At long last, January became February and life went on. The Phantom House was operating smoothly and things were progressing well. Occasionally, things would pop up about the Scarlet Order, and the original Sensational Seven would talk. The group needed to arrange to hang out together in the near future, but working out a schedule and what they were going to do was difficult to manage.

Audrey had work, and so did Daniel. Alois, Travis, and Kristopherson had school, while Kristopherson had his own projects he was working on. He was busily trying to open up a sewing shop in Gehenna, going through all of the procedures that any ordinary supernatural would go through to make it work.

There was still gloom that remained, but the group did their best to let it go. They got wrapped up in their own lives and sought to try and make the most of things. Individually, they would visit Preston where he was buried, but they hadn't gone together yet. There were always flowers at his site as his memory persisted.

New opportunities arose for the others, and they took them where they could. While Kristopherson had the opening of his store to worry about and the Phantomhives had their townhouse, the others worried about other things that were slightly less than extraordinary. Audrey was visiting the gym more often, as it had come to his attention that his sedentary job was causing him to lose muscle. Meanwhile, Daniel struggled with school and work, debating as to whether or not he should drop the former. As for Travis, Alois ran into him quite recently.

Alois had a task that was so intimidating and demanding of mental fortitude that it struck fear into the heart of many a man. Not even the fearsome Watchdog could complete this mission as he was far too weak in this regard, but it had to be done. Life as they knew it depended on Alois' success. Yet, the menace was unfazed, possessing a calm that many did not.

On that particular day, his quest brought him to the pharmacy. To be more specific, it was the contraception aisle. Yes, he and his husband had renewed activity since his capture once more, and they were low on necessities.

Now, when he rounded the corner, Alois didn't expect to see much. Perhaps an occasional embarrassed young man who would flee once the menace looked at him, or maybe a grown adult who didn't make much of a deal of it. What he certainly didn't expect to see, however, was someone he knew. His eyebrows raised as he saw a familiar head of black curly hair standing in the aisle. His surprise then shifted to amusement as a grin spread across his face. It took Alois everything he had not to snicker, but he didn't have to. His footsteps alerted the other man of his presence.

Travis had been reading a package rather diligently before he looked up to see the menace, and honestly, he would have been less embarrassed had he been caught by anyone other than Alois. Perhaps Daniel would have been far worse, but Alois was still embarrassing. Poor Travis' cheeks turned a little pink as he was approached, but not before Alois paused to grab a package that he was looking for.

"'Sup, Sully?" he greeted, prompting the other to clear his throat.

"Not much..." Travis bashfully answered.

"Of all of the Pharmacies in London..." Alois trailed off, shaking his head. "Oh, well. Fancy meeting you here, though."

"I guess..." the other replied. Under normal circumstances, Travis wasn't particularly talkative, but now he was especially dissuaded from speaking. Perhaps, though, this was a blessing in surprise, as he had been confused, here, for a while before the blonde showed up.

"Uuuhhh..." Travis began, prompting the other's attention while the menace looked around.

"Hm?"

"I'm new to this whole thing, so… I have no idea… What I'm doing..." the Sullivan bashfully admitted as he hoped that he would just keel over in that instant and save himself from pursuing the conversation.

"Sure thing. What do you need help with?" Alois casually replied, not making a big deal about it. He knew that Travis wasn't particularly talkative, and could see that he was embarrassed, so he wasn't going to ask about his personal business at that particular instant. There was no real reason to, and it wasn't as though it would be funny. Alois was there for the exact same reason, after all.

"Well… I don't know which ones to get… Brands..." There was a moment of hesitation in Travis' explanation. "Size..."

"Well, first, you need to know the circumference of your dick." bluntly informed the menace. "If you know that, you can pull up a size chart on your phone right now. It'll tell you what size in what brand you should get."

"Oh..." Travis answered, almost clumsily whipping out his phone. While he was typing into Google, Alois didn't stare. Instead, the menace was searching the shelves for the other item on his shopping list, but didn't seem to see it.

"Uh..." the Sullivan began again. "What kind do I need to get?"

"There's all kinds of condoms, but I like this brand." Alois answered, holding up his purchase. "I'd stay clear of that one right there, though. In fact, if it's some weird kind that says it'll make you better at sex, I'd stay clear of it. That kind says it'll make you last longer, right? But it actually has stuff on the inside that numbs you, so it'll do as advertised, but you won't feel a thing."

"Personal experience?"

"At the time it was kind of traumatic, but now it's kind of hilarious."

"Wait, you used them on Ciel?"

"That's my problem and not yours, Sullivan."

"Sorry." Travis answered. A small blush appeared on his face as the blonde's amused expression faded. Thankfully, it lit up again as Alois looked past him and spotted what he was looking for.

"Oh! There it is!" Alois said aloud. "Can I get past you for a second?"

"Sure?" confusedly answered Travis, taking a step back. His friend walked past him and grabbed another box that was on the shelf. Once Travis realised what it was, his face darkened.

"They moved it since last time." the blonde needlessly explained. "You should probably get some of this, too, by the way."

"But I'm with a woman? Doesn't- Isn't it okay on it's own?"

"You fool..." replied the menace, handing Travis the box in his hand and grabbing another for himself. "Heteros use this stuff all the time. Why do you think there's so much here?"

"Good point." answered Travis. "So… How much of this do I use? What happens if I use too much?"

"Sweetie, there's no such thing as 'too much' lube..."

"I-I see..."

"If you don't mind my asking, though, isn't your girlfriend Catholic? Isn't this stuff a 'no-no' or some shit?"

"She says that Jesus wasn't anti-condom and that that's a 'stupid-ass rule made by some dumbass old white man'." Travis stated.

"I like your girlfriend." Alois grinned. "She's cool as hell."

"I can agree with that." the Sullivan chuckled in return.

"Alright, I should probably get going. Gotta get back to the mister." the menace finally said. "Need any more advice before I go?"

"Uuuuhhh… Do you have any advice in general?"

"Ciel would be better for this, but basically, go slow, take your time, and have fun. If you go into it all serious and shit, you're going to have a bad time. First couple of times are super clumsy. That's just a fact. As long as you both have fun with it though, it's all good."

"Thanks..." sighed the other. "That helps a lot, actually."

"If it's not fun, don't do it." Alois reiterated as he began to walk away. He was almost out of the aisle, but then had to turn back around.

"Shit, I forgot we're both blokes..." he muttered, grabbing another box in a different size. He then backed out of the aisle again, waving at his friend with his purchase. "Laters~!"

"See you later." laughed his friend, despite shaking his head. He was actually surprised by how well that went. There was no mocking. Alois actually saved him from having to ask a stranger out of desperation. Naturally, he was going to have to do a lot more research once he returned home. Maybe asking Ciel about it would be a good idea. Then again, what experience did Ciel have with the opposite sex? It was all so confusing.

Once Alois was completely gone, however, Travis came to another, more terrifying realization, however. This was only the easy part. Now Travis had to take his items to the store clerk and pay for them. Oh, God give hims strength. If he hurried, however, maybe he could catch Alois again and observe his technique.


A/N: Yes, this chapter was totally necessary. Think of it as a PSA.

I'm sorry, the idea just popped into my head, and then I could not shake it. It was just too silly, but real at the same time...

Don't be embarrassed reading this.

I know the kinds of things you read on here...

Y'all wanted to know what they were up to...

Next chapter will be cleaner.

Maybe.

Perhaps.

Probably?

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!