The seven attending of the Essential Eight eventually assigned rooms for the sole purpose of being able to put their belongings somewhere. The Phantomhives shared a room together and so did Travis and Patricia. The remaining three, however, managed to have their own rooms, as no one wanted to share a bed with either of their options. Kristopherson and Audrey got their own rooms, while Daniel got the couch.

From there, everyone came back and talked until late into the night, loosening up and starting to have fun. It wasn't long before they were acting silly again, this time with more hijinks. One incident involved Daniel standing on a coffee-table while imitating a gorilla, breaking the piece of furniture in the process. Out of everyone, it was Alois who scolded him, much to his surprise. He hadn't expected such seriousness from the menace, given his own traditionally nonsensical nature.

"What's the big deal? It's my house and my furniture." Daniel said with a wave of his hand. "Who's it gonna hurt?"

"Well, Audrey was renting the place. He might have wanted that coffee-table, for all you know." the blonde answered. "You gonna be the one to clean that up, by the way?"

"Yeah, mum, I'll clean it up." scoffed the Westley. "Relax. Why are you so stiff all of a sudden?"

"I suffer from a condition known as 'becoming an adult', I'm afraid." Alois shot back. "It makes me not very fun."

"We went to a gay bar a while back and you were pretty fun. What gives?"

"I dunno. What's different?"

"You look funny." Daniel informed. "A little green. And you're making faces only Ciel should make."

"Who knows? Maybe I'm just not up to it, tonight." sighed the menace, leaning back into the couch. He wasn't sure how to respond to his friend, and certainly wasn't going to admit that he was right. Alois wasn't feeling that well at all. He felt anxious and a little queasy. In fact, he wasn't even certain that he was up for socialising at all. Perhaps coming here was a mistake on his part, despite how much he wanted to see them all at once.

"Are you okay?" asked Kristopherson, his face looking a bit concerned. Daniel was right, as much as he didn't like to admit it. Something was "off" about Alois and now the Miles figured out that it because something was wrong. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I'm fine." fibbed the blonde Phantomhive. He was unconvincing as he rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes while grimacing a bit. With a sigh, he added: "Maybe I should go to bed, though."

"That's okay. We'll be here in the morning." stated Travis in a rare moment of piping up.

"I think I'll take you up on that." Alois replied with a grunt as he stood up. "'Night, everybody."

The words "good night" or variants of ran together as his friends wished him sweet dreams. His husband, however, didn't let go of his hand as he tried to leave. "Do you want me to come with you?" Ciel asked, earning a shake of his beau's head.

"Nah. I'll be fine." insisted the menace. "Just come when you're good and ready."

Slipping his hand out of the others, he pecked Ciel on the lips and wished him "goodnight" as well. While walking away, Alois was perfectly aware of the fact that his spouse was watching after him, turning his head so that he could see him still. It was Ciel's place to be concerned, especially given that their species doesn't get ill unless there are some nefarious, supernatural forces at work. Their friends took notice, prompting Patricia to tap him on the arm.

"If you're worried about him, you should go after him." the woman whispered once the door was closed. "You won't hurt any of our feelings."

"When it comes to Jim, once he's refused help, he's going to keep refusing it until he's good and ready." answered the Watchdog. He matched the Ramirez woman's volume instinctively without quite knowing why. "I'll give him a few minutes to himself, first."

"Does that actually work?" inquired Daniel, possibly failing to see the irony in what he said next. Perhaps, however, he's learned his lesson. "If something's wrong with your husband, shouldn't you go check on him right away."

"It works almost every time." Ciel informed. "Just let him feel whatever it is he's feeling for a while, then check and see if he's calmed down enough to want to talk."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because people can't change the way they feel at the drop of a hat." said Travis in a matter-of-fact tone. "Trying to tell someone who is already upset and on the defensive that what they're feeling is wrong is only going to make them deny it more."

Snapping his fingers and pointing at him, the Watchdog came back with: "That is exactly right."

So, the man stayed with the others for a while, talking about this and that. He made jokes with the rest, snarkily commenting on them while receiving similar remarks about himself in return. It was fun, but with his worry of his spouse still looming in the back of his mind, he couldn't fully unwind. Despite saying that it was best to give the menace some space, he was still concerned, wanting nothing more than to soothe his spouse and see what was the matter. It was probably the sea air that was getting to him, giving the potential to be serious.

Ciel's concern eventually became far too much to bear and he stood. "I think I'll be turning in, now." he said, taking his leave. "See you all tomorrow."

The others wished him "goodnight" as well and that was the last they saw of the bluenette for the evening. Ciel climbed the stairs and made it to the bedroom that the two Phantomhives had commandeered for their stay. Knowing the lion was on edge, Ciel knocked first to announce his presence before opening the door.

Quietly, he walked inside, keeping his eye on the other, as he didn't know if he was awake or not. From the looks of Alois, however, he wasn't doing too well, or was at least uncomfortable here. Ciel couldn't tell. The blonde's back was too him, facing away from the door. A pillow was over his head as he laid on his side, curled up into a tight ball.

"Jim? Are you awake, dear?" the Watchdog asked in a hushed tone, knowing that the other would sense him if he was. A sniffle could be heard coming from the heap as the blonde collected himself.

"Yeah." he said. "I am."

Silently, Ciel took a moment from changing, only managing to take his belt off and unbutton his shirt slightly before he walked over to the bed. The mattress gave a bit under his weight and Alois could feel his hand on his shoulder. The heat of his hand comforted the blonde a bit as he covered it with his own.

"Are you alright, honey?" the Watchdog softly questioned. "Feeling any better?"

"Not really." Alois stated, his voice sounding weak like it was about to crack at any moment. It was probably the reason why he was giving such short answers.

"What's wrong?" Ciel blinked. "Is it the ocean?"

He couldn't see it the blonde actually nodding, but he could see the pillow move with his head. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Hug me?" It was an odd mix of a command, a statement, and a question all at once that escaped Alois' lips. Leaning down, Ciel kissed the hand that was resting on his own before taking it away.

"Hold on a minute." the Watchdog answered before removing his shirt and pants before slipping under the sheets in only his underwear.

He didn't want to lay down in the clothes he's worn all day, but was willing to be dingy until morning when he could shower. His spouse took his priority as he gently took the pillow away from being on top of the other's head. To his surprise, Alois turned to face him before pressing himself as closely as possible against the Watchdog, burying his face in the bluenette's chest in the process.

"It's alright… You're alright..." he cooed. Soft touches held the menace close while fingers ran through flaxen locks. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah..." Alois replied. "I don't like it here."

"Because we're too close to the ocean?"

"Yeah… Outside it smells like salt and in here I can hear it. The sound of waves isn't relaxing at all."

"Not surprising. You were trapped on top of that base for a few weeks. You're not going to be okay after that."

"It's been months, though! It's just water! Why am I so… freaked out by it? Nauseous? It's a combination of several things…"

"Doesn't matter. If it upsets you, it upsets you." Ciel stated. "If it was really as awful as you told me, then it's no wonder."

"All I could hear for hours at a time was waves and my nose hurt from breathing. I don't know if it was the salt in the air or how cold it was, but it stung." Alois spoke for the sake of wanting to talk about it. Carefully, he ran his fingertips against the bluenette's skin, feeling it just for comfort and to take some of the man's warmth. "God, it was freezing… The wind felt like whips… Sometimes, the crew of the Prudentia would cover me with a blanket when it was their shift to guard me and it helped, but man… It hurt… Heh… Just when things were looking up again..."

"I know..." his husband sadly replied, gripping him tighter and pressing a kiss to his forehead. Ciel's lips brushed against soft bangs as the blonde's hair hung in front of his face. "I'm sorry..."

"Not your fault… You did what you could and actually saved me from it."

"I don't really know what else to say, though." said the Watchdog. "Other than 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you', I don't really know what else to say in this situation."

"You don't really have to say anything." the menace answered, running his hands over the other's chest. "Just let me steal your body heat and stay warm. I just wanna feel safe. I feel like I'm gonna get sucked into the sea and never come back out. I wanted to puke, just looking at it when we walked down the hill..."

"You're not going to be sucked in." insisted Ciel. "I've got you. Just tune out the sound the best you can and let me handle the rest."

"Okay..." his beau nodded. "I'll try."

It was hard, but he did just that. Instead, Alois attempted to focus on Ciel. The feeling and warmth of his skin, his gentle touches, and the sound of his heartbeat calmed him rather dramatically. Feeling like he wasn't going at this alone was a major boost in his confidence, but also the physical feeling of clinging to someone put him at ease. Yet, he couldn't completely relax. The sound of water still crashed over his head and seeped into his thoughts.

"No good." he finally sighed. "I can still hear it."

"Anything I can do?"

"Do you have earplugs?" the blonde questioned. "If not, I'm not sure if there's anything."

Ciel hummed in thought before answering. "What if we covered it up with something else?"

"Like what?"

"Well, I'm not really sure… I didn't bring any headphones or anything. Hm… Worst case scenario, I could sing to you."

"I'd love to hear that." the menace said with a soft chuckle. A small smile appeared on his face as the thought sank in. "I don't suppose you're serious, are you?"

"About half."

"So you won't?"

"Not unless you're serious about wanting to." Ciel informed. "And if you're okay with old people music."

"Sing to me, Pooch." playfully instructed Alois, curious as to how this was going to play out. He had never heard his spouse do anything musical with his voice before. The man even refused to sing the national anthem at inappropriate times, and hasn't since he was human.

"Fine."

"You don't sound very enthusiastic..."

"Well, I'm rusty..."

"Is that code for 'embarrassed'?"

"Do you want to hear it, or not?"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." insisted the Lion. "Please?"

"Very well." Ciel said, clearing his throat before chuckling nervously, cutting himself short before he could even take in a breath. "Promise not to laugh."

"I will make no such promise." Alois bluntly stated. "Just know that if I do, I'm laughing with you."

"You aren't doing much to inspire confidence in me..."

"Just go for it. I'll still love you all the same."

"Fine, fine… Just close your eyes and try to fall asleep."

"Yes, my lord." The menace could do that much. Closing his eyes, he did his best to make himself less tense. He could hear and feel the other man's heart speeding up, as he was nervous about this, but still, took the plunge all the same.

"Yours, 'til the stars lose their glory,

Yours, 'til the birds fail to sing.

Yours, 'til the end of life's story.

This pledge to you dear, I bring..."

Both of them were pleasantly surprised by the Watchdog's sound. His voice was deep, but every bit as sweet as the devil's. Perhaps because he was a devil. Regardless, the discovery built up confidence within the bluenette and caused the blonde Phantomhive to smile widely.

"Yours, in the grey of December.

Here, or on far distant shores.

I've never loved anyone the way I love you.

How could I, when I was born to be…

Just yours?"

He continued on like this, kissing the other man's cheeks and forehead whenever a brief pause in the song allowed it. By the time he was done with the very brief song, Alois' body was completely limp and he was breathing a lot deeper than before. He was just on the verge of losing consciousness, causing Ciel to feel conflicted in that while his plan was working, his singing also put him to sleep.

"I love you." the Watchdog whispered, earning a small grunt in acknowledgment. With his hands occupied, he transfigured himself an extra appendage, turning the light off very, very, carefully with his tail before ditching it again. "Goodnight, Jim."


A/N: I don't really like putting lyrics in chapters. I just really liked the idea of Ciel singing to Alois because reasons. Both the song he sang and the title of the chapter are Vera Lynn songs that you can find on youtube. Good luck to those who are dedicated.

Several of you thought the idea of making stuff up for random sketchbook characters sounded fun, so the pictures are on my tumblr now. I'll probably reblog them all again tomorrow when I wake up. Nobody is awake right now. It's 5 in the morning. My eyes are heavy and I am sad.

So I'm gonna start the next chapter tomorrow.

Until then, my duckies~!