Days passed and discussion was scattered out throughout. The duo would converse about their feelings on the incident every so often, spanning it over short, but frequent intervals. Before long, they gradually started to become comfortable with the concept of Preston no longer being alive. They decided to look back on the good while accepting the bad. Both were facts that were unavoidable, but they didn't have to be mutually exclusive. Still, there was one last thing that was a cause for his concern.
The only subject that his husband had been slightly evasive on was that of Araneus and what happened. He shied away from it, which made the Watchdog nervous. Alois assured him quite firmly that Araneus did not touch him, but his behaviour made the already prone to worry Ciel nervous. Alois told him how he was restrained and how he killed Araneus in detail, claiming that he was angry at something that the Trancy had said. The only thing was, Alois wouldn't tell his spouse exactly what it was, causing the man's imagination to run wild, conjuring up all kinds of horrific scenarios that he would rather not.
Alois was hesitant to tell him the truth of the matter. He knew that while his husband had changed dramatically over the years, Ciel still retained some of his old habits, values, and morals when it came to class and family. Even when fighting Preston, he talked about defending Alois' honour and subsequently, that of the Phantomhive family. The fact that Araneus, a bona fide monster, had used Phantomhive DNA to create an heir of pure blood may have an effect on Ciel. The only thing was that Alois wasn't sure what that effect would be.
Would he be angry that Alois killed a Phantomhive? Would he be devastated? Perhaps he wouldn't mind or even be bothered, but there was still the chance that he would be, in Alois' mind. Ciel was a noble from the Victoran age, after all, and nobles had been indoctrinated from their own birth with the idea that they, too, must create an heir. Preferably, this heir would be bred well with the blood of nobles and nobles alone. And as much as he didn't seem like it, Araneus was indeed of noble blood. Not only that, it was the blood of a Trancy, who was similar in rank to the Phantomhive. Truly, it would have been perfect, wouldn't it have been? But Alois could not allow it.
Despite his own initial low status, Alois loved Ciel and by virtue, the Phantomhive family. Ciel was his, and his only. The thought of Ciel mixed with that abomination of a living creature made Alois feel ill, but also angry. Even if he loved Ciel, he could not love anything related to Araneus and would have held nothing but hatred and contempt for any offspring related to him. It didn't matter if it had Ciel's blood. It would have that of Araneus.
It disgusted him. Yet, Alois felt guilty for depriving his husband of this potential child. The words of Araneus lingered in his thoughts, reminding him how this is the way that nobles were. Ciel, too, had all of his life expected an heir of his own one day. But Alois destroyed it. How could he confront the bluenette now?
He wouldn't have to. Ciel would do it for him. The Watchdog pressed him for answers, his face and tone riddled with concern. Poor Alois couldn't deny him like this. He had to give in. Ciel followed him down the hallway, trying desperately to be let in by the menace, but Alois continued to walk away.
"Jim, please..." the bluenette pleaded. "I know it's hard, but… I need you to talk to me… For both of our sake..."
"For your sake, you mean." Alois retorted, looking over his shoulder to see his spouse halt his movement to think about his actions.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that..." The man looked down and rubbed the back of his neck, realising how pushy he was being. It was then that another twinge of guilt passed through the menace, prompting him to turn around.
"I know, you don't… I'm sorry I'm testy..." apologised the menace. "I do want to talk about this, I really do. In fact, I really want to talk about it, but I just… I don't know how… I'm afraid of how you'll react to it..."
"Oh, Jim..." Ciel cooed, stretching out his arms while walking toward the other man. He gave the man a quick hug before pulling away. He kept one arm around Alois' waist while he used the other to cup the blonde's cheek. "I could never think less of you, if that's your concern."
"It's that, and… I just don't want you to be upset..." sighed Alois. To this, Ciel really didn't have a definite answer, so that is what he said.
"I can't guarantee you whether I will or I won't." he replied. "All I can promise you is that I will love you no matter what. Alright?"
Letting out a breath, Alois' eyes looked down, looking at the other man's chest without seeing it. He wore a vexed expression, indicating his hesitation over the matter. Indeed, he did want to tell his spouse everything, but was worried. Regardless of any of it, however, he knew he needed to just go through with it for both of their sakes.
"Okay..." Alois finally said. "Let's go somewhere that's not out in the middle of the hallway to talk, though..."
"Certainly." nodded the Watchdog as the lion took his hand. They both said nothing as Alois led the way to their shared office, where he invited Ciel to sit down on one of the sofas while he shut the door. After twisting the lock to ensure that they would not be intruded upon, the menace joined Ciel, sitting on the other cushion but maintaining some distance. While Ciel rested his arm on the back of the couch, Alois leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Are you alright?" Ciel asked, leaning forward to have a look at his husband's face, only to see the man shake his head.
"No really." Alois answered, nearly causing the Watchdog to internally panic due to the vagueness of his statement. Seeing this on the other's face, he put his hands up and tried to clarify. "I mean, nothing bad happened to me, so don't worry about that! It's just… It's something I did, instead..."
"Oh..." There was nothing else Ciel could say, but this did leave the blonde room to gather his courage.
"Remember… Remember how when you saw Araneus' body, he was in the form of a woman?" the blonde asked, earning a nod.
"Yes?"
"Well…. Well- ugh… Lemme start further back..."
"Take your time." Ciel said reassuringly, taking his husband's hand. It worked to an extent, but also made the other feel more guilty. As he sat there, Alois' face grew hot and his throat constricted, making it hard to speak.
"You know… You know how we were sent to get those DNA samples back when the Scarlet Order started to become a thing?"
"Yes?"
"Well, apparently, we missed one, and from that…" Alois paused, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried to finish what he was going to say. Seeing this, his husband took his hand away from Alois' and rubbed the man's back in a soothing fashion instead. "From that… Araneus… He… I'm sorry… It's really fucked up and hard to say… He told me that… That he was… Pregnant from that sample..."
Blinking, Ciel did his best to process what he was hearing, but couldn't quite get there on his own. "Wait… Araneus? He used the stolen sample to get… pregnant? Why?"
"I don't know!" the menace snapped, his voice cracking. "I don't know why he would do that, but that's what he said!"
For a moment, Ciel recoiled, understanding the implications of this alone. Araneus being in charge of a child of any sort was horrific even in concept alone. There was no further explanation needed, if this was all there was to it. Gently, Ciel continued to rub his husband's back, reaching for the other man's hand with his own.
"It's alright..." he cooed in a hushed tone. "It's over, now. You took care of it..."
"It's not just that..." Alois insisted before turning to face the Watchdog. The water that had collected in his eyes and threatened to spill out was now visible to Ciel, capturing his undivided attention. "It's worse and… Oh, Ciel… I'm sorry..."
"What is it?" questioned the other demon with a concerned look. With his thumb, Ciel wiped away the tear that did fall and stream down his beloved's cheek without even giving it a second thought. "It's going to be okay, Jim..."
"But… But-!" began the menace, sniffling before hiccuping painfully. "The sample that was used… It was… It was yours… And I killed it!"
An odd clash of feelings abruptly washed over the blue Phantomhive in that moment as he processed what was just said. It was bad enough that his genetic mateirial had been used without his consent. That alone was invasive and irksome on a profound level, but it was only the tip of the iceberg as it was used by none other than the repugnant Araneus Trancy. That amplified it all to a one hundred. In that moment, Ciel actually felt a bit sick at the revelation, but not for the reason that Alois had expected.
"He… H-he what?" was all the Watchdog could say despite believing the other completely.
"I'm sorry..." Alois sobbed, his face contorting. "Ciel, I'm so sorry… I… I just got so mad… I couldn't stand him saying that, so I killed him..."
"No… No, I don't mind that at all." informed the bluenette. "It's just… Araneus? That's just… Disgusting..."
"The Phantomhive would have had a blood heir, though..." the menace sniffled. "A blue-blood, too..."
Ciel's brow furrowed in confusion as he processed what he was hearing from the menace. This was all extremely perplexing and overwhelming, but he had to focus on his spouse first and foremost. Alois was the most important part of the conversation right then and there.
"Jim..?" he began, trying to figure out what exactly he was trying to say. "Wha- what are you talking about?"
"Isn't that important to nobles? What they're supposed to do? It could have been the only chance..."
"It was a terrible chance, if it was, then. I'd rather have no child than a child with him." indignantly stated Ciel, prompting bewilderment from the menace. The change in his husband's tone startled Alois somewhat, making him mistakenly perceive Ciel as yelling at him at first until he actually listened to what he was saying. He flinched, but he soon recovered. The action, however, did not go unnoticed by the Watchdog, however. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed the blonde's before raising it and pressing it to his lips.
"I'm not upset with you at all, you know..." Ciel said. "In fact, I'm glad you did what you did… There is no way I could accept a child born from him, let alone love it. It's impossible, knowing what he has done..."
"Bu-but still..."
"It's true that we nobles have been raised with the idea that we must create an heir. That is fact. However, I'm not exactly the most conventional noble, as you can tell. I take delight in having you as a part of the Phantomhive family. You're much more important to me than some potential child by a man I despise with every ounce of my being."
"Even if it means that you might never have another chance to have a child?" tentatively questioned the menace.
"Even then." his beau answered indefinitely. "Now, I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't want children sometime down the line, but we have all of the time in the world for that, and it isn't as though the Phantomhive family is in danger of dying out anytime soon. There are other options, as well. I would be just as happy raising a child that wasn't of the same blood, as long as it was with you."
"Are you sure? Bloodline isn't important?"
"As proud as I am of my bloodline, when it comes to us, it's not nearly as important. I picked you because I love you, not because of how well you can produce me a child. That's an outdated ideal that's rather disturbing when thought about. I don't like the idea of people being breeding stock. Besides, that beast's blood is about as desirable as raw sewage. Just because he's a noble doesn't mean that he's 'pure'."
At last, Ciel was able to get the other man to crack the smallest of smiles, causing his own to grow as well. Ciel stopped rubbing his husband's back and put his arm around the blonde's shoulders, pulling him a bit closer so that he could kiss his cheek. Nuzzling his spouse, he continued.
"And yes, you are extremely desirable." he added. "If there's anyone I would want my genes to mix with, it's you. If it's impossible, though, so be it. I still have you, regardless, and that's the most important thing."
"Well… I suppose that if he could swap his sex, then so could I..." Alois thought aloud before shaking his head. "I'm not sure if I want to do that, though..."
"It would be okay, if you didn't." the blue Phantomhive said. "I think we should wait a few years before we start talking about having kids, anyway."
"Agreed. I kinda just wanna be married for a while..." stated the blonde with a slightly bigger smile. It only grew as his face was kissed and he was lovingly held by his husband. He finally leaned back comfortably against the other man's chest, relieved that Ciel wasn't upset with him. Letting out a sigh, he shut his eyes as he finally calmed down from his outburst.
"It's sweet that you were that worried, though." Ciel grinned. "Honestly, I'm flattered."
"You would have done the same..."
"True. Only difference is that I love you more."
Sitting up, the menace turned to face the bluenette, grinning playfully. "No, I love you more!"
"Au contraire, mon amour, it is impossible to not love you most, because you're absolutely perfect."
In a silly fashion, the two play-argued like this for a while, then simple deluded into cuddling. They talked as they did, discussing the future and what lies before them, as well as the futures that they were asked to plan. They still needed to come up with a solution to Gehenna's population problem, but that was a story for another day. Right then, they were simply enjoying each other's presence, both happy that the other was safe and secure in their arms, and content to stay like this for a long while.
A/N: "...Is thicker than water of the womb."
If anyone every says "Blood is thicker than water!" then they're actually saying the incomplete phrase, which is "Blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb", meaning the exact opposite of the more popular version.
Remember that. There will be a quiz.
Is there still a part of Ciel that is like "Blood of Phantomhiiiivvvveee!" and is super proud of it? Yes.
Is that more important to him than his honey? Nope.
Alois is always more important.
ALWAYS.
Even if old habits die hard.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
