A/N: Hey, here's the next chapter! Hurh, Bio exam in a couple of days; dreading it is me! But this ain't a blog, but it may contain little updates and explanations! One I feel I should make clear since someone PMed me and asked about it; William is cold and stone hearted for a reason xD He hasn't seen Grell in a hundred years, so he's a little edgy around him on the first day he's seen him in so long. He's also slightly embarrassed; Grell knows him inside and out –quite literally- and he'll be in close contact with him whilst not really with him. I don't think William is the type to appreciate his workers discussing his life in the office, thus he's reluctant to put Grell next to Ronald, of all people xD
Anywho, enjoy!
When Grell awoke the next morning, it was in annoyance. His eyes felt as though sand had been deposited behind his eyelids, making it painful for him to open his eyes properly until he'd rubbed them. His bones felt like lead, and he knew immediately he was awake much too early. He couldn't really understand why he was awake; a hand shaking his shoulder quickly made it obvious as to why.
"Come on, wake up." Grell groaned loudly at the words, eyes opening fully to look at William standing next to his bed, bent slightly to shake him awake.
"It's a Saturday." Grell complained, flinching when the sheets were pulled off him.
"I'm not sure how it works in Greece, but in England people don't stop dying just because a Shinigami wants a day off." William answered, frowning when Grell rolled over and stuck his face in his pillows.
"In Greece, we work in teams of two; some of us work three and a half days a week, the other team works the rest. You should try it sometime!" Grell spoke sarcastically, still groggy and wanting to fall back asleep.
"Indeed, I would, but as head of the division, I would still have to work seven days a week. Now get up." The sheets were pulled back even further, pooling around the redhead's waist as William attempted to get him out of bed.
"No. You're quite sadistic, Will, if you're going to make everyone suffer just because you have to work everyday." Grell burrowed himself further into his pillows as he spoke, to the point where the end of his sentence was muffled and hard to understand. William shook his head, knowing he'd have to use his last resort. He'd known Grell would be difficult, and didn't want to use it, but short of dragging Grell from the bed to the office, he had no choice.
"Very well. I suppose you shall have to meet my fiancé when still in bed." At the word 'fiancé' Grell bolted upright, fully awake and eyes alight in surprise and veiled shock. He searched William's face, and once he locked eyes with the darker haired Shinigami, he scowled. William rarely lied, and whenever he did there was always a glint in his eyes that gave it away.
"That was terrible of you. To say something like that; you should be ashamed!"
"I know. I will take the time to weep profusely for such a sin later on. For now, you need to get up. You have an hour to get ready before we have to leave." William deposited a cup of coffee on Grell's bedside table before he quickly left, clearly eager to leave the room as soon as was possible.
Grell shook his head, taking the coffee from the table and taking a sip of it. He promptly yelped when he burned his tongue.
On the other side of the door, William Spears rolled his eyes, and made his way into the kitchen area of the house. He heard a clatter from the kitchen and, completely ignoring the source of it, he calmly walked to the basin and frowned at the coffee cup that was left carelessly in the cold water.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of silver, and in instinct his scythe was in his hand and held up quickly. It collided with another scythe and, with his body half titled and scythe arm outstretched, William merely gave a sigh.
"How many times do I need to tell you to wash out the cup if you are going to steal my coffee?" He asked, tone bored as he refrained from yawning and instead locked eyes with the other Shinigami in the room. The offending scythe was pulled back and slung over a shoulder, its owner grinning.
"Just testing your reflexes." At the words, William retracted his own scythe and placed the now-clean cup into one of the cupboards.
"Unnecessary. Now, could you explain why you are here this morning? If I recall correctly, Slingby, you had today off." William commented, watching as Eric Slingby sat down in one of the wooden chairs at the table. William sat opposite him, ledger already on the table with the names of the Shinigami being sent out to reap the most recent souls of the dead.
"I'm covering Ronald's shift for him today; he scored last night." Eric answered lazily, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms loosely over his chest.
"Slingby, I know that that is a lie. I also recall that Alan was due to have today off; I know for a fact that if the two of you both have a day off, not even I could pay one of you extra to come in." An all-knowing smirk graced William's lips momentarily, cold and false. "So tell me; why aren't you and Humphries following one another about like lost, pining puppies?" William looked up from his ledger once he'd finished speaking, smirk gone from his face as Eric grumbled under his breath.
"Ass. Alan hasn't been feeling his best; he won't tell me what's wrong, and I'm too bored to stay in that house all day." To annoy William, Eric put his feet up on the table and crossed his legs at the ankles.
"I guessed as much." At the look on Eric's face, William continued. "You thought I didn't know? From my office, Eric, I see everything. Just because you can not see me from the desks does not mean that I can not see you." William flicked a page in his ledger, ignoring the minute look of surprise on the other Shinigami's face.
"But it's forbidden, right? I'm still his mentor and senior; I thought fraternisation and all the connotations were against protocol?" Eric asked, smirk on his face as William leaned back in his seat to gain access to a kitchen drawer. Eric only shook his head when William procured a quill and ink vial from the drawer. William waited a moment before he answered the other man's question.
"Incorrect. Useless, one-night relationships are forbidden. However, if it is a valid relationship or the get together is made with the intent of dating, then there is nothing to stop it." William gave Eric a pointed look at this, pushing his glasses up his face and then writing something into the ledger in his neat handwriting.
"Interesting… I didn't know that…" Eric took on a contemplating look for a moment, before he grinned again and looked at William. "And what about you? Not even here a day and already rumours are flying around about you and that redhead. Some are believable; others are simply hilarious." Eric emphasised the last word, a cunning look behind his eyes. William raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed? I'm sure I don't wish to hear them. Any of them." William looked back down at his book, but not without seeing the look on Eric's face that told him that Eric would relay the rumours anyway, regardless of whether he wanted to hear them or not.
"The worst one includes you both having been princes of rival countries in your human lives, tangled in a torrid love affair before you were both assassinated and found to be Shinigami. They're saying that you've been searching the Shinigami world for each other ever since. The most believable one is that you're both men who engaged in a torrid love affair at the Academy, having a love-hate relationship before he fled for fear of commitment, and left you in England." Eric gave a laugh at this, unable to imagine his boss in any type of relationship, let alone a love affair. At first, he hadn't believed any of them, but the silence that had befallen William give him a signal that perhaps some of the rumours may have been true.
In what could have been the worst timing possible, Grell chose that moment to walk in, hips swinging and flipping his hair over his shoulders. He gave William a sly grin, shark teeth on show as he sauntered past William to place his own cup in the basin. The look he had passed William said it all, and Eric held back a snort of laughter as he let his eyes look at the redhead who was now turned away from them. He was about to open his mouth when William threw him a warning look.
"Not a word." William murmured quietly, loud enough for Eric to hear but too quiet to reach Grell's ears. Eric stifled another laugh.
"You… and him?" Eric mouthed just as quietly, holding his head in his hands to hide the features of a grin. If he'd had to picture William with someone, it would have been a strict, by-the-book person who had no interest in breaking rules or having a drop of desirable personality. It was definitely not –in his mind- someone as blatantly forward as the redhead at the basin.
Well, opposites attracted, he supposed.
"Will~ I'm ready; are you happy I had to wake up on a Saturday for this?" Grell asked, tone grumpy before he smiled at Eric. "Hello! Alan, right?"
"Nope. Eric Slingby. We only met briefly." Eric gave him an edgy grin, and William didn't need to think too much to realise it was likely because Grell hadn't been particularly friendly to Alan the previous day.
"Ah, yes, I remember you now!" Grell gave him a full smile, completely oblivious to the conversation that had gone on before he had entered the room. Flicking his hair over his shoulders again, he placed a cup back in the cupboard as Eric stifled another laugh, eyes on William.
Closing his ledger with a snap, William did all he could to keep himself from groaning in annoyance.
It would be a very long day.
