It was early December. Not Christmas. Not New Years. Early, with the usual white snow that quickly turned to frosty slush in the gutters, soon to be washed away. Many animals in Central Park were in their Winter routines, holed up and hiding, or migrated off. There wasn't much bird chatter there. Or on its outskirts. Or in the city, by any little shops. Only the hustle and bustle of wildly-bundled-up people in coats and hats and scarves, scampering about searching for their own winter sustenance to hole up with. And gifts.

Reds and greens had decorated the city long before December 1st. Starting in November, as per the usual. Can't start too early for Christmas cheer! In every store, holiday music sang, and in every Cafe, holiday-themed beverages were wholeheartedly average. People sat sipping Pumpkin Spice Lattes (a holdover from last month), or egg nog coffees, tapping away at their laptop computers or crushing candy on their phones. There was a new holiday dragon for some killer app, and one child was hungrily hoarding gold and gems in the hopes of being able to pay for it (without resorting to asking mom and dad to open their wallets to help foot the bill).

In the open-air patio area just outside one cafe, not too far from holiday shopping hubs, a couple sat. The man, in a jovial Santa hat, leaned forward, face focused on the pages of the book leaned against his hands. Dickens. Great Expectations. He was all wrapped up in a button-up jacket his wife, sitting across from him, had recently bought him early as a holiday gift. She sat in her own holiday jacket, wrapped in a red and green-striped scarf that was brand new. She, too, had her head bent forward over a book. If a bystander walked by, they'd be treated to a happy holiday image at a glance.

A common street pigeon landed to perch on her head. No reactions. Odd.

So far, today had been pretty stinking awesome, Kealey decided, grabbing a table in the cool outdoor section of one of her favorite cafés, bags arranged around her in a proud display of prompt holiday action. The season had started, and if they were going to get presents all the way to Japan before the 25th of December, Kealey had known she needed to get an early start. Shin's mother was the hardest to please, so her presents always came first. The fates had shone down on the blond, however, and she'd found the perfect thing. So quickly, had she found it, in fact, that Kealey had decided to reward herself with a cup of coffee.

Shin was on duty, and Kelaey had just started typing him a text about her great luck, when a bird had come out of nowhere and landed on the head of a woman sitting a table over.

Birds...were not something that Kealey got much joy from. They weren't like a cat, who tested you and made you earn their affection. They weren't like a dog, who loved you unconditionally and was thrilled to see you no matter how long you had been gone. They had those beady little eyes and were more prone to pooping and staring than anything as charming as chasing a string or playing fetch.

Apparently though, this woman felt differently about birds. Apparently, this woman thought they were great, because she hadn't moved a muscle when she became a pearch.

Chills running down her spine that had nothing to do with cool December air, Kealey had focused her powers in that direction...only to find that the usual torrent of emotions from people in a public place were completely absent in this couple. That was an incredibly rare occurrence only brought on by two things, an adapted, and a complete lack of emotions to read.

Eyes widening slightly, the blond stowed her phone in her coat pocket and moved towards the couple, reaching into her purse for her compact mirror. "Hello?" she said, frowning at the lack of response she received. Full of trepidation, and careful not to touch anything, Kealey held the mirror out and under the man's nose.

Nothing.

Sighing, the blond placed the mirror back into her purse and pulled her phone from her pocket. Quickly backing out of her messaging feature, she dialed three little numbers and waited for the dispatcher to answer.

"I think I've found two dead bodies..." she said, and the rest was history.

History. Yess. As he watched from somewhere not too far off, in another building, hand against the glass, that was the word that echoed through his mind. The glass misted. History. History, and also... art. It was... his gift. To them. Wrapped and tied with a bow, their release. Their freedom from the humdrum monotony. And this woman, too, the one who had discovered his art... she seemed like she had a monotonous existence, as well. Shopping bags, clearly due to holiday, and an entirely average and unbecoming reaction. Yes. He would be watching her. Something about her haunted him, told him she was important to his future. Needed an escape.

The blinds fell with a zip as he turned away from the window, mind's gears turning. Fingers arched to form a pyramid in front of him. Sky blue eyes widened in thought.

~*~

The police arrived a short time after the woman's call. Dispatch had said a woman. They hadn't said 'your wife.' His partner was the first to reach her. They were familiar with each other, on friendly terms. He wasn't one of those cops who looked down on her for being an X-man, her emotion, or anything like that. Raz was supportive of Shin and his wife's duties. He'd even sent her a fruitcake. "Mrs. Shinbo," he nodded professionally. "Nice to see you again. A shame it's like this. What did you find?"

Shin followed a few steps behind, momentarily separating job from emotion. Kealey had found a pair of dead bodies. That scared the crap out of him. But it wasn't a debilitating fear, and underneath it was the usual edge of anger that accompanied any time someone did something like this... especially when it was in front of his wife. Those emotions narrowed and focused as he reeled them in, and pushed them slightly aside. Raz's emotions were professional, but not blank. He, too, didn't like this. But like Shin, they were on-duty, and had to get the facts. If they didn't act like professionals, these two poor souls killer (or killers) would never be caught. That wouldn't fly. Raz and Shin agreed on that as their eyes met. They listened intently to what Kealey had to say.

The emotions from the police were a comfort, especially considering the fact that one of the responding officers was Kealey's husband, and she mentally threw herself into the normal comfort of his emotions like a toddler clinging to their security blanket. It was easier to deal with the things Shin was feeling than what she was feeling, and it made it easier to go through the proper channels of this thing.

Immediately after she'd made the call, Kealey had cast out around the bistro to see if she could find the person responsible for the couple sitting at the table. People who did this sort of thing wanted to see the results of all their hard work, they didn't like to miss the show. Unfortunately the streets were simply too crowded with shoppers, tourists, and business people on lunch. Absolutely nothing had been out of the ordinary, and Kealey told Shin's partner so.

"I found them just like this, didn't touch anything, and after they wouldn't respond I put a mirror under his nose." Kealey said, frowning at the body. "When there was nothing, I called dispatch. There isn't anything else..." she said calmly, turning to look at Shin.

"I was trying to send you a text...I found a present for your Mother."

"That was smart," Raz commented, about pretty much everything she said. He stepped forward to examine the body, carefully noting any and every detail he took in. He didn't make any sudden jumps of emotion that spoke of inspiration or theories being formed. He kept an open mind, and theories were furthest from it. It was facts time, now. "Let's see here..." He muttered to himself.

While Raz examined the body, the Asian looked to his wife. "Good," He said, eyes tugging back towards Raz, splitting his focus. "She's always really hard to shop for," He replied, somewhat distractedly. Raz was checking something with a fold-up magnifying glass and light. Again, Shin's focus returned to Kealey. "We'll find out what happened. And make sure it keeps from happening again. You probably already scanned the area with your power," He continued. "If anyone suspicious was around, you'd have noticed and told us. That hasn't changed, right?"

He had a lot of faith in her power (and her). It was good she'd done it the way she'd done it, and she'd done good work. As an X-man, she was excellent. Right now, though, they were about to delve into the world of forensics. If nothing caught her attention, he'd have to politely send her home. It was policy, and she wasn't a forensics investigator. They would be able to talk about it later, when he knew more.

Already, a crowd was forming. "'Watch the watchers.'" The phrase from his partner sprang to his lips, unbidden, like a tiny mantra. His eyes swept the small crowd. One or two people were within shouting distance. He'd have to set up police tape in a minute. Routine.

Shin was pleased with the way she'd handled things, and Kealey gave him a thin lipped smile. It wasn't a grin-worthy situation, but she was still glad that she'd managed not to muck things up from a police perspective. Sometimes that was hard, X-Men weren't detectives, they were first responders and justice dealers.

Shin asked her about the bystanders and Kealey shook her head to the negative, "I checked and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary." she said, blue eyes scanning the group again. Her gaze flicking back to the couple at the table for a moment, the blond frowned.

"I'm not sure what I would pick up here though..." she said, staring intently, "This wasn't a crime of passion...it was art."

"I'd hesitate to make any judgments just yet," Raz commented, rising from his examination. The magnifying glass slid back into its plastic sheathe between his two palms, then found its way into a pocket. Raz looked her calmly in the eye. "But I would agree that it does appear artistic. Further examination is definitely required. Shinbo," he looked to the Asian.

The Asian nodded, anticipating the request. "I'll go get the crime tape, so we can get this sealed off." To Kealey, he added. "More forensics people will be here shortly to examine the scene. We can't have anyone stumbling into the scene while we're working. Thank you for your help, love. Can I call you a taxi? Might be easier than trying the bus with all those shopping bags. We can talk later about what we find out." He'd already picked up some of her bags as he said this, walking them her way. He smiled weakly. His emotions didn't say 'get out'. They were more of a respectful 'please, let us do this.' Sending a loved one off a crime scene was hard. Especially if they wanted to help. Sometimes, though, it was best to leave it to the people with expertise.

"I'll take the bus." Kealey said, eyebrows knitting together in a frown as she moved to start gathering her bags. Shin's partner had thought she was being helpful, and the police teamed with the X-Men all the time. They were going to be looking for a special kind of psychopath here, and profiling was something that could potentially come very easy to Kealey. Yet...Shin was sending her away.

They would talk later? Yup, they would.

"Talk to you later!" she said with a bright smile. Issues or no, Kealey wasn't going to say anything in front of her husband's partner.

He passed her the few bags he'd grabbed. "Talk to you later," He smiled back. "If we need any help with profiling, I'll talk to you. We aren't that far, yet. It's just forensics right now. Profiling comes later."

Shin knew his wife. He knew that was what she'd been getting at, and knew she didn't like it when he pushed her aside when she was trying to help him with his work. They'd had that talk before. It had been an important one. Sensing he'd been a little harried by Raz and his duties, he had done his best to smooth things over. The last thing he wanted was to hurry her off.

"I love you," He said with a sweet smile.

"I love you too." Kealey replied, pushing a stray strand of hair behind hear ear. The coroner's van was pulling up now, and the rest of the forensics team would be close by. It was a conflict of interest, Kealey knew, and she'd already used all the tools she currently had at her disposal. She scanned the area again to see what she could see with her power and found absolutely nothing.

As she'd already said, it took a special kind of crazy to commit a crime like this, and someone needed to stop the person responsible. If the police were capable of figuring things out, and figuring them out quick, there wouldn't be any conflict of interest. "See you at home." she said, and turned to head to the bus stop.

If, however, they couldn't handle the task at hand, Kealey would have no problem calling in the other X-Men. It was her job, as much as it was Shin's to send a civilian away from a crime scene.

The sun had gone down by the time the forensics team finished their initial report, but that didn't mean the New York skyline was dark. Against the sky and the smog, big city lights played. Shin's eyes, though, were on the road.

He liked having a car. It meant not having to use his power. And right now, a car was a very useful tool.

The Asian slipped through traffic and turns, going the speed limit, obeying all the traffic laws. He didn't get how some X-men thought laws didn't apply to them. It was strange. If you were in the business of upholding the law, even the smallest infractions cost you something. Even littering was a crime. With how the New York streets looked, it was a crime with many perpetrators, and too many victims. Shame people didn't care so much about it.

He pulled into the parking garage for Kealey and his apartment, and found his spot, parked the car, got out and locked it up. Then, made his way to the elevator, and up to their place.

As he entered, he hung his jacket on the peg by the door. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. It had been a long day. Now, he just wanted to relax and think about nothing, to slip into a blissful void. Maybe go get dinner with Kealey. Perhaps they could get lasagna? The door clicked behind him as he locked it. Shin made his way to the living room, looking for his wife.

At the exact moment the door lock clicked, Kealey looked up for her book and waited for Shin to make his way into the living room. The rest of the day had been productive, and had even ended with free time, a rare enough occurrence these days that the blond had tried to take advantage by reading a book. Unfortunately, the scene at the café had risen in her head every time she tried to concentrate.

The couple had seemed so comfortable, so natural. Surely there had been a surveillance camera or something that the police had found. Now that Shin was home she could ask.

"Hey," she said, closing the book and setting it aside, "You guys find anything?"

It was a simple question enough, but he couldn't help himself from grimacing as he answered. "Forensics is still going over their findings, and they sent the bodies to the coroner for an autopsy. We haven't found anything more yet. It'll probably take some time. I'll let you know when we find more."

Police work wasn't always like on television. Cops didn't always solve a case in 30-55 minutes. Going over all the details was but one thing in the process that took a lot of time. There were plenty more after that. It was kind of frustrating, but it was what it was. At least in this case, they weren't backed up. Some cases took extra time, just because other cases had come first.

Plopping down on the couch near Kealey, Shin changed the subject. "I was thinking Italian for dinner. Maybe some lasagna. What do you feel like?"