While at work, Daniel has an unfortunate, yet surprising conversation.

Daniel stepped through the front door, barely warm coffee now being pressed to his lips. His eyes darted to the people sitting down, wondering how many were there to see him or his other colleagues. Finishing off his drink, he approached the reception desk, "Sorry I'm a little bit late…"

The young woman looked up, giving the man a sly smirk, "Looks like someone needs their second coffee before they've even started. How did last night go?"

"Terrible, turns out they're a stalker…"

"Oof… that's not good."

"Rule applies. They come in demanding to see me, I'm not here."

"Understood."

"If they start screaming, call security…"

The woman gave a wave, "Got it…" As Daniel was about to head around the corner to set up his office for the day, the receptionist stopped him, "Oh, one second." She grabbed a folder off her desk "You have a new client…" She handed over the folder, a list of details for the new patient.

Daniel grabbed the folder off her, "Thanks, Clarisa I'll have a quick look over it."

"It'll have to be brief, you're late and your first one is waiting."

"Then I'll go get prepped and then I'll call them in." He left in a hurry, heading into the back to clock on first. He then proceeds to grab his key off the rack before heading over to his room for the day.

Upon opening his door, he opened the blinds, letting some light into the room. He opened his drawer of clients next, slotting the new folder into the front before logging onto the system to check his schedule for the day.

He has five people today, which isn't too bad on its own. Looks like the new person is towards the end of the day, which is good. Sometimes seeing new people can be taxing. Getting them to open up could be difficult, or they could have a rather aggressive personality.

His eyes fell back on the first person's name.

"Hmm… Michael Keeten." He went through his drawer, pulling out the client's folder to sift through his latest notes. There are very few people he remembers all the details off by heart. Once he looked over his last page, he could paint a picture of the person's troubles "Ah, now I remember…" He has issues with depression… brought about from his feeling of inadequacy. He was raised with so many expectations, he collapsed under the pressure.

That was rather more of a general idea of the person. The problem was the man set goals so high, that unless he was a robot, there was no way he could meet the expectation.

Sometimes, the better approach is to set milestones along the path, so you can encroach on towards the final part of the goal.

Setting a goal of having to write fifty-page documentation, on a piece of software he has never used in his life, within a day… is hardly the type of goal someone should set for themselves.

No wonder the poor man had a stress-related, mental breakdown.

Looking up, he pressed the buzzer, "Claris, can you send Michael Keeten in?"

Closing the folder, he put it on the desk before grabbing a clipboard and pen. When he heard a knock, he opened the door, smiling as he offered a hand to the couch, "Take a seat."

Once the door was closed and they were seated, Daniel offered the glum-looking man a smile "Now, how may I assist you today?"

"~"

Killua moved back to the bedroom, reaching for their uniform. The confusion of their last talk left them feeling frustrated at the language barrier. Why couldn't their device work like its intended, completely translating all words to something they could understand.

Sex… they had sex with Daniel, and they didn't know how or when.

Was it another idiom, perhaps even a variation of another word?

That, they didn't know. But Killua wanted to know… it bugged them. Pulling out another device from the belt, they slipped it onto their shoulder, connecting it around their arm. The device lit up, a series of lights surrounding their body.

Looking into the mirror, they watched as the lights shifted, altering their perception of themselves. Gone were their fluffy ears on the top of their head, now with a pair of human-looking ears on their side.

Even the cat-like eyes had shifted, the colour of their eyes being toned down to a duller shade of blue with more circular pupils.

When they ran their fingers through it, the colours shifted, splitting apart before re-joining once more. Killua wanted to talk to Daniel, but the man wanted him to stay put. At least now, as long as nobody fiddled with their hair or "human" ears, they'll be able to blend with the masses.

As Killua was about to leave their room, they stopped… how exactly did they plan on finding Daniel? Their planet was massive when compared to how tiny a human would be on it.

Killua hummed to themselves as they left the room, eyes looking for any indication of where that man would be. He did say he had to be at work… so maybe he had something in his house attached to his job. Like some coordinates or an address…

The alien next moved back into the living room, eyes glancing over some of the documents laying on the small desk. They had no idea what a water bill or electricity bill was, but there were a series of numbers on it. Lifting their device, they input the numbers in.

The coordinates lead them to the middle of the forest. It didn't look right…

Flipping the numbers, they got the same result, just a different section of the forest.

Maybe the water bill and electricity bill had nothing to do with his job.

Moving on, Killua entered the kitchen, now opening cupboards. They found pots, pans, cups, plates, bowls and utensils, but nothing that indicated Daniel's job. The alien moved on reaching to open the fridge, only to stop once their hand was on the handle.

There was something stuck against the fridge.

Reaching out, they pulled off the object, finding a little bit of resistance when they plied it away. It had a name of a business "Serenity Star Health Centre…" The alien's eyes looked slightly downward, noticing Daniel's name on it. Didn't Daniel mention he was a psychiatrist that worked with mental health… it can't be a coincidence that health, along with his name happens to be on the object.

Flipping it, they noticed the black stripe on the back. Maybe that's what caused it to have some resistance…

They ignored the ten-digit number, instead, focusing on the address below it.

Putting the address into their device, it searched for the place, with a series of coordinates linked to the location eventually popping up. The coordinates lead to a building that was about a single rotation away. The question was, how many more rotations will Daniel be working for?

He didn't exactly say when he'll be back, just he'll be back later.

They could ultimately miss Daniel by a few seconds, resulting in them having to walk, all the way back, on their own. They have no way of getting in contact with Daniel… unless a person there would happily let them call Daniel.

What should they do…?

Leave now in hopes of reaching Daniel, or stay and wait.

They looked towards their right when they heard a sudden click. Is he back already…?

When the front door creaked open, there was a voice that sounded nothing like the man who lived in the house "Daniel, baby…?"

Killua's eyes narrowed. Didn't Daniel mention someone might come looking for him, that if they show up at his door, banging on it for him to come out… that they should ignore it? He didn't mention anything about them having a way to enter the house…

When the person took a step forward, Killua saw a man with blond hair and multicoloured tips looking forward into the living room. Daniel mentioned they can't be seen by anyone, but now that they're in a disguise, maybe they could further divulge information about the man living in the house, including the new stranger's abnormal mannerism.

Essentially, the person invited themselves in, even calling Daniel a 'baby', which in their opinion, sounds more like an insult, than what sounded like was trying to sound kind.

Then the person's head started to turn towards them.

Killua ducked behind a wall, waiting for them to move. They'll have to sneak up on them, just in case it was a threat, considering they were given a warning at the start.

"Shit… I should've gone to his workplace. Then again, he might not let me see him while he's at work…" Footsteps moved around the house; the door, now being shut in the process.

Did he leave to go to Daniel's workplace? Thinking that might be the case, they got prepared to move. But then there was movement once more in the house, the person now heading what sounds to be near the bedroom.

"I guess… it's better if I do it this way. I'll leave the bear, letter and flowers on the bed. He'll definitely, think it's a sweet and kind gesture. He certainly likes romantic gestures…" As the man opened the bedroom, now stepping into the room, Killua made their way along the hallway, moving in the direction of Daniel's room.

They peered into the room, seeing the intruder putting something onto Daniel's bed. When he was straightening his back up, Killua made their move, coming out from the shadows. They grabbed the person from behind, one arm pulling on the man's neck while the other was pressed against the fist, creating an unbreakable grip for them to escape from.

"What the fuck-"

"Who are you?!"

"Who the fuck are you… what are you doing in my boyfriend's house?!"

"I asked you first!" Killua tightened their grip, now lightly choking the person.

"Alright! Alright! Yannick… the name's Yannick. I'm Daniel's boyfriend."

"So… you're not the crazy Ex?" Killua tilted his head slightly, grip now loosening, "Who is his crazy Ex?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" The man raised his foot, kicking backwards.

Killua felt a swift kick to his Aconaris, groaning in frustration from the human clothes not having any physical protection down there.

When Yannick tried to run, Killua regained their posture, grabbing the man by the collar before using their whole body to pin them down. The man below them grunted, unable to escape the tight grip, "Hey, asshole… you don't kick someone in the Aconaris, and think you're gonna get away with it…"

"What the hell are you one about?! I'm telling Daniel there's a crazy man in his house. He'll call the cops on you for hurting me! His dad is a cop, he'll hunt you down…"

"Good to know…" Killua mused. A cop is a fighter, I assume… that means his dad would be considered a fighter. Although, it's strange knowing Daniel isn't also a cop too… "Give me the device you used to unlock the door."

"Are you fucken on drugs…?! How could you not know what a key is?"

"The key, hand it over or I'll break every bone in your body, till you hand it over."

"Alright… Alright… left pocket."

Killua pat down the man's pants pocket, before pulling out two sets of keys. The first was a small key with the initials "Y + D" carved into it. Rather than question the man about the carving, Killua focused on the second one. It had a fat style key, with what looked to be two buttons. Just in case, the alien shoved both keys into their pocket.

Having grabbed the key that was used to get into the house, they pulled the two of them up, now shoving Yannick towards the front door.

"What are you going to do?"

"Kick you out first, then I'm going to see Daniel about the situation."

"Wait, wait… is Daniel cheating on me, with a dick like you, who threatens people."

"No…?" Killua raised an eyebrow, now confused. What did Yannick mean by cheating? How exactly is Daniel cheating?

"I there's no way, he'd have sex with someone like you…"

"Oh, apparently we did have sex…."

"Wait, what do you mean by apparently?"

Opening the front door, Killua kicked the man out of the house, eyes peering into the bright light sun. They took a step outside, turning around to close the door. Looking at the first key they grabbed, they spotted a slot to insert the key. They twisted it in one direction, only to find no sound. Turning the key the other way, there was a quiet click, much like the sound they heard earlier when inside.

Putting the key back in their pocket, they left for Daniel's work.

Yannick was groaning on the grass, slowly forcing himself up. His body was in pain after having been kicked into the grass. He was lucky that guy kicked him into the grass… and not into the concrete, considering how the deranged man was acting. When he turned to face the man who kicked him out of the house, the person was jogging, running down the street "I'll fucken show him…"

He stumbled towards his car, now reaching into his pocket. When his hand was met with an empty pocket, he started to panic "No, no…" He continued to search his other pockets, "Oh, shit… the fucker stole my car keys."

He brought a hand down, slamming it against the top of his car, cursing the person out. They didn't know their name, but he'll make sure to find the man's details. He'll show what kind of asshole that person was, to Daniel… then the man will come back to him. He was sure of it…

"~"

Daniel waved to the second last person as they left. He now had a few minutes to spare. Grabbing the folder he popped it open, finding a name at the top "Jacqueline McLeod…" Running through the comments, it seemed like they were suffering from depression, a small chance of suicidal thoughts. She's only sixteen… and suffering. The question is what?

He guesses it was up to him to find out.

When he flipped the page, there was a post-it note left for him.

The man frowned "The parent is coming in… it might be difficult to get her to talk, I guess…"

As he continued to read the notes, eventually, he received a call.

Picking up the phone with one hand, he raised it to his ear, "Hello, this is Daniel Darkscryer speaking."

"Margret and Jacqueline McLeod are here to see you."

"Send them in…" Putting the phone back on the receiver, he immediately closed the folder, placing it on his desk. Grabbing a blank piece of paper, as he slots it into his clipboard, there was a knock at the door.

Leaving the clipboard on the chair, he opened the door to find a modestly dressed woman and young teen wearing a pretty dress, "Miss McLeod and you…" The man knelt before the young teen, "must be little miss Jacqueline, welcome to my office." When the man mentioned 'miss', he noticed how Jacqueline flinched.

Something, felt off… especially when the mother's grip tightened on the teen's shoulder.

"Greet the man."

"Hello, Mr Darkscryer…"

"No need to be formal, you can call me Daniel." He stood up, moving out of the way, "Take a seat on the couch and get comfortable."

After they entered, Daniel closed the door behind them, frowning as he faced the door. It's going to be a hard case… isn't it. Faking a smile, he turned around. As he had turned around, he noticed the teen had taken a seat on the couch, away from the mother, "Oh, I see you took the comfy chair, best one in the room…"

The man sat down in his chair, pulling the clipboard onto his lap. He continued to smile, "So how can I help you today?"

"You see, my daughter is sick…"

Daniel raised an eyebrow, "You do know I'm a psychiatrist, not a doctor… the hospital is down the street."

When the young teen snickered, the mother raised her voice, "I'm running out of options and believe me, your kind is the last I want to see."

"Kind…?"

"Psychiatrist…"

"Ah…" The man clicked his pen, "Well, seeing as my patient is Jacqueline, I rather hear what troubles her, from her."

"She keeps playing make-believe…"

"Roleplaying is a normal thing for young toddlers to even late teens. It's a healthy habit…" He wrote down. Pretends to be someone else…

"Not my daughter, she keeps saying her name is Leo."

The man stopped writing for a second, "Leo as in short for Leola? Leona? Leonor?"

"No, just Leo…" The woman frowned.

Daniel's eyes narrowed slightly, "Your daughter is just exploring other avenues… it's a normal thing for young girls, even teens."

"Not if she's going out of the house, looking like a tomboy."

"Mum?!"

"Be quiet dear, the adults are talking…"

Daniel rolled his eyes, almost letting out an irritated slick in the process, "So what are you expecting from me?"

"I heard a rumour… that you perform conversation therapy."

When the girl's eyes widened, Daniel immediately knew what was going on. This won't end too well… "Well, it is… what it is… a rumour… Who told you this?"

"Ashton Nieves…"

That bloody, fucken troll… Not another one of these reverse psychology situations "Is that so… I don't normally offer this kind of service on the first session."

"So, you can make her normal?"

"I can only try… ma'am."

"Wonderful!"

"But I'm going to need to speak to your daughter alone…"

"Why alone?"

"Well, how else am I going to get to the root of the situation. She'll be holding back while the lovely mother is in the room."

The comment made the woman smile, "Of course, I'll leave you to it. Don't worry dear, you'll be normal, like your mother." When the woman left, the man closed the door, sighing as he locked the door behind her.

The teen sunk into the chair, Daniel leaving to pick up his phone.

"What are you going to do to me…"

"Nothing… Nothing at all…" The man sighed. He sent a message to Clarisa at the front, to have the cops on speed dial, just in case. When he received an okay sign, the man sunk into the chair, sighing loudly, "So, Leo… can I ask for your pronouns, first?"

"Ah… you won't tell my mother."

The man offered a sincere smile, "I promise upon my credentials, that this conversation will remain confidential. Please, go at your own pace…"

"He… for now."

Daniel gave a nod, writing identifies as male, possible chance of identity crisis "So, young Mr Leo, how would you like to start the conversation? I'm open to you approaching me at any angle…"

"I… I don't know?"

"Perhaps your family? What is it like at home for you?"

"It's… suffocating…"

Daniel began to write notes, "Such a strong word, care to elaborate?"

"I don't feel like I belong at home… like I'm acting as if I don't exist… pretending to be someone I'm not. I don't want to go back there… I don't want to go back home."

"I…" The man sighed, "I understand, not from your point of view, as in the thought process. Is there any possible chance that you can…" The man air quoted the next word "pretend, to be someone else?"

"I… I don't want to be 'her' anymore; it hurts to be told you're wrong for feeling that way. But I'm not a girl, I don't want to be a girl!"

Daniel gave a nod, "the only reason I ask, is because you're at a young age. Once you hit eighteen, she can't control you, in the eyes of the law. And Miss Ashton, the troll she is… did direct you to me for a reason."

"What for… are you really, going to put me through conversion therapy."

"The only conversation I'd put you through… is a wardrobe. But, no… as a gay man… I detest Conversation Therapy."

"You're gay?"

"Yup. Conversation Therapy is an out-of-date bunk science, that can do more harm than good. The only thing good about it is it puts you with other members of the lgbtq+ community. So, it's a great recipe for disaster…"

"Why do people still do it…?"

"In some parts of the world it isn't banned, so, people still perform it… thinking is okay to put someone through that mental gauntlet of depression and self-hatred, but enough about that, besides your mother… do you have any siblings, father you can consult with?"

The young teen shook his head, "No, it's just my mother and myself."

"I assume, going off your earlier points, you don't have many people in your life you can reach out to."

"I reached out to Ashton, but when my mother found out… she went…"

"Ballistic? Nuclear? Batshit insane… take your pick."

"You are a strange man…"

The man gave a smile, "Well, you are a strong person, for sticking to your guns… don't let your mother or anyone tell you otherwise. Just one teeny problem we have here."

"What's that…"

"We have two options. The first is I send you home along with your mother and you need to pretend to be Jacqueline for the next two years until you're old enough to leave home on your own. I have plenty of resources I can give to you, that can help you rebuild a life…"

"The second option?"

"I get someone to call the cops to arrest your mum, giving me enough time to put in a few calls to get you into childcare's hands."

"I like that…"

"HOWEVER, you'll be spending the next few years in a court battle while your mother fights for custody for you. You'll be put through constant deadnaming, insults and slurs during that time."

"Neither one sounds good…"

"That's the dilemma. At least with the first option, you'll have a roof over your head and you'll be seeing me more often than not. We can talk about teen troubles and whatnot on, a weekly basis, while I lie to your mother's face about me getting to the root cause of your Transgenderism. If you go through foster care, you might not get me, but rather someone else in my field… they could be better, or worse, depending on your perspective."

When Daniel's phone went off, he reached for his phone "Just a second… got a message from reception."

He looked over the message.

A tall hot twink with white hair showed up at the front desk asking for you?

Daniel blinked several times, "Heh…" He wrote a response back. What do you mean a hunk showed up at the front counter? It's not Yannick, correct?

"What's wrong?"

Nope… he's a hottie, with beautiful blue eyes.

Daniel raised an eyebrow in concern. White hair… blue eyes… I don't know anyone of that description. Sending a quick response back, he looked up at the young teen, "As the reception desk puts it, a tall hot drink of a man, approached her asking for me."

The girl snickered at the response.

"One second… I'm going to deal with this. You think about what I said, while I deal with the hunk outside."

"Okay, sir…"

Exiting the room, the man locked the door behind him. Tall… white hair and blue eyes… The man frowned, I can only think of one person who matches that description, and that would be causing an uproar.

He walked around the corner, spotting a man leaning over the counter talking to Clarisa. She was smiling as she was talking to the man. But when her eyes caught him, she directed the man's attention to him.

The only problem was, it wasn't a man talking to her… it was Killua, "Killua?! What are you doing here?"

Killua gave him a wave, "Hi, so… we have a problem."

Daniel raised an eyebrow, "We do…" He turned to the reception desk, "Clarisa, I'm going borrow the staffroom for a second."

"What about my daughter?!" The woman spoke up. Daniel turned to her, "Off the clock for a second, I'm not going to charge you during this time. Just going to speak to my friend, as he may have locked himself out of the house… and I have the spare key."

"Oh… okay…"

Daniel ushered Killua down the hallway, leading them into the staff room. Closing the door behind him, he held a finger out to the disguised alien, "You have two seconds to explain yourself. My home was an hour-long trip… by car. And by you being here, looking like that… is a concern."

"Okay… Yannick showed up in your house, invited himself in with this key…" Killua handed the key over to Daniel, "He also had this key on him."

When Daniel received the car keys from his friend, he panicked "You TOOK his car keys?!"

"Well… it was in the same pocket."

"That doesn't make it right… now I have to deal with my Ex's car parked at my house. Wait, there's a whole list of issues right now…" The man gestured to Killua's whole body, motioning more to the human-like skin "what's with this?" If they could camouflage themselves as other species, God knows how many Valiskarians are hiding among the humans.

"I believe the term that would best describe this… is a hologram. It's the best I can do, right now… with the tech I've got."

"Well… hopefully, nobody overheard that." Daniel whispered to the alien, "We'll leave that for when we get back. Just… please don't tell me you hurt Yannick. As much as I despise the guy, he is a vindictive fellow."

"I may have thrown him out of your house… and choked him a little."

Daniel let out a frustrated sigh, "We're going to need to have a more elaborate talk when we get home. Did you say anything weird…?" Killua tilted his head slightly, Daniel, no matter how frustrated he was with the alien, deeming the act to be cute in his opinion. Killua looked like a confused puppy right now.

"Besides asking for the device he used to open your door… which Yannick seemed to think was weird?"

"That would be considered weird… But I suppose, some people have said stranger things when they can't remember a word. Anything else?"

"He argued that we didn't have sex… which I responded with. Technically we did."

Daniel felt his body freeze, like a statue, brain unable to get the image out of his head "Heh…"

"You said we did as you were leaving…"

"I was being sarcastic…"

"So, we didn't…?"

Daniel rubbed at his eyes, "Now I have to talk about sarcasm too… look. Can you please wait out at the front, in the reception area? I'll finish my session with my client, then I'll come, grab you… as the saying, not physically grab you to bring you back home. Considering what you've given me, it looks like I'll need to put a restraining order on Yannick. After all… he did have a key to my house…" The man looked at the said key, "Even though I never gave him one…"

"Has this been a normal occurrence for you?"

"Copying my key without me knowing… no. But that's not what's important now. Please, don't argue with anyone… especially, the woman in the pink dress. I'm dealing with a very problematic situation I need to skirt around. Behave…"

Killua frowned, "How long will I be waiting?"

"No more than an hour…"

"How long is an hour?"

"The time it would normally take to drive here."

"So… what? One rotation?"

"I don't know what you mean by that…"

"Well, can you at least tell me how long I'll be waiting…"

"Killua, I'm begging you… please wait."

The alien pouted slightly, before relenting to the request, "Okay… but you better get me chocolate for that."

"I'll buy you a large box of ChocoRobo-Kuns, just for you."

"Sounds good to me…" With that, Killua left, leaving Daniel to groan in frustration. I had to bribe an alien with chocolates… please, do not let this day get any worse.