On this particular day, Ciel didn't go to the base on his own. He was accompanied by his spouse, who was summoned for a meeting with Sir Integra. He was hardly ever summoned without his husband, so needless to say, he was a bit nervous, although he had a vague idea as to what this was about. HELLSING and the Round Table was currently in cahoots with him to keep the descendants of Trancy out of their ancestral home, but it had been two weeks since Alois was first informed that researchers had started digging and Alois had heard nothing from them since.
"I thought it would be best to tell you in person before you had to see it on the news." Integra said to him. "I'm deeply sorry, Jim."
"Don't be." the Phantomhive said. He maintained his composure in front of her, carrying himself with grace and dignity. "That is exactly what I expected them to find. Do you think it will help?"
"Yes. It definitely is grounds to disregard the Pomeroy family's claim completely. The historical society handling the operation is also researching everything that they can find with great interest."
"I'm glad. It's not a secret anymore. Everyone knows, now." There was an attempt to embody his usual bouncy demeanor, but it fell flat with the gravity of the situation. "I'm not upset at all about it. More than anything, I just feel relieved."
"Are you entirely certain?" Integra questioned while cutting the end of her cigar. She was skeptical, and rightfully so. The shake in his voice was somewhat obvious, now. "It is my impression that there is something that's still bothering you, Jim."
"Well..." the man started, twisting his gloves in his hands with a shrug. "What… What's going to happen to them? The bodies, I mean..."
"They're going to be studied, that's for certain." the woman replied. "Some of them might stay to be researched for other reasons when this is over, and some might be reburied." With a knowing look, she added: "Did you have something in mind?"
"That's not really… They shouldn't be treated like that." Jim protested. He was uncharacteristically serious about this. His casual demeanor was completely gone as he expressed concern over the treatment of his fellow captives' remains. "They've been poked and prodded and used by adults all their lives. We can't let it be done to them in death. Just- can't they just get the information they need and then let them rest already? They've suffered enough..."
He watched somewhat nervously as Integra seemed to mull it over. "Are you suggesting that they have a proper burial, Mister Phantomhive?"
"Yes, Miss." Jim replied. "And uhm… I know it's kind of inappropriate for me to ask this, but… I thought it might be… nice if they also were prayed for?" Letting out a sigh, he reached up and scratched the back of his head. "I know it's a bit late for it, and I'm not even sure if I believe in all that, but… I dunno. It's hard to explain..."
"You're worried about them and want them to be treated with respect." the woman observed.
"Yes."
"Hmm..." The woman thought for a moment and then said: "Very well, then. I'll see what I can do. Convincing the researchers to let us have their remains might take some nagging, but the rest will be very simple. They'll be well taken care of."
"Thank you, Integra." the other said with a light smile. In an instant, he looked as though an immense weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "You have no idea how much that means..."
"It's my pleasure, Jim." Sir Hellsing said, breaking her stoic expression just a tad. "As long as you don't mind it being a Christian ceremony."
"I don't mind as long as you don't mind that is was a demon that asked."
"It's settled, then." Integra stated. "You're dismissed."
"Thank you, Sir." Playfully, the menace offered up a salute before heading for the door. He smiled all the way up until the moment he closed it behind him and then it suddenly dropped.
Truly, he was relieved, but it still felt like such a long way off until this was all over. Once the others were buried properly, there was still more to be done. He still needed to crush the Trancys once and for all so they couldn't traffic or hurt anyone else ever again. What he really needed was to discuss this with Ciel in order to discern what his next course of action should be, but the Watchdog was working. Then again, Ciel also said that should he ever need him, he was free to come visit him. That, and Alois was simply curious about the camp that his spouse kept telling him about and worked at every day. Maybe it was a simple excuse to see the Watchdog. He didn't know.
All he knew was that he looked very much out of place in the large building near the training ground that housed all of the related offices. His dark grey suit and long black coat didn't match the forest green military uniforms and maroon berets around him, but nobody batted an eye at his presence. They all knew who he was. Upon reaching his spouse's office, he found it locked. He could fix that, however. The threads of his demonic garb seeped into the lock from his index finger, and with a twist, the door was open and he casually walked inside.
At first, he wasn't sure if this was Ciel's office. It was completely void of personal touch. One could even go so far as to call it "barren". There were pens and the like on the man's desk, certainly, but so was the single personal item in that room. Alois smiled as he picked up the wedding photo himself and the bluenette, confirming to himself that this was indeed Ciel's office.
Having found nothing else of interest, Alois looked out the window and peered down at the parade square as well as the barracks. Squinting, he saw a bit of a commotion in the building, spotting what he thought was the sight of a mug being thrown out and shattered on the pavement. Curious, he opened the lock to the window and opened it, putting his head and resting his elbows on the windowsill as he sat on his knees in a chair. Sure enough, a bunch of men in military uniforms came shuffling out and started doing laps around the building while a man in an official-looking outfit shouted at them.
"Disgusting!" Ciel shouted. "Absolutely vile! How the bloody hell you all are not all dead from infection is absolutely beyond me! You will run around this building until you are dismissed for breakfast. Am I understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" the troops replied.
"You all should be ashamed! You know how to do this! I've seen you! You're slipping! And another thing, y-" Ciel cut himself off and looked up, catching the eyes of the blonde menace as he waved at him from the window.
"You're doing wonderfully, love!" Alois called out. When his beau looked at the troops and then back to him, the blonde simply waved his hand. "Take your time!"
"Right..." the bluenette said softly, wondering how exactly to proceed. "Right! All of you! Stop running! Line up against the wall and squat with your arms out!"
He paced back and forth, waiting for the crew to do as they were told. "Repeat: 'HELLSING wants people, not pigs!'"
"HELLSING wants people, not pigs!" the crew recited. A handful of them noticed a slight change in the Phantomhive's demeanor, but couldn't place it.
"Keep going!"
"HELLSING wants people, not pigs! HELLSING wants people, not pigs!"
Ciel didn't actually hold them like he intended to and allowed them to go to breakfast anyway. He had business to attend to, after all. The blonde's appearance was somewhat worrying, as Ciel had told Alois to come if he was distressed. Naturally, the Watchdog rushed to his office, only to find his husband there at the window, chuckling to himself.
"Wow, you're a real hardass, Ciel." Alois smiled. "Hope none of that was on my account. I'd feel bad for them."
"It wasn't. They just didn't clean the barracks properly." the bluenette replied, putting his hat on the rack and his riding crop in the umbrella holder. "Are you alright?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Jim."
"Okay, okay… To be honest, I don't know how I feel. It's weird." the blonde confessed while standing. "They found bodies. Lots of them. Integra told me when I went to see her."
"Oh, Jim..." Ciel began, walking toward his beau with his arms outstretched. Wrapping them around the blonde, the blonde leaned into him. "Are you alright?"
"I don't know..." his husband stated. "I feel… relieved that I'm not crazy, but I still feel like I need to do more. I asked Integra if we could have a mass-belated-funeral for them once the researchers are done with them, so that makes me feel better."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Don't know what else to say. They're going to be taken care of, now, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Everybody's going to know what happened there, so they won't be forgotten about. All that's left is what remains of Trancy."
"Are you suggesting revenge, Jim?" Ciel questioned, his tone serious.
"Justice, Ciel. They're still doing the same shit now. They should be put away for it."
The bluenette didn't answer right away. Instead, he kissed the other man's head before settling his chin back on Alois' shoulder. "That's better, I suppose." he said. "I'm going to be here until those sorry sod's finish breakfast. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."
"Oh yeah? What kind of adventures are you going to head off to?" inquired the menace. In truth, he didn't want Ciel to go. He was far too comfortable where he was and he didn't want to be by himself.
"The troops are going to have their first firearms lesson." informed the Watchdog. "Oh, happy day. Some of them seem competent, but others? Not so much…. No anti-freak rounds will be used, for obvious reasons..."
"Want any help?"
"Are you up for it?"
"Sure." Alois stated, pulling away slightly. "I'm a little bit rusty with rifles, but I can shake if off, if you give me a few minutes. You sure you're fine with the troops meeting your husband?"
"Why not? I'm not exactly hiding you."
"I don't know. It's generally in poor taste to out someone, and I didn't know if you were to your little soldier boys. Just checking, is all."
"Honestly, if they haven't figured it out by now, I'm inclined to question their intelligence. I'm not subtle with it." The bluenette stated. "I might actually have to punish them for being so dense. But no, I have no intention or interest in trying to conceal the fact that I am married to a man- especially one as handsome and rugged as yourself."
"Me? Rugged? Really?" With a slightly unimpressed yet amused expression, Alois arched an eyebrow at the other.
"Jim, you are far more masculine than all of them put together. Your solution to dealing with supernatural barriers is to punch them. You clean and maintain guns for fun."
"It's a good way to pass the time."
"Are you sure you're fine with helping me teach a bunch of brats how to shoot them?"
"Sure. Might even be a little relaxing." Alois said. "Let it all out, y'know? All over the poor target."
"That's the spirit." Ciel chuckled. Taking off a glove, he reached up to tuck a lock of blonde hair behind his husband's ear. He lingered for a moment, caressing Alois' cheek. Then, completely shedding his persona of a military man, he kissed his spouse just as any regular man would.
Fluttering his eyelids shut, Jim hummed against the other's lips. They stayed like this until Alois let out a giggle, having become unable to contain it any longer. He pulled away, only to press their foreheads together with a smile as he intertwined their fingers.
"Aren't you supposed to be serious?" he asked, laughing again as his beau couldn't escape a smile, either.
"I am serious. I seriously wanted to kiss you." the bluenette replied.
"Are you sure? You're not forgetting something?"
"What would that be?"
"Don't you have troops to attend to, Sir Phantomhive?"
"I don't have-" Ciel cut himself off as he looked at his watch. "Bugger, Breakfast is almost over..."
"There's still lunch." the other man said, kissing Ciel's cheek. "Want me to wait here, or meet you at the gun range, or..?"
"If you could meet us there, that would be lovely."
"'Kay." It would appear that Alois had cheered up a bit, as the usual pep in his step returned just in time for him to walk out of the room. Once he reached the door, he waved and said: "Love you~!"
"Love you too, Jimmy." the Watchdog replied, prompting his beau to poke his head back in the doorframe.
"Don't call me 'Jimmy' in front of the guys. It's embarrassing… That's only for between us!"
"Sure thing, Jimbo."
"Ugh! I hate you!"
"I love you more." Ciel chuckled as the menace finally left. After putting his gloves and hat back on, he straightened his uniform and walked out as well.
His demeanor changed immediately upon stepping out of the building in view of the troops as he adopted his typical surly expression and menacing swagger. As soon as he was seen, the recruits got in formation and stood at attention.
"Right." Ciel began, putting his hands behind his back. "Everybody have a nice breakfast? Everybody focused?"
"Sir, yes sir!" the group replied. All of them were expecting him to dismiss them to go to the lecture room at any moment as per their usual routine, but he never did. Instead, he kept talking.
"Good." he said. "Because this is perhaps going to be the most dangerous thing you have done in this course thus far. Today, I am going to teach you how to operate a rifle."
It was smiles around at the news as each and every one of them wanted to use a gun at least once in their lives. Some of them had always wanted to live out their wildest dreams of blasting away "zombies" like in the movies and today, they were going to be one step closer to fulfilling that dream. They were practically giddy, but Ciel was quick to squash it.
"You will do exactly as I say. Your comrades will do exactly as I say. One cock-up, and your or your buddy might just end up with a bullet in their leg." Ciel stated. "It happens all the bloody time, and quite frankly, I'm sick of it. Just listen to instruction the first time, and nobody will end up maimed or dead, yes?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"I want all of you to line up in twos and follow me to the shooting range. Ready? March!"
The group was quick to do as he said and briskly made their way to the indoor shooting range. They weren't surprised to find that this was the most secure location on the entire base, with guards at every exit and entrance and keycard activated locks. With a swipe of his I.D. Ciel granted them access, before swiping it again just before they entered the actual area where the shooting would take place. None of them had guns yet, but they heard someone shooting. After swiping his keycard for the next room, Ciel guided the group inside before the doors closed. He had reserved the area so that his group could practise uninterrupted and that they wouldn't be bothering anyone in turn. Thus, they were the only ones there, save for one man, who didn't blend in at all.
He was a very pretty man with blonde hair that he pulled back into a ponytail. Instead of a uniform, he wore a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the top button undone. On one of the benches was what could be assumed was his coat and jacket. In his gloved hands was an assault rifle that he emptied into the target before taking it apart and examining it.
"Hello~ sergeant!" Alois greeted in a playful tone. "This is kinda weird feeling. I think I've only ever used one of these once and it was on the range. They didn't let us play with these when I was being trained."
"I'd like them to learn the basics on something smaller, actually." the Watchdog answered as he approached. "They will have to learn these before the course is over, but not today."
Turning to his troops again, Ciel put a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Attention, troops! This is Mister Jim Phantomhive and he will be helping me teach you whelps how to shoot. Say 'hello.'"
"Hello, Mister Phantomhive." the group answered in unison, although a couple tripped up and almost called him "Sir."
"I'm 'Mister' and he's 'Sir'." Alois said, pointing between them. "I haven't been knighted. Anyway, It's nice to meet you all! I've been hearing a lot about you!"
He waited patiently for a response, but none of the recruits were sure how. They hadn't expected to meet a new person and to be spoken to in such a casual fashion. This person was obviously a superior, but they didn't want to risk being impolite by matching his tone.
"Oh, sorry." The blonde paused to clear his throat and then stood at attention, imitating a military tone. "You lot are going to learn how to use a gun! That is, of course, if your sorry baby fingers can hold one! Fuck shit damn piss! God save the queen and all that!" Breaking character, he looked to his spouse and asked "Am I doing this right? I was never good at this."
To that, he earned a laugh and caused the recruits to relax slightly. For a brief moment, the menace quietly negotiated with his husband who was going to start. They went over how to operate the gun and the various safety instructions that were critical for any of them to be able to use it successfully. Most of them were extremely attentive, while a few seemed to be daydreaming about shooting.
"Hey!" Alois blurted out next to Ryan Braumfeld's ear while clapping his hands. He caused the other man to jump in the process and laughed. "Pay attention. If you shoot somebody in the leg, Ciel's gonna shoot you! Don't think you want that, do ya?"
"No, Mister Phantomhive…. Sir…?" Braumfeld answered, unsure of how to call the menace.
"...And for the love of god, do not put your finger inside the trigger guard until the moment you're about to fire." Ciel continued his lecture. "If I catch you acting stupid with your rifle, I'll beat you over the head with it. Am I clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!" the group answered.
"Good. Now, go over to that desk and check out a weapon. Then immediately come back here." The group was dismissed and did as they were told. They were somewhat dissappointed that they were not given loaded guns or bullets to put in them yet, but part of this was to see if they were competent enough to even hold a gun.
"Kidman! Point the gun at the ground!" the bluenette shouted before handing a box to his husband. In a regular voice, he asked: "Can you help me hand out these headphones?"
"Sir, yes sir~!" playfully replied his spouse.
As he passed them out, he asked each student his name and tried his best to remember them. As he was doing that, Ciel gave more explanations for how things were going to go. After they all had on headsets to block out the sound, both men would come around and teach them how to load and hold the gun. After that, they would have them fire a test shot before moving on to the next person.
"Are you like, brothers or something?" asked Private Withers when the menace came around to him. "You and Sir, I mean."
"No, we're married." Alois bluntly stated, but judging by the surprise and confusion on Bryce's face, he wasn't sure if Mister Withers knew it wasn't a joke. "Ask him, if you don't think that sounds right."
"No… uh… That's okay..." the private answered, not wanting to incite the wrath of his superior. Although, he was incredibly curious, knowing how the bluenette usually behaved around the troops. He "didn't seem the type" at all, in the minds of quite a few of them.
"Please yourself, then." the menace said before carrying on to the next person, who was guilty of eaves dropping. Just that little exchange was going to be incredibly talked about come lunch time when the lads were free to converse. Once everything was handed out, the demons came around again to teach them how to load and shoot their weapons.
"These aren't anti-freak bullets?" observed Private Danlaw, holding one of the bullets up to view.
"Good eye. How could you tell?" the blonde questioned.
"Sir Phantomhive showed us what one looked like. There's no runes on it, so it's not an anti-freak bullet." Danlaw reported quite dutifully. He was surprised when instead of a gruff utterance of approval, he received a genuine smile.
"Good to see he's on top of things. Anyway, we're not using anti-freak bullets because… well. They're kind of expensive, since they're specially made. If you're not trying to kill a supernatural, there's not much point in wasting them, y'know?" Alois mused before handing the gun back to Danlaw. "Alright, you wanna put the but of it in this little pocket in your shoulder and push your cheek up against that wooden bit. You need to be sure to put it in the right spot, because the recoil on some rifles is strong enough to dislocate your shoulder. In combat, that could be a death sentence."
"Understood." the other man said before getting into position. Without moving his head, Solomon's eyes turned to look at his instructor. "What next?"
"Lineup the little metal bit on the end with the metal bit closest to you so that it's between it. Make sure that both of them overlap with your target." Just then, Alois was cut off when his spouse decided to playfully bat at his ponytail as he walked by, causing him to be momentarily distracted. It certainly distracted Solomon, who raised his brows. He knew nothing about the true nature of their relationship, but found it odd that his commanding officer would tease someone in such a way. With a chuckle, Alois tried to continue.
"Do you have it lined up?" he asked, snapping Danlaw back to attention.
"Not yet." Solomon replied, taking a moment to do as he was instructed. "Got it."
"Okay, with your finger, switch the safety off and take a deep breath. Then when you're ready you pull the trigger when ready."
Just like that, Danlaw shot his first gun and he was mighty pleased with himself. Alois helped him adjust the aim to be a bit more accurate and he fired again. The next few shots, even though Solomon took his time with each one, but that was to be expected with him being so new. Once Alois was satisfied with grasp of the basics, he stood up and left, giving him a pat on the shoulder before moving on to the next student.
They were all firing away, having a merry time, but despite the fun they were having, all of them took it strangely seriously. All of them were determined to be good at this, whether it was so that they would be less likely to die on the job or simply as a matter of pride. Being able to hit the targets well was grounds for bragging rights later, especially if one of the Phantomhives complimented them.
As strange as it seemed to them that the bluenette might be married to a man, some of them weren't inclined to believe Alois' claim, as he seemed to be the type to joke with people quite naturally. More importantly, there were guns to shoot, so what was the point in dwelling on it at that particular moment? They would have all the time to talk about it that they could possibly stand during lunch.
"I'm out." said Henderson, having reached the end of his bullet supply.
"Same here." added Private Young.
"Me too." Braumfeld chimed in.
"Alright, then." Ciel replied with a flip of a switch. Just then, their targets moved along the rail that attached them to the ceiling so that they could properly see where all of their bullets were concentrated. "How did you do?"
"Alright." Young replied with a nod. "More strays than I'd like, though."
"I missed every single headshot I made." Private Braumfeld said with a laugh. "I just wanted to see if I could. You told us to aim for the heart and now I know just how hard it is to hit the head!"
"My stupid gun was broken." Henderson grumbled. "It wouldn't shoot where I aimed!"
"Jim, can you hand me those bullets?" the bluenette asked, holding out his hand.
"Sure, babe." Alois casually said. He picked up the bullets and handed them to Ciel, who then walked over to Henderson's station and picked up the weapon in question.
He examined it for a moment before loading it and holding it up like he was about to shoot. "Jim-"
"On it." Without even needing to be told, Alois flipped the switch to make the target go all the way to the back wall. Once it was completely still, Ciel emptied the gun into it. Upon doing so, Alois flipped the switch and brought the target forward again, revealing a perfect circle within the cutout's head that was punched in by the bluenette's bullets.
"There's nothing wrong with this gun." Ciel stated, calling the Private's bluff. Loading it again, he handed it back to the cadet. "Let me walk you through it again. Get int position and line this metal bit up with that metal bit to aim."
"Why do I have to line them up?"
"Because if you don't, you have no idea where you're shooting. I think we've found your problem."
It took a while for Ciel to re-teach Private Henderson how to use the weapon properly. By the time he finished, several more of the others finished up just as he turned around to chat with his husband. Fortunately, Alois was understanding, as he knew that the Watchdog took training these recruits very seriously. The blonde couldn't help but watch him with a smile on his face as he leaned against the desk. He wasn't subtle or conspicuous. Any recruit who looked his way knew exactly what he was doing and why, although some of them took it better than others.
Clancy was perhaps the most thrilled and tried not to be conspicuous about it. Though, much to his embarrassment, he failed somewhat miserably. He was noticed by the menace, who picked up on the fact that he was being somewhat stared at rather quickly. Turning his attention to the recruit, he smiled at him and walked over to him.
"Do you need something?" the menace asked, somewhat to antagonise the poor lad for his own amusement. "You look like you have a question."
"Oh! Uh… It's kind of a personal question and I feel like it's kind of rude to ask superior officers those..." Clancy confessed.
"Well, it depends on the question. If it's something inappropriate, then it's inappropriate." Alois stated. "What's up?"
"I was just sort of wondering how you and Sir Phantomhive met, is all." It was a typical question that was asked of normal people in mundane settings, but Clancy acted like it was a grave sin to ask it. "Did you meet at HELLSING?"
"No, we both were agents of her majesty, though. It wasn't on any official business, though. We sort of tried to kill each other." Even though what he was saying was rather jarring, Alois assumed that the recruit knew better than to expect that everyone here came from normal backgrounds like they did. "I thought his butler killed my family, he thought I set up his family's assassination, that sort of thing. We found out that it was all a big misunderstanding and parted on okay terms, but we met up again and really hit it off on the second try!"
Clancy really didn't know how to respond to that so all he could do was stare back at the menace with wide eyes. "Oh! That's cool!" he replied, trying his best to sound positive, but he only ended up making the other man laugh.
"Here's a fun fact about working here: You're going to run into weirdos with troubled pasts no matter what you do." Alois informed with a friendly smile on his face. "Mercenaries, ex-child soldiers, assassins, ex-cons, quack doctors… Y'know. All that good stuff. You get used to it. Don't be scared of them, though. They're just hard-working folks trying to earn a living just like you. Just relax and go with the flow and you'll be fine."
"If you guys hire mercenaries, then why hire people like us, though?"
"It's actually cheaper to train new people than to buy out an entire PMC, so you're in luck! Also, it's just good for morale to have 'normal' people on the team."
A few of the other lads were eavesdropping on the conversation and had questions of their own. Gathering all of his courage, Joseph Kidman chimed in. "Do you have any advice on how to survive the non-life-threatening stuff?"
"You mean everyday stuff?" Alois asked in return. "Just chill out, basically. Like I said, just roll with it. You're going to see people who don't look like you'd expect soldiers or even normal people to look, but it's all good, y'know? You're going to see people with mean looks and facial tattoos. It's just how things are. Also, don't stare at people with prosthetics. Actually, don't stare at people in general. It's rude."
"You mean like… missing arms and stuff?" asked Private Wallace Young in astonishment.
"Yeah. It happens. Vampires are smart, so sometimes, they set traps. Fortunately, HELLSING will get you all sorted with a replacement if you lose a limb or an organ at no charge. Sometimes, you can still work in the field, and sometimes, they put you on desk work, but it's just as well. A lot of people are sick of it by that point."
"What do people who can't fight anymore do?"
"A lot of them work in HR and other similar departments. Oh! Always be polite to the HR folks,, by the way. Don't go in there acting like you're hot shit because you're a soldier, because chances are, so were they. Also, they don't have to help you in a speedy manner. If you're a dick, they'll be less willing to help. They might just take their sweet time with it and drag their feet on whatever it is you want from them. Hopefully, Ciel will go over a lot of this stuff. He's pretty thorough, so I don't doubt that he will."
"Is there any kind of social hierarchy that we need to know about?" asked Clancy while raising his hand.
"Mm… I dunno. I'm close to the top, though, so I just do what the Hellsings tell me to. The sir and the dame, that is. They're at the top of the chain." Alois stated while rubbing his chin in thought. "The only thing I can think of is pay attention to what your squad captain says. Meanwhile, your captain has to pay attention to what their major says. A captain leads a squad, while a major usually runs an operation involving several squads and dictate what they should be doing and where they should be going."
"What if our captain is crazy?" inquired Kidman with an arched brow.
"Keep yourself alive until he dies, I guess." Waving his hand, the menace shook his head. "You shouldn't run into many of those. They don't typically pick people who are dumbasses to be captains. I guess it's possible for someone to slip by, though. Don't worry, you're not expected to kiss ass or anything. If another squad's captain tries to boss you around, you're free to tell them to piss off, but there's some people you can't do that to like the Hellsings or us Phantomhives."
Moving on, the menace added: "There's also a few unspoken rules like always respect a Wild Geese member? You can tell who they are because they wear patches and pins with geese on them."
"Who are the Wild Geese?"
"They're the mercenary group that replaced all of the HELLSING staff except for ten members after the first attack on the base in the 90's." Clapping his hands together, Alois shouted: "Bam! Every last one of them. Completely annihilated. This was before we had the policy that all staff must be able to use a gun. Even the janitors. Anyway, the Wild Geese also defended the base during the second attack, making a grand last stand where only a few of them survived, but the ones who did get a lot of cred on the base for that."
"How do you join them?" asked Wallace half-jokingly.
"Can't. It's sort of a 'you had to be there' sort of thing. A lot of the mercenary groups that get hired by HELLSING wear patches with their former group on them, but they all work for HELLSING now and are perfectly loyal. You might see some cool designs. Sometimes, graduating classes from boot camp design a patch that all of them wear."
"We can do that?"
"Don't see why you can't."
That left the troops with something to do in their downtime. Alois chuckled as he walked away, overhearing them immediately start discussing the idea. He waved them off once they were all dismissed and walked slowly with his beau so that they could finally talk at last. Honestly, he had meant to tease Ciel a lot more, but got caught up in tending to the class to focus on it. He was somewhat astonished that this was possible, actually.
"So, how did I do?" he asked his husband. "Think I did okay?"
"You were fantastic. You're really good at teaching." The Watchdog replied. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Much, actually. Why is shooting guns so therapeutic? It's nice."
"I don't know, but it is, somehow."
"What about you?" the blonde asked, prompting the other to arch his brow.
"Pardon?"
"I dunno. You've just seemed really focused on this recently. I was wondering if it's just you finally finding your calling or what."
"I don't know, actually." Ciel said quite honestly, placing his hands behind his back as he walked, staring off into the distance. "I don't know how I feel. Mostly disappointed at the amount of times I had to explain things to them during this lesson. I'm trying to make sure that they don't die and they're not inspiring much confidence at times."
"They're still new. I thought they did pretty good for their first lesson." Alois stated, putting his hands in his pockets. "How did your first shooting lesson go, hm?"
"…I was ten. They're adults."
"They're just soft. Nothing a little healthy dose of horrific trauma won't fix."
"Hopefully, it won't come to that, but I worry that you may be right." Ciel sighed, his shoulders slouching. "I would kind of like them to stay sane and stay 'normal,' but it isn't my place to stop them, as much as I wish it was."
"Why do you?"
"I don't really know… They're alright lads, for a bunch of nerds. I worry that they don't quite understand the world that they're getting into and won't until it's too late."
"Everybody has their own personal journey, Ciel." his husband said while gesturing with his hands. He paused, trying to think of the best way to phrase this. "Where they go and how they end up there depends on a mixture of their own choices, luck, and misfortune. Nobody can actually control where they end up. All you can really do is kind of nudge them in a direction and give them the tools that they might need once they're on to the next bit. If they wanna take them, good. If they don't, then that's on them. They made the choice to ignore you, so there's nothing more you can do. Does that kinda make sense?"
"Yeah..." Unfortunately, Ciel still seemed kind of down. "I just want them to make it, is all. It's like I'm afraid that if I don't do 'enough,' then they're definitely going to die and it's going to be my fault. 'If only I drilled it into their skulls harder', or 'if only I explained this better...' I know I can't hold their hands through every mission, but I look at them and really wonder if they're actually ready?"
"Ciel… Is this really about this bunch of recruits?" Alois inquired, believing the anxiety to sound familiar. "Are you sure it's not about something else?"
"No… Not at all… I have no idea why on earth Elizabeth thought I would be a good choice for this job, with my track record. You don't pick a demon to be a 'leader of men.' It's nonsensical. Can I really be counted on to give it my best effort?"
"Yeah." bluntly answered the other. "You can. And you have been. You've been doing the best you can and your guys really look up to you. They all pick things up really fast, it looks like, so you must be doing something right. You really need to start giving yourself more credit. You're really good at the soldier business because you're an experienced soldier. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a demon, and even if it did, what difference does it make? You're a demon who does non-demon things all the time!"
With a knowing look, Alois stared at his husband until he caught on to what he was playing at, only for the Watchdog to blush. "Loving you is easy." the Watchdog stated. "Being decent is hard."
"Really? You make it look so effortless." With that, Alois grabbed the bluenette's wrist and dragged him to his office, nudging him inside before locking the door behind them. Then, he wrapped his arms around the other man's neck. "Ciel, listen to me."
"I'm listening."
"Listen to me."
"I am."
"Alright. Listen carefully, for I shall only say this once." Alois stated before cupping his husband's cheeks in both hands. "You and I both pulled some nasty shit in our pasts. Both of us. We've made some terrible, terrible mistakes, but we've gotta move on, Ciel. It's been years since you did those things during the war and you've become a wonderful, kind, caring man in the time since then. It's time to accept that, okay? The only way you could possibly hope to make amends is by being a better person and you are. If you're not, then what am I, then?"
"It's not about you. It's just me." Ciel shook. "That… Is a bit of a double-standard, but it's something that I have to do."
"And what happens when one of them dies, huh? Even if it's years from now, is that going to be your fault, too? And what about them? They've signed up to kill people! Does that make them bad people, too?"
"Jim, enough." the Watchdog said, reaching up to remove his husband's hands. "The fact of the matter is: I still feel guilty. Killing people who actively harm others and have no hope of rehabilitation is practically a public service. I can understand and rationalise that. It's not that I'm suddenly feeling virtuous and holier-than-thou. It's that those men I let die back then did nothing wrong. They didn't do a damn thing wrong, but I still let them die when I could have saved them. When they looked to me, their trusted commander for help in a moment of desperation, I looked down at them with contempt and left them to die alone like they were filth. Honestly, I don't think I'm suited for this role. I think Lizzie might be a bit crazy for trusting me with it. But I'm going to do the best that I can. I don't want to let them die anymore but… what if I'm still not doing enough?"
Alois listened and listened carefully to what his beau was saying. During the war was tough times for the bluenette as he felt his humanity slipping. Looking back, he could plainly see it. Even as the two of them stood in that office together, Ciel fussed about it and even thought back to their last mission. Heinrich Strumer was killed, Johnathan Beattie went AWOL, and Constance Belmont was murdered even though Ciel was right there. All of it just slipped through his fingers. Obviously, this was indicative of another failure on his part. Was it circumstance, or did he simply not try? He didn't know. He couldn't tell when he looked at himself during the previous mission, nor could he tell when he looked at himself during the 1940s. Ciel Phantomhive was no leader of men. He couldn't even be trusted to keep a young girl alive.
"Ciel..." the menace began, but he didn't quite know what to say. Wiggling his hands out of his husband's grasp, he grabbed hold of the other man's and kissed his knuckles in an attempt to comfort him. "I think you're great at this job. You're so passionate and you really care. I was just telling them how thorough I thought you would be, because that's how you teach. You're really great at it. I'm… I'm sorry, that I didn't understand…"
Raising his brows, Ciel coughed and let out a response as well. "I'm sorry, too… I didn't mean to snap at you and pour everything out like that..."
"It's okay. I think we've both just been bothered lately. Just when you think an old wound is healed, some bullshit pops up that splits it right open again."
"It's alright. We've both been very busy." the Watchdog noted. "Perhaps too busy to notice each other's distress."
"What are you talking about? You're still the most fussy person I know when it comes to my emotional state."
"I'm not fussy..."
"You're incredibly fussy… I like it, though. It's cute."
"You're cute..." Ciel scoffed. "With all the gunfire going on, I didn't get to compliment your ponytail..."
"Thanks. It keeps hair out of my eyes." with a smile, the blonde added: "…Mister Fussy."
"It's cute." said the Watchdog, kissing the other man's cheek. "We should make some time for each other..."
"Well, how much time do we have until your troop's lunch is over?" Alois questioned, prompting the other to check his watch.
"About… twenty minutes."
"That should be plenty."
A/N: Does Ciel Phantomhive is gay?
More on the troops' reactions next chapter. I just wanted to upload. This thing is 7,000 words long! It needs to stop somewhere.
Ah... What else...
Oh! I got a question!
"...what year is it in the DLTP? Also how old are Ciel and Alois meant to be? (Not their literal ages but the ones they portray). I always find it hard to picture what Ciel is meant to look like..." by animexxfan
It is currently 2016. I think it's sometime in late September, maybe? Eh... The month might not be right, but it's definitely 2016.
Alois is currently 21 years old, so that's how old he looks, while Ciel aims to look about 22, even though he's... what, 140?
Ciel is weird to imagine because he looks very different than he does in the original series? He's slightly taller than Alois and is "buff" according to people who have seen me draw him. In truth, it was an accident because drawing is hard, but people were just like "yeah, that's what he looks like, I guess" so it stuck. He's not like, Superman, but he's still a pretty sturdy Ciel, now pffft! I still imagine him as being "pretty" for a man, but just in a masculine sort of way. He's rather unique. There's no other AU Ciel that looks like him.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
