Ciel was trying his hardest to do things himself. After much maneuvering, he was able to get on his pants, aside from fastening them, but he found very quickly that he would need help with the shirt, as he needed someone to keep his bad arm steady and help him put it through the sleeve. When he tried to do it himself, he ended up with throbbing pain that hunched him over as he groaned and held onto his injury with his good hand. Needless to say, Alois was more than happy to help, but was also willing to leave him to let him try and put on his shirt the rest of the way. He managed splendidly, although it took him a bit more time than usual. It was progress. He buttoned it and zipped up his pants, but for some reason, the button on his pants was more difficult to fasten than the ones on his shirt. While he was tucking his shirt in, Alois did the button on his pants and stood there with his belt so he was ready to hand it to the Watchdog once he needed it.
"I don't even want to try the shoes..." the bluenette confessed, thinking about how dexterous his hand would need to be in order to tie those laces.
"That's okay. You've already made a lot of progress." His husband said in a supportive fashion. "If you're not planning on going anywhere today, you could wear house slippers."
"True. I can go get those."
"Be my guest." Alois said, stepping aside so the other man could walk to the dressing room. He was pleased to find his spouse in slightly lighter spirits that morning. Neither of them knew how long it was going to last, but for now, Ciel was keen on trying to learn how to do things. While the bluenette was putting on his slippers, the menace slid his arms around his waist and hugged him, pecking his cheek.
For a moment, he stayed like this before saying: "I have to go, soon. Will you be alright on your own?"
"Yes, yes. I'll be just fine."
"Okay… I want you to go outside and walk through the garden for a bit today, alright?" the blonde stated. "No hiding out in the office all day. I asked Sebastian to rat you out if you don't do it."
"Bossy..." chuckled the Watchdog.
"If I'm not bossy, you won't do anything, so you're welcome." Alois replied, releasing his husband momentarily while the man turned around and embraced him. "I'll come back and help you out as soon as I'm done. If you're good, I might stop for doughnuts."
"Now that is an offer I can't refuse." Kissing his spouse, he added: "Have a good day, darling."
"You try to as well."
"I'll do my best."
"Love you~!" the menace cooed in a sing-song voice before walking out the door. He was hesitant to leave his husband, but it was good for them both. Once he was downstairs, he was met by the rest of the family eating breakfast apart from Sebastian, who simply stood by.
"Morning, my lovelies." he greeted. "How goes things?"
"Good." answered Luka with a mouth full of food. "I'm gonna go hunting with Sebastian after school's over."
"That's cool! What are you gonna hunt for?"
"I dunno. Whatever I find, I guess." the boy answered, prompting his older brother to look up at Sebastian, who only returned his smile with a shrug.
"What are you learning in school today? Do you know?" the menace questioned, curious about how school was going for his sibling.
"I dunno. I haven't learned it yet." thoughtlessly replied Luka, causing his brother to laugh.
"Well, have fun." the man said before turning to his other sibling. "What about you, Revy? Anything planned?"
"No. I'm tired. I'm gonna sit in my cubicle today and take a nap." Revy answered, causing his brother to snort.
"What if I told Chief Sibyl about your little plan?"
"You wouldn't dare..."
"Then go to sleep at night or switch to the night shift." Alois said with no intention of scolding, but regardless, Revy rolled his eyes. With both Mackens address, the Phantomhive turned his attention to Sebastian.
"Remember the plan." he instructed. "Ciel isn't allowed to sit around the house and mope all day."
"I will do my best to honour your wishes, sir." answered the man clad in black with a small bow. Alois never did understand the continued need for this, as he himself regarded the man in a very casual manner, but it was simply the way the butler did things. The short conversation, however, sparked a question from the middle Macken brother.
"If Alois orders you to do something, but Ciel tells you not to, who do you listen to?" Revy questioned, putting mister Michaelis on the spot to an extent. "Ciel told you to listen to Alois, but if Alois tells you to do something and Ciel tells you not to listen to him, do you obey your original master since Ciel has your contract, or do you follow the first order?"
After a moment of surprise, Sebastian very quickly recovered and pulled an answer seemingly out of thin air. "Whichever has the wisest instruction." He answered in a sure fashion, providing a legitimate-sounding answer like a true professional.
"Thanks, Bass-man. I owe you a day off." the menace interjected before heading out the door. "Love you all, be good~!"
Thus, he was in the car, alone at last on his way to headquarters. He needed to speak to a few people and pick up a few things in regards to the Pyestock project. Morale was still good and people were happy, even with supernaturals from the Americas starting to come in. Still, even in the car, he could be using his time more wisely. Thus, he decided to put the bluetooth in his car to use and call Daniel while he was at it. For a few moments, he listened to the phone ring while he waited for the other man to pick up.
"Hello?" groggily greeted the Westley after quite a long while. Alois could hear shuffling on the other end.
"Hey, Dan, how ya been?" the menace asked with a smile to be heard in his voice. "You at work?"
"No. What time is it?"
"It's a little bit past nine, why?"
"Oh, fuck..." cursed Daniel with genuine regret in his tone. "My alarm didn't go off… I'm late…"
"You could set your phone so it goes off at the same time every day without you having to set it every night, you know."
"I dunno how to do that." The brunet was obviously distracted as he tried to talk and get ready at the same time. Shuffling about could be heard on the other end of the line and at one point, Alois could hear the sound of what he assumed was the human tripping and falling. With a grunt, Daniel continued. "Whatcha need?"
"There's a music thing down at the Wolf's Glen on Friday and I wanted to know if you'd come with me. We haven't hung out in a while and Ciel won't go with me."
"Uhhh… Yeah, sure." the other stated, partially just to get Alois off the line so he could rush to work. "I'll go."
"Alright. Do you want me to pick you up, or do you wanna meet up there?"
"I dunno. I can just meet you there."
"Cool. It's a date, then. Don't stand me up or else I'm gonna be pissed."
"Drinking doesn't affect you, though?"
"You know what I mean." scoffed the menace despite being pleased with how easy this was so far. He honestly expected some kind of excuse from how Kristopherson described the situation, but things were pleasantly smooth. "See you there."
"Kay. I gotta go. I'll see you Friday."
"Bye, Dan." chuckled the menace before hanging up. He then continued on his way to headquarters to do his work.
