Heya! It's been a while since I last updated, but here's a new one for you guys! Hope you enjoy~

"Subaru-kun, if I may ask...why did you decide to come with me here?" Yui said, fidgeting while the line at the local ice cream parlor slowly dwindled. They'd been standing in line for nigh on fifteen minutes, and it seemed like every few seconds he would mutter a curse or a growl of annoyance, shift on his feet, or do something that would attract the stares of the other customers. While Yui didn't dislike his company (it could even occasionally be pleasant when they were at the mansion), the way he acted usually brought more negative attention than she liked. But it wasn't like she would actually say that to him. "You hate doing stuff like this."

"Do I really have to explain myself to you? Obviously it's because you're my prey, and I want to be aware of what my prey is up to." He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly agitated.

"Oh...I see..."

"Tch, do you have a problem with that?"

"Ah! No, I-that's not it." Yui smiled at him, hoping it might calm him down some. "It's just that you don't seem to want to be here. That's all."

"That's because I don't. But I did say I would let you come here, and it's not like I could risk letting my prey wander off."

"You know I wouldn't do that." A couple months ago, she definitely would have attempted it, but having lived among the vampire brothers for as long as she had now, in a twisted way, they had become a sort of family to her. A cruel, sadistic family that still treated her like she was nothing but a source of nourishment, given, but one that she did care about. Especially Subaru, who she had chosen to suck her blood all those weeks ago. Since then, he'd grown much more tolerant of her and she of him, but it was still clear that there was a disconnect somewhere between them, as he still thought she would leave.

Subaru glanced away from her with a clenched jaw, saying nothing.

Three people were in front of them now, and the place was packed full of other people. It was a hot summer day, sticky and humid, made even hotter by the press of people together in the cramped little parlor. She could still barely believe that Subaru had allowed her to come here considering it was only open during the daytime, but he'd been in a pretty good mood after his feast of her blood the night before, and that probably had something to do with it. She'd thanked him profusely, and it had brought her joy to see the way he blushed, saying, "Don't expect me to agree to something like this again."

The line, shortened considerably since they arrived, moved quickly afterward. When it was their turn to order, Yui smiled at the girl behind the counter. Probably a daytime student as she did not recognize her. Her eyes scanned the flavors behind the window, chocolate mint and double chocolate and coffee and several flavors she'd never even heard of. But simple sounded sweeter. "I'll have one strawberry waffle cone, and..." She glanced over at Subaru, who glowered at her.

"I don't want anything," he muttered.

The girl taking their order frowned. Yui said, "Just that, then."

After receiving her order, she and Subaru walked over to the seating area. It was a pretty little shop, with pastel pink walls and a black-and-white checkered floor, with white tables and chairs with backs wrought in the shape of hearts. Maybe that was another reason Subaru seemed agitated.

Yui swept her eyes across the room, searching for a good table. It was very crowded, so it wasn't like they had much to choose from. She'd only gotten to scope out maybe half of the room before Subaru grabbed her roughly by the wrist, tugging her toward a table in the back. She refrained from voicing that he was hurting her with his too-tight grip; they were in public, and a scene was the last thing she wanted.

The table, however, was in a corner, and it was pretty far from the line, so it would be easily overlooked by others. Something, she began to realize with her time spent with Subaru, that he seemed to like. Blending into the background. Not being noticed. He slid into the seat facing the wall. Yui moved to sit across from him, but, once more, he grabbed her wrist, yanking her down onto the chair next to him. He hooked his hand under the bottom of it and yanked it so she was sitting right next to him. "You can sit here," he said.

"Eh? But-it's normal to sit across from the other person..." Something frigid dripped down her hand; the ice cream was already beginning to melt. I really shouldn't say anything like that to Subaru-kun, she thought, or I'll just upset him more than he is.

But to her surprise, instead of retorting that she shouldn't back talk, Subaru smiled a little. It was a good thing they were facing away from others, because the fangs in his mouth were all she could notice. "Hehe, but if you did that, then I wouldn't be able to have any fun."

"F-fun?" She took a napkin from the cluster that sat in the middle of the table to wipe the ice cream away, only to have it plucked from her fingers and replaced by Subaru's cold hand.

He leaned in closer to her. She took a bite of her ice cream, attempting to keep from fidgeting. "Well, I was just thinking it's only fair that if you get your dessert, I should get mine."

"W-what?!"

He chuckled, bringing her hand up to his mouth. Despite his vampiric inability to produce heat, his tongue felt warm compared to the chill of the ice cream. He licked it all away and turned her hand over, pressing his lips into the cusp of her palm. The tips of his fangs dug deeply into her skin, causing Yui to flinch. It was only the initial bite that really caused her discomfort anymore. While having her blood sucked did ache, it felt good knowing that her blood could bring him pleasure. Subaru closed his familiar crimson eyes while he slurped from her wounds, and the hard, angular lines formed in his frown were smoothed from his face.

Yui's body began to grow hotter with the sensation of having her blood sucked, and it took her a moment to recall her surroundings. "Subaru, you-you can't do that! Not in public!" Nevermind saying things to upset him. "What if somebody looks over here?"

"Tch, they'll think I'm kissing your hand. Now shut up," he said, and continued drinking.

Yui glanced around the room anxiously before returning her gaze to his face. She licked her ice cream before she made even more of a mess and Subaru would insist on more "dessert." Embarrassment burned in her cheeks, caged there, refusing to lessen in intensity. If she'd felt hot before, she felt now like a living flame.

But...nobody was paying attention to them, and Subaru wasn't hurting her. Not really. She was quite used to the sting of fangs, and she didn't mind being bitten by his. Right now, he was being very gentle anyway, so she forced herself to calm down and let herself think about more pleasant things than the vampiric equivalent of public sex. Such as how, with a face devoid of anger or pain, with his blood-red eyes and hair like winter, Subaru was the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen. But less superficially, even Subaru's heart could be beautiful, no matter how few and far between those moments were. While most people lived weighed down by the bad things that happened to them, Yui learned quickly to cling to the good that she received and to never let them go. Maybe it was because of that mindset that moments like these grew increasingly easier to overlook. And when it came to Subaru, she cherished the good more than she cherished anything.

There was a sharp, wrenching pain where he yanked his fangs from her skin, snapping out of her wandering thoughts, but the pain was quick to dull. His tongue swept across his cruel, lovely lips, cleaning away her blood. "Are you finished?" she dared to ask, yanking her hand away. Her fingers curled in reflexively to hide the bite marks.

"Hah... Why are you asking? Do you want to feel my fangs even more?" His eyes glittered in the way only a vampire's eyes could, how they always did when he was imagining playing with his food.

Still flushing, Yui said, "T-that's not what I meant."

"So then, you don't want me to bite you?"

Yui stared down at her ice cream, no longer particularly hungry. She pulled one of the napkins from the group of them in the center of the table and wrapped it up, tossing it in a nearby trashcan. "No, I don't want that."

Subaru cocked his head, frowning once more, and she became worried that she'd said something to piss him off. But before she could open her mouth and try to unmake her error, Subaru had grabbed her balled-up hand, pulling it in front of him. She watched him pry open her fingers and press his mouth to the wounds once more, except that this time, he did not bite down. He kissed them. He kissed them, and the tempo of Yui's heart spiked in her chest. Subaru gave a low, dark chuckle. "Hehe...you humans are so amusing, did you know that? The sound of your heart-"

And he never finished his sentence because his mouth was suddenly on hers, firm and yet gentle, gentle as his broken heart that managed to somehow continue living on in side him, gentle as the pierce of his fangs, as the love he occasionally showed her, like he was doing right now. His mouth was copper and salt and hers was strawberries, and though it tasted unpleasant, she wouldn't have traded it for anything. Her blood rushed in her ears, her heart violently erratic. Subaru broke the kiss with a soft laugh, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Alright," he said, smirking. "You've changed my mind. I'm not going to bite you, but I have every intention of finishing my dessert."

Yui tried to steady her breathing. "Then-what are you saying...?"

"I'm saying," Subaru said with an impish grin, "that this damn ice cream parlor is not suitable for the desserts I'm going to be indulging in." He stood up and grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the door, and all Yui was aware of as they left the building was that in that moment, she couldn't remember ever being happier.