(I know i said i was gonna take a break but my minds wheels kept spinning so happy early unbirthday xD)

The next following week was an...adjustment.

With Laff's work he was more than familiar with getting up early to get himself ready and going to bed early enough to get enough sleep.

But holy hell getting up at 3 am is a whole 'nother experience.

The only time Laff has gotten up that early is if he needed to board a plane somewhere, which in itself was a rare occurrence. So getting up at 3 am every day was taking its toll on the British detective.

At least it is easier and easier to go to bed early with him having to wake up so early to feed Nad we.

Oh yeah that was another thing…

Laff seemed to notice that it wasn't as easy to soothe Nadwe to sleep as any of the resources made it out to be. He would lie Nadwe to sleep in his bassinet and the slightest noise inside that room would wake him right back up in hysterics.

Doesn't really help Laff has a cheap wooden floorboard that squeaks with every odd step.

The only thing that helps is if Laff placed some of the extra throw pillows from his closet on the floor in the path from the bassinet to the door and to his own bed; yet even then he has to walk slowly to not invoke any noise.

But as long as he was outside the room and not making any loud noises; Nadwe would be sleeping peacefully.

That's why Laff is heating up some water for some instant noodles so he wouldn't have to use the loud microwave or the oven. Doing this routine reminded him of when he first joined the force. Since he had no concrete schedule and everything was all over the place; he never had the chance to cook his own meals himself like he had during law school. Plus buying ramen packets and instant noodle cups was cost effective and helped him save enough money for his current home.

He chuckled softly at the memory of his old boss getting on his case about not taking care of himself more.

He missed Superintendent Hider, he was his role model while Laff was nothing but an office worker.

Now he and the rest of the station is stuck with Superintendent Chalmers, a bastard with a stick up his ass. Laff considered himself to have gotten off lucky when he requested a leave of absence.

He never told him WHY, but he was lucky to get one without explaining.

He heard the kettle starting to hiss and quickly turned off the burner so it wouldn't start whistling. Tensing up, he waited a few seconds in calm silence.

Nadwe didn't wake up, only cooed softly in his sleep and snored quietly.

Laff sighed softly in relief not hearing Nadwe wake up as he opened the noodle packaging.

He tore off the top and started pouring the water in. He glanced over at the oven to check the time; it was 10:45 at night. One of the rare chances Laff really isn't tired enough to sleep but still feels like he needs to sleep. He wasn't watching where his other hand was and intercepted the flow of the hot water.

Laff instantly tensed up and quickly set the kettle down with a loud thud as he held his hand, biting on his lip to try and muffle his groan of pain. "Son of a BITCH-!" He hissed under his breath and quickly ran the cold tap, putting his hand under to try and prevent it from getting worse. He hissed softly as he kept his hand under the cold flow coming from the tap for a few minutes.

Still no disturbance from Nadwe. The little tyke is still asleep.

Laff rummaged through one of the drawers and pulled out some bandages, wrapping up his hand where the burn was. It did feel better, but it still stung. He let out a soft huff as he glanced towards his bedroom, a little surprised but mostly relieved Nadwe didn't wake up yet.

He picked the kettle back up, poured the remaining amount of water the instant noodles needed in order to cook and placed the kettle in the sink.

Picking up the cup, he walked over to the burgundy chair and sat down with a soft sigh, feeling a little better being off his feet. He picked up the remote and turned on the box TV, making sure the volume was down. He really didn't care what channel it was on, he mostly had it on for good background noise.

The channel he was on was playing the end of a commercial he barely heard of, but he recognized the voice.

It was that of one of their old friends he and the rest played Among Us with; Syce.

"Remember to call this help hotline if you notice any of your neighbors hiding unholy hybrids or any unnatural creatures! Thanks to 'Holy-Service', kitsenues(I know i mispelt it i'm sorry-) and vampires are at an all time low and no werewolfs haven't been sighted in decades! We guarantee our best service; since there hasn't been a vampire hybrid in over 20 years! (Holy-Service is a proud advocate of freedom fighters B.T.S! If you are unaware of who or what B.T.S is do not bother looking us up; we are good guys :>)"

This made Laff look up; he knew the existence of Vamps and Kitsunes, but he only knew them from the anime Blaza makes him watch. To have them be real-?...

"...Nah, this is just a fool's scam.." He muttered under his breath and took another bite of his noodles.

-At least Woolfster ain't a werewolf..-

Laff shook the thought out of his mind and leaned back in his chair; relaxed by the sound of the soft buzz from the TV, the soft hum of the heater and the quiet chirps of cicadas outside.

Out of nowhere, his phone started ringing loudly across the room.

Tensing up before sighing in defeat, he heard Nadwe wake up in the other room and began to bawl. He got up and walked to his phone, picking it up and checking the caller ID. With a sigh, he answered.

"Hey Laff-!" Oompa shouted from the other end. "Is Nadwe asleep!? I thought I'd check in on you!!"

Huffing with irritation, Laff responded;

"Well, he asleep, Caleb."

__

(Hmmmm B.T.S sounds like a pretty pogger team🤔)