Following the directions that the bluenette presented the Macken with as he drove, Alois navigated his way through the city. A good portion of time was spent sitting at stoplights, however, as the entire population of London seemed to share the idea of going on an outing at the same time. It was to be expected, though. Saint Valentine's Day was the day that couples celebrated their affections for one another, prompting many dates at once and thus leaving the streets somewhat congested.

"It's a good thing I booked a table beforehand, isn't it?" the Phantomhive jested as the car stopped again.

"Ugh, why can't everybody just stay home?" complained his beau. "Look at these schlubs. In their cars, on their way to dates. Disgusting. How dare they?"

"Well, then what does that make us?" chuckled Ciel, looking over at the blonde driver. The Macken paused for a moment to think about that, furrowing his brow and staring at the car in front of them.

"Losers who go on dates on Valentine's day." He finally said. It was a joke, but the Phantomhive couldn't help but pick at it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you weren't into this sort of thing. " he answered. "We can go home instead, if you would prefer."

"No~! I want to go!" whined the menace. "Maybe the day after Valentine's day is a better time, though."

"Then turn around."

"I'm not turning around. We're here. We have fought too long and hard. There's no turning back now."

"Alright, then it's just a few blocks more." Ciel indicated while pointing at the windshield. "Turn right, and it should be there on there on the left."

"'Kay. Tell me when to turn." The menace stated, stepping on the gas as they started moving again. The duo continued on the road they were on, and Alois turned when instructed. Parking the car in the space, he looks out the window at the sign of the place and shook his head with a grin.

"Clos Maggiore?" he asked, turning his gaze toward the watchdog again.

"I hear it's really romantic." Grinned the bluenette, taking off his seatbelt and leaning over to peck the Macken on the lips. "Let's go."

After getting out of the car, they automatically intertwined their fingers on reflex as they crossed the streets. Although it was hard for him to resist, Alois dodged whatever puddles blocked their path since both of them had actually put some effort into their appearance. The shoes he wore were not made for trotting through dirty water, and he was eager to get inside. He had tried to take the bluenette to this particular restaurant before, but something came up that cost them a 2013 Rolls Royce Phantom in the process and devastating their butler at the same time.

Shuddering as they stepped into the heated air of the restaurant after coming in from the cold, it was obvious that the place was busy. People sat in chairs near the entrance, waiting on their reservation. The duo walked up to the little desk manned by a sole, well-dressed man with a somewhat cross expression on his face, which was immediately dropped and replaced with a smile as they made eye-contact.

"Welcome, gentlemen!" the man at the desk greeted. "How can I help you?"

"Reservation for Phantomhive." The bluenette answered, prompting the man to turn his attention to the computer. His eyes scanned the screen, darting to the clock in the lower right corner every so often as he checked the time on the lists and searched for the watchdog's name. Finally, he straightened his back, shaking his head lightly.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there doesn't seem to be a reservation under 'Phantomhive'." The man said, causing the watchdog's brow to furrow.

"Are you certain?" Ciel questioned, prompting the man to reluctantly look again.

"There's nothing on the computer about a reservation under the name 'Phantomhive', sir." He said, looking up at the bluenette again. "We're really busy today, so I don't think I'll be able to squeeze you in, either."

"I distinctly recall making that reservation." The watchdog insisted. "There must be some sort of mistake."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing there." The man behind the counter was now getting impatient, which caught the watchdog's attention. As a detective, it was second-nature to pick up on these things, but as both a demon and a businessman, it was his nature to exploit them.

"Sorry to be a bother." The demon began, his tone casual. "Holidays must be horrible for restaurant workers. There's so many people, and you don't get paid extra for it."

"Yeah, it's not all sunshine and roses…" the man behind the counter agreed. "I have a girlfriend, too, but I can't take her to a restaurant like this."

"Really? Why not?"

"I need to pay my bills." The man whispered, leaning over the counter a bit. His eyes darted around for a moment before he continued. "This suit is the most expensive thing I own other than my business degree!"

Now the watchdog had something to work with. "What kind of business degree?"

"Bachelor's in business management. I wanted to get my master's, but I couldn't do that and work at the same time."

"Well…" the bluenette said, reaching into his wallet and pulling out a card. He laid it on the counter and slid it over to the other man. "I run a little business, in case your interested."

"FUNTOM?" the man asked, holding the card between his fingers and looking up in astonishment. "Are you serious?"

"I can probably find something for you." Ciel answered. "What's your name?"

"K-Kenneth." Stated the man. "Kenneth Bently."

"Well, Kenneth." Began the demon, pulling out a memo pad and jotting down the name. "I think I can help you out with that, somehow."

"U-uh, alright…" Kenneth said, rubbing the back of his neck and staring down at the card. "Uh… If you want, sir, I can probably fix your reservation problem…"

"Really? Are you sure that's not too much trouble?" asked the Phantomhive with feigned concern.

"Yeah. I just have to re-enter things…" the other man answered. "Just give me a second…"

With that, Kenneth turned and leaned down to retype in one of the reservations, swapping the Phantomhive's name with whoever it was who took his spot. Ciel looked over to the menace with a devious smirk, only prompting the blonde to shake his head while wearing a bemused grin. Leave it to a Phantomhive to solve the problem in a less than moral way.

"There you are, sir." Kenneth finally said, summoning a waiter. "If you follow him, he'll take you to your table."

"Thank you so much." Said the watchdog with a friendly grin. "And good luck." Leaving Kenneth behind and finding their table, they were handed their menus and left to decide on their meals.

"You evil man…" the menace accused, leaning forward to converse with the bluenette across from him. Despite his harsh words, his lips were turned upwards in a mischievous grin. "Are you even actually going to help him with his job?"

"Of course. Even I'm not that cruel." Answered the Phantomhive, lifting his eye from the menu to address his beau. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I would be surprised if you didn't." the menace stated. "Maybe even a little mad."

"Exactly." Ciel replied. "I can't have that, now, can I? It would ruin the entire date."

"You're such an ass…" Alois said, looking back down at the menu in front of him. His brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to decide on something to eat. He wasn't used to this sort of selection, which made things difficult. He hadn't even heard of half of the items on the menu!

"You love me anyway…" his beau answered as he analyzed the blonde's face. "Find anything?"

"Not yet…" admitted the Macken. Icy blue eyes were still glued to the menu in front of him as he spoke. A sense of uneasiness started to sink in, as he had no idea what to pick. What if he accidentally picked something he didn't like? He would be stuck with it!

"What the fuck is this?" he finally asked. "There's like, ten different menus? What is that? And why isn't anything in English?"

"Because 'complicated' means 'fancy', to some people." The bluenette said, lookin over the menu, himself. "Here, let me help." He said, laying the menu flat on the table between them so the blonde could see. "It's in French." He explained. "I'll translate, and you tell me if something sounds good."

"Alright." The blonde nodded. He leaned his weight on his elbow as he focused on the menu in between them both.

Ciel began translating, explaining the dishes that Alois indicated interest toward in greater detail. Occasionally, Alois would find one that sounded good, but continued to listen in case there was something that sounded better. It took a while for them to decide on what to order. It certainly took longer than most people. They had to send the waiter away on more than one occasion, since they weren't quite ready yet.

Later rather than sooner, they both decided on something and placed their orders. They spent their time with idle chit-chat, admiring the scenery and making comments about the décor, as well as providing commentary on other guests. It was rude of them, but they didn't quite care.

"See that guy?" the bluenette asked. "He's a tourist."

"How can you tell?" questioned the blonde, following his beau's gaze.

"That polo shirt in a place like this? No. It's not the kind of setting." The Phantomhive explained. "From the baseball cap sitting on the table next to him, I'd say he's American." Alois laughed while trying to keep his volume low as to not attract too much attention. His eyes scanned the area again before setting on another person.

"What about him?" he asked, tilting his head in the direction of the target. "He seems off, too."

"Suit isn't cut right." The Phantomhive said. "That's someone who doesn't dress up often. The woman he's with doesn't have the right sort of organization in her wardrobe as well. I'd say that they aren't high-society, but wanted to spoil themselves for a bit. That's not shameful."

"And him?" the menace continued, pointing out another.

"Here on his parent's money." Ciel stated. "Probably doesn't have a job yet because he's waiting on his father to find him one. Not quite Warwick-wealthy, but well-off."

"Oh my god." Chuckled the menace, leaning back in his seat.

"This place isn't as 'high-soceity' as you thought, is it?" Ciel asked, smiling after the blonde.

"No, but it is pretty." Alois answered, looking around. His eyes tilted upwards toward the glass ceiling. What sun could peak through grey, winter clouds shined through them and the vines adorned with white flowers overhead, contrasting with the warmer colours around them. "I like all the flowers. It's like we're eating in a weird garden that's also someone's house? It has a sort of surreal feeling to it, y'know?"

"Yes, I can see that. I think that's actually better."

"Mm-hm." Alois agreed, reaching across the table in order to grab the bluenette's hand "It is really romantic. Who knew a villain could have such good taste in restaurants?"

"Who knows? That's just the way villains are. They'll surprise you in all sorts of ways…"


A/N: This took longer than I thought... and we're not done!

These two haven't been sufficiently loserly, yet.

Clos Maggiore is an actual place, did you know? Their menus are a lot more complicated than this, however, but I was not going to figure out how to navigate their needlessly complicated website in order to decipher their needlessly complicated menu options.

Have a crack at it if you want, tho.

Also I used Google translate for the title I am sorry

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!