Title: The Two Sides of William T. Spears

Summary: William explains to Grell and Ronald that he's not always a bossy fellow.

A friend and I were listening to William's character songs and we both agreed they sound a little too happy to be about William. Not the lyrics but the background music. So that was where this came from. I also plan to continue William's explaining things in a collection. I also have plans to do a small Christmas or New Year's fic involving William and my female Shinigami, Annabelle. I haven't gotten any good ideas for anything long, other than expanding on a minor character of mine.

The halls of the Shinigami Dispatch were silent, save for the muffled footsteps of Ronald Knox and Grell Sutcliff. The two were returning very late from an assignment and neither wanted to deal with the overtime that came from being late. The two encountered no other reapers as they headed towards their respective office.

"Guess night shift hasn't gotten here yet," Ronald said with a yawn, trying to make conversation.

"I suppose – shh!" Grell clamped a hand over Ronald's mouth, though it had been him that was speaking when he called for silence. Ronald gave him a curious look. Grell ignored that look, cocking his head to the side as he listened for something he thought he had heard.

"Do you hear that?" Grell whispered.

Ronald was quiet for a moment, then nodded. They heard singing. More specifically, what sounded like William singing. William did not sing. The two Shinigami exchanged a look before slowly peering around the corner.

There was William, locking the door to his office. And he was singing faintly to himself.

Ronald turned to Grell, but before he could speak, the older reaper rushed towards William, nearly knocking him over. "I didn't know you sang so wonderfully William!" he began, fluttering his false eyelashes at his superior.

William merely narrowed his eyes at Grell and shoved the key to his office in his pocket.

"Why haven't we seen this side of you before?" Ronald asked, half teasing William. He, however, stayed well out of arm's reach. If he made William mad with his questions, he wanted the chance to run.

William sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Come with me," he said, removing the key to his office and unlocking the door. Grell hurried inside before William. Ronald still remained where he was. When William nodded towards the door, Ronald hurried inside.

Once the door was shut, William sat down behind his desk. Grell watched him, wiggling in his seat. Ronald looked sheepish, like a student who was about to be handed a severe punishment from their teacher.

William reached down and opened a drawer towards the bottom of his desk. Grell leaned forward eagerly, wanting to know what William kept hidden in his desk. William cleared his throat as he straightened up in his chair.

To Grell and Ronald's surprise, two hand puppets sat on William's hands, both looking quite like their owner. "I try to keep my private life private," William began, "but I suppose I should explain. There is the bossy side of me you see as I work," he paused to wiggle the William puppet on his left hand, "and the William I am at home." The right puppet wiggled now.

Grell and Ronald nodded to show their understanding.

"The happy William, as we shall call him," William continued, "does not come out much. He does not enjoy the company of others. However he does still exist. But," here William's tone grew dark, "when the happy William sees – " he put his left foot on the desk. On the tip of his shoe sat a Grell puppet that was not made with nearly as much love as the William puppets. " – a certain redhead, the happy William dies a slow, painful death and bossy William has to reap happy William's soul."

He then mimed the bossy William puppet reaping the soul of the no longer happy William puppet. He then used the bossy William puppet to smack the Grell puppet off his shoe. He rose to his feet, towering over Grell and Ronald. "And bossy William will demote anyone who happens to let the story of happy William out. Do you understand that?"

Grell and Ronald both nodded, with Ronald gulping loudly in fear to emphasis his understanding. William pointed to the door, not giving Grell the chance to snatch up the Grell puppet. Ronald raced out after him. He glanced back towards William's office as the door snapped shut. "Wonder how many times bossy William has had to reap happy William's soul this week?" he asked conversationally.

Grell glared at him. "Shut up, you!" he shouted. Then he lowered his voice. "I wonder who made those puppet for him. I would have made them if he had asked me to do it."

"I wonder if he has one of me," Ronald asked, more to himself than Grell.

Grell scoffed. "You? Why would he have one of you?"

Ronald stuck his tongue out at the older Shinigami and said, "Well if he does, I doubt it's as ugly as the one that was supposed to be you!"

Grell shrieked in rage. Ronald dashed down the hall, chuckling. Grell raced after him, threatening to dye Ronald's nasty hair red as he did. Both the overtime they had to work, and the puppets, left their minds as they chased each other around the building.