Yes, he was grasping his own bedpost in his own room. Yes, the Phantom with the cocky smile has gone. Yes, he has time to make amends and live. "I will keep the lessons close to my heart and live in the past, present, and future," Ciel slowly repeats.

Those red eyes, taunting, flash in his mind. His smirk daring him to change.

"You may try to change your nature, but can you?"

Ciel grits his teeth and runs to the window, thrusting it open to let December air into his room. "I will prove you wrong, you demon!" he screams out to the air, uncaring if the ghost could hear him or not. People do, and give him odd looks. Softer, he whispers, "Thank you, Alois, Grell, Lau."

He shuts the window gently and turns back to his bed that, thankfully, holds no dead body. Even his bed curtains are where they should be. Ciel moves passed it, pausing at the door Alois had appeared through before moving to his closet to get dressed for the day.

Ciel quickly picks more casual clothes than he usually does, but pays very little attention as he thinks back to old stories about people meeting spirits. 'How much time has passed?' He hurries his task along. Once done, he briskly makes his way outside, stopping only once to make sure his eye patch is secure.

Outside has never seemed so amazing to Ciel. Every bell that used to give him a headache now is music, every voice that had caused him annoyance now join in with the bell melody, and every life holds new meaning. With the sun shining free onto the street, it was as though he's a new born discovering the world again.

To the side of the street was a boy dressed for Christmas mass, looking very uncomfortable in the nice clothes. "What is today?" Ciel inquires to him.

The boy looks at him like he's lost a few screws. "It's Christmas!"

'So I haven't missed it! Is this my first test?' "Do you know the butcher on the side of town?"

The boy's face lights up. "The one that threatens the kids with his weird invention…what was it?" His face scrunches up in thought before smoothing out. "His lawn mower!"

Ciel nods. "Smart boy," he observes. "Have they sold the old turkey that could feed an army?"

"The one my size?"

"Yes, that's the one!"

The child beams. "Still hanging in the window."

"Good. Go buy it." Of course, his demand is met with suspicion. "Tell you what," Ciel squats down so he's face to face with the boy, grudgingly realizing he doesn't have to stoop too far, "bring the man- Ronald, right?- back with you so I can give him directions and I'll give you a whole coin. Two if you come back in less than five minutes." The kid couldn't have moved faster if he was shot out of a canon.

'It will go to Joker.' Inwardly, Ciel smirks. "I can just imagine the slack jawed look when they get a turkey double the size and weight of Peter.'

He moves back inside to retrieve a piece of paper and write down the address. He moves back outside to wait for Ronald and catches sight of the knocker that had held Alois' face. Ciel holds back his first instinct to burn it and instead resolves to keep t well polished as an offering of thanks.

"Wow!" the one eyed man yells as he fixes his attention on the large turkey now in front of him. 'There was no way that animal had been able to stand,' he thinks dryly, looking at the massive amount of fat even Santa would envy. "There's no way you can carry that the whole way there!" Ciel quickly calls a cab, pays for the cab and pays the boy as promised.

He moves forward into the city, never once glaring, but never randomly smiling at people. Changes don't happen in one or even two nights, but Ciel still receives strange looks for the people used to their day glare. A brave man collecting donations for a children's shelter even went as far as to wish him a Merry Christmas.

Ciel nods back. "A Merry Christmas to you, too." He stops and moves to stand beside the man as an equal. "I'm sorry for how I have treated you in the past and would like to donate," he tells him bluntly.

To say the collector is shocked would be an understatement. "H-how much?" Ciel thinks for a moment before whispering the sum in his ear. "That much!" cries the man.

"Not a penny less," declares Ciel with a nod.

The man grasps Ciel's hand and feverishly shakes it up and down. "I don't know how to thank you! I don't even know what to say!"

The other shakes his head as his hand is released. "No thanks needed, just make sure those kids stay well." 'Emotionally and physically,' he adds silently.

Ciel walks down to the church and walks around the streets, watching other lives for once instead of his. He sees cherished children with an innocent look he himself hasn't possessed in years as they're patted lovingly on the head. He watches the beggars he would've spat on not three days earlier as hope flickers and dies every time someone gives them a kind glace. Many don't give more than their free sympathy. He looks up to see people staring into open air, daydreaming about another life, another day, a better future. Amazingly, Ciel feels a sense of peace around him.

In the afternoon, he found his feet brought him to Soma's. Ciel doesn't know if this is were he planed to end up or if he'd simply wandered there, but he still walks up to the door to knock.

A tall Indian man with long, white hair wrapped in a turban answers the door. He's tall, making Ciel seem even shorter, and has a kind of 'gentle giant' feel to his demeanor. One of his hands are wrapped up in bandages. Still, he smiles kindly down at Ciel. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I was invited here by Soma," Ciel begins.

The older male's eyes light up. "You must be Ciel!" He shakes the one eyed man's hand enthusiastically. "I'm Agni! Nice to finally met you!" He steps aside. "Please, come in."

They make their way to the dinning room, Agni almost skipping in joy that his lover's best friend has taken up the offer to eat with them and relived he'd made extra curry.

"Soma, " Agni calls softly into the dinning room, keeping the door closed enough so Ciel isn't visible yet. "Someone's here to eat with us."

Soma, who'd been playing with his fork glumly as he waited for Agni, turns his attention to him with curiosity plain on his face. "Who?" When he sees Ciel, the fork falls to the table as he leaps up from the chair and hugs him. "You came!"

Ciel, who looks very uncomfortable at being touched, squirms as he says, "You invited me; it'd be rude no to- why are you crying!"

Soma detaches from him to rub his streaming eyes. "B-because you came to celebrate Christmas with me! I thought an elephant would sooner flatten me!"

"Oh Soma!" yells Agni, crying as well. "I'm so glad you're happy!"

After they calmed down, Ciel soon found himself relaxing, almost smiling once or twice. It became even better when others arrived and games started. Guests were shocked to see him at first, but soon laughed with him as he participated in the games as well. It was, hands down, one of the best times Ciel had ever had.

After it became later, he excused himself to take care of 'some business.' He had passed his shop n the way to Soma's, stopping to tell Joker to go home instead of work like he'd said. Imagine his surprise when a certain red head isn't diligently working at his desk.

Ciel shows up at the Noahs with a look of contempt on his face, planning to make a show of the whole ordeal. For some strange reason, he had paused at a flower store on the way, only to stomp away with mixed feelings. Why would he need flowers if was going to 'yell?'

Joker answers the door with a giant, welcoming smile that quickly deteriorates when he realizes who exactly is on his front step. "Smi-I mean, Mr. Phantomhive." he swallows thickly. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can," growls Ciel going passed him into the house, where all laughter has fallen silent. Freckles is the only one still wearing a smile as she catches sight of Ciel and winks at him from behind Beast. He doesn't respond, but let's his hard line of a mouth soften before turning around to face Joker. "Why were you not at work?"

"You little-!" Peter starts forward, but Joker shoots him a meaningful look before facing Ciel.

"I was spending Christmas with my family," he replies curtly, not at all pleased at the look Doll has on her face as she stares at Ciel. "I'm simply doing my duty."

"'Duty?'" Ciel mocks, raising his eyebrow. "Are you a very responsible man, then?"

Joker smirks. "Yes, sir," he mocks.

"Well then I won't stand for this any longer!" Ciel yells. "Therefore, I'm going to make you my partner and," he continues, not stopping for breath at the collective gasps behind him as well, "give you a raise."

Freckles, followed by Beast, Dagger, Joker, Wendy, and Jumbo all run to Ciel and crush him in a hug while yelling thank you's and about time's. It's just a little too much for him, so he starts wiggling out. The family gets the idea and lets go, but Freckles holds on a little longer than necessary.

It was already nearly midnight when Ciel arrived, so he leaves with a 'Merry Christmas,' promising Freckles he'll come home with Joker and bring dinner, still mindful of the vision predicting her death.

'I won't let her die,' he vows silently.

Ciel is true to his vow. At the first sign of Freckles coughing, she's taken to the doctor. It was the start of a lung infection that would've been fatal in later stages. The treatment who've probably been too expensive for the Noahs to afford, so you can imagine how grateful they all were, most of all the girl who had been saved. Ciel ended up marrying Freckles, much to the amusement/ dismay of Joker. Even though her real name was Doll, Ciel called her Freckles just as she insisted even when her family still refused.

People laughed at the 'soft' Phantomhive, the man who'd became best friends with the town's Indain fool and Joker, but he let them laugh. Why not? He was, after so many years, happy. Not content, not indifferent, but joyful to be alive.

Freckles had once admitted to him she had hoped ghosts would haunt him the first time they met, and Ciel sincerely thanked her. He never again met the spirits, but would sometimes get the feeling red eyes full of disturbing humor watched him, waiting to see if he could disconnect the chains he'd made earlier in life.

Will you prove me wrong, or will you be dragged to the pits of hell? Ah, that is yet to be decided, hm, Young Master…

Yay overdue author's note! Thanks to music lover LOL and Bobismyhero for reviewing this train wreck. I have now realized how hard it is to play off of something so cement. I woud've never guessed it's easier to come up with an original story and write than write a parody of an already done book -_-'

Thanks again for reviewing and reading if you actually made it to the end!