As soon as the elevator doors closed, Lucinda readjusted the buttons on her coat and stood straighter. She didn't think she would be shot thrice, so unfortunately only her coat could cover her dress filled with bullet holes. The quick shower at the hotel washed away any remaining blood on her body as well. Still, her fingers brushed her wet hair, which would definitely make people ask questions if they saw her.

She took a deep breath, followed by a short sigh as she raised her head. She held her hands, stopping her fingers from fidgeting or from her picking on her gloves' loose strands. Everyone in the building should be asleep by now, and only one of her coworkers resided in the same apartment building as her. And even then, Viktor didn't reside on the same floor.

But if someone saw her like this... she had an excuse in mind, and it was definitely believable. She just didn't like it.

When the elevator dinged, she waited for the doors to open before stepping outside. Her shoes clicking on the floor were the only sounds that echoed in the halls. Her ears still twitched up and down, but they didn't pick up anything else.. She was able to reach her apartment door and input her passcode without any troubles.

As soon as the door beeped open, she sighed once again. Though this time, it was from relief. The air conditioner was on, but it wasn't freezing like the hotel room. If anything, it was warm. Strangely warm. As if someone had just cooked something recently and didn't bother opening a window to let the heat out.

"Mima!"

Lucinda lifted her head and faced the living room. In front of her, her son jumped down from the couch and ran towards her. As he got closer, his arms opened. A smile formed on her face as she bent down to Greyson's height, and a laugh left her lips when he wrapped her in for a hug. His tiny arms reached for her neck, and he stood at the tip of his toes just so he could reach her. She pressed a kiss on his forehead and returned the hug.

She was the first one to part. Her hands reached for his face, brushing the white strands away from his forehead. Her other hand rested on the left side of his head, her fingers twirling on his black hair. As she gave him another forehead kiss, Greyson's pointy ears flipped up and down. He showed her a smile, and his missing tooth made her giggle.

"Hello, Chuchu." She pinched his nose, making him giggle as well. "Did Uncle Lucian make sure you ate?"

Greyson's silver and gold eyes darkened as he shook his head. "Uncle Lu doesn't know how to cook."

"Is he now?" Lucinda kissed Greyson's nose, which seemed to lighten him up. "Well aren't you lucky I'm a good cook. I'll teach you how to make your own food someday, so that way you'll be a better cook than him."

She stood up and removed her coat, heading to the living room. At the same time, the door to the bathroom opened, and her younger brother stepped out. Lucian yawned, stretching his arms and scratching his own short white hair. He muttered a few words under his breath. She couldn't hear him fully, but she caught him saying, "demon child". When his golden eyes met hers, he immediately stopped.

He hummed, crossing his arms. "You're early."

"I had to finish the mission early." She sat on the couch and rolled her shoulders back. One of them still stung, but it was easier to ignore now. "Did you feed Chuchu?"

Lucian scoffed. "He stared at his food for five minutes, ate some, and decided to spit his food on my shirt."

Of course that was what happened. "And you let a child defeat you?"

"Hey, have you seen children? They're demons. I tried to make him sit down, but he bit my hand and pulled my hair." He took off his glove and showed her his hand. Like what he said, there was a tiny bite mark on his skin. Between the obvious dents was a gap, clearly from Greyson's missing tooth. "Do you have any idea how much this hurt?"

Greyson placed his tiny hands on Lucinda's legs. If it was possible, his ears fell even more, and his glare became sharper. "Uncle Lu tastes as bad as his cooking."

Lucinda huffed. Her brother wasn't the best option to watch over Greyson, but it wasn't like she had a lot of good options. She couldn't ask Azul's fifteen-year-old brother to watch over an eight-year-old until midnight. There was also her younger sister. But unlike Lucian, Lucia wasn't always free.

"Thank you for watching over him regardless," she continued. "How do you want me to pay you? I'm sure watching over him is difficult."

"No need." He shook his head as he grabbed his bag from the couch. "Make it an 'I owe you' for now. I'd think of a better payment, but I need to report a mission to Poseidon."

She cupped her chin, inspecting her brother from head to toe. "Are you sure? I think it'd stain your record if people find out you lost against an eight-year-old and—"

"Shut up."

As soon as Lucian put his backpack on, he stared at Greyson. Before he could say a word, Lucinda stood up and pulled his pointy ears down. Lucian screamed in pain, which was obviously just him being dramatic as she wasn't even pinching his ears.

"Just leave, Lu," she said when she released his ear. "Don't agitate the child or he might do more than bite your hand next time."

Lucian sighed, once again in a dramatic fashion. "Fine, fine. Bye."

Lucinda watched as he grabbed his shoes from the rack and left. The moment the door closed, Greyson's grip on her legs tightened. If it weren't for the fact that he was wearing gloves, his nails might have left marks on her skin.

She bent down to his height. "Chuchu."

"Mima."

"Is it true you spat your food on your uncle?"

He placed his hands close to his chest as his ears flopped down. "Sorry."

"I know you don't like your uncle, but try to be nicer to him. Who knows; he might be nicer if you'll also be nicer." She pinched his nose, making him cry out. "And besides. That's not a good thing to do, regardless of whoever it was."

"He said earlier that you found me in the trash outside of our old house."

"Don't let him get to you. He's just teasing you to get a reaction." She placed a hand on his hair and ruffled it. "Promise me you won't do that ever again?"

Greyson nodded. "Promise."

"And what happens to promise breakers?"

"They don't get cake."

"Good." She pressed a kiss on his cheek, though it did little to change his frown. "Now, do you want to eat? I can cook something for you if you'd like."

Greyson blinked. His eyes met hers for a short while, though he immediately flicked them to her left. He stretched his tiny arms and pointed a finger at her shoulder. "What happened?"

"I got hurt during my mission, that's all." She stretched her arms again. It still stung, but she kept the smile for Greyson. "I'm okay, don't worry. What do you want for dinner?"

"Let's play Doctor Greyson!" He held his hands together. At the same time, his pointy ears flipped up and down. "Please, please, please, please, please! I'll eat Uncle Lu's food. Let's play Doctor Greyson!"

One of her ears twitched. On one hand, she didn't want to continue moving her arm. She didn't even want to eat. All she wanted to do was go to bed and sleep, especially since they had to be early for work tomorrow. On the other, she didn't really get to spend a lot of time with Greyson today. It was her day off, but she had to leave the moment they finished breakfast so she could prepare for the mission.

Just say no. He would understand that.

Right?

She met his eyes once again. There was a smile on his face, and his ears flipped up and down. It seemed to be matching the ticking of the clock as he waited for an answer.

Just say no, just say no, just say no...

A sigh left her lips. "Promise you'll eat what's on the table?"

Greyson nodded.

"Alright, we can play."

His ears perked up as he cheered. Not even a second later, he was already running to her room. Lucinda blinked, but a smile formed on her face as she sat down on the couch. The smile immediately fell when she held her injury again. She closed her eyes, taking deep and slow breaths while her blood flowed normally in her body. Unsurprisingly, none of them were rushing to heal her wound.

Once she would send her official report to Poseidon, she should ask for a break. Even for just a month. If she would push her abilities too far, then she might lose her healing.

After a while, Greyson stepped out of her room. As always, he carried her first aid kit while a toy stethoscope hung around his neck. The oversized white jacket was still too big for him. Once or twice, he had to stop just so he could adjust his sleeves. But of course, it would immediately fall the moment he placed his arms down.

Lucinda eyed the jacket before turning to him. "Shouldn't that be in the laundry?"

"Doctors wear white jackets."

"Are you sure? Doctor Anthea doesn't wear a white jacket all the time."

Greyson pouted. "Mima, you're a patient."

"Alright, alright. I'm not going to ask the expert."

"Don't worry, Mima." He opened the first aid kit and grabbed the bag of cotton and a bottle of alcohol out. The smile on his face widened, and he raised the two as if they were prizes he was showing off to her. "Doctor Greyson will make you feel better."

Greyson jumped on the couch. As soon as he placed the cotton dipped with alcohol on her skin, Lucinda shut her eyes and hissed.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little. Can you be careful?"

"Okay." Like what he said, he was more gentle when placing the cotton on her skin. There was a short pause until he asked, "Can you tell me about your mission today?"

"Nothing interesting happened. It's the same as usual."

"But why are you wearing a pretty dress instead of your uniform? And why does it have a lot of holes?"

"I had to go somewhere where I needed to be pretty, that's all."

"You're always pretty!"

"I know, Chuchu." She opened her eyes and booped Greyson's nose. "You're pretty, too."

"Tell me more about what happened, please."

"Well, I had to go to an expensive hotel because that's where my target was."

"Can we go there someday?"

"No." She poked his nose again. This time, his ears flopped down. "It's an expensive place. I can't even afford to bring myself there. But like I was saying, I had to meet up with a few people from the Underworld."

"Were they scary?"

"Not really. I wasn't scared." That wasn't exactly a lie. A part of her was scared, but it wasn't because she was facing people from a criminal organization. "After that, I killed them easily."

Greyson blinked. Almost immediately, his ears flattened as his lips formed a straight line. "That sounds boring."

"I already told you that it was, but you didn't believe me."

He didn't say anything as he continued patching her shoulder. Him patching it up seemed to help her healing. Not only was it less painful now, but it also needed less of her energy. Perhaps it would be better by tomorrow night.

After a while, he finished wrapping the bandage and sealed it with a clip. Lucinda rolled her shoulders back, though it was more difficult to do so on her left arm. She turned to Greyson and patted her head, making his ears flip again.

"Thank you, Chuchu."

"Doctor Greyson."

"Thank you, Doctor Greyson." She bent down to kiss his forehead. "Come on, let's eat. We have to be early for work tomorrow. This means you should sleep early, okay?"

Greyson nodded. He took off the white jacket and headed to the dining table. Lucinda cleaned the table up, placing the items back in the first aid kit, and grabbed the jacket from the couch. She quickly headed to her room to place the kit back in her drawer.

She placed the large jacket near her nose and inhaled its scent. Apart from the fact that its old scent was gone now, it smelled like Greyson grabbed it from the laundry just to wear it.

"Dirty laundry you go," she said as she tossed it in a basket.

A sigh left her lips as she left her room. She got home early, but it was still late. She already dreaded work tomorrow.

Word count: 2184
Total: 5047

One of these days, Greyson will be a marketable plushie. Today is not that day, but it will be a day.