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The sound of the front door opening and slamming shut drew Sebastian's attention away from the pecan pie he was working on for tonight's dessert. Feet running up the stairs immediately followed, making Sebastian's brow furrow in concern.
Sebastian moved away from the counter and quickly wiped his hands down on his apron before untying and tossing it onto a clean counterspace. He exited the kitchen and made his way towards the staircase, forcing himself to take them one step at a time. If whatever had Ciel upset enough for him to storm straight up to his room like that, then it likely wasn't injury related. Ciel knew better than to try and hide something like that from Sebastian.
When Sebastian reached the boy's closed bedroom door, he reached up and gently knocked.
"Ciel? Are you alright, baby?"
"I'm fine! Just... just go away, please!"
Even from behind a closed-door Sebastian could hear the boy's voice shake in obvious upset.
Sebastian just stood there for a minute debating on whether he should leave Ciel be for now and let him come to him when he was ready, or if he should just go inside and get to the bottom of the situation now.
When the unmistakable sound of a sob failed to be muffled by a pillow or stuffed animal came from behind the door just a short while later, however, Sebastian made his decision. He wrapped his hand around the doorknob and twisted it open, quietly stepping inside. The sight that greeted him broke his heart.
Ciel was laying curled up in the middle of his bed, still dressed in his school uniform, face hidden against his stuffed penguin and pink blankie. Sebastian could see his little shoulders quivering with each sob that escaped him.
"Oh, bunny." Sebastian took a seat on the edge of his bed and put a hand on his back, rubbing gentle circles. "What happened? Why are you so upset, hm?"
Ciel didn't respond, he just pressed his face further into his blankie and stuffie as he continued to sob. Sebastian's worry rose, but he made sure it didn't bleed out when he next spoke.
"Sweetheart, you know you can tell me absolutely anything. Yes? No matter what it is, I will listen and help if I can."
"It's... it's stu'bid," Ciel choked out in-between sobs.
"Anything that's upsetting you this much can't be stupid, baby. Please, tell me what happened."
Ciel didn't respond right away, but gradually his sobbing slowed, and he lifted himself up. He turned around to face Sebastian, sitting with his legs crisscross and his blankie and stuffie held in his lap. His cheeks were ruddy and stained with tears that still leaked from his blue eyes. He didn't appear entirely regressed yet, but Sebastian knew it wouldn't be long before he did drop.
"Me and Sieglinde got into a fight on the bus ride home," he mumbled, staring down at the bed.
Sebastian's brows shot up in surprise. Ciel and Sieglinde almost never fought. They would banter and deliberately annoy each other like children their age do from time to time, but never anything as serious as a fight. Sebastian couldn't even remember if they fought even once throughout their entire friendship.
"What about, bunny?"
Ciel swallowed a few times, sniffling hard. "We were talking about what topic we're thinking of doing for the history paper that's due in a couple weeks. She wants to write about something from the Medieval times, and I want to do something about the Victoriana Era. I... I don't even know how the argument started in the first place now, but we ended up fighting about which idea was better and who would get a better grade. We said really mean, nasty things to each other. Th-then when it was time for me to get off the bus, sh-she... she told me she–told me she doesn't want t'be my f-friend anymore!" Ciel's face crumbled and he broke into sobs again.
Sebastian immediately pulled Ciel into his arms, pressing the boy's head to his chest.
"She d-doesn't wanna be my friend an–huh–anymoooore!" He wailed, brokenly. "I-I don' wanna s-stop bein' friends with 'er, d-daddy!"
There was the drop.
"Oh, baby, no. I don't think she really meant that. I think she was just really mad when she said it." Sebastian began to move one of his hands up and down the little boy's back, while the other moved up to comb his fingers through his silky hair. "Not that it makes it okay for her to have said it, of course. Sometimes we don't think before we say something when we're that mad, and it ends up hurting someone we love. Whether we meant to say it or not."
"B-bu' wha'd if–wha'd if she did m-mean it, da-daddy? I don'–I can't lose my bes' fr-friend!"
"And you won't, bunny. Do you remember how long the two of you have been friends for?"
Ciel took a deep, shuddering breath before answering.
"S-since the g-garden at p-primary school. We–we planted r-soses t'gether tha'd day. And sh-she put a w-worm in Maurice Cole's p-packed lunch, 'c-'cause he wouldn' stop bein' a b-big bully t'us." A wet giggle left the boy.
Sebastian couldn't help the airy laugh that escaped him, too. It hadn't been funny at the time, but it certainly was now. God, that Cole kid had been a menace. He could only imagine the kind of hell that brat would be putting Ciel and Sieglinde through now that they were all teenagers if he hadn't moved schools a couple years back.
"And since then, you two have been the best of friends."
Ciel hiccupped sharply. "Till now."
"Baby, it's because you two have been friends for so long that one fight isn't going to end your friendship that easily. I'm sure that the next time you see each other, that apologies will be made, and all will be forgiven between you two."
Ciel poked his head out from Sebastian's chest and peered up at him through wet, red-rimmed eyes, a hopeful expression on his face. "You really think so, daddy?"
"I really do, dear." Sebastian smiled down at him and reached up to brush a few stray hairs out of the little boy's face. "Now, what do you say we get you out of these stuffy clothes and into something much comfier?"
Ciel returned the man's smile with a smaller one of his own, nodding his head. "Yes, please."