A/N Challenge fic for Cerulean City. The challenge was "The Grim Reaper has fallen in love."

edit: 10/05/12

danielle greaves is dead.

"So you've come to whisk her away," Olive Muenda said as she pointed to the meteorite that crushed her pizza deliverer's body. The Grim Reaper nodded, and Olive stared at his ethereal form with wondrous eyes. She sighed. "What's it like to meet new people every day? Is it fun to reap their souls and send them off to wherever souls are supposed to go?"

The Grim Reaper shrugged. Olive frowned.

"Is that all you have for me?" she asked. She yawned. "You must live a boring life, Mr. Grim Reaper."

He didn't speak. It wasn't in his place to speak. But he wanted to.

For once, there was someone who didn't look upon him in fear. He was constantly perceived as the villain, but all he was doing was what he was created to do.

He was convinced Olive Muenda knew that too.

earl e. demise is dead.

"I hate him," Olive whispered, her rubber-gloved hands trembling violently as she dropped the dripping electric cord onto the floor. She glanced into the darkness of the Grim Reaper, her face still stained with tears. "He shouldn't have left me. He shouldn't have left me. I loved him. I didn't want to do this. But he left me no choice."

The Grim Reaper did nothing. Olive released a bitter laugh.

"That's so typical of you, Mr. Grim Reaper," she said coldly. "You don't have emotions, do you?"

He did nothing.

"You don't know what it's like to lose something, do you?"

He did nothing.

Olive wiped her puffy red eyes and sucked in a staggering breath. "Could I…could I touch your scythe?"

He let her.

tim lee demise, seth zaidi and patrick jones are dead.

"They knew too much."

Olive sighed and gazed into his dark hood. "You do too," she said. "But you can't kill me, now can you?"

His convictions were true. Something inside him clicked.

melissa sims is dead.

She chuckled to herself in amusement. "I guess this means I have the power to summon you whenever I want."

He wasn't sure if he cared or not.

lerato and peponi muenda are dead.

She didn't care what she had just done. She didn't care that she had done it to her own flesh and blood. He didn't care, either. It wasn't his job to care. But he knew that it wasn't right.

"I think death in itself isn't what's interesting," Olive said with a playful smirk about her lips.

He shouldn't be drawn to a woman so lethal, so insane. But yet here he was, floating absently while Olive's fingers ran down the handle of his scythe.

When her mortal fingers came in contact with his, it was like a blistering flame stroking subzero ice. "It's watching people die," she continued, smirking. "It's seeing you rip their souls from their bodies."

He didn't like her because she wasn't afraid of him.

"I'm beginning to like you, Mr. Grim Reaper."

It was because Olive DeMise was genuinely intrigued.

jessica ebadi is dead.

Olive marveled at him while placing a hand to her hip. Her mouth opened slightly as she cocked it to one side. "Is she fascinating enough for you, Mr. Grim Reaper?"

He shook his head.

Her eyes flickered in awe. "Am I?"

He did nothing. Olive smiled.

benjamin cho is dead.

Her garden was expanding.

"Look at this," she said with a content sigh. Olive pondered over the rows and rows of tombstones that were littered with dead flowers. "The lives I killed and the souls you claimed, all in one convenient little lot."

Olive did a twirl and fell on onto the yellowing grass.

"We make a great team, you and I."

rigger mortis is dead.

Her hand reached out to touch his hood, but the Grim Reaper placed his cold fingers over hers.

"I'm not allowed to see your face?" she asked slowly, her lips curling downward. Olive retracted her hand, releasing a deep breath. "I did it for the money, you know," she said curtly. "Shouldn't you know that by now?"

Olive's hand reached out for his hood once more. He remained motionless as her fingers wrapped against his hood, pulling it away from his face and revealing his true appearance. He watched her eyes and begged that she would not be terrified. Her eyes reflected something, but it wasn't fear. Her eyes reflected something similar…something he had seen from afar.

They were the same eyes she had given Earl. E. DeMise after he had stolen her first kiss.

vicki sims is dead.

"I'd kill for you."

lyla grunt is dead.

He wished she'd kill more.

lou and hugh thanasia are dead.

"You don't have emotions, do you?" she crooned. Olive's arms were wrapped around his hood, and her face was nearly pressed against his own. Her mouth twisted into a seductive grin. "Why don't I test it out?"

knut futa and luc smith are dead.

"He's yours," she told him quietly. Olive was dressed in swimwear as she rubbed her bulging belly. She waded her feet in the water as two floating bodies drifted along the pool. She smiled an authentic smile, and she glanced above at the sunset-streaked sky. "Go on," Olive said softly. "Feel him kicking."

The Grim Reaper hovered towards Olive and sat beside her. He outstretched a chilling palm and placed it delicately on her exposed stomach. Olive shut her eyes and shuddered. A tender sigh escaped her lips.

"You can feel him, can't you?" Olive opened her eyes and turned to smile at him. He cursed himself for caring for someone so mortal like her.

ichabod specter is dead.

He had watched from afar: their kisses, their embraces, their lust-filled eyes. He was infuriated when the death of the man was not by her hand, but of natural causes.

"I was going to do it if nature hadn't done it for me."

He didn't know if he believed her.

creon and willow nigmos are dead.

"I didn't do it because I wanted my niece to live with me," she said, her voice firm. "I can live alone, even though it hurts that my only son was taken from me."

Olive's eyes traced onto the floor, and her flaming mortal hand intertwined with his arctic, skeletal fingers. He remained motionless as his gaze remained focused on her hand.

"I did it so that I could see you."

She knew that he believed her.

ophelia nigmos is dead.

Olive's face was drained of its color, and her eyes were wide.

"That was an accident," she whispered, her mouth quivering at the last word. This time when she looked at him, her face expressed genuine fear. Something panged inside him as he stared back into her eyes. He watched as the color returned to Olive's face. Her expression softened.

Olive stood up and sashayed as close as she could to the Grim Reaper. She leaned towards him, her mouth near his hood. "I can't believe you would think that," she said quietly, sadly. "Never, ever think that. I couldn't be afraid of you. But for once…" Olive shed a single tear. "I'm afraid of what I have done."

This time, it was his hand that clasped over hers.

olive specter is dead.

He didn't think it was selfish to want her soul all to himself.

fin.