Eventually, all of the children were found except for Luka and Bruce. It took so long, that one of the other children had to help Ezekiel cheat by blowing the pair's cover. After much good-spirited faux-debate over whether or not Luka's plan was "cheating" or not, the group moved inside and continued playing there.

They traveled from room to room, gazing at knickknacks and looking at photos and artwork. The real thrill was speculating things about the mansion, which led to a manor-wide hunt for secret passageways that weren't really there. Luka was sure to point them in all the wrong directions, after all.

"Is that real armour?" questioned Penelope while cautiously touching the metal sculpture with her fingertip.

"I think it's a replica." Luka answered. "There's real weapons around here, though. We're not allowed to touch them, though."

"Who would know if we did?" Ashley inquired with a somewhat mischievous grin.

"Everybody, if you hurt yourself." retorted Bruce.

"She'd certainly scream loud enough." said Raquel, giggling as she earned a playful slap to the arm from the wolfgirl.

"Yeah, don't touch those..." the Macken insisted. "I don't think it's for them to get mad at, but so we don't accidentally die."

"I imagine that dying is kind of a buzzkill." Ezekiel nodded along, but then all of a sudden, his legs gave out underneath him again, prompting the others to catch him. "My hooves were not made to stand on this floor with."

"You look like Bambi." Mordecai chuckled as the faun struggled with the hardwood floors of the Phantomhive estate.

"Rude." the faun accused. "Can we find a room with carpet?"

"We haven't played in the entertainment room yet." Luka suggested. "There's a lot to do in there, so we could just stay in there until dinner."

"Is there gonna be veg?" questioned Ezekiel.

"I can ask."

"I am willing to wait patiently for veg." the faun declared.

"You just ate half the garden!" scoffed Bruce.

"I want tomatoes."

"Let's just… Let's just go to the entertainment room, okay?" the demon finally insisted before gesturing for the others to follow him. "C'mon!"

"We can only go so fast!" Ashley called out. "You're not having to carry Ezekiel's fat ass!"

"Should you really be swearing in the Watchdog's house?" questioned Penelope.

"If you've heard his husband talk normally, you wouldn't need to ask that question." spoke the Macken before leading them into a large room with a television to match.

There were game systems, DVDs, a pool table, and some board games on a shelf that haven't been touched in several years, amoung other things. Plenty for a group of youths to waste time with. It was a strange mix, given the semi-victorian look of the room mixed with things that were supposed to be fun. It definitely clashed with the rest of the museum-like house, but none of them cared. With his feet now steady on the ground, Ezekiel trotted up to the television and stared at it, watching his reflection.

"It looks like a TV, but is it?" he asked, finally looking over his shoulder. The others had scattered throughout the room to observe and take in some of the other attractions while he did. Many of them eyed the pool table and some took to rolling the balls across it's surface.

"It's one of those things from the movies!" Penelope called out while Ashley and Bruce crashed the colourful orbs into each other.

"That's a pool table." Luka tried to explain before turning back to Ezekiel. "And yeah, that's a TV."

"What's it doing on the wall?" the faun questioned before even more inquieries came from the other side of the room.

"Pool? It doesn't look anything like a pool!" declared Ashley.

"Can we do one of these things at a time?" the Macken asked as he was caught in between two conversations. He had a lot of explaining to do, but fortunately, he had a few hours before dinner to do it.

He explained the basics of pool and how to work the DVD player. When those who had taken interest in the table grew tired of attempting to play with no real success, they turned their attention to the television and had a heated debate on what movie to watch. Some wanted to see something they had already seen before, while others wanted to see something new. In the end, however, they settled on a tried and tested classic in Gehenna that had been requested many a time on movie night at the Wolf's Glen. That movie was Shrek and to Luka's surprise, the others actually knew the words to most of the songs in the movie, and sang along merrily. The poor lad was actually startled when his compatriots practically shouted the lyrics to Smash Mouth's "All Star," but they were having a good time, so he was doing alright as a host thus far.

The commotion provoked the interest of a few of the adults as they passed by the door, prompting each of them to poke their heads into the room ever so briefly just to see what what happening. Alois and Sebastian peeked in and found nothing to report, so they simple nodded and moved along, content with their findings. Ciel, however, had the luxury of having made eyecontact with his brother-in-law. Having met the rather confused-looking Macken's gaze, the Watchdog took this as an opportunity to get back at him for his previous taunting and stuck out his tongue. Immediately, a smile appeared on the boy's face and he laughed as the Phantomhive walked away.

True to Luka's word, they were all able to spend hours in the entertainment room, watching movies and playing games while also talking about this and that. It was only when Sebastian came to get them for dinner that they all realised just how much time had passed.

Enthusiastically, they all followed the butler with a pep in their step at the prospect of food. They weren't sure what to expect, but knew it was going to be just as interesting as the rest of the household. Just the area that they would be sitting in fit that qualification. The children marveled at the large dining hall.

"How do you get a table that big?" asked Bruce with raised eyebrows. "Are there trees big enough for the wood?"

"Look up!" instructed Mordecai, pointing at the chandelier on the ceiling while craning his neck to look up at it.

"It's pretty, but tomatoes are prettier." Ezekiel stated as if he were completely serious.

"If all of you will take a seat, the food will be out shortly." Sebastian informed, gesturing to the table. "Luka, would you like to take the head?"

"That's Ciel's chair, though?" quizzically observed the Macken.

"The masters of the house thought it would be more comfortable for your guests if they were absent from this dinner, and thought that because you are the host, that you might want to take the place of a host."

"Really?" Luka was admittedly relieved that the duo wouldn't be there to butt in with his friends. He didn't know how the others would be able to take eating dinner next to one of the most notorious villains in Gehennan mythology. At the same time, he knew that it was somewhat of a big deal to be the one to sit in the chair of the head of the household. When Ciel was on trips, his brother would take his place, but Luka had never taken it before. As silly as he felt it was, he also felt a bit of excitement at the prospect.

Pulling out the chair, Sebastian gestured for the lad to take a seat. With a bounce in his step, he walked over and sat down, beaming as the butler pushed in his chair. The boy was soon followed by his friends, who took seats on his end of the table. Once everyone was situated, the butler took a small bow for effect and disappeared into the kitchen. When he returned, he was pushing a cart full of food. Much to Luka's lamentation, it was full of vegetables, but to his surprise, everyone else seemed fine with this.

"We'll start with a salad portion." said the man clad in black as he begun to place food in front of them. "Luka, you can't have the main course until you eat at least half, as per the orders of your brother..."

Luka stuck out his tongue and sneered, but the butler kept talking. Placing a bowl in front of Ezekiel, he added: "It is my understanding that you like tomatoes, young master Ezekiel, therefore I added a few extra pieces."

"Heheh, he called me 'young master'..." the faun marveled, trying not to salivate over himself at the prospect of extra tomatoes. It was he who was the first to finish this course and it was also Ezekiel who began picking off of Luka's plate for him.

Next came a course of fish and chips, which nearly choked poor Bruce as he greedily shoved food into his gaping maw, forcing him to consequently nearly drown in his drink as he quickly tried to wash it down. This time, Luka and Ezekiel traded places, with Luka eating the fish off of Ezekiel's plate that he couldn't finish. The rest of the children successfully ate their food with no problems, complimenting Sebastian's cooking. There wasn't much conversation during dinner, as they were all extremely invested in this task. By the end of it, there were clean plates, full stomachs, and children slouching in their chairs groaning from eating too much. It would take them all a while until they could recover, but when Sebastian came out with desert, none of them could resist and collectively decided to persevere. If they died, they died well-fed.

They weren't required to go to bed right after dinner at all, but they certainly felt like doing so. All of them, girls included, laid on their backs in the floor of Luka's room without the drive, desire, and arguably the ability to get up. Luka was the only one unaffected, yet laid in the floor with them in order to join in the fun. None of them had any regrets apart from wanting to stay up longer. Tomorrow, they had to go back to school and their time at the Phantomhive estate would come to an end until the next time they were granted access.

"Should we get ready for bed?" asked Mordecai.

"Don't want to… I want to play some more..." said Ashley.

"Are we dying?" questioned Raquel.

"Probably." Penelope answered.

Suddenly, an urgent realisation blared through Bruce's thoughts. Sitting up, he groaned and looked around for their honoured host. Upon spotting him, he crawled over and whispered, using a hand to block his lips from the other's view.

"Hey, Luka..." he began, prompting the other's attention.

"Yeah?"

"Where's the bathroom?"

"Through that door." Luka answered right away, pointing to an unopened door to the side of his room.

Confusedly, the other boy added: "You have your own bathroom?"

"Yeah." the Macken sighed, knowing how excessive that was. "Go ahead and use it. Just wash your hands afterwards."

Thanking him, Bruce got up and wandered off in that direction, alerting the attention of the others. Upon realising what he was doing, they, too, suddenly remembered just how much liquid they drank during dinner. Sitting up, Ashley called out: "I call it next!"

"Fuck off! I needed it like, five minutes ago!" Protested Mordecai. Without a single word, Penelope got up and walked out of the room, having thought ahead for this very moment.

"Wait, where's she going?" inquired Raquel.

"The room next door has a bathroom, too." Luka explained. Everyone froze as they realised the obvious.

"Wait! Penny! Come back!" shouted Ashley as she jumped to her feet followed by Mordecai. Those who remained waited in silence for something to happen, followed by the wolfgirl suddenly shouting: "Penny, you traitor!"

A laugh errupted from Luka's room as the door to the adjacent bathroom opened. Bruce came out of the room with dripping wet hands and spoke while shaking them around to let them dry. "You guys! The bathroom is huge! You need to see the tub!"

Sure enough, when everyone looked inside, there was a large bathtub with genuine claw feet. It could fit at least half of them at one time, although they wouldn't be making that attempt. Never before had they been so excited for bath time. The first one actually to try filled it to the brim by mistake and subsequently panicked when the Macken's pokeball-shaped bath rug got soaked. The situation was quickly remedied with a few towels and some explaining to Sebastian as to why they needed so many, and the rest of the night went off without a hitch.

Granted, all of them stayed up far too late even after the lights had long since been turned off, as they chatted away about this and that. They spoke of what had happened that day and things they wished they could of done, still. They traded conspiracy theories about the house and occasionally spoke to each other sincerely about their thoughts on the world and how they fit into it.

Bruce, Ezekiel, and Mordecai stayed with Luka in his room, while Raquel, Penelope, and Ashley stayed next door, but they were not alone in the house. Even more, it wasn't only Luka who was concerned with his place in the world and what he was going to do in the future. His brother worried as well, as made evident in his body language as he wandered around the office.

"Jim, you're pacing." informed the bluenette as he sat as his desk. His eyes darted up at his spouse for only a moment before turning his attention back to his work.

"Huh? Oh..." was all the other Phantomhive answered with before finally stopping in place. Folding his arms, he reached up with one and rubbed his chin as his thoughts once again drifted off.

"Sebastian put them all to bed half an hour ago. They're fine. Luka is fine." Ciel stated while shaking his pen. He unscrewed the cap and took it apart to check how much ink he had left, only to find himself out before starting to dig around in his desk. "There is nothing to worry about at the moment."

"Maybe not happening presently as of this very second, but I really hope that everything went well." the blonde replied. "Luka's very likable, but? Kids can be dicks..."

Ciel only glanced up at his spouse for a moment with a questioning look at the other's phrasing. "I don't know what to tell you." he said, locating a new pen before testing it on a scrap piece of paper. "If things went well, then they went well."

"And if they didn't?" Alois asked.

"Well, then… They weren't very good friends for Luka and he should find better ones."

"You're not very helpful..."

"What exactly is it that you're worried about? Him fitting in with the others? He's very adaptable."

"Basically, but it's not just him, it's the house that he lives in." the menace confessed, capturing the other man's attention completely. "You know how the culture clash between social classes can be. We experience it every time we go out to eat, after all..."

"Are you worried that they'll ridicule him?"

"Yes? But… Also what if they like that house more than him and just stay friends with him for the… the atmosphere and what they can get out of him instead of because he's a good kid who's pleasant to be around?" pondered the blonde. "It could go either way. Or neither way? I mean, the excess is just… a lot."

"Mm-hm." at this point, the Watchdog had begun to simply allow his husband to rant, as he himself had nothing constructive to add to the conversation.

"Big house, big rooms, big chandeliers, things that shine, things that sparkle… I mean, it's kind of ridiculous from an outside perspective, isn't it? I don't want him to be the odd one out."

"Nobody does."

"Oh, God… Did I tell Sebastian not to enforce those weird tablemanners with the seven different forks?" Alois pondered aloud to himself while rubbing his forehead.

"I don't know. I'm sure they figured things out, if he did."

"But it's strange, isn't it? The whole… thing? It's kind of unnecessary? God, what are those kids thinking?"

"Who knows?"

"It is kind of silly..."

"Mm-hm."

Suddenly, the blonde became aware of the other and looked in his direction with an arched brow. There, he saw his spouse staring down at his desk while looking over and signing documents, totally oblivious to the other watching him. Then, just as Alois thought he would never look up, he watched as the realisation that Alois had stopped talking hit him before he finally did.

"What?" the bluenette asked, having discovered that he was being stared at. The other shifted his weight on his feet and crossed both arms across his chest again.

"Ah, so you were tuning me out..." the menace accused somewhat playfully, causing the other to blush at being caught.

"Sorry… You were saying?" questioned Ciel, somewhat bashfully.

"Talking about how the atmosphere might be a bit off-putting." answered Alois. In an instant, he saw the interest drain from the other's face.

"Oh. Alright." the Watchdog replied before looking down at another paper in order to sign it. "Go ahead."

"I know that filling out paperwork is absolutely fascinating, but the least you could do is humour me." Although Alois chuckled, it was a bit forced to maintain a casual appearance despite his mild annoyance.

"I'm sorry. You're right." Ciel stated, looking up again. He set down his pen and rested his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm as he gave the blonde his attention. "I'm listening."

"You don't seem very enthusiastic..."

"I'm sorry. I know you're worried about Luka. It's really important to you. It's important to me, too. I want him to fit in and make lots of great friends as well."

"...But?" Alois continued, saying the dreaded word that the other seemed hesitant to say.

"But..." The Watchdog echoed before sighing. He paused, rubbing his chin and thinking hard so that he may choose his words carefully. "…How do I say this?"

"Say what?"

"I don't think I can without sounding like a serious wanker."

"Oh, geez, you said 'wanker'… Must be serious..."

"Well… It feels like you're just insulting my house?" Ciel finally put forward, causing his beau's eyebrows to raise. "Our house. The one we live in and govern together. I understand fully that it is honestly far too large for a family of this size to actually use properly. You're absolutely right in how ridiculous that is. Yet, this is also the house that I've lived in almost my entire life. I grew up in this house, and so did my father, and my father's father. It is the Phantomhive legacy. While I realise that this isn't of importance to people who haven't been raised in this environment, it's been drilled into me. That's something that is beyond my control. It does feel a bit like complaining about nothing, but..."

"…But it hurts your rich-boy feelings?" Alois concluded, trying to keep the tension minimal by cracking a good-spirited joke.

"Right..." Unfortunately, the bluenette was not amused and went back to looking over his papers. Alois waited for him to continue and say something else, but all that followed was silence. The longer the blonde waited, the heavier the air became.

"Ciel?"

"Mm-hm?"

"I was kidding." the menace said.

"Alright." replied Ciel, but silence still followed.

"I just don't get a lot of rich people stuff."

"I know."

"The house is really big."

"Mm-hm."

Ciel was losing more and more interest with each thing Alois said to him. As the silence continued, knots began to appear in the menace's stomach as he replayed the conversation in his head. Was the way he spoke all that insensitive? After all, Ciel himself acknowledged that it appeared to be a lot of complaining about nothing, yet he wasn't answering properly when Alois tried to expand the conversation. He had also envoked the Phantomhive name and mentioned his father. Ciel, along with other people like him, cared a lot about family legacy. He even brought up the fact that it was the home of both of them together as a unit. Not only did the man place a wedding ring on Alois' finger thus making a giant leap into inviting him into the family, he also had a custom-made replica of the signet ring that was to only be worn by a family head. Alois recalled how excited Ciel was when he said that he was hoping to take the bluenette's surname, too.

The idea that both of them were Phantomhives together was also important to Ciel. The more the blonde thought about it, the fact that he carried on about how useless the majority of the house was might have been a bit of a faux-pas on his part. When he thought about it even more, however, it got worse.

After recalling their conversation, Alois remembered a few other conversations they had in the past. Why, just the other day, after taking Ciel home from the baseball game, they had a conversation of a similar nature. Alois confessed that he wasn't completely comfortable with the "snootiness" that came with being a Phantomhive, and Ciel was completely supportive. In fact, he encouraged the menace to stay true to himself. Yet, although the Watchdog was having fun along with Alois with his teasing, he did seem a bit uncomfortable with the way he had spoke about nobles from both of their time becoming engaged. He called it "harsh" when Alois compared it to pairing up dogs to win dog competitions, and when the menace thought further back, he could recall times long before that particular conversation where he had mockingly used the word "inbred" to describe nobles from the era. Although Alois knew that his husband was completely and utterly repulsed by the idea, there were times when the menace did honestly and sincerely forget that the other had lived that "inhumane" life he was now insulting. Recalling these moments that seemed so trivial and lighthearted at the time, the more Alois thought, the closer he came to a terrible conclusion.

"Are you mad?" the blonde tentatively asked. He braced himself for a response, but it came agonisingly slow. Several moments passed before he finally did hear the other man speak.

"...No." the bluenette replied.

That was a lie. Ciel was definitely mad.

Alois hadn't the slightest idea as to what to do. He didn't know if he should just walk away and leave the bluenette to his own devices and apologise later or if he should stand his ground and try to apologise. He needed to think fast, because the barrier between them was going up quickly and it wasn't one that he could punch through with his fists.

"I..." the blonde began, not finding a single fragment of the other's attention. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to insult you or the family."

"Alright." the Watchdog answered.

It wasn't alright. He was still mad.

At a loss for what to do next, the blonde rubbed the back of his neck. "I actually love this house." he said. "It's our home. It's comfortable, here."

"Hm..."

"I didn't mean to be insulting." Alois continued. "I know intentions don't mean much, but I really was just venting… I didn't mean half of what I said..."

"No, no. You're right. The house is a bit excessive." Although Alois already knew Ciel's opinion on the matter, the bluenette's tone didn't sound like he actually agreed with him. In fact, the temperature of the room seemed to drop.

"Ciel, I'm sorry."

"I know. I heard you."

"...I have no idea what else to do, here." the menace honestly answered.

"Why don't you go check on Luka?" the other suggested, subtly giving Alois a chance to escape so that he may be left alone.

"Okay..." Alois replied while carefully backing out of the room. "I'll leave you to it."

Once he was through the door, he closed it behind him and let out a breath. He was nervous. He didn't know how to remedy this.