A.N. Well here it is, my long ago promised magnum opus of WillxGrell fluff! And I warn you, it is FLUFF! It's so fluffy it puts bunnies to shame! There really is no excuse :P This is what happens when you are a hopeless romantic and watch Love Actually one to many times before trying to write a fic!
Sorry this is the most belated New Year's fic EVER, but there were lots of editing issues plaguing it, and I wanted to get it right! Or at least as good as I could make it. I find I have trouble with this pairing, despite loving it to DEATH! This was also written before the Shinigami OVA was previewed, so it's probably not quite canon anymore, but who cares! I wanted cute WillxGrell fluuuuuff!
Warning for boys kissing, but really, if that bothers you, what are you doing in this fandom? XD I don't own Kuroshitsuji, otherwise it might turn into a ridiculous fluff fest like this, and we can't have that!
Shout out to Ann-chan (my beloved William) and Shadowfaith (my darling beta and Ronald)! Also, if you are familiar with my DA account, you may see a scene in chapter three that you might remember from a pic of mine...
The London Shinigami Dispatch office was buzzing with excitement. So much so that William could scarcely concentrate, being constantly distracted by loudly exclaimed well wishes and peals of laughter. The cause of course, was New Year's Eve. It was still early in the work day on New Year's Eve, as William had already reminded several young reapers he had seen lounging about discussing their evening's plans, but New Year's Eve none the less. Work had slowed to a crawl as most of the reapers seemed to find it a better use of their time to prepare for the party to be held at General Affairs, rather than getting their paperwork filled out.
William T. Spears was of course, not most reapers. Ever the diligent Dispatch Management Division supervisor, William was working steadily through a veritable mountain of forms. Just as all department's ledgers had to be balanced by the end of every month, it was true ten fold for the new year. Not only would the balance ledger need to be completed, but any inventory, personnel transfer or leave forms, and deathscythe modification approval applications needed to be signed and dated by midnight January 1st. It wasn't as if William had simply put this off until the last moment, but rather the entire division was woefully understaffed and overworked, putting them consistently at least a month behind.
Despite the ever increasing chatter taking place right outside his door (that William's threats seemed to do little to deter), he felt as though he was making good progress. If he continued at this pace, he might even finish with a half hour to spare. What a concept, to actually be able to enjoy the coming of the New Year. Just as a small smile had almost found it's way onto the stoic supervisor's lips, a flurry of crimson flew into his office, scattering a few papers as he gracefully plopped into a chair across from William's desk, acting as if he owned the place.
"Morning Will~!"
William frowned. In all honesty, though he would never admit it even under torture, William didn't really mind Grell's uninvited presence in his office most of the time. It was annoying and completely distracting, there was no question of that, but the redhead's energetic (and often flirtatious) behavior did bring a certain liveliness to William's otherwise monotonous existence. Almost like a breath of fresh, lightly perfumed air. As long as Grell didn't eat up too much of William's day with his mindless chatter, he was generally tolerated, and perhaps even begrudgingly appreciated at times. Now was not one of those times however, as the end of year deadline loomed ever closer.
"What are you doing here Grell Sutcliff? I am extremely busy right now, as well should you be, so please make it quick."
"Aaaaaaa~ Will is so cold~!" Grell pouted playfully as he scooted his chair until it rested around the other side of the desk, right next to Will, his favorite spot to bother him it seemed. "I was just coming to wish you a happy New Year~! Are you going to the party tonight?"
"Most certainly not. You know very well that these forms must be completed by the start of the new year, and since no one around here seems to want to do their work properly, it once again falls on me to finish it." William tersely responded, hoping Grell would take the hint and leave him alone.
"Oh come on, the other supervisors probably won't have finished by tonight! Have a little fun, you deserve it~!"
"I couldn't care in the slightest what the other supervisors do or do not finish. I for one take pride in my work, and wish you would as well Grell Sutcliff. Remember, I asked you to get all the unfinished forms from those slackers in your department handed in to me before the end of the work day you know, so I can complete those as well." William sighed wearily, not feeling bad in the slightest for making Grell play gofer. With all the interruptions the redhead provided, collecting up the extra forms was the least he could do. "Have you even finished your budget analysis from your last mission?" asked the dark haired reaper, not looking up from his form, already predicting Grell's answer.
"Um… well… kind of?" Grell said hopefully, smiling sweetly at his boss.
Sighing as he rubbed the bridge of his nose before adjusting his glasses, William's stoic mask slipped a bit as he replied wearily, "Honestly, it really would make things easier for me if you would at least complete your work you know. If you want me to go to these silly functions you go on about, you have to do your fair share so that I don't have to pick up your slack. I'm already going to have to work overtime as it is." he finished in a tired voice. He didn't expect his words to have any effect, they never did, but he at least felt a little better having expressed a bit of his disappointment and frustration. Perhaps now Grell would leave him be.
Grell did have the decency to feel a bit guilty as he considered Will's plight. Paperwork is just so bo~ring! His guilt was not enough to move him from his chair however, as he instead merely mumbled an apology, pressing his index fingers together with trepidation and looking anywhere but at his boss.
After a moment of awkward silence, in which the redhead waited to be smacked and William merely sighed, simply wishing to be left alone, Grell deemed it safe to resume his normal relaxed posture. Seemingly feeling his conscience was now cleared, Grell pulled out an emery board and began to sculpt his already well manicured nails.
"So…" he began in a cheerful tone, guilt at his non-existent work ethic apparently far behind him, "… what's your New Year's resolution Will?"
Well, that had failed miserably. Not that William had thought appealing to Grell's conscience would work. He was far too experienced with the redhead to really expect anything different. William swore Grell had a devil on each shoulder, as well as an extra hiding in that crimson mane of his, in case one of the others called in sick. His next course of action was to simply ignore the nuisance, hoping he would get bored and skip off to bother some other poor soul.
"Mine is to be kissed by my true love~!" Grell exclaimed dreamily when met with his boss's silence.
Apparently William had been too optimistic once again. Rolling his eyes at Grell's ridiculous "resolution", he couldn't stop himself from replying somewhat scornfully, "Honestly, from what I hear about your conduct on and off the job, that hardly seems like much of a resolution Grell Sutcliff. You seem to kiss several of your true loves on a daily basis."
"Aaa~ but I only have one true love Will, and while I may have stolen a kiss or two from him before, he's never kissed me." Grell giggled like some silly schoolgirl with a secret crush.
"There is no difference, as the result is the same." William frowned, too confused by Grell's statement to even begin to imagine who the redhead's one true love might be. Grell had stolen kisses from just about every male in the division, himself included. One had to be careful not to let their guard down around the infamous crimson reaper.
"Of course there is~! It makes all the difference! Any woman can tell you that!" the effeminate reaper replied, clearly scandalized at Will's ignorance.
"Well, seeing as how you are in fact not a…"
Brandishing the emery board threateningly in Will's direction, Grell fixed his boss with a glare. "Be careful how you finish that sentence Will!"
"…woman…" the emery board bounced harmlessly off William's glasses. "…I don't see how you are in any position to make such ridiculous claims."
"There is not a romantic bone in your body is there William?" Grell pouted as he crossed his arms in irritation.
Deciding not to even grace such an idiotic question with a response, William enjoyed a period of blissful silence. Grell seemed to be content to occupy himself with rifling through his desk. Upon finding William's colored sticky tabs for marking important documents in his large ledger, the redhead began using the crimson strips to form a large heart on the desk. William merely shook his head and continued working. Why do I let him get away with this nonsense? Grell was humming now as he took a post-it note and wrote in red ink "W+G" and stuck it in the middle of his creation. Raising an eyebrow, William decided to let Grell have his fun, as long as he was being quiet.
"You know Will…" William knew the silence was too good to last. "…you say you hate overtime, but what on earth do you do when you're not working? Do you have any secret hobbies I need to know about?" the redhead asked as he leered at his supervisor.
"My hobbies are no secret, though I'm not sure why you feel you would need to know them." was William's disinterested reply as he tried in vain to continue filling out the forms in front of him. William finally sighed in exasperation as Grell continued to stare expectantly at him. "If you must know, I enjoy reading in my spare time."
Rolling his emerald eyes, Grell laughed at his boss's predictability. "Figures~! What do you like to read?"
Would Grell never shut up? Honestly, William had already stated that these forms absolutely had to be completed by the end of the year, which the red haired nuisance most certainly knew was tonight at midnight. Of course instead of leaving him to finish in peace, or God forbid do some work of his own, here he was asking him about his reading preferences! William would have simply ignored Grell's continuous stream of questions, but he'd been down that road before. When Grell had a mind to, he could be damned persistent if he was in the mood to chat, which he clearly seemed to be.
Knowing (or at least hoping) that answering would bring an end to the redhead's visit more quickly, William sighed wearily and replied, "I don't know… Wilde, Dickens, Shakespeare…" trailing off as he rubbed his temple to sooth the headache he could feel looming on the horizon.
"Aaaaa~ See, how he leans his cheek upon his hand! Oooo~ that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek~!" Grell excitedly exclaimed.
Pausing in his anti-headache ministrations, and trying not to think too hard on the fact that his hand had not technically been on his cheek, nor the fact that Grell had just cast him in the role of Juliet, he instead merely raised an eyebrow. William would have never thought the hyperactive redhead capable of sitting down long enough to read a Shakespeare play. Before he could think about the fact that it would probably only encourage the idiot, William dryly replied, "That he's mad, 'tis true, 'tis true 'tis pity, and pity 'tis 'tis true—a foolish figure."
"Aaaaa~ A hit, a very palpable hit~!" Grell mock-swooned playfully, clearly enjoying himself. "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." the redhead purred as he slid his leg under the desk to caress Will's calf.
A swift kick sent Grell's errant foot retreating. "Man delights not me— nor woman neither, though by your actions you seem to say so." William replied, intently focused on his paperwork.
Not to be deterred, Grell rose from his chair and sat daintily on the desk's paper laden surface to face the other man. Using a single finger he raised Will's chin, pulling his eyes from the form to meet the redhead's. "The course of true love never did run smooth Will."
A shiver ran down William's spine at the way Grell gazed at him, his eyes half lidded and hungry. Reacting on autopilot, William grabbed the offending digit and bent it back until the redhead twisted out of his grip and off the desk.
As Grell nursed his abused finger in his mouth, mumbling about his boss's cruelty, William adjusted his glasses and returned his attention to the neglected form. "I must be cruel only to be kind." William murmured, nearly smirking as he said it, but quickly reining in the unwanted expression. He was most definitely NOT having fun! William T. Spears did not have fun. Confident that a frown was firmly in place, William continued, "As I said, this paperwork must be completed by the start of the new year, so unless you wish to earn yourself some overtime with your continued interruptions, I suggest you get back to work Grell Sutcliff."
"But you play along so~ much more than Sebby did! I never knew you liked Shakespe…"
"That will be ALL Grell Sutcliff! Get back to work at once!" William snapped, nearly breaking his pen from clutching it too tightly. How dare Grell bring up that filthy demon in my presence! Feeling that headache finally make it's grand appearance, William grit his teeth and prepared to eject Grell from his office, by force if necessary, if one more ridiculous comment came out of his mouth.
"O, beware, my Will, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster."
That. Was. IT! Eyebrow twitching and pen finally giving in to the strain and snapping, William summoned his deathscythe. Angrily looking up at the red haired idiot, he shot the weapon towards Grell. Shrieking in shock, Grell ducked his supervisor's assault. Seeming to lack any self preservation skills, or possessing a set of balls he would never admit to (being the delicate lady he was), the redhead laughed and replied, "Aaaaa~ Will doth protest too much, methinks~!"
Feeling satisfied as his second assault hit it's mark (namely Grell's forehead) while the idiot had been spouting off more nonsense, William glared menacingly at the other reaper. Grell's eyes widened as he read the message in the other man's glare. A message that clearly said "Get the hell out of my office before I impale you in a way you will most certainly NOT enjoy."
Scurrying toward the door, followed closely by Will's expanding deathscythe, Grell flew out of his boss's office, shouting cheerfully as he went, "Parting is su~ch sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow~!"
Letting loose a small sigh of relief, William got up to quietly close the door. He felt like slamming it to take out some frustration, but that would be terribly unprofessional. Why has Grell gotten me so riled up? He is annoying, certainly, but it's not as if I haven't dealt with that before. Resting his forehead on the cool wood of his office door, William recalled Grell's taunting words once more, "O, beware, my Will, of jealousy…" Gritting his teeth, William lightly banged his head on the door in the futile hope it would knock him out, or at least derail his train of thought. Jealousy! That's ridiculous, absurd! I simply don't want my employees fraternizing with that demon! Nothing more! Grell certainly doesn't mean anything to me! Well… perhaps a friend… it's just… he… Realizing his rationalizations sounded pathetic even to himself, William let out a defeated sigh.
Who am I trying to kid? Ever since Grell had come into William's life, he had been nothing but a pest. Yet somehow, over the many years of their friendship, said pest had imbedded himself so deeply into William's world that he simply couldn't imagine life without the noisy, flirtatious, inappropriate, ridiculous man barging into his office daily. Despite them being polar opposites, Grell seemed to be the only person that not only wasn't afraid of William's icy demeanor, but who actually seemed to be happy to spend time with him.
Feeling like the fool he had earlier accused the redhead of being, William whispered to the office that suddenly felt too large and empty, "Such sweet sorrow… honestly". It seemed the perfect way to describe Grell's departure.
Every time the redhead would burst through the door to fill him in on office gossip William cared nothing about, or to retell the daring tale of his latest soul collection, or to simply mindlessly chatter on, content in thoroughly annoying him, William would find himself thinking that this was quite easily the least favorite part of his day. Virtually no work would get done as Grell yammered on, even sometimes managing to goad his supervisor into conversation. Whether William would finally kick him out in irritation, or the redhead would simply become restless and run off in search of someone else to bother, his visits would inevitably come to an end. As Grell's crimson coat tails fluttered out of sight and William was left alone in the deafening silence of his office, he would always stand corrected on what the least favorite part of his day truly was.
William heaved a heavy sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted, as he headed back to his desk to tackle his staggering workload once more.
