9Mellow Candle, part 10
Finny woke up first and felt pleasantly warm. It was amazing how accustomed he was getting to Snake's arms around him in just a few days, how he enjoyed it! Waking up beside Snake was so special. He carefully bundled them under more covers and looked around the room. Bard must already be off to prep the breakfast. A fire in the fireplace was going, but no other heat or light. Usually, Sebastian would have come in and woken him up by now.
Finny snuggled closer to Snake, glad to have a reprieve. Snake stirred and looked around, bleary-eyed. Snake asked, "Where's Bardroy?"
"Preparing breakfast. He's used to waking up early from his days in the army," Finny explained.
"How are you feeling? I can tell you don't have a fever like last night."
"No, I feel great." Finny gave Snake a bright smile and snuggled against Snake's chest. "I guess I just needed some tea and rest, like Mey-rin said."
Finny loved feeling Snake rub slow, lazy circles on his back. He shyly placed a kiss on Snake's jaw. Snake met his eyes before pressing a his lips against Finny's. He was so busy enjoying Snake's kisses that he was startled by the weight of Snake's hand on his hip. He gasped and looked at Snake, who suddenly grew shy and froze where his hand was drifting.
Snake asked in a soft, quaking tone, "May I?"
Why was this harder than Finny thought it should be? He wanted Snake more than anything. Even more than sunlight! Finny's stomach grew cold. He never, ever pictured himself indulging that thought for anyone. It terrified him and at the same time confirmed what he suspected. Snake was his most important person. It just all seemed so fast!
Finny nodded and did his best to relax; he craved Snake more than his nervousness. He really wanted Snake's touch. Snake's hand slipped under Finny's clothing. Finny's eyes clenched shut and he bit his bottom lip. Snake's hand was giving him such delirious pleasure. He wanted Snake to feel the same, so he reciprocated. It wasn't long before they crashed into heady pleasure, panting and sweaty. They stilled their hands, but didn't move them as they crashed back into exhaustion.
"We're a bit messy," Finny said with a slight laugh.
"It's okay. I'll clean you," Snake offered and then darted under the blankets. Finny gasped again at the new places Snake was kissing.
[Three days later]
"Well, if that's what he wants," Ciel said in a serene tone to Sebastian's news about Finny and Snake's new love affair. He had noticed how close they'd gotten from the first day Snake was hired, so it was little surprise. "I did say Finnian is to have anything he wants and live the way he chooses. Oh, and as far as Alois' grumbling about Snake punching him..." Ciel took on a furious expression and pound his fist on his desk, "...tell Snake he's in big trouble!"
"Oh?" Sebastian asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Yes! For not waiting until I was around to knock that beast about," Ciel snapped. He waved his hand in the air. "Anyway, what did Claude say about the situation?"
"Alois Trancy is fuming, but in check. He won't molest another Phantomhive servant. He found our gardener and footman quite a challenge. Besides, Claude told me he impressed on Alois the meaning of nobleness oblige over the last several days."
"I see why Snake punched him after the news you just told me. It was for Finny's sake, because they're in love?"
"Yes. Claude admitted Alois was taking liberties with Finnian's person. The whole nasty affair was Alois' fault."
Ciel glared. "He'll answer for that soon enough."
"The agenda for today: you have political science at ten, mathematics at eleven, and then a meeting with your American connection, Mister Greenwald, after lunch. It would seem your first North American store in New York has a bit of trouble with the building's reconstruction. He'll give you details at the meeting."
"Fine," he said, picking up his newspaper. Before he could start reading, there was a knock at the door.
Sebastian answered the door and stepped outside for a minute. He reentered and looked over to Ciel. "It's Bardroy and Mey-rin. They want to talk to you about your request on how to handle Finnian in the future."
"Let them in," Ciel ordered.
Bard and Mey-rin walked in, both looking quite grim and pale. Neither looked like they had slept in three days. Ceil nodded towards them and got to the point without preamble. He asked, "Well, what is your decision?"
Bard squared his shoulders and said, "We've decided to do it if Sebastian isn't available. Mey-rin will snipe him from a distance if I fail at shooting him when he's sleeping."
"At least, that's our plan," Mey-rin said softly, not sounding like herself at all. She sounded more like her old self when Sebastian first brought her here: suspicious and shy. Ciel didn't like that at all, nor the ultra-stiff mannerisms Bard had fallen back to. Just like a perfect solider. He was even clean-shaven and his clothes clean pressed. Ciel hoped Bard and Mey-rin would return back to the people he'd grown to know over the last couple of years, very soon.
"And you are both resolute?" Ciel asked firmly.
"Yes, sir," Bard answered, very crisp and bitter with a straight spine. "We'll do our duty by Finnian. By the way, did you tell Snake yet?"
"No. I will soon. He needs to be aware," Sebastian said.
Ciel didn't like at all that one thing he'd just noticed. Bard hadn't called Finny by his whole name in close to two years. Was he closing himself off from the gardener already? Also, he had noticed Mey-rin's glasses had been resting on top of her head and had been since they walked in. Her odd eyes were cold as ice. Was she also starting to wall herself off from Finny? Ciel glanced up at Sebastian, who was giving the two servants a scrutinizing, crimson gaze. No doubt the butler had noticed it as well. Ciel would talk it over with Sebastian during tea.
Sebastian gave them a warm smile and did inform them, "Don't look so glum. It's not as if the young master has given up hope on Finnian. We're in the process of seeking help for him."
Sebastian perked up as if he heard something and walked over to the window. He drew back the drape and then Ciel, Bard, and Mey-rin joined him. Across the grounds Snake was riding up to the hothouse; he dismounted the mare as Finny came running out.
Finny charged at Snake and took both of them down into a snow drift. Finny was laughing, hugging Snake, and rolling them around in the snow. Snake, on the other hand, was turning a shade of blue as he struggled against Finny's grip.
Bard softly chuckled. "That kid will never learn."
"Ridiculous," Ciel pronounced, refusing the real word that came to his head: adorable. Ciel admitted, they seemed really happy together. When Snake had been self-conscious about his abnormal appearance, Ciel had told him he didn't care, because he was different, too. Ciel's acceptance went towards Snake's choice in a mate, too. Snake was lucky, after all. Ciel knew Finny was a walking disaster, however he was a loving soul. They would be good for each other.
Ciel turned to Sebastian and said, "By the way, telephone that new connection in London and see if that lead has turned into anything, that one rumor about Doctor Issac Gilmore and his four traveling companions. Bard, Mey-rin, we may have to go to the extreme tactic of kidnapping a man to get Finny well.
"His four companions, though, could cause us major trouble, according to our preliminary research. You see, they've been altered against their will like Finny, however, it's with more clockwork means than chemical. They're very fierce, devoted to each other, and never trust anyone outside of their group. If Sebastian and I bring Doctor Gilmore here, you may have to defend the estate against the toughest people you've ever faced. I'm hoping, though, they'll take pity when they hear about Finny's plight. Understand?"
"Yes, my lord," both of them answered stiffly. The perfect answer for Phantomhive servants.
Ciel glanced out the window again and felt a blush as he saw Finny pounce on Snake again. The former circus performer was nestled in a snowbank as Finny pushed an ardent kiss on him. Ciel clenched his teeth and snarled, "Draw the drapes, already, and someone talk to them about public displays of affection!"
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said, drawing the drapes back so Finny could continued to enthusiastically welcome home his "special friend" in privacy.
"Finny! Air... Please!" Snake begged with short breath.
Finny quickly eased up and straddled Snake's stomach. "I'm so sorry!"
Snake took several deep breaths and could see clearly again. He looked up and smiled. "You always make me feel so welcomed."
"That's because I love seeing you come home," Finny said.
"And how do I say that?" Snake asked.
Finny leaned down and whispered in Snake's ear, "Willkommen zu Hause, meine Liebe."
Snake smiled and repeated it softly. He had been slowly learning German from Finny. He wanted a way they could communicate with some privacy, but also, he didn't want to be in a situation were Finny was traumatized again and he couldn't communicate with the younger boy.
"Um... Finny?"
"Yes?"
"Can we get out of the snow? I'm freezing!" Snake said in an outburst not like him, but he was too cold and starting to fall asleep. He was shocked when Finny leaped up, hoisted him over a shoulder, and ran into the hothouse. Yeah, Snake wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to Finny's ability to just manhandle him. After all, Finny was so skinny! It was something that made Snake smile, though. He got flopped down by the snake play tree.
A little red book fell out of Snake's pocket and Finny grabbed it up before Snake. He had noticed Snake reading this book over the last several days, but Snake was very shy about it. Now Snake's face was scarlet. Finny read the title out loud, "The Satisfying of a Male Lover: Essays On Every Technique, by Count Saint Germain."
Finny dropped it when it dawned on him what the book was about. Snake scooped it up and tucked it away. He explained, "I want to make things nice for you, since I'm not very experienced. I took the book from Trancy House, since they were throwing it out anyway. I wasn't trying to be some sort of pervert. I was just trying to learn how to make you feel good."
Finny nodded and smiled. "I'm not upset at all. Maybe... you should read it to me," he offered shyly.
"Hey, says Brontë, didn't Claude give you something from Trancy House, too?"
Finny blushed even more and whispered, "It was that outfit Lord Trancy made me wear. I decided to take it, because you seemed to like it so much."
"Yes, I do. Very much. Maybe I can give you some good memories while you wear it?" Snake nodded and then grew very bashful. "Maybe tonight? You can spend the night with me? In my room?"
"I don't see why not." Snake took Finny in his arms and they kissed for several long moments. Finny parted from Snake and started picking up a fur lined satchel. "I'm going to move your friends back into the mansion. Bard found some field mice this morning." Then Finny giggled. "It's a shame to have to take the snakes back indoors when they love it so much out here."
Twelve snakes all of the sudden perked up from their towel nests and started batting the toys dangling off the limbs with their heads. Snake heard their request to end this farce in his head, and he knew he had to do something. He just didn't want Finny to cry.
"Um... Finny?"
"Yes? Oh wait! Look how cute they all are playing away! Oh! I know. Let's make them little collars. Pink ones for the girls and blue ones for the boys." The snakes all stopped what they were doing and fixed their demanding eyes on Snake. His twelve friends were going to commit open rebellion at that. They were being nice and pretending to play to make Finny happy, because he was nice to them, but they would NEVER wear collars!
"Um... Finny?"
"Yes?" he asked in a bright, naive way.
"You know, snakes aren't like cats, says Keats?"
"Hun?" Finny's head tilted to one side in innocent confusion.
Snake took in a deep breath and passed along the threat at their urging, "We will attack your feet in your sleep if you impose such an indignity as collars on us, they all say. You've been hanging around Lady Elizabeth too long, Wilde adds."
Sure enough, Finny started bawling his eyes out. Snake's friends, to their credit, all slithered on Finny and gave him reassuring face rubs and such.
"They all appreciate the nice things you do, says Oscar. And they all like you so much, says Wilde."
Finny swiped at his tears. "Then I guess I need to learn more about snakes."
Snake chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll teach you everything you need to know," he said, before giving Finny a deep, sweet kiss.
The End.
A/N:
Willkommen zu Hause, meine Liebe = Welcome home, my love
My next story is going to be called "Paradise." It will be the quest to save Finny from his impending illness, so keep an eye out if you're interested. I will incorporate (from Cyborg 009) the first generation Double Zero Cyborgs and Doctor Gilmore for some real interest, but it will NOT be a crossover. They have so much in common with Finny, and I miss writing about them. Yeah, the Black Ghost (bad guys from Cyborg 009) would love to snap up the Phantomhive servants, so it should have some fun action. Hopefully, by the end of this weekend, I'll have their first chapter out.
