The Queen's Panther

4. Reconnecting

"Grell? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, my dear bestie! Quite the mess you and your master made earlier today. Reminds me of certain scarlet madam I once knew..."

"Madam Red?" Thorne guess, making the reaper nod.

"Such a beautiful woman, like moi," the red head says dramatically. "It was such a shame to have to get rid of her."

"You could have just left her," Thorne replies, a little mad at the reaper. "By killing her, you hurt my favorite creation."

"The Phantomhive boy is yours?" Grell chuckles. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The boy has your name written all over him. What about the Thornheart kid, is he yours too?"

"No, Raven's soul was made by another soul keeper," Thorne replies. "But he intrigues me. How can a soul as young as his still be so full of light, despite being so caught in shadows?" Thorne looks up to the moon, casting a faint light on the two divine beings standing on the manor roof. "He's like the moon. Banished into the dark night, yet still glows. No matter how many scorn the moon, it doesn't falter."

"Poetic, as always, my dear," Grell says, leaning on his chainsaw death scythe. "It's a shame you're taken, I would love to call you mine."

Thorne goes to respond, then pauses, eyes turning black, saying softly, "I know, I know. I told you, you just have to be patient. I'm not sure where he's keeping your body, or what he's been doing, but trust me, you'll see him again."

Grell tilts his head curiously, but before he says anything, he notices a figure coming up behind Thorne, a wide smile appearing on his lips, "Bassy! What are you doing here, my love?!"

Sebastian groans, "not you again."

"Is that any way to greet a lady?" Grell scolds.

Thorne rolls his eyes. "I see you two know each other."

"Unfortunately," Sebastian mutters. "You know him through work?"

Thorne nods. "Grell's also a close friend. Did you need something?"

"I want to talk to you, alone," Sebastian replies. "And shouldn't you be sleeping as well?"

"It's one of those nights I don't need sleep," Thorne says. "I'm guessing you want to talk about us?"

"Us? You two...?" Grell trails off, looking between the demon and keeper. "Oh, I never knew you were into men, Bassy! It makes you seem even more desirable!"

"And this is what I wanted to avoid," Sebastian mutters grumpily as Grell continues to gush and rant.

"I see what you mean now," Thorne mumbles. "Grell, shouldn't you be getting back to headquarters before Will comes looking you?"

"Hmm," Grell says, pausing his rant and thinking. "Fair point. There's no telling what he'll do this time if he decides to punish me. I can't have him taking away my beautiful death scythe again. And being on suspension in terrible... Fine, I'm off. See you later, Bassy, Thorne."

With that, Grell disappears, leaving the demon and soul keeper watching him go.

"I don't think I've ever seen him cooperate like that," Sebastian says.

"Grell's a unique character," Thorne says. "But he's lovable."

"I find that hard to believe."

"You don't see him as often as I do," Thorne replies. "Now, what exactly did you want to talk about?"

Thorne already know the answer to that. The demon wants to apologize for what he said.

"I..." Sebastian hesitates. "I'm sorry, Thorne. I shouldn't have said those words. I... Was angry and it just came out."

"The fact those words came out means you purposely tried to hurt me," Thorne says, avoiding Sebastian's eyes. "'You should just disappear, no one would care.' It's not the words themselves I'm upset about. It's the fact that you know. You know that everyone I loved in my human life would end up saying those words to me, and yet you still said them."

"I didn't mean it," Sebastian says. "I just wanted to get back out here on earth. I know you just wanted to keep me safe, but I'm not powerless. I've proved that much with the young master."

"Proved what?" Thorne says, a small smile on his lips. "Your strength in protecting him, or your self control in the way he treats you?"

Sebastian chuckles lightly but doesn't reply immediately. "... I love you, Thorne. More than anything."

"I know," Thorne whispers. A ball of light appears, continuously weaving through his fingers, Thorne watching it. "I love you too, my devil. And I'm willing to have you again, as long as nothing like that happens again."

Sebastian nods immediately, letting the soul keeper embrace him, enjoying the feeling of Thorne's arms around him again.

"I swear, I won't say anything like that again," Sebastian whispers.

"Good," Thorne replies. He holds the ball of light out for the demon. "Here, you're starving. Surely an appetizer or two won't hurt."

Sebastian smiles slightly at the way the soul keeper worries about him. His hunger makes an appearance as he accepts the fresh soul, devouring it quickly. Thorne chuckles softly, making a few more souls for the hungry demon in his arms.

As Sebastian eats, Thorne notices the moon is going down.

"Is it nearly sunrise already?" he muses. "That's all the time we have for now, love. I have to go wake Raven. Wake your master too, have him come to the lounge again."

"The young master won't like being woken so early," Sebastian replies skeptically.

"If you don't, Raven will likely wake him anyway," Thorne says. "He told me last night that he wanted Phantomhive to join us on the roof to watch the sun rise. It's a daily thing for Raven."

"Fine, but I'll be blaming you when he gets mad," Sebastien grumbles, making the Thorne shrug.

The demon's eyes widen in surprise when the soul keeper kisses him suddenly. Sebastian quickly melts into the kiss, the burning fire within him being stoked again.

He just got his soul keeper back, and he's not going to let him go again.