Konnichiwa! Hello minna-san! This is my first Kuro one-shot, so excuse its crappiness :)

Pairings: CielLizzie (One-sided), SebCiel(One-sided) Awwwww…

Disclaimer: Dun own it. Well, except Sebby's black nail polish…

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A smile.

Just one innocent, genuine smile could brighten up any room when it came from my fiancée.

She was always cheerful and jovial, like a ball of energy, a dazzling light that never went out. She cared for almost everything, easily cried about the simplest of things, but she also had a strong sense of justice.

Those were her strong points. But on the other hand, she had weaknesses too.

She loved.

She loved everything. From the birds in Finnian's garden, to Sebastian's unsightly kittens. Love was the basis of her existence… and it made her weak.

Her worst mistake? Loving me.

It was fairly obvious, judging by the way she looks at me with such longing, how her touches are starting to be more intimate than ever before.

Sebastian had always told me to never reject a lady.

Thus, when she smiles at me, I smile back. When she waves at me, I wave back. When she gives me a hug, I hug her back, although it has no heart in it. And when she kisses me… I kiss back.

But I know, and she knows that it's all a lie.

Elizabeth's foolish, but she's not dumb.

From the very beginning, she knew that I could never return her feelings for me. She knew that whatever she did, she would always be the annoying, obnoxiously loud girl that I always declined.

She knew that my heart would always belong to him.

...but she doesn't know that my soul's his, too…

Yet… she still gives me those warm, happy smiles, sea-green eyes scintillating with selfless adoration and love.

Her face is looming closer now; eyes gently closed; satin-soft lips slightly ajar and eager as she awaits her first kiss from the boy she loves. Her entire body leans forward, hands quivering nervously on her sides. The seconds tick by, agonizingly slow, the silence cutting through my body.

I didn't want do this. I never wanted to.

I don't want to lie to her again.

"A gentleman should never reject a lady…"

Soon, I find myself falling into her whims again. My mouth found hers gently. It was nothing special, just the soft brush of lips. But it was to her, anyway.

Her expression was everything that I'd expected: emerald eyes sparkled with a new-found emotion, a vivid scarlet blossomed across her porcelain cheeks, and her smile… her smile…

Somewhere, I could feel him laughing at us. His low, cello-like voice resounded inside my head, taunting and teasing, as if to mock me, illuminating the guilt I felt that was welling up inside of me.

And it was starting to feel incredibly unbearable.

I wasn't the type of person who easily felt compassion or regret towards other people. In fact, I enjoyed hearing, feeling their agony.

But this was Lizzie that we were talking about.

Lizzie, the only family that I had left.

She, who had continually dreamt of the day when we were finally going to get married, who never stopped coming to me even though I kept shoving her away… who persistently loved me even though she knew everything.

It was pathetic. It was stupid. It was weak.

But, so was I, anyway.

I fell in love with the very person, no, animal who craved my soul, whose mouth watered at the very thought of ripping my heart out and devouring it. Not once did I even try to suppress these useless emotions, but instead, harbored them inside of me where they grew and grew and grew… until they threatened to burst out of my chest. I kept of running after him, seeing him as someone actually worthy of trust, of affection, wherein he only saw me as a meal.

I knew this, but I didn't care.

She knew this, but she didn't care, either.

We were both fools.

Fools who, as much as they desired and craved, could never truly have what they wanted.

Elizabeth was pure, innocent. I, on the other hand, already had my life stained with blood. And if could do anything just to lessen the amount of sins and injustices that I've done to her, I would.

She's entering my room now, that same blissful expression on her face. Clothed in a silk, navy nightdress, she looked every ounce of the earless that she ought to be.

But behind her cheerful grin, I could see her poignant feelings, tear tracks almost completely dried on her cheeks; I absentmindedly recalled how I was just like her a few months back, when the devil had told me, so boldly, how he'd easily finished obtaining the information I'd needed from that circus girl.

We were both powerless.

And so, as his face haunts my memories, I did the only thing that I could do for her, for me…

…I smiled.

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So, how was it? I'd love to hear your opinions! I'm always looking for a chance to improve my writing.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Review?