Sebastian continued to walk Ciel back to his foster parent's house. Most of the journey was silent, Sebastian not wanting to ask the wrong thing, he didn't know what would offend Ciel and what wouldn't. Though to be honest nothing much offended Ciel, apart from the abuse his foster family gave, he had learned to live with it.

"Ciel?" Sebastian finally piped up the courage to ask, "Can I ask you something, I don't want to offend you though." He said, lacing his fingers together as he looked at Ciel with soft gentle eyes.

Ciel looked at Sebastian for a moment, "sure." He replied with a weak smile, having a pretty good idea about what Sebastian was going to ask, "as long as I can ask you something in return. Which I hope won't offend you."

Sebastian nodded at what Ciel said, well it was a fair trade after all. He didn't want to seem like he was taking advantage. "Why do you work for them?" he asked quietly, "they're your foster family, yet they treat you as a slave?" It was something that he never understood. He naturally wouldn't ask Alois, he would just tell Sebastian to stop worrying about Ciel, saying that he was just a nobody and that Sebastian should pretend he didn't exist.

Ciel stopped for a moment, looking at the ground. Sebastian frowned, "you don't have to answer if you don't want to." He said quickly, not wanting to upset Ciel, this feeling of protectiveness creeping up inside him again. Instead, Ciel just looked at him with a sad smile.

"Why don't you come inside the house, I'll make you a cup of tea and we can talk about it over that." He said gently, "plus I'm pretty sure you'd be a bit concerned about Alois," he added, "giving the fact that he has gone to the local pub, he does come back in a right state sometimes."

Sebastian laughed slightly, "I don't really worry much for Alois when he's like that, I just like to avoid him, but I'll accept your offer for tea. And if anyone questions why I'm here, I'll just say that I was concerned about the state Alois would be in." Ciel nodded with a giggle.

"Knowing Alois he'd totally be fooled by that." Sebastian chuckled.

"Yeah, but even he could see straight through some lies." Ciel nodded in agreement but didn't respond in any other way, he had been on the receiving end of what Alois did when he didn't believe what he said, and it never ended kindly. Ciel led Sebastian into the house via the back door, it was the only entrance/exit he was allowed to use. The family didn't want Ciel, a servant, to be seen coming out of the house, which was quite expensive.

He took him to the kitchen and pulled out a chair, allowing Sebastian to sit down, before going and making a pot of tea.

"In response to your question," Ciel began as he waited for the kettle to boil, "I didn't have a choice." He said seeming to stare off into the distance. "My parents were killed and I got put with this foster family, they hated me from the word go, they told me that since I had no one that cared for me and that I have no way for paying for my keep, that I was to work as a domestic servant for them. I used to think it was weird, the government would give them money for looking after me if only they knew what I was actually doing. I used to rebel a lot too, but they would just hurt me, after a while they managed to beat me into obedience. I do what I am told to do so I don't get hurt, I also get a roof over my head and food." Ciel added, it was clear he didn't like his job, but it beat being out on the street.

Sebastian nodded silently, knowing that nothing he would say could help Ciel, not at the present anyway. "What was it you wanted to ask me?" Sebastian asked with a slight cock of the head.

"I was just wondering why you let Alois abuse you?" Ciel said quietly, placing a cup of tea in front of Sebastian.

"Aren't you going to have a cup?" Sebastian asked, seeing that Ciel didn't make one for himself.

"Only if it's okay with you," Ciel replied, after all it was drilled into him that he would only eat, sleep and drink when he had permission, even if he was about to faint he wasn't allowed to without consent.

Sebastian nodded, "of course it's okay, and I'm not a monster." Ciel let out a small laugh before going and making himself a cup of tea. He returned and sat down opposite Sebastian.

"What makes you say that he abuses me?" Sebastian asked, wondering why he would say something like that.

"You don't like violence, you hate seeing others suffer, yet when you see someone get hurt you freeze up, it triggers a memory," Ciel said, "It's completely natural for something like that to occur as a result of abuse or an event that has happened."

"And…" Sebastian began quietly, "how would you know that it's natural for something like that to have happened? I mean I could have just lost my nerve that's all."

"I suffer from mild PTSD, as a result of my parents death, I was in the accident which claimed their lives, I was thrown from the car as the crash occurred, my parents were bringing me home as I was having a severe asthma attack, I refused to go to hospital, and my parents had equipment at home that helps, they were hit by a maniac driver, they were trapped in the car, I had busted my leg, I tried to get to them, to get them out, but the car caught fire, I watched my parents burn alive." Ciel sighed quietly, staring into the contents of the cup, "after a while I must have succumbed to the asthma attack I was having, because all I remember was waking up in the hospital a while later."

Sebastian nodded quietly, "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Ciel looked at Sebastian, "but I just have to be strong and get through this," he said with a small smile.

"Does Alois say anything about me?" Sebastian asked curiously, it was one way that he would be able to tell if Ciel really knew what was happening.

"HE gloats about how he hurts you, hits you, leaves you bruised," Ciel said, "He didn't say this to me directly, he was talking to Ash, I overheard the conversation as I was cleaning," He looked at Sebastian, watching his reaction.

Running his finger around the rim of the tea cup Sebastian let out a small sigh before looked at Ciel, "Promise me you won't tell anyone what I say, please."

Ciel nodded placing his hand on his heart.

"My parents used to abuse me." Sebastian said quietly, "no matter what I did I could never please them, they would hit me over the slightest mistake, I had a younger sister who died from their abuse, I couldn't save her, my parents beat me if I tried to help her, my mother would lock me in the basement so I couldn't help her." His voice grew shaky.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to," Ciel said, but if Sebastian wanted to continue, then he was willing to listen.

Sebastian continued despite the tears that formed in the corner of his eyes. "my mother, one day sent me to get some groceries from the shop and when I got back, her and my father were beating my sister, she didn't retaliate like she usually would, I knew something was up, but I couldn't help her, I was just rooted to the spot, when they finally stopped I went over to see if she was alive but she wasn't, they'd beat her to death." The tears in Sebastian's eyes started to snake down his cheeks, "I, the one person I cared for was gone, my parents had taken her away from me. I called the cops, and they were arrested and sent to jail for what they did."

Ciel stood and got Sebastian a box of tissues, he went and placed them by him, only to be pulled into a tight hug by the other.

Slowly Ciel hugged Sebastian back, letting him cry and get it off his chest. "When I met Alois." Sebastian continued, "I thought everything was going to be better, I was put with a foster family who were kind to me, and Alois was kind to begin with, I thought everything was going to get better. Then he showed his true side, when he didn't get his way he hit me, when I said I didn't want to do something, or anything Alois disagreed with I would get hit, then he started drinking, and he hit me more and more." Sebastian was now hugging Ciel in a death grip. "By this time I was trapped, I tried to break up with Alois but every time I tried to I just got hurt, he won't let me go." The last part came out as a quiet whimper. Ciel didn't say anything, he just continued to hug Sebastian, letting him calm down in his own time.

After a while Sebastian finally broke away from Ciel, "So that's why I let Alois abuse me, because I am trapped." He said quietly drying his eyes.

Ciel smiled sadly, "Well if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always willing to listen." He said gently, earning a nod from Sebastian,

"You want to know why I somewhat tried to stop Alois from hurting you?" Sebastian asked.

Ciel nodded, it was something that did confuse him slightly. "You remind me of my sister." Sebastian said with a small smile, "she was a lot like you, kind, caring, thinks of others before herself. My sister didn't deserve to be treated the way she was by my parents, and you don't deserve to be treated like you do by your foster family. That is why I wanted to help you, and if you want to talk, I'll listen." He said, earning a smile from Ciel.

"Why don't we be friends," Sebastian said after a minute of silence, "Alois needn't know." Ciel hesitated for a moment, a friend, he hadn't had one of them in a long time.

"Sure," he replied, why not, at least Sebastian was someone he could talk to and be normal around.

Just then the front door was flung open, someone was returning home.