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Clementine watched the snow-covered countryside race past outside as the sun set over the distant mountains. Yesterday felt like a blur; he found himself wondering if it had actually happened—if they had freed Elliot. It was a little strange not hearing his voice or seeing him sitting with Mathew and Mavis at the table beside them. But he was free, and Clementine was content with that fact.
He yawned quietly, his eyes getting heavier and heavier the longer he tried to keep them open. He'd become so tired that every time he caught himself dozing off and woke, he took a moment to remember that he was on the train back to Aldergrove. And in no more than two days, he'd be hunting the last of the Ravenblood.
His allies seemed just as fatigued, and a certain sadness lingered in the air. Sebastien was sleeping in the seat across the table from him, Mathew was reading one of his law studies books, and Mavis had started playing cards by herself.
Clementine sighed quietly, resting his arms on the table. He hadn't had time to find a doctor that might be able to tell him how long he had left, but he was beginning to lean closer to his suggestion that it was probably best he didn't find out.
As the train jolted and creaked, he set his eyes on Sebastien. Before Elliot had interrupted, Sebastien had told Clementine he needed to tell him something. He hadn't forgotten, and now that they were on their way back, he felt it might be a good time to ask him what he was going to say. But Sebastien was asleep, and when he thought about waking him up, he felt hesitant. They had two more days of their three-day journey ahead of them; should he wait until tomorrow?
No. He didn't want to wait.
"Sebastien," he mumbled quietly, nudging his leg under the table with his foot.
Sebastien murmured irritably.
"Wake up."
With an aggravated sigh, Sebastien opened his eyes and glared across the table at him.
"What were you gonna tell me? Yesterday before Elliot came in to tell us dinner was ready."
The white-haired kid frowned. "What?"
"Yesterday...you asked me if I wanted to do anything else before I die, and then you told me that you needed to tell me something and made me promise not to freak out."
"Did I?" he asked, a confused tone in his voice, but Clementine knew it was fake.
"Yeah, you did. What did you wanna tell me?"
He shrugged, shuffling around in his seat. "I don't remember."
Clementine frowned impatiently. "Why do you complain so much about me lying, but when you do it, it's okay?"
Sebastien sighed deeply as a look of hesitation claimed his irritated glare. He seemed to ponder for a few moments, and when he looked over at Clementine, he adorned something of an anxious frown. "I don't wanna tell you here," he mumbled, glancing over at Mathew and Mavis. "Can we go in one of the rooms?"
"Yeah."
Then, as Sebastien got up, Clementine followed him past Mathew and Mavis, whom they told they were just going to bed. The pair headed into their room, shut the door, and sat on the edge of Clementine's bed.
A stiff silence ensnared them both for a few moments. Clementine waited for Sebastien to start, but as the silence ticked on, he looked over at him and frowned expectantly.
"So...what is it?"
Slowly, Sebastien turned his head to face him. "I just..." he paused and sighed, shaking his head as he looked down at his lap. "I don't know."
"Tell me," Clementine implored quietly.
"I just..." he uttered, lifting his head to look at him. "It's just what I said the other day. I kinda really care about you—I don't know how or why it happened, but I started feeling sort of...protective. I wanna be around you all the time and not just because of our arrangement." He looked down at his lap as a dismayed scowl started making its way onto his face. "I don't...want you to go," he uttered through gritted teeth.
Clementine frowned sullenly as pain shot through his chest. He felt something similar—he wanted Sebastien around, he cared—of course he did, and he didn't want to leave just yet. But nothing was going to change that. Nothing would grant him more time to spend with Sebastien. All they could do was make the most of however long Clementine had left.
"I feel that way too," he admitted, looking down at his hands as he rested them in his lap. "But we both know how this is gonna end. There's nothing we can do."
"It doesn't make sense," he exclaimed, staring at him.
"What doesn't make sense?"
"Everything. It's supposed to be forever."
Clementine frowned in confusion. "What's supposed to be forever?"
He shook his head and hung it, hiding the anguished look that had taken hold of it.
"What's supposed to be forever, Sebastien?"
Sebastien started breathing a little faster, clearly trying to hold back tears. What could have him so upset that he was almost crying? Clementine's confusion grew, but seeing Sebastien so tormented made him sad, too. He moved his hand over his and stared at what he could see of the side of his face.
"I...did something," Sebastien uttered.
Clementine wasn't sure whether to feel curious or worried. So, he waited for him to continue.
"I didn't mean to do it—no one ever means to do it. It sorta just...happens on its own."
"What does?"
Sebastien stared at him. "I...imprinted...on you."
"You what?"
"Imprinted," he repeated quietly, a slight stutter in his voice. "On you."
At first, Clementine had no idea what he was talking about. But just as he was about to ask for an explanation, he remembered Elliot had mentioned that word when he'd been telling them how to identify demons. Elliot had told him demons imprinted on the person they wanted to be with...forever. And the moment he remembered that, everything started to make more sense. Sebastien pretty much ticked most of the boxes Elliot had listed for identifying a demon. He smelt a little like sulphur beneath his cinnamon-scented cologne; the boy growled and snarled a lot, he was rude, sometimes grouchy, and that might explain why he could do the things he did, such as taking three opponents on at once and disappearing without a trace. The only thing that didn't add up was the fact Sebastien didn't hang out with a group—he didn't seem to have a pack of demons. Was he rogue?
Realizing he'd been silent for a little too long, he frowned and looked down at the floor. Now that he wasn't pondering, sadness began to weigh down on him. "Why?" he mumbled.
"I didn't do it on purpose," Sebastien muttered. "It just happens. Like fate or something stupid."
"That's not stupid."
"Yeah, it is. You're dying—that's not forever. You're meant to be with the one you imprint on forever," he uttered despondently.
Clementine didn't really know what to say. His heart was aching and he could feel Sebastien's hand trembling beneath his. He didn't know very much about demons at all, but it was evident from Sebastien's reaction that this imprint thing was a big deal. "Can't you just...take it back?"
He shook his head, staring down at his lap.
"Well...are you sure it happened? Maybe you just thought it happened."
Sebastien shook his head again. "It happened."
His sadness became harder to contain. He scowled sullenly, looking down at the floor. "Maybe...maybe it's my forever that we'll spend together." He slowly turned his head to look at Sebastien, and when their eyes met, he shrugged lightly. "I know it's not long, but maybe that's why it happened."
The despondent look on Sebastien's face didn't lift and the sadness lingering in his eyes seemed to deepen.
"So...I think we should make the most of however long I have left. We get rid of the Ravenblood, and then we can do whatever we want."
Sebastien mustered a weak smile. "Anything?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"So...will you let me take you on a date?"
Clementine felt a flurry of anxiousness slither through him. "I guess," he mumbled shyly.
"So...does that make us boyfriends?" he asked with a smirk.
Shrugging, Clementine looked away to try and hide his flustered face. "I guess it does."
Sebastien laughed quietly. "I knew you'd come around."
Clementine frowned, but as he looked at Sebastien, he smiled slightly. His sadness hadn't waned, but the happiness he found himself now feeling alleviated some of his despair. He may only have a short while left to live, but he was going to make the most of it.
With a quiet sigh, Sebastien lifted his hand and placed it on the side of Clementine's face. He didn't say anything, though. He just gazed at him.
"What?" Clementine mumbled shyly.
"Nothing," he said, smirking.
Clementine tried to turn his head away, but Sebastien placed his other hand and the opposite side of his face. Then, he pulled Clementine's face closer to his own and placed a single, soft kiss upon his lips.
He began to feel a little flustered again, but as he stared into Sebastien's golden eyes, he began to feel intrigued. "So...you're a demon?"
Sebastien nodded, dragging his hands down from Clementine's face, over his chest, and slipped them into Clementine's hands. "Yeah."
"How come you don't have a pack or anything?"
"I do, they're just not around."
"What do you mean? They're not at Aldergrove?"
"You could say that, yeah."
"Before the All-Hallows' Eve party—the night I went to get the death caps, I was hiding in the garden when these kids came through. I was under a bush so I didn't see their faces, but these guys had leathery feet with talons. They also smelled kinda like sulphur, which Elliot told me is a tell-tale sign someone is a demon. Are you...one of those?"
"Leathery feet?"
He nodded.
"No. That sounds like an asmodeus demon."
"What kind of demon are you?"
Sebastien shrugged, looking down at Clementine's hand as he dragged his fingers across his palm. "Just a demon—demon blooded, I guess. There's a bunch of demon species that are fully demon blooded, and then there are demons like me who have some demon blood and some whatever else blood. I don't know what my mom was, so I don't know what else I am. Doesn't really matter, though. All that matters in my family is my demon heritage."
Clementine didn't know anything about Sebastien's family and he was undeniably curious. "Do you have siblings or anything?"
"Nope, just me."
"Didn't you get lonely growing up?"
"Not really. There were other kids around that I could hang out with. I mostly just spent my time studying. I actually wanted to be a full-time detective when I was a kid, but my dad wanted me to get into law instead. He, his dad before him and so on were all lawyers, so they wanted to keep the family name going, I guess. But I get to do investigation around this place as part of my law studies, so...win-win, I guess."
"You grew up in Traeychester, right?"
"Yeah, but my dad was between there and the New World. I never got to see it, though. He always told me I'd have to earn the right to see it."
"Are you excited to go?"
Sebastien shrugged and looked down at their hands. "I don't know. All I know is that I wish you'd be coming with me."
Clementine's sadness began to outweigh his contentedness. "You'll still help Mathew and Mavis out, right?"
"Yeah," he said, looking into his eyes again. "But what do we tell them?"
"About what? Me dying?"
"Yeah."
"Well...you're handing me in, right? I don't think they'd accept your help if they knew it was you that got me expelled unless I tell them about the deal we made."
"It's up to you," Sebastien mumbled, looking away. "Either way, I'll do what I can to help them, even if I end up having to do it anonymously."
Clementine smiled. "Thank you."
"We gotta decide what we're doing about the Ravenblood first though, right?"
"Yeah. But we got two more days until we get back to Aldergrove, so we don't have to work it out right now. We can just enjoy a day or two more of not having to watch our backs."
Sebastien nodded and moved his right hand to the side of Clementine's neck. "Do you wanna stay in here or head back out there with Mathew and Mavis?"
He shrugged. "Up to you."
A smirk stretched across Sebastien's face again. Before Clementine could comprehend, the white-haired kid grabbed his shoulders and pinned him down on the bed. Clementine stared up at him in fluster, and as Sebastien leaned over him, he tried his best not to give in to his growing nervousness.
"I think I wanna stay in here and make out with my boyfriend," Sebastien said, grinning.
Clementine wasn't sure if he was going to get used to being called Sebastien's boyfriend—he'd only just gotten used to babe, which he felt he preferred over Clem. But he wasn't going to make a fuss about it. He'd grown to like Sebastien so much that he'd let him call him by whatever name or nickname he'd like.
He nodded nervously, and as Sebastien kissed his lips, he felt both flustered and content. Slowly, he moved his hand to the back of Sebastien's head and ran his fingers through his ashen hair. With each kiss, he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into the happiness Sebastien's affection made him feel. He pulled him closer so that their bodies were pressed against one another, and as the sun set behind the mountains, Clementine felt he couldn't imagine a better way for the day to come to its end.
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