Disclaimer: I don't own/ claim to own any part of Heart no Kuni no Alice, as well as any related ideas/characters/ etc. Nor do I own any song lyrics, poems, or other quotations I may sample; all rights go to their respective owners.

Characters: Boris X Alice.

Summary: The riddle doesn't belong to me; I found it on Google ^^;

Riddles

You are the world's most uncomplicated riddle.

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"Alice, I'm hot."

"Then take off your boa." She tugged at the cat boy's accessory. "You'll overheat with that thing on."

He gasped, and clutched it protectively. "Blasphemy. A cat is nothing without fur."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't complain to me, then."

"'Kay." He sulked for a moment, and then brightened. "I know! How about a riddle? To take our mind off the heat, I mean."

She glanced over at him, and rested her cheek on her palm. "Sure."

A grin slunk across his face, and his tail curled with an anticipation that she immediately distrusted. "Alright, then," he purred, "give me the answer to this:

"I am just two and two

"I am warm, I am cold

"I am lawful, unlawful

"A duty, a fault

"I am often sold, dear,

"Good for nothing when bought;

"An extraordinary boon

"And a matter of course,

"And yielded with pleasure

"When taken by force."

Alice thought for a moment, doing her best to ignore the twitters of the park attendants that had spotted her and Boris together and were now directing kissy noises at the two.

Kissy noises. Suddenly, it clicked. "A kiss?"

His grin stretched wider. "That's right. But I told you to give me the answer." His slit-pupiled eyes gleamed with laughter, and he leaned in expectantly. "Aren't you gonna give me the answer, Alice?"

"I should've known you would pull something like this," she snorted, and pushed him away. "Boris, you are a perverted cat."

"Aw, c'mon, Alice."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Just one kiss," he begged. "C'mon. I'll even take one on the cheek."

She couldn't hold back a laugh at his piteous expression. "No," she repeated, smiling in spite of herself. "And that's that."

"Alright," he agreed. To her astonishment, he settled back, and appeared to give up.

Suspicious. She cast a mistrustful look over at him. It isn't like him to give up so eas-

Catching her mid-thought, he pounced. She could hear the delighted squeals and applause of the faceless employees as he pressed a warm, chaste kiss to the side of her mouth. "'Yielded with pleasure when taken by force'," he reminded her smugly. Needless to say, she socked him in the face, and refused to talk to him for the rest of the week.