Death's Kiss

Liz wasn't quite sure when it happened but it did, somewhere along the way Kid became so much more than a rich, spoiled brat she was conning.

Liz wasn't quite sure when it happened. When she went from using him and hating all he had to when she could just tolerate being in the same room as him to actually liking him.

When he went from Shinigami's privileged son to a rich, spoiled, brat, to just another boy to her partner and best friend.

It was probably when they had met Kid's dad for the first time in person.

:::

They'd only contacted him through mirrors so this was actually the first time they'd be meeting Kid's father face to face. It had only been a three months since they first started living with him.

Kid was even worse than usual.

"No! No, no, no, no! It has to be perfect!" Kid was yelling at the wall, glaring at the painting with such intensity it was amazing it didn't catch on fire.

Liz rolled her eyes and pushed off the couch, "Just what exactly is the problem young master?"

The blond had taken to calling him that, the only problem was that despite it being an honorable title, coming out of her mouth it sounded sarcastic and un-respectful, just like most of what she said.

Kid stopped his freaking out for a moment to frown at her, "I really wish you would call me by my name—" should've figured he'd be more bothered by what she said and not how she said it—"How are we supposed to work together if you won't even call me by my given name?"

Liz just rolled her eyes again and chomped on her gum louder, knowing how much it irritated him.

"So what exactly is the problem?" She brought her nails up to inspect them, still not quite used to how clean they were.

"Look at it!" Kid pointed at the painting.

Liz looked at it and raised her eyebrows, "It's a picture of a flower."

Black and white, actually, of a daisy it wasn't actually bad, kind of sad though but it looked cool enough.

"It's unsymmetrical!" He wailed. Of course that was what he'd be worried about, how nice it must be to have so much money you don't even have actual problems.

Liz scratched her head angrily, "Than just get another one! Goddammit."

Kid blinked and looked at her, "Another one?"

"Yeah, another one stupid, you know, so it matches?" Liz clicked her tongue against her teeth and looked away. She'd never admit it but his eyes made her uncomfortable, they were so unnatural. They kept on changing colors, one moment it was gold, than yellow, than golden yellow, than another shade completely but what really freaked her out was what was hidden behind his eyes. It was something too mature for a kid his age to have, to know, but what really scared her was that—at times—she could see something dark and cold lurking in the yellow depths of his eyes.

"Besides why does it matter anyway? You think it's goin' to take attention off the street rats you adopted?" Liz's voice was bitter and cold.

Kid stood up now and looked right into her eyes, no easy feat considering the guy barely came up to her neck, "I wish. Truth is you and Patty are probably going to be the only thing that will be perfect. Only thing he probably won't criticize."

His voice was biting—for once his words weren't formal and almost cold in its politeness—but not at her, it was at himself. A shiver went down her spine when she met his eyes head on and she realized just what it was about his eyes that unnerved her.

It was what she saw when she looked in the mirror.

It was only 10 minutes into the introduction and Liz had never wanted to punch anyone more. Liz was no stranger to back alley deals, meaning she could easily see the double meaning in just about everything but this guy's—God's?—words had nothing but double meanings. Every time he spoke it had some kind of hidden meaning and it starting to piss her off.

"So how are your studies with your tutor Kiddo?" Shinigami's voice was still high pitched and childish but there was distinct coldness in his voice that was reserved only for his son. "Are you doing better in your history courses?"

Kid's hands clenched tighter, his white knuckles going even whiter, almost translucent now. But when he spoke his voice was calm, not a single hint of the frustration he must be feeling. "Unfortunately the tutor quit."

"Why?" Liz gritted her teeth, like the stupid death god didn't already know. He was just trying to pick on his son.

"Because he was—stupid and incompetent and he shouldn't have—"

"That's enough!" The reaper's voice dropped 10 octaves 'till it was almost a growl. "I expect more from you Kid, how can you ever succeed me and be a good shinigami if you won't take your studies seriously?!"

Kid bowed his head but his hands clenched tighter still, Liz was surprised the skin hadn't ripped by now, "I'm sorry father. I spoke out of line."

Liz couldn't take any more of this. "I'm sorry but I'm not feeling well. I think I'll go lie down."

Without waiting for a response she swept out of the room and didn't stop walking 'till she was in her own room. She gently shut the door behind her and slid down the wall.

Dammit. Why did she even care anyway? She looked at her clenched fist and loosened it, chuckling quietly she tilted her head towards the ceiling.

She knew exactly why, because watching him and his father was like watching her and her mother, it was disturbing how similar it was. She never could talk out against her mother, no matter how much she tried. And even when she did all it took was a look, a word and she was back to being the meek Elizabeth Thompson her mother could control without any effort.

Now she knew exactly why Kid had asked Patty to go somewhere else while his father was over, because despite how formal he was he cared.

Liz almost laughed at the thought; he actually cared what they thought of him.

And he asked her to stay because—even if he seemed cold and unreachable at times—he didn't want to face his father alone.

Liz laughed and pushed back her hair roughly, she must be going crazy.

Kid sighed and walked blearily into the bathroom. He was so tired but he couldn't sleep, his father's double sided words still whirling around in his head making his stomach clench uncomfortably. He turned on the light and walked over to the sink, he splashed himself with water. He blinked the water out of his eyes and fumbled for the towel. He looked at himself in the mirror and studied the reflection, pale skin, yellow eyes that changed every time you looked at them, and abyss black hair with three white stripes only on the right side.

Look at you, so imperfect. How do you expect to ever become a Shinigami if you're still trash? A dark smoky voice whispered in the back of his head.

"Shut up." He said to the empty room.

Then his reflection changed, it grew taller, darker, than it seemed to leap out of the mirror. Kid stumbled back and hit his hip painfully on the doorknob. Stupid, stupid imperfection. Who do you think you are, you arrogant jackass? If you become Shinigami, you'll just screw it up just like everything else in your life. Probably end up killing your weapons too. You'll just end up killing Liz and Patty. So many, many, many imperfections.

The words coiled itself around him, 'till he was suffocating in it, 'till he was drowning in it.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! Without thinking Kid's fist shot out and punched the mirror.

Liz had always been a light sleeper, so it was no surprise when she woke to the sound of something being broken. The elder Thompson carefully got out of bed, making sure not to wake her sister even if Patty could sleep through an earthquake. She pulled out the switchblade she always kept on her and carefully sneaked down the hall. She saw the light on in the bathroom and ran as quietly as she could over there.

"Jeez! What did you do?" Liz immediately dropped the knife and rushed over to him. Kid was cradling his bloody fist to his chest and behind him was a shattered mirror.

"What does it look like? I punched the mirror." His voice was emotionless, almost robotic.

"No shit Sherlock, what I'm asking is why?" The dirty blond picked up his injured hand and inspected it in the low florescent light of the bathroom. It didn't look to bad, the skin was torn and you could see the bone if you squinted but there weren't any shards of glass.

"No reason." He wouldn't meet her eyes even when she started cleaning his knuckles. He knew the exact reason why, it was because the mirror was taunting him. Or rather his reflection was.

Liz looked up at him from beneath her long lashes and he suddenly realized that, not only was she a girl, she was an attractive girl.

"It's because you didn't like it right?" Liz whispered, her eyes focusing on what she was doing.

"Like what?"

Her powder blue eyes flashed up to his, "Don't fuck around with me, I've punched a lot of mirrors too, you know. When I was on the streets, every time I looked in the mirror all I saw a street rat that couldn't even provide for herself, let alone her little sister." Her lips twisted into a sarcastic smile, "But most of all I saw my bitch of a mother."

Kid licked his lips, hesitant to open up with her, "It's—it's not that I didn't like what was staring back at me, I just didn't like what it was saying."

Her eyes narrowed, "Really? What was it saying?"

"Well, it certainly did call me an arrogant jack ass but it didn't call me spoiled though." He chuckled when her eyes flashed over to him in disbelief. How did he know?

He leaned in close to her, 'till there was almost no space, and whispered, "What? Did you honestly think I didn't know what was going through your head?"

She didn't say anything, just continued staring at him in shock.

"You met my dad today didn't you?" He was still close, too close—so close she couldn't breathe—she wanted to move away but his eyes kept her rooted to her spot. "Did you honestly think my life was so damn easy? I'm the son of death Liz. People may respect me; they definitely fear me but none of them like me, not really."

He chuckled bitterly, his warm breath fanning her face, "You know I grew up friendless? No one wanted to play with me. There were all these rumors surrounding me when I was younger. That if you talked to me, you'd get a life threatening disease. That if you became friends with me you'd end up dying an early death. That if I touched you I'd steal your soul."

His face twisted and his golden rod eyes darkened, the effect making her body hot than cold than hot again. "Who'd want to be friends with a freak like me?"

He finally leaned back giving her room to breathe but her thoughts were still scattered. "You had it hard on the streets but you had someone to help shoulder your pain, your burden. I didn't. Just imagine Liz, being trapped in this house all by yourself, surrounded by people who don't ask things of you. No they demand things of you. You do one thing wrong..."

He laughed humorlessly and shook his head slightly, "Sometimes I wonder if I was ever kid in the first place. Ironic don't you think?"

And Liz did, she imagined what it would be like for a kid to grow up in this environment and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him, at least she had Patty. But she knew pity wasn't what he wanted, just someone to vent out on. So she finished wrapping up his knuckles and stood up. "I don't know why you did it and I don't really care but you should get some sleep. Night Kid."

She walked out door and back to her bedroom, just as she was about to close the door she decided against it.

In the bathroom, Kid smiled. That was the first time she ever called him by his name. He felt something in him loosen up, just the tiniest bit.

:::

Liz smiled, watching as Patty tried to explain to Kid how to play Monopoly. Yeah, that was probably the first time she actually saw the real him, the one that was hidden under the pressure of being the "perfect son". And she was surprised at how alike they were, both lonely and both having too much on their shoulders for someone so young. But that was only the beginning; she only realized he was how much of a boy he was when she and Patty found out about his surprising skill.

:::

"Kiddo! Where are we going?" Asked Patty, her lips curved into a smile. The truth was that Patty didn't really care where they were going as long as Kid and her big sister was with her.

Kid smiled a rare excited glint in his eyes, "I wanted to show you guys something about me."

Liz wrinkled her nose, "It's not anything perverted right?"

Kid immediately turned red and started sputtering, "O—of course not! Wh—who do you think I am?"

Liz and Patty looked at each other and giggled making Kid pout when he realized they were messing with him but he couldn't help but smile when he saw their laughing faces.

"We're here." The two girls looked up to see…

"A skate park?" The older Thompson raised an eye brow. "Why are we here?"

Kid grinned and the girls looked at him in surprise, they'd never seen him so excited.

"Beezulbub!" The young reaper put his hands in front of him and, the girls watched with wide eyes, as a freakin' skateboard came out of his sleeves.

Patty squatted in front of the skateboard and started poking it, "Neh. Kid-kun how'd you do that? Can you teach me?"

Patty looked at him with her big, cyan blue eyes. At first when Kid had seen a photo of both of the Brooklyn Demons, he was surprised to know that they were sisters. It was obvious they were related—anyone with eyes could see that—but it was hard to believe they were sisters. Patty had china doll blue eyes and shoulder length golden-blonde hair with a petite frame while Liz had mysterious powder blue eyes and long dirty blonde hair with a more slender and taller body. But when you looked closer you saw traits only sisters could have, the skin tone, and the shape of their eyes, nose, and mouth, along with their smiles. While Patty's was a bit sweeter—if not crazy at times—Liz's was more demure, giving her an air of mystery and edginess.

Kid blinked, realizing he was staring at the two, "Sorry but only I'm able to do that."

"Really? Why?" Liz met his gaze, they hadn't talked about that night in the bathroom 6 months ago but ever since then she'd been more—relaxed with him.

Kid stood up, shrugging, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Not really sure."

Kid placed one foot on the skate board and grinned back at them, "You guys want to see something cool?"

Without waiting for an answer, he sped off on the skateboard. The sisters watched in amazement as their meister—the cool-headed, always in control, OCD, symmetry obsessed kid—performed Ollies, 360's, and other tricks they didn't even know the name of. But what amazed them most of all was the sparkle in his eyes and the way his face lit up with joy as he grinded on the rails and performed mind bending tricks on the half-pipe.

20 minutes later he skidded to a stop in front of them and kicked up his board, a huge grin on his face, "So? What you guys think?"

Liz was speechless, over the past few months she'd seen so many different sides of him, the lazy side, the arrogant side, the depressing side, but she'd never seem this side of him before. The one that was a boy and still just a kid (no pun intended), even more so in his dark wash jeans and black v-neck. It was amazing to her, even if he was covered in sweat.

"That—that was amazing Kid! How come you never told us?!" Patty yelled at him.

Kid tucked his skateboard under one arm and rubbed the back of his neck nervously (Liz wondered if he knew how unsymmetrical he looked right then), "My dad never really approved of my—hobby, people always thought it was unfit for a shinigami but…"Kid smiled. "It's—really fun. It's the one thing that relaxes me."

"Really?" Liz crossed her arms across her chest. "The one thing that relaxes you is something that can break every bone in your body?"

Despite her tone, everyone could see the smile on her face and the fond light in her eyes. It was good to see him act normal for once and not so stiff all the time.

Kid laughed—today was just full of surprises, this was the first time they'd heard Kid laugh so happily—and grinned, "Yeah I guess. I just wanted to share a piece of me with you guys. Since you're so important to me."

Liz didn't know why but his words and soft smile made her heart beat faster and left her skin feeling hot.

"You want me to show you guys some tricks?" Kid held up his skateboard and got enthusiastic nods in return.

:::

"Hey Patty, where's Kid?" Liz came out of the shower, still toweling her hair, to find that Patty was playing by herself.

"He said that he had to pick something up from Stein," Patty didn't look up, now making her giraffe a flying spy.

"Really?" Liz murmured. At that moment the door opened and in walked Kid, with a cut on his cheek and his knuckles a bloody mess, reminding her of that night all those years ago when he punched the mirror. His usually clean cut clothes were tasseled and covered in blood—not that you tell since he was wearing all black—and he was walking with a slight limp.

Patty immediately ran up to him, rare seriousness on her face, "What happened Kid? Who did this to you?"

Kid shook off her concern, "I'm fine."

Patty got in his way again, "Kid, I'm serious. Who did this to you? Just say the word and they'll regret the day they were born."

Kid smiled and patted her head, "Don't worry about that, they already do." His eyes hardened, "I made sure of that."

Kid walked past the shocked Patty and into his room. Patty had never seen him so serious—or so angry.

"What do you think that was all about?" Patty murmured to her sister, who was staring at Kid's bedroom door.

The weapon shook her head, "I'm not sure but I'm going to find out."

Liz barged into Kid's room, not bothering to knock, just at the moment when he was pulling a white v-neck over his head and she got a quick glimpse of his toned body. She felt her scalp prickle with heat but she knew she wasn't blushing—because Liz Thompson doesn't blush.

"Huh? Liz?"

Liz snapped out of it and scowled at him, "Why the hell are you coming home with bloody knuckles?"

Kid rolled his eyes and sat on the bed, "What the hell do you think happened?"

Liz was taken aback; she'd heard Kid curse before but never at her. Liz was about to say that she had no idea when a idea of what happened came to her head, her eyes narrowed, "Don't tell me you got in a fight."

It wasn't a question and he didn't answer.

"You did, didn't you?"

"And if I did?" Kid's eyes stared into her stubbornly and just like every other time, Liz's heart started to beat a little faster.

Why exactly did she have to like Death the Kid so fucking much?

"Without your weapons? Are you stupid?" Liz shook herself out of her daydream and scowled at him again, she couldn't afford to let him know how she felt. This was the only home she'd ever had, she couldn't lose it. She just couldn't, for Patty—and for herself.

Kid's dandelion eyes narrowed, "Do you really think I'm that weak Liz? I can take care of myself."

Liz moved closer to him until she was right in front of him, her hands on her hips, "I know you can take of yourself but I'm still your partner that means if you come home with blood on your clothes I'm going to worry."

Kid didn't look at her, choosing to stare at his hands that he had wrapped before she came in.

Liz sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face, "Alright, out with it. Just what exactly did they say that insulted you so much you had to teach them a lesson?"

Kid was quiet. There was only the sound of the air conditioning and the faint sound of Patty singing, then, "They weren't insulting me."

Liz blinked, "Then why'd they pick a fight with you?"

"They didn't pick a fight with me either."

"Then what? What could they have said that was so bad?"

"They insulted you." Kid stared at her defiantly.

Liz chuckled, "I can take care of myself Kid."

Kid glared at her, "You think I care? You're not just my partner Liz, you're my best friend and I won't let anyone insult you. Doesn't matter who they are."

Liz exhaled and sat down beside, trying to not think about how close they were, that all it would take is for one of them to shift and he would be touching her. She looked up at him and briefly wondered when he got taller than her, "What did they say?"

Kid's eyes flickered over to her than back down, "At first they were complimenting you. Saying how pretty you were—"at this Liz raised an eyebrow—"okay so they were saying how "hot" you were. That they'd like to ask you out and that was fine with me."

Liz nodded but noticed how his hands clenched and how his voice was a bit hard when he said that last part.

"Then," here Kid didn't bother to try and hide his disgust or his scowl. "They started talking about what would happen after. How they thought you would—like it."

Liz felt the embers of anger beginning to stir, "Are you serious? This is just ridiculous, we're twenty years old! Grow up!" Liz took a deep breath and sighed, annoyed. She looked over at Kid and her eyes became soft, "At least they didn't say anything about you."

Liz got up to leave but Kid's hand closed around her wrist and pulled her onto his lap. Liz's breath caught in her throat, she was inches away from his face, so close she could count his lashes if she wanted too. All she had to do was just lean in just a little bit and they'd be—

"I don't care if they insult me Liz," Kid's hand was still curled around her wrist and she could feel every part of her that was touching him, her body felt too hot. Kid leaned in even closer, "But no one insults you."

The young woman's heart was now on over drive, beating so hard and fast that she could hear it roaring in her ears. The 19 year old man shifted her, so one of his arms was wrapped loosely around her waist and the other was on the back of her neck, forcing her to look at him. A thought came to her mind, she was practically straddling him. Her hands hung uselessly at her side.

"But you want to know what pisses me off even more?" His voice was low and husky, sending a shiver down her spine, and his eyes were the color of amber yellow and just as hard. The hand that was around her waist move lower, 'till it almost rested at her hips. "It's the fact that they said you would actually date guys like that. You wouldn't right?"

He moved closer until his lips was mere centimeters away from hers. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, but she forced herself too.

"And if I do?" Her voice was just as low and husky as his; she could feel the shiver that ran through his body. The beautiful young woman smirked, some of her confidence restored, "Just what would you do?"

Her eyes dared him to say something, to do something. Kid chuckled, "This is what I'd do."

Then he pulled her lips to his, and kissed her. Liz expected him to be bad—considering she thought this was his first time—but his lips were firm and he seemed to know exactly what it was doing, like he'd had done this before. Her, previously, limp hands came up to rest on his broad shoulders and she shifted so she was more comfortable. Kid's arm stayed at her hips but the hand that was clasping her neck before was now tangled in her hair, pushing her even closer to him.

And Liz realized something as they continued to kiss each other senseless.

Her meister was in love with her.

And Liz was in love with Death the Kid.

And he was a damn good kisser.

Kid and Liz! Support the pairing because they are great together! The Kid in this one is manga based, that's why he's a bit more edgier than regular. Longest story I have written EVER! REVIEW