A/N: Daww, a cute chapter centering around Will/Ronnie in which Will proves he can be incredibly mean when he wants to be and Ronnie is kind of insecure and more cuteness about how I really wish they'd met. It's unlikely, but really cute. Next chapter, less cute more plot. For now, cuteness. And thank you for the reviews and please keep them coming. Love you guys.

"Hey, Ronald," Grell called. Ronald glanced up and Grell offered him a stack of files. He frowned and took them slowly. "Run this down to Will for Shelly so she can finish. I know you want to see Will anyway."

"Umm, ok," Ronald said quietly, packing away his own work and getting up. "You know I'm not actually working for you after today, Miss Galloway?"

"Don't worry about it, Knox," Michelle said. "I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of each other anyway. Will doesn't trust me after all. Go on, go and see your super sexy boss."

"Right. I'll see you later Miss Galloway, Miss Grell."

He nodded and headed and few doors down the hallway, passing a few of the new reapers he'd worked with over the past month. They smiled and said goodnight respectfully. He liked that. He'd never really been given much respect, especially being compared to the incredibly well respected reapers he worked with. So having all the juniors suddenly looking up to him and calling Mr Knox because they respected him as a senior and not just because it was professional made him glow with pride.

William was in his office finishing up his work. Ronald smiled. Over the past month William had stayed with him a lot and Ronald had grown used to being woken up with William over him, telling him to get up for work. Much as he didn't appreciate being woken up for work, he did appreciate- he loved- that William was there to wake him up, that he stayed with him. It seemed silly and little, but it meant so much to him. He'd never said it to William, but in his life the people he ended up in bed with would be gone by the time he woke up. It was good to have someone there.

"Boss." William glanced up. "Hey, I've got Miss Galloway's reports."

William gestured to the pile on his desk. Ronald frowned, walked over slowly and pulled out his chair so he could settle himself on William's lap, resting his head against his shoulder. He muttered something about not at work but slid the chair back in and continued with his work, running his free hand gently across his.

"I'm yours again tomorrow," Ronald murmured. "What are you going to do with me?"

William sighed. "You're going to work."

Ronald frowned, then slowly trailed gentle kisses up his neck and felt William shiver. "Just work, boss?"

"Stop that," he said quietly, giving him a smack on the back, not that he really meant it too much. "Come, get off." He pushed his chair out and shooed Ronald off. "Do something useful or wait quietly."

"Fine."

Ronald sighed and wandered over to the boxes stacked up against one wall. They were marked for archiving.

"Anything classified in here I shouldn't read?"

"No. Feel free if it'll keep you quiet while I finish."

He opened up the top box and smirked, picking up the first folder he found. The assignments from his year. William glanced up and frowned as he slumped on the couch. He flicked through and found his assignment folder.

"Wait here while I take these."

Ronald nodded, too engrossed by his old work. It was a little embarrassing; old assignments written out perfectly on why following protocol is important and other boring things. But back then he'd wanted to work hard and make the most of what he'd been given. He was determined to do something helpful and that made a difference, that's why he'd wanted to do collection. And William was the best, everyone knew that. So he set his sight on making sure William knew he existed. Only it didn't ever seem to work. And no matter how hard he tried William always found something else to pick up on and correct him on- and obviously he appreciated it, he wanted to improve- but it got frustrating that no matter how hard he tried it wasn't good enough. There's wasn't even a glimmer of recognition when he'd introduced himself that day in the office.

"Ronald," William said. He glanced up to see him in the doorway. "Were you going to spend all night in here?"

"Sorry, no, yeah," he said, shaking his head. William frowned. "Do you remember teaching me?"

"It would have been fifteen years, Ronald, I've taught hundreds so students since then and hundreds before."

"Thirteen years, I graduated early."

"Ok," he said. "Thirteen years. My point still stands."

"Oh ok."

"Ronald, don't take it personally," William said, holding out a hand for him. Ronald reached up and grasped his hand and William pulled him up into his arms. "I really remember any of the students. And in your first few weeks I don't know who's going to be important and who I should remember. It's just a forest of faces. Come on. I wanted to put in some extra training with you."

"Extra training? But I didn't think I needed any more. I'm ok, right?"

"Of course, but you don't want to get lazy and too confident in your abilities. You could start making mistakes. Besides, after what's been happening to you recently I think it's best to go through a few extra bits. I don't want you to get kidnapped again."

"What?"

"Not to mention all your time in the hospital."

"Alright, alright," Ronald sighed. "Let's go."

William nodded and led him out to the training building. It was huge since it was pretty much the only building they actually shared with the academy. He smiled remembered William taking their group here and watching them train in one of the larger halls. William took him into the smaller sparing rooms and locked the door.

"Our scythes are in lock down so no weapons for now, Ronald," he said firmly. "So, let's see how much you actually remember from when I taught you. Come at me."

Ronald nodded. He remembered this. He shrugged off his jacket and swung straight from William. William stepped back casually, moving easily to catch his wrist and stepping behind him to grasp the other, holding his immobile at his sides. Ronald had a pretty standard response to being grabbed from behind but since elbowing him in the ribs was out of the question he switched to plan B. He stepped back, dropped his weight so William was holding him and brought his foot up in a matter of seconds, catching William on the chin. Of course the problem with that move was that when William stepped back and released him he fell on his ass and had to scramble to his feet again before William could regain his senses.

William frowned and Ronald felt his heart sink. He knew that look far too well. "And if you were against more than one opponent, Ronald?"

"Well, I've never thought about it," Ronald laughed sheepishly. "I thought I'd cross that bridge when I came to it."

"On the floor then."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Ronald frowned and got down on the floor. William stood over him and for a moment there was a flash in his eyes that made him wonder just what he had in store for him. It was then he noticed William had picked up a wooden mock scythe. He glared down at him swung the dummy scythe downward. Ronald squeaked, rolled aside and grabbed the shaft of the scythe and pushing off backwards, landing on his feet and whipping around only for William to catch him by the waist before he could make his next move. He was swept up into a hot, slightly kiss and he instantly reached up into William's hair. God, words could not describe just how much he loved messing up William's hair. It made him look even better.

"Try again," William said. He caught Ronald's wrists and held them in one hand above his head. "Now, when you've proven enough times you're rather acrobatic, Ronald, so this time arch a little more..." He ran a hand slowly up Ronald's spine and he mewled softly, arching his back fully for William. For a moment he struggled with himself, they were doing combat training, it wasn't time for him to be letting his desires get in the way, even if William was playing up to it. "And make it more of a sweeping movement. Try again."

He returned them to their starting position. Ronald frowned, sticking his tongue out in concentration. He knew he could get the hang of it, he knew he could. He had too. He'd try again and again until he got it right for William, just like he used to. So again he dropped his weight down, pushed off the ground more and arched over, snatching his wrists away to help steady himself. Had William not been expecting it he would have been in just the right position for Ronald to slam his feet into his chest. His weight was wrong as he landed though and he staggered and fell back. He didn't hit the ground though. He glanced up. William had caught him.

"Try not to end up on your behind every time you move," he said quietly.

"Aw, but you should know by now my favourite place is lying beneath you," Ronald laughed as William helped him upright again. "I just lost my balance a bit, that's all."

"Hmm, I noticed," William said. "Do you know why?"

"I didn't come out the rotation and had my feet too close together."

"At least you're aware of it. So, next time spread your legs a little wider," William said gently, pressing against his back and resting his hands on his hips. He used his knee to part Ronald's legs wider and the blonde glanced up. "That way you're more likely to knock your opponent down if you hit them or if you don't you'll land better, especially without your scythe for balance."

Ronald nodded. He'd take William's hands-on teaching as teasing and playful but that was how William was. He was a hands-on teacher. If he made mistakes William would always show him where he'd gone wrong and help him correct it, and seemed to firmly believe that not everything could be taught through theory and copying out of books.

When Ronald was a student, William had called him back after one of their practical lessons. He'd been incredibly nervous, he'd messed up a lot on some of the difficult move and he knew William had seen it but he was determined to get them perfect. He was sure William was going to tell him off and point out everything he was doing wrong. He'd been absolutely devastated when William had to check he even remembered his name right. After all, he wanted William to know who he was more than anything. So he was utterly stunned when he'd offered him help.

He'd shown William where he was struggling and he was sure he heart had stopped when he asked if he could show him a better position and ended up being pressed against him. It shouldn't have been surprising; William was often wandering through the hall when they were training and would help nudge them into a better stance or something similar. It was just his way of teaching and he'd made it perfectly clear that was all it was because he would never allow anyone to touch him freely if it wasn't necessary and show everyone else the same respect. It was just the best way to show him and nothing more but that didn't stop Ronald becoming completely enamoured with him those few minutes. William's hands slipping over his hips as he repositioned him, his breath on his skin and his voice in his ear as he quietly explained and just the feeling of his teacher pressed against him together with the fact that William actually cared that he was struggling and wanted to help, it all served to make him completely and utterly smitten with him. And for one brief second when William whispered goodnight- when all he'd had to do was turn his head and press their lips together- he'd almost believed it wasn't just professional.

Of course, he was brought back down to earth when William had walked away without another word and when everything was completely normal the next day, including being given an assignment back covered in red notes. William didn't even know who he was back then, he didn't know how much Ronald agonised over getting him to notice him and praise him. William had no idea how much those few minutes had affected him. And then those ten weeks were up and Grell appeared, threw his arms around William and dragged him out declaring he was reclaiming his man from all the bratty students and they should be lucky he allowed them to even look at William.

After that Ronald was certain William had only been teaching him what to do and there was nothing more. His friends- he wasn't as into parties and dates on his first few months instead just had a small tight circle of friends- laughed and said it was just a silly little crush, it wasn't unusual for students to have a thing for their teachers. There were rumours about teachers returning the affection but never substantiated. They told him to forget about it, William was gone until next year, he was notoriously cold and a highly respected reaper would never look at him anyway. And they were right, of course. So Ronald put it aside as best he could. He tried to focus less on his assignments- he was breezing through anyway- he dyed half his hair blonde and started to work on using his natural charm more. They next time he saw William he was a second year, he was laughing and joking with his friends and William didn't even glance at him. He avoided William as much as he could; he set his heart racing every time he saw him.

And William didn't even remember him.

"Are you ok, Ronald?" William said suddenly drawing him out of his memories. "You've gone quiet."

"You really don't remember me?" Ronald whispered.

William frowned. "I remember seeing a loud, boisterous blonde roaming the halls once or twice and I remember thinking that the girl he had his arms around was incredibly lucky."

Ronald giggled and turned to bury his head in his chest. "That's something I suppose. Can we go home? I'm bored of training. I want to do some other exercise."

"Alright," William said quietly. "Pick up your jacket."

Ronald nodded and pulled on his jacket. He smiled and walked at William's side, knowing he wouldn't appreciate holding his hand like he wanted to. He didn't like public shows of affection, he didn't mind in his office or around their little group of friends, which Grell had pulled Michelle into.

He frowned. Grell and Michelle were spending a lot of time together recently. Grell was always coming into Michelle's office at the end of work almost every day. He laughed to himself and William glanced down at him.

"Grell's not been bothering you too much lately, has he?"

"Not so much, no. I was savouring the peace while both you and he were out of my way."

"That's not nice."

"No, but it's true." Ronald pouted. "What was your point?"

"I think he and Michelle had hooked up," Ronald said. William frowned. "I do, really. They're hanging out loads. I think if they're not together right now, I think they're working on it."

"I don't have time for idle gossip, Ronald," William said.

"Why? What better have you got to do?" William smirked and Ronald knew the answer William was too polite to say in public. "We're going the wrong way."

He stopped but William kept walking. He frowned and ran after him. His apartment was in the opposite direction. Where were they going now? First training now wandering off in the wrong direction, what was William up to? Whatever it was he was sure William wasn't going to let him down.

William led him to quite a nice block of apartments. Ronald frowned. This was the sort of place management stayed. It was then he realised where they were going.

"You live here?"

"Yes."

"We're going to your place?"

"Yes, Ronald."

"I thought I wasn't allowed to ever come to your home."

William glanced over his shoulder at him. "I've never let you know where I live before. Of course you weren't going to come here."

"Were you ashamed of me?" Ronald asked. "Is that why?"

"Why would you think that, Ronald?" William snapped.

"Ok, so you were worried they'd be jealous, right?" he laughed. "You get the gorgeous little blonde and they don't."

"Of course."

They climbed the stairs slowly and to one of only two apartments of that floor. Ronald glanced around. The hall was about as long as the one he stayed on and there were eight apartments on that floor. Ronald was lucky enough to know several girls in personnel who took care of living arrangements and managed flirt his way into one at the end of the hall so no one could hear him through the bedroom walls. He couldn't imagine how great it must be for William to have such a big private place.

Ronald followed him inside and stopped dead just inside the doorway. It was huge but almost completely unfurnished or decorated. William turned and frowned, gently taking one hand and reaching back over his shoulder to shut the door with the other before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"You look surprised."

"How the hell did you get this place?" he stammered.

"Ronald," he said quietly. "I'm a supervisor and I've been through a lot of trouble dealing with Sutcliff and Michelle and working with the academy kids. I get some perks from all that."

"I suppose."

William frowned and led him to the dark leather couch, gently setting him down and sitting next to him. Ronald glanced out the window. He had a stunning view too, out towards the library where the books of cinematic records were kept. It was the most beautiful building in the realm and the oldest. William said there was a time when there were less people and less reapers to go with them that everything was contained in that one building, everyone lived, worked and died in there. Then the population boomed and so there had to be more reapers to keep up and they needed more space, so the town around it was created along with new buildings to live in and work in, the archive warehouse, the academy and training ground. Then came the shops and cafes and parks. They had a little town that humans would be jealous of now. They'd be jealous of their technology too, but that was a different matter.

"You know," William said, kicking off his shoes and shifting to pull Ronald closer, holding him on his lap and leaning against the arm of the couch. "I remember your year."

"But you don't remember me?" Ronald muttered.

"I remember this one class because there was a simply stunning boy in it," he continued softly, resting his chin on Ronald's shoulder, placing a kiss on his cheek as the blonde growled. William didn't remember him but thought some other boy in his year was stunning? "He was everything I enjoyed in a lover; he was gorgeous, intelligent, hard working and determined to be the best. Of course, he was a student, so it wasn't going to happen, but I wanted that boy. I wanted him far more than was appropriate."

"Really," he said, folding his arms. William chuckled and turned his head, kiss his gently. "You seem to have a thing for inappropriate relationships with boys my age. Did you seduce him too?"

"It's cute that you're jealous." Ronald huffed. How had William said that with a straight face anyway? "But yes, I did eventually." He clenched his jaw and glared at William. He didn't like this story anymore. He didn't want to hear about a boy his age- in his year at the academy no less- that William wanted more than him. "It took a while, but it was worth it in the end. He didn't disappoint."

"Good for you."

"I used to watch him training and wish I could get my hands on him. I would watch him and think about what I would do if I could ever have him. You should have seen how beautiful he was. He had this silky black hair, and sharp eyes, those trainee glasses didn't suit him but they don't suit everyone. He had those lovely honey voice and-"

"Where's this story going?"

"Eventually, I got him alone. I got to run my hands over him and he blushed bright red," William continued. "Of course, he was still a child then, I couldn't bring myself to take advantage of him like that, so I let him go." Ronald hummed in response, glaring at nothing. "I got him eventually though and he was incredible in bed."

"You never talk like that about me."

"Not when you're around."

"Was he better than me?"

"You are jealous, aren't you?" He chuckled and kissed him again but Ronald turned away. William sighed. "About the same. I still want him though, even after this long."

Ronald closed his eyes tightly. Why the hell was William telling him this? Did he want to see him hurting like that? "If he was here, if he offered, would you have him now? Do you still want him that much?"

"Mmm, definitely," he murmured against his neck. Ronald shiver, hating the way his body was reacting to William despite being furious at him. He tried to push William away and get up but William held him firmly. "Where are you going, Ronald? I'm not done."

"Why are you doing this?" he whimpered, trying to wiggle away.

"Because you're jealousy is making you stupid," he said. "Calm down."

"Of course I'm being jealous," Ronald cried. "Of course I'm not calm, you just told me you still want him more than me! How did you think I'd react?" He struggled and managed to get to his feet. "Why the hell would you tell me-"

He was silenced as William grabbed him and pulled him back onto his lap, holding him firmly by his waist and chin, locking them in a rough, heated kiss. Ronald cried and pressed against his chest, trying to squirm loose and trying to convince himself he wasn't enjoying it as much as he was. The urge to get his hand in William's hair was almost overwhelming.

"You are so hot when you're angry," William growled, squeezing his waist and causing Ronald to let out an involuntary moan. "Stupid boy."

"Yeah, sorry I'm not as smart as him," Ronald hissed, but gave in and tangled his fingers through his hair, tugging slightly so William groaned. "I'm just the only one within your reach, right?"

"Well, he was the best in the collection class," he said between kisses. Ronald gripped his hair tighter and he growled. He thought he was top of the collection class for his year though. "He always gave the right answers when the others were wrong." No, William would ask him. There was no need for anyone else to answer after him. William knew that when they were there. "I put so much effort into him. No one else deserved it."

Ronald snarled and pushed roughly into the kiss, slamming William back against the arm with the sudden force of it. No! He got considered notes back. William paid attention to his work. He cared about Ronald's work. He knew he did. He was everything that boy was. He had dark hair and those stupid academy glasses never suited him. He was the smartest. William should have been his! His eyes widened suddenly and he yanked back. He was that boy. And William didn't even recognise him. William frowned and moved his fingers gently over his chin.

"What's wrong?"

"Where is he now?" he snapped. "That academy kid, where is he?"

He smirked and squeezed his waist. "Probably sitting on the lap of a very lucky man."

"I hate you," he moaned. "That's really mean making me worry like that."