When the sun rose, a few of them put on their jackets and walked along the beach for a while. It was a bit too chilly for bathing suits, so no one would be swimming for the time being. Travis and Patrica held hands while leading the pack. Meanwhile, the three who were there as either single men or as a man who's partner simply wasn't nearby lagged behind and gossiped about them, thinking Travis looked odd.
"He was always so quiet..." said Daniel in a hushed tone. "How did he land himself a hot, Spanish, boxer?"
"Maybe he had it in him this whole time and he was just hiding it from us." suggested Audrey. "He never talked about that sort of thing, so maybe he has secrets?"
"Maybe they just like each other?" presented Kristopherson, skeptical at the other's feeling that this was at all strange. "Y'know. Like normal people?"
"But Travis. Travis! Him and her?" gawked the Westley.
"Come to think of it, what is so weird about it?" questioned the reaper. "Is it because he's quiet?"
"It's because he's quiet and I'm single!"
"Maybe you wouldn't be if you kept your mouth shut!" called Patricia from a little ways in front of them, having heard them. Daniel's cheeks tinted red while Travis chuckled at him from looking over his shoulder. The Sullivan then said something to his girlfriend that the others couldn't hear die to their distance.
"Now I really don't see what Travis sees in her..." huffed the Westley, putting his hands on his hips.
"I do. She has excellent dragging skills." stated Kristopherson.
Audrey just laughed and smiled at the remark, having not much else to add. He hadn't stopped since he started talking to his friends after they arrived. It was nice, being able to see everyone again. It was even nicer to not be on his own. Having a motivation to shower and put on clothes during the day was helpful, as was going outside for a bit. Now, after a month of staying here, Audrey was finally starting to feel better! Perhaps this was all he needed. Some human(?) contact and not some pricey trip to "find himself."
"I'm thinking about coming back to London." he said, changing the topic. "I'm kinda tired of being on my own."
"You sure?" asked Daniel. "Still got some vacation time, don't you?"
"Yeah. I'm not gonna go back to work. I'm just gonna spend my time a little better." the reaper stated. "Staying here by myself has me bummed out and feeling worse than I did before."
"What're you gonna do?" questioned the wolfman.
"I dunno. Hang out, visit everybody at HELLSING, go see my parents..." Audrey trailed off. "Maybe visit Preston..."
The other two stopped for a moment and looked at him before walking again. Kristopherson looked straight ahead while Daniel nodded. "We all should." Miles agreed, earning a soft "yeah" from Westley. All of them were in agreement and so was Travis. Patricia was alright with going, but wasn't sure if it was appropriate, since she had never met the man.
"Think Ciel and Alois wanna go?" asked Daniel, causing Audrey to shrug.
"I dunno." the reaper answered. "I dunno how they feel about all of this."
"Where are they, by the way? Are they coming?"
"Alois still isn't feeling too good." answered Kristopherson.
"Why? Do you know?"
"It's not something supernatural, is it?" asked Audrey with a touch of concern. There were very few explanations as to why a demon would be feeling unwell, and something not of "nature" was the most likely culprit. Kristopherson, however, shook his head.
"Well… I don't think it's his body." the wolfman began. "It sounds like it's his head."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Remember where Alois was for a few weeks? Impaled on top of a sea fortress? Now think about where we are now..."
"Fuck..." Daniel swore, running a hand through his hair. "Why'd he come if it was like that?"
"I talked to Ciel about it and he said he wanted to see us."
"Then let's go see him!" Westley declared. "C'mon, let's just go back to he house!"
"I don't think he wanted you to know." the wolfman said. "I only told you because I think it's important. If we go barging in there, acting all nicey nice, then he's gonna know something's up. Alois isn't the kind of person who wants people to throw him a pity party."
"Then what do we do?" asked Audrey. "Dick around out here for a while and pretend we got bored and wanted to come back?"
"Sounds like a plan." answered Kristopherson. "I'll go first and stake the place out later."
"Why don't you go now? Tell us how long he needs?" suggested Daniel. "Pretend you forgot something."
"I dunno." Miles hesitantly answered before turning to their other friend. "What do you think?"
"What could it hurt?" asked Audrey with a shrug. "I think it's a pretty good idea. If he looks up to it, text us or come back for us, and we'll move in."
"Alright." sighed the wolfman. "I'll be back, then."
"May the force be with you." jested Baines, causing those who remained to chuckle while Kristopherson made the long walk back to the house.
He was cold, anyway, so perhaps it wasn't a too bad of an idea. The wolfman could sit down for a moment and warm himself up for a moment before heading back out, so he still benefited from this. It wasn't as though there was much on the beach at the moment anyway. Upon opening the door, he was struck with warm air, causing him to shudder.
From where he was standing, the house seemed empty. Not a soul was in sight. Thus, he did everything else he wanted to do before seeking out the demons, getting him a drink and sitting down for a while. Kristopherson sat on the couch in the living room for about fifteen minutes before he started to wonder where the Phantomhives were. After being adequately warmed up, the man looked around as he grew more impatient.
They were probably upstairs. He knew that, given that they hadn't left any sort of note or text, but he wasn't sure how long they were going to be there. Last he checked, Alois was still asleep. Thus, he decided it was time to get up and check. Putting his hand on the rail, he ascended the steps with ease before turning in the direction of the Phantomhives' room. Once he was at the door, he brought a hand up to gently knock against its surface.
"Alois? Ciel? You guys in there?" he called There was no answer so Kristopherson tried the handle only to find it unlocked. Opening it, he stepped inside. "Hey, Alois, you still asle-"
"JESUS FUCK!" exclaimed the blonde's voice as the wolfman's face turned an ungodly shade of red. "WHAT THE FUCK, KRIS?! GET OUT!"
"Sorry!" Kristopherson barked back, exiting again before slamming the door shut. Really, he could have gone his entire life without seeing that. He had no idea the demons would be capable of pulling something like that, given where they were, but here he was, just having caught them in flagrante delicto.
Quickly, he made his way downstairs again and sat down. He needed to in order to make an attempt at wiping his own memory. It was only about a minute before he heard a door open upstairs and as he turned to see who it was, he could see Alois descending the stairs wearing pyjama pants and a robe. Folding his arms, the demon held the garment closed tighter. He hadn't even approached the wolfman yet before he started talking.
"What the fuck, mate?!" Alois demanded, his face just as red as the Miles. "Would it kill you to fuckin' knock?!"
"I did!" insisted Kristopherson, unsure if his friend was actually going to listen. "Obviously, you were too busy to hear me!"
Now that, Alois didn't have any real argument against because he couldn't prove it either way. Really, he didn't notice or sense Kristopherson approaching the door since the other man's suspicions were true. Both Phantomhives were immensely preoccupied in their focus. Kristopherson completely sneaked up on them.
"Can you go like, one day without getting busy with your man?" Kristpoherson questioned, his line of sight darting away for a moment as he saw a disheveled Ciel leaning on the rail and looking down at them. It was perhaps the messiest the wolfman had ever seen him, with his untucked shirt that wasn't completely buttoned- and what was buttoned was done so incorrectly. His hair was a mess and the sight disturbed Kristopherson immensely. With a somewhat bashful expression, Ciel awkwardly waved at him before the faux-blonde had to look away again.
"You could have locked the door if you're going the be doing that, y'know?" he added.
"The doors in this house don't lock, you idiot!" barked the menace, pointing accusingly. It was clear as day that he was embarrassed, but anger is how he chose to express it.
"Well, I don't know! Prop up a chair! Or, y'know, don't shag in a house full of people!"
"It wasn't full of people when we started. I thought you went out with the others?"
"I did, but we were worried about you since you were feeling like shit last night and you didn't get up this morning, so I came to check on you." Miles informed, standing up and crossing his arms. "Believe me, I did not want to witness you and that one mid-bugger." He pointed up at Ciel with his eyes, causing the other to follow his gaze, only to sigh.
"Alright..." Alois conceded. "I'm sorry..."
"You're fine, I guess..." answered Kristopherson in return. "You had the blankets pulled up, so I didn't see you completely starkers, thank god. It's the principle of it that's just..." Instead of finishing his sentence, he shuddered.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" huffed the menace. "I don't like you seeing it either. Trust me. Look, I'm fine. You guys can go have fun at the beach and I'll be here when you get back."
"I get the distinct impression that you're trying to get rid of me."
"Kinda, yeah." Alois shrugged with a nervous chuckle. "I was a little busy."
"Fine, fine, I'll go." replied Kristopherson with a shake of his head. He didn't like any involvment in this and was genuinely unsure how to proceed. The feeling that he needed to say something lingered. A joke or a quick quip to remove all of the tension was what he wanted, but instead, the best he could to was take the invitation to leave for the time being. Before he turned to leave, however, he looked up and pointed a finger at the bluenette above.
"Don't get him pregnant, y'hear me?" he called out, causing the already flustered Ciel cough.
"I think we're good on that." the Watchdog answered, earning a laugh as Kristopherson started heading toward the front door. Once it was closed, Alois started back up the stairs. The blonde was halfway up before he addressed his spouse.
"I'm not done with you yet." the menace said, prompting a laugh. "Get back in there."
"Yes, your highness." playfully replied his spouse, turning to walk back toward the room while Alois caught up with him.
They were perhaps a bit too relaxed, but it was better than what Alois was feeling before. The thought of going outside where he would be closer to the ocean made him sick, but since everyone else was out of the house except for his husband, a different kind of opportunity arose. That was the demons' line of reasoning, at least. They simply hadn't counted on any of the others coming back so soon.
Kristopherson's interests now laid in forgetting whatever it was that he had witnessed. At least, until the shock wore off, he would. When it did, he was probably going to make fun of Alois for a few years after the fact. For the time being, however, he walked along the beach, wandering until he came across the others again. His walk turned into a trot and then a jog. Hearing him come up, the others turned around from throwing rocks at the water and gave him their attention.
"What'd he say?" called Patricia while the wolfman's pace slowed down to a halt. Without missing a single beat, he answered in a tone that sounded as genuine and as sympathetic as he could muster.
"He's going to need a little more time…"
A/N: It was bound to happen eventually... Could've been worse, though. Could've been caught by Daniel or somebody.
Our demons have in no doubt learned their lesson... That wasn't a very good decision, lads.
I've become increasingly worried about being interesting lately. I feel like it's led to some seriously lukewarm arcs. Thus, I'm probably going to just do whatever it is I want to do and hope that y'all won't be too bored.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
CHARACTER SHET
Question: "hey, alois, have you ever gone to therapy besides that disastrous one-time session at warwick? do you know anyone you think might need it? do you think it would help you. i just got out of therapy school a lil while back and got back with my old therapist, which is nice..." by forestkiid
Alois: "Yeah, sometimes, they make me go after some shit happens but I don't ever go back. I get that it works really well for some people, but I don't think I'm one of them. I don't want some doctor talking about my childhood with me like I don't already know it was fucked? I don't ever understand what it has to do with the new shit? I don't like it. That said, me being me and who I am, I do know quite a few people who might do well with it. I know the others went after the Krampus/Lilith incident, and Revy has got some shit. Maybe it'll do him some good, but it's not for his big brother."
