Special Note: Cowritten by Zetsuboei (formerly Nether750) and me.

Giving

Part 2: Partying

"Right, we're going to need candy, a great big cake and, oooh, a Christmas tree!" Lizzy squealed, jumping up and down.
"I'll whip up a great cake!" Bardroy exclaimed as he went into Chef mode, grabbing his hat and getting a big bowl out of a cabinet.
Finny grabbed his gardening hat and gloves and made for the door. "And I'll find the best pine tree you've ever seen!"
Grell grabbed a pen and sheet of paper, scrawling the words 'Guest List' at the top.
"I'll invite my friends at the dispatch! Ronald just loves to party!" He and Lizzy sat down and began writing down names of pretty much anyone and everyone they knew.

Ciel walked into the busy kitchen, butler at his side. There eyes glided from Bardroy flicking cake mix across the room to Grell and Lizzy by the table.
Lizzy immediately noticed the two and flashed a grin.
"Aah Ciel, come help us write the guest list! Miss Grell here has lots of friends like I do. It wouldn't be fair if you didn't get to add anyone."
Ciel looked disgusted at the lusty look the reaper was giving his butler. "For one, that thing is a guy. And I did not agree to any of this!"
Lizzy frowned at her fiancé's not-very-Christmassy attitude. "Don't be silly Ciel! A party would be a great way to celebrate Christmas!"
Seeing there was no changing her mind about the party, Ciel stomped forward and wrote two names down before storming out. Sebastian, who had opted to remain behind in case he needed to stop an impending explosion, leaned over to read the names.
'Soma and his butler Agni'
'Ronald'
'Eric'
'Alan'
'William~'
'Undertaker'
'the lovely ladies at dispatch reception'

"Oh that won't be all of them, sweet Bassy~" Grell cooed and started adding more names while gazing up at Sebastian.

Every time Grell's pen paused, Lizzy would throw in the names of nobles that had to be at the party of the season.

Ciel, who'd realized that Sebastian hadn't followed him out and turned back to fetch the other, blanched when the Viscount Druitt was mentioned but knew that he would never be able to get a word in edgewise.
"And what shall the young master wear?"
The question immediately gave rise to an even larger flurry of conversation. Even the servants joined in. Ciel knew that there was no way he'd be able to drag Sebastian away and had just turned around when-
"I apologize for keeping you waiting, my lord."
Ciel didn't turn around again. "I am not in the mood to deal with you slacking off as much as the rest of them."
"Then we must find a way to make up for lost time..."
Before Ciel had time to question the almost mischievous tone he'd been whisked into his room and stripped to his undergarments. "Sebastian! What is the meaning of this?!" The young lord exclaimed angrily as he fought for his last articles of clothing.

Something suddenly tore with a loud rip.
"Oh dear, this undershirt is completely ruined," Sebastian tisked as he held up the torn garment up for inspection. "Why don't we use this opportunity to find out which of the specially prepared outfits will be best for the party?"

Ciel's eyes widened in a mixture of both anger and horror at the sudden malicious smirk across his butler's face.

"Perhaps we should allow Lady Elizabeth to choose your outfit, considering it was her idea to host a party in the first place my lord."
The bluenette's throat hitched at those words but he managed to quickly grab a robe and wrap himself tightly in the fabric.
"Now hold hold on just a mo-"
"CIEL!"
A red and white flash crashed into the young earl's side sending them both down on the wooden floor as the butler looked on in amusement.
"Oh Ciel that sounds like a wonderful idea! Maybe we could dress you up as an elf or a saint or an angel!" Lizzy squealed. "There're so many adorable outfits I can't possibly chose!" She squealed again, rubbing her face against his cheek (much to the earl's annoyance).
The demonic butler bent down onto one knee and whispered something to his master's fiancée so Ciel couldn't hear.
"That's a great idea Sebastian! You go get the outfit and I'll find the hat!"
Sebastian took a bow "Of curse my lady." And began rummaging around in the closet once more, that glint of mischief still present.

Ciel picked himself off the ground and dusted off, turning to his servant.
"What are you up to?"
Sebastian turned his head slightly to face the boy.
"Just assisting the Lady in choosing your clothing my lord."
Ciel didn't look convinced of the explanation. That all changed though when the demon pulled out a rose red fur-finished Santa outfit with matching Black Shoes and a novelty beard. He saw his servant coming towards him and backed away only to be attacked from behind by something else terrifying.
"I found the hat!" Lizzy shrieked, pulling the Red and white Christmas hat over Ciel's face.

_-That Butler-*'

Ciel sighed in relief as Lizzy finally let him leave the dance floor and sank into a chair near the edge of the room. He hadn't managed to escape the Santa outfit, but gained a small victory by talking Lizzy into putting the beard on Mr. Tanaka. Then she'd gotten the idea of dressing the servants as elves and changing into a Mrs. Claus outfit...

"Hoh, hoh, hoh!" Saint Nicholas-Tanaka laughed cheerfully as he escorted Lau into the ballroom. The Chinaman was dressed in a dark blue outfit with a snow-covered forest theme stitched in.

"Now there's someone that still fits into the season even though they aren't wearing Christmas colors," Ciel allowed himself a little smirk at the thought. If he could have gotten away with something like that, he may have not found the party as unpleasant.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Mey-Rin suddenly screamed as she tripped over the corner of a rug and showered nearby guests with bite-sized bouche-de-Noel. "Excuse me; I'm so sorry! Let me get that out of your hat for you, yes!"

At least Sebastian suddenly appeared beside the clumsy maid and helped her clean up the mess. Crisis averted.

"Hmph! How come that clumsy little thing gets so much of Bassy's attention and all I get is-" Grell was too busy fuming to notice that one of the guests he was moving around had obliviously moved a footstool right into his path.

Ciel looked over curiously when he heard a padded thump, followed by a sudden burst of surprised and outraged chittering from a little group of ladies occupying most of the sitting area. Grell - yes, that was the shinigami's useless butt sticking up in the air - he'd somehow fallen face-first into someone's lap.

The unfortunate woman squirmed uncomfortably but Grell's glasses seemed to have caught on her corset...oh my... The bluenette turned away, hoping that the party would end soon and not get any more awkward.

"Get off me at once! I'm not into women!" Grell shrieked, tugging at the chain of his glasses in attempts to break free.
"No you get off! You actually believe I tried to- Help someone!"
A sudden bang of the manor doors hitting the walls as they flew open silenced the crowd.
"Don't worry my fair lady, for I have come to your aid!"
Ciel looked on in shock. "I-is that-"
"Ronald!" Grell yelled, tugging free his glasses and shoving the lady away from him. The said blonde skipped over to the centre of the gathering, followed by Allan, Eric, and a VERY displeased looking William, all clad in reindeer suits (William's looking rather forced on) aside from Knox who wore a dark blue furry Jack Frost outfit and cloak.
"Oh would you look at all these beautiful lady's clad in rich silk. Like delicate snowflakes in the rough snow storm of our cruel yet beautiful world."
The soft yet vulgar voice pierced Ciel's composure and made him want to vomit, Sebastian letting loose an amused smirk at his master's reaction.
"Oh my can you believe it? The Viscount Druit is attending the celebration!" one woman exclaimed.
"And what a wonderful seasonal outfit he has. He's like an angel fallen from heaven!"
A male guest then commented "Whilst a white angel is rather feminine I shan't deny it is rather unique."

Ciel had enough. He whirled around in a huff and started up the stairs to his room.

"My lord?"

_-That Butler-*'

"My lord?"

Blast. Now some idiot had managed to turn the lights off.

"Young master?"

Ciel moaned softly and opened his eyes to see the sun sinking under the Western horizon. Wait, it was dark during the party, so what had happened?!

A gentle but firm hand clad in a white glove pushed Ciel back into his bedding but not before the young earl noticed that he was still wearing the Santa hat.

"What happened...?" Ugh, his voice sounded dry and raspy.

A cup was suddenly pushed into his hands. "Water first, then I will explain."

Ciel slowly sipped the water that Sebastian gave him, the events of the previous night coming back at about the same pace. Unfortunately the Christmas party hadn't been a dream.

"What is that atrocious pencil drawing?"

Sebastian chuckled. "One of our guests was an amateur sketch artist and Lady Elizabeth asked her to make this before you fell out of the sledge."

"I was in a..."

Now the young earl remembered everything. He'd gone upstairs to take a much-deserved break from the party but then immediately went back down to hide from Lizzy and another novelty beard. Then the punch bowl had seemed very appealing.

"I have dealt with Grell accordingly for tampering with the punch, by the way," Sebastian grinned devilishly.

Ciel looked back at the sketch and noticed that the sledge he and Lizzy (and Ronald) were in was being pulled by some very tipsy-looking shinigami and servants... There was a ninth reindeer at the front of the group that looked very much like Sebastian. And he was winking at the artist while crushing reindeer-Grell's head into the snow with a foot.

The earl was half tempted to throw it out but something kept him from doing so. Maybe it was because he looked happier than usual even though he was drunk.

"How did the other guests take this?"

"They were glad you had a change of heart and became so enraptured with the holiday spirit."

"...Leave it here for the time being. I'm going back to bed."

Note: Four servants (Snake managed to escape) and four shinigami make up the usual eight reindeer, but Rudolf didn't appear consistently until the 1940s. I guess Sebby was ahead of his time.