There were eyes on Oliver even as he entered the quaint shop. A chipper voice called out, "Ve, ciao, Oliver!"

The baker stopped before the small line to the gelato counter. "Well, hello to you, Luciano," he winked. Apparently, Luciano had out of this world plans that afternoon, so his quick departure from the basement was not all in entirely to escape Nikolai's presence. A warm hand latched onto his, and Allen hovered against his back. "Fancy seeing the two of you here. Where did Kuro run off to?"

Lutz said, "He's looking for odd jobs. You know, in the meantime."

"Hey, hey," Allen drawled. "Whadda you guys doin' here?"

The blond gave him a blank look. "Getting gelato?"

"Gelato!" Feliciano sang, and reached up to tug on Lutz's square cap.

"We're 'bout to get some, too!"

"Really?" Lutz pulled his hat closer to his head so he would not lose it. "I did not know that."

Oliver gestured to the cashier, who was staring with dull, lifeless eyes. "You are up next."

"Since we're all here," Allen claimed, "why don't we go on a double date? Maybe chill out, an' watch the sunset or somethin' like that?"

Lutz whirled on him, and nearly shouted, "W-we are not on a date!" The surrounding customers snapped their heads in their direction, shooting glares at the disturbance.

Feliciano exclaimed with his hands clamped on his ears, "Whoa, so loud!"

"Shit, could've fooled me," Allen grumbled, and dug in his own ear.

Oliver suggested, "How about we have a group outing instead. As friends."

"I just want gelato," Feliciano said. Lutz turned to the counter without another word. The brunet trotted next to him, and rambled off his order to the cashier.

Allen muttered, "He sure does make things obvious, don't he?"

"If Kuro, Matt, and Siegmund were here, we would have the whole ensemble," Oliver said, and used his shoulder to bump Allen's chest. "I was thinking about hosting a little get together soon."

"Heh, yeah, that reminds me of good ol' times."

"What?" Feliciano turned around with a healthy bowl of gelato.

"How we used to go out wit' the gang an' do stuff."

Feliciano tipped his head.

"Don't tell me you don't remember!" Allen exclaimed, "I wasn't gone fer that long!"

"He is just being silly," Oliver flashed an uneasy smile. "He remembers, don't you, Luciano?"

"Oh, yes, of course I do. You're the silly one!" Feliciano glanced away, struggling with thoughts. "You...um...had a lot of gelato before, right? Or was that some other time?"

Lutz joined their little cluster. "That reminds me, too. You dropped yours all over the sidewalk that one day..."

Allen's eyes widened. "Yeah, what of it?"

"You were very pissed off about that," Lutz slowly continued, taking a spoonful at the end of every sentence. "Worse than what you would have been if you did not have a bet on it. Oh, what was it? Somehow it wound up being my fault for your ice cream ending up on the ground."

"That's horrible!" Feliciano cried. At the three sets on eyes on him, he tossed a spoonful of his dessert in his mouth to silence himself.

"It was horrible," Oliver agreed. "That was a lot of gelato."

"It was horrible since Allen never had the opportunity to own up to the bet he lost from not finishing his and Siegmund's gelato," Lutz noted, talking over Allen's feeble dissents. "You still owe us a streak."

"We were in jail! What the fuck do y'expect me to do 'bout it?"

Oliver shouldered his chest more roughly. "Own up to it?"

"Nuh-uh! The bet was that I had to streak through the House's dinin' hall! I can't do that now, so...hah!"

Feliciano asked, "Why not?"

"We do not live there anymore," Oliver pointed out. "I am sure they are not fond of visitors."

Lutz rumbled with quiet laughter. "There is the whole account of exposing and possibly traumatizing little kids."

"Come on y'all! There's gotta be an expiration date fer a bet!"

"Are you being a sore loser?" Feliciano giggled. "Sore loser! Alfred is a sore loser!" He paused, realizing what he said from a toxic stare from Oliver and Lutz. "I meant Allen."

"I ain't a sore loser," Allen barked back at the Italian's resumed dance. "Quit it!"

The cashier snapped, "Are you going to get some gelato or not? There are other people waiting behind you."

Oliver cleared his throat, dismissing his companions' antics. "Let's go, Allen," he latched onto his partner's bicep to pull him away from scathing Feliciano. "Make sure you do not drop your ice cream, either."

"That was one time!"

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Matt threatened his brother a few days later at the 'welcome back' party Oliver hosted in his bakery, "If you do not do it, I'll punch you...again."

"Shit, fer what?" Allen groaned dramatically, and even threw his head back, just to let his brother know he was annoying him. "Do y'all wanna see my glorious ass that much?"

"I may just have to take a bar of soap to your mouth," Oliver seethed, and latched onto the ear closest to him.

"Ow!" Allen clamped a hand over the offended lobe to ward off more attacks. "Why you gotta keep doin' that, babe?"

"Why do you insist on swearing like you have a toilet for a mouth?"

Lutz put his fingers over his mouth to hide a smirk. "Shit comes out of it like one, too."

"Fecal matter goes into the toilet, Lutz-san," Kuro shook his head. "What are you, some kind of wild beast?"

"Oh," Luciano tittered, "he's beastly all right."

"I am going to ignore that," his housemate said while the blond looked as if he were to pass out from embarrassment.

"What about the streaking?" Matt brought the subject up again, and kicked Allen's leg when it nicked his own shin. "I think there's plenty of space around here."

"I think you should shut your mouth!" Allen declared.

Kuro threw a fist on the table. "Stop shouting!"

"You just shouted!"

"Kuro, knock it off," Luciano spat. "Don't tangle yourself with that idiot. He'll destroy you with his idiot-ness."

"There ain't no such thing."

Oliver loudly cleared his throat. "I am going to start throwing cupcakes if none of you quiet yourselves!" The gathered group muttered a few more scathing remarks, but he snapped, "Belt up! Do not say anything else. Stop," They gawked at him standing over everyone else, demanding silence. It was his bakery, after all. He slowly lowered himself into his seat again, not forgetting to shoot a warning glare around the table. "Now, back to more pertaining matters...the streaking."

"Babe, come on-"

Luciano pointed to the doorways behind the front counter. "He could go around there and straight outside, around the building, and come back to the rear entrance from that nearby alleyway."

"Nearby alleyway?!" Allen exclaimed, "That's down the street!"

"What are you, a sore loser?"

"Stop calllin' me a sore loser!"

Siegmund signed before sticking up his middle finger. Lutz agreed with, "Come on, like he said. We waited a year for this. More than a year!"

"You ain't gonna leave me alone 'bout this 'til I do it!"

"You said it," Lutz granted. Luciano agreed with a bobble of his head. Kuro glared at the table top.

"Let's go!" Luciano swished a hand in Allen's direction. "Not all of us have all day."

"Right now?!" All of them affirmed it. "What?!" Allen shot to his feet, angrily shoving his chair against the table. "Fuck you guys. This is all your fault, Lutz."

"I take my fault with ease, thank you."

"Where's he going?" Luciano asked. He craned his neck to the doorway Allen ducked under, away from them.

"Just wait," Oliver assured. "He probably has to prepare himself."

"Deep breaths, Allen-san."

Matt grunted, "You got anymore cupcakes? Or did my brother and Siegmund eat them all?"

The mute's mouth popped open, as if he were taking offense, but a guilty smile soon crashed his frigid expression.

Luciano lightly whined, "I only had two."

Kuro shrunk in his seat, and swept a near frightened glare at everybody else. He kept quiet as his housemates bickered over who got the most cupcakes. Oliver laughed at the four-way battle caused by his baked treats.

"Let's go!" Luciano repeatedly smacked his palms to the table. "Streak! Streak! Streak!"

Siegmund eagerly joined in with his on attack on the sprinkled surface. The baker gasped, and gripped the edge, glowering at the table jumping and wobbling beneath them. By then, Lutz was powerless to his deep chuckles, the loud laughter going through the hand over his mouth. Kuro only shook his head, condemning himself with a soft smile. Matt remained stone faced through the ordeal, even when he added to Luciano's chanting.

Allen emerged from the stair well, topless and pissed. The front counter blocked their views, and they fell silent with shit eating grins. "Yeah, keep smilin' all you want. I'm only doin' this once."

"Shame," Luciano sighed. "I forgot my camera, too."

"Yeah, shame," Allen ducked back in the doorway.

Lutz glanced around with a confused outlook. "What's he doing now?"

The partygoers waited for him to burst out in nude glory. The Italian snorted, "Is he even there anymore? Allen!"

Oliver declared, "I will go check." He called from the other side of the counter, "Allen, dear, are you all right over there? Allen!" With no answer, he rounded the counter to peek into the foyer. Only a pile of abandoned clothes hinted his housemate had not fled from the challenge. The baker breezed back into the front room, eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment. "He is not there anymore."

"What!" Matt jumped to his feet. "That must meant he went upstairs. That chicken-"

A muffled whoop came from above. They swung their heads around the bakery. Oliver pointed to the front windows as a large flash fell before the door. "Look!"

Everyone snapped to face Allen adeptly landing on his bare feet. Bareback to them, he held his arms out, head back, and howled like a rabid wolf. The passersby were traumatized as they froze and gawked with wide eyes. Startled people leaped out of the way just for him when the crazed man sprinted down the sidewalk.

"Let's see this!" Luciano summoned everyone else to press against the window. The naked figure of Allen and his arms swinging above his head ran further away. "Woo! I wanted more than a year for that!"

"It..." Lutz sputtered, "It's glorious."

Allen stopped in front of a random older woman. His arms flailed, words inaudible in the bakery, but he must have greatly frightened her. She clutched onto her purse, and swung it at his head. He jumped to the side with a loud holler, and continued through the street with his erratic gait.

Matt shook his head. "Look at that crazy ass go. He actually did it."

Lutz gave him a blank look. "Did you doubt your own brother?" Siegmund glanced between them with raised eyebrows.

"He always manages to take me by surprise." The other blond pulled away from the glass. "He should be through the back door soon."

"Soon," Oliver agreed, unable to stop grinning to himself. He used his sleeve to scrub at the smudges on the pane. "I would not want someone calling the police or a mental ward!"

The back door slammed shut, followed by another whoop. Kuro commented, "Sooner than expected." Allen caught onto something, based on the clattering and his cursing. When he finally waddled into the front room for everyone to see, the black haired man threw a hand over his eyes.

"My year of debt..." Allen stopped before the gathered mass with his arms held out for emphasis, "is finally over. I gotta get pants on."

The others watched him lumber behind the counter, and into the foyer. Luciano glanced in Oliver's direction, and the baker did not need to look at him to know he was smirking at his flushed complexion. "Got more than you bargained for?"

Lutz turned to Matt. "You two are really twins, right? Does that mean-"

Kuro loudly announced, "I believe we have found out more about each other than we should have today. If you do not mind, I would like to return home after a long day of partying."

"Whoop," Lutz went after his housemate. "There's our cue."

Luciano did a little wave. "See you around, Oliver."

"How about next Saturday?"

Everyone stopped gathering their leftovers and whatever they arrived with. Luciano's companions looked to him for answers. He shrugged. "Just for shits and giggles? Sure, we'll be there."

Siegmund swished a hand at his brother. Matt said, "I guess if you're having another gathering, we should be here, too."

"Yeah!" Allen drawled, creeping behind the counter to fight with his shirt. "That's my bro!"

"You know, for the cupcakes." Siegmund agreed with a vigorous nod.

"Fuck you, too, Matt."

"See you Saturday," Matt waved everyone off, and put an arm around the mute's waist to leave.

"Saturday," Oliver performed his own light wave, smiling fondly at their retreating figures.

"Son of a-" a loud clatter broke Allen's sputter. "Aw, dammit, that's the second one."

Oliver spun around, bristling. His eyes jumped to the bell dinger on the tiled floor. The shiny material was split down its side. "That was plastic! How in the world did you break it?"

"Heh, heh, whoops?"

With a low growl, the baker knelt in front of the poor bell, and picked it up to examine the damage. The entire object crumbled against his hand.

Allen peered over the counter, finally fully dressed. "To be honest, it was kinda ugly."

"It's a bell!" Oliver exclaimed as more pieces clattered to the floor. "How can it be ugly?"

"It's cheap. Was cheap."

The baker deposited the destroyed bell into the trash bin before tugging the tag that stuck out of Allen's shirt. "Your top is inside out."

"Really? Allen twisted around, trying to grab at the tag peeking at the world. "Man, I just put this on, too." He peeled off the garment, and shook it, as if it had done him wrong.

"Not in the view of the windows," Oliver dissented, pushing on his bare chest. "Go into the foyer."

"Whoa!" Oliver yanked his hands away to hold them to his own chest as Allen itched the spots. "Your hands are cold!" He slowly reached out to touch the warm skin again. It was proving a tad difficult not to, as it was right there and available for attention. His partner jumped a little, and handed him a goofy grin. "Wassup?"

"You're hairy," Oliver said, even though Allen was nicked with several scars throughout his stomach, breast area, and back, but those were faint enough to not cause alarm.

"Uh, yeah," Allen mashed his eyebrows together. "So are you. We're dudes."

Oliver craned his neck down to press his face into his company's chest, and hide his wicked smile he could feel permanently plastered between his cheeks. "Maybe you should keep your shirt off."

Allen made a noise of rare thought as he slid his arms over the baker's shoulders. "Is that what you're thinkin' 'bout?"

The baker did not bother denying it as his nails lightly scored down the other's ribs, and baited with a squeeze to his waist, "If I am...?"

He inwardly prayed to whatever was listening for Allen to not say something stupid. Heavy thinking had its taxations on the poor fellow, after all. He stuck his nose amongst Oliver's hair, and growled, "I could give you a lil' somethin'-somthin' else to think about."

Oliver's prayers were in vain, since he was keen on the idea whether it was stupid or not. "Allen," he lifted his head to invitingly giggle against his neck, "Is this something-something we have to take upstairs?"

"What d'you think?" His partner gently bumped their hips together, causing an excited tingle to jolt Oliver's nerves. Allen suddenly pulled away from him to swoop close to the floor. He grabbed the other's legs, stealing him from the ground with a gasp that soon crumbled to a fit of snickers that only encouraged him to the steps. "Fuck yes!"

.

Blehps:

"You're hairy," Oliver said.

"Uh, yeah," Allen mashed his eyebrows together. "So are you. We're dudes."

"Maybe you are. I sexually identify as a refrigerator."

"Huh?"