Infames

XIII

The hand that held the blade would not stop quivering, and Gaizaz could do nothing but stare up at the cursedly beautiful face that held his life in his hands.

"Put the knife down, Murinus." He tried to keep his voice calm and steady.

"Shut up!" the actor snarled, then pressed the sharp edge a little closer. "Didn't you hear what I fucking said?"

Very subtly, Gaizaz pushed his wrist upwards, testing the grip that the other man had on him. It was surprisingly strong, but the mercenary chalked it up to angle at which he was being restrained.

"I thought I told you that I never wanted to see you again," Gaizaz replied through clenched teeth, but Murinus's scowl only deepened.

"And now I'm going to be the last thing you see." He chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it?"

The mercenary sighed quietly. "You're not going to kill me."

"Yes, I–"

"If you really wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already!" Gaizaz rebuked with a shout, and Murinus shifted his weight backwards very slightly, blinking. He readjusted his grip on the knife, putting just a fraction of distance between it and the mercenary's neck. It was only now that Gaizaz could see the tears gently pricking the young man's eyes.

"Please, Murinus." He spoke as softly as he could. "Please put the knife down."

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

Murinus twisted the blade into a reverse grip, teeth bared as he held it above Gaizaz's throat. He looked ready to stab downwards at any second.

"Why should I?" he yelled back. "You've ruined my life!"

Gaizaz furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"They came to the theatre." The actor's bottom lip quivered. "Fronto's brutes. They came and asked around for Aristomedes–"

"Aristomedes?!" Gaizaz shouted, his jaw slack. It was his turn to be angry now. "You gave them my name?!"

Murinus faltered, and his hold on the mercenary weaken. "I... might have done..."

Fuck this, Gaizaz thought.

The mercenary violently jerked his hips up and sideways, throwing the actor off of him. Murinus fell to the floor and the knife clattered against the stone. Gaizaz was on his feet within moments and, before the other man could reach for it, he kicked the blade to the other side of the room. He stalked over, then grabbed the actor by the front of his tunica, hauling him upwards and shoving him against the wall.

"You are insufferable," Gaizaz growled, then shoved him once more before letting go.

He crossed the room and picked up the knife, but was surprised when no snarky rebuttal was flung his way. When he turned back to face the actor, Gaizaz's gut tightened.

Murinus leaned with his back and forearms against the wall, his knees slightly bent. His breathing was ragged, as his chest rose and fell quickly with every breath. He was not looking at the mercenary but somewhere into the distance, and over his flushed cheeks fell little streams of silent tears.

Gaizaz pursed his lips, then set the knife down on the table. "Murinus–"

"Stay away from me." There was no strength left in his voice.

Taking a step back, Gaizaz apologised, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's not you," the actor sniffled, then finally looked him in the eye. "I was lucky, you know? When they came to the theatre, I was on stage. I knew who they were instantly, since I'd talked to some of them before, and I knew they'd know my face. Thankfully I was wearing my mask, so they didn't recognise me immediately. It bought me time to get out of there before they started demanding we all take our masks off." He swallowed. "I overheard them saying that it was the third theatre they'd checked today."

Gaizaz sighed, then rubbed a hand over his face. "Fuck... This is my fault."

"You're damn right it is," Murinus snapped. "And the funny thing? If they find me, they'll probably kill me, so I guess I can never step foot in a theatre in Rome again!" He broke into a smile, sour and sarcastic. "So, thank you! Thank you for ruining my career, and essentially my life!"

Gaizaz shook his head. "I'm not going to let them hurt you."

The actor rolled his eyes. "The damage is done."

"No, I can fix this." The mercenary took a step closer. "I swear that I will fix this. I'm a man of my word, as you know."

Murinus hesitated, then wiped his tears away with the base of his palm. "Fine."

Gaizaz gestured with his head towards the door. "Come on, you're probably hungry. Let's get something to eat."

◆ ◆ ◆

This was becoming quiet a familiar setting, the two of them sat in the corner of a popina, tucking into some bread and wine. Tonight, however, Murinus barely touched anything.

Gaizaz raised a brow. "Are you going to eat your food, or are you going to dip it in the oil twenty more times?"

The actor hummed in thought, then took a bite. Gaizaz gave a small, satisfied smile before continuing with his own meal. They sat in silence for most of their dinner, passing the olive dish and the wine back and forth without a word.

"What's your plan?"

The question came out of nowhere, and the mercenary faltered. He set the wine he had been drinking down and licked his lips.

"I don't have one yet."

Murinus scoffed and looked away.

"Hey, I'll figure this out, all right?" Gaizaz implored for a chance. "Let me make this up to you. Let me make this right."

The actor's expression softened momentarily, and he looked up at him through those long, dark lashes. At once Gaizaz felt a little dizzy, and he was not sure if it was the wine or not.

"As long as I don't have to see Fronto's ugly face again," Murinus somewhat agreed, and the mercenary nodded.

"You never actually told me what happened in his villa."

Murinus shivered. "I don't want to talk about it."

And that was that.

Gaizaz cleared his throat. "You can stay with me if you feel unsafe to go home."

Could he even call that place a home? It felt wrong.

Murinus scrunched up his nose in what the mercenary hoped was not disgust. "I think I'll be fine. I still need to make money, after all."

"If you're certain..."

"I am." Murinus popped another olive into his mouth.

Gaizaz drummed his fingers against the table. Lessons in guilt were becoming rife.

"Well, when you're not working, I'd feel better if you stayed by my side. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Whatever." Murinus spat out the pip.

The mercenary gritted his teeth and hissed, "I made a mistake, sure, but you don't have to be a dick about it, especially when I'm trying to correct it."

The actor glanced up, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a sly smile. "You're cute when you're angry."

Gaizaz felt his cheeks grow hot, but ultimately elected to ignore the other man's comment.

"Look, I'm going to the Flavian Amphitheatre in two days to meet someone, and I'd like for you to join me." The mercenary sighed. "I don't know the place well, and you deserve a break, so why not go and watch some fighting?"

Murinus shrugged, then sipped his wine. "Not really my thing, but sure. I'll come."

Gaizaz smiled.

"Good, because I think this might be a match to remember."