Ciel found George sitting at the pavilion, staring at the plum trees. Since it was not the season, the trees were devoid of flowers, only leaves that rustled in the wind. When he noticed Ciel approaching, he turned and smiled at him; as if the episode in the bath did not happen. Ciel's wondered how that man could keep his composure now, after thoroughly losing it earlier. He went over and sat beside him at the round table; he didn't have a choice since George had grabbed his hand and pulled him over when he attempted to sit opposite him. George then poured some tea and served him some pastries that the servant had brought over.

"Apparently it's almost dinner time so they only prepared some light snacks. We're to eat with your uncle and grandmother in the next courtyard."

"Oh..."

"What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking that this tea looks lovely." Ciel was staring at the pale pink petals dancing in his teacup.

"Peach blossom tea, I think. I never really tried the food here."

"Why not?"

"I didn't really like to be in crowded places by then so I never approached the towns willingly. And since I don't die, it didn't matter if I didn't eat."

Ciel pouted at how cruel George was to himself. It was true that he wouldn't need to eat but to live like a ghost: avoiding human contact, denying himself food and the other simple luxuries of life...

"You do know what I do to your pouts, don't you?" Ciel was startled out of his thoughts by George's teasing words. He looked up into his one good eye and felt a little lost, before he turned his gaze away.

"Kiss me then, maybe I'll feel better." This was the first time that Ciel had asked for a kiss; George's eye darkened and he pinched Ciel's chin, making him look up at him. Seeing his confused expression, George's eye softened and he pressed his lips against Ciel's. Ciel closed his eyes, leaned forward and savoured the comfort that George gave. Nearly eight hundred years without it and he had never bothered about it. A month with George and he craved his kisses and touch like an addict; George was not the only one that was sticky, Ciel was just as bad if he had the guts to be honest with himself. But he would never admit it; not to himself or to anyone else. George's pain hurt him more than it did the man himself; how could he admit this weakness for others to exploit? They stayed that way for a while before a cough brought them back and broke them apart.

"Sorry to interrupt but I thought I would join the both of you here before dinner." Hong Yang's face was fine despite having intruded upon a scene like that. Ciel groaned internally and wished to jump into some hole and bury himself in it. Of all the awkward moments to have been intruded upon…

“Please, join us.” George was the ever pleasant host, raising his hand to indicate the empty seats. His uncle gave a nod and sat down. Almost immediately, a servant came with an additional teacup and plate. Now Ciel wanted to kill himself. He forgot how discreet staff could be.

“The snacks here are delicious.”

“Thank you. Those were Mei’s favourite.” Ciel gave a jolt when his uncle said that and looked at the cakes that George had put on his plate. The pink and white pastry was shaped and decorated with delicate looking flowers; it was so beautiful Ciel felt it a pity to eat it. However, he still picked it up and gave it a tiny bite. His eyes widened at the gentle sweetness of the cake, while a faint scent of cherry blossoms invaded his nose. He could understand why his mother loved these, they’d be his favourite too, if he could eat them every day.

“Blanc would love these…”

“Your younger brother?”

“Yes, we like about the same foods.”

"That's nice. You should bring him over for a visit someday. My mother would love to see the rest of her grandchildren." 

Ciel gave a nod as he continued to nibble on the pastry. He wondered when they would ever get the opportunity to get together as a family; there was just too much subterfuge going on. But they enjoyed their tea and refreshments in the relative calm before tropical cyclone that was Grandmother Huo appeared. 

"So? Any word from Feng or Yun?" She got straight to the point as she sat down.

"They just left a few hours ago, mother. Give them some time." Hong Yang looked pained.

"Hmph. How much time do they need?"

“I’d rather they take their time and come back safe than to rush it and make mistakes. You of all people should know that.” Hong Yang had feigned calmness but the words he said to Madam had a slight edge to them. Madam Huo stiffened and remained silent. Ciel stared at his relatives, wondering what the back story of that had been. But considering that they had only met just now, there was no way he would be close enough to know. Instead, he brought up the problem that was worrying him right now.

“Grandmother, Uncle Yang, we have a problem…”

Hong Yang and his grandmother looked at him, eyebrows up. Ciel noticed that while George appeared calm, his knuckles were white.

“It’s George… we found scales on his neck… I- I think this was why he acted the way he did during the match.”

Madam Huo who was seated on the other side of George immediately grabbed his chin, pulling George closer to her to look at his neck. She frowned when she saw the scales, shiny and growing naturally, like it was meant to be there. Ciel stole a peek and swallowed. The places where George had viciously yanked the scales out were healed now, with new scales grown back. It was a smooth, scaled neck with no gaps whatsoever. Madam Huo then pulled his face to her as she looked into his eyes and face before releasing him.

“Dragonification.”

“What?”

“You’re turning into a dragon.”

It was unknown whose face was paler. Ciel felt that if he was not sitting down, he would have collapsed already. He took a deep breath and willed his erratic heart to calm down. He reached beside him to seek out George’s hand. It was cold and clammy and gripped his like a vise.

“How did this happen?”

“Shouldn’t you already know? He’s the dragon slayer.”

“But slaying dragons shouldn’t turn you into one.” There was a hint of desperation in his voice. George? A dragon?

“Normally no. But I did hear that the dragon he killed was a nasty one. Selfish, greedy… evil. He wanted everything so he was ostracized by the other dragons.  Rumour had  it that he was researching on a way to be revived if he was ever killed… it seems that it involved a magic curse and to be bathed in the blood of dragons.”

His hand that was in George’s was hurting from the sheer force of his grip now.

“So there was a purpose to my dragon madness…”

“It seems that that is the case. I never thought that he would succeed though.”

“Is there a way to stop it?”

“I’ll need to look it up. After all, that dragon was just experimenting. This is the first time anyone’s ever seen such a thing. And it took a while to activate, didn’t it?”

George was silent, as if in deep thought.

“It’s been more than a thousand years since I killed that dragon.”

Numbers were significant. A figure like that could not be a coincidence.

“Are you sure?”

“If I did not get my dates wrong then yes.”

“Hmmm…. And the time flows differently in Sanctuary. You’ve been there for about fifty years, right?”

“Yes.”

“Staying in Sanctuary actually slowed the process down but now that you’ve left, the process is nearing completion.” Madam Huo made some calculations, her fingers moving along as she counted. “You have maybe three months.”

Ciel couldn’t take it anymore and hissed in pain. George came out of his stupor and released his grip before taking Ciel’s hand back into his. He bent down and kissed the reddened fingers; his hands were shaking.

“It’s fine now…” he comforted George, unwilling to see this normally strong man so broken.

“This curse, when I become a dragon… I’ll lose myself, won’t I?” his golden head was down, as if he was talking to himself.

“The dragon sleeping in you will awaken and take over your consciousness.”

“Can I fight it?” he raised his head to look at his grandmother.

“How strong are you mentally to fight the hiss of temptation in your ear? Every minute, every hour, every day?”

“I… I don’t know…”

There was a silence before George continued. “I heard him earlier… he was telling me to get rid of the ant in front of me… I gave in to him… right or wrong didn’t even occur to me…” George was slowly breaking down. Ciel reached out his other hand and clasped both of George’s hands in his, as if to channel some strength and be his anchor. The centuries that they thought they had had just been cut to three months, it was a hard blow to take for either of them.

“There may be a way…” Hong Yang who had been silent all this while suddenly spoke. When he said that, the speed in which Ciel and George whipped their heads to look at him, along with the intensity of their gaze almost made him flinch.

“There’s a way?”

“To slow down the curse. Not break it.”

“As long as it will buy us some time I’ll take it.”

Hong Yang looked to be in deep thought before he continued. “I’m not fully sure if it will work but we can use another spell to suppress the dragonification curse.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your dragon madness was stopped, previously?”

“Yes, I used a seal… are you saying we use the 'seal of life and death' to suppress it?” Ciel got the gist right away.

“Yes, if you borrow our powers to amplify the power of the seal, it should suppress it further. This way you’ll have more time to lift the curse once and for all.”

Ciel looked at George. There was a serious look on his face that surprised him. He thought that George of all people would be excited by the prospect, like what he had told his uncle earlier.

“Are there any repercussions?”

“If Ciel were to try this on his own, there might be. After all, the dragon is far more powerful than him. But if my mother and I channel our powers through him, there shouldn’t be any.”

“I won’t risk Ciel. Even if it means I only have three months.”

“I know that much. But have you ever wondered why you could have that seal in the first place? By any standards, you’re far more powerful than my nephew.”

“What do you mean?”

“Seals and contracts are binding spells that have a master servant relationship. If a person being bound is stronger than the one doing the binding, it’s almost always guaranteed to bounce back and injure the caster.”

Ciel had never thought about it. He had been so desperate back then that the rules of magic were completely forgotten. And after that, after that he just thought that his father had helped to supplement his seal’s power.

“Yang’s right. From what I can sense, this is all Ciel’s power.”

“Are you saying he willingly submitted to me?” that was the only answer Ciel could think of.

“Exactly. Even with his insanity he was willing to be bound to you. I believe if we use the seal, George can suppress the dragon because he will only answer to one master… you.”

This time it was Ciel’s hands that clenched George’s. No matter how his uncle put it, it meant that George had fallen for Ciel from the moment they had met. He couldn’t believe it and it made him heat up. If George had not hurt him then, if Ciel had not avoided him after that, would they have wasted fifty years circling around each other, wary of destroying the balance? He wouldn’t know. There are no ifs in the world, only certainties. George had hurt Ciel and he in return had avoided him. They had needed that fifty years away from each other, like a moon orbiting around the planet; always in sight but never touching. How else could they really come to understand one another and know that they were the best for each other? When he felt the thumbs stroking his clenched hands, he flushed and came back to reality. He looked up to see George giving him a smile before turning to Hong Yang.

“You’ve got a point there. I’ll answer to Ciel and only Ciel. If the seal can help subdue the dragon curse then I’m up for it.”

“Good. We’ll start after dinner. It’s almost time.”

Hong Yang got up and offered his arm to his mother. She looked and him before getting up and taking it.

“If there’s nothing else, we’ll see you later.” With that, they both left for their own courtyard.