Disclaimer: I don't own the MBS.

As was said, this story will probably be around 10 to 15 chapters long, but it's still a little early to tell. Anyways enjoy! :)

Chapter 4 (Sticky's POV)

Saturday morning was gone. Which was a phrase I never cared for considering I worked five days a week. But whether I liked it or not, it had been spent shopping for a gift for Reynie and Kate with Mr. Benedict and Constance. That wouldn't have been so bad, except we still hadn't found one. And even that wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't passed up several good gift options just because Constance found something wrong with them.

I sighed as I reached to straighten my glasses. I knew I shouldn't have been surprised but maybe I still was. Now we were stalking through the aisles in a bookstore, and I was beginning to wonder if we were even looking for Kate and Reynie anymore. When I saw her disappear into the poetry section I figured she'd forgotten all about finding a gift. Reluctantly I trailed behind her and Mr. Benedict followed. Stopping next to a few volumes of free verse I reached into my pocket and pulled out my polishing cloth. I wasn't sure when it had happened, but I'd taken to cleaning my glasses out of frustration as well. I guessed that was at least part of the reason my short time with contacts was so stressful.

Finishing, I pushed my glasses back up the bridge of my nose as Mr. Benedict's smiling face came back into focus. He chuckled a little before he looked from me to Constance. "Well, I'm afraid Constance quite shares Reynie's love of the written word."

I frowned a little in thought. "Oh, do you think she does still have him in mind then?"

I saw a grin glimmer in his eyes before he turned to look straight at me. "That's hard to say for certain. But she may surprise us."

I sighed again. I wasn't as confident as Mr. Benedict. I fully expected her to just sit down in the aisle and start reading. I doubted she cared how the rest of my Saturday was spent.

"Oh, there she goes." Mr. Benedict said as we watched her turning the corner into another section. I felt my forehead wrinkle. Why was she leaving poetry? Seeing as nothing else ever interested her? Well to my surprise we didn't even have time to follow her before she rounded the corner again and started walking toward us with a book in her arms.

"I found it." She said simply, only sounding half interested at best.

"And what would that be my dear?" Mr. Benedict said with a curious smile.

"The gift of course." Constance said as she shot me a slightly icy glare that made me wonder how she knew what I was thinking. Well, of course she could have known exactly what I was thinking, but I always knew when she was trying to read my mind. I could feel it. It was almost like having ants biting at the inside of your brain. But I hadn't felt them in years… Had I stopped feeling the pinpricks, or had she just stopped trying to read my thoughts?

Before we could even see what the book was about she paced off to check it out. I wanted to offer to at least pay for part of it, but I knew from the look on her face that she was being stubborn about getting this herself. I guess I'd offended her. So sighing I just trudged up behind her. But by the time I made it there she'd already paid for the book and was writing something in the front of it.

"Here." She said bluntly as she thrust the book and a pen at me to sign the inside.

So opening the cover I looked down at what she had written. "Hope you're happy being stuck together for many more years too. Sincerely Constance." Was written with her usual charm. But I guess I was a little surprised by one thing about the message… Her handwriting. It was… I reached to straighten my glasses. It was undeniably beautiful. Each and every curve and line was something befitting a work of art. Befitting a message that should have been overflowing with graceful elegance. I guess it made me wonder why she wanted to write just the opposite, and yet write it with such perfect penmanship.

Without giving my own message much thought, I wished them well and signed it in my usual script. Looking up from the book and into her face, we stared at each other silently for a few moments. It wasn't long, but with those thoughts about her handwriting still in my mind I couldn't help but notice something. She… Her face was just like that too, wasn't it?

"See something you like, George Washington?" She asked suddenly without breaking her indifferent stare. Frowning suddenly I snapped my eyes away as I handed her the book back. I was flustered, so I barely noticed when she gave the book to Mr. Benedict to sign. It had just been a thought, an observation really. She wasn't a grumpy little kid anymore, so why did she still act like one most of the time? When she could have been so much more than that…? In reality, she was one of the most brilliant persons I'd ever met. With her abilities, she could have been anything. She could have been-

"Ah Palindromes." Mr. Benedict said aloud, pulling me, probably for the best, out of my thoughts.

"An interesting choice Constance. I feel certain Reynie will be fascinated by them, and Kate enjoys the odd curiosity herself."

I'd been so distracted I hadn't even noticed what the book was about. Palindromes were words or phrases that could be the same whether read forwards or back. The letters were there to spell out the same phrase even backwards. I'd spent some time studying them myself. My favorite had been: Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era.

Constance simply nodded before walking away and over to the coffee shop adjoining the bookstore. I just stared after her before I hesitantly followed Mr. Benedict to sit down and wait on her.

"I take it you've heard of palindromes Sticky?" Mr. Benedict asked pulling me from my daze again.

I nodded suddenly. "Uh yes. I read a book on them when I was fourteen."

He smiled warmly. "I took some interest in them myself in the past. My favorite had been… Ah let me think…" Then he chuckled. "Yes, it had went: Doc, note I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod."

I felt a small smile slowly break on my face. Mr. Benedict grinned. "They are funny mostly, some even nonsensical, but a few can actually sound quite insightful or poetic. But I suppose the symbolic meaning behind them would make them a rather fitting gift for a wedding anniversary."

"How do you mean?" I asked, curious.

He slowly rubbed his chin in thought. "Oh well when you think of a palindrome, it looking quite different forwards and back at first. You might never notice that in reality they are so much alike they can be mirror images. That is, until you look closely, then it becomes plain that the two are really one and the same…"

I watched his smile softened as he looked over at me. "People are often that way too Sticky. Especially people in love."

I just nodded before staring down toward the empty tabletop. I knew logical that described Kate and Reynie perfectly. They couldn't have been more different, yet they fit together so well… I wasn't sure why, but suddenly I felt a rush of nervousness twist into my stomach in a way I hadn't felt in years. But I was thankful that I didn't have time to consider what was causing it, because just then Constance appeared next the table with three large cinnamon rolls in hand. Pulling out her chair with an unceremonious scrapping, she plopped down. For a second I just stared at her as she stared down the three large pastries in front of her. Then slowly she slid one to each of us without saying a word.

"Thank you, dear." Mr. Benedict said with a smile as he reached to fold his napkin over his lap.

I just kept my eyes fixed on the cinnamon roll before looking back up at her. Our eyes met and for a second, and I felt that same nervousness again. Though I didn't understand it…

"Thank you, Constance." I said simply.

She slowly averted her eyes away from mine before she nodded and started to eat her own roll. Taking a small bite of mine I glanced back over at her. She looked the same way she always had when she was eating sweets. And I smiled, before chuckling.

Looking over at me she raised a confused eyebrow. After pausing a moment to finish swallowing, she spoke. "What's so funny?"

I shook my head without taking the grin off my face. "Oh, nothing."

She frowned. "You know it's only crazy people that laugh at nothing, right?"

I looked back at my cinnamon roll. "You're probably right."

And she probably was. Only a crazy person would have felt nervous about the symbolic meaning of a palindrome, or about the penmanship of someone they'd known for years. But I had...so I wasn't really sure what that said about me. But right at that moment, I tried not to worry about it.

It was probably nothing.

Thanks to everyone for the reviews, and also just for reading. More coming soon!