Revelations part 2

Chapter 19

Ciel grunted as he reached to the top of the kitchen cabinet in an attempt to grab the elusive jar of Nutella that Aunt Angelina insisted on keeping hidden. Apparently his sweet tooth was something inherited from Rachel's side of the family and both the young man and the doctor were helpless victims to their cravings for anything chocolate. Angelina only bought such things sparingly and then made a point of putting them in odd places as a way to deter her from eating it all in one sitting, but Ciel could always manage to sniff out the forbidden goodies like a bloodhound.

"Come on, where are you?" He grumbled under his breath, stretching just a little bit further before a stabbing pain caused him to stop. Clutching his side, Ciel immediately gave up the quest for hazelnut chocolate spread and lifted up the side of his shirt to inspect the freshly healing wound on his side. "Oh, good." He breathed out in relief after seeing that everything was still as before his ascent to the top cabinet.

The laceration stood out against his pale skin; the abrasion looking more serious than it felt, but that had all been thanks to Father Spears tending to it so thoroughly once they had returned to the church. Ciel grimaced as he recalled lying on the priest's couch in his office, teeth tearing into a pillow to keep from screaming as the bloody gash created by the demon's blade was purified with holy water. Nails tore at the plush fabric as the young man whimpered at what could only be described as a white hot iron poker being shoved into the accosted flesh.

Father Spears had clacked his tongue as he quickly worked to flush the gash with the liquid from a cross emblazoned bottle; the poisoned blood had reacted violently with it, forming thick black bubbles that rolled down Ciel's side and staining the couch. The priest continued to repeat the process, wiping away the mess with a soft cloth until everything from affected area ran clear; a sign that the wound was now clean.

After applying a sterile gauze bandage, the Father had let Ciel sleep in his office. The youth had passed out promptly from sheer exhaustion as the strenuous activities of fighting the female demon and his injuries finally took their toll. Ciel had returned to an empty house later the following day, his aunt having left to attend a medical conference for the rest of the week. He was actually quite relieved that the woman with a penchant for all things red would not be around to ask questions about what he had done the night before. Also, Sebastian was due to arrive any minute to celebrate his belated birthday so the young man had bigger and better things to focus on this moment.

Ciel worried his lower lip as the thought of spending time with the graduate reminded him of something that had been gnawing at the back of his mind since yesterday. Hannah had spoken as if she knew Sebastian, which was odd in itself, but the young man had rationalized that if the demons knew all about him and his family then it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think they might familiarize themselves with other people in his life. Yet, Ciel couldn't deny the nagging feeling that had been growing ever since his transition that there was something Sebastian wasn't telling him.

It was a hypocritical suspicion; one that always brought on a wave of guilt since he also was keeping things from the man he loved. It was only fair, Ciel had reasoned, that Sebastian should be allowed to have his own secrets and Ciel shouldn't expect that level of frankness from someone else if he couldn't give the same thing back. Still, the issue seemed determined to rear its ugly head over and over; the demoness's statement about him never finding out the truth not sitting well with him in the slightest.

Pushing the heavy thoughts aside for the time being, he glanced at his watch. Sebastian should arrive shortly and Ciel needed to hurry up and sweep some more holy water across his injury to keep it from becoming a bother. Father Spears had instructed him to apply the liquid liberally throughout the day as normal oral painkillers would nothing to help in the healing process or ease the discomfort. At first, Ciel didn't believe the clergy man that simple water poured into a container while reciting a blessing over it could much of anything and decided to take an ibuprofen earlier in the day when his side began to ache slightly. It was only an hour before he found himself in the bathroom patting a washcloth soaked with said fluid onto the cut; letting out a delighted sigh as burning and stinging finally subsided.