TW: None, I think.
A very energetic, very beautiful lady ran out the front door and down the lawn, her dark black curls cascading down her shoulders as her light green eyes shimmered with joy. She looked to be in about her thirties, but her tanned skin still gleamed and her smile was that of a kid on Christmas morning. The red, flowy dress she sported stopped just at her ankles, showing off her bedazzled sandals.
"Roman, Remus! You never told me your friends were coming over!" she exclaimed, her voice rich and velvety, words tinged with a Spanish accent.
"Oh, Mama. These aren't our friends-" started Roman, but was cut off when she stopped on the sidewalk next to Remus and smiled at Janus.
"Of course they are! Why else would they be coming over!" She nudged Remus a bit, and her son who towered over her just smiled wearily as she began to address the kids in the car.
"It's wonderful meeting you! I was beginning to think my boys didn't have any friends except for Logan!"
Janus smiled back at her and replied coolly, "It'ss an honor to finally meet you, ssseñora. 'Muss and Ro alwayss sspseak so highly of you."
That caused her to grin more and give Remus a look. "That's amazing to hear! Why don't you boys come in for dinner?"
"Oh, thank you so much, ma'am, but we have to get goin-" Virgil started, but Roman suddenly pinched his arm where his mother couldn't see. He hissed quietly and glared at the other, who just smiled widely across the car at his parent.
Janus nodded happily, quickly stepping back into the conversation. "Ssure thing, sseñora! We would love to.
"Good! I am going to finish setting the table. Ro, Re, you two take them inside! Oh, and Roman?" she leaned up to look above the car, making eye contact with her son- who had to stand on his tip-toes nearly- and winked. "Why not introduce Mr. Thorn to Papa? He knows his family."
Roman blushed and opened his mouth to object, but before he could say anything, she was rushing back toward the house. "Okay!! Thank you!"
—
"So... your mother, Ms. Viviana, wants me to meet your father, Mr...?"
"Alejandro." Roman sighed and plucked his jacket from the couch, where three identical girls- who looked to be about six- were playing around it. Virgil followed him as he started across the living room, weaving around various objects on the floor and tables.
"May I ask why?" The taller of the two narrowly avoided a small boy rushing by in a dark dress, chasing after his older sibling, who laughed and held a kitten close to their chest.
"Like I know?"
"I mean... that's what I was hoping."
Roman sighed and stopped in an empty room, having just walked in from the crowded living room, and supposedly headed toward the beautifully carved door on the opposite wall. "Want the truth?"
"That's why I asked..?"
Roman turned to look at him again. "Mama thinks you're cute and nice and I agree with her. You're a respectable guy who also has a great sense of humor and isn't pushy or creepy. You make people around you feel safe and I could honestly spend the rest of my life by your side and never feel bored or annoyed by any of your little habits. I've fallen head over heels for you already and I absolutely hate it, but my entire family sees you and knows that you aren't like the others. And if Papa says you're a good person, he's never been wrong about anyone in his entire life."
Virgil stopped and tilted his head a bit. "Hey, no fair. I don't know Spanish," he told Roman as the other turned around again, face a bit pinker than it was before.
"Not my fault," he told him in English, knocking on the door twice and taking a step back.
"Sí?" (Yes?) called a deep voice from inside.
"Soy yo, Ro, papá.tengo una amiga que mamá quiere que conozcas." (It's me, Ro, Papa. I have a friend Mama would like for you to meet.)
"¡Oh! Adelante, adelante." (Oh! Come in, come in!)
Roman pushed open the door and led Virgil through it, stopping in front of a large desk. The other stood beside him and looked at the man sitting on the other side. He was fairly tall with dark, slicked-back hair, and deep blue eyes. A mustache sat above his top lip, and his sharp jawline was covered in stubble. As he moved his arms to grab a few papers, his diluted blue button-up shifted.
Virgil blinked.
The man looked up and smiled. "Ahh. A Thorn." He held out his hand. "I knew your parents back in high school."
Roman nudged Virgil in the side, causing the other's eyes to widen as he seemed to snap out of a trance and promptly shake Alejandro's hand. "Hello, Mr. Duke. It's a pleasure to meet you," he told him.
"Mr. Alejandro," he corrected kindly. "Your name is?"
"Virgil. Thorn. Virgil Thorn."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Virgil. You're friends with my son?" He leaned back in his chair as Roman looked between them.
"Yes, sir."
"How'd you two meet?"
"Theater club," he answered. "Roman was starring in Merchant of Venice. I'm the head technician."
"So you're responsible for making sure he looks good as he says his lines." Alejandro raised an eyebrow with a slight grin as Roman's eyes widened.
"Papa!"
"¿Qué? ¿Me equivoco?" (What? Am I wrong?)
"I mean... I suppose that's one way to look at it, yessir." Virgil glanced between Roman and Alejandro with a worried expression.
"That's nice. He and Remus don't cause any trouble, do they? If so, I might need to come down there and talk to the principal."
"Oh! No, sir. They're very quiet and sweet at school." He rubbed the back of his neck a bit as Alejandro started to speak again, but Roman spoke up.
"Okay! That was a nice talk! Now that Papa knows you aren't a delinquent, we can go help set the table or something! Just... leave this office." He took Virgil's arm and started toward the door. "See you in a few, Papa!"
Alejandro chuckled and waved to them. "Muy bien, entonces. Nos vemos en la cena." (Alright then. See you at dinner.)
"So that was..."
"Awkward," Roman finished for Virgil, pulling him through the living room again.
"Yeah... Where are we going?"
"Away from all the people."
They were just about to entire a wide hallway when a voice suddenly called out. "Hey, RoRo!!"
He sighed and stopped, turning around again to come face-to-face with the boy from earlier in the dress. "Hey, Zaire. What's up?"
"Not much. I was going to ask you if I could borrow your makeup later. I wanna try out this look I saw on Youtube." He ran a hand through his light brown curls and gave Virgil a side-glance with his nearly black eyes, multicolored light from the glass window beside them making his dark skin glow.
"Yeah. That's cool! It'll have to be later tonight, though. The Berrys are coming over for dinner and we're probably going to play volleyball a bit afterward."
"Okay! Thank you, bubba!" Zaire hugged Roman quickly and started back toward the living room. Roman smiled gently before turning back to Virgil, who raised an eyebrow.
"Logan's coming over for dinner? Who's next?"
"No one, hopefully. Now c'mon. We gotta wash up and change before dinner."
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Fanfic"To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you are the world." Roman Duke has been through a lot. So has Virgil Black. But Roman's from a large, loving, adoptive family who always has each other's back- even if they don't have the most...
