A/N: So back to a little bit of pulling in the other characters.After all it can't be all about Eric and Alan, can it? A little more of my theory of Eric and Alan not exactly having a smooth and steady relationship in the beginning. Such a Tsundere Eriku is, ne? So maybe I am breaking his walls down a bit faster than one would like but you never know! Their past can be pretty interesting if you give it the right opportunity! Anyways, your reviews are very charming! Now onto ze story! ^J^
"OOOOOH, Mr. Slingby? OH Alan, you're so lucky! I heard he's one of the best in the Collections Department!" Alan looked up from the book he'd buried his nose in and stared at his former roomate like he was crazy.
"He's got a very funny way of showing it, Thomas. He may be a great reaper but he's got a terrible personality! He's rude and angry and he swears and he calls me Hancock! He's always hungover and never looks professional and he undermines everyone in that office! He's got the worst personality in the world and he's extremely unprofessional! In short I could-"
"Whoa whoa! Easy Alan, I wasn't trying to ruffle your feathers, I just meant...well I honestly didn't know that he was such a hassle. I mean, has he even tried to be nice to you? He can't be all bad after all..." Alan set down the book and looked right at the other reaper, running a hand through his hair. He had noticed that Eric was either ignoring him entirely or attempting to make some type of conversation. Aside from the note Eric had left him, he'd really not seen much of anything else involving a gesture of kindness. Honestly though, he'd rather not tell his best friend about that to avoid him taking it the wrong way.
"No. All he does is glare at me, call me an idiot and throw me out of his office the second I come in. I don't even know why he took the assignment of mentor if he doesn't even bother. And he doesn't approve of how I collect souls either..."
"Then why not show him that you can collect souls just as well as he can? I mean, maybe he's being hard on you because he has high expectations? I've heard that the supervisor is super picky anyway. Smith, his name is?"
"Spears. And you got lucky Tom, Mr. Anderson I hear is a little more laid back about that sort of thing," He picked the book back up and started looking through it again, "What if that doesn't work...?" Thomas looked up from the glasses frames he'd been repairing and blinked, very much lost for words.
"Honestly, I don't know, Al...perhaps you could have sex with him?"
"Are you mad? That's disgusting! And it's wrong too! Everyone knows that it's wrong for two men to be together!" Thomas just stared at him, trying not to laugh.
"It can't be all that wrong, I mean there's only like...twenty women in general affairs and the rest of the Dispatch personnel are all men. Just think about it, Al..." He went back to repairing the glasses and sighed quietly. "What're you reading anyway?"
"Hmm? It's about diseases... Fascinating stuff, especially the Thorns of Death, so tragic and lovely at the same time, don't you think?"
Eric yawned as he entered his flat silently, running a hand through his hair and stopping when he saw the couch was empty, comforter folded up and no sign of Alan anywhere. Of course he probably had gone home, never to speak to him again. He ran a hand through his hair and threw his coat onto the sofa, slipping his shoes off by the fireplace before he knelt down to stoke it. The flames attempted to come back to life only to return to embers five seconds later. This was crazy, Alan usually put the fire out before he left Eric's, safety reasons or some noise like that...so he must still be here. Perhaps he'd moved to Eric's room to get a more comfortable rest? Or maybe he'd-
"Oooohhhhh..." What the? The blond stood up instantly, holding the poker tightly still and glancing around the flat. There had to be someone else around here somewhere, and judging by the slight echo that came with the noise, they were in the bathroom. He swallowed hard and held the poker tight, slowly and silently making his way to the bathroom. He stopped in the hallway to listen again, raising an eyebrow and perking his ears for the noise again, honestly hoping it was just another hallucination. He heard moaning again and stood straight. It sounded like Alan, and perhaps he was in pain! What if he was having another attack? He could be drowning for heaven's sake! Eric sighed and stoood right in front of the door, pressing his ear to it and biting his lip.
"Nnnngh, Eric~..." The blonde straightened up and put his shoulder against the door opening it quickly. He stoped and stared wide eyed when he saw Alan with an equally shocked expression, not too sure what to say. "Eric, what the hell are you doing? Couldn't you have knocked first? I mean...get out!" Eric just remained there silent and still, only blinking a few times.
"I...I thought...I mean, You sounded like you were...in pain..." He swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from Alan, still sitting in the tub with his knees pulled up to his chest and blushing furiously. Really it was kind of cute, despite that he'd seen Alan blush multiple times thanks to Grell but this was a different animal entirely. "Oh my God, Alan I'm so sorry!" He looked down and slammed the door shut, dashing through the flat and out to the balcony, shaking his head and pulling out a cigarette, struggling to light it. "Oh, Alan..."
Ronald was sitting on his desk while he waited for Eric to come in, slightly concerned with the fact that both he and Alan hadn't shown up yet. 'Maybe they finally hooked up like everyone's been saying?' Nah, they acted too much like brothers for there to be any form of intimate feelings between them, right?
"Knox! How many times have I told you to refrain from sitting on your desk? Ignore me again and you'll be sent back to the academy, understood?" The blond was startled by the sound of Will coming out of his office, narrowing his eyes before he was distracted by a certain redhead. Ronald remained on his desk and just stared at him, swallowing a bit. To say that Knox wasn't afraid of William would be a heavy lie, but at the same time it was something that was rather alluring. "Knox! Off your desk! NOW!"
"Huh? Oh, right! Sorry Boss, didn't mean to..." He hopped of the desk and looked at the other reapers. He'd not been around long enough or had enough reason to warrant having his own office. William was a manager, Eric had been around so long though he heard that the older blond had taken his own office instead of a promotion. Alan was sick of course and Grell...tch, Grell probably sucked off Will enough times to convince him. He on the other hand was stuck in the big open area that was completely made of desks, not that he minded or anything. Just a few years ago, William had allowed them to move around the desks however they pleased, most just left them in place but some moved them around, Ronald included by sliding it against the window. He sniffed a bit and ran a hand through his hair, deciding to perhaps talk to William about Eric and Alan not showing up yet. Aside from the quiet scratching of pens against paper and the clicking of Ronald's shoes against the marble floors, it was eerily silent. Grell was being strangely quiet which meant he was either plotting or he'd run off after that...creature again.
"...But Will~~..."
"I don't care Sutcliff, my answer if final. You know my schedule is far too busy to allow for such things. And this in itself shouldn't even be going on,"
"You mean...William, you can't be serious. It's been far too long for you to be so casual about this. What the hell even gives you the audacity to throw away almost an entire century?"
"Do not swear in my office, Sutcliff. Besides, this is hardly something I'm willing to do but I don't have a choice. Your recent actions though have made the circumstances as such that it can't go on," Ronald leaned against the wall and looked at the ground. So Grell wasn't lying about him and the boss being a couple, or at least they used to be a couple by the sound of it. He bit his lip and shifted his weight slightly, attempting to hold his breath as he felt a sneeze coming on. No dice, he covered his mouth as he sneezed and shuddered slightly, looking up to see William glaring down to his very core, his eyes burning with pure rage.
"Overtime, Knox." He narrowed his eyes and waited for Ronald to answer, raising an eyebrow imploringly.
"B-Boss...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean..." before he could apologise properly, William slammed the door in his face to leave him dumbstruck. He swallowed and felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
"They'll be back together in a few weeks, just watch kid," He looked back to see Eric standing there with Alan, looking slightly flustered. It was a lot more tense than usual between them and something was hanging heavy in the air, he just couldn't place what.
"Ronald? Was Grell in there? I was hoping he'd be around so we could get to work..." Ronald remained silent then shook himself slightly, shoving Eric's hand off of him and walking off quickly. Eric looked back at Alan and swallowed hard, ruffling his hair a bit.
"Was it just me...or does he look like he's trying not to cry?"