(no subject)
Who: Sebastian ( pragmatisms) and Ciel ( lordofchess)
What: Checking on the baby.
Where: Their humble abode, of course.
When: Sometime after this.
That evening may have passed as usual and on time were it not for a minor snag shortly after supper. When Sebastian led Ciel from the table and to his new study, what could he have expected but to find the boy there minutes later? In response to the recent heat wave, the butler had prepared a practical dessert for his master’s eating pleasure ; a lime sorbet that was light and sweet, but without that cloying quality which seemed to overwhelm most renditions of the treat. With three generous scoops and a delicious glazed cherry garnish, he set the dainty dessert plate on a small porcelain platter and went hence to his master.
It surprised him only a little that Ciel hadn’t followed his advice to stay indoors, or to at least be aware that his warning was withstanding. Really, you would think … Far be it from him to give his master orders, or refuse him his wants, but Sebastian had ulterior methods of catering to his needs. Once he realized he was gone, there were soft sighs and whimsical tones as he mourned the loss of his splendidly made sorbet. It really was a waste, he mused, velvet finger thoughtfully stroking his chin. Ah. But there was still a chance. He’d just have to find the young master as quickly as possible.
He wondered how long Ciel had been gone, because it seemed as if only a few minutes had passed from leaving him in the study, finding him gone, setting search for him, and hearing the boy’s startled transmission. There was relief in the fact that he couldn’t have wandered far, but the sound disquiet in the boy’s voice made it clear that distance had nothing to do with it. Something had gotten to him, some subcutaneous wound, perhaps, which was none too gently bursting at the seams and making his little master unravel.
The door to his bedroom was closed when Sebastian arrived and he wasn’t surprised. That was exactly where he was headed as he used protocol to pour soft spoken platitudes to Ciel from down the hall. I’ll be close by. By the time he said that, his master may have been able to hear his soporific murmurs beyond the door. Eventually, the butler pressed his fingers softly against the wood, not so much threatening to push it open as stroking the panel for idle leverage as he briefly meditated his options. He could either leave him alone as he'd asked or carefully disregard his order.
His master wouldn’t call him right now. Pride wouldn't let him do anything yet that might suggest needing or wanting comfort. But insolent as he was, there were too many times, times like now, where he seemed too delicate to do anything more than fall to pieces. At times likes these, Sebastian could taste the nectar of his master's fallacies, his humanity, his innocence, and something inside him would shudder. At any rate, he was prepared to wheedle the boy out of his battlements and perhaps take him to a more comfortable place in light of recent discomfort. He wouldn’t ask what possessed him to step outside, or the feelings to follow, but Sebastian would just do what he did, and hopefully pacify him with the warmth of his presence.
He knocked twice before entering the room, and noticing his master was nowhere in sight, he moved past the bed to set the dessert dish on a tiny table just off from the window. It was then he noticed Ciel huddled in a state of doleful disrepair and Sebastian froze, red eyes fixed on the far corner of the bedroom.