A/N: Suddenly, a random update appears! It's been what, two or three years? If you are interested in why exactly I am updating all of a sudden, head on over to my LJ for Nabari no Ou. The URL is nyanja14(dot)livejournal(dot)com . In fact, you should head over there anyway, because if you read my fanfic on there you get to see the ~~pretty images~~ I have accompanying it. A few more updates will be appearing throughout the day, and once I hit 20, these will be up on my livejournal as well.

017: TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

He stretched his arm out, reaching as far as he could, but his fingers still just barely touched the shelf. He gave up and frowned. He already had a nice stack of books, but he really wanted to read this one. It was just his luck that it was tucked away on the top shelf. Maybe if he found another step stool and stuck it on top of this stool...

"Do you need help, sweetheart?"

He jumped and spun around at the interruption, nearly falling off of his perch. An older woman with a line-etched face smiled down at him. Sweetheart? He stared at her for a moment before blinking and remembering her question. "Yes, please."

She moved close and he couldn't help but stiffen. But the woman didn't touch him- she just reached up and brushed her fingers against the book's spine.

"This one?"

He nodded and she tugged the book out and handed it to him.

"Thank you," he said, clamoring off of the stool and stacking the book with his other selections.

"Is you family new to town?" the woman asked suddenly.

He froze, still bent over the books. "...No," he answered cautiously.

The woman noticed his discomfort. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that I work at the school, but I don't recognize your face."

He relaxed, but only a little. It was a small town with only two schools, so her explanation made sense. Still, he couldn't help but be nervous towards any stranger that loomed over him. "I'm sick," he explained, providing the answer that his father had drilled into him ever since he turned six. "So I study at home."

The woman glanced down at his library books skeptically. "You study trigonometry?"

He flushed. He had hardly grown at all in the last few years, so he knew he didn't look his age. Tsukasa was a head taller than him now. He'd never stood close enough to any of his other step-siblings to measure himself against him, but he knew that there were all older and taller than Tsukasa.

"I like math." He hefted the books off the floor, clenching them to his chest. "Thank you," he murmured again before walking towards the checkout counter.

"Have a nice day, sweetheart."

That word again. He paused and turned to look at the woman. She smiled and a waved a little at him. He dipped his head in an awkward nod and then forced himself to continue forward.

No one had ever called him that before.