Important Note:
Hello everyone :) This is only my second fic so please be nice *Blushes shyly*. This story mostly follows Oz and Alice, (it's not POV though) but other perspectives are in it as well. Please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors, and I'll try hard to keep them as in character as possible. If the grammar gets too bad, then let me know so I can invest in a beta. There will be lemons in this, both BoyxBoy, and BoyxGirl ( as you can see from the other pairing in this story). This is not a canon ( I actually didn't read the manga yet. Yes... shame on me :(
Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of it's characters.
XXX Lukewarm XXX
Oz didn't know how he was supposed to eat his lunch, when the two people that were closest to his heart, were giving each other death glares.
Oz was currently sitting at the end of the long dinning table, with Alice on his left hand side furiously chewing a piece of baked chicken, and Gilbert on his right hand side, leaning back in his seat smoking a cigarette, never once taking his hard yellow gaze off the chain that sat across from him.
It was often like this, both of his friends trying to rip Oz apart as they fought over the "rights" to him. But occasionally the fighting would escalate to higher levels than just playful rivalry and friendly envy, and now that almost two years had passed, and they all settled neatly at the Vessalius mansion, things had only gotten worst between the two.
Oz had often asked his uncle what brought on such a drastic change in Alice's interaction with Gilbert and vise versa, but every time he would ask, the man would get all teary eyed and mumble something about how much all of them had grown, and say that it was simply "that time."
What time? That was the question he was always left with, as far as he could tell nothing had really changed. Sure, he was physically seventeen years old and he got a little bit taller...just a little. And his voice was a tad deeper. Oh, and he seemed to notice Alice's curves become more and more defined as the girl...developed. As for Gilbert, well, he stayed the same, if anything, the man got even more handsome...but that was it.
And as for that present moment, the majority of the tension stemmed from Alice's anger about Oz choosing to accompany Gilbert to the city to buy some supplies for his uncle. But he told the girl he would go with Gilbert alone, to spend some time with him.
Then she argued with Oz and Gilbert for at least an hour before adopting a sour mood and a damp attitude, really, the girl could be so...
" Stop staring at me, seaweed head! It's annoying!"
" Your presence is annoying." Gilbert said under his breath as he rolled his eyes and blew smoke though his nose.
" You wanna die, you!-" Alice was cut off and pushed back by Oz who caught the girl trying to crawl across the table and attack his servant.
" Alice!" Oz called out as he struggled to restrain the headstrong female.
" He started it, damn idiot!"
"Oh my...must you two fight every minute?" All three off them turned to see Break crawling from underneath the table, lazily making his way toward the trio who's expressions lacked the surprise that they once had, the first few times he pull that trick; they were quite use to it by then.
" Break...it's been awhile." Oz said happily.
" Yes it has. Though, this time I have news that may be of interest to you."
" Is it about my memories?" Alice said with hope in her voice.
" No."
" What is it?" Oz prompted.
Break took his time sitting himself on the table, eyes exploring the lavish lunch for anything sweet that he could get his delicate hands on. He seemed disappointed when the only thing he found containing sugar was some apples and a left over pear. But it didn't stop him from taking them.
" Hey...Are you going to tell us or what?" Gilbert ground out with half annoyance and slight aggression.
" Oh..yes. It's seems Pandora is making a bit of progress on their investigation to remove the seals. There's a rumor going around that one man has been successfully able to do that, but locating him is another matter." The white haired man finished off his statement by crunching into his apple, hands practically hidden inside of his overly long sleeves.
"Let me guess, your sending us to try and find him, right?"
" You've always been quite the sharp one haven't you, Gilbert. Yes, you all have been summoned to assist with this mission, but-"
"Wait a minute! What about my memories!" Alice stood up from her chair and slammed her fist down, startling Oz a bit at her loud disruption, but in a way, he could understand her concern, after all, if the seal was removed...she would slowly start fading, without accomplishing her goal.
" Don't worry Alice, even if we find a way to remove the seal, we won't do it until we find the rest of your memories." Oz sent the girl a large smile as he placed his hand onto hers, squeezing it a bit to reassure her.
"Oz! Don't make promises like that. Your seal only has a little bit of time left...at this rate you'll-"
" Calm down Gil, I'm sure we'll find Alice's memories long before the seal's complete."
" Don't be so sure, Oz. Wasn't it a year ago that you said the same thing...and that was when the clock was at the quarter point. If you don't mind...could you refresh my memory as to how many of Alice's memories you actually retrieved since then?"
"...Three...but that doesn't mean anything. I know we'll find them, and we won't give up until we do."
" My my, your optimistic personality hasn't faltered at all, has it?" Break said "You mean his delusional stupidity"
Hearing " Emily's" side comment caused Oz to cross his arms and mumble in anger.
" Please Emily, try to keep your opinions to yourself." Break chuckled before continuing on.
"One last thing. Miss Sharon has invited the three of you to dinner tonight; we need to discuss the details of the investigation a little further, so I'll be seeing you at six thirty sharp, and not one minute later. Bye now." Break finished off the statement with a high pitched tone before slipping under the table and disappearing.
The three stood there in silence before Gilbert died out his cigarette and sighed.
" Oz, are you ready to go."
" Ah, yeah. I was thinking, maybe it would be nice to walk there instead."
" Walk..."
" Yeah, it would be fun." As soon as the cheerful words left his mouth, Oz looked over and noticed that Alice was half way out the dinning room. When she reached the door, Oz saw her look back with so much anger in her pretty eyes, that he felt a powerful shiver run through him; and it only subsided when the girl left the room.
" Jeezz...she's so damn difficult." Gilbert said mostly to himself.
Oz sighed and turned back to him, attempting to lift the mood again.
" So, are we walking or not?"
" We can't. We'd never make it back in time to go to Sharon's house. Next time, Ok." Gilbert smiled then flicked the boy's forehead before walking out of the room.
Oz watched him leave with a smile on his face, knowing that it didn't matter what Gilbert's answer was, because Oz already made pre-plans for them that day.
XXX
As they sat in the carriage waiting for the servant to get in the front and take off, Oz slid over to the edge of his seat and moved next to the door. Gilbert looked at him with a curious stare, and when the carriage started slowly moving, Oz quickly opened the door, and prepared himself to jump out before they gained to much speed.
" Oz! What are you-"
Oz carefully leapt out of the carriage and rolled gently on the ground, chuckling a bit when he looked back at Gilbert who was still in the carriage preparing to do the same thing; Oz knew he would. When the older man jumped out he rolled on the ground as well, and tried to get to his feet to chase after the carriage and stop it; but Oz ran up to him and covered his mouth before Gilbert could alert the driver of their escape.
" Oz, why did you do that? What if you got hurt!" Gilbert reprimanded the boy, but all Oz could do was grab his hand and smile, choosing to lead the man toward the woods.
" Because...I have something I want to show you today. It's a surprise."
" Oz, your uncle's going to kill me if he finds out I didn't -"
" Relax Gil. We can go to there tomorrow...and my uncle won't be back for two days, he'll never know."
Oz gave Gilbert a sunny smile to help make him feel better about the whole thing; it seemed to work enough to quiet the man.
" Where are we going?"
" If I tell you, you won't be surprised when we get there."
He heard Gilbert sigh in defeat, and they continued walking on in silence. It was hot and humid that day, enough to make Gilbert take off his gloves and regret not bringing his hat.
Gilbert noticed that as they got deeper into the woods Oz would keep checking different trees, each one had a black mark on it. And every time they would come across one, Oz would make a satisfied sound. At some point they stopped briefly, and they both turned when they heard a rustling sound.
Gilbert skillfully pulled out his gun and aimed it in the direction of the noise, but Oz only laughed at the man and put his hands on the top of the gun to encourage the black haired man to put it away.
" It was probably just a bird, Gil. Come on, we're here anyway."
" We are?"
" Yup, it's just beyond those trees."
They both made the short walk through the trees until Oz declared their arrival.
"We're here! What do you think?"
They both let their eyes wander over the beauty of the area, watching how the sun seized every chance to softly enter the gaps between the high tree branches, and bounced brilliantly off of the sharp green leaves of vegetation. There was a large and particularly captivating weeping willow that sat a little ways from the river, long leaves sweeping the patchy grass that lay at the base of it.
Oh, and the river of course. It wasn't anything overly spectacular, but it was pretty. The water ran slowly, and was about knee deep. It also had crisp clarity, allowing them to see straight through to the water glossed rocks that slept quietly at the bottom of it.
"I never knew there was a spot like this near the mansion..." Gil said in astonishment, still trying to take in the mystifying feeling that the place had.
"I didn't know either, until me and Ada got lost a few weeks ago. Do you like it?"
Oz watched how Gil smiled and nodded in approval, making the blond's veins twist up in pleasure as he admired Gil's pure sun filled eyes; the same eyes that seemed to always make Oz's breath halt from glimpsing into them.
" Come on Gil, let's go in the water!" Oz said in excitement.
" No thanks, I don't swim."
" Aww, you're not still mad about that time you fell out the boat, are you?" Oz teased.
"...You pushed me out the boat!" Gilbert growled out, fist clenched and his right eyebrow twitching in annoyance.
" Oh yeah...I forgot." Oz chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head, recalling the incident. " But you won't be swimming this time, just come put your feet in. It will feel great, I promise!" Oz chirped as he took hold of Gil's hand and tried to guide him to the water.
Gilbert had a reluctant look on his face, but after a few minutes he followed Oz to the river bank and sat down to remove his shoes and roll up his black pants. Oz did the same, kicking his shoes off and getting in without hesitation.
" Ahhh...this is great!" Oz mused as he waded through the fresh water.
The ebony hair man carefully placed his feet into the water and let the cold liquid rush past his ankles. Gil closed his eyes in contentment and sighed once he was use to it.
" See. It's not so bad, right?" Oz said with a wide smile, eyes closed and head cocked slightly to the side. When he opened his eyes, he saw the very faint blush tiptoe to the surface of the handsome man's face, but what was more gratifying was the smile that Gil had, a shy, yet affirming smile that gave Oz the answer he was looking for.
For a while they enjoyed the water in a calm silence, but when Oz got up and stretched his arms, walking further into the river as he did so, Gil silently got up and shoved the boy gently, shocked to see that the blond lost his footing and landed in the water with a large splash.
" AH! It's Cold!" Oz yelled as he tuned wide eye to his chuckling servant. Oz continued to sit in the water, briefly disconnected because his heart was ensnared by the wonderful sound of Gilbert's echoing laughter. Shaking away his temporary daze, Oz laughed out too, finally taking the hand that Gilbert had offered him so he could get up.
"That wasn't fair, Gil." Oz said the words with feign kiddyish anger…but he couldn't stop laughing in between.
" It's payback for that time at the lake, now we're even."
Gilbert chuckled once more before ruffling Oz's blond hair and leaving the water, making his way over to the massive willow tree to sit.
Right when Gil sat down, Oz ran up to him and accurately leapt onto the man's lap, causing Gilbert to curse out loud at the surprise attack and the cold feeling of water dripping from Oz's soaked clothes, onto his dry ones.
"Oz! Get off, you're-" Gilbert stopped himself in mid sentence, watching how Oz continued to laugh as he remove his drenched white shirt and toss it onto the grass beside them. Suppressing an oncoming blush, Gil dared himself to look over the boy's delicate form, eyes traveling from the middle of his stomach up to his chest, where his golden orbs froze on the image of the black clock like seal; that only had a quarter left on it before it would be deemed complete.
" Gil?"
Oz watched the pain surface in Gilbert's eyes, as he followed the man's strained gaze and saw that he was looking at his seal. He could tell that Gilbert was extremely disturbed by how much the clock had progressed. This fact made Oz want to kick himself, he was usually very careful not to let anyone see the seal, but, he completely forgot about it in the mist of the fun he was having.
Oz watched Gil bring his hand up to his bare chest, allowing his fingers to skim over the surface of the seal before letting his warm palm rest there with a defeated look on his face.
Oz always hated when Gilbert was sad. When they were children and his friend would cry on his behalf he could feel his chest caving in from the sight. That's why he would try to quickly make him feel better, before the pain consumed them both.
The blond finally brought his right hand up and placed it on top the hand that Gilbert had his chest, and he allowed his other hand to caress the side of Gil's smooth cheek, causing the man to look up at him.
With slow and cautious grace, Oz leaned down and kissed the corner of Gilbert's mouth, holding his lips there and savoring the invasion of warmth and excitement that he felt surround his body. A few seconds passed before Oz moved back to finally see the reaction that Gil had; from the experience that Oz finally had the courage to create.
" Oz..." Gilbert whispered his name in a shocked tone, eyes wide as he stared at the boy's loving expression. Quickly, Gilbert averted his frantic eyes to the side, and brought his hands to the ground. The previous blush that he successfully stopped before came back four fold and slid across his face with deep redness. His nervousness and confusion caused his fingers to grip the moss on the ground, destroying its green velvety surface until his trembling fingertips dug deep into the fleshy brown earth.
After taking a shaky breath, he spoke quietly; still not looking at the dazzling blond that was still sitting on him.
" Oz...You shouldn't do things like that. It's not right."
" Really? And why is that?" Oz tried hard to keep his tone light and even, as to not allow his fear of Gilbert's next words come out in his voice.
" Your...I'm, a servant and...You're-"
" The master?"
" Yes. I'm not worthy of-"
Oz chuckled with relief, causing Gilbert to stop taking. He thought the man was going to say something else, like mention the fact that they were male, or worst, say that he didn't like it. But no, Gilbert was Gilbert, always thinking in terms of their statuses, and what was and wasn't appropriate behavior because of that.
"But Gil...I'm your friend too, remember?"
Gilbert nodded, finally letting his eyes travel back to the beautiful boy, taking in the sight of his light green eyes and trembling a bit at the lovely smile he saw on his pale lips.
" Still, we shouldn't-"
" Did you like it?"
" W-what?"
" Did you like when I kissed you?"
When Gilbert's blush came back, Oz could tell that the man was struggling to keep from saying yes. But when Oz gave him an encouraging smile, he was finally able to extract an embarrassed nod from him; and just admitting that seemed to take the life out of the man.
Oz leaned his forehead against his friends and looked deep in his eyes before he spoke.
"Then it's OK to do it."
" I..Oz's..."
Gilbert was hushed when he felt Oz lean down and kiss his cheek, his light breath flowing evenly over his heated skin, causing Gilbert to hold his breath in rigid anticipation.
It was everything he thought it would be, to be that close to the boy, no, it was much much better, and when the blond planted another kiss closer to his mouth, Gilbert's eyes slid closed and he released his contained breath in a half sigh.
Gil slowly pulled away from the boys wonderful lips and gently brought his arms around Oz's back, whispering his name and bringing him into a firm embrace. He could feel Oz nestle comfortably into the crook of his neck, and he ran his trembling fingers through his blond hair affectionately.
As the sat there in silence, a violent happiness took over them, both of them dazed at the unbelievable feeling that that moment was bringing them; there in that secret place in the woods.
OOO
While she stood there watching them, Alice could barely feel her body sliding down the side of the tree. The nightmarish sight seemed to draw the strength out of her legs, while her small body shook with overbearing emptiness.
She should have never followed the pair. She should have stayed behind and disregarded her prickling curiosity when she caught them sneaking off into the woods…instead of staying in the carriage.
Why did it have to be that way? She was B-Rabbit! Feared and envied by every chain in the Abyss. Not only that, but she was strong, able to take any type of blow received in battle, and laugh it off without a second thought. But obviously not this kind of blow; because there she was, fallen weakly to her knees and reduced to a pool of cold jealousy, and slicing rejection.
What did Oz want? What did Gilbert have that she couldn't give to Oz...? Was it a past? Was it because they shared something long before Alice was drawn from the dark depths of her lonely prison? She knew she couldn't give Oz a past, but, maybe she could give him something better; like a future.
And as far as the affection he was sharing with Gilbert, she could give him that too...if that's what he was looking for.
She too shared a kiss with Oz, though that time it was mostly for business purposes as the binding of the contract would call for, but it didn't mean she didn't enjoy it; it didn't mean that she would never do it again if given the chance.
But it was too late for that, the way they were holding each other, it had to be far too late.
So she ran. She ran with her eyes heavy from battling to retain her brimming tears, while swearing she wouldn't look back. She couldn't. For one, people only look back when their leaving something behind, or when they think their being followed. But neither was the case.
Oz had not been aware of her watching, so of course he wouldn't follow, and even if he did know she was there...would he dare leave the arms of that...that man? An as far as leaving something behind, it was only pain that laced that trail, nothing to glimpse back at because it ran with her, resided in her, like the image of their lips on the verge of connecting under the weeping willow.
Her small chest began to burn as she got deeper into the woods, heart sinking with every labored breath and without realizing it, she had stopped. She didn't know how deeply she ran into the woods, most likely off the path that Oz made.
She must have reached the mouth of the river, because the water looked more like a pond. It was quiet there, only the sound of the birds flapping and wailing every few seconds. Alice walked up to the side of the river and looked down at her reflection, studying the dynamics of her face and the paleness of her skin.
A part of her felt that she would have been better off never creeping out of the Abyss, never meeting Oz. Because loneliness was enough of a burden when it was limited to fantasizing about what companionship would be like, but it transformed it something different when you experience it after feeling the happiness of having someone there. And then for that someone to disregard you, and place their heart in someone else's hands...
Alice felt anger take over her like the moon eclipsing the sun, blocking out everything pure, and filling it in with dark callousness. She walked into the river until the water was up to her upper thighs, slamming her hands down into the water and destroying the image that was herself...whoever she was.
Water splashed in every direction, and her grunts and breaths of aggression viciously disturbed the peace that once resided in that hidden spot in the woods. She hated everything, the stupid feelings she had for Oz, and the dumb seaweed haired man that successfully stole the blond away from her
Everything.
But her tantrum was soon ended when she heard a familiar voice call out to her. It was the voice of the clown…out of all people; he was not the one she wanted to see.
Alice knew that Break had a knack for evoking negative feelings, or better yet, adding to preexisting ones. And he also liked instigating tension between people, using his ability to "tell it like it is" with very few words; but only after looping his sentences, and speaking in half statements, half of them filled with riddle like meanings and "Emily's" annoying interjections. A complete weirdo he was and most definitely a wack job of the greatest kind.
" Why, Miss Alice, what seems to be the trouble?" His voice sounded full of fake surprise and phony concern, which angered Alice in more ways than she needed.
She glared hard at the man with wet clothes clinging heavy to her skin.
" What the hell do you want, clown!?" She yelled.
" Nothing. This meeting was completely coincidental. I just so happened to be in the area when I noticed you attacking the river...any particular reason why?"
" It's none of your damn business..." Alice tried to say the words with anger and seriousness, but her voice came out weaker than she wanted, but not too weak. So she looked away from him and crossed her arms, impatiently waiting for him to leave.
"Alice…" Break called in an even voice.
Alice saw that the man had taken off his jacket and was holding it up for her to take once she decided to finally come back to the river bank. For a minute, she was only able to look at the indifferent expression on the clowns face, noticing how the sunlight hit his white hair and made the stands appear to shimmer a little.
Eventually, she walked back to the bank; however, she walked right past him, flinging her long brown hair behind her shoulder in an arrogant manner; without taking the jacket offering. She choose to sit against a large oak tree with her knees drawn to her chest, refusing to allow her teeth to chatter while she was in his company; or more accurately, while he was in her company.
A slender shadow blocked out the sun light, but she knew was the clown, so she turned her head away as a silent refusal to engage in meaningless conversation with him.
" You know, Alice...it may not be too late, he's more divided then you think." This comment made Alice turn her head in interest, looking up at the clowns smirking face with hard eyes, but she also had too much pride behind her lips to ask him to go on.
" But I don't think playing in the river will get you any closer to him." Break whispered down to her in a half hushed half amused voice.
" Shut-up...how would you know what I want. You're a clown; nothing you say can be taken seriously... so go away." The last part of her statement trailed off a little, as she looked down and tried to ignore him, concentrating instead on the large twisted tree roots that resided near her white boots.
She heard Break let out a light chuckle, and then she jumped a little when his white jacket landed on her bent knees.
" I suppose I'll be seeing you at dinner tonight, Miss Alice."
" Ha! What makes you think that? I already decided that I'm not going." Alice said without looking up.
" Oh, but you must. Because if you don't, how will you return my jacket? And I do want it back."
Alice's head shot up in attempts to locate the mad man and give him back the jacket, removing the obligation of bringing it to him at dinner.
" Just take it then! I don't need your stupid-" She stopped yelling when she noticed that the man was gone.
Alice stood up and scanned the woods, nothing, he was definitely gone. So she huffed in aggression and sat back down, checking the area with her eyes once more, so she knew she wasn't being watched...before slowly taking the white jacket and wrapping it around herself like a blanket; half noting that the sweet smell of rose tea lingered lightly in the warm material.
But she tried not to think about that, actually smirking at the idea of returning the jacket to him, in less than mint condition.
XXX
The carriage ride to the Rainsworth estate was extremely quite. Oz observed how disconnected Alice appeared, not once did she open her mouth to complain about hunger, or even start a fight with Gil. The girl's eyes remained out the window, with her face in her palm as she leaned against the carriage door, feet crossed at the ankles and kicked up on the seat across from her.
Oz didn't understand it, he knew she was angry earlier, but it would usually wear off as the day went on, but not that day.
It was also odd that she was sitting on what looked like Break's jacket, though, it was covered in grass stains and had massive amounts of muddy smudges.
" Hey, Alice. Are you feeling alright?"
Alice turned to him with a blank expression, "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
Oz almost believed her, but her reply didn't match her expression. Her amethyst irises remained far away and emotionless, almost reminding him of the void look he saw in Echo's eyes, whenever he bumped into the numb girl.
After fifteen minutes of trying to decipher Alice's new mood, and trying to keep his mind from floating back to he and Gil's secret day, they had already arrived a their destination.
When the trio reached the front door, it opened right away, revealing a smiling Break who greeted them accordingly.
" Right on time I see. Come right in, Miss Sharon is waiting in the dinning hall."
" Great, I'm starving." Oz said, stretching his arms to the back of his head and smiling brightly as he moved passed Break and into the house with Gilbert; half noting that Alice lingered behind near Break.
After a few moments Oz stopped walking to look back at the pair, watching Alice literally throw the jacket at the white haired man before attempting to storm off. But what really caught Oz's attention was the way Break grabbed the girl's upper arm, as he leaned down and whispered something to her.
He saw Alice's eyes widen at whatever was being said to her, then she gave one of her wicked smiles before ripping out of the mans hold, and mouthing something that looked like the words " Like you would know" before laughing evilly at the smirking man. Regardless of how weird the interaction was, it did seem to pull Alice out of her dull mood, something Oz had failed to do that day. Strange.
" Oz...Oz?"
" Huh?"
" What's wrong." Gilbert said with concern, seeing the lost look disappearing off of Oz's perfect face.
" Nothing, guess I'm just tired."
Oz started walking again trying to push down the uneasy feeling he was having. And Gilbert followed behind him, looking back at Alice who was now walking in their direction.
" Got a problem, seaweed head?"
"Do you?...stupid rabbit." Gil mumbled before turning away.
As they made their way into the dinning room, Sharon smiled up at them as she finished taking a sip of her tea, sitting pink and pretty as always.
" I'm glad you could all make it, please have a seat."
Since Sharon was at the head of the table, Gilbert chose to sit adjacent to her, and Oz sat next to him. Alice sat across from Oz, and there was one seat left next to Sharon, which Break took, placing him in between Sharon and Alice.
" I invited you all here because-"
Sharon stopped talking when she noticed that Alice had already made herself a large plate of food, complete with options of chicken and beef, two baked buns smothered in butter, and one leaf of lettuce. Sharon smiled at the girl, and giggled a bit at her impatience. When Alice was about to take her first bite of chicken, she noticed everyone starting at her.
"What?"
" Stupid Rabbit, it's rude to just start eating like that." Gilbert yelled to the girl diagonal from him.
" It's for us isn't it? Are we supposed to just sit and look at it! And don't yell at me like that, I swear I'll-"
" It's fine, Miss Alice. In fact, everyone can begin eating. Please excuse me for rushing into business before allowing everyone to get settled with dinner."
" You don't have to apologize, Sharon. We know it's important." Oz assured her, as he reached to make himself a plate.
Everyone followed suit and made their plates as well, and when they began eating, Sharon continued on.
" As I was saying. Pandora is eager to confirm whether or not the rumors are true-"
" About the man who got rid of his seal." Gilbert said a bit too excitedly, causing Oz to look in Alice's direction to make sure the girl didn't react too negatively to his tone. Unfortunately, it didn't get past her, but she rolled her eyes and continued eating.
" Correct. There's been talk of a middle man named Edgar Harpsfield who has a connection to the whereabouts of the man in question. Because he's a noble we deiced to corner him casually by throwing a Ball here at the Rainsworth manor; since this estate is the most neutral for everyone to gather at."
" A Ball...when?" Oz said with curiosity.
"A week from this Saturday. If were able to get the information that night, then we can make our move to locate the other man, and take him into custody."
" Why not just find him and ask without taking the man in. He hasn't done anything wrong."
" It's not that simple, Oz. The information that he has is quite valuable, and if it were that easy we wouldn't have to go to this extent to search for him. He's obviously hiding at the moment."
" And he was an illegal contractor, after all..." Break added, as he scooped cake onto his fork and placed it in his mouth, deliberately eyeing Oz and Alice as if to make a point and remind them about their status.
" So. I would like you all to prepare for that night, and stay alert for any updates in the mean time." Sharon concluded.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Oz sneakily reached for Gilbert's hand under the table, causing the man to jump a little at the contact. And of course, he failed to hold back his blush almost as much as Oz struggled to hold back a chuckle after witnessing his reaction. Even still, the raven haired man held his hand firmly under the table and continued to eat like everyone else.
OOO
Alice didn't know when she became so observant, but her curiosity was sparked once again when she noticed the seaweed head blushing at the table for no reason, and Oz smiling sweetly at him. So, she investigated.
While Oz was preoccupied with protecting his desert from Break's greedy hands, she slipped a large butter knife off the table and placed it next to her thigh, looking down at it and maneuvering it so that the refection on the knife would reveal whether or not they....they were, she spotted it. Right in the reflection of the metal was Oz's hand intertwined with Gilbert's.
Alice clenched the knife tightly in her hand, looking back up and instantly meeting Gilbert's knowing eyes. She supposed she could agree with Break when he had said that Gilbert was a sharp one, because he seemed to definitely know what she discovered.
Oh, the glare that they were giving each other was like a war of the bloodiest kind. And she knew that the man was probably gripping Oz's hand even tighter as a possessive reaction. That thought made her stomach turn.
As for everyone at the table, especially Gilbert, they were fortunate that it wasn't a sharp blade she was holding...because she was certainly feeling dangerous at that moment. She couldn't continue sitting there like that, not unless she wanted to keep her sanity.
Alice place the knife back on the table and got up with a fake yawn, attempting to down play the sorrow and anger that may have been on her face. Then she causally began to head to the doors.
" Alice?" Oz called out.
" Bathroom." She said dismissively and walked through the double doors.
As soon as she was out, she walked quickly down the hall and looked for the door outside. When she reached the doors she pushed though them with more force than necessary, almost stumbling outside. When she looked around, she was tempted to just run somewhere…anywhere. But she settled for sitting on the steps and looking up at the stars; silently threatening herself not to cry again.
" Did you get lost on your way to the bathroom? I can accompany you there if you like."
Without looking over, Alice huffed in anger before she spoke.
" Why do you keep following me, don't you have a circus to prepare for or something!"
" That such a rude thing to say to someone who's only trying to help you. "
" Help?...Ha! You mean help make things worst, right?"
" Not at all, I just came to offer you a bit of information that might just help your...situation."
Alice looked over at him; finally ready too listen to the weird man's offering.
" Well, spit it out then."
The mad man came to sit next to her on the steps and looked up at the sky apathetically before speaking.
" Did Oz ever tell you that he once fancied Miss Sharon?"
" He...He did?"
" Yes, right before he was dropped into the Abyss."
When Alice really thought about it, she remembered that Oz use to get kind of crazy over the girl when they first came back from the Abyss, but it slowly subsided as the years went to on.
Alice flinched a little when she felt Break's overly soft hand come up to cup her cheek and turn her face toward his so he could study it.
"Personally, I think you're quite beautiful, so I'm sure looks don't stop Oz from liking you...in that way at least." Break said, as he absently caressed the side of the girls face.
The touch place Alice in the slightest haze, making her notice things she shouldn't, like how ridiculously gentle the man was being, and how her heart was starting to speed up. But she broke out of it enough to lightly shoo his hand away. Only to notice that the crazy man wasn't put off in the least, and lazily began to twirl the tips of her hair around his fingers instead.
"What is it then?" She urged.
" You tell me, Miss Alice. What make you different from Miss Sharon?"
" A lot of things, I guess." Alice looked back at the stars. "But Oz said...that he likes me the way I am."
" Ah yes, he does like you as you are. But..."
"But what?" She said impatiently, turning back to him. Not overly surprised when she saw the man smirk and lean in close enough to whisper it to her.
"But...maybe you being as you are, keeps you a friend in his eyes....and nothing more." With that, Break pulled away all together sitting back regularly against the stairs, before sipping a lollypop from his sleeve and unwrapping it.
" What am I supposed to do then..." Alice said half to herself.
" It's up too you. You could choose to disregard this whole conversation if you want, either way, it doesn't matter to me." Break said with a sigh, and a lick of his candy.
Alice sucked her teeth and looked away from him.
" Then why did you say all of this to me?"
" It's getting cold out here." "Emily"said.
"Yes it is Emily. Well, do come in soon, Miss Alice. Since you destroyed my jacket, I have nothing to offer you if you get cold." Break said before getting up to go back inside, deliberately dropping three wrapped candies as he did so.
Alice clenched her fist angrily at the blatant way the man disregard her question, and used his Emily voice to do it…out of all things.
" Wait!"
When the man reached the door he stopped short before his hand touched the knob.
" Yes?"
" Sharon is always trying to teach me about being a lady and all that... do you think she..."
" I'm sure she would love to take you under her wing, if that's what you mean."
" How soon?"
" Whenever you like. I'll let her know to expect you."
" Umm...Ok." It was hard to get out the words thank you, so she settled for that.
She saw the man give her a smile before he slid back into the house. Once he was gone, Alice looked down at the steps, seeing the candies that were dropped there. One was green, the other was yellow, and the last one was a dark purple color. She picked up the green one and rolled it across her fingers.
Maybe this was for the best, learning a thing or two about being a lady or whatever, it might just work, Oz might just take notice to her and finally...
She brought her hand to her face, tracing the spot that Break had caressed only minutes before. She should have punched him square in the face for touching her so easily, but she didn't, maybe if his hands weren't so damn soft...she would have been able to concentrate on hitting him.
How was it ?? Let me know what you think. Next chapters already in progress. Oh yeah, I know Break seems really messed up by saying that stuff, but theres a reason he said all of that to Alice, it's essential for the plot.
Thanks For Reading
-Rage