Ciel spent his first week with his new family feeling like a prized pet, what with the way everyone made over how cute he was. The servants adored him. They were a useless lot, though. The maid had broken two china sets just in his short time in the manor, the gardener had killed the fresh herbs, and the chef had nearly burned the kitchen down. The only one who seemed to possess any competence was Sebastian who Ciel strove to avoid even more than the others.

The night of his seventh day came with a rapping on his bedroom door. He cursed himself for the little leap his heart gave. Every night Rachel and Vincent would come to tell him goodnight and his second night, she had read him stories until he fell asleep. It was all quite maudlin and he hated how much he enjoyed it. Things of this nature were not built to last, something he reminded himself often, lest he get too accustomed to this new life.

"My lord?"

He paused in unbuttoning his shirt. Rachel had quit sending a servant to help him bathe and dress for bed, as he always sent them away. He didn't let anyone except his new parents touch him and even that was seldom. The last person whose hands he wanted on him were those of the butler, who was now in his room.

"Sebastian," he said.

"The lord and lady had to run a late errand, I saw you were up a bit later than usual."

He had walked over to the side of the bed and Ciel drew his feet off the floor to put some space between them. "Just how often do you walk past my room in the evenings?"

"I am the last to complete my duties, I'm often awake much longer into the night than the rest of the house. Besides, my lord, my chambers lay just across the hall from yours," Sebastian said with a chuckle. "The lord and lady like to have me close should they need anything."

Ciel's cheeks brightened and he looked away, embarrassed to have been so presumptuous. "Of course."

"I brought you some chamomile tea to help you sleep." Sebastian lifted the cup and saucer in his hands with a smile.

"Er...thank you. Leave it on the bed stand, I'll take it after I've dressed for bed."

"Allow me."

Sebastian's hands were warm against his neck even through his gloves as began unbuttoning his shirt. His head was down while he focused on this task, his hair falling to obscure his eyes. Ciel was glad of this. He had frozen at Sebastian's touch and could not quite find his words as his shirt was opened further. His brain finally caught up as Sebastian pushed the shirt down his arms and the cool air of the room washed over his chest.

"S-stop," he said, pulling himself backward on the bed.

Sebastian cocked his head to the side, something dancing in his eyes that Ciel could not and did not want to identify. "Master?"

"I prefer to undress myself. Thank you for the tea, that will be all."

His voice was stronger than he felt. The dismissal was clear, and Sebastian rose to his feet. He paused at the door to bow and say, "Ring if you should need anything."

Ciel did not reply, just stared at his feet until he heard the door close. He raised the teacup to his lips with shaking hands. Sebastian hadn't done anything wrong, he supposed. People of wealth and nobility rarely dressed and undressed themselves. Yet everything about Sebastian was wrong somehow, just the sound of his voice seemed lewd, the brush of his gloves on Ciel's bare stomach had felt scandalous. There was an air of mystery about his person that made all his actions appear to be executed with an ulterior motive.

He hastily dressed for bed and blew his candle out. The tea remained on the stand, half finished. Ciel closed his eyes, but behind them lurked the image of a piercing red stare and his ears rung with a voice as smooth as spun silk.

"Let us make tonight something of a gala," Vincent decided.

"Oh, lovely."

Ciel looked between them over his plate of breakfast, which he had pulled close to his chest and hunched over slightly out of habit. No one here was trying to take his food but it would take awhile for him to get used to that. He finished his last sausage and asked, "This will be a gala for adults, then?"

"Don't be silly, we wouldn't dream of excluding you. What child doesn't want to dress up and dance the night away?"

This one. "Er…very good. Thanks."

He stared at his empty plate, mind racing with a way to escape the evening's festivities. Of course he didn't want to dance the night away, he couldn't bloody dance. His parents didn't seem to realize orphans didn't get the luxury of tutors and instructors. He pushed his plate away, suddenly nauseated. Did they not see how different of a world he came from? If they did see it and realize he didn't fit into their lavish lifestyle, would they still want him? Even though not two weeks earlier he had been determined not to leave the place, his stomach churned at the thought of being returned to the orphanage. He decided not to tell them he was ill-equipped in skills and began thinking of a way to avoid dancing.

"Ciel?"

He jumped at Vincent's voice and found his parents staring at him. "Sir?"

"You've been staring at that same pile of crumbs and syrup for five minutes. Would you like some more?"

"No, thank you, I'm quite full. Excuse me." He almost ran into Sebastian who was stacking their plates to take them to be washed, but he didn't look back as he made for the massive staircase.

After a couple tries he found the library. They had shown it to him on his tour of the manor but it was all a maze of hallways, none too easy to navigate. He began scanning the shelves and stacking thick volumes in his arms. Something in here had to be of some use. He strained onto his toes and reached for a book that looked particularly helpful, but his fingers were just shy of being able to grasp it. He cursed and tried to get higher on his toes while imbalanced by the books piled in his arms.

"Why, that's no language for a young man," said a familiar voice, and a white glove hand reached over him and plucked the volume from the shelf.

Sebastian took the books out of his arms and sat them on a table.

Ciel folded himself into a chair and opened the first. "What are you doing in here?"

"You seemed distressed when you left breakfast. Forgive my intrusion."

Knowing Rachel had probably sent Sebastian to check on him, he said, "It's alright."

This must have been taken as an invitation to stay, as Sebastian walked over to examine the book that had been out of Ciel's reach. "The Art of Dance?"

"I am interested in the subject," Ciel said stiffly.

"What coincidental timing, that you should take an interest in such a thing the day of a ball."

Ciel ground his teeth, temper rising. This condescending bastard. "What of it?"

"I simply wish to tell you this literature will teach you nothing of practical use. Dance is an art indeed, and cannot be learned from these pages."

Ciel slammed down the book he was reading and glared up at the butler. His chest rose and fell quickly as the anger that had been building there was reaching its peak. "Then what do you suggest since you seem to know so damn much?"

Sebastian clucked his tongue. "Language, my lord."

He walked over to Ciel's side of the table and extended a hand. Much like when he had first arrived at the manor, Ciel stared at it with confusion. Sebastian wore a serene smile that was not much less unsettling than the predatory smirk that usually graced his features. Ciel made no move to take his hand.

"Allow me to tutor you," Sebastian said, at last deciding an explanation was needed.

"That's preposterous! You're a man, and a tall one at that."

"I assure you I am a capable teacher. However, I'll be glad to fetch Lady Rachel and ask her to instruct you."

"No." He sighed and accepted defeat for the time being. His options had been narrowed to making a fool of himself that evening or accepting Sebastian's help. He got to his feet and sniffed. "Not here, it's too dusty."

The library was spotless but the smell of old books still permeated the air and though he was sure it was dusted daily, the small chamber still bothered his allergies. He followed Sebastian down the hall with trepidation. He trusted this man less than he had ever trusted anyone. Still, there was something to be said for the phrase about desperate times and desperate measures. He only had a few hours until the gala and that wasn't enough time to find a more suitable tutor.

Ciel dug his heels in when they reached the stone patio. "Someone could see us out here."

"Finnian is around the back of the manor and everyone else inside has too pressing of a schedule to be peering out the windows. Not to mention, the weather is fine."

It was indeed another rare sunny day, and Ciel averted his gaze as Sebastian removed his tailcoat as though it was indecent. The pressed white dress shirt underneath covered just as much but there was something to the fluid way he slid the coat down his arms that made it seem a less mundane action. Sebastian began to show him proper form, and Ciel tried to concentrate on his lessons rather than how little he liked being manhandled.

"Relax but keep your posture straight, my lord, you want to look as though you're enjoying yourself."

"I'll be doing no such thing."

Sebastian clasped their hands and put them into starting position. "I suppose such a thing as a ball must seem terribly frivolous to you, with your upbringing."

Ciel stepped back on to his heel and said, "I have come to expect it from my new family. They're lovely people but they don't understand how differently I view things."

"Just as you can not imagine the lifestyle they have led since children, they can not imagine yours, either. They have known what it is to struggle in many ways but none of them financial. You must feel as though you've entered a parallel universe." Sebastian returned them to starting position when Ciel once more stepped on his toe.

"Quite. They couldn't fathom why I was upset by the mint leaf served atop my steak last night for dinner, that could be used for tea, I found it terribly wasteful to use it as mere garnish."

"I'll keep that in mind next time I prepare your dinner."

He felt his cheeks go warm. "Oh...I didn't mean..."

"You meant precisely what you said, my lord," Sebastian said, leading Ciel through a graceful natural turn. "I admire that in you."

The less Ciel thought about what he was doing, the better he became at it. Before long he had managed to finish an entire dance without treading on Sebastian's feet, who he found was as skilled of a dancer as he claimed. They made idle chatter as they danced. Sebastian was an excellent listener and for a short while, with the sun filtering through the clouds and the scent of lilac on the wind, Ciel felt like he was home.