Dennis Darcy was having a fantastic day. As editor of the newspaper, it is always wonderful when your work is so enticing that it sells out quickly. That story with The Lion made it so the printing press could hardly keep up with the demand. Now he had the problem of finding a way to top it.

There, he sat at his typewriter and thought. In addition to picking what stories went into the paper, he wrote for it as well. He pondered whether or not he had enough to make the story about Jim Phantomhive cheating on his spouse sound plausible. He didn't think it was a lie, but he did think that some people would doubt him if he made such an accusation. The timing was bad. This was a credibly newspaper, or so he thought. Yet, he also wanted some sensationalism in the mis.

Humans did it all the time. They published what was interesting so that things didn't seem monotonous. It was hard to find specifically Gehennan news, as few things of interest happened on a day-to-day basis. Well, it depended on what kind of "interest." Humans enjoyed celebrity tabloids and news, but there were few of those in Gehenna and the ones that were there were hard to access.

Dennis certainly wasn't going to try and chat up Babyface Baldassare about what was going on in his life, but the Phantomhives? They were friendlier. It was easier to get access to them because normally, they would be polite. Imagine Dennis' surprise when Alois took his camera and deleted his photographs while shouting angrily. Granted, he did return the object, but did so in a rather disgruntled fashion. It was odd behaviour from the man, so thought the editor of the Gehenna Times.

His sister, Dolores Darcy, discouraged him and shook her head whenever she saw him. He couldn't wrap his head around why. Every time she did that, he shot her a haughty grin because it was he who was responsible for selling all of those papers, not her. She had warned him not to publish it, but he knew better. Humans do things like this all the time, so it must be okay. Alois surely wouldn't mind, coming from the human world, himself. Even now, Dennis smiled as his sister walked into his office, her face pale as a sheet.

"Dennis, you need to get out here right now." she said.

"Why? Does the public want us to print more copies of yesterday's news?" the editor replied, only to grow confused as his sibling looked quickly over he shoulder behind her.

"No, HELLSING is here. It's the Dame, herself!"

Immediately, his expression fell as he forced himself to stand. Quickly, he ran out, only to see HELLSING soldiers in full uniform accompanying an angel. Dame Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Hellsing stood expectantly, looking anything but amused.

"Dennis Darcy?" she questioned, clarifying the identity of the man who just stepped out.

"Yes?"

"You are hereby under investigation for malpractice." Elizabeth replied while two soldiers advanced, placing the warlock's hands behind his back and cuffing him. She continued to speak while he was patted down. "You are being detained by HELLSING and being brought in for interrogation."

"Wh-what is this all about?!" pleaded the editor, only to have his own newspaper held up to view.

"The article you posted about The Honourable Jim Phantomhive is slander against a HELLSING agent. Furthermore, the purpose of this establishment is to publish truths, not lies, violating terms that bother you and the Department of Supernatural Affairs agreed upon to start up this business." the angel informed.

"That's not against the law, here! This is Gehenna! You can't do this!"

"Indeed, it is not an issue under Gehennan law, however, this building and business was refurbished and paid for by the HELLSING organization under certain qualifying conditions that have been violated, causing this problem to fall under our jurisdiction." calmly explained Elizabeth. "All activity in this establishment will come to a complete halt until you are either cleared of charges or we have found a suitable replacement."

"Wha-? Wha-?" Dennis gaped as the soldiers gently escorted him out of the building. He was then coaxed into a HELLSING truck to be carted off to headquarters for further questioning. Fortunately for those whom he harassed, they had already done their interviews.

Ciel and Alois were both interviewed at home since Ciel refused to leave the mansion, still. It was one of the perks of being agents that was more than "a bit" unfair. Despite the fact that the bluenette's condition was improving, he still was afraid of going outside. He refused to elaborate a very much on the matter, although he did demonstrate that he could slightly move his fingers now. Because they were considered trustworthy, there was very little investigation into them, especially since the HELLSING organization practically had every tidbit of information they could possibly gather from the two demon specimens already.

They were soon left alone. The truck left to return to headquarters and the demons were free to enjoy the rest of their day. At the very least, they had the satisfaction of knowing that "reporter" was going to get into some serious trouble with HELLSING. No one wanted the newspaper to disappear, but they did want to ensure that it was reporting truths and avoiding needless sensationalism. That was its purpose, after all. Once they had a moment, however, Alois began to pester his husband about something he was still desperate to avoid.

"You couldn't even go to headquarters?" the menace asked while raising an eyebrow. "It's probably the safest place you could be, just about."

"Not necessarily true. HELLSING has been invaded and destroyed more than once in the past." corrected Ciel, prompting the other to roll his eyes. "I'm just being realistic."

"What is the likelihood of that happening right now, though? You haven't left the estate in weeks, Ciel. At least step outside the fence for a few seconds."

"What would be the point? I'm almost healed."

"Three twitching fingers does not a functional arm make." reminded the blonde. Standing up, he grabbed his husband's good arm and gave a gentle tug. "C'mon, get up. You're going to walk past the gate today."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes! Your arm maybe healing, but your psychological well-being is important, to!"

"So… Making me do something I don't want to do is going to make me better?"

"Letting you fester isn't any better. This is your safe-space, I know, but you can't stay here every moment of every day. It's driving you a wee bit mental."

"How is it? I don't see what you're talking about."

"The pacing, the wandering, the fidgeting, the sighing, the laying around doing absolutely nothing at all, which by the way, is concerning because usually you're mister 'Let me just finish these e-mails really quick and then I'll come to bed'." Alois listed off, knowing he won from how his beau avoided his gaze. "You're like a stressed-out animal in a pen that's too small. It worries me."

Defeated, the Watchdog sighed. "Fine… It's just a gate."

"I know it is." his beau stated giving his arm another little tug. "Get up before I pick you up."

"Now I'm kind of tempted to see if you will." smiled the bluenette, leaning back in the chair. Much to his surprise, the menace did in fact let go of his hand and moved to carefully scoop him up bridal style. Alois really did pick him up and started for the door, only to be stopped.

"Okay, okay, you can put me down." Ciel insisted.

"Are you gonna be a good boy?"

"The goodest." he playfully answered, thankful that his husband put him down. "You don't need to hold my hand the whole way, you know."

"I know. I just like it." Alois stated while dragging his spouse through the halls. Eventually, they ended up out the front door and they started down the driveway.

The walk was pleasant enough. They chatted and engaged in banter while Alois played with Ciel's fingers before intertwining them. Fortunately, the driveway was long, but as it grew shorter, the bluenette's heart grew faster and his grip on his husband's hand tightened. The iron gate grew bigger as it became closer, towering over the Phantomhives. Alois noticed that the other was nervous despite all the talk he did about not being afraid. All the menace could do was urge him forward.

"Just touch the bars." the blonde instructed, taking his beau's hand and trying to bring it to touch the metal. Immediately, Ciel's legs locked up. "Just touch the bars, and we can go back."

"Why?"

"Because. It's like getting right up against the glass at a zoo or something. You're as close as you can get to the tiger without being in with the tiger."

Taking a deep breath, Ciel shook his head and reached out, poking the gate with his fingers. This, however, wasn't good enough for his husband, who took his hand and made him grip the bar firmly, clasping his hand over them. He was right to an extent. It sort of was being near a tiger to the bluenette, as he was so close to being outside, but still somewhat safe behind the barrier. After a few moments, the man started to relax and his body became less tense.

"You're doing good." his husband encouraged. "Think you can go through the gate?"

"No. You said we could go back after I touched it." Ciel answered. "I'm touching it. I'm ready to go back now."

"That's fine. You made progress and I'm happy with that." Allowing the Watchdog to let go, Alois wrapped his arms around the man's waist while approaching him from the side to avoid the sling. "We can try that tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We'll build it up every day. Eventually, you'll be able to step out."

"What if I run away?"

"Where are you gonna run? You can't leave the estate."

"I could hide." the bluenette suggested while the two began the walk back. "Wait… You can sense me… Damn..."

"You're cute when you swear." Alois giggled before kissing the other's cheek. "Does it at least seem a little less scary?"

"Well, I know that approaching the gate is a little less scary. Still not great. Still feel uneasy about going outside. It's not a rational fear."

"I know. Sometimes, though, practise makes perfect, or something close to it. Sometimes, it can ease fear if you become practised at something."

"Perhaps… Even if I hate it, you're still trying to look out for me." Ciel said with a soft smile. "That's kind of sweet in a demented sort of way."

"Better than letting you lock yourself away. It could still be another week until you're completely able to use your arm and I'm not letting you hide until then."

"Why are you so determined?"

"Because I love you and want you to get better but also I miss you being scary and intimidating to people."

"That's an odd thing to be concerned about… Why would you want that?"

"It's attractive." Alois bluntly replied. "I get that it's weird, but you're just so confident when you do it."

"Hmm..." That made Ciel think. It had been a while since he had acted like his old self. Indeed, he missed it, too. He missed feeling powerful and strong. Moreover, he wondered if that was acceptable to the menace. He did feel the need to appear attractive to his husband. There was value in it. "I haven't been too assertive, lately, have I?"

"It's fine. I don't expect you to go back to being big and bad right after losing an arm. You gotta heal, first." his husband insisted, but the Watchdog wasn't convinced.

"That's true and I really appreciate it, but..." the bluenette trailed off, trying to think. "I'm still concerned. Am I not attractive to you?"

"No! You're very attractive. I want more of you." The blonde declared, rubbing his husband's bicep.

"You seemed rather receptive when I pat your rear the other day." Ciel pondered aloud, causing the other's face to turn red. "Would you like me to be more aggressive?"

"Aggressive? No. Assertive? Maybe."

"Alright." very thoughtfully answered the Watchdog with a nod. He stopped walking for a brief moment and let go of his husband's hand, causing the other man to arch an eyebrow. Alois' confusion very quickly turned into laughter when the man bent down and picked him up, tossing him over his shoulder. "Don't kick, you'll hit my bad arm."

"Bossy, bossy, bossy..."

"I could always drop you."

"Please don't."


A/N: I don't really want to write an A/N today, so I don't think I'll write anything long.

I will give y'all a heads up that I need to finish a seven page essay tomorrow. I'm on page three and got there in an hour and a half, though, so I can probably get it done in no time. But, in the event that I can't, I might not update tomorrow. So sad.

You'll forgive me though, right?

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


CHARACTER SHET

Question: "Hi Logan and Kris! So happy your first date went well :). However, I'm sorry you had to deal with those homophobes, no one deserves to go through that... Anyways, what movie did you guys go see? Does the outside world still freak you out Logan?" by Hannahfanbear

Logan: "It wasn't our first date, but it was still fun~! The world that humans live in is still very strange, but I'm not scared when I'm out there too often because I genuinely have a goal or a destination in mind. I don't have to talk to a lot of people. It's kind of amazing how humans can be surrounded by hundreds of people but still be isolated.

Anyway, the movie we saw was Dust Blaster. I got to see most of it, but I don't know if I want to go back and try watching it all the way through. It moved way too fast for you to really get a feel for the characters and vampires just don't work that way. Kris that Nana Hitsugi has directed better stuff, but I haven't seen Devil Butler. Still, I had fun."

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Question: "for anyone who lives in/visits the gehenna: what's your favorite piece of folklore?" by forestkiid

Logan: "I don't really know. I guess The Lion and Watchdog, since I know them personally!"

Baldassare: "Akeldama."

Tegwen: "I don't really know a lot about legends, but I know a lot of ballads. My favourite changes every so often."

Kyung-Soon: "Ethelred the Wanderer is pretty cool. He just goes around on adventures all the time. People write stories about him, but I think he was actually a real person."

Forsetti: "There's a story about a werewolf named 'Wulver' who would leave fish on the windowsills of starving families. A lot of people are convinced that he's real."

Daniel: "Uh... I dunno a lot about the folklore here, so I guess Alois and Ciel?"