Title: Amor vincit omnia
Summary: AU. When Gregorius, a Servant for an influential Senator, is thrown into the life of Nikolai, the greatest gladiator in Rome, their lives and the Roman society around them are cast into turmoil. Nick/Greg slash.
Warnings: Suggestions of non-con
Disclaimer: CSI is not mine, neither are the chapter titles
Chapter 6/10
Chapter VI: He Sleeps so Well
"Did you see Nik last night, dear?" Mari asked her son as he entered the kitchen.
"Yes." Greg hoped she couldn't see the blush rising up his neck.
"Is he ok?" Greg appreciated the genuine concern in his mother's voice, she was just like him, she couldn't hide her emotions if she tried.
"He will be."
"Good. I was worried, and not just about him spoiling his good looks."
He could never spoil them; Greg smiled as he thought of Nik's face looking down on him when he woke that morning.
"Tanita was saying she didn't think he would be as gorgeous close up and without his armour. I put her right of course." She winked.
"Your age gap hasn't changed." Greg scolded.
"I know dear, you leave an old lady to her fantasies and I'll leave the real thing to you young ones."
Greg almost choked on his drink, he wasn't sure if he was more guffawed by his mother fantasising about Nik or by her insinuation regarding the real thing.
"Speaking of which." Mari nodded to the doorway where Nik gingerly walked in.
"What are you doing here?" Mari frowned at him, "I know my cooking is irresistible but I could have taken some food to your cell."
"You should be resting." Greg said as he pulled the chair out further for Nik to sit on.
"I needed some fresh air." Nik said as he slowly sat down. "And I needed to see you." He whispered while Mari had her back turned.
Greg decided against jumping around the room with joy, and settled for putting a hand on Nik's thigh. He could feel the nervous energy vibrating off Nik.
"Here you go." Mari placed an extra large platter of food in front of them. "We need to keep your strength up." She said to Nik. "And you are still too skinny." She addressed to her son.
Greg rolled his eyes, his mother had been feeding him up all his life and it never made any difference to his physique. She didn't stop trying, though.
"Thank you Mari, this looks lovely." Nik said, and even Greg thought his usual charm seemed forced, not the natural charisma he usually brought.
"It's no problem dear, you know that. I always take care of my son, and his friends."
Nik tensed under Greg's hand.
"I'll be back soon." Mari said as she left.
"Why are you so nervous?" Greg asked quietly.
"She's going to kill me when she finds out."
Greg laughed, "No she won't."
"She's so protective of you…"
"But she likes you." Greg cut him off.
"Yeah, but what about Rilei?" Nik fidgeted with his hands.
"What about her? My mother wants me to be happy, that's all, and she'll see I'm happy with you." Greg reassured.
"Yeah?" Greg felt Nik's tension drop slightly.
"Yeah." Greg smiled and leant in for a quick kiss that lingered on his lips long after the touch was gone.
"Now eat up, or she really will be mad at you."
Nik laughed as Mari came back in.
…
Mari had sent Nik back to his cell to rest. Greg was glad to have some alone time with his mother; he wanted to be open with her about Nik as soon as possible.
"Could you do me a favour, Greg?" Mari asked.
"Of course."
"Tell Nik not to be so scared of me, he has nothing to be afraid of."
"What?" Greg was dumbstruck, did she know? He knew there was a history of psychic ability in his family but as far as he knew his mother had never shown signs of it, and they'd been careful in front of her, in front of everyone, hadn't they?
"He makes you happy dear, a blind man could see that."
"What?" Greg repeated, his mouth unable to form any other words, despite his brain running a thousand paces a minute.
"Gregorius, come back to the land of the living." Mari put her hand on her hip and stared at him until he responded.
Greg was still in a daze. Had they been that obvious?
"How did you…?"
"I knew the moment I met him. It was in his eyes. He had a kind a heart, a heart that adored you. You were glowing this morning, and Nik was terrified every time he looked at me." Mari chuckled light-heartedly, "It wasn't hard to work out what happened last night."
"But… Rilei?"
"Have I told you to marry Rilei once since I met Nik?"
Greg shook his head, realising that was true.
"I asked her here the other day to apologise to her. That you'd met someone you loved."
Greg let the news sink in for a few moments. He didn't want to dwell on Rilei, his mother had obviously moved on.
"It was my choice, completely, he wanted me to have total control." Greg insisted his mother knew that he wanted this.
"I trust him." Mari said simply.
Greg had never felt this happy, his heart was flying through the air and he didn't think it would ever come back down. He grabbed Mari and hugged her tightly.
"Thanks." He said, "I love you."
"What's not to love?" She squeezed him back.
"So, how was it?" Mari asked once they'd separated.
"Mother! You cannot ask me that." Greg shook his head as he walked out the kitchen.
When he reached the doorway he turned and looked back. "Amazing." He said with a smirk.
…
It had been two days since he'd last seen Greg. Alberto had found out about his lunch excursion and ordered the guards not to let him out of his cell.
Today though, he was free to go anywhere he liked, within the Senator's grounds, of course. His first port of call would be Greg's chambers.
His heart thumped with need as he knocked on the door.
Archie opened the door and let him in. "He's not here," Archie said, looking down, "He hasn't been here all night."
Nik didn't need it spelling out what that meant.
He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, his blood boiling. He knew Archie wouldn't take his lack of pleasantries personally.
He flew through the hallways heading for Atwatus' chambers, having no idea what he intended to do if he discovered Atwatus and Greg… no he couldn't even think of it, it made him feel capable of anything, and he knew he was capable of a lot already. He stopped outside the door and took deep breaths to calm himself down. The door creaked under his touch as he inched it open.
Nik's heart melted as he saw Greg lying on his front in Atwatus' bed, alone. A white sheet was lazily thrown across his legs, exposing one perfectly formed butt cheek.
Nik silently crept into the room and knelt down beside Greg. He placed a hand on the small of Greg's back and rubbed it in a smooth circle.
Greg moaned. "Nik?"
Nik was grateful Greg had known whom it was, he was disgusted to think who had last touched him there, but Greg didn't need to deal with that now.
"Nik?" Greg whispered again as he smiled through heavily lidded eyes.
Nik smiled, laughing silently to himself at Greg's drowsiness. "What are you doing? Nik asked.
"Sleeping…" Greg nuzzled into the soft pillow, "in a comfortable bed."
Nik laughed, trust Greg to find a positive out of his current predicament, and take advantage of it.
"I'm going to talk with Grissomo while Sara is with you. Have you got any knew information for him?" It pained him that he couldn't just scoop Greg up in his arms and carry him out of there, where they could spend the day together, but at least he could focus on getting Greg away from Atwatus for good.
"Yeah." Greg said, he opened his eyes and looked more alert.
"He muttered something about not ruining the games for the people… how he'd have to put games on when he's Emperor." Greg leaned his head on one hand. "So I think he's going to wait until after the games before he attacks, he doesn't want to lose favour before he's declared himself dictator." Greg rolled his eyes.
"Thank you." Nik said softly.
Greg gripped onto the front of Nik's tunic and pulled him in for a kiss. Nik granted Greg's tongue entry as they slowly wrestled for dominance. Nik ran a hand through Greg's hair, clenching his fingers at the vibrations of Greg moaning into his mouth.
"I missed you." Greg said as they broke apart.
"Missed you too, more than I thought possible."
Nik was taken aback when Greg started laughing after his comment.
"You're laughing?" Nik asked incredulously.
"I know, I just never thought I'd like something so romantic."
Nik shut him up by kissing him again. Greg laid back and pulled Nik on top of him. Nik groaned at the extra contact. He felt Greg tug on his tunic and broke the kiss.
"No, we can't. Atwatus could come back." Nik reasoned.
"But we might never get the chance to do it somewhere so comfortable again." Greg whined and wrapped his arms around Nik's neck to trap him in.
Nik was tempted, so very tempted. With Greg's lithe body laid out beneath him, his skin glistening in the beams of light from the morning sun. Nothing had ever looked so beautiful to him. He couldn't lose that beauty and he wouldn't put Greg at risk for his own lust.
His protest was cut off before it began when Greg pulled him flush against his chest and his mouth nipped at Nik's neck.
All rational thought was gone when Greg jerked his hips, grinding their erections together. Nik dipped his head to take Greg's mouth in his again. Waves of heat radiated within him and off his searing skin.
He needed more contact, skin on skin, and reached down to pull his tunic off when footsteps invaded his ears.
They broke apart. Nik jumped off the bed and hid behind the heavy curtain. Greg rolled over into the position he'd been in when Nik arrived, and feigned sleep.
Atwatus entered the room. He sauntered over to the bed and grabbed Greg by the arm. He yanked Greg up to his knees, pulling him out of his fake sleep.
"Morning." Atwatus smiled and Nik's skin crawled when he pulled Greg in to kiss him. Nik fought hard with himself not to walk over and punch Atwatus' brains out.
Atwatus wrapped his arms around Greg's sides and gripped at Greg's buttocks. Nik saw Greg clench his hands into fists, obviously resisting the urge to push Atwatus away. If Greg had the strength to resist then so could he, it was better for Greg's safety in the long run.
Atwatus let go of Greg. "Grissomo and his lady are waiting for you." He said as he put on a tunic and left.
Nik clenched his jaw and stepped out from behind the curtain. Greg was putting his tunic on; his head down, shielding his eyes from Nik.
"I know you're angry." Greg said. Nik was shocked when Greg shied away from him.
"No." Nik said immediately, he never wanted Greg to be afraid of him.
"No?" Greg repeated, looking up to question what that meant.
"No. I mean, yes, I'm angry, but not at you. Never at you." He pulled Greg into his arms and was relieved to feel Greg relax and hug him back. "I could never blame you for keeping yourself alive, and your family safe. I know if you had the choice you wouldn't be doing this, I understand."
"Sorry." Greg said quietly.
"Don't be." Nik reassured him, he kissed him gently on the forehead. "Promise me you won't apologise again for this, not to me, not to anyone, not even yourself. Greg?"
Greg looked up into his eyes, water shining in the corners. "I promise. Thank you."
Nik took Greg's hand in his. "We better get going."
…
"Sara." Greg greeted her.
"Morning Greg." Sara took a seat in front of Greg's desk, while Greg sat on the desk at her side.
"So, what do you want to talk about? Because I know you really don't want to talk about your ancestry."
Sara was momentarily stunned before she smiled with realisation.
"You know what's going on." She stated.
"I know." Greg confirmed with a conspiratorial raise of his eyebrows that made Sara laugh.
"How?"
"I figured it out for myself." Greg said confidently.
"You did, did you?" Sara said with friendly confrontation.
"What? You don't think I'm intelligent enough?" Greg pretended to be offended.
"I know you're intelligent enough, too intelligent for your own good." Sara leaned forward, her arm brushing against his thigh. Greg resisted the giggle in his throat when he realised she was flirting back.
"There's so much more to me than my brains…" Greg eyed her seductively.
Sara broke, she laughed and sat back.
"Nik told you."
"Yeah." Greg was half embarrassed that he really hadn't figured it out for himself.
"Do you flirt with everyone or am I special?"
"You're definitely special." He winked; he couldn't resist one last tease, not when she'd set it up so nicely.
"You know nothing will happen between us, right?" She seemed suddenly concerned that he actually was interested in her.
"I know."
"I'm married." She pressed further.
"I know, and I'm involved." He added to reassure her.
"You are? Who with?" She asked, a spark of interest in her eyes, seemingly satisfied with his response to her previous questioning.
Greg smiled serenely.
"Is she blonde?" Sara pushed when he didn't answer.
"No. Brunette."
"I always figured you for blondes." Sara contemplated.
"But then I wouldn't like you." Greg teased.
She laughed, her earlier worry completely gone from her comfortable smile.
"Tall?"
"Yes, almost the same height as me." Greg had been surprised to notice he was taller than Nik; the gladiator was always so protective of him that it felt ridiculous.
"Younger?"
"Older."
Greg laughed when Sara's eyebrows shot into her forehead.
"Interesting." Sara pondered.
"What's your favourite feature of theirs?" Sara changed tack.
"Physically?"
Sara nodded confirmation.
Greg pictured Nik; his mind could conjure up every inch of him.
"The smile." Greg said with a smile of his own.
"Aww." Sara cooed
Greg blushed at the sappiness of his choice.
"And the abs." Greg quickly added to restore his masculinity.
"The abs?"
"They're… very well defined." Greg almost moaned as he pictured himself running his hand down Nik's perfectly toned body.
"Hold on. Her well defined abs are your favourite feature?"
"No." Greg said, which only served to confuse Sara even more.
"His well defined abs." Greg put her out of her misery.
Sara laughed, and now Greg was the one confused, what was so funny about him courting a man? "That makes sense now."
They sat in silence as Greg let her calculate the information. He prepared himself for the barrage of questions over who his man could be.
"I always thought Nik would have good abs." Sara said simply, leaving Greg open mouthed.
TBC…