A/N: O.O' ... I got some pretty...uh...threatening reviews from an angry person that if I don't update...well, her cat will piss on my bed in the night. And there will be no food. That really intimidated me to update...so...thank that angry reviewer for this update. O.O'
Once the incredibly uncomfortable breakfast was over, and once Ciel had finished his 'morning tea', Sebastian had the day's schedule all planned out, including a violin lesson, a short meeting with a small toy-collecting company, and a quick visit from...well, Elisabeth.
"How could you forget to tell me this sooner?!" Ciel demanded, hollering with his accent-laced voice at his amused butler.
"I do apologize, master, but when our manufacturing company had a major break in one of their machines," he began, pulling out a broken, half finished toy in front of Ciel to further prove the factory's mistake; "I had to find a way to occupy the period of time between 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock, when you were going to show our new selections, and Elisabeth happened to be available in that time slot." Sebastian responded simply, earning some death glares from the young Phantomhive.
It was when Ciel tried to retort his demonic butler that the said butler noticed Edward doing something peculiure: He was no longer at the opposite end of the table, but in the kitchen rummaging through the goods like a hungry raccoon.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Ciel stood from his seated position, sending an angry look toward the young blonde, who stopped eating a long baguette mid-chew.
"Eating..?" Edward questioned sarcastically, as though eating a whole baguette was the most ordinary thing in the world, and Ciel was the strange one.
"P-put that down!" Ciel commanded, somewhat shocked that the other boy didn't understand how incredibly rude he was being.
But, because of his lack of respect to any human on the planet, Edward instead shoved the remaining half of the baguette down his throat in one swift chomp, and then chewed with his mouth open for extra measure.
"Disgusting!"
"I know," Ed started with a chuckle, "And you have to see that whenever you look into a reflective surface."
It took a minute for Ciel to register what Ed had just said to him, but once he did, his look of anger transformed into something...more vulgar.
"You lower-classed scum, how dare you insult your host in such a manor! Sebastian, get rid of this..this..."
"Save it, buddy," said Ed flatly, angrily, "I'm leaving, and you're not kicking me out! You are absolutely the most annoying, self-absorbed BRAT that anybody could possibly live with! You think you're so HIGH AND MIGHTY, well you didn't have to do a god-damn thing to get where you are, so take that rich-bitch attitude and shove it up your ass!"
"Why you...!" Ciel started, just when Sebastian guided Lizzy into the room. Ciel supressed his sharp retort before she could hear any of his bad-language.
"Ciel! How lovely it is to see you today!" She squealed joyously, beginning their routine of pointless small-talk which earned them Edward's roll of the eyes.
"The feeling is mutual, Elisabeth." Ciel forced, trying to avoid eye-contact with Edward as he started to walk out of the door, in case of getting set-off again.
Just when Edward had his hand on the door-knob, Elisabeth's gaze flickered from Ciel's to where the other boy stood; "And who might this be, Ciel? You didn't even introduce me!"
She made her way over to Ed, who rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"Lizzy," Ciel stammered, "You don't need to speak with him, he is-"
"I'm sorry that Ciel didn't introduce me, but I'm his fiance, Lady Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford! I am the daughter of the Leader of the British Knights, Marquis Alexis Leon Midford: Elizabeth! The wife of the Queen's watchdog!" she stated proudly, the words pouring out of her mouth and overwhelming Edward, as he wanted OUT.
"Uh..." he tried, not beating around the bush like all the rich folks seemed to do WAY TOO MUCH: "Hi, I'm Ed."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at his blunt response, while Ciel face palmed visibly. The room was silent for about five seconds, with Sebastian curious as to what the young bride's response would be.
It was a short, curt response that was laced with bubbly excitement, and sickening in Ciel's eye;
"...You're a funny one, alright!"
Sebastian had to interject before Ciel would question her opinions of Edward with something embarrassing, and so he stated politely that the three should interact in a different room, such as the ball room.
Lizzy hopped up and down with giddy agreement, while Edward groaned with displeasure, and Ciel tried his absolute hardest to hide his negative feelings toward the idea.
Sebastian was...studying, to put it simply. He was studying the skills and behavior of his new dessert.
And what he found quite interesting, was his physical attributes.
Though short, he was quite strong and quite coordinated; he could tell be the way he walked.
But weather or not that was because of living on the streets, he didn't know yet.
Sebastian was a bit suspicious of the boy, wondering if he used his physical skill for fighting and such, so when he'd invited Elizabeth over for Ciel, the socialization was not intended to be a sit-down.
No, no...Sebastian understood enough about his young master and Edward to know that they were quite competative for their ages... and being the clever butler that he was, Sebastian was not about to let go of an oppertunity to use such a trait to his advantage.
Hence, the demon had decided the moment Lizzy walked through the door that there would be some ball-room fun.
Entering the ballroom, Ciel fiddled with his ring for a moment to let off some of his frustration with his guests...he knew that Sebastian intended for him and Elizabeth to dance, but he hadn't had a lesson in over a week, and didn't understand why his butler was so intent on the dance.
"Young lord, shall I perform a bit of Violin ball-room music?" Sebastian suggested, earning him a conspicuous, but agreeing nod from his master.
Sebastian started with a slow Waltz in 3/4, by what seemed to be Schubert, though Ciel did not recognize the piece. Nevertheless, he allowed Lizzy to poke and prod at his hair and face, scolding him on how he needed to wear more pink. Once she had stopped talking, and started to listen to the music, light entered her emerald eyes, and she grabbed Ciel by the arm and demanded they dance.
"Okay, Okay!" Ciel said angrily, not enjoying the rough tugging Elizabeth was doing to his coat. She stopped but still dragged him to the center of the room to slow dance to the beat of the tune.
Twirling and swirling on the dance floor, Lizzy's feet moved on their own with out a bit of hesitation or misunderstanding as to where they were placed next. She joyously moved her body with complete control, and both Edward and Sebastian admired her skill. As for Ciel, he couldn't maintain eye contact with her, being so focused on keeping up with her steps.
When he stumbled once, he recovered well and continued the dance, only to please her.
Sebastian was shocked to see that Ciel remembered most of the steps to the dance, despite not having a lesson in quite some time.
Well, he thought deviously, I'll just have to quicken the time, now won't I?
When Sebastian's playing became more free, Lizzy's dancing remained the same; she twirled and swirled in circles, Ciel following her lead and stumbling too often to be overlooked. By the time he'd tripped over her feet five times, Elizabeth stopped dancing, Ciel tripping slightly, and sent him an angry look.
"What in the bloody hell are tryin' to pull here, Ciel?!" She asked with a playful, yet dissatisfied tone.
"I'm trying my best, Elizabeth, forgive me!." He said sarcastically, eyebrows knitting together with annoyance.
She huffed, looking up at Sebastian in a way that confused him. "Well, I do want to dance...I'm tired of getting so many lessons and never actually using the steps I've learned..."
Sebastian grinned inwardly, "Well, I do apologize for my master's mistakes. He has not had time for a lesson in two full weeks, and so he's became quite uncoordinated and rusty." he then added smoothly, "But I do not intend to disappoint our guest, so if I could find you a new partner for the day, I would be deeply honored."
Lizzy's face contoured with question, not knowing weather she would like to dance with anybody but Ciel...he was the reason she'd had to learn to dance, anyway... But, she did want to dance, so if she could find a new partner, it'd be quite alright.
Ciel stood impatiently, not understanding exactly what Sebastian was trying for.
"Well.." said Lizzy, "I would ask you, Sebastian, but since you're playing the music, I suppose it's not the best plan..."
Her eyes scanned the room, spotting Ciel again who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. Sebastian, who patiently stood at the top of the Victorian stair-case with his violin in hand, like an extention of his body almost. Then, her eyes drifted to Edward, who was fiddling with his right-hand beneath his glove, sitting tirelessly on the stairs, occasionally glancing up at the two.
"What about you, Ed? Would you like to dance?" Lizzy asked excitedly.
He stopped fidgeting and looked at her. Ciel's head snapped up from the floor as his face changed from annoyed, to furious.
"No, Elizabeth, you may not dance with him!"
"But Ciel, if you can't dance with me, then what am I supposed to do?! You won't let me decorate the house pink, and you keep tripping! The least you can do is let me have a little dance with him!" She said, Ciel sighing with slight apology. "I mean, who even is he..? Why is he even here, why didn't you introduce me?"
There were so many questions that Ciel decided it would be best to let her dance with Edward. He didn't want to have to explain what the situation was, that he was in a fix with his manufacturing company's breakage, and needed to use Edward to earn support from all classes. Plus, he didn't want to look like he needed Edward to fix his own issue.
"Fine, Lizzy, you can dance with him. Just to let you know, I doubt he even knows how. He's a street rat." He said bitterly. Elizabeth almost asked another question, when Edward interjected.
"Hey, who says I do or don't know how, and who says I even want to dance?!"
"Aw, but you just gotta!" Lizzy begged desperately. Ciel almost found himself helping her, just because he wanted to watch Edward trip over his own feet.
"I don't have to do anything."
Sebastian knew where this was going, so he broke up the fight by...making a deal, so to speak...or rather, blackmailing the boy.
"Edward," the demon began, "I do believe that it is noon time, and it is my understanding that you eat lunch around an hour past, correct? Well, with Elizabeth here, I will have to have our chef make an extra meal, and as you know it can get quite expensive. It would be so much easier if she were to just leave... but since she's not going to be leaving for a while, I suppose I'll just have to take away your meal, am I correct?"
Ed took a minute to process what Sebastian was threatening to do. Threatening was the word for it; if one was to take Edward's belongings, his clothing or his money, he could make amends, but if he were to take his food- well, that was a threat on a whole other level.
"WHAT?! You can't just not feed me!" He shouted, and just because the timing was right, his stomach growled. Lizzy giggled at the scene in front of her, pleased to have the afternoon in her way.
"Well, I suppose I could cook a bit extra if you were to do Elizabeth a small favor, as she is our guest..."
Elizabeth exploded with joy, and Ciel chuckled to himself, happy to see Edward in a defensive position. He stepped aside, excited to watch the irritating kid trip over himself and hopefully fall strait onto his-
"Fine." Edward said, standing and trudging heavily over to Elizabeth. 'He doesn't know how to dance, he's a street rat.' Thought Ciel.
When the Waltz began again, Elizabeth and Edward took position gracefully, and went through Elizabeth's steps with no trouble at all. They twirled and swirled along the dance floor with perfection, as though they'd practiced the dance a thousand times. It angered Ciel to see the lower-classed boy dancing so well, with so much more coordination than himself.
He just wanted to watch the other boy fall.
"Sebastian", he commanded, "Speed it up."
When Sebastian sped up the beat, the two continuing the complicated movements in a faster pace, Ciel continued to send Sebastian looks to go faster and faster. Soon, Lizzy and Edward were dancing to a much faster piece, and a different movement.
Ciel could see her smiling pleasently.
"You're very good, Edward." Lizzy complimented, just barely keeping up with his movements. "I see you've taken the lead, here!"
Edward grinned goofily. "Ah, I just think of it as martial arts...you push, I dodge by backing up. Then I push, you get out of the way... you know."
She didn't know, but Sebastian did. Information received, he thought to himself, now understanding that Edward wasn't just a helpless little street boy, that he was skilled in martial arts. He was a fighter.
When Lizzy tripped a few times, yet Edward continued as though it was the easiest thing in the world, Ciel was groaning inwardly. He couldn't say he was jealous, because he was only a bit upset that Edward hadn't fallen yet. It irritated him to no end to see the boy's success with his fiance.
They graciously twirled, keeping to the repatoir but also being more free about their movements. It was controlled, but yet, they could easily add dips and lifts into the original dance...even to Ciel, it was beautiful...he could not believe that this boy could dance so perfectly, and to be completely honest, that his fiance could look so magnificant.
"Heh, I'm pretty good, aren't I?" Ed said cockily, smirking a signiture smirk at Lizzy who giggled with amusement.
"Yeah, you're quite good, but it's a little hard since you're shorter than me."
The minute the words were out, Edward halted abruptly, causing Lizzy to trip over him and almost fall to the ground as he broke the gracious feel and raised an obnoxious fist into the air, all the time hollaring at the top of his lungs; "WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' A TINY LITTLE PIPSQUEEK THAT YOU COULDN'T DANCE WITH BECAUSE YOU'D BE TO AFRAID THAT YOU'D TRIP OVER HIM LIKE HE WAS A PEBBLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OPEN GROUND?!"
"She didn't say any of that!" Ciel screamed, racing down the fleight of stairs to make sure Elizabeth wasn't crying from the comment, to see that although she looked teary-eyed, she'd stopped herself from crying at the realization of what had just been said.
And she was laughing at Edward, pointedly laughing.
"Did you hear what he said, Ciel?! AHHA! Ciel, I didn't say any of those ridiculous things! He's completely off his rocker!"
Ciel let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding in, and allowed himself to smile a bit at the outburst. Sebastian's playing had also stopped, and he himself was grinning slightly. Edward stood in a defensive position, angrily glaring at Lizzy for laughing at his height (or lack there of), and suddenly, he thundered out of the room, all the while yelling about not being short, or something.
Ciel offered Lizzy a hand, and she tenderly took it. "Thank you for having me, Ciel, it was a pleasure to be here."
Ciel smiled warmly at her. "No, no. The pleasure is all mine."
He lead her out the door, watching her carrage pick her up, "Oh," she added before sitting into the padded seating, "And tell Edward I said goodbye, it was fun...while it lasted."
Ciel frowned, not wanting to associate at all with Edward, but nevertheless, he nodded to please her and saw her off.
Sebastian was assisting in the preparations for lunch, and recalling all of the day's happenings:
He'd pleased his young master, obviously, but moreover, he'd learned something about his little research subject.
His suspicious were comfirmed; Edward was a martial artist. It was quite easy to determine it once he'd seen him dance.
He fits the description, Sebastian thought to himself, Golden hair, Golden eyes, short tempered and short himself...yes, and a martial artist...Edward Elric; the son of Van Hoenheim.
A/N: Sorry for the late update, I've been touring France, so I'm pretty busy. Please forgive, and this chapter is 2,900-something words, so I hope it'll hold you guys over while I update my other fics (though I'll update ASAP). I know this chap. is a bit rushed, blame vacation stress (lol that's sorta counter productive, am I right?) I'm working on a few edits to the plot of this story (yes, there is a plot, though it's not quite apparent yet. The story will not change too much but it will get more exciting.)
Ad.: Check out my FMA fic, "How Could You"; Edward has currently been in jail for 6 days, 23 hours, and 42 minutes. The reason..? For the murder of Colonel Roy Mustang. (Mystery, Angst, Crime, touch of humor).
Thanks for reviews! (Even the terrifying ones...)
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