A/N: Hello. After a while of not updating, here I am, being all updatey. Have some Eric and Alan cuteness to brighten your day. Because they're adorable idiots. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, please feel free to leave nice reviews this chapter too.

"Behave," Alan said firmly.

He was glaring up at Eric but was holding Henry's wrist tightly. Eric noticed that instantly no matter how subtle little Alan tried to be. Did Henry have a temper to match Alan's but less control? That was just too good. He could twist that to his needs if he needed to. Eric smirked, watching Henry squeeze his arms tightly around Alan. What a possessive youngster, and Alan seemed so oblivious. Of course, Eric highly doubted Alan was as oblivious as he seemed. Eric doubted he was as sweet and polite as his files said either. He looked sweet and seemed respectful, but Eric was certain there was a fiery temper under there.

He smiled and shut the door behind him. There was no doubt about it, possessive, interfering little Henry had to go. Alan didn't seem like the type who would be unfaithful. Who knew what it would take to get him away from Henry and into his bed?

That was certainly where he wanted Alan. Eric was known for deciding on what he wanted the second he saw it. And he wanted Alan. Of course there were strict rules about students and officers being together, but mentors were a grey area. Not strictly by the rules but generally accepted. A plot was already formulating in his mind. Alan was stuck with him for two years. That was plenty of time to get rid of Henry and work on softening Alan up. This felt like one of those times he was going to have to feign interest in his opinions and personality first before he got to the point where he could get him into bed. Still, being his mentor put Eric in the perfect position to do that.

"Oi." He glanced up to find another bulky blond grinning back at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were mentoring?"

"I was- am," Eric replied with a shrug.

Christian Moore had been his roommate in the academy, he'd been his best friend since and the pair was practically inseparable. There were times he infuriated Eric, when he wasn't sure why he put up with him but he was always there when he needed him. He'd yet to do anything Eric found so terrible he couldn't forgive. He was sitting on the counter at the nurses' station with Dr Burns leaning next to him. "Let me guess, you broke him?"

Eric frowned and folded his arms. "Why do you all keep saying that like I do it a lot?"

"Please, Slingby," Dr Burns muttered. He stood straight and picked up a file before he wandered off. "I've met all the students you've mentored within the first week of training."

"No one was asking you," Eric called after him. "It's not my fault they're all so weak. They give me them to make up because they're so weak, you know."

Christian laughed and strode off. Within moments, Eric joined him at his side. "So, Eric, your new kid? Good looking?"

"Pretty good, yes." Eric frowned and shot him a glare. "You keep your hands off him, he's mine."

"Oh?" Christian sneered. "Fine, fine, if you're so sure already." He shrugged and Eric glared at him. There had been once or twice when Eric had let his guard down and Christian had stolen away his prey. It wasn't that he cared about any of them. Of course not. It was losing that got to him. It was the idea of Christian sneaking in and taking what was his whether he cared about them or not. Friendly competition was fine, and Eric was never mad at him for it, but Alan wasn't going to be one of those cases. There was something different about this one. "I'll give you my opinion when you let me see him. Come on, there are drinks waiting for us. Let's go."

"Eric!" Grell Sutcliff's voice was unmistakable and a sure sign he was about to be pounced on. He turned and sure enough Grell was there, wrapping his arms around his and leaning against him as he walked. "Where've you been? You know I've had to do all that extra work because you've suddenly got a little brat to take care of? How do you expect a lovely lady like me to put up with this?"

"It happens every few years," he said, glaring down at him and trying to pry his arm free. "You should be used to it by now."

"No, no," Grell snapped, shaking his head. "You have to buy me drinks now."

Eric rolled his eyes and shot Christian an exasperated glance. "Where's William? Shouldn't you be annoying him?"

Grell spun to stand in front of them, one sharp red nail pressing against Eric's nose. "Firstly, I do not annoy my Will. I love him, I show him my affections and love every day, he just doesn't want to act inappropriately at work. Secondly, all his doors are locked. He's obvious busy preparing some sort of fantastic romantic surprise. And the suspense is killing me."

"You're delusional," Christian muttered.

Grell glared up at Christian, changing sides to put himself between the two larger reapers as they walked, and lowered his voice to a far too loud whisper. "Why are you still hanging out with this guy, Eric? He's an asshole."

Christian huffed. "Says the psychopath."

"I was talking to Eric, not you, Chrissy."

"Stop it, both of you." Eric sighed, running his hand absently through his hair. "Just behave and I'll buy you a drink, alright Sutcliff?"

Grell almost squealed, latching onto his arm as they went down the halls. They ended up in one of the many bars in the reaper's realm. Other people joined them there, all wanting to talk and expecting other people to care what they said. They weren't really friends. They were actually little more than vague faces and names. Eric liked to call them friends but he knew they were just people he drank with. They could change day to day and he barely noticed. He never really got attached. Getting attached hurt. He'd learnt that one a long time ago, but they were fun, that enough for him.

Things were loud and busy, just how Eric liked it. He quickly picked out his favourite targets for the night. Christian and Grell and the others were laughing over drinks but Eric's mind was on his student. Little Alan Humphries… he smirked, running his fingers around the rim of his glass. Oh, that boy was going to his if it was the last thing he did. Alan's resistance and ridding Alan of that bloody brat of a boyfriend would make it all the sweeter when he had Alan screaming his name.

"What's wrong with you?" Christian snapped.

Eric's head jerked up and he gazed at Christian for a moment before shaking his head and grinning. "Thinking about the brat. How I'm going to make him mine."

"Then shouldn't you be with him rather than here?" Christian said.

"Nah." Christian handed him another drink and Eric took it gratefully. "He's got his grumpy little boyfriend in there. Arguing with him won't make getting Alan into bed any easier. I really need to get him out the way."

"Got a plan?"

"I'm working on it," Eric muttered. Alan was going to be trickier than most, it wasn't going to be done overnight that was for sure. "The problem is making sure it's not blamed on me. It'd make charming him harder. Once I'm done with him I don't care who he's with, as long as it doesn't make him awkward to teach."

"Eric," Grell snapped. "Why can't you just settle down and be romantic?"

"Because it's not my style and it's boring, that should be obvious by now," Eric said, glaring over at him. "Don't interfere. I mean it."

"Yeah, so why not look for someone nice to spend the night with?" Christian said, wandering off. "There are lots of pretty ones around."

"You're disgusting," Grell said. He picked up his drink and shook his head. "Stop dragging our Eric down, he's better than you."

"And you're better for him?" Christian replied. "Get lost."

Eric just rolled his eyes, picking up his drink and heading into the crowds. They could argue all they liked, he was going to find some better company. There was a pretty blonde girl alone in the corner. He smiled and took a sip of his drink as he slipped into the seat next to her, flashing her a charming grin as he did. He could forget about the little brat for now. He could figure out Alan later. This young lady was far more interesting.

Eric was woken from his sleep the next morning by knocking on his door, and the hideous squeaking of the hinges. There was a cute, familiar little voice, saying something about leaving the door wide open at night. He lived in a safe building, the people in the surrounding apartments knew him and only idiots would dare invade his home. Not that he had anything worth stealing anyway.

"Mr Slingby?" Alan called. Alan? Eric groaned and scrunched his eyes shut. Why was that kid here this early? The warm body next to him snuggled into his shoulder and for a moment Eric found himself wondering just what had happened last night. "Mr Slingby, the door was open, I hope you don't mind. You left your address, I wanted to catch you before you went to work."

After a long moment, he sighed and rolled over slightly, searching his bedside table for his glasses. Right, he hadn't got to have his way with Alan and been too drunk to remember. "In here, cutie. Kick off your shoes at the door and lose the rest somewhere between here and there."

"Are we having company?" the girl next to him murmured.

"Possibly," Eric purred.

He turned as the bedroom door opened and slipped on his glasses so he could see Alan as grinned sleepily at him. The youngster still had on all his clothes, much to his disappointment but that was hardly surprising. Alan glared down at him silently, glancing at the girl with him for a moment, and Eric glanced down. Redhead. Not the girl he'd been after at the start of the night. Not that he was complaining.

"So, I suppose this is too early for us to start working?" Alan said quietly.

"Depends what sort of work you want to do," Eric said, holding out his hand to Alan. "Come to bed, gorgeous. I'll look after you, kiss you better, take your mind off that nasty broken arm."

"Do you think I'm that easy?" Alan snapped.

Eric chuckled and Alan scowled down at him. He strode over, looking like he was about to tell him off when Eric caught his good arm and pulled him forwards. Alan gave a yelp and stumbled forwards. Eric hadn't meant to jerk him forwards quite so hard and Alan fell, unable to catch himself with his broken arm. Eric sat up instantly, not caring about the girl he was sharing his bed with and instead moving to catch Alan, sweeping him up onto the bed and holding him carefully in his arms. He didn't remember the last time he'd been so careful with anyone. Honestly, he was holding Alan like he was the most delicate, priceless treasure in the world, just staring up into those stunning, sharp eyes.

Little prim and proper Alan Humphries, with those gorgeous eyes, soft kissable lips, and porcelain pale skin, how was Eric supposed to resist this boy? His mind was already racing with what he wanted to do with Alan. He could just push him to the bed now. He'd have to be careful, they'd already proven he could snap Alan in two without even trying. That was okay. He could be gentle when he needed to be. When it was required, with the right motivation, his touches could be delicate and considerate. And making Alan call his name in that stunning voice of his was certainly motivation enough.

"Eric!" He was shaken from his thoughts by the shrill cry and his head snapped around to the redhead glaring up at him from where she'd been disturbed. Eric gave her a weak, guilty smile and she sat up slowly, glancing over Alan, who was still blushing in Eric's arms. Eric smirked, gently pulling Alan up into his lap. Alan seemed too stunned to resist as the redhead slid up behind him, running a hand through his hair. "Good morning, darling. How do you know my Eric?"

"I-I, uhh, he's mentoring me," Alan stuttered, glancing back at her. "I should… go…"

"You can stay," Eric murmured.

Eric wasn't about to let him just leave, not when he had him in the perfect position to wear down his resistance. He'd never met anyone who he couldn't charm given time, Alan would be no exception. Of course, he rather enjoyed having Alan on his lap. He couldn't imagine anyone who wouldn't. He was even more adorable when he was looking slightly awkward about the entire situation. Eric smiled, running a hand absently though Alan's hair. He was certain Alan was going to be worth the wait, he was too stunning not to be.

Alan swallowed heavily, glancing Eric over. "You're not wearing anything, are you?"

"Nothing," he replied with a grin. "Wanna see for yourself?"

"No!"

The redhead giggled and Eric shot her a side long glare. Why was she still here? He'd had his fun with her, he'd let her stay the night and not kicked her out, why was she interfering with his chances with Alan? Her Eric? Honestly. Just who did she think she was? There was no chance of making any progress with Alan while she was here.

"I think you should leave," Eric said, not even glancing at her.

Alan's eyes widened and Eric realised he thought he meant him. He tightened his arms around Alan to give him the idea. The younger reaper didn't look overly comfortable but he relaxed slightly and Eric glanced over at the redhead. After a moment of glaring, she got the message, looking rather annoyed and probably rightly so. Still, Alan was far more interesting. So he'd hurt her feelings a bit, that wasn't his problem. She wasn't a child, at her age she should have known he wasn't the type to care about people's feelings. Almost everyone knew. Only youngsters in the academy had an excuse for not knowing. He waited until she was gone before running his hand through Alan's hair, rather impressed he was still there, only for Alan to shift and bat him away.

"That was cruel," Alan hissed once she'd gone.

"Perhaps," Eric purred. Honestly, he wasn't going to be put off by cute little Alan trying to tell him off. "But I've got my attention on someone better."

Alan rolled his eyes and Eric grinned. "You seem to have your attention on someone better every other day, Mr Slingby."

"Ouch, cutie. That's cruel."

"But true."

Eric's grin didn't falter. He ran his hand through Alan's hair again and again Alan slapped him away. Only this time he went to climb off his lap. Eric wasn't having that. He held Alan on his lap, ignoring how Alan squirmed, and hissing softly as heat rushed though him. Alan froze, his eyes flying wide open as he apparently realised his squirming wasn't helping his situation.

"Now let's not get to studying, hmm?" Eric murmured.

"Yes, studying," he said quickly. "Please. I'll leave you to get dressed."

"Dressed?" he laughed. "Sit back kid, we're not going anywhere." He put Alan down on the bed next to him. Alan was watching him warily, as if he was a coiled snake. It was actually rather amusing. "Don't worry. So, we should get on with this, shouldn't we?"

"Really?" Alan said quietly, lowering his head slightly. "Mr Slingby, please behave this time."

Eric frowned slightly. That formal attitude had to go if they were going to get anywhere. "Just Eric is fine, cutie."

"My name is Alan Humphries, Mr-" Eric shot him a glance and Alan sighed. "…Eric."

"Alright then, Alan." Alan opened his mouth and Eric smirked, knowing he was about to correct him about using informal terms but he shut it again quickly. That was a start. "Let's get to work. I've got a way to make it fun."

"I don't think I like your kind of fun."

Eric laughed and shook his head. He'd come around to it. He hadn't got rid of that girl just to sit around and study. Alan would have to realise he wasn't just going to play games and flirt with him. He wanted much more in long term. Alan was going to have to realise sooner or later that Eric always got what he wanted. He grinned as Alan took out his books, opening them up for work. He wasn't going to hinder his studying, obviously. If Alan failed it reflected badly on him.

"You said you're good at theory work. Let's put that to the test." Alan blinked up at him and Eric's grin widened. He was absolutely adorable. "You get a question wrong, I get a kiss."

Alan's eyes widened. "No! Mr Slingby, please, behave yourself. You know that's against the rules."

"Come on, kid, if you're as good as you say you don't need to worry, do you?"

Alan glared up at him then glanced back down at the books. Eric knew he'd give in. He was a proud little thing, really. He wasn't going to back down. There were a few moments of silence before Alan nodded. "On one condition."

"Oh?" Eric said, raising an eyebrow. "Go on."

"If I'm right, I get to ask you a question," Alan said, folding his arms. That seemed reasonable. "And you put some clothes on."

"You're kidding right? You want to cover this incredible view."

"Yes." Eric glared down at him for a moment. "Well?"

Eric sighed and nodded. He supposed it was fair. He wasn't going to let Alan get too many answers anyway. That defeated the purpose of the entire situation. The cocky little brat needed to be taken down a peg or two anyway. Damn kid was cute but he seemed to think Eric wasn't a suitable mentor. He was going to learn. Eric was the best mentor there was. Alan was lucky to have him. He got up slowly and pulled on his underwear and trousers, noticing Alan making quite the display of not looking.

He picked up Alan's work books, sitting next to him and opening it up. "So, you and Henry?"

"That's not part of the curriculum, Eric." It was firm and cold and Eric was starting to wonder who was the mentor here. He glanced down at him and Alan sighed. "We've been together a year or so. And we're very happy, thank you."

"You really are so cute," Eric said. "Come on, Alan, if you were completely happy you wouldn't be playing this game."

"What game? This is the only way I'm going to get you to help me." Eric tilted his head, a grin just short of predatory spreading across his face. "Mr Slingby?"

"You know the protocol for the presence of demon, right?"

Alan paused for a moment, looking rather confused by the sudden change of subject. He'd have to deal with it. Keeping his students off guard really tested how deeply ingrained the information was.

"To… continue collect the soul and if the demon persists then you can use lethal force and file all the proper reports."

Eric chuckled and leaning down and pressing a soft quick kiss just beneath his ear, rather pleased by the little shiver that shot through his junior. Before he could argue, Eric decided he should probably explain. "I asked what to do in the presence of demons, not when confronting them. Wording, Alan. You'd fail an exam for that."

Alan's eyes widened slightly before narrowing into a glare and Eric grinned. Oh, there was fury in his eyes. Eric wasn't sure if it was at himself for missing that or Eric for using such a dirty trick. Well, it wasn't really a trick. It was true. Wording mattered.

"Alright, you assess the situation, at my level I'm expected to contact the closest supervisor and then continue on as normal. Now do I get a question?"

"You answered wrong."

"I answered right in the end."

Eric watched him for a moment and Alan glared back at him. Finally Eric smirked. "Go for it."

"What's it going to take for you to get the message that I'm not interested?"

Eric smirked. Really? Well at least he cut straight to the point. He didn't mind. Alan wasn't going to give in easily. And Eric expected nothing less. It would be boring to get his own way all the time. Of course, he always got his way in the end, but there had to be some challenge. He tilted his head and grinned.

"Well, I think you'd have to tell me you don't want me and actually mean it."

"That's it?" Alan snorted and almost smiled. Eric frowned. Had he actually seen the kid smile without Henry on his arm? Tilting his head up slightly, Alan looked up into his eyes. "I don't want- ah!" Eric chuckled, sliding his hand over Alan's side and down his back, ignoring how he jumped at the sudden attention. "What are you doing?"

"I think I'm proving a point."

"That doesn't prove anything!"

Eric grinned, returning his attention to the textbook and flipping through to find another question for him. Alan sighed, turning to glare down at his lap. Eric made sure to keep an eye on him as they worked. For while he focused on actually working with him. There was no point in letting him fail. If Alan didn't do well it would reflect on him. Alan asked questions that didn't really matter but he seemed curious in general. Which was a good thing, he supposed. Curiosity about him was certainly good.

"Do you want breakfast?"

That seemed to stun Alan into silence. He stared up at him for a moment before nodding dumbly, still looking rather confused. Eric flashed a grin and quickly got up and dressed, heading out to the kitchen. Within moments Alan was following him out. He smiled, trying to be reassuring.

"What would you like?" Alan stared up at him silently and Eric laughed softly. Really, was it that shocking that there was more to him? "Alan, cutie?"

That snapped him out of it nicely. The youngster glared up at him and Eric grinned. "Omelette, please?"

Eric nodded. "Sit down, I'll bring it over. Want me to cut it up for you?" Alan looked horribly offended and Eric grinned, gesturing to his arm in the cast. "Won't that get in the way?"

"Maybe a bit," he muttered. Eric nodded and turned to his stove as Alan sat at the table, watching him curiously. It was rather pleasing to know he still had Alan's attention. "Thank you."

"It's no problem, kid," Eric replied, cracking open the eggs. "Look at you, you've got a nice ass, but you're all skin and bones. Maybe if we can get some meat on you the practical work won't be so hard for you."

He chuckled, knowing Alan was glaring at his back. There was silence while Eric cooked, not that Eric minded. Alan at least wasn't constantly complaining about him misbehaving or being inappropriate. That had to be an improvement. Sooner or later he wouldn't be complaining at all. Eric was going to see to that somehow.

Alan glared up at him as he put the plate down but soon turned away, muttering a thank you. Eric grinned, sitting next to him and eating his own breakfast. Alan's omelet was at least soft enough that he could cut it with the side of his fork so he could eat without help.

"I didn't have you down as the cooking type," Alan said after a few minutes of silence. "This is really good."

"It's an omelette, cutie, you can't do much wrong," Eric teased. Alan glared at him and he grinned. "Come on, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, can't afford to have a second rate one."

"Stop calling me cutie."

"But it describes you so perfectly."

"In that case I'll start calling you idiot."

Eric laughed and shook his head. "You're the one who got your arm broken."

"You broke it." Alan was glaring over at him furiously and it was suddenly incredibly hard to keep a straight face. "And I don't think you've even apologised, Mr Slingby."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sorry." He kept his voice low and soft, purposefully sounding condescending. "Obviously I didn't warn you well enough. But I would have thought that convincing your mentor, who is bigger, stronger, older and more experienced than you, to fight you at full strength was a bad idea. Especially when I'd just warned you I could do serious damage. Did you think I was joking?"

"I didn't think you were that stupid enough to do it."

Eric opened his mouth to argue back but there was an all too familiar knock on the door. He groaned and glared over at the door as if opened. Honestly, now was not the time for an interruption, even one he knew was coming. William T Spears. He wasn't all that much older than Eric, but William was moving up the ranks faster than Eric. While Eric was being pushed for a senior job in Dispatch, William already had one. He was being pushed for Manager. And his current job was watching over Eric and Grell. William lived across the hall and stopped by Eric's every morning before work, sometimes for breakfast and on the odd occasion made a very effective way to get rid of clingy girls.

"You want breakfast?" Eric asked as William shut the door.

"No, thank you," William replied. Eric nodded. One day he'd decided since William was there he'd make him breakfast, it had actually done their relationship wonders and they'd found they had quite a bit in common. They were almost friends. "I hear you broke another of your students, Slingby." He glanced at Alan and sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Honestly, must you bed every student you mentor?"

"We've not slept together," Alan snapped.

"Really?" William frowned and Eric could just feel how badly this was going to end. "Strange, it's unusual to find people here this early unless they stayed the night. And no one stays the night unless they're in his bed."

Alan frowned and Eric glared at William. "Will you stop it? I haven't actually got him in bed yet, we were studying, and you're not helping."

"Helping?" He rolled his eyes. "My job is not to help you, Slingby, it's to make sure you actually do your job and don't kill the child you're supposed to train."

"I'm not a child," Alan chimed in, moving between them.

"Quiet, cutie." Eric put a hand on his head, purposefully ruffling his hair like he would a younger sibling. "The adults are talking."

Alan huffed, picking his books and bag and putting his plate in the sink to soak. "Thank you for breakfast, Mr Slingby." Eric sighed in frustration and rolled his eyes. Back to Mr Slingby. Wonderful. "I need to get to classes."

Liar. They had hours until Alan had to get to class. Still with William here ready to bite his head off he had no choice but to let Alan slip out. He pouted childishly and folded his arms, leaning back against the kitchen counter. There went his prey, just when he was making progress. What a pain. Maybe if he hurried and didn't argue with William he could get out and catch Alan on the stairs. William was glaring at him and obviously about the tell him off when there was a thud and pained cry from outside in the hallway.

Alan.

Eric out the door before William could even move to stop him. And what he found made a white hot fury boil up inside him. Christian right there, with Alan pressed awkwardly against the wall, hanging onto his broken arm, biting his lip and obviously in pain. Eric snarled in the back of his throat as Christian leaned over Alan.

"Mr Moore-"

Christian knocked Alan's broken arm back against the wall and Alan made a small, pained noise. "Quiet, kid, before I break your other arm."

Eric was on Christian in seconds. Without thinking he'd shoved him away and slammed him to the ground with his scythe against his throat. There was a heavy silence over the hall for a moment before everything clicked and Eric realised exactly what he'd done. And he wasn't even sorry. To hell with Christian being his best friend, no one was ever going to touch Alan like that.

"What the hell, Eric?" Christian yelled.

"You keep your hands off him," Eric said.

His voice was perfectly level and calm but Christian's eyes widened before he laughed. "What? This is the kid you're so taken with? He's not worth it, Eric."

"He is none of your business, Christian, you talk about him like that or come near him again and you will pay."

A hand fell on his shoulder and Eric lifted his head slightly. Alan was staring down at him, looking paler than normal. After a moment, Eric stood, dusted himself off and put a hand on Alan's shoulder, escorting him out, throwing Christian and William a glare as he went. No one was interfering with this. Not even those two.

They went down the stairs and into the gardens in front of the building. "Sorry about that. He didn't hurt you too badly, did he?"

"It's fine, he just jolted it a bit I think." Alan pulled a bottle of pills from his bag, taking out a few, and a bottle of water, swallowing both quickly. "It bloody hurts though. I hope it doesn't put back the healing time." Eric nodded and Alan looked over his arm. "I think it's fine. I'll stop by the infirmary later and see."

"If he bothers you again, tell me, ok?" Eric said. "You're still mine to mentor. I injured you in training, that's different, it was an honest training accident, what he did is different. I won't allow that."

Alan nodded, tilting his head up. "Umm, should we go somewhere and carry on studying, Mr Slingb-" Eric shot him a glare and Alan lowered his head. "Eric?"

Eric gazed down at him for a moment before he nodded and grinned. He wrapped his arm around Alan's shoulders, guiding him away. Of course, he noticed Henry even if Alan didn't. His young competition was sitting on a bench with a small group of students, glaring over. Eric smirked, vaguely wondering if Henry was actually studying with them, or if his presence outside the building Eric stayed in was more than a coincidence. If looks could kill Eric would have been in a coffin by now, that was certain. Eric stuck out his tongue for a moment before grunting as Alan elbowed him in the ribs.

"Stop being so childish," he snapped. "You're as bad as each other."

"I'm way better than him," Eric grumbled.

Alan rolled his eyes and Eric grinned. Being alone with Alan with either going to go well or horribly wrong, but every mistake just taught Eric more about how to make Alan his. They wandered along to the formal flower gardens. Alan looked rather peaceful in the flower garden. Eric made note of that.

"So, you're a chocolate and flowers kind of guy?" Alan glanced back of him then nodded. "You get more feminine every minute."

Alan scowled. "I just rather like flowers and sweet things."

"I'll make you candied flowers sometime."

"Candied… flowers?"

"Mmm, they're perfect for topping cakes. Flowers covered in sugar. Nice decorations." Alan raised an eyebrow and he frowned. "What?"

"I'm feminine?" Alan said. "You're the one talking about flowers and cooking and decorating. Very domestic, Miss Slingby, you'll make someone a lovely wife."

For a moment all Eric could do was glare before laughing slightly and sitting on a nearby bench to watch him. Putting in this much effort wasn't normally his style but he was pretty sure Alan was worth the wait. He'd better be or things were going to get incredibly awkward. Well, given what he'd learned about Alan so far things might get awkward anyway.

After a while, Alan wandered over and sat with him. There was silence for a while until Alan pulled out one of his work books. He smiled and Eric took it slowly. It was surprisingly comfortable to be sitting in silence, unlike with most people, but he supposed it was good to work with him. And Alan seemed to be softening up a little. No one could resist him charms, not even little Alan.

And everything was going smoothly until there was a high pitched squeal and a flash of red.

Alan yelped as Grell flung his arms around him, holding him to his chest as he spoke so fast Eric could barely get a word. Alan was looking awkward and uncomfortable and Eric shoved Grell off before he even realised he was doing it. Then Grell slowed down.

"I hear little Alan was leaving your apartment this morning, Eric," he teased. Eric grumbled under his breath about the secretaries and their gossip as Alan's eyes widened. "Ah, you're always right when you say you're going to get someone in bed. Honestly, if only you'd put so much effort into work I could bunk off early. How unfair. Was he as good as you said he would be? You didn't even have to use your plan to get rid of his boyfriend."

Eric could almost feel the colour draining from his face as Alan's eyes darkened. Bloody idiot had set back all his hard work. Alan stood, snatching his book and shoving it in his bag. He just wanted to throttle the redhead right now.

"I knew you were shameless, Mr Slingby," Alan said, his voice a cold, hard hiss. Eric couldn't even bring himself to look at him. "But honestly, even I didn't think you would be so low."

He strode away and Eric growled. Grell looked horrifically innocent at the almost animalistic sound, like he didn't know what he'd just done! "Was it something I said, handsome?"

Snarling, Eric smacked the back of his head. "Idiot!"

"What?" He ran after Eric and grabbed his arm as he stormed off. "I think he's good for you, Eric, so feisty. Like me?"

"What?"

"So cruel, Eric, pretending you don't know. I know you're so jealous that I'm paying attention to Will, but now your little soul mate is angry we can have some fun, just like last time."

Eric rolled his eyes, one drunken night Grell was never going to let him forget. "Sutcliff, we're not going there again. You were kinda boring anway."

"Eric!"

"Wait, back up a second." Grell took half a step back and Eric glared down at him. "Don't try to be cute. You said soul mate."

Grell frowned, then sighed dramatically, cocking his hip and folding his arms. "Honestly, Eric Slingby, do you not read?" Eric frowned and Grell poked his nose. "You're compete polar opposites, forced together, constantly bickering, huge height difference and age difference and you're utterly smitten from the first glance. Pick up one of those wonderful romance novels you keep in your trunk and read it. It's how the world works. You're meant to be."

Eric glared down at him before striding away. "This is real life, Sutcliff, not a stupid romance novel. And I don't own any!"

"If you say so, but you're only lying to yourself."

Eric carried on walking, completely ignoring Grell as they enter the Dispatch office. Meant to be together. What a load of old rubbish. Grell needed to stop reading so many novels and start living in the real world. Alan was never going to be anything more than just another name in a little black book, and he did actually have a little black book. They were never going to fall in love. That was the kind of unrealistic, sentimental crap that happened in books and nothing else.