Things were a tad bit strange in the Phantomhive household, but not enough to be alarming. Alois was working hard on his assignment, giving it absolutely everything he had. He had even developed a more "Ciel-like" habit in that he insisted on staying up late in order to make sure things were perfect. Even the Watchdog himself thought it to be odd and would physically pry him from his desk and carry him to bed. While Ciel was proud of his spouse for taking this task so seriously and handling it in a professional way, he was also concerned that if the blonde were to overthink things, it would hinder his presentation. Thus, there were the occasional scheduled breaks in which Ciel would insist that his spouse stop working for an allotted amount of time. This, however, didn't always bode well with the menace.
"Just a little bit longer." Alois insisted. "I'm just about to figure out what to do about transportation."
"What needs to be done about transportation?" questioned the bluenette, genuinely curious.
"The head of the American organization is a little old lady. We can't expect her to be hiking all over town!"
"What are you going to do? Have a tour bus?"
"That was an idea, but I'm worried that the residents might mistake it for the town bus." sighed the menace, resting his head in the palm of one hand, while tapping the index finger of the other on the desk. "Just a few more minutes..."
"If you take 'a few more minutes', then you might find another problem and put it off longer." Ciel reminded. Walking around the desk, he stepped behind his spouse, putting his hands on his shoulders and kneading them. "Just come sit with me for a while, then I'll leave you alone."
"Why do you want me to so bad?" questioned the blonde, feeling a pair of arms gently wrap around his shoulders. The Watchdog's cheek was pressed against the side of his head so that he could watch what Alois was doing. "You do this all the time."
"I know. That's precisely why. It's unusual for you, so naturally, I'm concerned."
"I'm just trying to do the best job I can."
"I know you are, but you can't get stressed about it. If you do, it might affect the tour." Pausing, Ciel placed a kiss to his husband's temple. "You're brilliant at public speaking as it is. Just relax a little."
Reaching up, the menace placed a hand on his beau's arm with a sigh, holding him there. "I just… I don't want to mess this up..."
"Let's talk for a minute." suggested the bluenette. "What are you worried about? What part?"
"I… I don't know… I don't want to be a dissappointment and I don't want to let anybody down. There's a lot at stake here. There's the global reputation of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and Integra and Elizabeth and everybody else there at risk, and I don't want to let them down. There's also the people of Gehenna whose lives and livelihood at risk. Then there's our reputation on top of those bigger things… It's a lot."
"I know, darling. I don't know what to say to make it better." Ciel confessed. "I do know that you need to regulate stress. I have nothing but the utmost confidence in you. Your presentation will be wonderful. Don't forget, either: I'm going to be there, too, so the burden isn't only yours."
"How do you propose I do that?"
"Well, I don't know. We could order lunch, watch a movie- or both, if you want to be daring. Whatever you want to do."
"What if I just wanted to haul myself into our room and sit alone?"
"That's fine, too, if that'll help."
"I'm kidding." chuckled the menace, taking delight in his husband's considerate nature. Patting his beau's arm, he signaled for Ciel to release him so that he could stand up. "I like your plan."
"What should we watch?" the bluenette questioned while the other wrapped his arms around the Watchdog's neck. Alois' palms were placed on the back of it while intertwining the fingers of both hands together as he yielded to think.
"Dunno. I'm always game for some Quentin Tarantino. Long as it's not Pulp Fiction."
"Which one?"
"I'm thinkin' Kill Bill or Inglorious Basterds or something."
"So you have wished it, so it shall be..." answered Ciel, soliciting a giggle from his spouse with a smile. His hands were at the other's sides as the both of them moved in for a quick kiss.
It was supposed to be, at least. When their lips joined together, it was as though a flip switched in their heads and they couldn't just leave it at that anymore. Hands shifted to pull the other closer although they did part on occasion. It was only for a moment in order to get a better angle and deepening the kiss more. Eventually, however, it seemed to dawn on them what they had done, prompting them to stop.
Red-faced and a little embarrassed at the sudden shift, the two of them stood there momentarily, shifting awkwardly. Clearing his throat, Ciel broke the silence, which was enough to allow Alois to start the laughter. It very quickly became funny to the couple, giving Alois the chance to peck the other one more time.
"Maybe the movie can wait?" he suggested with a snicker.
"Are you sure?" questioned the bluenette while in perfectly good spirits.
"Well, you said I should manage my stress." Alois jested. "Care to show me your Hattori Hanzo?"
"Certainly." the Watchdog grinned, leaning in to kiss his beau again.
"Close the curtains, then." the menace piped up, forcing the other to a temporary halt. With a sly grin, however, his husband happily obliged.
"Yes, your highness..."
The curtains closed, but from the ground outside, Luka couldn't help but have the sinking suspicion that he caught a glimpse of something he shouldn't have. With a shake of his head, he forced the thought from his mind and carried on about his business with a small shudder. Turning around, he got back to work.
With a small shovel in hand, Luka was playing a game. He remembered that approximately a week prior, he buried an action figure in the garden somewhere and was determined to find it. It was a game of search and rescue, and the eleven year old was determined to save his friend.
As of late, he was starting to become bored with things. He was tired of television, he was tired of wandering the mansion, and he was tired of playing these games he made for himself on his own. He wanted to play with his friends from school, but he couldn't go to Gehenna whenever he felt like. He still needed to wait on someone else to take him. Luka was starting to want to do things himself. Perhaps it was just him getting older. Either way, he was getting somewhat lonely, being in a house full of grownups who had their own things to do.
It wasn't as though had anything better himself at the moment, so he carried on. Crouching down, he would look under bushes and near statues and such, hoping to remember the landmark he chose to mark the spot. In one such location, he crouched and looked around, trying to figure out where he left the damn thing. He dug up near a statue that looked about right, only to turn up with nothing.
From his position, he looked around, peering under bushes from this new angle out of curiosity more than anything. Unexpectedly, his eye caught something underneath one of the bushes nearby. Getting on his hands and knees, he decided to crawl over and investigate. He could see a what looked like a square, black object underneath the bush, but when he reached out for it, he could wrap his hand around it's plastic grip. It had some weight to it, but not enough for the boy to not be able to handle. Pulling it out of the bush, he dropped it as soon as he set eyes on it, scrambling to his feet as fear shot through him. Nervously, he gripped his jacket and knew what he needed to do.
"Sebastiaaaannnn!" he called out as he took off running. There was no question in Luka's mind about it. He needed to find the butler and report his findings right away. Minutes later, he came back with the tall man clad in black and pointed out the location of the offending item. Bending down, the butler picked it up, holding it firmly and securely in his hand.
"Oh, dear..." Sebastian said. "H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. must have accidentally left behind one of those brutes' guns." Swiftly, he turned on the safety and took the magazine out of the weapon, much to the concern of the lad.
"Is that real?"
"Yes. It's very real." With a pat to the lad's head, Sebastian added: "You did the right thing by coming to get me."
"How do people even get guns?"
"Well… Depending on what level of illegality you're willing to stoop to, there is always a way." the man informed. "Handguns like this are illegal, but, there are ways to acquire guns legally, too, through the proper channels. They're only to be used for sport and for hunting, however."
"Don't Jim and Ciel have guns like that?" questioned the lad with an arched eyebrow.
"Yes, but they're a bit of a 'special case'."
Pausing, Luka thought for a moment. He needed to decide which of the many questions swirling around in his head to ask next. The boy had never held a gun before, and he had never really seen one up close except in movies. Naturally, he was very curious about the dangerous object.
"Can I ask you something?" Luka questioned as they wandered back to the house. "Do people always die when shot?"
"No." bluntly answered the butler. "But you can never be too careful just in case. You can seriously hurt someone with a gun. If they're human, they might never heal completely if the shot wasn't fatal. Never ever point a gun at someone unless you intend to hurt them."
"I don't think I'd really want to use one for that..." replied the lad. "Hunting might be neat, though."
"Oh? Would you like to learn?" asked Sebastian with a hint of amusement in his tone. "I do believe I started teaching the master, when he was around your age."
"Ciel could use a gun when he was a kid?"
"Yes. Not always for hunting, though. Fortunately for you, you have a choice in the matter. He carried a pistol out of necessity."
"But I thought handguns were against the law?"
"They are, now. They weren't a hundred years ago." the man clad in black concluded. Once in the house, he walked toward a safe and carefully put the gun inside before closing it shut tight.
"I think those are a little scary..." Luka noted.
"They can be. You should be afraid of them. People often don't use them safely because they think they're some action star or some nonsense. Guns don't work like they do in the movies."
"How do they work?"
Arching his brow, the man went into a long explanation about gun safety and use, and Luka paid attention to every bit. This was important to his brother's job, after all, and it was thus a chance to learn more about it. While Luka had absolutely no interest in shooting people beyond that, he was fairly interested in the idea of hunting. Most of the questions he asked the butler were about that. Birds were more interesting to him than deer, as birds seemed like they would taste better to the boy. The idea of holding a weapon such as a gun, however, scared Luka. He was fully aware of the danger, but decided that if Sebastian were there, it wasn't impossible.
After a lengthy talk, it was agreed upon that Luka might be interested in giving learning how to hunt a try. They would have to get the permission of the lad's brother, however, and worked on their pitch before heading toward the office. Luka was nervous, as he was almost certain that Jim would say "no", but that wasn't the case, at least for today. While the pair didn't get to talk to Alois, they did get to talk to Revy, who came down the hallways with a disturbed expression. He seemed mortified by something.
"Are you looking for Alois?" he asked, stopping the demons in their tracks. Perplexed, the butler nodded.
"Yes." the man said. "Why? Is he busy."
"You could say that, yeah." Revy quipped. A shudder ran through him as he folded his arms.
"I see..."
"We need to ask him if it's okay if Sebastian teaches me how to hunt." Luka proudly announced.
"Fantastic, so the little one is going to shoot guns while the big ones are having a shag." spoke the revenant, his words dripping with sarcasm, despite his otherwise pleasant tone.
"There's no need to be nasty, Revy." scolded the butler, only to earn a shrug.
"I have heard things I would rather I didn't, Sebastian." answered Revy. "I am not happy."
The complaining only caused Sebastian to roll his eyes. What Revy heard was nothing to the things Sebastian had. He was the one who had to empty the garbage bins and ignore things he found. Never in his life would he speak up about it, however, as it was a rare occurrence and otherwise was not hurting him. Luka, however, was confused.
"What's a 'shag'?" the boy asked, causing the older demon's eyebrow to twitch. All it took was a glance from Sebastian to let Revy know he was in trouble for this, but kept his composure.
"It's a very, very rude way of referring to sexual intercourse, and you should never say it." Sebastian gently informed.
"Jim and Ciel have sex?!"
Luka's astonishment was prevalent on his face at the realization. Certainly, he was aware that adults do that sort of thing, giving that the butler had taught him basic facts about reproduction, but it never really clicked in is mind that his brother and his brother's husband did as well. His eyes were wide, but Sebastian's turned to Revy, who was doing everything he could to not back away conspicuously. This was going to be a long afternoon for all of them. That much was obvious.
A/N: Alternative title for this chapter: "How To Annoy Sebastian". Poor guy... Gotta do what ya gotta do, though...
I have nothing really to say. My head hurts and I want a nap.
I am sorry for the lateness of this chapter though... It turned out too short, then it became a bit long. Over 2,400 words, man...
I did get a request, though:
"Could we have some dltp trivia?" by Guest
Sure. What kind do you want? You guys are always free to ask questions about the series if you have them, by the way.
Let's see... I've been wanting to talk about H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. paperwork, lately, so I guess I'll talk about that.
At H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. you have to update all of your forms every couple of years. This includes personal records, medical records, all of that good junk. Most importantly, however, they want to know about your medical information as well as whether or not you've committed any crimes. Depending on the crime, you can either be barred from being hired, or fired. Even some violent crimes are more "okay" than others. Sex crimes most times result in automatic firing, while murder in self defense is permissible. Nobody cares about marijuana, though, as long as you do your damn job.
As for medical stuff, they want to know typical stuff in case you get injured (as people who work here often do) and they need to treat you. They wanna know about medications you're taking, drugs that you are known to use, whether or not your family has any history of certain diseases or conditions, any conditions you may currently have, etc. The medical records also include any mental health record you may have, because they also treat that.
Lying about anything on these papers can get you fired or even arrested, so it's best to always be honest. Mistakes happen, so you will receive a call if anything looks suspicious. Say, you entered in something a little wrong on accident.
"The year you were born and your age don't add up. It's off by one year. Did you have a birthday? We'll change it if you did."
I could honestly talk about that shit all day. That's still not as thorough as I went in my notes, but that's the basic shit. If there's anything specific that a person might wanna know, or if you just want some random shit like this time, just ask. It's always fun to answer questions.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
