Phantomhive Manor: the esteemed household to the Phantomhive family, whose dark legacy continues to persist, and even flourish, to this day. In fact, the household is now a nest for demons and their associates, housing four of them, along with a revenant. This fact is unknown to the outside world, however, and it simply appears to be a stately mansion on the outskirts of London.

Demons or no, this was not the house of monsters. The creatures of Phantomhive house were friendly, making bonds with humans, and even with each other. For example, the head of house was in love with another member of the household. It was his partner and boyfriend, a Mister Jim "Alois Trancy" Macken. Even with this pleasant atmosphere, the manor did have its share of rats.

Ciel could tell as he stared out the window of his office and across the lawn. There was a strange car parked outside the gate and it had been there for hours. That was unusual. No one ever came near the Phantomhive estate, much less park in front of it. The bluenette dug into one of the drawers on his desk and pulled out a small telescope. Placing it up to his eye, he managed to get a better look.

Two men in suits were in the car. One of them was watching the house with a pair of binoculars, and the other was eating a cheeseburger. Ciel wasn't entirely sure who they worked for, but they were certainly watching his house.

"That can't be a good sign…" he muttered aloud to himself as he continued to look for hints as to the men's identity, or at least who they were working for. They weren't government officials. They didn't have the right wardrobe or cars. For the same reason, they weren't with the police. They obviously were with someone with some money, though. That certainly narrowed it down.

Ciel leaned back in his chair and put the telescope away as he sensed the blonde menace approaching. Alois always had to say "goodbye" before going to school. It was routine for him and he felt odd when he skipped the venture. The menace casually opened the door without knocking before stepping inside. His bag was swung over his shoulder as he made his way toward the Phantomhive.

"I'm about to head for school." He stated, pausing as the bluenette turned his chair around to face him. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"We have 'guests'." Ciel answered, passing the telescope to the other man to peek into. His beau placed it up to his eye and peered out the window with it.

"And to whom do we owe the honour?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I've got a few ideas." The bluenette said, turning toward his computer and turning it on. "I'll tell you, once I'm certain. Try to be careful when you leave, though."

"I will." Alois stated, putting the telescope down and peering over the other demon's shoulder. "Checking your stocks?"

"No. My competitors'." answered his beau. "That's as good of a place as any to start. If it's what I think it is, this shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Alright. Tell me if you need anything." He said. Instinctively, Ciel met him halfway as the blonde leaned in to peck the other man on the lips, as per their routine. Alois pulled back and grinned. "Bye, baby. Don't be too lonely without me, today!"

"Will do." The bluenette replied. "Love you." He added as farewell, immediately freezing as he registered what exactly he said. He sounded so domestic and just knew that the blonde was grinning from ear to ear on his way out the door. He was right, too. The Macken paused when he grabbed the doorknob with his face almost hurting from his smile. Opening the door, he looked back at the Phantomhive before replying.

"I love you too, muffin~!" Alois cooed with a toothy grin. He then proceeded to close the door behind him, giggling at his boyfriend's affectionate gesture as he walked down the hall.

It would appear that the Phantomhive was starting to pick a few things up from him. The thought absolutely tickled the blonde menace. It was said that people who are close tend to do that, but seeing it firsthand was incredibly amusing. Whether he liked it or not, Ciel was considered to be absolutely adorable by the Macken, especially when he revealed his softer side.

Alois' thoughts lingered on this all the way to the garage, and even as he started the car to leave. He backed out and then proceeded toward the front gates, only to recall another important detail; The mansion was being watched. As he drove by, Alois slowed down his vehicle in order to look at the two goons parked at the entrance, who hastily pretended not to be up to no good. Through the tinted windows of the Phantomhive family's Mercedes Benz, the fair-haired demon was able to make out a few details. There was a sticker on the other car's window. It said "Fairburn Toys".

"Son of a bitch…" Alois muttered to himself. Awkwardly, he reached into his pockets while still buckled in and pulled out his cell phone. It wasn't a wise decision to talk while driving, but Alois would have to make an exception. Fortunately, he had Ciel on speed dial. Even though he just saw the man, he dialed the phone with one hand and placed it up to his ear before resuming to keep his eyes on the road.

"Jim?" curiously answered the voice on the other end. "What do you need?"

"I got an idea of who the two goons out front are working for." Alois stated. "They had a Fairburn Toys sticker on the window. Honestly, are they even trying?"

"That's just sad." Replied the bluenette smugly. "I think I'll leave them be, for a bit. I'll launch my counter-attack, soon, however."

"I can't wait." Chuckled his beau. He was genuinely curious as to how the Phantomhive was going to handle this. He wondered if he would use some form or force or trickery. Perhaps both. Only Ciel knew. "Be sure to save me front row seats."

"I will." Ciel replied. There was a brief pause, as both parties waited for the other to say something. In the end, the bluenette opted to continue with: "I… uh… I love you."

His cheeks tinted pink at the sentiment, but he wasn't sure how to indicate that he was done talking with Alois over the phone. Ordinarily, they texted as the Phantomhive preferred it. Ciel's embarrassment only progressed as he heard the other man speak with a smile wrapping around his words.

"Love you, too, Poochie." The Macken said. "Bye~!"

With that, they both hung up and Ciel placed his head on his desk. What happened to the Ciel Phantomhive that killed Nazis, terrorists, and gang members? What happened to the fearsome watchdog who would tear to shreds any obstacle that stood in his way? Nothing. He simply transformed into a lapdog whenever he was talking to his blonde. It was embarrassing. The bluenette was turning into some lovey-dovey fool! The worst part, however, was that it was voluntary. In a way, Ciel genuinely liked it, no matter how bashful it made him. Still, it somehow bruised his ego a bit. He was going to have to destroy something in order to feel manly again.

Fortunately, Mister Fairburn had offered himself up on a silver platter. So her was going to bring the fight to the Phantomhive household? Very well. That means that the bluenette would play by Phantomhive rules. Ciel sat up again and turned his attention back toward the computer in order to hatch his plan. A small sigh escaped his lips as he tried to forget about everything else.

"Love…" he said aloud to himself, still a bit flustered. It was true, he did indeed love the Macken, and unapologetically so, but it still embarrassed him to me rendered so docile. Then again, there was a bright side that made him smile a bit. Little displays of affection always seemed to make the blonde especially happy, so the certainly couldn't be all bad.


A/N: Grossly short and hella lame, but I wanted to update tonight before I book it to finish this essay tomorrow.

It's gonna suck~!

Hopefully once that's done, though, I can actually focus on this.

I want some grittier stuff, to be honest, but this will have to do. I want a murder. Like, a serious, intense MURDER arc with lots of drama.

Love that shit.

Anyway, questions?

"To Hate-Senpai, what is you're favorite part you've wrote in all of DLTD and DLTP so far?" by Guest

My favourite part is in Devils Like To Dance, where Ciel and Alois have their fight in Rio de Jeneiro. It's short, has lots of "feels", and I think it's kind of eye-opening as to exactly how far they've both come from the start. It's the first time you really see both Ciel admitting that he was royally wrong, and the first time that Alois really stands up for himself. Alois' is pretty interesting, because if you compare his sense of value in himself from earlier chapters, he's gone from being "worthless and weak" to "too good for this bullshit", which is sort of foreshadowing to his part in the final arc.

Ciel, however, shows how much empathy he has come to posses, and how he is willing to set his ego aside for the person that he cares about. That's a really big, scary thing for him. He's terrified of being "weak", but for Alois, he's willing to ignore that in favor of Alois' interests and well-being. He almost became a super-bad demon-thingy while fighting a dragon for this guy, later on. He's like, stupid in love with him.

I just love that arc. It's the dynamic between learning self-worth and self-love, while also learning self-sacrifice. The climax is my favourite chapter out of all of them. That's chapter 395, where people get punched.

"Hey Hate I just wanted to say you are really cool and that your on my list of awesome authors and that I have been completely hooked on this series since I read the first chapter of DLTD, but here's my question, how do you deal with writers block I never seem to know what to do when I get it?" by Scarlett Warrior

I do a couple of things. First, I take a break and just don't think about it much. I do things that I wouldn't normally do, like go for a walk or for a drive, sometimes in new places. It's refreshing, and you might see something new that makes you go "that's IT!" Also, read the news and consume media. Draw inspiration from other sources. Just don't be a douche and plagerise shit. Sometimes, you gotta break out of your routine a bit to get some new data to go on. That's what a lot of storytelling is. You take information from around you, process it, and put it together in a new way to tell a story.

That feels like kind of a weird answer, but that's all I've got...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


CHARRACTER SHET

Question: "sebastian... what do you lust after?" by FanficceptionWriter

Sebastian's Answer: "Souls."

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Question: "Question for Alois and Cielykinns; What would you name your child (If you ever have one that is) Girl name? Boy name? Also, Sebastian do you feel your making progress on the whole understanding love thing? Or is it still just an attachment of sorts?" by BigBossandScorpius

Ciel's Answer: "I have no idea. I would have to discuss it with Jim, first."

Alois' Answer: "I dunno. I'd have to talk to Ciel. I bet he'd go for some witty reference to something. I think it's a bit early to be thinking about that stuff, anyway."

Sebastian's Answer: "I'm not sure. I don't understand 'romantic' love, like the one that my master has with Alois, but I do get the feeling that this 'attachment' I feel toward the members of the household may be at least akin to something like 'love'. It's almost like a 'family', isn't it?"