Some times, it takes more than one chance to realize something… like happened to William T Spears.
"Hey, stop! You are going to rip it off!" yelled Grell Sutcliff when his superior dragged him by the hair back to the Dispatch after his little escapade with Angelina. He was angry about being beaten, kicking and screaming while William continue dragging him. "I can walk, you know? Sheeesh, sometimes I think you did this to annoy me, darling"
"Shut up" muttered the stoic reaper, biting his lip internally, where no one could see what he was doing. Once he was alone in his office, he sighed and let himself fall to the floor. "You don´t understand a thing, Grell, I´m trying to protect you"
-Flashback-
The first time William T Spears knew Grell Sutcliff in the final exam for the academy he thought the red reaper was a huge creek and an annoyance, but something about him keep captivating him. After they became officers, in one of their few missions together, the redhead killed a man not on the to die list.
"What is human life for you?" asked the raven in his monotone voice. "Do you have good memories of your human life?"
"Ah? No, Will darling, I´m a born shinigami. I was never human" answered the red idiot and continued with his useless flirting. The other just kept thinking about this statement, he haven´t had the opportunity of meeting a lot of born reapers… not that they were much. Most reapers never had children. After finishing their business he went to turn in their paperwork, only to find someone strange in the Library.
"Grell? Sweetie, how have you been?" asked the older reaper wearing a lab coat. It was a medical expert, one of the ancient reapers and a medical eminence, Senecius. The younger reaper smiled to him and went to talk, like they were old friends. Was it that Senecius was Grell´s parent? He was wondering when something catch his attention… a demonic smell. It was faint but surely evil like those vermins.
"Do you smell that? A demon" he said, twisting his neck to look around.
"Here? In the Library? You have to be insane, kid, that will never happen" said the ancient, but William saw that by the nick of the eye the other was looking at some place. He never felt that demonic stench again… until some years later.
"A blood test? Why?" asked Grell after one of the higher ups, Lucien, a pretty ancient shinigami, asked for them.
"Just do the test and quit complaining, Sutcliff" ordered him, a recently ascended management supervisor. The redhead just shrunk his shoulders and walked away to do the test. Later, when he was passing in front of the medical wing and saw Senecius purposely trying to pick up the red reaper´s sample. Lucien catch his hand and took it away, putting another one in his hand with a somewhat triumphal smirk.
"I think this is the sample you are assigned to analyze, doctor" he said. Senecius got back to his seat with a mortified expression and teeth biting his lip so hard that he drown blood. Then he stood up and ran to the door, passing near William. He followed and saw the ancient grabbing the red menace by the arm and dragging him towards the portal´s room. He listened to their conversation.
"Sene-san, where are we going? What´s happening?"
"There is no time to answer your questions" said the mortified older shinigami. "You have to leave right now. If you don´t… you will die"
"Why? What´s…" then Lucien appeared right in front of them with some of the special task force members, all of them with their scythes in hand.
"I have always expected this moment"
"Why?" asked the other ancient. "After all this years… you are still so obsessed. Why didn´t you just accept the reality and move on? Why do you keep pursuing Grell? He doesn´t know a word of what you blame him for"
"He is the culprit… of existing! He is an abomination! A half demon abomination!" that surprised everyone present, including the red reaper himself. "His mother… he should have been mine, not some filthy demon´s…"
"You are insane, Lucien" Senecius called his own weapon and put himself in position of attack. "Grell, when I told you, escape."
"No, there I no way that…!"
"Just do it!" the redhead obeyed for once, hearing the despair in his protector´s voice and made a dash for it. But William, that was still there, stopped him. After the confrontation ended, the special forces came to collect both prisoners.
"Good job, son" congratulated him Lucien. "You are going to be a star in management soon"
"Thanks, sir" said Spears. He returned to his place and continue to work. After that, not being able to put his mind to rest, went to visit the red haired prisoner. They talked for a little bit, him feeling the slight demonic aroma that he once detected in the Library.
"Can you… give me a last wish? A kiss, nothing more" Grell pleaded, asking for a condemned last wish, but William adamantly refused. After that he left the red reaper alone in the darkness. After some hours, still with his mind only focused on the troublesome redhead, he went to give him his kiss, maybe like that he would be able to work. But the cage was empty.
"You don´t know?" asked the surprised guard. "The scientist must be finishing with him right now"
"Finishing with what?"
"Dissecting him, of course. They wanted to know how such a thing was possible" that made William panic for some reason and he ran towards the medical wing. But… it was too late. The scientist were getting out of the room, leaving the broken body behind. He entered into the dark room, only to find Lucien there… defiling Grell´s death body. He finally stood up and zipped up his trousers.
"Not as good as your mother… but I bet no one can be" he left without noticing the witness of his horrible actions. William finally was alone in the room in the room with his old subordinate and lifted his body as if he was carrying a baby. He felt tears fell down his cheeks… why were they falling? He didn´t have emotions.
"He deserved something more, no?" asked a voice. He turned around only to find a beat up Senecius there with someone by his side.
"How did you get out of jail?"
"With the help of a friend that was absent a few hours ago" he signaled the man. The young reaper´s eyes widened, it was a demon, his red eyes told everything. "William T. Spears, this is Dorian Annafellows, Grell´s guardian by the order of his father"
"It seems that I arrived too late" said Dorian, shaking his head. "I have to notify the Prince of this and he won´t be pleased… maybe this will mean a war between hell and the Dispatch"
"Just for Grell?"
"Grell´s demons father is… very important in hell" said Senecius, sighing while he watched Dorian leave. "He could and will be the death of us all"
"That´s why you were protecting him?"
"No… but my reasons are only mine" a flash of light interrupted them and suddenly…
William woke up on his bed, sweating cold. He just shook his head to clear his thoughts and went to work as normal. Maybe this time he could at least avoid hitting that annoyed red reaper with his scythe so much, just because of the dream he just had. He realized that… he didn´t want to see him death.
"Good morning, sempai!" saluted him Ronald Knox, waving his hand. "What are my assignments today?"
"This… oh, and gave Sutcliff his" he said, no wanting to see that annoyance so early.
"Sutcliff? But… he doesn´t work here" said a confused Knox.
"What?"
"Thomas Sutcliff, no? He works on the Library. There is no other Sutcliff except for his parents" said the boy.
"And Grell?"
"Grell? Never known someone named like that" Ronald now was worried about his superior. "Are you feeling fine, Spears sempai?"
"Yes, yes… hum… there seems to be some demonic activity in this area, so we are going to investigate. Prepare yourself"
"Roger!"
It was a bad idea, the demon in question sent them to hell with him and now they were trapped, trying to find a way out.
"Our only chance is to find the Fallen Angel mansion, where the descendants of Lucifer themselves live" said Spears, hiding behind a wall with Knox to avoid being caught. "They control all the portals that reach the human realm and from there we can call for reinforcements"
"Is that the place?" said Knox, signaling a big mansion.
"Could be, let´s go find out, I want to get out of this place" they ran and found out it was the place they were looking for. While running through the place, they ran into someone.
"What in hell are you doing?!" asked a person in a red dress, his red locks free over his shoulders and… reaper eyes. William recognized that person immediately.
"Grell" he called the red reaper, that looked at him in confusion. After some explanation, the expression on his face turned into a devious one. "Surely I can show you were the room of the portals is, but first you have to something for me."
"What do you want?" said Spears, more than ready to let that cherry lunatic he knew so much have his way for once, only to go out of hell. "Tell us quickly because we don´t have much time until the demons find us"
"Well… I have never been outside this place"
"So…" said Knox.
"So, dear, it could be pretty big but it´s secrets ended a good time ago" he used that melodramatic tone of him to make the others notice that he was deathly bored in that mansion. "So I want you to take me to a tour through the human realm"
"What?! If you think…"
"Knox, let´s do what he says for now"
"Good decision, darling. Come this way" when they were finally out the first place they took Grell was the ice fair in Britain. He enjoyed pretty much all the things, from the ice skating to the little stands over the ice.
"The human realm seems so fun!" he said like a child and started running around for Knox´s fear. He didn´t want to babysit some reaper that he knew in hell, especially one that had such a suspicious aroma. "But this place would be better painted red"
"Absolutely not" said William, remembering what that meant in Sutcliff´s vocabulary. By the end of the day, they climbed the Big Ben and showed Grell London by the top of the clock tower. He smiled genuinely and Spears felt his hearth beat faster. He has never known this feeling before and couldn´t describe it. Grell´s genuine smile of happiness, engraved itself in his memory, as if it was burned on his pupils.
"This is so beautiful…" he said.
No matter what… thought William T. Spears… I want to keep looking at your smile… forever
Another flash of light hit them when he thought that and suddenly the stoic reaper was standing in the middle of the way in the Dispatch. He had no idea how he reached the place but… he was more worried about Grell. The red reaper was in danger…
"A blood test? Why?" yelled the redhead, being melodramatic as ever. The raven looked in shock at his companion. "Hum? Will dear, what´s the matter?"
"Nothing, just do the damn test, Sutcliff" he answered and started to plan his next course of actions. When the time came he went to the medical wing and, when Senecius was about to be caught picking up purposely the redhead´s sample, he called Lucien.
"I came to see if none of my subordinates haven´t took the test" he said and gave enough time for the doctor to hide his crime and escape. After the workday finished Lucien´s face was one of rage after finding out that Sutcliff´s test came out as normal.
"This couldn´t be…"
"Hey, William" called him a voice from behind. He turned around to find a rather smiling Senecius. "I don´t know how to thank you, but… I can invite you a drink or dinner if you want"
"No problem, I did it for my own reasons" answered Spears, remembering the beautiful half demon´s smile in the clock tower.
"I don´t care for that, I just wanna show you how thankful I am of your help" insisted the ancient. "And… I wanna talk to you too"
"Okay then"
-At the restaurant-
"How much do you know? And how did you find out?" asked the ancient, feeling a little nervous. "I haven´t told no one since my friend left the Dispatch and…"
"So Grell´s mother is a deserter" mumbled William. "You are making her a favor and watching over her son in her absence"
"Him and… it was more complicated than that" he smiled rather sheepishly. "Let´s put this in this way, if you think Grell is nuts, let me tell you that he is the sanest person in the world compared to his mother"
"That gives me the chills"
"Back to my questions…"
"I only know that he is half demon, no more. But… I think you could enlighten me more so I can give you a hand taking care of that lunatic"
"Why do you want to do that?" asked a rather surprised reaper. "Could it be… that you felt in love with little Grell?" Will choked on his food. "Oh, you did, how amusing. My friend would have laughed like a loon hearing that"
"Stop that and tell me how this started" said an angry Spears.
"Well… it was long time ago. It begin when a certain famous reaper meet a rather powerful demon that worked under contract like a butler for a noble family that took care of England´s Underworld…"
-Back at the present-
"You stupid lunatic, almost ruining our hard work. Why do you have to do a contract anyway?" he sighed and thought of the demon he meet that day again. A vein popped on his forehead. "Seems like the liking towards butlers is a family thing" he grabbed his death scythe with force. "But this is a battle I will not lose"
