ME: HI everyone! MADNESSapples here with another chapter. This is the JuliusxKida that many of you were wanting. Sorry for the wait but...schools and life and...

Kida: It's alright

Julius: As long as you don't disrupt me from work, you may do as you wish

ME: You two are a lot easier to get along with…anyway ENJOY!

R&R

Chapter 1: Slow-burning Romance

Being at the Clocktower is quaint, and I have found it most calming to my mind to be here. The atmosphere, the company...I have come to love it all. It is a stark difference to the havoc and mayhem of the Hatters or the Amusement Park. And while I enjoy talking with Vivaldi, I find her hobby of beheading rather ... discomforting. The Clocktower is soothing, warming, lovely...

...And most important. Quiet.

Well, aside from the tick-tock of clocks and the rustle of metal, but that becomes background noise after a time. And the peace is what is left. That is why I made this place my permanent residence, much to the distaste of my Landlord, Julius Monrey. But as long as I don't get in the way of his precious and precarious work of fixing clocks, he doesn't really mind me.

I look up from my sketch, one of the many I have done, most of him being my subject, and groan as my neck lets out and ache. After rolling my shoulders and popping my neck, I go to reach for my coffee cup. It's lighter than I remember, so I check it's contents

Just a sip left

"Julius, I'm getting another cup. Do you need a refill?", I call out, breaking the silence with my simple question as I stand up.

He lets out a hum, pausing in his work to reach for his own cup. He sloshes around the contents a bit before downing what little is left and holds out the empty cup to me, "Yes, please."

"Two sugars right?"

"Yes."

I walk into the kitchen, glasses in hand, and proceed to grind and make coffee. As I am preparing the percolator, I just so happen to look out the window. Blue skies all the way to the horizon, white fluffy clouds and bright sun shine. All things indicating that it a bright noon.

Speaking of noon, "Julius, I think we are going to have company soon"

"...Is it Hikari again?"

"Yeah. She said she would visit next time it was a noon period, since her shifts are all in afternoon period."

I hear a grumble from the other room. Truth be told, Julius isn't rather fond of my friend...or better put, doesn't know how to handle her. While they do get along for the most point, considering Hikari has somehow acquired the ability to locate a lost Ace on occasion and bring him here, they do have tendencies of butting heads. Especially when Hikari brings food. Hikari likes to serve and eat food fresh off the oven/stove. Julius will put anything in his stomach at any time, and doesn't care if the food is cold or not. IF he even remembers to do that.

See the dilemma?

I snicker a bit as I pour our cups, fondly remembering the first time Julius and Hikari got into a fight. Julius was in the middle of working and refused to eat until he was finished (which would probably be 3 DAYS later), and Hikari was having none of that. She kept annoying him until he eventually gave up out of frustration. Needless to say though, he has complemented her meals ever sense, and just lets her do as she pleases, which usually include cooking a good meal, hilarious conversation inserted here or there while doing so

I walk back into the workroom, observing the room absently as I make my way carefully to Julius so that I don't spill. My sketch book and pencils scattered on a nearby table by a couch. Meanwhile papers, tools, and other things are scattered on every other available surface. Julius sits in his usual chair, his head leaned back as he pinches the bridge of his nose

"Don't be like that, Julius. Without her, we'd never get anything good to eat." I announce as I place his cup on the table, trying to calm him down as I pull up a chair, "And sandwiches and coffee do not count."

I digress, while I am a relatively good cook, Julius has a not-so-relatively stocked kitchen, leaving us eating a steady supply of sandwiches, pancakes (by me), and coffee. I personally like meat and vegetables in my diet but well Julius...

"I'm doing just fine with what I have." He takes a sip of his piping hot coffee

"As much as you like being a mushroom, I doubt you can survive on air alone", I swish the contents of my coffee before take a sip, careful not to burn my tougue "...Bleah...Julius how can you drink this without cream?"

"It's coffee, not chocolate milk. And I like it this way."

"It's definitely an acquired taste.", I agree, swirling it more to cool it before taking another sip, "I think I'm going to buy cream next time we go into town." And maybe some other ingredients too. Maybe I'll ask Hikari for some simple, cheap and easy recipes while she's here today.

"Do what you like"

JULIUS POV

I peek through my bangs and watch as she sips her drink, her tiny nose scrunching up at the bitter yet strong taste. But even if she criticizes my choices, she does not begrudge me. It is...a nice feeling, to say the least. This acceptance and welcoming feeling

"Hey Julius-"

These last few weeks have been...peaceful. A strange word to use but, it's true. Even if all we do is sit in silence for hours at a time, me at my work and her at her art, even if we argue about whether or not I need sleep or food, even if all we eat are pancakes and sandwiches, each moment is...warm.

...And I refuse to tell her that I like her cooking more than her friend's simply because she makes it for me. That's a senseless enough thought to begin with.

"Julius?"

Being in the presence of this dark-skinned foreigner, with her short curly hair and big black eyes behind those violet glasses is...almost a bliss. A sun in my solitary life, that which I don't even deserve.

...What a foolish thought. Perhaps this is Alice's doing, making me soft. I need to stop thinking ridiculous things.

"Julius!"

I jump, suddenly aware of my surroundings, "W-what is it?"

"I said I was going to head into town to get some things. Do you need anything from the Parts House?"

I feel a warmth on my cheek and the back of my neck, being caught thinking unseemly things, and I clear my throat before answering, "I-I'll make a quick list of things you can pick up"

I quickly scribble items on a piece of paper and hand them to her, a mantra going around in my head.

I must stop. I must stop. I MUST STOP

KIDA'S POV

As I walk out the door, list in hand and bag over shoulders, a thought crosses my mind

Julius's face was sort of pink, wasn't it? I do hope he isn't getting sick. Maybe I'll get some cold medicine too if I can find it...just in case

With that thought swirling around in my head, along with mentally writing down what we need, I absently walk down the stairs, out the tower, and head into town.

It's its usual crowd today. As I walk down the lane, I take note to dodge the laughing children running here and there playing tag. One bumps into me, but I am not so cruel to scold a child. I pat him on his head and send him back with his friends. As I walk past, the parents or guardians wave in my direction before returning to conversing to each other about various things. I wave back absently as I head into the busier area of town, which consists mostly of stores selling food, like restaurants and groceries. Shoppers walk back and forth from stall to stall, store to store, getting greens and meats and anything else that they might need. While it's loud, it's a comforting feeling, the hustle and bustle of the city.

I am a speed shopper, so I quickly get the things that I need: Cream for coffee, some fresh loafs of bread, sliced meat, sugar, coffee beans, etc. Just the necessities.

When I get them into my purse, I take my time walking around to see what else I can get. As I walk in the direction to nearest store, I sudden hear a familiar shout, and stop and look all around. The dominating voice reaches me among the crowd

"ACE, SO HELP ME, I WILL PUT A LEASH ON YOU IF YOU DON'T STOP WONDERING OFF!"

Make that two familiar voices

"Woah! That's kinda kinky! Ahaha!"

"Hikari!", I call out, looking around for my friend amongst the people.

"Ace, don't you dare put a finger in that cake! I spent all day making that from scratch!", shouts my friend, probably at Ace. I follow my ears and head in their general directions, keeping an eye out for them.

"But I'm hungry! And it looks and smells so good! Just one bite please?"

"No! You'll get some when we get to the Clocktower." I find them just in time to see Hikari reach into the picket of her jeans and produce a handful of carefully wrapped bars, "If you're hungry eat these granola bars."

"Yay!"

"Hikari!" I call out as fast step toward her. Her head whirls around, and locks on me. She lets out a wide grin and laughs and hugs me with one arm, because the other one is preoccupied with having a hold on Ace's sleeve. When she lets me go, I turn towards the knight, "Greetings to you too, Ace."

"Hi there, Miss Kida!", Ace respond, mouth full of granola but still with his steady smile "Whatcha doin? Getting things for Julius again?"

"Yeah, but I also needed some things in town."

"Aww...", my friend coos, giggling, "You're so sweet to him~ Almost like-"

"Don't you dare say it, Hikari!"

"His wife~ Ahaha!"

"ACE!"

Hikari starts laughing so hard she has to hold her stomach as she watches as I punch at Ace, only for him to easily dodge again and again. Geez I swear these two! It isn't like that...

"Hehehe...ahhaaa...w-well anyway" my friend wheezes as she stops her mirth, "We were headed in the direction of yours and Julius's place anyway. Why don't we go together?"

I pause, thinking that that is a rather good idea for one second before remembering and coming up with an even better idea

"Actually...", I start, and explain to her my dilemma and need of easy recipes. She, of course, is all on it, and drags me and Ace to the nearest stall...

JULIUS'S POV

Carefully, ever so carefully, I use the tweezers to place the smallest of gears in its exact place, cautious of bumping into the other gears. Once I have it perfectly aligned, I reach, with the same instrument, to pinch the miniscule screw that is laid on my desk. Again, ever so judiciously, I place it in its place. With my right hand, I hold it in place, and with my left, I reach for the smallest of my flathead screwdrivers. I twist it slowly, so as to not overtighten the small screw and break it in the process. And with that last component completed, I have yet again, finished another precious clock.

Before I go to start on a new one, I reach for my cup. Upon picking it up, I notice the lightness of it, signaling that I will need another soon. I swirl the last of the semi-warm contents and down it easily.

"Kida," I call out absently, "Another cup"

When no one answers, I look up and around, only to remember that my usual guest had left for town only a short while ago.

"Ahh...That's right..."

With a sigh, I push myself away from my desk. By chance, I glance at a nearby clock, noticing that the short while had actually been about three hours ago

"...She's late. What's taking her?" I absently mumble as worry fills my system. When I realize what just left my mouth, I shake my head, "She...She can do as she likes. She isn't under any obligation to come here."

But the worry is still there, in the back of my mind as I walk into the kitchen and proceed to make my own coffee. A normal procedure for me, but my mind is elsewhere as I absently grind the beans, fill the coffee maker, and put it on my stove. Deep in thought, I reach for steel contraption, bare handed, when it is ready

KIDA'S POV

"Hikari, are you sure this is all I need? We ended up not getting much" I ask, hands full of bags of ingredients as the three of us walk up the stairs of the Clocktower. Hikari still had to keep a grasp on Ace, so each of them had one hand/arm of groceries while the other hands where clasped together, much like a parent and their rumbustious child. Ace didn't seem to have a problem with it though, in fact, he seemed happier than normal.

I shifted, to balance my bags again. With the money I had left, I managed to get all the things that Hikari suggested, which included eggs, rice, some cucumbers, salt and pepper, bell peppers, canned green beans, ground beef, oil (olive and vegitable), cornmeal, all-purpose flour, and chicken...lots and lots of chicken.

"You would be surprised", she explains, going in full chef mode "With the cucumbers and salt, you can make a simple to make snack that is yummy and nutritious. Rice is filling and cheap to buy, and you can eat it with just about anything, and make it taste like anything. I personally like gravy on my rice but eh...then theres stuffed bell peppers or stir fry or burritos or hamburger steak...Anyway what's most important is the chicken!"

"We sure did buy a lot of that", Ace laughs, raising his bag as he does so, as he's the one holding the majority of that particular constituent

"That's because chicken is a cheap and easily used ingredient that has a lot of nutrients. And is the main component of the recipe I'm going to teach Kida today"

I turn to her, "Teach me? What is it?"

"Chicken & dumplings and cornbread! "

"That sounds so good!", Ace hums in delight, "Can I help?"

This makes us both pause and look over at him, our question being relatively the same thing

"Can you even cook?"

He laughs, "I'd like to think I'm a pretty good cook! I get lost pretty often, so to stay alive, I usually roast rabbit or fish or whatever I find over an open fire" He makes a face then, as if thinking, "A stove is basically an open fire, so it can't be that different, right?"

Hikari looks back over to me, as if wanting me to either confirm or deny Ace's hypothesis.

I shrug "He does prove a valid point. They are similar."

"Yeah...i guess you can-",

A sudden shriek of unadulterated pain alarms us all, and before we can even blink or respond to the noise, Ace has miraculously disappeared, in his place being the bags of groceries he was carrying. Hikari looks over to me, and I realize that that shout can only be from one person.

I rush up the stairs, Hikari falling behind as she has to retrieve what the knight has left behind. Once to the top I quickly dash down the hall, to the door, which is agar, and rush inwards

"Julius!" I scream, my eyes scanning around for him. I hear a groan from the kitchen, followed by rushing water and a familiar voice

"It's ok, Miss Kida." Ace calls, popping his head out, "Looks like Julius just burned his hand"

"Julius...did what now?" rasps my friend as she finally comes in. In-between each inhale and exhale, she mumbles something along the lines of, "Fucking stairs...the root of all evil in the universe"

"Burned his hand?", I ask as I walk towards him, "How did he do that?"

A laugh, "Well, from the coffee spilled all over the floor, I can guess it was the coffee maker."

I walk into the kitchen, and sure enough I see Julius as he holds his right hand, palm up, under the sink water. He looks up from what he is doing, our eyes meeting for a split second, before his dart away

"It was...just an accident."

"It doesn't matter", I exclaim as I set my bags on the nearby counter and rush towards him, "You still need first aid!"

"It's nothing serious. I'll be good as new in a couple of time periods-"

"Nothing serious my ass", my friend exclaims as she too sets the bags down. She then closes up on the man and stabs him in the chest accusingly with her finger, "Your fingertips are glowing and your palm looks like you dipped it in red paint. And I can see that all the way across the room. Kida!"

"Y-yes"

"Put the groceries up and get me some ice!"

Julius sputters, "I need no such-"

"Ace! Go find some aloe Vera!"

"Ace, don't you dare indulge her!"

"Yes, Princess!"

"NOT A PRINCESS!"

"ACE!"

"This is absolutely unnecessary and ludicrous and- OW!"

Behind me, I can hear Ace concealing his snickers unsuccessfully as he and I watch the ponytailed girl gingerly apply medicine to Julius's burn. She's been at it for almost thirty minutes, with Julius complaining all the way. In that time, I had cleaned the kitchen floor, made a new pot of coffee, and had made three cups...and one cup of orange juice for Hikari

"Can you be a little more careful?" I ask, as Julius cringes and jerks his hand again

Her face is red with frustration and held in anger as she responds, "I AM being careful. If he would stop moving and resisting and being a whiny little bitch-"

"I am not being a-"

"I would be DONE by now!", she practically screams over him as she finished applying the aloe (which the knight miraculously had). Ace then busts into a full blown belly laugh as she then proceeds to wrap the whole thing in a bandage, being extra careful with his fingertips and his palm

Julius then glares at Ace, "And you! Quit laughing! This isn't funny!"

"Hahaha...B-but...pfft...it is...hehehe...can't...too funny!"

I sigh, "Julius, I hate to say this but you've been fighting a losing battle for half an hour."

"I have not-"

"YOU ARE NOW SHUT THE HELL UP!", my friend exclaims, putting the finishing touches on it and let's go. He lets out a harrumph in indignation, and jerks his hand away to look at get a close inspection of her handy work

"I can't work with my hand like this."

"You're not supposed to. You're not to use that hand for AT LEAST three days."

"This is ridiculous. I'm taking it off"

Hikari reached for the nearest blunt object, a three-inch-thick book, "Take it off and so help me-"

Before Julius and Hikari get into another spat, this one probably going to be more violent than the last, I take the chance and intervene

JULIUS POV

"Please Julius, keep it on?"

It's Kida that interrupts before I verbally damn this stupid woman and her stupid bandage on my hand. I turn to glare, only to meet wide black eyes filled with worry and concern.

"Please? It will help you heal, and I'm worried for your wellbeing"

My anger instantly dims, and I'm not sure I like the fact that she has that effect on me

"Hear that, asshole?" comes said stupid woman again, "She's one of the few people who actually gives a fuck about you and what happens to you, and you're making her worry about you. Are you proud of that?"

I stand up out of my chair, about to give her a piece of my mind, "Now listen here-"

"No you listen!", with a smack to my chest, I am instantly and surprisingly back in my chair as she leans over me menacingly, "I actually DO give a fuck about you, no matter how much the both of us bitch and complain and grip at each other. I'm cool like that. Ace cares about you, god knows why with your gloomy ass, but he does."

"Ahaha! It's true!"

"Hush Ace, grown-ups talking." She takes an inhale of breath, "But most important, that girl, over there, who is currently living with you on a day to day basis and just spent about three hours in town, with me and the directionally challenged idiot, getting clock parts FOR YOU and ingredients TO FEED YOU, is worried about your wellbeing. If you are ANY SORT OF MAN, you will SHUT UP, STOP being a baby, and let people who care CARE FOR YOU."

And with that, she stomps off towards the kitchen, stops, then turns back toward me

"I'm making supper! You have three hours to finish whatever the fuck you were doing and clean your desk off. And if you don't eat it while it's hot, I will hog-tie you to that chair and force feed you! Kida! Get your ass in here! We have work to do!"

The dark skin girl, frozen by her friend's speech, jumps, and rushes into the kitchen at the girl's behest. I, too, and frozen by the young woman's heated words. It's quiet for a time, the two of us left in the room looking toward the kitchen door as the sound of pots and pans rustling echoing in the background, before the knight lets out a long whistle

"Princess sure is a kind person. Even after all that, she's still going to feed you", He pulls up a chair, his crimson eyes then flicking to me, "And she is right you know."

I sigh, and lean back in my chair and pinch the bridge of my nose with my good hand. It doesn't take much to know what he's talking about, "I... I know that"

"Wow! You admit it!"

"Shut up"

He lets out a laugh, and then hums in thought, "Why don't you just keep the bandage on. You're due for a break anyway. Best use this as an excuse."

"You know I can't-"

"Don't be stubborn, Julius", Ace says, in almost a reprimanding way, "Besides, you and I both know that recently, you've been ahead in work."

I flush a little. That fact is indeed true. With the quiet and care from my...from Kida...I've been able to work more efficiently lately, and get a lot more done. But...that doesn't mean anything. More and more clocks come in every day.

"A little break will be good for you", the knight finishes, "Keep the mushrooms from growing on your head. Ahaha!"

I sigh. I'm exhausted, both mentally and physically. I reach for my coffee gingerly with my left hand. Although I have learned to be ambidextrous, my right has always been my dominant, so using the other alone is...awkward to say the least. I carefully bring the cup to my mouth and take a couple of gulps, the strong taste waking me up again, slowly but surely.

Hopefully there won't be any more surprises today

"So Julius... what was on your mind when you were making coffee earlier?"

I almost choke.

"W-What nonsense are you spouting-?!"

"It's not nonsense. Honest", He laughs, almost sounding offended. But I know better. It's just him being playful, "I've known you for years, and not once have you ever burned your hand on your own coffee maker."

"Well", I fish for a reason, "...there's a first time for everything. This just happened to be mine"

ACE'S POV

I roll my eyes. He isn't fooling me, or anyone else for that matter. Not with the way he's been looking at her or the way the two of them are just in sync with each other lately, "Uh-huh. Suuuure. Was is Miss Kida?"

It's funny how he blushes and glares, but that alone tells me I'm right

"So I'm right~", I laugh. It's nice that he has someone, "There's nothing wrong with that. Miss Kida is kinda cute~"

His glare turns almost murderous, and I raise my hands in defense. I probably should stop now but...it's really too much fun to poke at him, "No need to get jealous"

"I'm not jealous." He barks, "And I don't like her. So stop thinking up these stupid notions."

'Well, I didn't say anything about him liking her' I smile, deciding to keep my mouth shut, 'But this is good. In his frustration, he's given me the answers I've been looking for. Now...what to do~

And this is the end of the first chapter. Wow...alot has happened. Sorry for being gone for so long. I haven't really had the time, between collage and living and other things...I'm trying to make it up this summer by writing surplus chapters and publishing throughout the school year

Wish me luck!