The Reaper Child: Book II [Child!Reader Protagonist]

~Chapter 8~

Since there was a marathon going on, you and Grell continued to watch that same show for awhile. By the time you both watched four episodes straight, the sky was completely dark. It was then you heard Grell's stomach growl.

"I wonder what is taking Will so long...?" She mumbled. "He should be back by now."

It turns out that Will's delay was caused by an unexpected hour of overtime. As usual, he was the chosen one when it came to cleaning other people's mistakes in which they won't bother to fix themselves. Normally, Will would contact his lover and let her know whenever he had to work later. But this time, he ended up getting overwhelmed with paperwork and merely forgot.

By the time Will arrived at the place where he was going to be picking up dinner, it ended up being one of the busiest times. It took him awhile just to finally get to the front of the line and place the order.

While he was waiting for the order to be ready, he had plenty of time to think. He began to reflect back on his conversation with Grell, remembering how shocked he was at Grell's announcement of wanting a child. He specifically remembered both of them at one point agreeing that they were never going to have children, and that they were going to live a quiet life dedicated to each other and maintaining a quality life for the both of them.

He recalled that the explanation of Grell's sudden "baby fever" was due to meeting a well-behaved child, which just so happened to be you. But even then, he failed to see how those puzzles could fit together. It wasn't logical to him. What was logical was the possibility of Grell hitting her head at one point during her time as a temporary daycare supervisor which led to her unusual desire. He told Grell that in order for her to be able to adopt you, you would have to be no younger than six years of age. This gave Grell two years to rethink her decision. He hoped that her baby fever would subside and things would get back to normal.

But that didn't happen. Over time, Grell became more sure that it was what she wanted. Will knew that there was no convincing her out of it, and he wanted her to be happy. He became willing to do what was required of him to grant Grell her wish.

After he signed those documents that his lover needed to make arrangements to come pick you up, it struck him of how concrete this situation was now. He knew that there would be changes routine wise with another member in the household, especially if that member is a child. He cherished the remaining absolute alone time he had with Grell before today.

Several hours had passed since Grell had picked you up in the early afternoon. It was late evening now and Grell had not once complained about you which told Will that she was content and having no issues thus far. As pleased as he was to take part in making her happy, he had a slight feeling that his partner would want him to participate in ways that wasn't merely financial.

But he just didn't see how it was possible. He has never once been good with children. It wasn't in his interest to hang around children either, just as children aren't interested in interacting with a man like Will. Will couldn't recall ever having a paternal bone in his body.

His thoughts were interrupted when his number was called. He stood from one of the tables he was sitting in.

"Thank you," Will said after he collected his order from the cashier. He left the building and headed to his car. After he got inside and secured tonight's dinner on the floor in front of the passengers side, he sat back against his seat and took several slow deep breaths before starting the engine.

He exited out of the parking lot, not sure what to expect when he got home.

Once Will arrived at the parking lot of his and Grell's home, he parked the car and shut off the engine. He gave himself another minute to just sit in his car, lost in his thoughts.

"This is it..." Will sighed. He stared at the crimson house before him. He knew that once he opened that door, there was a high possibility that he would be put on the spot in a situation far from what he is familiar with. Although he naturally had an aloof and stoic demeanor,, he knew he couldn't be too cold or distant towards you, especially in the long run. Grell wouldn't like it, even if she personally adores his intimidating personality. This was tricky, and he didn't have much longer to ponder on this.

Suddenly a few more hours of overtime sounded appealing to him.

Will glanced at his watch. It was fairly late in the evening. This gave him some hope and helped aid some of his uneasiness. He could simply just get through dinner as efficiently as he could. Maybe offer one polite exchange or two with you during that time. Then after dinner, he'd simply go on with his nightly routine and go to bed. That would be a simple solution he could perform.

But then, he remembered an old conversation he had with Grell regarding ground rules that would either continue or take place when you moved in. While there weren't very many, they were still essential. One of those rules were that you were not allowed in their bedroom at any time. He did not want the habit of you coming in to sleep on their bed at all, even if it was a once in a while occurrence.

Sure, he much preferred to have the freedom to be intimate with his partner without the mood killing concern of a child walking in on them.

But that wasn't all.

Grell is the only person Will has ever been able to sleep peacefully with. He has never been able to do that with anyone else, not even any of his previous partners. When he woke up in the morning, it was Grell's face he wanted to see, not Grell and a child.

Since Will knew that Grell was loud (Even though in this case, it's what he loved about her), and that children were also loud, he wanted to be certain that he could have an escape from the nuisance. He needed his quiet time, whether it was to escape, recharge, or get work done.

Will's cell phone suddenly went off. Without looking, he knew that it was Grell wondering where dinner was. She was most likely starving by now. Speaking of which, he and Grell were going to have to go grocery shopping soon to purchase microwave meals and anything that didn't require a stove to prepare. With their most recent stove being destroyed with no surprise, it was going to be awhile before they could buy another one.

Will let out another sigh, annoyed with himself for getting worked up about this petty situation. He was normally calm and knew what to do when something went differently than expected. He wasn't used to this foreign feeling of certainty.

He grabbed tonight's dinner and exited out of the car.

He knew what to do know, or at least he believes he does.