#jerron

“Happy birthday, little kiddo.” Ronald approaches the child from behind, once the crowd disperses. His fiancee has left his side to fetch him a drink. The reaper almost laughs at the sight of twin tails flowing to the child’s movement, swirling in the air when the kid turns to face his guest. This should entertain him while he waits. Besides, he could discretely ask the little earl about where a certain demon is.

There is little fire in the kid’s good eye the moment he’s gazed into Ronald’s yellow-green ones. The reaper smirks at him defiantly, grins widely—fangs visible—when the boy curtseys. Way to be in character. “Why, thank you, Mr. Knox.” The child says in humbled tone, afterwhich, he quickly drops the act, crossing arms in front of his chest once he stands up straight, eyebrow raised. He stands tall, proud, despite his small stature. Or perhaps it’s the heels. “Nice of you to come now that you’re actually invited.”

Yikes. What an uncute kid. What does the demon see in /this/? “Well, thanks for inviting me, kiddo.”

“I hadn’t.” The kid’s frown deepens. “Your thanks must go to my fiancee.”

“Ah, the cute blonde girl.”

The kid’s eye narrows in suspicion. “Don’t you dare lay your hands on her—“

“Oh, I wouldn’t even dream of it, kiddo.” Ronald laughs mockingly, taking a sip of his drink before he speaks once more, wicked smirk pulling his lips. “I’ve got my eyes set on only /one/ blonde, after all.”

The kid’s eyes seem to flicker with more fire, more anger, yet he’s not even a demon. Has Sebastian trained him this way? Speaking emotion through the eyes than action or words. “Are we discussing this matter, here and now?”

“Nah. I wouldn’t want to ruin your night.” The reaper shrugs his shoulders, his tone hinting how he knows they both know nothing could ever make the kid’s night worse than it already is. He /loves/ how the kid seems to shiver in anger then. From over the kid’s little hat nestled upon one of his pigtails, Ronald sees his fiancee coming back with two drinks on a tray in hand. “Besides, I don’t think we’d have the time to.”

“Ciel~” Elizabeth squeals the moment she comes back, glomping him from behind, but keeping the glasses balanced on a tray on one hand. “I got you some drinks~”

“Th-thank you, Lizzie.” The child smiles, polite. Ronald drinks with him, noting how similar the child’s polite smile is to Sebastian’s. “Elizabeth, I’m afraid I hadn’t formally introduced you. This is Ronald Knox. Mr. Knox, this is my fiancee, Elizabeth.”

“OH!!!” Elizabeth gasps sharply, then shortly bounces in place, the frills on her suit dancing. “I hadn’t noticed due to the make up you wear. You are Mr. Knox!!”

“It’s nice to see you again, little lady.” The reaper offers his free hand, waits for her to put her gloved hand in his, and kisses the back of it. He hears the child beside them hiss softly. “I hear it’s thanks to you I’ve been invited here tonight. I offer my thanks.”

“Oh, it is nothing, Mr. Knox! I’m simply happy you can be here with Finny.” The twitch in the child’s eye is remarkably delightful.

“Good that you mention that, little lady. Have you seen him around?”

“Wasn’t he with Master Phipps?” The child says, curtly. Ronald finds it funny how the child says it, trying to stir anger in him. Oh, how little the little kid knows. That simply won’t work on him anymore. (And all the more does Ronald realize how similar this kid is to his butler, that this child tries to lure Ronald into anger with the use of Charles. Sebastian used to do the same.)

“I am not sure where they had gone, but I do know they will be back to reunite with you in a short while. I am certain they both have missed you plenty.” Elizabeth beams at him. Ronald smiles in turn, happy she seems to know much more about their situation than the little lord here.

“Thank you. Well then, I’ll leave you two alone.” He bows courteously at both of them, then lifts his empty glass to the child. “Once more, happy birthday, kiddo.” He pats the top of the child’s head just to spite him, then walks to the drinks table once more, planning to take his third glass.

Damn. Ronald missed the chance to ask about the demon. Where in this mansion could he ever find him? In the past times the reaper had been at the mansion, it had been so simple for him to see the demon. Why was that? He realizes now it’s always been the demon that finds him, that seeks him. Normally, Ronald would be surprised that the demon was already standing right beside him, so why? Why won’t Sebastian come to his side tonight?

“You seem troubled, kind sir.” says someone directly unto Ronald’s right ear, warm breath filling his ears as the other person’s nose touches his hair.

His head jolts to look at the person beside him, eyes wide in shock, surprised that someone he didn’t know would dare lean in so close.

/Oh great/, Ronald sees it’s just the old man again, smiling at him as he’s still bent down in the way he’d whispered in the reaper’s ear. Ronald deliberately rolls his eyes at him, ends it with a glare.

“You’ve been standing there for quite a while now. Are you or are you not getting another glass?” The old man lifts a glass to him.

“Not to be rude, sir, but it’s just not your damn business.” Ronald sighs heavily. He takes a different glass from the table and drinks its contents in one go. He’s suddenly not in the mood, granted this stranger keeps approaching him like a magnet, and he can’t locate any of his lovers. He hopes Finnian and Charles would come back soon. He needs a breath of fresh air, a moment to recharge. A kiss or two would do great.

“My, my. People these days have such a way with words.”

Ronald laughs, remembering how Sebastian used to scold him and his use of language. “That just means you gotta keep up with times, old man.”

The other furrows his brows, much like when they first met that night. “Old man? Do I appear that old to you?”

“Uhm,” Ronald tries pressing his lips together, but finds that he can’t due to his fake teeth. He settles to bite down on his lip instead. “Do you want me to be brutally honest or really polite?”

“I shall take the truth.”

“Yes, sir. I’d say you look your age. No offence. Maybe.”

The other frowns. “I am rather young, I’ll have you know.”

“Ah, sorry, sir. Do you mean you’re in your 20’s now and not, like, 50 years ago?”

“No, in actuality, I’m—”

“MR. JEREMIAH?” blasts in both their ears, pausing their conversation. Finnian rushes over to them, hugging Ronald tightly. The reaper doesn’t realize how close he and the old man had been standing near each other until Finnian had to pull him away. “Mr. Jeremiah, you are here!”

The old man smiles kindly at Finnian. “The name is Jeremy. Not Jeremiah.”

“Ah, right! Mr. Jeremy!” Finnian giggles. He bows, hands to his knees. “Thank you so much for your help before!”

/Hmm? Finnian is acquainted with this old man?/ Ronald ponders. It is then that a hand touches the small of Ronald’s back. He turns his head to see Charles is back as well, whispering a soft, “Sorry we took a while, Ronald.”

Ronald smiles in return, simply happy to have his loves back with him.

“I do not mind. It quite alleviated my boredom at the time.” says the old man. His smile never falls from his lips.

“How do you know him, Finny?” Charles asks.

Finnian explains, turning around and looking up at both his lovers. “We met him when Mr. Snake’s Charles and some other people came for a sleepover. There was this /really/ terrible storm, and we got stuck inside here. We were really in trouble back then, you know! Mr. Snake’s Charles ate up all the food, and we thought there was no food left and that we would starve” Tears threaten to come out of his precious angel’s eyes at the memory.

“I apologize for my cohort’s behavior, and inconveniences he had caused you, Finny. You, too, Mr. Jeremy.” Charles bows low.

The old man bows slightly, shaking his head as a polite response.

“It’s thanks to Mr. Jeremy, we made food and survived! He’s also really smart!! He solved the mystery!”

No food? A mystery? Seemed like a pretty complicated sleepover. Was this all before Ronald ever met his precious angel?

“Ah, as much as I’d like to continue reminiscing such memories with you, I believe the host is calling for me.” The old man points to the sofa, where the little earl sits, glaring at their direction. His fiancee sits beside him, talking jovially with a long-haired blonde and a dark-haired teen that sits across them. “Have a pleasant evening, gentlemen.”

“Likewise.” Charles nods his head as goodbye.

“Okay, see you later, Mr. Jeremy!” Finnian waves both his hands.

Ronald and Jeremy look each other in the eye before the old man walks away. Once he’s gone, the reaper shakes his shoulders, shaking away the uncomfortable feeling. What a creepy old man.

***

The reaper excuses himself from his two lovers, saying he’d be going to the toilet, but really, he’s headed for the kitchen to look for Sebastian. If the reaper hasn’t seen him all night to serve guests, then Ronald’s sure he’s busy at the kitchen, preparing food. (The reaper doesn’t question that Bardroy isn’t the one doing this, despite being the chef. He remembers one of the times he visited, Bardroy tried to prepare lunch for them, and the kitchen ended up filled with smoke. Sebastian had come in just in time to fix the problem.)

As he heads out into the hall, he wonders about what his lover told him earlier that night. It seems that creepy old man, Jeremy, is a pastor. Strange. He sure isn’t acting very priest-like. (Such is the world, it seems. Corrupt and menacingly savage.) Just remembering how the old man kept leaning toward him makes him tremble, uncomfortable. He closes his eyes for a moment, shaking the thoughts away. That’s when he bumps into someone. Funny, he doesn’t remember seeing anyone else outside the hall.

“Ah, sorry about that. I hadn’t noticed you were— Geh.” Ronald’s face shifts from apologetic to utter disappointment. What tough luck he has tonight, bumping into this priest for the third time. “You again?”

The old man simply smiles at him, hands clasped together. “Good to see you again, Ronald.”

Yikes. He knows his name. “How do you know my name?”

“I heard the jester from earlier whisper your name.”

Ronald frowns deeply, scrunching his nose in disgust as he takes a step backward. “You’re really creepy. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“I prefer the term observant.”

“Nope. Creepy. Just creepy.” The reaper nods in agreement to himself as he starts to walk away. “Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go—”

“Hold on.” Ronald’s movement is stopped by a grip on his wrist, turning him around to face Jeremy once more. Ronald looks down at his wrist, wondering how this man is too strong for his age. Or for his kind.

The reaper looks up at the other. “What is it? I’m in a hurry.”

The old man simply smiles at him, and points upward. “We’re under a mistletoe.”

Ronald tilts his head to look upward, and sees that there is, indeed, a mistletoe. Since when has that been there? He shifts his gaze back down to the old man, who looks expectant. What? Does this old man think they should kiss? What the actual fuck?

“Uhm, thanks, but no thanks to whatever you’re implying. I’d like to keep my dignity. Bye.” Ronald tries to pull away, but to no avail. That even a reaper can’t escape his grip, what /is/ he? He looks the other in the eye, teeth clenched, tone flat. “Let go of me.”

“And if I do not? Not until you kiss me, that is.” The old man has the nerve to smile as if he’s the most holy man in the world. Ronald wants to punch his face. “It is merely a kiss, Ronald.”

“Yeah, and you’re pretty forceful about it, Mr. Priest.”

The old man opens his mouth to reply, but he gets cut off by the door opening, giving way for two men to exit the room. One looks incredibly inebriated, cheeks flushed and unable to walk properly. The other assists him.

“Ahh, Agni-kun, Agni-kun, look!” The drunk man, hanging unto the support’s shoulder, points at Jeremy and Ronald. “They’re under the mistletoe.”

“They are, indeed.”

“Aren’t you two going to kiss?” The drunk man elongates the ‘i’ of ‘kiss’ as if in sing-song, and then starts laughing loudly as the three other men watch him uncomfortably. “Just like this.” To demonstrate, the drunk man turns to face his support, stands on tip toe and kisses his support’s cheek. He falls backward right after, laughing as he does, but thankfully his support catches him.

“Oh, what shall I do with you?” The supporter sighs as he carries the fallen man over to the bottom of the staircase. The support leaves him to sit against the railing, and then walks toward Ronald and Jeremy, who still grips Ronald’s wrist. “Mr. Jeremy,” The man called Agni peels finger after finger off Ronald’s wrist to pull the pastor’s grip off him. “I ask that you not be rough with other guests. Master Ciel wouldn’t want that, I’m sure.”

“Of course. My apologies, Mr. Agni. I had not meant to hurt him, I assure you.” The pastor bows.

“Ok, good.” The Indian smiles, trusting the older man’s words. “I must take Master Lau to his quarters. Please address your issues by peacefully talking them over.” He bows to them, hands in prayer, and carries the drunk man in his arms to take him to his room.

Ronald doesn’t stay to watch them walk up the stairs. He takes the chance to escape Jeremy instead. The priest, however, gives him no space to escape, for once Ronald is about to dash for the kitchen, Jeremy is once again right in front of him.

The reaper groans, frustrated. “What the hell do you want from me?”

“A simple kiss is what I ask. Is there not a legend about how, if you not kiss underneath a mistletoe it would bring bad luck to your loved ones?”

“Don’t think so, old man. There is no way in fucking hell I’m gonna kiss you. Now, move.”

The other looks appalled. “You make it seem like it is the worst idea in all of time to kiss me.”

“Uhm, it sorta is, yeah. Glad the message gets across.”

Ronald tries to squeeze in the space on the other’s left, but gets blocked. He tries the other side. Blocked again.

“Ugh, what is it with you?”

“Simply let me kiss your cheek, then I will be on my way.”

Ronald sighs, exhausted with this little charade. He lets the priest win this round. “Fine. But just on the cheek, and after this— Don’t. Bother me. Again. Got it?”

“That sounds fair.” The old man nods in agreement.

“Ok, here.” Ronald offers his cheek for the other to kiss.

Ronald does not expect that because of this one kiss, he would stop getting creeped out by the man’s advances. It’s like a spell had been cast over him. The way Jeremy holds his chin gently, ultimately kind. The way Jeremy’s hand slides smoothly down his arm. The sincere look in Jeremy’s eyes, as well as the softness of his lips, the warmth of his breath—they all felt so good, Ronald can’t help but shy away from him in embarrassment.

“There is that, then.” The old man claps his hands once the kiss is done. Ronald catches himself thinking he wanted more. “I hope no bad luck comes to you and your lovers.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Ronald replies absent-mindedly, unable to tear his eyes away from chestnut, which he swears for a moment is crimson. (But that can’t be possible. He isn’t Sebastian, after all.)

Jeremy steps aside to let Ronald be on his way to the kitchen, and makes his way back to the room where other guests are. Before the reaper could take his first step forward, however, he watches after the old man’s retreating back, feeling somewhat disappointed he only received one kiss.

Ronald mentally slaps himself, shakes his head to clear his thoughts. No, no, no, Ronald. You’re not falling for an old geezer like that. Nope. He reaffirms his focus. Right now, he’s going to look for Sebastian in the kitchen, then rush quickly back to his lovers’ sides.

However, Ronald doesn’t find the demon. Not in the kitchen, not in the garden. Where in this manor could one demon be?

***

Ronald sits on a couch with Charles now, with space left between them where Finnian was seated. Bardroy took him away for some light chores. The two of them are simply talking when, in the corner of Ronald’s eye, he sees /him/. Finally. After how many hours that night.

The reaper can only see his back, leaning over the table as he (from what Ronald infers) refills food unto the table. Ronald would recognize the back of that head, the gorgeous lines of that body, and the graceful fall of those suit tails from anywhere. He’s sure. It’s Sebastian.

“Excuse me, Charles.” He says, but before he could even finish the sentence, he’s already a few steps away from the jester.

The reaper rushes over to the table he’d seen the demon, his cloak flowing in graceful waves to his speed. He goes at the fastest he could manage, afraid that this illusion would disappear before he has the chance to prove it was real. Ronald would ram against him if he could, crash into Sebastian and catch him before he runs away. The reaper has missed him /that/ much, damn it. Never mind if Charles sees him rush towards the demon, or if he attracts the attention of other people. Ronald can make excuses later on. What was more important to him, at that moment, is to to meet Sebastian, feel his body against his, and ask him: Where the hell have you been this entire evening you damned, damned demon?

Alas, when Ronald gets to the table, no one is there, but the creepy old man, about to place a piece of cupcake unto his plate.

The old man smiles at him. “We seem to meet at the food or drinks table often, hmm?”

Ronald rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. He feigns disinterest, but he is a little bit delighted to see Jeremy here, at least. “Are you sure you aren’t just timing your taking food from the table to when I’m here, too? I thought you said you wouldn’t bother me anymore.”

“I was here first, no?”

“You got a point there.” He looks away, wondering if he should walk back to where he expects Charles still sits. His feet stay in place, however. His cheek feels warm where he remembers Jeremy kissed him.

“And— Am I bothering you?”

“N-no…” Ronald looks at the food set on the table, pretending he’s more interested in browsing than observing Jeremy walk over to his side. He clears his throat. “Uhm, hey, was the butler just here?”

Ronald isn’t able to tell, but the man’s eyes flicker crimson beneath chestnut. The pastor’s smile widens by a mere millimeter. “Why do you ask? Are you looking for him?”

The reaper notices now that they’re side to side, arms brushing as Jeremy chooses what else he would put unto his plate. The reaper leans into the touch.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask for more of those cupcakes.” Ronald points to the one cupcake currently on the pastor’s plate.

The man chuckles. What a lovely sound. It reminds Ronald of someone else’s laughter, a pitch higher than this man’s, but Ronald can’t pinpoint whose laughter it is.

“Good thing they’ve just been refilled then. Would you like some?” Jeremy whispers his last sentence into Ronald’s ear, his free arm winding underneath Ronald’s cloak, and around Ronald’s hips. His hand offers a plate of cupcakes. Ronald bites his lip, fangs piercing his skin, though not breaking it. He controls himself, resists the urge to kiss the old man on the cheek.

When they hear the ring of jester bells coming closer, Ronald quickly takes the plate of cupcakes. The old man chuckles.

“I shall see you again later.” whispers the old man, then walks away.

“What’s wrong, Ronald?” Charles says when he’s finally beside his lover. “You rushed to the table so fast.”

“Ah,” Ronald laughs, hearing the awkward in his own voice. “I saw the butler bring out these cupcakes. They looked /really/ good.”

“I had not known you like sweets with such fervor.”

“Yeah. I was inhaling these cupcakes like a drug last time, too. At the ball.”

“Were there any such cupcakes?”

“Yeah.” Ronald isn’t really sure if there were, but the lies come out without him thinking.

“Hmm, it seems I do not recall properly.” Charles leans down, bringing his face closer to the reaper’s. It makes Ronald’s heart beat fast—not from the way he still feels Jeremy stares at him, but to the lack of distance between him and Charles. Or perhaps, both. “I shall bake cupcakes for you next time you come visit.”

“Sounds good.”

“Let’s head back to the sofa. Finny might come back soon and start looking for us.”

“Okay.”

As they walk away from the table, Ronald continues to feel the pierce of Jeremy’s gaze on his back. And he delights in it.

***

The three of them are on the way to the billiards room when Ronald excuses himself. The birthday boy had retired from the party around an hour ago. Ronald thinks that if there is ever any chance of him finding Sebastian tonight, it is now, with the child laid to rest for the night, and few people left awake to serve. Besides, this may be his last chance to search before he and his two lovers retire for the evening as well.

“You two go on ahead. I wanna eat a little bit more. I’ll catch up to you.” He waves at them, standing in place as he watches the two walk forward. Charles, in particular, looks troubled that Ronald is staying.

“Are you sure? We could wait for you to finish.”

“I’ll be fine, Charles. Don’t worry about it.” Ronald laughs, hopes it shakes them away. “I’ll be with you in like, 15 minutes.”

“Okay, Ronald!” Finnian agrees happily, then starts pulling the tallest deeper into the hall. “We’ll see you later. Come on, Charles!”

Ronald doesn’t move from his place until he’s sure the two are out of sight. He says a quiet sorry, feeling guilty that he still seeks the demon when he’s had such a blast with his two loves the entire evening. But is that so wrong? Wanting to spend time with each of them three?

He takes one step towards his destination, and he’s already stopped in place. Before him, yet again, stands Jeremy Rathbone.

“You sure always come up when I end up alone.”

The pastor chuckles unto his hand before crossing his arms in front of him, looking proud. “I make sure to never miss a chance.”

“So you really /have/ been watching me all night?” Ronald starts walking to the kitchen, the pastor following suit.

“Indeed, I have.”

Ronald laughs, softly. “You really are a stalker.”

“Again I must stress. I am merely observant.”

“Stalker-level observant. Yep.”

“… You will not prevent me from following you?”

“Nope. You go do whatever you want.”

The moments pass in silence until they get to the kitchen. Ronald checks the hall that leads to the servant bedrooms, checks the closets and the toilet there, even, but still no sign of Sebastian. What’s with that? Has Sebastian been hiding this entire time? Why hasn’t he appeared the entire night? Ronald tries not to mull over how it was Sebastian that asked him to sleep over, and promised Ronald he need not worry about the little kid tonight, yet tonight has come, Ronald never had the chance to see his face—little kid or none.

“Ugh, I’m so done.” Ronald shouts to the ceiling as he closes the closet he’d just checked.

“What’s wrong?” asks the pastor, voice laced with concern.

Ronald turns around to lean against the door of the closet he just checked, the one where linen is kept, where he once took clean towels for Finnian during their garden date, the door against Sebastian had once taken him in the span of ten minutes. He checks his watch, thirteen minutes left until he has to go back to Charles and Finnian. He’ll have to collect himself from disappointment in the remaining time.

“Are you still looking for that butler?”

The reaper sighs, looking down at his feet. His hands are laced behind him, and he lets his buttocks rest on them. “Yeap. Can’t believe I’m stupid enough to keep searching. Clearly, he doesn’t want to see my face tonight.”

If Ronald looked up, he would see the pastor frowning. It remains unnoticed. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Well, I’ve looked for him /everywhere/, and he doesn’t have the nerve to show his face. I’ve had enough!” Ronald slams his fist against the door, then sighs once more. “To think he’d typically be the one following me around.”

“If I may suggest?”

“What?”

“Perhaps you only need to look at it from a different angle.”

Ronald looks up at the old man then, pushing his glasses up as he does. There’s a certain look in the man’s eyes that Ronald can’t exactly place what.

The pastor chuckles. “There is nothing more deceptive than obvious fact, you see.”

Ronald takes a moment to ponder over these words, but they simply don’t click. He sighs, frowning. “I don’t get what you’re saying.” He looks down at his watch. Twelve minutes left. Might as well get out of here, and spend time with his two loves who wouldn’t dare hide from him, would always want to spend time with him. “Guess I should go.”

The pastor blocks his path with his arm, pins him against the door as he leans closer to the reaper. “Please don’t. Please stay with me a while more, Ronald.”

That tone of voice stirs heat in Ronald. He delights in the neediness of the other’s voice, filling in the hole of deprivation Sebastian had left in him. He clears his throat, laughing softly after. “Can’t get enough of me, Reverend Jeremy?”

“Truthfully, I—” The pastor licks his lips, leans in closer to Ronald so their lips may hover. “I have hungered for you the entire evening, Ronald. Every second that passed, I wanted to consume you.”

“P-please don’t… Don’t say such things. And stop calling me that way.” The reaper blushes, shrinks between the other man’s arms, folds into himself. He feels a sweet jolt start from his ears, go down his spine and unto his groin, awakening his need. For a pastor, his voice is damn sinful.

“Hmm? Do you not like it?” The old man presses his mouth harder against Ronald’s ear, licking the shell of it before whispering softly, voice hoarse. “/Ronald/.”

Ronald’s mouth drops open for a moan, eyes shutting tight as Jeremy kisses him behind his ear, right in the spot he loves getting kissed. He shakes to the pleasure of it, body melting into weakness. He grips the other’s arm for support. /Fuck. So muscular./ “J-Jeremy…”

“Do you mind if I—” The pastor pulls away a little, giving him enough distance to see both of Ronald’s eyes through the lens of his glasses. He clears his throat, changing his words. “Would you allow me to take you?”

Ronald almost says yes, but realizes perhaps they shouldn’t engage in such acts here in the kitchen. “Wait— Would you really fuck me here? Someone could see!”

“Then please tell me, do we have time to change location?”

Ronald checks the time. “Good point. Okay, we’ve got eleven minutes.” He grins. “Is that enough time for us to enjoy, Reverend?”

The pastor smiles wickedly in turn. “Seems good enough.”

By the next minute, Ronald is standing thick and proud in the pastor’s hand. His cock leaks drops of come, which the pastor swipes with his free hand’s thumb. Jeremy takes it into his mouth, sucking the thick liquid off, all the while never breaking eye contact with Ronald.

“A-aren’t you going—” Ronald stops between breaths, shoulders heaving. “—to remove your gloves?”

The pastor smiles against the reaper’s cheek before he presses a kiss unto it. “No.”

Ronald huffs, disappointed. He wants to feel the other’s skin against his. “That’s just like— That’s just like Sebastian. Ah, /fuck/.” He leans his head backward, presses it against the door as he bucks his hips unto the pastor’s hand. He closes his eyes, lets himself get lost in the pleasure, but finds the friction isn’t quite enough. He lowers his head, looks into the pastor’s eyes. “Hey, can I—” He stops, rethinking how embarrassing a request this is, but he lets the question go anyway. “Can I see your body?”

The pastor smirks wickedly. He gradually stops stroking Ronald, and starts to undress himself. Ronald watches his graceful movement, how quick his fingers undo buttons, how charmingly he pulls off his tie. When the old man pulls his shirt open to reveal the gorgeously sculpted body beneath, Ronald’s mouth drops open. This is so /not/ the body of an old man.

“Will this do?” Jeremy asks against Ronald’s lips before claiming them, their tongues swirling between. Ronald should be conscious of how his lipstick, red as can be, runs pink against his face’s paled complexion, how the red’s stain on fair make up would prove hard to remove, which meant it would be difficult to remove the evidence of his betrayal. None of it occurs to him. All he wants, all that fills his mind, is this (strangely) delicious old man, his strong hands, his fierce tongue, his beautiful body.

“Yes,” Ronald moans into the other’s mouth, fogging up his glasses with his heated breath. Instead of his eyes, he observes the other’s body with his hands, roaming over flexed abdominals, pressing against pectorals, pinching perk nipples. (He adores the tiny yelp that escapes the other’s lips when he does that.) Fuck, Jeremy feels so /good/. And so familiar, like Ronald already knows his body.

The reaper’s train of thought, however, gets lost as it is muddled by the pleasure of Jeremy’s hands working on him. One hand continues to stroke him, while the other plays with his sac. He lets out a rather loud moan when the other squeezes him at the right moment, body shivering as if he’s about to come, but the high doesn’t arrive just yet. Jeremy stops his hands just before Ronald reaches his peak.

“Ugh, fuck you.” Ronald says as crisply as he could. “Make me come, god damn it.”

The pastor chuckles, presses a kiss against the other’s cheek. “You never better your vocabulary, do you?”

The line rings a bell in Ronald’s ears, but his attention is caught by hands leaving his arousal to cup his buttocks.

“How much time do we have left?”

Ronald checks the time. “Seven minutes?”

“Hmm. Given that you still need to walk all the way to where your lovers are—” Jeremy kisses his cheek once more, taking hold of Ronald’s leg as he presses something thick and hot against the cleft of his buttocks. “—we will have to speed up here.”

Ronald knows what he means by that, has suffered through it more than once before due to the demon’s sadism. Part of him is delighted, excited to feel the raw burn of being spread without preparation, a feeling he’s missed for quite a while now, but another part of him screams ‘no’. He doesn’t want his lovers to see he’d broken the skin of his ass. It will summon suspicion in them that he’d rather they never ever raise.

“W-wait, Jeremy, don’t—” His pleas, however, fall on deaf ears as Jeremy starts to push the head of his thick cock into him. Ronald grabs onto the other’s arms, gripping them tight, nails digging into the material of Jeremy’s clothes. The reaper clenches his teeth just as tight, thankful he’d taken off the fake teeth earlier that evening. He tries to keep his voice in, but he could only hold on for so long. “/AAAAAH, FUCK./”

“Sssh,” Jeremy tries to calm him down, breathing in and out slowly, guiding Ronald to properly breathe. “Please calm down, and keep your voice low, else I will have to gag you.” Ronald starts to sob from the pain, but he feels so delighted when he feels the other throb inside of him. “Or is it that, you want people to hear?”

“N-no…” Ronald whispers weakly. Jeremy has stopped pushing in, thankfully, and kisses the reaper to calm him down. “Please go slower…”

Just when Ronald thinks he’s adjusted to the other’s girth, and right when he’s requested the other to go slower, Jeremy pushes further in. Ronald could feel his ring of muscle spread a little wider. The feeling of Jeremy’s heated thickness rub against his walls without lubrication is painful. Yet so, /so/ delicious.

“I apologize. I’m afraid I have miscalculated. We might not have enough time after all.”

“Just… /Ah/… K-keep going…”

“Ronald…” The pastor moans into his mouth, taking his lips to kiss him with fervor. The pastor lifts both of his legs up, and drives into him faster, pushing with such inhumane strength. Ronald is scared they might break the door, but it holds firm. The reaper pushes downward to the rhythm he’s being thrust into, and strokes his own arousal to the same beat.

“C-com… /Ngh/…” Ronald’s shoulders shiver as his mouth drops low, head dropping backwards, unintelligible sounds falling from his mouth as he comes, thick liquid spurting onto Jeremy’s torso. He feels himself clench around the other’s thickness, which has stopped moving inside him. Once Ronald is through with his rush, Jeremy pulls out of him, and places Ronald gently on the floor. After which, as the reaper sits there, his head tilts upward to watch Jeremy, on his knees, stroking his arousal until he comes, unloading unto a pool of spunk between Ronald’s legs on the floor.

Jeremy then collapses unto Ronald’s shoulder when he’s finally done, his energy leaving him. He wraps his arms around the reaper, clutching unto him tightly as if hanging on to dear life. “Ronald…”

The mere tone of the name makes the reaper tear up. It sounds too much like ‘I miss you.’

Ronald looks down at his watch. Four minutes to spare. He decides he would let Jeremy hold him for as long as he wanted. (Though it doesn’t take too long. Before the next minute chimes in, Jeremy has already reapplied Ronald’s make up, making sure it looks as it did before they sneaked off into the kitchen, and fixes their clothes, even mops up the mess on the floor.)

***

“I took extra care not to injure you this time.” Jeremy says as they stand by the staircase. He’s already pointed to Ronald which door he should enter to get to the billiards room. Ronald doesn’t question his knowledge of the Phantomhive manor.

“This time…?” Ronald looks up at the pastor, puzzled look on his face. What other chance would the old man have had to injure him?

The pastor laughs unto his fist, quite genuinely. “Have you still not realized who I am after the events this evening? I observed you sensed my true identity for quite a few times tonight, but— To think you got lost in me each time, that it prevented you from ever arriving at the proper conclusion? Oh, Ronald.” He shakes his head, Ronald as puzzled as ever. “I believe I have told you earlier. In your search for this Sebastian, you should look at it from a different angle. For there is nothing more deceptive—”

The moment the pastor grabs at his face and starts peeling—fucking /peeling/—off his skin does it all occur to Ronald. All the times that evening he’d thought he felt something familiar about Jeremy—the things he said, the way he acted, and how he’d always turn up whenever Ronald felt Sebastian would appear. Ronald almost falls to the floor, but he manages to keep himself up, leaning against the staircase railing.

“—than obvious fact.” Sebastian finishes the sentence in his normal voice. With the mask off, he tilts his head slightly to the right, his hair falling to frame his face in the most handsome way Ronald has ever seen.

/Fuck./ Ronald thinks. /Fuck, he’s been Sebastian all this time./

“I can’t believe…” Tears well up in the reaper’s eyes, overwhelmed at the plentiful feelings spurting forth. Relief, joy, extreme happiness. He feels frustrated Sebastian would keep this secret for so long, feels confused why Sebastian would play this game in the first place, but for now it is enough for Ronald to know that he’d been with Sebastian as he searched for him, even when Ronald himself didn’t know.

Sebastian wraps arms around him to hold him close. “I apologize I had too much fun with my costume for the night. We, however, do not have the time to discuss this now. You must head over to your lovers.”

“Right.”

“I wish you the best of luck tonight. I only pray that you not forget me after.”

“A demon? Praying?” Ronald laughs, although a little weakly, as Sebastian pulls away. “Reverend Jeremy may have rubbed off on you.”

“I use it only as a figure of speech.” Sebastian smiles, running fingers through Ronald’s hair to properly slick them backwards. “Have a lovely rest of the evening. I will see you in the morning.” He bows to Ronald, then heads up the stairs.

Ronald watches Sebastian walk up the staircase, graceful as he had been the entire night. How blind had he been to not see that? The reaper feels a surge of giddiness upon realizing once more that Sebastian took the effort to spent time with him that evening.

“Hey, Sebas-chan!”

“Yes?” The demon turns around, only to have his lips marked red by Ronald’s. He’d run up the stairs to kiss him.