Overpower Chapter 21 Finale

Agni was waiting anxiously by the door, hoping that Ciel and Sebastian would return safe and alive. He had had a false start when Grell had come in just after Ciel left, but it was good to have someone else in the house to prey for their safe return. Someone knocked on the door, and he ran to it and flung it open. The butler and his master were there, both covered in blood, and Sebastian quickly went into the kitchen and began first aid. Agni, panicked, said urgently, "Sebastian! You have blood around your mouth. Are you injured? Master Ciel! His neck is…" rushing as fast as his nature would let him, Sebastian answered curtly, "yes, I know about his neck. No, Agni, I am not injured. Get some water, as hot as you can." As he did so, Sebastian put his bare hand on Ciel's neck and healed it magically, saying as he used his bare hand to heal the wounds, "I will never forgive myself for this. It is too much." He heard Agni coming back, and said as he was handed steaming water, "Thank you, Agni. Go tell Soma what happened and help him get Ciel's room ready." When the man was gone, Sebastian put his own hand straight into the water and drew from the heat, healing the wounds with his other hand even faster. When he was done, the water was icy cold and Ciel still had not woken after passing out in Sebastian's arms the moment he was taken off his feet.

Grell had seen them come in, but he listened to his head rather than his heart, staying in the parlor to make sure he was not in the way. When he saw Agni go upstairs, he went down into the servant's quarters to see if he could help. He saw Sebastian in the kitchen, taking his hand from a water bowl and drying his hands on his jacket that was stained with blood. He cleared his throat and said as Sebastian looked at him, "Please let me help, Sebby. I'll do anything to make this easier for you." Though reluctant to leave Ciel, Sebastian knew he would not be of much use in stained and torn clothing. He said softly to Grell, "Watch Bocchan and keep him alive while I change. I will do so much worse than kill you if he dies." As the demon left, Grell carefully attended the boy on the counter, using a wet cloth to soak some of the blood out of his hair and monitoring his life force. It had weakened to a slim trickle, but the energy stream was still firmly anchored to his body, so he had no worries about the boy surviving. Sebastian returned and said to him as he lifted Ciel, "Thank you, Grell. Please, do something to help soma and Agni, they will be upset when they come downstairs." The redhead nodded and said supportively, "He'll be okay, Sebby. He won't leave you." The words seemed to have no effect, and as he left, the shinigami held himself and cried a little, glad that Sebastian had finally shown concern for someone, but deeply injured that it was not him.

Soma and Agni were making sure everything was ready for Ciel. Soma was busy picking books for Ciel to read while he recovered, while Agni was running a warm bath to help Sebastian remove the blood and filth from his master. He heard the door open just as he turned off the water, and Soma said in horror, "CIEL! Oh my, he is dead! AGNIIIIIIIIII!" His prince ran into the bathroom, eyes streaming and hair flying wildly as he clung to his servant and sobbed wildly. Holding him tight, Agni saw the other servant enter, Ciel now undressed but still glistening with scarlet. His lips were pale with traces of blue, but his chest was rising and falling shallowly, as if he was breathing in fire. Soothing the grieving prince, Agni said softly while Sebastian silently went about washing off the blood, "No, my prince. He is not dead, he is simply very weak and in pain. Master Ciel is very strong, so you should not be upset like this. He will recover as he always has." Though he put every ounce of confidence he had into the words, Agni was unsure if he was speaking the truth. The child in the bath was motionless, not even a flicker of the eyelids to signal that his body was not simply an empty shell. The water around him was stained the color of a rose, and Sebastian's face did not show any sign of hope or assurance. Knowing his friend as he did, Agni carefully guided Prince Soma away as he softly told him what he hoped were not lies.

Ciel remained unconscious, but Sebastian spoke softly to him as he lay him gently in the bed, "You should not have done that alone, Bocchan. Why did you not have Agni do this? He has fought me off before. He would not have been injured. How could you think you had a chance against my true form?" He pulled the covers up around Ciel and smoothed his hair, taking off the eye patch while he was at it. There was still nothing that pleased him more than seeing his master sleeping, but he couldn't enjoy the moment. He knew the earl would never forgive him, if he ever woke from his loss of blood. The butler stayed on his knees, resting his arms on the edge of the bed and watching Ciel breathing, to reassure himself that he hadn't erased the most important person in his life.

At two in the morning, Ciel opened his eyes. His neck was sore, but no longer searing, and he no longer felt blood spurting out of himself. He sighed, glad to be able to breathe, then he carefully turned his head. It stung as the damaged muscles worked, but he did see the rest of his bed and noticed he had an unexpected companion. Sebastian was dozing beside him, in a clean shirt and jacket, and he had a soft grip on his left hand. Ciel was surprised, but glad that his butler hadn't abandoned him. As he moved, Sebastian woke and sat up, saying gently, "Young master, are you alright? You lost so much blood, I was afraid we'd lost you." Not wanting to chance a dizzy spell, Ciel stayed down but gave him a sly smile, "I suppose you got into my bed to make sure I was still breathing." The uncomfortable butler looked down and said in shame, "I'm afraid it was nothing so helpful. I…I could not bring myself to leave. It was painful to me not to keep in contact with you." The look on his face spoke of how embarrassed he was, but Ciel didn't mind. He reached out and grabbed Sebastian's wrist, saying softly, "You don't think I felt the same that night you sent me away with Grell?" His normally composed butler let his surprise show and said in a slightly worried voice, "Are you certain you are fine? It is not like you to express your feelings so openly." Sitting up slowly, Ciel replied, "Sebastian, I almost lost you tonight and I have the right to tell you what that made me feel. You are more valuable to me than any idiotic pride." A soft smile slipped onto Sebastian's face as he replied, "Then forgive me for this, bocchan, but you are worth more than my pride as well." He gently pulled Ciel to him and held on, the boy hesitating for a minute before returning the embrace and shedding a few tears as he released the terror he'd felt when his neck had been bitten.

Unbeknownst to them, the door had opened a few moments ago, and Prince Soma suddenly jumped onto the bed and hugged Ciel from behind as he said, "CIEL! YOU'RE ALIVE! Let us all hug! Join us, Agni!" The reluctant servant joined slowly, taking his prince and Ciel into his arms. Grell, determined to be just as excited as ever, burst into the room as well and said, "Make way for the lady!" He put his right arm around Ciel's shoulder and hooked his left around Sebastian's waist, resting his head in the crook of the butler's neck. Though he struggled, Ciel really enjoyed the feeling of being locked safely in the arms of people who loved him, and especially the gentle, sweet embrace of Sebastian, the one being who truly knew his heart. Sebastian, though annoyed at the interruption, saw the happy tears on Soma's face, the bright smile Agni directed at them all, and the surprising calm Grell had achieved for their sake. He enjoyed being part of a family of sorts, and he loved that Ciel had admitted their closeness. The two of them, master and servant, simply accepted the two intruders, but held each other all the tighter, expressing their love silently.