[closed]

[somakemelaugh]

who: Ciel Phantomhive, Undertaker, Vincent Phantomhive, Beverly Crusher
what: Birthday doings! Also scar removal!
when: Dec 14 and 15
where: The Phantomhive household and the hospital
warnings: Cute. SO much cute.


They'd said little about it to each other, but it was harder and harder to avoid the elephant in the room as the days passed, bringing them nearer to this morning. Easily one of the worst days of their year and their best all at once, with so much joy and so much tragedy mixed all into twenty-four long-short hours.

Undertaker woke easily, curled on his side as per usual with one arm draped over the warm lump of blankets in front of him. It took a few moments for him to come around completely and he did so in stillness until the sleep cleared and he remembered. He smiled, the expression on him automatic now, and gave the lump a squeeze, but said nothing in case Ciel was awake and hiding, or perhaps still asleep. Neither would surprise him, not today.

He waited for just a moment before silently and carefully slipping from the covers and into the next room. There were things he meant to do today, starting with a greeting to Albert as he turned on the oven to warm and set the kettle to boil water for tea. He left his hair in its braid to keep out of his way as he set about gathering ingredients from cabinets and the fridge here and there and tied an apron about his waist where the mourning chain normally hung, humming pleasantly as he did. Even if terrible memories haunted this day for them, he intended not to let it bring the mood down.

Comments

[somakemelaugh]

Why he'd kept that information from the Earl, he couldn't say. It was nothing that he had thought to offer up before, to be sure, but neither had he been asked for it. Few cared enough to even know his name, let alone something as personal as a birth date.

He swirled his tea, then took another sip and held the cup between his hands. "Alive enough, as always. I'm not too far from what I was before I died, but we'll skip those unpleasantries for now." He giggled. "You never asked."

[sweetlies]

Oh, right. He'd had tea steeping, hadn't he? The sight of Undertaker's cup reminded him and he reached to pull his close again to finish fixing it. It gave him a chance to think while he did. And it occurred to him just how focused he had been on himself and his goals over the past few years. To the point that he hadn't noted or cared much for knowing anything about his contacts but for how to reach them or where to find them.

Ciel stared into to cup for a moment after then back at Undertaker. He didn't want the unpleasant details. Not just yet, anyway. Maybe someday, and not on his birthday. Or anyone elses.

"Sorry, I suppose I never thought about it." He would have before the attack, he'd been much kinder then. "I know now, at least. I promise, I won't let father cook that day, or you may find yourself in the hands of some other mortician."

[somakemelaugh]

The cup was set back on the table while fingers curled around it, leeching on the warmth to be found there though the oven did nicely to warm the kitchen around them. His in his little apartment above the funeral parlor did the same thing on cold winter nights, and he found himself more often than not in bitter nights when the wind seemed to blow right through the stone keeping the fire under the iron bars lit well until the morning hours.

It certainly wasn't missed.

His grin spread all the more at Ciel's apology. "Why would you? It was something you did. Nobles don't ask for opinions, they simply do." Not that it was his favorite part of society in their time, but it was something he'd found himself terribly amused with over the years, watching the tug and pull the upper caste had over the lower. "I never served as you know me under the delusion that I could sway your opinions one way or another, not on many things, and I haven't been wrong. At least you don't disappoint."

He took another sip of warm tea. "But we won't let your father cook then. I hadn't thought to treat it any differently than I do any other day in any case."

[sweetlies]

He couldn't imagine it was missed. Ciel had never lived like that before, the closest he had come was the cage the cult kept the children in but that had only been a month. One hellish month. Undertaker had lived there for as long as Ciel could remember.

"I should have cared though. Even if you didn't live on the estate. It's a lords duty to look after and care for the people." It applied to their domain, certainly, but as a small child, he'd thought it should apply to everyone. It was why he kept up more philanthropic efforts than he could remember his father doing.

Even if Undertaker hadn't been able to sway his opinions, he'd still looked out for Vincent's remaining son, so caught in a demons claws. What was it Blavat had called him? A collapsar? It seemed almost fitting now, though it had filled him with panic at the time. What would he say of Undertaker?

He could relate to Undertaker though, on how he spent his birthday. It brought a small smile to Ciel's lips and he shook his head.

"That's usually what I did. Treat it like any other day. Hard to do here."

[somakemelaugh]

That? Now that managed to get a laugh from him, short lived though it was. He switched the cup to one hand while he tilted a cheek in against his palm. He really wasn't like his ancestors, this child.

Now no longer a child. He still had to keep reminding himself of that, even after four long years having known the boy portraying himself as a man in the world. Didn't help that Ciel still looked quite young for his years. "Ah, but I'm not your responsibility. All that time, I've been an accessory beyond your estate. You wouldn't have changed it if you'd known me better."

Did it bother him? Not in particular. On the contrary, he liked the distance. It allowed him more than a little freedom and relief from prying eyes. Or at least it had back home. But that was not here or there. "We still will, if you wish. All I insist is that I be allowed to make a cake." One long nail scratched at his chin. "Be allowed to finish it, rather. I've already started, but the oven is yours once I'm done, should you need it."

[sweetlies]

The laugh was unexpected, it made him give another little huff but it was short lived. He had a hard time being upset with the man anymore, at least for any extended period. Undertaker had done so much for him and gone out of his way to look after him, after all.

"No, but I still should have cared." If he'd been thinking of anything beyond his revenge, he knew he would have. Undertaker had been a friend of his family, closer than they'd known, he should have cared. He really should have, especially after he had returned.

The cake wouldn't be refused. Ciel still had his sweet tooth and Undertaker had gone through the trouble of making it.

"I'm so used to ignoring it, I really don't know what else we could do. Not anything different from what we usually do." And a pause. "I just don't want to go out and about."

[somakemelaugh]

He shook his head and took a sip from his tea and set the cup down again, turned the handle outward. "You wouldn't have. Don't let it ruin your day though, milord." To punctuate that, he leaned closer and pointed over Ciel's shoulder. "Do you really want me to bring Albert into this to back me up?"

It was a threat a tease to get the boy smiling again, but he'd make very good on it if he had to. He would! "We don't have to go anywhere you don't want us to, but it is your day. Until you start fussing about things you can do nothing about and I bring a Halloween prop into it."

[sweetlies]

That teasing threat worked, Ciel did crack a smile. He still felt a little guilty about not caring more before but he could at least make up for it now.

"You and Albert are always disagreeing. He might side with me just to spite you." He'd let Undertaker win this one for now though, funny as bringing Albert into it might be, he didn't want to spend his birthday arguing over something small. Even if he hadn't been keen on celebrating at the start.

"We could watch a few movies together, that would be nice."

[somakemelaugh]

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug, watching that quirk of those lips with a giggle. Success felt good. "I won't say he's always the instigator, but in this case I think I might agree with you. He does enjoy a good argument."

He reached for a small jar on the table and opened it, then picked out a cube of sugar with his nails and set it on his tongue. "Movies sound wonderful. What does milord have in mind for his viewing pleasure on this day?"

[sweetlies]

Really, he was kind of glad to hear the agreement, and it felt nice to smile and enjoy part of his birthday for once. He had to wonder what his birthday might have been like the past few years if Undertaker had shown up.

"Something funny? I like some of the comedies we've collected. And it feels like a good day for a few laughs." He was sure Undertaker wouldn't object too much to his choice.

[somakemelaugh]

That got his grin going. He looked back at the boy, still working over the sugar cube in his mouth. "I like where your mind's at. We can oblige, I guarantee." And he would. Who better to go to for humor than a grim reaper like himself, even if it was odd humor?

"We'll do as you like though. Your day and all. Let it be at your leisure." He swallowed the sugar and sat back in his chair, humming.

[sweetlies]

He knew Undertaker wouldn't object to his choice, and it makes him smile a little more warmly. And he definitely agreed about who best to go to for humor, Undertaker valued it enough in England.

"You won't mind spending the day watching movies with me?" He didn't want to bore Undertaker, not that he was terribly worried for that, or disrupt any plans he had.

[somakemelaugh]

There was an easy enough question. He turned his head to look over at the boy, leaning into the back of his chair. "Not at all. Why should I? I've enjoyed it well enough in the past." They might have been trying to bore each other to sleep by then, but he wouldn't mind it even still.

[sweetlies]

There was a little shrug. Honestly, he still sometimes expected the man the get bored of being around him, though he should know better after all this time.

"We do it a lot. I don't want to bore you, even more my birthday." Oh, that was absolutely something they both tried. With all the memories and experiences between them, they sometimes needed the help falling asleep, he was sure.