"Ahh, come on! I'm not in the mood to serve a whole gang of kids ten minutes before closing!" The ice cream shop owner chewed the squad out instead of offering nice, cool, ice cream.

Luciano procured a hefty sum of money, and waved it back and forth. "What? Not even in the mood for paying customers?"

The man grumbled, "Well, usually, your kind struts in, expecting me to just give my shit away!"

"We don't want your shit. We want gelato. Are you going to make us some, or not?"

Another drawn out, "Ahh. What'd'ya want then, you rascals?"

The hoard of teens ambled down the town's walkways, cold desserts in hand, and smiles (or what could pass as smiles) on their faces. That day was most likely the last warm one for the remainder of the year, as time moved so fast, so it would be a great lost to not enjoy it. The ice cream was their victory treat.

Matt shook his head after Siegmund signed, or attempted to with one hand occupied. "No, I wouldn't go there. You don't know my brother."

"What?" Allen said at his summoning. Kuro hurried to keep up with their long legs, and tried to eat at the same time.

"Siegmund says there's no way you can eat all that."

Allen threw his head back, and cackled. A passerby swerved onto the shoulder of the road just to avoid them. Siegmund smirked, undaunted, and signed again. "What'd he say?"

"That includes the rest of his, too. If you don't finish the both of your sundaes, you will have to..." Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"Streak," Lutz put in with his own rumble of laughter. "Allen will have to streak through the dining hall during dinner time. That's when it will be the busiest."

Everyone's heads pivoted to Allen apprehensively eyeing Siegmund's ice cream. "Yeah, but when I eat all this, you gon' to have to do it! How 'bout tomorrow evenin'?"

Siegmund made a crude gesture. Matt translated, "He looks forward to it."

"You better!" Allen baited. His unoccupied hand brushed another. He assumed it was Oliver beside him, so he eagerly grabbed it. However, Oliver was on the other side of him, poorly stifling his laughter as Kuro's face grew flushed and horrified at the same time. The black haired boy ripped his arm away, exclaiming in his mother tongue, and hustled to Lutz's and Luciano's side. When Allen loudly laughed at his own mistake, he threw a glare over his shoulder. The baker offered his palm, which the other teen wanted in the first place.

Lutz started to snicker, catching on what happened from Kuro's embarrassment. The deep laughter built up higher as the other teen's ears grew redder. "Shut up," Kuro warned. His friend did not quiet, so he shoved him. Although Kuro was certainly smaller, the sudden tackle surprised the blond, who stumbled to the side. Allen ran into him, shocked by the attack, too.

"Whoa, little guy-" Lutz twisted around to see what jammed into his back, ultimately knocking the plastic container of ice cream and fruit from Allen's hand.

"No!" Allen screeched, breaking from Oliver, and feebly scrambled for his dessert. The bowl bounced off his arm, and splattered to the sidewalk. "No!" He cried again, falling to his knees before the mess.

Everyone stopped and turned from the sound of plastic clattering against concrete. Siegmund was the first to react, doubling over in laughter, and waved his own bowl at his brother so he would not drop his, too. He even pointed at Allen, trying to signal, but failed miserably, as he had to clutch onto his stomach from laughing too hard.

Oliver started to giggle as well, earning a betrayed look from Allen. "No, no!" The other teen spat, jabbing a finger at the melting mess. "That doesn't count! Lutz made me drop it!"

"I did not make you do anything."

Luciano sang, "Someone is going for a breezy run!" Kuro seemed pleased with the outcome. He popped a spoon full of ice cream in his mouth to prevent smiling stupidly.

"It doesn't count!" Allen tried again. He picked up the bowl, salvaging some gelato that did not spill onto the walk way.

"Not unless you eat that, too," Lutz pointed to the ice cream left on the ground. "That's more than half of the bowl you left on the sidewalk. Unless you plan on eating it, you have to own up to the challenge."

"How 'bout you streak?!" Allen barked. "You knocked my ice cream out o' my hands!"

"You let your own ice cream get knocked out of your hands."

"You were in the way!"

"You could have stepped around," Lutz easily replied.

"I could not!"

"Streak!" Luciano cheered. "Streak, streak, streak!" His brother nodded in tune to his chanting.

Matt asked, "You are going to back out of a bet? You lost. Own up to it."

"I..." Allen glanced at all the pairs of eyes boring into his. "I'll do it! I ain't no lame loser!"

"Good," Luciano said, so cheekily. "Tomorrow, after we drop off those guns. I'm sure that pawn shop will give us something worth more than college text books."

Across the street, the fence started to run along side the group. "We are here," Kuro announced. "Will any of those boys be around?"

Lutz flicked the front latch up, and shoved the gate open. "That would not be a wise decision on their part."

Luciano snorted, "It's time for bed, not time to lurk in bushes and plot revenge."

Several stragglers were still in the yard. Even the kids that were not involved moved away from the large group like dogs with their tails between their legs. Allen gaffed, "Look at 'em! I can see the lumps on their hands from where I whacked 'em!"

"Oh," Kuro piped up, "Allen-san can suddenly see in the dark."

"Huh-huh, yeah," the other teen dug the back of his head with his nails.

Miss Warden eyed the group suspiciously, but did not say anything verbally. She had said she tended to leave the inhabitants to solve their own problems, after all. Luciano stopped the gang at the intersection upstairs. "We did good today! It's nice for everyone to know what they're doing together. We have nothing to fear from those idiots."

"Wow," Allen asked, "are you complimentin' us?" Lutz and Kuro glared at him, but he remained blind to their sour looks.

If Luciano understood the underlining tone, he did not allow it to bother him. "Would you like to keep a journal?"

Flavio broke out in a wide yawn, interrupting his brother. "I am going to get some beauty sleep now. Looks like everyone else needs it, too. We're still not done with this shit."

Matt watched Luciano turn to his bedroom. "I don't expect those guys to let this drop so easily."

"We aren't either," Flavio reminded him, "but they should think twice about retaliating."

"You expect 'em to think?!" Allen chortled. Matt gave him a blank look. "Whatever, man. I'm not dealin' wit' 'em anymore tonight."

Lutz and Kuro left quietly as soon as Luciano departed from the group. Flavio was eager to follow suit, leaving Matt to mumble, "Well, yeah...bed now." He jerked his chin in the direction of his bedroom, and Siegmund nonchalantly crept after him, leaving the other duo alone in the hall.

"Huh," Allen scratched his jaw thoughtfully. "You...you did that, right?"

"No, Allen. Siegmund had so much willpower, he sealed his wound with the power of friendship."

"It's magic voodoo stuff!"

"I know," Oliver said. "I have done it to heal Siegmund. He would have died if I didn't."

"How, though? I though magic was all illusions, perspectives an' shit."

"Not this kind. It comes from the spirit. I draw symbols of chalk to focus and amplify the effects." Oliver pressed closer, whispering excitedly, "Would you like to see how?"

Allen's eyes widened. "You...are you askin' me if I want to be a guinea pig to voodoo magic?!"

"N-not a guinea pig!" Oliver bristled. "I would never hurt you on purpose! I cannot anyway. The type of magic I use is for goodwill."

"I dunno, Ollie. That seems a little..."

"Nothing will happen if you just look at it." The baker insisted almost desperately, "Besides, I am going to scrub it off my floor, since I do not need it anymore."

"Hah, you rhymed," Allen let out a little chuckle, and shrugged. "Fine, I guess, since you want me in your bedroom that badly."

"Y-you were asking about it!"

Allen poked one of Oliver's inflamed cheeks. "Sure, babe. I don't wanna ruin my bro's lil' sleepover, anyway." He followed the other teen down the hall. "I'm just gonna crash on your floor or somethin'."

"That will not be necessary."

"What'd'ya mean?"

"It means what I said," Oliver jammed his key into its proper slot. "You will have a sore back if you sleep on the floor. Besides, it is getting cold again, and you can get sick if you do not have covers."

"Babe-"

"It is not like I take up that much room, anyway-"

Allen grabbed his shoulders to spin Oliver around, and roughly kissed him. The other boy tensed for a moment, and just as he eased against him, he pulled away to speak coherently, "You were babblin' again."

"Pardon me for worrying," Oliver grumbled, standing on his toes for more.

"But that's the thing, Ollie!" Allen tipped his head back so he could be heard. "Matt an' I had to do that on a nightly basis! We're used to it."

Oliver pinched Allen's jacket collar and offered, "You could get unused to it."

The smile the other cracked made his stomach clench. "Yeah! Maybe I could..."

A door opened down the hall, and someone peeked out, scowling at their embrace. "Hey. Hey! Knock that off!" The pair managed to pull their faces from one another to look at Kuro in surprise. He continued, "Do that somewhere else."

"We'll be quiet," Allen promised.

"No, you two are still going to be out here, and it will bother me."

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "That much?"

Kuro nodded.

"Uh...let's just get to bed. It's gettin' late," Allen suggested. With an odd glance to the teen down the hall, he pushed open Oliver's bedroom door, and they awkwardly shuffled inside. The hinges squeaked unnecessarily loud, and Kuro's door only shut after his did.

Oliver dug around in his dresser for night clothes to distract himself from the hot eyes on his back. "Can you put my blanket back on my mattress? The...thing is underneath it."

"The thing? Oh," Allen stared at the large circle for a tense moment before tossing the cover on the mattress, and kneeling to drag a finger through the chalk. "Huh. It doesn't do anything. This is what you used to...work on Siegmund?"

"The same thing. It is a healing insignia." Oliver shoved his clothes onto his dresser, hurried to the middle of the symbol, and settled in the smallest circle. "The caster goes here, while the injured will lay along the length of this other loop, and once they begin chanting the spell, the healing begins."

"Um...okay. That's cool, I guess," Allen stood up to wipe the powder on his pants. Oliver drew his legs to his chest, opting to glare at the drawing. "Are we gon' get ready for bed, or what?"

"I need to clean this up, first."

"I'll help!" Allen offered. "It'll get done faster."

Oliver would never understand the other boy. First he is a spooked by his magic, and now he is eager to clean up after it? "A-all right. Let me get some hand towels." After the large sigil was dutifully scrubbed away, he rose to his feet, swiping the back of his hand over his forehead. "Can you go out in the hallway for a moment?"

Allen surrendered his white infested cloth. "How come?" His eyes widened. "Are you kickin' me out?"

"What? No! I have to get dressed!"

"So?"

"Well," Oliver fiddled with the damp rags as he mumbled, "I usually do not have company when I am changing."

"Well, I usually don't stare at people changin'," Allen said in the same tone. He crossed his arms, and faced the opposite wall. "I'll turn 'round. See?"

"But...You better not look!"

Allen groaned, slapping his hands over his eyes. "Can't you use the bathroom?"

"I did not think of that." Oliver admitted. He went for the door, dropping the cloths in a dirty wash pile, but the light underneath the door suddenly flicked on. He automatically backed away when he remembered who was on the other side. "Oh dear, Crookednose is in there."

"That's shitty." Allen snorted, "You gotta sleep in the next room as him?"

A rancid retching sound broke through the wood. Oliver's nose crinkled as he scooted further back. "I have to listen to his frequent stomach pains, too."

"Huh, that's so weird. He's one of the biggest assholes in this place, yet he does that. It makes me wanna feel bad."

"Do not look!" Oliver reminded.

"Ugh! What's the big deal anyway?!" Allen straightened his glare on the other wall. "We got the same thing!" He gasped. "Unless, you're actually a chick the whole time!" The baker's trousers hit the floor, and the other boy made a noise of thought. "That wouldn't be so bad. Ladies are fine, too-"

Oliver squawked, "Do I look like I'm a woman?" He threw his arms around his bare torso when his company turned toward him. "Hey, I told you not to look!"

"You asked me if you look like a lady or not! I was gon' answer your question!"

"Well, turn around!"

Allen did, but unfortunately, it was facing Oliver, who gasped, and scrambled for his night shirt. "Jeez, what's up wit' that? Were you peeped on when you were a little kid, or what?"

"Was I what?!" The baker fumbled with the smooth fabric when one arm proved to be inside out.

"Did anybody creep on you when you were younger, or anythin'? I know some kids that got touched in some ways, so if that's what's up, it ain't wrong to feel bad 'bout it-"

"No, I was not touched like that." As the other teen crept closer, Oliver yanked his bed shirt closed before he could button it. "Did I not say-"

"You got scars? I got scars! D'you wanna see 'em?"

"P-put your shirt down!"

"They suck gettin' 'em, but afterwards, you got a cool story to tell!"

Oliver clenched the fabric closer, almost backing away as Allen approached, but did not want to hover by the bathroom, where he swore the pained sounds of sickness were still coming through. A nervous giggle escaped the best of him, "Quit it."

"You got some magic tattoos to summon stuff out of mid-air! Right? Is that it?" Allen held his arms out, waiting for an answer, but Oliver just shook his head again. He groaned with a heavy sigh, troubling himself to even throw his head back in a gesture of annoyance. Oliver sniggled again from the reaction, and quickly lowered his hands to work up his shirt buttons. "Fine," the other boy said, setting his gaze from the ceiling, "I'm just gon' have to find out myself."

"What?" Oliver jumped when his company lunged forward and grabbed for his shirt. "Hey, no!"

"Hey, yeah!"

"I just got those buttoned!"

"Stop squirmin'!"

"Stop grabbing me- ha-ha!"

"I ain't seein' anythin' up wit' you! Why you freakin' out?!"

A hard thump knocked the door from the other side. Both occupants jumped, gawking at the wood. However, there was no more reprimanding. They huddled closer to one another, shushing from shared embarrassment. Oliver began fiddling with his buttons again, and whispered, "I have trouble putting on weight."

"Is that it?!" Allen quietly exclaimed while he worked to undo his fastenings.

Oliver blinked in surprise from the grabby fingers against his stomach. "Isn't that a bad thing?" His father had always told him to bulk up, so he would grow big and strong. Since he never did, that must have meant he was neither, which was the worse case scenario. At least, that was what he had believed until Allen's shoulders rose with a quick shrug.

"I dunno. Matt says I eat all the time. I guess you got trouble puttin' on weight, and I got trouble keepin' it off!"

Brightening about the matter, Oliver jived, "You would think I would be well off, being around all those sweets!"

Allen seemed to enjoy that, too, letting off a deep giggle. The hand playing with the last of his buttons trailed underneath one of Oliver's arms, and around his back. "Come here," he coaxed the other into a tight hug to run his palms up and down the dips of his spine. "Mm, that's nice."

Oliver pressed his face against a leather clad shoulder, and gripped the material in encouragement at the zings running across his skin. Despite the garment being a size too big for Allen's lanky body, the constant heat radiating from him was enough for him to believe it was possible that if he pressed any closer to his company, he would (literally) melt into him. "I...I am a tad weird, Allen..."

"What, 'bout the voodoo stuff?" He felt Allen shrug against him. "Yeah, that may be a lil' weird, but if I think 'bout it, the fact that you can poof 'round town, an' miraculously heal Siggy...you're one o' a kind, Ollie. Bony or not." He gave Oliver's face a little nudge with his shoulder. "An' guess what?"

"How can I possibly guess what you are going to say?"

"Maybe when we grow up, we'll still like each other. You know, as men, 'stead of boys."

Oliver opened his eyes, able to listen to Allen take a sharp breath from his silence. He sniggled against his shoulder, assuring the other teen by squeezing his arm. "Gosh, I would hope so, too...dork."

"Shit, really?!"

Before Allen could get too excited, Oliver's neighbor let out another fretful cry.

"Oh, yuck." They eased from another with a distasteful glance to the paneling. "Y'know, out of context, you gotta feel bad fer him."

"We should move away from the door..." Oliver unwillingly pulled away from Allen's warm embrace to near his bed. "Do you have pajamas to change into? You should get them before you get too comfortable."

"I don't got any," Allen flopped on the foot of the mattress, and peeled off his sneakers. One of his socks had a hole in it, so his smallest toe peeked out, and wiggled to greet everybody. "No money to buy some, anyway. Not that I need 'em, since it aint' a big habit o' mine to sleep in beds."

"Still? Allen, you have been here almost a year now, if not more." Oliver could not imagine it, but he asked, "Are they uncomfortable for you?"

Allen wagged his head side to side, contemplating. "I said before, I ain't used to wakin' on up on a soft thing, an' without crazy people chasing me away. It's not the beds that are the deal, it's what happens after I'm in beds!"

Oliver scooted closer, and worryingly leaned against his shoulder. "What happens afterward?"

"Nothin' now, but it was so weird wakin' up on a soft thing an' without crazy people chasin' me an' Matt away."

"Why would they do that?!"

"Two rag tag kids lurkin' 'round? Who knows what they'd be up to. Could be sleepin', could be thievin'. They didn't know, and they didn't care. Eventually, we stopped carin', too." Allen twisted around after shrugging off his jacket, and slung it over the footboard. "So, we sleepin' or what?"

Oliver sighed happily at the prospect of rest. "Without your trousers, preferably."

"Whoa, you want me to take off my pants?"

"N-no! Just your trousers! It will be better for the both of us. Stop looking at me like that. I am not trying to be suggestive."

"You're the one implyin' suggestion." Allen leaped from the bed, and wiggled to kick off his jeans. Oliver growled unmenacingly, and threw himself underneath his covers. Before the other teen could peel a blanket back to join him, the baker snatched the sheets away, tucking himself in like a caterpillar cocooning himself. "Aw, come on!"

Oliver snuggled against his pillow, and let out a snooty noise instead of responding. When grabby hands nipped at whatever leftover blanket stuck out, he shifted and folded the cloth beneath himself, ignoring Allen's small pleas of, "Babe. Babe, come on." A heavy exhale made him open his eyes. He was about to pick up his head, and look over his shoulder, but he was suddenly squished into the mattress.

"What in the world?"

Allen wrapped his arms and legs around the boy posing as a bundle of blankets, and crowed, "This is fine, too."

"Oh, is it?" Oliver wiggled angrily, "I cannot move like this!"

"That's your fault fer hoggin' the blankets," Allen claimed, clutching closer to plant his lips on any exposed skin.

Like a frightened turtle, Oliver shrunk into the covers. "Stop that! Allen!" His uncontrolled giggles prompted the other teen to do anything but halt his attack. "Quit it!" He weakly warned as Allen grabbed any loose cloth, and tugged it away from him. One of his elbows were freed, and he jabbed his bedmate in the stomach.

"You quit it," Allen pinned the offending arm to its owner's side, and pulled the bed sheet from him. "Sharin' is carin'."

Oliver clasped the hand stealing his covers, twisting to get in his face. "I do not care." The other boy smiled, and kissed his nose, causing the both of them to falter to unstoppable laughter. The baker smacked his company in the chest several times as he used the opening to shimmy beneath the covers.

"Gotcha!" The other teen announced, wounding his arms and legs around Oliver, despite the small, unmeaningful protests.

Just when things quieted down, and Oliver closed his eyes to sleep, Allen started to rumble with more laughter. "What?"

"You should've seen us earlier, babe, wit' those dudes out there. To 'em, we came out o' nowhere, like, from the walls, an' we got 'em before the middle group even saw us."

Oliver made a weak noise of acknowledgement. He closed his eyes, but Allen kept talking, "We charged 'em all at once, it was great. They had no idea what they were doin', guns or not. Siegmund only got hit 'cause they suddenly piled on him. I guess they were in some sort o' panic, an' took whoever was closest. Like I said, he couldn't cry out fer us, an' I was the only one closest to him, an' the only thing I could do in that time was grab my gun, an' shoot the bastard that was jabbin' him in the leg..."

A rough hand grabbed Oliver's shoulder. "Ollie?"

"When people say they are going to bed, that entails sleeping, Allen."

"Aw, shit, but we hardly get all this time to just chit chat. Someone or somethin' always comes by an' bugs us."

Another nudge. Oliver lazily promised, "We will talk in the morning. Hush."

"Really?" Allen wreathed excitedly. With a noise of agreement, he gave Oliver a last squeeze before adjusting to less constriction. His contented sigh died into a worried grunt as the floorboard creaked. "What's that?" He pulled the cover up more. "Nuh-uh, I ain't the mood for ghost shit." Oliver was used to the sound of a nearby tree clattering against the side of the House, but his bedmate pressed closer with a low whine. "Ollie, did you leave behind some voodoo magic stuff floatin' around?"

Even if it was possible, Oliver was quickly falling asleep.