It had always baffled Grell how people didn't think warmth was important as love. As he tossed another log on the fire, his mind wondered aimlessly. Warmth was a very important thing in the world. Without it left you cold and dead.
People always wondered what happened to William; why he became so emotionless. After years of thinking and observing, Grell came to the conclusion that the man had lost his warmth. It was easy to do when you were forced to work alone and to not show emotion.
Warmth held various meanings besides the literal one. Orange, yellow, red; all those colors held warmth. The feelings of being love and cared for; those emotions held warmth. Being beside someone who you cared for deeply; those encounters had warmth.
As he looked down at the hardwood floors underneath him, Grell realized his warmth was lessoning. He got up off his knees and looked at the small fire he had built. After arriving home, the outside temperatures had dropped to below freezing and whether or not the cold barely affected Grell, he decided to make a fire. The flickering flames reminded him of the warmth he had felt; the warmth he longed to feel once more.
The red reaper stood and stared at the fire endlessly. It wasn't until a knock came upon his door that he broke his glare. Grell looked towards the front door and furrowed his brows. He wondered who the hell would possibly be at his house in this kind of weather. It also occurred to him that it was late evening. As he made his way to the front door, he glanced at a clock that revealed it was nearing 8 p.m.
The last thing Grell expected to see on his door step was an anxious-looking William. His face held a questioning gaze, but he pushed aside his thoughts and spoke up. "William. What are you doing here? It's late and cold outside; wouldn't want you to get sick."
William nodded in agreement with Grell. "I know it is, but I needed to come talk to you. I'm sorry it is so late; I tried my best to get off early but it didn't seem to work out."
The redhead looked at Will with a bit of hesitation in his eyes. His mind burned to know what he needed to tell him. "No problem. I wasn't doing anything tonight anyways, but you have to make me a promise if I let you in."
Will raised his eyebrow at Grell but nodded. "And what is that?" He could tell the red reaper was up to something.
Grell paused for a moment, but decided to stick to his plan. "If I let you in here, you stay here for the night. I don't want you out late walking in this weather. Understood?"
A sigh was heard and an eye roll was made, but the other reaper gave in. "Okay. I'll stay here for the evening."
A small smile came upon Grell's lips and he stepped back, allowing William to come in. It had been awhile since Will had come to Grell's place. He usually only showed up to get the redhead out of bed if he was running really late or if he needed him on a day off. Since Grell had long since given up on being a bad employee, William's presence hadn't graced his home in months.
The redhead led William into the living room and let him get comfortable. He whipped up a batch of tea for them and soon came to rest beside Will on the couch. They sipped their tea in silence for a bit, but William knew he was only prolonging the inevitable.
He finished his tea and gently set the cup on the coffee table. After slipping off his jacket and loosening his tie, he laid back and put his arm around redhead beside him. "Grell. I think it is time I tell you the truth."
Upon hearing these words, Grell froze. He put down his cup and turned to face Will, a pit beginning to form in his stomach. "The truth?"
Will nodded. "I…I've been lying to you for some time now. Actually, I have been lying got you since I put you on this case."
"What do you mean, Will?" Grell's words were soft, but the hurt was evident. To know that William had been lying to him for almost two months bothered him.
The other reaper nervously pulled Grell close to him. "I guess I will start from the beginning. Remember when I told you that since you had been good that I would put you on the case?"
After a moment of remembering, Grell nodded. "Yeah, I remember now."
"Good." William continued. "That was my first lie. Headquarters had known since September about the case. They decided to issue it to me, but on one condition: I had to have two other people working with me. I accepted that and chose the Undertaker because I knew he would be of great help. I thought for a while before deciding on who else I should choose. I re-read the file over and over and finally realized that I wanted you to be on the case too, but not because of your good behavior. I wanted you on the case because I knew what was going to happen and I couldn't waste my time by not letting you know."
Confusion rested on Grell's face. "'What was going to happen.' What do you mean?"
Will shook his head. "Not yet. I'm not finished." He paused for a second and sighed. "After you agreed to take the case with me, the lies became a regular occurrence. Now, I wasn't lying when I told you I loved you, because I do love you. That is why we are here right now having this conversation."
"I love you too, William. Continue with what you were saying." The redhead's stomach was becoming a hurricane as the other reaper spoke more and more, but he needed to hear him to the end of it.
A nod was given and the breaking set in again. "Grell, our statics aren't a lie; there is a cure and a vaccine being made, but the thing is that there is no way it can be given to anyone but the head reapers. That's another reason I put you on this case; I wanted you to survive." Silence prevailed, but it was obvious he was far from finished. "I'm not entirely sure we can save everyone in our district, but the Undertaker has something up his sleeve. We are going to try our best, but that's all I can promise you." Silence fell again.
Grell looked at William. "Is that all, Will?"
"No. It's not. I lied to you about one more thing. It's the biggest lie I've ever told and I'm so sorry I've done this to you." Tears began to fill his eyes and he tried to blink them back. "Grell, I've been keeping a secret from you."
The redhead wiped a stray tear from Will's cheek. "What is it?"
The reaper took a deep breath and began to speak. "There was a deal that I made recently, without your consent. I thought about it long and hard, but decided it was the best thing for you. I made a deal with the higher ups." He sighed, but continued slowly. "Grell, I…I told them that after this case is finished, you would be released from work. I called it "Permanent Leave". I did this because I don't want you in one of these situations ever again. I know how you love to reap, but if we make it through this, I want you to never step foot back in that office again."
Grell sat there astonished. He couldn't make any words come out of his mouth. It was crazy to be hearing this. To know that he would never go back to work ever again, it was too much.
"Grell…I also told the higher ups one more thing." William suddenly took the red reaper's hand and looked into his eyes.
Grell met his gaze and whispered. "What?"
Will swallowed back his fear and spoke, but his voice came out barely above a whisper. "I told them that if I were to perish, that you would take over my position as supervisor. I would give you everything I had, including my last name, and you would take over my job. Do you think…You could manage that for me? If I were to die?"
"I-I wouldn't be happier than to take your place, William. Even though I hate that you've lied to me, I can understand why." Grell snuggled close to the reaper next to him and sighed.
William pulled the redhead close to him. "So you aren't angry with me? Even though I've kept you in the dark this whole time."
Grell shook his head, "I couldn't be angry even if I wanted to be. Do you know why?" He raised his head and looked up a Will.
William stared down at Grell. "Why?"
The red reaper brought his hand up to Will's face and stroked his cheek. A small smile rested upon his lips and he whispered. "Because you did all of this…Out of love."
As the night descended on the two reapers, they soon retired to bed. It wasn't long before William was fast asleep, his conscious no longer heavy with secrets and lies. But Grell lay wide awake beside him and smothered himself in that lovely, everlasting warmth.