Chapter 17: Flower Compositio

… He was sitting on a bed; his legs dangling freely. He hummed the endless melody of the chimes from his dream as he folded pieces of paper into roses. "This 'origami' thing that he taught me is very interesting!" He said cheerfully as he added another origami rose into the origami basket he made earlier. So far, he had only done nine, red origami roses; including the one he added. "Ninety-one more to go!" He said cheerfully as he started folding another rose.

"Ciel, what are you doing?" Asked a man who passed by him.

"I'm filling the basket with one hundred roses!"

"Oh? You mean with cleverly folded paper?" Said the man with a mocking tone as he picked off a rose from the basket. "Intriguing…"

"Intriguing?"

"What are they for, may I ask?"

… He rolled his eyes. "To whom are they for is the right question for that." He said in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone. The man snorted mockingly.

… He caught the man's mockery and shot him an offended glare. "What?"

"That foolish devotion of yours will do you nothing of importance." The man tossed the paper rose dismissively. "What kind of human would fall for something like you?"

… He ignored the man's comment and continued with the construction of the tenth paper rose. "Ah!"

"… Hmm… Uh?" Ciel's eyes shot open in an instant. He was folding origami roses in his dream and he got a paper-cut upon folding the paper…

A familiar voice interrupted his foggy formation of thought. "Are you awake, my lord?"

"Ohh… Ash…" Ciel murmured. He always told himself that from now on, that Vincent-like voice he was hearing belongs to Ash, the castle's keeper and no one else. "Uhmm… Hi?"

Ash sighed. "What happened to you, young master? Your body's full of bruises and broken bones. Your dog has the same condition as you are."

"... SEBASTIEN!" Ciel immediately sat up and shouted for the wolf's name with anxiety. "Quick! He's got a limp! Pluto! He…!"

"Calm down. Calm down…" Ash put a hand on his chest to give him ease. "Apparently, your dog is here and he is alright now. I have done appropriate methods to mend his broken limbs. Also, I have given him medication, so there is no need to worry." The servant glanced at the huge black hound watching him from afar. Though Sebastien was resting on the lounging area; seated particularly on one of the chairs, the wolf's intimidating glare and body language were all directed at him; clearly stating to him that any move that displeases the wolf would set all hell loose at him. Ash decided to play safe and reminded himself of self-control.

Ciel groaned as his headache returned. He collapsed back to the pillows and snuggled into the soft and feather-light feeling from the covers. "Umm… How did I get here…?"

"Again, your dog led you to me…"

"Wolf." Ciel interrupted. "He's a wolf…"

"Ehm…" Ash gave a slight nod. "Of course. Your wolf led me to you. And a while ago, you mentioned Pluto."

Ciel sighed as he curled up under the blanket. "Please… I don't want to talk about it…" He didn't feel like talking about what happened since he knew it would take a huge amount of time and energy. "Just… later… until I'm well…"

"As you wish." Ash said. "Please excuse me." He removed his gloves and went close to him. The action caused to wolf to growl but Ash just ignored the wolf's threat. Ciel's flustered face turned into a deeper shade of red when the servant's hand touched his forehead. "Your temperature's not going any lower…"

Ciel blushed deeper. His heart was pounding loudly again and the proximity of their faces wasn't helping either. Also, he noticed that his clothes were a bit loose. He shifted his legs a bit under the blanket and the feeling of not having shorts set an inappropriate imagination to his head. "Did you…?" He murmured. "Dress me up?"

"Of course, I did." Ash answered. "You have to cool down. If you still wear your former clothing, your body wouldn't cool down properly."

Ciel didn't feel cool about the servant's statement. It only made the heat rush up to his face more. He didn't feel comfortable with the fact that his servants dress him up while he's unconscious. But if you look at it at a positive view, at least you won't feel the awkward position you are placed into, if ever. So, he's a bit okay with the unconscious part but the dressing up part would need some notification.

"I never saw anything." Ash said in a dismissive tone. "Your underwear is still on you, am I correct?"

Ciel felt all the heat rush to his face. He felt dizzy with keeping up with the awkward talk and the memory of the 'accident' flashed again in his mind. He thought he could talk about it and confess what has been bothering him as soon as possible to get that heavy feeling off his chest once and for all. But he couldn't find the right time for it; and the more he thought about it, the more he wasted time about keeping shut up. "After I get better…" He simply resolved and tried to find something else to think about. Sebastien's incessant growling intrigued the boy enough. Ash noticed the boy's gaze at the animal and shrugged. "He's like that every time I get close to you."

"Oh… really…?"

"I've got this hunch." Ash withdrew his hand. "I think he is fond of you. Very fond." There was a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice, but the way Ciel heard it, perhaps it was just his slightly distorted senses. "And I think he gets jealous of anybody who touches you. Or perhaps, he just doesn't trust me."

"…Jealous…?"

"Wolves are possessive animals. They refuse to lose or hand something over to the enemy." Ash said as he went to the bedside table where the basin of cold water was. "That's a basic frame of mind for someone who has found something of great value." He dipped the towel into the water and squeezed off the excess water. "Rather, every creature alive has that frame of mind for anything valuable."

"Aww… he likes me…" Ciel giggled weakly. "… Isn't that sweet…?"

Ash went back to the bed and pulled back the blanket. Ciel's legs bent demurely away; he had just realized that the shirt he was wearing only reached to his thighs. Ash couldn't suppress a smile at the awkward action. "I don't know anything about sweet, young master." He said as he returned to his nursing objective. "I just know that it's a flavor that gives you a simple surge of happiness and satisfaction, correct?" He said as he pushed back the boy's bangs and brought the damp towel to his forehead.

"Meh…" Ciel groaned when the cold towel rubbed over his forehead. "You're too serious… take a break… or something…?"

"If I take a break now," Ash replied as he gently wiped the boy's face. "Then the heat might affect your nervous system and distort your senses. Until you get well, I won't take a break."

Ciel pouted… or perhaps attempted to do so. "Meh… Come on…" He stopped talking when Ash's other hand undid the buttons of his loose shirt. He knew that there mustn't be anything on the way of the towel for it to be able to pass easily. But the way his fingers brushed and the towel passed on to his skin made him remember the way he had been caressed during that 'accident'. So, even simple motions such as unbuttoning and moving his arm triggered memories of 'that' and caused his mind to get foggy and to heat up in an uncomfortable way.

"Is there a problem?" Ash noticed the boy's troubled and heavily flustered face as well as his deepened breathing.

"… I… No." Ciel tried to make his eyes focus on the servant amidst his slipping consciousness. "There is no problem."

"Something's bothering you." Ash withdrew the towel from the boy's body and buttoned up the boy's shirt. "Would you like to discuss about it?"

Ciel replied immediately. "No…! I mean…" He sighed. "… Perhaps I'm tired…"

"You can sleep if you want to."

Ciel immediately pulled the blanket back to his body and shifted himself down the covers that he looked like he was hiding underneath the blanket. Ash dipped the towel back into the basin and cast a glare at the still growling wolf. "Quiet!" He hissed.

Sebastien didn't recoil at the servant's glare and hiss. He ceased growling but kept his glare at the man and kept constant vigilance to his actions. "I'm not keeping my eyes off of you until you get out of here."

Ash approached the bed and pulled back the boy's blanket a bit so that his head was visible. "I wonder what's bothering you, my dear?" He muttered to himself as he bore a sinister smile on his face. "I'm sure that would be an interesting conversation. And I'm getting tired of this waiting." He sat on his chair and watched the boy sleep.

"What are you doing?"

… He looked up from the twelfth rose he was making and saw the man he was making the roses for. He instantly blushed and smiled. "I'm making roses!"

"Oh?" The man smiled, fascinated. "What are they for?"

… He blushed harder. "F-for someone."

"And who might that someone be?"

… He put his finger to his lips. "Secret!"

The man laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Are you in love, Ciel?"

… He said nothing, but his eyes were affectionately directed to that special someone…

"Whuf!"

Ciel's eyes instantly shot open. "Aww, Sebastien…!" He groaned with a hint of frustration in his voice. He turned to his side and saw the huge, black wolf peering at him. "I was so close to see his face!"

"Who's face?" Sebastien squinted his eyes at him in curiosity. "That must be somebody else or if it's that pervert's face you're talking about, then…"

"Urgh… Hey Sebastien." The boy sat up and stretched his arms. "…You okay? What's that in your mouth?" He rubbed his eyes a bit to clear his vision. "Flowers?"

"Obviously…" Sebastien approached the bed and deposited the flowers in front of the boy. Then all of a sudden, the wolf sneezed.

"Eh… allergic?" Ciel gave a sheepish grin as he took the huge, pink and exotic looking flowers. The flowers were still wet with dew and the fragrance administered a strong but sweet scent that alerted his senses sharply; much like sniffing ammonia but with a better and pleasurable scent. "They're wonderful. Thank you!" He smiled and giggled afterwards when he saw his companion sneeze again.

"This is a disgrace…!" Sebastien thought irritably as he gave another sneeze. "It's so itchy! I hate flowers!" He wildly shook his head and snorted loudly, hoping to expel the allergen out of his nose. Though his effort was futile and kept on sneezing. Ciel got off of bed and reached out towards the wolf. "Looks like we have to wash that pollen out in some way. But from now on," He patted and rubbed the wolf's head reassuringly. "No sniffing around the flowers, okay? Poor Sebby." He kissed the wolf's nose. "Your nose must be sore from all that sneezing, huh?"

"Sebby?"

"I feel a lot better now…!" Ciel said happily as he stretched his arms as far as he could. "Those flowers must've helped a lot! Thanks!"

"Sebby?" The wolf thought about his pet-name over and over. Not that it sounds silly and cute, but…

"I've never felt better!" Ciel inhaled the scent of the flowers deeply and started to spin around the room at random; carefree and devoid of the feeling of dizziness and a smile on his face. He spun around as if he were dancing a ballet full of pirouettes. Nevertheless, Sebastien grew worried instead of being relieved with the boy's 'high' mood. "I hope those flowers aren't causing him to be this high… Achoo!"

"Hey Seebbyy…." He chanted with a silly grin on his face. "Is this a tulip? Or an aldyhide? Or pansies or moonblooms?" He waved the flower in front of the wolf's face as he continued to run down a list of foreign flowers. "Or star blossoms? Or fairy tears? Or…"

"…What's with all this sudden hyperactivity?…" Sebastien thought. "Anyways, I have to get that flower away from him before any further stupidity happens…" He crouched down to build up his momentum. When Ciel wandered into his line of sight he launched himself right away; tackling the boy down to the floor. Sebastien felt guilty though; hurting the boy like this while he's still recovering from the fever.

"Oowww…" Ciel grunted; his voice slurry. "That hurts… Why did you do that, Sebby?" He hit the wolf's head with the flower like a lame whip.

"You act like a drunk man." Sebastien's eyes followed the swishing flower. "Now let me have that stupid flower…" His teeth latched at the flower's stem and tried to pull it away from the boy's grasp. But apparently, the boy won't let go of the plant and tugged at it in return. "It's my flower…! It's mine!" Ciel said childishly with an angry pout on his face.

"Oh please…" The wolf growled a bit and pulled at the flower. But still the boy won't let go of it. "I should've known that stupid flower would be trouble." Sebastien grumbled inwardly. "Why have I thought of giving him a flower anyway?" He pulled at the flower with more force but unfortunately, he sneezed; causing him to lose his grip from the plant and tumble backwards. "Dammit!" He snorted.

"Ha-ha!" Ciel sat up and distanced himself from the wolf; particularly on top of the bed and held the intoxicating flower possessively close to himself. "You won't get it! Ha-ha! It's mine!" He laughed as he hopped around; careful not to fall or get too close to the edge of the bed. Sebastien watched the boy look down at him with caution. "This is all so stupid. Why does that flower have to be intoxicating to sniff at in the first place?"

"Young master?" A familiar voiced softly added into the silly atmosphere. Sebastien snapped back into threatening mode and kept vicious and vigilant eyes on the servant.

"Oh, Ash!" Ciel called excitedly and obvious glee. "Hello! I'm okay now! Reeeaaalllyyy oookkaaaaayy NOOOOWWW!" He giggled and waved and twirled the flower around his fingers. The servant seemed perplexed upon seeing the suspicious-looking flower and approached him right away. "Is that flower…?"

"Sebastien gave it to me…!" Ciel said as he held the flower close at the servant's face. "Look! Isn't he sweet?"

Upon closer inspection of the plant, Ash recognized the flower right away and picked it off right away from the boy's hands. "This will not do. I have to confiscate this… thing away from you."

Ciel pouted and attempted to get the plant back. "But…! But it's miiiiinneee…!"

"Sniffing this will not improve your condition." Ash answered as he evaded the boy's futile reach. "Although this is a high-quality stimulant and gives you an increase of rate recovery, your senses will… Oof!" Ash ceased explaining when the boy tackled him to the ground. "Give my flower back!" Ciel shouted at him in childish annoyance. "Sebby gave it to meee!"

Compared to Ciel's normal state of mind, the boy didn't even have a tinge of pink on his cheeks even though his body was closely pressed on Ash as he reached up for the flower. The servant did all he could to evade from his reach. Their attempts continued with a series of childish and futile tussles on the floor until Ash thought, "This is so childish… This must stop now."

"This is soooo wrong…"

The servant rolled over to throw off his master from his back and at the same time, take over an advantageous position to block off the boy's limbs. In short, Ash was now on top of the boy and was able to pin his wrists and tangle their legs to prevent any movement. Ciel remained obliviously hyper to the situation.

"Foul play…!" Sebastien's eyes narrowed. "I have a feeling that I should interfere…" The wolf started advancing.

Ciel still attempted to move despite the restriction. "GIVE IT TO M- umph!"

"HELL NO!" Sebastien barked as he lost composure at the scene before him. Ash had lunged at the boy's lips with his own to shut him up. "HELL NO !" The wolf froze in jealous fury as he watched Ciel protest and squirm under Ash's grasp. "That's it! I don't care if Ciel will hate me with what I'm gonna do but I'll bite this man's neck securely and twist it so sharply that his cranium would break off and I'll…!"

Suddenly, Ash quickly broke off the contact with his lips and quickly got up along with the finally confiscated flower. He acted so casually as if nothing had happened. Ciel, however, was all flustered and shocked as if his normal, bashful state of mind had returned. He sat up and watched in still shock as his servant went to the door to leave his room.

"Grrr… I'll kill him. I swear…" Sebastien fumed as he contained his temper. He turned to look at Ciel and was slightly annoyed at the boy's action; he was tracing his lips in wonder and slight bliss. "Hey, a while ago you were acting all scared whenever he comes near you. Have you forgotten what he did to… Hey!"

"Ash!" Ciel called. "Listen…!"

Ash glanced at his master and sighed. "Calm down, young master. You should rest…"

Ciel didn't listen and started to dash towards the servant as if to come up with an urgent matter. "Where are you going…?" The wolf stared in bewilderment as he watched the boy run to the man. "Quit chasing for that flower…"

When the distance of Ciel and Ash was half a foot away, the boy suddenly jumped up to wrap his arms on the back of Ash's neck. This made the man forcibly stoop down to the boy's height.

"This isn't about the flower is it…?"

"Ash…! I…" Ciel panted, apparently drained from his run. "I…! Must tell… you…!" His face was getting all flustered again, mainly because of the embarrassment of not being able to string his words together and his inability to have control on his breathing. Also add the fact that he was staring directly at Ash's tantalizing lavender eyes thus, pushing back all the words he had thought to say.

"Yes, my lord?" Ash said. His voice and warm breath made Ciel shiver. The shiver meant many things: suppressed longing, sensitive urges and being ticklish. But there was one thing that the boy wanted to say through words, but there was always something about Ash's eyes that always prompted him to shyness and utter submission.

"Troubled?"

Ciel finally said nothing after his mind-debate. His cheeks flushed into a deep red and opened his mouth slightly to at least say a word or… just a sound… or just something…

Ash smiled softly at the boy's confused face said, "Do you want another kiss, young master?"

Ciel's demure nod prompted Ash to press his lips on the boy's for the second time. But much to Ciel's disappointment, it wasn't the full-blown, heated kiss he braced himself for. The kiss was just something like a soft peck at the lips and not much else.

"Does that suit your need, young master?" Ash's words were the same teasing tone that Ciel was used to. But there was something about it that poked him bothered. In other words, he felt embarrassment and guilt for the 'harassment' he had brought to his servant.

"Yes…" Ciel murmured sheepishly and bowed his head low in shame. "… Thank you." He loosened his grip to let Ash return to his right posture. Ciel tried to look at him at the eyes but the servant averted from his gaze; whether it was on purpose or just by coincidence since he was going to take his leave anyway.

"I insist that you sleep the ecstasy off, young master." Ash said before he left. "You need your rest."

Ciel wasn't sure if all the events that had happened were a dream. If it ever was, he would be thankful. If not, he wasn't sure if he could talk to the man again. "After I had harassed him like that, will he even dare look at me again?" He thought as he sat on his bed. "… But he was the one who harassed you first!" Yelled the blunt side of his mind. "He should be the one asking your question!"

"But it isn't fair to do it to him too!" He frowned as his passive side of mind responded. "Revenge doesn't solve anything!"

Ciel snorted as he rolled over and buried his face on the pillow. "Was it even revenge? I just want a …"

"…A passionate full blown kiss? Yeah right…"

"I DO NOT!" Ciel blushed as hard as a tomato. "This is ridiculous! I'm debating with voices inside my head that are actually my thoughts! This is madness!" He blurted out as he yelled at the direction of a plant pot at the corner. Sebastien gave a snort and an eye-roll. "Who the hell are you talking to?"

"Oh Sebastien!" Ciel was alerted with the presence of his wolf because of the snort. "I didn't mean to harass him like that! I didn't know what came over me to why I did that…!"

"Must be the flower power…" The wolf jumped up to his bed and snuggled close to the boy.

"…I don't know…" Ciel sighed and calmed down. "Maybe… I'm just really stressed out." He stroked the wolf's head and cuddled him close. "Why do I feel this way to him? Maybe this is all just a dream…"

Sebastien watched the boy drift off to sleep. "If ever this was all a dream, I wish I'm dreaming too…" He thought as he curled up close to the boy. "I wish I could talk to you so that you'd know what I feel and how jealous I get when that pervert comes to you! Damn this body!" He unconsciously growled as he remembered all the moments when Ciel and Ash would get together and make a scene. But no matter how Ciel was almost always intentionally involved, he can't get himself to hate the boy no matter what.

"… Hey, if I get to act like Ash maybe he'll notice me too…?" The wolf thought and it struck him as a good idea. He wiggled out of the boy's arm and jumped out of bed. "Surely I couldn't talk… What if I kiss and touch him the way that pervert does? But how am I going to do that with paws?" He circled about on the floor, thinking. "Whatever!"

"Ciel, come here!"

…He was finishing his twenty-fifth paper rose when he heard the voice of his beloved. He jumped up from his place and ran to the direction where the voice called; bringing along the paper rose.

…He saw him with a woman. She was tall, fair and very pretty; like an angel from heaven. Her smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and her hair flowed as if in waves. Her white dress complemented well to her beauty…

"Ciel I want you to meet Rachel."

"Hi Rachel!"

…When his beloved kissed her, he felt something in his heart. It was that strange feeling that made him feel sick. It was a feeling that all the paper roses he was making ever since wasn't worth giving anymore…

A/n: IN THE FLESH! I GRADUATED 2 MONTHS AGO! AND NOW I'M BACK AND KICKING. I'm trying my best to continue this fanfic and set aside my Original Fiction story until I finish this Fanfic! I'm trying to make the plot move faster. I'm sorry if this was getting draggy but I want to write it casually and give a picture in your head as you read; like a movie. I'm trying hard to improve my writing see?

If there's something I made a mistake or anything unclear. Tell me, okay?

So good to be back! By the way, can we talk about the second musical of Kuroshitsuji and the second season of the anime? :3