"Ow!" The Watchdog grunted as his husband help him try flexing his arm. He had made great strides in mobility and his arm was now very firmly attached again. The muscle still ached, however, and the appendage still felt stiff. A lot of struggle in mobility remained, yet the sensation of his arm feeling like it was full of needles was starting to subside. It was either that or he was just starting to get used to it. Either way, it helped him feel a bit better.

"It's a lot better than yesterday." Alois observed, raising his eyebrows. "Can you lift it on your own?"

"Maybe?" Ciel replied with uncertainty, slowly trying to lift his arm out of his husband's hands. He actually got pretty far before he had to quit. "Okay, okay, grab it, grab it, I can't go any further." Alois carefully helped him lower it back down so it wouldn't drop like dead weight.

"That was good! You got it to shoulder height!" grinned the blonde before placing a kiss on his husband's bicep. "Now let's get your shirt on the rest of the way..."

"I can probably go for a little bit without the sling." suggested his beau while he helped slide Ciel's arm into the sleeve. "Probably only a few minutes at a time, but still..."

"Do you wanna try it?" asked the menace. "Stand up so I can button you up."

Reluctantly, Ciel stood without wearing his sling. His arm sort of dangled at his side, but didn't hurt any worse. On the last button, Alois leaned in and kissed the Watchdog's cheek. "You can do better than that." chuckled Ciel while puckering his lips, prompting the other man to peck his lips with a roll of his eyes.

After helping Ciel put on his sling, Alois added: "You can tuck it in yourself."

"I know. I don't expect you to."

"What do you want to do today, anyway? I have that presentation thing, so I won't be able to babysit you."

"I can hang out here without you just fine." answered the Watchdog. "It's not like I intend to do anything strenuous."

"At least go out to the gate one time while I'm gone." spoke the blonde, ignoring the other as Ciel stared at him while he was dressing. Alois was geared up for business today, wearing one of his nicer suits instead of his work clothes. He opted for a dark blue one with a light purple tie. Stepping back into the bedroom, he did a twirl in front of his spouse.

"What do you think?" he asked, earning a smile.

"Positively gorgeous." stated Ciel with an almost proud look on his face. "It's a shame I can't take you out like this."

"There's not a lot stopping you."

"Except the irrational, suffocating fear of the outside world."

"Or you could just watch Netflix. Or do some work. I dunno. Whichever you think is a better use of time."

"Why do I feel like I'm being scolded?"

"I dunno. Are you guilty of something?" questioned the menace, bending over slightly at the waist and tilting his husband's chin up in order to kiss him once more. "I have to go. I just need to grab my stuff."

"Notes?"

"Yeah. And the memory stick with the presentation on it." Standing up straight, he walked backward toward the door with a wave. "I'll be only a few hours. Call me if you need anything. It's Sebastian's day off, so he'll be reluctant to leave the cat cafe."

"How do you know that's where he is?"

"I know Sebastian." Before turning to face forward, the blonde blew his beloved a kiss. "Love you~!"

"Good luck." happily answered Ciel, watching after the other as he left. The smile on his face lasted a while since he couldn't stop thinking about how cute his man is. In the end, however, he did decide that he should probably start an attempt at getting some work done, since it now took him a lot longer to type.

Thus, the Watchdog made his way to the office, opening the door and lazily scratching the back of his head as he stepped inside. Before he could reach his desk, however, he glanced over at his husband's very briefly, not thinking much of it, but then did a double take. It was empty, for the most part, but with a small pile of objects. It was then that his eye rolled at what he found.

"He forgot his phone..." he mumbled before picking up the smartphone and punching in the passcode. It opened up to a picture of Ciel catching Alois taking pictures of him. "I look awful in this one..."

Out of curiosity, his attention went back to the desk, spotting a yellow file. Without much thought, he picked it up and started skimming, only to be confused about the contents. These were notes on how Pyestock was going to be arranged and powered, as well as how the economy is going to be built. Theses looked important, but not as important as the memory stick he found underneath. Eye widening, it dawned on him what must have happened.

"Shit." Alois had forgotten everything he needed to bring to the meeting. Furthermore, there was no way to call him and catch him before he got very far. Quickly, Ciel reached for the phone in between the two desks and started dialing his butler.

"Come on, pick up..." he impatiently scowled. No dice. It was Sebastian's day off and just like Alois forewarned, he was not going to leave that cafe for anything, even if it meant ignoring his calls.

In a huff, Ciel hung up and he thought. He had no idea who would be willing to come by and pick up the materials before heading off to pass them along to the other Phantomhive. Elizabeth was part of the panel, so she was out. Kristopherson was most likely at the meeting with Logan and Daniel might be there as well. Audrey would go just to see his photos on display, but the Watchdog had no idea about Travis or Patricia. He soon found out when he called, however, that the pair of them were on the other side of town spending the day together, leaving him with no more options. All he could think of was going and delivering it himself.

Needless to say, he really didn't want to. The thought of passing through those gates made his heart beat, his head spin, and his palms sweaty. Ciel even tried to rationalise exactly how important this was, but every time the conclusion was "very." This project was part of what would become Alois' legacy. It was more than his job. Ciel knew that Alois genuinely cared about giving these people proper homes. It was almost like a calling. He took great pride in it, so yes, it was important. Because it was important to Alois, it was also important to his husband, who wanted him to flourish and prosper. Taking a few deep breaths, he did his best to calm his nerves before rounding up everything into a briefcase and slipping the memory stick into his pocket.

"I can do this..." he reassured himself while walking back to the master bedroom. "This is no problem. I've gone outside countless times. It's no big deal." The man kept mumbling things along those lines to himself while he set the case down on the bed and turned to the dressing room in order to locate a jacket and some shoes.

Alas, with his arm in this state, he was not going to be able to move his fingers nimbly enough in order to tie them. A deep frown formed on his face and he furrowed his eyebrow, as he scanned for some shoes that he could just slip on. All he could find, however, was a pair of loafers that were seldomly- if ever worn. Ciel never could get them to go with anything, but now was the time where they were useful. Needless to say, the Phantomhive knew that he was going to look a bit insane with his ugly shoes, eyepatch, and only one arm able to fit through a sleeve due to the sling he couldn't take off on his own. After calling a cab to come pick him up, he grabbed his I.D. and his badge and went outside, locking the door on his way out.

There was no turning back. At least, that's what he needed to convince himself in order to force himself to do this. Thoughts of the menace and how thankful he would be once he was given what he needed did cross Ciel's mind as well, admittedly, but they encouraged him all the same.

Slowly, he moved one leg in front of the other and made it to the end of the driveway. There, he looked up at the iron gate towering overhead. The poor man was sweating a little and his hand trembled as he reached out to touch it. He had done this many times before over the past few days, but not with the intention of stepping outside. Alois wasn't even there to hold his hand and make him feel a bit safer. It was a massive leap from his current area of comfort, but he had to do it. There was so much at stake. Ciel could picture Alois coming home with tears in his eyes, feeling like he had let everyone down. He could not allow that to happen!

With a shaky breath, he gripped the bar and pulled, closing his eye as he stepped through. In an instant, he was in the outside world, having left the comfort of home. So he wouldn't run back, he shut the gate behind him before cracking his eye open to see what he had done. Ciel was still perfectly safe and sound, even though he had gone through the gate. It didn't ease the discomfort of all of the new knots forming in his stomach and every moment waiting for his cab was torture.

When it finally did arrive, the driver asked no questions other than to know where Ciel wanted to go. There was no acknowledgment of Ciel's obvious injuries, but did acknowledge his instructions. The swaying of the car made the Watchdog feel even greener as time went on. Despite spending the past two weeks at home, the mansion was much bigger than the small, coffin-like cab. When he was finally dropped off several blocks away from the gate of Gehenna, he gasped for air and took a moment to collect himself before paying his fee.

Clutching the suitcase close to him with his good arm, he ran. He full-on sprinted to the gate, clearing the distance in no time. In fact, he had difficulty coming to a complete stop once he started, almost tripping over himself once he reached the security post outside.

"Sir, running that fast will draw suspicion." spoke one of the gaurds behind the counter. "If I catch you doing that again, I'm going to have to write you u-"

"What?" Ciel asked, looking up at the guard after calming himself down a bit. The sight of the Watchdog caused the poor gaurd's eyes to widen as he didn't expect this disheveled-looking man to be someone "important." Clearing his throat, the guard quickly corrected himself.

"Hello, Sir Phantomhive..." he greeted, but the demon didn't seem too keen. "D-do you have an I.D.?"

"Yes." the Watchdog answered, putting the case down for a brief second in order to flash his badge. With no further authentication required, the gates started to open and the demon squeezed through the gap as soon as it was big enough to accommodate him, rather than wait for the gate to open completely.

Once again, he ran. He was in a hurry to get his husband's things to him quickly, but also wanted to leave as soon as possible. While he didn't ever want to admit it, he was scared. He felt like something was going to get him if he didn't run, but soon regretted it when he tried to stop and tripped. He was right in front of the church when his shoe slipped off and caused him to clumsily fall, right on top of his bad arm. It hurt enough to both knock the wind out of him with a gut-wrenching sound and for his eyes to sting from tears welling up against his will. It took him much longer than he would have liked to recover from that. Thank goodness that everyone was inside instead of where they could see him sitting in the street on his knees while clutching his arm. He swore under his breath, but it was by no means quiet.

With a grunt, he shakily stood up and picked up the briefcase, holding his arm close as he hobbled inside. Really, he didn't want to even imagine how pathetic he must have looked in that moment. Nothing seemed broken, which was a bonus, but he was still extremely tender.

Pain was evident on his face as he appeared from the back of the crowd sitting in the pews, but fortunately, they were facing the wrong way to look at him. Instead, they were all focused at the front, where a table replaced the podium with several people wearing suits seated at it. One of them was the only one to notice he was there straight away. The rest continued to listen to one man in the group talk about economics.

In an instant, Alois' face lit up with surprise which then morphed into concern. While Alois would ordinarily be thrilled that his husband came to see him work, the circumstances were odd. Ciel was terrified to leave the estate after he was injured, yet he was here, right in front of him, wearing a face that looked like he was in pain. Shifting in his seat, he tried to focus on what was being said, but just couldn't.

Leaning in close to the person next to him on the panel, he whispered: "I need to check on this. Keep things going." He then quietly stood up as to not attract attention, only to fail as he was the famous Lion and people wanted to hear him speak. Still, he was careful to walk along the outskirts, taking the long way around before his walk turned into a small trot.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered to his spouse, gently turning the man around before guiding him out into a hallway.

"Ah! Watch the arm, I fell..." Ciel quietly hissed, following along.

"You fell?!"

"Outside. I was running too fast and my shoe came off." the bluenette replied, prompting the other to look down at his shoes.

"Why did you come?" Alois questioned, stopping once they were out of hearing range. "I thought you were terrified of going outside? Why were you running?"

"I am, but you forgot your phone and your file and your memory stick." hastily said the Watchdog, handing the other the suitcase before fishing the flashdrive out of his pocket.. "I couldn't get anyone else to bring it to you, but I know you need it. Just take it and go back inside."

Wordlessly, the menace watched as Ciel very quickly tried to shoo him off. He did recall leaving his phone, but he knew for certain that he didn't leave the other things. It was only when he saw the flashdrive that it made sense.

"That's not the flashdrive with the presentation on it." Alois informed.

"I-it's not?"

"I keep music on that one."

Eye widening, Ciel quickly turned toward the door, only to be held back by his husband's hand. "If you can stall them long enough, I can go back and get it!"

"No, no, no!" replied the blonde in an almost chuckle. "I have it with me. It's already plugged in and everything."

"It is?"

"Yes." With that reassurance, the bluenette's cheeks turned red.

"I just interrupted you for no reason, didn't I?" he questioned, introducing his palm to his forehead.

"Kinda." Alois shrugged. He then nudged the other's hand away so he could see the man's face. The blonde's cheeks were tinted a slight pink as well as he couldn't help but smile to the point where they almost hurt. "More importantly, you left the house! And you did it for me?"

"Well… Yes?" blinked his beau. "This is really important to you. You need it so I had to get it to you somehow..."

Flashing his teeth, the menace cupped Ciel's cheeks before startling him with a kiss. "You're so sweet!" he said. "Honestly, you're just the best! You did all of that for me? I wanna cry..."

"Don't do that, you still need to give your presentation."

"Forget that! I can't stop focusing on how I have the greatest husband anyone could have!" Before Ciel could put in another word, he was being kissed again on his lips, cheeks, chin, and wherever else Alois could reach. He wanted to give his spouse a proper hug where he squeezed the other man's middle as tight as he could, but because the other's arm was in the way, it wasn't to be. That said, the attention did have a positive affect on Ciel. He was much calmer now than when he arrived and even cracked a bit of a smile.

"We can do this later." the bluenette insisted, trying to set things back on track. "You have a panel to run and it might look bad to be caught here kissing me instead of working."

"Fine..." Ciel couldn't help but smile at the pout on Alois' face. "Please stay and watch, though?"

"I won't be too distracting, will I?"

"Nope! I promise! It's all business." That is what the blonde said, but his face shifted when the Watchdog cupped his cheek and leaned in close.

"Then impress me." Ciel instructed, brushing his lips against the other's just barely. An almost dopey grin appeared on the menace's face as it appeared that Sir Ciel Phantomhive had returned, only to be confirmed when the other let go and silently instructed his husband to walk in front.

The entire walk back was spent by Alois trying to compose himself again. Somehow, he managed by the time he returned to his seat, spotting the other Phantomhive standing in the crowd with his eye watching him rather intently. Injury or not, all of the seats were taken, leaving him to stand with the others who got here later than they should have.

"How is the town going to be powered?" one person in the audience asked, as questioning had started. "Will you be talking to any nearby power plants?"

"That's a good question." a man on the panel said with a nod, opening his mouth to continue, only to realise that he didn't know the answer. Thus, his eyes slyly pointed to Alois, who had to hold up the room by skimming through a few folders to no avail. Then, he remembered the suitcase. Sure enough, there was one more folder inside. Ciel smiled a bit when Alois opened it and kept it rather than putting it aside with the rest.

"Power will come from several sources." the menace replied, glancing at the notes in the folder every so often. "Even though it's often cloudy in England, solar panels still work when its overcast, so there will be solar panels installed on many of the roofs in order to give the place some self-sufficiency. At the same time, though, that isn't going to be enough to keep the town powered both day and night..."

His answer went on and so did the question segment of the panel until it was time for Alois to show what has been happening in Pyestock all this time. It was the grand finale that everyone was waiting for. Alois told Gehenna about the projects that were being depicted as well as what the final results would be. There were plans to use every single material that could be salvaged, even if the purpose of it wasn't conventional. One example was a picture of a man turning keys from a keyboard found on the premises into a necklace with his name on it, presenting the idea that Pyestock was a place for builders, inventors, and craftsmen to build upon. Occasionally, he talked about the people who were pictured, including some of the unfamiliar, new species or subspecies that would be living in Pyestock. A picture of Ruth, the American faun who sang at the Wolf's Glen a few nights back appeared, prompting a rather positive response from the crowd.

Overall, the operation was a success. Questions were answered and people felt increasingly confident in this project. Some even whispered about whether or not there was anything they could do to help without having to leave their own homes and going down there. Those questions wouldn't be answered this time around, but they would be eventually.

While people were filing out, they passed by Ciel and offered their sympathies at his injuries and hoped him a speedy recovery while he waited on his spouse to come find him. Their friends stopped to chat with him for a bit, smiling at finally seeing the bluenette, even though he looked pretty bad. He didn't look like his usual frightening self, but was closer than he was before, little to their knowledge.

"Are you going to go eat with us afterward too?" asked Audrey. "Or are you just going to go back home?"

"We kinda wanna catch up with you. Where ya been?" questioned Daniel with his hands on his hips.

"Locked away in his mansion so the world couldn't see him." stated Kristopherson. "Like Beast."

"Does that make Alois 'Beauty?'"

"Ciel!" called out the menace before anyone could continue the conversation, pouncing on his spouse from behind. He nuzzled his face into the back of the bluenette's neck while squeezing him around the waist as tight as possible. Ciel couldn't see it, but the others could witness the silly, lovestruck expression on the blonde's face as he hummed contently.

"What's gotten into him?" Daniel pondered, only to scrunch his face and stick out his tongue as Alois started gushing.

"My husband is so sweet!" declared the Lion proudly. "He left the house even though he was scared to bring me the notes I needed! Isn't he just the greatest?"

"Oh, God, it's the return of the honeymoon phase..." scoffed Kristopherson He was happy for the pair, but at the same time, felt as though he didn't need to be seeing this. "Make it stop."

"You're no better, clinging all over Logan."

"Shut up."

"That's why Ciel has been M.I.A?" questioned Bones, causing the Watchdog in question to huff.

"My arm was torn off by a train. That's a natural reaction." he said, placing a hand on the other demon's own. "You'd be a bit nervous, too." He had the men, there. Most could only imagine how they would feel after something like that.

"So are we going to eat, or what?" asked the Westley. "I'm starving..."

"I'm not sure if I want to go anywhere..." Ciel said. "As much as I'd like to catch up… I've had enough adventure for one day."

"I'm going with Ciel, then." nodded along the menace.

"So you can be mushy with him?"

"Can it, Kris. I have the right to dote on my husband when he does something cute."

No one could think of much to say to that, so in order to break the silence, Logan, who had been quiet up to this point, hugged Kristopherson around the middle as well. "I think you're cute, Kris." he said, prompting the wolfman's cheeks to turn bright red.

"You're… You're cute, too..." he almost inaudibly mumbled, causing his friends to laugh. That is, until Alois caused the remaining two men to gawk.

"Okay, Dan? Audrey? You're turn." mischievously stated the blonde.

"Fuck no."

In the end, the two groups parted ways, leaving the Phantomhives to go home so Ciel could rest. His arm still hurt from crashing into the ground, but with Alois clinging to his other one, it didn't feel so bad. In fact, it helped the bluenette stay on his feet as he was tired from all of the stress. The emotional drain was somewhat visible to Alois, who was very intent on staring at his husband's face.

"You look like a zombie." he said with a chuckle, earning a small groan in response.

"I need a nap..." Ciel replied. "I want to go home..."

"That's fine. I'm the one driving, so you can sleep on the way back, even."

"Okay..." the drowsy Phantomhive answered, completely oblivious to his husband's grin.

"Poor baby..." cooed the menace while rubbing the other's bicep. "I'm really happy you left the house today, though. You didn't have to do that for me."

"I did. You needed the… uh… the thing..."

"Words giving you trouble?"

"Kind of..."

"You really do need that nap." Alois laughed before turning to face ahead. He was surprised, however, as the bluenette pressed a kiss against the side of his head while they walked.

"I love you, Jim." stated the Watchdog with a smile. "Proud of you, too. Your panel was a massive success."

"I love you, too, baby." Pecking the bluenette's cheek, Alois could see the silly little smile that formed on the other man's face.

"You should nap with me." Ciel suggested, earning a nod.

"Good idea… You know what's another good idea? We should also order food when we wake up..."

"Can we get Chinese food? I've been craving it a lot, lately..."

"Mmm… I was feeling more like pizza, but we can go with that, since you've been good like I asked."

"Why not both? You can get pizza and I can have Chinese."

"Because then you'd want to eat my food..."

"Right… You'd steal mine, too… I'd starve..."

"I see you have the strength to be a bullshitter." Alois noted while his beau laughed at him. "You were doing so well, too… I was really impressed with you coming to give me my stuff."

"You know you love me."

"Yeah, so I guess I'll put up with it." Pausing, the menace thought for a moment. "Sesame chicken does sound good, though..."

"Exactly."


A/N: Plot twist: The knight in shining armour wasn't a knight at all. It was General Tso. You fools. I had you going, didn't I? This wasn't some touching chapter. It was all leading up to the fact that I REALLY want some sesame chicken.

Ahhhh... What am I gonna do next chapter? I had ideas, but I didn't write them down. What an idiot. Eh, it'll come to me.

Though I do have that final essay I have to write for tuesday... It's supposed eight pages.

This chapter is nine. Why can't I focus on important shit? Instead I'm writing fanfiction while stuck in ice hell.

This fucking anime has got me bad, by the way. I haven't been this hyped since... uh... I think it was Psycho-Pass? 2014, I think?

That's right, I wasn't even that hyped for Book of Circus... Most likely because I've read the mango before and always have to nitpick things like an asshole.

Oh! before I forget! I got a question:

"kinda off topic but whatever happened to preston's baby?" by Guest

Still at Phantom House with her mom, probably. Nothing happened. It's a loose end that I might use some day... I haven't particularly thought of anything for it, yet.

Potential plot twist, the kid grows up to be a perfectly normal person.

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!