Title: Flitare con L’amore   
      
      
   Author: sitarra   
      
      
   Email: bellydancergirl7@aol.com   
   bellydancergirl7@aol.com   
      
   Distribution: anywhere is fine so long as my name stays attached   
      
   Spoilers: Fight the Future   
      
   Rating: PG-13   
      
   Classification: Way historical AU    
      
      
   Keywords: MSR, R, AU   
      
      
   Summary: “Is this such a good idea, Maximus? You and I?”    
      
      
   Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. The characters Maximus and Lucilla are   
   property of DreamWorks SKG. The characters of Mulder and Scully, as well as   
   friends and family, are property of 20th Century Fox Television. I am simply   
   borrowing and combining    
   them for my own amusement.    
      
      
   A/N: You know how some AU’s take you back in time? Well, this one’s taking   
   you *way* back in time. I hope everyone loves this story as much as I loved   
   writing it. I love AUs and I was inspired by watching Gladiator so this story   
   is what came of it.    
   I had to change the geography a little bit because it hurts a part of the   
   story if I don’t. And I apologize for any and all spelling and grammar   
   errors. Also, if anything seems too out of character that isn’t later   
   explained somehow, tell me. I have    
   worked so hard making everything try to seem just like Mulder and Scully.   
      
      
   Characters:    
      
   Lucilla (Dana Scully) – daughter of Roman Emperor   
      
   Maximus Decidus (Fox Mulder) – general loyal to Roman Emperor   
      
   Marcus Aurelius (Captain Scully) – Emperor of Rome   
      
   Sephora – friend of Lucilla   
      
   Mardious (Langley)    
    soldier in Maximus’ army   
      
   Domitius (Byers) – lieutenant general loyal to Maximus   
      
   Mardian (Frohike) – eunuch and servant to Lucilla, somewhat infatuated with   
   her   
      
   Palidorus (Skinner) – attendant to Maximus   
      
   Melania (Maggie Scully) – wife of Marcus Aurelius   
      
   Camidus (Charlie Scully) – youngest son of Marcus Aurelius   
      
   Sophronia (my friend Sam) – cousin of Lucilla, obsessed with Maximus   
      
   Octavia (Diana) – cousin of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII   
      
      
   *** **   
      
      
   9 November 173   
      
      
   There were no trumpets, no grand parades, or adoring love from the public.   
   There was only him and his horse, Alexander, riding down the crowded streets   
   of Appian Way. He nodded to the occasional passer-by that recognized him and   
   greeted him. Off in the    
   distance, just to the north of him, his eyes were treated to the site of the   
   grand palace. It seemed the sun always hit it just right, just perfect enough   
   to make it glisten in the sun. It was his favorite site to see. Well, one of   
   them anyway.   
      
      
   “Look, father! It’s Maximus!” a little boy said as Maximus neared the   
   palace. The boy’s father looked up from his cart and smiled and waved at the   
   general. Maximus smile back at the two, albeit somewhat shyly. He never knew   
   how to respond to    
   people’s attention.   
      
      
   The guards at the front gate saluted him when he passed through. On the palace   
   steps, he could see his old friend, Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He held up a hand   
   in greeting. Beside Aurelius    
   was Melania, his wife, and Lucilla, his daughter. His blood warmed at the   
   sight of Lucilla. There was a mutual attraction between the two, had been for   
   years. It never went beyond flirting, though. A lot of flirting; enough to   
   create walls of sexual    
   tension. He supposed eventually they should take it further – he knew he   
   certainly wanted to – but, while Aurelius treated him like a son, Aurelius   
   only knew him as an army general.   
      
      
   Still, there was something about Lucilla that intrigued him, that made him   
   want to take that step. She was so… powerful and in control. She had an   
   authority about her and a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes. She knew she   
   could always get what she    
   wanted from him.   
      
      
   “Maximus, so wonderful to see you again,” Aurelius greeted him after he   
   swung down from his horse.   
      
      
   Maximus saluted the older man as he stood in front of him. “Caesar, it’s   
   good to see you again. My days grow long with no wars to fight.”   
      
      
   “It won’t last long. I’m not so fond of Parthia these days.”   
      
      
   Maximus stepped over to Melania, pressing a kiss to her hand.   
      
      
   “You must move here one day soon, Maximus. My husband grows bored with no   
   warfare conversations,” she told him. She was a beautiful woman with round   
   brown eyes and wavy brown hair to match. She wasn’t very tall but next to   
   her husband, no one could    
   tell.   
      
      
   “Forgive me, Melania. Perhaps one day I might consider moving b   
   ack to Rome, but there is a better way of life in Alexandria without the   
   politics of Rome,” he explained.   
      
      
   “Come, Maximus. You must see the layout of my latest front,” Aurelius   
   interrupted. “I need your help making sure it’s at its strongest.” He   
   and his wife started to head back inside.   
      
      
   Maximus waited until he could no longer see them before speaking. “It’s   
   been a while, Lucilla. The year has done you extraordinarily well.”   
      
      
   “And you, Maximus.” She held her hand out to him, which he gladly accepted.   
      
      
   “You become more beautiful each time I see you,” he flattered before   
   kissing her hand sweetly.   
      
      
   “Such a flatterer, Maximus. What do you expect in return? Praise, perhaps,   
   of past battles won?”   
      
      
   He met her piercing blue eyes. “Nothing but your presence, Lucilla.”   
      
      
   Her brow rose. “Only my presence?” she smiled slyly before walking away.   
   She knew he wouldn’t be far behind.   
      
      
   “You fill my mind with pleasant but inappropriate thoughts,” Maximus   
   shared as he followed. He watched the sway of her walk as she moved ever so   
   gracefully in front of him.   
      
      
   “The thoughts in your head now are certainly most inappropriate,” she   
   wisely told him, a smug grin on her face.   
      
      
   ‘Busted.’ “And how would you know that, Lucilla?”   
      
      
   She turned around suddenly, her long, curly red hair flowing around her   
   shoulders. “A soldie   
   r spends months at a time without seeing a single woman. You have only men to   
   look at, to talk to, to share company with.”   
      
      
   “I’ll have you know I saw many women on the way here and I didn’t have a   
   single inappropriate thought about any one of them,” Maximus defended. He   
   stepped suspiciously closer to her but she didn’t mind. If he didn’t know   
   better, he’d say    
   she moved closer as well. “And yet, when I saw you, Lucilla, I could think   
   of nothing but… naughty thoughts of you and me.”   
      
      
   “And what sort of thoughts would those be?” she murmured slowly.   
      
      
   He held her eyes for a few moments before breaking into a grin.   
      
      
   “I’ve kept your father waiting long enough.”   
      
      
   He began to walk forwards but her hands shot out to stop him.   
      
      
   “Maximus, it is good to see you again. I wish you would visit more often.”   
      
      
   “But then I wouldn’t leave you something to look forward to.”   
      
      
   She smiled faintly. “Will I see you tonight?”   
      
      
   “Don’t you always?”   
      
      
   *** **   
      
      
   That Night   
      
      
   Aurelius patted Maximus on the back as they walked together.   
      
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)