Eagle of the Ninth - Marcus/Esca

6: lazy morning kisses before they’ve even opened their eyes, still mumbling half-incoherently, not wanting to wake up

The first glow of sunrise was streaming through the curtains of the window, and Marcus let his eyes fall shut again and rolled over to where he knew Esca lay beside him. His body was warm, and Marcus moved closer still, throwing an arm over Esca’s waist and sighing at the familiar comfort of it.

After a few more moments of lying there, Esca moved to face Marcus and propped himself up on his elbow, and Marcus finally opened his eyes a little.

“Good morning,” Esca murmured, grinning. He was more alert than Marcus, and when Marcus just smiled and hummed in reply, he leaned down to kiss him lightly, still grinning. At that, Marcus couldn’t help laughing a little, kissing back leisurely and a little clumsily from sleep.

“You returned late last night. We were getting worried for you,” Esca told him, touching his cheek lightly before kissing him again.

“I’m sorry,” Marcus murmured, his voice a little rough. “I must have misjudged the time the journey would take.”

He had gone to the nearest town for a few days to sell some of their honey, milk, and wool in the local market, and he sold the last of it late yesterday afternoon. In the shortening autumn days, that meant sunset wasn’t far off, and he hadn’t come home until well after dark.

“I didn’t want to take another day, though. It was in my heart to return that day. After I had sold everything.”

Esca raised an eyebrow. ”There was a lot. You sold all of it?”

Marcus returned the look. “I did, Esca. Or rather, Demetrius of Alexandria did.” He grinned as Esca burst out laughing. “He is a much better salesman than I.”

“He’s certainly a good salesman,” Esca grinned. “You had better hope we don’t become good friends with anyone you meet at the market, or you’ll never be able to drop the act!”

Marcus laughed at the idea of putting on the Demetrius of Alexandria act at dinner, with Cottia there. She’d surely laugh at him to no end.

“Do you sleep a little longer, and I will bring you something to eat,” Esca said, and Marcus ran his hands through his hair and pulled him in for another kiss. Then Esca kissed his forehead, on the Mithras brand between his brows, and left. Marcus turned onto his side and pulled the blanket over his shoulders, smiling and full of warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the warmth of the bed.

Frontier Wolf - Alexios/Hilarion

19: kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing.

There was a lot of office work for Alexios to do now that he had command of the fort in Gallia Belgica. The first several days they were there, Alexios locked himself in the office and left Hilarion and the optios to take care of the men. He pored over the maps of the area, then went over the numbers for food rationing and supplies, then the numbers for the men’s salaries. For the life of him, he couldn’t work it out, and he stayed in the office into the night, reading over papyrus rolls and wax tablets until his eyes started to burn.

“Sir?” came a familiar, teasing voice, and Alexios looked up to see Hilarion stroll in and lean his shoulder against the door frame. 

“Ah, Hilarion! You’re certainly a sight for sore eyes,” Alexios said, grinning, somehow feeling his frustration and tiredness quickly melt away into joy at the mere sight of him.

“It’s late. Shouldn’t you be off for bed?”

Sighing, Alexios gestured helplessly to the papers on the table in front of him. “I need to deal with all this first.”

“Can’t you do that tomorrow? It will do no good for the Attacotti Frontier Scouts to have a commander too exhausted to do his duties.” Hilarion stepped further into the office and leaned his hip against the side of the desk, his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. 

“You’re right, but—“ Alexios sighed again and looked down at the papers. “I need to keep working on this, I must—“

Before he could finish, Hilarion stepped close and tipped up Alexios’s chin, and kissed him very softly. 

“I admire your dedication, my dear, but what you truly must do, is go to bed,” Hilarion said, his hand still touching Alexios’s chin. Alexios was speechless for a moment, with Hilarion’s nearness and with the shock of being kissed like this in an almost public space. Their relationship was new and wonderfully exciting, and they’d snatched kisses here and there before, but it felt different and unexpected to do so in the office space. 

“You’re very persuasive when you want to be,” Alexios said after a moment, with a little laugh. Hilarion gave him a very pleased grin, his eyes warm and bright.

“I am rather, aren’t I?” 

Alexios grinned too and pulled Hilarion down into another kiss, as boldly and decisively as he could. Hilarion sighed into it and moved his hand to the back of Alexios’s neck, the scratch of his nails against Alexios’s skin making him shiver lightly.

“Well,” said Hilarion when they shifted apart, “I ought to let you get back to what you were doing.”

Suddenly, Alexios felt completely worn out by the idea of returning to the papers in front of him on his desk. Going to bed sounded like a much better option, especially if he could go to bed with Hilarion—if only to sleep next to each other and keep each other warm and comfortable.

“Do you know, I think it would be better left for tomorrow. After all, the Frontier Scouts cannot have a commander who is too tired to command them.”

Frontier Wolf - Alexios/Cunorix

10: staring at the other’s lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in.

The sun was warm on Cunorix’s shoulders as he sat in the grass next to Alexios. The Wolf Commander had killed his wolf for his cloak, and now the two of them were taking their ease, sharing the wine, bannock, and cheese curds that Cunorix had brought. Alexios kept one protective hand on his wolfskin, and his face was bright with the pleasure of the hunt. They talked a little, but mostly stayed silent, enjoying each other’s company and the food.

“Thank you for this, Cunorix,” Alexios said finally as they stood, gesturing to both his wolfskin and the place where they’d sat. His face was open and happy, a contrast to how anxious he had seemed when they first met, and Cunorix smiled widely to know he had caused that happiness.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Alexios continued to smile, and Cunorix couldn’t help dropping his eyes to Alexios’s mouth. His lips were slightly parted, and they looked soft and full and perfect. Beautiful, he thought.

He glanced back to the other man’s eyes, and they’d turned a little more serious now, wide and earnest and hopeful.

“Cunorix...” He set his hand on Cunorix’s arm, and the two men shared a glance.

And Cunorix laid a hand on the side of Alexios’s neck and drew him into a kiss. It was tentative at first, but then Alexios gasped and wrapped his arms around Cunorix’s shoulders hard, deepening the kiss. He was still clutching the wolfskin, and Cunorix could feel the weight of it against his back.

When the kiss broke, Alexios held him close and pressed his brow to Cunorix’s, breathing hard. Eventually he drew away, and lifted a hand to very gently touch Cunorix’s cheek.

Fierce affection ran through him, and he too stroked gentle fingers from Alexios’s temple to his chin, feeling out the sharp, almost harsh lines of his face. A flush of heat rose in Alexios’s cheeks, but he was grinning, and he kissed Cunorix again quickly. His face didn’t look harsh at all when he smiled.

Later, when they were almost back to the fort, Alexios asked Cunorix to spend the night at Castellum rather than return to his own tribe, and Cunorix gladly accepted.