Unrequited Love(Beast&Joker)

Wrote this for a friend and decided to post it. Beast and Joker pairing from the Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) Circus Arc in manga volumes 6-8, I believe. A one-shot told in Beast's POV from her time on the streets to her death at the Phantomhive manor.

Disclaimer: Yana Toboso is the rightful owner of these characters and this series. No copyright infringement intended.

Enjoy!

Unrequited Love 

The past was a foggy unwanted memory that slowly faded into black.

I could not remember my family. I did not know whether my parents simply couldn't afford to raise a daughter who lacked a limb or if they never wanted such a deformed child to begin with. I could not remember if I had siblings or cousins. I could not remember my earliest childhood. The farthest I could recall were fuzzy memories of sleeping in the cobblestone alleyways and snatching stale bread or stealing a piece of sausage.

My life had remained that way well into my teenage years. I would sleep where I could and drink and eat what I could find or manage to steal. Getting around tended to be difficult without my left leg, so my stomach did not get food as much as other grimy street rats.  

I was always alone and always ignored. It was just how life was. Until I stumbled upon a boy who did not have his right leg, just as I lacked my left.  

He had a mop of black hair that was fading into blonde and the loneliest brown eyes. My heart sympathized with him. Both of us having to live with an impairment that affected something as simple as walking. We stuck together for a while. Time was never marked; it could have been months or years. The essence of time held little meaning when every day was a struggle to survive.  

Eventually, the pair of us met a group of people in the gutters. They each had something odd about themselves. Two of them, a boy and a girl, their bodies were stuck in their earlier teen years, never aging. One man was abnormally tall with broad shoulders and an intimidating air. There was also a small girl who had a gruesome patch of deformed skin where her left eye used to be. I discovered that the ugly burned scar was a result of her parents' abuse.  

The last member of this odd group was a young man, who I guessed to be around my age. He was born without a right arm, just like my dark-haired companion and myself. He had bright shaggy orange hair that was vibrant even if it was covered in dirt and grease. His violet eyes held a life that I had never seen in any of the people on the streets before. He had a strong will to live and to help others live.  

More unmarked time passed and our little group struggled greatly for shelter, drink or food. Most nights, we found ourselves laid out along the cold stone wall of a building, curled up with each other under a worn sheet to stay out of the common rain. Nobles and shop owners passed by us on a daily basis, hurrying by without a glance. We were shadows, slowly dying while the rest of the population went about their daily tasks.  

Years could have passed without our knowledge until one wet, chilly day, an aristocrat stopped in front of us with an umbrella. He was an older man and had a gentle smile. The moment he held out his hand, I knew a better life was finally within my reach.  

We were welcomed into the house of Baron Kelvin and never returned to the streets. Our stomachs were filled and our sleep was warm and comfortable. Life was now more carefree and I found myself slowly opening up to the other people the Baron had taken in.  

We still lived with our disabilities but we were happier. I started to enjoy the outdoors more, even though I still couldn't walk around very well.