.: seeing in the dark :.

Chapter Two

Ciel stared at the red and white stick, feeling a strange emotion well up inside his chest. He didn't know what to make of it and his hand fell back to his side. Fingers curled into a fist and the strongest urge to flee overtook him. He didn't know how to act around a blind person. Were there certain things he shouldn't say or do? Was he supposed to act a particular way?

They had a few blind students on campus where Ciel went to school and he always gave them a wide berth, steering clear and keeping his eyes away from them. Not that he had anything against someone who was blind, but it didn't stop Ciel from feeling awkward around them.

He looked up as footsteps sounded against the wood floor. Claude had a knowing look in his eye as he approached him and Ciel crossed his arms, suddenly feeling defensive.

"You didn't tell me Sebastian was blind."

Claude tugged his glasses off his face. "I didn't think it was my place to say," he said and brought them up to the light, inspecting the specks of dust on the lenses. "Is that going to be a problem?"

Ciel frowned. "I don't know," he said. "I, I don't know how to act around him. I mean, was he always like this or did it happen recently?"

"He was born blind," Claude said.

"That must be horrible," Ciel said and rubbed his arm awkwardly. "He must hate his life."

The statement made Claude laugh and shake his head. He didn't say anything though as he slipped his glasses back on and tilted his head back in the direction Sebastian had vanished. "To him, not being able to see is as natural to him as seeing is to us. It doesn't seem to bother him. Although I know there are times where he wonders what it's like to see things." Claude shifted his weight. "But I've never heard him curse his blindness. At least not aloud."

Ciel nodded slightly. "I suppose so."

Claude hummed and slipped his hands in his pockets. "Is this going to be a problem, Ciel?" he asked again. "You can still back out if you want. I'll just tell Sebastian that something came up and you had to leave."

"I didn't agree to stay with him to become his baby-sitter," Ciel stated, a little more harshly than he meant.

Claude shook his head. "He's been blind since birth, Ciel," he said. "He's learned how to take care of himself to the best of his abilities."

"What about cooking and cleaning?" Ciel asked. His mind still had trouble wrapping around the situation and he blamed it on the late hour added to his already long day.

"Remember the 'smoking hot maid' that Ron mentioned?" Claude asked, his lips pulling down in a slight frown at the description. Ciel nodded. "She lives with Sebastian and helps take care of the things he needs help with. And, it makes us all feel just a bit better to have someone living with Sebastian. Just in case," he finished in a lower tone.

Ciel's arm uncrossed and he let out a sigh. Further back in the apartment, a microwave beeped and Sebastian's voice floated down the short hallway. If Ciel had never found the walking stick, he would've had a hard time guessing that Sebastian couldn't see. Other than the few instances where Sebastian didn't quite look at him, nothing else gave him away.

Even the apartment looked familiar. Everything about it felt cozy and warm. Nothing stuck out and screamed that a blind person lived here. Ciel could hear Sebastian moving about and water running. Not at all what he first expected when he found out Sebastian was blind.