The Mercedes pulled to a stop in a parking lot, and out popped a young man with blonde hair all clad in black. Oh, how Alois had missed being able to drive himself. He absolutely hated it when cabbies tried to make small-talk with him, and the tube made him anxious if he was on his own. Driving or riding with Sebastian was his best bet. Still, having found a good starting point, he slammed the door shut and locked it before taking his map out of his pocket.
"Now let's see, here…" he muttered to him, examining the route that the yard had given him and the watchdog.
With that, he started walking. He walked along the sidewalk, paying close attention to the storefronts. He planned on investigating the ones on this side of the street first, and the doing the other side on his way back to his car. He was looking for security cameras, in hopes of finding footage of the victim and the person who lured them off course.
The blonde looked up and down, and all around as he walked, being careful not to look suspicious. Perhaps he shouldn't have come out today wearing all black as he carefully examined the front security of a bank. Regardless, the establishment did have a camera pointed toward the sidewalk, so he made a mark on his paper before moving right along. There were a few clothing boutiques that had cameras, too, so he marked them down as well. Other than those places, there wasn't a lot that the man could work with. It would have to do though.
To his surprise, though, there were many shops that he had no idea what they were for. They looked like shops, but he couldn't tell what all they were selling simply by what was in the window. In fact, one of the windows was completely blacked out to where you couldn't see inside at all. Out of curiosity, he looked up at the neon sign.
"'The Body Shoppe'?" he read aloud. "Looks shady…" He quickly glanced around the storefront before continuing on his route.
"No cameras? Keep walking." Alois instructed himself, his pace increasing for some reason. He didn't like the vibe that place gave off and if he didn't have to, he wasn't going to investigate it any further. Maybe if he remembered, he'd ask Ciel about it when he got back home.
On his way back, walking along the other side of the street, he made note of a few more cameras he found, occasionally pausing to look at something if it caught his eye. A few blocks away from his last stop was an ordinary toy-store with FUNTOM in the window. They were advertising the anniversary. Alois couldn't help but wonder how his beloved CEO was doing on his little project. Something told him that he was going to be witnessing the bluenette stumble a bit and looked forward to that display with great anticipation.
In fact, FUNTOM logos had made it further than that, and into a bakery, as well. They were apparently having a special on the company's famous curry buns, as well as other products. Come to think of it, some of the clothing shops sold FUNTOM perfume as well. Obviously, Ciel had been very busy. It was a good thing that he didn't require sleep.
On a whim, Alois decided to pop in and get a few snacks for the others at home. One for him, one for Luka, one for Revy, one for Ciel, but none for Sebastian. The butler wouldn't be able to taste it, anyway. Even though he was the one who cooked all of the meals, the butler clad in black did not understand human food.
It was a shame, because FUNTOM curry buns were delicious, even if they tasted slightly different now. The blonde debated on eating his bread on his way back, but decided against it, as if that happened, he would with no doubt insist on stealing some of Ciel's. The Phantomhive was very protective of his snacks, too. As he was somewhat distracted, he almost ran into someone, dodging them at the last minute. He turned around, opening his mouth to scold the other person for not even making an attempt to move, but stopped as they turned around and revealed their face.
"Daniel?!" Alois called out, looking the Westley up and down. Daniel looked horrible- Tired, even, with dark circles around his eyes and sluggish movements. The kicker was when he actually let out a yawn.
"Hey, Alois." He said. "Sorry, I didn't see you."
"What in blazes happened to you?!" the blonde asked, reaching over and pulling the boy's hood off of his head. The brunet hadn't even bothered to part his hair this morning.
"Nothin'. I just haven't been sleeping too good." Daniel answered. "What about you?"
"Forget me, why haven't you been sleeping? Go to bed! Take a shower! Eat a snack! You look pale!"
"I've tried to go to sleep, but I just can't." stated the Westley. "And I just don't feel like doing anything."
"Why? What's bugging you?" inquired the menace, setting his bag on the ground before prodding at the other man's face. "These are signs of depression. Have you tried seeing a doctor?"
"Stop poking me." the brunet said, shooing Alois' hands away. "I'm just kind of bummed about Kris. He's bummed and I couldn't fix it, and now I feel like shit, too…"
"Have you tried talking to him?"
"No…"
"Well there's your problem, right there." The blonde stated. "Seriously. Talk to him. It's the only way anything's going to happen." To his surprise, a blush formed on the Westley's face at the suggestion before the other man looked at the ground.
"I… I can't…" Daniel said.
"Why not?" his friend replied. "Don't tell me you're scared of him, are you?"
"Uh… I dunno… He just… makes me feel weird." The Westley stated. To this, the blonde's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me…!" Alois began, pointing at the other man's face. "You're ga-"
"Shhh!" Daniel interrupted, placing his hand against the other's mouth to silence him. "I don't wanna hear it!" His face was red all the way up to his ears and he looked desperate. His hands were quickly pried away by the menace as he refused to stay quiet.
"Then what is it? You're blushing like mad and you're worried about him to the point where you're practically ill!" Alois accused. "Now that I think about it, didn't you ask me how I knew I liked Ciel a while back?"
"That didn't happen!"
"Yes it did! And you can't deny it!" the menace declared, stabbing his friend in the chest with his index finger as he spoke. "If that isn't it, then tell me the real reason why you're scared of talking to Kris!"
Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. There weren't any. No matter how long the Westley searched for them, he couldn't find them at all. He had already claimed ignorance as to why he was so afraid. He had rationalized all of this by saying that it was because he "didn't know" what to do. He knew. He always knew, but he could not bear to make the faux-blonde even more upset with him than he actually was.
There were times that he would remember the feeling of kissing his best friend, seemingly at random. He would catch himself staring at those lips and lingering on the few words that Kristopherson spoke to him for a little bit too long. Daniel would always quickly shake away the thought and bury it somewhere deep within himself in hopes of forgetting, but then he would set eyes on the scruffy-looking man as he walked through the door from school. When those brown eyes looked up at him, his face felt hot even though his body was completely frozen. Quickly, the Westley would force a recovery, and try not to look back at the disappointed look on his friend's face when he walked away.
Yes, Daniel knew full-well that talking it out with Kristopherson would fix everything, but he did not like the way that his friend was making him feel. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to him. He could never have feelings for another man. It would mean the end of his entire image of himself; as if it were a big lie.
Moreover, there was Daniel's family. His mother would in no way approve, and his brother would beat him to a pulp without a single doubt. If, and only 'if' the Westley were to have feelings for Kristopherson, and this was only in a hypothetical sense, then he may have to find another way to pay for college, as Daniel felt that there was no way that his mother was going to regard him as her son anymore. Why would her family waste money on a boy whom they are in no relation with? It didn't make sense!
What Daniel was afraid of was his whole world as he knew it falling apart around him. It wasn't as if he already hadn't observed the beginnings of it. He just didn't know how to make it stop. He didn't want to go forward; he only wanted to go back. It was impossible, though. He even went on a walk to get away from the faux-blonde. He was too afraid. Daniel closed his mouth again before slumping his shoulders and putting his head down.
"I don't want to." He answered in a hushed tone, causing the blonde to furrow his brow.
"What about Kristopherson, though?" Alois asked, placing his hands on his hips. "You're just going to leave him waiting for an explanation for what you did? Without closure? Are you going to leave him hanging when he needs you the most?!"
The Westley boy flinched at that last part. Hesitantly, he looked up, curious as to what the other man meant by that. The demon nearly snarled at him.
"Don't you get it? Haven't you been paying attention? Kris thinks that he's responsible for what happened to Preston, and he probably thinks you're mad at him for not talking to him!" The Macken explained. "He thinks he's worthless, right now! You're his best friend! You have to help him and tell him that none of it's his fault!" In his anger, Alois grabbed the collar of the other man's hoodie.
"Understand?!" he demanded. "Or are you too stupid to realise it?! Doing nothing only perpetuates the problem!"
"I know!" Daniel shouted back. "I want to help him, but I can't!"
"Why not?!"
"Because…" Daniel began. Why couldn't he? It was obvious; too obvious. The man grit his teeth before answering.
"Because I don't want to lose everything." He said in a near-whimper. He hadn't noticed how tight his throat was until it cracked, or even how his eyes began to water before they overflowed.
Alois' gaze softened and he released the Westley from his grip. That's all he needed to hear. The blonde picked his bag up from the ground and pulled up his sleeve to fit over his palm before using it to wipe the other man's face.
"I understand." He said simply. "You're afraid and you don't want to move forward. That's fine and dandy, if you're okay with what happens if you keep this up." When he was done wiping the Westley's face, he reached down and grabbed Daniel's wrist.
"Come on, let's go sit down and come up with how to fix this." He said, tugging his friend along. He eventually stopped in front of a bench and sat down. Hesitantly, Daniel joined him and sat beside him. Both were quiet for a while until Alois spoke again.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. His friend sniffed.
"A little better…" Daniel replied. To his surprise, putting his feelings out there did make him feel a bit better, even though he was a bit embarrassed by it. He didn't think Alois would judge him, but he still felt vulnerable. To his surprise, the blonde reached into his bag and offered him some food.
"Eat." The Macken instructed. "You'll feel even better."
"Is that a curry bun?" the brunet asked. He hadn't realised how hungry he was until he smelled it. Alois giggled.
"Yeah. Just take it. I can steal some of Ciel's later." The menace replied. "When you're depressed, you can sometimes forget to eat. Eat it. All of it."
With feigned reluctance, his friend reached out and took the bun before taking a generous bite of it. Indeed, he was hungry. He had to force himself to chew without trying to swallow the morsel whole. Alois watched him for a while, waiting for him to finish before speaking again.
"So what do you want to do?" he asked. "Honestly. What do you really want to happen?"
"I… I just want to stay with Kristopherson like I used to." Daniel answered. "Not… Not like in a… a gay way, but I just… want to be friends, for now."
"Okay, so tell him that." Alois said, nearly causing the brunet to choke on his own spit.
"What?! Why?!"
"So he'll know what you want from him. Right now, he's confused as hell because you kissed him."
Daniel put his head in his hands, his face heating up again. "Please don't talk about that…"
"I can't do that. It's important to the discussion." The blonde stated. "Most of the problems Ciel and I have had were due to communication. Sometimes, we just really aren't clear in conveying our intentions, so we get mixed up and confused, which sometimes causes us to fight. Remember when we fought in Rio De Jeneiro? That was a communication problem. Once we were honest with each other and made it clear what we wanted from each other, we were able to make a compromise. Understand?"
"So… I have to talk to Kris?" inquired the Westley.
"Mate, what did I just say?" spoke the blonde, flicking his friend's forehead. "Make your intentions clear, dumbass."
"But, when should I do it?"
"As soon as possible." Alois stated. "Oh wait, do you mean 'how'? Easy. When you get home, look at Kris and say 'Look, we need to talk. I wanna fix this' and then tell him what you want." Alois paused before adding: "...What you really, really want." He grinned as he made the other man laugh.
"Alright, I get it." His friend replied. "I'll talk to him sometime. Ow!" He rubbed his forehead as the blonde flicked it again.
"Tonight." Alois corrected. "Do it tonight, because if you don't, you'll be more likely to chicken out."
"Okay, okay, I'll do it when I get home." Answered Daniel.
"Good boy." The menace said, standing up and playfully patting his friend on the head. "You do that, and I'll finish this murder case I'm on and give these curry buns to my lovely wife and kids."
"Wait, right now?!" the brunet asked, sitting straight up.
"Whenever you get home, yeah. You don't need me to babysit you, do you?" his friend asked, holding up his bag.
"It's getting dark, it's cold out here, and hot buns are best buns." Alois said, patting his bag before turning to leave. "I wish you luck on your quest, good sir!"
He was watched for a few moments as he walked down the sidewalk again by the Westley gentleman. Soon, he was gone, completely, leaving Daniel by himself. The brunet sat there on the bench alone with his thoughts as he pondered as to what he was going to say to Kristopherson when he got home. The autumn wind rattled his bones, along with his nerves. He was nervous, but somehow, less afraid.
A/N: Oh, hey... I didn't see you there...
Pretty sure "hot buns are best buns" is now one of my favourite Alois-isms...
Yeah, there was a TBS reference in there. Not sorry. That shit is hilarious.
Ah... Let's see... what else is there?
No questions, so I guess I'll just see you in the next chapter, my duckies~!
