“So,” Kane began tentatively.

“Just ask,” Vex snorted lightly.

The two of them were ensconced at the back of one of the lecture halls as Dr. Yuma droned on about blood sigils. Normally it was a topic that Vex would be quite intrigued by, however his mind kept wandering that morning.

“What’s it like with an aquatic demon?” Kane smirked as Vex tried to stop himself from bristling. He didn’t know why the question annoyed him so much.

“You know I didn’t sleep with him, it was a dream bridge,” Vex replied tightly. After some futher probing from Kane and away from the ears of their gossiping friends, Vex had confided the truth in his best friend about the unusual nature of Ciel’s pregnancy.

“No, I meant now,” Kane looked confused. “Last night, he moved into your quarters right?”

“He has his own bed,” Vex stated woodenly.

“Wait,” Kane grinned, “you moved him into your room and you’re not even getting any? Who are you and what have you done with my friend?”

“Fuck off,” Vex drawled. “We don’t all think with our cocks like you.”

“True, but I’ve never known you to do anything out of the goodness of your black heart before,” Kane retorted as Vex shifted uncomfortably. His friend had a point and had known him far too long to be mollified by any lame excuses.

“He’s carrying my spawn,” Vex shrugged.

“You told me the spawn would mean nothing to you,” Kane narrowed his amber eyes.

“Doesn’t mean I want them to suffer,” Vex huffed.

“You know your reputation has already taken a hit,” Kane sighed, dribbling his pen lazily across his notes.

“Because I knocked someone up?” Vex scoffed.

“Because of who you knocked up,” Kane laughed mirthlessly. “People are saying –“

“I don’t care what they’re saying,” Vex snapped, remembering what Ciel had said to him in the library. 

“You really care about what people think of you? They think nothing of you. They think of your name Vex Dubois, that is it, but you? They do not even bother you think of you because all you are is an arrogant, shallow, vain, cold emptiness propped up by a name.”

The sentiment settled uncomfortably at the base of Vex’s spine, right above his tail which he was surprised to realise was twitching in irritation.

“And what about you Kane Lazero?” Vex asked, finding himself tense. “Has your opinion of me lowered?”

“Vex…” Kane whispered meaningfully, “I’ve known you for over a century, I don’t think my opinion of you could go any lower.”

“Fucker,” Vex laughed, a little too loudly judging by the curious looks of their peers. Thankfully Dr. Yuma appeared to take no notice.

“You want to shack up with a celibate aquatic demon, that is your business,” Kane nodded solemnly. “Every time you fuck up in life it just makes me look better.”

“I can’t believe we’re friends,” Vex groaned.

“No, seriously,” Kane said earnestly, “my family always urge me to be more like the great Vex Dubois but at least I haven’t impregnated Nemo.”

“Stop,” Vex growled in warning, his good humour fading slightly.

“I knew it,” Kane chortled. “You’re sensitive when it comes to him. I suppose you’ll even be bringing him on the residential?”

“What are you talking about?” Vex asked before his stomach dropped with horror.

Every year the graduating Nessus students had to go on a month long residential to the Neandate Islands in order to practise their chosen demonic minor, whether that was rituals, summoning, curses, fighting or poisons.

The islands were a volcanic archipelago in the middle of the ocean and at this time of year - a hellscape of mist and ice.

“Shit,” Vex muttered, rubbing at the base of his aching horns. “I forgot they moved it up the calendar.”

“Are you actually thinking of bringing him?” Kane asked with a look of faint but intrigued surprise.

“I have to,” Vex groaned. “He needs energy siphoning or he could die.”

“Or,” Kane interjected with a wicked grin, “as your father might say – problem solv-“

“Don’t,” Vex hissed warningly as Kane snapped his mouth shut in a knowing smirk whilst doing an exaggerated mime of closing a zipper.

Vex grimaced as he stared hotly down at his own blank page of what should have been detailed notes on the advantages of each blood group when creating blocking and burning sigils.

He couldn’t imagine that four weeks on a frozen wasteland would be the right environment for a pregnant aquatic demon but at the same time, without Vex’s demonic nourishment, Ciel’s core could become fatally unstable.

Vex wasn’t exactly worried about getting permission from the Elders, he had never run into any difficulties with their sycophantic attitudes before. For some reason he was more concerned about what Ciel’s reaction would be.

There was no way, however, that Vex could miss the residential, in doing so it would mean he risked not achieving the Claw of Cerberus – the highest honour given in demonic duelling to a graduating student. Solomon Dubois would never stand for such a thing and if he suspected that Ciel was the reason then things would only get worse. Vex shuddered and tried, in vain, to focus back on Dr. Yuma.

~

“No.”

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Vex snarled, his blood already boiling.

“I’m not going to the Neandate Islands,” Ciel shrugged before re-opening his book on military history.

“I have to go,” Vex spoke slowly as if addressing a small child, which it half felt like he was, “so you have to go.”

“I can’t,” Ciel huffed before blushing slightly, as if he had used the wrong words.

“Oh, is this about money?” Vex sighed, relaxing, “you don’t need to worry – I’ll cover all –“

“It’s not about money!” Ciel snapped, jumping up angrily. “You can’t just buy people off you know.”

“That isn’t exactly what’s happening here,” Vex gritted through clenched teeth. Why was Ciel making this so difficult? “Look, it’s simple. I’m going to the Neandate Islands, being close to me is the only way you make it through this preg…year alive, therefore you have to come to the islands with me.”

“What about my studies?” Ciel crossed his arms over his chest, “I can’t just miss a month’s worth of lectures.”

“You won’t,” Vex replied. “We leave after the Saturnalia Ball so half of the trip is during the break. You’ll miss two weeks at most which hardly seems like a sacrifice when you get to stay alive. Besides, you’ll have a screaming kid soon, how much studying do you think you’ll get done then?”

Vex felt oddly guilty as he saw Ciel visibly pale as if he hadn’t quite considered this, or maybe he had been trying not to think about it.

“I never asked for this,” Ciel said quietly, one of his hands trailing unbidden to his stomach. “I know you think –“

“I don’t,” Vex interrupted. “What you’re about to say, I don’t think that. You didn’t do this on purpose Ciel, that much is obvious. You clearly hate me too much to want anything to do with me. I had to fight you to get you to come and stay in my quarters despite your life being on the line and now again with this trip.”

“It’s…it’s not that,” Ciel replied with what looked suspiciously like a pout.

“Then what’s the problem?” Vex groaned, throwing up his hands in frustration.

“I’ve never left the country!” Ciel retorted in a high pitched voice. “I’ve never been anywhere other than the orphanage, school, work and Nessus Academy.”

“In over a hundred years, you’ve never left the country?” Vex stated in disbelief.

“We don’t all have private jets and places to go,” Ciel snapped, but there were patches of cherry blush high on his cheeks. “Where would I even have gone Vex? I don’t know anyone, I don’t have any funds, I don’t know how my aquatic features will react to different climates, I –“

“Hey,” Vex took a step towards the other man, “calm down. It’s fine, it’s not a big deal. Just, I don’t understand why that means you can’t come to the Neandate Islands now?”

“What,” Ciel sniffed, “spend a month in a strange place with you and your friends who hate me? An entire month out of the few I have left of freedom to try and figure out what on earth I’m going to do with my life when the baby arrives? A month in a completely new environment where I don’t know what any of the living arrangements will be like but I need to use the bathroom every five minutes and I don’t know what food they’ll have when nearly everything makes me feel sick,” Ciel trailed off, visibly embarrassed by his impassioned rant.

“Okay,” Vex nodded, “I get it alright? But the truth is Ciel I have to go. Let’s just figure it out together. I can see if we can get a shared room with an attached bathroom and as for food, we can just take supplies. I know they’ve got kitchens there so we can always just cook ourselves. As for my friends, I didn’t realise you gave a rat’s ass what anyone thinks of you?”

“Just don’t leave me alone with them,” Ciel blurted out, looking annoyed at both himself and Vex.

“Sure,” Vex suppressed a laugh. “You can probably just hole yourself up somewhere with a book.”

“Fine,” Ciel huffed, “What should I pack? It’s an island right? Is it tropical?”

“So about that…” Vex winced.