All's fair in love and war [M]

[Chevi]

"I want to lounge. In bed. And then I want to..."

"So far, I like this plan" Lucius chuckled as she held his hand. She had been helping him with his exercises, and his arm hurt a lot less than a few months before.

"And then I want to lounge in your baths. And pamper myself. And then I want you to hire a musician for dinner." 

"That... is definitely possible." Finding a musician during Saturnalia would be tricky, but they were always up for money and good food. He pulled on her hand to press a kiss to her wrist. "And... what am I gonna do while you lounge?"

@Sara

[Sara]

"Not some cheap tacky man with a lyre," She warned him with a little shove into his side before she settled back into her nest of pillows and blankets. Her impish smile returned though as he pressed the kiss to her wrist. 

"Well, I would say you could wash my hair for me," She chuckled - blushing, even if she'd moved far too far to be considered modest anymore. She was sharing a man's bed, for god's sake, "But I have a feeling you'd do a terrible job." She cleared her throat, "So why don't you go out present shopping?" She arched a  brow and then gave him a smug smile, crossing her arms over her chest. "I, unlike you, have been organised. Yours is in there." She gestured to the box she'd hidden underneath the table next to his side of the bed. 

In it he'd find a scroll, the one she'd discussed that halcyon day in the garden about composition and music, and a homemade honey cake. 

"Don't tell Marius I took his money." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Not some cheap tacky man with a lyre," 

Lucius chuckled. Old habits died hard, and he knew Ovinia would demand quality for everything.

"Well, I would say you could wash my hair for me... But I have a feeling you'd do a terrible job."

He perked up at the suggestion, but Ovinia managed to talk herself out of it before he could comment. Too bad. He did not know how to wash a lady's hair, but he would have definitely made a valiant effort.

"So why don't you go out present shopping? I, unlike you, have been organised. Yours is in there. Don't tell Marius I took his money." 

Lucius looked at her sheepishly. Sending him away while she pampered herself?... If that was her wish, he would go, but he really did not like the idea of spending precious Saturnalia time apart. He glanced at the gift, and his look softened. He had not thought Ovinia was the gifting kind. "Who says I don't already have a present for you?"

[Sara]

She studied his reaction and frowned. "You could try and be more enthused." she muttered, irked and awkwardly shifting in bed, "I put thought into it." She had. The honey cake had taken her at least five attempts and the scroll...she hoped, would give him a better insight into her.

She perked up a little at his statement though, and arched a brow, stretching out in bed like a cat, smirk on her face. "Do you have a present for me?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"You could try and be more enthused. I put thought into it." 

"I can't wait to open it" Lucius smiled. Saturnalia was a time of gifting, and of course he had been thinking about what he could get her. It was a hard choice; expensive things she would have to hide, and many others would be reminders of how her life had changed. In the end, however, he had settled for a good one.

"Do you have a present for me?" 

"Indeed I do." Lucius smiled "Do you want it now, or after the pampering?"

[Sara]

"Now." She grinned like the spoiled young woman she was. She had never grown out of her love of gifts. Some Patrician habits you couldn't shake. 

"Shall I close my eyes?" she raised her hands to clamp over her eyes with mock drama, and reached out a leg trying to find him, nudging him (and narrowly missing the tray laden with food). "And you can open yours." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"Close your eyes." He agreed, but she was already doing it, and poking him to get a move on. Lucius chuckled, leaving her in bed, not entirely sure she was not going to peek. He had to go to another room for her gift, but he soon returned, carrying a covered basket in his arms. He settled back onto the bed, holding the basket on his lap so she could see it when she opened her eyes.

"Ready."

[Sara]

She did peek, but he had already left by then and she sank back down into the nest of pillows and blankets to wait, her eyes drifting shut. She had no idea what she was waiting for; she'd never considered or had reason to consider, really, manly, often sarcastic, brooding Lucius particularly good at gifts. Maybe he'd surprise her though. 

She heard him pad back in and sit down. At his command her dark eyes flew open and went immediately to the basket on his lap. The basket that was moving at something inside of him. She blinked, frowning, and tentatively moved to lift the lid. Almost immediately a yowl sounded out and a big, orange cat poked its head through - a bell jingling as he did. She choked. "Typhon?" The cat spied her and its yowls became more frenetic, jumping up out of the basket and onto the bed. 

She couldn't help it, she started crying. He was skinnier and more mangy with a corner of his ear missing, but it was her cat, there was no doubts. She'd been gifted him only two years before it all went wrong; a substitute as her brothers brought in great hulking dogs into the domus. He'd been her only companion, really, in her last few months. She choked, upset but delighted. Not that it was easy to tell. "Y-you found him?!" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

There was a not-zero chance that Lucius' assumptions had been wrong. When he went back to Ovinia's old domus, looking for inspiration, and found the cat with the collar, he had made the logical leap that it had to be the cat Ovinia had mentioned in passing before. But then again, he could have been entirely wrong, in which case, he would have just gifted a completely random stray cat to Ovinia.

Luckily, he had been right.

"Y-you found him?!" 

"At your old domus" he nodded cautiously, not sure what to think of her tears. "Are you... alright?"

[Sara]

She didn't understand and looked at him, upset as Typhon started treading his paws on Ovinia's lap, making her wince with his claws. There had been a reason she'd named him after the most feared beast of the Greek pantheon. "Y-you were there?" why would he go there? She swallowed, shaking her head as if to tell him he didn't need to answer. 

"Yes," She finally managed to breathe after a second, swiping at her eyes with one hand as the other went to gently stroke the cat's head. His purrs reverberated around the room. "Yes, I'm sorry, I'm pathetic, ugh." She swiped again at her wet cheeks, trying to control herself but ending up annoyed at her own foolishness. She was overwhelmed, more than anything. The cat was the only physical thing she had that tied her back to her old life now. The only thing. 

"Don't open that." She reached to snatch her own gift away from him, suddenly feeling that the cheap, second-hand scroll and the honey cake were paltry in comparison. "Your real gift is tomorrow." She bluffed. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

 "Y-you were there?... Yes. Yes, I'm sorry, I'm pathetic, ugh." 

"No you're not." He was not sure what else to say. Seeing her car, from her old life... it was probably hard. Lucius mentally kicked himself for the idea.

"Don't open that. Your real gift is tomorrow." 

"Hey, that's my gift!" Lucius reached for it before she could take it away. He was not going to let her hide it away. "I want to see." The cat meowled again, probably not appreciating the two of them moving around him. Lucius leaned back. "He's... going to be okay. Marius got some kind of an ointment for him, and he otherwise seems healthy. Already at a whole fish in the kitchen."

[Sara]

"No!" She snapped as she still tried to swipe for his gift, even as he moved it out of her reach. "I mean it." She gave him a look, feeling embarrassment creep over her. What had she been thinking? A scroll and a cake? She had, had to scrounge her peculium and a loan from Marius, even for the second-hand scroll and the cake had been...well...she'd seen him eating them. And practiced and practiced until she got something decent...or at the very least, edible. But it wasn't comparable to the ginger cat now head butting her hand with his cheek.

"He'll be fine," She smiled softly down at him, stroking behind his ears. His purrs grew louder before he finally, tentatively settled himself next to her, curled up, content. "...Thank you." She glanced back up at Lucius with a sorrowful look in her eyes, but she let out a shaky breath and a smile lit up her face, trying to buoy her mood with banter. "For bringing him home. You're more thoughtful than I gave you credit for." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius by now had known Ovinia long enough to read her many moods. She was touched. She clearly cared for the cat, and the cat cared for her too; it settled into purring, which was much improved from him trying to claw at Marius earlier. But Ovinia was not completely happy, and also seemed a bit embarrassed about her gift. As a slave, her gifting options were limited, and she had not been expected to give him anything at all.

"Come here." Lucius pulled her closer to hug her. When words failed, holing her was usually a good idea. "It's really not much. But I am glad he makes you happy."

[Sara]

She made no protest at his hug and sunk into it, looping her arms around his neck and burying her face into it, settling into the comfort. This was her favourite part; how just being held by him calmed her down, and stilled the beating of her heart and her moods. 

"It's everything." She mumbled into his skin and sniffed, stopping her upset before it started again. Typhon the cat purred, as if sensing Ovinia was relaxing. She still clung to him for a moment more though, squeezing him, taking it in. When she finally did pull back she was calmer, smiling a little, but still embarrassed, eyes flitting to the box next to him occasionally. 

"You know, my pampering day only takes us to the end of the first day of the festival," She chuckled, "What else are we going to do for the remaining days with no servants around to cook and clean?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

He held her as long as she needed it, and he felt her slowly relax. It was a familiar feeling; he was better at comforting her when neither of them was talking. She finally pulled back, and even managed a smile.

"You know, my pampering day only takes us to the end of the first day of the festival. What else are we going to do for the remaining days with no servants around to cook and clean?" 

"You are settling for only one day of pampering?" he quirked an eyebrow at her, and smiled. "We have plenty of food. But I can cook more if I need to." He reached over, picking up her gift again. "But first, I'm going to open this."

[Sara]

"There's only so much pampering I can do in your domus," She rolled her eyes, "It's not exactly a haven for female pleasures." There were none of the hair oils she used to like, or lotions she used to slather on her body that smelled like roses or pansies. There weren't even any cosmetics and she'd had to barter with one of the other women in the house to borrow her comb for her hair, until the woman had taken pity on her and bought her, her own. She hadn't wanted to bother Lucius with it, especially not at the beginning. 

She could have gone out to a public baths for the treatments she craved, but didn't dare. Those she usually frequented now she was enslaved were cheap and it seemed, only used by fellow slaves or plebs - people that wouldn't recognise her. And it had none of the home comforts she had been used to. 

She winced as he picked up the box again and sunk lower into the bed, Typhon coming to paw at her arm as she did. "I wish you wouldn't. I can get you something better." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"There's only so much pampering I can do in your domus. It's not exactly a haven for female pleasures." 

Lucius arched an eyebrow at her. Surely she was hearing her own words. Or maybe she was still too innocent to hear them. Either way, he turned his attention to his gift for the time being.

"I wish you wouldn't. I can get you something better." 

"I'll be the judge of that" he chuckled, opening the box. There was a book scroll inside, and... "Honey cakes?" He glanced up at her. "Did you... make these?"

[Sara]

She sunk as low as she could into the bed, almost flat so she could avoid his gaze, tutting that he opened the box. "You don't care about my wishes." She muttered petulantly, "You opened it anyway and yes they're honey cakes and yes I made them." She shifted in his bed, awkward, Typhon curling closer to her as she still softly stroked his bright orange fur. 

"They were the best I could do. The burnt and...inedible ones are still in the kitchens if you would like to sample them." She huffed and pulled the blanket up over both her and her cat, mumbling, awkward and embarrassed.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"You don't care about my wishes."

"Not this week" Lucius pointed out with a mischievous smile. She knew that she would eventually get pretty much anything she wanted from him, but if she wanted to pout about it, so be it.

"You opened it anyway and yes they're honey cakes and yes I made them." 

Lucius was truly impressed. Ovinia, baking? For him? On her own volition? He picked up a honey cake and bit into it. It was delicious. And not just because she had made it, either.

"They were the best I could do. The burnt and...inedible ones are still in the kitchens if you would like to sample them." 

"These are wonderful" Lucius muttered, finishing the cake in three bites. He licked his fingers, smiling at Ovinia. "I am truly impressed. This was very sweet of you. No pun intended." He leaned over to kiss her. She really deserved the praise.

@Sara

[Sara]

"You don't have to pander to me," she rolled her eyes and turned her head away from his kiss petulantly, "I'm a grown up, I can hear that they're mediocre without crying." Maybe. She was still feeling uncharacteristically fragile and the soft purring of Typhon next to her reminded her of why. 

But she relented and turned her face back to his, just to capture the corners of his lips in a kiss before settling back down on the pillows, tugging the blanket down a little. It was surprisingly warm, buried in a nest as she was. "I...have something else I'd like. Not that Typhon isn't enough." She shifted awkwardly. She didn't like to ask, and hadn't asked since she'd arrived - despite her other demands for the room and furnishings (although the latter she mainly just...took). "I can make do with your soap and things," Although she craved the luxury of her oils and lotions and hair washing tools sometimes enough to almost bring her to tears, "But I'd like some hair pins." She asked and shifted awkwardly again. "I'm sick of this." She gestured to the thin strip of linen on her wrist that she usually used  to hold a badly done braid.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"You don't have to pander to me. I'm a grown up, I can hear that they're mediocre without crying."

Lucius sighed. "They are good. Would I lie to you?"

Maybe he would have, if the cakes had been awful and he wanted to make her happy. But they were indeed, truly good.

She did give him a kiss in the end, and he smiled, lying down next to her and propping himself up on his elbow.

"I...have something else I'd like. Not that Typhon isn't enough."

"What is it?"

"I can make do with your soap and things. But I'd like some hair pins. I'm sick of this."

Hair pins. Lucius blinked. It was... simple. He had not expected that.

"Sure. I think we can do that. As long as it's nothing too flashy." he smiled, reaching out to run his hand along a strand of her hair. "Anything else?"

@Sara

[Sara]

She turned to her side as well, mirroring his position. Typhon was buried under the blanket between them, making his presence known by sprawling out as much as possible. Lucius would have to get used to sleeping on the floor, or in her room. Her cat demanded the best, after all.

She felt herself frown, looking at him. "They can be flashy." she countered and felt annoyance and upset worm through her veins. They were just some bloody hair pins; a staple that she very much used to take for granted. "I just won't wear them when you have company." 

She muttered and shook her head. "And no. That's it." If nice hair pins were too much of an ask, then she certainly wasn't going to ask for rose oil or a new dress. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius sighed. The cat was already becoming a nuisance, sprawled between the two of them, but if it made her happy, Lucius was happy too. She did not get much in terms of nice things, which pained her, and pained him. He wished he could buy her jewelry and presents. But if they slipped up once, she could be taken away from him for good. She usually ignored that point.

"I'll see what I can do." He got out of the bed. "I'll leave you to your pampering day, and go find a musician."

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia blinked, startled as he pushed himself out of bed. She was left gawping, swaddled up in her nest and fighting to get out of it as she pushed herself to sit up.

She was bad for storming off and petulance, but she considered this worse. Even if his tone wasn't unkind or unfriendly, she read into it that he was annoyed. She was reading into it how she might react, projecting, even. 

"I'm sorry, domine" She said with absolutely no suggestion that she was indeed sorry, "Was that request to grand for you? Enough to get you to storm off in a mood?"

 

TAG: @Chevi 

[Chevi]

Frustration did play a part in Lucius getting out of bed, but not for the reason Ovinia was thinking. Still, her voice and her tone stopped him at the door. He knew that tone too well.

"Do not do that." he looked back at her. He hated it when she called him domine and reminded him how helpless he was in changing their whole situation. He did not want to rule her. "I am trying to do everything you are asking. What else am I supposed to do?"

@Sara