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A Small Piece of Heaven - Part 14

Milliardo woke up and listened into the dark. He could have sworn that he had heard a noise in the hall. But perhaps it had just been his imagination.

Snuggling against the warm body next to him, he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

When Treize first had brought Wufei home, the boy had stayed in Milliardo's room, while the blond had slept together with the duke. Meanwhile Wufei had moved into his own room. But neither Milliardo nor his master had seen that as any reason to give up their new sleeping arrangements.

There was that noise again, and this time the young man was sure he wasn't mistaken. Carefully, not to rouse his master, Milliardo slipped out of the bed and reached for his robe, which was hanging over a chair nearby.

***

This is almost too easy, Wufei thought as he quietly sneaked down the stairs. He couldn't believe that his new master had taken no precautions at all, not even locked the door to his room, to prevent him from escaping.

Maybe he thinks I'm still too weak to go anywhere. How foolish of him! This will teach him not to underestimate me.

The young Chinese lad spent little time to explore the house or look for things that could be of use for him. All he wanted was to get away from this place. He had no intention of taking anything that wasn't his. Well, aside from the clothes on his back that was. He was wearing a pair of gray sweat pants, a T-shirt and a warm, woolen pullover over it.
The black-haired boy checked the front door intensively; looking for wires, sensors or any other sign of a security system that would be activated when the door was opened.

"Going on a little midnight stroll?" a slightly sarcastically voice suddenly asked from behind him.

Wufei spun around and took on a defensive posture. He relaxed somewhat when he recognized the young man standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Don't try to stop me," he warned the blond slave. "I don't want to have to hurt anybody."

Under other circumstances Milliardo would have probably laughed. Wufei didn't look like he was in any condition to seriously harm anybody.

"I don't want anybody to get hurt either," the blond agreed. "And that includes you."

Wufei blinked, then crooked his head slightly and glared at the young man suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"What do you think you are doing?" Milliardo answered with a question of his own. It was only a rhetorical question of course, and since he didn't expect an answer to it he continued. "Have you learned nothing from you last escape attempt? You are barely well enough to keep yourself on your feet. Do you have any idea what's going to happen to you once you make it into the city? How are you planning to survive if you have absolutely nothing?"

"You are wrong. I still have my pride," the boy retorted, obsidian eyes sparkling with fury. "They will never be able to take that away from me."

Milliardo snorted.

"Tell me, Wufei, does pride fill your stomach when you are hungry? Or does it warm you when you are cold?" he asked. And when the boy didn't answer he continued. "I didn't think so. Besides, there is pride and there is foolishness and I think right now you are just being foolish. In your condition you will not survive very long on the streets."

"Maybe it's better to die in honor than live like this." The boy's brows furrowed, as he spit angrily: "I'm still a human being. I won't let them slap a collar around my neck and treat me like a dog. Maybe I would if I didn't know any other life. And maybe you would understand me if you knew what it means to be free."

"Perhaps," Milliardo agreed.

There was a tinge of bitterness in the blond slave's voice that didn't escape the boy.

"I'm sorry," he offered. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean…"

The young man shook his head dismissively. "It's alright. But you should keep your voice down, unless you want to wake the entire house. Wufei I know what you have been through." The softness in Milliardo's voice was matched only by the compassion in his crystal-blue eyes. "But it's over. You are safe here. Master Treize is nothing at all like Duke Dermail. Besides, you don't even know what you are heading into. I do…because I have been there myself…more than once. Winter is coming soon. Fighting hunger and cold on the streets is hard enough if you are healthy. Don't leave now. Stay at least until spring comes. Give your body a chance to recover and give yourself a chance to get to know Treize. You might change your mind."

"Why do you care?" The boy's slightly slanted eyes were still darkened with suspicion.

The blond shrugged. If he was honest he would have to admit that he wasn't even sure himself.

Perhaps it was because he knew only too well how Wufei was feeling. Perhaps he saw a younger version of himself in that boy, and wanted to spare him from having to go through what he had been through. Or maybe it was just plain selfishness on his part because he had come to like the quiet Chinese boy. "I don't want you to get hurt any worse than you have already been hurt."

There was a moment of silence before Wufei asked: "What if I don't change my mind?"

"Then you have my word that I won't try to stop you if you decide to leave."

The boy thought about it for a long time. "Fine," he answered finally. "You are probably right. I still could need some rest and time to get my strength back. I'll stay for the time being."

"Promise?" Milliardo asked skeptically.

"You've got my word."

***

The next day started just like any other. Milliardo and Treize got up at the break of dawn and went on their routine morning ride. By the time they returned the servants were setting the table for breakfast.

"Evans, please have the table set for three this morning, and let Wufei know that would like to see him," Treize ordered.

"As you wish, your Excellency," the butler nodded.

Until now Wufei had been allowed to eat in his room. Treize had wanted to give the boy time to adjust and to recover. After he had noticed that Wufei seemed more relaxed around Milliardo than around him, he even had kept his contact with his new slave to a minimum.
Milliardo gave his master a questioning look, as they walked upstairs side by side to get cleaned up for breakfast.
"We can't let him sit in his room and sulk forever, can we?" the duke told the blond. "And since he is not going to come out of his shell by himself…"

The young man shrugged. "I suppose you are right."

Less than ten minutes later, as they were sitting down at the table Wufei walked into the dining room. Treize gazed at the young slave and made himself a mental note to get the boy some decent outfits. He really hadn't found time to get Wufei anything but the most necessary personal items, including a few T-shirts and pants. It appeared that Dr. Po's high protein/carb diet was working. The boy had already gained some weight.

"You asked to see me…Master?" There was a distinct trace of contempt in the boy's voice, but Treize chose to ignore it, as he gestured to the extra setting at the table.

"Yes I did. You will be eating with us from now on. If you are well enough to ghost through the house at night, you should also be well enough to join us at the table."

Wufei's brows furrowed. He shot an angry glare at Milliardo, as he took his seat. He assumed that the blond slave had informed the ex-colonel about the little talk the two of them had the night before. But the expression on Milliardo's face told him that the young man was just as surprised as he was.

While they were eating, Treize and the blond made small talk. The duke tried to get Wufei involved in the chat, but the boy's taciturn answers killed the conversation quickly.

"I have some work to do this morning, but why don't you show Wufei a little around the estate?" Treize suggested. "It's a beautiful day to be outside."

"Sure," Milliardo agreed. "That sounds like a good idea. What do you think, Wufei?"

The boy just nodded in agreement.

***

"I'll call the stable and have them saddle two horses for us," Milliardo told the Chinese lad, as they walked out of the dining room together.

Wufei stopped in his track. "Horses?" he asked. "I thought we were going to take a walk?"

"Why should we walk if we can ride?" the blond replied, already on his way up the stairs.

The black-haired boy hesitated for just a moment then hurried after him.

"I really don't feel like riding. What if I rather want to walk?" he asked stubbornly. "Its great exercise you know."

"So is horseback riding," Milliardo countered. But suddenly it dawned to him. He turned at the top of the stairs, a tiny smirk on his lips as he faced Wufei. "You don't know how to ride?"

The glare the boy gave him was answer enough. The blond laughed. It was a rich, yet soft laughter.

"You find that amusing?" Wufei snapped.

"What I find amusing is that you make such a big deal out of it. Why didn't you just say so?"

"I don't know how to ride. I have never even been close to a horse. So, now I said it. Are you satisfied?" Wufei walked passed the blond and to his room.
"Wufei, come on." Milliardo followed the boy. "Why are you always so tense about everything? I wasn't trying to embarrass you. It's no big deal. You will learn. Now go and get your jacket. We will take a walk."

***

Wufei sat on the windowsill watching the sky. He was still amazed how different it looked from the artificial sky he was used to. He had to admit that Earth was beautiful; still he missed his home colony.

His clan had lived on A0206 in peace and harmony for many generations, until the Earth Alliance had started deploying occupation armies all over the colonies and turned their inhabitants into virtual prisoners. It didn't take long until the people started to revolt against that kind of treatment. Wufei had always been more of a scholar than a warrior, but he couldn't stand by and watch injustice being done to his people. He, like many other young people from his colony joined the fight. During an attack on an Alliance base he had been wounded and captured. He only wished that he had died honorably in battle. But he survived his wounds, was brought to Earth together with other prisoners of war and sold into slavery. Before he ended up in Duke Dermail's possession, Wufei had been sold three times because nobody had been able to break the stubborn and rebellious boy. It wasn't for the lack of trying, though. He had been chained, starved and beaten. Wufei shuddered at the memories of the abuse he had been through. But at least he knew what to expect from his prior owners. His new master, however, confused him. Wufei didn't like the man, didn't want to like him. It didn't matter that Milliardo said that he was nothing at all like Dermail. Maybe he wasn't. Wufei knew that the duke had been a soldier, one of those who Wufei had been fighting against during the war; one of the very people he held responsible for his enslavement. That alone was reason enough for him to hate the man.

A knock at the door ripped the boy from his thoughts. "Yes?"

The door opened, and Wufei's face darkened instantly as he recognized the duke.

"May I come in?"

"Of course." The boy frowned. "This house and everything in it belongs to you, why do you ask me for permission to enter?"

Treize winced at the harsh words. "Wufei, this is your room and I want you to regard it as own little sanctuary," he explained softly. "Everybody needs some solitude and a place to retreat to sometimes, and I assure you I'll always respect your privacy."

Wufei looked at him with a mixture of surprise and suspicion in his eyes, as if he didn't really believe his master's words.

"I just wanted to see if you are okay," the duke explained. "You looked exhausted when you and Milliardo came back. I don't want you to strain yourself too much, you are still weak."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? If there is anything you need…"

I don't need anything from you, especially not your pity. "I'm fine, really."

Treize shrugged. "Very well, then I'll just leave you alone. Perhaps you should try to get some sleep. I'll have Evans check on you later."

"Why would you care anyway?" Wufei suddenly asked. "I'm just a slave to you."

"You are also a human being and you deserve to be treated like one. I was raised to treat people with the same respect they treat me with, no matter of their social rank or standings."

The boy's expression softened somewhat, as he looked at his master baffled.

For Treize that was a victory, a very small one, but nevertheless a victory.

When the duke left the room Wufei was even more confused than before. Why is he pretending to be so kind and caring? I just don't buy that. Maybe he is just trying to lull me into some false sense of security. Yes, that has to be it.

***

"Are you alright, Master?" Milliardo wanted to know as the duke's rapier hit the stone floor with a metallic clang. "This is the third time I caught you off guard this evening. It's unusual for you to be this careless."

Treize sighed as he bent down to retrieve his weapon. "You are right, I am a little pre-occupied I suppose. Let's call it a night. The match is yours, Milliardo."

These evening duels had become as much a routine for the duke and his blond slave as their morning rides. When Treize had decided to teach the young man how to fence he had been surprised about blond's talent. He could have sworn that Milliardo must have had lessons in the past. But who, besides him, would teach a slave how to use a weapon.

"May I asked what is troubling you?" the younger man asked after they had put their weapons away, and were leaving the fencing room.

There was a short moment of silence before the duke replied.

"It's Wufei; I can't seem to figure the boy out." He turned his head to look at the blond. "Milliardo, I want to talk to you for a moment."

"Yes, of course."

The young man gave his master a curious look, as Treize guided him outside and into the rose garden where they were undisturbed. "Milliardo, do you have any idea where Wufei's antipathy toward me comes from? Is it anything I did or didn't do?"

The blond shrugged. "I don't think so, Master."

"I'm really trying my best to create some kind of connection with the boy, but it is hard if he clamps up like an oyster every time I come close. You two seem to have hit it off rather well, so I thought that perhaps he mentioned something to you. If there is a problem I want like to know about it, so that I can fix it. " Treize paused for a moment then sighed. "But if he is just generally unhappy here, I'll consider selling him."

"NO!"

Milliardo's outburst surprised the duke. He gave the young man a questioning look. "Then tell me, what should I do? The last thing I want for him, is to be miserable."

"I don't think he is really miserable here, probably just confused and maybe suspicious of your intentions. From where he comes from and what he had been through, he probably doesn't understand that somebody treats his slaves with kindness and respect. Just give him some time to adjust. I remember how confused I was when I first got here." The blond looked at his master, a ghost of a smile on his face and a soft shine in his ice- blue eyes. "I wasn't used to the caring affection you gave me. It took me a while to realize that you are nothing like any of the other masters I had. Eventually Wufei will figure it out too."

Treize placed a soft kiss onto the younger man's mouth. "You are so sweet."

"Are you sure it's not just the chocolates I have been eating earlier?" Milliardo laughed.

"Hmmm…you really think so?" the duke answered playfully. "Let me try again."
He embraced the blond, pulling him close as he captured his mouth in another kiss. Milliardo's lips parted slightly, invitingly for his master, as he melted into Treize's embrace. The duke closed his eyes and moaned lightly as he suckled softly on his tongue.

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T.B.C.

Author's Note:

Feedback is greatly appreciated, constructive criticism is welcome :-)