- THE REMAINS OF SUMMER -

By : CherryFlavouredPoison

Fandom : Kuroshitsuji

Parings : SebaCiel, RonLizzie somewhere in the background

Rating : K+/ T

Genre : Friendship/ Splash of Romance/ Bit of Drama

Narration : Ciel's Point of View

DISCLAIMER : Sadly, I do not own Kuroshitsuji. Yana Toboso does.

Other Warnings : OOCness, mentions of religion, some light swearing, shonen-ai fluff

Beta: CutieGreenToonLink dA

A/N - Hello, readers! I'm sorry for the long break! I was trying to save all good ideas for this fic, which is actually a contest entry on DeviantArt. I could have written this earlier, but due to the end of the school year, I had a lot of exams and not much time. But I managed to find some of it, as you see, and this is how this fiction was born! I hope you like it!

"A party?"

"Yes! Well, you see, my boyfriend Ron is turning nineteen this Friday, and to celebrate, he's hosting a party on Saturday. He asked me to invite as many people as possible, and naturally, I immediately thought of you! How could I not, after all? So, what is your answer?"

All of this was thrown out of Lizzie's mouth at incredible speed, so it took me a while to register what she was saying.

"Excuse me?" I asked. "Could you repeat that again, please? And... a little slower?"

"Geez, Ciel!" she breathed out heavily through her nose. "Why does it take you so long to take things in?"

Elizabeth Midford, nicknamed Lizzie, is my cousin, younger by one year. I always considered her as an immature, snot-nosed brat, but when she turned seventeen this year, she shocked me with a complete metamorphosis of her character. She became, dare I say, so... powerful. She even managed to find herself a boyfriend while I was still 'forever alone.'

"Just a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer will do. Are you or are you not coming to the party this Saturday?" She asked sternly.

"Uh..." she always managed to leave me speechless. "Okay, I guess I'm free this weekend. Tell Ron that I'll be there."

She grabbed her beaded pink bag from the coffee table in front of us. "That's great! I'll go and tell him right away! Oh, and be sure to bring your swimming trunks and a towel!" Lizzie got up and headed for the door, but I grabbed her wrist before she could bolt, practically throwing her back in her seat.

"Wait, Lizzie! Why would I need those?"

"Oh, didn't I mention it? The party is summer-themed, so it obviously includes swimming in the pool!"

"Swimming?" I echoed.

"Yes, Ciel, darling. You know, you place yourself in a liquid substance called hydrogen oxide – or 'water,' for short – and you move your arms around in order to-"

"I know what 'swimming' means, Lizzie," I cut her off snidely.

"Then why are you asking like a complete dunce? Anyway, I've got to go now. Ciao!"

She blew me a kiss and was gone in a flash. I leaned back against the couch on which she was sitting no longer than a minute ago.

"What will I do now...?" I muttered to myself, although I already knew good and well what the outcome of this would be.

I reached over and grabbed my ocean-colored cellphone, skimmed through phone numbers of some devil-may-care peers who I actually barely knew, and paused when I reached the letter 'M.' I picked the third number on the list and called it, and no more than a few seconds later, I heard a deep, soft voice on the other side.

"Hello?" the voice greeted.

"Hi. I need your help. Now," I said forwardly.

"I'll be at your place in five minutes," was the reply, and monotone beeping sounds were heard through the receiver as they hung up.

I stared at the brightly lit screen of my cellphone for a couple of minutes before laying it back on the table. I strode to the mirror hanging in the corridor and studied my features.

I wasn't pretty. I was just a short, skinny, eighteen year old with bluish-grey hair and large, doe-like eyes. I brushed the hair out of my face and dusted off my worn black t-shirt. I tried to smile, but only my lips reflected the effort; my eyes stayed blank.

"Pathetic," I breathed out, just as a chime of the doorbell was heard.

"Now, what's the problem?"

Next to me, right where Elizabeth had been this morning, Sebastian was sitting.

Sebastian, on the other hand, was a very handsome, tall young man with intense red eyes that made any girl swoon. Correction - make that 'anyone' swoon. Me included. I've had a pathetic crush on him for about five years now, yet I was too shy and too scared to confess. I mean, who would even consider going out with a weirdo like me? I'm short and I have these twig-like legs that-

"Ciel?" Sebastian suddenly took hold of my chin and made me face him, the action making my heart race. "What's the matter?"

"No-nothing really," I freed myself from his grasp. "Ron is having a birthday party this Saturday, and I was invited, and um..." My gaze trailed back to my knees.

"Ciel. Tell me," he commanded, but with a gentle tone of voice that always made me shiver. I shook my head.

"I can't. It's too embarrassing."

"Come on, you can tell me," he leaned closer to me, and, after a moment of deliberation, I mirrored his movements, bringing my lips to the shell of his ear in order to whisper what had been bothering me.

When he leaned away, his was obviously surprised, and he released a quiet chuckle. "That can't be true."

"It is," I blushed, my eyes drilling through my knees again.

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't."

"...You really can't swim?"

"Hey, Sebastian! Slow down a bit!" I was pulled by my wrist down a grassy hillside that broke off into a lake.

We arrived here after a short, fifteen minute bicycle ride, which allowed me to shamelessly hug Sebastian from behind during the whole tour. Yet, before we arrived here, we stopped by his house for a moment; he had said he needed to pick something up.

He finally let go of my wrist and turned to me. He quickly pulled off his t-shirt, and I desperately tried to will away the blush that started to creep on my cheeks.

"Wha-what are you doing?" I stuttered.

"Don't whine; start undressing! I'm going to teach you how to swim!" Thankfully, he already had on a pair of swimming trunks underneath his jeans.

"Where am I supposed to get dressed?" I looked around helplessly. Just in time, I turned to him and was able to catch a giant red towel.

"Make use of it," he commanded. "I promise I won't peek."

I wrapped the towel around my waist and begun to remove my trousers. When I was ready I let the towel drop and then I removed my t-shirt.

"Are you ready?" Sebastian asked, carelessly balancing on his heels.

I replied affirmatively, and I was dragged by my wrist again, this time in the direction of the lake. We entered it slowly, and I tried to get used to the slightly uncomfortable feeling of the freezing water flowing against my nearly flesh-less thighs, as well as something squishy and slippery beneath my feet.

"Look, it's really nothing that hard..." Sebastian said with his tutor-like voice. "You can touch here, right?" After seeing me nod, he continued. "The key is to go with the flow. I'm going to move away from you a little..." He moved about ten feet further into the lake; the water was already rising past his waist. "And you will try to swim here. I trust you can doggie paddle...?"

I nodded once more. At the same time, I lowered my upper body into the cold water and propelled my arms in front of me, slowly, clumsily starting to swim forward. One foot... three feet... six feet... I really thought I was going to make it, but suddenly, around the ninth foot, I lost my balance, and with it, all of my confidence, making my lower body sink.

'I'm going to drown!' My brain screamed, so I desperately reached out forward and grabbed something – anything – in front of me to keep me above water.

Thankfully, I was promptly pulled up to my feet, still holding whatever it was I had grabbed on to tightly in my grasp. Finally, a gentle touch on the side of my waist made me open my tightly-closed eyes, and I realized that the thing I caught turned out to be Sebastian's forearm; he was currently steadying me by holding onto my waist.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah..." I admitted shakily. "I wasn't drowning or anything, you know?" I tried to make my voice sound happy, though I have to admit that the previous experience scared me little. I looked up at him nervously.

And I was trapped. Trapped into the vast ocean of his smoldering orbs. I just couldn't look away. Strangely, he was looking at me as well. And just as suddenly, he let go of me, which I was disappointed about immediately.

"When is the party?" He was now pointedly looking away from me.

"In two days; look, I know it's impossible for me to learn how to swim - I'll just politely decline the invitation-"

"No," Sebastian interrupted me sternly, "you won't. I promise I've got what it takes to teach you, Ciel Phantomhive."

We returned to the lake the next day; it was Friday, Ron's birthday, which meant that the dreaded birthday party would be tomorrow.

It was unbearably hot today – over ninety degrees – so the water was a soothing temperature. But that still didn't make me enjoy swimming.

This time, Sebastian insisted that he'd teach me how to swim using the crawl stroke.

"It's simple, really," he said, holding me up by my lower stomach and supporting me upright. "You just need to move your arms, like that-" he dodged my arm that nearly hit him in the face. "Don't do it so fiercely; it doesn't require that much power."

"Easy for you to say," I bit back through gritted teeth.

After another twenty minutes of 'learning,' Sebastian decided that I should now try to swim on my own and let go of me, automatically causing me to flail my arms around like a fish out of water. The water was sloshing around like crazy, yet I didn't even move an inch forward, which only irritated me more. Then, I looked around, and noticed that Sebastian was holding me in place by the waistband of my trunks. That was the final straw.

"I quit!" I yelled impulsively, standing on my own feet. "I don't give a damn whether I know how to swim or not! I'm not doing this anymore!"

I walked briskly to the lake bank, and sat on the grass, demonstratively crossing my arms. Seconds later, I felt something covering my head. It was Sebastian's towel.

"You'll catch a cold," he said quietly, wiping my hair dry. His touch was gentle. "I'm sorry for that."

"Your apologizes won't make me swim better," I muttered.

"That's true," he chuckled, "but I think you don't really need to learn anymore. Do you think that all those people there will want to see you swim?"

"I guess not..." I deflated.

"Why should they? I bet that the 'swimming pool' nonsense will only amount to as much as playing water polo or something like that."

"You think so?" I wasn't completely convinced.

"Yeah," he affirmed warmly. The towel left my head as Sebastian turned his back to me and started to pack up his things.

Once he finished, I rapidly got up from the grass and blurted out, "Willyougowithme?" He turned to me, surprised, so I repeated, "Will you go with me? To the party?" Upon seeing his confused expression, I clarified, "I want you to be a witness of my crazy swimming attempts, knowing that you were the one that taught me. Besides..." I said with a mock-seductive voice. "I want you to be the one to perform CPR in case I drown."

Oh, how I loved teasing him. The only thing that would make it better is if he knew that I wasn't just teasing... If only he knew!

I cast him a sideways glance, and saw that he was nearly dying because of choking from laughter. Seconds later, amused giggles escaped my mouth and we both started laughing so hard, my stomach started to hurt and tears busted out the corners of my eyes. I had to support myself with something, or I would probably fall over; of course, given my luck, that 'something' turned out to be the seat of Sebastian's bicycle, and even with my thin body weight, I apparently put too much pressure on it. Instead of supporting me, it immediately fell over, and in the process, it jabbed one of its wheels against a particularly sharp-looking stone, puncturing said wheel.

For some reason, that made us burst into a new fit of laughter. Honestly, I don't remember the last time I laughed so much!

"Wh-why...why the hell...are we laughing...?" Sebastian asked, his voice sounding slightly choked.

"I have no idea," I continued giggling.

After a while, Sebastian managed to calm himself a little.

"You realize that we'll have to go back by foot?"

"It wasn't that bad..." Sebastian said calmly as familiar landmarks started to fill my vision.

"'Wasn't that bad?' We just walked, like, four miles, and you say it 'wasn't that bad?' I can barely feel my feet anymore!" I grumbled in annoyance.

"Oh, come on! You're exaggerating! It really wasn't that bad!"

Of course it wasn't. After all, he was with me the whole time. To tell the truth, I didn't even register when we reached the main street. But, of course, I couldn't tell him that. I have to hide my feelings from him, or it will ultimately ruin all the bonds that have formed between us.

"Ciel?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?"

"We're here."

I looked up and saw that we were, in fact, standing in front of my house. Then, I noticed something else.

There was an expensive red car in the drive way, which meant that Ann must have invited her boyfriend over again. I didn't really mind that she was dating a guy who was several years younger than her, but it was a little disturbing occasionally, especially when I caught them kissing in the kitchen.

Her boyfriend – a colleague of hers – was Mr. Grell Sutcliff, and he was... entertaining, in a way. Though my first impression of him wasn't positive at all (and he seemed about as straight as a rainbow, if you get my drift), after I had gotten to know him, I decided that I wouldn't really mind if he were the one to marry my aunt. I think it would be best for her if she finally got her thoughts away from what happened all those years ago.

Of course, the incident hadn't left my mind completely, either; when I was ten, I lost both of my parents. I wasn't orphaned, but they were still practically gone from my life. They simply forgot about me - their only son - and devoted themselves completely to their work. The last time I'd heard anything from them was almost two years ago, but I pretty much completely stopped thinking about them once I grew up. It was a bit painful to know that your parents chose their job over their child, but now, I can live with it.

Though Aunt Ann still seems to have a problem with it. She was only eighteen, just about to take her SAT exams and feeling confident that she had her whole life planned out, and suddenly she was asked to take care of her nephew because his parents had found a brilliant job across the ocean. As a result, Ann failed her exams and couldn't enroll to college because of that. She tried her best to help me live a happy, carefree childhood, sacrificing all that was important to her so I could be normal. I felt extremely guilty because of that. After I turned twelve, Ann decided to take her exams again. I would often see her surrounded by books; they were her only companions at the time. But it seemed that all her hard work paid off, because the next time she took it, she passed. It was her dream to become a doctor, and now, I can only hope fulfilling that dream will help her forget.

That long train of thought was broken when Sebastian unexpectedly grabbed my wrist and started pulling me after himself.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked in a panic.

"You know what day is it today?" he answered my question with another, smiling mysteriously at me.

"It's Friday," I spoke, sarcasm etched in my tone.

"Right," he affirmed, "but it's also the 10th of August!"

"And..?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"It's the night of falling stars!" he finally clarified.

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"YOU are coming over to MY place to watch."

"Oh, uh, I don't think I can," I answered shakily, though my heart was screaming at me to accept.

"Oh, come on, Ciel! It'll be fun!"

"I really can't..."

"I have a balcony..." he attempted.

"Oh, fine, Sebastian, you idiot!" I agreed finally, though I knew I would end up accepting from the very beginning.

Mysterious creatures, humans are.

When we entered the house, we were both greeted by Sebastian's mom.

"Oh, hello, Ciel! I haven't seen you around for a while! What brings you here?"

"Good evening, Mrs. Michaelis. Sebastian invited me to watch the falling stars night with him, and I really had nothing better to do, so I came with him."

She was familiar with my 'situation' and understood that I wanted to give Auntie Ann and Mr. Sutcliffe some privacy, so she just nodded in amusement.

"Do you want anything to drink, sweetie?"

I really liked Mrs. Michaelis. She was like a mother for me; like the mother that I never really had.

"I'll make the tea, thank you, Mom," Sebastian said. "Ciel, you can go upstairs now. I'll join you in a minute."

I nodded in response and retreated to the corridor, ascending the stairs. Sebastian's room was right in front of the stairs, and I entered it hurriedly, not really wanting to be noticed by his sister.

Angela had something weird about her. Apart from being strongly Catholic (not that that is really an issue for me), she also would mutter strange words that revolved around purity, like 'unclean' or 'sinner.' I have to say, it was a little bit creepy. Sebastian once confessed that when Angela was little, she was miraculously saved from a car accident, and from that time she regained her faith in God. But sometimes it went the wrong way, and Angela tended to act a little fanatical about religion. I tried to avoid her at first, but when we inevitably met, it turned out that she really wasn't that bad. Just a little strange.

Sebastian's room was as clean and tidy as always, save for his bed. It was a mess, as per usual. On top of the disheveled bed sheets laid his cat, Maylene (I always found that name strange; he claimed that he named her after a character from a manga, but he wouldn't tell me the title) and his sister's cat, Ash. Ash used to be white, at least from what I was told. When I first saw him, he was really more of an ashy color; that's where his name came from.

Not daring to come closer (I was allergic to cat fur) I stroked Maylene's head with one finger. She opened her eyes, meowed once, and dozed back off again. On the other side, Ash awoke from the small sound and started nudging Maylene with his head until she woke up, nearly making her fall off the bed. The tom collected himself gracefully, hopped down, and left the room, followed closely by Maylene.

I removed my attention from the cats and turned to the bed. Smiling softly, I arranged the bed sheets, letting my hand rest a little while longer on the place of the pillow, right where Sebastian's head would lay. Coming back to Earth, I stepped towards the window that led to the balcony. I opened it, went outside, and let myself lean against the railing, facing the sky.

Sebastian was right; the view from here was absolutely amazing. The sky was filled with stars, looking as if someone had thrown thousands and thousands of little glass beads onto a firmament. I breathed in the summer air deeply. I've never felt such unity with the planet – the universe, even. It was a wonderful feeling.

"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" I didn't even hear when he arrived. I just nodded in response and exhaled deeply again. Sebastian set two mugs of tea on the floor and sat down, patting the spot just next to him. "Come here," he beckoned me softly.

I turned from the stars, galaxies, and planets, and looked briefly into Sebastian's eyes; my very own, private universe. I sat down, our arms just inches apart. We looked at the stars, but none of them seemed to have the desire to fall. It was growing cold, and I shivered faintly, but it didn't go unnoticed by my friend.

"You cold?" Sebastian asked. I nodded slightly, and he fetched me a neatly folded blanket to wrap around our shoulders, gradually bringing us even closer. He smoothed out some wrinkles that formed on the blanket along my arm, and I gently swatted his hand away.

"Your hands are freezing," he noticed.

"Really?" I asked, as if it was something surprising.

"Yeah," he unexpectedly reached out and took both of my hands into his own. "Let me warm them for you."

He squeezed my hands tightly, and for the first time in my life, I felt complete. I felt so happy, in fact, that I had the urge to run up to the edge of the balcony, lean on the railing and shout it out to the sleeping world. Instead, I laid my head on Sebastian's arm and, seeing that it didn't bother him, nuzzled my cheek into it.

"Thank you," I whispered softly.

I glanced back up to the sky again, noticing the first glimpse of a falling star. I quickly made a wish – a childish habit of mine that I never quite let go of.

Yet, for some strange reason, I had the feeling that both I and Sebastian were wishing for the same thing.

I blinked my eyes open. It was already morning?

I tried to rub the sleepiness out of my eyes, but it was proven impossible as my hands appeared to be caught in something. I looked down and was surprised to find that that 'something' was Sebastian's hand, our fingers shamelessly entangled with each other. I smiled as the memories from the night before returned and shifted to look at his sleeping face. His expression was calm, almost serene. His lips were just barely parted, and his long lashes brushed against his perfect cheekbones.

Still smiling at him, I mouthed nearly inaudibly, "If you only knew how much I love you."

To my utter shock, I could swear that the corners of his lips raised up just slightly. I blinked twice, and upon seeing that nothing had changed, calmed myself down. Then, I noticed the time on Sebastian's digital watch; the clock said 10:43.

The party was starting at eleven o'clock.

I jumped up to my feet, waking Sebastian in the process, and rushed to the bathroom, not answering any of his questions about why I was in such a hurry. I arranged my hair haphazardly, rinsed my face, and brushed my teeth with the portable toothbrush that I always carried with me. Lizzie bought it for me, and said that it worked better than mint gum. I still wonder what she meant by that.

I dashed out of the bathroom and ran down the stairs, almost colliding with Sebastian's toned chest.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm late, Ron's party starts at eleven, and-"

"You still want to go?" he cut me off.

"H-huh?"

"Do you still want to go to the party? Is it that important to you?"

"Yeah...I guess. I mean, I didn't learn how to kind-of swim for nothing, did I?"

He was silent.

"Sebastian?"

"I can't come with you today."

"You don't want to?" I asked, curious.

"I never wanted to. You were just so excited about it, so I wanted to accompany you at first, but-"

"It's fine," this time, I cut him off. "I can go by myself. I guess I can still enjoy a party, even when I don't know half the people there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Sebastian," I smiled brightly at him. "So, see-"

"Ciel."

I turned to him once again, and I was surprised as he moved closer to me, moving his hand to caress my cheek. My heart started beating a little faster, but I controlled my blush – for the most part. He looked at me evenly, studying my face closely. Then, he leaned even closer, his breath ghosting over my lips.

It was me who finally gave in and closed the gap. Who wouldn't? His lips were soft against my own, and the kiss was so loving and gentle – completely non-threatening. We broke apart after a while.

I didn't really know what to say. I've just kissed a person – a man, no less – whom I've been in love with for years, and I felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long while. I was so overwhelmed by all those emotions that I really didn't know what to do.

Though, it seemed that Sebastian was a bit more level-headed than me, as he just lifted my face back up again, pushed another sweet kiss onto my lips and murmured, "Have fun."

Oh, I would have fun. I definitely would.

(-Sebastian's POV-)

I was glad for everything that happened today.

For example, if Mr. Sutcliffe didn't decide to visit Madame Durless yesterday evening, I wouldn't have invited Ciel to my place. And if I wouldn't have invited him, I'd probably have never gained enough courage to kiss him.

Truthfully, I really love Ciel. I don't know for how long, but if I were to guess, I would have to say from the very beginning. I am terrible at love confessions and proclaiming my own feelings, so I tried to convey the way I feel though my actions. However, it seemed that he really didn't understand. He was so oblivious; that made me love him even more.

There was one time when I managed to tell him at least a little about my feelings. Ciel was always so sure that he wasn't attractive, and so one day, noticing how he was looking at himself in the mirror, I somehow managed to approach him, place my hands on his shoulders and whisper, 'I think you're beautiful,' into his ear. That was all I could do.

I was so happy when I heard Ciel's confession this morning. It assured me that he wouldn't take it the wrong way if I try to bring our relationship to a higher level.

Now, it's decided. I'll go and thank Mr. Grell for visiting Ciel's aunt yesterday; I don't care what he'll think of me, I just have to.

I quickly got dressed and jumped out of my house, nearly bumping into a couple dressed from head to toe in red. It was Madame Durless and Mr. Grell.

"Oh, Sebastian! Good day to you!"

"Good morning, Madame Durless, it's wonderful to see you. Good morning, sir."

"We came to visit your mother; is she at home?" Madame asked.

"She is, but she may still be asleep. May I be of assistance?"

"Oh, it's nothing, honey. We just wanted to tell her some great news!"

"Yes?"

"We're getting married!" Madame Red- I mean, 'Durless' exclaimed.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" I said. "I wish both of you much luck!"

"Thank you-" she began, but was cut off by the sound of my phone ringing in my pocket. "You'd better pick that up." I nodded and was about to leave when she called my name once more. "Oh, and, Sebastian?" I turned back to her and we made eye contact. She smiled warmly. "Take care of Ciel, please."

The door of my own house shut right in my face, and I smiled at Madame's ability to read my mind. Then, alerted by the frantic ringing, I plucked the phone out of my pocket and pressed it against my ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, Sebastian," Ciel's voice rang in my ear. "Do you, um... Do you know how to play water polo?"

- END -

A/N - Liked it? Review!