Me: Uh, hey everyone…so yeah, sorry about the whole troll-last-chapter thing *dodges tomato* OKAY, WHO THREW THAT? I WILL SIC Sebastian ON YOU, DON'T THINK I WON'T! *Clears throat* Anyway, I'm back and I have the next chapter with me!

Thalia: *Is hiding from Sebastian in a demon-proof bunker typed into existence by the authoress because Sebastian kept abducting her during the last introductions*

Sebastian: *Is standing outside the bunker and trying to get in* Oh Thalia~, you can't hide in there forever…

Ciel: -_- Idiots…

Me: Ha, well…I don't own Black Butler! Sebastian, is that dynamite?

Mistletoe and Kittens

You know, there are times when everything in the world suddenly becomes a thousand times realer. It's like all of your senses suddenly sharpen and you're seeing and hearing and feeling everything around you in a better, more defined way.

This was one of those times. I suddenly became perfectly aware of the smooth texture of Sebastian's suit under my fingertips, and the warmth of his gloved hand where it held mine. The waltz music was still there, but I couldn't make sense of it anymore, all I could focus on was the rough, almost painful thump of my own heart in my chest.

I focused on his eyes. They were red, I knew that, but I had never stared at them long enough to pay attention to them. They were darker than mine. While mine had flecks of gold in the iris, his were red all through. The red near the edges of his irises was darker than the rest. I almost missed when his mouth curved upwards. "Shall we, my lady?"

For the first time, I didn't argue about not being a lady, and not being his. I just followed his lead as he led me through the steps. He was a good teacher, or maybe he was just good at covering up my mistakes. We twirled faster, and faster, up and down, until I was laughing and clinging to him because if I let go, I was sure I would be flung far away from him and I couldn't have that. He was important to me.

Yes, I thought stupid, sappy things at that moment. I blame it on adrenaline and dizziness caused by too much twirling and dancing.

I focused on his collar and chest. I couldn't bring myself to look any higher than that. I had never noticed before but Sebastian smelled…rather nice. The scent was indescribable. I couldn't really compare it to anything. I could say it was hot, like a spice, but that's about as close as I could get. It was sweet, calming, and that worried me most of all. The urge I had to bury my face in his neck and inhale made me want to slap myself, and him, but mostly me.

Suddenly, the music stopped, and Sebastian stopped as well. Still caught up in the momentum of the dance, I tripped over…something, and fell. Sebastian fell with me, allowing me to land right on top of his body. "I don't know why you fell," I giggled and tried to get back my equilibrium. "You don't fall."

He chuckled softly. "Maybe I wanted to this time. This isn't such a bad position, is it, dear Thalia?"

I opened my eyes fully, and my face flamed. I was lying right on top of him. He was lying on the ground, using his arms to prop himself up. I squeaked and tried to scramble off him, but that only brought his face entirely too close to mine. I became aware that I was also sort-of-but-not-quite straddling his legs.

I squeaked again.

He smiled and his eyes seemed to darken and glow faintly. "What's the matter, dear Thalia?" He asked with false innocence in his tone. "Cat got your tongue?"

Like I said, this was a terrible idea. I spluttered, stammered, and finally settled for smacking him on the shoulder and scrambling off him as fast as I possibly could. "Pervert!"

"Me?" He smirked as he watched me retreat. "As I recall, you were the one who fell on top of me."

"Accident!" I yelled back. "It was an accident!" I ran out of the room and shut the door behind me firmly. I could blame the abnormal beating of my heart on the dancing, not him.

Definitely not him.

Sebastian's POV

That scent, that lovely, lovely scent. It was all around him now, mingled with the euphoric memory of the feel of her body against his. She was warm, soft, and pliant. All perfect, womanly curves and skin so delicious he had to restrain himself from leaning down to taste her.

He wanted to taste her, lick her, bite, sink his teeth into her and mark her as his. He wanted to have her crying out his name over and over as he did this. He wanted her body bare and vulnerable underneath him as he pleasured her over and over.

But… Sebastian frowned slightly and he stared at the window.

But he also wanted her smiles. He wanted her laughter. He wanted her pouts and her grins and her love. He winced slightly. Was this what having a mate did to you? Granted, it wasn't a completely bad feeling. In fact, sometimes it was nearly exhilarating. At the worst, it was just odd. He simply wasn't used to caring for anything this much.

He was an ancient, malevolent creature unused to such strange feelings as affection. Of course, he knew that demons could love. He'd also known demons that had found their Soulmates and had seen the way they had acted. He had just barely considered the idea that he would find his.

But, if it's her, he smiled to himself. If it was her, then he wasn't so averse to it.

oOo

The next morning was Christmas morning and, for some reason, Bard decided to wake me up by setting up firecrackers outside my door. I nearly had a heart attack because I thought those were gunshots. The sight of Bard's laughing face, however, quickly turned my fear into anger. "BARD!"

"She's awake!"

"BARD, I WILL KILL YOU!" I caught up with him and tackled him and, if not for Sebastian's sudden appearance, I would have strangled him. Instead, the butler picked me up like I was an irate cat that had gotten out of her cage. "I'll get you later," I promised the chef darkly.

"When?" He had enough air for one more snarky statement. "After you're done smooching with the butler?"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" I lunged for him and nearly managed to slip out of Sebastian's arms, but he grabbed hold of me again. Bard ran away cackling loudly. "As for you," I glared up at Sebastian. "Why are you here? Don't get involved with my revenge plans!"

"Good morning, my lady," he replied. I huffed and jumped out of his arms. My hair was an even bigger mess now. I had forgotten to braid it before I went to bed last night, and now it was just a snow-white-and-red mass around my face. I felt like a candyfloss stick. "Merry Christmas."

I calmed down a bit, and smiled back at him. "Merry Christmas to you too." Wait, it's Christmas. IT'S CHRISTMAS! I sprinted back into my room, and then ran out again fifteen minutes later fully dressed. I tackled Finny in a hug when I saw him, since he was the first person I saw on my Christmas rampage. "Merry Christmas, Finny!"

He looked shocked for a second, and then he beamed happily. I noticed that he didn't make a move to hug me back. "Merry Christmas, Thalia!" I pinched his cheeks happily, and then ran to the room where the presents were. I froze in the doorway and gaped up at it in shock.

"Do you like it?" Sebastian's voice came from behind me. I could only nod speechlessly. The whole room was decorated with lights and tinsel and streams of colourful paper cut-outs. The tree too. There was even a golden star right at the top.

I glanced back at Sebastian. "Did you do this?" I asked. "Wait, when did you do this? Why am I even asking you that?" He was one hell of a butler. Why was I choosing to question his skills? "It's amazing," I gave him a quick hug before i could think too much of it, and then ran off to wake Ciel up.

The waking up Ciel thing didn't go so well though. I suppose I shouldn't have tried to wake him up by throwing his curtains apart to let the sin in, and singing Christmas carols like a toddler, but oh well. He did throw a bunch of darts at me (why does that kid have throwing darts next to his bed?) which was pretty bad.

I skipped back downstairs when Ciel was finally dressed and not as annoyed with me as before. after breakfast was done, I ran into the room with the presents and the tree. "Who wants presents?"

"I do, I do!" Finny and Mey-Rin joined me. Bard followed at a slightly more sedate pace behind the two of them. I looked up to glare at him blackly.

"I still want to kill you though," I scowled at him. His eyes widened slightly. Yeah, you better be afraid! I can break bones! "But I did spend money to buy you a gift, so I guess you can live." What? I didn't want his stuff to go to waste! Money doesn't come easily, you know. "So let's do this randomly…uh…" I sat down uon the carpet and eyed the pile of colourfully wrapped parcels. "Ooh, this one's for Ciel!"

Okay, you know what, let me summarise what we all got.

Ciel received a blue scarf from Lady Elizabeth, because she thought it was cute. The 'cute' in the letter that she sent had far too many U's. That girl needs to calm down. He got a bag of candy from Finny, a toy train from Mey-Rin, and a bunch of painted tin soldiers from Bard.

Mey-Rin got my book (which I slipped into her hands when no one was looking), a scarf and…huh, looks like someone else had the same hey-let's-give-Mey-Rin-dirty-books idea I did. I bet it was Bard.

Finny got my presents, a pair of gardening gloves, and some hairclips. I also gave him a finger kiss (you know, when you kiss your fingers and put them wherever you want to kiss? That) on the cheek because he was adorable. I did the same to Ciel, when I handed him his present, and he gave me a dirty look. Still, he looked pleased with the game.

Bard got my gifts (which I hid underneath the other gifts for him because I didn't want Sebastian to kill me), winter gloves, and a really fancy-looking lighter, courtesy of Finny.

"Thanks, Thalia," he grinned, probably having seen the explosives. "I hope you use my gift as much as I plan to use yours."

I frowned, and quickly peeled off the wrapping paper to reveal…the same book Mey-Rin had gotten (I knew it was him!). I sweatdropped, and resisted the urge to bury it in his head. Instead, I buried it under my other presents. "You suck, you know that?" I snapped. "I'm going to burn it, just so you know."

"That'd be a terrible waste of literature," Sebastian commented.

"Shut it, or I'll burn you. Wait…" I held myself back from facepalming. Ciel arched an eyebrow at me and snickered under his breath at what I'd said. Sebastian just looked amused. "Anyway, moving on," I grabbed Finny's present. He'd gotten me a bracelet with a cat's head as a charm, and another charm that looked like it could be attached to a necklace.

"It's for Morgan," he chirped. "You can put it on her collar so the two of you can match!"

Shit, I stared at the blonde silently for a few seconds. Shit he's cute. "I love it. Thank you Finny!" I gave him a quick hug.

From Mey-Rin I got a black headpiece with a red rose at the centre. After the servants had received their gifts, Ciel sent them away for their Christmas day-off. I didn't get one, not that I wanted one. Therefore, I waved them off and then went back to tearing through my gifts.

"Oh look," I picked one up. It was a small, black box tied with strips of red ribbon. "This one's from…Sebastian?" I eyed the butler suspiciously. "You didn't get me anything strange, right?"

He just smiled enigmatically. "Define strange."

I scoffed and started undoing the ribbons. "You know exactly what I mean by…oh wow…" He had gotten me knives! A complete set of throwing knives! They were polished to high gleam, with black handles and perfectly sharpened tips.

Ciel eyed the gift warily, and then glanced at Sebastian tauntingly. "That is rather nice of you, Sebastian."

I missed the amused smirk Sebastian threw his way. "It is, isn't it?" I said, eying my gift appreciatively. "Thank you Sebastian! Then," I put down my present and picked up the box with the present I had gotten him. "This is for you. Mind you, that isn't all," I added hastily. I mean, a cat plushie wasn't really up to the same status as throwing knives. "There's more, but I couldn't really package them…"

Ciel hummed and smirked at me. "You got him more than one present?" He asked. "Interesting…"

"Don't give me that face," I pointed at him. "Or I will retract my gift. Don't think I won't do it!" Ciel glared at me and I got a glimpse of the child that he was underneath that cold, adult exterior. "I'm kidding!"

"Why, Thalia…" I froze at Sebastian's voice, and then turned around slowly. The butler was holding up the snow-white cat with the red shape on its chest with an amused smile on his face. I feel like that might be his default expression: amused with a slight hint of mockery. "I had no idea you wanted me to consider you as my kitten."

Ciel snorted and choked on air. "I think that's my cue to leave…" he gathered up his presents and made a hurried exit.

"Please don't leave me!" I tried to reach for him, but a hand grabbed my ankle and pulled me backwards. "Shit…" I twisted around and tried to glare at Sebastian, but it is pretty difficult to come off as sufficiently threatening when you look like a cherry tomato with a face.

Sebastian smiled down at me. "Where are you going Thalia?" He asked, and his smile got wider. "I haven't even thanked you properly for your gift…"

Oh shit…

oOo

Sebastian has a very lecherous idea of what it means to thank someone. It wasn't until I threatened not to give him his other Christmas present that he released me. At least I knew he'd like it. Heck, he'd love it! And if he liked it, then that was great for me. You know, as long as he didn't try to 'thank' me again.

At that moment, I was leading Sebastian to the shed where the kittens were. In order to make sure that the surprise wouldn't be ruined too quickly, I had blindfolded him with the ribbon I used to tie the top of my braid. "Thalia?"

"Hush."

"Thalia?"

"Hush!"

"Darling?"

"Hush, wait, what the hell?" I stopped walking and glared at him. even though he couldn't see my glare, he still smiled like he could sense it. "Just be quiet already! We're almost there anyway." I directed him to the front of the shed, and pushed the wooden door open. "Morgan?"

My cat mewled quietly. Sebastian perked up at the sound. Morgan uncurled her body from around her kittens and they let out smaller mews. I deftly pulled off the ribbon from around Sebastian's head.

His eyes were wide, and he was nearly sparkling with sheer, repressed excitement. "Merry Christmas!" I knelt down beside Morgan. "She had them a few weeks ago, I think. Because it is Christmas, I will allow you to claim one for yourself. The rest we are going to have to sell, or something."

Sebastian frowned and knelt down beside me. "Is that necessary?"

I shrugged and nodded. "Ciel won't let all of them into the house, and if we don't, they'll just run away when they get old enough." I didn't want to sell them either, but it was the next best thing. "So, come on," I gestured to the four kittens curled up near Morgan. "Pick one."

For Sebastian, that seemed like a really tough decision make. In the end, he chose a black female with white mittens, a white muzzle, and a white-tipped tail. He called her Minthe (one of Hade's consorts in Greek mythology) after the colour of her eyes*. "Thank you, Thalia."

I shifted away from him just a tad, but I still smiled at him anyway. I scratched behind Morgan's head gently. "You're welcome Sebastian."

No One's POV

Ciel liked Thalia, he really did. He wouldn't deny that he did enjoy the company of the girl. She was kind and protective, and a definite change from Sebastian. It was nice to have someone who was with him for absolutely no other reason than because she wanted to.

So therefore it could not be said that what he was planning to do was out of hate or spite. No, in fact, it was just simple, childish fun.

Ciel smirked down at the wonderfully life-like model manor in his study. Three model soldiers were hiding close to the door of what looked to be a cupboard and, standing right beside the cupboard, were two porcelain cats. One was black, like ink or oil. The other was completely white.

oOo

"Remind me why Ciel wants us to clear out one of the cupboards now?" I asked Sebastian. "It's Christmas! It's a holiday! Why are we doing housework when everyone else gets a day of doing whatever?"

Sebastian arched an eyebrow at me. "I thought you didn't want a day off?"

"I don't," I huffed. "I just don't want to do housework and chores either." We both stopped in front of the cupboard in question. "Let's get this over with, Sebastian. Sebastian?" I repeated his name when he didn't respond. When I looked up, he seemed to be studying something down the hall, but I couldn't see anything. "Uh, what are you looking at?"

He blinked, and then he smiled. "Nothing, dear Thalia. Shall we begin?" Those words sound familiar. I pushed the door of the hall cupboard open and peered into the dark interior.

"Wait," I blinked to allow my eyes to get used to the sudden lack of light. "Why is it empty? And not only is it empty, it's already clean!" I eyed the dusted shelves and the cleanly swept floors.

Sebastian leaned over my head to look inside as well. I took a step forward to avoid my back being so closely pressed against his front. "I suppose I must have already cleared out this cupboard already," he commented. "How unfortunate."

Before I could even ask how that was unfortunate, the door of the cupboard suddenly slammed shut, sending us into darkness. I whirled around and bumped into a warm, solid body. "What the-? Sebastian, what did you do?" My eyes were slowly getting used to the incomplete darkness, and I could see his shadowy silhouette in front of me.

"Absolutely nothing, dear Thalia," he replied smoothly. "Clearly someone must have shut us inside."

"Someone?" I repeated. "But there's no one else here except…Ciel." I scowled at the door, and tried to make the heat of my projected anger burn through the door. "CIEL, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

From behind the door, I heard him speak. "I regret that I cannot do that," he replied. "Not until you have done what needs doing."

"What needs…what?" What was he talking about? Sebastian tapped my shoulder "What?" I turned to him. He pointed upwards and I followed the direction his fingers were pointing.

Oh…oh my…

Mistletoe. Someone (probably Ciel, or Bard, or both) had pasted mistletoe to the ceiling of the room. No one sticks mistletoe in a cupboard, so that had to mean one thing: this was planned. "CIEL!"

"I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Sebastian, I order you to not open that door before I return. And also, remember my other order." I heard the steady, but hurried click of someone walking away very quickly.

I turned around and glared up at the butler. "You aren't really going to do this, right?" I asked him, half-pleadingly. "Help me open the door!"

He shrugged, but he didn't look all that apologetic. "Unfortunately, I cannot disobey my master once he gives me an order. And also…" he suddenly moved closer to me, and I suddenly realised just how tiny the cupboard actually was. "I don't want to."

(Quick note from me: You know, I was actually considering ending the chapter here because I was feeling troll-like, but then I decided not to since a lot of people are already threatening to kill me if the two of them don't kiss. Therefore, I decided not to. Enjoy!)

I stared up at Sebastian silently, stunned at the husky, seductive tone of his voice. "W-what?" I tried to force myself to snap out of it. "What do you mean you don't want to? It's just a plant, you know. We don't have to pay attention to it."

"Mmm," he kept coming closer to me. "Maybe I want to pay attention to it. I must say, this little tradition that humans have is quite lovely." A hand brushed against my right cheek. I tried to move my head away, but he gripped my chin and forced me to keep my head in place.

I winced. "Sebastian…"

An arm wound its way around my waist. "Am I scaring you?" He whispered. I shook my head furiously, more out of defiance than actual honesty. "You're lying, Thalia…" he took his hand away from my chin and trailed a finger down my throat. "I can feel your pulse right here," his finger stopped at a point at the side of my neck. "It's fast. You're blushing," he commented. "How beautiful."

The whole thing was scary but sensual. I couldn't help being scared. I had never been so close to a man before, let alone a man I actually liked. Like the most charming of men, Sebastian was dangerous. I should have been screaming or panicking, instead I could feel my heart pounding as my body responded to his touch.

"Sebastian…"

He arched an eyebrow. His fingers trailed to my chin. I flushed and closed my eyes as he tilted my face up to his and leaned closer to me. "I only have ten minutes," he smirked wolfishly. "And I want to savour every second of this."

His name was barely out of my mouth again when his lips covered mine in a kiss that stunned my entire body. My eyes widened, and I make a shocked sound somewhere at the back of my throat. I felt him smile against my mouth and pull back just enough to let me see that his eyes had started to glow. "Sebastian…?"

He licked his lips, like he was savouring the flavour of something wonderful. "You…" his eyes fixed on my lips. "…taste magnificent." And then he descended once more. The hand that had been at my neck slid down to wrap around my waist. His body pushed closer to mine and I felt one of his legs slip between mine, pinning me to the wall of the cupboard.

Why does this feel so good? He was just kissing me. I had always thought that kisses were simply two lips meeting, a simple caress, but this…this was so much more. My eyes slipped shut and I made a sound somewhere in the back of my throat. I felt a warm hand at my cheek, and I gasped when something licked at my bottom lip.

Sebastian was fast. Before I could respond, I felt his tongue slide between my lips and I promptly went limp in his arms. I had always considered the act of French kissing to be disgusting (why would you willingly choose to swap tongue and saliva with another human being?), but this was electric. I couldn't think of another way to describe it. The second his tongue touched mine, I felt something jolt inside me.

My hands came up of their own accord and wrapped around Sebastian's neck. He chuckled quietly, and bit down on my bottom lip softly. "So delicious, so responsive," he murmured. "I wonder…"

I opened my eyes when he pulled away, and then they shut again when I felt something warm and wet sliding over the beginning of my neck. "Ah, S-Sebastian!" The buttons holding the collar of my dress popped open and the fabric slid down, and then he was licking at the expanse of my throat. "N-no, stop it!"

"Mmm," he nipped at my throat. "Is that what you really want, Thalia?" He asked me softly, seductively, mouthing the words against my skin. "Your skin is warm, and I can feel your heart beating quickly…" he moved and pressed a kiss to my neck, and I felt jolt of electricity go through me. "Hmm, so it's that sensitive?"

"I don't…" I squeezed my eyes shut, suddenly feeling upset. My first kiss, and how was he making me feel so…undone? I hated it, but I still loved it. I didn't want to be taken advantage of. "Stop it," I forced my voice not to tremble. I felt him pause. "Stop it. Leave me alone."

He paused, and then I felt hands cup my face with more tenderness than I had ever expected. Slowly, he forced me to look at him. "Thalia?"

Don't say my name like that. I couldn't look him in the eye. I pressed my face into the fabric of his jacket. My words came out muffled. "I hate you, you know that?" I told him. "How dare you make me feel like this? I should hit you for this."

I felt his laughter reverberate through his chest, and then the door of the room opened. We both looked up, and I was so ready to yell at Ciel that I was almost confused when I saw Bard's face. He also looked surprised to see us, and then his stunned expression turned to one of amusement.

"Ha, I knew the two of you were kissing!"

THERE, ARE YOU ALL HAPPY NOW? I DID A KISS SCENE *throws chapter at you with aggressive love*. This took a while to do, honestly, because I got stuck at several parts while typing up the dialogue between the characters, but I finally did it!

*In Greek Mythology, Minthe was one of the women Hades had a love affair with after he married Persephone. Long story short, his wife found out, got hella mad, and promptly trampled Minthe into the earth (because that's what she felt like doing). From that spot grew a, you guessed it, mint plant. Wow Mythology is strange…

Basically, I was saying that the cat's eyes were green, not that I wanted it to get trampled into the ground! I love cats!

Review!