Disclaimer: Toboso Yana is the proud owner of Kuroshitsuji, these characters in no way belong to me.

Sebastian entered the young master's sleeping quarters, like every morning, at precisely 7:00 a.m. After settling the food tray in the bed counter, he headed toward the windows to spread the curtains, turned and greeted him.

"Good morning, young master." As usual, a small 'Morning' was his response. "Today's breakfast is a golden French omelet coupled with a mint salad, sided with scones. The tea prepared for this morning is Keemun tea, which is becoming very popular these days, my lord." The butler handed Ciel the cup of tea.

"Ah." The master answered. He took a sip of it as Sebastian stripped him of his garments and proceeded to dress the young boy, starting with the white button-down shirt. Placing every button in its proper orifice, Sebastian took the knee-high garter socks in his hands and covered the young master's legs, followed by the dark-colored shorts and the elegant, high-heeled pumps. Once the boy's figure was outfitted with the long, turtle-green jacket, Sebastian grabbed the black eye patch resting on the counter (along with the emerald-cut deep blue family ring and the gold signet ring) and tied it over Ciel's right eye, hiding his Faustian contract. Lastly, the blue tie was fastened over his neck; the family ring was placed over his left thumb and the signet on his right middle finger.

The cup was set on the tray as the taller man announced today's schedule. Of course there was one unscheduled guest...

"...And we will have a visitor sometime around lunch." He finally said. The Earl would need to know about him sooner or later. Sooner would avoid further problems...

"A visitor? Who might that be?" Ciel asked.

"The reaper, Grell Sutcliff, will arrive later today to fulfill a compromise I made with him yesterday." Sebastian said. 'Today, I will not show any hint of kindness to him...no matter how much my inner thoughts bother me.'

Grell's POV

'Oooh, this is going to be wonderful~. After yesterday's horrible failed attempts to...persuade Will to change my to-die list, it actually turned to such a romantic time with Sebas-chan~. But it really was uncharacteristic of him... Oh well, I took really good care of his rose so I hope it's good in his standards.' I thought as I trotted in the streets of London with the rose in a crystal vase.

I was heading to that brat's manor, but not to get beat up. Oh no, today I am—no, I shall— NO, I WILL GET MY KISS! And no one will stop me!

The manor was in front of my eyes and suddenly my stomach was in a knot. Not like I needed to be nervous about anything...well, yes there was plenty to be nervous about! If the rose was perfect, I could do as I pleased; that was good. But then if it wasn't...anything could happen... From being told to exit the manor to being thrown out; or maybe if Sebas-chan was still feeling generous, he'd let him go with a warning.

"Doubt it." I murmured to myself.

It was nearly noon when Sebastian went to check up on the idio—gardener. Finnian had spilled accidentally (once again) the weed-killer over the weeds and lawn. The courtyard was lifeless, but at least the garden remained untouched...

That brought up yesterday's events in his mind.

"Uwaaaaah! I'm sorry Sebastian! I didn't notice the lid was open!" Finny said, in between sobs and tears. "W-what can I do to f-fix it?" Seeing Sebastian's expression scared him more every second. The butler really didn't pay attention to his pleas, instead concentrated on what methods to use for the courtyard's rebirth.

While scolding Finny for his unawareness for the umpteenth time, Grell had sneaked his way pass the entrance, this time unnoticed by Sebastian. Grell glanced at the poor gardener apologizing to the demon through the window.

He chuckled. 'Better him than me~.' Sebastian was obviously busy (and angry), so announcing his presence now was a big no-no. Taking the opportunity to explore the mansion, he quickly climbed the stairway and silently opened and closed some doors along the hallway. He peeked inside a particularly large door and found the Earl, sitting on his desk.

Ciel had noticed the reaper open the door and greeted him. "Hello, Grell Sutcliff." The young boy shifted his position from the mahogany chair he was sitting on. "Sebastian told me you had some business with him, he is currently in the—"

"Oh I saw him, but I don't want to bother him now~. He seems pretty busy scolding that blond kid. He He." Grell interrupted, placing his flower pot on the desk.

"I see." He rearranged some work papers he had on the desk (now out of habit on awkward situations), staring at the vase for a few seconds. "Well, what business do you have with him anyway?" Ciel pondered. It is true his butler never mentioned any details about it.

"Hmm..." The reaper thought 'I wonder if Sebas-chan minds me telling his master... Ah, I'll let the Earl have his fun too~.'

"Well, to tell you the truuuuth..." He gestured with his hand for Ciel to get closer, to which he moved his chair forward to grant the command. "I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday and he consoled me so nicely~, so much like the gentleman he is."

Ciel gawked at the thought. 'Sebastian actually being nice to that reaper? Impossible.'

"Are you sure he didn't just seem kind?" This was getting interesting...

"Oh yes, I'm positive~. He even carried me to a nearby bench and let me cry on his shoulder." –Dramatic wave of hands– "Aaaah that was such a blissful night."

Okay, now that was a juicy detail; words he can use in his favor to aggravate the demon. Hopefully soon...

"...Wait, what does this have to do with a 'compromise'?" Although the chat they were starting to have was certainly amusing, it still didn't make much sense in his head.

"Mmmm I've told you enough for you to use~ but I'll give you a hint." Grell pointed at the red flower sitting on the vase. "It has something to do with this rose." A pink blush appearing on his face as he spoke.

It was already past noon and no sign of the redhead... Sebastian left our gardener to buy the seeds he requested to replant the courtyard. The butler went about his way to enter the manor with the intention to prepare the young lord his lunch.

And then he saw the cheerful Red reaper sitting on the stairway.

"Oh, Sebas-chaan~, there you are!" Grell said, producing a variety of squeals and mewls as he stood up, hiding his arms behind his back.

"Grell, you were inside the manor this whole time?" Sebastian pondered, climbing the stairs until he was just one step below Grell. He hoped the reaper did nothing that would damage the building or its inhabitants...or worse, bother his master.

"Well, I saw you were busy with the blond kid so I helped myself to explore the place, and I must say you do an excellent job!" The redhead spoke. At least he appreciated the hard work Sebastian put into the manor.

"But of course, after all I am one hell of a butler." Sebastian announced. He notices the reaper's fidgeting hiding his arms. "Now, are you hiding the flower? Don't you want to demonstrate your efforts to me? Or have you given up on the task?"

"Hmph! Why I never... I would never give up on such a thing, even if I only had a grain of a chance to succeed; it is still a chance." He brings the vase hidden behind his frame to his front, presenting it to the demon. "Here." Sebastian inspected the rose laid in front of him, carefully. Indeed the reaper had taken good care of the flower; no, more than just good care. The rose was almost exactly the same as it was the day before, with the exception that a small red ribbon was now tied around the stem, covering some large thorns. He was actually impressed with Grell's hard work: the rose was blooming happily and gracefully upon the vase, whose form complemented the stem's shape and size. The butler's features remained stoic and indifferent, not wanting to show he was pleased with the rose's appearance.

"So? Isn't it beautiful?" The ginger bragged. Internally, though, he was having all sorts of doubts and questions. 'I really hope it's to his liking...' He was not about to show his mental stress either and spoke once more. "Because it waaas from your master's garden, I'm giving it back to you. But~ this is a gift from me to you as a symbol of my everlasting love for you~. You'll never get rid of me, I guarantee." Flushing madly after his words, he pressed the vase against Sebastian's chest, motioning him to take it.

Sebastian knew the ginger expressed himself truthfully; seeing the serious face Grell was making was proof enough his confession was real. Certainly if he took the rose, it would mean Sebastian at least recognized the act. Maybe he'll just act oblivious for a while. He was a sadist after all.

"Surely, observing you've done a decent job with the flower I presented, it is enough to replant with the others. It is not the best I've seen, but it will do." Grell's expression amused him even more. The happiness-turned-sour written over his face was enough to know the reaper disagreed. "And I'm well aware getting rid of you is impossible." He added.

"I, for one, think I did a wonderful job!" Grell pouted; he knew the butler was now messing with him.

"I'm not so sure, its pedals are tad bit faded." He made a concerned face for the flower.

A few huffs and grunts later, Grell was stomping his feet in protest. "It is sooo worthy of an earl's garden! It's the same flower that was in one yesterday! Hmph, Sebas-chan, you just love to bully me!" Putting a frown on his face, he crossed his arms, still stomping every few seconds.

It was close to a child's air around the two; one of a friendly bully bothering a small young un' for fun. Sebastian found this moment quite entertaining as he positioned the vase more comfortably on his right palm.

'This is surprisingly a delightful and genuine evening...almost...' His thoughts were interrupted by the 'thunk' of Grell's heel going through the stair, giving out. The redhead, with a yelp, fell against Sebastian, who caught him startled, and lost his footing on the stairs. The flower pot flew across the air, being thrown by the butler knowing it would not survive the fall if it was held. They both plummeted down the staircase; Sebastian's back landing on several stairs, painfully, and finally stopping only thanks to the floor below. The vase was caught by the same hand perfectly, but now the butler's head was spinning.

The stairs did no effect on him other than that. He opened his eyes, which were for some reason closed, to see if the reaper had suffered some damage. "Mph-Gre—"

Sebastian saw the reaper above him, but stayed frozen...

Grell had landed lip-on-lip on top of him, long red hair covering his sight.

To be continued…