the idea starts with saturn. most suggestions that theo goes back and forth on tend to originate with the gladiator. celebrating a pointless human custom hadn’t sounded all that appealing, especially given the company offered. however, saturn had made the promise that it would be just the two of them, without the presence of other fights or fans that tried to force themselves into the company. though still reluctant, that promise had done a lot to convince theo - as had saturn’s sudden behavior change. saturn’s unusually quiet beside them, shoulder nudged up against theo’s, and theo finds - it’s not as unpleasant as they expected, having him this close by. he’s hot-blooded, far too talkative on his best days, but he listens when theo speaks, and looks at him like he genuinely sees them, not past them or through them to the warriors that have come before them.

    the clock hands inch ever closer to midnight. theo’s mug is still mostly full, something that tastes like fire and bad decisions sloshing up the side as he tilts it to catch the light of the moon. a group of people stumble past the entrance to the balcony they’ve chosen, and theo tenses, worried they’ll be found - pointlessly, it seems, as they continue on their way, blind to the two figures sharing a view of the hidden garden. a rocket bursts overhead, casting theo in red-purple light, and they tip their face up to watch the sparks fall.

    saturn’s hand slips into his, tugging the glass out of his hands. theo raises a brow, points out, i was drinking that, even as saturn chugs the rest of it, throat bobbing. they watch the muscles in his neck work, and when saturn finishes, his fingers knot in theo’s shirt, pulling them close. theo doesn’t stumble, refuses to let saturn catch him off-balance - for a moment. his mouth tastes like fire when he kisses theo, when he licks into their mouth, and that nearly knocks theo clean off their feet, the world tilting too far to the side. another firework booms, flaring blood red on the backs of theo’s eyelids, and as saturn arches his back, flush to theo’s front, the explosion that ignites in their blood puts every burst in the sky to shame.

    suddenly, the drink they’d been given doesn’t taste quite like bad decisions anymore.

A bet was a bet, even if Auctus would reluctantly tell you otherwise. ❝ I don’t owe you shit. ❞ the gladiator brooded upon further frustrations, waving off the other, unwilling to admit gracefully too his defeat. He daren’t cross eyes with @tridynt​, though he already knew far too well that such a feat was a lost cause. Time was rapidly dwindling down, standing upon thin ice and resisting the urge to budge. Was he angry? Truthfully, yes, but this time, it was with himself, though, not like he’d admit that willingly, even if his shrunken ego and frail nerves were an easy tell for anyone to see.