Work Text:
It was 5 a.m., and the kitchen resonated with the whistling of the kettle, steam curling out from its spout. The room bathed in a soft, dawn-lit glow, as sunlight filtered through the blinds from the living room's large window. Porcelain gently clinked against the marble countertop as Janus carefully selected fine china from the cupboard.
Janus finally unplugged the kettle, piping hot water cascaded down into his cup, completely soaking the tea bag he had placed inside it. She put the kettle aside before turning their attention back to his cup of tea. Janus withdrew the bag out and then dipped it back in the hot water, letting it steep for a few minutes. The aroma of chamomile wafted to his nose, causing him to let out a sigh. It was one of her favorite scents, the smell of fresh tea was a soothing embrace for his early morning.
Just as they were about to take a sip from his cup, Janus heard a faint shuffle behind them. Suddenly, he was enveloped by strong arms from behind. That alone surprised Janus, eyes widening at the sudden contact that his brain seemed to short circuit, his breath was caught in his throat.
"Morning, Jan." said a sleepy Roman as he nuzzled Janus' nape, wrapping his arms around him tightly in an embrace. His curly hair and breath tickled against his skin, causing a electric sensation to run down Janus' spine, almost leaving him breathless. "You left me alone in bed," Roman added with a small pout before planting a tender kiss on Janus’ shoulder.
Janus swallowed hard and forced himself to take a deep breath, his heart was throbbing inside his chest aggressively, threatening to jump out. She could feel the heat on the apple of her cheeks, utterly surprised by the other's actions. She wasn't really into physical touch, but when Roman suddenly embraced him just like that, he felt a spark of electricity course through his veins. Awakening something in them that they thought didn't exist. "Oh I really love it when you scare me like that." he managed to snap out of his trance and quipped at Roman, followed by a roll of his eyes, although it did not hold any true malice.
"Lo siento, mi vida. Solo te extraño." Roman mumbled in Spanish as he still embraced Janus, clinging to him like a koala bear while he peppered affectionate kisses on their shoulder and neck.
Janus could feel the warmth radiating off of Roman, and how close they were together made his heart flutter even more than it already was. It wasn't foreign to him how clingy the other was, the creative facet would always try to embrace him in a hug at any chance given, although he didn't succeed a lot. Janus pulled away from Roman's grip and stepped aside (despite secretly loving and missing Roman's warmth). Roman pouted theatrically once more at the lack of Janus in his arms.
"No, no, don't go. Stay here forever." Roman whined and pleaded before slumping dramatically against the counter, making puppy dog eyes at Janus. Trying to convince Janus somehow. "How dare thee leave me like this?" he exclaimed, making grabby hands at the deceitful facet. "What shall I do now? Shall I die? Will nobody come to save me from my demise?" he continued dramatically while placing both of his hands over his heart, his expression looking so pitiful that Janus couldn't help but let out a snort.
Roman glanced at Janus with a bright smile, proud that he had made the other laugh. Sorta. "You should laugh more, you're cute," he commented, grinning cheek to cheek at Janus. It was true, Janus was cute. Despite all his sharp edges and sharp words, they looked gorgeous especially if they smiled or laughed. And Roman was absolutely smitten with them.
"You flatter me too much, Roman. You're going to thicken my arteries." Janus retorted jokingly as she handed the cup of tea to Roman, who gladly took it with a thankful smile. "Here, you can have this instead. I'll make another one.".
"I love you, Jan."
"I... love you too."
The rest day went pretty smoothly, as per usual. Nothing much was happening, Janus stayed inside his room, he was either caught up reading an interesting book or he was busy with his daily skincare routine. And surprisingly, Remus wasn't bothering her for once. He would usually come by every day, showing something to Janus or simply hanging out with her just for the heck of it. But today, he didn't show up. Maybe he was bothering the others instead. Good.
Janus carefully peeled the facial mask off their face before placing it down on a metal tray, sighing softly as she felt vibrant and refreshed, his skin feeling slightly tingly after the removal of the mask. He then picked up a bottle of serum, squeezed some on his skin, and gently rubbed it on his face to moisturize it a little better. After all of that was done, he grabbed his hairbrush and began brushing his long and silky hair (which he always takes care of), untangling any knots that were present with their brush and combing through it until it was perfectly smooth, their bangs framing their face beautifully.
While she brushed her hair, she felt a slight chill hit against her body, sending her shivering slightly. He placed down their brush as he fixed his robe. Janus didn't like it when it was cold, being part reptile meant he was sensitive towards lower temperatures. Their room was usually warm but sometimes it does get cold in there.
Now he kind of wishes for a certain prince's embrace, a hug could be enough to warm him up. Speaking of which, they wonder where his Roman could be. Perhaps he was out questing in the Imagination or doing something creative inside his room. Either way, Janus wanted him to be here and cuddle him in his arms and— Oh what was she even thinking??
Janus shook his head in an attempt to dismiss those thoughts from his mind, focusing back on her hair. He had thought of themselves daydreaming about being in Roman's embrace, yearning for his warm presence beside them. The two of them had been dating for months now but Janus wasn't as comfortable with all the physical displays of affection, unlike the creative side. And Roman respected his boundaries and never tried to push him. He respected Janus with all his heart and would never dare to make them uncomfortable. They were navigating through this relationship slowly and steadily.
For Janus, giving in to physical affection meant showing vulnerability and weakness, which he wasn't ready to show just yet. But it's not like she doesn't want to do any of that, she wants to. She wants to embrace Roman as well, she craves to be close to him, and she wants to touch him. Cuddle close to him. Kiss him. Hold him. Love him.
But it was difficult for them. They weren't an expert in this whole relationship thing, they might have experienced secondhand through Thomas but that was it. It's not like they have plenty to choose from anyway. They weren't the most likeable one in the bunch nor did they really like the others in a romantical sense.
All of this was akinned to a paradox, his longing for intimacy and vulnerability towards Roman clashed with the protective barriers he had long put up. Janus couldn't help but feel conflicted with his situation, he was unfortunately caught between his desire to be closer to Roman and his fear of exposing himself too much, letting the walls he had built on to crumble so easily. It was a constant dilemma he had to deal with.
Janus finally finished brushing his hair set his hairbrush down and got up from his seat before heading towards his closet. They knew they could simply summon clothes on themselves but where's the fun in that? She pushes the closet door open to reveal a variety of clothing, ranging from casual to something far more elegant. But of course, Janus still ended up dressing in his usual ensemble.
Roman hummed to himself softly as sketched out his castle on a drawing pad, tongue poking out of his lips in sheer concentration. The tip of his charcoal pencil glided on the paper with precision and grace, creating intricate lines and shading on his sketch. He looked up expecting to see his beautiful castle but instead, he saw something far more breathtaking than that.
Janus cleared his throat trying to get Roman's attention. Roman smiled up at him as he closed his sketch pad, placing it down on the grassy space beside him. "What're you doing here?" Roman queries with a sheepish smile.
"Am I not allowed to see you, darling, hm?" Janus rolled his eyes playfully, teasing the other. She then sat down beside Roman, scooting over slightly so there was only a small space left between the two of them. Janus couldn't help but take a peek at Roman's sketchbook, seeing what the other was drawing. "It's lovely," She hums softly, reaches to grab the sketch pad but stops momentarily. "May I?" she asks.
Roman nodded with a thankful smile, a hint of pink dusting his cheeks. Janus took the sketch pad so they could get a better look at the creative one's drawing, gently and carefully caressing the page as they awed at it. It always impressed them every time Roman made these gorgeous masterpieces, each of them was amazing to behold.
"Do you like it?..." Roman questions nervously, looking at Janus rather hopefully.
"No..." Janus said softly as he moved to another page to look at another artwork. It was a lie. He didn't just like it, he loved it.
Roman pouted slightly at Janus' comment but then realized that it was another lie. The pout on his lips quickly morphed into a smile, turning his full attention to Janus now, a fond gleam in his eyes as he stared at his beloved.
"It's beautiful, no?" The princely facet uttered lovingly, although his eyes never left Janus' face, busily admiring the deceitful side's lovely features that he was enchanted at.
"Yes..." Janus whispered as he continued to flip through the page and subtly gawking at Roman's art. He then looked back up to meet the princely facet's loving gaze. His breath was caught in his throat for a few seconds, feeling a spark of electricity his dual-colored eyes met the other's burgundy ones.
Roman tried to lean close enough to kiss Janus but stopped midway, worrying if he might cross Janus' boundaries as he had done earlier. "Can I kiss you—"
"Yes," Janus answered without any hesitation before pulling Roman closer by his sash and pressing their lips together in a chaste yet sensual kiss. Due to the suddenness of the kiss, they both fell backward on the grass, their hands moving to hold each other tightly. Everything else was long then forgotten.
The two of them lay supine on the grass as they huddled close to each other, the tree served as their canopy, time seemed to stand still, and the two of them were in their own little world. Roman glanced at Janus who remained quiet the whole time, the other was busily tracing patterns on the creative facade's torso, lost in their thoughts.
Roman queries softly, "Are you alright, mi amor? Is this uncomfortable t—" but before he could even finish his words or pull away, Janus suddenly clung close to him, unwilling to let go.
"Don't."
The creative one felt like his heart skipped a beat or to at Janus' actions, both surprised and touched. Roman had always respected Janus' boundaries as much as he could but this whole moment felt different. Janus was willingly embracing the closeness between them. It was rather sweet. But it did make him quite concerned and curious.
"I thought you didn't like physical contact that much and all that stuff, what happened?" he asked curiously as he broke away slightly to roll onto his side so he could face Janus. Janus didn't look at him for a bit and instead, gazed up at the sky, a serene look on his face.
"Do you ever shut up, dear?" Janus said, turning to look at Roman. Those very words he uttered didn't hold any hint of venom, only a light tease.
"Nope. Never ever. Now tell me, dearly beloved!" Roman exclaimed, sitting up to stare down at the deceitful trait expectantly. The other looked up at him with a raised brow, amused at the creative side's enthusiasm.
"You're persistent aren't you?" Janus remarked as she rolled her eyes playfully. She slowly sat up to mirror Roman position, resting her back against the tree trunk, and crossing her arms over her chest. She let out a soft sigh, looking off towards some random point in the distance. Her teasing expression then turned soft as she began to speak up.
"I guess I got over it. I have gotten more comfortable with all the physical contact." They said, staring directly into the other's eye, a soft smile on their lips. Janus felt weird, not in a bad way, but it certainly felt...weird to be so forward with affection. Not that they aren't affectionate towards Roman, they are but not as much as the other. They do get hesitant at times though.
Roman nodded his head in understanding, letting all of Janus' words process into his brain. He then grabbed Janus' hands and held them between his before staring back at him. "It's just a bit surprising honestly and I hope I was not forcing myself onto you," Roman mutters as he stares at Janus' two-colored eyes.
"Oh shush, would you? You haven't forced yourself on me, if you ever did do that then I would have told you a long time ago. But you didn't." Janus assured him, bringing Roman's hand to her lips, and pressing a soft kiss on his knuckles. She then continued, "I want to embrace you more, want you to hug and cuddle me all you want. All of my days will be spent wrapped in your arms." Janus admitted as she crawled into Roman's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Roman's whole face flushed red but he smiled sheepishly at Janus, before burying his face in the crook of her neck. "If you say so," he whispered as he clung to Janus. He knew that this was a big deal to Janus and hearing him express his feelings and be more open to his physical affections gave him a feeling of joy and happiness, making him feel proud.
Janus hummed lightly while he let Roman continue to cling to him with all his heart's desire, he couldn't help but find it quite amusing and cute in all honesty. He rakes his fingers through the creative facet's dark brown curls, a sudden and rare smile finding its way to his lips.
"I love you, Roman."
"I love you too, Janus."