Reigen Ratata

Well i guess hes kind of cute-in a rat sort of way

Ah yes, your payment. Your wonderful, wonderful payment. You were a maid now. Or I guess just the person with a mop and feather duster. Reigen took pity on you not having any cash and said you could pay him back by cleaning. He never specified how long though- you were starting to think he might keep you around as long as you were willing to show up.

You stuck out like a sore thumb and Reigen had taken the liberty of getting you some new clothes to fit in better. Though that came at the price of you cleaning more often.

It had been roughly a week since the exorcism, you'd gotten to know Mob a lot better. The curious middle schooler was open to chat when Reigen went on break, and you took the time to talk to him. Seemed the little guy wasn't the most expressive, but he was kind and sweet. You were hoping he would smarten up sooner or later and see through Reigen's shady business.
"My master is a really nice person!" He would pipe up when you asked about his thoughts on Reigen. You didn't buy into it, poor kid didn't didn't know how to get a clue.

Today was a slow Tuesday afternoon, no clients had come in. Reigen and Mob sat across from each other in the corner and shared snacks. You twitched a little with irritation, Reigen got crumbs on the floor. What a rat.
"Hey y/n could you clean up the mess?" Reigen asked, kicking his feet up. You frowned a little, grabbing the broom but then letting go.
"Clean it with your psychic powers, Reigen. I'd really like to see them in action." You said near mockingly. A small smile graced your lips as you saw him visibly shrink back. His eyes darted to Mob and then you.
"..I..don't feel like it!" He dismissed, his hair fraying in frustration like it does in anime physics because that's that's a thing.
"Such a shame, really thought the number one psychic of the twenty first century could pick up a few crumbs." You grabbed what you needed and cleaned up the little mess on the floor. Reigen didn't look pleased, almost a little embarrassed actually. He acted like a child, but it hit you that he was in fact older than you...by a year. You put the crumbs into the trash and brush off your clothes. E w your clothes. Reigen bought you a discount One direction T Shirt..how....thoughtful. You thought you could never hit rock bottom but here you are, cleaning for a con artist wearing 1D merch.

"HM would you look at the time I need to go get my haircut" Reigen got up, acting like nothing happened. "Y/n watch Mob for me? Close the office for a bit." He headed out without saying much. You closed the office door and looked back to Mob who seemed a little under the weather.
"You alright little buddy?" You break the silence. He perked his head up, bowl cut bobbing a bit as his eyes met yours.
"Huh..? Yeah I guess so.." he trailed off. Your mouth curled downwards into a frown. It bugged you to see him sad.
"Come on you can tell me! I'm good at keeping things secret." You say.
"I have an algebra test tomorrow and I'm not the best at math-" he blurts out. "Psychic powers can do a lot for me but I can't use them to do basic everyday things.." you smiled a little bit. You weren't all too good at math growing up either but you were a little more than 10 years older than the kid! Surely his homework would come easily to you. You sit down in the empty spot next to him.
"I can help you study if you want!"
"Really?" His eyes brightened a little. Gosh what a cute little guy. You nodded and the two of you spent about forty minutes doing math. Mob picked it up pretty quickly and said you teach him better than the staff at his school. It makes you lighten up a bit.
____________
"I'm bAACk how do I look?" Reigen struck a pose.
"The exact same." You and Mob said in unison. You handed Mob his back pack since it was nearly time for him to be getting home.
"Did you even change anything?" You raise an eyebrow.
"Of course I did! My bangs are shorter now!" Reigen exclaims. But it's obvious that he barely cut any of it.
"Just admit you were skipping work for an hour." You roll your eyes, but they land on Mob. You see him quietly straighten out his school uniform, ready to leave for the day. You pat him on the head and wish him luck for his test tomorrow, he smiled. That was rare, you hadn't really seen him smile since last week. You return the smile and watch as he leaves the office, starting his walk back to his home.

"It seems he likes you, huh." Reigen chirps, walking closer to you. "I'm sort of like a father to him, I wouldn't be surprised if he saw you like a mom." He says. You try to hide the look of discomfort on your face. What is this rat man implying?
"Rat man?" Reigen repeats. Crap you said that out loud you absolute doofus. "Psh you'd be surprised." He shrugged it off. You didn't know what he meant by that. There was an awkward silence before he bent closer to you, causing you to take a step back and fumble. "You're pretty attractive when you're not scruffed up from being on the street-" he says almost half consciously. Your face flushed. Not because of anything cheesy just- what kind of statement is that? Was it a compliment? How were you supposed to react?
"I should get going." You say, cutting the moment short.
"But you have nowhere to go 😔"
"How did you say that out loud-"
"That's not important y/n- I've realized that you're not in any position to head back into your old life style on the street. It'll be chilly in a month or so and you'll get sick." That took you by surprise.
"You actually care about that?" It felt like you weren't talking to the same Reigen.
"Course I do, if Mob trusts you I have no reason not to." He shrugged. Maybe he wasn't such a bad person after all.
"Then what you you suppose I do?" You asked, eyeing your beaten up and worn backpack, it was propped up in the corner and reminded you of the few weeks you had to fend for yourself. Surely Reigen was a little annoying from time to time, and cleaning constantly was a chore, but it put a purpose to your life. Days were more tolerable now. Reigen was kind of cute actually. But in the rat kind of way.

"I suggest..." Reigen stretched out the words dramatically, like he was building up for something. "That you come home with me!"

[to be continued-ChOke]