The entire camp was in disarray after the Halloween party the previous night. Recruits in every section suffered from hangovers, despite being warned not to drink too much. Needless to say, they had a very difficult time waking up when the storm came raging through.
"Good morning, Devildogs!" barked the Watchdog as he walked quickly down the aisle, pulling off blankets and exposing his exhausted and ill recruits to the cold air. Cringing at the loud noise, Private Withers covered his head with his pillow.
"Boss, please… You're hurting my head..." he whined, only to practically screech when his blankets were pulled off too.
"Your head wouldn't hurt if you didn't stay up all night getting pissed!" Ciel shouted, causing the ringing in his underlings' ears to worsen. "Go take a cold shower and sober up!"
"That's not how sobering up works..." corrected Private Young while putting on his glasses, only to jump to his feet a moment later.
"Move!"
Somehow, Ciel got them all herded out of the room and to the ablutions to wash up. As harsh as he started things out with, he was actually planning on giving his crew a bit of a break to avoid over-exertion. He even gave them a little while longer in the showers than usual, but once that was over, it was time to get dressed for the day. Then, they had to put their gear together the best that they could for inspection. None of them had worked on their presentation the night before, so it was going to be abysmal. Ciel had prepared for the worst, but he wasn't prepared for what he actually saw.
There were pieces of food still on silverware and water in the bottom of their mugs. Bedboxes were crooked and wrinkled. There was even hair still stuck in the razors of their shaving kits. After the third dirty razor that Ciel saw, his eyebrow twitched. Gently, he set it back in the kit that he found it in before addressing its owner.
"Private Cooksey?" he quietly began. "Why is your razor still full of hair?"
"Forgot to wash it, sir."
"You forgot to wash it… Did it ever occur to you that I would have to touch your disgusting, used razor?"
"No, sir..." the private replied, his brow furrowing from his headache. "I forgot that, too… It's just face-hair, though..."
"How can I be so sure, private Cooksey? I have no way of knowing." Ciel stated, his tone still soft. Picking up the kit, the bluenette then proceeded to dump the contents out onto the floor before wiping his hand on the other man's shirt. "I don't want to see your nasty leftover pubes again."
"Yes, sir..."
"Thank you." the Phantomhive said before moving onto the next person. There, he stood in front of the bed of Private Carl Henderson. He glanced at the man for a brief second, remembering the fact that the man had a broken nose, and surprisingly, he was one of the least intoxicated people there. Looking down, the demon began his inspection, picking up piece after piece and finding himself pleasantly surprised.
"There's a bit of water in your mug and your bed box is a bit lopsided, but other than that, you did a pretty good job, Henderson. Just a hair away from perfect." he said, putting the items back. He looked up at Carl again and thought he saw a bit of a smile on his face before the man stifled it. Ciel tipped his cover to him before moving down the line yet again.
Mugs were broken that day, but only a few. It wasn't as if there weren't mistakes, as there certainly were more than usual, but the Watchdog was merciful and considered the fact that they didn't get to prepare as much as they usually did and probably didn't yet have the maturity to limit themselves the previous night in order to make time. Incidentally, it was in fact the eldest member of the group, Private Jason Choi at age twenty-eight, who reproduced the same quality as always. He even earned some applause from his team as a rather pleased Sir Phantomhive said so.
After that, it was time for breakfast and a few of the lads had trouble keeping it down. They still felt ill and the less-than-excellent food in the mess hall didn't seem to help any. Still, the few of them that could ate as much as they could stomach and talked over their meal.
"So did anybody actually get lucky last night?" asked Private Cooksey while rubbing his head.
"I got a girl's number." replied Private Solomon Danlaw. "She seemed nice. I can't call her now, but she'll probably be at graduation."
"Lucky! I got slapped!"
"That's because you make yourself look like a total wanker." said Private Kidman.
"Look like one? He is one!" scoffed Withers. "A few girls I talk to seemed interested, but I didn't go after any."
"What? Why?!" gawked Gordon.
"Because what would I even do if I did get laid? I can't exactly take her back to the barracks, can I? One of you idiots could walk in at any second! And if one of the officers found out, I'd probably be killed."
"I dunno, Sir Phantomhive got a few chicks talking to him last night." joked Kidman, knowing full-well what likelihood there was that the Watchdog would actually enjoy that.
"He's a poofter, so what does he care?" asked Private Henderson. "What's with women and gay guys, anyway? They can't date them, so what's the appeal?"
"That, I can't answer. It's kind of annoying." Private Clancy Peterson, the official Devildog platoon homosexual chimed in. "It's more like we're pets to be played with or something. Then again, Sir Phantomhive is pretty macho. He's also got that 'clean-cut' and 'mysterious' look going on at the same time."
"That's a deadly panty-soaking combination." crudely stated Carl. "Even though he's a queer, Sir Phantomhive is alpha, so he's still able to cuck us."
"I don't understand what that means." Clancy shook his head in response.
"Yeah, how are you even being cucked if he's not into them and the women aren't yours?" asked Private Cooksey.
"That isn't what I meant..." Peterson reiterated, only to be asked a question, himself.
"Hey, Clancy, is it really possible to like both guys and girls at the same time?" inquired Wallace, much tot he confusion of Clancy.
"I guess. I'm not bi, though, so I wouldn't know what that would feel like."
"Well, your crush says he likes both the other day."
"Huh?"
"Sir Phantomhive said he's bisexual and likes girls, too. I asked him how it works, but I still don't get it."
"Like I said, I'm not bi, so I'm not exactly an expert, either."
"Wait, Phantompoof likes pussy?" gawked Private Henderson, only for the others to look at him strangely.
"Carl, I'm starting to wonder if you're doing this on purpose." stated Private Danlaw. "Can you string together a sentence without talking like that?"
"It's a legitimate question." Private Henderson replied. "If he likes pussy, why settle for ass?"
"He says that he likes both, but the person he fell in love with happened to be a bloke." Wallace attempted to explain by paraphrasing what his superior officer had said. "Gay people always say it's not a choice, but if you really like both, then isn't that just chosing to be gay?"
"Most people don't stop thinking people are attractive, even when they're in a relationship." Clancy stated. "It's not that out there to say that he's probably attracted to both at the same time, even when in a relationship with only one."
"Yeah, I think he said something like that, actually."
"Then why ask?"
"I dunno. I just couldn't get it for some reason."
There was a moment of quiet from Private Peterson before he answered, but resting his chin in his palm, he said: "Y'know, I really need to take his advice and join an LGBT group, because I'm starting to get overwhelmed by all of this heterosexuality."
"Huh? What's that even mean?"
"I feel the same way about white people sometimes." stated Private Kidman with a nod. "I understand you."
"Wait, what?" asked Wallace again. "I don't get it."
Regardless as to whether or not Wallace understood, the day continued on just as it was supposed to with the tired and achy recruits doing the best that they could to go about their daily routine. Their instructor was still relaxed about things and took things easy on them, even allowing them to play football in place of their usual exercises that day. It was cold, being the first of November, but the group was used to exercising in cold weather and didn't seem to pay much mind to it. As long as they kept moving, they stayed rather warm. While the group ran around and had a good time, Ciel was content with just watching from the sidelines and enjoying a moment of piece. Then, however, he recalled what day it was and a look of horror came over his face.
It was November first, meaning that his husband's birthday was in a few days. Ordinarily, this would be no problem, but with everything that had been happening, he had completely forgotten and realised that he needed to come up with a plan quickly. Folding his arms, he thought for a while, losing complete focus on what he was supposed to be doing. Then, he was brought back to where he was standing by the impact of a football bouncing off of his head.
Blinking, he looked up to see everyone staring at him while standing completely still. Private Kidman looked especially guilty, but Ciel didn't seem fased in the slightest. "What?" the demon asked.
"Why didn't you move?" asked Private Choi. "The ball was coming right at you. We tried to warn you."
"Oh. I was thinking." bluntly stated the Phantomhive while bending down to pick up his hat. He dusted it off before putting it back on his head. "It's nothing that concerns you, though. Well… That is, unless I actually do need to take a day off..."
"What? Do you have something important to do?" asked Private Danlaw. "Is it a mission?"
"Personal business. With everything that's been happening lately, I've forgotten about my husband's birthday in a few days. I need to think of something to do for him."
"Birthdays are tough..." Spoke Jason Choi, crossing his arms. "My wife and I usually go out and I get her something, but for us, finding a babysitter is the hardest part."
"I don't have that problem yet..." Then, the demon blinked as something occurred to him. "Then again, if I take a day off, I'll have to find somebody to look after you lot, so isn't that sort of similar?"
"Are you calling us babies?" inquired Private Withers.
"Yes."
Despite the protests to Ciel's teasing, many of the cadets strayed away from the game to discuss their thoughts on the matter. None of them knew the blonde menace very well, having only seen him a handful of times, but some still felt as though it had the possibility of being a good learning experience for themselves. That said, some of them were finding it a bit hard to translate.
"You can't take a date to a pub!" Private Choi gawked, only for his commanding officer to shake his head.
"Jim loves them, actually. When he invites me out, he always insists on taking me somewhere fancier, but doesn't much care for gourmet food, himself." explained the demon with a smile. "As cute as it is when he tries, we both sort of make a thing out of trying different pubs together. I do think you're right, though. While I'm sure some women would have a roaring time, there's probably quite a lot of them who would prefer something a bit more romantic."
"So being into guys has it's perks, huh?" Observed Private Withers with an unusually serious face.
"He doesn't care about it not being romantic?" asked Danlaw.
"No, I don't think that's it." the Phantomhive answered. "It's more like, as long as we're having a good time together, it's plenty romantic."
Chuckling, he spoke fondly of an anecdote of a previous date with his spouse. "I remember once when we wound up at a bit of a rough pub and this guy didn't seem to like the fact that we were holding hands across the table. The poor man didn't taunt me because my eyepatch makes me look scary, but made the mistake of taunting and threatening Jim. Before I could stand up and say anything on his behalf, Jim stood up and looked him right in the eyes with a smile on his face and took him up on his offer. Knocked him out in one punch and for some reason, it made me swoon. He's incredibly handsome when he's roughing up homophobes. It was still a very successful date."
"What planet are you from?" asked Withers with the same perplexed expression that his fellow recruits were wearing. It wasn't entirely surprising, given what they knew about their instructor's demeanor, but they hadn't quite expected him to take it so far. Ciel seemed proud, however, with a haughty half-smile and his hands on his hips.
"The heart wants what it wants." the bluenette said, suddenly in good spirits. "Not all dates turn out like that, though. Car chases are rarer than television would tell you. For the most part, it's all mushy stuff that would make my teenaged brother-in-law complain about how gross grown-ups are. The point is, as long as we're together and having a good time, anything can be a date."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I have no idea." Ciel confessed, causing his underling to scoff. "'Anything' is rather broad…"
"When is his birthday, anyway?" questioned Clancy, butting in.
"It's the fifth."
"That's Saturday!" the private exclaimed. "Will you have enough time?"
"Maybe, if whatever I settle on doesn't involve any reservations having to be made."
His husband, fortunately for him, was not a man with snooty tastes and was perfectly fine with strolling into places on a whim. That said, Ciel didn't quite have the same cultural capital as he, and therefore actually took note of a few of the suggestions that his crew offered to him to research further, at the very least. Meanwhile, his spouse was staying true to nature and visiting people unprompted. As soon as he set foot inside of Kristopherson's store, however, the wolfman pounced.
"You useless twink." the faux-blonde accused, stepping out from behind the counter. "Where have you been? You disappeared off the face of the earth!"
"I know. I'm sorry. Personal shit came up and I just couldn't come in." Alois replied while the other man grabbed his shoulders. Looking at Kristopherson quizzically, he paused for a moment before asking: "Am I a twink?"
"Hmm… More like a 'twunk,' actually." Kristopherson said upon further inspection. "Come in! You've got some explaining to do. Kyung-Soon!"
"Yeah?!" the vampire called from the back of the store, opting to yell rather than to come to the front.
"Quit smoking in the bathroom and mind the store!" her boss instructed, only to earn a rather indignant reply.
"I'm not smoking! You're just smelling it on my clothes!" Kyung-Soon protested, prompting the man to think.
"Actually, that might be right." he said.
"Damn, your nose is good." chuckled the menace while his friend put an arm around him and led him to the back of the store. They often hung out back there when Alois came around to socialise so that they would have somewhere more private to talk.
"Yeah, but it makes walking near the perfume stands an absolute nightmare."
"No, that's normal."
Once they were in the back of the shop, Kristopherson had Alois sit down at the table in the breakroom while he made them both tea. All the while, he was asking the menace questions about how things were going, and Alois told the truth. While the Phantomhive didn't go into detail, he gave his friend the abridged version, saying that he was picking off a bunch of human traffickers and that it's been rough for him lately. While his friend expressed his condolences and immediately understood why that was difficult, Kristopherson also picked up on the fact that Alois was keen to change the subject in hopes of taking his mind off of things. Alois was frank with him and told him that part of the reason why he showed up again was to try and get back into his regular routine so he didn't marinate in negativity for the entire duration of the mission. It was bad for him. Really bad. Just getting out of the house into the fresh air and walking from the front gates of Gehenna to his friend's shop made him feel slightly better. It wasn't much, but every small boost helped. It was hard. It was unpleasant. Yet, it too, would pass until another day. All Alois could do was try and help it along.
Thus, they sat with their tea and talked about this, that, and everything else instead. Not everything was terrible. Alois talked about how he started doing yoga and that he enjoyed it. By the end of it, he had Kristopherson convinced that he should try taking a class.
"Maybe Logan and I can go together." the wolfman pondered.
"That's a good idea! It probably would have been more fun for me the first time if I went with somebody." Alois replied.
"That's why you should call me. I would have gone, too!"
"Too late for it now. How is Logan, by the way? You two still getting on, alright?" With that question, the wolfman practically beamed.
"We're planning on moving in together, actually." he proudly said, prompting the menace to smile.
"That's great! Your apartment's so minimalist, it feels like it could get pretty lonely." Alois replied with a smile before his face lit up as though he had remembered something. "But won't he miss living in Gehenna?"
"Nope! I bought a place here!" Kristopherson informed. "I wanted some place close to work, anyway, and the rent at my old place is getting too pricey. The people are great here, too. I'll have to show it to you, sometime!"
"I'm sure I'll be over, eventually. Once I get back in the swing of regular visits, probably. Can you stand being out of London, though?"
"There's not a lot of department stores here, sure, but I have a car, so it's no big deal. I can come and go whenever I need to. There is one definite good thing about living here, though."
"What's that?"
"When I go to the hair salon for waxing and cuts every other week, nobody thinks it's weird!" the wolfman blissfully declared. "Being a werewolf here is way easier. I can even go outside on full moons!"
"By the way, have you stopped bleaching your hair, or is that just quick growing?" inquired the menace while pointing at his friend's head.
"Yeah. I dunno if I'm gonna keep bleaching it or not." Kristopherson sighed. Running a hand through his hair, the pep in his step deflated at the reminder of a sad reality. "I really like the way it looks every other time, but when I'm transformed, it looks kind of silly. There's just this blond patch on top of my head and it kind of looks terrible."
"Are you worried about what people will think if you go out like that or something?"
"Well, yeah, but I've kinda been thinking about it for a while. I just haven't gotten around to it because by the time I remember it, I'm in my regular form and have forgotten what I look like, so I don't think it'll look that bad. Then, the full moon comes and I regret my choices."
"Oh my god." Alois snickered. "You poor thing."
"If I have to be a giant, hairy, wolf-man, I might as well be a good looking one."
"Not knowing what to do with one's hair is the human condition, Kris. It's just the natural order of things."
"Do you play with your hair any?" Kristopherson asked, arching an eyebrow. "I don't think you've changed it at all since school."
"Yeah. Ciel makes fun of me because I spend like an hour before dates trying to get it to do something new, but it always looks like ass in the worst of ways, so I always walk out of the bathroom looking exactly the same."
"Have you tried going to a salon?"
Alois opened his mouth to answer the wolfman, but stopped short. Suddenly, his face shifted as he fell further and further into thought. Folding his arms, he leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. After much internal deliberation with himself, the menace finally had a reply.
"I think the only time I've been to anything resembling a hair salon, it was in boot camp when they tried to shave my head. Other than that, I don't think I've ever actually been to one." he confessed, now looking right at the other man as Kristopherson seemed taken aback.
"Never?" it was as though Alois had personally offended him. "I have got to take you to one like, immediately."
"It might be a bit of a bad idea for them to have demon hair around, though… That's how people get cursed."
"Hair To Be Different in Gehenna burns all of their hair using magic that banishes evil, since hair apparently has a lot of magical power in it or something." Leaning forward, the wolfman grinned. "Please~? I wanna bring you to a salon so badly right now!"
"What's so great about them? It's just hair."
"You are most definitely not a homosexual." the wolfman observed, causing the demon to pout.
"All it takes to be gay is being attracted to only the same sex, Kris." Pausing, the menace stopped for a moment to think. "By the way, Kris, how do you even know you don't like girls?"
"Excuse me?" Kristopherson huffed, shooting the menace a look as though Alois were a complete idiot.
"Oh! No, no, I don't mean it in a homophobic 'you don't know until you try it' kind of bullshit way. I mean it like… How do you know? I've been kinda wondering about it lately."
"Wait, you mean like, how do you know you're actually gay and not bisexual?"
"Yeah. I was wondering, because I can't really seem to tell, sometimes?" Alois confessed. "I've said some nasty and kinda objectifying shit about women in school, but I can't really remember actually wanting to date them? Girls are pretty, sure, but… I dunno, maybe I've just been married for way too long?"
"Well, there's thinking something's aesthetically appealing, and then there's actual attraction. It's like looking at a statue. You might think that Michelangelo's David is pretty, but not wanna fuck it."
"I dunno, man, he's pretty ripped…"
"Okay, bad example." the wolfman shook, rubbing his forehead while his friend snickered. "What about the Birth of Venus or something?"
"I'm imagining it, but I'm not feeling anything. That could be just because it's a painting, though."
"Why are statues more fuckable than paintings to you?"
"Because they're people-shaped, obviously!"
"Jesus, Alois..." Taking a deep breath, Kristopherson furrowed his brows and folded his hands in front of him while he thought. He had no idea how to possibly explain this to his friend. This was especially so, given how Kristopherson couldn't tell if Alois was being serious or not.
"Well, it occurred to me, but I'm not really sure what to make of it..." the demon finally said, rubbing his chin. "I remembered it when I thought about it the first time, but you know how I was really bad in school?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, when I was human, I was really, really, bad. Ciel and I met at a costume party, right? And I was wearing a maid outfit, right?"
"Right." the wolfman nodded along, doing his best to follow.
"Well, I actually took that uniform from my maid because… I'm not really sure why. Either I was a bastard who wanted to embarrass her, or I was genuinely not pleased with all of the costumes she laid out..."
"Jesus, Alois!"
"I'm not done. Anyway, I told her to strip and she did, right there in front of me. I dunno if it was because of who she was to me or what, but I didn't really feel anything? Nothing at all."
"Alois, I think there's a bigger issue there than whether or not you're attracted to that woman..."
"I know. I know. Like I said… I was really, really, messed up. Really messed up!" Letting out a sigh, Alois slouched in his chair and looked down. "I know what I did and the connotations of it. I regret it. I'm still figuring myself out because it was all so twisted up. Now it makes more sense, but I'm still making progress."
There was a moment of silence while Kristopherson justified in his head the fact that he believed his friend. That was dark. It was also plausible, the way the menace put things, however. Kristopherson was not a morally pure, person, and realised that things came in greys. Knowing how vocal Alois was about detesting his own past behaviour and watching as he tried to unpack and put it all behind him, the wolfman decided that Alois was telling the truth. That left another matter remaining, however.
"Alois, do you think you might be gay?" he asked. "Is that what you're getting at?"
"Maybe..." the menace said, leaning his elbow on the table while rubbing his chin. "I mean, it doesn't particularly matter all that much, I guess, since I'm very happily married to a guy."
"You just had to sneak the fact that you're married back in there, didn't you?"
"I like being married!"
"You're hopeless..." said the wolfman while shaking his head. "Just go with whatever feels right. You've narrowed it down, so go based on that. You know better than anybody what you like, so I can't really tell you what to do."
"I've questioned it a few times, actually. I think I might be pretty gay… As hot as other guys are, nobody can compare to my husband, though~!"
"'My husband' this, 'my husband' that. Give it a rest, will ya?"
"Kiss my ass, mister 'I'm-moving-in-with-my-boyfriend!'"
"I only said it once!" Kristopherson argued while pointing at his friend accusingly. "You've mentioned being married several times! You're bragging!"
"You're just mad because you don't have a husband, Kris!"
"I'll get married when I'm good and ready!"
"To Logan?" asked Alois, abruptly changing tones. The shift to a slightly more serious tone was so jarring, that Kristopherson couldn't help but fumble the reply a bit.
"Uh… I dunno… Maybe. I mean, I'd like to, if we ever get to that point." answered Mister Miles. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
"Yeah, but I'm tired of being made fun of for being the 'married friend.'"
"Then get a divorce."
Alois gasped as though his friend had spat on a family heirloom. He clutched at invisible pearls as he reeled back, offended that the wolfman would suggest such a thing. "Never!"
"It's not fair. How can the guy who swung around a sock full of coins and wore booty-shorts in school be the one who's the closest to having their shit together?" Kristopherson said in his typical deadpanned tone of voice.
"I grew the fuck up, for one, but I don't have my shit together, either. I just got done telling you about how I've been acting like a major prick while stressing over this mission, didn't I? A lot of people have it together from an outside perspective."
"You're a faker who has a solid relationship, though."
"You say that like things aren't going well with Logan…"
"What? No, not at all! They're going great!" chuckled the wolfman. "I've had boyfriends before, but not like this. He's just so… Ugh..." His smile fell and his lips pressed firmly together in a straight line. A blush formed on his cheeks as her furrowed his brow. Putting a hand through his hair, he asked:
"Alois, is this how you feel with Ciel?"
"I dunno, Kris. I dunno what you're talking about." Alois' words didn't match the mischievous grin on his face as he pried for more information.
"I'm still getting in the habit of saying the 'L-word.'"
"Lesbian?"
"'Love,' you git!" Kristopherson barked. "It was scary at first, but saying it's getting a little easier. I can't even deal, Alois! I'm losing my mind! I'm so excited that we're moving in together and that I'll be able to spend time with him everyday! What is with that?!"
"Oh my God, Kris, you've got it so bad." Laughed the menace, being completely unhelpful to his friend's predicament. "That's basically it, though. Saying 'I love you' is a little weird at first, but you'll get the hang of it in no time. Ciel and I say it all the time, and if he can express his dopey romantic feelings, so can you. Anyone can, really. Next thing you know, you'll be cuddling on the couch while watching a movie and running your hands through his hair and it'll suddenly hit you: 'This is our house.' Basically, you're doomed."
"Ugh! Help me, Alois! I feel like such an idiot!" Reaching across the table, the wolfman grabbed the demon's shoulders and began to shake them. "It's contagious, isn't it?! You spread your mushy cooties to me and now I'm a mushy idiot, too!"
"Yes! That was my plan all along! Now I have couples friends to go on double dates with!"
"You monster! You fiend! I hate you!"
"Yeah, but if you weren't mushy, you wouldn't feel the way you do when he smiles." Alois said, prompting the other to freeze in his tracks. Kristopherson stared at him for a while, but then came a time when he had to ask.
"...How do you know about that?"
"Everybody who's in love feels like that. I feel the same way when I see Ciel smiling and hear him laugh."
"I love it and I hate it at the same time."
"Face your fears. Accept that you too are becoming a lovey-dovey idiot."
"Shut up, gaylord." Then, Kristopherson paused to think for a second before asking a question. "Hey, Alois, you wanted to do your hair different, right?"
"Sure? What about it?"
"How do you think Ciel will react to that?" the wolfman asked, snorting a bit when he noticed the subtle pink hue creeping across his friend's face. "Has he even ever seen you with something different?"
"Well… I mean… We met while I was dressed in drag and wearing a wig, so there's that. I've also had a ponytail on a few occasions." listed the menace on his fingers. "Then… Oh, god… When I was in boot camp, they tried to cut my hair, right? I kept shapeshifting it back on purpose, but I sent Ciel a selfie before I realised I could do that..."
"And?"
"He kept it as his lock screen for like, a two years." Alois explained. "He said it was cute, but it was really embarrassing..."
"Have you ever thought about cutting it short?"
"Yeah, but not that short!" barked the Lion.
"Just take off a little! You'll look great, I bet. You said that Ciel likes it when you're manly, right?" Kristopherson teased, knowing that if he mentioned that the man's husband would like it, Alois would be more willing to go through with it. "If you don't like it, you can always shape-shift it back, too."
"I guess so…" the menace cautiously conceded. "I don't really wanna go by myself, though. I wouldn't know what to do or ask for."
"Leave it to me!" Kristopherson declared, now abruptly standing up. "Let's go!"
"What?! You mean now?!"
"Yeah! Let's go!" the wolfman said, grabbing his friend's wrist. "I can have Kyung-Soon mind the shop for a little longer! I'm the boss, after all! Or, you can always wait around for a few hours before I get off work."
"Today, though? Isn't that kind of irresponsible?" the menace questioned with an unsure look while he was being tugged to his feet. With that, the other man froze before staring back at him intensely. After a few moments of silence, the wolfman asked:
"Who the hell are you and what have you done with Alois?"
"What?"
"You're seriously worried about being irresponsible and impulsive? You? 'Mister Coin-sock?' For real?"
"Eat shit, asshole! I'm a responsible adult!" Alois protested with an irritable look on his face. Regardless, he allowed himself to be pulled along by his friend, still. "I'm married, have a government job, and help manage a household!"
"Yeah, but still. If you were really that responsible, wouldn't you have heard me just say that you can shapeshift it back if you don't like it?"
"I'm going home." the blonde stated, walking ahead of Kristopherson and opening the door that lead to the front of the store. All the while, the wolfman tried to use his supernatural strength to pull him back, only to be bested by the superior strength of the demon.
"Wait! Wait! I was kidding!" Kristopherson protested. "You're a responsible adult! You definitely are! But also, you have to consider! Isn't part of growing up experimenting with your appearance some, too?"
Mulling it over for a moment, the Phantomhive gave a reluctant sigh. "Fine." he said. "Just don't embarrass me with a shitty haircut, okay?"
"Yes!" rejoiced the wolfman, releasing the demon in order to put on his own coat. "I'll be back in a little bit, Kyung-Soon! Watch the store until I get back."
"Okay. Whatever." his employee answered, not even bothering to look up from her magazine as she sat behind the counter. With a roll of his eyes, Mister Miles followed his friend outside before walking ahead of him in order to lead the way.
It wasn't a long walk. Andrea's was located on the corner of Main street and Macken street, while Hair To Be Different was just a few doors down. Thank goodness, as Alois was often stopped by Gehennans to chat as he walked through town. If they had to walk far, it would have taken all day. Every time, it baffled the menace, who was seemingly only mildly aware of his own mythological status in Gehenna. He thought it was interesting how the lion motif was incorporated into a lot of artwork and even architecture in Gehenna and he knew that he received special treatment, but had no idea just how deep it ran. Even as he set foot into the shop and saw the patrons and workers alike stop and stare at him, he still didn't understand the gravity of the situation.
"It's Mister Lion!" people whispered back and forth. "What is he doing here? He doesn't look pleased..."
Yes, Alois was indeed apprehensive, but it wasn't about anything that the other patrons could think of. No, instead, Alois was concerned with one thing and one thing only. Reaching up, the menace fiddled with his bangs.
"Hey, Kris, I'm still not too sure about this..." he said. "About how long will this take?"
"I dunno. Could be anywhere up to thirty minutes or an hour." Kristopherson shrugged, not inspiring any sort of confidence.
"That long?" Alois expression fell a bit.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Other people will have to touch my hair… They'll also be doing stuff to it that I don't get, too… I don't know if I can sit still for that long."
"Stop trying to make a cute face. I'm not Ciel. It won't work." his compatriot deadpanned.
"You think I'm cute?"
"I don't, that's why I said that."
"Mister Lion!" called a voice, interrupting the pair's bickering. To Alois' surprise, it was a face that he actually recognised. He was a pink incubus with broad shoulders and a muscular frame, but his most defining feature that burned him into Alois' memory was the meticulously maintained pompadour hairstyle that the incubus wore. "Long time no see, 'Captain.' I don't guess you're here to invite me to play another baseball game?"
"Elvis!" the menace said as the name came back to him. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot you run this place!"
"Of course! It's always been my dream to work with hair." The incubus stated. "Now, what can I do for the esteemed Mister Lion and my little brother's annoying boyfriend?"
"Annoying?!" gawked Kristopherson, only to restrain himself. He had to stay on good terms with the family of his significant other, after all. There was a need for civility. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he attempted to explain. "Alois was hoping for a bit of a change up top, if you've got an opening."
Pausing, the incubus known as "Elvis" paused, looking over the menace very carefully. "You want me to cut your hair?"
"Well, yeah, if it's not too much trouble." the demon replied. "Maybe something shorter?"
"Hmm… Let me see if I have an opening." the incubus cryptically said before walking over to the front desk and opening a book. He flipped a few pages before seeming to find the one he wanted and stared at it intently. There was a flicker in his eyes and then, much to Alois and Kristopherson's astonishment, they saw him pick up a pencil and erase something.
"It just so happens that I do have an opening after all!" Elvis declared while practically beaming.
"Did you just erase somebody?" the menace questioned while the shop owner walked back toward him and his friend.
"Petunia Ravenscroft. I didn't want to work with her, anyway. She's horrible." With that, the incubus gestured to a chair. "Right this way, sir, please have a seat."
Looking back at Kristopherson for encouragement, Alois received a light nod and a smile from his friend before reluctantly doing as the stylist instructed. Once he sat down, he crossed one leg over the other and folded his hands in his lap, doing his best to relax. His eyebrows raised as a bib was wisked around his neck, covering his whole front before being fastened around his neck with snaps. Elvis then gently made sure there was no hair tucked underneath it so that he wouldn't miss anything.
"Oh!" he uttered aloud. "Your hair is so soft! Is all demon hair like this?"
"I don't know." Alois replied, trying not to conspicuously glance at Kristopherson's reflection in the mirror in front of him. "Ciel's is pretty soft, but I don't know if it's the same."
"This will be my first time cutting a demon's hair, so I'll be learning a lot from this." Elvis cheerfully said. "Is there anything else I need to know before I start?"
"Uh… You'll need to burn the hair with sage and salt thrown on the fire when you're done." the menace stated, not letting on that the reason he knows this is because burning clothes with demon blood on them was commonplace at HELLSING and at the Phantomhive estate. Looking up at Elvis' reflection, he added: "Oh, uh… This is also my first time in a salon, so I don't really know what to do. You might need to be a bit patient with me."
"I am honoured that you chose our shop to be your first!" Elvis declared, standing up a lot straighter. "You're in good hands, I promise! Don't worry, if I need you to do something, I'll tell you, alright?"
"Right."Alois nodded, prompting the incubus to gently set his hands on his shoulders before adopting a far more serious expression.
"So, what are our ideas? What are you thinking?" the incubus questioned.
"He just wants it a little shorter." Kristopherson chimed in on his friend's behalf. "He doesn't want it, like, super short in kind of 'traditional' mens' haircut, but more like just an inch or two taken off."
"So keep the fluff, but lose some length?" Elvis attempted to clarify by turning back to Alois. "Are you sure that's what you want?"
"Uh… Not if you think it'll look bad?" the menace hesitantly answered, but the conversation would not end.
Back and forth, back and forth, the incubus and wolfman talked about what could be done while pausing to ask for Alois' opinion on occasion. Really, it seemed to the menace like he wasn't being the one to choose his own hair at all. Occasionally, his eyes would dart toward the door and he wondered if it was worth making a run for it, but ultimately decided that this was too rude. Thank goodness, he could shapeshift. If he got stuck with either Kritopherson's strange hairdo or a pompadour, Alois simply didn't know what he would do.
After what felt like days of deliberation, the incubus finally made an announcement. "Alright! I think I have an idea of what you mean." Cheerfully, he turned the blonde's chair away from the mirror. "Follow me right this way and we'll get your hair washed so we can get started!"
Alois was led over to a sink with a dip in it and instructed to sit down in the chair in front of it and to lean back. The blonde was still nervous about all of this and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. His neck was now exposed and someone could touch it or even slash it. His face was also presented as he stared at the ceiling. There was water and rags here, so it was entirely likely that he could be waterboarded at any moment.
"Tell me if the water is too hot." the shop-owner said.
"Okay." Then, as the water finally hit the top of Alois' head, he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. He was unaware that his friend was snickering at him. He was also oblivious to the fact that the stylist was staring at him.
"It shouldn't touch your face. You don't need to hold your breath." Elvis calmly informed him, not entirely sure what to make of this.
"O-oh..." A small blush appeared on the blonde's cheeks at his faux-pas, only to darken as Kristopherson's snicker abruptly changed into full-out laughter at his expense. "Shut up, Kris! I didn't know!"
Weakly, the wolfman somehow managed to speak through his laughter. "Alois… Oh my god… You're absolutely precious…"
Despite his mistake, the rest of the washing went off without a single hitch. In fact, it was kind of nice, although the experience of having a mild acquaintance handle him in such a way while his friend looked on was still immensely awkward. Overall, he was glad when it was over and he could utter a big sigh of relief. It wasn't until he stood up to walk back over to the cutting station that he became aware of just how tense he had gotten from the situation. No matter what else he needed to do that day, he was determined to go straight home at the earliest opportunity.
The next trial was sitting there for ages and keeping still while the incubus worked. It was difficult. Very difficult. He didn't like it at all. His hair was being touched and he was expected to not do anything about it. He had to sit still and do nothing while his space was being invaded. It was wrong. So wrong. He was having trouble following instructions and listening to the stylists attempts at small-talk and felt bad that he was most likely being a bit of an annoyance, but he did attempt to explain himself.
"Sorry, I get nervous when people I don't know that well touch me." he said simply upon being given the same direction for the fourth time. "I'm doing my best, I promise."
"Oh! You're fine. We'll get it done all the same." Elvis replied as his scissors snipped away. After hearing that, things suddenly made sense. After all, he knew that Alois was a HELLSING operative. Everyone did. It was only natural that he would be on his guard! "I'm sorry for not noticing sooner! If there's anything I can do to make you feel less stressed, please tell me!"
"I dunno. Cut faster?" anxiously chuckled the menace in an attempted jest.
"Would you like a hot towel?"
"What do you use those for?"
"Usually we use them to make it easier to shave men's faces, but they can be pretty relaxing."
Pausing, the demon mulled this over for a moment. "…I'd like one."
Somehow, it did seem to help. Uttering a sigh, Alois' eyes shut as he pressed the towel against his face, enjoying a strange effect similar to that of possessing a security blanket. There was also the simple fact that he no longer had both hands restrained to being trapped beneath the bib. It made him feel a lot safer to have a way to defend himself if things go awry.
The one part that Alois did like was the part where his hair was blow-dried. There was minimal touching and the warm air felt nice, even though it was loud. Overall, the experience wasn't that bad. Most of the nervousness was simply not knowing what was going to happen. Eventually, Elvis worked out a way to explain what he was doing or going to do beforehand, prompting things to go a lot smoother.
Finally, at long last, there was a light at the end of the tunnel as the incubus put down his scissors and held up a mirror so that his client could see the back of his head. "What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to the mirror in front of the blonde.
Indeed, Alois kept quite a bit of his original volume, but his hair was significantly shorter. It was longer than his brother's and not nearly as messy. The boyishness of the cut suited his features and general roughness, yet he was still very clearly a handsome and refined young man. Alois was beautiful. He was just as beautiful as ever. The shop-owner was immensely pleased with his work, although he tried his best to hide it in the event that his client did not like it.
Turning his head to the side, Alois' eyes remained fixed to his reflection. He carried out his inspection and was in truth, rather pleased, although he was worried as to what others might think. "I like it." he answered before his eyes moved forward to look at his friend. "What do you think, Kris?"
"You look good!" the wolfman declared, standing up from his own seat in order to walk over to this compatriot to put his hands on his shoulders. "It makes you look more masculine, but you're still not so macho that it's weird. You've still gotta have a feminine touch, you know. It looks best on you."
"Think my husband will like it?"
"I know he will!" Kristopherson said. "Then again, he is your biggest fan. He'll probably think you're gorgeous no matter what you do."
"He is kind of a nut, isn't he?" Alois chuckled, finally cracking a smile.
"If he doesn't like it, then I'll give you your money back!" Elvis declared while unfastening the snaps at the back of his client's neck. Suddenly, Alois felt cold, now that it was exposed to the elements after God knows how long. Years, most likely. That would take some getting used to. "I'm that confident!"
"Are we done, then?" the menace asked, trying his best not to come across as rude by being overenthusiastic about his departure.
"Only if you're happy with the results." Elvis smiled. "If that's the case, you can follow me over to the front desk to pay."
With that, Alois stood up, making sure that he didn't have too much of a bounce in his step as he did. Paying the man, he bid him farewell and put on his coat before stepping outside with his friend to walk back to Kristopherson's own shop. Immediately upon stepping out into the cold air, a nasty shiver ran down Alois' spine, causing his hand to shoot upward to clasp at the back of his neck.
"What's wrong?" Kristopherson questioned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just that my neck's cold and I didn't think to bring a scarf." the menace replied, flipping up the collar of his coat to protect himself.
"Oh." The wolfman said, putting his hands in his pockets as the two of them walked down the street together. After a moment of quiet, he felt the need to speak up. "Listen..." he began. "I'm sorry if I pressured you into that. I wasn't thinking about how you might be made uncomfortable. In hindsight, it was kind of a shitty thing to do..."
"I'm over it. My hair looks good and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be." Alois stated as the two stopped in front of Andrea's. "I'm just gonna go home and laze around. I'm taking a day off."
"Are you sure?" Kristopherson inquired further. "About it being okay, I mean..."
"Yeah. We're cool. You should probably get going, though. Your employee is probably pissed off that you've taken forever to get back."
"Yeah, you're right. Laters, mate." Mister Miles said, hugging his friend from the side. The gesture was returned and the two separated. "Call me and we'll have lunch sometime. My treat."
"Only if you're okay with it being a pub!" Alois laughed, only to receive a pair of finger guns as the wolfman slinked back inside. "Bye, Kris."
"Bye, Lois." Kristopherson said with a smile before shutting the door behind him. With that, the menace began to walk away toward his car before the door swung open again, forcing him to turn around.
"Lois!" the wolfman called out, jogging to catch up with him. In his hand was a scarf from his shop, knitted by hand in an intricate pattern of alternating shades of purple and green. Toward both ends was a golden lion woven in, completing the patriotic Gehennan scarf. Spotting an opening, he threw it around his friend's neck before casually tying it in the front. "Here, take this for your neck."
"Are you sure?" the blonde inquired, arching an eyebrow but still being rather appreciative.
"Yeah. It's the least I can do for your troubles." Kristopherson replied, finishing his knot. "Besides, the old ladies who knit the scarves will be thrilled to see you wearing one." he added, causing the other man to laugh.
"Kris, are you sure you don't still have a crush on me?" the blonde jested.
"Please, when I have Logan? You're not even on my radar."
With that, they finally departed from each other for the final time that day and the menace went home. The day was now over for him, leaving him to be free to do whatever his heart desires. Mostly, that entailed sitting around in his pyjamas and playing videogames or some such. Alois had no intention of doing any kind of work that day. That included his work for Pyestock and Gehenna. It was a day off from everything that he was going to use to relax and calm down with. He was fully aware of how the stress of everything lately was starting to get to him and he was taking action to alleviate some of that in a healthy, non-self-destructive way.
Destruction was the name of the game on his husband's end, however, as he furiously whipped his nerdy cadets into shape. Their bodies felt like they were on fire as the Watchdog forced them to do jumping jacks, squats, push-ups, and crunches, along with jogging and hiking and whatever other cruel and unusual punishment in the guise of exercise that Ciel could come up with. So far, the demon was actually impressed with their progress. His men had built up a substantial amount of practical muscle since arriving at camp. The concern was not with losing weight or becoming sculpted like Hercules, but with having them build the right muscles and the right amount of muscle in order to do what the job demanded of them.
"I'm still fat..." Private Wallace Young sighed as he sat on the parade square, having just completed his workout. "Even after all that work and all the time you spent on me..."
"If it massages your ego any, you're skinnier than when you first arrived, but that's irrelevant." the Phantomhive replied while standing over him. The bluenette's head was just at the right angle to block the setting sun from his underling's eyes, to which the private was rather appreciative. "Body fat doesn't matter, anyway. What matters is if you can carry it around and do your job. Look around at other agents once you're admitted. You'll find that none of them have six-packs."
"I thought soldiers are supposed to be strong?" Private Young inquired, looking up at him.
"Precisely. That is the point. Body builders are actually relatively unhealthy. The starvation, dehydration, and overall strain that you have to go through in order to get those bodies will kill you even if you aren't an agent. If any of them fought with a HELLSING agent, they would probably tear something." bluntly explained Ciel, waving his hand in a rather matter-of-fact manner. "It's much better to be an agent with a gut than be a statue of flesh-made glass. You're fine. You're doing perfectly fine. I'm actually very pleased with your performance, Private Young."
"Okay..." Wallace answered, grunting as the Phantomhive helped him stand up.
"Go back to the barracks and relax for a minute. Don't over-exert yourself." Ciel warned, patting the other man on the back. "The last thing you need is to pull something."
"'Kay. Thanks, sir." the younger man said before attempting to trot off back to the barracks, only to slow down immediately as he remembered how sore he was too late. Chuckling, the demon shook his head before following after him. Wallace was always the first one to arrive to practise and the last one to leave of his own volition. Ciel was proud of him. At the same time, however, he worried about his health.
He cared very much about his men. The idea of them getting hurt or killed saddened him immensely, and he wondered how he would react if it actually happened. Would he blame himself? Maybe. Ciel was the one who taught them, therefore by some strange and convoluted logic in his head, it was his responsibility. After all, he wasn't known for being so gentle with the men he led. At the same time, however, he couldn't coddle them or else they wouldn't grow. What they needed was a firm push, not brutality.
Perhaps that was why the other officers had so much trouble at the dance the previous evening. They pushed too hard for obedience, so once their crew was given the chance to relax, they went wild. Ciel took immense pride in the praise he received on the behaviour of his platoon and had been in a pleasant mood all day. The Devildogs had what started out as a joke and wound up being somewhat of a motto: "Sir Ciel Phantomhive wouldn't do this." They respected their instructor and in many ways, modeled themselves after him. That is why none of them got in trouble with the officers at the dance. Their relationship was built on respect and the mutual desire to become better people, not fear. That rang true for the Phantomhive himself as well.
The time came, however, for him to bid his platoon "goodnight" and for him to return home to his spouse. He was eager to brag about his platoon without restraint to just about the only person who would listen without judgment, but he was also eager to sit down and do nothing. When he finally arrived at his home, he immediately marched upstairs to the master suite in order to change into comfortable clothes and house slippers. At long last, he could collapse after a long day of shouting and carrying on in a macho fashion. He even pondered taking a long bubble bath before changing into new clothes, but he thought he should at least greet his husband before doing so.
Since Alois wasn't in the suite, he was most likely in the office or entertainment room. When Ciel found him, he found him in the prior, reclining on one of the sofas with a 3DS in hand. When the Watchdog opened the door, Alois looked up from his game long enough to smile at him and acknowledge his arrival.
"Welcome back." he said, oblivious to how the other man was completely frozen where he stood.
Ciel's hand was still on the doorhandle and he hadn't moved since setting a single foot in the room upon setting his sights on his husband. More accurately, he was staring rather intensely at the blonde's hair with a blush on his face. He didn't know what the menace was up to, but he whatever it was, he was liking it.
"What's that?" the bluenette finally mustered up enough sense to ask.
"This?" Alois questioned while holding up the console in his hand. "I finally finished The Phantom Pain earlier, so I thought I'd replay Snake Eater."
"What?" confusedly inquired Ciel, still with his eye fixed on the menace while closing the door behind him finally. It took him a moment to register what his husband was telling him, but eventually figured it out. "Oh. No. Not that. Your hair?"
"Oh! Sorry, I forgot!" Pausing and setting his game down, the menace sat up straighter and gestured to his head while turning it back and forth. "I've been thinking about doing something new with it forever and Kris convinced me to go for it. What do you think? Does it look okay?"
Walking over to his beau, Ciel replied: "Stand up so I can have a better look." It was somewhat of a rude order, but Alois didn't mind and did as he was told, standing up and meeting his husband halfway. He had already got his answer from the goofy expression on the Watchdog's face, but waited patiently for his actual reply. Reaching out to touch those flaxen locks, Ciel marveled at the sight. In all seriousness, he was absolutely stunned by how radiant and beautiful his husband looked. The man's hair suited his already good looks and highlighted some of the perhaps more masculine and rough parts of his personality. Both were parts that drove the Watchdog absolutely wild. He was speechless as his heart swooned, drumming in his chest as he felt the blonde's hair like he was doing so for the first time.
"You look amazing." Ciel finally said, without his voice lacking a single ounce in genuinity. "You're so handsome that it's almost hard to believe you're a real person. I'm sort of wondering if I fell asleep on the ride over here."
"I'm glad you like it. I was kind of nervous, since I know you like my hair." Alois snickered as the other man proceeded to tangle his fingers in his hair and run them through it.
"It's still soft, fluffy, and beautiful." A smile was wide on his husband's face as looked upon his spouse with an adoring eye. "You're stunning, Jim. I'm absolutely stunned. It's just- Wow, you're gorgeous… I can't get over it..."
"You're handsome, too, Ciel. I'm just enjoying your face right now."
"I'm starting to think you married me as some sort of elaborate prank. You're way out of my league."
"No way! You're drop-dead handsome, too!" the blonde protested. "When you do the thing where you slick part of your hair back and look all evil? It's fucking hot!"
"Maybe so, but have you considered the fact that you're the most exquisite being on this earth?"
To that, Alois finally blushed. "Jesus, you're so embarrassing..."
"I love you too, darling." the Watchdog grinned, much to his darling's delight. His hands migrated to Alois' cheeks, cupping them as he nuzzled their noses together. Instinctively, one of Alois' hands reached up to hold onto Ciel's forearms while the other ended up clutching the bluenette's hip.
"Hey, you gonna kiss me or what?" he questioned, finally prompting the bluenette to close the gap between them and press their lips together. Smiling into the kiss, Alois hugged around his spouse's middle while thoroughly enjoying himself. He was rather enthusiastic as he kissed back, squeezing a bit more firmly as the Watchdog's arms looped around his neck, only to cause the blonde to shudder when Ciel's hands touched freshly-exposed neck.
"Oh? I can touch the back now." Ciel observed as he pulled away, now curious about his partner's reactions. Experimentally, he ran his fingers through Alois' hair and trailed them down the back of his neck, only to smirk when his husband shivered again. "Is it sensitive there?" he asked, but it was more teasing than a genuine question.
"Jerk." Alois pouted. He knew damn well that his husband had found a new weakness to exploit and that he was not going to hear the end of it for a while. Thus, he needed to act fast. Within moments, a spark of recognition flashed in his eyes as his pout morphed into a smirk of his own.
Gripping Ciel's hips again, he leaned in to kiss the bluenette once more. Luckily for him, the other man was all too willing to oblige, thinking nothing of the playful nature of things as it only felt natural. In truth, he didn't notice that he was slowly being pushed backwards or that he was even adjusting his steps to move with his husband due the perfect distraction that Alois had employed with his lips. It only came to Ciel's attention that Alois might be up to no good when he found his back touching the wall behind him, prompting him to finally open his eye. When the menace finally pulled away, Ciel couldn't help but noticed a glint in the eyes staring back at him before Alois made a deadly move.
"Don't forget," he whispered, making sure that his lips and his breath gently brushed against the other Phantomhive's ear. "I still know all of your weak spots." A wicked grin appeared on his face as he felt the hold around his shoulders tighten momentarily, only to fade almost immediately after as Ciel's hand appeared on the back of his head and pulled him closer, causing his forehead to be pressed against the wall. Then, Ciel leaned in himself so that he was as close to the back of Alois' neck as possible.
"That's pretty arrogant of you." Ciel replied at normal volume. "You don't actually know that. Besides, finding new spots is all part of the fun."
He kissed his husband's neck as close to the back as he could reach, while lightly trailing his fingertips across what he could not. A smile appeared on his face as he felt the menace's grip on his hips falter as if he were mulling over what to do next. Then, Ciel's eyebrows raised as a hand trailed up his side, taking its time to feel the curves through the fabric along the way before winding up back int its original spot. It wasn't long, however, until he grew tired of having his neck fondled and he decided to pull away.
"I'm going to have to keep my guard up around you, aren't I?" the blonde said with a rather grumpy expression on his face.
"Yes." his husband replied point-blank with a haughty grin. "Though I could say the something similar about you! What's the matter? Have you got some testosterone in your system from playing those games?"
"I don't know what you mean..."
"You've backed me up against a wall and felt me up. How exactly am I supposed to interpret that, Jim? You're being rather aggressive..."
"I-" the blonde began before cutting himself off again. Bashfully, he composed himself and said: "I'll quit if you don't like it..."
"Oh, no. I'm into it. Especially with your cute new look." Ciel stated. "I would appreciate it, however, if you would decide on your approach, because I'm still dying to kiss you."
"Pompous twit." Jim muttered against his husband's lips before pressing them together again. Maybe he was riled up. Maybe he was simply still frustrated from the night before. Either way, he kissed the bluenette passionately and wordlessly conveyed his feelings to him. In truth, he really did want Ciel.
Hands gently tugged at flaxen locks, but Alois didn't mind. He was far too focused on leading the kiss to be bothered. Slowly, gently, with an admittedly somewhat concupiscent flair. He was certainly no novice and knew exactly what he was doing. Tracing fingers over muscle through fabric and allowing his hands to wander and hit just the right nerves. He wasn't greedy, however, and stayed at a slow, easy pace until he received cues to advance. Ciel spoke of how beautiful Alois was and how handsome and breathtaking he was, but seemed to forget on occasion, that Alois felt the same way about him.
Certainly, Ciel lacked the same physical refinement that Alois had. At times, the Watchdog was was even self-conscious about his so-called "marred flesh," but the menace would have none of it. "Ciel..." he whined when the other Phantomhive forced them to part.
"Sorry, dear. I wanted to see you." the Watchdog grinned. "It would be a shame to keep my eyes closed after you went through all of the trouble to change your appearance. I ought to appreciate it properly."
"You've messed it up already by now." Replied the menace. "You can appreciate it all you want later."
"And you can kiss me later, also."
"Please..." Alois said, trying to conjure the most skeptical of facial expressions that he could. He was betrayed, however, by the tone of his voice. It didn't sound like exasperation. It sounded like an honest plea.
"Do you not want me to bask in your radiance?"
"Do you not want me to see yours?"
"My what?"
"Your radiance." flatly stated the menace, nuzzling against his husband's cheek momentarily before kissing it. "You keep pretending like you're not drop-dead gorgeous, but eventually, you're going to have to accept the truth."
"I'll concede to 'rugged,' but 'gorgeous' seems a bit far-fetched."
"Not to me, it's not." Alois said, pulling back again to look his husband in the eyes. His smoldering gaze warmed the Watchdog's chest from the inside out and caused the heat to spread to his face in a deep flush. "You're a beautiful man, Ciel. I might not be as fancy with words, but I really mean it. 'Rugged' doesn't suit you at all. You're way too polished. You're beautiful and that's that."
"'Polished?' Jim, you've seen me. Is china still refined if there's huge chips taken out of it?"
"Only if you see them as faults instead of features. You're not like china or porcelain or anything dainty like that. I don't know what's something poetic to compare you to, but even if you're slightly worn, you're durable. It's all part of your charm. I love that and I love you. Every single bit."
Bashfully, the bluenette smiled, looking off to the side just a tad. "Am I really so precious?"
"Absolutely!" his husband declared in earnest. Despite the fact that he wasn't nearly as well-spoken as the bluenette, he took his duty of conveying his love very seriously. No one may talk badly about his husband's appearance. He simply wouldn't allow it. That included his husband's harsh words upon himself, too. Alois didn't want to let him tear himself down. "You're very precious! Can't you tell? Even if words lie, actions don't. If you weren't precious, then why would I treat you so gently? If you're not beautiful, then why would I want you so badly like this?"
That was bold. Incredibly bold. It was bold of the menace to say, but the fact that he continued to embrace the Watchdog throughout his confession somehow made it more so. Ciel looked at him with a surprised expression before cupping his husband's cheeks again. He kissed the menace briefly, although he was acutely aware that it was perhaps far too brief to the blonde's tastes. True, Alois wasn't exactly a poet, but the Watchdog found his words to be sweet all the same.
"I love you." Alois told him before he could even reply.
"I love you, too." Ciel chuckled. "You really know how to woo me, don't you?"
"I'd like to hope so, after all this time." Pausing, the menace added: "But for future reference, what exactly did it for you?"
"All of it. The hair, your face, your hands, what you say, and how you say it… You're incredibly dashing in your own unique way."
"I'll take that." Finally wearing a smile of his own, Alois pecked the other's lips before giving his beau a strange, affectionate headbutt.
"This is sort of a pickle, however..."
"How's that?"
"I fully intended to take a bath after talking to you, but now I don't think I can."
"Why? Because you want to go straight to bed?"
Smiling sweetly at his beau, Ciel ceased his gentle caressing of his husband's face, only to pinch Alois' cheeks and pull. "Are you sure you're not putting words in my mouth?" the bluenette questioned. "Who said I wanted that, hm? Why don't I just go take that bath and leave you by yourself?"
"Huh?" whimpered a rather dejected Alois, with startled eyes, but it was hard for Ciel to keep on his arrogant upper hand without snickering at the blonde's face. When the blonde spoke, his words were slurred as his cheeks were stretched out. "Are you mad about yesterday night?"
That silly question is what finally caused Ciel to laugh. Releasing his husband, the blunette said: "No, not at all. I just like to tease you because it's funny."
"You're mean!" the menace accused.
"I'm sorry, darling. Do you want to try again?"
"Try what?"
"What we attempted last night."
"What now?"
There was an evil glint in Alois' eye, prompting Ciel to sigh. "Well, if you're not into it, we can just skip it again. I misjudged how riled up you are, I suppose. I was sort of hoping that you would embrace me."
With that, Alois' face changed and without another word, he tightly held his husband around the waist before lifting him up off the ground. Ciel expected to be thrown over the blonde's shoulder, but to his surprise, the man then put one arm underneath Ciel's legs in order to carry the Watchdog bridal style. From an outside perspective, it must have been a rather silly sight, with the toned Alois carrying the rather macho Ciel, but the two of them were having a good time.
The blonde walked over to the door, prompting the other demon to remove one hand from around his neck to open it. Ciel was admittedly concerned with whether or not the menace was going to whack the door-frame with his cranium, but Alois was rather careful and slowly moved through the door so the Watchdog could escape uninjured. They traversed the halls, filling them with giggles while Ciel occasionally placed light kisses along his spouse's jaw. When they arrived at the door to the master suite, Ciel opened it and closed it behind them, doing the same for their bedroom door, only locking it as well.
Alois didn't set him down on his feet and instead opted to toss him onto the bed with a laugh, prompting his husband to protest lightly. "I still have to take off my shoes, you know!" the Watchdog chuckled while swinging his feet back over the side to do just that. "Aren't you a bit over-excited?"
Before answering, the blonde had to dodge the house shoes that came flying at his shins. "Maybe a little." he confessed, gripping onto his own shirt before casually pulling it off.
The room went dark for a moment as the fabric covered his vision and he waited for his husband's reply. When his shirt came off and was tossed aside, however, he received only the first syllable of whatever it was Ciel was going to say. Curious, the blonde looked over and found his spouse sitting upright on the edge of the bed, face flushed, and mouth slightly agape as he completely forgot what he was going to say. His eye was very shamelessly transfixed on Alois as it traveled up and down his body, from the yoga pants that ended just above the blonde's ankles and all the way up to his new hair again. Ciel wasn't apologetic about it in the slightest, either. As much as he liked to pretend that he was a gentleman who thought only "pure" thoughts of his husband, there were always times where that facade slipped, shifted, or disappeared all together.
"Oh, fuck me..." Ciel breathlessly gawked, causing Alois's eyebrows to raise at the sudden change in demeanor. He was incredibly flattered despite his surprise and while he knew that it was merely an expression, the menace couldn't help but pick up on the double meaning.
"If that's what my lord wants..." he teased, seeming to snap the other man to his senses as the weight of what Ciel had just said appeared to finally occur to the poor Watchdog. He wasn't going to deny it, though. As the blonde drew closer, caressing his jaw and tilting it upwards, Ciel closed his eyes again and allowed his eyepatch to be untied as he was completely drawn in for another kiss.
A/N: Okay, no more close calls for a while. Shut up. Don't judge me. There's purpose to them, I say. PURPOSE! It's important to the plot! (Yeah, right)
On that note, I got a related question!
"I have a question for you, Hate, how do you handle writing scenes a bit more "kinky", like this one ? Do you happen to feel embarrassed or something like that, or not at all ? I hope this question doesn't offend you, I was just wondering, given the fact that you've been writing for a long time now, and in a lot of range."
Oh, I'm not offended at all! I'm honestly okay with sexual questions or questions about sexuality in DLTD and am always happy to answer them! The only times when I'm not, however, is when the question crosses the line into "distasteful" and asks me something gross. Otherwise, it's all good. There were a few times on Tumblr when I got mad about it semi-recently and it was the latter kind of question in both of those instances. Is that why? You're good. You're being very respectful and I'm happy to tell you!
I never go beyond a certain point and I KNOW I'm never going to go beyond a certain point, first of all. And, if you notice, I actually don't write a lot of physical description. It's mostly dialogue or narration about feelings. Certainly, it's definitely sexually charged, but it's still pretty tame. The mechanics of sex are actually pretty boring to write about and I'm just not comfortable with it. A lot of the audience isn't, actually, and prefer it when I err on the side of "suggestion" rather than "depiction."
Honestly, I went a little further than I wanted to this time, but I really wanted the "oh, fuck me" joke in there somewhere and that's the entire reason why it advanced that far. That's the only thing that made me feel a bit "iffy" on this one. Otherwise, I'm not embarrassed at all!
In the previous chapter- the chapter that this question is from, the sex (or attempt at it) wasn't even the point at all. It honestly and genuinely wasn't important and I actually think it's a stronger chapter than this one as a result. That chapter was about how they treat each other in their relationship and how much they care about each other. Part of the point was also to kind of clear up a few assumptions that I occasionally see in the comments, and this chapter cleared up a different one. The idea that there HAS to be someone who is "dominant" and "submissive" in every single relationship is kind of a thing in fanfiction, but that's not the case here. I wanted to get that across. They're equals and they treat each other with respect.
I also wanted to do something that I have never seen before in fanfiction, and that is someone either initiating or saying "yes" to a sexual encounter, changing their minds, and then having that respected. I wanted to put that in there from the very beginning of the chapter. I've never seen it before and it's so sad! How can you say that these characters- these people love and care about each other, if one of them is going to ignore their partner's discomfort and press on anyway? Nobody is that "swept up in the moment" that they would do that. That's a bullshit fuckboy excuse and it's not romantic in the slightest. Alois would have been traumatised! Listen, I don't like getting preachy or forcing a moral lesson in there, but the fanfiction community needs it desperately...
I dunno... It's really hard to explain the way I go about this because there's a lot that goes into it and there's also a lot that I just am not even aware of, myself! I prefer my way of doing things, though, and don't really intend to try it any other way.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
