A Day of Culture

[Sara]

Ovinia thought she noted some reluctance in his voice but didn't look over her shoulder, lest she see something in his face that would make her resolution fall. It was likely. "Me too. I do trust him with my life, hence why Perses-" Her perennially miserable slave bodyguard, "Isn't here." She chuckled. 

She was rifling through the scrolls, pulling odd ones out, trying to decipher their titles before putting them back in. She swallowed. "I know." She shrugged and then with a sigh turned around slowly, fingers flexing down by her hips. He was awkward. She hated this. She felt like she was putting in a great swathe of effort to be normal and he...wasn't. She cleared her throat. "If you'd rather we didn't make polite conversation we can go back to Alexius." She shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, "I thought we were going to try and be friends?" She asked, the look she was giving him utterly unsure. She decided a joke would help. "Don't make me scratch something else into the walls..." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius was glad Perses was not around. Despite his best efforts, the man hated him. And he watched Ovinia like a hawk, even when Lucia didn't. Alexius was a welcome change.

She finally turned to look at him, although that was not much better.

"I know. If you'd rather we didn't make polite conversation we can go back to Alexius...I thought we were going to try and be friends? Don't make me scratch something else into the walls..." 

"I know." he said quietly. He'd promised to be her friend, after they managed to talk out the misunderstanding at the wall. But he'd also told her that he dreamed with her more often than not. He still did. Her, standing in front of him like this, was definitely not going to help. "It's just... I am your friend. I am." Friends cared for each other. If she walked away now, he would still care. "But I... I also really, really have to fight hard not to try and kiss you again."

@Sara

[Sara]

The quietness was...odd. Deeply unnerving. Lucius was usually full of smiles and laughs and barbs that burned her (but she relished anyway). This dejected man who seemed so unsure of himself was not the Lucius she knew. 

And then the reason why became obvious and she stared, wide eyed at him. She should be indignant, maybe even slap him.  She didn't immediately react, although the wave that washed over her of...something suggested anything other than indignation. She bit her lip and then let out a loud, audible groan of frustration. She took a step away until her back bumped against the stack. "Stop that." She raised her finger at him, eyes flashing with...something. 

She exhaled and then ground down on her teeth. Stop that Ovinia. She was speaking as much to herself as to him. The feelings that had started to bloom at Neptunalia, if she thought hard about it, and then escalated into demanding that he kissed her again in that alley on Saturnalia hadn't just disappeared. Even though her mind was foggy with everything else in her life, they were still there - an undercurrent flowing through the wall etchings, the argument, the make-up. It's why, on the days Morpheus stopped torturing her with nightmares, he came into her dreams. 

Her finger was still outstretched, pointing at him. But now she took a half-pace closer and moved it to lightly move over the arch of his cheekbone. "Stop it." Stop it Ovinia. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

He knew he'd lost any high ground he'd ever had with her. But he was tired of playing. He was tired of waiting, and hoping, and the damn dreams that never ended (and he never wanted to end). If she was going to slap him and never talk to him again... well, that was some kind of closure. But damn, he needed to say it. Her biting her lips did not help at all.

She backed away from him. Telling him to stop. He would. She said so. But the way she looked at him burned, and Lucius watched her, not sure what to do. Then, she stepped closer.

She touched his cheek lightly, and it seemed like the air had been sucked out of the whole damn library.

"Stop it." 

What was she doing?... Did she know what she was doing? He held her gaze, taking a step towards her too, so he could whisper.

"Five minutes before Alexius comes looking. Let me kiss you."

@Sara

[Sara]

She swallowed. She doubted Alexius would care, but a secret like this wasn't one she wanted anybody to keep for her. Lucia only knew the fuzzy outline of what had happened on Saturnalia, but was good at not prying. Besides, she owed Ovinia her life after she had inadvertently left her side the evening of...the incident. Her father had been ready to crucify the poor girl.

What are you doing Ovinia? A voice cried in her head. This had no future. But equally she didn't want it to have any end. He made her feel...something, something utterly indescribable which she couldn't replicate in the recent parade of suitors she'd been subject to. She shouldn't. But for the first time in so many weeks, her thoughts were entirely absent of any memories of a knife, of blood, of the light-eyed man who had almost taken her to the underworld. She was only thinking about him and the soft skin under her fingertips. 

She didn't need to give him permission because she went first, stretching up to leave the softest of kisses against his lips. Saturnalia had been frenetic - all bumping into walls, longing mixed with passion. This was different, even as her hand moved to his jaw and she melted into him. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

It was the last time he would ask. If she said no again, if she walked away, he would let her, and deal with the fallout on his own.

Instead, she leaned in, and that was that.

He'd wanted to do this since Saturnalia. The first and last time he had kissed her, neither of them knew what they wanted, and he ended up pushing her against a wall, and damn, it had felt good. But a lot had happened since then. Now, he knew what he wanted. And she leaned in, and kissed him, and that was all the permission he needed.

This time, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. The ornaments on her palla jingled briefly before their bodies were pressed together. This time, he kissed her slowly and gently, but with the same passion burning underneath, not wanting to rush, an impossible choice with the short time they had. He was going to regret many things later, but for now, none of that mattered. 

@Sara

[Sara]

Her body sank into his as she felt a strong arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Her own arms moved to loop around his neck, but one hand remained on the side of his face, fingers sweeping along the line of his jaw.

Gods she wanted this, which was ridiculous and stupid and foolish and all things Ovinia had decided long ago that she was not. But her sense had long been scattered to the winds around this man; singing in public, trading blows over a polite dinner, calling off a perfectly good engagement, soaking herself to the bone at Neptunalia, falling into his arms in Saturnalia, writing on a wall in the city. All nonsense. All because of him, and it was addictive. Since when was she so easily led?!

None of it mattered as she felt his hands move and she pulled back to catch her breath, leaning her forehead against his. She was gulping in air. Her fingers played with the neck of his tunica and the skin underneath. "Friends." She managed to choke out as she cracked an eye. The smile on her lips was genuine. "Good friends." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius deepened the kiss, losing himself in the sensation of kissing Ovinia again; it was better than the thousand and one dreams and daydreams he had. Much better. When they finally came up for air, she was just as out of breath as he was. He rested his forehead against hers, feeling her fingers tracing his jaw and heck. His own hand moved along the curve of her waist.

"Friends. Good friends."

Her smile was genuine this time, and his face lit up with a smile of his own. Gods, this girl. "Very good friends" he agreed, breathless. His hands traveled along her sides, one moving higher to cup her face. "Gods help me, I can't stop thinking about you."

@Sara

[Sara]

She shuddered under his touch. It was everything to her. As his hand moved to cup her face she exhaled a shaky breath through smiling lips. Nobody had touched her like this, besides him and he was the only one she wanted to. She turned her cheek against his hand to leave a kiss on his palm and then returned to rest her forehead against his. 

"That makes two of us." Her laugh was a little breathless and a little weak. Reality was threatening the edges of this bliss and she squeezed her eyes shut to keep the thoughts and worries and realities at bay. She focused on the feelings of his hand against the soft fine silk of her dress. His fingers in her hair. His jaw under her palm. 

"I-I don't know what we do." She said, for once without a plan or any hope of one. "I just want you." Gods help her but she did.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"That makes two of us." 

She laughed and gasped for air, and he held her close, feeling her warmth through her dress. If it had not been so damn much better than any dream, he would have thought he was dreaming.

"I-I don't know what we do. I just want you."

He pulled her into a kiss again, at a loss of words to answer that. Head spinning. All he'd wanted to hear. I want you. He kissed her deeply this time, with more hunger, before he came up for air again.

"I want you, I want you so damn much" he whispered. A whole horde of damn barbarians could have marched up on them right about now. He just trusted this part of the library was boring enough to keep the safe. He tilted his head to press a kiss to Ovinia's neck. He could feel her pulse against his lips. "Meet me somewhere..."

@Sara

[Sara]

At their second kiss, she lost the last remnants of her sense and moaned softly against his lips, sinking into it with heat and passion and fury that had encapsulated their first entanglement at Saturnalia. She wound her arms around his neck, fingers snaking through the mop of dark hair. She kept herself from being moved against the stack though. She couldn't face being pushed up against a wall. Not since the attack. Never again.

When they surfaced she was panting and kept her eyes fluttered shut as he spoke to her. In one of the trashier, romance scrolls she'd read over the years she remembered snorting at the ridiculousness of some foolish woman's knees going weak. It seemed so improbable. And yet hers did and she felt herself stumble against him. A gasp left her lips as he pressed a featherlight kiss to her throat. 

Meet me somewhere. 

Her eyes blinked open then. 

"No." She swallowed a gulp, her breathing erratic, still firmly embraced in his arms. She wanted to keep the reality that surrounded and suffocated them far, far away from this moment but she knew there was a line and she knew she couldn't cross it entirely. He must have known that to as she angled her head to look at him in his own dark eyes. So similar to her own. "Not like that." She wanted him, whatever wanting somebody meant, but not that. This though. She could do this until her dying breath. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

They were too far gone for rational thought now. Ovinia moaned against his lips and it spend his head spinning. Want. All he felt was desire, for all of her. He pulled her close, holding her up as she melted against him.

"No."

He turned his head to look at him. Her eyes were dark, and her lips swollen. Damn, Alexius would only need one look. Lucia too, probably. But damn, if this was going to be the sight etched into his brain forever, he was going to die happy. Even though he knew his words had gone too far.

"Not like that." 

He let out a sigh, leaning down to press a kiss to her shoulder. Of course not. He knew what she was thinking. But she was also still wrapped up in his arms.

"It's your decision" he said, looking up to smooth some stray strands of hair from her flushed cheeks. He meant it. She had everything to lose. He smiled a little at her, still breathless. "But just so you know... I could kiss every inch of your body, and technically you'd still be a maiden."

@Sara

[Sara]

She shivered as his lips landed on her bare shoulder, her palla now wound...or half collapsed around her waist and falling from her arm. It jangled as she shivered. His sigh melted her heart and she swallowed. Reality incoming in three, two, one...

And then his fingers brushed her hair in a moment so tender she felt herself make an involuntary noise somewhere between a choke and a moan. She reached up to take one of his hands when he was done, leaving a soft kiss against his fingers, unwilling to let go of her grip after. He was giving her a choice in a way so few men had done in her life.

She managed a breathless little laugh at his comment but it was close enough to the mark that it sent her blushing, squirming in his grip. She'd never felt like this before, never felt the longing like she had pulling her from her toes to her chest. "Just so you know," She managed to choke out, parroting his words, "That is not your right." It was a gut punch of reality, but was a line she was firm on. Even though her body was involuntarily protesting at the thought that he wouldn't get to touch her, kiss her, do something with what she was feeling. 

"But this..." she said as she stretched up to leave a feather soft kiss against his lips, "I could find time for this I'm sure...some quiet corner in some obscure festival..." She pulled back, fingers sweeping over his face. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

They held on to each other, with embraces and soft touches and soft kisses. He didn't want to let her go. He knew she would say no before she did. But he had to say it. Because it was something that he desperately, desperately wanted to do.

"Just so you know... That is not your right." 

"I know" he sighed. It would never be. He was not a patrician anymore, and even if he had been, he was never a good match for her. If he could have, he would have gone to her father already, just so he could take the damn woman home. And hold her for entire nights.

"But this... I could find time for this I'm sure...some quiet corner in some obscure festival..."

He'd take it. It was so little, but he would take it, because he was too weak not to. He'd take anything she'd offer.

"Rome has a lot of festivals" he smiled a little, returning her kiss. Her lips were sweet, and time was running out. His free hand traveled around the curve of her hip. "Have I told you you're beautiful?"

@Sara

[Sara]

Rome had a lot of festivals, and they could have some snatched moments of this at them. Whatever this was; idiocy, probably. But addictive idiocy. He'd swept her mind clear of the trauma even for just a few minutes, he was giving her everything she needed and it felt like a weight had been pried from her shoulders.

And then, despite all of that, he managed to make her blush with a compliment. She'd been called beautiful before - by suitors vying for her hand, or friends or her family but it was different coming from a man with a hand caressing her hip, his lips so recently on her own. "No." She said with a slight smile. "You haven't. I dressed like this for you." She'd put the effort in for him. Only him. 

Conversation flowed from distant stacks of scrolls. Reality was creeping back on them again. 

"Lupercalia?" She offered breathlessly, fingers moving  to hold his gaze on hers. That was only a few weeks away. "I-I'll have to get studying my obscure festivals." the sounds of conversation were drawing closer. "Alexius...We should..." Go. But she couldn't make herself.

What are you doing Ovinia?

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"No. You haven't. I dressed like this for you." 

Lucius gave her another bright smile. For him. She looked incredible (especially now, with the palla off her shoulders, flushed and well kissed... but the dress was nice too). "Well, you are. You are stunning."

"Lupercalia? I-I'll have to get studying my obscure festivals... Alexius...We should..." 

Lupercalia... was a few weeks away. They really needed to find more festivals, he was not sure he could go weeks without seeing her. And kissing her. "I know" he murmured, leaning in to kiss her again. Their time was up. He made the most of the last moments, kissing her thoroughly with his hands tracing the curves of his body, before he finally managed to pull away. "Lupercalia, then" he nodded. He reached out to pull her palla back to her shoulder, and tuck the stray hairs behind her ear. So she would look less like she had just made out with someone behind the stacks. Then he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You go first. I'll go get the damn book."

@Atrice

@Sara

[Sara]

She took the last few moments of ecstacy with his final kiss, deepening it, letting herself feel things she had denied herself right up until that breaking point at Saturnalia. And then he pulled back and she felt the loss of his hands on her waist, on her hips, on her skin. She breathed and nodded. Lupercalia. She let him adjust her palla and smiled softly, the most un-Ovinialike smile but then her expression changed as he said he'd go get the book.

"No." She swallowed, shaking her head. "Don't leave me alone." She allowed herself so little time to be vulnerable but she was steadfast now. The library was filled with shadowed corners. Anybody could be lurking there. She couldn't do it and she felt her heart hammer against her ribs. She reached for his hand to tug him out of the stack of books, letting go only when other figures loomed into view. 

By the time they made it back to Alexius she felt a little more relaxed...but they'd returned empty handed. She saw the smirk Lucia was giving her. "We decided Aeneid would be too dull. Let's go up to the poetry section." she gestured upstairs, "There's some couches and Lucius can recite some verses for us. Much better." She chuckled.

 

TAG: @Atrice @Chevi

[Atrice]

Alexius watched Ovinia and Lucius disappear down the rows of scrolls and shelves. It was right, he’d decided. That they were alone. As long as no one found out he allowed it on his watch. But Lucius was so into her and he was quite sure that Lucius’ feelings were returned, they just never got a chance. Well he’d give them a few minutes. All while entertaining Lucia, who looked after them with a curious and maybe slightly concerned gaze.

 “They’ll be back in no time, don’t you worry.” Alexius assured her, “Can you read, Lucia?” He then asked. She was rather young. But also rather pretty.

 She looked up at him with her gorgeous dark eyes and shook her head, “I can’t. And you can’t either? I thought you could.” She added and moved to lean against a pillar in the library. Alexius followed her, determined to keep her occupied until Lucius and Ovinia returned. Or until they’d been too long and he’d have to go looking for them.

 “I know a little reading, but nowhere near enough. I have other interests and I’m never bored.” Alexius said with a grin and she gave him a look.

 “You did seem a little out of your comfort zone when we looked at fabrics.” She chuckled, “But you weren’t bored?”

 “I could never be bored, when in the company of two such attractive women.” Alexius said and that caused her to cast her eyes down with a blush. Alexius couldn’t help but smile.

 “You always know what to say, don’t you?” She then said with a grin and looked up at him again, aware that he didn’t expect her to act like a slave, “You really should be more proper with her. If her father knew what you two talk about…” She said but Alexius didn’t let her finish.

 “He doesn’t and he won’t know. He won’t know about them either.” He nodded in the direction where Lucius and Ovinia went, “And he won’t know about us.” Alexius had to distract her and she looked up at him, curious and… intrigued.

 “Us?” She asked and Alexius moved closer towards her. Just then another pair of ladies strolled past them, reminding him that they were still in the library. Fuck, he couldn’t just sway her here, could he? Not out here in the open anyway. Lucia looked at him with big eyes, like she was waiting for him to say or do something.

 “Well unless you don’t think there’s anything to know…” Alexius replied with a smile, “But you are very pretty, Lucia.” And everyone knew what that meant, when it came from Alexius. Him calling someone pretty was more or less him saying his door would be open to her, should she drop by, and she was very welcome to test his bed too. Lucia blushed again.

 “Careful Alexius, you don’t know how far away my domina is. I don’t think she’d approve of your… advances towards me.” Lucia said, but she was still giving him a look that made him think she might be interested, if given the chance to do anything about it. Speaking of her domina by the way, they were taking their time finding something to read for him. They were probably not looking at all. He knew how Lucius felt about Ovinia and while Ovinia had not said she liked Lucius like that, Alexius had an idea that she just hadn’t shared that much with him about Lucius. Well, they deserved a few moments together. It might calm Ovinia, distract her. And Lucius, well Alexius wished him all the best too and if he truly cared for her, as Alexius thought he did… he would once more curse the social system of Rome and allow them their time together. As long as they didn’t take too long. He didn’t want to go looking for them, only to find them half-naked down one of the quieter isles of the library.

 Fuck, what if he did? Thoughts swirled through his mind at every break in his conversation with Lucia – although she didn’t seem to notice, as she seemed more and more keen on him, the more they talked., although he kept on talking to Lucia, who seemed more and more keen on him. He was just about to suggest going to look for Ovinia and Lucius, who had taken too long now, when they appeared in sight. Flushed, both of them, although they were acting like nothing happened. As if an experienced man like Alexius couldn’t see through that. Alexius arched a brow, giving especially Lucius a certain look, that Ovinia might not see or understand… Ovinia then made some vague excuse for why they came back empty handed.

 “What kind of poetry will it be then? Hopefully nothing too dull.” Alexius said. There was something about her gaze too, but she seemed more relaxed. Distracted indeed, he thought, as he followed their lead.

@Sara @Chevi

[Chevi]

"No. Don't leave me alone." 

Lucius stopped, hearing her voice change. Even in the library, she was still afraid to be alone. He hated that. She reached for his hand and he squeezed hers. "Alright. Not going anywhere."

They walked back to Alexius and Lucia together. Lucia seemed flushed, but probably not as much as Lucius and Ovinia both did. They let go of each other in the last moment, and Lucius ran a hand through his hair and smoothed down his tunica. One look from Alexius made it clear that he knew exactly what he'd missed. Ovinia was hell bent on keeping up appearances, though.

"We decided Aeneid would be too dull. Let's go up to the poetry section. There's some couches and Lucius can recite some verses for us. Much better." 

 “What kind of poetry will it be then? Hopefully nothing too dull.” 

"Well, we already ruled out Catullus. Such a pity. I think Alexius would enjoy it." Lucius smirked. He was still very much reeling with what had just happened, but if Ovinia could pretend otherwise, so could he. They made their way up to where the poetry books were stored, and found some empty couches.

@Atrice @Sara

[Sara]

Alexius rightly predicted that Ovinia would miss the pointed look he was giving them, and it went over her head. She did see Lucia's though. She cleared her throat and mercifully nobody said anything out loud, she was sure she would spin out and admit to everything immediately if they did. Instead, they agreed to go on the hunt for poetry and she released a sharp breath, leading the way up the stairs to a quieter part where couches were arranged for readers. They found an empty set and Ovinia reclined on one, smoothing her dress out. 

"Nothing dull." She said with a gentler smile, feeling relaxed and...like a great weight had been shifted from her young shoulders. She was sure it would return but for now she was revelling in it. She cast a glance at Lucius and quirked a brow, smoothing on a mask of professionalism. "Fine. You can get some Catullus. Or maybe some Horace?" She made it very clear that he could go off scouting but she was going to remain here. She then turned her attention back to Alexius, and briefly Lucia, her lips twitching with a smile. "And what did you two get up to whilst we were looking for the Aeneid?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice @Chevi

[Atrice]

Alexius and Lucia followed Lucius and Ovinia through the library, while Lucius mentioned a poet called Catullus again. Alexius was getting curious about what that was, but for now, he'd settle for whatever Ovinia decided. He was more curious however about hearing about exactly what went on between the two while they were alone, but he'd ask Lucius about that some other time. Ovinia would deny everything and Lucius cared for her too much too to let anyone hear anything in public. So be it. Alexius could be discrete too, especially when it came to such matters. It's not like he was inexperienced in that department either. 

Ovinia let out a sharp breath and then agreed that it would be nothing dull. And then for some reason, suddenly she would allow the poems that Lucius had referred to. She was more keen on Lucius now, than before? 

"Whatever it pleases you to read to me, Ovinia." Alexius said with a smile, before she changed the subject and asked what Alexius and Lucia had been doing. He smiled, "Oh we were just talking. This is a library, after all. It's not like there's much else to do here but read and... talk." Alexius added with a grin, oh he was quite sure that Lucius and Ovinia had done more than just talking, but how much more? And did they need any advice? Well, not here anyway. He'd catch Lucius another time. He was a poor guard and chaperone right now, wasn't he? He just hoped he could trust Lucia to not tell Ovinia's father.

@Sara @Chevi

[Chevi]

Lucius took the chance to venture back to the stacks and search for some scrolls of poetry while he composed himself. Their act was flimsy at best; Alexius and Lucia no doubt suspected that they got up to more than just browsing back there. His own head was still spinning with the experience. The memories of Ovinia's touch, the taste of her lips, the sounds she made... Lucius took some deep breaths, trying to think of anything else at all.

Catullus. Right.

He returned to the couches a few minutes later.

"I have Catullus... some Ovid... some of Virgil's Eclogae that are shorter than the Aeneid." he settled down with the scrolls. "Where shall we start?"

@Sara @Atrice