Cuts and Cake

Chapter 9:

It was later in the morning when Ciel entered his bedroom to find Sebastian lounging on his bed. Luckily for him he had got dressed in the bathroom in case Sebastian tried to attack him when he was wearing nothing but a towel.

"What is the plan for today?" Ciel enquired as he towel dried his hair which was still wet from his shower.

Sebastian took the towel from Ciel's hands and began to dry his hair for him.

"I thought that we should go to my house."

"Your house?" the other boy questioned as his hair was rubbed dry. "How is that going to help me find the people that killed my parents?"

Sebastian stopped rubbing with the towel and checked Ciel's hair for dampness before throwing the towel on the bed.

"Everything. The brief times when my father is actually home he is always meeting his business rivals and investors. Last time he was here he had some Lord over for dinner. It's likely that in his list of contacts that we might find the person that instigated the attack. Do you remember what he looked like?"

Ciel turned away and shook a little as he finally lifted the lid on the memories that he had always been trying to block out and repress for years. All the blood, the flames, his lost eye...

"Yes," he said eventually. "I do."

"That will speed the process up," Sebastian said happily, pleased that there was a chance that he wouldn't have to wait too long to claim his reward. "Let's go then. Remember to wrap up warm- it's cold outside."

The sky outside was grey and lined with murky dark clouds as they walked down the streets to Sebastian's house. The silence between them was comfortable and Ciel used the rare opportunity to prepare himself mentally for what was to come and for when the time came to pay Sebastian's price which something that he had avoided thinking about in detail after the latest hint.

"Have you actually completed all of the contracts that you have made?" he asked on the spur of the moment.

At the question Sebastian twitched guiltily. "All but one."

"Why?"

"Because I neglected to make sure that I knew the exact terms before I agreed to it. The person just said that they needed help with something and that it wouldn't take very long," he explained and baulked at the bad memory. "The person I made the contract with was called Grell Sutcliffe."

"What did he/she want?" Ciel coaxed, noting that Sebastian seemed very sensitive about it which indicated that it was probably quite embarrassing- that made him want to know even more.

The black haired teenager that didn't seemed to be scared of anything pulled a face at the memory of the flamboyantly gay, red haired that male that had had a huge crush on him and had kept popping up everywhere he went and would throw himself on him.

"He seemed to be convinced that he was a woman and he wanted... to have a child with me. I only found that out after I had agreed to make the contract," he said and shuddered.

Every time he thought about that incident he felt a shiver go up his spine as he remembered how that man was so deluded that he was a female that he would dress in woman's clothes and speak in a high pitched voice.

Unexpectedly Ciel burst out laughing at the anecdote and his mental image of Sebastian being chased after by a man that was convinced he was a woman.

"What did you do after you found out what he wanted?"

"I gave him the Sex Education pamphlets that primary school children get given and scarpered. In case he came after me again I changed my phone number and didn't leave the house for a while."

"Is that the only thing that scares you? Really gay men?"

Sebastian scoffed. "You would understand if you met him. He was...more camp than a row of tents."

"He does sound scary," Ciel agreed.

Sebastian looked down at him and smiled. "He was."

As he spoke they turned the corner and he stopped walking.

"This is my house."

Ciel looked in straight on and realised it was the only house on the street which was actually a cul-de-sac. The house was large with 3 floors and big garden surrounded by a wall and a gate. He watched as Sebastian punched in the code to unlock the gate and followed him in.

"Do really live here all by yourself?" Ciel asked as they walked up the garden path to the front door. "It seems quiet."

"It is," Sebastian admitted as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. "I'm sure your former home was much nicer."

As they stood in the entryway Ciel became aware that something in the air was irritating his nose and giving him the urge to sneeze. He sniffed the air curiously which had the distinct tang of pet food.

"You wouldn't happen to have a pet would you? Like a cat for example."

Sebastian paused as he took off his coat. "No, I have cats- more than one. My parents also have a dog named Pluto that they always take with them. Do you want to meet all my cats?"

Damn it, he would have to have cats, Ciel cursed in his head as he sneezed twice in a row. He hadn't been in contact with a single cat for a number of years, it seemed like he still had the allergy.

"I'm allergic to cats so no thank you," he answered and promptly sneezed again.

The usually stoic teenager pouted in disappointment. "I love cats. I really hate dogs though- Pluto gets on my nerves."

Ciel grinned suddenly. "I used to have a dog. His name was Sebastian." He stuck his tongue out.

The cat lover blinked in surprise. The boy was definitely full of surprises and he had stopped seeing his as the small weak boy that self harmed. Now he seemed like a different person. He was fun to annoy and was actually quite cute and Sebastian was slowly becoming addicted to him.

They walked through the dark hallway to a sizeable sitting room with antique style sofas and armchairs. The walls were painted white, but somehow the room seemed dark.

"What are your parents' names?" Ciel asked as he fingered the black velvet of the sofa he was sitting on.

"My father is Ash and my mother is called Angela. They both have white grey hair and are a little strange. In the library which is next door to this one, we have all the family portraits dating back as far as the 19th Century. There is one of my parents. You can have a look around whilst I get changed," Sebastian suggested as he turned to leave. "Don't worry; the cats have their own room upstairs."

He smirked and made his way upstairs to change out of his school uniform. He took the piece of paper that detailed their contract out of his pocket and filed it with the others. He had contracted with a variety of people for various different reasons. However he had never contracted with anyone like Ciel before.

He was in the process of buttoning up his blouse when he heard a loud crash from downstairs. With a pounding heart he rushed down the stairs and into the library where he had directed Ciel to a few minutes before.

Lying on the carpeted floor directly underneath his father's portrait was Ciel who was shaking violently. Sebastian rushed over to him and turned him over to find him with an even whiter face than normal, askew hair, a sweat laden forehead and a very wide eye.

"What's wrong!? Are you hurt?" he shouted anxiously and checked him for injuries.

In answer a shaking finger pointed up at Ash Michaelis' portrait.

"That's him," Ciel groaned faintly. "He is the one that killed my parents, set my house on fire and gouged my eye out."

In horror Sebastian stared down at him, remembering that on his desk in his study his father kept an eyeball in a jar to remind him of something. An eye that was a pretty shade of blue. An eye that matched the one that was staring frantically at him. Ciel was right,

His father was responsible for ruining his life.

***

Ash being Sebastian's father and Ciel's persecutor was planned from the beginning and there were hints in the previous chapters but I removed them to make the revelation more surprising.