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Roman groaned in frustration, plopping his head on the desk with a thud. He ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, glaring down at the subject of his anger. He was trying to write a story, but his brain refused to supply the next part!! He exhaled sharply through his nose, shifting in his seat. Why was being creative so difficult right now?!
He sighed, slumping in his seat. It didn't help with the looming feeling of dread in the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it, but it pulsed, almost like it was trying to remind him of its cursed existence. He shut his eyes, rubbing his temples, trying to think of happy thoughts but all that came to mind were dark emotions, memories of pain.
He opened his eyes quickly, not wanting to see them any clearer than he had to. He rolled his shoulders, trying to relax. What was wrong with him right now? How hard was it to just do his job?! Unless...
Just as the thought came to mind, a hesitant knock rapped on the door to his cluttered room. Roman's head jerked to look at the door in surprise, not expecting anyone at this hour. It was... wait, what time was it? He checked the clock, not as surprised as he should've been to find it was 3:25 am.
He looked back to the door, even more confused now. Who was it, knocking on his door? Well, why don't we find out? he thought, getting up. He walked to his door, white with gold designs swirling around the frame in a regal manner, red drapes majestically parted down the middle, almost seeming like a stage.
He put his hand on the handle and opened the door, immediately getting punched in the face by Virgil. Roma yelped, clutching his gently throbbing nose as Virgil tensed up, fear and concern on his face.
"OhmygoshareyouokayI'msosorryIdidn'tmeanto-"
Roman blinked, trying to process what was happening as Virgil continued anxiously rambling. Well, that explains the dark emotions he had felt earlier. Virgil must have accidentally been releasing his, and Roman was near enough to feel them. Roman felt his heart wrench. If he was only feeling some of Virgil’s feelings, then how must Virgil have been feeling..?
Roman shook off the thought for now. There were more pressing matters, like the still apologizing raincloud at his door. He raised a hand, waving it in a dismissing motion.
“Do not fear, my emo nightmare, you caused me no harm. It’s fine, I have faced worse at the hands of the dreaded Dragon Witch.” At the mention of the oversized lizard, Roman scowled, but he quickly smiled calmingly. “So seriously, don’t worry about it.”
Virgil shuffled his feet, his face twisted in a worried grimace but a small smile curled his lips.
“Well, Princey, it’s kinda hard to not worry about it, kinda my job.”
Roman chuckled, feeling glad as he saw Virgil relax from his anxious pose, his shoulders unhunching. Roman realized that he hadn’t welcomed the other into his room and he mentally smacked himself. What kind of prince was he?!
He opened the door further, moving aside, smiling broadly as he proclaimed, “Well, what are you waiting for? Come in, come in!!”
Virgil paused, glancing at Roman in uncertainty, before hesitantly moving into the room, looking around in barely disguised awe. The ceiling of Roman’s room was covered in stars and swirling nebulas, twisting soothingly, the lights of supernovas reflecting off the wall of mirrors on the entire surface of the far wall.
On the left wall, there was a large, royal looking bed with majestic canopies of silk red curtain and ornate golden curls. Beside it was a big dresser, partially open with all the drawers spilling the dress-up clothing and outfits for acting. Various props were strewn about the floor, getting lost among the piles of construction paper and art supplies that grew larger in size and frequency as they got closer to the right side of the room.
There was a large desk against the right wall, with stacks and stacks of paper and a jar filled with feather pens, flower pens, mechanical pencils, all sorts of writing utensils of different size, shapes, and appearance, with many more in strange locations. Above the desk in flag holders were many pride flags, the largest being an extravagant rainbow tapestry that Roman had made himself. Each of the colors had different beads, ribbons, and other items sewn into the stripe of the color it was on. It had taken him a long, long time but it was totally worth it. On the rest of the right wall were posters of his favorite musicals and movies, a comedy and tragedy mask above the collection.
At the far corner of his room, on the left and right side, were doors that he knew led into the Imagination. Each door had a different part of the Imagination behind it that he had personalized himself, and there was a hidden door behind the middle panel of the mirror wall that led into his secret room, filled with his personal dreams and goals. It was extremely important to him and he had been working on it over the course of the past few years. He was proud of it, but he knew no one could know of its existence. He couldn’t risk it. Maybe one day, he’d show the others, but not anytime soon.
He was jerked back to reality by Virgil, with wide eyes, saying in a dreamy, quiet voice, “Oh… my god , this… this is amazing !!!” He looked around, turning as he went, his arms spreading slightly as he grinned, admiring the view with awe in his eyes.
He looked at the ceiling and stopped, gasping, excitement filling his features as he bounced on his feet. “Oh, that looks so cool !!!! Dude…” he paused, turning to Roman, “Your room is awesome !!!! And the pride flag…” he paused, turning to look at the big rainbow flag on the wall, “D-Did you make that?!”
He turned back to Roman, his jaw ajar, amazement shining in his eyes. “Holy crap, dude, you are…” he paused, realizing he was fawning. He cleared his throat, a ruby blush coloring his cheeks. “I-I mean, uh, your room is pretty cool. A-Anyway, so, uh, do you…”
He shifted his gaze, looking at his feet and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he stuttered, “D-Do you mind if I, uh, if I… stay in here, just for a while? I-If you don’t, uh, want me to then I-I can leave..? If you want..? I-I’m sorry to bother you, especially with how late it is, but-”
“Hey, hey, chill, it’s fine, go ahead. What do you want to do?” Virgil stopped, surprised, before nodding, taking a deep breath and considered the question. “Umm, I-I don’t know, what do you want to do? It’s your room, dude.”
Roman shrugged nonchalantly, looking around his room for ideas. He hummed in thought, drumming his fingers on his thigh. Suddenly, he perked up, seeing a lone board game in the middle of his room. Perfect.
He turned to Virgil, who had started fiddling with the hem of his hoodie, asking, “Oh, do you want to play a board game? We can listen to music as well if you want.” Virgil looked up quickly, taken by surprise by the offer. He slowly nodded his head and Roman hopped cheerfully. “Splendid!! Onwards!!”
He grabbed the darkly clad storm cloud by the arm, gently dragging him towards the board game, his story forgotten for the moment. He released Virgil, quickly clearing a space around the board game big enough for them to sit. He snapped his fingers and two cushions, one dark purple velvet, and the other a satiny deep red appeared, landing on either side of the box. Roman turned back to Virgil, finding him a few feet from where he had left the emo nightmare, observing the floor of his room with disdain, his nose scrunched slightly.
“Hey, Virgil?”
Virgil jumped, turning to face Roman. He still had a small scowl as he grumbled, “Geez, you need to clean your room. It’s a mess, it’s a miracle you haven’t killed yourself tripping over this stuff.”
Roman shrugged, his fingers tracing the silky fabric of his red pajama pants. “It’s all in its place, it doesn’t matter where it is as long as I can access it and I know where it is. I do clean it occasionally though if it makes you feel better,” he added as he saw Virgil open his mouth to interject.
The other paused, before letting out a long sigh, running a hand through his slightly tangled hair. “Fine, but you’ll have to prove it. I won’t believe it ‘til I see it.” Roman smirked playfully, barely holding back a laugh as he snickered out, “Oh, yeah? You’ll have to help me some time, then. I’d be glad for the assistance and the company.”
Virgil looked at Roman apprehensively, unable to tell if the offer was genuine or not. Eventually, he shrugged, gesturing with a nod of his head towards the game. “Well, come on. Do you wanna play or not?”
Roman nodded, moving over the cushion, letting himself plop onto it with a light thud. He winced, shaking it off, proclaiming, “I meant to do that!!” He coughed, mumbling, “Totally..” before looking over at Virgil, motioning for him to join. Virgil rolled his eyes, hiding a smile with a scowl. Virgil sat down on the cushion lightly, looking a little surprised at how soft it was.
He bounced gently on it before remembering Roman was there and cleared his throat. “So, uh… how do we play?”
Roman gasped exaggeratedly, mock falling backward in shock. He sat up, leaning forward, saying in an overly loud voice, “Oh. My. Good. Gosh!! You don’t know how to play this game?! How dare-?!”
He clutched a hand to his heart dramatically, closing his eyes and putting his other hand against his forehead in distress. He peeked at Virgil through one of his eyelids that he opened slightly, seeing the other looking vaguely concerned but primarily amused, shaking from barely contained laughter. He looked slightly exasperated at Roman’s theatrics. Success. Roman grinned, putting his arms down and leaning back. “Anyway, here’s how you play…”
After a few rounds of the game, which Virgil wound up really liking, they were both exhausted. Virgil yawned, trying to say something at the same time, although all Roman heard was gibberish. His eyebrows furrowed, his arms moving up and splaying in a confused manner. “Was that even Eng-” he yawned, rubbing his eyes, “English..? What were you saying?”
He looked blearily at the other who shrugged in return. Virgil shook his head, mumbling tiredly, “I… I don’t even know anymore… oh, wait, I remember. What-What time is it..?” He looked at Roman, who looked at the small alarm clock on his desk. He was temporarily startled awake, blinking in disbelief at the time.
“Jesus… It’s 6 a.m., oh my goodness, we need to sleep.” Virgil stared at him, glancing at the time. Roman noticed that his eyeshadow smudged, revealing natural bags underneath. Yeah, they needed to sleep, and soon. Roman snapped a few times, getting Virgil’s fleeting attention. “Okay, if you want you can sleep in my room, you can sleep in my bed, I can conjure some pillows or something and sleep on that. Trust me, based on the looks of the bags under your eyes, you need it.”
Virgil mumbled mockingly under his breath, glaring half-heartedly at Roman. “Oh, shut it, Mr.Glitter, you don’t look too shiny yourself.” Roman, confused, tilted his head. Virgil looked around briefly before picking up a compact mirror from the ground, tossing it to Roman who barely caught it. He looked down at the mirror before looking back at Virgil, who gestured pointedly back towards the compact.
Roman warily opened the compact, looking at himself in the mirror and gasping in shock. He used his other hand to touch the skin under his eyes, which were now colored a light purple-blue, obvious in appearance that he hadn’t gotten his beauty sleep. The fact that his clothes were rumpled and his hair tousled and messy didn’t help. He paused before yelling in despair, “Noooooooooo!!! I- a PRINCE!!- look like a drowned sewer rat!! Oh, how am I going to fix this..?!”
He slumped, burying his head in his hands. He was struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration and he jumped to his feet, looking at Virgil who was staring at him in shock and like Roman was a mad man. “Virgil!! Come with me, away!!”
Roman sprinted towards his bed, swan diving onto it and bouncing. He nestled slightly into his ruffled sheets, hearing wary footsteps tramp through the items on his floor towards the bed. He felt the bed dip slightly as Virgil slowly sat on the edge, staring at Roman in confusion, asking, “So, uh.. What are we doing..?”
Roman rolled onto his back, staring at the other, declaring as though it were obvious, “We are going to sleep!! When we awaken, we shall feast on… something. Anyway, join me!! There’s plenty of space, I’ll sleep on this side and you sleep on that side.” Roman rolled over to his side, weaseling under the covers and sighing contentedly at the warmth they provided, and he heard shuffling and fabric moving as the other did the same.
They lay in silence for a few moments before Roman turned to face Virgil. “Hey, Virge… why did you come to my room? Earlier?” Virgil froze, and Roman felt concern build in his gut.
Virgil nervously chuckled, saying in a timid, quiet voice, “I-I, uh, had a… nightmare.. I-I didn’t want to, um, be… alone, right then, so I went to your room.”
Roman blinked, feeling a strange urge to comfort the other. Roman asked in a nonchalant voice, “Hey, I’m kinda cold. Do you mind if I scoot over to you?”
Virgil paused, turning his head to stare at Roman in disbelief before muttering, “Uh, sure..?” Roman quickly chirped, “Thanks, Virgil!!,” before wiggling over to the other, stopping about a foot away. Roman turned his head, staring at the other. Virgil stared back with wide eyes, confusion and relief glinting in his dark orbs.
Roman smiled softly, before asking, “Do you mind if I get a bit closer? I’m going to be honest, I’m more of the cuddly type, but if you don’t want me to then I won’t. What kind of prince would I be if I did otherwise?” he joked, watching as the corner of Virgil’s mouth lifted slightly.
Virgil responded snarkily, “Geez, you’re like a big teddy bear. But, uh, sure, if you want to.” He turned away, but before he turned completely over Roman caught a glimpse of the slight blush on his cheeks. Roman chuckled before carefully moving a bit closer to the other, cautiously putting his arm around Virgil. The other tensed slightly, before relaxing into the grip.
Roman smirked as an idea came to him, before pulling Virgil gently towards him. The other yelped before turning to Roman and glaring. Roman chuckled quietly before adjusting his grip on the other. Virgil huffed, before turning to face Roman, wrapping his arms around his torso. Roman hid his surprise, instead making sure both he and Virgil were comfortable before snapping his fingers, the lights growing dimmer. Virgil let out a relaxed sigh, and in the fading lights, Roman saw a small smile gracing his lips. Roman felt at peace, taking comfort in the other’s embrace. When they finally fell asleep, the morning lights were already shining outside, but they both slumbered happily, blissfully unaware of the world.
Patton yawned, checking the time. 8 a.m. He got out of his bed, rubbing his eyes before putting on his glasses. Time to wake up the others!! He walked out of his room, humming happily, going to Roman’s door first.
He knocked lightly, pausing, before shrugging and going in anyway. He looked around, noting the room was a bit messier than the last time the father figure had been in there. He saw that the board game that he had gotten the prince a few Christmases ago had finally been put to use. He was slightly confused as to who Roman had been playing against but he put it with Roman being his usual self.
He walked carefully to Roman’s bed, gasping in shock when he saw Virgil and Roman cuddling, both looking dead tired but happy, sleeping soundly. Well, that explains the board game.. Patton squealed, glad that they were finally getting along and at how cute the two looked.
He was sure they wouldn’t mind him sneaking a picture… he pulled out his phone, turning on the camera. Definitely not, as he took as many pictures as he thought he needed. He couldn’t wait to show them later!! He grinned, before deciding to let them sleep for now.
He quickly left the room, going to wake up Logan. He wondered what he would think of this new development?