The Holder of Hearts-

Alice sat in Julius's office, drinking her 80 point coffee. She had no idea how it had only gotten 80, like most of the time. All she wanted was to get that top score and to put a smile on Julius's face. That was definitely not an easy task.

It was silent in the room all except for the few clinks of metal against metal. Julius was magical, they way his hands moved over the clocks, it was as elegant as the Queen of Hearts herself pouring tea.

Julius put the finished clock on the side of the desk and gabbed another, but not before he finished his coffee.

Yawning, Alice placed her head on her folded arms.

The Clockmaker looked at her. "If you're tired go to bed." He instructed in his usually forceful voice.

"No." Alice pouted stubbornly. "I'm not tire. I'm going to stay here until you go to bed."

Julius sighed. "Then you're going to be straying here awhile."

That was when Alice noticed his empty cup. She jumped up, her energy suddenly flooding back to her. "I'll make more coffee!" She shouted as she grabbed the two cups and ran down to the kitchen.

Once there she grounded the beans, carefully inspecting them. She really, really wanted that perfect score right now. Alice worked with a smile on her face and then a grin when she returned to his office. "Here!" She said gleefully as she put his cup on the desk.

She carried her coffee to her seat. Once sitting she took a huge sip, forgetting that it was steaming hot. "Ow! Ow, ow, owww!" She shouted as she sprang out of the chair.

Alice was hopping up and down with the cup in one hand, and her other fanning her mouth. Julius sat silently, watching the spectacle. That was, until Alice's foot hocked in the chair, knocking it and her over in the process.

Before she could hit the ground, Julius rushed over and caught her. The coffee spilled all over his jacket. He winced as a little drop hit his shirt and went through to his skin.

"I'm so sorry Julius!" Alice said worriedly as she looked up.

Julius looked down at her and instantly felt a bit of color on his cheeks. There he was, holding Alice tightly to him in his arms, with their faces so close that their noses were touching.

He could see her blushing too. "Julius." Alice said, pushing against him slightly, trying to get away.

The Clockmaker didn't let go. Instead he moved his head towards her. "Alice." He whispered right before his lips slightly touched hers'.

That slight kiss became something more. Julius pressed a little more and that was all it took. Alice stopped trying to push him away and instead clutched him to her. One of his hands moved from her waist up to her head and tangled into her hair.

Alice had to stand on her tip-toes to be able to kiss him back. It was sweet, gentle, and full of love on both parts. They pulled away from each other, out of breath.

Alice looked at Julius and began to laugh. His face was a bright pink.

Julius glared at her while he took off his jacket and sat down at his desk to resume his work. Alice picked up her chair and sat as well. As Julius began to work he reached out and took a sip of his coffee. Alice was off in her own world so she didn't notice until he said, "100 points."

The foreigner looked up at him sharply. "Really? 100?" Her face was lit up by a huge smile

The sullen man looked at her. When he saw her face his went pink. "Yes." He said and did something Alice never expected him to do. He smiled, wider and brighter than Ace ever had.

(When I was reading the books I realized that Julius gave Alice higher points when he was happy at something she had done. I felt bad for Alice never getting the top score so I thought of what would make Julius really happy and came up with this! J

Can you believe this was actually going to be Vivaldi? I typed the title, 'The Holder of Heart' in mind that Vivaldi is the Queen of Hearts. Then I thought that it would be better fitting if I called Julius that so this story became JuliusXAlice.)