A.N.: Yet another chapter up and my attempt to make it longer completely failed… XD Sorry, guys. I'll keep trying though. This chapter starts with a little flashback/dream kind of thing, just to let you know, and I'm starting to wonder if the rating of this fic won't have to go up… I guess it's T for now, if you think it gets too heavy in later chapters you tell me.

Chapter 4

It was half past midnight but the light of a lonely candle could be seen inside the stables, illuminating two figures standing across each other. The man paced, gesturing emphatically as he tried to convince the girl that their love was a love that could never be. She smiled and shook her head lightly as she reasoned with him, he was the only meaningful thing she had among her parents' apparently endless fortune. She couldn't lose him, she wasn't losing him.

"Please…" she seized his arm, begging, her eyes filled with tears. "We can run away together!"

His eyes hardened, as much as he wanted to take up on her offer, he knew she loved her family and she couldn't be happy away from them. "Relena, you haven't given it enough thought." The gentleness of his voice only made her feel more certain of her decision as hasty as it may be.

"We'll grab everything we need, right now, and catch the first boat out of Cairo." She was the one pacing now, fidgeting in sheer excitement. He could only smile at that stubborn girl.

"You know I'd do anything for you." That was quite a confession coming from him, and her smile widened as she pulled their bodies closer.

"If I were you, I would let go of her this instant." They turned to the now open door where the girl's father stood, gun cocked.

"Daddy," she walked towards him in her desperation waving her arms as if to stop him. "you have to understand!"

"Understand? I do understand! He's seduced you so that you would help him escape!" he pushed his daughter out of the way only to realize the other man was no longer where he'd been before, he gritted his teeth in rage, but, before he could turn to go after the slave, he found his hand in a tight grip which prevented him from using his gun. His eyes flared towards that young man who dared to defy him, he didn't allow him to speak instead pulling his arm back with such strength that it didn't take long for them to find themselves on the floor, on a never ending struggle.

The girl shouted at them to stop, torn between finding help and staying to offer hers once it was over. She chose the latter option remaining ecstatic until the sound of a shot broke the silence of the night.

He sat up as fast as he could, grabbing a knife he'd stolen from the kitchen and pointing it at the darkness. There was nothing but the cold night breeze moving the curtains like ghosts, ghosts from his past coming back to haunt him. With a sigh, he allowed his breathing to slow down and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Now he knew why Quatre affected him the way he did… He was like her, loving and caring and accepting… and Heero couldn't allow it to happen again.

The moonlight reflected in the knife's blade caught his attention. They believed him to be a murderer, maybe he could use that to keep them away or maybe he could become a real murderer…

Steps in the corridor broke his train of thought. He hid the knife behind his back and moved quietly towards one of the darkest corners of the room, that way he would be able to see whoever it was before being seen. The light of a candle finally entered through the curtains, there was a moment of hesitation before the flying pieces of cloth were pushed aside and Quatre stepped in.

"What do you want?" he walked out of the shadows watching as the blonde instantly paled.

"You scared me." Quatre forced himself to laugh though the shock had still to wear off, for a second he had thought Heero would kill him… He certainly looked like the idea had occurred to him. "I… I couldn't sleep and I thought… Well, I'm not sure what I thought but you're the only other person in the house, so…" he was fidgeting, he really didn't have a good reason to be there.

Heero cleared his throat. "So?"

"So…" the blonde gapped in his search for words. "I came here." That must not have been a good answer for the silence stretched uncomfortably.

Quatre shook his head lightly, if the other man wouldn't say anything then he should be the one to lighten up the mood. He walked further into the room placing the candle on the floor by the bed where he sat with as much elegance as one could when the bed was, in reality, not more than a pile of blankets. "I'll move you to one of the guest rooms first thing tomorrow."

"I'm fine here." Heero replied harshly.

"That's irrelevant, after all I'm the one who gives the orders, right?" the blonde had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming, there was actually a smile in the slave's face.

"The power feels good, doesn't it?" Heero walked to the door, pushing the curtains out of the way so that he could see the little moonlight that touched the corridor's walls.

"It does." Quatre admitted with a smile of his own. His eyes wandered over the other's naked back and he decided he didn't care about Trowa anymore, after all… He was too tired to. "You have a beautiful smile."

Heero snorted. "What a strange thing to tell another man."

"If you weren't a man I wouldn't have said anything." The blonde allowed his words to hang between them, he watched the other man turn back to him with raised eyebrows.

"What you're hinting at…" serious dark blue eyes found lighter green-blue ones. "Is very dangerous business."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I might."

The wind howled in its way through the corridor, moving the curtains aggressively until it had blown out the candle. Darkness joined the silence in surrounding them but Quatre didn't feel anything but tranquility. He shrugged reaching for the match box he had slipped in his pocket and relighting the candle. Heero wasn't looking at him anymore, he seemed lost in thought, perhaps the blonde's reaction hadn't been the expected one and he was trying to figure out why.

"You're no longer handcuffed…" Quatre observed wondering if the slave could have possibly stolen the keys without him noticing.

"They're easy to get rid of once you've learned how to."

"Maybe you can teach me some other time."

"All you need is an order."

"It's good to know you'll obey if I order but there are some things that would just be a lot better if you did because you want to." He received no answer, he hadn't expected one, their conversation was over. He stood grabbing the candle and taking a few steps until he was standing at the doorstep, beside Heero. "Be ready to move into the guest room."

"I will." His whisper played with the flame of the candle. He didn't mean to be seductive but their close proximity twisted the sound of the words just as it made them lean even closer to each other. Thankfully he realized that on time to stop it. "Don't."

"Why?" Quatre whispered himself, and their lips almost touched. "You can kill me afterwards…" he continued, closing his eyes, in his mind he could already feel them touching even though that one seemingly endless inch separated them.

Heero took a deep breath, his body ached to give in… The smooth white skin was tempting, the smell of incense inebriating, but, as dizzy as he felt, he gathered enough strength to step away. "It's against my principles."

"Principles?" the blonde straightened himself turning to the other man with raised eyebrows and crossed arms.

"Never sleep with your owner."

"Who said anything about sleeping?"

"Goodnight, Mr. Winner."

Quatre smiled as he left, it had been a long time since he had had that much fun teasing someone… The last time had been with Trowa, and, even though he couldn't remember it as well as he used to, he still recalled being turned down and how that only increased his interest in the man. He had never been refused by any man before so having to conquer someone for once seemed extremely exciting. He knew for sure that that had strengthened the base of their later relationship…

"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" he asked himself suddenly feeling guilty, though he knew the distance was probably what had in fact killed their relationship.

Watching the moonlight bathe the deserted garden, he knew it was too late to reconstruct what had been lost. The only doubt that remained was whether it was time to move on or whether he should just draw a new blueprint and try again from the start.