A/N: Hullo, everyone! I will be starting a compilation of Grell and Madame Red one-shots, and some will be terribly short, as this one is. Sorry about that!
These little ideas pop into my head at the spur of the moment, so I can't really write much with them, but I hope you enjoy, nonetheless.
I usually use female pronouns for Grell, but it makes more sense to use male pronouns, as she is posing as Angelina's butler. If you have any questions, please PM me for answers, and I'll do my best.
The characters are probably OOC, but I tried my best, and anyway, I like writing Madame Red with an attitude.
You may give me a theme to write for a one-shot, and I will write it and post it if you send it to me either in a PM or as a review!
Grell could sing quite well, Angelina knew that for a fact. Her butler would hum a song while dusting or preparing tea, and when she asked him what the song was, he would just shake his head and turn back to his work. He made it clear that he felt embarrassed over his singing voice, the way he hides it around anyone other than his mistress. Whenever she would attempt to compliment him on it, Grell would just blush and become shy. Now, this was odd, because around Madame Red, he would drop the butler performance and become his normal, flamboyant self. Only when it came to singing did he actually act timid.
On many nights, Angelina was extremely bored. She would be finished with papers, and have no mail to read, and parties were ever only hosted on weekends. The Madame would sit in her study, trying to look productive, while keeping herself from dozing off. This evening was uneventful in itself, and she fuddled around, trying to find something to do. Grell was nowhere to be found, and he hadn't took it upon himself to lighten up his mistress's spirits. When she got tired of the tedium in her dimly lit study, she got up and straightened out her back. Angelina wasn't especially fond of sitting in a chair and addressing letters, or some boring act of the like, for hours on end, and it made her quite stiff.
She found herself wandering throughout the halls, searching for her butler. He wasn't in his room, or her's, and she'd went outside to see if he was sitting in the garden, which was where he prefered to be, if not in her arms. Finally, Angelina found Grell sipping a cup of tea, on one of the sofas in the salon. He sat cross-legged and looked relaxed, with a slumped posture and a tipsy smile. Grell wore his regular red and black heels, ditching the boots he had to wear as part of his disguise, which he did sometimes when he got tired of not being significantly taller than Madame Red. The ribbon he wore around his neck was thrown to the side of him, and he'd unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt. The shinigami had shook out his hair to it's normal spiky body and deep scarlet color.
"I thought you'd come looking for me, sooner or later." Grell mused, tapping his fingernails against the china tea-cup.
"Get that stupid smile off your face. It's only because I was bored." Angelina sat down next to him with a huff.
"That's what you say." The butler laughed.
Madame Red took the cup from him and took a sip, immediately puckering her lips from the sour and strong taste of alcohol on her tongue.
"Good God! This isn't tea, Grell!" She exclaimed with distaste, pushing the tea-cup back into her butler's grasp.
"No, it is tea. Chamomile, with two shots of gin!" Grell grinned as he took a sip, winking at Angelina.
The woman stared at him in shock. "Well, that is utterly horrible!"
"I'm disappointed, Madame. A woman like you should be able to down this without a shiver!"
A wicked smile danced upon his lips as he took another sip.
"You know what, Grell?" She asked, looking over at him.
"Whatever could it be, Madame?" He slurred, meeting her gaze.
"Sing me a song. Make it your favorite." Angelina ordered. She took the tea-cup from his hands and placed it on the table.
Grell's cheeks turned a rosy pink, as she expected it would. "I don't know any songs."
"Oh! Don't give me that nonsense, you sing songs all the time when you think I'm not listening!" Angelina raised her eyebrows.
It was Grell's turn to scowl. "I don't want to slur the words."
"For goodness sake, it's only two shots. I'm disappointed in you, Grell. A man like you should be able to down this without slurring your words!" She mocked.
"I've had about three cups, and if I can calculate correctly, that's six shots!" The butler defended, hiccupping once or twice from the alcohol.
"But, please do this for me," Madame Red begged, flashing him her infamous, flirtatious big eyes.
She snuggled into Grell, wrapping her arms around his waist, and leaned her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
"Well, I suppose I could. For something in exchange." He uncrossed his legs and draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.
"Anything, name your price." Angelina smiled.
"A kiss, I think, would do." He replied.
"You've got a deal."
Grell drew in a breath, but it wasn't sharp or quick. He took in air as if he would convert it into the most beautiful sound the Madame would ever hear. And, he did. Angelina would have been stunned the way he sang, since his speaking voice was loud and pitchy, but it sounded just like when he hummed. It was deep and soft, right on tune and not at all messy. She could tell that he had sung it many times before, and he didn't slur any of the words, regardless of the six shots of gin he'd drunken. Madame Red couldn't recognize the words to belong to any song she'd heard before, but the way he sang them made her feel as if she'd heard it a million times over. Grell's voice had a melancholy feel, that or Angelina was just being sentimental.
Suddenly, the song stopped, and Grell sighed.
Angelina soon found her voice and a wide smile spread across her face. "That wasn't so bad, now, was it?"
Grell shrugged and pulled himself from her embrace, sitting up again. He took the tea-cup from the table and downed the rest, trembling as the liquid travelled down his throat.
"That," he started, setting down the now empty tea-cup, "Is terribly strong."
Angelina chuckled. "Yes, it is."
Grell turned towards his mistress. "Now, what about my side of the deal?"
A/N: I suppose what happens next is your choice. :p Please review and tell me how I did! Thanks!
