Embers crackled as the flames finally died. The remains that were found within them, amounting to one arm and one leg, belonged to only one of the demons, while nothing of the others was found. Both limbs were brought back to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. laboratories as specimen samples, while the former minions of the demon lined up in front of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. trucks in order to have their collars removed by soldiers.
The menace stood watching over things as his beau went to talk to the other agents. He had endured a very tiresome week and a half, and it was almost Christmas. He still had things to do. Moreover, he would most likely have to assist the bluenette in the work he missed while searching for him. Knowing Ciel, the Phantomhive would have surely dropped everything. How bothersome. Alois had caused a lot of trouble, and even allowed for the villains to get away with his explosion. Perhaps that wasn't such a good idea. Everything else had been on the mark, however.
After meeting Ciel again that first time, he had snapped out of the spell that had been woven around him, regaining his will. After that, he began plotting Cerberus' downfall from the inside, breaking the molds and enlisting the help of the other Jacks. The problem was, he needed to contact Ciel in order to tell him everything.
It was around the same time that he and a few of the others had been instructed to raid the small library owned by the old wizard. During the ordeal, several of the books had been knocked about and destroyed. One of them that survived was one of them that Alois recognised. Mary Shelley's Frankenstien. While he hadn't read it, he had seen the film with the watchdog, and recalled seeing the exact same copy on the Phantomhive's book shelf. That was when he came up with the idea for the cipher, pocketing the book while carrying on with the next step in his plan.
When he finally had a message, he just needed an opportunity to deliver it. Knowing of Girasol's seeming cooperation with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; he sent one of the Jacks to deliver not only the memory stick for Girasol to hand over to the organization for Cerberus, he sent a message for Girasol itself! It was to be kept a secret from H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; so they had to be careful. Using shade gel and heavy clothing, the vampires were to head out on the day that Ciel was to "pick up" his beau and disable the security cameras of the metro station. When the lights flickered off and on again, that's when Alois knew that it had worked, and Cerberus could no longer see him. It hurt his heart, but he had to lure Ciel to that location, and forcing him that way was his best bet to do so quickly. He couldn't let up on the bluenette, fearing that he would go off course. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell the Phantomhive then and there, either. He couldn't risk the other man trying to ruin his operation.
All that time, Alois had been plotting to bring Cerberus down. He failed, but at least all of the Jacks were safe. The collar around his neck still hurt, however. He had even forgot that he was still wearing his mask, he had grown so accustomed to it. After all, he hadn't been permitted to take it off since day one.
"Alois!" called a sweet voice, prompting his attention. The menace turned around, and then looked down, only to smile at the sight of the nun before him.
"Sister Dorothy." He greeted. "It's good to see you again. Are you alright?"
"Somehow, yes." The elderly vampire answered. "Thank you so much for helping us."
"No, thank you. My plan wouldn't have worked as far as it did without everyone's help." The menace stated, rubbing the back of his neck. He did feel a bit bad about using the same brainwashing techniques as his foe, but it was a necessary evil, he justified.
"Well, if there's anything I can ever do to repay you, do tell me, alright?"
"Yes, ma'am~!" the Macken stated, glancing toward the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agents momentarily before turning his attention back to the woman. "Well… There might be one thing… I'll run it by you later, though. You should probably go run by Baldassare's. I'm sure he's worried sick about you!"
"You're probably right." Answered the nun, shaking her head. "That man is so silly…"
"You take care." Alois said, waving at the woman as she walked away. His attention rapidly shifted as he was assailed by yet another woman.
"Alois!" called Elizabeth, wrapping her arms around the demon's neck as she nearly tackled the man to the ground. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she said, pulling back for a moment. "And… Uhm… I'm… I'm really sorry for… almost… stabbing you…"
"Eh, I ain't mad." Stated the man. "I'm also… sorta sorry I shot you… That was pretty rude, huh?"
"Not really. I don't blame you." The angel answered, offering a smile. "Let's just try not to repeat that, okay?"
"That sounds like a plan to me." Grinned the menace as the Hellsing woman let go of him.
"You should go talk to Ciel. He's probably dying to talk to you."
"Oh, he's talking to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. troops."
"No he isn't?"
Suddenly, Alois felt a familiar prescence come up behind him. He shook his head from side to side as he was tapped on the shoulder. Reluctantly, the man turned his head to face his beau.
"Ciel, we have a contract. You can't sneak up on me you kno—" he arched an eyebrow as the Phantomhive wasn't there before facing the other direction to see the Phantomhive smiling at him.
"Sure I can." Ciel teased, causing his boyfriend to giggle. The older demon then addressed his cousin. "Mind if I cut in?"
"Be my guest!" Elizabeth answered, gesturing toward the menace in a playfully dramatic manner before turning to walk away. "I'll leave you two to it, then." She added, waving them goodbye before doing just that. The pair stood for a second, awkwardly silent before either of them said anything.
"Ciel," began the menace, "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you sooner—"
"Take that mask off right now." Instructed the watchdog immediately. He shifted his position so that he was standing face to face with the Macken, placing his hands on his shoulders. "I need to see you."
Blushing, a shudder ran down the Macken's spine at the Phantomhive's words. The sound of his voice and the expression on his face looked as though he desperately craved the sight, and in a way, he did. Ciel hadn't seen his beau's face in too long, and here he was, right in front of the bluenette, but his visage was blocked to Ciel's gaze. Naturally, the menace obeyed his lover's request, reaching up and removing the mask before letting his arms drop to his sides.
It was freezing outside, but Alois' cheeks felt as though they were on fire at the sound of the bluenette's sighing. The Phantomhive reached up, gently cupping his beau's cheeks before stroking them with his thumbs. A warm smile graced Ciel's face as he simply took in Alois'.
Red eyes. Alois' icy blue eyes had been replaced with pupilless, crimson ones and his hair remained black. It wasn't quite what the bluenette wanted at the moment, but it would suffice. Almost instinctively, he touched their foreheads together, their noses nuzzling and their breath mingling together, creating mist against the cold air.
"Hello." Chuckled the watchdog at last. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you, too." Giggled the menace, his free hand reaching up to touch the bluenette's.
"As cute as you are now, I'm afraid I miss your eyes…" Ciel mused playfully. His grin widened as the Macken blushed once more, changing his scarlet eyes back into pale blue.
The Phantomhive loved those eyes. They were piercing and defiant. Yet, at moments like this, despite their icy hue, they could be warm and tender. They stood out dramatically against his slate-coloured hair, sparking the bluenette's interest. Alois was just as stunning as ever, no matter what the menace himself thought. His eyes weren't "dirty", as he had been told before, but to Ciel, they were simply—
"Beautiful." He said aloud, pecking the menace on the lips once. For once, the watchdog ignored the fact that they were still in public and behaved as though they were the only two people in the world.
"Sorry…" said the menace. "When they first put the collar on me, they changed colours and I had to keep them like that or else they might suspect something if my mask came off…"
"I see…" Ciel replied. "It's over now, though. As cute as you are like this, I think I like the real you better." The bluenette took away one of his hands from Alois' cheek before reaching behind the man's head and tangling his fingers in the Macken's hair, forcing his head forward so that his beau could kiss his forehead. "I miss your hair, too."
Just like that, the onyx lion returned to platinum blonde, resting his hand on his lover's chest as he resumed his usual appearance. When he was finished, he looked up at the Phantomhive again. "Is this better?"
"It's perfect." His beau informed, wrapping his arm around the blonde's waist. "You know what I missed the most, though?"
"What?"
"You." The watchdog stated with a chuckle, causing Alois to do the same.
Their eyes became hooded, however, as their proximity decreased. Truly, both men seemingly forgot where they were as they pressed their lips to one another's, arms wrapping around each other tightly as they kissed. It would take a lot of force to separate the duo in that moment. Most likely, they would hardly notice if a car crash were to occur mere inches away from them. They were far too busy taking in each other's warmth and the softness of each other's skin to even recall how they got there until they finally parted. Both demons grinned as they continued to embrace, gently rocking from side to side in each other's arms.
"I was so worried…" said the Phantomhive at last.
"I'm sorry." Answered the menace, gently pecking the bluentte's cheek. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but I couldn't let them get wind of what I was doing. Who knows what could've happened, then?"
"Don't talk about that…" Ciel stated. "I don't want to hear it."
"Okay, okay, I won't… Seriously, though, I like, ruined Christmas. I dunno how I'm gonna be able to make that up…"
"You don't have to. As long as you're safe, everything is fine. That's all I wanted for the past week or so…"
"Merry Christmas, then~!" spoke the menace, resting his chin on his lover's shoulder. "We might have to apologise for all of the PDA later, though."
"I'm not going to apologise. This is perfectly justified."
"Yeah, I agree, but your cousin is watching."
"I'm sorry, but did you miss the part where I said I didn't care?"
"Ciel!"
"I'm not letting go." The Phantomhive insisted. "I haven't even told you how brilliant you were. When I read your message… I think I might've fallen in love all over again."
"You're being so sappy…" Alois replied. "It would be almost disgusting if I didn't find you cute." With a gentle push, he finally escaped the crushing force of his boyfriend's hug in order to pull back and face him. Raising a hand to cup the bluentte's cheek, he simply stood there, taking it all in.
"I missed you, too." He said, leaning in to peck Ciel on the lips again. The pair grinned into the kiss, only pulling back enough to nuzzle noses once more. With that, the bluenette began to plant small kisses around the blonde's face, speaking between each one.
"Night into day, blood red into icy blue, loathing into adoration, and onyx into platinum…" he said before pulling away in order to look the blonde in the eyes again. "That's what makes my most precious lover."
As they leaned in for another kiss, everyone else was by at this point ignoring them in favour of practically anything else. There was one person, however, who watched with boundless curiosity at the duo's action, simply feeling happy that they were happy as if the feeling were an infectious disease.
"I didn't know it was a quote." Elizabeth mumbled to herself. "I thought it was pretty obvious that he would be with you on your wedding night…"
