Hello again. -_-' It's… haha… been awhile…

Now, what took me so long? Well, I got really wrapped up in chapter two and ended up writing something that was like, eight pages on Word. So I split it. Unevenly... Well, I hope you enjoy… Eheh…

Chapter 2

Sproing… sproing… sproing…

There was only one reason Julius's bed would be bobbing at this ungodly hour…

"Good morning, Julius!"

…and that reason came in the form of a red, footie-pajama-clad blur. Even now, as Julius cracked his eyes open, he could see his new housemate smiling more brightly than the rays of sun that shone through his curtain. Ever since the five-year-old had moved-in four days ago-he had taken it upon himself to wake up Julius at the crack of dawn every morning. "To live as much as we can!" or some other flowery, childish philosophy. Whatever reason it was, it seemed Ace was determined to stick with it.

"I thought I locked the door," he rolled away from the literally bouncing ball of sunshine.

Ace stopped jumping on the mattress and sat down, leaning over to him, "Yeah, but not the air ducts."

"Of course not the-" Julius shot up. "Wait, did you just say air ducts?"

"Uh-huh," he beamed, "and tomorrow, I'll come in through the chimney!"

Julius sighed and fell back, resulting in the five-year-old invading his personal space by hovering over his face.

Sigh. "What are you doing?"

"Staring at you."

"Why?" Julius didn't bother wasting energy by getting irritated at the little sunspot.

"So you'll get so uncomfortable you'll HAVE to get up!"

"Go away."

"No."

"Ace, go away."

Silence passed between them and Ace finally hopped off the bed. Julius stiffened, not expecting such immediate compliance.

"Okay, I'll leave," he muttered, then louder, "a GIRL needs her beauty sleep after all," Ace called, his crimson-clad foot disappearing behind the doorway.

"I'm not a girl!" he threw back the covers and almost fell out of the bed.

"Then prove it!"

Five minutes later, Julius was setting in the kitchen with the manipulative little demon.

"Manipulative little demon," he told it.

Ace grinned around a mouthful of pancake. "Hain-koo!"

"That wasn't a compliment."

There was a small pause as Ace retrieved the word from his vocabulary. When it clicked, he grinned again. "Nn-kay!"

Julius inspected the odd thing beside him. A puppy, he decided. It's a puppy. The type that came back no matter how many times it was left on the street. Everything about him-except for the ability to crawl through the ventilation system- shouted "Nice!" and "Innocent!" Even now, his eyes shone and his chestnut, duck-fluff hair stuck out in all directions in a tangible representation of his sporadic attitude.

Then there was that whole helpless, left-in-the-rain look he got when he asked if Julius hated him. He made it sound like his last hope, like everyone but Julius avoided his presence. As he contemplated the psychology behind this, his grandfather approached them with a cup of coffee. Julius had never tasted the beverage before, but his grandpa drank it religiously. Because of that, almost all of Julius's best memories were accompanied by a faint, bitter smell.

"Hello, boys," Rodard smiled. "My, Julius, you've been getting up early these past few days. A good habit for a good clockmaker."

Ace beamed and Julius would have glared were it not for his next words: "Julius wakes me up too, sir. It's fun to have more time to play together."

"Is that so?" his eyes glowed at them and his lips quirked. "Well, boys, can I convince you to run an errand for me?"

"Yessir!" both sat up straighter.

"We're currently running low on coffee beans. Would you two fine young men run to the town for me?"

"Yessir!" They ran out the door, Julius grabbing his duster on the way.

When they got outside, Julius turned to Ace, who was somehow fully dressed before he reached the kitchen and was now toting a decrepit red wagon.

"Why did you tell him that?" he asked.

Ace shrugged. "I dunno. You kind of get all glowy and happy when he praises you." Then he grinned, "And now you'll HAVE to get up and play with me!"

Julius glowered. So that's what it came down to…

"So now we're both glowy and happy, right?"

Pause.

"Hahaha! You're blushing again!"

"Shuddup," he mumbled, taking a few steps.

"You're going the wrong way," Ace told him.

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah-huh. Follow me! I know a shortcut!"

Giving a skeptical snort, Julius followed the younger child. To the wagon's credit, it was holding its own on the bumpy path.

"By the way, where did you get that?" Julius asked, looking pointedly at the scrap metal on wheels.

"This?" he replied. "Never leave home without it."

The navy-haired boy stopped his tracks, shook his head, and continued behind Ace into the town. The walk had taken less than fifteen minutes.

"See? See? I did good, didn't I?" Ace smiled eagerly at Julius. Giving a small sigh and a smile, the older boy patted the younger's head. A puppy, he thought again when the brunette's face lit up.

"Yeah, you did well."

A comfortable quiet fell as Julius finished ruffling Ace's hair. It really did feel like duck fluff.

"The last family I was with let me go out a lot, so I learned my way around," he laughed.

"Let you go out?"

"Uh-huh! And if I came back before the night period, they wouldn't lock me out either! Julius? Julius, you look mad. Where are you going? Wait for me!" Ace and his wagon clunked after him as Julius stormed into the shop that sold the brand his grandfather favored.

The little shop was old, to say the least. The shelves looked untouched, the floorboards creaked; as the door swung open, the hinges screamed in agony. Cobwebs littered the rafters and the windows were fogged with grime. Even the ancient shopkeeper seemed to be gathering dust.

"Well, if it isn't young Julius Monrey."

The two boys froze before realizing that the rasping sound was, first and foremost, a voice, and secondly, that it belonged to the old man.

No matter how many times he heard it, it always caught him off-guard when the living artifact spoke. He barely moved his mouth, had no hand gestures, and the only sign of who he was speaking to was the direction in which his head was pointed.

"Who's your little friend?" the decrepit faceless continued on, not noticing their moment of surprise.

"Ah…" Julius started. "This is-"

"I'm Ace!"

"I see," he gave a rustic chuckle. "Well, have a good look around."

"Okay!"

The companions-acquaintances, Julius reminded himself meandered over the shelves and blew the sedimentary dust off of several inches of space with considerable effort. As it flurried around them, something caught the elder's eye.

There on the shelf was a clock the size of his grandfather's fist. Four brass inches of diameter were dull with age and the glass had turned to a light gray with maltreatment. Two black, thin cloth straps extended from either side of the clock, connected by a time-stained, square clasp in the back. Gingerly picking it up, Julius stroked the clock.

"I can fix this," he muttered, knowing in that instant that he meant it.

The hinges shrieked again as someone else treaded into the shop, looking rather disgusted. Julius saw him mouth the word "Germs" before trotting over to the storekeeper.

The boy was perhaps a year younger than he was, but he seemed full of a self-important air that grated Julius's nerves. His head was coated with a fine mop of white hair and hosted a pair of six-inch rabbit ears. An oversized red, plaid waistcoat matched his apparent ego and had to be rolled up at the sleeves to the point where they were bulging. Vermillion irises gleamed behind rimless, owl-eye glasses as he gave a flamboyant pocket watch to the human relic, bouncing like he had somewhere to go. Looking around, his eyes widened when they landed on Julius's hands. The moment passed and he continued to fidget with his alabaster kid gloves.

"Excuse me," he squeaked irritably. His voice was higher than Ace's. "But I'm running late."

"For what?" Ace chirped.

The rabbit's eyes narrowed. "For a very important date."

Now adorned with a shiny Albert, the shopkeeper handed the clock back to the boy. He grinned until he flipped it open and saw the time. Eyes widening, he panicked. "I'm late I'm late I'm LATE!"

"Oof!"

The boy stood back up and sprinted out the door, leaving Ace to laugh at the toppled Julius.

"He was a head shorter than you are! How'd he knock you down?"

"Let's just get what we came for," he growled, standing up.

Ten minutes, three debates, and two wins later, the coffee beans were loaded into Ace's wagon and they were heading out the door.

"Excuse me," said the old man, "But your purchase of the clock-tie has not been paid for."

"Sir?" Julius turned halfway.

""The watch you were holding earlier."

"But I " his brows knitted. What had happended to the clock? All he remembered was one moment it was in his hands and the next it wasn't. "The white rabbit," he realized.

"Julius wouldn't steal anything!" his small supporter piped up.

"Sir, could we have some time to retrieve it? Neither of us took it, but I think the white rabbit may have accidentally collected it when we collided."

After calling them behind the desk to search them the shopkeeper grudgingly agreed.

"On one condition," he continued, turning his head towards young Monrey. "I'll have to keep that earring until the tie is found.

Julius's hand flew towards his ear. "But-"

"Even if you weren't guilty, I need some insurance that what's mine will be returned."

"But " his shoulders slumped. "Okay." Taking out the back gingerly, he handed the worn, meticulously cared-for ribbon to the admiring shopkeeper.

"I get it back, right?" he sounded as small and as insecure as he felt.

"If you can get me back the clock, then of course."

"Thank you, sir."

Questions answered so far:

1.) How did the two meet?

2.) How long has Ace hidden things in his coat?

3.) How did Julius find his clock-tie?

And others that I've forgotten…