This is a Grell x William piece that will be more than one part, I'm probably going for two so yes there will be another chapter. This takes place after the 'Jack the Ripper' incident back in the Shinigami realm.

"Jack the Ripper…" Grell winced as he heard the name, looking up uncertainly at the one who had said it, one William T. Spears, tossed a rather thick file of reported violations down on the desk. The file contained every rule Grell had broken, from such minor ones as modifying his scythe without permission to the premature reaping of human souls not on the death list. From the looks of the file and the color coded tabs marked within it, William had already been through it.

"Ah, Will, it was…it was a mistake." Grell attempted to stand his ground but he shrunk a little in his chair as his dark haired superior glared at him. Deciding at that point it was far better to be quiet and let William finish, the shinigami instead chewed nervously on his lower lip. He was a mess, bruises all over his body and he was fairly certain he had broken something—or several somethings. Red hair matted to his face, blood on his clothes and body…he was sitting rigid in the chair facing opposite his superior's desk while he waited for the judgment of his crimes.

"A mistake that cost several women their souls, Grell Sutcliff." William chastised in a dangerously low tone, adjusting his glasses with his hand. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?"

"I know! But those women they—" He froze, halfway into an argument when he saw those cold eyes flick back to him.

"…I'm sorry, William." He muttered, clutching at the fabric of his sleeve and dropping his eyes to the floor. That was really all he could say, he killed those women yes…perhaps it was wrong but they had something he never could...children. And they took that for granted. Even thinking about it made him angry! He clenched his hands tighter as his eyes hardened.

"Sutcliff…" William repeated, eyes flashing as he noticed the look in the redhead's eyes that he was starting to recognize all too well—that look of detachment and anger…an almost crazed look. He couldn't have Grell snapping again, he simply couldn't do as he pleased. The man frowned deeper, opening the file and flipping through the reports he had already read though perhaps a dozen times or more.

"They can have you executed, you realize." William added after a moment, watching the redhead flinch out of the corner of his eye, "This is a crime against the Association; you have broken an ultimate code."

"I can't die yet, William!" Grell jumped up from the chair, instantly regretting it as a sharp pain tore through his ribs and he groaned, sinking back to the floor.

Closing the file with a snap, William turned and moved to the crumpled shinigami with a sigh. "You have to take the punishment for your crimes. There is nothing that can be done about it." Like a child, William thought as he looked at the redhead in front of him; always causing trouble without thought of consequence, giving affection to anyone yet it was nothing more than a passing fancy of his, getting in over his head and almost getting himself killed. He pulled some of that troublesome red hair out of the way, taking out a handkerchief to wipe some of the blood off of the man's face. As he did so Grell's lip trembled slightly, green eyes wavering. The next thing William knew the redhead was clinging tightly to him; in surprise he dropped the handkerchief, eyes widening slightly.

"William…please. Isn't there something you can do?" Grell whispered, head buried against the crook of the man's shoulder, long red hair cascading down his back and over his shoulders. William could feel the warmth of the man against him, the soft hair against his neck and face and the scent of blood mixed with a very faint floral scent. William's usual hardened expression returned, one hand moving to the redhead's shoulder to try and move him away.

"Grell, there is nothing I can do. This is an order from the higher offices." Despite William's attempts, Grell only wrapped his arms tighter, something very akin to a whimper coming from his mouth. William was certain he felt blood on his suit now; perhaps the redhead was more seriously injured than he previously thought.

"Anything William, I'll do anything! Please let me stay." Grell paused, body slightly loosening its hold, "I need you." He added a great deal quieter, and it almost sounded sincere but William didn't believe it for a moment. The man had been all too willing to throw himself at that infernal demon butler only hours ago, fawning over the man and proclaiming his love. The thought made the dark haired shinigami recall his anger again and he gripped tighter, pushing Grell away with a bit more force than he had meant to.

"You would be so willing to say the very same thing to that loathsome demon." His voice came out clipped, golden eyes narrowing further as the thought of that Sebastian came to mind. The shinigami were being made a disgrace and Grell was not helping matters. Still, the harsh tone surprised him and he paused a second to recollect his controlled disposition.

"No, Sutcliff. You will face the consequences." He finally continued. His voice now calm he debated silently before extending his hand to help the man up. Troublesome or not, Grell was injured and he would see to it such injuries were cared for. Frankly he would rather see the man demoted or some lesser sentence served than to see him executed…they were short on agents as it was.

"William, you don't understand…" Grell complained, voice nothing louder than a whisper, body trembling slightly as if chilled. Green eyes flicked up to look at his dark haired boss, wavering slightly from behind the red-rimmed frames. He said nothing else, however, and William simply guided him back to the chair. From that point he moved swiftly out of the room, leaving the redhead alone if only for a few minutes. When he returned it was with bandages and a dampened towel. Silently, he commanded Grell to sit still while he tended to the injuries.

"Remove your shirt. I can see that you're bleeding all over the place." William commanded, noting the bloodstained shirt the redhead wore, the bright red he adored so much staining the white blouse, that bright red even made its way onto William's suit, he noticed with faint dismay.

Grell slowly removed the bright red jacket he had stolen and set it aside with the other articles of his own clothing. Perhaps it was a memento of his dear Madam Red; perhaps that was the one thing he regretted. But humans were all the same, they only did what was convenient for them at the time. Everyone was out for themselves after all.

He cried out, eyes widening as he felt the damp towel against cuts and bruises of his skin. Whimpering, Grell clutched the fabric of his pants and shut his eyes tightly as that pressure—however light, brushed over the sharp pains in his chest. He must have broken something, broken a rib or two…he wouldn't have been surprised after the number of times he felt those sharp blows from that raven-haired demon.

"W-William….be more gentle…" He whined, breath hitched as he felt the movements stop; the warmth of the towel was slowly pulled away and a chill came over the exposed and now wet skin.

"What were you thinking, Sutcliff? Facing a demon, running off on your own? You could have been killed." William growled under his breath, somehow all the more enraged after seeing the extent of the damage done to the redhead's body. Dark bruises across an expanse of white skin, deep cuts in the skin that continued to bleed despite being cleaned. How much blood the man had lost was uncertain, even shinigami had to watch their health. They may have been like gods but their bodies could still be damaged and the last thing William needed was another agent out of commission for any amount of time. Of course that was the reason he was so angry…there was no other explanation.

"But…William saved me." The redhead's words successfully stopped William's motions of tending to the wounds, "Were you worried about me, Will~?" Despite his position, Grell managed a smile. His eyelashes fluttered like some kind of coquette and it appeared he was back to his normal self once again.

The same old, overly flirtatious, extremely disruptive man who had no concept of personal space or what the word 'no' meant had returned. Somehow this should have angered William further, instead—to his great confusion, it actually made him slightly relieved. Something about those lilting words, that bright red hair, those sultry eyes and those deceivingly innocent moments of flirtation brought a sense of familiarity to the office. It should not have been that way. The office was a place of work, and Grell was nothing but a distraction to said work.

"Losing another agent would have been problematic. It would have been detrimental to the order of work being accomplished here. That is all." William answered in a slightly clipped tone, adjusting his glasses with his hand before moving to wrap the gauze around the wounds. He focused upon his work until he saw that sly smile turn into Grell's infamous grin out of the corner of his eyes. William felt his eyebrow twitch, somehow agitated with the redhead's expression as if he knew something.

"Why doesn't William like Sebas-chan~?" Grell asked in a teasing voice using the nickname he had devised for the demon butler as a play on words. The question seemed to come out of nowhere and William looked up at him in surprise.

"He is a demon, Grell. Naturally that makes him a danger to the souls we as reapers are supposed to care for. After what he did to you, how can you possibly still be standing up for him?"

"Oh I'm not standing up for him, Will." Grell replied with a sly smile still in place. He slowly crossed his legs, twirling a strand of bright, red hair around his finger. "But could you blame me if I was? Tall, handsome, such frightfully beautiful eyes…" Grell giggled, the corner of his mouth twitching as he saw his superior's eyes narrow in response to his words.

"I do not want to hear that demon's name mentioned again." William growled, golden eyes glaring at the redhead, "Am I clear?"

"William was jealous~" Grell stated matter-of-factly. Green eyes matched his superior's golden ones and his smile turned up at the corner in a challenging motion as if asking the man to try and deny it. If Grell was good at anything it was observing handsome men and he could read those subtle body language hints like a book. This caught his dark haired boss off guard and William stared at him incredulously.

"Jealous?!" William's voice was less controlled than he had imagined in his head, "Absolutely not, Sutcliff! Do not flatter yourself and put us all in your own world—"

"I was just teasing him, Will." Grell replied, a look of triumph on his features as he realized he was right, whether William would admit it or not. "Did you really think I would give my heart to another so easily and be unfaithful to my William?"

"Humph. You give your heart to whoever is convenient at the moment, Grell. And what is this 'my William' business?" William retorted, however his voice lacked its usual edge. He was still trying to recover from Grell's onslaught of surprising behaviors. And despite himself, he was wondering the validity of what was being said.

"That's so cold, William Spears." Grell complained. He stood as William turned to move away, unexpectedly latching onto him from behind, arms twining around the man's waist. "We've known each other for such a long time, Will. You should know better than that…You mean more to me than you think."

William remained silent, eyes focused in front of him and body tense but he did not pry the redhead off. That warmth against his body, that deceivingly gentle touch, that faint floral scent that the redhead always seemed to have…these sensations kept the man's mind unfocused. He did not think of Grell's words, such complications were going to give him a migraine.

"Put your shirt back on Sutcliff, and return home. You will need your strength for the sentencing tomorrow." William felt the redhead's body tense against his own and then slacken and he could picture all too clearly the uneasy expression on the man's face. With a sigh, William moved to remove the hands from around him, far more gently than before.

"Yes, William." Grell replied in a quieted tone, disappointment clear on his features. William said nothing more, moving to his desk and sitting down he pulled out a file of reports that needed to be filled out. Taking that as his cue, Grell returned the bloody shirt and jacket to his body and left the office. He made it halfway down the hallway, slowing his pace as he stopped near one of the large, glass windows overlooking the grounds below. The central branch offices overlooked the most iconic building in the shinigami realm, the library. The building looked strangely frightening in the dark, Grell realized. It was well into the evening by that point and the sounds of a storm resounded in the distance. Most of the workers had gone home, the hallways were empty.

Slowly, he glanced up noticing one of the window panes was broken. In the dark he stared at his reflection in the pieces of broken glass. A distorted picture, the pieces did not match up. It seemed fitting, really, the way it seemed to mimic what he was feeling. Reaching out, he brushed his fingers against the crack in the glass. So delicate, one push and it would break, it would shatter.

"No…you don't understand at all, William." The redhead murmured quietly to himself, knowing full well no one was around to hear his declaration except the howling wind and the silver rain and his reflection of course…what was left of it. Turning on his heel, the redhead moved swiftly down the hallway and into the pouring rain outside.

It was three hours later that William T. Spears received the call that Grell Sutcliff had not been to the residence halls that evening and that the Red Reaper had disappeared.

My first fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed it, please R&R. Oh and the Association is short for the Shinigami Association. Basically when reapers act up or break too many rules they are reaped/executed themselves. This is NOT knowledge from the manga, I made it up.