Boys Night

[Sara]

Nones of May 75AD

Longinus sat drumming his fingers against the rim of his wine cup, occasionally glancing at the door. What he enjoyed most, of course, about the Poppina Via Lata was the two-building scheme. The night would start here, in the building reserved for Rome's upper echelons before descending into the depravity with the plebs and the slaves next door. He took a sip and resumed his drumming, waiting for both Titus and Aulus, nerves eating into the pit of his stomach. Judging by the surprised reaction in their letters neither of them were none the wiser as to the true (at least initial) motivation behind the wedding which was a relief. 

He'd carefully considered what he'd say and it largely centred on; not being sixteen anymore so knowing what he wanted; that he likes and admires Sestia; he's not getting much younger and needs a son, and well...it is him. Longinus was certainly never a man that could be considered entirely conventional. He did hope to brush the whole 'permission from her father' under the rug as much as possible, but his friends were astute men and would likely ask. He just hoped he'd come up with something convincing on the spot to explain it, because so far his mind was coming up decidedly empty. 

His attention was caught by a shadow blocking his path and he glanced up from his thoughts to the face of his friend. A wide, beaming smile crossed his face as he embraced the man. 

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

The Poppina Via Lata was not the most reputable place in Rome... but then, it was also not the most disreputable place in Rome, either. Which made it pretty much the perfect place for an evening out with friends who were likewise not the most disreputable in Rome.

Aulus had not expected to be the first of the trio to arrive. Longinus was already at a table in the more reputable of the two parts of the tavern, nursing a winecup. He couldn't help wondering how much was left in the jug that also sat on the table as his friend got up to embrace him.

"Longinus! An engaged man - I didn't think I'd see the day!"

 

@Liv @Sara

[Liv]

Well well well, to think he would be the last to arrive and thus complete the trio. Longinus' choice of establishment could not have been unintentional, although his good friend wasn't quite known for thinking ahead. Titus actually approved of it: made the walk so much shorter when they reached the inevitable point of being drunk enough to take the party somewhere more sordid. 

He spotted the two others sat at a table and was spotted back almost right away, and after a round of vigorous embracing he took his seat and motioned to a passing servant to bring drinks.

"Lucius Cassius Longinus, colour me surprised! Congratulations on your impending nuptials, but I have to ask..." Titus rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward almost conspiratorially. "How did this come to pass?"

@Sara @Sharpie

[Sara]

Longinus grinned to both the men and inclined his head to Aulus; "I'm flattered you have so much faith in my abilities to find a wife." He chuckled and retook his seat, snorting in amusement that Titus was straight to business. "How it came to pass? Well," he leaned in, as if about to reveal some great, delicious secret, "I...asked and she said yes." He chuckled and sat back, glancing between the pair of them as an irritated looking slave decanted more jugs on the table. He could obviously sense that this was going to be a messy night and was already dreading the clean-up. Fair enough. 

He glanced at Titus with an arched brow, "I don't know why you're surprised, given that letter you drew up for me however many months ago." But then a devilish smirk graced his lips and he jabbed a finger at Aulus, "You don't know about that, do you?" He chuckled and ran a hand over his jaw, "Titus drew me up a list of eligible bachelorettes in the city, and you'll never guess who was on it..." His eyes twinkled with amusement at the memory of Aulus' own sister being listed like cattle at an auction, "You want to tell him?" He smirked at Titus, but felt no ill-will. He just hoped he was deflecting well enough.

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

"I have faith in a great many of your abilities. Finding a wife was not on that list," Aulus said, pouring himself a cup of wine. At least this side of the poppina had better quality wine than the other half - which was not saying very much, given the location of the place.

"You started without waiting for us," he added, putting the cup down after taking a deep swallow of its contents. "You must have done, you're not acting like you're sober. Cheat." He had another mouthful. "Who was on it, then?"

Longinus was definitely deflecting. There were days that trying to hold a conversation with him was like trying to pin down a wrestler covered in oil.

 

@Liv @Sara

[Liv]

For someone who up until a few months prior was supposedly in so deep mourning that he had to be physically dragged to a barber for a cut and shave, Longinus seemed to have moved on fast. Awfully fast. And Sestia Vaticana had only been in Rome for a few months after years of absence, so this didn't sound like a rekindling of a teenage passion. 

"I'll drink to that. Cheers," Titus said to Aulus and raised his cup before downing half of its contents and setting it back down. Trust Longinus to put somebody else on the spotlight when he got too uncomfortable under it. "Not Sestia Vaticana. Your Vestal sister was, though..." Titus smiled sheepishly whilst simultaneously glaring daggers at Longinus, a feat only accomplished thanks to years of training. "But I only had good things to say about her! That she was very good-looking, of excellent breeding and that her prestigious position made her as desirable a bride as any member of the Imperial family. I swear on my ancestors there was nothing about her in that letter that could not be read in front of you."

Under the table, he tried to step hard on Longinus' foot as quietly as he could.

@Sara @Sharpie

[Sara]

Longinus grinned devilishly as Titus flustered his way through. "Is that what it said? Are you sure? That's not quite how I remember it." It was how he remembered it, but he did so love to needle Titus. He winced as he felt his friends sandalled foot come down on his own, and retreated both of them out of his reach. "Nonetheless, not the politest way to ask our good friend Aulus about his sister, is it?" He smirked in amusement and sipped at his wine. "But no, no, quite right - the lovely Sestia was not on that list." 

He suspected his betrothed hadn't featured because she wasn't in Rome - or had only just arrived - when discussions had turned to Longinus' future prospects. His mind worked through the other names on the list; "Then again, virtually everybody else besides the lovely Calpurnia Praetextata was young enough to be my daughter..." Which made him feel all kinds of uncomfortable. Youth was fine for a whore, problematic for somebody he was supposed to be sharing his life with. 

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

"I don't think I'm drunk enough to hear this," Aulus muttered, passing a hand over his eyes before topping up his winecup. "Calpurnia Praetextata would run rings around you, Lucius, and Titus knows it. Thirty years as a Vestal have got to be good for something, after all. Not that it wouldn't be extremely amusing to witness, of course. And I was unaware that you were acquainted with Sestia Vaticana, much less so closely acquainted that an engagement could be expected."

He pointed at Titus with his winecup. "I am glad to know that you only had good things to say about Calpurnia Praetextata - especially considering her position. I might have had to reconsider our friendship otherwise. Who else was in the running for being exalted to the position of wife to the esteemed Lucius Cassius Longinus, the gods preserve him?"

 

@Liv @Sara

Edited May 22, 2020 by Sharpie

[Liv]

Unimpressed, Titus smiled tersely at Longinus and took another swig of his wine. "I am sure. If you've already had so much to drink that you don't remember, that's your problem." Inwardly he was relieved that Aulus did not seem to take offence to his venerable sister being the subject of informal correspondence between friends. "Of course!" he rushed to corroborate, feeling rather as if he were a little boy again and his brother Quintus was about to scold him.

He refilled his cup with one hand and pretended to rub his chin with the other as he turned to face Longinus, extending his middle finger in a covert show of the digitus impudicus. "There was another lady closer to our ages who Longinus here dismissed almost immediately, the gods know why. The sister of Praetor Quinctilius Varus. Her daughter was on the list too, and we even went to see him about her. For some mysterious reason," Titus's face took on a look of innocent surprise, "our good friend did not dismiss the daughter, although he now changes his tune and complains that she is too young." If Longinus was going to make him look like a lecherous fool, then he was going down with Titus.

"Who else...? Oh, yes. The daughter of Proconsul Tuscus, since we all know how much Longinus loves and misses Britannia. Claudia Caesaris, but that would be an unattainable dream. And one of my sister-in-law's nieces, if I remember correctly. Is that right, Longinus? Since you're so doubtful of my memory."

@Sara @Sharpie

[Sara]

Longinus laughed garrulously as Aulus covered his eyes, grinning from ear to ear like a cat that had devoured a bowl of cream. Answering his question quietly as Titus started to prattle off the names, and returning his middle finger salute, he said; "We were acquaintances when we were younger." He said by way of explanation, "Though I hadn't seen her for years, obviously, given I'm an ancient old cretin now." But he said no more on that and instead turn to study Titus shit-eating grin. 

"I think that was it," He concluded with a nod and then a wince, "And I hope Praetor Varus isn't offended when he hears though judging by what he said of his brother and the rumours," Secundus Quinctillius Varus was infamous throughout gossip circles in Rome, "I'm well clear of that utter mess." Not one au fait with the complex web of marriages amongst their class, Longinus had no clue that Aulus' sister-in-law was wife to the very same Secundus. 

Raising his hands and realising he was not going to get out of this unscathed, he chuckled; "I will just say that you," He jabbed a finger at Titus, "Are a terrible matchmaker and you," He pointed the digit at Aulus, "Aren't much better. Where were your suggestions for a bride to be? Nowhere!" He smirked as he sipped his wine, "So I had to find a wife unaided, and I've lucked out, I hope you'll both agree." 

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

Aulus let out a low whistle at the recitation. Claudia Caesaris would be a catch for anyone.

"Praetor Quinctilius Varus' brother is married to my wife's sister, which I'm guessing you didn't know," he said. "And you never told me you intended to marry again or I would definitely have provided you with suggestions. Looks like you didn't need the help, though." 

He drained his winecup. "You always land on your feet, Longinus. How do you do it?"

Titus did, too, what with his successful campaigns in Dacia. Aulus couldn't say how he had done in the marriage stakes, beyond thinking that his wife seemed much the same as any other woman of their class. But then, Titus Sulpicius Rufus was typical of their class until you got to know him. Perhaps he should suggest that Horatia host a dinner party - the two of them, Titus and... Oh, what was her name? Valeriana or something. Longinus and Sestia. That made six. Her sister, and Calpurnia Praetextata, and someone else...

"How's your lady wife?" He asked Titus, leaning forward to refill his cup as he did so.

@Liv @Sara

[Liv]

What an amazing coincidence that Longinus and his betrothed should be old acquaintances, particularly when Titus considered that in the years he'd known his friend, he couldn't recall the lady's name having been brought up a single time. Not suspicious at all. Still, he didn't want to make the conversation turn sour, and so he put on a contrite face and did his best impression of a certain contrite yet cheeky body slave. "My sincere apologies, domine. In spite of all my hard work and even taking into account you had been in Rome a great deal longer than I when that list was written, it was still not enough to satisfy your high standards. Please allow me to attempt to regain your favour by refilling your cup." With these words he emptied the contents of a jug into Longinus' cup, leaving it just a hair's breadth away from overflowing.

The piece of information Aulus shared about the Vari's family relations was new to him too, and Titus briefly wondered what their extended family reunions might be like. Aulus might be the embodiment of sense, but his brother-in-law's reputation preceded him. No wonder both mother and daughter were having trouble finding a good match.

"Oh, Valeria's doing well, thanks for asking." Before Aulus had the chance to do it himself, Titus grabbed a hold of another, non-empty jug and poured a more reasonable amount of wine into his friend's cup than he had done with Longinus'. "She's been so busy writing lately that it feels like I barely see her some days. Guess she draws more inspiration from our bustling city than countryside living," he chuckled, putting the jug down and concluding his brief stint as pourer of drinks. Fortunately for the situation at hand, Valeria wrote perfectly proper stuff under her own name, even if it didn't comprise the gross of her work. 

"How about yours?" Titus gave Longinus shifty eyes as if to say 'don't worry, we'll get to yours too' before turning his attention back to Aulus.

@Sara @Sharpie

 

[Sara]

Longinus rolled his eyes as his friend topped up his cup, necessitating that he duck down and sip the first bit from the table like a cat might. When it was not so precariously filled he raised his cup to toast, "To the lovely Valeria, and Horatia." He inclined his head to both men. He suspected that would be the first toast of many to come as the evening descended. 

He couldn't help the amused smile that spread across his face, "I've not read any of her stuff - it any good?" Unsurprising given Longinus couldn't keep his attention long enough to read important correspondence about necessary things, let alone sit down and absorb himself in a book-scroll or two. He likewise couldn't imagine his friend Titus was a great lover of the arts, which relieved him somewhat. If a marriage as perceivably strong as Titus and Valeria's could last even when - from the outside - they looked vastly different and probably not hugely compatible, perhaps these rushed nuptials with Sestia - who was so different to himself - would work, as he so sincerely hoped they would. 

As the conversation turned to Aulus' own wife, Longinus sat back and relaxed into his chair - the very picture of contentment. 

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

"Yuo've not read any of Valeria Flacca's writings? Roma Dea - you can actually read? And don't slurp off the table like some misbegotten slave. You're a senator - did your dignitas take a walk?" Aulus put his cup back down long enough for Titus to top it back up.

"Horatia Justina is very well, thank you for asking. I believe she is thinking of starting some sort of reading club for ladies in her circle. Things like the Odyssey and Aeneid. None of the bawdy stuff you like." He leaned back in his seat and tapped his nose. "The secret to a good strong marriage, my friend, is a partnership. Working together."

He managed to kick one or the other of them as he crossed his ankles under the table. Ah well, it wasn't a hard kick.

"To Lucius and Sestia Vaticana! Gods bless 'em both."

 

@Liv @Sara

[Liv]

"I reckon it left him when he walked into this building," Titus quipped as he raised his cup to join the toast. "And to the fearless Sestia Vaticana, for choosing to entwine her life with yours."

He never quite knew how to answer the question of his wife's literary merits. He thought it was good, naturally; just as she supported him in his ambitions and endeavours, so did Titus her. On the other hand, he possessed no remarkable taste or talent for the arts, and anyone who could produce better metres than him (amongst which a significant percentage of the educated population of Rome was to be found) was automatically promoted to anything ranging from 'decent' to 'marvellous' by his inner literary critic. To save himself the trouble of a possible (boring) literary tangent, Titus downed some more of his wine before replying. "I think it's good. Public opinion does so too. It'll fly right past you, though." Unless it was Landicus; that might be right up Longinus' alley. Maybe he could be gifted a coveted new piece as a wedding present.

A reading club sounded nice; he reckoned it was a matron's equivalent of a lads' night out minus nudity and imbibing. And Aulus' book suggestions were so very safe. Personally, Titus didn't see the interest in revisiting what dozens of Greek tutors over the decades had attempted to cram into the heads of their young Roman pupils, but to each their own. 

Ouch. Was he better off sitting with his legs crossed under him now? If he had known there would be this sort of violence, Titus would have put on a pair of greaves before venturing out. As it was, wine would have to numb the pain in his smarting chin. The new toast came in very handy. "May their marriage be a happy and fruitful one!"

Speaking of fruitful, both bride and groom had children from previous marriages. And hadn't Sestia mentioned something about redecorating her Rome dwelling at great expense, when Titus had encountered her after the Games? He cast Longinus a curious look. "So who's moving in with whom?"

@Sara @Sharpie

[Sara]

Longinus scoffed with a grin, "I am perfectly literate thank you very much." He just didn't enjoy reading, his attention span wasn't good enough for it. Besides, what was the point in cramming your mind with useless information when you could go outside and enjoy actually enjoy the real world? Why would anybody want to read a description of the city or the countryside when you could actually go out and visit both?

He smiled and inclined his head with a; "Hear, hear." As it was, it was seemingly perfectly fruitful already. Neither of his closest friends was stupid and he doubted even their plan to escape to the country before the birth and then bring back the child when it was a few months old when its odd size (unusually large for a newborn) was less discernible would pass them by. But he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. 

Titus' question made him arch his brow and shrug; "We've not thought about it yet." He waved his hand, expecting the guffaws of indignation that he was a layabout and hadn't planned a thing, "Well, we have - but her sons are at a difficult age and she's just started to decorate," not that he really had an eye for that sort of thing, "So it would be a bit odd to decamp her to my domus but then her boys will undoubtedly be indignant if I move into their fathers house." He shrugged, teasing lightly at the discomfort he had with her eldest. Trying to add some levity, he grinned, "I might just buy a new place. I can use Aulus' thermae builders, pay them double to get them to come and work for me instead." 

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

"You'll have to be prepared to have a mob of angry plebs come to break your door down if they don't get their new thermae," Aulus said. "Borrow the bunch that did the Flavian Amphitheatre instead., they're probably kicking their heels wanting a new contract." Well, the overseers would be; doubtless they'd hired their slave labourers out already to someone.

He sniggered. "The great Lucius Cassius Longinus, leaving things to the last minute as usual. Do you ever plan anything in advance, or is that beneath you?"

The eldest of Sestia's sons was soon to put on his toga virilis, Aulus recalled, which meant that he, at least, could move out and set up his own establishment somewhere for the short years before he embarked on his professional career. He'd be paterfamilias, wouldn't he, his father having died - unless there was a paternal grandfather still kicking around somewhere to play that role. Thinking wasn't doing any good, though, and he swallowed half his wine to dispel the meandering thoughts. He had his own problems to worry about, after all.

 

@Liv @Sara

[Liv]

The mental image of an angry mob tearing down Longinus' door to demand he return the thermae builders made Titus erupt into a chuckle-snort that only did not have dire consequences because he'd already swallowed his drink.  "The only thing he's managed to plan in advance in recent memory is this very outing," he declared helpfully as he reached for a jug and refilled his cup.

Ah yes, the difficult age. Titus was just beginning to see its effects on girls from up close; Aulus with his son might have more useful advice. "Why don't you buy the property next to hers and add a passageway? She keeps her place and its new decor, you don't technically move in with them so they save face and you finally have a chance of starting anew with your own decoration. Besides, when someone throws a hissy fit they can just fuck off to their side of the house and leave the others be," he concluded with a one-armed shrug. 

And speaking of sons, what about Longinus' own daughter? "Have you told Cassia?" he asked his friend in a surprisingly gentle tone. The poor little girl was probably, if inadvertently, getting the short end of the stick.

@Sara @Sharpie

[Sara]

Longinus swatted at Aulus and Titus in turn, but only managed to hit Titus' arm. "I'll have you know I have excellent forward-thinking...abilities." He laughed, "It's just that the heart wants what the heart wants!" He sounded like a soppy teenage girl but he hoped it would distract his friends from the fact that it seemed so very rushed (because it was). They knew him well, they knew he did things on gut instinct a lot of the time and it rarely went wrong so why should this be any different? Because this is a marriage, you idiot, not figuring out where various cohorts should go for a set piece. 

Titus' plan, he admitted begrudgingly, was sound and he muttered a "I'll think about it." As he sipped his wine. Which came spluttering out as he asked about Cassia. "Of course I have! I'm not a bloody idiot!" What did Titus suppose he'd do? Just drag his daughter to a new house, point at Sestia and say 'here's your new mother'? Pfft! 

He jabbed a finger at both of his friends in turn, "And I'll have you know she's delighted, she likes Sestia." He put down his hand and retook his cup, sipping it as he mumbled with a sly grin, "My mother...less so but..." He shrugged, "What are you going to do? I bet neither of your mothers were thrilled at your wives at first?" he hoped at least. Or was it just that his mother was so overbearing he was alone in his struggles?

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

Aulus came upright in his seat and patted his friend on the back - rather harder than intended for he was no longer sober but sliding happily towards drunk. nyway, it served him right for jabbing at Aulus' chest so hard. "I wasn't there when Horatia met my mother," he said, slumping back and reaching for his cup again, to find that it was inexplicably empty. "It was during the proscription under Clemens - you and I must have been nearly to Narnia by that point," he added, turning to Titus with a slight unfocused look in his eyes. "She went south with a slave, and ended up having to bribe her way into Father's villa because he wouldn't let her in - no wonder, she was disguised as a plebeian for her own safety. I think Father rather liked the spark, but I have no idea what my mother made of it all."

Calpurnia Praetextata would not have behaved so, he was sure - but then, she had not been in a similar situation. Had she been, she might very well have done the same, or something like it.

"What was that about not being a bloody idiot?" he asked, finding that someone had topped his cup back up again.

 

@Liv @Sara

 

[Liv]

Longinus' heart wanted very many things and it changed its mind very many times. Still, it was good to hear he had had the foresight to let Cassia know about her soon-to-be stepmother before the actual wedding. 

When an accusing finger came jabbing at him, Titus grabbed it with unexpectedly quick reflexes and bent it backwards until he saw a satisfying grimace on Longinus' face. He hadn't had enough to drink yet that he couldn't pay back in kind. 

"Oh, so it was around that time," he nodded to Aulus in remembrance, making a face when more memories came rushing in uninvited. Neptune forgive him, but he really hated sea travel. "That was very brave of her to do. To Horatia Justina and her nerves of steel!" he toasted, inclining his head towards the other two and happily draining his cup. 

That fucking cup seemed to get empty far too quickly. But there was no crack on it, because the wooden table had no spillage where he put it down. A true mystery. Shrugging again, this time to himself, Titus grabbed a jug and distributed its contents by all three cups so that they were adequately filled. "My mother was actually chuffed. She thought I would do a lot worse." Quite frankly, so had Titus at the time. As the second son with no noteworthy skills, achievements or looks, he could not expect to land a Claudia Caesaris. It had also helped that Valeria had an easy laugh and great people skills and that they'd wasted no time in giving Plancia Magna a grandchild to dote on. With an absent look, he sipped at his wine. "Nah, she never really had reason to complain," was his final verdict.

"It was a lie, that's what it was," Titus deadpanned as he looked down at the inside of his cup. Still enough. For a popina, their wine wasn't so bad. Better than that vomit-inducing ale Longinus kept trying to pawn off on unsuspecting victims guests. He looked up again and stared at Longinus with silent challenge in his eyes.

"So. Spill it. Why so soon? You suddenly hard up or what?"

@Sara @Sharpie

[Sara]

Longinus grinned at his two friends but felt the knife twist in a little. His own mothers reaction hadn't been terrible - she was certainly relived that he hadn't married down, the daughter of the Proconsul of Africa was an excellent coup - but she had been incensed she hadn't been consulted and furious that Sestia (in her opinion) was an aged matron. Longinus suspected she would have preferred a pliable young girl with no wits to give her a grandson and bend to her whims. 

At their insistence he was an idiot, he shoved his foot into Aulus' chair which made it wobble and the wine he was holding spill in drips and drops onto the table. "Not a idiot." He grinned, beamed in fact, to his two friends. Yet the smile fell and he groaned loudly at Titus' refusal to let it up. He had hoped the wine (which was hardly watered at all) would have been enough to quiet the inventible questions. 

"No, no not hard up thank you very much." Even with his investment in less than profitable schemes (such as vineyard which had yet to produce any decent grapes), he was still rolling in the riches he had scored from Britannia and the family's ancient wealth which had been passed down to him as paterfamilias of the Cassii-Longini. The question of how honest he should be played on his mind and on his face as he drunkenly thought about it. His pause was a tad too long to be believable but he tried his drunken best to divert their attentions anyway. With a shrug he sipped his wine and then carried on his prattling, rehearsed words; "Because why wait? I'm not getting any younger and unlike both of you fine gentlemen," he gestured to both of them, "I don't have a son yet - do I? And it's hardly like I can pass off the inheritance to anybody else, us Cassii-Longini aren't very fruitful in the children department." He had a male cousin but...that was about it. And Lepidus was an odd sort of bloke that Longinus had no intention of naming as his heir. "That's the truth!" He said and raised his palms as if in surrender. 

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv

[Sharpie]

"Not an idiot?" Aulus peered at him, trying to find any traces of not-idiot in his friend's face, and clutched the table as Longinus kicked his chair. His wine splashed the table. "Are you sure?"

He raised his cup again - if there was less wine in the cup to spill, there was less chance of it spilling. Wasn't there.

"You could adopt, you know. If it's just an heir you're worried about. Good custom, that. Adoption. Worked all right for Augustus - pater patriae and all that. Fine chap. Shame about the jug ears though."

 

@Liv @Sara

[Liv]

Fine, so her money wasn't the reason Longinus was dying to put a ring on Sestia Vaticana's finger. He joined Aulus in his thorough inspection of their friend's face and reached the same conclusion, but chose to knock back his wine instead of commenting.

"Didn't you have a slave bastard? Still no luck in tracking him?" Not that said bastard would have been a good solution to Longinus' conundrum, by virtue of being a slave and the child of a slave with presumably no pedigree. Even if he were to be found and freed, he still wouldn't be a full citizen.

Titus raised his cup too. "Aulus's got a point. Doesn't Sestia have two boys? Make friends with the youngest, if he's a decent young bloke adopt him. Or go and make one... but that's a trial and error thing." Stupid cup getting empty again like it was nobody's business!

@Sara @Sharpie

[Sara]

Longinus rolled his eyes at Aulus and then Titus in turn, bringing out the dramatist in him. "Well I thank you both for the vote of confidence in my ability to sire a son." he snorted in amusement, "Adoption can be a back up." And a very distant back-up at that, if the Gods willed the child in Sestia's belly to be both healthy and male. 

He drunkenly decanted more wine into both of their cups, spilling some on the table and Aulus' hand as he did so. "And yes, Pelias, and no." He rolled his eyes again. "For all I bloody know he's in the mines or absconded and living the sweet life as a pleb somewhere." He'd have thought his son would have managed to get word to him. He could have sworn the lad could read and write. But maybe he found life wherever he'd ended up as more amenable than life as the slave son of his master. 

"And her sons are good lads," His words weren't entirely convincing, "Her eldest doesn't like me much but I suspect that's a teenager thing, mhm?" He glanced at each in turn as he sipped his wine. They both had children around his age, maybe the'd offer a pearl of wisdom or two?

 

TAG: @Sharpie @Liv