Into The Flames (Sebastian x Reader)

Price of Touch

"And these are the plans you got from the informant? All of them?"

I nodded, standing in front of the now familiar, large, wooden desk, in the slightly darkened study, the only night the full moon streaming in through the open window. "Yes." I replied to the boy sitting before us, as he poured slowly over the papers I had handed him only moments before.

Ciel Phantomhive ceased his reading and looked up at me, his one revealed eye shining a dark blue in the light from the moon. Finally, after studying me for several moments of silence, he nodded, seemingly appeased, and turned back to reading over the papers, waving me dismissively away with his hand as he said distractedly, "Fine then. You may go. We'll reconvene tomorrow."

Normally, I would have retorted back something at his slightly flippant and superior tone, but tonight, I wanted nothing more than to just go back to the sanctity of my room and be alone.

Too many emotions and thoughts, none pleasant, were battling for attention in my head, and I was exhausted.

Sebastian, leaving the study and exiting the hall with me, offered me the crook of his elbow, as he offered me a hint of a smile and said politely, "I'll see you to your room, my lady."

I didn't argue, I was too tired, so I simply slipped my gloved hand around his offered arm and walked with him in silence, down the long corridors of the dark and silent mansion, until we reached the door of my room.

The butler pushed open the heavy oak door as if it weighed nothing, and then, as I collapsed into a sitting position on the bed, leaning down with a long sigh to begin to remove my soiled boots, he went around the room, lighting a few candles and lanterns on the walls for me, bathing the room in a soft, yellow glow.

Kicking off my shoes, stretching my stockinged feet for a moment, I glanced up, as Sebastian, finished with his task, offered me a slight bow, and made his goodbyes, saying, "If that's all, my lady..."

I watched him walk toward the door, my thoughts loud, screaming, beating at the walls of my head, and then, before I could stop myself, I called out to him hesitantly. "Sebastian..."

He paused in his exit, turning to glance over his shoulder at me, one slender eyebrow raised curiously, as he asked, a slight hint of surprise in his velvety tone, "Yes, my lady?"

I bit my lip, wringing my hands silently in my lap, nervously, for a brief moment, before I said, hearing the slight tinge of sadness in my own words, "You told me before. That humans are boring. Predictable."

He turned to face me, his gloved hands folded neatly in front of him, his dark suit clad figure casting eerie shadows in the flickering light of the candles. His face was as smooth, as expressionless, as always, but from the way he turned back to me at my question, I could tell he was intrigued by what I was getting at. "Yes?" He cocked his head slightly as he watched me, a curious motion, and then said factually, "Humans are predictable creatures. They are beings driven clearly by emotion." He stepped toward me, his crimson eyes still locked on my face, my own eyes downcast in my lap, not wanting to meet his intense gaze that I could feel burning holes into my head. "That girl tonight. You knew her, yes?"

I swallowed hard, stopping the movement of my hands in my lap, and finally forced myself to look up and meet his swirling fuschia gaze, as I said softly, "Yes. She was an acquaintance. No particular bond."

"But." The corner of Sebastian's mouth curled upward at the word, as he took another step toward me, his eyes burning brighter than before as he held my gaze. "As a human, even if you simply know someone, it is still normal to feel emotion about that certain person." He raised a long, dark eyebrow at me once again, and offered me a slight smile, as he asked perceptively, "Are you sad about her? That girl?"