Ciel had found himself in a rather peculiar situation. He was inside of an unfamiliar house that was littered with eccentricities and home to almost equally peculiar men. At least, he assumed that the two men who seemed to defer to his target lived there, but didn't know for certain. All he knew was that this went beyond a normal master and servant relationship and that he was uncomfortable with being witness to it.

By now, he had been offered a seat and took it in order to be polite and the baron excused the shirtless man that he had previously been using as a human footrest so that he and Ciel could converse in private. As much as Ciel tried to hide it, Caesar had caught on to his discomfort and was smiling rather comfortably as if he were amused by it. That rather irritated the Phantomhive, but for now, he had no choice but to bear it and play the part of a journalist for the fictitious "Chieftain Magazine."

"From the look on your face, it looks like you came here with questions for me, only to wind up with a few more." Caesar pointed out.

"Is it that obvious?" the Phantomhive questioned, opting for a friendly approach, despite still weighing his options for attack.

"Only a little." the other man chuckled. "You know how we are. This is just what I've been dabbling in, lately. I'll move on to something else when I get bored." Looking toward the passageway the lead deeper into the house, he added. "Not sure what I'm going to do with those two once I'm done. I suppose I'll have to kick them out."

"They aren't part of your staff?"

"No, they're some married couple I found online. Nasty little buggars. They're so needy." The baron scrunched up his face as he said that, indicating to Ciel that their stay was drawing to a close. Turning his attention back to his guest, Caesar continued. "One must keep busy. Life is short, you know. It's all about having as much fun as you can and then going out with a bang."

"Indeed, that is truly the only way to live, isn't it?" Humouring Caesar was the new angle that Ciel attempted. What he needed was to be close enough to bewitch him, so it suited him to lull the man into a false sense of security instead of pouncing on him and forcing him to lock eyes.

"Not necessarily." the other man stated, defying the demon's expectation. "Being able to truly do that at every waking moment is sort of the moniker of the leisure class, hence why it is called 'the leisure class.' Pleasure is a privilege. Something tells me that most of your readers wish they had it."

"Yes, while there are a significant amount of wealthy people in the United Kingdom, there aren't enough to sell magazines to, so one must appeal to a broader audience."

"Ooh~! Well aren't you business-savvy?" Caesar replied. "So you like business, and judging from your accent, you aren't just some low-ring reporter, are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's way too posh. You're upper-class too, aren't you?" Perhaps Ciel's disguise wasn't as thorough as he thought. "Now, why is a guy like you, whose rich and knows about business, working as a journalist?"

Quickly, the Watchdog had to come up with a lie. He didn't know just how much the baron picked up on. Perhaps his cover was already blown? In that case, he needed to finish this quickly. First, however, he needed to cover himself.

"Oh, you know… Business might come easy to me, but I can't really picture myself working in that sort of environment." Ciel fibbed. He smiled, trying to keep on a friendly facade. "I like going around, meeting new people and knowing more about them. Come to think of it, I'm supposed to be asking you questions, aren't I? How did that get reversed so fast?"

"I seem to have a talent for causing people to switch things up." Lord Merritt replied rather playfully. Standing up, he walked over to a table and picked up a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Before he lit the cigarette through his fingers, he turned back to the Phantomhive. "I'm sorry, do you mind?"

"Not at all." Ciel answered, gesturing for the other man to go ahead. "Please yourself."

"I'll tell you, my father always nagged me to never smoke, but always did it while puffing on the biggest cigar you'd have ever seen in your life." Caesar said, placing a cigarette between his teeth before lighting it. Once the red ember burned on the tip consistently, he exhaled, causing a cloud of smoke to fill the air. "They came in a red tin and had a much smaller version, but he always went with the big ones. It wasn't surprising when he bit the dust, really… What was that brand?"

"The only brand I know of that comes like that is Hendi Winzermans, but they're rather thin."

"Do you smoke, Cornelius?"

"No. The last time I tried a cigarette, I was fourteen and one of the boys I knew offered me one." This was a true story, despite the lie about his age. Once in the 1940s, Ciel was offered a cigarette from his then-fellow agent, Walter C. Dornez. "I nearly coughed up a lung."

"Would you care to try one?" the baron questioned with a smile. He was charming, but knowing what Ciel knew about him, there was an odd sense of displacement that kept the sense that something was very wrong alive. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

Now, the Phantomhive was not dense. Somewhat awkward and at times, he could be considered "prudish," but he was certainly not dense. He had been picking up on the vibes that the man had been attempting to send him from the very beginning. Caesar seemed to revel in the fact that Ciel seemed cautious. From his perspective, the Phantomhive seemed curious and too friendly to outright deny or reject whatever idea he presented. While he didn't seem approving of the scene that he had walked in on- and he very much didn't- Ciel did not say so despite it being obvious. After all, it was written all over his face.

"Well… I'm not too certain. I'll probably start coughing again, but… Sure. What's the harm?" At last, Ciel had him figured out. Caesar liked having the upper hand and hesitance appealed to him. Ultimately, however, it was apparent to Ciel that he expected one to inevitably give in. He wanted to be the snake in the garden of Eden, tempting one and luring them into doing things they shouldn't, but was completely unaware that he was up against a bonafide devil.

The baron didn't even get Ciel a new cigarette and instead expected Ciel to puff on one that already had his lips on it. If this was his sorry attempt at a power move, Ciel would show him up when the right moment came. Still, he took the cigarette anyway and predictably, he did not like it. Immediately, he began coughing, concealing his annoyance as he heard the other man laughing. Worse, Caesar was now sitting on the armrest of Ciel's seat. Although he was glad his chance to bewitch him was near, he didn't like the proximity and forced familiarity.

Calmly, Lord Merritt took the cigarette back and took a drag of it, only to blow the smoke into Ciel's face with a grin. "Guess you know your limits." he said. "You've got style, but I suppose edge doesn't come naturally to everyone."

"I don't really think I'm good at that sort of thing. I'm not particularly adventurous."

"Well, maybe you need someone to give you a little push."

To that, Ciel couldn't conceal his surprise at the other man's blatancy and looked over at him with an expression that seemed to please him. Ciel now knew Lord Merritt's game. The baron seemed to be under the impression that the Phantomhive was a little naive despite appearing both slightly older than Caesar and more flamboyant. In reality, Ciel himself knew exactly what was happening and wasn't a stranger to bizarre scenes. He wasn't going to outright reject it, however. Instead, he was going to play the game and use it to his advantage.

"I'm married." the Watchdog replied with faux-sheepishness, adding an extra layer of taboo in order to entice the other man further. With a charming smile, Caesar took the bait.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Placing a hand on the back of Ciel's chair, Caesar leaned in closer to him, mistaking the fact that the Watchdog wasn't pulling away as an invitation. Before he closed his eyes, however, the Phantomhive's hand shot out and grabbed the baron's throat, causing his eyes to widen in shock.

"Quite a lot, actually." Ciel answered while slowly standing up. At first, he pulled Lord Merritt up with him, only to force him into Ciel's former place in the chair. "I would give you some sagely advice about trusting strangers, but you won't remember this in the first place."

While Caesar's will was to shock and astonish Ciel into doing God-knows-what, he found himself quite literally under the Phantomhive's spell as the single, exposed eye of the demon glowed an ominous red. While the baron initially struggled against the Watchdog, he suddenly went limp and submitted to the will of the demon.

"Now..." began the Phantomhive. "What is your position in the ranks of The Philosopher's Society?"

"Lackie." bluntly stated the mesmerized baron.

"Why did you join the group."

"For adventure."

Rolling his eye, it occurred to the demon that he was asking the wrong questions. "What is it that you did for the group? Why did they want you?"

"They wanted access to my father's cloning technology." the man answered. "They wanted me to make clones."

"Clones?" confusedly echoed the other. Preposterous as it sounded, Ciel had a hard time arguing against the sci-fi, given his own status as a supernatural being. "Who are they cloning?"

"Mister Gardener." Caesar answered.

"Who is Mister Gardener?"

"An old man."

"Why do they need clones of him?"

"To help build their army." the baron answered, causing the other man's eyebrows to raise. "They want to overthrow the monarchy, so they want a bunch of the old man."

Suddenly, Ciel's expression fell. This was bad. Very bad. The monarchy was a staple of British nationalism. It is a system that has adapted and lasted more than a thousand years. The consequences of an overthrow were complex, as it would mean that the government would have to adapt overnight, essentially. The Round Table would be left in place of the monarchy as the supreme leaders of the United Kingdom and granted, Ciel knew that if it were as simple as that, they would endure. The problem was the The Round Table had a problem with this and the public had a problem with this. There would be panic as people would think that society itself is collapsing. Worst of all, a direct, forceful, overthrow of government would mean that the collection of nations would be at the mercy of one radical group who is likely to not simply stop there. Ciel knew what would come. He had faced it before. What they were facing was the potential for a full-out dictatorship where the limited monarchy was erased and the will of whatever ruler was put in place was law.

Indeed, society as they knew it would collapse as that will may not be good. In fact, it was almost guaranteed to be horrific. Having fought off fascist regimes and personally done everything in his power to keep them out of England, just the thought filled the demon with fury. His expression turned dark and his brow furrowed. His fist clenched and he knew that he needed to stop this immediately. Elizabeth would need to know about this immediately. Ciel might have to take a detour on his way home, but first, he needed to know more. He needed more to actually give her and he needed more so they would be better equipped to put a stop to it.

"Who is your leader?" Ciel questioned. "What is his name?"

To that, the baron said only one word: "Abhartach."

Blinking, the demon had to think about that for a moment, as it didn't sound like any kind of name that he had ever heard of. He tried to clarify, only to receive the same answer. "Abhartach." Who was "Abhartach?" This mighty tyrant, Abhartach? The baron didn't seem to be able to tell the demon much more than this, other than the fact that he's been around for a long time and had multiple children. He even gave Ciel their names, but alas, Caesar did not know much about the man who was supposedly his leader.

When pressed further, Caesar gave Ciel information about the families that were also influenced by this man's will, however. It was a network of families who were directly under the Philosopher's leader and those who were perfectly disposable. The latter was only used for gaining funds and people. Those were the ones that Caesar knew particularly well, although most of them were either dead now or had their assets stolen from them. Maybe even both.

In addition, he gave the demon the location of the facility where clones were being grown and kept. Ciel recorded it all and was going to pass it on to his cousin that very night. After interrogating Lord Merrit, however, the Phantomhive reached a rather strange conclusion. As much as Ciel did not like Caesar, he was very valuable to HELLSING as a source of information. While Ciel had already taken all of the information that he could at this time, he knew that in time, there could be more. Thus, the Watchdog made the rather ludicrous decision to not only allow the Baron Lord Caesar Merritt live, but also, he decided to let the man go free.

"Go to your room and go to sleep." Ciel instructed. "When you wake up, you will believe that you had the most..." He paused, as he had to find a way to phrase this that he deemed appropriate, but immediately, he realised that this was an impossibility. "...The most mind-blowing love-making experience that you've ever had and it will have been with Cornelius Wainwright. You will believe this no matter what evidence there is pointing to the contrary and you will be most eager to speak with him again in the future."

The Watchdog thought for a moment, wondering if he covered all of his bases. When Caesar was released, he would forget this exchange and then do as he was told, so it wasn't necessary to instruct him to forget unless he was meant to forget the instructions. With nothing else to say, the Watchdog was just about to release him until he thought of one thing.

"Oh, and you will also believe that Cornelius topped." he informed, partially for the sake of his own ego, but mostly because he realised the potential hassle of having a strange man he wasn't at all interested in expecting to dominate him in some way. If he did indeed come back for more information, he wanted to keep the door open- just not too open. "Go."

With that, Caesar stood up, in his trance and began to wander deeper into the house, doing exactly as he was told. All the while, Ciel made sure to watch him to make sure he did it, only to make a beeline for the door moments later. The demon walked back down the hallway with strange portraits and made a quick exit, taking the time, however, to practise his husband's trick of locking doors with the threads of his diabolical garb. With that in the information in hand, it was time for Ciel to leave, although he couldn't go home just yet. Instead, he needed to go to Elizabeth and inform her of the dire circumstances, but first, he took out his phone to call his husband.

After ringing a few times, the blonde eventually picked up and the man greeted him. "Hey, sweetcheeks." Ciel could practically hear his husband grinning into the phone. "What's up?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to be back later than I anticipated, darling." the Phantomhive informed. "This information is actually rather severe, so I need to take it back to Elizabeth tonight."

"That's fine! Don't worry about it. I'll be here when you get back. So will the bathbombs."

"That sounds wonderful. Just wanted to keep you updated. I'll tell you what I know when I get home."

"Sounds good. Everything going well otherwise?" Alois arched an eyebrow when his spouse let out a long sigh.

"I'll tell you about that when I get back, too..." the Watchdog said rather raggedly. "I think you may be on to something with that 'most aristocrats are also perverts' theory."

"Thank you. I'm writing my thesis on it. I'll see you when you get home. Love you~!"

"I love you, too, darling. Bye-bye." With that, the bluenette hung up and lamented the inevitable conversation they would have about the baron. Alois probably wouldn't hold anything against him since he didn't do actually do anything, but the Watchdog was still nervous.

In truth, he was hoping that this would be a very quick mission where he could get some information, go straight home, and deliver it the next day with no problems. Alas, he needed to venture to the base and explain both himself and the situation. It wasn't a short drive, either, so he knew he was going very late. What was worse, he was on his motorcycle, he was wearing white, and this being England, it started to drizzle as soon as he set off.

By the time he arrived at the base, the water had accumulated to the point where he was soaked and with the added cool temperature, the man was frozen to the bone. The deep red hair of Cornelius Wainwright stuck to his forehead as he was completely disheveled, but if there was a silver lining, it was that the base was warm inside and he could soon sit down once he arrived at his cousin's office.

"Good lord!" the angel observed upon opening the door. "It took me a moment to figure out who you were. You look terrible!"

"It's good to see you, too, Lizzie." Ciel greeted in return. "May I come in?"

"Yes! Of course!" his cousin answered, stepping to the side and allowing her cousin to pass. She shut the door behind him before turning around to face him again just as he sat down. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, no. I'll be fine. It will take a lot more than this to hurt me, any."

"You should drop your disguise, at the very least."

"And let you seem me with my real face in a soaked, flamboyant, white suit, looking like a half-drowned, albino rat? I don't think so."

"Fair enough, I suppose…" the woman shook, finding the Phantomhive's "tough-guy" act to be a bit petty. "To get to the point, however, what did you find? It must be urgent for you to come straight here."

Taking a deep breath, Ciel stopped to think about this for a moment. He needed to choose his words carefully- at least he felt like he did, but in reality, there was no tactful way to say this. Folding hid hands, the man leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs as he spoke to Elizabeth in a low voice.

"Lizzie, we're not talking about any usual type of delinquency." he began. "The Philosophers are growing an army- literally, attempting to grow part of one through cloning of someone who I assume is a psychic of some sort. I have the location of the laboratory where they're doing this, but that's not all. They're also recruiting powerful families in Britain- some of them supernatural, but the lower rung ones not- to fund and man this army. Lizzie, we are not talking about some sort of dimwitted attempt at world domination. This is more tangible. They want to overthrow the monarchy."

"What?" asked the woman, confusion evident on her face as that didn't all sink in at once. What was important was the last bit and once that registered, the woman abruptly stood up with her hands planted firmly on the desk's surface. "What?!"

"Lizzie, please, you must listen-"

"I'm listening! Are you sure?" Lowering her own volume, the Hellsing sat down again and leaned forward over her desk. "I mean it. Are you certain?"

"Lord Caesar Merritt confessed it to me while bewitched. I left him alive, but ignorant of our meeting in order to keep him as an information farm, but this is bad. Really bad. We're looking at a potential fascist overthrow and not only that, global repercussions as we are talking about supernatural beings being responsible! The general population will find out and we will be looking at a global panic!"

"No… No, no, no, no… Ciel, I-" Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't know what to do..."

"I do have information on the location of one of their facilities- specifically, the one used for cloning a portion of their army. I also have the names of their primary members, as well as the location of their headquarters." the Phantomhive attempted to reassure, but even still, he, too, was obviously unnerved. "If we hit them hard with everything we can throw at them, we can get rid of the threat before it gets any bigger."

"I'll need to talk to Integra about this…" the woman said before pulling a notepad out of her desk and sliding it Ciel's way. "Could you please copy down what you know so I can get started on this? I would also like a more thorough report as well at the earliest convenience."

"Or course." There was no hesitation in Ciel's answer, although he did very much like the idea of taking a break. It was a necessity, unfortunately, so the man did what he was asked. He took out his own notepad and pen and began copying the information he had jotted down.

He wrote down "Abhartach" as their leader and the names of his children that were also involved. He also wrote down the names of a family that was apparently devoted to him: The Whelan family and their children, Claire and Farroel Whelan. Then there was the name of an estate that the aristocracy was familiar with, which was that of the Phantomhive's fellow baronet: Sir Lexington of the Lexington estate. That is where they were supposedly hiding and it would be easy to find out where that was. After all, they were in acquaintance with multiple baronets who would likely be in company with Sir Lexington at times. They would be looking into him as soon as the Watchdog left.

When he did, his cousin barely took time to bid him farewell, as she immediately sprang up with the information and practically ran out of the room. Her concern was understandable. They both realised what was at stake. While he believed that they could stop this before their opponents got too far, he knew that sometimes, life doesn't turn out the way that one planned. If they failed, the government could effectively be shut down temporarily while the struggling powers try to reinstate their own policies. More than likely, they wouldn't be anything good. This wasn't the middle ages anymore. Things weren't set up for a new ruler to seize power this way and it was bound to have lasting negative effects just from the transition alone. Then there was the massive, ungodly matter of the people being subjected to tyrannical rule. Ciel had seen first hand just what all that could entail, and he wasn't enthused with the idea.

Civil liberties could take the backseat while the new leader asserted his power. Worse, they could be stripped away entirely. He had seen genocide, eugenics, and human experimentation and trafficking. He had seen "undesirables" rounded up and killed on a whim. He had seen the voices of people silenced and thought restricted. Sir Ciel Phantomhive would not stand for this. It was bad enough seeing it and fighting against it once. It was bad enough keeping it at bay so that Britain would not suffer. Ciel wasn't particularly patriotic, but this was his home. This is where he grew up. This is where he wanted his own children to grow up, too. He needed it to remain a reasonably decent place to live, so there was no place for it. There was no place for it at all.

There was also no telling how the public would react to the supernatural turmoil. London already bore the scars of that fateful night when Millennium attacked with their hordes of vampires and laid waste to the city back in 1999. Ciel didn't think the public would forget about monsters twice. London was never the same after that. While the decade-long repairs restored the city to it's former splendor, there were still whispers and utterances of "you had to be there."

Ciel's life changed too, that night. That was the night that he acquired the book of Akeldama that eventually led him to resurrecting the man who would become his spouse. Now, he couldn't stand the thought of war. He used to crave it, but no, there were better things in this world beyond conflict. There were things that he needed to protect from conflict, too.

Upon returning home, the tired and chilled Phantomhive returned to his usual shape, letting go of Cornelius Wainwright like a breath he was holding in. Shutting the door behind him, he put away his drenched coat on the rack and began making his way upstairs. He wanted nothing more than to change clothes and rest, but knew that he would need to explain everything to his husband first. As he approached the master bedroom, the blonde stuck his head through the doorway in order to greet him.

"Welcome back~!" he said with a grin, only for it to fall almost immediately upon seeing the bluenette. Stepping out into the hallway, the menace met the other demon halfway.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "Jesus! You're soaked! What happened?"

"As it turns out, riding a motorcycle through London in…" pausing, the bluenette looked at his watch to see if it was past midnight. "...December isn't a very good idea. The mission was a success, but the bad guys are up to no good, still."

"Get changed, first, then we can talk." Alois rather dutifully suggested, placing a hand on his husband's back before leading him into the front room of the master suite. Immediately after the door was closed behind them, the bluenette began shedding his layers on his way to the dressing room, prompting Alois to follow behind him and pick things up. First came off Ciel's shoes and then his jacket and then his tie. Oddly, the first thing that came to Alois' mind was whether or not they would have to get the strange white suit professionally cleaned.

"I'm sick of these cretins." the Watchdog muttered. "They all want to rule the bloody world, or at least become a king. Those curs want to overthrow the bloody crown, Jim! They want to put their own guy on the throne and they're using quite frankly mental ways of going about it."

"Oof..." answered the menace before sucking air through his teeth. "That's not good, isn't it?"

"Depends on whether you think government collapse and the regular human population discovering the existence of supernatural beings to be 'not good,' Jim."

"Yeah, I'd say that's very not good." Alois replied, putting the clothes the other man discarded away. "What's the plan?"

"First I need to inform you that they intend on using clones to help do it. Clones! I do know where their plant is, though, so one order of business is taking that out. I also found out where their base is, so we're going to need to hit that, too."

"If it's that simple, we should be able to take them out in no time without too many problems."

"We need to take possible problems into account, however. If we don't, that's when something is bound to go wrong, if it does." At this point, Ciel had no idea just how loudly he was talking as he furrowed his brow in frustration at fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. After a moment of aggressively trying to unfasten a weirdly cantankerous button, he threw his hands at his sides with a huff before trying to take a deep breath and compose himself.

"I take it that a nerve has been hit." Alois observed before stepping toward the bluenette. "Is there another issue, here, that you're not talking about?"

Sighing, the bluenette nodded. "I'm just… I'm tired of warring with other people." he said. "Used to, it was all I wanted. It was all I could do and was good at, but now? I want to be able to sit for five minutes without the threat of society as we know it collapsing. I'm… I'm too old for this..."

"Well… I don't think I can help you with that- coming to terms with the fact that you gotta do this, I mean. We're the first line of defense against supernatural bullshit. It's our job. If we don't do it, society as we know it might actually collapse for real. That's not what you really wanna hear, though, is it?"

"No… I just- I wish the problem would just go away on it's own without me needing to do anything. I'm tired of fighting for Britain. I'm tired of… defending the sanctity of the British way of life or some nonsense. I just… I just want to stay home… With you. I wish life were simple enough that we didn't have to worry anymore."

Blinking, the menace took that in for just a moment before gently approaching the other man and fiddling with the button of the bluenette's shirt. "I don't really care for all that patriotism bullshit, either. If the monarchy falls, though, it can't be like this. It needs to be peaceful. Unfortunately, 'peaceful' isn't always on the table. But, I know for a fact that you would hate living out the rest of your days as a regular lord of the manor. Honestly? I really want to live a peaceful life, too, but I know I never could, either. When something is wrong, I have to fix it. Whether it's inequality for supernatural beings or possible tyrannical overthrow. If we really want to have these moments where it's just the two of us and everything is fine? We have to ensure that with our own two hands." With that, the man undid the button that was giving his husband so much trouble. "Fortunately, we're a solid team."

"I know… I just…"

"...Want to complain a bit?"

"...Yes." Ciel confessed, only for his husband to meet him with understanding, rather than teasing.

"Go right ahead. Everybody needs to vent every now and again, and you sir, have something truly worth complaining about." the blonde said as he continued to unbutton his spouse's shirt. His eyes flickered up toward the bluenette's face as he noticed the man shudder. "You can also warm up in a minute."

"No, it's… uh… Your hands are warm..." the bluenette somewhat bashfully stated. "I can feel you breathing on me..."

"Oh, sorry." the menace answered, taking his hands away.

"No, it's quite nice, actually… Though, I don't really need your help undressing..."

"You seemed to take your sweet time pointing that out, though." Alois mentioned, causing the other man to groan.

"Shut up." grunted the Watchdog before removing his shirt, himself. Once it was off, though, he was pounced on. His spouse had wrapped his arms around him and was holding him so that their bodies were flush against each other. Instinctively, Ciel hugged his husband back, only to hang on for dear life as he realised that he could steal the other man's body heat.

"Ugh! You're so cold!" Alois observed rather loudly. "Is this helping, at least?"

"A lot." Ciel uttered a sigh of contentment and held the other man firmly in place. "The hug itself is helping my mood, too… I never thought I'd be into them, but they're rather therapeutic."

"I'm eager to please. Even if that means I'm now freezing, too. This is what true teamwork is."

"Mm-hm..." the bluenette somewhat thoughtlessly agreed as he practically melted into his spouse. "Maybe hugs are worth fighting for…"

"And kisses?" asked the blonde, turning his head to kiss his cheek.

"Yes, and pleasant talks..."

"Long walks..."

"Lazy mornings and relaxed afternoons..." Ciel trailed off. "I think I might be able to find it in me to defend that."

"So the entirety of the United Kingdom is secondary to that?" jested his beau, but the menace found himself a bit surprised when he got his answer.

"Family comes first and foremost. Everything else is secondary." the Watchdog replied, causing the other man to blush. "I do care about the welfare of the people, don't get me wrong. I'm just selfish, is all. I'm only human. My immediate thoughts were about you and how we're going to get through this if things get bad."

"We would find a way." the blonde stated. "I don't have any doubts about that. We'd make it, even if we had to put our 'normal' life on hold for a bit. Maybe put off hearing the pitter-patter of wee little Phantom-feet on the manor floor for a while- that sort of thing."

"If we're going to hear that, I would very much like it if it didn't happened in a burnt out shell of a country, if I'm entirely honest."

"Well, maybe BIGFOOT in America would be hiring?"

"Maybe… Hopefully building some rapport over there wouldn't be too difficult." the bluenette jested back, but he soon got rather serious again. "I do have something else to tell you about the interrogation, however…"

"Did something happen?"

"Kind of…Before I tell you, however, I need to promise that you won't get mad at me."

"Of course not. It's not like that's a phrase that immediately makes one's spouse suspicious or anything."

"I, uh… You have a point… Well..." Ciel paused to clear his throat. "I don't even know how to begin to explain this… So, I got to the location, made my way inside, and it turns out, Lord Caesar Merritt is a bit of a pervert."

"Like most nobles are, but go on." Alois nodded.

"He had portraits of men with their shirts open in the hallway leading to the living area, and when I got there- you'll never believe this- he was sitting on the couch, watching TV while using a shirtless man as a human footrest."

"Not surprising, but go ahead."

"Apparently, the man who opened the door and the footrest guy are both married to each other and Caesar is letting them live there until he 'gets bored' of them. He explained it like it was no big deal and like he changes fetishes to display every Tuesday."

"Uh-huh." The menace was still unimpressed, as he knew just how blatant nobles could be about their "interests." He knew that Ciel was less familiar with it, however, so he was willing to listen to him express his astonishment. "Did it get really weird?"

"Well… Uh… The thing is… He's an asset that can be used to acquire further information, so when I bewitched him, I had to make sure he was still on the hook and willing to talk..."

"Right?" the menace arched an eyebrow at this, unsure as to where this was going.

"When I bewitched him…" Ciel let out a sigh. "He thinks that he and Cornelius… y'know…"

"Ciel… Are you saying you bewitched him into thinking you fucked so he'll talk?"

"Uh… I wouldn't exactly phrase it that way, but… yes…" the bluenette confessed. "He thinks it. He was bewitched before he could even put a hand on me!"

Wordlessly, the blonde blinked as he allowed that to sink in. He let go of the other man, releasing him from his hug, only to place a hand on his chest. Just a second later, Ciel let out a pained and surprised yelp as the menace pinched his nipple and twisted it.

"I believe you, but I'm still mad." Alois stated with a furrowed brow and a pout.

"Why are you twisting my nipple?! Who does that?!"

"I do. 'Cause I'm mad." the menace rather calmly stated before releasing the other, allowing him to tend to his "injury." "It's not really rational, but that's how feelings work. I understand you had to make whatever lie he would go for and I highly doubt that you would actually see that as an opportunity to cheat, but the thought of it still pisses me off."

"How is that an opportunity to cheat?!" questioned the Watchdog with genuine confusion. "I'd still need to get the information to HELLSING as quickly as possible and not only that, I still have to call you after I'm finished with the objective!"

"I mean, if you were the type to cheat, you'd probably be fine with postponing alerting Elizabeth of the situation and you'd probably lie to me on the phone."

"Why would I do that? That makes no sense! Avoiding tyranny and upholding my marriage vows are way more important than that!"

"Wait, are you actually arguing this or are you really just like this?"

"What does that mean?!"

"I mean, I know you'd never cheat on me, especially with a guy like that since the whole 'dominance and submission' thing weirds you out really bad, but it's hard to tell if you're also just arguing for the sake of arguing?"

"I'm arguing because it makes no logical sense." the bluenette stated. "What would I even get out of that? It wouldn't be fun at all and the guilt might kill me before you do!"

"Yeah, you're kind of a self-snitch, aren't you?" nodded the menace. "I mean, you really didn't even have to tell me this. You could've avoided this confrontation altogether if you kept your mouth shut."

"Why would I do that? There's no reason for me to betray your trust like that. It's better to tell you the truth about what happened, isn't it? I already promised I would, didn't I?"

"When did you do that?"

"When we got married! I promised to love and cherish you! Not cheating on you and not creating situations where things are ambiguous enough where things could be mistaken for cheating and lead you to emotional distress falls under that!" Throughout this entire exchange, Ciel did not break from his serious tone even once. When he spoke of marriage vows, he even stood up a bit straighter and puffed out his chest somewhat, giving off a sense of pride.

Instinctively, the corners of Alois' mouth turned upwards and he let out a puff of air. He immediately tried to cover it with his hand, but it was obvious in those rose-tinted cheeks that he was smiling. The menace even avoided looking the other man in the eye as if that would somehow hide the fact that he had just laughed at him.

"What's so funny?" Ciel questioned. "There are very few things in this world that are truly sacred and that is one of them."

"It's not funny, it's just that you're so earnest..." the other man said, finally taking his hand away and allowing his smile to be seen. "Here I am, pestering you, and you're here, proving to me that you're super sweet and unbearably cute. I'm such an arsehole..."

"Huh?" The bluenette's face turned a little bit pinker as the compliments sunk in, but embarrassment soon followed. "Wait, you were messing with me?!"

"Yeah! Took you long enough to figure it out! I'm sorry, that was really mean of me. I already knew from the beginning that the fact that you probably could have done something and gotten away with it probably didn't even cross your mind."

"It didn't, because I couldn't."

"Because you're too rational and too earnest. You may be a shady bastard when it comes to work, but when it comes to home, you don't mess around. It's part of your charm and appeal!" Reaching up, the menace gently held the sides of his husband's head and gently stroked the man's cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm sorry I messed with you when you were already stressed. It wasn't nice of me. Also, I'm sorry for twisting your nipple."

"You are an awful person." accused the bluenette, finally joking somewhat. "I thought I was in serious trouble!"

"You're not in trouble. You're my husband. That's why the idea that someone thinks they had sex with one of your alias' bothers me. I don't care if it's an alias. I want all of you for myself!" Alois answered. I'm the only one who gets to see that side of you!"

"He probably isn't even picturing it right. He's basically going to remember whatever appeals to him the most. For all we know, he could be imagining me as a… BDSM man who likes to wield a paddle and… wear leather… trousers, or something. I don't know. I'm not an expert in that field."

"Wearing any kind of trousers seems a little counter-intuitive, but I don't know that much either, so I'm just gonna roll with that." Alois answered with a shrug. "As long as you're only wearing leather trousers for me and nobody else, I guess it's fine if other people just imagine it."

"Who said I'm wearing leather trousers?" Ciel questioned.

"You did? Just now."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No… I really didn't."

"Fine, fine. Wishful thinking on my part."

"Why do you want me to wear leather trousers?"

"You have a great butt." the blonde informed. "You'd look a lot better than you do in those soaked things." he added while pointing down on the damp white trousers the bluenette was currently wearing. Looking down, Ciel couldn't help but agree.

"Yeah, I should probably take these off." he said before starting to fumble with his belt. His spouse released him before heading toward the bathroom. "I'll draw you a bath. Do you still want a bathbomb? I've got Christmas ones."

"Sure, I'd like one. As long as none of them have glitter in them. Remember when you got covered in it?"

"That was one time!"

"Yes, but because you were covered in glitter, I was covered in glitter, too. So were our clothes, the bedsheets, and then Sebastian's clothes and then Sebastian..."

"Right. You don't deserve a bathbomb."


A/N: I can't even begin to explain this chapter. There's some important information here. I hope it wasn't overshadowed by everything else. That name is important. Remember "Abhartach."

I do worried if the serious stuff was overshadowed, however. Oh well. I don't want to cut anything.

Uh... Let's see... what else?

I've got nothing else to say, so tell me what you think! If you think I'm on the right or wrong track, I need to know.

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!