Ciel crept slowly down the stairs to the kitchen. Sebastian and Claude were wide awake since they were demons. Undertaker and Grell were fast asleep in the guest room and Alois was asleep in their room.
"Mistress?"
Ciel looked up from where she was pouring herself a glass of juice and flashed Sebastian a smile.
"You should be sleeping" Sebastian said.
He sat down on a chair and Ciel sat down on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He sighed, amused and wrapped his arms securely around her. He ran his fingers through her short hair and then noted that it was growing longer.
"Your hair's getting longer. Should I trim it?" He asked.
"I don't know" she mumbled tiredly.
"Up to bed" Sebastian carried her bridal style up the stairs.
He placed her in bed and then drew the covers over her. Her eyes opened and she beckoned him to bend down. When he did so, she wrapped an arm around her neck and kissed him. It was barely a brush of lips on lips but Sebastian jolted in surprise. He had never known that she would be this bold. Her arm fell from his neck and she fell asleep.
He stood up straight and touched his lips. He smiled and walked out of the room. He spotted Claude reading a book and then decided to join him.
"What are you reading?" Sebastian asked.
He read over Claude's shoulder and then chuckled.
"You're reading shounen ai manga?"
"The amount of reading material has rather dulled in this century" Claude replied, still reading.
Sebastian chuckled and then grabbed Julius Caesar from the shelf. As he read, the sky outside lightened and Undertaker stirred at dawn. He left Grell asleep and then made his way to the kitchen.
"Good morning" He said to Claude who was cooking.
"Sebastian's outside weeding the garden" Claude replied.
"Oh I'm not here for him. I'm here to talk to you" Undertaker said in an unusually serious tone.
"About?"
"You love Alois don't you?"
Claude coughed uncomfortably and Undertaker let out a giggle.
"So when are you going to confess?" Undertaker asked.
"Never. He doesn't feel that way about me" Claude replied.
"If he's never seen a relationship like the one you want to have with him, then what do you expect him to think?"
"So what should I do?" Claude asked.
"Let me and Grell do everything" Undertaker replied with another giggle.
Claude nodded and went to wake Luke for school. He decided to let Ciel and Alois miss school for the day because of the night before. Luke quickly dressed for school, ate breakfast and Claude dropped him off at the bus stop. He returned home to find Alois and Ciel eating breakfast.
"So you guys have been together since my ancestor's death?" Ciel asked chewing her cereal.
"Yeah. Sebas-chan left after Ciel died and then I found the hidden love I had for this person right here" Grell said batting his eyelashes at Undertaker who was stuffing his face with biscuits.
"So when you two go on dates, doesn't anyone yell at you or throw homophobic comments?" Alois asked.
"They do but I flip them the bird and they leave us alone" Grell replied.
"You guys are just so cute" Ciel said and Undertaker chuckled.
"So you guys kiss, hug and have sex just like the rest of the couples out there?" Alois asked and he was slapped on the head by Ciel.
"Yes we do" Undertaker replied and Alois turned red in embarrassment.
"Now that gave me a mental picture I didn't need" Ciel commented and Undertaker burst into laughter.
Claude chuckled and then Alois fell off his chair in shock.
"What happened?" Ciel asked with a smile.
"Claude actually laughed! He smiled! Alert the media!" Alois replied and Ciel laughed.
Alois got up and wrapped his arms around Claude.
"Come on Claude, smile again. Pretty please?" Alois flashed his baby blues at Claude.
Claude rolled his eyes and then set Alois back onto the floor. He walked to the stove and began to clean the dishes.
"Why don't you smile?" Alois asked in a minuscule voice. Claude ignored him.
"Alois, leave him alone. If he doesn't want to smile then forget it" Ciel said.
"No! He never smiles! Sometimes I think he hates being here! He makes me feel guilty about serving me when he never smiles! Claude, you're my highness!" Alois blinked away the unshed tears.
"Master-" Claude turned around.
"I hate you!" With that Alois ran out of the kitchen and they heard the front door slam.
Ciel glanced up at Claude and smiled sadly at the brokenhearted look on his face. He was about to go after his master but Ciel stopped him.
"Let him cool down first and then go up to see him" She said.
Claude nodded and went back to the dishes. Sebastian slid open the glass door from the backyard and entered inside.
"I found a trail of blood outside. No one should go outside right now. That demon could be lurking around" Sebastian warned.
"Alois just left!" Ciel stood up and Sebastian stopped her from leaving the house.
"Claude, go!" Sebastian said.
Claude nodded and with his demonic speed, he was out of the house.
"We should go help" Undertaker said and Grell nodded. They went out to follow Claude.
"What about us?" Ciel asked.
"We're staying here. They will handle the demon" Sebastian replied.
"You're better at fighting than Claude"
"We're staying here, understand?"
Ciel nodded and sat down on the chair. She pushed her breakfast away from her. Her appetite had disappeared.
Claude ran through the streets at a rapid pace. Grell and Undertaker checked the neighborhoods for Alois. Sebastian rushed around the house closing all the windows and locking doors. It wouldn't keep the demon out but it would shake the nervousness that Ciel was feeling.
"It's broad daylight, Sebastian. Alois will spot the demon a mile away" Ciel said.
Sebastian nodded and then heard a noise from outside. He held a finger to his lips and then listened carefully. Ciel fell silent and then sat still. Sebastian's eyes widened and then he threw himself at Ciel. Ciel closed her eyes and felt Sebastian's arms wrap around her. They both crash-landed on the floor just as the window above the sink broke into pieces.
Grell straightened up as he heard a crash. Undertaker stopped as well and then turned to look at the house.
"We should get back" Grell said.
"I'll go to the house. You go and help Claude" Undertaker replied.
Grell nodded and raced off. Undertaker began running back to the house.
Ciel tried to look over Sebastian's shoulder but Sebastian's hand covered her eyes.
"A demon's true form is not to be seen by a human" he whispered and then sat her up against the pantry door.
Ciel kept her eyes shut and Sebastian stood to face the demon.
"You're back again. I thought you would lay low until your injuries healed" Sebastian said.
"You never injured me, you pathetic fool" The demon said and Ciel shivered at the underlying menace in his voice.
"You will never get near my Mistress, not while I'm around" Sebastian said.
"We'll see about that"
Ciel heard the door slam open but still didn't open her eyes.
"My, my I was missing such a great fight here" Undertaker said.
There was a loud crash and Ciel began feeling around. She twisted the knob and opened the pantry door. She crawled inside and closed the door. Sebastian smiled. At least now he knew Ciel was safe. Undertaker cackled as Sebastian turned into his true form.
"That sure is scary" Undertaker commented and Ciel bit her lip.
She reached out and opened the pantry door an inch just enough to peek into the kitchen. Her gaze was blocked by feathers. Black, dark feathers. She glanced down onto the floor and saw a pair of heeled boots.
"No peeking" A deep voice said and Ciel closed the door.
Alois sat alone at the bus stop, miserable. He didn't understand why he got so angry when it came to Claude. It was so frustrating to deal with that emotionless demon. He scuffed his converse on the ground and then looked up at the rapidly darkening sky. It looked like it was going to rain.
"Master, I finally found you" Claude stopped right in front of Alois.
"Go away, go home. I don't want to see you" Alois said looking away from Claude.
"Master..." Claude tried to wrap his arms around Alois but the blond pushed him away.
"Don't touch me!"
Claude sighed and sat down next to Alois.
"What's wrong? Is it because I never show any emotion?" Claude asked.
"Yes! It's so frustrating and annoying Claude. I sometimes think you hate me because you don't even seem to like me. I have this anger inside me and it explodes whenever you do something that angers me" Alois replied.
"I apologize Master. It is not my nature to show emotion at all. Your ancestor never seemed to have a problem with it" Claude said.
"Well I do" Alois folded his arms against his chest and pouted.
Claude chuckled and ruffled Alois's hair. He stood and Alois blushed as he stared up at Claude.
"Let us go home" Claude held out his hand and Alois took it.
They began walking home.
