If he was being totally honest and unbiased, something he rarely did, Grell would say that it all started in Will's office, in December. If he was recalling the story as he would prefer it, he would say it started at Will's bedroom, in the august later that year. Will would refuse to say anything on the matter.
December 5th.
Overtime. Paperwork. Extra hours spent sat at his desk. The cold chill in the London air had claimed too many lives, in Grell's opinion. He wished it would just warm up, so he wouldn't have to do so much damned work. He tossed his hair over his left shoulder, and examined it for any split ends. It was, of course, perfect. Frowning at the pile of paperwork on his desk, he reached for a pen.
"Shit!" Was his only exclamation as he knocked his cold cup of forgotten coffee over himself and the clean sheets of paper. "Not now, not now, Will's gonna kill me, Death!" He attempted to mop up the mess with his shirt sleeve, ignoring the fact that he was failing miserably.
So focused on the mess, he didn't notice his superior stood in the doorway, arm outstretched, a pale white handkerchief in his hand until it was too late. He flinched as a book he'd discarded on the floor hit him on the head. Once Will seemed satisfied that he had Grell's attention, he gently placed the book on the corner of the desk.
"... You keep such a tidy office, Sutcliff." The sarcastic comment sounded out of place coming from the higher ranking man's mouth. He raised one eyebrow and smirked slightly.
"I try." Grell managed fearfully, realising that he would probably have to face a fate worse than a fate worse than death. "Don't go too hard on me? Although I do admit I love a rough man. Rugged and handsome, like a rough Romeo-" He was stopped mid-babble by Will's hand, held up to signal 'halt'. "Oh, my, such a commanding man, too. I like it." He giggled nervously. Will rolled his eyes.
"Will you be needing some more of those forms?" He motioned to the rippled wet paper.
"I think so."
"Tch. Overtime, Sutcliff." He walked towards the door. "I'll get someone to bring them to you soon. I want them completed and on my desk by 7pm tonight." Will turned on his heel and was gone, the door closing quietly behind him. Grell groaned, holding his head in his hands.
The day went quickly, some poor newbie arriving half an hour after Will left with the papers. He was meek and timid and squeaked when Grell thanked him. That had been a little odd. Grell was on his fifth cup of coffee and his right eye was twitching nervously. His eyes flicked to the clock, and saw the second hand tick past five pm. He groaned, and ignored the cramp in his hand, letting his head hit the desk with a thunk, followed by an 'ow'. In his despair, he allowed himself ten minutes to fantasize about a dashing handsome tall dark stranger flying in through the window and saving him. And no, it totally wasn't about Sebbas-chan.
Six O clock came and went, and Grell had finished three quarters of the work. Everyone else had left, apart from him and Will, presumably. What he was sure was an upcoming demotion loomed in front of him like a ...big loomy thing.
Finally, at forty-two minutes past seven, he finished his last signature. He cradled his wrist, pouting. Hoping that his superior would have gone home long ago, he picked up the stack of sheets and set off toward the office. All the lights had been turned off, the corridor being given an eerie glow from the small amount of white light oozing in the windows. Winter nights were too dark for his tastes, if he met a man in a dark alley, how would he know if he was handsome or not?
He knocked lightly on Will's office door, hoping from the bottom of his soul that Will had given up and gone home. Grell would rather face him in the morning, fresh and properly awake.
"Enter." Damn. No such luck. Hesitantly, Grell pushed the door open with his foot, hiding behind the paperwork. As he entered the office, the door shut quietly behind him.
William was sat at his desk, massaging his temples. There was a glass of amber liquid on his desk, untouched by the look of it. The light was dim, only just enough to see by.
"You don't know how much trouble you've caused me, Sutcliff." He said, but his voice was different. He wasn't shouting, but talking quietly, as if to himself.
"Will? I'm sorry. Don't demote me, I'll do anything!" Grell pouted, letting the stack of papers fall on to Will's desk with a dull thud.
"I'm not going to demote you, Sutcliff." Grell's sigh of relief could have been heard on the other side of the building. He relaxed, even though he didn't know he'd been tense.
"I always knew you were kind, Will, like a gentle Romeo-" Grell was stopped by Will's puzzled look.
"Why Romeo? Why do you always compare me to Romeo?" He asked Grell, who seemed to be shrinking.
"...Because I'm your Juliet?" Unsure, he took a step back. Will waved his hand, as if to shoo the conversation away and sighed. Minutes passed silently. Grell couldn't bring himself to leave, and Will didn't ask him to.
"Drink?" Will offered, suddenly. Grell nodded lightly.
"Are you trying to get me drunk Will-chan?" He giggled, and sat in the chair opposite the desk. Will's eyes became more serious.
"Would you mind if I did?"
"Why of course not, Will-chan!" Grell grinned a wide, pointed grin and tossed his hair about girlishly. William stood suddenly, one hand rested on the table. He walked around the desk, stopping behind where Grell sat. Grell didn't dare turn to look, but Will must have been leaning over, because he could feel Will's breath on his neck.
"Would you mind if I did this?" Grell felt hands on his shoulders, sliding down to his neck. He heard rustling material as the ribbon at his neck was undone. The hands made short work of the top two buttons on his shirt. His mouth opened, but the words got caught in his throat. The hands withdrew, and he released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.
"Or this?" The hands moved to his hair, massaging his scalp and pulling lightly on the long red strands. Grell closed his eyes, and heard a footstep or two. He felt the breath on his cheek. He could feel something close to his face, someone, mere millimetres away.
"Or this." He felt warmth, lips on his own. They drew back.
"I would have no complaints." Grell breathed.
"I can see that. What about this?"
…...
Grell picked the discarded paperwork off the floor, along with the other items that had earlier in the evening been on the desk, before it had been used for other things. Will was sullen and serious, avoiding making eye contact and muttering under his breath. Once everything was close to where it should be, they just both stood there in awkward silence. Grell watched as William buttoned his shirt. He went to tie his tie, but Will brushed his hands off and turned away. He stood there, looking out the window for a while. Grell coughed.
"...That was nothing, Sutcliff. It never happened. You can leave now."
"But Will-chan..."
"Nothing, hear me?" Will leaned heavily against the windowsill. "Go home, I'll see you at tomorrow's meeting."
Grell nodded, even though he knew Will couldn't see him and quietly exited the office, hoping Will would snap out of denial soon.
…...
January came and went, with little happening. The mornings stayed dark, Grell started coming into work later and later, blaming his foul mood on the dark mornings ~which he's always liked~ and refusing to accept that it was because Will refused to talk to him. Handing in paperwork became difficult, as Will's office door had taken to being locked. At first he'd put it down to Will's not wanting to be disturbed, but when he'd mentioned it in passing to Ronald Knox, the younger man looked puzzled and told him that he'd never found it so.
At the beginning of February, Grell had wanted answers. No longer content with only the memories, he'd waited until late one evening and knocked incessantly on the door of Will's office until he heard footsteps, and the lock click open. Will looked as worse for wear as Grell felt, but he'd been more than accommodating. When Grell left that night, he'd been assured that it was just another mistake and that it wouldn't happen again. Grell had just closed his eyes. The next week he'd come into work hungover ~damn Ronald's parties~ to find a single red rose on his desk. When questioned about it, Will had denied everything. It wasn't until two in the afternoon that Grell had realised it was the fourteenth. Valentines day.
The days began to lighten, and in March the flowers began to bloom. Grell had started to give up. He brushed it off as temporary insanity on Will's part and tried to come to terms with the face that it would probably never happen again.
One night in April, Will came to Grell's office, his hair a mess, his tie crooked, and the first few buttons on his shirt undone. Grell's theory had been wrong.
In May, it had become a semi-regular occurrence. Will still denied that anything ever happened, and told Grell to do the same, but once or twice every week he would turn up at Grell's flat. And Grell, like an idiot, would let him in every time. He also began to notice that Will would push his glasses up every time he lied.
June saw the meetings carry on. Nothing much changed, Grell still followed along like a love-struck puppy, and Will continued along with the façade that it was all one big mistake. He denied that he was in love with Grell, he explained it away as passion and bad days and not wanting to go home alone. Grell thought he had daddy issues.
In July, Grell knew something has to be done. He couldn't put up with it any more. He wanted something real, something dependable. He didn't want secret meetings, or a lover that denied everything. He wanted someone to lean on when he had had a bad day. He'd tried that once. Will had tutted and offered him a drink, before continuing with work. Grell hadn't been very happy, but he'd never told Will any of it.
August 1st
Grell awoke with bright sunlight in his eyes, wishing for it to be September already, when the mornings were darker. He'd been late for work. He never bothered to show up on time any more. Will didn't care. It was the same with his paperwork. His shelves were loaded with files from June. He hadn't given them to Will, because Will hadn't asked. When he finally dragged himself into work, he got a few raised eyebrows and murmurs behind his back. People were starting to talk about why Will was tightening his hold on everyone else, but relaxing his grip on Grell, although no-one believed that any of that was going on. They all thought Grell was headed for a demotion. Sometimes, he thought so too.
In the calm of his office, he began to work on the latest case file. He filled in details and signed sheets of paper until a knock on the door caused him to look up. Dropping his pen, he slid his hand under the desk, crossing his fingers and hoping it was Will.
"Come in." He called, using the other hand to neaten his hair. The door opened, and a mousy-looking rookie poked his head around the door. His glasses were nothing special. He obviously hadn't yet passed the final exam. Grell sighed in annoyance and brought his hand up to rest on the desk. "Yes?"
"Excuse me sir, I hope I'm not interrupting, it's just that Will-sama has noticed that you've fallen behind in your paperwork, and sent me over here to collect the files that are outstanding." The rookie blushed.
"I think he'll find I'm up to date. Tell him that I'll drop it off later." Grell waved a hand, shooing the rookie away.
"He said you might say that, and that if you did I was to insist on taking it now. Sorry, sir." He blushed deeper. Grell sighed.
"Very well. It's over there." He motioned towards the files on the shelf, and the few crates scattered around the office. The rookie's eyes widened.
"Ok. I'll be right back." He left for a few minutes, before returning with several other rookies, all of whom picked up a stack of files, bowed to Grell, and then scurried out of the door like mice. Grell's eyes narrowed.
By lunchtime he almost wished he had more paperwork. Sitting around the office he seemed to be more likely to bump into Will. The superior had other plans, though, as at half past one he got orders to go out and do some fieldwork. He pouted, slammed the paper on the desk.
"I don't wanna." He said to himself, knowing that he would.
It took him longer than expected. The target was a young man with the skills to change surgery, but the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Grell was pleased. He would suggest the person be saved, which meant he'd have to go directly to Will, who wouldn't be able to avoid him this time.
The crowd that gathered around the body seemed to object to a chainsaw being plunged into a dying man's heart. It had taken an hour to explain to them that he wasn't a murderer. And even then, he wasn't sure that they believed him. Somehow, he escaped the police, and after a further hour of being chased by them he returned to his office, exhausted and out of breath.
It took him another forty five minutes to complete the case file, signing the relevant documents and writing a report as to why the man should be allowed to live. He followed the strict protocols in place, in case Will found any reason to ignore him again.
At five, Grell knocked three times on Will's door, presuming it to be locked. When there was no answer, he tried the handle. The door opened, revealing a dark room. He turned the lights on. The boxes of paperwork were beside Will's desk, but everything else was packed away. It looked like he had left early. He poked his head out of the door, and saw Ronald walking by.
"Have you seen Will anywhere?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah, he went out half an hour ago." Ronald blinked rapidly.
"Did he say why? Or where?"
"Uh, no? I don't know. I just saw him with his coat on heading out the door. He hasn't been back since. Probably went home. S'what I would do." Ronald shrugged, and meandered off down the corridor. Grell rolled his eyes. Even when something was unavoidable, Will managed to avoid it.
It took half an hour of searching (and no small sum of money paid to the receptionist) to find Will's address. It took a further twenty three and a half minutes to find his apartment. All the while it had been raining, and Grell arrived at the front door dripping wet. He knocked twice. No answer. He tried the handle. It was unlocked.
As he walked through the hallway, he heard running water. Blushing even though he knew it was nothing he hadn't seen before, he realised that Will must have been in the shower. Poking his head into a few rooms, he worked out that the bathroom was attached to Will's bedroom. The door was open, and he could see mist swirling lazily as it passed through the doorway. He sat quietly on the bed, facing the door to the bathroom. Gazing in, he saw Will's back behind a steamy piece of frosted glass. Grell blushed again.
He heard the water being turned off and saw Will reach for a towel, which he wrapped around his waist. Grell held his breath as Will turned.
If Will was shocked to see Grell sat on his bed, he didn't show it. He just sighed and walked into the bedroom.
"Did you want something, Sutcliff?" He asked, using a hand towel to dry his hair. Grell's eyes were so fixed on Will's naked torso that it took him a moment to register that someone had said something.
"Uh... Case file. On the kitchen table." He resumed his staring. Will rolled his eyes.
"Anything else?" He asked.
"I-" Grell thought. "I can't do it any more, Will-chan." Hi bit his lip nervously. Will sighed.
"Can't do what?" He hung the towel on the rail outside the bathroom. His hair flopped messily in his face. Grell gestured between them.
"This." He breathed. "The times we... And when you just drop me like this..." Will ran a hand over his face before walking over to Grell, so he was facing him. He leant over so they were at eye level.
Before Grell knew what was happening, Will's lips had found his. Grell put a hand on his superior's ~naked~ chest and pushed him back, lightly. Will looked confused.
"Not again. I'm not going to be dropped again. It's all or nothing." Will's face fell.
"You noticed." He said seriously. Grell's eyebrows shot up.
"You repeatedly sleep with me and then drop me like I'm nothing and expect me not to notice?" His eyes widened in surprise.
"I hoped you hadn't." Will closed his eyes, breathing heavily.
"Why did you do it?"
"I didn't know what I wanted." Will opened his eyes, his face pleading. Grell stood to leave.
"Well I suggest you decide. Because I can't do it any more, Will. It's all or nothing." He started to move towards the door, wanting to escape because he knew what Will would choose.
But then a hand caught his wrist.
"I don't need to decide. I know." Before the words had sunk in, Grell was being spun around, turned to face Will. "You." Will's lips were on his once more, with a passion he'd never felt. When they broke apart, Will's words were hardly audible.
"I want you."