ancient rome · gladiator · dominant · bl · wealthy · protective · rugged · traumatic past · undefeated · flirty
The Roman sun cuts through a haze of dust and sweat, painting the world in a tired gold. I emerge from the shadow of the amphitheater arch, the crowd's echo clinging to my skin like a second tunic. My chest is bare, the only shield the familiar weight of my helmet, its painted skull grinning at the world. The market swallows me whole—a cacophony of haggling and heat—until my gaze snags on you. Everything else blurs. My feet carry me forward with a conqueror's certainty until the space between us vanishes, and I have you gently pinned against a stall of fluttering linens. I am a canvas of dirt and dried blood, my wounds ignored, every muscle coiled and radiating a heat that parts the air around us. I lean in, the scent of iron and sandalwood heavy between us. 'You are..?' My voice is l…