I hop off my bike, beautiful and black as midnight. I set my helmet on the seat and walk towards the door of the Equality Center. A quaint building, sitting amidst a used book store and a small asian foods store. An oasis of rainbow on a block of concrete gray. Flags and posters of varying pride, flying and posted proudly. It’s nice to feel welcomed.

Beyond the rainbow clutter of the building’s front, I can see him. Peacefully sitting on his phone. I open my camera bag and don’t bother to put on any of the extra lenses at this distance. It’s the perfect angle, Daniel is framed between 2 posters, one of a drag queen and one of 2 men kissing. I’ll need this. I'll probably have to give his parents something to prove I’m on the case. So why not give them something to really look at?

I open the glass door and step into the building, welcomed by a familiar face. Jet black hair pulled back into a bun, held together by chopsticks, with uneven bangs. Big blue eyes surrounded by a heavy black eyeliner that flares out into perfect wings behind her thick rimmed rainbow framed glasses. She smiles as I enter, her black lipstick immaculate as ever, and points to a kid sitting on his phone in the foyer.

I nod and head over, sitting in the chair next to him. He looks up as I begin talking, “Hey, are you Daniel? Daniel Webb?” He puts his phone away quickly and looks me directly in the eye. I know that look, he sees me as an authority figure, not really what I want but I can at least work with that. “Uh, yeah, Yes Ma’am. That’s me.” 

I nod and take off my leather jacket, revealing to him my arms. They aren’t as tatted up as a lot of people out there, but there’s enough to make a grandma weep. His eyes dart around at the art on my arms, from the spiders, to cherry blossoms, to the bikini girl. I point at the bikini girl on my right upper arm, “These are my flags.” Her bikini is split between 3 designs, 3 pride flag designs. “Lesbian, trans, and Aromantic.”

He looks back to my face with a confused look, “Wh-” I hold up a finger and interrupt him, “We don’t really have time for me to go over the nuances of being Aro to you.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and start opening up the website for KBPI. “My name is Kayla Berry, and I’m a Private Investigator.” I show him the proof on our site, my name and picture there along with my credentials. “Try not to be too alarmed, but your parents hired me to find you.”

He goes from his confused look to rolling his eyes and relaxing for the most part. “Oh yeah I knew they’d come looking, not like I was hiding or anything.”

“Yeah, I gathered that.” I shift my position to being more serious, “Look Daniel, You’re still under 18, still legally a child.”

He scoffs, “Yeah, for like, 2 months. So?”

“If your parents know where you are, and claim…” I shrug lightly “any number of things. ‘You’re under duress, you’re off meds, you’re confused. The cops can take you back to them.” I raise my finger before he can speak, “And yes, they’ll believe your parents before they believe you.”

He looks down at his lap for a bit, “I… uh…” He looks around the room for any answer for all the many questions now racing through his mind. “W-what am I supposed to do then? YOU CAN’T TELL THEM WHERE I AM! PLEASE PLEASE DON’T! I don’t wanna go back! I can’t go back! I-”

I put my finger up to my lips and shh him down, “Hey hey, I know, I know. This fucking sucks. It’s a terrible situation to be in. I’m also in a bit of a situation here. I don’t want to tell them where you are, but if I lie, they’ll just hire another PI and… I found you before they even stopped talking, man.” I give him an apologetic look.

“I didn’t think they could actually take me back! This is bullshit! What do I do?!” His panic is palpable and completely understandable. I look back over at Faeth who gives me an encouraging smile. 

“Look, here’s what we’re gonna do ok? I can stall them for… a few days, a week if I’m lucky. In that time, you’re gonna have to find another place to stay, in another part of the city, or out of town. I assume you’re couch surfing right now?”

He nods as tears slowly start to form in his eyes, but he quickly wipes them away and tries to force them to stop. ‘Men don’t cry’ I can hear his dad telling him in his mind.

“Ok, let me know who you’re staying with now, I need to talk to them.”

“You won’t need to, it’s Mason, you can tell them it’s Mason, he’ll know what to do.” Faeth pipes up from her desk, being as helpful as ever.

I nod back to her, “Yeah, that will be safer. Drop off socials… or, I guess, just don’t say where you are, or what you're doing. You need to lie low for these 2 months til you turn 18. From there, you won’t have to hide anymore… Unless you just don’t wanna be bothered of course.”

He nods frantically, and as if he suddenly remembers his father isn’t here to yell at him, the flood gates break and the tears start flowing. He throws his arms around my stomach and latches on.

“Oh! Hey, there, yeah. Cool.” I look back over to Faeth, pleading for help with my face as best as I can. She’s getting up from her seat, doing her best to stifle a giggle at my expense. She comes over and shows off that motherly affection of hers. “Hey there honey, it’s ok, come here. Let’s let the cool biker girl keep up her aesthetic huh?” She pulls him off me and pulls him into a hug on the other side. 

She lightly rubs his back as he sobs into her shoulder. “I text Mason when we brought it up, he should be here soon and we can set everything straight.” I nod to her, standing back up and putting my jacket back on. “I already have one picture of you here, but I’ll need a few more to really sell everything to your parents. Also, you won’t be able to come here for those 2 months, and I’d still recommend finding another place to crash for a while. Another PI may be able to dig up your current couch…” 

I scratch the back of my head for a second before I reach into my bag and pull out my business card. “And here. If you end up having trouble finding a place to crash and I’ve finished with your case… I don’t use my apartment for much so you could crash there for a bit if you need.” I hand the card to Faeth who takes it for him as his sobs start to slow. 

I start to pace as I think of the best way for this to go. My camera is time stamped so I need to make sure we make a good timeline. With Mason saying he stayed with them I won’t have to worry about stalling for more time, in fact… If they jump the gun, I can use that to my advantage. I have the picture of him here, I get another of him getting into Mason’s car, I get another at their apartment. Tomorrow I give these images along with a quick write up and Mason’s address to the Webbs. I inform them that just one night isn’t enough for me to say he’s living there, so they should keep me on the case. Chances are, they’ll send the cops whether or not they keep me hired or not. Mason informs them that Daniel just spent the one night, cause he needed a place to crash and doesn’t know where he’s staying now. At this point they’ll either hire a new PI, come back to me, or I’ll get to inform them that Daniel knows about them looking for him, and he’ll be significantly harder for me to find… and I get extra pay checks.

A car pulls in next to my bike as a tall masculine figure steps out. I smile as I imagine Daniel's parents looking over pictures of their son next to a tall black man, with dreads and a full beard, wearing a long flowery dress. He walks in through the door, gives me a quick wave and heads over to Faeth and Daniel. He sits where I was sitting moments ago and reaches out a hand for Daniel to shake. “Hey Daniel, I’m Mason. My pronouns are He/They, yours?”

Sensing this introduction is going to take a minute, I step outside to move my bike and get in a good position for the picture. I try to find a position that makes it look like I’m mostly hidden or at least blending in and gives me a good shot of the passenger side of Mason’s car. There’s a bus stop in a good spot and I get the right lens for the job prepared.

Mason and Daniel step out of the building and I jog back over to them. “Ok so I will need a few pictures to convince your parents, and the cops. First is you getting in the car, second is you at the apartment complex, and lastly if possible, I’d like to get one of you in the window of the apartment. That one seals the deal.” Mason looks from me to Daniel and nods “Everything’s gonna be alright kid, this isn’t the first time Kayla’s done this. She knows what she’s doing.” He nods to me. “It’s gonna be clearer if I can get one of you all leaving as well, it will also fit the timeline better for the timestamps if once you all get in the car, you head straight home. Faeth and I will follow you on the bike… Wait, you were cool with Faeth staying with me tonight right?”

Mason smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder. “You know the answer’s always yes Kays. I just like to know where my partner is and if she’s safe.” I nod.

“Ok, Once I get the pics, you can go back to your normal place, Daniel, but like I said you should probably find a new place when you can, cause I can’t cover for you if another PI gets the case.” He nods softly and looks back to me, “Thank you, again, and sorry for the hug thing.” I chuckle “Nah it’s all good kid, here. Write your number. If I learn anything that you need to know, I’ll let you know. You already have mine.” I hand him another business card and a pen.

The rest of our plan goes smoothly. I snap the pictures of them getting in the car, pulling out, a few blurry ones on the road, walking into their apartment complex, and lastly one of Daniel drinking a soda by the window. I put away my camera and give Faeth a thumbs up as she texts Mason that everything is clear.

I feel a pair of hands grab my waist as the helmeted figure of Faeth presses her chest into my back. It’s a shame she had to take her hair out of that pretty bun, though I guess it realistically wasn’t going to stay that way for long considering my plans. “Wanna go out to eat before we head back to your place?” She asks slightly muffled through our helmets.“Burger?” I ask back. “Oh so romantic, a burger and fries date!” She swoons sarcastically. “Hey you know me. Hopeless romantic.” 

She giggles as I start the bike and we head off to grab a bite to eat. Her hands wander as we ride, my breasts, stomach, waist, crotch. Teasing me, getting me ready for the night to come.