#u!remus

Two men were sitting on a bed in Roman's room. It was grand, with fancy red curtains adorning it. The pillows were feather soft, with a hand stitched R pattern. Silence permeated through the air.

"Purple is a royal colour, you know."

Roman's voice had startled Virgil, and he looked up. The man smiled sadly.

"Huh?" Virgil said. Roman seemed broken, his eyes trying desperately to show some happiness. He inched towards Virgil on the bed. When he was close enough, he took off his crown and dropped it in front of him.

Virgil looked up in shock.

"This is for you," Roman shook his head. "I don't deserve it anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Roman turned around, fighting back tears. Virgil came closer, tentatively offering his hand if Roman wanted it. The man held it.

Virgil could tell he was stressed. He massaged Roman's newly bandaged wrist lightly, and brought it up to his lips. The gentle affection made Roman smile.

His wrist had been bandaged just hours before. He'd told Virgil he'd accidentally cut himself on glass. But Virgil knew the truth. The man had run for the bathroom and had a breakdown. He'd heard his heart wrenching sobs. The only thing stopping him from offering comfort was the fact that it would hurt Roman's pride more. So he'd waited until the man recovered.

Now seeing how broken the man was, Virgil wondered if he'd made the right choice.

Virgil moved to hug Roman, his thin, small frame supporting Roman's larger, muscular one. The man hummed gratefully, wrapping his arms around Virgil too. It was wonderful, until Virgil felt a pinching pain in his chest. He winced.

"What is it?" Roman said. Virgil groaned.

"Ugh, I wore my binder too long."

"Alright, I won't look!" Roman said, turning away so as to give him privacy. Virgil took his shirt off and then his binder, tossing it to the side. He slipped his shirt back on.

"'Kay, you can look now."

Turning around, Roman saw Virgil smile up at him. His heart beat faster in his chest and filled him with bliss. Roman wrapped his arms around him and stroked his back. Virgil purred like a cat. He smoothed his fingers through his hair.

Lifting the back of his shirt up, Virgil traced his lower back. Roman stiffened for a second. He stopped.

"A little higher," Roman muttered. He didn't like how that spot still gave him pain flare ups. Virgil did so, moving up, past the "I love you, Virgil" tattoo with the heart and bat wings above it and a rose bush of thorns below it. He traced his mid back now, tickling the red dragon tattoo he'd gotten there. Roman giggled.

Virgil could feel his heart melt. How could anyone abuse this man? He felt rage build up inside him as well, thinking of how Remus had treated him; cutting his skin and calling him worthless.

He continued tracing his upper back, hoping to distract Roman from his sadness. There was a fire and sword tattoo, and next to it a smiling Sheltie, one of Roman's favourite dogs.

The man hummed in satisfaction.

That was good. Virgil thought. He'd waited for this moment for so long. Remus had convinced Roman that he was unlovable, and it took a lot of therapy to undo the damage. Virgil had confessed to him that he liked him as soon as Roman was in a proper mental state to give an honest answer. He'd cried tears of joy and embraced him.

"I love you," Virgil muttered into his neck.

Roman couldn't help giggle and turtle. He lightly pushed him away. Smiling, he said, "I love you too!"  

With his hands still lazily clawing at his back, Roman decided to return the favour. Lightly massaging Virgil's lower back, he hummed.

A tattoo was there that said "I love you Roman," with a similar design to his boyfriend's, except his heart and rosebush roses were purple. Scritching up to his middle back he jokingly petted Virgil's cat tattoo. Unlike Roman's tattoos, these didn't cover abuse scars. But they were gotten out of solidarity. He moved ever upward, stroking the bat, pumpkin, ghost, and even the scary spider tattoo.

Virgil leaned in to kiss him. Roman accepted, stroking his hair and kissing back.

Opening his eyes slightly, Virgil spotted the crown still on the bed. It was looking a little lonely, he thought. So, picking the crown up, Virgil placed it onto Roman's head. They parted their kiss, and Roman reached up to feel the crown, confused.

"You really think I am worthy...?"

Virgil nodded.

"But I'm so stupid..." he muttered. Virgil clenched his fists in rage.

"Screw the school system! And screw Remus!" Virgil said, growling. At seeing Roman’s startled expression, he looked guilty. He spoke softer. "You're so intelligent, Ro. Do you think I could ever write a screenplay? I'd have a panic attack just trying to get the formatting right! And your acting? Some people sound like cardboard cutouts, but you make it real." He looked at him with mixed emotions in his eyes.

"That's the trick," Roman muttered. "You have to become the character, and genuinely feel what they're feeling."

Virgil's eyes brightened. "And that's what I mean! Don't ever let anyone tell you you're unworthy because their analysis of you is flawed!"

Roman looked back at him and nodded slowly. Virgil stroked his hair.

"I love you, and you are good enough, understand?"

Roman chuckled lightly. He felt the crown on his head, still unsure. But Virgil's words did make him feel better.

Virgil picked up a notebook from the desk.

"Here, you can write something if you want. If it's important, I can proofread it for you."

"Alright." Roman said, picking up the notebook and a pen. He thought a while, glancing to the side, and at Virgil.

It was tough knowing he'd be scrutinized. But also he knew Virgil would never criticize his vision, just circle errors he wouldn't have noticed himself. They'd agreed upon the sorts of things Roman wanted criticized when Virgil become his beta reader. As silly as some of the ideas were, Virgil trusted that Roman knew what he was doing. Sometimes one's vision doesn't become clear until the end of the story, after all.

He wrote until his idea faded, and he put his pen down.

"Want me to see?" Virgil said. Roman shook his head.

"It's not ready yet."

Virgil nodded, understanding. He simply let Roman sit there and decide what to do next.

Roman looked down at him curiously. "Would you like to switch clothing?"

"Huh?" Virgil looked confused. "Uhh, sure."

He didn't know what his idea was, but let Roman borrow his jacket. The other man turned around, dug through his drawer, and gave him a spare Prince outfit. Virgil smiled, putting it on. He had to admit, he felt good like this.

Roman, on the other hand, looked in a mirror and sighed.

"You know, you're right-" Virgil said, cutting in before he could say something self deprecating. "Purple is a royal colour. You look good in it."

Roman smiled. "And you look amazing as a prince."

"Hey," Virgil said playfully, standing next to him. "I never said I wouldn't wear a crown."

Taking the crown off his head, Roman placed it on Virgil's. Immediately, Virgil took it off and gave it back.

"No, not your crown. A crown. So we can be husbands."

"Alright, my prince," Roman chuckled.

((3 days later))

Virgil would have been pleased with a printed paper crown. But Roman had to go all out, commissioning an actual blacksmith. After it was made, he paid the man and accepted the crown. He'd placed the crown in a box, wrapped it with Disney’s Frozen wrapping paper, and tied it with a bow on top.

When Virgil had opened the box, he gasped.

"Roman, you shouldn't have!"

He placed it on his head, finding it the perfect size. Smiling at Roman in awe, he asked him how he could ever think he'd be worthy of such a gift.

"You're my prince, and you are worthy. You are kind, supportive, and you make me happy."

Virgil blushed for the first time in a long time. "Wha...? No, you!"

Roman laughed, enjoying the cute expression on his face. He pulled out an Uno Reverse card.

"This isn't fair, Roman. I'm supposed to be the one cheering you up!"

"Life isn't fair, dear." He leaned in to gently kiss his forehead.

"Whatever."

Roman gently tickled his sides, making him giggle.

Instead of pushing him away though, Virgil pulled his hands away, but leaned closer to his torso.

"How did I ever end up with someone like you?" Roman said with a smile.

"Hey," Virgil said with a leftover giggle. "I've got five more reverse cards, and I'm not afraid to use them!"

Roman accepted his fate, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

---

Virgil was busy during lunch on Monday, and Roman didn’t know whether Logan would want to see him, so he brought his lunch to the garden behind the school to eat. It was surprisingly nice weather outside, peaceful, if not a bit isolating. It gave him plenty of time to hear the footsteps approaching before he turned around.

Patton stood by the entrance, hands waving by his sides like an idle video game character. He was, as usual, decked out in stylish pastels and way-too-large square glasses perched on his nose. His blondish brown curls spilled out around his face.

“Hi Ro,” he said softly, and Roman patted the bench next to him, a silent invitation to come in. Patton accepted the olive branch enthusiastically, situating himself on the bench and crossing his legs underneath him.

“Logan wanted to say sorry,” he said. Roman nearly spit out his bite of food. He swallowed hastily.

“What?” he asked, because Logan didn’t often apologize.

“He knows he overreacted and he’s super sorry, but to be fair, you know his history with Virgil and he probably felt betrayed that you would willingly spend time around him, even if he has,” Patton hesitated, “...changed for the better.”

Roman perked up. “You believe me?”

Patton hesitated again, fingers absently tracing the pen doodles on his arms. “...I still don’t trust him, but I trust you and if you say he’s trying, then I’ll believe you. I don’t think Logan can, not now, maybe not ever, but I do trust your judgement on this one.”

Patton offered a small smile and patted Roman’s shoulder. “Want to come sit with us instead of being alone out here? Or I could stay with you if you want.”

“You can stay,” Roman said, giving a slight smile in return.

---

Virgil caught up with Roman in between classes. He raced up, out of breath, and held up a hand. Roman paused and smiled.

"Hey!" he chirped. Virgil smirked and gave a small nod of his head.

"Hi," Virgil breathed. "Sorry about yesterday, I had no idea they were coming over. I've given them a fake explanation and they seem to buy it for now."

"That's good," Roman agreed. "Remus was being a dick about it so I popped one of his tires."

Virgil let out a shocked laugh. So that's why Remus was in such an irritable mood today.

"Ohoho, looks like someone's got a bit of a rebellious streak. Didn't expect it from the nerdy theater kid, not gonna lie."

Roman rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Glad I could surprise you, the emo nightmare himself, with my heroic feats. I suppose sometimes miracles do come true."

Virgil paused for a moment, thinking. "Since you're clearly not afraid of being a bit criminal," he began.

"I don't know if I like where this is going-"

"How do you feel about going vandalizing later tonight?"

Roman's protest came to a halt, and his eyes opened wider. "...I'm listening."

"Me. You. 10:00 at the skatepark. It'll be a date," Virgil joked.

"You're on," Roman grinned. "See you tonight. Now, if you don't mind, I have a class to attend."

---

Virgil had been waiting at the park for about 15 minutes, clad in his black hoodie, before Roman arrived.

“You’re late,” Virgil noted absently, taking in the two skateboards tucked under Roman’s arm. He too was dressed with a hoodie, fraying and dark red, a golden crown stitched onto the front. It suited him.

“Time is a social construct,” Roman said, throwing down one of the skateboard and hopping on, gliding the last few feet over to Virgil before stopping himself with his foot.

Virgil watched him, wide eyed. “...I didn’t know you know how to skateboard.”

Roman snorted. “You don’t?” He paused at the look on Virgil’s face. “Oh, uh- I can teach you if you want?” he offered. “I mean, I did bring two.”

“That would be pretty chill, I think,” Virgil said. He hefted up his bag of spray paints and supplies for Roman to see. “I’ve brought my paints.” He pulled out a pair of disposable gloves and tossed them to Roman. He snapped on his own pair and shook out his arms.

“Come, take whichever ones you want. Feel free to paint wherever, but try not to go over the top of any big and detailed designs.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Roman said, shuffling around in the bag. He eventually picked out a gold and a red and puttered off to a blank area. Virgil lifted the whole bag over his shoulder and found a spot near to Roman’s.

He got to work making a storm cloud design, quickly mapping it out and pulling out a few purples and grays. Roman finished his pretty soon and came to sit behind Virgil, watching him work in silence.

When he finally finished and stepped away, Roman spoke.

“That’s so cool, wow.”

Virgil turned around and smirked at Roman’s slightly awed expression, and nudged him up. “Come on, show me what you did.”

Roman laughed, a bright sound in the shadows of the night.

“It’s not nearly as good as yours,” Roman said, leading Virgil to his small design. It was a crown, similar to the one on his hoodie.

“Fancy yourself a prince, hmm?” Virgil teased. “Honestly though, this is really good for your first time ever. I can come back later and touch it up, make it a little more dynamic if you want?”

Roman beamed. Once again, Virgil marveled at how he could emit such a brightness in the gloom of the lonely park.

“Well, come on Princey, I do believe I am owed a lesson in skateboarding.”

Roman might’ve flushed at the nickname, but it was hard to tell in the bleary lighting.

“Still can’t believe that you regularly come to this park to graffiti and yet never learned how to skateboard,” Roman laughed. Virgil half-grimaced, half-grinned, because really, what do you say to that?

“I’m just special that way.”

“Keep telling yourself that, maybe one day it’ll be true.”