The Plan
Quintus sat bolt upright. It was the middle of the night, and he was lying on the sleeping couch in his cubicula, having just had the single greatest idea he'd ever had. Or at least, it seemed like it was. This idea had to be the answer to all of his and Clemens's prayers. This had to be the god's gift to them after all those sacrifices and days at the temple. It HAD to be.
In Ancient Rome, being gay didn't happen. It just couldn't, no one even thought it was a possibility. Except for Quintus and Clemens.
They had been 'going out' for three years now, and they wanted to be able to be together all the time. However, Clemens was an ex-slave. Th ex-slave of Quintus. Quintus had managed to persuade his father to let him free Clemens, and they were now allowed to be seen talking to each other in public. But no one in Rome would accept a gay relationship, much less between an ex-slave and a citizen. And Quintus wasn't just any citizen, he was the only child of one of the most influential senators of Rome.
Quintus was expected to go into the army, work his way up the ranks, become a centurio at the very least, and then return to Rome and begin a political career. Clemens was expected to go and set up a shop in one of the less illustrious districts of the city, or, if he was very lucky, maybe get a ship and become a small-time merchant. They were not expected to challenge the heterosexual society of Ancient Rome and settle down together, maybe even adopting some ex-slave-children.
But they so wanted to do just that, to live quietly and happily together, that they were prepared to do almost anything to be able to do so.
And this is why Quintus was so delighted with his midnight brainwave.
He knew Clemens had to hear this, so Quintus threw on a toga quickly and hurried through the warm, humid night to Clemens's house. He had hammered on the door until Clemens woke up and came to the door. Then, sitting on the kerstones outside the house, they had talked until the sun came up and they watched it regally climbing into the sky, above the lemon groves on the slopes of the hill behind which the sun hid every night.
The plan was a simple one. Quintus would join the army, as he was supposed to, but Clemens would join up too. Their reasoning was, if they joined up together, they'd probably be posted for training and duties together. At the moment, a lot of soldiers were being sent to Britain, so they assumed they would be going there too.
They were prepared to swap their warm, romantic Mediterranean lifestyle for the colder, rainer climate of Britain.
What use were winding cobbled streets lined with olive trees that you could stroll along in the moonlight if you couldn't take that moonlit stroll hand in hand with the one you love? No use. By the gods, they were no use at all.
Just before Quintus hurried home so that he could be back in bed before any of the slaves noticed he was gone, they made a pact. Later that day, three hours after lunch, they would meet at the local army recruiting office and sign up for the army together.
No, the way they saw it, they wouldn't be signing up for the army, they would be signing up for a life together, and freedom love each other.
Quintus quickly kissed Clemens on the cheek, and then silently scurried off home.