My dudes. This chapter has actually been ready for a couple weeks, but I postponed uploading it because I wanted to publish it on November 4th, the birthday of HBIL, but I FORGOT UGH! Anyways HBIL is 4, which means I uploaded the first chapter four years ago, holy SHIT! It's so hard to remember little me running around my middle school in raccoon eyeliner, writing fanfiction in class. And with the birthday of HBIL, here is the newest chapter!

It was the 6th century when he met Sophia. He had been serving her older sister, a noble's daughter in Greece and first in her family set to marry. Sophia found herself enjoying Sebastian's company whenever he wasn't waiting on her sister's hand and foot, though at the time he had been given a different name.

He had still been young, just learning what it meant to come from hell. He'd been a generally pleasant presence during this lifetime, not knowing what dangers it held for those around him.

Sophia liked to cook. She'd know exactly when she could find Sebastian in the kitchen and weasel her way into helping him. Most of their time spent together was when he was teaching her how to make her sister's favorite meals.

Over time, Sebastian had foolishly fallen in love with Sophia without knowing the consequences.

It had begun slowly, first when she stopped turning up in the kitchen, then when she began turning the other direction upon seeing him anywhere. Weeks passed like this, Sophia avoiding him at every turn and him growing more and more saddened as he watched her slip away. She said she loved him not even a month ago, what had changed?

It wasn't until he found a letter in her room telling him that she was sorry, she loved him, but she couldn't stand what he was making her become. To her, love wasn't worth becoming a monster.

Her body was found three days later at the bottom of a steep ravine, and before he brushed her eyelids closed, he could see the dulling red color swirling underneath.

Since then, Sebastian's heart has grown cold and he had refrained from falling in love again. But now, a certain Angeline Redthorne was starting to make it increasingly difficult, he thought as she lounged in the grass of the Phantomhive gardens, reading a book and using Pluto as a pillow, the large dog sleeping curled around her. Sebastian was perched on a bench just a few feet away, watching her as her stormy eyes scanned the page, glinting an emerald color when they hit a certain light.

Since their argument in the square, the two had gone from reluctant tolerance of each other to mutual companionship. If they were stuck with each other they may as well get along, so they spent their days with friendly conversation in which he started to learn more about Angeline, thus making it hard to control his flaring emotions he hadn't felt since Sophia.

He didn't know Angeline was tormented with conflicting feelings herself, knowing what Sebastian was but being strangely attracted to him all the same. There were so many things to stop her, however. First, that she was sure that while he tolerated her, she most definitely wasn't his favorite person to be around. Second, not only was he not human, but spawn of the devil himself. That had to break some law of nature.

"Sebastian?" Angeline asked.

"Hm?" He answered, her prompting pulling him out of his thoughts of Sophia.

"Have you ever been in love?"

He gave her a strange look before looking at the cover of the book she was reading. The question made sense when it was a romance novel. "You must be getting to the good part of that book."

"Oh no, it's awful. But, I thought I'd try something new and it does make you wonder. So?"

"A long time ago, yes." Sebastian replied.

Angeline stared at him blankly, unsure as to what constituted as a long time for him. "What happened?"

"She died."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Angeline replied, hiding behind her book.

"Humans are mortal. It was unavoidable." Sebastian lied, swallowing the painful lump in his throat. "What about you?"

Angeline closed her book, setting it down beside her as she reached up to scratch at Pluto's ears. "Technically I haven't. Before the fire I was betrothed to my cousin Lancaster, but I haven't received word for them since. I can only guess that since I lost everything, including my family's fortune, the deal is off and he'll marry someone else. I knew him well, I didn't love him but I know I could have learned to. He's smart and charming and handsome, but some things just aren't meant to be."

Sebastian could tell Angeline was still grieving for everything she had lost. It couldn't have been easy, seeing your entire life thrown away right before your eyes. Human emotions were a strange thing.

"What am I going to do?" Angeline asked eventually, as if she knew what he was thinking. "Eventually all this angel nonsense will be over and Ciel will have done his job. Where will I go? I have nothing."

Not only did she have nothing, but as soon as this was all over, she'd lose Sebastian too.

"I suppose you could find someone." Sebastian began. "Someone of your choosing rather than your family's, someone you love from the beginning rather than learning to. Get married, have a family. You're a beautiful girl, and smart at that. You'd have no trouble with it."

"I suppose." She sighed. She found herself not wanting to leave the Phantomhive estate. She liked it here, especially since she'd won the entire staff over with her calming and pleasant demeanor. She found herself teaching Bard how to be patient in the kitchen, Mey-Rin how to balance plates and other dishware in her hands, and Finny to be more gentle with the birds and plants in the garden. The estate was thriving with her help, and even Ciel had stated his gratitude and appreciation over breakfast once.

It had been months since she'd seen Ash and she found herself less paranoid, finally able to sleep soundly through the night. They were in the height of summer and the good weather lifted Angeline's spirits, but Sebastian knew the reason they hadn't seen the angel was because he was planning something big. What it was he wasn't sure so he stayed on the lookout at all times, each day passing meaning there was more danger Angeline was in.

"Let's go somewhere today!" Angeline exclaimed suddenly, snapping her book shut.

"You ask me every day." Sebastian replied.

Angeline huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back onto her hands, her head tipped back in frustration.

"And what do I say every day?" He continued.

"The only time there's a chance we'd leave is when you have to run errands." Angeline recited, pushing herself back upright, her hair falling around her shoulders.

"Exactly."

"But I'm bored!"

"You're reading."

"A terrible romance novel."

"Angeline."

"Fine." Angeline huffed, cracking her book open again.

Sebastian let Angeline read awhile longer, letting her soak up the sun. It lifted her spirits, he had observed awhile ago, so whenever she requested spending a majority of the day reading in the garden he wouldn't say no to her. She tended to get saddened each day she was stuck, bored and restless, inside the manor, which she referred to as a "stuffy mansion". However it was reaching evening and the sun would dip behind the horizon soon.

"I'm sorry to tell you I need to be back inside soon. It won't be long before Bard has burned whatever meal he tries to prepare for the master and need assistance."

"Alright," Angeline replied, closing her book without bothering to mark the page. She knew she wouldn't come back to it tomorrow. "What are we making tonight?"

Since Angeline was under Sebastian's constant watch, she had started helping him in the kitchen. And while he enjoyed the company and the help, it reminded him of when he would cook with Sophia at times, striking him with brief fear and sadness.

"The Earl has been ill lately, so we will be preparing him soup."

"I can help!" Angeline exclaimed suddenly.

"You've been helping with food for weeks." Sebastian replied, confused.

"No! That's not what I mean. I used to get sick often when I was little and my grandmother had a recipe for this special soup that always made me better. She showed me how to prepare it when I was older and I made it for her a lot when she was sick right before her death. I'm sure we have everything it calls for in the kitchen."

And so Sebastian ended up being Angeline's assistant for once in the kitchen rather then the other way around.

When Angeline finished she ladled the soup into a bowl and handed it off to Sebastian, who then took it to Ciel who was resting in bed.

Angeline was waiting outside the master bedroom as promised when Sebastian emerged again and she gave him a smile. "He should be better by morning." She determined on their way back to the kitchen where she served herself her own serving of soup, bringing it to the dining room and sitting in one of the many chairs around it.

She had only eaten a few bites when she realized she really wasn't hungry and the smell of her food was beginning to make her queasy.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked when she stood, bringing her dish back to the kitchen.

"Not hungry." She replied as he followed her.

"Angeline," he started, reminded of when she first arrived at the manor and refused to eat out of fear of being a burden. "If after all this time you still think eating is getting in the way of the estate-"

"No, it's not that." Angeline interrupted. "I'm really, truly not hungry. I promise."

Maybe was catching whatever Ciel has, Angeline thought. It worried her a bit, her mouth usually watered at the smell of her family's soup. She'd be fine after some rest, she figured, and decided not to worry Sebastian with an unimportant bout of illness.

Well into the night, when Angeline was getting ready for bed, she cursed herself for letting Mey-Rin put her in a complicated lace dress. It had been the only clean article of clothing, however, so she'd had no choice. By now the rest of the manor was asleep, so she had no choice but...

"Sebastian?" She called and the door opened immediately, the butler's keen ears missing nothing. She looked up at him and swallowed thickly. He had abandoned his waistcoat and vest, leaving him in his white dress shirt and trousers. He had rolled the sleeves of his shirt up past his elbows for more comfort. Something about seeing him in such casual attire flared Angeline's interest, her stomach dropping before butterflies ripped through her system.

"Yes?" He asked when she gave him no order after her call.

"Can't get the damn dress off." She complained. "Will you help me?"

"Of course."

Then he was unlacing the complicated bodice of her dress, the thick material falling off to reveal her undershirt which also had a row of hard to reach buttons.

She could feel his cold fingers brushing against her skin as he helped her, his touch traveling further down her spine. She was reminded of when she had been struggling to lace up the bodice of one of her dresses months ago and his cool touch had brushed against the back of her neck.

It had done nothing before, so why was her heart racing now as Sebastian unfastened all of the buttons out of her reach, leaving the ones she could get to for her to undo on her own?

"Angeline..." Sebastian muttered, and she turned to face him after grabbing a robe she kept on the post of her bed and secured it around her.

"Yes?" She replied, unable to muster any volume above a whisper.

"I'm about to make a terrible mistake."

"What do you-"

Angeline was unable to finish her sentence, as the butler had brushed his fingers along her jaw, tilting her head up to look at him. Gradually he got closer, and Angeline did nothing to stop him.

Then his chilled lips were molding against hers, smooth against her slightly chapped skin.

Both of their eyes fluttered closed, Angeline's hands gripping his shoulders and his on her waist, gripping with a tightness that was almost crushing. "Ouch," she muttered, disconnecting from him with a frown.

"Sorry," he breathed. "Sorry, I forget... I'm sorry." He continued, seeming a bit tortured, as if he hated that he so easily forgot about his strength and feared hurting her by mistake.

"You're right." She said, looking up at him but making no move to further the distance between them. "That was a mistake."

Sebastian started to nod and opened his mouth to agree, but before he could get a word out her lips were on his again and she shifted even closer to him, if possible.

They were both damned to all eternity.

As they kissed, a certain angel watched from the shadows of the garden, the drapes to Angeline's window drawn open, letting him see inside. His fiery purple eyes flash with anger, jealousy and hatred. "A mistake." He lamented quietly. "Indeed."

I have, for the sake of space (and it's annoying) decided to refrain from responding to reviews that tell me to update soon. That is not what the review feature of this website is meant for.

Kykyxstandler: thank you! I thought it was about time the two stopped dancing around each other and instead got at each other's throats a little bit (+ a little peek at vulnerable Sebastian!)

Guest: ah thank you! I wonder how people still miss me when I am literally THE WORST. I update, like, never. (Also u are my favorite person for telling me to take my time updating when everyone else rushes me to do it!)

Visitor: I mean... okay... Idk how to respond to this :/

Guest: I am... conflicted, haha. I'm glad you like it :)

BlackDragon2016: so helpful! Thank you!

Wow! Okay, well, I haven't planned it all out... but I think HBIL will be coming to an end soon. I can feel it. IN MY BELLY. Anyways, not much more to say, as always, leave constructive criticism! Until next time!