A/N: Oh, look, another Kuroshitsuji story... big surprise! XD Anyway, this story stemmed from my absolute love of ErikuXAlan and my intense desire to write a story about them. I wanted to do something a bit different than the other stories I've seen, so I decided to delve into their pasts and show, through four parts, how these two grew into the best of friends and then something more. This chapter focuses on their first encounter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I would pay 1,000 souls to own ErikuXAlan... but sadly, that's not a possibility (plus, I'd never really do that...).

Time Passes, Flowers Bloom

Part 1~ The First Meeting

"Dude, check out the hot babes." The grinning Shinigami brushed a lock of short, blonde hair out of his eyes and elbowed the boy sitting next to him, angling his chin towards the door where a group of ample-bodied young girls was entering the bar.

"Damn, those are some hot chicks," the other boy agreed, sitting up straighter in his chair. His posture was as messy as his attire, which currently consisted of a white, button-up shirt that was half tucked-in, half hanging out of a pair of black slacks. His black jacket was draped lazily over the back of his chair, the fingers of his black gloves peeking out of one of the deep pockets.

"Think I can get one of 'em to let me buy her a drink?" the short-haired Shinigami asked, smirking mischeiviously. He raised one eyebrow, obviously up to the challenge he'd just set for himself.

"Go for it, Ronald," the other Shinigami replied, matching his friend's smile with a playful look of his own. "Hell, maybe I can score a girl tonight, too…"

"Just keep trying, Eric- I'm sure one of 'em will come around soon," Ronald said, standing up and putting a hand on Eric's shoulder. He gave it a friendly, reassuring squeeze and then sauntered off to join the group of giggling girls who were now sitting down at the main part of the bar. Eric leaned back and gazed serenely at the doorway, letting one arm dangle carelessly over the back of his chair.

It wasn't that Eric had trouble finding girls to go out with- that wasn't the case at all. In fact, Eric was considered one of the most popular guys in the Dispatch Society, and many young Shinigamis in his training school often came to him for dating tips and advice. He could have any girl he wanted with absolutely no trouble whatsoever. The problem was that Eric didn't want just an easy, pretty girl anymore; he wanted someone to be with, someone who he could share his thoughts and desires with who wouldn't blurt them out to all her giggling girlfriends the next day and then immediately leave him for someone less thoughtful.

No, what Eric really wanted was a partner, someone who he could really talk to and laugh with. He didn't necessarily want someone to be with for life- he wasn't even out of training school yet, and eternity was a long time to spend with one person- but a person who he could at least spend more than a few days with before they both became bored with each other and decided to move on.

Eric was mulling over these thoughts as he often did those days, when he noticed another person enter the bar. It was a bit hard to tell from a distance, but it appeared to be a girl about the same age as Eric. She had straight, reddish-brown hair that went down to just past her ears, and she was wearing a sky-blue colored sweater with a plunging neckline. However, much to Eric's dismay, she was also wearing a white, collared shirt underneath the sweater that didn't have a chance of revealing anything unless the buttons were undone- which, of course, they weren't.

She didn't have much going on in the chest area anyway, Eric noted with a slight frown. Nevertheless, the girl's sharp, defined, angelic face, possessing an expression of uncertain apprehension as her emerald eyes gazed around the room, made up for the lack of physical assets. Indeed, Eric could already see the eyes of all the other single- and some not so single- male patrons on her as she stepped out of the way to let other people enter the bar behind her.

The girl fingered the edges of her shirtsleeves nervously as she looked around for a place to sit, biting her lip in a way that made Eric's heart flutter ever so slightly. It appeared as if she'd never been in a place such as this in her entire life. Which was probably the case, Eric thought, as the girl realized that he seemed to be the only lone person at a table and met his gaze with her own frightened one. Eric instantly jumped out of his seat and gestured for her to come over, scooting out the chair next to him.

Maybe she'd be the one, Eric mused wistfully as the girl started towards him. She was definitely attractive… but maybe that's all she was- just another pretty face in a sea of endless pretty faces. Still, one never knows when they'll find their special someone… Eric would just have to give it a chance and hope for the best.

"Um, i-is it alright for me to sit here?" the girl questioned, blushing slightly as she walked up to him. Her voice was a little deeper than most of the other girls Eric had talked to, but not in a masculine way.

"Yeah, go ahead." Eric held out a hand as the girl lightly sat down in the chair next to his, gazing around nervously. She seemed to be very out of her comfort zone. "Name's Eric Slingby."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Slingby," the girl replied, placing her small, pale hand in his own and gripping it gently. She seemed so fragile that Eric was almost afraid she would break if he touched her. But, her hand didn't fall to pieces as he shook it, so he reasoned that she must be relatively safe from crumbling before his eyes.

"My name is-"

"Aw, dude, you already picked up a chick?" The girl was cut off as Ronald suddenly appeared at the table. His arm was hooked though a brunette-haired woman's, who seemed to be hanging off of him as if her life would end should she let go.

"Excuse me?" the girl questioned, frowning at the newcomers. God, even her frown was cute…

"Dude, seriously?" Eric said, irritated. Ronald just grinned at him and unhooked the girl from his side, with more effort than should have been necessary had the girl not been digging her nails into his flesh.

"I'll meet you back over there in a few minutes, 'kay, babe?" Ronald told her gently. The girl pouted and squeezed his arm tightly again, pressing herself against him in an attempt to sway him to spend more time with her. Ronald rolled his eyes and looked at Eric as if to say here we go again. "I'll be right there, I promise." Ronald lightly kissed the brunette on the forehead and she instantly swooned. She nodded dazedly and tottered off back towards the main part of the bar, waving to Ronald as she retreated.

"Sorry about that," Ronald said, shrugging as he resumed his place on Eric's other side. Eric groaned inwardly- why did Ronald have to pick tonight to be the evening to bother the hell out of him? "So, how long have you been hanging around here?"

Eric glanced at the girl sitting next to him as Ronald started to chat with her. She was looking at Ronald with a wary, uncertain expression on her face. She was still tugging on the edges of her shirtsleeves, but she stopped when she noticed Eric gazing at her.

"Oh, um, actually this is my first time at… at a place like this," the girl replied, her emerald eyes sweeping around the room again. They appeared even brighter behind her oval glasses. Eric's eyebrows creased as a sudden realization struck him. Glasses and bright green eyes? Was she possibly one of the rare female Shinigamis that he'd heard about during his classes at the training academy? Even though they were extremely unheard of, there had been cases where a Shinigami was a female. However, this was so rare that there had only been four, maybe five of them in the Shinigamis' entire history. Women were just too emotional to do the job correctly- they became overwhelmed by the deep feelings inside the Cinematic Records and were unable to collect the souls the records belonged to.

That must mean that this girl had a heart of steel. Eric groaned inwardly again; just his luck… Maybe, just maybe, she'd be nice and not act like she had a stick up her ass like most of the other Shinigamis. Except Ronald and Eric himself, of course, although Eric had heard rumors of a rather flamboyant, red-loving Shinigami higher up in the Dispatch that apparently acted nothing like the others…

"So, babe…," Ronald said, leaning closer to the girl. Her bright eyes widened and she scooted back in her chair as far as she could. "Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again?"

"W-what?" the girl questioned, looking utterly confused, and Eric slapped a palm to his forehead.

"Ronald, seriously!" he exclaimed, and Ronald laughed. "Can you lay off a little?"

"Wait, what did you…?" The girl trailed off. It seemed like she was trying to make sense of Ronald's pick-up line, but was failing to do so.

"Damn, you really haven't been out much, have you, babe?" Ronald laughed incredulously.

"No, she just doesn't get your lame pick-up line, idiot," Eric responded, glaring at his friend. The girl instantly frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but Eric didn't notice this action and kept talking. "If you really want to try a pick-up line, try something like-" He turned to the girl, who was looking very flustered. "-do you have a twin sister?" The girl shook her head, puzzled. "Then you must be the most beautiful girl in the world."

The girl instantly blushed, light pink patches staining her pale, smooth cheeks. She quickly tore away from Eric's gaze and stared fiercely at her lap, clasping her hands together.

"But I'm not-" she began to speak, but once again Ronald cut her off.

"Aw, no fair!" he exclaimed indignantly, slapping a hand on the table. "My line was way better than yours!" Eric merely rolled his eyes and looked back at the girl. He paused, wanting to ask her if she was indeed a Shinigami, but not sure how to bring it up.

"So, are you new to the Dispatch Society?" Eric's mouth fell open at Ronald's nonchalant question. The girl looked up, startled, her expression that of a deer in headlights.

"Ronald!" Eric hissed, smacking the Shinigami on the arm. "You can't just blurt out stuff like that! That's one of the main rules, remember?"

"Aw, rules shmules," Ronald waved his comment away, and then gestured to the girl's face. "And come on, it's kinda obvious she's one of us- I mean, look at those eyes." Suddenly, he snatched the glasses right off her face and held them across the table, out of her short reach. She gasped and instantly started groping around blindly, obviously not able to see what she was doing. She managed to knock over both Eric and Ronald's drinks before Eric was able to wrestle the glasses out of Ronald's hand and give them back to her.

"And she can't see a thing without her glasses," Ronald concluded as the other two glared fiercely at him. "Yup, definitely a Shinigami."

"Is that true?" Eric asked, a hint of awe in his voice that he tried unsuccessfully to hide.

"Yes," the girl replied. "I'm new to the Shinigami Dispatch Society, though… Actually, I'll be starting training school next Monday."

"Sweet!" Ronald grinned. "You won't be in our class, but we'll probably see you around there!"

"Oh, are you two in training school as well?" the girl questioned, her curious eyes wide. Man oh man, what Eric wouldn't give to have those beautiful eyes staring at him and only him…

"Yeah, we're third years," Eric answered, and the girl smiled. It seemed to light up every bit of her features, and both Eric and Ronald were taken aback for a moment.

"I'm so glad I'll at least know someone there, then!" she said happily. "The only Shinigamis I've met so far were the men who gave me my initial entrance tests. I don't even remember their names…"

"It's alright, no one ever does- not even them!" Ronald remarked, and everyone laughed. When they had quieted down, Ronald held out his hand to her. "That's great we're gonna be seeing a lot of each other, but I never introduced myself, did I? I'm Ronald Knox."

"Nice to meet you," the girl replied, taking his hand in her own. "My name is Alan Humphries."

There was dead, deafening silence. Ronald's hand went slack in Alan's grip, and Alan frowned.

"But… Alan is a guy's name," Ronald mumbled helplessly, while Eric's mouth hung open uselessly.

"That's because I am a guy," Alan responded simply. The other Shinigamis gawked at him, identical looks of horror plastered across their faces. There was another minute of awkward silence, and then Ronald exploded.

"B-b-but… you said… and then I… and then you… why didn't you say anything earlier?" Ronald exclaimed, ripping his hand out of Alan's grip and furiously wiping it off on Eric's jacket.

"I tried to, but you kept cutting me off!" Alan yelled back, frustrated. He jumped when Eric abruptly slapped a hand on his chest and squeezed.

"…He is a dude," Eric said dully when all he could feel were the outlines of slightly-toned muscles.

"H-hey!" Alan yelped angrily, slapping Eric's hand away. Ronald screamed and jumped out of his chair.

"SHIT, I'VE BEEN FLIRTING WITH A DUDE THIS WHOLE TIME!" he shrieked as he ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Alan stared after him, frightened, and Eric slumped onto the table.

So much for Alan being his special someone- Eric was definitely not interested in guys, no matter how feminine they looked…

"Um, Mr. Slingby?" Alan said tentatively, lightly tapping Eric on the arm. Eric sighed and picked his head up, wondering how he could've thought that this boy with the innocent face was actually a girl. After a few seconds, he sat up straight and patted Alan on the back.

"Well, Alan," he said, and Alan gazed up at him, looking both concerned and completely flustered. "Congrats on making Ronald run away screaming- not many people have been able to do that, let alone another guy."

"Uh, thank you…?" Alan replied, not sure if Eric was giving him a compliment or not. Eric laughed at Alan's lost expression.

"You really have a lot to learn, don't you?" he grinned, and Alan's mouth turned down slightly. "You're gonna have a lot to catch up on, but I think you'll do just fine at the Dispatch Society."

"Thank you, Mr. Slingby!" Alan smiled fully at the vote of confidence, his whole demeanor livening.

"You can call me Eric, you know," Eric told him, but Alan shook his head.

"You're my upperclassman- it just feels more comfortable to call you Mr. Slingby, at least for me." Eric laughed and shook his head incredulously.

"You're all right, kid." He patted Alan on the back once more. Maybe Alan wasn't his special someone, but who said they couldn't be friends? "You're all right."

A/N: And there you have part one. Believe it or not, this was thought up during a night of role-playing in a hot tub with everyone hyped up on sugar and Mountain Dew... I think it came out pretty well, didn't you? Please tell me *hint* in a review!