, though he still chewed on his bottom lip.

"I just. I guess I don't know what we're doing. I got scared..." he trailed off, a whimper trying to claw it's way out of his throat. His voice was barely a whisper as he continued. "It was so different. We had sex, but it was different. It felt so... so... I can't even describe it, but. It scared me, that feeling. I guess I just panicked, and tried to push you away. I don't know what we have, or where it's going, and everything I'm feeling, the uncertainty of it all. Everything just weighed on me until I just snapped.

"I feel so guilty. I hurt you. I hurt you, more than I can even fathom, and that hurts me. And I don't understand why..." he let his words die on his lips, his skin itching with worry as his chest tightened with anxiety.

It was quiet once more, as Ciel waited for a response, and Sebastian thought over his words. His mind had become clearer, sobered up as soon as he saw the dainty male, standing in the glare of his car's headlights, his cheeks glistening with trails of tears as they dripped off of his chin. Everything had melted away then; all the worry, all of the depressing thoughts, all of the pain, disappearing at the sight of his infatuation greeting him like an angel of sorrow. Sebastian stopped caring that Ciel had tried to force him away, had caused him pain, emotional and physical. How had he been able to stay away from him for so long? He was drawn to him like a magnet, the gravitational pull too great to fight.

"I like you," the words fled his lips, so matter-of-factly, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

Sebastian felt Ciel jerk in his arms, his head raising up to look at him, his face bewildered. Several seconds passed before a squeaked "what?" flew out of him.

Looking into eyes, as blue and deep as the ocean, the older male offered no hesitation as he repeated. "I like you. Honestly, I had no idea what we had going on. When I had first saw you, up on that stage, in all your passionate glory as you acted out that scene... I was enthralled, bewitched by you. No one has ever been able to pique my interest as fast or fully as you managed to in 3 minutes. Yes, at first, I wanted you, sexually.

"But as I got to know you, I wanted to see all of you, exposed, every emotion, every thought you'd ever had. I wanted to know you. What we had, hell, even I don't know. And yet still, I like you. I don't know how, or when, or why. I didn't even know I was capable of liking someone. I'm barely capable of friendship, or maintaining it. I haven't even talked to my closest friend in years. I'm so fucked up. I'm damaged, I don't know how to feel anything except anger and hate, and yet, you make me feel things that are different. Things I don't understand and can't put a name to, things that scare me, but I can't help but want to be near you, to inhale your scent, to watch your expressions... I can't help but be drawn to you. I want to know you. I want to be here, with you in my arms, because as broken as we are, we fit together."

Ciel was stunned; he felt a rush of emotions: fear, happiness, emotions he couldn't even give a name to. His breath caught in his throat, and he licked his lips to wet them. "I-I..." He shook his head, trying to reorganize his brain as Sebastian looked at him patiently with those vermillion eyes. His cheeks flamed with color as he looked down, away, anywhere but at his face. "I like you, too..." he breathed, the words barely leaving his lips.

Sebastian flipped them over so quickly, Ciel didn't even know it was happening until he was on his back. He felt the long, lean body pressing into him and he shivered in delight, relishing in the intimate contact.

"Soot, out," Sebastian barked, and the cat, startled from sleep, huffed and fled the room, meowing her displeasure. "Now that we don't have an audience..."

"Oh, yes. Wouldn't want to scandalize a fucking feline," Ciel said snarkily, rolling his eyes.

Sebastian didn't allow him to be snide for long; he silenced him with his mouth, his large hands trailing fire down his counterpart's sides as his talented tongue dragged a pleased moan from his lips. It had been much too long; he had to feel him, be inside him, make him call out his name. Clothing was shed quickly as he broke the kiss, leaving the blae-haired youth panting for air, his eyes darkening with lust. Ciel whined with impatience, his body shifting wildly beneath the taller male's as he ripped at his underwear, wanting them off right in that very moment. His legs curled around Sebastian's hips as soon as the offending piece of clothing had been removed, pulling him closer. His nails raked against pale skin, an impatient moan dancing on his tongue. The not-so-gentle scratching caused his counterpart to shiver and dig his own fingers into slender hips.

Ciel tried to buck and writhe, but Sebastian held him in place, his erect dick teasingly brushing against his puckered and hungry hole."Don't you fucking tease me," the youth snarled, his eyes glaring up into hooded vermillion eyes.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sebastian growled as he pushed his length slowly into him, relishing in the feeling of being sucked in. Ciel was tighter than normal after being virginal for the days they were apart, and a half-pained whimper ripped from his throat as he arched his back. This caused his counterpart to pause, which only brought an angry hiss from the youth. "Don't you dare hold back. I need you, right now. Fuck me." Another whine and the whimpered begging word of please repeated over and over until Sebastian couldn't take it. He slammed his dick the rest of the way in, burying himself to the hilt in the warm entrance.

A groaned, "fuck" flew from his lips, his fingers tightening into a bruising hold on those dainty hips, keeping Ciel from rutting and bucking wildly against him in order to get some kind of friction. Curling digits flailed over his fiery skin, scratching, kneeding, gripping into biceps and biting into flesh. As Sebastian pulled out, leaving only the head in, before slamming back fully, a keening moan ripped from Ciel. His body trembled as the throbbing dick began to abuse his insides, leaving him empty only to fill him back up once more. The frenum piercing rubbed against the sensitive walls, causing screaming moans and expletives to tumble from pale lips. The head of Sebastian's dick brushed against that little bundle of nerves, and Ciel's eyes rolled back, his whole body shuddering with pleasure. The older male picked up his pace, twisting his hips to abuse the blae-haired youth's prostate from a new angle. This brought louder moans and expletives from Ciel, his voice becoming raw with wanton screaming.

Sebastian's body trembled from the exertion, the familiar feeling of a building orgasm coiling in his lower stomach. Ciel tossed his head back, his limbs thrashing wildly as his legs tightened around Sebastian to help him penetrate deeper.

"Sebastian," the youth nearly screamed, his counterpart's name coming out in broken moans as his wildly bobbing dick shot pent-up cum; it splattered all over, droplets landing on Ciel's sweaty cheeks and covering his and Sebastian's chest. The spastic tightening of the abused hole, and incoherent babbling of his name was Sebastian's undoing. The knot in his lower stomach uncoiled, and his dick spasmed as it emptied his seed, filling up Ciel and causing him to shiver at the familiar warmth spreading inside him. His counterpart slowly milked himself until his length softened and slipped out, shaking arms barely holding himself up. Ciel's trembling legs slowly unwound themselves from around Sebastian's sweat-slicked body, allowing him to fall next to him. They spent what felt like hours lying next to each other, catching their breath and riding out their orgasms. After the sweat dried on their skin, and their temperatures dropped, Ciel found himself curling up half on top of Sebastian as his long arms curled around him possessively. The feeling of being so close to him, of feeling his breath rustle his hair, was comforting. He had missed this so much; he felt so safe, like he could finally sleep without having nightmares. Ciel had begun to drift off, but Sebastian's rumbling, velvet voice roused him.

"You've cum on your face," he murmured, and the blue-eyed male lifted his heavy head to weakly glare daggers at his vermillion-eyed counterpart. Sebastian leaned forward, his tongue darting out to lick away the drying flecks of white, a pleased hum rolling in his throat.

Ciel rolled his eyes before plopping his head back down with a huff. He had no energy to talk, and as soon as his head hit Sebastian's chest, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Sebastian lay awake, his mind turning over their conversation again and again in his head. He had no idea what they were getting themselves into, what they had already gotten themselves into, yet he couldn't find it in himself to care. He had already admitted to himself that he could not be away from Ciel, and he refused to even try. He was here to stay, for better or worse, tangled up in whatever they had between them. The sound of padding feet, and a slight dip in the mattress announced Soot's presence. She slowly climbed onto a pillow and curled up right next to Sebastian's head, the sounds of her incessant purring lulling him to sleep.

Time could only tell just what they had decided to get into, the spider's thread that connected them tangling around them, drawing them ever closer...

Ciel slept like the dead for little over an hour, but the feeling of semen oozing out of his ass roused him from sleep. He woke with an irritated frown, huffing in distaste as his nose wrinkled. Disgusting, he thought. He lifted his head up from Sebastian's chest, looking up to see that he was fast asleep, with his cat Soot curled up halfway on top of his head. Ciel snorted and rolled his eyes, squirming free from his counterpart's hold on him and slipping from the bed. He half-waddled, half-lipped to the bathroom, clenching his ass shut so that cum wouldn't leak down his leg any more than it already had. It was one of the most unpleasant feelings, and he was sure that he would never get used to it.

He shut the door silently, wetting a washcloth with warm water and cleaning every fleck of cum off of his skin. He gave himself a quick birdbath, his eyes drawn to the angry-looking bruises on his hips. He wanted to keep frowning, but a tiny smirk at the marks on his skin made his chest swell tightly. Sebastian had left them, not purposefully, and he felt as though it were a reminder for the amazing sex they had just had. They would fade over time, which seemed to bring conflicting emotions up. Shrugging them off, he flicked the light off and left the bathroom. As he trailed towards the kitchen, feeling violently thirsty, the sound of his ringtone for Alois going off made him take a detour into his room. He grabbed his phone, entering the hallway once more and taking the familiar route to his kitchen as he tapped through to the message Alois had left.

"SOS: we need a girl's night. Soon." was all that it said, causing Ciel to furrow his brows in worry. It was such a short text, and normally Alois sent him several walls of text, so it was quite unlike him. Something must have happened to upset his best friend, and he quickly shot a reply of tomorrow. Chewing harshly on his lip, he leaned against the counter, glass in hand, as he wondered what could possibly be weighing on Alois. If he had to guess, it probably had something to do with Claude. He drank his water in silence, but the sound of footsteps made him turn his head towards the entryway.

Sebastian appeared, looking groggy, with Soot trailing at his feet, grumbling haughtily at being awoken. "I woke up because you weren't there."

Setting down his glass, Ciel padded over to Sebastian, taking his hand and leading him back to the bedroom. "Sorry, I was thirsty. Let's go back to sleep."

The older male didn't put up a fight as he let Ciel guide him back into bed, and he tugged him down into his arms. Sebastian's last conscious thought was of how interesting it was that he couldn't sleep unless the blae-haired spitfire was in his arms. With worry for Alois on his mind, Ciel drifted in and out of sleep until his exhausted body forced him to close his eyes and tugged him into a deep sleep.

E/N: The editing process took so very long, especially because SebasuchansKitten and I do not have the same writing programs. There were a lot of formatting issues, as well at the italics disappearing when trasfered betwen our two programs. However, I believe this story is becoming better than I had ever imagined, and it is all with their help. What did all my little doves and sweet kittens think of this chapter? Are you all quite happy that there was not only an update so soon, but that it was two chapters? The next chapter is going to focus mainly on Ciel and Alois; those two brats need to spend some quality girl time with each other. They've been too consumed in their own lives, and now it's time for them to pull their head's out of their respective asses and talk. They both could use some outside input. Oh, and in the future I plan to do a few flashback chapters of Ciel's past. I hope that it's the kind of thing that interests you all (though even if it didn't, I would still write them because this story needs that to show character develop thus far). Till next time~

Kisses, Ritsy