I'm a day late but here is something short and sweet as an interlude if you wondered what Cloudia gave Cedric for their "anniversary" (see: Malady 1) :)

Bonus:

Anniversary

London, England, United Kingdom – January 1848

Cloudia sat by the window and watched the snow falling slowly and quietly to earth. What a beautiful, calming sight it was to see the snowflakes painting the bleak grey city bright white. A lovely coat of snow to cover the last year and bring in the new one – bright, fresh, innocent.

She could not believe that a year had already passed. A year since she had killed Ronan Parrish in a dark alleyway. A year since she had had a fantastical encounter that changed her life.

A year had gone by in the blink of an eye and she had surprisingly not lost her mind yet. She had lost count on how often she had been on the brink of it. After all, he had the infuriating ability to be an utter annoyance at all times. He, her dear Grim Reaper companion.

A few days ago, Cloudia had invited him to come to her townhouse today. To discuss the scheduling of their upcoming Watchdog work, to clarify when Cedric was available and when not, and because the 19th of January was an important date – not that she had mentioned this when contacting him via the skull pendants.

Cloudia still vividly remembered their first encounter as if it had happened yesterday: Parrish's body to her feet, the blood on her dress, the icy wind in her hair – and then, a voice coming from a rooftop: "This is indeed a mess. You always leave quite a mess, do you know that?"

Her shock and surprise when she had spotted him, her Grim Reaper full of life and laughter. She had found this mix odd then; she still found it odd now. But were the most interesting things not also the oddest?

From the corner of her eye, Cloudia could see the wrapped gift on her desk. It was highly improper for an unmarried lady to gift anything to a gentleman who was neither related to her by blood nor by marriage, but Cedric hardly counted as a "gentleman" and she had failed to give him anything for his birthday and Christmas last year. She had gift-debts to repay – wasn't it worse not to gift him anything in return after he had given her a necklace for her birthday and his company for Christmas? The timing might be silly and she doubted Cedric remembered, but she had to repay her debt someday and she could just as well do it today.

Perhaps I should say that it was a New Year's gift? We hadn't seen each other since December after all.

And wasn't this our New Year in a way?

Cloudia tore her gaze away from the window and picked up the parcel. Every time she had to give a present to someone she feared that Barrington's bad gift-giving might have rubbed off on her. She shuddered at the thought and put the gift down. At the very least, she could say that she had put great effort into this present.

Only a moment after Cloudia had let go of the parcel, Cedric appeared in her study. He grinned at her, but he also seemed strangely nervous, and she wondered why.

Cloudia stood up and said "As you're finally here, we can start with…" but cut herself off when she saw Cedric's gaze on the gift. He looked quite curiously at it, most likely wondering what it was, whom it was for; Cloudia could almost see the gears turning in his head.

"Oh, this? It's for you," Cloudia said.

I had said this as nonchalantly as I could, but I would lie if I did not acknowledge the strange nervosity that had manifested itself inside me the instant I noticed Cedric's eyes on the present. It was as if his nerves had jumped over to me. A spreading sickness that caused nervosity and faster-beating hearts.

Cedric stared at her. "For… for me?"

Cloudia nodded and hoped the motion had not looked as mechanical as it had felt. "Yes. I thought I should give you a trinket for the new year."

He blinked at her and then at the parcel before he picked it up. He turned it in his hands, inspected it from all sides. "This… this won't kill me, will it?" asked Cedric, and it was Cloudia's turn to stare at him.

"Why on earth should it kill you?"

"Well, exploding gifts sound very fitting for a Watchdog and I did ruin your dress on the way back from Edinburgh."

The stare turned into a scowl. "You still have to pay for it. It was one of my favourites."

"That's why I'm so wary of this 'gift'! But, to my defence, I have to say that it was a laughably narrow train and the candy trolley's selection too good to pass."

"You ruined my dress and caused a scene over chocolate bars."

"They are brand new products, Countess!"

"Well, certainly not brand new for you…" Cloudia began and then leaned against the desk and sighed. "Good heavens, Undertaker, be quiet and open that damn present. I'm not going to kill you before you've paid me back for the dress – and don't think you can drag this out for years and years to gain protection!"

Cedric shook his head and chuckled. "No worries, Countess," he said and slowly unwrapped the gift and revealed a pouch. An elaborate "C" was embroidered on it in the same colour as his eyes which widened when he saw the gift.

"You gave me your little tote bag in Edinburgh," Cloudia explained, feeling maddeningly silly. "It was a tattered ugly thing and I cannot believe I actually ate the biscuits that were inside it. I cannot possibly let you walk around with such a rag doll-like item, so I made a new one for you."

Cedric's head jolted up. "You made this yourself?!"

"Yes, of course. Sewing and embroidering is a must to learn for every lady," Cloudia replied, and Cedric smiled at her. He smiled a lot of times, but his smiles usually were ones on the verge of grins, full of mischief and complacency. This one was different. It was brighter, softer – and a strange feeling ran through Cloudia when she saw it. It was the oddest kind of surprise that bloomed within her.

"What an honour," Cedric said. "Thank you, Countess."

For a while, they stood like that in the study: Cloudia, leaning against her desk. Cedric, holding the pouch in one hand, the wrapping in the other. Both of them as quiet as graves.

"I have something for you too," Cedric eventually blurted out. "Well, I don't have something for you in this way" – he held up the pouch – "but I have something in another, less tangible way. I thought, considering that you do the work the police should do and like learning about new things, that I could give you a lecture on future police proceedings! I did a lot of research – that were many, many agonising hours, I tell you – and read about all kinds of things like taking and analysing fingerprints, saliva, skin, hair to find culprits or lie de-"

"Don't talk any further!" Cloudia exclaimed. "I don't want to hear about any of this."

He blinked at her. "But… why? Isn't this interesting enough for you?"

She sighed. "What does it bring me to know what the police does in the future?"

"It expands your knowledge and it won't bring you any harm."

"Maybe, but I do not want to hear anything about the future. Not anything beyond what we agreed on, at least."

"'You could tell me the names of the ones who will die,'" mumbled Cedric before he said louder and clearer, "That's all we agreed on last year, wasn't it?"

Cloudia's eyes widened in surprise before she fell into laughter, that vile, unwanted knot of nonsensical fear dissolved within seconds and letting out everything that had bottled up in this unsightly manner.

Cedric's eyes lit up. "Ah, I finally made you laugh! I have no idea how, but I still count this as a victory."

She shook her head. "Dear Lord, you're impossible."

"Certainly, many would consider my mere existence an 'impossibility.' And if I am correct, you also couldn't believe it when we first met."

"Who wouldn't take a single look at you and immediately wonder 'How did this idiot survive until now?'"

They looked at each other and laughed at her words.

"Happy New Year, Cedric K. Rossdale," Cloudia said, smiling.

"Happy New Year, Cloudia Phantomhive," Cedric replied, returning her smile with one of his own.

In moments like this one, I was glad for the choice I had made that day.

With this gift (which Cedric displayed in his room and stares at maybe a bit too often a day), Cloudia spent all her "good gift-giving skill" and she ended up giving Cedric the dreaded hairbrush for his birthday after they went to that restaurant*. :)))

(*doesn't quite count as a gift Cloudia picked because the restaurant was, in fact, a recommendation!)

PS: I have a new fanfic up called "The Curious Disappearance of Lady Henriette Woolahan" which follows Diedrich and Vincent (chaotically) investigating a case! The story is connected to Watchdog of the Queen :)