Sara

Ovinia was...as usual...in heaven. She could think of absolutely nothing and nobody but Lucius...Lucius currently doing things that she didn't even knew existed until a few weeks ago and was furious she hadn't been told about. One hand tangled in his hair, the other gripping the couch, she was utterly lost and her moans said as much. And then a voice, loud and clear, rang through the serenity of the garden and she screamed. Actually screamed, a sound as high pitched and ridiculous and genuinely terrified as one could imagine. She tried to push Lucius away with her knee, although in the heat of the moment she wasn't sure if she actually succeeded or just kneed him in the face. She scrambled to cover herself but there was nothing, her clothes were abandoned by the pillar and her palla was in the atrium. Tears of pure, undiluted panic came to her eyes and doing the only thing she could think of, she pushed herself off the couch, and ducked behind the tree. The man, she couldn't face looking at him, had no idea who he was, audibly groaned. "I can still see you, you know." She was going to pass out, she couldn't breathe. TAG: @Chevi

Titus was, for once, having a good day. The girl at the bakery on the corner of his insula had given him a free honey cake as he'd passed by that morning, along with a smile that almost prompted a flush. She was pretty, and warm and considerate in a way most people in this Godsforsaken dive of a city weren't and the image of her grin kept him moving through the streets with a faint smile tugging on his own lips. The fact that they'd also been quiet at work for the last few weeks helped his mood as well. Perennially frustrated as he was by Lucius, the man was at least improving things. Now, of course, he only had a century to lead but that century was doing well. Better than the others, in fact. It gave him hope - something that had been sorely lacking in his life. But as with most things in life, work still threw up small irritating problems once in a while. Today's, of course, was the missing set of keys for one of the domus' the vigiles guarded for fire risks. The box which covered all the abandoned buildings in their regio and others was habitually opened to check and where two sets had been hanging, only one remained. Titus, of course, drew the short straw to check on it whilst the other men got to enjoy the shade of the castra. It wasn't a short walk and by the time he arrived he was flushed, bringing out the freckles on his pale skin and sweat wicking away from his blonde hair. He grumbled, finding the key he needed and pushing open the main front door. Sounds greeted him immediately and he frowned, closing it silently behind him. He padded through as quietly as he could and only as he entered the light of the atrium did he realise he was a fucking idiot and should have found a patrol to enter with him. He was not in the mood to get murdered and tossed in the Tiber by whomever was setting up shop here for whatever nefarious purpose. But...the sounds drew him in. Not male voices; a woman...moaning. He skirted abandoned clothing in the atrium and drew through the sheet-covered tablinum to stand on the edge of his garden and his mouth fucking gaped. The scene currently playing out on a couch underneath a tree in the garden was not what he expected to find. At all. He recognised her immediately even naked as she was - the idiotic patrician girl who burned down her kitchen on Saturnalia. Neither of them seemed aware of him; her eyes were closed, head rolled back and well...he had a pretty good idea whose head was currently between her thighs, suitably distracted from the guest that was now standing thirty feet away. Never one to dither, Titus merely held up his hands, cleared his throat and shook his head at both of them. "This is private property." TAG: @Chevi

She grinned as he twisted his braids around his fingers and followed his line of sight to Marcus Eppius. She inclined her head at him in greeting. "Ah yes, I know your dominus." She gave Azarion a little roll of her eyes before turning back to face him. Marcus hadn't been a bad lay by any means, she'd enjoyed him and his time but one client sort of...blended into another in her line of work, unless there was something particularly standout about them - good or bad. But another face caught her attention as she studied Azarion and she grinned a wide smirk. "How goes the hunt for sponsorship?" Her eyes followed Marcus Silanus as he skirted the room. "Perhaps we can help one another again?" She didn't wait for Azarion to gesture and interrupt before she continued; "I am seeking investment of my own tonight...now Marcus," She gestured at Silanus, "Has little of his own but he is close friends with Imperials and Senators alike. Do you know of him?" And if she could snag investment from Marcus Eppius as well - as she tossed a smile his way too, that was incidental. She cleared her throat and called in a light voice - to both Marcus'; "Marcus, will you join us?" Let them both come running. TAG: @Chevi @Atrice @Sharpie

She gave him a look of understanding at his words and nodded. She had survived the birth and the nine days after it, that was something. Her own experience with Calpurnia suggested Metella wasn’t out of the woods just yet, but she was close enough that she had good odds now of living through it. Living to see her daughter grow. She exhaled a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding. “I’m glad to hear it.” She said would have thought it a great injustice if she had lived and the Gods took the life of the woman who helped her. The contemplation was replaced by amusement at his words and she quirked a brow, a small smile tugging on her lips. “It’s amusing to me that men, slave or free, are equally uneducated in women’s matters. If somebody had suggested to me that I should get up from my bed nine days after a difficult birth to see a woman I barely know I…might have been somewhat less charitable than I usually am.” She chuckled, “I am not cruel enough to ask her to do that, even if you appear to believe us Patricians have no thought for another.”

She goddsdamned shivered under his fingers. She liked to act cool and calm and collected but this close, with the roughness of his voice and his fingers, that aura dissipated entirely until she was flushing and her breathing was unsteady. Was this what everybody felt like? Utterly in their partners thrall? If it wasn't, she wasn't going to complain about her lot in life because right now her toes were curling against the mosaic and she wanted to be absolutely nowhere else than here. Her own fingers moved to her belt, her dark eyes remaining intently on his face as she tugged it off. Then her fingers moved up to meet his and she flicked the catch on one clasp, followed by the other. The chiton fell and her glossy black hair covered some of her body, beset with gold pins but besides that she was naked, still leaning against the pillar. How different this felt to the first time he'd taken her here when she had been trembling with nerves and anticipation...now there was no hesitation, no reticence, just want and the same confidence she had in every other aspect of her life. She didn't ask for permission before she leant in on her toes to capture his lips in a searing kiss. TAG: @Chevi

She smirked, her breath hitching in her chest as his fingers trailed across the clasps at her collarbones. Damn him. She took a step away, trying to regain her wits. She moved to lean against a pillar that led into the garden he was standing in. Her hair fell back over her shoulder and her fingers worked through the ends of it. She felt her heart hammering against her chest in a steady, fervent rhythm. She wondered, briefly, if he knew what effect he had on her. After what they'd done he probably had a fairly clear idea but even now - not even touching, she felt her entire body heat and that flush colour her cheeks. "Small and shiny...small and shiny..." She murmured, dark eyes raking over his form. She found him unbearably attractive before his service in the vigiles but the ten months he'd had in the service had changed him in ways that were almost impossible for her to restrain herself against. "How about a nice new gold fibula?" She bit her lip, glancing at him through her lashes. TAG: @Chevi

"Then am I to assume you're still thinking what you'd like to ask?" She chuckled. She supposed it might be a little overwhelming. she couldn't offer as much as her husband but...she had his ear, after all. Nothing, really, was off limits to her. She supposed to somebody enslaved that was an immense thought. But for once, the look she gave him was one of visible surprise and delight - her features unschooled and natural. "He...he freed her?" She choked, utterly bemused but she grinned from ear to ear. "I would like to make it patently clear, I did not ask him to do so." She would not interfere in the household of Longinus, after all, that wasn't her place. Her grin settled into a gentle smile as her fingers trailed over her son's cheek. "I'm happy for you both. And her, of course. And Metella is well?" She asked, her voice a little more anxious. "I should like to visit her, if you think she would be up to it." TAG: @Sharpie

Her eyes darkened as she took him in, that wicked grin still tugging on her lips. Slowly, she circled him, having to ball her fingers into fists to fight the urge to touch him, trail across his skin. He had a littering of bruises and scrapes that made her narrow her eyes but he was mostly unharmed. Still, she continued her circle until she drew back in front of him. She tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder and quirked a brow at him. "Very nice, Centurion." The smirk on her lips was utterly lustful. She planted her hands on her hips. There would be time for talking later, but...right now she firmly had other things on her mind. "I'm impressed. Maybe I'll give you a reward for your good work..." She tapped a finger against her chin, as if in deep thought. "But what to do, what to do..." TAG: @Chevi

She smiled and nodded, striking Serge's name from her little list in front of her. "I will co-ordinate introductions and you are welcome back here after those visits to inform me of how it was gone, and this will remain between us." Aulus would perhaps think her meddlesome, but if she could puzzle out a problem like this then she would get satisfaction from it. And help Longinus. Taking another sip of water, amusement lit her features and she studied the man before her. "I must say I was intrigued when they told me you were here. I had thought it might have something to do with the favour I owe your wife." Wife was...not quite right, but she was being polite. Her eyes drifted fondly to little Quintus, asleep in his bassinet at the side of her desk as if remembering that day. "How does she fair?" She asked, having not heard the news of Beata's birth or freedom. TAG: @Sharpie

Her face softened, the almost imperceptible anxiety drifting away to be replaced with pure love and adoration. "You're my home." She murmured. It sounded...corny and cliche, but it was true. She never felt as safe as she did than when she was in his arms. She shifted, pushing herself to stand and wobbling a little from the awkward angle of getting off of the couch. "So...be at attention...time for an inspection, Centurion." She smirked. "I need to ensure you've not been injured in your duties. I suggest you remove the tunic so I can be sure." Her lips curved into a devilish grin and her dark eyes lingered on his chest. TAG: @Chevi

Horatia nodded in understanding, her mind drifting back to a conversation she would rather forget. She might not know Lucius Cassius Longinus as well as her husband did, but she knew a great deal about his relationship with one particular woman. What had been the advice she'd given Sestia, upon learning she was with child? His child? To wed quickly, and make it his problem as much as hers. But from her understanding she'd done neither - fleeing the country instead. Whether the child still lived was beyond her, but whatever had soured their relationship had clearly impacted this mans dominus more than the woman. She was lost in contemplation for a long moment, thinking through her words carefully before flicking her eyes up to Attis. "He loved Sestia Vaticana a great deal, if I recall. She was a friend of mine, from long ago." She pulled forward an empty tablet and tapped the stylus against it. "But she was neither young nor ideal for marriage but he loved her. From my own relationship with her, I...knew her to be headstrong but not idealistic, pragmatic, warm and kind. Or that was what I thought." Before the woman had stopped replying to her letters. "I don't think your dominus would do well with some young naive girl fresh from her fathers domus." Which somewhat limited them. "But perhaps I'm wrong?" She asked in challenge. She jotted down a few names, circling one or two. "My sister in law Calpurnia is great fun," Her lips twitched in amusement, "And beautiful. But too old for children, perhaps. Or my cousin, Horatia Sosia...although she's young and more on the naive end of the spectrum." She sighed, frustrated at herself that she couldn't make the puzzle fit. "But I could implore the men of my family to make introductions to him. If you can find out what he desires or...does not, with those two, I shall have a better idea of the sort of woman that would fit." The plan crystallised to her as she said it. TAG: @Sharpie

"Please do. The blonde one in particular, I always liked how he glared at me." She retorted with a mischievous smirk settled on her lips. His fingers were damn distracting though and she cleared her throat, stretching her leg away from him. If her chiton was hitched over her knees well...that was a mere coincidence. "Tsk." She chided with the flush on her cheeks not solely to do with the heat. "Is that all I'm good for?" The darkness in his eyes was noted, firmly. "Seducing?" She tilted her head to study him. She knew he hated these games as much as she enjoyed playing them although...there was always a slight kernel of truth, of anxiety beneath her words. TAG: @Chevi

Horatia listened intently, not interrupting until Attis had finished his explanation. Then, she took a moment and sighed, sipping from the glass of water on her desk as she considered her words carefully. "I know your dominus far less well than my husband does." She admitted. She didn't mention that she didn't care for him as much as Sulpicius Rufus, she found Longinus' enthusiasm...overbearing, occasionally, particularly given her own reserved nature. "But I have noticed he has not been himself." She sighed and set down her glass, leaning back in her chair. "Your concern for him is a credit to you," She sighed and offered him a gentle smile, "I will not tell him you have been if that is your concern but...I do not know him intimately enough to know what he seeks in a wife. Perhaps you could enlighten me?" TAG: @Sharpie

Oh now Horatia was intrigued and she straightened her spine, bright blue eyes sparkling with interest. She had an unusually sharp mind, one that pounced on things like this and so she set all of her attentions on Attis as he stuttered, trying to find the words he needed. And when he did...her brows rose in surprise and it was only her preternatural abilities to keep her features neutral that prevented her mouth from gaping. She took a moment to compose her thoughts. "You wish to seek my advice on a suitable wife for your dominus?" She asked in clarification before continuing. "And what does Senator Longinus think of your...visit to my domus today, Attis?" TAG: @Sharpie

"Mhmm." She considered the armour with a wrinkled nose and curled back up on the couch, sinking into the touch of his fingers across her bare skin. "I disagree, I rather think they design them like that with all those faux muscles to make the women of the city swoon." And it certainly worked on her, not that she'd tell him that unless under significant duress. "No." She smirked and held her hand out for her cup of wine. "Not at all. I've barely thought of you, truly." Her spare hand moved to stroke his arm absently. "And did you miss me, Centurion?" TAG: @Chevi

Hoartia sat in her study, the eight month old Quintus contentedly napping in a basket to the side of her ornately carved desk. On its surface was littered an assortment of scrolls and wax tablets in orderly little piles. In front of her was parchment for a letter she was drafting to the owner of an abandoned domus on the Esquiline that she thought to procure for her venture with Calpurnia. Now an emancipated woman, she could sign it herself, but she'd still ask Aulus to read it over when he returned home that evening. But the peace of her work was disrupted by the arrival of a house slave, asking if she would make time for a slave of Longinus' - the contubernalis of Metella. That piqued her interest and after affirming she would and neatly setting her work aside, she surveyed the man as he walked in. She recognised him at once and drove back through her impressively ordered mind to find his name. "Attis." She said in an even voice, although naturally didn't invite him to sit. "You asked to see me?" She quirked a well-shaped brow. "In lieu of my husband, or on a matter that doesn't concern him?" TAG: @Sharpie

She swallowed. Well fuck. She likely knew Cynane wouldn't want to see her anyway - not without coaxing and an apology for how they left things last time but...inviting Cynane to dinner with the source of their arguments was...likely beyond her friends charity. But to go back now and ask Tertius to forget it...he would realise it was something to do with him and she could not face his questioning. She sighed and nodded. "Another date. I'd like Peregrinus' birthday to be a family affair." And that broke her heart. Cynane was her family for a time. She wished she still was. She arched a brow at his question, still ruminating at the awkwardness that a triple-dinner would present. "She has served at them I'm sure...but...no...I doubt she has attended one besides at Saturnalia." She sighed and stroked her fingers over his arm. "And you truly wish to be present for it? To hear us chatter about dresses and the other slaves in the household and Britannia?" TAG: @Atrice

Both of his slaves looked at him with such softness in their expressions that if he were a more emotional man he might have been moved to tears. Instead, he just gave them both an awkward smile and ducked his head. For all of his transparency in other areas of his life, his personal life was difficult to think about let alone talk about with his slaves, trusted though they might be. He merely gave a sigh and a deep shrug of his shoulders. "We can hope so." He hoped so. He didn't know what he'd do if he had to spend another thirty something years of his life alone. He tried too cast the thoughts from his mind and made a shooing motion; "Now both of you back to your bubble of happiness. I...have work to do. Apparently." He grimaced and heard Vitus clear his throat from a few corridors away. TAG: @Sharpie @Chevi

She smirked, even as he kissed her and she stretched her arm up so she could thread her hand through his hair. These quiet moments of intimacy felt blessed to her. Granted, they also often felt like she was on borrowed time but she would take the wins when she could. And kissing the man she loved, was most definitely a win. She pulled back, still smiling as her fingers moved to stroke his cheek. The dappled light shadowed his skin. "And what do you think they blessed me with the most?" She teased with a small chuckle as she sat back down on her heels, making room for him on the couch. There was wine on a small table next to them - bought at her own expense and decanted into cups washed by Lucia. "You must be roasting to death in that." She gestured at his discarded armour. "Not that it isn't attractive but you'd think they'd make it more wearable..." TAG: @Chevi

She cracked an eye as she heard his voice, a grin spreading across her flushed face. She fought the urge to run and leap into his arms; she had lost the game of trying to play hard to get, but she could at least pretend she didn't wish to jump his bones the second she saw him...that she had some restraint. The shade of the overgrown tree she was laying under cast dappled shadows of her face as she pushed herself up on her forearms to study him. She tilted her head to the side, amusement bright in her eyes as her grin settled to a smirk. "Gods your tutor must have hated you if that's your accent." but she continued then, in her own flawless Greek; "I don't wish to be struck down by the Gods for claiming I'm divine, so I'll say a mortal...very blessed by their charity?" She quirked a brow and moved with agile grace to kneel up on the couch, trying to reach for him and pull him in for a kiss. TAG: @Chevi

July, 77AD It had been two full months of these rendezvous and Ovinia was still nervous every time she drew to the abandoned domus that was their meeting place. As soon as she was back in Lucius' arms those worried dissipated, overtaken by other far more pleasurable thoughts but as she sat here waiting for him, the anxiety began to creep in again; had she ruined herself? What if somebody caught them? Wasn't time running out? She tried her level best to push those thoughts from her mind as she lounged on a couch in the garden. The heat of the the city was oppressive at this time of year and she had taken refuge in a shaded part of the overgrown, weed-covered space outside, dragging a couch with her. Her chiton was hitched up her thighs, palla abandoned in the atrium as she tried to cool down. A pink flush sat on her cheeks from the heat of the walk over here and she fanned herself in attempt to summon a breeze. If this had been real life, she'd have a slave do it for her. She cast her eyes around the space - flowers long dead besides the solitary lemon tree - sheets covering furniture in every room. If she concentrated hard enough she could imagine this place as bursting with life, chatter, laughter. It could be a home. It could be their home but instead it was a place of secrets and shadows. She heaved a sigh and rolled her head back to the arm of the couch, glossy black hair fanning out behind her, fan working furiously in her hand as she tried to push those thoughts away as well. She tried to enjoy the silence of the place - she was so rarely completely alone, it was in some ways a welcome respite. TAG: @Chevi

He said yes! Surprise crossed her pale face briefly, quickly followed by a nervous smile. Things had been...difficult with her friend. Her closest friend. She hadn't seen her since she'd admitted her new station in life. She tried to justify it, it was hard for a slave and a freedwoman to meet but she knew that was an excuse. She was giving Cynane space but...she couldn't do that any longer. She missed her and their aimless chatter. She missed speaking her own language, and she missed her companionship. It still felt like a hole in her heart every time she thought of those early days and what she'd lost since, even if she'd also gained so much in that time. But Tertius continued and she blinked at him, confused. She imagined a private dinner - just the two of them. She knew her friend valued honesty and well...a large party to celebrate her son's birthday wouldn't give them much of an opportunity for that. "I was thinking just the two of us," She offered a neutrally as she could, "Would you really wish to spend our son's birthday with my slave friend?" She tried to joke. TAG: @Atrice

He quirked an eyebrow at his bodyslave, moving to lean against a pillar with a sigh, arms still crossed over his chest. "What do you know? More than me. Metella raised my daughter, into a lovely young woman I might add." He chuckled and then drifted off with a heavy sigh as both of them explained. Well...shit. He didn't think about that. Like many things in his life, he acted far in advance of thought. He raised a hand to run over his short beard, grimacing. "Just..." he sighed again with a shrug, "Let me know what you need." He meant it sincerely and he hoped his look at both of them conveyed that. The light in his eyes blinked out though as he took in the bundle in Metella's arms. "You caught me at a good time though, I suppose. I fucked up with Cassia," By abandoning her for Britannia, "And Sestia..." He huffed with a shake of his head. He hadn't admitted it out loud, hadn't trusted anybody with that information before. Ever. But the two people in front of him...well...he trusted them more than anybody else. "She was with child. My child...and lost it. I found out via a letter." He glanced at Attis, pain on his face, hoping his self-imposed exile made sense now. "I loved her. Deeply. Sergia and I...it doesn't look like it's going to come through either so I suppose..." He heaved a sigh and folded his arms back over his chest, "It's just nice to be in a house with a happy family again. You two will make excellent parents, even if you're both perennial pains in my neck." TAG: @Sharpie @Chevi

He was smiling at her, his voice soft. She returned the look and sighed heavily, moving her fingers to stroke across the back of his hand. "Then it's in the Gods' hands." It wasn't, it was firmly in hers. She took silphium at present - paid for out of the allowance she received and hidden away in her room. She would need to think on it, seriously think on it. She could picture Cynane's disgust and Aia's pity if she said she was with child again, wanted to be with child again with a man who had abused her like her husband had. Another child would be a shackle around her wrist, tying her ever more permanently to him. But...Peregrinus was alone - his siblings far older than him and she was young still and likely had at least another twenty years or more in this marriage, by which points she might well be too old to mother again. She tried to cast the thoughts from her mind, it would take to time to decide and consider and she wished more than anything she could talk it through with her friend, her best friend. She glanced across at Tertius, her fingers moving to stroke his arm softly. "Do you think I could invite my friend Cynane around for dinner? I...know she's a slave but...thinking about children makes me think of Peregrinus' birth. She was so good to me then and I have barely seen her this year." TAG: @Atrice

He looked suitably mollified and as he stood, Ovinia didn't back down. The hadn't on her forearm made her blink though, glancing down between them. It stilled her for a moment and she turned back fully to look at him at his words. He seemed...scared. Genuinely scared that she would say something or pry too deep and he would be in further trouble. She regarded him with a firm look, from the toes of his sandalled feet to the top of his hood - taking her time. She knew it unnerved men when she did this, but this time she was trying to get the measure of it. It was...not quite an apology, although it was something. She quirked a brow; "Is that your apology?" she demanded with a little huff of unamused laughter. She kept her eyes on his hooded face now though, considering and careful. "I know what it is to be afraid of something or somebody..." she would elaborate no further, "...and when I am afraid I can get...prickly." She curved her lips in a small smirk and her features softened a touch. "So I am still your friend, even if you are a prick sometimes, Marcus." TAG: @Atrice