A/N: My first venture into the realm of Kuroshitsuji fanfiction...
Warnings: Abuse of italics, possible character slaughter/potential spoilers?
Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji not mine.
"May I ask what it is you're doing?"
Grell peered up at William from behind the mountain of paperwork that had been piling up on his desk for what could have been centuries and pouted.
"A lady must always look her best," he answered, putting his mirror back into his pocket.
"A Shinigami must also finish his paperwork," William countered with a scowl as he folded his arms across his chest. "Something which you seem to have no interest in doing."
"Paperwork is boring," Grell whined, pushing his chair back to stand behind his desk so he could see William more clearly from behind the stacks of paper around him.
"Don't you have any more interesting assignments?" With a flirtatious swish of his voluminous red hair, Grell rounded the corner of his desk and took several quick steps 'til he was positive he was on the verge of encroaching on William's personal space.
"I could keep an eye on Sebas-chan," he suggested with a predatory smile. "I could even be of," Grell licked his lips and batted his eyelashes, "personal servi-" William's death scythe pierced the ground dangerously close to where Grell's foot was headed, decidedly within his personal bubble.
"Ronald is monitoring that demon's actions right now," William answered in annoyance, adjusting his glasses. "However, since I can see you have absolutely no intention of finishing your paperwork, go entertain our guest."
The Undertaker was, by no means, a guest; guests did not need to be bodily dragged into headquarters by no less than three Shinigami after thoroughly disrupting an investigation. Still, seeing as how the man was a still fellow Shinigmai, everyone in the office was loathe to call him a prisoner.
"Entertain?" Grell asked, clearly not amused with the order he'd been given. "Why do we have to entertain that deserter?"
"He is insufferable," William answered, eye twitching slightly at the thought of the silver-haired ex-Shinigami. "All of the others have had it with his tasteless jokes and non-stop giggling and I want as many people looking for his records as possible," William ground out through gritted teeth, becoming more annoyed with each passing second at the thought of the Undertaker's rule-breaking. "Just go."
With a rather loud hmph, Grell swept past William and out the door, making his way to the cell where the Undertaker was being kept. The three guards - students, as it were - quickly scurried out of the way of Grell's stiletto boots as he marched down the rather poorly-lit hallway. All the way in the corner, occupying the only cell with a window, the Undertaker was lounging comfortably on a cot, hands tucked into his oversized sleeves, and giggling softly.
"I'm here to entertain you," Grell announced, irritated. The ex-Shinigami turned to look at him, eyes hidden from view by his ridiculously large hat.
"Is that right, Shinigami?" he asked with a chortle, sitting up on bed. "To what do I owe the honor? Certainly someone as strong as you has other things to attend to." The Undertaker laughed, louder this time, jostling his hat in the process.
"Instead they've turned you into a babysitter, I see." With another high-pitched giggle, the ex-Shinigami doubled over, sleeves sliding up his arms as he went to wipe the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Grell simply stood there with a glare as the man finally calmed down.
"Please, have a seat, Shinigami," the Undertaker finally got out, a laugh or two still interrupting his speech.
"I'm not sitting in there," Grell answered flatly. "A cell like that is no place for a lady." The Undertaker laughed again, though not nearly as hard as before.
"Of course, forgive me. How do you propose to entertain me, then, Shinigami?" he asked, brushing his hair out of his face so Grell could see his eyes for the first time since he and Ronald had caught the man on the ship. Grell could feel a blush slowly creeping into his cheeks. He really had such lovely eyes.
"Will you tell me a joke?" the ex-Shinigmai asked, a twinkle in his eye. "There's not nearly enough to laugh at in this little cell." He emphasized his statement with a grand sweeping motion, inadvertently bringing to attention the fact that the students had ran off to lunch when the two of them weren't paying attention.
"You were laughing plenty just now," Grell answered, scowling. If there was one thing he disliked, it was being made a mockery of. The Undertaker just chuckled briefly in response.
"Ah, but I haven't had a first-rate laugh in quite a while," he said, getting up from his cot and crossing to the other end of the cell with two swift paces. The sudden motion surprised him, but Grell didn't move, save for a flutter in his chest as the ex-Shinigami's eyes flashed into and then quickly out of view.
"I like you," the Undertaker stated with a wide smile, abruptly changing the topic as he clung onto the bars separating them. "You're strong, y'know," he continued, as his fingers lazily traced the right angles of the metal gate in front of him, and suddenly Grell felt uneasy about the direction this conversation was headed.
"You're stronger than all of them," the Undertaker hissed gleefully, his voice down to a conspiratorial whisper. "What's a Shinigami like you doing taking orders and running errands from them, hm?"
"That's none of your busine-" Grell started indignantly, but a swift hand grabbed ahold of his chin before he could finish his sentence. This grip the Undertaker had on him was strong, and Grell was jerked roughly forward, so close to the man in front of him that their noses nearly brushed.
"Jokes aren't the only things that amuse me, you know." A brief silence hung in the air between them as the ex-Shinigami paused. "You're quite pretty, aren't you?" he cooed, tilted his head slightly, the silver hair falling out of the way of his face and uncovering his vivid green eyes. The man's other hand was now tangling itself in Grell's hair, hard enough to make its presence known, but not yet enough to hurt, and Grell's knees buckled underneath him in response.
"Quite pretty indeed," the Undertaker repeated with a grin as he watched the Shinigami in front of him shiver with a combination of fear and arousal. "I've been amused enough for today," he said, voice no longer a whisper as he took a sudden step back, abruptly letting go of Grell's hair. Upon being let go, he almost lost his balance, falling forward onto the metal gate, but Grell managed to keep himself upright.
"Come here again tomorrow, little Shinigami," he said with a laugh. "I need someone strong to keep me entertained, and if you cannot tell jokes," he said, amused smile bordering a leer, "I'm sure you could find some other way of amusing me."
Grell had hardly heard what the Undertaker said, and simply nodded in response, mouth dry and knees weak as he made his way out of the basement, collapsing with a shiver just outside the door. Wetting his lips with his tongue, Grell got to his feet, still imaging those piercing eyes locked on his own.
"Tomorrow," he whispered to himself, the words barely leaving his mouth. "Tomorrow."
A/N: Reviews? :]