Title: Filius Romanus (Son of Rome)
Authors: bb4eva and chamilet
Summary: An au!au set in the Roman Republic circa 50BC. A centurion in Caesar's army meets his match.
Acknowledgments: We were each others betas, so let us know if we screwed up:) Many thanks tor_o_l_i_e for the artwork! 
Feedback: It is like the air we breathe :)

Previous Chapters
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV

threesomes

Title: Filius Romanus (Son of Rome)
Authors:

bb4eva

chamilet

r_o_l_i_e

Previous Chapters:
Chapter I
Chapter II

Yannis watched the new recruits demonstrate their ability with the bow and arrow. This was a crucial stage in the selection process and all centurions were in the stands, evaluating the soldiers, searching out an innate talent for hitting marks. Targets were placed 20 paces from the recruits and those that hit their marks continued to the next round; the target moved to a further distance. At 90 paces, only a handful of soldiers were capable of placing their arrows within the red circles marked on the wooden stump used as target. Yannis should have been surprised to see Jacobus Titus amongst them, but he was learning not to underestimate the General's son. Jacobus somehow managed to hit the target, though he rarely placed an arrow in the bull's eye because of a slight tremor in his arms. He was skilled with the bow, but his aim needed work. Yannis had battled the same problem as a recruit until his centurion taught him to hold his hands steady. It was a very humiliating but useful exercise; Yannis contemplated not subjecting Jacobus to such treatment, but then reconsidered. If the General's son was stubborn enough to insist on fighting in his century, it was Yannis' duty to ensure he was adequately prepared. Every night at dinner, Yannis handed a fuming Jacobus a soup spoon to fill the soldiers' goblets with water. He'd expected the General's son to object, but Jacobus didn't utter a word.

The men of the century, out of spite and envy, were quite unkind to the General's son. Yannis knew better than to intervene, this was after all part of the plan; the General's son would soon give up and return to Rome - or his aim would improve.

***

Few soldiers could work with Argus the blacksmith for longer than a week before his hollering drove them insane, or they collapsed from exhaustion. Having survived a whole fortnight Jacobus became something of a local legend amongst the recruits. "Is he as mean as they say?" one soldier asked as Jacobus approached them at the creek. Jacobus thought the Centurion Yannis far more cruel, but he said no such thing. "The blacksmith, Argus Rufius, is a fair man," he replied. The Centurion on the other hand; Jacobus avoided the Centurion like one avoids a nemesis, figuring the less opportunity the centurion had to pile on more tasks the easier his life would be.

"Your arms will grow strong if you keep all this up," scar-faced Gaius had pointed out to him when he crawled into the tent exhausted one night - as if such knowledge made the morning aches and pains any easier to bear. Slowly but surely, Jacobus was winning over his contubernium and his century.

Yannis tried to judge the sincerity of the Commander. He was upset at the General for debasing Jacobus; the highest insult in the land was to declare a man effeminate. As such, he did not care if the Commander was merely covering for Jacobus. 

"No doubt she has taken a lover by now," the General commented.

It was common knowledge that the women of Rome took companions while their husbands were away, sometimes even when they were around. Sometimes with the consent of the husband, as in the case of Caesar's mistress. But, Yannis also knew it was unbecoming to discuss such things in public. He was incensed, for the honor of Jacobus' mother, that the General would mention such in front of him - a man of lesser rank. 

"Speak not so of Myrtha. She loves thee," the Commander chided the General, obviously sharing Yannis' sentiment about his character.

"Love; such a weak, effete sentiment. Is it not so?"

"Aye. Best left for the woman folk, I agree. But, not entirely to be discarded." The Commander's words did not surprise Yannis. It was the Roman way. A good man upheld duty and honor, instead of a mere pursuit of pleasure and did not allow himself the luxury of womenfolk-sentiments that weakened the will and poisoned the mind. He was lost in thought, realizing he had been addressed only by the intensity of the two pairs of eyes on him. 

"Well, are you?" inquired the General.

Yannis looked toward the Commander with pleading eyes, confused about the inquiry. "Married," the Commander helped him out.

"Aye, sir," Yannis smiled uncomfortably, embarrassed to have lost his focus.

"And do you love her?" asked the General.

"Of course not, she is my wife; I honor her, bring her and Rome glory in battle - glory that Rome richly rewards." Yannis knew his words were expected in Roman society, but they were also true. Yet, he knew instinctively that he was not as cruel a man as this General. He had great fondness for his Alma, and his two daughters - there was no hint of such regard on the part of the General for his wife or son.

"Spoken like a 'true' Roman, Centurion." The General seemed taken with him, but the way he said true underscored that he was aware of Yannis' barbaric origins.

Yannis bowed his head in gratitude for the compliment, although he seethed privately at the slight.

"You make me reconsider my belief that Rome will destroy the army from within by bringing barbarians into it," the General looked at him for a reaction. Yannis feigned a smile; he was a free citizen of Rome, not the object of the derision by the General, and it was not wise to allow the man to suspect his residual allegiance to those the General called barbarians. 

"I fear you would be mistaken to compare Yannis of Gaul with the men you speak of. He was raised a Roman, schooled in our ways, and I daresay will be a Paterfamilias of great renown." The Commander spoke up, sparing Yannis from having to defend his status himself.

"I am sure you are right Commander," the General conceded, "now I will leave you two. I must rebuild my strength for the long ride ahead of me later." 

"Yes, of course," the Commander nodded in agreement, "Guard! Escort the General to command quarters." 

The Commander's man-at-arms, almost a fixture given how little he moved, stepped forward. Tasked to protect the Commander, such men-at-arms were  also spies for Caesar. Many plots of mutiny were discovered when the perpetrators forgot the soldier standing guard at the tent's entrance was not furniture.

The guard escorted the General away and left the two men alone - completely alone - for the first time in a very long time.

"Are you commonly treated to such talk, Yannis?" the Commander asked, knowing Yannis would never volunteer such information.

His query touched Yannis; he should have known the Commander, who had raised him as a son, would be concerned. "No one hardly remembers," Yannis reassured him, " I am a Roman now, Master Lucius."

The Commander visibly relaxed, "It pleases me that you are one of us now, I have not been your master for a long time, Yannis. Do not call me that, even in jest." 

"Aye," Yannis nodded, barely able to keep back the tears at the sound of the fondness evident in the voice of the man that had once been his master, and then set him free.

The Commander, allowing himself a moment of weakness, walked around his desk and pulled the man he loved as a son into his arms. "I am very proud of what you have become, Yannis of Gaul."

"I owe it all to you," Yannis held onto him, as he had many times when he was but a scared little boy.

"I love you like a son, Yannis of Gaul. It saddens me that you have adopted too many of our Roman ways; love is a wonderful thing Yannis."

"It can come at a heavy price," Yannis warned reading beyond the spoken words.

"I know."

"I am happy for you." If the Commander truly had found love, Yannis did not know a man who deserved it more.

The Commander let him out of his embrace and laughed bitterly as he walked back around the desk. "She is married to another."

Yannis had long suspected, but he now knew for a fact the identity of his Master's lover. "Does she love you?"

"Very much."

"Then I will sacrifice a lamb to Cupid and ask that he protect you both from the anger of her husband; he is not a man to be crossed." Yannis watched the Commander ease back into his chair.

"Am I so easy to decipher that you presume to know more than I have said?" the Commander asked.

"No!" Yannis exclaimed, eager to reassure his Master, "I know you in ways most people don't. I know that under your uniform lies a human heart filled with kindness. Your secret will follow me to my grave."

The Commander nodded, "Your parents would be proud of the man you have become, Innis."

Yannis beamed with joy; he hoped the commander was right and he was touched that his master had used the name his parents had given him.

"You know," the Commander continued, "I never expected it. We first had an affair many summers ago. Though I loved her, she was married and I thought it not meant to be, until recently."

"How many summers ago?"

"Many."

"Twenty?"

"You would not be wrong to think that, but please do not take that thought to its conclusion."

"So it is possible?"

"It is."

"Does Jacobus know?"

"Even I am not sure. Only when I laid eyes on him last fortnight, did I suspect it. His mother refused to give me an answer when I asked." 

The commander had a beard and was along in age, but Innis had known him as a younger man and seen him without a beard. The thought had crossed Yannis' mind too, for they had besides physical appearance many things in common. "I too, suspected," Yannis declared honestly.

"Is that why you have been so hard on him?"

"So he has complained," Yannis smiled.

"Not at all, but almost all your contubernium has."

Yannis could feel anger boiling in his veins, how dare they, "I will..."

"You will do absolutely nothing, I forbid it."

"Forbid it? As my master, or as my Commander?" Yannis seethed. 

"As a man that thinks of you as his son. Your Commander would not have told his sources."

Yannis looked away, embarrassed to have affronted the only Roman to have shown him kindness when he was but a slave.  

"Come, sit Yannis," the Commander pointed to a chair, "tell me about him."

Yannis obeyed, "he is quite strong; well trained in sword-fighting, archery and vaulting. His aim was wobbly, but it's been improving steadily. I had him fill goblets with a spoon."

"I don't want to know whether he can swim, Yannis; tell me about the man, his character."

"He is," Yannis sighed, "he is a good, decent citizen. No man that knows him could speak ill of him.  I have been hard on him, yet he shows no weakness. I can tell he is sometimes consumed with anger, because his eyes - his eyes can't lie - but he controls himself, channels the anger into his training and chores. He is defiant in his triumph too; I must admit that provokes me to pile on even more. Not that it ever works, and he merely grows more satisfied with himself after every task."

"You are taken with him." It was more a statement of fact than a query.

"I...," he was going to say he was not, but it would be a lie and the Commander - Master Lucius - would know it. He bit his tongue.

"You aren't simply taken with him, you...," the Commander could not voice what Yannis had revealed without words, "may the gods protect us both, Yannis."

"He is nothing like the General, his father," Yannis paused - "or maybe he is exactly like his father."

The Commander must have seen the shadow of his man-at-arms fall against the flap of the tent because he did not reply and when he did speak, the kindness and familiarity was gone from his voice. "Very well, Centurion. I expect a full account in a fortnight. Until then, do not fail in the task of readying your men for battle."

"Aye. Sir." Yannis too returned to form. They had been successful at hiding the true nature of their relationship while at the fort, or in battle. Only in Rome did some people notice that the Commander received far too many visits from a certain Centurion. Yannis rose from the chair, clapped his heels together and turned to leave.

"And Centurion!"

Yannis paused without turning around.

"Your contubernium - there shall be no retribution."

The Commander was nothing if not thorough, he had made that request twice. Both as a father figure, and as his Commander. Yannis would not defy him. In fact, he felt ashamed that his treatment of Jacobus was unfair enough that word of it had reached the Commander through his men. In order to be true to his reputation as a fair man, Yannis had fences to mend, both with Jacobus and his men.