Chapter 2
"What do you mean I'm a reaper now?" The crimson teen stood on shaky legs and tried to walk.
"Mr. Sutcliff, if you'll please take a seat. Mr. Crevan will be in shortly to explain." The monotone man sighed and left the room.
"The only soul I've seen glow red was yours." A raspy voice said from behind the teen.
"Death?" The thin boy choked out.
"If you wish to call me that. But you see...you are death now. A death god." The silver reaper smiled.
"A death god..." The crimson teen whispered.
William tapped his pen impatiently on his desk. "Blasted! I told that asshole to be in early. Yet he still disobeys me." He stood and threw his pen on the desk before storming out of the office.
"Sutcliff's gunna get his little ass drug into work again. Seems your Senior can't keep it together Ronnie." Eric chuckled only to be slapped on the shoulder by Alan.
"Eric! You've seen how poor Grell has been acting. He's so distant. I wonder what's wrong with the poor dear." The brunette sighed. "Would you boys like some coffee? I'm going to the café to pick up some sweetbread for the lounge."
"Sure. You know how I like it. Thank you darlin'." The blonde scottish man leaned down and pressed a kiss to Alan's lips.
"Yuck." Ronald gagged jokingly and smirked. "I'll take mine with lots of milk and four sugars. I like it sweet." He smiled.
"Of course Ronnie. I'll only be a few." Alan waved and left for the coffee shop.
"How long has it been now?" Ronald asked the scottish reaper.
"Nearly a year now." Eric smiled. "And I still enjoy waking up next to him everyday."
"That's great." The younger male smiled and folded his hands behind his neck. "You think William-san or Grell-senapi will find someone to settle down with? Like you and Alan did?"
"Maybe once our supervisor gets that stick outta his ass and once Sutcliff learns to keep it in his pants." Eric chuckled.
William banged on the crimson's door roughly and shouted. "Sutcliff! You're nearly an hour late! I know you're in there! Open up."
There was no answer. Only the sound of things being shifted around.
"God dammit! I hear you in there!" The supervisor yelled. With a huff, William reached into his pocket and pulled out the master key. He opened the door and heard movement from the bedroom. "Sutcliff, I told you I wanted y-" The raven stopped dead in his tracks.
Grell was on the floor, foaming at the mouth as he shook uncontrollably. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head as he shook.
"Sutcliff! Sutcliff! Grell!" William had tears in his eyes as he lifted the violently trembling male. "HELP! Get the medics!" He cried.
"So I'm a god now?" The crimson teen asked.
"Yes. A death god. You will be put into the shinigami academy and trained to reap human souls." The silver man said as he began to fill out the teen's paperwork.
"But...I died." The redhead said in shock.
"By suicide. An unpredictable death. It just so happened, I was there to take care of your master when you were dying. See he was going to die that night of a heart attack, which he did. But you happen to be the cause. But you were not on the to-die list." The silver male explained.
"So...I don't get to see eternity?" The teen asked.
"Not for a very long time. Becoming a reaper has it's pros and cons. Pros being; you having eternal life, judging others, and using a death scythe. Cons being; having eternal life, dealing with demons, and having to reap the ones you loved." The man explained.
"I love no one...No one loves me. So it's simple. There are no cons for me. Only pros. When do I begin training?"
The redheaded reaper stared up at the ceiling as he heard the doctors talking outside his room. The steady beeping of his heart monitor was the only sound in the hospital room. Then the door opened and reveled a doctor.
"Hello Mr. Sutcliff. My name is Dr. Jane Marge. You can call me Dr. Jane, if you wish." The woman said in a soft voice. She wore a blue button up shirt with a silver necktie, black slacks and a long white lab coat. Her hair was short and colored a dark shade of auburn.
Grell turned away from the doctor and looked out the window as it began to snow. "Get to the point. No need for formalities or introductions. What's wrong with me?" He asked in a low raspy voice.
"Well, if you prefer I be blunt. You have a brain tumor. It's the size of a golf ball. And it's resting on the front lobe of your brain." Dr. Jane explained.
"Wonderful. Care to tell me why my healing abilities can not get rid of it?" The redhead said still staring out into the snowy day.
"A reaper's healing abilities only work on wounds done by mundane objects. Objects such as knives, guns, hands, broken bones. A reaper's brain is the only thing that is truly alive. It can be shot, cut, stabbed and still heal. But when something like a busted vein caused by stress or a tumor shows up, the brain can not repair itself. You will need surgery to remove it. That tumor is the cause of these seizures. How many have you had?" The doctor asked.
"Too many. I've lost count." Grell sighed.
"I'm surprised you've lived this long with a tumor that size. You will be heading into surgery tomorrow morning. There's only one problem. There's a large chance you won't make it out alive." The woman said and placed a hand on Grell's shoulder.
"Even when granted a second chance in life, I face death. Even as a death god. A death god facing it's own demonic fate." The redhead looked up at the ceiling. "I want to go outside. To the garden." He said.
"Very well. I'll have a nurse escort you to the garden." The doctor said.
"No need. I'll escort him myself." William said from the door frame.
"Of course Mr. Spears." Dr. Jane smiled and left the two. "Be sure he's back before lunch though."
"Yes ma'am." The raven walked in and sat beside the redhead. "Grell.."
"Save it. Take me to the garden. Right now...I'm in no mood for your excuses and lies." Grell sat up carefully and took William's hand.
The two walked in silence. Once they reached the snow covered garden, Grell stepped away from the raven. He walked to the frozen fountain and sat at the edge. "Many years ago. When I first opened my eyes as a death god, I said, 'I love no one...No one loves me. So it's simple. There are no cons for me.' Funny right? I thought I loved no one. Yet when I met you. You changed that. I was a cocky bastard who was hurt by this cruel world." He let out a long sigh. "But you showed me up."
"And you swooned and gawked at me for one hundred years." William finished with a huff. "Yes, yes. I've heard this a thousand times. What's your point?"
"My point? MY POINT?!" Grell shot up and slapped William. "My point is...FEEL SOMETHING!" He cried out. "I'm dying before you eyes. There's a tumor in my brain Will. A tumor. I may not make it out if surgery tomorrow. Does that even faze you?!" The redhead asked as tears streamed down his cheeks.
The supervisor stood there with a blank face as always. "Grell...I..I.."
"It doesn't faze you? Why is it so hard to say, 'Yes Grell it does. I care about someone other than myself.'" The redhead pushed the raven away and fell to his knees. "After everything...after I shared things with you. Gave you my blood when you were dying. Nursed you to health after you took on that angel. Still. Nothing. It all means nothing?"
William opened his mouth then shut it. "It's eleven. We need to get you back to the room." Was all the raven could say.
"Sure. Whatever. Because I mean nothing." The crimson slapped William's hand away and huffed. "I can take myself back to the room. Go back to your duties. There's no reason to waste you time on a worthless, incompetent, sorry excuse for a reaper. Good bye Will. And I mean it. At this rate, I don't think I want to come out of that surgery alive." The redhead turned on his heel and left the raven out in the cold.
"M-More...please. G-God..." A shaky breath was drawn in then let out slowly. Pale, thin hands ran over scarred skin in a dark dance.
"Shhh..." A thin, long finger rested over crimson lips as they spilled secrets and stories long forgotten. "I know."
"I'm broken...fix me." The smaller begged.
"I can only fix what I see wrong..." A hand came to rest upon a pale, blushing cheek. "And I see nothing wrong." The male whispered.
"Will..."
"Grell..."
"I love you." The two sealed the night with a kiss before falling into slumber's trap.
_
{The Next Day}
"Aye, before you know it, you'll be back in the office naggin' Ronnie to get working or to get you chocolate." Eric smiled.
"Ya Senapi! You'll be hopping up on William-san's desk and back to your cheerful self in no time." The young reaper smiled.
"Thank you all for coming to see me before the surgery. It means a lot to me." Grell wiped his tears and received a hug from the two.
Alan ran in, nearly out of breath. "I thought I was too late." He smiled and walked to the side of the bed. "We'll all be waiting here for you when you wake up." He smiled and hugged the redhead tightly. "Just remember you have people who love you deary."
The redhead nodded and tried to keep himself from crying. "Thank you. I will see you all soon." He smiled and waved as they each left. Grell sighed and looked out the widow as the snow fell.
"I see everyone came to see you off." The raven said as he entered.
"Yes they did." The crimson said flatly.
"Grell...I'm sorry. If you don't make it out of this, I don't want our last words to be those of hate." The supervisor whispered and carefully laced his fingers with Grell's thin ones.
"Will...if you're just here to clear you conscience, turn and leave." The thin reaper sighed. "But if you mean what you say and are willing to get that stick out of your ass, you may walk by my bedside to the surgery room." The redhead looked up to meet William emerald eyes.
"I...I..." The raven let Grell's hand go and left the room without another word.
"I thought so..." Grell whispered hoarsely and tried to choke back a sob. "Fuck you William T. Spears. You stole my heart and now it's broken. You said you can only fix what you see is broken. We god damn, you're blind." He croaked.
"Mr. Sutcliff. It's time." Dr. Jane walked in and gave Grell the anesthesia through his IV. "Count backwards from one hundred."
Grell laid his head back and began to count as the wheeled him away. "100, 99, 98, 97..."
"Get off me!"
"B-But last night...last night you promised..."
"Nothing! You were or are drunk and had a fantasy. You deranged fool."
"William!"
"It's Mr. Spears. Now back to work Sutcliff!"
The crimson gasped and clutched his hand over his heart. He ran out of the office and into the locker room showers where he sat under the cold water crying.
"What did I do wrong?" He choked out.
_
{6 hours later}
"He's out." Dr. Jane smiled.
"Aye! I knew our ginger could make it!" Eric cheered.
"Senapi's okay? When can we see him?!" Ronald asked eagerly.
"Easy boys. Mr. Sutcliff is still knocked out. Now, I don't know if you want to be in the room when he wakes. We had to...well.." The doctor reached into her lab coat and pulled out a thick braid if crimson hair. "We had to shave him. It's all gone."
Ronald took one look at the braid and his jaw dropped. "I'm not telling him.." He said with his hand raised.
"I'll let the lad know." Eric sighed.
Dr. Jane handed the blonde the thick braid and patted him on the back. "He'll be waking up shortly. The surgery was a success. He'll need some therapy for his motor skills but other than that, the seizures should be gone."
The three men nodded and left for the crimson's room. They entered quietly and saw Grell laying still on the bed. His head wrapped in a white bandage. His eyes fluttered every now and then.
"Oh you poor doll." Alan whispered and sat beside Grell's bed gripping his hand. "You're strong Grell. I know you are."
"And who was ever doubting my strength?" Grell answered in a raspy voice.
"Welcome back to the world ginger." Eric smiled.
"Slingby...this.." The Crimson reaper went to grab at his locks and couldn't find them. "M-My..."
The scottish man held up the braid. "This isn't ginger. It's red or crimson if you wish."
Grell couldn't form words. He tried to calm himself. But failed. He took a deep breath and let out an ear piercing scream.
"Dr. Jane? Should we check on Mr. Sutcliff." A nurse asked.
"Don't bother. He's not in pain. Everything healed within the hour he was out. He's just a tad upset about his hair." She said going back to her paperwork.
