Work Text:
Roland rolled over in bed, only to be met with the sight of the wall. He sighed.
Even after they left Hydropolis, his mind had been stuck there. Stuck in the warm, salty sea air. Stuck in the beautiful sight of the sun setting over the ocean. Stuck in golden eyes, and red hair, and scaled blue skin.
Stuck there with a certain merfolk. With Pontederia.
It'd been on his mind ever since then. Their first actual kiss. In the moment, Roland had internally assured himself it was just to make up for involving the poor man in their scheme to meet the queen, but he knew deep down it was more than that. He could've done any number of things instead, but no. He kissed him.
The memory burned worse than any of the magic he'd been struck with since arriving in this world. He rolled over in bed again to stare at the other wall.
He stared at the wall, imagining it as the wall of Pontederia's apartment. Clean, marble white, blue accents, decorated with murals of flowers and suns. They were beautiful compared to the boring walls of Evermore castle. Best of all, he had stared at those walls with Pontederia in his arms. If only they could've spent more time in Hydropolis... There had been something exciting about having to hide every moment of affection, of meeting in the night and shushing each other's flirtatious words.
Then the memories of it all were too overwhelming.
Roland sat up, face buried in his hands. So many conflicting emotions; sadness for having to have left that warmth so soon, anger for feeling this way about someone other than his wife, and happiness that he had gotten to experience it at all.
...Was he crying?
How he wished Pontederia were here. How he longed to go back to Hydropolis to share one more salty-sweet kiss. To sail back and hold that man in his arms again.
Mad.
It's mad that these are even considerations. He's supposed to be doing all this to get back to his own world, to his actual family. It's mad he's having these thoughts about not only a stranger, but another man. And in another world!
How he wished to hold Pontederia again.
How he wished to hear Pontederia again.
How he wished to see Pontederia again.
How he wished...