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Rolling out the welcome mat


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Two months.

Two freaking months.

Sure, Attis had been cheeky, and he had to deal with the consequences, but really, Longinus was pushing the boundaries of petty revenge here. Not that Metella would tell him that, lest she'd be sent away to some other domus too. But she could make hints. She did, with great frequency, until the whole marriage thing went to shit, at which point dominus up and left, and suddenly the house was fairly empty, with the young domina and Metella left to their own devices under the care of the staff.

The marriage thing was sad. Being left alone wasn't. Metella liked having the relative freedom of the dominus being away. It didn't last long, and things were bound to return to normal (ish) eventually. It would have been definitely more fun if Attis was around.

Eventually, that time came too. On a hot day at the end of Junius, when there was not much to be done in the house except sit in the gardens and eat some fruit, hoping that the evening would cool down the hot summer air...

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The journey back to Rome was just as unbearably hot as the journey down to Formiae, and just as uncomfortable, though the silence was of a different quality. This was not quite a sulk, and not quite brooding and Attis was on the point of screaming in exasperation by the time they reached the domus. Longinus vanished after curtly dismissing Attis to his own devices.

Attis promptly headed for the slave quarters to see if he could find the one person he'd really missed (and who he hoped had missed him in return).

"Honey! I'm home!"

 

@Chevi

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"Honey! I'm home!"

Attis' voice rang through the courtyard, and Metella jumped up, leaving fruit and shade behind. Was that... really him? The red-haired nurse bolted across the gardens and towards the source of the familiar voice, running her hands through her hair as she hurried along. She had been on her own in the household for days; she was wearing a comfortable dress, and her hair held back by a simple ribbon. She smiled brightly as Attis came into view.

"Attis!" she laughed, taking a running leap, wrapping arms and legs around him at the same time. Alright, so maybe there had been too much momentum. But he would just have to take it like a man.

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She came flying from wherever she'd been and flew at him, launching herself into his arms, a solid flesh-and-blood creature who took him by surprise and made him stagger back until he found the solid wall behind him. If it hadn't been for that he would have ended up on his arse on the floor.

"Missed you," he managed, before finding her mouth with his and kissing her as if his life depended on it. 

 

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Metella's momentum carried Attis backwards until his back hit the wall. Oh well, at least they didn't tumble to the floor. He muttered something about missing her and then they were on to kissing, which was, gods, much needed. Metella had been without male company - well, the pleasurable kind anyway - for two months, and she was more than glad to have Attis back. Unruly tongue and all.

Eventually they had to come up for air, and Metella was still comfortably clinging to Attis, with her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his hips. She beamed at him as she tilted her head back.

"So, you are out of the dog house then? All forgiven? Managed to keep your mouth shut this long? I'm impressed."

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"You should've heard the interview Rufus gave me that first evening. 'Yes, domine' 'No domine' till he looked like he was going to spit feathers. He said I was probably calling him names in my head, though I don't know what he expected. I kept out of his way or I'd probably be in worse trouble than ever. Let's not talk about me."

Kissing was better than talking, especially about Attis, who didn't like being the centre of attention, not like that. Gods, he'd missed this.

"I see you lot didn't burn the house down," he said when they came up for air the second time. "Missed you. Who's been sleeping in my room and will they mind if we kick them out?"

 

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Attis was back, and back in one piece, looking a little tired but not worn, so Metella assumed he'd managed to avoid more severe punishment for his impertinence. For two months! Must have been torture for him, keeping his mouth shut that long. She just hoped that now he was back he'd keep up the good work and not get kicked out again. The second time might not be temporary.

"You should've heard the interview Rufus gave me that first evening. 'Yes, domine' 'No domine' till he looked like he was going to spit feathers. He said I was probably calling him names in my head, though I don't know what he expected. I kept out of his way or I'd probably be in worse trouble than ever. Let's not talk about me."

"You were calling him names in your head, though." Metella pointed out with a grin. He always was. He just had to be smart enough to keep it inside. They kissed again, and she greatly enjoyed it. She could have found other company while he was away, but not many were as entertaining as Attis.

"I see you lot didn't burn the house down. Missed you. Who's been sleeping in my room and will they mind if we kick them out?"

Metella finally moved her legs and slid off of him, standing on her own feet. "Well, it was kind of boring without you. But we had good food." she grinned "I used your room. It is a lot cooler in the summer than mine. But you can kick me out if you want."

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"I wasn't, much. Mostly imagining where he'd end up in the Underworld. Somewhere near Ixion and Sisyphus, I think. Anyway, he's not terrible. Just." He shrugged. "We can share, if you don't my, and I'm not kicking you out tonight, when I haven't seen you in forever."

This was nice, though she was getting heavy and he'd have to put her down soon.

 

@Chevi

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"I wasn't, much. Mostly imagining where he'd end up in the Underworld. Somewhere near Ixion and Sisyphus, I think. Anyway, he's not terrible. Just."

Metella chuckled. She knew that if Rufus had been bad, Attis would have some choice words about him. The fact that he didn't meant his two months away had been bearable, at least. It made sense. Rufus was friends with Longinus, and as far as Roman noblemen went, they were a fairly decent sort.

"We can share, if you don't my, and I'm not kicking you out tonight, when I haven't seen you in forever."

"Well, then maybe I won't kick you out either" Metella grinned, getting down to stand on her own feet. "So, dominus is back as well? Have you heard all that happened?"

@Sharpie

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"Yes." Attis sobered. "I mean, I heard that she went off back to Africa - her father recalled her? And dominus..." He shook his head. "Rufus took me down to Formiae when he heard, and, well. I'm glad. Dominus wasn't... he needed his friends."

He wasn't going to dare put himself on the level of being a friend of Longinus', he had sense enough to avoid that, though the plural 'friends' had slipped out without his being entirely aware of it.

"And he left Cassia behind, too, poor girl. I know she liked... Sestia, and was looking forward to having a mother figure." And maybe brothers too, but he wasn't entirely sure of that. He was absolutely certain that the entire household from the master down to the meanest kitchen skivvy would end up spoiling her. Now, if only he could help the master steer clear of that black funk he'd been in when Rufus and he had arrived at Formiae.

"How are you doing, though? Must've been awfully dull without dominus around, for once."

 

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She was standing on her feet now, and Attis set the flirting aside long enough to discuss the events of the household while they had been apart. Most prominently, Longinus' marriage to Sestia. Or lack thereof.

"Yes. I mean, I heard that she went off back to Africa - her father recalled her? And dominus... Rufus took me down to Formiae when he heard, and, well. I'm glad. Dominus wasn't... he needed his friends."

Metella nodded. Their dominus could be strict sometimes, but he was a good man, and he had been looking forward to this wedding, and having a wife again. Metella liked Sestia, as much as she knew her, and she knew the girl liked her too.

"And he left Cassia behind, too, poor girl. I know she liked... Sestia, and was looking forward to having a mother figure."

"She has been in a foul mood" Metella sighed "But I think being alone here distracted her a bit. It was better for her father to deal with this on his own."

Cassia was young. She would survive this, even if she acted out occasionally. And being the lady of the household for a short time was distraction enough for her to work some of that out.

"How are you doing, though? Must've been awfully dull without dominus around, for once."

"It was awfully quiet" Metella grinned "Cassia got some practice in for being the lady of a household. That was fun. And I got to relax and go to the baths and whatnot. But it's good to have the dominus back now. And you."

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"Cassia is always the lady of the household," Attis said, resting his forehead against Metella's so that he could look into her eyes. "It's been a mess from start to finish. I just... I never expected him to take it so hard, ." Well, it wasn't as though he'd expected Sestia Vaticana to just up sticks and vanish like that, certainly not so close to the wedding - and he would feel guilty for a long, long time about not being there when it happened.

"It's good to be back," he added, wrapping his arms around her (not that he'd actually let go of her, only enough for her to not feel half-crushed). "D'you think we could go back to my room and... take up where we left off, so to speak? I missed you."

He'd missed this entire chaotic household, in fact - Sulipcius Rufus' household was chaotic too, but in an entirely different way, what with his wife and three kids, and the body-slave and gardener making eyes at each other but not doing anything about it... Attis was rather grateful to be back here, where he knew where he stood with everyone. Well, mostly.

He'd have to try asking Metella again, some time, about setting up, just the two of them. (Well, he had the room, she'd been using it, they were halfway there already. Sort of.)

 

@Chevi

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"Cassia is always the lady of the household. It's been a mess from start to finish. I just... I never expected him to take it so hard, ." 

Metella wrinkled her nose as Attis hugged her again. It was nice to have him back, but it came with a side of worry about their master, who would take time before trusting women again. They both liked Longinus, despite his recent decision to send Attis away as a punishment.

"It's good to be back. D'you think we could go back to my room and... take up where we left off, so to speak? I missed you."

"Oh, you want to chase some bunnies again?" Metella grinned, booping Attis on the nose. "Daww. No one at the Rufus household had a thing for your sharp tongue then?"

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"Not the rabbits!" Attis groaned, though he was smiling as he did so. "And I don't think Rufus would appreciate my humour. He as good as said he just wanted me to be as boring as the next half-witted house slave." 

He shrugged. "Like I said, I kept out of his way, as much as I could. The boring old fart!"

 

@Chevi

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Metella chuckled at Attis' words. It seemed like he did manage to keep his mouth shut, surprisingly, and he also did not have a lot of fun experiences at the other household. Gods, how bored he must have been.

"Alright, so Rufus was no fun" she noted, taking Attis by the hand to walk him to his room "Didn't make any fun friends in the household either? Poor Attis, no attention for two whole months?"

Metella was not the jealous type. She did not lay claim to Attis outside of the time they spent together having fun. But she did care for him, and he had suffered enough from this punishment for sure.

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"Well, the gardener and Rufus' body slave are making eyes at each other but neither one of them believes the other one likes him so nobody's getting any there, either - I swear the whole place just needs one night of really good sex. Even pretty indifferent sex." He grinned. "He's got a Dacian woman. Not like Ismene, she used to be some royal bitch, and she gave as good as she got." He hadn't liked her, but they could meet each other verbally as well as anyone. "All in all, it's been kind of dull. I'm glad to be home again."

And Longinus had made his point - more than. Not that Attis would ever admit it to him, of course, but he'd be old and grey before he ever forget himself the way he had done.

"What about you? I suppose I shouldn't hope you've been pining away for me?" He asked the question with a grin; he wouldn't mind if she'd spent time with anyone else (well, he wouldn't mind much!) but they did have an understanding while he was in the same house.

 

@Chevi

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Metella had briefly visited the other household before, but not long enough to make friends or even acquaintances among the slaves. She was kind of curious what kind of people Attis had spent his days among while he was away. Hopefully they were not bad company.

"Well, the gardener and Rufus' body slave are making eyes at each other but neither one of them believes the other one likes him so nobody's getting any there, either - I swear the whole place just needs one night of really good sex. Even pretty indifferent sex."

"Oooh. Romance." Metella cooed, wiggling her eyebrows at Attis "I'm sure you didn't poke your nose into that at all."

"He's got a Dacian woman. Not like Ismene, she used to be some royal bitch, and she gave as good as she got. All in all, it's been kind of dull. I'm glad to be home again."

"We are low on Dacian royalty around here. Shame. I think I'd make good royalty." Metella pointed out as they made their way to his (her) room, hand in hand.

"What about you? I suppose I shouldn't hope you've been pining away for me?" 

"Oh, I was. In-between orgies, I totally missed you." the girl chuckled. Making fun of Attis was entertaining. She'd missed it. It was one of his best qualities.

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Attis turned his practised innocent look on her. "I was bored, and they were never going to figure things out without a bit of help. Sweet innocents, the pair of them - and yes, that includes Rufus' body slave, make of that what you want!" He grinned at her. "Oh, you'd make good royalty, all right. You could tell people that you were, if you wanted, they'd never be able to say you weren't."

Longinus had brought numerous British slaves back to Rome but the only one that Attis thought was royal in any way was Eppitacos - everyone had heard of him, and he'd wound up as a gladiator owned by Quintus Caesar himself.

"Orgies? Did you have anyone good?" he asked, a wicked gleam in his eye as they reached the tiny room that had been his. Might still be his, but he wasn't about to push too hard just yet, not with everything else Longinus was dealing with. "Or were they all mouth and no prick?"

 

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"I was bored, and they were never going to figure things out without a bit of help. Sweet innocents, the pair of them - and yes, that includes Rufus' body slave, make of that what you want!"

"Aww. You softie." Metella giggled. Attis had a sharp tongue, but apparently also a soft spot for romance. Why else would he try to help the two innocents get together? And the body slave? Wasn't he an old man? Love was strange sometimes.

"Oh, you'd make good royalty, all right. You could tell people that you were, if you wanted, they'd never be able to say you weren't."

"Maybe I will." she grinned as they made it to the room. Metella opened the door, still throwing some banter at Attis, as if there was something else they would be doing in the next hour or so.

"Orgies? Did you have anyone good?Or were they all mouth and no prick?"

"Attis." Metella turned to give him a serious look, hand on her hip "Have I ever complained about anyone being all mouth?"

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"Oh, frequently - but I couldn't ever be accused of having no prick," Attis rejoined with a grin, following her into the tiny room, and nudging the door closed behind him. "I missed you, you know. Mean sods wouldn't even let me come over to try to see you when you went out."

He'd left a message for her with one of the local stall-holder, though gods knew if she'd ever got it - or saw the plaintive graffito left on the wall near the house. Not that Rufus or Longinus could complain; he'd obeyed their orders. It wasn't his fault if he'd got talking to a shopkeeper, or found a bit of paint left by workman who'd been touching up some of the woodwork of a nearby house.

"You look serious when you're beautiful, Metella," he said. "Or is that beautiful when you're serious? Either way." He put his arms around herand kissed her again.

 

@Chevi

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"Oh, frequently - but I couldn't ever be accused of having no prick... I missed you, you know. Mean sods wouldn't even let me come over to try to see you when you went out."

The door closed behind them, and Metella chuckled. She really had no complaints about Attis' past performance; if she did, she would have just stopped sneaking around with him. For the duration of his punishment they didn't meet, although it seemed it was not for lack of trying. She had been told she had a message scrawled on a wall. It didn't take a scholar to know where it came from.

"You look serious when you're beautiful, Metella. Or is that beautiful when you're serious? Either way."

She would have played with him more, but in all seriousness, she'd missed him too. And she'd missed sex, bless the gods.

"Alright, you have charmed me enough." she chuckled, kissing him back and pulling at his cloak and tunic. She couldn't keep the guy out of his own bed, after all...

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Attis grinned, unfastened his cloak and let it drop to the floor - he'd be the one picking it up again afterwards to put away, and he was far too concerned with catching up on what he'd been missing out on for the past two months. His belt followed it in short order and he stepped back to pull his tunic off before stepping in to pull at Metella's own tunica.

"Ah, but you're a beautiful woman who deserves to be flattered," Attis told her. He had missed her, and wondered whether Longinus had known just what he'd sentenced them both to - perhaps he might understand a little of it himself, now that Sestia had returned to Africa. (Though he hadn't expected his master to end up in the depths of despair over it all.)

He pulled Metella towards the straw pallet in the corner that served as the bed.

 

@Chevi

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"Ah, but you're a beautiful woman who deserves to be flattered,"

"Oh I know." Metella grinned, untying her own belt as Attis got rid of his clothes. She didn't really make a ceremony out of undressing; it just needed to happen to get to the fun part. Attis' bed was not exactly the height of comfort, but then again neither was hers, and if it wouldn't serve, they still had the desk, the chair, the wall... and the hope that Longinus was moping in his rooms somewhere and allowing Attis to make up for lost time. Somewhere out of earshot.  Metella grinned as she looked up at Attis. "Three bunnies, was it? Remind me..."

[FTB?...]

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"Mmm, I think it was," Attis said, covering her mouth with his again as his hands roamed... Where a man's hands were going to roam, given the permission to touch a naked woman who wanted to sleep with him. He lowered her carefully to her back on the bed, and got to kissing her all over, tiny kisses, before getting down to the reason they had come into this room. 

"Missed you," he told her once they'd done, trying to catch his breath. "Stay here with me, tonight?"

It might make up for the night they hadn't spent together after Floralia - or it might not, Attis wasn't quite sure where they stood in their relationship now, although she had wanted him as much as he wanted her. Maybe they could even have the sort of relationship she'd refused to begin before? 

 

@Chevi

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Attis could be sassy, snappy, nosy, and dramatic sometimes, but when it came down to sex, he was pretty good at what he was doing. Metella would not have bothered with him otherwise. Especially now, after a long time apart, he was enthusiastic and giving, and they both lost track of time for quite a while, making up for things they had missed. When they finally quieted down, Metella giggled as they both tried to catch their breath. She felt relaxed, like a cat in the sun.

"Missed you. Stay here with me, tonight?"

"I promised" Metella smiled, draping a leg over him and snuggling to his side. "As long as dominus doesn't suddenly need your for anything..."

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