Work Text:
Sebastian stepped through the threshold of the two story home he and his boyfriend shared. Shutting the door behind him, he let out a deep sigh that was a combination of both exhaustion and relief. He slipped out of his shoes and loosened his tie, before then taking off the dark grey suit jacket that felt like it had been cooking him on a slow simmer throughout the day. Since when was England this hot during the summer, anyway? Damn climate change.
"You chose this, Sebastian, you chose this. The suffocating suits and tedious paperwork included," the raven haired man muttered to himself as he began making his way upstairs to his and Ciel's bedroom.
Don't get him wrong, Sebastian loved his job. Being a lawyer had been his dream job since he was twelve, the age that he finally came to understand just how unjust the world could be for certain groups of people. He wanted to do what he could to help those people when they were in trouble, to do his best to try and make the world a little better; so far, he thought he was doing a pretty fair job of it. Though, like anything, there were ups and downs; cases of his didn't always win, which resulted in innocent peoples' lives being turned upside down in a variety of terrible ways. Those moments always left him feeling down and blue, like he could've done better somehow. But, when cases were won, and the innocent people who were harmed got the true justice they deserved, it made the hot suits and horrendous paperwork worth it.
Just as Sebastian reached the top of the stairs, he heard what sounded like a whimpering cry come from their bedroom at the end of the hall. He stood still, brow furrowing as he tried to decipher who the sound came from. There was a high possibility that it was only Weston, the puppy tended to bark and whimper in his sleep when he was dreaming. Although, as he continued to think about it, that didn't sound much like a dog's whimper.
All of a sudden, a bloodcurdling scream tore through the hallway. This time, it wasn't even a question as to who it came from.
"Ciel!" He exclaimed, taking off down the hall and into their shared bedroom. The sight that greeted him upon entering, made Sebastian's heart clench in pain and worry.
Ciel was sitting upright in bed, head bowed forward, and hands tightly clutching his slate-hair. Weston was sat beside him, gently licking the man's most likely tear stained face.
Sebastian let his jacket fall softly to the floor, before very cautiously approaching the bed, not wanting to startle the younger man more than he already was. Sometimes it took Ciel a few extra minutes after a really bad nightmare to realize that he wasn't dreaming anymore, and the last thing Sebastian wanted to do was send the other man into panic attack. The first time one of these nightmares' occurred in their relationship, Sebastian did accidently send his boyfriend into a panic (just thinking back on it made him shiver and feel guilty all over again), but thankfully, that one time's all it took for him to learn how to always approach these situations in a calm and gentle manner.
"Ciel, darling?" He gently called out, wanting to get his boyfriend's attention before he took a seat on the bed. But the man in question didn't respond or move an inch, he just stood in the same bowed position with his now white knuckled hands in his hair, allowing their dog to continue applying his own form of comfort.
Standing on his side of their bed, Sebastian called out again, "Love, it's alright now. You're not dreaming, you're awake, I promise." Fortunately, these words seemed to get through whatever haze Ciel was currently in.
The younger man carefully untangled his hands from his hair, dropping them down onto his blanket covered lap. Weston stopped his licking, seeming to understand that his owner was finally coming back to himself. The yellow lab got up and walked to the end of the bed, but he didn't dare jump off, instead he lied down with his head facing toward Ciel, hazel eyes trained on the younger man's face with a look of fierce protectiveness shining through them.
"Love, can you look at me, please?" Sebastian asked when the other man still didn't move to raise his head, only continuing to stare down at his lap with a far away look in his eyes.
The slate haired man blinked a few times before finally, ever-so-slowly, rising his head up and turning it to look at the older man still standing beside the bed.
"That's it, darling, come back to us now," Sebastian softly encouraged as he began climbing onto the bed, carefully making sure his movements didn't jostle the mattress too much.
Ciel's eyes became less and less cloudy as Sebastian got closer, until finally, when the older man sat himself shoulder-to-shoulder beside the younger, Ciel's eyes receded back to their beautiful, clear, crystal blue.
"Sebastian..." Ciel whispered hoarsely, voice slightly trembling.
"Yes, love, it's me. Everyth-" Sebastian was abruptly cut off by his boyfriend throwing himself into his arms.
"I saw them again, I saw them. God, I... I..." Ciel's voice broke, a dry sob escaping him.
"Oh, love." Sebastian tightened his grip on the younger man, beginning to rub his back in soothing circles. He rested his chin on top of the other's head, then said, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, love. Just take the time to calm done and remember that you're awake; I'm here, Weston's here, and we're in our home."
"Y-yes... I'm... I'm awake and we're a-at ho-home. No... no planes, n-no burning b-b-bodies."
Even though it wasn't a very detailed description of what the other man's dream was about, Sebastian still couldn't help but wince in sympathy. Just from that short description alone, though, he had a pretty good idea about which nightmare Ciel was talking about.
"That's right, love. We're home, safe and sound."
After a few more moments of reassuring, calming words from the older man, and attentive silence on his boyfriend's part, Ciel finally spoke up again; his voice quiet, but a lot more clear sounding than before, "It was that same reoccurring nightmare I've been getting ever since their... ever since their death."
"No matter how much time has passed, it's still always the damn same. I'm that sixteen year old kid again, except instead of just seeing the aftermath of the crash, I'm standing right where the plane is about to hit down. When it does I... I can feel the hot air and debris from the ground and plane itself fly past me; along with flecks of hot, burning embers from the flames beginning to consume the plane." Ciel paused, sucking in a shuddering breath. He exhaled shakily, then continued on, "Then... then the worst part of the dream begins. The air becomes thick with the scent of smoke and burning flesh, making it harder to breath, and much, much harder not to vomit. It's always so goddamn realistic. Then, all of a sudden, just as I feel I'm about to pass out, I'm somehow magically transported into the burning plane. The flames are all around me, but in there, I never feel an ounce of pain or the unavailability to breathe."
"It's there where I... I... I see all the burning corpses of the passengers. But... but th-the ones that stand out to me the most are... are my p-parents'. Their bodies' are sitting next to each other, and they're holding onto each other's hands', and... and their skin is melting away like wax under the fucking sun," Ciel hissed through clenched teeth, his breathing growing ragged and his body beginning to tremble, once more.
"That's always where it fucking ends. Me watching my parents burn and melt away into a bloody pool of flesh and ash. I never even actually saw what their bodies looked like at the site, yet my brain had to be an arsehole about it and give me this reoccurring, godforsaken nightmare from hell," the younger man whispered angrily in a broken voice, a few fresh tears slipping down his face and onto Sebastian's white collared shirt.
"God... I... I just want them to stop," Ciel choked out, pressing his face into Sebastian's neck.
"Oh, my love. They're going to stop eventually, it's just going to take time, is all." Sebastian pressed a kiss to the top of Ciel's head. "I know it's not a very comforting statement, and I know you've already heard it many times from myself and, well, pretty much everyone else in your life, but it's true. In time, they will stop."
"Ugh, why can't they just stop now," the younger man whined, sniffling as he nuzzled his face into the older's neck.
"I know, my darling, I know. I wish they would already stop, too, but you know as well as I do that trauma is... well, it's more than a little bit complicated."
"Trauma is a bitch, is what it is."
Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I couldn't have said it better myself."
Ciel exhaled a long, deep sigh. "Well, we better get some sleep before midnight strikes. You and I both have to be up early, after all."
"Only if you feel ready to, darling. It's completely fine if you don't, I don't mind staying up with you a little longer."
"No, I'm sure I'll be alright. I don't want to keep you up and burden you any longer with my issues. You've sacrificed more than enough time and sleep for me, it's not fair to you."
Sebastian cupped Ciel's left cheek, lifting up the other man's head to stare into his eyes. "Ciel, you are never a burden to me, never," he said firmly. "Now, what wouldn't be fair is me letting you stay up alone and scared just so I could get a couple extra hours of sleep, that wouldn't be right of me as your partner. I would never forgive myself for being that cruel and selfish towards you. So, be honest, do you really want to go back to sleep right now, or would you feel better staying up a little longer?"
"I... I would like to stay up a bit longer. Please," Ciel whispered timidly.
Sebastian smiled and placed a chaste kiss to Ciel's lips. "Alright then, that's fine with me."
"Are you sure? I really don't want to bother you and be the reason you don't end up getting sleep tonight."
"Ciel, I love you, which means I would do anything for you; including staying up late into the night with you to make sure you feel safe and okay."
Ciel smiled weakly at him and said, "You always know just what to do and say to make me feel better, you know that? I don't know where I would be without you, Sebastian. I love you, so much, and I'm so grateful to have you apart of my life."
"Oh, Ciel." Sebastian pulled the younger man into another kiss, a more slow and tender one.
The love he felt for the man in his arms was truly unwavering and unstoppable. It seemed that as time went by, his love for Ciel only grew stronger and stronger, each and every passing day. He felt almost overwhelmed by it all; he never once felt this kind of love for anyone before Ciel. And that, only made it all the more special.
When the kiss ended, he pressed his forehead against the other's, wanting to be as close to his boyfriend as much as physically possible. "I love you, too–with all my heart, my dear Ciel."
Until the day came when Ciel's nightmares finally came to a stop, Sebastian would continue to do anything and everything to help Ciel through rough nights like these, no matter what.