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Your cheeks have got to hurt by now.

Only a little bit. I've never been so happy in my whole life as I am when I see our wedding rings.

[ He still wore the one Ashley had given him when he proposed, just on his other hand. He'd been left-handed in his youth and some things still reverted to that, though he'd taught himself to be ambidextrous with the vast majority of anything that required his hands. ]

You know what would make it better? A beach. I need you and a beach so bad.

I will happily go to any beach you want. But if you're up for an adventure...I can take you somewhere special. It's only really accessible by foot, or by boat. But you'd like it.

[ It also happens to be very near to where Ganymede grew up. ]

Edited 2024-04-15 12:37 (UTC)

If I'm up for an adventure? Of course I am. That's like asking me if I need to breathe.

There's a beach, a little inlet near where I grew up. It's sheer rock on three sides, but the waves are gentle coming in from the ocean.

I want you to see it.

Should I be conveying some kind of well wishes?

Congratulations. I wish nothing but happiness for you both.

Babe, you never have to convince me to go anywhere with you. I'm in. Always.

So when do we fly out, love? I can't wait to show you the places I loved as a boy.

Edited 2024-04-16 17:50 (UTC)

I'm certainly not against you doing so, if you like. It's been a week or two since the celebration proper.

My thanks--it's still new, but I like it.

[ Obviously; he's been all smiles since the celebration they'd had, and it's still with that expression that he finally looks up at who he's speaking to. And the smile wavers at first, then gentles. ]

Well, now. That's a face I haven't seen in a very long time, indeed.

[ Ganymede for his part looks no different now than when he last saw Marius, and that has been a generous handful of years indeed. ]

I confess, I've lost track of the time. It's a pleasant surprise to see you. We met at a party, didn't we? I'm sure it was. I remember you were a bit more interested in the conversation than some of the others gathered around.

[Marius, for his part, looks almost the same, except there's a healthy glow to his usually very pale skin that upon close inspection is probably makeup.]

So, who did you marry? Anyone I know?

Edited 2024-04-17 01:28 (UTC)

It was, and I was. You made some interesting points, I liked your style. [ And he'd had a bit more firsthand knowledge of the subject--early antiquity, what else?--than anyone had guessed. He could play the curious but off-base college student as well as anyone, and the ruse had come in handy often for a long while. He's not sure how much of his condition Marius has guessed given Ganymede is still standing, looking the same as he ever did, and isn't old and decrepit or dead by now.

Then again, neither is Marius. They likely both have explanations to give. ]

No, no--or I doubt it, anyway. But he's...he's everything I could want.

Savonarola's bonfire of the vanities was a sad time. I loved Botticelli's mythological works. Though he did paint afterward, there was a darkness to his Christian work after that. And I never could copy the man's genius to my own satisfaction.

[He's well aware that neither of them has changed at all since that long ago time. And yet, all of Marius's senses insist that the other man is simply human. Obviously not. It's an enigma that the mind gift for now can't help him solve. And asking about it gives way to the obvious question: how is Marius still alive?]

I'm glad you're happy, though now you're only making me curious who he is. It's an interesting man who can hold the attention of someone as old as either of us.

I see. And who's the lucky bride?

Neither of us. I have a husband--we're both men.

I see.

[That was rare in the Empire, so Eli reminded himself that he might not even be in the Empire. Eli himself couldn't even imagine marrying a woman, or perhaps he's simply not met his 'other half' yet, so he could hardly imagine ever entertaining a thought of meetint a man with whom some destiny would bind him for life or whatever people romanticised marriage as.]

Since apparently that's allowed now, let me simply offer my best wishes to you and your man.

You want to give Chrissy a call and set it up?

Oh, it was more than Girolamo's doing. He was just the loudest about it--ironic for a man that enjoyed getting head as much as he did. [ Does Ganymede particularly care that he's telling on the man about breaking his vows as a friar? No, not at all. And anyone who knew the man in more than passing had been aware of his....shall we say unique dualities. But he chuckles as Marius asks more about his husband. ]

His name is Ash. He understands a great deal about me that not many do.

Now, how old do you think I am?

Oooh, trusting me with travel plans already.

[ He smiles and kisses Ashley's cheek, reaching for his hand to squeeze it gently. ] I'll call her later and get everything going. Right now...want to take the train up to the park, let the dogs run for a while?

[ Both eyebrows lift at that. He understands the implication very well. ]

...Why would it not be allowed?

Of course I am.

You want to take the train? The subway?

Why not? The dogs will be fine, and I don't necessarily envy finding a parking space. Not unless you want to drive the Bronco.

[Marius laughs softly at G's description of the Dominican friar.] I wouldn't know about Savonarola's private life, I've always found the religious yearning for suffering intolerable, but I do know there was more to Botticelli's change in tone than just one loud priest. The moralistic crusade in Florence took its toll on Sandro. He was feeling it even when I visited him, when he was still working on his piece about the birth of Venus.

[A nod and an appraising look at G.] I wouldn't begin to guess. I could probably read your mind and find out. I know I had that reputation even back in Venice. But...that would be rude. I thought you were mortal, but you obviously aren't. [And neither is Marius.]