A&L v 2.0 Ch 4, somehow masquerading as Ch 5 in Ais's document folder.

--Plays air-guitar to Saliva—Oh! Hi! I'm in a totally random mood again. Am I ever NOT? Anyways, the large portion in italics was written by Hyde. Yall remember Hyde? Amon Acquires A Nuisance? Professional Censor of Ais's Language, Eater of Lima Beans, Official Caretaker of Royal Cowpit, Second in Command to Ais the Mother Goddess of the Ficness? Yup. As it is, on with it.

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"Do you want any espresso?" Robin asked. "Or coffee? I could make some."

"Yes. Coffee is fine."

Robin was an expert in coffee and espresso making. She got down her Melita coffee press and special long coffee spoon. She poured filtered water into her special coffee-water-boiling whistler kettle, and lit the stove with her Craft (her favorite part). She reached for her normal Dark Roast Whole Bean Coffee, but this was a special occasion. Amon actually paid attention to another human (or Witch?) for once! So instead she got out her extra special Gevalia whole-bean coffee, which was very expensive, only sold by the Gevalia coffee company at Christmas, aged to its pinnacle of perfection, and drunk once a year by the Swedish royal family at Christmas Eve dinner. As you can tell, this was the equivalent of a really good brandy or a well-aged wine to her. She happily rinsed out the coffee grinder.

In case you were really wondering, this is what a coffee grinder sounds like: chkchkchkgRRRIIIIIrrrRRRchchchRRrRrRggRRRiIiIIIIIIIRRRRiiichkchkchkrrr!!!!!!!!!!

Yup. No kiddin'. One of Ais's best sound effects.

Amon stuck his head into the kitchen. "I am not particular about my coffee. You can use pre-ground if you want."

Robin shuddered.

"…or not…" Amon went back to pacing in the living room and finishing off the rest of his lunch.

Robin had a method for making coffee entitled T-P-P-B: Twiddle-Plunge-Pour-Bring. After the water had boiled and sat with the coffee grounds in the Melita press, she stirred it with the coffee spoon and slowly pushed down on the plunger. This took care of the Twiddle and Plunge elements. Now she got down two pure white cups and saucers and completed the Pour element, afterwards setting them on a tray for the Bring element.

"Amon?" Robin asked, and set the tray down on the coffee table and quickly sweeping away the remains of lunch, neat freak that she was. "What are you doing?"

Amon waved violently for silence and continued to speak into the communicator. "No… no, I didn't hear anything, Michael… like I said, the—uh—assignment will take longer than I thought… If anyone wants to know, that's where we are."

After Amon put the communicator away, they sat in silence for a moment.

"Amon?" Robin ventured. "Why can't you just admit that you're at my house because you can't do laundry?"

"Mutter," Amon… yeah, muttered. And, taking up his coffee cup and turning the other way, he (you guessed it) began to brood silently and darkly. He wasn't supposed to be here; it was Touko's apartment too. Touko had loved him, and he guessed that a long time ago he had loved her back. But… things had changed. (Hyde cues violins)

And Touko had known it. It had been the last straw. See, this is what had really happened. Ais and Hyde, to Amon's great distress, went into Investigative Reporter Mode and managed to find the real story:

Touko sipped the drink and then set it on the counter. As her back was turned to Amon, she set her face in one of firm resolve.Turning to face him, her resolve melted.

Amon (actually) noticed her inner turmoil and said, "What's wrong, Touko?"

"Amon, it's just..." her voice faded. She told herself she had to go through with it, but her mouth resisted the words that had formed many times in her mind as she prepared for this.

"What, Touko?"

She turned her face away, then turned back, a hint of pain in her eyes, yet the look was gentle. She had to do it gently.

"Amon, I can't go on this way," she said quickly with heavily expelled breath, trying to get it out before she failed again.

"What do you mean?"

Having gotten that far, she now stumbled. "I...it's just...it's the...well, the laundry and the dishes and the housecleaning. Amon, I can't handle it all anymore!"

"Touko..." Amon said, trying to calm her. Now that she had gotten going, she was starting to get riled up.

"No, Amon, listen. I have my own housework and dishes and laundry. For Pete's sake, Amon, I was hoping not to have to wash laundry for two until I was married! Don't get me wrong, I don't mind helping you out. But this is too much."

"Touko..." Amon said again, not quite sure what else to say.

"Amon, you and me just aren't going to work out. The laundry, the Sullen Glares, the dishes, the brooding, the housecleaning, the love triangle…"

"Touko..." Amon said once again, feeling quite at a loss, though he of course did not show it.

"Call me when you can do a load of laundry, or when you get a dishwasher," She said, letting a hint of sarcasm creep into her voice.

"Fine, Touko, go." He said with quiet anger, giving her a shallow yet intense Sullen Glare Calculated to Figuratively Freeze Your Pants Off.

"Amon, I'm sorry," she said, wishing there was more she could say.

"Don't be," he said darkly, averting his Sullen Glare to the window and switching it to one Calculated to Melt All Windows Within Ten Miles.

"Good-bye, Amon. I....I'm sorry." She started for the door, then turned back. "Please, I still...I just...only...don't mistake me, I..."

"I won't." he said firmly, darkly, still facing the window.

"Good-bye." A tear ran down her cheek. Amon remained sullenly silent.

"I...love you, Amon."

"Don't say that," he said, turning and fixing her with a Sullen Glare Reserved For Those Who Look Down on Those Who Don't Have Dishwashers.

She turned and fled.

Amon turned back to window and darkly and sullenly glared a Glare That Fries All Pigeons In the Near Vicinity.

Love triangle… brooding…sullen glares…huh!

BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Screamed the washer.

"AMON!" Robin cried for the fourth time, as Amon was jerked uncomfortably back to the present from the kindly-provided, strategically-placed, Ais-fueled flashback with added violin music provided by Tsu, abruptly dragged in by the ear and relegated to the roll of tape-recorder operator (as Hyde had a sudden Butter Pecan Ice Cream craving)… ANYWAYS…

"Yes?"

"Do you want more coffee?" He realized she was standing there holding the Melita press.

"Yes," he said, and stood up to see if he could actually do something with the washer.

"See if the load in the dryer's dry."

And although Amon didn't show it, he was very proud of himself. For he had started the dryer all by himself this time.

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That, my friends, was one of the Flashback Chapters in which nothing much happens.

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AnimeReviewer790: Once again, thank you much. I'm trying to get half of it up before my birthday on the 19th.

Kanno: No, I took the original down. Sorry! –ducks under table—No kill! I have a high heeled shoe and I know how to use it! Yup, I've got a laptop. And you can't have it. Mwahaha. But you can have the desktop… (Its name is Stegosaurus, if that tells you anything) Glad you liked it! Oh, and the original is basically this, except I wasn't in my right mind at the time I wrote it, apparently. Now I shall stop talking.

FDF: Yes, the anthropomorphic stomach. One of my more interesting moments. :P

St Earns: Yes. Poor Robin. Poor abused ibuprofen bottle. Yes, Claus is a C Claus. It fits him better. :D

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shameless plug Yes, see, I have this other fanfic for the Noir section. It's a sort of parody. And you don't have to know anything about Noir except that there are many random henchman with the same character design who get bumped off using one bullet by a Japanese high school girl and a professional assassin from Corsica. See? Go read! Mwahahahahaha. /shameless plug

Yes, yes, I know. I just thought I'd try it. :P

-----Ais