MD: Oneshot Witch Hunter Robin ficlet with hints of Amon/Robin. Yay.

disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, Amon and Robin would be together and Misora's The Burning Time would be the official sequel

Definition of a Family

They looked... happy.

She couldn't help but watch curiously through her emerald eyes, taking in the sight of the family of four out for a mid-afternoon stroll. The two children were some years apart in age, that much was obvious by the gap in their height. The smaller child clung to her mother's arm, swinging it to and fro gleefully. The older child crossed his arms as he walked, grinning occasionally at his father. As they scurried past her, she caught snipits of their conversation, which flowed effortlessly in Italian from their lips. The daughter pointed at a nearby pastry shop, pleading for something sweet. Laughing but nodding, they trudged inside.

Family.

It was a foreign word on her lips. Difficult to say no matter what language she needed to speak in. She was brought up in a nunnery, taught that the only family she'd need would be that of Christ and God; they had enough love for her and she should not feel unloved at any point in time. Not that she was lacking "love". She understood it to a point.

What she lacked was that word... family. La famiglia. Father Juliano had always been there, but it wasn't until recently that she discovered he was more than just a priest to her. His blood ran through her veins as grandfather; her mother had been his daughter. But she hadn't seen her grandfather since that day at Raven's Flat and she highly doubted she'd get the chance to see him again. Her mother and father were already in the world of the dead and she knew she had no siblings. Her fellows nuns at the convent were called her sisters, although nothing tied them together to grow close enough as a family. Their waryness of her Craft had also played a part in their avoidance of her, but she expected as much and grew to accept the fear they had for her power. She wondered what they would say now, if they were to know of her true identity. The Eve.

Sitting in the small wooden chair at the cafe, she idly sipped from her expresso - a drink she found she could simply not be without, no matter how dangerous it was to be in public. It warmed her body in the crisp autumn air, especially now that it was growing ever closer to sunset. The bell to the nearby pastry shop rang in her ears, the result of which was her eyes instantly gazing in the sound's direction. Exiting the shop was the family she had taken to watch, the father in the lead as the mother closed the door behind her. The daughter now held a delicious looking frosted brownie in her hands, a bite already missing. Behind her, her brother held a chocolate muffin, the wrapping disgarded somewhere inside the shop.

Now she wanted a muffin. She wished she could tug on a mother's arm, begging for a tasty dessert to munch on before the arrival of dinnertime. Instead, she took another sip of coffee, allowing its bitter taste to trinkle down her throat. She had to get rid of her sweet tooth's craving.

The family stopped for a moment, as the daughter was having some trouble walking and eating at the same time. Her brother teased her, laughing as he quickly finished his own treat and licked the crumbs from each individual finger. This was soon followed by a mild scolding from his mother as the father watched with a content smile.

She felt a smile growing on her own face as she watched, unaware of the dark haired man walking towards her. The family was happy and so it brought happiness to her.

"Robin?"

She was jolted from her thoughts and blinked a few times, taking in the fact that her guardian had just re-taken his seat at their table. "Ah... sorry..." she muttered, locking onto his eyes.

Amon shrugged nonchalantly, leaving her back to her inner thoughts as he picked up the paper on the table, looking for a language he could read.

A final glance at the Italian family told her they were leaving, as the daughter had finally finished her brownie and they were walking away down the cobbestone road. She assumed they were hoping to get home before nightfall. Her eyes wandered back to Amon, who held a sturdy focus on the words unfolded before him. Her stoic partner barely acknowledged the fact that she was watching him, so she eagerly took in the chance to study and ponder.

A cheerful giggle from the little girl sent a wave of remorse through her body. While reflecting on her own lack of family, she had forgotten about Amon's situation. He had held a family in his grasp once, albeit a rather small one. She couldn't imagine having to watch her own mother get hunted right before her eyes the way Amon had. SOLOMON had taken away his family, simply because she had awakened a Witch. Amon still had Nagira to count on, but she knew they hadn't always been as close as they had grown during her last few weeks in Japan. She didn't know much about their father and she never felt the need to ask. She knew Amon would talk if he wanted to.

Come to think of it, family was probably just as foreign to Amon as it was to her. The blood of his family scared him, she knew, as he had been marked as a Seed because of it. Both she and Amon didn't grasp the concept of family, and both held it with a different regard. She craved it; he feared it.

"Robin? Are you okay?" he asked, glancing at her from atop the newspaper.

She tossed him a tiny smile. "Yes," she replied, clutching her coffee mug in her hands and swirling what was left inside. "I was just thinking."

He raised an eyebrow to urge her on.

"About family."

"Family?"

"Yes," she said, pulling the mug to her lips to take another gulp. "It can be hard to fathom at times..."

"You think so?"

"I know so," she smiled, setting her mug on the table softly. She had learned how to read his face after some time, what each slight movement of the eyes meant or how annoyed he was by the twitch in the corner of his mouth. And right now, even though a passerby would not be able to tell, he was looking at her with a mix of confusion and curiosity. "Amon... neither of us have a family anymore, do we?"

"Unless you count Nagira," he noted.

"With Nagira as the exception," Robin agreed, before continuing. "But excluding him... we're alone, aren't we?"

He contemplated her words, not knowing exactly what she hoped to hear from him. He set the paper down on the table, holding her eyes with his and studying her face. For once, it was unreadable as she simply held a tiny smile and a small question in her eyes. "Are we having a conversation right now?" he asked at last, crossing his arms.

"Yes..."

"Then neither of us are alone, are we?"

With that, he finished the rest of his own drink and tossed a fair amount of euros on the table to pay for both bill and tip. He climbed to his feet and with a simply glance at Robin, ordering her to do the same.

Smiling at his words, she casually sipped the rest of her expresso before gently placing the now empty mug on the table. He, with his powerful and wide strides, was already halfway out of the cafe and Robin had to dash to catch up. She didn't mind though. His answer to her question had finally settled something, burying the depressing thoughts away for good.

She had no family; he had no family. But they weren't alone. Together, they were the only family that the other would need.

XDXDXDXDXD

MD: I hope you enjoyed my little WHR oneshot. Please tell me your thoughts with a review! (insert smiley face here)