Pbbbbbbbbt apparently I'm only doing monthly updates for this one? Admittedly I only really nailed the plot down for this chapter. Even though it doesn't show.
Anyway, sorry for the infrequency, I'm trying to work on that. Here's chapter six!
He roused himself as night began to fall. The chambermaid turning down the bed let out a yelp as he stood; she had hardly noticed him sitting in the chair in the corner, unnaturally still as he wiled the day away in thought. Ignoring her entirely, he left the room he had charmed his way into obtaining and forced his expression to remain neutral as he entered the lobby of the hotel. All the frivolous finery and pretentious displays of wealth disgusted him, and he quelled the brief flare of loathing that wanted to manifest as a sneer. Humans were such disgusting creatures. He crossed the lobby at a brisk walk, favoring even the dank London smog over the reek of sweat, piss, and other such bodily fluids that never was truly washed from any human establishment.
Ah, well. His newest plaything was at least more perceptive than the usual lot, and had senses that were closer in sharpness to his. He would say that much for the reaper; he was scrupulously adamant about his hygiene.
The freedom of the streets at last. Turning down the first alley he encountered, Sebastian leapt lightly to the roof of the building, pausing only long enough to investigate the soft rustle of something moving in the refuse. Smiling gently at what turned out to be a kitten, he tenderly stroked the soft fur behind its ears and cradled it in his hands.
He reflected for a moment on how easy it had been to seduce William. It seemed almost impossible that things would work out so well, especially without Grell; but things had rolled smoothly onward after that first hiccup.
He shrugged to himself, still stroking the kitten as he crossed to the edge of the roof, waiting. It wouldn't be long now, and if things went well tonight, he could report to his benefactor.
Ah, there it was; that peculiar mild discomfort as reality warped and broke to permit the reapers. It made the hair on the nape of his neck stand up, and he gazed about for the newcomers.
What's this...?
His eyes narrowed as he watched the blonde bound off immediately, but Grell lingered with William. They conversed for a moment, lingering comfortably.
Oh, this won't do...
William stepped back, drawing Grell with him by his jacket. They might have been hidden by shadows to the eye of a human, but the alley might as well have been standing in the noonday sun to the demon's gaze.
Grell was looking vaguely confused, but devious, and he wrapped his arms around William's neck as the darker-haired man pressed a kiss to the painted lips.
No, this won't do at all...
Sebastian's eyes burned with crimson light as he watched. If Grell had a reason to fawn over William and not get batted away as usual, things could go seriously wrong. It all depended on remaining undetected until the very last moment, and if their relationship became or was already intimate, it would throw a decidedly more troublesome wrench in the works.
I knew it was too easy. There had to be something making it more difficult.
The kitten, no longer getting pet as Sebastian focused elsewhere, mewed and nuzzled his hand. Calming slightly, he began to stroke it again, and it began to purr complacently.
"Just to separate them, then. It won't be hard. But not yet. We can give them some time, can't we?"
The kitten, of course, didn't respond, save to bite the cuff of his sleeve.
William watched Grell go with a twinge of guilt. He hadn't been able to bring himself to explain what had happened the night before, for any number of reasons, not the least among them the fact that it was Sebastian. It added insult to injury, in a way; not only had he let himself be touched by a demon, but it was the very one Grell had sought to soothe his own anxieties. If the redhead had picked up on his inner conflict, he hadn't said anything; but some part of William insisted Grell was still expecting odd and somewhat distant behavior.
He sighed, adjusting his glasses and suddenly becoming acutely aware of a set of eyes watching him. It didn't take a moment of thought to piece together who it could have been, and in no time at all, he had joined the demon on the rooftop.
"...Why are you holding that."
"I believe it's a she," The demon answered, depositing the kitten on his shoulder, where it proceeded to play with his hair. "And I happen to like cats. Is that against some obscure rule?"
William hated the way he felt his cheeks burn as the demon smiled. How was it that a simple upturn of the lips could bring such a tide of memory and emotion rolling forth?
"...It is not. But it is hughly unprofessional to-"
"Lucky for me, I have no concerns with being professional. I'm not a reaper, remember?"
This time, his lips parted over his grin, and William could see the tiny fangs in the demon's mouth. Setting his jaw, he adjusted the positioning of his glasses again.
"How could I forget."
"Ah, at least you're learning. Yesterday you would have followed that up with some kind of insult."
"I'm not sure if it was the speech, the injuries, or your tongue that effectively cemented that lesson."
He was sure the demon intentionally licked his lips before speaking, the tip of his pink tongue peeking out for just a fraction of a second in an oddly obscene way.
"May I ask which application of my tongue you were speaking of?"
"I thought we agreed that we were never speaking of that again."
The demon laughed quietly, prying the kitten from his shoulder and setting it gently down.
"If we stay to talk much longer, you won't get your work done on time," he ribbed, adjusting his own glasses. William had almost forgotten the demon was wearing them; he was accustomed to them being the rule, rather than the exception. Glancing up, he regretted making eye contact with the demon the moment it happened, and forced himself to look away from the languidly sensual gaze Sebastian was giving him over the tops of the lenses.
"Would you stop looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
The question was too frank to be a trap. He seemed honestly unaware of the quality of his gaze.
"Like I'm your next meal," He spat, and the demon blinked.
"...Forgive me. I'm surrounded by mortals all day, it becomes something of a reflex. I'm sorry if my 'neutral' expression leans toward 'predatory'."
And yet, once again, his grin only grew wider and more salacious. William turned away from him, opening his binder.
"We'd best get to work."
"Indeed."
"Oh..." Gritting his teeth, William pulled something off his belt and held it out to Sebastian. "If you're going to pretend to be a trainee, you might as well have this."
Sebastian took the parcel and hooked it onto his own belt, looking amused.
"What on earth, may I ask, is it?"
"A training scythe."
"Oh?"
Pulling the handle from what could only be called the holster, Sebastian sighed when he saw that it connected only to a wooden blade. William scoffed.
"As if I would actually let you have one. There would be no way to return it without sending the entire compound into uproar. It's merely for show. No intern would be without one."
Replacing the dummy scythe, Sebastian laughed quietly to himself.
"Then I must have left a mark on your scythe, and Grell's as well..." he mused quietly, following William as he took off.
"The scythes of Mr. Sutcliff and myself were not exposed to...your particular type of essence long enough for it to be completely contaminated. Being our personal scythes, as well, it is less likely someone else would handle it to notice."
"Oh, so it doesn't emanate off of it?" Sebastian mocked.
"No." William's response was curt, as always. "But it becomes more than apparent once you handle the afflicted object."
He stopped suddenly, staring intently at a woman walking down the street. Sebastian studied her as well, with disinterest.
"The first?"
"Yes. She'll return home soon. She's ill."
"I can smell it on her from here," he grumbled, wishing he hadn't put the kitten down. Their fur always smelled clean and sweet.
"You can smell disease?"
"In advanced stages, yes."
"Interesting. Ah..."
Without any further warning, he took off, easily negotiating his way around the rooftops. Sebastian followed silently, never far behind the reaper, who eventually stopped outside a residence. Shortly after, the woman in question entered.
"How long is this going to take?"
William didn't take his gaze from the woman as she went about settling in after her day.
"Aren't you curious about the state of her soul?"
"Much like her illness, her devout Christian attitude radiates from her."
William's eyes cut away from the woman for a split second, just as she went into a coughing fit. How could the demon sense so many things he couldn't?
"...What?"
Sebastian grinned.
"How do you think we discern whom to contract with? We're...intuitive about people's natures. The most fun to play with are those that think themselves devout, but whose faith is easily broken..."
William turned an eye back to the woman, who had collapsed into a chair and was still coughing.
"Why is that?"
"It's true that to some extent, truly holy energy repels us. So the person in question holds out a rosary, mumbling prayers that they can't quite remember, watch the power begin to manifest...and then flicker and die as they lose the faith they were so sure they had." He snickered, looking back on apparently fond memories. "It's usually at that point that they either flee or give up entirely and fall to their knees. Either way, they're easy targets."
The reaper suppressed a shudder at how easily the demon spoke of such things, and the way his eyes always lit when he did. Inside the house, the woman was clutching her chest and fighting for breath that wouldn't come.
"Oh, come on, man. Put her out of her misery. Even I'm not that cruel."
"You're just saying that because she's of no use to you."
"Not at all. I won't say that I haven't killed thousands, but it's a selective handful that have taken on my seal and let me...play with them."
"You're disgusting."
"I'm a predator."
"You're a leech."
Sebastian disappeared from beside him, and William suddenly felt a hand stroking his neck. The demon's voice was soft but clear as he spoke.
"Do I need to remind you again about how I will be treated?"
The hand gripped William's shoulder, the thumb beginning to exert pressure on his spine.
"No."
The pressure lifted, but the presence of the demon behind him didn't leave.
"Good..." Sebastian murmured, pressing a kiss to the hollow just behind William's jaw. Before he had time to react, the demon extended his arm, pointing at the dying woman.
"I believe it's time."
Flustered, though he would never admit it, William stepped away and tried to gather his scattered thoughts, thrown to the corners of his mind at the whirlwind of confusion, panic, and desire brought on by the demon's action. He adjusted his glasses, the closest he would ever come to showing discomfort, before setting to his work.
The demon grinned all the while as he watched, delighting in the progress he was making.