Title comes from a quote by Spartacus' showrunner Stephen DeKnight: "And in my mind they adopted many children and lived to a ripe old age. And continued to love each other more and more every single day."
Darkness surrounded Agron and Nasir, except for the views of the heavens, the bright stars dazzling above them. Nasir spoke, and in the chilly evening air, his voice was crisp yet soothing.
"That one is Taurus, the bull," Nasir murmured. "Do you see it?"
Agron shook his head.
"It is not the brightest, but here," Nasir said, gently reaching for Agron's hand and pointing it towards the heavens. He knew exactly how to take hold of the hand, how to grasp it without applying pressure that might cause pain. "There is the V shape of the bull's face."
"Ah," Agron said. "I see it now."
The evening was quiet other than the voices of the two men, occasionally joined by a distant bleat from a goat. The ground upon which Agron and Nasir lay was soft, the thick blankets above and below them providing warmth. Agron felt his belly pleasantly full after a hearty supper and he could still taste the sweetness from the wild currants which had been their dessert.
"My grandmother used to say that they are the campfires of the gods," Agron said, his gaze still transfixed by the stars, his heart thrumming at sharing this moment with Nasir.
"Whether they are campfires of the gods or stars in the sky as I was taught, I know not. I only know how small I feel under their vastness."
Nasir went on to point out another gleaming light. "I was taught that one is called Jupiter, after the god."
Agron's thoughts were not on Jupiter. "Small under the stars, we may be," he murmured. "And yet you are everything to me."
"As you are in my eyes."
"In all the years of the rebellion, we never once took a night to stargaze," Agron remarked.
"No," Nasir admitted, and for a moment his voice sounded as far away as Jupiter gleaming in the dark sky.
"There was always yet another crisis," Agron added.
Nasir remained quiet, until his lips parted and he replied. "Much to do and many crises to handle, yes. And also….I was not ready to admit how much I enjoyed the constellations and enjoyed gazing at them. Because of who I learned them from….and the circumstances surrounding this knowledge."
It was Agron's turn to be silent now. He knew this part, or at least he knew some of the story. He had asked once, long ago, how Nasir came to be so familiar with the stars. Nasir had mentioned, casually, that his former dominus had loved the constellations and had taught them to him. He had left it at that, and Agron had not probed. Nor had Agron failed to catch the look that had crossed Nasir's face even though the younger man had tried to hide it.
"It hurts the heart to think of how we used to live," Nasir continued at last. "Our bodies, our lives, our very souls at the beck and call of the men who owned us." He took a breath. "Dominus loved the heavens and so he taught them to Chadara and me. Oftentimes after a night spent commanding us to obey his every whim upon the bed. And afterwards he treated us as if we should be grateful for it all, grateful for the sips of wine he allowed us afterwards, grateful that he took the time to share his love of spotting constellations. As if his abuse of our bodies meant nothing."
Agron shifted onto his side, turning away from the night sky and towards the one who shone the brightest in his world. "I wish to the gods you had never suffered so," Agron said passionately. "I wish it could be undone, and I wish a thousand years of suffering upon that man and all like him!"
"You suffered too," Nasir said quietly. He touched a hand to Agron's cheek, shifting a bit so he could also face his lover.
"Not in the same way." Agron had shared with Nasir that somehow he had avoided rape, even as so many slaves had not. One of the guards on the ship that had brought Agron and Duro to Capua had taken sexual liberties with some of the prisoners. Agron had no idea why the gods had spared him and Duro from this, why the guard had chosen other men to take his abuse. Perhaps if the journey had lasted one more day then the guard would have put his paws upon one of the brothers, perhaps their time would have arrived.
And then more memories flood. Duro…. Gone, gone, no longer of this earth, as far away and intangible as the stars in the sky. Just as Nasir's brother, just as Spartacus and Gannicus and almost all of their fellow warriors and rebels.
"I did not wish to sour the mood as it if were a sour pail of spoiled goat milk," Nasir said. "I see the faraway look in your eyes, the anger. Please, Agron. Let us be grateful for what we do have."
"Oh, I am!" Agron vowed. "Every day I thank the gods for bringing me back to your arms."
"And to this place far from the empire, where we have peace." Nasir then smiled and chuckled, "And smelly goats and a leaky tent."
"They do not smell so bad in the cooler weather," Agron remarked, happily returning Nasir's more light-hearted comment. "And the latest patch you made on the tent should hold. I regret that my hands will never take up needle and thread to assist in this work."
"Nor do they ever need to," Nasir insisted. "I am skilled at it, as are most of our neighbors.
"Still, I wish…" Agron let his voice trail off. "Apologies. No one wants a lover who wallows in self-pity."
Nasir shook his head. "I wish for my lover to know that he can say what he wishes without fear. Do not, my love, ever worry about such things and instead, please, break words with me openly and without reservation!"
Agron's heart warmed and began to pulse. "Gratitude, Nasir. It is a blessing to be able to speak without worry."
"My ears always enjoy hearing what falls from your lips," Nasir smiled. "Even if it is a tirade against 'the fucking goats' and how they sometimes wander to 'that fucking Roman woman's' cabin and devour her brush."
Agron flopped onto his back, his head tilting upwards as he smiled and grimaced. "We must repair that fence of ours! Laeta will unleash fury if they invade her property again."
"Not so! They eat her weeds and she must have gratitude for that. And we are fine neighbors to her." A twinkle shone in Nasir's eyes as he added, "Some days I believe that you are perhaps starting to hold her in some esteem."
Agron snorted, but they both knew Nasir's words bore some truth.
"She does not complain at the loud noises we make," Nasir added after a bit, his voice mischievous.
"We cannot possibly be so loud that she can hear us!"
"Perhaps on a quiet night like tonight she can. It is so still. And you….my lover, you have been known to bleat to the heavens when you reach your climax. I am sure Taurus up there can hear you!"
The corners of Agron's lips turned up. "Then let us aim to wake Laeta from her sleep and cause Taurus to take note as well! That is," he quickly added, "if you have drunk your fill of the stars tonight."
"I have," Nasir said eagerly. "I wish for the same as you!"
Their tent had, indeed, been mended a few times during the year since they had settled here. Nasir and Agron hoped to do as many of the rebels who put down roots near them had done and someday build a proper cabin. Agron took a breath as he closed the tent flap. They would need assistance to build a cabin, and everyone was so busy with the work of day to day subsistence, the endless array of chores needed in order to stay fed, clothed, and sheltered. It would be hard to ask for help. The band of former rebels depended on each other - and yet somehow simultaneously, asking for help brought shame.
Agron knew that if his hands worked properly then he and Nasir likely could build a cabin together, but the simple fact was that he could not do everything he used to do.
Even right now.
He could undress himself with relative ease. Under the blankets now with Nasir, he could caress his lover's face with fingertips and apply his lips all over Nasir's body. But his hands failed him in many ways. He could not grip Nasir or his cock as firmly as he used to. Before the injury, Agron would grasp Nasir's hips as they fucked, his fingers squeezing the flesh firmly, causing it to turn a pinkish red where he gripped while his own hips moved.
And yet the gods had clearly blessed him, Agron knew. This very moment he lay atop Nasir, their lips joined together. The feel of Nasir's kisses was just as enchanting as ever. The delicious warmth and scents from Nasir's body intoxicated as much as always. Agron's cock throbbed with the same urgency as when he and Nasir were yet new to each other.
And then one of Nasir's hands began to travel and to stroke Agron's cock.
"You enjoy tight grip upon your sock," Nasir whispered as his hand worked rapidly. "I wonder what part of my body could provide such? Do you have any ideas, Agron?"
Agron's reply was a groan. Any time Nasir said such things, made such erotic intimations, Agron knew he stood helpless.
"No ideas at all?" Nasir continued to tease. "Well, I have one. There is that flask of tallow. I believe there may be some left." He started to lick and then nibble upon Agron's neck. "I would have you inside of me this night."
"Dear gods you always know what to say," Agron murmured, nearly giddy with anticipation. His body ached for the pleasure he and Nasir would share.
Nasir began preparations, and Agron delighted at the sensations as Nasir coated his cock with the substance, stroking it yet more as he did so. "I see there was no need to suck on this before," Nasir teased as he coated Agron's cock. "It is already so hard."
"With longing for you," Agron said, his voice ragged. "It did not need your mouth tonight, although it is always welcome."
"I shall keep this in mind. And yet another part of my body is yet hungrier and greedier tonight."
Again Agron was nearly dizzy with desire, and Nasir's saucy words inflamed him more, but he reminded himself to slow down and savor every moment. He no longer stood a boy kissing other boys behind trees in the lands east of the Rhine, stroking each other rapidly as if in a race to see who might spill first. Instead he was here with the love of his life, both of them free men now, living together as they wanted, loving each other with their bodies, hearts, minds, and souls.
But their bodies took precedence right now.
"I would straddle you, if you might find that agreeable," Nasir said.
"I would," Agron gasped. "But allow me to suck upon your nipples first." Agron knew that Nasir had always enjoyed that. Once more he felt a small sting of regret. He could no longer use thumb and forefinger to squeeze Nasir's nipples as he had enjoyed – Agron's fingers just didn't close the way they used to. But he could set tongue to the task, pressing the little nubs inwards. He did so this night and Nasir made his pleasure known.
Nasir groaned again and then broke away, assembling himself atop Agron and preparing to lower himself down.
Agron's animal desire and excitement warred with his mind's requirement to fall to restraint. He wanted to begin wildly thrusting upwards but he knew he must wait.
And even once they began moving together, Nasir's words continued to force Agron to find every last bit of his willpower.
"I am riding a giant," Nasir smiled. "Atop such a strong, powerful man." He would then go on to tease, "Is this how our men felt when they rode horses into battle with Rome?"
"I – I do not believe they or their horses….took quite so much pleasure from it," Agron managed.
"I imagine not," Nasir answered and then he squeezed his eyes shut.
Agron guessed that Nasir was overwhelmed at the pleasure now because he ceased his teasing and instead gave way to moans and groans.
Later, the two men were curled up together, under their blankets. Nasir was already asleep, his breathing at a steady, even pace. Agron knew he was drifting off as well. Nights like tonight made him forget about the ever-present pain in his hands. The events he and Nasir had lived through – the various forms of torture at the hands of the Romans – were behind them. The past was as far away as those distant lights in the sky, those entities that could be stars or campfires of the gods or something else entirely as yet unknown.
And despite struggles of the past, Agron understood that the future was in front of them, bright with the possibility of peace, of a long life in the arms of the man he loved.
THE END...but this may be the beginning of something longer