The drive is relatively quiet as Ciel reflectively stares out of the window. The driver has put the radio on for them to help pass the time as they sit in the late evening traffic.
"Are you feeling better?" Sebastian inquires as he sees Ciel smiling to himself.
"I feel just dandy." He titters in reply. "Where are we going?"
"To take you home."
"But I don't want to go home." He whines as he looks at Sebastian in the window's reflection.
"Too bad. You're in no fit state to do anything else."
Ciel folds his arms across his chest in a huff as he sinks back into seat. Sebastian watches him out of the corner of his eye and stops himself from laughing at his bratty behavior. After a while Ciel starts to settle down, and he lets his head fall onto Sebastians' shoulder as he snuggles up next to him.
Sebastian doesn't move, he barely breathes as he can feel Ciel nuzzle and nestle into him for comfort.
"I've been thinking about you a lot over the last few days." He mutters softly.
"Oh?"
"You upset me when you said you couldn't come tonight. I was so upset, so very, very, very upset – I don't even know why I was but I was. Then you showed up! It was like... whoosh, magic." He rambles on a little.
"Whoosh, magic?"
"Whoooooosh, magic." He slurs. "Because I was thinking about you and there you were." He pauses as he tries to sit upright. Once he does, he places his left hand on Sebastians' shoulder as he sways side to side to the song playing on the radio. "La, la, la... la, la, la, la, laaa... La, la, la... la, la, la, la, laaa..." He sings along to the song, his voice is breathy and low as he turns to Sebastian who keeps his face forward as he tries to keep his composure. Ciel, annoyed with being ignored, grabs his chin and turns it towards his face and they lock eyes. "I just can't get you out of my head, boy; your lovin is all I think about..." He continues.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just like this song."
"You have liked every song that has come on the radio."
"Not all songs – just this one. It reminds me of you." He sniggers.
After a long drive back to east London, Sebastian assists Ciel out of the taxi. He staggers out and falls onto the street whilst Sebastian pays the driver. Like a child learning to walk for the first time, he crawls to the nearest thing he can balance himself on and he feebly tries to pull himself up. As he gets up, he starts to lean to the side and fall over.
"Whoa there." Sebastian quickly rushes over to him and catches him just before he falls. Draping Ciels' arm around his neck and over his shoulder, he grabs on to Ciels' waist and they start to walk down the street.
After a while, Sebastian stops, realizing that he doesn't know where he's going.
"Where exactly do you live?" He questions as he adjusts his arm around Ciels' waist causing the young man to giggle and squirm.
"Past the kebab shop." He replies.
"We've past three of those already."
"Just keep going down the street, I'll tell you when to stop." He snickers.
They continue to stagger down the road for another ten minutes and Ciel finally tells Sebastian to stop, which he does in front of a small neatly tucked away blue door. They wait for a moment and Sebastian looks over at him, arching his eyebrow.
"Well?" He asks and Ciel bursts out laughing hysterically. "What's so funny?"
"My keys are with all my stuff back at Uni."
"Then how do we get in?"
"We don't." He simpers as he moves out of Sebastians' hold and ambles over to the door.
There is an intercom on the wall left of the door, and Ciel starts pushing random numbers of different flats to see if someone will pick up. With each failed attempt to get someone to let them into the building, Sebastian contemplates going back over to one of the coffee shops they passed to get something that would possibly help sober him up.
Ciel tries another set of numbers and after a long ring, finally, there is an answer.
"Hello?"
"Alois!" Ciel shouts into the microphone.
"Ciel?"
"I love you so much Aly, did you know that? You're my best friend, seriously..." He starts to drift off. "What was I saying? Oh, yeah, I can't get in, help me!" There is a loud audible sigh on the other end of the intercom, followed by a faint buzzing a few seconds later and the door is unlocked. "We can go in now." Ciel sings.
Sebastian pulls the door open and Ciel staggers in.
They barely make their way up two flights of stairs and down the hall towards Ciels' flat. Alois is stood in the doorway with a knitted brow and his arms crossed across his chest.
"And where the fuck have you been?" He chastises as they make their way into the flat.
"It's my fault." Sebastian begins to apologize as Ciel wanders over to the couch. He bends over to put his hand on the cushion but misses and falls to the floor, flat on his face.
Upon seeing this, Alois' scowl gets deeper embedded into his forehead.
"What the hell is wrong with you - are you pissed?" He wonders and then his head whips over to Sebastian, "Is he pissed?"
"He may be a little intoxicated, yes." Sebastian shrugs as they both watch Ciel struggle to prop himself up on his hands and knees. Alois is seething, seeing his friend in such a state has tipped him over the edge. With an open hand, he starts to smack Sebastian in the arm.
"A little? Understatement of the year!" He keeps hitting him as Sebastian tries to back away, Alois only follows. "Ciel – doesn't – drink – what – were – you – thinking?" He scolds between whacks.
"Will you stop hitting me!" Sebastian grabs Alois by the wrist and squeezes it firmly before letting it go; it falls down to his side as he glares at Sebastian.
"Leave him alone Aly, he was just trying to show me a good time." Ciel interjects as he starts to crawl into the middle of the room.
"I fucking bet he was! What are you some kind of perv?"
"No I-"
"Aly…" Ciel whimpers from the side.
"You what?"
"Aly… I don't feel so good."
"I was just trying to get him to relax a little."
Ciel starts to throw up profusely on the floor.
"Oh, gross!" Alois yells.
Sebastian rushes over to Ciel and lifts him up to his feet.
"I said I didn't feel well." He wheezes.
"Okay, it's okay, let's get you to the bathroom." Sebastian tries to soothe him as he carries him towards the hall and looks over to Alois.
"It's the first door on the left." He advises and Sebastian nods his acknowledgement as he walks Ciel to the bathroom.
...
Sebastian walks into Ciels' bedroom, holding a mug of something hot in his hands. He espies the young man who is hunched over with his head in between his legs, trying to stop the room from spinning. Sebastian goes over to him and places his hand on the top of Ciels' back as he rubs it gently.
"I've cleaned up the living room." He speaks softly as Ciel nods.
"Ugh, thanks. I'm really sorry about that."
Sebastian shrugs, "It's fine. Here, drink this." He hands him the mug and Ciel accepts it.
"What is it?"
"Warm milk, it'll help coat your stomach."
"Um, is there any honey in it?" He asks meekly.
"Yes there is. I remembered your sweet tooth." He smiles as Ciel takes a sip.
"It's good."
"Good." He regards Ciel for a moment as he continues to drink the milk. His hair falls over his forehead delicately; his skin is flawless with his large doe eye unblinking and peering out from underneath his fringe. He looks like a porcelain doll, sat there, propped up against the side of the bed – beautiful and untouched. Sebastian thinks about what it would be like to touch him, what the sensation of his skin on his skin would be like, to run his thumb over his moist lips and what they would feel like pressed against his. He shakes the thought from his mind as he stands by the doorway. "Well, it's getting late, I suppose I should go." He suggests. He may as well leave before he gives in to his temptations.
Ciel turns his head to Sebastian, his blue eye wide and pleading.
"No, don't go, please stay with me." He requests.
"All right, I'll stay." Sebastian walks back into the room and sits down on the bed as Ciel places the empty mug down on the bedside table.
"You know, I don't know much about you." He states as he leans back against the pillows behind him.
"What do you want to know?"
"How old are you?"
"I'm thirty-three." He replies quickly.
"And where are you from?"
"New York City, born and raised."
"Hmm. What's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"New York, I've never been."
"Oh you should go, you'd really like it." He grins, "It's a lot like London in a way. Everyone is always in a rush to get somewhere but where, I'll never know. The skyscrapers are so high that you have to tilt your head all the way back to see them and you still can't see the top. In the autumn all of the leaves of the trees turn red and gold and the weather is just perfect – it's not too hot or too cold. You can get anything you want at three in the morning and there are so many places to sit down and just enjoy music. There is a pulse to the city, a rhythm that beats through you every moment of every day, it's like electricity."
"That all sounds wonderful."
Sebastian nods. "It really can be."
Ciel then goes quiet and the pair sit in comfortable silence for a moment, just enjoying each other's company as they start to relax around each other.
"Can I ask you another question?"
"Shoot."
"Why did you come back?"
"As I said before, I didn't want to disappoint you."
"Why not?"
"Because, I like you." He answers honestly which causes Ciel to blush slightly.
"You don't really know me." He mumbles.
"What does it matter? What I know of you, I like and that's good enough for me."
"Are you pissed?"
"Nope, not at all." He replies and then shrugs. "Sorry, I can't help it. I think you're utterly adorable Ciel." He states, matter of factly.
"Hm, adorable." He snorts lightly. "No one has ever called me that before."
"I find that hard to believe."
"You really like me?" He wonders aloud, his tone is almost incredulous.
"I really do." Sebastian smiles sweetly as Ciels' cheeks flush crimson and he adverts his gaze to the side.
Ciel chews on his bottom lip as he thinks about something but no words come out. Instead, he sits frontward and places his hands on Sebastians' knees.
"What are you doing?"
"You said that I could have anything I want tonight and I want you." He purrs bending forward towards Sebastian who leans back.
"Ciel, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Why not? I brushed my teeth."
"It's not that, I just thi-"
"You think too much." He interrupts, "What's the matter, don't you want me?" He creeps closer, moving his hands up to his thighs. Sebastians' whole body shudders at the touch.
"That's not the point. I don't want to take advantage of you."
"You're not taking advantage of me." He coos pleasantly as he bends forward again. He reaches out, placing his palm on the side of Sebastians' cheek, whilst the other rests on the top of his thigh, and Sebastian falls back onto his elbows. "You're not taking advantage of me." He repeats again with a soft whisper, as his gaze never deviates from Sebastians'.
…
The morning sun hits his eyelids as he starts to stir in his sheets. Ciel whimpers slightly as the throbbing in his head migrates from the back of his neck all the way up and over to the front. Lifting the duvet, he pulls it over his face to shield it from the bright light that is assaulting it. Shifting in the bed, he rolls over to his side to get comfortable and to ease the pain in his head. His eyes flutter open slightly and he sees a muscular bare back in front of him, the person it belonged to is sleeping soundly.
Upon seeing it, Ciel starts to piece together the fractured events of the night. Although he barely can, he can remember Sebastian.
Sebastian!
Ciel instantly sits up and sucks in air through gritted teeth as he hisses to himself, his head starting to pound violently. Within that moment, he starts to feel the chill of the morning air on his skin and he looks down to see that he is missing a shirt. Lifting the duvet up, he peers down underneath to see that he is only wearing boxers and nothing else. Gripping the sheets, he holds them tightly to his body and looks around. There is clothing scattered everywhere.
"Oh my God, what happened last night?" He gasps quietly so as to not wake Sebastian. Ciel wracks his fragile mind to try to make sense of his current situation but he can't. Sebastian starts to stir, stretching himself out and rolling over to his side. His eyes start to open as he catches Ciel in his gaze.
"Good morning." He yawns.
"What the hell happened last night?" Ciel asks bluntly.
"Don't you remember?" Sebastian rests his elbow on the pillow and props his head up, smiling at a very anxious Ciel.
"No! Ah, ow… God." He holds his head.
"I'm a little disappointed."
"We didn't… you know… did we?" Ciel hesitates as Sebastian arches his eyebrow.
"I don't know what you mean."
Ciel furrows his brow. "Yes you bloody well do." He snaps.
"Well, we did a lot of things last night; you're going to have to be more specific."
"W-we didn't-"
"Ciel, I'm a little hurt. You think you share such an intimate moment with someone and they'd remember." Sebastian pouts slightly.
"Fuck me!" He pants almost hyperventilating.
"What, again?"
"Oh my God!"
"Now where have I heard that before?"
Ciel cringes as he covers his face to hide his humiliation, and Sebastians' whole body starts to quake with laughter.
"What's so funny? I've never – I've never done this before." He mutters into the covers.
"You've never gotten blinding drunk and puked all over someone's clothes before?"
"No I never – what?"
"What do you think we did last night?" He inquires innocently.
"You know."
"I don't."
"You know, I thought we had the sex." He whispers seriously and Sebastian starts to roar with laughter.
"Ciel, trust me, if we had the sex, I'd make damn sure that you'd remember it!"
Ciel grumbles from underneath the blankets and Sebastian reaches over and gently pulls them down from his eyes. Ciel blinks a few times as Sebastian smiles at him.
"There you are." He purrs sweetly.
"We didn't do anything?"
"Absolutely nothing."
"Then why are you in bed with me?" He asks shyly.
"Well I was going to sleep on the couch but you asked me to stay."
"I didn't."
"You most certainly did. You said that you have nightmares and asked if I would stay with you. Well, you were so adorable, how could I refuse?"
Ciels' cheeks start to rouge with absolute embarrassment as Sebastian sits up and rests his back against the headboard.
"What did we do last night?"
"What do you remember?"
"The sports bar."
"Okay, well you got drunk. Sang You Make Me Feel Mighty Real on top of a table, puked, serenaded me with a Kylie Minogue song in the back of a taxi, puked some more and tried to kiss me." He sums up the evening with a light chuckle.
"I tried to kiss you?"
"Oh yeah but as soon as you got close, you passed out, fell right on my lap."
"Oh my God, I'm so embarrassed." Ciel buries his face back into the duvet.
"Don't be, it was kinda cute."
"That's not the point!" He shouts, although the sound is muffled.
There is a knock on the door.
"Are you decent?" Alois calls out from the other side of the door just as he opens it. As he enters, he sees them both sat in the bed, without their tops on. "What the hell?"
"Aly, it isn't what it looks like."
"And what does it look like to you?"
"Like a few things but nothing happened."
"What didn't happen?" Lizzie chimes in as she pushes the door open further, her green eyes widening as they lay on the pair. "Oh my God!"
"Fantastic." Ciel sighs as Lizzie rushes over to the bed, throwing herself on top of it. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, I just love to be surrounded by cute boys. She chortles as she reaches up and pinches his cheeks.
"Bugger off." He groans as he swipes away her hand.
Sebastian shifts her aside slightly as he scoots out from underneath the covers and gets out of the bed. He looks around for his trousers and finds them draped over the chair by the window. The trio watches as he strides over to collect them, slip his legs through and wiggle them up his hips, zipping them up but leaving them unbuttoned – revealing just the top of his hipbones.
"I'm going to make Ciel some breakfast, have you guys eaten yet?" He asks as he runs his hands through his hair and Alois and Lizzie shake their heads no. "Wonderful, then I'll make enough for four." He then slowly pads out of the room whilst the three of them watch him leave. A broad grin plasters itself onto Lizzie's face as she grabs Ciels' forearm and squeezes it tightly.
"Oh my God! Please, please tell me you're over Spears and moving on to him, because that man is utter perfection." She squeals.
"I don't know how I feel." Ciel replies.
"What do you mean?"
"How can I just give up on someone I've loved for such a long time?"
"Ciel, you can't love at someone and expect it to be real." Lizzie sighs.
"What do you mean?"
"You and Spears never had a relationship, I never even saw you two so much as get a coffee after class."
"Lizzie's right, at least Sebastian is here." Alois adds.
"And he's making you breakfast." She coos.
"Why do you both care so much?"
"We just want to see you happy." Alois answers as he sits beside him on the bed.
"What if I just can't be?"
"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime, just give Sebastian a chance." Lizzie advises.
"I'll think about it." He concedes and both Alois and Lizzie wrap their arms around him.
"Please stop touching me."
The front door buzzer goes off and they each look at one another, in confusion. Alois moves off of the bed and walks through the flat towards the front door. He looks over to Sebastian, who is in the kitchen pulling something out of the fridge and he giggles to himself. Alois knows that even though Ciel may not be able to see it yet, Sebastian might be just the thing he needs to bring him out of his shell and to forget about Spears – at least he hopes so as he picks up the phone to the intercom.
"Hello?"
'Good morning, this is Professor Spears from the University, is Ciel at home?'
Alois' eyes widen as he hesitates. "Uh, y-yes, he's home."
"Well then, can I come up?"
"Yeah, okay, we're on the second floor." Alois hangs up the phone as he catches Ciel and Lizzie entering the room from the corner of his eyes.
"Aly, who is it?" Ciel asks as he plops down on the couch, staring at Alois who is bracing himself by the door handle.
"It's Professor Spears." He replies.
"Well this should be fun." Sebastian grins as he leans over the countertop staring at the trio who look completely shell shocked.
Authors' Note: The Song Ciel sings in the taxi is: Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head
Thank you everyone for your reviews and follows and favourites - I am truly grateful. Merci.