This is for Misura at LJ, and her kind bid on my skills at LJ's help_haiti auction. I took entirely too long with this (school hates me sometimes, I think) and I hope she enjoys it despite the massive delay. This is my first try at Tokyo Babylon – and it's fluffy, of all things, not something I've practiced much – so if there are any helpful suggestions to be given they would be welcome, but be a bit merciful, please, heh.

And remember to continue sending in support to Haiti and Chile, kiddos! I hope things improve for both countries soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of importance. Unless you consider an empty Dasani bottle and some old sticky notes important.

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Sunday's Sundae

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In retrospect, Subaru wasn't sure of why he hadn't expected it in the first place; after all, it was Hokuto.

The night had been long, and Subaru was exhausted; stumbling into his apartment at half-past nine, he resolved to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Unfortunately for him, a flash of red chiffon and pink lace rudely interrupted him halfway through the front door, and before he could finish a single owlish blink he found himself being undressed by what at first appeared to be himself straight out of some strange time machine.

"H-Hokuto!" Subaru stammered, his weariness rendering his years of training useless; even as he tried to fight back, his twin sister managed to turn his every move against him, removing his top jacket with entirely too much ease. "W-What - ?"

"We're going to go out for some breakfast ice cream!" Hokuto declared, now proceeding to rid Subaru of his shirt. "So hurry up and get dressed; you can't go out looking like this, what will people say?"

"You dressed me like this," Subaru protested, though his cries were muffled as a new shirt was rammed over his head. "Ow – careful!"

"I dressed you like this yesterday," Hokuto corrected, her voice deceptively calm as she quite energetically grabbed at Subaru's legs. "It's all wrinkled and worn now. You need to look your best; you can't accompany your beautiful sister the way you're dressed now!" The poor boy tried his best to evade her, backing away with an odd little jig before he tripped and fell back onto the couch. Hokuto let out a cry of triumph and quickly went to work, throwing off his shoes and shedding his pants before swiftly replacing them.

"I can dress myself, you know!" Subaru's face went bright red as he tried to regain control of the situation, gently slapping her hands away as he aimed to seize the waistband. "Hokuto, please!"

Hokuto tutted irritably but conceded once she was convinced that Subaru was indeed going to finish her work. "It's not like I've never seen you without pants, you know!" Huffing, she turned away and fetched a pair of shoes perched on one of the stools, other accessories waiting patiently in line for their turn. "Now hurry up, or they're going to run out of the good flavors!"

"Hokuto, it's not even ten yet," Subaru reminded her with a small smile, taking the shoes and slipping them on. "They've barely just opened."

"Ah, but we're going to a new place." Hokuto's eyes sparkled with anticipation as she strung a bow around her younger brother's neck, deftly tying it with nimble fingers. "It's just opened this morning. Berry's Ice Cream Parlor, it's called," she reported, the English rolling off her tongue. "I heard its run by some old Americans, so it's got that old-fashioned feel to it." Her voice rose in glee. "I can't wait!"

"It opened today?" Subaru repeated, taking the vest off the stool and pulling it on. "Do you think it's going to be full?"

"Yes, of course, which is why we've got to hurry!" Hokuto insisted, smashing a hat onto her brother's head. "Ah, there we go. Much better."

Subaru looked down appraisingly, comparing his outfit to his sister's; they were both dressed in very old fashioned regalia, making them appear as though they had just come back from a trip from England in the early 1900s, albeit with a dash more color and a bit more pizzazz. Subaru wondered vaguely how Hokuto intended on eating anything with that tiny waist her corset created.

"Hokuto, you've really outdone yourself - "

But before he could finish his sentence she had grabbed his wrist and yanked him out the door.

~*~

Hokuto had been right; the ice cream parlor was packed, and for good reason. The place was furnished quite nicely, with booths lining the sides and metal tables and chairs painted white and cushioned in red filling in the middle. The floor, a white and red checkered tile, was gleaming; Subaru could even see his reflection in it. The ice cream itself was presented behind a glass case, nothing foreign to him but somehow done in a way that complimented the décor. Everything around him, including the clothing he and his sister were wearing, made him feel like he had been transported back in time, and Subaru found himself standing straighter for some reason.

"Ooooh, look, they've got strawberry cheesecake!" Hokuto squealed, pointing at the display with a daintily gloved hand. "And rocky road! Chocolate truffle! Key lime pie! Oh, I want to try everything!"

"You could always order four scoops," Subaru suggested, eying the French vanilla.

"You know, I always knew there was a reason you're the head of the Sumeragi clan," Hokuto said teasingly, grinning ear to ear. "You're a genius!"

"I think I might have to agree with that," tickled a third voice in Subaru's ear, effectively cutting off the boy's laugh. Whipping his head around in surprise, Subaru was shocked to see none other than Sakurazuka Seishirou behind him, smiling innocently behind his glasses.

"S-Sakurazuka-san!" Subaru quickly dipped into a bow, his cheeks warm. His voice had been so close; Subaru could still feel the warmth of the other man's breath on his neck.

"Sei-chan!" Hokuto, unlike her twin, had no reservations about using nicknames, and pulled the veterinarian into an embrace. "What a funny coincidence you were here! I had forgotten you liked ice cream!"

Somehow, I don't really think she forgot, Subaru thought wryly, straightening. They had only known Seishirou for about a month now, but if there was one thing Subaru knew, it was that the man loved ice cream; he ate it every time he was with them. Funnily enough, though, the fact hadn't occurred to him either; now that he thought about it, of course Seishirou would go to the opening of a new ice cream parlor. Why was it surprising?

"Oh, Hokuto-chan," Seishirou sniffed. "I can't believe you've forgotten me already? Perhaps I should make more of an effort to see you and Subaru-kun!"

Subaru felt his face warm again, but before he could say anything Hokuto interrupted with a dramatic little wail of her own. "Oh, Sei-chan, you shouldn't be the only one making an effort! Subaru and I will try harder too, I promise!"

Sure now that people were looking at them, Subaru tugged nervously at Hokuto's sleeve. "Hokuto, maybe we should just order and sit down," he whispered. "We're disturbing the other customers."

"Oh!" As if she had forgotten all about the reason they were here, she turned to the young man behind the ice cream display, her expression expectant. "Can I have a cup with four scoops, please? I'd like strawberry cheesecake, chocolate truffle, raspberry pie, and - no wait…"

As his sister debated the flavours she wanted, Subaru ordered his own plain little cup of French vanilla, taking the small plastic dish from his female server with a smile. Stepping back, he motioned for Seishirou to order before he reached for his wallet.

Wait, where was his wallet?

Patting down all of his pockets, he discovered to his dismay that he hadn't brought it; eyes wide and cheeks flushed, he turned to ask Hokuto if she had brought any money when he heard her speak and his heart fell: "Mmkay, Subaru, you can pay now!"

Oh dear, he thought, the panic settling down on his face. They had already been served – Hokuto, in fact, was already digging in – and it wasn't as though he could just come back with the promise of returning with money; it had taken a good 15 minutes to get here. They probably wouldn't be willing to wait that long, would they?

"I, ah," Subaru began hopelessly, "I – we left too quickly, so I think I left - "

A look of dawning comprehension crossed Hokuto's face, and she stopped eating her ice cream. "We did leave pretty fast, didn't we?" she mused, a mild frown on her face. "Oh shoot, I'm sorry Subaru - "

"No, I'm sorry, Hokuto - "

"Don't worry about it," Seishirou interrupted, beaming at them as he came up to them holding an impressive ice cream cone in his hand. "It's taken care of."

"What?" Subaru blinked at Seishirou, confused. "What do you mean?"

And then suddenly Seishirou's face was by his again, the man's breath tickling his cheek and smelling of chocolate. "I mean, don't worry about it. It's my treat."

Subaru's face glowed a bright red, but before he could protest Hokuto cheered, "Oh, Sei-chan, you are a life-saver! You have to sit with us, come on!"

"I – I think I'm going to get us some napkins first!" Subaru practically squeaked, pointing towards one of the dispensers on the counter. "Y-you go on ahead!"

Hokuto looked doubtful, and Subaru didn't blame her – it doesn't take a person very long to get napkins, after all – but Seishirou put a chivalrous hand on Hokuto's shoulder and gently led her away, engaging her in conversation. As he watched them walk away, Subaru thought he had seen Seishirou wink over his shoulder at him, but he wasn't sure; it happened so fast he could have simply imagined it.

Getting napkins was surprisingly difficult – it was as if the crowd had doubled in size in the few seconds he had spent staring after Hokuto and Seishirou – and he had to squeeze through a rather large mother and her equally huge children, a tall man in a crisp business suit, and a pair of punky teenagers to reach the dispenser.

Pulling out a stack and immediately deciding he had taken too many, he floundered around helplessly for a second before leaving them on top of the dispenser and escaping, squeezing through the crowd again and hoping no one would throw them away, thinking them used. His foot, unfortunately, inexplicably got caught between two people in route, and he tugged gently before finally pulling hard. Free but unprepared, Subaru lost his balance and fell into someone approaching the crowd, his vision suddenly engulfed in soft pink cotton and his hand clutching the napkins and his ice cream in fear.

"I-I am so sorry!" he stammered, scrambling away and quickly lowering himself into a deep bow. "I didn't mean to – I'm sorry! If I spilled something, I will pay for it – I'm sor - "

"It's okay!" laughed the stranger, a melodious chuckle filling Subaru's ears. "Nothing spilled, don't worry." Chancing a peek, he saw he was standing before a woman with nothing but her purse in her hand. She looked to be no older than thirty, her long hair making her look even younger, and her eyes were dancing as she smiled at Subaru.

"Oh my!" A hand fluttered up to her mouth, and Subaru watched in surprise as her cheeks flushed. "You – are you a model?"

"Wh-what?" Feeling his own face burning, his eyes widened as he realized she was blushing over him. "N-no, I'm not - "

"Really?" Before Subaru even realized what was going on, the woman had her hand on his cheek, her breath tickling his face as she studied his face. "You're such a beautiful boy. You should share that with the world."

"I – uh - " His heart beating like a hummingbird's, Subaru frantically inched away from the woman, praying he wouldn't bump into someone else again. "I – Th-thank you, but I've got to go – people are waiting for me, sorry - "

And before the woman could say anything more, Subaru was gone, hoping that no one had seen that. Keeping his face low, Subaru looked for the other two, wishing he had seen where they had gone before he had insisted on getting the napkins.

His heart still thumping hard against his ribcage, he was dizzy with relief when he finally spotted them at a booth, Seishirou waving jovially at him as Hokuto scraped the last bits of ice cream from the bottom of her cup. Subaru wasn't sure, but he thought he saw her glance at him before scooting over closer to the edge, almost as though making sure her massive skirt would take up any room he could have used for sitting.

"They need larger scoops," Hokuto scowled as she licked her spoon, one hand still fluffing out her skirt. "I'm done already!"

"You ordered four," Subaru pointed out weakly, sliding in beside Seishirou.

"A girl needs her sweets," Hokuto shot back, going back to furiously salvaging what little was left.

"Are you all right, Subaru-kun?" Seishirou asked, peering at the teenager in concern. "You look a little flushed."

"I-I'm fine, Sakurazuka-san," Subaru stammered. "Don't wor - "

"Please, Subaru-kun, call me Seishirou," the veterinarian insisted, sliding in the slightest bit closer to the young omnyoji, who in turned leaned back nervously. Was he imagining things, or was Seishirou's voice a little huskier than usual? "It makes me sad to think that you don't consider me a friend, when I would do anything for you."

"I – I - "

"You're hurting Sei-chan's feelings!" Hokuto accused, jabbing her spotless spoon at her twin. "After he's paid for our ice cream! How could you?"

Subaru's eyes widened, looking from Seishirou to Hokuto and back again as he felt his face burn like the setting sun. Was he really hurting Seishirou's feelings? He hadn't meant to do that; he was only being polite…Was it impolite to keep being polite in this case?

"Anyway, you never answered my question," Seishirou continued, leaning in further. The frown on his face, so much more playful seconds before, suddenly became serious, and Subaru swallowed hard. It was hard to think when those eyes were staring at him so intensely like that. "Something happened while you were getting napkins. Where are they?"

"Right here," Subaru said quickly, dropping the stack on the table. "And nothing happened, I just bumped into a woman and - "

"And?"

"A-And she – she - " Subaru withered beneath Seishirou's look. "She was just being nice, I'm sure I just over exaggerated - "

Seishirou stood up so suddenly Subaru started. "Where is she?" he asked. "Where did she go?"

"Oooh, Sei-chan wants to defend his Subaru-kun's honor!" Hokuto sang gleefully, clapping her hands. Subaru was not quite as excited as his twin, though.

"Sit down!" he pleaded, tugging on the bottom of Seishirou's coat. "Please, don't make a fuss, Sakurazu-I – I mean, Seishirou-san."

It seemed that the use of the man's first name broke him out of his anger; blinking in surprise, he looked at Subaru as though he had never seen anything quite like him before. A few seconds passed as they gazed at each other, Seishirou surprised, Subaru worried, before Seishirou finally conceded and sat down slowly, still looking mildly ruffled but at least less murderous. Subaru sighed in relief. That was close.

Though it was strange. He hadn't expected Seishirou to move to defend him, and knowing that he had touched Subaru. They hadn't known each other very long, but Seishirou felt very strongly towards him, didn't he? Maybe he had been hurting him with his constant formality. Perhaps they were at the point where they were past that.

"The next time something like that happens, I might not be so forgiving," Seishirou said in a low voice, going back to his ice cream. "People should respect you, and you shouldn't allow people to treat you otherwise."

Subaru's eyes fell to his now half-melted ice cream, unsure of what to say. Why did it feel like everything had changed in a matter of moments? "Seishirou-san…"

There was a quiet pause, before Hokuto spoke up, her chin resting daintily in her hands. "I like this place," she declared. "I think we should come back here," - she smiled, eyes dancing for reasons Subaru couldn't fathom - "don't you two?"