Here's chapter 2. Thank you for those who followed and reviewed! ^^ It means a lot, and the plot will make sense soon I promise. Still don't own Black Butler or any of the characters, I'm working on it though!
The night passed rather uneventfully considering the circumstances; Grell slept peacefully for the most part, and Undertaker got some more work done on a corpse that had been delivered to him the day before. He never slept much himself, so it was nothing for him to stay up all night; he often did it on his own accord. Only when the first rays of sunlight began to peak through the thick gray clouds that hung almost perpetually over London did he make some hot tea and settle down on the couch for a bit. He made some for Grell as well in case he woke soon and pulled out a book he'd been reading about famous mangled corpses; of course he found it most fascinating. "Mmm, pushed through a wood chipper, my my, that is a sight I'd love to see." He muttered to himself as he flipped through the book like the loon he was.
The first thing Grell became aware of as he began to wake was the pounding in his head; it disoriented him for a moment and he couldn't grasp anything else. He knew he was somewhere strange, where he usually wouldn't be. He knew something had happened that was out of the ordinary. And he felt as if he'd been trampled by a carriage multiple times. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes; thankfully the room he was in was fairly dim and forgiving on his eyes. Of course, without his spectacles he couldn't make out anything, just an off white blur directly above him. He turned his head to the left a bit and could faintly make out someone moving beside him; maybe they would tell him what exactly was going on.
"Where am I?" His voice was uncharacteristically horse and low when he spoke, and it caused him a great deal of pain to do so. He sighed and closed his eyes, placing his hand over his face. "Did I get in a fight with a demon hound or something?"
At this, the person beside him began cackling loudly, and he knew immediately who it was.
"Undertaker?" Then it all came back to him with a painful jolt; he flinched and lowered his eyes, tears springing into them immediately. "Oh, I remember now."
Undertaker ceased his maniac laughter and moved closer to the other man, still grinning but not quite as widely as usual. He spoke softly and kept his tone even as not to upset him more.
"Aye, you were wanderin' around and you fainted, I found you frozen on my doorstep. I think you caught something nasty out there too; probably lucky you didn't die." Undertakers voice was not scolding but neither was it uncaring; Grell just continued to stare down as the tears silently rolled down his cheeks. Undertaker was waiting for the bomb to drop; he knew how melodramatic this one was, and he just knew the reaper would snap and go ballistic. He waited, but the redhead remained silent and unmoving, and when he did speak it was quietly and rather calmly.
"Lucky huh? I'm not so sure about that."
Now Undertaker was a bit baffled, which was a rare occurrence mind you. This wasn't like the red reaper at all. He must truly have been traumatized by this, so much so that he wasn't himself at all. Of course, it had only been two days since it happened, he was probably still in shock. He reached out and placed a hand on Grell's shoulder, but pulled back, a bit startled, when the younger man jumped violently and shoved his hand away. His cheeks immediately flushed red and he trembled slightly. "Sorry." He muttered, afraid to look up.
Again, Undertaker chuckled softly and shook his head "Nah, it's alright Red, don't worry yourself. I am gonna have to check your temperature though if that's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you." Grell simply nodded once and Undertaker pressed his palm gently to the other reapers forehead, shaking his head again. "My my, you're still rather hot dear. How do you feel?"
"Like I've been hit by a carriage 100 times." He sighed dramatically, sounding a bit more like himself.
"Well, you probably may as well have been. I'll make some tea if you like; I can put some medicine in it."
Grell didn't answer for a moment, then he looked up at the sliver haired man best he could, tilting his head a bit to the side. "Why are you doing this?"
Undertaker just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Well what was I gonna do, leave you to die? I like you Red, and it would've pained me to have you dead, although a lovely corpse you would make indeed." He cackled and made his way to the stove to put some water on to boil. Grell smiled a little to himself, the first time he had done so since it happened.
"Thanks. I hope I'm not causing you any trouble darling."
"Nope, not even a little dearie, I swear it." He began humming to himself as he went about preparing the medicine as he had yesterday, while Grell laid back and closed his eyes, relaxing a bit. As afraid as he still felt, for some reason Undertaker's presence calmed him immensely. In fact, everything about him: his face, his voice, even his scent. It made him feel like maybe he could be safe, like he wouldn't be hurt like that again. No, he couldn't think about it anymore; he shuddered a bit and began humming to himself as well, trying to clear his head. He felt himself starting to fall asleep again and didn't try to fight it; within seconds he was out again.
Undertaker glanced over at him and saw this; he grinned at the sight and then turned back to the stove to finish the tea. Now, Undertaker was by no means a jumpy or easily spooked person; it took a lot to startle him. However, what he saw, or rather who he saw, when he turned back around made him jump, it was something to behold. He composed himself rather quickly of course, but was still a bit shocked to see William standing in front of him.
"William?" He glanced behind him to be sure Grell was still asleep, then turned back to the dark haired man in front of him and spoke in hushed tones. "You're supposed to be dead, are you not? What are you doin' here?"
"I assure you that I am dead; I was given a ticket of sorts, to visit one person in the living world, no matter if they were human or not, before I go on to the next life. I had Ronald locate Grell for me and since he found him at your shop, I came to visit you." He spoke as if he was explaining the rules of chess; as if nothing was wrong with any of this. "Grell cannot see me, no one can save for you; however I think it best if we move this conversation else were, in case he were to wake and hear you talking to me."
Undertaker nodded and gestured for William to follow him up the stairs. Once both men were in the attic that the stairs led to Undertaker closed the door softly behind him and turned to face the dead shinigami, his gaze serious for once. "So, wanna tell me what the hell is going on dear William?"
William nodded once then closed his eyes, as if he was trying hard to find the right words. "All I'm going to say is I shouldn't have done it; if nothing else, I shouldn't have lost my temper and hurt Grell, and I shouldn't have forced him to witness it. I have no excuses for myself, and I must say I regret my actions; however, there is nothing to be done, it cannot be reversed." William opened his eyes and stared directly into Undertakers, a look of fierce determination in his green orbs, "But he can be saved. The rumors of a shinigami dying slowly and painfully if he loses his mate are true, and it will happen to Grell if someone does not intervene; he will be dead within weeks, and will suffer immensely during that time. However, if the afflicted reaper falls in love with another reaper, and able to trust him completely, he can recover and his life can return to normal, all of his memories of his previous bond and partner will vanish. He can never form a sacred bond with another being again, but his happiness and purpose in life will be restored." Will lowered his eyes to the ground. "After this day, after I pass on, I can never see Grell again; my memory will be wiped clean as well." He met Undertakers eyes yet again, a single tear rolling down his cheek, "But I never treated him right in the first place. He never wanted anyone to know, but I was verbally abusive to him, and physically a few times. I could never forgive myself for what I have done, for breaking him, destroying his spirit; I only hope now I will go somewhere that I will suffer all that I deserve. And as for Grell, save him, please. I know you can, he's always been quite fond of you" William smirked a bit, a sad look in his eyes. "This will probably be for the best in the long run; Grell deserves to be happy." The dark haired apparition took a deep breath and glanced up at the ceiling before bowing low in front of Undertaker, who was still trying to take all of this in. "I suppose that is all I have to speak with you about Undertaker. I feel ashamed to have to come to you like this, and to have you know the whole truth, but it cannot be helped; no one can make up for my mistakes save for me. Just make him happy, and I wish you happiness as well. Is there anything you'd like to ask me before I depart?"
Undertaker wasn't sure what he would ask even if he could find proper words; this was perhaps the first time in his entire life that he had been tongue-tied. Him, fall in love? With Grell? I mean, sure, he liked the redhead, as more than just an acquaintance or even a friend, but he didn't know a thing about love. His head was spinning and it would take a bit of time for it to stop, but he doubted anything William would have to say would improve the situation, so he simply shook his head "I don't believe so, I understand what you are asking of me and I shall do my best, I assure you." He remained serious for once so that the other man would see that he was being sincere; and he was in saying he would try, he just wasn't sure if he would be successful. William nodded and bowed again. "I thank you, now I'm afraid I must be going. I wish you and Grell only the best, farewell Undertaker."
Undertaker nodded and grinned a bit "Goodbye William, and good luck." The dark haired man vanished, never to be seen again. Undertaker felt a pang of sadness but it passed quickly; after all, he wasn't one to dwell on emotions. He exited the attic and walked back down the stairs quietly to check on Grell. The redhead was still asleep and Undertaker decided to leave him be. It was then he remembered the tea he had been making and rushed to the stove, sure that his tea kettle had exploded. To his surprise, he found two cups of tea prepared and the stove turned off; beside them there was a note, on it where two words written in neat, slanted hand writing 'Thank you'. Undertaker walked over to the window and stared out at the snow falling, unsure of how he was going to save the red reapers life, but determined that he would.
Thanks for reading again, I hope you enjoyed it, please leave me a review if you want! 3
