The amount of OzAlice on this site frustrates me. So I am forced to rid myself of these crazy, little ideas on here for all of you to find.

So here it is! As promised, you-know-who-you are! (Though still a day late *cough cough*) I'm not so good with romance btw, as in describing feelings. (Please spare me!)

Tiny smidge of angst at the beginning, but what's a story without drama?

Summary: Oz doesn't like seeing a sad Alice. So after a fight she has with Gil, he tries to cheer her up. [OzAlice][major fluff]

Calm After The Storm

An OzxAlice Oneshot

"Stupid Rabbit! Why didn't you know that would happen!"

"I just didn't! Stop blaming me!" shouted the chain.

An exasperated sadness was barely apparent in her tone, though she tried to conceal it. She would not lose this argument. It was their most common and, sadly, most pressing debate. Besides Oz, himself, their argument on Oz's seal seemed to be their only common ground. Fiery as it was, they both knew that once one or the other settled their fight, there would be no reason to be at each other's throats. (The fact was that their increasingly hostile and worrisome relationship was built on arguments such as this.) And silently, they both knew their verbal fights could only escalate. Even their unfortunate, blonde onlooker knew this; he also knew he could not take sides. It would kill him.

"You are so-" Gil fumbled for the right word, trying to take out his anger and still win against the chain, "-so useless! All you do is poison Oz! Just get out of here!" He shouted the words at her passionately, hoping they would sink in. (Hoping they would hurt her.) He wasn't thinking of Oz, who was watching the fight distantly.

The second he finished, she lunged from the edge of her seat, intending to get at him. Oz, who had been watching from a spot between the two, quickly jumped up to hold her back. He tightly wrapped his arms around her waist from the back as she attempted to pass him. She struggled to release herself from his grip as she yelled at the raven.

"Why don't you? It's my room and no one even needs you anymore! All you do is watch and make things worse!"

Angrily, she kicked and pushed at Oz as he maintained his grip around her smaller body. She soon realizes the uselessness of her struggle and calms her flailing. Gil, meanwhile, had been seething over her last retort as he watched the two, cursing the girl in his mind. Unable to express his frustration in words, he shakes his head and scoffs at her while reaching for his hat and jacket, which had been laying on the bed by the door.

"I need a cigarette," he says. His voice nearly level as he heads for the door and tears it open before starting off into the dark.

"Gil, wait!" Oz shouts, reaching out with his right arm toward the door as it slams into the wall and bounces back shut. The noise resounds loudly throughout the room and perhaps down the hall. The blonde is frozen in his spot with one arm outstretched and his left still curled firmly around the chain's waist. Though his grip looses, Alice made no move to run after the raven.

It was very dark in her room, except for the moonlight that spilled in from the single large window on the left and lights up, uninhibited, all the way to the other side of the room where the door is and the small fire burning in the fireplace behind them, warming them slightly. They stand in the silence for a few seconds looking at the door. Oz's outstretched arm then drops down back to his side. He takes a deep breath and looks worriedly to Alice, who clutches the fabric of his white shirt sleeve that is wrapped around her waist. She turns her face away from him slightly and her hair falls delicately(beautifully, he thinks) in the way of his view.

Her feels her body, pressed against the front of his, begin to tremble. From what, he could not tell, but he backs away a touch, though still carefully keeping his arm about her, expecting her to explode suddenly and shove him away. Thankfully, he realizes after a few moments, she doesn't. But his peace turns to concern when he notices that her upper body continues to shake. So, lightly, he untangles himself from her and turns her, by her shoulders, to face him. Her body sways carelessly as she turns and with her head still turned away he could not see her face.

"Why?" she asks quietly, as if it were a struggle just to speak without breaking into tears. The dark-haired girl looks up into his eyes and, sure enough, tears are starting to pool up in hers.

"They always…how was I," her voice is a confusing mixture of anger and sadness and sounds like she is talking to herself, rather than anyone else.

"…I didn't know…" She adds as she trails off and breaks their gaze. Suddenly, Oz realizes what she is thinking. How many people had tried to explain the effects of an illegal contract to her, he wonders. Surely, she would have grasped what they were saying. But would they have asked her if she felt any guilt? He feels like he should have realized sooner and mentally scolds himself for not thinking of it earlier.

Slowly, he lifts his arms around her again and hesitantly embraces her, not wanting to upset her further. For a moment, she does nothing besides let her shoulders relax and her arms hang uselessly beside her. Finding his gesture comforting, she lays her head sideways on his shoulder, facing away from him. (She's just a little bit shorter than him, he notices, even with her boots.)

"I didn't want…" she says slowly, not knowing how to finish her sentence, before wrapping her arms around his waist. Her upper arms are pinned, though not painfully, by his embrace to her sides. Oz rests the right side of his face on the side of her head and takes a small breath.

"I know," he replies simply.

"But everyone says," Alice pauses, trying to keep her voice level as her body shakes, nearly betraying her, "it would be better without me…" Again she trails off, but still he understands.

"Not me"

He starts to rub her back soothingly up and down in a slow, tender rhythm. Melting at Oz's caresses, Alice grabs a handful of his loose, black vest and turns her face to bury it in his neck. His face heats up profusely as her lips brush over his collarbone and he inhales her scent. She takes a couple ragged, calming breathes and Oz waits for her.

However, when she would exhale, nerves all over his neck and upper body came to life, sending electric waves that made his skin quiver in pleasure. His heart began to beat a little faster and he could feel his face heat up. Alice didn't seem to notice what she was doing to him and so - to distract himself - he decided to play with her hair as he looked over her shoulder.

When he felt her finally relax in his arms, he carefully pulled his head away to look at her. Alice looked up to meet his gaze and he could tell it was still on her mind, though not as troublesome as it had been before.

"Don't worry about them, Alice," he smiles reassuringly at her. "No matter what they say…I'm glad you're here…with me." His smile grows more pronounced as he finishes and she looks away, pouting (adorably, he thinks). And then, a faint red tint appears on her cheeks and, despite the near dark, he sees and cannot help but laugh a little.

"Stupid manservant," she says without looking back to him, before sniffling once. Oz smiles again when he realizes she can't think of anything else to say. He drops his arms further down to her waist and intertwines his fingers behind her and leans back, causing her body to fall into his. An almost dumbfounded expression appears on her face, which he is glad he doesn't miss - despite the low level of light coming from the fire behind him. (He loves the innocent surprise on Alice's face.)

Still smiling, Oz looks away to the door and gets an idea. Following his gaze, Alice looks to the door as well before they turn back to each other simultaneously.

"Come on," Oz says as he smiles and rocks their upper bodies back and forth in the direction of the door. (He likes the way she unknowingly holds him tighter while she looks away and tries to guess his thoughts.) A look of annoyance suddenly spreads over her face and she stops their rocking- though not pushing him away.

'I don't want to talk to him!" Alice says loudly, misunderstanding and sounding almost offended at the idea.

"I mean, the kitchen. To get some food," he explains. "It's the middle of the night. No one will be there." He smiles and backs away a small step as his hands slide down her arms and slip into hers. Alice stays silent as she watches him fluidly raise their arms up between their chests and - decreasing the distance between the two - he takes a small step toward her and kisses her gloved hand. Her face flushes a bright red and she turns her head away quickly, hoping he would not see. But, of course, he does and he lets their arms fall down - with their fingers interlaced - between them.

At first, Alice doesn't look back or even react (her face still a deep shade of red), but then she releases his hands and grabs his wrist and starts walking (pulling) them in the direction of the door. Oz trails behind for a moment, surprised and letting himself be pulled, but then laughs to himself. When Alice lets go of his wrist, she expects him to catch up so that he is able to walk beside her.

What she does not expect is for him to grab her hand and entwine their fingers as they walk down the hall.

But she doesn't mind. (Dare she say, she even likes it.)

It's done! It's typed! *cheers*

I even broke 1500 words!

Please review! It makes me write more. :3

(And if you made it to the end, you'll probably want more!)