Hi guys. Sorry its been so long, but I have one hell of a reason. My step-dad decided that it would be really amusing to all involved if he chased me out of the house with a baseball bat, screaming about my having the child of Satan. (He's a Catholic fanatic, and I mean bad.)

So I had to move everything over to my fiancé's house, meaning I had to sneak back to the house while he wasn't there to go get my things. And I still haven't got everything. (sigh.) I'll keep writing, don't worry, but it might not be up to par.

Hope you all like this chap. Thoughts are in these, just so you know.

Chap: gin and cassocks

Around eight that morning, Chrono showered and changed clothing. His morning routine was much shorter now thanks to his morphic abilities. If he didn't want to mess with his hair, he simply made it shorter, no fuss, no mess, and no barber required. It really was a blessing. Three feet of hair was a hassle early in the mornings.

Granted, Rosette was usually there every morning to brush his hair out for him and re-braid it. She loved to mess with his hair, even going so far as to try a curling iron on him. Three nearly permanent burn scars on his ears later, he convinced her to never touch one of those things again.

He smiled at the memory, then sighed. He missed her. It had only been one day and night without her and he missed her. This was getting pathetic. The devil finished dressing and knocked on the door for the elder to let him out. The faint burn of the barriers faded from his senses as they came down, letting him stretch out his aura. (Much like stretching your arms after being cramped in a small box.) He walked out into the morning sunshine and blinked at the bright light. His full demon eyes were much more sensitive than his normal sight, so he had to be careful how long he stayed outside.

The elder smiled in greeting, handing him a hot mug of coffee. "Ready to face the tiger?"

"Oh yes, lets," he replied, sarcasm lacing his tone. He downed the hot brew gratefully in two gulps, murmuring a "wuss" under his breath as the elder cautiously sipped his. The man slipped two bagels out of a coat pocket, handing them over to Chrono. He took them with a smile. Finishing their breakfast, they both walked off for the infirmary to find Rosette.

People couldn't help but stare as they walked the abbey grounds. The tall imposing demon was one of Pandemonia's most powerful and deadly creatures, and his fierce grace left more than one sister drooling. The elder walking beside him looked rather small as they headed inside. Glancing around at the nervous milita that lined the halls, Chrono sighed quietly.

The elder heard his friend, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh. Its just—I never feel like I could belong here, you know? This is so different from everything expected of me, and it does bug me from time to time that I'm still stared at. Do they think I'm from the moon or something?" he said, embarrassed habit making him scratch the back of his neck.

"Chrono, you are a good demon. Technically speaking, that's an oxymoron. Especially to everyone around here, who've all been trained that all devils are evil."

"I suppose you're right. Still bothers me though."

"It's only natural. Don't worry so much. Rosette thinks you're fine the way you are, and she's the only one that really matters, right?"

Chrono found a smile. "Right." The devil smiled nervously as he reached the door to the infirmary. Would she be okay after his night in the barriers, or would she mad at him? He glanced in, checking out the scene. Four girls were playing cards, and from the look of things, Sister Claire was cleaning the floor with everyone. Rosette was sitting still for once, frowning intensely at her cards. "Um, hi, Rosette."

Rosette looked up from her cards, a truly happy smile coming over her face. "Chrono! You're here!" She leapt up from the side of the bed she sat on and hurried over to him. Stopping just a few feet from him, she grinned outright. "Got to admit, I'm glad to see you. Are you okay? No one's giving you a hard time are they?" She clenched one fist and shook it at the elder. "I hear that even one person is making trouble for him, and I'll beat them like a rented mule."

"Uh, no, Rosette, I'm fine," Chrono said, his tone placating. She gave him a disbelieving look. "No really! I've actually had"-he hesitated to say 'a good time'-"a pretty decent time. I did find out that the elder stinks at poker," he said as he walked over to where a few of the other nuns were sitting. The girls immediately parted and made room for him, one even going so far as to deal him into the game of gin.

Rosette started in surprise. "Huh? He does! Then how come I've never beaten him!"

Chrono smothered a laugh, "Its called"—

"Admiring the female form, my dear!" The elder chimed.

-"distraction strategy," the demon finished with a dry look at the old man's retreating back as he left the room. "You could probably beat the pants off him, if you could ignore his shenanigans."

"I'll pass," she said with a shudder as she sat back at the table. A few rounds into the game, she looked back up at him. "You know, you didn't answer my question. Are you really okay?"

He smiled over his cards as he brushed some hair from the side of his face. "Yeah, I'm alright. It takes more than a curse to get me down. And you?"

"Same here," Rosette nodded with a smirk. Inwardly, her knees were knocking. 'Oh my lord, he's too hansom. That smile should be labeled as a lethal weapon.'

The devil felt a slight rush of heat in his cheeks as his eyebrows went up in surprise. "Um, thank you."

Two girls at the table looked at him oddly. "For what, Chrono?"

He ducked his head reflexively in shyness. It was so odd to be called hansom. "Rosette, she just, um—said I was"—

Rosette looked up, slight confusion written on her face. "Huh?"

"You called me hansom."

She looked at him oddly. "No I didn't."

He frowned, "But I heard you." He glanced at the other girls in the room. "Didn't you all hear her say that?"

"No," Sister Elizabeth replied. "She didn't say anything."

Chrono flushed all the way to the tips of his ears, slouching into his chair in embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry, must be hearing things. Sorry." 'Yeah, more like wishful thinking. Blasphemous wishful thinking. No way would she really find a devil all that attractive. I look a little human, but c'mon. There's no way.'

"Chrono, just because I didn't say it doesn't mean its not true," Rosette said worriedly. "I"—she blushed—"I think you are hansom, devil or not." She gave him a small shy smile as the other girls giggled and nodded in agreement.

He smiled as well. "Thank you." 'God she's pretty when she smiles.'

Rosette froze in her seat, blushing like a tomato. "You—you think I'm pretty?" she said softly, surprise lacing her tone.

Chrono started up from his cards. "What? Me?" She nodded. "I didn't say anything." 'Not out loud. Right?

"Well, I didn't say you were hansom out loud before either."

Chrono stared at her like she had finally gone round the twist till an odd understanding seemed to spread across his face. "Wait a minute. Either? What do you mean either? Were you thinking I was hansom earlier?"

"Yes, but I didn't say anything!"

"And I didn't say you were pretty out loud either! But you heard me. You heard me in my own head." He stared at her. 'Rosette, can you hear me?

Of course I can hear you, you're talking to me.

He shook his head. No, no. Look at my mouth. Are my lips moving?

She stared. No. She suddenly reached up to touch hers. Mine aren't either, are they?

No, they aren't.

Then we're both……reading each other's mind?

I think so. He cursed a black streak in his head, apologizing profusely afterward at her shocked look. "I do believe that we now have curse phase number two."

Three hours and a lot of experimenting later, they came to these conclusions. Rosette and Chrono could read each others' minds, and only each others'. And they could hear the other's thoughts from anywhere, no matter how far, or what barriers lay between them.

This was a bit of a plus for the two friends, as they had sincerely missed each other. Both of them had to share smiles as they left to their own respected rooms later on that evening. Now they could talk as long as they wanted. They caught up on the days they'd been away from each other, telling about the various problems and embarrassments of the day. Rosette told him about poor Azmaria and her last encounter with a cute choir boy named Sven, and Chrono got to tell her about the things a cassock can do if the wind was blowing the right way.

But, the power didn't exactly allow them to choose which thoughts they could hear. Chrono got to hear a massively embarrassing one-sided conversation in the girls bathroom as the girls were getting ready for bed before Rosette learned he was listening. She nearly blasted his mental ears with shouting till he managed to explain that they couldn't control it well enough to stop from hearing certain things.

Night fell, and both of them shared the hope that the touching phase was over with now, with this other phase in effect.

No such luck.

Cassock: the long robe a priest or monk wears, like what Remington wears. Now imagine a stiff wind in the wrong direction……….

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