Brook X GN Reader || I'm The Grim Reaper

Chapter 70

You and Brook stood in the snow. Brook was looking at the sky, not minding his face and hair being sprinkled in white specks that you could barely tell were there with how pale his skin was. He seemed to be deep in thought, and you were, too.

He brought his head down and put his fingers to his lips as he thought. He had a habit of doing that. And the eyebrows, knitted close together in concentration. It was nice that that had never changed. You cursed yourself for thinking like that when Scarlet was in the Ninth Circle - she hated that place. How scared was she? She must have really cared about Chase. The way they looked at each other, they love one another.

Both of your ears perked up and you looked down the trail as snow crunching beneath someone's feet got closer to both of you. It was Chase. He looked somber - lonely. You knew how that felt.

You all watched each other in silence, and the cold didn't bother you much. You collected some snow on the sides of your shoes and compacted it to the floor as you and Brook watched Chase and Chase watched both of you.

"Just how long are you going to keep this up?" Brook spoke up finally. "Huh?" You looked between them, too. Keep what part up?

"I mean... I assume until you both tell me you want to find sinners on your own... Since we have an agreement," "Not that, you idiot." Brook clarified, hands in his pockets. "When are you going to stop looking for her?"

You forgot that he didn't know about Scarlet yet. You tried your best not to look Brook's way because that would totally give away that you knew where she was. You had to tell him eventually, right? Chase narrowed his eyes. "Why would I stop?"

Brook paused. "Have you considered that she might not want to see you again?" This time you couldn't stop yourself and gave Brook a disbelieving look. Chase seemed too occupied to notice. "Then I want to hear her tell me that. If she says it to my face, I'll never speak to her again. The night before she left, I... Might have gotten a little too close to her..." He looked to the floor. You raised an eyebrow.

"She might have felt uncomfortable and ran away before I woke up... I need to apologize for getting too close and let her know I'm fine with just being friends. Losing my best friend forever, just because I got a little too close... Would be the worst." You looked away from both of them and crossed your arms as Brook let his arms fall to the side and gripped them into fists.

"You're both so fucking stupid, it's unbearable." You turned to look at him again. When were you brought up in this conversation?

"W-What's with the aggression?" Chase asked in shock. Brook looked at the floor. "Because... What kind of fucking idiot falls in love with a reaper?! Something was going to happen. We should have known that. Reapers are servants of Satan. They don't get happy endings."

Chase's eyes flickered from Brook's face to yours, then back again. "I mean... I wasn't intending on ever telling her, I just got a bit too close while I was sleepy..."

"No, you shouldn't have felt that way to begin with! You shouldn't ever have been friends with her!" He shouted, flinging his arm out in exaggeration.

"Brook-" You began, but he kept speaking.

"I'm not weak like you three. I don't care what the fuck happens. And I don't care what you think of me, either. I know I'm just using you. You don't matter to me at all. You should have kept seeing her as a tool as well." You let your arms fall to your sides and your shoulders fell. Chase looked down, and you did the same. "Where is she, Brook?"

A pause.

"You should have seen this coming."

Chase took several steps forward, looming over both of you. "Where is she?" The question was directed at both of you. You opened your mouth to speak, but-

"A couple of months ago, I told Satan how much you meant to her." He stopped.

"He told her to kill you, or she'd go back to the Ninth Level. And she couldn't do it." You finished in a rush, looking up to see his reaction. "So she's gone." Brook clarified. "You're lying."

"Why the hell would we lie about it? If we lied, you'd find out eventually. She'd come back to you."

"I told you, she's gone! Just hurry up and accept it!" Brook shouted again. You hadn't seen him this aggravated in a while. There was a long pause of silence when Brook finally looked your way. You looked away. "Go ahead, punch me. Try to hurt me. I'm a reaper. I don't care. I'm stronger than you."

Chase stayed silent. "I didn't do anything wrong. You should have known I would tell Satan. I don't care about any of you. You..." He paused, his voice shaky. "Can't hurt me."

You looked at Chase again and realized he was crying. He lifted his head up and adjusted his glasses. "Brook, Deer... I know that people change. I've changed. You both protected Scarlet... From that Angel. And you're both also under the thumb of Satan. So... It's not your fault, Brook." Chase turned around and started to walk away. "I'm sorry, Chase." You said loud enough for him to hear. He kept walking, and you and Brook stood in silence.

You turned your body to face him when you heard him sniff. He was crying. It wasn't a breakdown yet, but he was crying. You heaved a sigh and took a step toward him, reaching an arm out and setting it on his shoulder. "May I...?" You started.

He didn't respond, only grabbed your arm and wrapped his around your torso. You returned the hug as he cried into your shoulder. He wasn't as tense as you thought he would be.

"I hate this..." He said after a few minutes. It was muffled. "Satan will find out. Eventually. You know he will." He kept talking, gripping your shirt in his hands. "And there isn't anything we can do for them because of him. She'll have to kill him if she wants out, and she won't do that." You nodded. "I... I'm sorry," He said finally.

Your own eyes teared up. "I understand if you don't love me. It's been centuries. But you can't tell me that everything before was nothing." This time, he tensed. "IF I didn't care about you and we pursued anything, Satan would find out." He said, though it was clear it wasn't hypothetical. "He would figure it out and everything would be ruined. You'd be sent to Hell."

"...That's a risk I'm willing to take," You said quietly, spinning a bit of his hair between your fingers.

After a minute or two he pulled away and wiped his face, and you didn't try to touch him again. That was the most willing contact you've had from him in decades.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"We should save Scarlet."

The temptation to say something sarcastic was strong, but he probably needed you to be serious right now. And you could do that. "Lead the way."

"Oof. Owie. Ouch." - Graveweaver

(The end shows Scarlet in the Ninth Circle with longer hair. Like, to her ass long hair.)