Claude honked the horn of his brand new Audi in rapid succession.

It was nearing early afternoon now and he sucked his teeth in annoyance as he glanced at the time once again.

Seventeen minutes. That's how long he had been waiting for Sebastian to exit his apartment and walk down to his car. He had been begged and promised all sorts of things that couldn't possibly be delivered to agree to carpool. And by carpooling he of course meant hitching a ride like a pestering flea.

The whole reason Claude had refused in the first place was because of this exact reason. Sebastian was late to everything, late for everything and late on everything. He had no concept of time and had remained the same for all seventeen years they had known each other.

Seventeen minutes... oh- now it was eighteen.

Claude grunted and adjusted in his seat. He would wait for another two minutes and then he was leaving. He had prepared for this, he had even told Sebastian the meeting was at noon when it was actually eleven thirty. Still he wanted to be on time or at least early himself and the studio they were to meet in was easily half an hour away. Not to mention the terrible Los Angeles traffic.

Two minutes went by quickly as Claude sat, periodically pressing down on the horn to let Sebastian know he was growing tired of waiting. He was busying himself by wondering what exactly had compelled him to believe that Sebastian could be on time for anything and how exactly he kept falling for the same lame tricks.

When three minutes had passed, Claude had decided to wait an extra minute out of the stupid belief that he was being kind and doing his friend a favor, he put his car in drive and pulled out of the parking space he was waiting in.

"Hey! Wait!" Claude scowled and looked in his rearview mirror. Sebastian was there, holding on to the back of his car as though he could stop it from moving with his hands. While Claude debated driving off anyways and wondering if he could manage to run over Sebastian's foot in the process, the man quickly ran to the side of the car and hopped in.

"You said you'd carpool with me!" Sebastian snapped, hastily buckling his seat belt as the taller man -by an inch!- immediately began driving again.

"And you said you weren't going to be late. I guess we're both liars."

"I'm not late, Claude!" Sebastian persisted as the car turned onto the street. "You're just early! You think I didn't know what time the actual meeting was?" Claude merely grunted in response. He couldn't really argue that after all, he was early.

"See? You can't even say anything." Sebastian rummaged around the car, looking in the door pocket and opening the glove compartment.

"Hey, do you have a lighter in here? Mine ran out of fluid." Claude frowned.

"You're not smoking in my brand new car, you idiot." Sebastian slumped in his seat.

"Aww, c'mon Claude. Can't I just open the window?"

"No." Claude snapped. Sebastian groaned. He really needed a smoke this morning. And by the looks of the traffic in front of them he likely wouldn't have time when they got there. He sighed, reclining in his seat.

They sat in comfortable silence for awhile, bothered by nothing but the muted sounds of the traffic around them. The two had were close friends although you would sooner think them enemies. Claude had a demeanor that made it seem as though he hated everyone and Sebastian took far too much pleasure in making those around him uncomfortable. Claude wasn't one for compliments so he treated those he approved of with careful indifference while he was blunt and direct with those he disliked. Sebastian was fond of Claude in that regard. He wasn't nosy, wasn't loud, and if he didn't like something you did he wouldn't judge you for it but he would certainly let you know.

And as far as what kept Claude coming back to Sebastian and believing his idiotic lies time after time… he really couldn't say. They had gravitated towards one another and it didn't need any deeper explanation than that.

"How's the misses doing?" Sebastian asked after a while. Claude adjusted and let out a small sigh.

"We're not married yet."

"Alright then how's the fiancée? You do realize you're going to have to start calling her your wife soon?" Sebastian teased, chuckling. Not many things made Claude as uncomfortable as talking about his love life, something Sebastian had managed to learn after a few years.

"Yes, I realize that and I will when the time comes." Claude gently pressed his foot on the brake as the light ahead of them changed from yellow to red. They weren't yet at the freeway where the majority of traffic would be waiting for them.

He glanced over to Sebastian as he spoke.

"Hannah is fine. She's got the new job at the business center as the receptionist. She likes it well enough, but I think she's just happy she can funnel a bit more funds into the wedding." Sebastian snickered internally. Claude always spoke about their wedding as if it were something that didn't involve him. He had a good laugh to himself after he had accepted Claude's bumbling request of him to be the best man.

"And how does that make Claude feel?" Sebastian asked, turning to Claude with the concerned face and voice of a well paid therapist.

"Shut up, Sebastian."Claude sighed, pressing down on the gas as the light had turned now from red to green. Sebastian acquiesced, snickering out loud and focusing his attention on the passing scenery.

After a few moments they had entered the freeway. Unsurprisingly met with a backup of traffic after what looked like a bad accident. Typical of Californian highways.

"So, what do you think Vincent's got in store for us?" Sebastian asked after a long stretch of silence. Claude hated driving with any type of music, finding it distracting and headache inducing so Sebastian was forced to fill the silence with his voice.

"Well, there must be some reason he's grouping the four of us together. We haven't worked with Alois and Ciel in a long while." Sebastian made a noise in the back of his throat. That wasn't the response he was fishing for.

"I mean with all the secrecy. If this special guest he's calling in is such a renowned model we probably know him."

"He didn't say it was a he." Claude corrected.

Sebastian frowned.

"But it has to be doesn't it? Vincent is working with both Angelina and Nina and neither of them specialize in women's fashion." Sebastian took a moment to make a joke. "If their wardrobe is anything to go by. Angelina literally wears nothing but red and Nina dresses like she was born in the 19th century."

Claude let out a snort at that. "I suppose. Vincent is the type to get a thrill out of a good surprise so there's really no telling."

Sebastian considered this.

"Ah, that's true. Remember what he did for Diedrich's birthday?"

"How could I even begin to forget?" Claude said, chuckling under his breath.

"The poor guy. How do you get a stripper pole installed in your own house without knowing about it?"

"He's too busy yelling at Vincent to notice much of anything else." Claude quipped.

They had gotten past the accident now and the cars were thinning out allowing them to drive at a regular pace once again.

"True. You can't blame Vincent for trying to set him up with a girl who knows what she's doing. Don't really see what the point in inviting all of us was, though." Sebastian turned his head back to Claude at the exact time Claude had glanced at him, a strange look on his face.

"What?" Sebastian asked, puzzled.

"Diedrich is gay, Sebastian."

"What? Really?" Sebastian's eyes had widened to saucers and he was genuinely surprised.

"You really don't notice anything if it doesn't concern you sometimes." Claude sighed.

"What? What is that supposed to mean? How did you know?"

"The whole birthday thing was a prank. That's why we were invited. Vincent knows Diedrich has feelings for him so he was joking. But Diedrich took it as an outright rejection and that's why we were all kicked out. It seems that they've made up now, though." Sebastian was completely shocked. How had he not known about that, he wondered, when Claude was talking about it like it was common knowledge.

"Diedrich is gay?" He wondered aloud. Claude glanced at his friend with a tired look and sighed in annoyance.

"Please don't tell me that's the only part you heard." Sebastian didn't answer, trying to recall in his mind anything that seemed off or peculiar about Vincent's assistant.

"This is why I don't bother telling you things." Claude sighed, refocusing his attention on the highway in front of him.

...

The two arrived at the studio with less than seconds to spare. Sebastian definitely would not have time to smoke a cigarette. Claude pulled swiftly into an open parking space and was out of the car before it completely pulled to a stop. He absolutely hated being late.

Sebastian got out of the car slowly, his legs feeling cramped from being in the car for so long.

"The studio" was actually just the headquarters of the Funtom Modelling agency. The agency was owned by Vincent Phantomhive himself who conducted his business peculiarly. He contracted several models, maintaining about ten at all times, and worked exclusively with designers- not companies. The models contracted under the Funtom name were hand picked by the designers to model and advertise their products. Vincent put together runway shows and publicity events to get the product circulating and hopefully a company specializing in creating said product would make an offer. The details were a bit beyond Sebastian's level of comprehension but he could at least understand that much.

Being that Funtom's main designers were both women who preferred to create men's products and fashions the majority of the models were therefore male. Claude and Sebastian had both been acquaintances with Vincent when he decided to venture into modelling and began his own unique company and were looking for well paying jobs. Vincent had offered them their own choice for the length of their contract and had promised that if the product was successful they would be handsomely rewarded for their efforts. Diedrich, who was also dragged into the business, had skill with a camera and had called the both of them naturals who easily took to the pace and skill required of a photoshoot and the first product they had advertised, a small line of men's suits, had gone much better than anticipated. It wasn't easy money and they often had to pull many long hours during the high points of a project but when not working on a project they had no obligations to work, as there really wasn't any work to be had. Claude picked up odd modelling jobs here and there, mainly projects that specifically needed his refined and regal stature and managed to do well for himself. Sebastian on the other hand, realized very early into his modelling career that he had a special talent for underwear modelling. He stayed busy, racking up quite the impressive portfolio, and could hardly keep up with the number of offers coming in for him to join their modelling company.

Sebastian jogged a bit to catch up to the fast moving Claude and just barely managed to get into the studio before the door slammed in his face. He followed Claude down a hallway that lead to Vincent's office, where the majority of the product introductions were held. Vincent would introduce the project, the designer, reiterate who was working on the project, and show a few pieces of the project to give an idea of what it was, then let everyone know the upcoming dates so schedules could be adjusted.

Claude knocked on the door, it wasn't usually locked but Claude just had a thing for formalities.

A few seconds went by and suddenly the door was opened and a blonde nearly flew out, latching on to Claude.

"Oh, Claude isn't it great that we get to work together again?! It's been such a long time! You've been avoiding me, you asshole- I can tell!" Claude frowned and adjusted his glasses, the blonde had nearly knocked him over with the sheer force he had been hit with.

"Alois. Please get off of me." Claude's tone had changed now, he held nothing but distaste for the blonde and it was obvious to anyone that observed Claude's face when the blonde was in the room.

The blonde obliged, having annoyed Claude enough to know when he was close to becoming actually angry. Alois looked over to where Sebastian stood, an amused smirk on his face.

"Oh. You're here too, Sebastian."

Alois Trancy was a boy on the shorter side, having icy blue eyes and a superb talent for modelling. Unfortunately, his personality was awful. His first priority in life was seducing anything with legs and a decent face. And he refused to give up if someone was being stubborn. As he honestly believed Claude to be. He had openly hit on Claude multiple times and was clearly rejected each time, after news of his engagement the blonde had slacked off in his pursuit slightly but was still just as sincere in his advances. He had no shame whatsoever, and had hit on almost everyone at the studio. With the exception of Sebastian, of whom he seemed to hold intense indifference toward. Sebastian didn't really care nor was he offended, Alois Trancy was insufferable and he was glad he didn't have to deal with any of it.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment of the blonde and stepped around him to enter the room. Alois would likely talk Claude's ear off until Vincent was ready to present the project and he had no desire to listen to blonde's ramblings.

His eyes surveyed the room for any surprising faces but was disappointed to only see a few familiar faces.

Vincent was leaning over a computer with Nina and Angelina hovering around him, looking to be engaged in a heated discussion with Nina and Angelina commenting every now and then. Vincent's son Ciel was sat on the plush loveseat off to the side of the room with his perky and overbearing girlfriend, Elizabeth. Who just so happened to be one of the two female models employed at Funtom. The other was a young girl around the same age who went by Freckles although everyone called her doll after they saw how much a little makeup changed her tomboyish appearance. Also in the room was Diedrich, who was bent over an open manilla folder with a spread of photos in front of him. Sebastian paused and observed him for a moment. What about him was gay? He was an affluent man, who seemed to work hard for everything he had despite being raised with money just like Vincent. He had a bad temper especially when conversing with Vincent and in general seemed like a very prudent, strict man. So, what on earth was it that made him look at Vincent in that way? Truth be told, both Vincent and Diedrich were very good looking men, handsome enough to be models themselves although Vincent lacked the height. Even still Sebastian couldn't even begin to look at either of them romantically, just the thought of seeing either of them naked sent an unpleasant chill down his spine. He shook the feeling off and walked to where Ciel was sitting.

"Afternoon." Sebastian greeted as he stood in front of the couple. They looked up at him, Elizabeth with a wide smile on her face and a healthy blush across her cheeks and Ciel looked surprised.

"Hi, Sebastian!" Elizabeth chirped and Sebastian sent a small smile her way.

"I'm surprised you're only," Ciel took a moment to look at his watch. "7 minutes late." Sebastian smirked.

Ciel was an interesting kid. He had just graduated from high school and had been pulled into modelling at the request of his father and his girlfriend. He wasn't bad at it but it was obvious he wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about it as others around him. Sebastian had been partnered with him once before, as had Claude, and had gotten the opportunity to get the know him better. He had a rather stoic personality and a morbid sense of humor but Sebastian could appreciate both and they often had long talks about how idiotic the people around them were.

"Well if Claude hadn't been rushing me I could have been fashionably late by thirty minutes." Sebastian responded. Ciel scoffed in disbelief.

"You mean you actually convinced him to drive you here?"

"He couldn't resist my amazing persuasion skills." Sebastian bantered, a mischievous glint in his eye. Ciel looked revolted.

"Claude's an idiot. Don't ever ask me to drive you anywhere."

"Ciel, that's mean!" Elizabeth gasped, smacking his shoulder. Ciel discreetly rolled his eyes towards Sebastian.

"You wouldn't offer to drive him anywhere either. He's late to everything." Elizabeth pouted.

"I was talking about what you said about Claude! They're good friends, of course Claude would be nice and pick him up knowing that he's late to everything!" Ciel grimaced.

"Doesn't make him any less of an idiot." He grumbled. Elizabeth frowned, becoming upset.

"So if I was always running late to everything you wouldn't pick me up?" She challenged.

Sebastian, who had been observing their exchange, raised his eyebrows. He realized that Ciel had just dug his own grave and ignored the younger boy's pleading look as he swiftly exited the conversation. He ventured over to where Vincent was, in case he hadn't noticed Sebastian's arrival.

"So, where's this mysterious model at, Vincent?" He asked as he approached the desk. Vincent looked up from the computer and grinned at Sebastian.

"Ah, Sebastian. I wasn't expecting you for at least another twenty minutes."

"Yeah, well, Claude was rushing me." Vincent laughed out loud, familiar with the antics of the two.

"I see, I see. Anyways he'll be arriving later on after I've presented the project most likely."

"So it is a he!" Sebastian cried, ecstatic that his guess had been correct. Vincent raised an eyebrow and humored him.

"What made you think it was? I'm sure I didn't specify gender until just now." Sebastian gestured to the two women behind him, silently watching their exchange.

"How could it not be a he if the two of them are working on a project? Not to mention girls usually aren't in group projects."

"Well if it were up to me," Nina interjected, fierce as usual. "Then he wouldn't be involved in this project at all." She looked disapprovingly at Sebastian.

"And neither would you nor Claude. You don't fit the look I'm trying to achieve." Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you're a pedofile. I get it. You're not interested in men." Nina's face burned bright red with anger and made a move as if she was going to slap Sebastian across the face but Vincent had stood up suddenly and gotten hold of her wrist.

"Sebastian, behave yourself please." He said, giving him a warning look. Nina huffed and took a step backwards, settling for glaring harshly.

"In any event, I completely disagree." Angelina spoke up.

How the two women ever managed to work together on anything surprised Sebastian. Nin Hopkins was a designer and spent many hours of her day drawing men's fashion. Well, boy's fashion. Angelina Dalles was Vincent's sister in law and an excellent seamstress with a very steady hand. She reviewed a designer's sketches, made changes, and put together a finished product. Whenever the two worked together were when group projects were necessary. The two couldn't come to an agreement on whether the clothes should be made for young men or older taller men so Vincent, the mediator in those situations, picked models that would represent both ideas.

"I think he, not you Sebastian, shows the versatility of the clothing the best. He's quite a beautiful man so it would show not only that the clothes can look good on any age group but also that it does not require masculinity." Sebastian frowned, so the he they were talking about wasn't very young? And…

"What do you mean beautiful?" Sebastian asked, completely perplexed. Men were not called beautiful. They were called handsome, hot, sexy, and in the worst case cute. But never beautiful. Angelina smiled slightly, looking as though she was holding back a laugh and her cheeks warmed slightly.

"You'll see when he gets here. There's really no other word to describe him." Sebastian looked over to Vincent who was nodding his head in agreement.

"Even I can say the same. But that's enough for now, I think we ought to get into the presentation." He stood up and pressed something on his computer so that the screen would come out of his projector.

"Alright everyone, let's get started." He announced. Sebastian turned and located Claude, who had managed to escape from Alois.

"So it was a he." He informed, standing next to the taller man.

"Oh? Did Vincent tell you who it was?" Sebastian shook his head.

"No. But they gave me a vague description. A weird description. So I still have no idea what to expect." Claude hummed in thought.

"Well, I guess we'll see soon. I'm just hoping he's easier to work with then some of the other people in our group." Their attention turned back to Vincent as he began speaking again.

"Afternoon, everyone." He greeted, answered back with similar greetings.

"As you well know, the four of you will be participating in a group project designed by Nina and Angelina. The product will be winter clothing for the quickly approaching winter season. Of course, we're a bit behind on that bandwagon seeing as we're already into November but nonetheless we're expecting the product to do well and be as marketable as possible. The four of you were handpicked because we feel that you will deliver exactly what needs to be given for the clothing line- a mixture of male body types, sizes and styles that will show the versatility of the clothing." Vincent caught Sebastian's eye as he paused for effect and looked around the room.

"And, of course, we believe the special guest we've called in for the season will tie all of the different styles together and create the perfect vision of versatility for the line. I don't usually call in models that aren't contracted to us but he was willing and I believe there's no one that suits this quintet any better. Now," the screen behind him began to flip through images of the clothing and certain dates flashed on the screen. "The project will begin in a few weeks time, the first week of December and will stretch until early to mid March. Once again, we are a bit behind schedule so the scheduling may be a bit more demanding. But, with any luck we'll be launching a full line around this time next year. Every one of you has worked on a project before, so you all are aware of how we do things. The first few weeks will be fittings and singular shots, working our way up to group shots and fashion shows. At the height of the project we'll be doing several publicity events which may include interviews, magazine shoots, and whatever else may come up as an opportunity. Diedrich has been so kind as to take the time to print each of you an individual schedule so please see him for yours before you leave this afternoon and don't hesitate to tell me if there's a conflict in schedule with a prior engagement you have. I do realize that some of you carry several different modelling projects at a-" He was interrupted by a firm and steady knock at the door. Everyone's attention turned towards it in curiosity.

"-time. And that must be him." Vincent announced hurrying over to the door before anyone else could open it. Sebastian and Claude, standing closest to the door heard a snippet of conversation and a jovial laugh as Vincent opened and shut the door behind him. The room was silent as everyone waited for the new model to be introduced. Nina was completely uninterested and was clicking around on Vincent's computer, but even Diedrich had stopped what he was doing and turned his attention to the door.

A few moments went by but suddenly the door was opened again and Vincent came walking in with the new model in tow.

Long, silky strands of silver hair stretched from his head down to his upper thigh. It was intricately braided on one side of his head, silver plaits falling majestically underneath the intricate updo. Skin white and creamy like porcelain, without a single blemish. He was dressed smartly, wearing a black deeply cut v-neck sweater with a bone white button up underneath and slate colored pants.

As they passed, Sebastian could only see the man's silky bangs that covered the majority of his face. A shocked silence had stolen everyone's breath and they continued to hold it as the two walked back over to Vincent's desk. The man introduced himself quietly to Angelina who was blushing like a madwoman and Nina whose face was kept passive though it was obvious that even she was impressed. When he turned around to face everyone, arm slung around Vincent's shoulders and hair snaking down the shorter man's body, Sebastian could understand the reaction.

The man scanned the room quickly, familiarizing himself with the faces of the people he'd be working with for the next four months. Sebastian could see all of his face now, and his lungs seemed to lodge themselves painfully in his throat. The man had green eyes like glowing emeralds infused with gold and his gaze seemed to pierce through your eyes and straight into your mind, making you want to instinctively look away from the intensity seeded there. He was smirking distinctly, though it seemed less of a conscious effort and more so the expression his face naturally made.

Vincent, seemingly happy that his surprise had stunned everyone into silence, spoke up with a wide smile.

"Everyone, this is Adrian Crevan. He's an English model from London, England and an old friend of mine." People had begun muttering now, slowly falling out of their initial shock.

"Nice to meet you all, hee hee." The man, Adrian, greeted with a heavy English accent and mischievous giggle. He made eye contact with Sebastian once again, who could not turn his eyes from the incredibly interesting person in front of him. He understood now, what Angelina meant by saying beautiful was the only word that described him.

The green eyed man held eye contact for a moment, his lips lifting up in an amused smirk, before his gaze settled back on Vincent who had begun to speak once again.

Hi! Thank you for reading this first chapter. This story was originally supposed to be somewhat of a crack fic but as you can see it didn't end up being that. Obviously this story is yaoi malexmale and will have some content in that regard- don't like, why read? I hope you enjoyed! If you did please let me know it would mean the world to me I've been pouring my blood, sweat, and tears into this story almost everyday for the past month so I hope it shows. I have a lot planned for this story. It'll be around 10 chapters with probably sporadic updates although it will 100% be completed. Special shoutout to Sarah over in Disqus who somehow put this story idea in my head and made it consume my entire life. I'm an avid reader of the Kuroshitsuji manga so if you happen to see Kuria in the comments that's me! See you guys next time :)