Chevi

"I know. Just don't bring any more tacky little women around to court." "I did not bring her around" Lucius noted, but he held her close anyway, enjoying the warmth. "I should have let them pick me for vesta. They wanted to when I was a girl. Would have made this all much easier." "This?" he arched an eyebrow, glancing down at her "If it did this with a Vestal, easy would not be the consequence." Sure, she was a virgin, but at least not the sacred kind.

Lucius sighed too, wrapping his arm around Ovinia as she fell against him. She didn't know what she wanted, and neither did he, honestly. He was happy to enjoy the here and now, but his position in this was a lot easier (and less shameful) than hers. "Well... inside the domus, you can tell the truth if you want. I trust all the servants, it's why they are here. They might make jokes, but they seem to like you. Tell them you just warm my bed, or tell them you have made a vow, or just... tell them the truth. Up to you. I'll back you up." The servants already knew she was sleeping in there, so whatever they thought, the reality could not be worse than that. "As or guests..." he sighed "You know I don't like doing that to you. But that part's going to take longer to figure out."

"That's not true. I made those curtains for the tablinum, didn't I?" "And they are lovely" Lucius smiled softer, reaching up to run his fingers through a strand of her hair. She had really tried. Did not achieve much, in terms of housework, but at least she did try. "So we what? Just...do nothing and let your servants gossip about me?" "Or we do something and let the servants gossip?" he ventured, but it was clearly a joke. Lucius sighed, deciding to take things more seriously. "I'm sorry. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. So... Let's start here. What exactly would you want the others to think? Or... not think?"

"The room and the furniture weren't even being used! And my exercises have helped, even if you're too stubborn to admit it." "Not the point" Lucius noted, still chuckling. It was amusing, this whole conversation, but as per usual, Ovinia was not willing to let it go until she was right. But the exercises had helped. "You like to boss me around anyway. It shouldn't be a problem." Lucius laughed. "Every time I try to boss you around, you make a point of not doing what I tell you" he pointed out. "I feel like the surest way of letting the household know something is up is if you suddenly start obeying me..."

"Of course I do!" Well, that was a relief. Lucius was still at a loss about what exactly she wanted him to do, but at least she did not think... they were a mistake. As long as that held up, they would figure out the rest. "Maybe...maybe. Maybe we act...aloof with one another. I know Marius mutters about us being friends, about how you let me get away with murder. Maybe we stop...lying in the gardens together in the day?" Lucius blinked, and then cracked a grin at her, thoroughly amused. "Let me get this straight... You have been demanding your own room, making me exercise, bossing the servants around, pilfering furniture, snarking at the guests, yelling at me for everyone to hear, generally being a pain in my side for months... and now you want us to act aloof?"

Theo was not sure any of the subterfuge would hold up, but then again Didia knew Artemon more than him. Maybe he really was that... naive. They managed to give him an idea of whom they were looking for, without mentioning the killing, bleeding part, and then Ovinia ushered Artemon out of the apartment. Theo watched them go. Everyone else looked equally confused. "Is there anything more we need to discuss? Anyone want to add something?" "I... will let you all know if I hear something." he told them. "And I am still up for visiting the brothel to ask some questions. If you need me at any time, you can find me here, or at the ludus magnus." @Sharpie @Atrice @Liv @Sara

"But we haven't been doing anything!" "Not helpful" Lucius stared up at her. She was clearly in his bed, they had kissed, they wanted each other, and everyone in the household and the city believed they were lovers. And now she was basically on top of him. Proving the opposite of her point. "I don't want them to think I'm some...slutty slave girl." He managed to bite back an amused chuckle. Ovinia, slutty. As if. "You are not being very helpful, domine." "I... am just not sure how I can help." He sat up, because apparently now this was a sitting up kind of conversation. "Do you... not... want to do this anymore?"

Lucius sighed, rolling onto his back. He knew what she was asking, and he had no good answers. Or answers of any kind. The servants probably did hear the argument, because they had been pretty damn loud. He lifted his eyes to Ovinia's. She seemed a little freaked out. "Well, the servants probably already think we are." he quirked an eyebrow. "You have been sleeping in my bed for a month. I don't think any of them cares." @Sara

Lucius hummed, happy and content in the warmth as Ovinia ran her fingers through his hair. What a way to wake up. He was ready to drift off to sleep, or maybe do some more kissing, but Ovinia seemed wide awake now, and shaking him. "Wake up. What are we going to do?" Lucius opened his eyes, blinking at her. The question was... vague. "Well... I'm gonna kiss you" he declared, and he did so. It still felt like the best thing in the world. He would never get bored of it. "And we should... probably eat breakfast?" @Sara

It had taken a while for Lucius to fall asleep; holding Ovinia was too real, something he had been wishing for for a long time. He held her and lay quietly, listening to her breathing. She was peaceful. She felt safe. When he did drift off to sleep, he slept a heavy, peaceful sleep too. He was awakened the next morning with a kiss. He smiled before he opened his eyes, feeling Ovinia warm and snug in his arms. He shifted, burying his face in the crook of her neck. So, it was still real. Not a dream at all. "Mmning." @Sara

"Alright, I won't tell. If you promise it won't happen again! Because it shouldn't, you know. It isn't right." Clio let out a sigh. She knew she was going to pay dearly for this, owing her sister forever for her silence, but the moment, she was just relieved that the whole thing was not going to come down on Lexus. How right it had been... that was another question. Clio' cheeks burned as she glanced up at Lexus. Was this really over as soon as it started? "And I also really think you should return to your work. And I think we need to talk, sister. Come." Clio threw one last desperate look at Lexus, before she followed her sister. She really had no ground to argue with whatever Thalia wanted. "Thank you" she muttered as they walked through the gardens together. @Atrice

"You want to go and talk to her now?" "Why not? If it can help us catch the killer sooner..." It was worth risking the social awkwardness in exchange for another clue. A monster was still on the loose, after all. "You still have wine in your cup, it would be a pity to let it go to waste. Or are we coming back here after? We can." "We can come back and plan some more." Lucius drained the rest of his third cup of wine. He felt the kick of the alcohol - it had been unwatered, after all - but he also felt the need to go and get things done. And maybe distract himself in the process. "Shall we?" @Atrice

Well, Sergia had questions. A lot of them. Metella waited patiently until she listed the most pressing ones. Tactfully avoiding the question of how fond Longinus was of his daughter (he was fond, just not good at showing it), she gave Sergia a smile. "She is almost eleven now. She is a very bright, cheerful child. She likes to play and talk." It was clear from her smile that Metella was indeed very fond of Cassia. She had been her nurse since before she lost her mother, and their bond had become even stronger since. "She... misses her mother. But so far, she has been friendly to everyone she's met." She knew why Sergia was asking. Becoming a wife was one thing... becoming a stepmother was quite another. @locutus-sum

"Watch and listen. The first thing you 'ought to know about a street fight is that speed is often the decider. You've got to hit first, and in the right spots." It was strange, talking about fighting in the streets. His ancestors would have head a heart attack, hearing about such things. Fighting in the legions as a tribune... that was another story. But Lucius found that he was curious about this lesson. At least, if he did decide to join the vigiles, he could use his skills to help people. By punching wrongdoers in the... "Nose. Stomach. Groin. No concerns about hitting a man below the belt, I trust?" Lucius arched an eyebrow and winced. Ow. "Let's say none. As long as I'm the one doing the hitting." @Sains

"If I wasn't prepared to have you, what sort of brother would you take me for?" Calpurnia smiled, taking a seat as he indicated. Food and drinks. He really was prepared to host her. It felt like coming home - because that was what was happening. Even though the Vestal House was her home for most of her entire life, now she would get to spend time with family. "This is your home, especially now - and you may find that I am not around to get in your way as much you think." Calpurnia arched an eyebrow, reaching to pick up a glass of wine. "Your career taking up most of your time?" she ventured. "I hear you are having baths built. Good move for a prospective consul." @Sharpie

"It sounds like you do need to go and see her. Maybe she knows or saw something the others missed?" "I should. And make sure she is alright. She... might not have told anyone, even if she's not." If she was anything like Ovinia, she was probably suffering alone. No one deserved that. Lucius was suddenly determined to visit her, ask her questions, but most importantly, let her know that she was not alone. "Do you know where she lives?" "I... have an idea." he nodded. After their one date, he had walked Pinaria back to her neighborhood. It wouldn't be too hard to find the domus where she lived. Lucius looked up at Alexius. "We should go." @Atrice

She looked... happy. Flushed, well kissed, dark eyed, and happy. He felt the same. Lucius smiled at her as she gave him her own playful kiss. He wanted to kiss her everywhere. “As long as you don’t get any ideas. I’m a proper, good Roman maiden after all.” "Oh, I am having all the ideas" he chuckled as she led him to his own bed. Like she owned the place. As usual. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, this time, and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "But I can wait." It was going to be one hell of a long night, though.

Yes. Yes, she wanted him. Lucius smiled, feeling like a weight had been lifted; he would have lifted her too, swept her off her feet, but he did not trust his right arm yet. "But... Slowly. This is enough for me, for now." "Very well." It was not what she meant, he knew it, but he took pleasure in kissing her slowly, humming at how she reacted to his touch. It was dawning on him how many times he had wanted to do this before. Have this frustrating, fiery, incredible woman in his arms and kiss her without holding back. It took a long time before they came up for air again. "Can we... still sleep in the same bed?" he ventured, pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips. "I don't want you to get cold..." @Sara

All of this mess, all of this yelling and shoving, somehow... ended in a kiss. Ovinia leaned into him, and they were kissing, with all the frustration of the fight, and damn it felt good. Lucius delved into the kiss, one hand holding her hip and the other sneaking around her back, pulling her flush against him. It was like falling, losing grip on how they got here, and if it had not been clear before that he did want her, it was clear now. It took superhuman effort to break the kiss, and he gasped for air, opening his eyes too look at her, lips still a breath away. "Are you sure? You... want me?"

She shoved him, and he stumbled backwards, stepping out of her tiny room. He'd expected her to close the curtain and shut him out, but instead she followed, shoving him further. "So all that's stopping you from bedding me is the promise? That's it? You care for me?" He opened his mouth, but once again, she was carried away by her own momentum. He didn't put up a fight. "I'm...I'm not going to be one of those stupid slave girls that's only good for...for that!" "It's not the promise!" he cut in, frustrated. How to put this entire mess into words?... "It's you! It's your choice. It always has been. I told you, I don't bed people unless they want me to. Gods, Ovinia, I am not trying to take advantage of you!"

She stared at him in utter shock after his words, and the realized with a sinking feeling that he had done something truly irreparable this time. He had just ruined whatever trust she had in him, for good. It wasn't lost on him that she took a step back, either. "You want...you want me?!" He looked at her, grasping for something to say. He wasn't even sure where the words came from. But they were true. "I..." Was she scared of him?... Would she ever not be? "Gods, Ovinia, I care for you, you have to know that..." He ran a had through his hair in frustration. "I mean, you drive me up the walls on a good day, but when they attacked you, I almost went out of my mind, and having you near, since the accident, it's the best..." Gods above and below, he was rambling like an idiot. He sighed, defeated. "I made a promise to you, don't worry. You can sleep wherever you like." He let go of the curtain. @Sara

Now she was yelling. Not unheard of, but she rarely did nowadays, since the attack. Lucius winced. She got up, looking like she was ready to also slap him. "I don't know!... I do know. Because it's my life too - this woman - whomever she is will own me!" Lucius groaned. She was not wrong, but... it felt like there was something fueling her anger that was not quite that simple. He still held the curtain open. He was never going to go to sleep like this. "And I'm sorry I'm such a burden for that, but don't worry -I'll sleep in here from now on and you can marry whatever rich stuck up tacky bitch that you like!" "I don't want to marry any of them, Ovinia, but then again I can't have you can I?!" Too. Far.

Lucius was used to Ovinia's moods, but sometimes, when he was also tired, she did manage to get a rise out of him. This was one of those times. He held the curtain open as she went off about Auria's fertility. "Why do you even care?" he glared at her in the half-darkness of the lantern. "I am doing all I can to keep you safe, and comfortable. I don't know how else to let you know you can trust me. You sleep in my goddamn bed and I've never touched you." he took a deep breath, at a loss. "Why do you care about what woman I like?"

"Lucky me. I'll get a nice new domina. I know half the equite girls in the city. Can't wait for one of them to own me." Lucius winced. She was not wrong. Chances were, if he did get a wife, she would know, or know of, Ovinia, and unless she was an exceptionally kind woman, she would make Ovinia's life a living hell. He had just seen a taste of that. "Was Auria not your type? I didn't even know you were looking. Give me your type and I'll tell you which of the girls I used to dinner with would work." "I am not looking. This is just one of those things that happen when you rise through the ranks, apparently." he winced again. Like Ovinia, being gifted to him. He got out of bed, because talking through the curtain got annyoing. He walked over, pulling it aside. "What am I supposed to do here exactly? Just... never get a wife, and let you run the household?"

"I know. Go to sleep." Oh, she was angry. And it suddenly dawned on Lucius that she might be angry at him. The bossing him around, that was normal, but the tone wasn't. "You need your beauty sleep. A groom can't look haggard on his wedding day. Did you set a date?" Oh. Right. "We didn't. I'm not even sure I'm gonna marry her. I didn't make any promises." he sighed. It took every ounce of tact to avoid it. "But even if I do get married, I'm not sending you away. You know that too." @Sara