A/N: As always, I own nothing except the plot. Remember, these OneShots will be AU.
As promised, after Ciel had his breakfast, Mey Rin had taken him back into his own quarters and brought out a deck of her cards that she kept hidden away in one of her many pockets. As the young boy took his usual spot behind his desk, watching the woman ahead of him as he leaned back in his seat and reveled at the plush that he felt against his clothed back. After Mey Rin had taken a seat opposite of her young Lord and set the cards on the table, she had asked him to shuffle the deck how he had been taught. Glancing up at her nervously and reaching his little hand out toward the deck, he merely nodded his head at her, taking the many cards in his grasp and proceeding to try and shuffle them.
It was harder for Ciel than he thought. He bent the cards slightly within his grasp before they ended up scattered on the floor around his desk. He huffed and crossed his arms across his chest as the familiar sting of tears were biting around the edges of his orbs, his petals turning into a pout. As Mey Rin bent down to pick up the cards, she casually began talking as if nothing had happened.
"It's okay, Young Master, soon you'll be awesome at shuffling cards and you can show everyone up."
It would seem odd for the young Earl to want to shuffle cards, however, he loved Sebastian with his entire being and they frequently played a few card games before it was time for Ciel to head to bed. The main reason he wanted to learn how to shuffle his cards was so that Sebastian wouldn't have to do it anymore. It was childish and silly but that was to be expected from a young'un such as himself. After the incidents with his parents, the only other type of parental figures he had were his protector and the three servants that milled about the manor. Sniffling, Ciel nodded once and blinked back the tears, successful in keeping them at bay for now. The maid smiled and reached forward to pat the top of his head. The rest of the morning, Mey Rin showed him time and time again how to properly hold the cards in his small fingers and how far to bend them back. At one point, Ciel managed to successfully shuffle his cards, not making a mess; the biggest smile that Mey Rin had ever seen shown brightly upon her Masters face and she couldn't help but smile herself. She loved to see that smile of his.
Unbeknowst to the two of them, Sebastian had been standing in the doorway of his Bocchan's room and watched the exchange. His features softened and a smile of his own etched across his features, proud of the boy that tried his hardest. This was one of the things he loved about Ciel, he knew when to act like his age and when not to. Stepping back and away from the cracked door, he kept on his way, walking down the hallway and to the laundry room to deposit the dirty clothes that were strewn about the manor. As always, it was his duty as a butler to always make sure that the home of his Lord was always clean and tidy.
"Good job, my Lord! Well done, shall we let Sebastain know or are we going to wait till later this evening?" A knowing smile crossed her petals as she had asked the question.
"No, this evening will do. Thank you!" Hopping down from his seat and making his way to the front of his desk, Ciel wrapped his arms around the maids frame and gave her a hug to which she happily returned.
"I must take my leave now, okay? Don't forget to keep on practicing and soon you may even be better than Sebastain one day." A twinkling laugh escaped her petals as she stood up and patted the top of Ciel's head. Bowing, she excused herself and left the room before she bounded down the hallway and toward the kitchen, catching on her own shoelaces. She brought her arms over her face as she braced for impact only to be surprised when none came. Moving her arms and glancing back, she saw the crimson orbs of the butler keeping her in his arms; in a matter of moments, her face turned beet red and she thanked the man for helping, bowing before heading over to the chef and talking excitedly over what had just transpired in Ciel's room.
Sebastian, in response to Mey Rin's thanks merely chuckled and nodded, heading over to one of the many small plates of dessert and picking one up and placing it upon the tea cart. He knew how much Ciel had wanted to surprise him and thus he wouldn't let on to his own little secret. After grabbing that early afternoons tea and setting it beside the snack, the demon then made his way to his young Masters room with the goodies in hand. Upon arriving to the door, Sebastian knocked and waited patiently for the response to come. After receiving none for a minute, Sebastian's brow furrowed as he opened the door a crack and peered inside. There at his desk was Ciel, his forehead resting atop his arms fast asleep and dead to the world. Another chuckle escaped the demon at the sight; Ciel must have been unable to sleep properly last night. Coming into the room with the tea cart in tow, Sebastian stood next to Ciel and lightly placed a gloved hand atop his shoulder and shook gently.
"Bocchan, it's not polite to sleep hunched over on your desk."
The only response he got was a small groan. Being persistent, Sebastian continued to shake his Masters shoulder before the boy eventually awoke, blue orbs gazing sleepily up at the butler in the way that he knew how. Sitting back and rubbing his eyes free of sleep as a yawn escaped his petals.
"Seb . . . Sebastian, I'm still tired." His voice was timid and laced with drowsiness. Ruffling the top of Ciel's head, Sebastian shook his head and sat down his cup of tea and the plate with the delicious treat in front of the young male. "I know you are but there is still much to do. Today's tea is darjeeling with a hint of mint and the days snack is a moist piece of chocolate cake." At the sound of the sweet, Ciel's orbs instantly lit up and he smiled widely, grabbing the nearby fork and instantly digging in. Sebastian stood off to the side and watched, intrigued at how fast he could consume the cake.
Ciel was on his third bite before he seemingly remembered Sebastian's presence and ducked his head down, a thin layer of red colouring his cheeks. Licking his lips free of the rich frosting, Ciel dipped his finger in the paste and motioned for Sebatian to come closer. Once he was, Ciel brought his finger up to his lips and wiped some of the treat on Sebastian's nose and forehead, stopping with the side of his lips. A laugh escaped the boys frame as he watched the butler cross his eyes to get a better look at what his Lord had done. A light roll of his eyes were made as Sebastian took one of his white gloves and took it off, using his pointer finger to swipe up the mess and lick it clean, leaving the spot beside his lips for his tongue to get. Ciel only watched, giddy as he sipped at his tea and finished off his cake. Putting his glove back on, he took the cup and plate and placed it back on the cart before leaning down and placing a sweet kiss upon Ciel's forehead.
"Why don't you head down with your favourite game and go see Mey Rin?" Sebastian's tone was soft, like a parent talking to a child. He smiled as he saw Ciel nod, throw his arms around his waist in a tight and huge hug, to which he returned, keeping his orbs on the childs frame as he picked out a random board game and bounded out the door.
"Bye, Sebastian!" Ciel waved as he exited the room.
Said male only bowed and went about with his chores.
The rest of the day went by uneventful, Ciel played Monopoly with Mey Rin for a couple of hours, Sebastian finished up his chores before visiting the chef in the kitchen.
"Bard, are the preparations made for the young Master?" The only response he got was a grunt and nod as he went about struggling to cook without his flamethrower. Sebastian had taken it away from him that day with only Ciel's safety in mind. Pleased with the response, Sebastian headed toward the dining room where the two were still playing.
"Pardon the intrusion Master but it's time to bake some sweets." In a matter of minutes, Ciel had bowed and thanked Mey Rin for the wonderful time before bounding into the kitchen, excitement bubbling over in waves. The two adults chuckled at the enthusiastic boy, shaking their heads as they cleaned up the mess and went about their normal duties.
"Bard, Sebastian said it's time to make sweets! Can we? Can we?!"
"Sure is, I can see that you're ready to go. Come on and hop up."
Nodding, Ciel turned around so that his back was against the counter, hopping up and scooting back to sit and watch the other cook. The two of them knew that they had to be careful, Sebastian would wring their necks if something or someone were to get hurt. For the most part, it was fun! Ciel got to lick the spoon and mix the batter of the brownies that they were making. After they poured it into the pan and put it in the oven to cook, the two of them merely talked, stopping only when Sebastian came in to check on them.
"I take that everything is going as planned?"
Ciel nodded and bounded over toward Sebastian, throwing his arms around the others waist and holding on longer than necessary. Of course, none of them mattered for it was natural to see this type of interaction. "We're just waiting for them to cook now, Sebastian! Won't you try one when it's done?" Said male nodded, reaching down to pat the top of Ciel's head after he had hugged back. "Of course, my Lord."
Another forty minutes later and the treats were done. Grabbing the nearby string and thus ringing the bell for Sebastian to come in, Ciel waited with his hands held out holding the fine china. As Sebastian came walking calmly into the room, Ciel exclaimed loudly, "I did it Sebastian!" Chuckling, Sebastian nodded and took the offered plate, taking a bite into the treat. It was true that he couldn't taste the difference but it didn't matter. He only wanted to see his Ciel happy.
Cleaning the dishes up and washing off the mess that Ciel had made, Sebastian had sent him straight to Finnian to start on the planting. "I thank you for keeping the Young Master occupied today, he seemed to enjoy himself." Bard nodded, keeping focus on the task at hand. "He did, he mostly talked of you and how he couldn't wait until you could taste what he helped make. The young Master was sad that you hadn't came in to bake with him."
Sebastian chuckled, his lips curling up into the makings of a smirk. "That's because I plan to spend time with him on his birthday, from morning to night. Do keep it a secret, okay?" Bard nodded as Sebastian left him to the rest of his duties. As he gazed out the window, he noted that Finnian was already showing off his strength to Ciel, picking up the various new trees and instructing Ciel to dig holes so that the plant could fit inside and grow. It amazed him, really, and after Sebastian had made dinner did he allow himself to walk out into the crisp evening air, allowing the light breeze to caress his skin as he made his way over to the two currently planting roses.
"Sebastian-San, look! We planted some new roses today, didn't we Young Master?" Ciel nodded as Finnian talked, going on and on at how fun the two of them had, making jokes and talking the whole time. Standing and bowing, Finnian left the Master and Butler to themselves per request of Ciel. He said he needed to go take care of a few things before inevitably heading off to bed. The two males told the servant good night before all went quiet, save for the crickets chirps.
"Bocchan, I believe it's time for bed." His voice was light and it enveloped Ciel's frame instantaneously as said boy nodded. As if on cue, a yawn escaped from between his petals and he stood only to sway to and fro. Sebastian took this time to wrap the boy up in his arms and carry him to the washroom to clean up. After he had bathed his Master and took him back to his room, drying him off and dressing him in his infamous night shirt.
Grabbing the deck of cards, Ciel crawled into his bed and buried under the covers, sitting up immediately after to pat the space in front of him. Bowing, Sebastian took that as his opportunity to remove his outer jacket and loosen his tie, rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt before finally sitting down opposite Ciel.
"Sebastian, I wanna show you something I learned today!" As he talked excitedly, drowsiness underlying his tone as he divided the deck of cards like Mey Rin had showed him how too, taking each half into his hands and bending them back slightly before intermingling the two together, bringing them together as he got done.
"I can finally do it! Now I can shuffle the deck whenever we play our card games!"
Sebastian smiled genuinely and patted the top of the young boys head, taking the cards from his grasp and setting them on the nearby bedside table. "I'm so proud of you, Young Lord, you've learned a lot today." As Ciel laid back against the mattress and curled into the sheets, his mumbled sleepily as Sebastian tucked him in.
"I love you, Sebastian."
"I love you too, Bocchan."
A/N: If you liked this part, please feel free to let me know! Any and all will be appreciated.