A/N: I own nothing but the Waning Moon in its various incarnations; the Wolf's Rain cast belongs to Bones; Roger and all other references to College Roomies From Hell! belong to Marzita Campos.
"Er, hi, is Roger in?" the young man at the door asked, his fist still raised as if to knock upon empty air. "'Cause if he isn't I can come back later, but I was going to invite him down to the café on the corner to discuss the living situation, and you know, I think I'd almost rather go with you…" The sandy-brown haired man turned his upraised hand to his face, as if trying to physically cut off the nervous flow of words.
I knew I had never seen him before, but he reminded me of someone that I used to know. Bruce, I decided. He looked like our Bruce when he closed those big brown eyes of his. Maybe that was why I refrained from slamming the door in his face and simply said "There's no Roger living here."
"I'm sorry to bother you then, ma'am," he said sheepishly, scratching at his golden-brown hair. "I must have read the address wrong. You wouldn't happen to know where the Pepitones live, would you?"
"Not off the top of my head, but let's take a look at your directions and see if we can't figure out how to correct them for you," I offered, opening the door a little further. Toboe was at school and Pops was out on an assignment that he insisted I wasn't ready to handle yet, but I wasn't too worried. This poor guy was lost, but he didn't seem pushy about finding his way to anywhere he shouldn't be. Besides, he was kind of cute when he was flustered…
"Thanks," he said, smiling as he fumbled for something in his pocket. I kept my left hand free, ready to shake the switchblade hidden in my sleeve loose if he pulled out something more dangerous than paper. He didn't seem like the type, but it never hurt to be prepared. "Here we are," he said, passing me a crumpled sheet with the crest of the House of Jaguara at the top.
"Hm," I said, looking over it carefully. The handwriting was clear enough, but the apartment address and number were ours, not this Roger Pepitone's. "Looks like you just got bad directions, is all. If he lived here, he and his folks moved out years ago."
"Either that, or really good ones. Can I get you a coffee or something to make up for your trouble?" he asked.
"The directions are no problem, but I might take you up on that coffee if you'll tell me something in return," I said, smiling.
"Oh?" Those eyes… Those were certainly not Bruce's, but I'd seen them somewhere before, too.
"What's your name?" I asked, stepping out into the hallway.
"Oh," he said, looking as if he had just realized that he'd never mentioned it. "Hige, Hige Wolfe. You know, it's funny, but do you believe in reincarnation? Because I feel like I've met you somewhere before, pretty blue eyes…"
"Just Blue," I said, clasping his hand. "Why don't you tell me a little more about this theory?"
Waning Moon Café provided Freeze City with the worst coffee I've ever tasted, but I've learned to love the little place, anyway.