Lord Cynic: "Eh. This is my attempt to write a shortish fluff. I pondered whether to add more, but I'd probably lose the effect I was aiming for if I did. Still, if you want it, I'll try to provide it.

My other stories are still in progress. I'm thinking I've got the songs I need to write the next chapter (Rosette and Chrono have their first encounter, yay). Other than that, there's one-shots still processing in my mind. I do have slight writer's block, though, so bear with me.

I guess I got inspiration for this from kyanightdragon's story "Harmless". I haven't copied it though, just got an idea from it. Gee, original, aren't I? (Sarcastic cough)

Oh, one more thing. I finally got my first volume of the manga last Friday. Hah, so many classic moments already (who wouldn't look like Chrono does if the person you were with suddenly lifts a slot machine into the air?). Ah… still, it'll be at least a month until I can try to get volume 2. Blah!

Lord Cynic: "I don't own Chrno Crusade. All hail Daisuke Moriyama!"

Pointy-eared Passenger

Another early morning mission, another irate Rosette outburst.

"Damnit! I haven't gotten a proper good night's sleep in three days!" the 'good' sister cursed, twisting and turning the steering wheel to avoid hitting a car. "Doesn't Sister Kate know that a lack of sleep is unhealthy, maybe even lethal?"

Gentle snoring aroused her from her grumbling, and she turned her head to stare at the other inhabitant of the vehicle (which had long been dubbed as another junker). The demon boy beside her dozed contently, oblivious to her complaining. His closed eyes were covered partially by the violet hair that threatened to trip him if it grew any longer, braids or not, and the pointed ears that protruded through it twitched and wriggled involuntarily. Those same ears were the only thing that prevented people from thinking he was really a demon, rather than a pleasant, kindly young boy. Rosette didn't care if he belonged to a race of bloodthirsty, soul-sucking, hideous monsters. He was simply Chrono, her companion, her confidante, her support. Besides, he was much better looking than the rest of his kind...

Rosette nearly crashed the car into the back of a truck as her face flushed embarrassedly. Did she just think that about her friend of over four years? No, of course not, that'd be stupid. She'd never have those types of thoughts, even if he were unbelievably cute in his sealed form and yet strikingly handsome in his true form. Ack, stop it, Rosette Christopher! He's your colleague, nothing more, so stop thinking about how adorable his face looks with his rounded cheeks like that.

"ARGH!" she screamed, nearly slamming her foot down on the accelerator and crashing into the idle truck she'd so far managed to avoid. She immediately slapped a hand to her mouth to prevent any more sudden frustrated outbursts, and apprehensively glanced over at her slumbering partner. He hadn't budged an inch; on the contrary, he simply snuggled further into his seat, despite it being as hard as a rock and as cold as one of Sister Kate's glares.

Rosette furrowed her eyebrows, wondering how on earth he could be comfortable, but painfully remembered his sleeping arrangements within the Order. It had taken a lot of convincing from Rosette to persuade Sister Kate to let him stay. However, while he was more than welcome to bunk with the Elder in his hut, the pungent, disturbing odour was less so. As a result, he often slept on the bench outside in the courtyard instead. It struck a chord in Rosette's nerves and sense of justice, but she knew she had to be grateful that Sister Kate let him stay at all. Still, it didn't mean she had to like it.

The bewildering early morning traffic progressed, testing Rosette's already thin patience. However, she didn't want to face Sister Kate's wrath if she became brash and tried to squeeze her bulky vehicle between a few cars. Tempting, yes, fun, possibly, prudent, maybe not, without consequence, keep dreaming. Besides, if she tilted the car too far to the right, Chrono could fall out of an open window. It would've been sweet revenge for when he had once chucked her out of a window of the convent into a lake. However, hitting a car is technically dissimilar to hitting water, especially when comparing fatal consequences. Something, probably her conscience, niggled inside her, though. Why should she care, if revenge was a delicacy for her?

A soft grunt brought her back from her thoughts, and she realised that Chrono was hugging himself in his sleep, possibly to warm himself up. Now that she was forced to think about it, it had definitely gotten chillier in the car. Damn Chrono, that twerp, now she was shivering from the early morning Antarctic-like temperatures. However, when she balled her fists to whack him in frustration, she noticed a tranquil smile on his dormant face. For the life of her, she couldn't comprehend how her anger had then vanished in less than it took to eat lunch. On the other hand, she couldn't deny that he looked just like a little puppy, curled up like he was. All he needed was a leash and a furry tail and he'd be like a pet...

She smiled as she again remembered how different Chrono was from his own kind. True, at times in his true form he was vicious, brutal, and even merciless, but only to his enemies. Most of the time, just like now, he was docile, gentle, and even childish (ironically). The evident pleasure he was experiencing from Rosette's ear-scratching only served to reinforce that fact, as did the soft but delighted whimpering he was starting to emit from his throat. Wait, what? Whimpering? Wow... that was something she didn't know he was capable of. Well, he did whimper when she threatened to beat him to a pulp, but not this type of whimpering. It was... most unlike Chrono the Sinner.

The traffic started to pick up again, and Rosette nearly jumped out of her habit when a horn blared behind her. Finally ceasing the ear scratching, she apologised hurriedly to the irritated driver behind her and placed her foot on the accelerator. The 'junker' coughed and spluttered slightly ("Piece of junk," muttered the blonde exorcist) but eventually started and trundled along behind the wide load that was the truck still in front of it.

Meanwhile, even though the ear scratching had stopped, Chrono was still drooling. It would be a while until Rosette realised that, but not long afterwards until a certain demon was kicked through the open window into a river.