William sat on the edge of his bed, drowning out Ronald's voice. The younger reaper was pacing, scolding at him for a variety of reasons. Actually, he was mostly yelling. Strange, since William was normally the one to yell at him...
"-Will, are you even listening?" William blinked, trying to be attentive. He was anxious, still slightly angry, and needed sleep, making focusing on Ronald's rant all the more harder.
"Yes, I am listening."
"Good." Ronald huffed a bit.
"Are you done?" William got ready to stand.
"I am not. I'm just... I feel let down." Ronald shook his head, walking to a chair and sitting. He ran a hand through his hair. "I've known you for a while. And in that time, you've taught me many things. Like, stay away from demons, which you haven't done. Don't let feelings get involved in any cases, which, you certainly have not done."
"I'm... sorry." William winced a bit, cringing at how weak he sounded. But he did feel sorry. Ronald stared at him, sighing.
"I know. Don't lie anymore. Don't hold anything back. Agreed?"
"Yes, agreed." William swallowed stiffly. "Anything else?"
"No. Well...actually..."
"What is it?" William frowned, wondering what else he had to say.
"What was it like?" Ronald asked giddily, bouncing in his seat. When William stared at him confused, he rolled his eyes. "Kissing him."
"Oh..." Will tilted his head, thinking. Glancing at Ronald, having no idea what to say, he suddenly shook his head. "We're not having this conversation."
"Awe, come on! Don't be embarrassed! I wanna know! It's fun talking about things like this... especially with you, since this type of thing is rare." William shook his head again, refusing as he got up and headed to the door. "Please, William! I wanna know! It's alright, I've missed plenty of guys in my life. What was it, nose, cheek, or actual lip to lip contact, with tongue and everything?"
"Ronald. No."
"Awe, you're so cruel sometimes... please tell me you weren't drunk. I did that one time, but I drank too much and when this random person threw themself at me, I threw up all over-"
"Oh, god, Ronald, shut. Up. You're like a kid with candy." William opened the door. "Can we go downstairs now?"
"Fine, fine. But you're telling me the details sometime in the future." Ronald got up and followed him, (pouting. Had they been in another situation, William would have been amused and laughed. Maybe he would have talked down to him, reminding him that he was his boss. Instead, he quietly headed for the stairs, but paused at the top, recalling how uncomfortable he felt.
"Ronald, I'm going to change, I'm still soaked from the bath," William said, turning around to go back to his room. Ronald sighed, nodding and moving past him to the stairs. Adjusting his glasses, William went back to his room quietly, wanting to be quick. There was still so much to be done after all.
Undertaker peeked out the back door, sticking his head out slowly. No Grell. Silently, he moved back inside. The door, leading out to the backyard from the kitchen, creaked slightly. If Grell, or whatever that thing was, had left through this way, it would've made noise. Nodding assuredly to himself, Undertaker glanced around the kitchen. Everything was perfect, impeccably placed and assorted in neat arrangements. The clean cabinets, smooth glossy appliances. Fresh, put together with the atmosphere of someone with OCD. Undertaker could practically feel Will's presence in here, which caused him to cringe inwardly for a moment. Any thought of William muddled his thoughts.
Shaking his head, he moved to the hallway, seeing Sebastian close the front door. The demon looked at him, shaking his head to show that the... thing wasn't out front. Undertaker crept closer.
"Can you sense anything?" Undertaker whispered.
"No. It's strange. I sense absolutely nothing... that's it. My first thought is that Claude has possessed Grell, and their energies are cancelling each other out," Sebastian stated dryly, glancing at the stairwell. Checking the upstairs seemed smart... he looked back at Undertaker, who looked horrified to say the least. "It's just a thought though."
"A damn good one," mumbled Undertaker. "You go tell William and Ronald, I'll look down here some more-"
"Tell me and Will what?" Ronald bounded down the stairs loudly, only to be met with fierce glares. "Hey, what's the matter?"
"Shut up, you idiot!"hissed Sebastian, "Grell is missing, and I think Claude is the reason!"
"You said it was just a thought though," said Undertaker, still looking scared. He hated the very idea that some low class, ass of a demon was tainting Grell with his defiled ways... he paused when Sebastian glared at him.
"Be quiet! You'll lead it right to us!"
"Isn't that what we want?"
"... Point taken," Sebastian nodded, and Undertaker shook his head. "Call it."
"Fine, fine," Undertaker sighed, looking at Ronald, who was looking at them bewildered. Swallowing, he called out, " Grell, darling love!"
"Darling love?" Sebastian's lip curled with distaste.
"Any better names?" Undertaker retorted, when there was a crash from down the hall. They all turned and looked, seeing nothing. Sebastian was the first to move, heading in the direction of the noise. Undertaker followed, and Ronald, who was just beginning to understand the situation, followed. Sebastian paused at a door, one right by the kitchen, a door which didn't draw too much attention to itself. Smirking to himself, amazed yet disappointed at how easy this was, Sebastian opened it.
Dark, black depths welcomed them. A stairway, wooden and old, led down into the basement. There was no railing, just a wall to hold onto. Sebastian went down without a second thought; he could see in the dark, and he didn't fear it. Undertaker moved down slowly; a reaper's vision could only handle so much darkness. Ronald was the last; he felt his stomach drop, frightened at the idea of going there. Scared of the dark... maybe. Swallowing and gathering up his courage, he headed down as well.
Sebastian looked around carefully. The space was large, with old boxes placed here and there. Some crates, tipped on their sides. The walls were cement, and an occasional pillar that supported the house could be seen. He approached a box, kicking it over lightly, listening to the crash. Dust rose up, the old scent strong in the air. Ronald flinched, cursing under his breath. Undertaker frowned.
"Sense anything now?
"Well... actually...I sense..." Sebastian's voice trailed off, his face turning into a look of confusion. Undertaker quickly moved to stand besides him, about to question why, when Sebastian's gaze looked past him. In a second, the demons eyes widened; his eyebrows raised in surprise; and Undertaker whipped around to prepare himself for-
"... There's nothing there..." Undertaker sighed, annoyed, when Sebastian shoved him aside harshly, calling out.
"YOU!" In a flash, the demon was near some boxes, leaning over to pick something up. Ronald and Undertaker stared in disbelief at him.
"What-"
"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE?" Sebastian grinned and got down on his knees, ignoring the dust and dirt.
"But.. it's-"
"A cat..." And so it was. Ronald stared dumbfounded at the insanely happy demon.
"You're going to get your beautiful paws dirty, there is so much dirt down here that can irritate a creature like you-"
"God damn it, Sebastian, you moronic demon!" Undertaker said angrily, huffing. Ronald blinked, still disbelieving.
"This dingy basement is no place for an exquisite creature... oh, you're so soft, so cuddly and warm-"
"For crying out loud!" Upset, Undertaker spun on his heel to stalk back up the stairs. He needed to leave. He needed to find Grell. Instead, Sebastian nearly gave him a heart attack... and over a cat. Ronald decided to follow, not sure if he wanted to witness Sebastian, the almighty raven demon, a powerful evil entity, cuddle a cat. Sebastian continued to ignore them, to caught up in paying attention to the furball.
"You're so gorgeous, so pure and clean-"
William adjusted his tie, knotting it, then moved on to buttoning his cuffs. He wasn't sure what to think of Ronald. The boy's reaction was just so surprising... but, then again, maybe William shouldn't have suspected anything less. Frowning, William looked for his extra jacket, his mind descending into confusion.
Ronald was right. He didn't know what had become of him and Undertaker. William wasn't sure what to do, he didn't know if he could handle it. These feelings... again, he frowned. Unsure of his feelings... which, itself was a new feeling. William always knew what to do, he always knew what he wanted. But he couldn't tell who he cared for... no, that was a lie. He cared for Grell. At this point, he could say he loved her. And Undertaker... he hated him for his relationship, yet respected him. He didn't know what else to say. William took off his glasses, grabbing a handkerchief from the nightstand, and proceeded to clean his glasses. When done, he placed them back on and went to the bathroom.
"... I kissed Undertaker," he mumbled, angry, confused. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror, pausing. He looked paler and tired. He certainly felt tired. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the mirror, enjoying the feel of the cool glass. "I kissed him... and... honestly... I liked it..."
"Really? Maybe I should kill you... because Grell certainly wouldn't be happy."
Shocked, William opened his eyes, lifting his head. Grell stood behind him, smiling softly.
"William, is it? I can't remember if we've ever met... .I am Claude. Claude Faustus."
Will kissed a guy, and he liked it- cue my terrible dancing and Katy Perry's song.
I couldn't resist adding a kitten for Sebastian.
Sorry for the hold up, not at my best lately. I think the story is coming along fine... what do you all think? :) I may have made errors... let me know if I did...
Until next time...