Forging New Paths

Evelyn left a little heart on Garrett's message, grateful for his consideration and how he acknowledged her need to occasionally be alone for a while, just as she acknowledged his need to cling.

Luca made a soft, surprised sound when Anthony getting up knocked his leg off the couch, getting a bit groggily to his feet with Evelyn's help and standing near Anthony while the bed was pulled out. The sheets were already clean and replaced from the last time they'd used it, so she only had to lay down pillows and a blanket or two to get everything ready once Garrett had pulled the mattress out into place.

There was something very soft about the way that Garrett spoke, not quiet or muted but warm around the edges. Affectionate, but gently. It had Evelyn giving a small, endeared smile at his well wishes even as she turned to let them be. "Call for me if you need anything," she said softly back. "Goodnight, boys."

She left on a small light above the stove to cast just a bit of light into the living room for them before leaving, in place of a nightlight. Despite it being not too terribly dark and having Garrett and Anthony beside him, Luca didn't sleep for a long while. His eyes were heavy and his body tired, but as it did some nights sleep simply wouldn't come.
 
"Good night, Evelyn!" Anthony called out, yawning softly. Then he promptly snuggled up in the blankets against Garrett, closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath. "G'night, Garrett. Night, Luca! Night, Watson . . .!" It didn't take him long to drift off into a very deep sleep.

Once everyone was settled, Watson jumped lightly onto the couch and curled up next to Luca, yawning and purring. Then he, too, drifted off to sleep.

It was a few hours later when Garrett drifted back into consciousness that he realized Luca was still awake. He yawned and stretched, sitting up slowly. "Hey, Luca. You still up? Want to come get a glass of water with me?" He paused for a moment, and then added, "Anthony and Watson will be okay on the bed. They're sleeping very deeply." He could tell by their breathing patterns. And even if either one did get woken up, he hadn't known either one to ever be grouchy about it.
 
Luca stayed mostly still, changing positions every now and again but not wanting to wake Watson in the night. He had been lying still, eyes half closed and staring into the middle distance with thoughts of water and stars drifting off and on through his head, when Garrett surprised him by sitting up. The motion began to rouse him from a half-aware state into something more alert.

Tiredly, he looked at Garrett, and then Watson, and past them to where Anthony was asleep enough not to move. ". . . Okay," he murmured softly, and very carefully moving away from Watson to sit up. He was thirsty after lying there for so long, so water would be good. And he knew he was allowed to get up if he couldn't sleep, he just hadn't wanted to bother anyone.

When they had carefully extricated themselves from the bed, Luca shuffled after Garrett to the kitchen and very quietly retrieved two glasses from the right cabinet, moving carefully so as not to make any undue noise as he'd practiced for years despite knowing Evelyn wouldn't be made if he did. It was dim still but the light over the stove was enough to move around with so he didn't try to turn any on, just carefully held out a glass for Garrett to use and waited for him to go first. He wasn't used to having company when he got up to wander in the middle of the night.
 
Garrett, too, moved very carefully despite knowing Anthony and Watson were in too deep a sleep to be roused easily. Once he was off the bed, he followed Luca into the kitchen. Then he smiled and gently took the glass he was handed. "Oh! Thank you, Luca," he said softly.

It never ceased to amaze him how generous the young man managed to be after so many years of terror and abuse. He must have had wonderful, loving parents when he was young. They'd be so proud of him if they could see him now. Years later, and he was still so kind.

The detective filled his cup with water and hummed softly. "Shall we stay up for a bit together after this?" he offered, "Or would you like to try and fall back asleep? I'm good either way." He was tired, but not to the point he wouldn't mind staying up a few hours.
 
Luca rubbed his tired eyes as Garrett filled his cup, waiting his turn before filling his own and then just leaning on the counter to take small, careful sips. Part of him still retained the urge to leave the cup half filled somewhere so he could use the water later, to wander the town with his Sight when he couldn't see if with his own eyes. But it was better now and he could go outside when he wanted to, and Evelyn would be upset if he dehydrated himself on purpose. He didn't need to try and save things for later anymore.

When Garrett asked he only gave his head a little shake, holding his glass close but not taking another drink yet. "Can't sleep," he said quietly, unsure how to explain why. Sometimes even though he was very tired he just couldn't. It helped to be next to someone, but it wasn't always enough. ". . . I can . . . be by myself." He didn't want Garrett to be tired. As much as he wanted to have someone with him, he had seen what staying up with him did to Evelyn, at the start, and had tried not to need her with him all night anymore. He didn't exactly enjoy it, but he was used to being awake alone.
 
Garrett, for his part, quickly felt more awake after taking a long sip of water, and he sighed happily and leaned against the counter as well. "That's all right. I don't mind staying up. Especially now that I've gotten some water in my system." He finished his cup and set it carefully in the dishwasher.

Then he leaned against the counter again and smiled. "Well, if you're already up anyway, what would you like to do? Perhaps drawing, working on a puzzle, or reading books? Oh! Or if you'd like, you could help me review declassified case notes. I've been meaning to organize them a bit more." He had the entire morning to sleep in if he needed to later. For now, he had more than enough energy to spend some time with Luca.
 
Luca was slow, taking little drinks and only two thirds through his cup when Garrett was already finished. He stayed where he was and didn't rush, watching the way the detective moved but still processing things slowly himself. Was it okay, bothering someone else and asking them to stay awake with him? Garrett was always giving him so much, he didn't want to be selfish. lt was still so hard to ask for things.

He spent a long minute thinking before eventually shifting his two handed grip around the glass and hesitantly looking up at the detective. "Case notes?" He wasn't sure how well he could think about things, but anything to do with Garrett's work was always something he was interested in. He liked thinking he might be useful in some way, or that even if he wasn't Garrett still liked having his help.
 
"Case notes," the detective agreed, smiling and strolling off to get his briefcase. He returned to the kitchen table, opened the case, and spread out a variety of papers with a deep sigh. ". . . These are pretty disorganized. I really appreciate you helping with this."

He held up a few pieces of paper and pointed to different areas on them. "Most of these have a date somewhere. I'm trying to organize them in order of oldest date to newest date, and also alphabetically. Does that make sense?" he asked. He was delighted Luca seemed interested in helping, and based on the interests he knew about, he hoped he might even somewhat enjoy the work.

He sat down at the table and scooped up a paper himself to start the process. "Let's see . . . this one's pretty old. I'll start a stack right here, I think," he announced, setting it down and reaching for another note page to examine. "Oh! Feel free to read these, too, if you like. They're all declassified."
 
Luca hesitated, but followed Garrett to the table when he brought over all the papers. It was almost too dark to see them, but when he was told he could he eventually did pick up a little stack and peer at it in the dim lighting to try and see the dates. There was too much other information to focus on for now, so he didn't try to read much of it at all.

For a little while he was quiet, just squinting at papers and very carefully setting them down so the dates could still be seen at the top, very quietly rearranging them so they were in order. Numbers that were just dates were easy enough to put together. When they spelled out the month rather than using a number it was a little more difficult, but it was just simple enough of a task that he could do it but still give it the amount of attention it needed despite being tired.

". . . Some are . . . old." He said softly after a while, looking at some of the dates and trying to count how many years back it had been. "Why do you have them?" Was Garrett trying to solve old cases? Luca wasn't sure why, or how it could still work, but he liked to hear Garrett's voice. He was trying to get better at 'making conversation'.
 
The dim light was just enough to see the papers by; Garrett didn't want to risk turning a light on and waking up Watson or Anthony. So for a while he worked in silence, humming lightly on occasion while he sifted papers. Eventually he glanced up with a smile when Luca asked about the older cases. "Ah. Excellent question," he replied. "I keep the older ones because they contain useful information. Sometimes, I have clients who I've seen before. Reviewing their old case notes can give me information about them so I don't have to start from scratch every time."

He held out one of the sheets and smiled. "Or sometimes they mention people who have particular knowledge. For example, during this case I met Mrs. Grady for the first time, who works at the book store. She knows a lot about books and that particular section of town, and she has access to cameras."

He set the paper down again. "But there's another reason I hold onto these. Sometimes, when I'm feeling sad, I read through them and remember how many people I've helped. It's good to know I'm making a positive difference."
 
Luca listened with tired eyes but as much attention as he was able to give in the moment. Learning how Garrett worked on remembering things, and how he praised himself for the things he'd done, was both confusing and reassuring. The detective was always brave and always knew what to do; the fact that he forgot things sometimes or needed something to make himself feel good sometimes was comforting. For Luca it almost made it feel like some day he might manage to do good things, too.

He was quiet for a long moment, drifting into thought even as he held the paper Garrett handed him, running a thumb gently over it as if it was a precious treasure, like touching it might make him understand how Important it was. "Positive difference. . ." He repeated in a soft murmur, wondering how long it would be until he could be good like Garrett, or if it would ever happen. "She was nice." Was he allowed to read what had happened? If he learned more about what Garrett did, maybe one day he could help the detective like Anthony did.
 
"Right. A positive difference," Garrett repeated softly. He paused and glanced up, studying the expression on Luca's face. Then he smiled and gently set a hand on the boy's shoulder. ". . . Like you and Evelyn have made in my life. You two were my first best friends in a long time. And thanks to both of you, I'm having a much easier time opening up to people, and remembering how to relax." Then he chuckled a bit. ". . . And eating more vegetables, but that's mostly Evelyn's doing."

He let go and nodded. "But yes, Mrs. Grady is very kind. You can read through the case, if you'd like. Or, if you'd prefer, I could read it to you," he offered. He couldn't tell if Luca was starting to get sleepy or not, but either way, he thought it might be helpful to offer him a choice anyway, just in case he was too tired to make a decision on his own.
 
Luca was quiet and still, thinking over the words to himself until Garrett's hand was warm on his shoulder, drawing his eyes up in time to put the surprise in them on display. Him? A positive difference? Garrett was always saying things like that. That he was happy everyone was together, that they could accomplish things together. It was bad, probably, to think that anything Garrett said wasn't true, but it still caught Luca off guard sometimes. He had gone so long always being told he did everything wrong, and only giving pain and destruction, it was difficult to think that anything good could come from himself. It wasn't something that he thought about in detail very often, but sometimes the knowledge of it sat so heavy in his chest he couldn't breathe.

When Garrett laughed Luca smiled a little, something warm curling around him at the happy sound. Things were allowed to be good, and he was allowed to have them. Evelyn had told him, and the therapist had told him. It was hard to understand sometimes, his mind trying to reject the idea without him having to think about it, but he was trying. He was allowed to feel good things.

"Will you . . . tell me about it?" He asked softly, handing over the paper for Garrett to look at, and after a moment resting his head atop his arms on the table, turned so he could look at Garrett as he spoke. He could read it himself, but he liked to listen to someone else's voice.
 
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Garrett nodded and smiled. "Of course I will," he replied. He cleared his throat and sat back, giving the paper a dramatic flap to straighten it as though it was a newspaper. "Right. So on one particular case, someone had one of their prized books from a book collection go missing. I didn't know very much about collector books. So for some background knowledge, I went to the nearest bookstore."

He nodded and tapped the paper. "Mrs. Grady was more than happy to teach me all about collector and vintage books. In fact, I was in there for hours chatting with her." Then he chuckled again. "By the time we were through talking, my client had messaged me again. And guess what? Their book was never stolen at all. They'd mailed it somewhere to have it specially cleaned and completely forgot about it. So the case was solved, and I still visit Mrs. Grady often to talk about books," he finished.

The detective yawned widely and stretched. ". . . I might head to bed soon, I think, but you're welcome to stay up. Anything you need before I go to sleep?"
 
The case was someone else's, and Mrs. Grady had just helped. Luca had thought initially that she'd had a problem for Garrett to solve herself, but it was nice that they had become friends. He did really like the book Evelyn had bought him from the store, and Mrs. Grady had been very nice and gentle to Watson. Maybe some day it would be okay for him to call her friend, too.

When Garrett seemed ready to go back to the couch bed, Luca pushed himself up to sit slightly more upright, idly lifting one of the other papers and looking sleepy but curious. ". . . Can I look at them?" He wasn't going to sleep, he was sure of it, so for a while he wanted to stay up. If it was really okay for him to look at the papers, even without someone watching him, it would be better than lying awake in bed.
 
The detective beamed. He was always delighted when anyone - but especially Luca - showed interest in detective activities. "Of course! Like I said, they're all declassified. Read as many as you like." He yawned again and rubbed his eyes. "And tomorrow, if you have any questions about the cases, feel free to ask."

Since tomorrow was a therapy day, hopefully the promise of talking about the cases would give Luca something positive to look forward to in case the session didn't go well.

After a few more minutes of chatting and giving Luca quiet reassurance, Garrett said his goodnights and staggered back to bed. Both he and Anthony slept soundly through the whole night. Watson, though, woke up in the early hours - and if Luca was still awake, he hopped up into the boy's lap and curled up there to cuddle.

Morning crept in with the sun between the blindfolds and went right into Garrett's eyes. He groaned lightly and shifted in the bed, slowly but surely waking up with his hair plastered along one side of his face. What time was it? Whose house was he at? He blinked and rubbed his eyes again with a smile. Right. Evelyn and Luca's. He glanced around to see if anyone was awake or if he should start making breakfast.
 
Luca managed a little smile and a quiet 'thank you' when Garrett gave him permission, and as the detective went back to bed paged quietly through papers trying to decide which one to look at first. They were confusing at first, trying to figure out the way they were written and what certain words meant, but it was something to do when he didn't think sleep would come for him even if he closed his eyes. Finding out what all a detective did would help him learn more about Garrett, and he liked to see the mysteries even if it didn't.

In the morning he was still sitting where he'd been left, having got up to move around a little and stretch out stiff limbs before going back, not long before Watson rose and came over to curl up in his lap. Petting the cat and having the extra body heat helped him relax, but by the time anyone else stirred only a light doze came to him with his arms and head on the table. The dim sound of water rushing through pipes was enough to wake him when Evelyn was eventually up and into the shower.

He wanted to try and doze more, but there was nothing for it. Maybe he would be able to nap some time later on, if there was nothing else happening. He and Watson could lie in the sunny patches near the sliding glass door at the back of the house and be warm and quiet later.

When he noticed Garrett stirring he picked his head up off the table, sleepily pushing some of the papers aside and starting to shuffle them back into an orderly pile. "Good morning," he said softly, and yawned into his hand almost in the same breath. It was going to be a long day.
 
Garrett smiled. The yawn in Luca's voice hopefully meant he'd gotten at least a little sleep. And he could hear the shower in the distance; Anthony was still sound asleep, so it must be Evelyn. He might as well get some breakfast started and wake Anthony once it was ready.

"Morning, Luca," he greeted. "Did you enjoy the papers?" He arched his back to crack it, and then got out of bed and shuffled to the kitchen to wash his hands. Once Luca had responded, he added, "Excellent. I'm planning to make some breakfast for everyone. Would you like to join me?"

Eventually, breakfast consisted of waffles, fresh fruit, and tall glasses of juice.

Anthony began stirring just as Garrett had set the last cup on the table. "Mmmpfh . . . are we still at Luca and Evelyn's?" he mumbled. He woke up a bit more and rolled out of bed with a sleepy smile. "Ohhh, breakfast! Thanks, guys," he murmured.

Garrett smiled and ruffled Anthony's hair. "Heh. You've got the same bed head I do," he announced. He turned and handed Luca a bowl of cat food. "Here, Luca, would you like to give Watson his breakfast?"

Watson meowed loudly, circling Luca's legs and staring up at the food with wide eyes.
 
Luca was groggy, having gotten only a bit of very light sleep, but nodded after a moment to catch up to what Garrett had asked. The papers had been interesting, even if he'd had to reread some because his mind kept drifting away. It had helped spend the time while he couldn't sleep.

When he could get up he was stiff and sore from sitting so long, but after a bit of stretching wanted to help make breakfast anyway. It helped him wake up more, even if he wondered if he was just in the way sometimes, and he got to spend more time with Garrett. It was a bonus, too, that when it was time for Watson's breakfast he got to deliver it to his small friend and sat with him on the ground for a little while as Watson ate.

Not long after the table was set, Evelyn emerged from her bedroom with her hair still a bit damp but her makeup done, as put together as she always seemed to be. "Oh, you've made breakfast already," she said as she walked in, though she was only mildly surprised. Garrett was always ready to take care of everyone. "Thank you. Did you all sleep all right?"
 
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