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If there was anything that Roman knew after a couple years of dating Remus, it was that they would never take a moment of peace and quiet for granted ever again and this day was not an exception. Remus was spending his day hanging out with his friend Janus and Roman was taking full advantage of being all alone, taking a long hot bath and putting on their warmest pajamas before curling up on the couch and reading a book that their friend, Logan, had recommended. Once that inevitably got boring, they fired up Netflix and grabbed their favorite stuffed animal, a cute little octopus that Remus had gifted them, binge watching a few shows.
Around six hours after Remus had left, he came back, announcing his presence as he came through the door.
“Hey, Roman, I promise I won’t be back long. I just wanted to grab a few things before I go with Janus to the skate park.”
And, as much as they appreciated the peace and quiet, they loved Remus more, so Roman jumped up to go give him a hug and a kiss before he could leave again, stopping in their tracks as they got a good look at him.
“Remus? What are you wearing?”
Remus shrugged and looked down at his outfit. “Yeah, I know, I’m here to change to something more skating appropriate, don’t worry.”
“Uh, I hope that means changing out of your binder,” they said, crossing their arms. “You’ve been out for hours, you should’ve taken a break already!”
Remus rolled his eyes playfully. “Oh, come on, you’re overreacting. It’s not like I bind this long everyday and it’s not like I can go titties out at the skate park.”
“Why not? Titties out is a gender neutral look! We have a sign that says it and everything,” they reminded him, pointing to the sign that they hung up specifically for reminding Remus on these days that he should give his ribs a break once in a while.
“How would you know? You don’t have any!”
Roman rolled their eyes. “I mean, true, but I do have eyes and I can see that when you go titties out, you just look buff, like Chris Evans!”
That piqued Remus’s interest and Roman could practically see the gender euphoria seeping from the smile he was failing at pushing back. “Don’t flatter me.”
Roman shrugged and walked over, kissing Remus’s cheek. “Why not? You love flattery almost as much as I do.”
Yeah, Remus couldn’t deny that. He leaned forward and kissed Roman briefly. “Yeah, you’re right. Mixed with the gender euphoria, I’d probably have a boner right now, if I had the parts for that. Instead, I will be going and changing, on one condition.”
Oh, great, Remus and his conditions. He knew that Roman wouldn’t refuse, Roman cared too much about their boyfriend’s physical health, a trait that only one of them seemed to have, for some reason.
“Alright, what do you want?” they asked.
“Come watch us skate.”
Roman furrowed their eyebrows. That wasn’t so bad, they went with Remus and Janus skating all the-
“Wearing a skirt.”
And there it was, the daily impulsive urge to break up with him. Roman began sputtering and forcing laughter, as if they didn’t have an entire arsenal of skirts at the ready. “What? Me? In- In a skirt? No. Skirts... Skirts are for girls and I’m not- I’m not a girl.”
Remus rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically, pointing at his currently flat chest. “Okay, so I can go out, showing off my big mommy milkers-”
“They’re really not that big and you know it.”
“- But you can’t go out wearing a skirt? Skirts are gender neutral, don’t let a piece of fabric dictate what you can or can’t be. Plus, you’re nonbinary, you’re too powerful for gendered clothing!”
Roman’s lips almost twitched into a smile at that. “If I do this, it will only be because I worry for the sake of your ribs.”
Remus shrugged and walked past them into their shared bedroom. “Say what you want, as long as I get to see my partner in a skirt, I’m good.” He knew that Roman had been wanting to wear skirts out in public, they loved how it made them feel, but they couldn’t seem to be able to get themself to actually do it, so here Remus was, being the amazing, wonderful boyfriend that he was, getting Roman to take a mild risk the only way he knew how: by threatening his own well being. Sure, he didn’t particularly like wearing a sports bra out of the house, but he also wasn’t going to risk his ribs and future top surgery over it. And deep down, Roman probably knew that, but Remus supposed they were too eager for an excuse to wear a skirt out to realize it. Plus, it was only the two of them and their friends. Roman could handle it, Remus knew it. He believed in them.
“So, what, are you going to pick out an outfit or do I get to at least do that?” Roman asked as they followed Remus into their room. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but I was very comfortable in my pajamas before you began insisting on dragging me out.”
Remus shrugged and grabbed a sports bra from his half of the dresser before turning away from Roman and changing. “I don’t care, I just want you in a skirt. Preferably a tight, short one so I can admire your ass and your perfect thighs, but I’m not picky.”
Roman rolled their eyes and rummaged their side of the closet for a few minutes, eventually picking out a red tee shirt and a black skirt that went just past their knees, just long enough to keep Remus from “accidentally” getting a peek under, since they didn’t have any shorts that would work. “Alright, how’s this?”
Remus turned back to face them and grinned, more than approving of their outfit. “Almost perfect.” He went to his side of the closet and pulled out a leather jacket, draping it over Roman’s shoulders. “Put that on and we’re good to go.”
“Fine, but only because I can blend into the night wearing that and I won’t have to deal with people seeing me in a skirt.” Roman pulled on the jacket before looking back at Remus. “Better?”
“Perfect.” Remus leaned down and gave them a quick, but loving kiss before grabbing their hand. “Now let’s go, Janus has been waiting this whole time.”
“Why didn’t you start with that?” Roman asked as they followed Remus out and down to Janus’s car, where he was waiting surprisingly patiently.
“Hey, Jay, I brought Roman along with me,” Remus said as the two of them hopped into the car.
Janus shrugged and put his phone away. “Yeah, it’s fine, I’m just glad you finally got back down here. And I’m glad you fucking changed, my fucking ribs were hurting just looking at you. Plus, now I can stop you from being so annoying.”
Remus tutted and rested against the car door. “You know you love me and, even if you didn’t, what could you possibly do to-” Remus cut himself off with a pained groan as Janus elbowed him right in the left boob.
“Fuck you,” he groaned out, holding his chest as if he’d just been shot.
“That’s Roman’s job. And, even then, I get the feeling that’s your job,” Janus said as he pulled out and began driving them, Roman doing their best not to burst into laughter as they made their way to the skate park, glad to see that it was nearly empty this time of night, besides a few of their friends waiting.
“Ready to see me look cooler than any of these nerds?” Remus asked his partner as he pulled on his protective gear, under threat of Janus.
“You say that like I’ve never been out here before. I know you’re not as cool as the others,” Roman teased, chuckling as Remus nudged them playfully.
“Alright, I’m not cool enough to get onto Black roller-skating Tik-Tok-”
“There are two requirements and you meet neither of them,” Janus interrupted. “I’m not saying that white people who ride skateboards are lame, Virgil is pretty cool, I’m just saying you happen to be a white person who rides a skateboard and Roman really took one for the team with you,” he joked before skating off with a certain grace that made Roman almost wish he could skate.
Remus rolled his eyes and looked at Roman. “You see? I take off my binder and this is what happens, the entire world is against me.”
Roman shrugged and began walking over to sit down beside Logan. “It’s just me and I pick on you all the time.”
Remus grabbed their arm and pulled them back, holding them close against his chest. “Yeah, but you are my world.” He leaned in and kissed Roman deeply, practically feeling them turn into putty in his hands before letting them go, wiping the excess drool from their lips with his thumb. “There. Now we’re even.”
Roman was a bit too dazed for a second to think about what Remus had said before they began feeling a bit stronger of a breeze under their skirt. They looked down and gasped as they saw the tent that Remus was referencing, fumbling to take off the jacket to hide it. “I hate you sometimes,” they muttered as they followed him to the others.
Remus shrugged. “It’s dark out, nobody will notice.”
Roman opened their mouth to respond, stopping as Remus added onto his sentence.
“And, no, that’s not a race joke. You’re wearing a black skirt and it’s literally dark out, we’ll be the only ones who know. And I’m the only one who needs to know,” he said, smacking Roman’s ass before skating off.
Roman rolled their eyes, but went and sat by Logan anyways, the two of them watching as their respective boyfriends and partner skated the night away, though Logan was a bit more interested in the ebook he was reading.
Roman, on the other hand, couldn’t take their eyes off of Remus the entire night and made no effort to hide their admiration of their boyfriend. Remus may have been absolutely insufferable most of the time, but that didn’t change the fact that they were Roman’s boyfriend for a reason. They loved him and, no matter how unfortunate that felt at times, that didn’t change the fact that it was true.