Meeting with Luka and Revy had been the highlight of Alois' stay, thus far. The rest was filled with annoying tests that didn't tell him anything with the occasional chat with Elizabeth. He and the woman were on their way to the training field so that the menace could finally get some exercise. It had been days since he was out in the sun and it was a welcome change. He couldn't wait.
"I have no idea when the last time I was here was..." he said as the two conversed. "It's been a while. I don't really work out, I just work."
"That's no good!" Elizabeth replied despite her smile. "You need to practise your skill, even if you don't need to maintain muscle."
"Well, I don't really have enough room! Most of the backyard is garden, and if something happened to it, Sebastian would turn me into a murder case!"
"I suppose that's true. Still, you're free to use the field whenever you like."
"Who the hell drives off to exercise?" questioned Alois.
"Humans go to gyms to work out every day." the Hellsing answered.
"Yeah, but they're weird."
"Weird, but clever." the woman said, her pace slowing as she sensed something. As they drew closer, he eyes honed in on it. "Oh..." she started. "He's here..."
Arching an eyebrow, the blonde tilted his head and tried to follow his companion's eyes to what was on the field. Both of them focused into a pair of figures, although their sights were primarily trained on one. The man wore a grey T-shirt with the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. crest on it tucked into a pair of green pants that were in turn tucked into boots. He sparred with a sword- a mortal blade, granted, but the style was familiar. Damp, blue-black locks stuck to his forehead from sweat as he furrowed his brow in concentration. One eye was covered by an eyepatch, while the other was trained on his opponent.
Alois stared at him for a while, watching him fight, before he realised that he was being stared at as well. Turning his head, he saw Elizabeth next to him, watching his face while lost in thought.
"What is it?" he asked, prompting her to glance back at the combat nearby.
"I was just wondering..." she began before pausing another second to think. "Would it be bad for you to be reintroduced to D-001, now, or..."
"That's him?" the menace questioned, quickly looking back to the bluenette. Now, he recognised the face.
Not from memory of his life, but memory of the faces in the cards. Alois recalled that the face of the man before them was in the mix, but he could never figure out if he knew him. From context clues, he could gather that he did, somehow, although he didn't remember him, personally.
Luka told him a few things during his visit after Sebastian left the room. The boy didn't reveal anything about their relationship, but did reveal that D-001's name was "Ciel Phantomhive", and that he owned the house that all of them lived in. That by itself was a lot to take in, although Alois honestly didn't recall how he got to the house or why any of them started living there. Mostly the problem came from adjusting to the fact that a virtual stranger owned the place where he lived and lived there with all of them. It made the blonde uneasy, especially since he didn't know what this "Phantomhive" looked or behaved like. His brother insisted that the man was "really nice" and "took good care of" them, but the menace was understandably uneasy.
It was pleasant to put a name to a face, but from what he was witnessing, he wasn't sure what to think of the part where his brother said the man was "nice". His brother said that he had a grumpy face, but mentioned nothing of his vicious combat skills. Alois recognised that the bluenette was sparring with a demon known as "August", who was armed with a halberd, her preferred weapon.
It was essentially a long spear accompanied by an axe on one side near the tip and it was doing poorly against the man's mere sword. Ciel was hardly using the blade as a defense, but rather, chose to leap out of the way instead. That is, until he decided to finally end it. Then, when the demoness swung her weapon, he stepped forward, missing the blade and grabbing the staff before giving a rough pull. He drew his foe in with this move and swung his own weapon, striking the woman in the side of the face with the butt of his handle. She was disoriented as he went in for his second strike, which was delivered on her hands where she held her weapon. She was forced to let go and the spear was now the bluenette's. Twirling it around, he pointed the spear end at his foe, startling her as it was inches from her face. Then, he dropped his fighting stance and spoke.
"Never let go of your weapon." the bluenette scolded. "Once you let go of your weapon in battle, consider it lost."
"Yes, sir." August dutifully replied. She stood up perfectly straight at attention as she was lectured, despite her swollen cheek and sore hands.
"Furthermore..." Ciel continued, slipping his own weapon into his belt before taking the halberd into both hands. "You're swinging too wide. It's leaving you open. Hold the weapon with both hands."
"Yes Sir." the woman said, accepting her weapon when the man handed it back to her. It was then that Ciel finally looked over his shoulder at the menace and locked eyes.
Without thinking, a small smile appeared on the Watchdog's face as he saw that his spouse simply because he was pleased with his presence here. He then looked down and adjusted his expression to be more neutral before looking up again and debating if he should walk over and greet him. Meanwhile, the other wasn't sure what to do, either.
Ciel was a lot more aesthetically pleasing than Alois expected and made him feel confused in more ways than one. A man should not be that pretty, especially one who supposedly was "nice" but with a temper large enough to need sedation. In truth, Alois wasn't sure what to think of him, but did want to make his acquaintance, considering how they were supposedly living together.
Looking back over to the angel at his side, Alois asked: "Is he always violent?"
"No." giggled Elizabeth. "He's usually very tame. He's just been in a rough spot recently. You two were close. I think out of everyone, he was the one to be the most upset over what happened."
"Even Luka?"
"Luka realised you were alright and still remembered him." she said. "Ciel didn't have that, not that it's anyone's fault."
"Why doesn't he come over and talk?" the blonde questioned further, prompting the woman's smile to widen.
"He's shy." Elizabeth replied, lowering the volume of her voice. "He knows you don't remember him, so he probably doesn't want to look silly."
"So in other words: he's rough on the outside, but sensitive on the inside." nodded the menace. "He's going to be a handful, isn't he?"
"That would be a severe understatement..." the woman stated before looking over at the bluenette, who was busily trying to pretend that he hadn't noticed them. She raised her arm and waved at the Watchdog.
"Hey, Ciel!" she called out, prompting her cousin's attention. "Come over!"
Now that he was invited, the Watchdog felt more comfortable approaching them. His combative stature disintegrated and was replaced with a walk that was graceful, sophisticated, and was so steady, that it made him seem as though he was gliding. Alois tried not to grin at the sudden change, even though he found it amusing.
"Good to see you both." Ciel greeted, focusing more on Elizabeth as the menace intimidated him. "It was strange not seeing you this week, Lizzie. You didn't get to visit."
"I did visit, but you were asleep." the woman noted, prompting a slight pink tint to stain the Watchdog's cheeks.
"Sorry about that..." he mumbled, clearing his throat and averting his gaze, despite keeping an otherwise dignified stance. Just watching him, Alois discovered that the man was an odd one, but believed that he would be able to get along with him just fine.
"It's alright." his cousin replied before turning her own gaze to the menace beside her.
"Alois, this is Ciel Phantomhive, the head of the Phantomhive household." she introduced, causing the bluenette to instinctively hold out his hand to shake as an act of politeness.
With a grin, Alois accepted the offer and said: "Good to finally connect a name to your face."
"The pleasure is all mine, Ji-" Ciel halted himself as he gripped the other man's hand, realising that he had just discovered a potential place to commit an error. "Uh… Sorry. What name do you prefer?"
"Alois." the blonde answered with a definite nod.
"Right. Alois, then."
"You're still holding onto my hand." Alois informed, causing the other man to hastily yank his hand away.
Poor Ciel. His cheeks grew pinker and his heart sped up at the realization that he did something strange. "I'm sorry." Ciel quickly apologised while putting both of his hands behind his back.
"It's alright." the blonde giggled, finding this man incredibly entertaining. "But why did you ask for my name? I'm the one who can't remember things!"
"You and Ciel were very close." Elizabeth stepped in. "You allowed him to call you by a different name."
"Like a nickname?"
"Sort of..."
"So I take it that you're a pretty funny guy, aren't you, Ciel?" the menace asked with a grin, causing the already nervous blue Phantomhive's racing heart to skip a beat.
"Most people would disagree with you." Ciel stated with complete seriousness, but somehow, he made the other man laugh.
"There it is." Alois replied, pointing with his index finger. "It's great."
Ciel couldn't conceal his discomfort at this whole conversation. He tried, but it still appeared in his body language and expression, even if it was subtle. Crossing his arms, the Watchdog shifted on his feet while trying to come up with something to say. It was very difficult to interact with Alois now that they were technically "separated", making it difficult for Ciel to know what to do. While Alois didn't understand the meaning behind it or the cause, the menace could still see it. Thus, it spread to him, as he, too, felt awkward and wondered what he was doing wrong. Both of them hoped that something would save them and promptly, answered their prayers.
"So! Um, Alois! We were thinking about letting you go home with Ciel soon, if that's alright." she said before turning to the Watchdog. "What do you think, Ciel?"
"Oh! Uh, that's fine by me." he quickly stated. "If he's ready to go, that is."
"I'm perfectly ready to go." the menace chimed in. "I've been ready to go for a while, but my therapists disagreed."
"I'll go have a talk with them, then!" Elizabeth declared before turning around to go back. "I can do it right now!"
"Lizzie, wait!" Alois called out to her back as she took off. "Where should I go?"
"Oh, you can find your way back to your room, can't you?" she answered back over her shoulder. "If not, I'm sure Ciel can show you the way!"
"Elizabeth!" the other Phantomhive shouted in a tone that was slightly cross, but his cousin wasn't having any of it and ignored him. Both men were now alone together, and neither of them knew what to do.
"Uh..." Ciel began as he tried to think of something to say. Awkwardly, he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck while avoiding eye-contact with the menace. "So… What did you come out here for?"
"Well, there wasn't really a plan." the other answered as the two men began to walk side by side. "I was mostly just wanting to be outside a bit."
"Oh..." The Watchdog was dying. He had no idea how to answer that. He didn't know what to suggest, either. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to run away, bu he couldn't leave the menace on his own. It was tacky. Moreover, it would be a terrible impression.
This would be bad alone if it wasn't for the stress of consequence for messing it up. Ciel was scared. He was absolutely terrified of the man beside him. His stomach was in knots and his heart felt like it was going to vomit instead of him, himself. Thank goodness, Ciel had been sparring, or else the fact that he was sweating would have seemed weird. He just didn't know what to do in order to achieve the optimal results. He wanted his spouse back, but hadn't the faintest idea as to how to get there.
"So..." Alois began, starting to feel pressure as well. He couldn't think of anything either, aside from his curiosity. "Uhm… Tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?" Ciel questioned with about as much certainty as the other man on where to begin.
"Well… Like… 'How old are you?' 'What kind of things do you like?' Stuff like that?"
"Oh. This year I'm going to be one hundred and forty one." The Watchdog's answer startled the menace, as he hadn't expected it.
"Dermatologists must hate you!" Alois jested, earning the slightest of smiles.
"Well, I am a demon, so it's to be expected."
"Still, I wouldn't have guessed. You seem like you're around my age."
"Well, we are from the same time period." Ciel informed. "Queen Victoria's reign. I was born in 1875."
"1874." the menace replied before pausing. He needed to come up with another question before he spoke again. "So, does that mean you're a noble? Elizabeth said that you were the head of your family."
"I am. I was an Earl, but Earls are no longer fashionable, so I go by 'Sir' instead." the bluenette said before pausing, himself. "Elizabeth is actually my cousin on my father's side."
"Really? You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
"Oh, you're in for a lot..." Ciel said in an attempt at a joke, but it was apparently too heavy for the already tense mood. It took the menace a while to come up with something else to say. He looked down the entire time he thought, trying to shift the mood back to something lighter, and the bluenette noticed.
"Sorry." apologised the Watchdog. "If I may confess something… I'd like to inform you that I'm not the most sociable person, so I have trouble acting casual around people I've just met."
"But you haven't just met me?"
"Similar rules apply. I can't be too friendly or deep, or I risk making things awkward, but I also can't be too distant… I feel like you're most likely going to run into a lot of this, and for that, I apologise."
"At least you're honest." Alois replied, unable to help but allow his smile to return.
"I wasn't always." stated the other. "You're actually the one who taught me how. I… It doesn't really come naturally to me. I'm… I'm probably going to keep my distance for a while. Don't take that as meaning that I don't like you and that you're unwelcome."
"I imagine me forgetting you is going to take some processing, so I don't really blame you."
Silently, the pair continued to walk as uncertainty seeped in once again. Really, both sort of wanted to be alone from each other in order to process what they've learned, but at the same time, they wanted to be around each other. Even Alois, who didn't know Ciel anymore, wanted to be near him. The man felt safe. It was strange, but when they weren't worried about each other, they found each other's presence comforting.
They parted ways again upon reaching Alois' room. He almost wanted to invite Ciel inside, but didn't know if the other would appreciate that. In truth, he wouldn't have, as once Ciel reached his own room and closed the door, he began to unravel.
Leaning with his back to the door, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed before covering his face. Ciel didn't know if he was going to be able to keep this up. He didn't know if he had the strength. All throughout the conversation, he wanted to grab the blonde's hand, and savoured every second when they shook, inevitability creating an awkward situation. He thought about how pretty Alois was and how much he wanted to hold him. The realization of all of these thoughts made the bluenette feel sick to his stomach.
"I'm such a creep..."
A/N: I shouldn't be awake right now... I really, REALLY shouldn't be awake right now... But, my brother has some thing today that involves me having to drive him somewhere.
I could have posted this last night, in all honesty but I held off on it. Don't really know why. Mabe I'm bummed or something. I am worried about this arc... The reviews have gone quiet and I'm worried... Every time, I take that as meaning "You're fucking up big time, you IDIOT" even though I know that's probably not true.
I feel like I'm whining... I'm not meaning to whine. I feel like I'm begging for attention, and, in a way, I am. As soon as that idea that "this is the day where everybody loses interest" sinks in, morale suffers, and I go from one or two a day, to one a week. I don't like doing that because I want to be excited about writing this nonsense.
I'm super fun at parties, you know.
This chapter just makes me uncomfortable. It's kinda boring, isn't it? I honestly wanted more tears, but not yet. Hold it in a little longer. Let things sink in. Things take time.
Good god, I'm so tired... So tired... How long did I sleep? Little over three hours? Fuck... Why wasn't I told that I needed to be going out and doing things?
