Chapter 6

"So…" the shapeshifter puts down her fork when they finish eating (more like inhaling the food at record speed), "who exactly are you people?"

"...Huh?!" Baz and Kit say at the same time.

"Wh-what do you mean you don't know who we are?" Kit points at himself, "You at least know who I am, right?"

"I don't," she blinks owlishly at them.

"So you randomly decided to just come along with three complete strangers just now?"

She shrugs, pointing at Baz, "He offered free food." She seems to consider something. "Besides, it's not like YOU'RE a complete stranger."

Kit suddenly feels very concerned about this kid's safety. "Hey kid, don't just go around accepting free food from strangers."

"Eh. I mean, it all turned fine, so I don't see what the problem is."

"You-!"

"Alright!" Baz interrupts, clapping his hands loudly, "This seems like the perfect opportunity to get to know each other. Ok, who wants to start?"

Nobody makes a move to speak.

Mousie takes a drink from her soda, sipping loudly.

Baz sighs. "You're all hopeless. Fine. You're up first kid," he points at the shapeshifter.

"Huh?! Why me?!"

"Just tell us your name."

They grumble something incomprehensible under their breath, crossing their arms.

"I'll buy you dessert."

"FINE," they spit out after a few seconds of careful consideration. "Name's Dee."

"That wasn't so hard, was it? I'm Baz, by the way."

"Whatever," they say as they start perusing the dessert section on the menu.

Baz turns to look at Kit expectantly. What did this guy think this was? The first day of kindergarten?

Not doing it! Not doing it!

Baz keeps looking at him. He arches an eyebrow at him.

Ugh, whatever. So he would have to lose some of his dignity, big deal. He grits his teeth, "Kit. Nice to meet you." Ah, he wants to run away! He wishes he could die!

"Mousie," Mousie says without looking up from her plate.

They lapse back into an awkward silence.

Baz clears his throat. Kit pretends to be engrossed with the potatoes floating around in his soup.

They are thankfully saved by the arrival of a waiter asking if everything is going fine. Baz assures her that yes, everything is going perfect, and by now Dee has made up her mind to which dessert she wants, so he takes advantage of the opportunity and places the order as well as asking for the bill. The waiter comes back shortly after, Dee proceeding to devour the cannoli as soon as they're placed in front of her and Baz pays quickly before the waiter can realise the unnatural speed at which the cannoli are being consumed and grow concerned.

The rest of the meal goes by, if not pleasantly, but at least a lot less stiff and uncomfortable than before.

Baz even manages to get some conversation out of Dee (only heaven knows how).

That's how they manage to learn Dee had actually been born in a coastal city up until they were around 8, when the Bureau had found out they were a shapeshifter and it was decided it was for the best if she were placed under supervision. From that point onwards, they had been living in the capital, up until a few days ago, when the higher-ups determined it was time for them to get a master to teach them how to harness her powers.

(Kit can't help but notice the lack of mention of any parents or other family members. He doesn't ask though; he supposes it's too soon for that and would instead come across as rather insensitive.)

"You're new in town, you say?" Baz raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Guess I'll have to show you around the place then." He turns to Mousie and Kit, "What do you guys say?"

"Right now? You want to go right now?" Kit asks.

"Sure, why not?"

"Don't you have work to do?"

Baz stretches his arms above his head, "Eh. Nothing that can't wait."

Mousie wipes her fingers off on a napkin. "Sorry, but I'll have to decline. Not everyone has the luxury to laze around, and technically, my lunch break ended fifteen minutes ago," she gets up from her seat, "so I'll be taking my leave now. Thanks for the meal," she nods towards Baz, and with that, she leaves the three of them still seated at the table.

Baz focuses his gaze on the remaining two people, "What about you two?"

"Thank you, but we should be returning to the office, too," Kit answers for both of them.

"Aw, don't be such a sourpuss. You're seriously gonna leave me all alone?" he props his chin on his hand, "Come on, it'll be fun. Just like back then at the Academy, skipping class to go out and explore around the capital… You remember those days don't you?" he leans into Kit's space.

He remembers all too well. Even though they had both studied at the Academy and were only one year apart, realistically speaking, they were some of the least likely people to ever meet at school. But a happy coincidence during Kit's second year involving a stolen show globe, a case of mistaken identity, and setting someone on fire had brought them together, and the following month's worth of detention had let them get to know each other really well. Then, whether for better or for worse, they had stuck together. Well, more like Baz had decided to stick to him, but that was going into unnecessary details. (Privately, Kit liked to compare him to a leech.) Funnily enough, that first interaction seemed to determine the dynamic their relationship would have for the next three years they were at school together. Looking back, Kit would sometimes wonder how they managed not to kill any teacher from a rage-induced heart attack nor get expelled.

"Ugh, don't remind me about that," he pushes Baz away, "and I would really rather not do anything that might get the boss on my case." Getting chased by a hellhound was preferable to getting on the Director's bad side.

Baz waves off his protest, "That's what you're worried about? Easy. I'll just tell her I kidnapped you or something." He looks at Kit's expression. "Fine, I won't tell her that. But I'll take responsibility," he puts his palm over his heart, "I promise."

"...You just don't want to go back to work, right? This is just an excuse to ditch."

"Yeah." His eyes curve up in a lazy smile, "You caught me. You happy now?"

"God, you never change," he huffs, rolling his eyes, "you're as shameless as back then."

"Hey, give some face to your old upperclassman. I wasn't that bad; I gave you some pretty solid advice and was a perfectly good role model. Can it be you have forgotten? Did all those years at the Academy mean nothing to you?" he whines, but he's laughing at the same time. Against his better judgement, Kit finds himself cracking a smile too. "And you haven't changed that much either."

"Mm? Haven't I?"

"No. You're still a stick in the mud."

He tries to frown, but he's too busy trying not to laugh. He feels his eyebrow twitch slightly. "I am NOT a stick in the mud." It's childish, he tells himself, but he can't help but argue back.

"Prove it."

So childish, he shakes his head. "Fine. We'll ditch work with you."

"We are?" Dee asks, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," he sighs, "we are."

Dee breaks out into a grin, pumping her fist into the air in celebration.

"Okay kid," Baz stands up, the chair making a loud screeching noise as it's pushed back, "we better start soon because there's a lot to see."

Dee springs up from her seat, quickly following after Baz, leaving Kit with no option but to do the same. This is going to take quite a while, if the tour Baz has planned is the same one he gave him all those years ago when he also first came to this town.

~~~

Turns out the tour had gained various new destinations in the years that had passed since he was sixteen, taking them the rest of the day to complete it. By the end of it, his legs and feet feel extremely sore, and the only thing he wants is to go back to his apartment and crash on his bed. He is definitely not looking forward to waking up tomorrow.

Dee is skipping ahead, high on sugar from all the sweets Baz had bought for them. He can only imagine the impending crash after the effects of the sugar had worn off. That is going to be a real pain in the ass to deal with, he thinks. He glares at Baz, who is walking next to him. Did he really have to buy every single piece of candy that caught her eye? Maybe he didn't think about the consequences of his actions since he wasn't the one who was gonna have to deal with them, but couldn't he at least have some concern for the well-being of his wallet? No, of course not, he thinks bitterly. Oh, how he hated rich people. All they were good at was throwing their money away on useless little things without a second thought.

They get to a fork in the road, where beyond, the residential areas are located. At this time, there was no point going back to the office, it was way past closing time and besides, postponing the scolding the Director was going to give them to tomorrow was better.

"Well, have a good… night? Evening?" Baz tilts his head to look at the already darkening sky, "Man, what time is it even? Whatever." He stifles a yawn; he must be feeling just as tired as Kit. "I'll be going home then," he walks off towards the left path, ruffling Dee's hair when he passes her and waving goodbye to Kit.

Now it's just Kit and the kid. Only now does he realise, Dee probably has nowhere to stay. The Director hadn't mentioned anything along those lines, had she?

…Wait.

Did they just expect him to put up the kid in his house?

"Um. Kid." He runs a tired hand across his face. "Do you…" He wants to ask 'do you have anywhere to stay tonight?', but he already knows the answer. Instead, he asks, "Are you okay staying with me tonight?"

They turn to look at him, blinking a couple of times. "Sure," they answer and resume kicking the rock along the street they had been playing with for the last couple of minutes.

It's going to be fine, he tries to calm himself. He hopes his landlady won't mind him showing up with a random kid with no prior notice. (He really, REALLY hopes it isn't grounds for her to kick him out.)