Chapter 1 (Claire POV)

Would you be interested in a contract of sorts?

Earl Phantomhive stared. "Are you mad?" he said.

"Slightly."

"Shinigami don't have souls."

"I know. I was looking into it, and William-sama told me something. There is a way to obtain a cinematic record without taking the soul. As long as we have the person accounted for in the library, via CR, the soul is not needed." Phantomhive blinked, and we were in Limbo, where all contracts are made.

"Interesting. And this is beneficial to both of us. I get souls and you get your wish. What is your wish, anyway?"

"It's not really a wish, but I need a father. My father left when my mother told him about me. So, can you stay with my mother?"

"Fine. For how long?"

"What do you mean? Eternal, of course."

"It's less work than stealing and quicker than contracting. I've been missing my China girl anyway. Where do you want the seal?'

"Inside my right wrist." And he did it. It hurt like someone had pressed a red-hot poker to my arm. After a moment, the earl snapped his fingers.

"Sebastian."

Holy shinigami. Sebastian. Sebastian Michaelis. The first time I had met him, I had fainted. Why? A simple smirk. A haughty, dangerous, sexy as hell smirk. Oh dear god. A black cat shot out of the mist, slowing as it neared us. It stopped at Phantomhive's feet and grew rapidly. The spine straightened and the features changed until there stood Sebastian, in a black suit and white shirt. No tie.

"Yes, young master?" he said in his mild baritone.

"We have a new contractor, a Miss Claire Brooks. She is a shinigami with a special proposition, an eternal contract with more souls than usual." He continued to explain our contract.

"Well, Miss Brooks, it is a pleasure to see you again. I believe we met in… was it 1969? Woodstock, if my memory serves me correctly."

"Yes, and the pleasure is mine." I held out my hand to shake, but he took it in both of his and- brought it to his lips? I could feel myself blushing furiously.

"Um, we should probably, um, get going to, um, my mother's place," I stammered, sounding like a total idiot. Dammit.

"Limbo is a difficult place for anyone but a demon to exit. Sebastian, assist Miss Brooks," ordered Phantomhive.

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said with a very slight smirk. I concentrated on breathing as he took my hand. Phantomhive was gone without a trace. With a squeeze of my hand and a very slight smile (not a smirk but a genuine smile), I found myself on a busy London road. Phantomhive was entering the door of a tall building- my mother's. Sebastian and I (wait, why do I refer to Phantomhive as Phantomhive but Sebastian as Sebastian?) pushed our way through the crowd. I lifted my right hand to inspect the contract symbol on my wrist. That was when I realized that Sebastian was still holding my hand. I gasped and dropped his hand like it was hot.

"What?" he said with a smirk, still walking. One foot in front of the other, Claire. Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay. "I was under the impression that my attraction was reciprocated." Attraction? Reciprocated?

"You- you like me?" I said incredulously. Me? Claire Brooks, an illegitimate moron half-raised by Grell Sutcliff? Apparently so. Sebastian smiled a very small smile and took my hand again. We made it to the door of the building. Linus, the doorman, winked at me as I walked in. We took the elevator; Sebastian walked in first. The doors were starting to close as I entered. He pulled my arm- hard- and I found myself two feet from the door, hands on Sebastian's chest. His arms were wrapped around my waist… what the Grell?

"I could get used to this," said Sebastian. I could feel his chest vibrate as he spoke. I rolled my eyes, but it was strangely comfortable. I stayed there until the door slid open with a ding. Phantomhive shuffled in.

"Try to take the stairs one time… stupid asthma," he muttered. His eyes widened when he saw Sebastian and me so close. I pushed Sebastian away, blushing and brushing off my wrinkled clothes.

"Um," I said, "It's not exactly how it looks, unless you're looking at it from the perspective of your demon being a pervert."

"Ah, but you liked it, ma cherie," pointed out Sebastian.

"Shut up," I grumped. He chuckled softly and brushed my hair behind my ears.

"Cut the fluff, lovebirds," said the crotchety earl. "We have five more floors and I don't particularly want to vomit." I stuck my tongue out at Phantomhive, who shuddered. Sebastian took my hand, as if I might disappear if he let go. It was sweet. The elevator door dinged open and I led the demons down the hall to my mother's residence. I opened the door with my key and found my mother reading a book on psychology.

"Mother," I said. "Look who I found!" China Ryn (my mother) took one look at Phantomhive and slapped him across the face. Hard.

"That's for leaving me," she said. "This," she kissed him on the mouth, "this is for coming back." Last, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him all-out. She finally let go.

"What was that one?" the earl said, catching his breath and looking a bit dazed.

"That one was for being you, Ciel Phantomhive." A moment of sweet silence was broken by my half-sisters, Mattie and Kohaku, entering the room.

"Claire-chan!" they squealed. They sighted Phantomhive and growled. Kohaku whipped out her matches, and Mattie her silverware.

"Guys, guys!" said Mother. "It's okay. No need to kill him." They retreated reluctantly.

"Hey, what's with the really tall guy who looks like a giant Oreo?" Kohaku said.

"That's Sebastian. Dad's butler. Claire-chan met him once at Woodstock," Mattie explained.

"Ooh. Is he evil?"

"He's a demon," I said. "And he's mine." Sebastian smiled at this and wrapped an arm around my waist. I leaned my head on his shoulder; Mother let out a tiny squeal. Kohaku got bored and pulled a slip of paper from the Boring Box (a box full of things to do).

She started chanting, "Truth or dare! Truth or dare!" This continued until Mother threw her hands up in defeat.

"Fine," she conceded. Everyone found a seat on the sofa and the game began.

A/N: Is this too short a chapter? If so, please review and I will make them longer. I already combined three different mini-chapters to make this. Two pages on Word. Not bad, eh? Just click that little button at the bottom and tell me what you think!

Paste your document here...