Xander adjusted the strap of Melrose's Treasure Bag, not because it was uncomfortable– rather, his paws couldn't help from fidgeting as he stared at the charred Drowsy Munna. Each time his brain commanded his legs to take him across the street, they refused to comply. The guilt of avoidance was significantly more unpleasant when it involved Gloria and Remmy, but at least it kept the Litten from anxiously pacing up and down the road.

The late afternoon sky was unpleasantly warm for an Autumn day, suggesting they would get a blast of heat before the cold months truly settled in. Even on Xander's Fire Type fur that sounded uncomfortable. If Litten could sweat, Xander knew he would be drenched, and it wouldn't even be the sun's fault.

Alright… Here goes nothing.

Outstretching his front paw, Xander finally took a half-step forward. He almost retracted it immediately, but the Litten fought back the urge by adjusting another leg forward. Once he had started, it was much harder to stop– and soon enough Xander was across the street and in front of the door. Now, all he had to do was push it open. Any second now. One paw on the door…

Before Xander could move a muscle, the door swung open and bashed him in the face. The Litten yowled in pain as he recoiled backwards, and a very anxious looking Girafarig started to desperately apologize to him. Mirror felt even worse when he realized who exactly he just struck with the door.

"Oh my– X-Xander! Gosh, are you–" The Giraffe Pokémon bent downwards to look at the Litten's muzzle. Xander, who was already rubbing his snout, checked his paw and saw the crimson beads peppering his fur. "Your nose is bleeding! I d-didn't mean to– agh…"

Xander sighed quietly, tail lashing, as he looked back up at Mirror with a tired smile. "Don't worry, it was an accident."

Mirror's ears drooped. "I was just on my way out, but if you need me to stick around and nurse your nose I coul–"

"It's alright, seriously." Xander's ears flattened against his head as he pushed past Mirror. "You've helped enough, I'm sure." Xander didn't want to come off as sarcastic, but he realized he accidentally did once the Girafarig apologized quietly and sulked away.

Xander sighed harshly to himself, shoving that unfortunate interaction in the back of his mind to take in the damages surrounding him. It had been clearly touched up a little, some of the furniture that was likely destroyed already tossed out… leaving the foyer eerily empty. Xander stepped forward, the scent of ash hitting his nose through the metal smell of his own blood, and lifted a piece of obsidian debris. He rubbed at the crisp, burnt exterior of what was likely once a piece of a chair.

"Xander?" Remmy's voice called from the office, and the Musharna poked his head out to see him dropping the woodchip suddenly from being surprised. Remmy paid no mind to it, though. "Good to see you, little fella… how're holding up?"

"Better, I think." Xander approached Remmy slowly, sitting down once he was near and reaching into his borrowed bag. "I bought some new tea and coffee. Figured we would need a fresh supply."

Remmy smiled softly, floating closer to the ground to no longer tower over Xander. Before he could thank him, however, the old Musharna saw the blood dripping from his snout. "How'd you go and get yourself hurt like that, bud?"

"I just ran into the door– it's not that bad." Xander said while a droplet or two fell to the hardwood floor. Remmy glanced down at it with a frown before levitating over a tissue and holding it against Xander's nose. The Litten lifted a paw and held the tissue to his face so the Musharna no longer had to. "Thanks…"

Remmy nodded his head, hovering back inside the office and motioning for Xander to follow him. "Come here for a sec, would ya? I've got something to show you."

Xander hesitated a second, mostly because he needed to figure out how to walk with only one front leg– some sort of combination between hopping and sliding seemed to work well enough. When he made it inside the office, which much to his relief was entirely undamaged by the flames, Remmy used Psychic to show the little Litten a framed picture that he pulled off of their desk.

"The young boy in the middle there is Ezekiel." Remmy said plainly before Xander could ask any questions, a weak smile dressing his face. "Gloria and I adopted him after about five or six years of us being married."

Xander inspected the picture; it depicted a less wrinkly Gloria and Remmy with a slender Espurr standing between them. Despite being contained within a pictograph, the Espurr's wide eyes pierced right into Xander's soul. Xander couldn't look at him for long without getting uncomfortable, so he glanced back up at Remmy with a head tilt. "Why did you guys adopt?"

"Ah, Gloria…" Remmy peaked sadly at the open door before looking back down at Xander. "She… Well, she can't…"

"Oh," Xander's ears fell down against his head, and his eyes dodged Remmy's by looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have–"

"Don't be sorry, Xander. It's just one of those life things." Remmy set the picture back down on the desk. "She wasn't too hung up on it, anyways. When I suggested adoption, her face lit up real bright like that was the best idea I ever had–" Remmy coughed hard into his hand, taking the wind out of him, so he floated himself down into a chair to take it easy. "Ezekiel was the oldest kid at the orphanage, and Gloria… her heart was too big to let someone live any longer without parents. We loved him very much."

Remmy went quiet, and Xander refrained from asking what happened to him– feeling that all it would do is stir uncomfortable feelings. But, he didn't have to. Remmy looked back up from his hands and blinked a sad tear out of his eye.

"Maybe we weren't ready to be parents, but gosh darn it we wanted to prove to everyone that an Espurr wasn't too much for us. Ezekiel didn't talk much, always threw things around with his mind when he didn't get what he wanted… would Teleport away and out of our sight– used to send Gloria into panics, it did. But, he always turned back up–" Remmy went stone quiet for a moment…

"Until, he didn't."

Xander watched in silence as Remmy sniffled to himself, unable to move his body to offer support– again feeling stuck in place. The Musharna wiped a tear away with one of his nubby hands, shaking his head sadly. Xander's heart felt heavy in his chest, and finally the words fell from his mouth. "Why are you telling me this?…"

Remmy looked up at Xander with sad eyes, but a guilty smile crept onto his face. "Because, I think Gloria and I have been taking advantage of you."

"What? What do you mean by–"

"Ezekiel left a hole in our hearts, and well… you…" The smile grew as tears welled up in Remmy's eyes. "I think you remind Gloria an awful lot of Ezzy."

Xander's silence haunted the room, leaving Remmy frowning down at the Litten. Remmy rubbed his hands together anxiously as the Fire Type continued not to say anything– or even move, for that matter. The Musharna's mouth gaped open, but he was interrupted by Gloria's voice just beyond the office door.

"It's true." Gloria had muttered just loud enough for the others to hear, and she made her way inside with tears forming in her own eyes. "I've been selfishly keeping you around, Xander. It's not fair to you–"

"No! You're wrong! Both of you are wrong!" Xander shouted abruptly. "I've been the one taking advantage of you and all your kindness towards me."

Gloria and Remmy glanced at each other, both elderly Pokémon struggling to find something to say. Xander was approached by Gloria, who kneeled down to get closer to him. "Dearie, you haven't done anything wrong by staying here and accepting our offer–"

"It's not that! It's… Ugh, I don't know how to…" Xander stirred uncomfortably, removing the tissue from his nose and looking down at the dried blood. Gloria gently took the tissue from him and placed it in the closest waste-bin, before using Psychic to bring over a fresh one. Xander held it tightly against his snout and whimpered quietly.

Gloria tilted her head up towards the desk, her eyes resting on the picture of herself, her husband and her late son. The Hypno stared at it for a moment, blinking wistfully. "Xander, if there's anything you want to tell us… you should never be scared to say." Then, she looked back at Xander– "I'm not your mother, heck, I'm not even your grandmother. But, I would like to be your friend if I haven't ruined my chance at that yet."

"Gloria, I…" Xander removed the second tissue from his nose, which was already drowned in blood. The Litten sighed as he turned the paper over to a clean section to hold against his muzzle again. "You two have done a lot for me, more than I feel I reasonably deserve. I should have been honest with you both from the start, but right now… I have absolutely no idea what I should and shouldn't keep to myself." Xander started to tremble, and soon– words rushed from his mouth like a busted dam. "But, I've kept so much from the both of you! I– I recovered my money– all 10,000 Pokécoins! And, I felt like I couldn't tell you because… because I was terrified of telling you! If you didn't assume I was deceiving you, then I would just start paying for a room… like, I promised I would! Everything would become a business exchange, but– I don't want to just become an ordinary tenant. I would have to find some place else to stay, something else to do– I don't have anything like that! Even with Melrose, like, what the hell does Gaius expect me to–"

"Xander, Xander please… slow down…" Gloria lifted a hand, and the Litten ceased his rambling. "I know you got the money back. I found it in the bag, after the fire… I shouldn't have snooped through your belongings, but I did. I got worried, started over-thinking things, but I know I can trust you. I realized that you don't owe me any information. If you have a reason not to tell us something, then…"

"Mr. and Mrs. Dreamer, I have amnesia. I woke up in the middle of a Mystery Dungeon with no memories, and even still Melrose's father trusted me to come into town with her and keep a watchful eye. Offering to let me work here– it felt like another peculiar exception was being made for me. It's why I freaked out so bad, but it's also why I'm so scared of losing it. Gaius asked me to help when I didn't really have any other options, and so did you both. Since I can't remember anything, all these Pokémon assigning purposes to me… Guardian, Best Friend, Innkeeper… I need it– or else, I'm nobody. At the same time, I haven't had a single say in what I want to do."

At least, that's what Xander wished he had the strength to say. Instead, he removed the coin pouch from around his neck and tossed it up on Gloria's desk. The coins clinked loudly against the wood even through the fabric.

"I want to work at the Drowsy Munna." Xander looked up at the both of them with a determined gleam in his eyes. "You guys still deserve all the money– at least, what's left of it. I did sorta spend some of it on some new coffee and tea. But, all of it should go into repairing the damages I did to your hotel. Even if I don't know how or why I did it…"

Gloria and Remmy both stared at the pouch in unison before turning their heads towards Xander. At first, their lack of a verbal response gave Xander a bit of unrest, but that quickly faded as Gloria's face was dressed in a smile. "Dearie, we would be more than happy to hire you– especially if you're certain that's what you want."

"We won't be able to pay all that well, though…" Remmy lamented, floating slowly over to be beside his wife. "And, the place will probably be closed for a good while for repairs… so, with no new income–"

"It's not about money, so I'm not worried." Xander's tail lifted high while swishing pleasantly from side to side.

Gloria's eyes couldn't help watering up again. "Such a kind young man…"

Xander felt a blush pepper his face, he could hardly imagine the two of them being this happy about all this.

"We can deal with all the paperwork later… All this drama has tuckered me out. I say we do a bit more cleaning up before dinner and bed."

Xander watched as Gloria and Remmy left the office before following them out, slipping past the both of them to drop Melrose's Treasure Bag in his room. The outside of the door was lightly charred, and the reminder of his explosion did not go unnoticed as he set the bag on the floor inside. Carefully grabbing the tea and coffee, Xander returned to his bosses to hand off the supplies. Though, seeing the selected brews reminded him…

"I uh, also have something else…" Gloria raised an eyebrow at him, sweet smile still on her face, and Xander quickly clarified– "Nothing bad! Or, even that serious. But, umm, this guy I met at the market wants to hang out with me tomorrow at a café? It would be in the evening, so after a full day of work, but… I still figured I would ask if that's okay? To go with him, I mean."

"I think you deserve a stress free evening tomorrow, Xander." Gloria returned her broom to her hands after setting the tea leaves and coffee beans down on the remains of her front desk.

Remmy was holding the side of his face with a hand. "Sounds like a date to me. Is he cute?"

Xander lit up like a candle while his tail lashed feverishly. "It–" The Litten's voice got caught in his throat, and the surprise made him cough at the floor. "It's not a date– err, well… Actually, maybe it is. But– I'm not making any assumptions about his intentions!" Xander stomped on the floor with his back-right leg. "He just seems like a really nice Pokémon, and I think he has the potential of being a really cool friend."

Remmy gave Xander a sly smirk. "You didn't answer my question, though."

Xander sat and held his face in both of his paws. Gloria gave a jolly laugh before nudging her husband in the side lightly with her elbow. "Aww, leave him alone! I told you, no teasing!" The both of them shared a hearty laugh together, and after a second or two of continued sulking… Xander couldn't help joining in.

The rest of their day went about as expected, with all three of them continuing to float or carry discardable furniture out of the lobby and room A3. The guest room was completely destroyed, almost nothing salvageable in there, and the lobby didn't fare much better after Xander's wrath. The Litten dumped the dustpan full of glass shards and debris into the disposal outside by twisting his head– holding something like that in his mouth was not exactly the most pleasant experience, and he really wished he could float things around like Gloria and Remmy could. Oh well, it had to be done.

Handing the Dustpan back to Gloria, Xander glanced around at his still ever present destruction. When his gaze fell, Gloria placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Plenty of Fire Type Pokémon lose control of their flames at least once in their lives. You're no monster for this. Anger comes at a price for Pokémon like you, but it's nothing you can't work on." The Hypno gave Xander a soft petting behind his ear before lifting the burnt bedside table up into the air with her mind.

"…I still don't understand how I even did it. It doesn't feel real."

"I did want to talk to you about it, but a Litten using Overheat was the least of my concerns these past couple days."

"O-Overheat…" Xander stuttered, feeling at his chest with a paw.

"I'm nearly one-hundred percent sure that's what you did, but at the very least was no Ember…" Gloria started to take the levitating furniture with her to the dumpster, Xander tailing behind. "You're a mystery, Xander. But, at least I know I'm not the only one stumped by you."

Xander growled into his chest. "Yeah, it just sucks when you're also stumped by you."

Gloria set the nightstand down carefully in the bin, wincing a little when her Psychic ended, and started making her way back inside. Xander couldn't help noticing this, and his face grew worried again.

"You okay?"

"Oh? Yes dear, I'm fine."

Gloria left it at that, not explaining why she had winced or if something was bothering her. For some reason, it worried Xander more than it relaxed him. It didn't help that when the both of them walked back inside, Remmy was coughing up a storm. The elderly Musharna couldn't hold himself up in the air any longer, and, without a chair nearby, he just set himself on the ash coated floor to take a breather. Gloria hurried to his side and rested a hand on him as Remmy continued hacking up his lungs.

Xander's tail drooped, neither of them should be doing work like this.

When Remmy's coughing finally calmed down, Gloria helped him back up into the air. "Perhaps it's time we stopped for the night. How about I cook us up some dinner?"

"I'll help!" Xander offered immediately.