Chapter Text
A week had passed. Roman was sat at his desk in his chambers, scouring over documents of boring, generic stuff while Patton and Virgil lay half-sprawled across his bed.
It was something Roman half expected would never come. The boring but necessary legal contracts, documents and other fun stuff that came with being a king. His first few days were long and filled with fear and what felt like dread that would never end. Now, it was over and he was looking over a peace treaty that needed to be resigned at some point very soon.
His mind wasn’t in it though. He knew he should be, this stuff was highly important, but he was distracted. Who could blame him though when two of the three most beautiful people in his life were giggling quietly to themselves on his bed in his chambers.
Roman couldn’t see Patton’s face but he could see Virgil’s from this angle and he could recognise the fond glint that sparkled in his eyes whenever he managed to draw a laugh from Patton. He recognised it because, in the past week, he’d caught glimpses of it in his own eyes when he’d cast his gaze to his mirror moments after speaking with one of the three people that had stolen his affection.
It was warm. Peaceful. Perfect. A blanket of comfort hung over them after so long of pure panic. Janus, Remus and the others were locked deep in the back of his mind and the key was just out of reach, at least until they resurfaced. However, within the week, they’d been silent so Roman allowed himself to relax a little if only because Patton had told him he’d end up pulling something if he remained so tense all the time.
That feeling of tranquillity remained when there was a gentle knock on his chamber door. Virgil and Patton paused with smiles on their faces and Roman felt his heart soar for a second before calling out to whoever was at the door to enter. It opened a crack and Logan entered.
Grinning wildly, Patton shot up and ran towards him, yelling his name as he tackled Logan into a hug. Logan had been holed up in the library all day, researching something or other and had ignored all attempts at contact but now the day was drawing to a close and exhausting was pinching at his features. After a moment, Virgil stood as well and made his way over to Logan but in a more subdued way, but smiling nonetheless.
The sun was hanging low in the sky but at that moment, something shifted. For as long as Roman could remember the world felt off-kilter. Like something was missing that would make it all right again. For a moment, the sun was at a perfect point and shone directly through the window just right to shine a warm glow across the three people stood by the door, laughing at Logan’s flushed cheeks and stuttered speech caused by Patton’s excitement to see him and something Virgil had whispered too quiet for Roman to hear and the world felt right for the first time in a very long time.
Roman’s breath hitched in his throat, his quill clattering to the desk beneath him. “Fuck.” he breathed eloquently, catching everyone else’s attention.
“Roman?” Patton asked, his head tilted quizzically in a way that reminded Roman of a curious puppy.
Logan was frowning. He recognised the papers on Roman’s desk and was worried something was wrong.
Virgil’s eyes were squinted, almost in recognition of the expression on Roman’s face.
“Fuck.” Roman repeated. “I think I’m in love with you.”
The phrase came completely out of left feel and stunned even Roman who had not meant to say it. Patton’s face lit up, Virgil smiled softly and shook his head, this was something he already knew, and Logan looked taken aback.
“In love with who?” Logan asked.
Roman stood slowly and picked his way across the messy floor that most definitely needed to be cleaned sooner rather than later. No point in pretending anymore. “You. And Patton. And Virgil. All three of you.”
Patton burst into excited giggles, reaching out for Roman and grasping at the offered hand. “Oh, thank GOODNESS!” he exclaimed. “I thought I was going to have to be the first person to say it!”
It was Virgil’s turn to look shocked, Logan’s remaining unchanged. “Excuse me?”
“You silly geese! I thought I was being obvious but you’re all completely oblivious! You also completely underestimate my observation skills. I could tell you all have feelings for each other, myself included. I just wondered how long it would take for someone to say something!” he laughed.
“You’re kidding me.” Virgil groaned, dropping his head into his hands while Logan remained frozen.
Roman reached his free hand for his friend, placing it on his tense shoulder. “Logan? You good?”
Logan shook himself from his stupor. “So that was what I was feeling…” he mumbled. Everyone else burst into laughter at the pure revelatory tone in his voice. Logan immediately jumped to his own defence, squawking indignantly that did nothing for his case.
Eventually, the laughter died down and Roman moved the hand that was resting on Logan’s shoulder to be hooked around his neck, dragging him closer to press a kiss to his reddened cheek. “You poor man. How did you not know?”
Logan huffed as his ears tinged pink in embarrassment. “I’ve never felt this way before. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was feeling. Guess I understand now.”
“Guess so,” Virgil mumbled. He was stood a little far off, arms surrounding himself like a shield.
“Virgil, if this is going too fast? Please let us know. We know you didn’t exactly have the best previous relationship so feel no pressure to-"
“No!” Virgil interrupted. He schooled his tone quickly before speaking again. “No I- I want to. I feel… Uh…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say it yet if you’re not ready.” Patton smiled.
Virgil paused and cast his gaze to the floor. “I’m sorry.”
“None of that.” Roman broke the chain between himself and Logan and reached for Virgil, pulling him closer to their little circle, closing the loop. “There is no pressure here. Take as long as you need to say or do anything. We will never force you.” he said sincerely, bending down to match Virgil’s eye level. “Love takes time.”
“Someone once explained it in the most beautiful way,” Patton said, drawing Virgil’s attention. “Think of it like we’re reading a book, the same one. We’re going at different speeds but the ending is the same. We’re just a few chapters ahead and there’s no shame in that.”
Virgil was silent for a moment. “Thank you,” he whispered earnestly, his voice cracking with emotion. Roman’s heart ached for Virgil. He knew why he was so afraid. He might not know the details of what happened but he knew it had hurt Virgil. That’s all he needed to know at the end of the day. Virgil could tell them if or when he was ready. In the meantime, Roman would affirm to him that he meant the world to him.
Roman, blinking back tears of his own, pulled Virgil against his chest, dropping his cheek against the top of Virgil’s head. “Even if you only read a page a day, that’s good enough for us,” he murmured. At his words, he felt Virgil melt against him, burying closer to the sound of his voice. “And if you ever decide to stop reading, that’s okay too. We can help you find a new book to read.”
“I don’t want to,” Virgil said, muffled against Roman’s shirt.
“That’s okay too,” Roman whispered. Suddenly remembering the other two people in the room, he raised his elbow closest to Patton in invitation and Patton immediately burrowed himself against Virgil’s side, under Roman’s arm. He felt Logan shift until he came into view, the other side of the two people in Roman’s arms. Logan smiled shyly before wrapping his arms around the group. Roman’s expression softened and he lifted his head to press his forehead against Logan’s.
It was warm. Peaceful.
Perfect.