That Butler; Secrets

I| That Butler; Menace

The butler placed a tray down on Ciel's desk. The boy pushed his paperwork to the side momentarily to partake of his routine Earl Grey tea. Sebastian stood next to the desk and waited, like usual. He listed off the schedule for the week and reminded Ciel of the matters that needed tending to. This was just another typical day on the Phantomhive estate.

"It's so weird to see you dressed like that. Where are your usual ratty clothes? You look so out of place. My dearest, why have you forgotten me?" the butler flinched when he heard that voice. However, there was no one in the room besides him and the young earl. So, who had spoken? Sebastian turned his head to look at Ciel. Instead of seeing his young master, he saw a different young male, a few years older, with an eye-patch on the wrong eye. His hair was a darker shade of blue and he was standing between the demon and the earl.

Sebastian stared at the figure confused. He thought it to be Ciel, at first glance, but realized that couldn't be the case. This male had piercings in many places and was smiling at the demon. Ciel would never smile so radiantly. Sebastian blinked to try and get the image out of his head. It wasn't working. The stranger's presence did not leave. However, it was only Sebastian seeing him. Ciel hadn't noticed him, leading Sebastian to believe this was all in his head. A demon going mad was not a strange thing. He'd seen it happen to others but never expected himself to go crazy one day. 

"Sebastian. Is that your name now? I must admit that it is a nice name. Reminds me of the one I gave you. Do you remember me? My love, have you truly forgotten who I am?" Sebastian didn't respond. He didn't want Ciel to think something was wrong. Instead, he just silently wished that this figure would leave him alone. He didn't need another thing to worry about at the moment. Maybe the stress of being a human's butler was finally starting to get to him. 

"Sebastian," the harsh tone of the young earl's voice brought Sebastian out of his trance. The stranger's image was gone; now all he saw was Ciel. 

"Yes, my Lord?" the butler questioned.

"Why are you just standing there? I've already told you I'm done with the tea," Ciel frowned. Sebastian sighed. He was a shame to butlers everywhere. Such a disgrace. Sebastian picked up the tray and was about to walk out of the study; however, the stranger appeared again.

"Dearie, really?" he walked toward Sebastian and rested his arm on the butler's shoulder. "What are you doing serving such a brat? Do you even care for the child? He is so young," the male gasped. "Don't tell me you are a pedophile now!" Sebastian glared at the imaginary figure. Stop pushing your unrealistic human ideals onto a demon. He cares little for such things. Besides, Sebastian was only doing for the soul, nothing more, he had forgotten his true purpose. Poor demon. He got so sucked into his role he forgot the truth. Such things are the ways of the damned. Sebastian wished nothing more than for this individual to just leave.

Ciel stared at the sight before him. His butler was looking at empty space. Something must be troubling him, but what? Maybe Ciel was too harsh earlier. Maybe Ciel should give him a break. Ciel watched as his butler stood in silence, staring. He didn't know what to do about the situation.

"I like your new face..." the figure said as he slid his hand across Sebastian's cheek. "It really suits you well," the man smiled once more. The demon glared. He was half tempted to swat the hand away, but he didn't want to make more of a scene than he already had. 

"Sebastian," Ciel said. The demon turned to face the young earl. The annoying stranger was still gushing over the butler's 'new' body. It was all Sebastian could do to keep himself from getting too angry. 

"Yes, my Lord?"

"What is wrong with you? Why are you acting so strangely?" Ciel asked. Sebastian smiled, one of his fake smiles. One of those smiles everyone loves him for, but Ciel knew it wasn't genuine. Ciel had never seen a heartfelt expression on this demon's face. The sight of the smile made him cringe. How long had they known each other? And he still hadn't learned anything new about this demon? The thought saddened the young earl, but he wasn't entirely sure why. Surely he was attached to the demon, but not that attached...or so he thought.

"There is nothing wrong," the demon replied. He clearly wasn't telling the whole truth and it frustrated the young earl.

"Don't lie to me. You aren't allowed to, remember?"

"My Young Master, I'm not lying, I'm withholding information. There is a difference."

"Sebastian, lying to your 'master.' Such a rebel. Should I appear to him too? He could probably see me if I tried," the male said. Sebastian gripped the tray he was holding very tightly, tight enough to cause his knuckles to go white. He couldn't attack the figure in his mind, that would be ridiculous. However, he really wished he could. His personal space was being invaded far too much. The male was disappointed. He wanted a better reaction from Sebastian. The butler was just ignoring him. How rude. So he switched targets.

The figure walked over to Ciel. Surely he would get Sebastian to do something if Ciel was involved. Sebastian froze. His face darkened and he tried desperately to maintain his composure. The young earl cringed. He sensed something was off but couldn't do a single thing about it if Sebastian didn't open up to him. Of course, he still had no idea that there was someone else in the room.

"Sebastian. Tell me what is going on."

"Yeah, Mr. Butler...tell him," the male leaned closer to Ciel. He was so close that he could almost place a kiss on Ciel's cheek. The butler moved quickly. Too quick. Faster than the eye could see. He grabbed the collar of the mysterious man and threw him into one of the bookcases. Ciel saw the mess of the bookshelf, but he still couldn't see the man that had caused it. He assumed that Sebastian had just thrown some sort of demon temper tantrum.

"Sebastian?" Ciel questioned. There was a twinge of fear in his voice but he refused to let it show on his face. The butler was reverting slowly to his demon form and there was nothing Ciel could do to stop it. The boy was just terribly confused about everything that had taken place today.

The young earl frowned. He was slightly hurt by the fact that his butler couldn't tell him anything. He had hoped that his demon cared, at least a little bit, about him. If only he knew that Sebastian actually cared a bit too much. After all, he did just throw a man into a bookcase out of jealousy. 

The stranger laughed at Sebastian. "You care for him a lot, don't you? Remember when you killed a man just for looking at me? You're so much more tame now. Is that because of him? Well, in any case, I should leave you two alone, for now," the male disappeared. Sebastian hoped that this time his disappearance was permanent, but, he knew that it was too good to be true.

Ciel grabbed Sebastian's arm. He didn't want Sebastian to subconsciously reveal himself under these circumstances. Sebastian returned to normal, almost immediately, this was the second time today that he failed his duties as a butler. 

"Apologies, Young Master," he smiled, "I am not sure what came over me."

"Maybe you should take some time off," Ciel suggested. He hated seeing Sebastian smile like that, and he had done it twice today. It was time for his butler to take a break. He clearly had something he needed to sort out. If he wouldn't talk to Ciel about it, he had to do something about it on his own, without worrying about his duties as a butler. It wasn't professional but Sebastian hadn't had a single vacation his entire career. It was long overdue.

"I couldn't pos-" Sebastian was interrupted by Ciel placing a finger on his lips.

"Either you tell me what is going on with you, or you stop working and figure it out yourself. The way you are acting now is not going to be beneficial to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my Lord," Sebastian, albeit reluctantly, agreed to Ciel's command.