Why Is It So Hard? Chapter 9 (SebaCiel)

(Ciel's POV)

“Ronnie!”

“Lizzie!”

They embraced each other as if they hadn't seen each other in years. I sighed lightly and turned to Sebastian, stretching my hand towards him in order to greet him.

“Aw, Ciel, don't be so shy!”

Lizzie pushed me forward with both hands, making me fall forward and straight into Sebastian's arms. He hugged me lightly, and I savored the feeling. His coat smelled nice.

I pulled away in embarrassment, although I honestly felt like I could stay in his arms forever.

Whoa, why am I thinking like that?

“Now!” Lizzie clapped her hands. “I have something to show you! Let's go!”

She dragged us towards a clothing store.

“LOOK AT THIS!” Lizzie pointed her finger dramatically towards the shop. There in the window stood a white mannequin wearing a knee-length, white, frilly, Lolita-style dress.

“...Do you really want to buy that?” I asked, confused.

“No, silly! I was actually thinking that you'd look cute in that!”

“WHAT?” Ron and Sebastian exclaimed simultaneously.

They weren't aware that Lizzie had this strange hobby of using me as her personal mannequin, basically making me dress me in outfits that she wants to buy but doesn't want to try on for herself. And since our measurements are nearly the same in BWH*, it's easy for her to manipulate me to her advantage. It sounds weird, sure, but it was actually an activity that we both enjoyed when we were little. We would swap roles – Lizzie the prince, I the princess – and stage our favorite fairy tales for our parents.

I sighed, “Will that make you happy?”

“Yes! Aw, thank you, Ciel!” Lizzie hugged me and dragged the four of us towards the changing rooms after picking the dress she wanted. The shop assistant gave us a curious glance before pointing to a fitting room far in the corner.

“The changing rooms for couples are that way.”

Lizzie dragged me by the hand and nearly threw me inside the room; it was a lot bigger than I had expected.

“Take your time!” she called happily.

While I was busy removing my pants**, a pair of white stockings were thrown over the door and onto my head.

“Put those on as well!” I wondered briefly how she managed to find these in such a short amount of time, but after looking them over, I realized that they were a pair of her stockings. That would mean that she planned this. I smiled.

(-)

After about ten minutes, I was completely dressed.

“Ciel, are you done?” Lizzie called into my dressing room, annoyance etched into her high-pitched voice.

I poked my head through the curtains. “If you laugh, I'm going to choke you with barbed wire.”

Slowly, I stepped out of the dressing room.

“...Well?” I asked.

“OHMYGOD, CIEL! YOU LOOK SOOOO CUTE!” Lizzie flung herself at me, causing both of us to nearly fall over.

When she finally allowed me to breathe, she turned to Sebastian with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“What do you think, Sebastian?

The poor guy looked stunned. I certainly wouldn't know how to respond to that.

“We-well, I'll admit that you do look cute... but I still prefer you in your normal attire.”

I saw Lizzie smile and I swear that I could actually hear her thoughts.

Mission Accomplished.

(-)

“No.”

“Buuut Cielly!~” Lizzie whined.

“A thousand times no. And I told you to stop calling me that.”

Lizzie waved her hands about in an upset manner, a cat-eared headband flopping around in her grasp. She had just bought the accessory, after which deciding that I'd look absolutely adorable with it on.

“OHMYGOD, CIEL! LOOK!”

She pointed dramatically to something behind my back, and I immediately turned around to see what had gotten her so excited. In the same instant, I felt something being pushed on top of my head.

“There!” She declared cheerfully. “I knew you'd look cute!”

I pouted, but made no move to remove the pesky accessory.

She pulled a small, pink camera from her handbag. “Okay, Ciel! Now, smile!”

I frowned instead.

“Aw, come on, Ciel! I can't get a good photo of you if you don't smile!”

Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, and a blinding light flashed in front of me and the person that had hugged me.

“This is perfect! Thank you, Sebastian!”

Awesome. Now she'll gush about 'how cute we look like in this photo' for years to come.

“How about we go to the games room next?”

(-)

“LOVERS!” Lizzie and Ron shared a high-five before hugging each other and giggling. We were standing before a game called 'The Fortune Teller'***. It was rather unsettling, considering the creepy looking woman seated before us and her dark blue 'fortune-telling' orb that looked as if stars were flowing through it.

“Now it's your turn!” she said to us, grabbing both my wrist and Sebastian's and placing our hands on the orb; I noted briefly that Sebastian's hand was covering my own. He smiled warmly at me, and I blushed in response.

After we answered a set of questions, a sheet of paper printed itself out. Before either of us could even move towards it, Lizzie grabbed the paper and stared at it, her eyes scanning it frantically. She sighed audibly and handed it to me.

The title was 'Best Friends'. Thank God the machine hadn't decided to embarrass me further. I read through the text briefly.

Trust...Friendship is very important...relying on each other...

I skimmed through the boring, obvious parts, but my interest was piqued when I got to the last sentence.

The next step in this relationship may be love...

(-)

Sebastian decided that he'd walk me back home. It was already growing dark, so I was grateful for the offer and took it without hesitation.

I was musing about the events of the day when I suddenly felt my hand being enclosed in another one, much warmer that my own. I glanced towards Sebastian to see that he was indeed the one that held my hand. His face was turned to the side, so I couldn't see his expression, but I was pretty sure that he blushed when I tightened my hold on his hand slightly.

The Fortune Teller was right. I think that 'love' is just what's happening between us right now.

(-)

Something to clear up:
* - Bust Waist Hip measurements.
** - As in trousers, not underpants
*** - Very popular in Poland. You place your hand on a crystal ball and your horoscope prints itself out. Ryou and Tomoya were playing a similar thing in CLANNAD.