Special Note: Nether750 and I wrote 'Giving' together due to the number of awesome ideas for future chapters that we exchanged. Part Two is still in the works, but we will try to finish it as soon as possible.

Giving

Part 1: Decorating

"AAHHH!" Bardroy yelled as icy cotton collided with his face.

Finnian laughed heartily, forming another missile together in his hands. That had been his warning shot.

_-That Butler-*'

"Uhh Sebastian, do sort out the racket. Those servants should be working."

"Yes my lord."

Christmas. That time of year the Earl Phantomhive despised and came after his birthday. What was the point in such celebrations anyways? In his opinion, it was all a pathetic fuss over nothing. He found absolutely no point in celebrating, so his manor wouldn't be decorated unless - heaven forbid - Lizzy decided to appear and do it for him. Fortunately, it didn't take long for silence to set in after a few terrified screams of the three servants and a loud smacking sound, or Ciel's mind would have continued to cloud over with thoughts of Christmas.

Sebastian swiftly came back to his master's side, as formal as ever. "It has been taken care off my lord."

Ciel gave a small nod and dismissed his butler with a wave of his hand before returning to his mountain of paperwork.

_-That Butler-*'

Sebastian sighed as he made his way down the oaken stairs. Though demons do not study humans as such, they are aware of how they celebrate at this cold time of year; why, he had yet to find out.

The demonic butler gave a cursory glance at a small twig with green needles that someone placed at the top of a random lintel. Surely the plant - mistletoe, he suddenly realized - was being used as some kind of charm to bring good tidings to the manor during the holiday.

That would mean Ciel wouldn't appreciate it.

The mistletoe was easily snagged from its place, crushed in a spotless white glove, and tossed into a fireplace.

_-That Butler-*'

"Owww..." Mey-Rin rubbed the spot on her head that Sebastian had smacked.

"That seemed a bit harsh, even for him." Bard frowned as he helped Finny brush snow off of his clothes. "Maybe Sebastian doesn't have any holiday spirit either."

Finny sniffled. "How can we have too much holiday spirit? It's not like we didn't finish our chores this time..."

"..." Mey-Rin and Bard paused. It was true that their younger companion simply helped them with their tasks - there wasn't much gardening for the gardener to do during the winter - but nothing had changed for them.

"Don't tell me..."

"The bedsheets! I forgot to change them!" Mey-Rin gasped just as Bard announced that he needed to quickly heat up that evening's dinner so it would be ready on time.

_-That Butler-*'

Grell cheerfully hummed an unknown song as he danced around the Phantomhive manor, stopping every now and then to position sparkling crimson tinsel.

"Phew! Just wait until my dear Bassy gets a look at all my hard work! He'll be practically carrying me under the mistletoe~!" The red reaper chirped, clasping his hands together whilst fantasizing of his butler in a Christmas-themed tailcoat.

He paused for a moment to plant another trap where, hopefully, he and Sebastian would meet soon.

"I will be Mary and he will be Joseph! And together we'll have Jesus!"

Grell twirled in ecstasy at the thought even though he knew he couldn't actually bear children. So what? He could in his fantasies, right?

Still in his infatuated state, the shinigami knocked over a blue china vase. The loud crash as the pot hit the floor caught his attention.

"Oh dear. Meh, that's what servants are for."

_-That Butler-*'

A sudden crash roused the Phantomhive earl from his paperwork. "I thought I told Sebastian to deal with those useless oafs. Unless… Oh god please, not again!" He thought, eyes widening in horror after considering the other options.

"Jingle bells~ Jingle bells~ Jingle all the- I wonder if Sebas-chan will let me jingle his bells~"

Out of all the men in red suits, this was the one that Ciel wanted to see even less of than the jolly one that ho-ho-ho-ed. Maybe he'd be safe if he stayed quiet and pretended that he wasn't home...

"BASSY~?!"

The door slammed open and a shower of shiny, twinkly Christmas decorations utterly demolished the young earl's carefully organized papers.

"SEBASTIAN! It's back!" Ciel yelped as he took cover behind his chair, only to be dragged out into the open by what looked like a skimpily-dressed Santa Claus with glasses and long red hair. "What the bloody hell is going on?!"

"Christmastime is, that's what~!" Grell - yes, Ciel's eye was not deceiving him - trilled as he dragged the young earl out of his office.

"What are you doing with me?!"

"Why, preparing you for your Holiday Ball, or course~! I've already invited everyone and just need to decorate this dump before they arrive tomorrow night~!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

_-That Butler-*'

"Lady Elizabeth, what a surprise," Sebastian commented as he opened the front door and found his master's fiancée on the steps.
Fitting the season, she had a slightly over-sized fuzzy Santa hat placed atop her head, seemingly held in place by her curly blonde twin pigtails. A cheery red dress with white fur binding the sleeves and skirt completed her attire.
"Oh hello there Sebastian, merry Christmas! Here, I've got a present just for you!"
Before Sebastian could return the phrase, a fluffy green hat with cloth elf ears sewn to the sides and 'Santa's little Helper' imprinted on the front with golden thread was pulled on to his head.
"There! You look simply adorable!"
"Uh, thank you very much my lady, please step inside."
How could this day worsen further? Useless servants, a grumpy master and now this... Even demons need a day off sometimes.
"AAAAHH! SEBASTIAN!"
Great. Just great.
On answer to his master's plea, the demonic butler practically teleported to the upper floor hallway. What he saw next was rather unexpected. Standing dead in the middle of the space, with a traumatized expression, was his young master wearing a tight-fitting red Christmas outfit with white fur adorning the edges. It was also almost exactly like Lizzy's.

Sebastian almost prayed that Lizzy and Grell wouldn't join forces.
"Young master what on earth is going on?"
"Jingle Bells..."
Well, that was a strange reply.
"SEBAS-CHAN!"

Said demonic butler easily dodged the flying redhead and scooped up Ciel, making a run for his charge's rooms-

-only to be glomped from behind by Lizzy herself.

"Stop! He's soooo cute already that you don't have to do anything else to him!"

"I didn't do this..." Sebastian was forced to let Ciel go (as the young earl would've been ripped in two if neither he nor Lizzy chose to give Ciel up) and watched helplessly as the girl swung Ciel around and around in joy.

"Then who did?"

The demonic butler turned to point to Grell only to find the shinigami about to grab him from the other direction.

"Oomph!" The redhead landed on the floor with a thud.

Lizzy looked rather startled for a moment before a huge grin lit up her face. "So...she...decorated the entire second floor too?!"

Sebastian felt his mouth open but, to his dismay, nothing came out. Surely he'd heard the young master's fiancee incorrectly? There was no way that Grell could have been inside the manor long enough to decorate the second floor without his knowing. Impossible...

_-That Butler-*'

"Wooow..."

"Ooooooh..."

"Ahhhhh..."

The three Phantomhive servants gaped in awe at the shimmering, glittery hallway in front of them. They'd taken the servants' passage up to the second floor and had been awestruck by how Christmasy it had become in just a couple of hours.

Finnian kept turning around in circles as he asked, "Who did all of this?"

"Not Mister Sebastian, that's for sure," Bard grumbled a little. "He won't even put up a Christmas candle without Master Ciel's permission."

"But it would be great if he did this to surprise everyone, yes it would!" Mey-Rin blushed at the thought of Sebastian going to such great lengths (in a Santa suit) to please everyone.

"GET IT OFF OF MEEE!"

"Whoopsies~ That tinsel was meant for Sebas-chan~"

"Sutcliffe..."

A girlish giggle drifted down the hall. "Miss Grell, that tinsel around Ciel and mister Sebastian makes them look even cuter!"

"But it was supposed to be around my Sebby and me! Oh well, at least I can pretend he's a present and open him up~"

"Not until Christmas. Is that not the tradition?"

"Sebastian! I don't want to be stuck like this until the twenty-fifth!"

"You can open presents on the night of the twenty-fourth as well~"

"Don't stare at my butler like that! It's disturbing!"

"Ciel, are you okay?"

"I will be once that perver-"

The three servants peered around the corner just in time to see a red-headed person almost delicately stick a pre-made bow over the Earl Phantomhive's lips. Mey-Rin's nose immediately started bleeding, and Bardroy and Finny gaped at the boldness of the action.

_-That Butler-*'

Sebastian was not amused. He was so un-amused that he sent the three servants scurrying with a glare that was much more intense than usual. As Ciel's life wasn't in danger, he couldn't free him unless he had a direct order, but then there was that bow over the young master's mouth...

"Oh, I didn't notice this," Grell suddenly commented and moved closer to the demonic butler. "'Santa's Little Helper?' How cute! Well, since Ciel-Santa is tied up at the moment, maybe you should be let loose so you can help me~"

"No."

"Aww, come on, Bassy! Or we can get started without tying the knot first..."

"Yes, let's start decorating the rest of the manor!" Lizzy randomly chimed in, oblivious to the meaning behind the others' words. "It needs to look cute like the part that miss Grell finished!"

"Oh, I didn't do it to make it cute! I did it because I invited everyone here for a party!"

The Phantomhive inhabitants knew they were in trouble as soon as Lizzy heard the word 'party.' Her emerald green eyes sparkled in delight and her smile was nearly blinding. "A party!? That's a brilliant idea! May I invite some guests as well? I'm sure many of Ciel's and my friends would love to come!"

"Sure! Let's go plan and party!"

Sebastian and Ciel glanced at each other in concern. This was not going to end well.

A/N: I tried to make this chapter a little longer just because I'll have sporadic updates for a while. School's about to start and I'm working on several stories at once. Part Two should have much more Grell-ness in it. :)

Thanks for reading~