[If this weren't such a serious situation with so much at stake, if there weren't such an important goal he wanted - no, needed - to accomplish and he could indulge in nostalgia at his leisure, perhaps Sebastian would give in to that fleeting impulse to wipe Ciel's tears away, the way he did once before. This is, after all, in some ways just like back then.]
Easily said. [He leans in so close, to the point where they're almost touching.] Do you mean it?