Work Text:
Bad Day (a Grelliam fic) by Shadow Wolfhawk
Fandom: Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji)
Pairing: Grelliam (Grelle Sutcliff/William T. Spears)
William lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. His alarm clock had gone off nearly a half an hour ago, but he could not bring himself to get up. He would be late for work at this point, but for once, he did not care too much about that. He rolled over onto his side and pulled his blankets up around his shoulders. That familiar quivering in his chest started up again and he could feel it traveling up to his throat. There was a pressure under his eyes, which he attempted to blink away, but only succeeded in releasing the moisture that had been building there. He tightened the blankets around him, pulling his knees to his chest and tucking into a fetal position.
This was going to be a bad one…
Before his emotions had a chance to explode, he picked up his phone from his bedside table and sent a message to his secretary.
‘Vera, it’s me. I’m not going to be at the office today.’
The girl was no doubt already wide awake, as a response was immediate. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Not really… Just tell Bridges that I’ll be working from home.’ There was a long pause, as though she was trying to decide how to respond. After a moment, his phone rang and Vera’s name appeared on the screen. “Hello, Vera.”
“What’s wrong, Uncle Will?” she asked, clearly concerned.
William tried to keep his voice from shaking as he responded, “I just need a day away from the office.”
She was quiet for a moment, clearly registering the quality of his voice. It was not his usual strong, commanding tone, but more quiet and meek. “One of those days?” she asked, gently.
“Yes.” At least he would not have to explain himself to her.
“Do you need anything?” She was trying not to sound worried.
“No, sweetheart – I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. I’ll check-in later. Try and relax.”
After saying their good-byes and hanging-up, William set his phone back on the table and readjusted the blankets around his shoulders. He felt the bed shift, slightly, before feeling something soft brush against his chin. Tiny puffs of air hit his skin as he looked down at the little, tan ball of fur, sniffing at its master. Large brown, watery eyes looked at his in confusion, wondering why the man was not out of bed, yet. The reaper snaked one hand out of the blankets and scratched the hare’s ears, causing the animal to hop closer and huddle against his master’s face, knowing that something was wrong.
“Let’s go get you something to eat,” the man whispered, after a while.
He sat up, slowly and swung his legs over the side of the bed. After slipping his feet into the slippers on the floor, he stood and pulled on the robe that was laying across the foot of the bed. His crocheted blanket was wrapped around his shoulders after he had put on his glasses. He picked up the lagomorph and carried him from the room and down the hall to the kitchen. Setting March down on the island countertop, he moved about the kitchen, gathering the animal’s food dish and filling it with his favorite fruits and vegetables. He set the food, along with some water, on the floor and set the hare down so he could eat. As the animal munched away on his breakfast, William looked at the clock and saw it was nearly eight o’clock. He looked down the hall, wondering why he had not heard his flatmate yet that morning. He should have been up and heading to work by now.
He walked down to the door across from his and knocked. After three knocks and no answer, he opened the door and looked in. The thick red curtains were drawn and the light in the corner opposite the door was dimmed. Looking over at the red covered bed, he saw a scene similar to the one in his own bedroom that morning. The Somali was curled up next to the massive red mane, the tip of his tail tapping patiently against the blankets, as a soft comforting purr echoed through the room. As William walked over to the bed, the cat looked at him with a soft “Mrrw…”
The elder reaper touched the redhead’s shoulder and gently shook him. “Go away…” The voice was muffled by the comforter and sounded as broken as his own.
“Sutcliff?” William’s voice was soft and concerned.
The younger reaper shuffled down under his blankets, as though trying to distance himself from the other. “Go away, Will…” he repeated.
The sniffle did not go unnoticed. William sat down on the bed and reached out to gently touch the tangled red mass peaking up from the covers. “Grelle – you need to get ready for work. You’ll be late.”
“I’m not going.”
“Grelle, look at me.” After some hesitation, the redhead did so, green eyes glistening with tears. He saw that his supervisor was not dressed for work either and looked at him questioningly. “You, too?” Grelle’s lower lip quivered as he nodded. William adjusted the comforter around his partner and patted his shoulder. He stood up and went to the door. “Fss-fss-fss,” he hissed softly, looking back at the bed and was answered by the jingling of the cat’s collar as he jumped down and followed him out into the hall.
After stopping off in his room to send another message to Vera that Grelle would be out for the day as well, he went back to the kitchen and fed the feline rubbing around his ankles. As he put on a pot of coffee, he heard a soft shuffling coming up behind him and turned to see Grelle, wrapped in his red comforter, padding into the kitchen. His hair was a mess and his freckled face devoid of make-up – a far cry from his usual, pristine appearance. His eyes were red and puffy from the tears he’d been shedding that morning. He shuffled around the animals on the floor and over to his flatmate, laying his head against William’s chest with a sniffle. William wrapped his arms around the redhead, silently holding him, resting his cheek against Grelle’s brow.
Neither of them spoke a word, each taking a cup of coffee back down the hall to their bedrooms. William waited outside his door as Grelle retrieved his own robe and put it on, wrapping himself in the comforter again, pulling it over his head like a hood, and went back out to the brunet. The older reaper allowed to the younger to walk into his room and settle down on the bed and climbed in beside him. They sat beside each other, quietly sipping at their coffee, the silence occasionally punctuated a sniffle or whimper from either of them. Grelle draped one end of his comforter over William and nestled closer to him and was welcomed with a warm arm around his waist. Both hands wrapped around his coffee mug, he laid his head against William’s strong shoulder, allowing his tears to flow down his face. He felt a light squeeze around his middle and huddled closer.
Grelle hated these days. While he had William with him this time around, these particular days were horrible. Contrary to popular belief – suicide led to an awful afterlife. Rookie reapers learned that soon enough. They were taught that this was a punishment, even though it seemed more like a second chance to some. The long hours, watching people die, the soul collections, and the seemingly endless paperwork were only part of it. There were some things that they did not learn at the academy. They learned along the way that all of the sadness, pain, and anger that led them to their choice did not go away as they had hoped. Instead, it only intensified. All reapers experienced days like this, where all they could do was sit and dwell on their pain. No one spoke about it – but there seemed to be a quiet understanding amongst them to not bother each other on those days. They would offer comfort to their friends – sometimes it was welcomed, other times not – but no one would try to force them out of their funk or yell at them to suck it up and do their job. Even William “stick-up-his-arse” Spears (as some called him) would not pressure his reapers when they were going through it. In fact – as his own off-days were quite terrible – he seemed to be the most understanding of the managers and would sometimes let his reapers go home, finishing their collections himself. It was the one instance where he did not mind doing overtime.
At some point, their half-empty coffee mugs ended up on the nightstand and the two reapers were cuddled up under the pile of blankets on the bed. William’s puffy eyes fluttered open and found the smaller male wrapped up in his arms and curled tightly against him. The brunet sniffed and brushed his cheek against Grelle’s mane, brushing off a tear. Grelle looked up at the movement. Normally, he would have been wiggling and squealing like a silly school girl at finding himself in his not-so-secret crush’s arms, but his mood would not allow for it at the moment.
William reached up and brushed away the tear track on the redhead’s cheek with his thumb and let his fingers tuck the thick mane back behind his ear. They were silent until their stomachs rumbled at the same time, reminding them that neither of them had eaten since last evening.
“Do you want some breakfast?” William asked, his voice tired and shaky. The younger hesitated a moment before nodding, not trusting himself to talk. “Alright.” The brunet instinctively kissed his partner’s forehead and disentangled himself from is embrace. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a moment.” He slid out of the bed and pulled the blankets up over the smaller reaper.
He took their coffee cups back to the kitchen and reheated them as he set to cooking a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and a few slices of bacon. Placing the food and coffee on a tray, he took it back to the bedroom, the animals following along behind. He placed the tray on the bed and crawled back in beside the redhead, who sat up and accepted his plate with a quiet ‘Thank you.’ Their meal was eaten in silence, except for the occasional begging ‘meow’ from Cheshire as he sniffed at the bacon.
The two reapers cleaned up their dishes and returned to bed, snuggling each other as their tears returned to the surface. The silence was broken as Grelle suddenly started sobbing, unable to keep it back anymore. William pulled his partner closer, wrapping his arms around him.
“Shhh…” he said, even as his own voice was breaking. “It’s alright.” He stroked the red mane and rubbed comforting circles on the smaller man’s back. “It’s alright, Grelle… Shhh…”
“Willy…” the redhead whimpered, clutching the front of William’s robe.
They could only hold each other, trying to calm the other while they rode out their own emotions. Eventually, their sobs wore them out and they drifted off to sleep again.
It was late-afternoon when the two reapers awoke again. They were drained from the morning and continued to lay in bed for a while, seeking comfort from each other and the warm blankets. Grelle lay his forehead against William’s lips as he picked absently at the fabric of the brunet’s pajama top. The older reaper placed soft, pecking kisses on the younger’s head, occasionally drawing in deep shuddering breaths and he took in the other male’s comforting scent. He swallowed, tightly, nuzzling the smaller reaper’s mane. The redhead sighed, quietly, snuggling closer to William.
“Feeling any better?” the brunet whispered. The other shrugged with a small whimper. William planted a soft, lingering kiss on Grelle’s brow. “Let’s go out to the living room. We’ve already spent the day in bed.”
Grelle shook his head. “Cozy…” He felt the older male smile against his hair.
“We can be cozy out in the living room – alright?”
Grelle groaned and cuddled closer. William slid out of his embrace and sat up. Slipping out of bed, he stood and wrapped the redhead up in his red coverlet and the grey one from the bed. He scooped his bundle up in his arms, the smaller reaper’s arm sliding out of his cocoon and up around his partner’s neck. He was carried out into the living room, where he was placed on the couch. The other sat down beside the younger male and the two arranged themselves under the blankets, with William reclining back in the corner of the sofa as Grelle lay on his chest. The brunet picked up the control from the table and flicked on the screen across the room. Finding nothing of interest on, he left it on a documentary station, though neither of them was paying much attention to the programs. Grelle dozed as his partner absently toyed with his red mane, idly watching the cat and the hare play on the floor.
William turned to look at the front door as he heard the lock turn over. The door opened and his young secretary walked in. Seeing him on the couch she smiled.
“Hi, Uncle Will,” she said. “How are you doing?”
“A little better,” he replied, his voice breaking a little. Grelle shifted on his chest, with a small groan. Vera giggled at seeing her adopted uncle snuggling with the redhead. “Hush, you,” he smirked. Looking past her, he saw three more reapers shuffle in behind her. He raised an eyebrow at the girl. “Vera, what have I told you about bringing home strays?”
“Oy!” Ronald Knox said, slightly offended.
“Well,” William sighed, “don’t just stand in the doorway. Come in.”
Vera walked over and hugged him as Ronald walked in, followed by Alan Humphries and Eric Slingby, who closed the door behind him. The three males had been to their superior’s apartment only once or twice in the past, but immediately made themselves at home. Eric was elbowed in the ribs by Alan as he looked at the mass of red cuddled on top of their boss, and covered his snicker by clearing his throat and looking around, eyes falling on the far corner.
“Bar open?” he asked, pointing to the isolated counter.
“Whatever you finish, you replace,” William told him.
The Scotsman gave a half salute and went over to pour a few drinks. Vera disappeared down the hall, briefly, and returned with a red hair brush. William took the tool from her and gently began brushing the messy red mane in front of him. The motions woke Grelle from his slumber and he smiled slightly at the brunet, sitting up to make it easier for William to use the brush. While Eric and Ronald sat in the living room, making small talk with the two senior reapers, Vera and Alan went into the kitchen with the grocery sacks they had brought with them. The Somali sat on the counter, pestering Alan for food and attention, while the hare hopped around Vera’s feet, looking for dropped vegetables from the plates. The two reapers took the food into the living room on trays and set them on the coffee table. There was an easy flow of conversation that followed as the little group sat and enjoyed their food and beverages. Grelle snuggled down against William, feeding a small piece of carrot to the patient hare on the floor before feeding one to the brunet. The supervisor chuckled before nibbling the vegetable out of the younger’s fingers.
As the two drifted in and out of sleep and emotional surges, Vera sat on the floor in front of them, her hand resting over their joined ones on the cushion. While William slept, Ronald scooted over next to Vera, putting his arm across the back of her shoulders to rest his hand over hers. Eric and Alan moved closer to the two sleeping reapers as well, the Scotsman wrapping his arms around his partner as they sat on the floor. Not to be left out, March and Cheshire hopped up onto the couch and cuddled close to their owners.
There was not much said that evening as the younger reapers sat and kept watch over their seniors.
Umm… yeah. That’s it. Vent fic brought on by the lousy day I had. Hope you enjoyed.