Ciel felt the blood trickle down his temple, warm and thick.

It hurt.

His head throbbed painfully, and the ringing in his ears drowned out the laugher of men and the clinking of glasses around him. His sight was blurry, affected by the smoke and heavy perfume in the air. The dryness in his throat made him cough and wheeze raggedly.

Ciel straightened his back and leaned against the wall behind him. He could feel the coldness seeping through his white shirt, sending shivers down his spine. The sudden movement made the world around him turn and spin. He closed his eyes, focusing on the beating of his heart.

Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

It wouldn't be long now, Ciel knew. Soon enough, Sebastian would sweep in, take care of the other people in the room and bring him home. He didn't know what his kidnappers wanted from him this time.

Petty revenge, probably.

He slowly opened his eyes.

They wore expensive jackets, and their canes were adorned with intricate golden and platinum heads, resembling his own. The leader, sitting at the head of a long table, raised his glass and cheered loudly, his rough voice cutting through the air like a knife. Everyone else got silent.

"Let us celebrate this day, gentlemen. Today we may grace ourselves with the successful arrest of Ciel Phantomhive, watchdog of her majesty."

The crowd joined in: it laughed, cheered, mocked and came up with graphic descriptions of the fate that supposedly awaited him.

Ciel clicked his tongue and let his head fall against the wall with a thump. "Your education must date back several years, or be shockingly inadequate for a man of your standing," he raised his voice. The leader turned his head to look at him, and Ciel continued. "To 'arrest' someone would commonly mean detaining a criminal found guilty of any kind of crime. What you did to me, however, would be classified as 'abduction' and will be prosecuted. You'll be the one arrested."

Or killed.

But he didn't say that.

He'd talked big enough.

"Did you all hear that?" the man boomed and stood. "The brat is trying to educate me. Me! I'll tell you something, Ciel Phantomhive." The man pushed back his chair and walked over to the boy, crouching down in front of him. He grabbed his chin forcefully. "You are a criminal. And for you to deny that is ridiculous and makes you delusional. You kill, we kill. You're just as bad as we; the difference is that the queen approves of your crimes while she demonizes ours. Do you think that's fair? Do you?"

"There's no need to get angry." Ciel shook his head, casting off the hand hurting his jaw. "I was merely informing you of the current situation. You may think as ill of me as you wish, it doesn't change a thing. Free me now, and you might live. You have approximately two minutes to decide." His eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. "Or one minute, it's already taken him too long as it is." Turning back to the man, he smiled. "That knot around my ankles looks pretty complicated and hard to disentangle; you might want to start now."

"You're pretty cheeky for a bloody, defenceless brat. Do you think this is funny?"

"No, I think this is troublesome and unnecessary." He paused momentarily. "Your time is running out, by the way."

Blood shot to the man's head, turning it an angry shade of red. He huffed, lifted his hand and struck Ciel across the cheek.

"Damned brat! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!" The man stood and loomed over Ciel. His hand disappeared behind his back and pulled out a gun. "A few shots to your legs shouldn't kill you."

Ciel felt the stinging pain in his cheek. As he saw the shiny weapon, dread pooled in his stomach. He swallowed. "I would put that away if I were you," he wheezed. "You're digging your own grave."

"Good thing you are not me, then." The man lifted the weapon and aimed at Ciel's thighs.

Ciel wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, but in the same moment, he saw a black shadow land behind the man. He smiled wanly. "How bad for you, that minute went by faster than I thought."

There was a loud crack and the man fell to the floor limply.

Silence.

Just the sound of slick shoes on marble floor, as Sebastian approached his protégé.

Then, shocked gasps and murmurs.

Ciel paid them no mind. "It took you too long, again."

Sebastian sighed and crouched down. He began to work on the rope binding Ciel's feet together. "I'm sorry, young master; it shouldn't have taken me so long. There were a few obstacles on the way here." The rope fell to the floor in little pieces.

Ciel huffed and straightening his shirt as soon his hands were freed. He winced, straining the nasty bruise on his chest. Sebastian's eyes roamed his body. His eyebrows furrowed, and his lips formed a thin line. "You seem to be in very bad condition. I shall bring you home at once. It will only take a few seconds."

"It better," retorted Ciel, and slumped. Taking his eyepatch off, he gave the command to end it all.

Everything descended into chaos. Gone was the silence. Terrified screams and yells bounced off the walls. Ciel heard the splattering of blood and guts, the ripping of clothes and skin, and the cracking of bones and furniture.

He didn't look. Instead, he fumbled with his eyepatch, moving it back into place.

As soon as it had started, it ended, and Ciel wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and rest. But only as he felt Sebastian's arms around his torso a few moments later, did Ciel fall into a deep slumber.

Ciel awoke in his bed. The blanket had been pulled up to his chin, engulfing him in warmth and a feeling of safety.

It was dark.

Yawning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the tiredness. His body felt numb.

The pain was gone, just his sprained ankle sent a searing pain up his leg as he testily moved it up and down. He flinched and sighed, reached for the clock beside his bed and turned it in his direction.

03.00 AM.

"Sebastian." His voice sounded rough, weak. He bit his lip.

The three familiar knocks on his doors were immediate, and Sebastian entered, carrying a tray with tea and what Ciel presumed to be soup. It smelled delicious, and his stomach rumbled in approval.

Sebastian greeted him with an elegant bow. His robe was pitch black, cleaned of any blood it might have been stained with. "How are you feeling, young master?"

Ciel rotated his shoulder in an attempt to ease the tension. "Better. Is that Darjeeling?"

Sebastian nodded, and walked around the bed until he stood right beside the boy. "I thought some caffeine might revitalize your senses. You slept for thirty-six hours, young master."

Ciel made a grabbing motion with his hand, eliciting the butler a suppressed snort. "The young master looks like a child again. How precious. Would you like some milk with honey instead?"

"I'm not in the mood for you to make fun of me, devil. Just give me the tea."

The butler did as he was told, and handed Ciel the porcelain cup. It was steaming hot, and it smelled like heaven. He took a sip. The hot beverage burned his lips, but it sent a comfortable warmth down his throat and into his belly. Pleasant shivers made him shudder.

Closing his eyes, Ciel sighed.

"Are you still in pain?"

Ciel raised his head and looked at Sebastian intently.

The butler wore that expression. The expression he wore every time something similar happened. The expression he wore every time he got hurt.

It hadn't always been like this.

Ciel remembered the disinterested stares he'd gotten after he'd been injured in the beginning of their contract. He remembered the disdain in those red eyes, the hate and anger and annoyance.

Now was different. There was softness; softness and something else. Ciel couldn't decode it, but he knew it was different. It reminded him of the looks Tanaka gave him sometimes.

Almost…

"Young master?"

How foolish.

He knew he couldn't compare Sebastian to a human, because Sebastian wasn't human. He didn't feel like a human. He didn't feel like Tanaka, so he couldn't look like him.

Maybe I really am getting delusional.

"I'm fine. The pain is bearable. Just hurry up next time, so this won't happen again."

"I promise I will be faster next time." There was a pause. "But I will do my best to ensure that there won't be a 'next time'," Sebastian responded with a stern and strangely serious voice.

Moonlight shone through the crack between the curtains. It bathed the room in cold, blue light, illuminating Sebastian's figure from behind.

"What's wrong with you lately?" Ciel suddenly blurted out. "You're behaving strangely."

Sebastian blinked, and then smiled cryptically. "I think I might be getting old, young master."

The boy snorted. "You don't 'get old'. That's not a thing."

"Maybe not," said Sebastian, "but I do feel older. Tanaka has voiced similar opinions lately." The butler furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation.

"What do you mean?"

"He told me I seem to resemble him more and more as times goes on." Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. "So maybe I am getting old."

Suddenly, Ciel couldn't hold back a quiet laugh. "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that. And I'm glad I don't seem to be delusional after all." He winced as he realized he'd said that out loud.

It was Sebastian's turn to look confused, but before he was able to ask, Ciel shook his head frantically. "A-Anyway. Leave me alone for now, I want to go back to sleep. Wake me in the morning as usual."

Sebastian stood there for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. Ciel's panic increased with every moment of silence. Then, finally, Sebastian bowed. "As you wish, young master." He gathered the cups and walked to the door, tray in hand.

Ciel already felt his eyes droop and his body go limp as Sebastian whispered: "Maybe there's some truth in what Tanaka said, young master. Maybe there is."

As the door clicked shut, Ciel's last thought before he drifted off to sleep already felt like a dream.

Almost fatherly.