Chapter Text
The marriage is approved by both kingdoms, and Roman is ecstatic.
Prince Virgil is visiting again to see him, and Roman is terrified.
Not to say that he was dreading the company of the dark haired prince- quite the opposite. Rather, he was worried if his excitement to see his betrothed would last .
Roman is no stranger to attraction, infatuation; he’s had a secret romance or two around the kingdom. But it never lasts.
Sweet kisses and passionate embraces turn into brief pecks and stiff contact as the months go by, Roman gets bored, and he moves on.
He’s terrified that the same would happen with Virgil.
If it did, then what? They call off the marriage? They let their kingdoms wage war? Or, they get sealed in a loveless arrangement until the end of their days, forced into each other's company.
It’s worse when the other person still loves him when Roman can feel nothing in return.
Marrying Virgil felt like the right decision in the moment, an act of heroism, an act of love; one that was spurred on by the concern for his people mingled with the sweet taste of lips intertwined with his.
Now he’s not so sure.
Doubt clouds his mind like a persistent storm, the metaphor reminds him uncomfortably of Virgil’s eyes, emotion swirling in those pools of brown which makes regret along with something squeamish and heavy flutter in his stomach.
He tries to discuss it with those closest to him, the King and Queen are out of the question, if they got any inclination that his feelings were wavering they would no doubt gleefully call off the marriage with their rival kingdom.
His brother was also not helpful. Remus was more interested in the snail he had found in the gardens than Roman’s love life and told him to ‘marry someone who was loud in bed’, whatever that meant, did he want a husband that snored?
His royal advisor, Logan, was as cryptic as always. He had levelled Roman with an inquisitive glare over his glasses, pupils flashing an icy blue. “I am not one to consult for matters of the heart your majesty” he had replied curtly “However, the fact that you are this concerned about the matter does indicate more in depth attraction than your previous lovers”. Which was interesting, sure, but still didn’t tell him what to do about it.
It seemed the only possible solution was to nip the rose at the bud, before the thorns grew sharp enough to hurt.
He would have to talk to Prince Virgil.
~⊰⋅⋇⋅⊱~
It was a bright and sun-filled afternoon when the royals of Anisychía visited the kingdom of Reston. The carriage pulled up at the castle entrance, polished mahogany gleaming warmly. The horses had coats of shimmering black and grey, so unlike the pristine white and chestnut of Reston’s breeds.
King Janus disembarked, holding out a gloved hand to assist his husband, King Patton. King Janus surveyed their surroundings with a scrutinising gaze, hazel eyes darting from the awaiting royalty to the lush gardens surrounding them. Beside him, his husband was the complete opposite, golden brown eyes shining as he grinned brightly at the assembled royalty.
The Kings moved aside to allow their son to disembark, Prince Virgil of Anisychía stepped out gracefully, polished black boots clacking against the pavement. His purple-tinted fringe had been combed back to reveal piercing brown eyes. He wore a plum coloured vest over a white blouse, a cravat uncomfortably tucked in.
He looked beautiful.
Roman himself had also dressed up for the occasion, wearing his usual princely attire along with a bright red sash tied expertly across his torso, he looked rather dashing if he could say so himself.
Beside him, the King and Queen of Reston had also made an effort to look presentable, mounds of furs and heaps of jewellery gleaming in the sunlight.
Remus hadn't bothered, eliciting to wear a frilly tunic akin to something a bard would perform in, a venomous green sash wrapped around him in a twisted mirror of Roman’s. Surprisingly, the Kings of Anisychía did not seem particularly bothered by his brother’s fashion choices, nodding in greeting as they ascended the stairs instead of the usual looks of disgust or contempt.
While the adults exchanged tense pleasantries, Roman found his eyes drawn to his betrothed. Virgil looked politely bored, keeping his gaze on the King and Queen, yet not making any effort to contribute to the conversation.
The afternoon sun offered much better lighting than the balcony that night, allowing Roman to clearly see the smattering of freckles along the other Prince’s nose and cheeks. His brown eyes were fully visible now, they were a lighter shade than they had seemed before, it reminded Roman of warm chocolate or rich earth, deep and mysterious and gorgeous, yet pleasant to observe. He wouldn't mind looking at those for the rest of his life. As if sensing his thoughts, those beautiful eyes suddenly flickered to meet his own. Virgil looked pleasantly surprised before his lips pulled up in a smirk, teasing and fond, making Roman’s heart beat faster in his chest.
“Roman,” his mother called suddenly. The Prince immediately turned to the Queen, worried he had been caught not paying attention - but rather than looking upset or disappointed, his mother’s face was graced with a gentle smile “Why don't you give Prince Virgil a tour of the castle, love?” she offered.
Roman glanced at the surrounding people, King Janus had a smirk that matched the one his son always wore, King Patton was grinning playfully, eyes bright, His father looked slightly disgruntled and Remus looked like he was trying not to laugh.
He had most definitely been caught staring.
Still, he wasn't about to let a little embarrassment bring down the great Prince Roman! “Of course, mother”, he answered smoothly, grabbing Virgil’s hand in one fluid movement. He bid farewell to the assembled royals before walking through the grand palace doors, taking his betrothed with him.
They wove through various twists and turns, Roman navigating the palace hallways like only someone who lived there for years could. “Where are we going?” Virgil asked at some point, breaking the constant silence. “Somewhere more private” Roman had responded. Leading them down a different corridor.
Eventually, they found what Roman had been looking for, he dramatically opened the large oak doors to reveal rows and rows of books, arranged into shelves taller than they were, the smell of ink and parchment assaulting their nostrils. A library.
Roman lead Virgil to a more secluded corner of the library, a pile of pillows nestled in the shadow of a bookshelf. “Logan, my advisor, made this place for us” he explained, getting comfortable on the pile “Any time one of us needs to calm down or just get away from people for a while, we come here”. He turned to Virgil, only to realise that the other prince was a lot… closer than he had expected.
Right, this corner was made for only one person at a time, so now prince Virgil was awkwardly crammed in with him, legs pressed together, faces close enough that he could kiss him if he wanted.
And he did, he did want to, very much - but Roman knew that if they started kissing, they wouldn't stop for too long, and that wasn't a good idea.
Prince Virgil apparently had none of these inhibitions because he pressed his lips to Roman’s almost immediately, mouth moving with a hungry passion that made Roman’s knees weak and low sound to build in the back of his throat.
“I’ve missed you” Virgil whispered raggedly, causing a shiver to go down Roman’s spine. He hooked one leg around the other prince’s waist, an action that seemed to spur prince Virgil on even more because he pulled back with a gasp, eyes shining before pressing their mouths together with renewed gusto, lips going red from the pressure.
His fiance buried a hand into his hair, fingers tangling into the brown curls. His fiance, his fiance . Right. The wedding. The talk. Roman pulled away abruptly, Virgil’s eyes snapping open at the action, brown irises clouded with worry “Are you okay?” he asked immediately, pulling away from Roman even more, giving him space. “I’m fine” Roman gasped, trying to catch his breath “I’m- everything’s fine. I was just, I was wondering- I wanted to know if-” he stammered, muttering a curse under his breath, why did words leave him at his time of need?
With Virgil’s guidance, he took a slow, calming breath, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. He took another deep breath, looking Virgil in the eye before asking “Are you sure about this?”.
Virgil looked confused, brows furrowed, lips pursed “The kissing?” he asked with a small smile “If you couldn't tell I’m very sure about doing that”.
“No, I meant, going through with the marriage” Roman clarified slowly, watching the other prince’s face carefully for a reaction. “Oh” Virgil muttered “Well, yes? Did we not… discuss this before?”
“We did”, Roman confirmed. “but… are you sure you didn't… change your mind?”
Virgil looked even more confused “No? Preventing a war, remember?”
“Yes I know I was just… thinking” Roman muttered, adjusting himself to lean against the bookshelf beside them. “Don't hurt yourself” Virgil quipped with a small smirk.
“Ha ha” he replied dryly “But genuinely, are you sure this is a good idea? You really want to be stuck with me for the rest of your life?”
Virgil laughed lightly, settling into the space beside Roman, still leaving a respectable distance between them “Honestly? Before I met you, I was never interested in courting” he admitted quietly.
“Really?” asked Roman, shocked, surely someone as lovely as Virgil had suitors lined up to meet him, didn't he?
“Really.” Virgil confirmed “No one ever caught my attention like you did. I doubt you remember when we first met- Prince Remy’s coronation two Springs ago, you offered me a dance and didn’t argue when I said no. And later, in the hall, you were so… radiant. When I was researching into your kingdom to find out how to stop the war, the people had spoken so much about you. You’re brave, you’re compassionate, sure you’re a little foolhardy but I find that oddly endearing”.
At this point Roman was sure his face was entirely red, but Virgil didn't seem to even notice and continued speaking.
“That night, at the ball, you were willing to throw away your freedom of an undecided future for the sake of your kingdom, that’s admirable Prince Roman, that’s brave . I have faith that marrying you will be a good decision, certainly better you than your brother”.
Roman laughed, ignoring the torrent of emotions rising in him at Virgil’s impromptu speech “Why are you so averse towards Remus?”
“Have you seen him?” Virgil quipped, causing both princes to descend into laughter, hushed giggles and snorts filling the empty library. Roman looked back at Virgil, eyes crinkled in joy, cheeks flushed. He was gorgeous.
“I… thank you” Roman started, watching as Virgil turned to face him, brown eyes still glimmering in mirth “For what you said. I suppose I was just… nervous”.
Virgil snorted “ The Prince Roman? Nervous? The world must be ending”
“Very funny,” Roman commented dryly.
“I know” Virgil quipped, running a hand through his hand dramatically. He giggled again, a sound more beautiful than the peal of bells, before slowly sidling closer to Roman so that their shoulders lightly touched “In all seriousness, what were you nervous about?”
Roman sighed deeply, “Well, I suppose I was worried whether this-”, he said, gesturing between him and Virgil “-would last”.
Virgil tilted his head in confusion “What do you mean?” he asked, brows furrowing.
“I’ve felt this before” Roman admitted “I’ve felt this… attraction towards others before. I’ve had my fair share of lovers, but I never fail to lose interest after a while. I don’t want that to happen with you, I don’t want us to be stuck in a marriage without mutual love just because our parents have a disagreement”.
Virgil was silent for a long while after that admission, chewing on his bottom lip contemplatively. “I… I can’t say I personally understand what you feel” he said finally “but I understand what you’re trying to tell me”
“Sorry, for all of this” Roman said “You shouldn’t have to worry about something like this, you’re already so busy with your own affairs-”
“No, no, I want to help” Virgil proclaimed “Just give me a moment to think about it”
The prince furrowed his brows again, dark eyes swirling with a million thoughts. They seemed to shimmer in the dim light, shifting between the colours of the earth and honey. He had continued chewing lightly on his bottom lip, an action Roman had to forcefully tear his eyes away from before he lost any semblance of self-control and kissed him again.
“Okay…” Virgil said finally “What if we postpone the actual wedding as much as possible? Say we want a marriage in the Spring so we’ll have to wait for the next one. Until then, we meet as much as possible, we exchange letters, and you can decide in your own time if you do love me or not”, Virgil concluded before meekly adding “And I will do the same. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if what I feel for you can be classified as ‘love’ or simply admiration”.
“That seems like a good plan; You really are incredibly intelligent darling”, Roman praised, hardly noticing the affectionate nickname that slipped out.
Virgil flushed a pretty pink, looking away shyly “I’m really not; it's just critical thinking”.
“How did you end up being so well read?” Roman asked “It seems every question I have, you have a solution, you honestly seem smarter than Logan which I didn't think was possible”.
“Oh. Well I suppose that’s from my father, he always insisted on me receiving a proper education as a child”.
“Pardon me for asking but… which father?”
“King Janus, I usually refer to King Patton as ‘dad’ so it’s easy to tell the difference. There’s actually a reason I-” he cut off abruptly, eyebrows furrowed “On second thought, that story’s not very interesting”.
“I want to hear it”
“You really don’t, it hardly compares to the things you've done”
“Loving someone means knowing someone”, Roman insisted “So let me know you”.
Virgil blushed “Well, it happened when I was around five years old…”.
~⊰⋅⋇⋅⊱~
It was about two hours after they had bid the royals of Anisychía farewell when Roman’s royal advisor entered his room, without knocking . For most this was normal but for Logan that was his equivalent of barging in and throwing the door off its hinges.
“I looked into the matter we were discussing a week or so ago” Logan informed him with no preamble “It appears that a suitable assessment on whether or not you are officially ‘in love’ with a someone is to compile a list of favourable or appealing aspects of the subject, depending on how long that list is, it will determine whether it is simple infatuation or something deeper”.
The silence stretched out after Logan’s speech, the royal advisor blankly staring as the Prince watched, mouth agape, still processing what he had said. “Those were many frivolous words” Roman remarked eventually, which was his way of saying: ‘ You said a bunch of fancy things that I don’t understand ’.
Logan sighed, casting a weary gaze to the ceiling and likely questioning all his life choices “It means -” he gritted out “What do you admire about Prince Virgil? Write it all out. That will determine whether or not you are in love with him”.
Roman’s eyes lit up, that was a fabulous idea, and he told Logan as much. After chasing his royal advisor out of his room, Roman got to work with newfound determination; laying out a piece of parchment on his desk before reaching for an ink and quill.
What do you admire about Prince Virgil? Write it all out
He was going to be here a long time. And perhaps need more parchment.