Will/Grell, Red Satin Dress, NC-17
Title: Red Satin Dress
Author: Nanaki BH
Pairing: Will/Grell
Words: 5276
Warnings: PWP. Well... there's sort of a plot? It has story!
Summary: William offers to reward Grell if he starts being more conscientious at work. Grell's never had better incentive to be good.
Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji and all related characters and materials are property of Yana Toboso.
I started this thing ages ago and finally went back to finish it now. It's an image I had in my head that would have just been too good to waste. I hope it held up okay, though.;;;
Also now available for reading at FFN, btw!
The weekend was almost upon him. The glorious, blessed weekend. Grell appreciated the weekend because it meant he could spend as long as he pleased cuddling up to his pillow, providing him with some extra hours of well-deserved beauty sleep. It also meant that he would have the opportunity for wonderful weekend shopping. All the shops would have their new items on display by then and he would peruse the racks of clothing for dresses that he thought he’d look best in.
Although... He was usually reduced to that. Just looking. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to afford the pretty things he wanted while paying for all the property damage he did while on the job. (He couldn’t help it if he enjoyed what he did a little too much sometimes.) Even after all these centuries, you’d think he’d have some cash saved up, but after so many changes in currency and the loss in value, it’s not like he ever had that much to even begin with. At the end of the day, he always felt like he was left with a disappointingly small paycheck that was barely enough for some good tea and cake.
He’d tried to be extra good this week, though. After all, William had promised him that if he was good, he’d make it worth his while at the end of the week. And while Grell wasn’t entirely sure what all that entailed, he was sure it was going to be something that he wanted if it was from William. So that week, each of his targets were met and taken care of swiftly, with an air of professionalism. Nothing was damaged and everything was filed properly. He checked through his papers three times just in case because he really didn’t want to mess this up. The last time William offered him anything was...
Well... No, he couldn’t even remember the last time.
He could practically taste his prize already. Manila folder of perfectly organized work under his arm, he made his way off to William’s office. His walk wasn’t so much of a walk or swift step, so much as it was a prance.
Outside one of the office rooms was a typical end-of-the-week sight: Ronald, surrounded by the ladies of the office. He gave a nod and a smirk as Grell passed by. “I see that look on your face, Grell-senpai. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to!”
Grell turned around without stopping to raise an innocent eyebrow at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ronald, dear~ I’m just off to see Will!”
Ronald sighed with a smile, though Grell was already well off on his way again. “Yeah, that’s what I mean...”
In his haste to get to William’s room he nearly bumped into some people rounding the corners on the way there, but he managed to reach the door with everything still intact. Of course, there was still just a little bit of doubt lingering at the back of his mind. Nice things didn’t happen very often for him. Last time he got an offer of something good, it came from that Ciel kid and he didn’t even pay up in the end. (He would be waiting on that kiss from Sebastian, even if it took him another lifetime to get it.)
He knocked softly on the door, hoping that those thoughts were just for nothing. A sharp and impatient “Yes?” came from the other side and nearly made Grell jump. His heart skipped a beat at that; William’s sharp tone of voice always had that sort of an effect on him for some reason. He closed his fingers around the doorknob and let himself in.
It took William but a moment to glance up from his work to realize who was standing in front of his desk. “Ah,” he said softly, calmly returning his eyes to the pages in front of him. “So? Did you actually improve this week or are you just here to inform me of another disappointment?”
Grell’s eyebrows narrowed and he slapped the documents down on top of Will’s things. The surprise on William’s face was replaced with a different sort of surprise as he began to realize what it was he had in front of him now.
“I did like you said,” Grell said proudly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Every record is accounted for and ready for their proper filing in the library. Honestly, you should’ve known you could count on me for such a simple thing... I am a shinigami after all, you know.”
William adjusted his glasses and the initial look of surprise melted into something softer. He opened the folder and thumbed through the pages one at a time. The once confident Grell began to feel a little nervous with his work under the scrutiny of his supervisor, but the oddly fond look on William’s face was somewhat reassuring at the same time.
“Nice,” he said, flipping the folder closed. “Good work.”
“Really~? I-Is William really praising me?” Hands clasped under his chin, Grell leaned in, wanting so badly to hear him say it again and again. “Say it! Say it again~!”
“You did good.”
His heart was about ready to explode from this. It was hard to even recall the last time William had said something so nice. It was either “you idiot!” or “do you know what you’ve cost us?!” or some other thing like that. This was amazing. ...And he hadn’t even received that special something for their deal yet!
Leaning across the desk, Grell quickly staged his attack and moved in for the kill. Pushing up William’s glasses with one hand, he grabbed his chin with the other and dove in for a kiss. His superior’s breath hitched for a second but he quickly relaxed into the kiss and pressed in to return and deepen it.
Grell would’ve been quite happy to sit there like that all day, except for the fact that the desk cutting into his middle was getting a bit uncomfortable and he had to face the need to breathe eventually. He pulled back, pulling air into his lungs and stumbled back a step until he got himself upright again. His lips were still tingling as he pressed his fingers to them.
William pressed down on his tie and tried to recover a little of his dignity after he had fumbled around on his desk to realize a second later that his glasses were perched on the top of his head.
“Well?” Grell asked, leaning a hip against the desk. “You said you’d make it worth my while, didn’t you, big boy? I recall a bargain of some kind being struck between us. And that kiss doesn’t count because I took that one on my own.”
With a sigh, Will straightened everything back up on the desk and carefully put Grell’s things back together off to the side. “I did have an idea for that, actually.” He pushed out from his chair and then pushed it back in when he stood. “Today’s Friday... Would you like to go out?”
A response wasn’t immediate to Grell’s lips when the whole statement caught him so off guard.
“Today, like. Right now? You don’t have anything else to do? I thought you were in the middle of-”
“I’m not going to break off a previous engagement. You did like you promised so, as a result, I have less work. So yes, I’m available. For now. At least enough to go out for the night.”
Grell got closer and tried to move in to see his face, but Will turned away.
“You’re blushing... aren’t you, Will?” The level at which that pleased him totally did not escape his voice.
William cleared his throat and made to grab for his coat at the coat rack. “Is it too warm out for an extra layer still?” His words hung a little awkwardly at the end, long enough for Grell to perceive the unsaid explanation of “I haven’t been out much lately to know.”
He shook his head and linked one of his arms with William’s tightly, practically dragging him out the door. “The weather’s only just started to change, so you’ll be fine. Besides, you’ve got me to snuggle up to if you get cold. Don’t forget, kay?”
There wasn’t even any room for objections as the redhead swung them out the door. Naturally, they received a lot of looks on the way out of the building; none of which made Grell feel uncomfortable at all, but had William turning a bright shade of tomato. When Ronald saw them leaving he couldn’t even resist the need to tell William-senpai how well the color red suited him. Grell agreed without a second thought, but Will had his face buried in his shoulder then for the rest of the way.
Their arms were still linked by the time they reached the London sidewalks, even after a few of Will’s halfhearted attempts to disentangle himself from the other Shinigami’s lovelock. At work was one thing (not that walking around with Grell clinging to him around the workplace was much better, but) being seen out with him felt like a much different thing.
He started to steer them in one direction, destination already set in mind. It was hard to go anywhere and not attract some attention like this, though. Although, the attention seemed to be stemmed more from confusion and curiosity than from anything else. With his delicate face (shark teeth aside) and long red hair, Grell’s appearance could be a little confusing to some. If it weren’t for the minimal dress code stipulations that he was forced to abide by, Grell would have probably been dressing a lot differently and no one would’ve been able to notice anything out of the ordinary at all.
A young woman passed by with narrowed eyes, obviously taking a hard gander at the redhead attached to Will’s arm. It was tough to decide what a look like that meant.
“Tch. I bet that bitch wouldn’t know what love looked like if it hit her right in the face,” Grell remarked, even though she was probably still within earshot. That was neither here nor there to him, of course.
“Love, hm?” William murmured distantly.
“Yep!” Grell beamed and pressed his cheek up against Will’s shoulder. “William’s my favorite, you know~ Besides, she was totally jealous anyway. I know I can’t let you out of my sight or other girls like her would be all over you.”
“Don’t cling too tightly, then. I don’t want to have to get you out of any catfights.”
“Nope. I’m ~stuck ~on ~you.”
William completely knew where he wanted to take Grell for his reward. At the time when he came up with his idea and made the offer, he hadn’t really thought Grell would come through. It was sort of a first. But, he supposed, if there was good enough incentive, then Grell could come through for just about any situation. Thing was, having not really expected it to happen, William hadn’t realized that he’d really be going through with this as well.
And that’s why he felt a hint of nervous apprehension when he stopped them outside of the dress parlor.
He could sense Grell trying to contain his excitement from a block away, but when he really stopped them in front of the place, it just exploded. He rushed up to the window and gazed starry-eyed over the dresses in the window.
“They put up new ones already!” he exclaimed with his palms up against the windowpane. “I didn’t think they’d be out until tomorrow...”
William couldn’t deny that they were all quite lovely (the ones in the front, at least,) but Grell seemed to have naturally gravitated toward one he preferred the most already. He was the kind of person who knew what he liked and he liked red.
“You know they have more inside, don’t you?” he wondered out loud.
“But this one is just so...!” He peered into the store and immediately lost his train of thought.
So easily distracted, William thought with a sigh. Yet, there was something that made him feel good about making Grell happy. Truth be told, it wasn’t that hard to make Grell happy, but it was nonetheless worth it. It was a nice break to go out with him like this for a change anyway. Not that he’d admit it, unless he wanted to have him dragging him off to do things like this every weekend, though.
“This one, Will! Or... No, this one!” Will feared that the store was going to end up in a state of destruction with the way Grell was going from one rack of clothes to the next, picking out this thing and that.
The woman behind the register had the decency to look concerned, but a refined-looking older man, who he assumed to be the owner, stepped over to intervene in Grell’s mayhem.
“Ah... sir?” Whether he was addressing him or questioning whether he misspoke was questionable. When Grell didn’t respond to that, Will decided to put the man out of his misery by responding for him.
“Please pardon my... girlfriend. We’re dress-shopping.”
At first confused, it looked like the man came to a conclusion and he brightened up immediately. “Ah, of course! A beautiful young lady such as she deserves to be wearing something much more suited to her figure. Will she be needing any measurements taken?”
However, Grell had paused in his searching to stare, mouth agape at William when he heard the word “girlfriend” used.
“Have you found anything to your liking yet, Grell?” he asked, glaring daggers; a silent plea to keep him from saying anything stupid.
Grell’s mouth shut immediately and he pointed to the mannequin in front of the window that he had been interested in earlier. “That one, if you could? The red one with the black lace. It’s perfect.”
“Ah...” The owner’s eyes followed Grell’s gesture and he frowned slightly. “You have magnificent taste, madam, but I’m not sure if we have that particular dress in a size that will fit your... bust.”
“I can tighten it from the back, can’t I?”
“Well I... suppose that would work. I suggest you try it on to be sure.”
Not to be stopped, Grell nodded triumphantly. “That’s what I’ll do then.”
“Right away,” the man said, nodding politely. The girl from behind register came around the counter to retrieve the dress from the mannequin’s form and the owner sped off to open the fitting room for their customer.
When the woman brought the dress over to the fitting room, she stood for a moment holding it, looking at Grell expectantly. He raised an eyebrow and she explained. “I’ll help you put it on.” An awkward red spread over Grell’s cheeks and he snatched the dress away from her instead.
“I can handle it myself!”
“O-of course!” she stammered. “If you need any help...” She bowed and returned quickly to where she’d been.
William had to feel a little bad for her. He would have felt worse if she’d helped Grell only to discover what she was getting herself into by doing so, though. He probably wasn’t what they would consider their “usual” customer in the least. Though, he had to wonder how they’d been fooled at all when Grell wasn’t even attempting make himself sound less than masculine. It was a wonder.
Once Grell disappeared behind the curtains, William was left to look around the store by himself and act like the doting boyfriend he had apparently become for the day. It was nice that he didn’t have to act all that much different than he usually did under any normal circumstances, he realized. Grell was still his insufferable partner, whether he treated him like a woman or not. In this situation at least, thinking of him as a 'she' actually made things seem easier.
About then, he realized that he was standing in front of a mannequin, imagining that its dress with all its satin and lace would look nice on Grell. He cocked his head to the side.
“William~”
His attention was drawn back to the sound of Grell’s voice, more like a whisper, from behind the fitting room curtains. He had his hand poked out from between them, waving for him to come over. William sighed heavily, but obliged, moving over to the curtains.
“Don’t tell me. You need my help.”
Grell poked his head out and smiled up at him innocently. “Could you? I tried, but I can’t get the back. You have to lace it up. And there’s no mirror, so you have to tell me what you think.”
William invited himself into the cramped room, but wasn’t prepared for what he’d see. Rather, he knew what sight to expect, but his body wasn’t completely prepared for it - especially considering that his reaction was one that made his heart speed up until it made his throat go dry.
“Hmmmm~ Don’t tell me it’s bad before you lace it up, alright? Give it a chance.”
“I... wasn’t going to say that at all, actually.”
When Grell was about to turn around to look at him, evidently confused, William tugged on the lowest laces to keep him looking forward. He placed his palm at the small of his back; both to steady the lacing and to keep Grell from looking at him. The laces felt smooth between his fingers and he pulled each one tightly until they snugly crisscrossed over each other. As he made his way higher, he brushed Grell’s hair to the side and over one of his slender shoulders.
Gently, he spread his hands down over Grell's chest to bring the looser fabric at the front together at the back, which of course elicited a response from the redhead.
“Don't be afraid to tug a little harder now~” he purred in a low voice.
William gave him a disapproving tch from between his teeth. “Don't say such embarrassing things where other people can hear you,” he whispered.
“Suit yourself.” Grell grumbled quietly and leaned back into his touch. “You have really nice hands, by the way.”
“Grell...” he warned.
The lacing was done, though. He let the ends fall from his fingers and turned Grell around. Really, he should have been steeling himself the whole time for the sight, but it was still a startling thing to see how nice Grell looked in a dress.
Grell's form in a dress certainly wasn't unappreciated. His waist was wider than a girl's, but still just as thin. For a man, he had incredible hips and slim arms. If it weren't for the flatness of his chest, he'd probably be able to pass for a fairly convincing woman, actually. Considering that a lot of men preferred women with small chests, it wasn't even too far of a stretch to say he'd pass as he was anyway.
“You're staring.”
“...That's the idea, isn't it? You wanted me to tell you what I thought.”
“And?”
He drew in a breath and ran a hand appreciatively over the corset-like tightness of the waist. The fitting room wasn't lit very well, but there was still enough light to make the red satin fabric shimmer. Grell lifted a hand to place over William's own, stroking the backs of his knuckles lightly before leaning up to whisper in his ear.
“It looks like you like it a lot.”
Slowly, a little apprehensively, he nodded. He curled his fingers around the jut of one hip and pulled the smaller man closer. In the small space, Grell placed his hands on top of William's chest so he could lean in and steal another kiss. What started as light and slow began to get more heated as William's arms found their way around Grell's waist. When Grell slid his knee between his legs, though, the captivating spell was broken and he yelped despite himself.
He giggled girlishly and placed two fingers over William's lips.
“Madam?” came the voice of the store owner. “Do you need assistance?”
“Did they not notice that you're in here...?” he wondered quietly, looking up into William's slightly bewildered eyes. The curtain that separated them from him reached to the floor and went up high, so he couldn't see a thing. “No, no~” Grell said a little louder to be heard. “I've got it under control! That last lace was just a tough one!”
Sounding placated by the answer, the man seemed to retreat back to whatever he was doing outside.
“What do you think you're doing?” William sputtered.
“Just doing what you obviously wanted to be doing~” A hand from his chest slid down the front of his jacket and rested over the front of his pants with a light squeeze. “You're already like this, after all...” Will swallowed thickly as Grell gently massaged his growing arousal through his pants, his fists clenching and unclenching in frustration behind Grell's back as he fought to maintain some of his composure.
“I'd almost believe you brought me here for yourself~”
“That's not-” There was no room to finish that thought when Grell's hand abruptly slipped under his waistband to grab him. Will's mouth opened, but he didn't let out the sound that threatened to escape. That familiar devilish grin was beginning to tug at the corners of the other shinigami's lips, conscious of the fact that he was the one with William under his control for a change. It was a delicious reversal.
“I had no idea you were into this sort of thing, William,” he whispered hotly into his ear, getting up on his toes to do so. He'd abandoned his shoes and socks while he tried on the dress, so he stood barefoot on the floor. “I wish I had some stockings, too. I bet you would have liked that a lot.”
Shaking himself out of Grell's saccharine trap, he used his own weight to press him up against the opposite wall and onto the stool behind him.
He grinned. Grell's own fell a little at the sight, because that look always meant that Will was ready to take charge.
“Keep your knees up,” he ordered, sliding his hands under the skirt of the dress and underneath the other's knees to get him to do so. Grell grabbed his knees and looked down the bridge of his nose at William curiously, wondering what he had planned.
The dress's skirt was pushed up to bunch around Grell's middle where he held it obediently over his splayed knees. William removed his gloves, tossing them next to Grell's boots, and ran a hand over the smooth, pale skin of the underside of his partner's thighs, admiring briefly before sliding his hands down farther to his hips. Grell caught his bottom lip between his teeth as William rubbed the heel of his palms over the jut of each hipbone and moved slowly to place his fingers over the arousal pressing up insistently against his thin briefs. He chuckled softly, not one bit surprised if the smooth undergarments were actually women's.
“Allow me,” he said, voice low. His fingers curled around the waistband and Grell did his best to lift his hips a little and wiggle until he could get them off from under him. They slid smoothly off his legs and fell to add to the pile of clothing forming on the floor.
“So what does William-” Grell's jaw shut instantly as Will fought to get his payback. He gripped his cock firmly, his thumb pressing down on the damp tip, effectively shutting him up. Nibbling a little at his bottom lip, Grell cast his eyes to the side, a light blush covering his cheeks.
“You're already like this, too. I'd almost believe you'd called me over here to do something like this in the first place. I'm right, aren't I?”
Grell grinned, eyelids lowered, but the blush deepened. “You caught me.” His toes curled when William delivered an experimental stroke. “But isn't this also a part of my special reward?”
“I've yet to get to that part,” William promised. “I thought it would be the gentlemanly thing of me if I were the one to take the initiative for a change.” He let Grell ponder that intriguing statement for a moment and moved his fingertips to make distracting patterns along the underside of his thigh. Before he let Grell even ask, he pressed his lips against that sensitive spot under his knee and moved his lips lower to nip at his thighs. The lower he got, the more apparent it became that Grell was seeing where this was headed. His face was turning red and his eyes widened. When it was only William's breath that separated him from his cock he yelped.
“Shhhh-! Must I remind you that we're trying to be quite?”
Hands covering his mouth, Grell could only moan quietly and nodded. After the initial surprise, he was more than willing to shut up and let his partner do whatever he wanted. It was just that he couldn't even recall a time when he had been on the receiving end for this and something about that made his heartbeat quicken.
Even though he assumed that William was inexperienced with such a thing, he still wore the same expression of utmost professionalism. Although he wouldn't object to letting him do this, something about it made him feel apprehensive. Maybe it was the fact that it was William that helped to put him at ease at the same time, like he knew he could trust him for anything.
William looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. “Relax.”
That face would probably do the opposite to any other person, but it made Grell snicker. “Yessir. Relaxing. You just carry on now.”
Looking like he just realized what he was really about to do (provoking another giggle from Grell) he took a breath and placed his hands on Grell's hips where the dress was hiked. All at once, Grell fell silent at the touch and furrowed his eyebrows, waiting anxiously for William's next move.
He wet his lips slowly and then let his tongue dart out to just give the head of Grell's cock and experimental taste. Emboldened, he pressed his lips over the tip and ran his tongue down the underside until he was slowly taking him into his mouth. Grell inhaled sharply above him and it took everything he had not to fall off the dressing room stool. He was simultaneously shocked that William was even doing this, yet so turned on that he just didn't even care to give that any more thought. He was doing it, that's what mattered. And he really, really didn't want him to stop.
“T-the clerk and owner are going to get suspicious, you know,” he mumbled weakly from behind the hand he'd raised to his mouth.
William pulled away slowly after a nice, thorough stroke of lips and tongue and looked up at him from under lowered lashes and... Grell didn't remember him ever looking quite like that. He breathed in soft, even pants for a moment and then resumed with a fervor, ignoring Grell's worry. If he was so worried, then he would just have to make sure they ended things quickly. In other words, that meant putting his tongue to better use than for wasting time with talking.
Gripping the base of his cock, he slid down as far as he could go and paused with his cheeks hollowed, his tongue sliding along the underside. As he made his way up, he pressed the flat of his tongue against the head and with a glance upward at him with that same look as before, Grell came, any sounds he would have made stifled by biting the backs of his knuckles. With his impeccable timing and grace, William pulled away and had a handkerchief in hand in under a second, removing the evidence of what had transpired while Grell still struggled to bring his breathing back to normal.
Outside, the clerk shuffled anxiously in front of the dressing room curtain. She worried, what if the size was wrong and their customer was agonizingly trying to make it fit? She kept pausing with her hand about to reach for the curtain flap, but kept pulling back at the last second apprehensively, remembering that she had sounded so insistently against her help.
Inside the dressing room, her predicament wasn't going without notice. The two occupants of the dressing room could definitely hear her nervous scuffling on the carpet and they were busily working on making themselves look presentable. The dress would have been way too hard to get off by himself, so Grell was doubly grateful that he had William there to help him take it off.
When he turned him around to button the front of Grell's shirt, the redhead got up on his toes and imparted a light kiss to his lips. He didn't say anything, just smiled, and although William didn't look up from what his hands were doing, he shared the same fond expression.
“So am I getting the dress?”
Will looked at him, aghast. “Of course. You think I would allow them to put that back on a mannequin out there for some unsuspecting woman to purchase?”
“You act like we did something to it. The dress is perfectly unharmed, William. No casualties sustained.” He straightened his partner's tie for him and smirked in an almost feline manner. “And you were quite wonderful, if I do say.”
He colored, his expression caught on the edge of stubborn and embarrassed and gave a little huff through his nose. Then, Grell pushed the dress into his hands with a wink.
“I'll let you be a gentleman and carry that for me.” He pointed lower to the front of William's slacks. “It might do well to keep that from getting noticed as well.”
Grell could imagine William's glasses fogging up with the way he just got redder, could practically see the smoke steaming out of his ears like he was about to overload from embarrassment, but he knew he would never admit that he was. That was just something that made him even more adorable to him.
Grinning, he kissed him again on the tip of one of his pink ears and promised salaciously that he would happily repay him later when they could really be alone.
He slid an arm under one of William's to link them together at the elbow and pushed them out through the curtain to where the clerk girl was still standing just a little bit too close.
She obviously wasn't going to question why or when William had 'snuck' in there without her noticing, but she did keep giving them half-hidden, knowing glances while they paid.
William left the store with their bag held carefully in front of himself.
Author: Nanaki BH
Pairing: Will/Grell
Words: 5276
Warnings: PWP. Well... there's sort of a plot? It has story!
Summary: William offers to reward Grell if he starts being more conscientious at work. Grell's never had better incentive to be good.
Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji and all related characters and materials are property of Yana Toboso.
I started this thing ages ago and finally went back to finish it now. It's an image I had in my head that would have just been too good to waste. I hope it held up okay, though.;;;
Also now available for reading at FFN, btw!
The weekend was almost upon him. The glorious, blessed weekend. Grell appreciated the weekend because it meant he could spend as long as he pleased cuddling up to his pillow, providing him with some extra hours of well-deserved beauty sleep. It also meant that he would have the opportunity for wonderful weekend shopping. All the shops would have their new items on display by then and he would peruse the racks of clothing for dresses that he thought he’d look best in.
Although... He was usually reduced to that. Just looking. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to afford the pretty things he wanted while paying for all the property damage he did while on the job. (He couldn’t help it if he enjoyed what he did a little too much sometimes.) Even after all these centuries, you’d think he’d have some cash saved up, but after so many changes in currency and the loss in value, it’s not like he ever had that much to even begin with. At the end of the day, he always felt like he was left with a disappointingly small paycheck that was barely enough for some good tea and cake.
He’d tried to be extra good this week, though. After all, William had promised him that if he was good, he’d make it worth his while at the end of the week. And while Grell wasn’t entirely sure what all that entailed, he was sure it was going to be something that he wanted if it was from William. So that week, each of his targets were met and taken care of swiftly, with an air of professionalism. Nothing was damaged and everything was filed properly. He checked through his papers three times just in case because he really didn’t want to mess this up. The last time William offered him anything was...
Well... No, he couldn’t even remember the last time.
He could practically taste his prize already. Manila folder of perfectly organized work under his arm, he made his way off to William’s office. His walk wasn’t so much of a walk or swift step, so much as it was a prance.
Outside one of the office rooms was a typical end-of-the-week sight: Ronald, surrounded by the ladies of the office. He gave a nod and a smirk as Grell passed by. “I see that look on your face, Grell-senpai. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to!”
Grell turned around without stopping to raise an innocent eyebrow at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ronald, dear~ I’m just off to see Will!”
Ronald sighed with a smile, though Grell was already well off on his way again. “Yeah, that’s what I mean...”
In his haste to get to William’s room he nearly bumped into some people rounding the corners on the way there, but he managed to reach the door with everything still intact. Of course, there was still just a little bit of doubt lingering at the back of his mind. Nice things didn’t happen very often for him. Last time he got an offer of something good, it came from that Ciel kid and he didn’t even pay up in the end. (He would be waiting on that kiss from Sebastian, even if it took him another lifetime to get it.)
He knocked softly on the door, hoping that those thoughts were just for nothing. A sharp and impatient “Yes?” came from the other side and nearly made Grell jump. His heart skipped a beat at that; William’s sharp tone of voice always had that sort of an effect on him for some reason. He closed his fingers around the doorknob and let himself in.
It took William but a moment to glance up from his work to realize who was standing in front of his desk. “Ah,” he said softly, calmly returning his eyes to the pages in front of him. “So? Did you actually improve this week or are you just here to inform me of another disappointment?”
Grell’s eyebrows narrowed and he slapped the documents down on top of Will’s things. The surprise on William’s face was replaced with a different sort of surprise as he began to realize what it was he had in front of him now.
“I did like you said,” Grell said proudly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Every record is accounted for and ready for their proper filing in the library. Honestly, you should’ve known you could count on me for such a simple thing... I am a shinigami after all, you know.”
William adjusted his glasses and the initial look of surprise melted into something softer. He opened the folder and thumbed through the pages one at a time. The once confident Grell began to feel a little nervous with his work under the scrutiny of his supervisor, but the oddly fond look on William’s face was somewhat reassuring at the same time.
“Nice,” he said, flipping the folder closed. “Good work.”
“Really~? I-Is William really praising me?” Hands clasped under his chin, Grell leaned in, wanting so badly to hear him say it again and again. “Say it! Say it again~!”
“You did good.”
His heart was about ready to explode from this. It was hard to even recall the last time William had said something so nice. It was either “you idiot!” or “do you know what you’ve cost us?!” or some other thing like that. This was amazing. ...And he hadn’t even received that special something for their deal yet!
Leaning across the desk, Grell quickly staged his attack and moved in for the kill. Pushing up William’s glasses with one hand, he grabbed his chin with the other and dove in for a kiss. His superior’s breath hitched for a second but he quickly relaxed into the kiss and pressed in to return and deepen it.
Grell would’ve been quite happy to sit there like that all day, except for the fact that the desk cutting into his middle was getting a bit uncomfortable and he had to face the need to breathe eventually. He pulled back, pulling air into his lungs and stumbled back a step until he got himself upright again. His lips were still tingling as he pressed his fingers to them.
William pressed down on his tie and tried to recover a little of his dignity after he had fumbled around on his desk to realize a second later that his glasses were perched on the top of his head.
“Well?” Grell asked, leaning a hip against the desk. “You said you’d make it worth my while, didn’t you, big boy? I recall a bargain of some kind being struck between us. And that kiss doesn’t count because I took that one on my own.”
With a sigh, Will straightened everything back up on the desk and carefully put Grell’s things back together off to the side. “I did have an idea for that, actually.” He pushed out from his chair and then pushed it back in when he stood. “Today’s Friday... Would you like to go out?”
A response wasn’t immediate to Grell’s lips when the whole statement caught him so off guard.
“Today, like. Right now? You don’t have anything else to do? I thought you were in the middle of-”
“I’m not going to break off a previous engagement. You did like you promised so, as a result, I have less work. So yes, I’m available. For now. At least enough to go out for the night.”
Grell got closer and tried to move in to see his face, but Will turned away.
“You’re blushing... aren’t you, Will?” The level at which that pleased him totally did not escape his voice.
William cleared his throat and made to grab for his coat at the coat rack. “Is it too warm out for an extra layer still?” His words hung a little awkwardly at the end, long enough for Grell to perceive the unsaid explanation of “I haven’t been out much lately to know.”
He shook his head and linked one of his arms with William’s tightly, practically dragging him out the door. “The weather’s only just started to change, so you’ll be fine. Besides, you’ve got me to snuggle up to if you get cold. Don’t forget, kay?”
There wasn’t even any room for objections as the redhead swung them out the door. Naturally, they received a lot of looks on the way out of the building; none of which made Grell feel uncomfortable at all, but had William turning a bright shade of tomato. When Ronald saw them leaving he couldn’t even resist the need to tell William-senpai how well the color red suited him. Grell agreed without a second thought, but Will had his face buried in his shoulder then for the rest of the way.
Their arms were still linked by the time they reached the London sidewalks, even after a few of Will’s halfhearted attempts to disentangle himself from the other Shinigami’s lovelock. At work was one thing (not that walking around with Grell clinging to him around the workplace was much better, but) being seen out with him felt like a much different thing.
He started to steer them in one direction, destination already set in mind. It was hard to go anywhere and not attract some attention like this, though. Although, the attention seemed to be stemmed more from confusion and curiosity than from anything else. With his delicate face (shark teeth aside) and long red hair, Grell’s appearance could be a little confusing to some. If it weren’t for the minimal dress code stipulations that he was forced to abide by, Grell would have probably been dressing a lot differently and no one would’ve been able to notice anything out of the ordinary at all.
A young woman passed by with narrowed eyes, obviously taking a hard gander at the redhead attached to Will’s arm. It was tough to decide what a look like that meant.
“Tch. I bet that bitch wouldn’t know what love looked like if it hit her right in the face,” Grell remarked, even though she was probably still within earshot. That was neither here nor there to him, of course.
“Love, hm?” William murmured distantly.
“Yep!” Grell beamed and pressed his cheek up against Will’s shoulder. “William’s my favorite, you know~ Besides, she was totally jealous anyway. I know I can’t let you out of my sight or other girls like her would be all over you.”
“Don’t cling too tightly, then. I don’t want to have to get you out of any catfights.”
“Nope. I’m ~stuck ~on ~you.”
William completely knew where he wanted to take Grell for his reward. At the time when he came up with his idea and made the offer, he hadn’t really thought Grell would come through. It was sort of a first. But, he supposed, if there was good enough incentive, then Grell could come through for just about any situation. Thing was, having not really expected it to happen, William hadn’t realized that he’d really be going through with this as well.
And that’s why he felt a hint of nervous apprehension when he stopped them outside of the dress parlor.
He could sense Grell trying to contain his excitement from a block away, but when he really stopped them in front of the place, it just exploded. He rushed up to the window and gazed starry-eyed over the dresses in the window.
“They put up new ones already!” he exclaimed with his palms up against the windowpane. “I didn’t think they’d be out until tomorrow...”
William couldn’t deny that they were all quite lovely (the ones in the front, at least,) but Grell seemed to have naturally gravitated toward one he preferred the most already. He was the kind of person who knew what he liked and he liked red.
“You know they have more inside, don’t you?” he wondered out loud.
“But this one is just so...!” He peered into the store and immediately lost his train of thought.
So easily distracted, William thought with a sigh. Yet, there was something that made him feel good about making Grell happy. Truth be told, it wasn’t that hard to make Grell happy, but it was nonetheless worth it. It was a nice break to go out with him like this for a change anyway. Not that he’d admit it, unless he wanted to have him dragging him off to do things like this every weekend, though.
“This one, Will! Or... No, this one!” Will feared that the store was going to end up in a state of destruction with the way Grell was going from one rack of clothes to the next, picking out this thing and that.
The woman behind the register had the decency to look concerned, but a refined-looking older man, who he assumed to be the owner, stepped over to intervene in Grell’s mayhem.
“Ah... sir?” Whether he was addressing him or questioning whether he misspoke was questionable. When Grell didn’t respond to that, Will decided to put the man out of his misery by responding for him.
“Please pardon my... girlfriend. We’re dress-shopping.”
At first confused, it looked like the man came to a conclusion and he brightened up immediately. “Ah, of course! A beautiful young lady such as she deserves to be wearing something much more suited to her figure. Will she be needing any measurements taken?”
However, Grell had paused in his searching to stare, mouth agape at William when he heard the word “girlfriend” used.
“Have you found anything to your liking yet, Grell?” he asked, glaring daggers; a silent plea to keep him from saying anything stupid.
Grell’s mouth shut immediately and he pointed to the mannequin in front of the window that he had been interested in earlier. “That one, if you could? The red one with the black lace. It’s perfect.”
“Ah...” The owner’s eyes followed Grell’s gesture and he frowned slightly. “You have magnificent taste, madam, but I’m not sure if we have that particular dress in a size that will fit your... bust.”
“I can tighten it from the back, can’t I?”
“Well I... suppose that would work. I suggest you try it on to be sure.”
Not to be stopped, Grell nodded triumphantly. “That’s what I’ll do then.”
“Right away,” the man said, nodding politely. The girl from behind register came around the counter to retrieve the dress from the mannequin’s form and the owner sped off to open the fitting room for their customer.
When the woman brought the dress over to the fitting room, she stood for a moment holding it, looking at Grell expectantly. He raised an eyebrow and she explained. “I’ll help you put it on.” An awkward red spread over Grell’s cheeks and he snatched the dress away from her instead.
“I can handle it myself!”
“O-of course!” she stammered. “If you need any help...” She bowed and returned quickly to where she’d been.
William had to feel a little bad for her. He would have felt worse if she’d helped Grell only to discover what she was getting herself into by doing so, though. He probably wasn’t what they would consider their “usual” customer in the least. Though, he had to wonder how they’d been fooled at all when Grell wasn’t even attempting make himself sound less than masculine. It was a wonder.
Once Grell disappeared behind the curtains, William was left to look around the store by himself and act like the doting boyfriend he had apparently become for the day. It was nice that he didn’t have to act all that much different than he usually did under any normal circumstances, he realized. Grell was still his insufferable partner, whether he treated him like a woman or not. In this situation at least, thinking of him as a 'she' actually made things seem easier.
About then, he realized that he was standing in front of a mannequin, imagining that its dress with all its satin and lace would look nice on Grell. He cocked his head to the side.
“William~”
His attention was drawn back to the sound of Grell’s voice, more like a whisper, from behind the fitting room curtains. He had his hand poked out from between them, waving for him to come over. William sighed heavily, but obliged, moving over to the curtains.
“Don’t tell me. You need my help.”
Grell poked his head out and smiled up at him innocently. “Could you? I tried, but I can’t get the back. You have to lace it up. And there’s no mirror, so you have to tell me what you think.”
William invited himself into the cramped room, but wasn’t prepared for what he’d see. Rather, he knew what sight to expect, but his body wasn’t completely prepared for it - especially considering that his reaction was one that made his heart speed up until it made his throat go dry.
“Hmmmm~ Don’t tell me it’s bad before you lace it up, alright? Give it a chance.”
“I... wasn’t going to say that at all, actually.”
When Grell was about to turn around to look at him, evidently confused, William tugged on the lowest laces to keep him looking forward. He placed his palm at the small of his back; both to steady the lacing and to keep Grell from looking at him. The laces felt smooth between his fingers and he pulled each one tightly until they snugly crisscrossed over each other. As he made his way higher, he brushed Grell’s hair to the side and over one of his slender shoulders.
Gently, he spread his hands down over Grell's chest to bring the looser fabric at the front together at the back, which of course elicited a response from the redhead.
“Don't be afraid to tug a little harder now~” he purred in a low voice.
William gave him a disapproving tch from between his teeth. “Don't say such embarrassing things where other people can hear you,” he whispered.
“Suit yourself.” Grell grumbled quietly and leaned back into his touch. “You have really nice hands, by the way.”
“Grell...” he warned.
The lacing was done, though. He let the ends fall from his fingers and turned Grell around. Really, he should have been steeling himself the whole time for the sight, but it was still a startling thing to see how nice Grell looked in a dress.
Grell's form in a dress certainly wasn't unappreciated. His waist was wider than a girl's, but still just as thin. For a man, he had incredible hips and slim arms. If it weren't for the flatness of his chest, he'd probably be able to pass for a fairly convincing woman, actually. Considering that a lot of men preferred women with small chests, it wasn't even too far of a stretch to say he'd pass as he was anyway.
“You're staring.”
“...That's the idea, isn't it? You wanted me to tell you what I thought.”
“And?”
He drew in a breath and ran a hand appreciatively over the corset-like tightness of the waist. The fitting room wasn't lit very well, but there was still enough light to make the red satin fabric shimmer. Grell lifted a hand to place over William's own, stroking the backs of his knuckles lightly before leaning up to whisper in his ear.
“It looks like you like it a lot.”
Slowly, a little apprehensively, he nodded. He curled his fingers around the jut of one hip and pulled the smaller man closer. In the small space, Grell placed his hands on top of William's chest so he could lean in and steal another kiss. What started as light and slow began to get more heated as William's arms found their way around Grell's waist. When Grell slid his knee between his legs, though, the captivating spell was broken and he yelped despite himself.
He giggled girlishly and placed two fingers over William's lips.
“Madam?” came the voice of the store owner. “Do you need assistance?”
“Did they not notice that you're in here...?” he wondered quietly, looking up into William's slightly bewildered eyes. The curtain that separated them from him reached to the floor and went up high, so he couldn't see a thing. “No, no~” Grell said a little louder to be heard. “I've got it under control! That last lace was just a tough one!”
Sounding placated by the answer, the man seemed to retreat back to whatever he was doing outside.
“What do you think you're doing?” William sputtered.
“Just doing what you obviously wanted to be doing~” A hand from his chest slid down the front of his jacket and rested over the front of his pants with a light squeeze. “You're already like this, after all...” Will swallowed thickly as Grell gently massaged his growing arousal through his pants, his fists clenching and unclenching in frustration behind Grell's back as he fought to maintain some of his composure.
“I'd almost believe you brought me here for yourself~”
“That's not-” There was no room to finish that thought when Grell's hand abruptly slipped under his waistband to grab him. Will's mouth opened, but he didn't let out the sound that threatened to escape. That familiar devilish grin was beginning to tug at the corners of the other shinigami's lips, conscious of the fact that he was the one with William under his control for a change. It was a delicious reversal.
“I had no idea you were into this sort of thing, William,” he whispered hotly into his ear, getting up on his toes to do so. He'd abandoned his shoes and socks while he tried on the dress, so he stood barefoot on the floor. “I wish I had some stockings, too. I bet you would have liked that a lot.”
Shaking himself out of Grell's saccharine trap, he used his own weight to press him up against the opposite wall and onto the stool behind him.
He grinned. Grell's own fell a little at the sight, because that look always meant that Will was ready to take charge.
“Keep your knees up,” he ordered, sliding his hands under the skirt of the dress and underneath the other's knees to get him to do so. Grell grabbed his knees and looked down the bridge of his nose at William curiously, wondering what he had planned.
The dress's skirt was pushed up to bunch around Grell's middle where he held it obediently over his splayed knees. William removed his gloves, tossing them next to Grell's boots, and ran a hand over the smooth, pale skin of the underside of his partner's thighs, admiring briefly before sliding his hands down farther to his hips. Grell caught his bottom lip between his teeth as William rubbed the heel of his palms over the jut of each hipbone and moved slowly to place his fingers over the arousal pressing up insistently against his thin briefs. He chuckled softly, not one bit surprised if the smooth undergarments were actually women's.
“Allow me,” he said, voice low. His fingers curled around the waistband and Grell did his best to lift his hips a little and wiggle until he could get them off from under him. They slid smoothly off his legs and fell to add to the pile of clothing forming on the floor.
“So what does William-” Grell's jaw shut instantly as Will fought to get his payback. He gripped his cock firmly, his thumb pressing down on the damp tip, effectively shutting him up. Nibbling a little at his bottom lip, Grell cast his eyes to the side, a light blush covering his cheeks.
“You're already like this, too. I'd almost believe you'd called me over here to do something like this in the first place. I'm right, aren't I?”
Grell grinned, eyelids lowered, but the blush deepened. “You caught me.” His toes curled when William delivered an experimental stroke. “But isn't this also a part of my special reward?”
“I've yet to get to that part,” William promised. “I thought it would be the gentlemanly thing of me if I were the one to take the initiative for a change.” He let Grell ponder that intriguing statement for a moment and moved his fingertips to make distracting patterns along the underside of his thigh. Before he let Grell even ask, he pressed his lips against that sensitive spot under his knee and moved his lips lower to nip at his thighs. The lower he got, the more apparent it became that Grell was seeing where this was headed. His face was turning red and his eyes widened. When it was only William's breath that separated him from his cock he yelped.
“Shhhh-! Must I remind you that we're trying to be quite?”
Hands covering his mouth, Grell could only moan quietly and nodded. After the initial surprise, he was more than willing to shut up and let his partner do whatever he wanted. It was just that he couldn't even recall a time when he had been on the receiving end for this and something about that made his heartbeat quicken.
Even though he assumed that William was inexperienced with such a thing, he still wore the same expression of utmost professionalism. Although he wouldn't object to letting him do this, something about it made him feel apprehensive. Maybe it was the fact that it was William that helped to put him at ease at the same time, like he knew he could trust him for anything.
William looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. “Relax.”
That face would probably do the opposite to any other person, but it made Grell snicker. “Yessir. Relaxing. You just carry on now.”
Looking like he just realized what he was really about to do (provoking another giggle from Grell) he took a breath and placed his hands on Grell's hips where the dress was hiked. All at once, Grell fell silent at the touch and furrowed his eyebrows, waiting anxiously for William's next move.
He wet his lips slowly and then let his tongue dart out to just give the head of Grell's cock and experimental taste. Emboldened, he pressed his lips over the tip and ran his tongue down the underside until he was slowly taking him into his mouth. Grell inhaled sharply above him and it took everything he had not to fall off the dressing room stool. He was simultaneously shocked that William was even doing this, yet so turned on that he just didn't even care to give that any more thought. He was doing it, that's what mattered. And he really, really didn't want him to stop.
“T-the clerk and owner are going to get suspicious, you know,” he mumbled weakly from behind the hand he'd raised to his mouth.
William pulled away slowly after a nice, thorough stroke of lips and tongue and looked up at him from under lowered lashes and... Grell didn't remember him ever looking quite like that. He breathed in soft, even pants for a moment and then resumed with a fervor, ignoring Grell's worry. If he was so worried, then he would just have to make sure they ended things quickly. In other words, that meant putting his tongue to better use than for wasting time with talking.
Gripping the base of his cock, he slid down as far as he could go and paused with his cheeks hollowed, his tongue sliding along the underside. As he made his way up, he pressed the flat of his tongue against the head and with a glance upward at him with that same look as before, Grell came, any sounds he would have made stifled by biting the backs of his knuckles. With his impeccable timing and grace, William pulled away and had a handkerchief in hand in under a second, removing the evidence of what had transpired while Grell still struggled to bring his breathing back to normal.
Outside, the clerk shuffled anxiously in front of the dressing room curtain. She worried, what if the size was wrong and their customer was agonizingly trying to make it fit? She kept pausing with her hand about to reach for the curtain flap, but kept pulling back at the last second apprehensively, remembering that she had sounded so insistently against her help.
Inside the dressing room, her predicament wasn't going without notice. The two occupants of the dressing room could definitely hear her nervous scuffling on the carpet and they were busily working on making themselves look presentable. The dress would have been way too hard to get off by himself, so Grell was doubly grateful that he had William there to help him take it off.
When he turned him around to button the front of Grell's shirt, the redhead got up on his toes and imparted a light kiss to his lips. He didn't say anything, just smiled, and although William didn't look up from what his hands were doing, he shared the same fond expression.
“So am I getting the dress?”
Will looked at him, aghast. “Of course. You think I would allow them to put that back on a mannequin out there for some unsuspecting woman to purchase?”
“You act like we did something to it. The dress is perfectly unharmed, William. No casualties sustained.” He straightened his partner's tie for him and smirked in an almost feline manner. “And you were quite wonderful, if I do say.”
He colored, his expression caught on the edge of stubborn and embarrassed and gave a little huff through his nose. Then, Grell pushed the dress into his hands with a wink.
“I'll let you be a gentleman and carry that for me.” He pointed lower to the front of William's slacks. “It might do well to keep that from getting noticed as well.”
Grell could imagine William's glasses fogging up with the way he just got redder, could practically see the smoke steaming out of his ears like he was about to overload from embarrassment, but he knew he would never admit that he was. That was just something that made him even more adorable to him.
Grinning, he kissed him again on the tip of one of his pink ears and promised salaciously that he would happily repay him later when they could really be alone.
He slid an arm under one of William's to link them together at the elbow and pushed them out through the curtain to where the clerk girl was still standing just a little bit too close.
She obviously wasn't going to question why or when William had 'snuck' in there without her noticing, but she did keep giving them half-hidden, knowing glances while they paid.
William left the store with their bag held carefully in front of himself.