The sound of the Mercedes pulling up in the driveway of the Phantomhive Estate sounded seemingly sounded an alarm in the heads of the house's residents. Everyone went out to the garage to greet Alois. Sebastian went because everyone else was and Revy sort of sauntered over to the menace, but the truly entertaining pair was Luka and Ciel, who were apparently racing to be the first in line to hug the man. With his longer legs, the head of the household left the child behind easily and practically pounced on Alois. The menace had just gotten out of the car and shut the door behind him when a pair of arms were suddenly around him and he was being picked up with a quick twirl.
"Well, hello!" he laughed, being surprised by his husband's enthusiasm. "I take it that I was missed?"
"Very much." answered the bluenette, kissing the other man on the cheek before allowing his feet to finally touch the ground. "Hello, my darling. How was your trip?"
"Tough, but I got a lot of work done. There's still a million things I need to do." Alois stated before pecking the other's lips. It wasn't really enough for either of them. In fact, they both tried to lean back in for another kiss before remembering that the others were still there.
"Ciel! It's my turn to hug Jim!" complained Luka while tugging on the back of the Watchdog's shirt. In response, the bluenette failed to act like the adult in the situation and merely tightened his grip with a pout.
"He's my husband, so my turn is longer." he replied, turning his head and looking down on the twelve-year-old, prompting his spouse to roll his eyes.
"Well he's my brother!" protested the boy.
"A grown-ass man playing keep-away with a little kid..." Revy noted aloud while leaning toward the butler. "Sad..."
With a huff, Ciel gave the menace one last squeeze before reluctantly releasing him, allowing the youngest of the Macken brothers to hug Alois. While the menace greeted and fawned over his sibling, the blue Phantomhive stood off to the side, dejected but eager. He was very obviously ready to jump back in at any time, much to the amusement of Sebastian and Revy.
"Patience, my lord. A gentleman must be civil." teased the butler, smirking at his master's scowl.
His visible eye had lit up as soon as he heard he sound of the car in the driveway and his heart was racing from the excitement. Needless to say, he was more than happy to have his spouse home again. Alas, the menace was excited to see everyone else, too, so he couldn't be selfish and monopolise the attention. Even Sebastian got a hug from Alois, while Revy got a pat on the head. It was very quickly swatted away, but the sentiment was received.
Very quickly, Alois was escorted inside. Yes, escorted. The entire family followed behind him, with Ciel taking his arm. The only one who was left behind was the butler, who took it upon himself to fetch the blonde's suitcase before it was forgotten. Once inside, Alois uttered a sigh of relief, feeling much better after being surrounded by the comforts of home.
Luka busily told him about all of the things that happened while he was gone. The boy discussed things that were happening at school and what the kids were saying about Pyestock. This in turn, simply conveyed how the parents felt. Luka also discussed how Revy continuously tried to kick him off of the Wii U, which was met with backlash from the middle child as a result.
"Kristopherson came over while you were gone." Luka informed. "Him and Ciel talked about making a new store."
"Luka couldn't stop staring at his muscles." his other sibling added.
"He's bigger than the last time I saw him, okay? I knew he had them, but I forgot. He used to be all skinny. Like Revy."
"Whose fault is that? Not mine." scoffed the revenant. "Alois was dainty, apparently. No wonder I'm always hungry."
"Well, you're also stuck in the form of a fourteen-year-old." reminded the menace. "That will also do it."
"Luka should catch more birds for us to eat."
"You said hunting was stupid." reminded the youngest.
"Yeah, but birds are tasty."
It would appear that the youngest of the Macken was starting to become a teenager. Thus, the clashing of teens was beginning. Alois was filled with both amusement and dread at the idea, but no one was as impacted as Sebastian. As much as the butler enjoyed teaching Luka new things and helping him branch out a bit more, he also struggled to adjust and stop seeing him as the eight-year-old child that he started raising.
The rebellion didn't stop here, however. It was tough, trying to decide whether or not to send the boy to Warwick like his brothers. He didn't seem keen on leaving the schoolhouse of Gehenna where his friends were anytime soon. In addition, he wasn't entirely sure what to do with humans. Most of his interactions with humans had either been neutral or negative, save for his "Uncles" who were friends with the Phantomhives. Being around supernatural beings all the time simply felt like home to him. They talked about this while Alois was gone as well, but no progress had been made either way in reaching an agreement. Sebastian wanted the boy to go to one of the finest schools in the country and Luka didn't want to enter that world. Truly, it was difficult, as the butler wanted to both push him, but also didn't want him to feel "othered".
It didn't help that the master of the house took no sides on the matter and was going to simply inquire what Alois thinks. In truth, he was perfectly fine with either option. He was certain that Luka would be successful, either way. Surely, if Ciel could run a company at twelve, Luka can choose which school he wants to go to, yes? Sebastian didn't agree. Quite frankly, Alois wished Luka would go to Warwick as well, but knew that it might not suit him at all. He sort of regrets not having him hang around human children more when he was younger.
In fact, Ciel didn't seem at all too interested in anything the others were talking about, electing to remain silent for most of the conversation. He was sitting on the couch with his arm around Alois and that was enough for him in that moment. In fact, it was so much so that he was starting to get perhaps a bit too relaxed, causing his eyelids to become heavy. He was finally in a situation that was comfortable to sleep in, but unfortunately, it came at a time that wasn't right for it. Thus, the man was forced to fight it off, despite not feeling much fatigue from staying awake for a week solid previously.
"You okay, Pooch?" the menace questioned, prompting the other man to rub his eyes and take a a deep breath.
"Mm-hm. Fine." nodded the bluenette. "Just comfortable, I guess."
"He finally gets here and you pass out on him? That's so sad..." Revy chimed in, prompting his brother to roll his eyes.
"Alright, off to bed with you." Alois said, clapping his hands. Grabbing onto the bluenette's arm, he gave it a tug and tried to pull the other to his feet. "I'll take a nap with you. Let's go."
"SICK!"
"Shut up, Revy." instructed the blonde while nudging his spouse along. The promise was too much for Ciel to resist, so he sacrificed his comfortable spot for an even better one, sleepily making his way up the stairs.
"I don't know what's come over me." the Watchdog yawned with his husband's arm around him. "I was wide awake until I sat down. I didn't feel tired at all."
"You got relaxed, didn't you? It's fine. I could use a nap, myself." nodded the menace. "Besides, it's a perfect chance to cuddle. I've missed it all week. For some reason, I'm more excited about that than the prospect of making love again."
Ciel laughed at that. It was alright. They were alone in the hallway and the kids were out of earshot downstairs. "I understand entirely. I was kind of feeling the same way, myself."
Once they were in the master suite and the door was closed, that sentiment persisted, even while they started to remove articles of clothing. "I'm going to change into something comfortable. I dunno how you can stand wearing suits all the time." Alois stated while disappearing into the dressing room, leaving Ciel to remove his shoes, belt, and tie on his own.
"You get used to it." sighed the other. Very shortly after that, he was already about to get into bed when his husband came back in a T-shirt and shorts. The sight of the blonde was enough to make the bluenette smile like a complete dope, but it would also appear that the feeling was mutual. Alois walked right up to him and reached out to caress the other demon's cheeks, grinning ear to ear all the while.
"I really missed you." he said while allowing the Watchdog to slip his arms around his waist. He pressed his forehead against Ciel's, closing his eyes while tangling his fingers in the other's hair. When he was blocked by the string of his beau's eyepatch, he unfastened the knot and pulled away so that he could see the entirety of his husband's face.
"I missed you, too." It took Ciel a moment to adjust to having his bad eye exposed, but allowed the blonde to take the sight of it in before leaning in to kiss him.
While it was true that they both wished to spend their time together napping, the presence of a proper kiss made them momentarily forget that plan. A shiver ran up Alois' spine and Ciel gripped him tighter. They both really missed this. The romantic kisses that conveyed the love that they felt to one another was almost essential in their lives.
"I love you." breathlessly informed the menace, pulling away.
"I love you, too." his husband replied. "Even if I'm too drowsy to kiss you thoroughly." Letting out a content sigh, he buried his face in the other's shoulder and sat down, dragging him down with him. "Hugs feel really good."
"Yeah..." giggled the other, amused at the oddness of his husband's choice of phrasing. "You should lay down instead of sleeping sitting up. Can you even do that without falling?"
"I have developed many skills over the years."
Ciel pulled his husband up onto the bed and set him down before getting himself in position. Almost immediately, his pillow made his eyelids grow heavy. When the menace cuddled up to him and he was able to put his arms back around the other man, he practically melted. His body relaxed as he sunk further into the mattress, surprising the both of them at how quick that result was. Almost instantly, he was beginning to doze off, but he made sure to keep a firm grip on Alois in the mean time.
"Sorry the first thing we do together is nap." he apologised. He felt as though things needed to be more romantic or that they should at least talk a while before going to sleep, but the poor Watchdog simply couldn't manage it! Fortunately, his spouse was understanding. Alois certainly didn't help his problem, however. The blonde placed kisses to the other demon's forehead and soothingly ran his fingers through bluenette locks, forcing Ciel's eyes to flutter shut.
"Don't worry about it." the menace reassured. "Gives me an excuse to cuddle you."
"Mm-hm..." It wasn't much longer before the Watchdog was fast asleep in his husband's arms. He was content with this, although he felt as though he should be doing more. Of course, they had plenty of time to catch up, so he could sleep to his heart's content. Lord knows that he needed it.
"Good boy..." Alois cooed. Shortly after, his eyes closed as well and the Phantomhives spent their first few hours being reunited while sleeping. It was still time well spent.
A/N: This was hard to wrap up for some reason. I can't shake this sort of distracted feeling for some reason. I couldn't get fluff to work right.
I feel like fluff with these two has become really weird? They're just SO married. You can't use typical tropes with them, either. Y'know that bit where one person walks in on the other while changing? It wouldn't work! The one who walks in would just be like "Oh, sorry. Is it okay if I grab the thing I need real quick?" and that's basically it. That's what would happen in real life, so that's how it would happen here! Throughout writing this, though, I was thinking like "Shouldn't they, y'know, talk or something? Be romantic?" but no, that's not what they called for. They can nap together as sort of a bonding thing and it work just as fine. They know how much their husband missed them and loves them! It's time for bed! It's just a casual thing.
But I wondered if the audience would pick up on that? It makes sense in my head, but does it in yours? It's kind of unusual for fanfics, isn't it? Then again, this isn't exactly a normal fic...
I've actually been told that DLTD presents some pretty good morals and values and such. Strange, for a fic about demonic assassins. If you think DLTD sends a positive message, tell me what it is. I'm curious. I'll post the most interesting ones.
Until the next chapter, my ducky~!
CHARACTER SHET
Question: "Dan: How are you?" by raynaheart23
Daniel: "Dying. I've noticed that I've put on a bit of weight, so I asked Kris if I could go to the gym with him. Mistakes were made. Primarily the part where I thought going to the gym and exercising with a lycanthrope beefcake was a good idea. I can't keep up..."
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Question: "Sebastian, how's the Rolls Royce?" by Guest
Sebastian: "Miraculously intact."
