Call It Home - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eighteen: The First Date

It had been about a week since the boys had returned home from Hogwarts. Virgil found out through text messaging that while the Princes were pure-bloods, they lived in an entirely modernized house. They had muggle technology which Roman explained to him over their text conversations; however, they didn't understand how muggles operated in a social sense.

This gave Virgil an idea. They had agreed to go out on a date while they were on break, but they hadn't decided on where or what to do during it. They both wanted to do something romantic, but not too serious. They both felt it was too soon for a dinner date.

He's a hopeless romantic, so how about I do something a little cliche? he'd thought.

This was how they'd ended up walking down the streets of London to the cinema. Roman looked a bit perplexed, which prompted the darkly dressed boy to ask the obvious. "Have you ever been to the cinema?"

"I've seen films and stuff. We have loads at home, but my family's not good with social situations involving a lot of muggles remember? I've never actually gone to the cinema," he explained, looking a little bashful. "I've always wanted to, but I never really knew how to. My parents weren't going to take us because it'd be a disaster, but I never wanted to go alone. It didn't seem like something that people did by themselves."

Virgil smiled a little. "Well, you don't have to go alone now," he said, shrugging.

Roman grinned at his remark and nodded happily. "No, I don't! And I'm glad I'm going with you," he said honestly. "I'll be honest, I'm much more comfortable with muggles than my parents, but sometimes I panic and forget how to behave."

"Not to worry, there's not much socializing at the cinema, which is why I enjoy it," he replied.

The Gryffindor chuckled a little as they continued walking. They had a block or two to go before they reached the cinema, which gave him an idea. He eyed the boy beside him and gathered up his courage.

"Would you mind if I held your hand?" he asked, swallowing his nerves. "I know it's our first date and all but I think we've known each other long enough, but if not, it's fine."

Virgil looked surprised that he asked. After a brief moment of consideration, he wordlessly took his hand in his own. Roman gasped happily and grinned at him. The darkly dressed boy looked anywhere other than at him as he blushed furiously. The Gryffindor smiled to himself as he felt his hand holding his.

They kept holding hands until they got to the cinema, having to let go to pay for their tickets and buy concessions. They sat down with a bucket a popcorn for them to split; if Virgil was honest though, he was expecting the Gryffindor to eat most of it.

"Oh my god, what do they put on this stuff?! You can't tell me this is just normal butter," he said between mouthfuls.

"No, no, it's definitely made of mostly chemicals," Virgil informed him. "Lots of chemical butter that's terrible for you and salt. It's the muggle way to make food as unhealthy as possible so long as it tastes good."

Roman laughed a little. "Well, they're onto something, this is delicious!"

"Alright, but slow down, the movie hasn't even started yet," the darkly dressed boy pointed out.

The movie itself wasn't important; it was some generic action-romance film that neither of them really cared about. They spent the whole of the first half whispering quietly to make the other laugh. However, as the romance in the film became more serious, they fell quiet. Virgil's face felt hotter than it had ten minutes ago and he swallowed down his nerves as he willed himself to stay focused on the screen.

Roman, on the other hand, wasn't even trying to watch the movie. He glanced over at the darkly dressed boy over and over again and then made a move. He reached over the arm rest and took a gentle hold of his hand. Virgil could easily pull away if he wanted, but he grabbed the Gryffindor's hand back.

They both smiled in the darkness of the cinema, lacing their fingers together.

When the movie was over, they left the cinema hand-in-hand with grins on their faces. They recalled jokes from the film and Roman gushed about how much more immersive it was in the darkness of the theater than at home.

The princely boy offered to walk Virgil home, given that it had been the latter's idea for the date. He wanted to be polite and show him home. It wasn't too far of a walk, which is how they had ended up walking in the first place. Virgil's house wasn't as luxurious as Roman's, which made the darkly dressed boy hesitant to accept his date's offer, but with a final glance his expression he agreed.

They walked together with their hands still connecting them. When they reached Virgil's house, they let go reluctantly.

"I had really great time hanging out with you," Roman told him sincerely. "I really like just... being around you. It's so hard to believe that we didn't get along at first. I'm happy that we're friends now, and maybe more than friends if you'd like a second date sometime?"

Virgil blushed but smiled and nodded. "I'd like a second date very much," he replied. "I had fun with you too."

"I'm happy to hear it!" he said, beaming. There was a moment of awkwardness then, neither one of them wanting to say goodbye. Eventually the Gryffindor managed to clear his throat and begin the farewells. "Well, I'll text you tomorrow okay? We can brainstorm some ideas for our next date."

"Sure thing," Virgil agreed.

He smiled warmly at the princely boy, but his smile dropped as Roman looked conflicted for a moment. He then sucked in a breath and stepped into Virgil's space. It was brief, but he pressed a small kiss to the darkly dressed boy's cheek. Roman stepped back and smiled as he blushed. "Goodnight Virge."

"Y-Yeah, goodnight," he replied, feeling slightly lightheaded as he waved the Gryffindor goodbye. He closed the door and touched his cheek with a grin.