A/N: just wanted to clarify this all, the only reason that the reader doesn't completely turn her nose up at Ronald for the fact that he's a grim reaper is because Grell is also a grim reaper and he means a lot to her, since she believes that just because they're natural enemies, doesn't mean that Reapers are bad people. Anyways, carry on!
~
"Must you cover my eyes?"
"Yes, yes. It's part of the surprise."
(Y/n) sighed softly as she walked blindly with a pair of gloved hands over her eyes, since when they got to the edge of one of the many forests near town he insisted that he covered her eyes until they got to the destination he had organized. Part of her came to believe that he was leading her to her death, since they were natural enemies. But the other part of her ruled that out as a possibility, since he seemed like too much of a goofball to pull such an action.
Why am I here? He's a grim reaper, I'm a demon...Dad would kill me if he knew!
"Alright, I'm gonna uncover your eyes now but you gotta keep em' closed for a little longer," Ronald said, breaking the silence that resonated throughout the forest.
"I don't understand why," (Y/n) chided, crossing her arms at the feeling of the cold against them.
"Just trust me, alright?"
"For all I know, you're about to murder me."
"Oh hush, you. Where's your sense of wonder?"
"It's where my soul is. Non-existent."
"Gosh, there's no need to be so aloof, my dear."
"I'm a demon, it's what I do."
Ronald sighed softly as he uncovered her eyes, and even though (Y/n) wanted to open them purely because she had had enough of the boy dragging the occasion on, she kept them closed in the hopes that this would make the date pass easier. She was made to sit down on what felt like a picnic blanket, and she could feel the moon shining down on her pretty little face, bright, hard. She could already sense the cheesy cliche she was being subjected to, but she decided not to spoil it for him, it was clear he was used to taking out easier to impress ladies.
"Alright, you can open your eyes now," he said in a hushed voice, the lady opening her eyes only to feel a gush of wind come to her face.
(Y/n) found herself sat on the edge of a cliff - well, close to it anyways - and the soft sound of waves crashing against the shore below became evident. Ronald had brought her to the beach nearby, up on one of the peers that hung over it. She had to admit, he did a great job at picking the place for a first date, right where the moon could shine light upon them so that no candles were needed, not that they'd last the strong winds. The air smelled of salt, and the cold bit at her sides, but she didn't mind, all she could focus on was the breathtaking view of the water that stretched as far as the eye could see.
"So, what do ya think?" Ronald asked, snapping (Y/n) out of her short hypnosis.
"You know of nice places, I'll give you that much," she sighed, rubbing her bare arms against the cold as she looked back out over the water.
"You cold, love?" the blonde asked in reference to her constant rubbing, to which she returned her attention to the man.
"...A little, but I'm fine, really," she assured, her eyes turning to the side so she didn't have to look at him.
The shuffles of fabric caught her attention once more, and she found that the cause was Ronald shedding his coat, and she could already see what was happening next. Standing on his knees, he shuffled over to her, and wrapped the coat around her smaller figure, pulling it tight so that it didn't end up flying off, even though the wind was only mild.
"How many other women have worn this coat?" She asked, her slender fingers gripping the fabric where the buttons were and had to go.
"You'd be the first, I don't usually lend my coat to ladies. It feels like I'm really committing to something there," Ronald sighed, leaning back with his hands behind him.
"You say that as if commitment is something to be frightened of," (Y/n) noted, the man shrugging as he let his phosphor green eyes wonder out to the sea.
"It always has been for me. Women can be so fickle, it's scary," he began, falling slowly onto his back with his hands to cushion his head as he continued, "Mr Spears told me that personality traits and instincts are carried on throughout the transition of human to reaper. Perhaps commitment was what killed me as a human, what drove me to take my own life. Maybe that's why I'm so scared of the concept, I don't know..."
All was silent for a moment, and (Y/n) simply stared at Ronald, while Ronald stared at the star speckled skies. It saddened her to think that a human took his life because he was so hurt from most likely a woman breaking his heart. Love was supposed to be a magical thing, and it seems that such a thing had been ruined for Ronald, all because a woman, or multiple women, had disregarded his feelings. Then again, as she always liked to say...
...Humans are far too complex for their own good.
"You shouldn't be afraid of something that can make a person so happy," she began, catching the attention of the reaper as he looked over and listened, "you've never thought of marriage? Pulling a white veil over a beautiful woman's face, feeling an overwhelming sense of joy when you reveal her smile, knowing full well that you'll spend the rest of your life with her."
"Have you ever experienced the joy you speak of?" Ronald cut in, the girl shaking her head as she, too, laid on her back and looked up to the sky.
"No, but I was there when my mother and father married. And that's exactly how father describes how he felt in those very moments with mother every time he retells the tale," she answered, her hands shuffling with the buttons of his coat as she continued, "demon weddings are never really all that big. No friends attend, just family, not that demons ever tend to make friends with other demons, or keep in touch with much family for that matter. Really it's just a matter of fate with love for us. And though the wedding was small, father's sense of joy was the same as anyone's would be."
"Do you ever wanna get married?" Ronald asked, his voice hushed.
"Of course. That is, if I ever find a man willing to marry and put up with me," (Y/n) sighed, the blonde reaper chuckling as he elbowed her gently in the side.
"I'm sure you will, you're a pretty little bird, it's just a matter of finding a guy who will take you based on your personality too," he hummed, to which the lady also hummed, but a noise, not words.
"There are many men who will marry for personality alone, but they're all humans, and humans die so quickly," she lamented, her eyes weaving around the many stars that hung above the two of them.
"What about demon men?" Ronald asked, the lady shrugging as she laced her fingers together.
"I haven't met another demon besides my father in centuries, and it's not like we're the most social creatures. I'm only like this because I was exposed to the human world early in my life. I had to be, they were what took my mother from me after all."
"Oh, love...I'm so sorry," the reaper consoled, sincerity clear in his words.
"No, don't be. Yes, it hurts, but it wasn't your fault. I don't know why I don't hate humans after everything, father does. It was such a long time ago, but it aches all the same as if it only happened yesterday," (Y/n) murmured, her hands coming to rest where her heart would be if she were human.
"I mean, it wasn't all humans that killed her, was it?" Ronald asked, the girl shaking her head as she took in a deep breath and continued.
"No, course not. It was a group of Catholics. They raided our home, and the only thing part of that home that father could save was me. Father tried to save Mother, but they'd weakened him, and if he left me unattended I was sure to be taken as well. That day was the first and last time I had seen him cry, it really broke my heart- eh, would've, if I had one," she recalled, still feeling the emotions interlaced with that story but having more regulation over them, so she didn't let herself cry.
"Jeez, bird. You've been through the lot of it," Ronald murmured, the girl shrugging as she looked over at him.
"As have you. You may not remember the events of your life, but no one kills themselves because they're happy, Ronald. And besides, demons can handle grief and regulate their emotions better than humans, that's why no demon has ever felt the need to commit suicide. There's no need to feel sorry for me," she noted, making dot-to-dot pictures from the bright stars that decorated the sky.
"Well, I was human once. I can't regulate my emotions, even as a reaper, so I'm still gonna," he said, his voice as hushed as it had been the entire night as he shuffled in his spot so that he was on his side facing her, head propped up with one arm.
"Hm, human's are quite volatile. They're too complex for their own good," she sighed, doing the same as Ronald but instead of propping her head up, she had her arms lain out on the ground over each other and she rested her head on them as if they were pillows.
Their eyes locked onto the other's, and for a long moment, they simply stared. (Y/n) thought Ronald's eyes were pretty, the way they sparkled in their yellow-green phosphorescence with the light of the moon reflecting against them. They fit nicely with his handsome appearance, as did his spectacles. That was when her eyes trailed down his body. She had to admit, his white dress shirt and black waistcoat suit his toned figure rather well, and that thought surprised her, considering she never allowed her mind to even reach the edge of the gutter.
Her eyes grew crimson, and that glow lit up her face ever so slightly. Ronald was mesmerized by her luminescence, he couldn't help but think of how beautiful the woman that sat before him was. The way her (h/c) hair framed her face perfectly, the way all of her facial features made up such perfection, he could've sat there and stared at her forever.
"I really wish I didn't have to admit this, but...I really enjoy talking to you," (Y/n) whispered, her eyes coming back to his, instead of wondering over his body.
"You wish you didn't have to admit it because...?" He asked, stretching the last word out.
"Because the idea of a second date with you doesn't disgust me like it did before," she answered, trying to hide her smile with a bored expression but ending up unsuccessful in the matter as Ronald returned the smile.
"Does that mean you will accompany me on a second date?"
"Let's get through the first date before we go jumping into rash decisions, alright?"
The two of them exchanged sweet smiles, before turning to lye on the backs once more, simply allowing themselves to become lost in the stars while knowing full well that the other was doing the exact same thing and finding comfort in that.
~
"(Y/n), dear, are you alright? You seem to be off with the fairies this morning."
(Y/n) was snapped out of her thoughts as she looked up at her father, who came up beside her at the servants dining table, as she and the other servants all had breakfast together while Sebastian made preparations for the day. She had been so lost in her own mind that she hadn't noticed that her spoon had sunk into her porridge almost completely, which she came to be annoyed at since it wasn't the most pleasant sight. The other three seemed too occupied in a ridiculous conversation of their own to notice as well, pretty typical of them.
"Y-yeah...I just find myself a little fatigued, yesterdays work-load was rather plentiful," she answered, fishing her spoon out of her porridge before licking the slop from off of the handle and then leaving the spoon on the table, turning in her chair to face her father.
"Are you sure it's just that?" He asked as he brought her face into one hand before pulling his glove off the slightest and placing the back of his other hand against her forehead, "maybe you're coming down with something...you can never be sure considering how young you are."
"Please, father, don't worry about me. Really, I am fine. I promise you," (Y/n) reassured, gently pulling her father's hands away from her face and holding them in her own hands.
"Well...if you insist. But please do let me know if you are feeling under the weather, it's better to know sooner or later at your age," Sebastian murmured, his grip on her hands tightening momentarily, which brought a smile to her face as they were released and Sebastian caught the attention of the other servants.
He gave them their orders, and they got to preparing for their day. All the while, all (Y/n) could think of was her night out with the Grim Reaper.
~
Ronald found himself waiting beside one of the three queues that were present at General Affairs, reading over the paperwork in his hands before he was to submit it. Annoyingly enough, another Reaper had put in yet another complaint about his death scythe being destructive and inappropriate. It didn't come to much surprise to him, he had to flirt his way being allowed to use a lawnmower for his collections, but that didn't make it any less irritating or inconvenient.
Though when his eyes danced over the page, he never really found himself reading any of the letters printed onto it's white surface, it seemed to come as a simple activity to excuse himself from social interaction while he daydreamed about his night last night. No matter how hard he tried, Ronald simply could not rid his mind of the picture of (Y/n)'s face that glowed with her eyes and under the moonlight, but it wasn't like he was trying all that hard, why would he want to make such a perfect image disappear? It was bliss to think about, and he couldn't wait for the second date.
"Ronnie! Fancy seeing you here!"
Ronald looked up from his paperwork to see a female duo he'd become familiar with, since they had done training at around the same time as he did. Artemis Wright and Juliet Vickers.
(Neither of these pictures belong to me, they belong to their rightful owners, I'm simply using them as a character reference closest to how I've imagined these characters. Thank you!)
(Artemis)
(Juliet)
(pretend they have glasses lmao)
It was Artemis that had made the interruption, since Juliet was shy but still comfortable enough around Ronald to make decent conversation. The pair were inseparable since day one, and even though they were polar opposites, they bounced off of one another quite well.
"Why? I'm always here," Ronald sighed, holding his paperwork to his chest as he ran a hand through his hair, "got bloody people up my arse again about my death scythe. I don't see what's wrong with minding your own business, it's not hard, is it?"
"Yeah, we figured your scythe was why you were here," Artemis disclosed, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall next to Ronald while Juliet folded her hands neatly together before her.
"It is a little over the top, Ronald. Perhaps you should switch it for something a little more...simple," Juliet suggested in her silky voice, the blonde man smirking as he shook his head.
"How boring would that be? If I'm gonna be spending a few hundred years collecting souls then it's gonna be in style," he said confidently, Juliet rolling her eyes as a look of realization came to Artemis's.
"Hey, where were you last night? We all waited up for you but you never showed," she asked, tucking a strand of her cocoa brown hair behind her ear, "You missed one hell of a fight at the pub."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was meeting a lady friend. I was gonna bring her with us but I decided against it, she's a little more classy than us folk," Ronald answered, immediately piquing the two women's interests.
"Oh? A lady friend? What's her name?" Artemis asked, her arms uncrossing as she waited patiently for an answer.
"I'm...not sure I can disclose such information," he faltered, causing a flicker of confusion to go out in Artemis's eyes but one of concern in Juliet's.
"What, she isn't human, is she?" Juliet asked, pushing her spectacles back upon her nose properly.
"No, no. But she...isn't exactly a reaper either," Ronald murmured, scratching the back of his head as he looked elsewhere, "and by exactly, I mean she isn't at all."
"What?? What is she??" Artemis asked eagerly, very obviously curious as to what Ronald was getting at.
"Gah-I'm not telling you! If you go mouthing off to Mr Spears about it then I'm gonna get it right where it hurts in the arse," he chided, not noticing the look of realization in Juliet's eyes as he crossed his arms together tightly.
"I'm afraid you've given yourself away with your reaction, Ronald," Juliet began, gaining the attention of both the reapers as she tilted her head slightly, "her last name wouldn't happen to be Michaelis, would it?"
The way Ronald's eyes widened and face paled was a dead giveaway. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something. But he simply couldn't, he was in too deep a state of shock to be able to. Luckily for him, Artemis already had something to say.
"Michaelis, huh? I've heard that somewhere before...I suppose I hear Mr Sutcliffe speak of it a lo-" her eyes widened at the sudden realization, and she spun around to face Ronald with a bombshell look spread across her features, "You were with a demo-"
Before she could finish that sentence, Ronald clapped his hand over her mouth and pinned her to the wall that he was leaning against, a dead serious glare in his eyes.
"You tell anyone about this, and I will make sure that every single one of these reapers knows of the picture," he growled, referring to a picture of Artemis he took when she was passed out in a large puddle of her own vomit after getting piss drunk on a good night.
Slowly, Artemis removed his hand from her mouth, and gave him an irritated look.
"I wasn't gonna tell anyone anyways, I'm not that much of a jerk," she huffed, pushing past Ronald to get to Juliet's side as she threw an arm around her shoulder, "honestly I think you should be more concerned with Juliet telling, she is a model collector after all."
"I won't tell, I just won't have any part in it should Ronald's secret be discovered by officials," she demurred, pushing her glasses up once again as Ronald sighed in relief.
"Thanks girls, that means a lot to me," he said gratefully, Artemis smiling cheekily as she patted his shoulder.
"Ey, no problem my friend. Anyway, how's about a drink with us tonight?"
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