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He never said much. He was all business with the rarest of smiles every now and then. A deep, serious blue stare, who took pride in his work on missions, and disappeared to be alone for long periods of time otherwise.
Ciel wished deep down that one day they would get a little time... a little something together, but usually found herself buried in research and work. Most of the time they had spent together had been mission related, with her briefing him, or wishing him luck. Always a confident smile flashed her way as he went, one that always made her melt inside.
...But never time for them.
As she tinkered with a new project late one night, she figured it was probably something he should approach her about. If he wasn't willing to put time in to do so, it wouldn't be worth her time trying to make something more of their friendship. She sighed, pulling goggles on and soldering a tiny circuit board for a few minutes, before setting things aside and thinking about him. Again. For the millionth time.
He was out on another mission of some kind. He probably was having fun; shadows of his past life seemed to blossom to the surface in the heat of battle. It seemed to make him feel happy, and he was extremely durable, so she couldn't say she worried too much about him.
She still missed him. As her head sunk into her comfortable arms on the desk, she gazed at a little picture of him, herself, and Alouette. Her heart fluttered... he had been so happy to do that picture... they had been like... a tiny... little... family......
Ciel half-drifted back to consciousness hours later, enveloped in something soft, a warm hand tentatively making circles on her back. The smell of earth and soot, and singed synth-hair and skin drifted in the air, and she shut her slightly opening eyes at the sight of red next to her.
She didn't want him to leave out of embarrassment.
Softly he murmured a debrief to her, spinning a tale of giant mechaniloids and Fefnir essentially having a spar with him. It took all she had not to crack her eyes open and stare in adoration, or to giggle at his exasperation toward the fiery Guardian.
Soon the tale ended, and he was quiet again. She dared to peek an eye at him, and saw him looking in the direction of the photo. Her heart fluttered again.
He was smiling, ever-so gently at it. She had never seen him look so warm, and human-like. In that moment, he was genuinely happy.
And softly his hand began to soothingly round her back, and he looked over at her.
She snapped her eye shut, but she knew he had seen. A rich chuckle rose in his chest, and softly, very softly, he murmured, "I love you, Ciel. I love you, I love you, I love you."