Ten o' clock in the middle of the night, all was quiet in the Phantomhive Manor. Ciel had retired a little over two hours prior, and the others had finished their household duties an hour after the young master went to bed, leaving Sebastian alone in consciousness in the large mansion. It had been another tiresome day, performing tasks laid out by none other than her majesty the Queen. The demon, who just so happened to be one hell of a butler, did not exhaust from the day's events, but then again, he was a demon, a demon focused primarily on one thing, devouring his young master's soul. Though everyone knew that was the sole purpose for his being, it seemed clearly that he and the boy did have a bond that no other person would be able to comprehend.
Sebastian settled into a chair in the living room, his favorite chair, and found his place in the book he had started the previous night, The Great Gatsby. Sighing, he contented himself with the love story and began reading. Demons did have incredible reading skills and the ability to finish a dictionary in a matter of minutes, but some books were meant to be simply...enjoyed.
"Scritch scratch! Scritch scratch!"
His head snapped towards the direction the sound came from; the direction where something or someone was scratching on the front door. Looking at the clock hung in the living room, Sebastian muttered to himself, "Hmm...what a late hour for a visitor."
As if the unknown scratching source heard him, a familiar meowing sound erupted from behind the wooden door.
A cat? Here? Sebastian scratched his head in wonder at the expectant small, fragile creature waiting outside.
Ciel Phantomhive, the master and head of the household, as well as the Phantomhive name, did not particularly care for the feline species; he was a rather canine fan.
Perhaps there was a way, the butler thought, for him to keep the cat quiet without his master knowing. It was a rather risky task; a direct order to not keep the cat would have to be followed, if Ciel chose.
A thought ran through Sebastian's mind; he had never actually opened the door and even saw the cat. Maybe it wasn't a cat; maybe he was just hearing things.
"Meow, scritch scratch. Meow, mew."
He walked over to the door and opened it. Even if it was someone trying to beguile their way into the household, he could kill said person with nothing more than his bare hands.
A long-haired rather large cat sat on the porch licking its paw. It had the most beautiful coat Sebastian had ever seen on a cat; it was red, bright red.
"What a beautiful feline," the butler said while picking the cat up into his arms. "Such soft paws and a long fuzzy tail and-"
The cat hopped out of his arms and started weaving throughout his legs, purring and mewing the entire time. Sebastian sat on the floor in front of the cat and it rolled over on its back, allowing him to pet its stomach.
"The young master would not be happy if he found you inside, and as my contract with my master I cannot-"
As if the cat knew how we would finish his sentence, it sat down and mewed softly, pawing at the demon butler's arm. Sebastian smiled as the little feline tried to win him over; it was working though.
He picked the cat up in his arms and stroked its long bright red fur. "Alright, I suppose you can stay in my room as long as you're quiet."
The cat hopped out of his arms again and ran for the kitchen. Sebastian tilted his head slightly and asked himself, "How does he know where the kitchen is? Hmm... smart cat."
Following the feline, Sebastian knew he had to name the cat, it certainly couldn't continue being referred to as the cat. It was a male cat with long soft red fur. A very unique color for a very unique cat, therefore he needed a very unique name.
When Sebastian walked into the kitchen, the cat was sitting in front of the refrigerator meowing and pawing at the door. The cat was then hoisted into the butler's arms and asked to stay quiet, producing soft, gentle mews from that point on.
The clock struck twelve o'clock midnight, such a late hour to be cooking, but the elegant feline had to eat something. A bowl of water and a plate of fresh-cooked chicken were placed in front of the beautiful creature that turned up his nose and pranced away.
Sebastian could not help but chuckle at the feline's actions. "Stubborn are you? I'm sure you'll eat it if I leave it with you."
. . .
An hour later, tucked away in the red-eyed butler's room, the feline slept contently at the bottom of his bed. The plate of chicken was empty and sitting beside the water bowl. A litter box was also sitting in the corner of his room. As a demon butler, he had no need for sleep, but rest was always helpful and welcomed. Rest was exactly what the feline-lover did in the remaining hours before the sun rose up over the horizon.
The cat curled up beside him and purred happily throughout the night. "You're one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen," Sebastian said while petting the cat's head.
. . .
Eight o' clock sharp, Sebastian hopped out of his bed and prepared for the day. The cat was right beside him the whole time.
"You act more human than you do feline. But, I can tell you are a not a demon cat just by your scent. However, you have to stay here during the day and remain quiet," Sebastian pet the cat once more before leaving his bedroom, locking the door, and slipping the key into his pocket.
It wasn't very likely that someone would enter his room throughout the day, but precautionary measures were best taken in matters such as these.
The young master wanted to be woken up on a strict schedule, especially on days when there were letters from the Queen. Sebastian headed downstairs towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Ciel, his master.
After the table was set and breakfast was served, he made his way upstairs to wake the young boy, dress him, and lead him downstairs for breakfast.
As the boy sat down in his usual seat, his butler handed him the letter which he opened right away.
A peculiar look grew across the boy's face. "Sebastian, this letter is not from the queen, it is from a William T. Spears of the Shinigami Society. It appears that Grell Sutcliff has been kidnapped," the boy said while handing the letter to Sebastian.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Grell has been kidnapped? Why would someone go through all that trouble?"
"I don't know. It's not my job to know; I'm not the one responsible for him." Ciel sipped his blackberry mint tea and finished his breakfast. "By the way Sebastian, what were those strange sounds coming from your room last night?"
Sebastian smirked. There were many ways to answer that question without stating the actual truth. "Well my young master, if you really want to know..."
"No, I renounce my question," the boy flashed a glare at his butler before smirking himself and saying, "Sebastian, if you were really trying to hide the fact that we now have a cat, the least you could have done would have been to hide the random bag of cat litter sitting in the kitchen. We haven't had a cat and Pluto didn't use the litter so..."
Sebastian sighed, ashamed that he made such a foolish and careless mistake. "I'll take care of it right away my lord," before turning on his heel and walking away.
"Wait! I didn't say you couldn't keep the cat. In fact, I was thinking that we should probably get a cat. Ever since Pluto's death, it's been...quiet around here."
His butler bowed and said, "Exactly my thoughts. I am sure that you will love the cat the minute you see him. He's quite intelligent and very unique."
"I'll let you keep the cat on one condition," Ciel said smirking. "I get to name it."
A/N: This is my first GrellxSebby fic so I hope it is good! I have only watched the first season and I haven't read or watched the second season yet so Alois and Claude will not be in this, as of right now.
Ciel needs help naming the kitty cat! Anyone who can come up with a cute name for the cat will be credited for it. If I receive more than one name, I will choose one at random and find a way to incorporate the other ones as well.
Though this is a GrellxSebby story, Grell won't be in this for a little while because...well I can't exactly say now can I?