"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Tired green eyes fluttered open to see Gilbert's smiling face. Oz rubbed his eyes, memories of last night starting to flow back through his mind. They weren't unpleasant, to say the least, but he was still embarrassed of his actions. Really, shouldn't he have been the dominant one? He was the master, afterall. Though Gil did serve me, he thought, blushing and shaking it from his brain. Gil snapped him out of his thoughts by ruffling his hair and following it with a kiss.

"I'm fine," he said, eager to get up and not show Gil his still blushing face.

As soon as he got up, he realized why Gil had asked him in the first place. Pain shot up from his lower back through his spine. Oz immediately fell to the floor, yelping in response. Gil rushed to his side, helping him to his wobbly feet.

"I was afraid of that," he stated, setting his master back on the bed. "You need to take a warm bath; it'll make it feel better."
Oz was blushing even more now, and it didn't help that Gil was so calm about the whole situation. "R-Really, Gil, I'm fine…" he insisted, but as he stood up he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out again.

Gil could only stare and worry about what he should do - he had read in books (not by his own choice, mind you) about this happening, but he had closed them shortly after finding out what subject matter they were discussing and never read the part about how to cure it. "Here, let me carry you to the bathroom," he said, motioning to pick Oz up.

"I can walk!" There was no way he was going to let Gil carry him, this was humiliating enough already! But Gil didn't seem to be listening, as before he could say anything he was in his servant's arms. "G-Gil," he whined, "put me down."

Gil shook his head 'no' and proceeded to the bathroom, not wanting Oz to hurt anymore than he already did. "I don't know how well this will work, but it can't be bad for you," he said as he set Oz down to start the water. Oz frowned, his blush stretching across his face.

"Please, Gil, I can do this myself," he said. Of course, his legs gave out as he tried to stand up and he would've hit the hard tile floor if Gilbert hadn't have been there to catch him.

"Oz, stop. I don't want you to get hurt, okay?" He kissed him softly, his arms still around the boy. "I'm already upset enough about this; I know we shouldn't have done that in the first place and now -" He was cut off by Oz's lips, pressing lovingly against his own.

Oz pulled away, smiling. "Don't worry about me, Gil; I'll be fine. It was worth it." Gil could only smile in return, fluffing Oz's hair once more.

Once the bath was ready, Gil undressed Oz and lifted him into the tub. "Do you want me to go, or do need anything…?"

Actually, Oz could've used plenty of things, including a shot of painkillers. He was determined to see Gil blush, which hadn't happened yet that morning. It would prove that he was, in fact, the dominant one. Even if not in bed. "Would you rub my back?"

Oz smirked as a blush blossomed on the face of his servant. Success. "Um, sure… I mean, I was gonna make breakfast, but if you really want me to…" Oz rolled his eyes and motioned for Gil to get on with it. But really, Gil is too cute.

Gilbert gently placed his hands on Oz's back and began to move them up and down, applying slight gradual pressure. He didn't want to be too rough.

"Harder, Gil," Oz demanded, his smirk even present in his words. Gilbert rubbed harder, knowing that Oz's word choice was no coincidence. "Ahh, that's good… just a little lower, Gil," Oz said, arching his back to nudge his lover's hands lower. The other complied, his face reddening. He rubbed for a minute or two before Oz made another demand for Gil to go lower.

"O-Oz," he whined. He must realize if I go any lower, I'll be rubbing his…

"Gil, do you want me to feel better or not?" Oz was loving every minute of this. Not to mention Gil gave extremely good backrubs.

Gil wanted to scream that Oz was completely naked and he'd rather not rub his butt, since there was no way to do that without being suggestive, but he gave in anyway. Oz smiled. Oh yes, I'm definitely the dominant one. He turned to look and see if Gil was blushing, and immediately burst Into giggles. "G-Gil, you look so - !" Face flushed as his hands reluctantly touched the flesh of Oz's lower back, Gilbert looked - well, rather cute. He frowned, pulling his hands out of the now lukewarm water and drying them on a towel.

"O-Oz… why did you…"
Oh crap. Gil isn't gonna cry, is he? "Sorry, Gil, I just couldn't resist. And it felt nice, too," Oz added, hoping it would make him feel better. "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."

Of course Gil enjoyed it, but he was hoping this wouldn't become a regular thing. "I-I'm not some kind of pervert, Oz…"
…Did Gil not like touching him? He seemed to last night, but… maybe he was having second thoughts? Oz panicked, biting his lip.

Then, there were Gil's arms, hugging him awkwardly in the tub. "I really do love you, Oz; it's not just lust. Not that I don't have that, too, but… I love you without the physical stuff."

"I know, Gil. I do too," Oz said, turning so he could face Gil. "I tease you because I love you, silly." They shared a kiss before Gil lifted Oz out of the tub and dried him off.

"The physical stuff is good too, though," Oz added, blushing a little as his servant became a stuttering mess again.

Gil helped Oz get dressed - he wanted Oz to move as little as possible, as he was still hurting. The bath and backrub had only helped so much.

"Sit here, I'll bring you your breakfast when it's ready," Gilbert said, hands on Oz's shoulders as the teen sat on the bed. Oz would normally have protested, but he too wanted to walk as little as he could.

Only seconds later, he heard Gil curse and rush back into the bedroom.

"Eh, what's wrong, Gil?"

"The carriage - I forgot, we have to leave today - shit, we only have 10 minutes!" He ran around, crazed with the time crunch he had to pack up. Gil threw whatever he could grab of Oz's into the boy's suitcase.

"Gil - hold on, I'll get it!" Oz yelled. He got up, wincing as he walked as fast as his injury would let him over to his belongings. Gilbert started to tell him to go sit back down, but Oz was persistent. "I can do it myself, Gil; go get your place cleaned up and whatever."

Gil sighed but obliged his master, hurrying into the kitchen and living room to put away anything that had been left out. It only took him 3 minutes, and when he got back to Oz he found him searching around, his suitcase left halfway packed.

"Have you seen my boxers?" Oz questioned, now on his hands and knees and peering under the bed.

"Which ones?" Gil asked, only slightly blushing as he folded the clothes Oz had carelessly thrown into his suitcase. Not that it mattered, but Gil was a bit of neat freak.

Oz blushed. "Um, the ones I wore yesterday," he stated, not looking directly at Gil. "I-I know you threw them on the floor somewhere, but I c-can't find them."

Gil felt his body go rigid. "Don't you have others?" he said, his voice obviously higher than normal. "I'm sure they'll turn up eventually."

"B-But… those… those were my lucky underwear," Oz said in the least embarrassing way he could, cursing himself for blushing.
Gil could hear the faint clip-clop of horse hooves outside. "Oz, the carriage is already here, can't you just go without them?"

Oz fidgeted. He supposed he was being irrational about it, and he didn't want to be a pain, but… he needed his lucky underwear. Nothing ever went well without them, and obviously they had been pretty lucky last night. And though Oz wasn't a superstitious person, lucky underwear was one thing he believed in. "I guess so," he lied, not wanting to be a bother. Gil's hands immediately flew to the zippers and closed his suitcase, picking it up as he rushed toward the door. Oz followed at his slowed speed, and the two hurried down and hopped in their waiting ride.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Back at Pandora, Break was lounging in the parlor with a cup of tea as Sharon sat across from him, trying to get Alice to put bows in her hair.

"Stop, I told you! I'm not wearing them!" she snapped, pushing away from her 'big sister'.

"But Miss Alice, you look so pretty with them!" Sharon retorted. She frowned in dismay; couldn't she be girly just once?

Break chuckled to himself. "Milady, I'm afraid it's a lost cause."

"What are you saying, damn clown?" Alice yelled. She hated that she couldn't tell when the man was insulting her.

"Oh, nothing," he said, letting out another small laugh. Alice got up with the intent to punch him, but instead walked off in a huff.

"Break, really… must you make her upset?" Sharon asked.

"I was only telling the truth."

The front door opened, revealing a tall, black-haired man hauling a large suitcase behind him.

"Ah, look who the wind blew in," Break commented, smiling slyly.
"You could help instead of being a smart-ass," Gilbert grumbled under his breath as he set down the baggage with a thud. Oz followed behind him, trying his best to hide his limp.

Break made a face and went back to sipping his tea. "Ah, in a bad mood are we?"

Gil rolled his eyes; he had been a great mood, actually, until Break had opened his mouth. He turned his attention back to Oz, making sure he was okay.

"Manservant! Where have you been?" Alice pouted, her hands on her hips.
"I meant to tell you," Oz said, inching his way towards his room, "I went with Gil to his apartment for a week. I didn't think you would mind…"

Said rabbit did in fact mind, and was ominously looming over Oz as if she was going to beat him up any second.

"I'm sorry, I should've told you, but it was a last minute decision -"

"Well, don't forget again! Useless manservant…" Alice interrupted, deciding going to find more meat was a better use of her time than giving her servant what he deserved.

Gil glared at her, ready to pounce if she did so much as touch his precious master, who in his eyes, was no one's 'manservant'. He mumbled curses under his breath as he picked up Oz's bag and headed towards his bedroom. Oz limped along behind him, trying not to wince as pain shot up his back. Gil better be glad that was worth it.

"Gil, wait," he said when they were nearing Gil's room. Gilbert stopped and faced Oz.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just…" This is stupid, just talk to him later about this - "I was just thinking, you know, since we were together all week, it seems silly not to share a room now, don't you think?" Oz stared at his feet, pretending to be interested in the stitching of his boots. "Unless you don't want to, t-that's okay too, I just thought…"
Gil wasn't sure what do with the request. "I want to, but… won't it be suspicious?" As much as he loved Oz, he knew it was socially unacceptable for them to be together. Their statuses and names would be stained if anyone ever found out. Even a petty maid at Pandora, much less a big-mouth chain. But he really didn't want to spend another night alone in his oversized bed…

"I guess, but I don't mind if people know," Oz smiled, now looking at Gil.

"But you'll-"

Oz put his arms around Gil's waist. "I don't care, I want to be with you. No matter what." He dropped his head onto his lover's warm chest, hugging him tightly.
How was Gil supposed to argue against that? Fuck society. "Alright, but I can guarantee we'll never hear the end of it from Break."

"You mean you'll never hear the end of it."
Gilbert kissed his forehead lightly, setting the suitcase inside of his room. Oz closed the door behind them, happy to have more alone time with his favorite person.

Back in the parlor, a knowing smile spread across Xerxes Break's face.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Sharon anxiously tapped her foot, the tea in her hand barely sipped on.

"Milady, is something the matter?" Break asked.
Sharon jolted in her seat. "N-No, it's nothing!" she lied, but quickly remembered that lying to Break was useless. "Well, I was just wondering… if something happened between Oz and Gilbert."
"Mmm," Break hummed. "Ah yes, the ball seemed to go well, didn't it?"

"Y-Yes, Oz said -"

"-he and Gilbert kissed? But of course," he smirked. "I told you I did something, didn't I? I was getting quite tired of Gilbert's angsty behavior, so I called his old tutor and told her he would be at the ball with his new girlfriend, but he was very shy about it and she should get them to kiss."
"Break! That's… you can't make people kiss against their will, it's not right!" Sharon cried, slightly appalled at her servant's actions. Kisses were a sign of love and were nothing to be taken lightly, in her opinion.

The man ignored her outcry and took another sip of tea. "No one said it was against their will. It seems to me it was very much what both of them wanted."
"Oh? And how would you know? Don't tell me you went and spied on them -"
"Come with me, milady." With that, Break grabbed her arm and pulled them both under the sofa.

"Break, what on earth -" Sharon protested, cut off by a large sleeve covering her mouth.

"Shh, we don't want to give ourselves away, neh?" A smile glared at Sharon through the darkness. "Just follow me, and you won't be disappointed."
Sharon was about to object, but Break was disappearing into the darkness, and she was definitely not going to be left alone, wherever they were. She crawled after him for a minute before he stopped.

Break motioned for her to scoot beside him. "Where are we?" she whispered, shuffling through the dark.

Break quietly pushed a panel in front of them, letting in a sliver of light. He sat back, smiling in expectation of Sharon's reaction. She squinted and pressed her face to the opening. She couldn't see much, but she could make out a tall figure - no, a smaller one too, and some furniture in the background.

"Mm, Gil…"
Sharon went stiff as a board, her face turning beat red.

"Oz…"

Break choked back a chuckle, sleeves covering his face.

I am not hiding in some closet with Break watching Oz and Gilbert making out. I am not hiding -

"Are you satisfied, milady?" Break whispered into her ear. Sharon opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her red face was all the answer the man needed. "I don't mean to cut this short, but I'd rather not have Gilbert find us peeping on him," Break said, and within moments they were back in the parlor.

"B-Break, that was simply improper! I don't agree with spying on anyone, and I certainly don't feel good knowing you're spying on people all the time," Sharon complained, brushing out her dress.
"You seemed to enjoy what you saw, milady."

Damn him. "That doesn't mean I agree with the way I saw it! You kidnapped me, I didn't have a choice!"

Break gave her an innocent look. "If you had said something, I would've brought you back immediately."

Bullshit. Bull. Shit. God, Break… "How did you know, anyway? Don't pretend it was by chance."

The fake innocent face transformed into a smirk in an instant. "Oz-kun can't hide everything, it seems."

Sharon narrowed her eyes, slightly confused.

"Just wait until lunch. You'll see."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Growling stomachs interrupted Oz and Gil's 'session', and the two pulled apart to get some lunch. Oz was especially hungry; he had skipped dinner last night as well as breakfast that morning. They walked into the dining room, Gilbert taking a slower pace so he could walk beside Oz. His pain had only subsided a little, but he was sure no one had noticed his limp… he would just have to be extra careful for the rest of the day.

And God help him if he had to be careful tomorrow, too.

"It took you quite a while to unpack," Break observed, acting nonchalant as usual.
Oz quickly responded, "I had a lot of stuff, and Gil had to help me get everything folded." Break raised his eyebrow and stood up.

"Oh, I see." He set down his teacup and walked towards the pair, who were now close to the dining table. "And may I ask, why on earth are you walking like that? Did you fall down or something? I thought Gilbert treated you like a porcelain doll."

Gil and Oz both froze. He doesn't know… does he? How could he? was the thought behind the quick glance between them.

"Y-Yeah, I fell down the stairs while we were rushing this morning," Oz improvised, hoping to the heavens that Break wasn't on to him.

"Down the stairs? Shouldn't you have more bruises, then?"

But of course, he was.

Gil interrupted, trying to save the situation with the little hope that the man didn't know. "I caught him, so he only hit his lower back on the step." Please, PLEASE work.

Break sauntered over to the boy, inspecting him. "So you caught him by his arms and legs at just the right time so nothing got bruised but his derriere? Quite a feat. Unless… are you sure he didn't fall out of the bed?"

…Oh shit. "N-No, why would you -"

"Or maybe something happened last night?" A wide, devilish grin plastered itself on Break's face.
Gilbert turned bright red, frozen while pulling his chair out. Oz couldn't talk.
"Stupid clown, what are you talking about?" Alice appeared from the hallway, hands on her hips and obviously upset.
"It seems Gilbert let down his guard and Oz got hurt," the white haired man said, fully enjoying every minute of this.
"You useless servant of my manservant! You can't do anything right!" The chain stormed over to Gil, yelling in his face.
"A-Alice, I'm fine, really…" Oz insisted, not wanting to see Gil get beaten up for such a thing.
Alice glared at him, then turned towards Oz. "Why did Seaweed-Head hurt you, anyway? I thought he was all overprotective!"
"I think Gilbert got lost in the moment, eh?" Break grinned, looking over to see a mortified Raven.
Meanwhile, Alice was shouting at Oz, trying to figure out what was wrong and what was rendering him useless.
"It's just my lower back," Oz blushed, keeping as much distance from the rabbit as possible.
Alice frowned. "What did Seaweed-Head do to your butt? Did he hit it or something?"
The blushes were full force now, and Gil started choking on nothing but air.
"I DIDN'T HIT HIM!" he contorted, fists clenched at his sides.
"Shut up, idiot face! I was asking Oz!"
"A-Alice, Gil didn't hit me…" Oz was now wishing he could die to get out of this situation, all he had to do was make a run for it -
"Then what, huh? He must've done something to your butt."
Gil was all but hiding under the table at this point. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, YOU STUPID RABBIT!"
"Au contraire, mon ami, I think you gave Oz's butt quite a beating last night." Xerxes was now holding back giggles.
"Eh? Did he punish you? Masters are supposed to punish their servants, not the other way around!" Oz's 'master' proclaimed, her brow furrowed.
"Oh, I think Gilbert served Oz quite well. Isn't that right, Oz-kun?"
Oz gave a distressed look to Gil, but Gil was too busy dying of embarrassment to notice anything else.
"Break! What is the meaning of this!"
Thank god, you frightening woman, you show up at the worst and best times possible.
Sharon beat her fan lightly between her hands. Break strolled past her, saying, "We were just discussing the many ways Gilbert serves his master ~"
She looked confused for a minute before her cheeks became flushed. "B-Break!" was all she could say. Sharon covered her mouth and stared at the two blushing culprits, shocked and also extremely happy - even though Oz was much too young, and Gilbert should know better, but -
"I'm sick of all of you and your confusing way of talking! Give me some meat, already!"
Saved by the rabbit.
Break sighed. "Noon already… I suppose it is lunchtime." He wasn't ready to give up torturing Gilbert so soon, but his stomach was calling. As well as the rest of them.
A pleasant lunch was what they all needed. While Oz was still quite embarrassed with everyone finding out about him and Gil, it was… nice. They wouldn't have to hide anything, at least not in Pandora. He squeezed Gil's hand under the table, causing the man to look over and blush.
"Oz…"
Oz just smiled and squeezed his hand a little tighter.

Gil couldn't help but return the gesture.

Things were good from then on. Oz's pain faded away, and as he grew more accustomed to Gil's body it stopped hurting afterwards as well. Even though Gil still freaked out about it, but that was expected. Break continued to torment Gilbert and seemed to never grow tired of it. As for Lady Sharon, well… she was in fangirl heaven. And Alice still wanted some meat.

Some things never change, but those that do change for the better. That's what Oz thought as he gently kissed Gil on the lips - his Gil, my Gil.

Forever.

FIN

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

AN: Ahaha, cheesy ending much? I apologize, I got kinda sappy and longwinded there, but I'm awful at endings. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing; I hope you enjoyed it! I've been writing this for what seems like forever and it's nice to finally be finished with it. I also managed to sneak in some slight Break x Sharon… I like writing them, so perhaps you'll see a fic with them sometime in the future? Who knows? ;D
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AGAIN, I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU. ~ Willa