Snow in London was never a common occurrence, especially this amount of it. Thick blankets of the white crystals covered the streets and rooftops, rendering travel by any means but foot completely useless. Of course, to children, this was magical. They could play in the middle of the road without worrying about traffic. The younger ones made forts, and snowmen, while the older ones threw balls of snow at each other. Their parents waited inside for them, fixing hot meals, or setting out warm clothing for when they came back in from the cold. Most of the shops had been closed for the day, giving some of the owners a break from holiday shoppers. Whether one liked the snow or not, there was nothing that they could do about it. London had succumb to the merciless cold, and there was nothing to do but wait until the flakes melted.

...

"But Will!" The shinigami stared at his superior, eyes wide, and voice shrill with shock. William T. Spear rubbed his temples, trying to ignore the red-head's high pitch tone. "You can't make me go outside in this kind of weather!"

"Snow, or no snow, Mr. Sutcliffe, there is work to be done." He stated matter-of-factly. A frown spread across Grell's face.

"It's freezing out, though!"

"That doesn't matter. A girl has died in London and I need you to collect her soul." William said, paying little mind to the puppy dog faces that the other man was making. When he saw that his tactics were not working on the dark haired shinigami, Grell changed his look from 'cute' to 'angry'. He stomped a high heeled show against the marble floor.

"I don't even have a proper coat!" Was his last protest as he grabbed Will's shirt collar. The other man brushed the anxious hands away, straightening out his suit once he was free of their grip.

"Mr. Sutcliffe, that is quite enough!"

"That would be miss Sutcliffe, if you please." Grell said, putting a hand on his hip. William rolled his eyes. Of all of the annoying mannerisms that the red-haired man possessed, the worst was when he referred to himself as a 'she'. Will pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, quickly thinking of an excuse to get the shinigami out of his office.

"The both of us both know that you are a boy." Once more Grell frowned, and his heel collided with the floor again. "However…if you were to go and do your job today, I suppose that there is no way I can stop you from seeing that demon butler you adore so much." There was definite bitterness in his voice, but at the sound of those words the frown on Grell's face instantly turned into a sharp toothed grin. He blushed as he said in an excited tone,

"Really? I can see Sebas-Chan~?" As he spoke he got uncomfortably close to his superior. Will could smell whatever perfume that he had been wearing…but it was actually a pleasant scent. Something like flowers mixed with vanilla. He shook his head, and frowned.

"That is not what I said, Mr. Sutcliffe." The look of disappointment on the redhead's face was overpowering.

"But-,"

"I meant that if you did decide to pay him a visit I couldn't do much to stop you. I have far too much paperwork to take care of." Grell's eyes lit up with sheer joy at that.

"Thank you so much, William!~" he cried, bounding towards the door.

"Work comes first, though!" Will shouted after him. Grell paused for a moment, then opened the door to leave.

Once more, William found himself fighting off a headache. Those seemed to occur quite frequently when Grell was around. There was no doubt that he was a nuisance, but ever since the Jack the Ripper incident, Will found him to be lingering around his office more than usual.

Perhaps it was because he had been the one who convinced the judge to give the redhead a lesser sentence for the violations than he was originally going to receive. Will shook his head, trying to take his mind from Grell. He scribbled down a few notes onto a sheet of paper, before realising what the papers were for. They were a list of violations that Grell had committed in the Jack the Ripper case. He scanned the sheet:

Destruction of several human beings

Interfering with affairs outside of work

Interacting with demons

Responsible for the death of Madame Red

The list went on for another three pages. It was a miracle that Grell was able to keep his job. Will sighed, filing the papers away and standing up. The thought that the shinigami was out there, probably causing trouble, was lurking at the back of his mind. Part of him wished that the mention of Sebastian would have never escaped his lips, but it seemed like the only way Grell would cooperate with him. Surely if he paid a visit Sebastian would kick him out within a few minutes. Nothing bad would happen. At least, that's what he told himself. He just prayed that Grell would finish his work and return as quick as possible without any problems. The sooner the shinigami was back, the sooner his headache would dissipate... or worsen…he wasn't quite sure which.

…

"What are you doing here, Grell?" the butler asked, looking at the man in front of him who was practically jumping up and down. Whether it was from the cold, or excitement, he didn't know. Grell smiled, moving closer to his 'beloved Sebas-Chan'. Sebastian frowned.

"I came to see you of course~!" his smile widened, but the other man's expression did not change. Instead, he simply crossed his arms.

"Please, keep your voice down. The young master is sleeping."

"B-but…I came all this way to see you!" those words did not seem to phase Sebastian in the least. He began to shut the door, but a high heeled foot stopped him. "Can I at least go inside for a bit?"

"No." The redheads eyes began to water. He was genuinely hurt that the demon wouldn't even let him in from the sub zero temperatures.

"But it's so cold out here!" The shinigami's shoulders dropped.

"Why are you not wearing a warmer coat?"

"Because I don't have one!" he cried.

"I've told you already to keep your voice down. The young master has come down with a cold, so I must tend to him." A mischievous smile crossed Grell's lips.

"Oh? And what if I were to catch a cold from standing out here? Would you take care of me as well, Sebby~?" he fluttered his eyelashes, trying to be as appealing as possible to the other man. "After all…I child must be so boring. Wouldn't you rather stay by my beside?" Sebastian wore a disgusted look as Grell got uncomfortably close.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, Grell." Sebastian said, this time shutting the door in the shinigami's face before he could interject another word.

Tears began to slip from Grell's eyes. Despite how ridicules he would act around the butler, he did genuinely like him. Of course, it was quite clear now that Sebastian did not return any of those feelings. He walked away from the manor, staring at the ground, hardly noticing the snow, or the cold.

It wasn't until he reached the end of the courtyard that he stopped. The sun was beginning to sink lower and lower into the sky, but he did not move. How could Sebastian just kick him out like that? He hadn't been that obnoxious, had he? Grell sniffed, and sat down in the snow. The crystal white blankets instantly soaked through his thin jacket, but he didn't seem to notice. Hours must've passed that he simply sat. Finally, as the sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon, the snow crunched behind him.

"Grell Sutcliffe." The voice was stern, but there was a slight hint of worry to it. Grell looked up half heartedly.

"Will?" he sniffed, still not standing up.

"What are you doing?" the dark haired man asked. Slowly, Grell looked up catching the other man's eyes. There was more than a subtle hint of concern in them.

"Will…" tears began to form behind his eyes again. Will knelt down in the snow next to him. "Sebas-Chan…He-he kicked me out…" he said quietly. Will took out a handkerchief from the pocket of his long, wool coat.

"Stop crying." The words came out sharp, and Grell even winced a bit. This was Strange. Will had never seen the constantly flirtatious, and playful shinigami act this way before. It was surprising, and he was at a loss of what to do. Clearly, the commanding tone he had used was not helping. "Here," he took the handkerchief and wiped away some of the tears. The two of them stayed silent for a moment before Will spoke again in a tone much like a parent scolding a child. "Mr. Sutcliffe are you wearing mascara?" he asked when the white fabric was stained black. Grell nodded a little. "Honestly…" Will muttered under his breath, continuing to dab away the tears that kept spilling down the redhead's cheeks.

It could have been hours that they stayed there. Grell was shivering by the time Will spoke again.

"You're going to catch a cold if you keep sitting there."

He stood, and extended a hand to the other man who pulled himself from the snow immediately. Yet even after he was standing, he didn't drop his superior's hand. Grell's fingers were ice cold to the touch. William covered them with his other hand, instantly feeling them warm up. Their eyes locked, and the dark haired man felt his stomach drop.

Pure green eyes stared back at him. He had never noticed how…beautiful Grell could be, because he was always so…himself. Or was this emotional wreck in front of him the real Grell? After so many years of working with the shinigami this was the second time he'd ever seen him cry.

The first was before his trial for the Jack the Ripper case. Of course, then, Will had dismissed it as common fear. After all he was facing severe consequences, and possibly even death that day. Yet, even then, he had been the only one Grell had talked to about that fear.
Thinking further on it, Will realised that even when the trouble making shinigami was acting totally ridicules…that even then he was-

Will shook his head, feeling his headache growing worse. He couldn't think of the words to describe someone like Grell.
"Come with me, Grell." he sighed, this time in a softer voice. Grell smiled, and squealed in a high pitch tone,

"Why is Will still holding Grell's hand?~" William felt his stomach knot again as the other man gave his hand a small squeeze to remind him.

"You need to be warmed up or you'll catch a cold." he stated, hoping that it was a valid excuse. Grell smiled and blushed.
"Whatever you say, Will~" just as soon as William thought he was free from questioning Grell added, "But do you want to know what I think? Do you, Will?~"

"What is it that you think, Grell Sutcliffe?" he replied, not really wanting to know.

"I think that William Spears," he started, mimicking the way Will had said his name so formally, "has a crush on Grell~" he practically exploded in giddy laughter. Will's eyes opened wider, and he felt his face grow hot.

"Mr. Sutcliffe that is most certainly not true." he said, trying to keep an embarrassed stutter from his voice. Grell's smile widened, and he moved uncomfortably close to the dark haired man.

"Whatever you say~" he whispered into his ear. Will felt his entire body tense at the closeness. "But I know you can't resist me~" he laughed again, taking a step away from the other man. Strands of his long red hair blew in the wind, and tickled William's neck. He had to say something, anything!

"That is quite enough!" his voice went back to being harsh. Grell cringed a bit, and for a second it looked as though he would cry again. That was the one thing he did not want to happen.

Thinking fast, William took his arm out of one of the coat's sleeves, and suddenly it felt as though Grell's entire body was on fire. Half of the coat was now draped over his shoulder. The red haired man was now pressed next to the other shinigami, and he could feel body heat radiating from him. Will quickly wrapped his free arm over Grell's shoulder, holding the coat around him. His other hand still clutched Grell's now warm fingers.
Once more he could smell the flowery vanilla perfume. It invaded his senses, and Will, the ever-serious-opposite-of-Grell, shinigami was sure that he too was blushing. He hoped that the man in his grip wouldn't notice.

"William is so warm~" the voice interrupted his thoughts, and Grell pulled himself closer to the other man. With that, the two of them began to walk away from the Phantomhive estate. Any thoughts of Sebastian had left Grell's mind, and as they crunched through the snow, and not once did William drop his hand.

"By the way, Mr. Sutcliffe," he began to scold, but a small smile crossed his face. That was something that Grell had never seen; Will's smile.

"Yes?"

"Did you ever collect that girl's soul like I asked you to?" Grell's shoulders dropped. He just knew that he was going to be yelled at once more.

"No…" he muttered reluctantly.

"I figured that you wouldn't…It's just like you to make such a mess of things, Mr. Sutcliffe." there was no anger in his voice, only a slight air of amusement. For a second time, Will smiled. The day had no doubt been strange, but the headache that he'd had since that morning was finally starting to fade, that was at least until Grell mumbled,

"That is miss Sutcliffe to you."