Whatever Flavio decided to do with this new found information, Oliver did not prioritize his worries toward it. Catching a fitful sleep by himself for what he hoped to be one of the last times, he locked the bakery, and furiously scratched chalk across the back foyer's floor. He could not help but laugh in glee as the teleportation circle formed from his movements. Matters were not made saner as Lila rooted him on with her own excited giggles.

"It is done!" Oliver announced, dropping the stick of chalk. He situated himself in the middle of the pattern of free lines, not caring for the chalk snapping on the floor. Lila shrunk against his scalp, making sure she was brought along, too.

There was a snap of motion from Oliver's chanting, taken for his insides to scramble around. The new room was tiled, and the smell of sweat and other disgusting fluids greeted them. When Oliver glanced behind himself, he noticed a toilet. Immediately, with an exclamation of disgust, he scrambled off of the bathroom stall's floor.

Lila shuddered, "Yucky!"

Oliver flushed the toilet, his freckled nose curled in disgrace. He scrubbed his hands vigorously at the double sink, and glanced at the words scratched into the bricked wall. "Based on the numbers and inappropriate drawings on the bathroom walls, I assume I am in a bar."

Opening the door, Oliver's suspicions were confirmed. Since it was still before noon, only the workers, and a few desolate people were around and about. The television sets were audible, showing antique auctions. The eyes trailed on the screen were more than delighted as a vase proved to be a goldmine.

Nobody significant was present. Oliver pelted outside, inhaling with a smile as fresh air greeted his lungs. He rounded the building twice, stopping to scratch his head. He was already growing hot from the sun's summer power.

Lila buzzed from her scout out across the street. "He's not here."

"Did my spell not work? If he is not here, why was I summoned here?"

The fairy tossed a distasteful look to the bar. "Maybe he was here recently, or he comes here a lot."

"I am not good at hunting," the man depreciated, "but at least I have others to do that for me." He patted his pocket for a stick of chalk, not wanting to go all the way across town the hard way. "Oh, drat, I lost my chalk somewhere. Come on, I need to get back to the bakery."

It was becoming late morning when he pushed open the front door, groaning in relief how he remembered to leave the air conditioning running in his absence. The baker trudged across the front room, passing the phone, since he needed water more at the moment. Lila lifted herself from his sweat-pressed hair, not as affected by the heat since she rode on his head the whole time. "Icky!"

Oliver guzzled the glass as he dialed on the phone. He tapped his foot as the line drawled, and it eventually picked up to a gruff, "Hello, who is it?"

"Oliver," all he said, throwing the glass back again.

"It's Oliver," the voice, which must have been Lutz's, was muffled, announcing to whoever was around him. "Do you need something?"

"I have a job for you three."

"What, today?"

"Today," Oliver quipped sharply. "As soon as possible."

"I have to make breakfast first," Lutz weakly dissented, "and wake up Luc-err, Feliciano."

The baker rubbed the condensation forming on his glass, and swiped the wetness on his forehead. Happy hour was not for several hours, so as much as he was impatient, jumping onto anything or anyone would not make time pass faster. "Oh, all right. Take your time, then, but please be here by four."

"You said please! We'll be there."

In the long hours, Oliver compiled an information folder as he usually did, but smiled for different reasons as the copy of a photo emerged from the printer. He tried resuming his knitting again, but his hands trembled too much. After wasting a few hours making sure his dwelling was spiffy, he headed downstairs.

Lila asked, "Can I have some sugar?"

"Absolutely not! You are in a tizzy as is!"

The fairy snorted, and swished a tiny hand. "Pssh! If anybody is in a tizzy, it's you!"

Oliver should have seen that one coming. He slapped the folder on the kitchen counter, and unbuttoned his sleeves to wash his hands.

His friend tried again, "How about some sprinkles?"

"How about you behave yourself?" The baker opened the fridge to dig around the bottom drawer.

"Ew! Carrots?! Why do you need carrots?!"

"Carrot cake," he simply said.

Lila gasped, "Oh! It'll smell all nice in here!"

"Good." During the baking time, Oliver confined himself to the front counter, drumming his fingers on the plastic surface.

"Woo, fun." The fairy cheekily mumbled. She sighed, and flopped on her side dramatically. "We're still waiting for those weird people to come in yet! Ugh!"

Oliver had agree with her, until movement ran along the front window. He gasped, straightening up as Feliciano grabbed the door, wildly gesturing for his companions to enter. The baker breezed around the counter, holding out his arms in greeting. The Italian bounced ahead of Kuro and Lutz, causing them to snap their heads to him in shock as he threw his arms around Oliver, who took his hug with great happiness. "Happy hello to you, dear Feli! I was beginning to be lonely!"

"Ve, you wouldn't have any pasta on you, would you?"

"I am afraid not."

"That's okay!" Feliciano let go so they could see face to face. "I ate some before I came here!" The others were quiet, staring at the duo with haunted glares. He reached out, making grabbing motions with his hands. "Would you like hugs, too?"

"They are very nice and warm!" Oliver sang, giggling when Kuro and Lutz backed away from Feliciano.

"Come on," the Italian flapped his arms, "it's just a hug!"

Lutz blurted, "Are hugs dangerous?" Kuro lifted his eyebrows, possibly wondering the same thing.

"Yes," Lila announced, "hugging is very bad! Once you hug, you can't ever stop."

Oliver covered his laugh with an agitated sigh. "You look like deer staring into headlights." He beckoned Feliciano toward them, further encouraged by the arm set behind his back as the other man caught onto what he was doing. "Let us go. I am enforcing this."

"Hugs!" Feliciano cheered. Both of them tackled the others as they had no other place to flee besides against the windows.

Kuro hissed between his teeth as Oliver's hand tapped his shoulder blades a few times. "Are the back pats really necessary?"

Lutz made a noise as if he were going to tear up, trying desperately not to cry. Feliciano claimed, "It's not so bad! It doesn't hurt!"

Based on the way the duo was acting, it did hurt. Oliver rolled his eyes, releasing his arm around Kuro's side. "Let them alone, Feliciano. They can be miserable and without hugs on their own."

Feliciano made a small, dejected, "Aww," and gave Lutz a reassuring pat before stepping away.

Kuro rubbed his jacket, as if he tried to banish the cooties infesting the black material. "You should warn someone before doing that!"

"That was weird," Lutz agreed, his face going red as Feliciano pouted. "Not bad! Or necessarily good! Just weird."

"Ollie," Lila tugged on the baker's hair. "What about the thing they were supposed to do?"

Oliver clasped his hands together, his voice rising at the end, "I suppose you fellows are here to pick up your next job?"

Kuro answered crudely before anyone else, "Yes, so instead of wasting our time, you should give us the paperwork, and we will be on our way."

Feliciano smiled uneasily. Oliver bit back, "Time enjoyed is not time wasted." He did not wait for a scathing reply, opting to flee to the kitchen. The baker turned on the oven light, spying on the carrot cake, but it was only halfway done. He snatched the folder, going back to the trio in the front room. "This job is unusual," he started, holding up the envelope for someone to take it. "For this target, I still want alive." Their expressions grew confused. He said more sharply, "Actually, it would be best if you did not harm him at all!"

Lutz snorted, "What's the point in that?"

Oliver gasped, slapping a hand to his chest. "It's personal! The target has recently been seen frequenting Miller's bar," he fibbed, going off a hunch he had, "so getting him to come back willingly should be easier than normal." His voice drooped as a wicked smile crept across his face. "He may be drunk."

The envelope flapped for attention, and Feliciano grasped it. "Can we still interact with people and things around us?"

Oliver's fit of giggles snapped off with a choked gasp. "That is what you are supposed to do. Do not tell me your group awkwardly stands there, watching the target! You have to act natural!"

Lila muttered, "I don't think Feliciano is natural."

Kuro was already halfway out of the bakeshop. "All right, let's go."

Oliver lamely scolded, "You leave every time I start telling you something!"

He swore he caught Lutz grumbling, "It is obvious why."

"Are you trying to be funny?!" The door shut behind Feliciano, who tossed a worried look over his shoulder through the glass. Oliver continued, "Because I hope you are not! Don't hurt the target!"

"Ollie, Ollie!" Lila yanked on a clump of auburn. "Calm down!"

The man flinched, and grumbled, glaring at the trio disappearing pass the side of the bakery. "I swear, I am going to cut them up, and put them in my cupcakes if they hurt him! Then, all their rumors would become true, just to spite them!"

"No, no! We already went over this! The batter would be all weird, and the cook times would be all messed up!"

Oliver took a leveling breath. "Oh, Lila, what if they hurt him? What if Allen fights them from a miscommunication?"

Lila was quiet for a quick moment, most likely making a silly face from her perch. "I'm sure they got the memo. They speak the same language, don't they?"

"Yes, they do," Oliver bit his lip, rubbing the back of his hands in an absentminded motion. "Oh, dear, what if he does not even want to come back? I have not thought of that!"

"'Oh dear' is right, Ollie. You're worrying too much. Allen would be really, really, really, really stupid if he didn't want to come back!"

Oliver clamped his hands on the side of his head. "He is stupid though!" He leaned on the counter with a groan, and slipped his palms to his face.

Lila relaxed from the invading fingers retreating. "You better not talk like that when he waltzes through that door!"

The baker's ears bit red, still hiding behind his palms. "Be quiet."

"Your cake is burning."

Oliver gasped, and flung himself from the counter to the kitchen. He ripped open the oven door, bending to stare at the unburning cake. Lila pushed away from the heat billowing into their faces, snickering mischievously. He straightened, slamming the door shut. "It is not!"

"Aren't you going to make an icing for it?"

"Oh, of course," he gave his head a little shake. The fairy watched him dig around the cabinets and refrigerator with a snicker. They both knew his mind had been on other things. He caught her sultry smile, and giggled, guilty. "If you want some of this icing, you have to help me."

"Sure, Ollie! What do you need?"

The cake rested on the stove top a while later, waiting for the final touches of its frosting. "How does it taste?" Oliver asked, holding the bowl so Lila could float down into it, and drag a finger across the walls. "Is it good?"

"Wow! As always, Ollie!"

"I should try then, too, right?" The baker copied the gesture, popping his finger in his mouth.

Lila grinned. "Good?"

"Of course!" Oliver sniggled, giving his hands a wipe. "I just need to let that cool before I put the icing on, and then we will have ourselves cake!"

"Yippie!" The fairy cheered, excitedly clapping. It looked as if she could hardly wait, unable to take her eyes from the dessert. However, her eyes widened as she gasped, "Oliver-"

"Ollie?"

Oliver let out an embarrassing squeak, and shrunk against the wall beside the doorway from the new voice in the front room. Lila put her hands on her hips. "Go. Now. I'll start pulling your hair!"

The man straightened, running his hands down his over shirt. He glanced to Lila for reassurance, but she only crossed her arms. Oliver let out a nervous laugh, and gave the wooden frame a squeeze as he scuffled into view. His company's head lifted, red eyes widening at the sight of him.

Slowly, Oliver crept to the counter, and subtly rested against it as a hopeless smile scrunched his cheeks. Certainly, a year wherever he had gone, affected Allen noticeably, just like everyone else. His usual brown leather fit to his broad shoulders, and even when he was leaning on the counter too, his height cleared the baker's by an inch or so. A slow smile exposed Allen's teeth, one of them off to the side missing in action as his eyes soaked up Oliver, leaving his skin feeling prickly and warm.

A slight tilt of his head made Oliver realize the other man was waiting for him to say something. Perhaps something like, "Hey, I missed you," or, "What in the world are you doing here all of a sudden? Get out of my bakery!" Instead, those years working and giving his unreciprocated service crashed onto his head. "H-how may I help you?"

A surprised expression overtook Allen's face, but only for a quick moment before the baker could start cursing his own existence. "Do you do take out?" A wink. He was playing along.

A snippy flush grabbed Oliver's face. Warm fingers brushed beneath his that rested on the counter, causing them to twitch. He spoke quietly so his voice would not try anything funny, "Only for special circumstances."

"Miller's bar...six tomorrow evening?"

Oliver's smile proved eternal. "I will be there." A small, docile cheep bloomed in the back of his throat as Allen leaned over the counter and brushed a cheek with his lips.

"Heh, Ollie," the words were almost inaudible to Oliver from the ridiculous pounding in his ears. He was paralyzed as the other man pulled away, grinning just as stupidly as he was, and gave his bonier hand a last squeeze before slipping away. The poor baker could not even look down to check if he was melting onto his own clean floors.

"Ollie?" Lila's voice was drawn out. Her gleeful smile was audible through her questionable tone. "You all right?"

The street lights shone on Allen's face as he cut through the night, tattling of his own relentless grin. Finally, Oliver managed a little movement, but that was to rest his fingertips on his cheek.

"Hey now, don't hyperventilate," the fairy warned. "We still have cake to eat. Ollie? Oliver!"

A.N.- Someone needs a thirst-aid kit.

Also, customer service in a nutshell:

Oliver: Hello, welcome to the Queen's Cupcakes! How are you today?

Customer: *ignores*

Ollie: All right! I will just go screw myself! .:^_^:.