Weeks passed by agonizingly slow. Battler never let it slip through his mask, but he found he was getting frustrated with the feelings in his heart. His mind rationally told him to just forget about the whole thing, Mr. Ronove was a teacher for god's sake! Hell, Battler didn't even know he could be remotely attracted to men until Mr. Ronove popped up. He told himself it was just a phase, he was projecting romantic feelings onto Mr. Ronove for simply taking him back home, he was mistaking his teacher's kindness for affection, anything! Any excuse would work, really.

He didn't want to be attracted to him. Battler would much prefer falling for a cute, respectable girl. There were plenty in his school, some even in his class.

He found he looked forward to attending chemistry just to see Mr. Ronove more than he looked forward to conversing with girls. Which had never happened before.

Battler was finding out loads of new things, like how he thought that while the sweet, innocent smiles of some particular lady friends made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Mr. Ronove's smile literally shoved all coherent thought aside and made his heart leap to his throat. Nowadays, Battler could barely look at the man without feeling like he was melting.

The only good (?) thing that happened throughout these weeks were that Mr. Ronove didn't bring up the incident again. Whether if it was for the fear that he truly would lose his job, or something else, Battler didn't know. Maybe he was just being professional? Regardless, Battler was grateful; he didn't want to have to live through the embarrassment twice.

It was all going as normally as it usually does, but everyone's luck runs out at some point.

This point happened to occur when Battler made a visit to a nearby café, to spend some time (and money) with his sister. She had been complaining about wanting to go out, and Kyrie suggested going to get some coffee to combat the cold weather. Battler just couldn't leave her to fend for herself, not in these chilly conditions, so he offered to accompany her.

He regretted doing so when he saw the back of familiar, coiffed hair. His silent plea of, please don't see me please don't see me, went unanswered as Ange flitted over to him and asked, "Hey, you read Miss Hachijo's works, too?!"

Battler stood by the café door with bated breath, hoping that Mr. Ronove would ignore her so he wouldn't have to go over and remove Ange himself. Obviously, that didn't happen. Mr. Ronove looked taken aback at first, but then smiled warmly as he put his novel down and nodded. "Yes, I find her tales to be quite intricate and amusing."

"I thought I'd never find someone else who appreciates such quality work!" Ange took a seat in front of the man and continued jovially, "Which is your favorite book by her?"

To which as Mr. Ronove opened his mouth to reply, the teenage girl seemed to realize herself and lightly frown. She had an image to keep up, after all. This didn't go unnoticed, and so Mr. Ronove quickly changed what he was going to say. "Is something the matter?" He politely inquired.

Ange shook her head slightly, small pigtails swishing a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on your alone time. It's just nice to see some fellow fans. I must seem so weird," She laughed nervously. Then, she seemed to remember something and looked around the café. "Where's Battler...?"

"You can't mean Battler Ushiromiya, can you?"

"Yeah, you know him?" Ange confirmed as she twisted this way and that in her chair, growing more agitated when she saw Battler nowhere to be found.

"Yes, I'm his chemistry teacher. Are you related to him in some form?" Mr. Ronove peered over his cup.

Ange laughed. "Did the hair give it away?" Then, she spotted fiery spikes sticking out from behind the counter. She casually walked over and picked him up by the back of his collar, apologized to the staff, and brought him over to Mr. Ronove's table. Battler groaned.

"... I didn't know kids your age still played hide-and-seek," the teacher stared blankly at the pair, willing himself not to laugh.

Battler mumbled something under his breath as Ange patted his shoulder. "Yeah, sorry for weirding you out, but Mr. I'm-too-cool over here was probably just trying to escape," Here, Ange huffed and turned to Battler. "You know how much I adore Miss Hachijo, just let me have this conversation, ok?"

"Oh, it's perfectly fine, it's rare finding others with such good taste," Mr. Ronove winked.

"Right.. well I'm going to go get some coffee, like I intended in the first place. You'll have to put up with this student of yours for a few minutes," Ange patted Battler's head as she stood from her seat, leaving the two males behind.

Battler awkwardly stood to the side, not knowing what to say. He quickly slid into a seat when Mr. Ronove looked at him oddly; laughed to fill the silence but cringed when he heard how nervous he sounded.

Battler couldn't have been more embarrassed. In an attempt to make things less awkward, Battler began, "S-sorry, my sister isn't usually like this. She only gets hyped up about the things she's passionate about. I tried to stop her, but next thing I know she's gone over to you and had a whole conversation..."

"Sister, hm? The resemblance is uncanny. As I said, it's completely fine, I don't mind. I just... wasn't expecting it is all," Mr. Ronove somehow managed to look sheepish and elegant at the same time. Battler still doesn't know how he does it.

"You and me both," The teen leaned back in the chair, now finally taking note of the place that he wasn't trying to will himself out of existence. He observed that the café wasn't too crowded, nor deserted, and that calm music played overhead; most likely something indie. Ange brought over two cups, one smelling of cinnamon and the other a frothy, syrupy, sugary mess. Battler smiled gratefully at his sister and took his drink.

As Ange and Battler's teacher began discussing books, Battler tuned out and simply enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. He almost forgot his panicked state earlier, but then he had to ruin it by getting whipped cream all over his nose and having his teacher try to wipe it away for him.

Battler got flashbacks and moved away abruptly, chair squeaking on the tiled floor. Ange only looked questioningly between the two of them, taking note of Battler's spreading blush and Mr. Ronove's regretful expression.

"Ah, forgive me if I pushed the boundaries, Battler. I'll refrain from doing the sort again," The brunette retracted his hand and cleared his throat.

"N-no, it's fine! I just- wasn't paying attention and I guess it scared me..."

"Pfffft, Battler you're such a wuss," Ange grinned after taking a sip of her drink.

"Hey shut up, I'm older than you!" Battler ruffled her hair, knowing fully well how she hated that. As expected, Ange tried to dig her claws into his head, and dirty fighting ensued. Where Ange scratched, Battler bit. Mr. Ronove indulged in watching in amusement for awhile, but then came to his responsible, adult-like senses and separated the two.

"Now, now, we're in public, children. Please don't tell me this is how you act at home."

"Nah, usually we're full-on wrestling by this time. We do know a little self-restraint, Mr...?" Ange flicked her brother in the nose for good measure, then turned towards the other.

"Ah, it seems I still haven't properly introduced myself, have I? I'm Mr. Ronove, pleased to make your acquaintance," he stuck a gloved hand out, to which Ange assertively shook.

"I'm Ange, Battler's sister. Maybe I'll get to take your class in the future!"

"I do hope you won't follow in your brother's footsteps and actually pass the class," Mr. Ronove gave a meaningful look to Battler.

To this, Ange loudly gasped. "You mean to say Battler lied and said he's passing? Oh my, Battler, can you imagine what Mom and Dad would say?" The sister put a hand to her rosy lips. "It'd be a shame if you couldn't go to Lucifer's party..."

Battler was speechless for a few seconds, seemingly trying to not pointedly glare at his teacher but failing, before turning to his sister and preparing his (ego-crushing) begging.

"Ange, please, I'll buy you that rare book by that Hachijo lady that you've wanted so much!"

Ange made a noncommittal noise as she looked at her nails. "That's all?"

That's all?! Battler barely had enough money to afford that, what else could he offer? He looked to his teacher for help, but while Mr. Ronove had his eyebrows raised, he seemed content enough to watch. Battler growled. "And I'll do the dishes for a week."

Ange looked up, interest piqued but not giving in just yet. Battler sighed in frustration. "Fine, two weeks."

Now her eyes sparkled though she tried to keep her face neutral. She stuck a dainty hand out, and as Battler reached to take ahold of it, she pulled back abruptly. "Throw in some tutoring and you have yourself a deal."

The teenage boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Why would you need tutoring, especially from someone like m- oh," Battler stopped once he noticed the look on his sister's face. "I'll get Mr. Ronove to tutor me," He corrected, glancing over at his teacher to find the brunette grinning slyly at him.

"Deal!"

Just what had he gotten himself into?