A/N: I was feeling a little writer's block so I thought I'd write something easy based loosely on the five senses. This is later, when they're Happy Gay Farmers. I didn't intend for it to become so teeth-rottingly sweet and fluffy, but I didn't fight it, of course ;)
Smell
The damp, heavy scent of wet earth filled his nostrils as soon as he set first foot onto the land. The moisture was familiar and refreshing to him, as opposed to the dry, thin Southern air that hung, choked in the streets of Roman cities. Esca had been born a hunter and didn't know much about farming, but, listening to Marcus talk about his plans for this land—their land—Esca squared his shoulders, determined to do whatever it took to pull crops from this sodden earth.
Hearing
They had barely finished the tiles on the roof two days before they heard the first raindrops tapping on it one night. After months of construction work and camping in an unfinished house, it was nice to finally have somewhere warm and dry to sleep. Esca smiled quietly, allowing himself to be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the ticking rain, softly rolling thunder, and Marcus's slow breathing against his back.
Touch
Esca's shoulders strained against the plow, churning up troughs of earth, and stumbling every now and then on the uneven turf. His hands gripped the rough wood and his sword calluses had begun reforming into plow ones. Sometimes he doubted how he was fitting into this new lifestyle, but then Marcus would come running up, grinning ear to ear with his hands cupped tenderly around a pile of dirt. Esca would look from the tiny leaf-bud in the dirt to Marcus's proud face and realize he wanted nothing more than to be a farmer here, where he could sprout hundreds of little plants to trade like coins for smiles like that.
Taste
He would never forget the first night they made a proper meal out of the crops of their land. Esca thought he could recognize each vegetable as if it were a friend he'd known for months. He felt just as proud as Marcus looked, sitting across from him at their table, which was loaded with food as for a feast. And a feast it was! Esca hadn't known there were so many variations of good that a food could taste.
Later, comfortably full and consequently drowsy, they slouched together near the fire, to content to do much at all. And, better than their entire feast was the taste of Marcus that lingered on Esca's lips as they kissed lazily.
Sight
All the new experiences Esca had had since beginning his new life with Marcus left him feeling like a completely changed man. He had learned so much—how to read the skies for good and bad weather concerning the crops; how to watch a heavy cow for signs that she was close to birthing; the different colorations of green on a leaf and what they might mean. He hadn't thought he would be happy confined in one place everyday, seeing the same sights of their land as opposed to wandering hundreds of miles of hillside, hunting for days…
But he learned to appreciate the feeling of familiarity that comes with knowing every inch of a place and calling it home; of seeing the sun rise and set over the same hills.
Most of all, he loved the sight of Marcus's smile, which lit the world brighter than the sunsets, and which he associated with this place, making it special in his heart.