When Claude, Will, Grell, and Arnold meandered into Claude and Sebastian's apartment, the party was already in full swing. Will, Grell, and Arnold disappeared into the crowd, leaving Claude alone in a sea of faces. It was odd how, at moments like this, one could feel completely alone, even though a throng of people surrounded them. Claude was wished a happy birthday by nearly everyone that passed him, though he didn't recognize most of the faces. It was good, at least, that people were aware that he was Claude.

Claude jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Glad you could make it," Sebastian grinned. Claude grinned back.

"You, uh, invited a lot of people," Claude laughed.

"Well, it's your birthday, dammit! That's cause to celebrate, isn't it?" Sebastian laughed loudly. "I had to invite everyone I could think of! Barring party poopers and lame adults, of course."

"And I made the cut?" Claude asked, raising an eyebrow. Sebastian punched him lightly on the arm.

"We had to call a vote on whether or not we were going to invite you," Sebastian lied sarcastically. "You barely made the cut. So, congrats."

"Thanks, I guess," Claude smiled. Sebastian gave him a pat on the back in parting before he went to go mingle with the crowd again.

"Hey," a voice purred in his ear. It was Hannah. Claude let out his first genuine smile of the day. "Happy birthday, you."

"Thanks," Claude said. "I'm glad you're here," he said. "I'm sorry about the decorations, though. I hadn't realized my decorator was going to make them look so shitty." Hannah laughed, punching him lightly. "They look excellent, Hannah," he grinned.

"Well, you should know it took me a good half hour to get all the crepe paper up," she smiled. "It took forever to get it to drape down from your ceiling like that," she sighed. As Claude's eyes scanned the crepe paper beautifully billowing down, he caught sight of Ciel. He let out a sigh. He should have known the kid would be here. In close proximity to the small boy, was Mey Rin. And, not surprisingly, Sebastian was standing by both of them. The three of them were involved in a discussion. Probably fighting over Sebastian, no doubt. Claude tried not to let it bug him. It was his birthday. And it's not like he had any claim to Sebastian in the first place. But, as time passed the thought bugged him more and more.

"I'm going to step out for some air," he said to Hannah with a smile. He didn't want anyone following him. "I'll be back."

If Hannah was wise to his act, she never let on. She returned his smile and let him leave. Claude was frequently grateful for her tact. He made his way through the large crowd in his living room and slipped silently out the sliding patio door without being noticed.

He sat on the cool concrete steps and looked up at the sky. For some reason, being alone and being able to breathe was making him feel better. He mentally slapped himself for being an idiot. He was letting this whole Sebastian flirtatiousness get to him. He was upset that Sebastian liked someone and it wasn't him. Why was it such a big deal now? Claude had easily masked his feelings for his whole life. Why couldn't he continue to do so? He was an idiot for even considering telling Sebastian in the first place. That would have led to a bunch of complications that he didn't need, or even really want. Sebastian was a handful as a friend. Claude could only imagine how Sebastian behaved in relationships- not that he'd really ever had a steady one in the first place.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted as he heard the patio door slide gently open.

"Hey," Sebastian said softly, stepping outside and sitting beside Claude. "You know it's kinda weird for you to be celebrating your birthday from the back patio." Claude was silent. There was really nothing he wanted to say. Alois was right. Everything he said, no matter how much it hurt, was right. Claude merely felt embarrassed that a fifteen year old boy noticed it before he did. "What bites?" Sebastian asked, after a moment's silence.

"They'll miss you inside if you're gone too long," Claude said softly.

"I'm not here for them," Sebastian said, firmly. Claude sighed.

"I think Mey Rin and Ciel feel differently," he said curtly. He wished he wouldn't act like such an asshole to Sebastian, but he couldn't really help it. It was Sebastian's turn to fall silent. He shifted uncomfortably beside Claude.

"Um," he said hesitantly. "I don't really know what to say."

"I do," Claude said. He turned towards Sebastian, whose face held a somber expression. Claude wasn't used to seeing a downtrodden Sebastian, but at the moment he didn't really care. So Sebastian was upset for once in his life, because his little flirtatious lifestyle blew up in his face. Welcome to the real world.

"You're my best friend and you want me to be happy, I get that. But you can't play matchmaker for me when you don't know what I want. I don't want to rekindle things with Alois, I've told you that. It seems no matter how many times, you ignore me. You're sure that we're meant to be, and that's just not true," Claude sighed. "I swore to myself I would never tell you this," he chuckled darkly. "I don't want Alois, because I want you. I spent all this time thinking it was impossible for anything to happen. And then I find out that you and Ciel…" he paused, not really wanting to repeat what he'd discovered. "Well, I guess now I know for sure it's impossible."

"I can't say I don't have a handful of moments I wish I could change," Sebastian said glumly. He pulled up a handful of dead grass and began throwing individual blades violently to the ground. "Ciel is one of those moments. And I don't want this to become another."

"Then don't let it," Claude said, pretending to become very interested in the night sky. "Seriously. You better go raise some hell back in there or people will start falling asleep." Claude jerked his head in the direction of the apartment. "I'll be fine. Don't let me make this a moment you're going to regret." Sebastian laughed a little.

"That's not exactly what I mean," he said, slowly. Claude turned to face Sebastian, a witty comeback prepared. But he wasn't quite as prepared as he thought he would be. Sebastian eagerly took Claude's face in his hands and stopped any further word exchange with his lips. Claude was frozen, not really responding to the gentle heat of Sebastian's skin, not really sure what to do. His head was fuzzy and he couldn't think clearly. He remembered that he was supposed to be mad at Sebastian, but at the moment any sort of negative emotion was impossible. He tried to stir up remembrance of all the horrid things Sebastian had done the past few days, tried listing all the reasons he should be mad, but nothing was worth it. Couldn't he just be happy for this one moment?

Claude realized that, whilst warring with himself, he was kissing Sebastian back. Eagerly. Deeply. None of the pain that Sebastian had caused Claude's heart as of late was disappearing, yet it managed to make the moment sweeter. Sebastian was here. With him. Not with Mey Rin. Not with Ciel. He was with Claude, pouring his soul into every kiss.

"I didn't really know how to tell you," Sebastian said, drawing away slightly. "And I didn't want to mess things up,"

"Even though they were less than perfect?" Claude asked, laughing lightly, despite his labored breathing. He pulled Sebastian in for another kiss, which turned into two and then three.

"You seemed happy enough, and that was all that really mattered to me," Sebastian whispered against Claude's lips. "Mey Rin was convinced otherwise, though. She wanted me to win you over," he laughed lightly.

"So you guys never…?" Claude asked, a faint smile on his lips. Sebastian gently laced Claude's collarbone with soft kisses.

"Nah," he said, chuckling. "We had a thing once, a long time ago, but it never worked out. She's into Bard now. And lately, she's just been nosing into all of my private business."

"Hmm, remind me to thank her later," Claude said, as Sebastian's lips found his once more, silencing him. They kissed deeply, their tongues brushing, before Claude pulled away.

"We have guests inside," he said, as though suddenly realizing there was a world outside of just him and Sebastian. Claude had never been one for public displays of affection in the first place (though they weren't exactly in public) and the thought of his guests catching them made him blush furiously.

"They're entertaining themselves just fine," Sebastian protested. Claude stood, despite Sebastian's efforts to make him stay.

"We can't just ignore them," Claude reasoned, pulling Sebastian to his feet. "Besides, I'm mad at you, remember?" He smiled. "When everyone goes home we'll have all the time we want."

"Any chance of sending people home early?" Sebastian suggested in the form of a question. Claude laughed.

"Hell no," he exclaimed. He repeated Sebastian's words from earlier that evening: "It's my birthday, that's a cause to celebrate, isn't it?"


A/N:So. Yeah. I decided to split this chapter into two parts. IDK when I will upload the next part. Probably sometime late tonight or early tomorrow... it depends on how much it sucks. I'm going to be really picky on it, simply because I've never written anything like it before. And if you're thinking that its the lemon chapter, you're probably right. Just don't get your hopes up too high... I can't guarantee that it will be great. :)

Anyways, thanks to you guys for the faves, the watches, the reviews, and the encouragement! I love you all soooo much! 3 *mwah*