His Soul

The Book

You woke up to your alarm on a quiet morning, which would normally calm you, but it felt like your nerves were on fire when you had a realization. You jumped out of bed and rushed out of your room first thing. You found Curioso laying on the couch. The TV was turned off and he instead clutched a large book in his hands, open to a page that looked something like a collage.

When you got closer, you recognized it as one of your high school yearbooks. When your steps became audible, the jester shut it instantly and sat up in surprise. He sat it down and turned to you with his smile which now appeared sheepish.

"Detective! Good morning," His tone was nervous. You blinked at him, still trying to wake yourself up.

"Were you looking through my yearbooks?"

He glanced at the large edition sitting beside him and shrugged. "I got bored and then I got curious. You don't have a lot to do around here."

"Mm," You waved him off and headed towards the bathroom. You could take care of your morning business now that you made sure he was still here.

While you were brushing your teeth, your eyes were blinded when a flash of light entered the room. You swung around to find the jester teleporting through the door to hold up a picture to you. "-I can't believe you were in the photography club!"

" Curioso !" You scolded, swatting at him and trying to keep some distance. Your bathroom was small and he was nearly 7 feet tall. Surely he knew what 'personal space' meant? "You can't just barge in here!"

"The door was locked," He responded simply.

"For a reason !" You exclaimed, twisting the knob and pushing him out. You slammed it behind him and rinsed out your mouth, grumbling to yourself the entire time.

"-You were in track & field, too? I didn't think you were the athletic type," His voice resumed from the other side of the wood. At least he wasn't trying to get back in.

You dried your hands off and sighed. "Those days were long ago. I'm not as fit as I used to be."

"Detectives usually aren't," He replied.

You opened the door and found him standing right outside, grinning down at you. You shook your head and swiped the yearbook from his hands, returning it to its proper shelf. You headed to the kitchen and he was on your tail, sitting on the counter again as he watched you make yourself some coffee.

"What's for breakfast?" He pried.

You thought about it. "Eh...A bagel with some cream cheese, I guess. You don't want anything, do you?"

"I can't," He replied sadly.

You sifted through your drawers. "Well...what did you use to have? Back in those good ol' days?"

"Cereal. I remember having a lot of cheerios."

That checked out, if his favorite dinner had told you anything about himself. You smiled to yourself as you toasted the bagel and applied some cream cheese. You sat down at your small table and he joined you from the other aside - a replication of what had happened last night. You found yourself appreciating the company...it was always so quiet and boring in the morning before you got to work.

"I think you mentioned something about setting some ground rules?" He reminded you.

"Oh. Right." You swallowed your bite and drummed your fingers on the table. "Uhh...well, rule number one: You can't invade my privacy, which means not teleporting wherever you want. If my door is locked, then I DON'T want you in there."