Surrounded by Doubt | Kuroshitsuji

Chapter 13 - Conqueror of the Game

Last night's events had been reduced to a blurry image of pouring rain and nothing more after he had excused himself from the kitchen. Ciel woke up to a seemingly normal morning. Or so he thought.

His butler was in a particularly good mood and showed expressions of being more eager than ever to perform the duties of a butler, nevertheless, Sebastian had also been following him around the entire day whether he was needed or not, very closely resembling a dog happily wagging his tail for being in the presence of his master.

This sudden development of the demon's characteristics were of no worries as Sebastian was keen to express his thoughts whether Ciel wanted to hear them or not but even for him were the actions of the butler too noticeable to be without reason. A perceptible closing of distance between them whenever Sebastian was to perform duties revolving being close or touching his master made Ciel's insides tingle.

The looks he was given when meeting the gaze of the other made his knees constantly feel weak and with every smile thrown his way he only got more irritated, it was as if the damn demon was toying with him. And for a Phantomhive, such deeds would not be going without punishment.

A smile almost as devilish as the demons took over the boy's features as a plan to pay back was forming in his mind.

All day Sebastian was by his side, just as expected and to put his own plan in motion the only thing needed was giving off sweet glances when the other supposedly didn't look. Ciel was going to play the game the demon started but there was no doubt in his mind about who was going to win.

From the outside a demon comes in the form of a strong almost unbeatable creature that grabs ahold of anything they want, but in this case the desire that demon's were known for craving would be the downfall of this particular one. After all, Sebastian had a tendency to satisfy his needs whenever the urge for something came up and in this case Ciel sensed that the object of his current desire was his master.

With each side glance he could feel the crimsons gaze lingering longer until the butler took several steps forward in the game by casually brushing against Ciel whenever the opportunity showed even the slightest of openings. His body disorderly reacted to the slightest of touches by painting his cheeks in a rose pink which he hid to not fall further under the disadvantage of his opponent.

In a not most creative of ways he decided to try out the strategy as well, he was confident enough that if one of the two was to break from a touch it would be the one whose impulse went beyond a natural yearing. And with that the opportunity for him to once again take the advantage of the situation came when Sebastian stood closer than usual while pouring the steaming hot tea into a cup in front of the boy.

Ciel figured that showing his opponent the obvious plan of actions was out of the question so in his attempt to test the master plan out he crossed his legs under the table and with slight and soft kicks brushed against the black fabric covering the legs of his butler.

He hadn't actually expected any kind of reaction from the always composed butler that no matter the circumstances kept his cool and proceeded in a most collected manner but the sudden stroke resulted in a flinch which almost turned into a spill. The butler did however turn his surprised expression into a well known smile before excusing himself after apologising for nearly causing an accident.

A sense of satisfactory victory he had never felt before rushed through his entire body, it was one thing being amused from a game well played against others but the enjoyment of getting a reaction from the demon, not to mention such a hilarious one, was something he wouldn't mind triggering again.

The teasing continued until evening when the sun barely had an hour before leaving the spotlight for the moon's gracious presence to light up all life down below. But the sun still shone with a warm light while slowly climbing down behind the horizon, leaving beautiful scenery in a most appealing setting.

Ciel walked by the many roses filling his garden with both life as well as all kinds of colours. His plan had been going more or less downhill after the first part succeeded beyond his expectation but now the butler showed no reactions other than smug smiles whenever he tried his luck again.

If not to put salt into the wound was Sebastian still lingering around him all the while making excuses to cross the personal boundaries between a servant and his master. Crossing that line had for him always been prohibited yet the newfound feelings he had paralysed him every time the mere thought of bringing it up crossed his mind.

Perhaps he could advance his strategies the next morning instead as it was starting to become clear that a different approach was needed to take down his opponent. So far Sebastian had also been slow to progress since he still held onto the strategy of throwing glances and using slight touches while Ciel used a more aggressive gameplay.

They walked side by side, Sebastian slightly behind on steps as that was the etiquette for a servant when walking in the presence of their master. Silence surrounded them, not that it bothered him since Ciel had already been mesmerised by the big yellow orb casting the lovely light over his view.

"My lord. Your shoelace, please stand still for a moment" Said a smooth voice behind him.

He turned his gaze down to see the shoelaces spread in different directions, Sebastian went to kneel before him while fixing it. The butler's head almost reached Ciel and he got a whiff of the sweet aroma the butler seemed to have. It reminded him of honey.

Before realising it had Sebastian looked up from finishing his task and their gazes inevitably met as a blush crept up on his face. He attempted to ramble the situation away while also turning his face away from the other. To his surprise were the words coming from his mouth silenced by lips pressing against his own.

He snapped out of the daze when realising what was happening and tried to resist but Sebastian's strength held him in place until he eventually got caught in the moment and melted into the sensation. He felt all warm inside, the moment made his knees feel weak as he wished for the butterflies in his stomach to never stop flapping their wings.