"Brother, brother! Look! Have you seen all the decorations outside? It looks so beautiful!"
Ciel's voice echoed in the room. I flinched a bit in surprise and turned my gaze at the doorway. Ciel stood there with a big smile on his face, just like always. Seeing this, I couldn't help but smile back. I closed the book that I was holding but left a bookmark between the pages.
"Yes, I could hear all the ruckus outside so I checked it out."
Ciel stomped forward rapidly and held my shoulders. I shut my eyes in reflex but I immediately opened them as I heard his voice.
"Hey, you should be more happy! You know what this means, right?"
"A-another party?" I said with a paling face.
He raised a finger between our faces and wagged it slightly. "It's not just a normal party, it's for Halloween!"
"Oh... It's already that time of the year?" That's what I could only reply because I didn't know what's interesting in those social events.
"Yeah! Silly brother, how come you could forget the date?" He said chuckling.
"I-It's not like I've forgotten the date... It's just that I've been stuck in the house for quite a long time so..." I didn't notice the passage of time is what I meant to say, but as I saw Ciel's smile sadden a little, I stopped my words.
"...Well, anyway, we're still going to have a party. You need to be well rested so all of us could join the fun!"
"I don't mind if I don't attend though..."
"No! You must be there. Or I'll be really lonely without you! You don't want to make me feel lonely, right?" Ciel pleaded with watery eyes. I tried to avoid his gaze, but it was of no use. I breathed out a sigh in defeat and slumped my shoulders.
"Alright, I hope I'll be feeling well tomorrow."
As I said this, Ciel's expression brightened.
"Really?! This means you're going, right? Let's do all the exciting stuff together! What about apple bobbing?"
"Sounds great."
Ciel continued to talk about all the 'fun' halloween stuff with a wide smile. I sat there listening in content and replying with my own opinion on the matter. To be honest, I was quite anxious about attending a party. I've always been sheltered in the warm walls of our home that I grew to be uncomfortable around other people. During some social events that I was forced to attend, I would just hide behind mother's or father's back. Sonetimes, I would hold Ciel's hand and let him drag me anywhere. I thought that with him by my side, everything would turn out okay.
To cut it short, I guess I'm just shy in general.
"And you know what, Lizzie would be there, too. It sure would be fun!"
"Yeah, Elizabeth will surely be there. Wait, does that mean that Uncle Alexis and Aunt Frances will be there too?" I asked innocently. As Ciel heard the last sentence, his face paled by a few tones.
"Aunt Frances? No way!"
I chuckled at his expression. Seeing the bubbly Ciel panic at the mention of our aunt was quite amusing. Sweat can be seen running down his forehead and his lips quivered slightly. If there's anything in the world that would make Ciel feel really scared, that would be our Aunt Frances.
It's not like I'm immune to her 'scary powers', I just didn't get to interact with her that much. She would just visit the manor a few times and teach Ciel all about fencing and how to protect yourself and all the stuff. Even though I don't talk to her that much, the sharp glare she would send us was really scary. That was enough to leave an impression on me.
Putting those thoughts aside, I stared at my hand. There I was holding a thick hardcover book that I haven't manage to finish due to Ciel's sudden entrance.
'I guess this could wait for tomorrow.' I mused to myself.
Suddenly, a new voice entered the room. Ciel and I both stared at the same direction and from there we saw Old man Tanaka standing curtly at the doorway.
"Tanaka!" "Gramps!" We interjected in chorus.
"It seems that it's time for the young masters to go to their bedroom and rest. We will have a long day tomorrow."
"But I'm not sleepy yet~" Ciel pouted. Tanaka just shook his head and ushered us to our bedroom.
"No, Young Master. You need to have adequate amount of sleep so you'll have energy tomorrow. You don't want to sleep through the party, right?"
"Definitely not!"
"Then, the bedroom you go then."
"... Yes, Tanaka."
Ciel still didn't look pleased as he strode away to our bedroom's direction. I, who was left behind, was held on the shoulder by Tanaka. I stared up and he gave me a gentle smile.
"You should follow him."
"Yes. Goodnight, Gramps."
"Good night, Young Master."
I clung to his leg for a bit then followed Ciel on his way. Tanaka just waved at us with the same smile that he usually had. I don't know if I was looking forward for tomorrow's event, but I'm sure I need to rest. With Ciel being this excited, he couldn't help but feel the same.
'Halloween, huh...?'
The thought filled my mind as I slowly closed my eyes. Pictures of past Halloween events flashed behind my eyelids and soon enough, I drifted off to sleep. I wished that tomorrow would be a wonderful day.
In the end, I was down again with a fever and with my asthma acting up. It was really hard to focus my eyesight but I saw a gloomy Ciel stare at me as he was ushered out of the room.
I didn't have the chance to join the party this time.
The past Halloween have been like this, too; me staring at the ceiling while everyone in the land of Phantomhive have their fun. I wasn't bitter, but the static image of my room was quite boring. My only visitors would be the maids who would take care of me or the occasional birds that would perch on my window. I would wonder what would've happened if I managed to join in the fun. Would I really enjoy it? Imagining all those strangers dancing around made me shiver already. I tried to breath out a heavy sigh but it turned into a coughing fit instead.
I ultimately decided to sleep the whole day off. That way I won't feel anything.
(Even the tight sensation in my chest. Even the slight feeling of sadness that was born out of my own fragility. Even the tickling sensation behind my throat whenever I breathe. Everything.)
And I was like that for three days.
"Ohh! He's awake!"
As I fluttered my eyes open, I immediately saw Ciel's beaming face. I found the strength to sit up straight and seeing what I was trying to do, he helped me up.
"Are you feeling alright? They said that your fever is gone already."
"Y-yeah, I'm good. Can I have some water?"
"Sure, here you go."
I was handed a glass of water. I held it and drank slowly. The feeling of the cold water passing through my coarse throat soothed me. As I finished, Ciel took the glass and set it aside.
"Hey, can you walk? I want to show you something."
"Something? Sure."
I noticed that I felt completely alright. The heavy feeling in my head is gone, even the tight feeling in my chest. I placed a foot out of the bed, then another, and soon I was standing upright. When I looked at my right, I saw Tanaka and his gentle smile.
"Young Master, I know you're excited but he still needs to get dressed appropriately for the occassion. You can go ahead downstairs."
"Sure! See you later!"
Ciel waved goodbye as he ran outside the room. His footsteps echoed around for a while then Tanaka supported me to the bath. After a few minutes, I was dressed in the clothes that I was supposed to wear at the Halloween party. Raising an eyebrow, I innocently asked Tanaka.
"Gramps, why am I wearing this?"
"You'll find out downstairs."
When the preparations were complete, Tanaka and I went downstairs. And from there, I saw something amazing.
On the long table, I saw lots of food (mostly my favorite) that made me saliviate a bit.
At the end of the table was my father and mother, both smiling joyously. Before I knew it, Ciel ran up to me and embraced me tightly that I felt my breath escape my body. As I tapped him on the shoulder, he released me and pulled me to where mother and father was.
"You weren't able to attend this Halloween, so we decided to throw a party just for you, brother."
Seeing all those delicious food and my loving family, I couldn't help but tear up. They all stared at me worriedly and panicked.
"H-hey! Brother, are you alright?"
"Are you feeling ill? Where does it hurt?"
"Would you like to rest first? You may have not recovered from the last few days afterall."
I wiped my tears clumsily as they ogled at me and my reaction. But when they saw me smile behind my tears, they immediately felt relieved.
"N-no, I'm alright. I'm just too happy, that's all. Thank you Father, Mother. And to you too, Ciel, for always taking care of me."
The three of them smiled at me.
"You're welcome, brother. All just for you."
I hugged them as tightly as I could and I could hear Ciel giggle as we were held close. When we released each other from the embrace, we dispersed to our respective seats and ate in harmony. There would be a few laughter here and there, and most of them were caused by Ciel. He really was the center of joy in this family. If he wasn't here, things would have been a lot different.
"Hey, do you want to try carving some turnips? They say it's quite fun!" Ciel voiced out suddenly.
"Are you sure? Isn't it dangerous?"
"Don't worry, we had Father and Tanaka helping us. Right, Father?"
The two of us stared pleadingly at Father and he was immediately put into a tight spot. He just shrugged then cleared his throat.
"If it will end up with no one getting hurt, then I'll participate."
"Yay! You're the best, Father!"
The two of us ran and clung onto him. He patted our heads in an endearing way and I immediately knew that this would be the best halloween ever.
"Aww, I wish Lizzie was here, too..." Ciel suddenly mumbled silently. Then father shortly replied.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I invited Elizabeth over today. She'll be here... in just a few minutes."
""What, really?!""
"Yes, Frannie and Alexis will be here, too. Oh, and Edward."
""WHAT?! NO WAY!""
Father and mother just laughed at our reactions. As we heard the main door open, we baited our breaths.
In the end, Elizabeth was quite skilled in carving the turnips. Surprisingly.
Hello guyyysssss it's my first time writng for this fandom so it made me quite excited about it. This fic is actually a gift for finnyprotectionsquad on tumblr during the Kuroween event, and it is only now that I posted it here (cause I'm lazy af). Thank you for reading! Share your thoughts please hahahahha
About my other fic... I'm still being lazy about it. Sorry. (Well, yeah. First of all, it doesn't make sense, I admit.)
