Usually, the view from window was one of heavy clouds and rain. The city below was full of open umbrellas and fools running out of the cool showers as though they would drown. Today sunlight streamed into the small, grimy room. Ciel preferred the gloom. It did not bring false brightness to a dark place and illuminate the dirt that seemed to find its way into every corner. He wondered how the place had not been shut down yet, but then that was how the system worked. Best to turn your other cheek to a place like this than have to take responsibility for its residents when it was shut down.

The doorknob being turned drew his eye from the window. He stood up from where he had been curled in the window, as it was never wise to be in a vulnerable position when someone enters the room. He straightened his back as the facility's nurse appeared in the doorway.

"Ciel, someone wants to meet you." Her face was heavily lined but her brown eyes were kind.

His stomach knotted. He hated those words. It wasn't often that someone took an interest in a thirteen year-old but when they did, he had to work that much harder to keep them from wanting to take him home. He had five years left and each year there were less people who wanted him. Once he was eighteen, he was free. He just had to fend off the bleeding hearts who wanted to adopt the poor, half blind orphan boy. Their pity made him sick.

He followed the nurse down the creaking wooden stairs, and she gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze as they parted ways at the man office. In front of the door was the man in charge of adoptions, Mr. Spears. He was always eager to farm Ciel out to some lonely family if for no other reason than to get the young teen out of his hair. Ciel had made quite a name for himself at the orphanage as being solitary, cold, and dangerous. No one touched him, hardly anyone talked to him.

"These are nice people, you shouldn't be so hasty to run them off," Mr. Spears said, opening the door.

Ciel smirked and walked past them into the room. He had to admit, the man and woman on the couch were beautiful. The woman had cerulean eyes not unlike his remaining one, and the man was as sleek and dark as a raven. Mr. Spears introduced them and Ciel discovered their names were Vincent and Rachel. The woman had the same doe-eyed, glowing look of admiration all the other would-be mothers did who met him, but the man measured him with an expression that was hard to read.

"Hello, Ciel," Vincent said, and his calculating stare melted into a warm smile.

That smile called forth a strange feeling, one Ciel had never experienced. The woman was still smiling widely and for a moment Ciel forgot what he was going to say. It was something callous and rude but the words died on his lips. He was pinned down by Vincent's dark eyes, and the knot in his stomach had unwound into something much more disconcerting, a sort of fluttering.

He readied his most scathing greeting, but all that came out was, "Hello."

Mr. Spears, still lingering by the door (as it never took long for him to have to hold it open for the people Ciel scared away), arched an eyebrow in surprise. Everyone was even more surprised, though, when tears welled in Rachel's eyes and she said, "He's perfect."

)))(((

The next few days were surreal. Ciel felt as though he was waking from a dream when he finished packing his few belongings. He really had agreed to this. The couple had asked if he wanted to come live with him, and some small child deep inside him had risen up and said yes. He stared into the cracked mirror on the wall. His eyepatch had been fraying around the edges for years, and his dull slate hair lay unkempt around his face. He fingered the studs in his ears that he had pierced with a stolen needle from the infirmary. Rachel and Vincent were a well dressed, refined couple, what on Earth did they want with him? He would suspect trafficking but Mr. Spears dug into the deepest corners of his applicants lives and if he'd had the slightest suspicion about them, Ciel never would have been called to his office. Mr. Spears didn't seem to care about the orphans but he was dedicated to his work nonetheless.

A few people watched Ciel walk down the hall with Mr. Spears with unmasked surprise. An equally aloof boy named Snake was whispering to an older redhead with purple eyes and a full busted woman who had been there as long as Ciel could remember. He thought her name was Mally, but he had never been bothered to find out. Making friends in a place like this was poor judgment. Relief, confusion, and envy were among the emotions he observed from the people watching him go.

He was suffocated by Vincent and Rachel's excitement as they left the orphanage. Ciel looked back and saw Mr. Spears at the bottom of the stairs with the closest thing to a smile he thought the stoic man could manage. He looked up to the window he had spent many years in, watching the city and its people. He'd had every intention of going out into that city and making his own way when he turned eighteen.

Rachel was rambling about how much he was going to love his new home but he was focused on keeping his breathing even. His plans had changed drastically in a short amount of time and he was working to stifle his anxiety. Vincent said something about Funtom toys but Ciel had grown up without toys, he didn't care much for expensive ones. The children had to share the toys at the orphanage and Ciel did care for tedious practices such as sharing.

His eye was fixed outside the carriage. The scenery had been changing for quite some time, and he was snapped from his reverie when his view began to change to one of a sprawling estate. His eye widened as the horses galloped down the long drive. He had thought the carriage elaborate, but never had he entertained such a vast manor. He knew Mr. Spears had mentioned his new parents' full names at some point but he hadn't been paying attention.

The carriage came to a stop and the door opened. A white gloved hand helped Vincent and Rachel out, and its owner came into view. Ciel stared out of the carriage at a tall, immaculately dressed man with startling dark red eyes. He looked at the gloved hand for a long while before he realized it was meant for him.

"I'm fine, thank you," he muttered, and stepped out unaided.

The man bowed. "Welcome to the Phantomhive manor, my young lord. I hope the preparations I have made for you are satisfactory. The lord and lady have been most excited for your arrival."

He stood back up and Ciel discovered just how tall he was. Then it dawned on him. Phantomhive. He had been adopted...by the Phantomhives. They owned the most successful toy manufacturer in Europe. He collected himself and followed Vincent, Rachel, and their butler inside. He did not want to seem awestruck and fought to hide his amazement at the size of the manor. He knew estates of this caliber existed, of course, he was as well read as the orphanage's small library would allow, but it was quite a shock to know this was where he would be calling home.

"Do you like it, Ciel?" Rachel asked, a nervous smile on her face.

"It's extraordinary."

She clapped her hands together happily, and Vincent said, "The rest of the servants are tending to their duties right now, but let me introduce you to our butler, Sebastian."

"Ciel," he introduced himself.

The black haired butler knelt, and took Ciel's hand. Ciel started and made to pull it away but he was locked down by Sebastian's eyes on his. Sebastian held his gaze as he kissed his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, young master. I look forward to being in your service."

A flush had crept up Ciel's neck to his face. He stammered a response and jerked his hand back. There had been a strange tugging just behind his navel at the touch of Sebastian's lips to his skin, discomfort at being touched, he assumed. He made haste to follow his new parents upstairs to see his bedroom. Though the butler had been nothing but courteous, he was eager to escape that crimson stare.

He supposed he had to get used to it. Sebastian was the family butler, and Ciel was a Phantomhive now.