Long chapter(s) is long! XD This was requested by many people, including my mom! So verily, here is my take on a Will and Grell on a date. And since there was such overwhelming demand for them, it's a double date with Alan and Eric! Since summer is upon us, an evening at the carnival seemed appropriate. I actually did research for this, and carnivals did exist in the Victorian Era, and they did indeed have some rather… interesting things you might not find at a carnival today XD


Double Date Part 1: Tunnel of WHAT?

It was 7:06 pm. Precisely six minutes past the scheduled meeting time. This is unacceptable! Isn't one supposed to be punctual when meeting a date? Not that they are dating me per say… but still… it's the principle of the thing… William growled audibly as he began to pace the sidewalk outside the traveling carnival that was to be the stage for his first ever date. A double date no less. Alan and Eric were to accompany he and Grell this evening, and any minute now they would presumably arrive.

Grell was standing nearby, calmly examining his crimson manicured nails for imperfections, and William… William was terrified. When Grell had suggested the idea, William was adamantly opposed. Dates were supposed to be private weren't they? Intimate? Though as Grell pointed out that they never seemed to actually go on any of these 'private intimate' dates, the least William could do was take the redhead on the date the other couple had invited them on. So William had finally agreed, had spent more time considering his wardrobe than he had in his entire life (and still somehow ended up in something that looked strikingly similar to his work attire), had finally worked up the nerve to be here, and they had the audacity-

"Eric Slingby, Alan Humphries, you are late!" William harshly blurted out as the subjects of his racing thoughts appeared before him. He pointedly adjusted his glasses and glared disapprovingly at their tardiness, all in the hopes of gaining some sense of normalcy in this unfamiliar situation. He felt as though it wasn't working.

Alan and Eric looked skeptically at one another, seeming to come to some sort of silent agreement that perhaps a double date with their boss hadn't been the best idea. "Um… sorry?" Eric mumbled while scratching the back of his neck, "…sir."

"I misplaced my billfold and it took a bit of time to find it." Alan said quietly, looking awkwardly to the side and blushing slightly in embarrassment under his supervisor's harsh gaze.

"Oh this won't do at all~! Will, stop being so stuffy! This is a date, not overtime! It's not as though you have to clock in~!" Grell admonished their superior, who instead of snapping at the redhead or brandishing his deathscythe as Alan and Eric had expected, William merely looked away in embarrassment and bravely withstood a sound smack to his arm.

Grell then turned his attention to the pair, "Don't you worry about Will, he was just worried he had been stood up on his first date~!" he teased, winking as he approached his colleagues.

Breathing a collective sigh of relief, Alan and Eric chuckled lightly and good naturedly accepted Grell's affectionate greetings, the redhead hugging each of them in turn and kissing their cheeks.

William watched in fascination as Grell casually diffused the tense situation and fondly greeted his co-workers. No… right now, off the clock, they were his friends. William had never realized what an important difference that was until this moment. Were Alan and Eric his friends as well? Surely not, as they had never even interacted outside of work. So what was he supposed to do now? Would… would he be expected to hug and kiss them as well?

Panicking as Alan took a step toward him, William abruptly thrust his hand out to the shorter man. "Ahem… yes… thank you for coming Alan Humphries… Eric Slingby." he mumbled, nodding to them in turn.

Alan raised an eyebrow as he warily grasped his boss's hand and shook. "Uh… right."

After Eric stiffly shook William's hand as well, the assembly fell into uncomfortable silence. Alan shifted his feet awkwardly, Eric coughed, William adjusted his glasses… again. "Oh you three are just impossible~!" Grell exclaimed. "You two…" the redhead pointed at Alan and Eric, "…don't worry about Will, I'll make sure he behaves himself!"

William opened his mouth to reply indignantly that last he checked, Grell was not his mother, when the redhead rounded on him and interrupted, "And you! Calm down! This is a date Will, it's meant to be fun~!" Taking advantage of the party's collective shock at Grell's bold attempt at salvaging the date from failure before it had even begun, the redhead wrapped himself around his lover's arm, grasping his hand and pulling him toward the traveling carnival's glowing lights. "So now that we're all here, let's go have some fun~!"

William sputtered and planted his feet as Grell attempted to drag him off. "G-Grell! We're in public!" he stammered, looking in horror at their intertwined hands.

"Yes, on~ a~ date~! Couples on dates hold hands Will~! Now quit fussing and let's go!" Grell said, completely undeterred by his lover's protests as he drug him through the entrance to the carnival. Eric and Alan looked at one another, identical smirks on their faces as they witnessed their fearsome supervisor being rendered rather tame by their red haired colleague. Perhaps tonight would be more entertaining than they thought. The pair clasped hands and followed.

As William resigned himself to the fact he seemingly couldn't avoid the public display of affection, as his attempts to yank his hand free only caused Grell's death grip to tighten, he let loose a long suffering sigh and attempted to relax. It helped that with all the unusual carnival folk wandering about, two pairs of men holding hands seemed to garner little attention.

William took a deep breath and felt a small bit of tension leave him as Alan began making small talk with Grell. As he listened quietly to his employees making conversation, the three of them seemingly completely at ease talking about mundane office happenings or the latest ridiculous hijinks of their comrade Ronald Knox, William found himself inexplicably… jealous. Why was it so easy for them?

They idly passed several attractions that failed to excite them. To a group of supernatural beings who had seen things most humans couldn't imagine, a carnival sideshow featuring various animals sewn together and preserved in jars held little appeal. Alan noticed a small pavilion where a few circus acts were taking place, but William quickly rejected the idea, shuddering at the memory of his short stint in show business.

When pressed for details, William stammered in reply, "That is absolutely none of your business Alan Humphries!" his voice having the audacity to crack midsentence.

Grell leaned behind his lover and met Alan's eyes. I'll tell you later~! he mouthed, winking and blowing the brunette a kiss to seal the deal.

The four shinigami moved on, the group's atmosphere growing increasingly oppressive. After William's unexpected outburst, Alan didn't feel inclined to offer any more suggestions, and Eric seemed to join his lover's silent protest of their boss's coldness in a show of solidarity. As the outing started to feel less like a date and more like a death march, Grell decided he had had enough!

"That's it! I'm not letting anything ruin my double date to die for~! I don't care what it is, the next attraction around this corner is the one we're going to see, and we are going to have fun even if it kills us!" the redhead exclaimed in frustration, his sharp teeth bared and eye twitching violently.

"Right!"

"Damn straight!"

"…honestly…"

And so it was that Grell triumphantly turned the corner and whirled around dramatically, his crimson hair fanning out behind him, as he pointed toward their destination and declared, "Alright~! Here we come… BURLESQUE SHOW?" The redhead's mouth hung open comically as he stared in horror.

As Grell began to somehow both whimper in dismay and growl with rage simultaneously, the remaining three members of their party looked at one another. Here they were, two pairs of men, on a double date, standing in front of a peep show. Eric was the first to crack.

"Oh Christ Grell, you really have the worst timing ever don't you?" Eric sputtered as he bent over laughing.

"Of all the shows Grell could find… it had to be… the most inappropriate thing imaginable!" Alan gasped in between his giggles.

"Sounds like Grell to a tee…" William muttered, a small amused smirk sneaking it's way onto his features.

As Alan and Eric heard their supervisor mutter what could be considered to some as… a joke… while wearing what could be arguably be called… a smile… everyone froze and held their breath. Eric and Alan wore matching expressions of shock, Grell looked positively scandalized at his lover's heartless betrayal and William… William merely looked confused.

"W-what? I merely agreed that Grell Sutcliff is often inappropriate, as is the show he has chosen, given that all of us are in relationships with men, and therefore would have no desire to see half naked women!"

Grell's eye twitched. "Excuse me William, but unless you're seeing someone on the side, you are in a relationship with a lady!"

Alan and Eric subconsciously backed up a step as Grell bristled, ready to strike should anyone dare contradict him. They had been down that road before at many a late night party, and it always seemed to end with plenty of bodily harm and/or property damage.

Too caught up in his desire to be technically correct, William momentarily forgot the company he was in as he raised an eyebrow and dryly replied, "Grell, I have seen your penis personally on numerous occasions."

You could hear a pin drop as everyone processed that little tidbit. Grell stood aghast, an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks, Alan actually ducked behind Eric as he anticipated the roar of a chainsaw at any moment, and Eric… Eric laughed.

Walking fearlessly up to the redhead and slinging an arm around his shoulders, Eric chuckled good naturedly and spoke, "Well I guess he's got your number eh Grell! Don't worry, Alan and I won't tell anyone!" he teased the redhead, winking and giving him a winning smile. Eric addressed the group once more, "What do you guys…" Grell glared up at him, "…and gals think of skipping this particular attraction and getting some grub? It's not a carnival without something greasy and fried after all!"

Grell wrinkled his nose at the thought of anything greasy and fried, but still allowed himself to be drug away toward the food stalls. Alan laughed softly at Eric's bold intervention before gently patting William on the back. "Don't worry, he'll get over it. Let's go." he murmured, smiling up encouragingly at his boss.

It was at that moment that William realized he couldn't recall anyone besides Grell actually genuinely smiling at him before. Of course people smiled in his presence quite often (too often in fact, given that smiling was against the rules for a shinigami on the job) but no one else really smiled at him specifically. Is this what it meant to be friends with someone? William's only real friend was Grell, and that was only because the redhead had burst into his life and declared them friends (and love interests, but that was beside the point) until William had finally conceded defeat. Not knowing for sure, but thinking perhaps this moment was important somehow, William hesitantly gave a small smile in return and nodded before silently following after Grell and Eric.

And so it was that they soon found themselves sitting at a rather dingy wooden table, huddled around a strange fried dough concoction covered in cinnamon sugar. Alan and Eric exchanged worried glances as Grell pointedly pouted and William stayed stoic as always, staring down the dough in front of them as though it had somehow wronged him.

"Come on Grell, I'm sure he didn't mean it that way." Alan softly spoke, not entirely sure what 'way' William hadn't meant his rather hard to misinterpret statement, but trying none the less.

"Of course I meant it, it's the truth." Eric an Alan winced collectively as William seemed content to dig his own grave, "Honestly Grell Sutcliff, stop this foolishness…" William turned toward his pouting lover, his eyes softening a fraction as he continued, "…you are perfectly fine as you are."

The redhead brightened and latched on to William's arm, resting his head on his lover's shoulder and purring, "So Will thinks I'm perfect?"

"That is most certainly not wha-" William abruptly stopped as Eric coughed loudly and actually kicked him under the table. Raising his eyebrows in shock, William looked at Eric and his partner, both shaking their heads frantically, their eyes darting in Grell's direction. Sighing, William turned back to his lover.

"What were you saying William?" Grell asked sweetly, his sharp teeth bared in warning.

William sighed… again. "Yes Grell, you're perfect." he deadpanned.

Grell beamed and abruptly grabbed either side of William's face, pulling him in for a quick kiss. "Alright, I forgive you~!" he whispered with a mischievous grin against his lover's lips.

William predictably tensed up and blushed clear up to his ears, looking straight ahead in an apparent attempt to ignore the redhead currently giggling and nuzzling at his neck. "Honestly… we're in public…" he muttered while shoving up his glasses.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's eat!" Eric exclaimed before tearing a piece of sugary dough off and holding it to Alan's mouth, a playful smirk on his lips.

Alan laughed and carefully took the morsel before repeating the process for Eric, who took his bite a bit less innocently, his tongue darting out to lick a bit of sugar off his lover's fingertips. Grell giggled fondly at the exchange and looked expectantly at Will, his eyes as wide as saucers and flicking between the dessert and his lover.

"Oh honestly, you can't be serious…" William said as he suspiciously eyed the pile of fried sugary bread.

"Come on William, relax and have a little fun! Whatever happens tonight never leaves the four of us. Trust us, we're all friend's here, right?" Eric said encouragingly as he slung an arm around Alan. After observing his superior in this casual setting, Eric was beginning to suspect that perhaps William's bark might just be worse than his bite.

William blanched slightly at Eric's words. Friends? So they were friends then? So… is this what friends do… say and do embarrassing, private things in front of one another? 'Trust us.' Ah, so that was it. It was about trusting each other enough to let them see those embarrassing things. Very well

Gulping as he suddenly felt the weight of three pairs of eyes trained on him, William carefully tore off a small chunk of bread and held it up to Grell's waiting ruby lips.

"Mmmmmmmm~!" Grell purred, of course licking his lover's fingers clean in the most obscene way possible, causing William's blush to deepen and Alan and Eric to break into laughter once more. William frowned and snapped his head toward his chuckling subordinates, intent on telling them off for mocking him. The words died in his throat however as he saw no malice in their eyes, but rather a sort of warmth… a fondness. William was struck with the thought that perhaps… without even realizing it… perhaps he really had made some friends. Before he could stop himself, a tiny sheepish smile had snuck it's way onto his lips…

...until a piece of greasy sweetened bread was placed against said lips, which once again adopted the frown William was much better known for. Gently grasping Grell's wrist to shove away the morsel, William muttered, "Thank you, but I really don't like sweet things…"

Grell gave up easily, shrugging and popping the treat into his own mouth. In hindsight, perhaps the redhead had given up a bit too easily. In the blink of an eye, Grell grabbed hold of his lover's neck and forcibly yanked him down to meet his lips. William gasped in shock (another fatal flaw, in hindsight), allowing Grell the perfect opportunity to shove the sugary bread, along with his tongue, into William's mouth. When William finally managed to break free of the redhead's assault, he really had no choice but to chew and swallow the unwanted treat, glaring daggers at his gleefully smiling lover all the while. As Eric and Alan giggled at their antics, William could do nothing but rub the bridge of his nose and sigh in defeat, suddenly longing for the days when his subordinates used to fear him.

The party finished off their treat in a considerably better mood than when they had started the meal. The conversation flowed easily, William even occasionally contributing when he felt he had something relevant to add. By the time they had cleaned up and restarted their tour of the carnival, William was actually feeling, dare he say, relaxed? Little did he know that his relaxation would be short lived…

"Aaaaaa~ look! It's a Tunnel of Love~!" Grell suddenly squealed, clutching William's arm tightly and nearly throwing him off balance as he pointed vigorously.

"Tunnel of… Love? What on earth is the purpose…?" William asked, trailing off as he looked apprehensively at the giant red heart serving as the mouth of this supposed love tunnel. He watched in horror as small high-backed boats shaped like swans (of all the ridiculous things) housing one couple each were devoured into the darkness.

"The purpose? It's for ki-"

Eric stomped on Grell's foot as discreetly as possible and spoke over him loudly. "It's educational!" he blurted out. His eyes shifted to Alan and silently begged for assistance, "Right Alan?"

"Wha- oh! Y-yes! It's a sort of… exhibit… that tells about… love… it's um… fascinating!" Alan stammered as he fought down a smirk with all his might.

"Oh yes~! The history of love throughout the ages! From Adam and Eve to Victoria and her darling Albert!" Grell enthusiastically added, quickly catching on to Eric and Alan's plan.

William cocked a wary eyebrow, "An educational exhibit… about love? Honestly, it sounds ridiculous…"

"Oh no Will~! It's about humans that by themselves were nothing special, but when brought together by love, managed to change the world~!" the redhead sighed wistfully.

"I don't know…" William muttered unconvinced.

"It never hurts to learn the secrets of love Will~!" Grell replied with a wink. "Come on~!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his lover's arm and marched toward the heart shaped entrance, giving William absolutely no choice in the matter.

As the redhead began dragging him toward the foreboding tunnel, William thought that Grell seemed a little too excited for something educational, but wrote it off as being one of Grell's many eccentricities. William's suspicion grew as Alan and Eric got into a boat in front of them, giggling like school girls, especially when they glanced back in he and Grell's direction. Too late to back out now, William allowed himself to be yanked into one of the ridiculous water fowl shaped boats by his dangerously grinning lover, their adventure taking sail.

As the boat slowly floated through the giant heart gateway, they were immediately plunged into darkness. William squinted and allowed his eyes to adjust, though as he did, he suddenly wished he hadn't. The dim lighting illuminated not historical tableaus or dioramas explaining the socioeconomical and political significance of influential pairs of human lovers, as his coworkers had implied. Instead the walls were sparsely outfitted with crudely painted hearts and cupids, clearly a token effort, as though the décor wasn't really meant to be the focal point at all. A rather shrill orchestral song was being piped in, though William could swear he heard what sounded like wet smacking noises above the echoing soundtrack. William's eyes widened as he heard what sounded distinctly like a moan in Alan Humphries' register.

William's heart filled with dread as Grell laughed in a rather sinister manner and scooted closer. He suddenly had a very good idea what the real purpose of this tunnel was. "Grell Sutcliff! This is some sort of Tunnel of Debauchery isn't it?" William whispered, utterly scandalized.

Turning William's face toward him and gripping his hair to keep him from escaping, Grell leered at his lover and huskily whispered, "Mmmmmm, I like the sound of that…"

As William started to sharply reprimand the redhead for dragging him here under false pretenses, Grell took the opportunity to shove his tongue into his lover's mouth. William bristled and shoved him away at first, but Grell was nothing if not persistent, and before he knew it, William's hands found themselves tangled in his lover's hair as he fought back to dominate the kiss.

So thoroughly absorbed in the taste and feel of his lover, William managed to forget where he was entirely, losing himself in the moment and allowing a moan to escape his lips as he pulled Grell tighter against his frame. Grell shivered with pleasure and shifted until he was basically in William's lap. It was utter bliss. Just he and Grell alone in the dark, the redhead's warmth pressed against him, the smell of his perfume, the sound of… snickering?

William's eyes shot open only to be blinded by the harsh lights of the carnival outside. As his vision cleared, William blinked owlishly around the redhead in his lap, right up at Alan and Eric, who were standing on the bank of the makeshift river and trying valiantly to keep their laughter in check. They lost the battle as they got a good look at their supervisor. William looked positively disheveled, his hair sticking up in all directions, shirt partially unbuttoned, glasses askew and a blush on his face as red as Grell's hair.

Sputtering indignantly, William shoved Grell off his lap and clambered out of the boat, as though leaving the scene of the crime would somehow absolve his guilt. Grell didn't seem bothered in the least by his harsh dismissal, staggering in a blissful haze to Will's side and clinging to his arm with a dreamy smile.

William's death glare served to silence Alan and Eric's laughter… somewhat. Eric in particular kept twitching and snorting every time he dared to meet his boss's eyes. "Have you got something to say Eric Slingby?" William asked in his most authoritative tone, adjusting his glasses and looking as imposing as possible.

"Um… it's just… you've got a little… lipstick..." Eric haltingly replied as he pointed at the corner of his mouth, turning red from the effort it took to control his laughter.

At William's startled look and renewed blush, all three of his subordinates positively roared with laughter. "Honestly, I should give you all overtime…" William grumbled as he scrubbed at the lipstick on his face.

Grell, helpful as he was, pulled out a red handkerchief and, to William's horror, daintily spit on it before attacking his lover's face with the cloth. After he was satisfied the lipstick was gone, Grell leaned up to William's ear and whispered, "There darling, all better~!" before leaving a kiss on his lover's cheek as he pulled away.

Alan and Eric nearly broke into hysterics once more as they glimpsed the brand new bright red lipstick kiss on William's cheek, but somehow managed to keep it in check at Grell's warning glare. William's mind was too busy reeling at how embarrassing this whole situation was to notice the new decoration he was now sporting as they began strolling through the carnival once more…


To be continued...