Prince next door (Prinxiety au)

Chapter 20

The next day Roman wakes up at nine so he can get ready without having to rush. He walks into the kitchen with a yawn and opens the fridge to get out the milk before also grabbing the cereal. His dad already put his bowl and spoon ready.
"Morning, buddy." He smiles at him.
"Morning." Roman smiles back. Still tired. They didn't stick with just one episode last night, which was probably not a smart idea. He doesn't regret it though. He loved spending that time with his dad.
"Where's mom?" Roman wonders.
"Outside getting the mail." His dad replies. Roman hum before pouring the cereal and milk in his bowl.
"At what time do you have to be there, again?" His dad wonders as he looks up from his phone.
"Eweven." Roman replies with his mouth full. Earning a displaced glare from his dad. He swallow and smiles apologetic. His dad shakes his head fondly.
"I'm proud of you, son." He comments out of the blue then and Roman blinks startled from the words.
"Why?" He tilts his head curious.
"For being such a good friend." His dad replies. Roman chews a bit slower on his cereal as he hums.
"Your mom and I are glad you two are so close again. You were just the most adorable pair." His dad adds. Roman feels his cheeks heat up and he quickly looks down to shove even more cereal his mouth to avoid having to reply. Fortunately for him, his mom comes back in the room so surely the topic will change now.
"Morning, sweetie." She smiles at him before dropping the mail on the table in front of his dad. His dad turns around and gives her a peck on the temple. Roman's parents have a happy marriage. They love each other endlessly. Of course they've had fights and arguments before or they get annoyed by something the other does, but not once did Roman or Remus have to fear they'd split. His parents are living proof that love doesn't have to fade.
"Have you heard from Virgil already?" His mom looks at Roman with questioning eyes then. Roman forces down the anxious sigh he wants to let out. How many more times can he talk about the boy he loves before it's obvious?
"Yeah, he's getting ready for the funeral." He tells her vaguely. She looks sympathetic and Roman feels uneasy under her eyes. It feels as if she's looking right through him and feels sad he doesn't trust them. He has to keep convincing himself it's just because of what Virgil is going through that she's looking like that. He feels the eternal knot of not knowing what to do like every time he comes home the past few years. Why can't he just tell them? What exactly is he scared of? He quickly finishes his breakfast and announces that he's going to take a quick shower. He rushes out of the room and heads upstairs.
Virgil looks in the mirror at his reflection. He opted to not wear his eye shadow for once. He's scared people will notice he didn't cry if they don't see black streaks on his cheek. Even though Roman already bought him waterproof makeup after the first time he saw him cry and cleaned his face gently. He's wearing a black button up shirt, knowing everyone is probably going to dress overly fancy for some reason. He already misses his oversized hoodie in which he can hide himself. His phone vibrates in his pocket and he takes it out to see a text from Roman.
"Goodluck, luv." He reads out loud. A soft smile tugs at his lips when he sees the little heart behind it. He gets another text then. It's a gif of Baymax hugging Hero from big hero 6. Virgil snickers softly as he sends a kiss emoji back before pocketing his phone again and walking downstairs.
"Ready?" His dad asks when he hears him come downstairs.
"Yeah." Virgil sighs. Looking at how Sharrol is putting little shoes and a jacket on Thomas.
"You look great, buddy." His dad comments and Virgil blushes softly at the unexpected compliment.
"Thanks, dad." He replies as he moves to the hallway to put on his shoes. They go to the morgue and notice his godfather is already there. The woman from yesterday greets them warmly.
"Good morning. Your brother is already here." She lets them know as she leads them to the room they'll have to wait in. It's a different one than yesterday. It's bigger with lots of tables that are set for after the funeral. The sound of waves crashing on shore comes out of one of the speakers hanging in a corner. They greet everyone and sit down as well in the chairs put up for them. A few minutes later Simon and his girlfriend arrive as well. Virgil already feels the drill of standing up, greeting everyone and sitting back down, tear him down slowly. How much longer can he pretend he's as heartbroken as the other people in this room?
When his cousin Kathy arrives he feels a bit better. She also didn't have a close bond with their grandma. Being one of the kids she told not to bother visiting. Kathy and her younger half brother are the kids of his alcoholic uncle and dad's second brother. Her mom died when she was just six years old and she's been living with her other grandparents ever since. When they were both still kids, Kathy used to go to her dad every other weekend, but since he's award winner of the worst parent in history several times in a row, she often ended up at Virgil's place instead. Both his parents feeling responsible for her. Neither Kathy nor his parents have ever told him what exactly happened every time she went to her dad, but eventually her grandparents asked for full custody and got it. Her half brother was more lucky. He grew up with his father in his life for the first few years, but his mom quickly took him away and they moved to another state so he never really saw him that much despite only being a year older than him. Kathy winks at him before sitting down on one of the last free chairs. Her dark brown hair is pinned down on one side. Making it look like she's shaved one side while her wild, long hair falls down to her waist. She's wearing black eye shadow on and under her eyes accompanied with black eyeliner and mascara. It makes her look dangerous in a beautiful way. She's wearing black shorts with stockings, army boots, a black blouse with spikes on her shoulder and a leather jacket over it. Virgil always liked Kathy. She taught herself to stop caring what others think of her and goes through life with a 'fuck it' attitude. Her half brother comes in the room as well. Both Kathy and Tim are tall people, but Tim looks really out of place with his light blue sweater and blond hair he got from his mom. He says hello to everyone as well before sitting down next to Kathy.
"This music is driving me crazy." Max complains. A wave of agreeing hums is heard, but no one gets up to ask the morticians to turn it down. After a while the woman comes inside.
"Is everyone okay? We can start the funeral of you like." She smiles sympathetically. The family stands up without a word and follows her inside the room where the funeral is going to be held. Kathy waits until she can walk beside Virgil.
"Hey." She whispers. Virgil smiles crookedly at her.
"Hi." He whispers back. They don't say anything else as they enter the room where everyone turns their head to look at them. Virgil squares his jaw anxious as they pass all the rows on their way to the front. He calms down a little when he spots Roman among the people looking at him. He shoots him a grateful smile before looking ahead again. The man starts the ceremony and Virgil keeps his head low most of the time to not show his eye rolls at some of the clearly not relatable lines.
"Yeah she was a real Saint." Kathy whispers annoyed. Low enough so only Virgil can hear. He looks at her understanding. Beyond relieved he can at least relate to her and not feel like the only cold-hearted person in the room. He noticed how Tim also isn't showing any emotion. When the first slide show starts, Virgil notices how both siblings look at each other with squared jaws upon seeing a picture of their dad. Their dad who isn't present at his own mother's funeral. And he was her favorite? Virgil thinks bitter. After the slide show, Max goes to the altar and starts telling a story of a completely different grandma than Virgil knows. Max was her absolute favorite grandchild. There was nothing he could do wrong. After Max, Simon also goes up to the altar. He wasn't grandma's favorite, but everyone knows his parents aren't too fond of him so their grandma was like an escape to him. The mortician reads a poem and tells a biblical story before another slide show plays. After that it's Kathy's turn to read her letter. If Virgil's honest he's surprised she even wanted to write something. He quirks an eyebrow when she starts telling stories he can't recall have ever happened. She's really selling it with a lopsided smile and even a single tear rolling down her cheek. When she comes back he looks curious at her.
"What better revenge than pretend to be the perfect granddaughter?" She whispers with a cheeky smile. Virgil has to stop himself from snickering and looks down again when grandma's friend starts talking. The ceremony seems to drag on for ages and Virgil is relieved when it's finally over. Only to realize this is the part where him and his family have to stand in a row to thank everyone who came. He squares his shoulders when he realizes this is the part where they'll judge him if he can't manage to actually cry. Unfamiliar faces pass him, most of them crying or grieving more than he ever will for the person they just said goodbye to. Virgil looks at Max who's crying and hugging almost every one that passes him and soon Virgil feels tears brim in his eyes. He may not miss his grandma, but he's not heartless. It hurts to see his family in pain. Whether they're close or not. He soon discovers Roman who's wearing a dark blue button up shirt, in the line and feels a stone settle in his stomach knowing he can't greet him like he wants to. When Roman stands in front of him he hugs him tightly. Virgil stiffens surprised for a second before hugging his boyfriend back.
"I had to." Roman whispers in his ear and Virgil smiles softly against his shoulder before letting go again. Not wanting to raise suspicion.
"Kathy." Roman looks pleasantly surprised to see Virgil's cousin again after all this time.
"Little Roman. Well if that isn't from another lifetime." Kathy smiles as she hugs him quick before he moves along.
"I take it you're friends again." She whispers to Virgil as he nods at and old man grateful while shaking his hand. A tear rolling down his cheek now he's focusing on the pain of his family members rather than his non-existing one.
"Yeah." He replies softly.
Virgil can't believe how many people came to the funeral, but luckily the last person just shook his hand. His dad squeezes his shoulder with a lopsided smile and Virgil rests his hand over his for a few seconds before they go the the room to get something to drink and talk to people they haven't seen in ages. It's a bit strange, isn't it? How funerals can bring friends and family back together. It's as if we don't realize how fragile life is until we are reminded of the small time we have on this Earth. Virgil walks up to Roman who's waiting for him by the door.
"Thanks for coming." He smiles sincere. Stopping himself from giving him a kiss or holding his hand.
"I said I would." Roman smiles back.
"Yeah." Virgil looks at the room full of people. He jumps up startled when someone smacks their hands down on his shoulders. He turns around to see Kathy smile cheeky.
"Well who would've thought someone had to die to get the three of us in the same room again." She speaks up as she winks at Roman. In the time Kathy came over at Virgil's, she met Roman a bunch of times as well. The three of them would go to the playground at the end of the road or play video games when it was rainy. Remus would often join too.
"It is a bit surreal." Roman admits with a grin. Kathy hums.
"So what have you been up to lately?" She looks curious. Roman shrugs.
"College mostly." He replies.
"Boring." She gags. Making Roman laugh.
"What about you?" She looks at Virgil.
"Same thing I'm afraid." He replies with an amused grin. Kathy rolls her eyes dramatically.
"You guys have grown out to be the lamest people." She reacts.
"What about you then, eh?" Roman smirks.
"I've been traveling. First the states then the world. 'S been fun. You guys should join me to escape your boring lives." She points at them unimpressed.
"Alright, yeah, rub it in." Virgil snickers. "Nice speech you gave back there by the way. Did you google that or something?" He adds with a knowing smirk. She shrugs as she acts innocently.
"What can I say? Tumblr is a goldmine." She winks. "Excuse me, boys. I'm going to bother my half brother first." She pats their shoulders before leaving.
"I'm not sure if I should say she changed a lot or not at all." Roman comments when they look at her while she taps her brother's shoulder.
"A bit of both." Virgil grins. "Did you see little Thomas?" He turns back toward his boyfriend then.
"I did! He's adorable. It's clearly a family trait." Roman smirks. Virgil smacks his chest playfully as he laughs softly. The hours creep by slowly and Virgil is relieved Roman, Kathy and even Tim are here as well to make it a little more bearable.
"I can't believe that's the same kid who liked to dress up as a prince." Kathy speaks up out of the blue. Eyeing Roman up and down from afar.
"Will you stop staring at him like that?" Virgil frowns.
"Hey, I'm just saying he grew up to be pretty fine." She shrugs as she looks at Roman with a smirk. Virgil follows her gaze and also looks at his boyfriend. He sure did. He sighs to himself. As if Roman sensed him looking, he turns around and winks at him before continuing to talk to the random older lady who figured Roman was as good as anyone to talk to. At first Virgil smiled amused at the conversation, but Roman is so naturally good at talking to strangers that he quickly left them alone and filled up his glass of cola.
"You guys were sickeningly close. Do I even want to know what you're like these days?" Kathy wonders. Virgil glares at her. Telling her with his eyes to drop it.
"Relax. It's not like I'm suggesting the two of you are having passionate sex or anything." She laughs softly before taking a sip of her coffee. Virgil doesn't react when he feels his cheeks burn at the uncalled for comment. Kathy's eyes widen at his reaction and gasps with a smile on her face. She slaps him on the chest.
"No way! You do?" She reacts excitingly surprised by the twist. Virgil feels like sinking through the floor as he grabs her hand and gestures her to be quite.
"Not here." He begs her. She hums and takes out her cigarettes.
"Outside?" She smirks. Virgil sighs as he casts one last glance at his boyfriend. Roman asked him for one thing and not even that he can do.
"So my little cousin is having hard core sex with the boy next door, hmm?" Kathy smirks as she lights her cigarette. "I have to admit I'm impressed. A bit cliche, but still impressive." She adds.
"We are not having hard core sex, okay?" Virgil glares at her as he looks around to make sure no one hears them.
"Relax, Virgil, I'm just messing with you." Kathy winks. "I'm glad for you." She adds more seriously.
"Just, don't tell anyone, okay? Roman isn't out yet. Not here at least." He confides in her. She holds up her hands.
"Not a word." She promises. He sighs relieved.
"Thank you." Virgil nods a little more relaxed at her cooperation.
"So what does that mean exactly. He's not out 'here'?" She wonders before blowing some smoke out.
"It means he's the most openly gay guy at college but a complete closet case at home." Virgil tells her. Kathy frowns.
"That's stupid. Isn't his brother the guy who fucks everyone left and right? I thought his parents were okay with him being bi?" She questions.
"He's pan and yeah, they're okay with it. His boyfriend has been coming over for Christmas and everything. I don't know why Roman is having such a hard time coming out, but I'm not going to disrespect the one thing he asks of me." Virgil shrugs.
"So he's hiding you?" Kathy looks unimpressed.
"No." Virgil glares annoyed at her black and white vision. "Would he come all this way if he'd be trying to hide me? I'm telling you. He's like a completely different person back at college. It's almost painful to see him hide himself this much." Virgil comments softly as he looks over his shoulders to see if they're still alone. Kathy hums.
"Well I'd love to hang out with the two of you again. Is Remus in town as well?" She wonders. Virgil shakes his head. "Shame. I liked the weirdo." She admits as she throws the cigarette butt on the ground before stepping on it.
"He's in a serious relationship, Kathy." Virgil looks unimpressed.
"I've heard you the first time. A girl can dream right?" She smirks.
"I would not want to see your dreams." Virgil scrunches up his nose. She shrugs. Unbothered by his comment.
"Come on let's go back to your "not" boyfriend." She speaks up as she points back inside. Virgil lets out a sigh before following her.
"There you are." Roman smiles relieved when he sees Virgil show up again. "I thought you left me to fend for myself between all these strangers." He jokes.
"Every man for himself, Ro. I'm not getting dragged down because you're too social." Virgil points with a teasing smirk.
"Adorable." Kathy reacts before leaving them alone again. Virgil glares at her, but she just blows him a kiss before turning around.
"That girl raises some serious question marks." Roman chuckles.
"Tell me about it. Two minutes ago she wondered if Remus was in town as well." Virgil lets him know. Roman scrunches up his nose.
"I don't even want to think about it." He shakes his head at the thought of his brother with Kathy. Virgil hums in agreement.
"Can we go outside for a while?" Roman looks down at his boyfriend then. Virgil sees his own longing reflected in the golden eyes of the other man and nods softly before heading outside again. They round the corner where they know no one will actually see them. Roman doesn't hesitate before kissing Virgil on his lips. Virgil moves his lips against his plump soft ones as well. It's sad how much he's been craving for this already since yesterday.
"You look ridiculously handsome in that button up shirt." Roman accuses as he trails his fingers over Virgil's chest distracted. Virgil looks at him with a crooked smile.
"Did you sleep well?" Roman wonders then as he looks up into Virgil's eyes.
"Honestly? No. The bed felt empty." Virgil admits with a little shrug. Leaning back against the wall.
"Yeah, I didn't sleep well either." Roman sighs. "I'm being a real idiot, hmm?" He looks apologetic at Virgil. Virgil snickers softly.
"Tiny bit." He agrees with a teasing smirk. Roman nods as he chuckles softly.
"Fair enough." He admits as he looks at his shoes with a lopsided smile. "Are you okay, though?" He asks him more seriously. Virgil pulls him closer to press his lips on Roman's.
"As long as I get to do that when we're alone, I'm more than okay." He tells his boyfriend softly. Roman's lips curl up in a smile.
"I know I promised to not say a word, but boys, you need to be a lot more subtle if you want to pull this off." Kathy's amused voice sounds up. Startling them both. Virgil lets Roman go who quickly takes a step back. Both Kathy and Tim are looking at them with freshly lit cigarettes between their fingers.
"Don't let us stop you though. It was quite cute actually. In a lame way." Kathy waves at them. Virgil looks angry at her. He should've known she wouldn't take this seriously.
"You told her?" Roman whispers shocked.
"I- not exactly-" Virgil tries to explain.
"He's a horrible liar, honey. I saw right through him." Kathy winks at Virgil who just shakes his head at her with a glare.
"I didn't mean to tell her. I swear." Virgil looks apologetic up at his boyfriend. Roman lets out a deep sigh.
"I know. She's right. You are a horrible liar." He admits.
"Am not." Virgil looks offended. Roman looks at him as if it physically hurts him to say it.
"You kind of are though." He reacts.
"So you're not mad?" Virgil asks him. Trying not to let the fear come through in his voice.
"No." Roman shakes his head and Virgil lets out a relieved sigh.
"Very touching." Kathy reacts. "Do you smoke, Roman?" She asks him then. Sticking out her pack of cigarettes.
"I don't." Roman pushes the cigarettes gently back.
"And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone about this." He adds.
"Yeah, yeah, I already got the speech from little Virgil." Kathy rolls her eyes before taking a drag. Both Virgil and Roman look at Tim then.
"Hey, man, don't even look at me. I have nothing to say to the people inside that building." He holds up his hands with an innocent smile.
"I do suggest not making out in public if you're trying to keep things on the low." Kathy speaks up again. Leaning against the wall next to Virgil.
"There are plenty of rooms inside where no one comes." She adds with a smirk.
"Just- Just shut up Kathy." Virgil sighs as he looks at his cousin. She hums with a shrug.
"So how long have you two been together?" Tim wonders. Roman and Virgil look at each other.
"Oh oh, blurred lines." Kathy snickers. Virgil stomps her shoulder. Not hard enough to actually hurt her.
"I guess, two months officially?" Roman looks questioning at Virgil.
"Yeah." Virgil agrees.
"And unofficial?" Kathy wiggles her eyebrows. She just doesn't know when to quit, does she?
"We found each other again at the start of September." Roman tells her. There's no point in hiding anymore. Not for them at least. He is relieved it's just Virgil's rogue cousins and not Max and Simon who seem to have far tighter strings to the people inside the room of mourning people.
"Jezus, you've waited six months?" Kathy looks at them with an unimpressed quirked eyebrow. Earning another shove from Virgil. She snickers softly at his reaction.
"What do you mean found again?" Tim looks curious. He's the youngest of them all, but because of what he's been through he grew up a lot faster, just like Kathy has.
"They grew up next to each other." Kathy points at Roman and Virgil. "Honestly the most annoying duo to play games against. They've got this like weird psychic connection or something." She adds with a displeased face. Virgil lifts his hand. "Okay, I'm going to just move away from you." She speaks up before he can hit her again.
"Smart." Virgil praises her annoyed. Roman chuckles at his bond with his older cousin. Kathy can say whatever she wants, Roman knows she liked their adventures as kids.
"Ah, Virgil, there you are." His dad speaks up. The four of them look at the grown up man, holding the baby turning into toddler in his arms.
"Can you take care of Thomas for a little while? Sharrol and I are going to take grandma's friend, Denise, home." He asks him as he already hands his half brother over. Virgil picks little Thomas up.
"Uh, yeah, sure, but I don't know what to do?" Virgil looks from his baby brother to his dad with slight panic. He loves his little brother, but he hasn't exactly seen him grow up and he's never learned how to take care of a baby.
"Nothing, don't worry. We won't be gone long. If he needs a diaper change, there are some in the bag under the coat-rack." His tells him before kissing both Virgil and Thomas' forehead.
"See you in a few. Thanks, bud." His dad says goodbye as he waves at his two sons. Virgil lets out a sigh when his dad is out of sight.
"What am I gonna do with you, hmm?" He looks at his half brother as he plays with his little hand to distract him.
"Oh right, welcome to the half sibling club." Tim grins.
"Thanks." Virgil chuckles.
"Not to point out the obvious, but if we hadn't arrived here before your dad did, he would've been the one to catch the two of you making out." Kathy throws her cigarette on the floor to distinguish it. She may not like children, but she won't harm them in any way either. Tim lets out a disappointed sigh before doing the same.
"I know. You've already proofed we're not the smartest duo. No need to rub it in." Virgil glares before looking back at Thomas who's trying to pull at his bangs with a concentrated smile.
"Little rascal." Roman chuckles as he tickles Thomas's round belly. His half brother looks at Roman with big eyes as if he just noticed him.
"Here, you're the kid lover. You can hold him." Virgil tries to give Thomas to Roman, but Thomas starts to cry at the thought of Virgil letting him go.
"Thomas has his own idea." Roman smirks amused. Virgil sighs before smiling at his little brother again. Hopping him up and down on his hip rhythmic.
"Not to derail the subject that's us, but how are the two of you doing? Must be weird being in a room full of family you barely know." Roman looks at Kathy and Tim.
"Nothing we're not used to." Tim shrugs.
"Who cares about those idiots when I've got these two?" Kathy points at her brother and Virgil with a grin. Virgil scoffs unimpressed as he switches his brother to his other hip. Who knew seven month old toddlers were so heavy? Kathy smirks at his reaction.
"Hey, now we're actually all here for once, why don't we go do something together?" Tim wonders.
"I'm free tomorrow." Kathy gives in immediately.
"We have to go back tomorrow." Virgil speaks up.
"We can go back in the late evening?" Roman suggests.
"You, I like. Simon's girlfriend? Not so much." Tim points at Roman with a pleased grin.
"No one does." Virgil agrees. Secretly proud his boyfriend is instantly accepted.
"Alright tomorrow: cocktails, bowling, more cocktails?" Kathy suggests.
"Alcohol free cocktails and I'm in." Roman nods.
"Boo." Kathy reacts.
"He's got to drive us home remember." Virgil tells her as he puts Thomas on the ground carefully. Holding his little hands so he can stand up. He laughs softly as he tries to walk already. Taking only two steps before letting himself hang to crawl further.
"Uh uh, you're not going to crawl on this dirty floor." Virgil picks him back up. Thomas protests with crocodile tears until Virgil swings him around like a little airplane. Giggles now erupting from his tiny belly.
"That's better." Virgil snickers. He sees how Roman looks at him with a big smile and can't help but grin back at him.

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Just want to thank everyone for the support on this story! Every read, vote, comment is a massive motivation booster to me and I appreciate it loads!

Btw just a couple more chapter and this story is already over. I can't believe how fast it went!