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

~Chapter 20~

Since you were too young to stay home alone all day and there was some time before you had to go to school, you spent the next few days at the daycare within the reaper dispatch as both of your guardians worked all day. Since Grell was the one to typically finish work early with her partner working overtime, she was the one to take you home. Her thrilling driving skills remained unpleasant, but you became slightly more accustomed to it each day in a way that you were fairly confident that you wouldn't be killed because of her driving.

Being at the daycare again brought you memories of your time here in your old life. It was a long time ago, so a lot of those memories were vague. But you did remember that instead of the young lady that was supervising the room, it was your mother in that place at the time. You remembered how terrible she was at managing a large number of young children. However, a part of you wished she was the supervisor again. As long as it wasn't aimed at you personally, witnessing your mother's fiery side was entertaining.

Before you knew it, you were in school which had its own aftercare program that wasn't anything like the daycare at the dispatch. At the daycare, you were actually the oldest one there. The other children were young toddlers at least a year or two younger than yourself. But the aftercare at the school was refreshing since you were surrounded by children your own age. The program lasted until six in the evening, which was around the time Grell left work if not earlier.

Within your first full week of school, Grell one afternoon decided to take a trip to Will's office.

Will didn't have to look up to see who the unexpected visitor was, as he knew that Grell was the only person who didn't knock first.

"Hello, darling!" She happily greeted her husband, who was, as usual, had his nose in paper work.

"Hello, Grell," Will greeted her back before she took the folder of documents on his desk and tossed them to the other side of the office.

Will sighed. "What are you doing, Grell?" He said as his lover took a seat on his lap. "Don't you have souls to reap this afternoon?"

"I do." Grell smirked. "But I wanted to see you! You know I would much rather see my man than reap any soul in the human world. Do you mind?" She nuzzled her face in the crook of Will's neck.

"Not as long as we make it quick. I don't want you getting in trouble again, or have to work overtime just for you being late on those souls." With another sigh, he allowed his head to rest against Grell's. As much as work was important to him, he didn't mind sneaking in sweet moments here and there behind closed doors. Since he began dating her, he has found that moments like these helped him become more productive at his job.

"While I am here to feel your arms around me," Grell said. "I also wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure. What is it?"

Grell sat up so that she could look at her lover. "What do you think of (Y/N)?"

"Oh, er..." Will paused as he tried to formulate his answer. "Given that I only see (Y/P) between the time I come home and the time (Y/P) goes to bed, I would say that (Y/N) is a well-behaved child. More so than any other child I've seen, especially at that age," he responded honestly.

"I'm pleasantly surprised that (Y/P) that they haven't been destructive thus far," he added. "I was concerned about our intimacy once we had a child in the house, but it makes me relieved to see that our nightly routine after dinner has not changed. It's something I've always valued in our relationship with our busy work lives. I respect (Y/N) as your child."

"OUR child," Grell gently corrected him. When Will went quiet, she said, "You're (Y/P) parent too."

"Just what are you getting at?" Though barely noticeable and could only be heard by those who knew him well, there was a hint of uneasiness in Will's voice.

"I just would like to see you two interact more! I just LOVE it when you do so. It brings a smile to my face every time. Besides, It's about time you step up and be a father. You can't avoid this forever, you know," She said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not exactly sure what you want me to do. I bring home dinner every night since the stove got destroyed to make sure both you and (Y/N) are fed and I always make sure to greet (Y/P) when I walk in the door."

"That's certainly a start, darling," Grell said. "But not quite enough in the long run. ANYONE can feed a kid."

"You know I'm not the paternal type, Grell." The longer this conversation went on, the intense, typical sternness in Will's eyes faded to a soft, almost helpless look.

"Naturally paternal or not, you are a man of success. All you have to do is be more involved is all. You'll truly be bonding before you know it!"

"(Y/N) is already biased towards disliking me," Will pointed out. "I can sense it. It's no surprise, that's how all children feel about me. You, to my surprise, have been able to bond with (Y/N) with ease. But you and I are completely different, Grell. Just how do you suggest I bond with a child much less a child of that age?"

"You're a smart man. A devilishly handsome one too," Grell said flirtatiously. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"I'll..." Will paused. "I'll see what I can do. But I can't guarantee anything. Besides, I'm doing it more for you than anything."

"I believe in you," Grell said warmly before wrapping her arms around Will, giving him a tight squeeze.

"You should probably get back to reaping those souls on your to-die list. Please, I don't want to see you get in trouble again," Will pleaded.

"I suppose I should," Grell said with slight disappointment. She stood from her lover's lap. "I'll see you at home then?"

Will nodded. Grell leaned down to give him a long passionate kiss. He watched as his partner left the room, closing the door behind her. When Grell had officially disappeared from his sight, a part of Will regretted making her leave at that instant. He wished that she was still here for at least another minute.

He glanced over at the paperwork that was scattered at the other side of the room and stood to go pick it up. Will placed the documents back on his desk and reorganized them. But when he tried to refocus himself on his paperwork, he couldn't. Instead, he found himself reflecting on his conversation with Grell so far.

While he meant what he said earlier, it still felt strange to him having a child in the house no matter how long he had to get used to the idea. He figured that he would get used to it soon until he now realized that under Grell's request, he was going to have to step up and play the role of a father figure towards you. And he didn't want to find out what would happen should he decide to decline that request. But this was going to be a challenge for him.

Hopefully with time, he'd figure it out. And he hoped he would do it sufficiently enough to make Grell happy. There shouldn't be any rush as long as he tried to show some progress in some shape or form, whatever that was.

In the meantime, he had a lot of work to do before the end of his shift.