Worthy Of His Hire by Khilari (Gen)

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

Fandom: KUROSHITSUJI
Pairing: none
Length: 887 words
Author on LJ: khilari
Author Website: khilari at AO3
Warning: For major character death
Why this must be read:

Sebastian and Ciel's story begins with Sebastian saving Ciel's life; here it ends with Ciel saving Sebastian's.

“Worthy Of His Hire” carries a humor tag, and perhaps Ciel would consider that appropriate. And his view should count, because this is really Ciel's story, for all that we see it from Sebastian's point of view: the last moments of Ciel's life give us a moving and razor-sharp vision of what makes Ciel Ciel, someone who against all the odds could fascinate and command (and perhaps even be loved by) an ancient demon of incalculable power. If these are Ciel's final moments in the world, they're last moments that are worthy of him.

This is a story that leaves me with very much the same sort of feeling that the end of the first anime series leaves me with: a blend of aesthetic pleasure and desolation. It's not a happily-ever-after kind of ending, but it's one I suspect Ciel himself would be content with: he has the grandeur here of Ulysses in Dante's hell. It's a stunning story, and the most moving and satisfying not-happy ending I've seen in anywhere in the fandom.

Worthy Of His Hire