This is set in present time. I'm caught up with the manga, but not the anime. Sebastian isn't a demon. Yet.

DISCLAIMER: If Kuroshitsuji was mine, it'd have hardcore yaoi.

He knew that the boy his parents chose to adopt would bring nothing but trouble. They said he needed an elder sibling to look up to, to be his role model. Ciel was perfectly happy being an only child. He didn't need an elder brother, much less one who looked like...like...

This was unusual. This is the first time he hadn't been able to think of some scathing description. The sixteen year old boy standing in between his parents smirked, like he knew what was going on in Ciel's head.

"Ciel, this is Sebastian. He'll be your elder brother from now on." Their father said, a hand on Sebastian's shoulder.

Damn him. He was already annoying Ciel. "I'm lucky to have such a cute little brother."

Ciel gritted his teeth. He was thirteen for God's sakes! He was mature for his age. He didn't need an elder brother!

Still, he kept his thoughts unspoken. It wouldn't do any good to act like a selfish, spoiled brat, especially with that...that...guy around. He didn't need to make a fool of himself.

Sebastian stepped forward and ruffled Ciel's hair. He stood about twice as tall as Ciel. As if he needed to be reminded of his height. "Would you please stop that?" The younger boy bit out, his anger barely contained.

"My, what a cute little pout." Sebastian smirked again. Oh, how Ciel wished he could wipe it off his face. He already hated it.

His hands were clenched into fists. 'No, Ciel. You mustn't make a fool of yourself.' He ordered himself. He took a deep breath to steady himself. He uncurled his fists. "Nice to meet you, brother." He forced himself to smile, though it came out in a grimace.

"No need to be so serious, Ciel." Sebastian pulled the younger's cheeks apart, which was far more annoying than it was painful. The stupid smirk was still on his face. This guy was determined to drive Ciel into madness.

When Sebastian finally decided to release his cheeks, it felt like they've been stretched. Ciel rubbed them with his hands.

"Ciel, honey, would you show your brother to his new room?" His mother said in a sweet voice. She didn't even give him a chance to decline before she hurried off to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"C'mon." He strode forwards, carrying himself like an adult. He heard a chuckle from Sebastian. Though it ticked him off, Ciel chose to ignore it. He walked up the staircase and down the hallway, stopping in front of a finely carved door. He turned the knob, entering the dark room. The lights flicked on.

His parents had spent about a month decorating and furnishing this room. His mother especially had fun picking out wallpapers and furniture to match. It fit Sebastian surprisingly well. He had an air of Victorian era about him, like he belonged in the time period.

Sebastian had already started unpacking his clothes, not that he owned much.

Ciel turned on his heel, about to leave the room. "Ciel."

He stopped, not even bothering to turn around and face his new brother. "What?" There was a hint of impatience in his tone, though he tried not to let it show.

"We haven't even known each other for an hour, yet you seem to hate my guts."

'Your guts, that smirk and everything else about you, brother.' Ciel only huffed and went inside his room at the end of the hall. He didn't need to explain himself to that guy.

"Not talkative, hm?" Sebastian said to himself as he continued to unpack.

A soft mew made him pause, a folded jumper in his hands. A black kitten had been watching him curiously, its head tipped to one side. Sebastian opened the window, letting the kitten inside. It hopped down onto the carpeted floor, rubbing its lithe body around Sebastian's legs.

He sat down and petted its head, a smile on his face. Cats were adorable. Much better than dogs, who liked to get themselves filthy and roll around in garbage.

"So soft." Sebastian murmured as he stroked the kitten's midnight colored fur. "I wonder if I can keep you." The kitten mewed in reply.

"Sebastian?" He'd been so absorbed with the cat that he didn't notice his new mother enter the room. "Time for dinner. Could you get your brother as well?"

"Of course." Sebastian stood up, the kitten in his arms. He set it down where he first saw it. He left the window open so that it could come and go into his room as it pleased. The dark haired teen dusted himself off before approaching Ciel's room. He rapped his knuckles thrice on the wooden door, which was carved like his own. "Dinner's ready."

"I'm not hungry." Came Ciel's reply from inside.

"You shouldn't skip a meal, Ciel."

"I don't care. I'll come down when I get hungry."

"Suit yourself." Sebastian found his way into the kitchen. "Is there anything I can help with?" He asked.

"Oh, that's alright. I've got it."

Since Ciel wasn't there for Sebastian to annoy, dinner was rather boring, and the following hours after.

The younger of the two stayed locked up in his room, until his stomach growled. It was past midnight already. He'd gotten so caught up in his reading that he hadn't noticed the time.

'I wonder if Mother set aside some food for me?' Ciel opened his door a crack. Sebastian's door was closed, no light seeping from the crack at the bottom. He'd gone to sleep.

Ciel went down to the kitchen as quietly as he could manage, not wanting for his evil brother to wake up and annoy him. He turned the lights on, shaking his head. His eyes grew accustomed to the dark after the few minutes he spent creeping around in the dark halls.

He opened the refrigerator. His mother had indeed set aside a plate of food for him, but he decided to eat something else instead. He felt like eating something sweet right now. Ciel began to rummage around the kitchen, hunting for the sweets his mother always hid from him. He was the type to eat it all in one sitting.

"Ah." He took out the box of chocolate stashed behind the spices.

"You know, it isn't good to eat chocolates in the middle of the night." Sebastian's sudden statement made him jump. Ciel didn't even hear him coming.

"Go back to sleep."

"You're the one who should be sleeping. You'll never get any taller if you don't sleep properly." Sebastian took the chocolates away from Ciel, placing it on the highest shelf.

"Go away." Sebastian pretended he didn't hear Ciel as he took the plate out for him, placing it in the microwave.

"Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Yes, and so do you."

"It's not my fault if you wake up tired. You should've had dinner at the appropriate time."

The microwave beeped a few times before Sebastian took the plate out, setting it on the kitchen table in front of Ciel. "Finish that, then brush your teeth and go to sleep."

"You're not my mom."

"No, but I am your elder brother."

'Not by blood, you're not.' Ciel thought as he ate. While he finished eating, Sebastian washed the dishes. "Give me your plate when you're done."

'Damn him. I wanted chocolates, but no, he had to come here and lecture me about eating and sleeping and whatever else it was. Who does he think he is? He hasn't been here for even a day and he's already bossing me around!' Ciel thought as he made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Their relationship remained the same for a few months. Ciel had always been cold toward him. He didn't have to like Sebastian. He just had to be able to stay in the same room as him without killing him and such. Though it was getting quite difficult to refrain from doing so as time passed.

Did he have to be perfect at everything? Sebastian currently held first place in his grade for test scores. He was good at every sport known to man, he wasn't stuck up or mean (save for the times he teased Ciel just for the hell of it), he was talented in the arts and he wasn't that bad-looking. He was the perfect son.

Ciel had to work four times as hard so as not to look lazy and stupid compared to Sebastian, who didn't even need to try. It pissed him off to no end how one person could be that perfect.

Sebastian waited for him at the school gates. They'd always walk home together. Ciel wasn't exactly the most social person around. He preferred keeping to himself, talking only when he needed to. Most of his classmates avoided him, which suited him just fine. Except for that annoying Trancy kid. Was he too stupid to take a hint?

Sebastian on the other hand, was was quite popular, though like Ciel, he preferred his own company. He wasn't as anti-social as the younger though.

Ciel rolled his eyes as Sebastian stooped down to pet a cat. The sixteen year old had a weakness for the creatures. "Why do you like cats? They're smelly, they scratch up furniture and they cough up hairballs everywhere."

"I think they're cute."

"Can't you pet cats when we're at home? You already have five in your room."

"That doesn't mean I'll be able to resist any other feline's charms." Sebastian smiled, stroking the cat's back.

'Hurry up, you cat-loving basketball player.' Ciel glared a hole into the back of Sebastian's head. The dark haired boy certainly had the height that would give him an advantage in the game.

"Let's go home." Sebastian petted the cat one last time before standing.

'Finally.'

The Phantomhive residence was about a few more minutes away. Their house was pretty large compared to the other houses in the area, and it was built to make it appear as though it was the only one for miles away, when in truth, it was actually just a few minutes' walk to the closest one.

When he was younger, Ciel liked to explore the forest surrounding their home, getting himself lost a few times. His father was the one who often found him curled up under a tree, crying.

The front door was wide open. Neither of their parents would leave it wide open like that. Something was wrong.

"Ciel, hide in the woods. Don't come inside the house until I come and get you." Sebastian said, stopping him from entering the house. Ciel nodded and took off into the woods. He didn't dare argue with Sebastian, not with the look on the older boy's face.

Sebastian picked up the shovel their mother used to plant shrubs a few days ago. It would have to do for now. He couldn't just waltz in there unarmed. Who knows who would be in there, lying in wait for him and Ciel?

He checked every possible hiding place in the house, the shovel as a makeshift weapon. The living room was the last place he had to check. He dropped the shovel in horror.

Ciel waited for Sebastian to come out of the house. A thought suddenly occurred to him. Maybe whoever it was who broke into their house had gotten him. Ciel wasn't too fond of Sebastian, but he was still his brother.

He entered the house cautiously, his heart pounding against his chest. "S-Sebastian?" He called hesitantly. He didn't know if there was someone else in the house. He could see the handle of the shovel Sebastian had been holding, abandoned on the floor. He entered the living room, finding Sebastian standing stock-still.

A large puddle of blood lay in the centre of the room, the mangled remains of their parents the source of it.

"Mother...Father..." Ciel whispered, his small frame shaking, tears silently streaming down his cheeks. What did his parents do to deserve this fate? Was he and Sebastian to end up like them? He averted his eyes from the gruesome display, but it remained etched into his mind's eye. 'No. No. No.'

He couldn't take it anymore. He emptied the contents of his stomach out onto the floor. Sebastian snapped out of his trance, turning towards him.

"Ciel..." Sebastian steered him outside, away from the horrible sight.

Ciel wrapped his arms tightly around Sebastian's midsection. "S-Sebastian..." The boys had no one else but each other now. "Wh-why..."

"I don't know..." Sebastian replied in a hoarse whisper, already knowing his question. He was wondering the same thing. Their parents didn't do anything wrong. They were nice people. They treated him and Ciel equally, despite that he wasn't their own flesh and blood.

He held the smaller boy tightly, to quell Ciel's, as well as his own fears. Who would do something like that? What reason did they have? Would they come after him and Ciel next?

For the first time in his life, Sebastian didn't know the answer to his own questions. He had no idea who committed the murder. He couldn't avenge his parents' deaths. He felt useless. All he could do was comfort his little brother and hope that this was all just a silly dream that he'd wake up from.

The next few hours went by like a blur. Ciel didn't remember being placed in a bed. This was an unfamiliar room. This wasn't his room. "Sebastian!" Ciel shouted, afraid that he was left alone, that the murderer had gotten to his brother. The teen came running into the room.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian's eyes quickly darted around the room, searching for a threat. The day's events had him constantly checking over his shoulder, in a state of paranoia.

"Don't leave me." It wasn't a request. It was an order. Since Sebastian was the only one he had left, Ciel was determined not to let him leave his sight. Sebastian seated himself on the edge of Ciel's bed. His presence made the thirteen year old feel a little better.

"Where are we?"

"The police relocated us here. They couldn't have us staying there." Sebastian pulled his brother closer to him, a hand stroking Ciel's hair. The blue haired boy was trembling, and Sebastian could feel moisture seeping into his shirt. He let Ciel cry himself back to sleep. Even then, he didn't release his brother.

This is the most serious piece I've ever written. Don't believe me? Check out my fictionpress stories, Dragon Scar and All in Good Time (yaoi story, you've been warned). My username is the same there.

Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading.