The Phantomhives were quite taken to their new accommodations, although things were slow when it came to missions. They were indeed, busy, however. December was a busy time for FUNTOM Toys, after all, so the Watchdog had things to do, despite the face that he did not want to spare any time that would detract from having fun with his spouse. Fortunately, Alois agreed to help him with the things he could. When it was time for Ciel to work, he would work too, lightening the load and getting things done faster.

Like this, they worked as a team and distributed the weight between them. Once that was through, they could play once more! They went out and stayed in, sometimes bringing friends along, while sometimes only bringing each other. Today was the day that Elizabeth would come to visit. It was at most every two weeks, but always on a Thursday. She would come to see how her relatives were fairing and was always happy to see them. Likewise, they were happy to see her as well.

She sat with them in the parlor, sipping tea and making conversation. Her cousin and his husband sat on a sofa, while she sat in a chair adjacent to them. A peaceful mood filled the room as they talked about how life has been for them as of late, and whatever interests currently were currently striking their fancy. Elizabeth's smile was wide as she sat there with the demons, taking it all in.

"The mood of this house has improved." she commented. Her teacup clinked against the saucer in her hand as she set it in place. "I can hardly remember the last time this place was so lively."

"Time changes all things." replied the Watchdog. He and his spouse sat very closely, so the man felt when Alois suddenly flinched and put his drink down. Ciel looked over to see the other man's face scrunched up in pain.

"It's hot..." Alois managed to let out. As he frowned, the other two smiled at his reaction, despite the man's burnt tongue.

"Don't drink it right away. Wait for it to cool a bit..." chuckled the bluenette with a smile.

"It's fine… I think I regenerated what was burned… or is that just natural healing? I don't even know anymore." shrugged Alois, leaning against his spouse. Meanwhile, the Hellsing woman giggled at the couple's interactions, deriving much delight from them.

"I see you two are still getting along." she noted. "How is marriage suiting you two, anyway?"

"It's great." proudly grinned the menace, nuzzling his spouse further. "Not much has changed, but everything has changed at the same time, it feels like. Mostly, I just like being able to say 'I am married' and 'this is my husband'. It's strangely satisfying."

Ciel, on the other hand said nothing. The expression on his face, however, indicated that he agreed with the blonde. His mouth was turned upwards ever so slightly and his eyebrows were raised. He had a look of contentment that could not go unnoticed.

"That's good! I'm glad things have worked out so wonderfully!" Elizabeth replied, taking note of her cousin's actions. "I like seeing the two of you like this. It's good that things are going so well. My husband and I had quite the time getting married, but his dedication was astounding. He initiated a duel almost every time he arrived at the house for my hand!"

"You dueled your husband for him to marry you?" questioned Alois, raising a brow. He leaned forward slightly as he expressed great interest in the feat. "Damn, Lizzie, you're harsh..."

"No, it wasn't me he fought. It was my mother." she explained. "She didn't approve of him at first because of his social rank. He was also sort of odd, which didn't do him any favours. She said that he had to fence with her while obeying all of the rules and win before she would even consider letting him even court me!"

"Fighting aunt Francis..." Ciel shuddered. "What a nightmare… I'm not sure how he survived."

"He wasn't very good with the sword to begin with, which made things worse. But, he still tried." the woman sighed wistfully with a smile on her face. "He challenged her every time he set foot in the house, and probably would have come to do so more often, had he not work to do and injuries to recover from. Sometimes, they were mother's doing! He used to say 'Fighting a vampire would have been easier.'"

"I don't doubt that one bit." chuckled the Watchdog. "I think I would have agreed with him on that. Did he ever beat Francis?"

"Never. He eventually wore her down with persistence. I was already in love with him by then, so courting wasn't really necessary." Pausing, Elizabeth thought. "Oh! But he did beat Edward! He didn't fight fairly, however. He said that there's no place for rules in a serious battle. 'I'm not playing games with you, good sir! I will fight you with everything I have!' Edward was not thrilled."

"Edward is your brother, right?" inquired Alois, trying to recall the names on the family tree. "Did he ever like Isaac?"

"Not really. He did later in life." the woman replied. "Edward was always so protective of me, and hated him on the basis of that alone!"

"He also didn't think that Isaac was good for me for the same reasons as mother did." she continued, looking down at her cup. "Isaac was the son of a professor, Abraham Van Hellsing. His father was known as a bit of a loon who ranted and raved about vampires, and Isaac was 'odd' in believing in such things as well. He was knighted and appointed by the queen for some 'mysterious' work, and Isaac inherited that from him. In a way, the Hellsings became the sucessor to the Phantomhive family's duties. Still, my family wasn't too keen on a person of such a low social rank and reputation marrying their daughter."

"I never liked that system." stated Alois before taking a moment to blow on his tea. "The daughter of a marquis should be able to marry whomever she wishes."

"We felt the same way. Things would have been a lot smoother if we had the new system of marrying for love back then." Elizabeth said before raising her head. "Everything turned out alright, however. We made H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. what it is today together, and we lived happily. Like everyone else, we had children and grew old, but we were together; that funny man and I. I was never just a wife to him. We were partners as well."

The mood was somewhat heavier now with the woman's ramblings, causing the demons to adopt more serious expressions. Although the woman smiled, she was a bit sombre in her face. It didn't take a detective to perceive that. In an odd way, Ciel was happy for her, though. She had found someone who she truly loved in his absence, and who treated her the way that she deserved to be treated. Despite her feminine appearance, Elizabeth was a warrior at heart who pursued the greater good. Somehow, the stars had aligned for her to meet her true calling after all.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so serious!" the angel piped up, smiling apologetically. The tone in her voice became more cheerful, and she seemed to not want to linger on the bad. "I was just reminiscing."

"You seem to have fond memories of him." spoke the Watchdog with a soft smile. "He must have been a good man."

"He really is..." Elizabeth replied. "I wonder if you would have liked him, to be honest. I think he would probably try to pick a fight."

"If he ever wishes to do so, I will happily oblige. Don't worry, I'd go easy on him."

"Somehow, I feel like you would like that more… He was a bit of a show-off as well, though, so you have that in common."

The woman's remark prompted a snort from the blonde Phantomhive, followed by a giggle. The man then nodded as if to agree. Ciel seemed less than thrilled by his family's opinions, but he wasn't too bothered.

"Ciel always has to be the alpha dog." Alois said teasingly. "It's not even to gain anyone's favour. It's just an animal thing, I suppose."

"Not necessarily." Elizabeth pointed out. "I can think of one person whom he would want to impress."

Choking sounds came from beside the menace as tea was accidentally taken down the wrong pipe. Coughing, Ciel put down his cup and saucer on the table in front of him before covering his mouth with his fist. A red stain appeared on his cheeks as he tried to clear his windpipe of the foreign liquid, but the others knew that it wasn't simply from coughing. Observing this, an almost wicked grin appeared on the menace's face. The blonde wrapped his arms around Ciel's that was closest to him while rubbing his cheek on the Watchdog's shoulder.

"It's okay, Ciel. We all know how much of a sweetheart you are." he cooed, earning a hastily thrown-together stern expression on the face of the bluenette. "No need to put on a show for Lizzie.

"I am not..." Ciel protested before having one of his cheeks affectionately pinched.

"Then how come you're openly mushy around me, huh?" questioned the mischievous Lion. "You can be cool while being sweet. You do it all the time. You only act like a geek when you stop and think about it."

With that, the other Phantomhive's face grew more serious, losing it's awkward twinge. Ciel wriggled his arm free from Alois' grasp and rested it on the back of the sofa just behind the other man's shoulders. Leaning forward, he drew closer to the menace, causing Alois' eyebrows to raise. The blonde shuddered a bit at the feeling of his spouse's warm breath on his ear, tickling it slightly, but his words made a reasonably dark blush appear on the menace's cheeks.

"But Jim," Ciel began, speaking to his husband softly, "that part of me is only for your eyes alone..."

Alois felt his heart skip a beat at this and nearly forgot where he was. He was taken by surprise and had up no defenses in that moment, making him vulnerable to attack. Thus, it was only as he looked over the other's shoulder to see Elizabeth grinning at him that he thought to look at his husband's expression. There, he found the most smug of looks smeared across the Watchdog's face, which prompted Alois to frown and take action.

"You jerk!" he accused, pushing slightly on the other demon's chin. "Don't do that! It's embarrassing! You made my heart beat, you bastard..."

"How do you think I feel?" inquired the bluenette with a scoff. He pushed against the force of the menace's hand with his face. "At least you're cute..."

"No, you're cute, you piece of shit!"

Elizabeth observed the display with a smile, taking delight in the demons' shenanigans. She couldn't help but find them adorable. They were sweet to each other, and suited one another well. It was also just pleasant to see the two demons happy, despite their faux-protests and putting on airs. Still, despite how pleased she was for them, there was the occasional pang of longing in her heart as she watched them together. There was loss, and as she looked down at the teacup and saucer in her hands once again, she couldn't help but observe her hands. It was times like this that no matter how much she tried to put it from her mind, her ring finger seemed incomplete.


A/N: Whelp, whelp, whelp...

Mmmmmmm... I actually wanted to go into more detail about this, but I also wanted to update tonight... Maybe I'll tell the full story someday? I dunno, what do you guys think?

I like this guy, though. He's chill. I hope I can actually introduce him, someday!

Who knows what the future holds...

I've actually come up with some pretty intense stuff, but it's either far off from where we're at in the story, or odd to fit in, here at the moment.

I want more punching! And blood! And violence! Maybe some gore, too, because reasons!

I've had it up to HERE with this mushy crap (total lie)...

Who knows what the future holds?

It isn't Character Shet, though, that's for sure. I'm out of questions, it looks like! Keep sending them in to keep the segment going!

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!