Boring…

Such a bore…Every day, every hour and even every moment felt uninteresting and generally dull to Gil when his Young Master wasn't around. But as the diligent and hardworking servant he was, he had set his mind into understanding that looks aside, Oz was still a noble who needed to attend to special lessons, long studying hours and parties he was sure the young Vesalius couldn't even begin to care about. And even if Oz didn't care and whined and moaned about all these details as much as Gil mentally did so, he still was good enough to do all of it.

This was one of the many reasons Gil found his Young Master so admirable, so brilliant…

Yet it didn't stop making him feel so incredibly useless when Oz was out of the Vesalius mansion; there were maids and butlers all over the house doing all the cleaning and cooking that was needed, and since assisting Oz was his one and only duty, there was nothing to do at the moment.

This particular afternoon, Oz and Ada had been dragged to an unknown noble's house to meet some rather important people along with Master Oscar. Even though the siblings were very young, that family had felt the need to test how well the Vesalius family took etiquette for their only heirs, particularly Oz.

Just for this occasion, Oz had been taking dancing lessons- or more specifically,- waltzing lessons with a female instructor from another noble household. While Gil wasn't really allowed to take part in the class, he was welcome to come into the ballroom to watch the classes, and he got to see how Oz got from clumsily following to almost expertly guiding his teacher while a pianist played along wonderful tunes in just a matter of days.

Ah, those wonderful piano tunes, that extraordinary ability of his master to be so good at everything… how they entranced Gil!

The wide-eyed servant couldn't ever express aloud to anyone how fascinated the music from those classes had specially left him. How it transformed the mere image of his already brilliant master dancing into that of a divine being that gracefully moved to non-imaginable melodies…

These were all such lady-like thoughts, Gil knew perfectly. Even silly, perhaps…so watching these classes was like a guilty pleasure. When he was requested to any kind of work while Oz took the waltzing lessons, he'd secretly take a moment to stop whatever he was doing to quietly open and peek from the ballroom door to see and hear clearly the almost angelic routine.

There were two long weeks of waltzing lessons, and Oz was at this very moment showing off his abilities with a noble lady around his age, just to impress the family that had practically challenged the Vesalius household into doing so.

While Gil was proud that his master was right now dazzling the shallow-minded adults that didn't take him seriously, he was still feeling rather sad that there would be no more lessons. Now the lady instructor had headed back to her home in another far away town, taking her pianist along.

Sighing, the little servant stood from his bed to search within his tiny wardrobe, calmly looking for something. He had remembered exchanging small-talk with the pianist, and before the man had left, he had thanked Gil for being such an eager listener and given the boy a music-box with music that just slightly resembled the tunes he played.

Gil smiled to himself as he found the little box in the pocket of a jacket he'd worn the previous day, and gave its spring one full turn.

Ah, the soothing melody…

The second the quiet piece started, Gil just couldn't help but to hold the box in both palms, close his eyes and sigh in content relaxation.

Only a moment later, the melody was gone. No matter; more full turns would make it last so much longer. Seven turns would be enough.

There it was again. That relaxation that made Gil close his eyes and gave him the ability to dream while being wide-awake…

Given that at these afternoon hours everybody was busy, it was the perfect time to sink into his little fantasy-world. Without a care in the world, Gilbert had taken the box to his night-table to leave it playing while he, content and entranced, pretended to waltz.

To anyone in the outside it might have seem foolish or even pathetic to see the young servant holding air as if he was being guided into dancing, but he didn't care at all for the moment. He was mimicking the way the instructor had moved with Oz, while humming along the tune the box released in a dreamy and quiet fashion. He spun around on his feet as if someone was taking his hand into doing so, and he clumsily took little steps everywhere, obviously not familiar with the dance.

All seemed completely fun and perfect, until the sound of the music was gone several minutes later, accompanied by a rather slow clapping.

…Clapping?

"Wow, Gil. Didn't think you'd have that in you!" A more than amused voice echoed from Gil's door, and the second the boy recognized that merry tone, he wanted nothing more than to be dragged into the Abyss that instant and stay there by mere embarrassment.

From everyone that worked in the mansion, did it seriously have to be him?

"Y-Y-Young Master!" Gil exclaimed, instantly turning bright-red as he finally snapped his eyes open and flailed uncontrollably to see the blonde-haired boy comfortably leaning on the room's door.

Much to the poor dark-haired teen's horror, Oz was grinning from ear to ear the whole time he clapped, until he calmly crossed arms and tilted his head to a side, seeming extremely pleased with what he had just witnessed.

"Well, well, dearest Gilbert!" Oz said in a dramatically mocking tone, "Aren't you the loveliest of dancers?"

"P-Please cut it out, Master!" Gil shouted, now covering his face with his hands in pure shame. "I thought you and Lady Ada were with Master Oscar at the party!"

"That we were," Oz hummed, "And it was real boring, you have no idea. We just came back after a few hours, but I guess you were having so much fun you didn't notice when I knocked your door!"

"Well, then please knock louder!"

Oz laughed full-heartedly at his servant's complete embarrassment. The boy could be so adorable!

"But hey, you should've seen the look on those aristocrat's faces! They probably thought I was some brat or something, 'cuz they seemed so surprised when I took out for a waltz their youngest daughter!"

"Good for you, master. I'm glad to hear that…"

This was said in a sort of muffled voice, for the embarrassed Gil still hadn't removed his hands from his completely red face. Meanwhile Oz couldn't help but to find this so much more deliciously teas-able.

"Aw, come on Gil, you weren't that sucky at dancing, at least you seemed to have fun!"

"P-Please knock it off, Master! " Gil practically begged, "In fact, just knock the door next time! Do it really hard, or yell if you must, but just don't make me make such a fool of myself again!"

There was a really short silence right after the outburst, for Oz had just grinned and rolled his eyes at the scene Gil was making. Such a drama queen, this little boy could be. And over such silly matters.

"Yeah, I'll try to remember that, if you can remember something." Oz instructed, now entering the room and easily taking a seat in Gil's bed. "First of all, there's this little thing called 'locking the door'. And second, just make sure to dance the boy's part next time you find yourself busy day-dreaming, 'kay?"

Oh, locking the door. ..

Before actually facing Oz, Gil hit his palms against his face, frustrated for not doing the easiest and most common thing that could've avoided the whole embarrassing situation. (Oz only laughed at this, rather than comfort him, as always.)

Finally calming down, Gil took his hands off his face and saw Oz petting a site on the bed next to him. Gil reluctantly sat down, and faced his master with wide-eyed curiosity after a quick breath-in, breath-out.

"So…What did you mean, the 'boy's part'?" He asked, to which Oz chuckled.

"Don't be so silly. You've been watching the class for like a week, and you don't get something as simple as that?"

Gil felt the need to add: I've actually watched the whole two weeks, but felt rather uncomfortable to do so, so just shook his head with slight embarrassment.

"Well~ the instructor I got was a lady, so she was only dancing in a way that I'd have to lead her. She had to tell me what to do while dancing… And you were mimicking what she was doing, as in; you were being leaded by someone. If you want to waltz, you're supposed to follow the boy's part, and lead the lady you're dancing with."

"Well…that sounds simple enough." Gil concluded with a small smile.

While Oz knew well that his servant was not stupid, he wanted to tease him a little more about this cute little hobby of his to dance, and felt like taking the explanations far enough just to get to watch him do it again. So quickly enough, his devious little mind began making little suggestions for the moment.

"Ah, Gil, but I can't just explain dancing. It's the kind of thing you need to experience!" The young Vesalius complained, as he got up in front of Gil, and offered a hand.

Gil simply blinked.

"Um, what do you mean, Young Master?"

"Will you please dance with me, monsieur?"

The look on Gil's face was priceless.

"I…I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me, we're dancing!" Oz sternly decided, impatiently flicking the hand he was offering, "Or else if anyone ever catches you dancing by yourself again they'll make fun of you!"

Obviously aware of Oz's devilish looks, Gil only raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Young Master…didn't you just explain to me that this was more of the thing you'd do with a lady?"

"Well yeah, but rules are meant to be broken one way or another, and that's a fact; so get your butt over here before I call Ada and her cat." Oz bluntly ordered, and as soon as he mentioned the word 'cat', Gil was already taking his offering hand to get up and be cooperative.

" 'Atta boy, Gil~ Now stand in front of me, I'll teach you the boy's part".

Gil didn't bother saying anything against his master's orders- the situation was uncomfortable enough with his quiet nods and stammers-, and stood in front of him, having to look up due the height difference. The following moments just kept on turning even more awkward as Oz's instructions kept going.

"Okay, first things first. Give me your left hand."

Up from the very first order, Gil was already blushing furiously at having to hold Oz's hand in his.

"…Like this?" Gil asked, as he barely touched his master's hand, giving his fingers a nervous squeeze.

"Yeah, but hold it real tight!" Oz affirmed, boldly interlacing their fingers (much to Gil's obvious embarrassment) and firmly bringing them at the level of their chins. "You're supposed to guide me, so keep our hands up, and don't let go, understand?"

Gil only nodded nervously while bashfully looking at his shoes, and Oz took it as a cue to keep on going.

"Pay attention, Gil. Now your right hand goes in my hip." He calmly said, as his servant turned bright red.

"IN YOUR WHAT?" Gil yelled, almost letting go of Oz's hand.

"My hip, you drama queen!" Oz exclaimed, and as he emphasized the word, he quickly let go of Gil's left hand to move Gil's right hand straight to his hip, causing Gil to almost collapse right there by even more torturous embarrassment. He then quickly returned his left hand's grip on Gil's. "Geez! Do I have to do everything for you?"

"I-I'm sorry, but is this really necessary?" Gil stammered, looking back and forth on the places his hands were- touching his master so inappropriately… he was sure to lose any chance of sleep he had for that night.

"Not really, but it's fun…" Oz simply said, a small smile crossing his lips as he placed his right hand on Gil's shoulder and looked down on him. "Heh. It's sort of weird. I've never really danced as a girl, and now that I get to do it, I have to look down on my partner…"

The only answer to this was a pout.

"Well, pardon my height, Young Master."

"Oh, come on, don't sound so hurt~! Shall I keep instructing, or do you think you have it down from here?"

Well, seeing how in his fantasies Gil was an expert, there was no reason this could be difficult… although the eager and bright smile Oz pulled while waiting for him to move did put on a little pressure.

Gil shyly looked down at his shoes and tried to remember the way Oz had moved on his own classes. Somehow, just putting himself in Oz's place had suddenly made this a lot easier; Slowly but surely, the raven-haired boy started taking little steps to the right, to the left, and little steps back. Before he knew it, he was moving Oz along in a rather smooth synchrony.

Right, left, back. Right, left, back. Hands up, improvise a spin. Right, left, back; grin, but don't trip… 1,2,3. 1,2,3…

A little while went on, and Oz grinned when he found that Gil's awkwardness had turned into confidence, and that the dancing was a little more flowed. All went well, and for a second he had forgotten that he had lowered himself as to play the lady… although it did pain him a little. He was so not suited to be it when Gil was almost a girl by the way he looked and acted!

…But honestly, being the girl was worth to see the calm expression of his normally uptight servant as shyly went on with the dancing.

.xXx.

"Say, Gil?" Oz called, after they had finally stopped dancing and were once again, sitting on Gil's bed.

"What is it, Young Master?"

"…Next time we dance you get to be the girl, okay?"

"Master, please, that's not necessary…Didn't I do well just now?"

"Well yeah, but honestly, I shouldn't look down on my dancing partner! Next time you dance as a boy, you either be taller than me or bring a stall, I don't know."

Gil rolled his eyes and continued in a sarcastic tone,

"Sure, and when I get taller by say…a whole head taller than you? I guess I'll also have stylish and long hair!"

"Ha-ha, yeah! And you'll know how to shoot with a gun! You'll be an expert!"

"Oh, shall I get to wear a cool-looking black coat to go, Young Master?"

"Totally! And you'll be such a cool guy you won't even call me that anymore!"

The two boys just kept quiet for a mere second and tried to look at the other with a straight face, but then almost inmediatly broke in loud, pleasant laughter at the thoughts of such an imposible and extravagant version of Gil.

"And you'll totally smoke, like Uncle Oscar!" Oz added between laughs, to which Gil held back a snort and only showed a slightly grossed out expression.

"Come now, master, that's a bit over the top…" Gil said with a smile, trying not to laugh.

"I know...But anyways, returning to the main topic," Oz interrupted, still grinning, "I'm pretty sure I liked this. Why don't we try dancing again later?"

Gil stared for a moment at Oz's smile, and couldn't help but to return it… It was simply one of those moments he felt like his master was such an admirable young man. Even when there weren't real chances for them to actually do something like that unless by accident or by having Oz being extremely bored or unoccupied, like this day, he still promised to do it again! He was such a delightful person…

"Alright, master... Next time we'll dance. And if I happen to be taller, I'll play the gentleman." Gil said, as he offered a hand to seal a formal arrangement.

The second he saw Gil's hand, Oz grinned to take it and shake it eagerly.

"I doubt you'll ever surpass me, but you've got a deal!"

Like real gentlemen, they shook hands for a few seconds before grinning to each other and letting go. Acting like this- like dorky little adults-, was one of the things both Oz and Gil liked best about being with the other. It was all so comfortable.

"Well, master. It's evening by now, so I suggest you to get a good night's sleep..." Gil gently said, and before leading Oz out of his room and into his own, he added with a smile:

"...After all, tomorrow we leave for the mansion where you'll have your Coming of Age ceremony, so you'll need all the energy you can get!"

.xXx.

"…Say, Gil?" Asked a rather melancholic Oz, as he looked out through the window of his best friend's home.

The man absently-minded took a smoke and faced the green-eyed boy from the table. He and Oz were alone in his kitchen while Alice slept- almost snore, actually- restlessly from a previous night of tiring chain-hunting.

"What is it, Oz?"

"Well, I just remembered something… " Oz started- he had been looking out at the town, and several couples were passing by, most of them obviously noble by their wealthy-looking attires. Apart from them, he had looked around the home before Gil had woken up, and found a familiar music-box sitting in a table by the couch, right next to the place his lighter and precious cigarettes were.

For Oz, the waltzing had just happened a mere few weeks ago, but for Gil there had been ten long years. And even though the man could have thrown away the box along with his past, he hadn't...

"What did you remember?" Gil pressed, as he noticed Oz's sudden quiet chuckle and small, nostalgic smile.

"…Gil, you're way taller than me now, aren't you?"

.xXx.

The End.

Oh, boy. I really needed to get this fic out of my system. I've been planning since at least a month ago and only got to write a few lines each day. I'm so glad it's made, and I'm quite pleased with the outcome, even if it looked a LOT cuter on my head.

So yeah, this was for pure fun and the sake of fluff. I hope you liked, since I'm beginning to fall dangerously in love with writing Oz x Gil fics! :D