Marcus' P.O.V.
I called it. It was really hot today. And going all the way to the other side of the city isn't helpful at all. "I really hope Jupiter will send a small rain", I said. "Mhm...", was Lukas' reply. He kept glancing left and right anxiously. He didn't get used to be the only red hair in the area after all. Not even after the two years he has spent with us. Truth be said, not even the locals got used to him. Word goes by that he was sent by the gods as a blessing to my family. Some see it as a bad omen, others as a good one.
I pulled him to a side alley, where no one could see us. I took both of his hands in mine and pecked him on the lips. "Ignore them", Was what I told him. He sighed. He is cute whenever he does it. "Look, it's still very hard for me to know people are looking at me," came his answer, "I... I just don't like being looked at."
He explained to me he was an introvert. He told me how it felt when he was looked at. Like everyone was expecting him to make a mistake and laugh at him. I squeezed his hands. "No one will laugh at you. And I mean no one. You're like the Senator's second son. And believe me, nobody is crazy to laugh at the Senator's family." He looked at me with his emerald eyes and smiled. "Thanks, Marcus. Can we go finish what we have to do? 'Cause I really want to go swimming." It was my turn to smile. "Of course."
In case you were wondering what was with the pecking, me and Lukas have been doing it for about a year. It all started one night, when I smuggled some wine out of the celery. We went to the nearby forest to drink. It was kinda hard to sneak around an amphora full of wine throughout the city, but it was worth it. We started drinking and, little by little, both of us started sharing some stuff with one another: I told him that everyone in the city thought he was sent by the gods as a blessing, that he can't age, so he will marry Valeria when she grows. Heck, I even told him that I thought Cupid sent me someone to love. I still remember his surprised expression. I fucking confessed my love to him. He knows that I like both, boys and girls. And I know Lukas likes boys. He likes me. We never did something else besides short kisses and what he called cuddling. We never spoke of that after.
Lukas was waving his hand in front of me. "Earth to Marcus." I blinked and realized we were at the shop we were supposed to be. Mater could have come herself to buy her silks, but no. "We HaVe To Do SoMe wOrK oF OuR oWn", that's what she always told us.
I was looking at a light blue silk, while Lukas was looking for some spices. Three hundred denarii for this shit?! Women really like spending without looking at the price. "Do you think Mater would like this?"
When no answer came, I turned to see no Lukas near me. "Lukas?" I turned around looking for him. "Lukas?" Where did he go? I frantically started to look around. I even asked people. It's impossible not to spot him!
When I almost went to ask the soldiers to look for him, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Some thugs were picking up on him. On my Lukas. I went straight up to them.
"How could the Senator take in such a freak?", said one of the brutes. Now I'm really grateful that Pater insisted on teaching me how to fight. Well, he made a slave to teach me, but whatever.
I sneaked up behind that idiot and swept his legs off the ground. He fell, hitting his head on the ground. Idiot number two tried to swing his fist into my face. I dodged it, the thug losing his balance. Lukas saw this as an opportunity and pushed him straight into a wall. Both were lying on the ground. I think one of them cracked his head. "Are you alright?", I asked Lukas. He just nodded.
Both of us left the alley and went back to finish our shopping. When we finished, we went back to my house. Or our house, since we both lived there. We passed the items to Valeria and left.
I led the way to our secret spot on the beach. Lukas still seemed a little shaken from the encounter. "It's okay now. Thugs like those don't come to this part of the city", I explained, "Not with this many soldier in place." He gave me a shy smile. Oh, gods. I think Cupid wants to kill me with this boy's smile!
Lukas' P.O.V.
"I'm sorry."
Marcus made a confused face. "For what?"
"For staining your image. Someone might have seen you." He scoffed a little. He turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I can guarantee you that nobody saw us knocking those idiots out. People don't pay much attention to side alleys." I can only believe him.
We continued our way to the beach. I took off my sandals and went on barefoot. I can't stand sand in my shoes. Either they're sandals or normal shoes. Well, normal for my time, not Ancient Rome.
At the shore, Marcus stripped completely naked. Right in front of me. Why weren't male swimsuits a Roman invention? And his muscles don't help me at all. I would kill to look this good.
He turned to me. "You still have the intimacy issue?" I looked away from his tanned body. The advantage of swimming or sunbathing naked was that you can't have tan lines. The disadvantage... well, is damn obvious. "We went through this: in my time, swimsuits are kind of mandatory while you are at the beach or a swimming pool," I reminded him.
He rolled his eyes. "How about this: I go into the water, facing the horizon, and you strip and come join me. How does that sound?" I nodded. Funny thing is he has seen me naked several times. Hell, we even slept naked in the same bed a few times. We didn't do anything, so nobody makes any kind of scenario. I have absolutely no idea why I become so shy sometimes.
Marcus was in the water. Waist deep. I could still see a bit of the curve of his round ass. I quickly got out of my thoughts and took off my toga. The sun burned on my exposed skin. I ran into the salty water.
I lost my footing for a moment at crashed right into Marcus, sending us both into the water. I got us up quickly. Marcus was clinging to me. I forgot he never liked to get his head under water, despite his passion for swimming.
"Lukas", he said trembling, "be more careful." I hugged him tightly. "Sorry." When he looked up at me, I pecked his lips. He broke free from my arms and sent a spray of water at me. "I thought only I could do that", he said jokingly. "Hell no. We're equal", I said as I splashed him back.
We started chasing one another like two kids. I didn't even care that at some point we got out of the water and started running on the beach while naked.