Author's Note: It seems I'm not your typical SO:TTEOT fanfiction authoress... for example, I can guarantee you will never see AlbelxFayt, AlbelxCliff, CliffxFayt, AlbelxNel, etc., coming from me. You'll see GonnellaxQuantestorie, and possibly LiasxEvia. I love NPCs. This fic, however, is pairing-less. Sort of. As pairing-less as a LeFox fic is going to get. It spawns from a severe hatred of Aqua for the things she says about Evia... who takes it! I don't, however, hate Aqua herself. Only the way she talks about her father. I wish I had a father like Evia... but that's another rant altogether. On with the fic!

Warnings: Language, angst.

Pairing: Moderately implied LiasxEvia.

If You Won't

What You Say

The man stared silently at the pages of the small book, flipping them one by one, reading each scrawled word as if it held some explanation, some way to prove the previous harsh words to be false... but he found nothing. Just more and more of the same scathing sentiments...

She hates me, he finally concluded, It's not just a simple statement, it's not a joke... she truly hates me.

With a shuddering sigh, he set the diary aside. It was something he promised himself he would never do - reading his daughter's diary, her private thoughts and feelings. He had encouraged her to keep a diary when she had first learned to write (which she had done at a very early age, one of many things he was very proud of), as a way to express herself. He had promised her he would never, ever read it, nor would he allow others to read it. The tiny black-and-gold book was hers... from the tiny lock to her name in gold on the cover... Aqua. She kept the minuscule key on a fragile gold chain around her neck, and kept it with her always. Never once had Evia considered reading his precious daughter's diary. Never once had Evia wanted to see what she might say about him. Never once had Evia thought she might have anything bad to say about her father.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Page after page of cruel remarks and jokes at his expense. He's just a waste of space, I don't see why I have to stay with him... Father is so boring. We never do anything interesting... Father is so stupid... I wish he'd leave me alone...

He broke finally with a groan of dispair, leaning forward and burying his face in his hands. He had given her everything any child could ever want... clothes, toys, love, affection... what more could he give? He had nothing left to give to her... he had given his job, his money, and finally his home... for her. He had finally had to seek refuge in the Peterny church... for her. When she had fallen ill suddenly, he had done everything he could to raise enough money so she could go to a doctor... for her. And when it turned out that she had only a small infection rather than a disease, he had cried for pure joy... for her! When had he ever done anything for himself, since the day she was born! When was the last time he did something for his own enjoyment? There wasn't a 'last time,' because the day Aqua entered his life, 'his' life ended. It became 'her' life. He was living for her. Every breath he drew was for her.

How could she say such things...? Not even one positive word for him.

"...You seem upset." Evia looked up sharply... how long had the other man been there? Lias wasn't supposed to work today, no one was. It was a holiday. A holiday which Aqua had chosen to spend with Welch... or whatever that woman across the street's name was. But Lias was here...? Evia sighed, hiding the small book.

"It's nothing."

"You look like it's nothing." Lias frowned as he poked at the furnace, clearly intending to do some work today. "You look rather like you're having the best day of your life... right down to the tear stains."

Evia touched his cheek gingerly, surprised to find that it was, in fact, slightly damp. "...I didn't realize I was crying," he said softly, as if the action seemed impossible in the current situation. "But... it's nothing. It will work itself out, I suppose." Lias looked up, giving him a very knowing look.

"This has something to do with your daughter... Turquoise, was that her name?"

"Aqua." Evia replied shortly, slightly infuriated that someone could forget her name... then he stopped. This was the child that hated him, the child that had written all of those terrible things about him...

"...But... yes," he added, "It has to do with her." Hesitating, he handed the diary over to the hands of the man he'd known only for a matter of weeks.

Several moments passed in silence while Lias read the small journal.

"She wrote these things," he spoke finally, his voice gaining a rather distasteful note. "She wrote these things about you."

Yes, I know that, Evia wanted to say. I know she wrote them, did I not read it myself? You don't need to prick the wounds again, you bastard. But he remained silent.

Lias sat beside him, closing the book disdainfully. "She's a spoiled child. I've seen you with her... you treat her like a little princess. Only the best. And still she writes this." He tossed the diary to the floor, frowning at it.

Evia stared at it, wanting it to go away... to disappear... or at the very least, he wanted to forget the things it said. Or for them to not be true. For them to not be on every single page, on every single line...

"And still you love her," Lias continued softly, "And it's killing you." He slipped a hand under Evia's chin, turning the tear-streaked face toward him. "You won't ever let her know you've read it. She will continue to write them, of course, not knowing that you've seen it... because it would hurt you too deeply for her cruelty to possibly come out in the open; it would cut you like a knife for her to have one more reason to hate you - that you would dare to read her journal - and you would die every time she looked at you... to know that she always wanted more from you, to know that you could never, never give her everything she wanted."

"Stop it..." Evia was begging, whispering, as the tears continued to fall. "Stop it, I can't bear it..."

"And everything you could give... would never be enough. She wants something that you, her loving father, could never bear to give her... she doesn't want love, Evia." It was the first time Lias had ever said his name, and it was in such a close, personal manner that Evia's reddish eyes widened. "She wants the life of a princess without the love of a family. That is the reason she is so fond of Welsh Vineyard - she gives the girl friendship, tokens of affection, but not love. Your daughter wants nothing of emotions, she has no time for you-"

"Stop it!" Evia yelled, jerking away. "Please, no more. I can't... I can't take it anymore..."

"Forgive me." Lias bowed his head, closing his eyes. "I wish she, or someone in this world, could return to you the love you feel for that child." With that, he rose, and went back to the fire, leaving the devastated father sobbing behind him.

When Aqua returned that day, she opened her diary to begin writing about the day's activities... only to find a small message written inside.

If you won't love him, I will.

Author's Note: WOW. I wrote a halfway decent fanfiction again! I'm so... happy... -tears of joy- And it's all because of Evia! Thank him! There will be one other chapter to this, to show that regardless of what she writes, Aqua does love her father.