15My first go at Kuroshitsuji fic. Like most of my first attempts this just sort of happened. Standard denials of ownership and requests to not be sued go here. Enjoy. Edited on 3/15/10- Just fixed some grammatical errors.
Sebastian smiles.
He knows, and he takes a certain amount of pleasure in rubbing- subtly of course, he is nothing if not tactful- Ciel's nose in his error.
His young Lord never imagined his revenge would take so long, never imagined he would actually live to have the grand white wedding Lady Elizabeth had been planning for years.
Sebastian knows Ciel never even considered being a father.
He sees the horror in his Lord's eyes- just briefly- the first time he leans over the bassinet to examine the new addition. His master's firstborn has, by some odd trick of heredity, his great auntie Red's hair and his mother's eyes. And Sebastian notes his master's sudden intake of breath when he reaches in to the crib to tuck the blankets more securely around the infant. As if he need do anything to the whelp- his master's imagination will do the work for him more effectively than he ever could.
He doesn't even see the second child- born only twenty months later- until three days after her birth. But once he does he sees why his contractor tried to hide her. The babe is the spitting image of her father, giving Sebastian the strangest feeling of déjà vu when he looks down into large blue eyes that don't belong to Ciel.
Oh and he can smell his master's fear when he helps dress or feed the little ones, and it is so very delicious.
So Sebastian makes sure the children love him. He helps the young master with his schoolwork. He aids the young mistress' quest to adopt- or at least feed- every stray cat in a twenty mile radius. And pretends not to notice when the young master hides vegetables in his napkin. And bandaged the young mistress' knees while reminding her again and again (and again) that young ladies of her station did not climb trees. And watches with smug satisfaction as Ciel grinds his teeth and tries to come up with reasons to keep the children away from him.
But after all he is the butler of the Phantomhive family, what would he do if he couldn't tend to the every need of his master's children?
And when Sebastian takes the sleeping young mistress from her father's lap after a late night surprise visit (the young mistress has never stayed in bed willingly) he can see how Ciel watches his hands- especially the one resting on the back of the child's neck. His master knows that the only thing keeping his hand from snapping that fragile little neck is the contract hidden beneath glove and patch.
"Sebastian" the young man says, standing. "I'll take her."
"You have work to do my Lord."
"The work can wait a trip upstairs" his master replies, stepping forward and plucking the innocent little soul- child away from him. Not that it will matter in the end.
Sebastian nods and bows, "Of course, my Lord."
Ciel has never been afraid of their deal. Never tried to weasel out of it, not even when he was very young. But fear is there in those eyes now- not for himself, no- but for his children, and for what may become of them after he is no longer there to keep the demon in check.
Sebastian knows. He knows his master's fear and guilt and schemes and how little good it will all do in the end.
He smiles.
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