Denarius: Antonius and Octavius

Chapter Two: Coins

A week has passed and Octavius tries not to run into Antony every time he goes outside his villa. Nobody else besides the two men know about the contents of the will currently. But even so, Octavius hasn't seen any of the money promised to him. He knows he'll have to confront Antony again soon enough, considering the older man has a higher rank in the Senate.

Knowing he'll have to soon make the contents of the will public, Octavius paces around in his house, occasionally gazing at the will still set on the table. Even the sound of birds chirping and people walking the streets outside does little to calm his nerves.

He still hasn't told anyone about the adoption, not even his older sister Octavia or mother Atia. Since all Roman boys become men at the age of fifteen, Octavius has since bought his own villa still within the city itself, not isolated like Antony's.

Even so, he's still adjusting to living alone. This seems to only make his paranoia worse. He jumps when he hears a knock on the door, instantly assuming Antony followed him home from the market. Murmuring a prayer to Apollo, he hesitantly opens the door.

To his horror, it is Antony, but he doesn't look angry or upset. In fact, the older man looks worried more than anything. "Ah," Antony blinks, just as surprised. "So this is where you live. I've been knocking on doors all morning. Would it be all right if I come in?"

"May I ask why?" Octavius responds quietly, hating how shy he gets at seeing the older man. "Because I want to formally apologize for my reaction. I should have known better than to act like I did a week ago," Antony explains.
More shocked than anything, Octavius still gazes up at the man. Now that he has a better look at Antony, he can see why the man is regarded as a womanizer.

Antony's skin is more tanned, his arms and legs muscular. His gaze looks serious, but not angry.
"Are you all right?" Antonius asks, genuinely looking concerned. Octavius blinks, snapped out of his state and nods, quickly stepping aside to let the older man in.

"Quite a cozy place you have here," Antony observes as Octavius closes the door. "Do you only live here?"
The youth nods, going over to a table and pouring water into clay cups. "Thank you," he says with a nod, the cup small in his hand. "Just...be wary about the other people in Rome. Most of them are still riled up from Caesar's funeral. The killers being on the loose doesn't help either," he sighs, sitting down.

Gaius sits across from him, finger tapping against his cup nervously. "I came here to apologize to you in person," Antony says this quickly, like he isn't used to apologizing very often. Gaius tries and fails to hide his surprise. "Why? You have every reason to be mad."

Antony huffs put a sigh, sipping his drink. "I've begun to realize how... temperamental I can get." Gaius almost snorts at Antonius admitting this bluntly. "There is a lot I don't know about you," the older Roman admits, seemingly more to himself.
"Clearly not enough to figure out why exactly Caesar chose you."

Gaius rubs his arms through the thin cloth of his toga, fidgeting. "If we're being honest here, I do not know why he chose me either," the youth admits quietly. A few moments pass between them quietly. Antonius sighs, setting the now empty cup down and rubbing his face.

"That makes two of us," Antonius scoffs, glancing down at the rolled up scroll that will change the course of history once the contents are announced.
"There..." Gaius trails off, voices screaming in his head that he shouldn't bring this up now. Especially now that Antonius is calm.

"Speak your mind, boy. What is it?"
Gaius flinches at Antonius' cross tone, toying with a loose piece of his toga. "There is still the concern about the money," he whispers, half expecting Antonius to strangle the life out of him right then and there. To his surprise, the older Roman only laughs, a deep and hearty sound.

Gaius blinks his blue eyes in surprise and worry. "Boy," Antonius muses, grinning at the youth and making him blush. "Did Caesar never tell you this? Your dearly departed 'father' left the treasury quite empty, I'm afraid."
The poor boy blinks a few times, trying to process the information in what feels like a punch to the gut.

"Oh gods, he never told you," Antonius wheezes out a strained laugh, amused by the absurdity of it all. "Oh, you poor sweet boy." His tone isn't mocking, more sympathetic, but this only makes Gaius' face burn more.
He feels suddenly faint, a sure sign of a stress induced fever coming.

Swallowing the flood of saliva in his mouth, he shakily turns to stumble into the kitchen, breathing labored. "Boy?" Antonius calls from somewhere behind him, sounding more concerned. Gaius doesn't respond, too busy trying to keep a wave of nausea down.

His heart pounds in his ears, panic making his vision blurry and rapidly darkening. He leans against a countertop, sweaty hands slipping on the smooth surface. He hears Antonius rushing over, but only faintly over the roar of blood in his ears.
Right when he feels the older Roman's hand on his shoulder, he slips into unconsciousness.
He hardly feels Antonius' strong arms gripping his frail body to keep him upright.