Fic: Against The Grain - part three

[lemondilemma]

Title: Against the Grain

Author: Lemondilemma

Artist: Ladytiferet

Pairing: Marcus

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: violence, implied major character death, minor character deaths

Word Count: 34,353

Author’s notes: Heartfelt thanks to the awesome Ladytiferet for the artwork and beta services.



Placidus was keeping things close to his chest but Marcus knew something was up from the way he was fidgeting, a barely concealed smirk occasionally breaking out on his face. He was waiting for someone to contact him, that much was obvious; his phone was clutched in his hand as if he was trying to will it to give him what he wanted.

Eventually it did.

“They’re on their way,” he declared to anyone who was listening, jumping up out of his chair. “They got one!”

“Got one?” Marcus looked around at the others in the lock-up, noticing how some of the guys perked up excitedly. “Got what exactly?”

Placidus stared at him coldly. “A Seal. I’ve been keeping tabs on where they come over the river. They’ve been coming across at different areas in small groups and regrouping on this side so I sent some of the lads up to wait for them by one of the bridges. They ambushed a group of about six or seven and managed to grab one to bring back here.”

Alarm bells started ringing in Marcus’ head and his heart lurched uncomfortably. “What the fuck are we going to do with a Seal here?”

“Stop worrying,” Placidus said impatiently. “I know what I’m doing.”

Marcus spotted Drusillus and grabbed him, pulling him away from the others so they could talk. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” he asked, keeping his voice low. There was no point in letting all the others know just how far out of the loop he was these days. “I thought you were going to keep me up to date about stuff.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, it was Placidus.” Drusillus seemed genuinely contrite and Marcus was pretty sure he knew what had happened.

“Did he tell you not to let me know?”

“He said that you’d probably try and stop him so I should keep my mouth shut. He only told us about this last night. A couple of the guys asked where you were and Placidus just told them you were busy with other stuff and that he’d tell you himself later, that they weren’t to bother you.”

“Except he never did and now it’s too late for me to try and talk some sense into him. Shit!”

“Maybe it’s not such a dumb idea,” Drusillus said hopefully. “We can hit them where it hurts. I mean, look what they did to Hilarion. We’re lucky he’s not dead.”

“I don’t know.” Marcus felt a sudden urge to hit something, anger welling up inside him. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

He didn’t have much longer to think about the consequences of Placidus’ actions before the scouting party arrived in a van and hustled their captive into the lock-up, already beaten half senseless, a hood over his head and his hands tied behind his back. They dragged him through the crowd and threw him down onto the floor in front of Placidus, who walked around him and gave him a couple of sharp jabs with a baseball bat.

“Your mates aren’t going to come and rescue you. You know that, right?” Placidus gestured to Galba who stepped forward and pulled the hood off the Seal’s head, hoisting him up onto his knees. The Seal glared defiantly up at Placidus through the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut.

“Do your worst,” he spat. “You’re all dead men, trust me.”

Placidus gripped the bat with both hands and swung it hard and fast, catching the Seal on his arm and sending him tumbling. “That’s for thinking you can come into our territory. And this one is for Hilarion. He sends his regards.” Galba yanked the Seal back up onto his knees and the next swing of the bat caught the Seal on the side of his head, knocking him out.

“What are we going to do with him?” someone asked from the crowd of cheering Romans.

“We need to send them a message, loud and clear.” There was a roar of universal agreement at that.

“Are we going to let him go?” someone else asked.

“No,” Placidus said. “We’re going to make sure there’s one less Seal in the world.”

A ripple of murmured responses spread around the lock-up, some still in excited agreement, others less so when they grasped his meaning.

“Marcus?” Lutorius asked warily. “What do you think?”

“Marcus isn’t in charge!” Placidus snapped. “I am! It’s up to me what happens to this piece of shit.” He poked at the unconscious Seal with his boot. “My dad says the Seals don’t think twice about killing people and dumping them in the river. I say we give this fucker a taste of his own medicine.”

Several faces were turned towards Marcus, waiting for him to say something but he knew it was pointless trying to argue. Placidus had counted on him not finding out until it was too late and it had worked.

“He’s right,” Marcus said eventually. “We can’t just let him go.” They couldn’t show any weakness, not now or the battle would be over before it had really started. The Seal was a threat and his fate was inevitable. He’d been a dead man as soon as he’d been grabbed earlier, long before Marcus even knew about it. “They took out Hilarion. We need to send them a louder, clearer message than the one they sent us.”

Placidus smirked and indicated with a nod of his head for Marcus to follow him while the others all started talking amongst themselves about what was going to happen.

“Do you want to do it?” Placidus asked, still smirking, his eyes gleaming with excitement but whether it was from bloodlust or getting one over on him Marcus couldn’t be sure.

He shook his head. “I don’t want any part of it.”

“Hey!” Placidus hissed, grabbing Marcus’ arm as he turned away. “You’re already a part of this. Don’t forget that.”

Marcus pulled his arm free and gave Placidus his best glare, putting all the contempt he felt for the guy into it then he left the lock-up, frustrated and more anxious than he should be over the fate of an enemy.



Just after 10am on Thursday morning Marcus pulled up outside the church on Chester Street and Esca slid in beside him.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Oooh, a surprise!”

Marcus smiled and rolled his eyes at Esca’s mockery. “Just keep your head down until we get out of town.”

“Good enough?” Esca asked as he slumped down in the passenger seat.

Marcus glanced over and grinned at him. “Just as well you’re not six feet tall or you’d be a lot more difficult to hide.”

“You’re paranoid, you know that? Nobody’s watching us.” Esca grinned back at him and curled up into the seat anyway. “Wake me up when we get there.”

Marcus pulled out into the traffic, thinking about what Esca had said. Maybe the Seals were keeping tabs on the competition. His skin prickled as he thought of the times he’d had a feeling he was being watched but nothing had ever happened and there had been plenty of opportunity for somebody if they’d just wanted to jump him on his own, a sitting duck. No, Esca was probably right. He was just being paranoid. Another reason to ditch this life as soon as he could; something else for him to try and forget about.

They drove on and as soon as the tower blocks and endless drab streets started to thin out, Marcus poked Esca in the ribs to wake him up. “If you’re that tired, you might want to consider going to bed at night.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he replied. “Neighbours kept me up all night, screaming and throwing stuff.”

“You should move to a better neighbourhood.”

Esca yawned loudly and stretched his arms as best he could in the car. “I’m just waiting for a huge cheque to arrive in the post then I’ll be buying myself a mansion in the posh end of town.” He stared out of the window as drab grey turned to various shades of green and they drove on through the countryside. “Where are we going?” he asked again.

“Somewhere I used to go when I was a kid. My mum used to take me there sometimes.” Marcus looked across at him. “You’ll like it.”

A few minutes later and Esca was singing along to the radio under his breath so Marcus turned up the volume, doing his best to remember the words and soon they were both singing at the tops of their voices to whatever song came on. They occasionally glimpsed the river as they followed its course upstream and finally they came to the small parking area that Marcus remembered from the times he used to go there with his mum on sunny weekends.

Esca glanced over at him as they parked up. “So what’s here then?” he asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Marcus replied. “That’s the whole point.”

They got out of the car and set off along the river, walking close enough to each other that their arms occasionally bumped together. The day was warmer than expected and they both shed their outer layers as they walked, glad of the slight breeze that picked up now and then. As Esca tied his hoodie around his waist, Marcus took the opportunity to look him over, wondering whether he’d made an effort for their day out. The blue checked shirt didn’t look as scruffy as the usual things he wore and the thought made him smile just as Esca looked up at him.

“What?”

Marcus just shook his head and carried on walking until eventually he saw the same old willow tree that he and his mum used to sit beside all those years ago. It looked smaller now, less impressive than the giant he remembered but maybe it was just him that got bigger. He stopped walking and sat down on the grass, his arms wrapped around his knees.

“I forgot how beautiful this place was.”

Esca dropped down beside him and followed his gaze across the river and the rolling hills beyond then lay on his back, stretching out in the unexpected sunshine.

“It’s nice here,” he said. “Peaceful. Don’t get much of that back home.”

“You could tell me something about yourself,” Marcus ventured after a long period of silence broken only by a few squawking birds and the sound of the river running past them. “If you want,” he added hastily. “I’d like to know.”

“Nothing much to tell.”

“How come it’s just you? What happened to your family?”

Esca sat up and squinted at him, the old suspicion back in his eyes as he decided whether or not to answer. “I was fifteen when my dad died,” he said eventually, shrewd eyes still fixed on Marcus. “I was still fifteen when my mum died. He dropped dead and she died two months later.”

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

“Why? Was it you who mugged her and caused my dad to have a heart attack when he went to try and protect her?” Esca’s eyebrows knitted together in a hard frown and that tenseness was back, as if he could suddenly spring up and either strangle Marcus or run. He did neither, slowly relaxing while Marcus tried to convey as much empathy as he could with only his eyes.

It wasn’t me, he thought. I don’t know who it was but it wasn’t me. Don’t hate me.

They stared at each other for a few moments and Marcus let himself focus on the gentle rush of the water to calm his nerves.

“And your mum died because of the mugging?” he asked cautiously.

Esca shrugged as if he felt it didn’t matter to him any more. “She was sick anyway,” he said.

“What happened to you?”

“Kept Social Services at bay by playing happy families with some relatives for a couple of months until I was sixteen but I didn’t stay. They weren’t interested and neither was I. Wanted my own life, you know? Wanted to do my own thing. I’m Brigantes, they’ve been my family ever since.” The challenge was back in his voice and in his eyes, daring Marcus to say anything against them. “I hung out with them as much as I could, stuck it out at school another couple of terms and did whatever I had to do to get by. Eventually got on a training course as a mechanic and now I work a couple of days a week at the garage. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing and I get extra shifts now and then to cover when people are on holiday. I’m good at fixing things and I like it.”

Esca got up and wondered over to the water’s edge, Marcus’ eyes tracking his every move. He picked up several stones and began throwing them, trying to get one to reach the other side. When he ran out of missiles he started searching for more then turned his head and looked back at Marcus over his shoulder, his face half shadowed in the sunlight.

“What?” Marcus asked softly, not really expecting an answer but beginning to feel uncomfortable under Esca’s relentless gaze.

Esca watched him for a moment longer, as if he expected Marcus to say or do something, then he shook his head and carried on with his quest to reach the far river bank with his stones. “Nothing. Just thinking.”

Marcus carried on watching him, appreciating the profile of his features, the curve of his arse in his faded skinny jeans, the coppery glow of his hair under the sun. He didn’t look like someone who could hold his own in a fight but Marcus knew better. Esca was tough. Marcus had seen how fearless he was, outnumbered against guys much bigger than he was. The instinct to fight was deep within him, as it was with Marcus and, as much as there seemed to be a real connection between them, Marcus knew that there was always a possibility Esca could turn on him at any time. A tiny voice inside his head pointed out that that was probably all part of the thrill.

When they began to get hungry they walked further along the river bank until they came to the same old pub Marcus and his mum used to have lunch at if they hadn’t brought a picnic. It still looked the same. They bought some food and a couple of cokes and sat opposite each other at one of the tables in the empty beer garden, picking at their sandwiches.

“Come on then,” Esca said, squinting with the sun in his eyes. “I’ve told you my sob story. What’s yours?”

“My dad was with the Romans,” Marcus replied. “People used to say that my mum married beneath her but you can’t help who you fall in love with, right?” Esca rolled his eyes and stuck two fingers in his mouth to pretend he was about to be sick. “I remember being a happy kid but then my dad left home one day and never came back.”

“What happened to him?”

“Don’t know.”

“Do you think he’s still out there somewhere? Do you want to find him?”

“No, he’s dead. He would never have left us.”

Marcus looked up to see Esca staring at him and felt that now familiar mixture of excitement and discomfort crawl over him.

“You’re not what I expected,” Esca said in that hard, direct way he had of speaking, no expression on his face to suggest what was going on behind those blueish-grey eyes.

“No?” Marcus gave up on his sandwich as his gut turned somersaults under Esca’s gaze.

“No.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“I like you,” Esca said after a prolonged pause, adding a quick “I think.”

It was good enough for Marcus. He smiled and Esca smiled back at him, suddenly appearing a little shy. It looked good on him. Once they’d finished their lunch they set off back along the river, bumping into each other as they walked in the same way they had when they’d started out but deliberately this time, nudging each other and laughing. Marcus threatened to push Esca into the water and Esca took off running, Marcus sprinting after him until they stopped by the willow tree again and flung themselves onto the grass, breathless and laughing.

“Can you swim?” Marcus asked.

“Nope,” Esca replied. “If you’d pushed me in, you’d have had to come and rescue me.”

Marcus turned his head to look at him. “Not a chance,” he chuckled.

Esca made an exaggerated sound of outrage and flung out an arm to hit him. “Bastard.” He sat up and crossed his legs. “Maybe if we ever come back here, you could teach me.”

“What, in the river? Nobody learns to swim in a river and it’s probably full of things you wouldn’t want to be swimming with anyway.”

“Like what?”

“Water rats.”

“Gross.”

They lay side by side on the grass for a while, silently watching clouds glide slowly across the sky until eventually Esca got up and went to the willow tree. He took a flick-knife out of the pocket of his jeans and started scratching at the gnarled old trunk.

“What are you doing?” Marcus asked him, getting up wandering over to see for himself.

“Carving my initials in the tree.” He finished and offered the little knife to Marcus. “Want to do yours?”

Marcus took the knife and gouged at the bark until both their initials stood out; MA and EM, there for anyone to see, for as long as the tree was there. It felt like a victory of sorts, a two-fingered salute to anybody who didn’t think they should be hanging out together.

“It’d be nice to stay here,” Esca said when Marcus handed him his knife. “It’s a pity we have to go back.”

“Yeah but we do. I’ve got work tomorrow. And anyway, I think Guern wants his car back.”

Esca sighed and looked at the water then he caught Marcus’ eye and a mischievous grin crept across his face.

“Race you!” he shouted but he was already running. Marcus opened his mouth to protest Esca’s head start then thought better of it and set off after him, determined not to be left behind.



The sun was sinking fast by the time they got back to Marcus’ flat, ominous rain clouds starting to gather over the city. Marcus emptied his jacket pockets out onto the coffee table in his tiny living-room, noticing the condom that Guern had given him a second too late. Esca raised an eyebrow and shot him an enquiring look.

“Subtle,” he said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

“Shit.” Marcus grabbed the condom and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“What, that’s not a condom you’ve been carrying around with you all day then?”

“Fuck. Fuck, shit, shit, fuck.” Marcus could feel his cheeks flaming. For fuck’s sake, he was a grown adult acting like a child. “I wasn’t expecting us to have sex,” he tried to explain. “It was just in my pocket.”

“Very responsible of you.” They were staring at each other now and Esca’s voice had lost the teasing edge to it.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Marcus asked, as it was the only thing he could put into words.

“Not hungry.”

“Me neither.” Not for food.

He moved to stand in front of Esca and for a while they just stayed there, arms hanging by their sides, as if neither of them was sure of what to do next. Marcus’ hands were itching to touch, his eyes staring at the front of Esca’s checked shirt so hard that the pattern began to blur. He raised his hands slowly and began to undo the buttons, one by one, overriding the desire to simply rip the shirt off Esca and be done with it. Esca didn’t move, he simply continued to stand there looking anywhere but at Marcus’s face as Marcus slid the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. Marcus let his eyes skim over the skin which was appearing before him; the smooth planes of Esca’s chest, the firm flat abdomen and the light trail of hair from beneath his belly button that disappeared under the waistband of his jeans, the livid bruise under his ribs that Marcus figured had to be from the run-in with the Seals. He shot a quick glance at the tattoo on Esca’s arm but couldn’t quite bring himself to look at it for too long so he ran his fingertips down the well-defined arms, watching one hand as it followed the line of a distended vein.

When he finally turned his attention to Esca’s face, he was staring straight ahead, apparently entranced by the logo on Marcus’ t-shirt. Marcus focused on him for a while; his eyes, the curve of his mouth, an old faded bruise still visible on his jaw then Esca reached out and pulled the t-shirt up over his head, dropping it on the floor and sliding his hands down Marcus’ chest. Marcus felt goose-bumps begin to stand out on his skin. He leaned forward and gently scraped his teeth over the skin of Esca’s neck, under his ear. Esca let out an audible gasp and tipped his head back and to the side, allowing Marcus more skin to move his lips over. He accepted the unspoken offer and continued nibbling at Esca’s neck as his hands fumbled for Esca’s belt and began to unbuckle it before unbuttoning the fly and rubbing his knuckle over the mouth-watering bulge inside. He slid his hands down the back of Esca’s jeans and his shorts, squeezing his buttocks and pulling him close so they were finally skin to skin.

Suddenly the anticipation was over. Their mouths mashed together, hands stroking and grabbing wherever they could. Marcus felt light-headed; as desperate as he was to remember every second of this, he could hardly concentrate he was so aroused. They kicked off their shoes and struggled out of the remainder of their clothes until they were both naked; no conversation, just hoarse words of encouragement and harsh breathing. Esca pushed him back onto the sofa and straddled his thighs, apparently unwilling to come up for air as he ground against him at mouth and groin, grasping a handful of Marcus’ hair and pulling painfully. Marcus didn’t care. He grunted his approval and gave a handful of Esca’s hair the same treatment, pulling him as close as he could and holding him still. This kind of fight was much better than the kind that included punches and weapons.

He hooked his free arm around Esca’s waist and flipped him over onto his back, climbing on top of him as Esca clutched at him, digging his fingernails into Marcus’ shoulders as he pushed up against him with all his strength. Marcus’ right foot found the floor and he used it to brace himself, bearing his weight down on Esca’s groin. Esca made a noise somewhere between pained gasp and long, low groan and dug his nails in even deeper, the one leg that wasn’t trapped underneath Marcus hooking over the back of his thigh and squeezing. They were barely even moving, just straining against each other and grunting. Marcus gripped Esca’s wrists and forced his arms above his head, holding them so hard his own arms began to ache. He pressed his forehead against Esca’s shoulder, every muscle in his body strained to the limit as he inhaled the scent of Esca’s cool, slick skin. He sucked at it, tasting salt and sweat and then the pressure building at the base of his spine exploded through him and he was coming so hard he saw stars. He squeezed Esca’s wrists impossibly tightly and rubbed against him, his own nerve endings on fire as Esca’s whole body went rigid beneath him and then began jerking wildly.

They lay in a tangle on the sofa for a while, both breathing hard, their bodies stuck together with sweat and semen. When he could move, Marcus reached between them and smeared the warm, sticky mess into Esca’s belly, feeling the abdominal muscles twitching at his touch. He forced himself to sit up and reached for his discarded t-shirt to clean them both up a little. Esca followed him, resuming his position straddling Marcus’ thighs and leaning forward to kiss him, a slow gentle kiss this time, his fingers curling around the back of Marcus’ head. It had been a long time, too long since Marcus had done this with someone and he gave in to the blissful aftermath, his hands stroking down Esca’s back, concentrating on the soft slide of their mouths.

Too soon the kiss was over and Marcus opened his eyes to see Esca watching him, head tipped to one side, intelligent eyes examining his face.

“Let me know when you’re up for round two.”

“I’m ready when you are.” Marcus smiled almost shyly under Esca’s gaze then he pushed him off his lap and stood up, pulling Esca with him. He reached down and clasped his hands together around Esca’s arse, lifting him up. More smirking than smiling, Esca hooked his ankles around Marcus’ waist and hung on as he carried him through to the bedroom and set him down on the edge of the bed. Esca scooted backwards and Marcus crawled on top of him, leaning down to lick over his collar bone.

“I’ve waited a long time to do this,” he confessed, sounding as breathless and strung out as he felt.

“I hope it’s living up to your expectations.”

“Above and beyond, so far.”

“I’m flattered.” Esca pressed up against Marcus’ crotch. “What else have you got for me? I mean, we’re going to fuck for real, right?”

They were both already half hard and rapidly getting harder. Marcus heard himself moan and bit Esca’s nipple, probably too hard but Esca didn’t complain, arching up into the touch. They grunted and rubbed and ground against each other, hands grabbing and stroking every bit of skin they could find. Still on top, Marcus worked his way lower, sucking at Esca’s skin; tasting him, inhaling his scent, mapping the contours and scars of his body with his tongue. He sucked and licked and bit his way across the sharp, jutting pelvic bones, deliberately avoiding Esca’s cock to tease him.

“Shit!”

“What?” Marcus stopped, startled by Esca’s fierce tone. “Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind,” he pleaded. “Please.”

“No. We left that fucking condom in the other room.”

“It’s ok,” Marcus mumbled as he returned his attention to Esca’s chest. “I think there’s some in here.” He reached out his hand in the vague direction of the bedside table and fumbled for the drawer. “At least, there used to be. It’s been a while since I looked.”

He pulled at the drawer handle, too hard and the drawer flew out, scattering its contents onto the floor. Marcus cursed and leaned over, relieved to catch sight of a few foil squares in amongst the other assorted debris. He grabbed for one and hauled himself back on top of Esca but Esca had other ideas and rolled them over before Marcus could fully recover his balance. Marcus stretched out underneath him and let out a series of long, low groans as Esca’s mouth drove him into a frenzy, leaving a trail of intense tingling sensations criss-crossing his body.

Too desperate to wait any longer, Marcus rolled them over again, pushing up onto his knees between Esca’s legs and tearing open the condom wrapper. He glanced up as he rolled it over his cock and met Esca’s eyes.

“So you like to be in charge, yeah?” Esca challenged. “What makes you think I’m just going to roll over and take it?”

“You don’t have to roll over,” Marcus growled, smearing saliva over his fingers and rubbing them over Esca’s hole before pushing inside to stretch him. “I can fuck you just as easily like this.”

He shoved his hands under the backs of Esca’s thighs and raised his legs, their eyes still locked together as Esca crossed his ankles at the small of Marcus’ back. Marcus angled his cock, pushed his hips forward and felt Esca’s body give way to him. It felt so good; too good, too fast and Marcus had to turn away and focus on something other than Esca’s face or run the risk of shooting his load before he’d even moved.

“Just so you know,” Esca forced out between gritted teeth. He grabbed Marcus’ chin and yanked his head back to face him again, eyes glistening and pupils dilated. “Just because your cock’s up my arse doesn’t mean you’re in control.”

Marcus pulled back and gracelessly thrust forward, setting up a hard and steady rhythm, too far gone to think of a suitable response. Esca grunted loudly and his legs tightened around Marcus’ waist, rigid and starting to shake. He arched his back up off the bed, exposing his neck and Marcus latched onto it, biting and sucking at the rough, stubbled skin under his jaw.

It was never going to last long, even though they’d both already come once that night. Within half a dozen thrusts Marcus could feel his orgasm threatening and he just lost it, pounding into the writhing, grunting body beneath him. Esca grabbed his own cock with one hand and dug the fingers of his other hand hard into Marcus’ arse cheek, his grunts becoming higher pitched and more desperate with each thrust. He let out a desperate howl, his muscles constricting unbearably tightly around Marcus’ cock as he came, the sharp scent hitting Marcus and pushing him over the edge with an equally loud and uninhibited roar just seconds later.



Waking with a jolt, Marcus rolled over and bumped into something solid. The night before flooded back into his mind and he smiled as he remembered it all, from the best sex he’d ever had to the surprisingly gentle period that followed. They’d lain facing each other, him and Esca, touching and caressing, not quite kissing but with their lips simply resting together, everything Marcus had never really wanted with other people he’d fucked or expected from someone like Esca. There was still so much to learn about each other and maybe not a lot of time to do it.

Marcus had tried to clear his mind of what was to come and just concentrate on being close to someone. “You can stay if you want,” he’d whispered when his eyes became too heavy to keep open.

“I don’t think I could leave if my life depended on it.” Esca had smiled against his lips and snuggled closer. “I’m totally fucked, in every way.”

“Then my work is done.”

“You know, you’re really not a bad fuck. Might even be worth doing this again sometime.” Marcus had done his best to look affronted but Esca had grinned at him and then tugged lightly on his bottom lip with his teeth. “I’m not big on compliments.”

They’d chuckled wearily at that, closing their eyes and finally drifting off to sleep pressed against each other.

Still smiling at the memory, Marcus stretched himself fully awake, his joints popping and protesting. Esca stirred beside him, burrowing further into the duvet.

“Morning,” Marcus whispered softly, smoothing down an errant lock of Esca’s hair. Esca raised his head, bleary eyes taking in the strange surroundings and squinting at Marcus before remembering where he was. He lay back again, showing no sign of getting out of bed. “Hey!”

“Mm hmm.”

“I’ve got to go to work.” Marcus poked Esca in the ribs and pulled the duvet off him. “We need to get up.”

Esca grumbled and rolled over onto his front and for the first time Marcus noticed another tattoo across the small of his back; a line of writing in a language he didn’t recognise. He ran a finger along the letters and chuckled as Esca squirmed under the touch.

“That tickles.”

“What does it say?”

“Go to hell.”

“Come on.” Marcus scraped his fingernail back over the letters and Esca jerked in response. “What does it say?”

“It’s Scots Gaelic. It says ‘go to hell’. You know, you touch me there and you’ll have to pay the consequences.”

“Yeah?” Marcus carried on running his fingers back and forth across the tattoo, his heart starting to beat faster as Esca buried his head in his arms and moaned, still squirming under his touch.

“I warned you,” he growled and Marcus found himself shoved over onto his back with Esca licking and sucking his way downwards until he reached Marcus’ cock and instantly made him forget about anything else but the warm, wet pull of his mouth.

For the first time ever, Marcus was late for work.



Drusillus looked around to make sure they were alone then whipped a can of spray-paint out of his jacket pocket and began to graffiti his tag onto the last remaining empty space on the wall.

“What’s up with you these days?” he asked as Marcus idly kicked an empty beer can around.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t bullshit me, M.” Drusillus eyed him suspiciously. “Something’s going on with you.”

“It’s just the Seals, that’s all. This waiting around is doing my head in.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Since they’d grabbed the lone Seal and taken him back to the lock-up, things had gone quiet. Too quiet. The Seals were biding their time, the calm before the storm and waiting wasn’t something the Romans were good at. But Marcus knew that wasn’t all that was preying on his mind these days. He watched Drusillus and thought about their friendship, how they’d looked out for each other over the years but he wouldn’t understand if Marcus told him about Esca or wanting to get out.

“Yeah, mine too. If it was up to me,” Drusillus carried on, “we’d be heading over the river and taking the fight to them. I told Placidus but he said that if we take enough men north, the Brigantes might try and take back our patch.”

“What, Placidus has actually thought out a strategy?”

“This is serious, M. Since we took out that Seal, Placidus keeps talking about how we’re going to wipe out the rest of them, like he thinks it’s going to be easy.”

Marcus had tried to forget about the Seal they’d killed, avoiding the lock-up as much as he could, drifting further away from the gang as he focused on Esca. “What did they do with him?” he asked, leaning against the wall, feeling tired and muddled. “You know, after.”

“Placidus got Galba and Paulus to dump the body. It’s not like it would be traced back to us. The police don’t give a fuck, they’d rather we just all killed each other and got rid of the problem for them.”

A woman with a little boy walked towards them, deliberately keeping her eyes down. Two young men wearing hoodies and loitering around in this part of town usually only meant one thing; gang. She leaned down to whisper something to the little boy and her grip on his hand tightened as she hurried past. Marcus watched her sadly. He hated being feared almost as much as he hated the way the little boy turned back to look at them with wide-eyed awe, as if they were superheroes.

“I’m going home,” he said. “You off to the lock-up?”

“Yeah, I’ll see who’s there, what’s happening.”

“Let me know, ok?”

“I know something’s up with you,” Drusillus carried on, “and it’s not just the Seals. Did your waitress turn you down?”

“As if.” Marcus managed a smile.

“Well, she’s not doing you much good cos you don’t look like a happy man.”

Marcus thought about that. He felt torn, too many different things vying for attention in his head. Things with Esca had moved unexpectedly fast and in other circumstances he would’ve been walking around with a big grin on his face but instead he felt like he was walking on thin ice which threatened to crack under his feet any second. The Seals loomed large in his thoughts as did the guilt that gnawed at him over deserting the Romans and neither of those things were going to go away, no matter how much mind-blowing sex he had.

“Don’t worry about me Dru,” he said. They both made fists and bumped them together. “I’ll see you around.”

“Later,” Drusillus called after him.

Marcus stopped off to buy something to put in a sandwich, pretty sure that he already had some bread that wasn’t too far past its sell-by date. He almost took a different way home, just to be on the safe side but he persuaded himself to man up and in the end he took his usual route along the canal, eyes scanning for trouble. There it was again, the crawling feeling across the back of his neck, a tiny imperceptible movement caught out the corner of his eye. He spun around.

“What are you waiting for?” he shouted to nothing, no-one. A couple of pigeons squawked in startled response and flew up to perch on the girders under the bridge that spanned the canal. “Come on, you fucking cowards! I know you’re there!”

Still nothing and Marcus shook his head at his own stupidity. He looked up at the pigeons still watching him warily from above and gave them a rueful grin. “Sorry guys,” he said. “Won’t do it again.”

By the time he got home Marcus felt like going straight to bed and sleeping for a week. He made his sandwich and flopped on the sofa to eat it but left most of it untouched after the bread proved to be a little too stale for him to stomach. Too tired to bother switching on the TV, he texted Esca just to say hi and closed his eyes for a moment. By the time the ringtone on his phone woke him up, it was dark and his neck was stiff from being at a funny angle while he’d dozed.

“What you up to?” Esca asked. “Are you at home?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Marcus spluttered, fuzzy-headed and not quite fully awake. “I must’ve fallen asleep.”

“Aww, sorry.” Esca didn’t sound sorry at all and Marcus could hear him trying not to laugh. “Did I interrupt any good dreams?”

“Yeah, you did. Next time you come round I’ll show you what I was doing to you.”

“Promises, promises.”

Marcus chuckled. “Where are you?”

“Sitting in the stairwell of the rancid block of flats I call home. I figured it’d be better to talk to you here than in the flat cos Struan’s there. His mum kicked him out again.”

“How old is he?”

“Fifteen, only just. The old cow sobered up enough to finally notice that he’d got his tattoo done and she went ape-shit.”

“That’s too bad.”

“What, that his mum kicked him out or that he got his tattoo?”

“Both.”

“Screw you,” Esca said mildly, his voice almost drowned out as someone slammed a door and a man and a woman started screaming a stream of colourful insults at each other somewhere near him. Never one to be left out, Esca joined in. “Are you still there?” he asked when he finally remembered he was on the phone with someone.

“Still here, listening to the free entertainment.”

“What was I saying? Oh yeah, Struan,” he said when Marcus reminded him. “He’s just a kid and I don’t want him to get hurt, you know? I feel responsible for him.”

“Yeah, I know.” Marcus yawned loudly. “Sorry,” he said, “I’m really tired.”

“It’s ok. I’ve got to go anyway. I’m almost out of credit.”

“Can you come round tomorrow night?”

“Maybe. I’ll let you know.”

“Ok. G’night.” Marcus yawned again.

“Get some sleep. If I come round tomorrow you better not be too fucking tired to show me what you were dreaming about earlier.”

Esca hung up and with a supreme effort, Marcus hauled himself off the sofa and shuffled through to his bedroom, stopping on the way to brush his teeth and pee. He stripped off his clothes, leaving them lying in a crumpled pile on the floor and stared down at the wreckage of his bed, smiling. He really should have washed his bedding but he hadn’t had the heart to wash away Esca’s scent so he climbed between the sheets and closed his eyes, the smell of sex and Esca in his nostrils and a smile still on his face.



Marcus was as good as his word when Esca came round to the flat on the following night, demonstrating in explicit detail what he’d been dreaming about doing to him. As soon as they’d said hello to each other he hustled Esca up against the wall and wasted no time in getting down onto his knees. He unzipped Esca’s fly and tugged his jeans and shorts halfway down his thighs, flattered to notice the speed with which Esca was getting hard, the tip of his cock already leaking. Marcus flattened his tongue out and licked slowly up Esca’s length from root to tip then dipped into the slit to taste him. He slid his lips over the head, sucking hard and Esca thrust his hips forward, forcing more of himself into Marcus’ mouth.

He scraped his teeth up the underside of Esca’s cock, the noisy and eager reaction increasing his own excitement as he carried on sucking. Before too long he felt the tell-tale trembling in Esca’s legs, the way his balls tightened and the desperate edge to his grunts and groans. Marcus shoved a hand down the front of his own jeans, intending to squeeze himself hard enough to delay coming but Esca was already shooting warm, salty jets into his mouth so Marcus swallowed greedily and forgot about holding off, coming hard with two harsh tugs at his cock.

He rested his head against the soft dampness of Esca’s groin until his head stopped spinning and he managed to climb safely back onto his feet.

“I’ll grab us a couple of beers from the fridge,” he mumbled against the frantic pulse in Esca’s neck, “and I’ll catch up with you in the bedroom.”

“You read my mind.” Esca chuckled, pulling his head back by the hair so he could kiss him, tongue probing for his own taste in Marcus’ mouth.

By the time Marcus collected the beers and joined him in the bedroom, he was already naked and sprawled across the bed. Marcus handed him a bottle and shucked off his own clothes before sitting on the edge of the bed and trying to nudge him out of the way.

“Move over,” he coaxed.

“Why? I’ve clearly marked my territory.” Esca stretched out and took up even more space.

“Well, your territory is about to be invaded.” The words were out before Marcus fully realised what he’d said. Esca’s eyes met his, his face hardening for a moment before he sat up, taking a long drink from his beer.

“So. How’s things with you today?” he asked after a moment or two of awkward silence. “Didn’t get much of a chance to ask when I got here.”

“Not so good.” Marcus caught Esca’s raised eyebrow. “Apart from us, that is,” he added, glad to have an opportunity to move on from the unfortunate mention of invaded territory and start breathing easier again.

“I’m glad you remembered.”

“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

“I think you already did.”

They both laughed and settled back onto the bed.

“Do you ever think about getting away from here?” Marcus asked. It seemed as good a time as any to mention it and gauge Esca’s reaction.

“Fancy another day out in the country, do you? No, wait. You’re going to teach me to swim in the river with the water rats after all.”

“No.” Marcus drained his beer and let the bottle drop over the side of the bed. “I meant getting away permanently.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Esca asked, frowning at the thought. “Do you think about it?”

“Yeah I do,” Marcus admitted. “I want to get out, start over somewhere else.” Now he’d started, Marcus wanted to get it all out into the open, as if telling Esca was the one thing that would finally spur him into action. “I’m done with the Romans and I’m done with this city.”

“How long have you been planning this?”

“A while. I just need to find the right time to pack up and leave.”

Esca hesitated and Marcus could practically hear the cogs in his brain turning, trying to process the situation. “So, was tonight meant to be a goodbye fuck?” he asked.

“No, no.”

Marcus was going to explain, to reassure but Esca cut in quickly. “Cos this has been fun, yeah but it’s not like it means anything. I’m not going to miss you.”

As much as it hurt a little to hear him say it out loud, Marcus could hear the bluster and disappointment behind the words and it spurred him on. “Listen,” he said. “I’ve been thinking that maybe we could go together.”

Esca’s response was to climb off the bed and start angrily pulling on the nearest clothes he could find which, to add to his annoyance, included Marcus’ shorts.

“What kind of fucked-up, fairy tale world are you living in?” he shouted.

“Just hear me out,” Marcus started, a little taken aback at the force of Esca’s reaction.

“Fuck that! Us, me and you,” Esca wildly waved his arm around, “this isn’t forever you know. I’m not going to run out on everyone and everything I know so I can go and play happy families with you somewhere!”

“Esca….”

“This was a fucking mistake.” Esca looked around to try and locate his own shorts, Marcus’ still hanging off his smaller frame. “Typical fucking Roman,” he snarled, the bluster of earlier lost amongst the sudden flash of anger. “You’re all the same, thinking you can call the shots and everybody’s just going to roll over and do as you say.”

“Esca!” Marcus spat his name out sharply to get his attention, causing Esca to stop and scowl at him the way he used to do when they were facing each other in the run-up to a fight. He waited for a second, forcing himself to keep calm. “It’s hard to take you seriously when you’re wearing my shorts which are only being held up because they’re caught on your half-hard cock.”

Esca looked down at himself and sighed, his scowl disappearing. “Can’t even row with you without getting a hard-on,” he grumbled, sitting down next to Marcus and looking at him thoughtfully. “It’s a really dumb idea of yours though.”

“Why?” Marcus asked. Esca just shrugged in response. “Where do you see yourself in a year, 5 years, 10 years?”

“Never really thought about it.”

“Don’t you ever think about the future?”

“Not much. Better to live each day as it comes than plan for days I might never see.”

“Don’t you want to be happy?” Marcus bumped his shoulder against him, not sure that Esca would take kindly to him taking his hand. “Don’t you want to live somewhere better than this?”

“Yeah,” Esca said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Obviously if I win the lottery tomorrow then I’ll buy a big house in the country with servants and horses and lots of shit that amuses me.”

“Seriously though, you don’t have to stay here.”

“You’re living in cloud cuckoo land.”

“You must have dreams,” Marcus pointed out. “Everyone does.”

“And that’s all they are,” Esca argued half-heartedly, “just dreams. None of it’s real.”

“Tell me.”

“I just did! Big house, lots of stuff.” He squinted at Marcus through one eye and made an exasperated tutting sound. “Fuck, you really are relentless! Ok, ok, I’d like to live somewhere quiet, somewhere nothing ever happens and people leave their doors unlocked. Somewhere people get on with each other and don’t try and stab you cos you’re different. I’d like to spend all day fixing stuff and all night fucking someone incredibly hot who worships the ground I walk on.”

Marcus waggled his eyebrows and smiled. “That’s a tall order.”

“I’m not finished. I want enough money to do what I want, hot water whenever I want it and more food than I can eat.”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

Esca shrugged again. “I don’t give a fuck what everyone else wants,” he said. “Just me. And Struan I suppose.” He gave Marcus a playful shove. “Not you.”

“No? Any chance I can change your mind?”

Esca didn’t answer. He was looking at him in that way he had, cocking his head to one side and narrowing his eyes.

“What?” Marcus asked.

“I’m still trying to work out what it is about you.”

“Huh?”

“Why I like you,” Esca said, still staring hard at him.

“You got to know me.”

“No, before that. I used to see you at fights and at Guern’s place and wonder what you were like.”

“Really? Because you hid it pretty well.” Marcus started to chuckle. “There were times I thought I’d spontaneously combust just from the way you scowled at me.”

Esca didn’t laugh with him, his face still expressionless. “It pissed me off, the way you looked at me, cos I knew what you were thinking.”

“What was I thinking?”

“Same thing I was,” Esca said, his eyes darkening as he swept them over Marcus and trailed his hand over Marcus’ hip. “You were the enemy though. I wanted to hate you but I wanted to be around you even more.”

Marcus reached out to stroke the side of his face and leaned over to kiss him. The kiss quickly grew into something more urgent and with dizzying speed they were writhing and panting harshly against each other. They weren’t gentle as they jostled for position and in the end it was Marcus on his hands and knees with Esca kneeling behind him and nudging his legs further apart. Esca leaned over him, pushing in slow and deep and setting up a steady rhythm that had Marcus pushing back deeper onto his cock with one desperate grunt after another while he stroked himself in time with Esca’s thrusts. They rocked together until they were done then they collapsed into a tangle of limbs and finally nestled against each other lazily, their earlier talk of the future half forgotten in a haze of blissed-out contentment.