My ending. Its crappy but I didn't ever mean for this to be multi chaptered... I tried. For you.
Thanks to wildchild00, promocat, and Kimberly T!
With love, enjoy!
It's just like he remembers. Like the one that burned down twice when he was still a child. Now, he stands in front of the same cast iron gate and the same manicured lawns, the same delicate trees, the same sparkling manor. The demon earl walks entranced down the drive, his child sized walking stick making periodic holes in the packed dirt. His sapphire blue waistcoat does nothing to keep out the biting cold, but he doesn't mind in the slightest.
It's here. It's still standing.
So why does he hate it so much?
It feels as though it shouldn't be. His life as Ciel Phantomhive, lost countless years ago when a careless, angry order ripped his butler from him and he never saw him again. He can still remember what he said, his hand singing in pain from the slap he gave with his newfound demonic strength, "Then leave if you hate me so much now, and don't come back! That's an order, now get out!" The amethyst mark on his eye, still there and always reminding him of what he did wrong. His regrets.
He pushes the door open with his shoulder, practically falling inside and tripping on the gleaming floors. Why is it like this? Why is there fire lighting the candelabra? Why are there fresh white roses in the vases? Why is he even back here?
A single answer comes to mind, and he tries to shake it away, but it sticks as soundly as his Faustian seal.
Sebastian.
He scoffs at himself. No, Sebastian wouldn't come back. This was just another job for him, just a soul that got away. He shakes his head, his feet moving unconsciously towards the stairs and to the upper landing. His feet roam the familiar hallways, gaping at the perfection of everything. Until he reaches a certain door. His gloved hand wraps around the intricate handle and it clicks open, gliding silently on oiled hinges.
The study. Every book perfectly aligned on the shelves, his chair inviting and ready, arms out like an old friend. There is even an inkwell embracing a quill, and his documents stacked neatly on the desk. Ciel finds himself pressed into the chair before he realizes it, the quill in his hand, ready to use, a spread of documents dated... oh, that's how long ago it was.
For a moment, it all seemed real. The room, the feeling, even the smell... of... cake...
Knock, knock. Ciel whips his head up as the door opens in an oh so familiar way, and... and... oh!
"Se- Sebastian?"
"Hello, my lord," the demon greets in his velvet voice, a hand pressed to his sternum. "You've finally come back."
"Sebastian!" His old self would be appalled at how he's treating his servant, as if he were an equal, but in fact, the older Ciel realizes it doesn't matter any more, and it never really has in the first place. Sebastian, the butler, the demon, and whether he's willing to admit it or not, the friend, is back, and now everything can be exactly like it was once again.
"I can't believe you're here," Ciel stands at the desk, scattering his very old papers everywhere. "I thought you left."
"And I you my lord," Sebastian admits. "But I suppose we knew we'd meet again. It was only a matter of time, wasn't it?"
It suddenly dawns on Ciel how long it's really been. Sure, the manor is the same, but the rest of the world has long since moved on. Everyone he knew, everyone he was friends with are gone. While he was waiting, the world never stopped. He knew he'd come back eventually, but how long did he wait?
Yes, he supposes it was only a matter of time in the end.