Category: Angst, Adventure, AU, Slave/Master

Pairings: 1x2, 4x3 (eventually), 5x?

Rating: R (?)

Disclaimer: Standard. You know them all by now so I won't bore you with a repeat.

Warnings: This story does show how a lot of people felt about the owning of slaves, a feeling that was very alive in this country not that long ago, as well as in many civilizations down through the ages. There are some good owners and some bad owners, like in everything. If someone owning another person bothers you, you might not like this fic. But then I'm not forcing anyone to read it. There are also M/M relationships in this fic (I'm very much a 1x2/3x4 fan.) so if boys being together (and I do mean together) bothers you don't read.

Golden Lights Part Eighteen

By SilverLady

Trowa sat staring at the mug that Heero had brought him. It was supposed to be tea, but Trowa feared his life might just be forfeit if he actually drank the brew. For one thing, there were enough things floating in it to rest a spoon on. For another, what liquid he could see was a strange color. He'd never seen tea in quite that shade of green before.

He looked over at the sleeping blonde. "I think we're in trouble."

Quatre murmured something in his sleep and rolled onto his side.

Trowa smiled slightly. "Sleep might me the safest idea, little one."

*****

The morning air was cool and there were still patches of mist hugging the ground. The sun was still low in the sky and the clearing was still shadowed in large patches of dark. What light did break through the trees light up the mist and made it seem to dance.

Now and then the call of a bird would rent the air, but otherwise little stirred.  Once, in the distance, the sound of a branch crashing down to the ground could be heard, probably jarred loose by a squirrel.

None of this gentle morning beauty registered on the long-haired boy.  Duo sat at the makeshift table, staring at the items he'd gotten together. He was so intent on trying to figure out what to do with them he wasn't paying any attention to what was going on around him

Wufei ducked behind a tree, all the time watching the boy sitting at the table. It was a rare sight indeed, to see Duo not only quiet but still as well. There were some opportunities that just couldn't be missed. Moving silently, Wufei slipped from spot to spot, ducking behind any cover he could use. He'd been run over, tripped up and had the crap scared out of him by the wild child too many times not to want a bit of revenge.

After several minutes, Wufei reached what he considered optimum pouncing range. Pausing a moment to gather himself, he let a small smirk cross his face. Then he attacked.

"HEY, MAWELL!!! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" he shouted as he jumped up behind the boy.

Duo let out what could only be termed as a shriek as he jumped a good two feet in the air. A part of Wufei had to admire the amazing agility of the boy as he not only did a complete one eighty in mid air, but also managed to not knock over the table or the chair.

 "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!!" Duo shouted, his hand pressed against his chest. His heart was racing so damn fast he thought it was going to leap right out of his chest.

Wufei was practically rolling on the ground, he was laughing so hard. The look on Duo's face had been priceless.

Just then there was a crashing sound as Heero burst out of the tent. He heard the shout and had come to see what was wrong.

Wufei took one look at Heero and just laughed that much harder. Heero had been in such a hurry he'd grabbed the first thing he could lay his hands on to wear. The style of the shirt wasn't what Wufei found so funny. It was the fact that it was so short that it barely covered the essentials. That and the fact that is was of a soft pink color.

"Oh…" Wufei gasped. "Heero….that color gasp is you gasp but please cough, gasp don't lift your hands." With that he dissolved into fresh peals of laughter.

Heero glared at the convulsing boy as he made his way over to Duo. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"Just great," He, too, glared at the other boy. "Damn near had a heart attack, but I'm fine." He looked over at Heero and noticed the shirt he was wearing. "Though he is right about the color."

Heero turned his glare on Duo. "I thought something was wrong. I grabbed the first thing I could."

Duo studied the shirt. Not only was it very short, the sleeves barely hit mid-forearm on him and just about every seam was threatening to rip apart. "I think you'd best go get something of yours on. I'd say by the size that is probably Quatre's."

Heero glance down and began to blush. Gathering as much dignity as he could, he turned and walked back to the tent.

Duo glanced over at Wufei, who was apparently going to lie there for a while. "It's not that funny," he muttered.

Wufei wiped the tears from his eyes as he looked back. "Gotcha," he said, grinning stupidly.

The look on Duo's face only set him off again. "Oh, I think I'm going to wet myself," he gasped, throwing himself back on the ground. "That was perfect."

Duo only shook his head as he turned back to the items he'd gathered. "Man is weird."