Brother

Chapter 11

Ciel sat quietly at his desk. His hands and eyes moved mindlessly as he made sure to thoroughly read through the paperwork before signing it. He worked quickly wanting to finish everything as fast as possible so he could continue reading a novel that he had recently discovered and quite liked, he was almost finished and wanted to at least read another chapter before he retired for the evening. However, despite his wish his hands would still freeze up against his will and his big blue eyes would stop moving as a dazed look crossed the young boy's doll-like face. The young Phantomhive fell into thought and his mind would always think back to a specific man, his butler's brother. Izaya Orihara was what he had called himself and it was what he had asked Ciel to call him as well. Ciel couldn't help but sense that there was something strange about him, something different from Sebastian, and Ciel knew better than most to trust his instincts. The young boy thought back to earlier that day when Sebastian had entered in that dress, he remembered how he laughed so happily to the point his stomach began to hurt, which wasn't exactly the best medicine if the patient has asthma. Although at the time it happened, the sight had seemed like the funniest thing in the world. Thinking back now it didn't seem all that funny at all. In fact it was quite common for Sebastian to be dressed by Elisabeth during her visits to the manor, of course Ciel found it amusing but never enough to laugh that hard. The young earl didn't quite understand what the strange feelings he got around the man was. It felt so foreign, and yet, so familiar. A knock suddenly sounded at the the door causing Ciel to suddenly sit up straighter as he snapped out of his thoughts. "Come in." He called. The familiar faces of Izaya and Bard in the doorway. Ciel felt the inexplicable urge to smile at his butler's brother. He willed the emotion down and composed himself before speaking. "How can I help you?" Bard rubbed the back of his neck as he answered. "Found this guy here wanderin' bout the manner. Says he's Sebastian's brother so I though' I'd aught to bring him over to see you just in case." Ciel nodded and looked toward Izaya who gave him a smile. "Thank you Bard, but it's fine. This is Sebastian's brother." A look or shock crossed the blond's face as his head shot to look back at the demon. Izaya only smirked at him enjoying how his expression had caused the other man to shiver. Bard turned back to face the Earl and nodded before responding respectfully, "Yes young master." Then he turned and left still trembling slightly as he held the door open for Izaya to follow. Honestly, Izaya felt a bit embarrassed. He had heard so many stories and seen so many pictures he had felt as if he'd already known Bard for a while, as a result he didn't think and had just walked up to him and began speaking. "Go on without me, I'd like to speak to Ciel." Bard nodded quickly, no doubt wishing to get away from the demon as soon as possible and left the room shutting the door behind him. Izaya turned back around and walked up to Ciel's desk. He looked over the young master's appearance and saw how obviously exhausted the young Earl looked. You didn't need to be a doctor to realize he needed to rest. "It's getting rather late, Sebastian says you should be heading to bed soon." Izaya spoke in a concerned tone understanding just how tiring work could be. Although his brother hadn't really said anything about it he still felt the need to tell the boy to rest. He himself didn't need to sleep in order to stay healthy but even so, there were still times when he would find himself waking up in front of the computer with no recollection of falling asleep in the first place. Ciel looked up into the man's eyes, he wished to ask him the question that had been troubling him. The young Earl opened his mouth to ask only to close it back again as a wave of shyness suddenly hit him causing him to turn his head away. "It's alright, I still need to finish my paperwork." he muttered the words out, subconsciously moving to play with his hands under his desk. Ciel scolded himself mentally for acting so childish. He didn't want to be looked down upon by anyone, much less Sebastian's younger brother. He felt Izaya place a hand on his head and shut his eyes tightly as the demon pet his hair gently. The boy cursed in his mind as he thought that of how nice it felt and how gentle Izaya was with him. "What's troubling you Ciel?" the demon asked noticing the slight frown on the Earl's face as he ran his slender fingers through the boy's almost impossibly soft hair, careful not to remove the eye-patch covering the proof of the contract he had made with his brother. The boy shook his head wondering how Izaya had known that he was feeling off. He looked up at the man as he unconsciously leaned into his touch. Still feeling too shy to properly ask his question he responded with a complaint. "I wanted to continue reading his book that I liked but I feel as though by the time I'm done here I won't even be able to properly see the letters on the page." Izaya nodded in understanding before answering. "Then how about I help you finish up and then I'll read to you until you fall asleep." Izaya smiled as Ciel's eye brightened up considerably and the boy nodded up to him with a smile. Ciel try as he may simply couldn't push his grin to disappear from his face as Izaya moved his hand from his hair and circled around to stand behind his chair. Although with a small realization his smile began to disappear on its own. The blue eyed boy stared at the red eyed man who had leaned down in order to get a better look at the pages neatly placed around on the desk's surface. Izaya glanced at Ciel again only to catch his gaze. "Ciel?" The young boy opened his mouth and asked, "If demons have no emotions , why are you being so kind?" Izaya's eyes widened and he blinked a few times before letting out a light laugh. "Ciel, demons do have emotions," Ciel's brows furrowed. That wasn't what Sebastian had told him and he knew for a fact that his butler could never lie to him as long as he held the contract. So then that meant Izaya was lying. Somehow Ciel didn't believe that. "Sebastian told me that demons don't have emotions." Izaya smiled. "That is actually something demons have argued about for centuries." Izaya spoke as Ciel listened quietly. "There are some demons that believe because we don't have souls, we've lost all humanity, and because emotions are something that humans are known for, they say we don't have any of them. I however am part of the other side of the coin. I believe that we are beings capable of emotions, like Sebastian's love for cats, if he had no emotions then why would he favor one creature over all the others. Another would be a pet's love for their owner, an animal that is loved by a human will always become overwhelmingly happy whenever they see them. Isn't that emotion as well?" Ciel gave Izaya a questioning look. "Why was there an animal in your analogy?" Izaya began to pet Ciel's head again as he answered. "Because humans are the only creatures that have souls." Ciel nodded slowly processing the new information. "now, as to the second part of your question, 'why am I so kind?'" Izaya thought back to his life in Japan. "Truth is I'm not. I am still a demon after all." Ciel looked up at the older. "You've been kind to me so far?" A memory of his brother's grinning face passed through his mind. If it had been any other kid Izaya wouldn't have even bothered. "I guess your special then." Izaya responded with another smile causing Ciel to smile back. "Now, let's get this paperwork finished so we can take a look at that book you like." Ciel nodded and the two of them began reading over the work.

 Later that night Sebastian knocked on the office's door. Receiving no answer. concerned he called out, "Young master?" hearing no response the butler opened the door and checked inside. On his master's desk was a neat stack of completed paperwork, but his master was nowhere to be seen. Sebastian closed the door and instead walked toward his master's room and knocked on the door. "Come in." The butler was surprised to hear the soothing voice of his younger brother. Sebastian quietly opened the door to see Izaya sitting at the edge of his master's bed, smiling softly at him and holding a book in his hands. Sebastian opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by his younger brother, "Shhhhhh." he cooed gently before turning his head to look next to him. There, buried under a pile of blanket was Ciel Phantomhive sleeping soundly, clutching tightly onto the hem of Izaya's shirt.