CW - the NSFW continues.
THE MORNING ARRIVED cold and dark. Alex woke up to Ixillius and Brasus quietly talking, Brasus having woken first and given them a few minutes more sleep. She flexed through her regular morning routine to get her blood moving and shake off the stiffness that always settled in during the night, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of Ixillius against her back as she stretched. He seemed to like the feeling as well, as his voice trailed off distractedly mid-sentence and his hands started wandering.
"Leave off him, little witch," Brasus reprimanded her playfully. "We don't have time to waste this morning."
Alex rolled to her back and opened her mouth to reply with a smart-ass comment and got a face full of leather and wool.
"Your aunt sent those for you for riding," Brasus said.
Alex held up what had just been thrown at her and couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face. A sleeved shirt and pair of pants that looked close to her size, both made of soft leather, the pants with similar bindings to what the men wore from mid-hip to waist to hold them up; and Verus's under tunic, washed and the rips repaired. Alex pulled on the tunic with a grin and then smiled fully at the pants.
"I'll let her know you like those." Brasus shook his head in wonder that anyone could enjoy wearing such ridiculous things, and then dropped the hide cover and walked away.
"You actually like those?" Ixillius asked, his voice as incredulous as the look on Brasus's face.
"I do," Alex nodded. She turned them to check the cut and quickly figured out the front and back. Her inspection was cut short as Ixillius slipped a hand between her legs and nuzzled at her neck and shoulder.
"You look better naked," he murmured, starting to strip off the tunic she'd just pulled on.
"Brasus says—" she started, interrupted by his mouth locking onto hers. He grabbed the pants and tried to pull them away, growling slightly when she fought him for them.
"You don't need those yet," he argued, after he released her mouth to nip at her ear.
"But I like them very much," Alex replied, chuckling, "and Brasus says we have no time to waste if we want to eat breakfast."
"Breakfast can wait a few minutes." Ixillius pulled harder at the pants and pressed close, his erection hard against her hip
"Do not pull!" she chastised, whispering as she smacked his hand off the pants. "You will make a rip."
He grumbled as she sat up to resume her inspection. She managed to re-identify the front from the back as his hands slid up the outside of her thighs.
"That is not fair," she stated, throwing the pants to the end of the bed.
As his hands had been traveling up her legs, his kisses had started at her belly-button and were dropping down. He chuckled and pushed her back, teasing at her with his tongue until she forgot why she'd cared about the pants at all.
***
Alex hated leaving. She wanted to get back to the Legion, Ixillius could see that clearly, but she wanted to stay longer before going. She was strange to see in this kind of family interaction. He'd only known her as, well, as Alex; a strange woman at her best and something terrifying at her worst. With Lothar, though, she was suddenly the girl that Quintus said her father called 'Dria'. The changes seemed so small, but they were huge. She was just... affectionate. The hardness wasn't gone from her, that sharp edge was just less there.
Ixillius turned back to the horse he would be riding and finished tying on his kit. The small voice in his thoughts had been nattering the whole morning that she could stay here. All he had to do was tell Brasus to leave and take the news that Alex and Ixillius were dead, that Brasus and Chlodochar were lucky to be alive, that they'd all tried. Verus would have no choice but to believe the story, and Brasus could secretly tell Avilius the truth, and Ixillius could stay here with his wife...
"I could easily say you were both dead," Brasus offered quietly, as if reading his commander's mind.
"I promised to deliver her to her father," Ixillius replied. His mind grasped at the idea that maybe her father would reject her if he'd planted his child in her these past days. The witch had said she was ripe... he could desert the Legion and they could come back here—
"What of her being happy? What of you?" Brasus pressed, interrupting Ixillius's thoughts. The Optio's gaze was level, and Ixillius couldn't meet the steady look in his eyes.
"We should make the road and get close to a half-day's march before nightfall if we leave right now," Ixillius stated, changing the topic.
The sky was just starting to lighten when they rode out. Brasus had opted to ride the second stolen horse rather than try to sit the mare again. Once the decision had been made, Alex transferred her kit and the horses' feed to the mare – surprising everyone when the warhorse allowed her demotion to pack animal without so much as a twitch of her ears.
They rode a full half-day's march on the road before stopping for the night. Alex fussed at the stallion and mare in her care, Brasus teasing her for fawning at them as he finished quickly seeing to the stolen horses while Ixillius set a quick camp. They ate a cold dinner and settled for the night. After a few minutes lying alone, Alex pulled Ixillius's cloak open and wrapped his arms around her.
"I do not like the cold," she said, ending the all-afternoon argument that she would return to Verus once they reached the Legion before the fight started again.
Brasus sniggered to himself, but didn't make any comments.
***
They made good time with the horses. Alex was pleased with how quickly Max and the mare recovered. Even with going slower for the first three days, in respect to the animals, they were still able to set camp at the end of the third day already past the discarded equipment and supplies that Minerva's 1st had left behind. Alex had convinced them to stop and she scoured through a few piles of abandoned items, coming up with cloaks for all three of them and tunics for the men that fit poorly, but provided more comfort and warmth for them than the German clothes they'd been wearing – as well as identifying them as Romans instead of locals. They cut down their pants to make simple wraps for their legs, both confused when Alex chuckled and opted to keep wearing the pants she'd been given.
On the fifth day of travel, as they stopped for their midday meal at the hill where Ixillius and Brasus had departed from the Legion, they met a messenger party returning along the road to bring the news to the next Legion that the flood surge had washed out the bridge at the river crossing. Minerva's 1st had built a temporary bridge, but not one capable of supporting the typical heavy wagons, and even with the 1st marching light some of the men and animals had gotten wet. Ixillius and Brasus both looked relieved that the surge had knocked out the bridge before the head of the Legion arrived. The other option seemed to have been when men were crossing, so Alex understood – and shared – the relief.
The messenger had asked a few rounded questions of the small group, trying to find out exactly when Alex had been liberated, and who had participated in freeing her. Every man in the messenger party shifted uneasily and shared a few quick glances within the group when they learned her release had been seven days ago, and both Ixillius and Brasus swore no others had assisted them. The senior officer among the messenger party looked from the mare to stare hard at Brasus, made his farewells first to Alex and then the officers she traveled with, and then departed with his small group.
"Should that make me worry?" Alex asked quietly, watching the backs of the messenger party as they rode away.
"I don't know," Brasus replied. "But I'm thoroughly confused."
They both looked to Ixillius at the same time. He was frowning at the backs of the messenger party as well.
"We should get moving," was all he eventually said. Then he added, almost as an afterthought, "We appear to have many rumors to catch up to."
Ixillius pressed as hard as he felt he could to start gaining on Minerva's 1st. Chlodochar hadn't lied when he'd told them that the stolen horses weren't that good, and the only stroke of good luck was that the mare had taken to Alex and didn't mind the use as a pack horse, especially since Ixillius couldn't ever remember seeing the dark colored warhorse used as such before. Alex had even taken the kits from Brasus and Ixillius and strapped them to the mare. Brasus had at first been worried at the extra weight, but the mare hadn't had any problems.
They reached the river crossing late in the day, two days after the strange meeting with the messenger party. Max and the mare were willing enough to step onto the temporary bridge with Alex leading them one at a time, but the stolen horses balked and fought. With twilight only an hour away, they all agreed to try the crossing in daylight the next morning. The delay would cost them a few hours, but the stolen horses could use the rest, which increased the chances of catching up to the Legion within the month.
They set an early camp, well back from the water, and lit a small fire for heating their dinner. Brasus wolfed down his meal and quickly strung the hunting bow Chlodochar had given him, grinning and trotting into the trees when Ixillius noticed too late to stop him that the Optio was leaving to take advantage of the early end to their daily march. The last few days Brasus had been less than subtle at his chiding, and Ixillius felt the familiar weakness clawing at him now that his chaperone – as Brasus had started calling himself – had left him alone with his wife. The small voice in his mind started up again, telling him to take her back to Chlodochar and stay there with her. That she would be happy. That he would be happy.
Not even the weight of the knowledge that her father would not be happy could crush the small voice. The rumors that had been running rampant in the Legion prior to Alex being taken now raced in detail through Ixillius's mind, piling on top of his current thoughts, and leaving his palms sweating. The old rumors of the father were being woven into the stories about the daughter, and the tales all combined into a single thread that if Ixillius was to try and keep the woman who said he owned her, he wouldn't remain breathing long enough to enjoy the decision ... unless he made the decision to enjoy her now.
Alex finished doting on the horses. She now tended to all four as Brasus was the best cook in their small group, and walked over to sit near to the fire. She scanned the area where Ixillius had set camp and noted Brasus and the hunting gear were gone. Before she touched her meal, she held out her hands to the low fire and let the flames warm her fingers, smiling faintly at some memory. Ixillius put another log in the fire, careful to avoid sending up sparks, and working hard to ignore the small smile curving her lips.
He avoided Alex's gaze when she looked to him. They'd argued long today that she should return to the guardianship of Verus once they'd returned to the Legion and he didn't want to continue into the night as they had last night and the night before. He stared at the fire while she ate, adding more sticks when needed to keep the flame, and feeling more pleased than he had any right to when she pulled off her caligae to let the fire's heat warm the bottom of her feet once she finished eating.
He extinguished the fire with snow as the twilight started deepening to darkness. The waxing moon was bright on the horizon, but not yet high enough to give a good light. Ixillius stepped away from the camp to relieve his bladder, giving himself a few moments to let the cool air clear his thoughts. Alex had already put her caligae on when he came back and wrapped his cloak tightly to lay down for the night. He was grateful for the darkness that hid his shaking hands as she untied her braid and combed her fingers through her hair.
She stood as he lay down, starting her usual nightly routine of stretching and drills. Tonight she left her hair down and worked through her drills slowly, modifying and improvising rather than following in set patterns as he was used to seeing her do. The steel blade flashing in the moonlight was almost as mesmerizing to watch as the woman. Ixillius rolled to his side, turning away from her, and prayed Brasus would return before she crawled into his arms for the night.
***
Alex took extra time stretching after she'd finished practicing, mostly because she was enjoying having her hair down and didn't want to wrap the bun back in so soon. Also, tonight looked like more of the same fight as every day since leaving Chlodochar's village as soon as she was going to try curling up with Ixillius to go to sleep, and she didn't want to argue anymore today. He was being even more confrontationally stand-offish with Brasus hunting, so she combed out her hair with her fingers again and took her time making the braid and rolling the bun.
The cold had stiffened up her fingers and she had started shivering by the time she was done. She wasn't looking forward to the struggle that was evidently going to occur, but she hated being just a little bit cold like this and couldn't sleep when she was. Although he continually argued with her, she'd still won out every night so far and was able to cuddle in and warm up and sleep well. And besides, the fighting was completely verbal. His arms never seemed to have a problem with the arrangement. She stepped around him and pulled at his cloak.
"No, Alex," he muttered, holding the heavy wool a little tighter. He sounded as sick of fighting as she felt.
"I am cold," she stated, pressing her hand to his cheek. His cloak opened easily the next time she pulled and she quickly lay down with her back against his chest, snuggling close as he wrapped her up in the heat from his own body without any further comment. Alex sighed contentedly and wiggled into a more comfortable position, the small amount of shivering she'd been doing since putting her hair back up slowly stopping.
Ixillius was restless against her. His arms pulling her crushingly tight and then releasing, his breath held for a moment as if he would speak and then hissing out the same as when he was angry, his cheek resting on the top of her head, then the cycle would start again. Finally, he scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. Alex took advantage of his arm not pinning her down for the moment and rolled to face him, being careful not to dislodge the cloaks and give them both a chill as she looped her arm around his waist and tucked her head under his chin.
"Speak the words that make the ache that is so bad," she told him, her fingers absently tracing a small circle over the center of his spine.
***
He scrubbed his hand over his face again and tried to put his tumbling thoughts and half-crazy ideas into some semblance of order, and just kept being assaulted with how she smelled and the steady increase and decrease of pressure of her breasts against his chest as she breathed.
He wanted to know if she wanted to go back to Chlodochar's village or continue on to the Legion. He wanted to know if she wanted him to stay with her if she chose to return to the village. He wanted to know if she would still say she loved him if he gave her sex right now after all the arguing they'd done since returning to the road. He wanted to know if she would give him sex right now. He wanted to know if the witch had been right and if Alex now carried his child. He wanted to know if she was happy or not. He wanted to be able to ask anything without sounding like the desperate fool that he knew he was. She pecked a soft kiss at the base of throat and shattered his thoughts again.
He wanted stronger control of his will so he would be able to stop his hands.
He dropped his right hand from scrubbing at his cheek and freed his hips. The bindings holding her pants pulled free in two quick tugs and the soft leather held no constraint to his hand teasing her into wetness in preparation for sex. The braid of her hair, wrapped high at the back of her head, fit the palm of his left hand and her head tipped back easily as he pulled, her mouth meeting his willingly. He stripped her of the pants and little bindings in one swift motion and pinned her beneath him in the next. She yielded to his sex with a gasp and a soft moan, then her kiss turned hungry and her hips urged at him, her thighs holding tight on his hips. Her body peaked for him as his own orgasm neared and he poured his seed into her after only a few more thrusts, taking greater pleasure than he should that she peaked for him again as he orgasmed.
Shame instantly crushed him for breaking his word yet again. The knowledge that he would fail every time she allowed him to coiled coldly in his chest and shortened his breath. He broke from the kiss and tried to pull his hips apart from hers, but she flexed and pressed as tightly to him as when he'd pinned her down.
"Do not to stop, my love," she murmured, her kisses tickling at his jaw and ear. His hunger to hear her wanting for him made his hands shake again as he let his weight settle down onto her.
"I love you," she whispered without him even having to beg. "Give me your child, Ixor. Give me a babe to grow for you."
"I love you, Alexandria," he whispered, giving up his own struggle against himself and failing completely yet again.