#and Ciel stays up all night for her

[bibyshitsuji24k]

I suggest this game as the best thing that happened to the fandom as extra content. In my head the game is canon periodt.

this is probably the most absurd official artwork ever. sebastian trembling and weeping at ciel's wedding is completely ooc and absolutely hilarious. i can’t help but feel the urge to make it even worse

and then sebastian would say "I have gone through a lot of pain raising you......"

[anonimusunnoaniswriting]

𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑴𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 | 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝟏

(𝑺𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒔 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓)

⚠️MDNI. 18+ ADULTS ONLY⚠️

🎀Age in bio or blocked🎀

Rating: Mature

Category: F/M

Fandom: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler

Relationship: Sebastian Michaelis/CielsCousin!Reader

Characters: Sebastian Michaelis; Reader

Summary: You visit your dear cousins manor in the countryside to get a well deserved break from the humdrum exhaustion of the city after an illness. What you do not expect from your quaint retreat is the start of an exhilarating illicit affair with the butler. But taboos mean nothing when lust love transcends human norm.

Additional Tags: Fluff and Smut; Sex; Vaginal Sex; Eventual Smut; Neck Kissing; Kissing; Gentle Kissing; Surprise Kissing; Making Out; Implied Sexual Content; Phantomhive manor; Reader-Insert; Victorian

A/N: not beta read. We die like men.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 1: 𝔗𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔅𝔲𝔱𝔩𝔢𝔯; ℑ𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤

“My lady,” you hear a soft voice calling you, “My lady, you must wake up, it is morning.” You open your eyes. The sheets around you are soft, freshly laundered. Your head sinks into the large white pillow, and you take a deep breath that turns into a yawn and turn over to go back to a more comfortable position. But the voice rings out again. “Now, that won’t do at all...” You twist your neck toward the direction of the voice. The sound in meats your ears like the gentle beat of a raven’s wing. Shielding your eyes because of the bright sunlight streaming in through the windows, you squinted to see a dark black figure stood before the opened curtains around your bed.

Sebastian Michaelis; the imposing shadowy butler of your cousin, Ciel Phantomhive who’s estate you were staying at while you visited the countryside after your illness. This man’s efficiency left you in awe. Managing an entire household with three other servants, an old butler, and a young master who was still very much a child. His roles extended far beyond that of an ordinary butler, to that of baker, chef, driver and even a pseudo parent. Additionally, with his smooth, silky, jet-black hair and contrasting pale skin he looked rather like a vampire – one from the cheap romance novellas you would pick up from the bookstore to keep yourself entertained. You definitely wouldn’t mind him sinking his teeth into your neck. You had been inappropriately lusting after the man ever since he greeted you into the Phantomhive manor. He was gentle and helpful, and you had found yourself yearning for the feel of his hands upon your skin. Sebastian seemed to sense your longing and took it upon himself to torment you with his sly touches at every opportune moment. He took your hand to help you down stairs, tied your shoelace if he thought it wasn’t done up well enough kneeling in front of you, he even lifted you and took you to bed one night when you were feeling especially tired from the day’s activities. You had been mortified to have been treated in such a manner but when he had leaned down and kissed your ear whispering a soft goodnight you exploded on the inside. Ever since then, you had been thinking the lewdest thoughts about the man- who would often catch you staring at his back and would wink at you and laugh when you turned red. And often your fingers would slip between your thighs, to rub over your mound below in an attempt to quell the aching need.

“Your maid seems to have caught a slight cold my lady.” Sebastian speaks drawing you back to the present. He smiles. “I hope you don’t mind me standing in for her this morning. I wouldn’t want you to exert yourself so soon after having recovered from one illness.” His eyes crinkle and he tilts his head while his smile grows wider.

For a moment, you stare at him and then understand the implications of his words. Still not fully awake you muster up the energy to ask, “But, who is to help me with my dressing?”

“I’m pretty sure you will find me capable enough, my lady.” He says, still smiling. You sit up quickly. Heart pounding in your chest.

“Sebastian!” you expel in admonishment “Surely that would not be proper!”

Sebastian prowls over to the the edge of the bed and leaning down, says, “Would it be as improper as this my lady?” He plants those smooth pale lips onto yours. They burn hot against your cool pink ones. You feel his hand caressing your cheek. Your heart beats hard in your chest and you sit rigidly unable to process what is happening around you. Is Sebastian really kissing you? Are his lips truly on yours? 

But before you can fully digest what happened, he moves away. “Are you awake now my lady?” he asks. You touch your lips feeling incomplete without his warmth and nod. “Good.” He says. “I want you to be awake for this.” He smoothly takes off his black coat and lays it down on a chair, then his vest, then as he unbuttons his shirt he climbs onto the bed. “Impropriety has been a recurring thought in your mind, has it not my lady?” he says to you. He kneels down in front of you. You feel your heart beat – loud enough for the whole mansion to hear.

“Wh– whatever do you mean, Sebastian?” You feign ignorance, trying to ignore the loud pounding of your heart.

“Don’t be coy my lady.” He smirks, his body almost enveloping you on the bed and playing with the string on the neck of your nightgown. He pulls it – untying the bow that your maid had made the night before. So smooth. His movements flow like a stream of water. Almost inhuman. You look into his eyes knowing that however improper it may be, you wanted the man. You wanted him in the basest way that a human may want a human. He cups your cheek in his hand and you can’t help yourself, you move forward to feel his burning lips against your own once again. He runs his fingers through your soft hair and wraps his arm around your torso pulling you closer. You pull off his already unbuttoned shirt. The heat of his body penetrating your thin nightgown. He presses his body against yours, kissing you, a hunger in his movements like no other you knew. His fingers reach your breast and he kneads it roughly. His tongue seeks entrance at your mouth. You open up readily, moaning softly at his touch. He tastes spicy yet at the same time sweet; it reminds you of chocolate a rare taste for such a rare man. Wanton moans drip from your throat and you just want more and more. Your head feels heavy—intoxicated. 

You close your eyes and pull him closer. He’s lean, yet you can feel hard muscle under the skin. Sebastian holds the bottom of your nightgown and looks at you with heavy lidded eyes.  “Are you sure about this my lady?” For a moment you think you see them flash a dangerous red but shake it off seeing them their regular brown.

You close your eyes and nod, biting your lower lip. It is what you want. Damn all the restrictions of society. Damn it all. It was your body and here was a man who made it writhe and respond on its own accord – without your control. You wanted him to feel you, touch you, make love to you. And you knew, he would appreciate you to the fullest – you would bloom like a flower beneath his touch.

A/N: This was originally posted on AO3 back in 2017. Since then much time has passed and i wasn't feeling the motivation to continue this series, but now with this resurgence of Kuro I would like to take this series up again. I am posting it here now, with changes made and small edits. Just to make it a better read while still keeping my original story intact. I hope you've enjoyed. As always, Likes and Reblogs are much appreciated and Comments will earn you kisses.

Masterlist

[radiance1]

Vlad opened his eyes expecting to look up at his cieling.

The pair of eyes staring straight into his own was not what he wanted to see.

"I need you to make a clone of me." Danny, ever the grain of salt in a pile of sugar, said with all the tact of something who didn't just break into a man's room.

Vlad squinted up at him and scowled. "Hello to you as well, Daniel. Not even a good morning?" He groaned, reaching a hand up to massage his temple to try and offset the headache he could feel settling in. "Do you have the slight clue what time it is?"

"It's 3 AM."

Vlad blinked, and his scowled deepened. "That somehow makes it even worse." He sat up as Danny leaned back, and reached for his side table, taking up a glass with little difficulty and downing the water in few gulps. He then sighed and looked back at Danny. "What is this about making a clone of you?"

Danny crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Exactly what it sounds like, fruitloop. I need you," Danny pointed a finger at Vlad. "To make me," He then pointed that finger at himself. "A clone."

Vlad's eyebrow twitched at how Danny spoke. As if he were explaining someone complex to a child. He sighed, killing whatever retort was on his tongue to instead rest his head in his head.

"There should most likely be one left that I haven't melted down yet, do with that what you will." He shifted back some until he could rest against his headboard and waited for the nuisance to leave-

"Why are you shirtless?" Inquired the child that was still there.

Vlad opened his eyes to shoot his a glare and he scoffed. "Are you not going to run along towards whatever need you have for a clone, child. Or do you insist on ruining whatever peace I have left?"

"Is the clone an actual clone or..?" Danny tilted his eyes, eyes roaming off Vlad to the lump beside him.

"No, it won't suddenly come to life, it is just a body." Vlad explained as he manifested a wing to hide said lump from Danny's gaze. "So you need not worry about that part, though why you would need one is beyond me."

Danny stayed quiet for a moment, before shrugging. "You still have a clone of me though? That's kinda weird dud-" His smirk was slapped right off his smug face by a wing as he flew back a bit through the air.

He matched Vlad's glare with one of his own as he rubbed his face, before huffing. "Fine. I'm leaving now." He phased through the wall, leaving with the whisper of fruitloop and leaving Vlad in that blessed, of so sacred silence.

Sadly, it was not to last.

His bedroom door was slammed open, with enough strength to shake the entire room and cause the poor thing to slam into the wall with enough force to crack the blood thing. "Dad! Those weird birds are-" The voice momentarily interrupted by two shouts of alarm.

"SWEET BUTTER BISTCUITS!"

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!"

"-...Why are you naked...?" Danielle said, a look of disturbed confusion on her face before she ducked low to avoid a blast of magic. "Okay, now that was uncalled for- ewwwwwwwww!" She then screwed her eyes shut and put her hands over her eyes and looked as if she might puke.

Vlad, deciding to spare his daughter from a sight only he should've seen this morning and acquainted himself with quite thoroughly last night, he moved a wing to hide his partner's... private bits, from sight. Who then decided it would be the best idea to sit down.

On Vlad's wing.

If Vlad were any lesser man, he might have complained. But he was not. So he did not.

He did shift his wing around, however.

"You have a kid?" John Constantine, conman extraordinaire, rather shamelessly took the glass offered as Vlad covered the both of them with a sheet and drank the water. "Would a been nice to know before I shot at her, actually."

Vlad massaged the bridge of his nose, a headache coming on that in no way was because of a hangover and sighed through his nose. "She was not even supposed to be here for a week more, so there was no reason to tell you anything."

To which Constantine shrugged.

"Why are you here, Danielle. You were supposed," He stressed the word. "To be somewhere in Metropolis."

A single eye peeked out from between the girl's fingers, before she let out a relieved sigh and dropping her hands. "Those weird birds tracked me down to tell you they want to meet you." Dani wrinkled her nose. "Though I think you should put on clothes though.

"Weird birds-" Vlad paused, sneaking a glance over at his alarm clock to see that it was, in fact, 3:15 AM and groaned. he dropped his face into his hands. "Those blasted phoenixes, it's three in the morning!"

Dani just shrugged and stepped out of the room. "They're in your living room by the way, the fourth one down the hall that takes the two right turns, and they're getting pretty impatient." She then paused, staring straight at Constantine, who stared back with a raised eyebrow.

Water dripped down his face and down onto the bed as a ball of water slapped smack dab in the face as he reopened his eyes with an unamused expression.

Dani stuck her tongue out and then disappeared down the hall.

"Well, I'm awake now at least." Constantine said, reaching over Vlad's lap to place his now empty glass onto the side table.

A loud screech cut through the noise of the mansion, and for the second time. Vlad groaned.

It was only three in the morning...

[earls-wife]

Prepare to be sick of me ahh i love your writing so much!!❤️ How about intimate moments with Ciel that some people might deem sexual but to them it’s like a normalized thing? Like them just having skin to skin moments alone 🌝🌝

Your wish is my command, have these snippets of brain worms that refuse to develop into butterflies. I headcannon the Earl and his wife are not societies prude ones. He still has class, he's just very dotting with her (and likes to use their affection to keep his business deals and other annoying members of society: cheap, in line and out of his home lol).

Keep the requests coming, if you dare. ;)

Reminder: OCiel is aged up to late 20s and goes by the name Astré here. For details, check out my page and my other works if you'd like!

Warnings: smoke, busybodies, suggestive moments but not detailed, naked but not described, Astré is a simp for his wife! I guess this could be considered NSFW....

Moments That Didn't Stay in The Dark

They didn't understand. How could they?

A fleeting temple kiss in a candles flame from a dark corner of the billardroom was seen as a scandal. To him it was a play for power. To bring her into his domain of authority among smoke, the clatter of a cue ball and his next target.

A caress to his wife's lower back on the rare occasion they danced at a gathering, a communication to say 'I desire you', not a reason for the gossiping hens of society to cluck behind their fans at them. Nuisances.

His gloved fingers hapazardly tugging the bodice of her gown back in place as a servant (MeyRin) squeaks out an apology for interrupting. He sighs wondering if he'll ever get a moment alone with his wife in his own home.

Her fingers gripping his thigh at the dinner table among guests that baggered him. Unlike upperclass tradition of hosts not sitting together, he simply didn't care. He wasn't letting other men near his bride, not when she looked so appetizing and stroked her thumb closer to...

Mumbling in French to her after a long day of work in the office. He had forced himself to spend time away so they could develope a routine outside of the honeymoon phase that still nipped at their hearts. Now in bed, he quickly removed her chemise and pulled her beneath him so he could kiss her heart and get lost in her arms before exhaustion took him. Sleeping together was mandatory and anyone who said his wife shouldnt stay in his bed would be escorted away by Sebastian. Two rooms? Please. Good riddance to the thought.

Desperate kisses dragged across eachothers lips, heated and full of fire while a shocked audience watched on. She had returned from a business deal (kidnapped), and his hands were quickly balling up her skirts in his hands to get to her, to her skin that was alive and not dead, like his family.

Kissing her ankle after she had a tumble playing crochet with some friends. A Lord on his knees? A ladies ankle, bear of a stocking? His wife's great aunt fainted seeing his affection so publicly, while other ladies watched in in envy of his wife. Other gentleman shifted uncomfortable with seeing the guard dog collared and smitten by a woman.

Astré (OCiel) kneeling before the bed, head resting in her hap as she carded her fingers through his hair after a case that left him spiraling. The demons clung to him yet she plucked each one and set them in a box for later deliberation. As the weight wore away he wrapped his arms around her waist burying his face in her stomach, desperate to know he's not alone.

His wife's hands caressing his back in the bath, not joining him for once, but insisting on doing a servants duty and washing him down. Her fingers trace his brand and her eyes soften with knowing the horrors. He turns and caressed her face assuring her that after all there time together, he isn't afraid of her touch...no matter how hesitant she may be. Astré quickly ignored her request to finish bathing him and pulls her into the bath instead to correct her assumptions. A wet night dress and a few evening delights later had her convinced he was telling the truth.

Breathless and sweaty from pleasure as the sheets stick to there bodies. His wife resting against his bare shoulder as he kissed her hairline, rubbing her arm as he summoned air into his lungs. She was gonna kill him with all that energy. But he wouldn't trade her hunger for him for the world. He just wished he could keep up better. He makes mental notes to ask Sebastian to find some 'reading material' to surprise her with next time she was in need.

[cielwritings]

HCs for Ciel as an older brother? Maybe a bit of r!Ciel added in please? :3

! Older Brother Ciel !

weheheheheh... i cant wait to see rciel in the anime if they continue making seasons. which im sure they will.

R!Ciel is named Riel.

You were born mere days before the tragedy regarding the Phantomhive name. You and your two older brothers were the only ones to have survived.

Unlike your brothers, you weren't sold off. You were far too young. Instead, you were left in the cold by some building. Fortunately, on one of her daily walks, Elizabeth had spotted you. She swiftly brought you back home.

The month had passed, Ciel returned home without his brother. You didn't know this. You were a month old, after all.

Months turn to years, you're now three. You had no prior knowledge regarding your other older brother.. until the brother you grew up with, Ciel, was abolished of his title from Riel's return.

You needed a guardian always. Riel tried convincing you to stay with him as the manor was far safer. You denied, and stayed with Ciel and Sebastian. Sebastian is, and has been, Ciel's guardian... so what's the difference?

Sebastian takes his orders literal. He was ordered to prioritize Ciel's life over anyone else's. He and Ciel got into fights more frequently whenever Sebastian protected him over you. So, you never left Ciel's side, even if you wanted to. You were almost always glued to him in some way.

Either you'd be on his lap, he'd be holding you, you'd be forced to hold his hand, whatever it may be. If Sebastian picked him up, you're being picked up too. If he's being changed, you will turn around and face the other way in the same room. Baths are no different. Ciel will always be in the room, eyes averted. If anything were to happen while you were bathed, he'd be swatting Sebastian away to scoop you up into a towel. Even if it hasn't happened yet, Ciel already thought about this stuff.

At some point, it became enough for you. You loved Ciel very much, you loved being by him, but this isn't clinginess anymore.. what can this be classified as?

You'd be coloring with him one day. Somehow, your art was far better than his. Then, it was bed time. The night prior, you were graduated from sleeping on your own with Ciel nearby, to sleeping with Ciel. Thanks, robbers.

Ciel was not a happy boy. You weren't either. You couldn't even cuddle your plushie properly, as you'd be facing his chest. Why? Because if you get shot, your organs wouldn't be facing the window. That's how much Ciel cares.

While cuddled up in his arms, you spoke. "I wanna sleep on my own."

Ciel understood, but not in the way you'd imagine. "I know, change is hard."

"No.. I want my own room."

That, he didn't understand. He looked at you like you were just playing and acting silly. He ruffled your hair with a faint smile. "You can't. You're with me." "I don't want to."

Ouch.

If anyone else had told him something as offensive as that, he'd get pissy. For some reason, this just hurt!

"..You have no choice. Riel took all of my money, silly." "Oh.." "Do you want to live with Riel?"

You were put on the spot, freezing up. You hesitated, but shook your head no. Not because you wanted to live with Riel, but rather because you just.. wanted some sort of privacy.

"Good," Ciel smiled, nose buried in your hair. "Just get some rest."

The moment Ciel fell asleep, Sebastian entered and replaced you with a pillow and allowed you some free time. He'd tuck you into bed with Ciel the moment you fell asleep. Ciel never noticed this happening throughout the days.

Your relationship with Ciel was complicated, sure, but you loved him. He loves you too, if that wasn't obvious enough.

[blues824]

hii could i get black butler characters (ciel, sebastian, claude, alois + undertaker) reacting to the reader who’s basically like has the same abilities as spiderman but they were from the future and now they’re in their world so they spend their time going on missions for the queen ? :O

Gender-neutral reader. Also, I hate spiders, so Claude is easily my least favorite character, but I somehow made his and Undertaker's the most romantic.

Ciel Phantomhive

He has heard word of a certain heroic figure that roams the streets of England. He ordered Sebastian to find out who exactly you were, and imagine his surprise when he found out it was you, who was a loyal servant to Her Majesty.

The young Phantomhive lord was definitely intrigued in your abilities, since you were completely human. He had you explain, and you had to tell him that you were from the future and the Queen employed you as her ‘knight in the night’ of sorts.

You two were often called lapdogs of the Queen, but your fights never ended in death. Yours ended in Scotland Yard getting ahold of the perpetrators and finding them wrapped up in spiderwebs. Ciel had seen a crime scene that you had been at, and he was very weirded out by it.

One time, you stayed at the Phantomhive Manor overnight since you visited and a storm came on. Mey-rin was running with expensive china and she tripped. Your spidey-sense went off and you quickly caught the dinnerware. Ciel spat out his tea in shock as he stared at you with wide-eyes.

Sebastian Michaelis

He had also caught wind of the person who prowls around at night because of the morning paper. His master had ordered to unmask you, and he couldn’t say he was exactly surprised that it was you. You always came up with not-that-great excuses, so he kind of figured it out.

You remind him of his arachnid counterpart, Claude. Faustus was a spider demon, so the correlation was understandable. However, your personality differed greatly. Plus, you did work for the Queen rather than the Trancy brat.

Sebastian has had the opportunity to gaze upon your ‘victims’ at a crime scene, all wrapped within the web that you spun. It could serve as a metaphor: he was caught in the web of your heart, finally getting to experience what it was like to be the prey rather than the predator.

Once, when you had accepted the invitation to stay at the Phantomhive Manor, the two of you were up late at night and just relaxing in each other’s presence. Then, your spidey-sense was activated and you shot a web out and accidentally caught Bard. It was very amusing to your beloved demon, but he assisted in getting the chef out.

Alois Trancy

Out of pure curiosity and frustration, he ordered Claude to show him who you were. Upon snatching the mask off of your face, Alois let out a gasp of surprise. Why, it was Her Majesty’s other lapdog! How exciting!

You can not tell me that he wouldn’t have you use your abilities to amuse him. String up his servants to the chandelier to make him laugh as they tried their hardest to escape. It was inhumane, but we all know how he is.

He has seen photographs of crime scenes where criminals are stuck in webs for the police to easily detain them, and he thinks it’s hilarious. The fact that those perpetrators were helpless as they got arrested just fueled the fire in him. 

One time, you two were out in the garden, and you had the very spontaneous idea to cling to a tree and swing. You told him to grab onto you (think MJ and Spiderman in Far From Home), and while it was a very small swing, Alois loved feeling the air on his face. He asked (demanded) you to do it again and again.

Claude Faustus

When Alois had ordered him to unmask you, he had no reaction in finding out that it was you. He already pieced it together weeks ago, considering this figure that stopped criminals came at the same time you were brought into the Queen’s court.

Two spiders just living their lives, one human and one demon. You both are caught in each other’s webs, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, the abilities you have just compliment each other. You can shoot webs and he can evade them as well as break through them.

He has also had the opportunity to gaze upon a crime scene that you obviously visited, seeing as the criminals were wrapped in webbing. That’s actually how you met for the first time: you thought he was a perpetrator and you shot a web at him. He evaded it, but as your arm was out he grasped it and pulled you to his chest.

That moment is when he realized that you must have had another sense that told you he was suspicious. You later told him that it was your ‘spidey-sense’ and it was like an inhuman instinct that you frequently act upon.

Undertaker

He’s been quite sad because of the spider-like figure that has been arresting criminals rather than killing them so they end up in his shop. However, it was one day where he had decided to take a stroll to clear his mind and he saw you in an alleyway, with your costume still on but your mask was off.

What an amazing discovery! He wished he could dissect you so that he could find out how you got his abilities, but you were still alive and well. You just told him instead, how you were from the future and you got bit by a radioactive spider and that’s how you got your powers.

Undertaker has seen some crime scenes, and he’s utterly fascinated by how you shoot webs that leave the criminals immobile as the police and Scotland Yard come get them. You can not fight me when I say that when you both are romantically involved, he would kiss the web glands on your wrists. 

You both make a great couple, honestly. There have been a few times where your spidey-sense goes off when your boyfriend here tries to make a ‘doll’. They often try to attack you for some reason, so you shoot your webbing out. Undertaker rushes over to make sure you’re alright, worried that the doll had hit you.

[kywaslost]

What’s up. I too have gotten hooked on Black Butler. After 3 years of not being in the fandom anymore. I have a fanfic idea for you.It’s a Ciel x reader so it’s going to be more on the angst side but still fluffy and funny if you look at it from an angle. It’s Ciel. C’mon.

So basically the reader is very similar to him. Being that she also has intense trauma and is extremely stoic and cold. On the other hand she’s also considered eerie and ominous looking. Soon Ciel after a while starts having feeling for the reader, he sees her as someone who understands him completely and fully. Ciel starts showing that he’s interested in being in a more intimate relationship with the reader other then just being partners. The reader of course rejects all these moves even though she also likes him, not only because he’s engaged but because she knows he’s a manipulator. After a long time of driving Sebastian insane with the pinning and rejecting, Lizzy finds out about Ciel’s feelings for the reader and confronts both of them. She’s lightly bitterly and is crying at first but she does want Ciel to be happy and is good friends with the reader (and she’s an Angel) so she doesn’t hold him back. Now the reader and Ciel are in a situation where they can show there feeling for each other freely but have no idea where to start.

Just so that you have a small reference to what I mean by a stoic and eerie looking reader I have a drawing of my Black Butler OC that you can take notes from (you don’t have to just here if you want lmfao)

Thank you, hopefully it’s not too long or complicated. You don’t have to write this if you don’t feel comfortable enough just tell me if you’re not going to write it or not. Have a good day!

Troubled Love - Ciel Phantomhive

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long! This is a long one that I wanted to take time on and work on when I felt like I could write this to the best of my ability. First of all, your drawing is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! I’m literally in love with it! I hope this turned out ok! I also completely skipped over the part where the reader is an angel and didn’t see it until I finished this, so I hope it’s ok that I left that bit out. Let me know if you’d like me to rewrite this properly <3

Warning/s: mentions of night terrors, mentions of panic attacks (no descriptions)

You had met the Earl Phantomhive around the time his parents had passed. You had met the Phantomhive through the grapevine of the Queen’s ‘guard dogs’, and didn’t really get to know the young boy until he returned, demon butler by his side. It was then the two of you were paired for missions. The Queen saw similarities between the two of you, and thought it would be well for you to become friends with the Earl.

You see, due to your past, you weren’t the most sociable person out there. You preferred to keep to yourself, and refrained from interacting with others as much as you could. It played in your favor that most feared you, both due to your reputation with the queen as well as the way you presented yourself. It was almost as if no one could touch you.

Until you officially met Ciel. The two of you worked well together. What you lacked in skill and intelligence, he made up for, and vice versa. It also helped that Sebastian was there. In fact, the demon butler and his master took a liking to you, even going as far as inviting you to stay at the Estate when they learned that you didn’t have an official residence. You agreed hesitantly. While you were comfortable around the two, you couldn’t bear the thought of being vulnerable around them. You were traumatized at a young age, leaving you plagued with nightmares and flashbacks from time to time. Opening yourself up to Ciel was a huge step for you, one you were unsure how to handle.

Ciel, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He’d never admit it, partially due to his personality and partially due to his engagement to Lizzy, but the Earl had begun developing feelings for you. It was more than a petty middle school crush that other boys his age experienced. He had been feeling this way for quite some time now, and couldn’t quite name his emotions until he spoke of it with Sebastian. It was worth the endless teasing that lasted weeks, but Ciel had now finally realized how much he truly loved you. And now you’re going to be living with him.

Ciel was unsure of how to show his love for you without a) making it obvious, and b) letting Lizzy know. Don’t get him wrong, Ciel truly did like Lizzy and he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her, but he loved you more than her. The boy opted to spend time with you doing small things, such as reading together or just simply sitting in the same room as you as the two of you worked separately. You were hesitant of all this at first, because you were used to being alone so often, but over time you became more comfortable.

This time spent between the two of you went from silence to small chatter. Ciel would ask how your day has been, and you’d answer then return the question. It took months of living together and getting accustomed to each other’s emotions to begin discussing deeper topics. You were both severely traumatized children who never learned how to cope with said trauma. Sure, Ciel had Sebastian, but he was a demon and therefore was incapable of feeling human emotions. So he tried talking to you.

Ciel wouldn’t ever say much about the death of his family or the events that came afterwards, but he wanted to be vulnerable around you. The boy hoped that this would bring the two of you even closer, and then he’d be comfortable enough to confess his love for you. Except every time he tried to have a deep conversation, you would turn him down almost immediately. There was one week in particular when you were having vivid night terrors, causing you to get only a few hours of sleep a night. You would wake up screaming until you couldn’t anymore, and often suffered intense panic attacks afterwards. Usually Sebastian would try and help but you would only push him away, barely muttering about how you were alright and didn’t need any help.

These night terrors always woke Ciel, and after the third night he came bursting into your room in the place of Sebastian. He desperately tried to calm you down, to try and talk to you, but you refused his help. It broke his heart to see you this way, and to know that you were unwilling to accept his help hurt him even more. How could the two of you be together if you wouldn’t let him help you?

The next day during breakfast, Ciel offered to let you speak to him anytime about anything you needed. Whether it be to get something off of your chest, or just to rant about anything, he would be there for you. You weren’t sure how you felt about his offer, so you only nodded and took a bite of your food.

The Earl Phantomhive invited you on an afternoon walk after dinner. At first you hesitantly agreed, only because Sebastian would be following closely. Yet once you saw the extravagant clothing the boy was wearing, you quickly retreated back to your room and feigned illness. It took some convincing, but Ciel finally left you to ‘recover’. In reality, you curled up on the floor, leaning against the door as you silently cried to yourself. 

You were so torn between your emotions. It was blatantly obvious that Ciel saw you as more than just a friend, and he wanted to take your relationship to the next level. You wondered if your own emotions were just as easy to see. You wouldn’t admit it just yet, but you were beginning to fall for Ciel yourself. Although you hadn’t opened up much to the boy, it was easy to feel comfortable and see him. The two of you shared similar pasts, and you hadn’t met anyone else that made you feel as safe and comfortable as the Earl did. 

Despite your feelings for the boy, there was one major red flag following closely behind him. Ciel was a master manipulator. It was clear as day that Ciel knew just how to act to get what he wanted, knew what to say to get his way. You weren’t even sure if he had manipulated you at some point, he was that good. Oh, and he’s also engaged.

You wanted to take Ciel up on all of his romantic gestures. You wanted to go on late night walks with him, go to balls (even though neither of you particularly enjoyed them), or even just spend the evening together almost every night of the week. Yet you couldn’t bring yourself to give in to the urge.

This carried on for months. Ciel would ‘discreetly’ ask you out on small dates, and you would turn him down and most commonly retreat to your room. Once you left, Ciel’s small smile would fall and he would immediately turn to Sebastian with downcast eyes.

Sebastian was the only one Ciel could confess to at this point. He couldn’t go to Izzy, obviously, and he couldn’t go to you, so he was left with his demon butler. It was a part of their bedtime routine now. Sebastian would dress Ciel for bed, asking him about his day and his plans for the next. Ciel would grumble about paperwork before quickly changing the subject to his failed attempts of asking you out. He’d seek advice from the demon before turning in for the night. 

It wasn’t until six months after Ciel’s first attempt to ask you out that Lizzy was caught in the crossfire. It wasn’t intentional, and Ciel would have never said anything if he were aware of her presence. 

Lizzy had planned another surprise visit and stay at the Phantomhive Manor. She had arrived later than expected due to an extreme thunderstorm causing a delay in travel. Upon arriving at the manor, she let herself in and immediately ran to where she assumed Ciel would be in his study as her maid carried in her baggage. Lizzy quickly but silently ran to Ciel’s study, throwing open the door.

“Ciel!” she squealed in the highest pitch her voice could achieve. “Supri– oh.” Lizzy frowned slightly when she noticed the empty room. It looked as though Ciel hadn’t been there in a while. Shaking her head, the girl grinned widely yet again when she could hear faint voices coming from down the hall. Upon further expectation, she realized the voices were coming from the library. 

Elizabeth wasted no time in bursting into the room rather loudly, causing you and Ciel to quite literally jump out of your seats with fear. Ciel’s hand even ghosted over the firearm he had tucked into his boot. 

“Ciel!” Lizzy squeals again. She runs over to the two of you, about to tackle the poor boy in a hug before realizing what was going on between the two of you. 

You had to admit, this wasn’t the ideal position to see your fiance and your best friend in. It wasn't anything too terrible, but it could definitely raise some questions. You were practically laying in Ciel’s lap, your legs draped over his as your head rested against his shoulder. A book rested against your legs where Ciel was reading to you a mere moment ago. You both were dressed in your night clothes, and overall this was a very rare sight of Ciel. 

Lizzy’s smile immediately dropped to a deep frown, her bright green eyes welling with tears. “Y/N? Ciel? What’s going on?”

You jumped out of Ciel’s lap and to the other side of the couch. Your heart was beating out of your chest, fear coursing through your veins. This is exactly why you never wanted to act on your feelings for Ciel, for fear of ruining not only his relationship with Lizzy, but also your own. “Lizzy,” Ciel says quickly, standing and tossing the forgotten book onto the couch. He tried to reach out to the girl but she only took a step back and wiped at her eyes.

“I should have seen it coming,” she chokes through a broken cry. “I knew this day would come.” It takes a moment for Lizzy to calm herself down, but she wipes the last of her tears away as Ciel tries to comfort her.

“It’s ok,” she cuts him off from his senseless babbling, pushing his outstretched arms away. “I’ve known for a long time that this day would come.” Glossy green eyes met your e/c ones as she smiled softly. “I can see how much the two of you love each other,” she confesses. “And as much as I love the two of you, I can’t bear knowing I am what is keeping you from being together.” Lizzy’s gaze shifted to her fiance. “I love you Ciel. So much that I want you to be happy.” Her warm hands slowly reached for his own, giving them a gentle squeeze. “So I’m ending our engagement.” Pressing one last kiss against Ciel’s cheek, Lizzy let go. 

“I can only hope the best for the two of you.” Just like that, she was gone.

You and Ciel couldn’t bear to look at each other, let alone speak. You weren’t sure how to feel. You finally had the freedom to be with the man you were learning to love, yet at what cost? Did you just lose your best friend? What do you know? Ciel was asking himself the same questions. But it didn’t take long for him to drop beside you back on the couch, slowly turning to you. 

“What do we do now?” you asked, voice barely above a whisper. 

“I don’t know,” Ciel confessed. “To be honest, I think I need some time to process this.”

You nodded, then stood quickly. “Of course, I understand.” You retreated back to your bedroom as soon as possible, diving under the covers and staring at the ceiling. You were finally free to express your love for Ciel, yet unsure what the next steps were. It was going to take time to figure out your relationship status with the Earl, and what to do next, but it will be worth the wait.

[monkey-papermoon]

Goblin HRT day 1

Knock!

kNOCk!!

knocK!!!

Dr Erian looked up from the piles of documents on his desk, confused at the unnecessary noise "Um... Come in?" The door slammed open "Ma'am you can't jus-" <lemme through!> "It's alright, Nurse, let her in" Dr Erian mustered, pushing his glasses upwards. The nurse sighed and shrugged before leaving a short disheveled girl in her place. The girl stomped forth excitedly "Ah. you must be Maxin-" <Monkey.> "Right to it, eh? Well, monkey would be a very easy transition process. Afterall, Humans are Prim-" <No, my name, Monkey!> Dr Erian cleared his thoat "Okay... Well, Monkey, how can I help you today?" Monkey sat in the chair awkwardly and grinned as she steepled her fingers on the doctors desk <Goblin. No matter how hard, Goblin.> Dr erian pulled off his glasses and rubbed them with his coat "this is getting out of hand... Okay. But I must warn you, races from a more fictional realm make for a significantly harder transition. You must also realize there are many risks, including but not limited to - Lowering of intelligence, worse attention span, inability to blahblahblahblahblahblahblah." Monkey stared off into space, drool falling from her mouth slightly.

"Did you catch that? I - Miss Monkey?" Dr. Erian softly laughed in disbelief "Nevermind... I see you'll fit right in. Sign here! Wait - did you live as your perferred species for at least 2 y-" He trailed off, returning his sight to Monkey, who was still distracted "Nevermind, a silly question." He snapped his fingers at Monkey and she snapped back to attention "Sign here, Miss" <Oh! that easy... Really!? I'm so happy! You're a life saver Doc!> She squeeled and flapped her hands. Dr. Erian returned the glasses to his face and mouthed 'wow' before responding "Don't mention it. But we're gonna have to take bloodwork before we can prescribe these medications as to prevent complications." <Hey, I said no matter how hard, didn't I? Go for it.>

Monkey entered her home and rubbed her sore arm before quickly kicking off her boots and replacing her clothes with an oversized hoodie, her height always felt wrong, anything that made her feel shorter helped.

She let out an exhausted sigh and layed down amidst her pile of stuffed animals, she greeted every one of them and rolled to stare at the cieling. Pausing for a time before her lip started trembling <babies~ i'm... it happened. I'm... i'm gonna be me!!> She screamed ecstatically, tears flooding her eyes before she pulled a pillow over her face and squeeled into it.

This won't be easy, she knew it, and this would be a long road with difficult changes. But even still. It felt like a massive weight has been pulled from her shoulders. Like she has been running towards something unreachable for years and can finally rest.

She is to pick up her new prescriptions the day after, and she couldn't contain her excitement. With her friends all by her side, she sobbed into the night.

[Thanks for reading! I genuinely hope you enjoyed. This is part one of Goblin HRT, a concept that means a lot to me since realizing my identity. In it's essence it is a lot more comedic in tone but there will be parts that get a bit graphic or gloomy.

Bonus info! This story if it wasn't clear focuses on Monkey, a stand in for me, but I excel at Third person pov. The pov switches between Erian and Monkey to get the full picture, though i'm used to writing limited 3rd person. The arrows '<>' are a callsign Monkey uses online that are meant to look like the outwards facing ears that Goblins are usually depicted with, it became such a main stay that when she thinks or speaks in sentences she imagines the arrows around them.

Also I will likely reupload in the future with art attached and when I make another part but I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later.

If you're willing i'd appreciate if you would repost! , Follow for more, it helps me spread reach! ]

[uponawhitehorse13]

Ok so hear me out Yandere Arcueid, Ciel, and Akiha who fall in love with darlings that are they’re mortal enemy

So like Ciel’s darling would be a dead apostle (possibly a dead apostle ancestor up to you), Arcueid’s darling would be a executioner (perhaps even a burial agency member again up to you), and Akiha’s darling would be a member of a demon hunter family (whether if the family is active like the Nanaya’s were or are inactive like the other demon hunter family’s is up to you)

Also sorry that I requested the maximum amount of characters it wasn’t intentional but I just realized that I did

Yandere Arcueid and Ciel with an "arch enemy" reader

Author's note: Akiha's section was scrapped due to being too similar to the base game more specifically Kohaku's route.

-You work with the church as an apprentice of Ciel’s. Patrolling around with her at night and having her teach you what she can. That was until you had an encounter with the one and only Arcueid Brunestud. Ciel told you not to interfere and you didn’t. You could clearly see how even Ciel was barely a match for her. After eviscerating Ciel Arcueid noted that she should be out of commission for a bit and turned her attention to you. You were adorable. A scared little toy for her to have fun with.

-She'll chase you around a bit before making you look into her eyes and just running away. When Ciel found you she checked if you’d been harmed but couldn’t find anything so let you go home. The next day you are on a date with Arcueid. You don’t really remember how your morning went. You were kind of on autopilot until you arrived there. Not daring to go against her since you know what she’s capable of. 

-And that’s how your life is gonna be from now on. You can’t fight back and you can’t resist hypnosis. Arcueid is just going to keep you as her little church mouse. Despite you not being allowed in the church anymore due to your associations, Ciel is kind enough to check on you sometimes just so that nothing has happened to you.

-Ciel would probably already have a little crush on you she refuses to acknowledge. Having casual chats with you and such. It was all nice until you stopped appearing. She had assumed the worst until she found out no corpse was found and then she realised the situation is even worse. 

-When she came to your apartment no windows were open. The curtains were closed and the door was locked and bolted. When she broke in she found you curled in a corner. You looked terrible and were yelling for her to stay away. She could see your eyes had turned red showing her she was right. She picked you up and told you it was ok. You were trying to get away but you didn’t have the strength.

-You bit her. You drank and drank until you were full (I know her powers don’t work that way it’s for the ask). Ciel didn’t seem to mind. Her wound disappeared quickly too. It was dark outside so she brought you to her place. There she explained the situation you were in to you. She also told you that you should stay at her place from now on. 

-You can’t really go out due to the sun and at night there are too many people that’d hurt you not to mention the possibility of you attacking someone. It’s for the best that you stay at her place. She uses her suggestion to keep you docile. Magic is also there for preventing your escape if you’re more resistant. She has a lot of experience dealing with vampires so it’s for the best that you don’t resist. You aren’t even near her level.

[sleepingdeath-light]

marrying ciel’s older sister hcs ; prince soma

requested by ; the-letter-horror-lover (31/05/23)

fandom(s) ; black butler

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | secondary characters

character(s) ; prince soma asman kadar

outline ; “Prince Soma marriage headcanons with a female S/O who is Ciel's older sister please and a lot more mature. (I'll leave the imagination up to you about the marriage headcanons). *I guess that Prince Soma was not requested as much as the others*”

warning(s) ; references to canon-typical violence, references to parental and sibling loss (reader is ciel’s older sister), references to survivor’s guilt

the day you lost your family you’d been sent to spend the holidays with your aunt, madam red — the two of you had been exceptionally close and she’d offered to privately tutor you so that you could follow in her footsteps

and when the news reached you, you were absolutely shattered and riddled with survivor’s guilt — which caused you to isolate and start suffering from night terrors and panic attacks

your aunt — now adoptive guardian — had saved you from taking your life several times

the day your baby brother came home was the happiest you’d been in years, not fully believing your eyes when you arrived at the rebuilt estate and saw him waiting for you

you were the only person who he actively ran over to hug, and your aunt gave you both a moment before coming in herself

your home was restored, you had some of your family back — and you weren’t about to let anything happen to them

which meant that you were terribly protective of ciel (well, not ciel as he’d told you, but you kept his secret well enough) and refused to let him go out on missions without your help

you insisted on helping him with each and every case and your insight was vital in solving a great number of them — especially since you were the only member of the family to have an active rapport and history with undertaker, making him much more willing to provide assistance to him

ciel was your baby and you were so deeply attached to him that you nearly blew a gasket when you met soma and he started to take advantage of your baby brother

you got into a screaming row over it until agni and your brother stepped in to mediate, with the two of you agreeing to remain neutral whilst he stayed at your family’s town house

and that was the start of a shockingly beautiful relationship

for his entire life soma had gotten everything he wanted — everyone everywhere always bowing to his wants and feeding his ego

until he met you, and that made you all the more interesting to him

so the prince relentlessly pursued and courted you using a mixture of traditions from his home and bits and pieces he’d scraped together from sebastian

showering you in expensive gifts, sending flowers at every opportunity, asking you to accompany him (or offering to accompany you) to every outing and drowning you in compliments

but you didn’t give in, being cordial but not going beyond friendly conversation with him

until he stepped up to defend your baby brother from a rude nobleman who was acting especially snobbish and cruel towards him

that was when you started to return his efforts and after six months of this back-and-forth the two of you started to officially court

you took things slowly, or you tried to at least, going out for regular dates and exchanging so many letters that you’d likely felled a forest between you over the course of your relationship

he sent flowers to the main estate every time you succeeded at a case, sent jewellery and sarees for random gifts and absolutely spoiled you on your birthday

loves introducing you to the sweets and foods and drinks he grew up with — but good luck trying to get him to swallow traditional foods you grew up eating (he loves you but he cannot bring himself to eat jellied eels)

teaches you songs and dances and will encourage and congratulate you even if you misstep or sing the wrong note

you have two weddings: one in bengal and one in england to accommodate both of your cultures

he sticks with you and comforts you during your terrors and panic attacks — he becomes an expert at grounding you extremely quickly

never stops wooing you and, whilst is drawings and handwriting aren’t the best, the content of what he creates is incredible — he excels at love poetry

he’ll randomly just start dancing with you — sometimes it’s traditional, sometimes it’s improvised, sometimes it’s something you taught him, but it’s always intimate and ends with you laughing

constantly brags about you to anyone who will listen — including a cheerful agni and his brothers who do not hold back about teasing him for it

uses so many pet names for you that you almost think he’s forgotten your name — and you only understand a fraction of them

some of his favourites are: mishti, puchki, and shona

you and agni are the only things standing between him and pure chaos — you keep him in line, so to speak, since he can’t say no to either of you

if you speak to him in bengali — especially if you’re flirting — this man will absolutely melt, yes even if your pronunciation is a bit off

he’s incredibly affectionate and is always touching you at all times — whether that’s kissing, hugging, hand holding or otherwise

ciel isn’t too pleased about him being a permanent fixture in his life, but appreciates that soma makes you happy and that you can keep him in line

very emotional and has woken you up in tears after a bad dream involving the two of you getting into an argument so that he can apologise for his words in the dream

[lazyalani]

| Sebastian Michaelis × [F!Reader]

| His butler, enamored

| fluff, reader likes teasing sebby, reader is lizzy and edward's older sister, reader and seb implied to have done 'it' before, seb is so done, suggestive, this gets a little bit spicy at the end, no smut tho, and here goes my first kuroshitsuji fic

| Summary: In which reader is Sebby's Lizzy, in a way, but he knows what's truly under that overly bright facade.

| Kuroshitsuji Masterlist

| Main Masterlist

"Sebby! There you are, I've been looking all over for you."

His eye twitches as he internally sighs before slowly putting on a smile and turning to you, setting down the lamp on a nearby table. It was nighttime, but considering you, there was no such thing as night and day when it comes to your antics.

"Milady, how may I help you?" He still asks, knowing it would just be one of your 'moments'.

You return a lively smile at him. "You always act so formal even when I told you to just call me by my name." You set down your own lamp on a table.

"Apologies, [Name], how may I help you?"

"You're still talking like a salesman, but oh, whatever, perhaps your polite charm is one of the things I like about you. Oh, so there's this ball coming up...." You trailed.

"Earl Denia's Masquarade ball?" He asks, ignoring your first sentence. He desperately wants to continue dusting the shelves to distract himself from your piercing stare but his pride as a butler would most definitely not let him.

"Yes, that one! So, I was invited and Lizzy already invited Ciel and Edward says he already has a date..." You look at him expectantly.

Sebastian's stress keeps growing word for word, he already has suspected this when you brought up a ball. But hey, they say it's different when you really hear it directly, right?

"Will you please come with me to the ball?" You asked, a bright smile on your face.

He could almost feel his master staring at him with that laughing smirk on his face.

Yeah, it does feel different when said directly. His stress levels are at their highest compared to before.

"Earl Grey--"

"Charles said he won't be able to come!" You immediately shut his only possible excuse down. "And you'll be able to keep an eye out and take care of Ciel during our stay there still, so, please?"

"Milady, I have priorities and duties--"

"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm taking you home with me. The most we'll do is dance, or are you expecting more, Sebby?" You flash a sly grin at him.

Ah, there it is. Here drops that bright, bubbly facade, and here comes those true colors.

He doesn't bother hiding his sigh now. "A noble lady musn't be reckless with her words, milady. And much less say that a mere butler would dare think about such intentions of his lord's relative."

The ray of light coming from the moon that shone through the window emphasized the sly grin that stretched wider on your face.

The strides you took towards him were fast and almost stealthy, your hand reaching up to cup his face and bring it down, close to yours, and dangerously closer to your lips.

Sebastian used the indifference on his face to hide the intentions of staring at your lips. Red, no excess stains, no unecessary blemishes, perfect.

"Then it must be great that I'm no true noble, am I?" You whispered, your breath brushing on his lips.

It's true, you were only adopted by the Midfords. A commoner at birth.

"Come on, Sebastian, don't act like you've already forgotten how we shared our feelings two days ago." You licked your bottom lip and stretched out a smirk at his reaction.

His eyes narrowed dangerously at your words. "There were no feelings shared, milady, please step back. Even in this middle of the night, someone could roam around." There was an underlying threat on his words.

You laughed victoriously and stepped back, plackng your hands behind your back. Your eyes were nothing like the bright, bubbly, friendly, lively, obviously Lizzy's sister you were before. That facade of yours was replaced with a sly grin, cunning and teasing eyes.

"How many times must I ask you not to act recklessly, milady? Please mind your words and actions, you are still in the Phantomhive Manor, Lady Midford." He closes his eyes and sighs.

"Oh, but you love it, Sebby." You tease. "You always do." You flash him that irritating smirk again.

His eyes narrow again as he chuckles darkly. "No matter how hard you try, you won't win at this game you're playing at, milady."

You raised a brow, clearly amused at his statement, challenged, even. "Oh? But I already am, Butler."

He gives a sly smirk back. "You won't break through me, Mistress."

You take a short and fast leap, taking his neck and wiping that smirk off his lips with a kiss.

However, his smirk only stretches, expecting the same act you two always end up with, placing his hands on your waist and leaning down to respond as reflex.

Your fingers tangled in his hair brushes his scalp, his scent, despite doing heavy chores, encasing you darkly and seductively. You let a sly smile match his own smirk in the kiss, letting only the night and the moon witness a forbidden affair between a butler and a lady.

You slowly let go of the kiss and bring your lips to his ear. "Liar."

He lets his smirk fall down as you take your lamp and walk away from him, taking off his gloves and brushing his messed up hair with his fingers.

He sighs, walking towards his master's study to organize, thinking.

A demon and a human, huh? Unheard of, disliked, even by him, but if it's you, he could maybe (certainly) make an exception.

But for now, he could let you continue this little game of yours.

[bramble-mouse]

A giant is in a sticky situation and they have to rely on there tiny friend to help them get out, or it’s the other way, Or both!

My immediate thought: glue trap. I may use the prompt again where a giant needs a hand!

Mice were pests- at least that was how the beans viewed them. They were horrid little things that stole food, left droppings in the pantry and bit holes in bags. But really, mice were actually very lovely creatures. At least Plumeria Mossdew thought as much. They shared many of the same characteristics that borrowers had- large ears, fur, cute tails, claws. Rats could be frightening (though some were sweet when hand-reared from pups), brown spiders were nightmarish and owls were a worst case scenario for a borrower, especially since she lived alone- out in the garden, no less. Food and water were easily found, her little twig cabin tucked away on the property boundary. Yes, there as much to be found out in this vast wilderness of a bean's yard, but sometimes Plumeria had to venture inside the house and find what she could not come by outside. Flour, fabric, buttons, needles, thread, spices- all manner of wonders Plumeria felt it was worth the danger to grab. Normally, she had no problem. The elderly bean that lived there napped often or contented herself listening to old jazz tunes on the radio while she crocheted. Sometimes, Plumeria paused to watch her work, appreciating the dedicating in those weathered, patient fingers. But as time passed, the old granny's fingers grew shakier, her face thinner. One day, after Plumeria had been gone for a food few months, the granny was no where to be seen. She feared the worst, felt a pit settle into her stomach when she found a crochet hook put away, not a bit of yarn in sight.

Plumeria cried that night and decided to stay in the house. After all, she'd never once seen a soul visit the old lady as long as they'd both lived here. She would miss the bean, her quiet contentment with a simple life, a friend who Plumeria doubted ever knew she existed. Staying proved a poor choice. Because the following day hen Plumeria decided to take a few more things out of the kitchen and say hello to the little mouse family living in the walls, she fell prey to more than prying eyes. A pest. Was this how so many mice and rats died? Plumeria lay immobile, eyes red and puffy from sobbing all night and her round glasses askew on her face. A glue trap. Yes, she'd heard of them, of the horrific manner in which sweet rodents died on them. Would Plumeria be the first borrower to meet her end here, unable to move as she starved to death? The fear and exhaustion lasted the night until she succumbed to exhaustion.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" A voice boomed. It was masculine in nature.

Plumeria's eyes cracked open, half-sealed by dried tears. The ground shook. A bean. "Of course I'm pissed! Glue traps are inhumane! I don't fucking care if there are mice, you could have asked me first!" The voice continued to shout. Plumeria's head swam. Should she have been afraid? Or perhaps her struggling and crying through the night had deprived her of that ability now. All she could see was the far away cieling, cobwebs clinging to the corner above her, a little overhanging of countertop half obscuring any further sights.

She thought to turn her head but the glue trap impeded much movement. Still, Plumeria mustered some strength and found a bean in a baggy sweatshirt and jeans stooped over collecting another glue trap off the ground, his other hand holding a phone to his ear. At least...Plumeria assumed it was a phone. It wasn't like the old woman's, a blocky thing that sat in a reciever. This bean's was flatter, with a colourful case covered in illustrations of insects. "Gran left me this house. In her will. Look at the fucking will. I don't want you in here again if you're gonna do shit like this." The bean growled in the reciever and stood up, crunching the glue trap in his hand. He realized his error a moment later when he swore under his breath and tried to shake the trap. It was stuck to his hand. He groaned. "I have to go. I'm changing the locks, and you're not getting this fucking house from me to demolish. I don't fucking care how much gran's land will fetch you, you never even called her. Not even once, and you were in town." The bean paused. Whoever was on the other end of the line had plenty to say because the bean had to draw in a deep breath. "Gran's barely been dead a few days, you scummy fuck. We're done." The bean hung up, pocketed his phone and ran his fingers through a thicket of curly black hair. "Fucking christ..." He exhaled, shaking his glue-trapped hand again.

Anger. No, not just anger but anger at the treatment of pests- of creatures like the lovely mice in the wall, like Plumeria. The impulse grew, a new hope and desperation blooming in the borrower's chest. It went against everything her late parents had taught her, to reveal yourself to a bean but at the end of the day, this bean would either find her now or find her desiccated corpse moldering on this trap.

"...H....Help." Plumeria's fluttering voice rasped as loud as she could manage. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she summoned her courage, her energy and tried again, loud as she could. "H...Help me...P...Please..." She closed her eyes, tired from even that small effort. She was so hungry, so thirsty, so tired. Had she only been there only night, stuck to the trap or had it been longer? Plumeria wasn't certain. But when the ground tremored again with bean footsteps and a shadow fell over the trapped borrower, she managed to open her eyes again, beady and red. And full of a panicked face, freckled and green eyed, marked with a septum ring.

"....Holy fuck." The bean stammered, the words like vomit as he fell to his knees. It felt like an earthquake. "I'm hallucinating, I'm..." Plumeria's gaze stared up, pleading. Would he walk away, assuming she wasn't real? Was she about to die after all? The bean let out a humourless chuckle and got to his feet. He crossed the kitchen, opened a cabinet and took a bottle of something out. He took a washcloth from beside the sink, then crouched down in front of her again. The bean opened the bottle and when the neck hovered over top of her, Plumeria managed a weak whimper. "Look, I..." The bean hesitated. "It's olive oil, and...I'm just gonna use a little bit to help you get free, alright? And...if I'm crazy and you're not real then I guess I'm just pouring olive oil on an empty glue trap." Plumeria drew in a deep, shaking breath. She said nothing and closed her eyes. Oil cascaded thickly over her lower half. The bean was being slow about this, methodical, as if he'd done this many, many times. Consciousness was difficult, and so Plumeria flitted in and out, only half aware of the gentle strokes of a cloth, of ginger pulling on her lips to get her free. This would be over the next time Plumeria woke, she decided. She would be free or she would be dead, succumb to the stress of it all, of a body strained to its limits.

Author's Notes: I'm gonna be continuing this so no, Plumeria has not succumbed to a glue trap! It might be a bit clunky but I still wrote something! Thank you again for a fun prompt anon :D

[darkveracity]

Tsukihime's cast rated by how mad Akiha is about Shiki falling in love with them from best to worst

Displeased

Sacchin: At a fundamental level Sacchin is just an ordinary girl. There's nothing objectively wrong with her. Akiha is never going to be happy about Shiki falling in love with anyone but there's very little she can object to here without looking insane. Also being a cute girl who's easily flustered, fun to bully, and has a bit of the vibe of a small scared animal makes her very much Akiha's type if she were willing to be honest with herself.

Hisui: Akiha's primary problem here is the status difference (which is fake but she'll never admit that). If the relationship progresses to the point of talking about marriage it will become an enormous issue. However in the near term this has a number of advantages for her - first, she genuinely likes and trusts Hisui, second falling in love with her instead of an outsider keeps Shiki trapped in the incestuous tidepool of the Tohno mansion where he'll also pay a lot of attention to Akiha, third she has no high ground to stand on considering her own relationship with Kohaku. She can't push too hard on this one

Angry

Arihiko: Akiha is homophobic. Full stop. She was raised in an intensely conservative environment and does not have enough self-awareness to understand that she herself is gay. She's going to ruthlessly bully Shiki about this and also every other one of the reasons Arihiko is an inappropriate partner - an unserious delinquent with dyed hair who skips school and stays out late at night. Absolutely unacceptable company for the eldest son of the Tohno family. The only thing that mollifies her is how genuinely happy he makes Shiki

Ciel: Ciel checks most of the boxes. She's serious, reliable, extremely talented, a good student, pushes Shiki to be better. She has everything Akiha would want in a partner for her useless brother except for status. However she has the enormous dealbreaking flaw of being an executor and any long term relationship with her is inevitably going to result in Shiki pursuing the same career. She and Akiha do not like each other any of the times they meet in canon but those are all under unfortunate circumstances - showing up in a combat habit with a comatose Shiki, trying to hypnotize her at school, sneaking into the mansion and getting into a fight to the death in the manga, etc. If Ciel were to properly visit the mansion and get introduced to Shiki's family as his girlfriend after her route then Akiha might be able to tolerate her a little better

Arcueid: Akiha absolutely cannot handle Arc. Their personalities are incompatible. Arc is an airhead who doesn't understand human norms and doesn't get subtlety and every word out of Akiha's mouth is a venomous barb that flies completely over her head. This relationship is the absolute worst case Akiha can handle before she starts physically trying to separate Shiki from his new lover

Ready to commit homicide

Noel: Noel has no redeeming qualities whatsoever (and is also my favorite near-side remake character). She's flighty, unreliable, selfish, petty, unprofessional, a coward, works for the church, and most importantly is an adult woman leveraging her position of power as a teacher to pursue an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student. Akiha is going to do everything possible to get rid of her from threatening her to destroying her career to sending her to jail to if worst comes to worst outright murdering her. She will never accept this relationship

Kohaku: This relationship drives Akiha completely insane in canon. The spectre of the abuse Kohaku has suffered, Akiha's intense guilt about it, and her own possessive pseudo-romantic feelings for her make her never want anyone else to lay their hands on Kohaku and also simultaneously her possessive pseudo-romantic feelings for Shiki make her never want him to fall in love with anyone else. The two people she loves most leaving her to be with each other double-cucks her and pushes her so far she tries to murder both of them. The only way she could ever be okay with the two of them kissing is if they're doing it in front of her for her entertainment

SHIKI: I do not think the city of Souya would survive Akiha's reaction to this

!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!

Len: What's wrong with you, Nii-san????

Bonus:

Extremely Pleased

Akiha: At long last you've seen the light, Nii-san. Why would you ever choose anyone else when you have the perfect younger sister right by your side who loves you very much. Please never look at any of those other wretched women again

[cielwritings]

! Sebaciel Wedding HCS !

in honor of their wedding in the newest episode!

just imagine this is normal in their time lmao

Sebastian absolutely tried to get Ciel in a dress. He and Nina tried getting him into a skirt as well, but the boy refused.

The wedding was private and public... because they had two weddings. One was official, the other wasn't. The public one was the first and official one, the second being private and just for fun.

In the official one, Sebastian wore a suit, as per usual. This suit was tailored to fit the theme of royalty, being much more expensive than his normal suit. His stood out more, not wanting to blend in with the best men.

Ciel wore a white suit for the public wedding. They were considering a fancy feel to it, considering he's an earl, but they deemed it to be too close to Charles grey. Everything except for his tie was white, the suit having gold details honoring the Phantomhive name and the Funtom company.

The wedding went smoothly. Lizzy stood out as a bridesmaid. For this wedding, there were three best men and three bridesmaids, even if not needed. Lizzy wanted to come, so Ciel shrugged and decided to bring along more bridesmaids. All the bridesmaids and best men wore gray. Despite Lizzy being pouty about it, she didn't throw a huge fit.

Both the 'bride' and groom picked one bridesmaid and best man to stand out to the rest, to show how close they were. Ciel picked Lizzy, giving her white (with a soft pink) details to her dress. Sebastian picked Finny, though he was torn between him and Bard. Bard didn't mind giving the title to Finny, seeing how nervous the poor boy was.

Their cake wasn't much special, considering Sebastian wasn't the one who made it. Ciel had many pieces that night, Sebastian gently scolding the boy. "You shouldn't eat that much, you will get a stomach ache and potentially stain your suit."

Their private wedding was much different. They had the whole manor to themselves that night, the servants staying at a hotel (they did all the wedding prep, so they were exhausted). Grell kept a sharp watch for intruders, even if she was salty she wasn't the one in a dress walking down to Sebastian...

Sebastian wore comfortable clothes. Comfortable black clothes, with a hint of nobility to them.

Ciel wore a nightgown, and instead of the baby blue thin one he wore, he wore a white thick one. He had a fake white flower tucked behind his ear as well.

Instead of a ceremony and celebration, they huddled up close to each other, exchanging kisses.

Sebastian adored the way Ciel would occasionally pull away, panting softly for air. His soft whines and huffs sent shivers down his spine, quick to push his tongue back into the boys mouth.

Ciel's fingers tangled into Sebastian's hair, the knee between his legs not helping his case.

Ciel still had some makeup on him from their public wedding. Soft pink lip gloss smearing across his lips once they finished their session. Sebastian had some on him as well.

Instead of wiping it off, he kissed down Ciel's dainty figure, drinking up his whimpers.

You can decide where they went from there.

[umeumeumee]

to be yours

ahsoka tano x fem! reader

as you lie awake at night, the feeling of restleness plagues you. forcing you to consciousness, staring at your white cieling.

Ahsoka is soundly asleep, her head burrowed into your shoulder; her face is calm, comfortable. precisely what you are not. all you wish is to fall asleep— but you know for certain that won't be happening, not right now.

looking down at ahsoka, a fond smile graces your lips upon seeing her. she’s always been so beautiful, on the inside and out.

you subconsciously hold your breathe as you decide to delicately untangle yourself from her arms. her brows scrunch, lips pursing lightly as you quickly replace your warmth with the warmth of your pillow beneath her arms, satisfying the struggle shorty after.

You turn away from her, pushing your legs out of the covers you sit on the side of the bed.

You’ve had a difficult problem sleeping these past few years, since the fall of the republic, the reign of the empire. order 66 is a common factor in your dreams— watching your friends die. Your master, slaughtered right in front of you, her blood coating your face as you fight for your life through fearful, heartbroken tears.

the clones betray you, clones you considered your close friends. it was unlike any fear you’ve ever felt. and it haunts you many years later.

squeezing the mattress beneath your fingers, you glance to ahsoka one last time before you stand up, slipping on your night shoes and grabbing your jacket, you walk through the small hall of your shared house and open the locked door, stepping outside and into the night.

The cold breeze washes over your body like a wave, sending a shiver down your spine as you walk forward, silently shutting the door behind you.

you could barely see, trusting the force and the dim light of the half moon to guide you were they wanted you to be.

It was silent, only leaves and sticks occasionally crushing under your shoes with every other passing step.

you thought back to ahsoka, how she dealt with her nightmares, her fear. the memories of you waking her up with your cries, tears falling over and over as she tries her best to console you. the memory of her waking you from her screams is not forgotten, either.

a gust of wind blew up your sweater— blowing your loose hair from your face. you shut your eyes, trying to connect to the force around you.

if it wants you awake so badly, where exactly does it need you to be?

opening your eyes you sigh, it was no luck, only continuing your path of a seemingly useless walk.

—♡—

ahsoka awoke from her sleep reluctantly, reaching her arms out to retrieve your warmth, only to find you weren’t there.

her eyelids opened, revealing her sleepy blue eyes that scanned the bed.

you were gone, again.

this was nothing new, the nightmares. She herself has been followed by them in her slumber, not ever truly escaping reality. you were always there for her, and she wanted to always be there for you.

She sat up, blinking once, twice and a third time before throwing her tired legs over the side of the bed, coating her feet in her own night slippers; standing up.

Ahsoka grabbed her jacket, shuffling it on as she followed the path you once did down the small of your house and out the door— which she found to be unlocked.

She left the house, closing the door on her way out, setting on her way to find you.

—♡—

your eyes stay closed, your breathing steady. you have not meditated for some time; too afraid of the memories that will follow. The scars that will reopen.

your masters dying face haunts you, the shock, the betrayal and pain. Her scream, the blood, her words.

“run, do not look back. Run!”

repeat, over and over in your head. The clones chasing you, a bullet that flew through you.

You know it’s not possible, but at the reminiscence of the shot, you swore you’d felt the scar spike with the same pain you felt on that day.

“nightmares again?”

Ahsoka’s sleepy voice erupts your dreadful thoughts, and you open your eyes to find her standing beside you, a sad smile on her face.

“no, no.. i couldn’t sleep.” you say, stepping closer to her, a smile following as you do so upon seeing her face.

“Did i wake you?”

“No, you didn’t.”

those words always brought some relief to you, knowing that your problems don’t always have to effect the ones you love so dearly.

“why are you awake, ahsoka? you looked so lovely in your sleep.” you ask, placing your cold hand on her warm, soft face as she smiles into it.

“I missed you. the bed was cold without you, you know.” you laughed, caressing her cheek before sliding your hand away from her, pulling away.

Ahsoka frowns, a knowing feeling in her chest.

“what is it this time?” she asks delicately, and you walk to a bench; a bench you and ahsoka had made when you both moved together, the wood was from a tree she had cut, almost crushing you as she apologized profusely and you only laughed at the misfortune.

You sit, patting the place next to you, ushering her to sit as well. she does. walking over and grabbing your hand; lacing it with hers.

“nothing that hasn’t plagued my mind before.”

“i know. but would you like to talk about it?”

you stay silent, too afraid to say the words aloud.

i’m scared.

Ahsoka rests her head on your shoulder, her warm breath fanning on your neck.

“I know you’re scared, my love.”

maker, she had know idea what she was doing.

“I know you’re scared, and I’m scared too.”

you look to her shorty, tears filling your eyes as your breath hitches, pathetically looking away as you let out a sob.

Ahsoka has seen you cry many times before, as have you seen her shed sad tears of her own.

Ahsokas stomach drops at the sound of your cries. quickly reaching her hand to cup your face, turning it to face her own.

“But please, don’t be scared alone.”

sad sobs and spews of sadness leave your lips, tears running down your face, onto your jacket.

Ahsoka watches in agony, nothing hurts more than seeing the one you love more than anything could ever, possibly dream of describing, cry from such fear right in front of her.

She kisses the tears away, the salty water making its way past her lips and into her mouth, yet you matter much more than sour water.

“It’s okay, y/n. it’s okay to cry.”

your tears continue to fall for a few more minutes, apologizes flowing from your puffy lips halfway through.

“i-im sorry, ahsoka. i’m so sorry, i—”

“There is no need to apologize. I have cried just as much as you, in front of you, my sweet.”

you let out a shaky breath, your grasp on her hand tightening as you sigh.

You’ve never had the guts to tell Ahsoka the whole story of what happened on that day, only brief moments, fleeing fears that are not much of a bother anymore. But with these fears becoming increasingly common, you begin to side with her words.

“You can tell me, I’ll love you no matter what. it will help you to speak your mind, to let someone listen, just as you have done for me.”

You inhale, and look Ahsoka straight in her beautiful, blue eyes.

“I’m.. ready to tell you. Everything.”

she smiled, her hand grasping yours.

“i’m ready to listen.”

you nodded, looking up to the moon.

“I was a Padawan, and my master, Shaak Ti, was going to take me to Kamino for the first time to show me the Clone Facilities. I was so curious as to how it worked, my friends were made in a jar.” you laughed a little at your petty pun, making ahsoka let out an airy giggle of her own.

“But.. then it happened. We were in the loading deck, and a Jedi was beside us. He was shot in the chest. I.. looked around me, and It was my friend, Ash, a clone— who shot that Jedi dead. right in front of me.. I..” Your breaths became heavy, and tears filled your eyes again.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to continue if you aren’t comfortable, y/n.”

You sniffled, clenching your jaw. “No, no.. i’ll.. continue, you deserve as much, Ashoka.” You said, and she squeezed your hand tightly in her own.

“My master grabbed my shoulder, and that’s when i heard her scream. I.. turned around and a lightsaber was coming out of her. I didn’t even dare to look up at who would do such an unimaginable thing. Only focusing on her. I took her hands, and they were covered in blood. She told me to run, to run and protect myself. So I did. I killed clones. I killed my friends, I saw younglings slaughtered, i saw masters killed, I saw.. Anakin.”

Ahsoka sat up, the weight of her head on your shoulder gone in a second. You didn’t dare look at her, jaw clenched so hard you could bite off your tongue.

“Anakin?”

you said nothing for moment, before letting go of her hand.

“Yes, I.. saw him do horrific things. I truly never wanted to tell you, Ahsoka. and I will not continue talking about him, For you.”

Ahsoka said nothing, and for a moment you were afraid she was going to leave.

“No. I want to hear. i want… i want to know what he did.”

“Ahsoka, I really don—” she put a finger on your lips, looking you in the eyes with a soft glance.

“I want to know.”

her finger left and you nodded.

“he.. was the one to slaughter the younglings, he was overtaken by the dark side of the force. I.. he wasn’t Anakin. it was someone else in his body.” You said sadly, closing your eyes.

“I tried to get by him, pleading, begging for my life to be spared— i was so scared I… I didn’t realize I had gotten shot until I was bleeding out. I don’t remember how, or if someone helped me or— what, but i woke up alone, in the sandy desert of the planet Tatooine. where we met years later.”

You finished, ahsoka breathing steadily beside you as you feared the worst of her response.

“I’m so, so sorry, Y/n. if I had gone with him, I could have helped stopped Anakin and he..”

You turned to her, a serious look on your face as you placed a hand to her cheek.

“Ahsoka, I know what you are thinking. He was not your responsibility, he was brainwashed. That was not Anakin Skywalker. That was darth sidious’ apprentice, Darth Vader.” You said firmly, trying to catch her downcast gaze.

Silence followed, the fresh night air flying by you two. Ahsokas eyes were filled with such sadness, it ripped your heart to shreds.

“I love you Ahsoka. I love you more than anything cloud ever love something. so please, look at me.”

her blue eyes met yours, and you smiled. taking her hands in yours, you stood up, her soon following.

You stood there for a moment before you poked her side, sending her a confirming grin: it’s okay.

you kissed her cheek.“You know, you were right about that whole “if you say it, it will help you” thing.” you laughed, bumping her shoulder with yours. She was silent for a while before you received a small, slick grin.

“am I ever wrong, dear?”

you laughed, and you two began to walk back home.

“you know, I think i recall this one time you—”

She let go of your hand, jogging ahead of you. “sorry, what? i cant hear you!”

You laughed, running after her.

she ran into the house, closing the door you had to open to reach her, her coat and slippers left on the floor trailing to your shared bedroom. You grinned, tiptoeing down the hall.

you entered the door way, and she grabbed you from behind, pushing you on the bed.

You both erupt in contagious, whole hearted laughter.

She grabbed your waist, putting her head in the crook of your neck as you continued to laugh.

“I love you.”

Ahsoka said, and your giggles died down a little.

“I love you, too, ‘Soka.”

she looked up at you, her soft burgundy lips meeting yours for the first time this night.

you rested your eyes, heart beating from the running and now sputtering from the kiss.

slumber came to you quickly after that, all thanks to the love of your life.

[thevioletfury]

Domesticity– Kuro One-Shot

Summer heat and unfamiliar places lead to restless nights. Ciel and Elizabeth talk. Married life fluff. Rated T/M(?). 2k words.

“Can’t sleep?” Ciel’s voice rang out from his place in the balcony doorway, his slender frame leaned against the frame. He appeared more boyish than usual; standing barefoot with tousled hair and wearing a matching pajama set that were rolled at the ankles and wrists, an homage to his former self. Now at 19, his youthfulness continued to find ways to stick around.

“Well, thrashing around in bed would only irritate both of us, so I’m trying to bore myself back to sleep”. Elizabeth responded without glancing up from the page in her book, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, illuminated by a single candle on the glass table next to her. She sat curled up in a chair on their balcony, though it was really her balcony since she was the only one who used it. “It’s far too stifling inside, I couldn’t take it anymore” She admitted plainly. 

It only took a couple strides for Ciel to take his seat next to her. Height was one of his indicators that he was not a child anymore. At around 15 he’d caught up to Lizzy’s height, and by 17 he noticed he could see clear over the top of her head. “The manor still isn’t to your liking?” He posed to her, his gaze wandering off into gardens and forest below them. 

Three months had passed since their wedding, though if you told her it had been merely days, she would’ve believed you. Nothing was to her liking because this manor was not hers, it was theirs. Frankly, Elizabeth was not used to sharing anything prior to marriage. She had a brother, but their lives were entirely separate. Then suddenly on a random day in April, she was sharing an estate, a name, and a bedroom with someone else. It was incredibly odd to her to not be waking up in the same room she had been for the past 20 years of her life. The adjustment had been difficult on Ciel too, that went without saying. He had been quite comfortable with his solitude and enjoyed having control over the frequency of company. On that same day in April, that privilege was taken away too. They were always in each other’s space and still trying to find the rhythm of their life. And now, to agitate things further, it was the peak of summer. 

Unable to come up with a more eloquent response, Elizabeth said, “It’s just hot”, sighing softly as she adjusted in her spot. If it weren’t for the optometrist nagging her about reading in the dark, she would’ve snuffed out the candle ages ago. Even the slightest amount of heat it emitted was seemingly canceling out any scarce breeze that came along. Finally, she closed her book in her lap. “I’m just restless, it’s no one’s fault but my own”.

Ciel looked at her. She had grown up too, more than himself, he’d argue. Her hair was always down, framing a face that had sharpened from once being stout. The way her eyebrows were always slightly furrowed made it appear that she was in a constant train of deep thought, a trait no doubt adopted from her mother. Sharp, calm, and opinionated was how he’d describe her. All her girly traits and pleasures were still there under the hard shell she had created to protect herself, just over time they became more strictly reserved for those closest to her. He understood this all too well and did not question her when she had started to change. He’d been numb to her beauty before, but the longer he stayed around her, the quicker the ice within began to thaw. 

Her explanation was met with a hum. It’s not that he was indifferent to her discomfort. If she asked for something, he’d see to it immediately. They both knew this, sitting and silently staring at one another in the darkness. “Should we go for a walk?” He suggested, gesturing to the vast acreage at their disposal below. 

Elizabeth turned her head slightly in confusion, like a dog that can’t understand what is being told of them to do. “At this hour? And with no shoes?” She asked, her book moving from her lap to the table as she adjusted her nightgown around her legs. This was another thing she was not used to: the freedom that came with marriage. There was no more chaperoning or parental observation. It was just the two of them and the privacy their home provided. It was freeing. Surely, she understood that this was quite the paradoxical take on marriage for the times. Many women her age, many that she personally knew, would rather describe their arrangements similar to that of a bird having its wings clipped. Grounded, caged, and miserable. Ciel never made her feel that way though, intentionally or not. 

“Shoes can be easily acquired” He responded cooly, a successful attempt at humor in her opinion. He sat forward in his chair, his own tiredness revealing itself around his eyes. If he felt compelled to, he was close enough that he could reach out and touch her, but he didn’t. “I think it would help if we did” He said as a way to compel her to agree with him. He used this tactic often, even if it really was just for her benefit. 

Contemplating, her eyes narrowed at him, waiting for him to change his mind or suggest something else. Reciprocated silence was all she received, causing her to reach over and pinch out the flame. “Alright, let’s find you some shoes then” She said as she stood, taking his arm and tucking her book under the other. 

-

They walked arm in arm through the garden paths, the white moonlight lightening everything enough to be navigated in the dark. The pair was silent, not stopping to admire anything like you normally would in the daytime. Despite being closer than ever before, they didn’t know what to do with each other. Marriage had widely opened the door for intimacy, but the furthest they’d got was fervent kissing and uncertain groping. The truth was that neither of them were ready for the consequences that came with the act of being intimate; that they both agreed on. In the first few weeks of their marriage, Elizabeth realized something else. Most of their personal interactions throughout adolescence had been centered around conflict. It had been fighting, bleeding, arguing, testing, and crying. And now that there was no conflict, they did not know how to interact. Now there was just domesticity that they were both unfamiliar with.

“Do you have a favorite animal?” Ciel asked out of the blue after some time, choosing which paths they were walking along. He knew them best.

The question dragged Elizabeth back down to Earth from her thoughts so suddenly that she wasn’t sure he had even opened his mouth to speak. Perhaps the walk really was helping her become tired. “A favorite animal?” She repeated back, mostly to make sure she wasn’t completely hallucinating. 

“Yes, if you have one” He responded simply.

Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. This was one of the lesser profound questions she’d been asked by him, grateful in her exhausted state that it lacked complexity. She mentally narrowed it down to a few options before giving her final answer. “Deer. I think deer are my favorite. I’ve always had an affinity towards them”.

Ciel turned to her at this, though she did not move from his arm, so they were standing terribly close. Marble benches and statues around them were exceptionally illuminated from the moon. “And why is that?” He asked. 

Even given the warmth in the dead of night that had bothered her so badly before, she couldn’t help but lean into the heat he was giving off. “Well… they’re pretty innocent animals. They’re too small to be put to work but too big to be domesticated by humans. So they just… exist”. She explained to him, allowing their bodies to continue moving in tandem. 

“Do your parents know about your fascination with deer?”. His voice almost carried some laughter in it. It was ironic given that her parents were avid hunters, taking pride in slaughtering an animal she cared so deeply about. Even Ciel knew about this obsession, which caused her to smile as a childhood memory resurfaced in her mind. 

Nodding as she briefly closed her eyes to recall the story. “Yes, in fact when I was young, maybe 9 or 10, I wrote my father this long letter about how I didn’t want him to hunt deer anymore. He was upset that I was defying him in a way but also impressed that I was able to speak my mind so freely at a young age”. She said up to him, leaning her head against the side of his arm. 

Now, he was laughing, or really more of an amused chuckle. Probably imagining the dramatics of it all, something her father was an expert in. “Please tell me you remember what you wrote in that letter. Or still have it stored away somewhere so I can read it”.

“Something about how deer are God’s creatures and that it’s cruel to hunt something just because it doesn’t serve a human purpose”. Elizabeth smiled as she replayed the scenes, looking much different from a child’s perspective. It really was an earnest attempt on her part. “My father won’t give the letter back to me. So if you want to see it, you’ll have to ask him”.

Satisfied with her reply, they fell back into a comfortable silence. They were not keeping track of time while they walked, though it was obvious morning was approaching as the sky slowly transformed into a deep shade of blue instead of black. Eventually, the question was reciprocated.

“Owls. I think they’re fascinating” Ciel answered after his own pause of contemplation. “I don’t have some historical emotional attachment like you do though, so my answer is far less interesting”, he teased. At some point, they stopped underneath a tree that made the manor appear small in the distance. 

“You know–” She started, having detached herself from his arm to lean against the tree instead. “– now that I think about it, you’re a lot like a deer”. 

“How so?” He inquired back, crossing his arms across his chest as he waited for a response. He felt that she was always coming up with the most intelligent things to say. It always impressed him.

Smiling, which was never a good sign from her, reaching her hands forward to rest on his chest. “Well… you have these big, round, beautiful eyes that everyone can’t seem to resist” She started, eliciting an eye roll from Ciel. “...And you have these long limbs you still don’t seem to know what to do with” She continued, enjoying the way it made him shake his head and smile. “And I think you’re very innocent, regardless of what you think”.

Ciel looked at her for a long while, finding strange comfort in her words. It wasn’t necessarily a compliment, but rather a fond observation he was unaware she’d been making. Years in the making, he’d bet. He knew too that partially he was being taunted back, but did not mind. “What about the whole domestication part? Do you think that’s accurate too?”. He asked, disguising his need for confirmation as playful banter.

Her eyes narrowed again as she considered her reply. She saw right through the disguise. Normally she would gush over him, tell him that he’s a fantastic husband and even more reliable partner, and to never question it. Deeply, she still believed all that to be true, but chose a different response instead. “I do, but I’m more than content to just exist with you. There’s really nothing else I’d ask for in this life”. 

So, they returned back to their manor and their bed, no longer restless. Still hot, but definitely not restless.