Chapter Two:

When Ciel awoke the next morning, it was to the gentle citrus scent of Earl Grey tea. It sat in simple tea cup on a silver tray, accompanied by a tea kettle and a small pastry.

At first, Ciel was quite angry at the butler for disobeying his orders not to leave Alois' bedside, but after the first sip of the tea he completely relaxed. That was the thing with Earl Grey; to Ciel it could calm even the most wild of nerves.

The floorboards were cold beneath his bare feet. As he glanced down at them, he became quite puzzled. Never before had the young Earl put on his own socks, and looking at them sitting on the chair beside the bed made him quite uneasy. Which foot was he supposed to put which sock on? Was he supposed to roll them on, or slide them on? How high were they to reach up his leg?

After staring for quite some time at the pair, he decided upon which should go on the left and which should go on the right, sliding one up to his knee and the other to the top of his ankle.

Then came the clothes. After much consideration to how one puts on pants and what he should wear and how, he decided that he would just tread throughout the household in his night clothes. He made his way to the opposite end of the hallway, pants on backwards and unevenly buttoned shirt, opening the door to his own bedroom slowly. He peeked his head in, and after noticing it was only his butler who sat in the room, reading from a cookbook intended for the ill, he entered and closed the door.

Immediately, the butler looked up, choking back laughter at the boy's appearance. For it was not only his clothes that were put on completely wrong, but the eyepatch which he had failed to remove was lopsided, nearly to his mouth, and his hair had yet to be combed.

"Good morning, My Lord." Sebastian smiled widely, trying his best to hide any hint of laughter at the boy's pathetic attempt.

"What do you find so amusing?" Ciel continued to talk with great power, making his way towards Alois' bedside.

"You really can't do anything without me, can you?" The demon stood and removed the Earl's eyepatch, fitting it and tying it on properly. He brushed his hair as well, and pulled his socks up, applying the suspenders that kept them in place.

Ciel did not protest to any of these actions, with his gaze completely absorbed in the appearance of the sleeping Trancy boy.

As Sebastian continued to dress him, Ciel spoke in a whisper, "How is our guest doing?"

"Better," Sebastian spoke loud and clear, much to the Earl's disapproval. "He seemed to stop tossing early this morning." After straightening the bow of the boy, the butler stepped back, allowing him to venture to the blonde's bedside.

Ciel stood at the end of the bed, staring at the way Alois lay. His arms were out like a starfish, but his legs were nearly crossed. He wore only shorts with bandages covering the majority of his stomach. The bright blue eyes that were always so joyful and devious remained shut, but his mouth was opened only the slightest bit, almost as if he were whistling to breath yet producing not a single sound.

But what Ciel noticed most was the dulling colour of the locks of the boy's hair. The rich yellows were now dirty looking, with blotches of blood sticking strands together. It was a matted mess as well, with knots in every area, even the boy's long bangs.

"Sebastian, fetch me a bucket of water, a towel, and a brush."

"Yes, My Lord." Sebastian kept the door opened a bit as he left, worried that Alois would wake without him by his side and leaving Ciel to fend for himself.

The Earl had now moved to the side of the bed, watching the rhythm of Alois' seemingly laboured breaths. They were long and slow, yet steadily paced as if he were more in a trance than asleep. One strand on his hair would move against his nose with each breath, and after watching it do so for a few moments, Ciel brushed the hair from the other boy's face, letting his hand brush against the warm of his forehead.

He was in a fever, sweating and shivering, and his head was a sure sign of it. It was burning hot compared to Ciel's often chilled hands, and so the Earl used them in an attempt to cool down the other until Sebastian once again arrived with the items he had left for.

It took a few minutes, but Ciel soon dared to sit beside the blonde, getting Sebastian to aid him so Alois' head once again rested against his lap. With the wet cloth, the Earl began cleaning the boy's hair. Sebastian so wished to correct the boy, to explain that wasn't how he should be doing it, but when he saw the look of pure concentration and determination plastered on Ciel's face he choose not to mention it and let it be as a mean to make the boy feel accomplished.

After what felt like hours but were truly only minutes, Ciel took the brush, dipped it in water, and began to brush the glow back into the blonde's luscious locks. The Earl had concluded that he would continue to pamper his guest until he was able to do it himself again, and with that thought he smiled.

Stroke after stroke, the hair began to return to it's normal shinny state. The water in the bowl, on the other hand, had turned an ugly rust colour from each time the young boy cleaned the brushes bristles. Never before had he put so much effort into such a simple task, something most people had to do for themselves everyday, and in doing so Ciel began to achieve a feeling of empowerment. He had something to live for now, and not just revenge.

...

The days went by relatively the same. They would start with the Ciel attempting to dress himself, failing, and getting help from Sebastian. Followed by that, the boy would sit, brushing the blonde's golden locks for nearly an hour, spending more time watching how Alois' breathing was gently paced than actually brushing his hair. Later, Ciel would have a chess table set up, and practice for a few hours unless there was issues reported about a product or factory which he would attend to fixing immediately. He also read quite a lot, asking Sebastian the meaning of words he didn't recognize, which happened rarely since he was already equipped with a large vocabulary of his own.

It was only in the late evening that Ciel tended to get bored. He would watch the sun set through the partially opened drapes, it's rosey rays pouring in, in elaborate patterns shaped by the lace in the drapes' design. And once it set and he could no longer keep his eyes open he would lay down in a spare bed he had his butler bring into the room, it's end pressed against the end of the bed where Alois' slumbered.

He allowed his butler to aid him in getting ready for bed, trying his best to keep his mind off of Alois as he sipped warm milk and read the letters that had been delivered while in bed. The sheets were warm, quilted and cozy, making it difficult for the Earl to keep his eyes open.

His head hit the pillow around nine o'clock each night, watching the candle burn out before telling Sebastian to replace it once more, for Alois feared the dark and he worried if the boy were to wake in the night he would panic himself into submission.

Sleep came easy after that, knowing he was by the Trancy boy, the ends of the beds they slept in near touching. He also loved the idea of Sebastian sitting beside the bed, reading the night away, and for some strange reason keeping the nightmares away too.

It was on the fifth day of this same routine that Ciel was startled awake by the weeping sound of a boy crying. He sat up, squinting at the sudden light and holding his head from the rush of blood that left it, leaving him momentarily dizzy. His eyepatch was off, but it didn't matter at the moment, and thankfully it was dark at this particular hour.

He sprung from bed, wrapping a blanket around himself to keep from getting a chill from the breeze that flooded the room through the open window. Alois was crying, a hand on his stomach and his face ghost white. He looked as though he were dying, and yet, the bright blue of his eyes pierced through the darkness as he stared at the young Earl through tears.

Sebastian was already pushing the injured boy back into the bed, putting pressure on the wound that had reopened just enough to bleed. Ciel quickly sat at the boy's side, holding his hand and watching Sebastian's movements in pure awe. Alois simply stared at the two, baffled as to why they were helping him, and why he was there in the first place.

He only stayed conscious a few moments though, and by the time the bleeding had stopped and Ciel's nerves had once against settled, Alois was back into his coma-like state.

"Is he alive?!" Ciel tried to feel the boy's pulse by pressing two fingers against his neck, something he had watched Sebastian do time after time, but he felt not a single beat at all. "Sebastian!"

"Allow me," He moved the young Earl's fingers, feeling for a pulse and nodding, "He's alive." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Here, perhaps this is an easier way for you to check."
The demon guided the Earl to Alois' opposite side, showing him where to lay. Once that was done, he moved his head, allowing him to hear the slow, beating heart of the other boy.

"You see, he's alive."

Ciel looked startled at first, poking the skin of Alois' chest curiously. It had been so long since he had heard the heartbeat of someone else who was living and breathing in the world. He settled down, closing his eyes and focusing his attention on the pitter patter of the slumbering boy who inhabited his bed.

He smiled a bit, pulling a blanket over himself as he continued to listen. It was a soothing sound, one that calmed the boy's nerves just as quickly as Earl Grey tea would have. It wasn't long before he fell asleep to this sound, the sound of the boy he had almost killed still alive, and it was thanks to him that the heart would carry on beating.