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Anxiety was more of Virgil’s thing, in full honesty, but Roman couldn’t help but feel jittery as he sat at the edge of his best friend’s bed and drummed his fingertips nervously against his knees. It was Valentines’ Day, and while usually Roman spent this particular day annually serenading himself in the mirror, he had come up with an even better idea for this year. That is, it would be better only if it worked.
Roman had been friends with Patton since they were kids, but it wasn’t until recently did he start to develop... feelings for him. But even a romantic shit like Roman knew that admitting these feelings for someone he has loves platonically for so long now could have disastrous consequences. Though, this particularly special day of February was enough to turn his mind around and decorate Patton’s room with roses (without the spiky stems, since he knew Patton would either be afraid of them or throw them out because they were a safety hazard) and vanilla candles. And now all he had to do was wait.
Which was the hardest part, ironically, and he never realized how long the seconds dragged on until Patton would come home from work, but it gave him time to think. Then that thinking turned to worrying, and now Roman was biting his nails in anticipation as his mind came up with darker and more depressing scenarios to what could happen when Patton finally arrived.
His friend was the kindest person he knew, but that didn’t stop his brain. That was just the thing about love, the uncertainty. What if when Roman told him he loved him he took it in a platonic sense? What if his grand gesture and declaration of love just made Patton laugh? He was always one to take things light-heartedly, after all. What if he just straight out rejected him? Rejection, rejection, rejection-
But then suddenly the doorknob turned and Roman looked up to see Patton staring back at him, glasses gleaming with all the dim candlelight. “Roman?” he squeaked, making Roman’s heart twist in his chest. He looked so confused, so adorably confused. Roman loved him. He loved him so much. Now if he could only tell him that.
Roman shot up and walked over to his friend, a tight and nervous smile taking up he lower part of his face as Patton’s eyes widened at the sight of his friend drawing closer and closer to him. “Patton,” Roman whispered, then cleared his throat as his face flushed. He sounded breathless, like a lovesick fool. Okay, he was a lovesick fool, but no need to give that away so fast. “Patton, I need to tell you something.”
“Yeah?” Again with that adorable, high voice.
“Patton, I...” ‘I love you,’ he wanted to say. ‘I love you so much, and I can’t see myself spending the rest of my life without you looking at me the way you do, smiling and glowing, and making me feel like the most luckiest man on the planet. How did I get so lucky? God, I love you, Patton. Please say you love me too.’ But Roman didn’t say this for his tongue had suddenly got tangled up and all he could do was smile and look at Patton, a desperate, flickering hope in his eyes.
Then Patton’s confused expression melted away and was replaced by a soft smile. He knew what Roman was going to say, Roman could feel it. A bit of familiar courage rose up in Roman, and he let out a happy sigh and said it.
“I love you.”
That’s all it took for Patton to start kissing him, and Roman’s nervousness was gone.