One thing they would never agree on was food. Or rather, certain foods.

N was a strict vegetarian, which Silver found stupid. People had eaten meat since the beginning of time, animals didn't care either way. But N still insisted it was cruel that a creature should die just to feed them, so while he didn't try to make Silver stop eating it, he refused it and would wrinkle his nose anytime Silver ordered pepperoni on the pizza or offered him a burger.

Silver, on the other hand, didn't like ninety-five percent of sweets. Sugar was so girly, especially the creamy or fruit-flavored sweets, and chocolate left an icky aftertaste in his mouth unless it was combined with peanut butter or pretzels. And even then it had to be dark chocolate, nice and bitter. Naturally, N was a huge sweet tooth and would always seem to forget Silver wasn't, always offering him candy or cookies or something equally inane.

But the thing Silver hated most about sweets was ice cream. Or rather, the way N ate an ice cream. Either he really was too innocent to know what he was doing, or he knew and did it on purpose. But every time N ate an ice cream, he would lick and suck on it slowly, murmuring appreciation and letting it drip down his fingers.

It drove Silver insane.

"Are you sure you don't want any?" N asked one sunny afternoon, holding the unfortunately-shaped, drippy stick out to him. Silver shook his head vehemently, forcing himself to look away. Stupid sexy N!

"Just hurry up and finish so we can meet the others," he barked, covering his lap with his hand to hide the effect N and that stupid ice cream were having on him. It was bad enough that Lyra and Ethan and N's dorky friends teased them about being a couple (which they absolutely weren't, Silver asserted, just because they traveled together and held hands and had incredibly hot filthy sex every night), but if they knew how it affected Silver...

"Are you sure?" Yeah, N was definitely teasing him now. Silver hated ice cream more than ever now; stupid N being so tempting and making it look so damn good! But he would hold out. He was tough, he was a fighter, he was-

-leaning forward to lick drops of the melting green stuff from N's hand.

DAMN IT ALL.

N just grinned, thrusting the whole affair into Silver's mouth. It wasn't that bad...actually, it was even kind of good.

"I'm gonna get you for this," Silver muttered.

They were late meeting the rest of the gang, and the rest of the gang knew why. Fortunately, they were smart enough not to say anything.