The news of what had happened had traveled through many channels since then. It traveled through word of mouth within the essential eight, but also made it's way into Gehenna. Most of them were happy that Blackwood was dead and concerned for Ciel, sending get well messages and calling him to tell him that they were glad that he was alright. The Watchdog appreciated them immensely and was actually cheered up a little by them. The only one who didn't send anything was Daniel, as he had to process things a little bit more.
Once, the Westley sincerely thought that Blackwood was his boyfriend, only to realise that he was being used to get at his father. Blackwood took advantage of him, not to mention he came onto Daniel while he was very obviously intoxicated. Needless to say, the man had a lot to process when it came to Blackwood. He remembered it on occasion on his own, but it was worse when he was mentioned. It wasn't as though Daniel missed him, however. He was glad he was gone. Now Blackwood wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else ever again.
It did affect him, however. He stared into space and forgot things. It wasn't subtle. Most of his coworkers noticed and so did his sister at home. None of them knew what exactly happened between them. Not even his friends did. It felt as though he had no one to talk to about it. Nor did he feel like there was anyone who would take him seriously. He consented, didn't he? Moreover, he was a man, too. So why did he feel so violated every time Blackwood came to mind?
He was down and he was angry, becoming late to work more often. A lot of the time, he didn't go straight home anymore. He stopped by The Wolf's Glen and ordered a drink. The witch behind the counter would only serve him one, since everyone knew that he had to drive to get home. It vexed him. Daniel didn't really feel comfortable in his own apartment when his mind came back to Blackwood, so he would put off coming home when he could. Often, this was simply done by picking up Samantha from school, which was a bright point for her, but when they returned, he seemed bothered and wouldn't talk about why.
No one knew what came over him, not even his friends. They knew it was bad between him and Blackwood, but they hadn't expected it to be this bad. They hadn't the faintest idea as to how to fix it, although not many of them had seen him in person for a while. The only one who had was Kristopherson, as they occasionally run into each other in Gehenna. Today, however, it was the day that Alois came down to mail replies and "thank you" letters to those who sent him fanmail. On his way to the post office, he stopped by Andrea's to visit with Kristopherson and the two were both at a loss.
"Maybe I should talk to him." suggested the menace. "Interrogate him a little, y'know?"
"No, I don't. I tried to ask, but he got all defensive about it… I don't know what to do about him." sighed the wolfman, leaning over with an elbow on his counter.
"I'll ask Ciel or Sebastian when I get home. Probably Sebastian, actually. He's good with this sort of stuff." Alois replied. "How bad is he?"
"Sluggish, dead-eyed. Looks like he's seen something he shouldn't have. Can't even smile properly…" sighed Kristopherson with a shake of his head. "How's your pup?"
"Better. Still mopey. Getting him out of the house helps."
"Why didn't he come with you?"
"He didn't want anybody in Gehenna to see him in his sling." Alois answered. "He's worried about reputation, but also in case 'something were to happen'."
"Now that's some paranoia, right there."
"Part of the job description, I'm afraid." shrugged the blonde. "I'm confident Ciel will be okay. He's getting better, but as you can imagine, losing an arm is a wee bit difficult to bear- and do not make a 'right to bear arms' joke."
"Fine…" halfheartedly whined the wolfman, perking up as the front door to he shop opened. He waved at the blue man, beckoning him over despite the prescence of the demon on the other side of the counter.
"What'dya need, babe?" he asked, prompting Logan to pull an envelope out of his pocket.
"Jefferey wanted me to drop this by. It's the payment for those shirts you fixed." the incubus informed, handing the package off to his boyfriend. After Kristopherson took it, Logan turned to Alois to finally address the demon in the room.
"Hello, Alois." blue man greeted with a flick of his tail. "How are things?"
"Getting better. Still tough. Ciel's still bummed, but hey, it's a process." the menace shrugged while leaning an elbow on the counter. "You?"
"I'm doing pretty good. There's going to be a music competition at The Wolf's Glen on Friday, so I'm excited for that."
"You play?"
"Oh, no. I'm can't play an instrument or carry a tune to save my life! I just like watching and listening. Chief Sibyl's gonna be performing and so's a couple others." Pausing, the incubus tilted his head while looking Alois over. "What about you? Are things going okay with you?"
"Yeah? I guess? Things were really shitty for a bit, but I'm wrapping my head around it better."
"Oh. That's good." Logan said with a smile. "You just seemed a little frustrated, is all, so I wondered if you were okay."
Kristopherson almost choked on his own spit when his boyfriend said that, forcing him to look up from his book and put down his pen after he marked the owner of the general store as having paid him. He saw confusion wash over Alois' face as the blonde arched an eyebrow. The wolfman had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing Logan, but could do nothing but watch as the scene unfolded before him.
"No? Why would I?" questioned the unsuspecting Phantomhive.
"Oh, I just pick up on these things. I figure it must because of Ciel's injury, so I guess nothing's really wrong. It must be difficult not being able to be intimate with him, huh?"
Now, Logan said this with the most innocent of intentions, but the blonde wasn't aware of this, so he was a bit taken aback by the abruptness of the statement. It was uncalled for in his mind, but, to an incubus, that was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a mere difference in culture that Alois didn't know about and Logan forgot to account for until Kristopherson piped up to save him.
"Logan is an incubus, Alois." the wolfman said, prompting the attention of the flabberghasted menace. "They can pick up on stuff like that. It's sort of how they do things. Don't worry about it." Looking to Kristopherson, the incubus' cheeks flushed purple as he covered his mouth and raised his brows, realising the faux-pas he had just committed.
"I'm so sorry!" Logan insistently apologised. He spoke quickly and sincerely despite fumbling over his words a bit due to his embarrassment. "I didn't mean to pry! I forgot that humans find that inappropriate. I'm sorry, really, I am… I was just a little worried before I really thought about it. I didn't mean it in a perverted sort of way!"
"I didn't even think I was, so how the hell did you pick up on that?" questioned the menace, prompting the faux-blonde to wave his hands in a sort of mystical fashion before saying:
"Skills." Kristopherson answered, unsure of how Logan does it, himself.
"I don't really know how to explain it? There's just… Body language and that sort of thing? Sometimes, it's smell? It's… complicated." Logan attempted to elaborate.
"Well, then why does it worry you if I was?"
"Uh… Do you want me to answer that, or..? I'm not sure if it's considered 'invasive' for me to actually explain what I figured aloud..."
"It's already in your head, mate. Might as well."
"Uh, well, in that case," began the incubus, clearing his throat into his fist. "I can sort of figure out people's personalities in bed by talking to them, so from what I figured from both of you, you mesh really well so a lapse in routine might have meant something was wrong, but I said that without accounting for Ciel's injury for some reason..."
"'Personalities?'"
"Yeah. Ciel seems like the sort who's very perceptive of his partner and aims to please. Prefers being gentle and being emotionally invested. Might sometimes forget to focus on himself in favour of ensuring his partner has a good time, but certainly enjoys attention. Both of you are very open to communication and desire an honest dialogue when it comes to your relationship in general, so for any of that to be disrupted is concerning."
Alois opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out as he thought about things. Logan was practically spot-on. It disturbed the menace even though the incubus meant no harm. Seeing this, Logan intercepted him.
"I… I can refrain from doing that around you if it makes you uncomfortable..." he said, causing the demon to nod.
"Yeah, that'd be nice..." Alois replied. "Nothing against you, it's just… Too personal."
"No offense taken." the incubus answered, holding his hands up in a non-threatening fashion. "So, uh, time to change the subject?"
"Yeah. We were talking about Daniel. He seems kind of… down since Blackwood died."
"Oh… Oh! Hey Kris," the blue man began, prompting his boyfriend's attention, "you said Daniel was in to music, right? Why don't you tell him about the competition?"
"He might be into that." nodded Kristopherson. "Getting him to go is the tricky bit, though. All he seems to do is go down to the Glen to have a drink before they refuse to serve him another and go home, now."
"He's not drinking excessively, is he?"
"I don't know. Does he strike you as the kind who would?"
"Well… I don't want to badmouth him or anything, but he's really… immature… Impulsive. He really worries me." the incubus stated, shaking his head. "He's eager to fit in and be accepted, so might go along with something he doesn't really want. I'm worried that he might get manipulated into something horrible..."
Now that struck a chord with the Phantomhive. All of this swirled in his head along with what Kristopherson said about the Westley prior, creating a terrible scenario in his head. After tying all of that together, Alois immediately turned his attention toward the wolfman.
"What did you say about Danny before?" he demanded more than asked. "You said he was sluggish? 'Dead-eyed?' That sounds like a 'thousand yard stare', a common symptom of someone with PTSD."
"We've all been through horrible stuff, Alois." Kristopherson sighed, although not ignoring the blonde's speculations. "I still have nightmares about being bitten or Krampus' castle..."
"No, not like that." Alois insisted. "Something personal. Something we couldn't see. This started when Blackwood died, yeah?"
"Yeah? What's your point?"
"And he and Blackwood had an abusive relationship..." turning to Logan, the blonde asked: "What did you mean about Dan? What context?"
"In general." the incubus answered with a shrug. "It's not just sex. People's personalities don't change suddenly when they enter or exit the bedroom?"
With his attention back to Kristopherson, the Phantomhive elaborated: "So, if Blackwood was abusive, he could have been so sexually, too. That would explain it!"
"Alois, you can't just go around, saying people were raped..."
"I know I can't, but if that's the case, I wanna make sure I'm here for him." With that, the blonde picked up his bag an exited the store, leaving the others to stare at each other in confusion and wonder what on earth he was going to do next.
In actuality, he wasn't going to barge into Daniel's workplace and interrogate him. No, no, he needed a plan of action, even if that meant inaction. He would go home and talk to Ciel about it to hear his thoughts on how to handle this gracefully like a true businessman with a silver tongue. First, however, he would have to finish the task that he had set out to do and send all of his replies to the letters he received previously.
The bag was heavy, so he hoped to drop them off quickly, but things took another turn. He had people trying to stop him on his way in order to wish his husband a swift recovery, to which he was careful not to brush off while keeping the interaction brief. Most people got the hint and there was no trouble, but one dynamic duo in particular seemed to have it out for him. It was a brother-sister team from the Gehenna newspaper, hoping to get an interview about the matter of Ciel's injury. The man held a notepad and the woman held a recorder. While Alois understood perfectly well why they would want this information, he was in no mood for an interview. Even if he did, he wouldn't divulge information that wasn't really necessary.
"Mister Lion!" the brother called out. Alois debated on whether or not he should pretend he didn't hear them, but alas, he was too nice to this lot. "Dennis Darcy of the Gehenna Newspaper, and this is my sister, Dolores. We were wondering if you would be open to the idea of a quick interview. People are dying to know the status of your husband!"
"Ciel is fine. I'm sorry, but I'm really not in the mood for an interview." politely answered the blonde. "Maybe some other time."
"We would really like to have it for the next paper, though." Dennis insisted.
"I'm sorry, but I need to get to the post office." stated the menace. "A couple fans sent gifts and I need to return my thanks. I also need to get back to Ciel."
"I thought you said he was fine?"
"He is. I just like spending time with him." Alois replied, sternly refusing to disclose any further information about his husband's condition. "There's really not a lot to talk about. He's gonna be okay and we're all gonna live happily ever after."
Dennis was about to continue his questioning until his sibling put her hand on his shoulder. "He said he doesn't want to talk." she said, diffusing the situation and allowing the Lion to escape without another word.
Sighing, the blonde shut the door to the office behind him before walking over to the counter and setting his bag on it. He almost felt bad for doing this, given that the poor girl behind the counter had to do all of this on her own for the time being.
"Hello," he greeted, sounding tired, but still making an effort to be friendly. "I have a ton of outgoing mail. I don't think it's gonna fit in the box."
"Well, that's not a problem, but..." the woman trailed off, looking down.
"But what?" Alois questioned with an arched eyebrow, but almost immediately after, he regretted asking as the woman answered with actions. Taking a step back, she leaned down and picked up a box full of incoming mail for the man, causing his eyes to widen. Before he could open his mouth completely to speak, she reached down and picked up another box and set it on the counter next to the first. Without missing a single beat she said:
"Gehenna sends its condolences to you and your husband. Would you like us to dispose of the shady looking ones with no return addresses for you?"
"Yes." hesitantly affirmed the Phantomhive with a nod. "I would like that a lot..."
A/N: Not even sorry about that chapter title.
But yes, I feel like we all either overlooked or forgot something very important in the Daniel/Blackwood arc... It's kind of horrifying, really. Everybody seems to have forgotten about that little fact. It's crazy...
Then there's Logan casually talking about personal shit while trying to be helpful. He knows things that most people would rather like others to not know. Does not use the information for perverse reasons, however.
THEN there's Ciel's arm. People are worried about him. I do think having the shadier looking packages and letters gotten rid of will help set him at ease. He wasn't the most popular in this town for a while... Still is kinda iffy to some people.
Things are bad. And sad.
By the way, if you have any character shet questions, we're fresh out again.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
