Sebastian stared at the white-haired man in front of him. He apologized for hitting Sebastian with his shopping cart when it was Sebastian who was being careless. The man was at a loss for words, which was a rare sight indeed.

"No, it is not your fault, I was distracted."

The stranger tilted his head with that smile plastered on his face. His grey eyes flickered down to the car seat that held Mey-Rin. Before anyone could speak, Mey-Rin started to cry and loudly. Sebastian could already feel the eyes of the other shoppers in the area and their scowls as she wailed for milk.

"I am terribly sorry, she's hungry and I was trying to get as much as I could before this happened." He laid his hand on her stomach and rubbed gently as he tried to shush her. There were murmurs from the few shoppers around him, clearly voicing their anger at the newborn.

"What is her name?"

Sebastian looked up at the man.

"Mey-Rin."

"What a beautiful name."

"Thank you." Sebastian resumed his soft coos to silence her, but it wasn't working. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and he wanted to leave the supermarket, tell Ciel to leave the groceries he had and go back home. Every time she cried he felt useless. Ciel never cried so much, what was he doing wrong with her?

"Give me your list and I'll be happy to finish your shopping for you while you tend to your baby girl."

"Oh well that is a very generous of you, Mr…"

"Agni. Pleasure to meet you…"

"Sebastian."

"A pleasure, Agni. But I don't think you'll have to do that, I only have a few more items before I…"

Ciel showed up with the milk and eggs and placed them inside of the shopping cart. He looked up at Sebastian and said, "She's hungry?"

Sebastian nodded and moved to pick her up from her seat. He bounced as he rubbed her back. This wouldn't work, he knew that, she was never satisfied. She cried when she was angry, she cried when she was full, all she ever did was cry and Sebastian hated to hear her in such a state of distress.

"I think it's time for us to be off now, Ciel. I'll come back later to get the rest of the items." He really wanted to tell Ciel that he wanted to go home because he was embarrassed. He couldn't stop his baby from crying in a public area, he wanted to be away from all the eyes, from Agni. He should have sent Grell to the shop after his shift. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle her outside.

"If you will allow me, Mr. Sebastian." Agni gently took Mey-Rin from his arms, leaving the demon too confused to react. The Indian then began to rock her gently, and rub her with his right hand. Immediately, she stopped crying. Her face was no longer red and puffy from crying, the tears dried on her face. She looked as if she were never troubled. Agni looked down at the newborn and smiled. He carefully handed her back down to Sebastian, who then transferred her to the car seat. She was awake, but she looked content. She looked happy and that almost sent a tear down Sebastian's face.

"There, she will be okay for a little while, I hope this will be long enough for you to continue shopping. Of course, the option still stands for me to help."

Ciel looked up at Sebastian, who shook his head. "No, that's alright, you did enough, thank you Agni." He took the shopping cart and walked away, leaving Agni dumbfounded and frowning. After they left the aisle, Sebastian gave Ciel the rest of the list and told him to return to the front of the store when he was done. Once he was sure Ciel was out of sight, his eyes flew to Mey-Rin, who was staring up at him with big glassy eyes and nothing else. That smile that she wore with Agni was gone as soon as it appeared. Sebastian's heart broke. Why was a stranger able to make her happier than he could?

"What am I doing wrong, my love? You do not smile for me."

Being an infant, she could not respond, he sighed and ran a hand over her cheek. Ciel returned with the rest of the items in a basket and they made their way to the check-out aisle. Thankfully they were next in line so it did not take long for them to wait. When they got home, Sebastian held Mey-Rin in one arm, while carrying two of the bags in his other hand. Ciel carried the other three but they were light so he hadn't much trouble with them.

"You can drop the bags here Ciel. I'll get to them after I feed her and put her to sleep."

"I'll put the cold items away."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know, but we can't have spoiled milk, can we?"

Sebastian frowned and returned to soothing Mey-Rin. He put her in her crib and hummed a soft lullaby as he prepared the bottle for her. When it was ready he returned to the crib and took her out. He took a seat and fed her while rocking her gently. He couldn't help but think about Agni. He was a charming, handsome man, of that he could admit, but what wouldn't leave his mind was how he could silence Mey-Rin in less than a minute. Mey-Rin was his baby, not Agni's. Agni didn't give birth to her, or spend countless nights since her birth learning how to love her. Where to kiss her, and tickle her so that she would laugh. Agni wasn't her parent, he wasn't Sebastian, yet she looked happier to be in his arms.

"Why can't I make you happy, Mey-Rin? What was it that Agni did that made you smile? Why is it you only cry and hurt and upset yourself when you're around me?"

Sebastian felt a single tear roll down his face as he asked her, "Why is that I can't love you like I'm supposed to?"

He pressed a kiss to her soft forehead and said, "I love you my darling girl, I am trying to love you as much as I love your brother. But every time you cry I feel so powerless and defeated because I can't make you happy. I only want to make you happy."

She finished her bottle and he moved to sit her up to burp her. Unknown to Sebastian, Ciel heard everything.