A/N: Let me start off by saying a huge apology for bringing your hopes up with bi-monthly updates for the summer. I know that I do have July and August left, but I took a reviewer's advice a bit too much. Plus 5-week Gen Chem course also screwed up the schedule considering the ridiculous amount of homework and stress. But, still have an A average, so I guess I'm good.

Anyhow, I'd like to thank everyone so far who've stayed with me. I really enjoyed writing this chapter (5.8k words which is a first), and if it weren't for you guys, I probably wouldn't have made it this far. So, without further ado, on to the reviews:

KyloRen'sgirl213: I definitely took your advice to heart, and here it is. I appreciate you waiting though, and I hope you enjoy today's chapter as well.

skaterrockgirl: I'm really glad you think so. I want this story to also be one I'd enjoy if I read it, so I hope the quality has been maintained so far. Yes, Undertaker making some advances is somewhat in the air considering he's quite an unpredictable character and quite spontaneous, much like in this chapter. But, I also share the same sentiments in regards to Sebastian entering the picture. He'll probably (most definitely) step up his game once he sees some competition... if he's interested to, lol. Sebastian will arrive the same time this story enters canon, unless if I think up something, but most definitely the former, and this chapter will be somewhat a mix of timeskips plus more chapter. I don't want to bore you guys with too much filler, but at the same time, I need Rachel's and Undertaker's relationship to advance before adding turbulence with the addition of Sebastian. So I hope I won't bore you before then.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mild cursing, in case you're uncomfortable with that.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji nor will I ever. Everything read not included in the manga are my ideas and characters alone unless mentioned otherwise.

Chapter 16 Rachel's POV (1st)
If you asked me, I'd rather have chosen a more discreet place than a bar to discuss my "situation", but I suppose the discussion was inherently spontaneous itself, so I can't really place the blame on anyone but myself. As of now, Undertaker had stopped tugging on my hand insistently like a child, but he hadn't let it go either, and with how focused he was on reaching that bakery, he didn't seem keen on letting go anytime soon.

"So, after the bakery, what next?"

He chanced a quirked grin, looking back but never slowing down. "Why, I believe we ought to stock up on some groceries and probably some feminine products for you~ Else, I'd be having a mini version of me walking around, hihi!"

I deadpanned. "It's not that big a deal. Just shampoo, soap, and conditioner is good enough for me."

He tutted. "Now, now, what would Madame Red thinks of me if you visited her smelling like an old man? Not so greatly, I would think~"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes, whatever you say." Anything to make him happy. How nostalgic this felt. Perhaps this is what it's like to have a mother hen besides Red. But a male version.

I crinkled my nose. You know what? I take that back. I only need one, I don't need to be smothered.

I felt a nail poked my cheek and my eyebrow ticked. "What?" I sighed. That came out too harsh.

From the corner of my eye, I could see a sharp grin as he tilted his head down at me. "Your mind has the tendency to wander quite a bit~"

I lifted an eyebrow, disgruntled. "Yeah, that tends to happen when I'm bored or annoyed," I drawled dryly. I shook my head. I just wanted to go back to the shop already. I didn't see the point of having to buy feminine products, but I knew he'd make a ruckus about it so, I suppose it's best we get it out of the way.

He said no more considering we'd arrived at the bakery, and I didn't wait for him to open the door. He probably sensed from my mood that any form of chivalry he attempted would only piss me off even more. I wasn't sure myself on how true that statement was, but I didn't get more time to analyze that thought when we approached the counter where some teenage boy around my age was standing to take our orders.

"Good morning! Welcome to the Muggin's Bakery. What can we get for you?"

I sighed. Out loud. Such overly enthusiastic greetings already made me want to disappear.

He looked down at me, probably noticing me for the first time since he'd been addressing the Undertaker, and immediately I could see a blush blooming from his neck to the roots of his hair. The guy was, of course, white, blonde as well, kind of cute if that was your schtick. "U-um, we have samples for our newest pastries… if you'd like to try some," he added meekly. He was too busy glancing at me with baby blue eyes, but lacked any sort of spine to maintain eye contact for longer than a second which ended up becoming awkward and eventually annoying.

Deciding that I didn't have time nor the patience to deal with hormonal teenagers, I blandly stated," Just a croissant. Your turn." I jerked my head to the Undertaker without looking at him and stood to the side, impatiently waiting. That damned bastard was having too much fun watching the scenario pan out, so much so that he had to jam a sleeve in front of his mouth to muffle any giggles that came out.

"Hihi~ We'll be having take-out for a dozen bagels, as well as some muffins and your finest pastries!" he smiled, leering at the display of whatever variety they had.

"W-would you like spread on them, sir?"

"Oh yes, if you would be so kind~"

"And f-for the dozen bagels, um, do you mind specifying which kinds?"

"Not at all, hihi~ What would you like, m'dear?" He glanced at me with a wide smirk.

My eye twitched. "I don't care. Whatever suits your fancy. I just want to leave."

He snickered again. "So sorry about my assistant. She's quite the grouch if she stays out too long~ Now then, about those bagels…"

I sighed again, face-palming this time. We just had fish and chips and now he wants bagels and pastries? I pinched the bridge of my nose. Well, at least we'll have a variety. While Undertaker prattled on to the bus-boy who kept sneaking glances at me, I stared off into space until I felt an arm sling around my shoulders. Glaring at the culprit who was obviously my boss, I tried to unsuccessfully shrug off his arm. "What now?"

He held up a bag of bagels and whatnot in the air with a proud grin. "All done~"

I narrowed my eyes. "Congrats, what do you want? A medal?"

"Hihihi! Now now, just one more stop~ We simply need to buy you some feminine products before your meeting with Madame Red."

I only raised an eyebrow before pushing his arm off. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"As you wish, Elly~"

I groaned. This guy…

"For the umpteenth time, I'm fine."

"If you say so, ma'am. Don't forget to check out our newest brand of products for perfume and body wash over here. It's become quite popular~!" The sales lady beamed her blinding smile my direction before bothering the next unfortunate customer.

I sighed. The next time someone tries to bother me, I would possibly end up banging my head against the wall. Besides having to be outside, being endlessly bothered by a salesperson was also quite high on my shit-list.

After meandering over a couple of rows with scents that either made me cringe or give me a headache, I finally located the lavender scented products. Oh thank God, they exist in this time period. For now, I'd rely heavily on natural scents I was comfortable with. Zero was my next best bet in branching out, no matter how odd that would be.

I picked up some soap and shampoo before studying the various conditioners. I had to be extra careful with the hair products considering the fact that the wrong kinds made my scalp really itchy and uncomfortable. Apparently, it's sensitive, according to Zero. I picked out a brand, inspecting it critically when I felt a chin and sleeved hands rest on my shoulders. Some silver hairs entered my peripheral version while others tickled the sides of my face.

At this point, I didn't bother to turn to see who it was.

"What do you want?" I turned the bottle to the back to see the ingredients before a clawed hand took the conditioner and returned it to its spot.

"There's no need for those~ I have some oils I'd like to try on your hair, if you wouldn't mind. Hihi~" I looked at him from the corner of my eyes to see him grinning cutely at him. He was trying to convince me.

My eyes narrowed. "My scalp is sensitive, so there better not be any side effects to them."

His grin widened. "But of course, dear~"

I sighed, looking back at the soap and shampoo.

"Found what you need~? If you're done, we'll be on our way, now."

"Sure. By the way, will this be coming out of my paycheck?" I followed him to the register where the same saleslady who'd bothered me endlessly for lack of customers stood, smiling widely. By default, a scowl had found its way onto my face.

"Hihi~ To be quite honest, dear, I'd forgotten all about that. We've yet to set a wage for your services~" He held up a sleeve to his face to appear bashful when it was anything but.

I blanked. It's already been a week. Did this guy not plan for anything?

Taking my silence as an answer, he thanked the saleslady with an eerie giggle, making her smile strained but exited nonetheless. I followed behind silently, holding one of the many bags that contained some form of dessert or sweets that I knew he was dying to eat.

"Dearie? You're not mad, are you~"

My brow ticked. "Why would I be? It's partly my fault for not clarifying this with you, anyway."

Damn, I was already getting comfortable for that to have escaped my notice. That, or he's good at distracting me. Speaking of which, then my services for the Watchdog should've also been determined. Ah, fuck.

I sighed again.

He snickered but said nothing more.

On our way back to the mortuary, the same stares and silent judgement remained, certain people spreading rumors this way and that and whatnot. It was quite interesting how society never changed, no matter how advanced or primitive it was. It's simply funny how in my time, the existence of phones made it so much easier to taint someone's image. I suppose people never change.

I hadn't noticed that we'd made it to Undertaker's place nor the fact that we were at the kitchen section of his home until I blinked to find him grinning unsettlingly at me.

"What?"

"You were thinking again~ I wonder what goes on inside that head of yours to be so preoccupied~" He opened a bag to find scones and grabbed a couple before scarfing them down immediately.

I sweat dropped before taking a seat. I stared at the table before feeling a presence at my right also slump into a seat. I turned to find him grinning widely before stuffing in more dessert. I shook my head exasperated. "Well, I was simply comparing Victorian society to mine. Despite all the reforms and advances my time has, the people never change. Not since I was a kid, and not now."

"Hmm~ Is that so? Heh, in my humble opinion, people are always changing. They never stay the same, never stay in one place too long~ Always rushing through life but never getting to enjoy it~"

"Sure, but these people don't have the luxury of having a lifespan as long as yours."

He smirked. "Perhaps, yet, I wonder~ If people lived like they only had one day to live, would it make a difference? What do you think?"

I blinked before looking straight ahead. "What difference would it make? Some people end up dying unexpectedly, never changing. Unless if there were some diagnosis of some sort, then maybe, there'd be some effort to 'enjoy life', but then after that, then what? It'll just be back to the same old. If anything, the quality of life is dependent on you and what you find to enjoyment. It's what you make of it."

For a time, Undertaker's chewing filled the silence as we sat together for an indiscriminate amount of time. Eventually, I continued.

"But, the same could be said for the both of us. For you, it'll just be the end of a long existence. In my case, it'll be retribution for my actions, regardless if it be by someone's hand or purely by accident."

"Heh, all people die one way or another, ne?~"

I looked him straight in the eye. "That is how it should be."

He only smiled. "We'll see."

August 24, 1885 - Monday
I stared at the date on the front of my phone. Thanks to the Undertaker, I'd finally been able to figure out the date and set my phone to it. It looked wrong, felt wrong, but one had to adapt. Survival demands it.

"Dearie~ I'm bored~"

"Ok." I kept looking at my phone despite feeling Undertaker's disapproving pout my way. I was trying to calculate the countdown to the Phantomhive manor attack, and thanks to my boss, using today's date, I would be able to find out the number of days.

As cold-hearted as it sounded, interfering would probably mean worse consequences in the future. I knit my brows. But, at the same time, it would prevent Undertaker from beginning his Bizarre Doll project. I frowned.

Would it be crucial to the plot, however? As of now, the manga heavily depended on Undertaker reviving Ciel to provide the plot twist. Would it still prevent the overall project from happening?

I stared darkly at my phone.

No, probably not. Ciel was probably only part of it. He'll definitely still try to revive the dead. Despite not explicitly saying it in the manga, he's not only just interested in what lurks in the "extra credits". He wants more than just that…

Poke.

Twitch.

Poke poke.

I smacked his hand. "Do you mind?!"

He stuck his lower lip out. "I've been talking to you for several minutes and you weren't even paying attention~"

"Yeah, probably because there was nothing of interest to listen to!" I grumbled, looking at the calendars on my phone and trying to compute the number of days. I knew there was something fancy trick on how to know which months had 31 days or not using the knuckles on your hand, but considering no one ever taught me - and the fact that I'd forget if they tried to teach me now - I didn't see the point in bothering to know how.

"Hahh, wolframalpha it is…"

"Hmm? What's that, deary?~" A sharp chin dug into my shoulder, relentlessly persisting despite my attempts to swat his face away. I'd given up after several tries.

Crap! I can't do it in front of him. I'll have to wait until I have some free time away from him.

He was already peering at the screen of my phone on which safari had been opened, and no thanks to my fast typing, already had the math website opened. Too late. Well, then.

I sat there at my desk, staring blankly at my phone and wondering what kind of excuse I could make up when I suddenly remembered that he had pretty shitty eye-sight.

How about a distraction?

"Have you ever wondered what is the meaning of life?"

Undertaker quirked his head, smirking at the abrupt change of discussion but played along. "Not quite. Rather the opposite."

I shook my head. Of course he would, he was a mortician. "Well, in that case, the answer to the meaning of life can be found on this very special website. This website has all the answers to any math equation, if inputted correctly." During my monologuing, I'd typed in "meaning of life" and waited as it loaded before the answer popped up. 42.

Undertaker had to lean in close until his nose practically bumped the screen to read it. "Forty-two?"

"Yup. Forty-two."

He hummed. "Now that I know the answer, I don't feel as excited anymore~…" He pouted, quite deterred at how simple the answer was.

I snorted. "How do you think I feel?" I erased the text before feeling his chin settle on my shoulder. It dug in with every word he spoke.

"How about the meaning of death?~"

My eyebrow rose. "You want to know the mathematical answer to death?"

He grinned, craning his head a bit to beam his smile pearly white teeth at me. "Why not~"

I shrugged. "You asked."

I typed in "meaning of death", and lo and behold… Just a bunch of definitions. I snorted. "Is this what you wanted?"

He smirked. "Well, perhaps it's for the best~ If we knew the answer to everything, that would take the fun away from living, don't you think, love?"

"Hah, you're one to talk. If you had it your way, you'd make it so that almost everything happened the way you want it to. Almost."

"Hi hi hi~ And what makes you say that?" His ear piercing cackling made me wince.

"I have the feeling that if everything went the way you wanted it to, you'd find some way to disrupt your own system just for the sake of not getting bored." I nonchalantly replied, noting the wide smirk he sported on his scarred face from the corner of my eye. I had exited from out of the safari app before contemplating on getting onto Youtube or my games.

"Ara~ My assistant knows me well, ne~" I could feel arms begin to weave their way around my midsection before I slapped them away.

"Oi! Hands off! How many times do I have to say this?" My eye twitched, aggravated. Why was this guy so freaking handsy all the time?

"Can't I hug my little helper~"

"No."

"Not even a little bit~"

"No."

His frown was all the invitation I needed to ignore him. Now, back to my previous thoughts.

If I managed to prevent the manor attack, what repercussions would lie in wait for my actions? Would it disturb the actual progression of Kuroshitsuji itself. Would Sebastian even enter the picture?

My fingers held my chin as I stared off into space. I didn't notice the Undertaker stare at me patiently before coming up with an idea and getting up and going to the kitchen. He had something up his sleeve that I was unaware of until he came back. With my croissant. On a plate. Plus his box of desserts.

But meanwhile, I hunched over a bit, trying to settle on a decision. Say I decided to step in, would she make an appearance? I frowned heavily. That would be disastrous. Beyond disastrous. It'd be suicide. She was just as strong as Undertaker, if not stronger, and if she'd gotten wind of my misdemeanor, it'd mean utter hell if I returned. But how would she get here? The thought itself was comforting, because if she can't reach me here, then I basically had free reign. But if she does make it here, how would I handle the situation. It's worse enough if I disobeyed her orders, but to act on my own free will? I would simply be driving in the nail to my coffin.

I leaned back, sighing. This was giving me a headache, and yet, so many unanswered questions remained. What would Zero think? Would he stop me? Undertaker would most certainly hate me if he knew. I froze.

Fuck. The Undertaker.

How could I have messed up so terribly? I buried my face in my hands, internally sweating bullets. Originally, I thought it would've been easier to keep an eye on the Phantomhives if I stayed with him, but now, I'd only handed my caretaker the noose, the noose to which he could string up at any time.

Undertaker was, no, is still powerful, no doubt, but if he ever found out that I knew about the Phantomhive's demise… I shuddered. Damn. Change in plans.

But, if I suddenly up and left, he would immediately know that something was wrong. He would definitely try and hunt me down. And when he does, because no doubt he will, it won't be very pleasant for me.

I facepalmed. Idiot.

I turned to look at the Undertaker to find him smiling widely at me. With my croissant on the desk. Plus his box of desserts.

I blankly stared at him, trying to process what the hell was happening. "Uh, what's the meaning of this?"

He tilted his head innocently. "Hmm? Whatever do you mean, my dear~"

I gestured to the food. "That. Why is this here?"

His grin widened a bit. "Ah, this? Well, I was rather hungering for a snack. And since my lovely assistant was ignoring me, I decided that I should prepare us a late night snack until my lovely assistant decided to grace me with her attention again~"

I sweat dropped. No. No no. There was definitely more to it than just that. My eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out his game. What was he thinking?

"Okay, can I have my croissant, then?" I held out my hand for the plate.

He grinned before picking it up and plopping it in his mouth. Whole. Then, the motherfucker grinned. With my croissant. In his mouth.

My fingers flexed. I contemplated punching him for a few moments before deciding to ignore him. Me reacting would only give him what he wanted. In order to beat his game, it's better I don't play it at all.

I instead took out my phone and opened the Youtube app. I had missed out on some gameplays that I wanted to watch, and when else would be the best time to watch it than now where I could successfully ignore my boss.

"Oh dearest~ Didn't you want your croissant?"

The nerve of that asshole to ask me that question after gulping down my croissant.

"You're right. Wasn't that supposed to be my croissant?"

Wow, great job, Rachel. Way to avoid playing his game by talking back.

"Ah, you mean your croissant that was payed with my money yesterday?~ Yes, that croissant~ hihihi~" He was enjoying this.

"Maybe so, but you could've just taken it out of my paycheck, so there's that, too." Right back at you, ass.

"Ah yes, the paycheck that was never specified by my lovely assistant herself~ I wonder, how much would be owed to her now~"

I sighed. This was going nowhere. With a monotonous tone, I replied, "Alright, fine. You win. What do you want?"

He frowned suddenly, not expecting me to give in that easily compared to his delusional prospect of winning this verbal spat. "Dearie! You're not supposed to give up that quickly~ You were supposed to struggle some more until I won!"

I propped my elbow onto the table and rested my chin on my hand, looking at him like he was lower than dirt. "Well, I just did. What are you going to do about it?"

We froze.

Damn. Wrong fucking question. Well done, dumbass. Now, you're in for it. I gulped nervously but maintained eye contact, watching as he processed my words before a sly grin slid onto his face. A bang parted to reveal an acid green solitary double-irised eye.

"Indeed, what should I do~"

A chill ran down my spine, and there was only one word in my head.

RUN!

I twitched, sensing the danger as power shifted to him effortlessly as he stared at me. A smirk flitted onto his lips as he watched my internal struggle to not give in to my instincts. The moment I ran would be the official admittance of weakness, and him being the predator as of now would not bode well for me.

He assumed the same position I did, amused that I caught on quickly to the sudden shift of authority in the setting if the oozing of arrogance and danger from his aura permeating the air didn't. He removed his hat and combed his hair back, making his unusual eyes visible which only added to the discomfort of the situation. He took his time enjoying the sight of me fidgeting as my nerves buzzed with adrenaline under my skin. I was itching for something to happen. Anything. The wait was only the preface to my demise. Better to just get it done and over with.

"Here's how we'll proceed. Either you give me a hug and I let this go, or~ I make you spill whatever it is that's preoccupied you enough on your mind to dismiss my presence…"

I sweat dropped, blanking for a moment. Wait, so he wanted me to give him a hug?! With him looking at me like that?! Right now, the look on his face seemed like he wanted to eat me alive. He wanted me to hug him with the way he looked like right now?!

As I fretted, Undertaker smirked, noting in the way that different parts of my face seemed to twitch as I overthinked his rather simplistic request. The grin crept onto his lips as he watched my brow twitch, then my nose, then the corner of my lip, feeling mighty proud for having kept me as his assistant. Oh, the fun he would have with this one. Now, he was sure that I wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. He would make sure of it.

After taking several moments to think it through, I swallowed nervously and looked back at the two chartreuse phosphorescent eyes that were trained on me. They hadn't left my face at all, and the smirk on his face pretty much gave away how much he enjoyed my reactions. This definitely didn't feel like a joke now. Not at all.

"So, you want me to hug you, or is it the other way around?" I asked tentatively, finding it better to be cautious than unintentionally set him off. Already, my fingers were trembling, and I clenched them into fists to gather my wits. I couldn't allow him to see how much he'd gotten to me, and this was over a damn hug. How infuriating was that?

"Hihi, what do you think, my dear?" He still had his face held up by his hand as he continued with his ministrations to unsettle me.

I swallowed again before getting up and approaching him cautiously, eyeing him warily as his grin widened with every step I took. I watched him as he also stood up and spread his arms open for a hug. His face was still exposed as he looked down at me, and my God, never had I wanted to run so badly in my life.

Before I could lose my nerve, I threw my arms around his midsection, almost colliding into him before being pulled into a hug as he held me closer, sleeved arms encasing me.

Let me just say, never had I ever thought a hug would be as threatening as he made it seem to be. Especially with the face he donned when he offered it to me. I also became aware that I was shaking from nervousness as I gripped the back of his clothes. Damn, this is how I react, and over a hug?

Well, of course, normally, hugging didn't come with being threatened to spill your thoughts otherwise.

Another thing I became aware of was just how true other people's opinion of Undertaker's face was. They'd said his face was frightening. And they were right. Before, only seeing it in the colored manga panels, I found him to be beautiful, as Yana had admitted in a tweet. But that was because I wasn't the recipient of any danger. Now, I'm aware of just how ignorant my opinion was.

Am I rambling again? Yup. Did I care? Nope.

While my thoughts were running a hundred miles per hour, Undertaker himself had been awfully quiet.

He knew that I was nervous, but certainly not to this degree. He could feel me shaking against him as he pulled me closer with his strong arms that were supposed to be providing shelter. Rather, was he caging me in? He'd thought I was cold, but when the shaking persisted, the thought was immediately discarded. I was definitely terrified of him, and he didn't want that. He only wanted a way to make me get closer to him, but not if it ended with me being deathly afraid of his advances.

He ran his hand down my back, trying to comfort me. "You're stiff as a board, deary~"

I jerked. I didn't answer. Was I supposed to answer? I waited tersely.

He sighed before continuing to rub my back but with his sleeve this time as he noted me pressing closer to him whenever his nail lightly touched my back, as if trying to get away. "Try to relax, deary~ It'll be less uncomfortable if you do~"

I wanted to. Tried to. But no, I was still paranoid that he would do something else. After a while, I began to calm down, tense breathing slowing as I unconsciously leaned on him. He'd done nothing except rub my back, and since nothing else transpired since then, I'd decided that he was being honest.

Honestly, if he was so hung up over a hug, why'd he have to do that?

"Do I scare you, dear?"

Seeing as that was an obvious question, I also didn't say anything.

"If so, then I apologize. I didn't mean to frighten you. I was only trying to get you to open up…"

I twitched. Open up? I looked up from where my head was buried in his chest and eyed his face skeptically. I couldn't smell any hint of lying, nor did I sense any deception. I could see one visible eye, concerned and a bit guilty, but the soft smile also confirmed that he was being serious.

"So, let me get this straight. You tried to get me to warm up to you by scaring the bajeezus out of me with a hug?"

He smirked wryly. "Seems about right, dearest~" He was also eyeing me carefully, reading my expressions.

I knew that he'd been lenient with me pushing him around a bit and being a tad rude/disrespectful, but I suppose that this was his way of keeping me in line. My face scrunched up. What the fuck was he smiling about?

Seeing my sour glare, his smile became sheepish. "I only realized now just how odd my plan was. This was supposed to be a joke~"

I stared back, unamused. A joke? All that was supposed to be a joke?

"Does my face seem like a joke to you?"

He looked away, embarrassed. "I may have taken it a bit too far-"

"No shit."

Those eyes were suddenly directed at me, but he had a rueful grin. "But even still, I don't regret it."

"You don't?"

"Hihi, well, I got you to hug me, after all~"

"Tch! Get your hands off me!" Pissed off, I tried to push his arms away. None of that felt like a joke to me. It was too real, too genuine. I understood that he wanted me to get comfortable, but to resort to that method was too much.

"Now now, I do, however, feel bad about eating your croissant~"

What the hell?! "So, you don't regret intimidating, but you feel bad about a fucking croissant? Where are your priorities?!"

He giggled as he tightened his arms just a bit to push me towards him. Now that my hands were stuck between his chest and mine, there was no means of an escape unless if he decided to let go. Fantastic.

I sighed.

"Dearest, will you forgive me~"

I said nothing. I was till too upset to bother with his antics.

"I'll let go if you do~"

"Oh great, even more demands. What more do you want from me?"

I felt a nail tilt my chin up and I stared back with a disgruntled face. He was still smiling softly, but with those eyes now exposed, it felt even more… Like what? I had nothing with which to compare it to. It just felt too much. I would've blushed had I not been too busy trying to figure out what his face meant, especially with our close proximity.

"Love, I'm simply trying to get you too loosen up~ You're far too uptight for your own good~"

I lifted an eyebrow. "Like William T. Spears?"

His smile almost became a smirk when I mentioned the reaper that I hadn't even met yet. "Yes, precisely~"

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, fine, I forgive you. Will you let go, now?"

He pouted. "I still don't like how easily you give in~"

I stared back. "It's a talent. Let go."

"No." He childishly held on, eyes now covered with his bangs. How he even did that, effortlessly switch between personas, remained a mystery to me.

"Oh. My. God. What is your problem! Just let go, already!" I pushed on his chest for emphasis, feeling frustrated.

He giggled. "Liar~ So you haven't given up~" His chin rested on my shoulder.

I huffed against his chest. He was probably waiting for me to calm down before letting go so that there'd be a reduced chance of me not trying to kill him. Yeah, good luck with that.

Although I wasn't as mad as before, I still felt annoyed. As I settled my nerves, I realized just how much taller he was than me. Although I knew he loved to wear his three-inch heeled boots, the difference in height was so much more noticeable. Especially since the top of my head could'nt reach his chin. Plus, he smelled good.

I wrinkled my nose. He smelled good? What the fuck? It was true, but odd considering he smelled like formaldehyde, cookies, death… Plus that musk men were known for. What a weird combo.

"You were right~"

"What?"

"Lavender does smell quite nice on you."

What? Oh, he was talking about the shampoo from yesterday.

"Uh, thanks?"

"Hihi~ Your welcome, dearie." Then he released me.

The sudden loss of warmth made me shiver, and I crossed my arms to preserve some warmth. I hadn't even noticed just how comfortable I'd gotten. What was going on with me?

After a few moments of looking at each other, I began to feel awkward. "Okay, so what now?"

He grinned, holding up his arms in that way dogs do when they stand on their hind legs. "Now, we wine and dine like good friends. See?" Like a cliche magician, he pulled out a wine bottle from out of his sleeve and shook it a little bit with a gleeful grin. "All we need are a couple of glasses, so if you'll excuse, I'll fetch us some plates, too~"

I deadpanned as he walked away before shaking my head and taking a seat. No point in analyzing his intentions, now. With a sigh, I reached for the boxes and opened them, analyzing the choices we had. This would probably be our midnight snack before we had to turn in for the night.

Undertaker, on the other hand, slinked away into his kitchen to grab the plates and beakers. He'd known that I was somewhat fragile, but to be so terrified over his poorly though-out joke, he'll admit that much, it concerned him. Now he realized why I was so wary of strangers, why I seemed to glare at them, when really, it was quite the opposite. It wasn't because I hated them. I had the look of a cornered animal dealt the wrong hand, and the aftermath being that I didn't know who to trust. And so, it was better to just push them away instead.

He frowned, leaning against the countertop as he looked at the beaker, an otherworldly glow of acid green reflecting back at him. He smiled ruefully. He liked to poke fun, yes, and he'd like me to open up to him more, but he had to be careful not to break me in the process. Not if he wanted to gain my trust.

A/N: So yeah, the wolframalpha website does exist, and yes, it solves math problems, but you have to type it in certain way.

But most importantly, I wanted this story to explore the darker side of Undertaker, and Rachel was the best candidate for it since her past is pretty dark. Hopefully, this chapter makes for a great interlude for that. If any of the characters seemed too OOC to you, let me know so I can fix it asap. Thanks.

06/30/19