"So, am I picking up the kids or are you?" Alois asked the butler while the man was busily getting things ready for that evening. "I can do it if you're in the middle of something."
Sebastian chuckled and shook his head. "Please do not take this in the wrong way, sir, but you really are an odd master. It isn't customary for a lord of the household to offer to assist a mere butler."
"Luka's my brother, and I'm just sitting on my ass, so I don't see how strange that is." the blonde replied. "Besides, you're the only staff and it feels kind of cruel to just watch you run around like a headless chicken while I laze around. I'll handle it so there's one less thing for you to worry about."
"If that is what you wish to do, sir." the butler stated, knowing that it was just best to allow the menace to do as he pleased. No matter how strange he found it, Alois' assistance was indeed helpful, as the butler did indeed have his hands a bit full, preparing for a group of young preteens about to walk through the front door.
For the very first time, Luka was hosting a sleepover with his friends instead of staying over at one of their houses. Sebastian had to prepare cots, blankets, and sheets for them to sleep on, as per Alois' recommendation. According to the menace, it would be more fun for the children to all sleep in Luka's room instead of separately, which was a sentiment that the lad himself shared. Fortunately, dinner preparations wouldn't be too difficult. The main course was simple fish n chips, as the butler wasn't catering to bourgeois aristocrats who worried about the food being fancy and pristine. He was catering to children, whose palates might not be so adept at appreciating it. What was most important is that they all have a good time and that Luka remains unembarrassed by the adults around him.
After all, the boy was getting to that age where he enjoys spending time with his friends and sitting alone in his room as opposed to playing with and chatting with family. It broke the butler's heart to see his golden boy growing distant from him. Really, it was the first time that this had happened to him, so it was indeed distressing. With Ciel, the bluenette was already wary and distant from the start and had only grown more trusting and familiar with time. With Alois, there was never any distance, as the menace was always clamoring for attention and had merely calmed down with age. It appeared that Revy suffered from chronic teenaged angst that never waned, therefor it was nothing new in the slightest. Luka, though? That was a shock.
"You should join a support group for mothers." suggested his original master while leaning in the doorway to the kitchen with a handful of chocolate chips. "It might be good for you."
"Master, please do not eat my ingredients." the butler answered, ignoring the other demon's suggestions. "Has master Jim left already?"
"Yes, he's off to fill my house with strange children." the Watchdog replied, ignoring the other demon's instructions as he popped a few more chocolate chips in his mouth. "There's not even an ulterior motive or anything. Very queer business, this is."
"Indeed. The sheer nerve of some people." Sebastian said, matching his employer's joking tone. At least, he certainly hoped it was a jest.
"Could you bring dinner up to my office this evening? As you may already be aware of, I am not the most proficient at social gatherings."
"No! You don't say?"
"Oi, watch yourself, butler..." the Phantomhive warned, although he didn't seem too serious about his threat.
"One master offers to assist me in my efforts, while the other refuses to call me by name and eats my ingredients… What a strange house, this is."
"Not the strangest thing about this household, although I'm sure it adds up." Ciel said. "I sort of wonder if this little get together of Luka's is one of the most ordinary things to happen in a while."
"Oh, I'm certain. It's good that he finally has friends that he can bring over. Meanwhile, the other one has already left for the Midford estate."
"Not surprising. He's not the type to wish to entertain, either. We can both respect each other on that level." Flicking any remnants of crumbs off of his fingers, Ciel stood up straight. "On that note, I think I'm going to run off and leave you to it."
"Thank you very much, sir." Sebastian said with a roll of his eyes. His back was to the other demon, so he wasn't caught, but part of him wished that he had been.
Meanwhile, driving one of the larger Phantomhive vehicles to accommodate more people, Alois passed through the gates of Gehenna. It was a slow drive to the church, as cars were a bit unusual for the area and people walked in the streets willy-nilly, but the menace didn't mind. It was his vehicle that was intruding, after all. He parked in front of the building and waited for his brother's classes to let out. Eventually, the large doors were opened by a rather tall man with a long face and dark hair to match. He was dressed like he ran a morgue, yet, the children who came pouring out of the building didn't mind him in the slightest. In fact, several said their goodbyes to him, including Luka and a few of his friends.
There was the faun boy that the youngest of the Macken clan talked about, as well as the ogre, and the goblin, amoung others. Alois opened the door and stepped out in order to greet everyone. Luka jogged up to him, followed by other preteens who looked up at the menace with mystified expressions. It was really him! The Lion!
"Hey, kiddos." the man waved. "How was school?"
"It was fine. Everybody was talking about the baseball game." his brother replied. "They said it was a lot of fun."
"That's good. We were worried about how the result would go over." Alois confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, who all is coming with us?"
Suddenly, all of the children seemed to stand up straighter as the younger Macken turned to them and started pointing. "That's Zeke, Penny, Raquel, Bruce, Ashley, and Mordecai."
"Good to meet you all!" the blonde said with a bright smile. Gesturing to the ogre in the group, he added: "Penelope! Your dad did a great job as the umpire for the game."
"Thanks." the girl answered with a light blush.
With a clap of his hands, Alois rubbed them together before motioning for the others to follow him. "Alright! How's about everybody follow me 'round the back to put your stuff up, yeah?"
In response, he received variants of "alright" and "yes" from the kids. All of them were very helpful in putting their stuff away, although a few of them looked slightly hesitant to get into the vehicle themselves. Most of them had never ridden in one before, so their hesitance was understandable. Luka and the menace had to help a one or two, while the rest could figure it out or help each other. Eventually, everyone was loaded up and ready to go on this crazy adventure into the unknown.
"Don't worry, I was scared riding in a car for the first time, too." Luka told Ezekiel.
"It's not just that." the faun said while squirming in his seat. "Well, it's a big part… But also, I don't think my legs were made for this kind of seat. It's even worse that I'm in a skirt."
"Is it too cramped?" Asked Alois. "Do you want to sit in the front and put the seat back? I'm sure Luka won't mind trading places."
"Is that really okay?" questioned the faun. "Isn't it better for him since you're brothers?"
"Anyone can sit in the front seat, Zeke." the younger Macken informed. "C'mon. Let's trade."
After moving around a bit, the group set off, prompting nervous laughter from the backseats as they started moving. Alois assured him that he would drive slow, but that only alleviated their worries slightly. They were nervous not only for the strange sensation of riding in a car, but also in anticipation of what was to come. Some of their parents were hesitant to allow them to visit the Phantomhive estate, as it was where the dreaded Watchdog of legend lives. But, it is also where the Lion lives, so it might cancel out. The menace himself was nervous as well, but mostly due to the amount of culture shock these children were about to experience. All he could do was pray to God or Lucifer or whoever would listen to him that Sebastian kept the food and sleeping arrangements simple like he insisted.
The truth would come out eventually, as they would eventually arrive at their destination. Eyes were practically bulging out of heads at the sight of the massive estate. It was like something out of one of the films shown on movie night down at the Wolf's Glen. The building could probably house all of their families and still have room for more, yet this is where Luka lived with only four other people.
"We're here~!" Alois announced in a sing-song voice as he pulled into the driveway. Once the car was parked, he got out and opened the doors to the backseats in order to invite the children to join him.
One by one, they piled out of the car before going toward the back of it to retrieve their things. Luka, bless his heart, was taking full charge of things, confidently leading them to the door and telling them things about the place along the way. The driveway was where he rode a bicycle for the first time and Ciel taught him how. There was a window that Luka accidentally broke on the first floor by accidentally lobbing a football through it. There was also an unnecessarily large amount of cars that have cycled through the place over the years due to being destroyed by supernatural nonsense.
The lad even opened the door and held it for his compatriots like a little gentleman, but his confidence had its limits. Immediately upon stepping inside, everyone froze at the sight of the foyer. There was glitz and glamour to the space, even with the somewhat reserved tastes of the family head. Then again, he had hired an interior designer, so that wasn't saying much.
"It's huge!" one kid finally shouted. It was a human-like boy who Alois had pegged as a naturally born werewolf named Bruce. "Is this a hotel?!"
"It's a mansion, dummy." spoke his sister, Ashley. "It is huge, though. How many people can stay here?"
"Ciel says that lots of people used to live here when he was a kid, but since he became a demon, it's hard to find staff who can keep the secret." Luka explained. "Sebastian's the only person who actually works here. Probably why he didn't meet us at the door. He's really busy."
"I work here, too, you know. I just don't work as staff." chimed in the menace. "Why don't you take everybody upstairs to get settled in? You can show them around on the way."
"Sounds like a plan, man." the younger Macken said, giving his brother a thumbs up before motioning for his friends to follow him. Before he could leave, however, his sibling had one more thing to add.
"Just a minute!" Alois called out, bringing the group to a halt. "The girls have their own room apart from yours. It's the one next door."
"What? But why?"
"It was 'dad's' idea, and I'm kind of inclined to agree with him." Something about the way that the menace placed his hands on his hips and spoke with authority got under the lad's skin, however. Truly, Luka was indeed entering his teenage years, as the beginnings of rebellion took hold.
"Uuuuugh! Fine..." the boy groaned, much to the confusion of the Phantomhive.
With a light shake of his head, Alois let it slide and left the group to their own devices. He assumed that Luka would have them follow any rules that they were supposed to, but was growing increasingly worried about the likelihood of that. In the meantime, however, his worries were not going to be realised as Luka was doing as he was told, despite his attitude.
"I thought you didn't have a dad?" asked Ezekiel, who had thought he had known who all lived in the Phantomhive house before then.
"I don't, but Sebastian raised all of us, so he's sort of like a dad." the demon explained. "Jim and I call him that when it's just us. It's kind of an inside joke."
"That's the least weird thing around here." spoke Ashley. "Why is this house so big? You could explore all day and not see everything..."
"I dunno. It's been in Ciel's family forever. Rich people have a thing for big houses for some reason." the Macken stated with a shrug. He honestly didn't understand it and never was fully comfortable with living in such a large house and had a tendency to want to spend more time outside. "When I grow up, I'm probably gonna live in Gehenna or Pyestock. I don't think I'm really fancy enough for this place."
"It feels kind of intimidating..." said Ashley as they walked down the long, long hallway. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, it's just… a lot."
"It looks like it belongs in a movie..." gasped Mordecai, "Or a storybook. It's amazing!"
"Yeah! It's kind of like an adventure!" declared Ezekiel. "We should go exploring after we put our stuff up." Turning to Luka, the faun questioned: "Can we?"
Luka looked up as if he had been snapped from a daze. "Huh? Yeah. I don't see why not."
His friends rejoiced at the thought. Indeed, this was a grand adventure for these youths, as they now had the chances of all chances to explore a manor-house. Most people would not ever get to within their lifetime, so it was already amazing on its own, but then it had captured their imagination as well and went wild with it. This was not just a mansion, but the house of legends, with all of their possessions, their memories, and their spirit flowing through the halls. The Phantomhives' mythos and legacy was ever-present even if they were nowhere in sight, just from the mere knowledge that this is where they lived.
Even if the children didn't know of all of their exploits, they know of a few since they occasionally make the news. In their heads, they had images of crazed pyschics and gunfights, of traitorous pirates and swordsfights, of murders, gangsters, and everything else in between. This was a home for adventurers, so an adventure is what the kids were determined to have.
When all of them reached Luka's room, he led them inside and showed them around. It was incredibly spacious, like most rooms in the house. It wasn't as "decorated" as the rest of the house, as it was the room of a young boy, with posters of his various heroes and interests taped to light blue wallpaper and collectables on display. His room was clean, Sebastian made sure of that. Toys and clothes were neatly put away. Nothing was a hair out of place, which was not how Luka had left his room.
The annoyed twitch of his eyelid thankfully went unnoticed by the others, who simply waltzed in and set down their things. Well, except for the girls, who stood and waited for Luka to snap to his senses and show them which room was theirs. It was decorated in typical Phatomhive fashion. It wasn't anything particularly unique, but to the children, it might as well have been a royal palace.
"So, how do you want to explore?" Luka questioned his friends once they were all together again. "We can't climb on anything that shouldn't be climbed on or enter any rooms that are locked. Probably shouldn't play with anything breakable, too."
With an arched eyebrow, Raquel asked: "What rooms can't we go in?"
"Other people's rooms. Revy will get mad and Ciel would be annoyed." the Macken answered. "The office is off limits, too. Ciel is probably in there anyway, so we wouldn't be able to play much. He's probably hiding."
"Hiding from what?"
"Us." the boy grinned. "He's kind of shy."
"The Watchdog?" Ezekiel gawked in disbelief. He wasn't the only one who thought that was strange.
"Yeah. I mean, he's scary when he's doing his job, but the rest of the time, he's not a bad guy."
"The Watchdog?" Ashley inquired, seeking to clarify what she was hearing.
As if on cue, one of the doors in front of them opened, nearly hitting the young demon. The person on the other side stepped through and shut it behind him. The eyepatch on his right side blocked his view so he couldn't see Luka right away. Being in the comfort of his own home, Ciel didn't think to use sixth sense before rounding every corner, so he almost ran into the boy. When he finally did turn, a look of surprise came over him. Immediately after, he relaxed again and apologised.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." the Watchdog said with a small smile. Turning to the others, he widened it slightly in an attempt to seem less threatening. "Hello, there. What are you up to?"
"No good." Luka replied flatly, only to giggle a bit when the Phantomhive ruffled his hair.
"Perfect. Surely, you will become a most excellent fiend someday." Ciel jested right back.
The Macken simply explained himself. "Everybody wanted to explore the house, but I'm not really sure where to take them."
"Hmmm… Have you tried the garden?" the man suggested, knowing how his brother-in-law liked the outdoors. "Or, there's the entertainment room. Or the ballroom. Or… Honestly, I'm not really sure."
"You own a toy company. You're supposed to know what's fun for kids!"
"Well, then… I would definitely recommend the garden, but don't go too far into the forest. Then again, you said 'the house'… The entertainment room should be sufficiently entertaining."
"I think that they were thinking more along the lines of 'adventure'." Luka specified, only for the man to shrug.
"Exploring is an adventure. But don't get too carried away." Ciel warned, placing his hands on his hips. "The house isn't sufficiently child-proof, so somebody might get hurt if they go to places or play with things they're not supposed to."
"No private rooms, no office, no basement, don't touch anything sharp. Got it." the boy recited, only for the other to ruffle his hair again.
"Precisely." the bluenette answered before walking past the group. "Have fun! It was nice meeting all of you."
With that, the Watchdog left, leaving the children baffled. Wearing a smug grin, Luka looked to them. "See?" he asked. "He is nice. He married my brother, didn't he?"
It took a moment before the others could answer him. Eventually, Penelope got the nerve to speak up. "That… makes sense." she said. "If Mister Lion is a good person, then why would he marry someone who's bad?"
"He's good-looking with a lot of money." Ashley answered without thinking, earning a few questioning looks. "Well, he does. Look at this place!"
"Nah, they're crazy about each other." Luka waved off. "Super lovey-dovey and all that. Revy complains about it a lot, but I think he's just envious. I mean, I don't really get why they do it, but it's really hard to care when Jim's so happy."
It was true. The lad couldn't help it. Even if he didn't really see the thrill in kissing and holding hands just yet, he could still see just how happy the Watchdog made his brother. Even when he didn't understand Alois falling in love with another man, he could appreciate that. After all, the blonde's happiness was important enough to him that he would sell his own soul for it. This was insignificant in comparison. It was obvious to Luka that Ciel was a kind man, as he not only treated his brother very well, he also extended that respect to Luka himself as a result! Thus, the idea that people could look at Ciel and see a horrible monster who would take children away was absurd to him at best.
"Anyway," he continued, "wanna go to the garden? It's really big with lots of flowers. We could play hide and seek or something."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Ezekiel declared, pumping his fist in the air. "Is there anything to eat out there?"
"No, but I can ask Sebastian to make us something to eat outside." the Macken answered. "There's a gazebo we can sit at."
A/N: In honour of the revelation from the last chapter, this chapter is named after an ABBA song. God bless.
I realised that Luka has actually aged quite a bit and wanted to try and write him a little older? I'm still working on getting a feel for him. Trying to channel that 11/12/13-year-old flair. I'm not very good at it...
Anyways, I got a question:
"does anyone in the dltd universe like dc comics? this superman/batman convo has got me interested now... not that i wasn't interested before. i'm sure you've seen all the dc things i post on tumblr." by ell
Not anybody in the present, but I do know of a certain wee puppycat who will appear someday in the far off future who feels a certain affinity for Batman. He likes him because as far as he's concerned, that's basically his papa in tights...
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
CHARACTER SHET: The Triumphant Return
Question: "Alois, did you ever thought about learning German (or any other language) ?" by Kinja145
Alois: "Nah, but I did consider learning some French. I forgot most of what I learned in secondary school and dropped out of college before I got to take any classes on it. I mostly wanted to learn it because Ciel and Sebastian speak it whenever they don't want me to know what they're scheming and it's ridiculously annoying."
