A/N- I am so sorry for the wait! I've been very busy, but I assure you, this story is not over yet. About updating today... Sorry I couldn't help it. It's valentines day! The day for the fiery passion that is love~ Enjoy this love filled chapter!

Blake looked around the ballroom. And gosh, was this one a beauty~

The room was filled with people in elegant dresses and suits, hair groomed with perfume and cologne, alagalore! The demon-reaper had to scrunch up his nose a few times from the amounts of scents all over the room. It was all so overwhelming, mingling with the humans.

He could almost gag from all of it.

Almost.

The beauty of a reaper he met just a short week ago was attending the ball. And god be damned, if he wasn't going to dance with her.

At the moment however, he could only wait alongside with Michael and Belladonna at his side, both dressed in fitting clothing. Both acting as his wingmen- or woman in Bella's case- but all the same when it came to being there for him.

Though he was a bit wary of Michael, the blonde liked Grell enough to sweep her off her feet on the spot. Blake frowned slightly, adjusting his suit self-consciously, he'd have to keep an eye on his wingman.

Miss Mary and Simon were going to arrive shortly, Grell along with them. She'd been very keen on keeping details slim about her arrival, not saying much beyond 'see you there~'. Which was enough to make him get up off of his ass…

So here he was, hair done, teeth sharpened and top hat hiding his horns, anxiousness growing and intensity in his gaze escalating to a high capacity. Michael seemed to notice, as he turned to him with a nervous expression.

"Oi! Breath Blake! Don't freak out on us now!", he exclaimed in a hushed whisper as he clamped a hand on the black reaper's shoulder. "You're not getting married to her yet. Calm down!"

"I...I- I know that, but…", Blake stammers, halting the stressed words that catch at his throat. Bella now turns to look at him and Michael, worry shining in her eyes.

"Blake?", she questions as he sees him shake slightly. Her eyebrows furrow further.

"Do you guys think I rushed into things too quick?", Blake asked, eyes piercing and voice steady but in need of answering. His entire body was shaking in the black suit. "Did I make this go too quick?"

"What are you talking about?", Michael asked as he looked at his friend in dismay.

"Well I mean, I only met her a week ago", Blake said, face heating up from having to explain himself, having so little bravery to at the moment. "And, I want her to be the one, and I mean, my one."

He breathed in as he eyed the dancing couples. "I've been an underling in everyone's eyes, an animal, a beast, a monster…" Bella's and Michael's eyes softened.

"I've been the luckiest man alive to have found you two, miss Mary and Simon. A crazy little quintet that i'm happy to be part of. That accepts me, that stood by me even when it was difficult to understand me and what I was", Blake sniffed, putting a hand on his mouth, looking down at the ground.

"I can't thank you enough for that. You saved my life. Truly you did, because if I didn't have you, i'd probably already have a reaper's scythe halfway through me right now", he sniffed again.

"And now, someone else wants me too, and I just want this to work out. I've never fallen so deeply in love with someone…", he let out a painful sob. "And I, I just want this to work out, but I don't know if I already messed up by cramming a life's worth into a week. I don't want this to be a fling. I can't handle another deceit, I can't handle another rejection. I just..."

He stops as he notices a pair of arms wrap around him, with such a crushing comfort that he couldn't help but bury his head in the slim person's shoulder.

He whined softly in the back of his throat, not allowing himself to sob completely, just letting a few tears slip from the comforting protection the shadowy hat gave.

"Thank you, Miss Mary", He managed to whisper out as he finally parted from the pale shoulder, only to have his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates at seeing Mary standing with Simon, away from him.

She gave him a bashful smile, as Simon softly pointed at the red-dressed figure he was holding, a warm blush spreading over his entire face. There she was…

Grell, adorned in a slim, silk faille ball gown, black ribbons accenting her pale skin and complementing her acidic green eyes. Eyes that were now shining with tears and trailing her mascara down to her porcelain cheeks.

Her frame shook with sobs, stifled by his suit, Blake stood speechless and flustered unsure of weather to wrap her arms around her or not. He flinched as he accused himself of this horrendous situation. He shouldn't have been so stupid to fall head first so-

"You really do love me?", Grell whimpered out, making Blake flinch violently, making her miserable confused. She was always so direct with him, and that bluntness was a quality that made her shine, but now it just made him want to hide from that light.

He swallowed a heavy lump in his throat as he realized that the others were still watching, worried and expectantly. She let out a short wail, causing Blake to fly his twitchy hands to her face, wiping away the cascading tears.

"Oh, no, no, no. Don't cry", Blake said as he ran his gloved thumbs over the droplets on her cheeks, carefully murmuring her to quiet down. It wasn't working, she kept sobbing. "I like you! In fact, I might even say i'm head over heels for you! I..I just-!"

Grell sobbed even harsher, Blake really began to panic now, the other four reapers stepped forward as if to intervene if things got any worse, but Grell just jumped up and kissed the shocked demon reaper.

Blake knew at that moment he passed away.

Breaking away, he let out the biggest cheshire smile he had, Grell with her similar fang-toothed grin. The two crazy reapers began to giggle to themselves like drunkards, breaking into a sob of relief. Blake looked up at Grell, questioningly.

She understood, and smiled softly, explaining herself, "I never had someone truly love me before, those attempts I made in the past, were pure lust and attempts at a frilly romance. But now I have the most genuine of all passion here at my touch..."

Blake took her small, fragile but deceptive hands into his, she took hold of them too.

"...and after experiencing something so real, so beautiful, I can't help but feel all the more in love, with the man in black, who gave me his heart", she said as she reached up and swiped his tear tracks away, he smiled softly at her. She gave him a sad, grim smile "And to think all this time I thought I needed a cold man…"

"Hey now", Blake said lifted her chin to look up at him, he spoke in a steady voice. "A life's worth of loneliness can't be erased, I know that much from the trauma, but maybe it can be soothed and tendered to heal for the rest of life…"

He extended his arm, in a bow position.

"...If you would please have this dance with me, I shall assure nothing but that life for you. One to share with me at your side, by my undying proclamation of love, this I promise you", Blake said, rehearsed words coming back to mind now that he wasn't dying of a panic attack.

"If you wanted a date why didn't you just say so?~", Grell said with a gleeful smile as she took his arm and yanked him to the dance floor.

Before he could be dragged off for an eternity, Michael grabbed him by the shoulder and whispered harshly into his ear.

"If you chicken-out on this dance, I will kill you Blake, and take that beaut for myself you got that", Michael said in a mock threat. Blake chuckled.

"I won't panic, and if you take her, i'll rise from the dead and kill you myself", Blake growled back before running off with the red reaper into the sea of people, a dance a-brewing.

Simon chuckled to himself as he watched the two disappear into the crowd, the investigation could be postponed a few minutes, just this once. His relaxed smile turned into a frown hoverver as he realized something grave.

They were not alone.

There was another reaper and a demon in the vicinity.

Now this could not wait.