Thank you for the reviews :D And specially: helvengurl. XD I had my English exam today, but before that I read your review and it really gave me good hope! Thank you~

The chapter may be short, but keep in mind I got exams. Sowwy ^^;

For all Gilbert-fans, there's a small (VERY RANDOM) present at the end of the chapter for you :3

Chapter 7

Today was good day. Alice was happy, she knew she was. With a content sigh she closed one of the novels Sharon had pushed her way. Of course she didn't like the novels that much, but her mood was good enough to finish it anyway. Maybe the clo- people around here did pretty well for her. She was almost turning into something like… a real girl!

Her eyebrows furrowed and she jumped up quickly. Oz was still gone with Gilbert and Reim… Maybe Break was in his room. Roaming the halls, she deftly avoided any Pandora members and safely arrived at Break's quarters.

"Come in, Miss Alice." Break said before she knocked, and she slipped in, closing the door rather loudly. "How did you -"

"You are quite predictable~" he interrupted brightly, shoving a paper aside to grab another.

"Are you…working?" Alice brought out when she noticed the small stacks of papers scattered around his large desk. Oz had been prancing around that they had a week off…

Break smirked. "I'm afraid that even I have to submit to my duty once in a while." With a grunt Alice sat down on a chair opposite of Break's desk. "Are you almost done?"

"Not quite. Lady Sharon is free tonight, I am most sure she would like to occupy her time with you."

"I've had enough tea for a week, thank you." Alice defended, staying right where she was. Remaining silent, Alice started fiddling after half an hour. Shifting in the chair. Running a hand through her hair. Picking at the arm of the chair. Moving her feet…

"Miss Alice."

"Darn this is boring!" She exclaimed upon hearing the other talk. "Can't you just take a break and do something with me?"

Break stood up and picked up the larger stack of the papers, bringing them to a cabin. "Such as?"

"I don't know!" She huffed and slumped further in the chair. Break returned to his seat silently and looked at her intensely.

"Sure someone with a mind as sharp as yours would be able to find something to do, Miss Alice?"

Oh, Alice already had something to discuss. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why always 'miss'?"

"Pardon?"

"You always call me 'Miss Alice'. Why?"

Break shrugged casually. "A habit, I suppose." Alice grunted.

"I'm not calling you stupid clown anymore, am I?"

"You wish to be called by only your surname, then?" Alice's eyebrows shot down as a red colour spread on her cheeks. "Well, I wouldn't mind…"

Break nodded earnestly. "I'll do my best, Alice. Then, how should you call me?"

Her blush deepened as she opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again, thinking it over.

"Well, there's Kevin Regnard…" His face formed a distasteful scowl and Alice shrugged apologetically.

"And Xerxes… or just Break. I don't know! What do you like?"

He smiled. "Either name sounds quite appealing coming from your voice, Alice." Alice hugged her legs to her chest at the way he spoke her name. He didn't need much time to customize himself to it, did he?

"And… how old are you anyway?" Alice challenged out of sheer boredom. She watched as he reacted with a slight tense and a silence of a few seconds, before he sighed amusingly.

"What's with the interrogating, I feel threatened! But I guess I lost count after hundred-and-sixty~"

"!"

"Just kidding~" He chuckled. "Including the spent time in the Abyss, I should be sixty-nine years old I think. Then again, I am not entirely sure of this since it was not recorded." Wow, didn't take much for him to actually tell her.

"That pretty old."

Break blinked. "With the Abyss, you should be hundred-and-fifteen. That's much older~"

Alice grinned. "So that would mean I'm your superior!"

"What a pity~"

It was silence for another half an hour and Alice eventually snorted, wondering how he could impossibly let her be as bored as she was at the moment.

He grinned and waved at her jokingly from his seat at the desk, and at her frustrated look he decided to change the topic again.

"Have you ever debated whether you should stop coming to my office so often, Alice?" He asked lightly, keeping his usual tune to it. Alice frowned at the obvious question.

"Why? Do I bother you?" She didn't even care that her voice sounded awfully desperate in that sentence.

"Not at all~" He said sweetly, stopping Alice's rant by continuing. "It's just not good for you to keep coming so late every time, you need your sleep."

"That's bullshit."

He smiled at her choice of words and looked at his work for a moment. Alice, meanwhile, got more and more stressed by the second. Did she do something wrong? Maybe she shouldn't have asked him about his age and all – maybe it brought bad memories!

…Why did she care, by the way?

"I fear that in your feelings for Oz you might've made some wrong decisions." Break continued carefully. Alice felt as if he were speaking that subject with all the numbers Sharon tried to teach her once.

"It's probably better to just go to him for the time being, instead of me."

"But he doesn't listen." Alice said irritated. "You do."

"That's my point exactly." Break said rather seriously. "Besides, I've been informed you'd be leaving shortly."

"Huh?" Alice said confused. Break smiled genuinely; she had always been a little slow. "Oz told me you would be leaving soon." He repeated. Alice frowned. "Oh? I'm not going anywhere." She stated defiantly. "Idiot Oz."

"Maybe you should discuss this with master Oz." Break said when Alice opened her mouth to respond.

"Tsk. I don't wanna leave. Who's he to decide that?" She asked to herself anyway.

"Why would you desire to stay here, then? The Vessalius estate is bigger and you'll be treated much better as a part of their family." Break remarked smartly.

"But you are here." Alice defended, blinking after a second. Break mimicked and Alice began stuttering. "I-I didn't… s-stupid…"

Break looked at her, studying her for a second before he leaned forward over the desk a little.

"Alice." He called out when she looked away embarrassingly. "Would you perhaps, miss me?"

"N-…maybe." Alice shot back, looking elsewhere. "…Y-you?"

"I'd follow you if you'd want me to, Miss Alice." Break murmured.

Her eyes lit up lightly. "Really?"

He smiled and stood up, walking over to her swiftly. She looked up confused and lowered her gaze as he crouched down to get more on eye-height with her. He took her hand and brought it to his face, kissing her gloved knuckles.

Alice blushed a light red of this and watched as he gently intertwined his fingers with hers, before he let her go again.

"But why bring that up anyway?" Alice asked as he straightened up. He smiled down to her.

"I'm afraid Master Oz had confronted me with the fact I have been rather… close with you the last few days." Alice blushed redder. That way he put it was rather stupid. And why did Oz interfere with her business anyway? It wasn't like she did – no scratch that. He was her manservant; he wasn't allowed to do that!

"What did you say?"

"Not very much if I dare say so. But it struck me that I might have been thinking the same as Master Oz." He said mysteriously. Alice frowned (what the hell was he saying anyway?) and cocked her head to one side.

"Well, no further on that subject! We should go and prepare ourselves for lunch!" He brushed it off and walked back to his desk to clean it briefly. Alice looked at him vaguely as he put one file into a drawer and picked another up to place it upon a stack.

And it only struck Alice just then; as she left the room through the door Break held open for her and made her way to her room – that the left corner of his lip seemed slightly bluer than the rest.

We don't really have to mention she had a heated argument which led to a pretty rough fight with Oz later that evening.

Omake!

Recap of chapter 5 :D

Gilbert held the animal in his hand at a safe distance. It kept on wiggling! He wondered if it took on some kind of crazy rabbit influenza.

It barked.

"Oh, you want to walk? Fine with me." Gilbert muttered, putting the dog down immediately. It followed him closely as Gilbert continued walking in the village. If that name plate was correct they were only a street away. And then the animal would be gone.

Suddenly the dog whined and Gilbert looked to see what was wrong with the thing. It held a large stick which was still connected to the stall standing rather abandoned in its mouth, waggling his tail at him, earning all kinds of coo's from young woman walking past.

"Forget it…. Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to play with you!" The dog's eyes got even bigger and it faintly reminded him of how his young master would look when Ms Kate punished the two of them, and Gilbert blushed angrily when someone pointed out he had a really cute dog.

"I'm going to leave you." Gilbert pointed out, turning around and continuing to walk. Eventually the oversized rat followed him and bit his shoe.

"Is there something wrong with you?!" Gilbert fumed when the dog's surprisingly sharp teeth sank all the way down to his little toe. The dog's tongue lapped out of its mouth and it panted in satisfaction.

Before it went of to sniff some wall.

"We're never going to get there on time." Gilbert complained, sitting down against another wall until the dog would be finished doing his deed. It would give him time to think though. If Oz would really want a dog, maybe he could look around for one, right? And train him well enough to bite the rabbit and kiss – ahum, lick – the ground Oz walks on. Heh, that would be a sight. After all, they were cuter than cats. He had to admit it. And dogs too, hated cats. They hunt them and bite them and eat them- oh no wait, that was only that fiction story. But they do hate cats.

He smiled; he could work with dogs – or that little animal that left of to somewhere. He did hope he would return – Oz would have his head if it ever came out the little dog left and got itself killed. Or maybe Gilbert just won't tell. Yes…

"Excuse me!" A sharp voice rang out and Gilbert cringed, standing up to face a lady which held the subject of his thoughts in her hand. It barked happily at Gilbert and waggled it's tale, his tongue lapping out to lick him even though he was a fair distance away.

"This dog was doing his need on the children's playground!" She pointed out. Gilbert shrugged.

"So?"

"There are children there! What if they pick it up and eat it?"

"Then you haven't taught the children good manners; don't pick up what's strange, lady." He grabbed the dog and calmly walked away. He sure as hell didn't need someone to insult him for a dog that's not even his property.

The dog playfully bit the thump that was close to his chin and moved his paws as if he were walking.

"You'd be a good match with Oz though… Children's playground, you pervert."

R&R! :D