Death the Kid: Growing Up Symmetrical

Chapter 6: Comfort

Stein POV
I quickly walked back to the academy with Kid still crying in my arms. I tried to calm him down but he was still freaking out. I didn't blame him, he was almost killed by a Kishin, not that he knew what it was. And it was only 10 in the morning. He tightened his grip on me and I held him closer.

I never really connected well with children, most of the blame goes to my obsession of dissection. However when it came to my Meister's children, I could restrain myself. They were pretty adorable too. Though it did make me curious how much power they had locked inside them.

When we arrived at the infirmary Kid still hadn't stopped crying, but he wasn't screaming anymore. After dressing him in a clean black onesie from a box that I had gotten when Lord Death told us about Kid and Luna, I sat him down on the examining table to make sure he wasn't injured. No broken bones, no blood, no signs of illness. Just fear. He was still crying. I took off my glasses and kneeled in front of him.

"Hey come on Kid, don't cry. It's ok, you're safe now." I said quietly as I wiped his tears away with my thumb. More started pouring down his face so I wiped them away with the back of my sleeve. He looked straight at me. I gave him a little smile, letting him know there was nothing to fear. Usually when me or Spirit or Lord Death smile at him, he smiles and giggles back. His smiles could light up your day, no matter how crappy a day you're having. Not now. "Oh come on, please Kid? Just a little smile? A giggle? Something?" Nothing. Not even a tiny grin. This is when I knew he was definitely not himself.

He started shivering a little. I wasn't sure if it was from fear or if he was just cold. I took off my lab coat and put his arms in the sleeves. I wrapped him up with the rest of it since it was so big on him. That seemed to stop his shivering and make him calm down a little. He reached towards me, implying he wanted me to hold him again. The sleeves of my coat hung off his tiny arms. I sighed and picked him up. He was no longer crying, just a little whimper and sniffle here and there.

I grabbed a small piece of cloth and washed his pale, tear stained face. He looked up at me with sad, droopy eyes and pouted a little. He was probably exhausted after that near-death experience, even if he was a reaper-child.

I sat down on one of the beds and just held him and rocked him slowly. He leaned into my chest and put his tiny hands against me. He was still whimpering a little.

"Sshhh Kid, it's ok. You're safe now, nothing can hurt you. Shh..." That seemed to comfort him a little. "I'll always be here to protect you Kid. Because........" Then I whispered something into his ear.

I stroked the back of his soft ebony hair and softly hummed something gentle to him. Before I knew it he had fallen asleep, his little head rested right on my heart. I smiled at the sleeping child in my arms. I was feeling a little exhausted myself, so I grabbed an extra blanket, went to the couch and laid down with Kid on my chest. I kissed his forehead and softly rubbed his tiny, warm back until I fell asleep with him.

Spirit POV
I walked into the academy with a sniffling Luna in my arms. When I got to the infirmary, I noticed the door was unlocked, which was unusual. Me, Lord Death, and all the other academy staff had their own key to almost every room, but Stein likes to lock the door anyway. I quietly walked in.

"Stein, Lord Death said to-" I stopped when I saw Stein sleeping on the couch with Kid nuzzled on top of him and wrapped in his lab coat. I smiled and fixed the blanket so it covered them both. I decided to check Luna myself. She didn't seem hurt, she didn't wince when I touched her or anything, and she didn't seem sick at all. She was just freaked out. She saw her own brother almost die, that would freak me out too!

i kneeled down so we were leveled face to face. She looked at me with droopy golden hues. Her cheeks were flushed and tearstained. I took a washcloth and cleaned her face with lukewarm water. I knew where Stein kept their extra clothes so I grabbed Luna a clean dress and leggings. She wasn't crying anymore, which was good.

When I looked back at her after wringing out the cloth, she was almost falling asleep sitting up. I gently picked her up and put her against my shoulder where she rested her tired head. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tighter. I held her close and sat down on the bed, leaning against the headrest. Before long she was asleep, but still holding me close. I gently rubbed her back to soothe her. I looked at Stein and Kid who were still sleeping peacefully.

Stein had never been much of a child-person. But whenever he's around Kid or Luna, he's a completely different person. He goes from being this creepy, dissection-obsessed professor, to this gentle, caring, loving man. Kid and Luna look up to him, sort of like a god-father. It's kind of adorable, actually, the way he cares about them so much. I guess that comes from being such close friends with Lord Death and I.

Kid started to shake a little, and Stein put his arms around him, calming him. Kid's little arms went limp and hung down over Stein. Then he crawled a little higher on Stein so that the top of his head rested under Stein's chin. Stein, still sleeping, put one hand on the back of Kid's neck and stroked his soft black hair, and the other hand over his back. Kid then put his arms over Stein's shoulders, pulling himself closer.

This was too cute. I slowly got up and got Stein's camera, and took a few quick pictures of the two of them. Once the pictures printed out, I put one on Stein's desk and the other 2 in an envelope for Kid and Lord Death to have. I knew Lord Death would want to remember this. Stein might kill me for it, but it would be worth it. It all would.