A/N: Hello! Not so recently I read Nabari No Ou. I liked it so much that I wanted to write at least a oneshot about it, but wasn't sure exactly what to write about. I actually got the inspiration for this fairly short oneshot from Chapter 51 of the manga (the quote is in the summary). I also wrote this not so recently...it was over a month ago at least, but I didn't want to post it then, but now I do want to post it, so here it is.

I'm not sure if I'll be posting anything more for Nabari No Ou, even though a friend of mine (not going to name names) convinced me to at least try to write the AU idea I had...I've only gotten to the second chapter, and it's already giving me problems.

Still, I'm glad to be able to at least contribute this to a section that deserves far more stories than it has.

Read, review, enjoy.


"Hey! where are you going?" Yukimi's voice yelled from one of the rooms in the apartment as Miharu stopped petting Yoite and went toward the front door.

The boy ignored the inquiring voice and proceeded to sit down and pull on his shoes and jacket. It was early autumn, the leaves were starting to fall, and Miharu knew that it was going to be chilly outside. He looked to the coat wrack, let his eyes linger on a handmade scarf, wrinkled his nose, shook his head, and laid his hand on the doorknob. It wasn't cold enough to wear Hanabusa's scarf yet, not on such a short outing, although something in the back of his head told him that it would be a good idea.

Just as he was about to turn the doorknob the boy paused, put his hand to his neck, sighed, and grabbed the scarf. He didn't know why, but he felt like he needed to wear it, just like he now needed to go get ice cream, even though it was chilly out.

"I'm going out," Miharu said loudly, so that even if Yukimi were in the deepest depths of his apartment, he would hear Miharu's voice. "I'll be back soon."

"All right!" Yukimi's voice answered, and Miharu then quickly opened the door and fled Yukimi's apartment.

Once outside the apartment building Miharu shivered, and pulled the scarf tighter around his neck. It wasn't cold enough for his heart to go 'nyaa,' but it was chillier than he had expected it to be. He was now glad that he had brought the scarf with him. Even as cold as it was, it did not deter Miharu from going to buy ice cream. It was like an impulse or a need. He wanted ice cream, and nothing would stop him from having it.

Soon enough he turned into the nearest mart and made a beeline for the frozen foods department. His eyes gazed at each flavor with intent, although he quickly got bored with it. There were so many flavors to choose from, each one more bizarre than the last. Why where their so many flavors? More importantly, why did they all sound so good? No matter how good they sounded did a person really need an ice cream that tasted like birthday cake? The answer to that last question was no, Miharu decided, as he pulled out a pack of 'eat it on the go' vanilla ice cream.

Why was he buying this? The question ran in Miharu's mind over and over again as waited in line. It was cold out. It wasn't summer, it was autumn. Why was he buying vanilla ice cream? He supposed there was no explanation for having a taste for something, but it still seemed a little bit ridiculous to him, even as he handed over the money for it to the cashier.

He gave a small sigh as he walked out of the mart and turned to head back to Yukimi's apartment. Did he want to start eating it now, to prevent any chance of it melting in his hands on the way back? Or did he want to wait, so that he wouldn't have to freeze his lips in the autumn air?

Miharu's mind fell silent as his eyes left the ice cream in his hands and fell on a person. A boy who was probably only a couple years older than he was. Miharu stopped walking to look at this boy as he approached from down the street. He looked so familiar, but he was sure he had never seen this person before. He looked at the face, it was pretty, and mature. The hair was cut short, and with the excpetions of a few locks that fell in front of his face, the rest of his head was concealed by a winter cap. The boy's body was lanky and covered by black clothes that covered everything but the hands. His hands were bare. What caught Miharu the most was not the bare hands, the black clothes, or the winter cap. It was his lips. His lips looked like they didn't even know how to smile.

"Yoite..." Miharu whispered softly. The name came from nowhere, it passed his lips as easily as breathing. It was odd for him to think of that name while looking at the boy, or so Miharu thought, for he knew very well that Yoite was at Yukimi's apartment, probably curled up in a small, black fuzzball on the couch. Yet, as he looked at this person the only word that crossed his mind was Yoite. So, he said the name again, a little louder this time, "Yoite."

As if he had heard the name, the boy stopped and looked at Miharu just as intently as Miharu looked at him. Neither one of them said anything, but after a moment Miharu smiled. He couldn't help it. Looking at this person made him feel...complete. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so fulfilled. Perhaps he had never felt this way.

Then something happened that Miharu hadn't expected, and it made him feel even better. The boy smiled back. Those lips that looked so incabable of smiling, smiled at him. Then the boy turned his head a little to one side, put a hand to those lips, and gave a small "heh." Then he started walking again.

Miharu's head turned as the boy passed him. He stood still for only a couple seconds after the boy had passed him before he turned completely to follow him. He couldn't let this boy go. He couldn't see him, feel this way, and just let him go. What if they never met again? Miharu couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't. He felt like he needed this person to keep on living. How would he be able to live with himself if he didn't even try to keep the boy from getting away?

His footsteps got quicker as he got closer to the boy and when he was within arms reach Miharu reached out and momentarily grabbed his arm. Almost instantly he let go as if the boy were on fire. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he didn't like to be touched. Sure enough, the moment his hand touched the arm, the arm moved to get out of Miharu's grasp. "Don't touch me!"

"Sorry..." Miharu said softly, and looked up at the boy's head as he turned to look at Miharu. The eyes that peered down at him expressed surprise. Surprise that the person he had smiled at moments ago had followed him.

Miharu bit his lip lightly. There was silence. It was awkward. That wasn't good. One of them needed to say something, and somehow Miharu got the feeling that if he didn't say something, this boy would simply turn and keep on walking. His hands fisted. One of them fisted around a wrapper. The ice cream. Miharu had almost forgotten it. He took it and pushed it into the boy's hands. "Here. Have it."

The boy raised an eyebrow, and lifted the wrapped ice cream up in front of his face. "It's cold," he said softly. "I don't want it." He tried to give it back to Miharu, who only pushed it back in return.

"No. Really. Take it."

The boy sighed, "But..."

Miharu glared. It wasn't a hard glare, but a glare that he only meant to get the point across that he was serious about him taking the ice cream. The boy gave a glare back, but after a couple seconds seemed to give up completely. Miharu smiled again. He could feel that it was a soft, content smile. "Can I walk with you while you eat it?"

The boy sighed again, and rubbed the back of his head. "I...guess..." Miharu could read the look on the boy's face as if he were speaking the words aloud. It said; I don't understand this at all. Still, as they turned to go in the direction that the boy had been going in before, he didn't turn Miharu away and began to unwrap the ice cream.

There was silence again. Miharu felt that they at least needed small talk, or they would just drift apart. "My name is Miharu."

"Miharu," the boy repeated his name before taking the first bite of the ice cream. Miharu took it as a good sign that he didn't spit it out.

He waited. He waited for the boy to return the common curtesy of giving his own name in return, but it never came. Only silence followed his own name. "Well? What's your name?" Still, there was silence. Miharu tilted his head and looked up at his face as the boy ate. "Your...name?" Nothing.

When the ice cream was completely gone Miharu gave a soft sigh, feeling like he wasn't getting anywhere with this boy. He didn't even know what to call him other than a boy, even though he was older than him. What could he do? He remembered that when he had first seen him he had first called him Yoite. He was sure that wasn't his name, but if he could call him that (even if it was the name of Yukimi's cat) then perhaps it wouldn't feel so awkward. "Can I call you Yoite?"

The boy stopped dead in his tracks as if the name were his stop button. Miharu stared right up at his face emotionlessly. "Well?"

"Yes. Yoite." The boy nodded very slowly. "Yoite..."

Miharu smiled softly at Yoite. Somehow, it felt like the most dangerous part of the relationship was past. He didn't have to worry about anything.