A/N: There's lots of Niff bonding in this one! Also, here's some points to note: the exhedra is a sort of summer dining room, and the Amphitheatrum Neronis was an amphitheatre built by Nero for gladiatorial games.

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"I would like him, please!"

Nick's father looked pleased that his son was finally showing some proper interest in the slave auction, and he approached the slave trader, who was still arranging the slaves for the gladiator trainer.

"My good man," Nick's father clapped the slave trader on the shoulder, while Nick trailed a few feet behind, still not quite believing what he had just asked his father to do. "I'm buying a slave for my son's birthday," Nick's father continued in a loud voice, which made Nick cringe as everyone found out about their business. "And he would like to buy this one." Again, Nick cringed as his father referred to the blonde boy as an object, he tried to give the boy an apologetic smile, but the blonde was now staring intently at his feet.

"I was actually about to sell him to this man," the slave trader began, motioning to the gladiator trainer, he then went to continue speaking, but Nick's father interrupted him.

"There are plenty of other men here who would be better suited to the arena. But my son has specifically chosen this boy. Now, what price are you asking for him?"

For once, Nick was glad that his father was such a well known and powerful senator, because the slave trader didn't dare argue, and neither did the trainer.

After a minute or two of bartering, Nick's father handed over the money to the slave trader, who thanked him profusely, and then he turned to Nick.

"Are you pleased, Nicholas?" he asked.

"Yes, Father," Nick said dutifully, watching as his father beckoned for the blonde boy to follow them.

Jeff was terrified. There was no other way to put it. Here he was, in the middle of an unknown city, being gawked at by random strangers, and occasionally prodded by others. If he was honest, he was surprised no one had checked his teeth in the same way that they did to horses and cows back home in his village, because this experience seemed very similar.

As he was hustled past a group of well dressed potential buyers, Jeff caught the eye of a short brunette boy, who appeared to be around his own age, although, Jeff immediately noticed, of a completely different social class. The other boy gave him a reassuring smile, and Jeff quickly forced himself to remain emotionless. One, he was embarrassed that the other boy could see his fear, and two, he found himself blushing because another boy had just smiled at him. He quickly told himself to get a grip, and was relieved when the other boy's attention was gained by the older man beside him.

Suddenly, Jeff found himself being slowly shunted into a small group of twenty or so other men, as the slave trader busied himself around them. That was when realisation hit him: he was about to be sold! Sold like a lump of meat or a piece of wood.

Jeff had no idea who he was being sold to, but deep inside he knew that it wasn't good; there had to be something wrong if the buyer wanted that many slaves at once. In his panic, Jeff let his guard down, and his eyes widened in fear.

Just then, there was a commotion and the older man who had been with the brunette boy came hurrying towards the slave trader, clearly intent on buying a slave. Jeff couldn't exactly hear the beginning of the conversation, but he heard the man say loudly:

"He would like to buy this one."

Jeff jerked his head up at that, immediately curious as to whom he was referring to. He got the shock of his life when he found that the man was pointing directly at him. His first reaction was to be vaguely proud that someone had actually personally wanted him, and then he became indignant at the way that the man had blatantly referred to him as an object.

But that was what he was now, wasn't it? At least, in the eyes of the law he was a personal possession, and, most likely, the majority of the population held the same views.

He noticed the brunette boy giving him an apologetic smile, apologising for the older man's manner, and probably also pitying Jeff's situation. Jeff didn't need anyone's pity, so he just stared at his feet, hoping that the brunette would get the hint and stop looking at him as though he was completely broken.

After a few more minutes of discussion between the slave trader and the other man, the man handed over a sum of money, and the slave trader pocketed it, looking satisfied.

Then, the older man turned to the brunette, who now looked faintly ill. Jeff wondered if the heat and the close crush of the large crowds were getting to the other boy. It was definitely getting to Jeff, whose idea of a crowd was a group of around thirty individuals, not the hundreds that he could see around him now. This was the city, not his little village, and he had to remember that.

"You're going with them," the slave trader said gruffly, giving Jeff a sharp push forward in the direction of the older man and the brunette boy.

The action startled Jeff and he stumbled forward, almost tripping into the dusty cobbles. He did not need to humiliate himself further by falling flat on his face, so he righted himself quickly and followed the older man, who was now beckoning to him.

The older man took a hold of the rope that was binding Jeff's wrists so that Jeff was being led behind him, without a chance of escape. Jeff's mind immediately made the parallel between his situation, and that of an animal being led to slaughter, but he desperately hoped that the similarities ended there; he didn't fancy being killed and then being eaten by the boy and his father. Jeff had to force back a laugh at his previous thought but he bit his lip just in time, not knowing whether laughing would earn him some sort of punishment; he didn't know what would earn him a punishment at all yet, he didn't know anything yet.

Nick stayed dutifully at his father's side for the entire walk home, but what he really wanted to do was to run to the blonde boy, untie his bonds and then tell him he was free.

But he couldn't do that, not without risking punishment for both himself and the blonde boy; or worse, his father would make the blonde boy take all of the punishment, and Nick didn't think that he could have that on his conscience.

Eventually, they made it back to Nick's home, and found his mother waiting for them in the atrium. Nick hoped that she wouldn't make it too obvious that the only reason she was there was to inspect the blonde boy that they had brought home, but it was just his luck when she immediately stood up and spoke.

"Is this the slave you bought, then?"

"Yes, cost me a fair bit too," Nick's father answered, "The trader felt that he was worth a lot; well, we'll see about that."

"Yes, we'll see," Nick's mother nodded, "If he's such a good purchase, did no one else want him?"

"We outbid a gladiator trainer, one of the men from the Amphitheatrum Neronis, he was looking for twenty good men."

"Well, if this one doesn't behave or isn't satisfactory, then the trainer can willingly have him back," Nick's mother said, as Nick willed her to stop speaking before he died of embarrassment, why did his family constantly have to act as though the blonde boy couldn't hear them?

"Well, I hope you've thanked your father, Nicholas," his mother continued speaking, "And I hope you're finally satisfied."

"Thank you, Father," Nick said quickly, having to stop himself before he blurted out that he mostly definitely wasn't satisfied.

"Well, I think you should take your new slave and get him acquainted to the household, don't you think?" his mother said, looking at him intently, indicating that however much she made it sound like it, it was an order not a question. "I doubt he's probably trained."

"No, Mother," Nick said stiffly, "I'll go right away."

He turned to the blonde boy, and hurriedly beckoned for him to follow so that they could get away from his parents, and Nick could maybe make up for the way that the blonde had just been treated. There was only one problem: Nick had no idea how to do just that, he'd never owned a slave before, and he'd never planned to own a slave in his life.

He decided to take the blonde boy into the exhedra, where he knew that his parents wouldn't eavesdrop on whether he was 'educating' the blonde boy properly.

The blonde was silent as they walked, refusing to even make eye contact with Nick.

Nick didn't blame him, not at all, because of what the blonde was going through, Nick didn't even deserve any attention from him. But he was going to change that, wasn't he? He was going to improve the blonde's current situation in any way he could.

At least, he hoped that he would.

Once they'd reached the exhedra, Nick sat down on the nearest couch and waited for the blonde to join him, but the other boy remained standing.

"You can sit down," Nick said softly, "If you want to."

The blonde's gaze flickered up for a second, and then returned to his feet. Nick could see that he was clearly having an internal debate with himself about whether it was correct or not for him sit on one of the couches.

"It's okay," Nick continued, "You're allowed to sit down."

"Thank you." Nick almost missed the blonde boy's barely audible reply as he sunk down onto the couch opposite. It was the first time the blonde had spoken, and Nick strangely found himself smiling broadly at the sound of the other boy's voice.

"So, what's your name?" Nick asked.

The blonde boy again glanced worriedly at Nick, and then back down to where his hands rested in his lap.

"Jeff," he replied in the same whispered tone. Nick nodded encouragingly.

"I'm Nick," he said.

Jeff just continued to stare at his hands. Nick sighed, and opened his mouth to try again, when, to his surprise, the other boy actually spoke without being prompted.

"Your father was a soldier, wasn't he?"

Nick was so shocked that he didn't respond immediately.

"Uh, yeah, he was," he managed to say finally.

And suddenly that impassive expression that Jeff had had during the auction was back in place.

"But he's a senator now!" Nick quickly amended, sensing the tension that was now in the room because of his father's occupation.

Jeff didn't reply; he appeared to have stopped even looking at Nick again.

Nick's father was a soldier. Jeff couldn't even believe he'd considered that things might get better for him. He knew what soldiers were like; he'd seen what they did to people's lives.

However, Jeff knew that a small part of him was fighting off these accusations. Nick wasn't a soldier himself, was he? So, was Jeff really being fair to him?

Yes, he decided, because it was likely that Nick's father wanted him to become a soldier, and then Nick would become the same as the rest of them.

But they weren't all like that, were they? Jeff had met one who wasn't. No, he was trying not to remember those memories. But now doubt was creeping into his mind, and he was starting to reconsider whether it was too harsh to completely ignore Nick just because of who his father was.

"Jeff, I'm sorry about the way you've been treated," Nick spoke suddenly, catching Jeff off-guard. "My parents do that to everyone, don't take it personally. I'm not trying to make what they have said right, or defend them, but I just thought you should know."

Oh, so Nick thought Jeff was angry about the way his parents had spoken to him; no, this anger went much deeper. What Nick's parents had said barely made a dent in what had previously happened to him.

Jeff slowly shook his head, actually deciding to acknowledge Nick.

"I don't care," he said, "It doesn't matter."

"It does matter," Nick said, "You matter, Jeff. Everybody deserves to be treated like a human being, but people have been treating you as though you're worthless." He reached out to take one of Jeff's hands, but Jeff flinched at the contact and Nick quickly withdrew.

Jeff's mind was spinning, was somebody actually acting as though he mattered in this world? Surely this wasn't real. Maybe Nick was trying to trick him into a false sense of security? Jeff had fallen for that trick before, hadn't he?

Nick could tell that Jeff still didn't trust him in the slightest. Although the blonde was acknowledging him again, he'd been noticeable confused about his sudden care for him. There was no way that Nick could have Jeff constantly being afraid of him; he was slightly hurt that Jeff regarded him in the same way that any slave would regard his master.

No, Nick couldn't have that, not after his complete opposition to slavery. He needed to make this right, and he needed to make it right immediately.

"Listen, Jeff," he began, watching as the blonde looked at him warily, "There's something I need to get straight with you."

He paused, and watched as doubt crossed Jeff's face; no doubt he was thinking that Nick was about to reel off a list of orders or rules to him. Well, that definitely wasn't going to happen.

"This is going to sound really stupid," Nick continued, "But, I don't agree with slavery."

Jeff's eyes widened comically in disbelief, and he let out a short laugh at the irony, before he noticed what he'd done and covered his mouth quickly.

"You're allowed to laugh," Nick said, smiling reassuringly, "But, yeah, it does seem stupid, doesn't it?"

Jeff appeared to look slightly more relaxed, as it appeared to sink in that Nick wasn't reprimanding him.

"You don't believe in slavery?" Jeff asked boldly, "Yet you bought me today?"

Nick ducked his head in shame.

"Yeah, my father thought that a slave would make a good present for me," Nick explained, "He's decided that since it's my seventeenth birthday, I'm now a man."

"So, you didn't really want me?" Jeff asked tentatively.

Nick shook his head.

"No, I didn't," he said without thinking, and then he saw Jeff's face fall.

"Oh," Jeff said quietly, "I knew that no one truly wanted me."

Nick shook his head.

"I didn't mean it like that, Jeff," he corrected himself, "I meant that I had never wanted to have a slave at all, I vowed to my friends years ago that I would never own another human being because it was completely wrong. It's nothing personal."

Jeff looked slightly pacified.

"What are you going to do, then?" he asked timidly, "Are you going to send me to that gladiator trainer, like your mother said?"

Nick looked horrified immediately.

"Of course not!" he cried, "That's not a fate I'd willingly give to anyone, I know a gladiator, and trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be!"

Jeff laughed again.

"You know a gladiator?" he asked incredulously, "And what do your parents think about this?"

Nick grinned at the fact that Jeff had eventually warmed up to him.

"They have no idea," he said, "They don't know much about me at all, to be honest!"

"So," Jeff began awkwardly, "What are we going to do about me?"

"Well," Nick said, rapidly wracking his brains for an idea, "We could…" He trailed off in thought.

Suddenly, an image appeared in his head; an image of the book page from earlier, and he immediately knew what they could do.

"We could be friends?" he suggested, and Jeff smiled broadly at the idea.

"I'd like that," he said, almost shyly.

"But," Nick continued, "We have to hide it from my parents, or who knows what they'll do to you! When we're with my friends or alone, it'll be fine, but otherwise, if I act weird, then you have to act along too, okay?"

Jeff nodded.

"Got it," he said.

"So, friends?" Nick clarified, holding out his hand for Jeff to take.

"Friends," Jeff announced with a grin, grasping Nick's hand and shaking it decisively.

Maybe things were starting to look up in Jeff's life. Maybe.

A/N: I also think I should point out that in Roman society, boys became men at 16, but here I have changed it to 17 for story purposes!

Please review and tell me what you think, or ask me any questions!