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warning: slight spoilers for Book of Circus (as shown in the manga).
True to his words, they were indeed gone before she got up.
Unsurprisingly, there was not a particularly long note detailing the reason for the departure— merely that they were needed in London, and would be seeing a show while there.
No estimate was given for a return date, but she assumed it would be a few days, at least, especially if they were to check out the circus. Maybe for that point alone, Mia was a bit bummed; she couldn't even remember the last time she saw that type of show. But there was little point in sulking about that when the entire Phanthomhive manor was being left in her care. The thought may have made her twitch a bit.
Alright, no problem. You can keep the place from burning down for a few days. How hard could it be?
They were all adults. It was perfectly reasonable to expect that nothing outrages would happen in such a short span of time. But that was taking out the very real facts that explosions and mishaps occurred daily.
Too bad a bottle of Advil hadn't made it back to the eighteen hundreds with her— she had a feeling it would be incredibly useful. They didn't even make it until eleven o'clock before the first disaster struck, in the form of pie catching fire in the oven. Mey-Rin's voice erupted through the entire estate, quickly followed by Finny running through doors, and Bard being far too amused by the blaze ( and consequently, chaos ) that had begun.
Man, did they really pick the wrong girl for this job.
xxx
"Who let Mey-Rin do the laundry?"
"—Oh no. Please tell me Finny did not just fall through the ceiling. Please, please."
"Bard, that is not what a gun is used for!"
In another life, she might have been a sheep herder. That was the only way to explain how damn good she was at rounding up the other members of the staff, minus Tanaka, who was always well out of the way, and not causing trouble.
And, oh, the damage.
Both kitchen doors were off their hinges, the washroom was overflowing with bubbles leaving the clothes soaking on the floor, and two holes decorated the ceiling. One from Finny falling through the other from bard shooting at because there was a ( reportedly ) big spider. Now, she can certainly understand, and appreciate, how startled someone can get when face-to-face with a sizable spider.
She, herself, might've tried to kill it with fire, but hey, if she burned down her own home, that was one thing. Burning ( or shooting up ) someone else's place was a different story.
The damages could have definitely been worse, but she definitely didn't want Ciel and Sebastian to come back to see even the smallest of dents. Frustratingly enough, knowing the butler, he probably would see if something was even a centimeter out of place.
Stupid demons and their superhuman bullshit.
It would take her the entire day, maybe more, to get everything fixed and cleaned properly, but he could probably do it in three minutes— probably less. Too bad she didn't have a small 'Sebastian bell' that would summon him, because that would be pretty useful right about now; a little supernatural help never hurt anyone, right?
Well.
Either way, it wasn't about to happen, which meant a few calls needed to be made, before any more holes appeared in the ceiling— or something worse happened. Like a fire courtesy of a flamethrower that somehow still existed in the mansion. Because the kid hasn't had to deal with the destruction of fire enough.
"So, who knows the number to a good handyman?"
xxx
For the next few days, everyone lived in a glass box. No one touched anything with supervision, and no one got in the way of the godly men and women who came to fix the place up. The name Phantomhive held quite a bit of weight, and they were all too happy to lend their talents.
The garden was spruced, the ceiling completely repaired, and singed walls made good as new. All the whole the only job five of them had was to make sure no one stole anything — that would be pretty stupid, but after chasing a trigger-happy Bard throughout the mansion, she wasn't about to make this bit of good be for nought. Oh, yeah, everything looks great, but we seem to have misplaced the couch? No idea how that happened.
Despite there technically being no reason to be fearful, knowing a certain individual wasn't patrolling made it surprisingly difficult the sleep. After all, the mansion was big, and sometimes things creaked— more often still, it was just her imagination acting up. But there was definitely something incredibly ironic about feeling safer with a demon about. Maybe that was because he could react at a moment's notice, since sleep didn't seem to be something he needed.
It could just be the bond getting in the way though, too, at least a little bit. As much as she would like to just claim it was that annoying link and nothing more, it wouldn't have been the truth. She did feel safer with him around, and unsurprisingly, so did everyone else. Why wouldn't they? While serving Ciel, they had nothing to fear, and would always fall under his umbrella of protection.
In her case, she supposed that umbrella would never end. Both figuratively and literally, it would be impossible to escape him, and he, her. When people spoke about eternities together, it always sounded so unnecessarily romantic, and cheesy. In light of what her own 'forever' was likely to bring, cheesy romance would be a welcomed alternative.
At least then it wouldn't be something to dread, but something….nice? Then again, maybe the constant atmosphere of happy go lucky love would annoy her after a certain point.
She was hardly the best person to judge, seeing as that sort of thing was never really experienced first-hand. Lust she was familiar with, and was even indulged in a few times for the sake of it. But even with the best of men (and once, woman), staying longer than that never happened.
Odds are, it was out of fear of rejection, or a fear of getting too close only to getting hurt, something most human beings tried to avoid whenever possible. There was just never any desire to try, really. And now, the possibility to do so at some point had been stolen, much like his opportunity to be with someone more suitable for his necessary lifestyle.
These thoughts, and many others collided far too loudly in her head, making it impossible for the time-tossed woman to sleep easily. Not until the sun was peeking through to her room did she enough peace to doze off into a fitful slumber.
Hours later, well into the evening, she was awoken by the piercing sounds of a fight, the air laced with shouting and screams.
Holy shit.
Bodies.
Half-burnt, riddled with bullet holes, they were strewn in the hall, in the kitchen. Lifeless, dressed in outfits one would expect to see in the circus. Extravagant patterns and styles that were meant to be theatrical. It was eerie, to the say the least, especially since Sebastian and Ciel got tickets to a circus in town. She doubted there was more than one passing through at the same time, meaning these people (she couldn't even tell how old they were, or who was a man or woman, due to the massacre that occured) were apart of Noah's Ark Circus. Everything was stained red, torn, and singed— the fire was Bard's work, she suspected. But the bigger, more pressing issue was:
Why the fuck did the manor become a graveyard?
The voice of reason came in the form of the eldest Phanthomhive butler, who, while perhaps not particularly joyous about the mess and slaughter, was far more level-headed than she was at the sight.
"I assure you, Miss Gordon, it was necessary." Oh, Tanaka. If only it was possible to be as calm about it as he sounded, life would be great. Wonderful, even. Just when she thought things could be somewhat normal, it went and showed just how abnormal everything was, and how clueless she was to just about everything in this world. "They were attempting to storm the manner, you see. And strict orders have been given to ensure no one with the intent to do harm, goes unpunished."
Fingers pressing to her temple, it was all that could be done to avoid having a nervous breakdown because everyone was so casual about death and really it was not fucking okay, good lord. "—Who's orders? Wait, on second thought, I think I know."
Goddamn it Sebastian.
xxx
They returned later that day, and boy, they were going to have some words.
"Do you care to explain to me," Mia began with tense muscles as soon as Ciel was put to bed, leaving her and Sebastian alone in the kitchen— it was a strangely comfortable place to speak, for whatever reason. "…why I wasn't given a warning that there was a very real possibility that, oh, by the way, people might be trying to storm the manor? And let's not forget the little fact that the staff are trained killers by night?"
"I had thought that dropping such potentially alarming situation before leaving might cause some issues; as it is, you are overreacting quite a bit."
"Just because I'm reacting like a normal human does not mean I'm overreacting, you ja—"
"Now, now, there is no need for name calling." She could practically hear him grinning while she sat on the kitchen island, knuckles turning white from how tightly the edge was gripped beneath her fingers.
"—Jackass. Don't act like one then and I won't have to say it. That's how social courtesy works, Sebastian."
The almost pained, frustrated sigh was like music to her ears. "…..I'll admit, it was one of my poorer decisions. But what occured this evening was, in fact, necessary. Those you saw were involved with the kidnapping of dozens of children. Each town they performed in, at least one child would vanish. While I am far from the most righteous being alive, I'm certain even you can agree that the world, already so corrupt, is slightly better with the circus troupe taken care of."
"Fine, alright, but that's not the point. It isn't exactly standard to have people blown up in the living room and then just sweep it under the wrong like it's not a big deal. It is a big deal and waking up to it was not appreciated at all."
"Nothing about this household is standard, Mia. I had thought that was obvious."
"Yeah, well it's a little too obvious for my taste right now." Nose scrunching slightly, she gave in to the manufactured urge to run her fingers through his hair, and it was more than allowed; his head bowed to give more access.
The weirdness level of life here never seemed to stop climbing.
"So sorry." For someone apologizing, he still sounded far too pleased with himself, earning a sharp tug of dark hair.
If only their link came with an instruction manual, moments like these wouldn't be so shell shocking. "This should come with a pamphlet. You know, 'What to Expect' and all that. It's getting stranger by the day. Sometimes it almost tricks me into thinking you're not half bad, but then you say or do something that reminds me I still don't really like you."
"For better or for worse, emotional attachment is not a prerequisite for bond. I suspect in time our mutual indifference shall subside, if only because it will become so tiring."
Funny.
It kind of already was.
Shaking her head, she pushed him away with the tips of her feet, trying her hardest not to laugh at how ridiculous everything was. "Alright, I think that's enough affection for one day."
"If you call that affection." Disappointment was palpable in the air.
Still, there was no way she going to get the influence of the bond completely rule her decisions, especially if they clashed with her own wants (or lack thereof). As it was, Mia was already bending in that area for the sake of not feeling entirely on edge, which is all she's felt the last few days.
Even just having him back on the grounds made breathing a little easier, much to her annoyance.
Go figure it had incentives to not be separated for long; who the hell wanted to feel like that? "Well, that's the best I've got right now. I haven't really slept, and I'm more unhappy with you now than usual."
"What motives have I to behave better without positive reinforcement?"
"You are being so selfish right now."
Screw positive reinforcement, she wanted a good night's rest before she decided to tackle this other problem fully. Right now, though? He could go ahead and ponder what it really meant to be bound to her: a particularly stubborn human woman.
One who wasn't about to take any of his bullshit.
A/N ( 08/18/14 ): Firstly, I am sorry this is a bit short and late, lovelies! I intended to update sooner, on Friday & then on Sunday, but some slightly (now resolved) issues in life got in the way! Generally I will aim to update at least every other day if allowed to. If that does not work, you can always expect an update every Monday. Oh, and Monica, you are very welcome, and I am also quite flattered — I hope you continue to enjoy IDT! 8) Fun fact, I wrote this chapter while watching (for the hundredth time, I'm sure) Dirty Dancing, my ultimate romantic movie. As always, thank you all for your support & please continue to leave feedback to let me know what you think!
EDIT: 8/19/14- Hopefully I've made the timeline of this story a little less confusing! This does indeed take place during the Circus Arc ( so S3 of the anime ). There are some slight spoilers here, but it's nothing that isn't already well documented on the internet; though to avoid seriously spoiling it, I made sure to keep things fairly vague.