A shiver ran through the assistant as he made his way down the street to his destination, looking over his shoulder every so often. He hadn't anticipated to run into Daniel or his supernatural friends, and he knew that if he accidentally appeared suspicious, there was a chance that he could be tailed, so he looked with his right eye covered for any signs of any demons, or werewolves, or blue men. Paul didn't see anything, but he looked all around him just in case. In the process, he gave off the appearance of a madman as a result of his paranoid looking around.

Perhaps he should go home? No, then he would be wasting precious time, as he only had a few times a week where he could complete this task. Today, he was heading to his employer's favourite hotel, were he would inconspicuously take photographs of the man stepping inside with an escort. It was the same hotel that Mister Westley frequented with his favourite, so the workers recognised him. He lied and convinced them that the young man that often accompanies him is his son. Somehow, that knowledge simply added to the disgust that Blackwood felt toward the man.

The picture was easily acquired, as Westley had a schedule. It was the same schedule that all of his staff members were familiar with, although this detail was strictly written in code. As soon as the assistant got back to his own home, he printed off the images taken with his phone and worked on acquiring the man's phone records. That was also a simple feat, as Westley never paid any sort of bill on his own. Truly, Westley was a foolish man, trusting those who he made despise him with his important information. Was he simply stupid, or was he arrogant to think that his staff were not riled up enough to strike back? It didn't matter, because Blackwood would never find out. He was the only member to be pushed past his breaking point, and one was all it would take to bring Westley's life crashing down. With this one detail out of the way, Paul was able to plot how he was going to link everything together and expose him.

Financial records were at his fingertips, so Blackwood knew where the money was going. He knew where it was coming from, too. It didn't take much thought. A good portion did not come from Westley's salary, and instead came by less than legal means. A lot of the money was missing, as well. Blackwood knew this without looking at Westley's database, however, as the man often paid people to aid him in committing tax fraud. He also knew from the small bags of fine, white powder that he would occasionally find amoungst Westley's belongings. At this point, the assistant was really starting to wonder what crimes his employer hadn't committed yet.

As he pondered this, he realised that he would need to find evidence of the man's drug use, but ultimately, Blackwood decided to save that for last. Paul knew that if he wasn't careful, it would be he who was in a world of trouble and not Westley. While Blackwood was already in a downward spiral, he at least wanted to make sure that he brought Westley down with him.

It was absurd. It was meaningless. It defied all reason. It was revenge and that was simply its nature. Nightmares clawed at his mind whether he was asleep or awake, and the stress that he had be subjected to for years on end was piling up to unhealthy levels and adding to that. It now became reflex to look at the world through his left eye. His right would remain closed, even if he were alone in the safety of his home, and the more time he spent at that computer, the more everything else seemed to slip away. His meaning, his reason, and his soundness was slipping right through his fingers as they tapped the keys.

Slowly, he put together pieces to this puzzle and came up with a full-scale plan. It was cruel to everyone involved, especially Daniel Westley. The young man's friends were right to be wary of Blackwood. He was devious. It seeped through his pores, alerting those around him of his newfound nature, although Daniel was ignorant to this as long as Paul continued to give him attention. The Phantomhives knew this, and were wary of Blackwood ever since.

Thus, they did what any good friend with access to countless databases would do. They ran background checks on the man and monitored his activity. Blackwood thought that the agents would leave him alone as long as he wasn't caught breaking the law, but he was incredibly wrong. He was under suspicion of using one of their friends as a pawn and exploiting him. That made things personal, and as memory serves, the ferocity of the demonic duo increases dramatically when things become personal. If they found that he will hurt Daniel, they will not hesitate to act.

Sitting in their shared office, they were busily tracking the man's activities, monitoring his movements on Westley's database. Ciel sat at his desk while Alois sat at the coffeetable, as their new one was not finished yet. Alois leaned forward uncomfortably as he set his laptop on the table in front of him. His rear was only partially on the seat of the sofa, which was bad enough. They both wrote down anything interesting they came across as well as reported it to each other.

"There's a lot of weird documents in here..." the blonde noted aloud. "I hardly understand any of it."

"A lot of it is finances." the bluenette said. "Naturally, the numbers don't add up, so I suspect fraud. This is normal for politicians and the like."

"So Blackwood is getting dirt on Mister Westley?"

"Exactly."

"That's not good…." Alois replied. "For Daniel, I mean… I know he doesn't really care about his dad, but knowing that the person he thinks loves him did this…"

"Most likely, Blackwood is using him to get back at Westley." Ciel stated with a long sigh. "It's a pissing contest. He's 'stealing' Daniel from Westley to show that he's the bigger man."

"Sick fuck..." hissed the menace wrinkling his nose in disgust. Exiting out of the window, he shut his computer and laid down on the sofa. Staring at the ceiling, he tried to piece together how he felt and how they were going to handle this.

True, Alois was angry at Daniel for what he said about supernaturals, but the man did apologise for it. At least he apologised to Kristopherson and Logan, who bore the brunt of it. Still, Alois was apprehensive about what he said. That said, he also felt lingering fondness of Daniel from their days in school together, so he was quicker to forgive him than he really liked. Either way, it didn't matter. Alois' moral compass could not allow this, whether it was inflicted upon Daniel or anyone else. The fact that it was Daniel made things a tad more urgent, given their proximity.

"Indeed…" the bluenette answered, continuing to monitor the screen. "Still, I'm not sure if we should move in this early in the game."

"Why? He's just gonna keep doing it." stated the blonde as he sat up, slightly. "Isn't it best if we move in, now?"

"Hear me out." insisted Ciel. "Daniel will get upset if we rush in. He won't accept our concerns."

"What if Daniel doesn't know? What if he never finds out?" Alois questioned. "We could keep him from talking easily."

"True, but I'd like to play it safe."

"Playing is safe is playing it slow. The longer we wait, the more he's gonna manipulate and… and do things to Daniel!"

Ciel's eye shifted away from his computer and fixated on the menace, taking in his spouse's troubled expression. He scooted back in his chair before getting up from his seat and walking around the desk toward the blonde as the man folded his arms. Alois was obviously not too pleased with Ciel's proposition, so Ciel needed to better make his case.

"I know, it's horrible." the Watchdog said as he sat down, moving the blonde's legs. "What I'm saying is that we need to be strategic in order to maintain Daniel's trust and avoid more conflict within the group. Everyone has just made up again, remember? That's what I'm worried about. If we move in too fast, Daniel might reject us, initially."

"He doesn't even love Blackwood. He just likes the attention."

"It's still some form of attachment."

"Then we should sever it."Alois said. His face was determined, and it was blatantly clear that he was not budging on this topic anytime soon. "'Love' that's just based on liking positive attention is toxic as fuck. I know this firsthand, and I know that we need to shut it down."

He was right in some aspects, but it was clear that he wasn't coming up with a clear plan. The duo could not simply rush in and rough Blackwood up. It would have to be a carefully calculated attack. Ciel understood where Alois was coming from and nodded. He remembered when Alois was desperate for any attention at all, and he saw how catastrophic that was.

"You're right." Ciel stated. "I'm sorry. We do need a plan if we're going to confront him, however. We have to make sure Daniel doesn't suspect a thing."

"Alright." the menace answered. He would concede to that extent at the very least. "But we are solving this soon."

"As soon as possible." his spouse replied. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit a nerve..."

"No, it's not you..." Alois sighed, his shoulders finally slumping. Unfolding his arms, he reaced for the other's hand and began playing with the other man's fingers. "Well, that was a little annoying, but that's not all of it. Most of it's just the situation and the stuff from before."

"You mean with Daniel?"

"Yeah… That stuff he said about supernaturals. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's back and I'm worried about him, but I'm still miffed about that. Then there's Blackwood, and that really pisses me off." the menace tried to explain. His eyes focused on Ciel's fingers more than Ciel himself as he sighed. He sounded tired- not physically, but emotionally. "You not letting me just go after the bastard right now and clobbering him added to it."

"Sounds like you seriously need to hit something." Ciel answered. From the sounds of things, the menace needed to vent. With his free hand, he reached up and moved a stray lock of hair out of his beau's face before running his fingers through it momentarily.

"Yeah, I guess." the other said almost wistfully, still preoccupied with the Watchdog's digits.

"Well, I can't offer you anything to punch, but if there's anything else I can do, tell me."

Alois fell silent as he thought, staring at his husband's hand while he continued to kneed the other man's fingers. In all honesty, he didn't have too many ideas. Mostly, he just wanted to feel less anxious, but he wasn't sure how to accomplish that. Eventually, he had to ask.

"What helps you feel calm?" he questioned, his eyes looking back to the other. "I've been worrying a lot, lately…"

"You know for a fact that I am seldom truly calm." replied the bluenette.

"I know. You're a worrywart. It's part of your charm." Alois said with a small smile and a laugh. "I mean when you're restless and you want to calm down."

"Then I either find a book I haven't read yet and read it..."

"Lame."

"...Fill out a crossword puzzle..."

"Disgusting."

"...Or, if I need it badly, I come find you." Ciel concluded, causing the menace to stop fiddling with his hand, giving the bluenette the oppurtunity to hold Alois'. Resting his free hand on the back of the couch, he continued. "Just holding you or hanging out with you is pretty calming. I don't feel as restless when I'm around you, as corny and cliché as that is. But, if not even that can do it, I can always count on your massages."

Snorting, the blonde replied: "They must be relaxing, seeing how you always fall asleep!"

"They're that good. I can't help it." the Watchdog smiled back. It was true. Alois has a one hundred percent success rate at knocking Ciel out by use of this method. Ciel had a nasty habit of tensing his muscles unconciously, leaving him with incredibly stiff shoulders and back. Usually, it happened during missions. Fortunately, however, his spouse was courteous enough to help him alleviate this, but the poor Watchdog becomes so relaxed in the process that he can't remain conscious!

"I'd gladly rub your shoulders, too, if you like." Ciel continued. "Whatever you think would help you relax. We could probably use a break, anyway."

"I can agree with that." the menace stated. "Alright. I'm tempted. Have at me, pooch."

"Alright, if that's what his highness desires." chuckled the other, standing up. "Let me go exit out of Westley's database, first. You lay down and I'll do my best."

"Make haste, servant boy!" Alois playfully ordered. He shooed his spouse away as the bluenette walked back to his computer before doing as he was instructed and laying down on his stomach. The sofa was uncomfortable in this position as well, although Alois was far from surprised.

"After we replace the desk," he continued, "we should also replace these damn couches." He smiled all the same, however, hearing the other man laugh as he approached. The blonde felt the cushion sag as Ciel took a seat on the very edge since his beau had taken up the rest of the sofa.

"That's probably true. I think the last time I replaced them was in the eighties." the bluenette answered with a grin.

"I fucking knew it..." the menace declared, but he let out a long sigh as he felt hands on his shoulders. Ciel began to gently knead them along with the back of his neck, occasionally increasing the pressure in spots were the menace seemed particularly tense.

"We should probably go look for some new ones, sometime." replied Ciel, being careful to gauge Alois' reactions to his movements as he spoke. "Or we could probably send Sebastian to do it. He actually picked out these. He probably has better taste than me, anyway."

"Yeah, but I like doing married couple shit like picking out furniture together. I'm gross like that."

"How absolutely vile." Despite his words, Ciel was inwardly quite pleased with himself at the blonde's confession. While Ciel wasn't a fan of shopping, he did like shopping for the home with Alois. It was more of a team effort, which made things a lot more fun.

Suddenly, he was startled a bit as the menace let out a grunt, followed by another sigh. "A little harder on that spot…" Alois instructed, shutting his eyes as the bluenette increased the pressure he rubbed him with. "Ooh… Yeah… Like that..."

The way he said it caused a slight blush to appear on the other man's cheeks. "Do you have to make noises like that?"

"Like what?" inquired the blonde before piecing it together on his own. "Oh. Sorry, I forgot you're a perv."

"I'm not a perv…"

"You're using this as an opportunity to feel me up right now. I know it. Don't think I didn't notice."

"You do the same to me..." his beau snidely stated, although continued his movements.

"That's different because I'm me and you're you."

"That's not how this works..."

"Shhh…" Alois answered, hushing his spouse. "I'll make you do more than shoulders."

"That's not a punishment..." replied Ciel.

"You kinky bastard… Ow! Did you just pinch me?!"