"Do you think Revy and them will be alright?" questioned the blonde. "I don't like leaving him to report on his own."
"I'm sure he'll be fine, darling." Ciel insisted. "Elizabeth won't hound him or treat him badly. If anything, she'll be so nice that he can't stand it. Besides, he is reporting straight to the source, cutting out us as middlemen. If there's anyone who can do something with that intel, it's Elizabeth."
"I know. You're right." the menace conceded, reaching out to hold the other's hand from across the table. "This night is about you and me. Married for one full year and hoping for many, many more."
"Cheers." answered his beau while raising his glass. The two toasted, causing Alois to giggle a bit.
"I highly suspect that most people don't toast with cola." he said, looking down into his cup.
"Champagne, cola… They both have bubbles." jested the Watchdog, finding humour in the sort of clash in culture.
One might think that the rich and sophisticated Phantomhives would be dining in some sort of five star restaurant with dishes that had very hard to pronounce names, but instead they were at a pub. It was typically considered to be in poor taste to bring one's date to a place like this, but these two were peculiar fellows who had a very atypical way about them. Alois insisted that it would be perfectly alright to go someplace fancier to suit the tastes of his sometimes snobbish husband, but the bluenette insisted right back that they ought not to. The Watchdog knew rather well that Alois preferred places like this and quite frankly, he didn't mind them, either.
"I love you." Alois presented, looking up again. "I can't think of much to say. I feel like I should come up with something more poetic, but instead, I came up with like, 'I love you! Just throwin' that out there in case you forgot'. It's so awkward..."
"That's the most important bit, though. If you must know, by the way," Ciel paused to lean closer, dropping his volume slightly while looking the other in the eyes. "I like it when you speak your mind."
"Sometimes, that's all I really can think to say, really." the menace carried on, causing his husband to smile. "It's like it bubbles up to the point where I have to! I'm compelled to because… I just look at you sometimes and think: 'good God, this man is my husband and I love him so much.'"
"Oh, good, I'm not the only one, then."
"Oh, stop it..."
"I'm serious! I think that all the time!" his spouse declared while starting to play with the other's fingers. "Sometimes, I just want to stare at you. I get thoughts like 'this man is absolutely beautiful' or 'somehow, I managed to marry this man,' or even, yes, 'good God, this man is my husband. I love him so much.'" His smile only widened when the other's did.
For some reason, the couple was having a hard time coming up with things to talk about. They were completely overwhelmed by the situation to the point where they were clueless. It felt as though they were awkward teenagers once again!
"I keep falling further in love with you more and more." Ciel continued, his voice so soft that only the menace could hear. "I thought about how I felt when we first started dating and how I feel now and it's just… oceans away. I can't imagine life without you."
"The same goes for you." grinned his beau. This was not the proper setting and ordinarily, he might have looked around to see if anyone was watching, but he simply couldn't help himself. The compulsion was too great. Shifting their hands so that Ciel's was firmly in his grip, Alois leaned forward and lifted his husband's hand to his lips, placing a kiss to his ring. "I love you, even if I can't reach you from across the table."
"Now I regret coming here." chuckled the bluenette with pink cheeks at his spouse's antics.
"You'll have all the time in the world to kiss me. You're not the only one being patient, here." Pausing, Alois watched the other's face shift. "Control yourself, Phantomhive. I still want to hang out more."
"I didn't say anything."
"Don't have to. We're married. That means I have the magical ability to read you like an open book."
"That's hardly fair, don't you think?"
"Not really. Surely you can do it, too. What am I thinking?"
"You're taking delight in teasing me, that's for certain. But wait!" Ciel gasped. "What's this? Am I detecting… a touch of projection, mister Phantomhive?"
"How so?"
"You said yourself that you're having trouble with patience as well. Self-incrimination."
"Oh yeah?" With his elbow on the table, the blonde rested his chin in his palm and smiled. "What am I thinking now?"
With a pause, his partner thought, staring at his face rather intensely before cracking a smile himself. "That I'm cute." he answered rather surely with a nod.
"Spot on. You're incredibly cute. Super cute. You dope."
"I'm your dope, Jimmy-darling, and I don't intend to let you forget it."
"Good. I like it when you remind me."
That was essentially the conversation that persisted during the entire meal. They flirted and teased each other the entire time, being sickly sweet and eating a bit quickly so that they could leave faster. Neither would call the other out on it, even though they observed it, as that would mean calling attention to their own actions. Thus, they simply carried on the same way they had been all the way until they paid and left, all without incident. Smiles were on their faces and they laughed wholeheartedly as they stepped out onto the sidewalk and began walking.
"So, where to next?" questioned the bluenette. Alois had his arm around him while they walked, giving him the impression that he was being led.
"Still weighing my options. Bear with me." the other man replied, seeming almost lost in thought as he looked around. His husband almost wondered if he had a plan at all. He looked around, looking forward, side to side, and over his shoulder. Once those areas were covered, he looked up at the buildings around them to make sure no one was watching. Satisfied with the results, he turned sharply, dragging his spouse into the first available alleyway.
"The most romantic venue in town, I see." jested the Watchdog, turning his attention to the other when Alois separated from him just long enough to stand in front of him and face him.
Ciel's attempt at teasing was soon lost when the other reached out to caress his face, gently trailing his fingertips along his jaw while stepping closer. Parting his lips ever so slightly, Alois glanced down at the Watchdog's, hinting at what he wanted. Assuming this, the bluenette closed his eye and pursed his lips, leaning forward, but the other didn't kiss him. Instead, he whispered softly, confusing the poor demon further.
"Last. Hit." Alois had said, pulling back with a grin without his husband seeing. Then, in a fashion that was almost cruel in nature, he reached down and pat Ciel's rear, snapping the bluenette out of his trance before sauntering backwards. Before the gears could fully turn in the older Phantomhive's head, he leaped into the air, bouncing off the walls until he reached the roof of one of the buildings.
Meanwhile, he left Ciel speechless in the time it took for him to figure out what happened. When he did, his brow furrowed, yet still he was smiling. Determination covered his face as he knew what he had to do.
"Oh, you are going to get it, now..." he muttered before taking off after his spouse.
It was night time, so hardly anyone could see them from where they were. If they could, reports of witnessing "Spring-Heeled Jack" may appear again, but they weren't too worried. Right now, all that mattered was their little game of tag. Being the competitive individuals that they were, it was going to be an extreme case. Once Ciel landed on the roof, the game was on.
Instead of trying to tag the other, however, he opted for an approach that was perhaps a bit more clumsy, but made it very obvious what he was after. Ciel lunged at his beloved foe, trying to grab onto him. Alas, the other was slippery, and wouldn't let him hold him so easily. The Watchdog's strategy of trying to hug the menace was not working, so he had to switch to a different approach.
Hands shot out with inhuman speed as he tried to tag his spouse, but the blond dodged every single one. Smiles were on their faces as they danced their unorthodox dance on the roof of the building. Fine. Ciel would give it everything he had. He would have to trick his husband and he had only one shot.
Striking low, Ciel led Alois to step to the side, only to come at him with his other arm on the other, trapping him. No longer able to move from side to side, the menace tried leaping backwards, but it was too late. Ciel's arms closed in around him and the Watchdog had him around his waist. While the blonde was laughing, his husband pecked his cheek.
"You took that weirdly seriously." Alois commented, causing the other to scoff.
"And you didn't?"
"Of course not. You wouldn't have caught me if I did."
Now, Ciel had to concede to that, as it was probably true. Alois was fast, much faster than himself. With his sixth sense, he could be even faster if he tried. If he did that, however, the game would have gone on far longer than this and his interest could carry him only so far. Truly he wanted to kiss the other man and was going to do so anyway.
"I just wanted to play a dumb game with you." he explained. "We don't do that a lot anymore."
"We should. It's fun. Just don't tease me like that. It's the only bad part." Ciel replied in earnest, only for the blonde to kiss his cheek.
"You're such a baby. Can't handle it, precious?"
"No. I can't. I've been wanting to kiss my husband all evening."
"Did you want to kiss me in that dirty alleyway?"
"I have kissed you in worse places."
"Well, why don't you kiss me now?"
"Because we were talking."
"We should stop talking so we can kiss." Alois said in a rather matter-of-fact type of tone, much to the amusement of the chuckling Watchdog.
"We should." agreed Ciel, inching closer. With Alois' arms around his shoulders, he kissed the menace on the roof some some unknown building in the middle of London. They hadn't the foggiest idea where they were and quite frankly, they didn't care. As long as no one caught them, they were fine. They had each other and that was enough. It was more than enough. Always.
Pulling back, the two touched foreheads, their noses nuzzling. They just stood there, taking it all in. Moment passed, however, and they craved the softness of the other's lips again. Alois ran his hands through blueish-black locks before tucking them behind Ciel's ear when they parted again.
"You look good with your hair back." he breathed.
"That's a shame. I mulled over how to fix it for ages." the Watchdog answered in a whisper.
"I know. You were hogging the bathroom." Quickly, Alois pressed their lips together again. "You're handsome no matter what you do to it. It's cute like this."
"Back or down, which is it?"
"Blue and black." giggled the menace. "You're very handsome, no matter what you do. There's no helping it, I'm afraid. I'm not even sure if there's a cure."
"What if I changed it blonde."
"I would laugh and then I would be a little disappointed. I like this. It's unique. Your choice, though, I suppose."
"Would you really be that offended?"
"No! No! Offended is… not what I would be, most certainly."
"Alright." Ciel began, clearly unconvinced. "Luckily for you, I don't think blonde is really my colour. It would interfere with my image of gloom and doom."
"Well, you're not doing a very good job of it as you are, if that's what you're aiming for."
"And why's that?"
"Because I'm always happy to see you." explained his husband, pausing to take a moment to straighten the bluenette's tie for him. "You make me a very happy man."
"I'm glad to hear it… I take it that year one of being my spouse has been good for you?"
"Being in a noble family in an official manner has taken some getting used to, but I like it a lot." Alois nodded. "I'm surprised you stayed with me this long. Remembering how I was the first year of being boyfriends? Good god, I was so cringey…"
"I liked you anyway. I fell in love with that 'cringey' boy, mind you. Don't go talking bad about him."
"Guess it was just being a teenager. I remember struggling to get you to smile once in a while."
"Now I can't stop." smiled the Watchdog, gently reaching up in order to stroke his beau's cheek. "I love you, Jim. You brilliant, beautiful, man..."
"And I love you, Ciel. You awkward, but extremely attractive man." the blonde Phantomhive quipped back, pecking the other's lips.
"I wasn't finished." Ciel continued while reaching down to fish something out of his pocket. "I was going to apologise."
"Oh, c'mon, Ciel… We said 'no gifts!'"
"I know. I'm sorry. Think of it as more of a… formality of the 'noble nonsense' variety." the Watchdog replied, hoping that his spouse would at least humour him. Pulling out a small box with a ribbon on it, he held it up to the other's view. "Please? It would really mean a lot to me..."
"Oh, alright." Alois pretended to huff as he took hold of the object and picked at the ribbon. "I don't have anything for you, though. I hope I don't look bad."
"You buy me earrings and ties all the time."
"Because I want to."
"Yes, and I want to you to have this."
"Yeah, but our anniversary is supposed to be spe-"
All at once, the air was sucked right out of the blonde's lungs as he opened the package. His expression fell. All he could do was stare inside the box, only tearing his eyes away to look at his husband, who only looked on with a loving expression. It was the kind that said without any words that Alois was this man's world. The blonde could tell. Yet, all he could do was shake his head.
"Before you reject it outright," Ciel began raising his hand to stop the other. "It is a replica. I knew you wouldn't accept the real thing, so I had a cast made. It is proper gold, however."
"Ciel, you-" Alois tried to think of something to say, but he just couldn't. He was overwhelmed, leaving his husband to take the box and removed it's contents.
"I had one made for myself as well." the bluenette continued. "These rings are supposed to be worn by the highest-ranking man in the family, but… Now there's two. So, there should be two rings. I would very much like it if you would wear yours." Reaching down, he grabbed the other's hand. "May I?"
Silent hesitation filled the air while Alois mulled it over. In the end, however, he realised the weight of what was being asked of him. To accept this was to accept his place as not only a full member of the Phantomhive family, but as one of the family heads. He had stolen that position before, but this was proper. This was something entirely different. Yet, it was an offer that he couldn't refuse. Not because of power or status, but because this is how highly his husband thought of him. They were not only allies, but equals. Alois has just as much say over family proceedings as Ciel does. Completely. It cannot be taken back.
To someone such as Ciel, this was a powerful declaration of love. This is a man to whom his name was everything. His place in the world and very sense of self depended on it. Alois was not just Ciel's husband. To accept this gesture was to not only become synonymous with the family name, but to become "Phantomhive" itself. He would do so alongside his beloved. That is Ciel's intention. Yet, for Alois, it seemed all too surreal. Just like on his wedding day, it was hard to wrap his head around the idea that this was really happening. Slowly, however, he did nod and presented his hand without a fight.
"You have to wear yours too." he said, voice cracking more than slightly. Pausing, the bluenette reached into his other pocket and pulled out an identical ring. He placed it on the middle finger of his right hand before doing the same with Alois'.
"There." the bluenette said surely, beaming with pride.
The two wore signet rings that bore the family crest on them. The original was locked away in a safe, but Ciel had taken it out of hiding just for the occasion. It never found a place on his finger again. Really, there wasn't much use for them. Their original purpose was to imprint the family seal in wax on documents and letters to mark their officiality, but now they were just heirlooms with only sentimental value. The head of the household had worn the original spanning back generations, even when the evil nobles wore powdered wigs!
Flabbergasted, Alois stopped and stared at the piece on his finger. "This makes the third ring you've given me. It never gets old, either."
"I'll think of something else, next time." the other stated. "Unless… you really want to honour the 'no gifts' rule on our anniversary from now on."
"We were supposed to do it this time. What am I supposed to give you? This blows my earring out of the water!"
"I like it when you give me earrings! I wear them all the time!"
"I know. You always wear that pair when we go out." the menace pointed out, gesturing to his husband's ears.
"There are lions on them."
"Are those your 'date night' earrings?"
"They make me think of you."
That answer made the blonde Phantomhive stop and think. Tilting his head slightly, he asked: "Are you always thinking of me when you wear them?"
"More often than that, I'd say, but in a way… yes, I suppose." To this, the menace giggled, prompting Ciel to raise a brow. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I guess… I've never really thought about how much of a sentimental person you are." Without saying so beforehand, the menace separated the two of them before sitting down on one of the short, brick walls the lined the ledge of the building. He patted the seat next to him, inviting the other to join him. Wen the bluenette did, they sat close together. Close enough for Alois to rest his head on the other man's shoulder.
"I like that about you." he continued. "For someone who strives to be a heartless bastard, you're the sweetest bloke I know."
"You make me feel that way. I want to make nice gestures to you. I want to be sweet." Placing a small kiss to Alois' temple, the bluenette took one of the man's hands in both of his own and sighed blissfully. "Love feels so warm..."
Alois' eyes were closed, allowing him to focus on other things. He focused on his husband's scent, the feeling of his beau's hands holding his, and the soothing, soft sound of his voice. It was deep, but calm, infecting the menace with it's tone.
"It does, doesn't it?" he answered at last, looking up at Ciel.
When those icy blue eyes met with the deep blue of Ciel's own, the Watchdog's heart skipped a beat. His cheeks were lightly dusted pink as only one thought crossed his mind. It persisted at him so fervently that it slipped past his lips.
"I love you."
They way he looked at the menace directly in the eyes when he said it shook Alois to his very core. In these intimate moments, there wasn't really much that they needed to say to each other. Those three words on their own were better than any poetry or compliment as neither man was the type to use that expression lightly. They said it often, yes, because they often liked to express their feelings toward one another. It never lost it's weight and has only grown stronger.
In this moment, Alois felt safe. He felt loved. Truly. He was worthy of it. Alois, on his own, without any altercations, was loved. He was perfectly aware. Ciel, without any real effort on his part, was able to make him feel this way. Not only that, he loved the Watchdog in return. They understood each other. They mattered most.
"I love you, too." the menace whispered against his fellow demon's lips. "Happy anniversary."
A/N: 500 words shy of 4,000. Maybe next time. Anyway, I needed some Cielois. We have been missing that, lately. Just some shameless, shippy stuff.
I've put their anniversary off long enough, anyway…
I've been thinking about their relationship a lot, lately. I've been uploading DLTD onto AO3, starting from the very beginning. I find the difference in Cielois then to Cielois now fascinating. They're so… CLUMSY, not just as far as relationships go, but as people as well. Both of them. They're so much better at conveying their feelings now. I'm proud of my babies. They've grown up so much!
Honestly, I think they're about 100 times more in love now than they were then. Even when they were dating. I don't think that was "love" just yet. That still needed time to grow.
It has. They're inseparable now. It's gonna suck when Alois starts having to make trips to Pyestock. Phonecalls will be made regularly. LOTS of them.
Also, I got a question:
"If DLTD were an anime what songs would be on it's playlist?" by That1Chickenstrip
Uh… I dunno? I have a few… Okay, A LOT. There's:
"Totem & Taboo" by Hugh Cornwell, "Bang" by Nikki Yanofsky, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmeralda, "Homicide" by 999, A massive portion of the Hellsing RUINS soundtrack, "Lamento" by Taku Iwasaki, "Symphony no. 9 in E minor Allegro con Fuocco" by Antonin Dvorak, "In Your Belief (Instrumental)" from the Asura's Wrath soundtrack, "Diablo Rojo" by Rodrigo y Gabriela, "Stop Desire" by Tegan and Sara, "Comme un Enfant" by Yelle, "Ave Maria" by Alessandro Moreschi, "Caruso" by Andrea Bocelli, "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn, "From The Time You Say Goodbye" by Vera Lynn, "Satisfied Mind" by Johnny Cash…
...AND MANY, MANY, OTHERS.
That's just what I can think of off the top of my head. Most of those, I can think of specific scenarios they would be used in…
What do y'all think of these songs? Tell me in the comments. I'm curious.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
