|Upper Realm|

Madeleine nervously held the gem holding the soul she had found. She hadn't fulfilled the mission since the creature that had attacked those people was still running loose. But she had found this soul and for now the baby they'd found was safe with Undertaker. Though safe may quite prove to be an overestimation. He didn't seem like the type that could keep a houseplant alive, let alone a babe.
And yet as she looked around she had to admit that it was still a better option than the Upper Realm. Though everything here was light and airy, with fragrant wooden floors and gorgeous statues in the administrative quarters, it was probably not so suitable for a human.

"Don't tell me you let that one go out so soon after a second Reel. You know what trouble we had the last time we did that," An urgent voice spoke from around the corner, making Madeleine pause in her steps. Though she had not often seen the owner of it she knew the person speaking must have been Lord Rafael.

"I know, but she seemed so excited. And it's only a small mission, I saw the file myself," That voice belonged to Lord Michael who sounded annoyed with the conversation.

"That was the official file. Should've sent one of the other ones. If you weren't so obsessed with obviously doomed-"

To Madeleine's surprise the two archangels rounded the corner. Panicked she glanced between the two men, pressing the soul gem against her chest. When Rafael's deep brown eyes landed on her she curtsied quickly. "I just returned. I wanted to report that I made progress in my assignment."

"Did you, Madeleine? What did you find?" Lord Michael asked her kindly, looking down at her with an affectionate smile. For the moment she was too confused to feel the delight she would have felt otherwise at the look.

Instead she showed the sparkling gem to the two men. "I… there was a stray soul at the scene of the crime. But the culprit got away."

"Seems to me like you found the culprit," Rafael commented, taking the gem from her hands. Holding his features blank he slipped the stone in the folds of his robe.

"Excuse me? No, that soul is innocent," Madeleine started to protest.

"It's rare, but sometimes when a soul goes uncollected it goes berserk. Sad, but there is nothing to be done about it. What a shame people had to die. I'll have a stern word with the Reaper department," Rafael spoke, holding up a hand to Michael as he walked away.

Madeleine opened her mouth to protest. Though she hadn't seen the creature, there had been something down there. Something that had smelled of wet fur and other, more vile things. She was stopped by Lord Michael placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't fret too much about Rafael, young one. He's always been a bit curt."

"Yes sir."

"Madeleine… when you were down there, did you feel something strange?" Michael asked her, still looking down on her fondly. The archangel towered over her, blocking the light from the candles in the hallway.

Strange? Only that she had felt so torn between helping Undertaker and reporting back. Torn between protecting someone and following rules, but she wasn't sure if that qualified. "No. Nothing strange."

"Good, good. Still, I would like you to rest a few days before you go down there again. Rafael was discussing it with me earlier, he thinks I sent you down too soon. So why don't you find something else to do for the time being? There are preparations going on for the upcoming Christmas party."

Madeleine nodded to indicate she had understood the hint before excusing herself. As she walked away she wrapped her arms around her waist, seeking comfort in any way possible. There was no way the soul had done THAT to a human body. Once again she felt that strange tug in her body where two different desires fought for dominance.
She sighed, pausing in front of the door of the grand hall where most formal events would happen. Without knowing it her body had started to obey Lord Michael's suggestion. Yet she paused before knocking on the door.

He'd suggested she find something to occupy herself with. Why shouldn't she use her free time to at least make sure the baby found it's family again? Wasn't she supposed to protect humans after all?

|Middle Realm|

Out of reflex Madeleine silenced the bell in the undertaker shop before it could announce her presence. Inside goosebumps raised at once on her skin as the shop wasn't that much warmer than the weather outside. And just like the previous day there was no sign of the shop owner.

Nervously she walked around, shaking her head at the sight of yet another beaker filled with tea. From her previous tour around the house she remembered where the kitchen was and dropped the offending material there. As she moved back to the main room she thought she could hear something.

She opened the door where she thought the sound had come from. When she heard snoring she blinked in surprise. The sun had been up for several hours already, no time to be sleeping. More surprising was the coffin in the middle of the room, where the long end of a hat was drooping from one end.

Tiptoeing closer she noted that it was indeed Undertaker who had apparently decided a coffin was a grand place for a nap. On his chest lay the baby, sleeping securely in the blanket they had found it in. She paused, not sure if she should wake the man or not.

"… Master Undertaker?" Even in his sleep bangs covered the top half of his face. With a smile she noted he drooled in his sleep, just like the baby was drooling on his chest. The sight made her press a hand against her mouth lest she burst out in laughter.

"My my, I hadn't pegged you as the voyeuristic type," the silverhaired man commented with a big grin.

"You're awake!" Madeleine half-shouted before she remembered the baby was still sleeping.

Slowly the tall man raised himself, careful not to wake his young charge. Madeleine quickly took the baby in her arms so he could step out of the coffin. "Only had a few hours of sleep, honestly. I wanted to… I had some things to look into but our little friend had other plans."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Madeleine asked, looking at the pink-faced baby. Chubby cheeks and a button nose were topped by golden curly strands of hair. When no answer came she looked up to find Undertaker studying her. "Master Undertaker?"

He straightened his shoulders before quickly moving out of the room, motioning her to follow. "It's nothing, nothing. Not the baby, that's a boy."

Madeleine took even steps, the child sighing as she moved. They couldn't keep referring to the child as 'it'. "Edward then."

Undertaker froze as if someone had dumped a bucket of freezing water in his robes. "Edward? Why that name?"

Why? She frowned, not quite knowing why she'd chosen that name. "It just sounds nice. Edward is a good name for a young boy."

"Yes, I suppose it is," the man agreed with her before he kept moving. He ducked inside a door, popping back outside in the same second as she almost went inside. His constant jerking around was making her fidgety. "Would you like some tea?"

"Tea would be lovely."

A few minutes later she was sitting with little Edward on her lap, nursing a beaker of warm tea as Undertaker was hauling several books from underneath his shop desk. He had insisted she sit on one of the coffins, after offering her to take a look inside one. "Will you now tell me how you know what I am?"

"I don't give information for free, my dear. You'd have to do something for me in return," Undertaker said, his voice muffled from underneath the desk.

"Well I do have some-"

"No money either," He answered, raising himself fully up. He walked towards her, suddenly seeming excited for something. "I want something much better than mere money."

Madeleine scowled at him, offended he dared to insinuate something. "If you think I will do anything of that sort with a man I don't-"

"Jokes."

"Eh?"

He leaned closer to her, the scent of vanilla intensifying as he did so. Vanilla and dirt, gingerbread mixed with chemicals. "I like laughing. If you tell me a joke I'll tell you what I know."

His excitement made her smile as well. "What a strange character you are. I'm afraid angels don't tell quite that many jokes."

The way he hovered above her wasn't frightening at all, mostly because he seemed to be restraining himself from coming even closer. He raised his hand as if he once more wanted to touch her cheek but stopped halfway. Instead he gave the beaker of tea a quick tap. "Your tea is getting cold. Don't worry, I can wait. You can keep coming back until you know a good joke."

When he moved away Madeleine took a quick sip. "You mean like 'let's make like a tree and leaf'? Because that was a horrible pun."

For a moment she sensed a pang of sadness from him, but so minute she might have imagined it. "It's my favorite. If you can find any other of my favorites I'll tell you everything I know."

"That could take ages."

"That means you should keep coming back, doesn't it? Was there a reason for your visit, apart from asking me what I know?" Undertaker asked her, leafing through one of the thick books he'd cleared from underneath the dust.

She looked down at the still sleeping child and wondered how long the child had been up that night. "I… my supervisor suggested I do something beside a mission for now. And I thought that finding little Edward's family might be something useful for me to do. You know? I thought I could stop by here and see if maybe his blanket holds some clues."

"Not the blanket. But my young guest's clothes did hold some useful information," Undertaker said, pulling a pink bookmark from his sleeve and placing it in the book he had in front of him. "I'll come with you."

Before Madeleine could object he'd pulled a dark gray coat from underneath the desk, from the looks of it brand new. As he helped her put it on she sputtered, "But it could be dangerous. And it's my mission, I shouldn't burden you with it."

"I insist. I don't often get to walk about town with a pretty lady. Consider it the price for me telling you where the next clue lies," Undertaker told her, buttoning up the coat for her while she was occupied with holding the infant.

So it was that she once again walked the streets of London with Undertaker guiding her, this time not through winding, small streets but along the main streets. Though he attracted quite a few looks she could not have asked for a better guide. As they walked he pointed out shops that might interest her, along with food vendors that sold things she'd never seen before. When she paused in front of a street she did not remember being there he explained to her when it had been built, almost as if he had been there at the time.

After half an hour she started to observe her guide more than she did the surroundings. The scar that rippled across his right cheek moved as he spoke, the corners of his mouth almost naturally curling up as he explained things to her. She noted another scar on one of his pinkies, indicating that had once been severed. Though he was tall he adjusted his step to her and helped her navigate the crowds more easily. And his hair… Eventually he caught on to the fact that she was paying more attention to him than to the road.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asked her, already patting his cheeks in search of lost cookie crumbs.

Madeleine quickly looked down at Edward, who had woken up and was looking around with the kind of disinterest only a baby could have in tense social situations. "I was just thinking that you're… you're actually a very considerate person. Without you I think I might have gotten quite lost. Oh wow!"

They had arrived to a large square where people were busy hammering together wooden stalls. Madeleine had only ever seen so many people together in the main halls of the Upper Realm and there the volume was spread out better due to everybody flying. This resembled an ant hill somehow, people moving through the crowd with an easy she couldn't fathom.

"They're setting up the Christmas market. I hadn't realized it was that time of year already," Undertaker explained, placing one hand on his hip as he considered the scenery.

Madeleine tilted her head to the side as the baby grabbed one of the shiny copper buttons on her coat, intrigued by the shiny objects. "You said the shop where they sold the girl's clothes is across this square, isn't it?"

"Well, yes. But I couldn't help but notice you're a bit iffy when it comes to large crowds, my dear. Wouldn't do if you were to get lost somewhere in there," Undertaker mumbled, fidgeting his hands.

Madeleine considered the notion for a few seconds. If they were to walk around it would probably take that much longer before they finally got to the shop. She really wanted to finish up her little task before Lord Michael found out she wasn't busy decorating a tree in the Upper Realm.

"If you want… I'm not forcing you mind…" Undertaker said, his voice trailing farther away with each word he spoke. "…hands?"

"Hm?" She inquired, looking up at him in encouragement to repeat his question.

He took a deep breath before holding his hand to the side as he faced away from her. "We could hold hands. So we don't get separated, I mean. If you'd want to, dearest," Undertaker said quickly, looking anywhere but at her. From between his silver locks the bright red tip of an ear was visible, just underneath his black hat.

His hand was pale, with long black fingernails. The faint scar across his pinkie finger formed a slight contrast, though not quite that much. Suddenly she felt very nervous, for reasons she didn't understand herself.
Shyly she slipped her right hand in his, looking at the ground as she balanced Edward with her left hand. "You really are pretty considerate."

His hand was cool but not unpleasantly cold. She felt the callus on his palm, probably from building the coffins in his shop. His index finger was outstretched, the long nail resting against her wrist. Though he was gentle, his hand could not help but completely envelop hers. When Undertaker replied his voice was oddly muffled. "It's not quite as selfless as you'd think."

Madeleine kept her gaze fixated on the ground, picking up on the tense situation but not knowing how to handle it. Though it was just holding hands it felt like something more important. Maybe it was because he'd called her 'dearest' once more. Glancing at him she cleared her throat. "Are we going to keep standing around?"

"No, of course not," Undertaker at once assured her. Her question seemed to have roused him from his state of immobility. His steps were almost the same as before, only now he made sure that she always had enough space to walk right beside him. All the while his grip remained gentle but firm, making sure that no matter what would happen they wouldn't accidentally get separated.
"Madeleine… do you happen to know your last name?"

With a triumphant look she nodded. "Of course, my last name is… it's… isn't that odd?"

"I'm quite sure that's not it," Undertaker chided her gently, his thumb quickly running over the side of her hand.

The thing in her head once again started to protest that no, it wasn't important. It was only a last name. Didn't she have more important things to worry about than something as stupid as that? A collection of sounds was not as worthy as the Light. "My name is…"

"Dearest. My dear. Maybe I asked the question too soon. Though it would be good if you were to keep thinking about it a bit longer," Undertaker spoke softly, guiding her in between two pockets of people. When a man threatened to bump into her, he moved in the man's trajectory, shielding her effectively.

The angel nodded, feeling a bit woozy when she tried to remember her full name. Somehow it felt like it had been important to her in the past. "No, it's okay. I think it's a tad strange, that's all. It's not something a person would forget so easily."

"It isn't," her protector agreed, the grip on her hand increasing every so slightly. When they had crossed the square he made no sign of letting go of her, instead guiding her slowly to the shop where they had to be. In front of the shop they halted as he looked up at the sky.
"After we visit this place we should call it a day."

"Would you mind if I stop by again?" Madeleine asked at once, looking at their joined hands. Strange how noninvasive this pose seemed. He held her hand with such implied ease, as if he knew exactly how to make her feel safe.

Her question made him smile again, not like when he'd heard something funny. There was no nervous titter or boisterous rumble in his voice. Instead he inclined his head and nodded slowly. "If you'd like to, I would be very happy to have you as my guest again."
His thumb once more caressed her wrist, a movement he scarcely seemed to notice he made. It should have made her feel uncomfortable. But instead she accepted it as part of his character.

"Tomorrow then. What time would be best for you?"

"A little after noon. We can have tea together before we continue the search. I'll bake cookies."

So, yeah... Cute enough for you guys? I've got lots more fluff planned for this fic - and heartbreak, I am so sorry - but I'd appreciate feedback. Too much? Too soon? Not enough? Tell me! (If you're too shy to review send me a pm) ^^
Next update will most definitely have to wait until I update my Sebastian fic since I just realized I didn't alert the folks reading that one I started to serialize this one. Also, I have exams until the end of next month. Woe is me.

Amandalucia darling! : Glad to hear you like it ^^ Hearing from you always makes my day =D

NightlyRowenTree : Sorry for making you cry, though it's quite an honor to hear it. Weird how that works, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well ^^