Laughter is Born From Madness

Chapter 42

It had been several hours since Ciel fell asleep and Red woke up to the sound of over-exaggerated praise. Rubbing her eyes, she noticed that somehow in her sleep she managed to hug the poor boy she was now face to face with. Untangling herself from his arms, she got up and walked to a dresser. Upon opening it, she saw many nightshirts, causing a sweat drop to appear on the back of her head.

Doesn't he own any actual nightwear?

Sighing, she grabbed one of the shirts and headed towards the bathroom in the back of the room. She closed the door quietly to not wake up her friend. Walking over to the bathtub, she placed the plug in its place and turned it on. Setting the shirt on a stand to the side of the room where a sink was, she stared at the makeup that was caked onto her face in her reflection. Scowling, she turned on the faucet in the sink and washed off every last bit of it, leaving her skin clear like it was before. Turning off the faucet, she walked over to the tub and felt the water, nodding in approval of the water's warmth. She then undressed from her costume and stepped into the tub, then sat down. Wasting no time, she scrubbed every part of her body with a bar of soap she got from the sink then ducked under the water, soaking her hair. After rising up, she set the soap to the side and used the hair treatments along the side of the tub to clean her oily hair. Fifteen minutes passed before she pulled the plug in the tub and grabbed a towel, drying herself off and stepping out. Grabbing the nightshirt, she placed it on and buttoned it up. Looking in the mirror, she noticed it went down to her mid-thigh and shrugged. She grabbed one of the many brushes near the mirror and got to work on her now tangled hair. After some more minutes, her hair was now dry, clean, and combed. She then placed the brush back, hung up the towel to dry and walked out, turning off the light. Upon looking at her friend, she noticed him blink and open his eyes, staring at her.

Rushing to his side, overcome by emotions, she jumped on him engulfing him tightly in a hug and began to sob. Ciel flinched at first but hugged her just as tight. After a minute or so, she loosened her hold on him and pulled back to face him, staring at his uncovered eye that held his contract, finding it a beautiful purple. Grabbing both sides of his face, she kissed him. He was surprised at first but kissed back, still keeping hold of her in his arms. Their lips moved in sync as they kept a tight hold on one another, afraid to lose them should they open their eyes. Upon breaking for air, the two stared at one another with half-lidded eyes.

"I...I'm sorry..." Red mumbled, knowing how bad the situation is. "That was a bad decision...you have a fiancée...it was a complete mistake..."

"...I know..." he replied, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb.

"I...I never...I would never want to hurt Lizzie..."

"I know."

"...Therefore, this will never happen again or be mentioned after today."

"What?"

"Ciel...you're engaged, and if you were caught being with someone like me, it would ruin your family's reputation and possibly status in society...not to mention my uncle would murder you in cold blood."

"I...understand..." he nodded as she got up to leave. "If that is what you want."

Looking back at him, she gave a saddened look when she said, "You and I both know I don't but there isn't any choice in the matter."

"Then why do this?"

"Because I know how you are doing this on your parents' wishes. Even if what has occurred these past few days meant more to me."

Warmth spread through Ciel's chest when finally hearing her answer.

She does feel the same..., he thought.

Looking up, he was surprised she that she now stood in front of him.

"We're kids who grew up too soon in a cruel world." She stated solemnly.

"Indeed." He agreed.

"Tomorrow, we will save those children before it's too late and then things will return normal." She stated as she turned to walk away, only to have her hand grabbed by Ciel.

"Stay...please..." he mumbled, embarrassed as his face turned red.

Without a word, she laid back down beside him as he embraced her and closed his eyes. She stared at the eyelid that hid his eye that held the contract, then his face. She then kissed his forehead and whispered one word before falling to sleep.

"Always."