Dislcaimer: I have no claim to any characters or other affiliations of the Black Butler series. They belong to Yana Toboso.

Author's Note: I've finally managed to garner both the muse and the time to upload another chapter. Please forgive my inactivity. I've found myself avoiding tackling this chapter due to its importance, and my own lack of confidence in certain aspects, so I do hope that it turned out alright. A review or two may help to ease my mind. As always, thank you for reading, and enjoy.

Chapter 12: The Truth

Silence. For once, the not-child was not comfortable in it…not in the least. He had finally reached the singular time in his short-to-be-long life when he did not wish for silence…when he wished for anything but silence…when he wished for answers, and truth, and confessions and the Demon's smooth voice after so long…! He wished him to speak, and he wished him to speak only what he wanted him to hear…only what his Reaper's sight saw. He did not want any more lies, any more denial, any more avoidance and fleeing and hurt. Even as a child, he understood what was so difficult about admitting what they both knew to himself for the Demon. Love was a weakness. It was natural for him to deny a weakness…even humans did so. Still…he had denied, and the boy had been denied, long enough. A dark, somewhat cold, entirely too familiar monocular gaze stared down the Demon as he awaited his answers. Soft lips lay flat on his expression, long lashes blanketing that deep azure as he blinked slowly. His form was weary, tired…last night's battle had taken a toll on him. If the Demon wanted to have his meal…then he could do it right here, right now, and Ciel would have no strength to fight back. Yet…somehow, the boy doubted that the Devil would act as such…and just as he'd expected, after the longest moment of the most unbearable silence that he'd ever been forced to endure, the Demon's gaze softened, his expression strong yet weak, and he parted his lips to speak…

xXx

That damned sound was near to bursting his chest, and he cursed the lords above and below for his own foolish weakness. How could he possibly even begin to answer the endless questions that the boy had, the answers to which he so deserved? What had brought him to this point? Why had he run at all? Why had he not taken what was promised to him and ended this before it had become so crippling to him…? The answer to that question was more than likely, and simply…because it had become crippling to him far before the time at which he was given his reward. Was that a proper place to begin? When had he, the Butler of Phantomhive, forgotten what was proper? This was all too much…

…No. It wasn't. It couldn't be…because if he could not handle such a small task as answering his Master's questions…then what kind of a Butler would he be?

He straightened, the light in his eyes burning as his duty overwhelmed his weakness, the sound of his voice drowning the sound in his chest with its low rumble. "…You wish to know why I abandoned my post all those years ago, and why I refused to devour your soul, as we had established in our Contract?" His Master, and oh, how wonderful it still felt to say that again…his little, little Master met his gaze with fogged confusion, and his thin brow was so fitting upon his expression as it furrowed so softly. His pale lips parted with answer, and his voice was even a warm welcome to the Devil and the Butler. "…Yes, must I repeat myself?" The child's servant shook his head softly in turn, politely, before lifting his chin to answer in a calm voice. His tone was lowered by honesty…and the loose feeling of finally releasing, of finally accepting his words.

"Well, the answer is simple, really. It is because I have fallen in love with you, My Lord."

The silence fell between them again. He wondered if the boy knew. Dark rubies observed his Master's expression with scrutiny, deciphering every mist that past that sapphire gaze, every seemingly insignificant twitch of those soft lips, or that prominent brow. He did note surprise…but not nearly enough for it to be entirely genuine. Perhaps he was simply surprised by the fact that the Demon had finally admitted it, let alone aloud. Perhaps the boy had known…perhaps he had known all along. That strangling sound in his chest halted for a moment at the assault of a thought that should have surfaced quite a while ago. If the boy had known…if he had indeed, as the Demon suspected, returned the feelings for even longer than the Butler had even been feeling them himself…then why had he simply sat still beneath his lips, content with death, content with abandoning all that he felt and all that was unrequited, all for the Demon's…

…all…for the Demon's…satisfaction?

Was…that the answer? Had the boy sacrificed everything to keep his promise? To give what had been promised? The intruder in his ribcage sounded off louder, so loudly that Sebastian could feel the beat in his throat. His Master sat still, and did not answer his claim, and so he continued. After what the child had sacrificed, he deserved more than those simple words. "It began quite a while ago, actually. I myself was uncertain of what the feeling was until it was far too late…and even until now, I have been unable to truly accept the feeling for what it truly is…but what I will and will not accept does not change what is true, My Lord…and it is true…very, very much true." The boy sat silent, but tore his gaze away, meeting the sheets and his wounds instead of the honesty of those burning brimstones staring him down. "When your time came, I found myself…given pause. I was first hesitant…and then unwilling…and finally violently adamant against taking what was rightfully mine. While I was more than starved by the mere thought of finally having that wonderful meal…I was not at all fond of the idea of how pale you would become once my lips had left yours. How cold…how still…how silent." As he spoke, his own expression fell slowly into a dark, unreadable vision of something that he did not wish to see. "…And so I acted foolishly on impulse, fleeing from what I did not understand to keep you alive. Looking back on it now, I am rather aware of how foolish it was indeed. I realized it more clearly every time that you called me, and I did not answer, and the terrible pain of ignoring your orders and summons ripped through this false body."

As he continued, the boy lifted his gaze, what could only be described as honest care mingled with confusion masking his visage. His voice was soft. "…If you felt such pain, then why did you not return to me…?" At this question, the Devil's lips pursed tight, speaking in a quick tone. "…I believed that if I returned to you, you would demand that I finish my duty…which was something that I could not do…or explain myself, which was something that I was not ready to do. Beside the point…I believed, as a Butler to the core, that the pain that ignoring your call caused me was the very least of what I deserved for the pain that I was causing you by leaving you alone." Both gazes softened to these words, and a silence that both were more accustomed to filled the small space. The tension had loosened, snapped like his sanity at each and every call ignored, and for the first time in a decade, Sebastian felt as though it may be alright again…as if things just may work themselves out, and he cursed himself for not speaking these words sooner, for not easing this tension and over-stepping all of this pain and anguish and loneliness and doubt and hatred and bitterness. Finally, after longer than either could imagine, someone made a move. The young Once-Earl lifted a soft finger weakly, motioning for him to come closer. The Butler, or the Devil…both were more than happy to oblige.

He knelt beside the boy, and oh, how warm the rush of nostalgia was. It was much like a homecoming…to be returning to the place where he belonged, kneeling before his only true Master. The Butler could not help the small smile that curved his lips, filled not with taunting or superiority, but simply honest remorse and contentment at his place. He'd finally responded to his summons, and the pain in his chest was ebbing away to the sound that he so despised, yet could not. He ached for a touch, a word, anything to tell him that he would not be sent away, would not be forced to complete his task…anything to tell him yes. He wasn't sure if he could take no…for although he was indeed one hell of a Butler…

…He could not be so without his Master.

xXx

The boy knew. He had known for quite some time. How could he not have known? They were intertwined, tangled together as were their destinies, far too intertwined to ever be untangled by anyone or anything. The Demon was a fool not to have realized it before, but now that he had…Ciel had always expected that he would never forgive Sebastian for what he'd done. How foolish, how human he was now. Hearing those words from the Demon's lips had melted him, had broken his resolve as easily as he'd ever broken the boy. His motion was soft, one of relenting and calm as the Butler knelt before him. Words would not come to him. He would not forget the injustice, yet he would not send this creature away, not only for the creature's survival but for his own. He couldn't go on without him, not after hearing those words.

…So what was he to do? Certainly such crimes should not go unpunished. His hand rose gently, tracing the Demon's sharp features, down from his cheekbone to his jawline. His voice was soft. "…You will have to work quite hard to earn my forgiveness." Dark azure noted the deep softening on the Demon's own eyes, and smiles. He was answered in a low tone, a gloved hand rising to grasp his ringed one, and the feeling was so dearly missed that his entire body relaxed to it. Small fingers were lifted to cold lips, the finality of the positions of Master and Servant forever established as that low baritone murmured against his skin, brimming with adoration and relief, of absolute contentment to do exactly as the boy had asked. "…I would spend an eternity in your servitude, My Lord, making up for what I have done. I have been a terrible Butler. I vow to regain my reputation…and yours." The younger's eyes softened, and he motioned for the Butler to stand, the Butler in turn doing just as he was bade. Kissed fingers rose to grasp the man's dark tie tightly, tugging him down to dissipate the proximity between them, their lips inches apart as he murmured. "…Then…get to it." As his breath ghosted over those lips, they spread wide in a nostalgic, yet much warmer smirk, perhaps the warmest that he'd witnessed, before their lips met in a soft, deep urge that would not be satisfied ever again. There was not enough time in all of eternity for this. He must have been missed more than he'd thought…but it needn't be thought on now. There was no more need for such feelings.

All that the Butler need do now and for all eternity was serve, and catch, and kiss, and protect, and love, and YesMyLordYesMyLord…

"…Yes…My Lord."