Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and story alerts! -laughs- Also, a gold star to hyperdude for guessing Adonis' identity correctly. Finally: I know that people have posed different questions and scenarios in the reviews--you're more than welcome to do so (I don't mind!), and I do hope that you guys will continue sticking with the story as more events unfold.

Additional Note: The title of this chapter, "Weballergy," is a song by the band Sonata Arctica. I thought that the lyrics were apt. ;)

A Romance of Ones and Zeroes

Chapter Four: Weballergy

---

Several hours after the unsettling interview with his new butler, Ciel stared at the computer's monitor, otherwise lost in thought; iTunes was running and the teen watched as the words changed--artist and song name--every couple of moments, though silence reigned in his office since the volume's control had been scrolled down to 'zero.' The words didn't register, however: they were just something for Ciel to stare at as he thought.

Sebastian unsettled him.

Sebastian was rude and seemed to take pleasure in indulging himself with both subtle and blatant insults towards Ciel. An employer shouldn't be willing to deal with such insolence; in fact, most employers would have given the black-haired man the boot out of the door the first time that the would-be employee opened his mouth to say something other than "Yes, sir!"

In any other circumstance--truthfully, any normal circumstance--Ciel wouldn't have bothered to give Sebastian a minute of his time.

...so why had he been willing to put up with the rudeness, the invasion of privacy through several of the other's comments--why had Ciel been willing to put up with the feeling of quiet fear that Sebastian seemed to inspire? True, the fear hadn't been overwhelming, had only been just enough to dry out his mouth and cause his heart to beat just a bit more quickly. But the fear and the unease and the almost-primal recognition that had frissoned through him... None of the above should have been considered encouragement to hire the older man.

So the question still remained: Why?

The deed had already been done--Ciel had hired Sebastian Michaelis--and he didn't intend to take away that offer of employment, no matter the second-thoughts that he had; an offer had been given and an offer had been accepted, fair across all boards. And Ciel only indulged in dirty tactics when the other started the 'game.' (It was harder, after all, for the opposing side to show evidence that the Phantomhive heir had been the cause of their ruin when--really, truly--it had been that side's original moves that had brought about the end result.) But, in the current situation... there wasn't really a game in progress (thus far, anyway), so the offer had to remain valid.

But all that remained in instances that were not now and were thus not applicable, so the question continued to linger: Why?

With all of the things that had given Ciel a reason to turn Sebastian away, why had he instead given the man a position that would allow the other to remain in close proximity? The only other person who had more freedom in his coming-and-goings was Tanaka himself, and Tanaka had stayed with Ciel's family for years--had watched the teen's father grow from child to young adult to finally a man. Tanaka had earned his position. Sebastian had not. And yet...

And yet...

"He's not boring," Ciel finally admitted to himself, allowing the words to come in a voice that was barely audible in the quiet of his office.

Even if he wouldn't admit it aloud anywhere else to anyone else, Ciel could at least admit this truth to himself. He was so desperately bored that he was willing to take this risk for entertainment; at this moment, Sebastian was a puzzle and, putting aside the feeling of being unsettled, the man was a puzzle that the teen wanted to solve. True, he would have to tread cautiously to make sure that this decision didn't backfire on him... but if he was careful, if he was cautious, the butler could still provide Ciel with a form of quick-witted entertainment that was 'real' instead of having to rely on the internet and who he might find there. Entertainment, engagement, challenge--despite all, Ciel could not let himself be unguarded around Sebastian if he truly did intend to let the other remain in his employ.

Shaking his head at what he knew was his own folly, Ciel sighed quietly to himself and finally increased the volume bar on the minimized iTunes player, bringing the sound to a point where the teen would be able to hear the music and the words easily, but not to the point where the songs would overwhelm and distract away from work. It was the volume that Ciel typically had his music set at, wanting it to be a background noise that helped him focus and keep on task. (The only variation in this habit being how loud Ciel played his music when he was driving in his sleek little Lotus Elise; there, with no need to focus on work and no requirement to have music be a necessary background component to his day... Ciel played his music as loud as he wanted--though always made sure to keep it at a 'reasonable' level when pulling up in front of Tanaka.)

The teen snorted to himself at that, knowing full well that he was distracting himself away from the business of the day. Under normal circumstances, that in and of itself wouldn't be too worrying--but since one of the company's toys was behind schedule and Ciel should be paying attention to that... well. Business first; pleasure later. (Or held off for as long as possible; after all, Ciel may have been unusually smart for his age, but he was still a teen--and he didn't give himself that much credit.)

With that in mind, Ciel skipped over the two new emails from Cupids-Arrow[dot]net and began running numbers to see just how much the delayed production was going to cost him and his company.

-

It was several hours later that Ciel was finally able to put aside the company business to do something for himself. While he had only intended to skim through the reports about the delay, the reports themselves had proved worrying--and had thus kept the teen's attention for an extended amount of time. It seemed, though, that with a little bit of extra attention to the problem, the issues in the production would be smoothed out and the company would be able to break even in that particular sector. Ciel sighed softly to himself and scrubbed his hands over his face, attempting to banish the stress caused by such a situation; the stress didn't leave, but the thought of what awaited him did lessen it: the two new emails.

Glancing down at his inbox, Ciel caught his lower lip between his teeth before reaching out with the mouse and clicking on the email from the user that he didn't know: Adonis. As his gaze skimmed over the message from Adonis, the teen's eyes slowly began to narrow into angry slits.

Dearest user: I have always loved riddles, the shy play of a maiden's flirting games--too coy to be too bold, too beautiful to catch a lover through any other means--for, to see her face, the man would fall instantly in love with her. Such superficial beauty! But I, dearest user, I can appreciate true beauty: the beauty of looks and the beauty of intellect! Please, dearest user, dearest maiden, please respond and tell me that I am correct:

The answer to your riddle is 'dreams.' The sweet dreams that cause maidens to rise blushing from each and every morning, the dreams of true love and a true love's kiss! Please, let me take joy in the beauty of your intellect, just as I take joy in the beauty of your face.

Always yours,

Adonis

As Ciel read through the letter, he couldn't stop his jaw from dropping both with shock and indignation. He, unlike certain others, had actually included a picture of himself in his profile--and this asshole thought that he was a girl?? That, including Sebastian's comment from earlier about his height, was more than Ciel was willing to stand. The response he typed out was short and straight to the point.

I'm male, you moron.

Hitting send immediately after pushing on the period's button, Ciel closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, reaching up to rub gently at his temples. It was insulting that the idiot user 'Adonis' had thought him female, but hopefully the humiliation he would suffer in Ciel's reply--at the realization that the flowery things he had spouted had been directed at a guy--would make the other crawl off in horrified mortification. It was the least he deserved, certainly.

Next, though, was the letter that Ciel had been saving from Malphas. The blue-eyed teen licked his lips, and once more lifted his head, eyes opening, to cautiously look at the email from the user who had caught his attention. 'Malphas,' the demon lord who hid in the form of a raven. But... there was no such thing as demons, just nightmares--and the name probably held some meaning for the user (hence Ciel needed to be cautious of him-her-it, irregardless of how interested the teen was). Not knowing why he acted in such a way--and the lack of knowledged inspired an irritation at himself that demonstrated itself in a reckless, foolhardy way--Ciel leaned in and quickly clicked on the last email in his inbox, watching with rapt attention as the page loaded and the email's message finally came up onto the computer screen.

Your latest riddle, bocchan, was simple enough to solve: Time. Time moves slowly for some, quickly for others; all are obsessed with it (else why would civilization create ways of breaking it down into years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, etc.?). It is here, though, that I offer up a change: You have given riddles the past two messages, and now I believe that it is my turn to return in kind. Answer my riddle, Riddle Master, if you believe yourself so clever.

What thing is that, nor felt nor seene
Till it bee given? a present for a Queene:
A fine conceite to give and take the like:
The giver yet is farther for to seeke;
The taker doth possesse nothing the more,
The giver hee hath nothing lesse in store:
And given once that nature hath it still,
You cannot keepe or leave it if you will:
The workmanshippe is counted very small,
The labour is esteemed naught at all:
But to conclude, this gift is such indeede,
That, if some see't 'twill make theyr hearts to bleede

Until your next message,
Malphas

-

Ciel stared at the message for long moments before reaching up and closing out the window. He knew the answer, of course; how could he not know the answer when he had had a British Literature tutor as obsessed with poetry as Mr. Hartland had been? "A Riddle: On A Kiss" by William Strode--even now, Ciel could hear the man's voice murmur out the words into the sun-filtered air on the Phantomhive estate. The then-child had watched the sun's light catch upon dust motes as they danced through the library. Mr. Hartland had been his favorite tutor, and Ciel had mourned quietly when the man couldn't teach him anything more. Still, though, even now: Ciel had kept the other's love of poetry, reading thick volumes of it from the various eras to himself when he couldn't sleep at night.

A kiss.

A kiss was the answer to Malphas' riddle--and it was an answer that Ciel was cautious in giving because, it seemed, things were progressing much too quickly with the user. A feeling of foreboding crawled up his spine, and the teen couldn't tell himself why he felt that way. True, he didn't know Malphas' real name, didn't even know what the other looked like. But wasn't that the case in other "real life" situations, as well? However, also true was the fact that the name that dating site user had picked for himself scared the teen a little--something he could only admit to himself, when he was alone with his thoughts--and also the fact that the user wrote in a sarcastic tone both appealed and grated at Ciel. Already, just several messages later, the Phantomhive heir found himself deeply intrigued.

Was that natural?

He pushed away from his desk then, reaching out to turn off the computer. If needed, he would reply tomorrow. For now, however, Ciel wanted to rethink the wisdom in joining the online dating site, in engaging in a conversation with a person whose face he didn't even know. The teen was aware of the dangers with engaging with strangers in such a setting, oftentimes read the 'bad luck' stories that sometimes appeared in the newspapers. So: he would be cautious, careful. And Ciel would decide once and for all if this was what he should really be doing--boredom aside.

Pushing the power button and waiting until the computer finished shutting down, Ciel gathered together the paperwork that he would take home with him to look over during dinner, and then made his way towards the office door. It pushed itself open before the boy could touch the knob, however, and Ciel started back in surprise.

Sebastian stepped out from the shadows.

"Are you ready, my lord...? Tanaka gave me the honor of driving you home."

Ciel swallowed and glanced up at his newest employee before brushing past him, making sure that each and every gesture oozed Societal arrogance. "I am done for the day, yes, and more than ready to go home. Bring the car around, Sebastian."

After all (as he watched Sebastian leave towards the parking garage), if Ciel wanted to be truly honest with himself, he could admit things had certainly suddenly become interesting enough in his everyday life.

~To be continued...~