Innocents abroad (Modern day AU)

[Chevi]

"Economically conservative, he's socially pretty liberal though."

Lucius actually snorted with laughter at that. Jacob already sounded like an actual cliché. Maybe he didn't even exist. Maybe he was just wishful thinking.

"Sure. And some of his best friends are gays." he grinned. Didn't every conservative politician have a list of lines like that?

"Gosh it must be nice to live in your world, hmm? Leaving your brother to pick up the pieces? Screw your dad?" 

"Not complaining." his brother was a decent, hard working guy, actually. Even made sure to give back to the community. It was not his fault dad was kind of a jerk. And Lucius did not feel the obligation to play his game anymore.

"And may I ask what marketable skills you have to offer to your NGOs? There's a million and one rich kids that want to stick it to the man and do some good in the world, why on earth would they hire you?" 

"Really? Meet a lot of them who don't go for the cushy jobs after graduation?" he tilted his head at her again. Did she really think rich kids were jostling for NGO jobs out in the real world? "And I have skills, thank you. Watch this."

Lucius turned and walked over to the half-asleep guard, talking to him in Italian. He had a friendly smile, and the man obviously appreciated someone talking to him in that manner. They exchanged some words and some laughs, and Lucius flashed the card he carried in his pocket, before the man turned to open the clunky lock and chains, cracking the gate open. The stairs behind it lead underground, where cool damp air contrasted with the outside heat. Lucius turned to smile at Camilla. "VIP tour?"

@Sara

[Sara]

She chose not to reply to his comment on Jacob, knowing he was just baiting her. Besides, she wasn't even dating him yet, so his needling felt provocative for literally no reason. She was relieved when the conversation flipped right back on to him. 

"Yes I do meet a lot of them." She deadpanned with a sweet, smug smile. "At college there were a handful of my sorority sisters who studied development, or international relations - they all went for jobs and all got turned down because they had no fieldwork experience and middling grades." She scoffed at him, "Am I presume you have years of fieldwork and a 4.0 GPA, Lucius?" 

She did watch him though - try as she might to look disinterested. His Italian was much, much better than hers and she couldn't even understand half of what he was saying. The man he was speaking to seemed pleased though and that card whatever it was, she wanted a better glimpse of it. 

She walked past him with a "Grazie" to the guard who gave her a curious look and into the cold, damp air. She coughed due to the dust. "What is this place? And what was that?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Yes I do meet a lot of them. At college there were a handful of my sorority sisters who studied development, or international relations - they all went for jobs and all got turned down because they had no fieldwork experience and middling grades. Am I presume you have years of fieldwork and a 4.0 GPA, Lucius?" 

"News flash. No one gives a crap about GPA." Lucius shrugged before he walked away. Fieldwork she could figure out for herself. He did have experience with that, even if it was not the most conventional kind. But that was not what he was paying attention to now. Once the gate opened he led the way down the stairs, into the cool, dark space below.

"What is this place? And what was that?" 

"Who? Nico? He works around the Palatine sites as a guard. Decent guy." Lucius chuckled, turning the light on on his phone to shine it around. There was a light switch in there somewhere, further down, but this place was clearly not open to tourists. "Do you know what a mithraeum is, princess?"

@Sara

[Sara]

"No I don't know what a mit...muthraeum is, dude." She groaned - loathing him intensely in that precise moment, but she had a brainwave and whilst he ws distracted, fumbling with the torch on his phone and walking further into the tunnel she smirked and reached out a quick hand to delve into his pocket. She wouldn't have done it if anybody else was around, but alone, she felt like she had no choice. He was never going to tell her, after all. 

She fished out a card but managed to drop it on the floor. Scrabbling around for it in the dark, she finally wrestled it free and grinned, triumphant. "What is this?" She held it just out of his reach and arched a  brow.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"No I don't know what a mit...muthraeum is, dude."

"Well, you're abut to" he noted cheerfully, shining the light around the brick and stone walls along the long underground corridor. Arches held up the roof above them, and there were places he had to duck. It was still funny to him how much Roman history she missed, for someone studying in Rome.

There was some fumbling behind him, and as he turned, she was holding up the card with a triumphant look on her face.

 "What is this?" 

"Look at that. I did not peg you as a pickpocket, princess. Talk about skills" he grinned, turning the light on the card. "It's an archaeologist white card. Lets you access sites closed to tourists. Belongs to one of my roommates, which is why the name is not mine, but if you are friendly enough, most guards don't care."

@Sara

[Sara]

She bit her tongue down, hard to keep the planned retort at bay; 'that's what a lifetime of feeling small, arrogant pricks gets you - pickpocketing skills' and instead chose to keep silent, instead grinning at him with a triumphant glimmer in her eyes. But then it vanished and a frown creased her brows. She thought she'd uncovered something exciting but really, he was just a cheat. How...dull. 

"Ugh." She said, and tossed it back until it landed in the dewy dust at his feet. "And here I was hoping for something interesting, I don't know," She said and walked past him, into the dark of the corridor - speaking over her shoulder, annoyed that she hadn't succeeded in finding out anything interesting, "I don't know, that you secretly work for the Government or something. But instead you just leach off your cute roommates." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

She tossed the card back, looking a little disappointed. Lucius, for all his cool attitude, definitely had a dorky side; jokes aside, he did really believe the places the card granted him access to was cool. Especially because, like the mithraeum, they were closed to most people.

"Ugh. And here I was hoping for something interesting, I don't know... I don't know, that you secretly work for the Government or something. But instead you just leach off your cute roommates." 

"I can introduce you" he scoffed, following her, shining the light ahead so she didn't accidentally run into a wall "But I'm warning you, they think this place is cool too. You know, for a two thousand year old secret underground sanctuary closed to tourists or whatever. Dorks."

@Sara

[Sara]

"I might think it's cool," She said with a small smirk over her shoulder at him and a quirked brow, "You're so quick to judge Lucius Roscoe." True she might not find most of the historical sights crowded and dull, but that was largely because the tour guides were uninspiring and boring and charged a fortune for the pleasure. 

"But then if I hit it off with them, you'd have me around in your apartment all the time, and how would you cope?" She chuckled and waited for him to catch up, "Giving how much you evidently loathe me." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"I might think it's cool. You're so quick to judge Lucius Roscoe." 

"Pot. Kettle." Lucius muttered as they walked on. The hallway sloped gently, then lead to another set of stairs; beyond those, the space opened up more than the phone light could handle.

"But then if I hit it off with them, you'd have me around in your apartment all the time, and how would you cope? Giving how much you evidently loathe me." 

"I don't loathe you. I don't show this place to people I loathe" he noted, shining the light away from her to find the light switch on the wall. It was attached to some cables; the lights were not built in and cleverly hidden like in official tourist sites; they were just placed at strategic corners to allow people to get by while they set up better lights for research equipment. Right now, work was not being done, so the switch only flickered to life the few work lights around the space. Enough to show what needed to be seen, though.

The mithraeum was a vast underground hall, with a sunken mosaic floor and fragments of stone benches and statues around the edges. Across the entrance, lit by the eerie lights, was a large marble relief of Mithras, with his flowing cloak and hat, kneeling on a bull's back as he stabbed it to death. The paint was long gone from the image, but it was still stunning to look at.

"Welcome to the Mithraeum Under the Circus."

@Sara

[Sara]

I don't loathe you... "Well, you have a funny way of showing that you like somebody, hm?" She chuckled but nonetheless followed him into the darkness, stood encased in it until he flicked a switch. It took her a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the light and when they did, surprise coloured her face. 

She almost deadpanned some critique of the crowded, dusty room but decided to stay her tongue for once. "It's...not what I expected." She admitted instead and cast him a sly glance. "What was it used for then, genius?" She looked around, trying to select the best place for a picture. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"It's...not what I expected."

Damn, this woman was hard to please. Lucius clicked his tongue as she looked around.

"What was it used for then, genius?"

"It's a temple." he sighed, sitting on one of the stone benches and stretching his legs "A temple of Mithras, to be specific." he added, nodding towards the relief. "It was a mystery cult the Romans adopted from Persia. It was about light defeating darkness. That guy. The bull is darkness, obviously." he folded his arms behind his head again as he watched Camilla. "This place is not open to tourists. But it was not known even back in the Roman days. VIP only. And I don't care if you think it's Insta worthy, because it's definitely cool."

@Sara

[Sara]

She joined him, but sat upon a bench on the opposing wall. Unlike him she didn't recline and kept her back arrow straight as she surveyed the room. It looked a little...dingy for a temple, and as he spoke, a thought struck her. 

"Yes," She waved a hand, "I relent, it is cool. Very cool. Very cool that we're stood...sat in a room where only a few thousand could have been before us?" It sent a little chill up her spine, "But, genius...here's a question for you...if their whole...thing was lightness defeating darkness...why are all their temples buried underground in the dark? Why didn't they just worship outside in the light?" She wiggled a brow and sat back, smug.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Camilla took a seat, but she did not look particularly at ease inside the temple. Sure it was not very clean, but it was also not prepared for tourists, which made it look a lot closer to what it might have looked like thousands of years before.

"Yes. I relent, it is cool. Very cool. Very cool that we're stood...sat in a room where only a few thousand could have been before us?"

Lucius nodded. That was part of the magic of places like this. A direct, tactile connection to the past, without the mess of all those centuries in between.

"But, genius...here's a question for you...if their whole...thing was lightness defeating darkness...why are all their temples buried underground in the dark? Why didn't they just worship outside in the light?"

Lucius smirked, holding her gaze as she challenged him. He wondered what it would take for her to admit that she was impressed by something. Or someone.

"That's because it was a rebirth cult." he answered, motioning around as he stood up "This was supposed to imitate a natural cave. Initiates learned about the pathway the souls take when they descend into the Underworld. And learn the way back from it. Like the light returns after the winter solstice. Caves like this were supposed to model the whole universe on a small scale." he walked as he talked, circling around the room until he was back at the doorway. "Mystery cults were big on the mystery part." he added, flashing her a grin before he reached out and switched the lights off again.

@Sara

[Sara]

God above did this man know everything? She tried to look unimpressed and succeeded, in part, she hoped. When he finished his lecture - and it was a lecture - irritating pacing included, she gave him a smug smile and shrugged her shoulders; "Very interesting, still a load of nonsense of course."  

"But if I-" her next question was cut off by the flick of a light switch and she shot up, hitting her head on the sloped roof as she did. "Ow, fuck...ow..." It wasn't a bad hit, more than irritant than anything, "I haven't taken my picture yet - switch that back on!" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Very interesting, still a load of nonsense of course. "

Well, that comment in itself deserved some retaliation. The lights went out, plunging the cavernous room into complete darkness.

"Ow, fuck...ow... I haven't taken my picture yet - switch that back on!" 

"Enjoy the moment, princess. You are traveling back in time. It's not all about the pictures." he chuckled, standing by the doorway, wishing he could see what she was doing. His low voice echoed among the walls. "See, I think you are the kind of person who likes to play everything safe. By the rules. So embrace the mystery. See if you like it."

@Sara

 

[Sara]

"Oh fuck off!" She groaned in protest and as if it had been planned, her bag tumbled to the floor as she tried to rummage  in it for her phone. Shit. You better not have scratched the leather, you idiot. She had no idea where her phone was, and the sound of his voice echoing off the chambers walls was disorientating. 

Things were all over the place and she ended up down on her knees. She thought she found it and grasped what she assumed was her phone to only realise it wasn't when she felt hair. Nope. That's a leg. "Is this how you get to third base with all your ladies?" She said with a glare, even if he couldn't see her in the dark. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Oh fuck off!" 

He laughed. He was generally a mean person; he was staying by the light switch in case she started sounding genuinely panicked. Some people did not handle dark enclosed spaces well. But she sounded more annoyed than anything as she stumbled. Chances were, she was looking for her phone.

There was a touch as his ankle.

"Is this how you get to third base with all your ladies?"

"Why am I not surprised you think this is what third base is, princess?" Lucius grinned into the darkness, reaching down to catch her hand and help her to her feet. It was not exactly an easy feat in the darkness, especially given how wobbly she was without sight. He did his best to steady her. Up close and personal. "Don't panic. It's just darkness."

@Sara

[Sara]

"Have you seen me?" She said with an imperious edge to her voice, "Cute you think that I don't know what third base is." It was a shame he couldn't see the smug smile on her face. She might have lived by the rules for her whole life but that wasn't to say she didn't have her moments. Besides, that's what birth control was for, right? And besides, in this day and age, she wasn't going to get a man if she didn't put out.

She caught his hand and let herself be pulled up. She felt a hand on her waist and his breath on her cheek. She blinked. "What was it you said?" She said but made absolutely no move to pull away or find the light switch, "This isn't a date...?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Have you seen me? Cute you think that I don't know what third base is." 

"Hey, how am I to know what those music school guys tell you?"

Hah. With the lights out, the interesting side of the girl came out to play. Lucius had not been planning on this exactly, but he was also not going to back out of it. He steadied her with one hand on her waist (or what he hoped was her waist), and she did not immediately shove him away. They were close enough to hear each other breathe, but it was hard to tell exactly in the dark.

"What was it you said? This isn't a date...?" 

"Nah." he smiled, speaking in a low voice, running his fingers lightly along the side seam of her dress "It's just that we happen to be in an ancient hidden sanctuary where rules of the upstairs world really don't matter at all."

@Sara

[Sara]

Her mouth felt dry and her pulse quickened. It was that same insufferable feeling she felt like she did back at the temple and the orange tree; she couldn't tell if he was teasing her or not. The feeling of his fingers on her waist suggested not, nor did his breathing from where her hand had landed on his chest. But she couldn't be sure and her mind was weighing the risks of him flicking on the lights and laughing at her vs an infuriating attraction that she couldn't help.

She was debating waiting for him to make a move, to do...something, but she had a feeling he wouldn't. He wanted to see how far she'd push her boundaries. She swallowed the lump in her throat and moved her fingers from his chest to to the neck of his t-shirt. He was taller than her and so she stood up on the tips of her toes and went in for a kiss. Fuck it. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius has to listen very carefully to guess what was happening. It would have been easier to see Camilla's face, but on the other hand, not seeing anything was half the fun. Other senses took over, and he was aware of the sound of her breathing, and the touch of her hand on his chest. What do you know, she did not feel like she was panicking.

The hand slid up his chest and he could feel her pushing herself up, her mouth seeking his. The kiss went a little lopsided, but he smiled into it anyway. His hand left hers and moved up, fingers weaving into her hair as he adjusted the angle and kissed her back with better accuracy. And enthusiasm. Really, what was better than making out with a girl in a former mystery cult temple? Maybe the fact that said girl started it. She was never going to live that down.

@Sara

[Sara]

His hands in her hair sent her sunglasses clattering to the ground but she didn't mind. She felt a flutter in her chest and the heat of the moment couldn't accurately be articulated. She'd muse, later, that she had never been kissed like this before. Never somewhere so romantic or with such abandon. 

One arm wound round his neck to pull him down deeper into the kiss for a few more lingering moments and then it broke as she pulled back with a few gasping breaths for some air. Her forehead rested against his, and in the dark her cheeks were flushed lips parted. "Th-that's all your getting." She swallowed but didn't make any move to remove his hands, nor remove hers from where it had fallen to grip his arm. She had some dignity left, she thought, and a kiss was as far as she thought she'd taken. She already felt a wave of guilt gnaw at her, but tried to brush it off. That had been...everything to her.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Well, the kiss was amazing. Lucius lost himself in it for a few moments, with a hum in his chest as he pulled her closer. She might have been infuriating, but damn, she was good to kiss. Eventually they broke for air, but she was still close enough he could almost taste her. He kind of wanted to flip the light back on to see her well kissed and flustered.

 "Th-that's all your getting." 

"Well." Lucius noted, dipping his head to nuzzle her neck. She smelled good. Damn, she should not have smelled that good. "And what are you getting?"

@Sara

[Sara]

A little sound, akin to a moan, left her lips at the feeling of him in the crook of her neck. What was she getting? Besides thoroughly turned on, which she was not going to admit to him - now she had her senses back in check. At least in part. Somewhat. A little. The feeling of his fingers on her waist was keeping her on the edge though and her mind slightly addled. 

"I'm getting..." She ran her fingers through his hair, feeling the curls slip through them as her other arm reached up and then bam. Light flooded the room and illuminated them in a hazy yellow gaze. She smirked. She must have looked a mess, but she had a man in her arms. "I'm getting a man treating me like a princess, aren't I?" She said and used her fingers in her hair to pull his head back from her neck, "Tsk, you're so easily led Lucius." 

The point she was trying to make - that she'd one-upped him - was slightly muted by the look of contemned on her face and the flush on her cheeks. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

She made a sound that actually made Lucius' head spin. He was supposed to be in control of this game, but honestly, his mind was a little foggy now. And then suddenly the lights were back on, and while they were not too bright, they still hurt. 

"Ow." Lucius blinked rapidly, lifting his head to look at Camilla with mild annoyance.

"I'm getting a man treating me like a princess, aren't I? Tsk, you're so easily led Lucius." 

She had her fingers in his head, which did not help him concentrate at all. Her face was lit by the work lights, her cheeks tinted pink, and her hair was a mess. Lucius looked similarly flustered, against his better judgment. 

"Wrong era." he managed to say, eyes wandering to her lips again. "If you want to be treated like a princess, we should go back upstairs. Because I'm not feeling very polite."

@Sara