Hi! :D Anna 'tis back! It's been a while since my last oneshot, I think...

Um, since then, Liem took Break's place as awesomest person ever... xD He's so adorable! And LiemxSharon is my new faviest pairing... well, more one-sided LiemxSharon. I can really picture that, and I'll probably write a more romantic oneshot about these two later...

But anyway, this is about Break and Liem more than Liem and Sharon. I figure Liem must get annoyed at Break's... (let's just call it idiocy, shall we?) idiocy sometimes... I know that he's a pretty patient person, but he's pretty irritable, right?

Enjoy!

"But… don't you wish to know?"

Liem felt the familiar tightening of his chest that usually accompanied these sorts of questions. Didn't he wish to know? Of course. But Liem kept his head down, and pretended to focus on his work, even though he knew that he wasn't really fooling anybody and that the scared rabbit look he got whenever Xerxes Break began prying was just as visible whether he was looking straight at him or staring at the floor.

"I'm sure that it's fine, Xerxes," he finally said, after a considerable amount of fumbling. "She's not a child anymore."

Xerxes laughed in something that seemed like a mixture of amusement and surprise.

He really, really, hated that laughter. That condescending chuckle that Break seemed to give whenever Liem made a fool out of himself- so what if you're closer to her than I am? Who's the one who lies to her?

"Oh really, Liem? Yes, I do seem to remember something along those lines… 'She'll understand, she's not a child anymore…'"

"Exactly!" Liem let himself meet Break's eyes, a fierce determination overriding his fear. "My advice for you then still holds true!"

"Hmm." Xerxes raised his one visible eyebrow. His nimble fingers slipped a lollipop from his pocket to his mouth. He sighed with exaggerated patience, as if it were something he had to deal with every day.

Not true! Liem's protested. I'm the one who has to deal with it all! Jealousy- anger- loneliness- "Don't you dare act like that."

Xerxes paused his sucking and stared at Liem, who was already regretting his momentary slip in composure. "…Pardon?" he said dangerously.

The words slipped from his mouth like silk- it was no wonder that Liem was still second-rate, when his words still managed to get stuck somewhere between his throat and his lips. No wonder- no wonder-

"Don't you dare act like you're the one who's got to deal with the problems and you're the one who's got to pretend to be the kind, caring, sympathetic friend- it's not fair. It's not fair that you get to sit here, acting like you're the one who's had to put up with Sharon constantly rambling on and on about how her precious 'brother Xerx' doesn't take care of himself and how she's so worried-" Liem caught his breath, unable to meet Xerxes' eyes. But he had already started, and there was no way to take back his words. "-it's just not fair."

Liem cringed at the bitter taste that his words left in his mouth. Not fair? Not fair? Who did he think that he was talking to? Who knew better about fairness that Xerxes Break, whose only reward for trying to save the people he loved was the title of murderer and losing an eye?

"Not fair?" Xerxes chuckled morbidly, his one eye darkening. "Life's not fair, princess. Life is a sadistic, twisted bitch. The sooner you learn that, the better."

There he went again.

There he went with the stupid, stupid condescending laughter that always managed to make Liem feel like a stupid, dumb, caged animal. Not fair. He was smart, he was clever, he was perceptive, he wasn't stupid. And they all knew it, so why did Xerxes Break always make him feel like that?

"I know. I know. Life isn't fair. But maybe, some things deserve to be fair. It's not a matter of 'life.' It's a matter of you not giving a damn about anyone around you. It's a matter of me doing your work for you, and covering for you, and supporting you in everything, and lying to the person I love for you, only to find Sharon crying hours after you've gone off doing some stupid, dangerous, thing, because you think that you have to save the world or something. And the only thing I get is taunts that make me feel like a dumb animal, and Sharon crying on my shoulders."

"Liem," Xerxes said, feigning surprise. "I thought that that was what you wanted? 'All I want,' you said, 'is to be able-"

"That's not what I meant and you damn well know it!" Liem breathed heavily and eased himself down into the chair, having found himself pulled upwards by the fit of rage. "I don't want to see Lady Sharon crying. I don't. And I do it anyway because I know how much it means to you."

Xerxes was silent for a long, blessed moment, before he turned back to Liem, his face hidden by his white hair. "So I see…"

"You finally admit it!"

"What?" Liem stared at him for a second, before realizing that he was talking about Sharon. Anger and disappointment spread through him. "No! Please, Xerxes! If you're going to be serious once in your life, then be serious with me, right now." Liem sighed an anguished breath. He stared at his friend's clouded red eye, full of guilt. "Please."

"You don't love Sharon."

"Of course I do," Xerxes said, drawing up one corner of his mouth in a sarcastic smirk. "She's like my little sister. Why else would I do this?"

"No!" Liem stood up again, despite having just sat, and ran his hand through his short brown hair. His eyes searched for a flaw in Xerxes' wall. "Not like I do. You don't. So… please. Please."

He sighed loudly again. "No can do. You know that no one hates seeing Sharon crying more than I do, but… it's like you said, isn't it? I don't-"

"THAT'S BULLCRAP AND YOU KNOW IT!" Liem roared, slamming his hands down on his desk.

He knew Xerxes. Knew all of him. He was an idiot, a selfish idiot, but he cared about Sharon and Gilbert and he cared about Liem, but he didn't know how to show it and it was just awful. "Don't do this."

"But I'm afraid that I already have."

Liem didn't even know what he was saying, what they were talking about. Xerxes stood up, his faint smile already in place, and with a sinking feeling, Liem knew that this conversation was over.

It was humiliating, demeaning, upsetting, frustrating… he could have gone on. Not listening to what he said was one thing, but really? Not caring enough to let him finish his words? "Fine then-" Liem swallowed hard, praying that for once in his life he wouldn't stumble. "-go, why don't you?"

Xerxes shrugged, the tiniest movement of his shoulders, leaving Liem to try and return to some semblance of normal.

What was normal for Liem, anyway? Lying, sneaking, staying awake for countless hours? Trying to pretend that everything was normal? It wasn't normal, that was the cold, hard, truth- it wasn't normal. Not with his one-sided love towards a girl physically eight years younger, nor his strange loyalty to a friend who did nothing in return.

Liem blinked tears from his pale gold eyes and removed his glasses. He stared at the pages in front of him and rubbed his eyes hard, until kaleidoscope colors exploded in front of him.

Pandora work. That was all anyone expected from Liem Lunettes. Like a robot. Not once did anyone- Duke Barma, Lady Cheryl, Sharon, Xerxes Break- no one stopped to think that maybe he was capable of something more.

So why did he always have to prove them wrong?

"I'm too nice," Liem grumbled, mostly to make himself feel better. "I need to take classes in selfishness or something."

~\./~

The next day, Xerxes hadn't approached him.

Liem was getting ready to put the fight behind them, just like he always did, and apologize for finally retaliating to the constant and degrading abuse, no matter much it angered him. Someone had to do it, and it sure as hell wouldn't be Xerxes.

"Liem!" a joyful voice sang out.

He groaned and turned around. Sharon. Liem adored her, but this wasn't really the time or place for this.

"Liem," Sharon said gently. She beamed up at him in a way that betrayed her true age. "Do you want to go to town with me today?"

"T-town? With you? Today?" Liem stared at Sharon, his pale cheeks heating up. "…Are you kidding?"

"No," Sharon said in genuine surprise. Her pink eyes smiled at Liem. "Break mentioned that you could use some more quills, and since I've been wanting to buy some hair ribbons, then I figured we could go to town together."

"B-break?" Liem looked up nervously, just in time to see Xerxes slipping out of a door. He eyed Liem from the corners of his eyes and smiled. Liem gulped. What trick was he playing now?

"So," Sharon said firmly. "Do you want to come?"

Did he want to come? Liem swallowed hard and smiled. "Of course, Lady Sharon. It would be an honor."

"Great!" Sharon smiled sweetly and tipped her head to side. She curtsied lightly. "I'll go and get my coat."

"Right."

Liem stared at her small form as she flounced away, in an unusually good mood. He smiled. He was wrong. Liem knew what this meant- that finally Xerxes had come forth. He would deny it later, but he hadn't done it because he was bored without Liem or he needed him to be his eyes or do his work. He did it because he was wrong.

"Thank you."

Hmm, it's not in my usual writing style... xD Oh well. I guess that I'm too used to writing humor. And my humor is just so straightforward... and I didn't want to do this with the same style that I did 'Monster' in. As a result, it's a bit dry... And it's so fluffy at the end! Dx And I swore I would never write fluff! -hits-

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this!

REVIEW SO THAT SHARON WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH LIEM!