A/N: For this, you must thank my beta-reader for getting me hopelessly involved with Pandora Hearts. I didn't mean to, but here I am. Surprisingly, this is the first time I've ever supported a side-pairing as strongly as I do my main pairing and actually wrote a fic for them. I suppose there are always firsts…. By the way, this fandom is seriously lacking in fanfiction….

Beta-read by Nadramon.

"Wake up, Elliot. It's morning already."

Blond eyebrows furrowed instinctively at the cheerful voice. Slits opened just as angrily to reveal lucid, blue eyes. They stared up at a pair of reflective glasses framed by unimaginably messy, black hair. The two of them blinked at each other for a moment.

"Good morning," the servant said happily, leaning back at the same time Elliot sat up. He pushed the blankets away from his lap and scowled without replying. Leo helped pull the rest away from his master so he could get out more easily.

The ill-humored boy stood up—his feet immediately hitting the slippers Leo habitually placed on the floor in the same spot—and he shuffled to the adjoining bathroom in the room. "Leo," he said, without looking back, "I don't want to eat breakfast in the dining hall today." His voice was tinged with morning grumpiness.

"Yes," he replied with a smile, already making his way to the closet to retrieve a fresh set of clothing for his master.

In the bathroom, all of Elliot's toiletries were perfectly arranged along the sink for him to use. Leo always made a point to wake up slightly earlier just to get things ready for him. While he appreciated the daily gesture, the young Nightray boy was in no mood to feel grateful. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and combed his hair mechanically, all the while frowning slightly. A quick glance at the mirror confirmed the fact that the crease between his brows was still there.

When he walked out, Leo was gone—presumably to fetch two breakfast trays from downstairs—but his clothing was neatly laid out on the bed, which was made again. The curtains were drawn back, and the day looked beautiful. He didn't pause to admire it, but started to take off his shirt with an unfounded, simmering grouchiness. Halfway through slipping on his school shirt and buttoning it, Leo came in with two metal trays balanced expertly on his arms. With one glance at his master, he sighed, shut the door behind him quietly, and set the trays down on Elliot's vanity.

Briskly, he walked over to the boy and swatted his hands away. Most of the buttons were poked into the wrong buttonhole, and some were skipped over entirely. He rapidly undid all the buttons Elliot had been mindlessly going over while his master stood with his hands at his side, completely used to Leo's actions.

"You're doing it wrong," Leo informed him, same unwavering smiling on his lips. It almost seemed like he was scolding a young child rather than speaking with his master. He kept his head angled down to see what he was doing and was finished the task in much less time than it took Elliot to do incorrectly. "You missed two classes yesterday. I asked the professors for the work that we had to do. They're in your violin case—the first three papers," he said while tugging at the creases in Elliot's shirt. "By the way, your science presentation is due this Friday, so you might want to finish it up. Your lab partners left a note for you last night, but I replied to them for you already. And now you're not even listening to me at all, are you?" Leo continued, eventually reaching his last statement with a reproachful voice and pinched eyebrows.

Without pause, he smacked the side of his master's head.

"Ow!" Elliot exclaimed, snapping out of his glassy-eyed reverie and touching his hair softly. He glared. "What was that for?"

"You weren't listening to me. That's rude," the dark-haired boy said in a matter-of-fact voice and a sniff. "What's wrong?" he asked, smoothing down the pressed shirt down his chest and lifting his hands to fix his collar. Instinctively, Elliot tilted his head up slightly, waiting for Leo to finish. "You're spacing out a lot this morning."

"What do you mean?" he snapped peevishly. "Nothing's wrong."

"Hm." The bespectacled boy seemed unaffected by Elliot's disagreeability. Gently, he took his master's wrist and began to fix the cufflinks in for him. He worked without pause. "You're more annoyed than usual too…."

Leo's mouth dropped in surprise when the sleeve he was working on suddenly jerked away.

Elliot held his arm to himself as if his servant had burned him. "I said that nothing was wrong!" he growled, hastily doing the cuff himself. He almost pricked himself in his rush.

Leo's hands fell to his side, and he backed away submissively. For the first time that morning, his smile faltered, and he averted his face to the side. "I see. I apologize for antagonizing you." Leo turned away from his master and went to the trays of food, arranging and rearranging dishes quietly.

Immediately, Elliot felt like he had kicked a puppy. He could see Leo's face in the mirror of his vanity: it was closed off and tightly drawn. His mouth slackened from its firm line and his eyebrows turned up. The two boys remained in uncomfortable silence.

He shifted. "I—I didn't mean to say that," the blonde finally said, feeling guilt drill into his teeth. He gritted them and tightened his hands into fists. "Sorry."

The shorter boy stiffened slightly before he resumed his task. "I see," he said again, this time lowering his head enough so that his long hair shielded his expression. His hands grasped the side of the tray, and he turned around. He was smiling again, though Elliot realized that it was strained and artificial. "Breakfast time," he announced in a happy voice. The way it splintered at the edges was more than enough to make Elliot wince.

Feeling slightly awkward, the blonde had no other choice but to sit down on his bed and wait for Leo to bring the food to him. "Leo, I just—" he started when his servant handed the tray to him. Their hands brushed slightly, but Leo retracted his hands as quickly as possible. He cut off whatever Elliot was trying to say by gently warning him to "be careful."

A small noise came from the back of his throat at the disguised reprimand, but he remained silent, realizing that Leo would need some time to cool off. He couldn't help but feel a bit hurt, though, when his servant didn't sit next to him, but in the chair by the vanity. Albeit the fact that he did turn it to face Elliot, it was still at an angle which suggested voluntary detachment. He had dragged it a bit farther from the bed as well.

Leo began eating silently, but Elliot couldn't bring himself to start yet. He stared at his tray, which his servant had so painstakingly arranged for him. Everything was in just the right place. "Look, I just… had a distasteful dream, okay?" he tried awkwardly.

"Hm?" Leo had a piece of toast dangling from his mouth and fingers. The blonde would have found it an endearing sight, if the boy wasn't royally pissed off at him. (He knew that, deep inside, Leo was just ready to snap, though he kept it concealed.) "Just a distasteful dream?" he asked after swallowing his mouthful. "It must have been horrendous then."

Elliot scowled again, acutely picking up the dry sarcasm he heard in the short statement. He knew he deserved it, but it didn't make him feel any better.

"Are you sure it's not actually because of yesterday?" his servant asked nonchalantly, lifting a teacup to his lips. Steam rose and clouded his glasses.

To his chagrin, Elliot grunted in surprise. He didn't speak up to acknowledge the innocent question.

"Oz Vessalius isn't a bad person, you know," Leo continued, setting the cup down. He began to cut the sausages carefully and ate a piece.

While his servant chewed, he ran his finger against the cool silver of the tray. "He's weird," Elliot said, finally admitting the source of his agitation.

"He just admires you is all. Hero worship, don't you know?" came the light response. Leo was smiling again. Though it was faint, Elliot was relieved to see that it wasn't forced (though the teasing edge of it wasn't that pleasing). His heart lifted, and he finally made a move to pick up some toast and covered it with jam and butter.

"He's just like his sister, you mean. So informal, the two of them…." He looked thoughtful. "He's too familiar with me."

Leo giggled and picked up his tray, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to his master, a clear indication that he wasn't mad anymore. "Worried, then?" he asked, turning to face his friend. Some of his hair fell across his glasses, obscuring what little Elliot was able to see of his face and eyes.

"About what?" Elliot mumbled around some dry toast. He licked at some of the crumbs around his mouth.

"I don't know," the dark-haired boy said, feigning ignorance. He had a mysterious Mona Lisa smile on, something which put Elliot on guard. His master picked up his cup and brought it close to his mouth. "That he might like you."

Elliot paused and swallowed. He narrowed his eyes and looked at his servant suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"I think he likes you, don't you think?"

"That's absurd," he replied in a highly dignified manner and taking a sip of his tea. It burned his tongue slightly.

"It's not that far-fetched," Leo said, picking up some scrambled eggs onto his fork. "You should consider it." He sucked on the prongs of the utensil while contemplating his statement.

This time, his master really stopped and stared at him earnestly, disbelief and exasperation on his face. "You're kidding, aren't you, Leo?"

He shrugged, giggled, and tilted his head. "Maybe. The younger kids at the orphanage act the same way around me sometimes. When I'm playing the piano especially."

Elliot sighed and rolled his eyes. "You mean to imply that all of them like you too?"

"Why not?"

"Are you serious?"

"What, jealous, Elliot?" Leo smirked slightly.

"Why would I be?" he snapped, baring his teeth slightly in annoyance. Though he didn't know what Leo was up to, he wasn't liking it at all.

"Why shouldn't you be?" He had a daring smile on his face and was pushing the remains of his breakfast around his plate. His fork flashed in the light as he tilted it this way and that.

Elliot huffed and pushed his tray off his lap and on the bed, clearly exasperated and aggravated. "This isn't getting anywhere. And you're acting like a child."

The servant smiled. Leo placed his tray off to the side and simply said, "I know." He touched Elliot's knee, making the boy instinctively turn to him. Leo leaned forward, pressed their lips—still greasy from their breakfast—together, and opened his mouth.

"Mmn." Elliot's eyes slid shut immediately. He hadn't expected that, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. A thrill went through him. The blonde turned further and got comfortable. His hand reached up and pushed Leo's glasses off his face. They clattered to the ground.

"I'm not trying to hide anything at all. I just don't want to see the world. That's all."

"I know. But when you're with me, then all you need to see is me, not the world. Right? So you can take off your glasses then."

The blonde licked at the saltiness around Leo's mouth, enjoying the way he was panting into their kiss. His fingers tangled themselves into messy hair, and the hand on his knee tightened. Elliot bit down on his servant's lower lip softly, tugging at it gently before digging his sharp teeth deeper, in punishment for teasing him and getting angry earlier. In retaliation, Leo nudged him away with his nose, laughing breathily. He ran his tongue over the small indent in the sensitive flesh, but was interrupted when Elliot kissed him again.

They continued for a few more seconds before Leo drew away.

Elliot stared, mesmerized, into the clear eyes of his servant. He didn't get to see his eyes up close often—not without his glasses—but when he did, he couldn't help but to fall helplessly lost in them. When Leo smiled at him, he mirrored it automatically. The two of them were content to sit there like that, with their foreheads touching, until Leo finally said, "We have to get to class, or we'll be late."

Softly, his master pressed another kiss against his mouth, ran the back of his fingers against his face, and pulled away completely. He bent down to pick up the glasses he had so carelessly dropped and handed them to Leo.

"Thanks," he said, taking them with both hands and replacing them on his face. They glinted in the light, making him look almost devious.

With a small grunt, Elliot stood and smoothed down the front of his shirt. Leo began to pick up their trays from the bed but was stopped by his master's hand. "Leave them. We're going to be late, aren't we?"

Leo smiled, knowing full well that wasn't his true motive; Elliot just wanted more time together, the insecure brat. Still, he listened and left them alone, knowing the maids would take care of them later. The servant picked up Elliot's coat from the bed and held it out for him to put on. As the blonde was slipping his arms into the sleeves, Leo off-handedly stated, "You know, he really might like you."

"You're kidding," Elliot said again, though this time it was more of a firm demand than an inquiry. He stared at the dark-haired boy levelly.

Leo laughed softly at his master's stubbornness. "So I am." He picked up Elliot's violin case while his master buttoned up his uniform and changed into his school shoes.

"Of course you are," the blonde replied, meeting his servant as he straightened out from his hunched position. He took the case from him—making special care to wrap his fingers around his hand—and leaned in to brush his lips against his cheek and ear. "Leo…."

The boy laughed softly at his master's affection.

The two of them walked out of the room, hands dangling next to each other and fingers playing until they fell away to greet the world.