Pompeii Passions - 11. Villa Games

***Hylas accepts the task of teaching Olaf, then the three go down to the bath, finding Arrius and his female visitor.***

Sextus plunged into the large tub...followed quickly by Hylas...but Philandros hesitated; afraid to be naked in front of a woman? was his first thought quickly dismissed, but then Sextus remembered that his love had not experienced the mysteries of feminine love--and so probably was scared. He laughed and urged him to hurry lest Hylas be left the job of scrubbing his back! Despite this comment, Philandros backed out of the room with some haste.

"I...just thought of something--I need to get it ready...go ahead and start, my love! I'll be back very soon!" With this implied permission, Hylas grabbed a cloth and began the pleasurable task of scrubbing Sextus' broad shoulders. With a long sigh of satisfaction, Sextus leaned back at an angle just right for Hylas to make progress to the lower portions of his shoulders, and thence to his waist.

"Well, Arrius--are you and um...Dianna...going to join us? There may be enough room for you both."

Arrius shot his friend a glare, and placed the towel about Dianna's shoulders. "I think we'd like to be alone...Dianna has had her bath already, thanks to Hermes." He led the unprotesting girl out of the bath and down the hall out of sight.

Philandros returned about ten minutes later, to see Sextus thoroughly relaxed, leaning against Hylas who was busily scrubbing the roman's chest. He placed a package on the floor, and climbed into the tub...taking a position next to Sextus. He leaned in and gave his lover a long kiss. Hylas tilted his head to watch, and Philandros took advantage of this to angle his own head so that the three men's cheeks were touching slightly. With much trepidation, he shifted just a bit more and lightly kissed Hylas, delighted when the boy responded...and even more so when Sextus' own lips joined those of the two greeks in a three-way exploration.

Eventually, the three broke the spell, and Philandros got out of the tub, pulling the other two with him. As they began to dry one another, Philandros motioned for silence, and said: "Wait...the first of your surprises, Sextus..." He opened the packet and drew out a set of campestri in scarlet silk trimmed in gold. "These will do very nicely for wearing at the palaestra, my love..." The second pair were similar, but gold trimmed in scarlet, which he slipped onto his own frame.

With dismay, he saw that Hylas was still standing nude...and pulled another pair of gold shorts from the package. They matched his exactly. "I'm sorry Hylas...I hope you will accept my second pair until another set can be ordered...this was all done several days ago."

When Hylas started to cry and say he was too much trouble, Philandros stopped him. "Sextus doesn't like crying...you'll fit in nicely if you learn that." He softened the words with a wink, and took each of them by the hand and headed upstairs.

"Now, my love...the last surprise of the evening..." He tossed open the bedroom door, to reveal a large silken cloth which had been spread onto the center of the floor. The many small tables and other furnishings had been moved aside to allow free space on each side of this cloth save for one low table which held several vials of unknown content.

"What is this, love? The floor is rather hard for sleeping." He glanced at Hylas, who was equally mystified and the boy just shrugged. This was Philandros' idea, and new to him as well.

Philandros walked to the center of the 'rug', and removed his new shorts, and was joined by Sextus and Hylas when he motioned for them to do the same. He picked up one of the vials and removed the stopper. A scent of exotic spices filled the air.

"Why, Sextus...you yourself gave me the idea--and I mean to test the truth of the statement!" With that he poured some of the vial's contents into his hands--a light-colored oil--and began spreading it onto the roman's chest. "There's more there, Hylas...you work on his back--be sure to cover every inch of him...then we do each other! This oil is wonderfully slick, and will take a good while to dry..."

Somewhat mystified, Sextus nevertheless luxuriated in the sensation of oily hands being rubbed over every part of his body from the neck down...and when his turn came, helped to oil his companions in like manner.

"Now what?" he asked, as the three of them stood there, glistening in the lamplight. This had been fun, but was there a point to it?

Philandros laughed, and pulled each of them to the floor, demonstrating that the oil made them very difficult to grasp, and a challenge to hold.

"Now, my love, we test the truth of your words: 'there is nothing slipprier than a greek, in or out of bed!'" Sextus got the idea very quickly indeed, as the three men found themselves wrestling, yet unable to get a firm grip due to the oil. Their bodies slid one against the other providing wonderful and extremely erotic sensations--similar but far more intense than those found in the palaestra's gymnasia. As the trio found themselves heating up, they found this only made the oil more slick...and more fun. At one point, they found themselves in a stack, Philandros in the middle, with Hylas the lowest. Philandros felt Sextus' arousal, and sighed in delight. He kissed Hylas on the ear, and the greek nodded his own joyous assent.

***Arrius escorts his friend home. After some amorous exercising, Hylas asks about Arrius’ female friend.***

Hylas could feel Sextus muscles tense...and his expression became clouded. "Dianna is Messalina's sister...and I've no idea if Arrius has even met her before--Messalina and I...well, until Philon came along" here he kissed the lips of his love lingeringly "...Messalina might have been my next conquest."

To Hylas, this explained more than the mere words ever could, and he nodded, idly rubbing his free hand from Sextus' thigh to that of Philandros and back again. He found both these men attractive, but it was the greek way that the older man was automatically in charge of the affair. If Philandros had not been taken, his own inclination might have been for his fellow greek, but...as it was, he looked to Sextus for any real decision on his position in the household. Sextus' pleasure came before anything else, Philandros' second but nearly as important...and his own desires last.

"And Tellus?" he asked quietly. Sextus tensed again, and Hylas saw his jaw clench angrily. Philandros felt the tension as well, so he related the story of the stabbing and the subsequent disappearance of his ex-steward. Hylas listened to the tale with horror! In all his short life he'd never heard of a slave attacking his master, or any free man--run yes, but not that!

Hylas refused to let the tale upset his companions, and fetched another glass of wine for each of them. When the tension began to relax, he put his hands and lips to their more talented uses, and it wasn't long before sleep overcame them all.

Sometime in the night, Philandros opened his eyes. The lamps had gone out, and the only light came from a sliver of moon in the night sky. Had he heard a noise? Some stray cat...a dog's bark? He could not be sure, so he started to close his eyes again. Another sound--a scuffling, then the faint click of a lock! Thieves?!

Philandros remembered that Arrius had gone...and relaxed again...must be Arrius returning from escorting the woman home. A horribly wonderful thought occurred to him: Arrius was used to sleeping in the same room as Sextus--he could not know that he and Hylas were already here! Philandros licked his lips in anticipation...Arrius would be in for a delightful surprise when he got into bed!

Eyes straining to catch any movement in the almost absolute darkness of the room, Philandros saw the door open with a soft click, and a figure enter quietly. Definitely Arrius...he thought to himself...waiting to welcome the man into their nest of love.

A soft thud came to his ears, followed by a muffled "Mehercle!" and he could see the figure limp slightly around a chair. A louder thunk this time, and the sound of vials hitting the floor! Oh no--the oil! It was far too late to speak a warning. "What the fuck--?! OW!" A much louder crash was followed by swearing in several languages and groaning.

Philandros flew from the bed, intending to offer assistance to Arrius, but hit the patch of spilled oil himself--and wound up sliding into the fallen roman so that they were a tangle of limbs and oily silken cloth. Arrius flailed about trying to get up, and only succeeded in making things worse in addition to hitting Philandros on the side of the head.

"Ouch! Arrius...I'm trying to help you out--for Zeus' sake keep still--do you want to wake Sextus?" At his hoarse whisper, Arrius stopped his flailing arms, and tried more constructive movements. Philandros managed to get a grip on Arrius, and one leg propped behind him to assist in standing, when Arrius shifted his own grip on Philon's arm, causing them both to hit the floor again with Philandros on top.

At this juncture, Sextus managed to get a lamp lit...staring at the very compromising position his best friend and lover were currently in. In thrashing about, Arrius' tunic had raised nearly to his waist, and since Philandros was currently naked....

"Really, Arrius--you could have just joined our little party--rather than try to steal my little siren away privately!"

Philandros woke to morning light, and eventually extricated himself from the tangle of limbs which was the way this three-headed Cerberus had fallen asleep. He went to the bath downstairs, and was just enjoying the warm water when Arrius entered. His eyebrows raised to see Philandros alone.

"It seems the others want to sleep in...and I needed to clean up before we set off on our search." Did he sound a little sad, or was it just imagination? Or more likely, the prospect of finding Tellus!

Arrius climbed into the tub. "We'll find him, Philandros...then, justice will be done at last!" He handed a sponge to the greek, turning his back as he did so. Philandros obliged with a thorough scrubbing of Arrius' back, taking pleasure in the act, but going no further than decorum dictated. When he had finished, Arrius took the sponge back, and motioned for Philandros to turn about as well.

"Arrius, I almost don't want to find him...I've known him my entire life--and it just wasn't like him to do it!"

Arrius paused in his scrubbing, and put his hands on Philandros' shoulders. "He did do it, Philandros...and that tied everyone's hands--even Sextus couldn't let it pass, now that the Watch has been informed." He started scrubbing the greek's back again before continuing. "Why he did it--the gods only know! Hatred of what Sextus' attraction to you represented? Fear for your safety or happiness? That is all irrelevant now...you see that, don't you?"

Philandros nodded in resignation. "Come on then, let's get ready to go...the soldiers from Pompeii should be here soon!"

When they returned upstairs, Sextus and Hylas had already begun breakfast, and served up plates for the two without comment. Conversation went on for a while on several topics--all but the one intended for today. As if by common consent, no one wanted to speak of the search and it's inevitable conclusion. No slave had escaped punishment--not for this crime.

At one point, Philandros suggested a trip to Pompeii for Hylas...and the idea was readily accepted. Sextus decided he had best check in at the Slave Market...and he announced that as a treat, there would be a whole roast boar for dinner. His eyes twinkled as he ended with: "Poor Hylas! I shall miss the dear boy!"

This brought Philandros' mind around to the topic of who was going to pay the cost to Hylas' previous owner--him or Sextus? At Arrius' confused look, the plan to save Hylas was explained, and he laughed heartily. He saw the three looking at him, and he laughed harder.

"You don't realize...you are saving Hylas from one owner...only to make him the property of one of you? Is the idea to set him free as a person in his own right, or to merely give him a new owner?"

Sextus and Philandros--and Hylas!--exchanged looks which ranged from amusement to horror...the latter on Philandros' features. It was Philandros who spoke first. "Why...freedom--on my part at least...." His look to Sextus was pleading.

Sextus thought for a moment, before he too nodded. Arrius did not miss that hesitation, though it seemed both greeks did. What were the motives behind his agreement--to please his lover? And why the slight pause?

Arrius chuckled softly. "I thought so...whichever one of you pays the money, Hylas will feel obligated to that person and your relationship will be different. Fortunately, I have the answer--I will pay the money!"

Protests came from each of the three men, but Arrius dismissed any comment with a wave of his hand. "I have no need of Hylas' services...and if he wants to pay me back, the terms will not involve either of you--so the bonds forming between the three of you will remain unaffected."

At this point, Hermes entered the room, and saw the mess on the floor. He sighed exaggeratedly, and went to get help to clean up. Just as he passed through the door, he said: "Oh, master Arrius--three soldiers are waiting downstairs for you!"

Arrius fended off the words of gratitude from all three of his companions, merely nodding his head and motioning for Philandros to join him downstairs. After a long kiss for Sextus, he gave a quicker one to Hylas and joined Arrius in the atrium where the legionaries waited.