Chapter Text
Daring walked back to his dorm with renewed vigour. The problems that were previously weighing on him, completely gone from his mind. He unlocked the door and took about two steps into the room before stepping on a piece of clothing.
“Sparrow, what are you doing?” he asked his roommate, picking up the shirt that he stepped on.
“Oh, hey, babe! I’m trying to find the new strings I bought like three months ago.” Sparrow answered, half in his closet.
“You left them in your nightstand, remember?” Daring said.
“Oh yeah!” Sparrow lept for his nightstand to retrieve the strings.
Daring sighed. The room was a mess, meaning that Sparrow was having one of his mental breakdowns.
Sparrow never forgot where he left his things, unless he was in a bad mood. It came with the territory of being the next Robin Hood.
“What happened?” Daring asked.
“What? Nothing happened. Why would you think something happened?” Sparrow said, his eyes darting around the room.
“Because you just tore apart our room looking for something that you always keep in the same place,” Daring replied.
Sparrow sighed and sat down on his bed to start changing his guitar strings.
“Are you sure about me meeting your parents?” Sparrow asked.
“Of course, I am! What could ever make you think otherwise?” Daring sat down beside him.
“Right, yeah. Okay, it’s not you. It’s just, your parents don’t exactly like me as your friend,” Sparrow said, averting his eyes from Daring.
“They don’t like anything! Mother goes through at least 20 dresses every morning, before deciding on the same dress she always wears. Father only likes one brand of hair spray, when we all know it makes him smell like concrete,” Daring exclaimed.
Sparrow chuckled.
“Okay, that’s true.”
“The point is, they might not like it, but they deserve to at least know,” Daring concluded, sprawling out on the bed.
“What if I don’t want them to know?”
Sparrow grasped Daring’s hand and brought it to his lips.
“I kinda like how we are now.”
Daring sprang back up to a sitting position and placed a peck on Sparrow’s lips.
“Too late, Birdie! I already told them I was bringing someone home this weekend.”
It was Sparrow’s turn to flop down on the bed and groan.
“Fine, but I am not wearing anything preppy,” Sparrow said.
“I would never ask that of you.”
***
In light of Sparrow’s doubts, Daring decided to plan a double date with Rosabella and her girlfriend, Ramona. Rosabella was Daring’s best female friend, and they agreed, shortly after their winter adventure, that they were better off as friends. It also helped that she was Darling’s roommate.
“I’m a rebel, so I guess my parents never had a problem with our relationship, but I can imagine that the Charmings are a more traditional family,” Rosabella said.
They were all having lunch at the Mad Hatter’s Hat and Tea Shoppe, the girls sitting across from the boys. It was the one shop in town that they knew wouldn't judge them.
“Screw them. If they don’t want you around, they don’t deserve to have you around,” Ramona added.
“We haven’t even gone public with our relationship at school,” Sparrow said, pushing his food around with his fork.
“We could go public, if you want?” Daring said.
“Nah, we don’t need to do that. We’ve always been better this way,” Sparrow brushed off the offer, but he was still clearly uncomfortable.
Daring and Sparrow had been on and off dating since they were freshmens, but they hadn’t gone steady until a few months ago, when Rosabella announced her relationship with Ramona. It wasn’t taboo anymore to have a royal and a rebel together, but it still wasn’t very common. It also didn’t help that he was Daring Charming.
“Listen, you have an advantage in this scenario, Sparrow. You already know Daring’s parents. At least you know what sets them off,” Rosabella explained.
“Yeah, like the time I used the salad fork for mashed potatoes.” Sparrow rolled his eyes.
“You royals and your cutlery.” Ramona laughed.
“What matters is you now know which fork is the right one. Plus, you spent the entire summer last year there. Maybe they got used to you being around,” Rosabella suggested.
“They walk the other way when I come down the hall.”
“You were going to have to tell them at some point. Better to just rip the bandage off now,” Ramona said.
Sparrow sighed and dropped his fork.
“Yeah, right.”
***
That night, when Daring had already fallen asleep, Sparrow’s mind was still racing, thinking about the upcoming weekend. He turned in bed restlessly, trying to forget about his worries.
In the end, he gave up and walked out to the balcony. He sipped a pop while watching the night sky. He felt warm arms slip around his waist and leaned back.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” Daring asked with a yawn.
“Nothing, go back to sleep.”
“I’ll stay here with you-” Daring trailed off with a snore.
Sparrow hummed. Right, this was who he was doing this for.
“I love you,” Daring mumbled sleepily.
“Love you too.”