scales of justice (janus + virgil)

chapter no. 2

 Later that afternoon, a piece of paper was slipped underneath Virgil's door. He was writing more music at his desk when he saw the flash of white move against the dark colors of his room. He wasn't bothered to grab it at first, but curiosity eventually got the better of him and he snatched it off the floor, unfolding it to see what message it contained.

Virgil--

Hey, kiddo, hope everything's okay. If you need anything please come talk to me you know where I am :)

--Patton

He smiled to himself, taking a pen off his desk and scribbling a response beneath:

Pat--

Don't worry, I'm okay, the snacks and the movie helped a lot. I just needed to get my mind off something. It's nothing abnormal :)

--Virgil

He slinked out into the hallway, holding on tight to the piece of paper. As he ventured down it towards Patton's room, he passed the bathroom in which Roman was experimenting with colorful orange makeup. He was currently scowling at himself in the mirror, holding an eyeshadow brush. He saw Virgil appear behind him and turned around. "Hello there, Virgil," he said. "How is your afternoon going so far?"

"No one's barged into my room at all yet, so I'd say it's been pretty good," Virgil replied. "I see you're having fun in here."

Roman smirked. "I'm just messing around. Does it look good?"

Virgil tried to suppress his smile. "Yeah. It looks like fire, sort of."

The prince nodded. "Good. It's what I was going for." Then he turned back to the mirror. "Now as for eyeliner..."

"I can help you when I get back from Patton's room," offered Virgil.

"Ooh, sure," Roman agreed. "I think I need some more help anyway."

After Virgil delivered the note to Patton, he re-entered the bathroom, where Roman was still squinting at his reflection. "Oh, that was quick."

"Just slipped it under his door." Virgil brushed his hands on his jeans. "So what do you need me to do?"

Roman held up a liquid eyeliner pen. "This. I've tried it before and all attempts have ended disastrously."

Virgil's mouth twitched. "I remember," he said, taking the pen from him and opening it. "Shut your eyes and look up."

Roman did as he was told, and Virgil's steady hand drew an even line across his eyelid. He ended the line a bit past Roman's eyebrow and drew back carefully. "Good?"

The prince blinked in awe. "Good? I love it! You're better at this than I remembered, Virge."

Virgil rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "I guess all this time of applying black eyeshadow has done something for my skills."

Once he'd drawn the other line, Roman opened a large eyeshadow palette of just reds, oranges, and yellows, and he showed to Virgil. "Which shade should I add to the outside?"

Virgil's eyes widened. "You're asking the wrong person; I only wear black."

"You wear purple," Roman pointed out accusingly.

"Not on my face." Then, after a moment of consideration, he pointed to an orange-yellow shade. "But go with that one."

Roman did so, and Virgil watched with interest as he blended it with the darker orange-red that was already in place. When he was done, he turned to Virgil for approval. "You like?"