And that was how Jin-kyu Kim ended up riding the subway with a boy, who he was pretty sure used to be made of clay, and who was now wearing oversized overalls and socks fashioned from latex gloves and elastic bands.

Jin-kyu could only attribute the lack of strange looks they were receiving to the fact that it was New York. Sammy probably didn't seem that different to most of the city's resident art students, all he needed were hipster glasses and a Starbucks.

Sammy also squealed loudly every time the train pulled up to a station. It wasn’t exactly helping with Jin-kyu's migraine.

"It's our stop?" Sammy asked excitedly as Jin-kyu stood up.

"No," Jin-kyu replied, planting his hand firmly on Sammy's chest and pushing him back down, "I'm just giving up my seat." He nodded at the heavily pregnant woman who sat down besides Sammy with a thankful smile.

"She's making someone!" Sammy stage whispered to Jin-kyu, drawing a few chuckles from nearby passengers.

"Just like you made me!" Sammy added happily.

Ah, finally, here come the strange looks

Jin-kyu groaned as he felt half of the carriage trying to work out his age and subsequently assuming he looked much younger than he was and was clearly a teenage parent. Their judgmental stares burned into him as Sammy swung his legs out gleefully, catching Jin-kyu in the groin.

Jin-kyu wondered why he couldn't have just sculpted a nice fluffy dog? Although he guessed he should be thankful he didn't decide to do another horned mermaid.

The pregnant woman disembarked at the next stop with a worried glance back towards them and Jin-kyu was pretty sure that wasn't her original destination, but hey - at least he could sit down again now.

He caught Sammy staring at the posters stuck up on the inside of the carriage.

"Can you...can you read?" Jin-kyu asked tentatively.

"Of course!" Sammy scoffed, "DO YOU SUFFER FROM ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION?..."

Jin-kyu flinched as Sammy started reading horrifyingly loudly from the poster directly opposite them.

"WELL, WE FOUND THE CURE..."

"Stop!" Jin-kyu instructed, reaching out to put his hand lightly on top of Sammy's. The boy's skin was cool, like smooth marble. Jin-kyu quickly retracted his fingers as he noticed Sammy's eyes widen and turn on him.

"Read another poster," Jin-kyu gulped, avoiding Sammy's thoughtful gaze. "How about that one?" he gestured to a harmless looking advertisement from a local pet charity.

Sammy cocked his head as he located the one Jin-kyu meant, "ARE YOU A RESPONSIBLE PET OWNER? BEFORE ADOPTING, REMEMBER YOUR PET NEEDS FOOD, TIME, EXERCISE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, LOVE."

"They always put those up at this time of year," Jin-kyu noted absently before seeing the questioning look on Sammy's face.

"Christmas," Jin-kyu explained, "a lot of people get new pets at Christmas."

"Chrisstmasss," Sammy repeated, elongating the word. "I like Christmas."

"How would you even know?" Jin-kyu snapped. "You've never had one."

"We're Jewish," he hastily lied to the middle aged woman sat across from them. She was shooting him a sharp glare, clearly judging him for not only being a teenage father but also one who deprived his son of Christmas.

"Do you have a pet, Jin-kyu?" Sammy asked, cocking his head again and making the loose collar of the overalls slip down his shoulder. Jin-kyu swallowed hard as he suddenly noticed further flecks of the blue paint had created small constellations of birthmarks down Sammy’s side.

"I have two cats," Jin-kyu replied, reaching out to pull the fabric up again. To his further dismay, he noticed a gaggle of teenage girls half way down the carriage giving Sammy some blushing looks.

Suddenly, Sammy's stomach let out a loud rumbling sound.

"You must be hungry," Jin-kyu muttered, wondering what the hell one even fed a newly sentient sculpture?

"Probably," Sammy nodded sagely, "I haven't eaten in a month!"

"This is our stop!" Jin-kyu announced abruptly as he dragged Sammy up and off the train before the middle-aged woman could report him to Child Services.

*

The first thing Jin-kyu did when they got back to his apartment was to rush to the kitchen counter to read the instructions on his medication box.

"Are you sick?" Sammy asked, making Jin-kyu flinch. He looked up from where he had been studying the pill package to see that Sammy was sat against the kitchen counter, staring across the island at Jin-kyu with wide, questioning eyes.

"It's a different kind of sick," Jin-kyu mumbled with a flush as he stowed the packet back in the drawer. It hadn't been able to shed any light on the situation anyway.

'Artworks suddenly coming to life and subsequently wearing your overalls' was sadly not listed in the side effects under 'Itchy rashes'.

A moment later there was a loud disgruntled meow from the couch.

"Pets!" Sammy exclaimed excitedly as he jumped down from the barstool and ran over to inspect the tabbies. He stood awkwardly at the end of the couch, hopping from one foot to the other and looking back at Jin-kyu imploringly.

"You can touch them," Jin-kyu sighed, running his hand through his hair, "just be gentle with Coppélia - she tends to scratch people she doesn't know."

"Coppélia?" Sammy asked, evidently confused.

"The fat one," Jin-kyu replied, "that's her name, the other one's Galatea."

Sammy giggled as one of the cats started to lick his hand, rubbing his fingers through the other one's fur.

"I think I'd like a pet," Sammy sighed contentedly.

"Sammy, could you come here a moment?" Jin-kyu asked tentatively as he sat up on a barstool and puts his head in his hands, his stress migraine was definitely getting worse.

"Hello," Sammy announced as he clambered into the chair opposite Jin-kyu.

"Hello," Jin-kyu replied before he could stop himself. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Look, I need to ask you a few questions okay?"

Sammy nodded and shifted his position in the seat as if preparing for an exam.

"You...are you...I just..." Jin-kyu groaned as he realised he had no idea what to ask or where to even start.

"My name is Sammy. You made me with clay and your fingers. I've listened to you for a month before the star let me breathe."

Jin-kyu took a sharp intake of breath as Sammy finished talking, slid off of the chair and went promptly back to petting the cats.

"The star..." Jin-kyu murmured, his mind flashing suddenly to snatches of a nursery rhyme, "I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight..."

"Oh fuck," he announced loudly, eliciting another meow from across the room.