Grell hummed as he tied the ribbon securely around his neck again. A small smile graced his lips, and he pulled a compact from his back pocket to make sure he didn't slip while he re-applied his cherry-flavored lipstick. Blowing a kiss at the compact, he managed to brush out his hair before noticing the reaper still blushing a bright red near the desk.

Chester's hands shook as he tried to remember how to tie his tie. His brain was practically mush. The way he bit his lower lip and leaned back against the desk made Grell chuckle.

Waistcoat over his shoulders, yet unbuttoned, he came forward toward the struggling reaper to tap his chin upward with a single digit and give him a chaste kiss. As he claimed his lips, his hands easily knotted the tie perfectly and he pressed against him intimately. The kiss ended with a shaky sigh on Chester's part, causing the redhead to smirk. "It looked like you needed help," he whispered with a pur against his lips.

Chester's face was darker than his lover's hair (if lovers were what they could call each other). He was quite sure he may have a mini nosebleed. Not yet wearing his glasses, all he could see was a red blob, but he deemed Grell a sexy blob.

Grell giggled, winking and stepping back to button his vest. Once finished, he bent over to retrieve the blue glasses off the floor and slid them on Chester's nose. "Better, Chesie~?" he cooed, face splitting with a Cheshire grin to reveal shark-like teeth once more before seductively trailing a single digit down the ravenette's torso.

"Much better," he whispered, swallowing as he blushed down toward the effeminate reaper and shuddered at the digit that eventually looped into his belt to pull him closer.

With a laugh, Grell left to grab his favorite red coat and arm garters. Locking the garters into place, Grell slung his coat on onto his elbows with a flutter of scarlet. He then turned, facing Chester with hands on his hips. "I hope this doesn't change a thing, dearie. After all, we've already seen the most beautiful parts of each other."

Chester sighed, avoiding his gaze as he looked at his watch absently. The time spent meant that he'd be doing overtime tonight-just great. "Grell, I presume this is between just us?"

Biting his lower lip for a moment, he nodded before putting on a great grin. "I won't say a word if you won't~" he crooned, batting his long, fake eyelashes. Noticing the way he was looking at his watch, Grell giggled and placed a long digit to his own, crimson lips. "After what has occured, I'd say that overtime was worth it, don't you think?"

"Perhaps..." he said shyly. He then took a few steps forward, cupping the redhead's chin to lay a gentle kiss to his lips. "See you, Grell-senpai."

Containing a squeal, the ginger's heart fluttered as he giggled and spiraled away to do a pose in front of the door. "If you need another distraction, you know where to find this reaper to DIE~ for~!" he called, blowing a kiss to the reaper before giving him a flirty wave and leaving.

Turning toward his desk, Chester blushed and looked at the distruction that had insued from his 'distraction'. Papers were strewn all over the floor around them, claw marks on his wooden desk from Grell's nails covered the surface, and a white substance still dripped from the corner; although, it was quickly drying. He swallowed, adjusting his tie awkwardly at the memory of the screaming, passionate reaper who'd switched the roles at the last moment. Even he didn't know he could do such things. It was for the best that Grell had bottomed for he wasn't sure he could take doing overtime after bottoming with such a violent redhead. Then again, they'd see...

Maybe he'd ask for another 'distraction'...

Early one particular Monday morning, Hollis sat on the desk in the front lobby, swinging her legs back and forth. Ronald was next to her, flirting up a storm with the secretary there and speaking about some date on Friday. She had no clue.

Ever since her first day, she'd been following Ronald like a lost puppy and eyeing Chester from a distance. He'd seemed off ever since the fight, and although she was quite fond of him already, she just didn't know how to approach him. Ronald was of no importance to her in the way the blonde would have probably liked; he was becoming much more like a brother than anything more.

So here she sat, playing with her long, blue hair absently as she listened to the conversation beside her and looked around the lobby.

Meanwhile, Chester Lee Smiths sighed. Ever since his first distraction, he'd 'spent time' with Grell on three more occasions. One included a particular blow job he'd asked for in a janitor's closet.

As he walked through the doorway, his hair was still wet from his early morning shower, his hands well within his pockets. At the sight of Ronald, he smirked and raised an eyebrow as he walked by. "Really, Ronald? Flirting with the Sec. again?"

"If I don't do it, who will?!" called the blonde with a laugh, winking at Chester before continuing his conversation.

Chester blinked, nearly pausing at the sight of Hollis, but he quickly looked away and went on. His mind had been on her constantly, even during his times with Grell. He could never catch the longing looks the redhead would throw his way when their 'sessions' were over, nor did he notice the way Grell would deflate when he dismissed him right after they were done. His mind was always on that particuar blue-haired reaper, always blushing at him when he passed. It was if he were always wearing blinders except when his gaze caught onto his freckled Shinigami.

Hollis looked up with her typical blush, her hands neatly folded in her lap and clasping together just a little more when her heart fluttered at the sight of Chester. Her brand new, dark blue glasses flashed as she turned her head to follow where he walked. She adjusted the rectangular frames before hopping down from the counter. Following the reaper, she nearly squeaked when she heard him speak and saw him look over his shoulder at him.

"Hello, Hollis."

Chester smiled gently, trying not to burst at the fact she was actually following him. Would she say anything back? Would she agree to a date? He tried to stay calm as he walked into his office and held the door open for her. "Would you like to come in?"

With a polite nod, Hollis walked inside the tidy room and sat on the corner of his desk as there were no other chairs except his. Obviously, he must not get many visitors. She watched as Chester closed the door and walked over to the calender on his desk.

Swallowing, Chester did all he could not to make eye-contact with his odd crush, focusing on today's schedule. Unfortunately, it was mostly paperwork duty today, and there was no escaping the awkward presence of the other. He wasn't sure whether or not it was a positive thing or not yet.

The older cleared his throat, sitting down and looking around his room shyly as he spoke. "So, why are you here?"

Hollis shrugged, blushing as she looked over his desk and frowned. Something sticking out from under the paperowrk on his desk caught her eye, and she pushed it aside and stared at the odd scratch mark on the wooden desk. Her bare finger traced the mark, and she looked up at the other curiously as if to ask how it had gotten there.

Chester could remember quite vividly how the red reaper he had been seeing scratched at his desk as he cried out and writhed beneath him. If only he hadn't trimmed his fingernails reguarly instead of into sharp 'claws', then the marks probably wouldn't have been so noticeable. However, Hollis had already found them and was looking at him oddly. There would be no avoiding the question, so he cleared his throat as he adjusted his tie. "I dropped my scythe on my desk..."

Hollis moved the paperwork aside, raising her eyebrow skeptically at the many scratches she found.

"U-ummm, it happens more often than you'd think," he brought out, coughing as he looked elsewhere and blush nervously.

The deadpan look on her face told the elder that she didn't believe him, and he frowned childishly. "What? It's true!"

Rolling her eyes, Hollis turned her head away. At least he was a terrible liar. She'd respect his privacy for now. Whatever it was, he didn't want her to know, and if only he'd just tell her that he didn't want to talk about it...

She blinked when her eyes caught something red sticking out from under the desk.

Chester's brows narrowed in confusion as he saw the other slip off the desk from her perch, and he nearly fainted when she dipped down and stood up holding what she was holding.

Hollis frowned, holding a pair of lacy, red panties from her face awkardly and blushing up a storm. Just what would the older reaper have ladies' undergarments for? Did he wear them? Her innocent mind trailed off, and she literally squeaked with wide, startled eyes at the unwanted image of Chester wearing naught but those panties. She flipped the undergarments onto Chester's desk, the older reaper also starting and nearly falling out of his chair when the pair landed accidentally hit him in the face.

Quickly standing, Chester coughed awkwardly as he stared wide eyed at Grell''s underwear he must have 'forgotten' the last time they spent together. "U-Umm, I...uh...Grell pranked me the other day...I-I must have missed it..."

Swallowing, he awkwardly picked up the hem of the panties between his thumb and forefinger, holding them away from his body. "I-I should probably return these. Ex-Excuse me."

The blue haired reaper watched Chester quickly scuffle past her with the offending garment and out the door. What an odd prank to play...

Chester ignored the odd looks he was getting from carrying a bright red pair of panties down the hallway. His embarrassment had faded into anger, his cheeks rivaling the crimson of the clothing he was holding.

Grell had made a fool out of him in front of his crush, and his secret to Hollis was almost revealed. Any chance of asking her out would be doused if she learned of his affair; his reputation would likely also be thrown in the garbage. Not that he had much of a reputation to begin with. He doubted half of the floor even knew his name.

Then again, he didn't want to be known as Grell's most recent conquest. It was no secret that Grell had slept with plent of men not only in the Division but in the Dispatch as a whole. Either he was known as the Dispatch slut, or the infamous Jack the Ripper.

With a huff, his heavy footsteps seemed to echo in his mind, and he sulked as he gripped the panties a little tighter and stopped in front of a wooden door labeled: Sutclliff, Grell N.. Firm knocks were laid on the door, and he grit his teeth for several moments before a faint sound made him pause.

The sound of crying...

Grell laid his head against the wide wall that also served as a one-way window. His red lips were pursed into a thin line, and he let out a shaky sigh.

He was tired of it all-always being treated the same. Everyone looked at him and saw one thing. He was hardly black and red. No, he was much, much more.

Thoughts traveled to that morning, waking up in a coworker's bed-Benjamin Flores. It seemed like a normal fling like he was used to, nothing out of the ordinary. He'd been getting dressed when his partner had woken up with a splitting headache from the amount of alcohol he had spent the night before. The mroning had ended the moment Benjamin had realized he'd slept with the redhead, clothes being thrown and harsh words being spat.

"Whore."

"Slut."

"Not worth that much."

"Pathetic."

"Sleezy."

"Disgusting."

"Revolting."

"Damned to be forever a Shinigami."

The words echoed in his head, making him doubt himself as he crossed the room and sat down on the crimson sofa he had instead of a normal office chair and desk. William had never interfered as he'd proven to be more effecient with it than without it.

Was he really nothing more than a slut?

No, he hadn't hardly slept with anyone but Ben and Chester in the last year. True, he'd slept with most of the Dispatch's men, but that had been the result after centuries of life. Then again, shouldn't he have found his love by then? Stuck to just one to avoid the name so many had called?

Old habits died hard, and the sorrow that had made him what he was came creeping up like the bitter tears stinging the corners of polychromatic eyes. The maze that never ended choked him like a thick smoke, squeezing both his lungs and mind as his sorrow drenched his wrists like they once did on many occasions.

He didn't cry because of the pain he inflicted upon himself, but instead because he hated falling to the stereotype everyone saw in him. They even called him out on self-harm because of his constant dramatics, and although he hadn't done it in many, many years, it only made it more degrading to fall back into old habits.

He was only a bloody, red doll made for other's satisfaction...

Chester paused, frowning before knocking a bit louder and then opening the door slightly to peek in. "Grell-senpai?"

Grell snapped his head up, hiding his arms behind his back with wide eyes. "Ch-Chester? What are you doing here?" He put on a fake smile, crossing on leg over the other as he fluttered his eyelashes. "Come for another distraction, did you?" Suddenly, there was a blur of red, something hitting the wall nearby although what sailed through the air went fast enough to avoid being seen.

Softening his expression, the younger reaper approached the crimson Shinigami and sat beside him with the panties tucked into his pocket and out of sight. "Grell, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, darling. Just practicing a rather dramatic scene of a play. You know how I love my dramatics~" he crooned, an obvious lie although his face did not betray it.

"What are you hiding, Grell? You can trust me..." he whispered, gently touching his knee as to not upset him further.

"I'm not 'hiding' anything," he huffed, crossing one leg over the other and keeping his wrists hidden behind his back as he turned his head away.

"Grell..." Chester muttered, frowning slightly. Sure, he was a dork, and he wasn't nearly the smartest reaper there was, but he wasn't entirely stupipd. Before Grell could react, he reached forward to reach behind the other and grab his hand touched something hot and sticky...

The redhead noticed his touch, abruptly pulling away and spinning off the couch to slap Chester so hard across the face that his cheek instantly began to bruise. "GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!" he screamed, tears beginning to prick his eyes again as his chest tightened.

Chester looked like a wounded puppy, staring at Grell and then at the bloody wrists he had before standing. "Grell..." he whispered softly, trying not to cry in front of the other as he pulled out the garment from his pocket and laid the panties on the desk. "Hollis found this in my office."

He then turned, extremely hurt by the redhead's slap as he touched his cheek and walked out of the office.

As soon as the door closed, Grell sank to the floor and buried his face in his hands00tears mixing with blood.

Hours later, Chester had finished his paperwork and was leaving the office with a heavy heart. The redhead still weighed on his mind, and he paused as he walked by said reaper's office on the way out. Would he still be there? Was there a chance to fix the relationship between them before it was too late?

No, he didn't mind if the intimate relationship they had formed was over, he'd find another way to stay distracted. However, Grell was still a friend. And he knew Grell desperately needed someone to cling to in his grief.

Summoning every ounce of courage, he opened the door and knocked lightly on the frame. "Grell-senpai? Can I come in, or should I get the bloody hell out of your office?" he muttered, still hurting from Grell's previous words.

Grell was bandaging his wrists, sniffling as he didn't look up. When he spoke, the words were gentle and quiet...almost broken. "You can come in...I don't bite...unless you want me to."

Chester closed the door behind him to allow them privacy as he approached the other and sat down beside him. He looked sadly at the bandaged wrists before cupping the other's chin and guiding the other to look him in the eye. "Grell, why didn't you tell me?"

Shaking his head, the redhead avoided his gaze. "If I don't talk to Will, or Ronnie, or Rae, what makes you think that I would talk to you?"

With a sigh, Chester wasn't offended by the logic offered by the other. It made sense in a way, yet in other ways, it didn't. He pulled the otheer close into a hug, closing his eyes tightly. "Grell, you're my friend. Don't ever do that again. I care about you. You scared me."

Not one for mushy stuff normally, he shrugged out of the hug and turned away from him. "So easy to forgive the slut that fucked you."

"You are not a slut. Even if we have had sex, we're still friends; if anything, we're friends with benefits. If you didn't want what happened between us, you could have said no. You were the one who offered."

Grell rolled his eyes, crossing his arms tightly and bitterly looking elsewhere. "Oh please, you were a virgin before I waltzed in. Do you know how many times I have offered myself on a silver platter? I doubt there is a single man in the Dispatch that I haven't slept with; that's how many times," he muttered ruefully, smirking slightly. "And not a single one of them ever stays or comes back. You're one of the few to stay, Chesie..."

"Have you ever begged them? Have you ever been paid to?"

"Well...no..."

"Then I don't believe you're a whore. You're funny, and beautiful, and unique in every way," he said before trying to explain it...in his own...awkward fashion. "Slut are...um...jerks that play with hearts...and they're sexy and...um...you don't play with hearts...and you're not sexy...you're just beautiful and...um..."

Grell smiled lightly, rolling his eyes. "Don't try to get romantic with me, dearie. We both know you're terrible with words."

With a dry chuckle, he scratched the back of his head with that dorky smile. "Guilty as charged."

"Thank you, Chester," he whispered, turning to kiss him on the cheek before standing and smirking at the underwear still on his desk. "So~ you found my present~?"

Blushing now, the younger coughed awkwardly into his hand. "Hollis did."

Smile fading, he suddenly deflated and looked at his feet. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. No one could have seen that coming." Chester stood, placing a hand on the redhead's lower back and smiling gently as he cupped his cheek and turned his head to look at him. "Would you like me to take you home?"

Blushing, Grell's eyes widened before he giggled like a school girl. "And will you be staying~?"

"If you want me to..." he chuckled, shrugging as he kissed the reaper's cheek. And then he blushed, swallowing nervously. "Oh wait...I don't know where you live..."

Rolling his eyes at the reaper's initial stupidity, Grell laughed and cozied up to the other. "Then take me home with you~!"

Smiling, he shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Grell only went on, not hearing the younger speak at first. "I understand if you don't want to take me home with you. it isn't usually people's first thought. Most regret it later because they were took drunk to realize what they were doing. And I understand if you hate me in the mor-"

"GRELL! I said: why not?" he interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

Blinking, the mangosteen of reapers paused for a brief few moments before squealing and tackling Chester in a hug. This had been one of the few times anyone had let them come to their house after he'd slept with them. His heart soared, nearly choking Chester with his tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you~!"

Coughing, he tried to hug back, but his arms were pinned to his sides. His face turned a shade of purple, unable to breathe the oxygen he didn't need. "Gr-Grell!" he rasped, pupils dialating as he squirmed in the grip.

"Oh? Sorry, darling, I suppose I got ahead of myself," he giggled, his tongue slipping at the word 'darling'. It was a word he called only those close to his heart, and Chester knew that by the blush and the look on his face.

"It's o-okay." He cleared his throat, adjusting his tie before speaking again. "Would you prefer for me to cook us dinner tonight?"

"Can you cook?" he asked, skeptical that Chester could cook more than a sandwich an cereal.

"Well...um...uh...sorta?"

Rolling his eyes, he giggled. "Don't worry about it. I'll Make dinner*, since you were nice enough to offer to let me stay at your house tonight. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Well~? Are we going~?" he giggled, raising an eyebrow as he put a hand on either of his hips.

"Whenever you're ready," he said with a shrug.

Beaming, Chester offered his arm, which Grell took hastily.

"I'm always ready for you, darling~"

Author's Note 1 (crazigrl):

Crazi here again! Haha, well, honestly I hardly ever make Author's Notes for my own stories, but I was eager to skip down memory lane when Chester was still so adorable! This was written in June of last year, and some things have been edited like in the Grell cutting scene where Holly did help Grell bandage up, and the panties were actually a ribbon originally. Panties actually make more sense anyway. But fun fact, this was supposed to be a Hester (HollyxChester) rp, but turned into Grell and Chester's love story. But it turned out good.

Well, I also found out Senpai was like "Nu, we will never!" on some scenes which makes me sad *tears up* But never fear, I may (if I have time) upload them publically on here, but only after we get a lot of reviews and chapters! It'll be a treat. Oh, and I'm sure if you want to draw out a scene or do some fan art then it's fine. Personally, i would love to see that! Ok, look at me blab! Hehe. Have a good day.

Author's Note 2 (RuGrimm):

Hello my beautiful little darlings~! This was quite fun to get to edit and rp. As crazi said, there were some scenes we cut just to save the innocent eyes of some viewers. We can call them the 'deleted scenes'. Here, let me make a deal with you all:

If we manage to earn 20 reviews and 50 favorites by the time we get to the 15th chapter, we will reward the fans by posting a special "Deleted Scenes" collection seperately on crazi's profile. So go ahead and tell your friends and everyone you know to read this and favorite/review!

So there's that ;)

Also, if you see that little * up there, that was actually an error I am unable to fix. That error is something that my keyboard does. it puts capitals in weird places, and I am unable to go back and fix them. I delete them and try to put a letter there again, and it is still a capital. It drives me insane, but oh well. There is nothing I can do abOut it. See? There. It did it again -.- *grrrr*

I look forward to getting to post the 3rd chapter sometime next week as I will be gone all weekend celebrating my mother's birthday. :D I love to spoil my mom on her birthday. She's getting heart-shaped chocolate-chip waffles for breakfast, a chocolate ice cream cake, an all-day Disney Movie viewing party, and she gets a special movie for her birthday...the only Disney she has NEVER EVER seen. So yay~!

I'll see you all later then, and I hope you enjoy our latest installment of Love's Reach ;)

Bye, Bye Sayonara