#ulh

“Oh, now how dare you.” He said, voice still clearly amused, but not in the soft way Roman’s would have been. “I’m Remus, clearly the twin of the shiny pile of bullcrap you’re looking for. Though I do suppose I am playing Roman for the evening. Should I start gesturing wildly and swinging a big dumb sword around?”

The smaller prince could only blink, confused and bewildered. “...Roman has a twin? How didn’t.. Why doesn’t..” 

“Because all this royal shit is a damn drag. I don’t want to be part of it, so I'm not. ...But I’m doing you two a solid for the evening. You both definitely owe me by the way.” Remus said, a smirk on his lips as he kept hold of his hands and moved them to the dance floor so they could act like they were really only here for a betrothal ball. 

“.....Wait. But..” He couldn’t hesitate, moving in step to continue this apparent ruse. “...Where is he?” “Golden boy? Off on his little mission to stop this grand evil plan or whatever. But someone had to be here so the dicks in question don’t off your Mumsy or your Pops. Ergo..” He gave the smaller prince a bit of a twirl before pulling him back into his arms just a little too hard. “Looks like I'm your prince for the evening, pipsqueak. So, play the part.”

 Patton was completely flabbergasted by what he was hearing, trying to somehow process all of what he’d just learned. His parents… Roman... Remus? He.. Thankfully after having been a prince his entire life, he could easily keep up a dance without having to think about his feet. So even though his brain was far away, his body was making sure the ruse wasn’t broken. 

It took several moments of somewhat mindless dancing before he was able to speak again. “...So.. What is going to happen, then? We just.. What about..” 

“We have to wait for the signal. Then, hell can break loose.” He said, that smile just wild enough to unnerve Patton.

“...The signal?” 

It was only moments later that something was thrown in through one of the open windows, shattering upon the floor and releasing some kind of smoke that began to obscure some of the air. “Get him! Get the prince!” The bandit leader yelled as masked assailants began to pour in through the windows, sending the royals into a panic and prompting most of the guards to pull their weapons while a few others began quickly funneling the guests out of the ballroom and into more secure areas.

“That seems like a signal to me!” Remus said, laughing. “Hey! Hold this, will ya?” He called to the nearest guard before giving Patton another little twirl and then a shove, sending him somewhat stumbling over a few feet so the guard could catch him against his chest. 

“Hey!” Patton said as he found himself held by the guard. “Trust me, shortstack. Best place for ya. Now stay out of trouble.” Remus called, pulling the longsword from the scabbard on his belt and preparing to fight back any bandits who were attempting to capture the crown prince. 

He was fighting them off easily enough, sometimes throwing a punch or a kick in a rather unorthodox fashion, but as long as it worked, no one could really complain about the form. It did become obvious fairly quickly that Remus wasn’t their actual target, seeing as the crown prince’s perfect sword form was legendary. 

Remus ended up sword to sword with the leader, faces close as they tried to overpower each other. It was because of this that the twin could watch the realization dawn on his face. “Aw.. Disappointed, fuckface? I’m not good enough for you?” 

The bandit’s face twisted up angrily, him using the moment to pick up a leg and give Remus a rough kick to push him backward, the younger twin nearly stumbling fully off his feet. “I don’t care who you are, with that face you’ll still make a fine hostage.” He said, stalking forward and raising the sword to bring down onto the off balance man before him. 

A loud clang of metal surprised the both of them, the bandit looking down to see that his sword had been blocked by two blades, crossed in an X to catch the longsword on the downswing. “Don’t you dare touch him.” Roman nearly hissed, using his superior strength to push the bandit away just from where their blades were locked.

As Remus regained his balance and rejoined the fray, he scoffed at his brother. “Took you long enough.” “Oh shut it, Ree.” 

Patton’s heart leapt right into his throat when he saw Roman so fluidly enter the fight to protect his brother. He was relieved to see him, to have the verification that he was okay.. Though now he had to watch and stress over him actually fighting right in front of him.

The twins fought the leader back, even managing to keep some other bandits at bay as they attempted to close in on the two of them. 

Even this life or death situation couldn’t disrupt the twins’ nature, them already bickering again as they fought back opponents. 

“I hate this stupid thing you call a weapon, by the way.” Remus remarked, using the longsword to parry back a bandit. 

“Oh and these awful knives are any better? You have no reach at all.” Roman complained back, having to somewhat adapt to Remus’s fighting style as he fought back with the dual short swords.

“Yeah but there’s two. Better than one.” “There is no elegance to them at all.” 

“Who the shit cares about elegance?” “...How are you even related to me? How?” 

“Not by choice, that’s for damn sure.”

“You are such a pain.”

The two bickered as they ended up nearly back to back with the bandits closing in, seeming like they actually might soon be overwhelmed. “...I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t.” Roman said suddenly. “Toss ‘em.” 

“....Fine.” The crown prince tossed the blades up straight out in front of him before dropping into a roll, Remus seamlessly stepping back over him while dropping the sword as he twirled to easily catch one of his blades in each hand. Roman came out of the roll on his feet, his sword falling into his hands as he righted himself. 

Both twins sighed in relief and spoke up in unison. “Finally.” 

The tide immediately turned. Roman’s swordsmanship wasn’t legendary for nothing after all, and Remus was simply a whirlwind of blades, the shorter weapons perfect for his wild, fluid movements. 

Patton had already been in awe of the twins’ talent, watching how well they were able to fight off the incoming assailants, but the fact that they’d been fighting so well all while bickering with one another? He’d gotten concerned that they actually couldn’t manage it, seeing as the fight had begun to tilt away from their favor.. But then in the smoothest motion he’d ever seen, they’d just somehow magically switched weapons and got right back into it. It was clear that these were their preferred methods, both immediately falling into a much more comfortable stance and fighting style. The small prince nearly lost himself in watching the fight.. But as bandits were starting to wind up knocked onto their backs in various states of injury and unconsciousness, he realized he really should be doing something to aid this battle. He wasn’t exactly one for fighting.. But he could still do something useful. 

He turned to the guard who was just behind him. “You need to have the guards start taking these bandits into custody. Even the ones who are knocked out need to be apprehended for the safety of the kingdom.” 

The prince of Gllia didn’t have a forceful voice, he didn’t have a commanding figure or an intimidating face, he wasn’t even a prince of this kingdom. And even though the guard had been given an order by an actual member of this castle, he realized quickly that he needed to do as instructed. 

“...Yes, your highness. Right away.” The guard strode off, calling guards to attention and directing them to begin detaining the intruders. 

Patton smiled, watching as the room began to clear of intruders... Watching as Roman and Remus had gotten it down to only the leader. They’d cornered him at sword point, almost daring him to try anything. 

“If anything happens to me, you can say goodbye to the King and Queen of Gllia. You’ll never find them, and if I don’t come back then my men will kill them anyway.” He threatened, nearly spitting as he looked at the twins as though he’d just revealed the ace up his sleeve. 

Roman smirked. “Back to your hideout where you’d been keeping them trapped? I already found it. You’ve got nothing.” 

His eyes narrowed. “...You’re bluffing.” 

Roman turned to look at a guard stationed at the top of the steps leading from the ballroom to the upper floor, giving a short nod. The guard nodded silently in return and it was only a moment before the Kings and Queens of both Gllia and Cairndelle appeared upon the balcony.

“How’s that for a bluff?” Roman turned back, not moving his sword point from where he held it threateningly toward his chest. 

The bandit leader faltered, definitely not thinking that the prince could have possibly done what he’d said. With fire in his eyes, he looked past the two before him to spot Patton a ways away. “It was you wasn’t it? You better sleep with one eye open, you’ll pay for this.” 

Remus turned his blade to the side, actually using it to slap the bandits cheek with the flat side. “Hey fuckface, keep your eyes here. What the hell do you think you’re gonna manage when we’ve got you pinned?” 

“...No royal of any honor would bring harm to one who surrenders. And I swear to you that I’ll get out of your damn prison and get my revenge. Mark my words.” 

Roman pursed his lips, pretending to take what he’d said into consideration. After a moment he pulled his sword back from the bandit leader’s chest and held it to his side. “You do make a point, as crown prince and to-be-king of the kingdom of Cairndelle, it would go against my honor to strike you down here.” 

The leader smirked and opened his mouth to remark, but Roman continued. 

“So, I'll be off then, I do have a gala to attend. Remus, you have fun.” He smiled, turning and patting his twin on the shoulder before walking off. 

As the bandit leader turned his gaze back on the unhinged gaze of the younger twin, seeing that there was no sign of mercy in that expression, he realized that while he knew much about Prince Roman, the honorable sword prodigy of Cairndelle… Remus was clearly not something anyone could account for. He nearly choked out a plea to the crown prince’s back as he casually walked off, but those short blades were just a bit too close to his neck for comfort. 

Patton didn’t look past Roman as his prince approached him, mostly because he simply needed to see him and know he was really actually safe and truly before him... But also a little bit because he did not at all want to see what was going to happen behind him. 

“Roman!” Patton called, smiling even though his eyes were immediately filled with tears. “Patton..” Roman said softly, walking toward him with a soft expression and opening his arms as the small prince had begun to run and close the space between them. 

Roman caught him as always, pulling him in tight and close, holding him tenderly and lovingly… This felt right. This was really him. This was his prince.

“You.. You really did it. And.. And you’re safe and my parents are here and..” Patton began to choke a bit on his words, burying his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder as the tears began to flow with no sign of stopping. 

“I promised you that I would take care of things, my beloved. I always keep my word. My guards are already prepared to leave for Gllia in the morning, we will go at first light to liberate your kingdom of their tyranny.” The crown prince declared, still holding him close. “..Oh, Roman. I..” Patton couldn’t find the words. He had so much he wanted to say and no idea where to begin. “It’s alright, my love. Come, let us go see your parents. I know for a fact that they miss you terribly.” He took Patton’s hand, slowly leading the smaller prince to the steps and then up to the balcony where he could reunite with his family. 

Roman had to give his own parents a brief explanation, but as they were also looking upon the royal Gllians as they reunited, they knew their son had done exactly as he should have. The way a strong king would perform for a true ally.

As the guards returned from securing the apprehended bandits in the cells, Roman instructed them to retrieve the guests from the safe rooms and asked that the maids and anyone else available do their best to do a quick clean of the ballroom.

While the castle staff began on the crown prince’s request, Patton turned back to him with soft confusion. “..Why are you asking them to clean the ballroom now? Isn’t it more important to get the guests home?” 

Roman smiled, turning to him and softly taking his hands. “But what about our ball, my beloved?” 

Patton blinked, slowly blushing red. “Our.. Ball? But it was.. It was just a..” 

“Oh my dearest, I would never simply kid about something as important as this. And now that your parents are here I can officially ask for their blessing in requesting your hand.. And hoping that all three of you are in agreement.. I’d like to actually be able to celebrate in honor of my betrothed.” Roman explained, bringing one of Patton’s hands to his lips so he could softly kiss his knuckles - just to the side of the beautiful engagement ring already on his hand, watching as the man he held grew redder and redder in the face. 

The smaller prince was in complete shock, looking from Roman to his parents to Roman to Roman’s parents to Roman again.. And as all of his feelings of surprise, relief, exhaustion, and slight embarrassment crashed down on him, he found himself throwing himself into his prince’s.. His betrothed’s arms. 

“...I love you.” “And I love you, my prince. Forever.” 

-- ULH taglist