The blonde reaper finally arrived at the Shinigami Dispatch Society, after a long, tiring mission. Sure, he was a bit late, but it was finally over, and he managed to collect all of the souls from the 'To-Die List.'

''Eric!'' Alan called out as he approached the other, obviously relieved to see that he was fine.

''Hey, Alan. Did you miss me? What am I saying, of course you missed me!'' He said as he affectionately wrapped an arm around the younger male's neck. ''Come here, you little-''

''Eric Slingby.'' A tall figure appeared in sight, using his Death Scythe to adjust his glasses. ''What in the world took you so long?''

''Yo, William. Well, you see... Those guys kept opposing my awesome self, so I had to give them a lesson before ripping their souls out through their skulls. Nothing to worry about.''

''Honestly... You shouldn't be so carefree and reckless, Slingby. Were all the souls successfully collected?''

''Yep... It's not like me to fail a mission, boss. You know it.''

''Whoa, Eric, you are amazing!'' Alan finally interfered.

''You're just figuring that out?'' He asked teasingly. ''Anyway, you'll be just like me someday.''

Alan blushed slightly.'''That's... That's nice of you to say, Eric... I truly wish I were like you.''

''Enough with the babbling. Slingby, you have a dangerous mission to take on tomorrow. Go take some rest and prepare yourself.''

''D-Dangerous!? Eric?'' Alan asked, a worried look in his eyes.

''Don't worry, I love danger, and it obviously loves me back. I'll go now. Take care, Alan.'' He took his scythe and gently patted Alan's back, before heading towards his dorm room.

''William... What kind of dangerous mission does Eric have to take out?''

''Well... The chances of a demon appearing on stage are high.'' He adjusted his glasses again as he spoke.

''Demon?'' He sounded horrified, but he looked down. ''Eric...''

The next day, Eric was already gone when Alan came to his office. Since all he had to do was paperwork, he released a soft sigh, hoped that his coworker will come back soon, and started to work on his papers.

Meanwhile, William T. Spears entered Grell Sutcliff's office, who also had paperwork to do. However, this reaper was painting his fingernails black, instead of doing his work.

''Grell Sutcliff. What are you doing?'' William asked as soon as he closed the office door.

''W-Will!'' Grell exclaimed as he fell off of his chair in surprise. He also spilled the painting all over his desk, and he widened his eyes at the sight.

William sighed heavily, adjusting his glasses. ''Honestly... All you think about is how to neglect your work. Putting that aside, has Slingby returned already?''

''Eric? No, I don't think I saw him today. Why?''

''He went off to collect a soul this morning. I want you to go together with Ronald Knox and search for him. Honestly... All of you know nothing but how to cause trouble.''

''With Ronald? Me? Why can't I go by myself!?''

''I knew it!'' Alan appeared from behind the door. ''Eric's in trouble. I'm going to help him.'' He said as he took his scythe and exited the office.

''Hey, wait! Don't go without me, I don't want to stay here and work on these boring papers!'' Grell also took his Death Scythe as he got up, and ran off after Alan. Upon being left alone, William sighed once again. ''Honestly... This Dispatch just cannot run smoothly, can it?''

''Eric!'' Alan called out while running on the streets of London, looking everywhere for the blonde reaper.

''Wait for me!'' Gell Sutcliff appeared from behind, finally catching up with the brown-haired reaper. ''Don't be so reckless, damn it!''

''But I have to look for Eric. Eric! Eric, where are you?'' Suddenly, the reapers heard some noises, as if someone was fighting. Alan pointed to where the sounds came from and ran off towards that place.

''Eric!'' He called out once again as he saw Eric laying on the floor with his Death Scythe beside him, his left arm covered in blood. Alan knelt beside him and helped him up. ''Eric! What happened?''

''Alan! What the hell are you doing here!? Run, it's too dangerous!'' Soon, he felt that someone was behind him, like a cold shadow.

''I won't run away! I will protect you!'' He replied as he turned around, only to see a black figure. His face was covered in blood, and he was just about to attack the reaper with his sharp claws when Eric yelled out, ''Alan!'' and tackled him to the ground, the claws hitting him instead.

''Eric!'' Alan yelled as he laid the other male against the ground carefully. Just then, Grell Sutcliff's voice echoed, ''Hey, this isn't fair! Grell wants to play too~!'' He said as he made his appearance jumping around and swinging his Death Scythe towards the black person.

''Now there's three of them?'' He muttered as he managed to disappear before he would end up stabbed by the redhead.

''T'ch. How boring... The hurricane of love scared him and he got away. I should be more gentle with shy ones.''

''Eric...'' Alan whispered, desperate to help him. ''Why?... Why!?''

''You idiot... I told you to run away... I didn't want you to see me in a non awesome scene like this, but I suppose it couldn't be helped.'' Eric stated in a hoarse whisper, before closing his eyes and falling unconscious.

Slowly opening his eyes, Eric noticed that he was in his dorm room. Looking around, he couldn't see anything that would remind him of what happened. Except for his Death Scythe. Soon after, the door opened and Alan came in, smiling widely. ''You're finally awake, aren't you, Eric?'' He asked cheerfully, taking a seat at the edge of the bed.

''Alan... I'm sorry I disappointed you... And you almost got hurt. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt right in front of my eyes.''

''What do you mean? Oh, I guess you hurt your head when Grell Sutcliff tackled you... But it's alright, you don't have to be sorry for anything. All you did was beat that demon and prove how truly amazing you are, as always.

Eric blinked several times, not knowing what to believe. Didn't he lose to the demon? Didn't Alan almost get hurt? Or... Did Alan admit that it happened another way, just for his sake? He didn't know, but he was happy. ''Alan... Thank you..'' He whispered softly, pulling himself up and leaning his head against the wall. Gently wrapping an arm around the younger reaper's neck, Eric pulled him closer as he leaned in and pressed their lips together in a simple, innocent kiss. Breaking the kiss after a few moments, Eric smiled softly at the other, releasing his hold on Alan's neck.

Alan simply stared at the other, his mind still processing what happened. He couldn't believe that the reaper just kissed him... He /did/ kiss him, didn't he? ''Eric... What-''

''Shhh... Don't say anything.'' Eric cut him off as he gave him another kiss, just a more deep and passionate one. The reaper wasn't the kind to ever let his feelings show, but he decided to pour all of them into this kiss. Despite the fact that he used to act coldly towards everyone, he secretly cared for them, especially for Alan.