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Description
Otto had always been slow to wake up. It usually took him at least fifteen minutes to go from sleep, to opening his eyes, to convincing himself to crawl out of bed. Mental functionality did not exist until after coffee, except under extenuating circumstances.

Such as waking up to find a faerie still curled under his arm. That served to wake him up more than usual.

He blinked at her, vaguely startled to find her there. She was quite nice to wake up to, but the fact that he was waking up to her made him pause momentarily.

Robin had woken with the sun, but had been quite content to sit and relax until Otto woke up. Now she smiled up at him. "Morning," she said, leaning up to peck his cheek and sliding out from under his arm. She gave herself a proper stretch, and blew a fresh bit of warmth into the warehouse.

"Sleep alright?" she asked.

He looked up at her, squinting against the light, then nodded as he dug out his sunglasses and settled them on his nose. "Yes, actually," he said. "Quite well." Much better than he normally would, given that he'd slept half-sitting up. His back and leg were stiff as hell, but for once, there'd been no nightmares.

Around him, the actuators came out of the half-doze state they usually sank into when he was asleep and they had nothing to do. They chittered among themselves, Mo stretching out to nuzzle Robin and Larry going to check on Mouse. Otto envied their lack of dependency on caffeine.

Robin stood, taking pity on his half-awake state. "Coffee, breakfast, then we'll talk apartments," she said with a nod. In a flash, she was gone.

Several moments later, she reappeared, handed him a hot cup of coffee, and sat a bag of breakfast plates on the table. She went to check on Mouse, who was sitting on her bed, drawing and chittering to Larry. The child smiled a gap-toothed smile at the faerie, scrambling over when she saw the breakfast food.

Robin ruffled her hair, and sat out her food as Otto ambled over. She also sat the thermos of coffee in front of the scientist. Mouse had her milk, and soon, all the food was out and ready.

Otto could only watch in drowsy fascination as Robin zipped about, setting out both breakfast and table settings. Flo and Mo watched as well, their heads flicking from side to side as they tracked the faerie's progress.

"Robin's going to help us find a new place to live," he told Mouse. She was looking much better this morning. Jack did good work.

Mouse looked up from her pancakes with interest. So far, everything Robin had done for them had been wonderful. Surely a new home would be wonderful too. Maybe it would even be a proper one. Maybe she'd even get her own bedroom.

Robin smiled at the child, nodding as she stabbed into her own pancakes. Renewing energy made her hungry. "Absolutely. We'll get you two set up somewhere nice. Of course, it would be hard to find anything worse." She shook her head at the warehouse.

Robin gestured with a fork as she ate. "I figure there's two ways to go about this. One, I make you look normal, we go about securing you a place with a false name and all. No one would blink at you being a single parent, not nowadays. The only risk there is that should someone find out about you, there's a higher chance of them turning you in.

"Or two, we find a landlord who doesn't care who you are, bride him to keep quiet, and hope for the best. What do you think?"

"I have false papers," he replied. "If we find a particularly disinterested landlord, we might not need you to disguise me. What happens if I need to go out and you're not there? With a hat and my glasses, I'll be less recognizable as a particular individual." He gestured to the sunglasses already on his nose. "People don't tend to look past particular things that stand out to them. These draw attention away from my features enough that I'd be tricky to memorize. So we find someone not particularly observant and use my false ID. I'll get some for Mouse later."

Robin shrugged. "I have a friend in the city. He has connections to some real estate agents. Got me a list of places he said would prove useful. I rather figured we'd want to go the "more interested in money than people" route. The landlords to these properties should be up the right ally."

A few hours and four apartments later, they hit pay dirt. A two bedroom apartment with an open floor plan that could easily be used as a lab for Otto, with a landlord who didn't care to look too closely at things. He was also the type who seemed that, should he discover the truth and have enough of a conscience to try to do something, that bit of conscience could be easily persuaded to do otherwise.

The warehouse was as they had left it--almost. Several crates had been moved around, and Mouse's soft giggling could be heard from somewhere. Robin and Otto exchanged looks of bemusement and confusion, as the little girl darted out from behind one crate and ducked behind another. She looked behind her as if watching for a playmate to swoop in for the attack.

Robin picked up a drawing off the floor as Otto disposed of his wet coat. It was a little girl--Mouse, if the poorly written word was any indication, and...an octopus. A smiling octopus with the name 'Bob' written above him, with an arrow pointing down. "Seems someone has found herself an imaginary friend," Robin murmured, coming over to Otto and showing him the picture. She looked over at the little girl, still peeking around crates at something only she could see.

Mouse patted Larry, chirping an introduction for Bob, then went back to her game. Bob was coming round the crate, so she ducked under Larry, and ran for the stairs in the back of the warehouse. She'd never played around the stairs before--both she and Otto had ignored the space that apparently led up to some sort of office. The glass had been knocked out of the window overlooking the floor long ago, and shards of it still littered the floor around the area.

But for once in her short life, Mouse was only focused on playing, and Bob would have a harder time catching her on the stairs.

Robin's head shot up at the soft crunch of glass under boots, and saw Mouse starting up the stairs, grinning and looking over her shoulder. One hand was on the banister, and the faerie frowned, as no part of the structure looked entirely safe. "Any idea if those are sturdy?" she asked. She'd never seen either mortal in that part of the warehouse, but she had no idea if Mouse used the spot as a play area or not.

Otto frowned at Mouse as he saw her cheerfully clomping up the stairs to what he thought was some sort of office. He'd actually never been up there- he'd covered that broken window from the outside.

"I don't know, actually," he admitted. He went over towards the rickety-looking stairs, actuators chattering quietly. There'd never been any real reason for him to go up there.

Robin followed, staying a few steps back, peering at the structure carefully. On the one hand, Mouse didn't weigh very much. She was the size of a five or six year old. On the other, the loft office was more exposed to the elements--there were some boards covering the worst of the holes, but the old wooden floor had still soaked up a lot of rain over the years, and had plenty of time to start rotting.

Mouse was near the top of the stairs now, turning to make faces at Bob, who was feeling out the steps, slowly climbing up them. She ignored the groaning boards under her feet, still having too much fun to pay attention to them. Everything else in the old building groaned, so why wouldn't the floor?

He did not like those groaning sounds. Otto wasn't entirely certain, but they seemed to be subtly different than the sounds the warehouse made when settling.

"Mouse?" he called. "I think you should come down from there."

Mouse stood on her toes and looked over the railing at Otto, pouting. She was having fun. But it was Otto, and she always listened to Otto. Bob started complaining, but she looked at him and shrugged.

She started down the stairs, ambling along. Her boots were too big, so she had to take her time to make sure she didn't lose one.

There was a particularly loud groan, then a crack, and the floorboard under her floor disintegrated. Mouse tumbled forward, her hands shooting out to catch herself, but the next board down fell away too. With a gasp, Mouse fell through the stairs, too stunned to make even a squeak.

"Mouse!"

Otto rushed forward, intent on doing something. It wouldn't have been any use- there was no way a normal man could possibly have been able to save her from a fall among the broken boards.

Fortunately, Doctor Otto Octavius was not a normal man.

Larry shot ahead, arching above the railing and darting back down. His jaws closed around Mouse's waist to catch her as splinters and chunks of wood fell to the floor.

Robin was already moving, but Larry had been watching Mouse intently, and had been a bit closer. She was still a little disgruntled to be outrun by a machine, though. Hovering in mid-air, she looked down where Larry was gently extracting Mouse from the hole. Perhaps some part of her had gotten used to the actuators and she had known they could save Mouse. Or perhaps she was getting too use to cutting her speed for humans.

The Puck knew that she would have caught Mouse in time--if nothing else, a Glamour could have suspended the girl in midair. But she hoped he wouldn't see it as a failing on her part to keep Mouse safe. They couldn't afford for him to doubt her now.

"Alright?" she asked Mouse, who was still wrapped in Larry's grip. The actuator was slowly moving her above the railing and back down to Otto. Mouse nodded, looking a little shaken, but unharmed. Robin followed, moving on air as though it was solid ground. Being able to laugh at gravity was one of the reasons she loved being an Air sprite.

Larry drew his friend safely clear of the stairs and deposited her at Otto's feet, who hugged her tightly. Chittering, the actuators nosed her, checking her for injury- all except Mo, who nuzzled at Robin.

"I guess we're not going up there anymore," Otto said, glancing up at the stairwell. Damnit, he should have checked up there, made sure it was safe.

Mouse hugged him back. She turned and pointed a finger at Bob, who was slithering about towards them. He was leaving a trail of ink behind him--he must have been scared. "No more stairs," she said, agreeing with Otto. She didn't want Bob to try and go up there on his own. Bob nodded, and went to get in the glass of water Mouse had sat out for him. Bob was a very special octopus, after all. He could change his size.

who is she talking to what is she talking to there's nothing there The actuators chittered with confusion, looking at one another. Otto made a 'never mind' gesture and silently told them that he would explain later.

Robin smiled and patted the girl's head as she came over to them. "Well, now that the excitement's over--we found you two a home today." Mouse's eyes lit up, and she looked back to Otto with an excited look. A home would be wonderful. Not to mention warmer and maybe even with a bathroom that you didn't have to scare the roaches out of every time you had to pee.

Otto kept an arm around Mouse's shoulders as he nodded. "We did," he confirmed. He was actually looking forward to getting a proper home. Someplace where he didn't have to be paranoid about people realizing that someone was living in a building that was supposed to be long abandoned. "We can move in as soon as we're packed."

Mouse immediately ran over to her bed, threw her drawing pad and crayons into her bag, and tossed it over her shoulder. She scooped the blanket off her bed, and picked up Bob's water glass. If she'd gone this long without a bed, she didn't really need one now. Besides, Robin had made it appear, she could probably make it disappear. She then ran back over to Otto, sloshing a little water on the way, with an expression that clearly said 'Ready.'

Robin covered a snort behind her hand. "Well that's efficient," she said. It had taken the child all of ten seconds to accomplish that, and most of that timing had been spent running.

"Very efficient," Otto agreed. That had been very impressive- he'd had no idea children could move so fast. He chuckled quietly. "Be a little bit patient, alright Mouse? I have to pack too, you know." It wasn't as if he could just toss computers and complex scientific equipment into a bag, after all.

Speaking of which, he did still have to figure out how to transfer his things from Point A to Point B.

He glanced at Robin. "You have answers for everything else," he said, a little dryly. "Is there some sort of faerie moving service that might be willing to help out here?"

Robin raised an eyebrow at him. If she didn't know better, she would think he was taking her for granted. The trickster in her was tempted to just say no, and possibly disappear for a few days. Leave him to move his scientific toys himself. But that would have been mean, and she wasn't feeling mean.

"No, but I'll come up with something," she answered just as dryly. "Try to separate out what you really need, and what can be brought along later or replaced." After all, she could always return to the warehouse for the rest of it later.

"In the meantime, I'm going to find some proper clothes for this one," she added, smoothing Mouse's hair. The girl looked down at her clothes, then back at Robin, as if to say 'what's wrong with my clothes?'

Robin smiled at her. "Afraid you're going to draw more attention to yourself like that than in clothes that fit properly. Don't worry, I promise to keep the sparkles to an absolute minimum."

Otto offered a crooked smile in return for her raised eyebrow. "You are wonderful," he told her, this time completely not in jest, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. How could he forget how wonderful she was? She could walk on thin air, make things appear and disappear at the drop of a hat, and she liked him and Mouse and the actuators.

Robin couldn't stay even remotely mad at that face. She smiled reluctantly, and let him kiss her cheek. "Glad you remember that," she said. She looked down at Mouse.

"You want to come with me, or stay here and help Otto?"

The little girl went and put down her things, coming back over to Robin. She was still holding the glass of water, not wanting to leave Bob behind. Robin smiled at her. "Your friend will have to stay here," she said. Mouse looked into the glass, bit her lip, then cupped both of her hands around it.

"S-stay," she said. Otto could probably use her help anyway. And it was still raining out.

Robin nodded. "Alright. I'll be back soon. I'll bring you some boxes too."

Otto smiled after Robin as she left. It was nice, too, to see that the charm still worked. He moved over to his lab space to begin sorting things. The actuators moved to help as soon as he took a seat at the workbench, easily going off in different directions to pick out what to keep, what to get rid of, and what to set aside for the time being.

"That water needs to stay away from the electronics," he warmed Mouse. "Water and electricity do not mix in any way that is pleasant."

Flo actually shuddered, remembering their last experience with electrical current and water.

Mouse nodded, carefully setting the glass down on a crate near her bed. She twirled a finger in the water, smiling at Bob swimming around, and went over to see if she could help Otto. Maybe when they got moved, she could get a fish tank or a gold fish bowl for Bob. He could use a bit more room.

She looked at the pile of things that still needed to be sorted, and looked at Otto, waiting for a task. She knew that he was picky about his equipment, and didn't want to touch anything she wasn't supposed to.

Otto directed her to help Larry move the items designated as 'set aside for now' to a safer spot as he worked at sorting things. Larry would handle anything too big or too delicate for her to deal with. In that fashion they managed to get through nearly all of the things in Otto's lab space by the time Robin returned.

Robin sauntered back in, a bag over one shoulder and a few shopping bags in her hands. She handed Otto the bag. "Boxes are inside," she said. "They should hold just about everything."

The bag itself wasn't very large, but like the boxes within, they would hold more than they appeared. She nodded Mouse over, and sat down the shopping bags. There were only two, but she knew it would be easier to outfit the girl once she and Otto were moved.

"This'll work for now," she said. Mouse dusted her hands, and came over, peeking in the bags. Everything was relatively simple, though nicer than anything she'd ever owned. There was also a coat in one of the bags. She lightly fingered the clothes, and looked up at Robin with big eyes. Launching forward, she gave the faerie a brief squeeze, then pulled out the shirt and pants that was on top, and raced over to her bed to change.

Robin went over to Otto, pulling out the boxes and started to load the piles inside. "Think this'll work?" she asked.

He chuckled, pleased to see Mouse so happy and showing apparently no sign of trauma from having a set of stairs crumble beneath her. "These should work well," he replied.

what is this bigger on the inside no no no dammit stop breaking the laws of physics stupid faerie Flo nosed at the nearest box as her host and brothers began piling things into it. Turning to look at robin, she gave a rather disgruntled hissing sound.

"Be nice," Otto chided, patting her.

Robin looked at the actuator, bared her teeth and hissed back. She was not afraid of a machine, sentient or not. And no machine was going to hiss at her and get away with it.

Mouse came over slowly, a little bashful in her new clothes. Robin smiled at her, pleased with her handiwork. "Much better," she approved. She had stuck with clothing that was as simple as possible, not wanting to shock Mouse out of her element. Later, when the child was more settled, she could take her shopping properly.

Mouse smiled shyly, looking at her shoes--white sneakers with Velcro straps. She bit her lip, and looked at Otto.

He smacked the still-hissing actuator- lightly, as she was made of metal, after all- and looked at Mouse. Her new clothing was simple, but it was clean, new, and fit her rather well. A far cry from the grubby things she usually wore.

"Much better," he agreed. Glancing at Robin, he debated trying for a second joke. After the results of the earlier one, he decided against it. Instead he cleared his throat. "Sorry about Flo. Those little tricks of yours- the ones that break certain physical laws- agitate her. She knows to behave." He gave the actuator a stern look, and she mumbled something indistinct in his mind. "Or she'd better, anyway."

Robin shrugged. "Laws of physics. Silly things, that. Like gravity. It's only useful part of the time anyway."

Only useful part of the time? Otto eyed the faerie from the corner of his eye. She was a fantastic woman, but every now and then she just said something that seemed deliberately calculated to turn his world upside down. How did she manage to do it?

She continued sweeping things into boxes with a slightly faster than human speed. Tossing the bag that had held the boxes to Mouse, she said, "Why don't you fold up your bedding in that. Don't worry about the bed itself--I can take care of it."

Mouse nodded and went to do as she was told. She also put the other clothing items in the bag, as well as her old clothes. She was used to being prepared, and she knew that she might need her old clothes again.

Laboratory equipment taken care of, Otto went to deal with his personal belongings. There weren't many- a few changes of clothes and the like, and some books and computer things. All easily transported, even if they hadn't had Robin's dimensionally transcendent boxes to pack things in. Flo hovered by his shoulder, not sure she still wanted anything to do with the faerie. She was, however, outvoted on that matter four to one.

Mouse brought her own things over to Otto's pile, and went back for the cup of water. She carried it carefully, and looked up at Robin to see if there was anything else.

Robin winked at the girl, extended a hand, and snapped. The bed disappeared, a few green sparks falling to the ground in its wake. "I'll make you a new one," Robin promised. She looked over the gathered boxes, and hit them with a burst of Glamour. They shrunk down to be small enough to fit inside a small wooden box Robin had. It almost looked like a small jewelry box. She tucked the miniature packed goods inside, and stood.

Giving Mouse another wink, she called to Otto. "Shake a leg, Octavius. I thought it was supposed to be the women who took a long time to pack."

"I'm done, I'm done," he protested, bringing over the box with his belongings. He'd watched the magical shrinking of the other boxes with interest, wondering if there was a scientific way of doing just that. It would be quite useful...

honey i shrunk the kids

Alright, there was that. That could be problematic.

Robin nodded to the box in his hands. "You want to carry that, or want me to put it in here?" she asked, patting the wooden box in her hands. Then she looked at Mouse, who was sloshing a bit of water everywhere when she moved, no matter how hard she tried. Robin put the smaller box on the table, and reached deep into her pocket. Finally she extracted a small jar with a lid.

"Here, love. Why don't you put your friend in this?" she said, handing it to Mouse. The girl took it, sitting the jar on the table. Then she reached her hand into the water to let Bob climb up. Setting him carefully on the crate, she unscrewed the jar and poured the water inside. Then she deposited Bob back into the water and rescrewed the lid. She came back over, smiling a thank you at Robin.

He supposed he could understand humoring a child in their belief in an imaginary friend, but that seemed to be stretching it. But he said nothing to that. He supposed there were worse beliefs to indulge.

Otto shrugged and held out the box. "That's easier to handle," he said, nodding to the smaller one she carried.

Robin nodded, shrunk his down too, and added it to the collection. While she was at it, she gave Otto a Look that said he was to keep his mouth shut regarding Mouse and her friend. The child obviously needed a playmate in the worst possible way. Besides...not all imaginary friends weren't real.

"All invisible octopi can change their size. Didn't you know that?" she told him, giving Mouse a grin. The girl nodded, peering into the glass to make sure Bob was happy. He seemed to enjoy it. Robin gave Otto one more stern look, and closed the small box. She knew that a scientifically minded man might not see the point of an imaginary friend, but if it made the child happy, what was the harm? Children grew up too fast as it was.

He arched his eyebrows slightly, indicating that he wasn't about to say anything against Mouse's imaginary friend. He'd never had one himself, though he understood that other children had them. Otto had spent far too much time with his nose in a book as a child to have ever seen the point. Rationality had marked him at an early age.

Odd that a mystical creature like Robin should seek him out. It flew in the face of all logic.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't know that. I never studied the invisible kind. So much easier to use visible ones as models for the actuators."

you're not seriously encouraging this no such thing as invisible octopi only octopi that pretend to be invisible through camouflage

Well, he wasn't discouraging it.

Robin smiled slyly at him. Good boy. She'd teach him to play games if it killed them. Gripping the box, she handed Otto his fedora as Mouse pulled on her new coat. "All ready?" Robin asked, looking at the pair.

Mouse juggled her jar from one hand to the other as she struggled into the new coat. It was a bit big on her, but Robin knew that the child would probably start growing properly now that she would be eating actual meals. She wanted the coat to last the winter.

The actuators muttered as Otto pulled on his coat and fedora. They didn't see the point in letting Mouse delude herself. Why believe in things that didn't exist? It made no sense.

He shooed them into hiding under the folds of his coat. Playing along made Mouse happy and kept Robin from glaring at him. That was enough for him. "Ready," he said to the faerie. "I can carry that, if you want."

Robin handed the box to him, then reached down to adjust Mouse's coat. The girl was struggling with it a little. Robin straightened the collar and bent to do up the buttons. Straightening, she tucked a bit of hair behind the child's ear.

"Best be off then," Robin said. She offered a hand to Mouse, who adjusted her bag across her shoulders and slid her hand into that of the faerie. The trio headed out of the warehouse one last time.

Otto cast a final glance at the warehouse that had been his refuge for the past several months, then resolutely turned his back on it. It was just an abandoned warehouse now. Now, he had something he could make a real home out of.

The new apartment was a far cry from the warehouse. It was warm all on its own, for one. For another, they didn't have to sneak into it. It was theirs, rent paid in full and everything. Otto liked that.

Unpacking took them only a little longer than packing, with so many hands to help. Glancing into the kitchen as they finished, Otto smiled.

"I can actually cook now," he said.

Robin raised an eyebrow at him. "You can cook?" she asked, somewhat surprised. It was her understanding that most of the mortal men nowadays couldn't, or wouldn't, cook for themselves. But then...that was actually a standard that had existed for several centuries.

Otto smirked and looked over the rims of his sunglasses at her. "Yes, actually," he said. "I'm not half bad. Picked it up in college after my father died and I'd proven I was smarter than my professors. I needed something to keep me occupied. And have you ever eaten at a college campus? Unless the culinary arts program helps run the cafe, it's not generally brilliant."

It seemed that he'd actually managed to surprise her. That was rather gratifying- so often lately it was she who surprised him, and it was nice to turn the tables on her once in a while.

Robin smiled, moving over and running a hand down his arm. "Guess you'll just have to impress me sometime," she said with a mischievous smirk.

Mouse was running around the apartment, her eyes so big they looked like they could fall out of her head at any moment. Robin had already made her a new bed. The faerie watched her, bemused, as the three and a half foot whirlwind blew past them again, a jar of water in hand. Robin laughed as the girl took off down the hallway again. Compared to what she had seen of Mouse's old home, and the warehouse, she knew that the apartment must look like a paradise.

Robin turned twinkling eyes back to Otto, glad to see them both happy. She started to say something, then winced at the sudden burst of pain behind her eyes. She actually saw stars for a moment. Jerking straighter, she stepped back from Otto, pressing a hand to her temple. Someone was in a temper, and Oberon wanted her. Now.

"Gamoto," Robin cursed. Then she winced again. Oberon apparently took the curse personally. "Sorry, sorry," she muttered, turning her head slightly, as though talking to someone behind her. "Be there in a tic." At this rate, her lord would cripple her halfway across the Atlantic and make her swim home. He was not happy.

She gave Otto an apologetic smile. "Looks like I gotta run. But I'll be back when I can, alright?" Leaning up, she kissed his cheek. Her hand on her arm clinched tight in reflex as another impatient stab flared in her head. "Sorry," she muttered, smoothing down his sweater. She had probably bruised him.

He winced in pain as she involuntarily clenched her hand on his arm. He'd had no idea she was that strong.

Who the hell wanted her so badly as to cause her actual pain? That was clearly pain being inflicted on her from some outside source. Otto vaguely recalled her saying something about being psychically linked to the faerie king she served- surely he wasn't responsible for hurting her?

That thought made him quite angry, that anyone bound to Robin in such a way would hurt her. It was just... wrong.

"I'm alright," he replied. The agitated actuators behind him hissed softly, reflecting his true feelings on the matter. He leaned over and kissed her properly, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Don't get yourself into trouble on my account. Mouse and I can manage on our own."

Robin gave him a reassuring smile that was a little too bright. "No worries. Something's just got Oberon in a temper, and he needs his Puck. He'll be fine once I go and get it all sorted." It was what she did, after all.

A childish shriek of laughter was heard down the hall. Robin turned to see Mouse come running back towards them, looking over her shoulder. Apparently she and Bob were having a game of tag.

Robin snagged the girl lightly, giving her a hug. "I have to go, Mouse. It might be a few weeks before you see me again, but I'll come back. You be good, alright?"

Mouse frowned, wrapping her arms around Robin. She didn't want her to go. Otto was happy when Robin was around--at least more than she'd ever seen him before. But Robin patted the child's head, repressing a wince at the shouts in her head.

She gave Otto another kiss, and stepped back, giving them both a wave. "See you," she said.

"See you." Otto bit back his unhappiness enough to smile at her. Mouse's pleading hug actually summed up his feelings about the matter rather well. He adamantly did not want Robin to go. He wasn't quite so as sanguine as Mouse that she would return.

The faerie vanished, leaving the two humans behind in an apartment that suddenly felt oddly empty. Otto shivered a little, and went to scoop Mouse into his arms.

"So it's just us now," he said, trying to smile.

Mouse was quick to hug Otto, who seemed like he needed it. "Just us," she agreed, a little sadly. "And Bob." That fact she seemed a little brighter about.

"And Bob," Otto agreed. What else could he do? He couldn't start trying to dissuade her about Bob the invisible octopus now, after all. No matter what the actuators said.

He hugged the little girl tightly and set her back on her feet. "Your room all set up?"

Mouse nodded, taking his hand and pulling him eagerly down the hall. With a smile, she pushed open the door. Robin had made her a similar bed to her old one, though this one was white. Mouse's books were carefully stacked on her bedside table, with Bob's water jar next to them, and her clothes hanging in the closet. Her messenger bag hung from one of the bedposts. Though it was a little bare, it was clearly the beginning makings of a little girl's room.

The child smiled proudly up at Otto. She had helped Robin set up, after all. And she had never felt so proud to have something that was hers, completely hers. She hugged him again, squeezing her arms around his middle. "Good," she said simply. "Home. Our home."

"It is," he agreed. She was right. This was their home- a place of their own. He was still a fugitive who had, more or less, kidnapped a traumatized little girl and murdered nearly a half-dozen people in order to do it, but dammit, she was right. This was their home.

This was their home- and he had family

Description
Otto had always been slow to wake up. It usually took him at least fifteen minutes to go from sleep, to opening his eyes, to convincing himself to crawl out of bed. Mental functionality did not exist until after coffee, except under extenuating circumstances.

Such as waking up to find a faerie still curled under his arm. That served to wake him up more than usual.

He blinked at her, vaguely startled to find her there. She was quite nice to wake up to, but the fact that he was waking up to her made him pause momentarily.

Robin had woken with the sun, but had been quite content to sit and relax until Otto woke up. Now she smiled up at him. "Morning," she said, leaning up to peck his cheek and sliding out from under his arm. She gave herself a proper stretch, and blew a fresh bit of warmth into the warehouse.

"Sleep alright?" she asked.

He looked up at her, squinting against the light, then nodded as he dug out his sunglasses and settled them on his nose. "Yes, actually," he said. "Quite well." Much better than he normally would, given that he'd slept half-sitting up. His back and leg were stiff as hell, but for once, there'd been no nightmares.

Around him, the actuators came out of the half-doze state they usually sank into when he was asleep and they had nothing to do. They chittered among themselves, Mo stretching out to nuzzle Robin and Larry going to check on Mouse. Otto envied their lack of dependency on caffeine.

Robin stood, taking pity on his half-awake state. "Coffee, breakfast, then we'll talk apartments," she said with a nod. In a flash, she was gone.

Several moments later, she reappeared, handed him a hot cup of coffee, and sat a bag of breakfast plates on the table. She went to check on Mouse, who was sitting on her bed, drawing and chittering to Larry. The child smiled a gap-toothed smile at the faerie, scrambling over when she saw the breakfast food.

Robin ruffled her hair, and sat out her food as Otto ambled over. She also sat the thermos of coffee in front of the scientist. Mouse had her milk, and soon, all the food was out and ready.

Otto could only watch in drowsy fascination as Robin zipped about, setting out both breakfast and table settings. Flo and Mo watched as well, their heads flicking from side to side as they tracked the faerie's progress.

"Robin's going to help us find a new place to live," he told Mouse. She was looking much better this morning. Jack did good work.

Mouse looked up from her pancakes with interest. So far, everything Robin had done for them had been wonderful. Surely a new home would be wonderful too. Maybe it would even be a proper one. Maybe she'd even get her own bedroom.

Robin smiled at the child, nodding as she stabbed into her own pancakes. Renewing energy made her hungry. "Absolutely. We'll get you two set up somewhere nice. Of course, it would be hard to find anything worse." She shook her head at the warehouse.

Robin gestured with a fork as she ate. "I figure there's two ways to go about this. One, I make you look normal, we go about securing you a place with a false name and all. No one would blink at you being a single parent, not nowadays. The only risk there is that should someone find out about you, there's a higher chance of them turning you in.

"Or two, we find a landlord who doesn't care who you are, bride him to keep quiet, and hope for the best. What do you think?"

"I have false papers," he replied. "If we find a particularly disinterested landlord, we might not need you to disguise me. What happens if I need to go out and you're not there? With a hat and my glasses, I'll be less recognizable as a particular individual." He gestured to the sunglasses already on his nose. "People don't tend to look past particular things that stand out to them. These draw attention away from my features enough that I'd be tricky to memorize. So we find someone not particularly observant and use my false ID. I'll get some for Mouse later."

Robin shrugged. "I have a friend in the city. He has connections to some real estate agents. Got me a list of places he said would prove useful. I rather figured we'd want to go the "more interested in money than people" route. The landlords to these properties should be up the right ally."

A few hours and four apartments later, they hit pay dirt. A two bedroom apartment with an open floor plan that could easily be used as a lab for Otto, with a landlord who didn't care to look too closely at things. He was also the type who seemed that, should he discover the truth and have enough of a conscience to try to do something, that bit of conscience could be easily persuaded to do otherwise.

The warehouse was as they had left it--almost. Several crates had been moved around, and Mouse's soft giggling could be heard from somewhere. Robin and Otto exchanged looks of bemusement and confusion, as the little girl darted out from behind one crate and ducked behind another. She looked behind her as if watching for a playmate to swoop in for the attack.

Robin picked up a drawing off the floor as Otto disposed of his wet coat. It was a little girl--Mouse, if the poorly written word was any indication, and...an octopus. A smiling octopus with the name 'Bob' written above him, with an arrow pointing down. "Seems someone has found herself an imaginary friend," Robin murmured, coming over to Otto and showing him the picture. She looked over at the little girl, still peeking around crates at something only she could see.

Mouse patted Larry, chirping an introduction for Bob, then went back to her game. Bob was coming round the crate, so she ducked under Larry, and ran for the stairs in the back of the warehouse. She'd never played around the stairs before--both she and Otto had ignored the space that apparently led up to some sort of office. The glass had been knocked out of the window overlooking the floor long ago, and shards of it still littered the floor around the area.

But for once in her short life, Mouse was only focused on playing, and Bob would have a harder time catching her on the stairs.

Robin's head shot up at the soft crunch of glass under boots, and saw Mouse starting up the stairs, grinning and looking over her shoulder. One hand was on the banister, and the faerie frowned, as no part of the structure looked entirely safe. "Any idea if those are sturdy?" she asked. She'd never seen either mortal in that part of the warehouse, but she had no idea if Mouse used the spot as a play area or not.

Otto frowned at Mouse as he saw her cheerfully clomping up the stairs to what he thought was some sort of office. He'd actually never been up there- he'd covered that broken window from the outside.

"I don't know, actually," he admitted. He went over towards the rickety-looking stairs, actuators chattering quietly. There'd never been any real reason for him to go up there.

Robin followed, staying a few steps back, peering at the structure carefully. On the one hand, Mouse didn't weigh very much. She was the size of a five or six year old. On the other, the loft office was more exposed to the elements--there were some boards covering the worst of the holes, but the old wooden floor had still soaked up a lot of rain over the years, and had plenty of time to start rotting.

Mouse was near the top of the stairs now, turning to make faces at Bob, who was feeling out the steps, slowly climbing up them. She ignored the groaning boards under her feet, still having too much fun to pay attention to them. Everything else in the old building groaned, so why wouldn't the floor?

He did not like those groaning sounds. Otto wasn't entirely certain, but they seemed to be subtly different than the sounds the warehouse made when settling.

"Mouse?" he called. "I think you should come down from there."

Mouse stood on her toes and looked over the railing at Otto, pouting. She was having fun. But it was Otto, and she always listened to Otto. Bob started complaining, but she looked at him and shrugged.

She started down the stairs, ambling along. Her boots were too big, so she had to take her time to make sure she didn't lose one.

There was a particularly loud groan, then a crack, and the floorboard under her floor disintegrated. Mouse tumbled forward, her hands shooting out to catch herself, but the next board down fell away too. With a gasp, Mouse fell through the stairs, too stunned to make even a squeak.

"Mouse!"

Otto rushed forward, intent on doing something. It wouldn't have been any use- there was no way a normal man could possibly have been able to save her from a fall among the broken boards.

Fortunately, Doctor Otto Octavius was not a normal man.

Larry shot ahead, arching above the railing and darting back down. His jaws closed around Mouse's waist to catch her as splinters and chunks of wood fell to the floor.

Robin was already moving, but Larry had been watching Mouse intently, and had been a bit closer. She was still a little disgruntled to be outrun by a machine, though. Hovering in mid-air, she looked down where Larry was gently extracting Mouse from the hole. Perhaps some part of her had gotten used to the actuators and she had known they could save Mouse. Or perhaps she was getting too use to cutting her speed for humans.

The Puck knew that she would have caught Mouse in time--if nothing else, a Glamour could have suspended the girl in midair. But she hoped he wouldn't see it as a failing on her part to keep Mouse safe. They couldn't afford for him to doubt her now.

"Alright?" she asked Mouse, who was still wrapped in Larry's grip. The actuator was slowly moving her above the railing and back down to Otto. Mouse nodded, looking a little shaken, but unharmed. Robin followed, moving on air as though it was solid ground. Being able to laugh at gravity was one of the reasons she loved being an Air sprite.

Larry drew his friend safely clear of the stairs and deposited her at Otto's feet, who hugged her tightly. Chittering, the actuators nosed her, checking her for injury- all except Mo, who nuzzled at Robin.

"I guess we're not going up there anymore," Otto said, glancing up at the stairwell. Damnit, he should have checked up there, made sure it was safe.

Mouse hugged him back. She turned and pointed a finger at Bob, who was slithering about towards them. He was leaving a trail of ink behind him--he must have been scared. "No more stairs," she said, agreeing with Otto. She didn't want Bob to try and go up there on his own. Bob nodded, and went to get in the glass of water Mouse had sat out for him. Bob was a very special octopus, after all. He could change his size.

who is she talking to what is she talking to there's nothing there The actuators chittered with confusion, looking at one another. Otto made a 'never mind' gesture and silently told them that he would explain later.

Robin smiled and patted the girl's head as she came over to them. "Well, now that the excitement's over--we found you two a home today." Mouse's eyes lit up, and she looked back to Otto with an excited look. A home would be wonderful. Not to mention warmer and maybe even with a bathroom that you didn't have to scare the roaches out of every time you had to pee.

Otto kept an arm around Mouse's shoulders as he nodded. "We did," he confirmed. He was actually looking forward to getting a proper home. Someplace where he didn't have to be paranoid about people realizing that someone was living in a building that was supposed to be long abandoned. "We can move in as soon as we're packed."

Mouse immediately ran over to her bed, threw her drawing pad and crayons into her bag, and tossed it over her shoulder. She scooped the blanket off her bed, and picked up Bob's water glass. If she'd gone this long without a bed, she didn't really need one now. Besides, Robin had made it appear, she could probably make it disappear. She then ran back over to Otto, sloshing a little water on the way, with an expression that clearly said 'Ready.'

Robin covered a snort behind her hand. "Well that's efficient," she said. It had taken the child all of ten seconds to accomplish that, and most of that timing had been spent running.

"Very efficient," Otto agreed. That had been very impressive- he'd had no idea children could move so fast. He chuckled quietly. "Be a little bit patient, alright Mouse? I have to pack too, you know." It wasn't as if he could just toss computers and complex scientific equipment into a bag, after all.

Speaking of which, he did still have to figure out how to transfer his things from Point A to Point B.

He glanced at Robin. "You have answers for everything else," he said, a little dryly. "Is there some sort of faerie moving service that might be willing to help out here?"

Robin raised an eyebrow at him. If she didn't know better, she would think he was taking her for granted. The trickster in her was tempted to just say no, and possibly disappear for a few days. Leave him to move his scientific toys himself. But that would have been mean, and she wasn't feeling mean.

"No, but I'll come up with something," she answered just as dryly. "Try to separate out what you really need, and what can be brought along later or replaced." After all, she could always return to the warehouse for the rest of it later.

"In the meantime, I'm going to find some proper clothes for this one," she added, smoothing Mouse's hair. The girl looked down at her clothes, then back at Robin, as if to say 'what's wrong with my clothes?'

Robin smiled at her. "Afraid you're going to draw more attention to yourself like that than in clothes that fit properly. Don't worry, I promise to keep the sparkles to an absolute minimum."

Otto offered a crooked smile in return for her raised eyebrow. "You are wonderful," he told her, this time completely not in jest, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. How could he forget how wonderful she was? She could walk on thin air, make things appear and disappear at the drop of a hat, and she liked him and Mouse and the actuators.

Robin couldn't stay even remotely mad at that face. She smiled reluctantly, and let him kiss her cheek. "Glad you remember that," she said. She looked down at Mouse.

"You want to come with me, or stay here and help Otto?"

The little girl went and put down her things, coming back over to Robin. She was still holding the glass of water, not wanting to leave Bob behind. Robin smiled at her. "Your friend will have to stay here," she said. Mouse looked into the glass, bit her lip, then cupped both of her hands around it.

"S-stay," she said. Otto could probably use her help anyway. And it was still raining out.

Robin nodded. "Alright. I'll be back soon. I'll bring you some boxes too."

Otto smiled after Robin as she left. It was nice, too, to see that the charm still worked. He moved over to his lab space to begin sorting things. The actuators moved to help as soon as he took a seat at the workbench, easily going off in different directions to pick out what to keep, what to get rid of, and what to set aside for the time being.

"That water needs to stay away from the electronics," he warmed Mouse. "Water and electricity do not mix in any way that is pleasant."

Flo actually shuddered, remembering their last experience with electrical current and water.

Mouse nodded, carefully setting the glass down on a crate near her bed. She twirled a finger in the water, smiling at Bob swimming around, and went over to see if she could help Otto. Maybe when they got moved, she could get a fish tank or a gold fish bowl for Bob. He could use a bit more room.

She looked at the pile of things that still needed to be sorted, and looked at Otto, waiting for a task. She knew that he was picky about his equipment, and didn't want to touch anything she wasn't supposed to.

Otto directed her to help Larry move the items designated as 'set aside for now' to a safer spot as he worked at sorting things. Larry would handle anything too big or too delicate for her to deal with. In that fashion they managed to get through nearly all of the things in Otto's lab space by the time Robin returned.

Robin sauntered back in, a bag over one shoulder and a few shopping bags in her hands. She handed Otto the bag. "Boxes are inside," she said. "They should hold just about everything."

The bag itself wasn't very large, but like the boxes within, they would hold more than they appeared. She nodded Mouse over, and sat down the shopping bags. There were only two, but she knew it would be easier to outfit the girl once she and Otto were moved.

"This'll work for now," she said. Mouse dusted her hands, and came over, peeking in the bags. Everything was relatively simple, though nicer than anything she'd ever owned. There was also a coat in one of the bags. She lightly fingered the clothes, and looked up at Robin with big eyes. Launching forward, she gave the faerie a brief squeeze, then pulled out the shirt and pants that was on top, and raced over to her bed to change.

Robin went over to Otto, pulling out the boxes and started to load the piles inside. "Think this'll work?" she asked.

He chuckled, pleased to see Mouse so happy and showing apparently no sign of trauma from having a set of stairs crumble beneath her. "These should work well," he replied.

what is this bigger on the inside no no no dammit stop breaking the laws of physics stupid faerie Flo nosed at the nearest box as her host and brothers began piling things into it. Turning to look at robin, she gave a rather disgruntled hissing sound.

"Be nice," Otto chided, patting her.

Robin looked at the actuator, bared her teeth and hissed back. She was not afraid of a machine, sentient or not. And no machine was going to hiss at her and get away with it.

Mouse came over slowly, a little bashful in her new clothes. Robin smiled at her, pleased with her handiwork. "Much better," she approved. She had stuck with clothing that was as simple as possible, not wanting to shock Mouse out of her element. Later, when the child was more settled, she could take her shopping properly.

Mouse smiled shyly, looking at her shoes--white sneakers with Velcro straps. She bit her lip, and looked at Otto.

He smacked the still-hissing actuator- lightly, as she was made of metal, after all- and looked at Mouse. Her new clothing was simple, but it was clean, new, and fit her rather well. A far cry from the grubby things she usually wore.

"Much better," he agreed. Glancing at Robin, he debated trying for a second joke. After the results of the earlier one, he decided against it. Instead he cleared his throat. "Sorry about Flo. Those little tricks of yours- the ones that break certain physical laws- agitate her. She knows to behave." He gave the actuator a stern look, and she mumbled something indistinct in his mind. "Or she'd better, anyway."

Robin shrugged. "Laws of physics. Silly things, that. Like gravity. It's only useful part of the time anyway."

Only useful part of the time? Otto eyed the faerie from the corner of his eye. She was a fantastic woman, but every now and then she just said something that seemed deliberately calculated to turn his world upside down. How did she manage to do it?

She continued sweeping things into boxes with a slightly faster than human speed. Tossing the bag that had held the boxes to Mouse, she said, "Why don't you fold up your bedding in that. Don't worry about the bed itself--I can take care of it."

Mouse nodded and went to do as she was told. She also put the other clothing items in the bag, as well as her old clothes. She was used to being prepared, and she knew that she might need her old clothes again.

Laboratory equipment taken care of, Otto went to deal with his personal belongings. There weren't many- a few changes of clothes and the like, and some books and computer things. All easily transported, even if they hadn't had Robin's dimensionally transcendent boxes to pack things in. Flo hovered by his shoulder, not sure she still wanted anything to do with the faerie. She was, however, outvoted on that matter four to one.

Mouse brought her own things over to Otto's pile, and went back for the cup of water. She carried it carefully, and looked up at Robin to see if there was anything else.

Robin winked at the girl, extended a hand, and snapped. The bed disappeared, a few green sparks falling to the ground in its wake. "I'll make you a new one," Robin promised. She looked over the gathered boxes, and hit them with a burst of Glamour. They shrunk down to be small enough to fit inside a small wooden box Robin had. It almost looked like a small jewelry box. She tucked the miniature packed goods inside, and stood.

Giving Mouse another wink, she called to Otto. "Shake a leg, Octavius. I thought it was supposed to be the women who took a long time to pack."

"I'm done, I'm done," he protested, bringing over the box with his belongings. He'd watched the magical shrinking of the other boxes with interest, wondering if there was a scientific way of doing just that. It would be quite useful...

honey i shrunk the kids

Alright, there was that. That could be problematic.

Robin nodded to the box in his hands. "You want to carry that, or want me to put it in here?" she asked, patting the wooden box in her hands. Then she looked at Mouse, who was sloshing a bit of water everywhere when she moved, no matter how hard she tried. Robin put the smaller box on the table, and reached deep into her pocket. Finally she extracted a small jar with a lid.

"Here, love. Why don't you put your friend in this?" she said, handing it to Mouse. The girl took it, sitting the jar on the table. Then she reached her hand into the water to let Bob climb up. Setting him carefully on the crate, she unscrewed the jar and poured the water inside. Then she deposited Bob back into the water and rescrewed the lid. She came back over, smiling a thank you at Robin.

He supposed he could understand humoring a child in their belief in an imaginary friend, but that seemed to be stretching it. But he said nothing to that. He supposed there were worse beliefs to indulge.

Otto shrugged and held out the box. "That's easier to handle," he said, nodding to the smaller one she carried.

Robin nodded, shrunk his down too, and added it to the collection. While she was at it, she gave Otto a Look that said he was to keep his mouth shut regarding Mouse and her friend. The child obviously needed a playmate in the worst possible way. Besides...not all imaginary friends weren't real.

"All invisible octopi can change their size. Didn't you know that?" she told him, giving Mouse a grin. The girl nodded, peering into the glass to make sure Bob was happy. He seemed to enjoy it. Robin gave Otto one more stern look, and closed the small box. She knew that a scientifically minded man might not see the point of an imaginary friend, but if it made the child happy, what was the harm? Children grew up too fast as it was.

He arched his eyebrows slightly, indicating that he wasn't about to say anything against Mouse's imaginary friend. He'd never had one himself, though he understood that other children had them. Otto had spent far too much time with his nose in a book as a child to have ever seen the point. Rationality had marked him at an early age.

Odd that a mystical creature like Robin should seek him out. It flew in the face of all logic.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't know that. I never studied the invisible kind. So much easier to use visible ones as models for the actuators."

you're not seriously encouraging this no such thing as invisible octopi only octopi that pretend to be invisible through camouflage

Well, he wasn't discouraging it.

Robin smiled slyly at him. Good boy. She'd teach him to play games if it killed them. Gripping the box, she handed Otto his fedora as Mouse pulled on her new coat. "All ready?" Robin asked, looking at the pair.

Mouse juggled her jar from one hand to the other as she struggled into the new coat. It was a bit big on her, but Robin knew that the child would probably start growing properly now that she would be eating actual meals. She wanted the coat to last the winter.

The actuators muttered as Otto pulled on his coat and fedora. They didn't see the point in letting Mouse delude herself. Why believe in things that didn't exist? It made no sense.

He shooed them into hiding under the folds of his coat. Playing along made Mouse happy and kept Robin from glaring at him. That was enough for him. "Ready," he said to the faerie. "I can carry that, if you want."

Robin handed the box to him, then reached down to adjust Mouse's coat. The girl was struggling with it a little. Robin straightened the collar and bent to do up the buttons. Straightening, she tucked a bit of hair behind the child's ear.

"Best be off then," Robin said. She offered a hand to Mouse, who adjusted her bag across her shoulders and slid her hand into that of the faerie. The trio headed out of the warehouse one last time.

Otto cast a final glance at the warehouse that had been his refuge for the past several months, then resolutely turned his back on it. It was just an abandoned warehouse now. Now, he had something he could make a real home out of.

The new apartment was a far cry from the warehouse. It was warm all on its own, for one. For another, they didn't have to sneak into it. It was theirs, rent paid in full and everything. Otto liked that.

Unpacking took them only a little longer than packing, with so many hands to help. Glancing into the kitchen as they finished, Otto smiled.

"I can actually cook now," he said.

Robin raised an eyebrow at him. "You can cook?" she asked, somewhat surprised. It was her understanding that most of the mortal men nowadays couldn't, or wouldn't, cook for themselves. But then...that was actually a standard that had existed for several centuries.

Otto smirked and looked over the rims of his sunglasses at her. "Yes, actually," he said. "I'm not half bad. Picked it up in college after my father died and I'd proven I was smarter than my professors. I needed something to keep me occupied. And have you ever eaten at a college campus? Unless the culinary arts program helps run the cafe, it's not generally brilliant."

It seemed that he'd actually managed to surprise her. That was rather gratifying- so often lately it was she who surprised him, and it was nice to turn the tables on her once in a while.

Robin smiled, moving over and running a hand down his arm. "Guess you'll just have to impress me sometime," she said with a mischievous smirk.

Mouse was running around the apartment, her eyes so big they looked like they could fall out of her head at any moment. Robin had already made her a new bed. The faerie watched her, bemused, as the three and a half foot whirlwind blew past them again, a jar of water in hand. Robin laughed as the girl took off down the hallway again. Compared to what she had seen of Mouse's old home, and the warehouse, she knew that the apartment must look like a paradise.

Robin turned twinkling eyes back to Otto, glad to see them both happy. She started to say something, then winced at the sudden burst of pain behind her eyes. She actually saw stars for a moment. Jerking straighter, she stepped back from Otto, pressing a hand to her temple. Someone was in a temper, and Oberon wanted her. Now.

"Gamoto," Robin cursed. Then she winced again. Oberon apparently took the curse personally. "Sorry, sorry," she muttered, turning her head slightly, as though talking to someone behind her. "Be there in a tic." At this rate, her lord would cripple her halfway across the Atlantic and make her swim home. He was not happy.

She gave Otto an apologetic smile. "Looks like I gotta run. But I'll be back when I can, alright?" Leaning up, she kissed his cheek. Her hand on her arm clinched tight in reflex as another impatient stab flared in her head. "Sorry," she muttered, smoothing down his sweater. She had probably bruised him.

He winced in pain as she involuntarily clenched her hand on his arm. He'd had no idea she was that strong.

Who the hell wanted her so badly as to cause her actual pain? That was clearly pain being inflicted on her from some outside source. Otto vaguely recalled her saying something about being psychically linked to the faerie king she served- surely he wasn't responsible for hurting her?

That thought made him quite angry, that anyone bound to Robin in such a way would hurt her. It was just... wrong.

"I'm alright," he replied. The agitated actuators behind him hissed softly, reflecting his true feelings on the matter. He leaned over and kissed her properly, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Don't get yourself into trouble on my account. Mouse and I can manage on our own."

Robin gave him a reassuring smile that was a little too bright. "No worries. Something's just got Oberon in a temper, and he needs his Puck. He'll be fine once I go and get it all sorted." It was what she did, after all.

A childish shriek of laughter was heard down the hall. Robin turned to see Mouse come running back towards them, looking over her shoulder. Apparently she and Bob were having a game of tag.

Robin snagged the girl lightly, giving her a hug. "I have to go, Mouse. It might be a few weeks before you see me again, but I'll come back. You be good, alright?"

Mouse frowned, wrapping her arms around Robin. She didn't want her to go. Otto was happy when Robin was around--at least more than she'd ever seen him before. But Robin patted the child's head, repressing a wince at the shouts in her head.

She gave Otto another kiss, and stepped back, giving them both a wave. "See you," she said.

"See you." Otto bit back his unhappiness enough to smile at her. Mouse's pleading hug actually summed up his feelings about the matter rather well. He adamantly did not want Robin to go. He wasn't quite so as sanguine as Mouse that she would return.

The faerie vanished, leaving the two humans behind in an apartment that suddenly felt oddly empty. Otto shivered a little, and went to scoop Mouse into his arms.

"So it's just us now," he said, trying to smile.

Mouse was quick to hug Otto, who seemed like he needed it. "Just us," she agreed, a little sadly. "And Bob." That fact she seemed a little brighter about.

"And Bob," Otto agreed. What else could he do? He couldn't start trying to dissuade her about Bob the invisible octopus now, after all. No matter what the actuators said.

He hugged the little girl tightly and set her back on her feet. "Your room all set up?"

Mouse nodded, taking his hand and pulling him eagerly down the hall. With a smile, she pushed open the door. Robin had made her a similar bed to her old one, though this one was white. Mouse's books were carefully stacked on her bedside table, with Bob's water jar next to them, and her clothes hanging in the closet. Her messenger bag hung from one of the bedposts. Though it was a little bare, it was clearly the beginning makings of a little girl's room.

The child smiled proudly up at Otto. She had helped Robin set up, after all. And she had never felt so proud to have something that was hers, completely hers. She hugged him again, squeezing her arms around his middle. "Good," she said simply. "Home. Our home."

"It is," he agreed. She was right. This was their home- a place of their own. He was still a fugitive who had, more or less, kidnapped a traumatized little girl and murdered nearly a half-dozen people in order to do it, but dammit, she was right. This was their home.

This was their home- and he had family