The door slowly opened, and a beautiful lady, accompanied by a middle-aged man with gray hair--silently entered the room. The two of them walked towards the bed cautiously in an attempt to not wake the two children who were sound asleep. The middle-aged man opened the curtains to allow the sunlight to seep through and brighten the room.
The lady had a wide grin on her face as she saw Kate sleeping peacefully while hugging her son. Ciel, on the other hand, had a pained expression as if something heavy was pressing down on him.
"Heinz, aren't the two of them adorable?" the lady whispered. She let out a soft giggle because the sight in front of her was just too funny for her to ignore.
Heinz, the lady's servant, nodded in agreement. "It is as you say, My Lady."
"Ah! The two of them together like this, I can't take it! They're so cute together!" The lady giggled one more time. "Heinz, you always carry a camera with you right? Give it to me."
Heinz almost groaned in exasperation at the request of his master. "My Lady, don't you think that's a little inappropriate?" Heinz tried to use reasoning first to protect his young master's pride. Deep inside, he knew it was futile. The woman in front of him was the type of person that always carried out her sudden whims.
"It's not inappropriate. As a mother, I want to collect my son's adorable moments. How could I possibly miss this perfect opportunity?!"
"B-But, the young master might not like it. Last time, he got very angry when you took a picture of him while he was taking a bath. My Lady, please reconsider."
Andrea Anne Summers, Ciel's mother, placed her hands on her hips. She stared at Heinz like he was the biggest idiot she had ever seen in her life. "Heinz, it's a mother's privilege to see the growth of her child," Andrea said while raising her chin. "So what if I see him naked? So what if he's ten years old? Even if he was twenty, I still have the right to check it and make sure he's growing in the right places!"
'Like hell he'd want you to check on his growth when he's twenty!' Heinz bit back the retort that was bubbling in his chest. He had watched over Andrea since she was five years old and treated her like his own daughter. Likewise, he treated Ciel as his grandson
Andrea was in her early thirties, but people still mistook her for someone who was still in her early twenties. Her long, blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes never failed to catch the attention of anyone who looked at her. If she stood side by side with Ciel, they would mistake them as siblings instead of mother and son.
Heaving a sigh of surrender, he took out a Rollei 35 handheld camera from his shirt pocket. He always kept this camera with him because he had a passion for taking pictures of amazing landscapes when he was younger. Now, his camera served as Andrea's toy whenever she wanted something to be captured on film.
Andrea snatched the camera with a smirk. She then started to tweak the dials to get the best settings to take the pictures. Heinz taught her how to use his camera when she was younger, so this was nothing new to her.
After making sure that everything was in order, she took several shots of the sleeping children while chuckling from time to time. After she had her fill, she returned the camera to Heinz and explicitly told him to develop the film as soon as possible. The butler simply nodded his head and offered a silent prayer for his young master.
"Oh Heinz, I don't want to wake them up. Can we let them stay like this for a bit longer?"
"My Lady, the surprise won't be carried out if the two of them are inside the manor. The sooner they leave, the better."
It was now her turn to sigh because she understood that Heinz had a point. She gave the adorable scene in front of her one last regretful look, before softly tapping her son's cheeks.
"Darling, it's morning. It's time to wake up," Andrea said, lovingly.
She tapped her son's cheeks a couple more times before Ciel finally awoke from his slumber. Still half asleep, he gazed at his mother's face in a daze. Andrea wasn't able to resist his cuteness and gave him two soft pecks on both cheeks.
"More." Ciel reached out his hand and gently touched Andrea's face. "Kiss me more, Mother."
Andrea happily complied with her son's request and showered him with kisses. Ciel sighed in satisfaction before turning his attention to the girl lying beside him. Kate's eyes were wide open, and she was staring at the mother and son pair with envy.
Ciel kissed Kate's forehead and gave her a hug. "You weren't able to sleep again in your room last night?"
"There was a thunderstorm late last night."
Kate returned the hug and nuzzled him. "I got scared so I came here. I can't believe you were able to sleep like a log while that was going on."
"Mmm, sleeping is one of my specialties."
"Un, I love to gaze at your sleeping face. You looked very cute."
The two children embraced each other and went off to their own little world. The two adults, on the other hand, went to the corner of the room and talked in hushed tones.
"Are they really kids?" Andrea whispered to the faithful butler beside her. "Why do I feel like I'm the third wheel in this scene? Do kids really mature this early? Is this that generation gap they were talking about in the news?"
Heinz nodded his head in agreement. "My Lady, kids these days mature very early. The young master may look young, but he's very smart and capable for his age."
"Of course he is smart and capable. That's my darling boy! He got it from my genes."
"Indeed. The young master is quite fortunate that he got all of your good traits, My Lady."
Andrea raised an eyebrow, "Oi, for some reason I am sensing some sarcasm in your tone, Heinz."
"Not at all, My Lady," Heinz replied while trying not to roll his eyes at her. "Not at all."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before turning their attention to the two children, who were busy cuddling each other so early in the morning. Andrea and her parents had planned a special surprise for Ciel and Kate. However, they wouldn't be able to start anything as long as the two of them remained inside the house.
Andrea made her way to the bed intending to coax the two children to join her for a shopping trip. It was a full proof plan, but she gave up mid-way when the kids convinced her to join them instead. With a giggle, Andrea positioned herself in the middle of the two children, gave them kisses, and hugged both of them to oblivion.
The two kids didn't back down and showered her with their hugs and kisses which melted her heart.
'Wait, I think I'm forgetting something important...' Andrea mused absentmindedly.
"Mother, I love you."
"Mama Andrea, I love you."
Andrea smiled happily and pulled the two children closer to her loving embrace, completely forgetting the plans they made for the day. Heinz shook his head from the side, but didn't interrupt the trio.
He looked at this happy scene with helplessness; there was a genuine smile on his face. Deep inside, he knew that Andrea's happiness was his happiness. He kept on looking at his pocket watch to make sure that they won't be late for their shopping trip.
'Just ten more minutes, only ten more minutes.' Heinz muttered softly. Although he wanted to spoil Andrea and the kids, he was a man who always looked at the bigger picture.
He promised the Sir and Lady of the house that everything would go according to plan. Heinz would carry out his orders, even if he had to drag the three giggling 'children' off the bed by force.
"My lady, I will have the maids prepare the bath." Heinz bowed his head. "I will return in ten minutes, so if you can please finish your busi-"
"Heinz, 15 minutes."
"B-but."
"Fifteen. Minutes." Andrea's tone held mirth, but there was a firmness in them that could not be denied.
Heinz stood ramrod straight before elegantly bowing his head one more time to acknowledge Andrea's order. He'd rather face off against the King of Hades than face her wrath.
"As you wish, My Lady." The faithful butler left the room in haste to attend to his duties. He had to make sure that the plans were carried out perfectly. For the sake of Andrea's and Ciel's happiness, Heinz would not hesitate to do everything in his power to ensure that both of them could live long and happy lives.