Snakes
By Icka! M. Chif


Midou Ban rarely hurried. When at all possible he liked to walk to his own relaxed pace. But in this case, his movements were just a little bit faster than normal as he handed his ice cream cone to his blond partner Amano Ginji and didn't quite hurry several stores ahead.

"Ban-chan!" Ginji cried, juggling ice cream as he followed. He hated being left behind.

Ban didn't go far, reaching forward to simultaneously open the door and catch a falling paper bag from the overly full grasp of a dark-haired man in an old-fashion butler uniform.

Intense blue eyes met dark green ones.

Ginji froze a few feet between them, swearing he could hear the ripple of scales on stone as the moment stretched.

Then green eyes crinkled shut as a cheerful grin passed the other man's face. "Thank you." He said politely, bags shifting as he repositioned them and took the fallen bag back.

"You're welcome." Ban replied evenly, taking a step back. The other man inclined his head and continued down the street.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji blinked, holding out his partners ice cream, then yelping slightly as some of it melted on to his hand. He quickly licked it off his gloves, then offered the ice cream back. "Did you know him, Ban-chan?"

"No." Ban shook his head, as if mentally relaxing tense muscles. "Not really."

"Eeh?" Ginji blinked, chocolate eyes wide in confusion. Ban was polite to everyone, but it was rare that he showed... respect for anyone, especially someone he didn't know.

Or met another person's eyes on purpose.

Ban shrugged silently acknowledging the unspoken question as he took his ice cream back. "Because." He explained as he turned to watch Jormungand, the snake so big he wrapped himself around the world, walk down the street with his arms full of groceries in human guise. "You should always be respectful to a serpent that is larger than you."

-fin-

The butler in quesiton is Yamino, from MaLoki. ^__^

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