5 months??? I'm sorry- I graduate soon (hopefully), so will be free to write.

You stirred, slowly regaining consciousness you felt a sense of unease wash over you. All you remember from your dream was the day you got kidnapped, as if it had just happened yesterday. You still never got the chance to figure out who had it out for you, you were too busy running around playing maid, detective, wife, and mother. Perhaps it was better to let it go, there's nothing more dangerous for you out there than an unguarded half demon toddler. You felt like crap, whatever drug they used worked too well in putting you to sleep.

"Y/n?"

You picked up your head slowly at the sound of a child's voice. Your eyes popped wide open at the sight of the little brunette.

"Alfred?"

"Y/n," He repeated, his eyes widened like a baby doe. "I've missed you so much."

Clearing your throat you found your voice, "I've missed you too..." you trailed off, it felt so surreal to talk to him again. Too eerie even for your morbid taste. He died twice. The young lord gave you his word that he died. You mentally laughed, his word... until now you thought he was an only child. The irony. "Why're you here? I don't get it."

"You said we'd get away," his timid voice spoke up. "When you saved up enough, we'd go to the countryside."

"But Al, that was a long time ago," you gave him a small sad smile.

"You promised!"

"I know but, things are different now. I've-" you swallowed the word, but the anxious ball in your stomach pushed it back up, "got a family."

"And you're the only family I've got."

"You're dead Al."

"That's impossible I'm right here talking to you!" Tears started to brim his eyes. He knew he was dead, Undertaker may have modified cinematic records, but the bizarre dolls knew something was missing. They go out to seek it, whether it be a soul or a memory they can't complete. His memory was your promise.

"Lift up your bangs, when was the last time you were hungry? When was the last time you grew? You should be a teenager by now."

He fell silent, tears dropping to the floor.

"I can't take you with me dove, and you know it," you said sadly. You wanted nothing more to correct your failure to keep your promise. But to a walking corpse?

A voice far off in the distance made you jump, it seemed to echo within the room as you looked around for the source. Realization hit and you sighed in annoyance. His voice was slowly becoming an irritant whenever you heard it.

"Morning dearie, hope you slept well!"

That happy nasally voice made you stir even more. You were clueless about the previous events that started to slowly trickle back to your mind along with consciousness. You groaned, your tongue felt like lead and your wrists hurt. You were chained to a wall, hands on either side above your head. The pain of them digging into your wrists slowly started elevating. Alfred was gone, replaced by Undertaker I should've known it was you."

"Thee one and only. How are you?"

"Feel like a carriage drove over me." You glanced up at the cheerful grim reaper before sighing closing your heavy eyelids, "Just then, Alfred wasn't real was he? It was you... Stop messing with my head, I'm not one of your experiments."

"Hehe," he grinned. "Sorry about that, just a small precaution. Besides, your subconscious is much easier roam around than using my scythe dearie."

Your eyes popped back open, their demonic fuchsia burning brightly. "Corbin, where is he?" You pulled on your chains and stood up. Immediately you felt dizzy and fell to your knees still struggling to break out your shackles.

"Ah, there it is... how cute hehe," he giggled. "Reaper chains can hold anything. Even the most savage beast can't get out."

"Where is he?" you growled out, eyes flashing with anger.

"With the Earl of Phantomhive and his butler, I assure you Polaris didn't harm him."

You flinched feeling a stab in your heart, Tanaka of all people... you thought you knew him. You couldn't trust him now.

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, didn't I teach you that? I know everything about you even if you didn't visit me often. All those times you let off steam ranting and raving in my shop, you thought I wasn't taking notes?"

You felt him gently grab your hair and pull your head back, a hiss came from you at the dull pain in your neck. He poured water from a porcelain teacup messily into your mouth. The cool substance dribbled down your front as you choked on it. You recognized the cup from the manor.

"What was that for?"

"I'm not a monster Y/n, you must be parched."

He sat next to you, wiping your chin with his bare hands.

"What's the point?"

"Pardon?"

"It's not fair you get to poke around in my head, and I get nothing."

"Life is seldom-"

"You owe me that much. Over twenty years of friendship gone for what? You knew from the moment I asked about them that you'd betray me. So why?" You coughed again too sore to yell, chains rattling in the small room, your emotions caught in a ball in your throat. "Why? What do the Phantomhives have to do with what you're doing? You could've done this with random people, I would've seen you as some psychopath then, but you have an agenda."

He pondered for a moment not bothering to look away from you, you were still coming down from your high on whatever drug was used and couldn't gauge his expression clearly. "I suppose just toying around."

"Liar!" you spat.

He stopped avoiding your gaze, "I'm surprised they haven't told you dearie. Aren't you part of their little investigative team?"

Seeing your expression he laughed, "C.P. doesn't stand for Ciel Phantomhive dearie. Rather Claudia Phantomhive, their grandmother. Unsure if your intelligent crew made the connection yet what with all the running around and hiding. Punishment as a grim reaper is cruel. They pass on and we stay." He caught himself for a second, the look of pure anger... bitterness and hurt. Something that has never crossed his face before, looked so out of place to you.

"Out of love? You've chosen innocent people. Undertaker at this point it doesn't matter if you lie or tell the truth, they'll kill you anyway."

"They're only innocent because you don't know better. Derek Arden, a bully who terrorized students. The lesser half of the aristocracy whose hands are more bloody than my own on the Campania. The circus troupe kidnapping children. And might I add, they asked. Those Prefects asked that Arden be revived, the aurora society asked for a sizeable demonstration, Earl Phantomhive asked that the circus troupe be saved. His ambition outweighs my own," he laughed fondly at the ceiling before stopping short at a commotion outside the door. The now familiar cracking of skulls and knives hitting walls gave you a little hope.

Looking back at you his face turned serious, "Y/n you would do the same for him if you could. Your moral high ground isn't as high as you think it is. Which is funny because you know that."

He held a book up waving it in the air as if taunting you... as if it held all your secrets from since your birth and before. He was right, he knew you probably better than you knew yourself. You've always been scared to let someone know you so well. This world from day one shaped who you were, nothing good ever stayed. Family? Never cared enough about you. Friends? You've only had the luxury to meet one person your age and she lived a similar life... only she had a family to hold her down when she needed. Nomadic life was cruel for those who craved a tiny piece of stability. Alfred gave you that stability for a while before you were separated. The sweetest, smartest brat you ever met. After that, Sebastian relentlessly pried open your heart and refused to leave. Accepting it has been a little too hard, everything changes so fast, yet he remained constant. It was... pleasantly unusual. You would go to atrocious lengths to bring Sebastian back if you could. Yet there in his hand solved so many puzzles and created more.

"Is that my cinematic record?"

"Ooo you are sharp, yes, it is would you like to read it? See your past, who had a hand in your fate without your knowledge, your death date?" He said as he flipped through the pages, teasing your curiosity.

"Death..." you breathed out.

"What? Did you think being in love with him would make you immortal? Gaining a few demon qualities would stop you from dying? Only a demon has the power to alter your cinematic record. Look," he held the book close enough for you to see. Although it was upside down, scribbles over scribbles, the page he showed you was overwritten several times like a roughly annotated book. It was barely legible, but as the pages went forward it became a bit clearer and finally blank pages. "He's using you."

"I don't believe you."

"Dearie one thing you are not is stupid."

"You clearly seem to think I am," you couldn't stop the little sarcastic laugh that left your mouth. Sebastian has nothing to gain. The young lord at least, gets a new pawn to play with. "That's how you knew I was pregnant? That "little surprise" you mentioned on the boat. You knew. What do I have to do with any of this?" The commotion outside had come to a stop and he grinned dropping a key on the table in the corner.

"It seems our time is interrupted once again. Tata now~" he waived goodbye before walking through the door, a new spring in his step. As he closed the door you heard a crash.

"Sebastian!!!"

The door slammed open and a body came flying through.

"He just-"

"Left, don't worry," he said finishing your sentence. "I came to get you," he stopped short, eyeing you up and down. "You look so perfect chained up like that kitten, I'm only annoyed it wasn't me who did it."

You let out a sigh of relief. Either Undertaker was lying, or your husband did some satisfying damage getting Corbin out from the manor. Then again he jokes regardless of things.

"You moron. Help me out"

Sebastian cupped your face in his hand. You could see a hungry glint in his eye although his face showed nothing. It was almost always a wall of nothing until you reached his eyes. Those wine coloured irises whispered to you everything he never verbalized. "You've no idea what this does to me."

Your knee caressed his inner thigh, it was as far as you could reach... for now. "I think I have an idea."

The butterflies in your stomach fluttered. Why the hell were you into this. That lustful look even when you were in danger, that deranged sadistic grin that would- no should, throw anyone off. You rubbed the bruises on your wrists as he helped you stand up. You legs felt like lead too now that your body was no longer on edge.

"Kinky bastard."

He grinned or smirked, you couldn't tell with the side effects of the drug still dwindling away from your system. You were starting to see how well you fit together. You would've relished seeing him chained up. If the situation was reversed, you would've poked fun for years.

"Come kitten. You have a train to catch."

"Why can't you just take me there? You know snap," you snapped your fingers, "there."

He raised an eyebrow at you taking you gently by the hand, "Whatever he drugged you with must still be working."

"Oh come on, I'm going to need sleep to be alert. You can sneak me aboard the train in the morning."

"You make a compelling argument," he said chuckling.

"We're not arguing, being drugged and sleeping naturally isn't the same thing."

"Fair enough kitten," his voice seemed to dip beneath its normal seductive range. "Let's go," he picked you up.

~

"MAMA"

"Hi baby," you yawned unlacing your arms from the back of Sebastian's neck as he lowered you into the bed. "Did anything happen?"

"Noooo, came straight here."

"Good job honey," you kissed him on his head before he decided to jump up and down. Undertaker wasn't to be trusted, but... he's never lied. Earl Phantomhive and his butler, the young lord and Sebastian, not his brother and Tanaka. You sighed rubbing your temples, why do you always think of the worst?

"Corbin," Sebastian said sternly. "We had this conversation, your mother is trying to sleep."

"But- "

"No. Enough jumping."

"Come darling," you held your arms out for him to snuggle his little body into, kissing his damp hair. A few minutes later he was snoring into your chest, how you wish falling asleep was that simple.

"Must you coddle him?"

"Yes, no need for us both to be authoritarian," you glared at him half heartedly. "I don't care how demons do it, he's half human too. You treat me like an egg sometimes, you don't have to be so strict all the time."

"Where have I heard that speech before?" You could hear the sardonicism bitterly lacing his voice. He turned away laying out your clothing on the settee at the foot of the bed.

"Agni..." you chewed your bottom lip remembering the day you realized Sebastian slept with someone else. The same day Agni chastised his handling of the young lord's health. Your heart hardened trying to ignore it. Shaking off the poisonous thought you focused on Agni, he was the closest thing Sebastian had to a friend, although he'd never admit it. "He's dead Sebastian, they killed him."

"I know. I'm sure the Prince gave him a proper send off."

A sombre silence washed over that you broke with a soft voice, "If things ever get back to normal, it'll be so quiet when we travel to London. No Madame Red, no Prince Soma. No Lau if the wind doesn't blow in the young masters' favour again." Something caught your eye. "Sebastian- whose room is this?" You finally took notice of the trunks in the corner that didn't belong to you or the young master. And the chemise not in your size draped over the divider, and a suit not in his size hung on the wardrobe. Light from the slowly dimming oil lamp pooled into the cracked open door and you saw something move.

"Must you worry about that?"

"Open the closet," you deadpanned.

He sighed defeated revealing a middle-aged couple tied up against pillows. At least they were comfortable. You stifled a laugh, "You're demented."

"You're laughing, my love. Well worth it," he grinned.

"Talk," you yawned stopping short, "talk like that again we might have more than two children."

"God please no," he shut the wardrobe leaving a crack for air, shaking off your teasing. The both of you loved Corbin, and your unborn child. But raising them is neither one of your favorite part. Especially with your different methods, but you balanced each other out. You hoped.

You laughed as you drifted, there was a first for everything.