"Hey, Orion's brat!"

Zachary jumped, tossing the top of a carrot in the air he'd been cutting at. It came down with a thunk on top of his head, but his attention was completely focused on David as he stormed back into the kitchen.

"Yes sir!" He answered automatically, then blushed when the guy rolled his eyes and smirked.

"You're my new slave, and it's even better because you're Orion's new babe. So, I'm gonna make you sweat before I return you to him."

Zachary wasn't really sure what to think of his words, but he quickly understood the sweating part as he was put to work! David had him cutting onions for fifteen minutes straight, then washing and cutting mushrooms for another twenty before he went on to pineapple. He did every single task as fast as he could, but also carefully. He knew that cutting himself would only hinder his ability to work, so he had to pay attention.

"Open your mouth."

The order took him by surprise. He opened his mouth without thinking... and got a piece of pineapple promptly shoved into it. The fruit was incredibly tart and sweet, making his lips pucker for a moment before he chewed, then swallowed. "Mmm."

"Hey, what are you shoving in my boy's mouth, Dav?" Orion grumbled as Zach saw him walk in with a load of dish towels in his arms. Ah, he must have been getting them from the laundry. No wonder he hadn't returned when David had.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" David replied with a waggle of his eyebrows. Zachary blanched, understanding what David was implying. "N-no! I-it wasn't. He didn't. I didn't put his dick in my mouth!"

He'd run up to Orion as he half-shouted, half-cried his words. Then he realized what he had said and his face turned from white to cherry red. He was afraid to look at either of the men after what he'd just blurted out, but there was no way he could just run away from the situation, either.

Crap.

Well, at least he didn't have to make himself look up, because Orion had his hand beneath his chin in seconds, lifting his face until their eyes could meet. The look on his face was that of utter shock. "Sweetheart, I didn't know you knew that word."

Oh my god. He thinks I'm an innocent angel? Zach thought to himself as Orion began to break his mask of shock into one of uncontrollable humor.

Grumbling under his breath, Zach spun around and began tugging at the button on his jeans. "Yeah, it's the awesome thing between my legs, wanna see, David?"

"Aw hell yes!" The guy shouted, right before Orion snagged Zachary from behind and lifted him up like an unneutered dog trying to claim dominance over a poor sofa pillow.

"This is mine, no can has!" Orion growled next to his ear, making Zach shiver a little. He sounded possessive but he could also hear the joking tone in his voice.

"Come on boys, up and at em! I wanna see the prep done in thirty minutes so the cleaning crew can scrub this place for their once a month contract!" Xena shouted as she ducked her head in. Seeing Zachary in Orion's arms, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, well, down and at em. Put the poor guy down Orion and get busy. You'll scare him away if you glue yourself to him so much and I can't afford to lose my new employee so soon."

He was set down immediately and they both got busy doing what David directed them to. Xena left shortly after, and thankfully, they finished on time. After establishing that he would be back to help in the kitchen later that night while Orion worked in his area, they headed back down to his room. Zachary was still giddy after having gotten a job so after five minutes Orion tossed the book they were trying to read together aside.

"You're certainly hyper right now." Orion chided with a grin, mussing up Zach's hair before he was tackled in a hug against the pillows. "I can't focus on reading when I'm so happy," he mumbled, closing his eyes as he snuggled against Orion's chest. His heart jumped when a firm hand settled on his hair, then began to soothingly pet.

"Would you like to train a little instead, sweetheart?"

Zachary thought about it for a moment, loving the attention but also wanting to work on what Orion wanted in the long run. After a minute he slowly nodded, but didn't try to move yet.

"Do you like this kind of attention, Zachary?" Orion whispered against his hair as he continued to gently run his fingers over his hair.

Zachary nodded against his chest in response, getting a deep chuckle from him that reverberated through his body pleasantly. "I'm glad. I will remember that."

He continued to stroke his hair for another few minutes before reaching down and tapping his bottom, getting a surprised squeak out of Zach as he hurried off the bed. He walked over to the closet, figuring that the training Orion would want to do would have something to do with the leather in there.

"Not there, sweetheart. Get back in bed, I want to work on some training here." Orion said as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge, then patted the spot beside him. Zachary immediately moved to sit next to him, putting his hands in his lap as he glanced up at Orion curiously.

"What are we doing on the bed?" He questioned, his voice holding just a hint of worry. Orion smiled at him and push himself back near the center of the bed. Assuming that he should follow, Zach moved, stopping and sitting down next to where Orion did.

"Alright. This is technically a simple lesson, nothing big to remember. It's more focused on that first chapter you read. Trust."

Zachary nodded, glad that he wouldn't have to focus too much, as he wasn't that great at it when he was excited.

"Alright, I'm going to start slowly taking your clothing off, and I want you to tell me when you begin to get stressed for any reason, okay?"

Did right then count? Because he was immediately worried about sex. They were in a bed, after all.

"I-I'm stressed." Zach mumbled, looking down awkwardly before forcing his eyes to meet Orion's.

"Alright, good boy. Why are you stressed?"

He could feel his ears burning but forced out an answer. "We-we're on a-a bed and y-you want me to get undressed."

There was quiet for a short moment before Orion scooted closer and put a gentle on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. "That's just it, sweetheart. The lesson is on trust, so you need to trust me as your dominant, that I won't take advantage of you, even if it would be far easier to do so while you are naked in my bed. And I need to trust you, that you will listen to me and understand that I mean you no harm."

Okay. That makes sense.

He was still a little worried, but Orion's explanation was logical. "Okay." Zach whispered as he fiddled with the hem of the shirt he was wearing.

"Good boy!" Orion said enthusiastically. Zachary smiled and held still when Orion slowly reached over, placing his hands atop his own and squeezing softly. They remained that way until Zach was able to calm himself down completely. He then retracted his hands, leaving Orion's alone against his shirt.

"I'm going to start sweetheart. If you become stressed, you tell me, okay?"

Zachary licked his lips nervously and nodded. He was surprised when Orion didn't actually start, bringing his eyes up to meet the other man's in question. "There you are."

Darn, he had realized that I was stressed without me needing to say it.

Giving himself a mental pep talk, Zach stuck his tongue out, making Orion chuckle before the older man carefully tugged the fabric of his shirt up and over his head. He lifted his arms to help, then watched as Orion tossed the clothing aside.

"I'm very happy to see that your ribs are slowly beginning to disappear from view."

Not really knowing how to respond, Zachary smiled. He was glad, too. It felt good to have meat returning to his bones after years. And Orion's the one who made that possible. A new surge of trust swam through his veins and he straightened, getting a surprised look from Orion.

"I trust you, Master."

The beaming smile that was beginning to become familiar flourished on Orion's face at Zach's words, making him know immediately that he'd made the right decision. When Orion reached over to gingerly undo the button on his jeans Zachary moved onto his back, making it easier for him to slide the pants off once he got the button undone and the zipper down. It felt incredibly awkward being undressed by someone else, but Orion didn't touch anything besides his clothing and faint brushes of skin as he worked. When all he had left on were his socks and boxers Orion stopped and they shared a smile.

"You have a gorgeous body, sweetheart."

Zachary thought it might feel weird to hear that while lying on his back in the man's bed, but he was actually feeling quite relaxed. Orion had done nothing but exactly what he'd said he would.

"Th-thank you," he replied, honestly feeling that Orion was telling the truth.

"I think we'll end the lesson here. You did amazing, so you deserve a reward. What would you like, Zachary?"

I want you to be happier.

"Um..."

He thought about asking for another strawberry, as he knew they hadn't finished them last night, but he just couldn't get his previous thought out of his head. Sitting up, he looked into Orion's calm eyes and took a deep, calming breath before speaking.

"I think..." God, he couldn't understand how, but he just couldn't think of giving himself a reward that would be better than finding some way to make Orion happier. "What do you want, Orion?"

The man's eyes widened slightly, then he tilted his head with a small smile. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"I-I mean, I think I want my reward..." Reaching up, Zach tugged at his hair for a moment before Orion grabbed his wrists and gently made him stop. "What's wrong, Zachary? You can tell me."

"I just don't understand, b-but I want my reward to make you happier."

Orion glanced over Zach's shoulder toward the door, then back to meet his eyes before leaning over. "You know what would make me really happy right now?" He whispered. "What?" Zachary whispered back, eager but also a little nervous.

"It would make me a very happy man if you would go grab David, who just sneaked in here, and bring him over to the bed so that we can hug all of his sadness away."

Zachary was a little surprised, and slightly embarrassed since he was in his boxers, but he did exactly as told and walked over to an apprehensive-looking David. The guy seemed to understand that trying to run from Orion's orders was useless, because he didn't fight Zachary at all when he took his hand and tugged him over to the bed, and even climbed in of his own accord.

"Good boy, Zachary. Come here, Dav." Orion said sternly, not leaving room to argue as he opened his arms and beckoned them both, with one hand extended to Zach and the other to David. After giving David a reassuring smile, Zachary clambered into Orion's waiting arm, soon feeling David move in beside him as Orion joined his arms together and squeezed.

"Good boys, so well behaved."

"Thank you, Master," Zachary replied as he nuzzled against Orion's chest happily. David remained quiet for several seconds before he rested his head against the other side of Orion's chest and let out a deep sigh of relief. "I am glad you are pleased, Master Orion."