So one of my m/m pairings is the overly excited, eccentric Grell, and the stiff, rule-follower William. I feel William wants to break the rules so badly, but he may have suffered badly for doing so in the past, but Grell just tempts him to do it one more time. I have seen various places that the Reapers are party animals - I love the Musicals where they show the Reapers dancing and talking about the latest parties... - so why not have the two start a conversation and ... well... move on?

Grell was in the corner, a few Reapers throwing verbal insults. There was laughter and Grell tried to join in, summon something that sounded like a blase approach to the conversation - the mocking and the taunting not phasing him. But he gave a small smile and the music was once more up, and the Reapers once more walked away, forgetting their query, satisfied it would not bother them as they went back and drank. Grell saw William in the other corner, eying him a bit and the red-head shook his long mane and turned around and stalked quickly to the bedroom, knowing that there was a quiet balcony, a quiet place, a place he could vanish.

William had passively watched as the others in the department celebrated a month of good reports, souls matched, films stored properly, and they were once more recognized as "improved." William was very pleased at all this. However, he was less pleased at how some had cornered Grell into a corner and had taunted him. But as the most senior Reaper in the group, he didn't want to play favorites, even so Grell wasn't one of the favorites, and had suggested to Ronald to merely turn the music back up. And the crowd went back to dancing. William quietly slipped to follow Grell into the bedroom, watching as the red-head now was on the balcony. He studied the man, the way his arms were folded and he gazed at the full moon, his glasses perched on his nose, and his right hand held his chin.

He opened the sliding door and shut it with enough force to let him know that he was not alone, but not enough to startle Grell. He darted too easily lately when William was around.

"Grell," William said at last as he stood a foot away.

The man turned and seemed to be startled at how close they were. "Will."

"Back inside… are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, yes, just how the boys like to bond. You know, always picking on the fascinating and beautiful people."

William nodded slowly. "Are you okay?" He asked a bit more forcefully. "I mean, with the others."

"Oh it was just… jokes."

William pushed his glasses up. He wasn't sure if Grell understood the depths of the teasing. Because it wasn't just jokes. It was a hint of truth. He looked away. He understood that frustrated feeling when he looked at the Reaper. William was a lover of rules; Grell smashed them like they didn't exist and found them annoyingly binding. But he respected them. He worked in the rules, just outside the lines. William had a deep admiration for the singular Reaper who did not conform. Who looked around and wore his clothes a bit to bright, a bit to low, a bit to tight, a bit to …

"William?"

He snapped his thoughts back and pushed his glasses up unnecessarily.

"Are you, concerned for me?" Grell asked, his high pitched voice hitching a bit higher as he faced the senior Reaper. "Surely…" he shook his head and sighed. "You should go back and enjoy yourself," Grell said finally.

"I wasn't enjoying myself. I felt like I was watching you being verbally worked over. You," he paused and pinched his nose a bit. "You don't deserve that. Even as infuriating as you make our jobs, Grell, you don't deserve to be made fun of. Tonight is a celebration - we finally are doing well."

"Thanks," Grell said softly. "I suppose even you can let me have one night off from being told to fuck off."
William sucked in a deep breath and said nothing. He felt shame because that one statement was true, but it wasn't really true. It was true when Grell came in and dragged more paperwork to undo something he had done, or had requested to do, and did not wait for approval. It was true when he turned in paper after paper citing his Death Scythe as "unauthorized" and then Ronald came back with something as equally unauthorized, almost as if supporting Grell in the rule breaking. He knew he had to keep the man under a tight thumb, and had often scolded him too much.

But it wasn't true when William was thinking about his crew of Death Gods. When he looked at the count of souls reaped, and successful reels taken, Grell managed to do as well as the others. William had to admit the flashy style was working for the man. And sometimes, late at night, when he had not a companion to sate his needs, he thought of the bumbling red-head. He thought of how his sharp teeth were too sharp, and his skin too soft, his wild hair was unbound and ready to be pulled. How he wished to pull the hair of the rule-breaking man.

"I did not come out here to heap more on you," William said finally. "I came out here to make sure you were okay. You are my fellow Reaper and even so I have filed a lot of citations -"

"80174 to be exact. And it's only March," Grell said, bitterly. He smiled a bit, and William paused.

"I care about you," he said instead and met the startled green-yellow eyes that turned on him. "I… care about how you are feeling." William added. He felt his heart speed up a bit. He looked away and bit his lip, not sure why it was happening, not sure what would happen next. "I'm sorry, I should leave you…"

But he found Grell in his way. He found the Reaper's hands on his arms, pinning him to the wall. He found the bright eyes a bit too close, a bit to eager, a bit to thankful.

William suddenly snaked his hands around the red-head's face and pulled him in, crushing their lips together. In a split second he suddenly knew what he had to do to make Grell know someone did not hate him as much as the Reaper was sure everyone did. Let him know that someone would hold him when it got too much. Shield him when the attacks shook the smile off his face.

"Will," Grell said, breathless and searching his sudden companions' eyes. "What… what was that? Not that I am going to complain… it was just…"

"Sudden," William finished.

Grell nodded. "Sudden." A blush came over his face and he turned a bit. "But not unwelcome," he added. "What kind of Reaper would I be if I gave in so quickly?"

"Hmm," William said, now stroking the mane he had always wondered what it felt like. "Good. I don't want to alarm you, but I would like to kiss you again."

Grell looked back and smiled. His tongue darted out and William groaned, opening his own mouth as he kissed the man again. This time there was a slow burning as they kissed, tongues tentatively taking and testing, asking and permitting, and William, now the dominant, pulled Grell closer, deeper, faster, wanting more of the man's body on his own. He wanted to comfort the man. He wanted to wash the words out of the others mind. He wanted to say things only lovers would say.

"Come home with me," William breathed as Grell kissed his neck slowly. William pushed his glasses up and sighed. Yes, that was what he wanted to say to the man as he watched the others taunt him. Yes, that was what he wanted to say to the man as he watched the others laugh at him. "Please, come home with me."