One Night Only
Disclaimer: Grell Sutcliff, William T Spears, Eric Slingby, Undertaker, Alan Humphries and Ronald Knox belong to Yana Toboso.
Chapter 9:
Grell stared at the ring in William's hand, tears in his eyes. The Grand Hall fell into silence; a circle of partygoers had formed around the couple, hushed murmurs rippling through the crowd. Eric stared at William, an expression of disbelief on his face. He looked to Grell, his right hand twitched, wanting to dart forward and grab the red head's arm. He opened his mouth as though to speak, his eyes silently begging the other reaper to look at him. But Grell was lost in his own world. All he could see was William and the ring. He laughed gently and nodded, more tears escaping his eyes,
"Y-Yes…." He whispered "Oh g-god William….yes!"
Grell ran forward; William stood up and swept him into his arms, holding him tightly. The Grand Hall erupted into raucous laughter and cheers, a thunderous round of applause almost making the floor and walls shake. William laughed a little, gazing into Grell's eyes as he stroked his hair. He carefully took the ring from its box and placed it gently on Grell's finger. The red head squealed happily and wrapped his arms around William's neck, pulling him down into a passionate kiss. The cheers and applause somehow grew louder; party poppers and streamers burst around the couple, showering them in glitter and foil. Champagne bottles began to appear from behind the bar, clumsily being passed around the crowd. One of the reapers grabbed the microphone from the DJ, lifting to his lips as he waved his champagne bottle aloft,
"Let's hear it for the future Mr and Mrs Spears!"
The gathered reapers cheered once more; explosions echoed around the hall as the champagne was uncorked, the golden liquid pouring all over the floor. Glasses were handed out; the music was turned up even higher, the noise level threatening to break through the roof. Even Undertaker appeared, waving his favoured glass of brandy and leading the impromptu celebration with his manic laughter.
"What the hell just happened?!"
Eric stood rooted to the spot, his words lost in the raucous noise of the hall. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, his eyes wide as he watched Grell and William. The couple were holding each other in a tender embrace, laughing and smiling as they danced to the music. William leant down and captured Grell's lips in a soft kiss, one of his hands resting protectively on Grell's bump. Eric's expression turned sour, he growled and clenched his fist tightly. He began to breathe rapidly, anger bubbling up inside him. Another growl escaped from his lips; he turned away angrily and pushed his way rudely through the crowds, running out onto the balcony that overlooked the grand courtyard. He began to pace across the concrete in agitation and frustration, rather like a wild animal in a cage. Suddenly, he seized hold of the metal railings, letting out an animalistic howl of rage,
"My, my, my, sounds like a poor bear has a rather large thorn in his paw, hehehe"
Eric tensed as the voice tickled in his ear. The railings began to rattle as his hands shook; he spun around suddenly and glared at Undertaker,
"What do you want, old man?" he snapped, a little louder than he had intended.
"I was merely curious to why you were missing a perfectly good party" said Undertaker, reached forward and grabbing Eric's chin "Shouldn't you be celebrating your friends' engagement?". Eric scowled and pulled his chin from Undertaker's grip,
"I'm not really in the party mood" he said, turning away and pouting a little "They probably don't even realize I'm not there anyway"
"I dare say they don't, but why should they?" asked Undertaker "Their special evening shouldn't be ruined by a toddler's temper tantrum". Eric's eyes blazed fiercely; he turned to face the Undertaker once more, an angry snarl tearing from his lips,
"Say that again" he hissed. He pulled out his saw, his face rapidly turning red "Say it again! I dare ya!" he charged at the older reaper, his scythe raised to strike. Undertaker simply grinned and whipped around Eric, grabbing his arm and bending it back to make him drop his saw. He then slammed him into the wall, raising his leg and pressing his knee into the small of Eric's back,
"Goodness me Slingby" he said, shaking his head "Did your mother never teach you to respect your elders?". Eric growled and wriggled in the older reaper's grip
"Lemme go, ya lunatic!" he yelled "Lemme go!" he struggled more, trying to arch his back against Undertaker's knee. The older reaper quickly moved his leg, causing Eric to overbalance and fall backwards onto the floor. Undertaker smirked and bent over the younger reaper, his long silver locks brushing Eric's cheeks and nose,
"You're not going to win Miss Sutcliff's affections, you know" said Undertaker "I believe she chose William, or did the little display in the hall just now not make it clear enough to you?". Eric scowled and batted away Undertaker's hair, standing up again,
"Why should Grell settle fer William?" said Eric. He stomped over the railings and pulled out his packet of cigarettes, putting one in his mouth and lighting it "What does William 'ave that I don't?"
"Healthy lungs, for a start boy" said Undertaker, walking over to stand next to Eric. He raised his eyebrow a little at Eric's cigarette, but didn't comment. He leant on the railing and gazed out over the courtyard below, grinning as the wind ruffled his hair,
"You really are such a child at times, Eric" he said, playing idly with the charms around his waist "So obsessed with getting what you can't have, you can't see what's happening right in front of your eyes" Eric turned the older reaper and raised his eyebrow in confusion, taking a drag on his cigarette. Undertaker seemed to be talking nonsense, more so than usual. Eric sighed and scratched his braids, turning away again to puff out his cigarette smoke. Undertaker chuckled and turned away,
"Don't let your focus be skewed, Slingby" he said, heading towards the Grand Hall doors "A treasure taken for granted soon gets lost" he walked inside and disappeared back into the crowd. Eric rolled his eyes and took another drag on his cigarette, looking out over the courtyard once more. A couple could be seen in the distance, silhouetted as they sat hand in hand on a vast fountain. Eric watched as the pair fooled around with each other, their laughter hanging on the breeze. He shook his head and turned away
"Couple 'o' drunks" he muttered "Probably won't even remember each other by morning".
"Ronnie, it's so beautiful out here"
Alan smiled as he sat upon the rim of the courtyard fountain, gazing up at the delicate stars twinkling above. He turned to Ronald sat next to him,
"Are you should you wouldn't rather be at the party?" he asked "I'm sure the secretaries are missing you" Ronald chuckled, putting his arm around the smaller reaper,
"I'm not gonna lie, it does sound awesome in there" he said, looking briefly at the glowing lights of the hall "But I'm having a much better time out here with you" he held Alan close, kissing the top of his head. Alan blushed and looked away,
"Stop it Ronnie" he said. He turned to look up at him "Do you really mean that?". Ronald nodded, rubbing Alan's arm,
"Of course I do" he said. Alan blushed more, cuddling a little closer to the taller reaper. He looked down at his hands, a small smile creeping on his face,
"Did you hear the news?" said Ronald, suddenly "William proposed to Grell, one knee and ring and everything" Alan looked up at him, his eyes wide,
"Really?" he exclaimed, slight disbelief in his voice "Was William senpai drunk?"
"No, stone cold sober from what I heard" said Ronald "I know, I didn't believe it either" he smirked and started to laugh, Alan smiled and joined in, their voices loud in the quiet atmosphere. Finally, they managed to calm themselves down. Alan chuckled a few times and sighed,
"A wedding, how wonderful" he said. He looked down at his gloved fingers, suddenly feeling sad "I wish I could have what they have" he looked up at the starred sky, feeling a few tears welling up in his eyes. Ronald looked over at the smaller reaper, gently wiping away his tears with his thumb,
"But you do have what they have" he said, softly "You have Eric, he loves you". Alan started to cry more, holding onto Ronald tighter,
"Lately I just don't know if he does" he said, whimpering a little "He doesn't seem interested in me anymore, he doesn't notice me at all!" he buried his head on Ronald's shoulder, starting to sob. Ronald wrapped his arms around the smaller reaper and rocked him gently, stroking his hair with one hand,
"Hey now, don't cry Allie" he said "Eric loves you more than anyone in the world, and he adores you, even if he's too stubborn to admit it" he held Alan closer, rocking him until his sobs had finally quietened down. Alan sniffled and wiped his eyes shakily, looking up at his companion,
"Ronnie may I….." he looked down again, his cheeks starting to turn red "If I tell you something, will you promise to keep it a secret?" Ronald smiled and nodded,
"You can tell me anything Allie" Alan sniffled again and let go of Ronald. He stood up carefully and began to fiddle with the waistband of his pants. Ronald watched him and frowned, curiously to what he was doing. He saw Alan place his thumb into his waistband and stretch it, showing it was obviously elasticated. Ronald frowned more,
"Why are you wearing elasticated pants?" he asked. Alan looked up at him,
"You'll see" he said, quietly. He tugged at his pants and un-tucked his dress shirt, the hemline fell almost to his knees,
"Is that Eric's shirt?" said Ronald, his eyes growing wide. Alan nodded and slowly pulled the shirt up, showing off his belly. It was rounded out and clearly swollen, much like Grell's tummy. Alan looked up at Ronald, tears spilling from his eyes again,
"Ronald…." He breathed "I'm eleven weeks pregnant".
Author's Comments:
Good lord, that ending is so twisted I think I gave myself whiplash *rubs neck* My muse thought it would be a good idea, little sadist. Oh well, enjoy everyone~ I finally figured out some kind of plot for this, so I'm gonna try my hardest to get chapters out more frequently.