This is just a little short that had been nagging in my head to be written,. I really liked the mischief of the Pandora Hearts gang (since haven't done that before) so I was really excited to write it. There is a bit of Ozbert and OzEcho (since I hearts them both) its only small but just incase.
Also for those that wanted a sequel to OzBert Titanic story, I haven't forgotten, its just I honestly cant get my self in the right frame of mind to write it-as I want the story to be as "Risque" as I can possibly make it. So don't worry its still on the cards... but for now, just a separate one shot. ENJOY!
Testing the Bond
'My what a beautiful Sunday afternoon' sang Break as he pulled a chair out for his Ladyship
'yes Break there's nothing better than having lunch outdoors' she took her seat at the table and smoothed out her dress. Looking at all the divine silverware as they shone in the sunlight, she took a sip from her trademark tea cup and smiled at all the guests she had round the previous day. Break took a seat at the other side of the table next to Gilbert, who looked exhausted from getting Alice and Oz ready for this gathering.
The youngest of the group were seated side by side of Sharon, Alice being closest, as Sharon always enjoyed the chain's antics and was fond of her good nature. Even if she was sticking her tongue out at "seaweed head", Gilbert just frowned at her, whilst Oz was fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt (which was far too big for his small frame), Alice spilt gravy over him last night and the only spare clothes available were Gilbert's shirts from past nights over at the Rainsworth Manor. One of Break's would have been a better fit but neither one liked the idea.
'Did everyone sleep well last night' the lady initiated a conversation as everyone began to tuck in on the wide spread of food and sweet delights. Break went for some cake, Oz had a sandwich and Alice just had meat... but Gilbert seemed distracted. Overtime he just stared at his empty tea cup like he was in a trance, unaware that her lady was growing concerned and she wasn't the only one who noticed.
'Gil' the Raven looked up, across the table his vision seemed clouded like he was stuck in deep thought. 'You okay?' asked his master. The man spotted Oz and Sharon looking at him causing his face to grow flush.
'ah yes- sorry was miles away' he began to pour himself some coffee, hoping the two would stop looking at him. 'you seem distracted, you sure your al right?' Oz squinted at his valet, he knew something was up.
'yeah, everything is fine' then Break shifted over the Oz and whispered 'He's lying'
Oz nodded in agreement and sat back in is chair with his arms crossed, 'Giiiill, what's wrong?'
the man fidgeted in his seat and tried to look away from his master's interrogating eyes.
'Um... w-we might be having another...um' he was wringing his scarf in hopes of relieving the tension of what he was about to say', 'well- another guest today-this afternoon'
'Oh why didn't you say so, I'll ask for another chair' Sharon smiled and waved for one of her servants.
'who is this "Guest", asked Break.
Gilbert wanted to hide under a shell as he stared into Breaks single, red eye. Break probably knew the answer from just looking into his soul. Gilbert sighed and fell back in his seat. 'its Vincent, Vincent is coming over'
'your brother...?' Oz asked 'why were you worried in telling us?'
'because my brother is far to kind to admit he couldn't refuse' Vincent appeared from behind a tree and crept towards Gilbert. 'Afternoon Brother' the blonde towered down and hugged Gilbert from behind, smiling. His capture grew tense and froze in his arms. Oz pretended to smile at the sight, but secretly it annoyed him as he clenched the bottom of the seat. 'Vince...' breathed Gilbert as he was released 'your early' he couldn't have sounded less enthusiastic, like the simple act of Vincent's hug had sucked the life out of the Raven.
The guest gleamed 'I wanted to surprise you, after all you didn't reply to my letter' Vincent then frowned to Break. 'O do try to relax, Hatter', Break held a knife firmly in his hand that would sometimes twitch at the mere sight of the Dormouse. 'I'm not going to bite'. A servant arrived at the table with a chair and the man gladly took his seat next to his Brother.
Sharon tired to hide her disapproval of the extra company, but smiled it off and took a sip of her tea. Then the servant came back with another chair, which confused everyone. 'Arrh yes I nearly forgot... Echo come along now'
The small, blue haired girl appeared from behind the same tree and slowly approached the table. She never smiled and only spoke in few words as she stopped and bowed at Sharon and the guests. Reassuring them that being a servant of Vincent Nightray has not poisoned her manners. Though Alice would disagree as she growled at the girl and pulled the plate of meet closer, claiming the bundle of cooked goods as her own. 'Echo-chan' sang Oz as he hopped out his seat and approached the girl. 'Its just Echo...' lamented the blue doll. Oz couldn't help but smile, he was delighted to see her, even if it meant the extra baggage.
Later that afternoon , when the plates were empty and bellies were full, the group moved to the living area where Sharon looked upon her guests with gleam. She hadn't had the pleasure of this much company for a long time and she insisted on a game.
'how about hide and see' smirked the clown
'you always cheat Break' droned Oz
'huhu~ or maybe I'm just too good' smiled the Hatter
'Ooo what about hang man?' added Vincent
'nah Alice and Gil cant spell' joked Oz
'HAY!' shouted the Raven and the chain 'don't put me in with the stupid rabbit'
'Hay!' screeched Alice as she growled at the man
'how about a board game' intervened Sharon, getting back at the subject at hand
'why would we play a bored game, when we're already bored? Said Alice
'its a type of game stupid rabbit! and don't be rude' crossed Gilbert
'you think I'm rude, who was the one who didn't tell us your creepy bother was coming over'- only Alice could make things awkward. But it did give Oz an idea.
'Your right Alice...'
'Huh?' resonated through the room
'off course I am' smiled the chain, despite smirking and having her arms crossed to convey her victorious stature... she honestly had no idea what she was right about.
'I have an idea for a game' Oz stood and began his presentation. 'I cannot let the lies of my valet slide and therefore...' Gilbert suddenly grew worried. 'he must be punished...'
to Oz and Gilbert's surprise, everyone agreed. 'Ooh this does sound fun' clapped Sharon
'hmm its only fair' said Break
'yeah punish him!' cheered Alice
'wait a second I didn't lie-' protested Gilbert
'O now he'd be talking back to his master' Oz strolled towards his valet 'Soo you think I'm wrong?' he said sternly as he leaned towards the Raven. 'just go along with it Gil. It'll be fun' Oz pulled back and winked at him.
the man sighed as he knew he couldn't win with his master. 'Al right', he put his hands up as a sign of surrender and smiled. 'I lied...'
'the audacity!' joked Break as he plopped some candy in his mouth
'yeah what he said' chanted Alice, she was really getting into the idea of penalizing seaweed head.
Oz then paced back and forth thinking of a suitable punishment for Gilbert. His head snapped back to Vincent who was saying something to the Raven. 'don't worry Gil, I'm on your side'. Oz couldn't help but stare at the two brothers. Oz hadn't noticed it before but the two nearly resembled each other. If it wasn't for the hair and Vincent's odd red eye, they could be identical.
'I got it!' the blonde sounded delighted 'Vincent shall take part in Gil's punishment'
the Nightray had a glimmer of shock but was replaced with a smile. 'you don't mind do you?' asked Oz.
'Off course not, as long as I'm with Gil' he moved closer to the latter with an uncomfortable smile plastered on his face. The added knowledge of his brother taking part was punishment enough for Gil as he showed his displeasure through his eyes. Oz almost felt sorry for him... almost.
'perfect' he clapped 'so its obvious that you two are brothers' he started strutting about the room 'and your likeness could improve with a few adjustments'
'Ooo I sense a makeover' said Sharon as she tried to hide her excitement.
'Make Up!' exclaimed Gil 'no Oz please...'
'silence' called Oz 'and so you two must exchange clothes and acted like the other for the rest of the day'
'EXCHANGE CLOTHES!' screeched Gilbert
'Oho I've always wanted to wear Gil-kun's coat' sang Vincent as he hugged himself like he was wearing Gil's clothes already. This disturbed Alice and Break but Gilbert managed to ignore him. 'Oz I cant, I mean why?'
Oz just smiled devilishly 'because I said so...' and he patted Gil's shoulder 'now you will both have to wear a wig and a set of contact lenses, Gil will have one red whilst Vincent will have one gold, you will remove any ear accessories and change into each other clothes, then you will walk around Pandora and try to fool everyone for the rest of the day'
'But Oz, Pandora is closed on Sundays there will be no-one working'
'argh well you will-' Oz thought about the next part of the plan but Break already had one in mind.
'you will be tested by your master and servant' sang Break
'Huh?' Oz wondered when Break took charge of his master plan. 'how come I'm getting involved in his punishment?'
'you made a mess last night and caused problems-'
'that was Alice!'
Break ignored him, '...Its simple, Miss Sharon will disguise both of you to look identical and it will be up to Oz and Echo to choose their "precious person" and see if they can tell the difference' finished Break
Oz blushed at the mention of "Precious person", but Echo felt scolded 'Vincent-sama is not my precious person' she said under her breath. But it made Oz smile.
Gil felt surge of doubt in this idea 'B-but what if Oz chooses-'
'Eh? you think I won't be able to tell' bellowed Oz
'N-n-noo Master its just-'
'If either choose wrongly... well wouldn't that be awkward' laughed Break
'this is silly me and Vincent don't look alike & won't look the same-'
'are you questioning my abilities on the art of makeover Mr Gilbert', suddenly Sharon pulled out a paper fan and tapped it it in her grasp with a smile that could kill.
'ugh-not at all carry on, lets get started' surrendered Gil as he fell into his seat feeling his soul getting sucked away for the second time that day.
'great we shall leave them to you Sharon-chan' smiled Oz as he , Break, Echo and Alice left the room. Leaving the Nightrays to the magic and torture of Sharon Rainsworth.
It was growing dark outside as Oz and company were sitting in the reception hall. Break was teasing Alice and showing her magic tricks-much to her annoyance- and Oz was catching up with Echo. 'so do you reckon you'll be able to tell which is Vincent?'
Echo's expression remained the same and mulled about how "she'd been a servant to Vincent for many years and that if she couldn't tell the difference it would forever haunt her. And her master wouldn't let it go". Oz believed Echo would tell them apart and knew that if she went first and picked one then she would be right, she was good when it came to data and gaining information. How she knows so much about daily life and information about others and yet she knew very little about everything else. He was fascinated by her and was saddened to hear Sharon calling them from upstairs. Resulting in the end of the their conversation as they made their way to the living hall.
The resemblance was uncanny. The two males sat side by side, both wearing long black wigs and had matching eyes of gold and red. What shocked Oz was that neither wore each others clothes but instead wore their Pandora Uniforms. Sharon gleamed 'they never wear their uniforms so you probably have never seen them, which is strange since it is company policy after all' Sharon smiled at her victims as they fidgeted in their suits.
Break just laughed 'I don't blame them My Lady the uniforms don't suit them at all hahaha'
the two pulled a matching face that wanted to kill Break but it faded as Sharon clapped her hands. 'right lets begin, Oz and Echo please come closer and try to tell which is which'
Sharon moved aside and allowed Oz and Echo to wonder around each person.
The two men stayed absolutely still, Oz had to admit they really did look alike. The long wig shielded the pin-holes in Vincent's ear's and Sharon did an excellent job with the make up as their skin tones and small imperfections were the same. It was like they were looking in a mirror, Oz inspected the man on the left whilst Echo searched the one on the right. You could hear Break giggling behind as he kept Alice company-who also seemed to have trouble telling the two apart.
Then Oz heard a shriek from Sharon, 'Echo what are you-'
Oz whipped his head round to see Echo sitting on the man on the right. 'Echo sits on Master's lap all the time, so Echo can tell straight away' she said blatantly and not seeming bothered that she might in fact be sitting on Gilbert. Then Oz grew worried, if Echo couldn't tell the difference how could he. Then Oz abandoned the clothes, body shape and obvious changes that Sharon made and instead focused on the one thing that hadn't been touched- The golden left eye.
Echo then moved to the person on the left and sat on his lap. Oz couldn't help knowing that Echo had defiantly sat on Gilbert now. So he watched the persons reaction but nothing, their face stayed completely still, like a statue and If Oz remembered well then he knew that the first person Echo sat on didn't move a muscle as well. Oz was on his own now, so he proceeded with his theory on the left eye. He stared at the person on the right, his eye was golden like honey and conveyed a nostalgic feeling from within. A strange feeling. But then he moved to the person on the left and stared into his eye which was also golden and sweet but felt different despite its pallet of colours, black and yellow with a tint of orange just like the one on the left.
Echo was standing beside Sharon, she has decided. Oz looked back at the one on the left and smiled. Sharon then told the two to stand beside the one they think is their "precious person"
Break could be heard making the sound of a drum roll.
'Oz Oz I know which one is seaweed head!' waved Alice
Break then shushed her. 'its about to get interesting'
Oz chose the man on the right alongside Echo... wait what!
'Dun dun dun' sang Break at the shock revelation of Oz and Echo beside the person on the right. Oz began to doubt himself. If the man on the left is Gil then Oz would never forgive himself nor would Gilbert, he would think he doesn't know him at all. Oz shuddered at the thought as Sharon approached them. 'So you both think that he is either Gilbert-sama or Vincent-sama?'
Echo nodded and Oz reluctantly agreed.
Sharon then walked behind him and pulled the wig off, slowly revealing a mop of black , wavy hair. Gilbert smiled up at Oz, who was relieved to have the weight of doubt fallen of him. Echo didn't seem bothered as Vincent approached her and to Oz's surprise neither did Vincent.
'O my that was fun' smiled Vincent as he freed his hair from the wig and shook his head to create a flourish of wheat coloured, wavy curls. 'the look on Oz's face was priceless' he scorned
'wait you knew Echo would choose me' said Gilbert, noticing the playful tone in Vincent's voice which meant he was up to something.
'I told Echo to choose you so as to worry Oz before the reveal' Vincent smiled at the young blonde 'I was hoping he would be threatened by Echo's choice and change his mind... but he stayed put'
Oz felt anger surge through him at the thought of Vincent testing the bond of him and Gilbert in hopes of Oz failing and causing a rift in their long term friendship. "Vincent really is sick" thought Oz. 'My, my this has been fun, but me and little Echo had best be off' he snaked an arm around Echo's shoulder and pulled her under his wing, possessively or in resentment- Oz couldn't tell...
'it was good seeing you Gil-kun' he patted his brother shoulder 'do come by to the house sometime eh' he smiled and walked towards Sharon with Echo in his arm as he requested his clothes.
Alice then skipped to the duo in exasperation. 'Oz, Oz I knew, I knew it was him'
Oz couldn't help but laugh at her excitement, 'how Alice? , you were all the way over there' he pointed to the door.
Alice tapped her nose 'Mice different to Raven' she popped her head and smiled from ear to ear. 'under the tobacco and coffee I could tell, I could' Oz and Gilbert just laughed.
'basically you smelt me' Alice nodded again, thinking there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. And that sheer innocence earned her a pat on the head from Gil, which she accepted gladly.
Later that evening, as Gilbert finally removed the single contact lens and began changing into his white shirt, black jacket and trousers he couldn't help wondering how Oz could tell.
The boy sat in his room pondering about the evening he just had till he heard a knock at the door. Gil shuffled inside and joined Oz on the bed, 'Oz I was just wondering-'
'how I could tell it was you, right?'
Gil smiled 'yeah, me and Vince's eyes are identical... kind off... but yet you could still tell...'
Oz focused his sights on Gil, 'your right, they looked the same, same colour same shape' Oz then sat straight and leaned into the Raven 'but that's all on the outside' Oz then placed his hand on Gil's cheek, 'from Vincent I felt cold and lost all I could see was hatred inside'. The blonde gently, smoothed his thumb over Gil's left eye. 'but looking at you I felt warm and a feeling in the bit of my stomach that I knew all to well, I felt safe and the promise of forever was right here'. He caressed the Nightrays cheek and smiled. 'no amount of make up or contact lens can change that'.
Gilbert took the small hand on his face tenderly and skimmed the flat surface with his thumb. He remembered that day, making that promise so long ago, back when they were kids. A promise of forever, seems laughable, but he meant by it and to this day he still wanted to stay beside Oz, even being separated for ten years didn't scratch the constant, as Gil took that hand and placed a small kiss on the flat. Oz smiled, as he valet sealed the promise once again renewing the deal after so long apart.
Meanwhile at the Nightray manor Echo was writing in her diary about the evening and how she attempted to embarrass her Master and cause him distress by sitting on his beloved brother. She detailed the face Vincent pulled once they returned to the manor and how angry he was that she knew full well who was who but still acted on her own accord. For the fist time in a long time Echo actually smiled. And wrote "Gilbert-sama is much more comfortable than Vincent-Sama"
The End
Hope you liked it! pls RnR and lemme know If there are any story ideas you want me to write, I'm open for any ships no matter how fluffy or naughty you want it. CHOW!
