Ciel jumped as strong hands lifted the stack of books out of his arms and he glanced up into a handsome, concerned face.

“You shouldn’t be carrying heavy things in your condition,” Felix smiled kindly.

“Thank you,” Ciel grinned guiltily, “Dr. Kokytos asked for someone to take these over to the South Wing Library.”

“How are you feeling this week?” Felix asked, nodding his head to indicate for them to both keep walking along the rose lined path across the quad.

“A little nauseous,” Ciel admitted, “but I think those vitamins are helping.”

“I’m glad,” Felix replied, the sun illuminating his ivory horns. “I always loved this section of the gardens, it’s so fragrant and colourful don’t you think?”

Ciel hummed in agreement as he looked around at the multiple rose bushes in an array of pastels, their gentle aroma laced the air delicately.

“Oh what a pity,” Felix frowned, he shifted the books to one arm as he reached out and plucked a yellow rose from an already broken stem. “Here – you can carry this for me,” he turned to Ciel and before the other man could protest he had pushed it behind Ciel’s ear.

“I’ll look ridiculous!” Ciel laughed as Felix beamed at him.

“Nonsense,” Felix retorted. “My mother always used to give me roses to wear when I was younger, she grew them herself. She told me you’re not a proper gentleman unless you have a flower in your buttonhole.”

“I don’t have a buttonhole,” Ciel shrugged, smiling and glancing down at his woollen sweater.

“Precisely why it’s in your hair – next best thing,” Felix nodded sagely.  

“Are you close with your mother?” Ciel asked, hoping he wasn’t crossing any boundaries with his curiosity. Felix was close in age to them but he was still the academy doctor and Ciel’s attending physician.

“Oh very,” Felix replied, “in fact she regularly visits for afternoon tea. I’m sure she would love to meet you.”

“Me?” Ciel frowned. “Why on earth would she want to meet me? Isn’t she…” Ciel swallowed thickly, “isn’t she Vex’s aunt?”

“Well don’t hold that against her,” Felix chuckled as if he couldn’t see why it would be obviously and intolerably awkward.

The two men pushed through the double glass doors into the South Library, walking past long wooden tables and rows of shelves.

Eventually they came to the trolleys at the back of the room where unshelved books could be deposited. A high giggle to Ciel’s right made him turn to look.

Vex was sauntering towards them, a book in his hands as he whispered into the ear of his companion – a tall, beautiful demon with long amethyst hair and emerald eyes. They flushed as Vex lowered his voice further.

“Cousin!” Felix announced loudly before Ciel could implore him not to drawn attention to them.

Vex stopped, looking up with a bemused expression before he registered Felix and Ciel. The previously glowing smile slipped from Vex’s face only to be replaced with a hard, unreadable gaze.

“What are you doing here?” Vex asked, striding forwards, his eyes now fixed on Ciel. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh look – he’s worried about you,” Felix declared, bringing his hands together. “Nothing is wrong Vexie, I was simply helping Ciel bring some books back for Dr. Kokytos.”

Vex’s gaze locked onto the yellow rose in Ciel’s hair, his expression turning even frostier. Ciel couldn’t help but flush under the other man’s stare, he knew he must look pretty silly but Vex didn’t have to –

“You look ridiculous,” Vex huffed, his features rearranging into a derisive sneer.

“Vex…” Felix warned, his own voice harder now.

“Why would you care how I look?” Ciel bit back, forcing himself not to turn red with humiliation, urging himself not to immediately tear the flower from his hair and flee from the library.

“Because people think I fucked you,” Vex replied emotionlessly, “I can only blame so much of my low standards on alcohol before it becomes a reflection on my otherwise decent taste,” Vex’s eyes shifted to the left at his beautiful companion.

Ciel took a moment to breathe in and out, the library contracting and expanding around him, somewhere in the distance he could hear Felix’s voice like an echo.

“You really care about what people think of you?” Ciel asked, his voice suddenly shaking with cold fury as he landed back in reality.

He could tell the moment Vex realised something had changed when a flash of surprise crossed the other man’s face.

“They think nothing of you,” Ciel continued. His small fangs were cutting into his lower lip now as they slid into place, blood mixed in with a slight lisp but he persevered on, the words flowing out unbidden and unstoppable.

“They think of your name Vex Dubois, that is it, but you,” Ciel sneered, “they do not even bother to think of you because all you are is an arrogant, shallow, vain, cold emptiness propped up by a name.”

Ciel panted heavily as his words hung in the air like lead, sinking to the cold, stone floor. Ciel waited, he waited for Vex to grab him by the throat, to shout back or maybe even slice him with his tail.

He waited for Vex to start telling everybody about the dream, about how the pathetic little aquatic demon had moaned and writhed, begging Vex for more.

The silence was deafening.

“There’s something wrong with you,”

Ciel jerked his head up, it wasn’t Vex’s voice but instead belonged to the purple-haired companion, their green eyes were narrowed assessingly as they stared at Ciel.

Ciel felt himself gag, his stomach heaving as he slammed his hand against his mouth and turned to run back out through the library, barrelling through the glass doors which ricocheted bruisingly off his hip.

He could hear Felix’s voice again behind him but Ciel kept running, down the gardens, past the greenhouses, jumping over the koi stream and into the forest that hemmed the academy’s borders.

Eventually, Ciel’s body jerked him to a stop as he steadied himself up against a nearby pine tree and emptied the contents of his stomach. Ciel began to panic as he fought to breathe, his claws scratching at the tree bark.

Finally, it seemed his body had had enough of jerking and convulsing and Ciel sunk down to the spongy needle strewn floor, swallowing up great lungfuls of air. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough, Ciel coughed and spluttered, it felt like something was wrong and he pawed anxiously at his belly.

Ciel gasped, looking up at the swaying tops of the pine trees, they seemed so very far away and were gradually blurring together into impenetrable blackness.