Hello darlings! how are you guys? Thank you EVERYONE for all your WONDERFUL reviews and love. Special Thankies to
BlindBeyondSight for the essay/review. I was absolutly THRILLED to get that review. I hadnt exactly realized how much love Model Lover has been getting from teh fans until i kept hearing of people talking about it or coming to me on dA just in RAVING about how much they love this fic. ^^; it inspired me to get back to work on this and viola~ here is Chapter 10!

As always, Kuroshitsuji belongs to Yana Toboso. How i love that woman's mind.

XXX

"FIND HIM! FIND THE SACRIFICE!"

Heavy footsteps rang in the dark, dank stone corridor that ran underneath the busy streets of London. Ciel's one good eye looked about wildly as he tried to find a way out. One hand was clasped to his burned eye which screamed at him for relief from the festering pain that fogged his panicked mind. He had to get out. He had to get out. He HAD to get OUT. The last words he remembered from the man who saved him rang in his head.

"Run, son. Run. Live. Get out of here."

And a more faint "I'm sorry" followed as Ciel had watched the man return to the room they had escaped. Now Ciel was stumbling around with the sound of pursuers behind him. Closer, louder, closer, louder… hands were visible, reaching for him. Out of the darkness, what looked like a red eyed crow appeared, seeming to swoop down on the terrified child.

"The sacrifice, the sacrifice. I need my sacrifice!"

XXX

"LEAVE ME ALONE" Ciel bolted awake with one hand clasped over his useless eye, the other one wide open and staring blindly into the dark. A knock on a door caused him to jump and hit his head against the headboard. A colorful phrase left his lips as he felt the pain in his head bring him back into reality. He sighed as he felt the bed dip down, the only sign that his model guardian had entered the room.

"Ciel…"

Ciel turned his eye towards Sebastian. As his vision settled on the man, warmth spread through his chest, and he couldn't deny the arm that reached out to pull him into the man's lap. There was safety here. The nightmares couldn't reach him as long as Sebastian held him. Ciel rested his head on Sebastian's chest and inhaled deeply. It seemed like the sweet musky scent of Sebastian was washing away the night terrors with every deep intake of air.

Sebastian ran a gentle hand over Ciel's back as he held the boy close. This was, what? the 10th time in a week Ciel has woken up screaming? And it all started after that visitor from a week ago. Ciel refused to tell Sebastian what it was about, but Sebastian had started to stay up to listen to the dreams, hoping to catch what was going on. He had only caught snippets of words. The ones that always stood out the most were the fearfully said "mum" and "dad". It angered Sebastian to think that in some way Ciel's parents were involved. Granted Sebastian wasn't actually in the dream so he couldn't tell if Ciel was calling for his parents or terrified of his parents, but anything that Ciel said in a fearful voice made Sebastian hate them. But this night, a new word appeared that made Sebastian cling to his little love tighter than usual. "Sacrifice." It reminded Sebastian of what the visitor had said. "Malphas awaits what is his."

Dread pooled in Sebastian's stomach as his mind fought over the new thoughts. He didn't even want to think what the new word from Ciel's dreams meant to the boy's past.

Ciel kept his one good eye trained on Sebastian's face, watching the man's expressions as he held him in silence. Ciel sighed and gave up on trying to read Sebastian. While it was normally rather easy to read the man, Sebastian had made sure his expressions were unreadable this time. Ciel sighed and rested his head against Sebastian, ignoring the soft throb in his useless eye. Ever since the visitor appeared, his eye always had a dull ache to it like it was warning him of something about to happen. Of course, during the dreams, the dull ache turned into a roaring, searing pain that made Ciel throw up a few times upon waking from the nightmare. That had put Sebastian in a fit of panic. Not only was Ciel not getting proper sleep thanks to the nightmares, but now Ciel was throwing up the moment he woke up from the terrors. A kiss to Ciel's head caused the boy to look up.

"Sebastian?"

Sebastian stared at him for awhile before speaking.

"Do you wish to talk about it, Ciel?"

Ciel's mouth clamped shut as he turned to the side. Sebastian sighed and took that as a no.

"Come, we'll sleep in my room tonight. Especially since this is the second one tonight."

Ciel nodded and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck as the man stood up, Ciel in his arms. Normally Ciel would have protested this, but after having two nightmares in one night, he wasn't about to let go of the only thing that kept him sane. They silently made their way down the hall and into Sebastian's room. Granted, the fact that Sebastian had a whole floor of a five star apartment complex should have been a clue that every room in Sebastian's place would be grand, but Ciel never failed to roll his eye at the enormous size Sebastian's room was. Ciel had a sneaking suspicion that Sebastian had only made this particular room his to impress the ladies he used to bring home after parties. The king size bed was untouched which made Ciel look at Sebastian suspiciously.

"I may camp out at your door every night to make sure you sleep well." Sebastian admitted.

Ciel rolled his eyes and leaned away from the man and towards the bed. "You can put me down now."

Sebastian chuckled and did as he was commanded and placed Ciel down onto the soft bed. Ciel scooted closer to the head of the bed and buried himself under the layers of sheets and blankets that made Sebastian's bed a luxury only Sebastian's paycheck could afford. Ciel sighed with contentment as he settled in, surrounded by Sebastian's scent.

Sebastian chuckled. "Get comfortable, Ciel. I'll be right back."

Ciel lazily waved Sebastian on as sleep started to pull at him again, the nightmare forgotten in the cloud of comfort. Maybe he'd just abandon his bed and start to sleep in here with Sebastian. The thought made his face turn a slightly red shade.

Sebastian chuckled at the obvious bliss Ciel was now in. He padded out of the room and into the kitchen.

"Malphas is still waiting."

Sebastian spun around, his hand reaching for the giant butcher knife on the counter leftover from preparations for dinner. Sitting at the floating breakfast bar with a drink in hand was the cloaked figure. A snarl ripped itself from Sebastian's throat as he lunged for the figure.

"You BASTARD!"

"Tut tut, Mr. Michaelis. Didn't you learn from last time that you can't harm me?"

The figure disappeared and re-appeared behind Sebastian, a blade at his throat.

"You WILL bring the child to us. The Prince demands to have what is his. And the Prince does not like to be kept waiting."

"And what makes you think I will turn over my charge to the likes of you."

A child-like giggle erupted from the figure.

"The same reason a father would hand over his son to be sacrificed to a demon prince."

Cold gripped Sebastian's heart. He snarled and flipped the knife so he was holding it with the blade facing towards him. He plunged the blade into the figure only to find air. He hissed with frustration and spun around to find the figure at the giant window that overlooked the sprawling city.

"What was promised in blood, shall be collected, Mr. Michaelis."

With a flick of Sebastian's wrist, he threw the knife at the figure, only to find it embedded in the wood frame of the window, the figure gone. Sebastian's eyes were almost glowing ruby red with rage. His frame shook with anger that begged for release. Somewhere in his rage a little voice reminded him that he had left Ciel alone in his room. With panicked short breaths and quick feet he rushed back to his room, flinging the door open to find Ciel curled up on a pile of blankets, sleeping blissfully. Staring at Ciel's sleeping form caused relief to flood through Sebastian as he silently padded back towards the bed. Tossing his shirt to the floor, he pulled the covers back so he could slip in and pulled Ciel into his arms. With a kiss to the child's forehead he silently swore again what he had promised to Ciel the night the figure first appeared.

"I will protect you, Ciel."

A soft "Sebastian" escaped the boy's lips as if he was acknowledging the promise and nuzzled closer to Sebastian.

XXX

The sun shown brightly on the two sleeping figures revealing a rather intimate moment. Instead of being partly on Sebastian, somehow, in his sleep, Ciel had managed to position himself so his entire body was sleeping on the model. Partially opened eyes stared at the boy through the mess of blue-grey hair that tickled his nose. The fact that Ciel was having a case of morning wood didn't help Sebastian's amusement and slight arousal at the position. He slipped a hand over the boy's frame and down to Ciel's butt where he gave the boy's round globe a nice squeeze. A blue eye popped open and Ciel leapt from Sebastian, revealing that he had been awake. A mischievous Cheshire grin planted itself of Sebastian's face as his eyes trailed over Ciel's body and down to where the boy's morning problem was trying to make itself known. Ciel slapped Sebastian in the side when he realized where Sebastian was staring and leapt from the bed.

"You perverted guardian!"

Sebastian chuckled and ran a hand through his hair as he watched the boy scurry to his room to get ready for the day. It amused him how shy Ciel still was after that night at Druitt's party. He smirked and stood up, padding out to the kitchen. The knife still in the window frame reminded him of what had transpired in the darkness of the night. Cold stabbed at his heart again as he removed the knife from the frame and placed it in the sink to be washed later. Coffee was definitely needed this morning. He set about his usual morning routine. Turning the coffee maker on for him and setting a pot of hot water to boil for Ciel's usual morning tea. While that was preparing, Sebastian pulled out a packet of bacon and ingredients for French toast. Ciel turned up in the kitchen about the time the kettle was whistling and the room was beginning to fill with the aroma of fresh made coffee and French toast. Ciel's stomach grumbled the same time his mouth started to water. Sebastian chuckled and leaned towards the boy to steal a kiss once Ciel drew close enough. Pink brushed a small amount of color on his face as he turned away in embarrassment, muttering 'pervert' again.

"How does a kiss make me a pervert?" Sebastian raised an brow at Ciel who clamped his mouth shut and went to sit at the bar.

'Shut up."

Sebastian chuckled and slid a plate of bacon and French toast to the boy with a cup of Earl Grey and a bottle of syrup.

"So, what do you want to do today? I have a meeting to go over the shots from the photo shoot with you today and then hear if the director wishes to redo any of the shots."

Ciel scowled in remembrance of that day. Sebastian had some major paying up to do for convincing him to do that shoot. Sebastian chuckled.

"Since you were a model in the shoot, it would only be proper for you to show up at the meeting."

Ciel scowled. He had finished all his homework last night before bedtime except for a five page paper he had to to write on 'The Birds' for his Classic Scenes class.

"I still have that paper to do…"

"We both know you can get that done at the office."

Ciel scowled and sighed with reluctance. "Fine. I better not have to cross dress again."

Sebastian sat down next to Ciel with his coffee and breakfast. "You won't."

The morning slipped calmly on as they both lazed about before they had to get ready for the meeting. Sebastian sat on the couch, his glasses on and a paper in hand as he read the morning news. Ciel sat next to him, his back pressed against Sebastian's side as he flipped through the channels. Ciel couldn't help but feel a little pink in the face every time he looked up at Sebastian with those glasses on. Sure, they were just glasses, but they looked so GOOD on Sebastian. It must have been one of the times Sebastian caught Ciel looking at him that Ciel found himself pinned down on the couch, the morning paper and remote forgotten. All Ciel knew was his hands had tangled themselves in Sebastian's hair as Sebastian's arms wrapped around the boy, pulling him closer as their lips claimed the other's.

XXX

Ciel rushed out of his room, cursing under his breath at how late they were running. And he meant LATE. He wouldn't be too worried about running late if it wasn't for the fact that Sebastian was filling the air with colorful words, terms, and phrases that he usually tried to not speak around Ciel. They had gotten so caught up in the other that they lost track of time in between the heated touches and electrifying kisses. The only thing that had kept them from turning a steamy make out session into a good romp on the couch was the fact that Madame Red called asking where Sebastian was.

Sebastian ran out of his bathroom in nothing but a towel, his hair still dripping wet, and hurried to the laundry area where MeyRin had failed to finish the laundry. Sebastian cursed up another storm as he flung clean clothes left and right to find something to wear for the meeting. Once he found clothes, he just dropped his towel to throw the clothing on, causing Ciel to get a good look at Sebastian's rear, not that the youth complained. He already had a good idea at how well formed it was from the nice handful he got on the couch. Ciel sipped on his second cup of tea while watching Sebastian race around the apartment.

"Ciel! Where's my wallet and keys?"

"Check your nightstand?"

"Yes!"

"The door?"

"YES!"

"Kitchen counter? " Ciel smirked as he stared at them.

Silence was his answer as Sebastian hurried in with his coat in one hand a towel to his head drying his hair in the other.

"Nice, smart ass. Now get moving before Madame Red has my hide for being even more late."

Ciel placed his cup in the sink and followed Sebastian out, a small smirk on his face.

XXX

Will stood outside the meeting room after the meeting, papers in hand, waiting for Sebastian to finish speaking with Madame Red privately. Once Sebastian appeared through the door Will caught his attention.

"Sebastian."

Sebastian turned to look at him.

"Any luck?"

"This past week has turned up absolutely nothing. Whoever this cult is, they have concealed their presence well. My research has turned up nothing." Will then went on to rant about how much overtime he spent on the Malphas topic.

Something the figure from the night before rang in Sebastian's mind, causing him to tune out Will's rant. Something about a father…

"Will… ignore Malphas. Look into Ciel's past. Look for his parents. I think the clue is there."

"You mean Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive?"

"You have already found the parents?"

"Of course, that's not that hard."

Sebastian allowed himself a small smile before turning down the hallway towards where Ciel was waiting for him.

"Look into the father. A visitor from last night let slip a little more than he should have."

XXX

DUN DUN DUUUUN... YES! we are beginning to discover Ciel's past. What do you think happened? I'm interested to here your thoughts! As always, read and review. Also, if you havnt seen, go check out the picture Madeleine Elizabeth of DeviantArt drew for Model Lover, titled "In the Garden".