Prince next door (Prinxiety au)

Chapter 18

Roman turns around lazily and reaches for Virgil in his sleepy state. He frowns when he can't feel the other man and shuffles closer to Virgil's side of the bed until his hand slips over the edge. He blinks his eyes open confused and notices his boyfriend isn't laying in his bed. He rubs his eyes before sitting up to look at the bathroom. The light is out. Roman starts to feel uneasy as he shuffles out of the bed to put on some pants and a shirt before leaving the room to go check the common room with small, tired eyes.
It's also dark, but maybe Virgil wanted it to be dark. He walks inside, but doesn't see anyone if you don't count one of Marten's mates sleeping on the floor. A slight panic starts to take over and Roman feels how sleep is being pushed to the back so it can take over. His heart beating faster in fear. Where is he? He goes back to the room to grab his phone. Only then does he notice the little note on Virgil's pillow. He turns on the light and quickly reads it.
"Don't worry." He whispers out loud as he looks around the room. Virgil took his shoes, but not his coat. Roman can hear the rain pour down, hitting the window. If Virgil didn't take his coat it means he didn't care whether he'd get soaked or cold. Or maybe he's not that far and figured he didn't need one. Roman goes through his hair with a frustrated sigh. Don't worry? How the fuck is he supposed to not worry when his boyfriend suddenly disappears in the middle of the night? Memories of the first night he met Virgil in this city flash before his eyes and he feels like being sick. He grabs his phone and calls Virgil's phone. To his horror he hears it vibrate in the room. It's lighting up on his desk. No. Roman feels tears sting in his eyes. Maybe he just forgot to take it with him. He can't panic now. He decides to call Patton next. Virgil has been really close with his roommate lately. Maybe he went to him because he thought he couldn't talk to Roman. What if he wasn't actually ready and he regrets everything now? What if it's something far worse than that? After a few rings a very sleepy Patton picks up the phone.
"Roman?" He asks sleep riddled.
"Is Virgil there?" Roman asks his friend. He'll apologize later for waking him up. He can't afford feeling guilty for him as well now.
"Virgil? Uh, n-no I haven't seen him." Patton replies confused. "Is there something wrong?" He sounds more awake already. Hearing the urgency in Roman's voice.
"I-I can't find him." Roman looks around the room in overwhelming panic. He must be missing something. Something that could tell him where his boyfriend is.
"Calm down, Roman. Do you need me to help search for him? Do you want me to call him?" Patton speaks up in a soothing voice. Roman blinks at the floor. He's right. He can't panic now.
"He left his phone here." He informs him. He feels a single tear roll out of his eyes and wipes it away aggressively. So much for 'not worrying'.
"Pat, I'm scared." He admits softly. Only him and Remus know what happened that faithful night, but he guesses Patton knows Virgil well enough by now to know he's not doing all too well mentally. He hears his roommate whisper something he can't understand.
"Don't be scared, Roman. Just think for a second." Logan's voice sounds up on the other side of the line now. Roman forgot they might have been sleeping together. Meaning he woke them both up. He remains quiet.
"Is there a reason as to why Virgil would feel the need to be alone right now?" Logan asks him when he doesn't reply.
"Uh, I, uh we- I-I think so." Roman debated telling Logan the truth, but if he'd find Virgil, his boyfriend would never forgive him for telling him about their sex life. Let alone about the skirt.
"Okay. You know Virgil longer and better than anyone else." Logan speaks up calm. "Where would he go if he needed to escape for a while?" He asks him calm. Roman thinks, but doesn't know. Why doesn't he know? Virgil can be anywhere. What if he's at the train station? The bridge? The- Roman's eyes widen when he seems to have figured it out.
"I think I know where he might be." He announces. "Thanks, Lo, Pat. Sorry for waking you up." He adds before the other man can say anything and ends the phone call. Roman grabs Virgil's coat, an umbrella and a hoodie he can wear over his own shirt to not get cold. He straps his shoes on and rushes outside. Please let him be right. The rains streams down and hits him harsh in the face. Within seconds he's soaked despite the umbrella. So far for the nice weather. With his heart beating in his throat Roman tries to see through the rain.
"Oh thank God." He feels relief wash over him when he recognized a human shape on the metal iglo in the park. He rushes up to Virgil who's hiding his face in his arms. Curled up in a ball.
"Virgil!" Roman calls before trying to climb the slippery iglo himself. Virgil's head shoots upright startled at the sound of Roman's voice.
"Ro? What are you doing he-" He doesn't get more out before Roman smacks his lips on his desperately.
"You fucking idiot. What are you doing here in the rain?" Roman looks at him with the biggest eyes. Worry so clear in his golden irises. Virgil blinks as he opens his mouth, but words don't come. He's too shocked to see Roman in front of him so suddenly.
"Did I do something? Did I push you too far? Oh, Virge, I'm so sorry." Roman rambles. Pulling Virgil in a harsh hug. He can't believe he found him in one piece. Shaking and shivering from the cold, but in one piece.
"I love you so much. Don't ever do that to me again." Roman mutters in Virgil's neck. Tears streaming down his face out of pure relief.
"I-I left you a note." Virgil stammers.
"Don't worry." Roman pulls back. His hands still holding Virgil's arms. "How can I not worry, stupid?" He asks him desperately. Virgil feels uneasy when he sees how much pain he caused Roman. Barely able to look at the tears mixing with the rain.
"I-I didn't even think y-you'd see it." He admits softly. Roman lets out a sigh before hugging his boyfriend again. He takes in the scent of the younger man. The feeling of his cold, damp skin. He found him. He's okay. They're both okay.
"Why are you here, silly?" Roman asks him as he wraps the coat he brought around Virgil's shoulders. He sees how his boyfriend puts on the coat properly and feels his own body warm up again at the sight.
"Dad called." Virgil looks down at the soaked grass far beneath them. Roman never even heard his phone go off. "Apparently grandma just died in the hospital." He adds without looking up.
"I'm so sorry, Virge." Roman whispers as he wraps his arm around his boyfriend. Holding the umbrella with his other hand.
"I-I'm not." Virgil speaks up hesitantly. He looks at Roman with guilty eyes. "I don't feel anything. It's like I don't even care." He admits softly. Roman's heart breaks at the sight and he pulls the younger man even closer without risking they both fall off.
"Maybe it'll come later? Perhaps you're just in shock now?" He suggests. Virgil shakes his head softly. He doesn't think so. He cried when he heard the news, but that was solely because hearing his dad cry broke his heart.
"Am I a horrible person?" He asks his boyfriend in a whisper.
"Of course you're not." Roman replies without having to think about it. "This is the grandma you never had a bond with, right?" He asks him. Knowing the answer. Virgil nods.
"To put it lightly." He replies with a frown. His grandma on dad's side never was a friend to him. In the years his parents were still together, she couldn't help herself or be mean to his mom in subtle ways. She treats all her grandchildren differently. Having her favorites and the ones she even outwardly tell to not even bother visit. Virgil has always been somewhere in the middle to her. He doesn't understand why, because he never liked her. He didn't like how unjust and selfish she could be. Trying to buy love and favoring her drunk, alcoholic son who ditched his two kids over his own father who's always been there for her. He stopped completely caring about her when his mom told him the story of how she and his dad moved in together as soon as she turned eighteen. Apparently his grandpa once tried to murder his dad in a drunken rage outburst because his dad didn't want to hand him his own hard earned money. His grandma didn't do anything to stop her husband, but actually called the police to throw her own son on the street instead. Dad lived with mom and her parents from then on until she was old enough to move out herself. Virgil never met his grandpa on his dad's side. He died the way he lived. Drunk. He feels horrible he can't even seem to mourn the woman while his dad was strong enough to forgive her after all that.
"It's a common misconception that you suddenly have to forgive and forget everything a person has done wrong just because they're dead." Roman speaks up gently. "You never had a bond with your grandma, so why would you expect to have one now that she's gone?" He adds. Virgil lets out a sigh as he rests his head on Roman's shoulder. He's glad Roman is here now. He figured he needed to be alone. Maybe he'd mourn if he would allow himself to not hold back. But he just felt nothing. He's been sitting here for hours. Unbothered by the rain. Not a single tear escaped his eyes. He hates that he worried Roman so much, but he's glad his boyfriend found him.
"I love you, Ro. Sorry for scaring you." He speaks up without lifting his head to look at him. Staring in front of him to the spot where rain and trees and darkness all mix in one blurry image. He feels Roman place a kiss on the top of his wet hair.
"I love you too, Virge. Probably too much for it to be healthy." Roman snickers when he thinks back at how panicked he was. He doesn't think he can ever survive losing Virgil again. Virgil turns his head just enough so he can kiss Roman's jawline. He knows exactly what Roman means. He's no longer safe behind his walls. Roman absolutely obliterated them and now there's nothing to protect him from heartache. Roman has full control of him and he's just witnessed how true that also is for the man holding him. They remain quiet for a while. Listening to the rain tapping on the umbrella. The iglo. The leaves on the trees.
"I thought maybe you regretted it." Roman speaks up softly. Looking down at Virgil who lifts his head to look at him. The younger man frowns confused until he realizes what Roman is talking about. A lopsided smile pulls up his lips.
"I don't." He assures him.
"I thought maybe I pushed you too far and you didn't dare to say anything." Roman continues as if he hasn't heard Virgil. Virgil lifts his hand to place it in Roman's neck.
"I don't regret a single thing." Virgil kisses his lips softly. Roman leans into the touch desperately. Relieved once again as he deepens the kiss slowly. It's not a harsh desperate kiss like when he just found him. It's not a passionate kiss like they shared earlier this evening. It's a slow and gentle kiss. A kiss that shows just how much he loves him. How much he appreciates and needs him. He rests his forehead against Virgil's with closed eyes when they pull back.
"Can we go home?" He asks his boyfriend softly when he looks into his dark brown, almost black eyes. He just wants to wrap Virgil up in a warm blanket and hold him close in his arms for eternity. Virgil nods softly.
"Yeah." He whispers. Roman pecks his lips again at that reply and jumps off the iglo. The umbrella still in his hands. Virgil climbs down slower, but smiles up at his boyfriend when they're both down. Roman can't help but smirk back. He wraps his free arm around Virgil's waist to keep him close so they can both fit underneath the black fabric that's their only shield against the rain. When they return home Virgil steps inside his shower to warm up again. Roman has no idea how long he's been out in the cold before he found him. He hangs up their soaked clothes in the hopes they'll dry and sends Patton a text saying he found Virgil and that he's okay. He also apologizes for worrying them. Patton replies instantly saying he's relieved and that Roman shouldn't apologize. Now that he found Virgil he finally feels guilty for calling Patton and Logan in the middle of the night. They'll be exhausted tomorrow. Or in a few hours really. He hears how Virgil comes out of the shower and he waits until the younger man is back in the room to hand him the fluffiest purple and white pajamas he could find in Virgil's closet. The giggle escaping Virgil's lips when he sees it is like music to Roman's ears.
"What are you going to wear?" The younger man wonders when he sees Roman stand in his underwear. His clothes hanging to dry.
"I'll be fine." Roman assures him. He usually sleeps in his pajama pants, but he didn't bring those. Virgil steps closer after putting on the pj's and opens his closet.
"I've got this?" He offers him a long bordeaux checkered pajamas pants.
"And a shirt or hoodie if you want one." He adds. Roman smirks softly as he puts the pants on.
"I'll just hold you a little closer if I get cold." He tells him before pecking his lips. Virgil smiles softly at the floor before crawling back in bed with his boyfriend. Roman immediately shuffles closer to hold him tight. Virgil feels safe in his arms and he can already feel the exhaustion pull him down to dreamland.