Wallace Young was a soldier—a militia member as fine as they came, although he was still a bit wet behind the ears. He was capable and dutiful, well liked by his peers and superiors for his positive attitude and willingness to push himself out of his comfort zone for the sake of his mission. This, however, might have been stretching him to his limits. The bespectacled soldier had all of the equipment he needed and was dressed appropriately for the environment he had been dropped into, yet he still found himself clinging to the sidelines.

It was a beautiful room in a beautiful house filled with beautiful people—all of which far more interesting than Wallace. After all, he was only human. He couldn't shapeshift or use magic. He didn't have horns, or a tail, or hooves, or pointed ears. He was just normal, apart from his occupation. It was hard to step in and have a conversation with anyone, let alone the woman he was there to meet. While he felt as though he was on par with his contemporaries, there were a few men he was competing with that really stood out. Already, Renee had started talking to them. They made it look so easy to have a conversation with someone like her. Weeks of training and hours of effort, all seemingly flushed down the drain. Wallace sighed into his barely-touched champagne glass. Mostly, he just took it to fit in a bit more. It was hard not to think that coming here was a mistake.

Even Carl and Gordon managed to talk to some of the others, although Carl did so sparingly. He only spoke to the people who looked human. Meanwhile, Gordon was hitting on every bird there. Wasn't that the very first rule that the Earl went over? Don't flirt with every woman you see? Old habits die hard, Wallace supposed, acknowledging that it went the same for him. It felt childish, but he really wished he could just stick with the Earl for the evening. Even he was hard to approach, however. He was always talking to other people.

"Hey, how are you?" He heard a voice somewhere off to the side, but didn't pay any mind to it, figuring that its owner was talking to someone else. "Hey. Hey!"

Then, a hand on his shoulder. The sudden contact made the bespectacled human nearly leap out of his skin. He fumbled, trying not to spill his drink, somehow managing to save himself from being the one to dirty the floor with some dumb mistake. When he turned his head, he met a familiar face, but it didn't help him feel any less anxious.

It was the second head of the household, Sir Jim Phantomhive, the baronet with the fearsome epithet of "The Lion." At a glance, it was difficult to see why to a lot of people. Even Wallace wasn't really sure, but the Earl insisted that it was well-deserved. If Ciel believed it than it must be so, even if it was difficult to reconcile how such a pretty man could be famed for being ferocious.

Yeah, he thought it; "pretty." Wallace was comfortable enough in his sexuality to acknowledge it. He wasn't gay, but he could see why the Earl fancied him. If the house was beautiful and the people were beautiful, so too was the baronet. The blonde suited the atmosphere perfectly. Jim's brows raised for a moment as he watched Wallace fumble, removing his hand from the human's shoulder. Once all was calm again, he allowed a smile to stretch across his face.

"Wow, you jumped really high..." chuckled the demon in good spirits. "You're one of Ciel's devildogs, aren't you? You're…" He paused as he tried to place the face. Then, he snapped his fingers as it struck him. "Mister Young, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Wallace was actually surprised that the man remembered him. "That's me. You can call me Wallace; I mean-if-if you want, I mean."

"Alright then, Wallace." the blonde replied, "Don't worry, I won't bite. I was just wanting to make sure you were enjoying the party."

"Oh! Oh, yeah. It's a nice party. Very, uh, nice!" The poor soldier felt like he might die. He had seen the battlefield, but this seemed harder. He can't just kill this obstacle, he had to make sure that Jim still liked him-or was at least indifferent to him—after he left that evening. To his surprise, the demon kept smiling and simply nodded his head.

"It's okay if you hang back here, if you want." spoke the menace, resting his back against the wall beside Wallace. "Parties are supposed to be fun, but not everybody has fun in the same way. Ciel's not really big on them, either."

"Lord Phantomhive?" That made Wallace raise his eyebrows. He had been watching the Watchdog on and off for a while now, looking for his own chance to talk to him, and Ciel was talking to others just fine. If anything, he made it look easy!

"Yeah, he's never really been a social butterfly." Jim let out a small laugh. "Even in the old days. Then again, I've only seen him at one party, back then… It was the night we first met."

"Really?" It came as somewhat of a shock to the soldier. He had always pictured his teacher as confident in all ways and capable of practically anything. The idea that he may struggle at something came as a surprise, especially when he hid it so well. "What was he like?"

"Oh, you know. Hardly talked to anybody but his friends… He was way more interested in chasing me so he could kill me. It was sort of a death trap I made for him-" Stopping himself, Jim paused, thinking he might need to clarify. "It's… a long story. We kind of started off on the wrong foot."

"You think?" Jim turned his head to face the other man finally, prompting Wallace's cheeks to flush. "Sorry… I, uh… Meant to just think that..."

"Pfft-!" Scoffed the demon. "I mean, you're not wrong. It does sound pretty bad when I put it that way. Anyway, if you notice—and, you probably can't since you don't know them, but mostly, Ciel talks to our friends. He just has a lot of practise faking it while talking to new people. Sometimes, it takes him a minute, but then he's fine. He's probably going to sneak away and take a break at some point, though. If that's what he needs to do to keep having fun, though, then it's fine."

Every new detail Wallace learned about the Phantomhives made them seem stranger and stranger, yet, somehow more familiar all the same. He couldn't exactly fathom marrying someone who tried to arrange one's demise, but he could understand being a wallflower all too well. It was a odd conflict of feelings, but not exactly an unpleasant one.

"I'd like to talk to the others," Wallace confessed, peering into his drink again. "I'm just not really good at walking up to people and starting a conversation."

"It's a learned skill, I'm afraid, but that just means that you can acquire it. Let's see…" Wallace followed the blonde's eyes as he scanned the room. "There! How about her?" Jim suggested, pointing across the room.

Wallace followed Jim's finger and squinted, trying to parse through the crowd and figure out who exactly the demon was talking about. There, on the other side of the room was a woman standing up against the wall, just as he was. She was wearing a pretty, light blue, dress and stood with her fingers folded together. She, too, looked around the room, trying to find something to do or to at least look at, but that wasn't what Wallace noticed right away. No, his eyes were immediately drawn to the fact that she had the head of a tiger. Orange fur with black stripes ran down her arms and although he couldn't see any claws from where he was standing, Wallace imagined that she must have them and that they must be sharp.

"A-a tiger?!"

"A weretiger, to be exact." Jim mentioned. "Surely you went over them during training, right?"

"Yeah, we did, but…"

"But what? She's a perfectly nice girl! Her name is Tiffany Li and she's here with her family. I don't think she really knows anybody else here, though. You should introduce yourself! Start a conversation! It should be easier, since she's by herself and you're both kind of fish out of water."

Wallace wanted to say "don't you mean 'a tiger?'" but miraculously managed not to out loud. "I dunno…"

"C'mon! I'll introduce you! It'll be easy! Once you start, it'll get easier and easier, too!"

Without warning Wallace was being spirited away by the demon as they made their way around the room. The whole way, he protested. "Why would she want to talk to me?" he asked "I'm boring! I'm just some guy!"

"Oh, please! You're plenty interesting! Have some confidence in yourself! You're a soldier who got your start with some rag-tag group of enthusiasts on the weekends. You've got interests, right? Talk about those!"

"I don't think most girls are interested in nerd stuff, Sir!"

"That's just because you haven't talked to many girls!" Jim stated, coming to a sudden stop. Grabbing hold of the other man's wrist, he gave a tug. "Boldly go where you've never gone before! Ally-oop!"

Much to his mortification, poor mister Young found himself thrust forward—or rather, hurled in the direction of the unsuspecting woman. He fell forward, catching himself with each foot one step at a time until he ran into the wall with a thud. "Oof!" he grunted, catching himself with his palms against the wall. Pushing against it, he turned around, only to find that the demon was gone, leaving only a surprised and confused tiger staring at him.

Nervously, he chuckled, offering her a weak smile. "Hi, uh… I was pushed by, uh… uh… By, uh, Sir Phantomhive." he said, realising too late how ridiculous that must sound. "Sorry. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." the woman smiled. At least, he thought she was smiling. Wallace hoped she was smiling. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so. I just suck at talking to people… Especially when I'm thrown at them…"

"So the Lion took it upon himself to meddle?" she questioned with a light laugh. Okay, she was definitely smiling. "That sounds like him. He's sort of famous for it, after all... I'm Tiffany, by the way."

Holding out a hand, Wallace noted that she didn't have any noticeable claws. He felt like he had heard or read somewhere that a tigers claws retract. Still, as worried as he was that he may end up with a cool new scar, he couldn't leave her hanging. It would be more rude not to oblige. So, he shook her hand, noting the surprising softness of the pads of her palm and of the fur on the back of her hands. He wondered if all tigers had fur that was soft.

"Wallace." he stated, faking his confidence to the best of his ability. Then, they mutually let go, allowing the conversation to continue. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." answered the woman. "I'm not really good at talking to people, either., honestly. That's probably why he threw you this way. I'm just… Not really sure what to do with myself, I guess? It's really awkward."

"Yeah… I feel you on that one… Honestly, I was starting to wonder if I should just, try and find a way to get back home and just take off. I don't know how to walk up to people and just start talking at all, so I was kind of wondering if that would be better."

"I'd probably do the same, if I could." Tiffany replied. "I rode with family, though, so I'm sort of at their mercy."

"Oh, that sucks…" The conversation was fizzling out. Now, instead of being awkward alone in safety, Wallace was being awkward around another person, subjecting them to it against their will. "So, uh…" he began, searching his mind for something to ask. "Are you from Gehenna or Pyestock?"

"Gehenna. My dad is the lead manager at the bank, there."

"Oh, really? That's cool. Do you work there, too, or..?"

"No, I work for the Environmental Department's Beautification Committee. I deal with flowers, mostly, but I do other things."

"Fall seems like it would be a rough time, for you…"

"It is and it isn't. Some flowers only bloom at certain times of year and that includes fall. I also arrange for leaves to be raked and organise jack-o-lantern displays around this time, so there's still things for me to do! What about you? Do you have an interest in flowers?"

"Ah, not really. I tried planting a garden at my mum's house when I was little, but apparently, I just don't have a green thumb at all. All I got out of it were some sprouts that didn't become flowers and a potato that was like, this big." the man answered, holding his index finger and thumb apart to roughly the size of a coin. He laughed, though. "It was sad. I was devastated."

"Oh my God, that's kind of amazing, actually."

Tiffany seemed to be in good spirits, which helped him relax. After that, talking became easier and easier, much to the delight of the blonde menace, who occasionally glanced his way. Soon, Jim felt like he no longer needed to check in and walked out of range, giving his beau a thumbs up as he passed by.

That was yet another suitor out of the running, after Falchion decided it was best that he did not pursue Renee, either. While it seemed counter intuitive to the party's purpose, it actually suited Ciel just fine. The plan, as far as the demons understood it, had changed unbeknownst to all others in attendance. Was it revenge for the way Renee spoke to the Earl? No, nor was it revenge for the offensive and ignorant things she managed to spout about his relationship, either. He understood that she was sheltered and somewhat naive, but he had underestimated just how sheltered she had managed to remain over the course of the last century. While he had his suspicions, it wasn't until that conversation that the Watchdog realised his mistake. This party was a mistake.

She wasn't at all ready for a relationship; that much he already knew. He expected her to fail, or at least, pick someone who is inoffensive and that would be that. He could wash his hands of the whole endeavour forever. With that conversation, however, the mademoiselle revealed that she knew so little in the way of relationships that her lack of understanding may actually prove to be dangerous. There were a lot of men here who wanted to be in a relationship with her. While Ciel trusted most of them, he didn't know if he could trust them with this.

So, the duo were engaged in a top secret operation, as they often were. Jim had just disengaged Wallace and Falchion took himself out of the game on his own. Meanwhile, Ciel eliminated Gordon Cooksey by having him speak to Renee for a full two minutes and was seeking out his next target. All the while, he kept checking the time, making sure he was able to sneak away for his meeting with Logan in his office. It was a busy evening for the Watchdog, but he still found this far better than actually trying to participate in the party.

"Henderson's out." quietly informed the menace. He smiled, but then he let out a sigh. His shoulders slouched slightly. "Told him about the practicalities of dating a vampire and he decided he wasn't down."

"Are you alright?" questioned the bluenette, putting a hand in the small of his husband's back. They stood in front of the refreshment table, regrouping after their shenanigans to update each other on the situation.

"Yeah! I'm good! I think I might take a break, if that's alright, though." Jim replied. Reaching down, he picked up a glass of punch and brought it to his lips. "This is tough work…"

"You've done more than your fair share. Really, this isn't a task I should have asked of you and I'm sorry for that. I'm really grateful to you." Tilting his chin upwards, the Watchdog kissed his beau's temple, prompting the corner of Jim's mouth to twitch upwards on reflex. Ciel was getting bold. Without a single care about who might see them, he began to affectionately rub the blonde's back. "You should go enjoy the party. You planned it. It's completely within your right. I can handle the rest on my own."

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you hanging or anything."

"Absolutely. You should have fun. I don't want to spoil this for you, especially when it's my mess."

"Hm… Alright, then. Let me know if you need anything, though. It's my job to help you out with shit. Just don't push yourself too hard, alright?"

"I'll be fine," Ciel replied with a smile. "Just so long as you dance with me after I meet with Logan."

"Of course. If you didn't offer, I would have dragged you out onto the dance floor, myself."

The encounter was far too brief for either of their liking, but duty called. Jim was called away by Norman Leech, an author with good intentions, but poor judgment. Once more, Jim was offered to have his life's story written about by someone and once more, he had to deny them. All the while, he put on a charming demeanor, acting like there was nothing of interest hidden in his past at all. Meanwhile, Ciel was called away by his own mission, having spotted Richmond Blackwell down the table a ways, sampling some of the blood that was offered. It wasn't very good, but party blood never was. It was simply impossible to store it cool so it would be fresh while keeping it warm so it was more palatable. Richmond didn't complain, however. Free food was free food.

Straightening his tie, the Watchdog approached the teacher. He was casual, with an elegant swagger to him as he played the part of a good host and mentor, despite his intentions to undermine the expressed goals of Mister Blackwell. It was sleazy, Ciel knew, but he felt it necessary.

"Hello, Mister Blackwell," he greeted with a smile, "I do hope you're enjoying the party so far, despite the quality of blood, of course."

"It's alright. It's near impossible to present blood at a decent temperature at a party." the instructor replied with a smile of his own. Despite his fondness of the macabre and the colour black, Richmond had a very bright smile. "The party is excellent, my Lord. Your husband is an amazing planner! You're a very lucky man."

"Indeed, I am. He's far too good for me, really. I don't know what I've done to deserve him. You'll find yours one day, though. A good man like you? You're a shoe-in." He didn't know which approach to take, so for now, Ciel was feeling out the situation. If this tactic didn't work, then he would switch to another one. As it turned out, however, it appeared as though he didn't need to.

"Yeah…" The word was drawn out in that odd tone a person uses when they're trying to put something nicely—an affectation that immediately captured the Watchdog's attention. Richmond paused, scrunching his eyebrows despite his smile, allowing it to falter for just a moment while he tried to come up with the right words. The teacher looked to the side, prompting his host to follow his gaze. He glanced over at Renee as she continued to talk to Caroline Lextington. The conversation seemed lively and her smile was bright.

"I see… Well… The night isn't over, I suppose. There's no reason you can't still have fun."

"You're right. It's not spoiled in the slightest! It was a fun challenge while it lasted and I'm glad that I got to learn from you, Lord." Richmond seemed to relax a bit at that, but there was still something in his voice that made the Watchdog arch an eyebrow.

"I'm glad, but… Pardon me if I'm being intrusive, but… Is there something on your mind, Mister Blackwell?" Instantaneously, Ciel witnessed the man deflate a bit with a sigh. He picked himself back up, however, and faced the demon head-on.

"May I speak candidly, Lord?" he questioned.

"Of course."

"I mean absolutely no disrespect to either you or your friend. I'm sure that Renee is a lovely gir—woman for someone else, but…"

"'But?'"

"I… I just don't feel comfortable with the idea of her." Richmond replied. "It's like… Oh, there's no inoffensive way to put this… I know she is older than me by a lot, but… I sort of expected her to… behave a certain way?"

"She feels too young for you?" Ciel asked, striking the nail on the head.

"I know that it's not a nice thing to think at all…"

"No, I understand. That's why I was sort of hoping that you wouldn't want to pursue her in the end." Relaxing his own posture somewhat, it felt like a weight had been lifted from the demon's shoulders. It was difficult to toe the line between keeping up the appearance and dignity that he had before and being authentic, but maybe dipping his toes into authenticity with an acquaintance wasn't a horrible thing every now and again. It wasn't something that Ciel was practised at, so he still felt the need to be careful. "I knew she could be a bit… 'naive,' let's say, before going into this, but it was only after arriving and talking to her about it that it sort of hit me. I don't think your judgment is incorrect, and even if it was, you don't need a reason to not be interested, Mister Blackwell. It's alright."

"Oh, thank goodness." The words came abruptly out of the teacher's mouth as he stood there with a hand on his chest and his shoulders slack. "I was really worried about that. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but… It doesn't feel right at all. She reminds me somewhat of my students, and," he paused to shudder, an expression of disgust twisting his visage, "I can't. I just can't. That's just… Amoral."

"Any man with an ounce of decency would decline after getting that impression. It just means that you have good character. The community trusts you for a reason, after all, and so do I."

"Well, that's good. I know that she's your friend, and all, and I don't think she's a bad person or anything. Just not the person for me."

"'Friends,' huh…" the Watchdog echoed, "I don't know about that. I mean, here I am, hoping she doesn't start a relationship tonight. That's not something I would really do with my friends, I don't think."

"You want to keep her safe, though. If you thought your other friends would be put in harms way, you would try to stop it, wouldn't you?"

"Well, yes? I suppose I would. But that's just basic decency and compassion, isn't it? It's nothing particularly remarkable."

"Decency and compassion is how friendships are able to start." Richmond stated. "You may not be friends now, but with time, you could be, just as time might push you apart. Have you at least tried?"

"I threw this party to help her find a husband, and I'm still not sure if I want to continue helping her. Not without some changes on her part, at least."

"That's true. Friendships are reciprocal, after all. If you don't think that's happening and aren't interested, then perhaps your idea is for the best. Focus on your core friendships and expand beyond that only when comfortable. You should still be decent with her, as you should be with everyone, but… Maybe you shouldn't do things that cause upset."

"You certainly changed your tune quickly on that."

"It's important to adapt to new information. As a teacher, it would be ideal if everyone got along with everyone all the time, but since the real world doesn't work that way, there's times when that's just not going to happen."

"Hm…" hummed the demon, pausing to ponder that for a moment. "Does that happen a lot?"

"You have no idea…" the teacher sighed. "There's some I have to seat on opposite ends of the class… Ah, that reminds me… There was something that I wanted to talk to your husband about in regards to Luka. There was a little bit of an incident."

"An 'incident?'" echoed the blunette, taking immediate notice. His mind shifted smoothly from his own troubles to Luka, preparing him for whatever mischief his brother-in-law had subjected poor Mister Blackwell to.

"Yes… You're his guardian as well, so I'll discuss it with you, since your here. There's another boy in his class who it seems as though he's had trouble with for a while…"

"Jefferson?"

"Ah, so you're already aware of him?"

"Somewhat… I here that he tries to act a bit tough. Many boys do, though."

"Indeed. He was doing a bit of posturing the other day, going on about how he could fight anyone and win; other teachers, students, their parents—that sort of thing. Anyway, he turned his attention to Luka, since his brother is the Lion, and started bragging about how he could beat him and Sir Phantomhive up. Luka didn't seem too interested at first and just rolled his eyes and tried to ignore him, but I couldn't get him to lay off it, so eventually, Luka approached him and whispered something to him. I didn't notice anything wrong until Jefferson looked scared and started crying. When asked, he said that Luka told him he was weak and that he didn't know the first thing about fighting, before proceeding to describe some rather violent acts to him. For instance, he talked about an improvised weapon made by filling a sock with coins…"

The more Mister Blackwell went on, the more the corner of the Earl's mouth began to twitch. It wasn't the response the instructor was looking for, but Ciel simply couldn't help it. A bout of amusement mixed with nostalgia washed over him, with a bit of pride mixed in.

"Well, he's certainly Jim's brother." he chuckled, doing his best to control his expression. He paused for a moment before realising that he needed to assure the boy's teacher that there was nothing out of the ordinary, here. "Please do be lenient on him, Mister Blackwell. His early childhood was not easy. Jim went through the same thing and also had a similar streak in school at Luka's age. In fact, he was quite the wild one! Far worse than Luka is. I'm pretty certain that he'll grow out of it, with time and continued support and stability. He knows better than to actually pick on the weak."

Richmond tilted his head a bit at that last bit, but chose to be tactful. "He's a very good student. Very bright and rather well-liked in the class. It just seemed a bit out of character, for him." Ciel couldn't help but find further amusement in how far that was from the truth. It was perfectly on brand for their family, but he didn't need to know that. "I mean, where did he even learn some of that stuff?"

"Who knows? Teenage boys have their ways. I don't see the harm in it. Isn't that just the sort of thing they're into? Wanting to be the best at fighting? Wanting to be the coolest like their favourite heroes and such? It's just par for the course, as far as I'm aware." lied the Watchdog. "We'll have a talk with him, though. As much as that lad was trying to provoke him, he really oughtn't make him cry like that."

"Well, it is partially my fault. I wasn't able to take back control of the classroom that time. I'll also try to do better in the future."

"Thank you, Mister Blackwell. I'm glad to have someone like you in the classroom."

Despite not needing to manipulate the teacher in regards to the Mademoiselle Lapointe situation, Ciel walked away, having told a few lies. They were white lies, as far as he was concerned, but still lies. He was indeed going to talk to Jim about it, but not with the intention of punishing Luka. If anything, he was actually pleased. It seemed like he was paying attention in the lessons he and Jim had been giving him in preparation for boot camp next summer, and that, to him, was worthy of praise. That was just how this family was. Ciel knew that most people wouldn't be able to accept it, but that's the way that it was.

He checked his watch again. Speaking of families, it was almost time for him to make his escape. While he wasn't certain that Logan was going to ask about marriage, he knew it was possible. He couldn't really think of anything else that Logan might want to talk to him about without his boyfriend knowing about it. If it were anything else, it might be shady. Since this was Ciel, if he was thinking it might be shady, it was definitely shady. Logan wasn't the sort, however, unless he was playing some elaborate long con. The more Ciel speculated, the more bizarre his train of thought on the matter became, so he tried his best to shake it off and just wait and see. He signaled to his spouse that he was leaving and signaled to the butler to escort the incubus to the office a few minutes after him. With that, he slipped out while no one was looking and headed upstairs.

The house was alive downstairs, but the higher he went and further away from the party he traveled, the less it seemed that way. The sound started to become muffled and distant before dying out, completely. Upon noticing it, the Earl looked over his shoulder, unsure of what he expected to find, but finding himself feeling uneasy, all the same. There was nothing there. There was no one there. Everyone was downstairs where they were supposed to be. That's all there was to it.

Pressing his fingertip up against the lock on the door, he extended his demonic threads inside and picked it, before turning the cold, metal, handle and stepping inside. Keys were unnecessary in this house, thanks to his husband's trick. Shutting the door behind him, the bluenette looked out at the room. Everything was in order. Everything was where it was supposed to be. The books on the shelf, his stuffed lion that his husband had won him at a crane game on one of their dates, his computer, their stamp set, the biscuit jar on his husband's desk—all of it there and accounted for. Yet, he had an odd feeling of dread that he could not place. It was like a small, shallow, pin prick that didn't even break the skin. Sitting down on one of the sofas, Ciel rested his elbows on his knees and folded his fingers together, twiddling his thumbs. His eye was consistently drawn toward the door, waiting for his friend to arrive, with only the sound of the clock on the wall ticking to keep him company.

A/N: hello~! I don't really have a lot to say about this one... I wanted to keep going, but it got to be ten pages, and I feel like if I kept going, it would be long enough that some information from the beginning of the chapter, may be forgotten by the end. A 20 page chapter is just too much, I think lmao, especially if I'm going to be switching situations so much to get to everybody. I still have a lot that I want to do with this arc, and I'm trying really hard to make sure I actually get to it all this time! Normally, things get dropped and it's a mess...

Anyway, Until the next chapter, my duckies~!