Sweet Temptations:

Chapter 10:

"We're in public," Ciel protested with a very red face. Then he realised he should be protesting about Sebastian wanting to kiss him.

"No one's looking," Sebastian whispered seductively.

Ciel looked around. It was true, there weren't many people around in the gardens and they were looking at other attractions. He turned back at Sebastian again, his childhood acquaintance was still staring deeply into his eyes.

"You may."

Sebastian obeyed the order and gently gave him a kiss on the lips. It was surprisingly soft and he didn't take it any further.

"I won't take it too far," he explained. "I'm your first kiss after all."

Ciel felt his cheeks were calming down gradually and managed to look Sebastian in the eye without blushing again. It was hard to considering he had just admitted to liking him and been kissed.

"Thanks," he said and held out his hand. "We can look around some other places."

Sebastian's reaction was to smile widely and take his hand.

"Let's go."

In the afternoon Sebastian had to return to Funtom's Cakes for his late shift. Ciel was torn between wanting someone efficient in the kitchen at the pâtisserie or allowing his new boyfriend to have a day off so he could be with him more. In the end the money won out.

"Are you two bumming now?" Bardroy asked when he saw them walk in together with their hands linked. He looked delighted to see them.

Ciel took a moment to process the meaning and his face heated up instantly. Sebastian covered his ears with a tight grip before reprimanding Bardroy.

"Don't use such crude language in front of Ciel."

Bardroy shrugged. "He understood what I meant. Should I ask if you're doing each other yet instead?"

Despite the hands over his ears Ciel could hear all of it and he'd had enough of the language. He removed Sebastian's hands and kept hold of one of them.

"Bardroy, you're not exactly been professional at the moment. I'll bring it up in your review," he paused before answering Bardroy's question maturely. "We've only just started going out this morning so the answer is no."

Was that disappointment he could see on Bardroy's face? Why were outside parties interested in everyone elses' love lives? He sighed. There was just one thing he had to say.

"Don't spread it around."

Sebastian had something different to say.

"You can tell everyone. They already know I'm gay, telling them I have a boyfriend won't be a shock."

Ciel was about to protest that he personally had a reputation to maintain and decided against it. He wasn't a public figure or the publicly known face of Funtom. It wouldn't matter that it got out that he had a boyfriend. His shareholders shouldn't care either.

"Just don't discuss our sex lives," he demanded and thought of something else. He was getting to know the staff's personalities quite well. "No betting either."

Bardroy's mouth twitched. "I didn't participate in any bets. I've just been cheering from the side-lines. You can ask Sebastian."

He looked at Sebastian for confirmation and the pâtissier ignored him in favour of staring into Ciel's eyes.

"I'm going to the kitchen, you can watch me if you like."

"Will it affect your efficiency?" Ciel questioned. He still had profit to think about.

"I'll work harder under your unnerving gaze," Sebastian promised.

That was quite a line. Ciel didn't mind the implication though. He followed Sebastian to the kitchen and watched him start preparing by lining cake tins and preheating the oven. Sebastian looked up at him once he had finished preparing.

"If you care about my efficiency, come and help me."

Ciel was less fond of that idea. Being someone that loved cake he had tried many times over the years to replicate his favourites. The most recent attempt had ended with Tanaka banning him from using the kitchen. He wasn't fond of the idea of ruining Funtom's Cakes' state of the art kitchen that he had paid for.

"I can't bake," he mumbled.

"I know- that's why I'm only entrusting you with the ingredients."

Sebastian really did know him well. Ciel glanced over at the other kitchen workers who were attempting to discreetly stare at them and were failing miserably. He gave them a sharp glare and they all moved further away.

"Can't your minions do it for you? They need something to do, I'm not paying them to stand around."

"Pretend you aren't their boss' boss and just help me," Sebastian instructed. "I'll give them something to do in a moment."

Ciel let himself be helped into an apron and Sebastian handed him a white hat. Sebastian sent the other workers out with a list of ingredients and Ciel breathed a sigh of relief. He felt less self-conscious now.

He followed the amounts he had been given and between them they made a red velvet cake. Ciel admired its neat and colourful appearance for a moment and went to find a cake slice so he could try it.

"You're depriving yourself of profit," Sebastian reminded him when he came back with it. "Just ask me to move in with you and I'll make it for you anytime."

Ciel flushed. It was too much at once for him at once. He needed to think about everything calmly.

"I know we made a promise a long time ago, but you're moving too fast. I've only just agreed to like you, yet you're asking to move in. What's Tanaka going to say?"

"He knows about the promise."

That was a point, Sebastian had him there. Ciel settled for a weak response.

"Well, you're not moving in today."

"You look refreshed," Lizzie observed the following week.

Ciel's week of holiday had passed annoyingly fast. He had spent some time every day with Sebastian. Sometimes it had been only the evening or his lunch breaks due to Sebastian's work hours. His boyfriend had stopped dropping hints about moving in in favour of kissing him. Ciel didn't mind the change.

"I feel better," he replied.

He hadn't told her about Sebastian yet. The antagonism between them hadn't been missed by him.

"You should tell Sebastian to stop leaving love bites above your neckline," she said. "You have a meeting today. I'll get some concealer."

"I told him not to," he groaned. "Is it petty if I give him a paycut? How did you know it was him?"

He remembered that she was the sociable one in his family. Someone at Funtom Cakes had probably passed the knowledge onto her. She would have also known about the promise because she had been present at the same party 12 years ago. He vaguely remembered that her family had arrived a little after Sebastian's and he'd ignored her completely.

"It is petty," she agreed. "I told Sebastian that he couldn't tell you about the promise and if you never remembered, he would have to start from the beginning."

Ciel realised that Sebastian had cheated her. He had given him hints instead with the new pinky promise and the Victoria sponge. He definitely couldn't tell her that.

"That was considerate of you," he replied. "Do you approve of him?"

Lizzie laughed. "You don't have to ask me for approval- I'm not your parents. I personally wouldn't have matched you two together, but he makes you happy so I'm happy."

Unknowingly her comment had brought one of Ciel's insecurities about his relationship with Sebastian to the surface.

"Would my parents approve of him?"

"They knew about the promise. Everyone at the party overheard it. You two weren't exactly quiet. Vincent said it would never happen and your mother thought it was cute."

Neither of those sounded like approval from his parents. It didn't matter, they weren't around to disapprove. He took that thought back immediately. It would be better if they were still alive, how could he have thought that?

He shook his head to banish the thought and became aware that Lizzie was giving him a pitying look.

"Ciel, don't take that to heart. You were 10 at the time, no one would have expected either of you two fulfil the first part of the promise let alone the second. In fact, I think if he was still here, your father would approve."

"Why?"

"Because it's profitable," Lizzie giggled. "Sebastian's the main star of Funtom's Cakes and the profits are still steadily rising. Vincent would have loved that, you know what he was like about making money."

She was right. His father would have cared about the money he was making first. Lizzie pulled him for a hug.

"There's one person that we're related to who definitely won't approve of you two."

Ciel panicked for a moment and then he caught onto who Lizzie was referring to. There was an easy solution to that issue.

"All he has to do is change his hairstyle to get Aunt Frances' approval."

"That's true. I'll warn him in advance if she plans to visit," Lizzie replied and let him go. "Are you seeing him today?"

"He's coming around this evening. What's the meeting about?" Ciel asked and started looking through the untidy pile of paperwork Mey-Rin had left on his desk. "I haven't had a chance to catch up."

"It's about going forward with the plan to open other branches of Funtom Cakes," Lizzie told him. "Everyone is pleased with the profit trajectory to consider opening other ones."

Six months later:

"You never come here anymore," Bardroy whined at Ciel. "Do you not love Sebastian anymore?"

Ciel rolled his eyes at Bardroy. He had come to give the manager a review and now it had finished Bardroy was an emotional mess about his absence. Ciel felt like it was overreaction. Technically he didn't even need to give Bardroy the review himself anymore, he had other people in charge of the patisseries. He just wanted to visit this branch.

"I saw him this morning, I live with him," he replied. "I have a lot of other places to visit. There's three other branches in London alone."

"I know that," Bardroy said petulantly. "Sebastian's much nicer to me when you're around."

A dark shadow fell over him. Ciel looked up to see his boyfriend standing in the open doorway with a tea tray. It was a welcome sight.

"Don't make me look bad in front of Ciel," Sebastian said. "He might kick me out."

As he approached Ciel saw what was on the tray. It was a Victoria sponge cake with two cups of tea. Ciel waited for Sebastian to find a way to remove Bardroy from his own office. It was something he did every time and Bardroy never noticed it was deliberate.

"Bardroy, there's an altercation at the counter. Go and help Sullivan out," Sebastian informed him.

The manager heaved himself off his chair and rushed down the stairs. Ciel stared after him and smirked at Sebastian.

"Is it true?"

"It looked like it was about to happen when I walked through," Sebastian answered in a casual tone and sat down in the vacant chair. "We have some time together."

Ciel had more of a bone to pick with the choice of cake than with Sebastian's casual approach to customer complaints.

"Why is it Victoria sponge again? You make it too often."

"Because it has a meaning to both of us. Don't worry, I made this one to the best of my ability."

Ciel was won over by that and cut a slice to try it. It was perfectly aerated and flavoured and he sighed in contentment. He felt Sebastian's gaze and decided to ask something that he had been wondering about since he remembered their promise.

"Did my negative review of your cake all those years ago bother you enough to become a pâtissier?"

Sebastian looked amused. "I had made cakes before that and everyone that tried them told me they were wonderful. I felt they were all lying so to have someone around my age tell me the truth was helpful. You were also very cute so I made that second part of the promise. It wasn't just your unflinching criticism that attracted me to you."

Ciel smiled. "You're very complimentary today. I like it."

Sebastian leaned forward and Ciel recognised the signs of a snog coming. His phone buzzed and his boyfriend moved back with a pout.

"You're always busy."

"I'll see you at home," Ciel said and took out his phone to see a message from Mey-Rin. "I really have to get back now."

Sebastian saw him out and asked his own question.

"I know you visit other branches sometimes, are there any pâtissiers better than me?"

"Of course they aren't," Ciel answered. "I let Lizzie do the hiring this time because I knew no one would compare to you."

That line caused Sebastian to pull him in for a deep kiss in front of all the customers and Ciel didn't bother to complain. He had told the truth; Sebastian was his favourite pâtissier.

Their promise from 12 years ago had been completely fulfilled.

The End

A/N: Thank you to everyone who supported this story.