"A most interesting party, Dear Wife. So good to be in the company of Brutus and these other men of Senatorial rank. One can certainly see why they look down their noses at mere rural bumpkins like Magnus." Sextus said nothing for a moment, admiring the expansive view which the villa afforded. "Yes, beginning my climb up the Cursus should discomfit them considerably, and for that I am most eager!"
Porcia observed the hopeful youth of her husband and smiled at his energy. She wished she had his enthusiasm. Rome had burned her in a way she hoped she would be able to heal, but for the moment it was Sextus' time to shine. "You will be a force of nature my love. “
"Still, despite whatever political rivalries may lie in store for us, I am glad that the gods have so favored Brutus. He seemed truly happy at the prospect of impending fatherhood."

"Yes, he divorced his first wife on account of her baren condition, " Porcia lied, knowing full well the reason of his callous divorce to a dedicated wife. She did not let a fragment of her current emotions appear on her face and instead painted a content smile for Sextus. Her nerves did not need to be adressed as she joined Sextus looking out the window. A sheepish grin appeared on her face, "In any case, you were both considerably more pleasant than the last time you encountered him, " she added with a good deal of humor for a darker time in her life.
Sextus exhaled forcibly, his cheeks puffing out. "Ah, yes...that incident! Best forgotten, I should think. How did you find Brutus? Do you think he is ready to let bygones be bygones?"
"I confess I don't know him anymore," Porcia stated somewhat somberly than brightened, "He would need some legal grounds to deter you if he wished to exact any private vengeance. I would not worry about impressing him, you will not need his aid. My cousin may seem self-important but he is of very little political consequence."

"Hmmm..." Sextus pondered her assessment. "He may be of little political consequence, but at present I am of no consequence. That will all change so very quickly, dear Porcia, for I intend to declare for the Tribunate. That should put a bee in the bonnet of many a Patrician, I should think!"

" It should, and as Tribune perhaps having an over-indulged enemy such as Brutus would give the people great reason to support you against the rigid aristocracy." Porcia smirked at her statement for they enjoyed a posh and truly wealthy view of Rome.

"Yes, indeed! Perhaps you and Tata are thinking more and more alike with each new dawn! He is of the mind that a strong Tribune may wean the people away from Caesar, for how long can a Patrician of such pure blood as his sustain the fiction of being of and for the people?" Sextus thought for a moment. "But first things first. Let's just hope I am not knocked from the Rostra by a flying cabbage when first I speak there!" He chuckled at the thought.


Porcia leaned gently against Sextus' chest and replied, " You have grown wiser, when I first met you I thought you were some young boy fresh from the fields of Mars." Sextus gave her a confused stare and even looked a little hurt that she conceived him to be so young. "You were a very good looking boy, now you're on your way to becoming an exemplary man."

"And you, Porcia. You were more than a match for those fine Roman matrons at the dinner this evening! Tell me, how did you find high Roman society?"

Raising an eyebrow, Porcia replied, "Exhausting. I could never carry their useless concerns. I was once a woman of Cato, we left the house only on occasion and never worried ourselves with any of the trite details of a fasionable life. You will have to give me some time to begin to enjoy the frivolities high Roman Society seems to have." Porcia's complaint was half-hearted at best and part of her acutally enjoyed having even the most superficial level of importance. Porcia observed the amused grin on Sextus' face and added, "I only hope to use my virtue and prudence in high Roman society to make your reputation more sterling."
Taking her in his arms, Sextus restated the situation in astronomical terms. "Castor and Pollux are soon to be demoted, for two new stars will outshine them in the skies above Rome. Of that, I promise you."
Porcia blushed and suppressed a girlish giggle with a dry retort, "You know husband, for a soldier you are remarkably well spoken. Perhaps the soft and gentle side of you is larger than is a appropriate for such a battle-hardened soldier."
"Well, it was Tata after all who started it all with that outrageous comment he made about the rising and setting suns to Sulla! I guess poetry just runs in the family!"

"One marks the Pompey Family for many things; pretty wives, political fortune, or millitary genius, but not for being warrior-poets. It is a trait I like however, I've always wanted a husband who isn't afraid to use meter." She stated with a pretentious gait.

A wicked grin spread on Sextus's face. "Ah, yes, poetry! 'There once was a maiden from Syracuse, who--'" Before he could recite the next verse of the popular but totally vulgar barracks ditty, his words were blotted out by the impact of a superbly-aimed pillow.

Co-written by Arissima and Tacronicus