Allure
by Rose Thorne
Disclaimer: Pandora Hearts is owned by Jun Mochizuki, Square Enix, et al.
It had been an unexpected day; Liam was not used to celebrating his birthday, though it was public record for those who wished to look. He always marked it as another year gone by and went about his business. He was far too busy for more.
Oz had been the one to discover the date, and he had managed to rope Oscar into his plans. The Vessalius duo had overdone decorations, with flowers and banners and ribbons, and had provided food, cake, tea, and plenty of alcohol—not that it did anything for Liam. The celebration had been enjoyable, though, and had lasted well into the evening.
Unsurprisingly, Xerxes Break knew how to make an entrance; particularly when it involved eating the inside of a cake and then exploding out of the remainder of it. Cake and icing had gotten everywhere—especially Liam's hair—and had required revenge in the form of shoving cake in Break's face, but at least a party which devolved into a food fight was certain to be a memorable one.
Liam couldn't help but smile, really, when no one was looking—after being indignant and huffy. If nothing else, Break knew how to liven things up, and the distraction from work had been welcome. He would have a lot of catching up to do tomorrow, which meant an early morning.
His expectation of a quick bath and good night's sleep disappeared when he entered his quarters to find Break sprawled in a chair, eating a lollipop—one pilfered from Liam's desk, no doubt—and beaming at him. Liam was gratified to see that he wasn't the only one with the remnants of the food fight clinging to his hair.
"Mister Liam is a Cancer? How surprising! Fussy and uptight as you are, I'd pegged you as a Virgo."
Liam frowned at him; he somehow doubted Break meant it as a compliment. "I didn't think you paid attention to such superstition, Xerxes."
Break chomped down, cracking the candy in his teeth, and ignored the comment. "Mister Liam is still fussy, but he's also insecure, romantic, and alluring."
The idea was more than a little embarrassing. Silly astrological signs and the preconceptions they brought had always annoyed him. Parts of it fit, which was all the more irritating, but Liam had never seen himself as alluring in the least. He was aware of the stereotypes related to the signs, though—enough to know Break's zodiac and its meaning. At the very least, two could play at this teasing game.
"And as a Libra I suppose you're waiting for a prince to sweep you off your feet," Liam huffed.
Break grinned widely. "Oh, am I waiting?" he drawled.
Liam frowned. A riddle? In some ways Break was very much a Libra: a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, unsteady and constantly putting on a capricious, happy-go-lucky front. A front Liam had come to learn hid pain, loss, and cynicism, and he couldn't deny it drew him, in many ways, to the ridiculous man.
Perhaps it was the Cancer in him which made Liam alternately want to smack him or take care of him.
Break stood.
"So mysterious, always thinking, thinking, thinking. Letting all those insecurities think for him."
Before Liam could react, Break was in front of him, too close, with a slightly cracked smile and an unusual air of nervousness, poking him in the chest with an ungloved index finger.
"Perhaps Mister Liam should stop thinking so much."
Then Xerxes Break moved past and let himself out, leaving Liam to puzzle out what he meant.
MochiJun released birthdates, and the astrological signs surprised me a bit, and also spawned this fic. Of course, the signs don't really apply, since she made clear that Pandora Hearts takes place in a complete fantasy world where the birthdays and such don't line up, but I couldn't help but write this. Liam's perspective, but I hope the various implications behind Break's behavior are clear.