CHAPTER 4

When Sebastian entered his own room, he found a woman reclined on his bed.

He could tell that it was a woman from the shape of the silhouette against the light bedcovers, but only once he'd switched on the lights could he be sure that she was still alive. He wouldn't quite put it beyond Vincent to throw a corpse on his bed for whatever reason. Then again Vincent might perceive such thing as tasteless.

Reading that man was already turning out to be a headache, and Sebastian truly hoped that the son wouldn't turn out to be of the same material as his father. So far, his hopes had been let down.

The woman stared at him out of red eyes, pinning him to the doorframe in which he stood. Sebastian had seen her earlier during the ridiculous dinner event. She was Rachel's bodyguard. And the name had been…

Beast.

She crawled to the foot of the bed, keeping a keen eye on him. Sebastian wasn't sure if she was merely checking whether he was paying attention or if she was assessing him. He decided on the latter with a pinch of the former. The woman may be a bodyguard/hitman, but she was also clearly putting on a little show.

Sebastian might have bothered another time. Right now, in this house, he couldn't even put up with somebody trying to trick him. Usually he played along, but under Vincent's roof… He nearly shook himself. He wasn't up for games. In fact, it would be wonderful if Ciel would just heal a little bit faster.

"Look who's objectifying herself."

Beast let out a roaring laugh in response. Somehow that did make her attractive.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying very hard to keep a sigh of annoyance out of his voice. He closed the door behind him, but stayed close to it. She didn't look like she could have hidden much inside that top and skinny jeans of hers, but Sebastian had met a woman that had hidden knives in her bikini. If she was still alive, which he doubted, she was probably working for Undertaker or his higher ups.

"The Mistress sent me," Beast said simply. Part of Sebastian was glad that she wasn't even trying to trick him by telling him some elaborate tale of how much she was interested in him. "She would like more information on you."

"I am sure her husband can provide her with some," Sebastian said dryly. "You do not need me for that."

"It is about the Mistress' son," Beast insisted, regarding her blood red nails. "And while you might not know Vincent very well, you must have noticed that he loves to play a game."

"I wouldn't call what he does a game."

"It is, to him. The winner is the one who keeps more secrets than he lets on." Beast rolled onto her back and stretched thoroughly. "Damn, your bed is soft. Mind if I stay the night?"

"Yes," Sebastian said flatly, regarding the plunging neckline of her top with clinical interest. "Especially if this was a weak attempt at seduction."

Beast pulled a face. "I'd rather lose an arm than bring a phrase like that while trying to seduce anyone."

"Why not ask Ciel himself?" Sebastian wondered.

"Why, indeed," Beast muttered. She smirked at him upside down, her wild curls hanging off the bed and almost brushing the clean floor. "You might not have noticed yet, but the boy will take after his father."

"You seem sure about it," Sebastian said.

"I am." Beast shrugged. "It's a mere fact. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sebastian thought of how he'd been with Ciel since Vincent had let him leave only this morning. Vincent himself had yet to come and check on his son. Diedrich and Klaus had been there, but not the father himself. Maybe he counted a visit from his employees as one of his own.

"I am not going to tell you anything," Sebastian finally said, lifting his hands to show her the palms. "It is out of my hands."

"Is it?" Beast sat up straight before sliding off the bed. She walked up to Sebastian, who contemplated putting space between the two of them. Just in case. She might attack him. He had yet to figure out the general mentality of the Phantomhives and their employees. They didn't seem particularly hostile with one another, but Sebastian, too, would behave during a dinner party with his boss.

"I think," Beast continued easily, "that you've told me enough already."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, already going through a mental script of their conversation. He did see a few openings that might have given Beast some leverage but it was only around three. Maybe even less, depending on the specifics Beast might have been fishing for. In any way, he probably told her a lot already. All it had taken was a raucous laugh and painted fingernails.

"You told me that there is more to the story you told us earlier." Beast tilted her head to the side, grinning victoriously. "You might have told a complete lie down there. But I don't think you did. Maybe you just left out some parts."

Sebastian merely raised the second eyebrow. "I hope you're not expecting me to tell you whether you're right or not, or are you?"

She grinned, touching his chest with only the tips of her fingers. Sebastian let her, because he supposed she expected him to put more distance between them. He wasn't going to play into her hands.

"Don't worry. I know when I'm not wrong."

He frowned at her, but put nothing into words. With a softer smile she left, presumably to report back to her mistress. Sebastian watched her until she closed the door behind her. Then he shook his head, bemused by yet another strange person. He'd have to be careful around Rachel's people; that much was for sure.

"Your mother's bodyguard visited me in my room last night," Sebastian said the next morning when he entered Ciel's bedroom. The boy was lying on the bed, reading a book.

He looked up as Sebastian closed the door behind him. "While I'm young I'm no stranger to implications such as these. Good for you. I do hope you had fun. You do have a way with ladies, it seems." He put down his book and raised an eyebrow. "And I couldn't care less if I tried. Why are you telling me this again?"

Sebastian was tempted to roll his eyes at the child. "Because your mother is trying to find out where I came from."

"I don't know where you came from," Ciel said, deliberately missing the point. So he was in a bratty kind of mood today. It did indeed seem like his standard mood when he wasn't on painkillers.

"I see that I have to be more precise with my words around you," Sebastian said after a second in which he reigned in his annoyance.

"Words are very powerful," Ciel drawled. "Everybody with half a brain will tell you that. My father could write an encyclopaedia on it. In any case, you might want to learn to handle your words as well as your silly little weapons."

Ciel was being awfully arrogant for someone who had been shot by Sebastian.

"You seem to be missing the part where Vincent is lying to everybody including his wife."

Ciel didn't seem too concerned by that. "My mother doesn't have to know everything. She is his wife but this is about business and she is also an employee. In this kind of business secrets are important. Besides, I highly doubt you'd want my mother to put you on her 'to kill' list. I heard she is a horror to her victims."

That sounded like a lesson straight from Vincent. Sebastian could only frown at that. Would he have been the same at Ciel's age if his father had been alive? Reciting his father whenever he got the chance to because he didn't know how to form his own opinions on certain matters?

"How long until you are released?" he asked the boy.

Ciel scoffed. "I suppose you are talking about my leg. We will be returning to my house soon. I shall ask father once he comes to visit."

Sebastian frowned mildly. "Has he not been here yet?"

"No," the boy said in a clipped voice. For somebody who talked big about the importance of words he certainly didn't realise his mistakes until they had tumbled past his lips. "He is a very busy man. He shall be forgiven."

ooo

Vincent did not pass by until the fourth day since Sebastian had come here. In this time, Diedrich had visited three times and Klaus twice. Even Ash had visited once, apparently to report to Vincent afterwards. Rachel hadn't been able to come say hello as she'd had to leave the headquarters (if these were the headquarters) for a two-week mission with Hannah and some of her assassins. She was constantly sending Ciel messages and video-called for short times a few times a day. Ciel claimed it to be 'completely annoying' but Sebastian could see that he was happy to hear from his mother.

Vincent on the other hand, considering that he was in the house, had no excuse to not visit his injured son.

At first Sebastian wondered if it had to do with him. Maybe Vincent had grown a bit a common sense and had decided that maybe it was a bad idea to step in front of an assassin unprotected. But Vincent still didn't install more security for Ciel's safety, which probably meant that he was still as strange as during their first meeting. To make it short, Sebastian was not the cause of Vincent's absence.

Ciel certainly seemed to be waiting for his father to visit him during the first day, but when Sebastian mentioned it, Ciel became irritated, defending Vincent. His job was a 24/7 job after all. He had to worry about all of his employees all the time. If the wrong one of them got caught and spilled the beans, a whole part of his empire could be taken down if done correctly. Also there seemed to be a family problem that could rat Vincent out to the police…? Sebastian didn't quite understand that one, and Ciel was very vague about it. It mattered but not right now. Ciel wasn't opposed to giving Sebastian his trust (at least that was how Sebastian interpreted it) so Sebastian had to give him reason to. Prodding and asking intrusive questions was not the way to go at it.

In any case, Vincent opened the door on a Wednesday evening, just as Sebastian wanted to leave. He held up a hand, motioning for the hitman to remain seated.

Ciel straightened in his bed even though his posture had been nothing but immaculate all day and his back must be hurting by now. "Good evening, father."

Vincent nodded and found a chair to pull to the bed. "How are you doing?"

"Much better," Ciel said with a small smile.

With the two of them sitting in the same room, Sebastian could definitely see the similarities between father and son. Not only did they share physical attributes but also mannerisms. An air of elegance naturally surrounded them, even if one of them was recovering from an injury. In another life they might have been nobles instead of criminals.

They talked a little, both of them apparently not fans of many words. Ciel was often silent as if hoping for Vincent to fill in, but Vincent on the other hand didn't seem too talkative. It was a little strange, to be honest, and Sebastian might have felt sympathy if he were another man. He wasn't, so he simply leaned back in his chair and waited for his turn to leave.

Finally Vincent got up and brushed his hand over Ciel's hair. "You will leave here soon so that you won't fall behind in school." He looked down at the blanket hiding the boy's legs. "Well, once you can walk again… Crutches will work, I suppose."

Sebastian doubted that anything besides proper rest would be going to work. He would personally go on the next job even shortly after a bullet wound but Ciel was only a child.

"I won't be falling behind too far; Lizzie is probably bringing me homework," Ciel said absently.

Vincent halted. "You know you shouldn't be talking to Lizzie," he said calmly, but there was a layer of warning in his voice. "What about that Sieglinde girl? Let her deliver the homework to your house."

"Sieglinde will be putting her nose everywhere," Ciel said lamely. "But I suppose I'll ask…" He groaned. "My mobile phone isn't even here."

"And whose fault is that," Vincent murmured, loud enough for Sebastian to hear. Ciel chuckled, but Sebastian understood that Vincent was most likely trying to rile him up. This man was so strange…

"Have your things packed," Phantomhive ordered, removing his hand from Ciel's hair and moving towards the door. "You'll leave tomorrow. And if Lizzie comes to visit you, Ciel, you will tell her to leave. This is important, do you understand?"

Ciel sighed. "I understand, father."

"Good." Vincent nodded. He left, and Sebastian heard Ciel's slow exhale.

So, there we go! Another chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!