A/N - I've got a question for you, my Reader-chans. How old do you think I am? And if you already know, do you think my writing suits my age? Please comment, I really want to know this. Oh, and before you start questioning, Reader-chan is the same age as Ciel, she just seems and acts more mature. Then again, I doubt you people could call yourselves mature, and I'm likewise.

Sorry, I really wanted to update since the prologue was dreadfully boring..

R e c a p - Late November, 1889

"It seems I've forgotten how to smile."

Bingo.

"Then it seems I'll have to teach you."

|Learning to Smile :: Step One by cookiecat567|
I.|Gomen'nasai|

(I do hope you don't mind my putting the majority of this in the first person. -Emily)
Late November, 1889
[Your PoV]

"Bocchan." I called, opening the door.

He looked up at me lazily, a questioning look on his face.

I hastily placed the silver tray on his desk, announcing, "You have a letter from the queen."

"About?" He still didn't look up, expecting me to read it. I, on the other hand, looked quite shocked. He seemed to notice this, as he asked quickly, "What?"

"Th-this is classified information." I stumbled on my words. "A lowly maid like me shouldn't be reading this t-"

"This is an order."

I quickly shut up, and nodded.

Shortly after, Sebastian came in. "Young Master, it seems Miss (Y/N) is a bit uncomfortable reading it for you. Shall I-"

He was cut off. Ciel's cold voice rang in my ears as he asked, "Did I order you?"

Sebastian quickly bowed. "My apologies, Young Master."

"Go on." Ciel gestured for me to read.

I picked up the letter like I would a piece of glass about to break. I opened it carefully, and skimmed my eyes through the neat handwriting. I gulped before explaining it in brief to Ciel.

"There's been a series of fires in London..." I trailed off, choosing to stare at the letter rather than my Master. "Her majesty wants you to look into the case of the cause, as there appears to be a pattern to where the fires are located..."

I looked up. His cerulean eye looked magnificent, I have to admit. It was clouded over, formulating and planning strategies. A mere boy, not much older than me, capable of doing all this? I must confess, I do have somewhat of an attraction to this young fellow... but then Lady Elizabeth came into the picture.

She was a nice girl, we were acquainted enough for me to call her at least a friend, and we got along quite well. I never showed signs of my strange liking to my master, besides my uncommon anxiety and nervousness. In all honesty, the only people who've taken a romantic liking to me were Bard, in a joking and perverted manner, and Finny, in a lighthearted more normal manner. Sebastian and I were well acquainted, likewise to Mey-Rin and me.

"Lady Elizabeth will be arriving later today." said Sebastian. Ciel nodded, and I left.

[Ciel's PoV]

I walked down the steps, awaiting Lizzy's arrival, although she wasn't due to come until hours later.

I heard a noise in the kitchen––laughing. Therefore, I walked down the hall to investigate.

The door was creaked open enough for me to see. (Y/N), Baldroy, Finny and Mey-Rin... laughing. Tanaka was chuckling in the background with his tea as well.

Of course, I'd heard those four laugh, but (Y/N)... she always seemed so serious, so shy and emotionless around me.

She had an airy laugh. It was light and melodic and seemed to ring in my ears.

"Well, I gotta get going now." She said. "Finny and I need to clean up the garden and get vegetables for lunch, right, Finny-chan?"

F-Finny-chan? -chan?!

"Yep!" chimed Finny, a blush dusting his cheeks.

Bard chuckled, slapping (Y/N)'s butt before she exited. "Have fun!"

"Baldo-kun!" she and Mey-Rin exclaimed. (Y/N) let out another melodic laugh before exiting through the other door, Finny following close behind.

How come I haven't seen her laugh like that...?

All she can call me is 'Young Master', or 'Master', or even, the closest thing to my name, 'Earl Phantomhive'. She'd never called me Ciel... yet, she could call all of them, including Lizzy, by their first name––not to mention with a casual honorific!

"My, my, Young Master." said a voice from behind me. I jumped.

"S-Sebastian!"

.・.・.・.Later.・.・.・.

"The first step to learning how to smile is finding something that'll make you happy."

"There's nothing that makes me happy."

"Not even Lady Elizabeth?"

"Nothing enough to make me smile, at least."

She stayed silent. "Pardon me for asking, but... have you ever smiled?"

"There was once a time where I was a very happy child... before my parents died."

A slight gasp escaped her. "I-I'm sorry for asking."

"It's no trouble." I said plainly. There was a knock on the door before Sebastian came in, a tray of tea and biscuits in his arms.

As if on instinct, (Y/N) sat up and took the tray from his arms. She placed it on the desk and Sebastian placed down a cup, adding sugar and milk after (Y/N) poured in the tea. Their work was synchronized perfectly. (Y/N) looked utterly shocked when Sebastian laid down another cup and poured tea into that.

"Mister Seba-" she froze when Sebastian offered her the cup.

"It's not polite for a lady to leave her mouth open like that." Sebastian reminded.

(Y/N) jumped a bit, nodding before she said, "Mister Sebastian, thank you for the offer, but I-"

"Nonsense. You must be parched from working in the gardens today, and I'm sure Young Master wouldn't mind, would you?" He turned to me, and I quickly shook my head, as I really didn't care.

She quietly murmured thanks to Sebastian as he left and sat down subtly with the cup of Earl Grey in her hands.

After a silence of sitting, she spoke up.

"Hey, C-Ciel..."

That's the first time she's ever called me that... "Yes?"

"I..." she sighed and looked up at the ceiling before looking straight into my eye. "I like you."

I blinked a few times, processing this.

[Your PoV]

Ciel blinked at me.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

And he replied, "I'm sorry."

I knew I shouldn't have done this...

"(Y/N), you know I'm betrothed,"

Gomen'ne...

"I can't return those feelings."

I was too numb to cry. Instead, a heavy blush painted my face, and I sniffled without tears.

Hountoni gomen'nasai...

"I-I'm sorry for wasting your time." I said, my voice breaking. "I should've known. How silly of me to think that..." I shook my head.

Refusing to abandon my maid duties, I took both cups, the tray and hastily walked out the door before pausing. I let out a sob, and watched my own tear fall into a teacup.

|To Be Continued|
~Em