Photograph (A Prinxiety/Royality Short Story)

One

Trigger warning: Mentions of depressed thoughts.

*
"Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes
But it's the only thing that I know
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes
It is the only thing makes us feel alive"
*

Two frozen smiles seemed to bore into Roman's eyes as he looked down at a framed photograph on his desk.

In the picture, Roman wore his Christmas sweater, and he had an arm wrapped around the shoulders of his boyfriend, Virgil. Like, Roman, Virgil was dressed in his sweater as well, and the long sleeves covered his hands, evident in the photo.

Roman blinked away the tears pricking the edges of his eyes, looking away from the photo. It brought back so many good memories, yet it also made Roman feel . . . sad, depressed? He wasn't quite sure.

The creative side sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at his shoes, his legs swinging a bit. The past few days he had felt . . . lost. He had no desire to do anything, not even to create. He found himself in his room most of the time, staring at that photo. He couldn't bring himself to hide the photograph, or even cover it. Each glance opened up a new wound, and they never seemed to close.

*
"We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still"
*

"Kiddo?" Patton called through the door, knocking softly.

"Hmm?" Roman said, and Patton strained to hear him.

"Can I come in?"

"Go ahead," Roman said, his voiced barely containing any emotion. Patton bit his lip with worry and opened the door.

"How are you feeling?" Patton asked, standing beside Roman, giving him some space.

"Empty," Roman said. He had no other words for his current state.

Patton continued to chew on his lip, then hesitantly sat next to Roman. He seen Roman's gaze steadily focused on something, and he followed it to a framed photo on the desk.

He remembered that day. Patton had taken the photo for them, laughing at Virgil's sweater paws, and the goofy smile that Roman wore. They both were genuinely happy, completely joyful. It was a stark contrast from how Roman acted now.

Clearly Roman constantly staring at this photo was not healthy in the slightest, but it would break Patton's heart to take the picture away from him, to take the happy memory frozen in time.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" Patton asked hesitantly. "Talk about your feelings some more?" What he said was cliché, he knew, but he was very serious.

"No . . ." Roman responded.

Patton sighed, chewing his lip even more now. He looked over at Roman, and gently laid his hand overtop one of the other's.

"Listen, Ro, I know Virgil's . . . Absence is very . . . Upsetting for you, but you can't keep staring at this picture. It's not good for you." Patton was struggling here, trying to find the right words and yet also trying to stay gentle.

Roman was stiff, frozen. When he finally moved, he picked up the framed photograph. His thumb absentmindedly moved over the glass. Back and forth, back and forth. After a few minutes of this, a single tear fell right over Virgil's slight smile. Then another joined it, falling onto the edge of the frame.

Patton wrapped his arm around Roman, and he leaned in, hugging the frame to his chest and silently sobbing, letting it all out now.

*
"So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home . . ."
*

I honestly really like this one.

Enjoy, ~Kirs.