A/N: For chapter titles and for future chapter content, credit goes to the wonderful JoannaMC21 for providing me with the French translations.

Words of Parting

Death gods were not above gossip, by any means. Their personalities, life habits, even social relationships were remarkably similar to humans. As neutral beings who presided over death between angels and demons, maybe that was to be expected. In any case, that particular morning, the office was abuzz with gossip on all levels. It was 10:00 in the morning, the workday began at 9:00. And on the Dispatch floor, whispers were shared between desks at the odd behavior Grell Sutcliff was displaying. For the first time in ages, he had shown up to work on time, a feat that some of the younger dispatch members had never witnessed. But then there was the fact that the normally flamboyant reaper didn't look nowhere near as dressed up as he usually was. The normal, glossy sheen that usually graced his hair was dull, and the majority of it had been pulled back into a haphazard ponytail. He wore almost no make-up; there were no false eyelashes or lipstick or even the slightest hints of eyeshadow. Sure the red coat was there, but it wasn't hanging about at his elbows, it was pulled up properly around his shoulders, the way a coat was meant to be worn. All of this was strange enough, but perhaps the crowning jewel of this spectacle was the fact that Grell Sutcliff was currently seated firmly at his desk, working, and had been working for the past hour. He had worked diligently, quietly, without pause and without complaint.

Between the people who didn't speak to Grell very much, there were nothing but hushed whispers and speculations. Perhaps he had been rejected by some man he was doting on, perhaps he was finally coming to his senses about proper work etiquette. To Ronald Knox however, the endless whispers were becoming unbearable. It wasn't that he was above gossip and chit-chat necessarily, he knew plenty of dirt about his coworkers and heard plenty more from the various women he surrounded himself with. But this was different. Gossiping about scandals at the bar was one thing, seeing a visibly upset coworker at work and doing nothing to offer help or consolation was another. And Grell Sutcliff was one of his favorite senior staff. Yes he frequently gave him some amount of trouble, but for all his trouble, he was still one of the funnest people to work with. So Ronald wandered over to Grell's desk, casually leaning up against it and folding his arms against his chest loosely.

"What's got you down today?" Ronald wasn't going to bother with small talk. He knew Grell could hear the whispers all around him and could feel the fingers pointed at his back. Any attempts to make normal conversation would be automatically suspicious, and he would probably take it as an insult on top of it. He knew that Grell did not appreciate being pandered to.

But Grell gave no response, pausing in his work only to look up at Ronald and give him a mild glare. At that moment, Ronald could see that the red-haired reaper probably didn't get much sleep last night. He might have also been crying for most of it. Not only were there signs of bags under his eyes, his eyes were also red and slightly swollen, something had clearly upset him quite a bit. He also noticed only then that the scent of perfume that normally graced Grell's personal space was slightly tinted with alcohol. So he had been out drinking too. Poking at his nose with his gloved hand, Ronald ventured a guess.

"You're not upset about 'Sebby-darling,' are you?"

The glare was repeated, this time accompanied by a noise of annoyance. Ronald wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no to his question, it it was even an answer at all. Either he was on the money and something had happened between his senior and the Phantomhive butler demon, or he was completely off and Grell did not appreciate the implications that came with the question. Truthfully speaking, Ronald knew it couldn't have anything to do with the demon. Grell had received nothing but constant rejection from the butler in question, and that had never gotten him depressed in the past. Ronald was somewhat certain that the flirting was mostly for fun and wasn't anything serious at all. But he wasn't really sure what else could have happened to get Grell so down. When he really thought about it, he didn't know that much about his senior to begin with. It's not as if he confided in him about his deepest thoughts or anything.

Just as he was about to venture another guess, he caught sight of his other senior, Eric Slingby strolling towards him with a folded paper in his hand. The man gave a wave when he was a few paces away from them, a wave which Ronald returned. Stopping once he had reached the both of them, he waved the paper in the air by his head.

"Hey Ron, Grell, have either of you read this memo?"

Ronald shook his head, he hadn't checked his inbox that morning. Beside him, Grell's tongue clicked in annoyance once again, and his head lowered even further as if he wanted to fall into his paperwork to hide himself. So he was upset about the memo, was he? Curious, Ron asked about its contents.

"Nope, what does it say?"

"It says Spears is going to be in France for five months."

Whatever response Ronald was going to come up with was completely overrun by Grell's reaction. The redhead had stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over behind him and had turned to Eric with fury in his eyes. His hair was practically bristling and his fists were clenched tight beside him, his voice shriller than usual when he spoke.

"Five months?" His face was a mixture of shock and relief, his tone filled with utter disbelief at what he had just heard.

Eric had stepped back slightly, holding the memo in between himself and Sutcliff as some sort of makeshift shield and shrugged at him.

"That's what it says. Apparently he's gotta go train some new division manager,and in the meantime, we're getting a temporary division leader too."

Grell could not believe the relief that was coursing through his veins at that moment. Eric was continuing to talk, but his own thoughts drowned out Eric's voice. He was only going to be gone for five months. It wasn't permanent. That was why he hadn't been upset about leaving. Grell's eyes wandered to Will's office door, and he felt if he strained his eyes hard enough, he could probably make out the outline of the man working at his desk behind the closed door. Come to think of it, William had never explicitly said that the switch was permanent, Grell had only jumped to conclusions. His conclusions were almost never right with William. The man only ever said the bare minimum that needed to be said. You had to ask if you wanted more. And when Grell stopped to think about it now, it made more and more sense. He was only leaving to train the new division management. Training positions were always temporary, there was no way he could continue doing such a task for an extended period of time. On top of which, it was France. If William were going to be assigned to another division for good, it would have to be somewhere else in Britain. This was only temporary, this was only going to be for five months.

Feeling the corners of his mouth drift upward into the familiar grin that he usually wore perpetually, Grell let his jacket drop off of his shoulders onto his elbows. Feeling the diva in him wipe away her teary eyes and regain some of her former confidence, he let down his ponytail with a flourish, and let out a pleased sigh. Dismissing Eric and Ronald, who were still talking, he walked straight away from them and straight towards William's door. Opening the door with a flourish-he would never knock-he glided across the floor to Will's desk. Once he got there, he leaned forward and down, placing his elbows on the desk and resting his head upon his hands.

"Oh, Will~"

William didn't even bother to look up. Continuing to sign the papers at his desk with his usual pace and work ethic, he merely gave a small wave of his hand to indicate that he acknowledged Grell's presence in the room. Judging by the tone in Sutcliff's voice, he was no longer as upset as he had been since he heard he news yesterday. Grell took the wave as an indication to continue, though even without it he would have carried on at his own pace anyway.

"Will, you tricked me." The teasing was back, and Grell gave a small mock pout to go along with it.

"I did no such thing." William's response was as terse as ever, unflinching as he approved, signed, and stacked the papers at his desk.

"Yes you did. I thought you were leaving us for good, not for five months." Of course this was Grell's own misconception, not any real mistake on William's part, but he would never admit to that. The unspoken concern he had had yesterday was implied. I attacked you yesterday because I thought you were leaving me for good.

William raised an eyebrow at the statement, pausing for only the briefest of moments in his scribbling.

"I cannot help what you misunderstood. As I said earlier, I did not trick you. And yes, it is only a temporary position, I will return after five months time." The slight pause he had taken indicated some surprise on his part. He had not expected Grell to be so concerned with his leaving, nor had he expected such a violent reaction because Grell thought that he was leaving permanently. It was curious behavior on Grell's part. It was also seriously misguided, but that much was to be expected. William had long since become accustomed to the redhead's fondness for violence.

"So cruel to a lady..." were the words that left Grell's mouth, but his tone was soft and warm, his eyes looking at him tenderly as a playful grin graced his features. He leaned in closer and batted his eyelashes at the working man. He loved watching William work. Everything he did was so controlled, so precise, every signature he made was perfectly identical to the one before it, every stroke of his pen moved swiftly and flourished only as much as necessary. His handwriting was quite neat, Grell had always been impressed with William's surprisingly beautifuly penmanship. The soft rise and fall of his chest as he breathed steadily was in rhythm, coordinating with the swish and flick of papers and scribbling. But of course Grell's favorite was the steadiness in that handsome face. He had to admit that, at first, he had thought William rather plain, but eventually that feature of his grew to be a charming asset as well. Sometimes simplicity spoke volumes in and of itself. It was only when you took the time to look closely that you would notice the utter handsomeness in William's features. And only those who took their time with this man would deserve him. Grell deserved him. Leaning in closer, he sighed dreamily and the slightest blush crept to his cheeks.

"Such a handsome man..." he whispered, hoping William would one day return the compliments he so generously showered upon the other man. Someday he would notice in return his beauty and perhaps take it for his own. Unfortnately, at that current moment, the only thing William noticed was the scent of alcohol in the whiff of Grell's breath that passed between them, and he finally looked up to shoot a scolding look at the redhead leaning over his desk.

"Sutcliff, were you drinking this morning?"

"Last night! What do you expect, I was distraught!" He clapped a hand over his mouth in slight embarrassment, but retorted nevertheless.

"And what, did you sleep at the bar so that you couldn't even brush your teeth before coming in to work this morning?"

"That is all beside the point, how can you accuse me of doing such graceless things?"

"Come to think of it, you're not nearly as flashy as you usually are." Taking a closer look at the face inches from his own, he finally took note of Grell's slightly disheveled appearance and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. It might have been out of concern or curiosity, perhaps confusion.

Grell drew back immediately, clapping his gloved hands over his face in shame. Of course, the one day that William would take the time to notice anything about his looks it would be the day that he hadn't tried in the slightest to make himself look beautiful! And now that he thought about it, Grell realized just how little he had done this morning to get ready. He hadn't bothered to flip out all of his topmost layer of hair, and he had no eyeshadow or mascara, and he had even left off his eyelashes! No lipstick, only the slightest amount of foundation... oh, he must look like an absolute wreck! How had he forgotten that he came to work today looking so unacceptable? How had he thought it would have been okay to appear in front of William like this? He squirmed where he stood, his face still masked and began to whine muffled complaints. He wondered if it would be best to go back home after all and come back once he had made himself look like a proper lady.

William sighed and tossed a pen in Grell's direction to get his attention amongst his stationary wiggling.

"Enough."

"Don't say it, Will, don't look!" The words were somewhat intelligible now that Grell had removed his hands from his mouth, but he was still hiding his face like an idiot. "I'll just go back home and freshen up and come back, okay?"

"You will do no such thing. There is work to be done and you are not leaving until you finish it. As a matter of fact..." he checked his watch. "You have field work in about half an hour. You are staying put."

His verdict resulted in a moan of misery from the redhead who slumped his shoulders in complete and utter disappointment. He would even have to go out in public like this! What if anyone else saw? What if he ran into Sebby while he was out working? Oh he'd never live it down. But then again, Sebby darling had seen him when he had been masquerading as the meek butler Grell Sutcliff. Surely it couldn't be much worse after that. Amongst his rambling thoughts, he heard William speaking once again.

"In any case, you look fine."

Grell's drawn-out moan was cut off abruptly by the words that had just left William's lips.

"Eh?"

William's eyes had returned to his work, and he was back to the incessant scribbling of the paper-pushing job he had, but he spoke.

"Better than fine. You look much better without all of that nonsense on your face, now get back to work."

"EHH!"

Grell couldn't think of what else he could say in response other than shriek in disbelief. William had just complimented him! It was the first time that William had ever uttered anything resembling a kind word or encouragement in his direction, and it had been about his current, horrid appearance! Not only was it a thinly veiled compliment, what he said was truly kind, it was the sort of thing a true lover would say: I love you just as you are. Your natural beauty is what I love most. You don't have to put on pretenses for me. Oh, William was such an awful tease! How dare he make Grell's heart flutter like so as he was about to leave! Never mind that he hadn't said anything about love or beauty, but Grell felt that those undertones were present nevertheless. He could hear in his ears how William's sultry voice would sound uttering such phrases, and he couldn't help the giddyness that overtook him.

"Oh Will~!" He flew around the man's desk and, without asking, seated himself in William's lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and clinging to the man. "I never knew you could be so romantic!"

Unfortunately, his embrace was cut immediately short by a swift whack to his cranium, delivered by nothing other than William's horrid death scythe. Releasing his hold around William's neck, Grell's hands flew to his head, massaging the forming lump and crying out in misery. But even his cries of pain were cut short as William unceremoniously pushed him out of his lap onto the floor, where he then lay sprawled in an unattractive heap. Thankfully, the punishment ended there, and William delivered no more blows.

"If that's all, back to work Sutcliff."

Whimpering slightly but climbing reluctantly to his feet, Grell pouted.

"Will... a gentleman is not supposed to treat a lady this way you know."

"I don't claim to be a gentleman, now back to work."

Putting a hand to his hips, Grell gave a huff of mock annoyance and insisted on further teasing. As sado-masochistic as he was, he delighted in William's demeanor. It just wasn't any fun if there was no chase involved. And this chase was one that Grell had pursued for a century at least. It would be all that more sweet when he would finally be able to claim his prize.

"Well, at least I know no lewd French woman will steal you away with that sort of behavior."

"You're babbling nonsense again."

"Come to think of it, you're probably going to be pretty lonely once you're in France..."

"I highly doubt-"

"Hey Will, give me your address. I'll write to you everyday to make sure you won't go crazy!"

William slammed his hands down on his desk at last, a small twitch of irritation on his eyebrow, shutting up Grell's incessant babbling.

"Considering that it's usually your inane drabble that drives me crazy, I will welcome whatever silence France has to offer. Now."

He got up from his desk and grabbed Grell's shoulders with both hands.

"Get."

He swiftly turned them around, then forcefully walked him to the door of his office.

"Back."

He shoved him out of his office and back into the general work area, and Grell stumbled slightly over his heels.

"To Work."

Then the door was slammed shut behind him, and when Grell returned to open the door, he discovered it was locked. No amount of shaking or jarring would open the knob, and unless he wanted to pull out his beloved chainsaw and slice the door in half, he probably wouldn't let be back in for quite a while.

"Ah~ Such a cold man..."

A/N: I really have a lot of fun writing the banter that occurs between these two, I wonder if maybe every chapter will end with the phrase "such a cold man?"