Oz was bored, so very bored.

Alice had eaten her fill and was now sleeping it off, which meant she wouldn't be waking until it was time to eat again.

Break and Sharon were doing what they usually did, drinking tea and talking on the balcony, and in Break's case, drinking tea and talking through a mouthful of cake.

And Gil. Gil was in his room.

Boring.

Oz decided that he was going to make Gil play with him, he got up from the couch he had previously occupied for the last hour and went to find Gil.

-XXX-

It didn't take long.

Before entering Gil's room, Oz pressed his ear against the door, he couldn't hear anything except a light breathing, at least that meant that Gil was in there. He didn't even bother to knock before he burst through the door and promptly spying Gil on his bed, ran up and tackled the man.

It seemed Gil had been sleeping before Oz's intrusion. Having a, however small, person jump full force onto you was certainly the rudest awakening Gil had ever had in his life.

Gil came awake with a shout, his eyes shot open and he found himself staring down at a mop of blonde hair and laughter rang in his ears.

"Gil~." Gil dropped his head back on to the bed with a loud sigh, closing his eyes again.

"What are you doing Oz?" He asked.

Oz giggled in response, he propped himself up on his elbows, resting his chin on his hands as he smiled down at Gil.

"Gil~, I'm bored." He said in a sing song voice.

Gil cracked open one eye to peer at Oz, who was smiling in an almost sickly sweet manner. Gil had a bad feeling settle in the pit of his stomach, whenever Oz had been bored when they'd both been children, it had never seemed to end well for the servant boy.

Oz…was bored. Oh dear.

"And what do you want me to do a-" Gil's sentence broke off as Oz shifted slightly on top of him, elbows digging into his ribs.

For the first time Gil realized the incomparable position they were in.

They were alone, in his room, on his bed, and Oz was on top of him.

On…top of…

Gil felt himself turn bright red and almost immediately their proximity seemed way too close, he'd never been uncomfortable being close to Oz before, but this time something was different.

"O-Oz…I-I…y-you…" Gil couldn't get his mouth to work.

Oz shifted again, this time he moved up Gil's body, his face closer than ever. His skin suddenly felt incredibly hot, and Oz's constant shifting wasn't helping a bit.

"I said I'm bored, Gil~." Oz said playfully.

So close…Oz is…

Oz was beginning to get impatient, he wanted Gil to play with him, and this was going nowhere. Although Oz was enjoying Gil's embarrassment, despite being oblivious as to why. It made him remember when they were younger, Gil was always blushing and tripping over his words, it had always made Oz smile.

That memory made Oz remember something else.

Suddenly Oz slipped off of Gil, grabbing his hat off the nightstand beside the bed and bolting from the room. At first Gil didn't recognize the feeling that washed over him as soon as Oz had left him, but that only lasted a moment when he realized what had happened.

That little…

Gil jumped off the bed and raced after Oz. It wasn't hard to track the boy as his loud laughter echoed through the halls, Gil was also fortunate in that his legs were a lot longer than Oz's so he was able to catch up quite easily. However, Oz was a lot more agile than Gil was, and was therefore able to slip around corners and obstacles with little trouble.

"You better give that back Oz, or you're gonna be in so much trouble when I catch you!" He shouted.

Oz threw back his head and laughed, a sound that warmed Gil's entire being.

"Gil's never been able to catch me yet, so that's a pretty big if!" Oz shouted back.

Gil smiled, that was a challenge if he'd ever heard one. His ten year long conditioning to be a lethal killer kicked in, his movements became sharper, nothing was wasteful. The art of pursuit had been drilled into him quite early, so this was all completely natural to him now.

The chase moved outside when Oz decided that an open window could provide him with a substantial lead. However, Gil followed, unlike Oz's clumsy climb out the window, Gil simply dived out and landed in a roll, coming to his feet almost immediately.

When Oz saw this, he realized that Gil may finally catch him after all. He smiled, he still had one ace up his sleeve.

Oz suddenly stopped running, he spun on his heel and threw his entire weight into Gil. The older man was unable to react in time and both went tumbling to the ground, they rolled together over a shot distance before coming to a stop, with Oz coming out on top.

Just like when they were kids.

Both were out of breath by this point and the first minute was spent attempting to get enough air back into their lungs.

"I finally caught you." Gil breathed.

Oz laughed, not completely oblivious to the fact that he was currently straddling his servant, his hands pressed down on the man's shoulders."Hah, you wish, I let you catch me" Oz said between panting.

This time it was Gil that laughed.

"Careful Young Master, your ego is showing." Gil smiled.

Oz gave a half smile, half smirk. Gil remembered when Oz used to try and wrestle with him, Gil had never had any talent for it because he had nothing to oppose Oz with, he was the weaker one, more importantly, he was the servant, he was only supposed to act according to his masters wishes. Ultimately, the victory belonged to Oz, always.

Suddenly Gil rolled them over, something he'd never done before, mostly because he'd never been able to do so. Oz looked incredibly surprised by Gil's actions. He made a small attempt to turn them over, but found that he was no longer the superior strength. Part of Oz felt that this was wrong, he was the master, he was supposed to be in control. But another part of him, a deeper part, was sending out strange sensations to his entire body, but it was not entirely unpleasant was actually surprised by his own actions as well, he didn't understand the buzz that was spreading throughout his body, it felt…intoxicating.

Gil was broken from his reverie by Oz's touch on his arm."I…I forgot how…much bigger and strong…Gil is now." Oz said softly.

Gil's mind was a blur, Oz's hand was gently moving up and down and the feeling it was…

No!

Suddenly Gil's rationality kicked in and he leapt away from Oz with more speed than he'd ever moved with in his life.

Oz was left feeling confused and strangely cold, he sat up and looked at Gil questioningly. He had his back to Oz, the sudden distance left by his retreat made Oz feel strange. It felt like there was a heavy weight on his chest, it was painful.

"G-Gil?" He said with a slight waver in his voice.

He noticed the man's shoulders were shaking and his fists were clenched at his sides.

Was Gil…angry? Had he done something wrong? Perhaps said something that had upset the man?

The dark-haired man bent down, snatched his hat from where it had landed when they'd both fallen and shoved it on his head. Gil turned around and walked towards Oz, his head was down and his hat hid his face. The way he walked unnerved Oz, when he raised his hand, Oz thought for one terrifying second that Gil was going to hit him. He flinched, closing his eyes, waiting to be struck, but it never came. After a moment Oz opened his eyes and saw Gil pull down the brim of his hat even more with the hand Oz had thought was being raised against him. With his other hand, Gil reached down and grasped Oz by his shoulder, pulling him abruptly to his feet.

"Let's go back." Was all he said before walking away.

Oz had cringed at Gil's tone, it sounded like he had spoken through gritted teeth. He watched Gil's retreating form, subconsciously he reached up and grasped over his heart, twisting the material of his shirt.

Hurts…it hurts…

-XXX-

Gil had to slam his teeth together to suppress the scream that was rising in his throat. He couldn't get the image of Oz cowering before him out of his mind.

Oz had been afraid of him, Oz had thought that Gil was going to hit him. He couldn't believe it, Oz wasn't supposed to be afraid of him, he was there to make sure that nothing and no one ever frightened Oz again, he was there to protect Oz. He would never raise a hand against his master, never.

But Oz…Oz had believed that Gil would and was going to hit him.

Gil growled and raked his hands through his hair. Why? Why was this happening? Everything had been so good, he had Oz back, what had gone wrong?

Oz had been so close, he'd always dreamed of such proximity between himself and his master, so why? He thought of Oz's slow gentle strokes on his arm, they had sent a shiver up and down his spine.

So why? Why had he pulled away?

He'd longed for such affection for so long, so why?

It was because it was Oz.

Oz, who was so perfect in Gilbert's eyes, who had never done wrong, who had never taken a life, whose hands were small, soft and clean.

Oz was pure, untainted and innocent.

And Gil…was none of those things. He was dirty and his hands stained with the blood of many people, he was no longer the Gilbert that Oz knew, as much as the boy would deny Gil had changed, he had changed and for the worst.

He rested his head in his hands, his head was starting to hurt, but that couldn't compare to the pain in his heart.

He'd ruined everything.

He had survived ten years as Break's pawn in the Nightray household.

He'd trained until he dropped from exhaustion.

He'd sold his soul for the power to bring Oz back.

And in the end, it had only taken a moment of stupidity on his part to make it all for naught.

Gil didn't know if he could face Oz again after what had just transpired, but he knew he had to, if only for Oz's sake.