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“Adrian look!” The excited voice of his wife meet his ears as he turned to look at her beaming face, hand thrust out in front of her clutching a small bird in her hands. “it must have fallen from it’s nest, poor thing never stood a chance” she cooed over the limp bird.
Adrian couldn’t help but chuckle, “your distracted again love” raising his hand to gesture to the scene around them. The garden had once been beautiful there was no doubt about that, with it’s winding stone paths between stone pillars and the desiccated remains of grand floral arrangements. But fire had ravaged the place, leaving its residence charred both plant and human alike.
“Oh please,” scoffed Grell, “they’re already dead it’s not like they’re going anywhere”
“you have a time table to keep” he tried, “and I don’t want to see you relegated to desk duty again.” The problem with desk duty and Grell was that his wife was an active creature, and if not allowed enough room to stretch her wings she would resort to any number of things to relive herself, not that he minded, but dispatch was not so understanding.
“Fine” she huffed, drooping the small body underfoot and turning to what had been the residence of the garden, three bodies so far blackened you could not tell man from woman sat slumped in there thin metal chairs staring eyeless and vacant out at one another. With swift efficiency Grell swung her scythe and severed the souls of all three. “One more stop and then we are free for the day!” she exclaimed swinging around to grin at him and then dart off in the direction of her next assignment.
Adrian stood as he watched her leap from the garden wall, arms spread wide in the fading afternoon light, a vision in red, he would never admit it to her but this was one of his favorite pastimes, simply watching her in her element, free and happy. He could still recall the look of horror when he had asked her to be his wife,
“But Undy!” Grell exclaimed in distress “Me in white, could you even imagine?”
Once he had assured her that the clolour of her dress was of no consequence they had married quietly a month later.
“Undy hurry our I’ll beat you” Grells voice snapped him out of his reverie as he watched her head pop up just over the out garden wall, “stop brooding and race me you old fart!” Adrian felt an answering smile fill his face as he set to chase after her.
The rest of the afternoon went quickly, the souls of the poor family trapped within there upturned carriage where collected with only a little fussing and Adrian only had to use a small bribe (the promise of a new frock coat in the newest style that had caught Grells eye in a shop window last week) ensure Grell took her days collection to Head Quarters and filled out the appropriate paperwork.
𐂯⋆₊ ♱𐂯⋆₊ ♱𐂯⋆₊ ♱
When Adrian first Grell it had been in his shop all those years ago, the false earl and his pet had come to him for some reason or another, and he had been disinclined to help, however this time they had brought a menagerie of new faces with them. The late Madame Red had been a pathetic excuse of a woman and her incompetent butler even more of a waist of human life, except that she wasn’t human, and far more intriguing than she had lead on. No matter how hard he tried, Adrian had been unable to ignore her. Grell had seemed to follow him, or perhaps she followed the deamon who followed Adrian, and so she unintentionally followed him as well. Regardless of the reason he was enamored by her brightness, both in dress and soul. When to two of them finally had the chance to cross scythes aboard the Campania his fate had been sealed and his heart stolen for the second time in his existence.
After there battle Adrian began doing everything in his power to put himself in her orbit, at first he tried to make it seem unintentional, just simple happenstance, however he quickly had to give up the ruse, Grell was much more perceptive than she seemed.
“Your following me” Grells scythe rest against Adrian’s throat, he hadn’t seen her move.
“Ah ha ha, it seems I’ve been caught” Adrian raised his hands in deference and shrugged as he looked up into her sharp eyes, the night air swirled around them stirring the damp forest leaves at their feet. The bodies of her newest assignment bobbed passively in the river behind them, a silent audience to their dance.
“Why” she asked with a pout “I’m just a woman, alone, trying to do my job, and here you are” she spun away from him her scythe nicking the soft skin of his neck, “watching me, whats a girl to think” she teased.
“Easy” Adrian answered, “your the most interesting thing I’ve meet in the past century and a half”
“Flatterer”
“It’s not flattery if it’s true”
“Hmph,” she lowered her scythe and cocked her hip as she stared him down “that doesn’t answer my question, what do you want
“I want to know you” Adrian said with a smile “I want to take you apart, find out all the things that make you tick, and then put you back together again, I want to make you mine”
“so forward!” Grell cried out, despite her protests a grin stretched it’s way across her face. “I’m not sure if that’s the most disturbing thing someones ever said to me, or the most romantic.”
“Why not both?” Adrian asked, “Grell, you excite me in a way that makes me crave more, let me know you”
Grell stared him down her eyes racked across his face, he felt more exposed than he had in years, he never wanted it to end. “say please” she said breaking her silence. “I will let you take me out on a date, a real date” she said eyes narrowing “one with wine and flowers and candlelight, but first you have to ask politely”
Adrian returned her gaze “please”
Grells smile eclipsed the moon above them.
𐂯⋆₊ ♱𐂯⋆₊ ♱𐂯⋆₊ ♱
“Undy!~” Grell called from their bedroom, “I have absolutely nothing to wear” he could hear the pout in her voice from the kitchen of their flat.
“You have three closets my love” he called back “You have more clothes than I have owned in my entire existence”
“yes but I have nothing to wear” Grell said as she rounded the corner into the kitchen her arms crossed over her chest and a pout on her lips. She wore her favorite sleep set of red silk and lace, it was Adrian’s favorite too.
“wear that” he said cheekily leering at his wife’s willowy frame
“ugh! You are incorrigible” she cried shoving his shoulder in feigned annoyance, I cannot wear my pajamas to the Reaper Ball”
Right, that’s what this was about, the Reaper Ball, an event held every 25 years as a way to honor the most decorated and prestigious reapers in all of Head Quarters. Adrian had not been invited for over 115 years, not after the incident of 1795, he stilled maintained that it wasn’t his fault. He was honestly surprised that they where holding it this year, what with all the killing the humans had been up to recently, something to do with a German chap, what was his name again? Adler? Arnold? Something like that.
“what did you wear last time?” he asked
“I can’t wear what I wore last time!” Grell cried affronted, “I already wore it! And besides the fashions have changed so much in 25 years”
Adrian sighed, he knew there was only one outcome from this situation, “I suppose you have to buy something new then”
“Oh Undy really!” Grell cried, as if that hadn’t been her angle all along, “could we possibly afford it?”
Adrian just sent her a look and pulled out his purse, “here, don’t spend it all in one place”
“Your not coming with me?”
“Do you need me to go with you?”
“Well I just thought we could make a day out of it,” Grell said turning her pleading eyes on him, that witch, she knew he was weak to her puppy eyes.
“If that’s what you really want”
“Yes! Let me get changed and then we can head out!” Grell flounced her way back into the bedroom her adjective achieved and her mood buoyed.
𐂯⋆₊ ♱𐂯⋆₊ ♱𐂯⋆₊ ♱
Adrian watched as Grell spun and sparkled across the dance floor, the crimson beads of her newly acquired dress flashed in the low light. He pulled at the tight collar of his suite wishing for the umpteenth time that she had not convinced him to come as her plus one. He had tried to extrapolate on the incident of 1795 but Grell being Grell had somehow managed to talk his way into the party under the strict promise he would not touch any of the refreshments.
“I can’t believe they let you in here”
Adrian whipped his head to see the face of Ronald Knox beside his left shoulder, “Grell has a way with words” he offered in explanation
“yes she does,” Ronald chuckled, “are you not going to dance with your wife?”
“I don’t dance” Adrian responded sharply,
“what a pity, I would have loved to watch” Ronald chuckled “The great Undertaker, brought low by the foxtrot”
“you are far to comfortable around me” Adrian mused, “I cleaned your entire department thirty years ago, you should remember that”
“oooh spooky,” Ronald replied, far to flippantly for Adrian’s liking, “You let me live, and I think I know why” Ronald’s eyes traveled across the room to where Grell was animatedly attempting to teach William T. Spears how to do the samba to very limited success.
“Hmph” Adrian scoffed, “I don’t know what you mean, you where new, you had nothing to do with the corruption, I needed someone to run the place”
“Sure” Ronald consoled, “whatever you say”
Before Adrian could respond a lilting “Undy!~” carried across the room as Grell swiftly mad her way across the floor, the silk skirt kept expertly out from under her heeled feet. “Dance with me!” she cried launching herself into his arms, he own coming to wrap around his neck so she could hang against his chest. “Please, please,please,please~” she begged staring up at him from under her long lashes, “It would make me happy”
“I don’t dance” Adrian repeated down at her
“I can teach you, I taught William and you simply cannot be worse than him”
Adrian sighed deeply through his nose and then met her pleading eyes “If it would make you happy love” he acquiesced
“Yes it would!” Grell cried as she took him by the wrist and dragged him out onto the open floor, leaving a laughing Ronald Knox behind, Adrian had enough time to shoot a sharp glare at the boy, but the effect was lost as his Wife grabbed him by the waist and began to swing them around to the beat of the music. Adrian allowed himself to be pulled along with her, the sound of her laughter more intoxicating than the punch he most definitely did not spike.