I do not own any of the characters from the Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.

A/N: Does Grim ever cry for the souls he takes? Grim x OTP. Mandy's older, a little more romance savvy, with just a hint of yuri thrown in for flavor! (Grim's POV for this chapter!)

Tears for the Reaper

Chapter 1: The Gift

Prologue:

The Grim Reaper has been around for as long as there have been human beings on Earth. He has, on occasion, been revered, worshipped and respected. Most of the time, however, he has been shunned and feared. He has earned the enmity of all who are mortal, and even some who are immortal.

Many gods and goddesses have enjoyed the pleasures of love with mortals, but Grim, by his very nature, knew nothing of that. His job required only that he reap souls as directed by his little black book of Fate. Unfortunately, he ran afoul of one particular goddess, by taking her newly acquired, human lover.

The Gift

"Hideous wretch!" the Goddess screamed, "How dare you steal my love away from me?!"

"I'm jes' doin' me job." he tried to explain, but the angry Goddess would hear none of that, slowly circling around him.

"You are a creature without a heart, therefore you cannot possibly comprehend what it is to have love for another. I cannot destroy you, as your spirit is as immortal as my own, so instead, I will grant you . . . a 'gift!' Every hundred years, you will have flesh on your bones. Fair of face and form you shall be, and you will know love at last, as no human woman will be able to resist you. Many lovers you shall have for one month in every hundred years. You shall remember them all, . . . the taste of their lips, . . . the smell of their hair, . . . and the softness of their skin. And, at the end of that month, you shall harvest each and every one of them. You will not soon forget, the ache in your heart, though you return to being the heartless monster that you are!" She smiled wickedly before vanishing, leaving a sinister laugh echoing through his skull.

That was five thousand years ago. Before that, Grim had no emotions. He loved no one, he hated no one. All emotions were foreign to him. He was indifferent, back then, whether people worshipped him, . . . or feared him. That all changed because of the Goddess' "gift." A curse it was, really. It came upon him stronger and stronger, as the hundred year cycle approached. He looked at his palms. The tips of his fingers were beginning to grow flesh. Grim put his hands to his face, and began to weep, as he remembered the first of his many lovers, . . . and the look in her eyes, when he came to take her soul.

Tears of the Reaper

"What's the matter with you, Bonehead? Why so glum?" Mandy asked, as she sat down next to me on Billy's front step. I jes' sighed.

"I'm tinkin' of goin' away on a trip for a month. I'm sure you and Billy can manage without me for dat long." She frowned.

"And you're doing this because . . .?"

"Because I need to get away . . . from you! Especially you!" I was fightin' to keep me tears from being noticed. Mandy was shocked, but recovered quickly.

"What is your problem?!" she shouted, "I haven't done anything mean to you in a long time!"

It was true. As she got older, she became less and less demandin' of me. Maybe it was because of a string of failed relationships she had recently. She always came to me when she broke up with someone.

"Fine then! Leave! See if I give a hoot!" She stood up and stormed back to her house.

I couldn't have been any less blunt, but I felt terrible, like I had betrayed her trust, a trust dat was nurtured over de past several years. I couldn't just flush all dat down de toilet, so I followed her home to apologize.

I'd been givin' her advice on her relationship problems. Not dat she took any of it seriously, but I was always right, judging from the number of breakups she's had. Guess she never could understand how a guy like me knew so much about love.

I went upstairs and knocked on her bedroom door.

"Yes?" she answered from inside.

"Mandy?"

"Get lost!" she hollered.

"Mandy, I'm not leavin' until ya let me explain." I stood outside the door, tryin' to get me courage up.

"Oh, I think you made yourself pretty clear!" she huffed.

"Will you please come out? I need ta show ya somethin'." I persisted.

"If I do, will you go away?!"

"Yes, I promise." She unlocked her door and glared at me.

"Well?" she said coldly. She had been cryin'. I held up a gloved hand. "Is that it?! So, you're trying to make a fashion statement?!"

I removed the glove to reveal a fully fleshed out hand. She gasped, as the anger disappeared from her face.

"What's happening to you, Grim?"

"Dis is why I need ta leave for a month."

"Why?"

"It's a curse put on me five thousand years ago by Astarte, for reapin' her human lover. Every one hundred years, I become flesh and blood, so dat I may fall in love."

"That doesn't sound like much of a curse . . . well, yeah, maybe it is."

"I must remain like dis for a month, in which time no human female will be able to resist me. I cannot refuse. I am compelled to choose, and fall in love."

"So, what's your point?"

"I will forget dat I am de Grim Reaper, but at de end of de month, I will regain my memories . . . and harvest de souls of all de women dat had fallen in love wit me."

"That does put a damper on all your relationships," she sighed, "but what does that have to do with me?"

"I won't lie to you, Mandy, because dis is much too serious to brush off. Over de years, I've developed a . . . 'fondness'. . . for you, and I can't take de chance of havin' you fall in love wit me." I stood dere silently, not quite knowin' what ta say next. "If you feel uncomfortable wit dat knowledge, den you can send me away when dis is all over. I jes' don't want to be de one to hurt ya." She smiled.

"Didn't realize you felt that way about me, Grim. What happens if I don't fall in love with you?"

"Ya don't understand! Once I'm fully fleshed out, you will not be able to resist me if you are the one I have chosen, and I won't remember who you are until I'm ready to cut you down!"

I'm practically screamin' as my tears run down me cheeks. Mandy tilted her head and watched me, curiously.

"I've seen you cry before, but it never occurred to me until now, how you could since you have no eyes."

"It's part of de curse, actually," I sniffled as I brought my sleeve up to me cheeks, ". . . my tears burn."

End Chapter 1

A/N: I know its a short chapter. I'm just experimenting again, as I'm apt to do. I've checked the archives for Eris stories, but while she appears in a number of them, she doesn't have one of her own. I dedicate this one to the twitchy blonde Goddess! It was going to be about Grim, but since he needed to go into hiding and wouldn't remember anyone, he was out of the question.