A/N: Well it certainly has been long. Please enjoy this addition, as I am fairly fond of it and writing about the Undertaker. Read and Review.

谢谢,

~PT

His Butler, Always

Sebastian blew out a huge breath, his aching abdomen beginning to vex him immensely. He was just finishing up dressing and quickly buttoned his sleeves while looking at the boy strewn across his sheets.

Ciel was murmuring in his sleep, making cute little sounds that Sebastian smirked at. Whatever he was dreaming about it was adorable. Then his smile fell as another stabbing pain hit him in the chest.

Almost grunting at the suddenness of the pain, Sebastian quickly set the tea for when Ciel awoke to his absence. He set it on the dressing table and quickly exited the room with one last glance at his earl.

Almost flying from the manor, Sebastian's determination set itself like a stone pit in his stomach. He would find out what this problem was and get rid of it. It took mere minutes before he was standing before the odd little shop that belonged to the undertaker.

He took a few seconds to straighten his already straightened tie and turned the intricate doorknob and entering the dark interior. The shop was as silent as a tomb, which was probably intentional. The tall demon poked around in the coffins before he got a little impatient, shoving the lid off the furthest one from the desk with his finely polished shoe.

The ex-reaper known at the Undertaker lay amid fresh white roses with his some of his long hair stuck in his mouth… snoring. Sebastian cleared his throat once and when that didn't take he tried another time, more forcefully. When the silver-haired man did nothing but snort and continue to sleep, he remembered with a slight smile how he got Bardroy to stop snoring. He took his gloved hand and covered the Undertaker's nose and mouth with it, pressing softly until his breath was restricted. When the Undertaker began fidgeting, he released him and folded his hands behind his back. He waited patiently for a moment before realizing that the trick had not worked.

He flicked out his pocket watch, tutted at the time and nonchalantly tipped the coffin over onto the floor.

A spluttering man and a rush of rose petals came tumbling out.

Sebastian simply pretended to inspect his gloves for specs of dirt as the man before him dusted himself off, swearing explicitly.

"Well?" The crazed man croaked out irritably, "You ruined a perfectly good dream. I was at a funeral you see-"

"I need your help."

The Undertaker cackled, "What? The great demon butler needs help? Let alone mine? Whatever could I do for you?"

"I have a little problem that I think you may know something about."

"Well if it's about death… maybe… or Danish pastries… but my services are never free! I hope you've brought your funny bone along!"

Sebastian sighed, though while knowing it was coming, he was hoping they could skip this bit. He gestured to the set of chairs by the desk and began his joke.

"So a female circus performer, a cantaloupe, and the prime minister walk into a pub…"

Half an hour later, Sebastian was watching the Undertaker rolling around the floorboards, roaring with laughter. Weary of talking, he waited until the man picked himself up and plopped down in a nearby barrel, his legs sticking up in a comical fashion.

"Hahaha! Heehee…. Whew! Haha, well that WAS one of your better ones, Sebastian!"

He wiped a tear from under his bangs and smiled at the demon, "What is it that I may help you with then?"

Sebastian got up and re-buttoned his coat.

"I am having… pains."

Immediately, the man straightened up, the action hindered by the fact that he sat in a barrel but Sebastian realized that he had said something significant.

"What… kind of pains?"

"They seem to be concentrated in the abdominal region."

The undertaker labored his way out of the barrel and scuttled around him, as if in examination, "And when do this pains occur?"

"There is a general ache but they usually happen whenever I am feeling… loving?"

Sebastian wasn't so unprofessional that he would appear embarrassed in front of one of the earl's business colleagues but his tone notched into an almost imperceptible question of the 'L' word. To his surprise, the Undertaker made no comment. He brushed back his long bangs, taking his hat with it. While Sebastian was one of the few beings to see what the undertaker hid beneath his hair, he was always slightly taken aback by the grisly scar that marred an otherwise smooth face. The undertaker looked at him with concentration.

"You're in love."

It was not a question, but a very solid statement. Sebastian gave a curt nod. His senses sharpened, understanding that what the man would say next would be important.

"That's not possible."

Sebastian's mind flashed back to centuries ago, when he agreed to sell his soul to the devil and become a demon in his services for eternity.

When he came back to the present, the silver-haired reaper was staring at him intently, his eyes drifting over his form.

"You understand what I mean, do you not?" The crazy lilt that normally peppered his speech was gone and his posture was straight instead of slumped over.

Sebastian slowly nodded his head, beginning to understand, "When I gave away my soul to live in hell, my heart was left there as well. I shouldn't be able to feel anything but the seven sins."

"Which love… is not."

"Then how am I able to feel it?"

The man opposite him worried his lip considering, "You are certain it is love?"

Sebastian gave a nod in admission.

Suddenly the Undertaker whirled away from him, rushing towards the back room. Sebastian just waited, clenching his teeth with his mind racing.

The man had wrestled out of his impossible coat and had returned with a slim file in a few moments.

"As you know, You are not the first demon I have encountered in my long years. You are, however, the most hilarious."

Sebastian barely recognized the compliment, "Have you encountered one with a similar affliction?"

The undertaker flipped open the file and Sebastian saw that it only held handwritten note, the edges yellowed with age. He cocked his head trying to read it.

"It's in Latin, so don't worry if you cannot understand it. It is a short missive from a demon who mentioned certain things that sound akin to your current state. Sharp aches, labored breathing, and eventually immobility. He sent this to me asking if I knew of a cure or what exactly ailed him. When I wrote back to ask about the occurrences surrounding the incident he never replied. As he used to be a… friend of sorts, I followed up on it and sent someone to his village to figure out what had happened. When my servant returned it was with a seemingly crazy story. The man said that he had gone to the address given to him but did not find the demon in question. The house he had lived in previously was burned to the ground by an intense fire, some of the wood still standing in a petrified state. There was no trace left.

He asked the townspeople of him and was told that he was set to be wed, to the daughter of the area's priest. She too had disappeared. When he went to look for the priest to ask more questions, he found an empty house with only a statue of a screaming woman in the center of the bedroom and blood dripping from the thatched ceiling."

The undertaker had taken a rapturous expression as he recounted the tale and Sebastian didn't bother that he did indeed know Latin. Sebastian lowered himself slowly into the nearby chair and pondered on the new information. There was nothing in the account that suggested that the symptoms of the old demon had anything to do with the tragedy that befell him and his betrothed but the butler had a feeling that they were related.

The Undertaker closed the file and sat down across from the demon.

"So now. We make inferences. One can assume that because demons cannot feel love that if they develop the ability to do so, it would go against their very nature."

Sebastian nodded in assent. Demons were strictly bound to the seven sins.

The silver-haired man tapped a slender finger to his chin, "Have you ever felt an alleviation of the symptoms for any length of time?"

Sebastian thought back to when things got heated between him and Ciel and earlier the other day when he had attempted to pleasure himself before he was so rudely interrupted. Then it dawned on him.

"When I display or experience lust. One of the sins."

The Undertaker made a sound deep in his throat, "Then we can assume that reverting back to displaying one of the deadly sins, anyone of them might do, that your body is coming back to its natural state. And when you feel love the body's actual 'biological' make-up falls to pieces."

"Being in love is killing me."

"Well you're technically already dead…" When the man saw the demon's murderous glare he trailed off lamely.

"What about what happened to the old demon's fiancé? Is that something that you think was related to the demon's infirmity?"

The undertaker nodded slowly, "It appears so."

"Then Ciel is in trouble."

To his slight surprise, the Undertaker did not react to the name but simply gave a knowing smirk. It vanished quickly though as he took in the Demon's slumped form and lost gaze.

"My, my, you certainly are not yourself."

Sebastian straightened and glared at the silver haired man, touching his tie to fix it.

The Undertaker relented and took the file back to its spot. He returned with his coat, hat and scythe.

"Look. I will obtain more… research from the reaper's offices."

Sebastian gave him a raised eyebrow at the statement.

Irritably, the man shrugged on his coat and shook his bangs in front of his gaze, "What? Just because they 'kicked me out' doesn't mean I can't still beat all of their asses into the nether sphere."

Sebastian rose and followed the ex-reaper to the door.

The Undertaker took a hand and unveiled on of his eyes peering at the demon, "I suggest you fight this love that you hold for the little guard dog," He raised his voice a little at the disapproving look on Sebastian's face, "JUST until we can figure out more."

Sebastian still looked distastefully down his nose at the man.

"Think about the earl. Do it for his safety."

Sebastian relented with his expression and gave an abrupt nod.

The Undertaker let his hair fall back down and fell back into his rousing cackle, "Maybe you can focus on that lust bit…"

Sebastian gave a small smirk and inclined his head in polite farewell to the man, "Very well."

They made their way out into the street and Sebastian turned away and then suddenly looked back over his shoulder, "Thank you, Adrian."

"You had better focus on that lust, I sense the demon we all know and love is disappearing fast!"

The Undertaker swept away, his scythe clacking loudly on the cobbles. Sebastian set back towards the Phantomhive estate with trepidation, the old Grim Reaper's words ringing through his mind.

I wrote this in at least an hour and a half so please point out any irregularities in the reviews or simply tell me if you liked it :)

I really do love you all and I apologize for the long pauses between chapters. Take a look at some of my other works as well.

3

~PT