Children's Games (a Sebaciel Fanfic)

Part 71

Weeks and months passed like the second hand of the demon's pocket watch, and a year after the contract was breached found Sebastian lying in Ciel's bed, snoring quietly as he slept, fingers laced across his chest. Ciel sat beside the bed in a chair he had pulled from the window, asleep himself, with his head resting in his hand. This had become more and more the norm, Ciel sleeping in the chair beside the bed, Sebastian lying motionless in a mess of pillows and blankets, cheeks sunken and crimson eyes hollowed as though life were being sucked from him a little more each day.

Since the night Ciel found out the details of the contract breach, he'd paid more attention to Sebastian's mannerisms. Intentionally ignoring missteps; the drop of a teacup, a stumble as he served dinner, a slowing of his steps as though age were catching up to him. Gradually he'd seen his loyal butler begin to decay, as though there were a cancer eating him from the inside, leaving him looking more and more like a hollow shell of his former self.

True to his word, Sebastian had gone above and beyond to spoil his cherished Master, and both had been insatiable, taking any and every moment to steal away and indulge their desires to the fullest. Ciel craved these trysts, and with each one his longing to keep Sebastian with him grew stronger. As time passed Sebastian had become no less lecherous, although his energy slowly waned, and he was no longer able to whisk Ciel into his arms and handle him with the ease he had in the beginning. Ciel stopped asking to be carried; he learned slowly to bathe and dress himself, Sebastian supervising from beside the tub or seated in the sun near the window. Eventually he grew too weary to sit in the wing backed chair and remained in Ciel's bed with pillows propping him into a seated position.

These days, Sebastian spent most of his day asleep, and when he wasn't sleeping, he held Ciel in his arms, struggling to stay awake as he cooed to him, stroking bluenette hair and whispering quiet reassurances. The inevitable approached quickly, and Ciel knew it wouldn't be long; each time Sebastian drifted back into sleep Ciel watched him like a hawk, anxiously awaiting each breath, relieved when he would see his butler's chest rise and fall, only to feel the anxiety creep back in to await another cycle.

Mey-Rin poked her head in and quietly pushed the tea cart into the room. A glance at Sebastian pulled at her heartstrings and she looked away, whispering quietly to Ciel so as not to wake the sleeping butler.

"Young Master? I've brought tea and biscuits..." Ciel's eyes flitted open and he yawned, nodding and sat up.

"Thank you, Mey-Rin." She looked back to Sebastian in the bed and lowered her eyes. Ciel shook his head at her silent question and sighed quietly. "He's still asleep. He should wake soon, it's nearly teatime. He always wakes for tea." Ciel smiled half-heartedly and Mey-Rin nodded, placing a hand gently on Ciel's shoulder.

"Yes, young Master... I'll leave you... you ring for me if need be..." Mey-Rin slipped quietly back out of the room and Ciel stood to pour himself a cup of tea, clinking the teapot against the lip of the cup as he poured.

"You'll crack the China if you keep doing that, kitten." Sebastian smiled weakly and opened his eyes, once bright and garnet now dusty rubies in darkened sockets. Ciel looked up quickly and set the pot down, going to Sebastian's side, taking his contract sealed hand, squeezing his fingers.

"It's not the good China... Mey-Rin is afraid I'll break it."

"Isn't that quite the idea? Mey-Rin has broken more China than you can imagine... and she worries over you..." The demon laughed quietly, coughing and Ciel squeezed his fingers, retrieving a glass of water from beside the bed and offering it to him.

"Sebastian..."

"Shh. I'm fine." He said softly, sitting up a little, running fingers through his hair, cowlicked from the pillow.