The scene was set and the table was, too. In a ritzy, overpriced apartment in London that was rented out for the explicit purpose of not being actually lived in, a pack of savages conversed over wine and delicacies. The place was nicely decorated. It was tasteful, but with copious amounts of black. From the tiles on the floors to the table and chairs, the dining room had an ominous air about it, but none of the guests minded in the slightest. Part of the reason they were there in the first place was because they knew that they were up to no good at all and they preferred to keep it that way, as they each had their own aims and ambitions that they would do anything but die for.

Wealthy people, some carrying titles to their names while most of them going without, all sat around and had a merry time. CEOs, Businessmen, Knights, as well as others who differentiated themselves by not being so cowardly as to kill indirectly. At the head of the table sat the host, who had squandered vast amounts of money in order to hastily put this meeting together, as the responsibility somehow fell to him. Standing up, Mister Pomeroy raised his glass.

"A toast," Ian proposed, "To all of our friends and allies who are here. We will begin sharing our reports momentarily, but I wish to take a moment to appreciate the connections we have made as well as the strides we have made against our common enemy. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the group answered in unison, raising their glasses and mimicking his gesture. Sitting back down, however, he was greeted with an ominous reminder.

At his right sat Johnnathan Beattie, who was closely watching his every move. Ian Pomeroy didn't know why he was doing this, but needless to say, it was terrifying. Beattie didn't touch his food or his drink even once thus far and he wouldn't for the rest of the meeting. All he would do was watch both Pomeroy and the others, pondering whatever it was he pondered behind those glassy eyes of his.

"Shall we start, then?" Inquired a rather cheerful voice from a short ways down the table. "Shall I?"

"Go ahead, Mister Blythe." Ian said, gesturing for the man to continue.

While he smiled, the guest looked incredibly run down and oddly-proportioned. His arms were too long for his torso and so were his legs. He was skinny in some places and lumpy in others, but that was all due to his personal plan. His dark, shaggy hair reached down to his shoulders although it was receding in the front, yet somehow, it looked wrong against his long, wrinkled face. How unusual.

Drawing attention to himself, the man addressed the table, introducing himself. "Some of you may already know my face, but I'm Raymond Blythe. Like the rest of you, I'm striving for immortality as well. However, instead of occult and myths, I'm seeking a more scientific solution. I'll have you all know that I have successfully replaced my heart with a mechanical one, making it the ninth augmentation I've made to my body so far. Never again will I ever have to worry about my heart giving out on me."

There were nods of approval and chattering, but then, another person at the table spoke up. This time, a man who was significantly younger than most people at that table. He seemed nice enough if you saw any part of him but his eyes. There was something nasty and depraved about them that made people's skin crawl. It was just about enough to make one feel dirty.

"Interesting plan, but what's your body's limit?" he asked. "I mean, it's alright if you were already a machine, but if you're not careful, all those surgeries will cause you to break down."

"And just who are you?" Mister Blythe inquired, obviously unimpressed with how unenthused the younger man was.

"Caesar Merritt. My dad used to be a Philosopher like you." the man with the nasty eyes replied. "Seems like he couldn't beat death before death caught up to him, so I'm taking his place now to remind all of you to get a move on."

"And just what is your method of gaining immortality, if you're so brilliant, boy?" Raymond questioned further.

"Hmm… Don't get old?" Mister Merritt answered, much to the scorn of his peers. "Then again, being a daddy might be pretty fun. As long as I'm not ugly, I'll be fine."

"Then why are you here in the first place?" another in the group questioned. "We're here to unify against the forces of time and death, but you're just here because..?"

"It's interesting." Ceasar replied. "I'm into this sort of thing. Creepy cults, secret societies… I'll help you out if you're nice to me. I just want to have a good time."

Looking back to Mister Blythe, however, he added: "I really do think it's cool that you're becoming a cyborg. That's extremely interesting. I'm just saying that you should worry about pushing your body too hard. Everybody has a limit to how much theirs can take."

"I don't need you to worry about me. I'm at least the one who has the most practical plan here."

"I disagree." spoke up another before introducing himself. "Horace O'Reilly. Charmed. I've been injecting a protein into my body that is designed to halt the process of aging and therefore dying."

"How does that work?" asked Blythe.

"Well, you see, your cells are always dividing off and copying your DNA, but over time, the ends of your DNA get shaved off, effectively aging you. What this substance does is preventing the further degradation of one's genes so that the body remains always healthy." O'Reily explained, sitting up straight in his chair and beaming. "It's called 'Telemorase,' and I've been using it for six months so far. I haven't aged at all since then."

Ceasar Merritt and Ian Pomeroy both rolled their eyes in response. Both of them were ignorant to the other's shared skepticism since neither of them saw the other and both of them held their tongues. Others felt the need to chime in, since this indeed was a meeting to share plans and results. Some of them seemed to have some basis in reality, while others were somewhat harder to believe. One planned to clone himself and download his knowledge into a new body indefinitely, claiming some success in at least the cloning phase of that plan. Meanwhile, another member of the group planned to find a mermaid and eat it's flesh, thus gaining immortality via supernatural means.

Others moved to strange objects like the Philosopher's Stone that the council was named after or the Holy Grail. The latter was convinced that he was close to the Grail's location, as it is said to exist in the holiest place in all of Britain. Some were more focused on objects that were more sinister, or worse, more tangible.

"You all are chasing leads that go nowhere." Haughtily chuckled one of the only women there. She was young, no older than twenty-seven, at most, making her even more of a rarity among the quickly aging men around her. Her hair was put up neatly, going nicely with her black dress and the diamonds on her choker and earrings sparkled along with the glint in her eye. Pearl-white teeth flashed as her red-painted lips turned upwards into a smile. She was confident in her conviction as she knew of a successful way to gain immortality. She had seen it. She had lived it. She was still doing so as she sat right then and there. It was a tried and proven method that she herself had used at least once.

"Holy Grails and Philosopher's Stones…" She shook. "Things you've never seen or can prove the existence of. Science might be viable, but in the end, it's still improbable that you have the answers. Caeser really is right about cybernetics. It really does put a nasty strain on the body."

"And what is your plan?" questioned Mister Reilly. "Don't tell me that you're going to use fairytales, too..."

"No, Sir… It can't be a fairytale if it's true. It's also darker than that… More sinister…" the woman answered. "Dare I say… Diabolical?"

"The devil?"

"Maybe… I'm not sure who exactly made the object I have in mind, but it could very well have been. Gentlemen, I sit here before as the closest thing to an 'immortal' any of you have ever seen. In fact, I may be the oldest person here! They say that the camera adds ten pounds, but the one I used added around ten years so far. It's called 'The Camera Obscura' and I've used it once before. I plan to use it again once this body is past it's prime. I'd really like to before it turns forty!"

"That's a nice story and all, but how exactly does this so-called 'camera' work?" questioned Mister Blythe.

"No one really knows how it mechanically functions. By all means, it shouldn't work at all." explained the woman in black. "In essence, however, the camera has the ability to capture the soul. Literally. Then, by changing the lens, one can project that soul and trap it in an object. Though, if that object is another human body..."

Pausing, she gestured to herself. "...The soul possesses it and the body becomes theirs. I've used the camera on myself once before. I'll need to use it again in a few decades, however. Being an older woman in society if difficult, after all. When your looks fade, nobody cares about you anymore. You'd probably be fine going through a natural life cycle first, however."

"So if you've used the camera before, how old are you now?" questioned O'Reilly, prompting the woman to smile.

"This year, I turned ninety-three." she said. "I've had this body for ten years, now. It's been tough, however. My shelter shut down after a rotten former employee ratted me out, so I had to act fast to get away. In the end, I lost the camera in the process-"

"So you don't even have it?" asked Caeser. "Forgive me, but that seems awfully convenient."

"I came here to ask the Philosopher's Society for assistance in getting it back. In return, I will replace your bodies as many times as you like once I have it." she said.

"How do we know you're not pulling our leg? You could just be a younger woman pretending."

"She's telling the truth." uttered a voice from the end of the table. It came from the seat next to Ian Pomeroy, which housed the only true "immortal" at the table, Johnathan Beattie. "I know of this camera. I worked for the group that currently has it."

There was whispering all around the table, now. This was getting good. Or to some, ridiculous. Now two people spoke of a device that would allow them to live forever as long as they find a suitable host. Now interests were piqued and some contemplated changing their plans.

"You'll never get it, however, Dame Pendergraft." the demon continued. "It's locked up in a place that not even the full wealth of all of you combined could access. You lack firepower and if you tried, you'd be killed for treason."

"The United Kingdom doesn't have a death penalty."

"These people do. Give up on the camera, Pendergraft. It's lost."

"Couldn't you help?" Inquired Dame Pendergraft. "You worked for them, didn't you?"

"Getting captured before I can complete my own goal is not an option for me. You're on your own."

Straightening her posture, the woman looked down at her lap for a moment while she thought. While she didn't have all of the details, she wanted that camera and was at this point, willing to sacrifice a lot in order to get it. Yet, she was not willing to sacrifice her own life. If she could use the others as pawns and have them take the fall for her, she would, but was she willing to die to escape death? No. She was not. She would either have to take the plunge or find another way.

"Isn't there some other method for transferring a soul?" she asked, having gotten the impression that Johnathan knows a lot more than he's letting on.

"Most definitely." he answered. "But you'd need knowledge that is also unobtainable by you or contact with a species that will most likely say 'no.' You could try contracting with a demon, but you'd only end up with your soul eaten instead of moved."

"How would I have to obtain this knowledge?"

"Any one you send to bring it back for you will die."

"I don't care." Dame Pendergraft strongly stated. "I want it. I don't care who I have to send or how dangerous it is. I just want it."

Contemplating this a bit, Johnathan debated the consequences. Telling this woman would be putting her right into the jaws of death, no matter how far away she is when she sends her flunkies. She would be hunted down and her killers would seek out whoever gave her the knowledge. Then again, that suited the man perfectly. He was craving a confrontation and didn't at all mind the idea.

"Alright." He said, smirking as he unfolded his arms. "I'll tell you. What you want is a very specific book. And it's located on the lowest level of a very specific estate."

"Who owns it?" She asked, leaning forward.

"His name is 'Phantomhive...'"

The manor in question was in a tizzy when the sun rose as everyone was getting ready to attend to their respective obligations. Ciel had to go to the base, Sebastian had to take Luka to school, and Revy had to go to his first day on the job as a professional, government sanctioned internet troll. All the while, Alois was grappling with having to get several teenagers into a much larger car than he was used to driving in order to get them to the Phantom House in order to submit their paperwork and send them on their way.

The house was completely empty for a few hours before Sebastian returned from his errands, soon followed by the menace with his. In a way, Alois felt ridiculous. He likened himself to a mother dropping her children off at football practise. Similarly, he was reminding the youths how to behave when they arrived.

"Be on your best behaviour." the menace informed. "They might let a lot slide because you're new, but part of it is learning how to behave in a supernatural society. It's sort of like a place where you can just make all of the mistakes you need to make before you learn how to do things the right way."

"Got it." Lilian stated. "So, what happens when we get there?"

"First, we turn in your papers and get you entered into the system. Then, you're assigned a room." the man explained. "Someone will be there to tell you about the services that they provide- like, for example, they actually teach you how to do things and have groups that help you sort of adjust to the changes you're going through. Oh! And most importantly, maybe, you'll definitely be assigned a Supernatural Relations agent who will help you figure out where you're gonna live and stuff. And Sierra? You can still go to meetings and stuff at Phantom house and enter Gehenna and Pyestock, even if you live in London. Tell the agents that you want to live with your parents and they'll get you all sorted out, alright?"

"Okay." Sierra replied, positively relieved at the revelation. She was worried that she would never be able to see her family again! At the same time, however, she was worried that she would have to cope with her new condition all by herself.

"Your caseworker will help you get everything you need before you go home and also help inform your parents of the situation."

It was all business for Alois, that morning. After all, as a representative of both supernatural towns and a big player in the welfare of supernatural beings in the United Kingdom in general, this was all a part of his job and he was very serious about performing it well. He wanted these teens to be well taken care of and for their passage from the human realm to the supernatural one to be as painless as possible.

Really, he sensed that the full weight of the situation hasn't exactly sunk in just yet and so he needed to make sure that everything was set before the emotional turmoil hit them. Right now, they were experiencing what he would liken to shock. They weren't fully aware of their lack of humanity just yet, but they would in time as more symptoms began to arise and more time passed.

At the moment, it was still hard to believe that all of this was real. This was especially so, given that they had just traveled from one stately manor to a large townhouse that was in the process of being expanded. They had to be checked as they crossed through the gate, but once they did? It was smooth sailing. Alois parked the car and ushered the group to get out, walking them up the steps and to the front door. They half expected it to be locked, but no, the menace opened it with ease and held it for them so they could pass through.

The room they stepped into was incredibly impressive. It was decorated, it was vibrant, it was full of life, yet it was also functional. The group could see mailboxes lining one of the walls. That was where they saw their first supernatural, though it didn't really occur to them. All they saw was a pale man getting his mail. It wasn't until he carelessly stepped into the light that crawled along the floor from the windows that he gave even the slightest hint that he wasn't human, uttering a soft "Ow!" before recoiling from the light. Looking up, he saw the group and bashfully spoke up.

"I keep forgetting." he said. "Remembering to put on shade gel is really hard for some reason."

"I'd assume so, if you're not used to wearing it." chuckled the blonde in a friendly fashion. "Isn't it a bit late for you to be up, though?"

"I was always a night owl." the man said. "Being nocturnal apparently doesn't change that."

With that, he waved to the group and excused himself before disappearing upstairs. It was then that the menace approached the front desk with the cautious youths in tow. All the while, they whispered to themselves about the "real life vampire" they had just seen until they were shushed. With that, the menace rang the bell on the desk, summoning someone to assist them.

From the back came the head of a woman peeking out to see who it was before the rest of her followed. She looked far more human than the last person they saw, but still unusual. She wore an eyepatch over her left eye and had long hair that was pulled back in a braid, yet was shaved on the sides of her head. She seemed friendly enough and was dressed in a manner that was pleasant, yet somewhat casual. High-waisted jeans with a forest green button up tucked into them made her appear to be some sort of hipster, when in reality, the woman had the spirit of a lumberjack.

"Mister Lion!" she greeted with a smile. "It's so good to see you here again. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Wink." the Phantomhive greeted in turn. "I found a pack of wolves wandering around my house and thought I'd bring them here. I have all the paperwork right here, stamped and signed. I just need all of you here to help them go through the motions."

"I can do that." Wink replied, holding out her hand and accepting the paper packets from the menace before setting them down in front of her. She wiggled the mouse on the computer to turn off the screensaver and then looked back to the group to count heads. "So, we're gonna need one, two three… five rooms?"

"Yes. One of them should be temporary, though. Her paperwork has her marked as planning to live in London." Alois said, pointing. "Her agent will need to get in contact with her parents to explain the situation."

"Alright." the woman said before looking between the documents and the computer. "Let me get some of their basic information entered in and then I'll have them assigned to some rooms. This will take me a few minutes. Feel free to sit down in the meantime."

"Thanks a lot." smiled the blonde before turning around and gesturing to his ducklings to sit down on the benches in the waiting area near the desk. They all sat patiently as they waited on the woman to finish her typing, although some held their breath.

Looking up, they examined the room a bit more carefully and saw a few common motifs in the design. The room was decorated with lions, but mostly with dogs. They seemed to be on everything, from the desk to the paintings on the wall. A few paintings were especially interesting, as they recognised the people depicted. There was a large, framed, photograph of Ciel and Alois in the entrance way, along with a few painted portraits. When asked about them, Alois told the youths that he only posed for the photo and that the rest were artist renderings of him that he hadn't seen before. Thus, he was almost equally interested in them.

More caught their eye, however, as there was a table in the room with books and newspapers on it. When asked, the menace seemed to perk up, and immediately feel compelled to walk over to examine the objects.

"Oh!" he declared. "This is actually going to be very useful for you all. You're going to want a copy of this."

Reaching down, he picked up a book and held it up to their view. "I'll buy you each a copy before I leave. It's 'The Werewolf's Guide to Living,' and it'll tell you everything you need to know about lycanthropy. You're probably going to need this." Walking over to them, he presented them with the book, prompting them to huddle together and thumb through it. Naturally, they were all shocked by what they were seeing, as they hadn't the slightest idea about how wrong they could be about becoming werewolves.

"Hair?" one of the girls gawked.

"Looks like we're gonna need a way to buy razors..." Lilian chimed in.

"Wait, wouldn't that not apply to you since you're girls? Girls don't have as much hair, so..." spoke Taylor, one of the boys. He trailed off as he sensed hostility coming from the girls as they slowly turned their heads to look at him. Then, Lilian and Sierra looked to Brittany, as if questioning her.

"Shut up." Brittany said before they could say anything.

Right about then, the woman behind the counter started moving the packets to a separate tray, indicating that she was done with them. She then went to the back room, taking it with her. When she returned, Wink had a pile of keys with her and an assistant- a rather unassuming woman who looked just as ordinary as the rest of them there.

"Sierra Arrington." Wink called, gesturing for the girl to come up to the desk. She held out a ring with two keys on it. One with a key to a door on it and the other to the corresponding mailbox in the lobby. "Here's your room key. Room 113 Avery, here, will take all of you up to them in a bit. Just wait here for a second."

Looking at her computer, Wink got the next name and number before looking through the pile of keys for the right one. "Taylor Haywood, room 010."

And so on, and so on… Soon, everyone had their keys and were in the process of having things explained to them. What time food was served, what the smaller key was for, what services were being offered in the near future, and other things were very carefully explained to them, as well as general rules. They were not allowed to make a lot of noise during full moons, so no howling. It was something that appeared to need saying quite often, given how many times Wink emphasized it.

After that, the other woman, Avery, lead them to each of their rooms. Alois tagged along in order to see the house and how it was doing. It was his right as one of the benefactors. He learned that Avery was a werewolf and had come to live there, only to end up working there, like Wink had. She told him that she found this work fulfilling and that she found it to be very rewarding to help werewolves like her not feel scared. She also spoke to the others while she escorted them, enthusiastically talking about how things were going to work and how wonderful it was to live there.

"So they're all taken care of, then?" Alois asked. "Is there anything else they need from me?"

"Not that I'm aware of." the woman replied.

"Alright. I'll leave my office number at the front desk just in case." the menace stated. "Take good care of them. They're pretty good kids." He didn't mention the incident with the knife until everyone was in their rooms and he and the worker were on their way back the front.

As each of them found their rooms, he said "goodbye" to each and every one and wished them well. That was the last time they saw him in person for a long while. He didn't leave Phantom House right away, however. He wanted to see how things were going as well.

Partially, it was out of mere curiosity, but he also wished to know for the sake of his own duties. It was his job to make sure the system was working properly and was interested in finding out if there were any rough patches or outright problems. While it is true that he is tasked with more interesting duties such as assassinations and investigating, but this was actually the job he did most days and he took it very seriously.

"Is the expansion going well?" he asked. "Are there any problems that need fixing?"

"Uhm… Actually, if we have permission to hire more staff, it would be great." replied Wink. "And the builders are a little behind schedule, but nothing that we can't make up for."

"What kind of staff? If it's general staff, then that's fine. I'll get it in writing for you right away." the menace replied. "If you need any specialists, though, that might take more time to make happen, and depending on the type, it could be a while. It will happen, though, either way."

"General staff is what we're really lacking right now, but we also need more kitchen staff." the witch stated. "We actually have someone currently living at Phantom House who was a chef before he came, so we would like to try him out, if possible?"

"Alright. I'll get on it. For bureaucracy's sake, I'd like it if you would wait until I give you written permission, though." Alois said. "Just so you don't get in any kind of trouble."

"Will do. As for the others, they're in good hands."

"I'm not worried about your abilities. It's all of to them, really, and that's what worries me."

"Are you saying they're not capable?"

"I'm saying I don't know. They were only in my house for one night." the demon clarified. "Oh! And they're going to need some new clothes. If they can't get a hold of any, call me and I'll take care of it. Otherwise, they're going to need to work."

"Their SR agent should help them find a job if they end up needing one. At least they'll point them to the bus that heads down to Gehenna so they can go to the welfare center and submit a resume."

"Tell them to ask for Daniel Westley. He's good. I know him."

"Will do." Wink answered. "Thanks for helping them get to us."

"The pleasure is all mine. I'd rather them be here where I know they're safe than wandering around the woods. Thanks a lot, Wink."

With that, the menace concluded his inspection and left the building in order to start heading home. It took him a lot longer than he thought, but he made sure that the young werewolves were taken care of. They were all in their rooms, reading their new books on how to handle their new existence and would be attending whatever events the Phantom House had to offer them starting from that night until the moment they left. Alois, however, would start on his way back home.

He was master of the household in the absence of his husband, although the blunette in question would return that evening. Ciel was busy as a bee, however, preparing the troops to be decent enough to graduate. The Phantomhive wanted nothing but the best and took personal pride in the fact that it was his troop that was the best of the amateur class, and it was his troop who could very well best some of the career class. They were so efficient that the others should be scared. In fact, being taught by the Phantomhive was grounds for bragging rights in the first place, but being both instructed by him and an excellent soldier? That was truly commendable. That said, the demon didn't seem to have his usual gusto on this particular day, and the troops hadn't the foggiest idea as to why.

"Are you alright, sir?" questioned Private Wallace Young. "You seem a bit down."

"It's nothing." Ciel replied. "Just a bit distracted, is all. There was an incident at the house last night and we had to house and sort paperwork for a handful of teenaged werewolves. They should be on their way by now, though. My husband was to drop them off at Phantom House until they find proper supernatural residency."

"So, you're worried about them?" asked Private Bryce Withers.

"That's part of it." stated the Watchdog. "It's just not a very good day, if I'm honest."

"Did something else happen?"

"No." Ciel lied, not wanting to appear weak or foolish in front of his men. "Not really."

With that, he continued his lecture until it was time for lunch. It did appear, however, that the closer they got to the end of the class, the more down the Phantomhive seemed. He dismissed them all before any of them could ask him any further questions, leaving them all wondering and curious. It was the topic of much speculation during their meal.

"Do you think he got in a fight last night?" inquired Wallace as he and the others sat in the mess hall.

"A fight wouldn't upset him. He'd kick the other person's ass." confidently stated Private Cooksey, but the other shook his head.

"No, I mean with his husband." his compatriot clarified. "Maybe his husband invited those werewolves in without his permission and they fought? Think about it, he seems to be the only thing that can make the boss feel very strongly."

"Yeah, like how he brags like, all the time about what an awesome warrior Mister Phantomhive is?" chuckled Private Joseph Kidman. "He's a badass demon who won't hesitate to kill you, but if his man gets upset with him? That's where it hurts."

"Accurate depiction of marriage." chimed in Private Choi, the only person in the platoon with marital experience and the designated "love expert" of the group. "I don't think it's too far fetched. You can do whatever you want to me, but if my wife or daughter is mad at me? I need to fix it."

"So you think they got in a fight, too?" asked Private Clancy Peterson, leaning forward so that he could hear the conversation as it wafted to his end of the table.

"I imagine if they got divorced it would end in a battle to the death, so it's probably not that serious." said Bryce. Weirdly, everyone there seemed to nod along with this. What the true cause of the matter was, they would never find out, as the Watchdog never brought it up for the rest of the day.

While they were at lunch, he sat in his office and waited for them to finish eating. Boredly, he browsed the internet on his phone and cursed the base's wi-fi connection. He knew that lunch was going to be dreadfully dull that day and was not looking forward to it at all for once. Thus, it was the source of his gloom.

What could make the man feel so down? Why was he dreading the time of day that he usually was enthusiastic about? The answer was simple and admittedly, Ciel thought it was rather dumb. The fact of the matter was that during the hassle of getting everyone out the door that morning, Alois didn't have time to pack a lunch for him. Naturally, the only thing Ciel could do in response was sulk.

Now, the Watchdog knew completely well that it wasn't worth feeling so down about. After all, he could leave the base and go to a restaurant to eat professionally made food that probably tasted better, or he could simply wander over to the mess hall. There were definitely alternatives available to him and they were not lost on him, but the fact of the matter was that Jim Phantomhive did not make them specifically for Ciel, so Ciel did not want them. It was a childish ultimatum, but the whole reason why he enjoyed lunch so much was because his husband got up early to actually make food for him and that made him feel special. Some days, if the bluenette was particularly fortunate, the menace might have even left a short note on a scrap of paper. Being the sentimental man that he was, he kept all of them in a locked box in a similarly locked drawer in his desk. Once Ciel's work was done at the base, they would leave with him.

Sadly, he was dismayed to find that this wasn't the case, as he had nothing at all, that day. All he could do was wait and sulk until the day was over. That was his only plan. It wasn't a good one, but he wasn't feeling very up to getting too invested that day, despite it being so close to the platoon's graduation. It was only a matter of days, now. Ciel knew that he needed to focus and take things seriously in the little time that he had left with the lads, but on the other hand, he had no lunch and that made him sad.

Slouching at his desk, he tapped his fingers on it, having run out of things to do. The only way he could occupy himself now was by staring at the clock and willing it to make time pass by faster. Luck changes, though and his certainly did as he sensed something unusual coming down the hall. Immediately, he sat up and focused, trying to clarify his suspicions. The closer it got, the more certain he became and the truth was absolutely undeniable once the figure reached his door.

It swung open, prompting the bluenette to stand up, even going so far to stand at near attention. Seeing this, however, the visitor just laughed at him. "Am I really important enough to have you standing at attention?" Alois asked, but his husband only added a salute.

"Your Honourableness..." Ciel playfully greeted. "You're the only person that I instinctively stand at attention for."

"That's not a double-entendre, is it?" Closing the distance between them, the blonde walked around the desk and wrapped his arms around the other demon, pecking his lips in a light greeting as he was held back.

"Not intentionally, but it's also not wrong." confessed the Watchdog. "Mostly, I'm just happy to see you."

Raising an eyebrow, Alois said nothing and shot his spouse an amused look. Realising what he had just said, Ciel added: "Wait, I mean I'm happy that you're here and visiting with me. I really love you a lot..."

"Yeah. I know. You can't live without me and are constantly starved for my affection." snickered the menace, despite his attempts to sound perfectly serious. "I noticed you last night, but was too tired to hang out with you. Sorry about that."

"It's alright. I can't expect you to be at my beck and call, always." Pausing, the Watchdog let go of his spouse and gestured to his chair. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Sure. The desk is fine, though. I don't wanna steal your spot."

"Well, there's plenty of space on it."

"I know. You're not really into decorating, are you?"

"This office is temporary, so I didn't really see much point." Ciel said, sitting in his own chair while Alois did as he said and sat down on top of the desk. "I do like decorating at home, remember?"

"True. Mounting weapons on the wall technically does count as decorating."

"I might have to reconsider my tastes, however, if last night is anything to go by."

"Teenagers are curious. They see a knife and think it looks neat and they want to play with it."

"Would you let your child play with a knife without your supervision?"

"Oh, fuck no! I was just saying that's the train of thought, is all. They shouldn't be playing with that shit while nobody's around. I'm agreeing with you, it's a little shit thing to do."

"Sounds reasonable."

"You were kind of funny last night, though." grinned the menace, looking down at his husband. "You were totally on patrol and trying to sense around for anything weird."

"There were strange delinquent children in my house. I had to pay attention."

"Yeah, but you were making this face and had this kinda body language to you?" Alois straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest while trying to replicate what he was talking about to the best of his ability. "You looked so alert and official. But also really cute at the same time. Like a police dog."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or glad you find me cute..."

"I'm saying you're cute!" the menace insisted. "The Watchdog, protecting his house from other strange dogs… It's adorable."

"Yeah, yeah..." the other groaned with a slight blush tinting his cheeks.

"I mean, if you're not happy to see me here, I can just leave..."

"No. I want you here." Ciel stated. "After all, I crave your attention always, you know."

"Well, I do like a man in uniform, so I guess I'll play along." Standing up, the menace moved to walk over to the rack where Ciel had his coat and hat hung up. He plucked Ciel's cap from it and turned back around. "You're missing your lid, though."

"It's poor manners for me to wear it in doors." Ciel explained.

"Fair enough. I'll wear it, then." With that, the blonde put the hat on his head and stood up straight. "What do you think? Do I look official?"

Jokingly, the bluenette rose to his feet and saluted him again. "Sir, yes, sir."

"Good. Now, drop and give me twenty."

"I don't think I'll go that far. You're handsome, but I do pushups for no one."

"I was joking, but now I wanna see it. Now, drop."

"I will do no such things."

Looking over his shoulder, the menace found the bluenette's riding crop hanging on one of the hooks near his coat. Alois looked at the riding crop and then back to Ciel. Like the brilliant detective he was, the Watchdog pieced together his intentions immediately.

"Don't you even bloody think about it." he told him, but Alois ignored him and picked up the object before holding it up threateningly. Slowly, he advanced on the bluenette, causing Ciel to in turn back up until he was trapped behind the desk. "No! Don't you bloody dare!"

"Then drop and give me twenty." Alois calmly replied, grinning mischievously from ear to ear. "Isn't this what mean military men use when soldiers don't do when they're told?"

"I see what you're eyeing and aiming for. You and I both know that that is not how I use that in training. Secondly, that's not how you hold it. Are you trying to fence?"

"Are you an expert in this field and I just didn't know it?"

"I don't think I quite like your insinuation..."

Just then, the blonde advanced, laughing as he swung the riding crop with a light flick of his wrist, aiming right for his husband's backside. He was evaded, however, as Ciel was skilled at dodging close-range weapons. As impressive as that sounds, in reality, he simply climbed up on his desk and jumped over it.

"'No' means 'no!'" the bluenette declared, now safe with the desk acting as a barrier between them. "You and I both know that I'm into that sort of thing."

"I'm not either. It's just such a prime method of messing with you."

"Well, you're being very successful at it."

"Thank you."

"You may not spank me."

"Fiiiiiiinnneee..." Alois groaned, slouching his shoulders. He trudged around to the other side of the desk.

"Put it back." the Watchdog instructed, watching the menace carefully while keeping only his front to him, all the while Alois rolled his eyes and did as he was told. Once the riding crop was safely back in place, Ciel relaxed.

"Thank you." He said, right before reaching out and patting his husband's rear, himself.

"You git!" the stunned menace gawked, looking back at the rather smug-looking officer with a mix of amusement and betrayal.

"What? Neither of us are into that sort of thing, but this? This, I can get behind."

"Yeah, I bet you would, you poncy twit?" Alois scoffed, only to roll his eyes when the other man kissed his cheek.

"I love you." Ciel said. "Even if you threaten me with a riding crop."

"I wasn't threatening."

"You were threatening."

It didn't matter whether it was a threat or not. None of that mattered. While they were distracted with each other, they didn't notice that someone was approaching the door, nor did they remember that it was unlocked. In an instant, the duo went from chuckling at each other's teasing to staring wide-eyed as the door opened, revealing a private on the other side.

Poor Private Peterson. Imagine his shock and fear at having intruded at this moment. The lad didn't even get a single word in before his eyes spotted his leader with his hand firmly planted on his spouse's rear. All of the blood in Clancy's body seemed to rush to his face as he quickly stumbled over himself to get his excuse for coming out.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted. "You didn't seem yourself today so we were worried, and..." Clancy stopped, realising that he just needed to leave. "Uhm… It' s almost time for lunch to be over! Bye!" He turned to flee, only to face the man again and salute before actually leaving.

Ciel's face turned red as well, not only at being caught doing something a little risque, but also due to the realisation that the lad was going to report back to his team with the information. Taking his hand away from his husband, the Watchdog quickly moved toward the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Private Peterson!" he shouted, all the while the hysterical laughter of the menace accompanied him from somewhere in the office. "Get back here!"


A/N: RIP in piece Private Henderson. We knew you kinda.

As for the people in the beginning, a few of them are more important than others, so I'll let you figure out who.

Uh... Man, writing author's notes has been hard, lately? I just don't really have much to say!

Uh... So... What do y'all think?

I think...

Ciel and Alois must be stopped.

Anyways...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!