A/N: Thanks to Black Blood of the Red Rose for being my beta for this piece!
"Hello, Grell."
Gooseflesh prickled up Grell's arms. The way he said her name, it tickled and ached all at the same time. She spun around, red coat, red hair in a whirl, and slung her scythe up on her shoulder. Pose, pout, give him the elevator eyes. Looking good as ever, all human skin and wine-red eyes. Grell didn't see his little master anywhere.
"Bassy," she said, just as calmly, belying her rather visceral reaction to just his sinful voice. "What brings you to my little alley?"
"I," he paused, those long-lashed lids fluttered closed, and Sebastian took a moment to compose himself. "I need your assistance."
"Oh?" she asked, a lilt of disbelief coloring the sound. Grell could see the pain admitting that brought, but wasn't about to rub it in his face lest she scare him off. If she weren't so considerate towards demons, he probably wouldn't have even approached. "You need a reaper's help, you mean. Not mine."
"Yes."
Grell smiled, revealing her pearly shark teeth. She liked an honest man, especially an honest man who was bad, and there were none badder than Sebastian. She stepped lightly to the body she'd been sent to reap, some poor man who died of malnutrition, nameless to everyone but her. With a flick of her scythe his record spilled out, and Grell felt Sebastian move closer behind her. They watched the man's wretched life play out in amiable silence, then Grell cut through the record, and pulled out her list. Com-ple-ted. And done for the day.
She'd already forgotten who he was by the time she turned again to Sebastian. "You're lucky, this was my last one."
"I know."
"I - eh?" Grell frowned as she put away her list. "How'd you know? Was it Ronnie? It was Ronnie, wasn't it? He's such a blab."
"It wasn't Mr Knox. I've simply been debating this for some time now."
"Enough to learn my schedule? Are you stalking me, Bassy? I mean, not that I'm angry - quite the opposite, in fact - but a girl's got to have some secrets."
The demon gave a belabored sigh as Grell inched closer and closer, finally catching onto his arm. "I could not hope to nor want to ever understand you, Grell. Your secrets are safe."
She blew a raspberry at him and let him go. "Well, out with it then. What do you want?"
Instead of his neutral expression, which sat somewhere between amused and disdainful most days, Sebastian suddenly looked... shifty. Grell made a noise of interest as the demon surveyed their surroundings as though ears and eyes were everywhere. Curiouser and curiouser. "Not here. You need to come to the manor."
"I can come by now. We don't clock out or anything if we're in the field. Just on, or off, whenever the last record's cut. I don't even have overtime today, because I've been good. But," Grell added lasciviously, "I don't mind being bad if it's with you."
"No," he said immediately, reflexively. "If we're to go to the manor now, I need you to change. You're much too... " He trailed off, as though trying to think of something that wasn't an insult now that Grell had agreed to help him. "Too much for the servants," Sebastian settled on.
"Like change my jacket?" Grell asked, excitement a little deflated. She knew what he meant, but hoped it wasn't so. Her human disguise was so dull and male. "I could just stay invisible, you know."
"And have me talking to myself? If we're to go now, we'll invariably run into the servants. I would rather they know you're there than question what I'm doing."
Grell pouted and fluttered her lash, toying morosely with her bright red hair like a dejected child.
At Sebastian's flat expression, Grell gave up with a huff and combed her hair to a browner shade. Her curiosity often got the better of her, and this was a small price to pay to have Sebastian in her debt. Teeth flattened, eyes dimmed, contours shifted minutely. Grell always felt weaker, more exposed, like this. Though the suppressing of her reaper abilities actually made her less noticeable, it meant she was also less able to notice things like, say, another reaper five feet in front of her.
The human disguise slipped over her like a second skin, just a little dusty from disuse. It was one she was familiar with, even before Madame Red, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Grell couldn't do much about her shoes or glasses on such short notice. "Fine, happy?"
Sebastian just said, "Let's go," and held out his hand. When Grell slipped hers into his with a somewhat confused quirk of her eyebrow, he pulled her into a bridal hold. She flailed and almost toppled to the ground.
"What! What are you doing, you bastard!" Grell heard a solid exhalation as she caught Sebastian in the chest with her elbow. Nonetheless, he managed to corral her and, once Grell realized he was holding her as opposed to attacking her, she stilled to an unnatural degree. This - this was weird. She didn't know how to react.
"You changed your tone quickly. You're more human like this, correct?" At Grell's red-flushed nod, he shifted her to a more comfortable hold. "If we go at your pace, I don't trust you to not get distracted by shiny pennies or something."
"I'm more a crossbill than a magpie, don't you think?" Grell managed to counter weakly. This was probably just instinctual for Sebastian, and was nothing more than a means to an end. She knew, intellectually, not to read too much into any of his actions. It did do things to her stomach, though.
"You're certainly some kind of bird," Sebastian muttered as he readjusted Grell. Then they were off. Grell almost missed the muttered 'vulture' as she watched the buildings of London town fade to forests and fields. If it weren't for the fact that he'd drop her and she'd probably roll all the way to the manor on sheer momentum, she would have hit him for that.
He dropped her regardless as soon as they were safely in the garden, hidden behind some manicured topiaries, and walked over to a bench while Grell righted herself. The flowers were in full bloom, perfume light on the afternoon breezes, and if not that she'd just been manhandled, she would have been more than pleased by the scene Sebastian and the verdant backdrop painted.
"That was uncalled for," she muttered without heat as she followed behind him, nonetheless admiring the view presented while he had his back to her. Sebastian directed her to sit. It was odd, having him just stand there, no knives or snide remarks at the ready, but Grell could handle odd. She crossed her legs and looked up at him. "So. What do you need?"
"I do not belong on this plane," Sebastian began, staring off into some middle distance and standing very, very still. Grell probably ought to have felt insulted that just the act of talking to her caused so much discomfort, but she'd learned to take what she got. "And though I've been here many times, served masters all over, I don't know the intricacies of this world."
"And?" she prompted when he fell silent.
"And I don't know what to make of recent events." Admitting that he was at a loss seemed to hurt to him than getting gutted by a scythe.
Grell made an impressed noise. Something confusing Sebastian was something she'd like to see. He really was titillating her with all this vagueness, but she could only supply so much with her imagination. "You're going to have to be a wee bit less evasive, Bassy, if you want my help."
"Just -" he was interrupted by a commotion from the house. Grell enjoyed how the tension in his jaw hardened its shape, especially when it wasn't there because of her. It looked like he was swallowing back a sigh. "Just wait here."
"I'll wait forever for you, dear Bassy," Grell said with a blown kiss. She cackled at his look of disgust before he brushed past her to try and salvage whatever situation was occurring in the manor itself.
That left Grell to her own devices, something William had learnt long ago to never allow. Oh, but if she did something bad, then Bassy might tattle. He didn't actually like her, and she wasn't sure where she stood on him, but she liked having her fun and her freedom. If she got in trouble, especially with a demon (again, and again), she'd be back on desk duty for years. Grell took a deep breath and straightened, sitting primly on the edge of the stone bench.
Be proper. Ladies didn't get distracted by how absolutely awful and dull it was just waiting. And it was. So, so dull, like her current self. Grell began twining random locks of her ugly hair into loose braids for something to do, before unraveling them to repeat the process. Good lord, was he taking his time.
She abandoned her braiding when it proved to be truly unengaging, and hopped to her feet to prowl instead among the flowerbeds, intent on identifying them in all their tightly contained glory. Roses, fox gloves, cornflowers festooned with butterflies. Gardens were pretty, but how was a girl supposed to keep herself occupied with flowers? Grell crouched down to study a spiderweb strung like spun silver between two stems, then plucked a butterfly from one of the flowers. With an artist's care, she placed it in the spider's web. The little spider scrambled around its web to contain the sudden, panicking meal. Grell smiled at having made someone's day.
"I don't think you're allowed to be here, ma'am," a voice dragged out questioningly above Grell. She looked up. Blond hair, straw hat, big, blue eyes. Finny stood on the other side of the flowerbed, shifting from one foot to another, looking as unsure about his statement as he sounded. Grell hadn't seen him in ages, not since Madame Red. Her expression turned a little wistful at the thought of Anne, but she quickly shook it off.
She'd have to start acting, now, if Sebastian wanted her to be discrete. Humble, so slouch a little, curve the shoulders, twitch and stutter. That was how she'd met the servants before, and if she had to wear the disguise, that's how she'd meet them again. Let Sebastian have yet another incompetent servant on his hands.
"Grell? Sorry, from here you looked - " Finny fumbled to explain himself, but Grell held up her hand to cut him off as she straightened.
"It - it's okay, Finny. It's the hair, I know." She pulled it back, shaking free the last of the braids, but didn't have anything to tie it up, so just twisted it a few times and let it drape loosely over her shoulder. Her jacket and shoes didn't help her look very masculine, either, but she couldn't let it show just how pleased she was by the mistake. "How have you and the others been?"
"Fine, fine. What are you doing here? After, well," he cut himself off, though the memory of Madame Red's rather unfortunate demise hung between them. Grell doubted the servants were privy to the full extend of her death, or else she wouldn't just be in disguise. She'd be having to defend herself, if they thought she was a threat to Ciel.
"Sebastian actually asked me to come." Grell shared the befuddled look Finny adopted and shrugged. "I don't know what to make of it, either. He's being very mysterious."
"I'm sure he had a reason." Finny, ever trusting, didn't question any further.
"Strangest thing," Grell said, sitting again. Finny settled in next to her. She had to get back into character, and Finny was polite enough to not say if she acted too oddly, assuming he noticed at all. "He just showed up while I was working and told me to come out here as soon as possible. Said he needed my help with something."
Finny looked to the house, then back to Grell. "Begging pardon, but what would you be able to help him with?"
Grell sighed, not liking but understanding his confusion. She really had been useless as a butler, and so far as they knew she didn't have any redeemable qualities or skills. Though she still didn't know why she was here, she could make something up. "Something of a research nature, I believe. Like I said, he's being very mysterious."
"If you could wait five minutes without distracting the servants, I would tell you," Sebastian cut in. Both Finny and Grell yelped, Grell going so far as to hide behind the smaller boy when they leapt from the bench.
"Ah! Right, right! Sorry," she said, bowing profusely as Finny likewise apologized.
Sebastian dismissed Finny, but before the gardener got too far, he whirled around and yelled back, "I like your glasses, Grell!"
Grell automatically pushed them up, tiny skull chain clinking lightly. She supposed they were a little strange, even in combination with the rest of her very red clothing. "Thank you, dear!" She called back, forgetting for a moment that pet names weren't supposed to be something she did, now. Finny ran over to the fountain, where Grell assumed he'd been heading before, and with a frantic energy began to pull up weeds. Grell's nose scrunched as she saw a giant slab paver get pulled up, too.
"So," she continued, looking up at Sebastian with a grin highly unsuited to her current face. She'd forgotten how adorably awkward Finny was, and deigned not to mention that he wouldn't have been distracted if she'd been invisible. "What did you want?"