“Ciel~!” The name was song on a note high enough to shatter glass. The said boy put his face in his hand, sighing in aggravation. He returned his gaze to her, feeling his suspicion grow when he noticed that she had her hands hidden behind her back. “Guess what I’ve got~?”
“I don’t have the time to be playing games, Miss Leblanc. I’ve got to finish this paper work,” He said, turning his head to narrow his one visible eye at the rather large stack of paperwork on his desk. “Now,” he added, pointing at the door. “If you’ll please.”
Mallory Leblanc puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. “Meanie! I was just trying to give you something sweet, but now you’ve changed my mind!”
Mallory Leblanc was the owner of a successful sweets franchise throughout the World. She adored the sweets, and loved to taunt the head of the Phantomhive family because of his distaste for overly sweet foods. She teased him about whenever she had the chance too. She would give him boxes of candy, sneak a piece of chewy caramel or a savory piece of chocolate the boy’s way. Ciel had seen so many different kinds of sweets from around the world that he could swear that he didn’t have to travel it. He couldn’t recall how many times she slipped over seven lumps of sugar into his Earl Grey Tea. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.
“That’s fine by me. You know I hate sweets.” Ciel reminded her, focusing back on the papers in front of him, mind returning to its business mindset.
“That’s so stupid, Ciel! Sweets are... well, sweet!” She protested, opening the box and picking up one of the many chocolates inside. “You can’t refuse something so delicious.”
“I will and I already did!” The aggravated child looked over at his butler. “Sebastian, please escort her out of here so I can finish!”
The butler sighed heavily, used to the antics that flew between the two. In the end, this was normally how everything ended, with Mallory sitting out in the hallway. Stepping over to the young Duchess, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The girl’s head snapped over to look at him, cheeks lighting up slightly. It was normal behavior for her; the butler always made her shy.
“Please, this way.” Sebastian led her out, ignoring her angry grumbles and scattered cursing. He opened the door for her and motioned for her to go out. He followed her out, closing the door quietly, as not to disturb his busy master.
“Great, what am I going to do with this now?” Mallory muttered, staring at the box in her hands. It felt somewhat heavy with all the different chocolates laying inside. Opening the box, she stared down at the candy that was nestled in all the different layers of tissue paper that decorated the insides of the container. Sebastian gazed over at her, smelling the light yet aromatic perfume that was clinging to her skin and dancing in the air around her. He enjoyed the scent; it was comforting in the least.
Before he could say a word about what she could do, Finny came speeding down the hallway.
“Miss Leblanc!” He cheered, coming to a stop in front of her. “You’re back!”
“Hi, Finny!” Mallory greeted him with a smile, cheering up. He hugged her softly, a wide smile forming on his face. To him, Mallory was a welcoming sigh of relief from both Ciel’s and Sebastian’s constant orders, (not like he really worked that hard, though). That and she usually brought sweets that were meant initially for Ciel, but because he always turned them down, she gave them to Finny to share with Bardroy, Mey-Rin, and Takana. Of course, there were many other reasons that she was liked, but it was always nice to have a pick-me-up piece of chocolate. “Lookie at what I’ve got!” She held up the box.
His eyes widened to the size of fine china dinner plates, sparkling. “For us?”
“Who else?”
“Yay!” He grinned, accepting the box from her. “Everyone will be so happy!”
“Come on, let’s go give them something sweet!”
“Yeah!”
The two ran off, skipping down the hallway. Sebastian watched them go, licking his lower lip. He wouldn’t mind having something sweet or even being asked. Actually, as he watched them go, he wished that she had offered him a piece of her handmade sweets. After all, he liked sweets...
~~~0-0~~~
“Miss Leblanc, you’re the best!” The three stated after receiving the sweet foods. It was funny to see how they ate it-- each of them did it differently. Bardroy downed his quickly, scarfing it down like it was the last edible thing on earth. Mey-Rin ate it moderately, as if trying to savor it. Finny ate it normally, not eating it too fast but not too slowly.
“How is it?” She asked casually, nervousness playing on her mind. She had actually been trying to communicate and befriend her employees more recently, and they have been showing her some secrets to making chocolate. Because she was still in the process of perfecting it, she was always nervous when someone ate the handmade candy. She could never tell if it was good or not...
“It’s delicious!” Finny piqued up, wiping his face.
“How did you learn to make chocolate this good?!” Bardroy asked, licking his fingers.
“I’m still learning, actually.” She informed him.
“Really? You’re already an expert to me! This chocolate is amazing!” Mey-Rin told her enthusiastically.
“You guys are being sweeter than the sweets themselves.” Mallory joked, popping a small caramel in her mouth and relishing in the taste. “And that’s saying something.”
“Oh, Miss Leblanc, I meant to ask,” Finny peered over at her. “How are things going with Sebastian?”
Mallory almost choked on the candy she was munching on. Looking over at him with a shock and flustered pink cheeks, she tried to get ahold of herself. “What-?!”
“Yeah, now that you mention it... How are things?” Mey-Rin chimed in.
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about!” Mallory stammered, looking away. “Not a clue!”
“Now, there’s no need to be so shy about it.” Bardroy said, draping an arm around her and giving her a nogie, messing up her brown locks. She pushed him off playfully, puffing her cheeks up more.
“Shy about what?” She argued, fixing her hair. “What’re are you guys talking about?”
“You and Sebastian, silly!” The three said in unison.
“Me... and Sebastian?!”
“Really... Are you that oblivious? Or are you just being stubborn?”
“I’d say oblivious?”
“Then do we have a story to tell you...”
~~~0-0~~~
Mallory walked through the halls in a daze. Thoughts buzzed around her head, provoking her confusion even more. Frowning to herself, she recalled the conversation that she had with the three the day before. She still couldn’t believe them, it didn’t seem possible to her. Shifting the heart-shaped box in her hands, she had the vague feeling that reminded her of Valentines’ Day. Even though it was months away, the box sure set the mood like it would have on the lovers’ holiday.
Still, she knew that today these chocolates weren’t for the head of the Phantomhive family. These sweets were to go to someone else intentionally for once. A special someone.
“Lady Leblanc?”
Speak of the devil.
She turned and planted a smile on her face, but the pink that tinted her cheeks was inevitable when she saw those red eyes make contact with hers. Looking down, she muttered something incomprehensible.
“I beg your pardon?”
She puffed her cheeks out, feeling a little annoyed. How many times did she have to say it? Taking a deep breath, she repeated herself, louder this time.
“...For you.”
She thrust the box in his direction, keeping her head down. She was sure her cheeks were on fire by now, matching her red Victorian dress. He reached out and took it, not saying anything. After a moment of awkward silence, she glanced up at him. He was looking down at the box in his hands with not much of any kind of expression.
“Well,” she broke the silence. “Are you going to try one?”
“I will,” He answered, but then held up one finger. “On one condition.”
“What do you mean condition?”
He leaned down so that he could stare at her directly in the eyes. He stepped forward to her, and she instinctively bumped back into the door that led to one of the many random rooms that filled the mansion. When her back met the wood, a shiver raced through her like electricity. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. He smiled at her slightly fearful expression; he preferred to be the dominant one.
“You need to feed it to me.”
“W-what?!”
“You heard me,” He said, opening the box. Plucking out one of the handmade chocolates, he placed it gently in her hand. She gawked down at it like a natural wonder of the world before hesitantly picking it up with her other hand. Lifting it up, she reached out but stopped briefly, unsure if she was even doing it right. Then again, if she had time to argue whether or not any of this was going right or wrong, good or bad, or anything like it, then she might as well just do it. Sebastian didn’t say anything, but after a minute of non-stop hesitation, he grabbed her hand. Bringing the chocolate and the tips of her fingers to his lips, he heard her gasp when his tongue swiped across both the chocolate and her fingers. Not letting go of her wrist, she kept her eyes on him as he leaned forward, she closed her eyes.
Although what he did wasn’t what she was anticipating or expecting. As most girls trapped in this situation would think that their crush was leaning in for a kiss or something like that, but something else happened this instance. He had moved his head to put his lips by her ear.
“Open the door, Lady Leblanc,” He whispered seductively, tugging on her earlobe with his teeth. She reached behind her and fumbled with the knob, opening after twisting and turning it for a few seconds. With her back being pressed up against it firmly, she inevitably lost her balance when it opened. She stumbled back a few paces before falling gracefully onto her butt. She rubbed her head, shivers running down her spine when she heard the door slowly close behind her.
It felt weird being kissed by him. She enjoyed it, of course, but she didn’t think the butler even had feelings like these for anybody. It was all a little overwhelming... But, all thoughts were slowly pushed away when she felt wandering hands travel up her thigh. She gasped at his cold touch, allowing him the chance to slip his tongue in. She could taste the faintness of chocolate. A sweet, light taste. She had this taste in her mouth so many times before, but this time had topped all the others.
He pulled back but once, only to say one little thing whose double meaning set her head spinning.
“Give me sweets.”