Yesteryear

Ambrosia

Wooyoung's concentration wavered every time he as much as glanced in Sandalius' direction.

They had all laid down together and Linus got along with the young host, as if they didn't have an age gap large enough that they could be father and son. They talked about estates and politics and laughed about societal trivialities. Linus boasted a lot more about his fortune and his slaves than Sandalius did. The younger man took it with humour. He snickered and toasted at Linus' statements, but he didn't play into his gratification.

Wooyoung was entranced by his personality at the same time as he tried to concentrate. His glances at Sandalius lingered as he tried to find similarities to Suusaandar. While he dug around in his head whether he remembered any moles or birthmarks to go by, Sandalius caught his stares multiple times. In the beginning, he diverted his gaze politely and Wooyoung snapped his eyes at the fruit platter with an ashamed blush. After a few times, however, Sandalius looked back with just as much intrigue. His sharp eyes stood out in his carved features that might as well belong to the marble deities depicted in his gardens.

While Wooyoung was still busy figuring out how he could tickle the information out of Sandalius whether he had ancestors in the Persian ruled area of the world, he got included in the conversation of the two men so abrupt, he nearly missed it.

"So, what about you? What brought you to Rome? Visiting relatives? Searching for a wife?"

Sandalius eyed Wooyoung over the rim of his chalice. When their eyes met, the lord threw a playful wink in. Wooyoung didn't know how to interpret it.

"Ah no. I came here to get to know the city since I considered moving over here. I am a historian." Wooyoung had drunken more wine than he wished already. His distress towards the man opposite of him had him emptying cup after cup that the slaves handed him. The sight pleased Sandalius, but it loosened Wooyoung's tongue. He also suspected the Romans offered a high percentage of alcohol to unwind.

"A wise person, I see. And how do you find Rome?"

With Sandalius' eyes fixated only on Wooyoung, the time traveller shifted uncomfortably. That gaze that was so similar to Suusaandar's intimidated him. It stared right into Wooyoung's soul, as if Sandalius knew all of his secrets and played with him like a lion with his prey to see when he would break and spill them.

Wooyoung cursed the alcohol in his veins for making things even more difficult. Then he took another sip to wet his dry throat and answer.

"It's quite different from Faesulum. Louder and full of people," he spoke the truth. He voiced no harsh critique and Sandalius accepted his opinion with a nod.

"Hence why I told him to relax. Don't want the people up north to think the heart of our glorious world isn't worth visiting." Linus jumped back in with a slight slur to his speech. The wine dragged his words out as if it didn't want them leaving his throat. Wooyoung was glad for the interruption.

"You should take a present for your family at home. I can recommend them a wine that will have them running here the same day," Sandalius jested. Linus and the other lingering people at their table laughed tastefully. They didn't partake in the host's conversation uninvited, but their ears were perched as they discussed among themselves.

"I might take you up on that offer. My mother would have loved to join me, but there was no time. If I brought her the wine instead, her heart might be soothed." Wooyoung muttered into his cup so his eyes wouldn't get stuck on the slope of the man's body again. As a stranger, he knew how weird it was to stare that much. But as much as he reminded himself to leave it be, his gaze returned to Sandalius.

If he truly was Suusaandar's descendant? It wouldn't change anything. But Wooyoung could rest with an eased heart.

The conversation swayed back and forth. When Wooyoung was asked something, he replied as cordially as possible. Whenever he wasn't distracted, he gulped more wine down. The buzz of the alcohol warmed his stomach and brightened his view until the colours in front of his eyes blurred. Dancing lights illuminated the black night and the laughter of people became even more entrancing to him.