Because he is generally a prick in Red and Black, there's been a lot of Will-hate from my readers lately, so here's some fluffy (belated) Valentine's Day stuff for you! GrellxWill cutesies, but you gotta stick it out to the end.

}~*~*~*~*~*~{

"Oh, Will~iam~!"

He bit back a groan as the redheaded reaper bounded into his office. Today he also brought with him the thick, cloying scent of roses.

"...Yes, Grell..."

"I brought you something~"

"Did you..."

"Mmhmm! The only thing in the world that I know makes you happy~!"

Despite what he knew were most likely Grell's best efforts, he had to doubt that he had brought anything that would make him remotely happy. He was anticipating some ridiculous profession of love-more ridiculous than usual, anyway-accompanied by either a box of chocolates that he had no interest in, some sort of plush animal that would only clutter up his office or living space, or an enormous bouquet of flowers that he was allergic to. Or quite possibly all three.

What Grell actually dropped onto his desk was a stack of papers. After staring at them for a moment, he looked up to the strangely silent man.

"...And this is...?"

"All the paperwork I owe you, complete with the proper forms for the late work..."

For what was arguably the first time, William was impressed with Grell's work. Glancing through the rather hefty pile, he noticed that everything even seemed to be filled out flawlessly.

"...What on earth, may I ask, brought this about?"

"Well...I wanted to ask you something."

Ah. There was the catch.

"And that would be...?"

"Well~" Grell's usual personality began to take over again. "There's a party tonight...and I was just wondering-"

"No."

He all but watched Grell deflate.

"But-!" The redheaded reaper leaned across his desk, pouting. "It's Valentine's Day...a day for romance and love~you won't come with me...?"

"If it's a night of what you claim are your favorite things, why not go on your own and find someone there?"

"Well, no one's going to show up without a date..." Grell's voice dropped as he continued. "And...I wanted to go with you."

There was a rare earnestness and sincerity in the soft and somewhat timid voice. William could only sigh.

"I have better things to do than waste my time on such frivolities."

"Can't you just let yourself have some fun? Just one night of the year?"

"With the backlog you've accrued on your fieldwork, I should forbid you from going as well."

"For a smart man, you're awfully thick sometimes. Could I have filled out the paperwork without getting everything else done~?"

He began to rubs his temples, getting a headache as Grell shot down his excuses one by one.

"Mr. Sutcliff, why can't you be this productive on any given day? It would make both of our lives that much easier..."

The grin that spread on Grell's face was looking increasingly forced.

"Well then, nothing would be interesting, would it?"

"Everything would run smoothly as a well-oiled machine, like it should. Please tell me why you are the gear that insists on getting stuck."

"Ouch..." Stung more than he cared to admit by the remark, Grell straightened up and took a step back toward the door. "Well, then...tell me if you change your mind..."

"Sutcliff..."

"Just on the off-chance...!" Grell paused, looking back over his shoulder. A surprising amount of guilt washed over William as he saw the genuine sadness in the man's brilliantly green eyes.

"Please, Will...just think about it."

He vanished in his usual flash of scarlet, leaving the scent of roses lingering in the room. It was all William could do not to slam his head repeatedly on his desk and try to reassure himself that turning him down-yet again-wasn't something to be ashamed of.

Only much later that night, when everyone was assumedly at the party Grell had mentioned, did Will step out of his office, intending to finally get some sleep. Walking the silent and darkened hallways, his attention was caught by light spilling from a room. After a short moment, he realized it was none other than the office of his enamored subordinate.

The pieces of the puzzle didn't quite fit; if Grell had wanted so badly to go, he would have found someone else to go with, or even shown up alone. He'd never had much of an issue with making a scene.

Despite himself, he walked down the hallway and peered through the door.

Grell was slumped over his desk; a pen was loosely held in one hand. It looked as if he'd fallen asleep right in the middle of something. The red coat he usually wore hung over the back of the chair, as if he'd shrugged it off after some time working; his hair was held away from his face in a black silk ribbon, the thick strands cascading towards the floor off one shoulder. There was a smudge of ink on his cheek as well, and William blinked as part of his mind registered the scene as 'adorable.'

He glanced around the room for some means of waking him-he didn't trust Grell's eccentricities enough to risk shaking him, fearing a nasty bite from those teeth of his-and was surprised to find it almost void of what he had assumed would be lavish decorations for the holiday. Red was everywhere, to be certain, but no kitschy paraphernalia.

His attention was focused again as Grell shifted with a soft sound. The pen fell from his hand as he crossed his arms and rested his head on them, and William could see what he had been writing more clearly. It was in a small, red leather book, appearing to be a journal of some sort-certainly nothing official.

He hesitated to read it. If indeed it were some sort of diary, Grell would certainly not appreciate the intrusion upon his privacy; for someone who seemed so open about...well, everything, William had never guessed he would even consider keeping some sort of journal.

But on the other hand, he was so deeply asleep he wasn't even breathing...

He shifted slightly, standing behind the desk to get a clearer view.

As predicted, another let down. I'm writing about this hours later...it shouldn't bother me enough to still sting even now, but it does.

How does he manage to make very question and comment so backhanded? 'Why are you the one gear that insists on getting stuck'...because it's the only way I know to get even a little attention from you. I'll settle for negative, as positive was never an option.

I'm tearing this page out later and burning it. Sooner or later he'll find this and make an excuse to confiscate it. I'd have to tear out almost everything if I didn't wan

The handwriting trailed off, Grell having apparently fallen asleep at that point, but the short passage forced William to think. How long had they been working together? To him, time seemed to fly by, and there was never enough to get the work done-but for Grell, he knew it seemed to eke along at a snail-like pace. It had to have been at least a century since they had taken the exam together and been designated to their duties...in all likeliness, it had been much more time than that.

And he'd been rejecting the poor redhead from the very beginning. Amazingly, he had yet to give up. The straightforward and heartless path part of his mind took said that the idiot was just thick-headed and was bringing everything on himself by refusing to accept the truth; a slightly more sympathetic facet wondered when it had turned from a legitimate lack of desire to just habit. Surely, Grell was not so distasteful that he had to deny him a single night of kind-heartedness.

Give him an inch, he'll want the mile, the heartlessness argued again. Let him have that night and you'll never hear the end of it.

Was that strictly true? There really was only one way to find out.

Will gently laid a hand on Grell's shoulder and gave him a shake, trying to draw him out of sleep. He was reluctant to wake, only shifting and burying his face further in his arms.

He gave another, slightly rougher shake, and was about to change his mind and give up when Grell finally lifted his head, blinking owlishly at the light in the room.

"How long have you been asleep?"

He looked up at the familiar voice and didn't seem to believe what he was seeing.

"Will-? Where am I-? What..."

As Grell buried his face in his hands, William couldn't help but smile.

"You fell asleep as your desk. Writing something, by the looks of it; you've got ink on your cheek."

The ink didn't seem to both him all that much, but his head shot up and he scrambled with the items on his desk, finally finding and slamming closed the journal. He tucked it hastily into a pocket and brushed a few stray hairs out of his face.

"I-I...I didn't sleep much in the past week...I was...getting all that work done..." A bitterness crept into his tone. "...Guess it finally caught up to me."

With that, he stood and picked up his coat, heading toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

Grell paused.

"If I'm going to sleep, it might as well be in my own bed...besides, I've spent the last week sleeping at my desk like that, and my back is not happy about it."

As if to illustrate this, he stretched, popping most of the vertebrae in his spine. With a heavy sigh he relaxed again, turning towards the door.

"Goodnight."

Will was in shock. Grell, leaving so casually and acting so...normally?

"What happened to going to that party tonight?" He asked, following the redhead out into the hallway, pausing to turn off the light ad shut the door. Ahead of him, Grell didn't stop moving and only shrugged.

"Pointless to show up now. By the time I got ready, it would be winding down."

"You seemed so excited this morning."

Another shrug.

"Things change."

"Grell, is something wrong?"

He finally stopped and turned.

"Why do you ask that?"

"You're not acting like yourself."

Yet another shrug.

"How do you want me to act? I'm exhausted. If I didn't know you'd deny it, I'd request a personal day so I could catch up on sleep."

While the snipe wasn't exactly a zinger, it was the harshest thing Grell had ever said to him. William looked positively taken aback by it.

"By all means...you can have the day tomorrow..."

"...Thank you."

They stood there for a moment in thick silence. Eventually, Grell shifted again with a heavy sigh.

"I'm going to bed. I'll see you."

As he turned to leave again, William couldn't help himself.

"What-no request for me to join you? No final attempt to get me to agree to do something together? Nothing?"

Grell's shoulders sagged distinctly as he paused again. He didn't bother looking back this time as he spoke.

"...You made your point, Will. You must have known it would stick some day."

All the bitterness and sadness in the world made up those words, and they crashed heavily on William's ears despite the low volume at which they had been spoken.

"...Goodnight."

The sound of Grell's shoes as he walked away echoed loudly in the otherwise empty corridor. He watched as the vague silhouette pulled the heavy mass of hair over his shoulder and began to braid it, something he usually only did when upset or nervous. Needless to say, it was a rare occurrence, and much to his own surprise, Will felt a twinge in his chest as the normally confident and now forlorn figure made its way down the hall.

He easily caught up with the other and took his arm. Grell didn't fight. His only reaction was to cease moving entirely.

"...What if I changed my mind, Grell."

"I wouldn't believe you."

"What would I have to do to convince you?"

"To take back decades of the same response?" Grell gently tugged his arm from Will's grasp. "An awful lot, I would think."

"By my standards or yours?"

He could feel Grell getting aggravated at the conversation.

"What difference does it make? I knew you were cold-hearted, William, but this is just cruel-"

He was silenced abruptly as William's hands slipped into his hair and his superior's lips met his own. Grell's mouth was soft and warm, a tantalizingly full pout. William couldn't help but suck lightly on Grell's lower lip before pulling away.

"Did that help at all?"

He could see the struggle in Grell's eyes between giving in and staying angry.

"I-is this your idea of a joke-?"

"I'm not that cruel," He replied smoothly.

"But-"

"It's amazing how, when we get into habits, we don't consider how things may have changed," He said, nipping lightly at Grell's lip again. "Even such things as our own emotions."

The sudden change was almost too much for Grell. Just this morning, Will had finally and truly broken his heart...and now here he was, teasing him with impossibly light kisses and a slowly wandering touch.

"I d-don't understand..."

Will could only smile.

"I suppose what I mean to say is that...I got so used to saying 'no', I never considered what the alternative was." His arms wrapped around Grell's waist and pulled him closer, their bodies flush against each other's. "You are, by the way, quite adorable when you're asleep..."

A blush crept into Grell's cheeks, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around William's neck.

"Should I consider this a one-night thing...?"

William couldn't help but smile.

"We'll see in the morning."

Grell finally smiled, and William pressed their lips together again. The smaller man was all too eager to respond this time, coaxing William's skilled lips open to tease with his tongue. Before long, the two were pressed up against a wall, a sweet passion shared between them. Eventually, the kiss broke and Grell rested his head on William's chest.

"Maybe we shouldn't stay in the hallway..."

William had to laugh at Grell's breathless comment, and had to agree.

"Then let's move..."

He took Grell's hand and led him down the hallway. Grell happily followed.

"Oh, Grell?"

"Hm-?"

William planted a kiss on the tip of the other man's nose.

"Happy Valentine's Day."