Érik

Florus grimaced as Tranquillus covered him up. The last gesture of a drowning man, surely. It was tragic. 'I don't want anyone else,' he protested, grabbing the other man's wrist as it passed in front of his face. 'Just him.' His ice blue eyes were getting smaller and smaller the more time was getting by, but they were still trained on the body slave. It was becoming apparent that his efforts were all for naught. What use was it to try to get it on with Tranquillus when the older man didn't even understand how badly the gardener wanted him? Clearly what it meant was that Tranquillus didn't want him in return. 'I wish he'd see me. I've never wanted anyone in my life like I want him.' He swallowed. 'Do you have someone you fancy, Tranquillus?'

@Chevi

Florus' eyes widened as Tranquillus got up. Just like that! Walking on top of the plum juice, with clearly no fear of drowning. And he wasn't even drowning! That was weird, and absolutely unreasonable. He needed to come somewhere safe. Pressed right beside Florus. That was the safest place to be. Clearly.

'I would be fine with that,' he said, more seriously than before. 'But the one I like doesn't see me. He thinks I'm drunk, and I don't know what to tell him. I just want... you need to get in bed, it's cold.' It wasn't, but it was a very clever strategy.

@Chevi

Florus shook his head. 'I know what I want, and I don't want them,' he said.

Tranquillus needed to get himself on the bed quickly, because there seemed to be an ocean between them. At least it felt like it, with the way the bed was swimming. Floating on a sea of plum juice. Florus knew how to swim in the river, but that had been a long time ago. And that had been water. Plum juice, though, he wasn't certain. Could he swim in that, or would he drown? He had better not fall off the bed.

'Come to bed, or you're going to drown,' he said. There was plenty of room on this raft, and Florus wouldn't let the body slave drown. That was just crazy. He wasn't sure how long the chair could stay buoyant, though. It was a chair, after all.

@Chevi

Florus gave out another laugh. He tugged at his tunic, wondering if it would come down if he pulled it hard enough. Ah, no, that was the wrong way, he remembered. He was supposed to pull it over his head. How was he supposed to do that, if he was lying down? It was too difficult. He would definetely need Tranquillus' help. Hopefully the man would understand. He wasn't making these come hither eyes for nothing!

'Maybe, but I don't care,' he said. 'I don't want a woman.' He was thirsty again. 'Or women. Not any of them.'

@Chevi

Tranquillus didn't join him on the bed, and didn't help with his tunic. That was a momentary setback, to be sure. He was so smooth, he was so irresistible, and so was the body slave. How could two irresistible people resist one another? It made no sense whatsoever. Especially since Tranquillus wasn't married. There was nothing to keep them apart, surely? Well, Tranquillus did prefer women, probably, but that too was probably just a minor setback. They were both too attractive, and too hopped up on the plum juice to let any of that get in the way. Or maybe the alcohol was only him? It was impossible to know.

He gave out a short laugh, surprised, as Tranquillus returned him the question. He'd been sixteen when he'd been captured. That was far too young for marriage. At least for him. As the second son, he didn't have that much of an obligation to get married. 'No. You know, I used to think that I'd know, when I found the right woman, that there'd be some sort of signal.' He burped. 'But there never was.' He turned on his side, and looked at the other man. Gods, he was so far away. Couldn't he move closer?

@Chevi

'What if I said please?' Florus tried. He was getting nowhere on his own. He patted the space next to him on the bed. The irony of inviting Tranquillus to sit on his own bed was completely lost on him. 'The tunic, it gets in the way.' And it would certainly get in the way of the two of them doing anything fun, if he couldn't manage to take it off. He bit his lower lip, struggling still. 'I'd rather have things out in the open.' Which was why he slept naked. And people had to be naked to sleep together, didn't they?

Eventually he decided to lie down, and ignore the other man's question. 'Are you married?'

@Chevi

'I'm not drunk,' Florus replied, burping. He wasn't drunk, surely? Being drunk was when the village men started to sing their songs about women and combat, and he clearly didn't feel like doing that. Nope. What he felt like was pressing his lips against Tranquillus', and discovering if the other man's body was as warm under his hands as he thought. What he felt like was completing the visual examination he'd started that other time at the baths. There were a lot of things he felt like doing right now, and all of them at once.

The gardener started to fiddle with his belt. It wasn't easy, but eventually he got that issue out of the way. Taking his tunic off was another matter, though. He was sitting down on it, so all his efforts to pull it over his head were thwarted. Damn it.

'For the thing, you know,' Florus replied vaguely. 'Can you help me with this?' The tunic was not collaborating.

@Chevi

Florus entered the room, still looking at the body slave, and gave him what he presumed was a sly smile. He could totally do this. This was why the gods had blessed him with fermented fruit. So that he could achieve his purpose.

'I've never been better,' he replied, though his unsteady legs would tend to give a different message. 'Something did happen,' he said, inviting himself on the other man's bed. 'I drank a lot of, uh, something, and now I think that I'm ready.'

@Chevi

Florus didn't really have time to choose a position to stand in before Tranquillus opened the door, and he was left standing there, looking confused rather than attractive. His plan had been to kiss the other man as soon as he opened the door, but now that the body slave was talking, the gardener was slowly forgetting his plan. He knew what he'd come here to do, of course, but how had he decided to bring it about? Had he even had a plan to begin with? As the seconds wore on, he was less and less certain.

'I can't sleep,' Florus said, looking into the other man's eyes as though he were trying to... well, he didn't know. Whatever eyes did. And Tranquillus had nice eyes. Yes. Such beautiful, kind eyes, that could make a man forget his entire purpose. 'Can I spend the night?'

Oh, he was so smooth. Sooooo smooth. The smoothest. The gods had never seen such a display of smoothness. Now, how did you kiss someone, again?

@Chevi

July 75

The moon was high in the sky, and Florus had spent the past hour in the shed, drinking the beverage he'd made out of fallen plums. They couldn't be used for the Roman's table, and he couldn't eat all of them at once, so he'd taken to storing them in the shed, in a small barrel he'd previously used for storing seeds. The seeds were all planted, now, and the barrell had been filled with water and plums. The heat had cooked it all, and it had ended up fermenting. It was some sort of alcohol, Florus had figured out as much from the smell.

And alcohol gave you courage. Courage to act on your desires. He'd only wanted to sample some of his drink, at first, but the more he drank, the more he wanted to drink. And the more he drank, the more he thought it was a sensible idea to tell Tranquillus how he felt. How he wanted him. How he filled both his days and his nights. How he wanted to touch his body, and how he wanted the older man to touch him. Yes, it was a great idea.

An hour of drinking, and he was no longer reasonable. The liquor was half gone, by now, and his brain felt like it had been wrapped in many layers of linen. But it was bathing in a comfortable haze, and told him he was ready. It was time to do this.

On wobbly legs, he made his way to Tranquillus' room, his tunic disheveled, and knocked what he was convinced was a sultry knock.

@Chevi

And just like that, the moment was broken. Of course, Florus had to remind himself that there was no moment to break to begin with. It was all his doing, his awkward staring, and it was making Tranquillus uneasy. He could just tell. And it was rude to make his tutor uneasy, when the body slave was being so kind. Even if he had beautiful eyes, he needed to stop already. Maybe he could learn the word strawberry. For some incomprehensible reason, it had just jumped at him.

'Teach me the other letters, then,' Florus said, with some determination. He was going to show Tranquillus he wasn't as much of an idiot as the other man probably thought he was. He was going to learn letters. And then words. His face blanched when Tranquillus said the Roman shouldn't see his name. He hadn't thought about that. And the body slave was so loyal to his master... 'I didn't know! Please don't tell him?'

@Chevi

Florus didn't know whether Alexius' hand on his shoulder was comforting or disconcerting. A bit of both, maybe. Certainly it did nothing to alleviate his redness. At least the former gladiator had bought his lie about needing to bolt. In truth, Florus had become entirely too flustered to continue interacting with the other man, and he'd needed to dash before he did something stupid. His body had certainly betrayed him that day. As it tended to do when Tranquillus was around and within touching distance. By the gods, how had he not figured all of this out ages ago? He definetely wasn't the smartest man.

'We did have a good time,' Florus confirmed. Especially since Alexius hadn't at all noticed how incredibly awkward the gardener was being. And hopefully he wouldn't notice this time either, though frankly the gawking, whether conscious or unconscious, might end up giving him away. But Alexius probably hadn't been told that men like Florus existed, so it was alright, he just needed to be discrete. 'I think I might acquire a taste for wine,' he said, falling into step with Alexius.

@Atrice

Florus swallowed hard. They were so close, and they were looking into each other's eyes as though there was nothing else in the world. It would be easy to do something stupid. Something like kiss a body slave. They were so close. It would only require him to move his head a few inches or so. He was certain the body slave had soft lips. He couldn't tell why, but it just felt like that was how things should be. It would be nice to kiss him, too. It would be like making his night time dreams come true. He would kiss him, and touch his face, and then... Well, he wasn't sure about the rest, but his dreams did offer viable options. It was intensely distracting, this.

It took Florus a herculean effort to break the eye contact between the two of them. He had to remember that he didn't want to make Tranquillus uneasy. Staring at him like this would do that. And of course the fact that he was as red as a strawberry might be weird, too.

'What are the other words that exist, then?' Tranquillus would surely have no reason to doubt how good of a student he wanted to be.

@Chevi

'Erm, yes, dominus,' Florus replied, caught off guard by the question, though he didn't let his face show it. He even gave a short nod, to show how docile he was. Survival was paramount, and if what it took was stroking the Romans' immeasurable ego, he would do it unquestioningly. He had grown attached to his life here, the gardens, Tranquillus... It would probably be so easy for him to go from this situation to a worse one. He didn't have much, but he needed to protect it.

Florus breathed an almost audible sigh of relief when the Roman didn't explode in an uncontrollable rage at the news that the pomegranate tree was gone. In fact, he even seemed quite calm about it. Not overly bothered about it altogether. He continued to stand there silently, nodding in agreement at what Rufus was saying. Yes, dominus, of course, dominus.

'I will, dominus,' Florus said, his tone very much one of relief. He wasn't going to get beaten, and that was something to be happy about. Unless the nursery had suffered great damage in the earthquake too, he knew where he could procure another tree. Mind, it wouldn't be cheap, but it was better than no tree. It was incredible to him that it seemed they were exactly at the point where they had started: talking about planting a pomegranate tree.

'Dominus,' the gardener started, an idea taking form in his mind. 'Would it be alright if I used the bits of broken tile to put at the bottom of plant pots? It allows for better drainage.' Florus was fairly certain the Roman didn't care for the specifics, so he kept it brief.

@Liv

It took so much concentration for him to produce all these little letters. It was crazy to Florus. He'd known before that writing was a form of language, but before tonight, it had been shrouded in mystery, as though hidden behind an opaque veil he had no permission to touch. But Tranquillus had that permission, and he was removing the veil, little by little. It probably didn't seem like much to the body slave, but Florus had neither seen not written his name before. Ever. To him, it meant everything. And it also meant everything that the one who was teaching him all this was Tranquillus. Tranquillus, who was so close to him. Tranquillus. who smelled so nice, and whose body heat was practically transferring onto him. Tranquillus, whose mere presence was the worst kind of distraction...

Florus watched on as the other man corrected his words. The mistake in his own name, he couldn't really see it. What was the actual difference? He decided to commit it to memory, but he couldn't make promises.

'T-R-A-N-Q-I-L-L-V-S,' Florus repeated as the body slave enunciated. 'With two L's,' he said, moistening his lips, never breaking eye contact. Slowly he brought his finger to the tablet, and traced the letters of the other man's name. It was very... intimate, being so close to Tranquillus, both physically and in the body slave's own universe. 'Tranquillus,' he repeated slowly, looking into the man's warm eyes.

@Chevi

Florus gave a nervous little laugh when Alexius clapped him on the back and told him not to worry. Alexius was nice, but wasn't it rude to just use a friend to acquire drinks? It felt dishonest somehow. Still, though, the former gladiator was playing it off in good humour, so surely it was alright of Florus to accept? He wasn't coming off as someone who was disappointed in the gardener's inability to pay, so it must be fine. 'If you're sure,' he said.

Alexius' next question had Florus looking at his feet instead of at the other man. 'I... apologies. I suddenly remembered that I was needed at the villa,' Florus lied, a fact that was made obvious by his beet red cheeks. 'Apologies. It was rude behaviour.'

@Atrice

'I am, dominus,' Florus said, in his calm and measured voice. He was cautious, but the Roman didn't seem to be in an explosive mood at this moment. Still, better to be on his guard. Without moving his head the gardener contemplated the destruction of this room. It didn't seem too bad, but there was still a lot of pieces of broken... stuff on the floor. Good thing he was never barefoot.

'It looks worse than it is, dominus. Cracked floor tiles, and dirt and leaves everywhere, but most of it can be fixed with a broom. Some tiles might need replacing, as well as some shrubs, but most of it is aesthetic.' He took a deep breath, because this was when things were bound to get dangerous. 'We lost two of the grafted hydrangeas, dominus. And... and the pomegranate tree you had me procure when I first arrived.' He took another deep breath. 'I might be able to save a sucker, but it would take years before it grew into a tree. The pomegranate tree is gone, dominus.' Florus closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable punishment.

@Liv

Florus now knew all of like, ten letters in the alphabet, and he was very happy for it. Surely there couldn't be all that many more?

'T-R-A...' The gardener furrowed his brow. He did not know what came next. 'I-L-V-S? T-R-A-I-L-V-S!' Or something to that effect. Florus reached out to take the stylus. He wanted Tranquillus to tell him how his name was spelled, of course, but firstly he wanted to write his own name. The body slave's hand was warm under his own, and the young Briton had to remind himself of what exactly he was doing. Taking the stylus to write his own name, that was what.

With a clumsy, unpracticed hand, so close to Tranquillus that his chest was against the other man's back (could he hear his beating heart? Florus was sure it was deafening), he imitated the lines and squiggles that signified his name. SAMORI+, it read in big, unsteady letters. And under it, Florus wrote TRAILVS. Returning the stylus to Tranquillus, he beamed at the older man, his hand lingering on his.

@Chevi

Florus had been taking stock of the damage done to the gardens on the previous day. It had been one hell of a job, and it had been emotionally difficult for the young gardener, who praised his gods that Tranquillus had been there. It would have been so much worse without him there. The man had something of a calming effect on him. He'd been lucky. Tranquillus had noted down everything that would need replacing, and all Florus would need to do was talk to the Roman about it. And somehow that was the hardest part.

He'd played many scenarios in his mind, and all of them ended badly. He'd been here for quite a few months, now, and nothing indicated to him that this particular Roman was reasonable and wouldn't punish him violently for something that wasn't within his control. It was in the nature of Romans. So it was with fear in his stomach and an absolutely impassible expression that Florus entered the room he'd been told Rufus was in.

'Apologies, dominus,' he said quietly. Maybe startling the Roman was just going to be the thing that was going to trigger him into beating his gardener to death. 'I did not mean to disrupt.' He stood there with his head held high, feet apart, and shoulders straight, hands behind his back. Nothing in his demeanour could be interpreted as a lack of respect, right?

@Liv

Florus just stared at the young woman, his expression no longer neutral, because he was absolutely unable to hide his confusion. What was this girl talking about? Why was she talking in riddles? It might be rude to look at someone as though they were insane, but the gardener couldn't really do otherwise.

'Neither do I,' he said. 'Because I'm not in love.' Maybe that part was a lie, but how was it any of her business? Florus was fairly certain she didn't even know his name. How did she know anything about him at all? He should never have told Attis anything. This was probably all his fault.

'I don't love Zia!' Florus responded immediately, growing even more confused. He'd barely ever spoken to the other woman, what could have given Nymphias that impression? 'Quit speaking in riddles, I don't understand it. I'm not in love with Zia. Or with anyone.'

Florus decided to stop looking at Alexius. The other man was probably going to notice it at some point, and he was likely to ask questions. And sure, Attis had said that men could like other men, which the gardener now knew to be true, but he knew it couldn't possibly be all men. And besides, he didn't like Alexius like that. He didn't know Alexius at all. All he knew was that he was a free man, a former gladiator, and a man who was embarrassingly good-looking in the baths. And in general. He really did have to stop staring.

'I don't mind, but I have to let you know that I still don't have any money on me. Apologies,' he said sheepishly.

@Atrice

Florus returned Tranquillus' smile, and for a second just looked at him blissfully, before going back to his name. Samorix. There. Written on the tablet, in letters he could touch. As the body slave spoke, Florus leaned towards him, until his chin was level with the other man's shoulder. He was heavily focused on the word, though, touching the imprint of it on the tablet over and over again, as though he didn't quite believe it. There, laid before him, was his identity, written out for the first time. He was a word.

He nodded, and touched each letter in turn once more, sounding out what he thought each letter stood for. There seemed to be a kind of magic to this.

'Could I try?' There was something highly symbolic about him writing his name, he thought. 'Can you write your name?' Already this was overwhelming, but in a nice way. And Tranquillus, ever calm, was a reassuring presence that made sure it wasn't too stressful for him.

@Chevi

'Oh,' Florus simply replied, his mouth a perfect circle. It felt trivial and insensitive, now, to be upset about his trees, when some people had lost their lives in the earthquake. Alexius hadn't said anything at all to make him feel bad, but still he felt like a selfish child for a second. His trees were important to him, of course, they were the only thing in his life. But at least he still had his life... It revolted him, that some slaves had been burried alived underneath the rubble and had lost their lives. They'd not been able to escape, because they'd been locked in their cells. Other slaves, he knew, might have been in chains. Briefly he thought about the potential death toll, and it made him both dizzy and angry. And to think he was in distress because of his trees! He ought to be thankful he had his life. Yes. He was.

'Bless the gods that you were in luck that night,' Florus finally replied. He was glad that the other man had survived. Glad that none of the people he knew had perished. Small comfort, but still. Alexius looked angry, and he wondered why, though not for long. If he used to be a slave, he was bound to be angry at the senseless loss of life that was entirely the Romans' fault.

Any offer that Alexius made him was bound to make the young gardener at least slightly pink, but he was still glad for it. Anyway, it wasn't as though Alexius was looking at him in the same way, right? It was perfectly innocent on his part. Right? He was allowed to go drink with an attractive man, fully conscious of his attractiveness, wasn't he? Attis had said it was alright. And he'd said it was normal for him to like Tranquillus. So it was alright also to go for a drink with a good-looking man, even if he had no further plans with him, surely?

'I'd like that,' Florus replied. He still didn't have any money, though. Hopefully it wouldn't anger Alexius.

@Atrice

Florus simply nodded, his expression neutral. Training at the palace was fine. He wasn't going to be too impressed by anything, really. It was the imperial palace, so what? Florus didn't care for statues and fancy marbles. He didn't care for mosaics and columns. Roman architecture was a strange beast, and it mostly made him indifferent. He couldn't imagine how the imperator's palace would make him feel any different than Rufus' villa. Trapped, and ever mindful of the fact everything had been built by slaves. Cinnia needed not fear his reaction. He was now perfectly trained in remaining as expressionless as humanly possible, and he would make a fine display of just that.

Florus followed Cinnia, until they had arrived at what the gardener presumed were the training grounds. Inquisitively he turned to look at his new tutor, but remained otherwise silent. She had told him not to speak, and he was awaiting her instructions.

@Atrice

Florus nodded. Talk about the earthquake was normal enough that his complexion returned to normal. Everyone had been affected by the earthquake. He knew his household had been relatively lucky. They deplored no deaths, apart from those of some trees, and nothing was too broken down that it couldn't be rebuilt. He'd been very busy in his gardens, and hadn't had time to worry about much else. This outing to the baths was the first in a long time, it felt.

'I've been busy clearing out my gardens. We lost the pomegranate tree, and two hydrangeas,' he scowled. Of course that might not interest Alexius, but that was Florus' universe, and it was his entire life. 'Things are slowly getting back to normal. You weren't injured, were you?' Florus eyed the man from head to toe, slowly, under the pretense of checking if he'd been wounded. Of course, though, he acknowledged he was also checking the view. Alexius was certainly good-looking. Gladiators...

@Atrice