Érik

It was crazy how little Florus had thought about his own heart until Tranquillus came into his life. It was always just there, pumping, and doing whatever it was supposed to do, he presumed. Nothing really noteworthy. Just there. But now, when he was with Tranquillus, he was constantly aware of it, pounding in his chest like it wanted to come out. Not in a bad way, like if he was especially winded, but in an indescriptible manner, like it was too full to contain everything he felt, He didn't know what purpose hearts had, except maybe be a receptacle for feelings, and a tell-tale symbol of what kind of person you were. Tranquillus, for instance, had a steady, calm heartbeat, and the young gardener loved nothing more than settling in beside him, head on the other man's chest, listening to his heart.

When his heart rushed because the body slave looked at him a certain way, or touched him, Florus understood what it was. The older man made his heart bounce around erratically like a child's stray ball. And right now, as Tranquillus leaned over to kiss him, he felt it. The man's kisses were as intoxicating as wine, and left his head in a better, more blissful daze. The young Briton knew he'd do anything for more of those. Including learning all the letters in the world.

'I'd really love that.'

He nodded, then returned to Tranquillus' palm. R-A-I-L-U-S came the familiar pattern, but he remembered it was wrong. He usually got in right, nowadays, but he was used to practicing with a stick in the dirt, not all flustered under the other man's steady gaze.

'No, wait, that's not it,' he said. He was really keen on a reward for getting it right. Especially if it was a kiss. He was fairly certain there was no punishment involved for getting it wrong, but why run the risk of not getting a kiss?

T-R-A-M-Q-U-I-L-L-U-S. He thought that was not exactly correct, but even crinkling his features and frowning his eyebrows didn't give him a hint. 'Do I get one for effort?'

@Chevi

Florus looked up at Tranquillus, eyes twinkling. It took more time than he would like, but he was succeeding. He was reeling Tranquillus in. The body slave was really intent on teaching him, and it was difficult to tear him away from that. Truly, he loved this. And Florus loved him for it. His intellect, his dedication... If Tranquillus didn't exist, the world would be a sorry place indeed.

The gardener could sense in the older man's tensing back that he was winning him over. And right on cue, as predicted, Tranquillus rose and went to sit on the bed beside him. The Briton put a hand on Tranquillus' knee, smiling sweetly, as he cupped his own chin with his other hand.

'I told you I take my education seriously,' he said as the body slave praised him, trying to sound matter of factly, but entirely failing to hide how proud he was of himself. 'In all asp-'

Tranquillus tracing letters on his back shut him up in record time, and from somewhere deep inside his spine, he shivered. Florus pulled himself upright, and took the body slave's hand in his own, tracing a T in his palm then looking back up at the other man. He loved it when they were this close. And he loved showing him that he had made at least some progress.

@Chevi

Florus looked at Tranquillus with a pout. Maybe he was being too subtle? The fruit had seemed very efficient for distraction, but his words, definetely less so. He hadn't thought he was being subtle at all, so how did he get things this wrong? Time to think of a new strategy. Learning his letters was all good fun, but it was never as fun as any of the other things he and Tranquillus got up to. Most likely he would never read any kind of text whatsoever, but that was of little concern when there were all kinds of other things he could learn. Besides, he'd never wanted to become an erudite. Knowing his letters and being able to read what he came in contact with in the course of his everyday life was more than enough. And if he could, eventually, read something out loud to the body slave, without stumbling too much, just enough to be impressive, well, then he'd be all set.

'I don't think those kinds of poems lack educational value,' Florus replied, having taken a new strawberry, and fiddling with it between his fingers. Maybe this was his new angle. 'There are so many things I don't know about, and I really need a tutor to help me,' the young man said, his tone very much back to the mock-innocent teasing. He grazed his teeth slowly on the fruit, and looked intently at the older man.

'Oh, I'm very focused on my education.' Just maybe not the same kind of education Tranquillus had in mind. To show his good faith, and maybe to help the other man understand exactly where his dedication was coming from, he started tracing letters on the bed. Upside down, taking his time because it was still very hard, he was still razor-focused.

L-E-C-T-S.

There. Lectus. Bed. Hard to be any clearer. And he was pretty proud of himself.

@Chevi

Florus was equal parts amused and fascinated by how easy it was to reduce his Tranquillus to a gaping fish with a few insolent words and a naughty tongue. That he could have such an effect on this brilliant man, so reasonable and clever and logical, it defied comprehension. But Florus wouldn't question it. He just wanted to enjoy it.

Tranquillus' answer wasn't especially satisfactory to the young gardener. What did he mean by indecent? Was the detailing of sex something that was indecent? He liked sex, rather a lot, and he didn't think it was a bad thing. It had been amazing every single time. Well, except once, but he was certain that could happen to anyone. But in any case, Tranquillus was flustered, and that was fun.

'Why don't you give me an example of just how detailed?' Florus finished his strawberry, and turned around on his stomach, propping himself up with his elbows. 'Maybe you could act it out?' The tone was perfectly innocent, and his grin did its best to be that way, too, but the glint in his eye was nothing short of evil.

He reached out for another strawberry, this time extending his arm out for Tranquillus to take it. 'That's a shame, a scholar like you,' he teased, then shrugged. 'It doesn't matter, though. You could read me a treatise on architecture and it would still be the most attractive thing I'd ever heard.'

@Chevi

I seem to kinda be back! Yay! I am most likely gonna be slow, though.

'Alright,' Florus breathed, trying to focus. He knew her arms were going to be around him, he was expecting it. Still, he tensed as she moved to attack him, and it took him a split second longer than he would have liked to pull himself together and remember himself.

Bend over. A bit awkwardly he did just that, unsure why that particular movement was necessary. Elbow to the stomach. That one was easier, and didn't require much thought. The movement was very swift. It connected with her belly, and then with her jaw with a precision that was unexpected for someone so inexperienced, and it was gentle. It made contact, and was efficient, but he was just touching, not hitting. If Cinnia wanted to be hit for real, she'd have to ask for that, because it wasn't a service the young gardener was keen to provide.

@Atrice

'Oh, so you're like a tutor, then!' Florus exclaimed excitedly, already connecting some dots. 'My, er, um... I know a man in my domus who was a tutor.' The smallest of smiles found its way on the young Briton's face. He couldn't help it, even mentioning Tranquillus made his heart soar and beat more fondly.

'I'm a gardener in a domus,' he said, though she probably wouldn't have needed the explanation. His disheveled hair and dirt-caked hands spoke for themselves. Not to mention the fact he'd already mentioned the first part before. He got a bit light-headed when Tranquillus came to mind. Couldn't help it. 'I live in the villa too, but I don't have my own quarters.' Like Tranquillus did. Undoubtedly she did too, since she wasn't a slave.

'You wouldn't think it, though, because no one in the room thought to wake me up when the earthquake started.' Except Tranquillus. Wonderful, amazing Tranquillus. Fat lot of good the other slaves were, really. If the body slave hadn't had the presence of mind, and the gigantic crush...

@Chevi

'I, um, yes?' Florus replied lamely. When Alexius said it out loud like that, it didn't seem reasonable. It made no sense, honestly. What sense did it make to hold out for something that was never going to happen, anyway? The other man was right, if he kept up with this, he would indeed be missing out. And how long, honestly, would it take for him to get over the body slave? Would he be saving his heart and his body forever, just in case? Would he let himself wither away and die, untouched, unloved, because he was unable to just let go? Alexius hadn't said this much, but it sent thoughts spinning in the young gardener's mind. There was no logic to it, and maybe he should just give in to the man, and let himself experience some pleasure. It wasn't as though he knew what that would feel like, outside of his hands. Was he really going to deny himself the touch of a man, just for a pipe dream? Something passed over his eyes as he looked at the ex-gladiator. He was sure Alexius knew how to please a man. By the gods, he spent so much time talking about it, he needed to be good at it!

Pleasure. Florus bit his lip. The wine made his mind a bit of a blur. He remembered Alexius touching his hand, and shivering, then. Pleasure. The other man was looking at him the way Attis had looked at the honey cakes. There was a hunger there. Pleasure...

'I can't,' he said, after a too long moment of silence and staring. It wasn't that he didn't want the pleasure Alexius' words and looks promised. No part of him would let him go through with it. It was Tranquillus he wanted. Tranquillus he wanted to inhale with all his sense, Tranquillus he wanted to please in all the magnificent ways Alexius was promising him. 'I want... I want it to be him.' Clearly he was a fool. It was never going to be him.

When Alexius offered to continue the conversation upstairs, Florus thought it only fair. Where else would they go to talk? It would probably be odd if they stayed here having conversations of this nature. 'We can talk,' the gardener agreed. He wasn't sure that with Alexius' clear interest, the older man would want to hear about Tranquillus, and what was holding Florus back, but talking was safe. He licked his lips. 'Maybe you can give me tips?'

@Atrice

Florus watched Tranquillus' facial gymnastics with mild bemusement. Clearly the older man knew the poet, though why mention of him would elicit such a reaction was lost on the young gardener. Meh. It was far more interesting to try to get some specific reactions from the body slave by taunting the strawberry. Florus was highly amused. He'd never thought he'd have this effect on anyone, let alone this beloved man. Much more fun than poetry, at any rate.

'Or else?' The young man's grin was a couple notches more than mischievous, and his pale eyes issued a dare. 'What do you mean, indecent poems? Like how?'

It was confusing, thinking that poems that so obviously sounded like they would be about gardening might be about something else entirely. In what kind of universe were fruits like peaches and cherries sexual? Fruit weren't sexual. It was only when he placed the strawberry between his teeth that it clicked. Strawberries certainly had an erotic potential, when they were used to lure in body slaves, the way Florus was unabashedly doing. But peaches and cherries? He didn't get it. Maybe it was in the manner one ate them? Either way, it was flustering Tranquillus, and that was something he could use.

'Why don't you read them to me,' he said, finally taking a bite of the red fruit. 'And I'll be the judge of that?'

@Chevi

Though Florus had been a slave for some years now, he had never partaken in the celebration of Saturnalia. These were not his gods, on one hand, but on the other hand, he'd always just been the gardener, and had never really mixed with anyone. No one bothered with the gardener, no one bothered to tell him that there were things going on. And, quite frankly, for all the other years of his servitude, it had suited him just fine. This year, however... When he'd learned there existed a day where he could just relax right beside Tranquillus without having to worry that either of them had completed their tasks, it had seemed too good to be true. And yet, it didn't seem like a prank. It was too elaborate for the whole house to be in on it, and Tranquillus wouldn't lie to him.

He'd accepted the bowl of whatever that was, expression neutral as always as he sniffed. It didn't remind him of anything, but he didn't really believe someone who was waited on hand and foot all other days of the year could wind up being a perfect cook during that one day. Still, though, it was food, and it was warm, and he was not in the habit of complaining.

'Gratitude,' he told the Roman, too distracted by Tranquillus' mere presence beside him on the couch to pay all that much more attention to the man who'd handed him the food. He traced patterns on the body slave's back, very content with his day so far. The Roman wouldn't hold that against him, surely. He wasn't the one who was complaining about everything, after all. Surely that drew more attention than his affection for the older man. Surely everyone heard the surly woman's remarks. She always seemed to have something nasty to say. Although he wasn't afraid of her, he preferred to stay well out of her way. No reason to interact with her, really, was there?

@Chevi@Liv@Sara@Sharpie

Florus' tongue tickled the strawberry as he stared insolently at Tranquillus, eyes twinkling. There really was nothing quite like being here, with the older man, his heart feeling so full. He never, ever would have suspected it was possible to feel this good. But here he was.

'Poetry, yes,' he said. 'He said something about you teaching me about Landicus?' The gardener looked at the body slave with some confusion. There was no reason why the Roman would be suggesting poetry to him, and it had seemed weird to him at the time, too, but then again, it was about fruit, so why not? 'He said his poems about, erm, peaches and cherries would be of particular interest?'

@Chevi

It was a lazy day, and Florus was exactly where he seemed to be spending most of his time nowadays, which was sprawled on Tranquillus' bed, still dressed, but eating a strawberry in a manner that suggested he might not be so for very long.

'I don't need to be educated,' the gardener replied, frowning. He was educated enough about plants, what more did he really need? Anything he lacked, Tranquillus could help him with. Romans were ridiculous. As if he would ever aspire to get closer to the man who kept him enslaved. How self-centered and oblivious. 'You're a great teacher, Tranquillus. Always teaching me something, even when it's not letters,' he teased.

As you guys will have noticed, I'm a bit all over the place. This was not planned, and I don't intend it to be that way, I promise, and I will be back, but since I don't have a definite date, this is the heads up.

'Hilarious,' Florus mumbled, burrying his face in Tranquillus' chest. There was still slight disbelief at the thought he was doing this at all, but it came so naturally that his incredulity quickly dissipated. He planted a kiss on the other man's skin, and squeezed him tighter.

'Says the best-looking man in Rome.' Tranquillus was handsome, kind, patient, smart, learned, well-read, and he could have had his pick of all the people in the city, and yet he'd chosen the young Briton gardener, who didn't talk to anyone and didn't know anything. Either the body slave had poor taste, either the young man was the luckiest man in the empire. And going with how he felt in Tranquillus' arms, he thought he ought to give thanks to Venus. She wasn't his goddess, but if she'd had a hand in this... Well, certainly she deserved a lot of praise.

@Chevi

Being this sweaty was usually something that bothered Florus. He didn't like the feeling of his own sweat drying on him, and washed himself every night and every morning as he finished and started his day in the gardens. This right here, though, it wasn't uncomfortable at all. It was something new, and it was good. And besides, if cleaning up meant he would have to get up and break this sweet embrace, then he wanted no part of it. Besides, he loved the sweat on Tranquillus' body, the feel of it under his fingers as he stroked the older man's stomach, and also the smell of it. It was so intensely Tranquillus, so intensely his smell...

When the older man said he loved him back, the young gardener held him even tighter. He'd be content to just be like this forever. 'I can't believe I thought you didn't see me.'

@Chevi

Florus wondered if humans could liquefy. He felt like it was on the verge of happening, but if it were at all possible, he was certain it already would have. Everything inside him felt soft and gooey, and so full of this wonderful feeling. If Tranquillus held him any tighter, though, surely he would burst and there would be goo everywhere. It was just a very comfortable, peaceful feeling, where the older man was all that existed in the world, and the knowledge of it coursed through his veins. It wasn't the same as the passion that had consumed the both of them only moments earlier, but it was sweet, and he liked it too. Gently he ran his hand on the body slave's stomach.

The gardener extricated his head from the embrace to rest his chin on Tranquillus' chest and look him in the eyes. 'Don't be,' he said with a grin. 'I liked it.' He gave the other man's chest a small peck. 'You couldn't make me go away.'

Florus settled his head back onto the other man's chest, and hugged him tightly, eyes closed. 'I love you, Tranquillus.'

@Chevi

Florus' only response for a very long moment was an equally long, contented mmmm. Did Tranquillus even realise that he was the one responsible for it all? That this was the most amazing thing the gardener himself had ever experienced in his life? As the body slave kissed his forehead, the young man gave the man's throat a clumsy kiss. Was he forever doomed to be in this state of hazy bliss? He wouldn't mind it that much. 'Yeah, mine too.'

Florus repositioned himself so that his head was laying on the other man's chest, ear pressed firmly down. 'I love hearing your heart beat,' he mumbled after a while.

@Chevi

Florus hadn't ever felt this good in his entire life. Their bodies moved so well together, undulating in ways he could never have imagined. He made sounds, and Tranquillus made sounds, that he had never heard before in his life. Sounds of immeasurable pleasure, uncontrolled contentment. And Tranquillus' warmth, the contorted, concentrated expressions on his face, and knowing he was responsible for them... At the release, he felt like he was the epicentre of an entirely new earthquake, this one a thousand times more powerful than the one that had brought the body slave to his chambers in a heroic rescue. He'd surrendered himself to the sensations.

It turned out that sex was exhausting. Covered in a sheen of sweat, still catching his breath, Florus nestled himself in Tranquillus' arms. He was happy there. He never wanted to move.

'Of course it's real,' he said after a moment, voice just as rough as the other man's. 'If it was a dream, I wouldn't have needed two tries.' He was a bit embarrassed, but honestly it faded away in favour of the amazing moments they'd just lived together.

@Chevi

Florus' breath caught in his throat as Tranquillus removed the last obstacle between their bodies. It was an odd thing, that in his fantasies he took the time to detail the older man's body, admire his anatomy... In real life, there was no time for that, because every second not spent with his lips and hands touching the body slave was a moment wasted. Of course, it wasn't as though there were any thoughts at all in the young man's head. Only his desire, his need for the other man, and Tranquillus' evidently reciprocated feelings. They were skin to skin, now, all of them, and the contact made him shiver.

Eventually the older man's hand found what it had been looking for, and Florus let out a sound he didn't think he'd ever made before. Feeling his knees unsteady, he let himself be led to the bed. Gods, he couldn't take this much longer. Lust was no longer just a random feeling. His desire had become a life necessity. He sat down on the bed, and pulled the other man to him, breathing unsteadily. Again he guided Tranquillus' hand to where he most needed it, and used his own hands to cup the older man's face, bringing him closer for a sloppy, eager kiss.

He was ready.

@Chevi

The way Tranquillus was reacting, the sounds he was making were just... they were nice. And Florus wanted more. He loved them. They seemed to make his skin more sensitive to the touch. He threw his head back as the body slave moved from his lips to his jaw, and then to his neck. His throat was exposed, and the older man was kissing him there, and he didn't even know if was a thing that was possible, only every single kiss felt so good it almost hurt.

And then of course there was Tranquillus' hands, which were touching him, and pulling him so close that the only thing separating them was a very thin layer of fabric, of which he was increasingly conscious. It wasn't much, yet it was way too much.

Tranquillus' breath against his neck tickled, and though it was warm, a shiver ran down his spine. Touch me, he wanted to say, or even you, it's you that I like. Anything would be good. But he was entirely tongue-tied, and though his body was on fire, his entire brain felt numb. All he could do was nod, and gently grab one of Tranquillus' hands, guiding it to his stomach, his navel, and the edge of his subligaculum. His breathing was fast, and his eyes flew open, looking Tranquillus in the eyes.

@Chevi

The split second that it took to remove Tranquillus' tunic was an unacceptable amount of time. Any fraction of time where the body slave's lips weren't touching his was absolute torture, by Florus' reckoning, and ought to be illegal. Thankfully, the older man's lips crashed onto his own quickly enough, and they were back to kissing, something which he assumed by now was the natural order of the world. That was what stasis was. As Tranquillus moaned, Florus found himself pushing himself into the other man more. It was a beautiful sound, and clearly it was a form of primal communication his body understood.

It didn't take long for the gardener's belt and tunic to go the way of Tranquillus'. The belt fell to the floor with a thud, but he didn't hear it, and already he was yanking off his garment, impatient at its getting in the way of obviously more important things. Namely, kissing. In the moment where they weren't kissing, Tranquillus spoke. Apparently the younger man had forgotten how words worked, because all he was able to muster was a garbled noise of pleasure, before he pulled Tranquillus back in, sloppily. Their chests were touching, now, Tranquillus' skin so warm against his own. One arm wrapped around the older man's neck once more, making sure he wasn't running away, and the other excitedly roamed across the other man's body, exploring its warm and excellent surface for the first time.

@Chevi

Florus nodded, and swallowed. He'd forgotten how words worked. He had none to say, and there were absolutely none in his head. In fact, his mind was entirely blank. All there was inside of him was this pulsating need for Tranquillus, And as Tranquillus kissed him, this time without any restraint whatsoever, Florus just abandoned himself to it, a hand on the body slave's waist, and the other wrapped around his neck. Gods, he'd never felt like this before. His fantasies were palid, insipid, in comparison.

Completely lost in the moment, he gasped slightly as he hit the wall. Good. This was nice. He was between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. There was nowhere to go except the kiss. And that was good. So good. Fumbling fingers once more grabbed at the body slave's belt. HIs eyes were closed, and he didn't know what exactly he was doing, except he seemed to be more successful than before. Maybe on account of his determination. He had wanted this for so long, fantasized about it. Eventually the belt was out of his way, and he tugged Tranquillus' tunic upwards. He'd seen him at the baths before, briefly, but not nearly enough. And now Tranquillus was his. His to have, to contemplate, to hold. To touch...

His hands found their way on the body slave's torso. He was so warm. Florus held him close, wanting, no, needing to have all of the other man touching all of him. He hugged the man's bare skin, tightly. This was wonderful.

@Chevi

Walking was not good enough, not nearly fast enough. They should at the very least be running, or, even better, flying. He remained silent for the entire distance they covered. There was nothing to say. There was absolutely nothing going on in his mind except the thumping of desire every new heartbeat brought to mind. He'd wanted this so much, had spent months fantasizing about it, sometimes in detail, but mostly vaguely, because he didn't know exactly how things would go down. But even in his mind he had never reached these heights. Now Tranquillus was by his side, and it was really going to happen...

The gardener swallowed as Tranquillus bolted the door behind them. This was really happening. 'Do... do you want me?' It seemed like a stupid question to ask, especially given the look in Tranquillus' eyes, but a confirmation would be nice. Florus closed the distance between them, and again rested his hand on the top of the body slave's belt, looking into his eyes, feelings clearly glazed over them. 'No waiting?'

@Chevi

Florus pursed his lips and nodded. It was high time for him to stop asking impertinent questions. That was how he would get in trouble, he was sure of it. He always acted irreproachably, and he was gradually learning to hide the expressions of defiance in his eyes, but he really needed to learn to keep his tongue in check. He had heard of people who'd had their tongues ripped out because they'd said things that weren't to the Romans' liking. If he wasn't more careful... Well, suffice it to say, he had no plans on having it be his fate. Nope. He wanted his fate to be something good, with Tranquillus.

He nodded to concede her point. Part of the empire, sure. Did it mean she had to act like the Romans and side with them? He needed to agree to disagree. It was the wisest path here. 'Of course we do,' he said, a glint of defiance in his eyes. 'We're Britons.'

Florus cleared his throat. He desperately needed to stop while he was ahead. Somewhat confusedly, he grasped at the first topic that entered his mind. 'Do you live in a palace?'

@Chevi

Tranquillus' compliment and smile brought a soft pink to the gardener's cheeks, and he looked down at the man's chest, smiling. Clearly he wasn't immune to the other man's words. Nor the presence of his body so close to him, but the body slave could probably tell. That, at least, wasn't especially discreet. And the way he was pressed against him more than likely made it impossible to ignore, subligura or not.

He shivered under Tranquillus' touch. And that was only his face! Gods.

Tranquillus pulled back, and for a second Florus was completely in the dark as to what would happen next. Why was the body slave pulling back? His smile was reassuring, at least. The gardener nodded. Alright, this wasn't the best place. What place would be suitable, though? He shared a room with like a billion other slaves. So much for privacy. Florus' hand rested on Tranquillus' belt, gently, showing none of the excitement he barely contained.

'Yes,' he blurted out, as soon as the older man had finished his sentence, and grabbed him by the hand. 'Now. Let's go.'

@Chevi