N didn't sleep.

Physically, they couldn't. Instead, they'd enter a sort of "rest mode" where they closed their eyes and lay still to pass the time.

They'd never dream, nor have nightmares. And that was perfectly fine with them.

It wasn't a thing they envied. Whether their mind made up senseless nonsense or not, time passed all the same.

However, when they heard a thumping noise followed by a pained hiss around 5:43 in the morning, they wished for a brief moment they could be sleeping instead.

It wasn't that they were afraid of whatever the noise was. It was more so the possibilities of who it was. A robber was out of the question, and they hoped for the sake of the person beyond the door that it wasn't an uninvited acquaintance.

Leaving their bed behind, they turned the handle and opened the door into the quiet darkness of their home. The intruder appeared to be present in the living room, so N made their way over without much fanfare and flipped the light switch.

For a moment, they weren't sure what to say. Instead of the variable list of people it could have been, it was a young teen, rubbing his knee on the floor.

He noticed their entrance and met their confused ruby eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't know where the light was..."

It took far too long for N's mind to catch up and remind them who this little human was.

'Right. The kid from last night.' They thought, relaxing.

"What were you trying to do?"

"Trying to go to the bathroom..." He sighed, standing up. "I ran into the table."

N glanced at their old hickory coffee table. "I would have moved that. To set up the pullout. You know, the one you were supposed to sleep on?"

"I was tired!" The boy protested. "The couch was very soft and nice and it's been a while since I've slept on anything soft!"

"And then you ran into my table."

"Yes! I'm going to the bathroom now!"

"Sure."

Xiao stormed off to the bathroom, and N made their way to the kitchen. As they popped the kettle on, they spotted their cup from the night prior.

"Oh..." They picked up the (now cold) cup of coffee. "I forgot about this."

They hesitated over the sink with the mug, before ultimately looking away while pouring it down the drain.

"What a waste..." They lamented, setting it back down with a clink.

Yesterday, they may have been too frazzled to think properly and enjoy their drink, but today they wouldn't be making that same mistake. Today, they were going to enjoy a nice espresso. The world would simply have to end to pry them away from it.

While they waited for the kettle to boil, Xiao exited the bathroom and seemed calmer.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" They asked.

"Can I...?" He responded tentatively.

"You're already in my kitchen. Help yourself. The cupboards closest to the doorway are all dishes and cutlery though."

"T-Thank you!"

Xiao perked up immediately, browsing through the detective's various food offerings. The kettle popped, and N took down a simple espresso mix, putting a spoonful into the empty mug.

"Do you want a hot drink?"

"No, I'm fine with water."

N nodded, pouring the boiled water into their mug and giving it a few swirls with the spoon until it turned brown. They tapped the side of the mug with said spoon to remove excess liquid and then pulled over the nearby sugar container.

"What's that?" Xiao asked from behind them, almost bubbling with curiosity.

"Sugar."

"But it's a fish."

N looked down at the container. Technically he wasn't wrong. A light brown, ceramic fish with far too wide eyes looked back up at them. It was a rather ugly thing, but it was just the right size for their sugar cubes.

"The sugar's inside. It was a gift."

"Does it like...spit it out?"

"What?" N said, removing the lid on its backside. "No, it's just a container."

"Oh." Xiao deflated.

"...Why are you disappointed?"

"I dunno, I just thought that a magical detective would have cool magical items. Like magical plates or something. But everything here is so normal. There's no magic food either!"

N blinked at the boy. "Just choose your breakfast, please."

Xiao settled in on two pieces of toast and an apple, while the detective plopped two sugar cubes into their drink. They made their way to their fridge for the milk and watched as Xiao struggled to grab a glass. They took out their milk and paused beside Xiao long enough to give him the glass.

"Go sit at the table in the dining room. It's right next to the living room. We need to talk."

Xiao tensed, nodding silently and hurrying off.

N watched him do so with confusion, before pouring a splash of milk into their espresso and watching the brown turn nice and creamy. Satisfied, they joined the strange boy.

"You forgot your water." They commented upon sitting down.

"It's fine."

Xiao hadn't touched his meal yet, and his glass remained empty at his side. His gaze levelled down in his lap as if he had done something wrong.

N didn't understand why he was acting like that. (Unless he had broken something while they were making their espresso, but then they would have heard it.)

They chose to leave the strange reaction unaddressed as they focused on their original topic.

"You'll be leaving today."

"I can go now." He responded, quietly. "Thank you for the place to sleep and the shower."

"I didn't say you had to leave yet?"

"I know, but-"

"You don't even have shoes." They stated. "I'm not sending you off without shoes."

"Well I..."

"Eat your breakfast before you worry about leaving..." They sighed, rubbing their temples.

Xiao tentatively took a bite of his toast.

"Do you know what size shoe you are?"

"Um...size 6 I think."

"Mm." N took a sip of their espresso.

"I had shoes before," Xiao said in between bites. "I just had to get rid of them."

"Why?"

"They got soaked."

"You should have kept them, they would have dried off."

"Yeah well-" Xiao's voice caught in his throat. "I wasn't thinking about that at the time."

Xiao went quiet again as he fiddled with the crust of his first slice of toast. N's frown deepened. The mysterious boy's mysteries only seemed to grow, and they had to resist the urge to ask more questions.

"I probably have shoes that will fit you. I'll look after my drink."

"Okay."

N took another sip of their drink, watching the boy pick up his second slice of toast.

Clearly, there were some sore spots in his apparent orphan status. N would have to choose what questions they asked a little more carefully if Xiao's tense posture was anything to go by.

Firstly though, they had to confirm their suspicions.

"How old are you?"

"14. Why?"

N nodded, proud of their deduction.

"I can't in good conscience leave a 14-year-old out on the streets."

"I can't go to an orphanage!" Xiao blurted out. "I uh- ...I'm too old to!"

"14 is too old?"

"Yes...?"

N sighed. That wasn't something worth pushing at the moment, they decided.

"That's not a problem. No orphanage needed."

Xiao's expression turned hopeful. "Does that mean I can stay?"

"No- I'm going to call an acquaintance who might be able to help."

"Oh." Xiao's expression fell back into melancholy. "Of course."

N winced. "You can't stay here. I have no accommodations for a child."

"I'm not a child." He huffed.

"Teenager then. My point still stands. Besides my work is really dangerous for someone like you and-"

"But why? I could be a great helper! A real sidekick! And I could learn magic like you said last night! Besides, I'm already in danger right? Cause I can see these things? That thing- I think you called it a Hellspawn? What if there's more that try to eat me?"

"Well that's- usually they don't eat humans so- that-" N stood, far too flustered at Xiao's questioning. "I'm going to find your shoes, and then call my acquaintance."

"Okay..." He pouted.

N made their way to the hallway closet, and opened it far too eagerly, entering soon after.

The boy was way too good at remembering whatever stupid thing had slipped past their mouth last night. They could not handle this. Not now.

'He'll be gone soon and then I can wash my hands of this whole situation.' They reminded themself internally.

Finding their resolve, they turned their attention back to their empty closet.

"Do you have a favourite colour?" They called out to the boy.

"Um...Yellow...?"

Carefully, they took a breath and imagined a pair of size 6 boys' sneakers in yellow, materializing them with a soft pop. They caught them and began to take in their handiwork. Unfortunately, they noticed rather quickly that they had just made a near replica of their own sneakers, just smaller and yellow and with a few minor changes on the tongue. They cringed at their lack of imagination, and pulled out of the closet, holding the shoes up by their laces.

"You're in luck. I have a yellow pair."

Xiao stood up from the table, eyes wide.

"What!? Really!?"

N brought the shoes over to him to marvel at. Excitedly, he took the shoes with no sign of the sadness that controlled him earlier.

(They also noted that he had finished his meal and had politely put the core of the apple on his plate. That was a nice surprise.)

"There's no way you had these just lying around! They're like, brand new!"

"They're probably from when my brother was your age. Sneakers were never his thing."

N looked away, praying he wouldn't question further. Luckily for them, he was far more interested in taking to the couch to squeeze the shoes on. N sat down opposite to him and pulled out their uncharged phone. The default lock screen told them it was somehow still only 6:55 AM. They chose to ignore that, and swiped into their contacts.

They didn't have many, only four in fact. Their brother, sister, step-father, and the person they were specifically looking for today. A particular, peculiar co-worker. They pressed dial and turned away from Xiao who had taken to giving his shoes a test drive by walking around the table with a noticeable spring in his step.

The phone rang twice before a far too chipper voice for how early it was, answered.

"N! Perfect timing!" Their co-worker said. "I was just about to call you!"

N sighed, trying to piece together the best way to explain the situation.

"Good morning." They started. "I had something I wanted to as- wait."

They paused, actually taking in the man's words.

"...Why were you going to call me...?" They asked, uncertain if they wanted to know.

"It's about the Innsmouth case."

"You said you handled it."

"I did! I picked up your "little package." Don't worry." He chuckled and made some sort of shuffling sound. Likely papers he was sorting. "But his mother wants to talk about his punishment."

"Okay...? Isn't that your job?"

"Yes, but she wants to talk to you."

"What."

"She said she'd like to talk to you, N. That his punishment can't be decided until she talks to you. So I said I'd let you know."

"What."

"Is something unclear?" He said, with far too much humour in his tone.

N stared blankly at the phone for a moment, before pulling it back to their ear with a defeated tone.

"You want me," They drawled. "To negotiate with Arachne."

"Not negotiate! She just wants to talk!"

"Sure. "Just talk." With Arachne."

"She's a perfectly lovely woman!"

"If you don't upset her."

"Precisely! You'll be fine."

Debating whether or not it was worth a fight; "...Alright." N agreed to the situation.

"Now, you said you needed to ask me something?"

"...I...forgot." They lied.

"That's a shame. If you remember later feel free to call okay?"

N watched Xiao excitedly sit back down, seemingly pleased with the quality of his footwear.

"...Sure."

"Oh! While I still have you, there was an Abnormality report by East Summons Manor."

"Again?" They groaned.

"My Cherub said it was very small. Probably just a Hellspawn. You can clear that today right?"

"I guess-"

"Great! I'll text you the details of the Arachne situation! Have a good day and be safe!"

With a click, N was left with the relative silence of the room. Silent, besides the eager bouncing of Xiao's feet.

N set their phone down on the table and turned to the boy.

"These are really good! They're soft, and a little...bouncy? Is that the right word? They're just really nice! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." They sighed, standing up.

"Um- are you okay? What did your friend say?"

"Acquaintance. And he-...I'll have to call him again later. I have a job."

"Oh. Should I leave...?"

"No- I said earlier. I can't just let you wander alone. You'll just have to wait until I can call him again."

"Okay. Should I wait here? Wait, how long are you gonna be? What's okay for me to touch? Should I just- sit here until you're back?"

N watched the boy babble and came to a very quick realization. They did not want him alone in their apartment for however many hours they may be out.

Xiao looked up at them with a serious expression. "I can sit still if needed! I won't move an inch!"

Somehow, N didn't believe him.

'The report said it was small...so...It should be fine...' They thought as they prepared to potentially make the worst mistake of their life.

"You'll be coming with."

Xiao's expression morphed from serious, to confused, to elated in mere seconds. It was the first time N had seen him be so bright.

"You really mean it?"

They held up a finger. "Just this once."

"Y...Y..." Xiao bent in on himself in a semi-concerning manner.

N furrowed their brows, wondering if the boy was going to pass out.

"YAHOO! MY SUPERNATURAL ORIGIN STORY IS BACK ON!!!!" He said, pumping his fist into the air like some sort of cartoon.

Belatedly, N wished they could pass out.

Sleep (lacking dreams or otherwise) sounded blissful right now.