A/N: Warning, kids. Getting slightly adult around about here, but this should be about it. Just playing around with Oz's playboy side, that's all. Bwahaha.
"Do you have any idea what this means, Gil?" Oz cried in despair, tugging at the roots of his golden hair.
Gil looked at him with a raised eyebrow, chewing on the end of an unlit cigarette with the air of the unimpressed. "Apart from a happy marriage? No. I really don't."
Oz didn't spare the time to roll his eyes at his unhelpful manservant. Every time he blinked, the scene replayed itself on the inside of his eyelids.
Literally split seconds before critical contact, Oz realized what he was doing. His eyes shot open and the first things he saw were the equally wide, understandably alarmed purple eyes of his psycho fiancée. For a few awkward seconds that seemed to stretch on forever, they sat there, teetering on the brink of balance and staring in absolute surprise into each other's eyes. When they spoke, they spoke together and in a somewhat flustered, hurried tone.
"I've gotta go," Oz mumbled breathlessly.
"Bathroom," Alice mumbled back, almost in agreement. Almost in unison, they shot from the windowsill and went their separate ways. The black bunny was thrown to the floor and forgotten, and the door to Alice's ensuite and the door to her bedroom slammed shut in unison.
Oz sank down where he lay, eyes wide and chest heaving. What the hell was that? They were just talking, and then, and then… Oz didn't want to believe that he had actually attempted to kiss a woman who, not only still had all of her clothes on, but was also the woman he claimed to despise, but there was no other real explanation. Trembling and sick with self disgust, Oz rose to his feet and staggered down the staircase.
"GIL…!"
"Oh, you have no idea, Gil," Oz said quietly, almost fearfully. Gil sat forward in his chair, shaking his head confusedly.
"OK, so let's just go over this one more time for the hungover guy," He said firmly. "So you guys were talking about your childhood and then Alice tried to kiss you?"
"Much worse than that," Oz said darkly, collapsing belly-first on the couch. "We tried to kiss each other. Do you know what this means?" He repeated, exasperated.
Gil was tired of the guessing games. "Pray tell."
"It means," Oz said slowly. "It means, dare I say it, that I may actually be emotionally bound to someone."
That one surprised Gil and his dark eyebrows shot up. "No way," He breathed. Oz wasn't the type of guy to become 'emotionally bound' to any woman. He was sort of more into the hit-and-run thing. Gil didn't think that Oz had actually ever been in a real, lasting relationship with another human being.
"Way," Oz agreed grimly. "Firstly, we both tried to kiss each other. Secondly, she was still wearing all of her clothes at the time."
The clothes one was a big thing for Oz. "I thought you hated her," Gil said, brows furrowed.
"So did I!" Oz exclaimed, alive for a second before slumping again. "I can't believe this is seriously happening," He muttered, mostly to himself. Silence settled for a few moments, but then Oz's head shot up again and his emerald eyes glittered with determination. "Get dressed, Gil," Oz said emptily. "You're driving."
"Driving where?" Gil whined. He really didn't feel like driving anywhere right now.
"We're going to see Lotti," Oz said over his shoulder as he closed the door behind him.
Gil stared at the shut door for a few moments, the moaned and threw his head back.
He really didn't like going to see Lotti.
The black Bentley pulled up at the back doors of a dark little house in an abandoned alleyway. Oz hoped she wasn't working today. She usually wasn't working today, but one could never be sure.
Gil looked at his young charge wearily. "Can I wait here?" He asked unhappily. "I still have a really bad headache and driving doesn't help."
Oz waved his hand dismissively over his shoulder at he moved towards the house. He felt a little funny in his stomach, like foreboding or something. Why? This had never happened before. He was determined to make this trip worthwhile. "Whatever," He mumbled absently. Gil sighed in relief and rolled the windows up. His young charge could hang around with shady types with Lotti as long as he liked, as long as Gil got a nap and wasn't seen in a black car outside this house.
Oz knocked on the door and put on his best innocent face when a masked foreign-looking woman answered. "I'm here to see Lotti," He sang. "I have a message for her."
The lady looked doubtful- as far as Oz could tell, because of the mask and all- but she stepped aside and let him in. Oz went up two flights of rickety old stairs and past several old doors until he came to number forty-three. He knocked once, didn't wait for a reply and stepped in.
The room was dark and the curtains were drawn. Candles were lit and incense was heavy in the air. An old-fashioned four-poster bed was in the corner and the sheets were messy and unmade. A mask not unlike the one the woman had been wearing at the door lay abandoned on the floor. The door swung shut behind him and Oz heard the sound of wine being poured.
"You haven't changed a bit, Oz," A chuckling female voice said quietly from a corner. Oz turned and smiled when he saw a young girl with rose eyes and matching hair standing in the corner in a small tight-fitting dress.
"Neither have you," Oz smiled amiably, hiding his curiosity and ignoring the sick little feeling still stirring in his stomach.
The girl in the corner laughed. "You're not the only one who's spent their fair share in Abyss." She passed him a glass of red wine as she walked past him and settled herself down, lying lengthways on a lounge. She pierced him with a saucy stare. "So tell me, Oz," She said softly. "I imagine you had a hard time in Abyss."
Oz sat down opposite her coolly. "Rather lonely," He admitted, casting her a sidelong stare.
Lotti giggled. "Of course." She craned her neck forward, tracing Oz's jaw with a silky finger. Oz leant forward too, his stomach apparently having a trampoline party in his belly. Angry at himself, he pulled Lotti towards him roughly, determined to get this done. This wasn't normal, and if it was what he thought it was then he really, really wanted to go through with this. Lotti was surprised but didn't resist and as Oz watched her lips near his he felt the blood rush to his face and he suddenly became sweaty and clammy, which set off warning bells right away. He was usually very smooth around women. As only centimetres lingered between them, Lotti paused and waited. Oz hesitated, mentally attempting to force himself to kiss her. Why should it matter? She was just another girl.
"Nope," He said suddenly. Lotti's eyes flickered open and pierced him with a questioning stare. "Can't do it. Sorry."
Oz stood up and Lotti fell to the carpet, unsupported. "What the hell are you doing?" She demanded angrily, rubbing her nose painfully where she had landed.
"I forgot to tell you," Oz grinned over his shoulder as he opened the door. "I have a fiancée."
The door clicked shut. Lotti slumped and cursed him quietly. Oz threw himself down two flights of stairs and hurled out the back door, catapulting himself into the car next to Gil where he promptly slammed his forehead onto the dashboard hopelessly. Gil, who had been attempting to sleep, cracked one eye open and looked at him curiously. "That was quick," He probed.
"Home," Oz moaned. "Now."
Gil grinned to himself as he started the car. "Couldn't do it?"
Oz moaned again. "Don't remind me, just drive."
