The Borrower and the Fairy Prince

Chapter 37: Virgil is Not Okay

Virgil tapped his fingers against the table as he looked outside, sitting at the same table he and Roman sat at last time they were at Daisy's Honey.

"Are you okay?" the prince asked, putting his hand over the borrower's.

Virgil flinched, but tried to smile and nod. "I'm fine, just feeling a bit jittery."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's okay. I'm fine, Roman."

That was a lie. Something was wrong, the only problem was Virgil didn't know what it was. Ever since he woke up this morning he had felt off, like he was being watched. It was crazy, no one had seen Ignis in days! Not that this was about Ignis, why would it be?

Yet the borrower found himself keeping his eyes and ears sharp, watching every movement, looking everywhere Ignis could hide. He spent ten minutes that morning searching everywhere in his room the moment he woke up to make sure he was alone.

But that was normal, right? Someone had tried to kill him! Of course he would be overly cautious. Especially since that person is still out there.

"Okay, here's your honey covered raspberries!" Daisy said when she finally came back, setting the plates down.

"Thank you," Roman told her, and Virgil gave her a smile.

They were fine. They're at a restaurant, Roman was across from him, and there were people around them. There had to be one or two nature fairies in the restaurant at the moment, so even if Ignis did attack he would be at a major disadvantage.

"So, in a few days my father wants me to shadow him," Roman explained. "To prepare me to be king. I'll follow him around as he goes through his day to day life as king so I have an idea of how my schedule as king will be."

Virgil laughed slightly, "I think it's still amazing that I'm dating the future king, it's hard to wrap my head around it sometimes."

Roman smiled wide at the mention of them dating, his eyes shining brightly. "To be honest, it's still hard for me to believe I got so lucky as to not only meet you, but to be yours."

"I feel like I'm the lucky one here. I'm sure you would have found someone eventually, but for me..." Virgil picked up a fork and started to dig in as he tried to figure out his words. "You changed my whole life for the better."

"I'm so happy you like it here, even if things have been... less than ideal lately."

"Hey, that's all in the past now. Besides, most of the colony actually likes me. It's not like everyone has tried to kill me."

"I hope we never see Ignis again. And if we do, I hope I get a chance to kick his ass."

"Get in line, princey, I'm first."

Roman laughed in response. "I don't blame you, and I'll let you throw the first punch."

Virgil frowned as Roman seemed to have deflated slightly, looking tired. Now that he thought about it, the prince seemed to have been tired all day. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just..." Roman sighed, setting his fork down and rubbing his eyes. "I'm a bit tired. I didn't sleep well last night, I had a nightmare."

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

"I-I don't wanna bother you. I want this first date to be a great one!"

"Roman, I want to know if something is bothering you. Besides, we'll always have other dates, the first one doesn't need to be the best."

The prince picked up his fork and started to poke at his food. "I... I had a dream that Ignis had you. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed, and you were hurt. Ignis had a spear and..." Roman closed his eyes tight as the memory of his dream flashed in his mind.

Virgil grabbed his hand and rubbed his thumb over the prince's knuckles. "I'm okay, I'm alive."

"I know but... I just felt so useless when you were in the infirmary. It took everything in me not to try to heal you, Remus told me that trying to heal you would make it worse."

"Well, if I somehow end up with that curse again now we know how to get rid of it. I'll be honest, I don't remember much from my time in the infirmary. It's probably for the best but... I do remember you being there and I remember that it made me happy. The comfort in knowing you were with me and that you were safe... it helped me a lot."

Roman reached across and cupped Virgil's cheek, tracing his scars with his thumb. "I'm glad I helped you, even a little. That's all I want."

The borrower leaned into his hand, ears drooping slightly. "Thank you, for everything. For never giving up on me."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"You saved my life. Several times."

"And I'll save you as many times as you need. Just like you'll do for me. As long as we have each other, we can take on anything."

~~~

Virgil shivered as he and Roman left Daisy's Honey and started to walk back home. Roman grabbed him by his waist and pulled him in for warmth, making the borrower squeak slightly.

"You're adorable, you know that?" the prince laughed.

Virgil felt himself blush, but didn't pull away. "I can kick your ass."

"I beg to differ, we never had that spar."

"Then beg. We'll spar one day, just you wait."

"I can't wait- and I mean that in the most loving way possible."

"Don't worry, I know. But even if I wasn't stronger than you, I know I'd win."

"What makes you say that?"

Virgil poked Roman's side. "You're a huge softey. You couldn't hurt me if you tried."

"I could find a way to win without hurting you."

"That's going to be hard to do, I'll be impressed if you can find a way."

"I'm very creative," Roman laughed. "Well, we have the rest of the day to ourselves, I have no plans. How do you want to spend it?"

Virgil sighed, looking off in thought. "I wish we could go to the river, but we would need more people to come with us to keep us safe. There's really not much we can do with just the two of us. What do you want to do?"

"Hm... go home and cuddle?"

"That sounds nice. Sure, why not?"

"Yes!" the prince cheered.

"Maybe we can even have some tea."

"With a spoonful of honey in each?"

"You know me too well," Virgil said, giving Roman a kiss on the cheek.

Roman looked over at him, his love clear in his eyes as he smiled wide. Virgil smiled warmly back, but something behind the prince caught his eye and the borrower froze.

Virgil pulled Roman behind him and grabbed his knife, scanning the bush he swore he saw the blue and black.

"What is it?" Roman asked, grabbing Virgil's tense shoulder.

"I-I thought I saw him," he answered, eyes squinting to see even the slightest movement in the bush. "I thought I saw Ignis."

Roman's eyes widened and he searched the bush too. He grabbed Virgil's free hand as they went closer, straining their ears.

"I don't see anything," Roman said, relaxing.

Virgil sighed, some tension leaving his shoulders as he put his knife away. "I think I'm going crazy," he mumbled under his breath. He turned and started walking back to the tree. "Let's head home, we'll be safe there."