Maximus carefully opened the letter that had been delivered to him by a mysterious man coaching a white stallion. It was addressed to him by Commodus. His head swelled from pain and irritation at the thought of what this letter could possibly contain. Nevertheless, he began to read: "Dear Maximus, I am no longer a threat to you. You have everything that rightfully belongs to you now, and I graciously step aside. I am sorry to say that I cannot bring back your family from the dead, but if it means anything to you at all, I am haunted by their images daily, and everything I have done to you I wish I could take back. But since I cannot do that, I will give you the next best thing. I will take my own life so you can have the revenge you have desperately wanted for so long. Do with my body as you wish, for it has never mattered to anyone My last wish would be for anyone to read this letter as an apology for Rome. Peace be with you and yours sincerely, Commodus."
Above anything else, Maximus was deeply confused. He couldn't understand why he didn't feel hatred or condemnation for this man. He wanted to kill the stupid boy himself for even considering those thoughts. He rode to Commodus' chambers in haste. For a moment forgetting that this man brutally murdered his family, and his own father as well out of greed. Maximus knew he should be down - right disgusted. But this man was going to live with what he'd done and he would forbid him to take his own life. If anyone had the honour of doing that job, it would be him. He deserved to slaughter Commodus to bits.
After a long journey, his travel was complete. He rushed past anyone who tried to stop him from entering Commodus' chambers. Obviously, the man had not confided in any of his servants of what he was about to do, and all they were stressed about was Maximus invading his privacy. But they did not restrain him, because they secretly knew that he was Rome's true ruler. "Come out and face me you bastard!" He cried as he searched the room. By the bed, he discovered a body. One with slashed wrists and a bottle clenched in his hands. His face was, blue? The only thing crossing Maximus' mind was that there was the slightest bit of hope that this man could be saved. He leant down and kissed the man, over and over again. He smacked his hand against the ground and ordered him to awaken. He attempted one last kiss to bring him back, and he heard a struggling gasp from the figure beneath him. He coughed up some liquid and spit it onto the floor. He cried and shook from the pain the whole situation had caused him. "Feeling goddamned stupid now, aren't we?" Maximus pulled him close and struck his face with the back of his hand.
With a sigh, the gladiator pulled the grown child in his arms and tucked him in the bed. "What you did to me today…do you have any idea?" Commodus had the nerve to smirk, and the other man raised an eyebrow. "You are telling me that you are amused by all of this?!" Commodus nodded. "Yes." "Well, if you care so little for my company, then I will just go." "No!" The other pleaded. "Don't do this to me! I'm fragile, helpless and begging you of all people to stay with me in my time of need!" In a moment, the proud Emperor fell to his knees in front of his rival and clung onto his cloth, sobbing. Maximus gasped in awe. "Do you know how beautiful you are like this? Your father would be proud to see you kneel before me, worshiping me." Commodus hiccupped back his tears, and Maximus smiled down at him.
"Come here." He crooned and lifted the man up again. They returned to the bed, Commodus wrapping his arms around the gladiator's neck. They both breathed heavily, the rest of the room silent and their clothes piling on top of each other, laid out on the floor. Maximus smirked. "Who said you could top, you sneaky slut?" Commodus was easily pinned back down on the bottom, clearly his rightful place. Surprisingly, he seemed to enjoy it down there. "It will always be me. The master of you and ruler of Rome overpowering you. Especially in the bedroom." He growled, giving his order to his submissive. Commodus playfully rolled his eyes, but his knees buckled when he felt Maximus' finger trail down his lips. "I have you at my mercy. I could do anything I'd like to you and you couldn't do a thing about it." This frightened Commodus for a second, but was assured when Maximus smiled warmly and said "But somehow, I love you too much. You are my broken winged bird that I am drawn to heal." He was puzzled when a tear rolled down Commodus' cheek. "What's wrong?" His master asked, concerned. "You are the first person whose ever told me that they loved me." Maximus embraced the other man's head in his arms, and both fell asleep almost instantly.