Julius had gotten too used to Alice's presence. She had been a constant at his side – and at first, an annoyance. With time, they had grown used to each other and soon enough when the other was gone for too long, it felt odd. Then, there was a move. When the move first happened, he often forgot that Alice was gone.
For example, when he had a moment to breathe in repairing a clock, he decided some coffee would be a great way to recharge.
"Alice, could I get some - "
He would stop himself when he noticed she wasn't around. It took a moment to remember why. Julius would then huff lightly, and either get up to make coffee or immediately delve back into work. More often than not, it was the latter.
Whenever Julius had to step out for business, he would automatically turn. He had been expecting Alice to ask if she could tag along. With the empty room staring at him, Julius would storm out, berating himself for expecting something he knew wouldn't happen.
There were also the times he went out shopping to stock up on things he was out of – something Alice would do and was yet another reminder of her absence, he would start feeling the pangs of loneliness. Whenever he and Alice went out together, she'd be right by his side, chattering away. The lack of body heat and incessant talking that once annoyed him would eat away at Julius until he picked up his pace, the scowl on his face making the faceless even more wary of him.
Over time, he started remembering that she was gone, though it didn't lessen the pain that he refused to admit was there. He continued his workaholic, hermit lifestyle, stubbornly trying to prove to himself that he was fine and didn't have to have Alice around. While true to a certain extent, he still couldn't convince himself.
Therefore, when the next move happened and he was suddenly thrown into the midst of winter, with his door connected to the Clover Tower, a sneaky tendril of hope wrapped itself around his metaphoric heart. When Alice came in sometime after, not too long after it started, Julius was secretly relieved and happy. He could finally feel her presence again, though he knew it would be harder when April Season ended. For now, just for now, he would soak up her presence that he missed. Of course, he would never admit this to anyone but himself. And even then, maybe not.
