"Julius...please, just for today? You never get out of the tower." Julius lifted his head up and turned to gaze at Rebecca, staring unblinkingly at her. "Just...Just come to the town with me, please!" Rebecca was practically begging at this point.
He was surprised with her change of actions. Normally when Rebecca wanted him to do something she'd threaten him and treat him like he was a child, saying she was going to put him in a corner for sixty seconds for a "time-out". Now, however, Rebecca was pleading for him to go with her. Did she really want his company that badly?
Rebecca watched as a light pink spread across his cheeks for a moment as he scowled. "I have work to do Rebecca-"
"And you'll still have work to do if I come back myself," She finished, cutting him off. She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms, leaning onto the desk. "Just come on! I need to get new gardening supplies and you need to get more groceries for the kitchen-It's a win-win!" Julius tried to ignore the way the woman's eyes were staring at him, bright and hopeful. Rebecca, whether she knows it or not, is actually a rather beautiful young lady. "Besides, you ran out of coffee and if you won't go with me, I won't go at all!"
If Julius wouldn't go, Rebecca wouldn't go, and if Rebecca didn't go, then Ace would be the one who would have to do all the shopping.
Which they refused to let happen. And Julius...well, he strives off of his coffee. It was practically his life source. If he didn't have coffee when he's working, then he'd end up passing out dead in the morning and it would be up to Rebecca to fend for him, keeping him from getting a fever.
Poor Julius. He was stuck with such a lovely woman, one who was just three years younger than him, and he was forced to keep himself in tact. It was even more difficult for him on the sole reason that he, like a few other role-holders, held feelings for the dark-skinned girl. It was a hard task every day keeping himself in check, for every time he looked at her he imagined pulling her to him and kissing her senseless, making sure that no other man could have her... He wanted to know what those lips tasted like. What Rebecca tasted like and how she'd fit against him when he hugged her...
BANG
Rebecca jumped, startled at Julius' sudden action. She shot up out of her seat and ran over next to him, placing on hand on his upperback as she lifted his head up off the table. She brushed the bangs out of his face and stared worriedly at the red-welt on his forehead. "Julius, what are you doing? Are you alright?"
Julius' eyes widened at her actions and quickly leaned his head back, pulling away from her. Red was coating his cheeks. He cleared his throat, coughing into his fist as he turned his head away from the girl. "Y-Yes, I'm fine..." He could feel his clock ticking louder in his chest. She was too close. "I-I decided I will go shopping with you." Wait, what? No, that wasn't what he wanted to say!
"Really?" Her face lit up, and the smile that spread across her face made his clock ache. She was beautiful, even more so when she smiled like that...He wanted to keep her smile to himself, but he knew that was impossible. "Thank you!" He froze when she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his cheek. She pulled away and grinned at him, walking away but turning her around to stare at him, "I'm just going to go grab my jacket, okay? Don't leave without me!"
"Of-Of course..." Julius wouldn't dream of it. Once he was sure she was out of his line of sight he raised a hand up and touched his fingers gently to his cheek, trying to ignore the fact that his lips were twitching upwards into a smile. His face burned a little and he groaned, burying his face in his hands after he dropped his wrench onto his work desk. "Damn it all, stupid woman..."
Oh, how Julius wished Ace were here. Then he'd have someone to throw a wrench at. Julius practically threw his death warrant to the grim reaper the second he accepted her invitation. Slowly removing his hand from his cheek, he placed it over his mouth, trying to get control over himself. Blushes were annoying to get rid of, especially when you were so inexperienced at getting.
...
"Eh? They're out of it!?" Rebecca was horrified. Julius looked bored and slightly confused. She shuffled through the items in the aisle trying to find the specific coffee brand she always bought for Julius-the one she learned that was his favorite. "Where is it?"
"We can just buy a different brand, Rebecca." Julius told her, not understanding why she was making such a big fuss over coffee brands. "There are plenty to choose from."
"You don't get it!" She argued, glaring at him. He blinked in surprise as he looked down at the petite woman. "That one's your favorite, isn't it? That's why it has to be that one!" Pink tinged his cheeks again as her words processed in his mind.
Damn woman...does she even realize what she's saying? Julius' fingers twitched as he tried to calm himself, looking down at her with a blank face. "We can just buy a different brand for today. You can come back tomorrow and see if they have it." She frowned and bit her lip, looking rather cute in Julius' opinion, before looking up at all the coffee brands in the aisle. Seeing something on the top shelf, her eyes lit up.
"I found it!" Rebecca was a stubborn as Julius when it came to doing things for other people. She poke and pry and beg and demand until they let her help them. Rebecca refused to buy something other than Julius' favorite coffee. Rebecca, despite being too short, was standing on her toes trying to grab it, when something warm and firm pressed against her back, a big hand reaching up brushing against her arm as it grabbed the coffee brand. She whirled around to see who it was, and froze as her breathe hitched in her throat.
She never really realized how tall or well-built Julius was until that moment. He was six-foot-three. Compared to her measly stature of five-foot-three, she didn't even go up to his chin. He looked down at her and tensed, his eyes widening for a brief moment when he realized what he did. Pink brushed against his cheeks as he quickly pulled away, stammering, "I-ah-I...I-I'm sorry!"
"It's-It's fine," She stuttered, swallowing as she turned her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "Th-Thanks for grabbing the coffee for me."
"Y-Yes, of course..."
...
"Well, that was an eventful time," Rebecca commented, causing Julius to scowl as he looked down at her.
"Eventful how?"
She grinned at him, placing a hand on her hip. "Well, considering how when you spoke a woman almost fainted, and another almost screamed in terror at the sight of you, not to mention how to store-keeper gave you a discount when he learned your name, I think it was pretty eventful. I should bring you out shopping with me more often!"
"I'd rather not," Julius responded calmly, looking away from her. He enjoyed his time with Rebecca, but if something like at the store happened again... Julius hadn't even realized what he had done until after Rebecca turned around to look at him. He won't deny that he liked the way her cheeks turned red at the sight of him... "It's troublesome and annoying."
"You're just cranky because I refused to let you go back to the tower," Rebecca responded just as sharply, frowning at the tall man. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to have you get sick from being cooped up there all the time. You need your Vitamin D; just look at how pale you are!" As if to prove her point, she grabbed the hand that was not holding groceries bags and held it up in Julius' face, making him stare at his own hand. "You can see the veins when your hand is limp! That's not healthy, Julius!" He twisted his hand around, grabbing onto Rebecca's smaller one and causing the girl's eyes to widen in surprise when he suddenly took a step towards her, narrowing his eyes.
"What's not healthy is you constantly fretting about my health when you barely care about yours." It was ridiculous in Julius' opinion. "When was the last time you had a proper sleep?" Rebecca paused and frowned, thinking about it.
"About...maybe...six time periods ago? I took a nap during then, I think."
A nap. A nap. Six time periods ago. Julius had the urge to drop the groceries and pin her against the wall, about ready to tire her out himself and make sure she ended up sleeping good. His face flared at the thought and he held back a groan, hating himself for being a man. A lonely man who just so happened to be living with the woman of his affections.
"Don't...Don't drink any caffeine for the next few time periods," He ordered, releasing her and placing a hand against his head. "No coffee for you."
"What!? No; I need my coffee! I can't function without-"
"Exactly why you needn't drink it!" He fired back, raising his voice. "You're a foreigner. You're not us; you actually need sleep in order to live. We-"
"If you dare say anything about being replaced, I'm going to kick your ass." She said darkly, giving him a glare. Julius looked down at her in surprise. "You are not replaceable. Even you know that Julius. You should know better than anyone else that when you come back you won't be the same. You probably won't even look the same. So I don't want to hear it. You are you, Julius, and I refuse to lose you. I'm going to fret over you all I want and there's not a damned thing you can do to stop me. Understand?"
They had a staring contest for a good two minutes, neither one relenting. After a moment, Julius sighed and closed his eyes, placing a hand on his head again. "You're a troublesome woman..."
Rebecca hummed to herself, smiling happily. "Well, at least I'm not a "troublesome child"." She was glad that Julius gave her her own nickname, rather than calling her the same thing as Alice. Rebecca was tired of being considered a shadow in everyone's eyes and was glad that Julius considered her "special" enough to call her "woman" rather than "child". He still left troublesome in the name though. "You're nicer than you think," She commented with a small smiler, causing Julius to look at her stunned at the random comment. "You don't consider me her shadow. You treat me like my own person. You actually see me rather than stare straight through me, so thank you." She stopped walking, causing Julius to do the same as he turned to stare down at her, his deep blue eyes widening. She looked up and smiled at him widely, closing her eyes as a light red spread across her cheeks. "Thank you, Julius."
He blinked and turned his head quickly, feeling his face burn. His clock continued to tick loudly in his chest. "Stupid woman, what are you even thanking me for?" She merely laughed lightly at his words and grabbed his sleeve, dragging him along with her. However, seeing as Julius had the longer legs, Rebecca ended up being dragged by him.
"You rotten son of a bitch-! Get back here!" The two stopped their walking and turned, only to have Rebecca cry out in alarm when an arm slung around her shoulders and a barrel of a gun got pressed against her head.
She knew just from the feel of the gun that it wasn't Peter, and this person was actually dangerous.
"Release her," Julius demanded, narrowing his eyes. "She did nothing to you."
"Fuckin' hell she didn't! She's with you, ain't she? You killed my brother!"
Julius looked unimpressed and completely unaffected. "Did I now?"
"Yes, you did! Now don't move or else I kill the stupid broad!" He pressed the barrel closer against her head. Rebecca scowled. She hated being threatened. "What's her role anyway?" He asked, seeing her brown skin. She must be a really important role-holder to look so different from everyone else in Wonderland. "The Clockmaker's whore?"
Julius actually looked a little mad at the comment. If Ace didn't show up in a few moments, Julius was going to have to take matters into his own hands and actually use his gun. "Nothing so vile. She's merely an Outsider, and she has nothing to do with this." Julius took a step forward, and paused when a bullet fired right past his head, grazing his cheek.
"I said don't move!" Rebecca took the distraction as a chance to stomp on the man's foot, elbowing him in the stomach as she pushed herself away from him. She whirled around in time to get a gun banged against her head, and was sent stumbling backwards as she cried out in pain. "Gah-!" The man screamed in agony as a broad sword went through his back and out of his chest, sliding out of him painfully.
Julius caught Rebecca as she fell with one arm, holding her against him as he made sure not to drop the bag he was holding. His clock ticked angrily when he saw the blood trickling down the side of her head.
Ace laughed as he stepped out of the alley, swinging his sword around and getting the blood off of it. "Hahaha! That was so boring~!" He pulled off his mask and hood, letting the bloody brown cape drape over him. "Eh? Rebecca?" He smiled at the sight of the girl, his eyes widening darkly as he turned to grin at the man on the ground. He was grovelling in pain as he tried to reach for his gun. "You hurt Rebecca?" Ace laughed loudly as he brought his sword down onto the faceless' hand, sending him screaming. Ace then removed the sword and pulled away, before quickly ending the man's life. It didn't take long for him to turn into a clock-a clock that Julius would later have to fix. "Hehe~. Here you go Julius!"
Ace displayed the clock proudly, grinning.
"Sorry for being late, I got lost again. Haha! Hey, hey, is Rebecca okay? Her heart isn't dying, is it?" Ace grew attached to the foreigner. "We'll still be able to have a threesome, right?" Julius looked annoyed at Ace.
"Now is not the time for jokes! She's injured."
"I-I'm fine," Rebecca grumbled, finally gaining most of her consciousness back. She was left severely dizzy after getting hit like that. She pushed herself away from Julius, her heart beating a little faster, and stumbled backwards as she pressed a hand against the wound on her head. She scowled, catching her balance. She then chuckled, "It's just a small scratch. Nothing too big. Come on, we need to get back to the Tower."
...
"It's just a scratch, Julius, I'm fine! Stop fussing about it!"
"Just let me look at it!"
"And Alice says I'm the bad one!" Rebecca scowled as she placed his mug of coffee on his desk. Julius stood up and grabbed her wrist, causing her to struggle and try to yank her arm back. "Let go of me-!" She let out a surprised gasp when Julius suddenly slammed her onto his desk, all the while making sure she didn't land on anything of importance. "H-Hey!" She flinched when Julius suddenly hovered over her small form, a hand brushing the hair out of her face. He looked at the giant red welt on her forehead where the gun had hit her.
"You didn't even put a bandage on it?"
"It was just a small scratch! I put ointment on it to make it heal faster."
"You're being reckless."
"How so?" She demanded, glaring up at him.
Julius narrowed his eyes at her, saying, "You shouldn't have done what you did. He could have killed you."
"But he didn't," She pointed out, raising an eyebrow as she tried to push Julius off of her. "Now get off!"
"...What would you have done if Ace didn't show up when he did?" Rebecca paused, staring up at him in confusion. Her face flushed when she realized how close Julius was.
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"If Ace didn't show up, how would you have protected yourself against the man? He had a gun."
"I can protect myself just fine-" She froze, feeling Julius' breath brushing against her neck, his lips right next to her ear. "J-Julius?"
"Is that so? Prove it." He muttered, "Protect yourself against me."
Her eyes widened.
