• Ciel clung desperately to Sebastian's crisp tailcoat, his hands gripped so tightly at the fabric that the wrinkles he produced by the pressure and heat of his clenched fists would be difficult to remove. Such a fact would have been quickly brought to Sebastian's attention had he cared; wrinkles, tear stains, scuffed shoes, trivial things such as these were the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. All that mattered to him was comforting his young master.

    Ciel's body shook; his back rose and fell sporadically with his continuing sobs, over three years of anguish and pain were pouring out…there was no stopping it, no matter how strong he was –or pretended to be- the pain wouldn't stop coming.

    "…Why…" He managed to choke out, his words muffled by his closeness to Sebastian's chest.

    Sebastian answered calmly as he gently rubbed Ciel's back, "Why what, young master?.."

    "Wh-why the hell did you leave me?!" His words, clear to him, were nothing more than muffled sobs and coughs, "In the streets of L-london…Why did you leave me in that hell?!" In a moment of further weakness, he began whimpering, "…I-I needed you…"

    As they were spoken directly into him, as his master's feelings were no longer hidden to him down here, Sebastian understood every syllable. The pain and loneliness in each word stabbed his demon heart with icy blades of guilt, "…I was always watching you, my lord. I was never far away…" He sighed, regretting his choices even more, "Do you not remember? As you were making your trek to London, you spoke to me once; you requested we keep each other warm as night fell…"

    Sebastian's gentle tone would have made him blush had his face not been burned red by his tears; he clearly remembered speaking those words to a cat…a red-eyed cat…for a moment, his crying stopped, "You…" His teeth gritted together as the tears began flowing once more but with greater force, "You scratched me and ran away, you b*****d!" He weakly pounded on Sebastian's chest with one tightly clenched fist, "You were never there!"

    "You handled me too roughly, a creature as delicate as a cat can't be held so tightly around the ribs…my reaction, cruel as it may seem to you, was only natural…" His tone was calm, gentle; he was still trying to calm Ciel while trying –and failing- to defend his own past actions.

    "Shut up!" He pounded Sebastian's chest once more, "Just shut up!" He was getting tired of Sebastian's attitude, but he couldn't bring himself to let go…Annoying as he was, his butler was just too much of a comfort to let go of.

    Sebastian fell silent, following his master's order as he always had done and merely held Ciel, running his hand up and down the boy's spine in a slow, rhythmic pattern. As Ciel's shaking began to lessen, Sebastian smiled softly to himself; he wished to ask if he was feeling any better, but he was certain he's be met with another command of silence.

    When sobs turned to softly shaking breaths, Sebastian quickly removed his hand from Ciel's back and, in one fluid movement, placed his bare palm against the boy's chest and pushed him back.

    Wide-eyed, Ciel fell backwards, but he still clung tightly to the front of Sebastian's uniform; which, as he looked up at his butler with watering eyes, only seemed to make the demon grin. Fear shot through his small figure for several different reasons; Sebastian had not eaten since making the contract, perhaps even longer before, Ciel couldn't help but think that his present anguish and quickly welling fear had sent Sebastian's hunger over the edge.

    As Sebastian once again leaned forward, Ciel couldn't help but follow the impulse to shrink away, but the strong hand of the demon as already pressing against his back…there was no way out.

    Sebastian moved quickly this time, almost lunging forward, his immense upper body strength was the only thing that kept him from falling on top of Ciel as he allowed the boy to lay back just a little more. His grin remained on his face as he brought his lips closer to Ciel's and pressed them to the boy's once more in another kiss.

    Ciel's eyes widened a little more in shock; again, he hadn't been expecting such an action. He made no effort to struggle, no words of protest demanded to be cast off his tongue, nothing…this felt far better than the last kiss he had been granted, he thought he could almost feel something behind the pleasant warmth of Sebastian's lips…he wasn't entirely sure what, but something was indeed there. He lessened his grip on Sebastian's uniform; the demon's strong hand would support him, and slowly began to close his eyes.

    With a half lidded glance at Sebastian's he suddenly found that his tears had stopped altogether, there was a comfort he couldn't explain behind his butler's lips…it felt incredible. His body relaxed and his eyes started to slide closed as he melted into the kiss...such an action should not be enjoyed so much, not when it was from another man! Regardless he began to make the attempt to return it, his eyes half open as he stared blankly past Sebastian, a frustrated blush on his cheeks due to his obvious inexperience.

    His grip tightened slightly on his butler's tear-stained tailcoat as he tried to press himself into the kiss, tilting his head slightly to the left...he had been unfortunate enough to witness Lau with one of his many women kissing in such a manner, it was only now that he found that mildly scarring moment to be useful.

    For that moment, time seemed to come to a standstill, what felt like a lifetime had been but a few seconds. The relaxing feeling that had washed over him was broken almost instantly by the infinitely long reach of a steel trimmer zipping past the back of Sebastian's head.

    "...Disgusting..." Will's mirthless voice would have seemingly come from nowhere had the long reach of his Death Scythe not given away his position. As William retracted his piercing weapon, the head reconnected to the shaft with a surprisingly soft 'click'. Out of force of habit, he readjusted his glasses with his Scythe before he spoke, "A demon and a human, two males no less…such an action between you two is appalling…"

    Ciel pulled away from the kiss with a soft gasp as he stared wide-eyed at Sebastian who, by outward appearance, seemed completely unaffected by the kiss. The small smirk observed on Sebastian's face said not that he enjoyed what had just happened between them, but that he had expected what had happened behind them. He now saw that Sebastian had pushed him down to avoid the Death Scythe, that had to be it. And the kiss…the kiss was nothing…he had tried to get into it for nothing…He felt like a fool.

    His face burned red, he hated this feeling pulsating through him. He felt so good just a minute ago…when he thought Sebastian was kissing him the second time simply because he wanted to and not as a distraction, a warm feeling rushed through him that he hadn't felt since his parent were alive…that annoying smirk on Sebastian's face ripped it all away from him again.

    "…Get away from me…"

    Sebastian looked down at Ciel, concerned, "Young master?"

    "Get away from me!" His body was still weak and trembling from his breakdown, regardless, he pushed Sebastian away from him with all the strength he could muster. Once out of Sebastian's grasp, he turned his back on his butler and, unable to find the strength in his legs to get up and walk away, curled up, holding his knees tightly to his chest. His body began to tremble from silent sobs once again; he couldn't stop it, and the fact that William was present to witness his continuing breakdown was only making him feel worse.

    He attempted to voice his dislike of the two being present, but any and all complaints were lost so deep in his sobs, even Sebastian's ears could not interpret them.

    Sebastian bowed his head slightly to silently apologize to his young master before standing to address William, "I must say I'm shocked to see you here." He regarded the Reaper with a blunt tone, making his already well known dislike obvious, "I would think one such as you wouldn't willingly venture here." He took a step towards William, doing as Ciel asked and distancing himself from Ciel yet remaining close as he had promised just moments ago, "To what do we owe this visit?"

    "I'm not here for a friendly visit, demon." There was a great amount of disgust in William's normally calm voice, "There is absolutely no reason I would set foot in this Godforsaken place other than business."

    "And what business might that be? Did one of your subordinates damn someone who didn't need to be damned?"

    "Even the most incompetent of Reapers wouldn't make such a foolish mistake…" Sebastian's comment left William thoroughly annoyed, "The business I speak of regards you and your owner…" His sharp eyes fell on Ciel's shaking figure, "Who I see is still more or less among the living."

    "Indeed he is…" The edge in Sebastian's voice said he didn't like the way William regarded Ciel, "There were complications in our contract. But I don't see why that would concern you; his soul does not need your judgment."

    "Be that as it may---"

    "Little Sebast!" Grell's singsong voice cut William off, but for once, he didn't seem to be annoyed by it. Much like his supervisor, Grell's voice seemed to come from nowhere, but his excitement couldn't keep him in hiding. The red Reaper burst out from the trees in his regular flamboyant fashion as he ran towards Sebastian, "Little Sebast! I was so afraid I'd never get to see you again!" He flung his arms around his 'Romeo' in an overly loving embrace, "Did you miss me?"

    Grell's overenthusiastic affection towards Sebastian immediately disgusted him as always, "I can't say that I did…"

    "You're only saying that because the boy's here." His voice carried the tone of a pouting child, "He doesn't seem too happy with you right now, so you can tell me how you really feel." He huffed, "You shouldn't care what that little human thinks anyway…" He giggled, pressing his hips into Sebastian as he whispered playfully, "I can offer you so much more; I'm full grown, after all."

    Sebastian shivered, the mental images Grell's suggestions conjured were nearly traumatizing even for him, "Is this the business you spoke of, William?" He asked, obviously annoyed as he tried to break Grell's vice-like grip on him, "To bring me a little bit of Hell to compliment what I already have?"

    "No, demon, as much as I find your discomfort amusing, it's not why we're here." His words came slowly, he was intentionally taking his time to prolong Sebastian's growing discomfort, "While cleaning out the streets of London, dispatching the great number of souls to their proper places, Grell came across something that belonged to you."

    Grell nodded excitedly, nuzzling into Sebastian's side in the process, "Indeed I did! I was so excited when I found it, Little Sebast! I meant I'd get to see that handsome face of yours again!" To Sebastian's relief, Grell let go and skipped back playfully, hiding his hands behind his back, "I'll show it to you if you promise to give me a kiss afterwards." The sugar in his voice was nauseating.

    "I wouldn't dare give someone like you a kiss."

    Grell stomped his foot, his shark-like teeth clenched tightly, "Why not?! I saw you giving that stupid little whelp a kiss just now! What does he have that I don't have?!"

    Sebastian narrowed his eyes, "I won't have you speak of the young master in such a manner…" He cast a glance back to Ciel, who still had his back turned to him. His body was still trembling.

    "You're still calling him master?! Did someone hit you in your perfect head, my Little Sebast? I know all about how your little deal works, you did whatever he asked you to, now you can have a new master…" his angered looks quickly transformed into a grin as he pulled his hands out from behind his back, showing he was now in possession of Sebastian's severed arm, "And that master is me!"

    "Grell…" William spoke up, but his present attempts at giving his opinion were completely overshadowed by Grell's excitement.

    "Kneel down before me, Little Sebast!" He said playfully as he pointed to the ground directly in front of him, "Kneel down before me and undo my pants. Show 'Little Grell' how much you love it."

    Sebastian stared at Grell, not moving an inch away from Ciel, A clear look of disgust on his face, "That's not how it works."

    "It has to be!" Grell whined, "I have the arm you made your contract with, so you belong to me now!" Frustrated, he quickly turned to face William, "Will! Sebastian's not listening to me! Make him do what I say!"

    "I will do no such thing, Grell." He cleared his throat, absentmindedly adjusting his glasses with his scythe, "Sebastian, you have a contractual obligation to fulfill with your owner. While I would much rather not have to associate with you ever again, if it is within my power, I cannot allow a valid contract to go unfulfilled." He cast a sharp glare at his subordinate, "Grell, give him the arm."

    Grell huffed, "But I don't w---"

    William cut off his whining with his ever stern voice, "Now, Grell."

    His movements were slow as he moved back towards Sebastian, it was obvious he didn't want to relinquish the arm of one of the man men he was attracted to, but with one last protesting whine, he handed it over, "I hope his soul tastes nasty. So nasty that the only thing you'll want to do to get rid of the taste is make out with me…"

    At Grell's words, a soft, sharp gasp escaped Ciel. Another wave of fear washed over him…his first order to Sebastian when they arrived was a demand of pain…it was only now that he realized all of this was playing out to that order. He was being forced to relive past pain all at once, and the pain of uncertain affection was placed on top of it…Sebastian had indirectly followed his order and carried it out perfectly, just as he always had.

    The only words he was able to mutter out in his numbing fear was, "…This can't be…"

    Sebastian's ears twitched very slightly as he looked back again, he had heard Ciel's soft words, felt the waves of fear rolling off of him. Regardless of what he thought at the moment, he smiled. "I didn't expect this to be in my possession again." He said bluntly as he held the light weight of his left arm in his right hand, "Nor did I expect it to be in such decent shape."

    Even though it had been separated from his body for some time, it showed no signs of rot. It didn't seem to be at all singed from the fire nor bloated from the water of the Thames River. Even the clothing was perfectly intact; the glove was still a crisp white, the sleeve was still pressed as if he had just put it on, the only damage on it was on the upper arm where Ash had severed it. The overall condition made it seem as if he had just lost it no more than mere minutes ago.

    "I kept it in perfect shape just for you, Little Sebast." He giggled, there was an excited smile on his face as he felt he had just pleased Sebastian with the condition in which he kept his severed arm, "It thanked me quite a bit in return."

    "It…thanked you?" Grell's statement had confused him. As a demon, he enjoyed many abilities, but his body parts didn't have a mind of their own once they left the body, he was sure of that. There was no way his arm could have 'thanked' Grell, "Exactly what do you mean by that."

    A playful giggle escaped his throat yet again as he skipped over to Sebastian's side, "I mean…" he cupped a hand over his mouth as he moved uncomfortably close to Sebastian's ear and whispered, "My little piece of you played with a big piece of me. Each night I had it, I begged, and it listened. It played with me for hours, Little Sebast, I had so much fun!" His tongue playfully stroked Sebastian's earlobe, "I still think you could make me come more than it did, if only you'd make love to me, my Little Sebast."

    A look of trauma and absolute disgust plastered itself on Sebastian's face, "Get the hell away from me." His voice was uncommonly sharp as he forcefully shoved Grell away from him, "I absolutely refuse to do such things with you."

    Regardless of the rough way he was shoved away, Grell grinned as he stumbled backwards, "Is that how you're going to be, Little Sebast? You can't be turned off by the thought of having sex with someone. What about the convent wench you so enthusiastically did, hm?"

    "…That was strictly business; the young master told me to get information and that was the most efficient way to make her talk."

    "You could have threatened to take her head off if she didn't relinquish the information your master demanded." He pouted, seemingly becoming more disgusted the longer he recalled the past event, "You seemed to enjoy her screaming. Would you like it better if I screamed for you?" A smile spread across his face as his whole body seemed to wiggle with excitement, "Oh, oh! No, I'm unclean! I'm unclean!" He giggled and blew a kiss as he whispered with a seductive tone to his voice, "Make me dirty, Little Sebast. Make me dirty many times over."

    Sebastian refused to answer, Grell's behavior disturbing him a great deal. If he went deaf right now, he felt he wouldn't mind in the slightest, as long as he could no longer hear Grell's voice.

    "Or…" Grell's voice took an angrier tone as he turned to Ciel. "Is it this little whelp that you want?" He bent and forcefully shoved his hands beneath Ciel's arm, lifting the boy up with a surprisingly small amount of resistance, "You seem to have enjoyed pressing your lips to his…" Still supporting Ciel's limp body, he traced a single finger around the child's lips, "…they're so thin and pale…I don't know what you find so kissable…" He playfully puckered his own lips and spoke with his normal playful ring, "Mine are far more kissable, Little Sebast. I know you'd enjoy them if you gave it a chance."

    Sebastian no longer paid any attention to Grell's words; instead, he stared at Ciel's limp figure. Where there was once strength and determination, characteristics missing from even respectable adults, there was nothing but despair. His eyes were dull and listless, the defiant spark Sebastian found he had come to love was gone…Ciel had never allowed anyone to touch him, certainly not in the way Grell was handling him, and yet now he put up no fight…The few events that had come to pass in their short time in hell…the forbidden interaction between them had literally broken him

    "Is it because he's so young?" Grell continued uninterrupted, not knowing his words had begun to fall on deaf ears, "I can be just as young looking as he is. Perhaps if I stole his clothing you'd be more attracted to me?" His hand played with the buttons on Ciel's undershirt, "Would you like that, hm?"

    "Grell…" William finally spoke, allowing Grell to mess with Sebastian was wearing thin quickly, "Put the child down and leave Sebastian to his work. We may leave once their contract is complete."

    "Oh, fine." Grell pouted and intentionally dropped Ciel with absolutely no regard to his physical safety, but he didn't move away, "I want to be as close I can to my lover while he does his work though."

    William rolled his eyes, "Work quickly demon, I don't wish to be here any longer..."

    The reluctance to comply emanated from Sebastian's person. He was absolutely certain that his link to the contract had been lost with his arm; now that it was back in his hands, he was torn…His entire body ached with the need for nourishment; as he had once been sure that all he needed was the soul of his master, he refused to partake in any other…but the promise he had made, the order he was given, he had promised to never leave Ciel's side, to never betray him.

    Technically, his end of the bargain was fulfilled, if the contract was indeed still intact once his arm connected with his body again, Ciel's soul was rightfully his to take. But he was still obligated to follow any order that passed his master's lips. If their contract was no longer broken, it was certainly tied up in knots.

    Slowly, he lifted his severed arm to its rightful place against his shoulder and his body did the rest. There was a soft hissing noise as flesh, bone, and muscle reconnected; it was just as any other moment he had sustained an injury, now that all the pieces were present, they easily fell back into their correct place.

    Fiber and fabric did not have it in them to regain their severed connections; as such he still didn't quite feel like the proper butler he had strived to be. A single fabric out of place made him look rather disheveled and was quite unfitting for what he still felt he was.

    Grell wiggled his entire body in excitement, "Take his soul! Take it quickly!" There was the trill of a giggle to his voice, "Once he's out of the way, there will be no one but me for you to turn to!"

    Again, Sebastian ignored Grell's advancing words; it seemed that he too was partially broken. He stared down at his left hand, his fingers slowly opening and closing, testing to make sure all the proper connections had been made, "…There is an uncomfortable tingle in each of my fingers…" He shot a glance at Grell, who shivered in excitement to even have Sebastian's red eyes look in his direction, "I feel I can safely say that I would gladly dip my hand in Holy Water a hundred times over if it meant the skin that touched you was burned off…"

    Grell stomped his foot again, the close proximity of the action to Ciel's body made the boy jump slightly as a reflex, "You're so mean to me!"

    Not wanting to put the glove of his left hand to his mouth for fear of where Grell might have put that was well, Sebastian carefully removed the white fabric from his hand one finger at a time for no reason other than he wanted his attire to be at least partially symmetrical. As he slowly removed the glove, his eyes were glued to the middle of the back of his hand; if the mark was still there, he had to take his reward from Ciel. If it wasn't, he was locked into a life of servitude…the latter option had quickly become the one he knew he wouldn't mind.

    His heart pounded in anticipation; even though he was the one removing the glove, he couldn't seem to make his movements go any faster than an agonizing crawl. An inch up, the fabric uncovered a black mark. His breath caught in his throat and, out of pure impatience, he quickly pulled the rest of the glove away, expecting the see the mark symbolizing the fact that he had to end his master completely.

    Instead of the symbol of his Faustian pact that normally occupied the patch of skin on the back of his left hand, he saw something much different, something that was both a great relief and a great disturbance. Instead of his mark, there was a burn wound in the shape of a perfect circle. Over said wound was a crudely drawn picture in black ink of the man who held his arm for his own pleasure.

    Once again, Sebastian shot a look at Grell, he obviously wasn't thrilled with the further violation of his hand, "…Exactly what is this?"

    Grell squealed and danced back over to Sebastian's side, "Don't you love it, Little Sebast?" He grabbed Sebastian's left hand and held it in his own, tracing a single finger along the lines he had drawn, "When I found your hand, that silly mark of yours had begun to fade, but it wouldn't go away fast enough for me." His voice began to carry the tone of an angry pout, "If I was going to have a piece of you, I wasn't going to let it have anything connected to that little boy you serve…" He smiled again, the song returning to his voice, "So I burned it off and drew myself! Now you've always got me with you!"

    Sebastian jerked his hand away, "I can't say I'm too happy about that…" In one smooth motion, he shifted, turning to face Grell, "Nor am I happy about the way you've treated my young master." He reached out with his right hand and grabbed Grell by the throat, "If you ever feel like handling him the way you have been ever again," He hissed, his demonic nature beginning to shine through as he tightened his grip, "do know that I won't allow you to live."

    With the greatest of ease, he lifted Grell off the ground and, being intentionally and unnecessarily rough, threw him back over to William. "The business between me and my master is none of your concern, William." His red eyes flashed a soft red light as he spoke, "The next time you feel like meddling in my affairs, think it over a little longer, it will save us both the annoyance." With that he turned away, no longer wanting to pay attention to either of the Reapers.

    William narrowed his eyes at Sebastian, not wanting to admit that he agreed this little side trip was a total waste of time. It might not have been had it not been for Grell… "You will be receiving several demerits for this, Grell." He spoke bluntly as he reached down and took a handful of his subordinate's red hair, "And for your actions, I will once again relieve you of your Death Scythe." With that blunt warning, he began dragging Grell away.

    Tears spilled from Grell's eyes from both the pain of having his hair pulled and the fact that he was going to lose his beloved Death Scythe, "No, Will, please!" he begged as he flailed about, "Don't! I need my scythe! I need it!"

    Much to Sebastian's relief, it didn't take long for the two to disappear, "I must say, all of this was entirely unnecessary," He cast a glance at Ciel, who was still lying limp where Grell had dropped him, "Don't you agree, young master?"

    Ciel made no attempt to answer, which worried Sebastian greatly. "…I'm very sorry for what happened, young master…" His voice was soft and full of regret as he knelt beside Ciel, "I believe I know what you were thinking in the beginning…If you're actually listening to me, I want to point out that it wasn't true…My second kiss to you was indeed a real one, only the fact that I had pushed you back was meant to make you avoid Will's Scythe…" He gently picked Ciel up, cradling the boy as he continued to explain, "I only hope that you will believe and forgive me for what has happened…"

    As if to answer his plea for forgiveness, Ciel wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck, clinging to his loyal butler for protection and burying his face into his shoulder like the child he still was, "…"

    Sebastian smiled softly and stroked Ciel's back as he once again began walking to fulfill his master's order, "Thank you, my lord…"