A/N: I sincerely hope this makes sense, because I've had to take an awful lot of NyQuil today. It should be against the laws for mothers to get sick three days before Christmas!

Big hugs and thankyous to everyone who's been reading and commenting - I really, really appreciate it! If you have something you'd like to see worked into one of these vignettes, let me know and I'll see what I can do. And as always, if you spot any continuity errors, please let me know - I do my best to reference properly, but there's a LOT of Soul Eater to keep straight, and sometimes it contradicts itself;)

Chapter Three

Lord Death took a deep breath and rapped lightly on his son's door with the back of his knuckles.

"Please come in, Father." Even through two inches of solid wood, Death could hear the strain in his son's voice. He slowly turned the silver knob and passed through the dark, cavernous bedroom. A single lamp burned beyond the door to the attached study, throwing a pale rectangle on the ebony floorboards. Inside, Kid stood formally in front of his desk. He'd changed his suit, but even the freshly pressed fabric wasn't smooth enough to satisfy him and he picked nervously at his cuffs.

"I'm sorry for taking up so much of your day with all this trouble." he apologized, hanging his head. Lord Death wondered if the fourteen foot ceiling was responsible for making his son look so small, or if Kid really was, as Elizabeth had claimed, "a little shrimp". He was awfully small compared to her or her sister. Was he growing properly? Surely there had to be records somewhere that would indicate past growth rate. Sophie's office, maybe? But he was mentally wandering again, and sternly returned himself to the matter at hand.

"I've got them corralled in the last two rooms in the West wing." he began awkwardly, "Sid is sending over some people to keep an...eye on things."

Kid's lips tightened a little.

"To keep them from stealing, you mean." it wasn't a question.

Lord Death nodded, "Until we figure out just how this is all going to work, they don't get the run of the house. Kiddo, I know you did what you thought was best but you have to admit this was a hell of a shock. This sort of thing just isn't like you."

"I dealt with the situation as I saw fit. You're always reminding me to do that; not to follow rules blindly because nothing is black and white. Except my miserable, asymmetric hair, of course. Why can't the stripes go all the way around? Yours do. I hate being so unbalanced-" Kid's hands slid into his hair and he started scratching at himself, one of the hardest of his tics to watch. His father reached out and grabbed the scrabbling hands, holding them tightly as knelt on the floor.

"Kid! Stop right there. We are not doing this right now!" Death's voice was sharper than he meant it to be but he just didn't have it in him to deal with one of Kid's meltdowns. Not tonight. Not ever, if he was really honest with himself.

Kid took a few shaky breaths, trying to pull himself back from the brink.

"They didn't deserve to die, Dad. They stole money to live on, they stole groceries."

"They also stole cars and drugs and knocked off liquor stores. Not exactly necessities."

"Well, yes, but...I don't think they knew any better."

"And while we're on the subject of liquor and drugs, both of them are going to need some serious rehab. Then they're going into a probationary work program until I can really see what I'm dealing with."

"I'm sorry, Dad," Kid repeated, "But they're not kishin yet. 'Every person is responsible for the path they take', right? They deserve a chance to choose the right one, now."

"I just wish I was sure of your motivations. Encouraging those girls to move in a positive direction is a wonderful thing. Inviting them to be your personal weapons is a whole other story."

"I know I don't have to make my own weapon, but I want to know I'm capable of doing it myself. How else can I really understand the value of what our technicians and weapons go through to make a Death Scythe?"

Kid's eyes were starting to tear up, but Death couldn't tell if it was due to emotional stress or because he was being kept from the damned scratching. Either way, it was hard to watch.

"If that's the reason you're doing it, then I commend you. But I want you to really search your heart, Kiddo. You brought them here and now you're responsible for them. I'm responsible for them. They aren't just weapons to be used, they're living, breathing human beings with feelings and problems. A lot of problems, in their case. If you turned their lives upside down just because they match, you're doing them a huge disservice. And you will have utterly failed to be the kind of Reaper and the kind of son your mother and I always hoped you would be."

Kid's hands were now trembling fists and Lord Death had to tighten his grip to keep them from breaking free.

"I didn't...I'm not. I don't think I did." he stammered, "But I promise that I won't ever let them down. I know I've got problems and that you must be ashamed of me, but I won't ever think of them just as weapons. I promise!"

He dropped his chin, unwilling to let his father see the humiliated tears finally spill from his eyes.

"I'm not ashamed of you. I've never been ashamed of you." Lord Death could almost feel his heart cracking at the thought that his son had been keeping such painful ideas to himself. He let go of Kid's hands and gently rested his palm on the side of the boy's pale face. Kid looked a little shocked by the contact and that was heart-wrenching as well. They'd become such strangers since Sophie had gone, and if Death knew it was mostly his fault. He'd isolated himself with his grief, pretty much leaving his son to muddle through as best he could and take on the burden of his mother's work as well. He deserved a good kick in the ass, but the one person who would have given it to him wasn't around anymore.

"But the way I act sometimes...I know how bad it must look and-"

"You've been through a lot in the past couple of years, Kiddo. Don't think I don't know it. Things have been, uh, hard for both of us. You do the best you can, and it's plenty. I have never, ever been ashamed of you."

He pulled his son's head against his shoulder, almost melting when Kid's arms went around him and he felt the boy's hands fist in the back of his coat, just like they used to when he was little. He had to get better at this single parenting thing. He just had to.

"Tell you what," he said, pulling back, "Let's go downstairs and I'll have dinner with you."

"Really?"

"Yep." Lord Death climbed to his feet, "You've gotta be hungry; you did, uh, forcibly apprehend eleven gang members to save Elizabeth and Patricia this morning. US Attorney Lynch says thank you, by the way."

Kid smiled and wiped his hand across his face. as he followed his father out into the hall. They hadn't even made it to the stairs when Death stopped with a little gasp. Five seconds later his phone rang shrilly, echoing along the hall. He picked up and listed, his frown deepening by the moment.

"I know. I'll be right there." his said tersely, ending the call. He whirled to face Kid, already distracted with a million thoughts, "I'm sorry Kid, but I have to go. There's been a terrible flood in Portugal. Lots of casualties."

"There's heavy pre-kishin activity there right now, isn't there?" Nobody ever had to remind Kid to do his homework.

"Yes, and if we don't want one gorging himself into full kishin status, I've got to get Death Scythes on the ground to collect those poor souls. Go eat something and then get ready to go out. I'm going to need you there." He assumed his full Reaper aspect and summoned a mirror.

"I will." Kid said to his father's disappearing back. It didn't matter about dinner, there was work to be done. He lifted his chin, squared his shoulders, and headed downstairs, pausing to throw a glance at the entrance to the West hallway.

He would be everything he was supposed to be from now on. For his weapons and for his father and for humanity. He would.

A/N: Going back through early chapters in the manga I was struck by how very adorably short Kid was drawn back then and had to mention it in this chapter. Because NyQuil, probably.

Replies!

UnflinchingResolve: I'm so glad you still think so! Thank you *hugs*

Kara Black: Thank you for the amazing compliment! I hope this sort of qualifies as father-son bonding time. Kid and his dad have a complicated relationship, and I envision it being pretty strained at this point iin their lives. I want to show how the arrival of Liz and Patty ends up bringing Kid and Lord Death closer.

REDEADED: Con-ward! Only 5 and a half months to go!

Strophanthus: Writing Lord Death was so hard for me until I started thinking of him as a person. Now I love writing him, because as a person he'd have a really complicated life.