“Happy means doing what I should! see look I’m smiling cause I’m good.”
AN – I scrapped the headcannons, so I offer, in return, a semi-angsty fluff fic about Roy. Thank you to @novalynangel for being my second opinion & reviewer!
WC – 605
Under the sun, the rooftop garden was quiet.
Roy stepped through the door and let it close softly behind him. The hum of students in the courtyard below was distant, softened by the height. Up here, no one needed him to be perfect. No one expected his smile, his grace, his careful composure.
He walked the familiar path, careful not to disturb the flowers that grew in neat rows. Their colors caught the sunlight, vibrant yet controlled, moving gently with the breeze. Everything here was tended, balanced, steady—the way it always should be.
Down below, Roy was the ideal prince, the consummate teacher. Every word measured, every gesture precise, every expression polished. Expectations pressed in from every side, and he carried them all without a single misstep.
Up here, there was nothing to answer to.
He crouched beside a flowerbed, hand hovering above a petal before brushing it lightly. It didn’t react. It didn’t ask anything of him.
His shoulders eased almost imperceptibly. The composure he carried so naturally during the day softened just enough to reveal a fraction of what he usually hid. He didn’t correct it. Didn’t reach for the familiar mask.
The sunlight warmed his skin. The breeze shifted through the petals, and for a moment, even the air felt unbound by expectation. Yet that stillness carried its own weight—an emptiness Roy could neither name nor escape.
He straightened slowly, posture returning to the flawless line of the perfect prince, expression settling back into place—
“Roy?”
His gaze lifted.
MC stood at the edge of the garden, slightly out of breath, a small box held carefully in her hands. Relief flickered across her face when she found him.
“I’ve been looking for you,” she said, stepping closer. “I thought you had the day off… and you seemed a little off earlier, so I thought I’d bring you something.”
She opened it slightly, revealing the scones inside.
“I asked Grayson to prepare them,” she added, a little sheepish. “They were supposed to be warm, but I couldn’t find you anywhere…” A small pause. “So they’re probably not as good now.”
Roy’s gaze rested on the box for a moment before lifting back to her.
“You noticed.”
It was quiet. Simple.
He reached out, taking one with practiced ease.
“You’ve gone to some effort.”
MC shook her head again, softer this time. “It’s nothing compared to what you do.”
Roy paused, just briefly.
“You give me too much credit.”
He took a bite, unhurried.
“They’re lovely.”
A small pause followed.
“Even like this.”
“Maybe not,” she said, “but I wanted to do it anyway.”
Roy was quiet for a moment, then—almost automatically—
“We should have tea with them,” he said, already shifting slightly as if to stand. “I can have something prepared—”
“You don’t have to.”
He stilled.
MC met his gaze, her expression gentle but certain. “You don’t have to do that right now,” she said softly. “You don’t always have to be the perfect prince.”
A small pause.
“…You can just be you. The Roy I know and love.”
For once, he didn’t answer immediately.
Roy looked at her—really looked—before his gaze drifted briefly to the scone in his hand.
Then, slowly, he sat back instead.
“I see..”
The words were quiet, but not dismissive.
He didn’t move to call for anything.
Didn’t reach to correct the moment.
Instead, he took another bite, unhurried.
“…Then I’ll accept your kindness,” he said, tone even, though softer than before.
A brief pause followed.
“Thank you.”
It was simple.
But he didn’t look away.
