Tittle: Homesick for a better time.
Pairing: Elliot x Oz
Warning: M-rated smut, character dead, Spoilers (For the manga at least), angst...
Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts.
Beta-reader: Ozbert fangirl.
-But if you still find any spelling mistakes, Please tell me. English is not my first language. + at the moment, my current beta-reader is very busy, is anyone interested in helping me out for the time being?
A.N: For those who've read this story the moment it came out, I changed it. I sort of rewrote it? It's longer, as you can see because I added much more details. The first time I wrote this story, it was mostly vague memories... now the memories are a bit more specific and you'll actually get to know some of the emotions that went through both of them at those times.
This story is mostly written in Oz's point of view, BUT there are moments where Elliot takes over... don't get confused there.
Bonus: I'm thinking about writing a sequel, if you want a sequel, please tell me!
But the most important thing off all: Please do enjoy.
"A Nightray and a Vesalius, friends? Such nonsense is not allowed in this household."
Then what about lovers?
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..
…
..
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- Maybe he had known it all along,
Many scenarios were running through his head; of things that he did,
of the things he shouldn't have done and then there were the things that he should have done…
but these kinds of 'what ifs' were useless as he glanced at his worried servant who was waiting for his answer.
The young Vesalius heard himself sigh, not even having the strength in him to try and cover it up.
He was tired of pretending.
So he shook his head, saw how those golden eyes of his friends were filled with worry and disappointment as he did so, he didn't stop though. Simply closed the door behind his back. Walking away from the Rainsworth mansion. -
To be honest, he couldn't even remember when he started to grow so close to Elliot. Had it been that time when they met in Reveille? -or maybe after that, at the festival where they both got lost and bumped into each other? A smile grew on his face when he remembered that time, it had been a pure coincidence and both had been too proud to admit they had simply gotten lost.
He truly couldn't remember,
what he did know was that when he felt for the Nightray…
He fell hard.
At first he felt disgusted at himself, since they were friends, both were male… was such a thing even possible? -And did he even deserve to love someone like that? Of course, when he had later somehow let that that thought slip, Elliot had punched him hard on the head while calling him an idiot. "Of course you do! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
But it had been Elliot that made the first move and it had been Elliot that made the last.
Oz had been surprised that when they got together, of how gentle he was… sure Elliot was still a hothead, but he showed more of his soft sides, his romantic sides… and Elliot... Elliot was romantic.
-"What's the name of this song? I like it!"
"You can have it,"
"…I-I can?"
"Sure, it's my gift for you then."
"That's… pretty cheesy,"
"Shut-up!"
He had loved their secret dates.
The two had promised each other to meet up every Monday and Friday. Just use the excuse that they wanted to go for a walk or something, clear their minds.
There they would meet at a secret spot, most of the times it had been Oz talking, Elliot just listening and smirking, or when Elliot talked it was about a book and Oz had learned to keep his opinion to himself about the characters that Elliot liked. Often they didn't share the same opinion about certain matters, yet, this never seemed to hold them back. The Vesalius would simply find his own ways to stop the Nightray from bickering too much, at first he had more then once hesitated, which had led to a lot of awkward situations, but as their relationship started to grow and all their walls began crumbling down he became braver. Kissing Elliot without even thinking twice about it on the mouth so that he could finally stop talk about why one of Oz's favourite characters was a useless good for nothing. Sometimes, the blond had found himself wondering if Elliot just made up reasons to piss him off, because he always had this rather smug look on his face after kissing everything better.
Not that he cared, really.
Oz would simply smile at the one year older teen, looking down at him while sitting on his lap with both his arms loosely wrapped around Elliot's neck, he would close his eyes when his boyfriend got that curious look in his gunmetal blue eyes. His movements would become slower so that the smaller teen could easily pull away if he wanted to, and his hands would usually find their way under his clothes to touch the skin hidden there.
He remembered these times at Pandora's headquarters, when Elliot would bump into Oz and find him and Break practicing sword fight, both sword men thought it was more than fun to tell the blond what was wrong and where he made a mistake. Until at some point both Break and Elliot had this rather proud smirk on their faces while Oz was trying to defend himself with simple words while hiding his burning cheeks from their eyes. Once, he had noticed the albino's red eye resting on his friend for a bit too long before he made eye contact with B-rabbit's contractor, a knowing smile on his face. One that made him freeze and wishing softly to himself that he had imagined it. But he hadn't.
Break easily figured their secret relationship out, but he kept it silent to all those whom did not need to know.
Sharon probably knew from Break and Leo… well Leo was smart, but he -unlike Break and Sharon-, didn't drop any secret hints, he let them know he had figured it out a long time ago and was totally cool with it by helping Oz cover one of his hickeys after a quick make-out session in one of Pandora's empty hallways. Without saying anything, he had simply fixed the boy's collar while Elliot had gazed from a safe distance at them. "You should visit the bathrooms first before heading back to the others, Oz-sama. Your lips are rather swollen." They had been careless that morning; the Vesalius had been too tired to think of all those things. He had missed Elliot and the moment he saw him there, walking next to duke Nightray, the two had slipped off.
Gilbert just noticed some things, but never linked it together. Thanks to Leo, from then on making it his duty to help them hide it, and while Sharon and Break loved to tease him, they respected their choice to keep it a secret so when they noticed something that could blow their whole cover, they would casually help them hide it.
...While Alice, ... Alice ate her meat.
He would remember the secret kisses and touches while hiding away from others, -the soft laughs.
The feeling of laying in someone's arms and feeling safe, not having to worry about your partner thinking you're weak while enjoying the closeness. It was great, it was wonderful and he wished to go back to these times.
He really did.
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"You're thinking," Elliot spoke, he sat down next to him and gave him a curious look, wondering what was bothering his boyfriend, he slowly raised his hand to brush a freshly fallen leaf out of the teen's blond hair, the boy did it without even thinking about, in the beginning stages of their relationship, Oz would have flinched away, thinking that the Nightray wanted to hit him, this had often caused the taller teen to loose his temper. But as months had gone by, the boy didn't even bat an eye anymore when Elliot entered his personal space without a warning.
In fact, he welcomed it more then anything.
"I've been wondering," Oz said, letting his head rest on the taller male's shoulders while gazing at nothing in particular, "About what I said... about the relationship between the Nightray and the Vesalius maybe we-"
"We can't tell them about 'this'," Elliot had quickly interrupted them, putting some distance between them so that he could gaze straight into his partner's eyes, wanting to read the many emotions written in those beautiful emerald orbs. It was true, that Oz was good at hiding his emotions. But if you hung around with him long enough, when there were no walls left around the boy, he was actually easier to read then a book. Elliot had learned that Oz's eyes often gave him away, usually it only took the boy a blink of an eye to put on his mask, but it was just that tiny little moment that the Nightray needed to know the truth.
"I know that, but we can make them believe we're just friends." He looked down, avoiding Elliot's knowing gaze while he plucked some grass out of the ground, trying to pretend like the subject he had just brought up wasn't that heavy.
Yeah right, he sighed.
Elliot had let those words sink in, before taking a deep breath and giving his answer, "They'll find out sooner or later,"
"They won't."
"Oz. Just... -He had angrily looked away from the blond- just stop talking about it. I thought about it too… but we just…" he made a loose gesture that said it all, Elliot was done with spending endless nights of giving himself headaches, trying to figure out a way to mend the broken bond between the two households so that he could hang out more often with Oz.
"Yeah… I know,"
"Hey," the teen smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "Don't pout like that," he teased him, as if Oz was a little kid. "I love you,"
Only Elliot could make him forget what they were talking about in the blink of an eye, Oz realized while he blushed and looked away. He didn't want Elliot to see the expression on his face, still not being used to a person telling him they love him. The Nightray laughed when seeing his reaction and easily pushed the boy down on the slightly damp grass and crawled on top of him, snickering he looked down at Oz. "You're cute like this." -This. Lying on the floor with slightly pink cheeks, eyes wide and waiting to be kissed. To feel those warm lips against his and to forget about the world for just one second… to make himself believe that it was only Elliot and him.
He really was a fool.
Love made him careless, made him more selfish. He knew that now, and oh how he wished he hadn't been so self-centered. Wished he had stopped reaching his greedy hands out towards the Nightray boy, he should have been a better boyfriend.
But those were 'what ifs….' That only hurt his head,
"I'm not… cute…" Oz mumbled and looked away, a pout on his face as he tried to hide his embarrassment, but he really was no good when it came to love. The only thing he was good at was flirting, but even then he would slightly blush.
Though all these thoughts were easily forgotten when Elliot kissed him, pressing his lips gently on Oz's, moving them slowly, as if testing the blond haired boy… he was waiting for Oz's answer, the blond didn't leave him disappointed as he answered to the kiss, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him closer. They never really went further than just kissing and touching, just when Elliot's hand had found its way under Oz's shirt did the first droplet fall out from the sky. Choosing to ignore it, he went further with kissing Oz, the Vesalius didn't seem to notice it as he was already gasping softly for air between their kisses and moved his body against Elliot's.
God, he really wanted this.
Oz's skin felt soft beneath his touch, his skin was warm… Elliot pulled a little back, first Oz tried follow him, not liking it when Elliot suddenly broke a kiss. They just lay there, gazing into each other's eyes. Elliot couldn't help but smirk when seeing his lover like this; Oz truly was a sight to see.
-He remembered Elliot telling him that he at first wasn't sure if he truly loved him, maybe it was just the feeling you got from this secret,
a secret love between two males,
two families that hate each other.
It sounded so much like a tragedy, and both hoped more than ever that it wouldn't end like Romeo and Juliet.
But Oz had accepted it, so what if there's no romance? As long as he could make himself believe, that for just one second there was something, he would already be more than happy.-
It started to rain harder, so both had to let go of each other and get up. Elliot had been cursing, Oz who only wore his usual outfit got faster wet, though the boy didn't seem to mind as he decided to hide under a tree. Laughing because Elliot didn't like the rain.
"You know that a storm is coming right, it's not safe under the trees when there's lightening,"
"I know…" Oz nodded and leaned his head on Elliot's shoulder again while he crossed his arms and tried not to shiver too much. Elliot, being the noble as always removed his coat and put it on the smaller one's shoulders. Oz had been about to protest if the sound of thunder hadn't interrupted him.
"Let's just go home, how far is the Rainsworth mansion from here?"
"Half an hour walk," honestly, why had he even asked? Elliot had often walked him back…
"That's too long…"
"Nah it's fine," he shrugged casually.
The taller male ignored him, he grabbed the coat Oz wore and pulled the hoodie over his head, then grabbed the blond's wrist and pulled him with him, to the Nightray household. Ignoring Oz who kept asking stupid questions; "What're you doing?", "What if someone sees us?", only when he entered the house through the servant's entrance with a small key did he look at Oz, "Stay silent and don't remove the hoodie… it's even better if you stay in the shadows," he whispered softly in his ear, sure there were other ways to say something to the boy but it wasn't like the Vesalius minded the closeness, Elliot smirked when he saw the faint blush on the teen's face.
"I didn't know you had the guts to do this," Oz breathed out,
"I'm going to kill you," Elliot twitched his eyebrow, of course he should have seen it coming, when did the boy ever let down an opportunity to tease the people he cared about?
"Well that would be lovely. Oz Vesalius-" the boy sang,
"Sssh!"
"-Found death in the Nightray household-"
"Shut-up!"
"-Murdered by Elliot Nightray,"
Elliot shut the boy up with his lips, after making sure no one saw them. Oz of course immediately shut-up, and just like any other time was he the last one to stop the kiss. "If you won't keep quiet you can sleep on the ground in these cold clothes,"
It took the Vesalius some time to answer to that, already getting drunk form the teasing, "Fine… I'll shut-up…"
And Oz kept his promise, he silently followed the Nightray to his bedroom, Elliot was the son of a Nightray, a very rich family, so Oz knew that he didn't have to expect a small room. Yet he still couldn't help thinking Elliot had a rather impressive room.
His room was twice as big as Oz's room at the Vesalius mansion, though he wasn't surprised that his father had something to do with that. -Piece of trash didn't need that much space. He slowly removed the drenched coat while looking around. He almost bumped into the large piano, "You have your own piano…"
"It's easier like that," Elliot spoke and removed his own wet jacket, giving him a confused look over his shoulder.
He gave Oz some old clothes from a few years ago that he still had somewhere far away in his walk in closet and handed him two towels. It was a simple shirt and short, though Oz seemed more than happy that he was out of these cold clothes as he wrapped a towel around himself, "Cold," he mumbled. "Ah I should call Gil… he must be worried,"
"Over there on my desk,"
"Seriously, you have a phone in your room."
"You don't?"
"W-well not in the Rainsworth mansion…" he said and grabbed the phone, calling the Rainsworth mansion; he wasn't surprised that Break picked up. He quickly asked after Gilbert, "Oh my, my if it isn't our lost brat, had us worried over here."
"Give me that!" Gilbert shouted, "Oz!? Where are you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine Gil… geez, are you even breathing?" he joked, he glanced at Elliot who stood next to him and was looking through the papers that lay on his desk, new songs Oz noticed. He turned his head a little when seeing the name 'Oz' written on one, quickly reading the notes he smiled when seeing it was the one Elliot gave to him. "Anyhow, I'm with Elliot… I bumped into him during my walk,"
Elliot rolled his eyes when hearing that, "Yeah because that doesn't suspicious,"
Oz simply shrugged,
"At the Nightray household? Oz what the hell- Stay there I'm on my way-"
"In this weather, Gilbert-kun. How about you just stay here, it's not like Elliot is going to eat him… well not literally,"
"I'm sure Oz-sama doesn't mind spending the night there," Sharon and Break were talking in the background, causing Oz to blush slightly, he glanced nervously at Elliot who was reading a letter that lay on his desk, a slight frown on his head, he usually frowned when reading; a sign that he was very concentrated, yet when he played the piano his face became soft.
"W-well I don't know if Elliot doesn't mind if I… uhm…"
Elliot shook his head, a sign that he didn't care if Oz stayed. "Just keep quiet,"
"Oh… it's fine he says," Oz smiled, "Well then, see you tomorrow!"
"No wait, Oz-"
"Bye Gil," Oz laughed and hung up,
"Now let's see, where can I put you without you getting lost," Elliot joked,
"Hey!"
"Wouldn't want you to get lost, this place must be huge for someone as small as you."
"Shut-up."
Elliot never got any visitors after 08.00P.M in his room, it seemed that the Nightrays respected each other's privacy. So that also meant that they could do whatever they wanted without anyone interrupting them. It didn't even cross Oz's mind to go any further than usual, though he didn't stop the taller teen when he pushed him down on the bed, pressing their bodies together and hungrily kissing his lips.
The teen was sure his lips were already swollen by now, he helped Elliot with unbuttoning the simple shirt he wore, realizing his mistake just a bit too late when Elliot's gaze fell on the illegal contractor seal.
"-Ah… sorry, I should-…" he tried to cover it again,
"Stop thinking so much," Elliot's voice was hoarse before he kissed him again, placing his hand over the seal, a proud smirk appeared on his face when the Vesalius arched his back from that mere touch, as if a thousand lightning bolts shot through his body.
He gasped softly for air,
That's when they both realized where they were heading to.
Wow,
Really?
"…Are we-" Elliot gulped, "I mean… can I…?"
"….Y…yeah, sure. Should I…?"
He shook his head, breathing out a laugh as he pecked him on his cheeks, feeling the boy beneath him tensing slightly up. "No… just relax, I'll do all the work, hm?"
For a second he thought Oz would protest, defend his honor, but the blond simply nodded. He relaxed rather quickly beneath his touch, though. It was true that Elliot had more experience; even though everyone was convinced all he cared about was music and books. But even this was new for him. Not once had he felt this passionate, and never had he lay with another man.
So this was a whole new discovery.
He was lucky that Oz didn't mind him going slow; in fact, the boy seemed to be more than happy that he was taking things slow. Giving Elliot all the time he needed to discover his likes and dislikes, "E-Elliot…"
"I know…"
The boy tried to cover his mouth, tried to keep himself from making any embarrassing sounds, Elliot wouldn't let him. He gently grabbed his hands and placed soft and quick kisses on his wrist while his other hand caressed his naked body. "Try to keep quiet," he whispered between two breaths.
"Tsk- if you'd let- ngh!"
A snort of amusement,
Oz gave him a playful kick,
And then things got a bit more intense… and keeping quiet got a bit harder. And Elliot had to remind him a bit too much that he should keep his mouth shut- and really, that was so much easier said then done when you weren't the virgin with hormones going overkill.
At some point the Nightray did let go of his wrist so that he could cover his mouth with his arm, by the time his body reached its climax, he was biting hard on the already abused skin. Trembling from head to toe while Elliot wiped some freshly fallen tears on his face, kissing him gently.
"I love you…" again he whispered those words in his ears, and all Oz could do was laugh softly, answering that he knew, as he tried to make his lover believe that those tears were because of what they had just done and not because of what he had just said.
That night he fell asleep in the arms of his lover, not alone in a too big bed with a thousand things running through his head.
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Elliot was a morning person. No doubt about that, when Oz woke up Elliot had already been up and talking with Leo who had brought them breakfast, talking might have not been the right word to use how their conversation went, but it was all the Vesalius's sleep-fogged mind could come up with as he gazed at the two friends with a slightly bored expression. He had to blink a few times, his vision was blurry and his body was sore.
"It was raining," Elliot frowned, slightly raising his voice while his face started to heat up.
"I see, well glad that you didn't let Oz-kun keep wearing these wet clothes." Leo hummed in amusement,
"Wh-what do you mean by that?" even though he asked, it was obvious he already knew the answer. He quickly glanced at his lover and that was all the boy needed to realize that aside from the blankets, he was still very much naked.
Right!
He quickly tried to cover himself up a little.
Both Leo and Elliot had gazed at him with a blank expression on their face,
"...Right," the raven haired valet coughed, trying to hid his smile behind his left hand, "You don't seem to mind his lack of clothes,"
"We didn't-"
"I suggest you let him take a hot bath… that's good for… a cold," smooth, Leo. Smooth.
"Damn it Leo!"
The servant had laughed with that and then left the room, Elliot let out a frustrated sigh and then glanced at Oz, the boy still lay in bed, tired eyes were gazing at him. Oz smiled at him when their eyes met, causing the Nightray to huff and roll his eyes, yet he didn't hide the slight smirk on his face as he walked back to the bed where Leo had put the small table with breakfast. "I always thought you were a morning person," the teen spoke while he poured some tea in a cup and reached it out to Oz, the boy sighed even though the smile on his face. "I am, but yesterday was just a long day… I guess," he spoke and tried to stand up, hissing though when pain shot through his body coming from his lower back. Elliot raised an eyebrow when seeing this happen,
"No… I just," Oz chuckled nervously and slowly sat up, ignoring the pain. He accepted the tea and drank from it, sighing… "Did you ever drink Gil's tea?" he asked while gazing at his blurry reflection in the creamy liquid.
"Not that I remember," Elliot answered and took a bite from a croissant, he watched how Oz grabbed a cucumber sandwich and took a small bite of it while tired emerald eyes gazed at nothing particular.
Just gazing at Oz… the boy that was always fully awake, seeing him like this with that sleepy expression and bed hair, the youngest Nightray couldn't hold back, the only warning Oz got was Elliot moving a bit closer to him, pressing a hand on his cheek and then lips were pressed on his.
"That isn't very tasty… my mouth was still full," not to mention his morning breath,
"I don't care."
Elliot had never been that rough, maybe it had been because of what they did the previous day, but his hands were already feeling every bit of skin. Oz moaned softly when he did that, breakfast suddenly not that interesting anymore while his partner pushed him down, back on his bed, pushing his tongue in a bit too rough to Oz's liking but he didn't protest.
His body was already responding to his touches, the memory of the previous night still fresh on their minds as Elliot quickly pulled the bed sheets of his body, it would only be a matter of time before his clothes would be lying on the floor as well-
A knock on the door interrupted them though, Elliot let out an annoyed sigh while Oz couldn't help but laugh as the Nightray stood up and walked away from the part of the bedroom where the bed was, the door was out of sight from the bed so that the Nightray didn't have to worry about anyone seeing Oz.
It was a maid, the young lady made a small bow and apologized for interrupting whatever Elliot was doing, "Gilbert-sama called, he says he's going to visit us… he asked if he could talk with you when he visits."
"When will he be here?"
"In about an hour, sir."
"Thanks,"
The maid left and Elliot walked back to his bedroom, Oz had just finished the sandwich when Elliot came back, the smaller boy gave him one of his beautiful lazy smiles, before Elliot pushed him down again and kissed him again, while doing this Oz couldn't help but chuckle in the kiss. "I would like to take a shower you know…"
"Then you should do that…"
"I can't… not if you're on top of me,"
Elliot smirked when hearing that, pecking Oz on the lips "A bath might be better though… Leo told me…" he coughed awkwardly, he tried to hide the blush as he looked away.
"I guess I should do that then,"
"Yeah..."
The Vesalius laughed and when Elliot got off him he sat up straight, whining softly as he tried to stand up. He tried to reach out to the clothes that lied a few feet away from the bed while trying to hide his body. The Nightray watched him with one raised eyebrow, he huffed, muttering something that sounded very much like, "I just had sex with you, what are you scared of?" but he still helped him with getting the clothes and putting them on, caressing every bit of skin he could. His gaze was soft when he saw how Oz responded to those touches.
Elliot snickered softly when Oz tried to walk, causing the poor boy to blush even more.
He didn't know how long it took him, but he did remember enjoying the warmth of the water and he liked Elliot's company, the Nightray just sat next to him. They both talked about stupid things, had a ridiculous fight about the part where Edgar from Holy Knight died and how it should have gone instead.
When Oz got out of his bath and got some clothes from Elliot, -luckily they were from two years ago so that they were his size-, then did Gilbert come, he knocked on the door, Oz recognized it immediately. He and Elliot had been playing chess, Elliot got really angry that he had lost twice.
"Oz! How are you? Did you get hurt? No, I'm sure that-"
"I'm fine,"
"Okay…" he then glanced at Elliot who seemed a bit angry because Gilbert had been only talking to Oz this whole time, "Right, thanks Elliot for taking care of Oz."
"Geez Gil, I'm not a little kid."
"Just go," Elliot waved it off and gazed back at the chessboard, his eyes widened then when seeing Oz would have won for the 3rd time if Gilbert hadn't showed up. "Well then… we should go before Vincent notices I'm here…" he gestured for Oz to follow him.
"I'm coming, just let me grab my watch."
"Yeah sure," Gilbert said and walked out of the room, Oz quickly stood up and walked as best as he could to Elliot and kissed him, a small goodbye kiss. "Bye,"he whispered while gently cupping his face between his hands, a beautiful smile on his face.
"Just go!" A flustered Elliot almost shouted, while he pushed the Vesalius away.
Oz laughed while he left with Gilbert, which was very awkward because Gilbert noticed that he was walking slower then usual. "My stomach hurts," had been the very bad excuse.
So that when they were back at the Rainsworth mansion Gilbert wanted to call a doctor while Break laughed with it, "Oz-kun just needs some time to rest, that's all."
And after that was the party at Isla Yura's place, Elliot kept his distance, making sure no one noticed a thing. Only when they talked in private did the Nightray give him a quick peck on the lips and they both acted like friends.
Elliot had started fighting with Leo, and while Oz had wanted nothing more then to comfort his lover, he knew it would be too suspicious. So he followed his other friend…
He regretted every decision he made that day, hated how Elliot had seen him get so angry when he saw what Isla had done to Alice. He had jumped straight into a situation that was screaming "TRAP", only to save Alice.
Memories of a life before his driving him crazy.
And when the fight was over, when he reached his hand out towards humpy Dumpty's ashes, not even remembering the fight, there was one huge hole in his memory. The ashes burned on his skin, his heart hurt as he realized something was wrong… "Elliot-"
Elliot
Was dead.
The boy found his corpse in a room at the end off the hallway, he had wanted to ignore Leo's screams of pain.
He couldn't even find it in himself to cry, all he could do was gaze at his lover's dead body.
Why?
How?
Elliot-
The world became blurry for a moment, he felt like collapsing… Gilbert whom had entered the room after him didn't even have time to respond to what he just witnessed having to be there for his master whom collapsed on the floor. "Oz!"
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Today was Monday, Oz sighed while glancing at the door. He had tried to stay at home; to not go for a walk to the place were they used to meet… there would be no Elliot there waiting for him.
Not now,
Not tomorrow,
Not anymore…
only in his dreams.
He didn't want to go, but his body had another idea, forcing him to walk to the door and open it, breathing in the warm air.
As if Elliot would suddenly be standing there,waiting for him as usual, complaining about Oz being late and then the Vesalius could laugh, apologize and explain to him that Gil and Alice kept insisting on going with him. Couldn't let that happen, now could do they?
"Oz?"
He turned his head, then smiled softly at Gilbert, "Hi... Gil."
"…Are you... going for a walk?"
"I am."
The tall man nodded, "Would you like me to... accompany you?"
He thought about that, it was just like the previous Friday and Monday, Gil asking him if he could join him for a walk, probably worried that Oz would do something stupid. He sighed, seeing these hopeful and worried eyes gazing at him, the smile faded a bit. "I…" he looked away, back at the door. Then the sad smile came back, "I would love to."
Please Gil.
I don't think I can handle this much longer on my own.
.
.
.
"How could I burden that brat with the weight of my life?"