Chapter 1 A Visit Gone Wrong
Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler).
First time doing an UndertakerxGrell fic… Hope you guys like it! Constructive criticism is welcome!
Being a Reaper meant that he did need sleep, but, that didn't mean that he slept like he should. This explained why Undertaker was up during the night trying to clean the shop. That and the fact that Reapers were normally out working at night.
Undertaker busied himself by dusting off his assortment of beakers and vials, lost in his own thoughts. The silver haired Reaper would occasionally pick up one of the glass objects, murmuring softly to himself in he found that the object was chipped. His murmurings were distant and distracted, listening to the pounding of the rain outside.
A fire was lit in the front room, making the normally dark and disconcerting room feel welcoming. Of course, there were still coffins in the room, typically used to sit on. Although, one sat off and separated from the others, this one used by Undertaker to sleep in. He did have a bed in the backroom, but he had long since found sleeping in coffins to create an intimate feeling.
Undertaker sighed and set the feather duster down, carefully beginning to arrange the beakers and vials. The silver haired Reaper rarely cleaned the shop, but after finding that spiders had begun to make a home in his pillow, he decided that it was time to clean. The entire shop was covered in cobwebs and a thick layer of dust, but, he never did have living guests stay for long, so, the shop's cleanliness didn't exactly matter.
Free nights like this were rare for the mortician. He normally was either working on fixing up one of his guests, or working on one of his experiments… The latter had been more common as of late, the elder Reaper finding the results of the experiments more and more intriguing.
Undertaker halted in his movements as he thought he had heard the sound of heels over the pattering of the rain. After not hearing the sound for a few moments he shook his head and started to clean again. He focused on his hands as he cleaned, his silver bangs blocking part of his eye sight. He had grown accustomed to the ability to see only half of something, much like how his eyes had learned to see without glasses.
He was once again interrupted in his musings, hearing a knock at the door this time. He set the feather duster back down, turning his head to the door in curiosity. He always locked the door at night, even if he could protect himself easily against intruders. It was a human trait that he had picked up over the years.
He moved away from the shelf that he had been cleaning and walked to the door. He carefully unlocked the door and opened it, revealing Grell Sutcliff standing on the doorstep. He was wet and frowning but the frown melted away as he saw Undertaker.
"Hello, Undertaker darling!" The red head greeted, shaking his hips slightly.
Undertaker grinned at the flamboyant display. He stepped to the side and ushered the red head in. Grell happily stepped through the doorway, wringing his long red hair out. Undertaker shut the door behind him and locked it back.
"Eheheh. So, what do I owe the pleasure?"
Undertaker moved away from the door, walking to a chest in the corner of the room. He unlocked the chest and heaved the heavy lid up, pulling a black blanket out of it. He shut the lid with a loud bang and locked it back, turning to face Grell once more.
Grell watched the man, finding his eyes hidden by his bangs as usual. The red head sighed and ran a gloved hand through his wet hair. He began to shiver slightly, his damp clothes beginning to bother him.
"Oh, it's nothing serious, Undertaker. Will sent me out to reap a few souls and I happened to get caught in the rain."
Grell wrapped his arms around himself and dance in place as he thought about his supervisor. "Oh, but that cruel, cruel man probably sent me out on purpose because he knew that I'd get rained on!"
Undertaker grinned as he pulled a chair over to the fire. He ushered Grell into it, wrapping the blanket over Grell's shoulders. "Oh, don't say that, m'dear. Will probably didn't do it on purpose."
Grell held onto the blanket, already feeling the fire dry him out. He turned his head and gave Undertaker one of his charming smiles. His eyes scanned over the mortician, who was still clad in his normal black robes, gray sash knotted at his hips. Grell could faintly see a string of lockets glimmer around the sliver haired Reaper's waist.
Undertaker turned and walked to the shelf, pulling a jar of tea leaves from it. He set to work making the tea, humming a tune to himself as he did so.
Grell listened to the tune, looking around the shop. He noticed the cleaning supplies on a nearby table, a smirk coming over his features. "Cleaning the shop, you old bat?" He asked a joking tone in his voice.
Undertaker giggled, the long sleeve of his black robes flapping as he made a waving gesture. "You may call me an old bat, m'dear, but I can still beat you in a fight!" He turned to the younger Reaper, looking at the red head even if Grell couldn't tell. "And, yes. I'm cleaning up the shop. I decided to do so after finding spiders in a pillow."
Grell jerked slightly, glancing at the pillow resting in the back of the chair. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he didn't like spiders. Undertaker giggles, seeing the amusing display through his bangs. "Don't worry, they weren't in that pillow. They were in my bed's pillow! Eheheh!" He ended the statement with a giggle, clearly not disturbed by the fact that he had spiders living in the object that he was supposed to rest his head on when sleeping.
Grell gave the pillow a doubtful look, setting the plush object on the floor beside the chair. Undertaker watched him, giggling softly as he focused on making the tea once more. Grell watched the silver haired man, slowly getting out of the chair and setting the blanket on it.
Undertaker finished making the tea, pouring the liquid into two beakers for them. Grell stretched and watched a dubious look in his eyes as he saw the beakers. Undertaker turned and moved to Grell, holding the beakers; one in each hand.
"Careful, it's hot." He held the beaker out to Grell, holding the glass object with his long dark nails more than his hands. Grell gingerly took the beaker, able to feel the heat through his gloves. Undertaker smiled and set his tea down on a nearby coffin.
"Have you dried out, love?"
Undertaker was fixated on cleaning once more, turning his head to the red head. Grell smiled, pleased by the elder Reaper's kindness. "Yes, you certainly know how to treat somebody!" The red head squealed the last part, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
Undertaker giggles, turning his head back to his work. "Well, it's not every day that I get a visitor. So, when I do, I try to treat them the best I can! Heheh!" Undertaker laughed as he finished the sentenced, unfazed by the loneliness that the statement hinted at.
Grell frowned as he heard the statement, feeling sorry for Undertaker. Being a mortician had to be a lonely career. 'He deserves to have someone by his side…'
Grell shook himself free from the depressing thoughts, blowing on his tea to cool it to a drinkable temperature. He smiles as he feels the heat reduce to a comfortable level, bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. He smiles, feeling him warm up even more. "Earl Grey?"
Undertaker smiles, not turning his head to the red head this time. "Yes, I typically drink it in order to relax."
Grell smiles and takes another sip, his eyes scanning over the shop. It was much more welcoming with the fire and was becoming even more welcoming as the cobwebs were disappearing. Undertaker cleaned the area up rather nicely, even making some pictures frames visible, allowing the people in them to be seen.
Grell clears his throat as he feels a burning sensation start. Undertaker turned his head, seeing through his bangs that Grell's face was contorted in discomfort. Grell continued to try to clear his throat, the burning only worsening. The red head's eyes flicked to Undertaker's faces. Undertaker frowned, worry starting to take hold. "Are you alright, m'dear?" Worry laced his tone.
Grell slowly nodded his head, starting to cough. "Yes…" His voice came out strained, the uncomfortable expression not leaving his face. "My throat is just burning…"
Undertaker continued to frown, the worried feeling not leaving. "Alright… but, please do say something if it continues…" Undertaker's hidden gaze rested on Grell for a few more seconds before turning back to his work, his movements slow and thoughtful now.
Grell continued to cough, the burning moving into his chest and into the rest of his body. He started to sweat, his hands starting to shake. He found that it was getting harder to draw breath into his lungs, the burning increasing. Tears started to fall as the burning continued, his entire body shaking now.
"U-Under… taker…" He said at a whisper, not able to get enough air into his lungs to say the name all at once.
The beaker slipped from Grell's hands, the glass objecting falling to the floor and shattering. His vision gets dark around the edges and blurs, finding it hard to stay aware. He starts to fall backwards.
Undertaker hears the whisper snaps his head around. He drops the feather duster to the floor, becoming a silver and black blur as he darted to Grell, catching the younger Reaper before he hit the floor.
"Y-you're… quick…" Grell choked out, a smile on his face as he looked up at the elder Reaper.
Undertaker lowered himself and Grell to the floor, still holding the red head close. "I'm a legend; I've got quite a few talents…" Undertaker murmured, not focusing on what he was saying.
Grell stiffened, a moan escaping him, a faint pain racing through his chest. Undertaker gazed down at him in worry, lifting a hand and feeling for his temperature.
"You're burning up, Grell…"
He pulled his hand back, his fingers covered in the red head's sweat. Undertaker forced his arms underneath Grell, causing the red head to moan in pain again.
"You'll be staying here for a while…"
He gently scooped the red head up in his arms, gazing down at the red head worriedly.
So, what do you think? I hope you guys like it! Drop a review please!
-zgirl16