Disclaimer: I own Chrono, yes I do! I'm a liar, how 'bout you!

Author's Note: See chapter one or chapter seven.

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Ticks of the Clock

Smile

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"And which one is that, Chrono?"

"That's Draco."

"Draco? Isn't that a dragon?"

"Yes, Rosette, very good- Draco is the dragon."

"Hm. . ." She cocked her head in the darkness, leaning back on her palms and kicking her feet to an unheard rhythm off the edge of the small cliff. "Doesn't look like a dragon to me. Only a line. . ."

The devil beside her nodded in understanding, still pointing out the constellation with a clawed finger. "That's what a lot of people say. You need to use your imagination to see it."

"Humph," the girl snorted, staring up at the velvety twilight sky. "You'd need a really good imagination to make a dragon out of that."

He chuckled, violet locks twisting in a gentle breeze. "Well, the ones who named these stars and designs had to have really good imaginations. They existed in a time where books didn't exist."

"What?" Rosette stiffened, startled and highly alarmed. "No books? Geez- I don't think Joshua could have lived back then!"

As if he had overheard, the boy sleeping under a nearby tree gave a loud snore. His sister clamped her hands over her mouth when he did so, reminding herself to keep quiet. Again, Chrono laughed softly; his eyes glittering in the starlight. The girl blushed, looking highly indignant.

"Well, it's true. . ." she pouted a bit, though she sounded rather amused. "I don't think I could have, either. I don't have that good of an imagination. The only sort of symbolic thingy I can really see in the sky is the moon."

This time, the devil tilted his face, intrigued. "Oh, really?" he inquired, interested. "What symbol is that? The man in the moon?"

"Nah," she shook her head, scooting closer to the demon and tugging on his sleeve. "I'll tell you what I see." She waited until he glanced down at her-

And then grabbed the corners of her mouth, pulling her lips back in a very toothy grin.

". . ."

Chrono blinked, taken aback.

The child giggled, releasing her cheeks and pointing towards the crescent moon. "Don't you see? It's a smile!"

". . . ?" He stiffened slightly, shooting the girl a thoughtful look. ". . .I never noticed that before. . ."

A good-natured snicker met his pointed ears. "Well, now you have. And it's like the angels and God are always watching us- so even if you're having a sad day, there's always someone smiling for you! Even if God can be unfair. . ." She scowled for a moment, and then beamed widely up at the sky once more. "So it helps make you happy again. At least, it helps me."

Chrono glanced at the girl leaning against him in mild surprise. . . and then, for the first time, truly grinned in return. "I think it'll help me, too."

(Note: What! This is unacceptable. I just read in Manda-chan's newest fic's AN that she had a depressing birthday. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. And so, I wrote for you this ficlet. . . Which was also partly inspired by your new fic, which was very cute. XD Happy birthday! I hope you feel better!)