Grim

Death seldom begged. It wasn't in his nature. Sure, he'd had people on their knees for him countless times, but never once did he think he'd find himself kissing the feet of his greatest enemy in exchange for a life. 

A single mortal life.

A life Grim usually wouldn't think twice about pulling into the underworld, yet here he was, praying that Life would return, the only thing that mattered to him.

"Don't make me say it again," Grim thundered, his head hanging so low that his black locks dripped just above his cheekbones. 

Life laughed, her voice the most disgusting sound anyone had ever heard. "Oh, I don't need to hear it again." She lifted Grim's chin to meet her gaze. "The notorious Reaper on all fours beneath me speaks volumes enough. Then again, that's what you get for falling in love with a human. And an unstable one at that."

Standing not fifty feet away from Grim as he came up with every excuse to save her life, Minnie slammed her eyes shut, remembering how her life had been. The loneliness. The pain. The fear. That was before Grim. Grim had taken that all away. He'd given her a reason to live, but knowing that she could never really be with him until she died, Minnie laid herself to rest the way she had wanted to for a long time until the Reaper himself saved her soul.

Realizing what she'd done, Minnie winced. This was all her fault. And now, the only love she'd ever had was paying the price for her life. Her singular mortal life. The one she was too eager to throw away. One that she had ended much too soon.

"How about a bargain?" Grim returned, his ebony eyes deepening beneath his brows as he peered at his captor. "I know there's something of mine you want."

"In return for what, baby brother?"

The Grim Reaper peered over at Minnie, his gaze softening as she forced an empathetic smile to her face. "You give her a second chance. You send her back right where she left off, and you don't touch her until I come to take her home with me."

Life twirled her gold bracelet around her pale, bony wrist. Had she not known any better, Minnie would have thought she was a skeleton.

"But you've forgotten one crucial thing, baby brother."

Grim heaved as his sister held her hand up to his neck, lifting him to his feet with a single flick of her finger.

"What more could you take from him?" Minnie screamed, hot tears collecting in her eyes as she reminisced on the only love she'd ever known. The way he found her in one of her darkest moments and refused to leave her until she was asleep in his comfortably muscular arms. Even when she would wake up in the middle of the night, he was there to ensure she knew how much he treasured her and didn't want to find her in his underworld until he said it was her time.

Looking back now, Minnie regretted everything. Every choice that led up to her lover's humiliation.

The only problem was Minnie knew there would be no second chances, even though, before seeing her soulmate on her knees, she didn't want a second chance.

But it wasn't every day that Death himself begged at the knees of his cruel sister. So if he thought Minnie's life- a single mortal life- was worth it, she knew she had something the world needed. Something only she could give. 

Something not even all of Death's power could provide.

"Tell me what you want as long as she goes free," Grim replied, his voice unwavering and gentle as he spoke of his lover. It was as if he were whispering in Minnie's ear, his words sending shivers down her spine.

Life sneered. "I want half the souls in the underworld."

"You really are a cruel mistress," the Reaper shot back as he slowly regained balance and made his way towards his sister. "No."

"Half is fair. Half is an even split."

"What could you possibly do with already used souls?"

The air in the room froze as Life twirled a strand of her golden hair around her finger, her lips curling wickedly. "That's not up for discussion."

Grim snickered. "Then no."

"Then your little pet," Life spat. "Comes with me."

Grim took a second to think before offering his following proposal. "You can have one-fifth. One in every five souls for whatever bidding you have in mind."

"No," Minnie muttered. "My life doesn't equal one-fifth of your souls, Grim. That's not fair to them at all. It's not a fair trade."

"You're more important than anything I've ever seen." Death's voice reverberated through Minnie's mind as memories of his fingers across her skin made her breath hitch. "I would move Heaven and hell for you."

Life rolled her eyes. "Do you have something better in mind, girl?"

Before she could even think, Grim turned, his eyes fixated on his love as he spoke. "My life force for hers."

The room became chaotic as angels and demons began chattering, their voices mixing like a choir of harps and nails on a chalkboard. 

"No-" Minnie wailed.

"Done."

Life strutted towards her brother before forcing him to the ground. As violently as she could, she threw her hand atop his head, leaving Minnie helpless as the Grim Reaper's very own sister eradicated him from existence, leaving nothing but a colorless corpse in his wake.

The crowd silenced as Minnie fell to her knees and sobbed. The sound of her heart shattering echoed between worlds before the sound of an alarm clock threw her from her nightmare.

She was home, back in bed, as if nothing had ever happened.

As if her love were nothing more than a horrifying dream.

As if she weren't the one exception to the fact that, while he still existed, Grim seldom begged.