Work Text:
Pining after someone close to you is both a blessing, and a curse.
You get to see them often, and see them being far too adorable. So that was a definite blessing. However, you also have both a greater chance of being found out, and it can be incredibly painful to watch them being so adorable, yet so out of reach.
Janus and Roman were both all too familiar with these issues. They allowed themselves to soak up all of the little things about the person they loved; every quirk, every smile, and for Roman, every freckle.
Who knew that freckles would be the thing that broke the dam?
Janus was in Roman’s room trying to help him brainstorm for whatever the heck it was that he was writing. They both stood hunched over the creative side’s desk, staring down at what they had gotten so far, somewhat stressed and reasonably tired considering it was one in the morning. The desk wasn't all that large, so when Roman turned to look at Janus, he found himself mere inches from the latter’s face.
“You have freckles,” Roman blurted. Janus straightened his back and raised his eyebrows ever-so-slightly. Roman followed suit, no longer hunched over his desk.
“Like, on the human side of your face. They're subtle, but they’re there.” he clarified. Janus stared at him, surprise showing on his face. Roman continued to talk.
“Your eyes are super expressive too, you could see clearly whenever you’re happy if you just pay attention to your eyes.” he babbled on, unable to stop the flow of words coming out of his mouth.
“Your hair shines this beautiful golden color when you’re in the sunlight as well. You tend to tuck your gloves halfway into your back pockets when they’re off your hands. Oh - and when it gets really hot out, you swap the top half of your regular costume with a Chicago t-shirt that says ‘Razzle Dazzle ‘Em’ in big letters, and your gloves stay on, but you take off your hat. Which makes it easier to see your, uh… golden hair…” Roman trailed off realizing that Janus hadn’t said a thing, or moved at all. He looked... wistful, an emotion Roman had not yet seen in him.
“Jay?” he whispered in a worried tone, “You’re being really quiet. Is everything alright?” Janus looked at the floor and swallowed hard.
“I didn't… I didn't think anyone cared enough to notice... those sorts of things.” he murmured, glancing back up at Roman. The prince was surprised to see that Janus looked incredibly anxious.
“Oh, well… I do.”
Janus took a deep breath, and after a moment of tense silence he spoke:
“Your left front tooth is chipped.” Roman blinked.
“What?”
“It's just a little bit off of one corner, nothing drastic, but knowing you, you probably chipped it on some daring adventure that is anything but safe.” Roman laughed softly at that. He wasn't wrong.
“Also… you’ve got a thin ring of green just outside your pupils, even though your eyes are brown.” The deceitful side continued, looking Roman in the eye now, searching for that ring of green. “You put your tongue between your teeth when you're concentrating really hard, and you run your fingers through your hair a lot when you get excited. That’s why your hair is always a bit messy.”
Roman opened his mouth to reply, but Janus put his hand up.
“One last thing, you talk with your hands, and totally almost break stuff because of how dramatic your gestures are.” he grinned, and Roman faked an offended gasp.
“I do no such thing!”
“You do,” Janus said, “I know because I notice things too. I… I care enough about you to notice these things.” Roman gave him a small smile.
“Jay, I missed something,” he stated.
“Did you now?”
“The human side of your face blushes, too,”
“It most certainly does not!” Janus scoffed. The next thing he knew, Roman’s lips were on his. His lips were really soft, and he held Janus’s chin with a certain gentleness that somehow made him fall even more in love with the prince. He pulled away much too soon.
“Does too,” Roman pointed at the human portion of Janus’s face, which currently burned crimson. Janus sputtered, trying to figure out what to say.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Jay, blushing is totally norm-mmph!” Roman was cut off by Janus grabbing his face in both hands and smashing their lips together.
And yeah, maybe Janus had to stand on his tiptoes at first to reach Roman’s lips, but he’d be damned if he let a measly five and a half inch height difference get in his way.
Roman’s fingers tangled themselves in Janus’s hair, effectively knocking his hat to the floor, but neither of them cared enough to grab it off the floor. His other arm curled around the shorter’s torso, pressing him even closer.
Unfortunately, oxygen was a thing they apparently needed, so they broke apart, resting their foreheads together.
“Okay, so that’s a thing,” Roman muttered. “I noticed one more thing by the way, but it's kinda different this time.”
“What’s that?” Janus hummed quietly.
“I’m pretty sure I kinda sorta love you,” Janus leaned his head backwards a little and opened his eyes to find Roman’s face tinged pink. Whether it was from embarrassment, or a result of them kissing, he didn't know. He leaned in and whispered:
“I love you too, Roman,” before kissing him again, much softer this time. They held each other - and maybe kissed a bit more too - for a long time before Janus got so tired he nearly fell asleep standing up.
Roman removed his gloves and caplet and picked him up, earning a halfhearted grumble of “I’m short, not crippled, Princey,” from the smaller side. He glanced at the clock and realized it was nearly four AM. No wonder Jay was so sleepy.
Roman brought Janus over to his bed and climbed in, still holding him as if he might float away if he let go. Janus nuzzled sleepily into the crook of his neck, and wiggled around a bit so that he could wrap his arms around the taller side’s waist and snuggle in closer. Roman was a bit surprised, he’d never seen Janus be this vulnerable with anyone.
He felt incredibly lucky for getting to see this part of Janus.
As they both started to drift off, Janus mumbled a tired ‘I love you’ into
Roman’s shoulder - to which the taller responded:
“I love you too, you sleepy little blep noodle,”
“What did you just call me?” Janus asked, furrowing his brow.
“Never mind, goodnight, Janus.”
“I’m pretty sure I kinda sorta love kissing you,” Janus mumbled a minute later.
“I would hope so, given all the kissing that we did,” Roman chuckled softly.
Janus bumped his forehead against Roman’s chest as an alternative to shoving him.
“Shut up and cuddle me, Princey,” he grumbled.
“I already am cuddling you, Jay,”
“Yeah, but you’re still missing the shut up part,”