The night before Severus and Marcus were to depart on their seaside holiday, Marcus was not the one to get Severus to leave the forge for mealtime - indeed, Marcus was absent from the dining hall. Severus was concerned, hoping that Marcus had not taken ill, or perhaps had changed his mind and was avoiding him.
Severus decided to go to Marcus's quarters after the meal was over and see if he was all right. Several paces away from the door, Severus heard deep groans that sounded like someone was in pain or distress. Severus braced himself - he had seen strong, healthy men die and it had been unpleasant to witness even for those he did not care for, let alone someone he had come to care about very much. The door was slightly ajar, and Severus put his face in the crack to assess the scene as his hand reached down to open -
The groans were not of pain, but of pleasure. Instead of the smell of sickness, there was the intoxicating, delicious musk of male arousal.
Three men.
Marcus was on all fours - the way Severus had been for Justinian - and Antonius was behind him, thick cock gliding in and out of Marcus's opening, their hips slapping together fast and hard. Unlike the times Justinian used Severus, Antonius was reaching around with his left hand to stroke Marcus's cock in time with his thrusts... and Marcus was moaning with his mouth full of Tyrannus's cock. Tyrannus was gently rolling his hips, fucking Marcus's mouth, balls smacking Marcus's chin as he kept hold of Marcus's hair. Marcus moaned louder as his cock made a wet rattling sound in Antonius's hand.
Severus took a step back, not wanting to get caught watching. His cock was painfully hard in his breeches, and as much as Severus knew he was taking a risk, he needed relief now. He pulled out his cock and began to stroke, turning himself to the side so he could watch more discreetly.
Justinian had caused Severus pain when Justinian took him, but Marcus was enjoying this. Marcus let Tyrannus's cock slip from his mouth, panting like an animal in heat, and licked at it teasingly, making streamers of pre-spend with his tongue. Tyrannus had a lovely cock, long and thick and slightly curved upward, flushed deep red with prominent veins. Severus wanted to lick it too. He wanted to lick Tyrannus all over - once again admiring the lush silver pelt on his chest and arms and thighs and legs - and Antonius's dark chest hair and body hair, hard pink nipples begging to be sucked. Severus stroked himself harder, thinking about painting that dark chest hair with ropes of his white seed, coming on those luscious nipples...
Tyrannus's cock was in Marcus's mouth again and Marcus sucked greedily, bucking his hips wildly, fucking himself on Antonius's cock. Antonius growled and slapped Marcus's ass. "What a good slut," Antonius rasped.
Marcus whimpered and grunted, working his hips even harder. Severus bit his lip to stifle a moan, stroking himself feverishly, almost there.
Suddenly, Tyrannus threw his head back and let out a hoarse cry, shuddering. Severus watched as cream seeped from the corners of Marcus's mouth, down his neck. Then Marcus made an urgent high-pitched noise with his mouth full and he trembled, cream spilling down Antonius's hand and splashing the sheets of the bed. Antonius closed his eyes and moaned, knees buckling as he seeded Marcus's twitching hole.
Marcus's eyes met Severus's through the crack in the door. Tyrannus and Antonius both had their eyes closed, lost in the throes of passion, but Marcus saw he had been observed...
...and now he watched Severus climax, undone by the debauchery. Severus came all the harder for being watched by the man he desired, letting out a little gasp as the pleasure throbbed through him, a full-body release.
Just before Severus slid down the wall, Marcus licked his lips and winked.
Tyrannus let Marcus take a litter, and Marcus and Severus were off early the next day. Even though Severus knew Marcus had seen him, they did not speak of it on the journey.
Indeed, there was not much room for speaking. Marcus had brought a harp of finely crafted wood - there was an intricate pattern of flowering vines. Severus didn't realize Marcus could play the harp... or sing. But Marcus played and sang as they traveled, and Severus sat in quiet awe, melting to the hauntingly beautiful music, the voice that sounded like a gift from the gods.
As they arrived in Portus, they passed through the marketplace on the way to the inn. Severus's eyes widened at all the different types of people selling goods - cloth, grain, spices, gold and jewels. One stand had brightly colored birds in cages, which made Severus sad, thinking of his time in chains.
There also seemed to be more beggars here, although it occurred to Severus that he'd been free long enough, and living comfortably enough, that he was more aware of it now, whereas when he had been the property of Justinian he blended in and didn't notice. It hurt his heart to see how many people seemed destitute - many of them ill and disabled - while rich merchants and nobiles walked around in their fine clothes, not even bothering to toss a coin, ignoring the beggars like they didn't exist.
Tyrannus had given Severus and Marcus both some spending money for the trip - he was generous - and Severus found himself reaching for his purse now, wanting to hand coins to those who needed it more than he. He hesitated, wondering if the crowd might descend on him and try to take it all, and felt guilty for having that thought. And still, the need to try to ease the suffering at least a little felt more urgent, and his hand went to his purse again. But before he could open the purse and begin tossing coins, Marcus put his harp aside and took the basket of dried, salted fish that they'd brought with them; there were loaves of bread wrapped in leaves that Marcus had personally baked himself. Marcus handed one of the loaves to Severus now just before he stepped out of the litter. Severus carefully unwrapped the bread - it was square-shaped, with a golden-brown crust and an X marking quarters. As Severus broke off a piece of the bread, he watched Marcus make his way through the crowd of beggars, handing them bread and fish.
Severus took a bite of the bread and it was savory-sweet - the most delicious bread he'd ever tasted. As much as he would have loved to devour the entire loaf, and perhaps several more, he suddenly felt full, as if he'd eaten a very large meal. That feeling surprised him - he had never felt so full from just a mouthful of bread before.
The beggars thanked Marcus profusely - a woman wearing blood-stained clothes proclaimed Marcus a holy man and touched the hem of his tunic. Marcus tenderly touched her face before moving on, and Severus's eyes misted - Marcus's compassion and decency made Severus love him even more.
All the more still when Marcus gave a foul look to two men laughing in mockery, clad in saffron and purple. "It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the presence of the Divine," Marcus rebuked them.
Seeing Marcus feed the hungry beggars - knowing a single loaf of bread would feed each person for several days, as if by some miracle - made Severus feel grateful for the chance encounter with Tyrannus that had led to his freedom, and the luxury of being able to go on holiday. Though Severus did not consider himself particularly pious, and was not even sure if he actually believed in the gods, he nonetheless had a fleeting memory of his father offering to their tribe's thunder god after rains, and he decided it would be appropriate to make an offering for them reaching Portus safely. So they took a detour to the temple.
What they found there was shocking. The temple looked more of a marketplace than the market itself. There were moneychangers and more merchants outside the temple, one of whom was arguing with beggars over the price of doves - Severus knew what the price was in Rome, and this was too much; the gleam in the merchant's eye suggested he knew he was taking advantage. Severus felt his blood boiling. He had sworn to put aside violence when his days as a gladiator ended, he had not relished killing even though he was good at it, but now he could feel himself wanting to go over there and hurt them...
...and now Marcus got out of the litter again. He went around to the back where they kept their supplies, and Marcus pulled out a whip, which they had brought for self-defense in case they had run into robbers on the journey. Now Marcus charged towards the moneychangers and merchants and began to knock over their tables, and whipped them. "You have turned the house of the gods into a den of thieves," Marcus scolded.
Severus felt his cock half-hardening. He had no taste for violence anymore, and yet watching Marcus in his fury was one of the most erotic things Severus had ever witnessed. Marcus's glorious mane billowed like storm clouds and his muscles rippled as he unleashed his wrath, punishing those who defiled the temple.
After the offering was made, Severus and Marcus finally checked into the inn. They had agreed ahead of time to share a room to reduce expenses, even though they had a good amount of spending money. The one room available had exactly one bed.
Severus thought about addressing what he'd seen the night before, after they were let into their room, but Severus could barely make words, his head spinning from the events of the day - Marcus's talent with the harp and his voice, Marcus feeding the beggars, Marcus flipping tables and lashing those who took advantage of the poor making offerings. He loved Marcus so fiercely it hurt, the beauty and majesty of him taking his breath away, his very ability to make coherent thought.
Once they made sure the horses were fed, given water, and resting, they bathed together in companionable silence, unwinding from the long journey. Severus tried not to stare at Marcus's naked body, but his mind's eye kept replaying the scene from last night - Antonius fucking Marcus while Marcus sucked Tyrannus's cock. Something told Severus that had been far from the first time the three men had shared pleasure. Severus wondered what it would be like for fucking to give pleasure and not pain... and if Marcus didn't just take cock but also gave it.
Such had been their day that they were both too exhausted to converse, going right to bed after their bath. But Marcus lay behind him, his chest at Severus's back, and as Severus began to drift off to sleep, Marcus's strong arms wrapped around him, safe and comforting. Severus found himself smiling as he slipped under - while it was not a confession that the feelings were returned, it still felt like hope.
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