Author's Note:

Waahhh! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update, but I did! You better be happy! Haha.

This chapter wasn't hard to write, actually. I just got random inspiration last night soo.. here you go!

Not much happens I'm afraid, though it is longer than the next one. It should start getting more exciting starting in the next chapter, and chapter four for sure, so just hang on okay?

Anyway, enjoy!

Ciel's eyebrow over his right blue eye rose as he stared at the older boy in front of him in near disbelief. He leaned forward in his chair, elbows moving to rest on the mahogany desk to allow his fingers to lace together.

The light shone in to the office from the large windows behind, dark green curtains pulled back and tied neatly on either side. It still rather early, and light caused the shadows of both the desk and Ciel in his seat to be sprawled out on the floor farther than usual.

"Your... brother?" he asked cautiously, as if he had not heard the knife-thrower correctly. He watched as the blond standing across from him nodded his head slowly, light brown eyes awkwardly avoiding the earl's gaze.

"Yeah, y'know... Joker?" he muttered and Ciel sighed.

"Yes, yes. I know who you're talking about. But, what do you mean by your brother?"

"Well, I've been thinkin'..."

Teeth chattered, hands tightening their grip on the horse's reins while the cool February wind whipped at reddened cheeks as the two of them raced through the forest. The snow still held England in its dead cold grasp, and the horses hooves kicked up the undisturbed white blanket in a catastrophic manner as they pounded loudly against the frozen ground. The blue sky was obscured by grey clouds and little light managed to push its way through and illuminate the sleepy world below.

His body shook almost violently as he shook from the cold. Normally in conditions like this, his cloak would've kept him warm but the wind had crept its way underneath the thick dark grey fabric and was now mocking him from behind. His lips were pulled into a scowl as his eyes shifted out from the white path in front of him to his elder brother who barely rode ahead of him.

His eyes were trained on the trail that ducked and weaved between the trees, but they seemed distant as if his mind was focused elsewhere. He seemed tense, but not cold even though his cloak strayed just as much as his own did. He's facial expression was blank, a rare sighting for the circus clown, but not in any way surprising.

He wondered briefly what was on the ring leader's mind. Was it Doll? It would be understandable. Some found the girl a nuisance, like Peter, as she was still young and naive, but Joker was close to the girl and she looked up to him like most would an older brother. He hadn't talked about the youngest first tier's death. In fact, he tended to avoid the subject. It was almost like he was trying to forget that it had ever happened, Dagger figured, that he thought he would return back to the circus and she would come running into his tent like always – chestnut colored hair covering the left side of her face with some sort of treat sticking out of her mouth, bouncy and excited to see the red-headed male while chattering like mad about the events that he had missed while away.

But what if he was thinking about Father? He scoffed quietly as his gaze returned to the barely visible road in front of him. That was a more likely scenario. Joker worried about the old man quite often because of the condition he was in. Maybe he didn't care that Doll had passed away...

He shook his head, raven bangs brushing against the bridge of his numb nose as he did. No, Joker did care. He just wasn't one for giving into emotions easy and preferred to be seen as easy going and cheerful, especially in front of others. He just had to care...

His thoughts began to wander back to his conversation with Ciel the day before they had left. He was beginning to wonder if telling the child was such a good idea. It wasn't like the boy could ever understand, but he certainly couldn't tell his family. Especially Joker, even if he was his best friend. He knew Joker, so he knew that it wasn't as if he would completely cut him out of his life but things would never be the same.

As he glanced over to look at his red haired brother again, he couldn't help the twitching of his lips as they curled up into a small smile. He felt safe going to Father's with Joker, despite how much he hated the man and vice versa. If anything were to happen, he was sure Joker would stick up for him, right? Then again, he couldn't always stand up to his father...

Just then, Joker's violet eyes shifted and caught Dagger's gaze, causing the young of the two to freeze before quickly looking away and scowling. Joker chuckled softly and shook his head, blond extensions brushing against the dark cloak behind him and falling over his shoulders.

He was still an asshole sometimes though.

After arriving at Father's mansion, Joker and Dagger had headed up to Joker's room to clean up a bit before going to see Father. Joker told Dagger that it would be wise to try to make himself presentable enough for a noble to impress Father, but Dagger simply scowled and mumbled under his breath before turning on his heel and leaving to find the bathroom.

Joker sighed quietly as he sat himself on the edge of his bed, the pale bed sheets bunching up beneath him as he looked around the empty room. His bed – which was much more comfy than his bed back at the circus – was pushed up against the far wall. The bed frame was made of some sort of light coloured wood, the origin unbeknownst to Joker, not that he particularly cared. He never spent much time in his bedroom anyway.

To his right was a small bedside table consisting of two simple drawers with brass handles and was made out of similar wood as the bed. He had next to nothing on top except for an old worn candelabrum with mismatched candles and a photo.

Next to the bedside table was a simple desk with a large mirror placed on top, but there was nothing else really notable about the room. The walls were a dull colour, as well as the floor, with a wooden border half the size of the wall lining the room, but they were bare. The only wall that was of any difference was the one to his left that had three large windows that faced south. The room itself was rather spiritless compared to the energizing feel of the circus.

As he sat, the sound of running water momentarily broke the ringing of silence echoing through the room. "Dagger must be washin' up..."

He was nervous to bring Dagger to see Father. They had never really seen eye-to-eye. It frustrated him in a way. He didn't understand what the baron had against Dagger, and he didn't see why his family couldn't see Father the way he did. He was still Father, he was just physically sick. He couldn't help the way he had been acting.

Beast protested about Father's orders to kidnap the children whenever the orders came in through the form of a letter addressed to 'Tom, the Piper's Son', but it was for a good cause he reassured them all. They were helping these children like Father had helped them those few years back. Without him, they would still be living on the streets of London, or worse, dead.

Releasing another sigh, Joker rose from his seat on the bed and walked over to his make-shift vanity. His hands shifted, pulling out the hair clips one by one as his orange hair was released from its wild up-do. His right hand, the skeletal prosthetic, shook slightly with the effort and he caught his bottom lip between his teeth. Even with regular inspections from Doc, the prosthetic was still a fake. It could never replace the real thing. Though it didn't matter, Joker figured, considering it had never been there to begin with.

Opening the center drawer in the desk after he had taken out his braids, he pulled out a small brush and quickly ran it through his long hair, occasionally pausing to push his bangs out of his face so he could see. As he placed his brush down on the wooden silence, the dull clack of the two meeting was drowned out as the door opened and Dagger stepped in. Joker smiled as usual, picking up a couple of his hair pins from the top of the desk and placing them between his teeth.

"Y'clean up nice. I'mma surprised," he stated, eyeing the younger boy's blond hair and noting wasn't as wild as it usually was. Dagger glanced at Joker as the two mismatched hands ran through his hair to pull it back away from his pale face.

"Can't say th'same 'bout ya," came the reply, followed by a quiet chuckle as Dagger walked over and stood beside Joker, glancing at their reflection in the mirror.

The knife-thrower glanced between the two of them. Joker was about a head taller than he was, but not much bigger otherwise. They were both fairly thin, though he supposed Joker was a tad more built that he was, considering his height and all. Either way, the younger male puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. Joker caught this out of the corner of his eye and laughed.

"What's with th'face?" he asked between chuckles.

"After all these years an' yer still taller than me!" Dagger whined. Joker glanced down at Dagger as he put one of the last hair pins in place, a small red eyebrow raised just slightly.

"Yer jus' short, Dagger."

"Nu-uh!" came the quick reply, "Jus' y'wait! I'll be taller than ya in no time!" He confirmed this with a small nod of his head as pushed himself up on his toes, using Joker's shoulder for balance as he tried to stand straight.

"Yer nineteen, I doubt yer gunna grow anymore," Joker laughed again as he moved away, causing the blond to lose his balance and nearly fall over. Dagger huffed as he watched Joker grab his jacket and pull it on, adjusting his large yellow bow overtop accordingly.

"I will. I'll 'ave a growth spurt by m'next birthday an' then you'll be sorry."

"Whatever y'say, but I know you'll still be short."

"I ain't short!"