The snake and the prince

Couples therapy

Janus POV.

"Well well well, it's rare to see a new face around here! What can I do for you, stranger?" The owner of the cart said to me and Roman. It seemed like he was advertising some sort of therapy service. Around his cart were flyers for a cartoon based therapy service, all with his face on the cover.

"Hello, I'm Janus. This is my friend Roman." I noticed the cart owner looking me in the eyes, instaid of just staring at the snake portion of my face. I smiled a bit to myself. The sides have grown used to my scaly features, but talking to people is still a cause of anxiety. I know I dont look normal. But people that dont make me feel like a circus act, it makes me far more comfortable in myself.

"Nice to meet you, Janus! You as well, Roman!" Roman smiled at the man, and muttered a quick hello under his breath. He seemed... distracted.

"I'm Emile! Are you too interested in couples therapy?" That seemed to snap Roman out of whatever trance he was in. "What? Wait for us? We're not..." "Woah thats, sorry for giving you the wrong impression..." "Me and Roman arent..." Roman and I stammered over eachother. Usually, I would have just lied to the man, and accepted. Maybe he would be more interested in keeping our company if he thought of us as clientele. But there was something about this specific situation that made it... stranger. I'm unsure.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to assume! Just trying to get my name out for possible clients. So, what are you looking for exactly?" Emile said, maintaining his friendly attitude.

Our conversation concluded with a little list of written instructions on how to get to the castle, and Emiles phone number. He insisted we call him if we run into any trouble on our journey, or as he said, "Change your mind about the couples thing!" This seemed to put Roman right back into his trance.

I looked over directions for the castle. Oh boy. I can't wait to walk for days on end, how

absolutely thrilling. My gratitude is immeasurable. (/sarc)

Roman POV.

"Hello, I'm Janus. This is my friend Roman."

"Hello, I'm Janus. This is my friend Roman."

"Hello, I'm Janus..."

I replayed his sentence over and over again in my head. It was truly such a simple thing to say, but somehow I had so many opinions, so many thoughts, feelings, questions... Does Janus really view me as a friend?

Maybe it was spoken out of convenience. It's much easier to say "Friends" Than say "Former rival now turned accepted part of my life." But over the course of us learning to accept each other, did we become friends? A part of me felt honored, even a little pride. I want to be close with Janus. The relization came as a surprise to me. I relized him and Emile were talking about the castle, Janus was writing down directions as Emile said them.

I stared at the paper, and then the pen, and then his gloves, his arms, his shoulders, his neck... His face. I've gotten the feeling Janus might be a bit ashamed of his snake side. He's caught me staring at it a few times, always seeming to get embarrassed or upset. I dont think it lookes strange at all. It's... charming.

I'm not blind, I've noticed the physical appeal to Janus for some time. But even the kind way he spoke to the man, how he laughed at his strange jokes, how he furrowed his brow as he wrote...

I looked away once Janus was done writing. He smiled at me. I smiled back. Not because it was polite, but because he made me smile. I want to be close with Janus. Then, something clicked in my head. "This is my friend Roman." I dident want to be friends with Janus. I wanted to be his, entirely.

Which is a very, very inconvenient thing to relize while on a rescue mission.