"Dead." Elizabeth said, harshly pointing at the names on the piece of paper on her desk. "They're dead. Dying off at the very least. Every single time we try to follow up one of our leads, we find a body. Someone is killing the Philosophers off and I want to know who and why."

"I assume you want me to go find out, yes?" Ciel questioned. "Shall I go follow up on the remaining leads today?"

"As quickly as possible." the angel stated. "We can't afford to lose any more, especially when we hardly know a single thing about them!"

"I'll go do that, then. Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No." very seriously stated the woman. "I also want to know… what do you want for your birthday?"

"I'm leaving." the Phantomhive turned to walk out, only to be stopped by his cousin."

"I'm kidding! I know a little bit more than this. Everyone who has been killed so far is… well… useless."

"Dead people often are."

"No, I mean 'useless' in that the methods that they allegedly employed to gain immortality were 'ill-advised' at best and 'downright ridiculous' at worst. There's everything from finding the fountain of youth to eating the flesh of a mermaid, here. The thing that is notable is that their bank accounts hardly have anything in them and their companies, if they own any, are under new management. I want to know what the issue is, here."

"Somebody with half a brain is manipulating a few idiots into handing over their money. What's new?"

"The thing is that those with plausible methods are kept around. There's few of them, but they remain."

"I thought that the camera obscura was proven?"

"It is, but getting it is impossible and you'd know that if you worked for HELLSING." Elizabeth reminded, folding her hands. "I'm afraid that Johnathan Beattie has a big hand in this… I don't know what his angle is. Does he hate the organisation? Does he want to bring us down? What is his reasoning behind doing this?"

"I don't know." the Watchdog impulsively answered, lying on reflex. He knew why Mister Beattie left. It was because of him. Beattie hates Ciel and vowed revenge on him, which made sense with the mansion being a possible target.

"Ciel..."

"What?"

"If you know something..." Elizabeth spoke with a warning tone. While Ciel's mask had been honed over the years to be nearly impregnable, it seemed to crumble around family. His hesitance was apparent.

"He…" the bluenette began. "He knows I killed his guardian, Heinrich Strumer. Said he wants revenge..."

"For the love of-!" Stopping herself short, the woman took a deep breath and composed herself. "Alright. That explains a lot, actually. There's a motive. Somehow, though, he's been able to make these people work together. Do you think that he is capable of that?"

"I don't know. Honestly, Johnathan has always been… Sort of weak of will." Ciel stated. "He can be pushed around when he's not the biggest person in the room. Yet he's got a violent streak. He died by orchestrating and flubbing a school shooting. There's no telling what his limit actually is until it's reached."

"Fantastic..." Elizabeth sighed. "Absolutely, bloody-well fantastic..."

"Lizzie?" gawked the bluenette, arching an eyebrow as the woman swore.

"Go investigate the people on that list." she ordered. "I don't want to do this right now. I need to think."

"Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Taking another deep breath, the Hellsing looked up at her cousin. "If there's anything- anything at all that you know, please tell me now rather than later."

"I don't." Ciel answered sincerely, but Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure that she trusted that.

"Alright." she said after a moment of hesitation. Handing her papers to him, she added: "Here's the information you'll need to investigate them. Please do it as quickly as possible."

"I will." the bluenette stated before awkwardly glancing toward the door. Pointing to it, he somewhat confusedly asked. "Is that my cue to leave."

"Only if that's everything."

"Is it?"

"It is on my end."

"I see..." Ciel nodded. "You seem upset, though."

"Ciel, I swear to God..."

"Alright, I'm leaving." bashfully answered the Phantomhive while making his exit. "I'll talk to you later?"

"I'll come visit on Thursday." she answered.

"Alright." The man paused when he was halfway out the door and gave his cousin a small wave. "Bye."

Despite being rather cross with the demon for failing to mention vital information to her, as soon as the door closed, she let out a puff of air as she tried not to laugh at him. Ciel was not good at coping when he knew people were upset with him. She did know, however, that he would immediately try to rectify the mistake by immediately going to work. It wasn't an intentional manipulation, mind you, but the thought did occur to Elizabeth as soon as he left.

Her assumption was correct, too, as he got home with papers still in hand. He even read some of them in the car on the way back and was making a beeline for his office so he could continue. He wanted to wrap this up quickly, despite not having the foggiest idea as to how to proceed. His husband was the one who handled everything relating to this case in his household thus far, so Ciel decided that it would be best to consult with him about the matter before proceeding.

He put away his things and putt away his coat and jacket before unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. That was the most casual he became immediately after working and it was too cold to roll up his sleeves, so that was "dressing down for the day" for the Watchdog. From there, he went off in search of the menace. It wasn't hard, even with this massive house of theirs, as Ciel could sense him and sense him better than most people, given their shared contract. As he drew closer to the general vicinity of the blonde, he began sensing more people and recalled something rather major.

Audrey had asked if everyone in their shared friend group could get together since it had been a while, and given the fact that the Phantomhives didn't feel comfortable leaving the house for too long, especially with the younger, less experienced Mackens inside, they decided to have a small gathering at the estate. It was fine. It was lovely. With current developments, however, Ciel was less in the mood, unfortunately. He really wanted to get to work and knew that the moment he set foot in that entertainment room, it was going to be hard to get away. He was expected, though, so he couldn't go in, he'd be looked for. With no other options, he gathered himself and made peace with the fact that he wasn't going to be getting any work done despite his promise before opening the door.

"...So, yeah, that's the most racist thing that's happened to me recently." Audrey said, concluding a story that Ciel wasn't there for. "What about you, Travis? Any new bullshit?"

"I don't get it that much, but occasionally, I get some." Travis nodded. "This one was really weird, though. Patty and I went out to eat a few days ago and I was asking the waiter if something on the menu was kosher- I don't remember what… And his first reaction for whatever reason is to look to her and ask her if I try to have sex with her through a sheet?"

"What the fuck?" gawked mister Baines and several of the others around them, playing pool.

"I know. 'The goyim are on their bullshit again.' That's what I chalked it up to, though I was kind of offended. She looked uncomfortable."

"That's because he kept trying to catch a glimpse of my tits." Patricia noted. "And he barely paid attention to you until then."

"Right and you just looked at me like 'Are you gonna take that, Travis?' so of course I couldn't. So I just looked him straight in the face and said 'Yeah, but not because I'm Jewish. I actually have a ghost fetish.'"

The others busted out snickering at that, but absolutely lost it when Patricia chimed in. "Yeah, and then we kept offering to hook him up with fake websites for 'spectresexuals.' After he left, we complained to a manager and he was yelled at, but we probably won't be going back.'"

"Patty tweeted about it and now it's on Buzzfeed."

Tears were forming in Audrey's eyes with how hard he was laughing. It made sense, given that both Travis and Patricia were very popular fiction writers with that demographic, but it still was hard to believe that something one of their friends did would end up there, especially something so suggestive. Travis was typically very low key, but lately, he's been more bold. The group thinks it might be because of his girlfriend, but they had no proof.

"Oh my god, is it still there?" Kristopherson asked, setting down his pool stick in order to take his phone out of his pocket. "I wanna to find the article."

While he was doing that and everyone was crowding around him to try and find the article, Alois instead walked over to his husband, having seen that it was going to take a while for Kristopherson do so. He pecked Ciel on the lips with a grin and placed a hand on his back in order to lead him inside.

"Welcome back." he greeted. "So, how'd it go?"

"Not so good." Ciel replied. "Lizzie wants me to investigate the members of the Philosopher's Society immediately."

"Ah. Figured it was gonna be something like that. Why's that so bad, though?"

"She's mad at me." informed the Watchdog with a somewhat shocked look on his face. Yet, there was also some recognition. "I thought she knew about Johnathan's vendetta against me and didn't tell her until now."

"Oof… Did you tell her you thought she knew?" the menace inquired, only to get his answer when something appeared to click in Ciel's head. "Ciel… You didn't..."

"I… I didn't think to..."

"You've gotten really good at communicating with me, but with others? You're a bit rusty..."

"Gee, thanks, darling..."

"You should apologise and explain yourself later. For now, we've got company to attend to."

"I actually really wanted your input so I could start investigating, actually..."

"You're not getting out of social interaction this time." Alois informed his beau. "C'mon, you never get to hang out with everybody. Relax tonight and we'll get started first thing tomorrow, alright?"

"Fine..." the bluenette answered, still seeming a bit reluctant. "I do sort of what to talk, but at the same time..."

"...You're fixating on it and are worried about Liz being mad at you."

Letting out a breath, the Watchdog sighed. "Yes..."

"I know you well." his beau said. "Lizzie will forgive you. I know she will. It's just a case of miscommunication." Stopping by the pool table, the blonde released Ciel before gesturing off to the side. "Wine?"

"Sure." Ciel answered, taking his husband up on his offer despite knowing that neither of them had any chance of becoming intoxicated.

"Be right back." With that, the Watchdog was alone with the others and it dawned on Ciel that he hadn't actually seen or spoken to most of them in ages. This was in part due to the fact that they pointed it out.

"Whoa, Ciel's here. Is that allowed?" teased Audrey, followed by Kristopherson.

"Huh, you're right. How come I haven't actually seen you in a while yet still know almost every aspect of what's going on in your life?" the wolfman inquired.

"I assume it's because my husband is apparently quite the gossiper?" Ciel suggested, placing a hand on his hip.

"Yeah, that's it." Kristopherson stated. "I know. I know a lot of things. So, how was the office at camp? Alois said it was pretty bare."

"It was nice." the demon replied warily. "There was plenty in there. It wasn't bare at all."

To that, the wolfman snickered along with his own boyfriend, who Ciel assumed heard a thing or two by proxy. The others in the group didn't seem to visibly catch on, save for Travis, who raised his brows. Mister Sullivan was always perceptive of things, so he was particularly dangerous to be around at times.

"How is Andrea's?" the bluenette asked.

"It's good. I've got a spot for a second location in mind over in Pyestock but I'm still not sure if I feel comfortable letting other people manage it." confessed the wolfman.

"Expanding is always hard. It's tough to conceptualise the fact that you can't keep an eye on everything at all times. If something seems a bit fishy, I'd be happy to check on operations for you. I suggest security cameras. You can get them so only you can see what's happening even when you're not there."

"Oh, thank God… I was hoping you'd give me some advice..."

"Any time. You still have my number, don't you? Call me anytime you have a question."

Just then, there was a break in the conversation as Alois rejoined the group with two glasses of wine in hand. He offered it to the bluenette without saying a word, knowing he would be understood. Taking the glass, Ciel offered a soft "thank you" before Alois politely answered "you're welcome."

"We're really low on red wine for some reason. I had to go hunting for it." the blonde said. "Know anything about that?"

"Uh… I don't know… Who else drinks wine?" his spouse answered, taking a sip of his drink while avoiding eye contact.

"I know you drink with Revy. He seems to have taken to helping himself, too."

"Sorry about that..."

"Eh, you're right. He's a grownup and we can't stop him. If he's gonna be doing it, though, the least he could do is contribute."

Snickering, Kristopherson and a few of the others listened in. "The power-couple is back at it again." Audrey remarked. "You're so married, it's not even funny..."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Alois, arching an eyebrow.

"You're so domestic and it makes me jealous." the reaper bluntly stated.

"Yeah, it's really rude of you to rub your relationship in our faces like that." Daniel added jokingly. "You're so perfect and have your shit together all the time."

"Hah! Are you fucking kidding? We're a mess just like everybody else." the menace informed. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but we bicker, too, sometimes and sometimes we disagree on things. Not to mention all the work shit that gets in the way sometimes."

"Who cares if you aren't having sex as much? You have family Christmas parties! Who even does that unless they've got something figured out? I would kill to be on your level! I fantasise about that shit." asked Kristopherson, turning a few heads. Ciel actually choked on his drink at the revelation before looking over at a rather red-faced and guilty-looking Alois, who seemed eager to avoid looking at his husband.

"Just what all do you tell Kristopherson, Jim?" the bluenette asked.

"Uh..." hesitated Alois before offering a shrug. "Just a few things, here and there?"

"Does getting married really kill your sex life?" questioned Audrey.

"No way! It's all circumstantial. It's just that we've been busy with other stuff lately..." quickly insisted the menace, trying to clear up any false assumptions, but his husband was still staring at him.

"Next time, you should just tell me." informed the Watchdog. "We can figure something out."

Suddenly, Alois' face grew redder as what his spouse just said registered. Meanwhile, their friends were both amused and surprised at how open the bluenette was being. When they were younger, he would have definitely shied away from it and aggressively brush any inquiries and taunting to the side, but he didn't do that this time. He didn't even show any hints of thinking about doing so.

"Who the fuck are you?" asked Daniel. "What did you do with Ciel?"

"What?"

"Aren't you supposed to go 'shut up!' or 'I'll kill you!' or something?" the Westley inquired, doing his best impression of Ciel. Surprisingly, it was rather good.

"Well, I'm pretty certain everyone here knows who's sleeping with who, here." the bluenette replied. "It isn't exactly a secret, especially since neither Jim or Kristopherson can keep their mouths shut."

"It's called 'character development,' Daniel." Travis interjected.

"It's still surprising." Kristopherson said.

"Why's that?" asked Logan.

"He's so… proper…"

"Yeah? So? He just doesn't like to talk about it in the same way that you do." the incubus stated.

"How do you know?"

"We talk sometimes." Mister Kendrick explained, surprising the others in the room. "He actually helped me understand quite a few of your human habits. Some of them, I just couldn't understand at all on my own."

Quizzically, the wolfman looked over to his demon friends for confirmation, only for them to seem unfased by the revalation. "It's just culture clash." Ciel shrugged.

"Did you really think he didn't talk to anybody?" Patricia asked, placing a hand on her hip. "We talk on the phone quite a bit, too, don't we?"

"Yeah." Logan nodded before looking back to Kristopherson. "Remember? I was talking about taking boxing lessons. It seems so fun when she does it."

"We should hang out sometime. Just you, me, and Ciel." the woman suggested. "You should come to my gym! I'll teach you both how to box!"

"I know a little bit about boxing, but it's been decades since I actually strictly followed form." the bluenette stated.

"Cool!"

"Unbelievable..." the wolfman gawked.

"I know, right?" asked the menace, having composed himself a bit better. "Ciel seems willing to go somewhere and hang out with people."

"No, I mean how the hell did I not notice?" Kristopherson asked.

"Well, we don't have the same friends, ordinarily, to start with." the incubus explained. "Also, I just felt a little embarrassed, having to ask questions about that stuff. I wanted to seem cool and like I knew everything."

"Babe..." Mister Miles cooed, having seemingly forgotten about his astonishment in favour of sentimentality. While he was doing that, Alois turned to his own partner, however.

"So if he was asking you for tips on how to date someone from London, what did you get out of it?" the menace asked his spouse. Finally, a glimpse at the old Ciel could be seen in the pink tint that began to coat his cheeks as he seemed reluctant to answer.

"Oh… Not much..." Ciel answered while seeming to hope for a way to dodge the question. "Just a bit of advice, is all..."

"Like what?"

"I'll… I'll tell you later..." he muttered, leaning a bit closer to Alois and lowering his volume substantially. Somehow, it amused the menace and caused him to smirk.

Subjects came and went as the group continued to drink and play pool. It wasn't even dark out, so there came a time when those who could not get drunk asked those who could to stop for a while and pace themselves. Otherwise, they would all be staying the night at the mansion and Ciel really wanted to get to work as soon as they left. The more he talked, however, the more topics became more adult-oriented.

"I actually had trouble starting out with Andrea's because I had no concept of what affordably clothes should be like." Kristopherson confessed. "Alois came so close to kick my ass. I was in fear of my life."

"Like most people are willing to spend two-hundred pounds on an outfit." the menace scoffed.

"I didn't know! You dragged me to a bloody Tesco! I'm glad, though, because now I know where to find all kinds of things for not so much! I was walking around there with a pen and pad trying to figure it out."

"How are you able to keep prices low?" Ciel asked. "The reason why most clothes are able to bought so cheaply is because they're mass-produced by people working slave wages."

"How do you keep Funtom that way?"

"I don't. My toys are a few pounds more because this isn't the 1800s anymore and that kind of rubbish should be left there." the Watchdog said. "Anybody who acts like it's some great cost-cutting measure to not pay people living wages really is poppycock. I'm a billionaire. Do you know how much it's cut into my profits? Not at all. No noticeable dent. Now, with a smaller business, maybe, but most companies are just being nasty for the sake of it."

"Fuck yeah, go off, Ciel!" Kristopherson laughed. "I mostly just do patterns and sell fabric and sewing kits, is my thing. The stuff that's already made is more expensive than the stuff at the store, but that's the cost of labour for you. People are happy to pay it, though. Pay your people and they'll pay you back. The economy in Gehenna is booming. Jim, you've really done an amazing job with it."

"Haha, thanks~!" bashfully answered the menace while rubbing the back of his neck with a blush. "I took an economics class before I dropped out of college."

"Economics was a required course in secondary school, though?" reminded Audrey.

"I didn't pay attention in that class because all the rich twits acting like they knew a damn thing made me want to fight them."

"Alois, we're rich."

"Are you a twit, though?" Alois questioned, arching an eyebrow while pointing his finger. "Because there's a serious difference between micro and macro economics and nobody ever seems to get past the first one."

"Audrey, say 'no.' He will fight you." Kristopherson whispered.

"I'm not a twit." Mister Baines stated.

"Mm-hm. That's what I thought." the menace said. "I know it's kinda rough, since you weren't really used to all of the rules and stuff, but I had to put them in place so things stay pretty simple and run smoothly with everybody being taken care of."

"Yeah. The money got me worried for a while, since there's restrictions on how much I can make. It was mostly getting used to a different lifestyle. It was annoying when I was trying to set stuff up, but looking around, it works and honestly? Gehenna is probably one of the nicest places I've lived." The Miles said. "It's so clean? Why is it so clean?"

"Waste management is considered to be an actual, dignified job, is part of the reason. They're paid wages that are worth the work they're doing. There's an entire department for that and if you make them feel valued and important like they actually are, people are more keen on doing their job." the menace explained. "And there's another department that takes care of the plants around town and takes care of public spaces. It's important to get people working in the community and being invested in taking care of it."

"That's why there's Lions everywhere!" Logan chimed in with a laugh. "And the colours of the flag are everywhere too. It's absolutely amazing. Everybody is so loyal to the idea of Gehenna. We're proud of it."

"They have a rivalry with Pyestock, too." Kristopherson noted. "There's been moves to organise sports games between towns and it's kind of nuts?"

"We're gonna beat the hell out of the Pyestockians." the incubus declared. "They don't even have a mascot yet."

"They're very intense." the wolfman reiterated, causing the menace to snort.

"Well, as long as it's just fun and games." Alois said. "Do you know anything about the relationship between towns trade-wise? I want to know how that system is working..."

"Alois has gotten really into this..." Daniel whispered to the Watchdog.

"Of course he is. He's a professional." Ciel replied.

"Is there a trick to having your shit together? Because both of you are the most grown up of all of us and it's to the point where we're all kind of jealous."

"There isn't any, I'm afraid. And what do you mean? All of you are very successful. You, yourself are an upstanding member of the community. You help a lot of people and take good care of your sister. That's pretty grown up."

"Yeah, but… I'm not married, I don't have the nice house..."

"None of the others are married either. We just got married first out of the friend group. It'll happen for you when you're ready. You shouldn't force it before then. It'll only sabotage any relationship you do form. As for the house? From what I hear from Jim, your house is quite nice. This house isn't a measure of my success. It's a measure of the success of my family from several centuries ago. I didn't earn it. It was given to me because I was born into the Phantomhive family." Ciel informed. "A lot of this stuff is subjective, Daniel. Circumstantial, too. I feel a little envious of other people sometimes, too."

"Really? Why?" the Westley asked, seemingly shocked by the revelation. "What don't you have?"

"Well… We don't have children." the bluenette said somewhat sheepishly. "I'd like to do that whole thing someday, but right now is definitely not the right time. Jim makes fun of me. It's one of those few 'noble quirks' that I just can't get rid of."

"What? Have lots of heirs?"

"I don't really need an heir, but it's sort of 'the ideal' isn't it? I think it might be nice. The more and more 'domestic' things get, the more fun I have, it seems."

"Yeah, you were always kinda lowkey, so I can see how it would appeal to you… What about the Christmas parties?"

"You know I hate parties, usually, but gatherings like this are fun. I also like seeing the rest of the family, too. Don't ever tell them I said that, though. I've already gone soft enough."

"So basically, you want to be a super domestic family man without losing any of your tough-guy cred?"

"Pretty much." Ciel nodded before taking another sip of his drink. "I wonder if it has to do with getting old. Maybe I just have too much excitement in my life and just want to live a little more 'low-key.'"

"I can see that. I kinda feel the same way, though." Daniel replied. "But haven't you been 'old' for a while? How old are you again?"

"I- uh… one-hundred and forty..." quietly confessed the bluenette.

"Maybe for you, it's not an 'old' thing, but more of a 'settling down' thing?" the Westley laughed, grinning mischievously. "Did you think about this stuff before you hooked up with Alois, or?"

"No..."

"So you just found you a man and fell compelled?"

"Sort of, I suppose… I like being married, but I really like being married to him. It's the strangest thing. A few years ago, I left all the interior designing up to Sebastian, but now I stand in the middle of Ikea debating on which bath mats to buy with Jim! It's weirdly fun? I really like it that it's our house and that we make it together. It's gotten to the point where I sort of want to make people envious on purpose."

"Is that why you're bragging?"

"No, I'm not."

"Pretty sure you are, mate." Looking over at Travis, Daniel waved to get Mister Sullivan's attention. "Hey, Travis! Is Ciel bragging?"

"No." bluntly informed Travis, surprising Daniel somewhat. "It really is sort of a fun thing people in relationships who live together get to do. Right now, Patricia and I are about to repaint our living room and are thinking about colours. We were actually talking about this blue in this room, here, when we came in."

"I don't know the exact name or brand off the top of my head, unfortunately." the Watchdog replied. "There might be a can of it left over in the basement, if you want me to look."

"Really? That would be helpful. How did you get the white stripes and dark blue accents, though?"

"I didn't paint it personally, but the painters came in and painted everything white, then put down some tape where the stripes were going to be when that dried. After painting over that with the blue, the peeled it off and there were the lines."

"Oh. That's very clever."

"Are you serious?" asked Daniel, stunned at the conversation that was unfolding before him. "All of us used to talk about dicks and shit, and now we're talking about home improvement?"

"We talked about sex earlier." Travis reminded. "Just because we aren't fixating on it at the moment doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Are you frustrated or something?"

"You shut your dirty, relationship-having mouth, Travis." the Westley answered back, confirming his friend's suspicions.

"Alright, Dan." nodded the Sullivan, not wanting to fight it. "Have you settled into your house in Gehenna completely? You've been there for a few months..."

"Uh… Not really… It's kinda thrown together…" Daniel replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Whoever says that all men who like men are born interior designers are full of shit. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Accurate." nodded the Watchdog. "I know a few things, but sometimes I end up buying just junk I can't actually use. Feel free to go through take some of it."

"Wouldn't it be better to just send it back?" inquired Travis.

"Some of it can't be because we waited too long or they just didn't want to take it. We can't get the shipping labels to print and Amazon customer service is no help at all."

"What kind of stuff you got?" Daniel asked.

"Want to go have a look?" Ciel questioned in return.

"Sure."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" Mister Sullivan chimed in. "I'm just curious, mostly."

"We could make it a group venture. The more stuff that goes, the better." the Watchdog stated before turning his attention to his husband and the others. "Hey, Jim? I'm going to show Daniel and Travis the stuff I'm hording in the basement. If anyone else is interested, send them our way, alright?"

"M'kay, babe." Alois replied before turning to the others in his own group to explain the situation to them. After Ciel, Travis, and Daniel had already turned to leave, they noticed that there was a bit of a crowd behind them.

Instead of drinking and carrying on like a bunch of fools like the old days, the group instead found fun in rummaging through a bunch of old junk in the basement. There was no conspiring, no mention of pranks- just ordinary adult conversation. It was a wild departure from the way things used to be. Yet, there were no complaints. Priorities had changed and shifted with the passing years and while there was the occasional juvenile comment or crude jest, it never lacked a certain degree of maturity that secondary school boys noticeably lacked.

They even left at an appropriate time instead of partying through the night. Daniel and Audrey were the first to leave as Daniel had Samantha to get back to and Audrey had Cynthia. Travis and Patricia were next as Kristopherson and Logan continued to play around, gossiping with the Phantomhives until it was time for them to leave as well. Everyone who had picked out something from the basement either somehow managed to fit it in their vehicles or arranged to pick it up later.

Ciel was glad to be rid of some of the junk he had intended to get rid of in ages and even had some of the antiques that he had collected over the years but could never part with taken as well. He was also glad to finally be able to go back to work like he was supposed to and actually felt relief when he was back at his desk. His husband, who he had asked to help him, teased him despite helpfully setting down a saucer with a cup of tea seated on top of it in front of the bluenette.

"You are probably one of the only people on the face of the planet who actually feels relieved to be working." the menace pointed out.

"I promised Lizzie I would do it. It needs to be done quickly, too. It's sort of time-sensitive." Ciel replied. "Our possible leads are dying off quickly and once that happens, we'll be back at square one."

"Guess we better get on it, then." Alois said, taking a seat on the edge of his husband's desk. "So, what do you wanna do? Should we go in subtle or break in, bewitch, and leave?"

"Probably a mix of both, I'd imagine. Subtlety to get in and bewitching to to extract intel. She didn't say that I had to capture them. She didn't say if I should kill them, either. I assume this is just investigation and nothing more."

"Who's first on the list?"

"Pick one. There's quite a few." the Watchdog informed, handing his husband the stapled together pieces of paper with all of the names and information of possible suspects.

"Caesar Merritt… Earl of whatever…" the other man read off, flipping through pages. "Why's this one marked out?"

"I received an e-mail informing me that he died."

"Oh… Okay… What about… Raymond Blythe? Rich boy investor who's got stakes in Baines Pharmaceuticals. I mean, that's pretty close to home, given that HELLSING also works with Baines for prostheseses, so it might be a good idea to look at him."

"Alright. Sounds reasonable."

"After that, how about… The Merritt guy? I just don't like the sounds of him."

"Why not?"

"Too clean." Alois said, furrowing his brows. "You don't get to be part of a secret society by being an upstanding citizen, but that's all this guy seems to be! Charities, public works… I don't buy that he's that nice."

"Jim, you're suspicious of every noble who isn't related to you by marriage."

"You're saying to me that that's not a good policy to have?"

Pausing, Ciel thought about that for a moment and after a moment of silence, he shook his head. "...No."

Chuckling at his spouse, Alois leaned down and kissed the man on top of his forehead. "You may be a noble, but you're my favourite person. Hashtag 'Not-all-nobles.'"

"Please don't do that."

"I'm not even sorry."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't hashtag at me."

"I love you, so it's my job to annoy you."


A/N: I'll continue this next time... There was meant to be more plot, but you know how that song and dance goes...

It took me a while to get this done! It's finals week. I had to write other things...

I still need to do a few things...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!