Sooo….hi.

First Grelliam fic, actually first Kuro fic in general, so….

*nervous laugh*

Disclaimer: Me no own Kuroshitsuji (great grammar FTW)

Enjoy! I apologize ahead of time for any OOCness, feel free to point out anything that I could improve on.

21st century AU for the sake of cell phones and stuff.

"No."

William didn't look up from his paperwork as Grell leaned on his desk, saying some nonsense about romantic Christmas shopping in the snow.

"But it's almost Christmas, Will~!" the redhead whined unconvincingly. "Please?"

"There are no fewer souls to collect just because it's a holiday, Sutcliff," he muttered.

"But Will…"

"No. I would suggest you get back to work so you don't have more work on Christmas. Honestly. It's as if you want overtime…"

"But we get lunch break in ten minutes." He fluttered his long false eyelashes. "You have to buy something for the gift exchange anyway..."

William couldn't find an answer to that. There was always a gift exchange at the Christmas office party. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten. His usual technique was to buy something early, before Sutcliff could make him go shopping with him.

"I will come with you, but only for the gift exchange," he said grudgingly. Perhaps he could give Grell some money and let him buy the gift for him. He was never very good at shopping.

"Yay~!" The redhead flung his arms around William, then ran off, squealing something about getting ready.

"Honestly," William muttered to himself, pushing his glasses up and trying to get in a few more minutes of work.

Grell met him outside ten minutes later. He wore a black pea coat that looked distinctly feminine and a red knit scarf, as well as his usual black pants and heeled boots. William found himself noticing that he looked rather…pretty.

No. He mentally scolded himself, annoyed.

"Are you ready?" Grell nearly sang. He clearly lived off of absolutely anything that William despised.

"Alright," he responded. Might as well get this over with.

The two walked into the nearby town, their breath making little puffs of condensation in the cold air. William could not comprehend why he had allowed himself to be dragged into this. Grell clung onto his arm, and he shook him off in annoyance. He was only doing this because he had to; he would never live down not bringing a gift to the party. Grell and Ronald would bother him about it for centuries. Even if he didn't plan to go to this party.

"Ooh, I would so wear that," Grell had stopped walking and had his face plastered to the window of a shop, staring at a bright red mini dress with an expression that reminded him slightly of a little girl.

"Please make this quick, Sutcliff. Let's each buy a gift for the party and leave. We have work to do."

"Hmm, but that's just no fun, darling," Grell said in a tone that made William feel ill. "We women just adore shopping," he said, running off to the next store, heels clicking.

"Honestly," William sighed, grudgingly following. He took some money out of his pocket. "Take this and buy my gift for the exchange. I will wait here." He hoped to be able to check his work email on his phone. He could get some work cleared up now and-

"Don't be silly, Will dear," Grell said. "I'll pick the present for you, but I need you to help carry the bags! I'm just a lady, after all."

"You are not a woman, Grell!" he shouted at her-him-as he walked off. He groaned in annoyance, catching up to him.

"Oh, Willy, I just knew you'd come around. You wouldn't let your girlfriend wander around the busy town alone, would you?"

William opened his mouth, trying to find a response to that. Finding none, he closed it again. Grell had latched himself onto his arm again, and he didn't bother shaking him off.

They walked into a store, and Grell ran around wildly, looking at absolutely everything he could find. William stood in the front, feeling slightly awkward. He watched as his fellow reaper walked to the counter to buy whatever it was that he had found.

Then they were out in the cold air again, and Grell dragged him off to another store. Here he bought yet another random item-William honestly did not want to know-and they were off yet again.

It seemed to be snowing harder now. William was getting tired from all this endless boring wandering, as well as the fact that he had somehow ended up carrying the shopping bags. He didn't see how Grell could be so interested in this, or how he could be doing it in three inch heels.

"We should head back soon," he said.

"But Will, gifts are just the beginning! We have to go window shopping!" Grell's green eyes were sparkling.

"No, Sutcliff. We're leaving." He grabbed Grell's hand and started walking out of town, the cold snowy wind blowing in their faces.

After a while, Grell broke the silence. "Your hand is nice and warm, Willy."

William blushed, yanking his hand out of Grell's and muttering an excuse about keeping him from running back to do more shopping. Silence fell again, as thick as the snow that had piled almost to their ankles. They walked forward. They really should have left earlier; they had five minutes to walk and it was only getting snowier. Grell had gotten carried away, as expected when faced with shopping, and William had let him. The white stuff was melting on his head, letting his hair fall in his face, and it stuck in Grell's long hair, tiny white crystals in a sea of red.

"We should step in here." William pulled Grell under the shelter of a bus stop, allowing them to take a break from the wet snow soaking through their clothes.

"Should we wait for it to lighten up, or do you think it will only get worse?" Grell asked, looking out at the street.

"I think we can wait a little while," William answered.

"Ooh, stuck with Will in the snow, alooone…" Grell grinned. William shuddered. On second thought, he'd prefer running through the snow to this…

"Sutcliff, I expect you to focus on your paperwork when we get back," he said, attempting to ignore the implications of the redhead's previous comment.

"Kay…" Grell murmured. He slipped his hand into William's, stepping closer. "It's cold," he said childishly, snuggling against Will, who froze in place. He blushed, unsure of what to do. He should probably pull away, but he found he lacked the initiative to do so. He shivered as Grell's arms slipped up around his neck. Grell looked up, face flushed, a little smile on his lips. Not that William was looking at his lips, of course.

"Will, are you blush-" Grell started, but was cut off when William leaned down and kissed him. The redhead was quick to kiss back, lips warm against his own. Will's arms slid around his waist, pulling him closer, ignoring the cold wetness of the fabric of his coat.

Grell pulled back slowly. "W-Will, you're quite a good kisser when you want to be," he said breathlessly.

Blushing, Will looked over his shoulder. The snow had slowed; it would be for the best if they went now. He took Grell's hand and they walked back to the office building. Grell turned at the door, shuffling in his pocket for something. He took out something small and cold and pressed it into his hand. William looked down at it. It was a tiny red stone heart. Grell was as much of a hopeless romantic as ever, if not worse. The redhead gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, then leaned in and whispered in his ear,

"Next time I think I deserve a kiss with tongue," he murmured, pulling back and winking before walking into the building. Same old Grell. Honestly, that man could be such an idiot.

Still, William allowed himself a slight smile, pushing up his glasses before walking inside, feeling a twinge of excitement at the fact that there would be a next time.

Thank you for reading!

Merry Christmas!