The afternoon sun warmed the stone-paved streets as Kurapika walked calmly through Yorknew’s quieter shopping district, one hand resting on the handle of Anna’s stroller and the other loosely holding Romi’s small fingers.

Anna slept peacefully, swaddled in a cream-colored blanket, her tiny brown curls peeking out from under her hood. Her maroon eyes had fluttered shut minutes ago, completely unaware of the world rolling past her stroller.

Romi, on the other hand, was very aware.

She stopped walking so suddenly that Kurapika almost stumbled.

“…Papa,” Romi whispered.

Kurapika looked down. “What is it, Romi?”

Romi’s eyes were locked onto a pastel-colored ice cream cart across the street. The vendor was scooping tall spirals of strawberry and vanilla, the sweet smell drifting through the air.

Romi’s mouth slowly fell open.

A thin string of drool escaped before she even realized it.

Kurapika noticed immediately.

“…Romi,” he said gently.

She wiped her chin with the back of her hand, eyes still glued to the cart. “Ice cweam…”

Kurapika crouched down to her level, his expression soft but firm. “You had ice cream yesterday, remember? Mama shared hers with you after dinner.”

Romi puffed out her cheeks, clearly remembering—and clearly unhappy about it.

“But yesterday was… yesterday,” she argued in her tiny voice, pointing at the cart. “This is… today ice cweam.”

Kurapika blinked once.

He had faced the Phantom Troupe. Interrogations. Life-or-death negotiations.

None of that prepared him for this logic.

Behind them, Anna stirred slightly in her stroller, making a tiny sound. Kurapika instinctively stood and gently rocked the stroller with one hand until she settled again.

Romi took this moment to intensify her tactics.

She clasped her hands together. “Pwease, Papa… jus’ a wittle bit. I won’t even bite it hard.”

Kurapika sighed quietly, brushing Romi’s hair away from her eyes. “If Mama were here, what would she say?”

Romi hesitated.

“…Mama would say… ‘Romi, sweets are special treats.’” She lowered her voice dramatically. “But Mama is sweet too.”

Kurapika almost smiled.

Almost.

“I promised your mama I’d take care of you properly today,” he said. “That includes saying no sometimes.”

Romi’s eyes shimmered.