A/N: I already posted this story once, but I confused it with a different one (somehow) and completely deleted it... Oops. Anyway I took that as an opportunity to go back and revise it a little bit.

1. This is not a SebaCiel fic. It was meant to be a father/son thing. I gave Ciel a very childish outlook in this story, and Sebastian is more caring and wise. Like a CHILD. And their FATHER.

2. The original concept for this story is not mine. This is based on a doujinshii I read. I didn't like exactly how the events played out in that, or how it ended. (Do not underestimate the power of Rated 18.) So, I rewrote it and turned it into a family fic.

3. Also, I didn't want Ciel to end up either dead or a demon, or for Sebastian to just walk away or be forced into eternal servitude. This was just one scenario for how the anime could have ended.

K Kitty Katastrophe!

Ciel sat up abruptly. He felt his ear twitch.

A headache made itself known to him then; he groaned weakly in protest.

What happened? he wondered. Last thing I can remember is that Sebastian had killed Ash, and we arrived at that little island. He put me down on the stone bench, and then I fell unconscious again before he could eat my soul...

The child looked around wearily, feeling frustrated and anxious. If his revenge had been completed, then why was he still alive? There was truly no point in his continued existence.

"S-Sebastian?" He called quietly. Was he even allowed to call for the demon anymore? Their contract was done, wasn't it? Sebastian had no need for him... Except to eat his soul, which he didn't appear to have done... Did he have no need for his soul after all? Was all of that which they accomplished worth nothing, then?

Ciel really didn't understand what was going on, and he was hungry, tired, cold, thirsty, and alone. He didn't know what had happened, and his whole body was aching. He really didn't see why he should or could still be alive. Everything just seemed rather pointless now, looking back on everything he had done with his demon butler.

Tears welled up in the boy's eyes.

"S-Sebastian?" He tried again. He wiped his eyes. I am the Earl of- Oh. No, he wasn't.

A quick glance at his hand told him that he didn't even have the flower ring from the river.

Ciel really felt like breaking down into sobs sometime about now.

Was everything for nothing? They had ruined so many peoples lives and killed so many others...

And Sebastian didn't even eat his soul...

After all that, he didn't even...

Ciel frowned.

Well, if revenge accomplished nothing, would crying?

More tears came to his eyes.

No, it wouldn't do anything. But sometimes doing pointless things just feels good...

And he hadn't cried in a very long time.

Would it even matter if he cried?

He was alone in this unfamiliar room, and he didn't know where anyone was. The room was practically empty, too. There were no signs that anyone had spent any time here for years at least.

He whined weakly.

Did he really even want to cry though?

Ciel jolted.

What did he want?

What was his purpose anymore?

He was supposed to be dead, wasn't he? So he couldn't go back and be the Earl of Phantomhive.

He could never see Lizzie, Meirin, Baldroy, Finny, Tanaka...

And if Sebastian didn't eat his soul, then his purpose wasn't to be eaten.

The Queen was dead too! So he couldn't serve her...

In fact, if he had exacted his revenge, he really didn't know who he was anymore! He didn't feel any anger, or any hatred. He just felt...

Empty.

Lonely.

Miserable.

This was about the time when Ciel's tears broke past his eyelashes and raced down his cheeks in sparkling streams.

The blue eyed child quickly brought his hands up to cover his mouth.

It's a very scary and hurtful thought to think that you truly serve no purpose in life. It cuts right through every wall you've ever built up and digs into your soul. The dark thought will engrave itself on your heart, slowly breaking you apart from the inside out.

Ciel was shaking from trying to stop. His whole body trembled with the effort, but it was all in vain. Tears were overflowing from his eyes, not ceasing anytime soon. His chest heaved with sobs. His lips were quivering, holding back the venomous words he wanted to say to himself.

You're worthless, he thought.

You can't do anything.

Even Sebastian didn't want you-

The door to the room opened, and there, the demon butler stood in a simple button up shirt and pants. His glistening black hair and the towel around his neck indicated that he had recently taken a bath.

The boy froze mid-sob and stared up with wide eyes at the man.

"Young lo- No, I mean... Ciel?" Sebastian questioned. His red eyes glinted in the light from the doorway. "All I have to do is leave you alone for two seconds and you fall apart. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." The demon sighed.

Ciel jolted, realizing he was staring, and quickly wiped his eyes. He sniffled softly and looked up to Sebastian.

The man stepped forward and knelt in front of the boy. He cupped the teen's face and used his thumbs to wipe his eyes. Red eyed stared into Ciel's with concern. "Are you alright?"

"W-what-?" The boy squeaked in confusion.

"What happened?" Sebastian finished teasingly. "You truly have a worthy soul. I did mean that when I first said it, and I still believe it now. But, maybe I was wrong about what your soul was worthy of." He chuckled and let his head fall, dropping his hands from Ciel's face at the same time. "I ate someone else's soul. It wasn't quite as fine as yours, but it was satisfying. Your soul is worthy of being preserved. So, I decided to keep you as a pet."

"A-a pet?" The teen frowned.

"Well, some adjustments had to be made for that to happen..."

Ciel's ear twitched again.

It took him a second, but he got it.

Blue eyes widened in shock, and soft, pale hands came up to feel the top of his head. Ears. There were ears there. Cat ears.

There were cat ears attached to the top of his head.

Ciel just glanced over his shoulder to see a matching tail.

"S-Sebastian?" He found himself muttering. He stared blankly at his tail for a few seconds before moving his eyes to his hands, yet they remained unseeing. Finally, he looked into the demon's eyes. "What is my purpose?"

Sebastian looked up and stared at the neko-child. His red eyes gleamed with something strange and wild.

"Your purpose?" He repeated. "What a ridiculous question. I suppose you do what any pet does; you care for me."

"Care for you?" Ciel asked before yawning. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you rest and we'll talk about this more when you awaken?" Sebastian suggested. Ciel nodded slowly. The man scooped the blue eyed child up and exited the room. "I apologize for leaving you alone like that. I realize that it was probably very disorienting. But, some adjustments had to be made to the house after all."

The teen sleepily took note of a large, fluffy mat in the corner of the next room and some signs on every door, saying what they led to.

Ciel was gently deposited on the giant, round pillow in the corner. He yawned again quietly and curled up into a ball.

Sebastian's eyes twinkled.

The world slowly faded to black.

-{[(•)]}-

It's cold.

All Ciel could think of was the cold. The mansion was never this cold; Sebastian knew better than to let it reach this temperature.

The dark haired boy had to think for a long moment on why it felt like ice was creeping into his bones.

Oh, he remembered, that's right. Sebastian made me his pet instead of eating my soul. I'm living with him now.

The boy shivered and tiredly opened his blue eyes. Dim morning light filtered through the windows around the room.

Ciel scratched his ear and felt his tail twitching.

This was going to take some getting used to...

What should he do?

What did pets do?

He never had a pet himself, having been allergic to cats and his mother allergic to dogs. His dad just didn't like animals.

Ciel thought for a moment on everything he had read about pets...

But it wasn't like he could do that...

He frowned softly and wondered some more as he got up and stretched. He glanced around the spacious room and tried to figure something out.

There was a round table with multiple wooden chairs, some counters with cabinets and potted plants, and each window had a pair of curtains. It was quaint and homey... Not something he would have expected from a demon like Sebastian...

Okay, so maybe he could have expected it a little bit...

The teen scowled.

Sebastian said something last night, something important. What did he say? It could be the key to solving this problem...

'I suppose you do what any pet does; you care for me.'

Ciel pondered on this for a moment.

What did the man mean by that? Care for him how?

The teen huffed.

He was used to knowing what to do, what he wanted. He was used to understanding his purpose.

He used to exist, solely to gain revenge and take back his pride. Then he would give his soul away to be devoured.

Now, he was a pet...

"Well," he whispered to himself. "How do you take care of someone?"

A lightbulb went off above his head.

The blue eyed boy smiled.

He could always start with feeding Sebastian. He already knew where the kitchen was since he had slept in the corner by the stove.

Ciel shivered once more and set to work.

Of course, he used to be an earl, waited on hand and foot by servants. His every whim was attended to, and he never had to take care of anything for himself.

So maybe cooking wasn't the best idea...

The teen squeaked out in surprise when the contents of the frying pan suddenly caught on fire. Smoke flooded the kitchen as he scrambled to put the fire out.

Suddenly, Sebastian rushed in from his bedroom. He quickly poured some water on the fire and used a blanket to fan the smoke out of the kitchen. Then he opened some windows to let the abode air out.

The man turned on Ciel with dangerous eyes.

"What were you doing?" He asked. The neko-child shrunk back; his tail wrapped around his ankles.

"I was trying to make breakfast-"

"Ciel," the demon sighed, but he couldn't hold back a smile. "I guess I didn't explain it very well, did I? We're both immortal now. I preserved your soul; you can't die. And I'm a demon. Neither of us need food. I eat souls anyway."

Blue eyes blinked owlishly in shock.

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh.'" Sebastian looked around the kitchen. "Come now, let's get this cleaned up. If you want to cook, I will teach you. Though, it would really serve no purpose..."

Ciel nodded, and the two males worked together to clean the room, moping the floor, scrubbing the counters, and washing the dishes.

Sebastian looked around once more before nodding once in approval. He gave Ciel a particularly frightening smile.

"I do hope that there won't be a repeat of this morning's episode at noon?" He asked with perfect calmness. The teen nodded quickly. "Now, I have some work to do in the office. You may do as you please, I suppose."

The demon turned to leave.

"I-I'm sorry, Sebastian," Ciel apologized quietly.

All he received was a scratch behind one of his ears.

-{[(•)]}-

The more Ciel thought about it, the more he came to a specific conclusion.

He owed Sebastian more than just his soul.

During their contract, not only had Sebastian saved his life multiple times, but he had also catered to Ciel's every need. Then, instead of consuming his soul, the demon had gone and preserved him for the rest of eternity.

And he didn't really have to do anything.

He just had to 'care for' Sebastian, whatever that meant.

All the man wanted in return for years of service and protection was a pet.

A pet.

-{[(•)]}-

Recently, the blue eyed neko-teen had developed a sense of loyalty and adoration towards Sebastian.

The man was surprisingly kind, albeit distant...

He spent most of the day in his office, doing God knows what.

And that was fine with Ciel.

The boy could do whatever he wanted, as long as he didn't break anything. Even though it was always cold in the house, he was enjoying his time there.

But he still wanted to serve his purpose, to 'take care of' Sebastian.

He had thought the house needed a little dusting.

So, he had very carefully wiped down all of the counters, and only lifted decorations for a few seconds to wipe down the space underneath before replacing the item exactly where it had been. He thought he had been doing a good job until he got to the spare room.

Sebastian liked to use it as a storage room, you see.

There were all kinds of things in there- paintings, furniture, towels, weapons... You name it.

Ciel had only stood on a chair to reach the top of a cabinet when the chair suddenly teetered and he fell. The teen only barely managed to keep from shouting out in surprise, but he couldn't help a small exclamation of pain when he cut his hand on the stack of swords nearby.

"O-ouch," he winced quietly and cradled his hand to his chest. Seconds later, it was stinging.

Badly.

Ciel bit his lip and scuttled into the corner to hide.

Sebastian had to have heard him fall.

"Ciel?" The demon questioned when he entered the room. The man only glanced around for a second before his eyes landed directly on the pile of swords. "Oh my. Whatever were you trying to do?"

The boy just silently shrunk back farther into the corner.

"I know that you're in here."

Ciel remained quiet.

Sebastian sighed and walked leisurely over to the corner. The teen inhaled quickly, shut his eyes tight, and held his hand close to his chest.

"I see you."

He was suddenly lifted by the back of his shirt.

Ciel opened his eyes shamefully.

"Let me see."

His tail wrapped around his ankles.

"Now, Ciel."

He held out his hand.

"Oh, Ciel. Why does this keep happening? What were you trying to do now?" Sebastian sighed as he looked over the bleeding appendage.

"I was trying to clean," the blue eyed child admitted.

"Clean?" The man looked surprised.

"Yes," Ciel nodded. "To start caring for you. I can't cook, and you don't bathe."

"I bathe."

"I assume you don't want me to bathe you."

"There you go."

"How am I supposed to take care of you?"

Sebastian just sighed.

"'Care for me,'" he corrected. "Not 'take care of me.'" He gently prodded Ciel's hand.

"Ouch!" Ciel startled and tried to pull away.

"Hmm, it appears to be very sensitive. It's alright. It should heal in a few days," the man offered. He allowed the boy to take back his hand.

"Injuries don't just heal like magic," the dark haired boy argued.

"No, most don't," Sebastian smiled in that way that made shivers run down Ciel's spine. "Your soul is now linked to mine. That's the preservation I set. You can only die if I do, and my life force will always protect and heal you."

Ciel thought for a moment. "Your life force?" He finally questioned. "Does that mean you will eventually die?"

"My life force is equal to the quality of the souls I consume."

The boy's eyes widened.

'I'm sorry for being late my Lord, but I was preparing the Last Supper.'

The neko-child gulped and quietly looked away. Sebastian was going to have eaten his soul and had a huge supply of life force. Now, he was using his life force for him...

"Let's get this wrapped up," the demon finally suggested. He led Ciel to his office, where he pulled some bandages from one of the bookcases.

The duo was quiet as Sebastian started to clean the wound.

Ciel flinched.

The red eyed man started to wrap the blue eyed boy's hand.

"Now," Sebastian leaned into the child's face. "I don't want any more incidents. We don't need to eat, and the house doesn't need to sparkle. I don't want you to bathe me, and the garden will not ever need tending to. Think you can handle that?"

At first, Ciel had been intimidated by the older being. His tail had wrapped tightly around his ankles, and his ears had pressed back against his head.

But that last comment made his ears snap up.

One of them twitched.

"Of course I can handle it!" He snapped. "I was just trying to help."

He turned and stormed away, heading to his little mat in the kitchen.

He sat down grumpily. He tail swished side to side, but his ears were high and alert for any changes in the house.

It was still cold, though, so he had to keep shivering.

-{[(•)]}-

Ciel woke up the next morning in Sebastian's bedroom.

He sat up immediately after he realized where he was.

His mat had been moved to the corner of the demon's bedroom.

And said demon was still asleep.

The blue eyed boy wanted to hiss at Sebastian.

That jerk, he thought. He did this just to scare me!

He looked around nervously, not really believing what he had just thought. Why had Sebastian really moved him in here?

Ciel quietly played with the end of his tail as he waited for the man to awaken.

Suddenly, he stopped.

His ear twitched.

Why was he waiting?! If Sebastian was doing this to scare him, then by all means, why should he wait for the demon to wake up?!

The teen smirked and silently padded across the floor to the bed. Just as he was about to jump on the black haired man and jolt him awake, a cold draft blew through the room from the window.

Ciel gasped and quickly rubbed his arms, trying to stop shivering. He dropped to his knees and curled in on himself.

Cold.

Cold.

So cold.

Why am I so cold?

Why am I always so cold?

Did it even matter?

I need to get warm.

Cold.

Cold...

So...

Ciel's teeth were chattering, as though all of cold he had been feeling for the past weeks of his stay had gathered inside him and was trying to force its way out. The boy shook as he tried to return to the mat.

He collapsed to the floor in a shivering heap.

Strong arms suddenly surrounded him and set him on something warm and soft. He opened his eyes to see Sebastian, once again looking mildly irritated with him.

The demon just lifted the covers and placed them over the boy.

Ciel's ear twitched.

"Why didn't you tell me you were cold?" The man demanded.

The boy was slowly beginning to cease shivering. He remained silent.

The demon's eyes flashed.

"Your job is to care for me, but that doesn't mean that I'm not supposed to care for you too," Sebastian hissed. "Haven't you ever had a pet, or small relative?"

Ciel just slowly shook his head.

"Never?"

"N-no." Ciel silently observed that Sebastian's bed smelled kind of nice, like roses and cookies. It made him feel like he was being wrapped in a warm hug.

He felt safe.

"Fine," Sebastian sighed. "Let's rephrase your purpose. I want companionship. I don't want a servant, or else I wouldn't have kept you. You were an earl; you know nothing of taking care of another's physical needs."

Ciel stared at the man with widened eyes.

"Companionship means that I have to take care of you, too. Relationships go two-ways, and they're based on communication. I can't take care of your needs if you don't tell them to me," Sebastian continued. "You tried to put out the kitchen fire by yourself instead of calling for help. You hid the injury on your hand instead of seeking assistance. And you've been cold without asking for warmth."

Ciel felt his ears lower against his head shamefully.

"I could have easily helped you in each of those situations. And we could have avoided them altogether if you had just talked to me. You can't serve your purpose unless you let me care for you as well," the red eyed man concluded.

The blue eyed boy nodded.

"Alright," Sebastian smiled. "Well, it's probably for the better, then, that I noticed your shivering yesterday and decided to do something about it." He gracefully crossed the room to his cherry wood dresser and opened the top drawer. Out came a thick, fuzzy sweater.

Sebastian made Ciel sit up straight and helped him pull the wooly sweater over his head. The boy instantly stopped shivering.

"It's so warm," he grinned quietly. He held up his arms. "And big..." His smile faltered just a bit.

"Well, I didn't have your exact measurements," the demon admitted with an adoring smile as he watched Ciel fiddle with the shirt. "Stand up. Let me see."

The boy stood up on the bed, still shorter than the demon. The sweater reached down to the middle of his thighs, and the sleeves extended an extra couple inches past his hands.

"That is simply adorable," Sebastian commented. Ciel went red.

"Oh, shut up, you!"

The demon smirked.

"You know what that would look good with?" He asked.

Ciel's response was a pillow to the man's face.

-{[(•)]}-

The blue eyed boy ended up wearing the sweater every day, at all times.

It was just so warm, and it smelled so nice.

Like Sebastian.

The demon had started leaving the house. He was gone from early morning to late in the evening, and Ciel was left alone in the house all day.

At first, the teen had panicked, for some reason thinking the demon had left him for good. Of course, he had soon settled into the routine.

But it was rather lonely staying by himself in the house, and Sebastian had instructed him that he wasn't allowed to go out into the garden when he wasn't home. So the poor neko-child was locked up in their home by himself.

Ciel sighed.

It was so boring, just sitting there all day doing nothing of value. He was left with so much time to just think, and none of his thoughts were pleasant.

You're awful, they said.

Sebastian doesn't like you; that's why he keeps leaving, they told him.

He had taken to sleeping through the day.

The boy frowned and looked out of the window again. Sitting on the floor is uncomfortable, he decided.

He was currently seated on the floor underneath the window, waiting for Sebastian to return.

The teen grabbed one of the chairs from the kitchen table and lifted it as high as he could. "Oof!" He grunted under the weight of the chair. He brought the chair to the window and set it down. Smiling even at such a minor achievement, the blue eyed child sat down and watched out the window once more.

At least this time he had an even better view.

The sun was setting in the distance when Sebastian came home to find Ciel asleep in a chair by the window. The demon just smiled softly and carried the boy to his mat in their bedroom.

-{[(•)]}-

The days were hard enough for Ciel, waiting in a silent, empty house for Sebastian, but the nights were even worse, if you can imagine.

To think, after spending all day waiting for him, Sebastian just came home and fell asleep again.

He was right there after all that time, but Ciel could never disturb him.

He just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Sebastian always looked so peaceful when he slept, and the teen knew that he had spent the day working hard. He didn't want to interrupt the little rest the man got.

But since he was usually alone, Ciel still spent his days sleeping. Which meant that he was awake at night, torturing himself with watching Sebastian and never talking to him.

-{[(•)]}-

The duo's lives continued like this for a while.

Ciel spent his days bored and alone while Sebastian worked.

The nights were long and filled with miserable loneliness.

So Ciel tried to start doing something during the day so that he wouldn't have to stay up all night.

His first idea was reading.

Sebastian hadn't exactly been happy about him trying to get into his study.

So he'd tried to organize the mess of a spare room. He separated everything by categories and tried to make neat piles.

He just ended up with sore muscles and a pained tail from when a box had fallen on it.

So, he'd decided to take up a hobby.

Ciel had thought over possible hobbies long and hard. Many things sounded uninteresting to him. There were quite a few things he knew Sebastian wouldn't let him do. And he wanted to do something productive, something he could show Sebastian so they could finally have something to talk about.

He'd settled on baking.

His first attempt had been a cake from a book he found in the spare room.

Sadly, that was a terrible failure. The cake itself was too dry, the frosting tasted like thick wads of paper, and it had almost blown up the oven when he had originally tried making it.

His second try had been scones, something he was familiar with from England. They were hard and tasteless. It's not hard to say that they were a failure as well.

But then he tried to make some cookies.

It had taken a lot of work to get the cookie book out of Sebastian's office. The man almost always knew when the teen snuck in there.

Then he had to make the cookies themselves. He'd gathered the ingredients and followed the recipe almost perfectly, only increasing the amount of butter, chocolate and sugar by a very minute amount. Next, he'd made sure they were all the same size, shape, and thickness before very carefully putting them in the oven. He hovered over the cookies worriedly; they just couldn't burn! He couldn't let them!

Eventually, he had deemed then done and carefully removed them from the hot oven. Removing them from the pan, he was arranging them on a plate when Sebastian came home.

"Ciel?" The demon questioned as he leaned into the kitchen from the door. "What are you doing?"

The neko-teen smiled warmly and looked over his shoulder. "I'm baking!" He beamed, proud of himself.

"Baking?" Sebastian cringed. He knew exactly how the others attempts had turned out.

"Yes! I made cookies," Ciel answered as he turned back to putting the cookies out to cool. The red eyed man sighed and carefully approached.

He was surprised to find that the fruits of Ciel's labor didn't look half as bad as any of the previous times. In fact, they didn't look bad at all.

"May I try one?" He asked. Ciel rolled his eyes.

"No, Sebastian. I made them for you to look at." He huffed. "Of course, you can eat one!"

The man just smiled.

He held up a cookie and took a cautious bite. His eyes lit up. "These aren't completely terrible. Good job!"

"Hey!" Ciel's ear twitched. "I worked hard on these, thank you very much!"

"I see you used the book from my study."

Ciel instantly quieted.

Sebastian just laughed.

-{[(•)]}-

A/N: The second half of this story has warnings for gore and poorly written fight scenes. Also: Rat Demon OC, anyone?