Hades was sitting at the very end of the table in the dining hall in a very stiff manner, his pained expression making it extremely obvious that he was uncomfortable.

A subtle look of worry claimed the bluenette's features as he gazed over to his friend with knitted brows. "If it hurts too much, you can go rest and I can reschedule the meeting with Miriam."

It was very clear to see that he was aching and uneasy, but it was a mystery as to why he was trying so diligently to sit through and endure the pain. Did he really want to see Miriam that badly? They are betrothed and all, but Hades has never really showed any sort of "excitement" in seeing Miriam, for lack of better words. It was out of character for him to push himself so assiduously to see her; not that she's ever really made any effort to do the same. The two of them are a bit of an awkward pair... They may not show it well, but you could tell that they cared for each other; though, there has always been something... off... in terms of their feelings for each other.

Shaggy ebony locks swayed faintly as Hades shook his head, trying his best to endure the discomfort he felt. "No, this is fine. Besides, I have cake, so..." He didn't even bother to finish the sentence as he reached a hand up to the table and picked up the fork, breaking off a piece of vanilla cake before shoving it in his mouth with a soft shrug of his shoulders. Once the piece was eaten, pastel lips immediately curled upwards into a fervent smile. "Sweets are all the motivation I need~!"

"I'm honestly surprised your mouth isn't full of cavities yet." Ciel uttered with a well-hidden grin, fiddling with his own set of cutlery. "However, knowing you, it's only a matter of time..."

"I'm willing to sacrifice a tooth or two for my true love." The boy retorted, raising up a piece of cake with his fork as he gazed at it with a posed, wistful expression.

"Choosing sugar over Miriam?" The earl questioned, laughing inwardly at the troubled look he had caused to appear on the other's face.

A distraught expression lingered across milky features for the briefest of moments before disappearing with a shrug of the shoulders. "Between sugar and Miriam, only one will never betray me..." He then pointed his fork at Ciel as he uttered with a stern stare, "And that would be sugar."

Normally this would be the part where Ciel would laugh, but... there was a bit of a strange, hidden undertone in Hades' words. The earl couldn't really tell if the boy was joking or not, much less what emotion his gaze held. That was one thing Ciel really hated about Hades- his habit of masking his true feelings, and putting up an almost perfectly unreadable front. Though, there were times where his act wouldn't be so flawless and you could tell that he was upset, but you could never get him to admit to it or elaborate. He always kept his troubles secret and carried the burdens all by himself, and that was what Ciel hated the most.

However, the young noble managed to push his uncertainty to the back of his mind as he replied casually in a smug manner. "We'll see if that's still true when all of your teeth fall out..."

Before another word could be shared between the two boys, Sebastian entered the room. "Lady Miriam has arrived," he announced.

Without a second to spare, Hades had bolted up from his seat and sped off towards the exit whilst shouting, "I CHANGED MY MIND, I'M NOT HERE!"

"Master Hades, wai-"

"Oof!" Blood stained the originally white bandages in crimson as Hades fell to the ground, reopening one of the wounds on his head.

"Hades?"

Much to the poor boy's dismay, he had run straight into Miriam. He hadn't bumped into her with enough force to actually knock her down, though; the only reason he tripped was because he lost his footing as a result of the shock of seeing her. Trying not to crash into her, he stumbled and hit his head on the wall, thus bringing us to where we are now.

"Ouch..." He whined, raising his hand up to the side of his head, just over the area where the bandages were tinted. He then let out a reluctant, nervous laugh as his hand trailed down to the back of his neck. "Oh, Miriam! You're here!"

Cherry lips curled downwards into a scowl as the blonde stared down at the injured boy. He had so many bandages wrapped around his body, he looked like he was trying to dress up as a mummy. It was a pitiful sight, but seeing him act as his usual frivolous self was a mixture of relieving and heartwarming. A small sigh emitted past her frown as she then shifted her gaze over to the bluenette, "I presume this is why you asked me to come here."

"Scary..." Hades uttered under his breath, a chill shooting down his spine.

This was a much different display than what Miriam had showcased in front of Ciel just days before; before, she looked so obviously concerned and anxious about the boy, but now that she was right here in front of him, her aura only seemed to hold feelings of irritation and apprehension. She'd always been like this when it came to Hades.

Ciel rose from his seat and circled around the table, making his way to where the others stood at the opposite side of the room. "Indeed," he replied, cerulean hues narrowing solemnly at the girl as his brows arched ever so vaguely. "I promised I would bring him back, and I did. I figured I should have informed you of this, and so that's why I called for you."

She forced forward a smile to Ciel as she offered him a small bow, "Thank you for keeping your promise." She then returned her gaze to Hades, her smile quickly fading. "You're too reckless; you need to be more careful." She nagged, stubbornly trying to keep up a tough front as she knelt down in front of him. She reached her hand out to gently graze her fingers over the freshly stained bandage, "Your head is bleeding."

"Despite my current appearance, I'm actually alright." Hades replied with a small, anxious chuckle.

She obviously didn't believe his words one bit, and her frown remained.

"It's fine, Mir..." He spoke softly, "Really..."

The bluenette cleared his throat awkwardly as he glanced away from the pair. "If the two of you would like some privacy, then Sebastian and I can-"

Miriam shook her head as she interrupted the young earl, "No, no; this is your manor, Ciel- Hades and I will just take this conversation to the garden momentarily. Please excuse us."

Before Hades even had time to react, Miriam was already tugging him up on his feet and dragging him down the hallway. Once the two were finally outside, he had parted his lips to speak, but-

"You idiot, I was so worried!" The blonde shouted, throwing her arms around the poor aching boy's delicate frame as she pulled him into a tight embrace. Transparent tears welled up in her chocolate hues, rolling down her cheeks as she sniffled. "What h-happened..? Why didn't you show up sooner?"

As much as he wanted to hug her back, his body was in too much pain. He felt like even the slightest squeeze would cause his bones to crumble. "Miriam, let go, that hurts..."

"S-Sorry..." She sniffled once more, taking a step back as she retracted her arms.

Pastel lips curled upwards into a small, bittersweet smile as he rose an arm to cup the girl's flushed face, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry or cause you any pain..."

"You've been missing for a week, Hades. The Yard only discovered the cor-crime scene yesterday, and the doctor they had brought said that it was at least seven days old. I thought you were dead somewhere, or worse-!" She exclaimed, brows knitted tightly as she stared directly into dull, grey orbs. "...Where were you?"

"I got lost..." He answered in a weak voice, struggling to keep his composure. "After what happened, I... I was afraid to stay in that house... So I ran into the woods, and I got lost. That's why I was gone for so long; though, I have to admit it didn't feel like it had been a week... But I guess that explains why all of my small injuries were mostly healed by the time I got here." He added with a laugh, scratching the back of his neck in a tense manner.

"This is no time to be laughing! Be serious!" She scolded, more interested in learning the details of the tragedy rather than actually considering how this topic must be making Hades feel. "Tell me what happened."

"Oh, look!" Hades beamed, not-so-subtly trying to change the topic. "Asher's over there playing with a rabbit! How cute!"

"Hades..."

"Oh no, he's trying to eat it..." He gasped, covering his mouth as an expression of concern formed across his face.

"Hades-"

"Asher, no! Rabbits are our friends! We don't eat our friends! Yield!" He called out to the canine, making a bunch of silly, disapproving gestures as if the dog were even staring at him.

"HADES!" Miriam yelled, clearly fed up with this sudden act he tried to pull.

The boy flinched at the tone of her voice, his features temporarily contorting in pain.

"You said you wouldn't keep any secrets from me- that you'd tell me everything- so, why won't you answer me?" She asked, her big brown eyes still glistening from the tears that previously poured out of them.

While it was true that Hades absolutely hated the idea of keeping secrets from Miriam, he just couldn't bring himself to talk to about what happened; not yet, at least. "I... I just need some time. Everything's different now; this isn't something I can just talk about right away and explain. I'm still confused about it myself..."

"Can't talk about it, or won't?" She inquired bitterly, raising a brow.

He glanced back over to her with an unreadable expression in his gaze, releasing a heavy sigh before forcing a smile. "I don't want to talk about it. That's what you wanted to hear, right?"

"It's what I was expecting to hear, not necessarily what I wanted to hear." She muttered, very obviously displeased with his response. "I can understand not wanting to share every little detail, but-"

"I love you, Miriam." He voiced tiredly, interrupting the blonde as he pivoted on his heel and headed towards the door that led back inside the manor. "But I think I'm finally starting to feel the pain from where I hit my head earlier, so I'm going to go lie down. I'm sorry that Ciel called you here for no reason."

Arguing with Miriam would ultimately get him nowhere, so there was no point in it. It'd just end with them both becoming upset for different reasons, and Hades was already upset enough with everything. As much as it pained him to make her leave, he just couldn't handle the weight of the stress she was adding to his mind. He couldn't bring himself to actually become agitated with her either; he understood her curiosity and concern, and did not blame her at all for her impatience with him. Right now just wasn't the time.

"Right." She uttered plainly, pursing her lips together as she followed him back inside to make her departure.