Call me Clue

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 It takes 2 days for Adaine to move into Jawbone's apartment. Only about an hour of that is spent moving her actual things - most of those were burned with her house, so she's left with just the bag she brought to Gilear's place after Aelwyn was arrested plus whatever was left at school or scattered around the other Bad Kids' houses. The rest of the two days are spent picking out furniture essentials and hauling them into the second bedroom, Tracker's room. Adaine still couldn't think of it as her room too.

 Every time a cashier lists off their total for whatever it is they're buying Adaine cringes, half expects Jawbone to turn and tell her that he's changed his mind, that he can't afford to care for another kid and she'll have to find someplace else to go. But every time he just nods, smiles at her, and puts the gold on the counter. And every time Adaine shrinks into herself a little more.

 She's confused, is the thing, and her stomach is a constant roiling sea of half guilt half hope. Her parents made it very clear that raising her was a burden. And they had to bear it, up until they decided they didn’t anymore, because they gave birth to her, but Jawbone has no such obligation. There's no reason for him to smile at her in the mornings, or for him to buy her the blue-purple comforter she liked, or for him to hold her when she cries after leaving her first psychiatrist's appointment. And Adaine isn't dumb. She knows her mom and dad were awful, and can tell from watching the way her friends talk to their parents that the things Jawbone does for her are the things any half-decent parent would do. Except he isn't her parent. So for the life of her, Adaine can't understand why he's doing this for her. She's confused and she's happy and grateful, but even with the meds she's started she feels anxiety claw at her throat every time Jawbone so much as says hello. She still spends most of her days waiting for the bubble to burst.

 It takes 4 days living with Jawbone and Tracker before Adaine starts stress-cleaning. She feels a burning in her hands, a need to be useful. So she casts Mending on the torn old couch and on the crack in the TV from an especially bad transformation of Tracker's; she deep cleans the bathroom the first weekend and the living room the second; every night after they eat dinner, usually with Kristen there as well, she hops up and starts washing dishes before anyone else gets the chance. She's good at it, methodical and thorough. One of the few things her parents taught her to do right. And though her hands start to get chapped with all the cleaning supplies, the buzzing burning beneath her skin fades when she's being productive. It's a trade she's happy to make.

 Jawbone looks at her funny every time he sees her cleaning, with some combination of gratitude and puzzlement, but he doesn't mention it until 3 weeks into living together. The school year is winding down - they got a week break after defeating Kalvaxus, but they still had to come back to finish all their classes and exams. After killing a dragon, finals kind of lose their intensity, but Adaine still spends most her days studying. It's a Thursday evening, though, the second to last day of school, and she just finished (and definitely aced, though she wouldn't say that out loud) her last test. Jawbone made her favorite kind of pasta to celebrate, and he, Adaine, Tracker, and Kristen all talk and laugh loudly around the table.

 When everyone's finished eating, Adaine springs up to start cleaning up like she always does. Only this time, Jawbone follows her to the sink, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her.

 "Hey, why don't you let me handle the dishes tonight? Thought you and your friends were supposed to be meetin' up at Bastar's right about now."

 Adaine starts, caught off guard. Then she shrugs, trying to inject as much nonchalance as she can into the gesture. "Oh no, it's fine, I don't mind. It won't take me very long or anything, I'll just be a few minutes late. It's - it's fine."

 Jawbone shakes his head, a somewhat incredulous smile on his lips. "Kiddo, you've been doing the dishes for the last three weeks," he says. "Not to mention the rest of this apartment's cleaner than it's been in… hell, probably since before I moved in! I got it tonight, okay? Go have fun with your friends."

 Adaine smiles at that, but she's still tense, and her hands still burn with compulsion. She rubs her forearm with her hand. Ever insightful, Jawbone must see her hesitating, because he kneels down to look her in the eyes, placing a second hand on her other shoulder and holding her in his gentle unyielding gaze.

 "Look Adaine," he says, soft, "I'm not sayin' I don't appreciate the help, because I do, but I'm also worried about you. I mean, I have never seen a kid so enthusiastic about doing chores before. Hell, when I was your age, cleaning was the last thing I wanted to do. I'd much rather spend my time getting fucked up in an alley, or running a secret cock fighting ring beneath the bleachers after dark."

 "Wait, you ran a cock fighting ring in high school?" Adain interrupts, going from anxious to very confused all at once.

 "Yes, until I got suspended for it but that's not the point, Adaine. The point is if there's something bothering you, you should talk to me about it, alright? That's what I'm here for."

 Adaine stands silent for a minute, stock still. She swallows. Looks down.

 "It's nothing," she says finally. "Just - I want to be helpful. It's not like I can - can pay rent, or anything, and you've been so amazing, letting me stay here for a while," and here she starts to well up with tears, and god that's embarrassing, so she squeezes her eyes closed and hopes they don't fall. "And you've been just, so much kinder than you need to be and I want to make it up to you. So I'm just trying to be helpful." She sniffs, once.

 When she opens her eyes, Jawbone is staring at her with a look she can't begin to read, and a single tear in his eye. He shakes his head for the second time in this conversation, fond and sympathetic.

 "Sweetheart," he starts, and oh man Adaine's going to start crying for real, "I didn't invite you to live here because I wanted something from you. I did it because you're a sweet kid, and you deserve a place to go that's safe, and because I care about you. I mean, even if you could afford rent I wouldn't take it. And yknow, you helped me out when I was in a dark place. Talked some sense into me, and all that. So if it makes it easier for you at first, you could think of this as repayment for that, but that's not what this is. I want you to live with us, kiddo! I like having you around! I don't need… repayment, or whatever it is you're trying to give. You can just treat this place like your home, because it is."

 The dam breaks when he says that, and Adaine rushes into his open arms, tears running down her face. Kristen and Tracker have long since disappeared into the bedroom, so it's just the two of them as he holds her, pats her on the back while shaky breaths rack her whole body. His fur tickles her face where it's buried in his shoulder. It's the most comforting sensation she's ever felt.

 Eventually she regains enough composure to pull away, hiccuping slightly. Jawbone grins, ruffles her hair one last time before standing up and stretching his arms.

 "Alright then," he says. "Now why don't you go wash your face, and I'll take you, Kristen, and Tracker to Basrar's. Sound like a plan?"

 Adaine nods, wiping her eyes. She does as he says, and spends about 5 minutes knocking on the bedroom door before a decidedly disheveled Tracker and Kristen emerge. They still end up arriving several minutes after everyone else, but she doesn't mind. She's happy and relaxed, sitting with her best friends on the eve of the last day of freshman year, going out with and going home to people who like having her around.