You couldn't stop yourself from smiling, happily. Not out of malice or irritation, or a crude way to keep some sort of look that seemed pleasant, but a genuine smile.

To watch the Phantomhive family, giggling and playing with each other, smiles and laughter filling the air…

You wonder how that's like, being part of a family like that?

Slowly, your smile turned into a slight line as you recall your past. The past that you had left behind. For good. The pain of losing your parents, your big brother…

You wonder when disaster will hit. When this happy little family will be broken apart. It happens every generation, and if not, that generation is rebuilding itself from the last one. Nothing lasts forever. Even happiness.

"Clara?" you heard a voice, so soft and quiet you almost didn't hear it, but a slight nudge to your arm jolted you out of your thoughts as you gave Undertaker a very confused look, causing him to smirk at your expression. "You were deep in thought, again."

"Oh… sorry," you mumbled, glancing to the family across the table as Rachel scolded her sons, while Vincent was laughing at something they had done, and he watched as you meekly smiled again, only for your smile to wean, again.

"… Are you alright?" he asked, causing you to glance over at him, though you couldn't, at this particular moment in time, act irritated.

Just tired… and sad. "Yes… maybe. Just… thinking," you decided to say, but before he could prompt you for some more information you could hear Vincent chuckling.

"Whispering to one another? I hope it's not about us~" he spoke, causing you to quickly sit up in your chair, noticing the other three were giving you both a curious look, and you smirked deviously in response.

"Perhaps it is~, perhaps not. Just discussing our plans for tomorrow," you stated. It was a complete lie, but whatever. Hopefully it's enough to drop the topic the man apparently wanted to bring up.

"You two look like a lovely couple!" you heard Rachel state, causing you to stare at her wide eyed while Undertaker seemed to snicker underneath his breath, as if it was a joke, and you watched as Vincent playfully tapped his wife's arm to get her attention.

"A deadly~ couple. Maybe you two should think about courtship," Vincent decided to comment, but before you could object you could hear one of the twins ask a very simple question.

"What is court ships?"

"Courtship is when an eligible gentleman and lady spend time together, under the supervision of others, while they learn about each other," Rachel stated with a slight giggle, holding the confused boy in her arms as she turned to Vincent. "Right Vincent?"

"Exactly. You spend a few years attending parties with the young lady, frequently going to her home, and talking with her relatives. Letting them get acquainted to you."

"Then, when the time is right, the gentleman asks the lady for her hand in marriage," Rachel explained, kissing the top of her son's head before turning to the two of you, smiling sweetly.

But you couldn't stop yourself from letting out a slight huff. "Uh, years? Seems a bit long."

"Oh hoh. Do Americans marry each other within a month's time?" Vincent asked with a devious smirk, and you scoffed in disgust.

"N-no! At least, I hope not. Just… what? You spend time with each other for a few years, become fiancées, but then spend another few years doing that before actually getting married? Geeze. By the time that's all over, I'd be in my sixties," you scoffed, earning you a light laughter from Undertaker, causing you to turn to him and nudge him sharply in the shoulder. "Hey! No laughing. I'm serious."

"Seems to me~ you have your work cut out for yourself, Undertaker," Vincent smirked, while Rachel giggled into her hand while you huffed in response.

"Hush! We aren't dating. Making such an accusation is appalling. I'm not a… I don't sleep around with just anyone," you decided to say, wanting to say the word 'sex' and 'whore', but considering there's children present, you decided it was best to stay cryptic. "… Why are you even suggesting this?"

"Well, if you are not interested in the Undertaker, no offense sir," Rachel began before giving you a sincere smile, "I was wondering, perhaps I could introduce you to some friends I know. You are so good with the children, Lady Clara. It would be a shame if you never had children of your own," she decided to say, your gaze staring over at Vincent in a slight accusation, wondering if this was the reason why you were invited to the estate.

But then you paused.

They are… right, aren't they? If you don't care about the Undertaker in that way and you don't know that many people to begin with, maybe it's about time to broaden your horizons? See who exactly is available, in England? Considering Vincent is an earl, you're sure to bag yourself a pretty rich lord, if you're lucky.

But…

Are you even interested?

You glanced at Undertaker, the conversation growing quiet when you didn't actually give an actual response, and everyone seemed to be watching you as you looked at the man sitting beside you while you were deep in thought. Even Undertaker seemed a bit unnerved you were just staring at him, not saying anything. Just… staring with a blank stare written on your face.

"… I think…" you began, slight uncertainty in your voice, but you quickly looked away from Undertaker, breaking eye contact with him, as you looked back to Rachel with a solemn look on your face, not one of joy or even irritation. "I'll be honest, I suppose… One day, I'd love to have children. If I can't produce myself, I wouldn't mind adopting," you told the Phantomhives, giving them a light smile as you continued, though your smile didn't seem to reach your eyes, "and I know I'd be a perfect teacher or even a caretaker for an orphanage.

"But, right now… I'm not looking for a partner for life. I just want to live and be happy, with myself. I've forgotten who I am and.. I'm currently trying to find myself, as a person. I'm not exactly ready for any commitments… I apologize," you decided to finish, but the woman quickly shook her head.

"N-no. No! I should apologize. I was only wondering," she chuckled lightly, though her grin seemed to wean at the solemn look on your face. Thoughtful, though not hateful. Just… you weren't exactly sure how to respond to this.

You're honestly more confused than anything else.

Even with all of the accusations, you never actually stop to think…

Do you actually like the Undertaker? That way?

Is that why you keep telling him your secrets?

Or maybe… it's something deeper. And you fear it's something else that he is longing for, and it isn't you.

Not… you…

"Lady Lara!" you heard one of the boys shouting, snapping you out of your thoughts as you blinked, a tad confused as you turned your head to look to your side, and noticed the twins were tugging at your clothes. "H-hey! You awake?"

"I'm awake," you responded with a light smile, and you watched as the younger one walked up to you, tugging once more on your clothes.

"Lady Lara, you look sad. Do you want to play chess, again? We won't try very hard so you can win," he spoke, but you smirked, patting the top of his head, and rustling the hair of his twin.

"Now, now. Even I don't want a victory if you aren't trying. Say, if you're looking to do something, why don't you show me what sort of books you like. Hmm? It won't count towards your three games. I just want to read a book," you told them, smiling lightly as they gave each other a quick look before looking back up at you.

"Yes!" they both shouted, but you turned as you heard Vincent speaking.

"Do not keep Lady Graves up for too long. We all need to go to sleep, tonight," he said in a strangely stern voice, though before you knew it, his smile was back on his face, while you stood to your feet and let the twins grab your hands.

"We won't!" they spoke, saying goodbye to the adults in the room, but you couldn't stop yourself from glancing back at Undertaker as you were dragged away.

Noticing…

He had a similar thoughtful look on his own face. Puzzled, and solemn. As if…

He hadn't really thought about 'courtship', either.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

The thought of losing my lovely Clara to some young man was… infuriating.

But then again, why should I be so annoyed? I always thought that one day she would leave me. But…

Maybe it was sooner than I expected…

"… Hey," I heard a voice, my head only turning slightly at the smile the man was giving me, or rather the much older boy.

Ah…

I can still remember when this blue haired boy would run into my leg, in an effort to keep me around the manor for a moment longer. As if he always knew there was a connection, but didn't want to admit it.

Never asked…

"Rachel, love," he began, grabbing at my arm in an attempt to pull me out of my chair. "Lord Undertaker and I will be having a little chat. Maybe you should join the boys for the evening activities?"

"Of course," she smiled, the two of them exchanging a 'look' that I know spoke more then what they were saying to each other.

I sighed. This trip to the manor… they must have planned this. To bombard us with these sorts of questions to confuse us.

Well… they are Phantomhives. I shouldn't be too surprised by this.

"Come on. Undertaker. Let's go to the garden," Vincent requested with a smile on his face, though he was giving me no room to say no. With a reluctant sigh, one I wasn't planning on hiding, this time, I let the man drag me away, his main butler following us as he tugged me along, until we stepped outside.

The moon was waning. The sky, much darker then usual, but the cool nighttime air and the moonlight that shone upon the vibrant garden was enough to make me smile. Just slightly. I followed Vincent as he walked down to the bushes, the plants and flowers that were finally beginning to grow, some fully at bloom. "Forgive us, Undertaker. My lady and I said some things that must have disturbed you. We were only joking," he stated, but I quickly dismissed his words with a slight shake of my head.

"No, dear earl. You have nothing to forgive for," I told him. It was true, though. He shouldn't be asking for my forgiveness over something so trivial.

"… I wouldn't be asking this if I did not care," he began, dismissing his butler with a wave of his hand, though I only noticed the butler moving to stand by the bright lit doors behind me as Vincent continued, "but, as a friend, I am worried."

"Worried? You shouldn't be worried for me, young earl –"

"My mother passed away fifteen years ago," the boy began, his brown eyes staring up at my bangs, into my eyes, even if he couldn't see my response to his words. He still looked me in the eyes, unlike many other humans I seem to come across, these days. "I have been noticing… you have become rather distant, lately. Whenever I come to visit. Don't tell me you are missing her," he stated, or asked. I wasn't quite sure, but I know he wasn't asking to get information out of me, or to try to sabotage me.

No. The boy was asking because… he was worried. Unsure. I could tell, by the worried look on his face, a look I rarely see, and to see the boy unhappy like this…

I couldn't stop myself from sighing, lightly, underneath my breath. "… I noticed that you like to talk about Clara, a lot," he continued, pretending that I answered his question or at least gave him a response, and he looked thoughtfully at his estate, his garden. At the blue and white flowers that were currently in bloom, the reds, yellows, and greens mixed in to create a beautiful, living outdoors bouquet. "She… is a very sweet girl, Undertaker. The fact that she continues to put up with a man like yourself should be telling."

"Of what?" I asked, causing him to give me a grin before looking back to his garden with a thoughtful look on his face.

"That she must care for you," Vincent stated, before turning to me and staring up at my face. "No woman stays with a man, unless she cares for him. I may not fully understand your relationship, Undertaker, but…" he continued, suddenly grabbing one of my hands, staring down at the bony, pale skin and long black nails before he looked up and gave me a light smirk, "I know my mother would be at peace to see you happy, with another woman. I understand if you worry or you're still sad over my mother's death, but understand that us humans do not live for very long. If you don't take your opportunity now, you may lose Clara forever."

"… Maybe I want to let her go," I responded, simply, but he scoffed, letting go of my hand as he gave me a devious smirk.

"I doubt that. You seemed so disgusted when Rachel started talking about courtship. After all~, you~~ could be the one to ask, and not some boy her age. I do not care, personally, but my lady has taken a shine to your assistant. And, Rachel can always see the good in a person, no matter how problematic they may actually be… So, just think about it," he told me, giving me a swift pat on the back before sighing to himself, looking back out at the garden.

I couldn't help but gaze at his short blue locks of hair, and bright hazelnut brown eyes, blinking as he thought. His eyes were calculating, his posture proper, but… he still looks like that boy I used to see, playing around in the garden with his sister, laughing and inviting me to play, with them. Knowing I couldn't say no.

He's… grown up into a strapping young man with a family…

But… his words did hold some truth, I suppose.

Humans don't live forever. I could lose Clara in a blink of an eye, much like my Lady Claudia…

And…

The boy doesn't need to know what fully happened. What I did. How I…

Got my vengeance.

He doesn't need to know.

I sighed, to myself, as I gazed at the moonlight. At the pretty garden… loving every moment I stood, in utter silence, the company of the boy calming my already racked nerves. My worried thoughts. My fears and anxieties.

Maybe he feels the same way.

He did lose his mother, after all. Fifteen years ago…

"… Time flies," I couldn't stop myself from saying, aloud, causing the boy to chuckle dryly underneath his breath.

"It most certainly does… I can't believe she's been gone… for fifteen years… that I've been an earl for fifteen years," he continued, but I patted his head, causing his head to move and glance up at me, while I stared off at the estate.

"You've been a good boy," I told him, simply, patting his head before letting my hand drift to my side, and he scoffed underneath his breath.

"Don't call me boy. It's degrading."

"You are a pup. What can I say~?" I grinned to myself, knowing I was pushing the boy's buttons, but instead of lashing out at me or throwing a fit, he chuckled dryly underneath his breath.

"Oh… Undertaker, I don't know how you find your humor, but don't change," he smirked, before he began to turn away and make his way back inside. "I'll be heading off to bed. I'll send Rachel your regards."

"Yes… have sweet dreams, Vincent."

"You too, Undertaker," he responded, simply, leaving me alone in the garden as I continued to look, and ponder.

Wonder… if I should truly move on. Isn't it too soon? Fifteen years?

… But… that only begs the question…

Would I really love Clara for who she is… or what she reminds me of?

"… Oh milady. I'm so sorry," I sighed to myself, closing my eyes as I felt the cool breeze against my skin, cooling down my body temperature. Not that I minded. I can become rather warm in this undertaker's attire.

But… I worry. I cannot help but worry.

But… to lose Clara to another… could I live with myself if that happened?

Again?

But should I even try? What if she rejects me?

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

A/N: HEY! I had fallen asleep/took a nap, but now I'm posting another chapter. This may be the only other chapter for the day? It probably will be.

There is also a Clara & Undertaker POVs, Clara first and Undertaker second. Obviously, I hope. I think I also spend some time going over their inner personal thoughts, in this arc. Mainly, this chapter, but yeah! Some thoughts that may have not passed their minds, or just did at that moment.

I will admit this, writing for the Undertaker is rather hard. That's why I try to avoid writing his POVs. I personally like to think, given the current situation, that his mind lingers towards Claudia, the past, and rarely towards the future. That reapers rarely think about the future. The thought, of a future. Even if they can live for long periods of time, much longer then any mortal human. Their thoughts just never think that way.

As if any sort of happiness, any thought for a brighter future, will cause their happiness to crumble into nothingness. That something wrong will happen.

At least, that's how I'm writing my reapers. Angsty. At least, their inner thoughts are. They may act happy and goofy on the outside, insane [aka Grell], or stern and over the top at times, but in actuality they're insecure like anyone else. After all, if you're not born a reaper you were created by your suicide. A human death. So, a human soul trapped in an eternal vessel… I think it'd be difficult to think straight, at times. At least, that's my opinion. I hope I'm coming across that way, in my writing of these reapers.

But, Undertaker is a bit hard to write about. I'll be honest. I can only write him as I personally see him, so I will apologize if he isn't the Undertaker you see in your head. So… I'll tell you this:

At least for the sake of this story, Undertaker is the father of Vincent… and possibly Francis. I'm debating if Claudia actually married another noble to keep up appearances, but had his half children in secret, or perhaps she decided to 'live in sin' and be her own sort of countess. Regardless of social norms, at the time. If you guys have any interesting ideas on how you want to see Claudia, do tell me. There aren't a lot of fanfic stories out there on Claudia. In fact, a major reason why I wanted to write a story like this is to indirectly have Claudia in the story. She's just… even more of a mystery then Undertaker is. Honestly, what is the basis of their relationship? To have Undertaker crying over the picture of a younger Vincent, yet obviously he met Claudia, first.

I personally like the notion of Undertaker being Cedric. Even though I personally prefer the name of Adrian Crevan, the name made up by the fans so he could have a name, I think him being the father to Vincent, at least, would be an interesting idea. After all, when the German reapers sees Ciel's family tree, they sound as if they've had a realization, and we can only see Claudia's name and the name of her lover, who in turn made Vincent. The moment I saw that, I had to come to the conclusion that Undertaker's name could be Cedric. Seriously. I know some people don't agree with that theory, but I want to. I think that'll make the overall story of Kuroshitsuji that much more interesting.

Considering the twin theory has been officially confirmed, what's not to say we won't learn that Undertaker is Cedric? I recall a time when people weren't even sure if Undertaker was a reaper, until he revealed himself on the ship, green eyes and death scythe in hand. It's because we only saw a quick shot of his eyes, at the end of the circus arc, but before that the anime had Undertaker as a reaper. So we didn't know if he actually was a reaper or not, or if the anime creators were taking some creative liberties.

Anyways, back to what I was trying to say, I'll explain more about these little connections later. Connections I hope I've written into the story, but if it's not fully clear then I apologize, but that's why I'll be putting them plain and simple, here in the notes. So, if you guys like the idea of Claudia having a husband, but Undertaker/Cedric is the father of the children/only Vincent, or just being a single aristocrat lady living in the Victorian era, do COMMENT! Cause, for now, I've written it in a roundabout way, but I'm still unsure if I'll give Claudia a proper 'husband', or not. If I'll have her married to someone… or not. I don't know. Or heck, even an Undertaker in disguise, but personally I think that'll be unlikely. It's for the same reason I've had characters saying to Clara 'why are you with this weirdo?' all the time. It's because a young lady doesn't simply live in a mortuary, unless they're relatives or… getting more from them. Besides, if Clara is beautiful, surely she can find someone wealthy to take care of her.

That's just not the life she wants to live. That's all.

But anyways, yeah, answering that question would be great, guys. I know no one has commented to my story, yet, and it's okay if you guys don't. It'd just be nice to have some ideas to work with. Especially with Claudia, since she is an enigma. Currently.

Hmm… and maybe, also state your opinions on Francis possibly being Undertaker's child, too. I decided to have her younger then Vincent, even though I'm not even sure if she is the younger or older sibling. Personally, I've love if, it was confirmed, that Francis is the older sibling, but considering her husband's age compared to Vincent… maybe she's not? I doubt they're twins, though. It's never implied that they can be. Just siblings.

But they could have different fathers.

I will say this, though. I also thought that Francis had green eyes, like the rest of her Midford family. I thought it would be cooler, or maybe more understandable, that Alexis married Francis, both for looks and inner beauty. But, now that her eyes are confirmed to be blue, then do blue eyes run in the family? At first, I wanted to think that Claudia had brown eyes… but now that Francis, in the Book of Atlantic, to have blue eyes, then I, in turn, have decided to give Claudia blue eyes. Blue eyes, blue hair. I was thinking to not give her blue hair, considering in the manga the silhouettes of 'past Phantomhives' show the woman countess with lighter hair… but perhaps it's a very light blue? Could be why even the twins have blue hair, too. It's more of a dominative color of hair in the family. And if she did have blonde hair, then the father of the children would have to be a blue haired man… and I'd rather stick to my original theory of Undertaker being the father.

So, yeah.

And yes, Francis is confirmed to have blue eyes… even though they look more grayish blue… bluish light purple in the Book of Atlantic. I mean, seriously. They look grayer then blue, and personally I think they are gray, but the official wiki Black Butler page says that her eyes are blue. So… yeah. So, maybe because of Undertaker's genes we have Francis with blonde hair, because Undertaker, if we go with the theory that reapers look like the humans they used to be, may have very light blonde/silver hair. I realized, since he has no eyebrows, that he could be an albino. I looked this up, when I was much younger. Albinos tend to not have eyebrows, have lighter eyes, sometimes red, and white hair. That's the only time humans can be born with natural white hair, and their skin is usually pale, too. So, yeah. There you go, if you guys haven't come to that conclusion too. Makes me think Undertaker's roots are from Scandinavia, but that's just my little theory. Not that I care too much.

Or… Vincent and Francis have two different fathers, and Vincent just looks more like his mother. But then again, Elizabeth, and apparently also Francis, are badasses when it comes to fighting with a sword. They could have gotten it from their father/grandfather, soooo~, there's that. Just some food for thought.

Okay, I'll stop ranting, now. I wasn't going to say this much, but then I did. WHOOPS!

But yeah… this'll probably be the last chapter for the day, but hey! Some more Phantomhive moments! And I'm also bringing in a connection between Clara and her Phantomhive roots… and yes, hopefully I'll get to her reaper roots, eventually. In fact, I'm currently looking forward to writing about that side of her family, but no. Today isn't the time for that.

Okay… well, I think that's about it. You guys ENJOY your week, and I hope to hear from you guys! Have a good night!