My second fic for Pandora Hearts! I still think this fandom needs more people, cause its amazing. I'm here to help out the OzxAlice pairing, mainly in the fluff department :3 Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts ):

Gaining Her Trust

Chapter 1. A Rabbit's Trust

"Damn it! Baka usagi!" Gilbert Nightray's enraged voice bellowed throughout the house.

Said B-Rabbit-girl had rushed into the kitchen, intending to ask Oz, her Contractor, a question about a sort of food she had seen in town prior that day. The Chain had, in her hasty curiosity, stumbled a bit in the doorway and had tried to lean against the wall for support, yet she had misjudged where it was she stood and had accidentally bumped into a small table that stood against the wall. Thus, she had unintentionally knocked down a small vase that had fallen to the hard, cruel ground and shattered.

Oz had rushed to her side, pushing her away from the broken glass and asking if she were alright. But before Alice had the chance to reply to him, or even attempt to apologize for her actions, Gil had stomped across the room to stand before her and shouted so loudly his hat fell had been uptight and short-tempered lately, and even the slightest little things had annoyed him to no end. Obviously, this had been the final straw.

Alice's face fell, her curious expression shattering like the vase on the floor. She was taken aback by Gilbert's fierce words and wanted to step up to him and shout back and tell him he was being an idiot, yet something inside of her held her back. Perhaps it was some human emotion that still lingered within her that sent the foreboding sensation up her spine.

For the first time she could recall, she was speechless, perhaps because she was fed up and did not want to bother talking to the Nightray, or she was simply at a loss for words.

Seeing her taken aback face, Oz stepped in front of her and spread his arms out, as though trying to defend her from his servant's harsh words.

"Gil, stop it! It was an accident. There's no need to-" He cut off as Gil stepped forward and shouldered his master away, directing all his anger at the Chain. Gil's hands were in fists at his side, his teeth gritted, his gold eyes hard as stone.

Despite the feeling in her gut, Alice decided to speak up.

"Oi, Seaweed Head, it was an accident!" She defended herself in a huff. "I didn't mean to-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Gilbert's deep growl made her cut off in a small gasp. Oz was frozen with horror and panic as he watched his best friend step up to his Chain. He did not miss the flash of fear in Alice's eyes for a brief second, but he could tell that she was suppressing it and put on a scowl.

She seemed about to say more, but before she could, Gil raised his hand and gripped her shirt collar tightly, slightly lifting her feet off the ground.

She suddenly lost her composure, her eyes widening as though she had snapped. Her hands flew up and she grasped his arm with curling fingers that dug into his sleeve like claws. Her cobalt irises were wild, almost resembling those of a trapped animal.

"Let go of me!" she snarled furiously.

"Gilbert!" Oz cried out, rushing forward and grabbing the black-haired man's arm. Oz shoved Gil away, the servant seeming to only just realize exactly what he had been doing. Gil blinked as though he had not been himself the past few seconds, then took a step back and released the girl.

Alice clawed his arm off of her and unsteadily found her feet back on solid ground once more. She was panting wildly, as if she had been being held down underwater. She then whipped around and dashed away down the hallway, kicking up small shards of broken glass that flew up and cut her ankles, but kept running despite the small pains.

Oz listened as the door slammed and her footsteps vanished, before turning back to face Gil. His friend gazed up at the blonde boy, frightened that he was mad at him.

"Oz-"

"It's okay Gil, I'll go find her. You just cool off a bit okay?" His forgiving attitude was sometimes too good to be true and he smiled before turning around and sprinting for the door to follow the girl's lead.

Gilbert was left to blink after him in silence, shaking his head in disgust at himself as he began to pick up the shattered pieces of the vase that had cause all of this, some parts spattered with B-Rabbit's blood.

What the Hell's wrong with me? He thought guiltily.

Oz raced after the girl, knowing how elusive she could be when she wanted to and he did not want to lose her trail.

He saw tiny drops of scarlet staining the grass here and there, but he mainly followed the instincts inside of him that connected Contractor to Chain.

In this way, he eventually came to a grassy hill a ways away from Gil's residence. He spotted several hares, their ears pricked and noses twitching as they faced the direction he believed Alice to be in. They darted away as he ran past until he finally came to a halt.

She was sitting atop the small hill, her knees pulled in to her chest, arms folded over her knees, burying her face.

Oz wondered whether it was better to leave her alone for the moment and was about to turn around until a thought stopped him. No. She's been alone long enough. He turned back in her direction and stepped lightly and slowly across the grass until he stood a few feet away from her.

"Alice." He said softly. She did not stir, and he continued. "Please don't be mad at Gil. He's really an idiot sometimes." He laughed but soon stopped in seeing it was doing no he let out a small sigh and sat down behind her, pressing his back against hers.

He was silent for a moment, waiting patiently for her to speak up if she so desired to. If she felt like talking, he would listen. If she just wanted to take a breath and relax, he would accompany her, just so she would not have to be lonely again. He stared at the blue Springtime sky, watched the jumpy hares as they bounded through the swaying grasses, the faint thudding of Alice's heartbeat resonating through him. Finally, he felt her stir and lift her head.

"Oz…I don't know what came over me…" she murmured.

"Eh? What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his head back a bit.

"I just…panicked when he grabbed me like that. I felt like…like I was trapped in a snare or something."Oz moved away from her and then slid up to sit beside her as she went on. "It was like…" here, she raised one hand to her throat. "Like he'd found my weak spot or something." She rasped.

Oz was silent for a moment, looking her over and realizing once more just how humanlike she was. Yet this side of her showed off her more vulnerable, rabbit-like part.

"I can understand why, you especially, would feel that way." He agreed. He caught her eye and then flicked his gaze toward two hares that sat and watched them with round, cautious black eyes from afar. "You're just like them." Oz went on. She's fragile. It is her weak spot. But he was not going to tell her she was as fragile as a rabbit.

Instead he reached a hand towards the one that was at her collarbones. "The neck's a sensitive spot, especially for someone like you, and Gil was too rough. You only panicked because your instincts told you too."She blinked at him, a bit puzzled at first. But then her cobalt irises hardened as his hand reached for her neck, her eyes filling with defensive mistrust. But Oz sent her a reassuring smile and swore to her with his deep emerald gaze not to hurt her. She blinked at him once more, until her eyes showed him that she would allow the contact.

She flinched as his fingers rested on the skin on the base of her neck, and she almost pulled away until she realized that the contact was not harsh and murderous. Instead, it was gentle, caring, warm. Oz traced his fingertips lightly up to her chin before removing his hand. He smiled sweetly at her; she was too defensive and distant, but perhaps this was the first step to gaining her trust. Alice swallowed a bit shakily, a light blush covering her cheeks.

"See? I won't ever hurt you Alice. You can trust me, I promise." He told her sincerely, clasping her hands in his. Even after all this time she was still trying to be distant from everyone, including him, but Oz was still determined to break past her barrier. He would stop at nothing to earn her trust. "Can you trust me?" he asked, searching for her eyes.

She raised her gaze to lock with his, the mischief of the good old Alice he had come to know and love sparking back to life in her irises.

"We'll see." She replied with a tiny smirk. Oz smiled back. Well at least she didn't say no.

Just then, Oz remembered something.

"Ah! Alice! Your ankles!" he leaned forward to examine her bleeding skin.

"Oh that's nothing. I'm fine." She said passively with a shurg.

"Nonsense." He reached into his pocket, drawing out a small handkerchief. "It would be bad if it got infected." Carefully, he patted and wiped away the drops of blood on her pale skin, being as gentle as possible. Alice stayed perfectly still as he cleaned her wounds, as though frozen stiff to have someone else touching her so casually. Oz soon sat back, satisfied and folded the cloth up, sliding it back into his pocket. "There." He grinned. Alice blinked at him once more.

A chilly breeze drifted by just then, and the girl leaned closer to him.

"Hey. You're my manservant. Keep me warm." She mumbled, trying to make it sound like an order. But Oz knew better; he knew it was her way of trying to accept his trust and give him her own.

"Right." He placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

After a moment or two, her stiff shoulders slowly relaxed as she got used to his touch and his warmth. She too was very warm and Oz shifted ever so slightly closer to her.

Within seconds, she was asleep at his side and he rested his chin atop her head.

The day had quickly turned from bad to wonderful, and he thought he had been very successful in Gaining Her Trust.

A/N: Sorry for making Gil the villain! D:

Hope it was alright. More fluff next chapter!!

Please review!!